Tags
1 John 4:1-3, 1 John 4:4, Are You Ready, Believe It Or Not, Choices Count, Jesus Is Coming!, John 14:6, John 15:5, John 5:24-47, Ready Or Not
Bible Ballistics: Vol. 13 No.12 Believe It Or Not???
I have a brief message today, brief in the sense that I have little to say about the passage I want to share with you, but rather want to let you ponder the words of Jesus! I truly believe that the day of His approaching return is very near, and we live in days when, like the people who heard and saw Jesus in person, men are unwilling to heed the voice of the Son of God. And as Jesus said Himself, HE is the only way.
“Jesus saith unto him,
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life:
no man cometh unto the Father,
but by me.” John 14:6
Jesus IS the only way to God, and regardless of what the world says, there is NO other way. And when we come to Jesus in repentance and faith, we will find that HE is sufficient to our every need, and all that we do is dependent on HIM! Even as His child, I am only profitable to God as I yield to and depend on the work of God in me through the Holy Spirit of Jesus! How sad that so many who claim to know Him, preach a different gospel—one of self-reliance, greed, and prosperity—rather than the call of Jesus to “take up your cross and follow me…”!
“Abide in me,
and I in you.
As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine;
no more can ye,
except ye abide in me.
5 I am the vine,
ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me,
and I in him,
the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me
ye can do nothing.” John 15:5
Without Jesus there is no future but death and hell, but with Him we can have eternal life through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ—for our sin! (See 1 Corinthians 15:1-8). Jesus is our life, hope and assurance, and truly “without me ye can do nothing”! But with Him we can truly say with Paul, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:13)
The passage from John’s Gospel, is Jesus’ own message to those who refuse to receive HIM! I simply ask that you read this passage and ponder its content, and the heart of the Messiah who spoke it to us all those years ago! Do you know Him? Are there those whom you love who need to know Him? Will you determine today to be a reflection of The Savior to a lost and dying world? Will you stand by the truth of The Word rather than the ‘gospel of convenience’ that is clamoring all about us? The choice is yours, but remember, there is a test at the end! His love is written in RED!
“Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that heareth my word,
and believeth on him that sent me,
hath everlasting life,
and shall not come into condemnation;
but is passed
from death unto life.
25 Verily, verily, I say unto you,
The hour is coming,
and now is,
when the dead shall hear the voice
of the Son of God:
and they that hear shall live.
26 For as the Father hath life in himself;
so hath he given to the Son
to have life in himself;
27 And hath given him authority
to execute judgment also,
because he is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this:
for the hour is coming,
in the which all that are in the graves
shall hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth;
they that have done good,
unto the resurrection of life;
and they that have done evil,
unto the resurrection of damnation.
30 I can of mine own self do nothing:
as I hear,
I judge:
and my judgment is just;
because I seek not mine own will,
but the will of the Father
which hath sent me.
31 If I bear witness of myself,
my witness is not true.
32 There is another that beareth witness of me;
and I know that the witness
which he witnesseth of me
is true.
33 Ye sent unto John,
and he bare witness unto the truth.
34 But I receive not testimony from man:
but these things I say,
that ye might be saved.
35 He was a burning and a shining light:
and ye were willing for a season
to rejoice in his light.
36 But I have greater witness
than that of John:
for the works which the Father hath given me
to finish,
the same works that I do,
bear witness of me,
that the Father
hath sent me.
37 And the Father himself,
which hath sent me,
hath borne witness of me.
Ye have neither heard his voice at any time,
nor seen his shape.
38 And ye have not his word
abiding in you:
for whom he hath sent,
him ye believe not.
39 Search the scriptures;
for in them ye think ye have eternal life:
and they are they which testify of me.
40 And ye will not come to me,
that ye might have life.
41 I receive not honour from men.
42 But I know you,
that ye have not the love of God
in you.
43 I am come in my Father’s name,
and ye receive me not:
if another shall come in his own name,
him ye will receive.
44 How can ye believe,
which receive honour
one of another,
and seek not the honour
that cometh from God only?
45 Do not think that I will accuse you
to the Father:
there is one that accuseth you,
even Moses,
in whom ye trust.
46 For had ye believed Moses,
ye would have believed me:
for he wrote of me.
47 But if ye believe not his writings,
how shall ye believe my words?” John 5:24-47
Whose words will you believe? God’s Word both written, spoken, and the “living Word”, or will you choose to believe the one who will “come in his own name”? And as John the Apostle wrote—there is “one” coming, but there are many of “his” already at work. Be aware, be prepared, be saved while you still can!
“Beloved,
believe not every spirit,
but try the spirits
whether they are of God:
because many false prophets
are gone out into the world.
2 Hereby know ye the Spirit of God:
Every spirit that confesseth
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh
is of God:
3 And every spirit that confesseth not
that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh
is not of God:
and this is that spirit of antichrist,
whereofye have heard that it should come;
and even now already
is it in the world.” 1 John 4:1-3
Satan is alive and well on planet earth! But we win because:
“Ye are of God, little children,
and have overcome them:
because greater is he that is in you,
than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4