Missions Paul

Glory

John 17 v1-5 “After Jesus said this, he looked toward heaven and prayed: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. ² For you granted him authority over all people that he might give eternal life to all those you have given him. ³ Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. ⁴ I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do. ⁵ And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

 

Jesus knew that in the next few hours he would be the only sacrifice for the sin of our lives. He knew the time of fulfilling the prophecies, types and symbols, the time for ultimate triumph over Satan was here. Having just announced that, “I have overcome the world” he now knows. This hour was sanctioned in the depths of eternity. God’s redemptive hour. You can almost hear the drum rolls in heaven, the angels holding their breath, maybe this is the silence of heaven as Jesus looks up from the earth and speaks. “Father this is the hour that I came for, this is what we talked about, the time has come.”

His teaching, His works of compassion, His works of power, were all secondary to this.

The central point of his life was not living but giving it away.

Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.

There is no way we will ever understand fully the glory of God this side of heaven.

In its simplistic form it is to see His beauty by way of God’s actions and by His character and nature.

Therefore, Jesus says, “Beautify my life, that I, here on public show, can beautify you.”

He sees these next few hours, his dark night of the soul, as the start of the events of glorification.

“In this human weakness, humiliation, torture, pain and agony of the cross, let your glory be seen in me that I may glorify/beautify you.”

Suffering is the place in which glorification takes place. The suffering of the cross.

I heard a wonderful testimony yesterday. At the end of an online sermon the preacher prayed a prayer centred on the cross and resurrection of Jesus. One hour later someone far away from the town it was broadcast wrote to that preacher to say they had joined in that prayer and after a lifetime of years had come back to God. Yesterday the despairing were given hope, the guilty were forgiven, those in bondage were freed and the hurting were healed. It happened because of the suffering of Christ. It brings glory.

There is a work on earth that we need to finish and it will involve our pain and suffering. We will struggle and it won’t be easy. Whatever you get paid for is not the work I am talking about. If you are retired from the work then it isn’t the work I am talking about. If you are wondering about what kind of work you might do then it isn’t the work I am talking about. We are all in the work as followers of Jesus. The work of doing what the Father asks of us. The work of every day rising to be the best disciple of Christ we can be. Richard, the Bishop of Chichester died in 1253 having only been a priest for 10 years. He lived a difficult life under the oppression of King Henry III. He ended up spending nearly 2 years walking barefoot throughout his diocese, can you imagine that? He wrote this prayer which sums up the work we are all called into until we die:

Thanks be to thee, my Lord Jesus Christ, for all the benefits Thou hast given me, for all the pains and insults thou hast borne for me. O most merciful redeemer, friend and brother, may I know thee more clearly, love thee more dearly and follow thee more nearly, day by day.

Today, your loved one may have left you. You may feel alone for all kinds of reasons. But you are still here and the work is still to be done.  Know Him. Love Him. Follow Him. Today. Finish the work. Bring Him glory on your earth. For tomorrow there is a glory to come.

Jesus is saying, “I can’t wait to get home.” There is a glory in heaven that Moses longed for and partially saw; that Isaiah saw in the Temple and that John would see in his Revelation, “The city does not need the sun or the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and the Lamb is its lamp.” (21:23)

Those who are with Jesus in heaven right now are in the fullness of that glory! We will experience that ourselves but for now, here on earth, we finish the work and bring glory to Him who suffered for us.

ASK

John 16 v23-33, “In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ²⁴ Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete. ²⁵ “Though I have been speaking figuratively, a time is coming when I will no longer use this kind of language but will tell you plainly about my Father. ²⁶ In that day you will ask in my name. I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf. ²⁷ No, the Father himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. ²⁸ I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” ²⁹ Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. ³⁰ 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.” ³¹ “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied. ³² “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. ³³ “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Whatever you do today make sure you have asked the Father for something.

Paul Harvey, who was long considered the most-listened-to radio broadcaster in the world died in 2009. He was called “the voice of Middle America,” “the apostle of Main Street” and “the voice of the Silent Majority” by the media for his flag-waving conservatism and championing of traditional values. He lives on in the many human stories he told.

Here’s one such story:

A three-year-old boy went to the grocery store with his mother. She sternly told him before entering the store, “No chocolate chip cookies, so don’t even ask!” In the store she put him in the little child’s seat in the cart, and they wheeled down the aisles. He was quiet until he got to the cookie aisle. He saw those delicious chocolate chip cookies, stood up and said, “Mom, can I have the chocolate chip cookies?” With a strong voice she said to him, I told you not to even ask. No!” 
He sat down. They went down the aisles but later had to come back to the cookie aisle again. He asked for them again. She told him, Sit down and be quiet. I said no.” Finally arriving at the checkout lane, the little boy knew it was his last chance. He had to do something quick. So he stood up in his seat and shouted as loud as he could, In the name of Jesus, may I have some chocolate chip cookies?” 
Everyone around him began to laugh and applaud that little boy. And because of the generosity of the other shoppers, the little boy and his mother left the grocery store with twenty-three boxes of chocolate chip cookies!

Note how many times in this short passage at the end of chapter 16 the word ‘ask’ is used.

Hours from his death, Jesus is preparing his disciples for what is ahead of them. He tells them he is going away but they will see him again. But when they do things will be different. Wonderfully different and it will be centred on our opportunity to ask.

Who will we ask?

We will ask the same person that Jesus has been asking, the Father. Jesus is instructing us to approach the Father in the same way as he has done and to ask. He is saying (though He is our intercessor which John makes clear on many occasions) we don’t need Jesus to ask for us, we can ask directly ourselves. The reason for this is that the Father loves us! Before we drop this thought because we know it, pause, think. How incredible is this?! How do we know this to be true? It is because we love Jesus and follow Him.

How do we ask?

‘In my name’ which we have seen before what this is.

It is to come to the Father in prayer acknowledging a) we are followers of Jesus; b) we belong to him and c) the glory of God is the most important result of the ask.

Why do we ask?

Jesus says trouble is ahead. For those reading this today then you know in your life you have had all kinds of trouble. You may even be in great difficulty now.

The disciples fail in their first response. Hours later as Jesus is being taken to the cross, the majority have run away in their panic. The trouble has caused them to abandon ship. It was too traumatic for them and they run for their lives. Their action doesn’t change their circumstance but they want to leave as fast as they can. How many of us have done or at least thought of doing that? To leave.

But the disciples came to understand and experience what we have also. Peace from heaven. The circumstance of our life may not change. We may not get 23 packs of chocolate chip cookies! But we remain in situation and we do so with a peace that the world cannot give. A peace which has a foundation on the victory of Christ.

So let us ask the Father today, in the name of Jesus.

And let us receive peace that passes all understanding.

For Christ wins and so do we.

 

 

Now is your time of grief …

 

John 16 v 16-22

“Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.” ¹⁷ At this, some of his disciples said to one another, “What does he mean by saying, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me,’ and ‘Because I am going to the Father’?” ¹⁸ They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.” ¹⁹ Jesus saw that they wanted to ask him about this, so he said to them, “Are you asking one another what I meant when I said, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me’? ²⁰ Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. ²¹ A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. ²² So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”

The hours are slipping by quickly, the disciples are tired, but the agony of the cross is nearing.

The disciples are getting confused and the image is rather funny, v16-19.

Jesus’ mind is on his death and what the cross will achieve. He uses the analogy of child-birth to understand that this is what he has come for, to birth God’s plan of salvation for the world, v20-21.

Then Jesus says what has brought great comfort throughout the generations and across the globe to so many of his followers, v22.

If we could describe this last 12 months it would definitely be for so many a time of grief. Many will wake today in grief. Sadly many will walk into grief today.

There have been far greater people than me who have become experts in understanding grief and helping those through it. But from this one verse I offer 5 thoughts that may help someone today.

Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.

1. Grief is no respecter of persons. Even those who follow Jesus will suffer grief.
2. Grief has a time which is held not by the pressure from people for you to move on, but by God who will bring it to an end because …
3. Grief will not be replaced by joy but it will be transformed into joy which also comes in God’s timing.
4. Grief can be held by hope of seeing our loved one again. The separation is temporary. (Read 1 Thessalonians 4 v13-14).
5. Grief is not a surprise to God. He knows. He has told us. That is why He already sent us the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.

 

 

The role of the Holy Spirit part 2

John 16 v 5-15

“ … but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ ⁶ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. ⁷ But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ about sin, because people do not believe in me; ¹⁰ about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; ¹¹ and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. ¹² “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. ¹³ But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. ¹⁵ All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

The role of the Holy Spirit is to convict your world that you live in of:

• SIN – It is sinful not to believe and follow Jesus, v9. That’s so much simpler than providing lists of behaviour that the Spirit will convict the person for, no matter how much the Church has tried.
• JUSTICE or RIGHTEOUSNESS – It is seen and found in the cross of Christ, 10. The more we understand the impact and result of the cross the clearer we will be regards justice.
• JUDGMENT – There is now no condemnation because the power of the prince has been defeated, v11. The major impact of the death of Jesus was the victory over death and the condemnation of the evil one.

SIN, JUSTICE AND JUDGMENT: That is the role of the Holy Spirit in leading us more into the understanding of each one. Of course the prince of this world though defeated still has a voice. It is not surprising that the evil one also tries to speak confusion into those 3 things also. May the Church silence him and speak the words of the Spirit to a lost world.

The role of the Holy Spirit

John 15 v 26 (Amplified) But when the COMFORTER (COUNSELLOR, HELPER, ADVOCATE, INTERCESSOR, STRENGTHENER, STANDBY) comes, Whom I will SEND to you from the Father, the SPIRIT OF TRUTH Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He [Himself] will TESTIFY regarding Me.

John 15 v26-16 v4 (NIV)

²⁶ ‘When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father – the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father – he will testify about me. ²⁷ And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. ‘All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. ² They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. ³ They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. ⁴ I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you.

The role of the Holy Spirit:

• Is to be SENT to the followers of Jesus, v26.
• Is to TESTIFY to us about Jesus, v26.
• Is to HELP us do the same with others, v27.
• Is to INTERCEDE for us so that we do not fall away, v1.
• Is to ADVOCATE for us when we are rejected, v2.
• Is to COUNSEL us when we are misrepresented, v2.
• Is to STRENGTHEN by reminding you of what Jesus said in His Word, v4.

What do you need today? The Spirit of Truth is right here.

Hated without a Reason

Part 2: 5 things I have learnt about being hated

John 15 v18-25

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. ²¹ They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. ²⁵ But this is to fulfil what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

The caveat is that this is not giving reason to antagonise and by your own stupidity become disliked or not accepted.

But if we are hated then realise:

1. You’re not the first person this has happened to (and you won’t be the last) v18.

You may be a martyr but don’t develop a martyr complex. You’ll get through this.

 

2. It gives you the confidence to be yourself, v19. (You don’t belong to those who are against you. He has chosen you out of that world)

People-pleasing will drain you from the person you really are.

 

3. It can be expected, v20. The encouragement that Jesus gives to us is that we are not immune on our journey from the things that he had to go through on his. Jesus knew suffering and he knew success and so will we.

The successful always have a thread of hate replies to their social media posts. It’s the path of greatness as you become like your master Jesus. Those who become great on God’s path also suffer.

 

4. It gives you the opportunity to align yourself with Jesus, v21.

Keep him in mind, organise and direct your thinking on him.

Jesus is saying as we copy him then what happened to him will be copied to us.

 

5. You can rest knowing there are times where there are no reasons for the hate and you don’t have to work it all out, v25.

Stop trying to justify someone’s hate.

Hated without a Reason

Part 1: 5 things I have learnt about hating

John 15 v18-25

“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. ¹⁹ If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also. ²¹ They will treat you this way because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. ²² If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. ²³ Whoever hates me hates my Father as well. ²⁴ If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and my Father. ²⁵ But this is to fulfil what is written in their Law: ‘They hated me without reason.’

 

The hater:

1. The hater believes they have good reason to do so even though there may be none, v18 (They believed Jesus was a blasphemer but of course there was no reason to believe so. They followed the theory that the best line of defence is attack.)

 

2. The hater hates because you do not fit into their world, v19. (Haters are afraid of another person’s opinion or not having everyone view them as being right, their authoritative position is threatened; in Antony and Cleopatra, Shakespeare has Charmian saying to Cleopatra, “In time we hate that which we often fear” though I prefer the modern version of this – “We come to hate that which controls us.”)

 

3. The hater is ignorant and unenlightened, v21 (The hater usually doesn’t know you, in fact they can often be heard saying “who does he think he is”, they are usually the person who sees you walk on water and say it is because you cannot swim.)

 

4. The hater is a seeker of justice, v22-24. (Jesus uses the justice term of guilt; they charged him as guilty but we reap what we sow, we can carry around a sense of injustice and long for a person to be brought down, in the end it turns to hate and it is the hater that is held guilty.)

 

5. The hater focuses on what you do but it is who you are they really hate, they won’t say it because they can’t put their finger on it,v21,23,24 (Look at the times Jesus refers to who is behind him, his DNA. Tribalism has created so many wars full of hatred not because of what anyone has done but who they are; people fight because generationally that’s what they have always done to that other tribe or family; not knowing the backstory leads to prejudice and hate.)

How to be a friend and the results of being one, part 4

 

Over the few days we have explored these verses in John 15 v9-17 focusing on friendship and love, with an action and a result to consider. Here is the final part.

 

Some people never reach their dreams because they are not generous with others. In God’s economy, the surest way to limit your success is to hold tightly to what you have. In His economy, you only get more by giving more.

Once you learn the joy of serving others, you won’t want to live any other way. Generous living becomes a breeze. It enlarges your spirit; it empowers and multiplies other people’s dreams.

It’s a biblical pattern that sometimes you need to support someone else’s dream before your dream bears fruit. By giving your time and energy to them, you give God an opportunity to build character in you so that one day your dream will explode into being. A good example of this is Joseph from the book of Genesis.

Joseph was stuck in a prison for years, unable to follow his own dream. While there, he worked diligently to make the prison run well. He supported Pharaoh’s dream with his best ideas and energy. Then one day Joseph interpreted a dream for a fellow inmate, a butler who went on to be released and given a position of power. Later that butler remembered Joseph and soon Joseph became the second – in – command in Egypt.

If that seems like a roundabout way to get your dream fulfilled, it is. But that’s how God often works. While you’re trying to get your dream established, help someone else fulfil their dream, either by serving them directly or being generous. Join a ministry; give your time and energy to someone else.

 

Action: Focus on what will be produced.

 

Jesus said, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—”v16.

Keep the fruit in mind. It isn’t the quantity but the quality. I love apples and I have my favourites but I wouldn’t say I am a lover of apple trees. I don’t think much about them. It is all about the fruit for me.

Think a minute of the people who have had the greatest influence on your life. Who were they?

What about some of the most amazing inventions? Who were the inventors? We all know who Tim Berners-Lee is yeah? We should do for we use his invention every day of our lives!

Amongst the disciples hearing Jesus was Andrew. Amazing things came from his actions but we don’t often think of him but his brother, Peter. But it was Andrew who brought Peter to Jesus; he brought the boy with the 5 loaves and 2 fish to Jesus; and he brought the Greeks into the presence of Jesus after Lazarus had been resurrected.

Andrew was prepared to take second place to the people who he had influenced because the fruit is the most important thing. The fruit. The work. The gospel. The kingdom. However you word it. Not the person but what God is doing through the person. However, it all stems because you are thinking less of yourself and are committed to friendship and love.

 

Result: You will be walking with God in His plans for your life.

 

“and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” v16

It’s quite an incredible promise isn’t it? Knowing the plans of God, asking in His name, understanding His will, seeing God do it.

You may have lost everything but as long as you have God’s means of revelation, His Word and His Spirit then you still have all you need.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil 4:6-7

What a friend we have in Jesus …

Jer 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

How you treat others will affect the revelation you gain from heaven.

And to wrap this up let me leave you with the command of Jesus in v17,

“This is my command: Love each other.”

How to be a friend and the results of being one, part 3

 

Over a few days I am exploring these verses in John 15 v9-17 focusing on friendship and love, with an action and a result to consider.

 

People are never convenient. If you wait till you feel like it, you will never have genuine fellowship, nor if you wait for things to be perfect. There can be a fantasy of what community should be like.
“He who loves his dream of community more than the Christian community itself becomes a destroyer of the latter … If we do not give thanks daily for the Christian fellowship in which we have been placed, even when there is no great experience, no discoverable riches, but much weakness, small faith, and difficulty; if on the contrary, we keep complaining that everything is paltry and petty, then we hinder God from letting our fellowship grow.” Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who was martyred for resisting the Nazis.

 

Action: Do it unselfishly.

What must be one of the most beautiful things Jesus said in v13, “Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” A total act of self-denial. Being unselfish means you are probably going to be the one who gets hurt for the sake of friendship and to demonstrate love.

Only the kind know the disappointment of harshness.
Only the gracious are shocked at the response of selfishness.
Only the hospitable get taken for granted.
Only the givers stand out amongst the takers.
Only the generous see the greedy.
Only the Christlike are like Christ.
Sometimes it hurts.
But the alternative was not an option.
To do nothing was to turn out your light.
To ignore was to ignore who you are.
“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ”.
Colossians 3;23-24.

 

Result: Revelation of heaven.

Jesus said that as friends of Jesus, “I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. “v15.

A friend knows things that an acquaintance doesn’t. The closer you get the more you know.

God told Abraham things that He hadn’t told anyone else. Genesis 18 v17 Then the Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do?”

As we walk in love for others Jesus says we will be his friends. As that happens heaven will open and we will see and hear what others don’t.

We will see what God wants to show us. We will view the possession, the inheritance that is ours in Christ. We will see people who Christ died for.

We will weep. We will become like Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, “Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.” (9 v1) Oh that those who want to prophesy at the moment will be quiet and just weep. Yes God will bring good from the covid pandemic but today as we lay our lives down we understand what Jesus did for us. We can see the sacrifice and we can see his tears. It is the revelation from heaven. Those tears lead to further love for people and to befriend them.

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How to be a friend and the results of being one, part 2

Over a few days I am exploring these verses in John 15 v9-17 focusing on friendship and love, with an action and a result to consider.

 

A recent study of those suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder found that 88.3 percent of those who participated in group therapy no longer exhibited PTSD symptoms, versus just 31.3 percent of those who received minimal one-on-one interaction.

There is also evidence that the act of confessing one’s faults to a few safe people—enshrined in AA’s fifth step—helps in changing addictive patterns. According to researchers, “Revealing one’s deepest flaws and hearing others do likewise forces a person to confront the terrible consequences of their alcoholism—something that is very difficult to do alone.”

Conversely, some research studies have shown how friendships can also lead us to adopt negative behaviours. For instance, a paper published in the Annals of Internal Medicine found that a person is 50 percent more likely to be a heavy drinker if a friend or relative is a heavy drinker. Also, a study concluded that a person’s odds of becoming obese increase by 71 percent if he or she has a same-sex friend who is also obese.

So all that leads to this. Being a friend means work. Whether that means becoming vulnerable or being accountable. We have to work at it for friendship to survive.

 

Action: work at it.

 

It’s not easy. It doesn’t come naturally to us. People are odd including us. Some are difficult to love and almost impossible to befriend. So we must work at it. We are all very different. Your attitude towards people is one of the most important choices you will have.

Our thinking can be like this:

When the other person takes a long time, he’s slow.

When I take a long time, I’m thorough.

When the other person doesn’t do it, he’s lazy.

When I don’t do it, I’m busy.

When the other person does something without being told, he’s overstepping his boundaries.

When I do it, that’s initiative.

When the other person overlooks a rule of etiquette, he’s rude.

When I skip a few rules, I’m original.

When the other person gets ahead, he’s very lucky.

When I manage to get ahead, that’s just the reward for hard work.

 

Jesus said in v12, “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

Can you imagine the work needed to be a friend of the disciples?! Can you imagine trying to love them?!

A true friend is one who walks in when everyone else walks out on you.

 

Result: the friendship of Jesus

“You are my friends if you do what I command” v14.

A Roman emperor sought to discover humanity’s original language – thinking it might be Hebrew, Greek or Latin. So he experimented by isolating a few infants. The nurses involved were sworn to absolute silence, and no one ever spoke to or in the presence of the children. The babies heard not a word, not a single sound from a human voice. Tragically, within several months. they all died. A lamentable result of a bizarre search for knowledge gone awry, the emperor never learned the original language of humankind – but he did prove one thing: people cannot survive without relationships. And we cannot survive without the friendship of Jesus.

Whatever it is we are going through, whether Covid or some other crisis we do it as a friend of Jesus.

A mainland Chinese pastor who had been placed in a detention camp during the Cultural Revolution. Each day he was lowered into a pit filled with human faeces and ordered to start shovelling. He was able to endure this horrific indignity, he reported, by singing over and over again the words to “I Come to the Garden Alone.” He was refusing, he said, to allow his captors to define his reality for him. He chose to see himself as enjoying the presence of his Saviour.

I come to the garden alone, While the dew is still on the roses, And the voice I hear falling on my ear, The Son of God discloses…

And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other, has ever, known!

He speaks and the sound of His voice, Is so sweet the birds hush their singing, And the melody that he gave to me, Within my heart is ringing . . .

And He walks with me, and He talks with me, And He tells me I am His own, And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other, has ever, known!

And the joy we share as we tarry there, None other, has ever, known!

There can be no greater result than being a friend of Jesus!