As sons and daughters of God we must cross a bridge into something bigger and deeper of God. As we pass through the valley of the shadow of death, we will die to our own life and live for the purposes of God. Today, let us ask God to help us to die to ourselves and live for others. Jesus will give you divine strength to live in the midst of a fallen society.
It is said that all of humankind has deep desires for significance, security and self-worth. As Christians, we know the world will only leave us feeling empty; and most of us would be quick to say that only Jesus can truly fulfill those desires. What if what we consider longings, God would actually call lusts? Jesus, our example, never asked God to fill his cup with significance, security or self-worth. He drank the cup the Father gave him—the cup of suffering and sacrifice.
God promises to come to us and deliver us from every hindrance that blocks us from being a blessing. When the enemy comes in like a flood God will raise up a standard and He will rebuild you so you can be salt and light in the midst of darkness. God will make you laugh with joy when he does a supernatural work in you and through you. Bring God your weakness and He will give you His power; get ready to laugh.
This is not a sermon about tithes and offerings. It is a sermon about the core of the gospel as prayed by Jesus in John 17. It is a sermon about one of the hardest transitions you will ever go through in life—living for others rather than yourself. A selfless life is the mark of a mature follower of Christ.
As Pastor Gary Wilkerson continues this series through the Gospel of John, we see Jesus warning the disciples that hard times will come. We will lament; we will weep; but Jesus will send his Holy Spirit to comfort us and keep us from falling away. He promises that our sorrow will turn to joy.
Jesus commands us to love one another. It's not a natural love, but a supernatural love that is only born of the Spirit. It is a love that lays its life down for others. Flesh will war against this kind of love, but we must daily crucify our flesh. It is a love where mercy and justice are married—resulting in Spirit-birthed church unity.
We see in the Gospel of John that we are each branches who must abide in the true vine, Jesus—our only real source of life, joy and peace. There are weak branches that must be lifted up and encouraged in order to be fruitful. While there are also fruitful branches that must be pruned in order to produce more fruit. When the blade of Christ is pruning you, it is often a painful process, but it is only for a season and ultimately results in joy and peace.
When God is with us the victories are supernatural. We must move out of the place of common thought religion. We must move out the place where there is only thoughts about God but no power of God. Today you are invited outside the camp and into the power and presence of God. It’s time to pray.
Throughout Scripture we see that God is one who separates—light from dark, wheat from chaff, sheep from goats—yet today there is very little separation between the church and the world. Where is the call from pulpits to come out from among them and be separate? Separation isn't a matter of moral self-effort, but is something that is only possible when we have a revelation of the glory of God.
Most of us are probably familiar with the upper room in Acts, but there is another, first, upper room in the Gospel of John. The second upper room is not possible without the first. It is a place of tension where God brings conviction and correction, but he does not leave us there. Through Jesus' life, death and resurrection we now receive a helper, the Holy Spirit, through whom we can do greater works than Christ himself.