Right to Believe

John 14:29 KJV

And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

Here is an Old Testament principle practiced by the Lord. The people of the Old Testament were to verify the truthfulness of a prophet by this one evidence; if what he said came to pass he was if God. Here Jesus tells His disciples that his purpose in telling them what would happen to Him served to give them reason and right (authority) to believe.

Pharaoh's Biggest Blunder

Exodus 5:1-2 KJV

And afterward Moses and Aaron went in, and told Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Let my people go, that they may hold a feast unto me in the wilderness.

And Pharaoh said, Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice to let Israel go? I know not the LORD, neither will I let Israel go.

Moses and Aaron went to speak to Pharaoh but they did not speak for themselves. Whatever opinions they may have had at this moment we are not told. What we are told is what they spoke for God. They even spoke in the first person. They quoted God to Pharaoh.

Pharaoh made a huge but common blunder; he received the Word of God as if it were the words of men. They held no power with him. He heard no authority in them. This would ultimately be his ruin.

People are forever having an audience with men of God, attending services, listening to messages, hearing Bible reading. There is no shortage of church houses and, though numbers of attendees are proclaimed to be declining (according to polls, that is not my observation in Independent Baptist Churches), there seems to be no small number of people supporting religious services. The problem is that they leave none the better and sometimes worse than before they came. They hear, but they do not hear it as the authoritative Word of God. They hear but they treat it as just another of the many opinions of men. They hear but they refuse what they have heard.

And they do it, sooner or later, to their own hurt.

Never Say Never

John 13:8 KJV

Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

My father in law used to say, "Never say never". More times than I can count has life circumstances worked so that I did something I never thought I would do.

Once in a while it has been a positive experience.

I never thought I would be able to do a thing but I did.

Sometimes it has been a negative experience.

I never wanted to do s thing but unfortunately did.

Every now and then it is a negative experience turned positive.

I did not think I would want to do a thing but I am now glad I did.

Peter told the Lord He would never wash his feet but, we read a few verses down that He did. The Lord's plan for our life often seems so contrary to the plans we have made or the dreams we envision for ourselves that our first response might be "Never!".  The fact is, God's will is going to be accomplished despite our protests to the contrary and we will praise God it is. 

The Heart Reached Through Humility

John 12:18 KJV

For this cause the people also met him, for that they heard that he had done this miracle.

There had to have been some catalyst for the crowd of people casting palms and calling Jesus King. They had seen miracles they had followed Him and even attempted to force him to become king. This time they just assumed Him as their king. The miracle of calling Lazarus from the grave where he had laid four days was witnessed by so many and spread so quickly and was of such dramatic nature that they took this upon themselves without consultation organization or approval. He would be king.

Period.

But the same catalyst for the palm branches was the final straw in the Pharisee's mounting antagonism against Christ. So dramatic a miracle as that could not convince the heart given over to religion. So dramatic a miracle as that could not change the hearts of people who, though calling Christ king, believed only for what they could get.

It is the heart God is after and the heart is only reached through humility and not miracles. We need miracles. They sustain us and give us victory over the obstacles of a world bent in opposition to the Lord. But the cross; that of Christ and our own crosses, are essential to faith. They give us victory over the enemy in our own flesh.

Every Man is a Certain Man

John 11:1 KJV

Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.

The word certain, in this context, means particular. Lazarus was not just any man, he was the very man that was sick, died and whom Jesus called back to life. But every man is a certain man in some way.

·       Every man has his particular experience with family

·       Every man has his particular relationships with others

·       Every man has his particular stories about life

Every man is a certain man in the eyes of God; so particular is every man that the Bible says the very hairs of our head are all numbered by the Lord.

The word certain can also mean true or sure. The context I think demands the other definition as the primary one. It is, I think, significant however that the account of Lazarus is so fantastic that assurances of its certainty are helpful. This is a true sure and certain account. And the one who called Lazarus out of the grave has promised to do the very same for us.