Lesson 29
Like the disciples that stayed with Jesus, Christians today must be drawn to Jesus by God. Many may start to follow Jesus and loudly proclaim their devotion to him, but if they fall away later on and turn their backs on him, it may be because they were never really called by God and were following Jesus for their own reasons. The desires of the world will still entice the called out ones but they must overcome their human desires. Only those who persevere to the end will be rewarded with eternal life. The calling from God will not be the same for everyone but they will share some commonalities. Those who are drawn to Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit will know that he is the son of God. Like Peter, we will be sure the only one with the words of life is Jesus. He alone is the savior of the world. Seventy. That is how many people left their lives behind to follow Jesus when he started his ministry. They were all successfully using the power of God as they went from town to town, even the demons were frightened of them. After all their successes, there were only eleven that stayed with Jesus till the end. Fifty nine of them turned away from following Jesus. The zeal they had at the start wasn’t sufficient to carry them to the finish. Are you determined to stay true to the calling God has given to you? What are the odds that those who start, will continue to follow Jesus? How are you led by the Holy Spirit? What resources do you trust to be true?
John 6:67-69 Legacy Standard Bible
67 So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go?” 68 Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life. 69 And we have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.”
1 John 2:16-27 Living Bible
16 for all these worldly things, these evil desires—the craze for sex, the ambition to buy everything that appeals to you, and the pride that comes from wealth and importance—these are not from God. They are from this evil world itself. 17 And this world is fading away, and these evil, forbidden things will go with it, but whoever keeps doing the will of God will live forever. 18 Dear children, this world’s last hour has come. You have heard about the Antichrist who is coming—the one who is against Christ—and already many such persons have appeared. This makes us all the more certain that the end of the world is near. 19 These “against-Christ” people used to be members of our churches, but they never really belonged with us or else they would have stayed. When they left us it proved that they were not of us at all.
1 John 2:20-21 New International Reader’s Version
20 You have received the Spirit from the Holy One. And all of you know the truth. 21 I’m not writing to you because you don’t know the truth. I’m writing because you do know it. I’m writing to you because no lie comes from the truth.