We Continue In John Chapter 7And so
we find Jesus amidst the Jews in the synagogue of Capernaum,
close enough to his home town of Nazareth that he is a known
commodity. Or at least the pe0ple thought He was. What we
will see below is a perfect barometer of how soft out heart
is towards God, and how willing we are to change our
perceptions, when He speaks. Many of us are so front
loaded with expectations, or disappointments when God
speaks, we dismiss Him because he doesn’t meet our
expectations or disappointments. Let’s see what happened.
14 Now about the middle of the
feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the
Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters,
having never studied?”
Here is a perfect
case of expectation exceptions. They heard Jesus speak, with
authority and with knowledge, and yet instead of accepting
what He was saying they excepted it, because the man who was
speaking in front of them was not a scholar trained under
the tutelage of the schools of theology, Their expectations
got in the way of hearing what God was saying.
16 Jesus answered them and
said, “My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me.
Jesus’ source was much higher than any
Pharisee or scribe. He , as always, was speaking the will of
His Father.
17 If anyone wills to do His will,
he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from
God or whether I speak on My own authority.
“If anyone wills to do His will” If the
first desire of our heart is the will of God, then we will
immediately recognize when His word is being spoken. If we
are puffed up in the pride of titles, or schooling or
position and obtaining and retaining those is more
important, we like the Jews before Jesus, will object.
18 He who speaks from himself
seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One
who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him.
Ah the seduction of power, the attraction
of position. How tempting is it to grasp the attention
of people by calling yourself pastor, or prophet. How lovely
is it to stand on the pillar or the pulpit and say “Look at
me, I am a man of God, I will dispense God’s truth to you”.
This is the devil’s kind of seduction. He is a wily
demon who knows our weakness, be they pride, envy, anger, or
sloth and he will try to pull us away from the light of
God’s truth, until when we hear it, we no longer even
recognize it for what it is.
Let us keep a soft heart for the Lord dear
children of God, my brother’s and sisters. Let us not be
pulled away by the good or the bad from our center post of
God’s will. God has given us all the power, the grace and
the mercy to overcome the temptations that befall us. Let us
not be duped by the enemy by anger or arrogance, pride of
pity, but instead let us keep God in the first place of our
hearts and march forward to the beat of his drum.
Let us accept the Invitation of Jesus
Christ when He say in Matthew 11
28 Come to Me, all you who labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take My
yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For My
yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
I was going to go a bit further, but I am
led to stop here, so that we may ponder, what exactly is
first in our heart.
God bless you all this week, if any of you
find you need prayer, email me and I will set your need
before the family of God.
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