John 4:23-24

John 4:23-24 - Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is Spirit and His worshipers must worship in Spirit and Truth.

Live a life of worship. Worship is more than just a bunch of people coming together on Sunday morning to sing songs. Singing is one part of worship, for sure, but true worship is reflecting God’s glory in every area of our life; not just on Sundays, but everyday. That is what God desires and what this verse means. Jesus is calling for true worshipers, who worship the Father in Spirit and in Truth. God is Spirit and so are we.

Worship isn't about looking good on the outside. It is easy to get caught up in the idea that we have to appear a certain way on Sunday at church. We live our lives during the week and put on a “special” face for church to make it look like we have it together. That is not truth. God wants us to come to Him as we are, whether we have our lives “together” or if we are a complete mess. He wants us to pour out our hearts to Him and let Him come in and help us get it together.

There are times when worship flows out of the physical, like raising hands, dancing, or singing, but it doesn't start there. True worship begins with us opening our heart up to God and letting Him fill us with His glory so much that it begins to overflow into the natural. This should be an everyday occurrence. We need to let Him fill us and shine through us everyday in everything we do.

John 3:16

John 3:16 - 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.

          This passage of scripture is probably the most known and most quoted out of any other passage in the Bible. Because of this we often forget the power this statement represents. In this passage we see a summary of the entire Gospel message, just like “Love God and Love people” sums up the law and the commandments. “For God so Loved the world.”

          We need to understand how powerful this statement is and what it means to us. As we begin to look at God’s Love we see that everything that was created was through Love. And it is this same Love that makes the foundation on which we stand to reach God.

          Paul reminds us in Ephesians that we are “rooted and established in Love” (Ephesians 3:17) Then in John’s letter first letter to the church He tells us that “God is Love” (1 John 4:8). And again in Paul’s letter to the saints in Rome we see that he is convinced that “nothing else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the Love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).

          So we see that God is Love and Love is God. To Love is to be like God and God’s Love made a way for us to come to Him. Because He Loves us and did not want us to perish (because we were sinners and the penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23)), He sent His Son to die for us.

          Jesus was righteous and sin free, so He was able to pay the penalty of death for us all. Now that work is done and completed. The penalty for our sin has now been paid and our position with God is now up to us. We must make a decision to believe in Jesus, because it is only through Him that we can receive the Love of God.

John 2:18-19

John 2:18-19 - Then the Jews demanded of Him, “What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this? Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days.”

Jesus was teaching and preaching in the temple courts and many of the Jews were troubled by it. They felt that in order to teach the things of God you had to be raised in a certain way and receive the right schooling, and they did not know where Jesus had come from. He didn’t have any of their religious background, or been raised as a Pharisee nor Sadducee. In fact, He wasn’t even raised near the temple, yet He “taught as one who had authority”(Matthew 7:29) So it was evident that He had the authority, but these Jews wanted some sort of sign to prove it.

When they asked for a miraculous sign they probably expected Jesus to do some healing, or something they could see. What Jesus gave them was a prophesy and foreshadowing of what was coming. “Destroy this temple and I will raise it again in three days,” Jesus said. 

When the Jews heard this they immediately thought He was referring to the physical temple. It was natural for them to think this way, because at that time Jesus body was the only one that housed the Holy Spirit and could be referred to as a temple. What Jesus was referring to when He made this statement was not that they would destroy the temple building, but that they would kill Him and on the third day He would be raised back to life. Then, after His death and resurrection our bodies would be sanctified and set up to house the Spirit of God. 

So we need to recognize the authority of Jesus and all that He has done for us. Now there is no need for a physical temple, because by the blood of Jesus we are washed clean and made righteous before God. That way Jesus was able to send the Helper to us and through the Holy Spirit, who is now inside of us, we have direct access to God. We no longer need a priest, we can have a personal relationship with our Father God.

John 1:12

John 1:12 - Yet to all who received Him, to those who believed in His name, He gave the right to become children of God.

“Yet to all who received Him.” John is writing this to everyone. There is no limitations or requirements, just faith. This is an amazing concept and we need to grasp the magnitude of what he is telling us here. “To all who received Him. To those who believed in His name.” He doesn’t cut anyone out. Everyone has the same opportunity to believe. And then comes the truly amazing part, “He gave the right to become children of God.”

As believers we have a right that has been given to us. A right to be a child of God. Sometimes it can be hard to comprehend how we can be a child of God. He is the Almighty, Most Holy, Creator of all things and we are his children. Us, mere men and women have the right to call ourselves children of God. In some circles that may be called blasphemy, but that’s what the Word says, and who am I to argue with the Word.

We need to understand what this means for us and who we are in Gods eyes. Once you believe in Christ you are brought into the kingdom of God, and God sees you as His child. And this Father/son relationship comes with all the benefits any child could expect from his father. In the Word it tells us that we are co-heirs with Christ. A co-heir means we get the same inheritance. So all that Jesus was given is also given to us.

If you are a parent think about your relationship with your children. What is it you want for them? Do you want them to face trouble and hardship? No, there will already be enough of that. Is it your desire to see them struggle through life? Absolutely not!! You want the best for them. It is your desire to see them excel in life and make the right choices and you will do what you can to help them. It is no different with God. Jesus put it this way,  “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? 11 If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:9-11) 

God Loves you and wants to help you and strengthen you, but He won’t force it on you. Just as you can’t force your kids to take your advice or do what is best for them, God won’t force you either. He wants you to choose Him; to come to Him for help; then He will open His arms to embrace you. Open up your heart and mind to Jesus and believe in Him and take your place in the kingdom as a child of God.

Luke 24:46-47

Luke 24:46-47 - He told them, “This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”

Prophesied in the old days and brought to life in Jesus. He fulfilled all that was said and now we reap the benefits. So when Jesus came to earth He preached repentance and forgiveness of sins. He could forgive sins because He was (and is) one with God. All authority in heaven and on earth was His. Prior to Jesus, forgiveness could not be preached.

Take John the baptist for example. He preached “Repent and be baptized, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” All the prophets leading up to Jesus would tell the people to repent and change their ways, but they could not preach forgiveness, because it had not yet come. At that time all people could do was temporarily cover their sins with the blood of animals.

Then Jesus came!! He had authority and He could forgive sins. Through Him men and women everywhere were getting a glimpse into the kingdom of heaven. Then the ultimate sacrifice. Jesus gave up His life for us to actually remove sin from our lives, instead of just covering over it. He was the permanent fix to the problem of sin. When He was resurrected He brought this message of forgiveness to us. Now all sin is forgiven and we have the responsibility to pass on this message.

Now, we do not have authority to forgive sins ourselves, but we have the authority to tell people their sins are forgiven through Jesus Christ. It’s already done, they just need to receive it!! When Jesus left the earth and returned to heaven He entrusted us with this task. As He says here in this verse it began in Jerusalem all those years ago with Him and now it has spread through the entire world. Jesus said, “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations."

That is where we fit into God’s rescue plan. Pass on the message Jesus started and let others know what He has done for you. Repent and turn from your sin, because forgiveness has come to us all!!

Luke 23:40-41

Luke 23:40-41 - But the other criminal rebuked him, “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “ since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”

Two criminals; and Jesus. All three receiving the same punishment, yet Jesus was the only one taking verbal abuse. Many of the people gathered at the cross were mocking Him, including the soldiers. They were hurling insult upon insult. Even one of the criminals joined in and started mocking Him as well. He was on the cross receiving the same punishment, but he still did not understand.

Then there was the other man. He was a criminal as well, but he had an understanding of who Jesus was. He was on the cross because he was a criminal, but he knew it was different with Jesus. Jesus was innocent and he knew it. More than that he knew Jesus was a righteous man. 

In that day and age it would have been impossible not to have heard something about Jesus. He had been traveling and teaching and performing many miracles for about three years. I’m sure everyone had a story. Some way Jesus had touched their life or the life of someone they knew. Maybe this guy had been at one of the gatherings where Jesus had performed some sort of miracle. It’s hard to say, but it is obvious that he had heard of Jesus prior to this encounter, and he knew Jesus didn't belong here. Yet there He was, nailed to a cross next to him, as a criminal. 

This man knew the truth. While everyone else was hurling insults he defended Jesus. Then he turned his attention to Jesus and asked Him a question, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” He looked past the humiliated man that was dying next to him and saw Jesus for who He truly is, the King of kings. Jesus looked past the life this man had lived as a criminal and into his heart, then responded, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."

So in looking at this story we see that our past doesn't matter. Jesus only looks at the condition of your heart right now. No matter what you have done or where you have been Jesus still wants you. This man was convicted and dying as a criminal, but Jesus looked past that and saw his heart had changed. He will take your heart as well, whenever you are ready to give it to Him. Don’t wait until the last minute, or it may become too late. Turn to Him today.

Luke 22:27-29

Luke 22:27-29 - For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred on me.

This passage begins with Jesus talking to His disciples about serving. He asks the question, “Who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves?” I can see Him pausing for a moment here, to let them ponder His question. When no one answers Jesus proceeds with another question, “Is it not the one who is at the table?” At this I point I’m sure the disciples were agreeing with Him, “Yeah, that’s right Jesus, the one who is at the table is greater.” Whether they said it out loud or not, they had to be thinking it, because that is our culture. It was back then and it still is today, the servant serves the “important” people. 

Now Jesus’ next statement is a mind blower. He doesn’t actually answer the question. “But I am among you as one who serves.” “Wait a minute Jesus! You are the King of kings and the Lord of lords. You are the Son of God and Saviour of the world. What are you saying?” I could see myself saying this if I were there. Jesus had been serving them since He first met them, but they never really thought about it before now. They always viewed Him as being the Teacher and their leader, not as their servant, but now Jesus just opened their eyes to the Truth. It was obvious to them that Jesus was greater than them, He was (and is) the Son of God, but now they see the position He put Himself in. This is what the apostle Paul is talking about in his letters when he says, “Jesus did not come to be served, but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus was the ultimate servant, not only serving us, but then also giving up His life for us. Now Jesus recognizes His disciples as they have stood beside Him, not only in the good times, but through the trials as well. I think He is telling them that He trusts them. They’ve shown themselves trustworthy and they will not run away when times get hard. In the next line Jesus tells them that He is giving the responsibility of the kingdom of heaven to them. He says, “I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred on me.” Confer means to “grant or bestow” (as in a title, degree, benefit, or right). Before Jesus gave them this responsibility He wanted to make sure they understood what it meant and we also need to understand.

Jesus also passed on this responsibility to us, as children of God. We are to bring the kingdom to earth just as Jesus did. As we look at the beginning of this passage we realize that the kingdom comes through serving. We will need to preach and speak the words of God as well, but without serving our life and ministry will never be successful. So, live as Jesus did and become a servant to those around you. It does not matter who is most important, turn the tables, blow peoples minds, and bring God’s kingdom to earth through serving those around you!!.