Jesus

John 14

“Don’t let your heart be troubled. Believe in God. Believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many homes. If it weren’t so, I would have told you. I am going to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and will receive you to myself; that where I am, you may be there also. You know where I go, and you know the way.”

Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going. How can we know the way?”

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my Father also. From now on, you know him, and have seen him.”

Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you such a long time, and do you not know me, Philip? He who has seen me has seen the Father. How do you say, ‘Show us the Father?’ Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I tell you, I speak not from myself; but the Father who lives in me does his works. Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father in me; or else believe me for the very works’ sake. Most certainly I tell you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also; and he will do greater works than these, because I am going to my Father. Whatever you will ask in my name, I will do it, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you will ask anything in my name, I will do it. If you love me, keep my commandments. I will pray to the Father, and he will give you another Counselor, [a] that he may be with you forever: the Spirit of truth, whom the world can’t receive; for it doesn’t see him and doesn’t know him. You know him, for he lives with you, and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more; but you will see me. Because I live, you will live also. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. One who has my commandments and keeps them, that person is one who loves me. One who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him, and will reveal myself to him.”

Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, what has happened that you are about to reveal yourself to us, and not to the world?”

Jesus answered him, “If a man loves me, he will keep my word. My Father will love him, and we will come to him, and make our home with him. He who doesn’t love me doesn’t keep my words. The word which you hear isn’t mine, but the Father’s who sent me. I have said these things to you while still living with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things, and will remind you of all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives, I give to you. Don’t let your heart be troubled, neither let it be fearful. You heard how I told you, ‘I go away, and I come to you.’ If you loved me, you would have rejoiced, because I said ‘I am going to my Father;’ for the Father is greater than I. Now I have told you before it happens so that when it happens, you may believe. I will no more speak much with you, for the prince of the world comes, and he has nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father commanded me, even so I do. Arise, let’s go from here.

How do you share Jesus with others?

How do you witness about Jesus, how do you tell others about the goodness of Jesus? These are the questions I sat with when I became a believer and follower of Jesus 27 years ago. Over the years this has evolved, from being a bit scared and apprehensive to boldly telling people how Jesus has changed me into who I am today. Then I was at university, feeling like the odd one out, thinking that if I say something around the subject I would be looked upon as weird. I remember it was the mid 90’s in Cape Town, most people I knew went to church, they knew Jesus, right? People went to church but they still didn’t know Jesus, they knew of him, but didn’t know him intimately, they hadn’t committed their lives to him.

What does that mean?

To me it means that you give all your worries, your fears, your hopes to him, you trust in him as we read in the opening verse of John 14.

Jesus promises us in John 14 that He is going away to the Father to prepare us a place where He will receive us when He returns. He will send us an advocate, a helper to comfort us and bring to remembrance the things He taught the disciples when He lived among them. This is the promise of the Holy Spirit.

Over the years of developing my relationship with Jesus, He has revealed to me that the key to being a witness for Him, is The Holy Spirit. Jesus said that if His words abides in me, if His words are part of my life on a daily basis, and I abide or meditate on Him daily, that I will be fruitful. That doesn’t mean I will be an apple or a pear … I know that’s not funny, my kids don’t appreciate my jokes either.

It means that I will develop and grow the fruit of the Spirit, which we all know is Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-control. Meaning that my life is transformed, I am a new person.

Now, this is sometimes difficult, how do you love someone who has just cut in front of you, how do you show patience when you standing in the queue for a few minutes when you have to be somewhere else, how do you show kindness to that guy, yes that guy, you want to get back at? Not easy, but Jesus says turn the other cheek, go the extra mile, give your shirt as well when someone asks for your coat.

When I demonstrate the fruit of the Spirit I am a witness for Jesus, His words abide in me, and I abide in Him. As this happens my faith grows and matures, God the Father sees me, He hears me, not because I want to impress Him and have His blessings but I want a relationship with Him. Jesus promises in John 14 that the Father in heaven will love me for me and my obedience to Jesus.

Jesus also promises that when I believe in Him, I will do greater works than He. When I first read that it was overwhelming. How can I do that? He says further that I can ask Him anything in His name, and Jesus says He will do it. He says in verse15, that if I love Him, I should obey His commandments. What is His commandments: to Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul and with all your mind. And the second is like it: Love your neighbour as yourself. There are others but these are foundational.

When Jesus is at the centre of all your doing, if He is the motive behind the things we live for, the experience and relationship we develop with Him is worthwhile. Fully and wholeheartedly commit your home life, work life, church life, and community life to Jesus and the fruit of the Spirit will be your blessing.

There will come a time when at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will declare that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. I tell you that herein lies the power to do greater works than Jesus did and Jesus will give us the desires of our hearts when we ask.

Amen