JOHN 15:7-11. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

Jesus explains that the secret of receiving answers to our prayer is by Abiding in Him and letting His word abide in us. 

Now we understand why many prayers are unanswered, those making them have not fulfilled the conditions. They are not living in obedience to Christ and they do not allow the words of Christ to be part of their lives and meditation.

You can never obey a command you don't know and we've seen that our receiving answers to prayer is dependent on our obedience to the commands that Christ gave His disciples. 

We now understand why the devil has blinded most believers not to read their bibles. Are you one of them? How often do you read your bible? 

You cannot be an effective believer without being a good student if the bible and obedient to the words of Christ. Words of Christ refers mostly to the new testament.

How many commandments did Jesus give His disciples in the gospels? 

Value God's word in your life.

He explained that when we bear much fruit, the Father is honoured and by this we truly show that we are disciples indeed. 

In the context, our prayers should be that God would help us to glorify Him in our earthly lives by making us fruitful. 

How much do you pray that God will help you to honour Him by being fruitful in your life or are we just concerned about about our earthly temporary needs? 

Jesus explained that He was loved by the Father and He loved the disciples. We are to remain in His love.

We learn here that we first must experience God's love in our lives before we can show the same to others. Knowing that God loves you perfectly despite your weaknesses and failures, and is all powerful to help you and is all wise in everything He allows in our lives, this removes every fear out of our hearts. 1John 4:18 says that perfect love casts out all fear. 

Is there fear in your heart? You have not experienced fully God's love for you.

We have not been given a spirit of fear, but power, love and self-discipline. 2Tim 1:7

Meditate constantly on God's love for you and on the cross and fear will start to get out of your heart.

Remain in His love. Not your love, but His.

To abide in His love, He says is only by keeping His commands. 

We see here that Jesus in the last sermon to His disciples is obedience; but unfortunately today, we rarely hear about that because many get offended because it shakes their real identity.

Are you one of them. Are you obeying God in your private life?

This is the path to overflowing joy. Joy that cannot be affected by any circumstance.

Do you experience fulness of joy in your life or are you gloomy and depressed and discouraged most of the time? God has something better for you.

Your life can be full of joy if you decide to obey Jesus in your life.

You can start now, it's never too late to start.

You are blessed to be a blessing 

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JOHN 15:5-6. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

Jesus reminds His disciples that it is by abiding in in Him that we bear fruit. Apart from Him we can do nothing.

In other words, everything that people do in their own power and wisdom, though it maybe God's work as we would think, in the end it will amount to nothing. 

Everything we do for God will be tested by fire. Everything we did for God which God did not initiate in us, we just had a bright idea or we just copied from others, everything that we did on our own strength and wisdom, everything we did to get honour, a good reputation or people may think highly of us as 'great servants of God', everything that we did just for the sake of doing it and everything we do out of compulsion, at the end it will amount to ashes which is worth zero.

On the other hand, what we did that was initiated by God is us, we did in obedience to His, seeking His power and wisdom to do it, and what we do only for the glory of God, that alone has eternal value and at the end it will remain. It will silver, gold and precious stones.

How do you serve God. 

Are you sure that what you are doing God told you to do it or didn't just copied it somewhere else and thought it was a good idea? Are you seeking Gods power and wisdom to do it or are you doing it in your own strength? Are you doing it for the glory of God or to get recognised?

Are the things you are living for worth Christ dying for? 

What is your greatest goal in life? Will it matter when you come to the end of your life?

Live for things that have eternal value.

If you do not abide in Christ, you are thrown away like a branch and withers and finally in the fire. 

A person who is born again but refuses to abide in Christ by keeping His commands as we saw in the last study, will finally end up in fire. There is no guarantee that you will end up in heaven just because you repeated the sinners prayers or signed a decision card, you must follow and obey Jesus in your personal life.

There is nothing like once saved always saved. This is a deception of the devil to trap souls of believers to finally end up in hell while all along thinking that they will end up in heaven. If you are living in sin and you are not seeking God to deliver you from it, your decision card will not save you. 

God will not ask anyone in the last day whether they repeated the sinners prayer or appeared in their church records. What will matter will not be whether you were in church and calling Jesus Lord, but it will be in your relationship with sin. Did you fight it or were you just comfortable and justifying yourself that many were doing.

Jesus will not even ask for your title, whether apostles or prophets or bishops or elders, those who prophesied accurately or performed miracles. 

Many preachers in the last day will say that they prophesied and performed miracles in His name but He will reject them and say they never had an intimate relationship with Christ but they lived in sin in their private lives and thus will be cast into hell. Mat 7:20-23

Have you thought that most of the preachers you see on TV, or those who perform miracles and prophesy accurately may end up in hell? Of course no, because we don't believe our bibles. 

There are many preachers who commit sexual immorality with their members secretly and still continue to preach and think they will enter God's kingdom, they are just deceiving themselves. God will bring to light one day the things hidden in darkness.

Abiding in Christ and seeking to have an intimate relationship with Christ is the solution to overcoming sin in our private lives. 

Just a little, if you are consciously and physically walking with Christ, would commit sin? What would you do when you get tempted? You would ask Him to help you overcome and not fall.

You would fight sin in your private life because you know that it killed Jesus who is living with you.

Why is it that you are comfortable living in sin? Because you don't think it is serious and because you are not having an intimate relationship with Christ.

If you fall but still are fighting it, that's good, keep up and the Lord will help overcome. Keep seeking God and never give up your pursuit to live a godly life, a life that pleases God in your generation. The grace to help you in times of need is available. Titus 2:11-13, Heb 4:16, Rom 6:14.

Live for things that have eternal value. Things that are worth Christ dying for. 

You are blessed to be a blessing 

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JOHN 15:1-4. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

  

Jesus says that He is the vine and the Father is the gardener. The branch in Him which does not bear fruit is taken away but the one which bears fruits is pruned so that it can bear more fruit.

We learn that God expects us to bear Him fruit in our lives. Which fruit? The fruit of righteousness in our lives. Jam 3:18, Phil 1:11, Eph 5:9, Gal 5:22-23.

If there is no fruit in your life, you will be cut and thrown in the fire. It's not enough to say am born again. There is no guarantee that you will not be thrown in the fire; you have to bear fruit. The branch bears fruits by allowing sap from the vine to flow in it continuously. In the same way, we must consistently allow the Holy Spirit to work in us if we are to be fruitful. We must seek to consistently be filled with the Holy Spirit and follow His leading always. John says that those who keep the commands are those who abide in Him.1 John 3:24.

He also says that we are made clean by the word He speaks to us. Wow, in this life when there are so many things seeking to defile us, we can get cleansing from God's word. We are not only cleansed by the blood of Jesus, but the word of God as well. Eph 5:26.

We can say therefore for us to live a pure life, we must constantly soak ourselves in the word of God with the attitude of Samuel;"speak Lord, your servant is listening"

 

It's a picture hear is of dependency. The branch must abide in Christ otherwise it will die. It cannot say that it has 50years of experience and assume that it does not need the vine. 

It must be dependent on the vine after 50 years just as it dependend On it the first day. In other words, your experience as a believer will count nothing the day you stop depending on Christ for everything. A mature believer must depend on Christ just like a newborn convert.

A branch which has born fruit for 30years cannot boast to one which has just started out. It recognises it's weakness without the vine, in the same way, one who has walked with the Lord for fifty years cannot boast over a new convert. They both are dependent on the Lord the same way for the sap, for the anointing of the Holy Spirit and the leading of the Holy Spirit. When we recognise this, we will never boast in our experiences over others. 

You are blessed to be a blessing 

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JOHN 14:27-31. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

  

Jesus told the disciples that the inheritance that He was leaving them with is peace, and not as the world gives. They were not to let their hearts be troubled or afraid.

The difference between the peace of the world and that of Jesus is that that of the world lasts only as long as everything is going on well but that which Jesus gives us not disturbed whether things are going on well or not. 

Have you gotten the peace Jesus offers you? This is your inheritance is you are a wholehearted disciple of Jesus. Don't let the devil rob you of your inheritance. If at any time you have no peace in your heart, don't just assume it's ok, it's not okay. The devil has stolen it and you have to fight back and resist the devil in the name of Jesus.

Paul explains that peace is the referee in the heart of the believer. Col 3:15 When you have no peace, there something wrong which needs to be set right.

Let the peace of Christ guide you in every decision you make. 

He reminded His disciples that He was going away but that should not worry them because He would come back and that the Father was greater than He.

He said He would not continue speaking because the ruler of this world was coming and had nothing in Him.

What a testimony about Jesus,that the devil could not find anything in Jesus that was if His character. He could accuse Him of nothing.

We are called to follow Jesus in His life, and we can seek to live such a life that the devil will not find anything in us that resembles Him such as pride, arrogance, murmuring and discontentment, lies, and every sought of sin. That He will find nothing to accuse us to God. He will not accuse us of making promises that we don't fulfil, or debts we fail to pay, or bitterness and unforgiveness to those who wrong us, or failing to make restitution of things that belong to others, or failing to apologise when we hurt others....

Someone said that the journey of 1000miles begins with a single step, and another said that the hardest thing is the one you are yet to start. We can decide that we don't want the devil to find in us something He can accuse us of, and thus we will begin with the little things we remember and can be set right soonest possible and then progress to the more difficult things. Decide in your heart that what needs to be set right in your life, you will set it right at the first opportunity.

Jesus said that does what the Father requires of Him, so that the world will know that I love the Father. 

For the disciples, is there any other way to show the world the we love the Father but by doing exactly what He commands us?

Obedience to God is the only mark of our love to God. Not what we say but what we do.

You are blessed to be a blessing 

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JOHN 14:25-26. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

  

Jesus spoke spoke to the disciples while with them physically but He reminded them that when the Holy Spirit comes, He would teach them all things and remind them what He already said to them. 

Teaching is a school word; and thus we learn that, becoming a child of God is like entering God's school where the Holy Spirit is our teacher. He is to teach us all things, but just like we already know, to learn all things, from the basics to the higher levels, it will not take one day or one year. It will take our lifetime to learn everything that God wants to teach us through the Holy Spirit. 

The Holy Spirit will teach us all the truth, but just like in every school, there is always testing that comes before. When the time of the testing comes, the teacher is always there to help us do the test and pass it by reminding us what He has taught previously. He will remind us in the time of testing what The Lord spoke to us so that we make the right decision. He will not force us to make the right decision. 

Can you picture this in your mind, a student doing a test, and then the teacher is there to help her and she asks for help and she is shown the correct answers and then the student go ahead and write the wrong answers? What would you think of such a student? 

The student is also allowed to check for the answers in the text book and also ask other students for the correct answer. With all these, no student should fail in such a test but unfortunately many fail. 

You may be wondering whether this applies to you, or whether you could be such a student, but you in the past you have been such a one.

When trial comes in your life, it's like a time of testing for you. Remember that without passing the test, you cannot go to the next level, if you fail you repeat until you pass. If you choose to drop out of school, even if you come back 10years later, you woun't go to a class higher, you may probably repeat the classes you previously passed.

In this time of testing, you can ask the teacher for the answers to write and He will always speak in your heart. When you take a wrong turn He will remind you by convicting you in your conscience but you still can silence that voice of conscience and go ahead to write the wrong answers. The text book is the bible and you can study it to find out what you ought to do in the time of testing. Our Christian brothers and sisters also can help us in the time of testing.

If we fail in the tests that God allows in our lives, with so much help to help us do them, we can only blame ourselves for such folly. 

The other question we need to ask ourselves is, if I keep failing and repeating the tests God gives me, when will I ever learn everything the Holy Spirit wants to teach me. My life on earth is brief and if I waste it, I won't accomplish everything God wants me to accomplish in my lifetime. I have to get serious with my walk with God and I must now start passing my tests.

If you have failed numerous times in the past, there is hope for a tree when it's cut down, at the scent of the water it will sprout again. 

In the times when you were ignorant about your Christian life, God overlooked, but now He command you to change your mind and take your walk with Him seriously. Acts 17:30

You are blessed to be a blessing 

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JOHN 14:19-24. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

 

Jesus explained that for a little while the world will not see Him but the disciples would see Him. Because He lived, the disciples would live also and in that day they shall know that The father is in Christ and Christ is in the Father and Christ was in the disciples.

This is a wonderful privilege. To see Jesus is only for the disciples not for the world. The world and discipleship is seen primarily in the mind. Rom 12:2. 

What is your way of thinking? Are you following the world and it's fashions or have you set your mind to love Jesus more than everyone and everything else and to say no to your self-will everyday?

It's only a disciples who see Jesus.

Jesus repeated that one who has His commandments and obeys them that love Christ. All others hate Him.

If you don't Have Christ commands; if you don't study the bible to see what Christ commanded, it is not because you don't have time, it is because you don't love Christ. You always find time for what you love, and thus the reason you don't read the bible to see what Christ commands is because you hate Him. If you study His commands and don't obey them yourself, you don't love Christ. You can study to teach or preach to others, but unless in your private life you obey, you don't love Christ.

For those who keep Christ commands, they will be love by the Father and Christ and they will reveal themselves to such. We know that God loves the world but the disciples are loved by Him in a special way. Just like a parents can love their neighbours children but their own children they love them in a special way.

Do you want God to reveal Himself to you? Do you want to know Christ no more and more? Do this only. Obey the commandments Christ gave His disciples. You will get a revelation of the Father and of Christ which no bible school can teach you.

Those who love Christ keep His commandments and the Father and Christ will come and make His home with them.

You can become a dwelling place of God and of Christ.

Imagine the creator of the world making a dwelling place in you. 

You can be a dwelling place of God if you obey the commandments of Christ. 

Is there a greater honour that You can receive from God more that making you His dwelling place?

If God dwelt with you, all fear would disappear. No problem would shake you. You would be immovable, and unshakable. Your life would always be full of joy and peace and rest. 

You would never get discouraged even once.

You would never be afraid of witchcraft or the devil. You would overcome sin, as one hymn says, a place where sin cannot molest is near to the heart of God.

You would be a blessing wherever you go. You will never have a problem with pride. 

Your Christian life would be satisfying.

It's rare to meet a believer who would honestly say that their Christian life is satisfying. One paraphrase says that a godly mans life is exciting.

Prov 14:14(TLB)

Your Christian life can be satisfying. Don't think what you have experienced is all there is in Christ. There are much more riches in Christ which we have not even come into.

Long for that

You are blessed to be a blessing 

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JOHN 14:13-18. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

 

Jesus said that if we ask anything in His name, He would do so that the Father will be glorified in the son. 

This wonderful promise does not seem to work in more than 90%of believers. Why? Was Jesus deceiving us in giving such a promise? Of course not. Why then does it seem not to work? 

It's always good to look at it's context. And looking at the context, this promise was not given to the crowds, nor everyone who believed in Him, not the seventy had sent but the 12 disciples who had been walking with Him. Thus we can see that this does not apply to everyone, nor even to those who claim to have believed in Jesus nor those who at once even for a mission, but it applies only to those who have given up everything to follow Jesus and have consistently been following Him. It's for those who have counted everything to be loss for the sake of gaining Christ. Those whom Jesus has the first place in their lives in everything.Col 1:18. They love Jesus more than Father mother, brother sister, wife, children and even more than they love themselves and their jobs or careers or their wealth. Those who have learnt the way of the cross; denying their wills to do God's will. Lk 9:23, 14:26-33

Such a people are a rare breed in our generation. Those who have only one ambition in life which is to glorify Christ. 

It is only to this kind of people to whom this promise applies; the good thing is that this position is open for all and you can decide to be part of it. There is enough space for you. Will you join and stop just being a lukewarm believer. 

Your past cannot disqualify you. Your weaknesses cannot disqualify you. Only pride can disqualify you, you can learn to humble yourself if you are willing. The first lesson is" learn from me for I am gentle and humble in heart. Mat 11:29-30.

Jesus continued saying that if you love Him, you will keep His commandments. 

We have many who claim to be believer and that they love Jesus but their disobedience to God is the proof that they hate God. There is only one mark of loving God, it's not emotional sentimental love, but it goes past emotions to your will where you decide to obey God in you life, both in public and in private. Don't deceive yourself. 

Have you set your heart to obey God? Then there is good news; Jesus says that He will give us another helper. Who is the first helper? Jesus of course. What is the purpose of the Helper? To help us to keep God's commandments. H

Jesus understands our weaknesses and therefore has provided a helper to help us keep God's commandments.

He is the Spirit of truth; this means that if you are dishonest He will not help you. For Him to help you you must be honest to Him about your struggles. Why should you you even pretend when He already knows your struggles. But He will never help you obey God until you are acknowledge you need His help. The world cannot receive Him. It's not for those who are genuinely born again. He is only given to God's children.

Are you a child of God and deep within your heart you want to obey God but you fall often. Are you in the verge of giving up wondering whether there is a way out or are you comforting yourself that this is the experience of most believers that you know? Is keeping God's commandments feel like a heavy burden? What you need is a helper, ; you need to seek God for a filling of the Holy Spirit. Don't be satisfied with an experience, whichever it is, don't be satisfied with just speaking in tongues. Seek God for a fresh touch. Seek to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 

When you allow Him to help you keep Gods command, first of all acknowledging that you need His help, you will have the same testimony about keeping God's commands like that if John. "His commands are not burdensome". Why, because you have a helper who helps you. You are not alone. You are not left as an orphan. 1John 5:3

You are blessed to be a blessing 

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JOHN 14:10-12. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

Jesus continued saying that He was in the Father and He never spoke on His own initiative. As it's written, in Prov 8:34, “Blessed is the man who listens to me, Watching daily at my gates, Waiting at my doorposts. And as Isaiah 50:4b says, Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will. He awaken my ear to hear as a disciples. 

Jesus has given us an example to follow; to learn to Listen constantly to God every day, every morning and during the rest of the day. The results of living such a life will be as described in Isaiah 50:7

Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame.

Someone has said, " The Lord is waiting and waiting for His beckoning hand, who will work in a manner the work that I give, and the work that I give not pass by. O the joy that is brought when I find such a man, who will do all my will, who will study His masters mind."

Another expressed this way; " I exist to do the will of God, nothing more, nothing less and nothing else". 

When you try to learn to live in this way, God will always back you up, and you have determined to do God's will and you are always seeking to listen to Him. You can start now.

He said that he who believes in Him will do the works that He did, and even greater works because He was going to the Father.

The reason is that He was going to the Father; and He explained that because He was going to the Father, He would send the Holy Spirit who would now indwell us. This is explained in the next verses in the same chapter.

What does it mean to do the works that Jesus did, and even greater? Remember it's for everyone who believes in Him. Does it mean that every believer will walk on water and raise the dead and heal the sick? 

Paul explains that not every believer have all the spiritual gifts. 1Cor 12:6-28.

In the context, we see Jesus telling Philip that He explained the Father by His life and seeing Him was equal to seeing the Father. 

The work in this context we can see that it's representing the Father by His life. Because He would give us the Holy Spirit, we could do this work if showing How God is like to the world. The more we allow the Holy Spirit to work within us and change us, the More we become better representatives of showing how the Lord is. We must be growing each year, and at the end of every year we should be becoming better and more Christlike. This we be a reality if we develop the habit of listening to God and obeying it.

What are the greater works? Is is greater in quality or in quantity? We cannot do a better job that Jesus did, therefore it must mean in quantity. This may mean, Jesus alone was representing the Father but now, many people in number doing the same thing of representing God to the world throughout the world. 

Are you one of them? Are you representing God in your area and in your circle of influence?

Ask God to fill you with the Holy Spirit and Allow the Holy Spirit to transform your life and always listen to Him each and everyday.

Always humble yourself and try to learn to keep your conscience clear.

You can start now and God will do amazing things through your life. 

You are blessed to be a blessing 

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JOHN 14:4-9. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

Jesus told the disciples they knew the way to where He was going. Thomas asked how they could know the way without knowing the destination and Jesus said He is the way, the truth and the life. No one goes to the Father but by Him.

Jesus is not the best route to God, He is the only way. There is no other way to God except through Jesus Christ. We have been taught to think that there are some other ways, but the sad reality is that Jesus alone is the way and to try to say there is another way is to call Jesus a liar and a deceiver. 

Jesus is the truth, He is real, and He is the life. Apart from Him we are spiritually dead and everyone without Christ is spiritually dead no matter how intelligent or rich they are. There is always an emptiness in the heart that is not filled with Christ no man their achievements. It's only in Christ that you will find refuge, and strength and peace and Joy. Is Jesus real to you or is He just an illusion. Have you experienced Him? He is real.

Jesus explained that He is the exact representation of God and having seen Him, you have seen the Father. Knowing Christ is the same as knowing the Father.

Can we follow Jesus here?

Though not perfectly, we can be a representative of God; that is, those who meet us should experience something of God from us in some way. When we walk with Christ, we become more and more like Him and the people who come in contact with us will be able to sense some Christlikeness in us. 

It has to start with following Jesus is our daily life. Remember that you cannot follow Him unless you love Him more than everyone and everything else. When you follow Him, you will not walk in darkness. His light will continue to shine through the dark areas in your life showing you area after area where you are not following Him so that you can cleanse yourself from that and follow Him in that particular area. Continue to follow Him and long to do it unto your dying day. Don't get out of the race before finishing, but run and endure until the end.

You are blessed to be a blessing 

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JOHN 13:36-14:3. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

  

Jesus repeated that where He was going they would not come but would follow afterwards and Peter sincerely asked why. He even suggested that He was willing to lay down his life and Jesus replied that he would deny Him three times before the cock crows in the morning.

In other words He was telling Peter, yes Peter you are sincere and honest but you think you can lay down your life for me? You don't realise how weak you are that though you heard me say that he who denies me before men, I will deny him before the Father, you will deny me not only once so that no one will think it's a mistake but thrice so that you will learn without me you can do nothing, and that no matter how sincere and honest, without the power of the Holy Spirit, you will fall. You are confident in yourself and that self-confidence must be broken that you may lean upon me all the days of your life. 

Have you learnt that lesson. Do you understand that sincerely and honesty are not enough to do God's will. Have you learnt that in your own strength you will fail God. Have you learnt that without Christ you can do nothing?

You need the power of the Holy Spirit and when you are desperately weak, that's good for you for then you will seek God's power. You will be desperate for the Holy Spirit and there will always be an outcry to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus never stopped there but continued encouraging the disciples. He told them not to worry but believe in God and also in Him. In His Fathers dwelling place there were many mansions and if it were not so, He would tell us. He was going to prepare a place for us. He would then come and take us there to dwell with Him.

We can also learn from Jesus and follow Him in being an encourager of others. Jesus always spoke encouraging words to His disciples, even after rebuking them. Learn to encourage others not discourage them. Learn to speak something that will encourage and lift others up not discourage the weak and weaken them further. Follow Jesus. Let your tongue speak encouraging words to the brothers and sisters.

You are blessed to be a blessing 

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JOHN 13:21-35. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

 

Jesus said that one of the disciples would betray Him, and the disciples wondered who it was. We read in Mathew 26:21-22 that they begun asking, " is it I?". None of them suspected Jesus because though Jesus knew about it, He never exposed Him to others.

A good quality we learn from the disciples is that they judged themselves first. We also must learn to judge ourselves first in everything. Our human nature always loves to suspect others and think that there nothing wrong with me. When there is a problem between I and another problem, the first reaction is that it must be the other person, but we must repent of this old habit we inherited from Adam. Let us learn to first judge ourselves rightly always making an allowance that I could be the problem or I could be wrong in this matter.

Peter asked John to ask Jesus was and Jesus revealed it to Him by giving Judas bread. 

An interesting thing is how John refers to Himself; He refers to Himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved. Vs 23. It's not only for John but it's for you and me; learn to refer to yourself as the one whom Jesus loves.

Satan entered Judas and Jesus told Him what He was to do to do it. The disciples guessed what that meant and they supposed that He told Judas to buy what He needed or give something to the poor.

We can learn that Jesus had individual things He spoke to each disciples which He could not reveal to others. I

Even today, He longs to speak to each of us individually. Do you hear Him speak specifically to you giving you directions or teaching you or encouraging you or warning you?

Another thing we learn is how Jesus used the money He received as offerings from the people. It was for two things.

1. Buying what they needed.

2. Giving to the poor.

It's a principle that we learn. Everyone has different needs and no one can dictate to another what they need. It also depends on how much how much you earn. Also giving to others who are in need as well as supporting the Lords work.

After Judas went that night, Jesus said that He is glorified and that God is glorified in Him.

We can follow Jesus here also, that we can live in such a way that God is glorified in our lives. By the we we speak to each other, by our attitudes towards others, by our motives in doing good deed and by the thoughts we entertain in our hearts. Long for that and ask God to help you that your life will glorify Him.

The time remaining was little and where He was going they would not come but would follow afterwards.

It's always good to know that the grace we enjoy now is for a period of time. God places us in different places at different times and brings us in touch with others who are a blessing to us at different times and are a blessing unto us. We should never think that this will go on forever. It's just for a time. Make maximum use of that time before it expires.

Jesus gave a new commandment for the disciples, which is to love others just as He loves us. He has given us an example on how to love.

How does Jesus love us? With all our weaknesses but helps us little by little to overcome them, He is very patient with us, Forgives us and does not remind us of our past sins, does not judge us, He is ever praying for us and never even onces accuses us, longs for fellowship with us, and son on.

This is the way the disciples are to love each other and if they do this, the world will know that they are Jesus' disciples.

If the world observes your every move for two weeks from morning to morning everyday without your knowledge, what will it conclude about you????

You are blessed to be a blessing 

Feel free to share 

@Blessed Mshindi Mambo

JOHN 13:11- 20. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

 

Jesus knew that one of His disciples were going to betray Him and said this that not all were clean. He could not be deceived then, and even today He is not deceived.

Many who have taken His name today are trying to deceive Jesus living as though He doesn't know what we do or plan in private.

If Jesus visited you for one week and lived with you, how would your life change? In the way you talk to others, would you not be more careful? In what you do or watch or where you go, now that Jesus is with you all the time, you would be very careful. Why are you not then careful now? Because you think that Jesus is not watching. You can sin in private and go on as if nothing happened; you continue serving as usual deceiving everyone but Jesus. Jesus knows the true condition of your heart. He is giving you time to come to Him and forsake your hypocrisy otherwise He will expose you publicly one day and everyone will know what you have been doing in secret.

He asked whether the disciples understood what He did. He explained that He being their teacher and Lord, washed their feet. They ought also to wash one another's feet. He gave an example.

One thing we learn from Jesus is about being an example to those we are leading as it's said, we lead from the front not from behind. Another thing is a leader should humble himself to serve the juniors.

Concerning washing each others feet, we never read about anywhere in the book of acts or the epistles. So what does it mean today. Then, people walked long distances on sandles and their feet were very dusty. There was in homes a slave who's work was to welcome the visitors and wash their feet. It was the work of the slave. It was a dirty job but it was refreshing as well.

Today, the equivalent of washing feet is doing dirty jobs for the others, for example, cleaning the toilets. You must be willing to humble yourself and wash the dirt of others and let them feel comfortable.

We cannot be greater than Jesus, we ought to make Him our example.

You are blessed if you make Jesus your example and follow Him.

He said that whoever receives Him receives He who sent Him.

You are a blessed to be a blessing 

Feel free to share 

@Blessed Mshindi Mambo

JOHN 13:1-10. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

  

Jesus knowing His hour had come to depart from the world, loved His disciples until the end. 

What will it be said about you when you will be coming to the end of your earthly life? 

Jesus loved until the end. We ought to follow Him here, to persevere to the end in love.

Satan had put in the heart of Judas Iscariot to betray Jesus. 

This is how temptations come, the devil plants a thought in our hearts. If we allow ourselves to meditate on that thought, we will fall; we must inwardly reject every thought that the devil puts in our hearts.

Every thought that is contrary to the law of love is of the devil. Thought contrary to loving God wholeheartedly and our neighbours is of the devil. Thought contrary to the way of the cross, denying my will to do God's will is of the devil. Don't allow such thoughts in your heart, but you must always reject them. 

Someone said that you cannot prevent birds from flying over your head, bird you can prevent them from building a nest on your head. In other words, you cannot prevent thoughts coming in your heart, but you can prevent them from making a dwelling place in your heart. You can reject them.

Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God- 

With all these we would think that now He would serve as a king and be served by His disciples but lo; He took a towel and poured water in a basin and begun to wash His disciples feet.

What an example for us; that no matter how high we have gone in our christian life, we are not seeking a title to be a great man of God, or a well known or sought servant of God, but like Jesus, we need to humble ourselves and become servants of those who are in lower ranks than us.

Do you serve those junior to you spiritually or do they serve you? 

Follow Jesus.

When He came to Peter, Peter refused to be washed by Jesus. Jesus said that what He did Peter didn't understand but would understand afterwards but Peter refused His feet to be washed and Jesus said that unless He washed Peter, He didn't have any part in Christ, then Peter said that He should not only wash his feet, but His head and hands. Jesus replied that A person who has bathed all over does not need to wash, except for the feet, to be entirely clean. And you disciples are clean, but not all of you.

We see there are things that God does for us or tells us to do without explaining to us the reason but we must trust Him and His wisdom; but later on we will understand why we given those instructions. 

Jesus washed the feet of Judas Iscariot and He knew very well that He was going to betray Him.

We can also learn from Jesus to do good to those who harm us and those who intend to harm us. 

Jesus said that those who have bathed need only to wash His feet. He was talking to His disciples here and there is something we can learn. 

First of all, the disciples are not everyone who believes in Jesus; we have seen that many people believed in Jesus in the previous bible studies and Jesus would not commit Himself to the at the end of chapter 2, and in chapter 8:30 onwards we saw that the true disciples are not those who take the first step to believe in Jesus but those who continue in the teaching of Jesus. They are those who love Jesus more than father mother, brother sister, wife husband and their selves and more than any material wealth. They are those who say no to their Will everyday and say yes to Gods will everyday; 

It is to this kind that Jesus says, that they only need to wash their feet. The rest should wash their bodies as well.

The purpose of the feet is walking. As we are walking in this word trying to follow Jesus, the dust of the world comes in our feet and we need to always wash it away from our feet. 

No matter how wholehearted we are, there is something that we need to wash ourselves from walking through the world.

We need to constantly judge ourselves and cleanse ourselves from the filthiness of the flesh and the spirit and cleanse ourselves until we reach Christ's level of purity. To be pure as Jesus is is our goal and everyday we must be pressing on towards that. 2Cor 7:1, 1John 3:3

You are blessed to be a blessing 

Feel free to share 

@Blessed Mshindi Mambo

JOHN 12:47-50. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

Jesus said that if anyone hears His words and don't do them, He doesn't judge him, for He didn't come to judge but to save the world.

What a wonderful way to live. A way to always be at peace. You make the way clear, and the message clear but don't go around trying to check whether the listeners obeyed or not. When you know they didn't obey, you don't judge them. Even if they come back, you are not angry with them and say to them; ' I told you you so'.

It's good to learn from Jesus to give others freedom but only ensure the message is clear and that they understand it. Whether they like it or not, whether they accept it or not, that shouldn't disturb you. Be at rest; don't judge them. 

Jesus said that whoever rejects Him and doesn't receive His saying will be judged by the very words He heard.

Jesus continued to say that it is because He didn't speak on His own initiative but He was commanded by the Father on what He should say and what He should speak. The words He spoke are eternal life; thus Jesus only spoke as the Father commanded Him.

We have seen that Jesus never initiated anything He spoke but always heard from the Father. He always heard His ears opened to listen to what His Father had to say. 

If we are to hear from God, we must first of all humble ourselves and acknowledge that we don't know, keep our conscience clear, study God's word diligently, have regular time for praying and maintain the attitude of prayer all day long. In your heart as you continue doing your work, your communion with God is going on, asking God in your heart for help or guidance or wisdom or strength.

What do you think would happen if preachers followed the example of Jesus here; to only speak what the Lord commands and nothing more, and nothing less, and nothing else? There would be much authority in their sermons and lives would be transformed, and captives would be set free, and broken hearts would be healed. Lk 4:18

Why is it rare to hear an anointed sermon which will cause your heart to burn? We have many boring sermons because there is no anointing in the speakers because they have not spent time with God to listen. 

It's unfortunate that today people are being told what they want to hear. The evidence is that very few cling to the words of their pastors more than the word of God. There is little hunger for the word of God, there is no fear of God; and the message of the cross, and the blood of Jesus and repentance has been replaced by the message of prosperity and healing and breakthrough. The preaching of today is making people think more of the riches of this world more than the riches above. 

I challenge you to read the new testament and see what Jesus and the apostles preached and then compare it with what is preached today and you will see and great difference and you'll will know how far offtrack we have gone. 

Be a Berean, check what every preacher says from the word of God. Don't follow anyone blindly. Read the bible for yourself. Acts 17:11, Mathew 15:14

Get to know Gods word. Always humble yourself and keep your conscience clear and God will make you a blessing in your generation.

You are blessed to be a blessing 

Feel free to share 

@Blessed Mshindi Mambo

JOHN 12:38-46. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

The unbelief of the people was prophesied in Isaiah 53:1. He also prophesied that God will blind their eyes and harden their hearts that they may not be converted and healed. 

Why does God blind the eyes and harden the hearts of men? Does He not want them to see and be converted? Did not Jesus die for the sins of the whole world?

God must be against those He blinds and those He hardens. He is opposing them definitely otherwise He would open their eyes and soften their hearts so the they maybe converted and healed.

There is one unchanging principle in God; God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble. James 4:6, 1Pet 5:5.

It is because the people are proud they God blinds them and hardens their hearts. If you are proud of anything, God will oppose you. It was pride that changed angels into devil's. We don't know how long they had lived as angels, but the moment they became proud, God opposed them and they became demons.

God has not changed; don't rely on your past life of how saintly you have lived in the past, the moment you become proud of anything you have that others don't have; God will blind you spiritually. the devil was proud of his riches, wisdom, understanding, knowledge, even bible knowledge, business, perfection in what you do, beauty, position, anointing...Ezek 28:3-15.

The things that the devil was proud of is the things that he tempts us to be proud of. 

To overcome pride, we must learn to first acknowledge that whatever we have, God has given us. 1Cor 4:7.

We must also learn to compare ourselves with Jesus alone, what we have, our accomplishments and everything.

It is because we compare ourselves with others that we become proud when we are better than them, and become jealous when they are better than us or we become depressed when they are very far above us. 

We are not to run the race fixing our eyes on others but Jesus. If your eyes are fixed on Jesus, we will never compare ourselves with any human being in anything. Heb 12:2

Remember if you are proud, God will oppose you no matter who you are, whether you are a preacher or whoever you are. Always Humble yourself.

Pride is the main cause of spiritual blindness in the lives of many christians.

There are people who believed in Jesus but they didn't confess them for fear they would be put out of their synagogues. 

for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.

Can this be said of you? 

Does it disturb you what people say or think of you if you become a bold witness for Christ?

Are you ashamed to be known as a christian?

Jesus says that whoever believes in Him, believes in the Father. whoever sees Him, sees the Father.

If Christ dwells in you, those who see you should see something of Christ in you.Yes you are not perfect, but they should sense something of God in you and that should increase as you continue walking with the Lord.

Jesus is the light of the world, whoever believes in Him should not remain in darkness. 

If you are claiming to have believed but you still are continuing in the path of sin, you are deceiving yourself; you have a counterfeit faith. True faith brings you into the light. We know that the light is the life of Jesus

We must continually partake of this life of Jesus if we are still living in true faith in Jesus as the Son of God who died for our sins.

You are blessed to be a blessing 

Feel free to share 

@Blessed Mshindi Mambo

JOHN 12:34-37. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

 

The people asked Jesus who the Son of man is since the scriptures said the Messiah must live forever.

Jesus answered that His light will shine a little longer and they were to walk in the light and not walk in darkness. The one who walks in darkness doesn't know where He is going. We read in John 1:4 that the life of Jesus is the light of men, and it is in that light that we see light. Ps 36:9.

Isaiah 60:1-3 tells us that the whole world will be covered in darkness and gross darkness will cover the people. Thus , we can conclude that if you are not seeing the life of Jesus, you are walking in darkness and you will stumble along the way.

Let whoever thinks He stands take heed lest he falls. When you read the scriptures, do you see the life of Jesus? What do you see then.

Jesus says, follow me

Following is a conscious act. You cannot follow what you can't see. You can't see the life of Jesus unless except from the bible. It's unfortunate that today many who think themselves to be Christians don't have the habit of reading the bible on their own until on Sunday when they go in church.

Even if you attend the church Faithfully all your life from childhood to old age, you will never hear everything that is in the bible in any church anywhere in the world. You have to read the bible for yourself to hear what the Lord has to say to you. 

For how long will you be spoonfed? Upto when will you learn to go to the scriptures and read for yourself?

He said that when you have the light, believe in the light. Put your confidence in what the scriptures say about the life of Jesus.

Jesus went to hide himself after saying this.

Was He afraid and went and hid himself? Definitely no! How can He who always told His disciples not to be afraid be afraid Himself. He often as we saw in Luke 5:16 slipped up to pray. 

He saw the people didn't believe in Him and would not continue spending more time with them. They saw many miracles but didn't believe.

Today we still think the same way; that if people see miracles, they will believe. Has the world changed? If they saw Jesus miracles and didn't believe, what makes us think that today they will believe when they see miracles. Majority who saw Jesus miracles never believed; only a few believed, even today, even when miracles are performed by the true servants of God, many will not believe.

It's unfortunate that most of the so called miracles in the church are fake and others are demonic. 

You can easily know them because those who seem to perform them are looking a name for themselves and money from the people. There is no reverence of God among the people. They are not leading the people to godliness. They are always talking about miracles, signs and wonders.

We saw in Mathew that Jesus often told people whom He healed to never tell anyone about it.

The lives of these people are not becoming more devoted to Christ. Their minds are filled with their pastors name, the miracle worker,not the name of Jesus. Many are even told to use their pastors name in prayer.

Many are told not to question their pastors and threatened and thus live in fear. Many take their pastors as their God and whatever they say is the gospel truth.

The bible says test every spirit and don't believe every spirit. 1John 4:1

Don't follow blindly.... Are you becoming more godly?

Is there increasing peace and joy?

Are you getting to know Christ more intimately?

You are blessed to be a blessing 

Feel free to share 

@Blessed Mshindi Mambo

JOHN 12:31-33. THE MESSAGE OF THE GOSPELS

  

Jesus said that this world is under judgement and the ruler will be cast out. 

When you look at this world, do you see it as being under judgement or do you love it and live for it?

When you see the world as under judgement, you will no longer live for it's interests, it will no longer attract you as it does. Your heart will have eternal values. Your eyes will look at everything and seeing their eternal value.

It does not mean that we will not do the things that we need; there are things that we need and our heavenly Father knows that we need them, and we will do many things that we need to survive but our hearts will be set in eternity.

Jesus said if He be lifted up He will draw all men to Himself; this indicated the kind of death He would die.

There was no beauty in Jesus to attract us to Him, when He was in the cross, He was disfigured beyond human recognition. Isaiah 53:2, 52:14. 

The death of Jesus is what evidence of His love and this is what is supposed to draw all men to Him. It's very rare nowadays to hear about the death of Jesus except maybe once in a year during Easter. All we her about today is what the whole world wants to hear and what the whole world is interested in, prosperity and health. Everyone in every religion and community wants prosperity and healing, and if that is what is being preached today, we have already gone astray. God is god to everyone. Prosperity and healing is not a mark of God's blessing or approval. The richest men in every country are not Christians and they are not the wholehearted disciples of Jesus. The people who live longest and healthiest are not Christians. Material prosperity and healing just means that God is good. It is never an indication that God approves of you or is pleased with you, otherwise we have to say that approves and is pleased with the richest men in the world but we all know that is not true.

God blesses many people with whom He is thoroughly displeased with. Just like a parents will give food and clothes and education for a disobedient child. If that child begins to think I that because He is given food, shelter, clothing and education that his parents is pleased with him, he will be wrong. In the same way, if you begin material prosperity and healing is a mark that God is pleased with you, you are already deceived; wake up from your slumber before it's too late.

The mark that God is pleased with you is that He will help you to overcome all your spiritual enemies, sin, the devil and the world and the lusts of the flesh. 

Ps 41:11By this I know that You are pleased with me, Because my enemies do not shout in triumph over me.

It is the message of the cross through which Jesus is seeking to attract the world with, but we being wise with our own eyes have devised cleverer ways to attract the world to Jesus. In this, we are unconsciously saying that we are wiser than God. Let's get back to the message of the cross. We must learn to constantly meditate on the cross of Calvary. The beauty of it that it was our sins that crucified Jesus and we are forgiven and saved from the wrath of God and we have peace with God and that now we are the children of God. 

When was the last time you meditated on the cross???

Turn your eyes upon Jesus

Look full in His wonderful face 

And the things of world will grow strangely dim

In the light of His glory and grace

We have a promise that we will never get discouraged if we are constantly thinking on the cross of Calvary where Jesus died in Heb 12:3. 

If you are constantly discouraged in your life, the only reason is that you don't meditate on the cross.

Learn to meditate on the cross and you will always overcome all the temptations to be discouraged. You will always be at peace and rest. You will experience the joy of the Lord in your life. Nothing happening around you will be able to shake you. You will be immovable and unshakable. You will be an overcomer.

Get nearer to the cross and learn to meditate on it.

You are blessed to be a blessing 

Feel free to share 

@Blessed Mshindi Mambo

THE DEAD EVANGELIST IN CHOIR ROBE

There's a brother named Brother Clifford, who made it a duty upon himself that come rain or sunshine, he will be at the Bus Station distributing Gospel Tracts to passengers as they board or leave the bus/stop! and this he did faithfully for several years!

One faithful day at the church service, after a rendition by the choir members in church, the choir were appreciated, praised and given a standing ovation. But, Brother Clifford, instead of being happy for them, he was very sad.

He thought his soul winning efforts was not being acknowledged, rewarded and recognised by the church members, the pastor and the entire ministers.

And he also noticed that nobody from the Bus station has ever met him to say thank you for what he has been faithfully doing over the years.

So, he (Brother Clifford) decided to abandon the going to the Bus Station. Instead he joined the choir and started singing with them. To his surprise he was warmly welcomed, and he discovered that within a short while the choir, he was singing and receiving standing ovations. So, he concluded in his heart that he had just made the right decision.

One day during service, he sang Psalm 23 as a solo and by the time he finished singing, the whole church including the pastoral team and the elders were on their feet clapping and giving him a standing ovation.

Suddenly there arose an old man, a stranger in the midst of the congregation who said he wants to sing the same song while the church was still on their feet clapping for the soloist.

Against protocol, the pastor cynically allowed the old man to sing.

By the time the old man finished singing, the whole church were on their knees, some were weeping, others were praying in repentance.

That day, there were no more sermon but an altar call. With sinners giving their lives to Christ and backsliders returning to their first love and the whole church rededicating their lives.

Brother Clifford, the evangelist in his choir robe, felt a deep hole in his heart. He felt empty, he saw the difference between entertainment for the appreciation of men and the ministration for the appreciation of heaven. He left the church with a heavy heart.

Without thinking of removing his choir robe, he headed for the Bus Station empty handed as if in a trance.

On getting there he met a man in the same spot where he ususlly stand to distribute gospel leaflets before. The man was distributing the gospel tracts handed one tract to him (brother Clifford) And the tract read *"I WILL BE A FAITHFUL SOLDIER TO LORD, I WILL DIE AT MY POST".* It ended asking, "are you a faithful witness of the WORD?"

With tears in his eyes and a shaky voice, brother Clifford asked the man how he came to start distributing tracts at the spot at the Bus Station. The busy man, not looking at him, told him of a dead man who used to come there come rain or sunshine to distribute tracts. That for months the man has not been there. He told him that he believed and concluded the man must have been dead. He said the dead man once gave him a tract before that changed his commitment to Christ. And since the man is dead, he felt God wanted him to replace the dead man to continue the good work in the memory of the dead man.

The man kept emphasising, "The dead man, the dead man, the Dead Man". which further sent Brother Clifford back to his knees weeping and asking for God's forgiveness.

Hmm...

God has a purpose for your life. have you left your assignment because of some discouragements from cynics and critics or have you abandoned the unheard, unseen and unsung praise of heaven for the standing ovation and approval of men?

Are you like the evangelist in choir robe? Or are you like the singer singing to entertain in church - note: the place of entertainment is in the theatre not the church.

The church is for ministration in the Spirit by Worshiping God in Truth and in the spirit.

I want to tell you today that GOD OF ANOTHER CHANCE WANTS YOU RETURN TO YOUR FIRST LOVE FOR HIM TODAY.

God bless you all.