Thought for the Week - 1st November

Pastor Alison Speirs

John 6:47-57

Very truly I tell you, the one who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness, yet they died.
But here is the bread that comes down from heaven, which anyone may eat and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will live forever.
This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”  
 
Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves,
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life,
and I will raise them up at the last day.
For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.
Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father,
so the one who feeds on me will live because of me.

As Christians, we’re required to be the humblest of people. At the same time, Hebrews 10:35 tells us:

“Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.”

Christ Himself made huge claims. But the claims He made weren’t for His own earthly power, dominion or authority. The claims He made were for only two things: the majesty of God and the anointing of God that was on Him.

John 7:2-6

But when the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles was near,
Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea,
so that your disciples there may see the works you do.
No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret.
Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”
For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
Therefore Jesus told them, “My time is not yet here; for you any time will do.

In this verse we see the division that we as Christ followers need to find. We need to boast in nothing… no gift, no wisdom, but only in Jesus Christ!

We need to get to the point where people’s opinion of us no longer moves us – whether it’s people telling us how great we are or how awful we are! If we are going to be effective in God’s kingdom, we need to get to the point where our death to self is such that we don’t care whether people love us or hate us… because it does not matter!

John 6:63

The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing.
The words I have spoken to you—they are full of the Spirit and life.

In spiritual life, if we want to be used by God, we need to be dead to self. In the natural, we don’t matter and we’re not significant!

But our God has sent us with a purpose… to declare the Lord Jesus Christ! He has given us the authority to speak of Jesus Christ as the son of the living God. He has also given us the authority to move in the gifts of the spirit, to lay on hands to heal, to deliver, and to prophesy!

We need to have confidence in the anointing!

Our duty is nothing to do with making ourselves great or boastful or proud. Our duty is to let our spirits soar into the heavens, to hear the Word of the Living God and to bring that Word down to the people… to bring the Power of God to people, to show them the way of salvation, the deeps of the spirit, the way of joy and forgiveness; to the place where bitterness is swallowed up and we operate under God under the power of the Holy Spirit!

How great is the blessing of Jesus Christ!

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