Be Merciful like Jesus

 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn 8:12 NIV

Being a Christian means following Jesus. In the NT, Jesus had disciples who literally walked around Israel with him. This is no longer possible, so what does it mean to follow Jesus today?

So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;
and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” Jn 8:31–32 NASB95

Jesus is no longer with us as a man of flesh and blood, but he has given us His word, his truth, his teaching and his promises.

You cannot be a Christian unless you seriously try to base your life on the Bible.

But how can we do this? The Bible is a big book with many confusing details. We need guidance and teaching, but the people who persecuted Jesus were the Bible experts of his day.

There are bible experts today who enslave believers with cruel hierarchy and life destroying religion. If we are protestant Christians, we must not deceive ourselves by thinking these bad religious leaders are only Jews or Roman Catholics.

In the first chapter of the Gospel of John, we see how Jesus applied the Bible.

The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. Jn 1:14 NIV

There are Christians who aggressively preach truth to attack and shame sinners, and preachers who rule churches with fear. Jesus was full of truth, but He always approached people with grace, mercy and love.

Jesus always applied Bible truth with love and mercy, and so must we.

Yesterday, our pastor reminded us that Jesus appointed us to be the light of the world. If we live in the light of Jesus, we will ourselves shine as a light from God for others.

“You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Mt 5:14 NIV

This is true, but we can use the light of God’s truth to bless people or condemn them. If you turn on the light in a dark place, people can see where they are going, but if you shine a laser in someone’s eyes, it can destroy his eyesight.

There are aggressive preachers and culture warriors who do just that. They attack people with Bible truth and drive people away from the love of God. We must never do this.

There is no Darkness in God

 The service was a blessing. I went home with my wife encouraged. We did some shopping on the way. In the supermarket I felt foggy and empty. It was a bit like the depression of my youth.

Why is that? We can often sense the depressed moods of those around us. God often allows this so that we can learn to resist the devil and pray for the suffering people around us.

If you feel depressed or sad, you can pray quietly right away. Where is this oppression coming from, dear God? How should I respond? How can I overcome this darkness? Not only the darkness in me, but also the darkness around me and in others around me?

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Jn 8:12 NRSV

Every time you feel darkness, whether it is in your soul, or from the feelings of those around you, or from the presence of demons, or from the situation in the world, no matter where the darkness comes from, you can seek God's truth and God's presence.

Call to me, and I will answer you and reveal to you great and unsearchable things that you do not know. Jer 33:3 L17

When you belong to Jesus, there is an invisible mobile phone in your spirit. You are always in touch with Jesus. With God there is no mobile phone blackout.

This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him there is no darkness at all. 1 Jn 1:5 NRSV

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Ps 27:1 NRSV

Seeing as God Sees

When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.” Jn 8:12 NIV

When we have the light of life, we can see clearly. Few people are actually blind but different people can look at the same scene and understand it very differently.

For example, three men see a prostitute on the street. One man feels excited and strongly attracted.  
Another man sees a despicable, sinful woman who should burn in hell.
A third man sees a woman who has suffered much, who could have a new life through God's love.

Unfortunately, there are some Christians who think like the second man and condemn the sinful woman, but Jesus was not like that.

In the same chapter of the Gospel of John, we see self-righteous religious men who brought a woman to Jesus. 

The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group. Jn 8:3 NIV

The religious men wanted to stone her and execute her, but Jesus did not see an evil woman, but rather a woman in deep need, a woman who needed his love and salvation. He also saw the terrible injustice and unkindness of the men. Where was the man?

We may already know the story well. Jesus said that the man without sin should hurl the first stone. All the men recognised their own guilt and walked away.

While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with him and his disciples.

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. Mt 9:10–12 NIV

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.’ Lk 7:34 NIV

John Dawson was the leader of Youth With A Mission in Los Angeles. Like Jesus, he did not despise anyone because of their sins. 

John Dawson wanted to lead a man to conversion. This man had a pornography business. John Dawson had breakfast with this man every Wednesday and explained the gospel until he understood everything, but he was not ready to give his life to Jesus.

Then John Dawson received a special insight from God. He saw that this man had the gift from God to share comfort, but porn was only apparent comfort and not truly satisfying.

He told the man that he had the gift of mercy and God wanted to transform his life so that he would provide real comfort. The man was ready to receive this insight from God and he was converted on the spot.   

Are you ready to see with God's eyes?
Are you ready to recognise your own potential through God's eyes?
Are you ready to look at bad people with God's eyes of love?

#Near Death Experience.

 On Christmas Eve 1999, Miranda felt unwell without warning. Then came terrible pain.

Her husband drove her to the hospital, but by the time she reached the emergency room, she was clinically dead.

Suddenly she felt herself being pulled out of her body and she watched the frantic resuscitation attempts from above.

Then everything went black around her, but she felt no fear. She felt lovingly protected.

Then it became wonderfully bright around her. She met an amazingly loving man who looked directly into her eyes with deep compassion.

Who was this? Jesus or an apostle? She doesn't know to this day, but this spiritual encounter was from God.

The man showed her scenes from her life, especially where she had hurt other people. She felt very ashamed, but she still felt unconditionally loved by the man.

This painful experience was not a condemnation but a rebuke that she never forgot, an epiphany that totally changed her life, for she did not remain dead.

She understood for the first time what Jesus meant by loving your neighbour.

... You shall love your neighbour as yourself. ... Mark 12:31 NKJV

The loving man then asked what she wanted.

... I felt more comfortable than I had ever felt in my life with this man, but I also knew that my time had not yet come, that my family needed me....

... "I want to go back to my family," I then said firmly and without the slightest hint of doubt.

Toscani, Gabriel. And then there was light: 35 people, all clinically dead, tell what they saw and experienced "on the other side". Some were in paradise, others in hell. (German Edition) . Kindle Edition.

Immediately her heart beat again, but then she fell into a coma. She was then put on a heart-lung machine. The doctors still doubted whether she would survive.

Nevertheless, she was transferred to the normal ward three days later. After ten days she was back home, completely healthy.

The doctors cannot explain why her circulation collapsed. Nor can they explain why she had no brain damage after 20 minutes without oxygen.

Many sceptical doctors want to explain away such near-death experiences as sensory delusions, not because the patient is psychotic, but because of brain damage.

But near-death researchers tell many accounts of patients who have no brain damage after being resuscitated.

We might expect that clinically dead patients who survive with brain damage would be somewhat disabled, but many people who tell of near-death experiences lead better lives with a much more positive attitude.

"I have learned from my experience that I consider every minute of my wonderful life a gift and that I treat all people the way I want to be treated."

Toscani, Gabriel. And then there was light: 35 people, all clinically dead, tell what they saw and experienced "on the other side". Some were in paradise, others in hell. (German Edition) . Kindle Edition.

You Can Be God's Light

Light is sown like seed for the righteous And gladness for the upright in heart. Ps 97:11 (NASB) 

• Light-seeds are planted in the souls of God's people, Joy-seeds are planted in good heart-soil. Ps 97:11 (MSG)  

When God created the trees and the flowers, He put seeds in them, so they could produce offspring.

And he said, "Let the earth burst forth with every sort of grass and seed-bearing plant, and fruit trees with seeds inside the fruit, so that these seeds will produce the kinds of plants and fruits they came from." Genesis 1:11 (TLB)  

When you received the New Life of Jesus, God changed your dead, dark spirit. God turned on the lights inside you and you began life all over again.

• By God’s mercy, love and life giving power, you became a new person, a new creation.

This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun! 2 Cor 5:17 (NLT)  

Sometimes this change is dramatic and obvious from the outside. 

An evangelist drives demons out of a dangerous and evil person and the tormented soul believes in Jesus. The new believer is  suddenly happy and shines with the goodness of God.

Other times a person seems to change gradually. 

A prostitute came to church and believed in Jesus but returned to her old life. She kept coming to church and started to be more gentle and kind but still in the context of her life of prostitution. 

Then she began to give money to the church from her earnings. Finally she reached the point where she had the courage to walk away from prostitution and learn to live a normal life.

• Exactly when was she saved? God knows.

God uses believers to sow the seed of light and truth in the souls of men and women. 
The faith, hope and love that come with the message of light are given to you as seed. 

What will you do with the seeds of heavenly life? 

• Will you cultivate the garden of your new heavenly life, so your life becomes like window with a view of heaven itself?

• Will you sow the good seeds God gives you, so your life becomes a gateway to the garden of God, so others can find blessing and truth?

Whatever seed you sow will be multiplied in your own life and in the lives of others around you.

Don’t be misled—you cannot mock the justice of God. You will always harvest what you plant. Gal 6:7 (NLT)  

•  If he sows to please his own wrong desires, he will be planting seeds of evil and he will surely reap a harvest of spiritual decay and death; Gal 6:8 (TLB) 

• but if he plants the good things of the Spirit, he will reap the everlasting life that the Holy Spirit gives him. 

I am sure you would love to shine with the glory of God, so if your heart is hungry for the glory of God, be like the insects that come to the light. 
The light of God will not burn and destroy you if you love Jesus. 

Come into the wonderful presence of God and ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you through His life giving words. 

When God Himself speaks, it changes the way you understand the Bible.

• We cannot be a blessing to others if we teach the Bible with a dry religious spirit.

He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 2 Cor 3:6 (NIV)

When we receive the light and joy of Jesus, we know Him as the light of the world.

 

... Jesus said to the people, "I am the Light of the world. So if you follow me, you won’t be stumbling through the darkness, for living light will flood your path." Jn 8:12 (TLB)

Then we ourselves can shine from the life of Jesus within us.

Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the LORD has risen upon you. Isa 60:1 (ESV)