His Love Ministries
Episodes
Sunday Jul 28, 2019
JOHN 12:37-43 FOR THEY LOVED THE PRAISE OF MEN MORE THAN THE PRAISE OF GOD
Sunday Jul 28, 2019
Sunday Jul 28, 2019
John 12:37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, 38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" 39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again: 40 "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them." 41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him. 42 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
We will hear in this message that Jesus had done many signs (miracles with a message) yet they would not believe in Him. The theme of the whole book John 20:30-31 is that Jesus is God in human flesh because He is God over time, over death, over distance, over nature, over demons, over all creation. It also says all this was done that it might fulfill the prophecies of Isaiah, who said they would hear, but not believe, so God hardens their heart to the point that they cannot believe. This prophecy was given when He saw Jesus (God) high and lifted up on the throne in chapter 6. Many believe in Jesus, but are not truly saved because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. Who are you seeking to please? Jesus said in Mt 10:32 "Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. Mt 10:33 "But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. So whose praise are you looking for; Men’s or God’s?
37 But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him,
They had rejected the evidence (v. 37). The light had been shining, but they refused to believe and follow the light. Note the terrible results of repeatedly rejecting Christ’s Word (vv. 37–41):
(1) They would not believe (v. 37) though they had seen the evidence for His divine Sonship.
(2) They could not believe (v. 39) because their hearts became hard and their eyes blind.
(3) Therefore, God said, “They should not believe” (v. 39) because they had spurned His grace!
Now He pulls on two verses from that prophesy of Isaiah and they form two questions. Who has believed our report? That’s the first question. This is a lament. This is a complaint on the part of the writer. He’s saying, “Why haven’t they believed, for goodness sakes?” It also tells us that the prophet, perhaps seven hundred years prior to Christ walking on this globe, the prophet foresaw something. He foretold something. They wouldn’t believe. We’re going to take this report, we’re going to clear it out to our own people and they aren’t going to embrace it.
38 that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: "Lord, who has believed our report? And to
Whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?"
The second question is, “To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Now this has to do with His power. The arm of the Lord, the right hand usually, is always the power center of God and I’ve often been reminded His left hand isn’t too bad either. But His right hand is the arm of power. And it says, “to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" In other words, “Who has seen His power?”
Well, certainly Israel saw His power again and again, didn’t they? And in our context here, didn’t they see the power of Jesus Christ to raise people from the dead, to cure the ill, to give eyes to a blind man, to turn water into wine? Didn’t they see the power of God? Who’s heard our report? Why aren’t they believing? They’ve seen the power of God, why do they persist in unbelief? In spite of clear prophesy, people will not believe.
39 Therefore they could not believe, because Isaiah said again:
Now, the nation is unable to believe because they constantly rejected God. They constantly rejected His prophets, they constantly rejected His power, even though they saw those signs and saw the power. So the consequence we might call a judicial blindness. They are blind because they persist. Their hearts become hardened. They are close minded toward God even though they see these things and hear these things, they don’t believe. So, verse thirty-nine, in spite of clear prophesy, they would not believe. Look at verse thirty-nine, “Because they could not believe.”
The reason they can no longer believe is they persist in unbelief and there comes a point when they cannot believe. Now, Acts 7:52 corroborates the teaching. Many places do, this is one good verse. “Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become”
Again, Acts 28:26:'GO TO THIS PEOPLE AND SAY,"YOU WILL KEEP ON HEARING, BUT WILL NOT UNDERSTAND; AND YOU WILL KEEP ON SEEING, BUT WILL NOT PERCEIVE;”’
When Isaiah was commissioned, he was told, “Look, they’re not going to embrace your message. They’re going to disregard you, Isaiah.”
And he laments and he wrestles with all this issue. Was the message of Isaiah to condemn? The purpose of Isaiah was to draw them to turn and be healed, but the effect of his message was to condemn. Hear it clearly. The purpose was to call them to come back to Yahweh. To return to their God whom they’d broken covenant with. That was the purpose of his message, but the effect was they didn’t believe, so they’re condemned. Again and again the Jews revered the prophet’s writing, they read the prophet’s writing, but they rejected the meaning of the prophets.
Now think of any prophet in the Old Testament who was embraced by the people of God and followed well. None. The only one who got a good reception was Jonah and that was not to the nation of Israel, that was to Nineveh
All men, are destined to hell. Every one of us is without plea. We are all sinful. We all disbelieved until we trusted Christ. There is no one innocent. Not one. So in our depraved, fallen state, we only do what’s natural. We persist in sin. Okay? If a man continues to pursue that evil, if a woman continues to choose willfully to sin, to disbelieve, there comes a time - and I like the way Paul puts it in Romans one, where God gives them over. Romans 1:24, 1:26, 1:28. There comes a point in a person’s stubborn unbelief that they’re given over to their nature.
40 "He has blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts, Lest they should see with their eyes, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them."
Isa. 6:10, states that God blinds the eyes and hardens the hearts of those who persist in rejecting Christ! This verse is found seven times in the Bible, and each time it speaks of judgment: Isa. 6:10; Matt. 13:14; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26; and Rom. 11:8. It is a repeated warning that reminds the unsaved not to take their spiritual opportunities lightly. “While you have light, believe in the light!” (v. 36) “Seek the Lord while He may be found” (Isa. 55:6, NIV).
John presents the conflict between light and darkness. Light symbolizes salvation, holiness, life; darkness stands for condemnation, sin, death. John speaks of four different kinds of darkness:
(1) Mental darkness (John 1:5–8, 26). The minds of sinners are blinded by Satan (2 Cor. 4:3–6), and they cannot see spiritual truths.
(2) Moral darkness (John 3:18–21). The unsaved love sin and hate the light.
(3) Judicial darkness (John 12:35–36). If men don’t obey the light, God sends the darkness and Christ hides from them.
(4) Eternal darkness (John 12:46). To “abide” in darkness means to live in hell forever.[1]
The problem is that people take that idea and say that it is true from the beginning, that God chooses some to save and others whom he will not save, and that it doesn't matter what they do, God will not let them hear -- he hardens their hearts and blinds their eyes so they cannot see and believe. But that fails to see that this is referring to the law of the spirit that declares that what you persist in doing is what you will become.
You can demonstrate this in your own life if you care to. Tie your arm to your body and leave it tied, unmovable, for a week. When you untie it you will find that you can hardly move it; it will have lost its ability to function, not because God wants people to lose their arm function. No, but God determined the law that says, "Use it or lose it." That is what this means. It is also true of moral life. If you don't exercise faith when you have the opportunity you will gradually lose the ability to do so, until there will come a day when you cannot exercise faith. By the law of nature, then, God has hardened your heart and blinded your eyes. Having chosen that, that is what you become. If you refuse to act on truth, you will finally lose the ability to recognize it. It has been said,
There is a line by us unseen, that crosses every path, The hidden boundary between God's patience and his wrath.
The divine order demands that those who willfully hardened themselves shall be hardened. Pharaoh, for example, hardened his heart. You know what God did? God hardened it for him after that. In the seventh chapter of Exodus in verse 3 the prophecy goes like this, "God said, 'I will harden Pharaoh's heart.'"
Now you say, "Well that's ridiculous, God's going to go over there, make a bunch of plagues and then hardened Pharaoh's heart?"
Yeah, but you know how it happened? God said, "I will harden Pharaoh's heart." Then in chapter 8 verse 32 it says, "Pharaoh hardened his own heart first." And then later on in chapter 9 verse 12 it says, "Then God hardened his heart." In other words, first Pharaoh of his own choice hardened his heart, then God hardened it for him. And God prophesied pass the point of human will to the point of His own involvement, see. God could see the human hardening and then prophesy His own response. And God says toward Israel, "Nobody is going to believe." He is looking past His knowledge of their unbelief to His own judicial decree, leaving them in their unbelief. In other words, God said this is how it's going to be because they're going to refuse and thus I'm going to harden their hearts.
So it's a purpose clause. God says I am going to do it and He did it. But in between God's two sovereign acts, the prophecy of hardening, the act of God hardening, was the choice of Israel to refuse Christ. And He knew they'd do it. So ignorantly and blindly while they thought they were frustrating Jesus' plan,
They were fulfilling prophecy to the very letter and, in fact, bringing about the salvation of the church because if Jesus hadn't died, we wouldn't be saved, right? God knew they would reject and God fit it into His master plan.
The rejection of Israel provided two things. Number one, the death of Christ brought salvation. And number two, that salvation brought the church into existence. Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles be come in. Israel's partially blind in order that Gentiles might be saved.
In Acts 28 it tells us they didn't believe, they couldn't believe in order that God might redeem His church. And so, Israel was in the plan of God, even in their rejection. They didn't understand the significance of what Jesus did but it didn't frustrate God's plan because God had designed His plan with that in mind.
Now in verse 39, "Therefore...this is strong language, friends...Therefore they could not believe." Why? "Because Isaiah said so." In other words, they were victims of God's sovereign plan and prophecy. They could not believe, now notice in verse 40 who's doing it. Satan's not blinding them here, no. Satan blinded them first, now God is judicially blinding them. "He hath blinded their eyes and hardened their hearts that they should not see with their eyes nor understand with their hearts and be converted and I shall heal them." Do you know that God did not allow the conversion of Israel? Shocking thought. That's a shocking thought.
God actually hardened Israel's heart. Now that's a quote right out of Isaiah chapter 6 verses 9 and 10. That's a prophecy clear back in the sixth chapter of Isaiah hundreds and hundreds of years before this ever happened, God prophesied Israel's hardness.
The terrible consequence of hardening ourselves against the warning of God is that God may someday stop His grace and judicially harden us. You say, "Boy, is God some kind of a monster." No. God is a God of love. He warns. He proclaims the good news of the gospel. He repeatedly states to men the consequence of their unbelief. He constantly cries out to men in love. He provides a sacrifice of sin. He urges them to walk in the light. Remember it, verse 35 Jesus begged them to walk in the light. But when men by their own decision and by refusing repeated warning reject Christ, then and only then God hardens them and those who are not willing to believe are not able to believe. They would not, so they could not. That's a tragedy. The harvest was past, the summer was ended, the sun had set and it was over. Mark it, my friend, it is an inviolable law of God that personal rejection becomes judicial hardening on the part of God. And Isaiah foretold every detail of it word for word.
Unbelief is because of glory. Unbelief isn’t just because they persist in sin. Unbelief isn’t just because they the persist in disbelief. Unbelief is because of glory. Look at verses forty-one to forty-three:
41 These things Isaiah said when he saw His glory and spoke of Him.
John explains why Isaiah wrote what he did: “Isaiah said these things because he saw Christ’s glory, and spoke about him.” This is a most striking and important statement. Isaiah saw Christ’s glory, in a way that is not all that different from the way Jesus claimed that Abraham “saw His day and rejoiced” (John 8:56). The “glory” Isaiah saw was not just the Father’s glory, but also the glory of the Son. The “glory” which Isaiah saw was not just the glory of our Lord as He triumphed over His foes, but His “glory” in suffering, as depicted in the “suffering Servant” passage in Isaiah 52 and 53. The Jews of Jesus’ day may not have been able to reconcile the Messiah’s triumph and the tragedy of the cross, but Isaiah did. The Jews of Jesus’ day may not have been able to see how Messiah could both die and live forever, but Isaiah could. And the reason was because Isaiah could see the glory of God in suffering.
But Israel loved the glory of man — and this man in Isaiah 53 was not glorious by their standards. And Israel did not love the glory of God — and this God in Isaiah was infinitely glorious. So when Jesus comes as a suffering Messiah, that’s not what they want. And when he makes claims to be one with the very God of Isaiah 6 that’s not what they want. And so they don’t believe on him. They reject him.
Then in verse 41, "These things said Isaiah when he saw His glory and spoke of Him." Why did he say that? Why did John throw that in there? Because he wanted the people to know that that prophecy belonged attached to Jesus. The people might have thought...we might have thought, "Well, that didn't refer to Christ." So John throws in verse 41, "Oh yes it does, these things said Isaiah when he saw His glory." Who's? Christ's in Isaiah 6. "And spoke of Him." That prophecy does relate to what a man does with Jesus Christ.
So they had refused the light. Rejected the truth that God judicially hardened them. Boy, it's a solemn thing to remember what God did to Israel here. They're still hardened today, two thousand years later. But what God did to Israel there wasn't anything new for God, He did it in history before, didn't He? He did it to the pre-flood civilization, He did it in Sodom and Gomorrah, He did it again, and again, and again and He's going to do it another time in the great holocaust that comes at His return in the great flaming judgment of the Second Coming. And he may be doing it in your own life individually. God may judicially abandon you as an individual because of repeated refusals to receive His grace.
You see, that's what Isaiah meant in chapter 55 verse 6 when he said this, "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found. Call ye upon Him while He's near." It's one of God's laws that a man who will not believe may reach a point where he cannot believe. And that's a tragedy.
John in his divine pen, pulls on Isaiah’s understanding of glory and suffering with his own understanding of the cross as the ultimate glorification for Jesus Christ. Isaiah in that passage looked at the suffering servant as Yahweh’s coming. John in the New Testament looks at that suffering servant as Jesus Christ. And both the prophesies fold in beautifully with the suffering servant, “My Son who would come,“ and Jesus in the New Testament all colliding and merging in that passage.
42 ¶ Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him,
Lest they should be put out of the synagogue;
Public confession of faith in Jesus is the normal expression of belief in Him (Rom. 10:9-10
Now many of the rulers, verse forty-two (the first part), believe. It’s not all lost. It’s not as though the message was entirely rejected. Many rulers do believe, but not the majority. Not the preponderance, just a large number, we’re not told how. But there’s a huge fly in the ointment. Verse forty-two, the second stanza, “because of the Pharisees.” They were not going to talk about it for fear of being expelled from the synagogue. That would be the center of community life to them. “They loved the approval of man rather that the approval of God.”Now, some versions of your Bible said, “They love the praise of man, rather than the praise of God.” Some said they love the “approval.” Now, there’s a very important textual note. I want you to look at your Bible for me - with me - for a moment. Verse forty-one, “Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory.” The word glory there is doxan. The root is doxa where we get the English equivalent doxology, right? A doxology is a praise and honoring and lauding of glory to God. Doxa is the Greek word that means glory.
Now, if you drop down with me to verse forty-three, whether your Bible says “approval” or “praise,” it’s the exact same letter for letter word doxan. In other words, it says, “they loved the glory of man rather than the glory of God.” That’s what the text says.
Isaiah saw the glory of God and he spoke out loud in spite of them not believing, in spite of them not seeing the power of God and not believing the power of God. He spoke out about the glory of God. These Jewish leaders will not speak out because of the fear of man. They love the approval rating. We might look at Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus as two who fell in that category. Jewish leaders who, for whatever reason, for fear of the Jews, for fear of being expelled, wouldn’t confess Christ publicly.
Nevertheless," what does that word mean? That means "Even in spite of the sovereignty of God..." Did you get that? Even though God had sovereignly blinded and hardened the nation Israel, nevertheless they were individuals.
Here is free will on the part of man, choice, operating within the sovereignty of God. God's sovereignty over national Israel, yet individual choice. "Nevertheless, among the chief rulers also many believed on Him." You say, "Hey, terrific, a revival!" No. "But because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him lest they be put out of the synagogue for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God."
They weren't saved. They believed the facts but they refused it because they desired the praise of men. Now that's personal choice, my friend. That's the second reason why men don't believe. That's the second cause of unbelief, personal choice. Not only God's plan, but personal choice. And how those two go together, as I say, that's in the mind of God, not in my mind. But they didn't want to lose their prestigious position. They didn't want to lose their place in the synagogue. And after all, they had made the rules themselves back in chapter 9 verse 22, they said, "If anybody follows Christ, we'll put them out of the synagogue." He loses all religious privileges. And so they were stuck with their own rules. They didn't want to do that and they loved the praise of men. They were in a popularity drive.
43 for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
Some reject Christ because of the fear of man (vv. 42–43). Rev. 21:8 lists the kind of people who will go to hell, and at the head of the list are the fearful. Re 21:8 "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death."
Christ will someday hide Himself from those who have no concern for His salvation or His Word. Proverbs 1:20–33 is a good warning to heed.
I think you ought to trade in your popularity with the world for popularity with God. I don't think it's really too important whether the world thinks you're somebody. Jesus said, "What shall it profit a man if he gain the whole world and lose his own soul?" What's a man going to give in exchange for his soul? See, a man who seeks the world's honor is a living tragedy. James 4 and verse 4, listen to this, "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?" Here's the statement, listen, "Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God." Want to be the enemy of God? Want to happen in your life what God did in Israel of old when He fought against them?
And so, two causes for unbelief...sovereign plan of God and personal choice
And when it comes right down to it, if they were to believe, it would mean that they would have to humble themselves, surrender their own power, surrender their own desires and that‘s the fundamental issue for all of us isn‘t it?
The core is if I acknowledge there may be a God, then I have to change the way I live. That someone out there is bigger than me, more important than me, and I should submit my will.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
Wednesday Jul 24, 2019
30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL WHO ARE YOU SERVING? IS IT THE DEVIL OR THE LORD
Wednesday Jul 24, 2019
Wednesday Jul 24, 2019
Hi, I’m Marty McKenzie with His Love Ministries in John 8:32 and Romans 6 and As we read through the rest of the Bible we find that it tells us that if we are not saved, we are a slave to sin, a slave to the devil, and in bondage to fear. Now if we talk to most people they seem to think they are alright with God, they aren’t really that bad a person, they try to keep the ten commandments, and do good to others, after all isn’t that the way to get into Heaven! No, the Bible says in John 14:6 that Jesus is the only way to get to Heaven and if you aren’t trusting in Him today for your salvation, you need to ask Him to forgive you and save you right now.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Wednesday Jul 17, 2019
DEVOTIONAL TRUSTING THE LAW OR THE LORD
Wednesday Jul 17, 2019
Wednesday Jul 17, 2019
I don’t know why most people think you can be saved by being good enough, doing more good than bad, and by keeping the 10 commandments or just believing that Jesus existed, but the law was only given to show us that we can never be good enough on our own that’s why we need Jesus Christ. I don’t know how that lie got started and I even believed that at one time. Even when I go to the prisons, they have many programs to straighten people out, but the only correction that is going on there or anywhere else is if Lord does it. Galatians 3:24 says Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. Have you believed Jesus is God and asked Him to forgive you of your sins? If you trust Him and Him only as Savior, He can save you from your sins. Repent and trust in Him today.
Jesus is not a ticket to somewhere he is the one in whom we have our whole being, we live and move and breathe - Acts 17:28
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Wednesday Jul 10, 2019
DEVOTIONAL O LORD, HEAR! O LORD, FORGIVE! O LORD, LISTEN AND ACT
Wednesday Jul 10, 2019
Wednesday Jul 10, 2019
I believe we could apply Daniel 9:18-19 like this. "O my God, incline Your ear and hear; open Your eyes and see our desolations, and the church which is called by Your name; for we do not present our supplications before You because of our righteous deeds, but because of Your great mercies.19 "O Lord, hear! O Lord, forgive! O Lord, listen and act! Do not delay for Your own sake, my God, for Your church and Your people are called by Your name." This prayer by Daniel and the previous verses show us why the church is in the state it is in. We Christians like Israel have done wickedly and God has allowed us to become captives to the world and sins that we have not repented of. I believe if we were to repent and cry out to God like Daniel did He would begin to work mightily through the Church and Christians again.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en Don’t go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God (Jesus Christ) you can get. The gusto will get you, Jesus can save you. https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
Sunday Jul 07, 2019
Sunday Jul 07, 2019
John 12:4 Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, who would betray Him, said, 5 "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?" 6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. 7 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial. 8 "For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always." 9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. 10 But the chief priests plotted to put Lazarus to death also.
In This message we will see Mary and Jesus rebuked by Judas and the disciples for her anointing the feet of Jesus for His burial. Judas speaks for the first time in the Scriptures and shows his true nature. He pretends to care for the poor, but God through the pen of John tells us this he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it. Here we see Jesus tells them you need to get your priorities in order because I always come first in everything. Mark 12:30 'And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. Have you given Jesus first place in your life today? If not, why not?
4 Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, Simon's son ?, who would betray Him, said,
Why Father mentioned
5 "Why was this fragrant oil not sold for three hundred denarii and given to the poor?"
The cold, calculated, deadly hatred of Judas
He needed some money to compensate for three wasted years so when he sees the love of Mary, it activates his love for money and he bursts out and reveals his feelings by belittling the waste of money. And it's interesting that the other gospels tell us that the other disciples joined in with him. Evidently he was a very persuasive person, that's probably why he got elected treasurer and had been embezzling the money all along.
The first words ever in the New Testament recorded from his mouth are verse 5, "Why was not this ointment sold for 300 denarii and given to the poor?" What a waste, 300 denarii was a lot of money, I mean, that was 300 days wages, a denarius a day. He was ready to get 300 denarii and take away the gift of Mary's love, but that's not unusual, he just turns right around after this and sells Jesus for 30 pieces of silver which amounts to about twenty dollars. He lived with money on the brain. The first words he ever said indicated the rottenness of his heart, the last words he ever said, remember them in Matthew 27:4 where he says in total remorse, "I have betrayed innocent blood." Went out and hanged himself
One can hardly read the Gospel accounts of this incident without concluding that, while these men are rebuking Mary for her reckless waste of resources, their words are also intended as a rebuke to our Lord. First, if this is truly a “waste,” then Jesus must not be worth the value of the perfume. Second, it is our Lord who is being anointed. If it is wasteful and unnecessary, He should make her stop.
6 This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take
what was put in it.
John tells us a very important detail, not revealed to us by either Matthew or Mark: the one who incites the disciples to anger is Judas. Now things start to make sense. John not only informs us that Judas is behind all this reaction, he also informs us as to why. Judas, John indicates, is a thief. Now here is a bit of information we find nowhere else in the New Testament; yet this one bit of information causes all of the other pieces to fall into place. Judas was never a believer. He does not know the love of God, nor does he show it. In this sense, Judas is very different from the other eleven disciples. But in another way, Judas is really very much like the rest of the disciples, at least up to this point in time. The truth is that they do not understand what our Lord is about, either. Like Judas, they do not expect Jesus to die on the cross of Calvary. They do what they can to prevent it (e.g., Peter rebukes Jesus for talking about such things, and he slices off the servant of the High Priest’s ear with his sword.) Over and over again, we see the disciples preoccupied with their own selfish ambitions. They hope our Lord’s kingdom will enhance their status and power. They argue amongst themselves as to who is the greatest. No wonder Judas does not stick out like a proverbial sore thumb. In fact, Judas fits right in! No wonder they trust him with the money bag and are even inclined to follow his lead in attacking Mary for being wasteful.
Judas follows our Lord. He witnesses His power and hears His teaching. He is even given the power to perform miracles himself! (see Matthew 10:1ff.; Luke 9:1-2).
If this nard were sold (instead of “squandered on Jesus”), it would have meant a very tidy commission for Judas. He is angry. In his mind, a part of what she is “wasting” on Jesus is his. She has no right! She must be stopped!
Judas is without question the tragedy of history and thus the tragedy of eternity. And the reason he's a tragedy, listen to this, is because he lived three years of his life in proximity to truth like no other man except eleven more had ever lived. That man for three years lived every day with Jesus. And I imagine the remorse in his soul as he's in hell right now must be unbelievable because of the proximity to the truth. And only his history remains and it's not to be a discouragement, it's to be a warning to men who live in the proximity to truth to be sure that they apprehend that truth, lest they spend an eternity in hell and remorse like Judas. Judas lived in the sunlight of the very Son of God and his life ended in the blackest darkness of hell.
Judas is no solitary monster standing alone in the world, there have been a million-million Judases, all the time there are Judases, many men who sell Jesus.
You say, "I never sell Christ. I never betrayed Christ." Oh yeah, for anybody who doesn't receive Jesus Christ as Savior, you're selling Him. Whatever it is that keeps you from inviting Christ into your life is the price that you're selling Christ for.
It would have been bad enough if Jesus had only been kissed by one Judas, He's been kissed a thousand-thousand times the same way.
Jesus’ response in Mary’s defense is a rebuke to His disciples, and particularly to Judas, who instigated their protest. John does not tell us about Judas’ meeting with the chief priests, but both Matthew and Mark do. Judas is still the entrepreneur par excellence. He seizes upon any opportunity to make money. Has Mary “cheated” him out of his commission? Has Jesus taken her side? Well, Judas is about finished with Jesus anyway. His “kingdom” is not Judas’ kind of kingdom. There will be no real money in it for Judas, and besides, Jesus is on a collision course with the Jewish religious leaders. His days are numbered; His kingdom doomed to fail. Such seems to be the thinking of Judas.
So Judas decides to “swap horses in mid-stream” as we say. Judas decides to sell Jesus out and to join forces with His enemies.
7 But Jesus said, "Let her alone; she has kept this for the day of My burial.
Let her alone. Stern, that's imperative in the Greek, let her alone. "For the day of My burial hath she kept this." And there's almost a pensive tragic prophecy of His death. "Let her alone, she's doing this because of My burial." Oh she loved Him so much and yet Judas fosters this kind of animosity and Jesus rebukes Judas and in the statement He unmasks Judas' hypocrisy. He doesn't even answer the issue.
And isn't it sad that even in the expression of her love is inherent in that is His death? She was preparing Him for burial while Judas was preparing in his mind to betray Him.
8 "For the poor you have with you always, but Me you do not have always."
Jesus had a lot to say about caring for the poor and rightly should we care for the poor.
In other words, He says, "Can't you see priorities, friends?" He says to His disciples, "Can't you see priorities? I'm not going to be around very long. Poor people are important, we want to care for poor people, but I come first. I mean, which is more important, the poverty program or the glorification of the Son of God? And you've only got six days for Me, the poor you're going to have with you always."
Do you really love Him? Do you understand priorities? What do you spend your time doing? Worrying about politics or loving Jesus?
Here was his decisive moment. Christ had unmasked him in Christ's mind, Judas knew he was discovered. Now Judas had a choice. First of all, he could cast himself at Jesus' feet in penitential tears. He could confess his lost condition and his sin and he could seek mercy at the throne of grace. That's one option. Second option, his pierced pride could swell up to greater pride and he could go the opposite direction, becoming willfully hardened by Satan himself to betray Jesus. He chose the latter.
Mary of Bethany is in fact another of the timeless, representative figures so wonderfully portrayed in this Gospel. She is a type of the true Christian worshipper, even as the sinful woman in the very different anointing story in Luke vii. 36-50 is a type of the true Christian penitent.[1]
When you stop to think about it, Mary’s act of adoration and worship looks a lot like what we will be doing in heaven, for all eternity. There, we will cast the most precious things we have at His feet:
Revelation 4:1-11
In the light of our expectation of worshipping Him for all eternity, we would do well to imitate Mary, and thus to practice our worship in the present.
I would suggest that we may not have much time left either, until He comes again. We should make good use of our time, even as Mary does in our text, and employ ourselves in doing that which pleases Him, since ministry as we know it presently will no longer be possible.
Matthew 25:31-45).
First, her worship is spontaneous, and not commanded. Mary’s worship is her own spontaneous response to our Lord, given that moment in time and her love for Him. The Old Testament law has many commandments related to worship, but what Mary does goes above and beyond them all. Love prompts what law can never produce.
Second, Mary’s worship is selfless, sacrificial, and even extravagant. If “worship” is about our Lord’s “worth-ship,” as indeed it is, then nothing we can ever do will be worthy of the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here is a woman whose worship reflects her grasp of the majesty and greatness of our Lord Jesus Christ. She gives the finest thing that she has, willingly, cheerfully, and eagerly. Her giving is no mere duty, begrudgingly carried out; this is her delight. Had she something of greater value to give, I have no doubt she would have given it to her Lord.
Third, Mary worshipped her Lord extravagantly, by giving something that she had to give.
Fourth, I must reluctantly point out that Mary’s worship is criticized and even opposed by those who know and love the Savior. Let us be very careful about hindering the worship of others, as the disciples are doing with Mary.
Fifth, I call to your attention that Mary’s worship is not something she does in a way which attracts attention to herself, but something privately done at our Lord’s feet. I am impressed that almost every time we find Mary in the Gospels, we find her at Jesus’ feet. She is learning from Jesus, at His feet, in Luke 10 (see verse 39). When Jesus comes to Bethany after Lazarus dies, Mary falls at His feet (John 11:32). Now, in chapter 12, she is once again at our Lord’s feet, anointing them with her precious oil. How the disciples push and shove to be beside our Lord, at His right hand or His left (see 13:1-11), but no one wants to be at His feet—except Mary, and perhaps a few other women. There is always room at Jesus’ feet, room to do humble, menial, yet needful things. And there is no place better suited for service and worship than there, at His feet.
Our Lord teaches that those things we do publicly, when done for public acclaim and approval, receive man’s approval, but not His. He also indicates that those things done privately, but done for His praise, are those things that please Him, and bring about His praise (Matthew 6). Mary’s worship is consistent with our Lord’s instruction about acts of worship.
Sixth, I cannot help but wonder if Mary’s sacrificial worship does not have an impact on the Apostle Paul. I wonder if Paul’s words here have any relationship to this act of worship by Mary:
Philippians 4:15-18, 15 And as you Philippians know, at the beginning of my gospel ministry, when I left Macedonia, no one shared with me in this matter of giving and receiving except you alone. 16 For even in Thessalonica on more than one occasion you sent something for my need. 17 It is not that I am seeking a gift. Rather, I seek the credit that abounds to your account. 18 For I have received all things, and I have plenty. I have all I need because I received from Epaphroditus your gifts, a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, very pleasing to God
Finally, Mary’s worship of our Lord in our text has something important to say to us about the ministry of women. Our Lord made a point of breaking some of the cultural taboos regarding women (see John 4:27). none of the truly biblical restrictions on the worship or service of Mary hinder her from knowing Jesus well or worshipping Him. Indeed, she does better at this than His disciples do, it seems! Mary seems to be more in tune with our Lord’s teaching than the men who follow Him.
Love Doesn’t Count The Cost
Nothing Done For Christ Is Wasted – Judas wasted his whole life
The sacrifice she made
The example she portrayed
The fragrance she produced
The message she preached
A message of love
A message of grace
I am not at all shocked or surprised that Mary willingly sacrifices her most prized possession in her worship of the Lord. He is worthy of the best we can offer. In fact, the best we can offer is not worthy of Him. What causes me to wonder is how God could give His most precious possession to save unworthy creatures like us. He gave His own Son, the most precious gift of all, so that we might be saved. Our Lord gave His most precious gift—His priceless blood—so that He might forgive our sins and give us eternal life. That is the great wonder, which inspires worship like that of Mary. May it also inspire our worship as well. Have you received His gift, His precious gift the Lord Jesus Christ? To reject that gift—to reject the saving work of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary—is to spurn the most precious gift God has given to us.
If you had only one week to live and knew it how would you spend your time? Look at what Jesus did, He spent it with His closest friends.
The curiosity of the people.
9 Now a great many of the Jews knew that He was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might also see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead. Says this three times
There they are again, the Jesus watchers, same ones. Back in verse 55 of chapter 11 doing the same thing. Where is He? Oh let's see Him. That's where it's at, Jesus always provides so much entertainment at the Passover and they wanted to see Jesus and they wanted to see Lazarus, this guy who was raised from the dead. Curiosity. Thrill-seekers, sensation-seekers, careless, indifferent, could care less really about the person of Christ, they just swung with the crowd, the mood of the mob just carried them whichever direction.
The vast majority of people who attend churches in America today are Jesus watchers and nothing else. They're spectators. They don't hate Him, they're not hostile Judases and they don't love Him, they're not Mary’s. They're watchers and they sit there and look. And it's a sad thing because the crowd that sits and watches became the crowd that crucified Him.
In Acts chapter 3 this kind of a crowd is designated to us by an illustration. In Acts chapter 3 verse 6 Peter says to this particular man who was lame, "Silver and gold have I none, but such as I have I give thee in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk." And he did and he was leaping and praising God, you know, and it was really exciting, all the things that he was doing. And then you come to verse 14 of chapter 4 and you read an astounding statement. Now the man is jumping around and having a great time and the people are there and they see him. It says in verse 14 of chapter 4, "And beholding the man that was healed standing with them, they could say nothing... against it." Now isn't that interesting? What did they want to say? They wanted to say something...what?...against it. You see, they didn't want to believe. They never wanted to believe. Even when they watched they were only looking for some way to disprove it. You see the negative of it? They saw that the guy jumping around leaping for joy who had been lame and they said, "Um, now how can we say something against that?" see. That's looking at it with the evil eye.
They really like Him." Yeah, well you want to meet them again? Look at them in chapter 19 verse 14, it says this, "And it was the preparation of the Passover about the sixth hour and he saith unto the Jews...Pilate says...Behold your king. And they cried out, 'Away with Him, away with Him, crucify Him.' Pilate saith unto them, 'Shall I crucify your King?' The chief priest answered, 'We have no king but Caesar.'" Hypocrites. They hated Caesar. But you see the same crowd watched Him, threw palms at His feet, crucified Him. The mood of the mob. The Jesus watchers. They don't have any thoughts of their own, they just sway along with whichever way the theology goes, knowing nothing. And the tragic comment on them is in Matthew 27:36, they all gathered around the cross and you know what it says? It says this, pathetic, "And sitting down they watched Him there." Still doing the same thing.
Don't just sit there and watch Jesus. That's deadly. Receive Him into your life.
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
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Wednesday Jul 03, 2019
30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL SEEKING GOD FIRST
Wednesday Jul 03, 2019
Wednesday Jul 03, 2019
In Mt 6:33 Jesus said, But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Many of us are trying to be satisfied and get what we want and think we need through the world’s methods. Yet we are in constant need and are never satisfied because we are going about life the wrong way. The principle Jesus gave us is that if we will seek Him first in all of our life’s pursuits and His holiness then He will supply the things we need. Jesus said to give to Him first and He will open the heavens and pour out a mighty blessing. Have you tried giving your all to God first?
John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Have you trusted Him as your Savior? He can Save you if You ask Him based on His death, burial, and resurrection for your sins. Believe in Him for forgiveness of your sins today.
Our mission is to spread the gospel and to go to the least of these with the life-changing message of Jesus Christ; We reach out to those the World has forgotten.
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The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions