DOUBLE HOPE!

Jesus has just promised to return for His own and take them to the place He is preparing for them. (John 14) Now He makes another wonderful promise that reveals more...
Besides the Father and the Son, there is ‘the Spirit of truth’ who has been with them, who will be sent to comfort them... by being ‘in you’!                                

Notice he says: “I will pray the Father” - using the word erotao meaning ‘interrogate as an equal’.

Okay soon the world will no longer see Jesus after his death but for those who believe on Him it’s: ‘ye see me’... like He never really left, in fact... “Ye in Me, and I in you” and even more than that!...“we will come unto him and make our abode with him.”

The more He says the better it gets!                                                                  

Next we learn how practical it will be... “the Holy Ghost... shall teach you all things and bring to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” – the inspiration and authority for the New Testament. WOW!

Outside there is hatred and trouble looms but right now, inside this exclusive retreat, we have double hope, so much love and comfort, absolute truth, promise of life, reassuring peace and joy, even glory and delegated power but...  it’s time to go so Jesus calls them to their feet.

What a staggering revelation! Just as He gives them a glimpse of who He really is, it’s time to face betrayal and death!

Can we begin to grasp who Jesus is?...                                                                            

‘for in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily’                                        

How can we possibly get our heads around this ‘Godhead’ in a Man born to die for us?

• The Titanic was briefly afloat on water until it hit water (ice) while surrounded by water (fog) – 3 forms of water

• Which part is the egg?...the shell, the yolk or the white – or all 3?

• Notice there are 3 matches but only 1 flame

NEXT: http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2017/01/stay-connected.html

WHATEVER IS GOING ON HERE??

Nice clean feet, full tummies to relax with, the best of company – what more could those disciples want for?                                                                                   
So the Messianic welcome has fallen flat... Judas has disappeared... and now they’re real worried!                                                                                                
Do you think maybe the LAST SUPPER is important?                                      
John devotes 5 chapters of incredible detail to these few hours - we know more about this event than any other in Ancient History!...who was present, what they ate and drank, what was done and said... word for word!                                                     

There's hope yet!

Jesus now reassures them with not just one but TWO promises to inspire hope. (John 14) Hinting that He is God who alone can be trusted absolutely, He first tells them He is going to ‘the Father’s house’...“to prepare a place for you... I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”                                                                                                   

How to get there??                                                                                                                   

“I am the WAY, the TRUTH and the LIFE... (The 6^th ‘I AM the’ of 7) ...no man cometh unto the Father but by Me.”                                                              
No, you don’t get there by way of your own spiritual journey... or on your own terms... or by your good deeds.                                                                                             

Then He begins a stunning revelation:                                                         
“He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father” ...                                       
...and He says: “I am in the Father and the Father in Me” – TWICE!

In case you missed it, Jesus has just promised ‘the rapture’ that so many claim isn’t even in the Bible!  He promises to return FOR His own and TAKE THEM AWAY to His Father’s house.  Just like Christ’s resurrection, this will be the most miraculous event since Creation – all who have ever put their faith in Jesus Christ, whether alive or long dead, will be caught away – and only them!                                    

Yes, He is the WAY, He tells the TRUTH and He will bring all ALIVE!

So what was that second promise?...NEXT

The 'I AM' a slave??

The city has welcomed the new King of Israel but as soon as He talked about dying, they treated Him like a loser! What an anti-climax!                               

Imagine how His disciples must be feeling now – bewildered, disappointed, embarrassed, frustrated...all of the above?                                                              


Just what does He think He’s doing now?  This King is not on His throne – He’s stripping off in the corner!... and now donning a towel like a slave!                       

“He loved them unto the end” and now proves His love by washing their feet..... 
EVEN THE FEET OF THE MAN WHO HAS AGREED TO BETRAY HIM!

This is the Messiah of Israel, the Son of God, even God Manifest... washing the dirty feet of His dear trusted friend.                                                

Who would guess that this apostle is a devil and a thief?

The selfless One is serving the selfish one.   (John ch13)
Meanwhile, get a feel for the tension in this room... “You’ll never wash my feet” says Peter. 
Prophecy warned of a betrayer and let’s see how many times Judas is warned...    

“Ye are not all clean”                                                                                      

“He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me”          

(Sticking the boot in after being honoured?)      

“One of you shall betray Me”                           

In case anyone has got doubts, Jesus reminds them of who He is...               



What's he up to?

“...that ye may believe that I AM [he]”  
(The 6^th I AM of 7)                                     

Is this really an anti-climax?...or is there much more to come?                    

No sooner has the Father in heaven again publicly endorsed the Son - Satan is ready to inspire Judas to act!   He leaves ‘The Light’...for darkness...   Where's he off to on those nice clean feet? What's he up to?

More to the point, what do I know about love?                                       
Enough to lay down my life for Jesus?...or would I deny Him to save my own skin?


So whatever is going on here?...NEXT
http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/whatever-is-going-on-here.html

 

WHO IS THIS MAN?

The King has arrived!...on a donkey mind you... but He keeps on about dying... “Father, save Me from this hour”

What do they make of the answer from heaven?  “Oh that’s just thunder!   
Why believe in this Man?  Isn’t He a loser?" (John 12:37- )            
What did Isaiah say, 700 years before?...in that ‘taboo’ chapter 53...        
“Who hath believed our report?”                       

So why can’t they believe? (Some did - secretly)   
“Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes...”                  

But why??  Why has God done this to them?         

Isaiah in the temple

So there will be hope for ALL OF US - only thru the death of this Man!      

Now it’s time for His final appeal...                      
"WHOSOEVER believeth on Me...            
I came not to judge the world, but to SAVE THE WORLD”

Ah, but who is this Man really?                          
“Esaias saw His glory and spoke of Him”

Even in the Jehovah's Witness NWT Bible!

Really??...Isaiah saw the glory of Jesus??... when He sat as Lord on His throne in the temple??  WOW!!                                                                                                                                  


"Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts...”

...the whole earth is full of His glory

Yes... It was the glory of Jesus Christ that Isaiah saw in the temple.

Do you confess belief on our Lord Jesus Christ and receive His words?... openly or just secretly? 

    


Video links: The Forbidden Chapter

https://www.facebook.com/MedabrimEnglish/?hc_ref=PAGES_TIMELINE

https://www.facebook.com/MedabrimEnglish/videos/843882459014665/                                                                                                

ONE MAN ON A DONKEY

Jerusalem is packed with thousands of Jews in a frenzy of excitement...
Why?...what’s so special about this Passover?          (John 12:12-)                      

Ever since the angel Gabriel promised the coming of the Messiah to Daniel in Babylon they have been waiting for this momentous event - 483 long years without their true King.
(What else did the angel say to Daniel?... “Messiah shall be cut off but not for Himself” )                                                          

Here He comes at last!... He may be a carpenter from Galilee but Jesus has miraculous power... even over death!...so He’ll do as King.  What a humble entry though... on a young donkey, just as Zechariah prophesied 500 years ago.                            

What’s that they’re shouting?                        
"Hosanna”   (from Hebrew: ‘yasha – na’)   
‘Save - I pray’??                                          

One Man on a donkey... greeted with palm branches... to deliver them from the Roman army??   How ridiculous!... He’s so peaceful He even has control over a donkey colt!  He’s hardly a worry for the Roman army - it’s staying in the background. Meanwhile the Pharisees feel frustrated, the Greek visitors are curious...              

Now they're shouting: “Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord”                           

Well, He is King but they still don’t realize who this Man really is.                    

Watch how quickly the reception cools as He identifies as the lonely ‘corn of wheat’ that must die...and as the ‘Son of Man’ who must be lifted up.                            

“...lifted up?  Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”

Even though the Father publicly endorses Him from heaven, no longer does Jesus identify as Son of God – He is Son of Man with right of judgment and universal dominion!...but first he must be lifted up.                                                 

That's right...lifted up 

Yes, Jesus has come to die and His heart is set on ‘much fruit’... ‘all men’ – not just Israel!                                                                                                                                       

So who is this Man really?....NEXT
http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/who-is-this-man.html

WHAT A WASTE??

If you had known, since a child, that every morning brings you a day closer to being flogged and crucified in Jerusalem, would you deliberately go there?... or run for your life?

Jesus has raised Lazarus from the dead so now both their lives are threatened.    
Every Jewish man must attend the Passover...and who would miss this one?... Jerusalem is packed with Jews expecting their Messiah to show up, just as Jesus heads back to the ‘scene of the crime’.  Hiding is not for Him!                        
As for poor Laz, he can’t win...
Can he help getting sick or dying or being raised?                                          

Check out our hosts...(John 12:1-11)...                                               
Laz is large as life again... Martha excels at being ‘mine host’...  so where's Mary?
         



Mary - always at the feet of Jesus

A slave would wash the guest of honour’s feet but here she is anointing Jesus’ feet with spikenard ointment (Indian?) costing maybe a year’s wages!...and now she is lower than a slave - wiping His feet with her hair!...the feet that will carry Him to His death!

“She has kept this for the day of my burial”

Who would believe it?... The Son of God with power over death is facing death Himself and this will prove to be Mary’s only chance to anoint Him for burial.

Would you spend a whole year’s wages on anointing the feet of your guest?...let alone wipe them with your hair! What if your guest was the Son of God?

Judas wouldn’t. Let’s wait and see what he thinks his Master is worth...                                                    

                                                                                                

 

NEXT: “Your King is coming!”
http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/1-man-on-donkey.html

VOICE POWER +

Jesus didn’t come when His dear friend Lazarus was sick or even show up for his funeral, so now we’re all paying a visit to the cemetery...(John 11)                          

Yup... Laz is D E A D, really dead - like 4 days dead.
Everyone is sobbing, including Jesus who’s groaning... the air is heavy with grief and despair...

Huh??...He’s ordering the tombstone be rolled away!...while everyone watches aghast, waiting for the stench of death to hit them.                                             

Now what??  
Jesus is thanking ‘the Father’ for listening!             
Next He shouts out...

“LAZARUS, COME FORTH!!”


...as if Laz would hear!  

This is the same Jesus who has publicly claimed in Jerusalem:

“As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will....the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.”

Is this Man really the Son of God?...can He really raise people from the dead?      

What about choosing who He will raise?...using just His voice??                            

If He can pull this off it will be the ultimate 7^th miracle – a triple witness to the Father’s approval, the power of Jesus’ Word and the power of His works....and very public!

Here he comes!!                                                                                                                           

Lazarus is the 5^th of 7 ordinary people recorded in the Bible as raised from the dead.  Wow!

Are the Jewish leaders now convinced?  No, they would rather be subject to the Romans who will put their Messiah to death than honour the Son of God with power over death. Yes, the Romans WILL soon enough ‘take away both our place and our nation’ (AD70) – not for accepting this Man but for rejecting Him!

Caiaphas loftily belittles his comrades: “Ye know nothing at all” but doesn’t realize that Jesus death will ‘gather together in one the children of God scattered abroad.’

So who is in control?  God is!


NEXT: http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/12/what-waste.html

TOO LATE!...HE'S DEAD AS.

Poor Lazarus! Jesus may be fond of you but you’re sick as...                                  

His devoted sisters have just the answer - call for their special Friend who can heal anybody of anything!                                                        
Ah yes, Jesus dearly loves them all…so surely He’ll race back to Bethany?         
No, nothing doing. He sits tight for 2 days, just waiting for Laz to die!           

C’mon, what sort of a friend is that? Surely He’s not scared of a few stone-throwers in Jerusalem?

At last He’s turned up… but o’oh, too late!!...                

The funeral was four days ago, so now Laz is really dead and they sure don’t mind rubbing it in:     

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died”                                                                       

Watch those sisters of his…                                           

Martha: “Whatsoever thou wilt ask (aiteo: beg) of God, God will give it thee…”   

Is she right?  

(Actually Jesus ‘demands’ (eroteo) of God, ‘cos of who He is!)                               

As for Mary...she fell down at His feet… where she always is! - at the feet that will carry Him to His death.

Look around and listen...in John ch11...

• The place is crowded – there’s nowhere to hide. We’re only 3 kilometres east of Jerusalem, where they’ve tried to stone Him twice already!

• Thanks to Martha, this is the LAST of 7 claims that Jesus is the Son of God – don’t miss this one!
• What outrageous claim has He just made??   “I AM the Resurrection and the Life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live... (even dead Laz??) ...and whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.”      Wow  - that’s me and I hope...you!

(This is the 5^th ‘I AM the...’ claim of 7 by Jesus)

Lazarus means ‘God is helper of helpless’ but isn’t Laz beyond help?...not unlike Israel?                                                  

Jesus weeps.  
Is he finally beat at last?                               
Let's see!...


http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/voice-power.html

OVER MY DEAD BODY

The coals of the campfire barely glow in the early morning chill…the stars begin to fade...                            

Inside the fold, the sheep stir as they detect those familiar footsteps of their shepherd picking his way carefully thru the darkness towards them. After faithfully watching over the flock, the night watchman yawns and rouses from lying across the entrance. Those sheep are now ready to follow their master to a new day’s fresh pasture …                   

Is it him?  Baa!... yes, that’s his voice alright… let’s go!....

What has John told us so far?                                          

The Messiah has finally come to his own people - right on time - to find some godly Jews ready, thanks to John the Baptist’s faithful service. It might be time to light all those lamps to celebrate the re-dedication of the temple but evil darkness is palpable, the general reception cold and the dangers constant. Some Jews have even tried to stone the Son of God and are about to try again!  

The ‘flock’ hearken to the familiar voice of the Good Shepherd and keenly follow Him thru the Door to enjoy endless life in a new day.             

Yes, He’s on the move, but…                                      

“I lay down My life for the sheep” (mentioned 5 times!) There are other sheep too! “…they shall hear My voice…there shall be one fold”.  Jew and Gentile together??

Surely Jesus is speaking to His disciples in John 10?    

No, with amazing grace, Jesus is still appealing to those Pharisees… 

Twice He tells them:  

• “I AM the Door”
• “I AM the Good Shepherd”…(the 3^rd & 4^th ‘I AM the’)                                                                                           Remember the 8 souls saved by Noah’s Ark?      They entered thru that one door.

                                        

Notice the Ark Encounter replica in Kentucky USA has only 1 door!

NEXT: But has Jesus got power over death?

http://guvsdesk.blogspot.com.au/2016/11/too-latehes-dead.html