The New Birth

“Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew (from above), he cannot see the Kingdom of God” (John 3:3).

(1) The absolute need of the new birth – because of sin (Romans 3:23);

(2) The Gospel basis for the new birth is the death of Christ for us (Titus 3:3-7).

(3) The indispensable condition for the new birth is personal faith in Christ (John 1:12-13).

(4) The spiritual character of the new birth – by the Spirit through the Word (1 Peter 1:23-25);

(5) The spiritual benefits of the new birth:

     (a) a child of God (Galatians 4:4-6);

     (b) a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17);

     (c) partaker of the divine nature (2 Peter 1;3-4);

     (d) sharing in Christ’s victory (1 John 5:4-5);

     (e) eternal life (1 John 5:11-12).

Joining The Church Or Following The Lord? / The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith (with links to audio version)

Jesus calls us to follow Him. Are you and I following Him? or Have we settled for something less?

When we speak about church membership, we must ask ourselves, "Where does Jesus fit in? Is He at the centre of our life? or Has He been sidelined, while we settle for something less than following Him?"

Let's think about church membership. What does it mean to us?

• (1) There is the church member who joined the church because thus is what other people were doing at the time. It was never really anything to do with following Jesus. It was more about following the crowd. When the crowd drifts away from the church, so does this kind of church member. How different is the true disciple who says, "If no one joins me, still I will follow.

(2) There is the church member who joined the church because he was interested in the activities associated with the church. This kind of church member is a great enthusiast for his own particular organization, but he shows no enthusiasm for following Jesus. He may give the appearance of worshipping the Lord, but, sadly, the worship of God comes a very poor second to the other activities. This kind of church member may be very dedicated to a particular organization, but he has not learned the attitude if the true disciple - "My goal is God Himself"; "Give me but Jesus, my Lord, crucified."

(3) There is the church member who joined the church because he had an interest in religion. He will never tire of speaking of "my church" and "my minister", but he does not speak of "my Saviour." When the conversation begins to get close to personal faith in Christ, he finds it remarkably easy to take it back to the church and the minister. An interest in religion is not the same as commitment to Jesus Christ. However much he may to steer conversation away from personal commitment to Christ, this type of person needs to hear the words that were spoken to Nicodemus by Jesus: "You must be born again" (John 3:3).

(4) There is the church member who has joined the church on the basis of a total misunderstanding of Jesus Christ and His message. He sees Jesus as an example and a teacher, but he hasn't even begun to see Jesus for what He really is - the Saviour of sinners.

If we were take out of the church, all of these different types of church member, I wonder how many people we would have left. I fear that we would be left with very few.

The question each of us must face is this: Am I following Jesus?

• If we are to answer this question honestly, we must ask a second question: What is the true reason for following Jesus?

Peter gave us a great answer to this question: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God" (John 6:68-69).

Here, we have Gospel truth.

• Peter says, "Lord, to whom shall we go?" because he realizes that he cannot save himself.
• Peter says, "You have the words of eternal life." He makes it very clear that he needs Jesus as his Saviour. What Peter could not do for himself, only Jesus could do for him.

May I ask you about yourself? Have you ever taken your stand alongside Peter? Have you ever acknowledged, honestly, before God that you are a sinner, totally unable to save yourself and totally dependent on Jesus Christ as your only Saviour?. Have you ever truly said to the Lord Jesus Christ, "Thou must save, and Thou alone"?

Here, we have the heart of the Gospel. Jesus Christ is the mighty Saviour of needy sinners: "He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to God through Him" (Hebrews 7:25).

Jesus Christ offers Himself to you as your Saviour. With Himself, He offers you the gift of eternal life, to be received by faith in Him.

Don't be content with believing that Jesus, the Son of God, is your teacher and example. Receive Him as your Saviour. Believe that He died for your sins. Believe that He is able to deliver you both the guilt and the power of sin. Commit your life to Him.

So many people are going away from Jesus. He asks each one of us, "Will you also go away?"

Make sure that you respond to Him with the great words of Peter: "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words if eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God" (John 6:68-69). 

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Here are two links to an audio version of a lecture given in January 1987: 

The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith,Part One

The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith, Part Two

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The Holy Spirit is the Breath of God. All Scripture is God-breathed. We experience the Breath of God upon our life when we listen attentively to the God-breathed Scriptures. Paul speaks, in 2 Timothy 3:15-17, of the  relationship between the Breath of God (the Holy Spirit) and the God-breathed Word (the Holy Scriptures) – ‘the Holy Scriptures … are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work’.

1) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to make us wise.

    The wisdom which comes from the Spirit and the Word is a special kind of wisdom. It is not the wisdom of this world. It is the wisdom which is bound up with Christ, salvation and faith. Worldly wisdom places great value on intellectual attainment. It emphasizes the importance of getting on in the world. True spiritual wisdom has quite different priorities. As we feed upon God’s Word, the Spirit imparts wisdom to us, a wisdom which the world can neither understand nor receive. This is the wisdom of which Paul speaks in 1 Corinthians 2. He describes this wisdom as ‘a secret and hidden wisdom’ (v.7). This wisdom is no longer hidden from us – ‘God has revealed it to us by His Spirit’ (v.10). It is hidden only from those who refuse to read and hear with faith the ‘words … taught by the Spirit’ (v.13).

2) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to lead us to Christ.

    Jesus has given us His promise concerning the Holy Spirit: ‘He will glorify Me, for He will take what is Mine and declare it to you’ (John 16:14). If we are to honour the Holy Spirit in our preaching, we must focus on the cross of Christ’ – ‘we preach Christ crucified’, ‘I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified’ (1 Corinthians 1:17,23; 2:2). We must pray for ‘the Spirit’s power’ (1 Corinthians 2:4-5). How are we to preach Christ crucified? Will it mean preaching only from a select group of ‘gospel texts’ which refer explicitly to the death of Christ? Preaching Christ and Him crucified does not mean that we must narrow down the focus of our preaching. What, then, does it mean? It means that we must learn to see Christ in ‘all the Scriptures’ (Luke 24:27). At the very centre of all of our preaching from God’s Word, there must stand Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We do not read Christ into places where He is not to be found. Rather, we emphasize that Christ – ‘the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world’ (John 1:29) – is the central Theme of the Scriptures. The Spirit of God points us to Jesus Christ and Him crucified. We are to ‘keep our eyes on Jesus’ (Hebrews 12:2). As we keep our eyes on Him, we will find that the Spirit directs our attention to the cross, graciously reminding us that we have been ‘redeemed … with the precious blood of Christ’ (1 Peter 1:18-19).

3) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to bring us to salvation.

    Jesus Christ is ‘our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification and redemption’ (1 Corinthians 1:30). He is our full salvation. From beginning to end, our salvation is in Him. There is no room for boasting on our part: ‘Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord’ (1 Corinthians 1:31). Our salvation is an ‘out of this world’ salvation. It is ‘out of this world’ in its origin. It is a salvation which has its origin in the ‘before the ages’ love of God, the eternal love of God. It is a salvation which has, as its destiny, ‘our glorification’ (1 Corinthians 2:7). When Paul speaks of this eternal salvation, this glorious salvation, he emphasizes its ‘out of this world’ character. He writes, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived … God has prepared for those who love Him’ (1 Corinthians 2:9). This salvation is not only ‘out of this world’. It has entered into our experience: ‘God has revealed (His salvation) to us through the Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 2:10). Salvation has been revealed. It has come ‘from above’. Here below, we experience salvation. Here below, we confess, with gladness of heart, that salvation has come to us. Tempted to doubt God’s salvation, we must allow the Spirit to bring to our remembrance this salvation which comes ‘from above’. Tempted to think that we ‘know it all’, we must remember that we are still here below. When we speak of God’s salvation, we  must speak with deep gratitude to God ‘for His inexpressible gift’ (2 Corinthians 9:15). Our words can never give adequate expression to God’s great salvation. Nevertheless, we must not be hesitant in preaching Christ and His salvation. As we preach the gospel of salvation, we must never lose sight of the way in which the Spirit has revealed God’s salvation to us. Salvation has not come to us from the depths of our own heart. It has not come to us from some ‘great beyond’ which makes the whole matter so private that we dare not speak of it. Salvation has come to us through ‘words … taught by the Spirit’, the words of Holy Scripture. To those who live below, salvation has come ‘from above’. When we think of God’s salvation, we will come to appreciate its greatness, as we learn to see the greatness of our sin, the greatness of our need.

    God’s salvation corresponds to our need. We have a need for forgiveness. The Gospel speaks to us of ‘peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ’ (Romans 5:1). We doubt our ability to keep going in the life of faith. God’s Word says to us, ‘Do you not know … that God’s Spirit dwells in you?’ (1 Corinthians 3:16). We wonder if there is hope. God assures us that there is hope. He does this by pouring His love ‘into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us’ (Romans 5:5). Peace with God provides us with the God-given foundation for living the life in the Spirit. Before we are called to the life of discipleship, God says to us, ‘There is … now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1). To the believer, God says, ‘You have been set free’ – set free ‘from the law of sin and death’, set free ‘for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:2). This freedom is in Christ. The Lord Jesus says to us, ‘if the Son makes you free, you will be free indeed’ (John 8:36). His way of setting us free is emphasized in John 8:32 – ‘you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free’. Our experience of freedom, given to us by Christ through His Word of truth, is to be an ongoing experience. This experience of freedom is described by Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:16-18. It begins ‘when a man turns to the Lord’ (v.16). Freedom is the gift of God. It is the gift of the Spirit: ‘where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom’ (v.17). Our ongoing experience of freedom – freedom from sinfulness, freedom for Christlikeness – grows ‘from one degree of glory to another as we ‘behold the glory of the Lord’ (v.18).

4) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to bring us to faith.

    God’s salvation is a gracious salvation. When, however, we join in Paul’s affirmation of Ephesians 2:5 – ‘by grace you have been saved’ – , we must take care to look down to verse 8 where we find the additional words, ‘through faith’: ‘By grace you have been saved through faith’. There must be no hint of a grace which works apart from faith, a grace which makes faith redundant. That would be ‘saved by grace without faith’ which is very different from ‘saved by grace through faith’. In our preaching, we must emphasize both the absolute necessity of grace and the absolute necessity of faith. It is important for us to ask some key questions about faith.

    Our first question is this: ‘Where does faith come from?’ Is there a basic inclination in man towards believing? The parable of the Pharisee and the publican (Luke 18:9-14) gives us, in the proud Pharisee, a striking picture of man apart from the grace of God. We may not believe that we are absolutely perfect but we will, nonetheless, look around ourselves until we see someone to whom we can point and say, ‘Lord, I’m not as bad as him. I’m better than him’. The Holy Spirit has a very definite answer to such sinful pride – ‘you have no excuse, O man, whoever you are, when you judge another; for in passing judgment upon him you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, are doing the very same things’ (Romans 2:1). How do we move from being the proud Pharisee, boasting of our own self-righteousness to becoming the humble publican, crying to God for His mercy? There is only one way, the way of the Gospel. It is when the ‘Gospel’ comes to us ‘not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction’ that we are brought to faith (1 Thessalonians 1:5; 2:13). Let us not imagine that we can bring others to faith without the power of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us.

    When we move on to our second question, ‘What is faith?’, we find that the parable of the Pharisee and the publican provides us, in the publican, with a simple picture of faith. The contrast between the faith of the publican and the works of the Pharisee is total. The faith of the publican was not a ‘work’ by which he earned salvation. He received salvation as a gift of God’s grace. The faith of the publican points in one direction only: the mercy of God. His prayer, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner’ (v.13), points away from the sinner to the Saviour. When we observe Jesus’ use of the word, ‘justified’, in verse 14, our thoughts tend to move towards Paul and the doctrine of justification by faith. The doctrine of justification by faith was Jesus’ doctrine before it was Paul’s. What does say Paul say about justification by faith that is not already said – in essence – by Jesus in this parable? Paul contrasts grace and works in Romans 11:6 – ‘if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works’. He contrasts faith and works in Romans 9:32 where he states that Israel did not fulfil the law because ‘they did not pursue it through faith, but as if it were based on works’. While Paul contrasts both grace and faith with works, he never contrasts grace and faith. They belong together. In our preaching, we must emphasize both the offer of grace and the call to faith.

    There is a third question we must ask – ‘Why is faith so important?’ Again, the parable of the Pharisee and the publican answers this question for us: ‘this man went down to his house justified rather than the other’ (v.14). It is faith which marks the difference between the man whom God has declared righteous and the man who is robed in the ‘filthy rags’ of his own religion and morality (Isaiah 64:6). The contrast between Pharisaism and saving faith is brought out well in Luke 7:36-50 where a sinful woman is forgiven as the Pharisees ‘say among themselves’, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?”‘(v.49). Jesus’ words to the woman, in verses 48 and 50, consist of three very short sentences which are packed with Gospel truth. ‘Your sins are forgiven’ – these words were spoken to the woman, but not to the Pharisees. Why? The answer is found in the next sentence – ‘Your faith has saved you’. The reason that the woman, and not the Pharisees, heard the words, ‘Your sins are forgiven’, is clear. She believed. They did not believe. The Lord Jesus then said to the woman, ‘Go in peace’.

    From these words of peace, we may find our thoughts turning to the Dove of Peace, the Holy Spirit. In giving to the believer the forgiveness of sins, the Lord Jesus also gives the Holy Spirit. In grace and mercy, God gives the Holy Spirit to us: ‘regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit’, given to us by ‘the goodness and loving kindness of God our Saviour … poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Saviour’ (Titus 3:4-7). The direct connection between Christ and the Holy Spirit is emphasized in John the Baptist’s prophecy: ‘He (Jesus Christ) will baptize you with the Holy Spirit’ (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33). In Galatians 3:14, Paul stresses that it is ‘in Christ Jesus that we receive the promise of the Spirit through faith’. He goes on to emphasize that ‘faith works by love ‘ and speaks also of ‘love’ as ‘the fruit of the Spirit’ (5:6,22-23).  Love – this is so important. Love – this is the practical context for all of our theological reflection concerning the Holy Spirit in the life of faith.

5) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God for our profit.

    At our local primary school, I began a lesson on the Old Testament prophets by asking the question, ‘What is a prophet?’ One boy gave the answer, ‘It’s when you sell something for more than you bought it for’. We profit from the Scriptures because Scripture is a word of prophecy: ‘men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God’ (2 Peter 1:21). How do we profit from the prophets? How do we profit from the Scriptures? The answer is given in 2 Timothy 3:16 – ‘All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable’. Scripture is profitable because Scripture is God-breathed. The Bible is the Word of God. That’s why it profits us. If the Bible is not the Word of God, no amount of our saying, ‘I derive profit from reading the Bible’ will make it the Word of God. It is not our faith or lack of faith which decides whether or not the Bible is God’s Word. Our faith or lack of faith can neither add to nor take away from Paul’s great declaration, ‘All Scripture is God-breathed’. Our faith rests on a sure foundation: ‘How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!’ Despite our unbelief, ‘the Word of God is not bound’ (2 Timothy 2:9). Through His Word, God is able to lift us out of our unbelief and bring us into the assurance of faith. We profit from God’s Word when we allow the Breath of God, the Holy Spirit, to breathe His God-breathed words into our hearts and lives.

6) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to teach us.

    Jesus tells us, in John 7:17, that if we want to understand His teaching, we must commit ourselves to doing the will of God. True understanding of Christ and His Gospel goes hand in hand with a practical commitment to living as His disciple. If we are not to be ‘blown here and there by every wind of teaching’, we need to commit ourselves to being ‘doers’ of God’s Word (Ephesians 4:14; James 1:22). There are ‘some things’, in God’s Word, which are ‘hard to understand’ (2 Peter 3:16). Many demands will be placed on those who take seriously the task of ‘correctly handling the Word of truth’ (2 Timothy 2:15). As we wrestle with the many-sided complexities of gaining an accurate understanding of God’s Word, we must never lose sight of ‘the simplicity which is in Christ’. We must take great care to maintain our ‘sincere and pure devotion to Christ’ (2 Corinthians 11:3).

In our learning from God’s Word and in our teaching God’s Word to others, we are to honour the Holy Spirit. He is our Teacher. This is what Jesus says concerning Him – ‘the Counsellor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you’ (John 14:26). As we walk with the Lord, ‘letting the Word of Christ dwell in us richly’ the Holy Spirit will not fail us. He will not leave us without a word to speak for Him (Colossians 3:16; Luke 12:12). In the ministry of God’s Word, we are to say only what the Holy Spirit gives to us for the spiritual feeding of the people.

    When I was a student, this lesson was impressed upon me by my Minister, George Philip. He pointed out to me that there may be many things which will interest me in the study, but they may not be what God is wanting me to share with the people when I go to the pulpit. I have never forgotten his words. They have provided an important framework for my ministry. Our goal is not to impress people with our great learning. Rather, it is to give them a glimpse of the greatness of our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Jack Rogers gives us a thought-provoking account of a sermon preached by G.C. Berkouwer while he was in the U.S.A. – ‘The worshippers were disappointed by his sermon. They could understand it! They expected the great professor to be profound (i.e. abstract, dull). Instead, he preached a simple gospel sermon of pastoral comfort and affirmation’ (Confessions of a Conservative Evangelical, p.141). If our preaching is a disappointment to those who bring with them the wrong expectations, let us not be perturbed. If our preaching is a help to those who are eagerly seeking to be instructed in the Word of God, let us rejoice. We are to help our hearers to ‘grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ’ (2 Peter 3:18). This is ‘the work’ for which we have been ‘set apart’ by ‘the Holy Spirit’. This is ‘the work’ to which we have been ‘called’ by ‘the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 13:2).

7) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to reprove us.

    This ministry of the Spirit – His reproving ministry – is vitally related to His correcting ministry. These ministries belong together. In His reproving ministry, the Spirit is concerned with showing us where we have gone wrong. In His correcting ministry, He is concerned with bringing us back to the right way. There will be those who are reproved by the Spirit of God yet they refuse His correcting ministry. The Word of God speaks very directly of this in Proverbs 29:1 – ‘He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing’. This, however, is not the intention of the Spirit’s reproving ministry. The Holy Spirit reproves us so that He might bring us back into the way of holiness. In Hebrews 3:7, we read words which ‘the Holy Spirit’ speaks to us, ‘Today, when you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts’.

    In Paul’s letters, we have two different yet related instructions concerning obedience to the Spirit of God – ‘Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God’ (Ephesians 4:30). and ‘Do not quench the Spirit’ (1 Thessalonians 5:19). While these two instructions may be similar, there is a difference of emphasis. The warning against grieving the Spirit is more related to the Spirit’s reproving ministry while the warning against quenching the Spirit is more related to His correcting ministry. When the Spirit is reproving us for our wrong living, we must not grieve Him by continuing in the wrong way. When the Spirit is seeking to bring us back into the pathway of holiness, we must not quench Him by resisting His holy promptings within us.

    In connection with the Spirit’s reproving ministry, we must consider Christ’s warning against committing the unpardonable sin, ‘the blasphemy against the Spirit’ (Matthew 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-30; Luke 12:10). What is Jesus saying to us here? He is urging us to be responsive to the Spirit in His ministries of reproof and correction. We must not isolate this sin against the Spirit from all other sins of resisting the Spirit. Jesus is pressing home the urgent importance of not grieving the Spirit and not quenching the Spirit. In His ministries of reproof and correction, the Spirit speaks to us as the Spirit of Christ. He speaks as the One concerning whom Jesus says, ‘He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you’ (John 16:14). The Spirit convicts us of our sin with a view to bringing us to the Saviour who graciously forgives our sin.

8) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to correct us.

    The Spirit’s ministries of reproof and correction belong together. In Ephesians 4:30, we see both reproof and correction. We are warned – ‘Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God’. We must take care that we do not follow a pathway that will lead us further away from the Lord. We are encouraged – ‘in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption’. We must not lose sight of the glorious destiny towards which the Lord is leading us. In His ministries of reproof and correction, the Lord does not treat us as strangers. He treats us as children. ‘Sent into our hearts’ by ‘God’ the Father, ‘the Spirit’ enables us to call God our ‘Father’ (Galatians 4:6). In love, we are reproved – ‘ the Lord disciplines him whom he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives’ (Hebrews 12:6). His goal is our correction. He wants to transform our life, to bring us out of a life dominated by sin and into a life filled with His blessing.

    Calling us back from a life that dishonours God – Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery’, He invites us to live a life that brings glory to God – ‘be filled with the Spirit’ (Ephesians 5:18). The Spirit corrects us as we respond, with the obedience of faith, to the Lord’s command – ‘be filled with the Spirit’. Paul does not say, ‘Fill yourselves with the Spirit’. He says, ‘let the Holy Spirit fill you’ (N.E.B.). God is calling us to ‘the life-long walk in the Spirit’ (A.W. Tozer, The Divne Conquest, p.110). He is calling us to ‘keep on being filled with the Spirit’.The Spirit-filled life is a  gift of God, a gift of grace. There can be no room for boasting of our own moral superiority. All the glory belongs to the Lord. We can only look away from ourselves to Him and say, ‘the Lord has done this, and it is marvellous in our eyes’ (Psalm 118:23). Our testimony must always be this, ‘Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness’ (Psalm 115:1).

9) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to train us in righteousness.

    Whenever a preacher speaks about being baptized with the Spirit or filled with the Spirit, different hearers hear the words in different ways. An important biblical way of thinking about the baptism with the Spirit is indicated in Matthew 3:11-12 and Luke 3:16-17. The baptism with the Spirit is a baptism with ‘fire’ – ‘His winnowing fork is in His hand and He will clear His threshing floor and gather His wheat into the granary, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire’. The Spirit led Jesus, after His baptism, into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil (Matthew 4:11; Mark 1:12-13; Luke 4:1-2). The Spirit leads us into the refining fire where we are trained in righteousness. Training in righteousness is not fun. Compare training in righteousness with the training of a sportsman. It is hard work. There are times when it is difficult to see the goal. When we are going through hard times, we must remember the goal – ‘praise and glory and honour at the revelation (or appearing) of Jesus Christ’ (1 Peter 1:6-7).

    When we are being trained in righteousness, there will be difficulties arising from the fact that loyalty to Christ is not welcome in an unbelieving world. God’s Word tells us that ‘all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted’ (2 Timothy 3:12). When we are being trained in righteousness, we must recognize that God’s way for us may not be the way that we would have planned for ourselves. When Paul prayed about his ‘thorn in the flesh’, his prayer was answered – but not in the way he had hoped. The weakness remained, but in it Paul experienced something greater – the grace of God. God can turn even the most unlikely circumstances into ideal situations for training in righteousness. We can be assured that God knows what He is doing. Over the whole process of training in righteousness, He writes these great words – ‘My grace is sufficient for you’ (2 Corinthians 12:7-9).

10) The Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to make the man of God, complete for every good work.

    ‘Man of God’ – isn’t that a wonderful expression? That’s what God calls us! We don’t deserve to be called this, but this is what God has made us in Christ. God is determined to make us worthy of this marvellous title which He has so graciously bestowed upon us! We are called to maturity. We are called to mature holiness. We are to mature in our response to God’s call to holiness, that call which is at one and the same time both a command and a promise – ‘be holy, for I am holy’, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’ (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:16). God’s call to holiness is clear – ”God has not called us to uncleanness, but to holiness’. This call is followed by these solemn words of warning – ‘whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives His Holy Spirit to you’ (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8). Maturity is bound up with holiness. The nearest we have, in Scripture, to a definition of maturity is found in Hebrews 5:14 – ‘solid food is for the mature, for those who have their faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil’. ‘Trained by practice to distinguish good from evil’ – what a practical definition of maturity! May God grant a revival of such maturity in our day. We are being ‘equipped for every good work’ These good works are the works of faith – ‘By grace you have been saved through faith … to do good works’ (Ephesians 2:8-10). These good works are produced in us through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. As we ‘let the Word of Christ dwell in us richly’, the Spirit works in us to make us more like our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ – ‘the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control’ (Colossians 3:16; Galatians 5:22-23).

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"The Word Made Flesh" - Then And Now

“The Word became flesh” then so that He might be made flesh in us now (John 1:14). 
The Son of God became “Emmanuel” (God with us) so that He might be “God with us” here-and-now.

“Jesus … has risen” (Matthew 28:5-6) – so that, as the living Christ, He might live in us.

Our faith is grounded in the great facts of the Gospel: The Word became flesh, Jesus has risen. The Saviour was born for us. He lived for us. He died for us. He rose for us.

All that He has done for us must become a powerful reality in us. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.

‘For us’ – we must never forget this. We do not jump straight to ‘In us.’

To those who speak of a inner spirituality which is not grounded in the historical reality of the great events of the Gospel, the Word of God says, “Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God” (1 John 4:2-3),  “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Corinthians 15:17).

There is no ‘Christ of faith’ without ‘the Jesus of history.” A ‘Christ of faith’ who is not also ‘the Jesus of history’ is very different from the Jesus Christ of the Bible.

‘In us’ – we must never forget this. We are not to rest content with a Jesus who belongs to a world that is both far away and long ago.

The Gospel does not leave us in the past. Jesus comes to us from the past. He comes as the living Saviour.

We Want To See Jesus.

“We wish to see Jesus … The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified … I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to Myself …  although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him … they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God” (John 12:21,23,32,37-43).
When we say, “We want to see Jesus”, we are led by the Holy Spirit to the Cross of Christ. In the Cross of Christ, we see love that appeals to all people, calling them to come to the Saviour and receive His salvation. Sadly, there are many who refuse to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. There are some who find themselves drawn to the Saviour. They “believe in Him” but  “they do not confess Him” because “they love the praise of men more than the praise of God.” What are we to say when the love that makes its appeal to all is rejected by many? – “Not everyone has faith, but the Lord is faithful” (2 Thessalonians 3:2-3). When we are surrounded by so much unbelief, let us hold on to this: The Lord is faithful. Whatever the unbelieving world  may say about the Lord, may the Lord’s people always say, “The Lord is faithful.”

Happiness

“Now you’re in a painful situation. But I will see you again. Then you will be happy, and no one will take that happiness away from you” (John 16:22).

Where does happiness come from? Is it something that we reach out for and grasp? or Is it something that’s given to us? Our happiness comes to us from our Lord. 

Saved By The Lord, Let Us Serve Him.

Salvation and service
* Salvation leads to service.
Those who have been saved by the Lord are to serve Him.
* Service arises out of salvation.
When we serve the Lord, we must never forget that we have been saved by Him.

* What God must do for us – He must save : “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17).
* What we must do for God – We must serve: “Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8).

Two Sides Of Jesus

We're going to look at the Lord Jesus in two very different situations. We will see two sides of Him - two sides which belong together.

In John 2:1-11, we see Him at a wedding, celebrating with the newly-weds, sharing with them in their happiness.

In John 2:12-16, we see Him as the religious reformer, strenuously defending the purity of worship in God's House.

These two sides of the Lord Jesus show us something about the purpose of life.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism begins with question, "What is man's chief end (purpose)?"

The answer is given, "Man's chief end (purpose) is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."

Glorifying God and enjoying God - the two belong together.

In the Christian life, there is both privilege and responsibility - the privilege of being a Christian and the responsibility of being a Christian.

In John 2, we learn about the joy of being a Christian and the seriousness of being a Christian. We learn that the joy of being a Christian and the seriousness of being a Christian are grounded in Christ's joy and Christ's seriousness.

In Christ, joy and seriousness went hand-in-hand. They are to go hand-in-hand in the Christian.

* First, let's look at Christ's joy and our joy. He does not call His followers to be kill-joys. He wants to make us happy, to give us true happiness.

C. H. Spurgeon, the nineteenth-century preacher who was known as "The Prince of Preachers", had some rather caustic yet very wise words of advice for his students. He was critical of the severe, austere kill-joy, the kind of person who spreads gloom everywhere. He was critical of the religion of the black clothes, the kind of religion which is suspicious of all joy and happiness.

Spurgeon said, "I know men who, from head to feet, are so ministerial in their dress that no particle of manhood is visible." Then he says, "An individual who has no geniality about him had better be an undertaker, and bury the dead, for he will never succeed in influencing the living." He continues, "I commend cheerfulness to all who would win souls; not levity and frothiness, but a genial, happy spirit."

Jesus was no monk in a monastery, no hermit hiding from the world of ordinary men and women. Jesus was to be found where people are.

Here, we see Him at a wedding.

On another occasion, we see Him at the home of Martha and Mary. We also see Him sharing a meal with Zacchaeus, a tax-collector.

We see Him, washing His disciples' feet.

If we think that being a Christian means being aloof, displaying a holier-than-thou attitude, then we haven't learned it from Jesus.

Let's look more closely at what Jesus did at the wedding. What we have here is a miracle - a miracle with a message.

The message is contemporary. This miracle teaches us that the Lord Jesus Christ is still at work today, seeking to transform human life.

Whenever Jesus comes into someone's life, He brings a new quality of life. Without Him, life is dull, stale, flat, drab and uninteresting. With Him, life is thrilling, wonderful and exhilarating.

Do you think that this is an exaggerated contrast?

This miracle shows us that there can be a transformation in life, like water being turned into wine.

Will we let Jesus give us this true joy, which is deep and permanent?

* Second, let's look at the seriousness of Christ's anger, as He clears the Temple.

Jesus is no sentimentalist. He's someone who needs to be taken seriously.

His joy and His seriousness belong together. Like Him, we are to have both joy and seriousness - not joy without seriousness, not seriousness without joy, joy and seriousness together.

Let's think of this in terms of our worship, but we must never worship Him without reverence,

It is only as we realize something of the holiness of God that we will truly be filled with the joy that comes from knowing that the holy God loves us.

Never come to the House of God completely unprepared. Prepare yourself by prayer. Remember that you are coming to God's House of prayer.

Never come to God's House, as if you were "pally with the Deity." we can come to God with confidence in Him, but we must come with true respect, always remembering who we are speaking to - God.

Jesus' cleansing of the Temple (John 2:7-22) produced two different reactions

- The disciples were surer than ever that Jesus was the Messiah;

- The Jews demanded what right Jesus had to act like this.

Jesus' response to His critics was remarkable. He spoke of His resurrection. Temple worship would pass away. Jesus would rise again.

The Jews put all the emphasis on the place of worship. Jesus put the emphasis on the spirit of worship (John 2:23-25);

Jesus was remarkable - His unusual actions and His words of wisdom. This had an effect on people - "many believed."

What did Jesus do?

He refused to cash in on a moment's popularity. He knew human nature - our fickleness, our instability.

Jesus wanted disciples, not decisions.

Will you be His disciple - one who will be His true follower all the days of your life?

Praying Through God's Word: John's Gospel

John 1:1-34
We thank You, Lord, for Your Son, Jesus - "the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). What a wonderful thing this - it's the great exchange: Jesus has taken our sin, and we receive His salvation.

John 1:35-2:25
Help us, Lord, to look beyond what we are right now. Help us to catch a glimpse of what You want us to become. How are we to become what You want us to be? Your divine power is far more important than our human effort. We don't change ourselves. We are changed by You - changed by Your love, changed by Your power.

John 3:1-36

Where does our salvation come from? Does it come from ourselves? Does it begin with "I"? No! It comes from You. It begins with You - "God so loved the world ... " (John 3:16).

John 4:1-42

We thank You, Lord, for Your great love. You bring us out of our bondage to sin. You bring us into the joy of Your salvation. Your love reaches down to us. Your love brings us to Jesus. He's Your Son. He's our Saviour. Help us to put our trust in Him - to be set free from the guilt of our sinful past, to face the future with the strength that comes from Your joy (Nehemiah 8:10).

John 4:43-5:29

Lord, You love us with the best love of all. There is no love like Your love for us. Where would we be without Your love? Our lives would be a mess - a complete mess. You pick up the pieces. You put us together again. You send Your Holy Spirit to live in our hearts. He is Your guarantee to us that You are leading us on to eternal glory - with You.

John 5:30-6:21

We thank You, Lord, for Jesus - "the Bread of God ... which comes down from heaven" (John 6:33). We recall the words that He spoke to Satan in the wilderness: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" (Matthew 4:4). It's Jesus that we need. It's Jesus who satisfies our deepest longings. At the heart of our lives, there is emptiness - when Jesus isn't there. When He is there - in our hearts, everything changes. His love changes everything - and we say, "All that thrills my soul is Jesus. He is more than life to me."

John 6:22-59

Help us, Lord, never to be satisfied with anything less than Jesus. He's the very best, Your greatest gift, Your most wonderful blessing. What could be better than having Jesus as our Saviour? - Nothing! There's no-one like Jesus - Hallelujah!

John 6:60-7:36

We thank You, Lord, for Your Word of life. When we are tempted to draw back from following Jesus, He speaks to us "the words of eternal life" (John 6:68). This is what keeps us walking with You. It's not the strength of our faith. It's the power of Your grace. Our faith is weak. Your grace is strong. Help us, in our weakness, to hear Your Word of strength: "My grace is sufficient for you. My strength is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9).

John 7:37-8:20

We thank You, Lord, for Jesus, our holy Saviour, our loving Saviour. Jesus is perfectly holy, yet He keeps on loving us with a perfect love - "Neither do I condemn you" (John 8:11). Jesus' love for us is very wonderful, but He doesn't say to us, 'Go and do what you like.' He says, "Go and sin no more" (John 8:11). We have been "redeemed by His precious blood" (1 Peter 1:18-19). May we be renewed, day-by-day, by Your grace which never leaves us as we were, Your grace which changes - "Create in us a clean heart, O God, and put a new and right spirit within us" (Psalm 51:10).

John 8:21-58  

Help us, Lord, to see ourselves as we really are: "everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin" (John 8:34). Help us, also, to see that Your wonderful grace is greater than all our sin. Help us to see that Jesus sets us free (John 8:36). He forgives our sins. He gives us the strength that we need to keep on walking with You. He's leading us on to Your eternal glory. With Jesus as our Saviour, may we know that our sin will never have the last word: "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Corinthians 15:57).

John 9:1-41

Lord, we thank You that You bring us out of our darkness and into Your light: "One thing I know. I was blind, now I see" (John 9:25). We only catch a glimpse of Your light. There is still so much darkness. It's not only the darkness around us. It's the darkness in us. Lord, may the glimpses of Your light keep us from being overwhelmed by the darkness.

John 10:1-42

Living for You, Lord, is not easy. Satan sees to that! Help us, Lord, when we're sorely tempted to turn from You, to remember that You are stronger than Satan: "Greater is He who is in us than he who is in the world" (1 John 4:4).

John 11:1-44

We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, is "the Resurrection and the Life" (John 11:25). His promise is given to those who believe in Him: "he who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live" (John 11:25). Help us, when we hear these words of hope, to say 'Yes' to Jesus when He puts to us His question, ""Do you believe this?" (John 11:26).

John 11:45-12:36
We thank You, Lord, for Jesus. He died on the Cross for us. Through His death, Satan is defeated. Through His death, we are saved. Thank You, Lord, for this mighty victory over Satan. Thank You for this great salvation for us.

John 12:37-13:20
Help us, Lord, not to be secret disciples. May we be unashamed to say that we belong to Jesus - to take our stand for Jesus. Help us not to think of Him only as our personal Saviour. Give us the strength that we need to confess Him before others - to confess Him as our Lord.

John 13:21-14:14
When, Lord, we face difficult times, help us to look beyond them - to Your glorious future. Jesus is "preparing a place for us in Your House" (John 14:2). When we feel low, may His precious promise of heavenly and eternal glory fill us wiyth Your joy and Your strength (Nehemiah 8:10).

John 14:15-15:17
Lord, we come to You in our weakness. You give to us Your strength. Without Jesus, we can do nothing (John 15:5). With Jesus as our Saviour - His Word abiding in us (John 15:7) and the Holy Spirit teaching us all things (John 15:26), we are led into a life of fruitfulness (John 15:12,16-17). May it be "the fruit of the Spirit" - "love, joy, peace ... " (Galatians 5:22-23).

John 15:18-16:33
Lord, we face many problems and difficulties. You are greater than all of them! This is Good News - and it fills our hearts with joy. "The world is trying to squeeze us into its mould" (Romans 12:2) - but You come to us with Your Word of victory: "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world" (1 John 4:4). You call us to trust in You, to be led in Your way of victory: "Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?" (1 John 5:4-5).

John 17:1-26
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus is praying for us. He is seated at Your right hand - and He has not forgotten us. Often, we forget Him. He never forgets us. He keeps on praying for us - "He ever lives to make intercession for us" (Hebrews 7:25). He prays that we "may be one" (John 17:11).When we are tempted to go the way of Judas Iscariot, "the one who chose to be lost" (John 17:12), help us to "take note of those who create dissensions", to "avoid them" and to "maintain the unity of the Spirit" (Jude 4; 1 John 2:18-19; Romans 16:17-18).

John 18:1-27
We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, drank from the cup of our condemnation so that we might drink from the cup of His salvation. What a great thing Jesus has done for us. He has done all that needed to be done - for us to be forgiven by You. We thank You that Jesus, the risen Lord, gives us a new beginning - the new beginning that comes from Your Holy Spirit, the new beginning that turns sinful failures into faithful servants.

John 18:28-19:16
We thank You, Lord, that Jesus took our sin - and we receive His salvation. Is there anything better than this? No! This is the best. Jesus is the best. We look at Him - crucified for us, and we say, "Hallelujah! What a Saviour!"

John 19:17-20:10
We thank You, Lord, that, when Jesus died on the Cross, He did all that needed to be done for our salvation. From the Cross, He mad this great declaration: "It is finished" (John 19:30). These were not words of despair. They are words of triumph. Beyond the Cross, there was something elsethat needed to be done. It was something that only You could have done. You raised Jesus from the dead. No-one else could have done this. Resurrection is Your work. To You alone be all the glory - forever and ever!

John 20:11-31
We thank You, Lord, that Your Son, Jesus, is "our Lord and our God" (John 20:28). We thank You that, through Jesus, the risen Lord, we have received Your gift of eternal "life" (John 20:31). As we think of all that You have done for us and given to us, may we keep on trusting You, giving thanks to You and living to bring glory tp Your great Name - the Name of our salvation.

John 21:1-25
We thank You, Lord, for the words of Jesus - "Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19). This is the call of Your grace. It is our Saviour who calls us. He calls to receive His forgiveness - and to follow Him. It is the call to discipleship. We're not to keep our distance. We're to draw near to Jesus - and follow in His footsteps. It's the call to be fruitful. We're not to keep the Good News to ourselves. We're to share Jesus' love with others.We're to bring others to Him. Lord, help us to receive Your grace, to follow your Son, and to bring people to Him.

Where have we come from? Where are we going to?

We wonder, "Where have we come from? Where are we going to?" Jesus says, "I know where I came from, and where I'm going" (John 8:14). Show us, Lord Jesus, Your eternal love - the love that calls out to us from the beginning, the love that calls us on to the end, the love that calls out to us from Your eternal glory, the love that calls us on to Your eternal glory.

Jesus Christ - The Way, The Truth And The Life

When you're at a crossroads, it's so important that you make the right decision. Once you've made the right decision, it's so important that you keep on heading in the right direction.

Some people tell us that there are many ways to God and many ways to heaven. This is not what Jesus tells us. What does Jesus say to us? - He says, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life. No-one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6). Jesus says, "I am the door; if any one enters by Me, he will be saved" (John 10:9).

How does Jesus open the door to heaven for us? He says, "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for us" (John 10:11). It's through His death on the Cross that Jesus opens the door to heaven.

What is heaven? We speak about going up to heaven when our life on earth is over. We can also speak of heaven coming down to us while we are still here on earth - "Heaven came down and glory filled my soul, when, at the cross, the Saviour made me whole." When we come to the Cross, and put our trust in the Saviour, this is the beginning of heaven. It's a "foretaste of glory divine."

Why did Jesus come to earth? We might say that He came to earth so that we might go to heaven. We might also say that He came to give us the life of heaven here-and-now: "I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (John 10:10).

How does this "abundant life" come to us? It comes to us through the death of Christ. If we are to bring real life to our hearers, we must "preach Christ crucified." we must join with Paul in saying, "I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2; 1 Corinthians 1:23).

Preaching Christ crucified is grounded in knowing Christ crucified.

What is "preaching"? Is it what happens when the minister speaks to the congregation? It's more than that. The Word is to be preached by many people in many different places, all through the week: "A great persecution arose against the church in Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles ... those who were scattered went about preaching the word" (Acts 8:1a,4).

What did Jesus do when He began His preaching ministry? He called His disciples to Him. They were ordinary people. They were learning to follow Jesus. They were learning to be his witnesses.

What will it mean, for us, to be Christ's witnesses?

Let's return to Jesus' words, "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life" (John 14:6). This is more than a Gospel message, calling on unbelievers to put their faith in Christ and receive salvation. It also contains instruction for Christians who have committed themselves to being Christ's witnesses.

If we are to point to Christ as the Way, the Door, the Gate, our witness must be true and living.

- This is more than saying that we believe that the Gospel is true. It means that the Gospel is to be preached by those who have experienced its truth.

- It's more than saying that Christ brings life to the world. It means that the Gospel is to be preached by those who are growing in their experience of life in Christ.

May the Lord help each of us to be men and women who know, in our hearts and lives, that Jesus Christ is the true and living Saviour of all who come to God through faith in Him.

Let Your Light Shine.

"The Light shines in the dark, and the dark has never extinguished it" (John 1:5).

Jesus is the Light of the world. We are to be like John, who said, "Make the way for the Lord straight" (John 1:23). Like John, we are to say, "Look! This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). When we are faithful, we will see others being brought to the Saviour. At the beginning of their faith, they will be filled with the joy of the Lord. Like Jesus, we must teach them that there is greater joy, still to come: "You will see the sky open and God's angels going up and coming down to the Son of Man" (John 1:51).

Amazing Love! What Will Our Response Be?

John 12:1-11

Mary was the sister of "Lazarus ... whom Jesus raised from the dead" (John 12:1; John 11:2). The anointing of Jesus came after the raising of Lazarus.

The Lord Jesus had raised Mary's brother from the dead. Only Jesus could have done this for her. Only Jesus had done this for her. in view of this remarkable act of divine power and love, Mary now had a sense of inestimable debt.  She felt that she owed her all to Jesus.

 * She had been in the darkness of sorrow, and Jesus brought her the light of life.

 * She had been in the pit of deep despair, and Jesus brought her into new hope.

 * She had been in the depths of grief, and Jesus brought her unspeakable joy.

To the man who does not understand the grace of God (Judas Iscariot), her action seems very strange. To the Man who embodies the grace of God (Jesus), her action is seen as a deeply spiritual response to the grace of God.

If there's one word that describes Mary's act, it is this word - love.

 * The motive of Mary's action was love.

 * The manner of Mary's action was love.

 * The lesson from Mary's action is love.

 (1) The Motive

In this unusual action, Mary gave a gift. Like any other gift, this gift came from someone and was given to someone. Mary's action was done from the heart, and it was done to Christ and for Christ.

This is the two-sided beauty of Mary's action - it was done from the heart, and it was done for Christ.

 (2) The Manner

Here, we notice the costliness of Mary's gift and the un-selfconscious nature of her giving. Mary's gift was given at great expense to herself. In the giving of this gift, Mary pointed away from herself to Christ. Mary's action didn't say, "Look at Mary. Look at how spiritual I am." Her action said, "Look at Christ. He is worthy of all your worship. Let Him be the centre of attention."

 (3) The Lesson

   (a) Giving from the heart and doing from the heart is the kind of giving and doing that the Lord seeks - e.g. visit the sick, visit the poor and needy. Think how much more would be done for the Lord, if we did what He puts into our hearts to do for Him. When you find, in your heart, a desire to do something for Christ, don't let your mind talk you out of it. Don't let a 'Judas Iscariot' dampen your heartfelt zeal (John 12:5).

   (b) Give to Christ, and live for Him. the centrality of Christ in the Christian life - this is something that we can never emphasize too strongly. A great deal of what is done in the name of religion turns out to be useless, because it is not done for Christ. Don't try to do holy work while you're thinking, "What am I going to get out of this?" This is what Judas Iscariot was thinking (John 12:6) - and look at the mess he made of his life! Make this your one aim - to glorify Christ.

   (c) As you give yourself to Christ, give Him your best, give Him yourself, give Him your heart. There is such a difference between our best and our second-best. We give our best to Jesus when we believe that He is the best, that He is worthy of nothing less than our best. We give our second-best to Jesus when we believe that He is the second-best - coming a poor second to our real No. 1 (ourselves). Give your heart to Jesus. If you don't give your heart to Him, what you give to Him will never be anything more than your second-best. We give our best to Jesus when we believe that He is the best - that He is worthy of nothing less than the best. we give our second-best to Jesus when we believe that He is the second-best - a poor second to our real No.1 (ourselves)."To be the best that I can be for truth and righteousness and Thee" - may this be the great goal of our life. Judas Iscariot gave his second-best to Jesus. He associated himself with Jesus and His disciples - but he remained master of his own life. Judas did what Judas wanted - not what Jesus wanted. How true this is of so many today. We are Church people, but are we Christ's people?

 * Let us love like Mary loved 

  - with a love that comes from the heart;

  - with a love that is love for Jesus;

  - with a love that thinks of privilege rather than cost;

  - with a love that finds its pleasure in giving and doing;

  - with a love that points away from ourselves to Christ;

  - with a love that gives our best - not our second-best;

  - with a love that gives ourselves to Christ.

Amazing love! Where do we find such love? - At Calvary. it is the love of Christ. What will our response be? 

"Were the whole realm of nature mine, that were an offering far too small. Love, so amazing, so divine, demands (shall have) my soul, my life, my all" (Charles Wesley).

Make it personal!

Read the words of John 3:16 and Romans 10:9. Put your name into these great verses. Make it personal – Jesus is my Saviour. Jesus is my Lord.

Seven Words On Seven Chapters (John 1-7)

We look at the first seven chapters of John's Gospel. Our seven words are (1) Who; (2) What; (3) Wind; (4) Worship; (5) Wholeness; (6) Word; (7) Witness.

(1) Who is Jesus?

• Chapter 1: (a) the Word (v. 1); (b ) God (v. 1); (c) the life (v. 4); (d) the light of men (v 4 ) and the true light (v. 9); (e) the only begotten Son (v. 18) or the Son of God (vs, 34, 49); (f) the Lamb of God (vs. 29, 36); (g) Master (v. 38); (h) the Messiah or the Christ (v. 41); (i) the King of Israel (v. 49); (j) the Son of Man (v.51).

We focus our attention on another description of Jesus - "this is He who baptizes with the Holy Spirit" (v.33). This is based on the Spirit's descending, like a dove, to abide on Jesus (vs.32-33).

(2) What kind of Spirit does Jesus baptize us with? What kind of Spirit does He pour out upon us? What kind of Spirit does He give to us to live in us?

• Chapter 2: The Holy Spirit is "the Spirit of Jesus (Acts 16:7), "the Spirit of Christ" (Romans 8:9). To answer the question, "What kind of Spirit does Jesus baptize us with?", we look at Jesus Himself.

In chapter 2, we see the grace (vs.1-10), glory (v. 11) and holiness (vs. 13-22) of the Lord Jesus.

In these three words - grace, glory and holiness, we have a description of the work of the Spirit in the whole course of the Christian life.

• The beginning of the Christian life is grace.
• The destination of the Christian life is glory.
• The way by which we travel from grace to glory is the way of holiness.

The life in the Spirit is the way which takes us from grace to glory in the highway of holiness.

(3) The wind of the Spirit (3:8)

The Christian life is to be a life of going with the wind of the Spirit, and not against the wind of the Spirit (3:8).

The fourfold direction of the wind of the Spirit (3:16): The wind of the Spirit blows us in the direction of (a) the love of God; (b) the Saviour; (c) faith in Christ; (d) eternal life.

The life which goes with the wind of the Spirit, and not against the wind of the Spirit, is a life which is becoming, increasingly, more Christ-centred and, increasingly, less self-centred.: "He must increase, but I must decrease" (3:30).

This Christ-centred life in the Spirit is a life which is characterized by worship (chapter 4), wholeness (chapter 5), the Word (chapter 6) and witness (chapter 7).

(4) Worship in the Spirit and in truth (4:24)

Worship in the Spirit is not, simply, a warm feeling inside, a pleasant emotion which says, "I enjoyed that." It is not, simply, a vague inward spirituality which is characterized by inner contentment. Worship in the Spirit , true spiritual worship focuses attention not so much on our feelings but on Jesus Christ and all that He has done for us.

What we must remember is this: When we speak about the Spirit, we are speaking about the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit who delights to glorify Jesus Christ and to point us to Him, who is the Saviour of the world.

This is true spiritual worship - worship which leads us to magnify and exalt Jesus Christ, worship that leads us to give glory to the Saviour who love us and gave Himself for us, to give praise to the Christ who was crucified for us, to give honour to the Lord who was raised from the dead for us, to sing "Hallelujah" to the King who is coming again for us.

When the Spirit of God is at work in our worship, He will lead us to say of Jesus Christ, "this is indeed the Saviour of the world" (4:42).

(5) Wholeness in the Spirit

When we are truly worshipping in the Spirit, the Lord Jesus Christ will ask us this challenging question, "Do you want to be made whole?" (5:6).

He calls us to leave behind the old life, which is characterized by the weakness of the flesh. He calls us to live the new life, which is characterized by wholeness in the Spirit.

"Do you want to be made whole?"

The first essential for experiencing the mighty power of the Spirit of God is an intense desire for the Spirit of revival and renewal to be at work among us.

"Do you want to be made whole?"

Jesus Christ will pour upon us the Holy Spirit - the Spirit of revival and renewal, as you and I say, "Yes, Lord, I want you to do this for me?"

"Do you want to be made whole?"

(6) The Word of God and he Spirit of God

The call to wholeness comes to us through the Word of God. The Spirit of God speaks to us through the Word of God. The Holy Spirit speaks to us through the Holy Scriptures.

The contrast between the Spirit and the flesh (3:6) is re-emphasized in 6:63.

While the Spirit and the flesh are contrasted, the Spirit and the Word are not set against each other. The Spirit and the Word belong together. The Spirit uses the Word to bring us out of the weakness of the flesh and into the wholeness which is ours through faith in Christ.

(7) Witness (7:37-39)

This wholeness, which comes to us through the Spirit and the Word, is not for our own benefit only. The Spirit uses the Word to point us to Christ - the source of our wholeness, so that we, in turn, might point others to the Saviour.

When the Lord Jesus speaks of "rivers of living waters", He does not say that they will flow into the believer's heart. He says that they will flow out of the believer's heart.

The Spirit is given to us on the basis of Jesus' glorification - His death, resurrection and ascension. Because Jesus, the Lamb of God, has died to take away the sin of the world, the Holy Spirit is given to us so that we might share this good news with our needy world.

The Spirit empowers us for the work of mission, Christ's mission in the world.

• Ezekiel 47 - the development of Christ's mission
•  vs.3-5: ankle-deep - Jerusalem; knee-deep - Judea; up to the loins - Samaria; deep enough to swim in - the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).
• v. 6: "Son of man, have you seen this?"

• Revelation 22 - the outcome of Christ's mission, the healing of the nations (v. 3); reigning for ever and ever (v. 5).