His Love Ministries

JOHN 17:20-21 JESUS PRAYED THAT THEY ALSO MAY BE ONE IN US, THAT THE WORLD MAY BELIEVE THAT YOU SENT ME OR JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS CHURCH

John 17:20 "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; 21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
 Here Jesus is still praying for us believers and is praying again that we would be one as the He is with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  They never fight over who gets to be the Father, who gets to be the Son or the Holy Spirit.  They are always one and in unison on everything because they have one purpose as we do also.  He is praying that we would be one in Them, THAT (here is the purpose) the world may believe that Jesus was sent by the Father and when they do that they will be saved.  That is it people, when we believe Jesus is who He said He was (God in Human Flesh), that He died for our sins, and we trust in that, we are saved. John 5:24 says if we don’t honor the Son, we don’t honor the Father.  When we live as we ought to in harmony with our faith others believe in Jesus.
Now He begins to pray specifically for all believers of the future and He kind of sweeps into the future and gathers up all the believers who will ever be saved in all the ages to come and He prays for them.
So, the subjects then for whom He prays are true believers ... who shall believe through the testimony of the gospel recorded in the New Testament by the Apostles and early disciples.
Notice verse 20, and we see the subjects of His prayer
 20 ¶ "I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word;
Neither pray I for these alone." And that's interesting because that's a negative statement. Neither pray I for these alone. That's the third negative in the 17th chapter. There are three things in this chapter that Jesus doesn't pray for. Number one in verse 9: "I pray not for the world." Number two in verse 15, "I pray not that Thou shouldest take them out of the world," the removal of the believer from the world is not the prayer of Christ. He wants us here. The third negative, verse 20: "Neither pray I for these alone." I don't just confine My prayer to these disciples and Apostles alive now. He reaches out. Verse 20 says: "... but for them also who shall believe on Me through their word."
Do you realize that you appear in the 17th chapter of John if you're a Christian? You say Me in the Bible? You're in there. You're one of the biblical heroes ... right there. You say -- Where's my name? See the word - them -- that's you.
"For them who shall believe on Me." Now that is an indication of a true believer, a true Christian is one who believes on Christ. Now what is meant by that statement is a total involvement and a total commitment to all that Jesus is and all that He said. In Acts 16:31, the Word of God says: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." God wants faith. God does not want your works, He does not want your religion, He does not want your being super religious. He does not want your activity; He does not want your membership in the church. He wants your faith commitment to the person of Jesus Christ. And that's the only kind of person who ever knows God, whoever knows Christ and that's the only person for whom Jesus intercedes. There are a lot of religious people but they are not those for whom Jesus prays. To be a part of Jesus' intercessory work, you must believe.
Watch how it is that they're going to believe. Now, get the picture. Jesus is praying and the disciples are gathered around, they're hearing what He's saying, see. It's going into their little computers, see. And they're hearing all of this stuff. And they've heard all of His prayer up to here and it must be exciting by this time. And now He says -- I pray for them also who shall believe on Me through their word. Whose word? The eleven Apostles that are standing around Him. And, of course, those that were associated with Him. And you can imagine their reaction ... Us? See. I mean, they were weak, frail, just ... their faith was infantile.
By the gospel preached by the Apostles and disciples, will all the generations believe ... those who will believe. Now, that's a very confident statement, you know that? That is not a wish, that is the confidence of omniscience.
I wasn't led to the Lord by an Apostle. Yes you were ... let me show you how. Before the Apostles died, not only did they preach and teach and found the church but under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, they wrote the New Testament. And I don't care whether it's directly from reading the New Testament or indirectly from somebody sharing you the principles of the New Testament, your salvation goes right back to an apostolic origin or to at least a disciple of Jesus Christ in the early years. All of us find our basic concepts in terms of Jesus Christ and God and the gospel, right here in the pages of this book ... whether you know it or not, you're directly or indirectly related to apostolic messages and proclamations.
Romans 10:17 and it's commonly translated "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Now that's a true principle ... faith does come by hearing and hearing by the Word of God ... but the Greek there says this: Faith comes by hearing and hearing by a speech about Jesus Christ. Did you get that? Faith comes by hearing and hearing by a speech,' rhēma not logos, about Christ not God. The accurate reading is Christ. It is the apostolic preaching of Christ that brings faith ... whether from a pulpit indirectly or whether directly from someone reading the Word of God, whether on an individual share basis, it all goes back to a speech about Jesus Christ delivered at one time or another by an early Apostle or disciple.
And so, you and I merely have the privilege of taking apostolic gospel committed unto them by the Holy Spirit, the gospel of the first disciples, and handing it to men today and thus the salvation of the entire church of Jesus Christ goes directly or indirectly right back to those men.
I can get excited about reading this because I can get excited about Jesus praying for me two thousand years ago.
Jesus just gets ready for the sheep not yet born ... prepares everything so that when they're born things are right.
 He says “through their word.”  He’s now talking about through the apostle’s word, through the disciple’s word, through what they teach and preach about Jesus Christ.  Now, you may have been raised in a tradition or heard the word “apostolic teaching.”  Maybe you’ve heard the word “apostolic teaching of the cross.”  Maybe you were in a denomination that had apostolic in the title.  What we mean, a lot of things by this, but what we mean, this is a good text to talk about it, is that when we talk of apostolic, it’s the word that God gave the apostles and then, subsequently, they write what we call the New Testament.
Jesus only prays for one thing while we're here on earth. He prays for a second thing but it has to do with us in heaven ... only one thing while we're here on earth.
Secondly, we see the requests. He only makes two requests: one of them has to do with the world here and one of them has to do with the world up there.
In terms of our life here He only prays for one thing - that they all may be one
21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. Joh 10:16,38; 14:11; 17:11,22-23; Ro 12:5; Ga 3:28
Now, if the natural man cannot evaluate our accuracy in Christianity and evaluate the power of Christianity and cannot really discern the person of Jesus Christ and all that He can do in a life through our doctrine, there's only one other way they can do it and that's through the testimony of our oneness
But Jesus is not praying for a church apart from doctrinal purity.  He’s not asking for unity apart from belief.  In fact, to be one is to be as He is one and His Father and His Father is in Him.  So there is some non-negotiable information that this unity has to be based on.  He’s praying for unity that we may be one with Him just like He is one with His Father and His Father is one with Him.
The Gospel has to be the centerpiece.  Paul says, “If they preach another Gospel, let them be anathema.” Let them be cursed!  If you modify the Gospel, if you alter it, if you add to it, if you take away from it, Paul says, Anathema!”
 You can’t be unified, you can’t have unity with “churches” that don’t hold to the same Gospel that the New Testament, that the Scriptures, teach.  By grace, through faith, apart from any contribution or work of man so that no one can boast.  It’s a free gift of God.  The Gospel that He lived, He died on a cross, He was buried, the third day He was resurrected from the dead and any and all who believe and put faith in Him are granted eternal life.  You cannot negotiate that.
Religious people who call for unity are not necessarily doing a good thing.  So, don’t always feel, sort of, put off or uncomfortable when they want to play ball and you don’t.  
 And this is the oneness that He’s talking about.  Not a unity across party lines.  Not a bi-partisan religious community.  This is a very narrow unity agreeing with the Father and the Son.
READ OUR DOCTRINAL STATEMENT
http://hisloveministries.net/index.php/what-we-believe/ 
Because we want the unity that’s in Christ and in His Father; not in the world religion or the world community.
Now, He's talking about a spiritual oneness and we'll take it apart a little bit so we can see what it means. In Ephesians it talks about unity and the unity of the body and what it means. But what He's basically ... has in mind is the oneness of a holy life set against the defilement of an unholy world. And Jesus says -- If you were only one, in a separated, unified holiness where the world could look at you and say they're different and they're all different, it must be real. But the world looks and says -- one of those and one of those and one of these and everything and they don't know if we go together or if we don't go together. And we all claim the same thing and it all comes out different.
Apart from Jesus Christ, the world is a shattered, broken, ruined disunity. In Christ, we become one. The only problem is we don't always manifest that oneness in our practice, do we? Positional unity is already ours; you are one in Christ because of salvation. I'm one with you; we're one in the body, aren't we? But that's positional oneness. What Christ wants is that experiential oneness where our position becomes our practice, right?
Ephesians 2:14, now here is positional oneness. Now you have to understand the difference between position and practice or you'll never understand Scripture. Your position is what you are in Christ; your practice is how you act. And sometimes you don't act like what you are. Right? Verse 14: "For He is our peace who has made both one." Now that's our position. Jew and Gentile have been made one. He has broken down the middle wall of partition having abolished in His flesh," "the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; to make in Himself of two," that is Jew and Gentile, "into one new man.” Christ has made believers one in Christ -- positional. Verse 16: "That He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross." We are one positionally.
Then down in verse 21, we have been built into one building. In verse 22 we are built to an habitation, built together. There's oneness.
Over in chapter 4 it says -- one body, one Spirit, one hope, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, one, one, one. Positionally we're one. We all belong to Jesus. We all belong to the body. We've all been born again. We're all one.
Verse 12: "The pastor, teacher and evangelist are for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." Did you know that the pastor is not supposed to do the work of the ministry? He's supposed to perfect the saints and they're supposed to do the work of the ministry. That's what it says.
For what reason? Verse 13: "Till we all come in the unity of the faith." You say -- Wait a minute; I thought we were already one. We are positionally. What's he talking about here? Your practice. You are one, but he says I'm going to give you all the basics and all the things you need to become one visibly before the watching world.
Now, we're one in Christ but we don't act like it. So, Jesus prays that we be one. In First Corinthians 12:12: "For as the body is one," that's us; we're all one in Christ, every believer around the world, "has many members and all the members of that one body being many are one body, so also is Christ." We're one. Watch verse 25 to 27: "That there should be no schism in the body." In other words, we can be one and not act like it, can't we?
But as long as you've got an open heart to care for everybody within in sight and anybody in the body of Christ-the same as you care for everybody else, where's the division going to come, there can't be any division. No schism in the body.
And then he says -- If one member suffers, we all suffer. If one member's honored, we all rejoice with him This is the practical oneness that he watts that Jesus prays for.
That they all may be one," how? "... As Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee.
Jesus is talking about here is a unity that has nothing to do with form and pattern at all; it's a spiritual oneness that exceeds that.
And sadly, the cause of Christian oneness has all through history been injured, violated and hindered. You know why? Watch this one, because men have consistently loved their organization more than they've loved each other. They have become selfish either in loving themselves or their little organization more than they love others. And that has caused division.
Jesus wants a oneness of love possible only in holiness. Now let me go back and give you the principle I gave you last week. The only way we can be one, watch it now, the only way we can be one is when we're all holy.
Does the Father love the Son? Does the Son love the Father? In an infinite capacity? Yes. Are both of them separate from sin? Yes. And thus, the kind of oneness analogous to the Father/Son oneness is a oneness of holiness and love ... separate from sin and in love with each other. That's what Jesus prayed for.
I Peter 3:8, "Finally, be ye all of one mind.
You'll never be blessed in your Christian life until you learn how to really unite yourself with others in holiness and love. Anytime there's division, it's a manifestation of two things ... unholiness, sin, carnality, call it what you want; secondly, a lack of love. That's it.
all you've got to do is just worry about being like Christ and you don't have to worry about adjusting to everybody else.
There's so many keys to our oneness, we've talked about them in our series on the body, ministering your spiritual gift to each other. Have you done that? Have you been ministering to others? Do you have the gift of mercy? Have you got some of the other gifts, teaching, gift of faith, praying? Have you been ministering to others? How about fellowshipping with each other? fellowship means loving each other, means rebuking each other if you see a brother in sin. It means helping the weaker brother, the legalist. It means forgiving. It means bearing each other's burdens. It means restoring a brother taken in a fault. Have you been doing that? How about praying for each other, have you done that? Is your prayer life geared for others? Our oneness is to be like that of the Father and Son ... a oneness in them. And the highest type of spiritual oneness exists between them.
They're one, aren't they? But are they still two distinct personalities? Sure they are. Is the Father still the Father and the Son still the Son, they're one and yet two? We don't understand that, do we? We don't worry about it, we just don't understand it. Now watch this. We're one in the body, right? One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one hope, one Spirit, one body, we're all one, one, one, one. And yet, do we lose our distinct personalities? No. Do each of us have separate gifts of the Spirit? Sure. Do each of us have separate ministries And abilities? Sure. We are still different and yet we are ... what? ... one. So, in that way we're also analogous to the difference between ... to the oneness of the Father and the Son. They're one and yet distinct persons ... we are and yet distinct persons. So, in that sense, we're one.
Some of the things we learn from the prayer are: The Father sent the Son. 
The Father is in the Son to do the work.
The Son is in the Father.
The Son only does that which the Father told Him to do.
The Son obeyed everything perfectly and has perfect fellowship with His Father and cannot wait to be back in glory with His Father.

JOHN 17:13 -19 JESUS SAID SANCTIFY THEM BY YOUR TRUTH. YOUR WORD IS TRUTH

John 17:13 "But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. 14 "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15 "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. 16 "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 17 ¶ "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 18 "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. 19 "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth.
 
Jesus has spoken many things so we can have His joy complete in our life.  We are also told how we have the Father’s word and because of that we will be hated because we are not like the world.  He prays for us not to be taken out of the world, but that we will be protected while we are here.  Our job is not to get saved and leave, but we are to share God’s word with others.  He also is praying that we will be Holy and separate from the world because we have been transformed by the Word we have read and absorbed into our life.  He also sends us as He was sent and has set Himself apart as completely holy so that we can be that way too.
Now on the terrible threshold that they're about to face with the betrayal, the denial and the scattering; with this cryptic notion about the son of perdition betraying Him to fulfill Scripture, Jesus brings up the subject of joy.
13 "But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.
Second thing He prays for is their joy in the world.
Purpose clause “that they may keep on having Christ’s joy in their faithfulness realized in themselves.”
Christ's joy was in the care of the Father for Him. Did you get that? Christ's joy was in knowing that the Father cared for Him. And Christ wanted us to share His joy and so He prays this prayer to show us that the Father also cares for us. Do you see? Christ's great joy was that He knew the Father cared for Him. He knew it. And He says Father; I'm praying out loud so they'll know not only how much I love them but that You're going to care for them. For them to understand the love and care of the Father, for them to understand the intercessory work of Jesus was a constant source of joy.
"Your life's going to fall apart, My friends. It's going to fall apart and I want you to have joy. In a few minutes are going to run away, you're going to deny me, you’re going to scatter like bugs and you know what? It's alright because I want you to have My joy. What a God we have.
Joy came to them because they knew from His words that He had conquered the evil one and brought eternal life to them.
 14 "I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.
We welcome the Person of the gospel and believe the message of the gospel!
Thirdly, He prays for their protection in the world. Verse 14, "I have given them Thy Word," and, of course, when He did that that set them apart. I  when they received the Word, the Word of God, the Word made them alive, they were automatically set apart from the rest of the world. And who runs the world? Satan.
Jesus’ intercession for the disciples continued with a reminder of (a) their value and (b) their coming danger. They were valuable because they had received the Word of God: I have given them Your Word (cf. “I gave them the words You gave Me,” v. 8). They were in danger because the satanic world system hated them. It hated them because they are not a part of it.
John 3:20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, ulest his works should be exposed. Joh 8:23; 15:18-19; 17:8,16; 1Jo 3:13
The Word of God not only brings us God’s joy and love, but it also imparts God’s power for holy living (John 17:15–17)
 15 "I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one.
There is no escape for us from the perpetual task of changing sons of evil to sons of God. This clear statement is always a warning to Christians. Mt 6:13; 2Th 3:3;
Ga 1:4 who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father
Though it would secure their own safety, would leave the world unblessed by their testimony.
They have the word but the world's going to hate them. The evil one is a real danger to these people. Jesus does not want them taken out of the world away from the danger of the evil one. Jesus wants them in the world protected in the context from the evil one. Now if you recall, Moses, Elijah and Jonah were all, "Poor, poor, pitiful me" at some point in their life and they wanted God to take them out of the world.
Each one of them asked God to take them out of the world. He didn't answer any one of them. He left them because they had a mission they had to accomplish. They had been sent by God to do something. The same is true for you and me. The world is godless and blind and we're living in the world and the world may very well hate us. And we’re not to be praying and crying and saying, "Take me of the world." We're to stay here.
Like Daniel in Babylon (Dan. 1-2; 4-6) and the saints in Caesar’s household (Phil. 4:22), God intends for His followers to be witnesses to truth in the midst of satanic falsehood
The Bible says in I John 5:18 that the whole world lies in the arms of the wicked one, doesn't it? The whole world. And we need to be protected from the wicked one. Don't take them out just protect them.
 16 "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. Joh 17:14
the first thing He prayed for was Oneness through holiness and here He gets down to how we can be made holy.
 17 ¶ "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. 2Sa 7:28; Ps 119:142,151; Joh 8:40; 15:3; Ac 15:9; Eph 5:26; 1Pe 1:22 it's truth ... absolute, inerrant, accurate, total revelation of God.
A sanctified Christian is someone who is daily growing in the Word and as a result is separated more and more from the world unto the Father.
Believers are called to Christlikeness (cf. v. 19; Rom. 8:24; Gal. 4:19; I Thess. 5:23). This can only happen through knowledge of the truth, which is both the living word (Jesus cf. 10:36) and written word (Bible cf. 15:3).[i]
thy word is truth—(Compare Jn 15:3; Col 1:5; Eph 1:13).
Constantly used in the Septuagint to express the entire dedication and consecration of both persons and things to God. Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service, usually religious
The truth is communicated in the Word, which is both personal and put forward for consideration.  As the message about Jesus was heard, believed, and understood, the disciples’ hearts and minds were captured. This change in their thinking resulted in changes in their living. The same is true of believers today. As they appropriate God’s Word to their lives, they are sanctified—set apart for God and changed in their living in order to honor God (cf. 15:3). God’s message set the apostles apart from the world so that they would do His will, not Satan’s.[ii]
Romans 12-1-2
The world competes for the Father’s love (1John 2:15–17), but the Word of God enables us to enjoy the Father’s love. One of the first steps toward a worldly life is the neglect of the Word of God.
D.L. Moody wrote in the front of his Bible, “This book will keep you from sin or sin will keep you from this book.” [iii]
True sanctification (being set apart for God) comes through the ministry of the Word of God. “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3). When you were saved, you were set apart for God. As you grow in your faith, you are more and more experiencing sanctification. You love sin less and you love God more. You want to serve Him and be a blessing to others. All of this comes through the Word.
With the mind, we learn God’s truth through the Word. With the heart, we love God’s truth, His Son. With the will, we yield to the Spirit and live God’s truth day by day. It takes all three for a balanced experience of sanctification. We are people “under orders” and we had better obey! Jesus is now “set apart” in heaven, praying for us, that our witness will bear fruit as many repent of their sins and turn to the Lord.
 18 "As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. Joh 20:21
The Word gives us joy, love, and power to live a holy life. It also gives us what we need to serve Him as witnesses in this world (John 17:18–19). Sanctification is not for the purpose of selfish enjoyment or boasting; it is so that we might represent Christ in this world and win others to Him. Jesus set Himself apart for us, and now He has set us apart for Him. The Father sent Him into the world, and now He sends us into the world
How does He send us? To be holy and set apart. Father, You sent Me here, set apart from men, undefiled, not touched by sin, to confront the world, Father, that's the way I want to send them, holy, undefiled, without blemish. As Peter said, "Without blemish and without spot." Unholy, worldly Christians accomplish nothing. They are negative.
Matthew 28:18–20 And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority iin heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 jGo therefore and kmake disciples of lall nations, jbaptizing them min2 nthe name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them oto observe all that pI have commanded you. And behold, qI am with you always, to rthe end of the age.” 
This passage is similar to the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20). Each Christian should view himself as a missionary whose task is to communicate God’s truth to others.
1Pe 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;
 19 "And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. 1Co 1:2,30; 1Th 4:7;
Heb 10:10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
The purpose of the death of Christ is to dedicate or separate believers to God and His program.[iv]
He addressed Him in verse eleven as Holy Father. It's the only time in the New Testament that anyone called God the Father "Holy Father." The only time.
 Why does Jesus call Him Holy Father in the middle of John seventeen? It's not wrong to do it. Why does He say "Holy Father" all of a sudden? Because the word holy means to set something apart and He's trying to give them a forecast of "Holy Father, the one who is the most set apart, I want You to holy them; I want You to set them apart," because sanctification comes from the concept of holiness; to be set apart for God.
Jesus is going to sanctify them; to set them apart, to live in a context where it is hostile and dangerous and they'll be hated, and He says, "I'm going to set you apart for this."
Now here's where we get the idea of the High Priestly Prayer. Jesus says, "I sanctify Myself."
 The high priest picked one time in his life in that year, went in the Holy of Holies and made that offering. He sanctified himself before he did that through ritual cleansing of blood and the ear lobes, all the stuff on the ephod; all that stuff he did offering sacrifices and then he went in, one time in his life; by lot he went in and he offered the sacrifice for the atonement. Remember? Do you know the Old Testament?
 This is where the high priest language comes.
 Jesus says, "I sanctify Myself. I set Myself apart to be the High Priest and I am the sacrifice."
 Because no matter how clean a priest could get, he was still filthy; and no matter what animal he slaughtered, it was still an animal. And so the High Priest is the concept, but the prayer is, "I sanctify Myself."
 Jesus says, "I'm going to come as the priest; perfect and without blemish. I never sinned; I'm the only one and I set Myself apart to be the sacrifice for their sins."
Therefore  the High Priestly prayer. "And when I do that I want to sanctify them so I can leave them intact when I go away." That's what Jesus is praying
For their sake I sanctify Myself? Sanctify, holy, means to set apart. Did Jesus set Himself apart? Sure He did. He set Himself apart to do ... what? ... whose will? ... the Father's. He set Himself apart to do the Father's will. And He's saying this -- Father, for their sakes I set Myself apart to do Your will that they may be set apart to do Your will.
Do you know that we could never do the will of the Father if Jesus hadn't accomplished the Father's will on the cross? Could we? Could we be holy? Set apart unto God without the cross? No. Could we be set apart at all without Christ being set apart? No. That's why Hebrews says, in Hebrews 10:10, "For by one offering has He sanctified," or set apart, "all believers." Once for all He died and set us apart. And if He hadn't been willing to set Himself apart, obediently to the Father's will, we would be unable to do it. And so, Jesus is saying -- Father, I've got to get to the cross and I'm willing to do it, I've got to set Myself apart that they may be set apart.
Listen to this. Hebrews 13:12: "listen ... here's His purpose in dying, listen: Heb 13:12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate." You know why He died?  To set us apart, holy unto God. Same thing in Titus 2:14 It says this: "Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a people of His own." You see, He had to die to set us apart. He had to be set apart to do God's will that we might be holy. There it is.
I want to conclude with one lesson that from this passage we are to be in the world but not of the world. Jesus prays for their protection and their sanctification so that they will carry out the mission that He leaves them to ultimately glorify God. He prays for their protection and their sanctification so that they will be kept in their mission and He sanctifies them to be left here to carry out the mission of the Gospel that He's given them to preach.
1John 2:15:Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.
 So how do we live in the world and not of the world?
America has analyzed this culture more than any other culture perhaps of all time. How many polls do you think the media takes every day? How many politicians take multiple polls in the course of a week? And we've always got our finger to the wind to see what people think. We are led by popular opinion. What a stupid way to think!
"If everybody thinks it's right, it should be right."
 I mean, this is so stupid.
 "Morality by majority."
 What a great way to think, you know? There are absolutes in the Bible. We are to be in the world and not of the world. You can't be a bombastic, fundamentalist, Bible beating, screaming, yelling, loud; well you can. That does a lot of good. Nor are we to capitulate and do nothing. The distinction is the mission. The mission is the Gospel, not an agenda. Jesus did not leave them here to bring in a political revolution; a social revolution. He left them to give life to the dead. That's the mission.
 So we analyze our culture and the danger then is, "Okay, now we've figured it out. Now here's how we shrink wrap the Bible and give it back to the culture that needs it."
The believer is to be distinct from the world's sin, the world's values and the world's goals; we are to look different.
we really have to be distinct from the values of the culture, from the sins of the culture and from the goals of the culture. It's not just what movies are you watching or not watching; it's what values does the culture have and do you share those or do you have eternal values?
2Co 6:17 Therefore "Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you."(NKJV)
I bet most everyone secretly believes this. If I do right as a Christian, God is somehow beholding to me to bless me and if I'm not blessed, then am I doing something wrong or what God? What if the greatest lesson in life is learned through tragedy? What if the closest walk with Christ is learned in horrible crises? What if intimacy with the Father and glorification for Jesus Christ means death on a cross?
 Wow! That's not American Christianity. We don't like that.
Christ’s example indicates that true sanctification is absolute subjection to God’s will-even to death.
They also may be sanctified = ‘sanctified’ is in the perfect tense; so in Christ’s sanctification (death), all believers are permanently sanctified.[v]
How can we be overcome by the world when we have the Word of God to enlighten us, enable us, and encourage us?
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.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.

THE AMAZING BIRTH OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST MATTHEW 1:17 – 2:23

There have been described in the Old Testament 300 prophecies of the first coming of the Messiah and 500 of the second coming, all of then made hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus and fulfilled to the letter in Jesus Christ, the Messiah.
George Heron, a French mathematician, calculated that the odds of one man fulfilling only 40 of those prophecies are 1 in 10 to the power of 157. That is a 1 followed by 157 zeros. Compare it to this; Another mathematician, Dr. Peter S. Ruckman, claims the odds of being fulfilled only 60 of them by the only person who claimed to be the Son of God, and who died on a "tree" on Calvary, and who rose the 3rd day are astronomical!... not just one in one trillion, but one out of ten to the 895th power. That is a one over a one followed by 895 zeros.
To put it in simple terms one man said the chances of this happening is like filling Texas up 3 feet deep in silver dollars and throwing one out of an airplane somewhere over Texas, then you are expected to find and pick up that silver dollar on the first try.
5 Miracles of timing or being a certain place
1:18 Mary with Child of the Holy Spirit
2:2, 9 The Star guided them
2:9 the star which they had seen in the East went before them, till it came and stood over where the young Child was.
2:6 Born in Bethlehem because Caesar and Quirinius wanted a Census
Luke 2:1-7
2:13 Told to flee Herod would kill the children
Went to live in Nazareth
Mt 2:22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea instead of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he turned aside into the region of Galilee. 23 And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth
  5 Dreams
1:20, 2:12, 2:13, 2:19, 2:22
3 Angels, plus one in Luke makes 4
1:20, 2:13, and 2:19, Luke 1:28-38 angel appears to Mary telling her she will bear a son
9 Prophecies
1:23
Isa 7:14 "Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.
1:21 a near prophecy of Jesus saving us from our sins
2:1
Isa 60:3 The Gentiles shall come to your light, And kings to the brightness of your rising.
2:2
Nu 24:17 "I see Him, but not now; I behold Him, but not near; A Star shall come out of Jacob; A Scepter shall rise out of Israel, And batter the brow of Moab, And destroy all the sons of tumult.
2:6
Mic 5:2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."
The Messiah would be born in a village called Bethlehem," originally in Genesis 35 called Ephratah (?) but came to be known as Bethlehem which means "house of bread."  The Bread of life just happened to be born in a city called that. The Jews all knew that the Messiah would be born in Bethlehem. 
2:11
Isa 60:6 The multitude of camels shall cover your land, The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah; All those from Sheba shall come; They shall bring gold and incense, And they shall proclaim the praises of the LORD.
2:15
Ho 11:1 "When Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of Egypt I called My son.
2:18
Jer 31:15 Thus says the LORD: "A voice was heard in Ramah, Lamentation and bitter weeping, Rachel weeping for her children, Refusing to be comforted for her children, Because they are no more."
V23 A Nazarene
"The prophets" is plural there, we don't know the specific prophecy...in fact it may not even be recorded.  But the prophets said He would be a Nazarene and that's exactly where He went to live.
 As you come to verse 11 it says, "And to Josiah were born Jeconiah and his brothers at the time of the deportation to Babylon," and it goes on from there.  Now here in the middle of this lineage, this kingly line, this royal right to the throne is a king born by the name of Jeconiah.  Jeconiah was an evil man, also called Coniah, he was an evil man.  And in Jeremiah's prophecy chapter 22 and verse 30, the Word of the Lord says this about Jeconiah, "Write this man childless," in what sense?  "A man who will not prosper in his days for no man of his descendants will prosper sitting on the throne of David or ruling again in Judah."
Now God said no son of Jeconiah will ever reign in Palestine in Israel.  No son will ever bear the throne of David.  And yet, Jeconiah is in the Messianic line.  How then can Jesus be the King if He does not come through the royal line of Jeconiah?  And how can He be the King if the line of Jeconiah is cursed?  That seemingly hopeless dilemma is resolved in the virgin birth.  Through that line Jesus received the legal right to the throne, but He was no blood child of Jeconiah for that line was cursed and there could never be a child of Jeconiah on the throne of David. 
From Mary's own lips in Luke 1:46, from her own lips in what is commonly known as her Magnificat, her song of praise, she speaks to God and this is what she says, "My soul exalts the Lord," then verse 47, "And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior."  Mary is the savior of nobody.  Mary needs a savior and she says God is my Savior.  He is the one who delivers me from sin.  Mary while being the best of sinners, if there is such a thing, the noblest among young maidens, the most beautiful of virgins, Mary must have been the finest of young girls in every way, but Mary needed a savior.  And Mary by virtue of being the physical earthly mother of Jesus could claim no spiritual privilege and make no claim on the time, attention and life of Christ.  She was a sinner in need of a savior.
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.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL MINISTERING TO THE LEAST OF THESE

Everyone His Love Ministries reaches out to is locked up in some way.  Some are locked up in bodies that don't work or the Nursing Home facility or in the wheelchair or bed they cannot get out of.  We minister to youth who are locked up because of behavior problems or their parents and their cry is we want to have a “REAL FAMILY”. Other kids are locked up because of crimes.  We reach those locked up correctional facilities; in addictions to drugs, depression, and suicidal thoughts.  Jesus came to give us life and set us free and these folks are not free that we minister to, but we can set them free through Christ Jesus. 
 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.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
 

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL JESUS GAVE US HIS ALL

Hi, This is Marty McKenzie with His Love Ministries. It’s the Christmas Season again, so let’s remember that Jesus gave Himself to provide the ultimate gift of salvation, when He died on that cross so that we might go to heaven. Eph 2:8-9 says For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works lest anyone should boast. And Jesus said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.' So today and every day why don’t we give the gift of our time, our resources, and our abilities, to someone in need, that’s the least we can do since Jesus gave us His all.
    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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

DID YOU EVER THINK THAT GOD MIGHT WANT TO USE YOU IN YOUR AFFLICTION?

Hi, I'm Marty McKenzie with His Love Ministries.  Paul said in Phil 4:11 that he had learned to be content in whatever state he was in.  It seems like Christians are always praying to get out of their troubles.  Maybe we need to ask God what it is that we can do while we are in the situation.  Paul wrote 7 of his 13 books in the Bible while locked up.  His prayer was always for believers to grow stronger and for him to have boldness to preach the gospel.  God said in Deuteronomy 8, I have put you in the wilderness to humble you and test you to see if you love me.  Did you ever think that God might want to use you in your affliction?
 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.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.

JOHN 16:9-13 JESUS SAID WHEN HE, THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, HAS COME, HE WILL GUIDE YOU INTO ALL TRUTH;

John 16:9 "of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 "of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
 In the previous section we learned that Jesus was leaving and when He left He would send the Holy Spirit.  We found out that it would be to the disciples and our advantage that Jesus left because Jesus in His earthly body could only be in one place at a time, whereas the Holy Spirit can be with and live inside each believer at the same time.  Now we find out why it is to our advantage that Jesus leaves and sends the Holy Spirit.  First it is because He will convict the World of their sin (Notice it is not sins, but the sin of rejecting Christ), His righteousness, and the judgment that comes if they don’t trust in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior.  He says that if He has judged the ruler of this world who is Satan, then He will certainly judge us if we don’t trust in Him.  We also find out that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth and He will guide us into all the truth we need to live this life (2Peter 1:3-4) and things that will happen in the future.  Remember the Holy Spirit is part of the Godhead, the three in one Trinity. He is not an it, but a He because He is God.  He has a mind, will, and emotions and is fully God just as the Father and Jesus are God.
 Jesus revealed that the Spirit would have a threefold ministry when He came. He would convict the world (vv. 8-11), enlighten the disciples (vv. 12-13), and glorify Jesus (vv. 14-15).
9 "of sin, because they do not believe in Me; Notice it is not sins, but the sin of rejecting Christ
As all sin has its root in unbelief, so the most serious form of unbelief is the rejection of Christ.
The Spirit would not just accuse people of sin, but would bring an inescapable sense of guilt before God upon them (cf. 2Sam. 12:7; Ps. 51:4 Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight-That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.). This sense of guilt is an indispensable necessity for salvation.
Acts 17:30–31 the times of ignorance jGod overlooked, but know he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed ma day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 
If people believed Jesus, they would believe what He said about their guilt, and they would turn to Him in repentance. In spite of their unbelief the Spirit graciously convicts unbelievers of their sinfulness so they will believe on Jesus. He may convict them of the individual sins they have committed, but a person can clean up his life and still go to hell. It is the sin of unbelief in Jesus Christ that condemns people.
First, the Holy Spirit will prove the world wrong concerning sin. The most compelling evidence of a person’s sin is their rejection of Jesus as the Messiah.
Jesus is the ultimate and final revelation of God to men (John 1:1-18; Hebrews 1:1-4). Thus, to reject Jesus as the promised Messiah is the ultimate sin. Those who have heard the proclamation of the gospel of Jesus Christ, who have witnessed its truth and power, and in spite of this testimony, reject Jesus as God’s only provision for their salvation, have shown themselves to be guilty of sin:
Hebrews 2:1-4 Therefore we must pay closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. 2 For if the message spoken through angels proved to be so firm that every violation or disobedience received its just penalty, 3 how will we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was first communicated through the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him, 4 while God confirmed their witness with signs and wonders and various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.
1 John 3:8 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil.
Colossians 2:15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities2 and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.3 
It is on the basis of this rejection of Jesus that the Spirit proves men guilty of sin.
This is consistent with the argument of Romans, chapters 1-3. All men have been given a certain knowledge about God and have turned from that knowledge, worshipping something other than the Creator. The Jews have received a higher revelation of God in the Law, and they stand condemned by it. And now that Jesus has come to the earth, fully revealing God, they have rejected Him. This is John’s indictment in the first part of John chapter 1. Jesus is God (1:1, 4), made known (vs18) to men. Yet in spite of this revelation of God to His own people, they did not receive Him as God (1:5, 10-11). To reject Him who is the ultimate revelation of God is to be guilty of the ultimate sin.
10 "of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
The title Paraclete (i.e., one called alongside to help, cf. 15:26) is an appropriate one for the Spirit. He acts as a prosecuting attorney by demonstrating the guilt of those whom Jesus accused with His teaching. Earlier Jesus had spoken of the Paraclete as the defender of believing disciples (14:16-18), but now the Eleven learned that He is also the prosecutor of unbelieving sinners. Believers are witnesses, the Holy Spirit is the prosecuting attorney, and the lost are guilty sinners.
 The righteousness which occurs only here in John's Gospel) refers to truly righteous conduct and standing before God. The world does not have that. It also refers to the righteousness that people profess to have that is far inferior to the righteousness that they need for acceptance with God (Matt. 5:20; Rom. 10:3; Phil. 3:6-9; Titus 3:5). This self- righteousness, which Isaiah compared to a menstrual cloth (Isa. 64:6), is apparently the negative side of what Jesus had in mind.
The Spirit would convict the world of the inadequacy of its righteousness and move the unsaved to seek the true righteousness that only Jesus Christ provides.
The Holy Spirit will prove the world wrong with regard to righteousness. The Jews felt they could justify the crucifixion of Jesus because they had condemned Jesus as a sinner, while at the same time deeming themselves to be righteous. To be convinced that Jesus was, indeed, righteous would be to prove the Jews wrong, and Jesus right. It is only when we see ourselves as sinners, deserving of God’s eternal wrath, and Jesus Christ as the righteous One, that we see our need to trust in Him for salvation.
The final proof of our Lord’s righteousness is His resurrection from the dead:
John 2:18-22 So then the Jewish leaders responded, “What sign can you show us, since you are doing these things?” 19 Jesus replied, “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up again.” 20 Then the Jewish leaders said to him, “This temple has been under construction for forty-six years, and are you going to raise it up in three days?” 21 But Jesus was speaking about the temple of his body. 22 So after he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the saying that Jesus had spoken.
Acts 2:22-24, Acts 3:13-18, Acts 10:39-43; see also 4:1-2, 33; 13:27-34).
Romans 1:1-4, From Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God 2 that he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy scriptures, 3 concerning his Son who was a descendant of David with respect to the flesh, 4 who was appointed the Son-of-God-in-power according to the Holy Spirit by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord
The point of these texts is that the resurrection of our Lord was witnessed by the apostles, and this was to be proclaimed as proof that Jesus is precisely who He claimed to be—the Son of God. The resurrection of Jesus from the dead was the Father’s sign of approval. It was the last and final sign, of which Jesus spoke (see Matthew 12:38-40). The enemies of our Lord remembered His prediction of His resurrection after His death, and took measures to insure that no one stole His body to give substance to His claims (see Matthew 27:62-66). The disciples were witnesses of His resurrection. They testified to the fact that He was raised from the dead. They saw Jesus no more, because they saw Him after He had risen from the dead, and they watched as He ascended into heaven. The Holy Spirit uses the absence of Jesus (at a minimum, the absence of His body in the tomb) to underscore the witness of the apostles, that Jesus is the righteous One, the One who alone can save men from their sins.
 11 "of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
He wants you to know that Satan's judged because He wants you to know that all those who are Satan's children are judged so that you'll wake up to the fact that judgment is inevitable if you don't receive Jesus Christ.  The cross was judgment.  Calvary was judgment.  Calvary was God's blow on Satan, crushing him.  And Satan's judgment was the guarantee of judgment for every other sinner that ever lives.  But the Holy Spirit wants you to know that.  You know why?  Because He wants you to get ready to make some changes in your life so that you don't suffer the same judgment that Satan suffered.  Isn't it strange that even after the Holy Spirit tells men this and warns them of the judgment they continue to follow Satan?  And if they don't respond to the convincing of judgment, they will be convicted ultimately.
Satan is the source of man’s sin and rebellion against God. He is the driving force behind all sin. When Jesus died on the cross of Calvary, He defeated Satan. If Satan has been condemned at the cross, then surely every other sinner’s judgment is certain as well. It is the reality of Satan’s defeat, and its consequences, which the Holy Spirit drives home to the world as proof that all sinners will be judged
Heb 2:14 Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery.
The sense of deliverance from the bonds of Satan, whose judgment brings to men liberty to be holy, and transformation out of servants of the devil into sons and daughters of the Lord Almighty. [1]
The Spirit would convict the world of judgment coming on it for its sins that culminated in the rejection of Jesus. The Jews of Jesus' day generally judged Him to be a false pretender to Messiah's throne. That judgment was wrong, and the Spirit would convict many of them of the error of their judgment (cf. Acts 2:36-37). The Cross and the Resurrection would be compelling proofs that would change the minds of many.  Because the ultimate sinner Satan has been judged, we can be sure we will be judged too if we don’t believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Third, the Holy Spirit will prove the world wrong concerning judgment. The “judgment” of which the Holy Spirit will “prove the world to be worthy” is the future judgment of those who have refused to believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins. It is the judgment of which Jesus has spoken earlier in John:
John 5:21-30; see also 8:16, 26; 9:39
It is the judgment of which the apostles spoke:
Acts 24:24-25 Some days later, when Felix arrived with his wife Drusilla, who was Jewish, he sent for Paul and heard him speak about faith in Christ Jesus. 25 While Paul was discussing righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “Go away for now, and when I have an opportunity, I will send for you”.
The basis on which the Holy Spirit proves the world wrong, and thus worthy of that judgment which is yet to come, is the fact that Satan has already been judged. Jesus spoke of this judgment of Satan and linked it to the judgment of the world: “Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be driven out” (John 12:31).
This text has much to say to each of us who believe in Jesus Christ, and who are commanded to proclaim the gospel to an unbelieving and hostile world. First, we are assured that God is working in and through us to win lost sinners to Himself. While we are to proclaim the gospel, it is the Holy Spirit who works from the inside out, to convince sinners of the truth of the gospel. Surely, since the Holy Spirit’s ministry pertains to the issues of sin, righteousness, and judgment, we know what our subject matter should be—these same topics. This certainly is the case with the apostles. Notice how Peter includes all three elements in his epistle:
2 Peter 2:4-10 For if God did not spare the angels who sinned, but threw them into hell and locked them up in chains in utter darkness, to be kept until the judgment, 5 and if he did not spare the ancient world, but did protect Noah, a herald of righteousness, along with seven others, when God brought a flood on an ungodly world, 6 and if he turned to ashes the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah when he condemned them to destruction, having appointed them to serve as an example to future generations of the ungodly, 7 and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man in anguish over the debauched lifestyle of lawless men, 8 (for while he lived among them day after day, that righteous man was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) 9 —if so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from their trials, and to reserve the unrighteous for punishment at the day of judgment, 10 especially those who indulge their fleshly desires and who despise authority.
 12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
 13 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.
More correctly, into all the truth (The Whole New Testament)
2Pe 1:3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue,
2Ti 2:7 Consider what I say, and may the Lord give you understanding in all things.
1Jo 2:20 ¶ But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things.
1Jo 2:26 These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. 27 But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. 1Jo 3:7; 2Jo 1:7
Jeremiah 31:33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
 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.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.

JOHN 16:5-7 NEVERTHELESS I TELL YOU THE TRUTH. IT IS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE THAT I GO AWAY; FOR IF I DO NOT GO AWAY, THE HELPER WILL NOT COME TO YOU; BUT IF I DEPART, I WILL SEND HIM TO YOU

John 16:5 "But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' 6 "But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
 We will see in this message that Jesus is telling them He is going away, but the disciples are more concerned with themselves than they are that Jesus will die. They are sorrowful because of their loss, not His dying. Then Jesus tells them it is necessary that He goes away so that the Holy Spirit can come to live in them and through them.  Jesus can only be in one place at a time in His human body, but the Holy Spirit can indwell all Christians at the same time(Romans 8:9) and give us the power to live the Christian life.  Sorry this message got messed up and about half of it is gone.  My recorder started acting up. I will replace it with the rest of verse 7-9 when it is redone.
 John 16:1 "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.
Jesus did not want His disciples to stumble (Gr. skandalethron, be caught unaware) in their discipleship after His departure because the events that would follow took them completely by surprise (cf. Matt. 5:10-12). Even though they did not understand everything Jesus told them immediately, they would remember them and understand them more fully later (cf. 14:20, 25-26).
"The greatest danger the disciples will confront from the opposition of the world is not death but apostasy.  Jesus gave this present teaching so His believing disciples would not depart from Him and what He had taught them when persecution assailed them following His departure from them (cf. Matt. 10:33; Mark 8:38; 2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 3:8).
 2 "They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.
16:1-2. The disciples may have wondered why Jesus was telling them about the world’s hatred and persecution. Jesus, anticipating this question, indicated that expecting trouble beforehand would help them remain in the path of God’s will. (He gave a second reason in v. 4.) The disciples would face excommunication and even death.
Persecution unto death occurred in the case of Stephen (Acts 7:59), James (Acts 12:2), and others (Acts 9:1-4). Some people throughout church history have been motivated to persecute believers because of a misguided zeal for God. They think they are offering a service to God
Romans 10:2 For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.
Jesus was always very open and direct about the cost of discipleship with those who wished to follow Him:
Luke 9:23-26 Then he said to them all, “If anyone wants to come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. 25 For what does it benefit a person if he gains the whole world but loses or forfeits himself? 26 For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man be will ashamed of this one when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels (see also verses 57-62).
Jesus does not want His disciples to be taken by surprise, and so He tells them about the difficulties which lie ahead for them as His disciples. These men will be rejected by their fellow-Jews, put out of the synagogue, and even put to death. And the irony of all this is that when their opponents do such things, they will actually suppose that they are serving God by their opposition to Christ and His disciples.[1]
Whether in the first century or in the twentieth, Christians have often discovered that the most dangerous oppression comes not from careless pagans but from zealous adherents to religious faith, and from other beliefs. A sermon was preached when Cranmer was burned at the stake. Christians have faced severe persecution performed in the name of Yahweh, in the name of Allah, in the name of Marx—and in the name of Jesus.”
Who better illustrates this than Saul, before his conversion?
Acts 22:4 “I persecuted this Way even to the point of death, tying up both men and women and putting them in prison”.
Acts 26:9-11 “Of course, I myself was convinced that it was necessary to do many things hostile to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 And that is what I did in Jerusalem: not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons by the authority I received from the chief priests, but I also cast my vote against them when they were sentenced to death. 11 I punished them often in all the synagogues and tried to force them to blaspheme. Because I was so furiously enraged at them, I went to persecute them even in foreign cities” (see also 1Timothy 1:12-16).
 3 "And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me.
The opponents of the disciples would do these things because they had not come to know the Father or the Son. Theirs would be a sin of responsible ignorance.
 4 "But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
The disciples appear to be in a state of emotional shock. They are overwhelmed with sadness. There seems to be nothing to say. Think of it. Jesus is going to leave them, and when He does, they are not only going to be forsaken by their own people, they are going to hunted down by them as though they were criminals.
 5 "But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'
 6 "But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
Jesus notes the fact that His disciples are not now asking Him where He is going. Earlier, Peter did ask (13:36), and Thomas came close to asking (14:5). It is not that they hadn’t asked; it is that they have stopped asking. It is as though the more they have asked, and the clearer Jesus’ meaning has become (He really was leaving them behind, and they could not accompany Him), the more the disciples have become distressed. And so they simply (as we would say) “clammed up.”
This is similar, I think, to the questions which Nicodemus was asking Jesus in John chapter 3. His questions and comments got shorter and shorter, and finally they just ceased. The more Jesus told him, the worse it seemed to get, and so Nicodemus, like the disciples, chose to keep quiet. Jesus seems to be calling their quietness to their attention, perhaps gently rebuking them by doing so. They were so caught up in their own sorrow and their own sense of loss that they did not wish to consider anything else, anything beyond themselves.
DA. Carson challenges us to consider the lessons we should learn from our Lord’s gentle rebuke of His disciples for their silence: they are too preoccupied with themselves, and with their own problems, and not focused upon their Lord. Is this not true of us as well? Are we so absorbed in our own lives, that we not only fail to “fix our eyes on Jesus,” but we also fail to see the needs of those about us?
They do not see their way to go on without Jesus.
7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
Our Lord’s “going away” is not only necessary, it is to their advantage. It is not that Jesus is abandoning them when He goes away, and that He is sending the Holy Spirit as a kind of consolation gift. He must go away, or the Holy Spirit cannot come. And when the Spirit does come, the disciples will see that they could never have had it better.
"It is important to note that the Spirit comes to the church and not to the world. This means that He works in and through the church. The Holy Spirit does not minister in a vacuum. Just as the Son of God had to have a body in order to do His work on earth, so the Spirit of God needs a body to   accomplish   His   ministries;   and   that   body   is   the church. . . . The Spirit does not 'float' in some ghostly way up and down the rows of a church building, seeking to win the lost. The Holy Spirit works through the people in whom He lives."
8 "And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
Before that  conviction  had  come  mainly  from  the  Old  Testament,  John  the Baptist, Jesus, and the disciples' personal influences.
So, what is the Holy Spirit's ministry?  The Holy Spirit's ministry is to come into a world where there's righteousness in Christ over here and where there is evil and sin and rebellion over here and somehow break down that resistance, smash that wall of sin, penetrate into the hearts of individuals and bring them to the side of Jesus Christ, to bring them into fellowship with God.  That's the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the world, to bring men to Jesus Christ.
Now in order to bring them to Christ He has to break the power of sin because sin is the thing that holds men in rebellion against God.  Sin is the thing that separates men from God.  Sin is the thing that maintains their antagonism against God.  A vile man hates a holy God.  He hates anybody that smacks of a holy God.  The reason the world hates Christians who really live righteous lives is because they act as a living condemnation of them.  And so what the Holy Spirit must do is enter into the world and break the power of sin.  He must destroy the shackles of sin that bind and grip a man's heart.  And that's His ministry and that's what He sets to do...to break and to shatter that sin.
The verb convict occurs eighteen times in the New Testament (cf. Mt. 18:15; Lk. 3:19; Jn. 3:20; 8:46; 1 Cor. 14:24; Eph. 5:11, 13; 1 Tim. 5:20; 2 Tim. 4:2; Tit. 1:9, 13; 2:15; Heb. 12:5; Jas. 2:9; Jude 15, 22; Rev. 3:19). Arguably, in every instance the verb has to do with showing someone his sin, usually as a summons to repentance … The ‘exposure, is the exposure of one who does evil and who hates the light; it brings the shame that makes the evil person shrink from the light.”
The legal idea suggested by some seems to have been derived from the use of the term in extra biblical literature, whereas the biblical writers used elenxo primarily to describe correction, not prosecution or conviction.
The second meaning of the word "reprove."  It also means not to convict but to convince.  And here it isn't an objective condemnation, here it is not the idea that the Holy Spirit is going to doom men, here it is the idea that the Holy Spirit is going to reach into the heart of an individual and lay bare his sin to convince him that he needs Jesus Christ.  Do you know what the Holy Spirit wants to do?  He wants to convince you so He'll never have to convict you.  But if there is a rejection of the convincing ministry, there will be the convicting ministry, final judgment.
The world may think that it is judging Christians, but it is the Christians who are passing judgment on the world as they witness to Jesus Christ! Believers are the witnesses, the Holy Spirit is the “prosecuting attorney,” and the unsaved are the guilty prisoners. However, the purpose of this indictment is not to condemn but to bring salvation.[2]
When a lost sinner is truly under conviction, he will see the folly and evil of unbelief; he will confess that he does not measure up to the righteousness of Christ; and he will realize that he is under condemnation because he belongs to the world and the devil (Eph. 2:1–3). The only person who can rescue him from such a horrible situation is Jesus Christ, the Son of God. There can be no conversion without conviction, and there can be no conviction apart from the Spirit of God using the Word of God and the witness of the child of God.
Witnessing is a great privilege, but it is also a serious responsibility. It is a matter of life or death! How we need to depend on the Holy Spirit to guide us to the right persons, give us the right words, and enable us patiently to glorify Jesus Christ.
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.
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
 
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
 
[1] “D. A. Carson, The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1991), p. 531.
[2] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Jn 16:5). Wheaton, Ill.: Victor Books.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL HAVE YOU THANKED GOD TODAY

Four times in Psalms 107 it says Oh, that men would give thanks to the LORD for His goodness, And for His wonderful works to the children of men! Four times in Ps 136 it says, Oh, give thanks to the God of gods! For His mercy endures forever. If you have been seeking the will of God in your life, this Thanksgiving Season and every day of the year you can be right in the middle of His will by doing what 1Th 5:18 says, in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. Have you thanked God today?
   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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL ARE YOU HELPING OR HURTING THE CHURCH?

       Our heart has many pacemaker cells that keep the heart beating in rhythm.  When it gets out of sync, it can cause many problems, even making the heart burst apart.  The same thing can happen in the body of Christ when we are not unified, we have many problems and even break apart instead of being one as Jesus said we were to be in John 17:21 "that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. Are you doing your part to unify the body or are you tearing it apart?
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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL IS YOUR LIFE PLEASING TO GOD?

Paul begs us in Eph 4:1 to walk worthy of the calling with which you were called. In 1Pet 2:9 it says you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may declare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. That is the job of the Christian. The church is a called a body in the Scriptures, but within that body every true Christian has the responsibility to fulfill this calling by loving and witnessing to others. The two go hand in hand. Are you living up to your calling?
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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL WHAT ARE YOU SEEKING?

Luke 17:26 "And as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be also in the days of the Son of Man: 27 "They ate, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 30 "Even so will it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed.  The people Jesus is talking about are all the unbelievers in the United States and all over the world who are so caught up in the junk of this world that don’t understand our real priority is to seek first the kingdom of God and His Righteousness and the other will be added unto us.
 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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 15:1-2 JESUS SAID I AM THE TRUE VINE, AND MY FATHER IS THE VINEDRESSER

John 15:1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
In this very controversial passage of Scripture we will see that Jesus is telling us that He is the true source of our spiritual and physical life. Ac 17:28 "for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'  2Peter 1:3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue.  Jesus is the source of it all and the Father is the one who will do the cutting (chastising in our life) when it is needed.  The way a vine produces fruit is by cutting it back and it will produce more.  God does the same thing in our life when He cuts away those unnecessary things out of our life so we can continue to grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Jesus is talking about two groups of people here.  One is the true Christians who when they are cut on bear more fruit and the false Christians who never bear any fruit.  Mt 7:16 "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?  17 "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 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.
 Intro: Our need to abide in Christ. Key word: abide means to remain; continue; stay. To abide in Christ is to be filled with the Spirit, Colossians 2:6.The Vine and Its background, John 15:1. The vineyard was the symbol of the nation Israel, Isaiah 5:1-7. Israel was delivered out of slavery, God gave them the Scriptures and they rebelled. God sent prophets and still they rebelled. See Jesus tells the Parable of the Wicked Tenants, Matthew 21:33-42 Mt 21:43 "Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it.;
Israel is failing as the vine, Jer 2:21 Yet I had planted you a noble vine, a seed of highest quality. How then have you turned before Me Into the degenerate plant of an alien vine? 22 For though you wash yourself with lye, and use much soap, Yet your iniquity is marked before Me," says the Lord GOD. 23 "How can you say, 'I am not polluted, I have not gone after the Baals'? See your way in the valley; Know what you have done: You are a swift dromedary breaking loose in her ways,.
Joh 15:1 "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser.
Jesus is what God wants Israel to be. This is telling us the need to change, to be different.
Ps 80:14 Return, we beseech You, O God of hosts; Look down from heaven and see, And visit this vine 15 And the vineyard which Your right hand has planted, And the branch that You made strong for Yourself. 16 It is burned with fire, it is cut down; They perish at the rebuke of Your countenance. 17 Let Your hand be upon the man of Your right hand, Upon the son of man whom You made strong for Yourself.
2.   The Vine and Its branches, John 15:2-4. In John 15:2-
2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
 Note the word “every,” used twice in this verse, so that “every” unfruitful branch is removed, just as “every” fruitful branch is cleansed or pruned. I believe that John intended for us to recognize this repetition of “every” as significant. The fact that “every” branch that does not bear fruit is removed seems to speak of one thing—the eternal destiny of the fruitless. All unbelievers will perish in the lake of fire, away from God’s presence (Revelation 20:11-15), while “every” true branch will go through various cleansings to make it more fruitful. The “every” in both instances presses me to conclude that Jesus is contrasting true believers and unbelievers. It is in these two instances that the destiny or experience of each is all-inclusive.
In our text, Jesus employs the imagery of a vine to describe the new relationship which His disciples are about to enjoy with Him and with the Father. Our Lord is the “vine”; unbelievers are the fruitless branches,[i] while believers are the fruit-bearing branches. The grapes are the “fruit” which God produces in and through the saints as they draw their life and strength from the “vine,” the Lord Jesus Christ. And God the Father is the gardener, who tends the vine, removing dead branches and purifying the living branches.
Jesus is speaking of those whom appear to be in Christ but are not, see also Lu 8:18 "Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him."
I believe the weight of the evidence falls on the side of that interpretation which concludes that the unfruitful branches are removed from the vine and destroyed.[ii] In much more blunt language, the unfruitful branches burn in the eternal fire of hell. If this is the case, then how do we explain the phrase “in Me” (verse 2)?
If you are a true Christian you will bear good fruit, Mt 7:16 "You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles?  17 "Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 "A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 "Therefore by their fruits you will know them. 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. 22 "Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?' 23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!' 24 "Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: 25 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. 26 "But everyone who hears these sayings of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand: 27 "and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it fell. And great was its fall." 28 And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.. In John 15:2- He cleanses every branch. God does the pruning so that we might bear more fruit, see Matthew 7:19-20. It is not our job to be a self-appointed fruit inspector. God is committed in shaping the character of Jesus in us. God will use whatever it takes to get our attention.
Mark 4:1-20 The parable of the soils and seeds, only one bears fruit
Ro 11:17 And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, 18 do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." 20 Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either. 22 Therefore consider the goodness and severity of God: on those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in His goodness. Otherwise you also will be cut off. 23 And they also, if they do not continue in unbelief, will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again.
Jewish branches were removed from the olive tree because of their unbelief, even as Gentile branches are grafted into the tree by faith.
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.
 
hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
[i] In the context, unbelieving Jews are in focus, but in its broader application “fruitless branches” would include all unbelievers, especially those who falsely suppose themselves to be true believers in God.
[ii] The best defense of this interpretation I have seen is that of James E. Rosscup, Abiding in Christ: Studies in John 15 (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1973), pp. 248-249.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL HAVE YOU HEARD THE GOOD NEWS

In 1 Corinthians 15:3 Paul says For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. It is amazing how simple the Gospel is in that a little child can understand and believe, yet an adult with great intelligence will not and cannot understand it. Have you put your trust in Christ yet? I hope so, if not, I pray you will understand this truth, repent of your sins, and truly believe Jesus is the Christ, God who came in human flesh and ask Him to forgive you and save you.
    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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 
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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
 

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL EVERY DAY WITH JESUS IS SWEETER THAN THE DAY BEFORE

  The song every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before, every day with Jesus I love Him more and more is so true if you are a Christian and are living in the power of the Holy Spirit He has given you.  Life can be sweeter every day if we spend time with Jesus in prayer, in His word and living out what He has given us to do. Maybe you remember your life as I do before Jesus, it was not sweet that is for sure.  Have you given your life to Jesus, do it today and life will be joy, peace, and abundant in spite of our troubles as He promised us in John 10:10.  Follow Him today with your whole heart, you will never regret it.
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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 14:15–24 JESUS SAID IF YOU LOVE ME, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS

John 14:15 "If you love Me, keep My commandments.  16 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. 18 ¶ "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. 19 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. 20 "At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. 21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.
 In this section of Scripture Jesus defines a true Christian as one who keeps His commandments.  He is very clear; those who do not obey Jesus are not really saved no matter how much they go to church or know their Bible, or how many good deeds they do.  This cannot be any more clear.  How many today will say they are going to Heaven but do not live in any way that looks like what a Christian is supposed to be according to the Bible?  Jesus does not say we get to Heaven by doing good works, but that if we are saved we will do them.  Look at James 2:14-17 and Ephesians 2:8-10.  They both say we are saved by faith, but the faith that saves is never alone, it is always accompanied by good works which are the evidence of salvation.  Jesus says this four different times in this passage.  I think he wants us to know that the way we know someone is saved is if they keep His word which is His commandments.  He also tells us that He will send the Holy Spirit to be in us and with us forever.  He will take Jesus place as our encourager and helper in this world.  He also tells us that if we keep His commandments the Father will love us too and He and the Father will come to us and live with us forever since they are coming to make their home with us.
 15 ¶ "If you love Me, keep My commandments. Joh 14:21, 23; 15:10, 14; 1Jo 5:3
V 15-17 Packed into that paragraph are six remarkable facts centering about the person of this other Counselor: First, we learn that he will be a gift from the Father to true believers. I put it that way because our Lord identifies loving obedience as the mark of a true believer. A true believer is one who has been drawn to Christ by love and is ready to obey what he says.
The second thing Jesus says is that this Spirit will be "another," a separate but similar Person to himself.
The third fact Jesus announces is that the Spirit will be a continually abiding presence: He will be "with you forever." That means that the Spirit only comes once into our lives. He does not come again and again. He comes to abide, to dwell with us.
The fourth fact is that the Spirit will be a revealer of truth.
The fifth thing, Jesus says, is that this remarkable new resource is unavailable to the world. "The world cannot receive him because it neither sees him or knows him."
The sixth fact Jesus discloses is that this will be a resource that is available from within. "You know him," he says to these disciples, "for he dwells with you, and will be in you."
There is only one test of love that is valid and that is the test of obedience.
This connection seems designed to teach that the proper temple for the indwelling Spirit of Jesus is a heart filled with that love to Him which lives actively for Him, and so this was the fitting preparation for the promised gift.
 16 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--
Joh 15:26; 16:7; Ro 8:15,26
Now, really there's kind of a pun here, and there are a lot of puns in the New Testament, if you know the Greek language, this is one of them. Jesus here makes a beautiful play on words because He chooses the word paraklētŏs. The word can mean helper and it can mean Comforter. They need a comforter...right? Because they're all torn ... in turmoil. They need to be comforted. That's the point of the whole chapter. So, Jesus says   I'm going to send a Comforter. They need a helper, a power source. He says   I'm going to send a helper. And the pun is He uses the same word for both, paraklētŏs.
There are two words in the Greek for another. One word is heteros ... that means another similar. It doesn't really matter. If I said to you   Give me another pair of glasses, and I use the word heteros, you could give me any¬thing. You could give me sunglasses, motorcycle glasses; you could give me women's glasses, any kind of glasses. It wouldn't make a bit of difference cause heteros means another of any kind. From which we get our word heterodox which means mixed.
But then they had another word. They had a word allŏs which also meant another and it meant another of the exact, identical, specific kind without one single variation. And that's exactly the word used here ... allŏs. Now if I said to you   Give me something allŏs you would have to give every little single detail exactly the same as these are, without one variation. That's the meaning of the word allŏs. And Jesus said to them   When I go away I'm not going to grab bag it and just send you any old helper, I'm going to send you allŏs helper, one exactly, essentially in every detail what I am. Now do you see the theological significance of that word? He is, in effect, saying   I am sending you One exactly the same essence as Myself. And you know that since the disciples understood Greek when He said allŏs that rang the bell and they immediately knew what He was saying. He is not sending back just any old comforter but One exactly like Himself. And did you know that Jesus was, in fact, the first paraklete, He was the original called along side to help? He was the original Comforter. In fact, what do you read here in chapter 14? What's He doing? Comforting. What's He been doing for three years with these men? Helping them. Walking with them... their constant companion. He is the original paraclete.
In fact, in I John 2:1 it even tells us that. It says: "My little children, these things write I unto you that you sin not. If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." And the word advocate is the same word ... paraklētŏs ... Jesus is the original Comforter, the original Paraclete, the original Helper. And when He went away He sent another One back. Now if you just think about that for a minute that means that you as a believer have two Helpers, two Comforters, two Paracletes, two Advocates ... the Spirit of God within you on earth and Christ the Son Of God at the right hand of the Father in heaven.
Its proper sense is an “advocate,” “patron,” “helper.” In this sense it is plainly meant of Christ (1Jn 2:1), and in this sense it comprehends all the comfort as well as aid of the Spirit’s work. The Spirit is here promised as One who would supply Christ’s own place in His absence.
Romans 8:9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you•. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ •does not belong to him.
1 Corinthians 12:13 For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.
Jesus spoke of the Trinity in the following relationships. The Son would request that the Father send the Spirit to take the Son's place as the believer's encourager and strengthener. It was hard for these Jewish believers who had grown up believing that there is but one God to grasp that Jesus was God. It must have been even more difficult for them to think of the Spirit of God as a person rather than as God's influence. Nevertheless  New  Testament  revelation  is  clear  that  there  are  three Persons within the Godhead (e.g., 2 Cor. 13:14).
Both of these English words have connotations that are absent from the Greek word. Helper connotes an inferior, which the Holy Spirit is not. Counsellor can call to mind a camp counsellor or a marriage counsellor whereas a legal counsellor is more in harmony with the Greek idea.
The Spirit of God had come on Old Testament believers temporarily to give them strength, but normally He did not remain with them (cf. Ps.51:11). What Jesus spoke of here was an abiding relationship in which the Spirit remained with believers for the rest of their lives (cf. Rom. 8:9). This  new  relationship  to  the  Holy  Spirit  is  one  of  the  distinctive differences between the church age and former dispensations. It is a blessing few Christians appreciate as we should.
Eze 36:26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
 17 "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. Joh 15:26; 16:13; 1Co 2:14; 1Jo 2:27; 4:6
Jesus now identified the Helper as the Spirit of truth (cf. 15:26; 16:13), that is, the Spirit who would bear witness to and communicate the truth (cf. v. 6; 1:32-33; 3:5-8; 4:23-24; 6:63; 7:37-39).
Why is He called that? Look at chapter 16, verse 13, I'll show you. Very simple, "Nevertheless, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into" ... what? ... "All truth." That's why He's called the Spirit of truth. He not only is the essence of truth because He's God, but He guides you into truth and thus is He called the Spirit of truth.
"To be filled with the Spirit is the same as to be controlled by the Word. The Spirit of Truth uses the Word of truth to guide us into the will and the work of God."
In the future, after Jesus returned to the Father, the Spirit would not just be with them but in them. This is another distinctive ministry of the Spirit in the present age. He indwells believers (Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 12:13). That ministry began on Pentecost when the church began (Acts 2:4; cf. Acts 1:5; 11:15).
Oh, what a statement. He dwells with you. They know who the Holy Spirit is. Why, who is it that's been operating through Christ all these three years? Who is it? It's the Holy Spirit. Christ said He did what He did by the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, when they attributed His works to Satan Jesus said they had blasphemed not Him but whom? They had blasphemed the Holy Spirit. For it was the Spirit working through Christ and so what is He saying to them? He's saying you know Him, He's been with you. You know the Holy Spirit; He's dwelling with you as He has in all the Old Testament.
Ezekiel in chapter 36, verse 27, and in chapter 37, verse 14, both those verses, Ezekiel gives the, wonderful prophecy   I will put My Spirit within you. And there it has great reference, of course, to the kingdom, and to Israel, but certainly was initially fulfilled in the church age. And so those prophecies, though it not yet totally fulfilled, given by Ezekiel, are first of all prefilled in the church, the Spirit is in us and in a greater sense will also be in us in the Kingdom when the promise is fulfilled to Israel. The New Testament then teaches the Holy Spirit is in is. What did Paul say? "What, know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit." The Spirit is in you.
 18 ¶ "I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. Mt 28:20; Joh 14:3,28
In view of the context that describes the Spirit's coming (vv. 16-17, 25-26), we might conclude that His coming in the Spirit is in view (cf. v. 23). However the passage seems to present Jesus as offering the disciples His personal presence. He had described the coming of the Spirit, but what about His personal return to them? This question, which would have been in the disciples' minds, is what Jesus appears to have been addressing here. He seems to have been referring to a post-resurrection appearance to the disciples (21:1-14). Support for this view is Jesus' assurance that His resurrection would be a pledge of their resurrection. Physical resurrections seem to be in view.
 19 "A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.
Joh 10:38; 14:10; 16:16; 17:21,23,26; 1Co 15:20
 20 "At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
Joh 10:38; 14:10; 17:21,23,26
Jesus post-resurrection appearances would convince the Eleven of His deity. He described this condition as mutual abiding with the Father (cf. vv. 10-11). Moreover these appearances would also convince them of their union with Jesus. They would do so by confirming Jesus' promises of their union with Him (vv. 13-14). Some  interpreters  take  the  day  in  view  as  referring  to  Pentecost.
However because of the flow of the argument "that day" seems to refer to Easter rather than Pentecost.
 21 "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." Joh 14:15,23; 1Jo 2:5; 5:3
This passage does not teach a “works” religion, but rather that one who believes and obeys Christ’s Word is loved by the Lord. Saving faith results in obedience (cf. “the obedience that comes from faith,” Rom. 1:5).
Romans 1:1–4 (ESV) Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 2 which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures, 3 concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 4 and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord, Romans 1:5 through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations, 6 including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,
 The believer's obedience does not make God love him or her more than He would otherwise. God's love for all people is essentially as great as it can be. However in the family relationship that Jesus was describing the believer's obedience allows God to express His love for him or her without restraint. When there is disobedience, God does not express His love as fully because He chooses to discipline the believer (cf. Heb. 12:4-13).
In the context (vv. 18-20), this was a promise that Jesus would disclose Himself to the Eleven after His resurrection and an encouragement for them to continue obeying Him and loving Him.
Some believers love Jesus more than other believers do. This results in some  believers  obeying  Him  more  than  others  and  enjoying  a  more intimate relationship and greater understanding of Him than others enjoy. The way to become a great lover of Jesus is by learning to appreciate the greatness of His love for us (cf. Matt. 18:21-35; 1 John 4:19).
 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"
Lu 6:16
You get them so super activated, send them all out there and have the world hate them and not respond to them and you've got problems. So, rather than cause them to go charging into the world without knowledge, unwittingly, expecting much more than was going to happen, Jesus backs up and says   Men, it's going to be like I told you except don't expect the world to accept it all. You are going to do greater things but remember this   the old conflict will still be there, won't it? The unnatural ... the natural man won't see it, it will still be there.
And so, what He does is, He just tempers their enthusiasm. He brings them down to the real issue. You're going to do greater things, but Satan will be bucking it and the world will not understand.
Judas' probably the brother of James question reflects the disciples' understanding that as Messiah Jesus would manifest Himself publicly, which He had taught them (cf. Matt.24:30). The disciples did not understand that Jesus would rise again bodily (20:9)  much  less  that  the  Holy  Spirit  would  come  to  indwell  them.
Therefore it is unlikely that Judas was asking Jesus to clarify the manner of His appearing. Judas wanted to know what Jesus meant when He said that He was not going to disclose Himself publicly but just privately to the Eleven. He and his fellow disciples failed to realize that Jesus would reveal Himself to them privately after His resurrection before He revealed Himself publicly at His second advent.
 23 Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. Joh 14:15; 1Jo 2:24; Re 3:20
Jesus answered that He and the Father will not manifest themselves to those who are disobedient to His teaching. Obedience grows out of love for Jesus and His Word (cf. vv. 15, 21; 1 John 2:3; 3:22, 24; 5:3). And as a result, the Father and the Son abide (make Our home) with him. “Home” is monēn, the singular of plural monai, translated “rooms” in John 14:2. This word occurs in the New Testament only in those two verses.
Jesus did not clear up Judas' misconception apparently because He wanted to stay on the subject of the importance of loving and obeying Him. He did not deny an eschatological return, but He restated what He had just said about His post-resurrection appearance to the Eleven. Jesus stressed the principle that loving obedience always results in intimate fellowship. He was speaking here about the relationship that believers could have following Pentecost. In the process He again stressed His union with the Father.
"Salvation means we are going to heaven, but submission means that heaven comes to us!
"This truth is illustrated in the experiences of Abraham and Lot, recorded in Genesis 18 and 19. When Jesus and the two angels visited Abraham's tent, they felt right at home. They even enjoyed a meal, and Jesus had a private talk with Abraham. But our Lord did not go to Sodom to visit Lot, because He did not feel at home there. Instead, He sent the two angels. . . .
"Charles Spurgeon said, 'Little faith will take your soul to heaven, but great faith will bring heaven to your soul.' Your heart can become a 'heaven on earth' as you commune with the Lord and worship Him."
In Luke 6, verse 46, Jesus said this  - "Why call ye Me Lord Lord and do not the things I say?" You see, that's the point. That's not genuine salvation.
People say to me - Well, is ... do you think so-and-so's saved? They've made a profession of faith in Christ but they never do this and they never do that, and then never ... "Why call ye Me Lord Lord and do not the things I say?" This is like a man, he goes on to say, who built his house on the sand. Sure, he had a little house there, a little religious house, built it all up. Only thing was, he built it on the wrong foundation. There are many people who say -- Lord, Lord -- and do not the things ... the things that He asks them to do. And someday He'll say to them - I never knew you. But where that love is true and obedience is the fruit, Christ comes and makes His abode. That's the point. And the true lover of Jesus, mark it, will you, friends? ... the true lover of Jesus, this is so important, does obey. Did you know that? There's no option about it. The true lover of Jesus obeys. John 17:6, Jesus reflecting on His own disciples, said this: "I have manifested Thy name unto the men whom Thou gave Me out of the world, Thine they were," from before the foundation of the world, every believer belonged to God, "and Thou gave them to Me and they have kept Thy word." True believers keep the Word. True believers obey. And if you see one who doesn't, I'm not to judge, let the Word of God be their judge.
 24 "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me. Joh 5:19,38; 7:16; 8:28; 12:49; 14:10
In conclusion, Jesus restated the ethical point He had made in verses 15 and 23a negatively. Lack of love for Jesus will result in lack of obedience to His teachings, which are the revelations of God the Father (cf. 12:49;14:10).
 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.
 hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
 
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL THE CALL TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT CHRIST

The late Dr. E. Meyers Harrison, veteran missionary and professor of missions, says that there are four reasons why the church must send out missionaries: (1) the command from above— Mark 16:15 “go ye into all the world” ; (2) the cry from beneath— Luke 16:27 “send him to my father’s house”; (3) the call from without— Acts 16:9 “come over and help us” and (4) the constraint from within— 2 Cor. 5:14. “the love of Christ compels us” Not only are there to be people who are called to do this full time, but you are called to be a missionary for Christ also in mt 28:20 where Jesus says as you go about your going tell others about Christ.  Is this what drives 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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL 2 TIMOTHY 3:1 HE IS ENOUGH

2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:  2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, Praying today that you realize that Jesus is enough, the things of this world will never satisfy, He will fill the emptiness and make you whole. I see so many people that chase the world and it always leads to disaster in their life and their families fall apart. Don't go for all the gusto you can get, go for all the God you can get. HE IS ENOUGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
   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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

LIVING VICTORIOUSLY IN THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

In John 16:5-7 we see that Jesus is telling his disciples He is going away, but they are more concerned with themselves than they are that Jesus will die. They are sorrowful because of their loss, not His dying. Then Jesus tells them it is necessary that He goes away so that the Holy Spirit can come to live in them and through them. Jesus in His Earthly body could only be in one place at a time, but Romans 8:9 says the Holy Spirit indwells all Christians and gives us the power to live the Christian life. Are you strong in the Lord and in the power of His might? Because without Him we can do nothing.
    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.
 
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 
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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL IS YOUR LIFE A WRECK

Has your life become a wreck and is total chaos? Every unsaved person is locked up in some way, shape, or form.  Some are locked up in bodies that don't work or in the Nursing Home facility or have a disease or situation they cannot handle. Children and youth are locked up because of behavioral problems or their parents aren't doing right and their cry is we want to have a “REAL FAMILY”. Others are locked up because of crimes, drugs, alcohol, or relationship problems.  If so, you need to ask Jesus Christ to forgive you and save you right now?  Will you do that today?
   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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 
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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 13:18-19, PART OF VERSE 26 NOW I TELL YOU BEFORE IT COMES, THAT WHEN IT DOES COME TO PASS, YOU MAY BELIEVE THAT I AM HE

John 13:18 "I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, 'He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.' 19 "Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. 20 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."
 
In this section of Scripture we see Jesus pointing out that Judas is the one who will betray Him and that He is telling this so they will believe He is the I AM God of the Old Testament who has come in the flesh.  He also tells them that it will fulfill the Scriptures to show how accurate they are and that all that is said in them is true and will come true if it is a future prediction.  Jesus fulfilled over 300 prophecies when He came the first time and will fulfill at least that many when He comes again.  If you haven’t believed on Him, the question is why not?  Who fulfilled prophecies and done as many great signs that show He is God? No one, so believe on Him today and be saved.  Sorry this message got messed up and only part of it is here from verses 18-19 and then part of verse 26.  I will try to replace it with a full message when I preach it again.
We have seen the divine origin of the betrayal.
Now we see the declaration of it
 19 "Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He.
He' is in italics; it's not there in the original. "That ye may believe that I am." 'I am' is whose name? God's name. Jesus says, "I want you to know that I am God."
That I Am GOD
 20 "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me."
While Jesus is indirectly exposing Judas as an unbeliever here, His emphasis is on believing, believing in Him. This is the thrust of verse 20.
This seems at first to be disconnected, but I'll try to connect it for you at best I can. He continues to declare this betrayal by saying, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He whom receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth Me. And He that receiveth Me receiveth Him who sent Me." You say, "What's that doing in there?" And, initially, it doesn't seem to fit. It seems like it's pulled out of some other chapter or something. But it fits. Oh, it fits beautifully. We don't know what went on in the gap between verses nineteen and twenty. But you could imagine that when the disciples would have known about the betrayal, they would have all said, "Oh, man! That's the end of the whole show. I mean, one lousy disciple blew the whole deal. Jesus goes to the cross. The whole thing's going to fall apart." And so, what Jesus is saying here is this: "No matter what happens, men, that doesn't lower your commission. No matter what happens, betrayal or no betrayal, hypocrite or not, no matter what happens, it doesn't lower your commission one whit. Not at all." The Lord has been teaching them to humble themselves in the manner He illustrated by washing their feet. The Lord has been teaching them that they are to preach the Gospel. And when they see the apostasy of the betrayer, they may begin to think, "Well, maybe our commission is over with. Maybe our work has ceased. Maybe it's all done now." And so Christ is saying, "Not so. Nothing changes. You are still my representatives. Though there's a traitor among you, that doesn't lower your high calling. That doesn't reduce your commission. The treachery of Judas must never lower your estimate of Apostolic responsibility."
Just because it's going to be diffi­cult and just because there's going to be opposition doesn't lower your calling one whit. Nor your commission. These disciples were still Christ's ambassadors in the world. And this verse says that "When I send you brother, you represent Me and God in this world." And that's as high as you can get. But did you notice that the verse has a general content, way beyond the disciples. It uses the word 'whomsoever.' "Whomsoever I send." You know that that refers to you and me, ambassadors of Jesus Christ in every age? When you move out into this world, Christian friend, you represent Jesus Christ. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:20, Now then, we are ambassadors for Jesus Christ, and we beg you in Christ's stead. Be reconciled to God." Do you know that when we go out and ask men to come to Jesus Christ, we are doing it in the place of Jesus Christ? We're his ambassadors, his representatives. When a man rejects your witness, he rejects Jesus and he rejects God. You as a Christian absolutely represent Christ. In Galatians 4:14, the apostle Paul says this, "You received me as an angel of God even as Christ Jesus." And that's the way everybody ought to receive a believer. When you walk into a situation, my friend, you are there in the place of Jesus Christ. That's how high your calling is. And whoever in this world receives you, receives Christ and God Himself. And whoever refuses you rejects Christ and rejects God. That's how strategically important you are.
 21 When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me."
This is the third time in John’s Gospel that Jesus has been described as being “greatly distressed.” He was “intensely moved in spirit and greatly distressed” at the burial site of Lazarus (John 11:33). Later on, in chapter 12, the soul of our Lord was greatly distressed at the prospect of His coming “hour” of suffering the penalty for man’s sin (12:27). Now, our Lord is greatly distressed at the thought of one of His own followers betraying Him (13:21). As I read the text, our Lord’s distress is not self-centered; He is distressed over the spiritual condition, conduct, and destiny of one of His own.
Joh 11:33 ¶ Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
 Joh 12:27 ¶ "Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.
Jesus was greatly distressed over the destiny of Judas. Is this not an example of what Jesus Himself had taught?
Matthew 5:43-48 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemy and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be like your Father in heaven, since he causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? The tax collectors do that too, don’t they? 47 And if you only greet your brothers, what more do you do? The Gentiles do that too, don’t they? 48 So then, you be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (
While Jesus is said to be distressed three times in John, this term is also used by our Lord when instructing His disciples not to be distressed (John 14:1, 27). How can Jesus tell His disciples not to be distressed, when He is? In the case of our Lord, He is distressed in spirit (11:33; 13:21) and in His soul (12:27). His disciples are told not to be distressed in heart (14:1, 27). This forbidden distress seems to be that of unbelief (14:1) resulting in fear and the loss of courage (14:27).
You could probably list twenty-five things that troubled Him. Here's a few: He was troubled because of the unrequited love of Judas; He was troubled because of the ingratitude in Judas' heart; He was troubled because He had a deep hatred of sin and it was sitting right next to Him, sin incarnate; He was troubled because He was shrinking about from contact with the one about to betray Him; He was troubled because He knew of the eternal destiny in Hell; He was troubled because He could see with His omnipotent eye Satan moving around Judas; he was troubled because He had a knowledge of the sin of the betrayer and the terrors of his eternal punishment; He was troubled because He sensed all that sin and death meant; He was troubled because He had an inner awareness that Judas was a classic illustration of the wretchedness of sin, sin which He would have to bear in His own body on the next day, sin for which He would be made responsible, and would die for. He was troubled. He was in deep sorrow.
You remember at the tomb of Lazarus, as He thought about sin and death, He groaned in His inner man. He's in deep sorrow later in the garden of Gethsemane as He even sweats drops of blood, his whole system breaking down in the agony. And here He is, troubled, deeply, over sin and death and all that Judas is about to do. And in His trouble, he bursts out and says, "One of you is going to betray Me." And the statement is a shocking statement. Their hearts must have raced. Their pulses must have been frantic. "One of you at this table, one of you whose feet I washed, one of you who have had the honor of being my first ambassadors, one of you will betray Me. One of you will use your intimacy of Me to guide the enemy, to take Me and kill Me." "Mine own familiar friend," the psalmist said, "has lifted up his heel against me." "One of you."
22 Then the disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom He spoke.
The Synoptic Gospels provide us with a most significant detail. When informed that one of them would betray Him, the 11 disciples responded one way, while Judas responded differently:
Matthew 26:21-25 21 And while they were eating he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me.” 22 They were deeply grieved and each one began to say to him, “Surely not I, Lord?” 23 He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. 24 The Son of Man will go as it is written about him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would be better for that man if he had not been born.” 25 Then Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” Jesus said to him, “You have said it yourself”.
Each of the believing disciples asks his Lord if it is him; Judas asks the Rabbi. After all Judas has seen and heard, Jesus is still only a teacher to him.
And so, we see the divine origin and the declaration, and then the doubt. The disciples don't know who He is talking about. And in verses 22-25 they express that. They're shocked. Who is this? Matthew says they all said, "Is it I? Is it I?" And Judas even said, "Is it I?" Hypocrite. That's how it is; the hypocrites are around, aren't they? I told you that only Jesus knows who they are.
For the moment, Jesus focuses His attention on Judas. Jesus dipped a piece of bread in the dish and handed it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. What an incredible, defining, moment this was! Jesus and Judas must have locked eyes. Judas had to have known that Jesus knew everything. Jesus knew Judas was the betrayer. He knew Judas did not really believe in Him. He knew Judas had already reached an agreement with the chief priests. He knew that Judas would soon go to the Jewish authorities, and lead them to Him, to arrest Him. In spite of all this, Judas reached out and took the bread, knowing what that meant. It forever sealed his doom.
If Judas and Jesus knew exactly what was going on, the rest of the disciples were without a clue.
In Matthew 13, when Jesus gave the parables of this age, He described this age in an interesting way. And I want you to listen to this. Matthew 13:24: "Another parable put He forth unto them, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is likened unto a man who sowed good seed in his field. But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. But when the blade was sprung up and brought forth fruit, then appeared the tares also. So the servants of the household came and said unto him, 'Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in the field? From where then hath it tares?'" What's the false doing among the true? "He said unto them, "An enemy hath done this." See, wherever God sows His good seed, Satan sows his tares, doesn't he. If there is truth in the church, there are hypocrites, people playing a game. "The servant said to him, 'Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?' But he said to them, 'Nay. Lest while you gather up the tares, you root up the wheat with them.'" In other words, you can't tell the difference at this point of growth. You have to wait till it's dry and ready to harvest, then the difference becomes obvious. "'Let both grow together until the time of the harvest, and at the time of harvest, I will say to the reapers, 'Gather together first the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn."' There's coming a day, friends, when Jesus is going to decide who is the true and who is the hypocrite. I can't tell. I wish I could. If I could, I'd go to every hypocrite individually and warn him of his hypocrisy. And invite him to leave this fellowship unless he was legitimate. But I can't do that, because I can't read people's hearts. There are some telltale signs. But someday Jesus is going to know who's true and who's false. And divide accordingly.
 23 Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of His disciples, whom Jesus loved.
This is John's first reference to himself as the beloved disciple. Rather the description reveals his appreciation for God's grace in loving him as He did. He focused the reader's attention on Jesus more forcefully by omitting his own name.
 24 Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask who it was of whom He spoke.
 25 Then, leaning back on Jesus' breast, he said to Him, "Lord, who is it?"
Now this brings out the loveliness of Jesus. Isn't it interesting that the disciples were so perplexed. You know what that proves to me? That shows to me that Jesus had shown love to Judas for three years. Don't you know that they would have detected if Jesus, you know, Jesus could have been very bitter about Judas, right? All the way along, just resenting him, resenting him, resenting him. And it would have come out, in the way he talked to him. But, evidently, for three years He'd been gentle, loving, and kind to Judas in exactly the same fashion that the other eleven had experienced it, so that they didn't see any difference at all. In fact, Judas even was treasurer of the group. They trusted him. And so, evidently, that's the loveliness of Jesus, he had been constantly kind to Judas, privately rebuking him from time to time. But publicly showing him love. And hard-hearted Judas had just played his game, all the way along. He had the behavior of a saint, and the heart of a sinner.
 26 Jesus answered, "It is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it." And having dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.
Passover participants normally did this early in the meal. The host would sometimes do this and pass a morsel of bread and meat to an honored guest. Jesus did this to Judas.
Judas must have sat near enough to Jesus for Jesus to do this conveniently (cf. Matt. 26:25). Possibly Judas reclined to Jesus' immediate left. If he did, this would have put him in the place of the honored guest immediately to the host's left.
Perhaps it was the apparently high honor that Jesus bestowed on Judas by extending the morsel to him that counteracted what Jesus had just said to John about the betrayer. Could Jesus really mean that the disciple who was the guest of honor would betray Him? This apparent contradiction may explain John's lack of response to Jesus' words to him about the betrayer.
Jesus' act of friendship to Judas triggered Judas' betrayal of Jesus' friendship. This was Jesus' final gesture of supreme love for Judas (cf. v. 1).
Then, point number four, Jesus gives the display that reveals the betrayer. And I believe that this was reserved for Peter and John. I believe they're the only ones who caught the message here, because later on it says that the other disciples didn't know what was going on. But Peter and John saw what happened.
Now, you say, what is sop? Sop would be a piece of unleavened bread, broken from some of the unleavened cakes that would be on the table having broken it off, there would be on the table in very many places a dish. And there was a dish called cheshireth, and it was filled with bitter herbs, vinegar, salt, mashed fruit consisting of dates and figs and raisins and water, and it was made kind of like a dip. And they would put the unleavened bread in there, and absorb some of that dip, and then they would eat it. And now it was always a mark of honor for the host to dip a sop and give it to the guest of honor. And Jesus, lovingly, kindly, in a gesture of love toward Judas, dips the sop, and gives it to Judas on His left, as if Judas was the guest of honor. I personally would not be surprised to find out some time in eternity that Jesus even asked Judas to sit beside Him, hoping that somehow He could communicate love, and break that impenitent heart. And so, Jesus did everything He could to show His love to Judas. He even gave him the token which signified him as the guest of honor. And incidentally, the one who sat on the left was number one guest. And Judas had that seat. You would think that this would have broken Judas' heart, wouldn't you? All of this on top of washing feet and everything else, but it didn't. You see, Judas was an apostate. By this time Judas was hard, and all the sweet love of Jesus couldn't recall that one whose salvation was now impossible. He was a Hebrews 6 case. He was impossible.
You notice that-he gives his full name there. That's so all posterity will remember the name. Judas, from the town of Carioth, son of Simon, the betrayer
 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.
 hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
 
“And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL HAVE YOU RECEIVED THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL

Do you know that the greatest gift of all you can ever receive is the free gift that Jesus gave us when he died on the Cross. Have you received that free gift? Romans 6:23 says For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Repent and ask God to forgive you and save you today and receive that free gift. Remember the only way a gift can actually be yours is if you receive it, so repent and ask God to forgive you and save you today and then tell Him thank you for forgiving you and saving you.
    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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
 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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL PRAYING AND LIVING IN THE POWER OF GOD

Paul always prayed for spiritual growth, power, and understanding in his writings.  In Ephesians Chapter 1 Paul prays for enlightenment, and understanding the spiritual riches God has given to us. In Ephesians Chapter 3 he prays for enablement, that they and we would know that our God is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all we ask or think according to His power that works in us.  Did you know that you have the awesome power of God given to you.  Are you utilizing it?  That's why He gave it to us.  If God be for us, who can be against us, for we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
    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.
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions
 

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL MINISTERING TO THE LEAST OF THESE

Everyone His Love Ministries reaches out to is locked up in some way.  Some are locked up in bodies that don't work or the Nursing Home facility or in the wheelchair or bed they cannot get out of.  We minister to youth who are locked up because of behavior problems or their parents and their cry is we want to have a “REAL FAMILY”. Other kids are locked up because of crimes.  We reach those locked up correctional facilities; in addictions to drugs, depression, and suicidal thoughts.  Jesus came to give us life and set us free and these folks are not free that we minister to, but we can set them free through Christ Jesus.
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. 
www.hisloveministries.podbean.com  #HLMSocial www.hisloveministries.net  https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
Please share this on your social media with your friends. Thanks.
 

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL MINISTERING TO THE LEAST OF THESE

Everyone His Love Ministries reaches out to is locked up in some way.  Some are locked up in bodies that don't work or the Nursing Home facility or in the wheelchair or bed they cannot get out of.  We minister to youth who are locked up because of behavior problems or their parents and their cry is we want to have a “REAL FAMILY”. Other kids are locked up because of crimes.  We reach those locked up correctional facilities; in addictions to drugs, depression, and suicidal thoughts.  Jesus came to give us life and set us free and these folks are not free that we minister to, but we can set them free through Christ Jesus.
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. 
www.hisloveministries.podbean.com  #HLMSocial www.hisloveministries.net  https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/
 “And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”  -John 8:32
Please share this on your social media with your friends. Thanks.
 

JOHN 12:44-50 THEN JESUS CRIED OUT AND SAID, "HE WHO BELIEVES IN ME, BELIEVES NOT IN ME BUT IN HIM WHO SENT ME

John 12:44 Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me. 45 "And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me. 46 "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. 47 "And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. 48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. 49 "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak. 50 "And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."
 Jesus really wants people to be saved.  In Luke 19:10 it says "for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost. “The consequence of rejection is going to bring ultimate condemnation.  John 3:17-19 emphasizes the same thing.  Jesus the Word comes and people are condemned because they don’t believe it. 
 The purpose of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ is a positive offer, verse forty-seven.  “To save the world.”  You may not like the law of gravity. Gravity has no respect for persons and if you step off the top a building, the gravity will not even care or shed a tear as you hit the pavement.  It won’t care. Over and over again Jesus has told them who He is and they need to be saved, the truth has been revealed and they will not embrace it.
Whether or not people embrace it or reject it is their responsibility.  Do not blame the medical community if you have lung cancer.  Do not blame the medical community if you have diabetes.  Do not blame the physicist and the guy who figured out the laws of gravity.  You and I make a choice to go against what we know.  And that’s exactly what God saying to us here. 
 Put it another way, no one will be in hell who did not have ample opportunity to know how to be saved.  There is not a person who will go to hell who did not have ample opportunity to come to trust in Jesus Christ.  I believe Scripture teaches it throughout.  Jesus is speaking to His Father and He is speaking loud and the religious leaders are quiet because they’re afraid. How about you, what will you believe?
 44 Then Jesus cried out and said, "He who believes in Me, believes not in Me but in Him who sent Me.
We cannot tell for certain when and where these final words of our Lord were spoken. In verse 36, John tells us that Jesus “went away and hid himself from them.” Verses 37-43 are John’s words, explaining Israel’s unbelief. Verses 44-50 are our Lord’s final words, which seem to be placed here out of chronological sequence. John is not so concerned about the timing of these words as their impact. In many ways, verses 44-50 sum up the message of the Gospel of John, and of our Lord. We find nothing new here, but a repetition of what has been said many times before. Since these are our Lord’s final words, spoken publicly to the Jews in Jerusalem, this makes good sense.
I would point out that our Lord’s words here are not only applicable to the Jews, who are already rejecting Him as their Messiah, but to the Greeks, who are seeking Him as their Messiah. Jesus intends for these words to be heard because He shouts them out (verse 44).[1] I believe the backdrop for these final words of our Lord is found in John chapter 10, where our Lord says,
37 “If I do not perform the deeds of my Father, do not believe me. 38 But if I do them, even if you do not believe me, believe the deeds, so that you may come to know and understand that I am in the Father and the Father is in me.”
Jesus’ words here are spoken to the Jews in Jerusalem during the feast of the Dedication. Jesus has been teaching about Himself as the Good Shepherd, and He has clearly claimed to be one with the Father. As a result, the Jewish religious authorities sought to stone Him (10:31). Jesus tells them how they can put His words to the test. They know that He has claimed to be God, so let them test this claim by His works. Do His works confirm His words? This is a very sensitive point because our Lord frequently employs the word “hypocrite” in reference to the Pharisees. Their works did not measure up to their words (see Matthew 23:1-3). Jesus is more than willing to have His words tested by His works. If they will not believe His words for their sake alone, then let them believe His words on account of His works. Let them conclude with Nicodemus, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs that you do unless God is with him” (John 3:2).
When we go back to John 12:34, the Jewish people had to choose between the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of the Pharisees. There (12:35-36), Jesus urged them to “walk in the light,” to believe and behave in the light of what He taught. Once again, in Jesus’ final exhortation to the Jews, He urges those who hear Him to walk in the light. His message is clear and concise. He has come from God, and He speaks for God (verses 49-50). His words are God’s commandment, and this commandment is the means to eternal life (verses 49-50). To believe in the word of Jesus is to believe in the Father; to see Jesus is to see the Father (verses 44-45). If one believes in Jesus, he obeys His words. If one does not believe in the words of Jesus, he disobeys the commandment of God and fails to enter into eternal life. Instead, the words of Jesus become the basis of the unbeliever’s eternal judgment.
 First of all He, Jesus Christ, in this rendering, it says, “He cried out.”
 Some of your versions say, “He shouted out loudly.”
 That’s a good rendering and many other times its used when it means to scream or to shout out.  So Jesus Christ is openly, loudly speaking about His Father when the Jewish leaders are silent for fear.  That’s what the writer wants you to see.  Jesus came to lead the people out of darkness into light. 
Verse 44, for example. Jesus cried out, it's as if John is saying when Jesus was here, Jesus cried out and said, "He that believeth on Me believeth not on Me but on Him that sent Me." You can't believe in Jesus Christ without believing in God the Father, you can't believe in God the Father without believing in Jesus Christ. We covered that in three passages...5:24; 8:19; and 10:38, all three of those places the same message. The only way you'll ever know God is through Christ. The only way you'll ever know Christ is also to experience and know fully in the fullest sense the God who created the universe.
So what is the first result? The first forever consequence of belief? A personal knowledge of God and Christ.!
 45 "And he who sees Me sees Him who sent Me.
Then verse 45, another consequence of belief, "He that seeth Me seeth Him that sent Me." Just kind of reiterating the first statement. It's a vision and an insight concerning God. You know, Hebrews 1 tells us that Christ is the expressed image of God's person. So when you know Christ, you know the God of the universe. That's the first consequence of belief. The first forever consequence is a permanent, forever knowledge of God.
 46 "I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness.
Verse 46, "I am come a light into the world," you remember how He said that. "That whosoever believeth in Me should not abide in darkness." There's another consequence of belief, you're not in darkness, you're in light forever, eternal light.
 47 "And if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world.
here's another consequence, "If any man hear My words and believe not, I judge him not for I came not to judge the world but to save the world." That's a tremendous statement. Jesus said, "I am not come to condemn the world but that the world might be saved." Jesus didn't come as judge, He came as...what?...as Savior. He didn't come to judge the world, but if a man refuses Him, then that man assigns judgment to himself. John 3, "He is judged already because he has not believed on the name of the only begotten Son of God." Jesus said, "I came to save. If men refuse Me, that's judgment. I didn't come to judge." Next time He comes, what does He come to do? Comes to judge. First time He came to save, if men refuse His salvation they receive His judgment. I didn't come to judge, I came to save. Men refused.
 48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him--the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
"He that rejecteth Me and receiveth not My words hath one that judges him, the Word that I have spoken the same shall judge him in the last day."
 The purpose of God’s revelation in Jesus Christ is a positive offer, verse forty-seven.  “To save the world.”  We’ve spoken before about the very appearance of the message to save the world has in a sense a condemning side to it.  Come back to the foundation.  We’re all sinful already.  We’re all destined for hell already, prior to the offer of salvation coming.
 Well, the consequence of rejection is going to bring ultimate condemnation.  John 3:17-19 underscores same thing.  In this context, the Word comes and people are condemned because they don’t believe it. 
You may not like the law of gravity. gravity has no respect for persons and if you step off the top of this building, the gravity will not even care or shed a tear of propositional truth as you hit the pavement.  It won’t care.
 In all these scenarios, the law has been, if you will, revealed.  The rule’s been revealed.  Whether or not people embrace it or reject it is their responsibility.  Do not blame the medical community if you have lung cancer.  Do not blame the medical community if you have diabetes.  Do not blame the physicist and the guy who figured out the laws of gravity.  You and I make a choice to go against what we know.  And that’s exactly what God saying to us here. 
 Put it another way, no one will be in hell who did not have ample opportunity to know how to be saved.  There is not a person who will go to hell who did not have ample opportunity to come to trust in Jesus Christ.  Now, that may be hard for you to find a box to fit in, but I believe Scripture teaches it throughout.  Jesus is speaking to His Father and He is speaking loud and the religious leaders are quiet because they’re afraid.
You know what's going to judge a man without Christ? The Word that Jesus spoke, the actual words that He spoke. Let me give you an illustration of that. The Law says...Do this and you'll die. The Law says...If you kill somebody, you'll die. So you kill somebody, then what becomes your judge? The Law does because the Law said you had to die. The Law says if you violate this thing you'll have to pay a fine. So you violate it and the Law is read to you, the Law is your judge. Jesus came along and said, "Believe you have life, refuse you have death." You refuse, the statement of Jesus is your judge. In other words, the words of Christ become your judge if you refuse Christ. Christ's word is the judge of every man. It doesn't have to be Christ personally. If you...if you kill somebody and you're sentenced by the Law that said if you murder you pay, you can't blame the judge and say, "You're the one, Judge, who sent me to jail, it's all your fault?" No. It's not his fault, he merely is there to make sure that that law...that that law operates on you. And that's how it is at the Great White Throne when Jesus is going to judge men. He's not going to be there to pass all the verdicts just ipso-facto without any other relationship, He is only there to say...Now here was the law, you violated it, so by that law you are judged. So if you don't believe, the Law, the word of Jesus is going to be your judge.
 49 "For I have not spoken on My own authority; but the Father who sent Me gave Me a command, what I should say and what I should speak.
  50 "And I know that His command is everlasting life. Therefore, whatever I speak, just as the Father has told Me, so I speak."  
Jesus says, “I’ve got my Father’s command.”  First time He calls the Gospel a command.  There’s a sense in which the Gospel message is a command.  A command to be obeyed by his son.  “To preach it.  Teach it.”  A command to be obeyed by people to believe Him.  Obeying the Father’s commandment will result in eternal life and condemnation comes not because God sent and relegated to hell, condemnation comes because they reject the Word that came.  And that judges them and therefore they are self-condemned. 
If a man refuses to hear the teaching of Jesus Christ, he sentences himself. He assigns himself to judgment. Jesus came to save. He came to give light. He came to show men the knowledge of God. He came to offer men everlasting life. If a man refuses it, a man then assigns himself to judgment.
Hebrews 12:25, "See that you refuse not Him that speaketh for if they escape not who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him that speaketh from heaven?"
if the people who lived when the prophets lived and when Jesus lived refused and serious judgment came on them, how much more serious on us who refuse when God speaks right out of heaven? Whose voice then shook the earth. "But now He hath promise saying yet once more I shake not the earth only but also heaven and this word yet once more signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken." He goes on to say that God is a consuming fire. Listen, if it was serious when men refused God through the voice of His prophets and His Son, how much more serious is it going to be when we refuse His direct voice to us in His Word? God is a consuming fire. To believe is everlasting life, to reject and harden your heart may mean that God will harden it for you. You will not believe and soon you cannot believe.
Israel had a day, and it ended. And so could yours.
 The root of unbelief points to the glory of Jesus Christ. He is the radiance of God’s glory, but he is meek and lowly. The root of unbelief is to love the glory of man (the centrality of man, the praise of man) and not the glory of God (the centrality and supremacy of God). And that is exactly backwards. When we love the glory of God above the glory of man, we will not reject Jesus, but believe on him.
The text of this message and the entire story of the public ministry of Jesus points us to the cross where he will die. He was the glory of Isaiah 6. He was the unattractive suffering servant of Isaiah 53. And therefore (because of both) he was rejected by men and destined for the cross — and for the salvation of the world. This is what God planned in the unbelief of Israel.
He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:3–5)
  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.
 hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
 The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.
[1] The same word (shouted out) is found in John 7:37, where Jesus “shouted out” His words in the temple (see also 7:28). Jesus wants to be certain everyone hears these most crucial words.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL THE BIBLE SAYS WE ARE TO SHOW NO PREJUDICE

Hi, I'm Marty Mckenzie with His Love Ministries.  Come closer I know a secret, Nah, not really, the secret is out. What was a mystery in the OT is now revealed. We are all one in Christ. Galatians says there is no more Jew, No Greek, No male, no female. James says to show no partiality, Peter said that God is no respecter of persons and Ac 17:26 says we all came from one blood.  So the next time we see a brother or sister in Christ, no matter their color, or standing in society, let's remember that God saved us both out of the same sin, and we are all one in Christ, Can we do that?
   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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

JOHN 12:37-43 FOR THEY LOVED THE PRAISE OF MEN MORE THAN THE PRAISE OF GOD

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.
 hisloveministries.podbean.com #HLMSocial hisloveministries.net https://www.instagram.com/hisloveministries1/?hl=en https://www.facebook.com/His-Love-Ministries-246606668725869/?tn-str=k*F
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
 The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions.

30 SECOND DEVOTIONAL WHO ARE YOU SERVING? IS IT THE DEVIL OR THE LORD

 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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions

DEVOTIONAL TRUSTING THE LAW OR THE LORD

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
https://www.paypal.com/fundraiser/110230052184687338/charity/145555
The world is trying to solve earthly problems that can only be solved with heavenly solutions