“No wonder you can’t believe! For you gladly honor each other, but you don’t care about the honor that comes from the one who alone is God.” (John 5:44)
The Pharisees took pride in knowing the Law of Moses, so much so, that they watched others to see when they could catch them in breaking any little areas of the Law. Jesus called them hypocrites, blind guides, fools, serpents, vipers, and whited graves full of dead bones!
Jesus said, “You search the Scriptures because in them you think you have eternal life, and it is the Scriptures which testify about me. (John 5:39) “If you believe Moses (his writings in the Law) you would believe in me, because he wrote about me. (verse 46)
John the Baptist bore witness that Christ is the Son of God. (John 1:34)
In John 3:11 Jesus says “We speak of that which we know, and bear witness to what we have seen.” John 19:35, “He who saw it has borne witness.”
A witness is one who has seen something and can witness to what he has seen. A witness gives firsthand knowledge as evidence. “I know it happened, I saw it!”
God is witness to Jesus at His baptism with the Holy Spirit descending on Christ as a dove. God knew Jesus as His Son long before the world was created and long before there were any Pharisees. God inspired the Scriptures through holy men of God to give witness to Christ, revealing Christ to different generations in different ways from the time of Adam until He returns as He promised.
All Scripture was given to give witness, to give glimpses of Christ to all who would look and believe when He knocks on the door of their hearts.
The Old Testament Scriptures, the Law, the writings of Moses, foretold the birthplace of Christ, that He would come from the lineage of Abraham, that He would be heir to the throne of David, that He would be called Immanuel, that He would be crucified with criminals, that not one of His bones would be broken, that all would forsake Him, that He would be buried with the rich, and that He would resurrect from the dead and ascend to heaven to be seated at God’s right hand.
Jesus refers to Isaiah’s vision in Isaiah 6:3 when He said Isaiah saw His Glory and spoke of Him! (John 12:41) Isaiah had a glimpse of the Glory of Christ!
In order to witness about God and His Christ, we have to have a personal encounter with Him!
The Apostles had this personal encounter. “We cannot stop telling about everything we have seen and heard.” (Acts 4:20) They witnessed about Christ, teaching from the Scriptures all that was spoken about Him with conviction of their hearts, because they each had a personal experience with Jesus Himself! They saw Him, they walked with Him, they knew Him, the saw Him after His resurrection, they saw Him ascend into heaven and they spoke of what they saw and of what they knew!
What have you witnessed? What are you testifying about to others with the words of your mouth?
In a world where everything that disagrees with the character of God and Christ is endorsed, there needs to be a vibration of the sound waves around the world that ascends to the very throne of God giving testimony to all who will hear that Jesus Christ is the only way to eternal life! Not just because the writings of Moses say so, but because each testimony is backed by personal experience of Jesus Christ as the Son of God in their lives!
The Pharisees took personal credit for their long hours at studying and prayer over the Law, only to be rebuked by Jesus for not recognizing Him as their Messiah.
Our world takes pride in how they have achieved their successes in education, accumulation of worldly goods, and accomplished goals, yet the world is becoming more and more atheistic and anti-Christian as the days go by.
Jesus said the only way to know Him is to humble ourselves as a little child and acknowledge that we need salvation and His help in every situation we face in our daily lives. The way up is down. The best seat belongs to the one who takes the lowest seat. He who rules over others must serve them first above himself.
God honoring us will only come through the prayers and sacrifices of others interceding for us, and only reap eternal life for our immortal soul when we acknowledge His Father as the creator of all things and the giver of our daily breath. Only then will we be able to believe on Jesus Christ as our personal redeemer and give Him the honor He is due as King of kings and Lord of lords.
C.S Lewis said:
“Everyone has noticed how hard it is to turn our thoughts to God when everything is going well with us… While what we call ‘our own life’ remains agreeable, we will not surrender it to Him. What, then, can God do in our interests but make ‘our own life’ less agreeable to us, and take away the plausible sources of false happiness?”
Billy Graham said:
“Many churches of all persuasions are hiring research agencies to poll neighborhoods, asking what kind of church they prefer. Then the local churches design themselves to fit the desires of the people. True faith in God that demands selflessness is being replaced by trendy religion that serves the selfish.”
Don’t wait until God sends the ‘less agreeable’ into your life to show the true source of your false happiness. Don’t be deceived by messages that fit your selfish desires. Bow your knees with your heart and ask Him to forgive and heal your soul. Receive Him as Lord of all that you are and do. Only then will you have something worthy to testify or witness about to others and the the devil at Judgment Day!
I could never deny Jesus even if it means death. I have seen Him personally in dreams and visions. I have seen Him drive demonic spirits out of innocent hearts. I have seen Him heal when the doctors said there was no cure. I have seen Him change hearts and circumstances against all odds. He is my Lord and my God and my soon coming King!
What have you seen? What have you experienced with God? Who is Christ to you?