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Testimony of the Spirit

Testimony of the Spirit
Words of Faith 11-7-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 8
[13] The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid."
[14] Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going. [15] You judge by human standards; I pass judgment on no one. [16] But if I do judge, my decisions are right, because I am not alone. I stand with the Father, who sent me. [17] In your own Law it is written that the testimony of two men is valid. [18] I am one who testifies for myself; my other witness is the Father, who sent me."
[19] Then they asked him, "Where is your father?"
"You do not know me or my Father," Jesus replied. "If you knew me, you would know my Father also." [20] He spoke these words while teaching in the temple area near the place where the offerings were put. Yet no one seized him, because his time had not yet come.

We often are tempted to think that if only we lived in the idyllic time of Jesus everything would be clear and there would be no controversy concerning faith. After all, if one were face to face with Jesus wouldn’t it be apparent who He was and is? Of course that was not the case.
Steady growing opposition confronted Jesus. The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it (John 1:5). Even after performing miracles and showing remarkable insight in His teaching, Jesus found Himself pressed and interrogated. People began to either receive Him as Messiah or condemn Him as a heretic.
Legally one could not give testimony regarding oneself because such testimony was presumed to be biased. But because Jesus had unique and special knowledge of Himself. Actually, He was the only one qualified to give such testimony. Jesus argued that His testimony regarding Himself was valid because He alone knew where He had come from and where He was going. This testimony was verified by the testimony of the Father. But this was not enough for those who were intent to silence Him.
Then they asked him, "Where is your father?" The response was actually an insult. To ask “where is your father?” was to question a person’s paternity. The response of Jesus was not indignation but simple truth. If you know Jesus you know the Father. If you know the Father you know Jesus.
Little has changed in nineteen centuries. The world presses Jesus and insults Him. They do not understand His self-revelation. They do not receive His truth. They do not accept what He said about Himself.
The reality is that Jesus must reveal Himself to us. This is not a matter of logic, reasoned argument, or “human standards”. It is a matter of the Spirit. He alone can reveal to us where we have come from and where we are going. All that we can do with the Spirit is surrender to Him. All that we can do with Jesus is receive Him.

Lord, I surrender to that which my mind can never unravel by human standards. I receive you. I honor you. Let me not be found giving insult to Your name. Show me where I have come from and where I am going. In Jesus’ Name I pray.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2002, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.