John 14
Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.—John 14:1
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind: Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. —Matthew 13:47-50
In this parable, Jesus is describing the kingdom of heaven. The net is cast into the sea and collects sea creatures of every kind. After coming ashore, the good and bad were separated. In like manner, the kingdom of heaven is shared with many people around the world. And many people will come to Jesus, the church, etc. At the end of the world, the angels will come and separate the just from the wicked.
1. God drew you. The just and the wicked will be separated, but the beauty of this parable is that the just and the wicked are gathered together. The wicked has an opportunity to become just.
We were made for the Lord’s glory and to show forth His praise upon the earth (see Isaiah 43:7, 21). In discipleship, we are pupils and learners of Jesus, obedient to His commands (Matthew 28:18-20). Disciples reflect the example of Jesus they have purposefully studied.
God conforms us into the His Son in word and deed (Romans 8:29). Disciples will think and act like Jesus, and even accomplish greater works (John 14:12). This fact is evident throughout Acts as the disciples healed, taught, and proclaimed Christ. When before the many leaders at Jerusalem in Acts 4, they understood Peter and John to be unlearned and ignorant, but they knew they had been with Jesus (Acts 4:13). They were like Jesus, sharing in His sufferings, in order to bring glory to the Father.
1. The Holy Spirit knows more than you. How we understand ourselves, others, and the situations we encounter is limited by what we see, hear, and experience. The Holy Spirit receives all of His information from God (John 16:13-14). And God knows what you are thinking, what you’ll say before you say it, and things to come (Psalm 139:1-3; Matthew 6:8).
2. The Holy Spirit will teach you what He knows. Jesus said the Holy Spirit will teach us ALL things (John 14:26). ‘All‘ encompasses a complete revealing of everything without holding anything back. There is nothing the Holy Spirit will hold back from you.
Why do I always have to go through trials and temptation? I don’t want to continue facing the same things over and over and over AND OVER again! I just want to be free.
Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like the Apostle Paul when he said that when he wants to do right, sin is right there (Romans 7:21)? OR the things you want to do you don’t do, but the things you don’t want to do, THAT you find yourself doing (Romans 7:15)? Many of us can relate to Paul’s statements of temptation and sin, but we often stop there without going any further. We continue to live in a cycle that goes from temptation-sin-repentance-temptation-sin-repentance and it never seems to stop. We want to get off the merry-go-round, but it doesn’t seem like we ever can. Why do I have to go through this? Why can’t God just take it away because He knows I want to serve Him. If I didn’t have this ‘sin’ issue, I could just run for Him.
Many people strive to find a comfortable ‘place’ in their lives. They want to enjoy the fruits of their labor while living comfortable and secure. However, as ‘life’ can be, many experience hardships, trials, and pain instead of peace. As much as we try, the ‘sweet spot’ we desire seems so far away. We run from our trials as fast as we can to find our ‘sweet spot’ of peace – often without thought or regard to those around us.
Have you ever considered that the Lord uses our life circumstances to help us reach a different type of ‘sweet spot?’
There are many reasons why we make the decisions we do. When we look back at the outcome of some of the decisions we made, sometimes we can’t understand how we got into such predicaments, how to get out of them, or what we can do to live as God desires. Listed below is an outline of why we make the decisions we do; the consequences behind them; and how we can make good (and godly) decisions.
1. What consumes our decision making?
- Fear of Man (Proverbs 29:25; John 12:37-43)
- Motives (Proverbs 16:2; James 4:2-3)
- Friend of the World (1 John 2:15-17)
- Emotions (Proverbs 19:2)
- Sin/Temptation (John 3:19-21)
1. Superheroes have a hidden identity. As children, most of us watched superhero cartoons. We would witness people with superhuman strength and abilities entrusted to stop evil and create a safer environment for city. Many of the superheroes had a separate identity among the public. (I never understood why the animators would do this because it would be a lot easier to for the superhero to remain ‘super’ all day, but I guess superheroes have to make a living too.) They could easier conceal their identity and no one could figure out who they were.
As Christians, we should not live in this manner. Jesus is calling us to be a light in the world (Matthew 5:14-16). We must allow our light to shine so that others may see our good works and praise our Father in Heaven.
Unfortunately, many of us hide our identity as Children of the Most High. We hide behind other characteristics that conceal our true identity. We display characteristics of anger, malice, sexual sins, robbery, lying, etc. No one would ever believe you were a Christian – even if you told them!
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