Thursday, January 31, 2013

SIH’s Think On These Things: Isaiah 6:5-7

We now continue our devotional series on the two-fold calling (to salvation and to service) of Isaiah.  Remember in this series we will be looking to learn more about the One who is calling Isaiah, along with the nature of the calls and an examination of the submission to these calls by Isaiah…



We have just concluded our look at God’s call to salvation that He issued to Isaiah…



Isa 6:5-7  Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.  (6)  Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:  (7)  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.



In vs 5 - we saw how the Lord prepared the lost man’s heart to receive the gospel message.  This included showing him his sinful condition and recognizing his inability to save himself from his sins.

In vs 6 - we saw the Christian, empowered by the Holy Spirit, taking the message of Christ’s sacrifice (the gospel) to the lost.

In vs 7 - we see the salvation taking place as the gospel is applied with the results of spiritual cleansing and covering of sin through the shed blood of Christ.



Keep in mind the basic order of things….

Isaiah saw God in His holiness…. This led him to recognize his sinful condition…. This led to repentance … this led to his cleansing.   



This cycle should take place repeatedly throughout the course of our lives of Christian service:

As we spend time in the Word, we see God’s holiness revealed to us on a daily basis… This should lead us to continually recognize the sin that is in our lives…. This should lead us to the confession of those sins…  This, then, leads to continual cleansing and renewal of our intimate walk with Him. 



This is the very principle taught to us in 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Contextually, this is one of several marks John is giving to us that show we have had a genuine salvation experience.   If we do not see (or care about) the sin that is in our lives, we need to seriously question whether we have experienced God’s grace in salvation.



Do we lose our salvation if we do not continually confess our sins to God?  No, when the Lord died on the cross He paid the JUDICIAL penalty of our sins past, present and future.  Why, then, must we continually confess our sins to the Lord?  It is an issue of retaining an intimate walk with Him.  Unconfessed sin in the life of a Christian hinders our walk with Christ, thus hindering our spiritual growth and separation to His service.   



Think of it like this…. When I was young, at times, I disobeyed my parents.  When I disobeyed I still was a member of my family, but until I confessed my sin to my parents things were not the same between us.  I felt guilt and recognized I had failed and hurt them.  It was harder for me to talk to them.  It was these feelings that hindered my relationship with them.  



In much the same way, our sin hinders our relationship with our heavenly Father.  That is why He will even go to the extreme of chastening to bring me back to Him (Heb 12:5-11) He desires to have a close relationship with His children.  We should desire the same.



May we all see His holiness, be recipients of His grace, and forever enjoy a close walk with Him through the confession of our sins.



May the Lord bless us as we “Think On These Things”.




Wednesday, January 30, 2013

SIH’s Think On These Things: Isaiah 6:7

We now continue our devotional series on the two-fold calling (to salvation and to service) of Isaiah.  Remember in this series we will be looking to learn more about the One who is calling Isaiah, along with the nature of the calls and an examination of the submission to these calls by Isaiah…



In this verse we see the salvation experience of Isaiah.  As the seraphim (symbolic of a faithful Christian) uses the tongs (Spirit of God) to bring Isaiah the coal (Word) which results in his salvation…



Isa 6:7  And he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged.



How does salvation take place in an individual’s life? 

1. As we saw prior, first the Lord must prepare the hearts of the lost individual to see their sin, see their need of       salvation and be receptive to the gospel message. (verse 5)

2. Then the Lord must have the gospel taken to the lost.  In this case we saw that the Lord called a Christian,           empowered by the Spirit, to take the Word to Isaiah. (verse 6)

3.  Now, (in verse 7) we see that the Word is used through the intervention and power of the Spirit to remove and    cover Isaiah’s sin.



The two words that are used to describe the removal of Isaiah’s sin are:

1. “taken away”  this comes from a Hebrew word that means “to be plucked”, “removed” or “withdrawn”.  This        speaks of his sin being taken from his account, in a sense, it is as if he had never sinned. In other words,        he was justified.

2. “purged” this word is a form of the Hebrew word normally translated “atonement” or “covering”.  This teaches      us that his sins were covered, or atoned for, by the blood of Christ.  



Finally, why is the Word said to touch His mouth?  I believe this was in preparation of his future call to the prophetic ministry.  The touching of his mouth worked salvation throughout his entire being, it is just a way to emphasize, once saved and ministering for the Lord, His mouth would be cleansed and separated for the Lord’s use in a very unique way.

    

Let us thank the Lord for the person or ministry that was faithful to the Lord to bring the Word to us. 



But most importantly let’s thank the Lord for intervening in our life, preparing our hearts, sending us the Word and then applying the Word to our life.  Many times, we thank Him for His great sacrifice on the cross (which is wonderful)… but we forget to thank Him for the process of salvation that He worked in our lives.



May the Lord bless us as we “Think On These Things”.








Sunday, January 27, 2013

“SIH’s Think On These Things: Isaiah 6:6”

We now continue our devotional series on the two-fold calling (to salvation and to service) of Isaiah.  Remember in this series we will be looking to learn more about the One who is calling Isaiah, along with the nature of the calls and an examination of the submission to these calls by Isaiah…



In our previous study we saw that the Lord had revealed Himself to Isaiah in this vision, causing Isaiah to recognize his sinfulness and his inability to merit the forgiveness of those sins.  This was the Lord preparing Isaiah’s heart to receive His forgiveness and cleansing…



We now see the Lord raising up one of His disciples to take His purifying Word (the gospel message) to Isaiah…



Isa 6:6  Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the altar:



Here we find four symbols being used in this verse:

1. The flying seraphim (symbolic of a Christian actively obeying God’s commands)

2. A live coal (the life giving, purifying gospel message)

3. His brazen altar (Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross)

4. The Tongs (the Holy Spirit that applies the Word to the lost individual)



Here is the basic events taking place in this part of the vision… they all revolve around the Christian taking God’s Word and preparing to share it with the lost individual who sees his need of salvation…



1. The Christian is now following the commands of the Lord, seeking to take the gospel to the lost.

2. He takes the gospel message (the coal) which is based upon the message of Christ’s sacrificial work on the cross (the brazen altar).

3. The Christian takes the gospel message (the coal) through the Holy Spirit’s (the tongs) power and enabling. It is only through the Holy Spirit that the Christian is able to take the gospel handle it, teach it, properly apply it and use it effectively.  It is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that there will be any results borne from the sharing of the gospel.



Folks, this is the preparation that should take place as we prepare to take the gospel to the lost…



1. We should go always be asking God to direct us to the individual He would have receive it.  And then, ask Him to open the opportunity for us to speak to them.

2. We should go with the motive of loving the lost wanting to share God’s word with them.

3. We should go remembering the work that Christ has done on the cross and in our hearts.  This should cause us to witness humbly, lovingly and carefully.  We should realize that, apart from God’s grace, we would be in the same shape as the lost individual to whom we are witnessing.  

4. We should consider that our witness will have spiritual ramifications in the life of the hearer.  Our witness is a BIG DEAL we should not take it lightly nor irresponsibly.  We need to be sure we are prepared spiritually before going forth to share the wondrous gospel message.  



May we all be prepared to ne a witness for Him before we leave our “quiet time” with Him today.



May the Lord bless us as we “Think On These Things”.









Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage (2) : Divorce and Remarriage

Saturday, January 26, 2013

SIH’s Think On These Things: Isaiah 6:5

We now continue our devotional series on the two-fold calling (to salvation and to service) of Isaiah.  Remember in this series we will be looking to learn more about the One who is calling Isaiah, along with the nature of the calls and an examination of the submission to these calls by Isaiah…



Being faced with a marvelous display of the Lord’s greatness (Isa 6:1-4), Isaiah now responds to this vision of the Lord in Isa 6:5…

“Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”



Isaiah’s observations  about himself following his glimpse of the Holy Sovereign Lord:

  1. Woe is me” – “woe” means to be facing impending judgment.  As Isaiah saw the holiness of Christ he was reminded of his own sinfulness and the great judgment of sin he was facing.
  2. for I am undone” – “undone” refers to “silence due to recognition of inability, guilt and/or hopelessness.”  Isaiah recognized he could do nothing to please God, and that his guilt was overwhelming and his judgment could not be averted.
  3. I am a man of unclean lips” – Isaiah realized that disobedience had so permeated his being that his outward life was displaying that sin.
  4. I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips” – Isaiah began to notice the sin of others around him.  What he didn’t notice before was now getting his attention.



Isaiah’s heart has now been prepared to receive the salvation that comes only through God’s grace.



What was the cause of such an upheaval of the way he perceived himself and others?  He had come face to face with the King of all, the One he was to submit to, his Lord… “for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts”



Has the Lord touched your heart and revealed Himself to you through the gospel message?  If so, the responses of Isaiah will be your responses also…. You will:

  1. See your sinfulness
  2. See your inability to save yourself
  3. See the effects of sin in your life and actions.
  4. See the sin in the world around you



Has the Lord ever touched your heart and, through His gracious intervention, showed Himself to you? 



If you have never felt this way about yourself, and the sin that is in the world, you can be certain that you have never entered into a relationship with Almighty God.    



May the Lord bless us as we “Think On These Things”.






Friday, January 25, 2013

SIH’s Think On These Things: Isaiah 6:1-4 Summary

We now continue our devotional series on the two-fold calling (to salvation and to service) of Isaiah.  Remember in this series we will be looking to learn more about the One who is calling Isaiah, along with the nature of the calls and an examination of the submission to these calls by Isaiah…



If you remember the outline that was given in the Introductory lesson,  at the end of our last lesson we came to the end of the section we entitled “The Lord’s revelation of Himself to Isaiah”  In that section of Scripture (Isa 6:1-4), we have seen the Lord as:



  1. The Sovereign Lord who rules over all. (6:1a)
  2. The One who is Supreme over all. And deserves to be praised by all men. (6:1b)
  3.  The Exclusive One who deserves all of our honor, service and our faithfulness (6:1c)
  4. The Savior who has purified His people through the fires of salvation, saving them from the fires of eternal punishment (6:2a)
  5. The Gracious Forgiving Lord who, in spite of His people’s great shame, forgives them and then gives them the privilege to serve Him (6:2b)
  6. The Holy Lord of Hosts who receives the praise of His people for who He is and what He has done for them. (6:3)
  7. The Lord of Truth graciously revealing the powerful gospel message to the entire world through the ministry of His people. (6:4)



What a incomprehensible Lord we worship and serve! 

Psa 145:3  Great is the LORD, and greatly to be praised; and his greatness is unsearchable.





This explains Isaiah’s response to this vision of the Lord in Isa 6:5… (We will begin looking at this verse in our next lesson.)

“Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts.”



Let us think about the greatness of our Lord throughout our day and throughout the rest of our lives allowing these thoughts to create a spirit of humility, appreciation and love in our hearts for Him.



May the Lord bless us as we “Think On These Things”.






Thursday, January 24, 2013

SIH’s Think On These Things: Isaiah 6:4

We now continue our devotional series on the two-fold calling (to salvation and to service) of Isaiah.  Remember in this series we will be looking to learn more about the One who is calling Isaiah, along with the nature of the calls and an examination of the submission to these calls by Isaiah…



Keep in mind, in our last devotion, we saw the Seraphim crying out  Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory.



In our verse for this morning we see the effects of that cry…

Isa 6:4  And the posts of the door moved at the voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke.



When the seraphim proclaimed God’s holiness, we see two things taking place:

  1. “the posts of the door moved” – a doorpost, which is part of the door frame is one of the strongest parts of a building.  When the doorposts of the temple move this teaches us of the power of the message that the Seraphim is proclaiming. 
  2. “the house was filled with smoke” – In Revelation 15:8, smoke in the temple was associated with God’s great power and glory.  This coincides with the content of this vision which brings glory to God in two ways:
    1. He is glorified for His Sovereignty (vs 1)
    2. The powerful message of the Seraphim reveals the glory of His holiness to all creation (vs 3).



What we are seeing in this verse is a symbolic representation of God’s people (pictured by the Seraphims) honoring and glorifying God by telling others about Him.  They do this by proclaiming the powerful gospel to the world.  (Rom 1:16-17, Mark 16:15)



To conclude this devotional…. Let’s please ask ourselves 5 questions…



  1. As we present the gospel to others, do we realize the great power that the gospel possesses?  

Through the empowerment of the Spirit of God, the gospel can break the hardest of hearts and bring into Christ’s captivity the sinful desires and thoughts of lost mankind.(2 Cor 10:4-6)  This gospel that we proclaim is so effective in its work, that its reception, or rejection, is the determining factor in what will be the eternal destination of the hearer. (Mark 16:15-16, Roms 1:16-17).  The gospel is the “keys of the kingdom of heaven” that Peter is given to spread throughout the world resulting in the hearer being bound eternally in hell or being forever loosed in heaven (Matt 16:16-20)

  1. Do we understand the great responsibility and privilege that we have been given? 

We are the instrument that the Lord has chosen to declare this powerful gospel to the lost. 

  1. Do we take the gospel with confidence, knowing He will use our labors for His glory and to call men to Himself?
  2. Do we strive to live Holy lives for Him?  

By doing so, we are “backing up our words with our actions” as we present a consistent testimony to those around us. 

  1. And finally, do we pray before we go, asking the Lord to empower our words and lead our feet to go where He would have us to go? 

Remember, without His leadership and enabling we CANNOT be effective witnesses for Him.



May the Lord bless us as we “Think On These Things”.






Wednesday, January 23, 2013

“SIH’s Think On These Things: Isaiah 6:3 ”

We now continue our devotional series on the two-fold calling (to salvation and to service) of Isaiah.  Remember in this series we will be looking to learn more about the One who is calling Isaiah, along with the nature of the calls and an examination of the submission to these calls by Isaiah…



And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory. 



In our text for this morning we see learn about the seraphim’s (symbolic of the saved) message to the world.  The message of these heavenly beings is representative of the message of Christ that we are to take to sinful, fallen mankind.  Their message has two main aspects to it.:

  1. Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts” –  The first aspect of the seraphim’s message involves proclaiming truth about the person and attributes of our Lord. 
    1. He is described here as being “holy” – each person of the Trinity is totally separate from sin and works in harmony to bring about God’s purposes. It also explains why sinful acts on mankind’s part will separate us from communion with Him.
    2. His personal identity is revealed “LORD” – This is the Hebrew word Jehovah.  The seraphims are making it plain that the True God, Jehovah, is present in the vision, not Baal, not Ashtoreth etc etc.
    3. “LORD of hosts” – The seraphims clearly declare that Jehovah is the One that controls both the heavenly and earthly hosts.  They are explaining one of His many attributes… His Kingship (or His Sovereignty).
  2. “the whole earth is full of his glory.” –  The second part of the seraphim’s message speaks of the work of Jehovah, His creation, which gives proof of His existence, power and wisdom.



As Christians are we following the seraphim’s example of proclaiming the gospel (good news) of Christ?  If so, we will find that as a general rule, we will be including these aspects in our witnessing…

  1. We should be proclaiming truth about our Lord and His attributes. Things like…
    1. His identity – We should be making it plain to others that salvation is supplied to man through the Lord Jesus Christ.  Not just “God” or not just “the Lord”.  These titles can apply to the false gods and saviors this world has dreamed up.  But when we make plain we are witnessing of Christ and His work, it eliminates all false religions and false Gods.
    2. His attributes – We should be explaining His attributes that are on display during His life and crucifixion.  His love, justice, submission to His Father, and His Deity… to name a few.
  2. We should be explaining His work on our behalf – His coming as Man to earth, His teaching, His sufferings and death, His resurrection, His ascension.       



Remember these are just general rules that we should keep in mind as we witness for Christ. We are to always follow the Lord’s guidance as we speak to an individual.  He will lay upon our hearts what He would have us to say in the individual cases of our witnessing. 



May the Lord bless us as we “Think On These Things”.








Tuesday, January 22, 2013

“The Precious Word Part #4” The Word Reveals The Messiah

1Sa 3:1 “ … And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; …”

 




INTRODUCTION:



Throughout the Old Testament scriptures we find the central theme of the coming Messiah and His work on behalf of mankind. The prophecies surrounding the Messiah are extensive, compelling and of the utmost importance for all of mankind.  However, in spite of the prophecies importance, there is much debate and misunderstanding concerning the identity of this Messiah. 



For some, the Messiah has already come and fulfilled many of the OT prophecies. For others, He is yet to come and bring a fulfillment to these prophecies, and yet, to others, these prophecies are only fulfilled in a spiritual fashion with no literal Messiah to ever come to the earth.



God displayed for us the importance of recognizing and submitting to the Messiah by His public rejection of the nation of Israel in the 1st century AD.  The Jews rejected the Messiah which led God to turn His back on the nation of Israel thus making it both spiritually and physically desolate.  This desolation was made complete with the destruction of the temple and the casting out of the Jewish people from the land of Israel during the invasion of the Romans under Titus in 70 AD.



Our precious Word, openly identifies the true Messiah, the One sent by God for the purpose of creating a kingdom over which He will rule for an eternity. 



SCRIPTURES:



Act 10:37-43 

(KJV) (37)  That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;  (38)  How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.  (39)  And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:  (40)  Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;… it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.  (43)  To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.



(ESV) (37) you yourselves know what happened throughout all Judea, beginning from Galilee after the baptism that John proclaimed: (38) how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with him. (39) And we are witnesses of all that he did both in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They put him to death by hanging him on a tree, (40) but God raised him on the third day and made him to appear, he is the one appointed by God to be judge of the living and the dead. (43) To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”



Joh 6:66-69 

(KJV) From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.  (67)  Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?  (68)  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.  (69)  And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.



(ESV)  (66) After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. (67) So Jesus said to the Twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”  (68) Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, (69) and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.”



Luk 24:44-49

(KJV)  And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  (45)  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,  (46)  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:  (47)  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  (48)  And ye are witnesses of these things.  (49)  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.



(ESV)  (44) Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.”  (45) Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, (46) and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, (47) and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. (48)  You are witnesses of these things. (49) And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.”



THE STUDY:



To begin our study let’s try to find out what we mean by the term “Messiah”: 

  1. The Old Testament word “Messiah” comes from a Hebrew word meaning “Anointed One”. 
  2. The New Testament, the word “Christ” comes from the Greek word for “Anointed One”. 
  3. Therefore, “Messiah” and “Christ” are words that mean the same thing, they are simply translated from two different languages (John 1:41) “…We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ.” . 



The core idea of both terms (Messiah, Christ) is the idea of being anointed.  In the OT, when a person was anointed (normally with olive oil upon the head) it was a public declaration that this person had been chosen by God to fill a specific office. For the most part, men who were publically anointed with oil were men who were chosen to fulfill one of three offices: Prophet, Priest or King.





This brings us to our first text in Acts 10:37-43 ….



(37)  That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;  (38)  How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.  (39)  And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree:  (40)  Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly;… it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead.  (43) To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.”

Here, we find the principle of the “Messiah” clearly explained in verse 38:

  1. Notice that a public anointing took place.  
  2. This public anointing was performed by God using the empowering Holy Spirit as the “anointing oil”.
  3. As a result of this empowering anointing, we find works of kindness, and works that healed those afflicted by Satan (physical sickness and/or demonic possession) being performed.



Not only do we have an anointing being described, but we also have the One that is anointed being identified… “Jesus of Nazareth” (vs 38). He was:

  1. Anointed by God the Father at His baptism (Matt 3:16-17, John 1:32-34).  
  2. The One that was anointed by the Father to fulfill all three offices of:
    1. Prophet speaking the very words of God (John 14:10);
    2. Priest standing between Holy God and sinful man making reconciliation, working peace (Hebs 5:1-10);
    3. King over all being exalted by God as a faithful Son, given authority to rule over all (Phils 2:5-11, Rev 19:10-16).
  3. Unjustly crucified (vs 39)
  4. Resurrected the third day (vs 40)
  5. Witnessed publically by many following His resurrection (vs 40). 
  6. Given authority by God the Father to be Judge in the last day (Acts 17:31, Rom 14:9-10)

Jesus is the One that the Old Testament prophets had spoken and revealed to be the God-sent Savior of His people (Isaiah 53:1-12). It is this Jesus who is the “Messiah”; in other words, it is Jesus who is the “Christ”.  It is this death, burial, resurrection, and public display of the risen Messiah that makes up the “gospel” (good news) message (1 Cor 15:1-11).





Christ’s work, as defined in the gospel message, is the same work that the Old Testament prophesies attributed to the Messiah.  We can see this in Luke 24:44-49….



And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.  (45)  Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,  (46)  And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:  (47)  And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.  (48)  And ye are witnesses of these things.  (49)  And, behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

Along with Jesus explaining to His assembled disciples the content of the Old Testament prophesies concerning Himself (vs 44-46), He also left them with a set of responsibilities.  These responsibilities would all center on their need to spread the “good news” about Christ and His work to others:

1.    To preach the need for repentance resulting in the remission of sins to all nations (vs 47)

2.    To be witnesses of His fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies and His identification as the Messiah. (vs 48)

3.    To proclaim the gospel using the empowering of the Holy Spirit to preach and, then, work results in the hearts of men. (vs 49)





Peter affirms Jesus identity as the Messiah in John 6:66-69…



From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.  (67)  Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?  (68)  Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.  (69)  And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.

Peter’s statement leaves us no doubt about the Messiah’s true identity. Peter makes the statement “We believe AND ARE SURE that thou art the Christ…”. 



During His earthly ministry, His followers were able to see the OT prophecies being fulfilled right before their very eyes. In spite of this, many did not believe Jesus’ testimony and willingly chose to ignore the many proofs of His Messiah-ship. It were these same individuals who chose to no longer follow Him. 



In contrast to the many who chose to leave His side, there were those who, by faith, recognized His true identity and dedicated themselves to follow Him, the Messiah. Peter verbally declared what His true followers knew in their regenerated hearts and minds that Jesus had come and fulfilled the ministries given to Him by the Father.  He was the fulfillment of the OT promises of their coming Messiah.  He was “the Christ, the Son of the living God”.



THE APPLICATION:



Why is God’s Word precious to us?  By His grace, through His Word, God has revealed to us the identity of the Messiah.  It is His beloved Son, God Himself, the Lord Jesus.  When we understand that Jesus is the One sent from God to be the Eternal Prophet, Priest and King, we can begin to understand why Christ and His work must be considered with an extreme seriousness.  How we deal with Christ (His person, His message and His work) is what will dictate our standing before Almighty God and, as a consequence, our eternal destiny. 



Will we like Peter come to an unquestioning acceptance of Jesus as the Messiah?  If we do, it is entirely an act of God’s grace at work in our hearts and minds. 



Or, will we choose to not believe in the clear message of His Messiah-ship found in God’s Word?  If this is the case, we can only attribute this to our sinful condition which has blinded our eyes to the truths of His Word. We have chosen the sinful path upon which we are walking. We have no one to blame but ourselves.  

    




If you have any questions concerning the way of salvation please feel free to visit or call a Bible teaching church in your area.  They will be happy to speak to you about the Lord Jesus and the salvation He graciously gives.



Or, if you would rather, feel welcome to email me at settledinheaven@gmail.com.  I’ll be more than happy to answer any question you may have. 



Also, if you look at my blog page “How To Have A Relationship With God”.  On this page, you will find several blog entries explaining the way of salvation.
 

Please visit the “Settled In Heaven Ministries” homepage – http://www.settledinheaven.org

My Main Blog “Settled In Heaven” (updated twice weekly) – http://settledinheaven.wordpress.com


May the Lord bless your study of His Word.  Like God’s Word… may your soul’s salvation and your life’s faithfulness be “Settled in Heaven.”