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Living the Right Life
John 12:20-26
Skip Heitzig

John 12 (NKJV™)
20 Now there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast.
21 Then they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying, "Sir, we wish to see Jesus."
22 Philip came and told Andrew, and in turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus.
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
25 "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.

New King James Version®, Copyright © 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc. All rights reserved.

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43 John - Believe:879 - 2009

If this sermon was a book and I wanted to sell lots of copies, the title would cause it to fail. Now if it were entitled "Living the High Life" or "Living the Successful Life," then I may have a winner. But many have lived with both success and riches who didn't live right! So what is the right life? Or to frame it with a better question: What kind of life is most pleasing to God? Through a series of paradoxes, John gives us the answer—it wasn't the answer most people are looking for!

"But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name" John 20:31.

Believe:879 is an epic journey through the book of John led by Pastor Skip Heitzig of Calvary of Albuquerque. As we explore each of the 879 verses of this gospel, we'll grow in grace and in our knowledge of Jesus Christ. From His pre-incarnate existence, to His public ministry, through His death and His resurrection we'll traverse familiar territory and embark on new adventures of faith.

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Outline

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  1. The Right Pursuit (vv. 20-22)

  2. The Right Provision (vv. 23-24)

  3. The Right Priority (vv. 25-26)
    1. Eternal Life not Earthly Life

    2. Serving Christ not Serving Self

Meditations for Living the Right Life:

  1. What's the difference between a kernel of wheat in the storage bin and a kernel of wheat in the ground? How does this relate to Jesus? To you?

  2. To what area of your life is God calling you to die? Why this area? How would you benefit by obedience? What is the hardest thing about giving up this area of your life?

  3. Why is right better than rich or success or even comfort?

Detailed Notes

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  1. Introduction
    1. Doing the right thing doesn't come easy
    2. Most gauge goodness by their feelings
      1. According to research by Dennis Pragger, when asked "In an emergency, would you save the life of your dog or a stranger first?"  most answered, "The dog," because they love the dog, not the stranger.
      2. No higher standard of measure for most than their feelings
    3. What is right?
      1. According to dictionary.com: "What is in accordance with what is good and proper; in conformity with fact and reason"
      2. According to 1865 Webster's Dictionary: "Accordant to the standard of truth and justice or the will of God. That alone is right in the will of God that is consonant to His will or law, this being the only standard of truth and justice."
    4. Doing right is not always easy or comfortable.
  2. The Right Pursuit (vv. 20-22)
    1. Greeks want to see Jesus
      1. Possible spiritual Greeks, who have turned from paganism and are interested in the God of Israel (a Gentile group of God fearers).
      2. Perhaps secular Greeks curious about the philosophy Jesus espoused.
        1. At this time, Greeks were wanderers who would go anywhere to pick up the latest philosophy.
        2. "You men of Athens have no rest, give yourselves no rest, and you don't give anybody else any rest!"
        3. Searching for some "new philosophy" from Jesus
        4. "(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)" (Acts 17:21)
    2. Came to Philip first
      1. Philip was a Greek name (means lover of horses)
      2. Philip from Bethsaida of Galilee
        1. Near a Greek colonized area: the Decapolis
        2. These Greeks may have already known Philip
    3. John is the only one to include the story of the seeking Greeks
      1. Central message John is trying to get across
      2. Jesus Christ is not only the Redeemer for Israel and the Jews, but the entire world
        1. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)
        2. "Then they said to the woman, 'Now we believe, not because of what you said, for we ourselves have heard Him and we know that this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.'" (John 4:42)
    4. The doors of formal Judaism are closing to Jesus; the door of Gentile opportunity are opening to Jesus
      1. This continues through Acts, as the gospel is taken to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth. (See Acts 1:8)
      2. Gentiles seeking Jesus are bookends to His life
        1. Wise men from the east seek Him at the beginning of earthly life
        2. Wise men from West seek Him at the end of His life
      3. Jews wanted to see a sign; Greeks wanted to see Jesus
    5. To live right, you need the right pursuit: What is your master passion? It needs to be Jesus Christ.
      1. "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you." (Matthew 6:33)
      2. "One thing I have desired of the Lord, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord All the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, And to inquire in His temple." (Psalm 27:4)
  3. The Right Provision (vv. 23-24)
    1. Jesus response is astonishing and unexpected
    2. Setting: He has presented Himself as the Messiah (Zechariah 9; Daniel 9)
    3. The Jews fixed understanding of the coming of Messiah
      1. Preceded by horrible turmoil in their land: the Jews believed the Roman occupation fulfilled that
      2. In the midst of turmoil, an Elijah-like forerunner would come, pointing the way to Messiah: John the Baptist
      3. Messiah would show up, defeat their enemies and bring in the kingdom
      4. Jews scattered throughout the world would return to Jerusalem, the center of world peace
      5. Jesus referred to Himself as the "Son of Man"
        1. A Messianic term
        2. "I was watching in the night visions, And behold, One like the Son of Man, Coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, And His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13-14)
      6. They anticipate the kingdom will be set up, they will be let down.
    4. Jesus is a different kind of King
      1. Rules not by conquest, but by his own death and resurrection
      2. He makes a simple analogy
        1. I've come to die
        2. Illustration: grain of wheat (planted in cold dark earth [tomb] as it rots and decays out comes the plant and bears much fruit)
    5. Jesus is pursuing the provision
    6. First pursue Jesus as your Savior. Confront you sin and transfer it to Him by faith, trusting that His finished work on the cross is enough before God.
    7. "And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21)
  4. The Right Priorities (vv. 25-26)
    1. Eternal Life not Earthly Life
      1. The principle of self sacrifice and death to self is now transferred to us
      2. "Hate your life": A Hebrew idiom, prefer one thing over something else so distinctly it is like comparing love to hatred
      3. "He who loves his life"  life - ψυχή- psuché mental life, ego, self-focused life
      4. "He who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life" eternal life - zoe aionion- age-abiding life; not just quantity, quality; focused on God and His will
      5. When you live for self will and your life is all-consumed with your won will, your own comfort, your own physical temporary life, you are going to lose it all; however, when you prefer what is right, even if you lose temporary pleasure, you get life
      6. "He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it." (Matthew 10:37-39)
      7. Paradoxes of Christian living
        1. God's power is made perfect in our weakness (See 2 Corinthians 12:9)
        2. To be rich, we must become poor in spirit (See Matthew 5:3)
        3. If you want to be first, you must be last (See Mark 9:35)
        4. If you want to rule, you must serve (See Mark 9:35)
        5. When you humble yourself before god, He will exalt you (See James 4:10)
        6. The Christian life is in direct antithesis of how the world lives: We live by dying: our potential will not be reached unless we die to certain things.
      8. Most people consumed by food, fashion, and pleasure
        1. They value the body more than the soul
        2. When you value the soul more than the body, different choices are made
      9. "There was a day when I died, utterly died: died to George Muller, his opinions, preferences, tastes and will- died to the world, its approval or censure, died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends - and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God." –George Muller
      10.  "When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die"–Dietrich Bonheoffer
    2. Serving Christ not Serving Self
      1. If Jesus Christ is just your Savior and not your Lord and Master, don't expect to have a full and satisfying life.
      2. Joy in knowing your life is honoring and pleasing to God
      3. "Happy are those whose greatest desire is to do what God requires; God will satisfy them fully!" (Matthew 5:6 GNT)
      4. "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service." (Romans 12:1)
      5. "Well done, good and faithful servant;" (Matthew 25:21)

Greek Terms: ψυχή- psuché mental life, ego, self-focused life; zoe aionion- age-abiding life; not just quantity, quality; focused on God and His will
Figures Referenced: Dennis Pragger; George Muller; Dietrich Bonheoffer
Publications Referenced: Webster's Dictionary 1865
Cross References: Psalm 27:4; Daniel 7:13-14; Daniel 9; Zechariah 9; Matthew 1:21; Matthew 5:3; Matthew 5:6; Matthew 6:33; Matthew 10:37-39; Matthew 25:21; Mark 9:35; John 3:16; John 4:42; Acts 1:8; Acts 17:21; Romans 12:1; 2 Corinthians 12:9; James 4:10

Transcript

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Would you turn in your Bibles to John's gospel, Chapter 12 let's pray.

Lord, David said that you search us and you know us.  You know everything we think before we think it.  You know when we get up and when we sit down.  We can't quite grasp that kind of thinking and that kind of knowledge but how grateful we are that you know everything about us and you still love us.  And with that said you desire to invest in us as your kids, your children week by week, truth by truth, line upon line and so we dedicate this time as worship.  We set is aside as worship and that worship includes our minds -- engaging our minds, as well us every bit of us.  And so father we ask that you would speak once again speak clearly through the pages and the truth of your word.  In Jesus name, Amen.

Doing the right thing doesn't come easy for some people.  You can just ask the IRS and they'll tell you that every year they have people who have some interesting excuses as to why they shouldn't file their tax returns.  According to one IRS source, one woman from Florida had a creative excuse.  It was tax season and she informed the IRS that she just wasn't in the mood this year to file, those were her words.  But then she promised the IRS agent that the following year she would file two returns.  That didn't go over very well they just said, we suggest you get in the mood now.  One man wrote the IRS a letter and said "Please take me off your mailing list."  That's thinking; it didn't work.  And finally they say that once in New York City in tax court when Judge Dawson was presiding one person had the nerve to say, "God is my judge, I do not owe this tax."  And the judge said, "He is not.  I am.  You do.  Next case."

I want to talk to you about doing right and not just doing right but being right.  Living right what is the right way to live.  Dennis Prager traveled for years around the United States and spoke to high school groups.  And he asked them a question and he was doing this for his own research.  The question was simple; in an emergency situation would you save the life of your dog or a stranger first?  Would you save the life of a dog or the life of a stranger first?  He said almost without exception, the kid said I would save the life of my dog.  And he asked them why?  And they simply reply, well I love my dog I don't love the stranger.  And what Prager was putting together is that what is good is defined as what I feel.  There is no higher moral or standard to appeal to than simply how I feel what I feel is right, is right.

So I decided to look up in the dictionary the definition of right.  And I went to my online dictionary, dictionary.com and they defined it as, "What is in accordance with what is good and proper and the conformity with fact and reason."  Well that interested me, so I decided to compare that dictionary definition with the definition of Webster's 1828 Edition, the first edition.  And that edition was closer to the biblical definition of what is right, you might be surprised that the dictionary said this.  "It's according to the standard of truth and justice or the will of God." that's in the dictionary.  "That alone is right in the site of God which is consonant to His will or law this being the only standard of truth and justice."  My have things change on our landscape in just over 150 years.  What is right, living right?  I'm going to warn you that living right is not easy and it's not comfortable and if you do so you walk the less traveled road.

To live right means you will sometimes have to put away what feels good or feels right to you.  You have to push that aside, you'll have to decide on something that is far less glamorous.  It doesn't always feel good now but it will feel great later.

On Monday, tomorrow morning when the alarm goes off and whatever time that is for you.  When that alarm goes off that annoying sound rings in your ear, do you hop out off bed and go "Goody, yippee I get to go work!"  You might do that, I'm scared of you if you do, but you might.  But probably you don't.  Probably what you do is you defer the momentary pleasure of lying in bed and lingering and enjoying it to the eventual pleasure of colleting the paycheck.  You go to work, if it's Saturday and your wife comes to you with that look guys or that tone of voice and says "I think you need to clean the garage, it's really messy."  And that happens at the time you just turned on the game, what do you do?  Well if you're smart, you're going to clean the garage, why?  Because when mama is not happy ain't nobody happy!  Just go do it.  You'll be happier in the long run.  You can Teebo that baby and get to it or get the score online.

However, it's much deeper than colleting a paycheck or making a person happy, doing what is right back to Webster's dictionary is living in such a way that it's consonant to the will of God.  Well we're in Chapter 12 and we continue our story from last week as Jesus came into Jerusalem.  It's Passover time.  There are crowds of people that have gathered from all over the world.  And there is one special group that wants to see Jesus; they want a private audience with him.  In the midst of this Passover week and in the midst of this little paragraph or reading there are three things that are right and altogether make living the right life, the right pursuit, the right provision and the right priorities and all three together blends beautifully in helping us live the right way.

Here is the first one, the right pursuit we begin in verse 20.  Now there were certain Greeks among those who came to worship at the feast.  Then they came to Philip who is from Bethsaida of Galilee and asked him saying "Sir we wish to see Jesus."  Philip came and told Andrew, Andrew and Philip told Jesus.

Okay, now we don't know who these Greeks are, we don't know their names, we don't know exactly why they're in Jerusalem or why they want to see Jesus.  A, here's a possibility, they were spiritual Greeks.  That is, they had turn from paganism they were really interested in the God of Israel.  And there was a group known among the Jews that were Gentiles and they were called God-fearers.  And God-fearers are those who had left paganism, they haven't become circumcised; they were infested in attending the synagogue and so they could have come to Passover for spiritual reasons. 

Option number two, these guys were Secular Greeks.  They were curios about the philosophy that Jesus might espouse.  I discovered by reading this week that at this time the Greeks generally were known as wanderers who would go almost anywhere to pick up the latest, newest philosophy to add to their cadre of philosophical beliefs.  There was one Greek writer that even said "You man of Athens have no rest, give yourselves no rest and you don't give anybody else any rest."  They were just searching perhaps for some new philosophy from Jesus.

Do you remember when Paul went to Athens, Greece and he preached, that's Acts 17, we're told this by the author Luke.  "For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time and nothing else but either to tell or hear some new thing."  Sounds like the university campus.  I just want to hear something new, something different, something way out.  They had gathered in Athens these Greeks just to hear something new and it could be that these Greeks wanted to hear what Jesus had to offer in the philosophies of life.  And so they came for whatever reason they want to see Jesus.  And so who did they come to first?  Were told, Philip.

Why Philip?  I don't know but Philip is a Greek name.  The father of Alexander the Great was Philip of Macedon.  So that was a very prominent Greek name.  By the way Philip means lover of horses and who doesn't love people who love horses.  So they come to Philip and John puts a note in there.  Philip was from Bethsaida in Galilee, why does he do that?  Here is why I think.  Bethsaida of Galilee was right next to a huge Greek colonized area known as the Decapolis, and probably I don't know for sure, but probably these Greeks at the Passover feast already had known Philip form Bethsaida and they spotted him.  They had some kind of a relationship with him, knowledge of him, and acquaintance with him.  And so they saw him and they go "Hey, we want to see Jesus."  So he told Andrew and Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus.

There is something else that I think is vital.  John is the only gospel author that inserts this story of these seeking Greeks the others do not.  Matthew, Mark and Luke did not include it John does include it.  And that's because that's central to a message John is trying to get across.  Here is what John wants us to know, Jesus Christ was not only the redeemer for Israel and the Jews but the entire world including Gentiles.  And that's why John 3:16 "For God so love the world that He gave His only begotten son."  That's why we have John Chapter 4 where the Samaritans rightly say, "He is the savior of the world." John includes that.

So here is what I think John wants us to see.  At this time before Jesus' death as the doors are closing, the doors of formal Judaism are closing to Jesus the doors of Gentile opportunity are opening to Jesus.  And that's going to continue to the book Acts as the gospel goes from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the other most parts of the Earth.  Don't you find it fascinating that at the beginning of Jesus' life wise men from the East came looking for Jesus.  At the end of his life, wise man from the West came as if to book-end the life, Gentiles are coming to seeking.

So they say "We want to see Jesus." or "We'd like a private audience with him."  That's the idea, they just didn't want to look at him and see what he looked like so they could like paint a picture of him.  It's like when you go to a doctor and you say "I am here to see Dr. Green." 

I'll tell you a little story it's true but it was a mean gesture.  When I was training in radiology back in California years ago at the hospital I was at.  It was late one evening, the emergency room was packed.  One of these doctors, these hot shot interns was just getting off work and he decided to go into the emergency room and say "How many of you are here to see a doctor?"  And they all raised their hands and he goes, "Whoop!  You've seen one!" and he turned and walked away, that's cold isn't it?

We want to see Jesus, we don't want to just see him physically we want a chance to have a meeting with him.  So these Greeks are making the right pursuit.  We're told in John that the Jews were saying we want to see a sign.  The Greeks are saying, forget the sign we just want to see Jesus.  That's the right pursuit.

Let me let you in on something.  In the earlier days of England and in the earlier days of America many pulpits in those countries had a verse etched in the front of the pulpit so the preacher could see it when he walked in to the pulpit, and it was this verse.  Put in the King James Version, "Sir, we would see Jesus."  And it was placed in many pulpits and I preached in some of those pulpits with those sings.  And so when the preacher would walk into the pulpit he would be reminded give people Jesus, don't give them your opinion or give them something short of the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Sir, we would see Jesus.

But here is my point; to live right you need the right pursuit.  What are you pursuing?  What is your passion?  That's a common word these days.  "My passion is this..." or "I'm all about this..."  What is your master passion?  What are you seeking above all else?  You might have many wonderful pursuits in this life all could be noble and no worthy, but first and foremost it needs to be Christ. 

Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these other things will be added to you."  I suppose the complimentary verse from the Old Testament is Psalm 27 where David writes, "One thing I have desired of the Lord and that will I seek after that I might dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life that I might behold the beauty of the Lord and inquire in his temple."

So number one, the right pursuit.  Because whatever you aim at is what you're going to hit.  Ask a carpenter, carpenters don't watch the thumb and finger holding the nail they watch the head of the nail because if you watch the thumb you're going to hit the thumb; if you watch the finger you're going to hit the finger; you watch the nail that's what you're going to hit.  You keep you're eyes on Jesus.  You keep seeking Him and pursuing Him that's the right pursuit that's number one. 

Number two the right provision.  Now they say we want to see Jesus these two disciples go on and they tell Christ about it.  The answer that Jesus gives is not what we would expect.  What would you expect -- well put yourself in the situation somebody comes to you and says, "Hey, there's a group of Greeks who want to talk to you."  You probably say, "Cool!  Great!  I'd like to talk to Greeks they make great baklava..." in my big fat Greek wedding.  I remember there's a lot of good food in that movie.  "I like to talk to the Greeks." that's what I would say.  But Jesus says something astonishing.  In fact in verse 23, Jesus answered them saying "The hour has come that the son of man should be glorified."

I imagine that when he said that a hush of expectancy fell over that crowd, their heart skipped a beat.  And here's why.  Remember where we've come from in our story.  Jesus has just what?  Came from the Mount of Olives on a donkey with palm leaves thrown at his feet and clothing thrown all over as people said "Hosanna this is the son of God.  This is the King of Israel the son of David."  And He fulfilled Zachariah 9 and Daniel 9.  So this big hubbub of activity and anticipation as for the very first and only time in Jesus' ministry He allows himself to be presented as their Messiah.

And then He stops and He says, "The hour has come for the son of man to be glorified."  Well, what was going to the disciples minds when he said that?  They're thinking one thing.  He's going to setup His kingdom now.  The hour has come.  Because remember up to this point He's been saying my hour has not yet come, my hour has not yet come that's for later.  Now he says my hour has come.  Son of man has going to be glorified.  They're thinking okay this is it He's going to set up the kingdom.  Now it's going to help me if I tell you what the Disciples were thinking 2000 years ago and I know this because all Jews 2000 years ago had a fixed eschatology in their heads, in their hearts or they believe certain things about how the end of times the coming of the Messiah would unfold.

Number one according to their thinking according to their study, the coming of the Messiah would be preceded by a time of horrible turmoil in their land.  They believed that the Roman occupation of Israel fulfilled that for them.  Number two, in the midst of the turmoil an Elijah-like forerunner would come pointing the way to Messiah.  That's why people clamored over John the Baptist and said are you Elijah?  Number three, after the forerunner the Messiah would show up, would defeat His enemies would bring in the kingdom; and number four, all of the scattered Jewish people around the world would return to the land of Israel and Jerusalem would be setup as the center of world peace.

So when Jesus stops after coming into Jerusalem and the Greeks want to see Him and the first thing He says is, "The hour has come for the son of man to be glorified."  Their hopes shut up immediately.  They were expecting He's going to setup the kingdom.  Also, because He refers to Himself, if you'll notice, as the son of man.  Did you see that in verse 23, "The hour has come that the son of man should be glorified."?  If that's ever confuse as to how and why Jesus uses that it's a messianic term comes right out of the book of Daniel Chapter 7. 

In Daniel Chapter 7, Daniel sees a vision at night a glorious vision of the coming of the son of man he writes.  The son of man being ushered before the throne of the ancient of days God the Father with holy angels.  And it says of the son of man and I quote, Daniel's 7:14, "He the son of man was given authority, glory and sovereign power all peoples, nations and men of every language worshipped Him.  His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away and His kingdom is one that will never be destroyed."

They're going, "Yes!"  They're psyched.  They're about to be let down.  Have you ever been so psyche and then something happens that you just go -- okay, that's about to happen.  Verse 24 he continues, "Most assuredly, I say to you..." and they're going "Yeah, I'm all ears!" "...unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone but if it dies it produces much grain."  The first statement raised their hopes; the second statement shattered their hopes.  You had to pick these Disciples up the ground after verse 24.  Because suddenly Jesus is talking to them about a different kind of a king, not one who will rule by conquest but one who will rule by His own death.  The analogy He gives was plain and simple and they've got it.  Jesus is saying I've come to die the death of the cross and then resurrection.

Think of the illustration it's simple.  You have in your hand a kernel of grain a grain of wheat.  It's there.  It can't do you any good in your hand.  You don't really see or realize its potential in your hand, but during planting season you put it in a cold dark earth, a tomb if you will.  And there it sits in the tomb of the earth and as nature takes it course and it gets some moisture begins to rot and decay and the encasement cracks open and out eventually comes the resurrection -- the plant.  And as the plant grows it bring forth much fruit.

One source that I read said if its good seed each grain contains the potential of a million similar offspring.  It's easy to see what's He's saying.  Jesus is going to die and rise from the dead and the result of the death and resurrection is going to be millions of people around the world being saved.  Here's the Greeks pursuing Jesus but here's Jesus pursuing the provision for their sins and the sins of the whole world.

There's a point I want to make here its very important to living right.  If you're going to live right you need the right pursuit and that is to pursuit Christ.  But you must first pursue Him as your savior, the one who came to die for your sin and for my sin.  See a lot of people say "Oh yeah, yeah Jesus He's cool! I'm into Jesus."  Jesus I want Him as my Friend.  I want Him as my chaperone.  I want Him as the sort of the guy who's there whenever I need Help.  I visit Him once a week when I have time that's Jesus.  Oh no!  Jesus must first be the one that you confront and are willing to take all of the sin that you have committed and transfer to Him by faith trusting that His finished work on the cross that provision was enough before God. 

That's what the angel said when He announce the birth of Jesus you will call His name Jesus for He will save His people from their sin.  It's good to pursue Jesus, but you must first and foremost pursue Him as savior.  If you want to live the right life it's the right pursuit, it's the right provision and number three it's the right priorities.

Verse 25 and 26 is where we end these this morning.  And this is what He does.  Jesus gives the principle about Himself like a seed dying, coming back - resurrection and He takes that principle and He now applies it to us, to his followers, that that same principle of self-sacrifice, of death to self is now transferred to us.  Verse 25, "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.  If anyone serves Me let him follow Me and where I am they're my servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me Him my Father will honor."  Now what does Jesus mean when He says to hate your life.  Does that mean you should wake up everyday and cultivate a real hatred an antipathy toward life?  Did you get up grumpy and growly or you go I hate life!  I hate it!  Really, why?  Well Jesus said I'm supposed to hate it.  I hate it!  I just want to die and go to heaven get out of here!

That's not a good -- that's not the joy of the Lord last time I checked.  To hate something was often a Hebrew idiom to prefer one thing over something else and the preference would be so distinct that it's like comparing love and hatred.  That's how steep the preference would become.  There's two words you should know about I want you to look at them both in verse 25.  Both translated life but there are two different Greek words in the original.  Look at verse 25, "He who loves his life will lose it."  That word life happens to be the Greek word Suke.  It's hard to say Suke it means the psyche the mental life.  And the Greeks referred to it as the ego the self-focused life.  It's the person who focuses all of the attention on the temporary physical life.  Well, if you do that if you love His life you'll lose it.  

And then He says, "He who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life."  You see that life that end of the sentence life different word, translated the same different word.  It's the world "zoe aionion" - life everlasting life eternal.  Its abiding life that's not just quantity goes on and on and on the quality of life.  It's focused on God focused on as well life Webster's 1828 definition "in consonant with God's will" that's the kind of life. 

Let me sort of paraphrase this on my own as I break it apart.  When you live for self will and your life is all consumed about your own will your own comfort your own physical temporary life you're going to lose it all.  However when you prefer what is right even if you lose temporary pleasure you'll get life the focus completely changes.  Now I'm going to read to you a scripture that is a parallel passage that I think will help you understand what we've just read and considered.  This is now Mathew 10, you don't have to turn to it just give me your ear for a moment.  Jesus speaking says, "If you love your father or mother more than you love me you're not worthy of being mine.  If you love your son or your daughter more than you love me you're not worthy of being mine.  If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me you're not worthy of being mine.  If you cling to your own life you will lose it.  But if you give it up for me you will find it."  

We call that a paradox a statement that has an apparent contradiction to it, a paradox.  Do you know that we live our whole Christian life in paradoxes?  I'll give you a few.  God's power is made perfect in our weakness, so you know that.  2Corinthians 12.  He's another one, "To be rich you must first become poor in spirit." Mathew Chapter 5.  "If you want to be first you must be last.  If you want to rule you must serve.  If you humble yourself before God He will exalt you.  If you exalt yourself He will humble you."  Our whole life is lived on a paradox system or in the direct antithesis of how the world lives its life.  What it values, what it lives for, what it's passionate about, what it pursuits.

And so here we have this paradox we live by dying our potential will never be reached if we just stay a seed we have to die to certain things just like the life that was in Christ wouldn't be able to escape that ability to give life through the atoning death of Christ unless He was dead and put in a tomb for Him to resurrect; same principle. 

We live by dying.  Folks this is exactly the opposite of the world that you and I live in.  Most people in the world are consumed with what they're going to eat, what their fashion looks like, what kind of pleasure that they're going to have today this week, next month.  That's what they live and you know why it's simple it's because they value the body more than the soul.  If you value the soul more than the body different choices are made.  This is what Jesus is speaking about.  Think about what it would sound like if a seed could talk.  Put a little mouth on it.  And it could talk and it can express it's feelings as you're taking it from the bunch of his friends and putting him in a cold dark stinky earth.  It goes, "I hate this.  I hate it! I hate it!"  But just wait little seed just wait till spring time something wonderful it's going to come up because of it, fruits going to happen all around you.

So to bring life there must be death.  That's the principle, that's the paradox.  Does the name George Muller ring a bell?  To some of you it does.  George Muller ran an orphanage in Bristol England in the 1800s.  He was very influential all over London for his education of children, very well-known.  Somebody asked Muller one day what's the secret of his life was.  You'll be interested to find out his answer.  He said as he hang his head, "Well, there was a day when I died, I died to George Muller to his opinions, his preferences, his tastes and his will and I even died to the approval and the scorn of my friends and enemies.  There came a day when I didn't care what anybody else thought of me, what anybody else's opinion of me was or what even I preferred... I came 1828 Webster's dictionary to be in consonant with God's will.  That's the secret of my life."  Dietrich Bonhoeffer the great German pastor who resisted Hitler said, "When Christ calls a man, He bids him calm and die."  That's the principle I want to leave with you before we finish this up that's the principle.

You need the right pursuit you pursue Christ.  But you must pursue Christ as savior that's the provision.  Then you must pursue Christ as your Lord and your master.  And here's the statement and I want you to listen to it carefully.  If Jesus Christ is just your savior and not your Lord don't expect to have full and satisfying life; it won't happen.  You want the right life the full and satisfying life even though there is pleasures that are deferred, even though it might even hurt and be uncomfortable is to pursue Christ as savior and as master for a full and satisfying and above all a right life. 

Look what happens when you do verse 26, "If anyone serves Me let him follow Me where I am there my servant will be also.  If anyone serves Me, my Father will honor."  Let that just sink in.  My Father will honor -- how will God honor you if you do that?  Well besides giving you everlasting life, which is not bad how about this one, the joy of knowing that your life is honoring the God, the joy of knowing that your life is pleasing to God.  We love celebrities in this country.  We love to watch them get their awards.  We watch what they wear.  We think about their diets.  We imagine what it would be like to be honored by so many people.  But how about push all of that aside being honored by God who gave even them life and breathe knowing that your life is pleasing to God.  To be honored by God is to know that our life is being lived right and it's so fulfilling.

I was two weeks old as Christian when the Lord first started working this principle into my life.  Now I say He first started He's still at it.  It's been a long time coming He's still trying to work this principle out.  But I was two weeks old as a Christian I had just believed in Christ I was 18, two weeks old in the Lord and I started reading the New Testament.  I needed an easy version so had the new English version I think it was called.  There was a little paper back New Testament and I started to the beginning of the book Mathew.  I read one, two, three and four of Mathew then I came to the beatitudes in Chapter 5 and I read something that stopped in my tracks.  It read and I'm quoting directly from that translation "Happy are those who's greatest desire is to do what God requires God will satisfy them fully."

When I first read that it's like I stopped because I knew there were some things in my life that needed to die that I need it to cut out if I wanted to have joy.  I have a question for you, is your life sort of stagnant?  Are there -- would you say you're spiritual potential is unrealized?  I would submit to you to go home and examine what things need to die, what things need to be cut out and replaced with other things.  You know the text I now you do.  Paul said I urge brothers by the mercies of God that you would present your bodies as a living sacrifice.  Now that's a little bit different a living sacrifice versus a dead sacrifice is different.

Because a dead sacrifice just lays on the altar.  Living sacrifices have a tendency to want to squirm off the altar once they're put there.  I gave you my life Lord, oh I don't know about that.  Right now I kind of want to do something else.  And there's always that need to go back a living sacrifice that's why Paul said I die daily it's a daily process.  "If anyone serves Me Him my Father will honor."

I close with this it's one of my favorite little quips.  In medieval Europe there was a group of minstrels that love to travel around.  The minstrel was a musician or a poet and would perform with music around him and this group of minstrel traveled from town to town in Europe.  Well the economy was tough like it is for us these days.  People weren't showing up to entertainment shows like the minstrels were performing.  And it was an afternoon before the evening performance.  They had just arrived town they were setting up.  One of the young minstrel said to the whole group, I say we just quit.  I mean last night there was only a handful of people who came and look outside the window it's snowing now, I'm sure hardly anyone at all will come tonight.  I say we just give them their money back and I'll perform.  Well that's sort of grumbling spread to the whole group rather quickly as it often does until one of the older more experienced minstrel said, "Now wait a minute.  I say we've come this far we give it our best shot tonight it might be our last performance so we could talk about quitting tomorrow, but let's give this our best."  So they did and afterward they all felt satisfied that they had given their best.  To top it off, someone had handed a note to one of the minstrels and when the minstrel came back to his band of fellow performers in the backroom after.  Opened it up with trembling hands he read it.  It said "Job well done!  Outstanding performance!  Signed, Your King"  They didn't know it but that night n their audience of just a few people their king the king of their country had been traveling through on business and happen to watch the performance.  And now they could go to bed knowing that they honored their king and their king had honored them by saying I loved it!  What a pay off isn't it?  Well Jesus will say to you well done, good and faithful servant enter into the joy of the Lord.  I've watched your performance.  Job well done, because you lived right. 

Father in heaven, that's how we want to live our lives with the right pursuit keeping Jesus front and center as we walk, and run, and aim our lives toward Him.  Coming to know Him for his provision as savior, and coming to know Him as our master and Lord the one who calls the shots; the one that we serve because wherever He is that's where we are, we're following Him.  And we're doing it in faith knowing all the while that when we make such choices and form that kind of a world view that dominates our life, that's it's pleasing to You and that You'll honor us by giving us life eternal and the pleasure of knowing that we were pleasing to you in Jesus name, Amen.

Additional Messages in this Series

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10/25/2009
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Believe:879
John 20:30-31
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Is your faith in need of bolstering? Do you find yourself saying "Help my unbelief?" The book of John presents a unique, up close and personal look at the life of Christ, focusing on Jesus as God Incarnate. As we dive into a thorough study of each of John's 879 verses, we'll walk with disciples who were eyewitnesses of His ministry, His death, and His resurrection, and we'll experience abundant life in His name.
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11/1/2009
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The World's Most Important Word
John 1:1-5
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It may be difficult to say what the most important word is in any language, but not for the Apostle John. He begins his gospel with the identification of Jesus as, "The Word." Starting with the very beginning of beginnings, John shows us the fundamental truths about the Jesus that he writes about in the rest of this book. The language is simple and unmistakable and yet the truths presented are deep and extremely profound. Let's see how John presents Jesus and Who Jesus is according to one who was closest to Him.
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11/15/2009
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Step Into Son-Light
John 1:6-13
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I love early mornings when sunlight first comes up over the eastern sky. But if you’ve ever had the experience of the sun suddenly shining into your eyes (like when you turn westward while the sun is going down), it's not so pleasant. Most people wince when light is shined in their eyes. Jesus is presented here as being "the light of men" and "shining in darkness". But the world cries out, "Turn off that light!" How can Jesus enlighten your life and how will you respond to Him?
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11/22/2009
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One of a Kind!
John 1:14-18
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It is a mistake to think of Jesus as "one among many" options in the pantheon of deities. He is unique, matchless, unrivaled, singular, and incomparable. From His birth to His Resurrection, there is no one who even comes close to the majestic Christ. Jesus was One-Of-A-Kind! Let’s consider four distinct ways that Jesus was unique and what these mean to us today.
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12/6/2009
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The Greatest Man Meets the Greatest Lamb
John 1:19-34
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Everyone is good at something, maybe even great at something. Maybe you're a great artist or a great mom or even a great leader. Jesus said that John the Baptizer was the greatest man who had ever lived (Matt. 11:11). But John knew Jesus to be the greatest One ever—past, present and future - the Sacrificial Lamb sent to remove sin. Today we discover from John the Baptist how to witness for Christ and we look at the identity and the activity of this most unusual man.
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12/13/2009
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Are You a Follower-Really?
John 1:35-42
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You can't make it through much of the Bible without coming to the word Disciple. Just the four Gospels alone use this term 228 times. Basically a disciple is the follower of a teacher: one who observes, learns, and practices what the teacher shares. We now come to the first time John uses this term in his book. So today we assess ourselves by asking, "Are YOU a follower?" Lets look at five characteristics of the first disciples of Jesus and see if they’re reflected in our lives.
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1/3/2010
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Finding the God Who Found You
John 1:43-51
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When the first disciples encountered Jesus, they chose to follow Him--only to discover that they had already been chosen by Him! Without getting drowned in that theological tide pool, let's consider and marvel at how both of these realities work together. The Bible teaches that God sovereignly elects people for salvation while at the same time teaches our responsibility to believe in Christ. Let’s see how both Philip and Nathanael encountered Jesus for the first time.
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1/10/2010
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The Wedding Guest
John 2:1-12
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How cool (and also potentially scary) would it be to have Jesus as a guest at your own wedding! The unnamed couple at the village wedding of Cana had that privilege. Jesus was the wedding guest who brought the best gift. His first miraculous sign was performed while celebrating that marriage. But far more than just attending a nuptial party, Jesus demonstrated who He was in relation to four entities: His mother, the moment, a miracle, and His men.
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1/17/2010
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Trouble in the Temple
John 2:13-22
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A hymn by Charles Wesley begins, "Gentle Jesus, meek and mild, look upon a little child..." It’s a beautiful song with a beautiful thought. However, Jesus is anything but gentle and mild in John chapter two. Here in the temple at Jerusalem, He displays His righteous anger as He overturns tables and beats the religious businesspeople with whips! But Jesus was using this trouble in the temple to predict a greater sign—the triumph of His own physical temple—His bodily resurrection!
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1/24/2010
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Uncommitted!
John 2:23-25
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These three verses are some of the most unusual in the New Testament. They describe a scene in the life of Jesus that explains His popularity and fame. The response of people to the miracles of Jesus is understandable. What is not readily understandable is Jesus' response to the interested and excited crowd. Though they believed in Him, He was not too energized over their kind of faith. Understanding this will help us to understand Jesus and His mission.
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1/31/2010
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Nick at Nite!
John 3:1-8
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The meeting of Jesus and Nicodemus at night is one of the most famous and compelling stories in Scripture. This man's inner curiosity and spiritual thirst drove him to want to know more. What he heard puzzled and astonished him, but he heard from Jesus' own lips the only way to be saved. Jesus' words here divide all of humanity into two groups: those who are born again and those who are not.
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2/7/2010
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Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition!
John 3:9-21
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For years ABC has aired two different versions of a show called Extreme Makeover. One is a total body makeover designed to enhance the physical beauty of a selected individual. The other is a Home Edition that rebuilds or adds to a struggling family's residence. But only Jesus can give the soul a makeover; only Jesus can ready a person for eternity. Here Jesus answers Nicodemus' question of how a person can have the New Life that comes from the New Birth.
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2/14/2010
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God's Valentine
John 3:16
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Today we take a look at the Bible's most famous verse and probe its depth while preparing to take the Lord's Supper together. Though most everyone knows this verse, John 3:16 is much more than just a slogan; it is a summary statement of God's love through Jesus Christ. This single verse of scripture gives us the salient truths of God's plan of salvation in abridged form. Let's consider God's great plan for us as we unpack it phrase by phrase.
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2/21/2010
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To Grow Up, You Must Grow Down!
John 3:22-30
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"They that know God will be humble, and they that know themselves cannot be proud!" That's what British Puritan John Flavel once said. And that’s how John the Baptist once lived! John the Baptist and his followers provide some great applicational fodder for how Christians should get along and humble themselves before one another and God. For any Christian believer who wants to spiritually grow up and grow strong, he must first grow down.
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2/28/2010
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The Nail Everything Hangs On
John 3:31-36
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Imagine if everything you valued was in a sack, hanging on the wall from one nail. It surely must be a strong nail, or you're lost! If life could all be boiled down to one thing or one word or one most important principle, what would it be? What is the irreducible minimum for everything and everyone? John answers that here, saying that Jesus Christ is the nail that everything hangs on. He determined what has been and what will be. Thus our knowledge of Him and relationship to Him is paramount above everything else.
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3/7/2010
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Refreshment!
John 4:1-14
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You know the feeling of swallowing ice-cold water on a hot day or after a savory meal—it's refreshing! That cool, invigorating sip revitalizes you from the inside out and makes you say, "Ahh!" Well, that experience is not limited to the physical realm, but is even more satisfying in the spiritual realm when dealing with Living Water. Jesus came to give thirst-quenching spiritual life to every parched soul on the planet. When was the last time you drank deeply?
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3/14/2010
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How to Lead People to Water
John 4:10-30
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The world is thirsty and doesn't even know it, or won't admit it, or will look to be satisfied by everything else but Jesus Christ. So your job and mine is to lead them to water (living water, that is). Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman illustrates perhaps the best approach for personal evangelism to be found anywhere. Leading someone to the place of spiritual satisfaction is a process that rests upon two pillars—the pillar of attitude and the pillar of approach:
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3/21/2010
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What God Really Wants
John 4:20-24
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Worship conferences, worship seminars and worship experiences abound within the landscape of the American church, but in all these there's something that seems to be always lacking—worship is confined to the activity of singing songs. When the subject is brought up in this chapter, Jesus talks plainly and openly about true worship: what it is and what it isn't. Let's explore these few verses to discover what God is seeking after and how to be part of fulfilling that.
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3/28/2010
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Spiritual Farming 101
John 4:28-42
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Farmers live for the harvest season--a time when their crops are taken in and profits are made. But crops don’t grow on their own. Seeds must be sown and plants must be garnered by a whole group of active farm workers. God is the head Farmer and we are His farmhands, all working together to produce a bumper-crop of people who believe that Jesus is the Savior--Are you in?
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4/18/2010
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Everyone Needs a Faith-Lift!
John 4:43-54
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Like any muscle in our physical body, our faith too must be exercised in order for it to develop. Faith is developed in virtually every circumstance in life, but especially in hard times. Peter put it best, "These trials are only to test your faith, to show that it is strong and pure. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold--and your faith is far more precious to God than mere gold" (1 Peter 1:7). Let's look at a real-life story of one who came to Jesus in his trial and had his faith lifted to a higher dimension.
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4/25/2010
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Healing Misery with Mercy
John 5:1-16
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One of Jesus' most distinguishing characteristics in His earthly ministry was His mercy toward people who were hurting. This is not astonishing, for the prophet Micah announced that "God delights in mercy" (Micah 7:18). Jesus standing among the squalid misery of sickness and hopelessness while at a feast in Jerusalem is a perfect setting to show how Christians can show mercy to a world in misery. But be warned: not everyone will be sympathetic to your cause!
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5/23/2010
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Like Father, Like Son
John 5:16-24
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The most important question you could ever ask is not, "Who am I?" but rather, "Who is Christ?" That was the supreme question Jesus presented to His disciples when He said, "Who do you say that I am?" (Matthew 16:15). Jesus made the most astonishing claim ever when He confronted the Jewish leaders of Jerusalem here in John 5. What do these claims have to do with us today? Absolutely everything!
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5/30/2010
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Everyone Lives Forever
John 5:25-29
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My mom used to wake me up early every morning with her sweet voice saying, "Rise and Shine!" It took a few times but I eventually got up out of bed. As Jesus declares that He will be in charge of the future judgment, He too will usher the call to everyone who has died to "Rise up!" But not everyone will rise up to shine; some will rise up to suffer. Let’s consider three inevitable and unalterable truths about the future for all of us: We will all die, we will all be judged, and we will all rise again to live forever... but where?
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6/6/2010
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Why Should You Believe?
John 5:30-47
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The theme of John's gospel is "believe." The whole reason he wrote this book is so that people who read it will believe in Jesus (see John 20:31). But why should they believe? And even more applicable, why should we believe? After all, the events of the New Testament are over 2,000 years removed from us today. Jesus' confrontation with the religious leaders in John 5 tells us why we should believe. Like a skilled lawyer, Jesus calls upon four witnesses to testify to His claims and these four give the reasons for our believing in Jesus Christ.
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6/13/2010
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Lessons From a Picnic
John 6:1-14
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This story ranks in the "top ten" of the most famous miracles of Jesus Christ. In fact this is the most famous of all His miracles as it alone is recorded by all four gospel accounts. But this is far more than a Sunday school tale. This extraordinary picnic was not just a free meal for five thousand folks; it provided lessons for both ancient and modern disciples. Here are four profound truths that emerge from this lakeside lunch.
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6/20/2010
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What Storm Goers Need to Know
John 6:15-21
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Have you ever been on the ocean in a raging storm? If so, you know that a well-trained crew follows an immediate protocol until the storm is over. Their knowledge and experience about violent weather are invaluable for those who want to survive. Using the story of Jesus walking on the waves to His disciples, let’s discover a few things about the stormy trials of life.
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7/4/2010
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The Right Thing, The Wrong Way
John 6:22-29
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Our text reads that crowds of people came "seeking Jesus." That sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? And yet Jesus challenges them as to their motive because they were seeking Him (the right thing) in order to satisfy themselves only (the wrong motive). Let’s consider three monumental truths about how people interact with spiritual things in general and Jesus Christ in particular. Let’s also reconsider the starting point for anyone who wants anything to do with Christ.
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7/11/2010
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Wonder Bread!
John 6:30-50
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The Hostess Company has for years advertised that its Wonder bread "helps build strong bodies 12 ways" and that just two slices has the calcium of eight ounces of milk and the fiber of 100% whole wheat. Wow! The crowd that Jesus was speaking to would have loved that! But our Lord presents something to them far greater than what they were wanting. He knew what they needed.
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7/18/2010
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Plain Truths About the Bread of Life
John 6:51-71
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Mark Twain once remarked that "A lie can travel halfway around the world while truth is still lacing up its boots!" This section of John's Gospel has generated much confusion and misunderstanding. Even Jesus' original audience had trouble understanding His meaning, and when they did, they found the truth was difficult to bear. These "hard truths," however, are "the words of eternal life" (v. 68). Let's look at these four realities today.
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8/1/2010
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Seeing Jesus Through the Fog
John 7:1-13
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There was always a fog surrounding Jesus! It was a fog of uncertainty, of unbelief, and of conflicting opinion. He was misunderstood about both His mission and His message. His friends, His family, and His foes were often bewildered about who He was and what He was doing. That remains true even today. But in this passage our view becomes clearer. Jesus had clearly defined objectives that He reveals here and they are extremely practical for us today.
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8/8/2010
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Follow Jesus But Don't Be Religious
John 7:14-24
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Jesus clashed with religious leaders more than any other group of people. He went against their spiritual grain and challenged their legalistic ideas. Christ made it clear that He hadn’t come to establish a new religion but rather to show the way to God His Father. He didn’t give people another “system of beliefs and practices”; instead He said that He Himself was the way, truth, and life. In this public confrontation, we learn how to follow Christ in truth and not be religious.
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8/15/2010
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Standing by a Waterfall (Dying of Thirst)
John 7:25-53
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All the diverse and assorted experiences offered by this world can never satisfy the deepest longing of the human soul. What we really want isn't what we really need. The rest of John chapter 7 illustrates this truth. In the midst of a crowd of people clamoring for deep spiritual satisfaction stands the only One who can provide it. He offers them the drink that really satisfies and all but a few refuse it, preferring rather to die of thirst. How painfully ironic!
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8/22/2010
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Scribbling on the Ground
John 8:1-11
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Can you imagine what a surviving copy of Jesus' autograph would be worth today? Or what about a letter to His disciples? The fact is, there is no existing document or copy of anything Jesus ever wrote. We only have this story of Him scribbling something in transient dust on the Temple stones. Though John doesn't tell what Jesus wrote that day, his account does reveal a lot about Jesus Himself and how He interacted with three different kinds of folks.
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8/29/2010
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Blinded by the Light
John 8:12-20
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When the sun shines right in your eyes, your immediate inclination is to squint, turn away, or put sunglasses on. Light can be blinding! Though light penetrates our world, providing illumination and energy for our very existence, big doses of it can be difficult to handle. That's true spiritually as well. Jesus, by His teaching and work, illuminated this world darkened by sin. Some rejoiced in that light, able to see where they were going. But others, who'd been so accustomed to spiritual darkness, could only wince when Jesus was around.
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9/5/2010
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The Worst Way & Best Way to Die
John 8:21-30
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One person put it this way, "Death is the big flaw. Sometimes we can postpone it, lessen its physical pains, deny its existence—but we can't escape it!" Since that is universally true, why don't people take death seriously enough to plan for it? While we are alive in this world, everyone should be thinking more about the next. But what's the best (and worst) way to die?
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9/19/2010
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The Best Way & Worst Way to Live
John 8:31-36
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Everyone has an opinion on what "The Good Life" is. For some, it's financial independence. For others, it’s autonomy from government control. For still others, it’s the ability to do whatever you want whenever you feel like it. Jesus offers a different kind of freedom and a better brand of life. Here Jesus tells us what the best way to live really is: It’s the freedom to be a genuine disciple. And He tells us what the worst way to live really is: It’s the slavery of a sinful lifestyle. Today consider how free you really are and what areas of life you may still be in bondage to.
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9/26/2010
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The Devil's DNA
John 8:37-47
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Your body has 100 trillion cells. Inside each one is a nucleus and in each nucleus are DNA molecules. DNA is like an instruction manual for life with densely coded information telling each cell what to do. A simple paternity test would prove that my father was really my father. Here Jesus gives His audience a spiritual paternity test that reveals their spiritual father to be the devil himself. No matter what your physical ancestry, you can always tell one's spiritual heritage.
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10/3/2010
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Who IS This Guy?
John 8:48-59
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Jesus had friends and He had enemies. But besides those, He also had some "frenemies" (enemies who pretended to be friends). To this crowd who at first pretended to believe (v. 31) Jesus is both confrontational and controversial. This paragraph highlights three possible identities of Jesus: two of them were his enemies' accusations and one was Jesus' own claim.
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10/10/2010
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Life Hurts! Where's God?
John 9:1-12
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"Why is there so much pain in the world?" is the most frequently asked question ever! We hate it when we, or those we love, are in pain. Today we see Jesus confront a hurting world. As we do, consider these words by Elizabeth Elliot (whose husband was murdered): "If God is in charge and loves us, then whatever is given is subject to His control and is meant ultimately for our joy."
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10/17/2010
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The Truth About Your Neighbors
John 9:13-34
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Those of us who are Christians live in a sea of unbelievers who work with us, live next to us, shop where we shop, and send their kids to the same schools. Some have a mild case of unbelief disguised by religious practices. Others are more demonstrable in their agnosticism or atheism. Let's watch a local Jerusalem neighborhood struggle against faith in spite of clear evidence.
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10/24/2010
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Got Any Blind Spots?
John 9:35-41
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When you drive, you encounter "blind spots"—it could be part of your own car or it could be a tree that hides traffic on the other side. Those blind spots hinder both progress and ultimately, safety. When Jesus healed a blind man in Jerusalem, the same man was also healed of his spiritual blindness. But others who thought their spiritual perception was keen were as blind as a bat! As we consider this story, can you think of any blind spots in your spiritual journey?
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10/31/2010
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The Good Shepherd (and a bunch of happy sheep!)
John 10:1-10
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This is one of the most beloved passages to be found anywhere in Scripture. But it's not a stand-alone passage: The healing of the blind man in chapter 9 was more than a miracle. It was part of the process of Jesus forming His flock. The leadership had cast the healed man out of the synagogue. Jesus found him, accepted him, saved him, and placed him in His own fold.
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11/21/2010
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What's So Great About the Good Shepherd?
John 10:11-21
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"What's so great about being a Christian?" some people ask. The answer lies in the kind of care, provision, and protection we get from Jesus Christ, our Shepherd. Have you ever stopped to make a list of the benefits that are yours as a follower of Christ? Consider this short list of advantages that you, as a child of God, have. When was the last time you thanked Him for being your Shepherd? This would be a great week to do that!
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12/5/2010
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To BElieve or Not to BElieve...
John 10:22-42
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"In all unbelief there are two things: a good opinion of one's self and a bad opinion about God."— Horatius Bonar. It's true, isn't it? Humanism is man-centered and rejects God's existence or His relevance. But Jesus appealed to two things: the plain evidence of His supernatural works and the testimony of those who witnessed them. Jesus here asserts His deity, and the reaction is predictable—some believed while others did not believe. Which camp do you fall into?
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1/9/2011
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The Great Physician's Patient Dies
John 11:1-16
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When a doctor loses a patient on the operating table, there is a deep sense of remorse and sadness in the surgical theater. Doctors are trained to save lives but sometimes even the best trained physicians are unable to control complications that lead to death. But here we discover that Christ, the Great Physician, not only knows that His patient is sick--He allows him to die! Here are three principles about Divine Medicine that we can all learn.
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1/16/2011
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A Tale of Two Sisters
John 11:17-32
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In 1859 Charles Dickens wrote his famous work, A Tale of Two Cities, set in London and Paris before and during the French Revolution. The story before us is set in Bethany near Jerusalem and highlights the personal relationship that two sisters had with Jesus Christ. Their broken hearts provide an excellent platform to consider how Christ deals with people in grief and loss. Let's actively probe not only their responses but ours to the incredible promise Jesus makes.
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1/23/2011
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The Strangest Funeral Ever
John 11:33-44
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According to one source, there are approximately 2 million funerals in America per year, which means that about 5,479 funerals take place every single day! Most of those funerals are pretty typical: a formal service followed by an interment. But the funeral service we're looking at was really different--and not just because of a resurrection. Here Jesus does three things that are pretty normal for most people at a funeral, but strikingly odd for Jesus.
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1/30/2011
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What to Do with Jesus?
John 11:45-57
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Any lawyer can tell you that whenever the star witness is a resurrected corpse, you have a pretty good case! But Lazarus being alive from the dead doesn’t seem to persuade everyone. And so the big issue becomes what shall we do with Jesus? The decisions made here set the clock in motion for an impending hate crime—the crucifixion of Christ. But from heaven’s vantage point, this is all part of God’s plan for redemption. Let’s see the responses and how we can make a difference.
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2/6/2011
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A Meal to Reveal the Heart
John 12:1-11
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If you were to step into the home of Simon at Bethany (Mark 14:3) on that night, you would've seen Jesus and His disciples along with Lazarus and His two sisters reclining at a low table for a meal in honor of Christ. But if you were to step into the hearts of those people, you would discover they were all very different from each other. Those inside the house and outside represent the gamut of feelings about Jesus—from adoring love to intense hatred. What a complicated meal!
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2/13/2011
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A Day, a Donkey, a Deliverer, and a Decision
John 12:12-19
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2000 years ago, on the final Sunday of Jesus’ earthly life before His crucifixion, He did the most unusual thing—He sat on a donkey and was carried into the city of Jerusalem in parade fashion. This formal presentation of Him as Deliverer was both profound and predicted. What’s the significance of such an act as this? What overarching principles emerge for us today? We’ll dig in and discover them, but today you’ve got to write them down yourself:
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2/27/2011
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Cross-Culture
John 12:27-36
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The term cross-culture emerges from the social sciences and typically refers to interaction of one culture or language with another. But that's not how I'm using it today. I'm thinking of it in the biblical sense, the salvation sense. Jesus' whole life was immersed in the culture of the cross and He referred to His impending death on the cross as "His hour." Let's consider today the culture of the cross of Christ: what it meant to Jesus personally and the world ultimately.
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3/6/2011
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Believe It or Not!
John 12:37-50
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Most of you reading this are believers. Some are not. Both are dangerous positions to take but for different reasons—vastly different reasons! This paragraph in John's Gospel is the summary of all that has been written, from chapters 1 through 13. It reviews the two different responses people have to Jesus and then gives us Jesus' own synopsis on faith and unbelief. Today you will be able to understand the real differences and consequences of faith and unbelief.
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3/13/2011
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A Night Unforgettable
John 13:1-5
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Some days are frozen in time because of the magnitude of an event. You will always remember September 11, 2001 and where you were when the towers fell. The night America bombed Baghdad or the night John Lennon was murdered may be permanent memories captured in your mind. This was the final night Jesus spent with His own disciples and it would be unforgettable. Let’s discover how what seem like ordinary moments can be extraordinary appointments.
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3/20/2011
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Basin Theology 101
John 13:6-17
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At the final Passover meal that Jesus shared with His closest friends, He gave new meaning to the bread and wine, using them to point to His upcoming sacrificial death on the cross. Today we share Communion as a church family and reflect on that meal, as well as the lessons Jesus was teaching His first followers. After dinner Jesus took a basin of water and began to wash the feet of his students and taught them life principles about stooping, cleansing and serving.
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3/27/2011
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Betrayed!
John 13:18-30
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Relationships can withstand an enormous amount of pressure, but betrayal is sure to end most. The old English word means to hand over or to deliver. Think of it: while Jesus was about to deliver the world from sin and its destruction, Judas was about to deliver the Savior over to His enemies. If you've ever felt betrayed by someone, this study will have special application to you.
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4/10/2011
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A Brand New Way of Life!
John 13:31-35
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To follow Jesus is to have a brand new way of life. When these twelve men sitting around the dinner table started hanging around Jesus, they had no idea just how new and different their lives would become. At this final meal on that last night, they were still learning just how new their lives should be. (Jesus can still teach old dogs new tricks!) As present-day followers of Christ, let’s consider three aspects of life that become new once we become His disciples.
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4/17/2011
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F.A.Q.
John 13:36-38
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An old Persian Proverb reads, "It's harder to ask a sensible question than to supply a sensible answer." Many times our questions to God are reactive—based on a sort of knee-jerk reaction to painful circumstances. Peter asked Jesus two questions of this sort. But whenever we ask God questions we must hang around to get the supplied answers. The questions Peter asked are similar to ones we frequently ask. Let's consider and apply Jesus' outstanding answer
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5/1/2011
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A Theology for Messy Lives
John 14:1-6
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Life can be pretty messy sometimes: plans fail, people leave, money diminishes, and taxes rise. There are plenty of reasons to be troubled these days but there are better reasons not to be! Life was about to get real messy for those disciples around that Jerusalem dinner table. At times like that, there are some basic instructions we need to fall back on so our hearts inside us won't be swallowed up by the mess around us.
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5/8/2011
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How Can I Know God?
John 14:7-11
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What a thought—that a mere human can know God! The agnostic asserts this is impossible. The atheist insists that the very idea is an arrogant and purely metaphysical pursuit. But one of the reasons Jesus came was to reveal God's character and nature clearly and perfectly! Let's consider two roadblocks to knowing God and four resources that help us know Him better.
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5/29/2011
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Privileges of God's Employees
John 14:12-14
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Most companies have benefits for employees: things like overtime pay, health insurance, and sick pay. In 2 Corinthians 6:1, Paul calls us "workers together with Him" (NLT renders it "God's partners"). We have been called to a high and lofty task—to be His representatives here on earth. You might say we're part of the "family business." So what has God called us to do? And how has He provided for us in terms of resources? In short, what are the benefits of being God's employees?
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6/5/2011
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Four Part Harmony
John 14:15-18
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Some of the best moments on American Idol aren't the solo performances, but when all the singers join together and blend their voices in harmony. There's nothing sweeter than well-trained voices blended together in first, thirds, and fifths. Spiritual harmony is much the same—when believers blend with the triune Godhead there is an alignment that results in a deep sense of fulfillment. And what is the note we are to sing in this spiritual song? It is the note of loving obedience!
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6/12/2011
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Promises, Promises!
John 14:19-26
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Someone once mused, "Promises may get friends, but it's performance that keeps them." No wonder God has so many friends! He makes promises and keeps them. On this final night that Jesus spent with His friends, as both sorrow and confusion assailed them, Jesus made several promises that would sustain them in the days, months, and years ahead. What about you? Will you dare to trust the promises of God? It's the only way to see if they really work.
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6/26/2011
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Peace Where You Least Expect It
John 14:27-31
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On countless American gravestones this epitaph could be written: Hurried, Worried, Buried. What a sad way to live! Fear, anxiety, and distress have literally become part of our national culture. Odd, isn't it? Though we have such abundance in this country, most don't experience abundant life—especially as Jesus described it. Sure, everyone has his or her share of trouble and anxieties, but let's consider one of the greatest gifts Jesus gives to followers—the gift of peace!
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7/3/2011
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Life-Lessons from Grape-Growers - Part 1
John 15:1-7
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My parents grew grapes on their little plot of land in Southern California. There weren't many, but enough for me to know that getting fruit at harvest depended on three things: the solid connection of branch to vine, the vigilant care of the workers, and the consistency of those things over time. Jesus, walking with the disciples toward the Garden of Gethsemane, gives life lessons to His men using the familiar example of growing grapes. With that analogy in mind, let's consider the three ways our relationship to God is described by Jesus.
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7/10/2011
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Life-Lessons From Grape-Growers - Part 2
John 15:8-11
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As we grow older, we mature. In our spiritual lives we should become spiritually mature. The Bible calls it being fruitful. Spiritual fruit is the indication that we're truly connected to Christ. But there are others, as we'll see today. Last week we examined how the relationship with Christ is described (Connected to Christ, Cared for by the Father, and Consistent Over Time). Today let's consider how this relationship is demonstrated. When we're rightly connected to God we'll be:
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7/17/2011
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What a Friend We Have in Jesus
John 15:12-17
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We can get through almost anything in life with friends to share our sorrow and divide our grief. A Chinese word for friend is peng-yu and it has a much fuller meaning than in English. It means "one who brings completion and sums up beauty." The ancient Hebrews saw true friendship as an ideal to pursue and a blessing to enjoy. In these final moments with His followers, Jesus uses a most tender term for their relationship—they were friends! What does that friendship look like?
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7/24/2011
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Why Does Everyone Hate Me?
John 15:18-25
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There is a flipside to being a friend of Jesus. That's true of any friendship. Whenever you ally yourself and make friends with someone, you will incur some enemies because of it. Likewise, some who don't like Jesus won't like us either—and we discover there are quite a few who don't! Let's find out why, and how we can raise our heads high and prevail.
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7/31/2011
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Two Thirds Is Not Enough
John 15:26-16:15
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We love God the Father who created us and God the Son who redeemed us, but what about the Holy Spirit? We hear His name a lot, but who is He? What exactly does He do? What does He want from us? The Holy Spirit is the "quiet One," active in the life of believers but sometimes not acknowledged as being vital. Oswald Chambers noted, "The Holy Spirit cannot be located as a guest in a house. He invades everything!" Today, we consider Him and His role in our lives.
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8/7/2011
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The Holy Hound of Heaven
John 16:5-11
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Having understood Who the Holy Spirit is (Person not just power; Deity not just dignitary) we now find out what He does in the world of unbelieving people. Since the greatest gift God ever gave to the world was His only Son (John 3:16) it stands to reason that the greatest sin one can commit is to reject the Son (John 16:9). How does the Holy Spirit both sentence the world as prosecutor and lead people away from judgment? And what role do we play in all of this?
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8/14/2011
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When Sorrow Turns to Joy
John 16:16-22
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The flamboyant baseball-legend-turned-preacher Billy Sunday stated, "If you have no joy in your religion, there's a leak in your Christianity somewhere!" That's not to say that life is all laughs. Hardly! Jesus anticipated His followers' deep sorrow. He predicted it. But He also assured them that their experience of sadness would be eclipsed by a greater experience of lasting joy.
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8/21/2011
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How to Send Knee-Mail
John 16:23-28
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Today you can be anywhere in the world and send or receive messages digitally via email. Sending email has eclipsed traditional mail for years now. Sending knee-mail is similar (you can be anywhere)—but with better results! You don't need wifi or a modem; you don't need an electronic device or a computer. Before Jesus left His disciples, He wanted them to get "online" with the Father and stay connected through the simple yet powerful means of prayer.
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9/4/2011
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I've Fallen, but I CAN Get Up!
John 16:29-33
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I would rather fail in a cause that will ultimately succeed than to succeed in a cause that will ultimately fail! So said President Woodrow Wilson. Our Lord knows us better than we know ourselves and is not surprised by our weaknesses. We all fall and fail, even though we may commit to standing strong. What can we learn about ourselves and our God in such valleys? Even more, what kind of restoration can we hope for after our bout with failure?
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9/18/2011
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Holy Eavesdropping
John 17:1
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Imagine if you could sit and listen to Jesus talking to His Father—what would Jesus say to Him? In this prayer (which comprises all of John 17) we step onto holy ground. His instruction to His followers is now over. His preparation of them is done. He now turns His attention heavenward to talk directly to His Father about Himself, about His disciples, and about His future church. This prayer is unique for four reasons:
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9/25/2011
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The Gifts That Keep On Giving
John 17:1-5
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It's possible to give without loving but it's impossible to love without giving— Richard Braunstein. Part of God's nature is that He shows His love by His generous gifts. "For God so loved the world that He gave..." (John 3: 16). Here, in the opening lines of Jesus' prayer to His Father, He requests a gift from His Father and acknowledges three other gifts—two given to the Son by the Father, and one given by the Son to us. These are the gifts that keep on giving!
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10/2/2011
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How Followers Are Formed
John 17:6-10
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Okay, so which is it? Did I choose God or did God choose me? Perspective is everything! If you look at it from the divine viewpoint, you'll say God chose. If you're looking at it from a human viewpoint, you'll say we do the choosing. But why can't both be true? I suppose you can sit around, scratch your head, and try to ponder such imponderables, or you can sigh happily and say with a grateful heart, "I'm elated that He chose me!" But you should also ask yourself another question while you're at it—What am I going to do about it now?
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10/9/2011
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Missionaries or Monasteries?
John 17:11-19
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How can you leave your mark on the world? Most everyone wants to be remembered for some contribution made to society. Well, Jesus wants us to do that, too. In fact, He prays for that. God wants you to make an imprint on life's road so people will say, "Hey look! God's kids were here!" We can't do that by isolating ourselves. We have marching orders!
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10/23/2011
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Listen Up! Jesus is Praying—for YOU!
John 17:20-26
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What's God's general will for you? Look no further than this text! Now as we listen to Jesus pray for us, we also find what our priorities in life are to be. These words are the "Last Will and Testament" of Jesus Christ. So pay close attention and you'll get it right from the heart of Jesus Himself.
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10/30/2011
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I've Got It Under Control
John 18:1-11
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Sometimes life appears to be spinning out of control. Events happen we didn't plan for, people do things we didn't expect, we find ourselves in places we never thought we'd be in. But though you can't always control what happens to you, you are responsible for what happens in you (attitudes and responses). What do we really believe about God's authority and power in our lives? Is there ever a time when God can't say, "I've got it under control"?
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11/20/2011
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The Darkest Night!
John 18:12-27
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On a dark spring night in Jerusalem, it seemed everyone was against Jesus Christ. The religious system had long been opposed to and jealous of His burgeoning ministry. The mock trial designed to get rid of Jesus was only going through the technical motions to achieve their end. And Peter, Jesus' closest friend, was in a downward process of disassociating himself from Him. But in the midst of the darkest night, the sunrise of God's grace was beginning to shine!
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1/8/2012
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A King, a Kingdom, and a Courtroom
John 18:28-40
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What kind of a King is Jesus, and what is the nature of His Kingdom? And what does it mean to pray, "Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done"? These are the questions faced in the text before us. As Jesus nears the cross, a nation denies His reign over them, while a Roman ruler questions Him and then cynically admits his own confusion and despair.
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1/22/2012
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How Do You Handle Jesus?
John 19:1-16
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Pontius Pilate was like every other person who has ever lived. The fundamental question of his life was, "What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" (Matthew 27:22). Everyone has to deal with Jesus, to decide about Him and His claims. In one setting, we can see how one man (Pilate) was influenced to deal with Jesus in three different ways. These three ways are how many people today still choose to deal with Jesus Christ.
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1/29/2012
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Execution of a King
John 19:17-22
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Regicide is the official word used for the execution of a king. Most countries reserve the stiffest of punishments for subjects or assassins who would kill their royalty. John records the execution of the King of kings on a Roman cross outside the city of Jerusalem. But the rest of Scripture reveals that it was more than an execution; it was sacrifice that brought salvation. The next few weeks, we will consider the cross in depth and what it means for the world and for us.
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2/5/2012
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The Cross on the Billboard of Eternity
John 19:23-24
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Did you know that the cross of Christ was always God's plan from the very beginning? It wasn't a reaction to mankind's rejection of His Son, nor was it an accommodation to a Roman and Jewish miscarriage of justice. It was according to "the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God" (Acts 2:23). Today we will take a journey back and connect the dots of God's unfolding plan of the cross throughout the ages.
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2/12/2012
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How to Love Your Mother
John 19:25-27
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A mother's love for her children is distinctive and irreplaceable. To watch a child suffer is crushing and almost intolerable for any mom. In this touching scene revealed in three verses, we not only see Mary, the mother of Jesus, at the foot of her Son's cross, we also learn how Jesus cared for His mother. Even from His place of extreme suffering, Jesus was thinking of others and His love for Mary is noteworthy for us.
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2/19/2012
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iThirst
John 19:28-29
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The world is filled with Apple's i-technology, which delivers on its promise to make connectivity and information readily accessible. But there is a deeper need within everyone, a thirst to be right with God, that no app or gadget can fulfill. How ironic that Jesus, the great Thirst-Quencher, would Himself be thirsty. It was part of the great exchange—His temporary thirst enabled yours to be quenched eternally!
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2/26/2012
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It's Done!
John 19:30
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While Jesus was doing His greatest work, He uttered His greatest words! Through the excruciating pain of a tormenting death, Jesus gave the most meaningful statements worthy of careful consideration. John records three of Jesus' seven statements uttered while on the cross. The sixth—and perhaps the most hopeful—is the one we consider today.
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3/4/2012
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Death Under Control
John 19:31-37
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Watching someone you love die is always a heart-wrenching experience, especially when the victim experiences great suffering. For the apostle John, the death of Jesus was likewise difficult-but he saw a glimmer of hope, a silver lining in the dark clouds of death. This death was long ago anticipated and was being carefully monitored from the control center of heaven. Today we see why that's important.
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3/11/2012
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Disciples on the Graveyard Shift
John 19:38-42
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You can find an unending supply of books, pamphlets, and articles on discipleship in Christian churches and bookstores. Many of them will be predictably regimented and conventional, giving solid biblical references and calling Christians to ardently follow Christ—all great stuff. But not everyone's spiritual journey is identical. Some disciples are unexpected, and so is their story. Here are two disciples of Jesus who've been in the background and now step forward to care for the body of Christ after His death. Let's allow their story to inspire us.
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3/18/2012
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A Not-Quite-Empty Tomb
John 20:1-10
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There was a lot of confusion happening on the first Easter morning. The resurrection had happened but it was neither expected nor accepted by all at first. Mary Magdalene ran to tell the disciples what she saw, and they ran to check out her report. What they saw was compelling evidence of a resurrection, but only one of them really connected all the dots. Let's see why.
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3/25/2012
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Hope Rekindled
John 20:11-18
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When people grieve, they usually run the gamut of the emotional spectrum, from denial to bargaining to despair to anger to eventually hope. Mary Magdalene was in hopeless despair as she stood weeping by the grave of Jesus. The resurrected Christ deals tenderly with this woman as he reveals Himself to her and conveys hope for her future. Let's glean some principles for dealing with brokenhearted people.
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4/1/2012
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From Closed Doors to the Open Road
John 20:19-23
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Our relationship with Jesus isn't a secret to be hoarded; it is a story to be heralded! The disciples were seated behind closed doors (sounds like a lot of churches). Jesus wanted them out, giving away what they had been given. Let's see how these early followers went from panic to peace, from perplexity to purpose, and from protection to power. It's a great journey. Are you up for it?
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4/8/2012
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Rise Up!
John 20:24-31
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The apostle Thomas has been noted for his skeptical attitude. In fact, we refer to a skeptic as a "doubting Thomas." In this message from John 20, we consider four ways Thomas was able to rise up from doubt and become a joyful follower of Jesus.
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4/15/2012
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Gone Fishing! (Relating to a Risen & Returning Lord)
John 21:1-14
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I am not a great fisherman. I don't do it often and when I catch something, it's pure luck! My dad was the opposite—he loved it and was great at it. At least seven of Jesus' disciples were fishermen and here we see them plying their trade after the resurrection. Some beautiful lessons can be discovered about how to live while we wait for Jesus to come back for us.
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4/22/2012
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I Failed! Now What?
John 21:15-19
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One of life's harshest realities is failure. The very sound of the word seems harsh to our sensibilities. We even harbor the age-old axiom, "Failure is not an option!" But failure is an option; in fact, it's a certainty. But discouragement and failure are two of the surest stepping-stones to victory. In a post-resurrection interview, Jesus restores Peter with a fresh commission. If you have failed in your spiritual experience (and who hasn't), these principles will inspire.
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4/29/2012
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Final Instructions
John 21:20-25
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As John closes off his singular testimony of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, he features some closing words of Jesus and Peter about himself (John). These final sentences provide some instructions for us as we await Christ's return. How should we live in light of who Jesus is, what Jesus did, and when Jesus will return?
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There are 95 additional messages in this series.
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