What is the Price
For Service
Jesus made a statement that is recorded in the fourteenth chapter of John that all believers need to understand. Not just understand what it means, for the statement is very straight forward and easy to understand, but the believer needs to understand what to expect of it in their Christian walk. First let's look and see what Jesus said:
John 14:12-14 (KJV) "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believes on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father. And whatsoever you shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it."
This verse is understood to mean that whoever believes on Jesus, will do the same works that Jesus did, even greater works. Then goes on to say that whatever we ask for in prayer, in Jesus' name, we will receive.
Now just exactly what were the works that Jesus did? For in order to know what we should expect to do, we must have an understanding of what He did. In the eleventh chapter of Matthew, it says that John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to Jesus, in order to determine if He was the expected Messiah or not. And what Jesus told these disciples to do, was to go and tell John about the works they saw Jesus doing, for as He said in John 5:36, "the works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father has sent me". So Jesus said to these disciples of John, go tell him what you have seen and heard:
1. The blind receive their sight
2. The lame walk
3. The lepers are cleansed
4. The deaf hear
5. The dead are raised up
6. The poor have the Gospel preached to them
Mat 11:4-5 (KJV) Jesus answered and said unto them, "Go and show John again those things which you do hear and see: The blind receive their sight, and the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them".
These are the works that Jesus did, and the works that He was speaking of in John 14:12-14, when He said that "He that believes on me will do these same works".
Now I'm going to ask you something. Are you a Christian, have you repented and believe on Jesus Christ, have you been baptized in His name? I'm going to believe that your answer to all of this is "yes". Then let me ask you one more question. Are these works being performed in your Christian walk? I believe the answer to that question will be "no". You have to be asking yourself, or even God, if I am a believer, and I know that I am, then why am I not doing these same works that Jesus did?
I'm going to show you exactly why these works are not being manifested in your life, and you will begin to see how Satan has used this statement of Jesus, for hundreds of years, to deceive believers throughout the World and cause them to doubt their very faith, and in turn their position with God.
First of all, we need to be sure that we understand what John 14:12-14 is saying, in context with the rest of this fourteenth chapter. This statement that Jesus made was following His last meal before they crucified Him, and was made to His disciples who were at the table with Him. In fact, when this statement was made there were only eleven of them present, as Judas had already left the room.
Jesus was telling His eleven disciples, who were to be His Apostles, that if they believed in Him, they would in turn do those very same works that He did. Jesus did not say anything about all believers doing these things, and if you think that He did, then why are not all believers doing these works today?
Again in Matthew chapter seventeen, Jesus said "if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, nothing shall be impossible for you if you say to a mountain, move to another place, it will happen". Again He was speaking to His disciples, and not saying that all believers would have this kind of power.
Mat 17:19-20 (KJV) Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, "Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you".
Jesus said that His disciples would be able to do these things because He knew they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit after He departed, and would receive the supernatural power from Heaven to do these things. Remember that Jesus said to His disciples, in Acts 1:8, "you shall receive power after the Holy Ghost is come upon you".
So in summary, what Jesus was saying, that when you receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, you will do the same works that I did. You see, Jesus said Himself that it was not He that did the works, but the Father that dwelt in Him. The Spirit of God who was in Jesus did the works, just as that same Spirit who would be in the Apostles, after they had received the baptism, would also do the works.
So now do you want to tell me that the World is full of believers who have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but these works are not manifested in their lives? Then is what Jesus said a lie, when He said that you would receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you?
I think not! If these works are not being manifested in the lives of those who say they have received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, they then have been deceived into believing they have received something that they have not received. If you have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, supernatural signs will be evident in your life, but if you have not received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, these signs and this power will not be evident.
The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is given to those who are ordained by God to be Ministers of His Word in the offices of a Pastor, a Teacher, a Prophet, an Apostle or an Evangelist. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is not for everyone and teaching everyone that they have received it is in error.
Now I don't want to give you the impression that only the Apostles were to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the power that came with it, for I don't believe that and the Bible doesn't say that. There is a difference between receiving the Holy Spirit when you are converted, and receiving the baptism of the Holy Spirit. On the day of Pentecost, about three thousand persons were added to the Church, believing and being baptized, but they did not receive the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Neither were there one hundred and twenty persons in the upper room that received the baptism, only the twelve Apostles were there, and I have a doubt whether Matthias, who was not ordained by Jesus as the others were, received the baptism. As Jesus said in John 15:16: "I have chosen you, and ordained you". Acts 2:43 says that many wonders and signs were done by the Apostles, not by every believer that was converted.
Let’s remember just what Jesus said about those who became believers. Look at
Mark 16:16-18:
Mark 16:16-18 (KJV) "He that believes and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believes not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover."
Jesus said that those who believer the Gospel would be saved, and they would:
1. Cast out devils
2. Speak with new tongues
3. Take up serpents
4. Not be hurt by drinking deadly things
5. Lay hands on the sick, and they would be healed.
He didn't say anywhere that all believers would perform supernatural miracles, such as healing the blind, the lame, the deaf and raising the dead. These kinds of miracles are reserved for those who are specifically chosen to do a certain work, as confirmation of them being sent by God. But it is possible for any one of you to be selected by God to be ordained for this kind of special service, if you are willing to pay the price to prepare yourself for the Master's use. What is the price of service? You will find out as we read on.
There have been a few men down through the years, since the time of the Apostles that have dedicated themselves to the work and the will of God, and have been anointed of God to perform a great work for Him. These men and their ministries have been confirmed by God with signs and wonders that followed their work. But here in these last days, as the time grows short before the Lord returns, God is looking for even more dedicated persons that He can use.
But before God can use a person in the Ministry and Baptize them with the Holy Spirit, they must be willing to forsake everything on this Earth, and in their life, and dedicate themselves to doing the will of God. It takes a person who is willing to dedicate one hundred percent of their lives, leaving all else aside, for service to God. Man must learn to get himself out of the way, so God can use him to accomplish His work. Jesus said many times: (Luke 9:23) "If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me". And He said also: (Luke 14:27) "And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple". Paul the Apostle said: (2 Cor 4:10) That the life of Jesus should be made manifest in our own bodies.
This is the price of service, to forsake our own will and turn ourselves over to Him, being a vessel fit for the Master's use.
Now that we have seen what the price of service is, since I don’t want to just let everyone else hang out there wondering where they stand with God, Let me explain a little more about God’s working in our lives.
Our Ministers have not been teaching us a lie about being Baptized with the Holy Spirit, but they are in error because they don’t know what they should know about the workings of God. If everyone in the World that has been taught they have received the Baptism of the Holy Spirit really have received it, there would be such a move of God in the World with signs and wonders that would turn the World upside down. Even the Apostles of the Lord taught in error that the evidence of having received the Holy Spirit was the speaking in tongues, which occurred even after Peter on the day of Pentecost gave the people the instructions of how to be converted.
On the day of Pentecost, Peter said to the people: “Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit”. Let’s just examine this statement a little bit. First of all Peter said to repent. Repent of what? Some teach that we must repent of all our sins, which is not what this means. When Jesus spoke of repenting, He said to “repent and believe the Gospel”. This word repent in this context means to turn from your unbelief to believing the Gospel. That’s what Peter also meant was to repent from your unbelief. Nowhere in the Bible does it say that we must repent of all our sins. That is a doctrine developed by man and has no biblical basis. Jesus shed His blood on the cross for the forgiveness of all of our sins, past, present and future sins and because of this those sins are not recognized by God.
Then Peter said to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. What! Didn’t Jesus say to be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit? That’s true, but let’s just go a step further to what else Jesus said. Jesus told Peter that he has the keys to the Kingdom of Heaven and whatever Peter bound on Earth, would be bound in Heaven. So this gave Peter the authority to set forth the baptism formula to be done in the name of Jesus Christ.
Now if you have repented, turned from unbelief to believing the gospel and have been baptized in Jesus name, you have received the Holy Spirit. How do you know? The answer is that according to what Peter said with the authority given to him by Jesus, you have received it. There are no outward signs like speaking in tongues or anything else, you have received it and should just accept in faith of what Peter said.
Some people say that a certain person can’t possibly have the Holy Spirit because he does things and says things that a person with the Holy Spirit wouldn’t say or do. You see, that’s exactly what people look at, but God doesn’t. Once you have received the Holy Spirit you are destined to inherit eternal life and nothing can prevent that unless you revert back to not believing the gospel of Christ.
First John 3:9 says: “Whosoever is born of God does not commit sin; for his seed remains in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
When you receive the Holy Spirit, you receive God into your vessel, your body. You are born of God and cannot sin. If you do anything that man calls sin, God does not recognize it as sin because of what Jesus has done for us. The sin that John is speaking of in this verse is the sin of unbelief, which a person cannot do if they have been born of God and received His Spirit.
So, just to summarize here what we have covered, there is a difference between having received the Holy Spirit when you are converted and receiving the Baptism of the Holy Spirit when God has ordained you into service for Him.
What price service? What is the price you must pay for serving God when He calls you into the Ministry? The price is to give your all, forsaking everything in this World and keep your eyes on Heaven which is your true home. Remembering the old song, “this World is not my home, I’m just passing through”.
I’ll see you on the other side.
No comments:
Post a Comment