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Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. – John 15:13
How do we tell the difference between good friends and Facebook friends?
Good friends =
Point us
Cut us
Willing to die
Point us
We need good friends that point us to Jesus! Ones that make us a better servant of God.
Cut Us
Good friends are willing to be brutal if it heal us, to make us a better person. Proverbs 27:6 – Trustworthy are the wounds from a friend, but many are the kisses of an enemy.
Willing to Die
While Jesus was on earth were the disciples good friends? No. We don’t have many friends who are real friends but of those there are even fewer who would be willing to die for us.
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John tells in the first chapter of his Gospel that Word from before the beginning is the Eternal One, the Creator, the Promised One, the Rejected One and the One who is our Savior. And more he is going to tell us that the Word becomes the Incarnate One. This is John’s Christmas Story.
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14)
The word “incarnation” is derived from the Latin word which means “in the flesh” -
What does the Incarnation mean?
1) The Incarnation means God truly wants us to know Him!
John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.
2) The Incarnation means God can make us like Him!
Council of Chalcedon 451 – The early church fathers described the Incarnation by saying Jesus Christ is one person with two natures–fully God and fully man. To describe the union of these two natures they used the term “hypostatic union”. This is the theological nomenclature we use to explain the Incarnation.
Why is the humanity of Jesus important? (1 Timothy 2:4; Hebrews 4:14-15)
It is Christ’s humanity that uniquely qualifies Him to be a faithful High Priest on behalf of His people. Jesus entered into the full human experience. He understands the full catalog of temptations we face. He understands betrayal, rejection, physical pain and aloneness. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
3) The Incarnation means we now relate to God on the basis of grace and truth!
Grace is God’s loving mercy and forgiveness to forgive and cleanse sin and His unmatched power to help us overcome all of life’s battles.
Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
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One of the most unique and certainly most important accounts of Christmas is found in chapter 1 of John’s Gospel. I say that because John presents the Christmas story without ever mentioning any historical markers that we associate with Christmas; no Bethlehem, no Joseph and Mary, no shepherds, no King Herod and the wise men. Some would wonder, what kind of Christmas story is this? You can’t have Christmas without shepherds. But John’s gives us the “story behind the story” so to speak. This is the story that is told not so much from history, but from eternity. It’s the Christmas story told from heaven not from earth. And that’s why it is so unique. John’s story is rich in theology and unique to all the New Testament. Most of all John tells us who Jesus truly is. He introduces the story by stating some amazing things about Jesus and His coming into the world.
The Word is the Eternal OneJohn 1:1-2 – In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
He is the One who created all things John 1:3
He is the True Life and LightJohn 1:4
He is the Promised OneJohn 1:6 -8
The Rejected OneJohn 1:10 -11
The Saving One John 1:12 -13
The Incarnate One John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh…!
The Incarnation means we are loved and valued by God! Philippians 2:5-11
The Incarnation means God truly wants us to know Him! John 1:14 – And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us,
The Incarnation means God can make us like Him! 2 Corinthians 5:21 – For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The Incarnation means we can experience Grace and Truth! John 1:14 – and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.
(The original YouTube video played at the beginning of the message is here starting at the 5:08 mark.)
John 17:1-5 – Jesus spoke these words, lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said: “Father, the hour has come. Glorify Your Son, that Your Son also may glorify You, as You have given Him authority over all flesh, that He should[a] give eternal life to as many as You have given Him. And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.
Isaiah 53:10-12 – Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul,[a]and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
In the Gospel of John chapter 8 Jesus uncovers the truth to the invisible world and clearly shows that the Devil is a real being. Jesus also tell us that Satan’s plan has always been to destroy human life. And the major weapon that he uses is distorting and twisting the truth. He has the power to blind us from the truth, through ignorance, unbelief, deception and falsehood. His lies have the power to persuade people to think that right is wrong and wrong is right. The enemy loves to distort the truth—and so he often uses half truths work his deception.
A lie that is all of a lie can be fought outright. But a lie that is partly the truth is a harder matter to fight. (Alfred Lord Tennyson)
Lie # 1. God Cannot Be Trusted.
Two fundamental attributes of God that anchor our faith.
God is 100% true (2 Samuel 7:28)
He cannot tell a lie. His truth is absolute and eternal. His word is true, all the time, in every circumstance and for every people and place.
God is completely GOOD! (Nahum 1:7)
“God is good…all the time!”
Lie # 2. Sin Is Only A Mistake.
As human beings, do we only make mistakes or, are we guilty of real sin?
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,
Lie # 3. Sin Is Harmless.
Ephesians 4:27 “…make no room for the devil.”
Lie # 4. Satan Has Too Much Power.
Three things the devil doesn’t want you to know
1. He’s outnumbered (2 Kings 616)
2. He’s been defeated at the Cross (1 John 3:8)
3. His power is limited (1 John 4:4)
Of all the disciplines of the Christian life, prayer can be one of the least understood. Most of us understand what is involved in reading the Word, witnessing, church membership, giving, and serving. But when it comes to this thing called prayer, many Christians are not sure how to pray or why we should pray. In these verses Paul helps us understand both ‘why’ and ‘how’ about prayer.
Prayer Is About Relationship
1 Thessalonians 3:11- “Now may our God and Father Himself, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you”
John 14:12-13 – “Most assuredly,… And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.”
John 16:23 – “…Most assuredly, I say to you, whatever you ask the Father in My name He will give you.”
Prayer Is Working With God To Accomplish His Plan
The same God who determines the outcome also determines the plan and method to achieve the outcome. When God wants to accomplish something, He works a prayer in someone’s’ heart and then through their prayer He begins to accomplish His plan.
Prayer Must Become A Habit
1Thessalonians 3:10- “night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face and perfect what is lacking in your faith”
Prayer Is For People
1 Thessalonians 3:10 – “and perfect what is lacking in your faith?”
1 Thessalonians 3:12 – “And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you.”
1 Thessalonians 3:13 – “so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.”
John 17 records what has been call the High Priestly prayer of Jesus. It is the greatest prayer every recorded in Scripture because it is the powerful prayer of an Overcomer. Even though Jesus is about to go to the Cross and face horrible suffering and shame. He is not a victim–He was and is the Ultimate Victor! He has just finished saying to His disciples, “Be of good cheer. I have overcome the world.”
Jesus prays that we would be kept! – John 17:12 While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Your name. Those whom You gave Me I have kept; and none of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Jesus prays that we would have joy in Him! - John 17:13 But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves.
Jesus prays that we would be missionaries! – John 17:15-18 I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one… Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.
Jesus prays for our unity! – John 17:20-21 I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me.
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