LONGINGS TO BE FOLLOWED-IV—John 8:12
Attention:
How many of you here are hunters &/or fishermen?
A father absolutely loves the outdoors. He loves being in the woods & on the water. Because of his passion for hunting & fishing, his family eats a considerable amount of wild game.
In fact, they eat so much, wild game, that one evening as Dad sets a platter of his perfectly seasoned, fried venison steaks on the dinner table, his ten-year-old daughter looked up & said, “Daddy, it sure would be nice if pizzas lived in the woods."
There are many things we long for...
Things that may or may not be Christ honoring, such as...
Personal recognition, Power over others, Overly expensive vehicle(s), Expansive house(s) & lands, Personal comfort, Statement clothing, Fine clothing, Self-serving relationships,...
When the brilliant undiminished light of Christ shines upon your longings, what is actually revealed about them...about your own heart?
Jesus invited His audience to accept Him as the Light that everyone/all should follow.
Jesus is the Light that all should follow.
What should we follow?
OR
Why should we follow Jesus?
4 Longings worthy of following...
Last week we found that A Longing to follow, is one that fulfills the need for...
1. REPETITION Of TRUTH(:12a)Repetition/Reiteration/Re-Emphasis
2. EXPOSURE To TRUTH(:12b)“I am the light of the world”
3. An APPROPRIATE WALK/Path(:12c)“Shall not walk in darkness”
4—A Longing to be followed fulfills the need for...
POSSESSION Of LIFE(:12d)
Explanation:(:12d)
8:12—“Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.””
These “followers” of Jesus will be the possessors/holders(“have”) of “the light of life.” Thus “having” the “the light of life” keeps one from “walking in darkness.”
Jesus’ “light” is that which is arises out of the “life” He offers.
Anyone can have that “life” by faith in Christ.
The “life” that Jesus has & offers is preemptively set, predetermined, established, &/or prearranged to supply proper or correct “light” to every “follower.”
God offers men, women, boys & girls the gift of “life,” as opposed to offering “death.”
The “life” which Jesus possesses & offers is very much more than mere breathing & movement!
Also “life” entails & encompasses more than just accomplishments of one’s “life” lived. It includes & defines the realm of spiritual success, achievement, & accomplishment as well.
Mankind is vastly more than the sum of his parts, right?, & the same is true in spiritual matters as well! We are designed by God to have relationship with the Creator God, in whose very image we are fashioned.
Again:
John 1:4-5, 9-11—“In Him was life, & the life was the light of men. & the light shines in the darkness, & the darkness did not comprehend it.”.....“That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, & the world was made through Him, & the world did not know Him. He came to His own, & His own did not receive Him.”
**Having “light” in Christ Jesus, we are enabled to see “life” properly, as God has always intended it to be seen...To ‘be’ as God wants us to ‘be’...To properly interpret “life” as God has designed, equipped, & desires it to be interpreted.
“Have”—ecw or scew—Future Active Indicative 3rd Sing.—1) To have, i.e. To hold—1a) To have(hold) in the hand, in the sense of wearing, to have(hold) possession of the mind (refers to alarm, agitating emotions, etc.), to hold fast keep, to have or comprise or involve, to regard or consider or hold as; 2) To have i.e. Own, possess—2a) External things such as pertain to property or riches or furniture or utensils or goods or food etc., 2b) Used of those joined to any one by the bonds of natural blood or marriage or friendship or duty or law etc, of attendance or companionship; 3) To hold one's self or find one's self so & so, to be in such or such a condition; 4) To hold one's self to a thing, to lay hold of a thing, to adhere or cling to—4a) To be closely joined to a person or a thing. Strong—including an alternate form scew; (used in certain tenses only); a primary verb; To hold(used in very various applications, literally or figuratively, direct or remote; such as possessions; ability, continuity, relation, or condition).
“Life”—zwh—Noun Fem.—1) Life—1a) The state of one who is possessed of vitality or is animate, 1b) Every living soul; 2) Life—2a) Of the absolute fulness of life, both essential & ethical, which belongs to God, & through him both to the hypostatic "logos" & to Christ in whom the "logos" put on human nature, 2b) Life real & genuine, a life active & vigorous, devoted to God, blessed, in the portion even in this world of those who put their trust in Christ, but after the resurrection to be consummated by new accessions(among them a more perfect body), & to last for ever. Strong—Life(literally or figuratively).
Zwh corresponds to Hebrew—yx. A)quch—Breath, i.e. by implication--Spirit, abstractly or concretely--The animal sentient principle only, which is distinguished from, B) pneuma—The rational & immortal soul, & C)zwh—Mere vitality, even of plants. These terms thus exactly correspond respectively to the Hebrew...A)vpn, B)xwr & C)yx.
Argumentation:
1Pet. 2:9-10—“But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; who once were not a people but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy.”
**Jn. 3:36—“He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; & he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
**Jn. 8:51—“Most assuredly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word he shall never see death.”
**1Cor. 2:9-14—“But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.” But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
*Jn. 10:1-21—“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief & a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, & the sheep hear his voice; & he calls his own sheep by name & leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; & the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this illustration, but they did not understand the things which He spoke to them. Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves & robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, & will go in & out & find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, & to kill, & to destroy. I have come that they may have life, & that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”[implying that the sheep have life because of Jesus’ life] “But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming & leaves the sheep & flees; & the wolf catches the sheep & scatters them. The hireling flees because he is a hireling & does not care about the sheep. I am the good shepherd; & I know My sheep, & am known by My own. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; & I lay down My life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, & they will hear My voice; & there will be one flock & one shepherd. Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, & I have power to take it again. This command I have received from My Father.” Therefore there was a division again among the Jews because of these sayings. And many of them said, “He has a demon & is mad. Why do you listen to Him?” Others said, “These are not the words of one who has a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?[cf. Jn. 9:1, 6-7]”
**1Jn. 4:1-11—“Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, & every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, & is now already in the world. You are of God, little children, & have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are of the world. Therefore they speak as of the world, & the world hears them. We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth & the spirit of error. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; & everyone who loves is born of God & knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us & sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”
**1Jn. 5:10-15—“He who believes in the Son of God has the witness in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given of His Son. And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, & this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, & that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
**Rom. 8:1—“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.”
There is loss of life(eternal) in condemnation, but the gain of life in condemnation’s removal! We tend to think of eternal life as something in our future, which is true. But eternal life is tangible now! It originates & is lived out expectantly here.
**Jn. 20:26-31—And after eight days His disciples were again inside, & Thomas with them. Jesus came, the doors being shut, & stood in the midst, & said, “Peace to you!” Then He said to Thomas, “Reach your finger here, & look at My hands; & reach your hand here, & put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” And Thomas answered & said to Him, “My Lord & my God!” Jesus said to him, “Thomas, because you have seen Me, you have believed. Blessed are those who have not seen & yet have believed.” And truly Jesus did many other signs in the presence of His disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, & that believing you may have life in His name.”
Mat. 10:32-39—“Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven. But whoever denies Me before men, him I will also deny before My Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, & a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; “& ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. “And he who does not take his cross & follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, & he who loses his life for My sake will find it.”
Your relationship with God thru Jesus the Christ, has a direct tie to your relationships in every manifold realm of your “life”/existence!
Illustration:
A pet dog or cat/These do not leave the house unless the master is with them/These are specifically & diligently cared for by their master/Those dogs & cats that are strays do not experience love or concern for them by another/Strays live slovenly-ill-fated lives at the mercy of the elements of the world—fleas, ticks, predators, disease, hatred, vehicles, thirst, hunger, heat, freezing, rain, wind, hail, lightning, animal control system/They have no hope because they have no one to care for them/They do not have true ‘life,’ apart from their master/POSSESSION Of LIFE
One of my sons works in a facility for children & teens who come from horribly abusive family situations/Like the stray animals above, these children are forced to endure absolutely perverse people—’father’ or ‘mother’ or ‘guardian’—these seemingly trustworthy people, personally initiating murder, rape, torture, etc....With their own children being the recipients of such perversities!/Those children need the indwelling presence of the Lord Jesus Christ in order to be extricated from the ‘death’ within which they are currently trapped!/POSSESSION Of LIFE
Application:
?Has your Longing fulfilled your need for POSSESSION Of LIFE?
?You Longing for Jesus, the Light for this World?
CONCLUSION:
Visualization:
“Daddy, it sure would be nice if pizzas lived in the woods."
Action:
A Longing to be followed, fulfills the need for...
4. POSSESSION Of LIFE(:12d)
1. REPETITION Of TRUTH(:12a)Repetition/Reiteration/Re-Emphasis
2. EXPOSURE To TRUTH(:12b)
3. An APPROPRIATE WALK/Path(:12c)
Pts. 4 only! presented 08/07/2016am?? to:
FBC Cbelle
206 Storrs Ave. SW(SE Ave. ‘A’)
Carrabelle, FL 32322
