Our reading today touches on a couple of my favorite scripture passages, two of these float through my heart and mind almost daily...they have for several years now. First, let me say praise God for Abigail, she prevented David from taking vengeance into his own hands. It is obedience to leave vengeance to the Lord. What does Paul tell us in Romans 12:19? "Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for His wrath. For it is written: Vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord." In my short 47 years on this planet I have watched God work this many times. Never on my time table...HE IS THE ON TIME GOD!
John 10:27-30 is my favorite passage concerning eternal security. We are assured in this passage by our LORD that HIS sheep hear HIS voice and follow HIM and we are absolutely secure in HIS hand. Check it out! John 10:27-31 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 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. 30 I and My Father are one.” 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
Mark, if that is true then why do we see so many SO CALLED CHRISTIANS living like the world lives? What did John teach us under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit in 1 John 2:19? "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us." JUST BECAUSE SOMEONE SAYS THAT THEY ARE A CHRISTIAN DOES NOT MAKE THEM ONE! IT GRIEVES ME PAINFULLY AND DEEPLY THAT COUNTLESS MILLIONS WILL WAKE UP IN HELL BELIEVEING THEMSELVES TO DIE AS CHRISTIANS!
What did our Lord say in Matt 7:21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven."
BUT THOSE THAT JESUS SAVES HE SAVES ETERNALLY...Remember John 1:11-13 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:7 “Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’
LOGIC AND REASON ALERT:) I always try to let you all know when I am speculating, as I have in the past...this is speculation based on reason...I delightfully confess that there are times when reason cannot explain the mystery of the great "I AM!"
Here is the reason and logic...you cannot be unborn spiritually anymore than you can be unborn physically! Once you are born again you cannot be unborn again...ONCE YOU BELONG TO JESUS, ONCE YOU ARE A SHEEP OF HIS YOU CANNOT BE LOST SPIRITUALLY, YOU ARE IN HIS HAND AND THE HAND OF THE FATHER ETERNALLY. PRAISE GOD! "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 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. 30 I and My Father are one.” 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him.
You may hear people say from time to time that Jesus never claimed to be God...I am not speculating here...if Jesus did not claim to be God then why did the Jews pick up stones again to stone HIM? Jesus received worship from Thomas and others, HE claimed to be God, only because HE is the great I AM!
This is so cool the way this worked out...in light of this incredible salvation that the triune God worked for us, for HIS sheep...in light of all that you know about what Jesus did for you how should you respond? When your favorite team wins the championship game in the final seconds do you sit emotionless, thinking Oh that is nice...or do you jump to your feet and scream your head off:) HOW SHOULD YOU AND I RESPOND TO JESUS DEATH, BURIAL AND RESURRECTION?
I love what we see pictured in Psalm 116 today. When the psalmist cried out, "What shall I render to the Lord for all of his benefits to me?" the reply was, "I will lift the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord" (Psalm 116:12-13). God the Father gives us the gift of HIMSELF in Jesus Christ and we ask, what can I render to Jesus for all the benefits of his fellowship, of the gift of eternal life, of knowing HIM of HIM completing the transaction of my adoption by the Father?" Answer: Ask him for MORE GRACE. That's the gift he wants! LIFT UP THE CUP OF SALVATION AND CALL ON JESUS FOR MORE, MORE GRACE...LORD JESUS, please grant more grace to love YOU, to pursue YOU, to know YOU and to make YOU known! MORE GRACE...MORE GRACE! I HUNGER AND THIRST FOR YOU...ENABLE ME BY YOUR GRACE YOU HUNGER AND THIRST FOR YOU AND YOU ALONE!
The reason Christ wants this is because HE always wants to get the glory while we get the JOY and blessing. Glory comes to HIM when we depend on him rather than try to enrich HIM. If we come to HIM with gifts—as though he needed something—then we put him in the position of a needy person, and we're the benefactors. He always wants to be the one who is infinitely self-sufficient. Why? Because HE is...HE is the great I AM! Therefore the only gifts that we can bring Jesus are gifts of praise, thanks, longing, and neediness, desperation on HIM to complete the good work HE began in us.
One Pastor made the analogy of Jesus the fountain of living waters to a fountain on a mountain. He put it this way..."A fountain is not glorified by us hauling buckets of dirty water up the mountain and pouring them in. A fountain—a spring in a mountain—is glorified, rather, by us lying down at the edge of the stream, putting our face in, drinking our fill, and getting up and saying, "Ah!" That's called worship. Then we take a bucket, dip it in, walk down the hill to the people in the valley who don't know that the spring exists, and we say, "Taste this! It's right up there, and his name is Jesus!" The kind of gift that the fountain wants is drinkers, because then he looks truly overflowing, rich, and self-sufficient. And that's exactly what he wants to look like."
So how do we respond to John 10:27-30? We drink deeply of the living waters and leap to our feet and cry out AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! TASTE AND SEE THAT THE LORD IS GOOD! THEN WE SHOW OTHERS WHERE TO FIND THE LIVING WATER...AND IF THEY CANNOT GET THERE ON THEIR OWN POWER YOU TAKE THEM A CUP OF COLD LIVING WATER! THAT IS HOW YOU RESPOND!
GOD IS SO GOOD!
LOVE,
m