“faith to follow the father”
John 12:37 – 50
March 28, 2018
Relevant Question: “Why do people faithfully follow the Father?”
1) Because they have Vision to see Victory [v40]
2) Because they have Power to Praise God [v43]
3) Because they have a Heart to Hear [v47]
1) What caused Israel to reject Jesus as Messiah?
[a] They misinterpreted His miracles.
[b] They ignored His signs.
[c] They disbelieved His messages.
[d] They denied His ministry.
[e] All of the above.
Sermon > e = All of the above. Each of the statements above led Israel to reject or to “receive not” Jesus as their Messiah. Israel’s unbelief had been foretold by the Prophet Isaiah concerning the Suffering Servant Jesus as their Christ or Messiah.
Sermon > Moreover, the Nation as a whole refused to believe because they constantly rejected God’s prophetic revelation. Jesus is the perfect manifestation of God the Father, the One who sent Christ Jesus to die for us.
John 1:11 > “He [Jesus] came unto his own, and his own received him not.”
Isaiah 53:1 > “Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
Sermon > A = Miracles. John 6:26 > “Jesus answered them and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Ye seek me, not because ye saw the miracles, but because ye did eat of the loaves, and were filled.”
Sermon > b = Signs. John 4:48 > “Then said Jesus unto him, Except ye see signs and wonders, ye will not believe.”
Sermon > c = Messages. John 3:14-15 > “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life [message].”
Sermon > d = Ministry. John 9:4 > “I must work the works [ministry] of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.”
2) What is your understanding (interpretation) of the word “Logos?”
______
Sermon > The Bible teaches that the Jesus is “Logos,” the Living Word from a Living God.” Spiritually, we hear God, not with our ears, but with our hearts. We perceive, understand, and comprehend the Word of God with our hearts.
Sermon > Since Jesus is Logos, God spoke decisively and honestly through Jesus Christ. Our faith comes through hearing and hearing through Logos. That is, faith comes through the heart hearing, and the heart hears through the Living Word of God or through Logos.
John 1:1-2 > “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2The same was in the beginning with God.”
Romans 10:17 > “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
3) According to the sermon, what is the biblical definition of a “sacrifice?”
______
Sermon > A sacrifice is above and beyond the tithe, which we already give to God as firstfruits. A sacrifice is the surrendering of something highly prized or vastly valued to a deity (Jehovah God) as an act of atonement and homage.
Sermon > That is, we sacrifice to Christ a dedicated monetary gift of significant worth and value. Every sacrifice must possess devotion, value, and worth. If the sacrifice lacks devotion from you, it will lack devotion to God. If the sacrifice is of no worth or value to you, then it will be worthless and valueless to God.
2Samuel 24:24 > “And the king [David] said unto Araunah, Nay; but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me nothing. So David bought the threshingfloor and the oxen for fifty shekels of silver.”
4) What is “judicial blindness?”
______
Sermon > Judicial blindness is the punishment God inflicted upon Israel, the inability to see spiritually. According to Isaiah, the Nation of Israel lacked faith, and was unable to believe because they chose to close their eyes and hardened their hearts to the truth. Therefore, God punished them with judicial blindness, the inability to see spiritually the vision of their own victory.
Sermon > The Jewish people lacked the vision to see the victory in Jesus as Messiah. That is, their eyes were blind to the Light of Christ unable to escape the darkness. Their hearts were hardened to the Love of Christ unable to perceive the truth. Moreover, faith ends the darkness and vision eliminates the blindness.
v40 > “He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart; that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them.”
5) You cannot make God mad enough not to save you. [T] or [F]
______
Sermon > TRUE, God sent His only Son Jesus for the salvation of a lost world. You can’t make God mad enough that He will not save you from sin. That is, the primary purpose for Jesus’ coming was to save us and salvation has nothing to do with our attitude or behavior towards it, positively or negatively. Salvation is available to everyone who believes.
v47 > “And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world.”
Luke 19:10 > “For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
Matthew 18: 11 > “For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.”
John 3:17 > “For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.”
Romans 5:8 > “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”