I and 5 other adult leaders carried 18 youth to YEC in Nashville TN last weekend. It truly was an amazing weekend. We had a young lady that was invited by one of our youth get saved. I had another young lady tell me Sunday night that she went home read her bible and prayed which she told us she doesn't do very often. I just got done reading a post by Clayton King saying that 2000 got saved that night, including a chaperonne, a youth pastor and three security guards. The part that has me so excited though is that Saturday morning we were asked to pray for someone we thought needed to know Jesus. I challenged our youth and entire church to go out this week and witness to the person they prayed for.
Well monday morning I prayed that God would give me that oppurtunity and the courage to do it. God did His part and I got my chance to witness to them and they are starting to read the book of John. I ask that every one pray for me as I to continue witnessing to this person and especially that this person will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ.
Today I played Lecrae for a friend. (Lecrae is a Christian rap artist.) Well in the process of this I had two people come up and ask who this music was by. I'm thrilled that there will be two people listening to music that will proudly proclaim that Jesus is Lord. I pray that they lead many more to listen to music that can attract a group that usually listen tto music that promotes sex, drugs and violence.
MSW
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Monday, March 9, 2009
The Way, The Truth, The Life: Part 3
This is the third of three post.
Part 3
I am the way and the truth and the life
The life
In the beginning God created the heavens and earth and on the sixth day God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, (Genesis 1:26)
I am the way and the truth and the life
The life
In the beginning God created the heavens and earth and on the sixth day God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, in our likeness, (Genesis 1:26)
(Genesis 1:27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
Since we have been discussing the Trinity I want to take a second to stop and look at these two verses. Right here at the very beginning of the first book of the bible, first chapter, God reveals to us the trinity. In the Beginning we have God, Genesis 1:2 we have the Spirit. Then Genesis 1:26 we have Jesus. In vs1 God says let Us make in Our image. Then vs27 says in God’s image. To me this first book demonstrates the Trinity as clear as can be.
John 3:16 KJV “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
John 5:26 “For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son to have life in himself.”
John 6:33 “For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Revelation 11:11 “But after the three and a half days a breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and terror struck those who saw them.”
Notice all of these verses have God giving Life. Life is given by God. God is the orchestrator of life and we are granted eternal Spiritual life by God through the Son’s sacrifice on the cross.
I am the way and the truth and the life
Jesus is the way to the truth that the Holy Spirit brings to give us eternal life by and with God.
For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. I John 5:7 KJV
Saturday, March 7, 2009
The Way, The Truth, The Life: Part Two
This is the second post of three. The first is here if you haven’t read it yet.
Part two
I am the way and the truth
Part two
I am the way and the truth
The truth
During the trial of Jesus, Pilate asks Jesus “What is truth”
John uses the word truth 26 times in his Gospel compared to
Matthew who uses it once
Luke who uses it once and
Mark who uses it twice
John then uses the word truth 20 more times in his Epistles. Obviously John wanted us to see what the truth was.
Webster tells us that truth is sincerity in action, character, and utterance
Scripture tells us that our sinful mind is hostile to God (Romans 8:7)
Genesis 6:5 The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time.
Genesis 8:21 The LORD smelled the pleasing aroma and said in his heart: "Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood. And never again will I destroy all living creatures, as I have done.
How can we be sincere in action, character, and utterance if our every desire is evil?
John 1:17 “grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
Christ gives us that truth! Through Christ we can walk in truth and light. (1 John 1:7; 3 John 1:4) But how does He do that? How does Christ turn our every evil desire truth and sincerity?
John 4:23 “Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.”
John 4:24 “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.”
We worship in spirit and truth! What is this spirit and truth we worship in?
The Spirit of Truth
(John 14:15-17) “If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
John 16:13 “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”
The truth is the Holy Spirit and the message it proclaims. This Spirit of truth comes through Jesus Christ, and we are to worship in this Spirit of truth. For through this truth we will be set free from sin and the damnation that sin brings.
John 8:32 “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The Way,The Truth,The Life
I was preparing a lesson the other day from John 14:6 and it went in a direction I wasn’t expecting so I thought I’d share it. It seems I have seen the Trinity represented in several things I have studied lately and it also appeared to me that it was represented in John 14:6
It was suggested that instead of this being one edited for length post I post it in a series.
I want to start out by looking at where we are at before discussing the verses in John 14. Jesus has already entered Jerusalem and is at the last supper. He washes the disciples feet and informs them that one of them will betray him Judas leaves the room. Jesus tells His disciples that where He is going they cannot go. He tells Peter that he will deny Him. Jesus tells them that He is going to prepare a place for them and that they know the way to where He is going. Thomas asks how they can know the way, when they don’t know where he is going. During this dialogue Phillip asks Jesus to show them the Father.
Jesus replies to Philipp that anyone who has seen me has seen the father. Then Jesus asks “Don’t you know that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?”
John 14:5-7
"Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
John 14:9 b
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
It is easy to see the father and the son in this dialogue but upon a closer inspection its easy to see the Father, Son, and Spirit.
First Let’s look at the statement I am the way. The way to what? The way to Heaven? Simply put, yes! But there is much more to be found in that phrase.
When Jacob was at Bethel he had a dream of a ladder. (Genesis 28:10-15) And this Ladder went up to Heaven. The angels ascended and descended on it. Jacob’s ladder is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the mediator! He is the way that all God’s blessings come to us and that our prayers make it to the Father. He is the way that we make it to heaven.
1 John 5:11-12
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
This eternal life is in His Son. It is through Jesus Christ that we find our way to eternal life.
In Leviticus Chapter 4 God’s word tells us of the Sin offering. When someone sins they are to bring their offering which must be without defect. The Priest after sprinkling the blood will burn the offering. Now Listen to the last part of v35 “In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.”
In this way the Priest will make atonement. This Way! But that is no longer the way. We have Jesus as our Priest, and as our Lamb, and as our way.
The blood of these lambs and bulls and Goats was not what caused forgiveness for these people. It was the Faith they showed God by Obeying Him.
(Hebrews 10:4) “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
The offering did not take away their sins. It was just a way to make them realize they were sinners. It was a way to make them realize they needed forgiveness and that forgiveness could only be granted by God.
(Hebrews 10:14) “because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
Jesus is our perfect lamb and our one sacrifice. Through Him we have found a way to heaven and God.
It was suggested that instead of this being one edited for length post I post it in a series.
I want to start out by looking at where we are at before discussing the verses in John 14. Jesus has already entered Jerusalem and is at the last supper. He washes the disciples feet and informs them that one of them will betray him Judas leaves the room. Jesus tells His disciples that where He is going they cannot go. He tells Peter that he will deny Him. Jesus tells them that He is going to prepare a place for them and that they know the way to where He is going. Thomas asks how they can know the way, when they don’t know where he is going. During this dialogue Phillip asks Jesus to show them the Father.
Jesus replies to Philipp that anyone who has seen me has seen the father. Then Jesus asks “Don’t you know that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?”
John 14:5-7
"Thomas said to him, "Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way?" Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."
John 14:9 b
Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father.
“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
It is easy to see the father and the son in this dialogue but upon a closer inspection its easy to see the Father, Son, and Spirit.
First Let’s look at the statement I am the way. The way to what? The way to Heaven? Simply put, yes! But there is much more to be found in that phrase.
When Jacob was at Bethel he had a dream of a ladder. (Genesis 28:10-15) And this Ladder went up to Heaven. The angels ascended and descended on it. Jacob’s ladder is Jesus Christ. Jesus is the mediator! He is the way that all God’s blessings come to us and that our prayers make it to the Father. He is the way that we make it to heaven.
1 John 5:11-12
And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.
This eternal life is in His Son. It is through Jesus Christ that we find our way to eternal life.
In Leviticus Chapter 4 God’s word tells us of the Sin offering. When someone sins they are to bring their offering which must be without defect. The Priest after sprinkling the blood will burn the offering. Now Listen to the last part of v35 “In this way the priest will make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be forgiven.”
In this way the Priest will make atonement. This Way! But that is no longer the way. We have Jesus as our Priest, and as our Lamb, and as our way.
The blood of these lambs and bulls and Goats was not what caused forgiveness for these people. It was the Faith they showed God by Obeying Him.
(Hebrews 10:4) “It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.”
The offering did not take away their sins. It was just a way to make them realize they were sinners. It was a way to make them realize they needed forgiveness and that forgiveness could only be granted by God.
(Hebrews 10:14) “because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.”
Jesus is our perfect lamb and our one sacrifice. Through Him we have found a way to heaven and God.
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