IN HIS WORD LIFE AND LIBERTY AWAIT!

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³¹ Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you continue in my word, you are truly my disciples; ³² and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.” – John 8:31-32 NRSV

Many times we read or quote these verses in passing as we share some specific truth from the Scriptures, be it on salvation, healing, restoration, deliverance, provision and what-have-you. The implication is, whatever Scriptural truth we are sharing, if received and believed will set the recipient free and while this is true, there is yet another layer of revelation if you will,  that can be gleaned from these oft quoted verses.

Jesus was talking to Jews who knew the Scriptures, they were well versed in all the Jewish Scriptures from Genesis to Malachi as well as in other non-canonical Jewish writings, they were no strangers to the Law and Prophets. Notice, Jesus didn't say to them “If you continue in the Scriptures…”, He instead said “if you continue in My word”. You will recall at one point earlier, He had these sobering words for the Jews:

³⁹ “You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that testify on my behalf. ⁴⁰ Yet you refuse to come to me to have life. – John 5:39-40 NRSV

The apostle Paul had a revelation of this truth when he said the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Corinthians 3:6). In John 6:63 Jesus reveals to us that His words are Spirit and they are Life. He is now in us by His Spirit, therefore we have His life within us, we'll do well to acquaint ourselves with His Spirit within us. We are His temple, His dwelling place, His habitation.

Seeing how powerful the words of Jesus are, let us do ourselves a huge favor and pay attention to what He is saying to us, our very lives depend on His specific word to us. To enjoy the freedom that is ours in Christ we must continue, abide and remain in His word and how can we do that unless we first hear what He is saying to us. Remember the profound statement Jesus made when He was being tempted by the devil in the wilderness? Check this out:

⁴ Jesus answered, “Scripture says, ‘A person cannot live on bread alone but on every word that God speaks.’”– Matthew 4:4 GW

There you have it again, we cannot live on bread alone but on EVERY WORD that God speaks. Bread here is for natural sustenance but every Word of God speaks of the Spirit led life we are called and privileged to live.

The written Word rightly states that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17). You see, faith cannot even begin to come without hearing, not just some random Scriptures, but the WORD of Christ, once you hear what He is saying to you then faith for what He said to you comes with His Word. Remember, His Word is Spirit and it is life. And where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty and now we've come full circle, as we continue in His Word, we get to know the truth and that truth that we know sets us free. It all starts with what Jesus is saying to us both individually and corporately as well.

The Lord has specific plans and purposes for our lives, now for us to know them and to walk in them we will have to hear His Word, obey it and continue in it. Whatever He tells us will not contradict His written Word. The written Word is the standard against which every revelation, prophecy or Word from the Lord is to be measured before being accepted or rejected. The Lord didn't stop talking after the Bible was written, so expect to hear Him speak to you; hold on to His specific Word to you and experience the liberating truth that is yours in Christ.

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What is the Lord Jesus saying to you today? It is important to read our Bibles and it is important to meditate on the written Word of God for by doing so we are tuning our spiritual ears to hear and discern His voice, He said my sheep hear my voice…if you are His, rest assured you are hearing His voice just fine, perhaps you just haven’t discerned it as His yet. Spend time with Him, get intimately acquainted with His voice, hear His Word and then abide in it, live by it…then and only then will you know the truth and it will make you and set you free!

Don’t just stop at believing in Jesus like the Jews did, but as a true disciple continue on in His Word to you. Blessings!