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Trusting God

Trusting God
Words of Faith 11-8-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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John 8
[21] Once more Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come."
[22] This made the Jews ask, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, 'Where I go, you cannot come'?"
[23] But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. [24] I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am the one I claim to be, you will indeed die in your sins."
[25] "Who are you?" they asked.
"Just what I have been claiming all along," Jesus replied. [26] "I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world."
[27] They did not understand that he was telling them about his Father. [28] So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am the one I claim to be and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. [29] The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him." [30] Even as he spoke, many put their faith in him.

The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it (John 1:5). John reports to us that religious people consistently misunderstood Jesus. Religious people gathered around Jesus in the Temple but many could not comprehend what He was saying. Today we might say “The lights were not coming on”. Many just didn’t get it. Why?
Jesus says they were “of the world” and could not grasp the things that are of the Spirit. They were trying to “get it” from a worldly frame of reference. Things of the Spirit are not apprehended in such a manner. Jesus was “from above” and they could not understand this.
When Jesus said He was going away to a place where they could not go, they thought He meant He was planning to commit suicide! The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it.
The group continued to ask who Jesus was. Jesus said that the point was not so much for them to judge Him as it was for Him to judge them. All would be clear when He was “lifted up”. When Jesus was on the cross and was raised on the third day, it would become clear who He was and what He came to do.
Even the disciples did not have a full grasp of this. Later it would also become clear that Jesus did nothing on His own but only what the Father directed.
The text says that many put their faith in Jesus. Though they would not fully understand the message and work of Jesus until later, they were enabled by the Spirit to put their faith in Jesus.
It can be really frustrating when people we care about cannot seem to understand what appears so obvious and precious to us. It should have been frustrating to Jesus as He stood there in the flesh speaking truth such as the world has never known yet people just did not get it. But Jesus was not frustrated. Why?
Jesus was able to trust to the Father. Remember? "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working" (John 5:17). "The Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does” (John 5:19). "I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit” (John 3:5-6).
Jesus also knew this truth: The light shines in the darkness, but the darkness has not understood it (John 1:5). He understood that matters of the Spirit are not apprehended by “the world”, only by the awakening of the Spirit. If Jesus was able to entrust such matters to the Father, shouldn’t we?

Lord, help to entrust to You the people that I encounter and care about. Help me to reach out to those You are saving. Help me to see with Spiritual eyes what You are doing. Give me patience to be faithful in my witness even when darkness does not understand Your Light. In Jesus’ name.

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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.