Faithfully Blessed

Share

King James Bible StudyAnd when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” – Mark 8:34

Date: Saturday, November 02, 2019
Chapters: Luke 19, Mark 11
Message: Faithfully Blessed

Hello My Friend,

I always thank God for waking me and getting me out of bed, and for a new day, it occurred to me this morning, that even if I find myself in heaven, I will always have a new day with the Lord. Amen! Then I found myself in tears, thinking of how much I failed Him, not so much through sin, rather my lack of faith in Him. We, even as Christians, spend so much time, second guessing decisions, burning the ropes at both ends, attempting to keep ourselves from burning up all together, when Jesus is right there. Jesus is our Rock, the foundation by which we stand, and if everything we posses were to crumble right now, we would have everything we need because we will have Jesus. “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.” – I Corinthians 3:11-15.

I think my favorite testimony of those who met with Jesus, apart from the woman with the issue of blood, is Zacchaeus. Everyone hated him because he was a tax collector and very wealthy. Zacchaeus, knew something was missing in his life, he heard the stories of Jesus so, when he found out that He was passing through his town, he wanted to see Him. His was a short man, and there were so many people that the only thing he could think of to even get a glimpse of Him was to climb up in a tree.

And he sought to see Jesus who he was; and could not for the press, because he was little of stature. And he ran before, and climbed up into a sycomore tree to see him: for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up, and saw him, and said unto him, Zacchaeus, make haste, and come down; for to day I must abide at thy house. And he made haste, and came down, and received him joyfully. And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, That he was gone to be guest with a man that is a sinner. And Zacchaeus stood, and said unto the Lord; Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor; and if I have taken any thing from any man by false accusation, I restore him fourfold. And Jesus said unto him, This day is salvation come to this house, forsomuch as he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” – Luke 19:3-10.

he looked up, and saw him,” Remember, Jesus sees our faith, in fact, well before we do. And Zacchaeus was ecstatic, he rushed down that tree to take Jesus to his house. And of course, the syncs and pessimists had nothing, but negative comments about Jesus going to his house. “they all murmured,” First of all, they falsely accused him, they did not know if he was like other tax collectors who literally stole from the people. And second, they were jealous. Let me tell you, those who think they are all righteous and do no wrong are jealous of those who are blessed by God. Jesus does not respond to the religious nor does He respond to those who only get saved to justify their sin. To explain this, Jesus spoke a parable.

And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come. But his citizens hated him, and sent a message after him, saying, We will not have this man to reign over us. And it came to pass, that when he was returned, having received the kingdom, then he commanded these servants to be called unto him, to whom he had given the money, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading. Then came the first, saying, Lord, thy pound hath gained ten pounds. And another came, saying, Lord, behold, here is thy pound, which I have kept laid up in a napkin: And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked servant. Thou knewest that I was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and reaping that I did not sow: And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.) For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath shall be given; and from him that hath not, even that he hath shall be taken away from him. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me.” Luke 19:13-16,20,22,24-27.

(And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)” This is the reaction that most Christians have when they see other Christians blessed. Of course, Jesus is attempting to teach them that the Kingdom of God is not given to them by their name, rather their faith. And those who do receive Him are blessed through their faithfulness. The money given is a picture of the Gospel, naturally, when we receive Christ as our Saviour through our faith in Him, and start walking with Him, we are going to tell others, and in turn, will bring more to Christ, then we will be blessed with more than we desire. Then there are those who receive Christ, never doing anything for Him beyond their salvation, yet expect His blessings. Here is the thing, grace only goes so far, if we are not repentant, and use the great gift that He gives us as a faithful servant, He will take away what we are given, and give it to those who are faithful. As for those who reject Him all together, they will die in their sin. “Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.” – Luke 13:26-28.

You know, even as Christians we have to be careful who we get around, just because one says they believe in Him that does not mean they accepted Him as their Saviour. I know people need the benefit of the doubt because only Jesus knows who are His, but I swear once you see Jesus for who He is you can see those who may be impostors. When Jesus arrived in Jerusalem it was incredible, He rode through the street on a donkey, the people were praising Him, shouting out to Him as their King.

And when they came nigh to Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he sendeth forth two of his disciples, And saith unto them, Go your way into the village over against you: and as soon as ye be entered into it, ye shall find a colt tied, whereon never man sat; loose him, and bring him. And if any man say unto you, Why do ye this? say ye that the Lord hath need of him; and straightway he will send him hither. And they went their way, and found the colt tied by the door without in a place where two ways met; and they loose him. And they brought the colt to Jesus, and cast their garments on him; and he sat upon him. And many spread their garments in the way: and others cut down branches off the trees, and strawed them in the way. And they that went before, and they that followed, cried, saying, Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.” – Mark 11:1-4,7-10.

Hosanna in the highest.” Of course, the Pharisees were among them, and they did not like that. They demanded that Jesus stop them. “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” – Luke 9:39-44.

and wept over it,” What a deep sense of despair Jesus must have felt seeing all those people calling out to Him, only for them to cry out, “Crucify Him!” soon after. Jesus is touched with a concern for the people, His natural passions moved, and tears fell from His eyes as He foresees what is about to take place. This must be understood of Christ merely as man, and is proof of His human nature, He was about to endure a horrendous feat and the people were oblivious to it. He knows what He is about to endure for everyone, and how many would be destroyed because they would not accept Him. We do not need to see a physical person to believe in Jesus, we just need faith, faith is the key to enduring in this life while we await our King. Through an illustration of a fig tree, Jesus reminds His disciples that we must live by faith.

And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry: And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples heard it. And in the morning, as they passed by, they saw the fig tree dried up from the roots. And Peter calling to remembrance saith unto him, Master, behold, the fig tree which thou cursedst is withered away. And Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.” – Mark 11:12-14,20-26.

Have faith in God.” After all the years reading this I just figured out what Jesus meant by all this. This tree was not in season to have fruit on it yet, but that does not mean it was not possible. Our faith in God is the key to receiving what looks impossible to us. And if we truly believe in our heart and soul that He is able, then we will receive the things we desire. So, why did Jesus curse the tree? There were no signs that tree was producing fruit, it only had leaves on it, there would have been buds or flowers growing to show that it was able to produce fruit. Think about it, if we are praying and praying, and not seeing any signs that God hears us, then perhaps we are not producing fruit. “And when ye stand praying, forgive,” Within our heart is often bitterness over those who wronged us, and this could have been something that happened years ago. If we do not forgive them, God will not forgive us. You see, it is not a matter of forgiving them in our own capability, for that truly is impossible, it is a matter of forgiving them through Christ. Forgiveness is not something we do to make light of wrongdoing, rather a way for God to bless us through it. “To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” – II Corinthians 2:10-11.

Today’s Prayer: Jesus, You are the Light that needs to shine through me so others can see You and receive You as their Saviour too. Lord, Let me be a witness and testimony of great faith, help me endure all my trials and tribulations, to live my life in a way that others see You through me. And increase my faith, Lord, show Yourself mighty that I will shout and proclaim Your name, praising You for all Your wonderful works that You did through me, and the blessings that come from it. In Your name, Jesus…Amen.

God Bless You, I am praying for you,

Christina

Are You 100% Sure You Are Going To Heaven?: http://readytofollow.com/
Receive The KJB Daily Devotions In Your Email: http://eepurl.com/2WMzT
Missed A Message: https://imfollowingjesus.com/Biblestudy/
Visit I’m Following Jesus Missions: http://imfollowingjesus.com/index.html
I’m Following Jesus On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/byhisstrength

Copyright © 2019 I’m Following Jesus, All rights reserved.

Please Share This Page