John 14:1-31 (NIV)
1 “Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.” 5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” 6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.” 8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.” 9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves. 12 I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. 15 “If you love me, you will obey what I command. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever– 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.” 22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. 24 He who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. 28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not speak with you much longer, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold on me, 31 but the world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me. “Come now; let us leave.

John 14:1-7

TRUST. Jesus was going where the disciples could not follow, as we saw in the end of chapter 13, but His absence would be temporary. He was going to prepare a place for them. And during this absence, we are to trust Him. We don’t need to know the exact location of where He is, it is enough to know that He is the way the truth and the life. This “trust” in the Lord, is a big part of the foundation that we all need to have as His disciples. Sometimes, living in this fallen world, on a broken planet, we can feel very alone and we can be overcome with doubt (troubles hearts). But we are to remember that He is the way and the truth and the life and that we must trust in Him.

John 4:8-14

Phillip’s request to show us the Father is a very typical response. Trusting in someone you can’t see requires faith. It is where the rubber meets the road. Jesus response is fascinating.

“Anyone who has seen Me has seen the Father.”

Jesus then goes on to explain that even if Phillip couldn’t see God in Jesus, the miracles that He did were evidence that the Father was present. God, while not physically present, expressed Himself to the world in Jesus, in the things He said and did.

This is important for all disciples to understand, God does not need to be physically present to impact our world, and neither will Jesus. Just as the Father acted in Jesus, Jesus will act through His disciples.
It is in this understanding that we are to ask (pray) “whatever” in His name and He will do it. So not only are we to trust, we are to bring everything to Him in prayer, confident that He is faithful to answer.

John 4:15-31

The Holy Spirit will come and will lead and guide us into truth, so that we can live lives of obedience to God. Trust, faith, prayer, and obedience are all part of the hallmarks of believers.

“If anyone loves Me, he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”

This life of trust, faith, prayer and obedience will lead to peace.

A quick thought on praying in Jesus name:

John 14:13 talks about praying in Jesus name. This is more than just tacking on “in Jesus name” to the end of your prayer (which I think serves a purpose in helping us remember what it is all about), but we are to be praying in accordance with His will. As we pray in accordance with His will, God answers and is glorified. I believe that God always answers prayer. Sometimes it is now, sometimes it is no, and sometimes it is wait.

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We’re in part three of a series called “Follow Me” and we are talking about what it means to respond to the invitation of Jesus. In our first week we talked about what it means to be a disciple. Last week we talked about what it means to be an ambassador. Today we are going to talk about what it means to be a member. As a follower of Christ you are a member of His family and a member of His body.

Romans 12:5 (NIV)
5 so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

When you accept the invitation to follow Jesus, you don’t just belong to God, you don’t just belong to Jesus, you belong to me, and I belong to you. We belong to each other and every other believer. You are in the family of God.

Galatians 6:10 (NIV)
10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

As a member of the family of God, we are to do good to ALL people, especially those who belong to the family of believers.

The family of believers is the church. When most people say “church” they think of a place or a building, or an event. Something you see or something you attend. The reality is that church is neither a building or an event. The church is the family of God.

And God wants to grow His family. You may not have noticed, but our part of the family, has been growing. And I believe that God wants to continue to increase the size of the family. Not because WE are trying to be something, but because the larger the family, the more opportunities we have to impact the world for the Kingdom of God. Large, healthy churches are not a new phenomenon. They have been around since the very first church, the church in Jerusalem was started. The history of the first church is recorded for us in the Book of Acts and it provides some very useful information on what the church, the family of God is supposed to be doing.

1. The Growth of the First Church

Let’s start by doing a quick run through in the book of Acts about the first church.

After Jesus died and rose again, He told His followers to wait for Him in Jerusalem until He sent His Spirit, which would be the beginning of the church. Then Jesus went back to heaven. In Acts 1:15 we see that there were about 120 believers.

Then in Acts 2, we have the story of the first day of the first church. On that day the Spirit came, Peter preached, and 3000 people were added to the church.

In Acts 2:47 we see that “The Lord added daily those who were being saved.” So the church is growing on a daily basis.

Added daily means that a minimum the church is adding 365 people a year.

As we get to Acts 4:4 the number of the church is 5000 men. Where there are five thousand men, there are even more women and children, so the church by now is probably 15,000 – 20000.

Acts 5:14 tells us that “believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of men and women. Now there are so any people they’re not even counting anymore. It says a multitude was added.

In Acts 5:28 the critics have their say “You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching.” Because this church is growing and everybody is hearing the news, the church is having a significant impact on the city.

In Acts 6:1 it says the “The number of disciples rapidly multiplied.” In Chapter 2 the church was adding members, now it is multiplying them. The church is growing so fast they can’t even keep up with it.

In Acts 6:7 it says “The number of believers increased rapidly.”

We could keep looking through the process but let’s jump to a verse closer to the end of the Book of Acts. This verse would account for the early church being about twenty-five years old. Acts 21:20 says “Tens of thousands have become believers.” It literally is tens of tens of tens of thousands. The word there in Greek is the word myrios. Myrios literally means “tens and tens of thousands.” We get the word “myriad” from it. Too numerous to count. The church was so big they couldn’t even count them all.

It is believed by Biblical scholars, that there were at the twenty-five year mark of the church in Jerusalem around 100,000 believers. The population of the city at that time was 200,000. Half the people had been impacted by the church and were now a part of God’s family.

How did they do that? Is there anything in this story that we can copy that we can do?

Yes there is, and we are doing quite a bit of it already. And before I elaborate let me say up front that we are not in competition with any of the other churches here that are preaching God’s Word. We pray for them to be blessed and grow as well. They are part of the family. So what can we learn from the first church?

2. Where did they meet?

You think it is hard to park here? How did they get 100,000 people together.

Acts 5:42 (NIV)
42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ.

Circle “temple courts” and circle “house to house.”

a. In the temple courts (large groups)

Courts is plural. They didn’t meet in the temple, because only the priests were allowed in the temple. They met in the courts surrounding the temple. There were numerous courts that were around the temple and so they would meet in the various courts.

Our variation of that is that we meet during multiple services. Since we only have this one building, we meet four different times on the weekend. A full temple court for us is about 325 people. We are often full at the 9:30 service. We have room to grow at the other three services. My prayer is that all four of the services reach the point of being “full”. We will be talking about how we hope to do this in the future, but I want you to have the thought in your mind.

b. From house to house (small groups)

They also got together in smaller groups during the week. We have tried lots of different formats for this type of meeting over the years. We have met in home groups, kinship groups, small groups with varying levels of success. Eventually we ended up with small groups that meet here during the week. Women’s group, men’s group, Celebrate recovery, Wed night Bible study (which really isn’t a small group any more. One thing we tried a few years ago which I though was good was something we called affinity groups. People getting together to do something they liked and added a time for prayer and perhaps a short discussion of what was being taught in church that week. I think that these affinity groups could fit really well into what God wants us to do in this area, and so we are going to be getting those started again soon.

3. A Healthy Church – family – group

In Acts 2:42-47 we are given the characteristics of a healthy church. It is a model that is given to us from the very first healthy growing church, the church in Jerusalem, and these verses talk about what a healthy church should be doing. Let’s take a look and see how we are doing.

1. They studied the Bible.

That’s the first sign of a healthy group. They studied the Bible together. Verse 42 says “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching.”

2. They ate together.

In verse 42 it says “They devoted themselves to the fellowship” and in verse 46 “They ate together with glad and sincere hearts.” Food is a tool of fellowship. Why? Because when people are eating they’re relaxed. That way communication can get through. Their barriers aren’t up. They’re not defensive.

3. They shared Communion.

“They devoted themselves to the breaking of bread.” That’s talking about Communion, the Lord’s Supper, the Lord’s Table.

4. They prayed for each other.

“They devoted themselves to prayer.” Prayer has to have a high priority in a healthy group.

5. They helped each other in practical ways.

“They gave to anyone as he had a need.” People helping each other whenever they can. Serving one another, blessing one another, encouraging one another.

6. They worshipped together.

“They praised God and they enjoyed favor of all the people.”

7. They invited others to church.

To become part of the church, the family of God. “Every day the number in their group continued to grow as the Lord added those who were being saved.”

Big opportunities to invite people to church are on us. The Pet Blessing, The Good Friday Concert, and Easter Sunday. Invite people to come so that they can become a part of the family.

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John 13:1-38 (NIV)
1 It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love. 2 The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. 6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” 7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” 8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” 9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” 10 Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. 12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them. 18 “I am not referring to all of you; I know those I have chosen. But this is to fulfill the scripture: ‘He who shares my bread has lifted up his heel against me.’ 19 “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. 20 I tell you the truth, whoever accepts anyone I send accepts me; and whoever accepts me accepts the one who sent me.” 21 After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, “I tell you the truth, one of you is going to betray me.” 22 His disciples stared at one another, at a loss to know which of them he meant. 23 One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him. 24 Simon Peter motioned to this disciple and said, “Ask him which one he means.” 25 Leaning back against Jesus, he asked him, “Lord, who is it?” 26 Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish.” Then, dipping the piece of bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, son of Simon. 27 As soon as Judas took the bread, Satan entered into him. “What you are about to do, do quickly,” Jesus told him, 28 but no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this to him. 29 Since Judas had charge of the money, some thought Jesus was telling him to buy what was needed for the Feast, or to give something to the poor. 30 As soon as Judas had taken the bread, he went out. And it was night. 31 When he was gone, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will glorify the Son in himself, and will glorify him at once. 33 “My children, I will be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and just as I told the Jews, so I tell you now: Where I am going, you cannot come. 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” 36 Simon Peter asked him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus replied, “Where I am going, you cannot follow now, but you will follow later.” 37 Peter asked, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” 38 Then Jesus answered, “Will you really lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times!

These next few chapters in the book of John make up what is referred to as the Last Supper Discourse. Contained in these chapters are very specific details on how we, as disciples of Jesus, are to live in our relationship with God and with others. You will notice that Jesus spends a lot of the discussion talking about the Holy Spirit and His role when Jesus returns to the Father.

Let’s talk about Judas for a moment. Judas represents everyone that Jesus offers eternal life and who refuse to respond to the invitation. Judas had been with Jesus and the disciples, had witnessed the miracles firsthand, and yet still chose not to believe. Outwardly, he looked like the rest of the disciples but inwardly he was more like the Pharisees. His state of unbelief left him open to the influence of the evil one and he betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver. Ultimately, Judas is remorseful over what he has done, and he tries to return the money to the religious leaders. Once again, the Pharisees, who were responsible to comfort and offer cleansing to the sinner, demonstrated that they just didn’t care. “What is it to us?”. Jesus response is to kill himself. His remorse didn’t lead to repentance and forgiveness which he had so often seen in Jesus.

John 13:1-20

The first 20 verses are a powerful and intimate time between Jesus and His disciples. Jesus gets up from the meal, and washes His disciples feet. Consider how the disciples had been arguing over who would be the greatest. This foot washing was a part of the meal, all the disciples knew it was coming. The basin of the water and the towel were present, and yet none of the disciples made a move to serve. Then the one who was the greatest gets up, wraps himself with the towel, and begins to wash their feet. Peter’s indignant “Not you Lord”, was more of a I don’t want you to do it Jesus, I want one of these other guys to do it.
In this act of foot washing are three important things for us to notice.

1. There is a theological truth expressed. People would bathe and be clean, but in the dusty roaded world of the time, their feet would almost always be dirty. The feet, having constant contact with dirt need to be cleaned more frequently. This interaction between Jesus and Peter, where Peter says not just my feet but my head and hands as well, is a picture of salvation. In coming to Christ we are completely cleansed, but in our daily “walking with Jesus life” we can pick up some contaminates along the way that require Jesus continual washing of forgiveness.

2. Jesus sets an example about what greatness looks like in the Kingdom of God. The greatest of all would be the servant of all.

3. Did you ever think about the fact that Jesus washed Judas feet, even knowing that Jesus was about to betray Him? Did Jesus treat him any differently. No, He demonstrated the same love and service to him as He did to the other disciples. What does that mean to us in the way that we are to treat people?

John 13:21-30

Judas leaves after Jesus identifies him as the one who would betray him, but the other disciples didn’t get it.

John 13:31-38

Now, alone with His true disciples, Jesus lays the foundation for relationship. “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. All men will know that you are My disciples if you love one another.” Jesus introduces a new standard to measure love. We had heard that we were to “love your neighbor as you love yourself.” But here we are told to love each other “as I have loved you.” This love is demonstrated by being selfless. It is not all about us. This selfless love will be a witness to the world that Jesus is real.

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John 12:1-50 (NIV)
1 Six days before the Passover, Jesus arrived at Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. 2 Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. 3 Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. 4 But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, 5 “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” 6 He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it. 7 “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “[It was intended] that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. 8 You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.” 9 Meanwhile a large crowd of Jews found out that Jesus was there and came, not only because of him but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. 10 So the chief priests made plans to kill Lazarus as well, 11 for on account of him many of the Jews were going over to Jesus and putting their faith in him. 12 The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13 They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!” 14 Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 15 “Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion; see, your king is coming, seated on a donkey’s colt.” 16 At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that they had done these things to him. 17 Now the crowd that was with him when he called Lazarus from the tomb and raised him from the dead continued to spread the word. 18 Many people, because they had heard that he had given this miraculous sign, went out to meet him. 19 So the Pharisees said to one another, “See, this is getting us nowhere. Look how the whole world has gone after him!” 20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. 34 The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?” 35 Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. 36 Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them. 37 Even after Jesus had done all these miraculous signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” 39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says elsewhere: 40 “He has blinded their eyes and deadened their hearts, so they can neither see with their eyes, nor understand with their hearts, nor turn–and I would heal them.” 41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about him. 42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not confess their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for they loved praise from men more than praise from God. 44 Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. 47 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

As we look at John Chapter 12 it is only six days until the Passover and the crucifixion. Jesus continues in this chapter as he had in Chapters 10 and 11 to tell people that He was the Messiah, the Christ, that He was one with the Father and the religious leaders would still pursue His death rather than believe.

John 12:1-8

The preparation for Jesus death, burial, and resurrection is underway as Mary anoints Jesus with an expensive ointment. This was done as an expression of Mary’s love but it was is someway foreshadowing the expression of God’s love for us in the death and resurrection of Jesus, the most amazing expression of love ever.

John 12:9-19

These verse talk about the triumphal entry. The crowd was so excited about Jesus arrival that the Pharisees were concerned that “the whole world has gone after Him”. His entry into Jerusalem was a fulfillment of prophecy

Zechariah 9:9 (NIV)
9 Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Psalms 118:26 (NIV)
26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you.

But excited as the crowd seemed to be, they would quickly turn. Did you ever wonder why? Jesus sudden rise in popularity was because of the miracle that had been performed in raising Lazarus from the dead. It wasn’t that the crowd was crying out Hosanna from a true faith, but they were excited about Jesus celebrity. They were curious and excited, but there enthusiasm would fade quickly, just like it does with celebrities today.

Check out the reaction of the religious leaders. They still want to kill Jesus and now they want to kill Lazarus as well. Way to keep the LAW, which was what they claimed they were doing.

John 12:20-33

Jesus is struggling with what is about to take place, but He stays firm in His commitment to lay down His life for us as the Good Shepherd.

27 “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.

There are some extremely important spiritual principles packed into this small section of scripture.

24 I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds.

25 The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.

26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.

John 12:34-43

The crowd who had been cheering demonstrates how shallow their enthusiasm really was as they reject the words that Jesus says about Himself.

“We have heard from the Law that the Christ will remain forever, so how can You say, ‘The Son of man must be lifted up’?”

They refused to believe in and submit to Jesus as the Son of God even after seeing with their own eyes what He had done with Lazarus. And even those who did believe were afraid to say anything because they didn’t want to be kicked out of the synagogue.

John 12:44-50

Jesus gives the crowd their last chance in these verses. After a three year ministry filled with miracles it had come down to this, these were the last words He would speak to the crowds.

44 Then Jesus cried out, “When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. 46 I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness. 47 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

What did Jesus say?

That He was revealing the Father and the Kingdom of God

If you believe in Jesus you believe in the Father

If you believe in Jesus you no longer live in darkness

If you do not believe in Jesus then you reject the eternal life that is offered by the Father

If you do not believe in Jesus you place yourself under judgment

If you accept the living Word, Jesus, you will have eternal life

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We are in a series called “Follow Me” and are talking about what it means to respond to the invitation that Jesus has given us. Last week we talked about what it means to be a disciple. This week, we are going to talk about being an ambassador.

2 Corinthians 5:20 (NIV)
20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

What is an ambassador? An ambassador is a representative sent out on a mission to build relationships. Who do we represent? We represent Jesus in the world. Write this down, I represent Jesus in the world.

Philippians 3:19c-20 (NLT)
19 … all they think about is this life here on earth. 20 But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

We are citizens of heaven, here on temporary assignment.

1 Peter 1:1 (GW)
1 From Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ. To God’s chosen people who are temporary residents {in the world} and are scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.

So what is my assignment? To be an ambassador. How do I fulfill my assignment?

1. Live as an example

1 Peter 2:12 (NCV)
12 People who do not believe are living all around you and might say that you are doing wrong. Live such good lives that they will see the good things you do and will give glory to God on the day when Christ comes again.

One of the first priorities of an ambassador is to set a good example.

There are two reasons why people don’t know the Lord. One of them is they’ve never met a Christian, and the other is they have. And they say if that’s what a follower of Jesus is, no thanks God. So you need to realize that your life is to be an example in everything you do.

2. Share the ambassador’s message

What is the ambassador’s message?

2 Corinthians 5:17-19 (NIV)
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.

We’re to help people make peace with God.

Have you ever bought a car? You have the salesman and when it gets time to close the deal he has to go and talk to someone, or pretend to talk to someone because he doesn’t have the authority to close the deal. Here is something interesting about being an ambassador for Jesus. You are authorized to close the deal. You don’t have to go to the manager in the back office. You can say to anyone, I am an ambassador for Jesus and I am authorized to make this offer in Jesus name. I can offer you His forgiveness for all the sin in your life, I can offer you His promise of eternal life with Him, and I can offer you His promise of a life with purpose now.

3. Love extravagantly

As an ambassador for Jesus you need to have a big heart. Because God is love you need to show love. How do I love extravagantly?

a. Use my life to meet other’s needs.

1 Thessalonians 2:8 (NIV)
8 We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.

When you use your life to bless people, encourage people, serve people, do some sort of practical thing that helps them, you are ministering to them. You are showing love to meet their needs.

b. Give respect to everyone.

1 Peter 2:17 (NIV)
17 Show proper respect to everyone: Love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, honor the king.

As an ambassador of Jesus, you are to be respectful. Why? Because God values every person. It doesn’t matter who they are, what they’ve done, who they’ve done it to, or how long they’ve done it, they have the dignity of being created in the image of God.

Here is something to think about. Is an ambassador supposed to be dogmatic (asserting opinions in a doctrinaire or arrogant manner; opinionated.) or diplomatic? They are diplomatic. Dogmatic Christian’s are not ambassadors, and even if they are right, they are wrong. We need to win people over by letting them know that God loves them and has made a way for them, not by being critical and judgmental.

1 Peter 3:15 (NIV)
15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

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The invitation that Jesus gave 2000 years ago is still valid today. “Follow Me”. We will be talking about what following Jesus is all about in this series. Jesus started His ministry by inviting some folks to “follow Him”.

Matthew 9:9 (NIV)
9 As Jesus went on from there, he saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” he told him, and Matthew got up and followed him.

They were called His disciples. As we follow Him today, we are His disciples. So, what is a disciple?

A disciple is a learner, a student, an apprentice. A disciple is one who is trained by a mentor. In effect, we are being apprenticed by Jesus. So, what do we do?

1. Spend time with Jesus.

We need to spend time with Jesus. Like any relationship, the more time you put in it, the better the relationship will be.

John 12:26 (NLT)
26 All those who want to be my disciples must come and follow me, because my servants must be where I am. And if they follow me, the Father will honor them.

Circle “My servants must be where I am.” Circle that: “be where I am.” Talk to Him throughout the day, think about Him, pray. Be where He is.

Mark 3:14 (NIV)
14 He appointed twelve–designating them apostles–that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach

Be with Him.

2. Love Jesus supremely

Luke 14:26 (NLT)
26 “If you want to be my follower you must love me more than your own father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, more than your own life. Otherwise, you cannot be my disciple.

Your love for God should be so intense that there is nothing that compares with it. As much as you love the people in your life, and you are to love them deeply, you are to love God more.

There’s a word for that in the Bible. When you love something more than anything else its called Worship.

The word “worship” in the Bible, literally means to kiss, to show affection, to shower with affection.

Your being a disciple is not measured by how much you know or how much you do or what words you say. Ultimately, it is about how much you love God and others.

Mark 12:29-31 (NIV)
29 “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

That verse brings up point number three.

3. Love every other disciple.

This is a little harder. Have you ever noticed that sometimes people can be a little irritating. Not that you ever irritate anyone, but other people. Yet Jesus says, if you’re going to be my disciples you can’t just love me. You have to love everybody in my family.

John 13:35 (NIV)
35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

This is called Fellowship.

You cannot be a disciple by yourself. You cannot be a disciple in isolation. This is one of the things that makes a relationship with Jesus different than religion. In virtually every religion out there, the more you isolate yourself from humanity, the more holy you are considered to be. People who go and get away from sinful humanity so they aren’t made impure by all us nasty wicked mean irritating sinners. This is the exact opposite of what it means to be a disciple of Jesus. Jesus was in the marketplace, He went to parties, He was with the people, the sinners and He showed us what real love looks like, what real holiness looks like. Holiness is best displayed by love.

4. Do what Jesus tells me.

John 8:31-32 (NIV)
31 To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

This is what we call “doing the next right thing”. As we continue to try and live life by pleasing Him, and doing the next right thing, we find life and freedom.

5. Serve others unselfishly.

Mark 9:35 (NIV)
35 Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.”

We talked about being a servant last week. Service is a huge part of being a disciple. Following Jesus is not all about what is in it for me, it is really about giving back or giving away what we have. Service helps us to be unselfish, it helps us to learn and remember that it is all about Him.

6. Share the Good News!

Matthew 4:19 (NIV)
19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”

As you follow Him, there will be opportunities to tell other people about why you have chosen to follow Him. When those opportunities arise, we need to be ready to share with others the Good News about who Jesus is and what He has done and what He is doing. We call this being ready to share your story. What is your God story?

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Today we will be finishing our series called “Living Good Lives”. This series has been based on 1 Peter and in particular about the challenge Peter gives us in 1 Peter 2:12 to live such good lives that it has an impact on people who are not yet believers. As we continue on today in 1 Peter 5, Peter once again gives us some ideas on how to lead lives of significance, lives that have impact for the Kingdom of God.

1 Peter 5:1-7 (NIV)
1 To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: 2 Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers–not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; 3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. 4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away. 5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Three things we can do to make an impact

1. START SERVING

Peter is writing these verses to leaders, people who in the Kingdom of God are supposed to be known for being servants. This was one of the foundational messages of Jesus. Those who would lead, those who wished to make a difference, would be people who would serve. There are some elements of serving that we need to understand.

a) Choose desire over duty.

1 Peter 5:2b (NIV)
not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be;

Four words that will never make a significant impact on the world….If I have to….

Some people feel like their entire lives consist of things they Have To Do. Their relationships, their jobs, are all have tos. It feels like a trap and like nothing will ever change. Some times people think that the only way out is a change of circumstances. Let me suggest a different option. Instead of a change of circumstances for the have tos in life, how about a change of heart. Changing all those duties and responsibilities in life into opportunities. When you can look at things as opportunities instead of duties, it is amazing how much energy you have to do the things that there never seemed to be any energy for when they were just duty. This is what willingness is all about.

How can you change your have tos into want tos? I suggest a simple prayer from the heart. “God, I’m willing to be made willing.” This makes God your partner. All of a sudden you’re not in it alone.

b) Choose Giving over Getting.

1 Peter 5:2c (NIV)
not greedy for money, but eager to serve;

By nature, we tend to be way more concerned with getting than giving. The amazing thing is that giving is where life is really found. Getting sometimes seems like the answer but you don’t make a lasting impact by what you get, you make a lasting impact by what you give in life.

Is having money a problem? No. Money is not the root of all evil. The Bible says that the love of money is the root of all evil. The problem is one of selfishness. It is selfishness that keeps us from being satisfied with and enjoying what we have. We are always reaching for more.

Giving, through serving, is where it’s all about.

c) Choose being an example over being in control.

1 Peter 5:3 (NIV)
3 not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.

You don’t make a lasting impact by telling people what to do. You make a lasting impact by showing people how to do it. I think we would all agree that the world doesn’t need more people telling us what to do, it desperately needs more people showing us what to do. The power to make a real difference is not in your words, it’s in your example.

2. STAY HUMBLE

1 Peter 5:5-6 (NIV)
5 Young men, in the same way be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.

Circle “He” and “in due time”.

Humility says “God, I’m depending on you. I need You in my life.” It says if you humble yourselves like that, He will lift you up. Your life will have significance and impact because He’ll lift you up.

3. STOP WORRYING.

1 Peter 5:7 (NIV)
7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

Worriers don’t make much impact on this world. There’s a couple of reasons. They are so busy fighting imaginary dragons they don’t have any time to fight the real ones. The other thing is, worry tends to make you focus on yourself. As long as you’re focused on yourself you can’t do any of these other things we’ve talked about to make an impact on the world.

The cast in the verse makes me think of fishing and that’s how most of us handle our worries, you cast it like a fishing line. The only problem though is, we tend to reel it back in. You look and say, “Is it still wiggling there on the end of the hook? Yes, the worry is still alive.” So you cast it back out, then you real it back in.

This reminds me of an old fishing joke: An older guy is going out ice fishing. He sits down to fish and he’s not catching anything. But this boy over here is catching all kinds of fish. So he yells, “How are you catching those fish?” The boy looks up and says, “Uuuh”. The guy is trying to figure it out but he’s still not catching anything and he walks over to the boy and says “How are you fishing? How are you catching all these fish?” The boy again says, “Uuuh”. The guy says “I’m not leaving here until you tell me how you’re catching all these fish.” So the kid bends down and spits something out of his mouth and looks up and says, “You’ve got to keep your worms warm.”

How do I stop worrying?

Philippians 4:6-9 (NIV)
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable–if anything is excellent or praiseworthy–think about such things. 9 Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me–put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

Worry is letting the problem work on you. Prayer is you and God working together on the problem. How would you rather spend your time?

Start serving, stay humble, stop worrying, and you are on your way to living good lives that please God, satisfy you, and impact the world for the Kingdom of God.

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We are continuing with our series called Living Good Lives. We have been looking at 1 Peter and the challenge that he gives us to live such good lives that it impacts the world for God. We have talked about living lives that please God, lives that satisfy us, and lives that make a difference in the world around us. As we continue on into chapter 4, Peter gives four very important principles that will help us to live good lives. The principle of:

1. Forgiveness
2. Focus
3. Follow
4. Fellowship

1. FORGIVENESS

1 Peter 4:1 (NIV)
1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin.

What was His attitude?

Luke 23:34 (NIV)
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.

Forgiveness is one of the concepts that we have to understand and live out as believers. We need to be living examples of what it means not only to be forgiven, but to forgive others.

It starts with really receiving the forgiveness that God gives to us. This forgiveness, made possible at the cross, is where we get a new start, and another new start, and another new start. There is a freedom that comes from knowing that you are forgiven, which allows you to do your part, which is to forgive the people who have hurt you.

Here is where forgiveness gets difficult. If you knew what they did to me, you would know that I can’t forgive them. They don’t deserve to be forgiven. And you are right. Forgiveness is never deserved. But withholding forgiveness only hurts you. It doesn’t affect the person who hurt you. In fact, it just allows them to keep hurting you. It makes you bitter.

Hebrews 12:15 (NIV)
15 See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.

Let me say this again about forgiveness, forgiveness doesn’t mean that you let someone who is unrepentant continue to hurt you. It means that you are giving what they did over to God to judge. Just because you forgive someone doesn’t mean that you automatically trust them again. Trust is earned by people who are repentant and want to change. If someone demands that you forgive them, and uses your Christianity as the basis for it, you shouldn’t trust them because they are not really repentant. A truly repentant person will understand that it will take time to rebuild trust, and they will be willing to do whatever they need to in the process.

2. FOCUS ON GOD

1 Peter 4:2 (NIV)
2 As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God.

Perspective – Who am I really living for? God or ME? Life is only found when we begin living in Him!

This requires a mental shift. It’s a choice that you’ve got to make. We get stuck in our pain and we can’t get on with the present or the future. How do I get unstuck? You focus on the Healer not your hurt. Focus on God Who wants to heal you.

Hebrews 12:2 (NIV)
2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

3. FOLLOW

1 Peter 4:3 (NIV)
3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do–living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.

When we don’t move into forgiveness, and we don’t change our focus, we get trapped in the cycle of trying to deal with the pain and the hurt by turning to other things rather than God. We try and find pain relief in the pain killers that the world offers just like in Peter’s time. He called it

” living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry.”

The problem with these pain killers is that they don’t last, they become addictive, and they never solve the problem.

If drinking, drugging, and debauchery actually solved problems, I would be willing to wager that most of us would not be here.

What is the answer? Follow Jesus. Living life for Him not for you. Live life well by trying to do the next right thing.

And one of the things that God gives us to accomplish that is

4. FELLOWSHIP

1 Peter 4:7-10 (NIV)
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in its various forms.

We will never really find the freedom we are looking for from the pain and the hurt alone. You’ll never fully recover by yourself. God never meant for you to have to solve your hurts on your own. When he made Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden He said, “It’s not good for man to be alone even in the perfect environment.”

Hospitality means loving concern. Care about each other. “Love covers” — what does that mean? There is enormous, tremendous, powerful healing power in love. Love is the antidote to fear. Love is the antidote to guilt. Love is the antidote to resentment. When your life is filled with love it doesn’t have room for these other things that eat you up on the inside.

Hebrews 10:25 (NIV)
25 Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another–and all the more as you see the Day approaching.

Why do we meet together? Why do we gather on Saturday and Sunday and during the week? Circle “encourage”. That’s one of the purposes of a church family; it’s to be an encouragement place. Life is tough. We all need a boost. Encouragement is not just me standing up here and encouraging you. It’s you encouraging the people sitting around you. And them encouraging you.

Forgiveness, Focus, Follow, and Fellowship. Let us all ask God to help us in these areas by His spirit as we continue to live good lives in Him.

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John 10:1-42 (NIV)
1 “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber. 2 The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep. 3 The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5 But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.” 6 Jesus used this figure of speech, but they did not understand what he was telling them. 7 Therefore Jesus said again, “I tell you the truth, I am the gate for the sheep. 8 All who ever came before me were thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out, and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. 13 The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me– 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father–and I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life–only to take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.” 19 At these words the Jews were again divided. 20 Many of them said, “He is demon-possessed and raving mad. Why listen to him?” 21 But others said, “These are not the sayings of a man possessed by a demon. Can a demon open the eyes of the blind?” 22 Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The miracles I do in my Father’s name speak for me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 33 “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods’? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came–and the Scripture cannot be broken– 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do what my Father does. 38 But if I do it, even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp. 40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. Here he stayed 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a miraculous sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.

Chapter 10, 11 and 12 all follow a similar pattern. There is a clear presentation by Jesus of who He is which is followed by a rejection from the Pharisees, and a renewed effort by them to kill Jesus.

John 10 uses the illustration of a shepherd and sheep. This was a common OT illustration of the relationship between God and His people.

Psalm 23
A psalm of David.
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
3 he restores my soul.
He guides me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, [a]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the LORD
forever.

Shepherd was also an OT term used for spiritual leaders.

Jeremiah 23:1-4
1 “Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the LORD. 2 Therefore this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the LORD. 3 “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. 4 I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the LORD.

As Jesus talked about being the Good Shepherd the people would have had these ideas of divine leadership brought to their memories. The contrast was that Jesus was concerned for the people (demonstrated by the grace morality we saw ini the last few chapters of John), while the Jewish leaders were concerned about themselves (demonstrated by the legalistic morality displayed in the last few chapters).

John 10:1-6

In Israel sheep were not herded by dogs or driven from behind they were led by their shepherd. The sheep would know their shepherds voice and would follow him where he led them. He cared for them and led them to food and water.

While some would choose to follow the Pharisees who claimed to speak for Moses, the true sheep would listen to and follow the voice of the Good Shepherd Jesus.

John 10:7-17

Jesus then compares the religious leaders to thieves and robbers who care nothing for the sheep. Jesus would actually lay down His life for the sheep, which is something the religious leaders would never do. They might put their lives on the line for their religious principles, but never for a common ordinary person. They cared about the religious ideals, not about people. You need to see the irony. These leaders were supposed to be teaching people about the love God had for them, and yet the religious leaders only saw them as a tool, not as people of value and worth. Jesus, however, loved the sheep, the sinners, enough to give His life for them.

John 10:18-30

Jesus begins to claim that He is in fact one with God, that He is God.
In verse 24 the religious leaders ask again, “If you are the Christ, tell us plainly”. and when He does in verse 30 “I and the Father are One” the religious leaders want to kill Him because they don’t want to hear the truth.

John 10:31-42

The Pharisees continue to refuse to believe the truth. The Jews accused Jesus of blasphemy because in verse 38 they say “because You, a mere Man, claim to be God.”Jesus response is interesting. He quotes from Psalm 82:6:

6 “I said, ‘You are “gods”;
you are all sons of the Most High.’

Jesus is using this verse to demonstrate, that in Him we have eternal life, we become the sons of God. Peter puts it this way

1 Peter 1:23 (New International Reader’s Version)
23 You have been born again by means of the living word of God. His word lasts forever. You were not born again from a seed that will die. You were born from a seed that can’t die.

The Pharisees had lost touch with God and had lost the concept of what a relationship with God looked like, so they couldn’t imagine that God could care enough for human beings to become a Man in order to bring us to Himself.

But while the Pharisees continued to try to arrest and kill Jesus, many others heard in Jesus the voice of God, and began to believe.

Come back often to see the latest sermons or bible studies on your Online Pastor site. We are blessed to be your Pastor Online!

We are talking about living good lives, lives that please God, lives that satisfy us, and lives that impact the world around us for the Kingdom of God. We have been using as our foundation for this series the book of 1 Peter. In theses verses, Peter has challenged us to live good lives and then he is giving us direction on how to do that. As we continue on in chapter three, Peter brings up the concept of telling other people about Jesus, about salvation, about God, about the Good News.

Things were quite different at the time Peter wrote and the way things are now. In Peter’s day, they didn’t have dove or fish logos to demonstrate their Christian life. They didn’t have bumpers, so there were no Jesus bumper stickers (if you are riding around with Jesus bumper stickers, your driving better be sanctified). There were no “I’m with Jesus t-shirts”. What did they have? The type of advertising that we still see everywhere, simple testimonials from satisfied customers.

I want to talk about four ideas that Peter gives us to help us tell other people about Jesus.

1. Focused Hope

I Peter 3:15 “But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

We often use the term “sharing our faith” when we talk about this process, but Peter introduces a different term, he calls it “sharing our hope”. I like that idea. Sharing our faith sounds like we need to really have our theology down and have a lot of Bible verses ready to go. But sharing our hope speaks to me about telling people what Jesus has done in my life.

Our hope isn’t based on a bunch of wishes we have for the future, but it is focused on the promises of Jesus. The promises of life now and forever. It is the idea of this focused hope that Peter is communicating with the words, “but in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord”.

2. Prepare to Share

Peter says, “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.”

This is where the difference between sharing our faith and sharing our hope really displays itself. A lot of people are hesitant to talk to others about Jesus because they are afraid that they just don’t know the Bible well enough, or that they just aren’t very quick at trying to answer questions and some skeptic is going to tie them in knots with some philosophical problem that they can’t answer.

The great thing about sharing your hope, is that it is your hope. It is your Jesus story of how Jesus has moved in your life and what He has brought you through, and the promises that you have received from His word. It’s your hope. It’s your reasons. It’s your reason you individually prepare.”

How do I get prepared? Take a few promises from the Bible that apply to your life right now and think about how you might talk to other people about them. When your circumstances change you’ll find a couple of other promises that fit where you are then and you think about how you might share with others. And you just keep doing this with the each new season of life that you move through. That way you’re always ready to share your hope.

3. With gentleness and respect

One of the things that you need to understand is that you don’t have to force these opportunities to share. You just need to be prepared to talk when the opportunity arises. Some people have a personality that allows them to talk to anyone anywhere, but I don’t think that is what is required for most people. I had a friend that I used to go into the prisons with to minister to people, and he was way more confrontive than I am. We would get into the elevator to go up three floors, and if someone got on with us, he would always say something like, do you know Jesus? And I would always be so uncomfortable but it seemed to work for him.

We are encouraged by Peter to use gentleness and respect. Gentleness sincerely expressed. People need to see that you are speaking from your heart. That you do not have some sort of agenda that is trying to get some sort of response from them. You are just talking about your hope and then maybe getting an opportunity to listen to their feelings so that you can empathize with them.

We are looking for an honest connection that lets people hear your story and perhaps consider it for a while before dismissing it. Many people have had someone try and force feed some religious belief on them and so if we can just kindly love them and in being ourselves (I have seen some people that almost take on a different persona when they are going to talk about Jesus) speak with gentleness and respect we have a better opportunity of sharing our hope.

4. Yes, but

You have to know going in to this that some people will not listen. They might have even asked you your reasons and as soon as they here Jesus they want to shut you down as “one of those”. Peter knows this will happen and he brings up the days of Noah.

The illustration to Noah is the illustration to your “Yes, but…” For 120 years, the Bible tells us, Noah lived and he didn’t just build a ship. It says he was a preacher of righteousness. For 120 years it was Noah — his shipyard and petting zoo. Noah always had to be prepared for the reason why there were giraffes in his backyard. For 120 years he did that. Amazingly, nobody got saved. There were 8 people on that ship but they were just Noah’s family.

Even more amazingly, Jesus was there. Obviously, not physically, since Noah lived before Jesus. But He was still in heaven as the Eternal Son of God. But it says, Jesus went in Spirit and was there with Noah. Yet nobody got saved. While that seems to me to amazing, there are three things that you need to know from that story:

a) As He was with with Noah, Jesus is with us.

As believers, the Holy Spirit is in you and with you and He will help you in sharing your hope. He will often give you just the right thing to say and the right way to say it.

b) As with Noah, the results are on God

We just need to remember, as Christians, it’s my job to speak, it’s God’s job to save. It’s my job to do the possible, it’s God’s job to do the impossible. I can’t save anybody, but I can share my hope and leave the results to God.

c) As with Noah, there will be some persecution

You will have some people who respond in very positive ways, and you have will have some people who respond in very negative ways and everything in between.

What we need to do is be prepared and then God is faithful to do the rest.

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