Christianity
Christians love to complicate Christianity by underestimating Jesus and lose focus on what’s important. On what unites every Christian, regardless of denomination or theological view. Jesus. We make Christ fit into our lives, and not the other way around. We go to church, hear someone preach, sing some songs, see friends and family, eat, then its back to real life. Jesus has been turned into a ritual, and we take comfort in rituals. That’s not how it’s supposed to be, and we are all guilty of this. So, what I’ll be writing about is the simple message of Jesus, which we lose track of very easily, and sometimes try to purposely avoid. Because, we let life become more important than Jesus any chance we get. But, if we know, and really understand, the simple message, everything else falls into place. This isn’t going to be anything fancy. Nothing highly theological, because I can offer nothing other than pointing out what Jesus says. This is going to rely heavily on the Bible. The message is simple, but in no way is the message easy. And I think we are all in need of simple again.
12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
-Hebrews 5:12
Most important thing first. Salvation.
9that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
-Romans 10:9-10
Those are the only times I’ll stray from the Gospels, but I thought it was necessary. Ok, so let’s get started.
8Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."
9Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
-John 14:8-9
28and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
29"My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
30"I and the Father are one."
-John 10:28-30
Jesus is God.
6“Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
-John 14:6
If you truly believe that Jesus is who He says He is, you should start listening and acting on His words, instead of looking to others and/or yourself for guidance. Start critically thinking about what Jesus means to you personally.
24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
-Matthew 7:24
The hearing part is a piece of delicious cake, but the acting part is where it gets tricky, because we live in the world. And the world hates Christians.
18“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
19"If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
20"Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master ' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21"But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.
-John 15:18-21
14"I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
-John 17:14
If it were supposed to be easy, then this wouldn’t be true…
14"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
-Matthew 7:14
Jesus goes out of His way to get people not to follow Him.
57As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go."
58And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
59And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father."
60But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."
61Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home."
62But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
-Luke 9:57-62
Jesus says basically this: “Dude, you can’t worry about a comfortable place to sleep if you want to follow me.” And then to the next guy, “You seriously want to go bury your dead dad? He’s dead. Forget about him. If you want to follow me, go tell others about My truth.” Then to the last guy, “If you want to see your family, go stay with your family, but if you want to follow me, then forget about family and trust me.” It’s pretty intense. Jesus lies out that the path to follow Him is truly narrow.
So, what I found is that Christianity boils down to two things. Love and faith. They encompass everything. We must love God, and love others as Jesus loved. And we must have faith that Jesus is who He says He is and that what He says is the truth. Without faith in God, we can never love Him. If we don’t love Him, we can never love others like Jesus.
LOVE
True unconditional love is powerful. How powerful? Think about it, how did God show his unlimited power? Did He come rule the world? No. He sent His only Son to die the most humiliating death and then resurrect so that we may have eternal life. Love is self-sacrifice. The world hates God, but…
16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
-John 3:16-17
God loves us. Regardless of our evil, sinful, selfish, fleshly behavior, He loves us, and will never stop. So, first things first, we need to love God above all else. It’s the first commandment so it has to be pretty important, right?
37“And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'”
-Matthew 22:37
Sure we get it, we love God. But what does it really mean to love God? It means we put God first, above family, friends, jobs, money… whatever. Is it easy to put God first? Not even a little bit. Remember that we live in the world, right?
34“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;
36and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.
37"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39"He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
-Matthew 10:34-39
Wow, that’s pretty intense. A sword? Sounds like God is actually serious about loving Him above everything else. So, do we need to leave our families and lives to serve God? Nope, but could you give up everything for Him? It’s all about where your heart is.
21"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
23"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'
-Matthew 7:21-23
This is pretty scary. People who think they were on the path to eternal life got shot down because they really didn’t know Jesus at all. Your heart needs to be set on solely on God’s will and glory. You can fool yourself and others, but you can’t fool God. Do you trust that God provides everything we need?
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
23"But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God andwealth.
25"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
30"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'
32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
-Matthew 6:19-33
It’s all right there. It’s really easy to say we trust Him, but when money’s tight, when your kid’s sick, when you’re up for that big promotion, when retirement lingers… what comes first? Is it you? Can you take care of the problems? Or do you trust God completely? Are you seeking His kingdom first? If not, you’re not the only one. We all are guilty of this, and we’re in good company.
33“They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, "What were you discussing on the way?"
34But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest.
35Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."
-Mark 9:33-35
Even the disciples had trouble with this. It’s only natural to want to put yourself first, and think in earthly terms.
22“Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You."
23But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."
24Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
25"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
-Matthew 16:22-26
We know that there’s more than this world for us. We know there is a real Heaven and a real Hell, but it’s hard to remember that while we’re here. And God knows it’s hard.
18“A ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
19And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
20"You know the commandments, 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"
21And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."
22When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
23But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
24And Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!
25"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
26They who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"
27But He said, "The things that are impossible with people are possible with God."
28Peter said, "Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You."
29And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life."
-Luke 18:18-30
It’s up to us to decide. Love ourselves first, or love God first. Jesus is clear when He says we can’t serve two masters. Financial security, social status, and the things of the world are important to us, and God knows that. But where do they rank in your life? Where should they rank? Any worldly thing can be taken away and/or disappoint us at anytime, and they easily corrupt us the more prevalent they become in our lives.
19“but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
-Mark 4:19
If God isn’t first, we are, and that’s not how it’s supposed to be. If our foundation isn’t in the Word, isn’t with God, we will never be satisfied. Do you trust God enough to give Him everything? Jesus did.
30“I can do nothing on My own initiative As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
-John 5:30
Putting God first is hard because the approval of others is very important to us. We don’t want anyone to think we’re crazy or different in anyway, that would be horrifying.
37But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.
38This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?"
39For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,
40"HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM."
41These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.
42Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
43for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
-John 12:37-43
The more we let God come first, the worries of the world don’t seem that bad. What’s the best way to put God first and serve Him? By loving others as Jesus loved.
34"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
-John 13:34-35
The way we treat other people matters quite a bit. This part is crucial because we have the power to turn someone to or away from Jesus by our actions. If we treat others badly, then Jesus doesn’t seem so appealing. If we love others like Christ, then maybe they’ll experience how much God loves them. We can’t change hearts. We can only help someone get to a place where God can change it. But, the point of loving others isn’t to expect anything in return. We love because we love God and He loves us.
45"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
-Mark 10:45
Let’s take a look at how Jesus loved and served others.
31“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33"If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34"If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
35"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
36"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
38"Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."
39And He also spoke a parable to them: "A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?
40"A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.
41"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
42"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
43"For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.
44"For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.
45"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”
-Luke 6:31-45
This sums it all up right there. We should love others unselfishly, but let’s break it down a little.
39“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
40"If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
41"Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.
42"Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
43"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.'
44"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46"For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47"If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
-Matthew 5:39-48
Jesus calls us to do something that goes against our natural instincts. To love our enemies and the people who persecute us. Think about it this way. We, being sinners, don’t deserve the unconditional love and grace God continually gives us, so why wouldn’t we show that same unconditional love to someone who we don’t think deserves it? Every time we show unconditional love to someone, that person gets to experience the love of God.
1"Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
2"For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?
5"You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”
-Matthew 7:1-5
47"If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
48"He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”
-John 12:47-48
We like to judge, because it makes us feel superior to someone else. The classic selfish behavior always creeps back in. But, this is the opposite of the love Jesus shows us. His love lifts up others at cost to self. Just remind yourself that you’re no better than anyone else. Period.
14“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15"But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
-Matthew 6:14-15
21“Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"
22Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
-Matthew 18:21-22
3"Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4"And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him."
-Luke 17:3-4
Jesus is pretty clear, forgive everyone regardless. God sent Jesus to die for our sins, so that we may be forgiven once and for all. No matter how often we sin, as long as we honestly pray for forgiveness and repent, God will always forgive us. It’s called grace. And it makes life very unfair. People will do horrible things to you, but how better to show the love of God then by just simply forgiving them? It doesn’t matter it you think they deserve it or not. God always thinks you deserve forgiveness.
10"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
-Luke 19:10
Jesus came for the lost. For the sinners. For us. He is the only way to the Father. Doing good means nothing apart from Jesus.
15And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him.
16When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?"
17And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
-Mark 2:15-17
Instead of condemning sinners, Jesus loved them. Remember that we are nothing more than constant sinners that are constantly forgiven. Show others that they too can be constantly forgiven through Jesus.
3The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,
4they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.
5"Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?"
6They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.
7But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
8Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.
10Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"
11She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either Go From now on sin no more."
-John 8:3-11
We are called to love God and love others. The Pharisees judged, and Jesus loved. He didn’t care what men thought. His Focus was always on God’s will, just as ours should be.
1"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2"So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
3"But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
7"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
8"So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
-Matthew 6:1-8
The only way we can love as Jesus intended is to not care about the interests of men, but only care about the interests of God. God is first. Love comes down to being unselfish. Loving God above everything else, and loving others as Jesus loved requires great personal sacrifice. But when your heart’s in the right place and your constantly seeking the kingdom of God, the personal sacrifice starts to feel like a blessing. This true pure love changes lives. Let it. Let others see that love in you. If you love God, then loving others is no problem at all. Remember that Jesus died for everyone, not just the people you like.
FAITH
Without faith, the love part is impossible. Faith is fundamental. We must believe that Jesus is Lord. That He was sent from God to die and be raised so that we can have eternal life. Our salvation is based on faith. Being a Christian, giving up your life to God, takes a ton of faith. We understand that, but I think we’ve been putting limits on our faith. Let me explain.
12"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.”
-John 14:12
Do you believe that? Think about it. Jesus says if we believe in Him, we will do the same stuff that He did, and greater. Seriously, think about that. The works He did include, healing, casting out demons, multiplying food, and raising people from the dead. Jesus says we can do those things.
7"And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
8"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.”
-Matthew 10:7-8
Do you honestly believe that you can do those things? The question should be, why shouldn’t we be able to do these things? The answer’s easy, because it’s ridiculous. That stuff was just for the days of Jesus, right? Healing someone? Come on. But is it ridiculous? Why don’t you believe you can do those things? As a believer of Jesus, you are told you have the power. What’s holding you back?
9"Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10'Your kingdom come Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
11'Give us this day our daily bread.
12'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'
-Matthew 6:9-13
Jesus instructs us to pray for God’s kingdom and will to come on earth like it is in heaven. The full power of God’s kingdom in heaven here on earth could heal, raise the dead, and cast out demons, right? It’s tough to wrap your head around, but think about it.
7"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
-Matthew 7:7-8
19Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, "No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you." And at once the fig tree withered.
20Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, "How did the fig tree wither all at once?"
21And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen.
22"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
-Matthew 21:19-22
13"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
-John 14:13-14
7"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
-John 15:7
23"In that day you will not question Me about anything Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.
24"Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.”
-John 16:23-24
Jesus tells us that if we pray and believe, we will receive and be joyful. Now, this doesn’t mean God’s like a genie that will just give us anything. Selfishness creeps in again if we think like that, and God isn’t first anymore. But, if God’s glory is first in our hearts and minds, why wouldn’t this be true?
6And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you.”
-Luke 17:6
20And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
-Matthew 17:20
The disciples struggled with faith and they were with Jesus in person. They saw Him do crazy miracles all the time. They even did miracles in His name. If they struggle with faith, then we definitely do.
26When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear.
27But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."
28Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."
29And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
30But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"
31Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
-Matthew 14:27-31
We doubt because it’s a lot easier to doubt than truly believe. Why? Because we want total control. Doubting gives us power. Believing places all the power in God. We put limits on what we think Jesus can do. But God works even with our unbelief.
14When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.
15Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him.
16And He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?"
17And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute;
18and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it."
19And He answered them and said, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!"
20They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.
21And He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood.
22"It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!"
23And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."
24Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."
25When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again."
26After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!"
27But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.
-Mark 9:14-27
All things are possible to those who believe. Do you believe that? All things? There’s a reason why Jesus talks about being childlike.
1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
2And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,
3and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
4"Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
-Matthew 18:1-4
13And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.
14But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
15"Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."
-Mark 10:13-15
What does this mean? Well, if you tell a child something, they’ll believe it, because they know no different. They don’t doubt. They trust. They’re completely dependant. Just like we’re supposed to be completely dependant on God. If we receive the kingdom of God like a child, think about what could be possible. All things?
25At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.”
-Matthew 11:25
The wise and intelligent think they can get their wisdom and intelligence about the kingdom of God on their own merit. You may be thinking that I’m not getting very specific about any particular issue, or that I’m leaving out some things, or you may just disagree with the stuff I’m saying. And that’s fine. We can argue about specific verses or the meanings behind them all day. But that doesn’t help anything. It distracts from Jesus. I’m keeping it simple, because it’s meant to be simple. I don’t have any answers on how to do anything, or what you should do in a situation, or if you were right or wrong in some instance. The reason I can’t is because all the wisdom we need about the kingdom of God we get from God through the Holy Spirit.
16"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
18"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
19"After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.
20"In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
21"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."
22Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?"
23Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
24"He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.
25"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.
26"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
27"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
-John 14:16-27
5"But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'
6"But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
7"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
8"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
9concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;
11and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
12"I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
14"He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
15"All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.”
-John 16:5-15
26"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
27and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
-John 15:25-26
Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Helper for a reason, because He’s sent to help us. The Holy Spirit will reveal all things concerning the kingdom of God to us, if we let Him. That’s promised to us. This comes down to putting God first and not trying to be wise and intelligent, and receiving the Helper like infants.
9"But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be floggedin the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.
10"The gospel must first be preached to all the nations.
11"When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.”
-Mark 13:9-11
See, Jesus tells us to trust on the Holy Spirit to give us all the guidance we need. We fall into the trap of thinking we know best. Or the pastor knows best. Or that person in Bible study knows best. God always knows best. Period. God helps us through other people, but those other people should never take the place of God.
59These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
60Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?"
61But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble?
62"What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
63"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
64"But there are some of you who do not believe " For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
65And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."
-John 6:59-65
Ok, so the point of this whole thing is to get you to see that there should be so much more to Christianity than Church, Bible study, Christian friends, mission trips, etc, if you keep it simple and just listen to what Jesus says. We all have Christ in us. The kingdom of God dwells in all of us. We all have the same opportunity to experience the full power and glory of God. We can let God take control of every aspect of our lives if we let Him. I can’t tell you how to live or what decisions to make, because I don’t know. What I know for certain is what Jesus says, and that Jesus is Lord. All we can do is love God above all else, love others as Jesus loved, and have faith that Jesus is the Truth. And, when it comes to the specifics, let the Holy Spirit help. Life bogs us down all the time, but…
9"I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
11"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
-John 10:9-11
God wants us to live life abundantly. It’s time we start giving up our lives for the Kingdom of God. Only then can we truly have life abundantly. I, or anyone else, can’t convince you to do anything. It has to be your choice to choose God. It’s always been your choice. Don’t ever settle for what other people say. Search for yourself, and pray. See what God shows you. It’s ok if you don’t know something. If you have a problem with anything I said, that’s completely fine. Even if you agree with me, still read the Bible. Pray. See what you find. Know what you believe. Know why you believe it. Start critically thinking for yourselves. God has a purpose for you. This should be a jumping off point for your personal relationship with God. He can change the world through you. Let Him.
Keep your life focused on God, not the little worldly things. When God is first, the little worldly things won’t matter. Sure they may be hard to deal with, but they won’t really matter because you are filled with the eternal love of God. He is your purpose. You trust Him fully with this life. And, when you do that, when you seek the Kingdom of God first, you begin to see what really matters. Loving God. Loving others. Your Faith in Christ. God doesn’t need anything from you. He just wants you. Keep it simple. Don’t underestimate Jesus. Let’s start living a life glorifying to God.
I’ll leave you with this, Jesus’ prayer to God for us.
1Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,
2even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
3"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
4"I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.
5"Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
6"I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
7"Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You;
8for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
9"I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;
10and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.
11"I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
12"While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
13"But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.
14"I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15"I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
16"They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
18"As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
19"For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
20"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
21that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22"The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;
23I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
24"Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
25"O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
26and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
-John 17
12For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you have need again for someone to teach you the elementary principles of the oracles of God, and you have come to need milk and not solid food.
-Hebrews 5:12
Most important thing first. Salvation.
9that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved;
10for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
-Romans 10:9-10
Those are the only times I’ll stray from the Gospels, but I thought it was necessary. Ok, so let’s get started.
8Philip said to Him, "Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us."
9Jesus said to him, "Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?
-John 14:8-9
28and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.
29"My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father's hand.
30"I and the Father are one."
-John 10:28-30
Jesus is God.
6“Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”
-John 14:6
If you truly believe that Jesus is who He says He is, you should start listening and acting on His words, instead of looking to others and/or yourself for guidance. Start critically thinking about what Jesus means to you personally.
24“Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock.”
-Matthew 7:24
The hearing part is a piece of delicious cake, but the acting part is where it gets tricky, because we live in the world. And the world hates Christians.
18“If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
19"If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
20"Remember the word that I said to you, 'A slave is not greater than his master ' If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.
21"But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me.
-John 15:18-21
14"I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.”
-John 17:14
If it were supposed to be easy, then this wouldn’t be true…
14"For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.”
-Matthew 7:14
Jesus goes out of His way to get people not to follow Him.
57As they were going along the road, someone said to Him, "I will follow You wherever You go."
58And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."
59And He said to another, "Follow Me." But he said, "Lord, permit me first to go and bury my father."
60But He said to him, "Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God."
61Another also said, "I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home."
62But Jesus said to him, "No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."
-Luke 9:57-62
Jesus says basically this: “Dude, you can’t worry about a comfortable place to sleep if you want to follow me.” And then to the next guy, “You seriously want to go bury your dead dad? He’s dead. Forget about him. If you want to follow me, go tell others about My truth.” Then to the last guy, “If you want to see your family, go stay with your family, but if you want to follow me, then forget about family and trust me.” It’s pretty intense. Jesus lies out that the path to follow Him is truly narrow.
So, what I found is that Christianity boils down to two things. Love and faith. They encompass everything. We must love God, and love others as Jesus loved. And we must have faith that Jesus is who He says He is and that what He says is the truth. Without faith in God, we can never love Him. If we don’t love Him, we can never love others like Jesus.
LOVE
True unconditional love is powerful. How powerful? Think about it, how did God show his unlimited power? Did He come rule the world? No. He sent His only Son to die the most humiliating death and then resurrect so that we may have eternal life. Love is self-sacrifice. The world hates God, but…
16“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
17"For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.”
-John 3:16-17
God loves us. Regardless of our evil, sinful, selfish, fleshly behavior, He loves us, and will never stop. So, first things first, we need to love God above all else. It’s the first commandment so it has to be pretty important, right?
37“And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.'”
-Matthew 22:37
Sure we get it, we love God. But what does it really mean to love God? It means we put God first, above family, friends, jobs, money… whatever. Is it easy to put God first? Not even a little bit. Remember that we live in the world, right?
34“Do not think that I came to bring peace on the earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35For I came to SET A MAN AGAINST HIS FATHER, AND A DAUGHTER AGAINST HER MOTHER, AND A DAUGHTER-IN-LAW AGAINST HER MOTHER-IN-LAW;
36and A MAN'S ENEMIES WILL BE THE MEMBERS OF HIS HOUSEHOLD.
37"He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.
38"And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
39"He who has found his life will lose it, and he who has lost his life for My sake will find it.
-Matthew 10:34-39
Wow, that’s pretty intense. A sword? Sounds like God is actually serious about loving Him above everything else. So, do we need to leave our families and lives to serve God? Nope, but could you give up everything for Him? It’s all about where your heart is.
21"Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter.
22"Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?'
23"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.'
-Matthew 7:21-23
This is pretty scary. People who think they were on the path to eternal life got shot down because they really didn’t know Jesus at all. Your heart needs to be set on solely on God’s will and glory. You can fool yourself and others, but you can’t fool God. Do you trust that God provides everything we need?
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.
20"But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;
21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22"The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.
23"But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!
24"No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other You cannot serve God andwealth.
25"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?
26"Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27"And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?
28"And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin,
29yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.
30"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!
31"Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'
32"For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.
33"But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
-Matthew 6:19-33
It’s all right there. It’s really easy to say we trust Him, but when money’s tight, when your kid’s sick, when you’re up for that big promotion, when retirement lingers… what comes first? Is it you? Can you take care of the problems? Or do you trust God completely? Are you seeking His kingdom first? If not, you’re not the only one. We all are guilty of this, and we’re in good company.
33“They came to Capernaum; and when He was in the house, He began to question them, "What were you discussing on the way?"
34But they kept silent, for on the way they had discussed with one another which of them was the greatest.
35Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, "If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all."
-Mark 9:33-35
Even the disciples had trouble with this. It’s only natural to want to put yourself first, and think in earthly terms.
22“Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You."
23But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."
24Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.
25"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
26"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?”
-Matthew 16:22-26
We know that there’s more than this world for us. We know there is a real Heaven and a real Hell, but it’s hard to remember that while we’re here. And God knows it’s hard.
18“A ruler questioned Him, saying, "Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"
19And Jesus said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one is good except God alone.
20"You know the commandments, 'DO NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, DO NOT MURDER, DO NOT STEAL, DO NOT BEAR FALSE WITNESS, HONOR YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER.'"
21And he said, "All these things I have kept from my youth."
22When Jesus heard this, He said to him, "One thing you still lack; sell all that you possess and distribute it to the poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
23But when he had heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.
24And Jesus looked at him and said, "How hard it is for those who are wealthy to enter the kingdom of God!
25"For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God."
26They who heard it said, "Then who can be saved?"
27But He said, "The things that are impossible with people are possible with God."
28Peter said, "Behold, we have left our own homes and followed You."
29And He said to them, "Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30who will not receive many times as much at this time and in the age to come, eternal life."
-Luke 18:18-30
It’s up to us to decide. Love ourselves first, or love God first. Jesus is clear when He says we can’t serve two masters. Financial security, social status, and the things of the world are important to us, and God knows that. But where do they rank in your life? Where should they rank? Any worldly thing can be taken away and/or disappoint us at anytime, and they easily corrupt us the more prevalent they become in our lives.
19“but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.”
-Mark 4:19
If God isn’t first, we are, and that’s not how it’s supposed to be. If our foundation isn’t in the Word, isn’t with God, we will never be satisfied. Do you trust God enough to give Him everything? Jesus did.
30“I can do nothing on My own initiative As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
-John 5:30
Putting God first is hard because the approval of others is very important to us. We don’t want anyone to think we’re crazy or different in anyway, that would be horrifying.
37But though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him.
38This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet which he spoke: "LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? AND TO WHOM HAS THE ARM OF THE LORD BEEN REVEALED?"
39For this reason they could not believe, for Isaiah said again,
40"HE HAS BLINDED THEIR EYES AND HE HARDENED THEIR HEART, SO THAT THEY WOULD NOT SEE WITH THEIR EYES AND PERCEIVE WITH THEIR HEART, AND BE CONVERTED AND I HEAL THEM."
41These things Isaiah said because he saw His glory, and he spoke of Him.
42Nevertheless many even of the rulers believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they were not confessing Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue;
43for they loved the approval of men rather than the approval of God.
-John 12:37-43
The more we let God come first, the worries of the world don’t seem that bad. What’s the best way to put God first and serve Him? By loving others as Jesus loved.
34"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another.
35"By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
-John 13:34-35
The way we treat other people matters quite a bit. This part is crucial because we have the power to turn someone to or away from Jesus by our actions. If we treat others badly, then Jesus doesn’t seem so appealing. If we love others like Christ, then maybe they’ll experience how much God loves them. We can’t change hearts. We can only help someone get to a place where God can change it. But, the point of loving others isn’t to expect anything in return. We love because we love God and He loves us.
45"For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
-Mark 10:45
Let’s take a look at how Jesus loved and served others.
31“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
32"If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
33"If you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.
34"If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.
35"But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.
36"Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.
37"Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be pardoned.
38"Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return."
39And He also spoke a parable to them: "A blind man cannot guide a blind man, can he? Will they not both fall into a pit?
40"A pupil is not above his teacher; but everyone, after he has been fully trained, will be like his teacher.
41"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
42"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take out the speck that is in your eye,' when you yourself do not see the log that is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother's eye.
43"For there is no good tree which produces bad fruit, nor, on the other hand, a bad tree which produces good fruit.
44"For each tree is known by its own fruit. For men do not gather figs from thorns, nor do they pick grapes from a briar bush.
45"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.”
-Luke 6:31-45
This sums it all up right there. We should love others unselfishly, but let’s break it down a little.
39“But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also.
40"If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also.
41"Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two.
42"Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
43"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.'
44"But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
45so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
46"For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?
47"If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?
48"Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
-Matthew 5:39-48
Jesus calls us to do something that goes against our natural instincts. To love our enemies and the people who persecute us. Think about it this way. We, being sinners, don’t deserve the unconditional love and grace God continually gives us, so why wouldn’t we show that same unconditional love to someone who we don’t think deserves it? Every time we show unconditional love to someone, that person gets to experience the love of God.
1"Do not judge so that you will not be judged.
2"For in the way you judge, you will be judged; and by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you.
3"Why do you look at the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye?
4"Or how can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' and behold, the log is in your own eye?
5"You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”
-Matthew 7:1-5
47"If anyone hears My sayings and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world.
48"He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.”
-John 12:47-48
We like to judge, because it makes us feel superior to someone else. The classic selfish behavior always creeps back in. But, this is the opposite of the love Jesus shows us. His love lifts up others at cost to self. Just remind yourself that you’re no better than anyone else. Period.
14“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15"But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.
-Matthew 6:14-15
21“Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"
22Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.”
-Matthew 18:21-22
3"Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
4"And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him."
-Luke 17:3-4
Jesus is pretty clear, forgive everyone regardless. God sent Jesus to die for our sins, so that we may be forgiven once and for all. No matter how often we sin, as long as we honestly pray for forgiveness and repent, God will always forgive us. It’s called grace. And it makes life very unfair. People will do horrible things to you, but how better to show the love of God then by just simply forgiving them? It doesn’t matter it you think they deserve it or not. God always thinks you deserve forgiveness.
10"For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost."
-Luke 19:10
Jesus came for the lost. For the sinners. For us. He is the only way to the Father. Doing good means nothing apart from Jesus.
15And it happened that He was reclining at the table in his house, and many tax collectors and sinners were dining with Jesus and His disciples; for there were many of them, and they were following Him.
16When the scribes of the Pharisees saw that He was eating with the sinners and tax collectors, they said to His disciples, "Why is He eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners?"
17And hearing this, Jesus said to them, "It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners."
-Mark 2:15-17
Instead of condemning sinners, Jesus loved them. Remember that we are nothing more than constant sinners that are constantly forgiven. Show others that they too can be constantly forgiven through Jesus.
3The scribes and the Pharisees brought a woman caught in adultery, and having set her in the center of the court,
4they said to Him, "Teacher, this woman has been caught in adultery, in the very act.
5"Now in the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women; what then do You say?"
6They were saying this, testing Him, so that they might have grounds for accusing Him. But Jesus stooped down and with His finger wrote on the ground.
7But when they persisted in asking Him, He straightened up, and said to them, "He who is without sin among you, let him be the first to throw a stone at her."
8Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground.
9When they heard it, they began to go out one by one, beginning with the older ones, and He was left alone, and the woman, where she was, in the center of the court.
10Straightening up, Jesus said to her, "Woman, where are they? Did no one condemn you?"
11She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said, "I do not condemn you, either Go From now on sin no more."
-John 8:3-11
We are called to love God and love others. The Pharisees judged, and Jesus loved. He didn’t care what men thought. His Focus was always on God’s will, just as ours should be.
1"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven.
2"So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
3"But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
5"When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.
6"But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.
7"And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words.
8"So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.”
-Matthew 6:1-8
The only way we can love as Jesus intended is to not care about the interests of men, but only care about the interests of God. God is first. Love comes down to being unselfish. Loving God above everything else, and loving others as Jesus loved requires great personal sacrifice. But when your heart’s in the right place and your constantly seeking the kingdom of God, the personal sacrifice starts to feel like a blessing. This true pure love changes lives. Let it. Let others see that love in you. If you love God, then loving others is no problem at all. Remember that Jesus died for everyone, not just the people you like.
FAITH
Without faith, the love part is impossible. Faith is fundamental. We must believe that Jesus is Lord. That He was sent from God to die and be raised so that we can have eternal life. Our salvation is based on faith. Being a Christian, giving up your life to God, takes a ton of faith. We understand that, but I think we’ve been putting limits on our faith. Let me explain.
12"Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father.”
-John 14:12
Do you believe that? Think about it. Jesus says if we believe in Him, we will do the same stuff that He did, and greater. Seriously, think about that. The works He did include, healing, casting out demons, multiplying food, and raising people from the dead. Jesus says we can do those things.
7"And as you go, preach, saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'
8"Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, cast out demons. Freely you received, freely give.”
-Matthew 10:7-8
Do you honestly believe that you can do those things? The question should be, why shouldn’t we be able to do these things? The answer’s easy, because it’s ridiculous. That stuff was just for the days of Jesus, right? Healing someone? Come on. But is it ridiculous? Why don’t you believe you can do those things? As a believer of Jesus, you are told you have the power. What’s holding you back?
9"Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
10'Your kingdom come Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.
11'Give us this day our daily bread.
12'And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13'And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.]'
-Matthew 6:9-13
Jesus instructs us to pray for God’s kingdom and will to come on earth like it is in heaven. The full power of God’s kingdom in heaven here on earth could heal, raise the dead, and cast out demons, right? It’s tough to wrap your head around, but think about it.
7"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
8"For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
-Matthew 7:7-8
19Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, "No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you." And at once the fig tree withered.
20Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, "How did the fig tree wither all at once?"
21And Jesus answered and said to them, "Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' it will happen.
22"And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive."
-Matthew 21:19-22
13"Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14"If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.”
-John 14:13-14
7"If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.”
-John 15:7
23"In that day you will not question Me about anything Truly, truly, I say to you, if you ask the Father for anything in My name, He will give it to you.
24"Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask and you will receive, so that your joy may be made full.”
-John 16:23-24
Jesus tells us that if we pray and believe, we will receive and be joyful. Now, this doesn’t mean God’s like a genie that will just give us anything. Selfishness creeps in again if we think like that, and God isn’t first anymore. But, if God’s glory is first in our hearts and minds, why wouldn’t this be true?
6And the Lord said, "If you had faith like a mustard seed, you would say to this mulberry tree, 'Be uprooted and be planted in the sea'; and it would obey you.”
-Luke 17:6
20And He said to them, "Because of the littleness of your faith; for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.”
-Matthew 17:20
The disciples struggled with faith and they were with Jesus in person. They saw Him do crazy miracles all the time. They even did miracles in His name. If they struggle with faith, then we definitely do.
26When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified, and said, "It is a ghost!" And they cried out in fear.
27But immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid."
28Peter said to Him, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water."
29And He said, "Come!" And Peter got out of the boat, and walked on the water and came toward Jesus.
30But seeing the wind, he became frightened, and beginning to sink, he cried out, "Lord, save me!"
31Immediately Jesus stretched out His hand and took hold of him, and said to him, "You of little faith, why did you doubt?"
-Matthew 14:27-31
We doubt because it’s a lot easier to doubt than truly believe. Why? Because we want total control. Doubting gives us power. Believing places all the power in God. We put limits on what we think Jesus can do. But God works even with our unbelief.
14When they came back to the disciples, they saw a large crowd around them, and some scribes arguing with them.
15Immediately, when the entire crowd saw Him, they were amazed and began running up to greet Him.
16And He asked them, "What are you discussing with them?"
17And one of the crowd answered Him, "Teacher, I brought You my son, possessed with a spirit which makes him mute;
18and whenever it seizes him, it slams him to the ground and he foams at the mouth, and grinds his teeth and stiffens out. I told Your disciples to cast it out, and they could not do it."
19And He answered them and said, "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!"
20They brought the boy to Him. When he saw Him, immediately the spirit threw him into a convulsion, and falling to the ground, he began rolling around and foaming at the mouth.
21And He asked his father, "How long has this been happening to him?" And he said, "From childhood.
22"It has often thrown him both into the fire and into the water to destroy him. But if You can do anything, take pity on us and help us!"
23And Jesus said to him, " 'If You can?' All things are possible to him who believes."
24Immediately the boy's father cried out and said, "I do believe; help my unbelief."
25When Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked the unclean spirit, saying to it, "You deaf and mute spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again."
26After crying out and throwing him into terrible convulsions, it came out; and the boy became so much like a corpse that most of them said, "He is dead!"
27But Jesus took him by the hand and raised him; and he got up.
-Mark 9:14-27
All things are possible to those who believe. Do you believe that? All things? There’s a reason why Jesus talks about being childlike.
1At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, "Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?"
2And He called a child to Himself and set him before them,
3and said, "Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
4"Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
-Matthew 18:1-4
13And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; but the disciples rebuked them.
14But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, "Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
15"Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all."
-Mark 10:13-15
What does this mean? Well, if you tell a child something, they’ll believe it, because they know no different. They don’t doubt. They trust. They’re completely dependant. Just like we’re supposed to be completely dependant on God. If we receive the kingdom of God like a child, think about what could be possible. All things?
25At that time Jesus said, "I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants.”
-Matthew 11:25
The wise and intelligent think they can get their wisdom and intelligence about the kingdom of God on their own merit. You may be thinking that I’m not getting very specific about any particular issue, or that I’m leaving out some things, or you may just disagree with the stuff I’m saying. And that’s fine. We can argue about specific verses or the meanings behind them all day. But that doesn’t help anything. It distracts from Jesus. I’m keeping it simple, because it’s meant to be simple. I don’t have any answers on how to do anything, or what you should do in a situation, or if you were right or wrong in some instance. The reason I can’t is because all the wisdom we need about the kingdom of God we get from God through the Holy Spirit.
16"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;
17that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.
18"I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
19"After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also.
20"In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
21"He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him."
22Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, what then has happened that You are going to disclose Yourself to us and not to the world?"
23Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him.
24"He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me.
25"These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you.
26"But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.”
27"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.”
-John 14:16-27
5"But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?'
6"But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
7"But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him to you.
8"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment;
9concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me;
11and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.
12"I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13"But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
14"He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
15"All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.”
-John 16:5-15
26"When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify about Me,
27and you will testify also, because you have been with Me from the beginning.”
-John 15:25-26
Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Helper for a reason, because He’s sent to help us. The Holy Spirit will reveal all things concerning the kingdom of God to us, if we let Him. That’s promised to us. This comes down to putting God first and not trying to be wise and intelligent, and receiving the Helper like infants.
9"But be on your guard; for they will deliver you to the courts, and you will be floggedin the synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for My sake, as a testimony to them.
10"The gospel must first be preached to all the nations.
11"When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit.”
-Mark 13:9-11
See, Jesus tells us to trust on the Holy Spirit to give us all the guidance we need. We fall into the trap of thinking we know best. Or the pastor knows best. Or that person in Bible study knows best. God always knows best. Period. God helps us through other people, but those other people should never take the place of God.
59These things He said in the synagogue as He taught in Capernaum.
60Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this said, "This is a difficult statement; who can listen to it?"
61But Jesus, conscious that His disciples grumbled at this, said to them, "Does this cause you to stumble?
62"What then if you see the Son of Man ascending to where He was before?
63"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and are life.
64"But there are some of you who do not believe " For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who it was that would betray Him.
65And He was saying, "For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father."
-John 6:59-65
Ok, so the point of this whole thing is to get you to see that there should be so much more to Christianity than Church, Bible study, Christian friends, mission trips, etc, if you keep it simple and just listen to what Jesus says. We all have Christ in us. The kingdom of God dwells in all of us. We all have the same opportunity to experience the full power and glory of God. We can let God take control of every aspect of our lives if we let Him. I can’t tell you how to live or what decisions to make, because I don’t know. What I know for certain is what Jesus says, and that Jesus is Lord. All we can do is love God above all else, love others as Jesus loved, and have faith that Jesus is the Truth. And, when it comes to the specifics, let the Holy Spirit help. Life bogs us down all the time, but…
9"I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
10"The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
11"I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
-John 10:9-11
God wants us to live life abundantly. It’s time we start giving up our lives for the Kingdom of God. Only then can we truly have life abundantly. I, or anyone else, can’t convince you to do anything. It has to be your choice to choose God. It’s always been your choice. Don’t ever settle for what other people say. Search for yourself, and pray. See what God shows you. It’s ok if you don’t know something. If you have a problem with anything I said, that’s completely fine. Even if you agree with me, still read the Bible. Pray. See what you find. Know what you believe. Know why you believe it. Start critically thinking for yourselves. God has a purpose for you. This should be a jumping off point for your personal relationship with God. He can change the world through you. Let Him.
Keep your life focused on God, not the little worldly things. When God is first, the little worldly things won’t matter. Sure they may be hard to deal with, but they won’t really matter because you are filled with the eternal love of God. He is your purpose. You trust Him fully with this life. And, when you do that, when you seek the Kingdom of God first, you begin to see what really matters. Loving God. Loving others. Your Faith in Christ. God doesn’t need anything from you. He just wants you. Keep it simple. Don’t underestimate Jesus. Let’s start living a life glorifying to God.
I’ll leave you with this, Jesus’ prayer to God for us.
1Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,
2even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
3"This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
4"I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.
5"Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
6"I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me out of the world; they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.
7"Now they have come to know that everything You have given Me is from You;
8for the words which You gave Me I have given to them; and they received them and truly understood that I came forth from You, and they believed that You sent Me.
9"I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours;
10and all things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.
11"I am no longer in the world; and yet they themselves are in the world, and I come to You Holy Father, keep them in Your name, the name which You have given Me, that they may be one even as We are.
12"While I was with them, I was keeping them in Your name which You have given Me; and I guarded them and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
13"But now I come to You; and these things I speak in the world so that they may have My joy made full in themselves.
14"I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
15"I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one.
16"They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
17"Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
18"As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
19"For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.
20"I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word;
21that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.
22"The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one;
23I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me.
24"Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.
25"O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me;
26and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them."
-John 17
