Renew The Mind; Transform Your Life

John chapter 14 'spoke' so clearly to me today as I prepared our Daily Bread Bible Reading, I simply had to 'press pause' in my schedule and share what this means for us.

All Scripture is 'God-breathed' Paul said to Timothy.  This passage is a GUST of God's breath blowing inspiration our way today.  There is a difference between Logos - the given revelation of God that stands forever - and Rhema - the spoken revelation of God into our current circumstances.

You and I shouldn't go and attempt to walk on water just for the fun of it.  Jesus walked on the water 'on purpose' and 'on mission'.  But when need arises, we should have the faith to walk on water, as Peter successfully did for a while when Jesus said (Rhema) to him, "Come!"

I believe God is going to speak to YOU today via John chapter 14.

Are you ready?

“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. You know where I go, and you know the way.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father. Whatever you will ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, keep my commandments. I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, that he may be with you forever: the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him and doesn’t know him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. One who has my commandments and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”

Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”

Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him. He who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word which you hear isn’t mine, but the Father’s who sent me. I have said these things to you while still living with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’ for the Father is greater than I. Now I have told you before it happens so that when it happens, you may believe. I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let’s go from here.

"Jesus, knowing that his time had come..."
We've been told throughout John's Gospel so far that now is not yet Jesus' time.  When we get to chapter 13 EVERYTHING changes.  Jesus KNOWS that His time has come.

In this chapter we get the astonishing washing of the disciples' feet - imagine have your feet washed not only by your Lord and Teacher, but, with hindsight, they will realise they have had their feet washed by God Himself!

There is massive encouragement here, led by Peter's example, that we will continue to need the spiritual equivalent of our feet washed, when we stumble and get 'dirtied' by the world, but the fundamental judgment is that we are clean.

Once satan is out of the way, on the leaving of Judas from the group, Jesus is then ready to do something even more astonishing: to add a New Commandment.  Even in human terms, this puts Jesus on a par with Moses - he who received the former commandments.  But we know that Jesus is far greater than Moses.  This is the language of the New Covenant, the New Testament, one that surpasses and exceeds what was achieved under the former covenant.

"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Reading this, I could seriously weep.

If we could get just this piece correct, pain and suffering on Earth would dim into insignificance in most scenarios.  Jesus doesn't say that those who recognise their need for God will recognise us by the powerful signs and wonders done through us.  No, He says that everyone will know we are His disciples if we have love for one another.

I weep also for Peter - such a bold spirit, about to be broken by his denial of the one he loves most in the Universe.

Let us take vast comfort from the fact that Jesus chose to build His Church on this wonderful yet fragile man of God.

Read this, listen to this, and NEVER doubt again that God's pattern of blessing - of Life to the full - includes material prosperity.

It says in this chapter that this is a CHOICE!

"Now choose life, so that you and your children may live..."

or in full in verses 19-20:
"This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him. For the Lord is your life, and he will give you many years..."
Yes, this is a promise to Israel, but the Character of God and His promises remain.
He wants us to come to Him that we may have LIFE - in CAPITALS!  Or as Jesus described this 'Eternal Life' as Life 'abundantly'.

Other aspects we should harken to:

• the Lord your God will restore your fortunes
• He will make you more prosperous and numerous than your ancestors
• the Lord your God will make you most prosperous in all the work of your hands and in the fruit of your womb, the young of your livestock and the crops of your land. The Lord will again delight in you and make you prosperous, just as he delighted in your ancestors
• See, I set before you today life and prosperity, death and destruction
• then you will live and increase, and the Lord your God will bless you in the land you are entering to possess

Of course, this is a covenant, so there a joint-obligations!  We are to LOVE God with EVERYTHING we've got!  And we are to a very old-fashioned thing: OBEY!

Here is the Word of Faith
11 Now what I am commanding you today is not too difficult for you or beyond your reach. 12 It is not up in heaven, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will ascend into heaven to get it and proclaim it to us so that we may obey it?’ 13 Nor is it beyond the sea, so that you have to ask, ‘Who will cross the sea to get it and proclaim it to us so that we may obey it?’ 14 No, the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart so that you may obey it.

Thanks be to God for Jesus
I look at these promises and long for them.
I also know that I don't have it in me to keep them 100%, at least not 100% of the time.
Thus I thank God for Jesus - the Covenant Keeper and the Covenant Creator and the Covenant Completer.  In Him (as we are), ALL the promises of God find their "Yes!" and "Amen!"

How many times does God have to tell us:

• Be strong and courageous?

The answer is three times in this passage alone!

Why?  Because the temptation will be for us to be weak and fearful.
Reading on through the history of Israel and into the New Covenant, fear brings the most terrifying consequences.  If we are to rise up and possess our inheritance, we must be strong and courageous.  Without faith, it is not only impossible to please God (because those who come to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder fo those who diligently seek Him), but it is also impossible to lay hold of the promises of God.

Be strong, be courageous, have faith, and have a good confession!

I remember the account of Mrs Copeland boxing the ears of a preacher.
He'd come to her for prayer, having been diagnosed as being at serious risk of a heart attack.  The problem ran in the family - like a curse.
She said to him, "Now, tell the truth!"
When he began to share the 'truth' that the medical experts 'confessed' - she boxed his ears, looked him in the eyes, and exhorted him, "I said, 'Tell the Truth!'"
Thankfully, the boxing of the ears opened his ears to what she was saying, and he declared, "By His stripes I have been healed!"

Sense-knowledge can kill you.
What the World needs now as it goes into a New World phase is Revelation-Knowledge!
We need God's Word spoken into this new world we find ourselves entering.

Why can we have faith?  Because, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged."

Imagine how exciting it would be to uncover a clay pot in which there were manuscripts declaring the very words of God.

John's Gospel is every bit as exciting.  I wonder, have we grown complacent because we have such easy access to the Word?  Today, I also recorded Deuteronomy 30 and 31 for The Good News Church.  In it, there's a moment where Moses says that they should gather every seven years and have the whole Law read to them.  That's not easy or regular access!  If man does not live on bread alone but on every Word that proceeds out of the mouth of God, those generations were in great danger of famine!

We have such a privilege.  We have access.  AND we have The Holy Spirit to teach us the meaning of Jesus in the Old Testament - richly explained in this chapter with references to:
Pslam 118:25-26 "Hosanna!  Blessed is He Who comes in the Name of YHWH
Zechariah 9:9 "Don't be afraid, daughter of Zion.  Behold, your King comes, sitting on a donkey's colt."
Moses lifting up the serpent on a pole in the wilderness.
Isaiah 9:7
Daniel 2:44
Isaiah 53:8
Isaiah 53:1
Isaiah 6:10
Isaiah 6:1
The consistency of the Scriptures over such a long period of time, and through the work of so many different co-labourers with God, is a powerful testimony to their truth and their difference from any other faith.

Let's listen to these 'Red Letter' Words of Jesus as if hearing them afresh, and let us imagine the scent of pure Nard filling the house, poured out in worship by Mary, the brother of the raised Lazarus.

John 11 World English Bible (WEB)

"Jesus wept."  The shortest verse in the Bible.

I see a flow in these passages (remember that the chapter and verse numbers were added much later to help us structure our Bible sharing.)  The man born blind answered a very big (and rather destructive) belief of the day: who sinned?  Was it this man or his parents that he should be born blind?  Jesus said a definitive, "Neither!"  Instead, it was an opportunity for the glory of God to be manifest.

Lazarus is similar.  I may be imagining it, but both Martha and Mary are saying, "This could have been avoided...."  Jesus once again assures us that things are as they are meant to be.  He seeks to re-educated the Disciples' language - talking of sleep instead of death - and then, when they don't understand, He does something rare - He talks 'plainly' in their language: “Lazarus is dead. I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe. Nevertheless, let’s go to him.”

The language of 'Faith' and the language of natural reality are often at odds, especially when we want to see the glory of God - His Kingdom, Dominion, and Reign manifested.  In Jesus words...
Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”

There are different kinds of prayer here to the sort heard in most churches.  Firstly, listen to Jesus' confidence...
Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, “Father, I thank you that you listened to me. I know that you always listen to me, but because of the multitude standing around I said this, that they may believe that you sent me.”

Jesus lifted up His eyes... none of this eyes-closed stuff.  And then prayer to the Father is then followed by the command of the Word of God spoken INTO the situation:
When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

I am also struck with two mentions of Jesus groaning in the Spirit:

1)When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled...
2) Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, came to the tomb.

This reminds me of the groaning in the Spirit mentioned by Paul in Romans 8.  It clearly takes effort and discomfort to birth new realities into this existence.  However, the more likely association is a snort of disgust.  Jesus is not pleased with them!

Romans 8:26 is more of a sigh - a very different movement from the Spirit within.

Clearly, prayer is an emotional experience... and one we can go into, eyes wide open!

John 10:10 gives us Jesus' Manifesto.
"The thief only comes to steal, kill, and destroy. I came that they may have life, and may have it abundantly."

I'm sure you are fascinated by what 'abundantly' means.
I quote...
perissós (an adjective, derived from 4012 /perí, "all-around, excess") – properly all-around, "more than" ("abundantly"); beyond what is anticipated, exceeding expectation; "more abundant," going past the expected limit ("more than enough . . . ")
[Quoted from: https://biblehub.com/greek/4053.htm]

We are told in the Scriptures that any matter is confirmed by the testimony of two or three witnesses.  Here are four!

This is why I also love 1 John 3:8
"To this end, the Son of God was revealed: that he might destroy the works of the devil."
In the Wycliffe Bible, it says, "...undo the works of the devil."
Wouldn't you love the works of the devil to be 'undone' in your life?

Thirdly, 3 John 2 - John the beloved's prayer (and thus certainly the will of God for us):
"Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be healthy, even as your soul prospers."

And, Fourthly, Luke4:18ff (quoting Isaiah 61:1-2)

“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
    because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
    to proclaim release to the captives,
    recovering of sight to the blind,
    to deliver those who are crushed,
    and to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.”

He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him. He began to tell them, “Today, this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”

Thus, I proclaim, with you, the Acceptable Year of the Lord - the time and season of God's Favour.
Are you brokenhearted?
It's time to heal!
Are you crushed?
It's time to be delivered!
Are you poor?
It's time for some good news!

From the previous chapter, it is clear that Jesus has come to give us spiritual sight - expressed and proven through His healing of the man born blind.  We love the same Father.  We have the same Father.  And He still is the same Living God, seeking to do His works.  Jesus's ascension wasn't the end of the works of the Father but the means to the multiplication of His mercies on Earth.

It's time for jubilation!

Are you ready to both dance and weep?
This is such a powerful chapter where something happens that has never been heard of since the world began:
"Since the world began it has never been heard of that anyone opened the eyes of someone born blind."

This wonderful miraculous healing is met with a mixed response!
It is clear that there is a culture of fear prevalent - so much so that the parents of the man born blind were frightened of being put out of the Synagogue.  This isn't like gettting chucked out of church!  If you or I are thrown out of church, we'd just go to another one.  Not so in this time.

The Synagogue was at the centre of all aspects of society - business and personal.  To be thrown out would be to cut the parents off from Society.  How sad then that the Synagogue instilled a culture of fear.

Jesus came to change all that.

I find this passage slightly frightening too - since I believe I 'see' a little bit spiritually.  The Pharisees believed they were guides to the spiritually 'blind' but Jesus wasn't impressed.  He closes with these chilling words:

"Jesus said to them, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, ‘We see.’ Therefore your sin remains."

It is thus vital that those of us who teach, even in the smallest capacity, remain deeply humble.

Let's finish with the triumphant message: Jesus has come to bring sight to the blind - both those physically blind, and all of us who have been spiritually blind until 'our eyes were opened' by the new birth and the blessing of The Holy Spirit.

Lord open our eyes that we may see more clearly!
Amen

"Before Abraham was, I AM!"
The definitive statement that Jesus is YHWH.

He was not a mere prophet.
He was not a mere man.
He was fully man and He IS fully God.

This puts Christianity - True Christianity - in an utterly exclusive league when compared with any other Philosophy or Religion.