Ian’s lets listen to Jesus

Every morning I wake to this thought – “Amazing love, how can it be that thou my God should die for me?”

“Maybe it is especially amazing that the thought of love should be centred on the whole concept of death. However, consider this – after the curse I passed on the world, every human’s mind is focused, if not all the time, at least some of the time on death. Death is the greatest enemy to each one of you. That is why I chose to come and taste it, after that, pass through it opening the way to My glory through My resurrection. So as you focus on your reading today the spectre of death becomes greater and greater, but at the same time it is not the end – just as your death is not the end– rather see it as a gateway to glory – the golden light shines beyond the Gateway, lighting up My glory which you will share in.”

As we continue reading in John’s gospel we are immersed in the final climax as Jesus’s death looms larger and larger. Today, as we read John 18:12-27, I invite you to allow your imagination to take you into that scene. Feel the anticipation, the fear, the darkness still enveloping, the smell of terror and experience the violent antagonism. And most of all the additional loneliness as one by one all Jesus’s friends and followers desert Him and everyone around Him is focussed on doing Him the utmost harm, even to death.

As the officials take Jesus to Annas there is a verse which reminds us of the whole purpose of what is going on. It is slipped in, almost unseen, but should be a reminder to the reader of what this happening is all about. Vs 14 “ Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it would be good if one man died for all the people.” His words, so prophetic were obviously meant in a different way by him, yet is a summary of what Jesus was going through.

Today’s section is dominated by the description of Peter’s denial. Jesus had warned him earlier, after he had insisted on his eternal allegiance, that he would deny Jesus three times before the cock crowed (John 13:38). While much of the rest of what was happening is dealt with quite succinctly, the three denials of Peter are described in graphic detail.

Now I have heard a number of sermons where Peter is used as an example of unfaithfulness and desertion. However, I want to suggest that we should not be too hard on Peter. Firstly, Peter was the only disciple that did not run away completely. Why are the rest of the disciples not equally criticised? Secondly, may I respectfully ask you, dear reader, whether you too have not at some stage effectively denied your relationship and love of Christ? Maybe in a general discussion or even in a one on one conversation? The moment is there for you to speak up, but your courage just fails you in that instant.

Maybe we should see this denial in a broader picture. The intense pressure on the disciples with everyone turning on Jesus and the natural tendency of us humans to flee from that. The important thing is that the story does not end here. As much detail that is given here to Peter’s actions, the gospel will end with the restoration Jesus offers him, which is dealt with in just as much detail.

So even when we do drop Jesus by not speaking up at a specific time, He will not condemn us for that and will keep restoring us. Then, of course we are in a period of time when the Holy Spirit had not yet been given to the world, so Peter was operating in his own strength. Later He became the chief spokesman for the disciples for instance in Acts ch 2. And then tradition has it that he died by being crucified himself, asking to be done upside down because he did not want to take any of the glory of Christ’s death away from Him.

In the centre of this description of Peter’s denial, we return to the farce of a trial that Jesus is going through. As you read those verses 19-24, what is your instinctive reaction? The sense John is building is the extremely unfair way Jesus is being treated. Above all that He is completely innocent of the charges being put to Him. At the same time, His calm reaction to these accusers. It is so important that the reader not be confused into thinking that He deserved this punishment, because the whole gospel pivots on the fact of His innocence so that His death on our behalf could be effective.

I hope that as we read these last chapters in John’s gospel we will be captivated afresh by this amazing story about such an amazing love that He should die for you and I.

God bless till next week.

Sitting at the feet of Jesus – Oh the wonder of it all, that God loves me.

“It may be a wonder to you that I love you and every precious soul I have created. But the whole purpose of My creation exercise has been to make a platform where I can demonstrate My wonder and My glory and have a creature to respond to Me in love and awe. Those who I have created in My image to be able to relate to Me and worship Me, giving Me the Glory I deserve. Your great reward is still coming when you will pass into My presence and remain there in worship for all eternity. So do not lose your sense of wonder because that is what I want from you.”

Our reading today launches into the final action leading up to Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection. We are just reading John 18:1-11 today.

Standing back and looking at the whole scene in the garden there is a certain symbolism which we should not miss. The whole of the story of God’s creation started in a garden called Eden. Everything was perfect. God with His beloved creatures Adam and Eve, relating freely to each other. They were completely free with one condition; they had to recognise God for who He is and follow Him willingly. Enter a serpent who offers a different perspective and they fall completely for it, as it seems to offer them autonomy from God. We all know the consequences which resulted in the chaos we still experience today. However from the beginning God has had a plan and that plan was coming to fruition in a garden in Palestine thousands of years later.

Here God Himself, in human flesh faces the serpent in the form of a detachment of soldiers led by a great traitor, Judas. Initially it appears as if Satan is once again going to win the battle for the world and the souls of men everywhere. But such is the enigma of Christianity, the apparent loss of this skirmish is the beginning of the greatest victory of all time.

In this paragraph we see the clear indication that God is in charge. Firstly in the soldiers initial reaction to Jesus’s identification of who He is, “I Am” in vs 5. Then the remark in vs 9 “This happened so that the words He had spoken would be fulfilled.” Finally His statement in vs 11, “Shall I not drink this cup which the Father has given Me?”

Reflecting on the passage I find it interesting that the soldiers were prepared to go on with the arrest, even after their initial reaction to Jesus’s identification of who He is. It shows the perverse nature of humanity. I think that sometimes when we are about to do something contrary to God’s will we may also stand up and continue despite the sense of God’s presence. Fortunately we have a forgiving Father who patiently draws us back to Himself, even though we may have to live with the consequences of our actions.

To me the main message of this opening section of action is that even when we are in the garden of conflict and suffering we are living with a Saviour who has experienced the greatest suffering possible yet won the victory for us. That even when all appears to be lost there is an underlying golden thread of ultimate victory which will be our reward.

The other encouragement we can get from this passage is that when we experience one of the greatest trials as humans, when someone who we love and trust betrays us, Jesus has been there and understands and can minister to us. Judas had walked with Jesus for three years, been intimately close to Him and shared in everything all the other disciples shared, yet for a few pieces of silver was prepared to betray Jesus, knowing that it would lead to His death.

This story is so familiar, maybe before you finish, close your eyes and imagine the scene. The dark, then a group of men running with torches clamouring for blood like a pack of hounds. Imagine the emotions of the disciples and of course Jesus who is the target. Smell the night air, the oil from the lights, the heavy scent of the garden and the smell of fear. He did this all for us and this was just the beginning of this long and fearful night.

God bless till next week.

Behold the wondrous mystery – of Christ who died for me. Yes oh Lord, although you have revealed much of Yourself, You still remain largely a mystery. Yet I am not a mystery to You because You know me so intimately that You know my thoughts even before I speak.

”You are right to understand that there is much about Me which is still mysterious to you and to the whole world. I have created you into a wondrous being, incredibly complex in design. Even the most astute scientists don’t understand everything about man. Your minds are finite and could not take it all in. Yet you can enjoy Me fully because you can know that behind the mystery is all My goodness and love. Enjoy everything you know about Me, what I have revealed about Myself and enjoy knowing that there is so much more to learn about Me.”

Today we come to the end of the “high priestly prayer” of Jesus in John 17:20 – 26. We have looked at the long prayer Jesus prayed for His disciples, those who were intimately connected to Him during His earthly life. Although that prayer was specifically intended for these men we could nevertheless draw some important words which are still applicable to us today.

The section we are looking at today covers His prayer for “all those who will believe in Me through their (the disciple’s) message.”vs 20. In other words all Christians including each one of us. Let us look at the priorities which He raises in this prayer of His.

His first priority is that of unity among believers. This unity is intimately bound to the unity between Jesus and the Father and is the surest demonstration of our faith, vv 23 and again 24.This is a theme from way back cf 14:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men shall know that you are My disciples.” The whole section which follows that statement shows us the importance and value of abiding as a demonstration of relationship which flows from Jesus’s relationship with the Father. This relationship then underpins the whole idea and practical application which is ultmately displayed in unity.

Sadly, one of the greatest problems in the Christian Church today is disunity. People who call themselves Jesus followers, squabbling and arguing and splitting apart into multiple denominations. Families rent apart in strife followed by divorce. I think this is one of our greatest challenges today. To be able to love one another, despite our many differences. The world, which is in constant conflict on a national as well as a personal level, should be looking at the Christian Church in wonder at how we demonstrate His love. Instead they often see exactly the same problems as they are experiencing. This is a huge challenge to us both in our prayer life as well as our everyday actions.

True unity comes from the Spirit’s work as He first brings us to humility and dependence on God’s grace. Disunity mostly arises from pride and selfcentredness causing a sense of entitlement. A symptom at best, of immaturity in the faith, at worst of not being believers at all. On top of that I would be remiss if I did not mention the role of Satan who recognises this weak spot and capitilises by promoting differences and strife and thus making the church ineffectual in its great task of spreading the gospel.

Jesus then goes on to discuss Glory. He has given all believers His glory, the glory which the Father gave Him. This is more of a nebulous concept which I suppose we will only appreciate when we are fully exposed to the the Father’s glory in the new heavens and the new earth. It is the ultmate goal in our relationship with Yahweh though, which is indicated by it being one of these priority themes in this prayer.

The third idea which is brought forward is the reality of God’s love. vs 23b 26c. A major part of Jesus’s revelation to the world and especially to His disciples is His love. That is what underpins everything else in what He has said and is the fitting last word in the prayer.

Looking back at this prayer should make us reconsider what the focus of our prayers and actions should be. As we demonstrate the Father’s love for Jesus and thus His love for us we must remember that that love was shown most graphically by His death on the cross on our behalf. Greater love can no man have than that he should die for you. Twice He includes in the prayer the importance of making Him and His love known. Firstly in vs 20, it is through the Apostles’ message, ie God’s word that people come to believe, and in vs 26 as Jesus makes His love known, how else will the nonbeliever get to know Him if we don’t tell them. Romans 10:11ff

Once again a fistful of input to chew on. Enjoy doing that till we meet again next week.

The matchles name of Jesus, a mystery in the past, revealed in part at the cross and resurrection, yet we still see through a glass darkly.

”My Name, which is called in the song ‘Matchless’ is in no way seperate from Me. My name represents everything I am. As you accept and believe in My name you accept and believe on Me. When you call on My name you are calling on Me. My name represents everything I am, everything that I do. It is who I am. Yes there is much about Me that you do not understand which is still a mystery, but your mind would not be able to take it all in if it was revealed to you now. Be patient, one day you will see face to face and experience My full glory while you, yourself will be glorified.

We continue today with John 17:6-19. Last time I almost tripped over the whole concept of “I protected and held them safe by that name you gave Me” Why do I say tripped? Over the years I have associated with many brothers and sisters in Christ. In some circles there would occasionally be a testimony to calling on Jesus name or His blood and the sense is almost that these two expressions release a power of their own. Reading this passage and especially this phrase almost took me into that realm.

There is a bit of emphasis on Jesus’s name in this passage. Right back in vs 6 where the NIV translates “you” the actual reading is “I have revealed your name to those you gave Me”. In vs 11 Jesus prays to the Father “protect them by the power of your name – the name You gave Me”. On reflection we must see that the concept of the “name” merely represents the full character and power of the One who carries that Name. So the interplay here is really on understanding that all the power and character of God is available and real in Jesus. Their names are therefore equally powerful and this is just another mystery of the Trinity. In the letter to the Colossians Paul puts it this way; “For God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him”. So the emphasis in Jesus’s prayer in John’s gospel is not on the name as such but on the power which is available to protect those disciples.The power of both God and Jesus. The interesting thing is that the aim was “that they may be one” vs 12.

The fact that He mentions Judas as the only one that has been lost also suggests that He is asking God to keep them faithful to the task that they have been given. There is nothing wrong with us calling on the name of Jesus whatever the circumstances whether in a crisis or just every day. The important thing is that we undestand that calling on His name is just another way of calling out to Him in His full capacity and divinity and everything He represents.

Let us look at the last part of the prayer for the disciples then. After praying for their safety Jesus expresses the desire that they may experience joy in their service even when He is gone. I find that quite interesting since it is easy to be carried away by the earnestness of our task that we forget that the underlying emotion we should experience in Jesus is one of joy. We must enjoy our service.

He then turns back to the reality that bcause they are no longer “of” the world, the world is going to reject them. So as they experience that He prays that God will protect them from the evil one, the one who is behind much of the battle for the kingdom’s spread.

Then finally He prays that God will continue to sanctify them as they continue with this task of taking the message of the Kingdom out into the world. This is a good reminder that we are never to stop growing in our faith.The process of sanctification is only complete when we arrive in God’s presence.

Well that is quite a mouthful. Plenty to meditate on in the coming week. See you all after the great cold front which is arriving.

“In the cross, in the cross be my glory ever”. Streams of living water flow from thee, Oh my Lord make me even more thirsty for Thee and that powerful, pure water which flows from You.

”The shadow of My cross falls across the whole world – in fact the whole of My creation. It is the brightest shining light of My glory, demonstrating my committment, in love to my whole creation so that I can win a people who love and adore Me as much as I love them to myself. So let the shadow of the cross as it falls softly across you be the guide and reminder of my Presence and love for you and don’t hesitate to share it with those around you.”

We continue with Jesus’s high priestly prayer today in John 17:6 – 18. In this section John records the words Jesus spoke to His Father concerning His disciples and His relationship with them and what was going to happen to them after He left.

The passage opens with the startling words “those you gave me”. He then refines this with: “they were yours; you gave them to me” He repeats this in vs 9 adding that He is not praying for the world. Let us stop there. What an amazing concept because although these men were to play a special role in the inauguration of God’s Kingdom through Jesus, they nevertheless represent the relationship every believer has with the Son. The world here means everyone in the world irrespective of their status or belief. There was of course a special bond between Jesus and these men having spent three years together and Jesus is especially concerned for them since He was leaving them and nevertheless wanted them to continue with the special apostolic role they had been chosen for. He emphasises that they were specially chosen for this task.

Yet the basic principle remains, when we enter in to a relationship with God He calls us and gives us to His Son. We are God’s gifts to Jesus. This is a reminder of how precious we are to them and sets us apart from everyone else and that we each have a unique role to play in the growing kingdom. There were only 12 Apostles but billions of faithful members of God’s kingdom, each embued with a gift or gifts to serve the church. Each one of us is equally special!

The sign that they had accepted their election was that they obeyed God’s word. Jesus repeats that twice in vv 8 and 9. Now what would that mean? Did they sit on the beach with their nicely bound king James version bibles? Of course not. It simply means they responded to Jesus’ calling and teaching and we have seen in the gospels how flawed their response was on many occasions, but they “knew with certainty that I came from you (God) and they believed that you sent me” v 8 Their response was one of faith. They believed and that was demonstrated by action – obedience. That is a necessary definition of every Christian.

Recognizing their vulnerability in a world which was antagonistic towards them, Jesus then prays for their protection. But notice how they have been and are to be protected in the future cf vv 11,12. Notice the focus on “the Name” that has power to protect them. It is the name God gave to Jesus. And what would be the ultimate result of this protection? Firstly they would remain in unity and secondly that none of them would be lost. I presume this meant lost as in spiritually lost. The only one who is lost is Judas who turned against Jesus.

Once again these men were going to face the wrath of the world in a rather special way. Yet every one of us also faces that wrath in various ways and so we must understand the great protective role Jesus has towards us when he speaks of the power residing in His name. That is worth a pause to consider what that means so I am going to stop today’s devotion there with the invitation to ponder these truths, especially the last one and how they apply to each one of us individually and we will continue next week in this passage to look at the last few verses till vs 19.

God bless you all till next week.

When I consider the wonder of Your creation how can I say, “There is no God”? Oh Lord how great thou art for sending Your Son to reach out to us – to me – who am I that you should bless me so?

”I have produced a created world with a multitude of creatures. Wonders wherever you look, yet the pinnacle of My creation is man. My real desire is to get to that point where all of mankind is one in its love and adoration of Me and My Son, Jesus.That is why I sent Him to die -to achieve that unity. My plan is working its way out to fulfilment when it will all come together and you will be there in the new heavens and the new earth with a multitude of others with one desire – to have a relationship with Me and worship Me”.

We proceed now in John’s gospel to Ch 17:1-8. This chapter deals with the High priestly prayer of Jesus. Called that because He prays as a high priest firstly for the disciples and then for all future believers.

As I read this section the emhasis is on God’s glory and the glory Jesus had from the beginning and was going to return to, struck me. Remembering the introduction to the gospel and the One who the gospel is about we read in 1:14 “The word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father full of grace and truth”. Could this indeed be the whole purpose of the creation and the new Kingdom which He developed out of that?

It seems that Jesus’s mission on earth was aimed at bringing God’s glory down among men and that the ultimate demonstration of that, when His glory was most revealed was when He went to the cross. His glory was not visible here on earth but His prayer states that He was going to return to the glory He once had when He was with the Father. Furthermore His obedience to death on the cross was the ultimate way that He would glorify God here on earth vs 4.

Ultimately the picture we have of the completion of time and a peek into the new heavens and new earth we see that central to the whole symbolic picture in Revelation ch 4 is God’s glory. “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory honour and power, for you created all things and by your will they were created and have their being”. So we can deduce from that that the whole excercise of creation and the interaction with mankind has added to God’s glory.

Standing out for me in vibrant colours in the center of this passage which focusses on God’s glory is the incedibly important statement in vs 3 “Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You sent”. The ultimate manifestation then of God’s glory in us is that we may know Him. His aim in creation was not just to make humans but to make humans that would “know Him”. Of course that draws the discussion on relationship in the previos chapters together in a great purpose statement. God made us to have a relationship with Him which would go on into eternty and that would add to His glory.

The key sign that we know Him is demonstrated by our obedience to God’s word vss 6-8. That is the sign that we know God. That is not the means to knowing Him. We know Him by faith but we demnstrate that vibrant relationship by obeying His word. It is described at the end of vs 8 as believing that God sent Jesus – faith.

May God bless you all as you meditate on God’s glory. Till next week then bless you all.

The greatest wonder, greater than all of creation is the wonder that thou my Lord should die for me.

”Take that all in. My creation is larger and more complex than you could ever imagine. Yet the plan I have had for the redemption of the lost is even more complex and precious than all of creation. Look up at the cross, it is my love letter to you. It is my love letter to the whole world Written in drops of blood, each one squeezed out with infinite agony but carrying a multitude of blessing to billions. The wonder of it all! Just accept it. Accept it as my greatest token of love and share it with as many as you can so that this great news, this infinitely powerful Gospel may become the war cry of the new kingdom – so that many more may appreciate and be transformed by the wonder of it all.”

Today we come to an end of the so-called discourse by Jesus with some important final words. Our reading is John 16:25 – 33.

Throughout the discourse Jesus has repeated the invitation to the disciples to ask anything from the Father in His name on a number of occasions, following that with the promise that they will receive what they have asked for. Today He expands on that with an explanation that up to now He has been speaking figuratively but from now will speak plainly. Let’s look at what He is saying.

He repeats the offer to ask anything in His name but then expands on that. Although He is inviting them to ask the Father in His name this does not mean that He has to persuade or squeeze God for an answer. No, the Father wants to answer because He already loves them because they have loved Him and believe that He came from the Father. He came on a mission to earth and is now returning to be with the Father so they together will be available to these disciples and every disciple after them, including us to answer whatever prayers we ask. However the limitation is “in Jesus’ name”. That means according to the will and program of Jesus.

Now we come to the end and a verse which most Christians find huge comfort in. However we may actually miss the full impact of this verse if we don’t read it in context. The verse is vs 33: “I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

This amazing promise must be seen against the background of the previous verse where he warns them that they are going to face such trouble that they will all be scattered and will return to their homes abandoning the whole kingdom program. As they face this, His promise is that He will give them peace in the midst of all that. He is speaking of the whole crucifixion event of course.

This is another of the great enigmas of Christianity. The word translated here as trouble is often translated as tribulation. The whole of the book of Revelation describes the gospel era as the time of tribulation. We live in a fallen world with potent enemies. Yet Jesus promises that despite outward appearances He has overcome the world and will give us an inner peace which the world will never understand during these times of tribulation. Paul repeats this in Phillipians ch 4:4ff “Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice:…….The Lord. Is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God which passes all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus”.

So during this time of tribulation we live in, Jesus makes a secure promise, repeated by Paul that despite the tribulation, which will come since we are living in the time of tribulation, God will give us whatever we ask in Jesus name and so that we can have deep inner peace in our hearts and minds. We are never offered total physical protection, although God often does give that, but the true blessing of our intimate relationship with the Father through Jesus is the deep inner ability to trust God completely in everything and reap the fruit of pure peace from that.

This is a lot to digest and difficult to unravel the full implications of in a short devotion, yet, if we believe it there is an amazing promise we just need to take hold of and believe to experience it.

Richest blessings till next week.

Take my heart and let it forever be your royal throne.

“While you offer Me your heart, I have already captured it within the warmth of My love for you. You would never be able to truly give Me all your love if I had not made it possible. The key has always been the death on the cross of My precious son Jesus. As His heart was ripped out by the sin of the world and My irrepressible wrath being spent there on him it opened a glorious golden highway for My love to flow to you and whoever would desire to have it. It is only then, as My love overwhelms you that you can truly release your heart to Me. But, yes I receive your heart, your love and adoration with great pleasure this morning. However do not keep My love to yourself alone, share it with those you come into contact with so they can also benefit from it.”

We proceed today with John in 16:16-24. John has been explaining in the last three chapters how the disciples’ and our relationship with God would proceed after He departs. He now comes to the hard part. He has first got to go to the cross before this will be put into place. Although He has been warning them for some time that this must happen, they had obviously not fully taken it in. I suppose among other reasons the almost automatic response we often have as humans to bad news is denial, shutting out the full implications from our minds.

After being homeschooled on a cosy Karoo farm until at 11 years of age in standard 6 I was sent 500 km away to a very strict boarding school in P.E. I had never learned to relate to other children and easily became the target of all the bullies. The next 5 years were a nightmare of rejection and loneliness which I finally escaped from with huge relief. I have often thought back on that time and have thanked God that He took me through that so that I could, in some very small measure also experience the rejection Jesus must have felt while here with us on earth.

So here in this passage Jesus is trying to share with His close friends what was about to happen. Yet He wanted them to get this news into the full perspective of the bigger picture. I like the way He uses childbirth as an example of huge joy following great pain. Every woman who has had a child will attest to this amazing feeling of joy after the intense pain of the birth process.

The most comforting words are in vs 22 “So with you: Now is the time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice and no one will take that away from you”. The joy of the full realisation of what Jesus accomplished on our behalf transcends any pain we may ever feel after that. This is a joy which is really supernatural and cannot be explained to someone outside of the kingdom. It is the final outcome, the background music as it were of our whole relationship with our loving Father through Jesus.

The next two verses complete the picture with a repetition of His promise of the Father’s attitude towards them and to us as His very own adopted children. Ask and keep on asking and as He responds it will flow into that supernatural joy. The joy of the knowledge of a secure and loving relationship which will extend beyond our human suffering into all eternity.

I have realised, especially lately that I have to remind myself of that joy as often as possible. It is so easy to focus one’s mind on the difficulties and fears of this world that they swallow up the very reality of that joy that God wants us to experience. Rejoice in the Lord always is the instruction that Paul gives in Philippians ch 4:4 but then he goes on to admonish us to think correctly in vs 10ff. This actually develops that part of your brain so that it can become your default way of thinking. But it takes practice. But, again we have a “Helper” and coach who continually encourages us.

This section on discipleship has brought me to see this as a whole package which should guide us in our everyday walk with God. So let’s continue to practice. Until I see you all again next week, may you be blessed.

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good (Psalm 34). Lord please touch all my senses, fill this room with the fragrance of the Rrose of Sharon, with the warmth of your love. Cause all my senses to come alive to you so that I can worship you with all of me.

”Yes, I am all around you and want you to know that, not only by faith but also experientially. That is why you have been given all your senses so that you can experience Me in all My fullness. Maybe you can’t see Me physically but you can see Me spiritually as you close your eyes and allow Me to illuminate your imagination. I am always present with you, in the beauty and fragrance of the flowers, in the warmth of the touch of a loved one, in the sunset My glory sets your eyes aglow. Allow yourself to truly taste and see and experience Me in My person not just in the words on a page. I am here in all My glory ready to make your senses come alive and be receptive to Me so that you can fully worship Me.”

As we come to the end of John’s teaching from Jesus on the full understanding of what the disciples (and our) continuing relationship with Jesus is going to consist of we reach the conclusion of this teaching as we read John 16:2-16, ending with the the words which must have been like an arctic wind to them in vs 16: In a little while you won’t see me. Yet the vs ends with the strange promise: after a little while you will see me. This introduces the next section as He reveals what this was to meant to them.

So way back in the last part of vs 3 He introduces this thought: I was still with you. And then in vs 4 Now I am going to go to Him who sent Me. This must have been devastating to these men. Put yourselves in their shoes. They had left everything to follow Jesus. He had promised them, and they believed Him when He said that He was going to introduce God’s kingdom and in fact, He was going to be the ultimate King. Now He is speaking of leaving them apparently with very little to show for His time with them. Little did they realize that the climax of Jesus’ life and in fact the whole of history was on the verge of taking place. The main reason He came – to die for our sins and open the way to the Father was about to happen.

From our perspective we can now understand what He was telling them and we can appreciate the provision God had planned from the beginning for when Jesus would leave the earth. Obviously Jesus in His humanity could only be in one place at a time and therefore His ministry would always be limited to where He was. So God’s plan was to send the Holy Spirit to replace and continue Jesus’ ministry. He would be able to be everywhere and minister in multiple places at the same time. In fact the world would discover after Pentecost that He would not only be present everywhere, but that He would actually indwell every born again believer enabling him/her to live their Christian life.

So in a very compact way John gathers together the teaching on main ways that the Counselor would work fro then on. Why don’t you read this paragraph and see all the ways He is depicted as going to be working?

Let us look if we can pick up the teaching: Three things mentioned in vs 8 He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgement.

His first great work would be to convict the world of the importance of their culpability of sin. And notice the very basic and all pervading cause of sin is “unbelief”. It is because we don’t believe in the triune God that all other wrongdoing flows. So the Holy Spirit convicts each sinner with the knowledge of the need to come to faith in God so that their sin can be dealt with.

Then righteousness. Jesus’ departure means He is going to be removed from the scene and the Spirit must take over in directing every believer on true righteousness. How to live and behave correctly .

Then lastly judgment. He reminds us that we are being held responsible for our behaviour because there is one who judges every move, every thought we have, we will be culpable for. all the wrong that is done. He brings the Devil in here because he is the ultimate deceiver.

Furthermore the Spirit is going to carry on teaching where Jesus has left off. Today we have God’s word in writing but it is only as the Holy Spirit interprets it to us that it truly comes alive and has the power to change us. And the purpose of all this? Vs 14 to bring Jesus all the glory. So the Spirit does not seek glory for Himself but opens the door so that all the glory is poured out for Jesus and the Father.

The paragraph ends with the most beautiful summary of the trinity in vs15.

Well, welcome to the Holy Spirit the most import companion we all have representing Jesus to us continually in our lives. I was once again convicted as to how seldom I was aware of this on a moment by moment basis. How do you personally experience Him and the work He is doing in your lives?

God bless till next week dear loved ones.

Amazing Love how can it be that thou my God should die for me.

” Yes you should be truly amazed. The King of creation, the ultimate Father, the personal Shepherd – prepared to die for you, yes for you personally. I came to die for all of My creation to open the way for true fellowship which I have longed for from the beginning. Fellowship based not with a being who like a puppet has been created to obey everything he is told to do, but fellowship which is based on a choice – a choice to have fellowship with Me rather than claim the heart of fellowship for himself. Yet at the same time I have been wooing you and every other human into a love relationship with Me. So I have used my death on a cross as the ultimate love gift to you and every person who would receive it and enter into a marriage with Me as the Bridegroom.”

As John comes to the conclusion of the extensive teaching of Jesus on what it is going to mean to have a relationship with God through Him we come to a less pleasant aspect of what this fellowship will bring. Read John 15:18 – 16:4.

The theme of this teaching on relationship with Him moves now to another aspect of what this fellowship with Jesus is going to bring. The hate and rejection of the world. Being a disciple of Jesus is going to change you. That is the definite promise of the last few chapters. This change which is going to happen will not always be welcomed in the world. While on the one hand our love for each other and for the world should attract the interest and desire of the world, it often has exactly the opposite effect on many who embrace the values of the world.

From the beginning Jesus was rejected by many for various reasons. Behind it all of course we see Satan’s hand, but even without his influence many rejected Him. In today’s passage Jesus warns His disciples, that is you and I, that if we are like Him we must expect rejection and even hate from many as well as we follow Him. Of course we don’t experience it to the same degree and maybe as openly as we may think, but the promise is clear that if we follow Jesus as a branch of the Vine we can expect that to provoke feelings of hate from many in the world. This is another of the great enigmas of our faith. While Jesus’ love expressed through our actions and speech may attract some it often has the opposite effect on others.

The frightening thing is that if they hate you for demonstrating your Christian love they are actually ultimately rejecting God Himself vs 23. We should be careful though of not being the cause of that hate through the way we represent our Christianity. I am thinking here of brothers and sisters who are pharisaically judgmental in the way they treat outsiders. No one becomes a Christian by being told how evil they are. Of course we need to take a stand on open sin, but ultimately it is the Spirit that convicts and draws people to the love you are showing them. So in vv 26 and 27 we are reminded of the very real work of the Spirit, the Counselor in carrying you along in your testimony of God’s love. More on that next week.

My personal experience over time has been that the more active I am at any time with kingdom affairs the more likely I will be the focus of Satan’s attacks, often mediated by unsuspecting people. The original apostles were going to face huge opposition and rejection with most of them actually dying because of their faith. Jesus is warning them, but His warning goes down the ages and in many places Christians face huge persecution even today. I call on you all to think of these people in your prayers, while being warned not to take it personally if you face rejection in your personal life. We need to be continually conscious that we are involved in a very real if mostly unseen battle with the Evil one and we should constantly be on the alert for his whiles and ways. His aim is to bring discouragement and hopelessness and to make us ineffectual as witnesses.

We must also remember that Jesus has overcome Satan and therefore the victory has already been won although the battle rages on. So let us end by remembering Paul’s words in Philippians to “rejoice in the Lord always” and not let Satan have the satisfaction of seeing us discouraged. On that bright note may the Lord bless each one of you till next week.