Classic Christianity – Book of John Part 45 (07-15-19)
We have to understand God wants us to grow in the depth of the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, to get to know him deeper and deeper and deeper, to know the height, width, depth and breadth of the love of God and to know this love that surpasses knowledge so you and I can experience the fullness of God in our lives and be controlled by his Spirit.
Ephesians 3:16-18
16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
John 8:43-44
43 Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say.
44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires
He says that the devil is their father. Either your father is the devil or your father is God. We have two desires. We have desires of the flesh and desires of the Spirit. Where do the desires of the flesh come from? The devil if your father is still the devil. Where do desires of the Spirit come from? From God the Father. Source is from the father the devil or the father the Son.
Galatians 5:17
For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
The flesh wars against the Spirit with demands. Your flesh demands that you obey it. The voice of the flesh says, “I know I should not be doing this but it demands that you got to do it”. It is relentless. The father, who is the devil, is relentless in creating those desires in you that are contrary with the Spirit. So we have this conflict, listening to good news of the gospel or the bad news that Satan wants you to fall on.
From years of years of counseling from people down in the dumps, that got into depression, you learn to ask these questions. Who put those thoughts of depression in you? God or Satan. Whose voice is saying, “I will bless you today?” Whose voice is saying, “You are a scumbag?” Did God put those thoughts in you, saying you are not a good father or a good husband? So a voice says, “Come back in a week so I can tell you some more good news. So I can tell you again you are scumbag.“ Is that the voice of God? No. Where do you think those thoughts are coming from? Those thoughts are certainly not from God who says “I love you”.
This is what God says he will do for you if you let him.
Philippians 4:13
I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
John 16:13
But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
You can do all things through Christ if you will let Him. He will guide you into all truth, He will lead you in this life, if you let Him. Just let Him.
So if you sit back and listen to the voice of Satan about how bad you are then you are like a man who compares himself by himself, a man who compares himself with other people. The bible says you are a fool if you think like that.
2 Corinthians 10:12
12 We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.
God may just want you to be a good father or good mother, and whatever he has planned for you, be content in wherever you are. Quit looking where you should be or could be. Quit playing the “would of, could of, should of”game. Quit listening to the devil who wants to keep you in bondage.
1 Timothy 6:6
But godliness with contentment is great gain.
Philippians 4:11-13
11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
John 8:44
He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
The devil always sounds like he has some truth, but there is always a hook in there, in order to destroy you. When he lies, he speaks his native language. What is his native language? Lies.
John 8:45
45 Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe me! 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Ian Thomas said, “Man will believe anything except the truth”. A person, a deceiver, tells a man, “You mail me in some money and I will send you a handkerchief dipped in the Jordan river and you can ask God, and he will give anything to you”. So what does the man reply, “Mail me the hanky”. You tell a person that Jesus died and rose from the dead to give you eternal life. Yet, what does a person say, “Too good to be true”. Man will believe anything except the truth.
Men get on television, total deceivers, and just talk about money, and tell you, “Send in money and I will pray for you.” Bob says to them, “Keep your money and I will pray for myself. What do you have that I do not have? Do you have Jesus in you? I do too. That is why I pray for me and you should be praying for you”. If you are a born again Christian, you have got a hot line to God. There is nobody who is super-spiritual. A person thinks he has to be super-natural for God to listen to him? No, if that were the case, He would not be listening to anybody. There is just natural man and spiritual man, not real natural and real spiritual, just natural and spiritual. Yet man makes heroes out of people. So you hear, “Whoever sent me money, Father, bless them”. Charlatans! It is amazing what goes on.
Bob once hear a man respond this way to a charlatan, scamming money out of people in the name of God. “You send me a 100 dollars, God will send you a thousand”, says the charlatan. “It seems you need more money than I do. So why don’t you send me a 100 dollars and God will send you a thousand.”, say the Christian, exposing the lie of the charlatan, and putting him to the same test.
People do not want to hear truth because it is painful. You tell your son he is acting like an idiot. Oh, these parents are too hard on him. But the issue is, is he telling him the truth. Bob wanted to get into show business. His dad was not real long on that. His dad was not for it, and it hurt to hear that. Later, as Bob got older, he realized that his dad was telling him the truth. Most of it was about me and it was the truth. So people are having resentment to a father who is telling you the truth. We have psychologists that are telling people that your problem is you had a mother! God forbid you had a mother. Ridiculous! Maybe some of you had parents way over the line. But I am talking about those parents who are normal. I do not know a parent, unless they are perverted, who will say something to them to screw them up. I do not know a parent, who is worth his salt, who is not looking out for the best for his children. They may not always have the best advice but their heart of love is that they want the best for their child.
A child came in with her parents one time and said, “I want to be free.” Bob said this to to her parents in her hearing. “I agree with this girl. She needs to be able to be free. What I want you to be is to be free to go into the library and be free to study. I want you to be free to go to your room and study. I want you to be free to have a good life. I will not bug you about that anymore. You do not want freedom. You want freedom to feed your flesh. That is what you want freedom to do but you do not want freedom to live a good life.”
Galatians 5:13
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
So every parent should tell their child, “do not use your freedom to indulge your flesh, and I am not going to encourage you to do that, but I will be encouraging you to use your freedom to serve one another in love.” You will not hear that from Satan, for he is a liar, and he will not tell you the truth. When Jesus tells you the truth, then believe him.
John 8:45-47
45 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 46 Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? If I am telling the truth, why don’t you believe me? 47 Whoever belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God.”
Is this clear? When people are fighting against truth, it is because they do not possess the author of truth. There are people today who are adamantly fighting against the message of God. Why would you be fighting against the message God came to give to us?
John 1:17
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Moses came to give the law but Jesus came to give grace. Grace and truth comes from Jesus Christ our Lord. If you are fighting against grace, it is because you are dense or you do not belong to God. The reason you do not understand grace is because you do not belong to the author of grace. If you do belong to the author of grace, then get rid of whatever is blocking you so you can understand the fullness of the grace of God that he did for you and me that you could not have gotten for yourself.
John 8:48
48 The Jews answered him, “Aren’t we right in saying that you are a Samaritan and demon-possessed?”
That is the worst thing you can say something about. These are people Jesus came to his own and his own received him not. These are the ones Jesus came to save and they say he is demon possessed!
John 8:49-51
49 “I am not possessed by a demon,” said Jesus, “but I honor my Father and you dishonor me.
50 I am not seeking glory for myself; but there is one who seeks it, and he is the judge.
51 Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death.”John 8:52-53
52 At this they exclaimed, “Now we know that you are demon-possessed! Abraham died and so did the prophets, yet you say that whoever obeys your word will never taste death.
53 Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”
They just got through saying Abraham is our father. He died and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are, Jesus. You can hear the venom coming out.
John 8:54-56
54 Jesus replied, “If I glorify myself, my glory means nothing. My Father, whom you claim as your God, is the one who glorifies me.
55 Though you do not know him, I know him. If I said I did not, I would be a liar like you, but I do know him and obey his word.
56 Your father Abraham rejoiced at the thought of seeing my day; he saw it and was glad.”John 8:57-58
57 “You are not yet fifty years old,” they said to him, “and you have seen Abraham!”
58 Very truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “before Abraham was born, I am!”
They knew exactly what Jesus was saying. He is the “I Am” who sent me. The Jews would have known about Moses conversation with God, when called to be the delivery of the Jews out of bondage in Egypt, who, when asked what he should say to Pharaoh when asked who sent him, God replied, ’I am has sent me to you.‚”
Exodus 3:13-15
13 Moses said to God, “Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, ’The God of your fathers has sent me to you,‚ and they ask me, ’What is his name?‚ Then what shall I tell them?”
14 God said to Moses, “I am who I am. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: ’I am has sent me to you.‚”
15 God also said to Moses, “Say to the Israelites, ’The Lord, the God of your fathers – the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob – has sent me to you.‚
“This is my name forever, the name you shall call me from generation to generation.”
It is recognition of deity. Jesus had seven of these “I Am” identities. Below is a list of Jesus’ seven “I Am” statements in the book of John.
- “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:35, 41, 48, 51) As bread sustains physical life, so Christ offers and sustains spiritual life.
- “I am the light of the world.” (John 8:12) To a world lost in darkness, Christ offers Himself as a guide.
- “I am the door of the sheep.” (John 10:7,9) Jesus protects His followers as shepherds protect their flocks from predators.
- “I am the resurrection and the life.” (John 11:25) Death is not the final word for those in Christ.
- “I am the good shepherd.” (John 10:11, 14) Jesus is committed to caring and watching over those who are His.
- “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” (John 14:6) Jesus is the source of all truth and knowledge about God.
- “I am the true vine.” (John 15:1, 5) By attached ourselves to Christ, we enable His life to flow in and through us. Then we cannot help but bear fruit that will honor the Father.
The Jews knew precisely what he was saying when he said “I Am”. It is a declaration of deity. They knew he was declaring himself to be God.
Here is man declaring himself to be God. They probably thought he was a maniac. A man declaring himself to be God would be a maniac, an imposter or he would be God. As C.S. Lewis said, “he would be a man on the level of someone declaring himself to be a poached egg, or he was an imposter, who created the worst lie ever to be perpetuated on mankind, or he was who he claimed to be, which is God.” They were not going to declare himself God or how much sense would it be to take up stones to stone him to death?
John 8:59
59 At this, they picked up stones to stone him, but Jesus hid himself, slipping away from the temple grounds.
John 9:1-2
1 As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. 2 His disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?”
The Jews thought someone born of an infirmity, that it was from some sin of some kind, either his or that of his parents. It was not sin that caused this but his happened so the work of God will be displayed in his life.
John 9:3-5
3 “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. 4 As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. 5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
If you are in darkness, the only thing you are looking for is light. If you are in a pitched black forest, and you do not know where you are going, the one thing you are begging for is, “Lord, is there any light to get me out of here?” Jesus said you live in a world of black darkness. The only way you are to get out of this darkness is the light of Jesus Christ.
Colossians 1:13-14
13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
John 9:6
6 After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man’s eyes.
One of the laws of the Jews in regard to the Sabbath is you cannot work on the Sabbath. If you are going to have a law that you cannot work on the Sabbath, then you must ask, “What is work?” So on the Sabbath, you see Jews walking to synagogues today. It would be a sin to use a man-made instrument like a car. You cannot work on the Sabbath. Yet to me, walking would be a lot more work than driving a car. Yet, they cannot use a car on the Sabbath.
Being in Israel on Shabbat, or Sabbath, the Jews cannot use man-made instruments. If you are eating in a hotel, how are you going to get to a higher floor? Someone came up with the bright idea to make a Shabbat elevator. You see religious people today, orthodox Jews, who observe the Sabbath, on Saturday, and you can see them walking to church. Why? Because that would be work. Driving is considered work. I would think walking would be considered work. Don’t you? To them, driving is work, using such a man-made mechanism. Legalists come up with all these ideas of what you can and cannot do if you are going to violate, or work, on the Sabbath.
You see Jews today and you will see people standing on a Shabbat elevator. What is a Shabbat elevator? It is an elevator they designed to avoid what is considered work. You cannot push a button, for that is considered work. Yet, walking up a flight of stairs is not considered work! Which one is work to you? Climbing up stairs or pushing a button? Yet pushing a button is considered work! Somebody designed an elevator, that when standing in front of it, the doors open, and the elevator goes up automatically and stops at every floor on the way up so you do not have to push a button and be a sinner for working on the Sabbath. How you get in the room, I do not know. That is the kind of nonsensical things that religious people get engaged in. In Israel today, in August or whatever month it is, and you girls would have on a sleeveless type of dress, and you would get spit on, for that is lust. An Eskimo could cause you to lust if you want to lust. But, that is religion.
That is the kind of people Jesus entered into, literally when he was born, and when he started his ministry. When Jesus healed this man, who for over 38 years, trying to get healed, and Jesus healed him and told him to pick up his mat and walk, the religious Pharisees came to him, and said “This is the Sabbath. Who told you to heal on the Sabbath? Don’t you know the law forbids you to carry your mat on the Sabbath?”
Another one of the laws they had is that you cannot spit on the ground on the Sabbath, for spit makes mud, and that would be work. So if you spit, you have to do it on a rock. That is why this story is being told. Jesus spit on the ground and he made mud with saliva and put mud on his eyes. How many of you think putting mud on someone’s eyes will cause the blind to see?
John 9:7
7 “Go,” he told him, “wash in the Pool of Siloam” (this word means “Sent”). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.
That also would be considered work, to wash your eyes.
John 9:8-9
8 His neighbors and those who had formerly seen him begging asked, “Isn’t this the same man who used to sit and beg?”
9 Some claimed that he was.
Others said, “No, he only looks like him.”
But he himself insisted, “I am the man.”John 9:10-11
10 “How then were your eyes opened?” they asked.
11 He replied, “The man they call Jesus made some mud and put it on my eyes. He told me to go to Siloam and wash. So I went and washed, and then I could see.”
You can hear them saying, “He made mud. He made mud, and on the Sabbath!” and ”He told me to work. He told me to work, and on the Sabbath!“
John 9:12
12 “Where is this man?” they asked him.
“I don’t know,” he said.
They were not saying this so they can go and worship him. They were saying this so they can go and annihilate him. Today was the Sabbath. Can you imagine being a disciple, following Jesus around, knowing what the religious Pharisees were like, and seeing Jesus do this on the Sabbath? You could hear the disciples saying, “Wait for tomorrow”. “No”, Jesus would say, “I have a story to tell.”
