That Which Is Perfect 2

Scripture: John 7: 25-53

I do not understand how people can miss it.  Then or now.  No matter how educated we have become, there is still the tug of the Divine that exerts an influence on our lives.  Our learning just reveals another layer of mystery as deep and endless as the universe that we exist in.  I have never been able to escape this knowledge.  My heart was empty without him.  Everything that I tried to fill it with was less than sufficient.

1.   What did they know?

They had the OT prophecies.

These prophecies were not offered to convince them of his identity.  They were offered to convince them of His coming.  There was little to make them believe that he was coming in power.  Isaiah’s description portrayed his sufferings primarily.  It was not flattering to the coming Christ and would have kept them from looking for an incredibly inspiring personage.

He was preaching unhindered which caused them to think that the authorities were accepting him as the Messiah.

They had knowledge of him that made it difficult to accept.  They knew where he was from.

They wondered if the Messiah would do anything greater than he was doing.

2.   What should we know?

We should know that the idea that God would deliver himself as the sacrifice is the ultimate proof of His love and His identity.

The greatest expression of love in the willingness to lay oneself on the altar or the chopping block.  To pay an ultimate sacrifice that promises nothing to the person who lays it down.

3.   What should we do?

Don’t presuppose to know how God will unfold the plan of the ages to the point that we exclude the truth.

Is there such a thing as an ideal time to receive Christ?  What has to fall in place for you to cause you to take the step of faith?

Coming to Christ when the ship is sinking.  Picture.