Jesus said, "I am the vine, ye are the branches. He that abides in Me
and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit; for without Me, ye can
do nothing." (John 15:5)
Indeed, if ye abide in Jesus and His words
abide in you, the scriptures promise that "you shall ask what you will
and it shall be done unto you." Why? Because as Jesus indicated, "herein
is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit. So shall ye be My
disciples. As the Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you. Continue ye
in My love." (John 15:7)
Imagine, Jesus spoke these
truths so that we could experience His joy, in order "that our joy might
be full." (John 15:11) He said, "Your heart shall rejoice and this joy,
no man taketh from you." (John 16:22)
In John 15:16,
we begin to learn the extent of our Lord God and Saviour's love wherein
we were loved even before being formed in our mother's wombs. Herein,
the scriptures state, "Ye have not chosen Me but I have chosen you ...
and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your
fruit should remain. That whatsoever ye shall ask of the Father in My
name, He may give it to you."
Jesus knew the
consequences of taking up His cross and becoming a disciple. He knew
that the world would hate us because the world had already hated Jesus
first -- even before it hated us. Still, Jesus encouraged us to
"Remember the Word." In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with
God and the Word was God .. and the Word became flesh. (John 1:1-14)
Further,
Jesus taught, "Thy servant is not greater than his Lord. If they have
persecuted Me, they will also persecute you." (John 15:19-20) But then
Jesus said, "But all these things will they do unto you for My name's
sake because they know not Him that sent Me. If I had not come and
spoken unto them, they had not had sin, but now they have no cloak for
their sin ... If I had not done among them the works which none other
man did, they had not had sin; but now have they both seen and hated
both Me and My Father." (John 15:25)
As in many of
Jesus' teachings, this came to pass in order that the Word in the old
covenant might be fulfilled. The Word that is written in their law. That
is, the scriptures that state, "They hated Me without a cause." (John
15:25, Psalm 69:4)
But the real message here is that we
don't need to fret. Jesus assured believers that "when the Comforter is
come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of
truth which proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of Me. And ye
also shall bear witness because ye have been with Me from the
beginning." (John 15:21-27)
So if they put you out of
the synagogues, Jesus said not to be offended. He also said not to let
sorrow fill our hearts. Because Jesus knew that when He went "My way to
Him that sent Me" the Comforter would come. Jesus knew that when "the
Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth for He shall
not speak of Himself but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak
and He will show you things to come." (John 16:1-14)
In
fact, Jesus told His disciples that "it is expedient for you that I go
away; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you. But if
I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come, He will
reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement."
Of sin, Jesus said, because they believe not on Me.
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see Me no more.
Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.
Judged
when Jesus shed His precious blood on the cross so that we could be
forgiven once and for all. The Comforter, Jesus said, "shall glorify Me
for He shall receive of Mine and shall show it unto you." Yes, the
Comforter shall testify of Jesus. "Verily, verily I say unto you.
Whatsoever ye ask the Father in My name, He will give it to you." In the
name of Jesus. The King of kings and Lord of lords. Indeed, Jesus is
the name manifested unto the men "which Thou gavest Me out of the
world." The only name whereby salvation could ever be ours.
Jesus
then said, "And now I am no more in the world, and I come to thee, Holy
Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given Me that
they may be one, as we are. While I was with them in the world, I kept
them in Thy name, those that Thou gavest Me. I have kept and none of
them is lost ..."
Therefore, be glad and rejoice. Be
sanctified through the scriptural truths that Jesus taught. Be comforted
in His love. His immeasurable grace. Know too that the glory which the
Father extended to the Sonship while on earth -- God in the flesh in a
Son's body --- has been given to you and I so that we may be one even as
Jesus and the Father are one. (John 17:22)
Stand in the offering plate.
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