John 14:1-31
Jesus had just given the disciples some startling news; He was going someplace that they could not follow. They had abandoned everything in order to follow Christ, and now He was telling them that they could no longer be with Him. It light of this new revelation, Christ teaches them, and us, how to cope with and what to do during this time of separation from Jesus.
LOOK FORWARD TO THE FATHER'S HOUSE: The greatest comfort that Christ gives all of His disciples during this time of brief separation is heaven. Christ did not simply "go away;" He left with a purpose. He has gone to prepare a place for all of the believers in the Father's house and He is coming again. One day we will all have the privilege of seeing, hearing, hugging and worshiping Jesus in a wonderful place that is free of sin. He has been preparing this place for us and preparing us for this place for a very long time. It will be spectacular and it will provide us with joys that exceed anything we have ever experienced under the weight of sin on the current earth. I think one of Satan's greatest deceptions is to try to convince believers that heaven will be boring. That is a lie! We should look forward to and live in light of living in the Fathers house. That prospect should give us hope in times of suffering, strength in times of temptation, motivation in times of weakness and joy in times of trials. During this time of separation we must look forward to heaven.
LOOK BACK AT THE FATHER'S SON: The disciples greatest desire was to know the Father. What Christ assures them of is that they do know the Father because they know the Son. Any time we want to know what God is like, we need only to look back at Jesus and the life he lived on this earth. Jesus came to reveal the Father and He did so completely. We have the life of Christ permanently recorded for us in the Gospels and they reveal to us not only who Jesus was but who God is. Satan would have us forget the life of Christ or question Christ's identity. There are so many different opinions today about who Christ was and what He did. This confusion is no accident, it is the tactic of enemy and his attempt to have believers forget about Christ and life He revealed on this earth. During this time of separation we must look back at Jesus.
LOOK IN AT THE FATHER'S SPIRIT: Jesus did not simply abandoned the disciples, but He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell and equip every believer. The Spirit has come into our lives in order to comfort us while we await Christ's return. In this world there will be much tribulation and many trials, but we have the Spirit of God to provide comfort during these times of difficulty. He is also faithful to remind us of the Word of God and the truth that we are so prone to forget when we get distracted by the lures of this world. He is always with us and convicts us of sin when we stray from the path that He has revealed to us in His Word. The Spirit of God ministers to us in ways that the incarnate Christ on this earth would not have been able to do. His presence in the disciples lives is what radically transformed them as men and messengers of Christ. The Spirits work is the Father's greatest gift to each and every believer. Satan would have us ignore the Spirit in our lives and question whether He even exists. This unfortunate tendency strips believers of power and confidence and it leaves us prone to sin, discouragement and makes us inept in our service of Him. During this time of separation we must look in at the Spirit.
LOOK OUT AT THE FATHER'S WILL: Christ came to show us what obedience looks like. He reveled to us not only who God is but what God would have us do. He has commanded us to be holy in our words and deeds. He wants us to love and serve the people around us that they might see Christ in us. The believer's life is to be a life of obedience and love motivated by the love of God for us and empowered by the love of God in us. Satan would have us be committed to our own will and not the Father's. The enemy wants us to be devoted to loving ourselves and loving this world and following the path of rebellion. Too often we are deceived into believing that we deserve the pleasures that this world offers and that we need to love ourselves. This leaves us empty, strips us of the joy of the Lord and makes inept at impacting the world for Christ. During this time of separation we must look out and obey God's will.
LOOK FORWARD TO THE FATHER'S HOUSE: The greatest comfort that Christ gives all of His disciples during this time of brief separation is heaven. Christ did not simply "go away;" He left with a purpose. He has gone to prepare a place for all of the believers in the Father's house and He is coming again. One day we will all have the privilege of seeing, hearing, hugging and worshiping Jesus in a wonderful place that is free of sin. He has been preparing this place for us and preparing us for this place for a very long time. It will be spectacular and it will provide us with joys that exceed anything we have ever experienced under the weight of sin on the current earth. I think one of Satan's greatest deceptions is to try to convince believers that heaven will be boring. That is a lie! We should look forward to and live in light of living in the Fathers house. That prospect should give us hope in times of suffering, strength in times of temptation, motivation in times of weakness and joy in times of trials. During this time of separation we must look forward to heaven.
LOOK BACK AT THE FATHER'S SON: The disciples greatest desire was to know the Father. What Christ assures them of is that they do know the Father because they know the Son. Any time we want to know what God is like, we need only to look back at Jesus and the life he lived on this earth. Jesus came to reveal the Father and He did so completely. We have the life of Christ permanently recorded for us in the Gospels and they reveal to us not only who Jesus was but who God is. Satan would have us forget the life of Christ or question Christ's identity. There are so many different opinions today about who Christ was and what He did. This confusion is no accident, it is the tactic of enemy and his attempt to have believers forget about Christ and life He revealed on this earth. During this time of separation we must look back at Jesus.
LOOK IN AT THE FATHER'S SPIRIT: Jesus did not simply abandoned the disciples, but He sent the Holy Spirit to indwell and equip every believer. The Spirit has come into our lives in order to comfort us while we await Christ's return. In this world there will be much tribulation and many trials, but we have the Spirit of God to provide comfort during these times of difficulty. He is also faithful to remind us of the Word of God and the truth that we are so prone to forget when we get distracted by the lures of this world. He is always with us and convicts us of sin when we stray from the path that He has revealed to us in His Word. The Spirit of God ministers to us in ways that the incarnate Christ on this earth would not have been able to do. His presence in the disciples lives is what radically transformed them as men and messengers of Christ. The Spirits work is the Father's greatest gift to each and every believer. Satan would have us ignore the Spirit in our lives and question whether He even exists. This unfortunate tendency strips believers of power and confidence and it leaves us prone to sin, discouragement and makes us inept in our service of Him. During this time of separation we must look in at the Spirit.
LOOK OUT AT THE FATHER'S WILL: Christ came to show us what obedience looks like. He reveled to us not only who God is but what God would have us do. He has commanded us to be holy in our words and deeds. He wants us to love and serve the people around us that they might see Christ in us. The believer's life is to be a life of obedience and love motivated by the love of God for us and empowered by the love of God in us. Satan would have us be committed to our own will and not the Father's. The enemy wants us to be devoted to loving ourselves and loving this world and following the path of rebellion. Too often we are deceived into believing that we deserve the pleasures that this world offers and that we need to love ourselves. This leaves us empty, strips us of the joy of the Lord and makes inept at impacting the world for Christ. During this time of separation we must look out and obey God's will.
okay....so i decided to come back and comment on this one =) your titles make me think of that "I'm in right out right up right down right happy all the time" song =) I definitely think this is one of my favorites though just in general - it's really interesting/cool to think that the Holy Spirit ministers to us in ways that perhaps the incarnate Christ didn't or couldn't have - i had never thought of that...any who good job on this one poppa =)
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