Thru the Bible - Minute with McGee on Oneplace.com

I always use the Bible sort of as a means of testing. When I was a pastor of a church, I taught the Word of God, and when a person really is a child of God, he’s going to hold to the Word of God. He’s going to love the Word of God. He wants to hear his Father talking to him. And I used it as a Geiger counter; you know, I just put it down on a fellow. If you don’t get any reaction, you’re almost sure he’s not a child of God. Oh, he may be a church memberwe’ve got a lot of those around today. But my friend, it’s your relationship to the Word of God. Are you faithful? That is the evidence you are a child of God.

I’m very happy He’s up there, because we’re told that He is an advocate for us. He defends us. He’s on our side. He understands us. He understands me as no one understands me. I tried to explain to an audience some time ago the feeling I had when I was told I had cancer. And I saw, after I talked a couple of minutes, that I wasn’t getting through at all. But you know, Jesus understands exactly how I felt. And He understands how you feel. And we’re to consider this. We are to give serious thought to this, friends, and careful attention. We’ve got an Apostle; He came from God. And He’s our High Priest; He went into God’s presence for you and for me today.

Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Jesus. It’s Jesus. Now we’re told to consider Him. Now this word here for consider it has in it the fact that we are to give faithful attention to this. Consider. Spend your time thinking about Him. Consider Him. It’s a very significant word, and it’s one that we ought to recognize that it means carefulcareful thought. And serious attention. It is one that we should spend a little time with.

Today the idea that anything physical can’t be used in a spiritual way is wrong, and that’s one reason that people don’t like to have money mentioned in church. Well, what’s wrong with it? Money can be used in a spiritual way. It’s not very impressive to hear somebody pray for something and then not back it up with their pocketbook. If you’re going to pray for missions, I would suggest you give to missions if you want to make your prayer effective. Because all that your prayer is, it’s nothing in the world but just a lot of wind escaping. That’s all. It’s spiritual to give. That’s one of the things that a priest doesoffers up spiritual sacrifices. Giving is one of them.

When I wake up in the dark watches of the night and toss and turn as I sometimes do with some burden on my heart, I can look up and my great High Priest, He knows me and He understands, and I can take my burden to Him. May I say to you that no matter what comes, when you and I go down through the valley of the shadow of death, we’ve got a great High Priest up yonder, and He’s able to help those that are tested. I’m afraid that we’re not using Him as much as we should. We forget about Him, and we try to fight the battle alone. He’s available. He wants you to come to Him.

In emphasizing the deity of Christ, we are in danger of under-estimating the humanity of Jesus. I’m happy that I was not born in Bethlehem. I’m delighted I was not raised in Nazareth. Think what it was in Jesus’ day. Not much of a chance. For He became a real human being, friends. He’s the root out of a dry ground. If you went out here in Arizona and saw this iceberg lettuce, a head of it, growing, you’d think that was a miracle; and it would be. It’s sure a miracle to think that out of that background, He came. You’ve never suffered anything He doesn’t already know all about.

If you could convince me today that all that God has done for a lost world is to pitch in a book down here that we call the Bible and He’s been aloof from all of it and up yonder in heaven, and said, It’s too bad. Here’s a book. Hope you can work your way out. If that’s all God has done, I’m prepared to turn my back upon Him. But, friends, that’s not what He did. He came down to this earth and He took upon Himself our humanity. He suffered, He died upon the cross. Then I’m prepared today to trust Him. I’m prepared today to love Him because of what He’s done for us.

He could have been born in the palace of a Caesar. He wasn’t born there. He was born in real poverty. He was born in a stable back of an inn. Why? So that He could come down and be, actually, in the likeness of men, that He might know something of the effect of sin on humanity. The Lord Jesus came down, and He’s able to sympathize with you and me today. I don’t care who you are or where you are, He knows you and He understands younot just because He’s God, but because He became a man. And He knows exactly what you and I are going through today.

Sanctification, when it’s used in connection with the Holy Spirit, has to do with the work of God in usto make us the kind of representative that He wants down on this earth. But sanctification when it’s used with the person of Christ, it’s not a condition, but a position that we have in Christ. And He was the just, and He took the place of the unjust that He might bring us to God. And He’s brought us now into the family of God. And in the family of God, He’s not ashamed to call them brethren, because we all become sons of God through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I will show thee that which is noted in the scripture of truth. Now the angel turns Daniel to the Word of God, and he says here noted means recordedthat which is recorded in the scripture of truth. In other words, he’s not going to hear or see anything that contradicts the Word of God. The Word of God, friends, is the only weapon available to the child of God for effective use today, and it is called the sword of the Spirit. And some of us just don’t know how to use our swords. We ought to have sword drill more often to be able to use the Word of God.