Part 2

What Jesus wants you to know

 

How do you know if a loved one is lost?

Do you know how to tell those who aren’t following Jesus? Two key signs: 1. there are no fruits of the Spirit flowing through them (Galatians 5:22-23), and 2. they get mad at you when you talk about Jesus with them. They go on the defense and tell you it’s none of your business. That response is darkness, not light. Jesus is light. When you are filled with His love and follow His ways, His light shines through you and you want to share His light with everyone so they can experience His love and light also.

 

“I can’t believe you are worried about me making it into Heaven. It hurts that you think I’m such a terrible person.”

When trying to talk to a loved one about Jesus and you get the above type response; stop and pray silently. If they are on the defense, you are not going to be able to get truth through that defense. If the Holy Spirit has more for you to say at this point, it will flow through you. If your mind is blank and you “got nothing”, let it go. Apologize for upsetting them and leave the rest in God’s hands. You are not responsible for the outcome of the share about Jesus. You are only responsible for being the willing vessel for God to speak through. If you are allowing Him to use you and speak through you, when He’s done talking, you will literally have nothing in your mind to say. Don’t worry if they heard what you said, He has planted seeds in what He said through you; His word does not return void (Isaiah 55:11). Step back and allow Him to water those seeds. He is doing things in the background that you cannot see. Trust Him; let go and let God…do what He does.

If you ever get the feeling to stop talking but you still want to talk and get your point across. RESIST! That “stop talking” feeling you have is the Holy Spirit stopping you. Don’t ignore Him and keep talking adding “your opinion” to what He said. If you run off on your own path at that point talking, it will lead to an explosion. An explosion from the other person when they have had enough and they shut down. Proceeding without God can do more damage than good, and possibly unravel the good. Let God lead you.

When you have a close personal relationship with Jesus spending quality time with Him and allowing Him to transform you and make all things new, you glow from being in His presence. That is one way people see Jesus in you. Don’t be afraid to let His light shine. Oftentimes, God needs us to be a light without witnessing. You might be the only Jesus someone sees, allow God to lead your steps.

 

Many have been blinded to the truth

Did you know that God blinds some from seeing the truth in His Word? Throughout scripture we learn that God closes eyes and He opens eyes for various reasons in different seasons of our lives. It’s all part of His teaching plan to help us turn to Him and choose to allow Him to shape us into who He created us to be. He longs to teach us all truth, if we allow Him too.

“And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man’s mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?” Exodus 4:11

For those who choose to believe in “everything but” the whole Word of God, He will give them over to their sinful ways and blind them from His truth, and from all the treasures He wanted them to find. The blind ones who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creation more than the Creator. (Romans 1:18-32) There are always consequences for our bad choices. Even when we turn to God and give our hearts to Jesus and begin following Him in all His ways; we are forgiven, but we still have to pay the consequences. Those consequences keep us humble and clinging to the Lord through them and after them.

Out of His love for His children He loves and leads them.

“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” Isaiah 42:16

But, for those who are stubborn and stiff-necked, they have no clue to fear the day of the Lord that is fast approaching.

“The great day of the LORD is near, it is near, and hasteth greatly, even the voice of the day of the LORD: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness, A day of the trumpet and alarm against the fenced cities, and against the high towers. And I will bring distress upon men, that they shall walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the LORD: and their blood shall be poured out as dust, and their flesh as the dung. Neither their silver nor their gold shall be able to deliver them in the day of the LORD’S wrath; but the whole land shall be devoured by the fire of his jealousy: for he shall make even a speedy riddance of all them that dwell in the land.” Zephaniah 1:14-18

 

What they miss by having veiled eyes

When someone refuses to allow God to teach them His whole truth, refusing to study the whole Bible themselves, they are ripe for the picking for Satan to slither in and fill their head full of lies. The lies become so believable that it becomes impossible for them to see the truth. God has hidden truth from them since they have rejected Him.

The Bible is often misinterpreted and the enemy has filled peoples minds to believe the lies that all they need is grace and nothing else. The new name for that by society is: hyper grace. Many believe that the “Old Testament” was nailed to the cross and no longer applies to their lives. The truth in the New Testament has been twisted, especially Paul’s teachings about Jesus. Do you know what God did to those people who twisted the truth, and to the ones that believe the lies? He gave them hearts of stone and blinded them to the truth so that they could live in the lies they chose to believe. Whether someone is Jew or Gentile, if they don’t believe in Jesus, who He is and what He is teaching, God has veiled their eyes preventing them from seeing the truth. They made their choice.

Here is just a snippet: (Truth and consequences)

In John chapter 8, Jesus speaks about the New Covenant. Jesus was not abolishing God’s commands (the whole Bible including the Old Testament), He was abolishing man’s commands that were added to God’s commands. God’s commands will stand forever. Jesus came to die for our sins and make a way for us to approach the Father while teaching us what God commanded for His followers. Everything He taught was in the Old Testament. He says, “I can only say what my Father says.” A covenant is a “promise,” it is not new laws to follow. Jesus made a new promise to the people who chose to follow Him, while still teaching God’s original commands. They were already clear and concise; Jesus simplified them further for better understanding. He spoke what God, His Father, told Him to say.

“For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak.” John 12:49

Jesus did not change God’s laws. He made a new covenant, but He did not change God’s commands. Contrary to what many unbelievers believe, Jesus did not nail God’s original commands to the cross. Without God’s law, there could be no order or plan to follow. The religious leaders twisted the meaning of His Words to confuse believers and manipulate what they thought to be truth. Jesus did not nail God’s laws to the cross so that humans could have a free-for-all doing whatever they please.

In the story of John 8, religious leaders chose to not believe Jesus teachings or to believe who He said He is, and decided to crucify Him. Are those the people you choose to believe; the loud ones telling you what to believe, or Jesus, who is telling you God’s truth?

Below is a passage where Paul talks about how Moses had to hide God’s glory in him because it upset the people, then he tells us what God did.

“Therefore, with a hope like this, we are very open—unlike Moshe, who put a veil over his face, so that the people of Isra’el would not see the fading brightness come to an end. What is more, their minds were made stonelike; for to this day the same veil remains over them when they read the Old Covenant; it has not been unveiled, because only by the Messiah is the veil taken away. Yes, till today, whenever Moshe is read, a veil lies over their heart. “But,” says the Torah, “whenever someone turns to Adonai, the veil is taken away.” Now, “Adonai” in this text means the Spirit. And where the Spirit of Adonai is, there is freedom. So all of us, with faces unveiled, see as in a mirror the glory of the Lord; and we are being changed into his very image, from one degree of glory to the next, by Adonai the Spirit.” 2Corinthians 3:(6)-18

Paul explains how God has still blinded those unbelievers until the appointed time. Once we with unveiled faces truly see the spirit of Jesus from a true relationship with Him, He begins to transform us into His likeness as we grow closer to Him. That’s how others see Jesus in us.

You must believe in Jesus and follow Him. Once you repent and invite Him into your heart, there’s still more to do. You don’t stop at His forgiveness and grace. Study His whole word to learn. Allow scripture (and the Holy Spirit) to teach you, not man.

 

Who told you that you could…

Continuing in John 8, the Pharisees argued that they believed in Him, but they still wanted to kill Him. Many believers have actually never been saved. You can believe in Jesus and even ask Him in your heart, but if you don’t follow His ways, you are not saved. These type believers have not been touched by the conviction of the Word of God and they are still slaves to the world. With false doctrine and false security, they believe the lies from the enemy. In this story, they said the right things to Jesus in John 8; they believed in Jesus, they belonged to God and father Abraham, but they lived doing things that God doesn’t approve of.

Jesus says we must be above reproach. As an example, a christian singing in a nightclub or on stage in Vegas singing worldly songs is not living above reproach. Jesus said, “my sheep follow me.” Did Jesus lead you into a nightclub, into sin? Did He lead you into bars drinking with your friends, watching movies and television programs that are sinful, etc.? You get the point.

If you are intentionally doing something below reproach, Jesus isn’t your shepherd.

For many, there’s never been a separation from the world. They don’t tremble at His word. His word has no meaning to them. If He is your master, why don’t you fear Him? You don’t want to change your life for Jesus, but you want to add Him where you think you will benefit?

With stiff-necked people like this you can’t share truth with them, they won’t listen. They don’t think anything is wrong with them. In this story they wouldn’t believe Jesus when He told them they are fornicators and sinning, vs 41. They argued with Him, saying, we are good people doing nothing wrong, saying the devil is not in me, it’s God.

Paul explains in 2Corinthians 6:14-18, showing us what Jesus’ followers look like: “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty.”

Jesus gets frustrated with them because they still won’t listen.

Continuing in John 8, He says you can’t just say you believe in me, you must give up everything and follow Me too. They still don’t understand. He says, you can’t hear because you are not of God – you can’t hear me because you are listening to your father, the father of lies, Vs 44. You can’t hear my words, vs 47. You don’t hear God because you are not His?

• Who told you that you could watch filth on tv and that it’s ok with God
• Who told you that you can be addicted to that fatal attraction
• Who told you that you could be unfaithful
• Who told you that you can go nightclubbing
• Who told you sin and disobedience to God was okay?

Answer: Your father. You are like your father.

Who is your father? The father of lies.

After this conversation with Jesus they get mad at him and turn on him for trying to convict their hearts and show them truth. Rather than repent they accuse Him of being the devil himself.

 

False love trap

Have you heard of the “false love trap?”  It is from the angry ones that say they are trying to “help” you by telling you to stay away from those telling God’s truth. It can be those who look like Christians that are judging others and misleading you with lies.

Jesus says, “Ye judge after the flesh; I judge no man. And yet if I judge, my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me.” John 8:15-16

Jesus says He doesn’t judge flesh, but the soul judging the flesh is mean spirited. A believer judging the spirit comes from a broken heart and cares for those who are lost; big difference. We are NOT to judge others from a fleshly or haughty spirit.

“For there are many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision” Titus 1:10

This verse is referring to the circumcised who still didn’t believe in Jesus and were making up their own laws to add to God’s laws.

 

The key to John 8

Counterfeit spirituality is for those who profess that they believe and are going to Heaven but they refuse to lay down the world’s ways to follow Jesus’ ways. The true believer lays everything down for Jesus:

• Self
• Wants
• Needs
• Family
• Friends
• Career
• Things, etc.

As like the Pharisees arguing with Jesus, the counterfeit believers would not let go of tradition and their religion. They didn’t want Jesus or His ways, and hated Him because some of those who had believed their lies were seeing the light and turning to His truth and following Him. The religious leaders had become so caught up in their version of truth they had created, that they didn’t see their long awaited Messiah standing right in front of them. They had built their own expectations of what they wanted their Messiah to look like and Jesus didn’t meet their expectations. Their Messiah would be a king in fine clothing riding in on a white horse, not a poor, homeless man on a donkey.

I recently came across online a prideful, cocky, older pastor bragging about all his money that his congregation had given him, and he said, “if Jesus were alive today I guarantee you he wouldn’t be riding on a donkey.” He was insinuating that Jesus would be like the Pharisees imagined, a king in fine clothing riding in on a white horse, not a poor, homeless man on a donkey. It was very sad to watch that blinded leader that so many follow and give their money to so that he can brag about all his money while blaspheming God.

 

How to make sure you and your loved ones spend eternity with Jesus

Your Creator loves you and wants you to choose to live in eternity with Him. To experience His everlasting hope, peace, and love. Turn to Him and He will turn to you. He is waiting for you. There is nothing you have done that Jesus’ blood didn’t already cover and wash away. Forgive yourself and run into His arms. Go through the steps below to help you make sure you are ready and marked by God. These are also helpful steps you can share with your lost loved one “when” the Holy Spirit gives you permission to share. In the meantime, keep studying your whole Bible and be His light to the world.

Don’t complicate the process for salvation. Keep it simple.

Do the ABC’s and repent today.

• A: Admit that you are a sinner. (Romans 3:23, Isaiah 64:6, Ephesians 2:8-9)

• B: Believe in your heart that Jesus is the son of God and that He died for your sins and rose from the dead for you. (John 3:16-18, 1Corinthians 15:1-4)

• C: Call on Jesus and repent of your sins and turn back to Him and ask Jesus to show you the way. (Romans 10:9-13, John 14:6)

 

May God bless you and keep you.

 

Join me on:
Telegram: https://t.me/chosencrownedone
Instagram: ChosenandCrowned & Grace Reacher Books
Podcastle: Chosen & Crowned – Coming soon (for those who want to listen rather than read)