"Your Faith Gives You Testimony"

By Rob Bailes

While reading about the blind man who was healed in chapter nine of John, it occurred to me that there was much more of a message in this passage than we see at first. After asking God to reveal to me through His Holy Spirit the message that He meant for the Jews and His disciples on that wintry day. In the very next chapter in verse twenty-two we find that it was time for the feast of the dedication in Jerusalem which was held in the winter. Let's look at the sequence of events that took place on this day as the leaves were falling and Jesus had just left the temple as the Jews were picking up stones to throw at him. That's right! Jesus had just told them that they would be able to avoid death if they would hear and receive his words. Then he told them that Abraham looked forward to his coming. That really baffled the Jews and they said that Abraham couldn't have known Jesus because Jesus wasn't even fifty years old. I take that to mean that Abraham had been dead for fifty years. Then Jesus told them, verily, verily, before Abraham was, I AM. The literal Greek says, "Amen, Amen, lego humen, Prin Abraam ginomai, Ego eimi." Amen here means "Surely, surely!"

Surely, surely, I tell to you, Before Abraham was, I am."

That really played with their heads because the Jews didn't want to receive the truth that Jesus spoke, nor did they believe in him. As a matter of fact, they got so upset at him that they were about to stone him!

Isn't that how just upset people get sometimes when another person tells them something that they disagree with? What do you think caused them to feel this way?

That is what we are going to find out in this study over the next few days. Let's begin with looking at what happens when Jesus walks right through the middle of those people who wanted to stone him.

John 8:59 Then took they up stones to cast at him: but Jesus hid himself, and went out of the temple, going through the midst of them, and so passed by.

Jesus made himself hidden in their eyes and walked out right through the middle of the temple and passed through the crowd! This is just the beginning of what Jesus is to teach them and his disciples on that day about their blindness and the amazing sight that only comes from believing in our Lord and Savior Jesus.

At the beginning of chapter nine we see that as Jesus passed by the people who were going to stone him, he saw a man that was blind from the time of his birth. It was also fascinating that the disciples of Jesus were so close to him that they asked Jesus who had sinned, that man or his parents? Before we go any further, remember that Jesus was hidden from the sight of those who wanted to stone him and yet the disciples were able to see him! That is crucial to something we will find as we move through this lesson. The disciples were also able to speak to Jesus even though the others couldn't even see him passing by them. Next we see that Jesus answered the disciples in verse three,
Jesus answered, "Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him."

I want us to think about the blind man, sitting helpless ever since he was born, not able to care for himself or anyone else as far as that goes. I can't help but think about how many times we may see someone who is helpless and who has been for many years and have thought about why they are in the situation that they are in and have not felt pity for them or compassion for their heart and soul. I raise my hand first to admit this terrible mistake of having a judgmental attitude. I have found fault with those who are suffering physically or financially to justify my lack of action in reaching out to help them. It is so easy to look for something from their past to smother that first feeling of compassion that comes from God for others. That first love is pushed aside and the pride and judgement moves in to relieve me from any necessity of taking action and disturbing my well planned day or from reaching into my pocket to give of the things that give me a false sense of security. So I have a choice; do I find fault or do I find a way to do whatever God is telling me to do deep within the core of my being. That first nudge to take a step or to reach out my hand and do something that I know only my Lord would cause me to do in the first place, but I look at the outward appearance and withdraw my hand. It's so sad, but it's so true.

We are much like the Jews and the Pharisees of the days when Jesus walked the earth. We have looked at the crippled, the blind, the terminally ill, the alcoholic and drug addict, the mentally disabled and those who have found themselves without work, income or a place to live and we have found reason in our hearts for their pain and suffering. We found the fault in their life and we said in our hearts, "They are cursed or punished by God, therefore I will just stand clear of that person and let God deal with them!". I regret every time that I have ever done this, but I never regret reaching out to help someone, no matter how they respond or how many times I have to do it!

This is what Jesus was saying to His disciples in verses three and four,
3. Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.
4. I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

Think about the condition of mankind and how we are all under the condemnation of sin, from the very moment that we are conceived and born into this world. We are the blind man from birth! We have not been able to see what Jesus has done for us; that is, until Jesus comes to us and covers us with the anointing of His power to save us and forgive us of our unrighteousness. You see, my friend, your parent's sin and your past sin will not matter when Jesus offers you the cure to your blindness. It is the repentant heart that causes us to confess with our mouth and call out for the mercy and healing grace of God while believing in His Son, Jesus, that will give anybody the testimony that this young man had to share that day!

Jesus is going to work the works of His Father that sent him to earth! Jesus still comes to each of us today offering us the Light in a world where the night has come. Jesus was speaking of his death when he said the night is approaching, but praise God He brought us His Light and we can carry it within us as we claim what Jesus said in verse five today!

John 9:5 "As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world."

We will continue this message tomorrow and we will learn more about the testimony of faith. But for today, let's embrace the truth that Jesus has opened our eyes to the light and praise him for his loving grace and mercy that never ceases!

If you have joined us today and this is all new to you, let us take you step by step through the Word so that you can see the love, grace and mercy and forgiveness of God. Confess your past and sins today, believe in your heart that God has raised up Jesus from the dead and you will receive Life! You will be saved!

"Remember Me?"

By Robert Bailes


Remembering is a skill. Sure, there are those who have been blessed with a great memory...such as:
Napoleon- who knew thousands of his solders by name. . . or
James Farley- who claimed he knew 50,000 people by their first name. . . or
Charles Schwab- who knew the names of all 8,000 of his employees at Homestead Mill. . . or
Charles W. Eliot- who, during his forty years as president of Harvard, earned a reputation of knowing all the students by name each year.



But these, remember, are exceptions-phenomenal exceptions. As I first stated, however, remembering is a skill, like speaking in public, singing, reading, thinking, or swimming. We improve at a skill by hard work, direct effort applied with a good deal of concentration, mixed with proper know-how. You could safely say that people with remarkable memories developed them because of a driving need or desire.

Many people use the excuse that they just aren't good with names, but the truth is that almost everyone can remember names with some effort. There are three things I have learned that will help us remember some one's name.

The first thing that we should do is to take a few seconds when we first meet someone to hear their name and focus entirely on their greeting without interruption of things going on around us. Upon hearing the name, say it several times or even spell it, not out loud of course, but in your mind. You can even ask of the proper spelling is. . . ? They will realize that you are making an effort to remember and this is important when we make new friends.

The second thing we need to do is to associate their name with something, like a word that rhymes or something that funny that we will remember next time we see that person. For example the name "Pop" could remind us of "cop" and you could envision him in a cop outfit. Another example is "Cody" and picture him singing an "oldie" song from the past.

The third thing to do is to use their name in the conversation while talking to them. Use it as many times as possible, maybe even introducing them to other friends close by or family members. This let's them know also that you have allowed a niche to be planted in your memory of their name. To all of us humans, that's pretty important.

God also knows that names were so important that He recorded hundreds of them in the inspired Word of God. There were many names that were even changed by God Himself, such as Saul to Paul, Jacob to Israel, Simon to Peter and what about the angels firm command, "You shall call his name Jesus!".

When the eternal books are open, earthly names will be read. Look at chapters twenty and twenty-one of Revelations with me,

Revelations 20:15
And if anyone was not found written in the book of life, he was cast into the lake of fire.

Revelations 21:27
And anything common and he who makes an abomination and a lie shall by no means enter into it, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.

When we are taken by our Lord into heaven, new names will be given to each one. See what Revelations 2 says in verse seventeen.

He who has an ear,let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give a white stone and upon the stone a new name written, which no one knows except him who receives it.

If the Lord thinks enough of our names to actually record each one in His records, shouldn't we take the effort to remember the names of those we meet along life's journey? Of course, that means that we must consider each person we meet of enough importance to remember them! It is not enough to just speak to people in passing and never take a genuine interest in them as a person. Learn a few things of importance about that man or woman and pray for their needs! You'll never forget them and they will always remember that you cared enough to ask.

YOUR FAITH - Conclusion of Part Eight

"Your Faith Will Make You Family"

By Rob Bailes

When we stopped yesterday, I left us with the following passage and the question, "Who receives favour from God?". Did you take some time to think about this question? Try this, jot down what you believe the answer is and then look at it again after you read the conclusion today of this message. See if it makes any difference in how you see the favour of God towards the men and women.

1Peter 5:5b - ......for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.

Who receives this favour from God? The humble and lowly spirited person will receive this blessing. It is the lifestyle that God wants us to adopt when we become a part of His family, as we come to realize that it is a life that will glorify our original Father in Heaven. We were designed and born uniquely as one of His creation, so He always has been there waiting to bless us; each and every one. Finally we see in verse six that we will, as His children, be exalted at an appointed time that God will choose for all who are a part of His family.

1Peter 5:7-9
7 Casting all your care upon him; for he cares for you.
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

First Peter tells us what to do with the cares (Greek meaning - distractions) of this world. Throw them on God because He is concerned with all that you deal with in your life!


How simple that sounds, but do we do that? Why would we try to keep our cares and distractions and deal with them by own strength, knowing that we can cast them on God? Could it be that we are thinking that we can and will do it on our own? Would that also be connected somehow to our self esteem, ego and pride in ourselves?


What do the great success speakers of our world teach us in books and seminars about our self esteem and our egos? I could probably list twenty titles right off the top of my head that have to do with making it on your own and success. Is it really all about that? Is that what God wants and how will He react if we base our lives on the idea that we can do anything?

When we feel that we may have missed God's blessings in an area of our life, maybe it would be good to see how we are handling the distractions and cares of this world. We see the depiction of satan as a roaring lion that's pacing all around as our adversary or opponent, looking for someone to devour. In the Greek, the word devour means "to drink down or gulp entire".


I have dog that has one of the biggest mouths that I have ever seen on a dog. He's a boxer and he has mighty jaws of steel. When I drop a treat into his mouth there is no stopping him! He opens that mouth and with one mighty gulp, he swallows anything that will fit down his throat! No matter how good and tasty it is, he doesn't stop to look at it or chew and enjoy the flavor. I thought about this when I saw the Greek translation of the word "devour". Without even stopping for one second to appreciate the life of a person, the devil will take them swiftly and destroy them in the clutches of his jaws. In this case, the form of destruction is the pride we have when we are faced with our cares and the distractions taking us away from what God has for us.


If we react according to our flesh and without humility and love, we will also find ourselves taken by surprise as our pride rises up to the occasion! We must remain humble in order to avoid this trap that the devil uses to devour us!

How can we remain humble and prepared for the attack by our opponent, the devil? Let's look again at verses eight and nine.

1Peter 5:8-9
8 Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking whom he may devour:
9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

The word sober literally means to avoid wine and to be discreet, so we should not allow ourselves to become vulnerable to the devil by opening ourselves up to his attack. Don't play with the devil's toys and you won't find yourself in situations that you will regret. It may be someone else hurting you as a part of his plan, but could it be prevented by not taking the lures of the flesh?

Be vigilant or awake so that we are not spiritually drifting along without spending time in the Word of God and praying. When we are spiritually asleep, we get bored and become what Jesus called "lukewarm". This is like bottled water left in the car. It is the temperature of the environment and is sickening when we first put it into our mouths. Jesus said that people who are just going through the motions are like this lukewarm water and He wants to spew them out of His mouth. That's why the new lifestyle that we adopt as the Sons of God is a lifestyle that finds us sober(discreet) and vigilant(awake) so that we are busy about the will of God in our lives.

Finally we should realize that the man who remains sober and vigilant in this new family of God, also ought to resist stedfast in the faith. He must stand strong and unmovable in his convictions, knowing that the very same hardships, pains and trials are also experienced by the brothers and sisters of Christ throughout the entire world.

Remember! It is staying stedfast, having unmovable faith(convictions) that makes us one with Christ in the family of God and carries us through those times that we feel we cannot handle! Remain humbled and avoid having a proud heart to enjoy the favour of God. The faith God gave you will always make you whole!

1Peter 5:9 Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.

WORDS OF WISDOM

1Peter 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

1Peter 1:5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

James 2:5 Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him?

YOUR FAITH - Part Eight

"Your Faith Will Make You Family"

By Robert Bailes

Have you ever been talking to someone and found out that you were related somehow? You might have very well said at that moment,
"Hey! That makes us family!".

What takes place in the next few minutes following this revelation seems to be nothing less than a supernatural act of God! All of a sudden, as you reflect back on memories from the past about certain family members, you begin to feel a trust in each other in a way that you wouldn't trust just anybody. You may even start to feel as though you have known each other all your lives. There is a sense of camaraderie and strength in knowing that your blood and DNA trace back to a common person who had your family name. Although, some relatives, who we usually won't even mention, can cause us to run and hide when we are reminded of our relation to them! Hmm? They're all a part of our heritage, good and bad, of course.

I was reading a verse one day from the book of 1John and I suddenly felt that sense of strength and camaraderie come over me, as I realized that I have a relative that was on this earth and who overcame every trouble or distraction while living in this world. When I read this passage, it became clear that having this relative gave me a royal heritage and reminded me to live this life that I have, serving his Father in Heaven. But there are allot of others who are also related that carry with them the same royalty as I do. Let's look at this passage together,

1John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.

You see, experiencing the benefits of being born into God's family gives us the adoption that literally makes us a child of God living in victory that will overcome the world!

We can see in this passage what it is that we receive when we are born into God's family. What it is, is that we will receive something that makes us victorious over the attacks and deceit of the world. What the child of God receives is their FAITH!

Just take a moment and think about how powerful it is to be able to overcome anything this world tosses at us! Then think about how you typically feel when the irritations and trials begin to take place in your life. Do you feel as if you are able to overcome them as we see in this passage or do you feel more like you are overwhelmed by them?

If you feel overwhelmed, could you have forgotten the victory found in becoming a child of God or maybe your faith has been clouded by the shadows of doubt that satan casts over all who gives ear to his lies. See, satan loves to gain control of our lives through our minds. If satan can produce doubt, fear and anger beginning in our minds, he also gains control of how we live our life and this effects all who are around us. Men effect their wives; wives effect their husbands; parents effect their children; children effect their friends and on it goes. This is the setting on fire the act of nature that we read about in James 3:6. Our actions never go out without some kind of effect on the world round us.

We all make that decision each day of our lives. We either live our life overcoming the world or overwhelmed by the world. Which one best describes how you are living your life today? Why is this so? Think about your answer for a few minutes and take it very seriously, my friend. It could literally change your life for the better or worse!

Not only do we become Sons of God when we receive our faith that overcomes this world; we also take on a whole different lifestyle. If we resist the new life that God gives us as His children, we could find ourselves trying to deal with the hardships of life all on our own. Take a look at the kind of change in lifestyle that our God tells us we will experience as one of His children.

1Peter 5:4-6
6 And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fades not away.
5 Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble. 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

This passage refers to our God as the chief Shepard of His sheep, we who are His children will receive this crown that Peter speaks of in verse six that will never corrode. Think about that for a second! A crown of glory that will last forever; a gift from God in whom we put our faith and trust! That's exciting news for all who live by His Word. What do you think this crown of glory is for? It is the glory of God being shared with all who are in His family when we reunite with Him one day in Heaven.

That newly adopted lifestyle that I was referring to is described in the verses five and six. Peter goes on to say that we should submit ourselves in respect to those who are older and more experienced. We should all be subject to each other and our lives should portray an attitude of willingness to lower ourselves in humility. But, why should we have to be so humble?
I used to think about this and wonder why my parents always told me,"It's better to be humble than it is to be proud". They were repeating the words of Peter in this passage, but why? I did not know.

Looking at verse five, we see that God resists the proud. This literally means in the Greek that God "arranges Himself against" that proud person. Then we see that God gives grace to the humble. When I looked at the Greek for the word "grace" used in this passage, I found that in the literal translation, it sounds like the very thing every person hopes and wishes they could attain in their lives. The word grace in this verse is "charis" in the Greek; pronounced khar-ece.
The Greek word charis means graciousness; gratifying; especially the divine influence upon the heart and it's reflection in the life; including gratitude: acceptable, benefit, favour, gift, joy liberality, pleasure, thank.

1Peter 5:5b - ......for God resists the proud, and gives grace to the humble.

So, who receives this favour from God?

Join me tomorrow for the conclusion of "Your Faith Will Make You Family"!