Hi there!
I have been looking forward to this time so we can talk about Jesus in a really cool way.
The best part of Jesus is that He never gets tired of listening to you talk to Him and He rewards you when you talk or hear about Him.
There are some passages of scriptures you read and you are encouraged, energized, and full of faith, and some other passages you read and it is as though it robs you of faith and leaves you depressed and confused.
Here’s some advice; Do not let obscure passages rob you of the truth you have found in clear passages...
Instead, go to the Lord and ask Him for understanding. As a rule of thumb, the scriptures read in their context should impart Faith, Hope, and Love...
So if you read something and it makes you afraid, or you hear a sermon that imparts fear to you, it is a lie and not the Gospel.
The Lord does not traffic on the wavelength of fear and curses; He rides on the wave of Love, Hope, and peace.
Jesus clearly said,
"
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one." John 10:27-30 (Boldface mine)
Meditate on that for a bit... don’t rush through!
I can already hear some of the Pharisees saying, "Hey Jesus, tune down on that… don’t say words you don’t mean… are you sure they will never perish?"
When Jesus said these words He wasn’t mincing words; He meant every word. "... I give them eternal life and they shall never perish..."
It is either Jesus meant what He said, or that He is the world's greatest liar!
Once Jesus gives you eternal life you cannot lose that life and you shall never perish.
Meditate on these words. Let it sink.
If Jesus says, "I GIVE YOU ETERNAL LIFE"
How are you to respond?
Some people have a bad receiving attitude in general! They don't just know how to receive...
They first look at the gift and respond like, "Hmmm... are you sure?" "Can I really take this... hmmm...?" Some would even say "Hmmm... am fine, just keep it"
I think am just going to have to teach you "how to receive"
Now Step 1:..
...hahahahaha! Sounds hilarious, doesn't it?
Let's do this again...
Jesus says, "I give you eternal life...."
How do you respond?
You are to receive it and say "Thank you, Jesus, I have eternal Life"
The problem is we feel we can lose the eternal life that Jesus has given to us through our works/performance
I have a question for you... "Did Jesus give you eternal life based on your work/performance?"
Certainly not! He gives eternal life solely by His grace and His finished work!
Is eternal life free?
Yes, it is...
Is eternal life cheap?
Certainly not! He was scorched, spat on, stripped naked, cursed, and crucified because of it. All so that you can receive it freely
It makes no sense when you never got eternal life by your works, yet you can lose it by your works...
Therefore you esteem your work/performance greater than His work and gift of eternal life
So tell me then why would Jesus waste His time just to give you eternal life when He knows you are going to lose it almost immediately because of your works/performance?
Think about this for a while...
...okay I believe I have eternal life and can never lose it but Morgrace I believe Christians should live holy and godly lives so that they will not perish!
Jesus said,
"... I give them eternal life and they shall never perish..."
The reason you do not perish is because of the quality of the life He gave you (Eternal life) not because of what you do or do not do; but surely only because of what you have received!
He that has eternal life can never perish!
Eternal Life is a gift to be received and not a work to be done!
Have you received Eternal life?
Then you will never Perish!
Tuck that deep inside your heart!
Morgrace! Are you saying we should not live a Holy life anymore?
I never said so…
However, you don’t live a Holy life to have eternal life. You are Holy and live Holy because you have eternal life
One way is a life of stress; the other way is a life of rest!
Am not against living a holy and godly lifestyle but I know that you can’t help but be holy and godly when you receive eternal life; it is not an effort, it is completely effortless
Jesus went on to say,
" ...neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand"
No one, no devil, no witch, "not even yourself can snatch yourself" out of His hand.
Jesus gives you eternal life and you shall never perish and then He holds you in His hands.
Do you think anyone is powerful enough to take you out of Jesus’ hands? Can anything snatch you from His protection?
Not even "you" can take yourself out of His hand.
Even some local "cultist organizations" offer lifetime security to their members with threats; that once a member is always a member, and that if anyone tries to leave, it would mean the death of that member
How much more being a believer and child of the Most High God!
God will never disown you!
...such faith and hope it imparts
hmmmm…..
But Morgrace what about that verse that says "If you do not bear fruit the father will cut you off"…? I know it says something like that...?
OH! Do you mean 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.
John 15:1 NKJV (Boldface mine)
Some translations say "He cuts off"
You might have heard many well-meaning sermons stemming out of this verse, telling you that you can be cut off from Jesus if you don’t watch it.
More so, if you don’t bear fruits of Love, Joy, Peace, and the entire Christian life package then God Himself will cut you off.
That sounds so harsh and yet so many people have believed this. It doesn’t sound like something my Father and Loving savior would ever do.
Imagine this; You are attached to Jesus who is the Vine, as a branch, then maybe for some reason the vine dresser, God (your father) just comes and cuts you off Jesus, probably because He is having an off day or because you are performing poorly... Now does that sound cool?
I tell you it’s not cool at all.
Or Perhaps the Vine dresser comes around and sees other branches bearing fruit but you (the branch on the right side) have no fruit. So he just cuts you off because you have no fruit?
Tell me this one thing; if you are a vine dresser and you saw a branch on the vine not bearing fruit when other branches are bearing fruits, would you just cut that branch off?
Hmmmm... well ... it depends...
Well... I believe a normal vine dresser would want to find out why that branch isn’t bearing fruit and try to fix it and not just cut it off immediately.
The Lord is not a normal vine dresser; The Lord is not a normal vine dresser; The Lord is not your regular vine dresser. He is much more...
It bears repeating but let it sink in deep that The Lord is not Like your average vine dresser who would wonder and try different experiments on you to see why you are not bearing fruits...
He is a loving Father, who is all-knowing yet so caring and loving and would never cast out a wounded soul or backslidden son or perhaps in Jesus' words, "a branch that does not bear fruit."
Before we continue let me slide this in; Do you Know our Bibles are divided into two?
Yea!!!...
Old and New Testaments...
Yes, you are right; old and new testaments.
The Old Testament originally was not written in English language neither was the New Testament.
The Old Testament was originally written in Hebrew and The New Testament was originally written in Greek.
It was translated into various languages such as English, Latin, French, and much more...
Let us Look at the original text of John 15 and see what Jesus was actually saying so you won’t misunderstand and believe wrongly.
In Greek the word "takes away" is the word "airó" and according to Strongs (a renowned theologian and scholar) it means "to raise, take up, lift"
Considering its definition from Strongs, there is no "cut off or take away"; however, in its usage, it has been used for such by some translators.
The passion translation bears out this truth -
1"I am a true sprouting vine, and the farmer who tends the vine is my Father. 2He cares for the branches connected to me by lifting and propping up the fruitless branches and pruning every fruitful branch to yield a greater harvest. 3 (Boldface mine)
Read that again and meditate for a bit let this truth sink in deep
You are loved with an "everlasting love", The Father cares so much about you no matter how far gone you think you are; no matter how barren you feel you have become; you are still loved and cared for by God (your Father) and He will never cast you away or cut you off.
He will keep lifting and propping you up until you begin bearing fruit, Even right now He is lifting and bearing you up above that shame, above that disease, that addiction, that condition that has kept you from yielding results; He is taking you to new places, new positions, greater business opportunities are coming your way right in the Name of Jesus, Amen...
Hallelujah!
Rest in this truth: No matter how slow your walk is with the Lord, even if you have backslidden, He will never cut you off, or cast you out. He will keep lifting you up (not down) but up and up and up, and He is never tired of being your up-lighter.
Say this Prayer with me in closing;
Thank you, my loving Father, For I know in Jesus' Name that am free from every curse and you will never cast me out or cut me off; I am forever grafted in Jesus, I am forever your child. Thank you Father for I know and I believe even right now you are lifting me above every shame, disease, sickness, addiction, and harm. And I am forever secured in your arms with love.
Amen.
I Look forward to seeing you in the next article on this series of "Abiding in Him"
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Thank you for such a wonderful message
ReplyDeleteGod bless you.
Lovely
ReplyDeleteGod bless you
The Grace Revolution is impacting and drawing Christians back to Christ through the word of Faith,hope and peace. Many have lost hope due to ignorance of the gospel and obscure teaching. Fear and condemnation is always on the pulpit of men who seek loyalty and submission from the members in exchange for material wealth and fame. With this understanding, I urge anyone reading this article to please share to as many people you can . I also recommend you get the Greek Bible translation because the recent transactions are conveying contrary meaning. Thank you have this knowledge and message of Hope . I have eternal life , and nothing can snatch me from his hands. Hallelujah !!!
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