Sunday May 5, 2024 The Gospel of John Week 60 – John 17:6-12 “Mission Accomplished”

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Sunday – May 5, 2024

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Word On Worship – Sunday – May 5, 2024

John 17:6-7
“I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.  Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You;”

In the days of our Lord, there were no printing presses, no Bible concordance programs on CD ROM, and no Internet web sites from which to download good Bible study materials. Most learning took place by means of discipleship. A disciple followed his chosen “master” around, serving him, listening to him, and learning from him. This is the way our Lord taught, or “discipled,” His disciples. They accompanied Him virtually everywhere He went, listening and asking many questions, and they learned. Jesus sometimes sent them out two-by-two, which gave them an opportunity to put their teaching and training into practice.

By the time we come to John 17, the discipleship program which our Lord had designed for His disciples was virtually complete. The emphasis of verses 6-12 is that Jesus has accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do, in terms of equipping the disciples for their “mission.” Jesus has revealed the Father to them and given the Word of the Father to them. He has told them all that they need to know, and thus His earthly mission of making disciples of them has been completed. Of course, His atoning work on the cross of Calvary still lay ahead, but that too is as good as done. Jesus is now free to leave and to return to the Father because He has accomplished all that the Father gave Him to do.

One can hardly estimate the benefits we have gained because our Lord was able to speak these words. On the one hand, the completion of His mission means that He has defeated Satan, and that He has accomplished the salvation of all those the Father has given Him. It means that He can return to the Father in heaven, so that the Spirit can be sent into the world in a new and better way. It is the basis for our mission and ministry. It is the basis of our security and our ultimate perfection (which takes place in heaven, not here on earth—1 John 3:2).

There are many who have big plans and lofty goals, but few achieve them, and none achieve them perfectly. None but Jesus, that is. Jesus came to this earth to reveal the Father to men, to proclaim the Father’s word to men, and to procure the salvation of those whom the Father had given to Him. This He accomplished, every part of it. And even the apparent failure of Judas was a part of the plan of God, determined in eternity past. Jesus does all things well. What He came to earth to do, He did. His mission is accomplished.

Sunday October 8, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 34 – John 9:13-34

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Sunday – October 8, 2023

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Word On Worship – Sunday – October 8, 2023

John 9:24-25
“A second time they summoned the man who had been blind. “Give glory to God,” they said. “We know this man is a sinner.” He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!“

Every college philosophy major has to take epistemology, which deals with the question, “How do you know what you know? How can we be sure about what we think we know? When anyone authoritatively states, “We know,” the obvious question is, “How do you know?” Often, when you examine the evidence, you discover that there are knowledgeable people on both sides of the issue. The obvious question remains, “How do you know what you think you know?”

When it comes to spiritual truth, the common view today is that there is no such thing as absolute truth in the spiritual realm. So any spiritual views that you hold are just a matter of your subjective opinion or personal experience, but there isn’t universal, absolute spiritual truth. If you claim that you know the truth and that all other views are wrong, you’ll be labeled as a narrow-minded bigot. Tolerance and open-mindedness, especially on spiritual matters, are the prevailing values of our day.

It’s easy to confuse religious traditions or rules with biblical mandates to the point where you assume that your traditions or rules are equal with Scripture. But you can end up denying a miracle, even if he’s standing right in front of you! Back in the hippie era, when most people dressed up in their nicest clothes to go to church, many older church members could not accept that a bearded, long-haired guy in tattered jeans, a T-shirt, and bare feet had really been converted. Why doesn’t he look like us and dress like us?  But they never stopped to question what the Bible says about how a Christian should look and dress. Wrong presuppositions based on religious rules hinder true spiritual knowledge.

The problem we see historically has become even more popular and pervasive today. Today, in the rugged individualism and relativism of our culture, the truth is whatever I as an individual want and define it to be. Truth is my truth, truth as I want it. The first thing we must do is to confess our blindness, our rejection of the truth, and submit ourselves to Him who alone is the truth, the way, and the life. When we accept God’s Word as the truth, and Jesus as the Word, then we will confess Him to be the Son of God, just as the once-blind man did. And when we trust in Him as the One who died for our sins on the cross of Calvary (and rose from the dead), then we become a child of God, whose sins are forgiven, and whose destiny is heaven. I pray that you have come to trust in Him, and that if you have not, God will grant you no rest nor peace till you come to “see” the truth in Him who is the truth.

Sunday October 1, 2023 The Gospel of John Week 33 – John 9:1-12 “Have You Seen the Light”

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Sunday – October 1, 2023

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Word On Worship – Sunday – October 1, 2023

John 9:3-5
“Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”

How do you treat people who are suffering? Many people pass by them as though they are not there. There is no social interaction, never say “Hello” or “Thanks” or “Pardon me.” The outcasts simply don’t exist, or so it appears from the way we live our lives. To many, they are a nuisance, and the way to avoid them is not to “see” them. This is exactly what you and I do when we come to an intersection where someone is begging. We look straight ahead, not “seeing them,” so that they will leave us alone. It is a signal we send, informing them that we are not planning to contribute.

And yet, with all the Bible teaches us about the glory of suffering, we tend to respond to suffering much like the disciples do. We think that when we are prospering and healthy, it is because of our own piety, and when we or someone else is suffering, we assume it is due to sin. We take credit if our children “turn out right,” and we look down on those whose children have gone astray. But suffering is not always meted out as punishment for sin.

So how should you view human suffering? Is it the occasion to look down upon the one suffering, to ignore that person’s agony and pain? Is it a time for you to engage in idle speculation about sin and guilt? Do you see it only as a time for showing compassion and love? Or do you see it as an opportunity for ministry in a way that fulfills our calling, which brings glory to God by accomplishing His works in this sinful, fallen, suffering world? Let us be exhorted by the words of our Lord to remember that the time for such works is indeed short.

The ultimate good is not our happiness, but the manifestation of God’s glory by the fulfillment of His purposes, the doing of His works. The ultimate good is not our pleasure, nor our freedom from pain, trials, or tribulation. He who has declared and demonstrated this is the same One who gave up the most in coming down from heaven, taking on human flesh, and taking upon Himself the sins of the world, suffering the wrath of God toward sinners on the cross of Calvary. Our ultimate good is knowing and loving God, and if God purposes to use pain and adversity in our lives to get us there, it is well worth the price.