John 14 (Eleven) Do You See?

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first posting in the series – John 14 (One).

"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you (John 14:18-20).

What did Jesus mean when He mentioned orphans? The Greek word used for ‘orphans’ means comfortless, in other words bereft of a father or parents or of a guide. He simply meant He would not leave the disciples, and therefore us Christians, to ourselves – He will be there for us. An orphan is a child growing up without the comfort and direction of parents, especially of a father. These words of His indicate that we disciples are not able to cope on our own. We may be able to cope as adults in a human world, but in the spirit world we are but children – we need a Dad for protection, comfort and guidance.

The next word in this passage that needs some explanation is the word “see”. Jesus stated that soon the world (those who are not part of Him) will not see Him anymore, but the disciples will see Him. He probably meant it physically, since after His ascension it was obvious that nobody would see Him, but we can also assume He was talking about the post-ascension time, which is why He mentioned that the disciples would still be able to see Him. How could his past and present disciples see Jesus? The Greek word used in this passage means "to see, to behold, to view attentively, to view mentally, to enjoy the presence of one, and to discern." This word is not used of an indifferent spectator, but of one who looks at a thing with interest and for a purpose. From these definitions we gather that ‘see’ here actually means to see Jesus in the spirit, perceiving Him with the mind’s eye, to enjoy His presence and feel His closeness.

That is why the world will not be able to see Him, because to be able to ‘see’ one must behold Him - look for Him attentively and with interest. Even Christians would not experience His presence if they were indifferent. To see Him demands undivided attention and focus. ‘So I see Him, but what do I see? Do I see him physically?’ you may ask. We see Him for who He is. He says in John 14:21, which we will discuss later, the following: “He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will reveal Myself to him" (MKJV).

The greatest adventure for a Christian is not doing all kinds of exciting things, but is to get to know the Lord. It is to self-develop through doing the Word and then see how He responds by making Himself known. This is how the original disciples saw the Lord and how we would see Him. We experience His presence and get to know how He thinks. Although the latter focuses on Jesus' personality, Jesus also offered His disciples other things such as physical peace, comfort, strength and love while He was on earth. These we can also have through the Spirit if we would seek to find them. To those who eagerly seek Him (Matthew 7:7), to them He will be there as if He was there physically, just like the apostles and Paul experienced His presence. On the Lord’s part nothing has changed. It is us who found ‘more important’ things to do with our time so that we do not experience His reality in our presence. There is, however, a condition to seeing Him - you must be born again. The spirit with which we are born is dead toward God due to Adam’s sin and can therefore not connect with the Holy Spirit. It therefore needs to be renewed through rebirth after which we must be baptised with the Holy Spirit, because Jesus only lives within us through His Holy Spirit.

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.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

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

John 14 (Ten) ‘With’ or ‘In’

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first posting in the series – John 14 (One).

“The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you,” (John 14:17).

I was about to skip this passage since I didn’t intend to teach about these chapters verse by verse, when the Lord opened my spirit to something very interesting. Jesus said that the disciples knew the Holy Spirit because He lives with them and will be in them. Note that at the time Jesus that said this the Holy Spirit was, according to Jesus, already with them and would have been in them at a future date. What is the difference between the ‘with’ and the ‘in’ in this passage? The Holy Spirit lived in Jesus since the day He was baptised with the Holy Spirit. Because Jesus was with the disciples and they saw the Holy Spirit in action through Him and believed, Jesus stated that they have known the Holy Spirit for He was with them through Jesus. The reason why the World can neither see nor know the Holy Spirit is simply because they will see Him in action but refuse to believe.

Jesus however also stated that the Holy Spirit “will be in you”. What we see here is that even though the disciples had been with Jesus for almost three years, they had not been baptised with the Holy Spirit yet and therefore did not have the Holy Spirit living in them. This is the reason why they were weak and hid in a room after His crucifixion and even after His ascension. At the time of our passage they were not even born again yet. It seemed that they were only born again at the moment recorded in John 16:30-31: “‘Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.’ 

‘You believe at last!’ Jesus answered.” This was the moment when faith entered their hearts and they thus got born again. It was only after they were baptised with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2) that they received power to preach the gospel (Acts 1:8) and confirmed it with love and miracles. A practical example was Peter who, at the time of Jesus’ arrest had been born again, but still had no love or courage, which is why he selfishly and fearfully denied that he knew Jesus. After the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, however, we read in Acts chapter 2 and several other chapters that this same weak man acted with tremendous courage and boldness.

We get exactly the same situation today. Many believers believe in the Lord Jesus and are saved (Mark 16:16, Romans 10:9), but experience no power. They feel too fearful to preach the Gospel, have no confidence to pray for the sick, do not act with the power of the Word of Knowledge and Wisdom and in general do not walk in the Spirit but in the flesh - acting on the prompting of the mind rather than that of the Spirit. These people only live with the Holy Spirit. However, when we are born again and baptised with the Holy Spirit, we have the Holy Spirit with all His gifts and power living in us. All that power, love, knowledge and wisdom are then available to us to enable us to effectively build the Kingdom of God there where we are called to.

How do you get baptised with the Holy Spirit? Either ask the Father yourself to give you the Holy Spirit as Jesus offered in Luke 11:13: “If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Otherwise you can ask someone to lay the hands on you (Acts 19:2-6).

Holy Spirit, please come and live in me and fill me with your presence and everything that comes along as promised in the Word of God.

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.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

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

John 14 (Nine) Having Counselling

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first posting in the series – John 14 (One).

"If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever - The Spirit of truth," (John 14:15-16).

When Jesus spoke the words in John 14:13-14, I can imagine the disciples thinking: Wow, whatever we ask in His name - how about a nice something to make life comfortable? Maybe they had a new fishing boat or a bigger house in mind. Jesus, however, added some water to their fire in the above passage. He basically said: ‘If you love me, you will do as I say and also make use of the offer to ask for whatever you need to get the task done.’ He added in the same breath that He would ask the Father to give the Holy Spirit. Did you see the condition? ‘If you love me’ you will prove it ‘by obeying my commands’, and to help you I will ask the Father to give you the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is called a counsellor. What is the work of a counsellor? Is it not to guide us in discovering truth about ourselves? Is it not to guide us in the way we should go? If one for example consults a marriage counsellor, she will have two purposes in mind - to get both partners to see where they individually have gone wrong in the course of the marriage, and then to guide them in the necessary action to put things right. This Counsellor is called the Spirit of Truth and His task is to counsel us in the truth.

Here is where many Christians get deceived. I once drove behind a vehicle that had the following written on the rear window: ‘Have you experienced the Holy Spirit power’. On the door was the emblem of a church organisation. I asked myself whether that is what the Holy Spirit is all about – to have some sensational experience. Paul summarised the role of the Holy Spirit well in 2 Timothy 1:7: "For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind" (KJV). Although the context is somewhat different, the truth is the same. The Holy Spirit works in three ways:

·         Through power - 1 Corinthians 2:4: "My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power,” and in 1 Thessalonians 1:5: "Because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake." Miracles were many – of that we have enough evidence from the book of Acts - but the power spoken of in these passages is power related to preaching, conviction and lifestyle.

We therefore need the Holy Spirit to counsel us in how He wants us to implement His power to change the hearts of the people to God; whether by miracles, conviction or His gifts. His power is not meant for the church to draw people to a sensational meeting in order to make us look good or to increase the popularity of the church, but to assist us in building the Kingdom of God.

·         Through love. Since the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of love, His task is to counsel us how to love one another. Only through love toward one another (John 13:35: By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another) and toward our enemies (Luke 6:27: But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you) we will be able to build the Kingdom of God and at the same time love the Lord, since we then obey His commands.

·         Through a sound mind. This is a very important role of the Holy Spirit. Why? Because the devil goes out of his way to confuse God’s people. One only has to look at all the deception under the name of Christianity to understand this, leave alone the battle of the mind that every Christian experiences. The meaning of the Greek word for sound mind is self-control and is translated in the NIV as self-discipline.

The Holy Spirit therefore has the task to counsel us how to always have God’s mind concerning His Kingdom, and how to exercise self-control when dealing with all the power and knowledge we get exposed to when being involved with God’s Kingdom. He will guide us away from ourselves towards the Lord who deserves all the glory.

I submit to your guidance Holy Spirit, so I can prove my love through obedience.

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.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

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

John 14 (Eight) Whatever You Ask

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first posting in the series – John 14 (One).

In order to keep the pace right, this message will be shorter.

"And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it" (John 14:13, 14).

How often have you blamed the Lord; "Lord, I ask and ask, and ask, and ask in your name but I do not receive?" What do we ask and with what motivation? We have just discussed the god that many Christians actually serve - Mammon. In what context do you think Jesus spoke the above words? It was written in the context of the previous verse. Earlier we have proved that Jesus was in the Father as the Father was in Him. He did nothing out of His own. When He was therefore challenged with a faith situation, He first asked Father to give Him that which He needed to accomplish the task, including the faith. I often wondered why Jesus waited four days to attend to Lazarus (John 11:1-44). Then a thought came to me. This was not an easy miracle and Jesus needed to spend some more time than the average to consult with Father and receive what He needed to do this great miracle. When Jesus called Lazarus forth, as recorded in John 11:43: "the dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face." Was it possible for Lazarus to walk with his hands and feet bound to his body and his face covered with a cloth? No. So how did he get out? The power of God lifted him and brought him out, Hallelujah!

Jesus therefore actually said: "Whatever you need for the sake of My Kingdom here on earth, just ask it in My name and I will do it so that the Son may bring glory to the Father". Asking for all kinds of things to suit our own comfort, to make life easier for us and rid us of our personal troubles is not what Jesus meant in this invitation. Once again we can link up with 1 John 5:14 & 15: “This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him.” Father God desires basically only a few things, namely souls and truth (1 Timothy 2:4), obedience (1 Samuel 15:22) and faith (Hebrews 11:6). Therefore before we ask anything of God it will be wise to establish the Father’s will regarding these basic guidelines first and then ask for anything we might need in order to establish His Kingdom here on earth.

Father, please share with me your will regarding your Kingdom for my life, in Jesus name, amen.

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.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

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

John 14 (Seven) Faith For Miracles

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first posting in the series – John 14 (One).

 

"I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father" (John 14:12). Every time I read this verse I ask myself why we then see so few miracles today. We have touched on it previously. We have mentioned that Jesus was completely sold out to the Father and we also mentioned that there are a few individual groups doing great things. If I, however, read this passage, two facts come to my attention. Firstly Jesus stated "anyone" (the KJV says he), which indicates an individual. Today we see great things being done by churches or organisations that lean quite heavily on money, marketing and numbers. Yes, the power of God does convince and convict people, but is this what Jesus had in mind here – great crusades, healing services, large churches and so on? Maybe partly, but He is talking about individuals having faith.

Having faith is the second aspect we notice in this passage. Jesus said if an individual believes in Him he will do the same things He has been doing and even greater things. What has Jesus done? Just read the Gospels - John 21:25: "Jesus did many other things as well. If every one of them were written down, I suppose that even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written." What did Jesus truly and actually expect when He spoke these words. I believe He expected His individual followers to spend their life healing, preaching and doing miracles – doing greater things than He has done. This is what the Disciples and the Apostles have done (Mark 6:8-13, Luke 10:1-24). Imagine the different place the world would have been if that had been the situation. Doctors, other health workers and undertakers would have had a hard living and the church would have grown mightily because Christians would have been everywhere healing and raising people from the dead and preaching the Gospel. Why would it be that we do not see these kinds of miracles regularly among all the followers of Jesus today? We see and hear about miracles by such as TB Joshua and Mel Tari (a few years back), but it is not general. Jesus said in Matthew 17:20, when the disciples asked Him why they were unable to drive the demon out: "'Because you have so little faith. I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you'".

We seem not to even have faith as big as a mustard seed. We think too easily: What if it does not work? Except for our faith, our focus is also wrong. Why are we concerned that it will not work? Is it because the Lord would then be embarrassed? No, it is because we might be embarrassed – what would people think of me? We also rely too easily on material things such as doctors and medicine and the power of money. All this modern technology destroy our faith. It is easy to think for example: If the Lord does not heal him, there is always medicine. Why do you think healing ministry in Africa is so powerful? It is because the people in the poor third world countries have nowhere else to turn to. Medicine in those countries is not what the developed countries are used to. Apart from that the people are too poor to afford good, expensive doctors. What are the options left - sickness, suffering and death? When one man therefore thinks he has faith like a mustard seed, enough not to wonder whether it will work or not, the Lord sees a golden opportunity to show off His power and the people benefit from the greater-things-than-Jesus-did opportunity.

Materialism destroys our faith because faith is the "substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen" (Hebrews 11:1). Faith that cannot be seen is the voucher, which is the evidence that God will act. Money can be seen as well as manipulated and can accomplish many of the things God wants to do for us, so why would we rely on faith if we can rely on money? Therefore what happens? Those who can afford to create their own miracles do so and sell it also to others who can afford to buy it. Those who cannot afford either, suffer in silence because they envy those who have money. Everybody is so busy being concerned about money that very few Christians even consider faith. Have you wondered why the Lord so much hate Mammon (Mat. 6:24, Luke 16:13)?

Lord, I choose faith.

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.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

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

John 14 (Six) Jesus’ Power Though Us

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first posting in the series – John 14 (One).

 

“Jesus answered: ‘Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, 'Show us the Father'? Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves,’” (John 14:9-11).

Why is it that the church seems so powerless? In the passage we’ll discuss next, Jesus mentioned that His Disciples would do greater things than He did, yet we don’t often see it. Is it not maybe that we are not one with Him as He is one with the Father? He said that the Father lives in Him and the works that the disciples saw and the teaching that they heard was actually not His, but the Father working through Him. Jesus was completely surrendered to His father. He did not think of His own comfort for one minute. He had no material possessions and no place to stay (Matthew 8:20). He spent all His time and energy either praying or ministering. His life consisted of receiving from the Father and giving it out. There was no time for entertainment, watching television, keeping a luxurious or even ordinary home and so on, if we could speak in modern terms.

How do we compare with Jesus? If we want to do greater things than he did, if we want revival – even as a church – how does our availability compare with His? There are a few individual groups doing great things, but what about the rest of the body? As the Father in Jesus did the work while He was on earth, so Jesus in us wants to do the work. Jesus said to the Father in His last hours before the crucifixion as recorded in John 17:4: “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do.” Now He wants us to do the same through Him that lives in us. He wants us to complete the work Father gave us. Do you know the work the Lord wants you to do? Maybe you do not have a specific Christian mission, but are placed in an ordinary day job and therefore think you are not called. Whether we are called to full-time ministry or full-time secular work with part time ministry, we still need to hear from the Lord on a daily basis what work He wants us to complete.

Jesus had to take action. He had to pray during the night to hear from His father what He wanted Jesus to say and do in order for the Father to do for people what He intended to. He had to exercise faith to do and say what His father told Him to. It was not any easier for Jesus to act by faith as it is for us. Do you think it was easy to spit in the mud and smear it onto the blind man’s eyes, having to believe that he will see, or to believe that Peter would find the coin in the fish’s mouth?

Jesus was exactly like any Spirit-filled Christian when He was on earth. He had the Holy Spirit, the Word in Him and He had open communication to the Father living in Him. Under guidance of the Holy Spirit He had to hear from the Father through the quickening of the Word in His heart. This would have created faith in Him to do what He had to. The more time He spent in prayer, the more power He had available to do miracles. 

Because we have the fullness of Christ living in us, we should be able to do the same if we devote the same time and energy to it.

 

Lord, I want to be like Jesus.

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.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

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

John 14 (Five) Do We Have the Life?

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first posting in the series – John 14 (One).

We continue with John 14:6: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Jesus is the life

This passage can easily be interpreted that Jesus is life, the opposite of death. In other words in Jesus a believer is alive, which is good, but it does not say life, but the life. The Greek word for life in this context is zoe, which means vitality, fullness of life that is animate, real and genuine, a life active and vigorous and devoted to God.

Because of Adam’s sin and resulting death we are all dead outside of Christ. Although we are alive, life is empty, senseless and without meaning and purpose – in short without the life, Jesus. But once Jesus’ life is poured into us through the Holy Spirit, life becomes fun. We, however, still have a choice. We can live life as per the definition above - full of vigour, vitality, animation and fullness or we can be carnally religious and sad.

Jesus said that He is the life and no one gets to the Father but by Him. The definition of the Greek word for life, zoe, has words like vitality, animate, absolute fullness, real and genuine, active and vigorous. This is how Jesus lived and what He desires for us to have in Him; a life that suggests productivity, fruitfulness, transparency and a testimony of something worthwhile to be desired by outsiders.

If Jesus in all His life and fullness lives in us through the Holy Spirit, our life will have these qualities. However, if we do not experience these qualities, it is quite possible that we have not exercised the faith required to allow Jesus to live through us in all His fullness, in other words we still rely too much on ourselves and people, or allow the sinful nature and Satan to rob us of our joy. It is then that, for instance, circumstances control us instead of faith, and worry often manipulates us.

 

“If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." Philip said, "Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us," (John 14:7-8).

Jesus’ standard is clear - we will only know the Father once we know Jesus. If for example you are an ordinary citizen of the country, a meeting with the president would be very difficult to accomplish. If, however, you are a close friend of the president’s son, you would be able to walk with him into the president’s office and meet with him if he is not occupied. Why? It is because the president and his staff know you personally as a friend of the family. If we know Jesus as a close friend, we will enter heaven one day saying: “Hi Lord Jesus, here I am – thanks to you I’ve made it.” He will then say: “Hi Pete, good to see you. Come let me introduce you to my Father, whom you already know.”

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew. 7:21-23).

Imagine the surprise when a person has done all these wonderful things in the name of Jesus with the attitude to be seen or to get recognition from men, but never went to the trouble of knowing Jesus and doing His Father’s will. When she walks into heaven and very confidently say: “Hi Lord Jesus here I am, do you remember me?” Jesus will look at her with a frown saying: “I never knew you.” I don’t want to be in that position. Do you?

Lord, help my faith please.

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.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

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

John 14 (Four) The Way to Be

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first posting in the series – John 14 (One).

We are currently discussing John 14:6-7: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him."

Jesus is the way we should go.

Does that mean that we only need to accept Jesus and would then get right to the Father? If this was true, the Bible could have been only one page and it would have been sufficient. The Bible, however, is packed with teaching to guide us in our discovering of the Way. We need to discover the way Jesus does things, the way He relates to us and to Father. We also need to discover Father’s ways. I have found the Old Testament excellent for that purpose. We learn their way by reading about it in the Bible and applying the principles in our own lives. Experiencing their response in our spirit and circumstances confirms to us whether we were right about our understanding of what they are like.

Say for example as a result of our background we believe God is a nasty judge, sitting in heaven just waiting for us to make a mistake so He can zap us. As we study the Bible though, we discover His love and forgiveness. We find that when we make a mistake and ask God’s forgiveness, peace fills our heart. We don’t even feel guilty about our mistake. When we forgive others we feel we’ve done the right thing; in fact a strange freedom and joy enter our heart. We also notice that people forgive us our sins and their love towards us brings joy. What has happened? We have discovered a way of the Lord, which we were unable to comprehend by just reading about it. In the same time we came a bit closer to the Lord, since we have experienced some of His character which we hadn’t known before.

Jesus is the truth we should live.

Into all individuals are programmed the urge to follow some direction, leading to a point in their life that will bring meaning and fulfilment. Many people, however, drift around purposeless, desperately seeking for some meaning in life. They are usually frustrated, lonely and desperate.

Spiritually there are many directions to follow. Buddhism, Islam, New Age, Jehovah’s Witnesses, and many other directions of thought make it their business to direct the minds of seeking individuals to some “meaningful” life and purpose. These religions, however, are instruments of the devil designed to deceive, leading to destruction. Each of these religions proclaims something they hold as truth. There can, however, only be one truth.

“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’” (John 8:31, 32). Free from what? Free from the burden of hopelessness, lack of peace, purposelessness and fear. The truth contained in Jesus and His teachings has the answer to every issue that life presents. It is important, however, to stick to the truth and to do the truth.

Jesus said in other words that He is the truth and no one gets to the Father except through the truth. It's no use we try to please the Father through our own ways of worship and service. It will bring us nowhere. No, we must “worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth,” (John 4:23, 24). This means we must know the truth presented by Jesus, and through realising this truth under guidance of the Holy Spirit we worship the Father through our spirit.

I'm reminded of Gideon in Judges 7:15: "As soon as Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshiped." He saw the Lord in action and realised a truth about Him and he couldn't but worship him. When we acknowledge something great about somebody, such as an entertainment star, we express worship to such a person. This is different from singing songs in church. This awe comes from our hearts. Then, according to John 4:23 we are true worshipers and will enter Father’s presence through the Truth, namely Jesus. Singing songs is a way of worship, a way of expressing our love for the Lord, but true worship is pleasing the Lord through faith-based obedience to the truth, in submission to and under guidance of the Holy Spirit. Following human guidance in religious activity is therefore not necessarily true worship, even if the songs are powerful and the atmosphere is electrified. One needs to ensure that the Holy Spirit is in control, which is why we received the gift to discern spirits.

Lord, show me your way and truth.

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.

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John 14 (Three) Do You Know Him?

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this you ought to have read from the first posting in the series – John 14 (One).

 

When Jesus told the poor disciples where He was going, they had not yet understood. They still relied on their physical senses. Up to then everything they observed had to be seen or heard. They still expected Jesus to become their physical king. I can therefore imagine Thomas thinking in terms of the geographical map of the Middle East. I can picture him paging in his mind through all the possible places in the surrounding areas where Jesus’ Father’s house possibly could be. He might even have thought of Joseph as Jesus' father - who knows. So he asked the most logical question, “Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way? (John 14:5)” to which Jesus answered: "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him (John 14:6, 7)."

Did the disciples really attempt to know and understand Jesus or were they just focusing outwardly on His works and their own concerns? It’s difficult to say. We do find much evidence in the Bible of their carnal thinking and their anticipation of Jesus as an earthly king. Think of their reactions when the children wanted to come to Jesus, during the multiplication of the food, when the blind man called after Jesus, when Jesus was glorified with Moses and Elijah, and so on. Their response was protecting Him physically, caring for His physical needs. They saw the physical miracles, but did not connect it to a spiritual Kingdom. They simply didn't have an idea of who He really was and why He came to earth?

Do we take trouble to get to know Jesus? Do you, dear reader, know the Way? It is not whether you know about the Way, whether you heard a description of the Way or an explanation of His character or His abilities. Have you personally experienced the Way?

If one travels a road for the first time, one carefully follows the instructions given you and looks out for road signs and turnoffs, but by the second and third time you have established beacons and eventually have no difficulty finding the place. 

In your relationship with the Lord, do you know how He would react to some of your behaviour? In an earthly relationship we eventually know our friend/spouse/employer so well that we know what turns her on and off, what irritates her and what frustrates her. We know when she is happy and what makes her sad. Do you know this about your Saviour and Master? Jesus actually said to Thomas: “If you know Me and are one with Me you would have no trouble to relate with my Father because we are the same”.

Why did Jesus say He is the way, the truth, and the life? Why did He not only say the way, in other words the door to the Father? He had already answered Thomas’ question. Why did he carry on saying “If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well?” I believe it is because He wants us to know His way of doing things on a daily basis, what He truly is like (the truth about Him) and the life that is in Him. He wants to show Himself to us; what it's like to have the right purpose and direction (Psalm 32:8), how to live in truth (John 8:32) and how to live life to the full (John 10:10).

The disciples knew Jesus very well. They walked very closely with Him every day. They, however, according to the record in the Bible, had no experience of His spiritual relationship with His Father. They were not there when He prayed, they could not hear when His Father answered back and they could not hear the Word of Knowledge and Wisdom that Jesus received whenever He needed it in His ministry. In fact, when He invited them to pray with Him during His time of anguish in Gethsemane, they were so bored they fell asleep. They just did not have any insight into the spiritual realm.

How many modern day Christians have understanding of the spiritual realm? My observation is that too many only see the physical. We tend to focus on our physical needs and outward worship activities, don't we?

But the disciples would, once they received the Holy Spirit, know that side as well, which is why Jesus said: “From now on, you do know him and have seen him”.

The Holy Spirit is the connection between the Father and us. Through Him we view Jesus and therefore Father God. It is impossible to get to know everything about a person by reading about such a person. The only way you get to know someone is by living with him.

Lord, help me to obey so you could reveal yourself to me.

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.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become a part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

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

John 14 (Two) Intimacy in Preparation

Good morning

For as long as it takes we are going to study the gospel of John chapters fourteen to seventeen. Some of it will be what I have already written and some will be new. Therefore it may sometimes appear that I leave off in the middle of a topic to be continued, since I have reached my daily word count limit. We will also return to placing a blog posting daily for the time being.

In order to follow this, you ought to have read from the first posting in the series - John 14 (One).

We concluded our last message by saying that Jesus’ preparation of the rooms in His Father’s house is continuous.

Father is holy and man not, so the preparation task of Jesus at the Father’s side involves first: “God exalted Him to his own right hand as Prince and Saviour that he might give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel” (Acts 5:31). And second: “Christ Jesus, who died - more than that, who was raised to life - is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Romans 8:34). He has to see to it that man is saved and then, as the Holy Spirit prepares man for holiness, Jesus intercedes for man. Jesus sees to it that man is ready to come into the Father’s presence -- the place (house) where He (Jesus) is. Through the Holy Spirit He must see to it that man enters the Kingdom – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven” (Mathew 7:21).

Usually the Father gives a command and the Holy Spirit converse it to man who is supposed to obey so God’s Kingdom can grow. When man does not do what the Spirit tells him to, Jesus intercedes for man while the Holy Spirit tries to convict man of his sin. The whole purpose of their effort, in their great love for man, is to keep man in right standing with the Father (righteousness) so man can be with God.

For what it’s worth, I would like to explain a revelation. I don’t make a doctrine of it, although it does make sense and answers some questions. I realise I have explained it before, but not everybody may have seen it.

I once said to the Lord I don’t think it's fair that all Christians go to the same heaven, for some live only a mediocre Christian life, being more concerned about their comfort than Kingdom issues, while others sacrifice their lives for the sake of the Kingdom, keeping nothing for themselves.

The Lord then showed me three passages in the Bible.

1. If you confess with your mouth that “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved (Romans 10:9). This passage and a few similar ones in the New Testament indicate that to be saved, we need only to believe in Jesus.

2. “In reply Jesus declared, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.’ ⁵Jesus answered, ‘I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit,’” (John 3:3 and 5). This passage indicates that the only way to see or enter the Kingdom of God is by being born again, in other words the miraculous renewal of the spirit when one accepts Jesus as his Saviour.

3. “Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord,” (Hebrews 12:14).

 

In light of these passages, I believe I received a picture of Jerusalem, as it was in the Bible times, as an illustration of heaven. Farms and villages surrounded the city of Jerusalem. The king’s palace, with its buildings and gardens, was inside the city. In the centre of the palace were the king’s courts and throne room.

I believe the Lord revealed to me that some will simply believe, but will not show much interest in knowing the King. These will live in heaven's villages or the countryside as per the illustration. They will not see the King. Those who are born again will see and enter the palace (the Kingdom), but only those who pursued holiness, whilst on earth, will live in the courts of the King and see Him face to face. The degree of intimacy we have with God on earth, therefore, will determine how close we will be to Him in heaven.

In this final teaching of Jesus, as recorded in the book of John chapters 14 to 17, He gave intense attention to this aspect of closeness to the Father, because He knew that intimacy on earth will mean eternal intimacy.

Lord, please help me to be intimate 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.

We support a mission. Have a look at the work, which you may become part of HERE. You may also want to look at the Website.

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