Based off John 13-16
Tomorrow I will turn 70 years old, Lord willing. It is hard
to believe that I have lived that long. And, the next day will be the year
2020, which is also so unbelievable, too. It seems so futuristic. It brings
back memories of old SCI-FI movies I watched as a child or as a young adult
which tried to depict what life would be like in the 2000ths. And some of those
projections must have certainly come to fruition, although I would guess that
they didn’t all.
Seventy years is considered a lifetime. So, I have lived a
normal lifespan. I have seen a lot, and I have experienced a lot over my
lifetime. Some of it was good, and some of it was bad. But, God allowed it all
in my life to make me who I am today doing what I am doing for his praise,
honor and glory. So, even the bad times God used to work good in my life, so I
praise him.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 ESV
Jesus knew that his hour had come for him to depart out of
this world to the Father, so he talked for a long while with his disciples in
order to prepare them for what was coming, so that they would not be taken by
surprise when, what he said was going to happen actually did take place.
So, he taught them how to be humble and how to be servants,
one to another, and he taught them the gospel of our salvation, too, that it is
not just a one-time cleansing, but that it is a daily walk with the Lord, and a
daily cleansing of sin, and a daily dying to sin and self and walking according
to the Spirit and not according to the flesh.
He also told them that one among them would betray him,
although they didn’t get it. They didn’t understand what he was saying.
Love One Another
And, then he instructed them in how to love one another as
He has loved us. He said that this would be the sign to all people that we are
his disciples, if we have love one for the other. And, the way in which he
loved us was that he humbled himself, became a servant, and he gave up his
reputation and his life on a cross so that we can be free from our bondage to
sin and so that we can be free to walk righteously before him.
So, if we are going to love others as Jesus loved us, then
we need to humble ourselves and be willing to give up our reputations and our
lives in order to tell people the truth about sin, salvation, and eternal life
with God. For, when we do tell them the truth, many will hate and reject us
just like they hated and rejected and killed Jesus Christ because what he told
them was the truth, and they didn’t like the truth.
Then, he went on to tell them, to tell us, what it truly
means to believe in him as our Lord and Savior. He said that if we love him, we
will obey his commandments, and he will show himself to us. And, he said that
if we love him by keeping his commandments, that God the Father will love us
and that they will come to us and make their home with us. And, he said that if
we don’t walk in obedience to his commandments, that we don’t love him.
Abide In Christ
From there he went on to talk about how he is the vine and
that we are his branches, and that we can only bear fruit (outgrowth, produce)
for his eternal kingdom if we abide in him and if his word abides in us. And,
this word “abide” means to live, to have our life, our existence in him and in
his word. And, it means to endure without yielding to the enemy, and to accept
him and his word without objection. And, it means to remain stable and fixed on
the truth of God’s Word in practice in our lives, not just in theory.
But, with that he gave a warning that if we do not abide in
him and his word in us that we will be in danger of being cut off from the vine
and thrown away into the fire. For, we must walk according to the Spirit and no
longer according to the flesh if we want to have eternal life with God (Lu.
9:23-26; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Eph. 4:17-24).
Hated and Persecuted
From there he went on to talk about how we can expect to be
hated and persecuted for righteousness’ sake if we truly do walk in obedience
to his commands, and if we do truly abide in him and his word abides in us. He
said that if the world hated him then it will surely hate us if we are truly
walking in his love, and if we are truly his followers.
And, who was the world who hated him? It was the people of
his own family, his own community, his own faith, his own race, and his own
ancestry. And, it was the religious leaders and rulers within the temple of
God.
So, this would be like our family members hating and
persecuting us, and us facing persecution from people of our own race within
our own communities. But, it goes beyond that, for this includes others who
profess faith in Jesus Christ who are within the gatherings of the church, and
this especially includes people in positions of rule and authority within the
church, too.
And, I can attest to that having been a lot of the bad that
I went through in my life, too, beginning with being raised by an abusive
father and a good mother, but one who was emotionally neglectful. And, then it
went on to being rejected and mistreated by church people and church leaders
and by a husband who was an addict (publicly confessed), and more. For, when we
take a stand for the Lord and for the truth of His Word, Jesus said we will be hated
and mistreated as he was, so it should not surprise us.
So We Don’t Fall Away
And, then Jesus went on to say that he said all these things
to keep us from falling away. For, if we get the idea that faith in Jesus
Christ is easy street, and that obedience and repentance are not required for
our salvation and for eternal life with God, we may fall away because we are
convinced that our conduct will not affect our eternal salvation.
Also, if we are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and we
don’t understand that this is all part of the Christian walk of faith, and that
it is something that we should expect, then we may fall away when persecution
comes, because we will feel it is too hard, so who can bare it?
But, a correct understanding of this realizes that this is
all part of God’s plan for our lives and that there is a purpose for it all,
and that God will give us all the strength we need to endure, and he will turn
it all around for our good and for the good of others.
So, to keep from falling when the bad things come our way,
which they will, we need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, and we need to keep
our minds and our hearts fixed on his purposes and his will for our lives. And,
we need to trust in his absolute sovereignty over our lives, and trust him in
all things, and in all circumstances, through it all.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 ESV
Oh,
to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics
by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music
by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s
treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of
compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the
fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy
love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy
fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment