just thought that it should be in a more serious section. thats all.

JOHN - 7th Case

Opening words and review

In the record of this gospel, nine cases have been selected to prove that the Lord Jesus is the life and the life supply to people. The first six cases, in chapters three through seven, form one group of signs, signifying, on the positive side, the aspects of the Lord as our life and life supply: the regenerating, the satisfying, the healing, the enlivening, the feeding, and the quenching. The last three cases, in chapters eight through eleven, form another group of signs, signifying, on the negative side, that the Lord is life to us to deliver us from the three main negative things: sin, blindness, and death.

As fallen human beings, we are constantly troubled by sin, blindness, and death. Blindness actually means darkness. When you are blind, you are in darkness, for nothing causes so much darkness as blindness. Blindness, darkness, and death come from sin. Sin is the basic factor of blindness, darkness, and death. If we are sinful, we are surely blind because blindness always accompanies the sinful things. Sin brings in death, but between sin and death there is always blindness. After you have sinned and before you reap death, you have darkness. Therefore, sin, blindness, and death are the three negative things that the Lord must deal with. The only way these negatives can be dealt with is by the Lord becoming our eternal and heavenly life.

The case in John 8, the seventh case among the nine, fully covers the matter of sin. No chapter in the entire Bible covers the problem of sin as widely and thoroughly as does the eighth chapter of John. In this chapter we have the answer to all the problems of sin. As we shall see, following this, in chapters nine and ten, the matter of blindness is dealt with in a thorough way. Lastly, in chapter eleven, the matter of death is thoroughly taken care of. After chapter eleven, there will be no additional cases because the positive cases have been covered and the negative things have been dealt with.

(so here goes .... )

This post has been edited by pehkay: Oct 2 2013, 12:58 PM

JOHN 7th CASE

This case reveals that the religion of the law (8:5, 17), as represented by the temple (8:2, 20), cannot set people free from sin and its death. But, the Lord Jesus as the I Am, becoming the Son of Man lifted up on the cross for the serpent-poisoned people, can do what religion and law cannot do. The religion of law-keeping is versus the great I Am. This chapter reveals that among human beings on earth there are two things—a religion and a living Person. This religion is excellent, high, and superior. It is not a heathen religion or a religion of superstition. It is the typical religion, which helps people to worship God, to know God in the outward way of letters, and to assist people to keep the law of God in order to please God and to perfect themselves. This religion is the best, and all the typical Jews are proud of it. If you consider the orthodox religion of the Jews, you will realize that it is the highest religion. It is not false; it is absolutely real and genuine. Everything related to this religion is the best. This religion has many holy things. Among these many holy things is the Holy Word of God. No one can deny this.

However, God’s elect, His chosen people, had the wrong concept. They did not pay full attention to the focus: that God Himself in the Son and as the Spirit wants to come into man to be his life and his everything. God’s people missed this mark, collecting all the regulations, laws, and other good points, and putting them together to make a religion with which to kill themselves. How pitiful! Thus, by the time of John 8, there were two things on earth: a religion and a living Person. We all must see this contrast.

The Jewish religion was genuine and wonderful. It was good in every respect except one—it was versus the great I Am. Religion may be good, but it cannot give you life. It cannot help you because you are dead. A dead person does not need something good; he needs something of life. Only life can help a dead man. Suppose you say to a dead person, “Poor man, here are gold and diamonds. You shouldn’t be dead. Look at the gold—how valuable! Look at the diamonds—how precious!” It would be foolish to speak to a dead man in such a way. He could hear nothing. In chapter five we saw the porches near the pool on which were the blind, the lame, and the withered. If you were to preach to such people they would say, “Don’t waste your time. I don’t need something good. I need life.”

Who is the Lord Jesus? He is the very Jehovah, the I Am. According to Genesis 1, God’s name in relation to His creation is Elohim, God. After creation, however, in Genesis 2, when God was attempting to form a relationship with man, God’s other name was mentioned—Jehovah, I Am that I Am. Jehovah is God’s name in His relationship with mankind. At the time of John 8, Jehovah stood there in the form of a little man by the name of Jesus, which means Jehovah the Savior. Again I say that you must learn the lesson not to care for the outward appearance. If you merely care for the outward appearance, you will certainly miss the mark. The Jewish religionists of the day missed the mark because they despised that little Jesus. Jesus had no form, comeliness, beauty, or attraction. Nevertheless, He was the great I Am.

Everyday Bible verses with UW

Come to God even if you feel like a hypocrite



One of the best way to keep your relationship with God is to come to him when you fail big time in your Christian walk.
Yes you heard me right.

Many people avoid God when they feel lousy about how they conduct themselves.
They feel like a hypocrite, not living up to God's standard to qualify enough to come to Him.

You know what? I don't find such a warning under the New Covenant.
But I do find very consistently exhortation like in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that says Never Stop Praying, Hebrews 13:5 says Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.

What does this mean?
if you can see this in the heart of God, he wants you to come to Him in the state that you are.

And I find this to be very true. Even when I fail in my Christian walk, when I come to God, I could still hear Him speak.
His word of encouragement and revelation of why things happened. It's really Amazing.
I believe God is honored when we come to Him, despite our weaknesses, because that is Faith.

I hope this will encourage you to know that God is for you despite how far you ran away from Him.

Shalom.

JOHN 7th Case

THE ASPECTS RELATED TO SIN


No Man without Sin

The religionists were trying their best to find fault with the Lord Jesus. After chapters five and seven they attempted to put Jesus into a difficult situation. They caught a sinful woman and brought her to the Lord Jesus. According to the law, such a sinful woman had to be stoned to death, but the religionists did not do it. They brought her to the Lord in an attempt to trap Him. They said, “Teacher, this woman has been caught committing adultery. Moses commanded us to stone such a person. What do You say?” The religionists were quite bold. They asked the Lord a very tricky question. If He had said that they had to stone her to death, then He would have lost His position as the Savior and Redeemer. Could a Savior say that such a sinner must be stoned to death? Of course, the Lord, as the Redeemer and Savior, could not say this. But, on the other hand, if He said that they should not stone her to death, then they would have said that He was breaking the law. This question was a subtle trick of the enemy. The religionists thought that they were very wise. Actually they were stupid. They thought that the Lord Jesus would find it difficult to answer and that they had an excellent opportunity to catch Him.

When the Lord was asked this question, He did not say a word. The wisest way to answer a question is not to answer, to answer later on, or to answer slowly. The Lord’s first reaction to their question was not to answer it quickly. We also must learn this wisdom. When people come to you with an urgent question, you must learn from the Lord. He simply stooped to write on the ground. Silence cools people down, like cold water cools boiling water. When the Lord stooped to write, He was cooling down the situation. At the same time, by cooling down the hot situation, the sinful woman was comforted. I believe that by stooping to write on the ground the Lord Jesus was indicating to the religionists that they should not be so proud, that they had to humble themselves a little. They had to realize that they were as sinful as that woman.

Then the Lord stood up and said, “He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her” (8:7). The Lord seemed to be saying, “You may stone her to death, but someone must take the lead. No one is qualified to take the lead in this except the one who is without sin. Let the one who is without sin among you be the first to cast a stone at her.” This word pierced their conscience. I believe that even before the Lord spoke these words, while He was still writing on the ground, their conscience was touched. What did the religionists do? Beginning with the older ones and up until the youngest, they went out one by one (8:9). The oldest, being the wisest, went away first. They knew that they were not qualified to take the lead in stoning the woman to death. But they were qualified to take the lead to run away. All the younger ones followed them.

Who is without sin? No one. Do not condemn others, for while you condemn others you are the same as they are. You are not qualified to condemn others. You are birds of the same feather. If you condemn another bird, you simply condemn yourself. Only the great I Am is without sin, and only He is qualified to condemn sin. What wisdom the Lord Jesus has! After the religionists left, notice how lovingly and gently the Lord expressed Himself to the sinful woman. He asked her if anyone condemned her, and she said, “No one, Lord.” Then Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you” (8:11). That was music to the woman’s terrified soul.

This incident manifests the Lord’s wisdom. The people came to condemn the sinful woman, but the Lord’s question convicted them of their own sinfulness.

This post has been edited by pehkay: Oct 7 2013, 09:37 AM

Everyday Bible verses with UW

There is always Restoration



We all go through trials in life. No Christian is exempted from this.
It is the pain of trials that often makes us forget our maker is with us.

At times the challenges is so great, it seems like God has abandoned us.
But if we check the word of God, the truth is far from this.

Often time we also forget our enemy who is hell bent on destroying our life with deception.

The word of God in 1 Peter 5:10 is clear. No matter how many trials we face, at the end of it,
God himself will pick us up. Not only that but restore us to glory.

When you receive this by faith and make a decision to agree with his word,
You will begin to see God's supernatural providence comes in to lift you out and up!

God Bless.

Everyday Bible verses with UW

The power of the Gospel did not end


It's a sign of the time, that people are finding harder to believe in miracles because of the realities of life and the harshness of life.
These 2 heavy weights knocks where it hurts the most. Sometime the life of a Christian can be hard and challenging. It knocks us down
to our feet and causes us to forget about God.

Some Christians may have come to an extreme conclusion that perhaps all the power and miracles of a divine God is only exclusive to Jesus's time.
But I'm here to reveal to you, that is not the truth.

John 14:12 revealed this. Jesus himself said, if anyone who believes in Him WILL continue the work that Jesus came to do.
And Matthew 10 reveals the work that Jesus commissioned his disciple to do.

Matthew 10:7-8
7 As you go, announce this: 'The kingdom of heaven has come near.'
8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

If you see the context, Jesus has given us authority over all opposing natural and supernatural forces in our lives. The power of the gospel is not dead.
It lives within you through the Holy Spirit. I pray you can find it within your heart to believe this once more to continue the work of spreading the gospel
with signs and wonders of God.

Shalom.

Hi guys,

I likes to shares this video to all of u. Documenting People's Reactions with Special Needs. A documentary film documenting the Real Life situations and the reactions of the public when Actual Down Syndrome Individuals are being mistreated, insulted and abused.

This is the core objective why this documentary video has been made. It's to remind ourselves and others that we must give special the needs individuals a fair chance to live together with us. Should you feel contribute and help them, please share this video out more so that this can bring along more awareness. Thank You.

if u guys feels free can see my blog for details of my own experiences towards process in the making for this video. http://cateatfish.blogspot.com/2013/10/im-...tions.html#more



This post has been edited by skydrake: Oct 17 2013, 11:47 AM

Good effort & good job.

I really wish and encouraging more young ppl to make this type of short video to carry out more good message to the public. this will make us a better place to live in future~

Everyday Bible verses with UW

Different Gifts



Pope Francis has been receiving news coverage that got protestant and other denomination a hats off for the good work that He is doing in the body of Christ.
He has a heart for the poor and is evident trying to solve all the bureaucracy problems faced in the Vatican office.

Then I am reminded of other Leaders that God has put in place in the body of Christ. I wondered why there are some whom people criticize and some whom people praise.
Is it because they don't fit into the ideal image of what is expected of a leader? Probably. And we fall into this trap so easily judging with the scorn of a women's fury.

We all expect them to be like (perhaps), Pope Francis or John MacArthur or perhaps Joyce Meyer. I believe this is the core problem. We expect them to be like so and so.

What does the Bible teach? What is the right perspective?
There is a key importance in 1 Corinthians 12:28-30. I believe it's an exhortation in verse 29 and 30:

29 Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? 30 Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues ? Do all interpret?

Not everyone is given the same grace or gifts. Romans 12:6 says - We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith.
1 Corinthians 7:7 says - I wish that all of you were as I am. But each of you has your own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that.

What this means is that God gives different gifts to each one. Some are given the gift of Teaching and they teach believers very well with the power and conviction of the Holy Spirit. Some are given the gift of ministering to the poor. They have a heart and are willing to go where no other Christians are willing to go. Some are gifted with the power of the Holy Spirit to Heal the incurable. Some are gifted in the ministry of prayer and they pray with such power from God, you can literally feel God's presence. Different people are given different gifts.

If you put those gifted in Healing to administer Teaching they may not do it that well as compared to the ones gifted in Teaching. This is the core problem which I believe why people judge because of bias expectation in Leaders.

Not everyone can be Pope Francis, John Mac Arthur, Joel Osteen, Joseph Prince or Kenneth Hagin, Billy Graham, etc and neither can these leaders exhibit the gift that God have given unto you.
We are all special in our own way.

If we can learn to recognize, understand and accept the fact that God gives each one different gifts, then perhaps our perspective towards people would be more open and balanced.
And there will be less criticizing and judging and less calling of other people as false prophets.

God Bless.

This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Oct 18 2013, 01:08 PM

i salute u o

glad the video had bring out the message to public, this video its a success and its on the china press today.

the whole video making was not planned in the proper way, we thought we not going to make it. i m glad that God had arrange everything successfully. i never knows all actors n crew are christian until everyone meet on the shooting day.

JOHN 8th CASE

Let us review them once more. The first six cases reveal that the Lord as life is for regenerating, satisfying, healing, enlivening, feeding, and quenching. These six signs compose one group because they deal with the positive aspects of His life. The last three cases deal with the negative matters of sin, blindness, and death. Sin causes blindness and results in death. Therefore, these three—sin, blindness, and death—are grouped together showing how the Lord is our life in dealing with the negative things. In the first six cases the Lord brings us to something positive, but in the last three cases the Lord delivers us from something negative because He delivers us from sin, blindness, and death.

According to 20:30-31, the writer indicated that Jesus did many signs. From all of these cases, the writer selected only nine as signs. Therefore, these signs must be very meaningful, and the order in which they are presented must also be quite significant. For example, the first case is about regeneration, and the last is about the resurrection from the dead. Thus, the first case is about the regeneration in the beginning of life, and the last is about resurrection after the end of life. Furthermore, in the last group of cases, sin is placed first among the negative things because sin is the origin of blindness and death. Blindness originates from sin, and death is the ultimate end of sin. In this message we shall deal with the matter of blindness.

Some readers of the Bible are not clear that John 10 is a continuation of John 9. However, if you read carefully, you will see that chapter ten is a continuation of chapter nine. Hence, these two chapters form one section of the Holy Word. John 10:21 helps us to realize that chapter ten is a continuation of chapter nine, for the question is asked, “Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” Nevertheless, each chapter covers a different point. In these two chapters, two major aspects of the Lord’s being are revealed: the Lord’s giving sight to the blind and the Lord’s shepherding of the believers outside of religion.

LIFE'S SIGHT FOR THE BLIND

This case continues to prove that the religion of law could not do any good to a blind man, but that the Lord Jesus, as the light of the world, could impart sight to him in the way of life (10:10, 28). This sign was performed on the Sabbath day. It seems that the Lord again did a sign purposely on the Sabbath day to expose the vanity of the rituals of religion.

Blindness, as sin in the previous chapter, is a matter of death. A dead person surely is blind. “...the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelieving.” So they need “the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ” to shine forth to them (2 Cor. 4:4), “to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). In the principle set forth in chapter two, this is also the changing of death into life.

Everyday Bible verses with UW

Are you struggling?



It's time to let go.

I heard messages saying that salvation is something we have to maintain. It means it depends very much on your performance.
Whether you have obeyed God to the letter.

In a sense this type of preaching teaches that we have to be very careful how we conduct ourselves, we have to keep ourselves blameless.

What does the Bible teaches?

1 Thessalonians 5:23-24(NLT)
May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.

So what is wrong?

Here is what is wrong. We are trying to carry ourselves towards our Salvation. 1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 says it is Jesus who is the one who will do it, not us.

We are trying to do it in our strength and thus pushing God away. When it comes to God, it's either you let God do it or you do it. There is no sharing in this glorious work of salvation and righteousness. It belongs to God and God alone. His atonement and sacrifice washes your sins, NOT your obedience. We always see that it is our obedience that keeps sin away.

We are so vain and inclined to think it's about us. No. Truth to be told, I see that as blasphemous. Because If that is true, you don't need Jesus Christ, you just need the Law (10 commandments). That is why you're always struggling.

It's time to let go and be rest that Jesus has saved you even if you sinned tomorrow. If you don't agree with this, reply to me. I will share another bible secret with you that
will give you rest. That will be my next message.

God Bless!

This post has been edited by unknown warrior: Oct 24 2013, 03:00 PM

JOHN 8TH CASE - LIFE'S SIGHT FOR THE BLIND

This case continues to prove that the religion of law could not do any good to a blind man, but that the Lord Jesus, as the light of the world, could impart sight to him in the way of life (10:10, 28). This sign was performed on the Sabbath day. It seems that the Lord again did a sign purposely on the Sabbath day to expose the vanity of the rituals of religion.

Blindness, as sin in the previous chapter, is a matter of death. A dead person surely is blind. “...the god of this age has blinded the thoughts of the unbelieving.” So they need “the illumination of the gospel of the glory of Christ” to shine forth to them (2 Cor. 4:4), “to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the authority of Satan to God” (Acts 26:18). In the principle set forth in chapter two, this is also the changing of death into life.

Born Blind

John 9:1-3 says “And as He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth. And His disciples asked Him, saying, Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he should be born blind? Jesus answered, Neither has this man sinned nor his parents, but that the works of God might be manifested in him.”

The question raised by the disciples was according to their religious knowledge. They thought that the blindness must have been due to the man’s sin or the sin of his parents. This question, like those in 4:20-25 and 8:3-5, is a matter of yes or no, which belongs to the tree of knowledge resulting in death (Gen. 2:17), but the Lord’s answer in 9:3 points them to God, who is the tree of life resulting in life (Gen. 2:9). We have seen that the Lord in the Gospel of John never answers such questions with an answer of yes or no, right or wrong. This is because the Gospel of John is a book of life, not a book of the knowledge of good and evil. Therefore, the Lord said that the man’s blindness was so that “the works of God might be manifested in him.”

Why is it that the Lord never answers with a yes or a no? Because yes-or-no answers are from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Good and evil are just like yes and no. While both yes and no belong to the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, in this gospel the Lord comes to us as the tree of life. The tree of life is God as our life. Consequently, in this gospel the Lord never answers people with a yes or a no. He always refers them to God. The Lord does not refer to yes or no for an answer, but to God as the tree of life. The Lord’s answer in 9:3 brought His disciples directly to God, that is, it brought them to the tree of life. At this point, the disciples were still very religious, holding to their religious concepts, which belong to the tree of knowledge of good and evil, but the Lord was trying again and again to turn them from the tree of knowledge to the tree of life. Those disciples were under the Lord’s training in this matter for three and a half years. Even after that time, one of the disciples, Peter, had not thoroughly been delivered from the religious concepts, for in Acts 10:9-16 we see that Peter was still religious, still influenced by the knowledge of good and evil. Perhaps we consider ourselves as free from the tree of knowledge, but even now we may still be mainly under its influence.

When we were sinners, we lost our sight and could not see anything. Our blindness was due to our sinful nature. In chapter nine the man was born blind, signifying that blindness is in the nature of a person when he is born. We sinners were blind by nature because we were born that way. Have you ever realized that every sinner was born blind? Therefore, if we confess that we are sinful, we must also admit that we are blind.

Agreed, especially the line I BOLD.

Hello fellow christian. I want to go to holiday with my gf this coming january. I am a christian and she is not. May I know what should i aware?

she's not going to go to heaven