Alive In Our Worship, Involved In Our Community

Isaiah 61:1-3; John 21:1-17; Revelation 5:11-14

When our service of worship ends, our service in the world begins. God is calling us to be alive in our worship, and he's calling us to be involved in our community.

Worshipping the Lord and serving Him - we need both, not one without the other.

We are tio be committed to the Lord in the whole of our life - not just part of it.

 * We are not to say, "I will worship the Lord for an hour on a Sunday, but I don't want to get involved in serving Him during the rest of the week."

"It's just an hour on a Sunday." Can we ever truly worship the Lord if we're thinking like this? True worship leads to active service/ If we are learning to worship the Lord, we will want also to serve Him.

 * We are not to say, "I can be a good Christian without going to Church." What does this say about our commitment to the Lord, if we do not take time to be with Him, giving thanks to Him, listening to what He has to say to us, praying for his strength, asking Him to help us to serve Him in the coming week?

There are always two parts in a real commitment to the Lord. the first is "Love the Lord your God." The second is "Love your neighbour."

God is calling us to do two things. At the beginning of each week, He is calling us to take time to be with Him. When we are gathered for worship, God is saying to us, "Go out from this place, go out into the world - and serve Me in your everyday life, in the oplaces where you are, among the people that you meet.

God is calling us to be alive in our worship and involved in our community.

How are we to maintain and strengthen this commitment to worship and service?

The first thing we must say is this:  Our commitment is a commitment to Jesus Christ. It's a commitment to following Him. It's a commitment to living the way He lived.

Let's take a look at Jesus. Let'slearn from Him. Let's look at the way He lived. Let's look at what was important to Him - and let's be challenged to love our lives for Him on Sundays and every other day of the week.

We look at two incidents in Jesus' life. The first is at the beginning of His public ministry. The second is after His resurrection. The first show us the kind of Man Jesus was. The second shows us the kind of people we are to be.

We go, first, to Luke 4:16-21. Here, Jesus quotes from Isaiah 61:1-2.

Here, we see Jesus, worshipping God - "He went to the synagogue on the sabbath deay, as was His custom" (Luke 4:16). There, in the House of the Lord, Jesus reads the words of Isaiah (Luke 4:18-19) - but He doesn't stop with the reading. He adds this remarkable statement: "Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21).

Jesus was announcing the beginning of His ministry. His ministry was all about people. He brought Good News to the poor, deliverance to the captives, sight to the blind, freedom to the oppressed. he told people that God loved them. He showed people that God loved them.

Alive in our worship, involved in our community - This is what we see in the ministry of Jesus. If we are to follow Him, we must learn to worship - and we must learn to serve.

When esus began His public ministry, one of the first things that He did was this: He called His disciples. They were to be with Him. They were to follow Him. They were to worship with Him. They were to serve with Him. They were to learn from Him.

This was the beginning of a wonderful three-year adventure. Sadly, this adventure was to come to an end. Jesus was taken away from them. He was crucified. the disciples were despondent. This was the end of their world. What were they to do? They did what they knew best. They went back to fishing - but was that really the end of their adventure with Jesus? No! It was to be a life-long adventure. The risen Lord appeared to them. He said to them, "Have you forgotten? Do you not remember? I called you to be "fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19).

Jesus was saying to them, "There's something more than fishing." Their adventure of worshipping the Lord and serving Him was just beginning. You can read baout it in the Acts of the Apostles. It shows us what God can do when His people are truly committed to Him - committed to worshipping Him, committed to serving Him.

Alive in our worship, involved in our community - This is the life into which the Lord is calling us. He's calling us to "launch out into the deep" (Luke 5:4) with Him. We don't know all that the future will hold - but there is something that we do know: our future is in the Lord's hands, and we are safe in the arms of Jesus.

Among the disciples, there was one man who was especially uncertain about his future. Peter had failed his Lord. he thought that his journey with Jesus was over - but he was wrong!

Jesus loved Peter. jesus came to peter with a question, "Peter, do you love Me?" (John 21:15-17).

What was Jesus really saying to Peter? - He was saying, "Peter, I love you - and I have a great future for you."

What a great futur it was! Peter put the past behind him - and he moved into the great future Jesus had planned for him.

In recent years, we've heard a lot about "the Church without walls." What does this mean? - It means that we do not stop with worshipping the Lord in His House. We go on from there to serve Him outside of our Church buildings, bringing the love of Christ to the many people who need Him.

Alive in our worship, involved in our community - Where will this vision, this mission statement, lead us. In Revelation 5:11-13, we get a wonderful glimpse of God's glorious future. How are we to prepare ourselves and the people of our community for this? - we begin here-and-now by being alive in our worship and involved in our community.

Receive New Life From The Lord - And Live Your Life For Him.

What's it all about - this Christianity? is it a form of religion or a code of ethics? The words, 'religion' and 'ethics' are well wide of the mark when it comes to describing what it means to be a Christian.

The word, 'life' is the word used by Jesus: "I have come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).

Jesus did not say, "I have come that they might have religion (or ethics)."

Jesus came to give us life - the life of God.

When we have received this life from Him, we come to understand that being a Christian is about a personal relationship with God. It's not just a matter of following a certain code of religious or moral behaviour.

This personal relationship with God is entirely bound up with Jesus Christ. Apart from him, there is no life. There is only the emptiness of life without God, in this world and in the world to come. With Jesus Christ, there is life - a life given by God, a life dependent on God, a life lived for God.

• (1) A life given by God

What is a Christian? Is it about being kind to others, giving to charities, not committing crimes? A humanist does all of these things. Is it about going to church services? the New Testament says something different: "It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20).

Note the contrast between the things which we do and the New Testament teaching that Christianity is Christ .

This contrast is emphasized in the Gospels. The religious leaders of Jesus' day had become so tied up with rules and regulations that they had neglected their relationship with God. Jesus, offering them something better - a life that is to be given to us by God. He told them, in no uncertain terms, that they needed to be "born again."

This is a message that we need to hear today. Like the Pharisees, we tend to complicate the simplicity of the Gospel. We turn it into a complex system of rules. God invites us to come to know Him as our loving Father. Why do we insist on thinking of God as a kind of heavenly policeman, who is constantly trying to catch us out when we do wrong? The idea of God as a kind of heavenly policeman, who's trying to catch us out, needs to be rooted out of our thinking.

There's another idea we need to get rid of - the idea that God is a kind of heavenly skinflint, a tight-fisted character, who's only interested in what he can get out of us. The idea of a god, who is on the make, s the exact opposite of the god and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is a loving God, a giving God - "God so loved the world that He gave His only Son" (John 3:16).

It's often said, "You only get what you pay for." If you approach the Christian Faith from this angle, you will come up with the most complete misunderstanding of the Christian Gospel imaginable.

If God were to give us what we've paid for, there would be nothing, for us, but judgment and condemnation. This is what we deserve from God - nothing more, nothing less: judgment and condemnation. The amazing thing is this: God has, in His Son, paid the price of our sin. this is the Gospel. This is the Good News that comes to us from God. In Jesus Christ, God has taken the punishment for our sin. At the heart of the Christian Faith is the death of Jesus Christ as our substitute. He took my place and died for me. This is what the Christian has come to know. Those who have come to the Cross and accepted Jesus Christ as their Saviour can truly say, "The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).

There is no room, at the Cross of Jesus Christ, for a 'skinflint' god. It is, at the Cross, that we must receive the gift of God, the gift for which we can never even begin to pay, the gift which has been paid for the death of Another - our Lord Jesus Christ. At the Cross, we learn that it is not we who give to God. It's God who gives to us. we learn that we can only receive from God. From Him, we receive the gift of Jesus Christ, our Saviour.

• (2) A life dependent on God

We must avoid carefully the idea of a god, who is always on the make. We must also take care not to take God for granted. The kind of person, who tries to get as much as he can out of God with the least personal involvement, has misunderstood completely what it means to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. To have faith in Christ is to "live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20). The Christian life is lived in the light of the death of Jesus Christ, who loved us and gave Himself for us. It doesn't make sense to say, "I believe the Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me", and, then, hold back from giving ourselves to Him, in glad surrender.

The question may be asked, "Can I accept Jesus Christ as my Saviour without submitting to Him as my Lord?" This question is based on reveals on a serious misunderstanding of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are saved by the grace of God. We can do nothing to deserve His grace. We must receive the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ as God's free gift. We must never lose this emphasis. It is the heart of the Christian Gospel. Building on the foundation of God's grace, we must emphasize that Christian commitment is a privilege before it is a responsibility.

Trusting Jesus is not like wearing a lucky charm. It's not just a way of getting on the right side of God, and making sure of a place in heaven. We are called to a life of faith: "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey."

• (3) A life lived for God

If the life of trust and obedience is to be real in you and me, we must take great care to avoid two very dangerous misconceptions of the Christian life.

(a) The first is that we become so heavenly-minded that we're no earthly use. This kind of person is very concerned to make sure that he himself is going to heaven, but he shows no real interest in serving the Lord and serving other people here on earth. He needs to understand that real faith is more than booking a place in heaven. We need to be wary of a self-centred desire to get to heaven, which doesn't lead us to serve God and other people here and now. Salvation leads to service.

(b) The second is that we become so earthly-minded that we're no heavenly use. Some people throw everything into their work., their family life and their personal interests. The Christian has a higher priority: serving God and pleasing Him. This doesn't mean that we should all be preachers or missionaries. What it does mean is this: use your gifts and abilities to the full for God. The Bible never separates believing and doing. Faith and work belong together. We are not saved by works, but we are saved for works. When faith is real, it will lead to good works.

Live for God. This is very important. Words mean nothing, if we're not living for the Lord.

Another “3:16″ to set alongside John 3:16!

John 3:16, Rev 3:16–20

lIn John 3:16, we read these wonderful words concerning God’s love: “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.”

Here’s another “3:16″ – “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16).

This “3:16″ leads on to some other words about God’s love: “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent” (Revelation 3:19).

Called to repentance by the God of love, we hear the great promise given to us by our Saviour: “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me” (Revelation 3:20).

The Holy Spirit Comes From God - And Changes Us.

(i) The Holy Spirit comes from God.

- The new birth (John 3:3, 7).

- “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16).

(ii) The Holy Spirit changes us.
– “Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:1-4).
– “When the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you shall be My witnesses” (Acts 1:8).

Jesus - The Good Shepherd, The Great Shepherd, The Chief Shepherd

* Jesus Christ is the Good Shepherd who died on the cross for us – “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11).
* Jesus Christ is the Great Shepherd who rose from the dead for us – “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20-21).
* Jesus Christ is the Chief Shepherd who is coming again for us – “Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away” (1 Peter 5:2-4).

Jesus - The Son Of God And The Saviour Of The World

Some people think of Jesus as a great teacher of morality. Is that all that we can say about Him? Those who “believe” in Him say something else about Him – He’s “the Son of God” and “the Saviour of the world” (Luke 1:35; John 4:42). The critics say, “You can’t say that!” We give this answer: Jesus said it! He said, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). He said it then. He’s still saying it now. Thank God – He’s given us more than a great teacher. He’s given us His Son – our Saviour.  

* God’s Son is unchanged – He’s still our Saviour: “He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him” (Hebrews 7:25).

We sing of God’s “amazing grace” – “How precious did that grace appear the hour I first believed.” Sometimes, we lose our way, and we wonder, “Where is the blessedness I knew when first I saw the Lord?” Sometimes, Jesus doesn’t seem to be so precious. Sometimes, we don’t feel so blessed. What’s the problem? We’re the problem. We’ve taken our eyes off Jesus. We’ve forgotten how great our Saviour is.
* God’s Son, our Saviour, is unchanging – When you’re going through a hard time, remember this: “He didn’t bring us this far to leave us. He didn’t teach us to swim to let us drown. He didn’t build His home in us to move away. He didn’t lift us up to let us down.”

Sometimes, we find it difficult to rejoice in the Lord. Let’s remember that “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) – and we will find it so much easier to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4).
* God’s Son is unchangeable – This is where true and lasting joy comes from: “Now I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me, not for the years of time alone but for eternity. Joy floods my soul for Jesus has saved me.”

Cleansing

“Jesus answered, ‘Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.’” (John 13:10).

* “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son cleanses us all from sin” (1 John 1:7).
When we come in faith to Jesus Christ, our Saviour, we receive complete cleansing – “The vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon receives.” ”Every sin had to go ‘neath the cleansing flow.”  * “The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, keeps on cleansing us from all sin” (1 John 1:7).
Coming to Christ and receiving the forgiveness of our sins is just the beginning of our walk in God.
Through faith in our Saviour, we become God’s children. Becoming God’s children through faith in Christ is the beginning of our new life in Christ. God is calling us to grow in Christ. He is calling us to become mature believers.
How are we to grow in Christ? How are to become mature believers? Often, sin will come between us and the holy God. When this happens, we must remember that He is our loving Father. In His great love for us, He has provided for us the way of continual cleansing in the blood of Christ, our Saviour.
When we fail the Lord, He does not leave us. He does not disown us. We are still His children, saved by His wonderful grace. He does, however, call us to come back to Him. He calls us to make progress in the way of holiness.
If we are to a life that brings glory to the Lord, we must come to Him – not once only but many times – and be cleansed in the blood of Christ. This is the continual cleansing which we require if we are to grow in Christ and become mature in Him.
The cleansing of our heart begins with conversion. God gives us a new heart. The cleansing of our life involves lifelong learning – learning to live in the power of the new nature given to us by God at the time of our conversion.
May God help us never to forget our complete cleansing. May we always give thanks to Him for this great blessing. May God help us to come to Him, again and again, for the continual cleansing we need if we are to grow in Christ and bring glory to Him.

At The Lord's Table, We Remember Him - And We Respond To Him.

John 6:1-59
In the Lord’s Supper, Jesus stands before us as the One who calls for our decision. There is no automatic guarantee that all who hear the preaching of God’s Word do, in fact, receive the blessing of which God’s Word speaks. There is no automatic guarantee that all who receive the blessing to which these symbols point. Jesus stands before us, saying to us, “What is your response to Me?”

Jesus' Love For Us - And Our Love For Him

John 21:15-17

Jesus loves us so much more than we love Him. In love, He comes to us to draw out from us a greater love for Him. I find great encouragement in the story of the restoration of Peter in John 21. Peter had denied the Lord three times. For each denial, Jesus came to Peter with the question, “Peter, do you love Me?” Three times, Peter reaffirmed his love for Jesus. Following on from this, there is the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) when the Lord works through Peter in a very wonderful way. Three thousand people are brought to faith in Christ – for each denial, a thousand souls brought to faith! What a wonderful restoration! May we have much cause to say of the Lord, “He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His Name’s sake” (Psalm 23:3). May our ministry of His Word prosper – “those who turn many to righteousness shall shine like the stars for ever and ever” (Daniel 12:3).

Truth - And Faith

John 17 - This is such a great prayer. At the heart of it, we have these great words, “Your Word is truth” (John 17:17). True prayer is always grounded in truth. There is a conversation between ourselves and God. God initiates this conversation. From Him, there is revelation. From us, there is response. Revelation comes first. He speaks to us. Then, we speak to Him. In our world, there are many voices. There is one voice which must not be drowned out: the voice of God.

“Your Word is truth” (John 17:17). Where does our faith come from? It comes from the Lord. He has spoken to us in His Word. He is still speaking to us. Are we listening to Him? We’re not to come to the Word of God with the attitude that says, “This is true. That’s not true.” On what basis do we say, “This is true. That’s not true”? We may come to some parts of the Bible and say, “That speaks to me.” We may come to other parts of the Bible and say, “That doesn’t speak to me.” What are we saying when we say this kind of thing? Are we saying something about God’s Word? or Are we saying something about our need to listen more carefully to what the Lord is saying to us through His Word? Let us learn to say, with our Lord Jesus Christ, “Your Word is truth” (John 17:17) and we will begin to say, more and more often, “That really speaks to me.” It’s not about our deciding what speaks to us and then saying, “That really is the Word of God.” It’s about our saying “Your Word is truth” and then discovering that God has a great deal to say to us when we are learning to say to Him, “Speak, Lord, for Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:9-10).

Search The Scriptures: John's Gospel

"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).

There's a contrast between the two parts of John 2 - the joy of water being turned into wine (John 2:1-12), The seriousness of the money changers being thrown out of the temple courtyard (John 2:13-17). We need both - joy and seriousness; the joy that comes from knowing Jesus, the seriousness of commitment to following Jesus. The rebuilding of our lives comes from the resurrection of Jesus (John 2:18-22). This rebuilding comes to us when we seek to know the reality of the Lord in our lives. This reality comes to us when we seek to be real with God (John 2:23-25).

God's love sent God's Son (John 3:16). God's power brings the new birth (John 3:6-8). God's love and power flow through those who, like John the Baptist, give first place to Jesus - "He must increase in importance, while I must decrease in importance" (John 3:30).

"We have heard Him ourselves" (John 4:42). Conversion comes when we hear more than the voice of the messenger. We hear the voice of the Lord. This is real conversion. This is the new birth that comes from above.

"It was the same time... " (John 4:53) - 'That moment, from Jesus, a pardon receives": God doesn't wait for us to prove ourselves before He rewards us with His salvation. He gives His salvation to us when we put our trust in His Son, our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is salvation by grace through faith.

"Jesus was the man who made him well" (John 5:15). What a great Saviour Jesus is! What the Lord does for us - it's for eternity. Jesus is more than a servant of God. He's the Son of God (John 5:19). "The Son gives life to anyone he chooses" (John 5:21). what a joy it is to know that we are not disqualified because of our sin. Our Saviour is greater than our sin. "The wages of sin are death. The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Our sin closes the door of heaven. The Saviour opens the door of heaven for us.

Following the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand, Jesus speaks of Himself as the Bread of Life. This is not only about what happened a long time ago. It's about  us. It's about here-and-now. Between the miracle and the Bread of Life, there is Jesus walking on the sea. Again, this is more than an ancient story. This is for us. Jesus is with us in the storms of life. At the end of John 6, there are the wonderful words, "Your words give eternal life" (John 6:68). Jesus can never be left in the past. He's for today. He's for us.

Jesus was so different from the religious leaders of His day. "Streams of living water" (John 7:38): This is what made the difference - the power of the Holy Spirit. They judged "by outward appearance." Jesus "judged correctly" (John 7:24). This was the work of the Spirit in Jesus. God is calling us to follow Jesus - living in the Spirit.

"Jesus said, I don't condemn you either. Go! From now on, don't sin" (John 8:11). We need to hear and say the things that Jesus said to the woman caught in adultery. If we are to have hope for the future, we need more than forgiveness for the past. We need a sense of direction for our way of living, as we move  forward with the Lord into His future. Forgiveness of sin does not lead to continuing in sin. It leads to departing from sin.

Jesus is "the Light of the world" (John 8:12). Without Him, we walk in darkness. He brings us out of His darkness and into His light. He comes to our world. He comes from His world (John 8:23). He brings us into this world. we are still in this world, but we have been given a glimpse, a foretaste, of His world.

"The Truth will set you free ... The Son will set you free" (John 8:32,36). The Son is the truth. The Son speaks the truth. The Son lives the truth. He saves us. He shows us that we need Him, to set us free. We come to Him, our perfect Saviour, and we are set free from our guilty past - forgiveness - and His glorious future - eternal life.

In John 8:37-59, we see authenticity (Jesus) and hypocrisy (the religious leaders). Authenticity - This comes from God, our loving, heavenly Father. Hypocrisy - This comes from the father of lies, the devil. More authenticity, less hypocrisy - This is the way of Jesus, the way into which He calls us, the way we are to travel with Him.

"I do know one thing. I used to be blind, but now I see" (John 9:25). This is the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. What a great Saviour He is! With Him as our Saviour, our eyes are opened to see - and live in a new and wonderful way.

Jesus is "the Good Shepherd" (John 10:11). He gave His life for us. We see this in His crucifixion (John 10:11).   He took His life back again. We see this in His resurrection (John 10:17-18). Through Jesus, crucified for us and risen for us, we have "eternal life" (John 10:28). Jesus is God's Son - and He is our Saviour (John 10:36). May God help us to proclaim Jesus through our whole life - not only our words. May we see a positive response to our witness: "Many people believed in Jesus" (John 10:42).

"Lazarus has died, but I'm glad that I wasn't there so that you can grow in faith" (John 11:15). "I am the One who brings people back to life, and I am life itself" (John 11:25). The Lord is working in us to strengthen our faith in Him. He is our living Saviour. "See how much Jesus loved him" (John 11:30). In the raising of Lazarus, we see more than the power of Jesus. We see the love of Jesus.

"It is better for one man to die for the people than for the whole nation to be destroyed. Caiaphas didn't say this on his own ... he prophesied that Jesus would die for the Jewish nation. He prophesied that Jesus wouldn't die merely for this nation, but that Jesus would die to bring God's scattered children together and make them one" (John 11:50-52). A purely human analysis will never be enough. We need more than that. We need to see the spiritual dimension.

"The fragrance of the perfume filled the house" (John 12:3). Personal holiness is not something we can keep to ourselves. Its influence spreads. It affects other people - challenging them and inspiring to seek God and pursue holiness.

"At first Jesus' disciples didn't understand what these prophecies meant. However, when Jesus was glorified, the disciples remembered that these prophecies had been written about Him. The disciples remembered that they had taken part in fulfilling these prophecies" (John 12:16). Sometimes, we don't realize what God is doing with us, until later on. Then, we look back, and we say, "Praise the Lord."

"Sir, we would like to meet Jesus" (John 12:21). Where do we meet Jesus? - "When I have been lifted up from the earth, I will draw all people toward Me" (John 12:32). When Jesus was crucified for us, He was showing us how much God loves us. At the Cross, we see the great love of our Saviour - and we see the great love of our heavenly Father. we get to know God through Jesus, His Son - and we know, in our hearts, that we are loved with the best love of all - the love of God.

"Believe in the light so that you will become people whose lives show the light" (John 12:35). What we believe and how we live - both are important. Where believing doesn't lead to living - this is being a secret disciple: "Many rulers believed in Jesus. However, they wouldn't admit it publicly because the Pharisees would have thrown them out of the synagogue. They were more concerned about what people thought of them than about what God thought of them" (John 12:42-43).

"I didn't come to condemn the world but to save the world" (John 12:47). Jesus came to be our Saviour. When, however, we reject His words, we place ourselves under judgment: "Those who reject Me by not accepting what I say have a judge appointed for them. The words that I have spoken will judge them on the last day" (John 12:48). Jesus opens for us the door to "eternal life" - but He will not force us to walk through the door to "eternal life" (John 12:50). He calls us to come. We must choose to come. Grace allows us the freedom to come to the Lord or to turn from Him. Grace gives us the strength that we need to step out of  "the dark" and into "the light" (John 12:46). Jesus is the Light. He calls us on to better things than "the dark

"Jesus loved them to the end" (John 13:1). Jesus' love is endless love. It's everlasting love. It's love without limit. He never stops loving us. He keeps on loving us - to the end. "You don't know what I am doing. You will understand later" (John 13:7). We don't understand everything, all at once. The Lord is leading us step-by-step, into a deeper and richer experience of His love. We don't understand why the Lord loves us. We are sinful. He is holy. We don't need to understand His love. We rejoice in His love. "I'm telling you now before it happens. Then when it happens, you will believe that I am the One" (John 13:19). Jesus is not taken aback bu the turn of events. He knew why He had come to earth. He knew what lay ahead of Him. He looked beyond His crucifixion to His resurrection. Beyond the suffering, there was the glory.  So it was with our Saviour, so it will be with us.

"Hurry! Do what you have to do ... Judas had the moneybag.  So some thought that Jesus was telling him to buy what they needed for the festival or to give something to the poor" (John 13:29). Often, people don't see the full picture. They don't see behind the scenes. Jesus does. He understands. He knows that there is a spiritual battle going on, and He is with us. He gives us His strength.

"You can't follow Me now to the place where I'm going. However, you will follow Me later" (John 13:36). When we will be called home by the Lord is not in our hands. It's in the Lord's hands. We must entrust our eternal salvation into the Lord's hands. Jesus is "the sure and steadfast anchor of our soul" (Hebrews 6:19). The timing of our going to be with the Lord is not known to us. We don't need to know. All we need to know is this - When God decides to call us home, that is enough.

Jesus is the Way to the Father's House. Without Him, there  is no going. He is also the Truth and the  Life. Without Him, there is no knowing and no living (John 14:6). Everything is centred on Jesus. Once, we have taken our focus of attention off Him, we have lost our way. We are moving out of the light and into the darkness, and we have no hope for the future. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus.

"The person who has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9). We look at Jesus, and we learn what God is like. Jesus is the perfect revelation of God's character. In Jesus, we see God's love, holiness and power. Jesus was no ordinary man. He was more than the greatest man who ever lived. From the beginning of his Gospel, John stated the deepest truth concerning Jesus: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14).  

"They will do even greater things" (John 14:12). Jesus' ministry was limited to the land of Israel. Now, the Gospel has been taken to the nations of the world. what was started by Jesus has been continued by His people. Jesus was not part of the advance of the Gospel beyond Israel. The reaching out to the nations came after Jesus  had returned to the Father. In His death and resurrection, Jesus, , laid the foundation for the Gospel going out to the whole world, but He did not remain on earth for a long time - to take part in bringing the Gospel to the nations. He left that to others. What a great privilege and a great responsibility! This great privilege was not given to Jesus. He never left Israel. Making disciples of all nations - This was the great responsibility entrusted by Jesus to His first disciples. This great responsibility has been entrusted by Jesus to every generation on believers, since His time on earth.

Jesus speaks of "the Spirit of truth" (John 14:17), "the Holy Spirit" (John 14:26), "the Helper" (John 14:17,26). We need the truth of God. It's the foundation upon which we must build a life of holiness. We build a life of holiness on the foundation of truth, when we receive help from God, through the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth. Without Him, we cannot build on truth, and we cannot live a holy life.

"I have loved you the same way the Father has loved Me. Live in My love" (John 15:9). Love reaches us. Love changes us. Love does not from us to God. It comes from God to us. Once His love has come to us, there is love in our hearts for Him. This love - His love, reaching us and changing us, makes us new: "a new creation in Christ Jesus" (2 Corinthians 5:17). His love, for us, leads us, in love, to serve others for the sake of Jesus (2 Corinthians 4:5).

"In the world you'll have trouble - But cheer up! I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Jesus speaks with realism. This realism is never pessimism. However dark our situation may be, the light of Christ shines more brightly. This is the basis of our joy. Our Saviour is greater and stronger than our enemy.

"Use the truth to make them holy. Your words are truth" (John 17:17). Jesus has already spoken about "the Spirit of truth, "the Holy Spirit." In our life of faith and obedience, we need both truth and holiness. God has given us His Word. Jesus is His Word. Scripture contains the words that make up the written Word of God. Through God's written Word, Jesus, God's living Word, guides us in the way of truth and holiness.

"Jesus knew everything that was going to happen to Him" (John 18:4). "Shouldn't I drink the cup of suffering that My Father has given Me?" (John 18:11). "It was better to have one man die for the people" (John 18:14). God had a plan. For Jesus, it meant suffering. For us, it means salvation.

What a contrast there is between Peter and Jesus! Peter denies Jesus. Jesus is a faithful witness: "My Kingdom doesn't belong to this world ... My Kingdom doesn't have its origin on earth ... I have been born and have come into this world for this reason: to testify to the truth. everyone who belongs to the truth listens to Me" (John 18:36-37).

"Long live the king of the Jews" (John 19:3). He did live long. He rose from the dead. He is alive forevermore. This is more than "He said that He is the king of the Jews" (John 19:21). The resurrection was God's way of saying, "This is My Son." "He was declared the Son of God, This was shown in a powerful way when He came back to life" (Romans 1:4).

In John 19:28-20:10, we read about Jesus' death burial and resurrection. Without death, there can be no resurrection. Without resurrection, death is the end. Thank God for both the death of Jesus and the resurrection of Jesus.

"Mary!" (John 20:16). Each of us is called by name. "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, so I am sending you" (John 20:21). Peace is not to be kept ourselves. It's to be shared. "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28). These words were spoke by the man who has come to be known as 'doubting Thomas." The Lord brings us out of doubt and into faith.

In John 21, we see Jesus, caring for the gathered fellowship of God's people, and we see him caring for the individual, Peter, who was being called to be the leader of God's people. He teaches us to be fishers of men (John 21:6). He teaches us that serving Him arises out of loving Him (John 21:15-17). In John 21:24-25, we learn that this Gospel is based on "eyewitness" accounts. John tells us that what has been included in this Gospel is what God wanted us to know about Jesus. What we don't need to know has not been included in the Gospel.  

Blessing Is In Jesus. Blessing Comes From Him.

“Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” (Mark 11:9).

Blessing is in Jesus. Blessing comes to us through Him. There's no direct route to God's blessing without going by way of Jesus. He is "the Way, the Truth and the Life." We come to God the Father through Him (John 14:6). When we are deeply aware of our sin, we rejoice in this: There is one God and one Mediator between God and us, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for us all" (1 Timothy 2:5-6). 

Jesus Christ - the Son of God, the Word of God, the Lamb of God

Jesus Christ is the Word of God. He is the Beginning. He is also the End (John 1:1-3; Revelation 21:6). He is 'the Word...made flesh. 'We have seen His glory' (John 1:14). This is only the beginning. When He returns, we shall see His glory - 'we shall see Him as He is' (1 John 3:2). From Him, there is creation (John 1:1-3). From Him, there is salvation (John 1:12-13). In Him, we receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit (John 1:29,32-34). He is the Word of God, the Lamb of God and the Son of God (John 1:1,29,34). When we look at Jesus Christ, we see God - 'the Word was God' (John 1:1), 'No one has ever seen God; the only Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known' (John 1:18). Do you want to know what God is like? - Look at Jesus (John 14:9). What do we see when we look at Him? - 'the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world' (John 1:29).

What kind of people are we to be?

What kind of people are we to be? What kind of life are we to live? Lord, You’re calling us to live a life of “love” (Proverbs 17:9). How, Lord, do we learn what love is? – We learn from You. You show us what love is – “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son … ” (John 3:16). In Jesus, we see perfect love – “The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20). The Holy Spirit fills our lives with Your love – “The fruit of the Spirit is love” (Galatians 5:22). Help us, Lord, to live a Godly, Christlike, Spirit-filled life – a life of love.

A Christ-Centred Life And A Christ-Centred Ministry

• “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

One ministry was about to end. Another ministry was about to begin.

The second ministry would be greater than the first ministry.

- The first ministry was the ministry of John the Baptist.

- The second ministry was the ministry of Jesus the Saviour.

What a difference there is between a Baptist and the Saviour.

Plenty of people can baptize. Only one can save – Jesus.

• “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30).

This is an abiding principle of the Christian life. The servant must decrease. The Saviour must increase. There must be less of self, and more of Christ. We must learn to focus on Christ as the very centre of our faith and life, our worship and witness. We will receive blessing from our Saviour, as we learn to keep Him at the centre of every part of our life.

• “No one can receive anything except what is given him from heaven” (John 3:27).

What does the servant of the Lord bring to the people of God? We can only bring what is given to us by the Lord. God gives His Word to His servants, so that His people may give glory to the Lord.

• In the service of the Lord, there is something we must never forget: “He who comes from above is above all” (John 3:31). In the service of the Lord, is there a guarantee of ‘success’? – Let’s look at Jesus’ ministry: “He bears witness to what He has seen and heard, yet no one receives His testimony” (John 3:32). “No one receives his testimony” – Does that sound depressing? Are all of us to expect a great ‘success story’? Is the authenticity of a ministry to be assessed by human criteria – How many people are coming to the services? How much money is being given to the church? We must always ask the question, what is most important – ‘success’ or obedience? Have not some become so infatuated with the idea of success that they have sacrificed reality and depth in order to get the success that means so much to them? What does this kind of success amount to? Not very much at all – if it amounts to a denial of the principle: “He must increase, but I must decrease.”
• Worship in the Spirit and truth (John 4;24), preaching in the power of the Spirit (Acts 4:31) – These are the things that matter so much to the Lord. To lose sight of the importance of the things that matter most is to turn things around. It’s to make “I must increase” more important than “He must increase.” What happens when we start thinking like this? – “The glory has departed” (1 Samuel 4:21-22).
• “The One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit” (John 3:34).

In the ministry of our Saviour, we see something very different from the departure of the glory. We see the revelation of the glory. God’s Spirit is given. God’s Word is spoken. God is glorified. Sinners are saved. There’s a new song of praise to the Lord, a song that exalts the Name of Jesus our Saviour, a song that says, “Hallelujah”, a song that says, “Praise the Lord.”

• “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36).

Wherever Christ is preached in the power of the Spirit, there will be salvation. This blessing comes when the Lord’s servants are faithful in preaching both the Gospel promise and the Gospel warning. How will people seek salvation unless they are told that they need to be saved? The warning is to be heeded, the promise is to be believed – and Christ is to be glorified.

Matthew Henry On Spiritual Blindness

'He has blinded their eyes... I would heal them.' (John 12:40).

What are we to say about these words? Are we to say, "It is God who blinds their eyes"? or Is there a difference between He - "He has blinded their eyes" - and I - "I would heal them"? Could "He" be understood as a reference to "the god of this world" -  "The god of this world has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4)? Here, we may recall the parable of the sower - "When they hear, Satan comes immediately and takes away the word that was sown in their hearts" (Mark 4:15). 

 * Matthew Henry comments on John 12:39-40.

"God damns none by mere sovereignty... They could not believe, that is, they would not; they were obstinately resolved in their infidelity... God is not the author of sin... yet... (t)here is a righteous hand of God sometimes to be acknowledged in the blindness of those who persist in impenitency and unbelief,  by which they are justly punished for their former resistance of divine light."

What is the connection between "they could not believe" and "He has blinded their eyes"? Matthew Henry suggests that there's something else behind "they could not." It's "they would not." When we speak about spiritual blindness, we should never forget this - they would not.

 * Matthew Henry comments on Isaiah 6:9-13.

"... when they should obstinately reject the gospel and should thereupon be rejected by God"

Here, Henry is saying the same thing as he said on John 12:40 - "they are justly punished for their former resistance of divine light." 

Where does spiritual blindness come from? - "their former resistance of divine light." The more resistance there is, the more blindness there will be.  

* Commenting on John 12:39-40, Matthew Henry notes that God's Word speaks, with "reserve", about spiritual blindness. Alluding to the prophecy, in Isaiah 6:13, regarding a remnant - "the holy seed", he says that this "reserve" is "sufficient to keep a door of hope open to particular persons; for each one might say, 'Why may I not be of that remnant?'"

There is hope. Let us pray that more people will come to have this testimony: "I once was blind, but now I see" (John 9:25).

 * Matthew Henry comments on Romans 9:18,22-24.

"Those who are saved must thank God only, and those who perish must  thank themselves... Sinners fit themselves for hell but it is God who fits saints for heaven."

Let us never blame God for our spiritual blindness. When the Lord opens our eyes, let us praise Him. Let us say, "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes" (Psalm 118:23). Let us say, "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to Your Name be the glory, because of Your love and faithfulness" (Psalm 115:1).

Knowing Jesus And Following Him

There's a contrast between the two parts of John 2 - the joy of water being turned into wine (John 2:1-12), the seriousness of the money changers being thrown out of the temple courtyard (John 2:13-17). We need both - joy and seriousness; the joy that comes from knowing Jesus, the seriousness of commitment to following Jesus. The rebuilding of our lives comes from the resurrection of Jesus (John 2:18-22). This rebuilding comes to us when we seek to know the reality of the Lord in our lives. This reality comes to us when we seek to be real with God (John 2:23-25).

Grace, Gratitude, Glory

Grace, Gratitude, Glory – These three words summarize the meaning of the Lord’s Supper, the preaching of the Gospel, the message of the Bible.

We live in an age where there is a great call for originality and novelty. Often, people lose their bearings. They don’t know what to believe. In such a time as this, we need teaching which is both simple and profound – simple enough to state clearly the message of the Lord’s Supper, the Gospel and the Bible; profound in a way that makes us conscious that, in the Lord’s Supper, the Gospel and the Bible, we are in contact with Someone greater than ourselves – the God of grace, the God of glory. As we consider this God – the God of grace, the God of glory, we must allow our hearts, and not only our minds, to be deeply affected, so that, from our hearts, there arises a song of thanksgiving.

• We have God’s call to thanksgiving.

“Give thanks with a grateful heart, Give thanks to the Holy One, Give thanks because He’s given Jesus Christ, His Son” (Power Praise, 39).

• There is also our response of thanksgiving.

“I’m forever grateful to You, I’m forever grateful for the cross, I’m forever grateful to You, That You came to seek and save the lost” (Power Praise, 195).

Grace, Gratitude Glory

• (1) The first of these words speaks of what God has done. When we gather at the Lord’s Table, we remember what the lord has done done for us. When we hear the Gospel, we hear the message: This is what the Lord has done for you. The Gospel is more than a story about a great man. Jesus says, “I have come down from heaven” (John 6:38). When we read the Bible, we read the story of God – “In the beginning, God” (Genesis 1:1). God has taken the initiative. Our first step towards can never be any more than a response: gratitude.
• (2) In grace, He invites us to give thanks. In gratitude, we come to Him and our face is strengthened: “And now let the weak say, ‘I am strong’, Let the poor say, ‘I am rich’, Because of what the Lord has done for us” (Power Praise, 39).

How is our faith strengthened as we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, reading the Bible, and hearing the preaching of the Gospel? We read John 6:53-55. We ask, “Are we to understand this literally?” No. Just as bread and water is needed to sustain physical life, so Jesus Christ is needed to sustain spiritual life or eternal life – “without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

• (3) Glory: God’s ultimate purpose is expressed in John 6:40. We look back to the day of grace – the Cross. We give thanks for the days of gratitude, the many times the Lord has strengthened our faith. We look forward to the day of glory – “the last day”: “I will raise him up at the last day” – “He whoo eats this bread (Christ) will live forever” (John 6:58).

Living Water (John 7:37-39)

John 7:37-38

 (1) We begin with the context of Jesus' great invitation -

   (a) the Feast of Tabernacles;

   (b) the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures.

(a) The Feast of Tabernacles

  (i) Its historical significance

It reminded the people of Israel that they had been wanderers in the desert, dependent on the grace and mercy of God to provide for them in their need.

  (ii) Its agricultural significance

It was a Harvest Thanksgiving.

A priest took a golden pitcher, which held about two pints. He filled it with water from the Pool of Siloam. He carried it through the Water Gate, to the altar of the Temple, where it was poured out as an offering to God.

This was a vivid thanksgiving for God's good gift of rain.

It was an enacted prayer for rain.

It was a memorial of the water which sprang from the rock, while God's people were travelling through the wilderness.

It was in this context that Jesus spoke His tremendous words concerning Himself as the Giver of Living Water.

Perhaps, Jesus intervened at the very moment that the water was being poured out at the altar.

The people were thinking of the water which refreshes the body. Jesus directed their thoughts to the water that refreshes the soul. As the people were being reminded that they could not live, physically, without water, Jesus declared to them that they could not live, spiritually, without Him. This is still true today.

  (b) the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures

The worshippers knew the teaching of the Old Testament Scriptures. They knew the promises which God had given to His people through His prophets. They awaited the fulfilment of God's promises.

   (i) "With joy, you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say on that day, 'Give thanks to the Lord, call upon His Name; make known His deeds among the nations, proclaim that His Name is exalted'" (Isaiah 12:3-4).

This promise of God was known among the people who eagerly awaited the coming of the Saviour. Now, Jesus was proclaiming that the dawn of its fulfilment had come in His coming. The fullness of blessing was to come through His death and resurrection and exaltation. It is because Jesus has died for us, been raised for us and is now exalted for us that the Holy Spirit is offered to us and given to us.

   (ii) "For I will pour water on the thirsty land and streams on the dry round, I will pour My Spirit upon their descendants and My blessing on your offspring" (Isaiah 44:3). 

Here, we have a marvellous promise of God concerning the great outpouring of His Spirit. Christ has died. Christ has been raised. Christ is now exalted. Withe work of salvation completed, God pours out His Spirit upon all who trust Christ. 

   (iii) "On that day, living waters will flow from Jerusalem" (Zechariah 14:8). 

Christ died at Jerusalem. Christ was raised again at Jerusalem. The Spirit was, first, given, in the fullness of Christ's salvation, at Jerusalem.In view of the fulfilment of this promise in Christ, we rejoice in Him, for "living waters flow from Christ", who "is not a dry and worn-out cistern, but an inexhaustible fountain, which largely and abundantly supplies all who will come to drink" (John Calvin).

After all the years of Israel's waiting, Jesus proclaimed that the time of fulfilment had come.  We note the effect of Jesus' words - "there was a division among the people over Him" (John 7:43). There was also a division among the Pharisees (John 7:50-52). Some believed, while others did not believe (John 7:40). Do you believe?

  (2) Now, we look at the challenge of Jesus' great invitation.

Jesus is still the great divider of people, Some believe in Him. others do not believe in Him. 

There is a new quality of life, a new satisfaction to be found in Christ. This life must be received by faith. This call to faith places before us a decision concerning in Christ.

as we think about Jesus' great invitation, let's think about the Christian's spiritual autobiography. 

  (a) Thirsting - the pre-conversion experience;

  (b) Coming or believing - the conversion experience;

  (c) Drinking and flowing - the post-conversion experience.

(a) Thirsting

Jesus' teaches spiritual truth in homely terms that everyone of us understand - thirst. He speaks of physical thirst. he teaches us about spiritual thirst. 

To the worshippers at the Feast of tabernacles, Jesus said, "The water of the feast cannot quench your spiritual thirst. I alone can do that for you."

To us,Jesus says, "I still quench spiritual thirst. I can do this for you."

Have we become so familiar with Jesus that we fail to embrace Him with joyful faith and receive abundant life?

The worshippers, who knew their "hymn book" (the book of Psalms), would be familiar with the Psalmist's words concerning spiritual thirst: "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:2). "O God, Thou art my God, I seek thee, my soul thirsts for Thee, as in a dry land, my soul thirsts for Thee, my flesh faints for Thee, as in a parched land" (Psalm 143:6).

We, also, have the great hymns concerning the quenching of spiritual thirst.

"See! the streams of living waters, Springing from eternal love, well supply Thy sons and daughters, And all fear of want remove. Who can faint while such a river ever flows their thirst to assuage - Grace, which, like the Lord, the Giver, never fails from age to age."

"I heard the voice of Jesus say, 'Behold, I freely give the living water; thirsty one, stoop down and drink and live': I came to Jesus, and I drank of that life-giving stream; My thirst was quenched, my soul revived, And now I live in Him."

Some of the worshippers at the Feast of Tabernacles sang the words of the Psalms, yet they refused to come to Jesus for the quenching of their spiritual thirst. What about you? You sing the words of the great Gospel hymns. Have you come to Christ for the quenching of your spiritual thirst?

(b) Coming (or believing)

To come to Christ is to believe in Him. To come to Christ in faith is to "embrace Him as He is held out to us in the Gospel" (John Calvin).

The way in which we are brought to Christ is most wonderful. Many people do not know that they are thirsty. They do not what they are thirsty for. All the time, the Spirit is creating thirst. Then, the gracious Word of God begins to reach them and their eyes and hearts begin to focus on Jesus. They find him to be the Answer to their deep thirst and their deep longing for real life. What about you? Have you come to Christ? Have you found life in Christ? Can you say, 'Christ has found me'? If not, why not make today your day for coming to Christ and beginning a new life?

(c) Drinking and flowing

This is to be the Christian's ongoing experience - drinking in the "living water" of Christ, letting the "living water" of Christ flow through us.

The "living water" must flow to us before it can flow through us to others.

If the "living water" does not flow through us, we must ask ourselves seriously the disturbing question: Has the "living water" flowed into my life?

"No one can possess or be indwelt by the Spirit of God and keep that Spirit to himself. Where the Spirit is, He flows forth. If there is no flowing forth, He is not there" (William Temple).

"My heart overflows with a goodly theme. I will address my verses to the King. My heart overflows with praise to my God. I'll give him the love of my heart." - An overflow of praise to God.

"As we share, and as we live,as we receive, and as we give, we will build up each other till we all attain the fullness of the stature of Christ" - An overflow of blessing to others.

Drinking and flowing - Do not ask God to bless you without also asking Him to make you a blessing to others.       

  (3) The comfort of Jesus' great invitation (John 7:39)

"From His fullness, have we all received grace upon grace" (John 1:16).

Jesus described the Spirit as the Comforter. We must draw great comfort from the knowledge that Jesus gives His supreme gift, the Holy Spirit, to all who believe in Him.

   (a) We are not left alone in our weakness. The Spirit brings to us all that Christ died to provide for us. This is why Jesus emphasized that He had to be glorified. and, then, the gift of the Spirit would follow. the Spirit brings us into a living experience of the benefits of Christ's death for us.

   (b) We are not left to our own changeableness.

There is a permanence about God's gift of the Holy Spirit. We are so changeable. Our circumstances change. So do our moods. The Spirit of God does not change. Receiving the Spirit is not a "one-off." It is the beginning of an ongoing life of blessing. Water relieves thirst, and provides for the continuation of life and fruitfulness. The Spirit brings with Him more than forgiveness for the past. He also brings power to live for Christ now.

   (c) We are not left to our own insignificance.

The promise of "rivers of living waters" is given to every believer. With the promise comes responsibility. we are called to be more than believers. We are called to be servants, soldiers, prophets and apostles. 

Set Free By The Truth Of The Gospel

Much modern preaching tends, in the words of the prophet Jeremiah, to say to men and women, "Peace, peace" where there is, in fact, "no peace." The Gospel, on the other hand, to use the words of the prophet Joel, places "multitudes in the valley of decision." The Gospel places you and me crossroads between faith and unbelief. It is a crossroads at which you must make a decision - either to trust Jesus Christ as Saviour, or to trust in your own selves, your religion, your good works. Which will it be - Christ or or man-centred religion?

When Jesus Christ preached the Word of God, His preaching had one of two effects on His hearers - either they believed and were saved, or they were antagonised, and they objected to Him, threatening Him, taunting Him and persecuting Him.

When the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached, simply and honestly, it is never comfortable to listen to. The Gospel never leaves people the way they were. Either, it thrills them, or it infuriates them. The Gospel places every one of us at the crossroads. Will it be faith in Jesus Christ and salvation, or unbelief (even religious unbelief) and condemnation?

"God sent His Son not to condemn the world but that the world might be saved through Him" (John 3:17). These great Gospel words are followed by an urgent call to faith - "He who believes in Him is not condemned; he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the Name of the only Son of God" (John 3:18).

Jesus says to each  of us: "If you continue in My Word, you are truly My disciples, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32).

To all of us, Jesus asks very serious and insistent questions: What about your religion? What about your church membership and church attendance? Can it be described in terms of continuing in the Lord's Word? Can it be described as a life of true discipleship? Can it be described as knowing the truth and being set free by the truth of the Gospel?

Perhaps, you are the type of person who says to yourself, "The Gospel of Christ is all right as long as it's concerned with generalities, and doesn't get too personal in its challenge."

This type of person accepts Jesus as the great example and teacher, and even acknowledges that He is the Son of God. When, however, he hears the personal challenge of the Gospel, he starts to back away.

I wonder if this is an apt description of you. You are a religious person. You attend Church regularly, but you don't like to hear about the need to be converted, the need to be born again. 

Why?

Is it because we don't like to hear that we are lost sinners for whom there is no hope apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, our only Saviour?

When Jesus says, "Unless you are converted, you shall perish", we tend to say to ourselves, "I'm really quite a good person. Why all this talk about conversion?"

When Jesus says, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God", we tend to react hastily, "I've been a religious person all my life. Why all this talk about being born again?"

What we tend to forget is this: We really are sinners whose only hope of being accepted by God is based on the death of Jesus Christ. If you look at your life in the light of Christ's death for you, you can come to no other conclusion than this: If Jesus Christ needed to die on the Cross for me, I must be a great sinner with a very great need of a great Saviour. Alongside the Saviour and His death upon the cross for our sins, there is no room at all for the claim that God will accept us on the basis of our religion and good works.

Jesus said, "You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32).

The freedom which Jesus offers to you and me is grounded in a knowledge of the truth about ourselves, that we are sinners, who can do nothing to save ourselves. It is based on the truth about our Lord Jesus Christ, that He is our only Saviour.

This knowledge of the truth, and this experience of being set free by the truth, is very far removed from the religion of a great many Church members, who attend Church regularly. Many have a form of religion, which is sheer slavery - a slavery to custom and tradition. Such people are religious because they are afraid not to be religious. They speak of their childhood days in this way - "When we were young, we were made to go to Church." They are religious people, simply because they have never known anything else. That's the way they were brought up. It's their custom and tradition. It's what they were taught by their parents and grandparents. 

This is not the freedom which Christ promises. It is nothing more than a shallow and superficial belief - a second-hand faith, which is bound by custom, tradition and fear. There is no comparison between this kind of religious bondage and the knowledge of the truth, which Christ gives and which sets the believer free.

When the believer has come to know the truth of the gospel, he is able to say with real conviction: "I know this to be the truth of God. I know it to be true because it has changed my life."

What is it that the believer confesses to be the truth of God? It is the Gospel. This is what changes our lives - the knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Saviour who invites you to receive forgiveness for all of your past sins, the Saviour who says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if you open the door, I will come in" (Revelation 3:20). He says, "I will make you a new person. I will empower you with the Holy Spirit." Jesus is the Saviour, who invites us to receive His free gift - the gift of eternal life. We receive this wonderful gift through faith in Jesus, our Saviour. 

How are the blessing of God's salvation to become ours? Is it, through self-centred religion, in which you are so confident that your good works will be good enough? No! We receive God's wonderful gift of salvation through faith in Jesus, our Saviour. 

Trust in Christ. Believe that He died for you. Believe that He has taken your sins upon Himself so that all of your sins might be forgiven. Believe that Jesus is the risen Lord, the living Saviour. Believe that He gives you His great gift of eternal life. Believe that He will keep you in the way of faith, the way that leads to His heavenly and eternal glory.