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enid
Member



Joined: 2006/5/22
Posts: 2680
Nottingham, England

 Re: John 10:17,18,30


Must say, it is an awesome picture. Rather than let the wolf get the sheep, the shepherd let's himself be killed. But only temporarily.

Notice, Jesus also has authority to take up His life again.

We really do not understand how powerful God is.

 2012/11/14 13:45Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re:

______________________________________________________________
QUOTE:
"We really do not understand how powerful God is."
______________________________________________________________

It is this realization that is dawning upon me with great force...


_________________
Sandra Miller

 2012/11/16 14:58Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 John 10:4,14,26-29

John 10:4,14,26-29 NASB

4“When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice

14“I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me

26 “But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep.

27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

28 and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will 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 the Father’s hand.

COMMENT:

Jesus tells us in verse 29 "and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand."

Who are these sheep that no can can snatch from the Father's hand?

Verses four, fourteen inform us who they are. They are sheep that follow him and know his voice. Jesus says, "I know My own and My own know Me. The sheep know the Shepherd, they follow Him AND the Shepherd know his sheep. It is a relationship of mutual affection, cooperation and love. It is not just a one way street, it goes both ways.

Is it not wonderful that we can rest in the security of Jesus protecting us, keeping us safe from the enemy that works to destroy the works of God? We do not have to fear that after being faithful to Him that we will one morning wake up and find "OPPS! The devil got me!"

The text teaches us one must stay close to the shepherd. Doing so will prevent us from being stolen, deceived by thieves and robbers. Let us be ever diligent in listening to the voice of the Shepherd and follow Him. If we are unsure of his voice, all we have to do is tell him, asking Him to teach us - and mean it. And He will. He loves it when we admit to our weaknesses and ask for his assistance to overcome. As long as we think we can do it ourselves we are doomed to failure.

(I remember well when dad had a flock of sheep. In the winter he kept them in the barn. Evenings after chores were done, it was a real pleasure to sit and watch the ewes with their lambs - the lambs frolicking, playing. They were so entertaining. Lambs make wonderful pets - I had one and it was just like "Mary had a little lamb that followed her where ever she goes." It was so cuddly... I loved my pet..:-) This experience demonstrates to me in a small way how the shepherd must love his sheep.)


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Sandra Miller

 2012/11/16 15:20Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 John 10:37-38

John 10:37-38 NASB

37 “If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me;

38 but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.”

COMMENT:

Jesus teaches us here the importance of works - they demonstrate who/what you are serving, your point of reference. It informs people where you are from; it validates your message.

As I read these verses I was reminded of the message taught by the Apostle James in his book. The theme of that book is "Faith without works is dead". Works prove to you and others what drives you.

The people among whom Jesus ministered admitted his works were wonderful. Every time they questioned his origins, his teachings they were sure to come up with the question of his works - what empowered Jesus to be able to do these wonderful works? Jesus then said believe the works then you will understand the Father is in me and I in the Father...

As I ponder this principle, I am left with a renewed, fresh understanding of the the implications of 'faith without works is dead' teachings.

People who are following the shepherd, who is in turn doing the works of his Father, will mean we will the beneficiaries of those works and we will also be partakers of these works of holiness. If these works of holiness are absent we are not to be believed. So said Jesus to the Jews, "If I do not the works of My Father, do not believe me."

Unless our lifestyle exhibits the qualities of Jesus we are not to be believed. And neither are we to believe others whose lives do not reflect Jesus.

Simple.


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Sandra Miller

 2012/11/19 10:46Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 John 11:1-15

John 11:1-15 NASB

1 Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.

2 It was the Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.

3 So the sisters sent word to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.”

4 But when Jesus heard this, He said, “This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.

6 So when He heard that he was sick, He then stayed two days longer in the place where He was.

7 Then after this He said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.”

8 The disciples said to Him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone You, and are You going there again?”

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

10 “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

11 This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.”

12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.

14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,

15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”

COMMENT:

In this portion we read how Lazarus died and why he died.

Jesus was told Lazarus was sick. Upon hearing it he lingered where they were knowing full well the fellow would die. In verse fifteen Jesus inform his disciples why he lingered, "so that you may believe". What was He going to do that would facilitate this process? He says in verse eleven, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep” - He plans to resurrect a dead man.

I find a very important principle in this story that speaks to us loudly, still, today:

1. There was a need
2. Jesus was informed
3. He delayed addressing this need.
4. There is a divine purpose in delaying in answering a prayer.

Many times we bring our petitions to the LORD and he does not answer according to OUR timetable. Many times the answer is "Wait". Oh, how we hate this answer!

Wait.

Do we see the potential of our need being something the LORD will use to honor Him? Or, to teach us a profound lesson?

This is why Jesus waited to act on Mary and Martha's behalf.

I find it fascinating how Jesus told his disciples beforehand what he plans to do...I wonder how well they believed him. But he had a reason to wait and that was to teach them a deep lesson. Do we understand God's delays in answering our prayers as a means to teach us something more profound then we imagine?


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Sandra Miller

 2012/11/20 15:27Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re: John 11:17-19; 30-45 NASB

John 11:17-19; 30-45 NASB

17 So when Jesus came, He found that he had already been in the tomb four days.

18 Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off;

19 and many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary, to console them concerning their brother.

30 Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him.

31 Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there.

32 Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled,

34 and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”

35 Jesus wept.

36 So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!”

37 But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”

38So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.

39 Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.”

40 Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”

41 So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me.

42 “I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.”

43 When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.”

44 The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”

45 Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him

COMMENT:

Today I would like to focus on the miracle of the resurrection of Lazarus.

Jesus delayed his coming to Bethany because He said that by doing so the Son of God may be glorified by it. v.4. This truly did happen as recorded in v.45. But what happened to accomplish this glorification?

Jesus comes to Bethany, finds many people at Lazarus' house, people milling about because there was a death. He also noticed the weeping of the people which greatly troubled him...wonder why? He meets with the sisters, tells them that Lazarus will rise again.

(A note: interesting how Jesus told people BEFOREHAND that Lazarus will rise again but nobody really believed him! SO, what happened was no surprise to Jesus that the Father answered his prayer but it sure was to the observers nearby.)

Jesus asks to be shown where Lazarus was buried. They took him to the tomb and then instructs people to remove the stone. Martha protests with “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Yes, he stinks. Ask Paul West if a dead body at four days does not stink - he is a mortician.

The stone is removed as requested then Jesus prays. (You reckon the stench of this dead body wafted out of this cave after the stone was removed? I suspect it did.) After praying, he called out with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!"

The man that was dead four days, all wrapped up from head to toe with cloth came out. Jesus tells the people to untie him and let him go.

I wonder how Lazarus walked being all tied up? Reckon he hopped - he couldn't walk, putting one foot in front of another, could he?

The miracle of restoring a man whose body was far into the deterioration process is nothing short of the miraculous. Nothing, absolutely nothing. It was a work of recreating. Totally. There was no life in this body - he was not in a comma - Jesus said he was dead - graveyard dead, as we say here in the south.

The process of terminal illness and subsequent resurrection did glorify the Son of God. No wonder. Would this not have been an amazing miracle to witness?

Scripture gives us no clue, but I wonder what Lazarus had to say later about these four days when he was dead. What was it like?

Apparently Lazarus being alive posed a serious threat to the ruling religious body because they took counsel on how they might put him to death. John 12:10. Makes me wonder how they think they could succeed it the next time - what made them think Jesus would not resurrect him again?

Indeed, raising Lazarus had a profound effect on the people if the chief priests conspired on how they could get rid of him.

Jesus was indeed gloried. I would have loved to witness it but there is enough recorded in Scripture that I can witness it in my imagination. :-)



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Sandra Miller

 2012/11/22 10:22Profile
enid
Member



Joined: 2006/5/22
Posts: 2680
Nottingham, England

 Re: JOHN 11:17-19; 30-45


Before writing this, I read all of John 11, to get the full picture. It is a remarkable account about the remarkable God that we serve.

When you said that the people did not believe Lazarus would rise, I think, as Martha had said, in verse 24, that they believed he would rise in the resurrection, but not there and then.

Jesus also said, whoever believes in Him shall never die.
That in itself is a glorious hope.

Jesus wept. How we undermine God's compassion for us. God does feel our pain, and does not rejoice in suffering.
But, our suffering is used to bring glory to His Holy name.
We can see that in the death of Lazarus.

I too would have loved to have seen this.

Yet Jesus has said, blessed are those who have not seen and yet, believe.

God bless.

 2012/11/23 8:02Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 Re: John 11:11-14

John 11:11-14 NASB

11 This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.”

12 The disciples then said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”

13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.

14 So Jesus then said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,

COMMENT:

I have wondered for many years why Jesus said that Lazarus is asleep when he was dead. To us humans sleeping and being dead are poles apart. You can wake up a sleeping person, but not a dead one.

As I pondered this question again, I became more aware of how to God resurrecting a dead person is no more difficult then waking a sleeping person is to a human being. Hence, Jesus use of these words. He used this language to convey to the people his power, his ability, that nothing will limit him when something is within his will to do. Awesome! No human being has this power nor ability to bring to fruition all his will and wishes.

Reminds me of the principle Jesus stated in Matthew 19:26 "With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."


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Sandra Miller

 2012/11/23 10:33Profile
ginnyrose
Member



Joined: 2004/7/7
Posts: 7534
Mississippi

 John 11:9-11

John 11:9-11 NASB

9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.

10 “But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.”

11 This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep.

COMMENT:

These verses come back, challenging me, encouraging me. The principle it is imposing on me is nothing new at all - actually, it is a no-brainer. If this is the case, why I am so moved by it is likely because of a need in my own heart that needs to be ministered to.

Jesus used a natural event - Lazarus dying - to create an event whereby he can demonstrate his divinity, the power, authority inherent in this position in order to draw men to him. Paul states it like this, "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.' (Romans 8:28 NASB)

Jesus was very aggressive in shining the light in order for
people to see, to understand. He will use any kind of event, tragedy to accomplish this end. In these events there will be godly people who will experience grief, sorrow, doubt, whose faith will even be challenged. But how many people will be blessed by it? We will never know until eternity...

As I regard loved ones who are away from God, I am often left feeling as though God has abandoned them. They experience no chastisements, life is easy, fairly pleasant, all things work as they plan unlike those who are serving the LORD. Is God aware of them? Yes, I know He is, but where is the evidence that he is working? We do not see it so our faith is challenged - I suspect we suffer more then they, like Mary and Martha did after Lazarus died and Jesus had not showed up when he was told he was sick.

Yes, Jesus will work at the right time to bring about the light at the time when they are more likely to respond just as he did back when he lived here on earth.

God bless.


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Sandra Miller

 2012/11/26 10:16Profile
enid
Member



Joined: 2006/5/22
Posts: 2680
Nottingham, England

 Re: John 11:9-11


Jesus said, "...I go, so that I may awaken him out of sleep."

As has been said in scripture, we sleep, we cannot die. It is only a temporary parting, and we are reunited on the other side of life, the eternal side.

It does seem amazing, that those who have turned their backs on God seem ok. But as it says in Psalm 37, we are not to fret because of evildoers.

Suffering comes to all, either now, or later.

 2012/11/26 10:35Profile





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