Monday, March 16,
2015, 6:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “Hear My Voice.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read John 3:22-36 (ESV).
All Are Going to Him
After
this Jesus and his disciples went into the Judean countryside, and he remained
there with them and was baptizing. John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim,
because water was plentiful there, and people were coming and being baptized
(for John had not yet been put in prison).
Now
a discussion arose between some of John's disciples and a Jew over purification.
And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the
Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to
him.”
Some of John’s disciples were envious of Jesus
because, according to what they told John, “that man who was with you on the
other side of the Jordan--the one you testified about,” (NIV) was now baptizing
people, and people were following him instead of following John. John’s
disciples evidently were concerned that people would stop following John, and
would now follow Jesus, and that John, their leader, would lose his following.
Do Christians ever get jealous of one another? Sure
they do, though they shouldn’t. Sometimes we get our eyes off of Christ and on
to man, and we start looking at what man is doing instead of focusing on what
Christ is having us do (See Gal. 5:26; 1 Pet. 2:1). We may even be envious of
the wicked because they seem to have all things go well with them while the
Lord’s servants seem to go through so much suffering (See: Ps. 37:1; 73:3; Pr.
24:1, 19). When we are tempted to envy, though, we must recognize it as such,
and we must resist Satan, flee temptation, and draw near to God in full
assurance of faith. We must get our eyes off of humans and/or comparing
ourselves with others, and we must accept God’s plans and purposes for our
lives, and accept where he has us in life and in stature, and we must value God’s
approval of us over the approval of human beings.
Sometimes, in Christian circles, Christians and
church leaders may get jealous and envious of other church congregations and their
leaders because of their popularity, and because they are taking people away
from them, and are grabbing them for themselves. So, there may be a temptation
to try to compete for the attention, and/or to try to follow similar methods
for drawing in large crowds of people, even if it means compromising
convictions, faith, the gospel, and placing humans as the “head” of the body of
Christ instead of Christ himself, and thus submitting themselves to the
thoughts and ways of humans in place of the ways of Christ and the teachings of
his Word. This also may lead to hatred, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness
and discord, because they will struggle to gain for themselves the attention
and popularity of others, thinking this will make them happy, but it won’t
ever.
Setting
the Record Straight
John
answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from
heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but
I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The
friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the
bridegroom's voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must
increase, but I must decrease.”
So, John set his disciples straight. He reminded them
of what he had told them previously – that he was not the promised one to come,
but he was merely sent to prepare the way for the bridegroom, Jesus Christ, the
promised Messiah. As well, he told them that the bride (Christ’s followers)
belonged to Jesus Christ, not to John. John was joyful because the one for whom
he had been sent to prepare the way had now come, and so John had completed his
mission. Jesus Christ was now to become greater, and John was to become less.
Sometimes, when we are tempted to be envious of
others we need someone to “set the record straight” for us, too. We need a dose
of reality. We need to hear the Word of God taught and the Holy Spirit within
us speak truth to our hearts, because we are being tempted to go away from the
truth of God’s word to following after the lies of our enemy, who is a roaring
lion seeking those whom he can devour. We have to resist him, stand strong in
the faith, flee temptation, and put on the armor of God with which to fight off
his evil schemes against us (See: Eph. 6:10-20), and we have to draw near to
God in full assurance of faith. We have to accept God’s absolute sovereignty
over our lives, submit to his purposes and plans, and surrender our wills to
the will of our Father in heaven.
Jesus said that if we are to be his followers we are
to deny self, die daily to sin and self and follow him in obedience. He said if
we hold on to our old lives of living to please sin and the flesh we will lose
them for eternity, but if we die with Christ to sin and self, we will gain
eternal life (See Lu. 9:23-25). Satan loves to get “self” to take the throne of
our lives again, and he tries to get us self-focused instead of God-focused. He
enjoys trying to instill fear within us, getting us to doubt God, and to
believe that we have to operate in the flesh if we are going to be successful,
liked, or if we are to get anywhere in life. John’s disciples were afraid that
people were going to stop following John, and that they were going to follow
Jesus, but what they didn’t realize is that was the plan all along. So, they
needed that dose of reality to get their minds focused in the right direction.
We need that, too, sometimes.
Jesus also said that as his followers we would be
hated, persecuted, falsely accused, beaten, mocked, ridiculed, rejected,
despised, ostracized, and even killed for our faith in Jesus Christ. So, when
that happens to us, we should not let that undo us or feel as though we have
gotten a raw deal and that we need to change the way we are doing things so
people will like us and accept us. We should not look at this as a bad thing,
though many do, but we should praise the Lord, be thankful and be joyful that
we are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake. So many Christians have this
all backwards. They think popularity equals God’s approval and blessing. It
may, but most likely it does not. They think we have to do and say things that
will make people like us, feel comfortable around us, and that will make them
want to join in with us, but where does it say that in scripture? We are to be
separate from (unlike) the world because we are becoming like Christ.
So, don’t let Satan get a foothold in your life by
giving way to jealousy of others and their popularity. Be who God created you
to be! Stay focused on the task God has set before you.
He
is Above All
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. He bears
witness to what he has seen and heard, yet no one receives his testimony.
Whoever receives his testimony sets his seal to this, that God is true. For he
whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without
measure. The Father loves the Son and has given all things into his hand.
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.
Then John shared with them the crux of the gospel of
Jesus Christ. Jesus was from heaven, and he was and is above all, i.e. he was
and is God. Yet, he would be, was and is rejected by those to whom he came with
his message from God (from heaven). Jesus was killed because religious people
and religious leaders were jealous of him. Matt. 27:18 says: “For he knew that
it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him,” which is in
reference to the Jews handing Jesus over to Pilate to be crucified. Though he
spoke and speaks the very words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit,
yet many reject Christ and his gospel of salvation, so all that awaits them is
God’s wrath. Yet, for those who do accept Christ’s testimony, they certify that
God is truthful. And, for those who believe, obey, and who put their faith in
Jesus Christ, they are given the hope of eternal life with God.
We cannot measure success according to worldly
standards and measurements. We must measure by God’s standards, and by his
alone. Although Jesus was God, and he was sinless and selfless, and he went
around doing good for people, he was hated and rejected because he told people
the truth about their sin and about their eternal destiny, if their lives were
absent of true faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of their lives. If we
also preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ, and we talk about sin, judgment,
hell, obedience, repentance and submission to Christ, as well as talk about his
salvation, his grace, healing, mercy and forgiveness, we are likely to be
rejected, too, because we speak the truth. Saying what is pleasing to people’s
ears may gain us friends on this earth, but it will not gain souls for
eternity. So, we must be willing to be hated for sharing the truth, so that
people will be turned from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to
God, so they can receive forgiveness of sins, and a place among those whom
Christ is sanctifying.
Hear my Voice / An Original Work /
July 9, 2012
Based
off Psalm 27
The
Lord is my great salvation.
He’s
the stronghold of my life.
When
my enemies attack me,
My
heart will not fear at all.
Though
a war break out against me,
Confident
in Christ I’ll be.
Of
the Lord, I ask that I may
Live
with Him eternally.
Hear
my voice, Lord, when I call you.
Merciful
to me You’ll be.
Though
my relatives forsake me,
My
Lord God will receive me.
Teach
me Your way, O my Jesus.
Lead
me in Your righteousness.
I
will sacrifice to my Lord.
I
will sing with joyfulness.
I
am confident that I will
See
the goodness of the Lord.
All
the richness of His blessings,
My
Lord has for me in store.
He
asks me to be of courage;
To
be strong and to take heart,
Patiently
as I wait for Him,
And
from Him to ne’er depart.
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