You Cannot Outplay God

No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended from heaven, the Son of Man. And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. — John 3:13-15

In the Gospel of John, there are three times that John references the terminology "lifted up."

In this verse, then again, in John 8:28, which reads:

So Jesus said to them, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. — John 8:28

And one more time in John 12:32, which reads:

And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself. — John 12:32

And if you read these three in the sequence, you see what John is doing here. He is saying.

1. An ambassador did the lifting in the Wilderness. (Moses with intent to save).
2. You will do the lifting. (You with intent to kill).
3. I will do the lifting. (Jesus with the intention to save all).

But remember the greater context of the Gospel. John wants to prove that Jesus came down as a deity from heaven and went back to heaven. And Jesus has to do both. He has to be able to come down and be lifted back up. Otherwise, he is not a deity. And some want to prove that Jesus is not a deity. They plan to kill him to prove Jesus and his disciples wrong. But they end up proving they were wrong and Jesus was right, which is laughable.

So remember, if Jesus is God, there is no plan you can make that will outwit God.

ASK THIS: Are you trying to outwit God in some place in your life?

DO THIS: Stop it and get honest, and receive his salvation.,

PRAY THIS: God, I accept that I cannot fool you.

PLAY THIS: Your Plans For Us.