John 4:31-38
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, “Rabbi, eat.” 32 But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” 33 So the disciples said to one another, “Has anyone brought him something to eat?” 34 Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. 35 Do you not say, ‘There are yet four months, then comes the harvest’? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. 36 Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. 37 For here the saying holds true, ‘One sows and another reaps. ’ 38 I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor. Others have labored, and you have entered into their labor.”
Jesus remains focused on His task. The disciples brought back something for Him to eat, but another matter was weighing more on His mind. The harvest is ready. He is the bread from heaven, the manna for a hungry world. He must continue setting the table.
The Father has sown the seed and the Son begins the reaping. Jesus tells them to look up and see the world through His eyes, the work that is at hand. Just as Jesus is sent from the Father, Jesus sends the His disciples to witness to the word. They will join in the ongoing effort of many that will find its end in salvation. It is a labor of love.
John 19:28-30
28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said ( to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Proverbs 11:18
The wicked earns deceptive wages,
but one who sows righteousness gets a sure reward.
1 Corinthians 9:17-18
For if I do this of my own will, I have a reward, but if not of my own will, I am still entrusted with a stewardship. 18 What then is my reward? That in my preaching I may present the gospel free of charge, so as not to make full use of my right in the gospel.
Revelation 2:17
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it. ’
Hebrews 12:2
looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
1 Thessalonians 2:19
For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?
2 Timothy 4:7-8
I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.
1 Peter 1:10-13
Concerning this salvation, the prophets who prophesied about the grace that was to be yours searched and inquired carefully, 11 inquiring what person or time the Spirit of Christ in them was indicating when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the subsequent glories. 12 It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now been announced to you through those who preached the good news to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which angels long to look.
Called to Be Holy
13 Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober- minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
Word for Life in Love— Scripture Meditations By Stephen Brown
Monday, November 26, 2012
Saturday, November 24, 2012
Could This Be The Christ?
John 4:27-30 ESV
Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.
The disciples return and find Jesus speaking to the woman. They were probably amazed at what they found as they were when they witnessed a healing, the restoration of sight or allowing a lame man to walk. This was but a healing of a different sort. Jesus reached out to a soul that was viewed as an outcast on many levels, but was one of the first to hear from His own lips that He is the Messiah, the Christ. This would bring the healing of peace.
The encounter was life changing. She came for water, a daily routine, only to find something out of the ordinary. She found the The Lord, and in doing so she was beginning to find herself. The old began to give way to the new, as the darkness began to give way to the light.
Leaving her water jar behind could signify the leaving behind of an old way of living, one that no longer applied. She had become a new vessel for the living water. She had drawn water from another well.
Previously she avoided people, but now she sought them out. The joy of her message could not be contained. She boldly shares the miracle of her find. There could have been no doubt that something had taken place when the townspeople heard her voice and saw the change in this woman. They had to see for themselves.
1 Corinthians 14:24-25
But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Just then his disciples came back. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you seek?” or, “Why are you talking with her?” 28 So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, 29 “Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?” 30 They went out of the town and were coming to him.
The disciples return and find Jesus speaking to the woman. They were probably amazed at what they found as they were when they witnessed a healing, the restoration of sight or allowing a lame man to walk. This was but a healing of a different sort. Jesus reached out to a soul that was viewed as an outcast on many levels, but was one of the first to hear from His own lips that He is the Messiah, the Christ. This would bring the healing of peace.
The encounter was life changing. She came for water, a daily routine, only to find something out of the ordinary. She found the The Lord, and in doing so she was beginning to find herself. The old began to give way to the new, as the darkness began to give way to the light.
Leaving her water jar behind could signify the leaving behind of an old way of living, one that no longer applied. She had become a new vessel for the living water. She had drawn water from another well.
Previously she avoided people, but now she sought them out. The joy of her message could not be contained. She boldly shares the miracle of her find. There could have been no doubt that something had taken place when the townspeople heard her voice and saw the change in this woman. They had to see for themselves.
1 Corinthians 14:24-25
But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
Revelation 22:17
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come.” And let the one who hears say, “Come.” And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.
Friday, November 23, 2012
I Am He -John 4:16-26
John 4:16-26
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
Jesus asks her about her husband. They both know the truth of the matter, and she does not hesitate with her answer. When Jesus confirms her answer and add some particulars, she realizes that He is a man unlike anyone she's met before. Instead of cowering in His presence and her shame, she asks Him about worship. She reveals a heart that is open to God. There is no circumstance that God cannot reach into, or person beyond the touch of God. He reveals Himself to ones that seek Him in truth.
Multiple husbands of this woman could point us to the issue of idolatry and the worshipping of something other than God. Marriage is a commonly used metaphor for the relationship between God and His people. Jesus is the bridegroom and the husband of the church to come. "I am He".
Jesus then tells her of the true worshipers sought by God. God's plan for the beginning of a new creation is at hand. God calls out with the testimony of Jesus and His gospel of salvation. Who will answer with, "Here I am!"? As many as will answer, come and I will give you rest.
Hebrews 4:13
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Isaiah 66:2
All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.
2 Chronicles 7:16-18
For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel. ’
Ephesians 2:18-22
For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Psalms 147:19-20
He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and rules to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.
Praise the Lord!
Galatians 4:6-7
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Matthew 26:63-64
But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come here.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, ‘I have no husband’; 18 for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.” 19 The woman said to him, “Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. 20 Our fathers worshiped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.” 21 Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. 23 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. 24 God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” 25 The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ). When he comes, he will tell us all things.” 26 Jesus said to her, “I who speak to you am he.”
Jesus asks her about her husband. They both know the truth of the matter, and she does not hesitate with her answer. When Jesus confirms her answer and add some particulars, she realizes that He is a man unlike anyone she's met before. Instead of cowering in His presence and her shame, she asks Him about worship. She reveals a heart that is open to God. There is no circumstance that God cannot reach into, or person beyond the touch of God. He reveals Himself to ones that seek Him in truth.
Multiple husbands of this woman could point us to the issue of idolatry and the worshipping of something other than God. Marriage is a commonly used metaphor for the relationship between God and His people. Jesus is the bridegroom and the husband of the church to come. "I am He".
Jesus then tells her of the true worshipers sought by God. God's plan for the beginning of a new creation is at hand. God calls out with the testimony of Jesus and His gospel of salvation. Who will answer with, "Here I am!"? As many as will answer, come and I will give you rest.
Hebrews 4:13
And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
Isaiah 66:2
All these things my hand has made,
and so all these things came to be,
declares the Lord.
But this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.
2 Chronicles 7:16-18
For now I have chosen and consecrated this house that my name may be there forever. My eyes and my heart will be there for all time. 17 And as for you, if you will walk before me as David your father walked, doing according to all that I have commanded you and keeping my statutes and my rules, 18 then I will establish your royal throne, as I covenanted with David your father, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to rule Israel. ’
Ephesians 2:18-22
For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father. 19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.
Psalms 147:19-20
He declares his word to Jacob,
his statutes and rules to Israel.
20 He has not dealt thus with any other nation;
they do not know his rules.
Praise the Lord!
Galatians 4:6-7
And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
Matthew 26:63-64
But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Wednesday, November 21, 2012
Give Me This Water -John 4:7-15
John 4:7-15
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” ( For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
The woman is confused, and rightly so. Though He should not be there, a Jewish man in the heat of the day addresses her and asks for a drink. This is not done, yet here they are in this unexpected moment. Too amazed to ignore Him, she replies, "How is it...?"
He answers her question with the truth, but the words mystify her. She tells Him the well is deep and He has nothing to draw the water. The spiritual reality is opposite of what she sees. She is the one thirsty for the living water and she has nothing that would allow her to drink from that fountain of life, but sitting in front of her is the one who can provide that water. How common it is that we think we know something when we are far from knowing?
Wisdom and truth are usually encountered unexpectedly.
She asks for that water, though she does not know what that fully means. That is not much different than when we place our trust in Jesus. No one has seen or fully perceived the riches and wonder that await us as children of the Living God, but we know enough to say, "Give me some of this water Lord".
Ezra 4:3-6
But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers 'houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
Matthew 10:5-6
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Acts 10:28
And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.
Jeremiah 2:13
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 22:1
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?” ( For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir, you have nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.”
The woman is confused, and rightly so. Though He should not be there, a Jewish man in the heat of the day addresses her and asks for a drink. This is not done, yet here they are in this unexpected moment. Too amazed to ignore Him, she replies, "How is it...?"
He answers her question with the truth, but the words mystify her. She tells Him the well is deep and He has nothing to draw the water. The spiritual reality is opposite of what she sees. She is the one thirsty for the living water and she has nothing that would allow her to drink from that fountain of life, but sitting in front of her is the one who can provide that water. How common it is that we think we know something when we are far from knowing?
Wisdom and truth are usually encountered unexpectedly.
She asks for that water, though she does not know what that fully means. That is not much different than when we place our trust in Jesus. No one has seen or fully perceived the riches and wonder that await us as children of the Living God, but we know enough to say, "Give me some of this water Lord".
Ezra 4:3-6
But Zerubbabel, Jeshua, and the rest of the heads of fathers 'houses in Israel said to them, “You have nothing to do with us in building a house to our God; but we alone will build to the Lord, the God of Israel, as King Cyrus the king of Persia has commanded us.”
4 Then the people of the land discouraged the people of Judah and made them afraid to build 5 and bribed counselors against them to frustrate their purpose, all the days of Cyrus king of Persia, even until the reign of Darius king of Persia.
6 And in the reign of Ahasuerus, in the beginning of his reign, they wrote an accusation against the inhabitants of Judah and Jerusalem.
Matthew 10:5-6
5 These twelve Jesus sent out, instructing them, “Go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, 6 but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
Acts 10:28
And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a Jew to associate with or to visit anyone of another nation, but God has shown me that I should not call any person common or unclean.
Jeremiah 2:13
for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Revelation 7:17
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 22:1
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb
Tuesday, November 20, 2012
Jacob's Well Was There -John 4:1-6
John 4:1-6
1 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
He leaves Judea before the Pharisees are able to arrive. It's not time to contend with them. There would be time enough for that in the days to come.
In verse 4 we read He "had to pass through Samaria". While true this land lay between Judea and His destination, He could have gone around and avoided that territory, but He was here for a purpose. He had come into the world that all might be saved. He would pass through other barriers of division as well, such as between clean and unclean, man and woman, and Jew and Gentile. It is in this sense He "had to", for the salvation of man.
The first word used in this account for well is translated from the Greek word πηγη or pege which means more than a hole dug in the ground to reach water, but is in fact a source of flowing water, a spring. As the story continues, the woman lowers her vessel into a well based on the Greek word for pit or well, (φρεαρ phrear;). Just as there is a contrast in the Greek words used here by John, Jesus will speak to the woman of the contrast between water she draws and the living water He offers. He is weary and hot and rests beside the well. She carries a heavy burden as well.
"Whoever gives a cup of water to the least of these", He would later tell us will be blessed. So it was with this woman.
Joshua 24:32
As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
James 2:1
1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
1 Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and baptizing more disciples than John 2 (although Jesus himself did not baptize, but only his disciples), 3 he left Judea and departed again for Galilee. 4 And he had to pass through Samaria. 5 So he came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob's well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
He leaves Judea before the Pharisees are able to arrive. It's not time to contend with them. There would be time enough for that in the days to come.
In verse 4 we read He "had to pass through Samaria". While true this land lay between Judea and His destination, He could have gone around and avoided that territory, but He was here for a purpose. He had come into the world that all might be saved. He would pass through other barriers of division as well, such as between clean and unclean, man and woman, and Jew and Gentile. It is in this sense He "had to", for the salvation of man.
The first word used in this account for well is translated from the Greek word πηγη or pege which means more than a hole dug in the ground to reach water, but is in fact a source of flowing water, a spring. As the story continues, the woman lowers her vessel into a well based on the Greek word for pit or well, (φρεαρ phrear;). Just as there is a contrast in the Greek words used here by John, Jesus will speak to the woman of the contrast between water she draws and the living water He offers. He is weary and hot and rests beside the well. She carries a heavy burden as well.
"Whoever gives a cup of water to the least of these", He would later tell us will be blessed. So it was with this woman.
Joshua 24:32
As for the bones of Joseph, which the people of Israel brought up from Egypt, they buried them at Shechem, in the piece of land that Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor the father of Shechem for a hundred pieces of money. It became an inheritance of the descendants of Joseph.
James 2:1
1 My brothers, show no partiality as you hold the faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory.
Monday, November 19, 2012
They Asked For A King -Acts 13:17-21
Acts 13:17-21 ESV
The God of the Israelites chose our ancestors and helped them become a large population while they were living in Egypt many years ago. He displayed His great power by leading them out of that powerful nation. 18 For about 40 years, He endured their constant complaining in the wilderness. 19 He opened up some land for them in Canaan by destroying the seven nations living there, and that land became their inheritance for about 450 years. 20 They had tribal leaders through the time of the prophet Samuel. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them one—Saul, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin—who reigned for 40 years.
After gaining the land as promised, the Israelites embark on another type of wilderness journey by asking for a king, instead of being satisfied with God as their king. For 40 years they had wandered through the desert as a result of disobedience. Again they disagree with God.
The next king, David, foreshadows the coming Christ. The promised land foreshadows a creation restored and the rest of God. The 40 years could represent our life on earth as we learn to trust and follow God. It is here we are given the choice of choosing God, or something else. In these two examples the Israelites chose badly and lived with the consequence of their decision.
Maybe we can learn from their mistakes.
The God of the Israelites chose our ancestors and helped them become a large population while they were living in Egypt many years ago. He displayed His great power by leading them out of that powerful nation. 18 For about 40 years, He endured their constant complaining in the wilderness. 19 He opened up some land for them in Canaan by destroying the seven nations living there, and that land became their inheritance for about 450 years. 20 They had tribal leaders through the time of the prophet Samuel. 21 Then they asked for a king, and God gave them one—Saul, son of Kish, of the tribe of Benjamin—who reigned for 40 years.
After gaining the land as promised, the Israelites embark on another type of wilderness journey by asking for a king, instead of being satisfied with God as their king. For 40 years they had wandered through the desert as a result of disobedience. Again they disagree with God.
The next king, David, foreshadows the coming Christ. The promised land foreshadows a creation restored and the rest of God. The 40 years could represent our life on earth as we learn to trust and follow God. It is here we are given the choice of choosing God, or something else. In these two examples the Israelites chose badly and lived with the consequence of their decision.
Maybe we can learn from their mistakes.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
From Heaven -John 3:31-36
John 3:31-36 ESV
He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
John emphasizes the divinity of Jesus. He was with God and came from God. His witness is unique for He alone started in the presence of God and descended from heaven. His witness is not confined to what God said, but the very words of God. That's why John begins His gospel about the Word being with God, and was God.
Jesus has been given all things. The Spirit in His fullness dwells within. Later Jesus will tell us that He will have to go away before the Spirit can come. Just as Christ would bear all our sins, the sins of the world, He was also He on Whom the Holy Spirit had descended and remained. In a sense, Jesus became a sort of spiritual lightening rod for the transaction of grace. Through Him sins were put to death, life made available, and the way to God was revealed as the doors of heaven were opened. One significance of Christ being given all things is that it reminds us that He alone is the way, the truth, and the life.
Verse 36 says the same thing, but in a different and clarifying way. Those that reject Christ are left in the grip of death and subject to the wrath of God. There is no room for claiming other ways to God.
Obedience is evidence of and comes from belief. One begets the other and they cannot exist apart.
1 John 4:5-6
They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
2 Corinthians 1:22
and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
Ephesians 1:13-14
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Luke 10:22
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Hebrews 3:18-19
And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
John 5:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Romans 2:8-9
but for those who are self- seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
Ephesians 5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
He who comes from above is above all. He who is of the earth belongs to the earth and speaks in an earthly way. He who comes from heaven is above all. 32 He bears witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony. 33 Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. 34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure. 35 The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand. 36 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.
John emphasizes the divinity of Jesus. He was with God and came from God. His witness is unique for He alone started in the presence of God and descended from heaven. His witness is not confined to what God said, but the very words of God. That's why John begins His gospel about the Word being with God, and was God.
Jesus has been given all things. The Spirit in His fullness dwells within. Later Jesus will tell us that He will have to go away before the Spirit can come. Just as Christ would bear all our sins, the sins of the world, He was also He on Whom the Holy Spirit had descended and remained. In a sense, Jesus became a sort of spiritual lightening rod for the transaction of grace. Through Him sins were put to death, life made available, and the way to God was revealed as the doors of heaven were opened. One significance of Christ being given all things is that it reminds us that He alone is the way, the truth, and the life.
Verse 36 says the same thing, but in a different and clarifying way. Those that reject Christ are left in the grip of death and subject to the wrath of God. There is no room for claiming other ways to God.
Obedience is evidence of and comes from belief. One begets the other and they cannot exist apart.
1 John 4:5-6
They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
2 Corinthians 1:22
and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
Ephesians 1:13-14
In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
Luke 10:22
All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, or who the Father is except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
Hebrews 3:18-19
And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
John 5:24
Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Romans 2:8-9
but for those who are self- seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. 9 There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek,
Ephesians 5:6
Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.
Philippians 2:9-11
Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
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