Monday, June 5, 2017



2017.06.04                                          John 13: 6-20
                  Having loved His own…
                                   Part 2
Good Morning…. I am glad to be with you this morning… I have Good News for You! His name is Jesus… We are on a great adventure… We are Experiencing the Life and ministry of Jesus…
Jesus continues to Transform hearts and minds… by the Power of His Holy Spirit working in and through the Word of God…
Once again this morning we are studying the Gospel of John…
All through the  Scriptures…  God reveals Himself to Humanity… As we were reminded of Last week… We see the Father perfectly reflected in the Son… In perfect Loving obedience to the Father… Jesus laid down His life for us… As we saw last week… Jesus demonstrated Humble Servant Leadership as He washed the disciples feet… Jesus' public ministry is complete...   He has nothing more to say directly to the world… But he has a lot more to say to his disciples… Jesus is going to teach and prepare them for the very difficult days ahead… As he teaches them... He serves them… A living sermon and an awesome example… We are going to pickup at Chapter 13 Verse 1 again…
John 13: 1-5                            NKJV    slt 2000
1Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. 2 And supper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, 4 rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. 5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded
Look at the last part of v1…
v1b… Having loved His own who were in the world… As We saw last week… The phrase… His own… is from  the Greek tous idious… It can be translated as… Near and dear… those who belong to Him… It is a very personal expression... He is thinking about His own who are in the world… next phrase…
 v1b…He loved them to the end…
This is another great phrase in the Greek… it means to perfection… to the consummation… to the infinite capacity of divine love... You might translate this…   He loved them fully and forever...
He loved them with all the love with which God can love…  And His love and protection continues on into Eternity… Forever…
We focused on these verses last week… In them we see a clear picture of the depth and fullness of Jesus Love for His own... You can listen to it on line if you missed it…
v2… the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot… to betray Him…
This betrayal by Judas is part of the Sovereign Plan of God… Matthew 26… Judas Iscariot has already received the money… 30 pieces of silver… The price of a slave by the way…  
He has arraigned to give Jesus over to the Chief Priests on this very night…. Jesus knows it… Judah thinks that he is executing his plan… But He is only following The Fathers… Because the time had come…   And what is that time? His hour… Tomorrow Jesus will lay down His life for them and us… look with me at v5-8…
John 13: 5-8                          NKJV   slt 2000
5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. 6 Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?” 7 Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.” 8 Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
Last week I said that the Disciples were going to freak out when Jesus is arrested and crucified… Peter really starts to freak out right here is these verses… Let me set some context here…. First remember it is only a few days since the huge crowds hailed Jesus as the great King Messiah… Peter and the others were certain that finally Jesus was ready to seize His Kingdom and destroy the Roman rule over them… This even though He has told them several times that He was going to die on the cross… They somehow deleted that from their Whattsapp accounts without really comprehending it… When He is betrayed they will freak… But even now Peter sees that Jesus behavior is not that of a conquering King… Rather a common slave… He does not yet understand the concept of the prophesied suffering servant of the Lord… Also… They had just been arguing with themselves over who would be the greatest in the kingdom…Luke 22… They are not thinking about serving at all... They are thinking about being served proudly as Jesus´ right hand man…
Jesus  washes their feet to demonstrate to them what it means to be a servant of the Lord… Not proud and arguing… But In humility loving and serving... Teaching them that Putting others first… Is true Godliness…
As Jesus takes out the towel and begins to wash feet… Astonishment is on every face in the room… Look with at Peter´s reaction… v6-8…
v6… Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?
Peter cannot quite believe it…. He knows that He should be the one serving Jesus… He knows he does not deserve to be served by Him…
v7… What I am doing you do not understand now… But you will later…
What Jesus did that night was more than just a simple example of humility…
Philippians Ch 2  tell us that He emptied himself… He laid aside his garments of glory…   He laid aside the heavenly garments… And took on garment of flesh...  v8…
Peter says no way… v8… You shall never wash my feet!” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me… This washing of feet is wonderful symbolism… When we look at the Word of God… We see two very important ideas describing washing or cleansing… Blood and water… Here Jesus uses water to wash the disciples feet… He is using the idea of washing away the defilement of sin and the wicked influences of the world… Soon He will use His shed blood to wash away our sins forever… Isaiah ch1… Let´s look at the next section… v9- 12…
John 13: 9-12                           NKJV   slt 2000
9 Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!” 10 Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” 11 For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.” 12 So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you?
v9…  Lord not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." Jesus said to him, "calm down Peter… You are already clean except for the betrayer… You just need your feet washed…. Jesus is clearly talking about their hearts and not their external bodies… v12…
v12… Do you know what I have done to you? Jesus is going to make His point very clear… 
I believe that when Jesus began… There was a quiet astonishment that fell over the disciples…  Jesus begins to wash... And Peter protests...   He says, no way, Lord...
And then Jesus said… Then you'll have no part with me."
Then Peter swings the pendulum to the other side and says…  then not only my feet, but also my hands, and my head… wash everything Lord I so want to be a part of you… That´s good…. But It is spoken too soon… Because this is a teaching moment and Peter is missing the lesson… Jesus said, "he who is-- now watch this word-- bathed."   It's the Greek word louo... louo means a complete washing...
He who is completely bathed... louo… needs only to wash… A different Greek different word… nipto his feet… This word means to wash a part… You've already been louoed, Peter… But you need to be made totally clean….
Jesus is giving a picture of the daily process of being transformed by the Word of God… The process of being made holy… We would use the theological term” “Sanctification” When we repent and believe the Good News of the Gospel… We are washed completely… In a moment in time we are declared to be righteous… Free from sin… This is instant perfection… But we know that even as believers…. We are not perfect… So In the Word of God… We also see the continuing process of sanctification… It continues all through our lives as we grow in grace and in the knowledge of him… 2 Peter 3:18… Paul describes this transformation… This growing in grace in Ephesians ch 5… look at it with me…
Ephesians 5: 25,26                        NKJV   slt 2000
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word,
Here we see Jesus… Giving Himself for the church…. Sanctifying her and making her holy… The washing of Water by the Word…
Here is the spiritual analogy… As genuine believers… We don't get unsaved….
That is impossible Romans ch 8 and many many other scriptures…  But we do get defiled and dirt clings to us because Jesus is still transforming us day by day… We are saved, but we do walk in this world…
And all Along the way… we pick up a little dirt… We pick it up in conversations and media trash… You pick it up driving...  These things all tempt us to give in to our pride and selfishness and lust… We need to keep our feet clean… How… By being quick to repent and confess our sins… We should do that the moment that we realize that we have sinned… Every time we take communion I try to remember to encourage of us to search our hearts and confess our sins…
The Bible says…  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness… 1 John 1:9…  John is saying that to believers who are already [? luoed. ?] They're already bathed… They're already born again... They are  already clean… But they need to be niptoed… next section…. v13-17…
John 13: 13-17                     NKJV   slt 2000
13 You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. 16 Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. 17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
look at v13,14…
Think about Jesus example… One of the great needs of the church is to have feet washed… What  an example of servant-hood… Serve each other…. Stop trying to lord over your brothers and sisters…Be a servant to them… Love them…. Love the people that the Lord has put in your lives...   Encourage each other... Mature and Train people…   Forgive each other… Talk and  Pray with and for each other… That is how you Wash their feet…
v15v… For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you... Follow me… Don´t be proud and stubborn… Humble yourselves and Serve each other…
v17… If you know these things, blessed are if you do them... Please note that… He said… you want to be really blessed or happy…   Do it… The key to happiness is humility… You want to be blessed, you want to be truly happy? Then do what it says... Joy will follow when you learn to serve each other and put others first… It is true in Marriage… It is true in the church…  We must help and encourage each other…
Close
We all get a little dirt on our feet… There is no room for arrogance and pride… In closing I would like to look at Paul strong encouragement to the Church in Galatia… Galatians 6: 1-
Galatians 6: 1- 5                          NKJV   slt 2000
1Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. 2 Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. 3 If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. 4 Pay careful attention to your own work, for then you will get the satisfaction of a job well done, and you won’t need to compare yourself to anyone else. 5 For we are each responsible for our own conduct.
1 Liebe Freunde, wenn ein Mensch einer Sünde erlegen ist, dann solltet ihr, deren Leben vom Geist Gottes bestimmt ist, diesem Menschen liebevoll und in aller Demut helfen, wieder auf den rechten Weg zurückzufinden. Und pass auf, dass du nicht in dieselbe Gefahr gerätst.
2 Helft euch gegenseitig bei euren Schwierigkeiten und Problemen, so erfüllt ihr das Gesetz, das wir von Christus haben.
3 Wer sich für wichtiger hält als die anderen, betrügt sich selbst.
4 Jeder achte genau auf sein eigenes Leben und Handeln, ohne sich mit anderen zu vergleichen.
5 Schließlich ist jeder für sein eigenes Verhalten verantwortlich.
v1b… you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself…
v2… Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ… Bear one another´s burdens…. Carry each other… Wash each other´s  feet…  Grab the basin of the Word of God… Grab the towel and wipe away the tears… Ideally from your eyes and from their eyes…  Do it gently…
We need to correct and encourage with an attitude of humility…   You don't do it… I'm better than you… or I'm wiser than you…  
Listen If we are going to help each other do life… If we are going to wash each others feet…  We must do it gently… After all… We all sin… We all go through hard times… We have fears and doubts... we need to counsel and pray each other… We are called to help each other… To Provoke one another to love and good works… Hebrews 10: 23-25…
John 13: 17-20                             NKJV
17 If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.
18 “I do not speak concerning all of you. I know whom I have chosen; but that the Scripture may be fulfilled, ‘He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me.’ 19 Now I tell you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. 20 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives whomever I send receives Me; and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.”
 v17… If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them… Jesus is saying… I have set this example for you to follow… Love and serve each other…. Do not be proud and stubborn… I think you know the famous Childre´s song…. The wise man built his house upon the rock… It is in Luke 6…  Jesus said… Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you… Luke 6:46,47… The wise man builds his house on the rock…
v18b… He who eats bread with Me has lifted up his heel against Me… Jesus is quoting Psalm 41... look at v19…
v19… "'Now I tell you it before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe that I am He. Jesus knew who would betray Him… The disciples are going to freak out when Judas betrays Him… But Jesus is steadfast and not at all surprised…  It is all part of God´s sovereign plan… He quotes this scripture  to show them, That He is in control of this whole event… Now it is time…  This is the plan…
v20… Most assuredly, I say to you, he who receives, whomever I send, receives me. And he who receives me, receives him who sent me.'
Jesus is explaining the Mission that they are receiving… He wants them to carry on the Work that He has began… He is sending them… We will see this in John 17… When Jesus is interceding for them in the Garden of Gethsemane… And they will take the Good news of the Gospel to the ends of the earth… This morning we are celebrating Pentecost… That is the day that the Holy Spirit was poured out on them in great power… So that they could be His witnesses…
Let´s pray…  

Sunday, May 7, 2017



2017.05.07                                 John 12: 27-36
                     Five days to the Cross
              The Father speaks from Heaven
Good Morning…. I am glad to be with you this morning… I have Good News for You! His name is Jesus… We are on a great adventure… We are Experiencing the Life and ministry of Jesus… Once again this morning we are studying the Gospel of John…
Open your Bible to John’s gospel chapter 12… We have come to the last week of His life in Jerusalem… Jesus is headed for the cross on Friday…  Look at John 12… v27-36…
John 12 : 27-36                           NKJV   slt 2000
§27 “Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came from heaven, saying, “I have both glorified it and will glorify it again.” 29 Therefore the people who stood by and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to Him.” 30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake.

§31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die. 34 The people answered Him, “We have heard from the law that the Christ remains forever; and how can You say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this Son of Man?”
§35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
Many times Jesus said that He was going to lay down His life…    This passage looks at the cross…  it´s impact…    and its power… God´s wonderful plan of Redemption… Jesus Suffering in our place… And for our sins…
This is why He came…So that through His death… many could find life... He knew He was God’s chosen sacrifice… The Son of Man has come to seek and to save the lost... By giving His life a ransom for many… It was the perfect plan of God the Father…
Revelation 13:8 says, “He was the Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world… 
The Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead… Is the great theme of Scripture…
His death is the reason for the incarnation...  The shadow of the Cross was already over the manger in Bethlehem…
 In the book of Hebrews… we have a wonderful picture of the purpose of the Incarnation and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ… It begins with God´s self revelation… He revealed Himself in creation…. He spoke to first to Adam… And some of the prophets… NOW He Has spoken to and through His Son… His self-revelation is perfect and complete in the Lord Jesus Christ Himself… look with me at Hebrews 1: 1,2…
Hebrews 1: 1,2                         NKJV  slt 2000
1 God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;
1 Nachdem Gott in vergangenen Zeiten vielfältig und auf vielerlei Weise zu den Vätern geredet hat durch die Propheten, 2 hat er in diesen letzten Tagen zu uns geredet durch den Sohn. Ihn hat er eingesetzt zum Erben von allem, durch ihn hat er auch die Welten geschaffen;
The Father points to Jesus… The theme of the  Cross and Redemption dominate the wonderful  book of Hebrews…    
Jesus becomes the source of Eternal Salvation… He tasted death for   Everyone who would repent and cry out to Him for Salvation… That is Hebrews 2  v9… look with me at  Hebrews 5 v 9... 
Hebrews 5: 8,9                 NKJV   slt 2000
8 though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered. 9 And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him,
8 Und obwohl er Sohn war, hat er doch an dem, was er litt, den Gehorsam gelernt; 9 und nachdem er zur Vollendung gelangt ist, ist er allen, die ihm gehorchen, der Urheber ewigen Heils geworden,
The New Testament writers look at the cross… And describe its meaning and its significance in Glorious detail… Then over and over again…. The cross is applied to our lives… If we are genuine believers…. It will affect the way we live… If He died for us, how can we not live for Him?  Jesus Himself applied His coming sacrifice on the cross to our lives too… Deny yourself… take up your cross and follow me… Luke 9…v23…  Everywhere we look … We are confronted with the cross and the implications of the death of Christ… Jesus died to give us new life… So that that we might live to His honor and His glory… Beginning in verse 27… We see Jesus deeply troubled… scroll down for the list…
Jesus looks at the Cross
1 The Son’s troubled soul… v27
2 The Fathers Answer from Heaven… v28
3 The Cross as victory… v32
Scroll down for John 12…v27-30…
Point 1 Jesus is troubled…
v27… Now My soul has become troubled and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour?’  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  Father, glorify Your name.”   His soul is troubled?  How can His soul be troubled?  He is God… 
How is it that the Son of God, the incarnate God is  troubled?       
Well we know that it was possible for Jesus to be troubled… He has been troubled before… in John ch11… v 33… when He arrived at the tomb of Lazarus… it says   He was deeply moved in His Spirit and was troubled… He was troubled when He faced the consequences of sin in the death of Lazarus… What does the word “troubled” mean?  It’s a Greek word tarassō…  It literally means “to shake or to stir up.” In a figurative sense, it could be translated anguish…    He was deeply disturbed…       
It can be translated terrified or horrified... How can He be so distressed?    
This isn’t being horrified at the thought that He will be flogged and hung on a cross…   He knew everything that was to come…   
That wasn’t what tormented Him…    His trouble came  from anticipating the Divine wrath of God for our sin…        He was troubled by the prospect of divine wrath and separation from His eternal Father…   
So, in His trouble, He asks, “What shall I say?  Shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from his hour?’   No… I came for this purpose…   
He is totally willing to suffer for us… Remember He said… I lay down my life… John 10:17…  
Nevertheless… The spiritual battle is profound…  Good News…  Jesus wins the battle… And the Cross points us to our Heavenly Father… We learn about God by looking at the cross… Jesus´ suffering on the Cross shows His love for the Father… And His perfect obedience will glorify the Father…  How does the cross glorify the Father?… I made another  list… scroll down for the next slide…
The cross points us to the Father
1 God´s love
2 His righteousness
3 His Mercy
4 His Grace
5 His Judgment
6 His divine Wisdom
It displays many of God’s qualities and attributes...  And God is glorified when we understand the greatness of who He is...  On the cross… We see God´s love… He sent His beloved son…
We see both His righteousness and His mercy… We see God’s grace in action…   We also see His judgment and His wrath… He demands Justice…  And in the cross we see His divine wisdom too…  We see prophecy being fulfilled...  His Word is confirmed…  What grace and unfailing love…     All of this is on the cross...            
Jesus is totally obedient… even though He is in anguish...  It was a tremendous struggle… We will see more in the garden of Gethsemane… But Jesus showed perfect, willing, loving obedience… The cross results in the forgiveness of sin… the establishment of the kingdom of heaven… It produces a new heart and mind…  New life for all who repent and believe the Good News…   All of this was dependent on Jesus being obedient to death even death on the cross… Phil 2:8… by the way… That is part of one of the early creeds of the church… Phil 2: 6-11… And so Jesus obeyed… Even though sin bearing was totally alien to Him… It troubled Him deeply… scroll down to again at that first list… It is a kind of three point outline for today… let´s look at point 2… scroll down for the list…
2 The Fathers Answer from Heaven…  scroll down for v27-30…
v28a… “Father, glorify Your name..     The reason Jesus     came for was to glorify the Father…
v28b… I have both Glorified it and will glorify it again… And so The Father speaks again from heaven… He puts His divine stamp of approval on Jesus every step of the way…
v30… Jesus answered and said, ‘This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes.’”   
Now, the Father did speak to Jesus from heaven a couple of other times… The Lord Jesus is affirmed by the Father at the beginning of His ministry… At His baptism… Matthew 3:17…  And at His transfiguration… Matthew 17…   
Now in our text today… God speaks out of heaven to affirm the cross… 
So when the Father says in verse 28… “I have both glorified it…  He means throughout your whole ministry I have put My power and glory on display through You…  “And I will glorify it again,” The Father is saying… I will glorify My name through your death too...   
v30… Jesus is telling the disciples and others who were there… This voice from Heaven is for you… So that you can Believe… I am going to die… You need to know that it is the plan of the Father… He will be Glorified in it… This is the divine heavenly affirmation of the Substitutionary Atonement of Christ...
Jesus died to glorify God… and God will glorify Himself through His death…   God has spoken… God has validated and  affirmed the coming death of His Son next point…scroll down for point 3…
3 the cross as victory… scroll down to v31-34…
What began as anguish and even terror for Jesus…   turns to joyful anticipation…. As Jesus hears His Father’s voice He is reminded of certain Victory… The Father has strengthened Him… He has reminded Him that glory is coming through His death… Glory is coming to the Father…  and to Him…  Now Jesus focuses on the salvation of lost sinners… He looks forward to the Miracle of the Cross… The miracle of the cross includes three massive far-reaching realities… scroll down…
The Miracle of the Cross
1 The judgment is on the world… v31
2 The ruler of this world will be cast out… v31
3 The Son will draw all men to Himself… v32
1  The world was judged...  The world is doomed by the rejection and murder of the Son... scroll down for v31-34…
v31… Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out...    
Think about this…  
The cross would judge and condemn all who reject the Lord Jesus…  The purpose is redemption… The horrible consequence of refusing to repent is condemnation…   The verdict is in…   The question is simple… Are we in Christ… Have repented from our sins and cried out to the Lord Jesus to forgive us and save us… look with me at John 3… v14…  John 3: v14…
John 3: 14-19                       NKJV  slt 2000
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
This text is clear… Redemption is freely offered… The second part of the Miracle Point 2… scroll down…  
2 The ruler of this world will be cast out.  Who is that?  We know that this is Satan…  Satan was dethroned at Calvary…     It looked like Satan triumphed…   Satan thought he had conquered Christ at Calvary… but in reality… Christ had crushed his head… The cross dealt Satan the death blow…  He has nothing on us…  Satan is totally defeated by Christ at the cross…  Hebrews 2:14,15…   
Hebrews 2: 14,15                    NLT  Neues Leben
14 Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had the power of death. 15 Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.
Let´s look at the last section… scroll down for John 12…v35,36… John 12: 35,36…
35 Then Jesus said to them, “A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.” These things Jesus spoke, and departed, and was hidden from them.
Jesus is prophesying His death and warning of Judgment… Then we have this positive note of triumph… Walk in the Light… Believe in the light…. I am the light of the World… John 8:12…  We know that The Glorious light of the Gospel shines out from the Cross…. Down through the centuries and into our hearts…  What does the Cross mean for us? Well…  as genuine believers… We can walk in the light…. Walk in the light of His love and grace and mercy…. We can shine as lights in this lost and dying world… We can deny ourselves and pickup our cross daily…. We see that we really have nothing to fear… Death is dead… Jesus has the victory… We are no longer slaves to sin… We are no longer fear death…. Because our forever is secure… Our sins are forgiven forever…washed away… Jesus paid it all… It also means that we are free to Live for the Lord Jesus…
v36… “Believe in the Light so that you may become sons of Light.”    Jesus was right there with them for a little while longer… He says… The Light is here...  It is time to believe…
He is a gracious and compassionate God… but He has limits...     Jesus was warning Israel… and through this book… God is warning you…  warning anyone who hears… Do not test the limits of God’s patience...  If your heart is still at all sensitive to the gospel… if you are feeling the pull of God to believe in Jesus Christ, confess Him as Lord… turn from your sin… repent of your sin… and follow Him… Now for believers… Paul gives us some very practical advice… Look at 2 Cor 6… v1… 2 Corinthians 6:2…
2 Corinthians 6: 1-10                 NLT   Neues Leben
1 As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness and then ignore it. 2 For God says,“At just the right time, I heard you. On the day of salvation, I helped you.”Indeed, the “right time” is now. Today is the day of salvation. 3 We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. 4 In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. 5 We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. 6 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love. 7 We faithfully preach the truth. God’s power is working in us. We use the weapons of righteousness in the right hand for attack and the left hand for defense. 8 We serve God whether people honor us or despise us, whether they slander us or praise us. We are honest, but they call us impostors. 9 We are ignored, even though we are well known. We live close to death, but we are still alive. We have been beaten, but we have not been killed. 10 Our hearts ache, but we always have joy. We are poor, but we give spiritual riches to others. We own nothing, and yet we have everything
Let´s pray…