Heralds Digest

“Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭ 8:24 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.8.24.nkjv The ‘ who is who’ factor is a significant concern in almost all of man’s world religion. Obviously, the Pharisees and Sadducees in the days of Jesus Christ do not carry last in their search for the authority of Jesus. And in their efforts at differentiating between his authority and teaching from that of the previous Jewish leaders, Jesus challenged or audited their state of sinlessness. Unfortunately, no one could stand the test. While none of world’s religious leaders can beat their chests with confidence, only Jesus is a sinless Saviour - a perfect Substitute for all of man’s sins. Therefore, only Him has the power to say ‘ Go, and sin no more!’ . Otherwise, man becomes perpetually attached to sin and refused deliverance from this world of inequities and sin.

  “Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.” ‭‭John‬ ‭6:67-68‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.6.67-68.nkjv Even before the advent of the theory of relativity, the pursuits of everything that life offers are relative to the experiences of different people. Happiness, joy, and satisfaction at home, society and within the fellowship of people are simply the products of relativity. But when Jesus presented a different concept of life satisfaction to the people, it was difficult for people to admit the revealed empty exploration in the concept of relative satisfaction. Without the consideration for eternal life, the pursuit of joy and happiness at home, workplace satisfaction, and fulfillment in career is understandably relative. Therefore, Jesus asked for the decision of the disciples on the option of going back in pursuit of this relative satisfaction. But Simon Pe...

  “It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.” ‭‭John‬ ‭ 6:45 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.6.45.nkjv The onset of frustration at the field of evangelism does not start in our contemporary times. Even at the times of the prophets and in the days of Christ’s earthly ministry, the fields were filled with hypocrites, religious bigots, and a bunch of bystanders against the gospel of salvation. Notwithstanding, Jesus consistently sowed and taught everyone the secret of spreading the seeds of evangelism with grace. Unfortunately, believers and evangelists today are tempted to get frustrated and stranded on their fallow fields. Why? 1. ‘ And they shall all be taught by God’ is easily misinterpreted and implemented as ‘ And they shall all be taught by the evangelists’ . Little wonder the expression of frustration and failure when fallow fields are treated with dignity and respect...

  “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” ‭‭John‬ ‭6:37-38‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.6.37-38.nkjv The ‘What if’ factor is always a significant concern in the pursuit of soul satisfaction; but Jesus offers the safety Seal - The Assurance of being at the centre of God’s Will. Confidence in following the design specifications of any genius in life, without respect for the recommended safety factor, should represent a clear recipe for failure and disappointment. Likewise, everyone will be right to query the security of the leap of faith in Jesus’ offer of salvation. Salvation from Satan, self and sin is at the centre of God’s redemption plan; and the ransom is fully paid in His only begotten Son - Jesus Christ. Therefore, the risk of trusting Jesus has a safety Seal of His absolute submission to the Will of God; and not ...

  “And Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.” ‭‭John‬ ‭ 6:35 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.6.35.nkjv Since the major sign of service satisfaction in any enterprise is the continual patronage of customers, any serious-minded entrepreneur will do anything to keep customers coming. Even in religious services and church fellowship activities, the number metrics matter. And whenever patronage becomes more attractive with service satisfaction records, many religious leaders in our days would be comfortable with their celebrity accolades. Whereas, Jesus quickly drew the attention of His followers to the difference between service satisfaction and soul satisfaction. While service satisfaction merely takes care of human emotional, social, material and physical needs, it is only soul satisfaction that guarantees true and eternal rest to the never-dying needs of the soul - fellowship with God...

  “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” ‭‭John‬ ‭ 4:24 ‬ ‭KJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/1/jhn.4.24.kjv Everyone who claims the knowledge of the Lord understands the centrality of worship and its relationship to acceptance, love, and fellowship. Little wonder why different views on the knowledge of God leads to divers interpretation of His interests and instructions. Whereas, the engagement of Jesus with the woman of Samaria at the well revealed that worship is deeper than human understanding of the presence and preferences of God. True worship is focused on the revelation of the person of God in all of human preoccupation. Jesus simply say ‘ God is Spirit...and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth ’. Rather than celebrating the assumed presence of God, true worshippers must live to appreciate the revelation of His way, Will, and words. Then, the question is ‘how do you differentiate among divers presentation of the way, Will and wo...

  “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭ 3:19-21 ‬ ‭NKJV‬‬ https://www.bible.com/114/jhn.3.19-21.nkjv Those who religiously follow their hearts have absolute confidence in their own love lamps. Even those who claimed to know God would readily trust their hearts, rather than embrace an absolute submission to the Will of God. Unfortunately, love lamps without the necessary fuels from the living Light lead no one to safety and satisfaction. For example, Nicodemus’ lifestyle of living by His love lamp has grown bored by the time he chose to come to Jesus by night. And it does not really matter when we choose to come to the living Light. What truly m...