The Wilkes Team

Part 3 Have you heard His voice?

In order to be one of His you must hear His voice. Jesus said in John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. Therefore in order to be one of His you must hear His voice and follow Him. Those who do not hear his voice cannot follow Him and are not one of His. Let’s look at the fuller context of this passage in John 10 by going to verse 24-30

24 Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.25 Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me.26 But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you.27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:28 And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.29 My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand30 I and my Father are one.

Jesus makes it very clear, to those that are questioning who He is, that they are not one of His. They have not heard His voice. In verse 25 Jesus says I told you who I was but you believed not because you are not one of mine. My sheep hear me and follow me. Jesus goes on to say that He gives eternal life to His sheep and they shall never perish.

How then do we know if we have heard His voice and follow Him thereby never perishing? We must know and can know. How?  

When we receive the Word of God as the truth and agree with it.

1 Thessalonians 2:13 ¶ For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.

After we receive His Word it begins its work in us verifying that we are His.

Not agreeing with what the Word of God says means you are not one of His which means you have not been given eternal life which means you will perish for eternity.

God says it is so.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

What does the Word say we must agree with in order to know we are His children?

Stay tuned for Part 4 – We must agree with God that…..?????

2 Comments » | posted in On the Issues, Proclaiming the Truth

Jesus will save His people from their sins. This is a great promise. God will keep it. Yet is it possible to know for sure you are one of His?

Part 2 –Can you know for sure you are one of His?

John 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

There are three conditions that must be true in order for someone to be His. First He tells us that His people will hear His voice then He states that He knows them and finally they follow Him. In Matthew 7 Jesus tells a group of people who have believed on Him and done wonderful works to depart from because He knew them not. You must be known by Him and if you are, then you will hear His voice and follow Him. Therefore there are two sure ways we can know if we are His! By hearing His voice and following Him. He knows those that are His and He has never lost one of them.

How will we know that we have heard His voice and become followers of Him? Stay tune for part 3.

Part 3 Have you heard His voice?

2 Comments » | posted in On the Issues, Proclaiming the Truth

Can you know for sure you are going to Heaven?

Part 1- Does God keep His promises?

The promises of God are always fulfilled by Him. He has never failed to keep them. In the Old Testament, God gave many promises about the coming of Jesus Christ. One of those promises is found in Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

This passage, talking about Jesus, was written by the prophet Isaiah hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. He said that she “shall call his name Immanuel”, Immanuel means God with us. So God stated hundreds of years before Christ’s birth that He would send Immanuel or God to be with us. How? As a baby born to a virgin. Jesus Christ came to earth as a baby born to a virgin. God keeps His promises.

In the Bible in the book of Matthew it tells how Joseph, the fiancé of Mary, the mother of Jesus, dealt with the promises of God.

Matthew 1: 19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a publick example, was minded to put her away privily.20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

Joseph believed God and responded by doing what he was told to do. The promise in the Old Testament having been fulfilled in the birth of Jesus Christ set the stage for a fuller understanding of all the promises of God. In passage above the angel tells Joseph …… thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Jesus  will save His people from their sins. This is a great promise. God will keep it. The question is not, Will God keep His promise? but How do you know if you are one of His? Stay tuned for part 2.

Part 2 – Are you one of His?

1 Comment » | posted in On the Issues, Proclaiming the Truth

It is Dec. 18^th 2009 just before the big snow storm that is supposed to dump 10 to 15 inches on Northern Virginia. This morning I went out to make sure we had enough milk, bread and eggs, just in case we ended up being snowed in for a few days. Feeding eleven people three times a day means frequent trips to the grocery store to keep the fridge and pantry well stocked. I took my 8 year old Mark Christopher (also known as Mighty Mark) with me. Upon our arrival at the grocery store around 7:45am I realized that I was not alone in my desire to be prepared. The parking lot was full. Mark and I went in to find shelves diligently being stocked and diligently being emptied. We quickly worked together to get our groceries, found a line that was not to long and began to wait.

One of the things that I have taught my sons is that they are responsible for what they look at and think about. It never ceases to amaze me the junk that we are bombarded with in the check out lines at grocery stores. This time was no different, the magazines and articles presented on a majority of their covers were clearly indicative of a culture that is confused with what is right and wrong and important. We are as a culture fixated with looks, sex, popularity and how we feel. We get caught up in new fads and ideas without any thought as to where they come from or whether they are right or wrong. We have lost our moral compass.

Mark took one look at the shelves and turned away guarding his eyes and his thoughts. I reached out to him, got his attention and praised him for his self control. We talked for a few minutes about the battle we are in as individuals and as a culture. It is a conversation we have had many times and will have many times again. When I talk to my children about their responsibility as moral beings I often remind them that the freedom we have been given is not the freedom to do as we please but the freedom to do what is right.

In our time of talking together I shared with Mark a portion of scripture that I have been trying to memorize and meditate on, it is in Proverbs 2

1…..if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee;2 So that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding;3 Yea… if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding;4….. If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;5 ….. Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.6 For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.

It was then that I noticed the clerk, there at the end of the line checking out the customers before me. She was hard to miss and I observed her with much curiosity. When it was our turn to go through she immediately smiled at Mark Christopher and asked him if he had found everything he needed. He said yes and they went on to have a short and fun conversation. She turned to me, said hello and began to ring up our groceries. I smiled at her and said “I have noticed something about you in the few minutes I have had in line here”. She paused and gave me an inquisitive look. I continued “You are a joyful person aren’t you?” She let out a full laugh and said rather gently “Yes I am”. I followed up, “What makes you so joyful?” She again paused, looked straight at me, lowered her voice so she would not share what she about to say with those who would not understand ”My relationship with God” was her answer.

The world we live in offers many things that it claims will bring satisfaction, joy and peace. I in much regret have tried many of them and found them to be unfulfilling at best. It has only been with Jesus Christ that I have found true peace. Yet it is not peace as the world gives but it is peace that only God can give through His Son Jesus Christ. It is a peace that passes all understanding and it is a peace that is given not earned. It is the assurance that you can be forgiven, it is the assurance of hope, it is the assurance that life has meaning, it is the assurance of eternal life, it is the assurance of unconditional love.

People, things, governments, money, houses, health, churches, denominations, political parties, careers and so on will fail us. Jesus Christ never will, in fact He loved us so much that He gave His life for us.  A bumper sticker I saw a few years ago stated Christians are not perfect just forgiven. I fit that description very well and if you don’t, ask Him to forgive you. He will. May the true peace that Jesus Christ gives to those who ask Him be yours in 2010 through out eternity. Wise men still seek Him.

4 Comments » | posted in On the Issues, Tid Bits

During a recent practice with my bow, I shot an arrow over the target (a square hay bale). While looking, I realized the difficulty of finding it. The arrow could be in an area of almost 30 feet wide by 80 feet long and hidden under dead mown brush. I walked the area twice with no sighting. Then I purposed to go over each square foot, dragging my foot through the cut brush and into the soil. The process was long, arduous, and seemingly fruitless.

As I began contemplating the hopelessness of the situation (finding the arrow), the Lord brought to mind these thoughts. He said,

This is how you sometimes search for Me: you come to the point that you think you have looked everywhere, become lazy, determine it is too hard, and then decide to quit. If you search for Me as for silver and gold or even as you are now doing for this arrow, you will find Me. I will then share with you the knowledge of My will with all wisdom and Spiritual understanding (Col. 1:10).

God was revealing to me His desire to be real to me in all areas. Through showing me that because He has done it all for me, I now, because of that, must choose by faith to walk in it.

Will I search for Him the way I searched for the arrow? Will I be content with the results and God’s timing?

It is in the search that I find the most joy: knowing that God is directing my steps and will take me exactly where He wants me to be.

5 Comments » | posted in Tid Bits