Mt. Zion Baptist Church

Bible Study After the Trial is Over

Soul Food 3/17/21 Pleaser of God or Man John 5:43-44 'I am come in my Father's name, and ye receive me not: if another shall come in his own name, him ye will receive. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour that cometh from God only?'... This is in reference to the fact that Jesus came in the power and authority of His father to point men to Father God. Jesus existed before His advent on this earth in the form of God and was equal with God. Yet, He humbled Himself and became a servant while here on earth (Phil. 2:6-8). He did not come to promote Himself but to give His life to provide the way to the Father (Jn. 14:6). In the same way, the Holy Spirit does not exalt Himself, but points all men unto Jesus. Jesus came, meek and lowly, totally submitted unto and seeking only to please the Father. This is radically different from the way so called 'great men' present themselves. The Roman Caesar of Jesus' day proclaimed that he was God and demanded worship. Lesser leaders ruled by exalting themselves over the people they governed; but Jesus showed us that 'whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many' (Mt. 20:26-28). If we are concerned about what people think in an attempt to gain their approval (or honor), we will never take a stand in faith for anything that might be criticized. This one thing has probably stopped as many people from receiving from God as anything else. You cannot be a 'man-pleaser' and please God at the same time. Commit your all to Him - every thought, word, and deed. I Love You, Be Blessed! Pastor C. White

Soul Food 3/16/21 Jesus Shared His Father's Glory John 5:18 'Therefore, the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.'... When the Jewish authorities heard Jesus’ call God 'my (own) Father', they immediately understood that Jesus claimed for Himself deity in the highest possible sense of that term. That claim was either blasphemy, to be punished by death, or else Jesus was who He claimed to be. Jesus never associated Himself with His disciples by using the plural pronoun 'our' Father. Rather, He always used the singular 'my' Father, since His relationship was unique and eternal, whereas theirs was by grace and regeneration. We should ponder carefully our Lord's own conception of who He was. He said 'I am from above' (Jn. 8:23); 'Before Abraham was, I AM' (Jn. 8:58); 'I and my Father are one' (Jn. 10:30); 'He that hath seen me hath seen the Father' (Jn. 14:9); and 'I am not of the world' (Jn. 17:16). He also declared His eternal pre-existence and that He shared the Father's glory (Jn.17:5). We can't just honor Jesus, but we have to honor Him 'even as' (in like manner or the same way) we honor the Father. This is what separates true Christianity from the religions of the world. Most religions honor Jesus as a great man (examples: Islam, Unification Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc.), but they are opposed to making Jesus equal with Almighty God (1 Jn. 2:23). The names and titles given to Jesus in John's gospel clearly present Jesus as being equal with God. He is all you need Him to be. I Love You, Be Blessed! Pastor C. White

Soul Food 3/15/21 Let Christ Live Through You Matthew 9:9 And as Jesus passed forth from thence, he saw a man, named Matthew, sitting at the receipt of custom: and he saith unto him, Follow me. And he arose, and followed him.'... To 'follow' means to come or go after; move behind in the same direction; to come or go with; to accept the guidance or leadership of; to adhere to the cause or principles of; to be governed by; obey; comply with (Jn. 10:27-29; Rom. 10:9-10, 13). When a person first comes to Jesus, it is impossible to know everything that following Jesus entails. Yet no one, should be fearful of making a total commitment because of some imagined problem that may never come to pass. There should be a willingness to forsake everything to follow Jesus. Once we make that decision, then Christ begins to live through us and we find a strength that is not our own, equal to whatever test we may encounter (Gal. 2:20). It is Christ living through us that is the secret of victorious Christian living. It is not us living for Jesus, but Jesus living through us. Failure to understand this simple truth is at the root of all legalism and the performance mentality. While the law focuses on the outer man and tells it what it must do. Grace focuses on the inner man and tells it what is already done through Christ. Those who are focused on what they must do are under law. Those who are focused on what Christ has done for them are walking under grace. Just as the life of a root is found in the soil, or a branch in the vine, or a fish in the sea, so the believer's true life is found to be in union with Christ. The Christian life is not just hard to live, it's impossible in our human strength. The only way to walk in victory is to let Christ live through us. I Love You, Be Blessed! Pastor C. White