In John 16:17 some of Jesus’ disciples were asking what Jesus meant when He said, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me, because I am going to the Father.”
The disciples were perplexed.
Perplexed means to be completely baffled, to be very puzzled.
The disciples were confused and uncertain about what Jesus meant.
Jesus knew this and He gave His disciples a promise to help clear up the confusion and uncertainty.
John 16:20-22
I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come, but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you. Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
The Promise: Our Grief Will be Turned into Joy
Jesus does not promise no grief.
Jesus does not promise no pain.
Jesus does not promise no difficult times.
Jesus promises to turn the grief and the pain and the difficult times into joy.
How can Jesus turn our grief into joy?
He compares it to a woman who is having a baby. The woman experiences some difficult times, pain, and even grief as she carried this child. Everyone around her is telling her how wonderful it is that she is going to have this child, but she is the one having to endure the pain of pregnancy.
When the child is born, the joy of seeing this new life she has brought into the world causes the pain to become joy.
The thing that causes our grief to be turned into joy is JESUS!
He says that at the time of our grief, we will rejoice when we see Him.
Joy is not about circumstances.
Joy is about experiencing Jesus.
We experience Jesus’
Presence
Love
Grace
Mercy
Joy is a product of the work of God’s Spirit in us according to Galatians 5:22.
The other thing that Jesus tells us about this joy that we will experience is that no one will take it away from us.
This is a joy that is eternal because it is joy based in the Eternal One - Jesus.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is experiencing the daily joy of knowing Jesus and His love, grace, and mercy.
We as followers of Jesus can experience joy by:
Taking advantage of the tremendous power we have in prayer.
John 16:23-24
In that day you will no longer ask Me anything. I tell you the truth, My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name. Until now you have not asked for anything in My name. Ask and you will receive and your joy will be complete.
Our joy is complete when we get what we want. The key is wanting the right thing.
Prayer is not talking God into giving us what we want.
Prayer is letting God tells us what we want and then asking Him for it.
When I ask in Jesus’ name, I am asking for God to give me in His infinite knowledge of me what He wants me to have. It is asking according to God’s will, not my will.
In the garden Jesus prays, “Not My will, but Your will.”
We have tremendous power in prayer when we pray God’s will not our will.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is taping into the power of God by praying God’s will.
We as followers of Jesus can experience joy by:
Knowing that God loves you.
John 16:27
No, the Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.
God loves you:
Unconditionally
To the Maximum
Eternally
God does not love us based on us.
God loves us based on who He is.
Nothing can separate us from God’s love or change His love for us.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing God loves us, loving Him back, and living based on His love.
We as followers of Jesus can experience joy by:
Claiming the victorious peace of Jesus in every situation of our lives.
John 16:33
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
The world is broken and dark.
Everyone who lives in the world, even followers of Jesus, will face difficulties.
BUT! God’s “but” is always bigger than our “but”s.
We are to take heart because Jesus has overcome the world.
Jesus never sinned.
Jesus never let the worries of the world distract Him.
Jesus never let even death stop Him.
We get to share in Jesus’ victory by surrendering our lives to Him as our Lord.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is letting the peace of God guard our hearts and minds in Jesus.
We live in a very perplexing world. It causes us to be confused and uncertain.
Jesus will turn our perplexity into joy when we:
Take advantage of God’s power in prayer
Know God loves us
Claim the victory His peace gives us.
Grief Turned to Victory by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, November 29, 2015
Sunday, November 22, 2015
The Holy Spirit Is God In You
Have you ever been a witness in a legal case? If you have, you know that when you’re sworn in that you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth.
I felt that when I was growing up, the church was leaving something out, not telling the whole truth. I found out later that the something that was being left out was the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit was rarely talked about in the churches I grew up in.
Jesus tells a lot about the Holy Spirit in John 16.
In John 16:5-6 Jesus tells His disciples that He is going away. He knows that they are filled with grief. Then Jesus says an amazing thing in John 16:7. He says that it is a good thing that He is going away.
The reason it is a good thing is that the Holy Spirit will then come.
In John 16:7 Jesus shares with us a truth about the Holy Sprit.
Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as Counselor or Intercessor or Helper.
The Holy Spirit gives us counsel and direction for our lives.
The Holy Spirit intercedes with the Father for us.
The Holy Spirit helps us.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is depending on the Holy Spirit to direct our lives and helpings us to do the Father’s will as He intercedes for us.
In John 16:8-11 Jesus says, “When He comes He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. In regard to sin, because men do not believe in Me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see Me no longer; and with regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”
The Holy Spirit convicts or exposes the world of sin or missing the mark. We all miss the mark by not believing. The conviction here is of unbelief and His purpose is to result in salvation.
The Holy Spirit convicts or exposes us of righteousness.
According to 1 Corinthians 1:30 Jesus is our righteousness.
When the Holy Spirit convicts in regard to righteousness He is showing us the righteousness of Jesus and He is showing us that in Jesus we are righteous.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is putting on the righteousness of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit convicts of judgment.
This is not judgment upon people. This is judgment upon the prince of this world, Satan.
Jesus says that Satan stands condemned.
If you are a follower of Jesus, Satan has been defeated. You have the Holy Spirit living in you to guard your heart and mind from him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing Satan has been defeated and living in that truth.
Jesus shares another ministry of the Holy Spirit in John 16:12-13. He says, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.”
The Holy Spirit reveals truth to us.
The Holy Spirit guides us into truth.
The Holy Spirit gives life to the words of the Father and the Son. He makes them come alive in our everyday life.
Then in John 16:14-15 Jesus gives one more work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is Mine and make it known to you.”
The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus.
The Holy Spirit does not glorify:
Himself
People
Churches
The Holy Spirit only glorifies Jesus!
The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by confirming in the life of the believer that we belong to Jesus.
2 Corinthians 1:22
Set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
The Holy Spirit lives in us as followers of Jesus and according to Romans 8:15 enables to experience a relationship with God that is so intimate that we can know Him as our Abba, our Dad.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is the Holy Spirit glorifying Jesus in our lives to the point that we experience true intimacy with Him.
The Holy Spirit works in the world to bring conviction.
The Holy Spirit works in the believer to bring security.
We serve a God who is one, but reveals Himself in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Never make the Holy Spirit secondary. He is God just as the Father is and the Son is.
We are told in Romans 8:9 that everyone who is a child of God has the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit draws us to God.
The Holy Spirit reveals God to us.
The Holy Spirit makes us a child of God.
The Holy Spirit continually reminds us that we belong to God.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is the Holy Spirit filling us and forming in us the image of Jesus.
By and With the Holy Spirit Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
I felt that when I was growing up, the church was leaving something out, not telling the whole truth. I found out later that the something that was being left out was the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit was rarely talked about in the churches I grew up in.
Jesus tells a lot about the Holy Spirit in John 16.
In John 16:5-6 Jesus tells His disciples that He is going away. He knows that they are filled with grief. Then Jesus says an amazing thing in John 16:7. He says that it is a good thing that He is going away.
The reason it is a good thing is that the Holy Spirit will then come.
In John 16:7 Jesus shares with us a truth about the Holy Sprit.
Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as Counselor or Intercessor or Helper.
The Holy Spirit gives us counsel and direction for our lives.
The Holy Spirit intercedes with the Father for us.
The Holy Spirit helps us.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is depending on the Holy Spirit to direct our lives and helpings us to do the Father’s will as He intercedes for us.
In John 16:8-11 Jesus says, “When He comes He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment. In regard to sin, because men do not believe in Me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see Me no longer; and with regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”
The Holy Spirit convicts or exposes the world of sin or missing the mark. We all miss the mark by not believing. The conviction here is of unbelief and His purpose is to result in salvation.
The Holy Spirit convicts or exposes us of righteousness.
According to 1 Corinthians 1:30 Jesus is our righteousness.
When the Holy Spirit convicts in regard to righteousness He is showing us the righteousness of Jesus and He is showing us that in Jesus we are righteous.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is putting on the righteousness of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit convicts of judgment.
This is not judgment upon people. This is judgment upon the prince of this world, Satan.
Jesus says that Satan stands condemned.
If you are a follower of Jesus, Satan has been defeated. You have the Holy Spirit living in you to guard your heart and mind from him.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is knowing Satan has been defeated and living in that truth.
Jesus shares another ministry of the Holy Spirit in John 16:12-13. He says, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when He, the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears, and He will tell you what is yet to come.”
The Holy Spirit reveals truth to us.
The Holy Spirit guides us into truth.
The Holy Spirit gives life to the words of the Father and the Son. He makes them come alive in our everyday life.
Then in John 16:14-15 Jesus gives one more work of the Holy Spirit. Jesus says, “He will bring glory to Me by taking from what is Mine and making it known to you. All that belongs to the Father is Mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is Mine and make it known to you.”
The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus.
The Holy Spirit does not glorify:
Himself
People
Churches
The Holy Spirit only glorifies Jesus!
The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by confirming in the life of the believer that we belong to Jesus.
2 Corinthians 1:22
Set His seal of ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
The Holy Spirit lives in us as followers of Jesus and according to Romans 8:15 enables to experience a relationship with God that is so intimate that we can know Him as our Abba, our Dad.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is the Holy Spirit glorifying Jesus in our lives to the point that we experience true intimacy with Him.
The Holy Spirit works in the world to bring conviction.
The Holy Spirit works in the believer to bring security.
We serve a God who is one, but reveals Himself in the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Never make the Holy Spirit secondary. He is God just as the Father is and the Son is.
We are told in Romans 8:9 that everyone who is a child of God has the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit draws us to God.
The Holy Spirit reveals God to us.
The Holy Spirit makes us a child of God.
The Holy Spirit continually reminds us that we belong to God.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is the Holy Spirit filling us and forming in us the image of Jesus.
By and With the Holy Spirit Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, November 15, 2015
Dealing With Hatred and Persecution
John 15:18-25
If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word I said to you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of My name, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: “They hated Me without a cause.”
In this passage Jesus uses the word hate in some form eight times and two other times He uses a form of the word persecute.
Jesus makes it very clear here that if we are following Him we will be hated by some people and persecuted by some people.
How are we to handle hatred and persecution so that it honors Jesus?
#1: We need to make sure that we are being persecuted because of our faith in Jesus.
1 Peter 2:19-20
For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and endure it, this is commendable before God.
Many people claim there are being persecuted for their faith when it may be because they are being unloving and disrespectful of others and use their faith as an excuse.
The Gospel of Jesus will offend, but we as followers of Jesus don’t have to be offensive.
It is not about winning an argument.
It is not about being right.
It is not about make the other person agree with you.
It is about sharing the truth of the Gospel in love.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is letting the truth of the Gospel be heard.
#2: We are to pray for those who hate and persecute us.
Matthew 5:44
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Remember, those who hate us and persecute us because of faith in Jesus are not the real enemy.
Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Our enemy is Satan. He uses others to do his dirty work.
When we pray for our enemies and those who hate us, we are praying for their salvation.
What great glory God receives when a persecutor of God’s people like Saul becomes a Paul and begins building God’s Kingdom.
We are to pray for boldness.
Acts 4:29
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak Your word with all boldness.
They didn’t whine about the threats.
They did not get mad or fearful over the threats.
They did not march in protest around the building where those who made the threats were.
They did not appeal to the government to have the people stop the threats.
They asked God to make them even more bold than they had been.
Look at the results in Acts 4:31. “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
God honored their request in a BIG way!
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is be bold about Jesus and His Gospel in spite of bad circumstances.
#3: We are not to compromise to lessen the persecution.
Acts 3:18-20
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot helping speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
We are not to be rude.
We are to be firm.
We are not to be angry.
We are to be confident.
We are not to legalistic.
We are to be biblical.
I have been told that Christians are intolerant because we say that Jesus is the only way to God. That is not being intolerant; it is simply believing what the Bible says. We don’t need to back off speaking and living out the truth.
As we speak the truth, we need to do what Paul tells us to do in Ephesians 4:15: Do it in love.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about speaking the truth in love and not compromising.
#4: We are to rejoice in the persecution.
Matthew 5:11-12
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Rejoicing in persecution sounds crazy, and if anyone but Jesus had said it, it would be crazy.
Why should we rejoice in persecution?
It means our reward in heaven will be great.
The prophets of God also faced persecution.
There is another reason to rejoice in being persecution because of your faith in Jesus. It means that your faith is being effective.
We don’t worry about or get nervous about someone or something that is ineffective. We don’t bother to try and stop something that is not making a difference. The fact that we are being persecuted means that Jesus is using us to make a real difference.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is rejoicing when we are persecuted for our faith in Jesus because we are making a difference.
The Gospel of Jesus has always been antiestablishment. It has always gone against the flow of human culture because all cultures are fallen. All cultures are broken because of sin.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33 to seek FIRST His kingdom, and that makes people who don’t know Jesus very fearful, and that fear will cause them to hate us and persecute us.
We don’t need to get angry.
We don’t need to get paranoid.
We just need to trust Jesus.
We just need to obey Jesus.
We are told in Hebrews 13:5 that God will never leave us or forsake us. We can face hatred and persecution by remaining faithful, praying for those who persecute us and rejoicing that we are worthy enough to be persecuted for Jesus’ sake.
If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word I said to you: “A servant is not greater than his master.” If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will also keep yours. But all these things they will do to you on account of My name, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both Me and My Father. But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: “They hated Me without a cause.”
In this passage Jesus uses the word hate in some form eight times and two other times He uses a form of the word persecute.
Jesus makes it very clear here that if we are following Him we will be hated by some people and persecuted by some people.
How are we to handle hatred and persecution so that it honors Jesus?
#1: We need to make sure that we are being persecuted because of our faith in Jesus.
1 Peter 2:19-20
For it is commendable if a man bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because he is conscious of God. But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and endure it, this is commendable before God.
Many people claim there are being persecuted for their faith when it may be because they are being unloving and disrespectful of others and use their faith as an excuse.
The Gospel of Jesus will offend, but we as followers of Jesus don’t have to be offensive.
It is not about winning an argument.
It is not about being right.
It is not about make the other person agree with you.
It is about sharing the truth of the Gospel in love.
Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls is letting the truth of the Gospel be heard.
#2: We are to pray for those who hate and persecute us.
Matthew 5:44
But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.
Remember, those who hate us and persecute us because of faith in Jesus are not the real enemy.
Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Our enemy is Satan. He uses others to do his dirty work.
When we pray for our enemies and those who hate us, we are praying for their salvation.
What great glory God receives when a persecutor of God’s people like Saul becomes a Paul and begins building God’s Kingdom.
We are to pray for boldness.
Acts 4:29
And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak Your word with all boldness.
They didn’t whine about the threats.
They did not get mad or fearful over the threats.
They did not march in protest around the building where those who made the threats were.
They did not appeal to the government to have the people stop the threats.
They asked God to make them even more bold than they had been.
Look at the results in Acts 4:31. “And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”
God honored their request in a BIG way!
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is be bold about Jesus and His Gospel in spite of bad circumstances.
#3: We are not to compromise to lessen the persecution.
Acts 3:18-20
Then they called them in again and commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John replied, “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot helping speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
We are not to be rude.
We are to be firm.
We are not to be angry.
We are to be confident.
We are not to legalistic.
We are to be biblical.
I have been told that Christians are intolerant because we say that Jesus is the only way to God. That is not being intolerant; it is simply believing what the Bible says. We don’t need to back off speaking and living out the truth.
As we speak the truth, we need to do what Paul tells us to do in Ephesians 4:15: Do it in love.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about speaking the truth in love and not compromising.
#4: We are to rejoice in the persecution.
Matthew 5:11-12
Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.
Rejoicing in persecution sounds crazy, and if anyone but Jesus had said it, it would be crazy.
Why should we rejoice in persecution?
It means our reward in heaven will be great.
The prophets of God also faced persecution.
There is another reason to rejoice in being persecution because of your faith in Jesus. It means that your faith is being effective.
We don’t worry about or get nervous about someone or something that is ineffective. We don’t bother to try and stop something that is not making a difference. The fact that we are being persecuted means that Jesus is using us to make a real difference.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is rejoicing when we are persecuted for our faith in Jesus because we are making a difference.
The Gospel of Jesus has always been antiestablishment. It has always gone against the flow of human culture because all cultures are fallen. All cultures are broken because of sin.
Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:33 to seek FIRST His kingdom, and that makes people who don’t know Jesus very fearful, and that fear will cause them to hate us and persecute us.
We don’t need to get angry.
We don’t need to get paranoid.
We just need to trust Jesus.
We just need to obey Jesus.
We are told in Hebrews 13:5 that God will never leave us or forsake us. We can face hatred and persecution by remaining faithful, praying for those who persecute us and rejoicing that we are worthy enough to be persecuted for Jesus’ sake.
Rejoicing in Persecution by Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls,
Joe
Sunday, November 8, 2015
The Vine, The Branches, and The Gardener
In John 15:1-17 Jesus shares with us who He is and what He does, who the Father is and what He does, and who we are in relationship to Jesus and the Father. Jesus also shares with us what we are to do based on who Jesus and the Father are.
John 15:1
I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Gardener.
John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:14-15
You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you.
Jesus is the True Vine.
The Father is the Gardener.
We are the branches and friends of Jesus.
It is through Jesus that we have life and have what we need for everyday living.
John 15:3
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
Jesus as the True Vine cleans us.
Jesus cleans us by His Word.
In Ephesians 5:26 Paul says that Jesus desires to make the church holy by the washing with water through the word.
When we see Jesus as our life, we will surrender the authority to direct our lives to Him and, through His Word, Jesus will clean us and make us holy.
John 15:4
Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
Jesus as the True Vine produces fruit through us.
Braches cannot produce fruit on their own. It is the vine that provides life and all that is needed to sustain life.
Jesus is life.
Jesus gives us life.
Jesus sustains life.
John 15:9
As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Now remain in My love.
John 15:12
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
Jesus as the True Vine loves us.
Jesus loves you.
Jesus loves you personally.
Jesus loves you intimately.
Jesus loves you unconditionally.
Jesus loves you eternally.
John 15:10
If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His love.
The key according to Jesus to remaining in His love is to obey Him.
Does Jesus love those who don’t obey Him? - YES!
Jesus loves those who obey and those who don’t obey.
The difference is that those who obey Jesus show that they love Him and His love is then experienced by those people. Those who don’t obey Jesus never get the awesome experience of knowing His love.
John 15:11
I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Jesus as the True Vine is our source of joy.
We look for joy in all the wrong places.
Any source that we look to for joy other than Jesus will:
Change
Fade
Go Away
Disappoint.
Jesus who never changes is the only stable source of joy.
John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus as the True Vine lays down His life for us.
The greatest show of love, the greatest act of sacrifice, and the greatest example of complete obedience is seen in Jesus’ death on the cross.
Jesus laid down His life for you!
John 15:16a
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last.
Jesus as the True Vine has chosen us and chosen to use us for His purpose.
Jesus chose you to be His friend.
Jesus chose you to be used to take the Gospel into the world.
Jesus chose you to be one He would use to change the world.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about relating to Jesus as your True Vine.
John 15:2
He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
The Father as the Gardener removes anything from your life that hinders you from being fruitful.
The Father has a plan for you and He provides all you need to fulfill His plan and removes anything that would stop His plan.
In John 15:9 Jesus says that the Father as the Gardener loves the True Vine, Jesus.
The love that the Father has for Jesus is shown in what Jesus says in the second part of John 15:16.
John 15:16b
Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name.
The Father as the Gardener will give us whatever we ask in Jesus’ name.
We are promised several times that whatever we request along the lines of who Jesus is and what Jesus is doing we will receive. We need to live based on this promise and ask.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living based on the truth that the Father is the Gardener.
In John 15:5 Jesus tells us that we are the branches.
We as the branches are to produce fruit. We can only do this as we stay connected to the True Vine, Jesus, and let the Gardener, the Father, prune away all that is not what He wants in our lives.
The fruit we are to produce is the character of Jesus being formed in us and, through becoming like Jesus, then doing what Jesus did, sharing God’s love and truth with people.
In John 15:14-15 we are called the friends of Jesus.
The difference between a friend and a servant is that the servant is given no explanation of why he is told to things and the friend is told why he is asked to do something.
Jesus shares with us the how and why of what He is doing.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about being braches that, through the True Vine, produce fruit, and about being Jesus’ friends that love Him, as shown by their obedience.
Jesus ends this teaching by commanding us in verse 17 to, “Love each other.”
In Cooperation with the True Vine and the Gardener Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
John 15:1
I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Gardener.
John 15:5
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in Me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from Me you can do nothing.
John 15:14-15
You are My friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from My Father I have made known to you.
Jesus is the True Vine.
The Father is the Gardener.
We are the branches and friends of Jesus.
It is through Jesus that we have life and have what we need for everyday living.
John 15:3
You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
Jesus as the True Vine cleans us.
Jesus cleans us by His Word.
In Ephesians 5:26 Paul says that Jesus desires to make the church holy by the washing with water through the word.
When we see Jesus as our life, we will surrender the authority to direct our lives to Him and, through His Word, Jesus will clean us and make us holy.
John 15:4
Remain in Me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in Me.
Jesus as the True Vine produces fruit through us.
Braches cannot produce fruit on their own. It is the vine that provides life and all that is needed to sustain life.
Jesus is life.
Jesus gives us life.
Jesus sustains life.
John 15:9
As the Father has loved Me, so I have loved you. Now remain in My love.
John 15:12
My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.
Jesus as the True Vine loves us.
Jesus loves you.
Jesus loves you personally.
Jesus loves you intimately.
Jesus loves you unconditionally.
Jesus loves you eternally.
John 15:10
If you obey My commands, you will remain in My love, just as I have obeyed My Father’s commands and remain in His love.
The key according to Jesus to remaining in His love is to obey Him.
Does Jesus love those who don’t obey Him? - YES!
Jesus loves those who obey and those who don’t obey.
The difference is that those who obey Jesus show that they love Him and His love is then experienced by those people. Those who don’t obey Jesus never get the awesome experience of knowing His love.
John 15:11
I have told you this so that My joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.
Jesus as the True Vine is our source of joy.
We look for joy in all the wrong places.
Any source that we look to for joy other than Jesus will:
Change
Fade
Go Away
Disappoint.
Jesus who never changes is the only stable source of joy.
John 15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.
Jesus as the True Vine lays down His life for us.
The greatest show of love, the greatest act of sacrifice, and the greatest example of complete obedience is seen in Jesus’ death on the cross.
Jesus laid down His life for you!
John 15:16a
You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit - fruit that will last.
Jesus as the True Vine has chosen us and chosen to use us for His purpose.
Jesus chose you to be His friend.
Jesus chose you to be used to take the Gospel into the world.
Jesus chose you to be one He would use to change the world.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about relating to Jesus as your True Vine.
John 15:2
He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.
The Father as the Gardener removes anything from your life that hinders you from being fruitful.
The Father has a plan for you and He provides all you need to fulfill His plan and removes anything that would stop His plan.
In John 15:9 Jesus says that the Father as the Gardener loves the True Vine, Jesus.
The love that the Father has for Jesus is shown in what Jesus says in the second part of John 15:16.
John 15:16b
Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in My name.
The Father as the Gardener will give us whatever we ask in Jesus’ name.
We are promised several times that whatever we request along the lines of who Jesus is and what Jesus is doing we will receive. We need to live based on this promise and ask.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is living based on the truth that the Father is the Gardener.
In John 15:5 Jesus tells us that we are the branches.
We as the branches are to produce fruit. We can only do this as we stay connected to the True Vine, Jesus, and let the Gardener, the Father, prune away all that is not what He wants in our lives.
The fruit we are to produce is the character of Jesus being formed in us and, through becoming like Jesus, then doing what Jesus did, sharing God’s love and truth with people.
In John 15:14-15 we are called the friends of Jesus.
The difference between a friend and a servant is that the servant is given no explanation of why he is told to things and the friend is told why he is asked to do something.
Jesus shares with us the how and why of what He is doing.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is about being braches that, through the True Vine, produce fruit, and about being Jesus’ friends that love Him, as shown by their obedience.
Jesus ends this teaching by commanding us in verse 17 to, “Love each other.”
In Cooperation with the True Vine and the Gardener Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
Sunday, November 1, 2015
The Holy Spirit is Coming
Beginning with verse fifteen of the fourteenth chapter of John Jesus gives us the promise of the Holy Spirit.
The indwelling presence is huge in the life of a follower of Jesus.
I was nineteen years old before I came to understand that as a follower of Jesus I wasn’t just out there on my own. I was filled with the Holy Spirit. God was literally inside me.
That meant that I didn’t have to try and live depending on my own power. I could live filled with the Holy Spirit and depending on God’s power.
Ephesians 5:18 commands us to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:13 says that God gives both the desire and power to do what pleases Him. He does that through the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus talks about what the Holy Spirit does in John 14, it is very important.
In John 14:17 Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth.
The Holy Spirit reveals truth to us.
When you read a passage of Scripture and the words jump off the page, that is the Holy Spirit revealing truth.
When you hear a sermon and the words convict, that is the Holy Spirit.
When you are in a Bible study and what you are studying encourages you, that is the Holy Spirit.
When you are dealing with a life situation and the solution becomes clear, that is the Holy Spirit.
All truth comes from God and it is the Holy Spirit who reveals that to us.
In John 14:18 Jesus says, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
The Holy Spirit is our companion.
He is in us and He will never leave us.
John 14:16 says, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”
The Helper, the Holy Spirit will be with us as followers of Jesus forever. He will not leave. We cannot lose Him, thus we cannot lose our salvation.
The Holy Spirit will teach us.
John 14:26
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 have said to you.
You don’t discover truth; The Holy Spirit reveals truth to you.
It is the Holy Spirit that teaches in a Bible study, when you read the Bible, when you hear a sermon.
The Holy Spirit brings to your memory all the things that you have learned through God’s Word.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
The Holy Spirit is our peace.
Peace as the world tries to give it is an absence of problems or conflicts. We live in a fallen world so we will never have a life free of problems or conflicts. The peace that is the Holy Spirit is a rest in the midst of problems and conflicts.
The peace that is the Holy Spirit is a confidence that even with problems and conflict everything is ok because God is in control.
John 14:28-29
You have heard Me say to you, “I am going away, and I will come to you. If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.”
The Holy Spirit is our faith.
In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul says that we are saved by grace through faith. We know that grace is a gift from God and so is faith. The Holy Spirit brings faith when He comes into our lives.
God pours out His grace through Jesus, and the Holy Spirits gifts us with the faith to believe, and the grace then changes our lives.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being filled with the Holy Spirit so He can be to you the revealer of truth, your companion, your teacher, your peace, and your faith.
There is a key to the Holy Spirit filling you and being to you those things revealed in John 14, It is OBEDIENCE.
John 14:15
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
John 14:23
Jesus answered 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 home with him .”
Three times in this section of Scripture Jesus says that if a person loves Him, they will obey Him.
The key to the Holy Spirit filling us is obedience to the words of Jesus.
In verse 21 Jesus promises that if we keep His commandments, He will manifest Himself to us.
In John 15:26 Jesus says, “But when the Helper comes, whom the I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, He will bear witness about Me.”
The Spirit when He is filling us will bear witness or manifest Jesus.
In verse 23 Jesus promises that He and the Father will come and make their home in those who obey Jesus’ word.
Obedience is the key to the Holy Spirit completely filling us as followers, and as the Holy Spirit fills us, Jesus and the Father make their home in our lives.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is obeying the words and will of Jesus.
If you are like I was and thinking that, now that Jesus has delivered you from the penalty of sin, you have to live out this relationship with God in your own power and strength, then I have great news: You don’t!
You have, through your surrendering your life to God’s authority, a new companion, the Holy Spirit, who fills you to empower and enable you to live as Jesus tells you to.
Zechariah 4:6
“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel (and you): ‘Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord.”
By God’s Spirit Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
The indwelling presence is huge in the life of a follower of Jesus.
I was nineteen years old before I came to understand that as a follower of Jesus I wasn’t just out there on my own. I was filled with the Holy Spirit. God was literally inside me.
That meant that I didn’t have to try and live depending on my own power. I could live filled with the Holy Spirit and depending on God’s power.
Ephesians 5:18 commands us to be continually filled with the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:13 says that God gives both the desire and power to do what pleases Him. He does that through the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus talks about what the Holy Spirit does in John 14, it is very important.
In John 14:17 Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth.
The Holy Spirit reveals truth to us.
When you read a passage of Scripture and the words jump off the page, that is the Holy Spirit revealing truth.
When you hear a sermon and the words convict, that is the Holy Spirit.
When you are in a Bible study and what you are studying encourages you, that is the Holy Spirit.
When you are dealing with a life situation and the solution becomes clear, that is the Holy Spirit.
All truth comes from God and it is the Holy Spirit who reveals that to us.
In John 14:18 Jesus says, “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
The Holy Spirit is our companion.
He is in us and He will never leave us.
John 14:16 says, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.”
The Helper, the Holy Spirit will be with us as followers of Jesus forever. He will not leave. We cannot lose Him, thus we cannot lose our salvation.
The Holy Spirit will teach us.
John 14:26
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 have said to you.
You don’t discover truth; The Holy Spirit reveals truth to you.
It is the Holy Spirit that teaches in a Bible study, when you read the Bible, when you hear a sermon.
The Holy Spirit brings to your memory all the things that you have learned through God’s Word.
John 14:27
Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
The Holy Spirit is our peace.
Peace as the world tries to give it is an absence of problems or conflicts. We live in a fallen world so we will never have a life free of problems or conflicts. The peace that is the Holy Spirit is a rest in the midst of problems and conflicts.
The peace that is the Holy Spirit is a confidence that even with problems and conflict everything is ok because God is in control.
John 14:28-29
You have heard Me say to you, “I am going away, and I will come to you. If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced, because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe.”
The Holy Spirit is our faith.
In Ephesians 2:8-9 Paul says that we are saved by grace through faith. We know that grace is a gift from God and so is faith. The Holy Spirit brings faith when He comes into our lives.
God pours out His grace through Jesus, and the Holy Spirits gifts us with the faith to believe, and the grace then changes our lives.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is being filled with the Holy Spirit so He can be to you the revealer of truth, your companion, your teacher, your peace, and your faith.
There is a key to the Holy Spirit filling you and being to you those things revealed in John 14, It is OBEDIENCE.
John 14:15
If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.
John 14:21
Whoever has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.
John 14:23
Jesus answered 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 home with him .”
Three times in this section of Scripture Jesus says that if a person loves Him, they will obey Him.
The key to the Holy Spirit filling us is obedience to the words of Jesus.
In verse 21 Jesus promises that if we keep His commandments, He will manifest Himself to us.
In John 15:26 Jesus says, “But when the Helper comes, whom the I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, He will bear witness about Me.”
The Spirit when He is filling us will bear witness or manifest Jesus.
In verse 23 Jesus promises that He and the Father will come and make their home in those who obey Jesus’ word.
Obedience is the key to the Holy Spirit completely filling us as followers, and as the Holy Spirit fills us, Jesus and the Father make their home in our lives.
Raise the Roof and Remove the Walls is obeying the words and will of Jesus.
If you are like I was and thinking that, now that Jesus has delivered you from the penalty of sin, you have to live out this relationship with God in your own power and strength, then I have great news: You don’t!
You have, through your surrendering your life to God’s authority, a new companion, the Holy Spirit, who fills you to empower and enable you to live as Jesus tells you to.
Zechariah 4:6
“This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel (and you): ‘Not by might, not by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord.”
By God’s Spirit Raising the Roof and Removing the Walls
Joe
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