What Has Jesus Said to You?

John 11:1-44

The eleventh chapter of John's gospel shows us how Jesus responded to the death of Lazarus. Mary and Martha went to Jesus to inform Him that Lazarus was sick. Jesus responded by informing them the sickness was not unto death. He was dead, but Jesus knew His petition to the Father for Lazarus would be successful: the Father and the Son would be glorified as capable to not only heal but to raise people from the dead. We see in verse 43 that, just as Jesus had said, Lazarus was raised from the dead after four days. Again, Jesus spoke, saying, "Lazarus, come forth!" Jesus has all power in heaven and earth! What He told Mary and Martha was as good when He said it as it was when Lazarus walked out of the grave.

Now let us look at how those who had been around Him responded to His words. His disciples, as well as Mary and Martha, said the following:

v.8  (when Jesus knew it was time to travel back to Judea to help Lazarus) the disciples said to Him, 'Rabbi, lately the Jews sought to stone You, and are you going there again?" (I am guessing that Jesus already knew that.)

v.12  "Lord, if he sleeps he will get well." (Another interpretation I suppose Jesus was aware of. He then had to tell them that Lazarus was dead but would live.)

v.23 Jesus informs Martha that her brother will rise again. Martha goes on to tell Jesus what she knows.

v.32 Now its Mary's turn. She tells Jesus that if He would have been there for them, her brother Lazarus would not have died. The scripture reads that Jesus groaned and wept. I think it is very possible that He was groaning and weeping due to His disciples lack of understanding that what He has spoken will be.

v.37  And some of them said, "Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?"

v.39  Jesus begins the resurrection of Lazarus. Mary has more information for Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four days." Jesus re-explains believing unto glory; thanks the Father and resurrects Lazarus.

Matthew 8:8 shows us that the centurion said to Jesus, "only speak a word, and my servant will be healed". The centurion knew when Jesus spoke, it was good as done. No groaning nor weeping here.

I am in no position to criticize another person: I have had wobbly legs in certain matters just like the disciples. But, thanks be to God, I want to be like the centurion.

"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." (John 12:48,49)

The Bread of Life

 John 6:48-58

"I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I give is my flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."

The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, "how does this man give us His flesh to eat?"

Then Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day. For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I IN HIM. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread that comes down from heaven-not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."

This is an intense portion of scripture as it directs us to do something which is physically impossible yet obviously is very important to our Master. Jesus reminds the Jewish people that their fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and died. The manna was edible. They gathered it daily and consumed it that day. They had no other food to eat. It was vital to their existence. Jesus is telling the Jewish people(and us) that, if they want to live eternally, they must feed on Him. Eating His flesh and drinking His blood is a way of telling them/us to partake fully of who He is: partake worthily of communion with Him. Now, is it really physical eating and drinking that Jesus is concerned about? He used this analogy because He knew how vital eating/drinking are to life. He knows we want to live yet the way to REAL LIFE is in Him! Ask the Father to reveal to you what it means to eat Jesus' flesh and drink Jesus' blood. I think you will find this is a raw depiction of one who hungers and thirsts for Him!

That Which is Perfect is Coming

1 Corinthians 13

1 Corinthians 13 is spoken of as "the love chapter". This discussion will focus on verse 7.

"(Love) bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things". As we have previously discussed, all things does not mean any thing but all His things. I see this portion of scripture as the place where the Lord initiates His perfect plan for our individual lives and shows us how to work out that plan in and with Him as opposed to working it out in our own power.

Bear, the verb, has 26 applications or definitions according to Webster's dictionary. A few that interest me and are applicable to this discussion are: to accept or have as an obligation; to carry in mind or heart; to carry or conduct; to sustain or be capable of; to give birth to; to hold up or support; to tend in a course or direction; TO BE SITUATED. The love of God in us situates us in the direction He wants us to go. If we love Him, we will bear it, willing to conduct or carry it. We will allow Him to change our course.

Believing all things means, once we have been situated by His course, to do what He reveals to us regarding the course or vision, taking the steps you feel inspired to. His vision will thrill you although you are yet unrefined in it. The thrill is meant to bring your focus on Him and His righteousness. You will seek Him for revelation regarding the course; He will show you who He is. He is making it real to you that you can do nothing in this course without Him; but all things are possible WITH HIM.

Hoping all things means that you are willing to be stimulated in the course by the truth of what He has revealed to you. It is not  "maybe it will happen some day if I am lucky". It is a knowing that what He has said will come to pass.

Enduring all things is the place where He and His course are truly refined. Without doubt, we bear His things in a place of carnality. He situates us so that we may come to a place where we are carnal no more. No matter what you think, you will make mistakes in this course as you will take action based upon the thrill you have. The carnal nature of the self-sufficient man must be replaced by the nature that desires to walk just as Jesus himself walked: He said what His Father said; He did what He saw the Father do. Endurance is strengthened by repentance: recognizing your mistake and returning to Him. If you make no mistakes, He did not come for you. He came for those who need help. The idea is that enduring all things will bring you, under His tutelage, to the place of oneness with He and the Father, walking out His perfect will. "To be made complete in one, so that the world may know that You have sent Me (Jesus) and have loved them (that's us) just as You loved Me (Jesus)"(John 17:23).

Refining Your Approach to Him

Luke 14:26-33

"If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple." Sounds like a message to be digested by a mature Christian, doesn't it?

"For which of you , intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it--- lest, AFTER HE HAS LAID THE FOUNDATION, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'this man began to build and was not able to finish'." What does "coming to Him", "counting the cost" of starting and "laying the foundation" mean to you regarding our salvation through/in Christ Jesus? Could Jesus be saying to those who are considering accepting the Lord's salvation by being born again that they should know what they are getting into?

"Or what king, going to make war against another king, DOES NOT SIT DOWN FIRST AND CONSIDER WHETHER HE IS ABLE with ten thousand TO MEET HIM WHO COMES AGAINST HIM with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation AND ASKS CONDITIONS OF PEACE. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be my disciple".

I believe the Lord showed me a clear example of what Jesus is saying here. I had heard sometime ago that there are few medical school students who leave school or fail out; very few (less than a few percent). Yet medical school is one of the most rigorous of matriculations, both in intensity of study and length of time to graduate. Very expensive! Would seem to me that those circumstances would produce many dropouts. Why not?  The medical student has already counted the cost- he/she knows what is expected long before application.

Now apply that to our Christian population. Is that what we see, a small percentage of dropouts? Maybe the converts to Christianity are not being informed of the cost of discipleship. Maybe the prospective converts should be read this before they lay the foundation so they may finish strong!

Persistence

Luke 11:5-8; 18:1-8  

Luke 11:8 "I say to you, though he will not rise and give to him because he is his friend, yet because of his persistence he will rise and give him as many as he needs". As I understand it, this portion of scripture separates between the relationship we have with God as Christians and those who, in their fellowship and intimacy with Him, continue to come to Him for who He is, for He is the bread of life(John 6:48) and the bread that came down from heaven (John 6:41).

Luke 18:5-8 "yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her lest by her continual coming she weary me".  Jesus then advises us to "hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes will He really find faith on the earth?"

We should not be content with just a distant relationship with God (I say this to those who have been justified by the Blood of Jesus Christ). We must understand that "continual coming" to God through church fellowship, bible study and prayer will be met with all the bread of life that you need- Jesus Himself.

Some time ago, I felt the Lord put this message into prayer-form as a blessing for me to confess. "If you will continue to come and cry out to Me for Me day and night even though I bear long with you, I will give you all the bread of life that you need (all of Him that you need which is more than enough) and avenge you for My righteous cause". This would be a good confession for any Christian.

The final sentence asks how much faith Jesus will find when He comes. How many will He find who are willing to continue to come, to cry out to Him for Him even though He bears long with them in what He said He would do for those who diligently seek Him!

If you would like to discuss this or any previous messages, please feel free to call me, George Harlow. (609)312-1178

The Old Wine is Better?

 Luke 5:36-39

"Then He spoke a parable to them: 'No one puts a piece from a new garment on an old one; otherwise THE NEW MAKES A TEAR, and also the piece that was taken out OF THE NEW does not match the old.
"And no one puts new wine into old wineskins; or else THE NEW WINE WILL BURST THE WINESKINS AND BE RUINED. But new wine must be put into new wineskins, and both are preserved. And no one, having drunk old wine, immediately desires new, for he says, 'The old is better'."

What is the significance of new garments and wine? I would say that the new garments and wine are meant to replace what is old. Jesus instructs that new wine must be put into new wineskins; new wine into old wineskins will cause the old wineskins to burst and the new wine will be wasted. I would say Jesus is first informing those of the day that they should not attempt to receive the new, in fact they cannot receive the new victoriously without making room in their hearts to be a new creation. The revelation to man that he must be "born again" is not the last revelation he/she will receive, is it? I thank God He has continued to reveal Himself/His will to me since I received the Lord's salvation! Each time He speaks by His word we must be willing to "make room for the new", otherwise what He is attempting to reveal will be lost.

Assuredly, there were those who said to themselves regarding Jesus' ministry and the impending new testament: "the old is good". We must be aware that we who have received His salvation can put ourselves in the same position, saying: "what I have learned from Him to this point is enough", especially if we have heard the same teaching on a given subject for a while. What you have heard about/from Him to this point will not be "good or enough" if He has more to reveal to you so that you may be made to walk just as He walked!

The Power of His Resurrection

On a Sunday in April, Christians formally celebrate the biblical depiction of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.

On Easter Sunday 2007, I was at a sunrise worship service when I received a word from the Lord, saying: "I(Jesus) suffered, I died, I was buried; on the third day I rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures". We know that Jesus presented Himself to the disciples after His resurrection (John 20,21). Instantly after the word from the Lord, He reminded me of Ephesians 1:19-23 which reads, "and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us WHO BELIEVE, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the DEAD and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power, might and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come, and He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all." What the Father did for Jesus, He wants to do for us.

Hebrews 9:16, 17 reads "For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator (Jesus). For a testament IS IN FORCE after MEN ARE DEAD since it has no power at all while the testator lives." Men are dead or this Man is dead? Certainly the Jesus is the Testator. Why does the Word clearly read MEN? The New Testament is not in force (in essense, walking just as Jesus walked) unless men are dead. Physically dead? No. Dead to what? Ask Him! He will be glad you did. He knows exactly what is in your way and is keeping you from experiencing the full force of His New Testament! He wants to fill all in all! He will resurrect all who will lay down there lives for the one He has in mind!