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Topic: Part of the Divine Majority?
(Open Heaven 5 October 2019)
Memorise: Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. – John 16:32
Read: John 6:25-69 (KJV)
25 And when they had found him on the other side of the sea, they said unto him, Rabbi, when camest thou hither?
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.
27 Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed.
28 Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God?
29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.
30 They said therefore unto him, What sign shewest thou then, that we may see, and believe thee? what dost thou work?
31 Our fathers did eat manna in the desert; as it is written, He gave them bread from heaven to eat.
32 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Moses gave you not that bread from heaven; but my Father giveth you the true bread from heaven.
33 For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world.
34 Then said they unto him, Lord, evermore give us this bread.
35 And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.
36 But I said unto you, That ye also have seen me, and believe not.
37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.
38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me.
39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
41 The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, I am the bread which came down from heaven.
42 And they said, Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven?
43 Jesus therefore answered and said unto them, Murmur not among yourselves.
44 No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.
45 It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.
46 Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.
47 Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.
48 I am that bread of life.
49 Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead.
50 This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die.
51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
52 The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat?
53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.
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54 Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.
55 For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.
56 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him.
57 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me.
58 This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.
59 These things said he in the synagogue, as he taught in Capernaum.
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when they had heard this, said, This is an hard saying; who can hear it?
61 When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you?
62 What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before?
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
64 But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him.
65 And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.
66 From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him.
67 Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?
68 Then Simon Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life.
69 And we believe and are sure that thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God.
Bible in One Year: 1 Chronicles 11-12, Revelation 1
Open Heaven 5 October 2019 Saturday MESSAGE:
According to the worldly way of thinking, one needs to belong to the mainstream majority in order to make appreciable impact. Against this background, when one considers the humble birth of Jesus Christ and the “strange” doctrines He taught, one is left wondering how He was able to accomplish all He did while here on earth, and He is still making impact even while in heaven (Mark 1:27, Luke 5:26). How come He was successful, even though His peculiar teachings caused many of His disciples to desert Him (John 6:66)? What gave Him strength and resilience even when His closest allies ran away in His darkest hour (Matthew 26:56)? The answer to all this lies in what the Holy Spirit says in Acts 10:38:
“How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.”
In essence, Jesus was in the divine majority, even when it seemed He was alone. He spoke the words of today’s memory verse to His disciples, from which we understand that walking in agreement with the Father was all that mattered to Him. No wonder He felt so much pain when the Father looked away from Him as He embodied sin on the cross (Mark 15:34, Habakkuk 1:13, 2 Corinthians 5:21).
It is therefore amazing that some Christians cannot take any stand that is contrary to popular opinion, even when it relates to the Father’s will. Some pastors moderate their sermons when they observe that their congregation numbers are dropping. Some even dabble into things that chase the presence of the Father far away from them in order to pull crowds to themselves. Such pastors are foolish and do not know the ways of God. When the crowd murmured at Jesus’ teachings, instead of backing down, He delved deeper, so much so that many of them ran away. In spite of that, He turned to those who were left and asked if they also wanted to leave! The secret behind the successful ministry of Jesus Christ was that God the Father was with Him throughout. What a great lesson this is to us! The truth is that Jesus Himself never left God the Father; they were in communion at all times. He would not do anything without the Father’s approval. Before He preached, He would have taken counsel from God the Father and the Holy Spirit – this was the spiritual majority that mattered to Him. Beloved, are you in the world’s majority or God’s majority? Are you yearning to become part of the world’s majority due to the ridicule you suffer for being godly? Please choose to stay in the spiritual majority. Jesus Christ was alone with His Father and it was more than enough for Him to do the unprecedented. It is more than enough for you too.
Open Heaven 5 October 2019 Saturday Key Point:
Those who stand with God against the world will stand out with Him in glory.
Open Heaven 5 October 2019 Saturday Hymn 3: Trust And Obey
1 When we walk with the Lord
In the light of His word
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will,
He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey
Chorus:
Trust and obey,
For there’s no other way
To be happy in Jesus,
But to trust and obey.
2 Not a shadow can rise,
Not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt nor a fear
Not a sigh nor a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.
3 Not a burden we bear,
Not a sorrow we share
But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief nor a loss,
Not a frown nor a cross,
But is blest if we trust and obey.
4 But we never can prove
The delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favour He shows,
And the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.
5 Then in fellowship sweet
We will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do
Where He sends we will go
Never fear, only trust and obey.
