Month: April 2018

69. Full of Light

 Luke 11:34, 36 When thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light;…the whole shall be full of light.

 This is a conditional promise: if your eye is single, then your body is full of light. The promise is based on the truth that “your eye is the lamp of your body,” v. 34. This is based on the fact that the eye receives light from the world outside and transfers the light into the body so that we see, thus the eye is the lamp of the body. It receives light and fills with light.

The condition is that the eye should be single; single means clear and healthy. Spiritually it means the reception of the gospel (the light) without blurring and distortion and fogging. When the Gospel is received simply and plainly in an honest and good heart it has the power to fill the life with light. Jesus is the light; He calls us the light of the world, for the light (Jesus) is in us and shines out of us. What makes the eye not simple is additions to the plain Gospel, like my good works, my decision, my prayers, or anything else except Jesus alone doing it all for us.

When a clear and single faith in Christ receives the Gospel the whole self will be full of the Gospel. Repentance and forgiveness is continually applied to the inside, and apology and forgiveness is continually applied to others on the outside. This is the power of the Gospel to change lives from the inside out and affect the relationships with which we live. This is being “full of light.”

68. Blessed

 Luke 11: 28  Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God and keep it.

Jesus gives another promise of blessedness for believers: this time the blessing comes to those who hear the Word of God and keep it. The benefits and positive things that come from hearing the Word of God are too numerous to mention. All blessings stem from the Gospel in the Word that brings the power of God for salvation; the Gospel is the power that changes lives for eternity.

The condition for enjoying the blessing is hearing and keeping. Hearing means understanding the meaning of the Gospel by distinguishing Law and Gospel; it means understanding the Law that convicts of sin and urges repentance; it means understanding the Gospel that clearly shows what Christ has done for our forgiveness and salvation and eternal life; it means hearing with the heart, deep inside our inner being; it means applying the truth and love of God to our own lives in the present time.

Keeping means believing and receiving with honest and good hearts the person and work of Jesus Christ; it is holding and pondering the incredible love of God; it is holding on to the Grace and Truth as revealed in Christ; it is applying the Gospel of Christ to our own sinful and guilty heart and enjoying the purity of life. Keeping also means actually obeying and doing what the Word says, and this actual doing of the Word really takes place in the lives of changed believers. We do not see clearly the life of Jesus flowing out of His followers but it is there, not completely but as a continuous process of sanctification.

Going to church and reading the Bible yields fantastic benefits. That’s a promise.

67. Blessed are the eyes

 Luke 10:23 Blessed are the eyes which see the things that ye see.

 Blessed is a promise used dozens of times in the Bible. The blessing here promised comes upon those who see. “See” means both visualizing with the eyes and comprehending with the mind. Through the revelation of the Word, we see into the unseen realm. When the Holy Spirit reveals the invisible kingdom of God and we see something not visible to the physical eyes then we comprehend something with the mind that was unknowable before. Receiving an understanding insight into some truth from the Word is truly a blessing and the insight results in more blessing for our lives as we live out what has changed inside.

Both senses of “see” are used by Jesus in this promise: 1) the disciples are physically seeing miracles, healings, demons fleeing and the dead rising, and 2) they are also understanding the meaning of these events for their lives, their salvation and their futures. They see the meaning of what they see: the life of Jesus unveils the unseen kingdom of God and displays the victory of Christ over all the power of the enemy. The saying is a call to believe. Within the very call He gives the power to believe.

The New Testament Gospels also show that there are people living at the same time as the disciples who see the same things, but these people do not “see.” Instead of believing and following Jesus they end up rejecting and crucifying Him. Their eyes are not blessed but remain veiled. It is only by the grace of God that the unveiling has taken place in the hearts of believers; that is why they believe, their eyes are opened and they see; thus their eyes are blessed.

The Holy Spirit works this kind of revelation and insight in us entirely by grace, and it has nothing to do with us at all; we cannot take credit. We are blessed by God’s choice and working: by God’s grace we see what the disciples saw and by grace we understand the meaning.

66. Names Written in Heaven

 Luke 10:20  Rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.

 As wonderful as it seems to you that the spirits are subject to you, that is not what you rejoice in. What really makes you full of joy is the promise: “your names are written in heaven.” Every day this promise is true, and every time we remember it and thank God for it our hearts are filled with joy and our mouths with rejoicing.

If your name is written in heaven, and it is, it is more sure and certain than if it were written in granite or marble: your name is actually recorded there in the presence of God. The believer’s name is written in the Book of Life, and One Day that book will be opened for all to see and he will be eternally blessed. You can be sure your name is there and that nothing can erase it. And in the midst of any kind of deep sadness that thought will give you great joy.

The kingdom of heaven is eternal, another world entirely outside of the time and space which we experience. We don’t see that world and we do not see our name written there. But Jesus tells us that it is, and that Word and Promise is more certain and more real than anything we see here in this world. He says it, He writes it, we hear it, we read it, and the Holy Spirit engraves the promise on our hearts so that the faith He gives actually sees what can’t be seen.

When you see you will rejoice. You also will say, “My Lord and my God.”

65. Nothing Shall Hurt

 Luke 10:19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall be any means hurt you.

 The promise is definitive, awesome and all encompassing: “Nothing shall by any means hurt you.” That’s saying a lot: “nothing…by any means.” In spite of all the dangers and threats against us and with all the things we have to worry about we shall not be hurt. Sin, Death and the Devil (serpents and scorpions) will unceasingly try to hurt us and scare us, but we have this promise: we can’t be hurt. Though we have this promise we still are afraid of getting hurt. No need, fear not: The overcomer overcomes.

The other awesome part of this promise is that Jesus gives to us the power over all the power of the enemy. This is awesome in two ways: 1) the power is given to us, and 2) the power is over all the power of the enemy. The head of the serpent is absolutely crushed; he has no right, no authority and no power over us, for our overcomer has given the power back to the redeemed. Jesus has stripped the authority from the Devil and transferred that authority to the believer. Jesus has finished the treading and the crushing. The amazing truth is that He has given to us that authority to tread; the followers of Christ now do the treading and exercise the power that Jesus wrested from Satan. We are the ones who can say, “Get behind me, Satan. Be gone!” In Jesus’ name we resist the devil and he flees; amazingly, he flees at my word. It is hard to believe that I would have that kind of power, that God would entrust such authority and responsibility to me.

Jesus has done the treading; we who follow Him execute it in real life. We are not worthy to exercise such awesome authority, but Christ is worthy; this is what Jesus promises, and he gives us the promise so that we would believe it and do it. There is nothing wrong with such a “prayer against” all the power of the enemy. Jesus loves us so much He doesn’t want anything to hurt us; so He promises that explicitly.

64. Be Given

 Luke 6:38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.

 The principle of reciprocity and sowing-reaping continues with the conditional promise, “you get what you give” and even more than you give. At least it will be given back to you “measure for measure.” We do not see it and we cannot count it, but God sees and measures it out accurately. The picture seems even to say that you will receive by measure more than you give. The picture is receiving grain into your spread out apron or your bushel basket; you receive more than you can hold.

The truth of the promise is still clear: you will not lose what you give away, because it all comes back to you and, in some way, more that you can handle. It should be noted that it is people, human beings, who are giving it all back to you; it does not fall out of the sky directly from God. It happens in the regular give and take of day-to-day life lived with other people. Though it comes through men the source is God, who uses people to distribute His kindnesses and blessings.

The Christian does not give in order to get, but he can be assured that he will receive back again at least as much as he gives away. This promise, as all promises, must be taken by faith, because it looks to me clear and simple that if I give say, $500, I am out that amount of money; however, the truth is that I am not out that much money, but it comes back to me according to God’s accounting system. Once again, this requires walking by faith, not by sight. This is the purpose of all the promises of God, to see what we cannot see. We can know the truth without seeing the truth.

Jesus is saying: “Do what I do, do what I say, and it will be good for you. You will win and not lose. Trust me and believe my words.” When we live by faith we do not look at rewards, promises, results and consequences; we simply respond to God’s Love and trust Him to keep His promises. He will.

62. Saved

 Mark 16:16  He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned.

 This sounds like a conditional promise: If you believe and are baptized, then you will be saved, but faith and baptism are not the cause of salvation. Jesus is. The work of Christ in His death and resurrection is the cause of our salvation. The Cross and the Empty Tomb save us from Sin, Death and the Devil. God forgives us our sins and freely saves because of Christ, nothing else. But faith is necessary to make that salvation personal and effective in our lives. The Holy Spirit applies that saving power to us by creating faith through the Gospel and baptism. The promise of being saved is unconditional since the condition is completed at the Cross.

However, salvation is individually applied only to those who believe, which faith the Holy Spirit through the means of grace works inside the person. That faith is necessary is further made clear by the opposite clause: “he that believeth not shall be damned.” Faith is the key difference between these polar opposites, salvation and damnation.Without faith the sinner remains under condemnation, in John 3:18: “He who does not believe is condemned already.”

Remember the context of this promise, “preach the Gospel to every creature,” v. 15. The result of the preached gospel is faith and baptism; but it is the gospel that saves as it creates faith in Christ. The result of faith and baptism is salvation, but believing or not believing is the hinge that separates salvation and damnation for every person. What is “not believed?” It is the Gospel is that is not believed; this unbelief condemns, for unbelief does not save the unbeliever from that condition. Faith does.

The unconditional promise is: “The Gospel saves: believe it and be baptized and you know it’s true.”

61. See Son of man seated and coming

 Matthew 26:64  Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

Mark 14:62  You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of power and coming with the clouds of heaven.

 This answer of Jesus to Caiaphas is a prophecy, but it is also a promise for us who believe and confess Jesus Christ as risen Lord. Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, who died on the cross for our sins and rose from the dead, is now seated at the right hand of power (of God) and He will come in the clouds (the saints and angels) of heaven to judge the living and the dead.

First, the promise of sitting: Jesus, as man and as God, is seated at the right hand of God, the place of power and rule over all things. Christ is now there with absolute authority ruling all things for the good of the church, the people who believe in Him. One Day we will see Him seated there; we do not see it now, but we believe the promise that this is how it is in the invisible kingdom to which we belong and in which we live, by faith. This promise of present invisible reality and future visible reality strengthens us day by day for we personally know the One who has the present and the future in his hands, and all is under His control. This One is our Savior and Lord, our Shepherd and Friend, our Redeemer and King, and we can easily trust that He is making wise decisions and ruling for our eternal good. Now we see by faith; then we will see by sight. Caiaphas and all people, believers and unbelievers alike, will see Jesus sitting and ruling.They will fear and tremble; we will rejoice and take heart. When we see we will become uncontrollably excited, for we know that our redemption and reception into the Eternal State is drawing near.

Second, the promise of coming: Jesus, the very One who loves us and saves us, is the same One who will judge us at The End. The promise of Jesus the Savior being the one to judge us and declare our eternal fate is most comforting; this promise causes us to rejoice exceedingly and longingly yearn for the Judgment Day. When the Son of Man comes to earth the Second Time it will be to complete forever the salvation won for us in His Resurrection. When He comes He will come with all the believers in Christ who have gone before along with the angel armies of heaven in such awesome glory it will be unbelievable. Every person who ever lived will see it and will stand before the great white throne for the Absolute Judgment for eternity. That promise fills us with unbounded joy and anchor-like hope.

The prophecy is for all men, but the promise is for believers in Jesus Christ.

63. Be Forgiven

 Luke 6:37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.

 This conditional promise is a prime example of reciprocity and the sowing-reaping principle. The judging, condemning, and forgiving in this promise is from one human to another, not forgiveness from God. This illustrates the principle of the Golden Rule (Do unto other as you would like them to do unto you). Down deep we know it is true, but we often forget it. What you give you will get; you reap what you sow; what goes around comes around; you will be treated in the same way you treat others.

If you judge you will be judged; if you gossip you will be gossiped about; if you are mean people will be mean to you, and so on. We will receive in kind and in equal measure from others as we give out to others, both positively and negatively. If you are nice to others they will be nice to you. And here: if you forgive others, others will forgive you.

This truth is more of a principle or a proverb than a promise, but the conditional promise, “you get what you give,” is an important part of it. One of the failings of sinful human nature is that we tend to think that certain rules don’t apply to us, that we are above the law, that we are like God and can judge and withhold forgiveness as we feel like it. We need the Word and Promise of God to remind us that the Rules of Life (The Law) applies equally to us as we would apply it to others. What makes us think we can judge others, criticize, gossip and belittle with impunity? Sin and Pride do.

On the other hand, what makes us think we can forgive, love, be nice to, and treat others well and receive such treatment in return? The Word of God does. The Word reminds us that every word, decision and action has consequences; these consequences have even been spelled out in the Bible. Hearing and keeping the Word of God brings many pleasant consequences. God promises: “forgive and you shall be forgiven.” You are not counting and you don’t always see it, but you can know it is accurate because God said so. God sees, and God counts, and God promises.

60. The Dead will Rise

 Mark 12:26, 27  And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? He is not the God of the dead but the God of the living.

 We don’t necessarily need another promise that we will rise from the dead, but here we have another promise that the dead will rise. Jesus adds the interesting proof that God is the God of the living, not of the dead. For God to be God He must be in a living relationship with living people; God is life, God gives life, and God relates to and connected to life. When He initiated and created a relationship with us through His Son that relationship of one life to another new life could never end; by definition, that life is eternal.

“Though he die, yet shall he live.” We live daily with that paradoxical oxymoron: we are alive and dead all the time at the same time; but one day the dead will rise and we will experience only life; death is destroyed forever. Though we are in the midst of death and we will surely die, our focus, our thoughts, our hopes, our decisions, our hopes and our faith is on life. Even when surrounded with death, weakness, disease, pain and suffering we emphasize the life we have and the life we are promised.

God is my God, and He is the God of the living; therefore, I am living; and no matter what kind of diminishment of life I am experiencing in the present moment abundant and eternal life is always greater and is always present. The promise of life prevents us from being overwhelmed by all the problems and pains caused by Sin and Death, because the dead will rise and my God is the God of the living.