There are so many Christians who give up on following Jesus because they don't deepen their relationship with Jesus by studying the Word of God. Many believe the Word of God is too cryptic for them to understand. It is hard to believe that our God who desires relationship with His creation to point of giving His Son to pay for our sins would make it more difficult for us to get to know Him. The Word of God is a challenge at times if you are reading it as some kind of duty or intellectual exercise. There is more to reading God's Word and understanding the mysteries of God than just reading some words put on a page. Some people worship the Bible itself and that is going to end badly when it comes to coming into a deeper relationship with God Almighty. We seem to be people who want to see something physical in front of us before we will ever believe it. Our Bible is most helpful by introducing us to the God of the Universe and making Him known to all who seek Him.
Our humanistic tendency tries to manipulate God's Word to make it where we can handle it with worldly thinking, instead of allowing the Word of God to impact our thinking. Jesus rocked their world and their thinking when He spoke to them about His flesh in John 6:53-58. The following verses help us see just how much Jesus wanted them to think in Spiritual terms, and just how hard it was for them to do it. John 6: 53 So Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you cannot have eternal life within you. 54 But anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise that person at the last day.55 For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 56 Anyone who eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57 I live because of the living Father who sent me; in the same way, anyone who feeds on me will live because of me. 58 I am the true bread that came down from heaven. Anyone who eats this bread will not die as your ancestors did (even though they ate the manna) but will live forever.”
If we try to figure out what the Bible means through a human reasoning filter we will become frustrated and then we begin to put our own reasoning in it. That poisons the real truth and what seem so real will become marginalized. The Word of God is beyond any of our margins or restrictions. I just kind of blew your mind there didn't I? Mine too, but hang on. Jesus referenced God supplying the manna for the children of Israel when they were on their Exodus and in that reference Jesus brought in that all that He does is not just a physical supply of nourishment, but an eternal nourishment that is accomplised by His flesh being broken and His blood shed. This is the very essence of our faith and to continue strong in that faith we must look at the living Word of God as not just a guidebook, but our life. We cling to the truths in it because Jesus is the Word of God and He is in our life in the Spirit. The religious leaders of the day were always trying to catch Jesus with their humanistic arguments, so they missed the most important part of Jesus and that is the Spiritual aspect, which is the most necessary.
This is why they missed Jesus and why some miss Him today. There is a movement among some evangelicals to "deconstruct" the faith aspect totally and they are leading some non-discipled believers to give up their faith and then they fall away and
"lose their religion." If religion is all they have then they need to be born again in the Spirit so they can see everything about God from a Spiritual perspective. Therein lies the truth of God. In the Spirit. Those who follow Jesus by faith are "saved" but there is more to them than just getting "fire insurance." There is a growing faith that sprouts in them and causes them to come alive in a way they never thought possible. When this happened to all who believed and followed Jesus the first thing Jesus did was send them out so others could experience it. Don't look at your faith in God from a humanistic vantage point. Look at your faith from the vantage point of a Spirit-fiilled individual who has been changed from the inside out. Anything less is wrong-per Jesus. The writer of Hebews speaks to this kind of faith in Hebews 11 and gives us examples of what happened to those who lived such lives. Hebrews 11:1 Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see. 2 Through their faith, the people in days of old earned a good reputation.
3 By faith we understand that the entire universe was formed at God’s command, that what we now see did not come from anything that can be seen.
For years I was duped into thinking my reading the Bible was going to deepen my walk with Jesus, and yes, it does help some. The better way to deepen my walk with God is to allow it to "rock my world" with its deeper truths that transcend the way I have thought about God to this point. His mercies are new every day and part of that newness is a fresh word from God's Word that is living and active. Read the following scripture and see how it speaks to your Spirit. Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. 13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.
When you approach God in the name of Jesus He doesnt' hide from you or hide His eternal truth from you, but you must coming searching. Then He will lead you to a deeper walk if you are an open book before Him. Anything less may just be religious activity. The people who followed Jesus couldn't understand Him even though He was teaching right there in front of them and here is what happened. John 6: 60 Many of his disciples said, “This is very hard to understand. How can anyone accept it?” 66 At this point many of his disciples turned away and deserted him. 67 Then Jesus turned to the Twelve and asked, “Are you also going to leave?” Don't desert your faith. Grow in it! No one can deconstruct your faith if it is a faith. Time to check it and open your heart to the Spirit of God and He will "rock your world."
Today's Message,
David Warren
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