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Tuesday, December 18, 2012

NAKED BEFORE HIM & I MEAN NAKED

Isa. 53:3-4  “……a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.”


Throughout the ministry of Jesus there was a constant combination of two things, sorrow and grief. Why? His sorrow resulted from His knowledge of the whole life story of every human being with whom He came into contact. (For instance John 4:16-18). The woman at the well in Samaria. As their conversation went along, in deep love for that person, in order to win her to the living God, He said to her, "Where is your husband?" She said, "I don't have a husband." He said, "I know you don't, you've had five, and the one with whom you are living is not your husband." She was absolutely terrified. "How do you know all about me?" Jesus said, "Everything I know and everything I say, My Father has told Me." Everything and everyone was an open book before Him. That would not produce joy, but sorrow. If you knew the background and the eternal destiny of every human being you met, how much sorrow and grief would you bear? He was a man of sorrows. And yet at the same time He was a man of deep joy. His sorrow was mingled with deep joy because of His knowledge of what God is doing and what He will accomplish in His time. The horizontal view of mankind brings sorrow but to see what God will accomplish brings great rejoicing as it did with Paul although he sorrowed greatly over the state of Israel. So in the upper room in John 15:11 "My joy I give unto you, that your joy may be full." Infinite joy in the midst of infinite sorrow in One Person.

<grief> really means diseases. The physical effects of a sinful heart and a fallen nature. You cannot be specific and say a person's sickness is due to his wickedness. You have to qualify this statement which is human frailty in general and the fact that we live such short lives in comparison to Adam, our genetic pollution, and that we have pain and suffering is due to the possession of a sin nature which if we did not have, we would not have sin and suffering. This pollution is evidenced by the amazing percentage of defective births due to our genetic inheritance. The downward drag of human depravity can be seen in terms of social, economic, educational, political, international chaos.
        Our bodies in the Biblical sense is diseased because of sin (Rom 8:22-23). Even the apostle Paul had a diseased body. He cried 3 times for healing which God refused. Paul spoke also in Rom 8:22-23 about the pain and suffering the whole earth as well as ourselves who also groan within ourselves having the first fruits of the Spirit are awaiting the adoption, that is the redemption of our body. It is not until resurrection day when we will discover how diseased and sickly our present system is. The difference between what we are now and what we shall be at the resurrection is how diseased we are. If you believe in Jesus you will not get a new body like this. You will get a new creation in reference to Jesus through faith, a new relationship, a membership in God's wonderful mystical body in Christ. The Holy Spirit moves into your body as His temple, but, you'll have to wait until resurrection or rapture to get your new body, which is phase 2 of the redemptive work of Jesus upon the Cross. In fact when we are glorified we will have no sin or suffering. No more tears and no more pain. (Rev. 21:4). Jesus bore these diseases. You must go to Mat 8:17 and see how the New Testament quotes and explains this verse. There is an extensive discussion also in vs. 4.
        Men hid their faces from Him. From Adam to the present. Fulltime hiding from Him. Hiding from God and not open and the proof is that if we were open to Him, His word would flow into our minds and bring an immediate response of faith, obedience and love. You shalt love thy God with all thy heart, mind and soul and thy neighbor as thyself. Not many I've been around has lived as such. Hiding, resisting, suppressing Him. Hiding as Adam, not behind trees, for we are much more practiced.  We have discovered that trees are inadequate hiding places. We hide behind our supposed reputation, our Church membership, our good works in the community, perhaps our baptism. But God penetrates all such outward things and come to the heart of the matter with a sharp two-edged sword that divides even the soul and spirit. There is nothing that is not naked and open to the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.
        They did not submit or surrender to unconditionally love Him. In fact they did just the opposite, they hated Him. But while they were hating and hiding what really was happening is contained in verse 4. He was bearing our grief’s and carrying our sorrows.

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