THE GLORY OF GOD
Thursday – July 4, 2019, Tamuz 1, 5779
Greetings precious children of God, sons and daughters of the Most High God, the only living God and welcome back to this powerful Bible Study of the Book of John. The featured pictures this week are of a recent visit to Peaks Island. If you are reading this on Facebook please take a moment to hit the “like” and “share” buttons to expand the reach of this Ministry, the gospel, the good news. Thank you so much for liking and sharing. Now let’s move to our primary Bible text for today and read it aloud.
John 11:1-4 (KJV)
1 Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha.
2 (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.)
3 Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick.
4 When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.
Yesterday I left off with a discussion of the fact that Lazarus was a friend of Jesus and to my knowledge this is the only one Scripture noted as His friend apart from Peter. Abraham is specifically mentioned as a friend of God and in the epistle of James that is tied directly to faith. Saying one has faith, exercising faith, and seeing the manifestation of faith are all separate and distinct issues and part of a whole. The first two must be present for the third (manifestation) is take place. If someone says they have faith for a certain manifestation but there is no manifestation are they really in faith. If you are struggling, short answer is ‘no’. Real faith is an unwavering belief for a certain outcome that is the will of God (part of our Covenant) and that outcome is the only possible outcome in our thinking. So long as we entertain options there will be no manifestation. Think on the following.
Proverbs 23:7 (KJV)
7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: … (truncated by Dr. Wood)
What we really think in our heart is what is now and will be observed in our lives. I can see ruffled feathers everywhere so take a moment and smooth them out before I move forward. Before I move on let’s consider love, Godly love, the Greek word for love transliterated as ‘agape’. Agape, love, is the same love that God has towards all person’s saint or sinner alike.
John 3:16 (KJV)
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
As discussed yesterday, love can be one sided whereas friendship cannot be one sided. The key lies in the definition or the essential components of love. I am not talking love as defined by the world and our favorite TV shows or movie most of which is hormonal. Agape love is the highest level of Covenant observance. Those of you who have followed these teachings regularly for some period of time know that Godly love has three essential components. At the core is obedience to the Word of God.
John 14:21 (KJV)
21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
Declaring one’s love is a good start but it must be demonstrated just like faith. One key aspect of demonstrating love for God (for really anyone) is adherence to Scripture and the proof is the manifestation of the Scripture, the Covenant in our lives. A second aspect is a selfless life towards God and others. Our Covenant with God never really takes effect until we are dead to self.
Hebrews 9:16-18 (KJV)
16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
Jesus had to die and apply His Blood to put the Covenant fully in place and then to receive of it we must die to self. God has been nothing but selfless towards us and so must we be towards Him and others. Real love, Godly love, agape, operates in the environment of Blood Covenant, relating to one another and to God according to Blood Covenant is the third component. Lord willing, I will move forward tomorrow in our study. By the way have a happy and safe 4th of July recognizing that we are one of two Covenant nations in the earth. Pray for our governmental leaders every day.
Until our next publication, as a Bible Teacher and Prophetic Voice I speak this blessing over each and every one of you, receive it 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
PRAYERS AND QUESTIONS – please, anytime you have an issue that you want me, this ministry to pray for you, a person you love or a situation contact me. Accordingly, if you should have a question about the Bible, please do not hesitate to ask it.
PARTNERSHIP AND GIVING – Those of you who are not Partners of this Ministry and you find this ministry to be of value to you and perhaps others with whom you share it, we ask you to consider becoming Partners. A Partner is one who prays for the Ministry on a regular basis and contributes to the Ministry on a regular basis (monthly, quarterly, annually). Thank you and may the Lord be pleased with your decision.
CONTACT E-MAIL: pastordavidwood@gmail.com
BLOG: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org
FACEBOOK: https://www.facebook.com/awakearisetriumphministries
TWITTER: https://twitter.com/PastorDavidWood
MAILING ADDRESS: 10 Village Green Circle, Oakland, Maine 04963
MY BOOKS: https://awakeariseandtriumphministries.org/shop/
