But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. John 5:37.
Today your LORD (יהוה) God (אלהים) says:
My Son had many and varied conversations but you will notice they were always centered on Me. He made sure He always included Me in every conversation. And His familiarity and oneness with Me angered the religious leaders. And you will notice all His disciples and apostles who learned from Him became just like Him in that respect. Peter, John, Paul, Martha and Mary, and so many others that had conversations with Jesus, learned from Him how to walk close to Me and how to hear from Me. They walked like He did in a deep relationship with Me.
This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. John 17:3.
And Jesus prayed for you to have this oneness with Me that He died to give you.
The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. John 17:22-23.
Jesus revealed Me to you and by His life-giving death and resurrection, He brought you into the Holy of Holies with Him and united Me and you as one. The sin which had divided us was gone, borne by My Son.
But there is more, He not only reconciled us, but in Him, by the gift of the Holy Spirit, I empower you to do My works as He did upon the earth. You have become citizens of the glorious Kingdom of Heaven and My ambassadors on earth. And your words and works should testify on your behalf to whom you belong.
At times when Jesus was in the Temple on feast days, those gathered in the Temple would approach Him with questions. They were curious to know if He was the Messiah and yet no matter how many times He so confirmed or the many works and signs He did, they still rejected Him as the Messiah. However, when I testify about you, the case is closed. Majority rules, and for Me the majority is your agreement with My Words. Jesus is the High Priest of your confession, which in the Greek language in which the New Testament was written, is the word “Homologia (the same Words),” which means that you are speaking in total agreement with Me.
And if you are in agreement and one with Me, what you say and do should so testify. Faith without works is dead for it is by itself alone. James 2:17. There is no witness to it. Do not keep what I have put in your spirit under the bushel basket of your flesh.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden; nor does anyone light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14-16.
Your works, your deeds, for as Jesus is so are you in this world, should bring others to believe in Me, to give glory to Me for My goodness that comes to them through you. Your words, your works, and your lives should witness to whom you belong.
Remember how Paul became a light to the crew and other prisoners headed for Rome when, because the captain had refused to follow the advice of Paul not to set sail, they came headlong into the worst storm any of them had ever experienced upon the sea?
When they had gone a long time without food, then Paul stood up in their midst and said, “Men, you ought to have followed my advice and not to have set sail from Crete and incurred this damage and loss. Yet now I urge you to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For this very night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood before me, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar; and behold, God has granted you all those who are sailing with you.’ Therefore, keep up your courage, men, for I believe God that [o]it will turn out exactly as I have been told. But we must run aground on a certain island.” Acts 27:21-26.
And now let us consider the conversations of Jesus in the Temple when He discussed this a few times.
At that time the Feast of the Dedication (Hanukah) took place at Jerusalem; it was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple in the portico of Solomon. The Jews then gathered around Him, and were saying to Him, “How long will You keep us in suspense? If You are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me.” John 10: 22-25.
It was foretold by the prophet Isaiah that when the Messiah came the blind would receive sight, the deaf would hear, the mute would speak, the lame would leap like a deer, and the afflicted and lowly would have good news preached to them. No one before Jesus had ever given a blind man sight. But Jesus did this not just once but many times. And no else had ever had the good news for everyone– rich, poor, sinners, righteous, that He had to give them for He came as Salvation to save My people from their sins.
He paid the ransom for all. Jesus saved everyone from the beginning to the end of time but it only is effective in your life if you receive that salvation by faith.
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time. 1 Timothy 2:3-6.
Understand this, you are not fighting Satan or his demons for your salvation or that of your loved ones, friends and all nations. Jesus has conquered Satan and I have judged and condemned him. You have only to enforce the victory that He won already.
But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Paraclete) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you. And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world (the devil) has been judged. John 16:7-11.
If you have ever gone to court and won the victory in a case you understand that you still must enforce the Order and Judgment to get the result of what has been ruled. You have the authority to garnish your opponent’s wages and take his property but if you do not enforce thee judgment and evict him, he will stay and keep your stuff. If you get a restraining order you must be careful to watch the enemy and get him arrested every time he comes close. My Heavenly Host will do just that for you so why do you not employ them? I have given them command to watch over and guard you, but if you do not give them direction they stand by waiting for your word.
When you pray for healing or provision you are not begging Me to give these to you. I have done so already, you simply must get the judgment and enforce it. When you go to win a nation for Me, Jesus already won all the souls there and they are blessed and forgiven, so go like an army that has the victory and has come to evict the enemy who is blinding their eyes. When an army wins a victory, they have to go in and occupy or the enemy will take advantage of their neglect and sluggishness in enforcing what is already won.
What am I telling you? You have the advantage. Use it. Do the works I show you and take territory for the Kingdom, for the good deeds I prepared for you in advance in Christ Jesus that you would walk in them. Make the world Heaven on earth. That is what I told you all to do when I conceived you in My Spirit on the sixth day of creation:
God blessed them; and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” Then God said, “Behold, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is on the face of all the earth, and every tree which has fruit yielding seed; it shall be food for you; and to every beast of the earth and to every bird of the sky and to every thing that moves on the earth which has life, I have given every green plant for food”; and it was so. Genesis 1:28-30.
And I told the first man to cultivate and guard the Garden. To make it prosper and fill the earth. You still have not done that. Look at all the waste places. Make the world a garden of abundance and delights. My power is there in the blessing I bestowed on all of you from when I first conceived you in My Spirit before you came forth from the womb.
And returning to the conversation at the Temple at the Feast of Dedication, Jesus had just told them that the works He did testified to who He was. Yours should do so as well. But how did Jesus answer their doubt?
But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. John 10:26-30.
Here Jesus is addressing the problem of hard, rebellious, evil hearts of unbelief. The doubters may not think they are evil but they are for My Son had more than shown them My goodness, My compassion, and the salvation and healing that was in Him by My doing for them but they refused to come to Him to have the good life. They preferred the pride and arrogance of unbelief where there is no compassion and love for others or Me. Those who seek only themselves destroy themselves by their own lustful flesh. I give My little flock the Kingdom, all I have and am is safe with them. They will never turn on Me in treachery as Adam did.
And that is what Jesus went on to say when the Jews picked up stones again to stone Him. The attempt to stone Him had occurred before in the Temple over this same argument of the oneness of Jesus with Me which He wanted to share with you all. Later they did same to His followers who did the works He did and greater, such as Stephen and Paul.
Let us return for a moment to the former conversation where they attempted to stone Him but His hour had not come yet. He had not taken all your sins into His own flesh yet as He did that hour on the night He was betrayed in the Garden of Gethsemane. Sin began in a garden and received condemnation for all men. But then that sin and the punishment due to sin was reversed in a garden where the second Adam undid what the first Adam had done for all those who would receive Him.
But back to the former conversation that also took place in the temple where Jesus had already addressed these same issues of oneness with Me when Jesus healed the man who had been sick and lame for 38 years at the pool of Bethesda. He then went to the Temple in thanksgiving and Jesus found him there to converse with him further, but the scribes and Pharisees then turned around and went after Jesus about healing on the Sabbath. But He answered them, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.” John 5:17. For this reason therefore the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but also was calling Me His own Father, making Himself equal with Me. And Jesus also taught all of you to call Me “Father.” And My Spirit witnesses with your Spirit that you are My child and teaches you to call Me, “Abba” “Papa”.
And what was Jesus’ response? Hard hearts will never inherit the Kingdom. But His deeds should testify to them to come to Him to have eternal life.
You have sent to John, and he has testified to the truth. But the testimony which I receive is not from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved. John 5:33-34.
John testified that Jesus was the Messiah, My Son, and the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. But Jesus said you should not be looking for the testimony of men, men are fickle and fearful. Even John when imprisoned for some time by Herod sent word inquiring if Jesus was really the Messiah or if he was to look for another. Jesus assured John by telling those he sent to tell him of the works Jesus was performing that testified to His being the Messiah as foretold by Isaiah. But all that really matters when you step over to eternity is My testimony about you and where does that testimony come from? What you have done with My Word once My Word saved you. And Jesus went on to say that:
The testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish—the very works that I do—testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father who sent Me, He has testified of Me. John 5: 36-37.
I testified that He is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased. And I had foretold all He did in My Word through the mouths of My prophets as inspired by My Spirit. And you can find My Words about you in Scripture as well, about your being healed, blessed, forgiven, and beloved, precious in My eyes.
You have neither heard His voice at any time nor seen His form. You do not have His word abiding in you, for you do not believe Him whom He sent. You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. I do not receive glory from men; but I know you, that you do not have the love of God in yourselves. I have come in My Father’s name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and you do not seek the glory that is from the one and only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father; the one who accuses you is Moses, in whom you have set your hope For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me, for he wrote about Me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” John 5:39-47.
Works. That is not how you are saved. You are saved by the work of Jesus whereby He received your sins and the punishment due them and gave you His righteousness in the divine exchange, but the works you do once you are saved matter greatly in promoting My Kingdom on earth and saving souls for the Kingdom. And they have everything to do with your rewards in eternity. Keep that in mind. You are not saved to be idle, to continue as a gossip and a busybody, judging others and making people miserable with your temper, bitterness, rude words, and unforgiving heart. These are works of your flesh and not of your spirit. They give no testimony that you are of My Kingdom.
Jesus answered them, “I showed you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you stoning Me?” The Jews answered Him, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy; and because You, being a man, make Yourself out to be God.” Jesus answered them, “Has it not been written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? If he called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), do you say of Him, whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.” Therefore they were seeking again to seize Him, and He eluded their grasp. John 10: 32-39.
All of you who receive Jesus, He empowers you to be My children. John 1:12. And I have made you to be joint heirs with Him and He is the heir of all that is Mine. Jesus pulls you into Me in Him. That is the double Covenant. You have made Covenant with Him as Son of God and your Kinsman Redeemer and He has made Covenant with Me as Son of Man and your great High Priest.
Grace has come to you, for I am a gracious God, in Christ Jesus and grace is My life pouring into you making you a partaker of My Divine Nature. And grace, this life of Mine in you by the gift of the Holy Spirit is a teacher.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus, who gave Himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed, and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds. Titus 2:11-14.
And actually if you want the life that is life indeed, the abundant life Jesus came to give you, you will desire with all your heart to be involved in the great works and good deeds I have prepared for you as a new creation in Christ. When Peter left his fishing nets he may have thought he was giving up something, but what he left was nothing compared to what he received. He lived in a life of raising the dead, healing those lame from birth and giving them the freedom of walking independently, bringing thousands upon thousands to salvation and the gift of eternal life, having an angel lead him out of prison, having his shadow heal everyone it fell upon as he went down the street, having an angel tell a Roman centurion of great wealth and influence to seek out Peter in order to know Me and be saved, and having an entire community of believers praying for you and surrounding you with love and gratitude, wanting you to be with them always. And best of all, I was always with him, accessible at all times so he knew just what to do. And, as Peter told Cornelius, the Centurion, I am not respecter of persons, you can all have what Peter had and even more if you will just follow Me and put no limits on what I can do in, with, and for you.
Jesus, John, Paul, Peter, Mary, Lydia, Priscilla and Aquila, Stephen, Moses, Joseph, David, Deborah, Jeremiah, Isaiah, and so many others were all people like you in many ways but they also were different than the worldly crowd and stood out in their generations in that they had hearts towards Me and worked with Me to become pure vessels of My grace. They were willing to let go of the profane and think, speak, and do the sacred. And this should be what others, and I, see in your life as well if you want your life to testify that you are Mine and I am yours. And I am love, pure love and light. You must be willing to walk in the light if you want to walk with Me and do the works I do. But many today prefer the darkness and you will know them by their deeds.
You are justified by faith, but your witness is by your works. Prove yourself doers of My Word and not mere hearers. Lip service is different from heart service. Are you watching your thoughts? I am looking for worthy vessels. That is why I told Ananias I chose Paul.
Now in a large house there are not only gold and Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are His,” and, “Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness.” silver vessels, but also vessels of wood and of earthenware, and some to honor and some to dishonor. Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from these things, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. 2 Timothy 2:19-21.
I love you. Watch your words and thoughts for as you think so you become. Your works testify. And your good deeds follow you right into eternity. Be wise and bear fruit that will last.
And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this down: Blessed are those who die in the Lord from now on. Yes, says the Spirit, they are blessed indeed, for they will rest from their hard work; for their good deeds follow them!” Revelation 14:13.