September 14, 2020 -- John 8:47 -- Spirit-fueled witness

Whoever is of God hears the words of God.

The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.

John 8:47 English Standard Version

The ESV footnote on this passages interprets it this way: “Sin paralyzes our spiritual senses. Only an act of God’s grace enables a sinner to hear God’s voice.” Then the footnote directs our attention to John 8:43 “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word”. It is useful and helpful to examine the Gospel of John one small passage and text at a time, but the downfall of doing so is that we lose sight of the over all direction of a particular speech and the arc of the book. The footnote was a helpful reminder of how the part fits the whole.

In fact, we can trace this spiritual paralysis all the way back to John 1, where we are taught Jesus came to His own people and they refused Him! (John 1:11). He is the Creator of the World and His own creation did not acknowledge Him (John 1:10). This is so important, when we are sharing our faith with others, we must remember that the person or people we speak with are hardened in their sin. It takes the supernatural work of the Spirit to soften hearts to hear and receive what we say.

Be encouraged though! God has appointed us, believers, to be His ambassadors. We speak of our relationship with Jesus Christ and the Spirit carries us to those who are appointed for salvation. Sometimes we are the first people to speak with a man appointed for eternal life and our work, unbeknownst to us, is just to place the seed of faith—a seed whose germination we will never see. Perhaps we are the eighth person appointed to share the Gospel-which literally means Good News about Jesus!—and God has appointed us to see some wonderful starting of faith so that this person is asking all kinds of questions that have long been on her heart. The wondrous beauty of our salvation, and the glory of God in it, is how He sent teachers and friends, parents and mentors, in fact all things necessary so that we would one day embrace Him and declare “My Savior and My God!”

Stay focused in ardent prayer for the non-believers God has placed in your life. Do not be discouraged if someone you love is a long time in declaring Jesus as Savior.

Do not be discouraged in your witness for God the Father and His love poured out on us in Jesus Christ. Make use of the Bible to feed your own faith and give you Spirit-fueled confidence to go and speak with others. Your mouth speaks from the overflow of your heart—if your heart is overflowing with the knowledge of the awesomeness of God, your mouth will speak it.

Remember, God has by HIs tender love and great grace, made it so. Those who are born again, or will be born from above in Jesus Christ are not the result of our work or witness, but are entirely the new-born children of God. Yet God the Spirit gives us to joy of being mid-wives. God the Savior reminds us that the same life which has brought this newly born Christian into the Kingdom is the same power and love that sustains us as children of the Father above. So, in the nursery of new Christianity, those established in the faith and those newly declaring His greatness rejoice together.

Faithful Jesus, thank You for the testimony of the Bible which reveals Your witness and persistence in seeking the lost sheep—of Israel and of the world! You are the Best, Final, Glorious and Radiant revealer of the Father—evidence that our Father in heaven stopped at nothing to make Himself known to us. Thank You Spirit of Glory and Power for the men and women who by Your direction led us to know Jesus Christ so that their beautiful feet carried the good news of Jesus to our souls. Thank You, dearest Father in heaven, for new life, that begins now and is sustained into and through all eternity. Thank You triune God for the privilege we have of witnessing to Your Glory, thus ever more deeply confirming the fruitful presence of the Spirit in our own lives. Amen.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OPtzKT-JLw0