The Ohio Independent Baptist, December 1963

,, ,rt nn ~r!lpl~r l 1 ; l\\lU f h ... ,( man \ - l l1c qt1est1on ..\\ here I He'?" \\a~ .1 k. d l"') thret: different grot1p , of ~,e )plc ,.1n tl1ree tl1ffer nt cca i n in the C\\ Te ta111 nt. ~ach gr tip \\ a .~ cck.1ng t f1nd Je u . he n1o ti v ...... t t\\ o f the gr up ~ were t1nk1nd in natt1re. hut the third group de ired t , r hip J e tl . \\ e find the que tion a ked in J hn 7: 11. "Then the Jew ought H in1 at the fea t. aying where i He?" \i\·h, \\ ere the Jew eeking to find .. J e u on thi occa ion? Wa it to ,, or hip H im? o, that wa not the ca e. The e Jew were enemie of the Lord Je u . They had een the many miracle that J e u had performed, and in tead of loving Him, accepting Him. and believing in Him a their aviour, their hearts were full of envy and hatred for Him. The occa ion wa the Fea t of the Tabernacle in J eru alem. and the Jews were in the city eeking Je u not to wor hip H im but to kill Him. Blind man healed Again in John 9: 12a the que tion i a ked. 'Where is He?' Je u s had ju t healed the blind man who had been blind from the day of hi birth. Hi neighbor wer e que tioning him a to how he had received hi eye- ight. They could not believe that it was the ame man that had always been blind and who had eked out a living by begging. H ere he wa , rejoicing and letting others know what 'a man that i called Jesus' had done for him. Are we as Chris– tians rejoicing and telling others what Jesus has done for u s? Why did the neighbors ask him where Jesu was? Was it a matter of curiosity? Was the question prompted from a de ire to meet Jesus and become a follower of Him? We note that in the latter part of verse 12 they brought the man who v.. as born blind to the Pharisees who were enemies of Jesus. This gives us an indicatian that the neigh– bors were seeking Jesus out of curi– osit)' and not with gratefulness for what Jesus had done for the blind Page 10, 1963 ere By Stewart L. Chaffe Youth Editor s e? H here is He tha t i born King of he J ewe;? arc c 111e t wor. hip Him ." Matt. 2: 2. or we ... n1an. ote al o in ver e 13 that thi healing took place on the Sabbath Day. The Phari ee were the religiou ruler of that day and were very critical of anyone who did not follow the law a trictly a they attempted to do. In view of thi it appear that the neighbor were ju t a guilty a the Pharisee in eeking to find Je u in order to judge Him and condemn Him for healing a man on the Sab~ bath. Now we come to the third grou,p of individuals who asked the question, "Where is He?" In Matt. 2: 1,2, we read ' ' ow when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king behold, there came wi e men from the ea t to Jerusalem, aying where is He that is born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east, and are come to wor– ship Him." The great prophetic words of Isaiah 7: 14 "Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold; a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall cal[ His name Imman– uel: ' and of Micah 5 :2, ''But thou, Bethlehem Epratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah , ye t out of thee shall He come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting," written 700 years earlier were fulfilled in Beth– lehem. Jesus left the glories of Heaven and came to earth to be born in a manger in Bethlehem in order to become the Saviour of the world. Why were these wise men seeking to find Jesus? Was it out of curiosity, or to condemn per ecute or even kill Him? o, their motive was far different than that of the other in– dividuals which we have mentioned. Their desire was to wors·hip Him. Is that our desire today to worship Him a God? What do we mean by worship? How did the wise men wor– ship Jesus? For one thing, they pre– sented to Hirn gifts. We can wor hip God as we give our tithes and offer– ings. Do we have a ' 'giving' , attitude or a "give me' ' attitude? We note also that the wi e men " fell down and worshiped Him." This peaks of reverence and humility which are necessary for true worship. To wor- hip is to exalt, to magnify, to adore, and to respect. From the beginning of the church service, Sunday School hour, or the young people' meeting to the end, our attitude hould be that of reverence; it is not a time to visit with our friend ; it is a time to worship our Best Friend. Search our hearts As this Christmas sea on draws near, young people, it would be a good time to search our heart and a k ourselves this que tion, ' 'Where is He?' in regard to your individual lives. First , where is He a far as your salvation is concerned? Does He dwell within you? Are you a saved, born-– again person? Jesus has paid the penal– ty for our sin by dying on the Cross for us. If we put our trust and faith in Him, we will be saved for all eternity. If you have not done so already, why don' t you, during this Christmas season, accept Jesus a your own Per onal Saviour and have your sins forgiven? In Ephesian 2: 8,9 we read, "For by grace are ye aved through faith: and that not of your– selves· it i the gift of God. Not of works, le t any man should boast." If you know Christ as Saviour, where i He in your Daily life? What place does He hold? Is He the Lord of your life? I He the Boss the Commanding Officer? Do you allow Him to lead you? Do you seek His counsel and His fellowship? Seven times in the New Testament, Chri t said, "Come unto Me." Yet only once did anyone ask, "Where is He?" with the intention of worshipping Him. How much more eagerly He desires to have fellowship with u than we desire to eek His fellow hip! The greate t Gift for time and eternity wa given on that Christmas morning over 1900 year ago. Ju t THE OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST