Sunday, August 29th, 2021
Our God is alive and present. When you approach Him, He acts. I do not put my trust in doctors, but in God alone.
Luke 21: 28-36
Jesus addressed these words to His disciples, to those who had received and believed in Him. Among them, Peter, the one who had to speak when Jesus had harsh words for all those who were with Him. “Verily, verily, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves. (John 6:53) Among the disciples, there was trouble. "This word is hard; who can hear it? (John 6:60) When the Lord speaks, He knows what He is saying and the significance of it. He manifests the nature of the evil one and of the one who belongs to Him. "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples; you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8: 31-32) It is always the Word of God that manifests the nature of men. Already since Genesis, the earth was formless and empty. When God spoke, there was a separation between light and darkness.
They were the seed of Abraham according to the flesh. "If you were children of Abraham, you would do the works of Abraham." (John 8:39) We enter another dimension. "For not all who are descended from Israel are IsraelVerily, verily, (Romans 9:6). Because you cannot hear my word. (John 8:43) Nature shows up. It is a good thing to be able to hear, but it is also a very good thing to keep that Word. “Verily, verily, I say to you, if anyone keeps my word, he shall never see death." (John 8:51)
"Verily, verily, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in yourselves." (John 6:53) This was an abomination to the Pharisees and the disciples. Many of these disciples left at that time. Those who claim to be of Jesus Christ must recognize their position. "And he gave some as ..." (Ephesians 4: 11) "for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry and for the building up of the body of Christ, until we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to the state of a full man, to the measure of the perfect stature of Christ, That we may no longer be children, floating and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the deceitfulness of men, by their cunning in the means of seduction; but professing the truth in love, we may grow up in all respects into him who is the head, Christ. " (Ephesians 4:12-15) If Jesus Christ is in you, then you must be positioned. You can't be in the Body without knowing where you are in the Body! He who is in the Body of Christ knows his place and no one can uproot him from there. The assurance of his positioning comes from God. "He is like a tree planted by a stream of water, which yields its fruit in its season, and whose leaf does not wither; whatever he does it succeeds." (Psalm 1:3)
In a gathering place, there are always groups. And these groups are identified by the spirit that animates them. "Where the body is, there the eagles will gather. (Luke 17:37)
"Do not murmur among yourselves." (John 6:43) They began to murmur. By doing this, they were trying to influence others. When someone has an evil spirit, he will do everything to show that he is more spiritual. The person does not realize that he is already dead. When the Word of God says something, submit to it because it has Life in it. They wanted to influence others because there were many of them. You can influence whoever you want, but the sons of God will remain rooted, they will never move.
When they left, Jesus looked at the others and said, "Don't you also want to go away? Simon Peter answered, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. (John 6: 67-68) You cannot be given any other god than the One you have received! "You have everything fully in him, who is the head of all dominion and authority." (Colossians 2:10) If I have everything in Him, why would I need anyone else? "Behold, I have given you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy; and nothing shall by any means hurt you." (Luke 10:19) Satan has been defeated, he no longer has power over you. "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of this dark world, against the evil spirits in the heavenly places." (Ephesians 6:12) God has given you the weapon to defeat him, but you have to know how to use it the right way. When Satan tempted Jesus, he came with the Word but without the revelation. The revelation does not come from an angel but from God. "Blessed are you, Simon, son of Jonah; for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father in heaven." (Matthew 16:17)
"Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you twelve? (John 6: 70) Jesus was not troubled, He was not afraid that they would leave because He knew His position. "They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they kept your word. (John 17:6) When God chose you, it was so that you would reach the goal. If He has chosen you, it is because you are His sheep. The Shepherd leads his sheep to green pastures, to the right port. The storm may come, but I remain calm because I know that my Shepherd will lead me to the harbor. You do not belong to the shepherd but to Jesus Christ, He is the Shepherd. "And you, son of man, I have set you as a watchman over the house of Israel. You must listen to the word that comes from my mouth, and warn them on my behalf." (Ezekiel 33:7) There is only one Shepherd. The sheep must be led to the Shepherd, the sheep listen to the voice of the Shepherd. We must be reassured of the One who leads us. When the Lord speaks to His disciples, He knows what He must say to them. The Lord spoke in parables but in private He explained to them.
Luke 21:34
These things will really happen. These are the things that people are most concerned about. In this age, we live in the excess of eating and drinking. Whatever we want to eat, we can find it. Only, one must have the capacity, the means to buy. To buy, you need money. To get money, I have to work. The work becomes difficult, so I start to worry: how am I going to do it? A son of God must be a soldier. You may need welfare but don't live on it. I don't want to eat the bread of laziness. We also need to pray and fast! When you fast, when you take the time to seek the face of God, you will see God at work. Not always for material needs but to bring us closer to God. We must take the time to examine ourselves to know if when He comes, He will find me ready? We must first look at ourselves! It's easy to talk about others but the fact that you criticize others, you are not in good standing with God. Complain about yourself first! When you complain all the time, ask the Lord for deliverance. "Let no one in his heart think evil against his neighbor" (Zechariah 8:17) When you complain about the person, then you will have a problem with that person. When you want to complain about someone, the devil will show you a multitude of faults. Let's sound it out first. We need this because our adversary is cunning. Your brother is really your brother, your sister is really your sister. Look at your brother and sister with compassion and mercy.
1 Thessalonians 5:1-3 / Luke 21:34
When they heard this, their hearts were greatly moved, and they said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do? Brothers, what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37) We need to be involved in what the Lord is doing. "Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. (Psalm 119:105)
2 Peter 3:8-10 / 2 Peter 3:1-7
Scientists can make all the programs they can, but the earth is destined to fire. It is the Word of God that drives all things. The temperature on earth is rising, we talk about global warming, because the coming of the Lord is near. Let us put our trust in the Word of God. It is our weapon and our refuge. We know what will happen. They can do anything, but the fire will come. God is going to destroy the earth with reason. We see with the virus, the governments do not seek the face of God but they close the churches to trust in the scientists. In Noah's time, it was the same thing. Noah said: it will rain. The scientists said that this was impossible. They said Noah was crazy, but God said so. Noah built the ark. We are making the same mistakes again. We are taken for fools, but Glory to God! Noah in his madness was saved from the waters. God took the weak-minded to announce his Word. Never stray from this Word and this Jesus. "You have everything fully in Him" (Colossians 2:10) "I am the way, the truth, and the life." (John 14:6)