WILL WE LAY DOWN OUR LIFE FOR JESUS?
Tuesday – October 29, 2019, Tishrei 30, 5780
Greetings dear friends and partners of this Ministry and welcome back to our powerful and detailed Bible Study of the Book of John. Our God is so wonderfully good to give us His Word in detail and with precision to guide our lives in this world into all the abundance He came and restored for those who will receive, believe, and do. It is not the will of God for anyone (zero people) to perish in finances or in their bodies or any other area of this life. The quality and quantity of this life and in eternity is the direct result of what we do with the Word of God, our response to the Word of God. We must consume the Truth, not a corruption of the Word. The way we know if it is uncorrupted or not is to get into the Book (Bible) and study diligently separating Truth from fiction (traditions of men and doctrines of demons). The featured pictures this week are of sunsets (no spiritual message intended), just enjoy. If you are reading this on Facebook take a moment to hit the “love” and “share” buttons to be a participant with this ministry in the dissemination of the gospel. Now, let’s turn our attention to our primary Bible text by reading it aloud.
John 13:33-38 (KJV)
33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.
34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
36 Simon Peter said unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now; but thou shalt follow me afterwards.
37 Peter said unto him, Lord, why cannot I follow thee now? I will lay down my life for thy sake.
38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
Wow, the Word of God is so wonderful and it is a lighted path on which we can walk if we so chose. We have the capacity to walk exactly like Jesus walked. Yes, put the unbelief and religion away, we can walk just like Jesus walked. Now, say amen to that and commit to be diligent to do it. Do you want to be part of the white-knuckle crowd upon entering the gate of Heaven or part of the triumphant crowd that comes home with their work done full of faith and love?
We have talked about the “new commandment” that Jesus gave for them and us to love one another as He loved them then and now us. We carefully reviewed that this command was given from the beginning of the Law so what is the new part. Anything new about it makes it all new. The key phrase for this commandment is that we love others “as I have loved you”. The Old Testament saints did not have the capacity for agape, the God kind of love, for they were not born again, they did not have the Helper (Holy Spirit). There is no mention of the “Fruits of the spirit” in the Old Covenant, they did not have the capacity to have these on a supernatural level, only on the natural or carnal level. They did not have the capacity for the expression of agape (love) the God kind of love which is a selfless lifestyle, complete obedience to the Word of God (sin not), and full observance of the Blood Covenant.
As we examine our text moving forward, we see Peter boldly saying: “I will lay down my life for thy sake”. Have we made a similar statement without counting the supposed cost, or fully understanding it? Jesus responds with:
John 13:38 (KJV)
38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.
I am guessing this knocked some of the wind out of Peter’s sails. As we look at verse thirty-eight in further detail it appears to me that Peter is talking about laying down his physical life such as dying in a battle. It is recorded in Church history that Peter was crucified upside down. Was that the will of God for Peter? Jesus died physically and spiritually for us, are any among us called to die physically for Him? Keep in mind that just because people are dying everyday because they confess Jesus as Lord does not make those deaths the will of God. Just because there are poor people and sick people does not make it the will of God. Back to the text, on the other hand Jesus is talking about laying our worldly life, carnal life, the dictates of the flesh and following after the Spirit, following Jesus. In that obedience is the abundant life Jesus came to give us and is available to all.
John 12:24-26 (KJV)
24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
Unless we exchange our will for His will, we abide alone but when we fully embrace His will, we produce much fruit just as He did. As good as Peter’s intentions were, he did not have the Holy Spirit to get him through the testing of the evil one(s). Peter would deny Jesus in just a few hours before daybreak.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it, believe it, and speak over yourself and your family by faith in Jesus name!
Numbers 6:24-26 (AMP)
24 The Lord bless you and watch, guard, and keep you;
25 The Lord make His face to shine upon and enlighten you and be gracious (kind, merciful, and giving favor) to you;
26 The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).
By: Dr. David Wood, Author, Bible Teacher, and Prophetic Voice
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