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Is it a sin not to believe in Jesus?
John 15:22-24 22”If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 He who hates Me hates My Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father”.
Jesus was speaking to His disciples, He touched on the topic of unbelief. In the above scripture we understand that if a person has never heard the gospel of Jesus, have never even heard the name Jesus, and have never seen sign and wonders that only Jesus can do (The work of the Holy Spirit) then that person has no sin (unbelief).
But if the person has heard the gospel of Jesus or has witnessed the wondrous work of the power of the Holy Spirit but still refuses to believe in the Son of God Jesus Christ, to that particular person it is sin and there is no excuse for his sin.
John 16:8-9 – “8 and when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me;”
There are three things that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of:
- Sin
- Righteousness
- Judgement
Jesus went on to explain why the Holy Spirit will convict the world of these three things. Verse 9,”of sin, because they do not believe in Me”. The sin being referred to here is unbelief. And this is the primal sin of the world. It is the work of the Holy Spirit to convict a person of sin, to bring upon a state of guilt for not believing in the Son of God. Everyone who truly believe in Jesus Christ was convicted by the Holy Spirit of sin of unbelief.
John 3:16-18 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
God sent His only begotten Son into the World so that whoever would believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Verse 17” For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.” It is not the plan of God that anyone be condemned, the plan of God is that through His Son Jesus Christ everyone might be saved. However everyone has a freewill choice whether to believe in Jesus or not to believe, and based on the choice you make, you also bear the consequence of that choice. I encourage you to choose life. Choose Jesus. Verse 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.
I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
The assured promises of God
1 But now, thus says the Lord, who created you, O Jacob,
And He who formed you, O Israel:
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by your name;
You are Mine.
2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, you shall not be burned,
Nor shall the flame scorch you. ~ Isaiah 43:1-2
This Word is spoken to every believer of Christ, everyone that have accepted the salvation of God through His Son Jesus Christ, everyone that is redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God Jesus Christ. God is telling us to fear not! He has Called us by our names, we are His! Amen.
It is inevitable that we fall into hard situations and difficult moments in life, but what is certain and assured to us is that He will be there with us, and nothing shall consume us! We will emerge out untouched, stronger, victorious! ~ Isaiah 43:2. This is the Promises of God! You must choose to declare and proclaim them upon your life, believe them and walk in them. Amen!
Can we still see Jesus?
John14:19 “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.”
“Jesus was on the earth long time ago, but now we don’t see Him any longer. We do not know where He is”. This statement was made by a certain woman that I met.
Jesus in John 14 verse 19 actually spoke about this topic: “A little while longer and the WORLD will see Me no more, but YOU will see Me…” In this passage Jesus referred to two different group of people. The world and you. Let’s try and understand who is the world and who is you that Jesus was talking about. The world here refers to anyone who did not believe in Jesus Christ, that is whoever did not accept Him as the Lord and Savior or in other words those who do not belong to the Kingdom of God. Who is you? Jesus was actually addressing His disciples (His believers and followers). You is everyone that has received Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, they believe in Him and in His teachings, they obey and are governed by His Word, they have made His Word the final authority over the way they would live and conduct themselves, those who belong to the Kingdom of God, those that are truly born-again. How do I enter the Kingdom of God? The answer is in John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God””.
Jesus was addressing His disciples about His ascension to heaven that would happen after His resurrection from the dead. After Jesus physically ascended to heaven, the world will not see Him anymore, but His believers, followers, disciples will see Him because He lives. John 14:20-23 reads, 20 At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?”
23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
In the above scripture we see that Jesus is in the Father, and we are in Jesus and Jesus is in us. He will manifest Himself to whoever loves Him. Now what are the characteristics of those that love him? Let’s look closely again to verse 21 through to verse 23. “21 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” 22 Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, “Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?” 23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
Those that love Jesus has His Word and keep His Word. They receive His Word, and not only receive but also keep, continuously walk by His Word, and obey His Word. Jesus will manifest Himself to such people, and God the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit will make home with this category of people. You can decide to be that person today, The Lord wants to manifest Himself to you and make home with you today.
Jesus Christ is alive! He is omnipresent! The whole creation manifest His glory!
Lord Jesus, today I choose to have your Word and to keep your Word as a sign of my love to you. I pray that you manifest and reveal yourself to me as I keep Your Word according to your promises. Thank you Lord for Your Word. I pray this in Jesus name, Amen!
Which is the great commandement in the law?
Matthew 22:36-40
36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
If you look carefully in the book of Exodus 20:2-17, you will see that of the Ten Commandments given to the children of Israel, the first three are directed to our relationship toward God while the rest of them are directed toward human-to-human relationship.
Jesus in Mathew 22:36-40 perfectly summarized the Ten Commandments into two great commandments: 1. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind; 2. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. The core or the foundation of all the Ten Commandments is LOVE. God is love and He is God of love.
37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. -Matthew 22:37-38.
Let’s take a closer look at the above scripture, Jesus said the First and great commandment is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. It all begins with God. You should first fall in love with the Lord your God. If you love God, you would not want to offend Him nor disappoint him. It will be absolutely difficult or even impossible for you not to keep and obey the Lord’s Word if you truly love Him. Jesus said in John 14:15, If you love me, keep my commandments. If you do not obey this first and great commandment, It will be difficult for you to obey the second that is like it. It is actually through obeying this first and great commandment that you learn what Love is and how to be loved and how to love another person. So we see that the first and great commandment is the key to unlocking the second like it.
39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’- Matthew 22:39.
The second and great commandment is directed toward our relationship with other human beings and it summarizes the seven last commandments in Exodus 22:12-17. Who is your neighbor that the bible is talking about? The neighbor is anyone that you can relate to, It can be your wife, husband, friend, mother, father, brother, sister, sister-in-law, brother-in-law, boss, colleagues, classmates, people in your neighborhood…etc.
You should love your neighbor as yourself. If you love yourself, you would not want someone to kill you, If you love yourself, you wouldn’t want someone to commit adultery with your wife/husband, if you love yourself, you wouldn’t want someone to steal from you, or give false testimony against you or covet your wife and properties. So if you would not want these harms to be done to you, then have the same regard to others too. Other people too would not want that these things be done to them, So love them to such an extent that you don’t cause them harm. Romans 13:10 “ Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
Love does not seek its own,1 Corinthians 13:5, Love is not selfish. We live in the world where everyone is only concentrated in what they would get, how they should be treated, it is all about them, self-centeredness. – These are not attitudes of love. ‘’Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets.’’-Mathew 7:12. If you want people to give you certain things, start giving them, if you want people to treat you in a certain way, start treating them that way. In everything, do unto others as you would that they do to you.
Do not just be receptive, But be inceptive about love. Do the first step to love, do something for someone without expecting something in return, give, respect, help. Do not just sit waiting to be loved or given. This applies to husband and wife relationships, parent to child relationships, colleagues at work places and to every relationship you can engage in. ”I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”– Acts 20:35
As I have stated above, the First and great commandment is the key to unlocking the second and great commandment. John 14:15, If you love me, keep my commandments. “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”- John14:21. If you truly love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind, you will obey His Word, and His Word/commandment says to love your neighbor as yourself. So you will love your neighbor as yourself because you want to obey and please the Lord your God. Loving your neighbor as yourself is obeying and pleasing the Lord your God rather than doing your neighbor a favor. It is all about God.
“Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”- Romans 13:8
Esther- The epitome of a woman in partnership with God
Let’s have a look at the book of Esther.
Esther – a poor Jewish orphan was promoted to royalty. Her status suddenly changed.
Now coming from Esther’s background, one would think oh, this is the moment she has been waiting for, it is the time to pamper herself and indulge into the riches she never had. But that was not the case with queen Esther, she understood that it was God’s doing that she ended up on that position.
The time for her manifestation appeared when the decree was given to annihilate the Jewish nation by Haman the enemy of the Jews. Now Esther was a trained submissive girl by her guardian Mordecai, he taught her to fear God and execute His commands, Esther 2:20 (amplified bible)” Now Esther had not yet revealed her nationality or her people, for she obeyed Mordecai’s command to her [to fear God and execute His commands] just as when she was being brought up by him”. Esther the submissive girl thought that she had no power to do anything about the evil decree against her people because there was a king’s law well known to everyone.. “ Then Esther spoke to Hathach, and gave him a command for Mordecai: “All the king’s servants and the people of the king’s provinces know that any man or woman who goes into the inner court to the king, who has not been called, he has but one law: put all to death, except the one to whom the king holds out the golden scepter, that he may live. Yet I myself have not been called to go in to the king these thirty days.” So they told Mordecai Esther’s words”. – Esther 4:10-12.
But Esther was also a woman first under spiritual authority, the word of her spiritual leader Mordecai opened her eyes and she understood that there is power vested in her by God ,the power of a God fearing woman before her husband. Esther 4:13-14 “ And Mordecai told them to answer Esther: “Do not think in your heart that you will escape in the king’s palace any more than all the other Jews. For if you remain completely silent at this time, relief and deliverance will arise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Yet who knows whether you have come to the kingdom for such a time as this?””. She chose to use here power wisely to reach to the heart of her husband the king and to intercede for her people, the Jewish nation. She risked her life and queen position, she laid down her life for her people. Esther was a virtuous wife, she used her God given power to positively influence her husband, imagine that evil Haman have been serving the king way even before Esther became the queen, he occupied a very high position in the kingdom, he was second after the king, the king trusted him to the extent that he allowed him to do whatever he pleased with the Jewish nation, the king even gave him his signet ring. But when queen Esther gave her supplication before the king her husband, the king did not even dare question twice, although the matter was well known to the king and it was the king that gave evil Haman the authority to do so, The bible says in Proverb 31:11 the first part “ The heart of her husband safely trusts her; so he will have no lack of gain”. This is the power of a virtuous wife before her husband, apart from God’s voice which is the first, her voice speaks louder than any other person’s voice to her husband.
She could have chosen not to risk her life in this way and try to save her life and queen position which would mean hiding her origin forever, But she understood the scripture in Matthew 16:25” Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it”. Many times we try to save our lives and the blessings that God has given us in expense of our commitment to God and His ministry. For example one would sacrifice anything in order to keep his/her job despite the fact that his/her relationship with God or ministry are in jeopardy. If one was in Esther’s position and be urged to risk his/her job in order to save God’s people, he/she would say hey No! I can’t risk losing the job that puts bread on my table, let the people be wiped out while I keep my Job, we forgets that it was God that gave us the blessing of the job in the first place.
Esther was not alone through all these, she had Mordecai’s backing who was her spiritual leader and guardian, and most importantly God Almighty, the God of Israel was with her ”…and lo, I am with you always even to the end of the age, Amen! – Matthew 28:20. It was God that weaved all the events together in order to manifest His glory.
Dear women of God, our lives are not by accident, the events of our lives are not just a coincidence, our lives have purpose. God raised us to certain positions for a purpose. Queen Esther did not just see high promotion, she saw highest responsibility upon her, the salvation of God’s people. She well understood that before she is a queen, she is first a daughter of the Most High God, she is first a child of God, and she also understood that she was on a God-given mission, to save the Jews nation. We may be doctors, engineers, architects, nurses, lecturers, pharmacists, lawyers, students etc. …but we must always remember that we are first children of the Most High God before we are any of those titles. And we must remember that we are on a God-given mission, the salvation of all the souls, and this should be our first priority. We should use our positions and titles to serve God and execute His commands. Let us not indulge ourselves into the things of this world, let us not be carried away and just pamper ourselves with the blessings that God gives us that we forget or ignore to do His will and commission. Jesus said I must be about my father’s business – Luke 2:49.
May we all accomplish our God-given mission here on earth in Jesus ‘name! May we not miss our time of manifestation in Jesus ‘name! May God’s favor be upon us as we carry out our God-given mission in Jesus ‘name! we will not disappoint God in Jesus’name!