Words of Jesus Podcast - The Last Enemy Is Death But Life Doesn't Have To End In Destruction

Episode Date: November 3, 2023

Jesus' simple instruction for us, "Keep the commandments and the Father and I will instruct you from the inside." The people did not understand Jesus was taught by His Father daily. Jesus wants that same communication for us. The steps? 1) Keep the commandments. 2) Take time every day to hear from God. 3) Never violate your conscience. ***Ch. 54: Jesus At The Feast Of TabernaclesJohn 7:1-8:59Jesus Arouses Anger By Claiming Sonship With God            Jesus continued to speak, saying:            “I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins. Whither I go, ye cannot come.”            The Jews said among themselves:            “Will he kill himself? Because he saith, ‘Whither I go, you cannot come.’”            Jesus said to the Jews:            “Ye are from beneath; I am from above. Ye are of this world; I am not of this world. I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins. For if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.”            The Jews asked him:            “Who art thou?”            Jesus replied:            “Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge of you. But he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.”            The Jews did not understand that he spoke of the Father.            Jesus continued, saying:            “When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me. The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”            Because of these words, many believed in Jesus. To those Jews who believed he said:            “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”            The Jews replied:            “We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man. How sayest thou, ‘Ye shall be made free’?”            Jesus answered them:            “Verily, verily I say unto you, ‘Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin.’ and the servant abideth not in the house forever; but the Son abideth forever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed. I know that ye are Abraham’s seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father; and ye do that which ye have seen with your father.”            The Jews answered, saying:            “Abraham is our...

Think Red Ink Ministries presents the Words of Jesus series with Don C. Harris. Hello friends, welcome once again to the Words of Jesus series. I'm Don Harris and we need to get right into the ink today, so are you ready? We've been reading from John 7 and from actually chapter 54 of our little book called the questions of the words of Jesus now Jesus told the Pharisees that you're going to die in your sins and if and you're doing that because you don't believe in me you don't believe that I am he now Jesus when he would say you don't believe that i am he uh there are people who play around with those words and every time jesus uses the term i am they insist that he's saying that he's god he's not uh the the words i am are a part of sentences that have nothing to do with God saying I am that I am.

By the way, you know, he wasn't telling us his name when he said that anyway. He was telling Moses, why do you need a name to bring these people out of Egypt? They wouldn't know my name if you told it to them. Nobody's known my name. You just tell them I am who I am. And you can come if you want to. He just doesn't make many excuses. He's a great dad, isn't he?

He doesn't just pat us on the head and make us feel better and dry our little tears. The Jews ask him, Who art thou? Jesus replied, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge of you. Who art thou? Jesus replied, Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning. I have many things to say and to judge of you. But he that sent me is true,

and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him. Jesus says, You know, I've got my opinion about you. There's many things that I could tell you you but i'd be telling you of myself and that's not what i'm here for you have to understand that i'm so closely related to the father into his ministry into his purpose i don't even indulge myself in this area there's many things that i would love to judge you about but i don't because i'm only going to speak what the lord said to me the jews didn't understand that he spoke of the father jesus continued saying when you have lifted up the son of man then shall you know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as my father hath taught me, I speak the things that he taught me.

Now, the word taught here is difficult in that when we say teach, we have a teacher and student kind of an idea. But there are many things that we teach by who we are, more so than by what we say. As a matter of fact, when the Lord gave the law to the children of Israel, he said, I want you to speak of these things to your children. When you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up, you're going to teach these things to your children. Now, this is not a teacher-student relationship.

This is an observer and observee relationship. And this is exactly what he's saying here i don't say what's on my mind i don't even do what i think needs to be done i do as the father taught me and and that is that daily communion this is why i say keep the commandments that opens the door jesus says here you want me to speak to you want me to lead you from the inside number one keep the commandments there's no doubt about this there is no nobody with a sixth grade education or a modicum of intelligence uh and just remotely familiar with scriptures would argue the point that jesus wants us to keep the commandments.

Now they might argue about what the commandments are, the 613 or the 670 or the 700, 1100, or whatever numbers they come up with. I believe that there's 10 commandments because our Lord Jesus Christ wrote them in rock for Moses that day. If there were 11, he would have written 11. If there were 12, he would have written 12. Do you understand? He didn't stop because he was tired.

He didn't stop because he ran out of rock or his fingers started hurting. He wrote 10 because there is 10. There's 10 commandments, every one of which you're expected to keep. Now, people don't engage themselves in the promise. The promise is, you want me to lead you from the inside? I can do that. First, you're going to have to keep the commandments.

This is why, in my advice to you, it's just threefold. Keep the commandments. Don't disobey your conscience. Your conscience is the closest thing you're ever going to get to leadership of the Spirit of God. And as you grow in this, your conscience will begin to reform. And as Paul says, having our senses exercised to know the difference between good and evil evil this is exactly what he's talking about

as we live in christ as we keep his commandments our conscience is being honed i know there's a lot of things in there that you do that you think is wrong because your mom or your grandma told you they're wrong and you'd hate for them to find out you did it or whatever it is but these type of things start to fall away and they're replaced over time that's why this is a this is a lifestyle over time these things are replaced and your conscience begins to form into the conscience and the mind of Christ. And then, of course, take time every day to hear the voice of God. This is when he tells us what he wants us to do. Don't try to get the cart before the horse here. Don't expect Jesus Christ to give somebody

who can't even keep the simple commandments, instructions on how to live. Just forget it. If you want to get those kind of instructions, then go find a preacher somewhere. They'll be glad to give you instructions. Go to your mom. I bet you she's got more rules than you actually even know about yet. But don't even bother going to God because you can't not keep his commandments, resent his leadership in that way, and expect to receive any more. You just can't do it.

All right, so when he says, The Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please him. Well, did you think I made that up a while ago when I said, Just don't bother going to God? He's the one that said it. he's the one that said it he's the one that's in he says that uh the father has not left me alone because i do those things that please him you ever heard anybody say there's no conditional promise in the bible if anybody ever says that you know this they have never ever read the bible so do you want to continue to get information from a person that's that ignorant that's your business but every condition i've ever seen in this in the scriptures is conditional and here

it says the father has not left me alone because i do what pleases him well if you don't do what pleases him will he leave you alone i'd say chances are pretty good all right because of these words many believed in jesus to those jews who believed he said if you continue in my word then are you my disciples indeed another conditional promise and ye shall know the, and the truth will make you free. Who did he say that to? He said that to the Jew, the believing Jews. Sorry, Larry. I was talking about Larry King, how he loves to grill people about believing in Jesus. Yeah, sorry. If you don't know the truth, you're not going to be free and uh if you don't believe that he is who he says he is yeah he says you're going to die in your sins and i don't have

any reason not to believe that how do i have a reason not to believe that that i guess if you believe that god is santa claus it makes sense all right the jews replied we be abraham's seed and were never in bondage to any man how sayest thou we shall be made free verily verily i say unto you whoeveritteth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house forever, but the son abideth forever. Now, I think more correctly, instead of this being a capitalized son, I think that should have been a lowercase son. Because he was saying that, you know, you can hire all the servants you want to work on the farm, but there'll come a day when they're going to leave or you're going to replace them

because they're hirelings. But there's one person that'll always be on the farm. He'll always live in the house. He'll always sit at the table. Who is that? The master's son. And you have to understand that that's who I am. I am the son of god and he abides forever

if the son therefore shall make you free he shall be free indeed now he's saying abraham was a servant of god i am the son of god so abraham's making you free? You're children of Abraham? You're not in bondage to any man because you're children of Abraham? Let me tell you something. When I make you free, you're free indeed. Why? Abraham doesn't abide forever. Where is Abraham? Oh, he's dead.

I see. Well, I'm not, and I never will be. All right, he says, I know that you're Abraham's seed, but you seek to kill me because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my father, and you do that which you have seen with your father. The Jews answered and said, Abraham is our father. Jesus replied, if you were Abraham's children,

you'd do the works of Abraham, but now you seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard from God. This did not Abraham. You're doing the deeds of your father. The Jews said to him, will you be not born of fornication? Uh-oh. There it is.

They're starting to make, call him ugly names, bringing up the fact that he was born of fornication. And he was indeed born before Mary and Joseph were married. And the only way that they could even understand that could happen would be by fornication. They said, we're not born of fornication. We have one father, even God.

Jesus answered and saying, if God were your father, you would love me. For I proceeded forth and came from God. Neither came I of myself, but he sent me. Why do you not understand my speech? Even because you cannot hear my word. You are your father, the devil, even because you cannot hear my word. Ye are your father the devil, and the lust of your father ye will do.

He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar, and the father of lie telling and because i tell you the truth you believe me not which of you convinces me of sin and if i say the truth why do you not believe me that is so sad i have been in situations where where you're trying to tell somebody essentially trying to tell somebody

the truth and you're just wondering why won't what you know and i think in a lot of cases it is more like why won't you believe me why can't you believe this and uh you know when you investigate that it's usually not very complimentary because usually it has to do with ritual and right and and the way things have always been it has little to do with reason and logic and yeah that makes sense to me so if i tell you truth, why do you not believe me? He that is of God heareth God's words. Ye therefore hear them not,

because you're not of God. The Jews replied to those words of Jesus, Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a devil? Jesus said, I have not a devil, but I honor the Father, and ye do dishonor me. I seek not my own glory. There is one that seeketh and judgeth. Verily I say unto you,

If a man shall keep my saying, he'll never see death. I can't help but believe that Jesus is just messing with them here. He keeps telling them things that he knows full well they're not going to understand. He's just blowing the tops of their brains off, just opening their heads and exposing their brains to the sun and um to jesus the jews replied now we know thou hast a devil abraham is dead and the prophets and thou say if a man keep my saying he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead, and the prophets, which are dead? Who makest thou thyself?

Jesus replied, if I honor myself, my honor is nothing. It's my father that honoreth me, of whom ye say that he is your God. Yet you've not known him, but I've known him. And if I should say I know him not, I'd be a liar, like unto you. But I know him, and I keep his saying.

Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day, and he saw it and was glad. The Jews said to Jesus, Thou art not yet fifty years old, and hast thou seen Abraham? Jesus said, Verily I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. Now, I told you before, I told you before that many times Jesus uses the word I am in a sentence,

and it just means I am whatever. I am this am that i am going to jerusalem and many times people take the words i am and and make a claim that jesus is claiming at this point to be god because he used the words i am well that's disingenuous it It's illogical. It's not proper exegesis. It's not good Bible study. There's nothing good about that other than the fact that they proved their doctrinal point that Jesus was God when he was on the earth. But this time, he meant exactly what he said. What he said at this time, he meant exactly what he said.

What he said at this time, he was doing it to provoke them. There is no reason in the world for Jesus to say anything other than, before Abraham was, I was. Do you see that? But he chose to say, before Abraham was, I am. Do you remember when they came to get him in the garden? And he said, who seekest thou? thou and they said we're looking for jesus and he said that's me i am he when he said that the bible says that they went backwards and fell.

You see, that was another time. When Jesus spoke, I am. And he did it in that way of power that only God possesses. It has this effect on people and when he said and when they said why you you're not even 50 years old how could you know who abraham was and he said you should know something i've been around a long, long time. Me and my father, we were there. I am. And it had, I believe, that it had that kind of effect on them.

Then the Jews and the Pharisees, their fury aroused, picked up stones to hurl at Jesus. But they could not see him as he left the temple going through the midst of those who sought to stone him I happen to believe it's my opinion do with it as you wish but I happen to believe that these men weren't bending over and picking up stones. I believe they were just grabbing them while they were on the ground

so that when they stood up, they'd be armed. Jesus didn't do things willy-nilly he didn't just arbitrarily speak certain ways and say certain things without distinction without reason he's what he said he said for a reason and he spoke very very deliberately when he spoke and i happen to believe that when he said before abraham was i am i think it had a devastating effect on them i happen to believe even physically it's hard to believe that they fell down and it's not recorded in scripture i give you that but uh i do know that you know this is this know that this is a very powerful thing for Jesus to claim I am.

He was actually proclaiming his eternity, his immortality at that point, I assume. Of course, he wasn't immortal. Not at that point, I assume. Of course, he wasn't immortal. Not at this point. See, that was one of the reasons why he came into flesh, is so that he wouldn't be immortal, that he was capable of dying. He came here to die for us.

That's what he came to do. Not necessarily in the way we did it. I don't think he has an intention to come here and get murdered, but he did come to die. Therefore, immortality was something that he couldn't use. By the way, he has it now, if you're wondering. The Bible says, you know, contrary to what you might believe about your good old preacher, Uncle Bob, that died five years ago or anybody else that you happen to believe is in heaven right now. The Bible says that there's only one that has immortality. Only one. That's Jesus Christ. He's the first fruit of many brethren. And there's only one that has

it now, but his idea is to bring forth many brethren. Including your Uncle Bob, hopefully. it now but his idea is to bring forth many brethren including your uncle bob hopefully and he'll he'll have a mortality if he did the right thing in the right way for the right reasons love the lord but he doesn't have it now he will and you can too a few things in here I wanted you to see, and that is that when Jesus says, if a man believes in me, he shall never see death, there is a bunch deeper meaning to this than the fact that he'll never die. Remember when he told

Martha, he says that if a man believes in me, he shall not die. If he believes that I'm the son of God, he shall never die. And if a man believe in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live. Do you see how that can, that's a contradiction, or we don't understand what he was saying. You see, death is the wages of sin. If, if a man believes that he is is the Jesus Christ is who he says he is you shall never see I would love it if it was written this way but he says if a

man believes in me if he doesn't believe me he'll die in his sins well the reciprocal of that is the man does believe in me he'll never see the wages of sin the wages of sin is death so when jesus says he'll never see death he's talking about the very death of our souls he's talking about the destruction of our souls our body and soul in hell remember when he said don't fear him that can kill the body, but fear him who can kill the body and soul in judgment, you see. There is a difference in the death of our bodies and the death of who we are, our soul.

We talked before, if you can remember, we were talking about how a soul is actually the sum of an equation. It's not a thing. When the body and the Spirit of God are united, they become a soul. And when they're separated, that soul ceases to exist. The spirit goes back to be with God, the body goes in the grave and awaits resurrection. At the resurrection, the spirit of God will be put back into that body, and it will become a living soul. However, at the second resurrection, something very similar takes place.

That person comes out of the grave, and they're given enough life to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, something very similar takes place. That person comes out of the grave, and they're given enough life to stand before the judgment seat of Christ, and they're united to be a soul too, but that soul will be destroyed. That's the difference. I'm telling you all this so you'll understand that when the Bible speaks of death as a punishment of sin, actually not a punishment, a wage,

and it's using the word death, you have to understand that it's talking about that eternal death, that destruction, that absolute, you know, brought to zero, as if it never existed kind of destruction. But we will all, because of Adam's sin, because we are of his offspring, we're all going to find death at the end of our life. That's just the way it's going to happen. Every one of us have to go through that door.

So when he says that when you believe on me, you'll never see death. Don't ever get in your mind that you're going to live forever. I mean, some of the best word of faith preachers are dead today. And even ones who prophesied that they were going to live to be 120. Yeah, yeah. And, you know, they die at 80. So, you know, there's one death you're not going to escape. That's why Paul says the last enemy to be destroyed is death.

And there's coming a time when we will say, grave, where's your victory? And death, where's your sting? See, that's what he does. He just takes the sting out of death. Has the sting been removed from your death, my friend? Do you look toward the end of your life and wonder what in the world are you going to do? Are you going to die with a smile on your face? You know, you can. These kind of things are available to you. All you have to die with a smile on your face? You know, you can. These kind of things are available to you. All you have to do is decide to go His way.

Friend, that's all you have to decide to do, is to go His way. Small little changes, little baby steps. And, you know, the moment you decide to go His way and not go yours, God makes you a promise. He made it through the prophet Ezekiel. You should always know this and feel it within your own self. If you ever go my way and forsake your own, I'll never remember anything you've ever done wrong. Isn't that what

we're all looking for? I'm sure it is. All right, it's time for us to go now. Thanks so much for being a part of the show. Until we see you again, Think Red, Inc. Bye-bye. Join us again for the next episode in the Words of Jesus series. you