Tag Archives: keep my commandments

JOHN’S GOSPEL…THE FAMILY BUSINESS – 21

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“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭15‬-‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Imagine the CEO of a large company, on the eve of a long trip overseas on business, gathering his entire staff around him, including janitors and cleaners, to give them instructions on running his enterprise while he is away. 

How will he ensure that his company will continue to flourish during his absence? Will he install CCTV cameras throughout the building to monitor their behaviour? Will he employ security guards to watch their every move and report on their actions?

Jesus is the CEO of God’s great eternal business enterprise, His kingdom on earth. He has a representative to whom He has delegated the task of administering the kingdom until He returns, His own “other self”,   the one just like Him…the Holy Sprit. 

What was Jesus’ method of ensuring that His ministry would continue exactly as He had initiated it?

None of the above, according to the world’s way even if it were possible! Jesus required one condition that would ensure the continuation of His business during His “absence”…our love for Him. He promised to give us one overseer to keep His business on track until His return…His Spirit in us. 

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭5‬:‭3‬-‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

How unlike the ways of the world! No CEO requires his staff to love him as the guarantee of their faithfulness. No CEO promises another person, with the same goals and modus operandi exactly like his own, to help them run his business efficiently during his absence because they love Him!

Jesus promised His people that relationship…the love-bond between Himself and us and our response of love to Him…is all that is needed to keep us in union with His “business plan”, extending God’s rule in the hearts of His people everywhere. More than that, He promised never to leave us to carry out the task alone. He would replace His own physical presence with His counterpart, the Holy Spirit. 

For Jesus, God’s kingdom is much more than the Father’s business in which we are His “employees”. The kingdom of God is a family business in which we all have a share.  

“But seek his kingdom, and these things will be given to you as well. “Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭31‬-‭32‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Our faithful involvement in spreading the good news of the kingdom and ensuring that its citizens adhere to its constitution, also guarantees God’s provision for us, His co-workers.  

“But seek his kingdom, and these things (our everyday needs) will be given to you as well.”

‭‭Luke‬ ‭12‬:‭31‬ ‭NIV‬‬

This “family business” of the kingdom means that we are all in it together. There’s no place for private interpretation of the constitution, personal ambition, conflicts, or differences of opinion.  We are one, we have one CEO, Jesus, one Administrator, the Holy Spirit, and we are all subject to one authority. 

When we keep these facts in mind, our role in the spread of God’s rule in people’s hearts and in our faithful living and teaching the principles of God’s rule, Jesus said that we would no longer be orphans, homeless waifs. We are sons…those who, with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, are intimately and personally involved in the family business of the kingdom. 

To be continued…

JOUN’S GOSPEL…KNOWING GOD – 4c

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It seems that John had taken seriously Jesus’ instruction during His last hours with them in the Upper Room. Jesus had told them that loving Him equated to keeping His commandments. He gave them His new commandment to love one another as He had loved them.  

The question is…since we love Jesus by obeying Him, in what tangible ways can we love one another as evidence of our love for Him? Does the Bible give us the ways in which we can love each other in God’s family?

Across the New Testament letters, there are many instructions to help us fulfil this commandment. 

  1. By meeting one another’s needs

John wrote…

“This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead….If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

‭‭1 John‬ ‭3‬:‭11‬, ‭14‬, ‭17‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

This instruction is for everyone and specially for those who have enough to meet their own needs and some left over to help others in need. 

  1. By serving one another through our spiritual gifts

Spiritual gifts from the Holy Spirit are a great way to show our love for each other. In every church group, there are a variety of spiritual gifts spread across the congregation. These are gifts that can minister to many different needs in the family of God. 

“God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another. Do you have the gift of speaking? Then speak as though God himself were speaking through you. Do you have the gift of helping others? Do it with all the strength and energy that God supplies. Then everything you do will bring glory to God through Jesus Christ. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭10‬-‭11‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Not everyone has the same gift, so, by using our gifts, we can together contribute to the life and health of Christ’s body. 

  1. By building up one another’s faith and encouragement to do good works 

“But you, dear friends, must build each other up in your most holy faith…”

‭‭Jude‬ ‭1‬:‭20‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his promise. Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭10‬:‭23‬-‭24‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Faith and good works are an essential part of our everyday lives. We live by faith, not by sight or feelings. Good works are the ways of serving each other, led by His Spirit, especially by using our spiritual gifts. 

  1. By doing life together

“Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Doing life together is the way God’s children are a witness to His life in us. This means participating together in all the ups and downs of ordinary life by protecting the love and unity that binds us together. 

“Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭1‬-‭4‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭10‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Without the witness of the Holy Spirit’s power in us to overcome our natural selfishness, the preaching of the gospel of Jesus is hollow and unconvincing. Love and unity in Jesus’ body are the best witness to the truth that Jesus came from heaven to save us. 

  1. By praying for one another

“Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ.”

‭‭Galatians‬ ‭6‬:‭2‬ ‭

“Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

‭‭James‬ ‭5‬:‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭6‬:‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

There are many encouragements to pray for one another in all circumstance. How better can we love one another than by identifying with each other at God’s throne of grace?

  1. By identifying with one another’s suffering

“Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭13‬:‭1‬ NLT

We can link this encouragement together with prayer as the best way to identify with each other in suffering. 

We can’t do all of these things all of the time especially because we are separated by time and distance. However, we are encouraged to do what we can, when we can, to whom we can, especially in our local fellowship. We can also go global with our prayers and financial support when we can. 

Since we are children of God, led by His Spirit, we can ask Him to show us ways to obey Jesus’ command to love one another that will witness to His presence in and among us. 

There may be other ways in which we can love each other but these samples give us insights into the closeness of God’s family and the need to support and protect one another against the ravages of the sin nature in us and the sinfulness of the world around us. 

A LEGACY RESTORED

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A LEGACY RESTORED

“‘As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and remain in His love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that you joy may be complete.'” John 15:9-11 NIV.

Up to this point, Jesus had not spoken of His love for His disciples; only His love for the Father displayed by His obedience to His Father’s commands. It was this love between the Father and the Son which kept Jesus steadfast and secure through all the tests of His humanity, tests which were ultimately about who and what He valued the most.

In the midst of the turmoil the disciples were experiencing, Jesus was now giving them the anchors which would hold them steady when their boats rocked in the storm. Their security lay in their confidence in His presence, in His Word and in His love. To remain meant to be sure of and to be true to those things that would not change in their changing circumstances.

When Adam and Eve chose their own way in the Garden of Eden, they forfeited the union with God which secured them in His presence, in His love, in His joy, and in His peace. What they had at the beginning was replaced by a sense of loss, insecurity and fear. They had forfeited their source of strength, provision and protection in God and were driven from the garden to make their own way, alienated from God and left to their own devices.

The world is a very insecure place. Because the majority of mankind had rejected God and His way and substituted their own, they are left anchorless and rudderless in the storms of life. Human beings foolishly put their confidence in things that have no lasting substance — money, relationships, achievements, position and status, and even images of their own creation, be they made out of materials or imagination.

Jesus had clearly demonstrated in the three and a half years they had known Him that He had security in the Father’s love that could not be duplicated by anyone or anything else. Now He was offering the same security to them if they would risk everything by believing what He said and throwing themselves onto Him.

This was the only way for the disciples to receive what Adam and the human race after him had lost — God’s joy, the sense of delight, pleasure and wellbeing that comes from living in perfect harmony with God’s nature and will. David made this discovery centuries before as he lived his life in pursuit of God: “You will show me the path of life; in your presence is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” Psalm 16:11 NKJV.

How did the disciples receive yet another revelation of truth from Jesus at this time of turmoil and confusion? Even if it made no sense to them then, He was once again sowing the seeds of truth into their spirits that would come alive when the Holy Spirit invaded their lives at Pentecost and brought the understanding they lacked at that moment. Perhaps Jesus’ words echoed in their hearts as they witnessed the terrible things that were happening to their Master. Perhaps they even drew comfort from His words as they watched Him suffer. He loved them just as the Father loved Him. What did that mean to them?

What do those words mean to you when your world spins out of control? Our natural inclination is to blame God, to hold Him responsible for not intervening to prevent the catastrophes that come suddenly and without warning. We think that God should shelter us from the things that hit others because we belong to Him.

How little we understand of God’s ways! Faith untested remains flabby and useless like muscles that are never used. It is a loving Father who allows the tests that prise our fingers loose from the useless things we hang onto and teaches us to cling to Him because He is the only reliable and immovable one we have in life, whose nature and promises are unshakeable. God is for us, not against us. No matter what disasters hit, He is always there and He is always working in them for our good.

Life is lived forward and understood backwards. Only when we look back can we see the path we have walked and the value of the experiences we have walked through. Only if we have chosen to remain in His love can we understand the greatness of that love when we see the outcome of our suffering.

The Father loved the Son and allowed Him to go through death for us. The prophet,Isaiah took a backward look and triumphantly declared: “Yet it pleased the Lord to put Him to grief. When you make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labour of His soul and be satisfied. By His knowledge my righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:10-12 NKJV.

Acknowledgement

Scripture taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.