30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 24 36-49 COMMISSIONED TO BE HIS WITNESSES 13 27Apr2022 Luke 24 44-45 Faith to understanding
📖 Luke 24:36-49
13 – 27Apr2022 – Faith to understanding - Luke 24:36-49 - COMMISSIONED TO BE HIS WITNESSES - Bible reading: Acts 17:27-28
“Thank You, Lord Jesus, that as we seek You and trust You, You open the understanding of the Scriptures for us. It is the Holy Spirit, who opens our understanding. Lord, we pray, that we will always have the hunger and thirst for You. In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen.”
Luke 24:44-45 Then He said to them, "These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me." (45) And He opened their understanding, that they might comprehend the Scriptures.
To understand the Scriptures there needs to be a passion, a seeking for God. Faith in God involves seeking the Lord, with our whole heart. The Lord must be our deep desire.
Psalms 119:10 With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments! Isaiah 65:10 Sharon shall be a fold of flocks, And the Valley of Achor a place for herds to lie down, For My people who have sought Me.
Seeking the Lord also requires that we are willing to submit to Him.
We accept His authority over us. This is where understanding begins to take place. These are the people, God is seeking. It is then that the veil over our eyes is removed and we begin to understand the Scriptures.
II Corinthians 3:14-16 But their minds were blinded. For until this day the same veil remains unlifted in the reading of the Old Testament, because the veil is taken away in Christ. (15) But even to this day, when Moses is read, a veil lies on their heart. (16) Nevertheless when one turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.
Sin, which will be counted against people is when they had the opportunity to hear the word and seek Him, they chose not to seek the Lord and know Him.
John 15:21-22 But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. (22) If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.
This is also the love of God that though man remains adamant and hard-hearted, unwilling to seek the Lord, the Lord gives people opportunity upon opportunity, to grope for Him and find Him. The love of God is that He does not want anyone to be judged and condemned to the 'second death'. This is the reason why the Lord gives man the opportunity to grope for Him and find Him.
Acts 17:27-28 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; (28) for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.'
Man needs to realise that without God, he cannot exist. The fact that a man exists is because there is the Creator, who holds the whole of humanity and creation in His hands. Is it not fundamental for a man to grope for his Creator?
Faith is born, when a person genuinely seeks God.
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.
Faith is born, when a person cries out saying, “Lord, I need You.”
Belief in Jesus is the starting point in a person’s journey with Christ. This was the reason why the Lord revealed Himself to the disciples, after His resurrection, so that they will not be faithless but believe. Belief in Christ is fundamental for the understanding of the Scriptures.
The Lord covered a large area of study of the Scriptures. The learning covered the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms. This was indeed a large ground of study but for our own discussion, we will consider the teaching that Apostle Paul gave to the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia, in Acts 13. (Acts 13:14)
(Acts 13:30-31) But God raised Him from the dead. (31) He was seen for many days by those who came up with Him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses to the people.
The disciples needed to begin at the starting point of faith. Faith would lead them to understand the Scriptures. It is the understanding of the Scriptures that would then lead them to be His witnesses. For us to be commissioned to be His witnesses, this is the process that is necessary.
Thought to ponder
Are you, consciously, a part of this process of being groomed to be His witness?
https://youtu.be/LuvfMDhTyMA