The Gospel of John, 1/10/15.
John 1:1-18.
"Faith comes from hearing and hearing from the word of God." Rom. 10:17. We are going on a journey within the word of God. Each week we are going to hear from God Himself. He wants to fellowship and talk with us. He wants to reveal His Son to us. We are going to do more than just listen. We are going to hear. In essence, it is a consuming, or taking in. It is becoming part of us. It is changing us. In hearing, we are compelled to action. This is the seed of faith. It is our inspiration to live by faith, not fear. We are going to truly live by faith in Jesus as our Savior. So, come on. Let's get started on this journey...
The Gospel of John is the last written Gospel, authored by John around 100ad. The purpose is to grow believers. It is a book that leaves us amazed and in awe of our Savior. It inspires and lights a fire in our souls. It is truly life-giving. The irony is in the writing, using very simple words to tell a story of such wonderful depth, no man can fully understand the complete meaning. The key to this gospel is in John 20:30-31, "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." John specifically chose only a few miracles/signs to prove his points. He also considers it important to have correct geography and order of events.
Friends, there are so many of us that need life injected into our journey. It's a long, hard trail, but too many of us are walking without life. He came to bring us life, both here and now, and for eternity. Too many of us are walking around in darkness, as well. He is the light of men. We have great need to let go of our darkness and allow His light to shine into and through our lives. This is our theme this year: "Light and Life in TwentyTen plus Five."
I sometimes like to consider opposites to get the full effect of words and their meanings. We are either Firefighters FOR Christ or AGAINST Him. We either have LIFE and LIGHT or DEATH and DARKNESS. You get the point. Simple, but effective in helping us get off the fence and commit to belief.
And now, to John...
John begins with a profound celebration of the miracle of the Trinity. He establishes Jesus as present from "the beginning". It is consistent with Genesis in "let us make man in OUR image". It also harmonizes with Job, where Satan is allowed to approach the throne of God, obviously able to see Jesus again and again. It makes sense when considering the demons were the only beings to recognize Jesus when He was on Earth. How? They were there, in heaven, with Jesus, seeing Jesus, before they fell, as angels. Folks, this story of John elevates Jesus to His proper status and position. He is the answer we hunger for. Will you live in a way that elevates Him this year? We will be some kind of witness this year. May we be true, spiritual witnesses that testify that this life is all about Jesus. He's taking us on a journey and wants our hearts to be committed to believe all that we hear. Who's in?
