Jan 7, 2013

Are You A Surmiser Or Seeker Of The Truth?

Common Sense Commentary: The one thing that all seven of the Bible characters, listed below, had in common was, they were all seekers of the truth and saw it in Jesus Christ. So you will see, in them, that God is neither partial to the poor nor to the wealthy, neither to the powerful nor to the weak, neither to the educated nor to the uneducated, neither to the sane nor to the insane.  He will accept all who will accept Him by accepting Christ, who said, "I and my Father are one" and "...he that hath seen me hath seen the Father." Jn.10:30 & 14:9. All truth is God's truth and Jesus said,  "I am... the truth and... no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Jn.14:6.

I.  Here was a scarlet woman of Samaria who came, in the heat of the day, to the ancient well of Jacob, to draw water for her thirst and found Jesus and the water of life for her thirsty soul. She had been seeking peace of mind and true love for years... in all the wrong places, and finally found it in Jesus. She was wonderfully saved when she accepted the seventh man, Jesus,  into her lonely, troubled life. She immediately left her water pitcher there, and went back into the town of Sychar, where she lived in adultery with the sixth man, and she led the entire city out to hear Jesus ... at the well.  She saw the truth in Jesus.  John. 4:4-30.

II.  Then there was sweet Mary, who had invested her savings in a container of costly and precious ointment for her future financial needs, but her love for Jesus moved her to bring it and pour it all upon Him and wash his feet with her tears and dry them with her hair .... in preparation for his death and burial. Judas criticized and surmised that the ointment should have been sold instead, but Jesus declared her act to be a memorial to her for the rest of time, and so it is. Mary sought and found the truth in Jesus. Luke 7:37-46

III.  Amazingly, there was this demon possessed, outcast, Gadarene man who was naked, living in the graveyard, cutting himself ... all alone and groaning in his misery.   Then Jesus, boarded a small ship, with His Apostles, on the far side of the Galilee Sea.  They sailed through a horrific storm, and almost sank at sea, but arrived safely on the far shore of the Gadarenes. There, a seeker of deliverance, the demoniac of Gadara, recognizing Jesus, came, asking Him why He was there.  Jesus cleansed him, healed him and saved his soul and his life. Jesus got back into the vessel, and the newly born again man wanted to go with Him, but Jesus sent him to be a witness, of the saving grace of God, to his relatives and all of Gadara. All of that, God did for one demon possessed, crazy man who saw the truth in Jesus. That is all Jesus did in that place, and sailed back across the sea.  He loves each person that much. Luke 8:26-40.

IV. To the opposite extreme, Joseph of Arimathea, a rich counselor and seeker of truth, disagreed with the ruling Sanhedrin council, concerning their plotting against Jesus.  It was "illegal", he said.  He defended Jesus, and later had the courage to ask permission, from Governor Pilate, to take the body of Jesus off the cross. He, with the help of Nicodemus, wrapped Jesus' body in linen, and buried it in his own, new, tomb, in the Garden of Gethsemane. He saw the truth in Jesus. Luke 23:50-54.

V. Nicodemus, another very wealthy Pharisee, and ruler of the Jews, first came to Jesus under cover of darkness, but sincerely seeking truth.  Jesus told him how to be "born again", as recorded in John 3.  He later defended Jesus in John 7:50-51.  After Jesus' crucifixion, Nicodemus brought 100 pounds of very costly myrrh and aloe mixture, and with his friend Joseph, wrapped it around the body of Jesus, in linen, and buried it in Joseph's new tomb. They saw the truth of God in Jesus .  John 19:38-42.

VI. Lydia was a devout woman, but unsaved, a business woman who sought the truth of God and God sought her with His truth. So He sent Paul a vision directing him to cross over the sea into Macedonia and preach Jesus unto them.  Paul immediately did as God had told him and arriving there, he was preaching Jesus when Lydia heard his words and was converted.  She immediately led her entire family to Christ and they were baptized.  Her influence for Christ continues to this day.  Acts 16:7-14 & 40.

VII. And, finally, there was the Ethiopian Eunuch, with great authority as the Queen's treasurer. He traveled, by horse and chariot, 2000 miles across desert, from the palace in Ethiopia to Jerusalem, seeking God.  After he had searched Jerusalem, the epi-center of the worship of God, he was returning the 2000 miles home ... without anyone having witnessed to him of Jesus Christ, who had recently been crucified and risen from the dead there.  The Eunuch was recrossing that desert when God sent a witness, evangelistic Deacon, Philip, to intercept this Ethiopian seeker of God and  to reveal to him Jesus. He readily accepted Christ as his saviour, and Philip baptized him at the next oasis. That Eunuch's Christian testimony changed the very core of Ethiopia and still has effect there after 2000 years.  This man saw the truth in Jesus. Acts 8:27-39.

You are next on the list.  Have you or will you accept the truth you see in Jesus? Are you a surmiser or a seeker of the truth?

"But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Heb.11:6
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved...." Acts 16:31

RB

1 comment:

Ron Blair said...

If you SEEK the truth the Bible says in John 8:32 where Jesus was talking to His disciples: "ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free "