Encouragement
23... "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
27"Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour'? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28Father, glorify your name!"
Then a voice came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and will glorify it again." 29The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
30Jesus said, "This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
34The crowd spoke up, "We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, 'The Son of Man must be lifted up'? Who is this 'Son of Man'?"
35Then Jesus told them, "You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light." When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. NIV John12:23-36
Jesus had come to the cross roads in His ministry. Soon darkness would fall, the die would be cast. Satan would be allowed to have a field day. Judas would be fully employed by the adversary. The Shepherd would be smitten and the sheep would scatter and leave him alone. He would be lifted up, die a cruel death on the cross, separated from His Father. Would He back off from this dark, gruesome hour? The light with be snuffed out, albeit temporarily. The seed would fall down to the ground and die.
But for this purpose He came, leaving his majesty in glory, giving up everything for us. The Creator was to suffer in the hands of His creatures. God was to take the place of the sacrificial lamb and die for man to come to God. The sin of the whole world would be placed on Him Who knew no sin. He would become sin itself. The Lord would lay on Him the iniquities of all of us. It would please the Father to do this to His Son, just to reconcile man to Himself. 2Cor5:21, Isa53
Why?
For God so loved the world, that He gave the Son of His love, that whosoever believes in Him, should not die but have everlasting life, the God-kind of life (Zoe) John3:16
It was not an easy road to travel. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He agonised in prayer,’ Father if it is possible let this cup pass, nevertheless, not my will but your will be done.' He knew that was the only way to redeem us from the slave market of sin. That was the only way ‘my righteous servant could 'justify many.' It was the only way Jesus could be made unto us 'wisdom, redemption, sanctification and righteousness.' Otherwise we would remain dead in our sins and trespasses, still separated from God, still debarred by the middle wall of partition, still excluded from the commonwealth of promise, and still under the manacle and excruciating pain of the weight of the laws that we could not keep. Eph2:12,14
1Cor1:30, Isa53:11, Gal3:13
He was at the crossroad of vision and He chose to do the will of the Father. And as a result He has many brethren today, you and I. The seed that fell to the ground has produced many like it. The enemies thought they had won when they crucified Him. They rejoiced, “We got Him! We got Him! Little did they know that they were playing into the Hands of God, the Father.
And when the righteous demands of a just God were met, satisfied, fully paid, God could not allow His holy Son to see decay. On the third day, the angel rolled away the stone and by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus came forth, risen, just like He said! He that was dead came alive and alive forevermore. The grave could not hold Him. Death was powerless. He then led captivity captive. Eph4:8
"Death has been swallowed up in victory."
55"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?" 1Cor 15:55,56
What is the implication for you and I?
As He is so are we. We are to walk as He walked. He was the and is the Light and He called us the light of the world. We must each take up our cross and follow Him. He has shown us the example to follow.
Just as He had a vision to fulfil, each one of us has a vision to fulfil. Just as He came to a cross road, a time of hard choice, we too will come to times of hard choices. There will be the temptation to do our will. The flesh will cry out for its needs to be met. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the pride of life will beckon. Satan will dangle the carrot and slyly say, Hath God said? He will say, 'If you are a child of God turn these stones into bread-satisfy your legitimate needs my way or your way, not God’s way. If he does not succeed at that, he will try and appeal to your ego or try to get you to worship him for what he can give you.
16For everything in the world—the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does—comes not from the Father but from the world. 17The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever1John2:16-17
You and I must stand our ground and use the sword of the Spirit- the word of God, just like Jesus did: It is written, man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. It is written, 'thou shall not tempt the Lord your God…It is written 'thou shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall thou serve…' Get thee behind me, Satan. Matt4
God has not left us as orphans. He sent the Holy Spirit-another Comforter –just like Him, to be our Helper, Teacher, strengthener, Advocate, Intercessor. He is here to guide us , take the deep things and truths of Jesus and unveil it to us. He is here to open the eyes of our spiritual understanding to know the hope of our calling, comprehend with all saints the length and the breadth and the height and the depth of the love of God towards us. He is here to open up the unsearchable mysteries, riches of Christ to us. He is here to show us things to come. The Holy Spirit wants to equip you and I to fulfil the vision that God has for us. Eph 3:8, Rom11:33, John16,
Jesus finished the work that His Father gave Him to do. It is finished He cried, before He died. He also said 'I have finished the work that You gave me to do.' John17:4, -19:30,
Jesus saith unto them, 'My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.' John4:34
'But I have greater witness than that of John: for the works which the Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do, bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me.' John5:36
'I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do.' John17:4
'When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.' John19:30
Paul followed His footsteps and fought the good fight of faith, pressing on , forgetting the past successes and failure, reaching forth for what was ahead. He pressed forward for the mark, the goal, the target, the bull’s eye. He refused distraction until he was able to say: ‘7I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.2Tim4:7
May that be your portion and my portion in Jesus’ Name Amen
©Fenny West
inspirations4generations.com
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