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Proverbs 22:1-9
1 A good
name is to be chosen rather than great riches, Loving favor rather than silver
and gold.
2 The rich and the poor have this in common,
The LORD is the maker of them
all.
3 A prudent man foresees evil and hides himself, But the simple pass on and
are punished.
4 By humility and the fear of the LORD Are
riches and honor and life.
5 Thorns and
snares are in the way of the
perverse; He who guards his soul will be far from them.
6 Train up a child in the way he should go, And
when he is old he will not depart from it.
7 The rich rules over the poor, And the
borrower is servant to the
lender.
8 He who sows iniquity will reap sorrow, And the rod of his anger will fail.
9 He who has a generous eye will be blessed,
For he gives of his bread to the poor.
Father God, we pray for the victims of the many tornados
that have passed across this nation this past week. Comfort, console, and turn
their hearts to you during the tribulation they are enduring. Thank you Jesus
for laying down your life for us. In Jesus name we pray. Amen!
Gospel of John 10:24-32 NKJV
If there ever was an example of
bullying, the Bible has many. Cain and Abel, the prophets, Job’s friends,
Jesus, the Apostles, etc., it has been around since the Fall of Mankind and
will always be until Jesus returns and occupies the Throne here on earth. So
this week Jesus again gets into a discussion of who He is and where He came
from.
24 Then the
Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If
You are the Christ, tell us plainly."
Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to
Him; These people
surrounded Jesus with ill thoughts. They had isolated Him and asked Him again
who He was in an attempt to find reason to convict Him of wrong. With Him
surrounded they figured He could not escape from them.
One
reason for their disbelief was because they had their own vision of a Messiah
and what He would do for the Jewish people. Jesus came as a poor and despised
shepherd, but was expected to be a splendid prince and conqueror, one that
would deliver them from the Roman Government, not from self righteousness. They
would carnally rally behind their vision of a Messiah to drive out the Romans,
but didn’t want any part of following a Messiah that would deliver them from
their sins.
How long do You keep us in doubt; The problem with this phrase is that
Jesus wasn’t keeping them in doubt, it was their unbelief that was keeping them
in doubt.
If You are the Christ, tell us plainly; Jesus had told them in every conceivable
way possible, backed up His statements with Scripture, and showed that
Scripture was fulfilled totally. What Jesus had been telling them was truth, but
since they did not believe they were in great trouble, simply because they were
listening to men and not the Word of God.
There
is a lot said here in this verse. This verse is so true for today also. How
many people would rally behind a leader to wipe out corruption whether it be
ISIS, Chicago murder and crime, homosexuality, etc., many no doubt, but to
rally behind Jesus and follow Him in righteousness and to spread the Gospel,
not so many.
25 Jesus
answered them, "I told you, and you do not
believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me.
Jesus answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe; Jesus told these leaders in many ways
that He was the Christ but still they wouldn’t believe. John
5:19 Then Jesus answered and said to
them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can
do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does,
the Son also does in like manner. John 8:36; John 8:56; John 10:1. The expression “the Son of God” they
understood to be equivalent to the Messiah. This He often used of Himself so as
not to be mistaken.
The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear witness of Me; The works
referred to here are the miracles
Jesus performed in His Father’s name, such as restoring the blind, deaf, and
dumb, curing the sick, raising the dead, curing the lame and withered, etc. Jesus performed these works by the
power and command of God. Jesus was either the Messiah or an impostor. Sad to
say the Pharisees charged him with being the latter. Matthew
26:60-61; Matthew
27:63; John 18:36
The power of working
miracles bore evidence of who Jesus was. The works that Jesus performed in
God’s name was all scriptural and prophesized by Isaiah, which pointed these
leaders back to the writings of the OT. Isaiah 61:1 "The
Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon
Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has
sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the
opening of the prison to those who are
bound.
26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I
said to you.
Previously
in this chapter Jesus address this group telling them He was the true Shepherd
of those that followed Him; that they understood and believed in Him. Those
that didn’t believe were lost and did not possess the spirit of meekness and
humility. If it wasn’t for selfish pride, prejudice, and vainglory of false
notions of a Messiah, and hard hearts determined not to believe, they would
have learned from Jesus declarations and works that He was the Christ.
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
My sheep; Meaning My church, My people, those who
have the true spirit follow Me. The name is given to his people because it was
an illustration which would be well understood in a country abounding in
flocks. Christ is the head of the Church, not men.
Hear My voice; This applies to Christians, it means
that they hear and obey His commandments.
And I know them, and they
follow Me; A flock
follows its shepherd to pastures and streams. Christians not only obey Christ,
but they imitate him; they go where His Spirit and providence lead them; they
yield themselves to His guidance, and seek to be led by Him. When Jesus was on
earth many of His disciples followed or attended Him from place to place. Therefore,
Christians are called His followers; they are described as “they that follow
the Lamb.” Revelation 14:4 These are the ones who were not defiled with
women, for they are virgins. These are the ones who follow the Lamb wherever He
goes. These were redeemed from among
men, being firstfruits to God
and to the Lamb.
Jesus
wants to know each and every one of us intimately. Jesus won’t force Himself
upon us and that is where we as humans come into play. We have to make that
choice of inviting Jesus into our lives through repentance of a sinful
lifestyle; we need to know what the Bible teaches so that we can discern the
truth from the false. If we want to be His sheep, hear His voice, and follow
Him, then we need to put forth the effort to become one of His followers.
Does
an athlete become good without practicing, studying, and being committed to the
sport? No, he has to work at it and it is no different being a child of God. To
be a child of God one must know the Word of God, believe the Word of God, and
practice the Word of God. Many attempt to practice both, the Word of God and
Denominational dogma. When both are practiced, the person is saying that God’s
Word isn’t true, therefore they practice Spiritual Adultery. A true sheep of
Jesus knows His voice and only follows that.
28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish;
neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
Just as a shepherd protects
his sheep, Jesus protects his people from eternal harm. While Born Again Saints
can expect to suffer on earth, Satan cannot harm their souls or take away their
eternal life with God. There are many reasons to be afraid here on earth
because this is the devil's domain. No one can take away our eternal life
except us. Just as we chose to accept Jesus as our Saviour, God accepts us as
His child and will not change His mind, only we can forfeit our salvation by
the choices we make and live by. That is
why we must take up the Cross of Christ daily. 1 Peter 5:8 Be sober, be
vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion,
seeking whom he may devour.
29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
My Father, who has given them
to Me; When a person
becomes a child of God, God accepts them into His family. God accepts them
because they have repented and no longer want to live a life of enmity toward
God; they are cover with the shed blood of Jesus Christ His beloved Son that defeated
sin and died on the Cross as a perfect sacrifice for mankind. At this point a
repentant soul is justified in God’s eyes and is then handed over to His Son to
watch over shepherd and guide us in spiritual growth.
What is enmity? It is living
for worldly things and things that pleasure the flesh; enmity separates us from
God. Romans 8:5-8 For those who live according to the flesh set
their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For to be
carnally minded is death, but
to be spiritually minded is
life and peace. 7
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is
not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then,
those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know
that friendship with the world is enmity
with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an
enemy of God.
Is greater than all; This
is referring to God the Father. He is all powerful, greater than men, angels, and
devils. “Greater than all,” includes everything; everything that could attempt
to pluck one away from God; in other words it means that God is supreme.
And no one is able to snatch them
out of My Father's hand; Verse
28 and 29 are similar in that they both say snatch out of hand, but what is
actually being declared here by Jesus? Here’s the two phrases side by side; v28-
snatch them out of My hand; v29- snatch them
out of My Father's hand. Jesus is actually saying that He and the Father are
one; He is stating Deity here; He is making a bold claim here in who He was!
30 I and My
Father are one."
What
this verse is saying in Greek is, not in person, for the Father is a distinct
person from the Son, and the Son a distinct person from the Father. The words,
“Are One,” in the Greek Text are actually “We are one,” and plural. The word,
“One,” is neuter singular, and actually means “One in unity,” not one in person
or individuality. They are one in nature, essence, and perfections,
particularly in power, since Jesus is speaking of the impossibility of plucking
any of the sheep out of His own and His Father's hands. This is the clearest
statement of Jesus' divinity He ever made. The religious leaders wanted to kill
Him because their laws said that anyone claiming to be God should die. Nothing
could persuade them that Jesus' claim was true.
31 Then the
Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
Stoning was the punishment
of a blasphemer; Leviticus
24:14-16 "Take
outside the camp him who has cursed; then let all who heard him lay their hands on his head, and
let all the congregation stone him. 15 "Then you shall speak to the children of
Israel, saying: 'Whoever curses his God shall bear his sin. 16 And
whoever blasphemes the name of the LORD shall surely be put to death. All the
congregation shall certainly stone him, the stranger as well as him who is born
in the land. When he blasphemes the name of
the LORD, he shall be put to death. They considered him guilty of blasphemy because He made
himself equal with God, and that is why they wanted to stone Him, it wasn’t
because of His good works and teaching against sin. John 10:33 The Jews
answered Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for
blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God."
32 Jesus
answered them, "Many good works I have shown you
from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?"
Jesus answered them, "Many good works; Works meaning healing the sick, and all
manner of diseases; casting out of devils, cleansing lepers, giving sight to
the blind, causing the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, and the lame to walk;
which were not only works of power, but of benevolence. Good works that
promoted the happiness of men, and was proof of His benevolence. He had
performed no other works than those of benevolence; He knew they couldn’t
charge Him with any other, and He confidently appealed to them as witnesses of
that.
I have shown you from My
Father; Jesus performed
these good works in the Fathers name and by the command of His Father. He did
them openly and publicly that they couldn’t be denied.
For which of those works do
you stone Me?; Why did
Jesus ask this question? He surely knew why they wanted to stone Him. The
answer lies in next week’s lesson.
The unbelief
of mankind is truly something which makes one marvel, especially considering
the overwhelming proof of the miracles that Jesus performed in the Fathers name!
Colossians
1:16
For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth,
visible
and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.
All things were created through Him and for Him.
Romans
3:23 for
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans
6:23
For the wages of sin is death,
but the gift of God is eternal
life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, Most
assuredly, I say to you,
unless
one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."
The
Lighthouse Full Gospel Church
Sinners Prayer; Pray this, and if you
believe it with your heart, Jesus will save you!
“Lord Jesus I know I am a
sinner. I confess my sins to you; I am
sorry for my sins; I repent (Meaning, desiring to turn from a sinful lifestyle.)
of all my sins, and I am asking for your forgiveness. I believe that only you can forgive sin. I commit my life to you and ask you to come
into my heart, direct, and take charge of my life. I believe that you died to set me free from
my sinful lifestyle and you rose from the dead to give me eternal life, and
right now you are seated at the Right Hand of God Almighty. I believe you are
the Son of God; the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and my
Savior.” I believe this and have faith
you will make a new person out of me, by sending the Holy Spirit to dwell in my
heart and lead me in a new life. In Jesus name I pray Amen.”
(John
3:16,17; Romans 3:23; 6:23; 5:8;
10:9-13; Ephesians 2:8-10;
1 John 5:11-14; 1:6-10) (Sin: Rom. 1:22-32; Gal.
5:19-21; Eph. 5:3-7)
