What Difference Does a Father Make?

Good day

Let’s chat about it! I hope to get some valuable suggestions from everybody and in the end a conversation leading to a solution to the problem. I would appreciate it if you could have a look at this article: A Million Children Grow up Without Fathers. It is written in the context of the United Kingdom, but is certainly a worldwide phenomenon and therefore something that all of us would have encountered in our countries.

 

The first question I would like us to discuss is: In your opinion, what difference does a father make in children’s lives, in other words why do children, who grow up without a father, end up with all kinds of problems?

 

Be bold people and let us get a byte of your psychological skills and knowledge! Let us get the conversation going, be it on Facebook or on the Word Bytes blog. Just keep in mind that the blog responses are being screened for spam and your opinion will not show immediately, but definitely soon and in the right order.

 

To avoid your opinion being removed as spam, please do NOT answer anonymously, but use your name or at least a pen name followed by the word ‘Fatherless’.

 

Thank you!

Golden Nugget: Occasion to Blaspheme?

Good day

When we so easily yield to temptations to sin, think that Jesus was tempted just like us: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin,” (Hebrews 4:15). It was just as difficult for Him to resist temptation, and all the excuses for self-justification came to His mind as well. Yet, keeping us in mind He did not sin, for if He did we would have lost our salvation. Would you keep Him in mind when temptation comes your way: “And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.’” Does your sin give the Lord’s enemies great occasion to blaspheme?

Important Notice

Good day

I thank you for having read this blog with me as I have received it from the Lord over the past one and a half years. We have just finished with a discussion of the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen, and I trust that you have received something from it that would have encouraged you and brought you closer to the Lord. I, however, felt that the Lord wanted me to wait on Him over the next few days for guidance on the next phase, so I will not place another posting until further notice. Do not go away though, since I will place short golden nuggets as often as possible to keep the blog alive and in the meantime you have over 400 postings to read from unless you have read it all. So, please use this time to catch up on the remainder of the blog, for it contains timeless material aimed at encouraging and challenging the reader (and writer). Also pray for us as a family since we are moving into a new phase with our walk with God and we have a great challenge ahead of us, which we will reveal at the right time.

Lord, I pray that you bless each reader with truth from your word.

Love in Jesus

Henry

John 17 (Eleven) I Love You

Good day

We have reached the end of this chapter in our lives as well as the end of John chapter seventeen. Soon we will begin with an exciting new interactive process. I believe the Lord wants everybody reading this blog to be involved in developing a dimension in the body of Christ that would make an amazing difference to the church and the world we are travelling through. That, however, is for next time. Here is our message. Enjoy!

“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them,” (John 17:24-26).

Jesus wanted His disciples, who were not sufficiently heavenly minded at that stage in their lives, to be where He would be so they could see who He really was. It was as if, after all that they went through together, He couldn’t contain the anticipation of his friends’ awe when they see Him and Father God in their full glory. He wanted to show heaven off to them. Can you also sense the excitement and compassion with which Jesus prayed these words? It is as if His only wish is for people to know Father God the way Jesus knows Him. From these words we clearly get an impression of how special Father God is. It is like a child who brings his best friend home and introduces him to his hero, the one that is everything to him – his dad. We can also sense that Jesus is proud to know His Father and really wishes for His body to get to know Him the way Jesus knows Him, which is why He undertook to continually reveal His Father to His followers. The ultimate purpose of life for believers is to worship Father God in Spirit and in Truth (John 4:23). This verse states that Father God is seeking such people to worship Him, which is why Jesus attempts to get His body to do it.

I do not think we have any idea what the Father is like. The awe with which Jesus expressed His prayer in John 17 is very obvious and one can hear the passion in His words. If we could put Jesus’ words in the second part of this passage in other words they may sound something like this: ‘Father, the world does not know you, but I know you! If only the world could know you... wow, they really do not know what they miss. If they only could know and experience your amazing love and care the way I do, they will certainly be so much different. They will also start loving the way you do. Therefore I will do my best to make them understand what you are like, by putting them in situations where they could have a glimpse of understanding what you are like.’

Every now and then I have one of these glimpses of the Father’s care and love. I also get convicted of the things that I should get rid of, since they stand between me and understanding the Father’s amazing love. If we are constantly focused on ourselves and our concerns and interests, how will we ever get to see what Father God is like? He is love! “He is patient and kind; He does not envy or boast; He is not arrogant or rude. He does not insist on His own way; He is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. He bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. He never ends,” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8). He is joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Galatians 5:22, 23).

These are all theoretical statements, but one really begins to understand His love when you experience in your spirit Father God looking patiently on you with a gentle smile, shaking His head saying: ‘Henry, it is okay, just try again, next time you will succeed, but to help you get there, I will have to add these circumstances as discipline so you will not easily forget the consequences of your behaviour.’ Jesus seriously dreams of the day that we forget about ourselves to the point that we see Father God in spirit and truth all the time. Our enemy, however, goes to every effort to get us to constantly focus on ourselves so we would not see Father God. The choice of who will be pleased is in our hands, in our prayers and in the utilisation of our time.

Lord, I really desire to rid myself of everything that prevents me from seeing who you are.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

John 17 (Ten) Get Into One Another

Good day

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen.

To pick up the topic, you may need to read the one or two postings preceding this one.

You will have noticed that these messages do not come as regularly as usual. The Lord is busy with a move into a new dimension and as soon as we are finished with John 14-17 we will change direction. The blog will then become more interactive.

In Jesus’ prayer so far He has prayed for His disciples and in our messages we have made it applicable to us. Some may have wondered whether it actually were applicable to us, since He was talking about the twelve that was with Him. We read in John 17:20-23 that apart from the fact that we are also disciples, Jesus actually repeated His prayer on behalf of any disciples that would follow Him due to the twelve disciples’ faith and work: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”

Since this is a repetition we have already discussed it. There are, however, a couple of significant statements in these words of Jesus. He mentioned that if the world would see the unity within the body of Christ, they will believe that Father God loves us and that He sent Jesus, in other words that Jesus is God and therefore more than just another prophet. He put it so beautifully: ‘that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us’. Jesus and the Father is one because they are in one another, meaning that they think alike, love alike, trust one another, support one another, sacrifice for the sake of each other, live for the other one, and so on. When we read this passage it is quite obvious that we must be in God as well and they in us, just like they are in one another. This is exciting, but challenging at the same time since we can challenge ourselves by asking whether we think like them, love like them, trust them and one another like they do us, support them, sacrifice on their behalf and live for them. Or is it a one sided giving – God gives and we receive?

But there is another side to it as well. Jesus said: ‘that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you’, indicating that we need to be in one another as well. That is why the first converts got rid of all that represented their own identity and shared everything they had. In this modern materialistic world governed by money (Mammon) it is difficult to grasp that principle. Do we not often just look after our own and only give a little to the needs of others? Would we give money to the poor rather than getting involved with them, building them up by becoming one with their lives? Do we not have our private programs, which are usually so full that our family in Christ are lucky if they are allowed one hour a week of our time?

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect,” (Matthew 5:46-48). Do you get the idea? Only if we forget about ourselves in serving one another, like Father God forgot Himself in sacrificing His son and Jesus forgot Himself in serving mankind and then giving His life for us, and like every single apostle forgot themselves in serving those around them. Being perfect is to be inside the perfect One and Him in us. The word perfect means mature, and if we are therefore mature enough not to think constantly of ourselves like children do, we will be able to allow others to get into us and share what we have to give, and we will be able to get into their lives which are not always as comfortable as we would have liked life to be, giving of ourselves. The end result would be that the world will be so stunned by this amazing lifestyle of unselfish giving that they would want it as well, just as it was in the original church.

Do you think that this is where the church is at the moment? Does every member of the body allow others into their lives to receive from them? Do we purposely get into the lives of others to serve them to the end of our resources and to the point of suffering like Jesus and the apostles did? What can we do to change it?

Lord, please show us how we can get into one another to become one.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

John 17 (Nine) How to be Sanctified

Good day

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen.

To pick up the topic, you may need to read the one or two postings preceding this one.

You will have noticed that these messages do not come as regularly as usual. The Lord is busy with a move into a new dimension and as soon as we are finished with John 14-17 we will change direction. The blog will then become more interactive.

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world. And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth,” (John 17:17-19).

The word ‘sanctify’ means to consecrate, make holy, make sacred and to purify. Hebrews 12:14 tells us: “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” The Greek word translated as ‘holiness’ here has also been translated as ‘sanctification’ in other translations. Without being involved in the process of sanctification, in other words of becoming holy (set apart for God), individuals will not see the Lord. According to Jesus in verse seventeen above, sanctification is done by Father God through bringing those, who are being sanctified, into the truth, which is God’s Word. Jesus consecrated (sanctified) Himself by living the Word of God and He taught His disciples the Word so they can live the Word, which is why He gave them so much teaching. According to John 21:25 Jesus did and taught much more than was recorded in the Bible. The disciples therefore had the Word of God in their hearts and Father God, through the Holy Spirit, had something to work with.

He uses our knowledge of the Word, and directs our circumstances and interaction with other people to get us to a point where we live what the Word says. “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure,” (Philippians 2:12-13). The Lord’s dream for us is to become one with His Word for He is the Word: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth,” (John 1:1, 14).

Say for instance we need to be pure in our thinking. The Holy Spirit will then expose us to passages such as Colossians 3:1-3: “If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God,” and Philippians 4:8: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” Then He will allow unpleasant consequences every time we disobey this rhema command He has given us until we succeed in controlling our thoughts. He will also assist us in how to pray as we seek solutions to control our thoughts and give us other supporting passages along the way. The Holy Spirit will convict us every time we disobey and will add practical advice on how to control our thoughts. Can you see that the Lord goes to great lengths to consecrate us into the truth, but without our cooperation His hands are tied? As you can see this is only one example of one area in our lives that needs sanctification. Holiness is a lifetime process for Christians and needs to be actively pursued, which is why not much time is left to live for our own pleasure if we want to be like Jesus.

Being sanctified is therefore being set apart to live like the Word of God describes a life acceptable to Father God. Do you want to know Jesus? You therefore need to know the Bible. Do you want to be like Jesus and do what He did and do? You therefore need to live like the Bible commands? We will only be holy once we have become one with the Word of God, and we will only become one with the Word of God, and therefore one with Father God, if we start doing by faith everything the Word commands.

Lord, I am available. Please sanctify me in your truth (be aware that if you mean this prayer, the Lord is going to do it and your life might change).

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

John 17 (Eight) Acceptance or Rejection

Good day

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen.

To pick up the topic, you may need to read the one or two postings preceding this one.

“But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world,” (John 17:13-16).

I am thinking of the saying: ‘Birds of the same feather flock together.’ Kind looks after kind and therefore people, who think the same way, believe the same things and are of similar nature tend to seek one another’s company. Jesus said on several occasions that those who follow Him are only pilgrims or travellers through this world. We are citizens of the Kingdom of God who happen to have residency permits to stay in this world until our work here is completed, after which we return to our land, the Kingdom of God.

If we live like Kingdom citizens, the world will not like us because the lifestyle in the Kingdom is completely of another ‘feather’ as that of the world. The world will try to make Christians like they are and if Christians continue to refuse; the ‘birds of that kind of feather’ will reject the ‘birds’ that do not fit in. The world would reason: What is wrong for instance with sleeping together outside of marriage, having an abortion when the baby is unwanted, a lie when it could be justified and so on. When Christians then live by higher moral standards, they do not fit in and are hated.

It is interesting that Jesus asked His Father in our passage above that He should not take the disciples out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. Being different from the world is an honour to a Christian and if we could maintain it we bring glory to Father God. That is exactly what the devil tries to prevent. The hatred we receive from the world puts pressure on us to compromise with them, since if we are more like them we will not feel so lonely and rejected and it will release the constant pressure we live under. Satan therefore feeds that natural desire of the sinful nature for acceptance, and tempts us to become like the world, in other words to sin. It is not the hatred of the world that would harm us, but the pressure to become like them and Satan is very active in His subtle attempts to get us there, which is why Jesus prayed that Father God must protect us from Him. If we keep our faith in Jesus and our eyes on things above and not on earthly things as the Word commands, and if Jesus is our first love, we will have a fortress of love to flee to every time the hatred of the world becomes too much for us. But the temptation to sin and compromise is silent and subtle and we do not always see it coming, which is why we need Father God’s protection.

We just need to always be aware of the fact that it is not wrong to be odd, to be different and to be unacceptable to the world. We are accepted by the beloved and that is sufficient. The godlier we live, the more we will be rejected and persecuted. We must therefore find our acceptance by faith in the love of the Lord and in the love of his people, our family in Christ.

Lord, please help me to look to you for acceptance.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

John 17 (Seven) Which Name Is One (Part Three)

Good day

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen.

To pick up the topic, you may need to read the one or two postings preceding this one.

This message is a continuation of our previous message.

“And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,” (John 17:11, 12).

We see that, according to John 17:11 & 12, there is safety in unity and this unity exists in being one with God. The emphasis is on the Lord and on His name. Many little Kingdoms have been built in the past and are being built these days. Satan is subtle and man’s heart is deceitful above all things (Jeremiah 17:9). We therefore find that, although things sometimes appear to be in the name of the Lord, if we look carefully the motive of the heart is very much aimed on self and many people get deceived by it.

We really need to be discerning. Two friends of ours went to a meeting in London arranged by a certain great preacher’s ministry. The name of that preacher draw the people to the meeting and thousands turned up. The person who spoke was the financial administrator of that great preacher. He told the congregation of this new special anointing that creates prosperity and riches, which originated in the United States, and of the success it had there. He then encouraged the people to go forward and give £1000.00 to the Lord. Those who did it within the first thirty minutes would receive this special anointing when he prayed for them. He made use of typical sales techniques such as various payment methods and time limits and, according to our friend, people rushed forward in their hundreds. He then reduced the sum to £500.00 for those who could not afford the higher amount and so on.

Based on what Jesus said on various occasions about money and rich people and the fact that His gifts are free, was it possible that it was God’s name that united these people? Was it love for the Lord that united these people? Was these people’s focus on things above or on earthly things (Colossians 3:1-3)? Was it the name of the LORD that united these people or was it the name of the well-known, charismatic prosperity preacher that drew them together? By running after this so-called anointing, were they aiming for a treasure in heaven or a treasure on earth (Matthew 6:19, 20)?

These particular people were united by the well-known name of a man and their love of money. Their focus was on what could make them happy on earth, which is money, and not so much on what awaits them in heaven, and the people who smiled all the way to the bank were those who collected those thousands of £1000.00 donations. One can reason that the money would have been used for God’s Kingdom, but if this was the case, the Lord would have wanted to guide people in their giving voluntary. He would have wanted those in need of the money to depend on Him daily – to wait on Him. He would never make use of sales manipulation techniques to accomplish His purposes.

Can you see that there is much deception within the church? Huge portions of the church are linked to either names of people or names of organisations and these determine how things are to be done within their organisation. Are they really united by the name of the Lord? Is God really their source? I have seen so many times how preachers learn from other preachers how to go about to get power and money out of gullible Christians who only want to please the Lord. Successful prosperity preachers often receive pastors from over the world to learn from them.

The Lord said in Matthew 7:13, 14: “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” He was not only talking about the world and their sin in this passage. He referred to anybody who tries to live an easy life whilst maintaining religion on the sideline as a ‘spare wheel’ or an escape gate.

The life in the name of the Lord is a narrow, focused unification with the Name above all names, taking from it the anointing to accomplish God’s will on earth and also the hardship that goes along with it. Jesus suffered because of this Name, all the disciples suffered because of this Name and the real church suffers because of it. Do you really want to be one of the thousands that live on the wide road of a prosperous life here on earth, or do you want to be part of the handful that suffer for the sake of the Lord’s name on earth, but whose real treasure are souls in heaven?

Lord, I really want to be one of the handful entering eternal life.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

John 17 (Six) Which Name Is One (Part Two)

Good day

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen.

To pick up the topic, you may need to read the one or two postings preceding this one.

You would have noticed that the messages do not come as regularly as before. This is because time is tight and I work longer and irregular hours at present. Please keep us in your prayers, since many important developments also take hold of our time.

This message is a continuation of our previous message and is also shorter than usual because of the mentioned challenges.

“And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,” (John 17:11, 12).

I may have confused you in our previous message and some may even think I am being misleading, since we always understood that the power and authority is in the name of Jesus. It is, but it is not the name ‘Jesus’ that has the authority. ‘Jesus’ is only the Greek for the Hebrew version ‘Joshua’, both of which means saviour. The name could be something totally different and would still have the same power. The power is not so much in the name as it is in being one with those who the name represents. To Father God the name of Jesus is not the important issue, but it is being in Jesus, the person to whom the name belongs, that is important. We see an example of this in Acts 19:13-16 where God used Paul in extraordinary power and “then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.’ Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?’ And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”

It is not the name of Jesus that makes the difference, but the relationship of obedience with Him and Father God. Are we prepared to identify with them, to be counted as one with them, to bear the same name even when it costs us our comfort and our lives? “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it,” (Matthew 16:25). Whilst talking about those who would use His name to advance their own interests without having a relationship with Him and His Father, Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23: “‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

The name of Jesus is not the miracle power, but the willingness to share our entire being with Him. Jesus was very outspoken about this all the way through His teachings, in fact throughout the history of Israel as recorded right through the Bible. The Lord does not want to be shared – not with our own interests, not with other ideologies, not with money and everything it can buy, and He does not want to be used for selfish purposes. He wants us only to Himself and that is where we will be safe.

To be continued.

Lord, I really want to be one with you.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

John 17 (Five) Which Name Is One

Good day

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen.

To pick up the topic, you may need to read the one or two postings preceding this one.

“And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled,” (John 17:11, 12).

Usually if we want our prayers to have authority we pray in the name of Jesus, since to Him belongs all authority. “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,’” (Matthew 28:18), and in Philippians 2:4-11: “Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

As we can see, because Jesus was prepared to be the least, He became the highest authority that ever existed. He therefore was a living example of the principle He worded in Matthew 23:12: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” It is interesting, though, that He said in John 17:11 He received His Father’s name and that this name united Jesus and His Father. What is this name? Is it actually the name ‘Jesus’, which means Saviour, since Jesus is definitely not Father God’s name?

Let us go right back to where God introduced Himself to Moses at the burning bush. We read in Exodus 3:2: “And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed.” As we know, when the Bible refers to ‘the angel of the Lord’ it actually refers to Jesus. When Moses asked God what His name was, he received the answer in Genesis 3:14, 15: “God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am.’ And he said, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, ‘I am has sent me to you.’ God also said to Moses, ‘Say this to the people of Israel, ‘The Lord, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is my name forever, and thus I am to be remembered throughout all generations.’”

This is the name that united Jesus and His Father. They are I AM, the LORD. They simply are, and have nothing to explain to those who doubt them, who try to figure out where they come from and generally who try to understand them. That is what unites them – their uniqueness, power, omniscience, omnipresence, their agape love and so on.

We just need to remain in that name - nothing to explain or understand, but only to believe. We need to believe that in Christ we are, just as they are. We are, because through some unexplainable miracle when we got born again we have received a new spirit, our sins are forgiven and we are counted as family of the Almighty God. Because of their uniqueness Jesus and His Father is one and it is the same uniqueness that would make us one, providing that we realise how unique we are and not crave to be like everyone else.

One of the major problems people are facing is peer pressure. At school, but actually throughout our lives we are pressurised to conform to a certain manner of living. Fashion tendencies, the type of furniture we have, the cars we drive, the type of social life we have, and so on determine our behaviour and in many ways affect the unity amongst Christians. This is why Jesus warned us against the power of the god of money (Matthew 6:24). The less we need to compromise in terms of the outside appearance, the more unique we will be together in our internal oneness. To Jesus His Father is everything, and doing His Father’s will is life. To bear His Father’s name and be in one spirit with Him is the reason of Jesus’ existence. We bear the same name, but how much does it mean to us? To be continued.

Lord, I really want to be one with you and your children.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

John 17 (Four) His Glory in Us

Good day

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen.

To pick up the topic, you may need to read the one or two postings preceding this one.

“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them,” (John 17:9, 10).

This was a very significant hour in the life of humankind. Jesus has completed the work He came to do on earth, apart from being the sacrifice for the sins of the world. He has set the scene and has trained the workers to take over from Him. Now the King of Glory, who has received all authority, prayed for those who would follow in His footsteps and what a powerful prayer it was, since it was prayed from a one hundred percent pure and sincere heart that was completely within the will of Father God (James 5:16B, 1 John 5:14, 15). It certainly would have been answered and are still answered if those, who Jesus prayed for, could believe with Him. In this passage Jesus also called those things that are not as though they were (Romans 4:17) by simply declaring that He is glorified in those that the Father gave Him.

This was a declaration by faith about the disciples, since if He had to look at them as they were at that stage; there was not much of a chance that He would have been glorified in them. They were about to run away from Him, deny Him, doubt Him and huddle in fear in the upper room after His crucifixion, so where was the glory? Jesus said this with the same confidence with which He told them during the Sermon on the Mount: “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven,” (Matthew 5:14-16). He told them that they are the light, not that they could possibly be the light if they perform appropriately. How could Jesus have known this so confidently, especially in the light of the weaknesses in the disciples that He knew about?

Whoever the Lord gives eternal life through rebirth belongs to Him, and it is said of Him that “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ,” (Philippians 1:6). The Lord has confidence in His ability and knows that, once a person has committed to His power and love, glory will be the end result. In an earlier message we have seen that God’s glory actually is in that fact that people get saved. He does not need for us to be perfect. We do not need to appear to be someone we are not. All we need to be is the light we are – separated for God’s use, humble in heart and repentant of our sinful nature through our walking in the Holy Spirit.

We often hear the people of the world sneering: ‘She says she is a Christian, but look what she does...’ and so they keep on trying to find fault. At rebirth the Lord started a good work in us and He will complete it at the coming of Christ for us, whether it is at Jesus’ second coming or our departure to be with Him at our death. The good work has nothing to do with the impression man has of us. If the opinion of man is important we will live to please man. Our service will be man oriented and we will be concerned what man thinks of us, which leads to compromise. The good work has everything to do with glorifying God in the spiritual realm, though. “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him,” (John 4:23).What does God think of us, do we gain for ourselves a treasure in heaven, what do God’s enemies (the spiritual forces in the heavenly realms) think of us? We read in Job 1:8 that God asked Satan:  “Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” and when David sinned the Lord sent Nathan who told him in 2 Samuel 12:14: “However, because by this deed you have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also who is born to you shall surely die.”

Because Jesus was confident of the disciples’ potential for obedience through the help of the counsellor the Holy Spirit, He was certain that He would be glorified in them. How certain is Jesus of your commitment? Are you submitted enough to allow Him to use you to His glory?

Lord, help me to live a life separated for you so I would not disgrace you in the spiritual realm.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

John 17 (Three) Manifestation

Good day

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen.

To pick up the topic, you may need to read the one or two postings preceding this one.

“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. ⁷ Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. ⁸ For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me,” (John 17:6-8).

In this chapter of the gospel of John Jesus lay strong emphasis on His task of manifesting the name of Father God, making sure the disciples and all those that followed them understood that Jesus, and everything He presented for the sake of mankind, came from Father God. Just like with many Christians today the Jews knew they served the living God, but to many of them it was just a tradition, a ritual they had to follow. At the time He was not a reality to them and Jesus came to make Him that reality. Starting with His disciples He had to make first of all the Jews, and then the whole world understand that Father God was a personal God who desired intimacy with His loved ones. Jesus used the word ‘manifest’ in verse six. As we see in John 14:7-9 Jesus did not only talk about His Father, but He manifested Him: “‘If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.’ Philip said to him, ‘Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’”?

In His words as recorded in John 5:19 we find the reason why Jesus manifested His Father: “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise.’” The message that the Holy Spirit lay on my heart from this passage can be summarised in this question: Do we see Father God in the words and actions of His servants, or do we see the servants? This could be in both a positive and a negative way. When a preacher or an author reveals knowledge that pleases us, we often put them on a pedestal and single them out as somebody special. However, we do not like and often criticise or persecute those who challenge us when it comes to our disobedience. In the modern day church culture we hear a lot of ‘God-loves-and-blesses-us’ sermons and not too many sermons challenging our sin and disobedience. The Lord uses His Word, and also wants to use His servants to confront our iniquities.

The point I try to make is that the Lord manifests Him through His servants, both to encourage and to challenge His people, and we need to see Him and not the servants behind what His servants say and do. When the servants say something great, the Lord needs to be praised and when the servants reprimand us, we need to yield to the reprimand without criticising and persecuting the servants, for they only manifest God to us. We also should believe messages as a word from God and not the opinion of man when it is Bible based and challenging, learning from it what we can. The servants need to say what the Lord tells them to say without compromising or editing what they have heard. Jesus did not beat around the bush and neither did the apostles and they saw much fruit on their labour, but also experienced a lot of pain and persecution.

Jesus must have felt proud of the disciples when He said in verse 6B that the disciples have kept His Father’s word, which Jesus gave them. For three years He moulded the men He had chosen, and it was as if He now presented them to His Father as successful products of His labour. We were also given the Father’s Word, in the Bible and through the Holy Spirit’s instructions every day. Could Jesus be proud of us as well because we keep the word He has given us?

Lord, help me realise it is all about you and for your glory.

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.

John 17 (Two) Creative Purpose of Man

Good day

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen.

To pick up the topic, you may need to read the one or two postings preceding this one.

“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed,” (John 17:4, 5).

The work Jesus was given to do consisted of a lot of activity, which was aimed at one primary purpose – to give eternal life to those Father God loves. Having accomplished that which He was sent to earth for, was all that was needed to glorify Father God. There is no evidence in the Bible that Jesus for instance sang worship songs in church in order to glorify God. The way He glorified God was to humble himself in obedience, lifting His Father up. “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross,” (Philippians 2:5-8). “So Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise,’” (John 5:19).

The creative purpose of man is to glorify the Lord God. When Adam was created, he was so perfect that He walked in fellowship with the Lord. There was no sin that separated him from his Maker and they were in perfect harmony. When Jesus came to earth He was in perfect harmony with Father God, for there was no sin that separated them. The only way Jesus was able to return to His Father in heaven and continue in their glorified relationship at one another’s side, was for Jesus to glorify Father God by completing what He came to do on earth, which was ensuring that Adam’s descendants’ relationship with Father God was restored to the level it was before Adam had sinned.

Would you like to be able to say almost like Jesus did: “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that Adam had before he had sinned.” This is what Jesus, the second Adam, came to do. He came to restore for us what Adam had messed up, but it is up to us to glorify Father God by accomplishing what we were created for – to continue the work that the second Adam, Jesus, started. I have often wondered how earth would have been had man never sinned. Obviously Adam would have continued walking with God in fellowship and probably would have increased in numbers, but everybody would have walked in harmony with God. This is what Father God’s dream has been ever since Adam sinned, which is why He first of all chose for Himself a nation from which the Messiah was born. He in turn set the whole world free from the curse of sin, so that everyone who becomes one with Jesus could share in the original glory Adam had with God, but this time in a new heaven and new earth.

How much time and effort do we put into accomplishing that which we are called for, in order to help Father God accomplishing His dream? In our previous message we have looked at what we really know and do. Many of us are so focused on all the distractions this world offers us, being busy entertaining ourselves whilst attempting to survive, that we do not even try to find out what we are to do in order to glorify God the Father. Father God and Jesus have made every effort to prepare the way for us to restore our relationship with Him, so we can live in glorious harmony with Him as originally intended. What do we do to glorify Him?

This is not going to be easy though, since we still have the serpent around whose primary purpose is to stop man from living in harmony with God. Whatever we have and are we have and are in Christ Jesus. On our own we are not able to do anything, but as long as we stay in Christ we can do and be anything. When Peter walked on the water toward Jesus he did well as long as he kept his eyes on Jesus, but when He started to look at the waves he sank. Waves are sent to us all the time in an attempt to get our focus away from Jesus onto ourselves, our own comfort, ambitions and problems. This, however, does not glorify Father God, but ourselves, which is why we will sink into a pit of self-centredness. But if we keep our eyes on Jesus, who glorified Father God by accomplishing what He was sent to do, we will walk on the water of the accomplishment of what we were sent to do.

Lord, please give me grace to stop living for myself and complete what you gave me to do here on earth?

Thank you Lord that your Word went out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which you sent it.

Please pass this on if you think others may benefit by it.