“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:12-15 ESV)
“Jesus answered them, ‘Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. 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 16:31-33 ESV)
In context, Jesus Christ was speaking to his disciples (his followers), and he was letting them know that he was going to be leaving them soon, and regarding what they should expect to then happen. He warned them of Christian persecution, even coming from their fellow Jews, and that many of them would be put to death for their walks of faith in the Lord Jesus and for their testimonies for him. And he said these things to them in order to keep them from falling away from their pure devotion to Christ as their Lord.
And then he told them that after he went away (after his death and resurrection and he went back to the Father) that he would send them the promised Holy Spirit who would guide them into all truth, for he spoke on the authority of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And he would declare to them, not only the things of Christ Jesus, but of things yet to come. For not only do we have the written word (the holy Scriptures) but we who believe in Jesus have the Holy Spirit living within us guiding us into all truth.
Now, Jesus let his disciples know that he would not be with them much longer, but that in a little while he was going to return to the Father in heaven. They were a little confused at what he was telling them initially, for at first he was using figures of speech, but then he spoke to them more plainly, and then they understood. And then Jesus told them that the hour had come when they would be scattered, each to his own home, and that they would leave him alone. He was speaking of his arrest yet to come.
He, in essence, was letting them know that they were all going to desert him when he was arrested and taken prisoner and then put on trial for a crime he did not commit. But he said this to assure them, perhaps when they began to feel guilty for deserting him, that he was not alone in that moment, for God the Father was with him. Yes, they deserted him, but he was not alone. God the Father was with him in his arrest and beatings and persecution and false accusations, and in the calls for him to be crucified.
But then, again, he warned them that they were going to have tribulation, but that in him they would find peace. And he gives us the same message. We are already having much tribulation in the world, and it is only going to get much worse, because the Bible tells us that it is going to get much worse before Jesus returns to judge the world and to take his faithful ones to be with him for eternity. And when it gets much worse, especially, we need to find our peace in the Lord by trusting him in all our circumstances.
And we need to know these things. We need to know that the Bible declared long ago of the events which would take place in these final days before our Lord’s return, and I believe we are seeing many of these prophecies being fulfilled in our day and time, and that we should anticipate things getting worse and not better. And so we should be those who have surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ to do his will, to go where he sends us, and to do and to say whatever it is he has for us to do and to say, without fear, by faith.
We need to know, as well, when things get utterly crazy, which they will, that our Lord has overcome the world. The world has no power over us unless we give it power over us. And we can have peace within our hearts and minds even when all hell is breaking loose all around us. Our hearts and lives just need to be surrendered to the Lord and committed to his service regardless of how others treat us or what they say about us. And if we are arrested on false charges, we need to trust the Lord to give us the words to say when we need to say them. But we need to give it all over to the Lord.
[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 17:14; Rom 5:3-5; Phil 3:7-11; 1 Pet 1:6-7; 1 Pet 4:12-17; 2 Tim 3:12; 1 Thess 3:1-5; Jas 1:2-4; 2 Co 1:3-11; Heb 12:3-12; 1 Jn 3:13; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13]
I Surrender All
Hymn lyrics by Judson W. Van De Venter, 1896
Music by Winfield S. Weeden, 1896
… Lo, we have left all, and have followed Thee. (Mark 10:28)
All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow;
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me, Jesus, take me now.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;
Let me feel the Holy Spirit,
Truly know that Thou art mine.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Lord, I give myself to Thee;
Fill me with Thy love and power,
Let Thy blessing fall on me.
All to Jesus I surrender,
Now I feel the sacred flame;
Oh, the joy of full salvation!
Glory, glory, to His Name!
I surrender all,
I surrender all;
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2BnL_zI7uw
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