John 3:14-16, “And just as Moses LIFTED up the serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must [so it is necessary that] the Son of Man be LIFTED up [on the cross], In order that everyone who believes in Him [who cleaves to Him, trusts Him, and relies on Him] may not perish, but have eternal life and [actually] LIVE forever! For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.” (AMPC)
During Pete’s college years, his wife Nina spent part of a summer as a counselor at a Bible camp that was buried deep in the mountains. I mean like deep in the mountains - deep enough in the mountains that the rattlesnakes are plentiful and feel right at home! One day as she was hiking with her girls through the woods, they all heard what they thought was just a branch or a stick breaking. Until they realized that one of the girls had been struck in the leg by a rattlesnake. Now Nina was someone you wanted to have around you when there was a crisis because she is always a cool head. She ran to the nearby camp and immediately went for the box in the infirmary that said Snake Bite Kit on it. But her heart sank when she opened it. Why? Because the LIFE-SAVING KIT WAS EMPTY! Thankfully, they were able to get that girl to a hospital in time to save her life, NO THANKS TO THE EMPTY SNAKE BITE KIT!
It is a terrible thing to realize that the thing that CLAIMS to be able to SAVE YOUR LIFE really has NOTHING THAT CAN HELP! As you read the pages of the Bible, you discover that the religions of the world are much like that. Every religion motivates its followers with the same promise - some form of heaven, and eternal life if you are a “good follower” of "whatever" or "whoever." But sadly, religion does not, for the most part, offer a cure for the deadly infection we have which is SIN AND ITS ETERNAL DEATH PENALTY. And just in case you did not know it, there is a huge difference between RELIGION and RELATIONSHIP!
“Christianity is not a religion or a philosophy, but a relationship and a lifestyle. The core of that lifestyle is thinking of others as Jesus did, instead of ourselves.” (Rick Warren)
“Jesus wants a Relationship; Satan wants Religion.”
“Jesus didn’t die so you can have a religion, He died so you can have a relationship with your Heavenly Father.”
“Christianity is a relationship not a religion. I did not convert, I was reborn.”
“Religion can be anything! But true Christianity is God coming to man in a personal relationship.” (Billy Graham)
I Reiterate, there is a HUGE Difference Between Religion and Relationship!
Speaking of relationship, there may be no more famous verse in all the Bible than John 3:16. It says, "God So Loved The World That He Gave His One And Only Son, That Whoever Believes In Him Shall Not Perish But Have Eternal Life." The verses that immediately precede that description of God's plan for saving us talks about a snake. In John 3:14-15, He says, "Just as Moses LIFTED UP the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be LIFTED UP, that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal LIFE. God so loved the world..."
To understand this snake thing, and more importantly, to understand the only way your sins can be forgiven, and you can go to heaven, is to go back to Numbers 21 in the Old Testament where this snake incident took place. Venomous snakes have attacked God's people in the desert, and many of those people are dying. So, God says to Moses, "'make a snake and PUT IT UP ON A POLE; anyone who is bitten can LOOK at it and LIVE'" (Numbers 21:8-9). The Amplified Bible reads like this: “And the Lord said to Moses, make a fiery serpent [of bronze] and SET IT ON A POLE; and everyone who is bitten, when he LOOKS at it, shall LIVE. And Moses made a serpent of bronze and PUT IT ON A POLE, and if a serpent had bitten any man, when he LOOKED to the serpent of bronze [attentively, expectantly, with a steady and absorbing gaze], he LIVED.” (AMPC) Their only hope was to LOOK at what God told Moses to LIFT to save them.
For Us, That Is Jesus, God's Son, Dying On That Cross. John 12:32, “And I, If And When I Am Lifted Up From The Earth [On The Cross], Will Draw And Attract All Men [Gentiles As Well As Jews] To Myself.” (AMPC) We've all been bitten by the deadly snake called SIN. None of the great moralities, none of the great religions can possibly pay the death penalty for our sin. You see, getting to Heaven is not just about putting enough good on one side of the scale to balance the bad on the other; it is about satisfying a death penalty, and it took Jesus Christ's death to do that. You must LOOK to Him as the ONLY ONE who can save you. John 14:6, “Jesus Said To Him, I Am The Way And The Truth And The Life; No One Comes To The Father Except By (Through) Me.” (Ampc); Acts 4:12, “And There Is Salvation In And Through No One Else, For There Is No Other Name Under Heaven Given Among Men By And In Which We Must Be Saved.” (AMPC); Romans 10:9-10, “Because If You Acknowledge And Confess With Your Lips That Jesus Is Lord And, In Your Heart, Believe (Adhere To, Trust In, And Rely On The Truth) That God Raised Him From The Dead, You Will Be Saved. For With The Heart A Person Believes (Adheres To, Trusts In, And Relies On Christ) And So Is Justified (Declared Righteous, Acceptable To God), And With The Mouth He Confesses (Declares Openly And Speaks Out Freely His Faith) And Confirms [His] Salvation.” (Ampc); Matthew 1:21, “She Will Bear A Son, And You Shall Call His Name Jesus [The Greek Form Of The Hebrew Joshua, Which Means Savior], For He Will Save His People From Their Sins [That Is, Prevent Them From Failing And Missing The True End And Scope Of Life, Which Is God].” (AMPC)
One of the First things you need to keep in mind is that JESUS is your ONLY means to Salvation! No matter how many other ‘ways’ you may hear about, it is Jesus Alone! MATTHEW 17:8, “And When They Raised Their Eyes, They Saw No One But Jesus Only.” (AMPC) Which reminds me of the old hymn “Jesus Only” by Charles P. Jones. Just one verse says: “JESUS ONLY is my motto, JESUS ONLY is my song, JESUS ONLY is my heart thought, JESUS ONLY all day long. NONE BUT JESUS, Savior, Captain, NONE BUT JESUS help me sing, fill me ever with They presence, Jesus, Jesus, Lord and King.” If you take nothing else away from this devotional, remember always, that Jesus ONLY is your way to Salvation!
Truth is, we the CHURCH must get back to this being our job and responsibility, to make sure that we are LIFTING JESUS ONLY in our Houses of Worship. We have become so focused on lifting names; positions; and gifts, that we have lost sight of LIFTING Jesus! But the Scripture says: “And I, If And When I Am Lifted Up From The Earth [On The Cross], Will Draw And Attract All Men [Gentiles As Well As Jews] To Myself.” (John 12:32 AMPC) Jesus was already lifted on the cross, He was crucified and resurrected and now sits at the right hand of the Father ever living to make intercession for us. So, Jesus is NOT being crucified again.
Therefore, It’s Our Job And Responsibility As Believers, The Church, And Christians To Lift Him Up! Remember These Scriptures About Lifting! Nehemiah 8:6, “And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God. And all the people answered, Amen, Amen, LIFTING up their hands; and they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with faces to the ground.” (AMPC); Psalm 63:4, “So will I bless You while I live; I will LIFT up my hands in Your name.” (AMPC); Lamentations 3:41, “Let us LIFT up our hearts and our hands [and then with them mount up in prayer] to God in heaven:” (AMPC)
We Are Not To Lift Up Ourselves! Psalm 75:4-7, “I said to the arrogant and boastful, deal not arrogantly [do not boast]; and to the wicked, Lift Not Up The Horn [Of Personal Aggrandizement]. Lift Not Up Your [Aggressive] Horn On High, speak not with a stiff neck and insolent arrogance. For Not From The East Nor From The West Nor From The South Come Promotion And Lifting Up. But God Is The Judge! He Puts Down One And Lifts Up Another.” (AMPC); Isaiah 2:12-14, “For there shall be a day of the Lord of hosts against all who are proud and haughty and against all who are LIFTED UP—and they shall be brought low— [The wrath of God will begin by coming down] against all the cedars of Lebanon [west of the Jordan] that are HIGH AND LIFTED UP, and against all the oaks of Bashan [east of the Jordan], And [after that] against all the high mountains and all the hills that are LIFTED UP,” (AMPC); Daniel 5:20, 23, “But when his heart was LIFTED UP and his mind and spirit were hardened so that he dealt proudly, he was deposed from his kingly throne and his glory was taken from him;… And you Have Lifted Yourself Up Against The Lord Of Heaven, and the vessels of His house have been brought before you, and you and your lords, your wives, and your concubines have drunk wine from them; and you have praised the gods of silver and gold, of bronze, iron, wood, and stone, which do not see or hear or know; but the God in Whose hand your breath is and Whose are all your ways you have not honored and glorified [but have dishonored and disgraced].” (AMPC).
However, God Is So Great That Even When We Lift Him, He In Turn Lifts US! 1 Samuel 2:7-8, “The Lord makes poor and makes rich; He Brings Low And He Lifts Up. He raises up the poor out of the dust and LIFTS UP the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with nobles and inherit the throne of glory. For the pillars of the earth are the Lord’s, and He has set the world upon them.” (AMPC); 2 Samuel 22:49, “Who brought me out from my enemies. You also LIFTED ME UP above those who revolted against me; You delivered me from the violent man.” (AMPC); Job 5:11, “So that He sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn HE LIFTS to safety.” (AMPC); Psalm 3:3, “But You, O Lord, are a shield for me, my glory, and the LIFTER of my head.” (AMPC); Psalm 18:48, “Who delivers me from my enemies; yes, You LIFT me up above those who rise up against me; You deliver me from the man of violence.” (AMPC); Isaiah 11:11, “And in that day the Lord shall again LIFT up His hand a second time to recover (acquire and deliver) the remnant of His people which is left, from Assyria, from Lower Egypt, from Pathros, from Ethiopia, from Elam [in Persia], from Shinar [Babylonia], from Hamath [in Upper Syria], and from the countries bordering on the [Mediterranean] Sea.” (AMPC); Mark 9:27, “But Jesus took [a strong grip of] his hand and began LIFTING him up, and he stood.” (AMPC); 1 Corinthians 2:7, “But rather what we are setting forth is a wisdom of God once hidden [from the human understanding] and now revealed to us by God— [that wisdom] which God devised and decreed before the ages for our glorification [to LIFT us into the glory of His presence].” (AMPC); James 4:10, “Humble yourselves [feeling very insignificant] in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you [He will LIFT you up and make your lives significant].” (AMPC)
I Reiterate, We Are to LIFT JESUS; We Are Not to LIFT Ourselves; and God in Turn Loves Us Enough to Even LIFT US!
However, in this scenario, we are to focus on LIFTING JESUS!
John 3:14-16, “And just as Moses LIFTED up the serpent in the desert [on a pole], so must [so it is necessary that] the Son of Man be LIFTED up [on the cross], In order that everyone who believes in Him [who cleaves to Him, trusts Him, and relies on Him] may not perish, but have eternal life and [actually] LIVE forever! For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.” (AMPC)
Jesus Loved Us Enough to Be Lifted on the Cross, and Now It is Our Turn to Lift Him in Our Prayers, Praise, Worship, Services, Lives and Lifestyles. There are lives and souls at stake! There are still sheep that have yet to be added to the Lord’s fold, and it is our responsibility (as sheep) to make sure they SEE HIM LIFTED UP HIGH! Our sermons and Sunday school lessons need to LIFT JESUS; the songs the praise teams and choirs sing need to LIFT JESUS; the way we treat people (friends, family, foes, coworkers, and even the unsaved needs to LIFT JESUS! Our behavior and conduct and mindset should all LIFT JESUS! We are created in His imagine and likeness; we are His believers, church, disciples, witnesses, and ambassadors. And with that comes the responsibility to ensure everything about us LIFTS JESUS! Why? Because when we LIFT HIM; the people LOOK ON HIM; the people are SAVED BY HIM; and the people LIVE FOR HIM for all eternity! Isn’t that worth us focusing more on LIFTING JESUS instead of focusing so much on lifting ourselves!?
God’s people in the desert suffered snake bites, and there was no snake bite emergency kit to reach for. No, Moses had the responsibility to LIFT the serpent that the people would look upon it and be healed. If God can provide healing by the people looking up at a serpent on a pole; imagine what He can provide for the people who LOOK to JESUS and LIVE! They will be healed; saved; delivered; restored; redeemed; forgiven; justified; made whole; have peace and joy added to every part and portion of their lives. And all we need to do is to make sure we LIFT HIM so the people can LOOK to HIM and LIVE!
Let us not be so concerned with people lifting us and looking up to us! WE are not the focal point! (2 Corinthians 4:7)
“We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This Makes It Clear That Our Great Power Is From God, Not From Ourselves.” (NLT)
“We have this light from God in our human bodies. This Shows That The Power Is From God. It Is Not From Ourselves.” (NLV)
“But we have this treasure in earthen containers, so that The Extraordinary Greatness Of The Power Will Be Of God And Not From Ourselves;” (NASB)
“…If you only look at us, you might well miss the brightness. We carry this precious Message around in the unadorned clay pots of our ordinary lives. That’s To Prevent Anyone From Confusing God’s Incomparable Power With Us. As It Is, There’s Not Much Chance Of That. You Know For Yourselves That We’re Not Much To Look At…” (vss. 7-12 MSG)
“But this precious treasure—this light and power that now shine within us—is held in a perishable container, that is, in our weak bodies. Everyone Can See That The Glorious Power Within Must Be From God And Is Not Our Own.” (TLB)
“Yet we who have this spiritual treasure are like common clay pots, In Order To Show That The Supreme Power Belongs To God, Not To Us.” (GNT)
“We are like clay jars in which this treasure is stored. THE REAL POWER COMES FROM GOD AND NOT FROM US.” (CEV)
John 12:30-33, “Jesus said, “The voice did not come for me but for you. At this moment, the world is in crisis. Now Satan, the ruler of this world, will be thrown out. And I, as I am LIFTED from the earth, will attract everyone to me and gather them around me.” He put it this way to show how he was going to be put to death.” (MSG)
Jesus knew He came to DIE that we might LIVE, and all we must do is LIFT Him! Let our Houses of Worship not be like the opening story where a person in dire need to be saved, had someone reach for what would save them, and unfortunately it was empty! Let our churches not be emptied of the name of Jesus! Not the man upstairs; not ‘Him’ or even just using a vague term as 'god’ but let us make sure we are LIFTING the name of JESUS!
Matthew 19:29, “And anyone and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or lands for My name’s sake will receive many [even a hundred] times more and will inherit ETERNAL LIFE.” (AMPC)
Acts 13:48, “And when the Gentiles heard this, they rejoiced and glorified (praised and gave thanks for) the Word of God; and as many as were destined (appointed and ordained) to ETERNAL LIFE believed (adhered to, trusted in, and relied on Jesus as the Christ and their Savior).” (AMPC)
1 John 5:13, “I write this to you who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) the name of the Son of God [in the peculiar services and blessings conferred by Him on men], so that you may know [with settled and absolute knowledge] that you [already] have life, yes, ETERNAL LIFE.” (AMPC)
LET’S LIFT JESUS, LOOK TO HIM AND LIVE!
J.P. Olson
www.thewordwithjpolson.org
No comments:
Post a Comment