Joe_Applegarth

Both of these men were wealthy, aristocratic and highly placed in the Sanhedrin. Clearly, they were both disciples of Jesus who kept their discipleship secret out of fear of the Jewish leadership. (cf. John 19:38) Was it good that they were secret disciples? It’s easy to sit back 2000 years later and condemn these men for cowardice but in all honesty, it would have taken considerable courage for either one of these men to stand before the passion and fury of their counterparts to confess Jesus as the Messiah. They risked losing everything they had, to include their lives, so to confess Jesus before the anger and contempt of their peers would have taken a level of courage that even Simon Peter didn’t possess. In the end however, Jesus never rejected their “secret” discipleship and they both (boldly) played critical roles in honoring the body of Christ Jesus. The account of Jesus’ burial is important for a number of reasons but it clearly brings to the forefront that being a “secret disciple” isn’t something to which any of us should ascribe. Each and every one of us owes a profound obligation to the one who suffered terribly and willingly gave his life for us. That obligation is to take advantage of every opportunity that we have to speak his name boldly and to boldly honor him by living our lives the way He lived His. In truth, there is more than enough of Jesus’ love to go around so we who have received His abundant blessings share a mutual obligation to share that glorious love with others. To lock the good news of Christ Jesus away in our own hearts is denying any possibility of salvation to those who don’t yet know him. To understand who Jesus is, we need only look to John. In 10:10, he quotes Jesus as saying "I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly” and then in 14:6 He says, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” That’s who Jesus is! He willingly sacrificed Himself for our salvation and it’s only through faith that we can ever hope to live a full, abundant life and at the end of our days on this earth, spend eternity in fellowship with God. Jesus Christ went to the cross willingly! He went to take upon Himself the punishment for our sins so that when we stand before the throne, we can be sinless in the eyes of God. If you refuse to receive God’s forgiveness and the gift of eternal life through Christ Jesus then you will unequivocally receive the judgment that you have so justly earned.

Why do you think Jesus died in such a relatively short time? Jesus was so severely injured and had lost so much blood from the floggings and the scourging that he’d received earlier that day that he would have been in an extremely weakened state and probably close to death when they nailed him to the cross. What does the water and blood flowing from Jesus' side indicate? It indicated that Jesus was already dead. The stress brought about by everything that he’d undergone that day would have resulted in a massive shock to his body resulting in an extremely rapid heartbeat and that causes fluid to gather in the cavity around the heart. Also because of the position that he was in on the cross, breathing would have been extremely labored at best which would have ultimately resulted in asphyxiation which also causes fluid buildup around the heart. When he was pierced, that would have released both blood and the fluid built up in his body. How did it fulfill Scripture? “He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken” (Psa. 34:20) and “And they shall look upon Me whom they have pierced…” (Zech. 12:10).

By saying “It is finished”, Jesus was affirming that His mission on earth had been completed and through His death He had eliminated the sin debt owed by all of mankind. It also signified the fulfillment of the OT prophecies about the coming of the Messiah. Jesus’ primary mission was to reconcile mankind back to God. He told us what His mission was in Luke 4:18-19 when He said, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” God’s purpose was centered in Him (and Him alone) so the very day Christ Jesus was born the word became flesh. He died on the cross for the salvation of all mankind and with that, His mission was completed.

What is Jesus' mother Mary feeling at the cross? The Gospels make no mention of her mourning and/or wailing so I believe that through those long hours of witnessing Jesus’ suffering it was though a sword had been driven through heart. I’m sure that more than once she reflected on Simeon's prophesy that she too would be pierced. I don’t believe she displayed any sign of weakness keeping her own pain and agony silently inside her. She knew from the very beginning how it would all end and I believe her devotion and reverence for God and for her son kept her from interfering in His last earthly moments. She was His mother and she’d personally witnessed the results of the brutal scourging and the humiliation that had been levied upon him. As He was nailed to the cross, she saw His mutilated hands and feet and she personally witnessed he uncontrollable writhing on the cross as the pain gripped his broken body yet, through it all, she had the strength to have stood watch over him until the very end. Why does Jesus give John responsibility to care for his mother? After Joseph’s death, Jesus, as Mary’s eldest son, would have been responsible for her care and welfare. Mark 6:3 lists James, Joseph, Judas and Simon as Jesus’ brothers and he could have entrusted her care to any of them but John was the “disciple that He loved.” John was not only His disciple, he was His friend, His confidante and His brother in God’s Kingdom so he placed his mother in the care of the one who’d stood beside him till the end, the one that He trusted most of all. Jesus proved that He was a man of compassion when he told the robber that “today you will be with me in paradise“(Luke 23:43). Again in Luke 23:34 he demonstrated that compassion by extending mercy to those who were murdering Him, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” When He entrusts Mary to John’s care he again demonstrates that same level of love compassion to his own mother. As a man of compassion Jesus extended mercy and love to others right to the very end of his life. I think that says it all with regard to His values.

Jesus’s death on the cross fulfilled the psalm it in every way! Crucifixion is the most horrific torture ever devised by man and the only way to adequately describe the pain of crucifixion is the word “excruciating”. Ironically, it was after Jesus’ crucifixion that the word came into existence to describe the unbearable pain of being crucified. The word comes from Latin excruciare, from cruciare, to crucify. It literally means “agonizingly painful”; extreme agony as a result of being crucified i.e. “a pain like the pain of crucifixion”. As he hung on that cross, He would have been gasping and struggling in agony for every breath until the very end. As His earthly life drained from him, His precious blood would have been pouring from every wound inflicted upon him. His shoulders would have most likely been dislocated from being stretched across and nailed to the patibulum. His heart felt like wax, melting within. As he hung on that cross, every single sin ever committed, past and future, was heaped upon him. As result of the spiritual pain of having His Father forsake Him I can see how his heart would have been filled with absolute dread. His mouth would have been parched and dry, his tongue sticking to the roof of his mouth. (cf. John 19:28) “Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, ‘I am thirsty.’” The “dogs and villains” who encircled him were the Roman soldiers and the Jews who called in unison for his death. He would have been crucified in humiliating fashion; naked with his “bones on display” for people to “stare and gloat” over him. The Roman soldiers divided his clothing into four even shares and cast lots for his chiton. Every single word of the psalm was fulfilled that day. Jesus experienced total and complete humiliation as well as extreme physical and spiritual pain as he hung on that cross. He willingly died that kind of "excruciating" death for our salvation and because He did, you and I will never have to.

Luke 23:3 depicts Pilate asking Jesus if he was in-fact the king of the Jews, to which Jesus replied “It is as you say.” The Jews attempted to construe Jesus’ claims in a political connotation by charging Him with adopting the title of (an earthly) “king” and forbidding the payment of tribute to Rome (“Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Matthew 22:21). The lesson quotes Philo’s opinion that Pilate feared that the Jews would “expose his conduct.” The lesson also says that he probably overstated his position and I totally agree with that assessment. Because of all the political unrest in Israel at the time, Pilate wasn’t in good standing with Tiberius anyway and the Jewish leaders had turned a multitude of people against Jesus. Personally, I believe that what he feared most of all was the possibility an insurrection if he didn’t capitulate. I’m quite sure he knew full well that the Jews had placed him in a very precarious situation, they wanted Jesus executed and if he refused he would certainly be running the risk of insurrection. Roman magistrates had wide discretion in executing their tasks so my guess is that he felt that an insurrection would have brought infinitely more of Caesar’s wrath down on him than having the Jewish leadership "report" him for “briberies, insults and outrages.” Either way, this was a no-win situation for him. My greatest fear is failing to fully accomplish the tasks that He’s given me and a desire to do his will is my motivation.

Why do you think Pilate maintains Jesus' innocence and then has him brutally scourged? On the surface, John’s text seems to indicate that Pilate was sympathetic to Jesus’ plight but in truth, he was as equally vicious and sadistic as any Roman of that time. He was simply trying to keep from appearing weak by giving in to the demands of the Jews. I believe he ordered the scourging of Jesus as a last ditch effort to save face by sparing Jesus from crucifixion in spite of the demands of the Jews. The Romans never hesitated to put any non-citizen to the lash and the beating would generally continue until the prisoner was at the very brink of death. The Jews themselves limited the scourge to forty lashes, stopping at thirty-nine to avoid breaking the law but in Jesus’ case, I personally don’t believe they put any limits on how many lashes he could or would receive. Why does Jesus allow himself to be brutally scourged and then mocked? It’s only through the horrific sacrifice that Jesus made for us that we can even begin to fathom the magnitude of our sin and God’s boundless love for us. Jesus was perfect! He was born of human flesh and blood and vulnerable to the temptations common to mankind. He was tested and tempted by Satan but He did not sin. Just as Isaiah prophesied (Isaiah 53), God laid our sins on Jesus through the beating he suffered and His ultimate crucifixion. “…the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5) How much persecution are you willing to endure to accomplish the mission the Father has given you? I can only hope and pray that if I ever have to face death for my Lord and Savior that I would go willingly. I also know that I’m not Jesus Christ, I’m not sinless, nor am I perfect. I’m simply a man who’s subject to the frailties and weaknesses of all men so, because of my faith in God, I can say without any doubt that I (believe in my heart) that I’d endure anything, other than that, I really have no firm basis for answering this question.

What is the danger when we disciples declare the gospel is absolutely true? Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes…” (Romans 1:16) Paul believed in the gospel and he faced persecution on a completely different level than we do today and he was neither afraid, nor ashamed to preach the “absolute” word of God and we shouldn’t be either. A true disciple should never fail to point out the false doctrines of the world but keep in mind that when we do we face hatred and persecution from non-believers, muslims, homosexuals and even from within our own communities. Persecution such as verbal harassment, hanging and beheadings have been around since the very beginning and it’s becoming just as prevalent today as it was then but that shouldn’t dissuade us from proclaiming the absolute truth in God’s Holy Word. How do cynics like Pilate or people in our post-modern age react? If people reject the truth we bring, what is the next step for us? Some people are more receptive to the gospel than others but even when people are resistant that should never dissuade us from spreading the Word of God and inviting non-believers to come to Christ. In the Book of Acts, Luke wrote, “When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” At that, Paul left the Council. Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed.” (Acts 17:32-33) People will react in different ways, most certainly, some will sneer but by the same token, some will believe. It’s of the utmost importance for all of us to understand that it’s not our task to save non-believers, that’s reserved for the Holy Spirit. It’s our job to introduce them to the love of Jesus Christ and by doing that we are opening the door for the Holy Spirit. After the resurrection, Jesus told his disciples to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned. (Mark 16:15-16) Jesus didn’t say to go out and save the world, but He does expect us to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” God endowed us all with a brain and the ability to choose so if the people to whom we’re witnessing reject the truth the first time it’s presented to them we need to go back to them and try again. Ordinarily when I quote, I quote scripture but I found this too good to not share. Greg Laurie of the Christian Post wrote the following: “Conversion is God's job, not mine. It is the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of an unbeliever. God holds us responsible for proclaiming the truth. But the rest is up to Him.”

What do you think the Jewish leaders charged Jesus with before Pilate? If true, why would that be taken seriously by the Romans? In reality, the Jews wanted him executed for blasphemy because he claimed to be the Son of God (or God in the flesh) and they also felt that he had violated the Sabbath on a number of occasions both of which were very serious offenses to 1st century Jews. The Jews only had legal powers that had been delegated to them by Rome. They wanted Jesus executed in the most humiliating fashion possible (crucified) but they lacked the authority to execute him themselves so they needed to have the Romans pass sentence on him. In order to get Roman buy-in on Jesus’ execution, they brought him before Pontius Pilate charging that someone who has made himself out to be king couldn’t possibly be loyal to Rome. Jesus' “conviction” was nothing more than a matter of political expediency for Pilate. The Jews were pressuring him for an execution and he was more concerned with keeping peace between Rome and the Jews than he was about the truth of Jesus’ guilt. What kind of king does Jesus say he is? Where is the source of his kingship? What Jesus was telling Pilate was that even though His kingdom is “in the world” it isn’t a physical kingdom with borders and boundaries. His is a spiritual kingdom that is not “of the world” and He doesn’t rely on mortal power as earthly kingdoms do, His Kingdom relies instead upon the spiritual power of God and his rule is one of divine grace. What is the danger to our gospel message when we politicize Christian causes? Personally, I believe that God expects us to do everything in our power to advocate for those causes in which we believe strongly. If Christ is the Lord of our lives, then it would stand to reason that in all things, He must always be Lord and that includes our political views. If something catastrophic were to occur in this country and our religious freedoms were taken away, as Christians I’m quite sure our lives would become much different and probably extremely difficult. But the truth is, Christianity has survived and even thrived under extreme persecution since the first century so I strongly believe that it would certainly survive here in spite of efforts to do away with it. The only political guidance that we need is scripturally based: Godless Nero was the Roman Emperor when Paul wrote to the Romans: “For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” (Romans 13:1) He went on to tell Timothy that we should pray for kings and those in authority “in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” (1 Tim. 2:1-2) and Jesus told Pilate, “You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given you from above.” (John 19:11). As Christians, we all need to be extremely careful not to become infatuated with political parties or individual candidates. We all need to remember that we are not Republicans or Democrats; we are Christians! Remember this if you will, every politician and every candidate running for office is a sinner, a human being who is subject to the desire for political power and prestige but, God Himself has conceived governmental authority as part of His master plan.

What do you think the Jewish leaders charged Jesus with before Pilate? If true, why would that be taken seriously by the Romans? In reality, the Jews wanted him executed for blasphemy because he claimed to be the Son of God (or God in the flesh) and they also felt that he had violated the Sabbath on a number of occasions both of which were very serious offenses to 1st century Jews. The Jews only had legal powers that had been delegated to them by Rome. They wanted Jesus executed in the most humiliating fashion possible (crucified) but they lacked the authority to execute him themselves so they needed to have the Romans pass sentence on him. In order to get Roman buy-in on Jesus’ execution, they brought him before Pontius Pilate charging that someone who has made himself out to be king couldn’t possibly be loyal to Rome. Jesus' “conviction” was nothing more than a matter of political expediency for Pilate. The Jews were pressuring him for an execution and he was more concerned with keeping peace between Rome and the Jews than he was about the truth of Jesus’ guilt. What kind of king does Jesus say he is? Where is the source of his kingship? What Jesus was telling Pilate was that even though His kingdom is “in the world” it isn’t a physical kingdom with borders and boundaries. His is a spiritual kingdom that is not “of the world” and He doesn’t rely on mortal power as earthly kingdoms do, His Kingdom relies instead upon the spiritual power of God and his rule is one of divine grace. What is the danger to our gospel message when we politicize Christian causes? Personally, I believe that God expects us to do everything in our power to advocate for those causes in which we believe strongly. If Christ is the Lord of our lives, then it would stand to reason that in all things, He must always be Lord and that includes our political views. If something catastrophic were to occur in this country and our religious freedoms were taken away, as Christians I’m quite sure our lives would become much different and probably extremely difficult. But the truth is, Christianity has survived and even thrived under extreme persecution since the first century so I strongly believe that it would certainly survive here in spite of efforts to do away with it. The only political guidance that we need is scripturally based: Godless Nero was the Roman Emperor when Paul wrote to the Romans: “For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.” (Romans 13:1) He went on to tell Timothy that we should pray for kings and those in authority “in order that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity.” (1 Tim. 2:1-2) and Jesus told Pilate, “You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given you from above.” (John 19:11). As Christians, we all need to be extremely careful not to become infatuated with political parties or individual candidates. We all need to remember that we are not Republicans or Democrats; we are Christians! Remember this if you will, every politician and every candidate running for office is a sinner, a human being who is subject to the desire for political power and prestige but, God Himself has conceived governmental authority to be a part of His master plan.

They “fell back” due to the enormity of the power of God radiating through Christ. John details this event to show that it was the Glory of God that overpowered them and was a clear sign of His awesome power. They were not overpowering Him, this event was a clear demonstration that he was giving Himself over to them feely. Christ rebuked Peter because it was now “His time” and Peter’s actions could have put God’s plan in jeopardy.

The unity that we, as Christians, should be pursuing is unity in the truth found in the Gospel but, Christian unity is more than sharing the truth of God’s Holy Word. The unity spoken of in the Gospel, the ultimate goal of every Christian is unity in the glory of God. “Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” (Philippians 2:1-4) The model of unity that Christ left for us is of course, that He and the Father are one. He is in the Father and the Father in Him. He expects us be just that as well. One with Him, just as He is resident in and one with us. There are two Latin phrases that come to mind that describe our witness to the world. First of all, “ex uno plures” (from one, many). To visualize my point you have to believe that the Trinity (The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit) are in-fact, one. From the one, came the 12 and from them, all of us. Just as Christianity grew by leaps and bounds during the first century because of the unity of the Apostles, the very same thing is possible today if we are unified. That brings me to the second Latin phrase, “E pluribus unum” (from many, one). We are many but when we stand together, united as the body of Christ, we are one. One body united in a common cause, and that cause is taking the Word of God to every corner of the world to bring even more disciples to Christ Jesus.

We are to remain in the world to represent Jesus and his Kingdom. Even though we are physically “in the world”, we are not to adopt its value system or its sinful lifestyle; we are of “the Kingdom of God”. Because of our humanity, we are vulnerable to Satan and his lies so we must always remain vigilant in order to keep influences of this world from contaminating the righteousness bestowed upon us as a result of Christ's sacrifice. How do we achieve this? Well, since we’re clothed in earthly humanity that’s certainly not easy. Satan and his sin absolutely loves this world and we are all, at some level at least, attracted to or tolerate its sinful practices and attitudes. If we ever hope to attain the Kingdom of God the path is through faith, prayer, study, worship and fellowship with other Christians. We simply can’t afford to compromise our Christianity so we have strive to develop a noncompromising, intolerance for the sin in the world. The spiritual standard that we should all be aspiring to is not to keep the world out completely because we are “in the world. We are not “of this world”, therefore the standard of holiness that we all need strive for comes from studying God’s Holy Word and praying constantly for the strength to repel the sin in this world so that it doesn’t contaminate our holiness, and it most certainly will if we’re not vigilant.

In John 10:30, Jesus said, “I and the Father are one” and on several occasions He deliberately used the phrase; "I AM", and in John 8:58 He told the Jews, “I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am." On several occasions He expressed clearly and unequivocally that every deed and every word that he spoke came from the Father. As he coexisted with God, so also does He co-possess everything that is of God. Just as he said, He and the Father are one so their relationship was such that He was (is) with the Father constantly and the Father constantly with Him. Paul told the Romans that we are “heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him. (8:17) As heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ Jesus we will be glorified with Christ and as God’s heirs. I always focus on the rest of Paul’s dissertation here as well, and that is that “we will suffer with him”. Yes of course we will but the inheritance that we’ll receive is so great that every burden, every illness and every hardship that we suffered in the world will seem small and insignificant by comparison. John wrote in the Book of Revelation, “Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.” (21:7) We will inherit “all this”, meaning everything that is of God so our inheritance as children of God means that we will share in the world and everything in it. But that in itself is small and insignificant because as children of God, we will share in God himself! That, of course, will be our final and ultimate reward. “Then will you not say with the apostle, "I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us"? (Ephesians 1:18) How should we live our lives? We have to live with the utmost faith in God. Having faith means to rely and depend upon him for everything knowing in our hearts that He is bigger, greater and better than we are and he loves us a great deal. There are two things that He expects of us; 1) we are to love Him above everything else, and 2) we are to love our neighbors as ourselves. If do that we will have satisfied all of our God’s other commands. We are all human and we will always sin to deal with and there will always be a battle within us to either follow our flesh and sin, or to follow the Spirit. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul tells us, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. For we have been created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (2:8-9)

In his preexistent glory, was perfect glory as Christ “lived in intimate communion of glory and blessedness with the Father.” (Dagg). During His earthly ministry He came to be like us (human) and His earthly teachings were reinforced by spectacular works (miracles) but the miracles that supplemented his teachings were only used to reinforce His glory, they were not the focus. His ministry on earth didn’t dissociate him from his own godly qualities, He still retained his godly power, He simply set aside His heavenly glory and authority during His earthly ministry and surrendered Himself completely to the will of the Father. Robert C. Chapman’s song, Jesus in His Heavenly Glory begins this way: “Jesus, in His heavenly glory, Sits with God upon the throne; Now no more to be forsaken, His humiliation gone.” Today, Jesus reigns supreme at the right hand of His Father. God’s objective when He allowed His son Christ Jesus to be sacrificed on the cross was that all of mankind might be made perfect before Him on our day of judgement. I believe the last two questions were answered in Jude (24-25) “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, who alone is wise, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.”

What was the "work" the Father gave Jesus to do? Wow, there’s no short answer to that one but, 1) His primary mission was (among other things) to reveal God to all of mankind (John 12:45). He was sent by God to be our Savior (1 John 4:14), to witness to the truth (John 18:37) and to call sinners to repentance (Mark 2:17). When he said that he would “finish the work of the Father” he was talking about giving his own earthly life as a sacrifice for the sins of all mankind so that we might live through him (1 John 4:9). Everything he did and everything he said was glorification of the Father. What is the "work" the Father has given you to do? Paul told the Philippians (2:13) “For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him.” So, I guess the question is, what can we do to please God? Ultimately we will be most fulfilled when we’re actively working to fulfill God’s purpose for our lives. We began to fulfil His purpose the moment we first believed. In all honesty, we really don’t need to concern ourselves about what work God has given us to do while we’re here on this earth. When we honestly and truly believe and put our faith in Him; when we believe that what He says is true and good, the Holy Spirit will in-fact reveal God’s will for us. God hates sin and because He does, He’ll hold us accountable for our actions! He wants all of us to place ourselves in His capable hands by dedicating and living our lives for Him. The most important thing that we can give to Him is to live a life that clearly demonstrates a reverence for Him and the blessings that He’s provided. When we accept Christ Jesus as our savior, the Holy Spirit empowers us to reject the things of this world and rely on Him and Him alone so that we can grow in godly, righteous character. When we do that for Him, we become more like Him and, in a nutshell, that’s our task, that’s exactly what He expects of us. By living a godly life (in word and deed) we set a shining example to others that will lead them to Him as well. “…greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

I believe the Christian would say that “eternal life” is a continuation of their life (spiritually) in heaven after their (worldly, physical) body dies. Christ defines “eternal life” (v. 3) as an eternal relationship with him and the Father. The key element is our “relationship” with Christ and His Holy Father; he wants us to know him intimately right now! Jesus came to us so that we can all know and understand God in a personal way. Personally, I’m doing pretty well but in all honesty, there’s still an awful lot of room for improvement.

In what sense has Jesus "overcome" the world? In what sense can we "overcome" the world? When Jesus went to the cross, He saved us out of love and not because of anything we did to earn salvation. His death on the cross overcame the evil in a world ruled by Satan (the prince of this world). Satan’s power over us was taken away when Christ accepted God's will and willingly went to the cross to die for the sins of mankind. When He gave Himself up as the perfect sacrifice on that cross He not only overcame Satan, He gave all of us the strength to overcome the power of sin and death that he (Satan) holds over us as well. When Jesus gave up His earthly life, He showed us the way to eternal life in God’s heavenly kingdom. As Christian men and women, we need to realize that, through the power of the Holy Spirit, God is doing His earthly work through all of us. For us to “overcome” the world (Satan), we have to set a shining example for the world by committing ourselves to loving God, loving one another and doing good works. In Matthew 5:16, Jesus said to, “…let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” Can we overcome Satan even though we are martyred in the process? As good and faithful servants of the Lord we’ve been taught that the only way to overcome Satan is to stay strong in the Lord and boldly face the evil in the world. That said, let’s face facts here, we are all human beings and the fear of extreme pain and death is prevalent in all of us so exactly how can we possibly be expected to boldly face evil? Well, all we can really do is to keep our faith strong and pray that, if and when the time comes, God will provide us with the strength to do whatever the situation requires of us rather than allow evil to win. If the recent murders in Oregon teach us anything at all it’s that if you give your life for Christ you will rise with Him as well. In John 10:10, Jesus told us that, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly” and then in Matthew 6:25, He said that “whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” I pray fervently every single day that none of us will ever have to face what those young people had to face because of their faith but… if we do, I really don’t believe we will overcome Satan’s evil “even though”… I believe we’ll overcome “because” our faith in Christ is stronger than the evil that we’re facing. I pray that none of us ever have to face torture or death because of our religious beliefs but if we do, remember John’s words; “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” (1 John 4:4)

Jesus said that he is not alone, that the Father is always with him. What does this mean to us when we are lonely? Life is a very rocky road and no matter how hard we try to keep them out, we all experience tough times and hardships. Hard times come to all of us at some point in our lives and there are times when we become discouraged and simply feel like throwing in the towel. “They say” that life is tough and that’s certainly not an understatement but when we don't think we can take one more step and when it seems that there’s no one who can help, the Lord is ALWAYS there ready and willing to bring us through our most challenging times. When no one else can help, He gives us exactly what we need at exactly the right time. Being a Christian, having faith and serving God diligently certainly doesn't exempt us from the loneliness and apprehension brought on by personal hardship or illness but, we are never alone because He is always there with us and we have His assurance that He will never abandon us. What should we do to deepen our fellowship with the ever-present Father so that we aren't as lonely? The sin that we carry around with us is THE fundamental obstruction standing between us and an unconditional, everlasting fellowship with God. The onset of spiritual lonliness is brought on by failing to properly attend to that sin. The road to ridding ourselves of sin and deepening our fellowship with the Lord is to: 1) make confessing our sins to God an integral part of our daily worship routine. We are all human beings ergo, we are all inherently sinners. Sin is the fundamental obstacle to a lasting relationship with God so it only stands to reason that heartfelt confession and repentance is what it will take to remove it. When we confess our sins to God, we must acknowledge that we’ve done wrong and sincerely turn to Him for forgiveness but an unpretentious, generic confession isn’t what He’s looking for. He wants specifics! Simply saying, “God forgive me for my sins” isn’t enough, you MUST acknowledge and repent for each and every sin that you want Him to forgive. Why? Quite obviously He really doesn’t need to hear it, after all He’s God and He already knows what our sins are. God it seems, wants us to take personal responsibility for our sins by acknowledging them openly and freely, not only to Him but to ourselves as well. 2) We need to be still and listen to Him! Regardless of what some TV evangelists have to say on the subject, God doesn’t speak audibly to any of us. He speaks, through the Holy Spirit, to our hearts and minds, not to our ears. Listening to Him comes through studying (note I didn’t say reading) His Holy Word regularly. When we faithfully study His Word we are (or should be) listening to Him with our hearts. 3) A conversation includes both speaking and listening. As I said we listen when we study Gods word but we can also speak to Him through our daily prayers. Paul tells us in Romans 12:12 to; “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” We speak to Him as we offer prayers of love and devotion, of sorrow and regret for our sinful ways and prayers of thanksgiving and supplication. 4) Our Fellowship with likeminded people (other Christians) also plays an important role in developing and deepening our fellowship with God. Regular attendance every Lord’s Day not only provides an opportunity to come to the Lord’s house to worship and fellowship with Him but it also brings us into fellowship with other Christians. 5) Last but not least is building a closer relationship with God through a life of obedience. Paul said it much better than I could ever hope when he wrote, “Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:16)

What does it mean to pray to the Father "in Jesus' name"? Jesus told us on more than one occasion that it’s the Father who’s in charge. His actions backed up that assertion every time He willfully submitted Himself to His Father’s authority. In His discourse at the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us to pray "Our Father in heaven…" That’s a pretty clear declaration that our prayers should be concentrated on the Father and no one else, if Jesus said to pray to the Father why would we ever consider praying otherwise? The reality is, of course, that we are all sinners and because we are, we can only approach God in the name of Christ Jesus. God is perfectly holy and He hates our sin and that’s precisely why He devised a way for us to approach Him. As a sinner, our only approach to God is through Christ Jesus and I believe He made that abundantly clear when Jesus told us, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John. 14:6). Simply put, Jesus is the mediator of our approach to God and… God the Father only hears us when we go through the Son. Is it okay to pray to Jesus and to the Holy Spirit? Although I don’t believe its “wrong” to pray to, or thank Jesus for the good things that happen in our lives. Jesus Himself teaches us that we should go directly to the Father in His name. "…I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name." (John 16:23) Neither Christ nor the Spirit should be the primary focus of our prayers; (in the name of Jesus Christ) the focus of our prayers should ALWAYS be God! If you expect either the Spirit or Christ Jesus to carry your prayers to God, Jesus seems to have specifically ruled that out when He told the apostles, "I am not saying that I will ask the Father on your behalf.” Even though Jesus is still our intercessor with the Father, that doesn’t mean that we should be asking Him to carry our prayers to the Father for us. He again makes that point abundantly clear in (John 16:23-24) when he said; “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." Is it scriptural to pray to a saint to intercede for us? In two words, ABSOLUTELY NOT! I’ll never understand why anyone would waste prayer time praying to a saint? God only listens to you when you pray to Him through Christ Jesus so if you’re wasting precious prayer time praying to a saint, He doesn’t even hear you! I know that I’ll be opening myself up to criticism by saying this but I personally believe that praying to a saint is akin to praying to an idol. So, why would I say something that uncompromising? Well to start with, the dictionary definition of an idol is “a representation or symbol of an object of worship; broadly: a false god.” In this case, the “object of worship” is God Himself and by praying to a saint, he/she becomes your idol, a false god who's taking up residence in a place that should be reserved only for God, a place (your heart) that God alone should be occupying. Secondly, I really can’t understand why anyone would EVER consider praying to a saint FOR ANY REASON. In my mind, that’s totally absurd since Jesus Himself teaches that we should always go to the very highest authority (God the Father). If you believe in Jesus and believe that what He says is true and right, why would you ever consider praying to a subordinate when, in the name of Christ Jesus, you can go to the very highest authority known to man? Why are we allowed to pray to the Father directly? Even though Christ Jesus is still our intercessor with the Father, He brought us all to His holy presence when He went to the cross. It was there that Christ paid our sin debt so that (through Him) we can now access the Father directly.

It’s only through the spiritual (internal) instruction from Christ Jesus through the Holy Spirit that we can ever hope to understand the will of God. Jesus said, “It is written in the Prophets, ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me’…” (John 6:45 ESV). The only way we can be “taught by God” is through the Holy Spirit; it’s through him and him alone that provides us with a true understanding of God’s will. When the apostles were given the gift of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, they were fully empowered to fulfil the tasks that Jesus called them to do. His promise however, isn’t restricted to the apostles, Jesus told them (Matthew 28:19-20 ESV) “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Without guidance through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can never hope to attain the knowledge or understanding of the truth revealed in Scripture.

Through what means does the Holy Spirit convict unbelievers? In the early church miracles were the natural result of His dominion. Evangelism through prophecy and miracles was a clear sign of God's power and holiness to the unbeliever. Today the Holy Spirit convicts nonbelievers through the Holy Word of God and through the power of preaching His Word and our personal testimony (witness). I’m sure that when preparing a sermon, those who preach diligently strive to choose exactly the right words to convey their message but when it’s all said and done, they are in-fact their own words and their own thoughts. When preaching to believers and non-believers alike it’s extremely important to remember to always include accurate, true and authoritative biblical accounts of Jesus’ awesome power and love. Preaching’s counterpart is, of course, witnessing and as important as preaching is, it’s (at least as) important to relate our own knowledge and understanding of the Lord through our personal testimony. When witnessing to others, at the very least we should always 1) include events in our lives that caused us to believe in the first place and 2) clearly communicate the joy of knowing that our sins are forgiven and the peace and tranquility that comes by faith through the Holy Spirit. Personal testimony is in no way a substitute but when it’s used in tandem with preaching, it is a very effective complement. Is it our job as preachers or lay Christians to convict unbelievers? Jesus said (John 16:8) that “…when he (the Paraclete) comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment…” It’s pretty clear that Jesus is telling us that it’s the work of the Holy Spirit is to “convict” the unsaved, not ours! That said, it’s of the utmost importance for us to understand exactly what the Holy Spirit expects to accomplish in the hearts of unbelievers and… it’s equally important that we understand our role in leading them to a godly life as well. Rather than attempting to reform the unsaved ourselves, it’s our job to seek out the unrepentant and to lead them to the Holy Spirit (evangelize). It’s the Spirit’s job to “convict” them! When we understand our role as well as his, then and only then, can we be of use to him in evangelizing unbelievers. Clearly, it’s imperative that the unrepentant sinner receive a strong, vibrant message about Christ’s love (and His power) but if you think that you aren’t standing in judgement before them as well, think again. Our words are just one piece of the puzzle, it’s equally important that that he/she have visual confirmation that what we’re saying is true or we’re simply wasting our time and effort. The visual confirmation that they seek is in found in the way we live and what we do with our lives. Knowing that, just like the apostles, our actions should always clearly communicate the love and compassion of Christ Jesus. When others can see Christ in our lives they can then see and understand that He really does live in us and through the power of the Holy Spirit, they’ll eventually want the same thing in theirs. In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians he said, “For our boast is this, the testimony of our conscience that we behaved in the world with simplicity and godly sincerity, not by earthly wisdom but by the grace of God…” (2 Cor. 1:12). Don’t hide your lamp under a bushel live your life openly “with godly sincerity” and let everyone know that you are who and what you are because Christ Jesus lives in you. I can say with a 100-percent degree of certainty that any service performed for Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit is pleasing to God and in all honesty, I’ve never experienced anything in my life that’s been more rewarding and spiritually invigorating than introducing someone to Christ. God isn’t predisposed to letting anyone perish, in fact, He wants everyone to come to repentance. More often than not His timetable isn’t always the same as mine and in all honesty, it quite often seems as though I’m just spinning my wheels. Through it all though, I know that if I hold fast to my faith, if I continue to study and learn and I continue to sincerely pray for the salvation and spiritual growth of those that He’s sent my way, in His eyes both they and I will benefit immensely. What damage do we inflict on people when we try to do the Holy Spirit's job? Spiritual damage is hardly ever inflicted with a conscience intent to do harm, the harm is simply a by-product of ignorance. More often than not, spiritual damage is inflicted on others by good people with good intentions. Good people who honestly believe that they are being guided by the Holy Spirit when they attempt to share Christ with others but they are generally so self-absorbed that they’re totally unaware that anything they do or say might be doing harm. They are usually so self-absorbed in what they believe to be true and that that they never see the spiritual damage that they’re inflicting and unfortunately, that damage may never be undone. As I said earlier, before we can minister to the spiritual needs of others, we need to possess a very clear understanding of what our role really is. First and foremost, we need to understand that it’s not our task to reform the unrepentant sinner; if we do we’re circumventing God’s will. Our task is to seek out the unrepentant and to lead them to the Holy Spirit (evangelize). Spiritual damage is almost always inflicted out of ignorance simply because we don’t truly understand our role and we overstep. I’ve known an awful lot of people who truly believe that everything that pops into their heads comes directly from the Spirit and that too is simply “good intentioned” ignorance. Unfortunately, when we do or say things out of ignorance, no matter how good our intentions may be, our words are perceived as being self-righteous and our actions as being selfish and egotistical and we’re actually doing more harm than good.

The death, resurrection and ascension of Christ Jesus' was not merely God’s plan for the redemption and salvation of the apostles, it was the culmination of His plan of salvation for all of mankind. God placed all of the wrath and indignation that our sin demanded of us, on His only son. He willingly went to the cross in our place and suffered a horrific death in order to carry out that plan. “He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:3-5). Jesus told His apostles that after left this earth to be with His Father, the Holy Spirit would be poured out on them and from that day forward it would be the Spirit who would be there to lead them and provide them guidance and comfort. I guess we all know that event did come to pass on the day of Pentecost and the rest of Jesus’ story is documented in the gospels that those men left behind. Today, the Holy Spirit isn’t simply sitting idly by waiting to be discovered, just as Jesus promised, he is in residence in all of us. He’s simply biding his time waiting for us to call on him to do God’s work. When we finally make the call, he's promised to lead our hearts closer to God and will reveal a deeper meaning for our lives by restoring the peace, hope and optimism to our lives that “surpasses all understanding”.

To testify means to tell what’s personally been seen or heard and what’s known to be true and accurate. Jesus said He would send the Holy Spirit to the apostles and that’s exactly what He did! The Spirit’s testimony is the gospels that he directed the apostles to write. Today we can read the words that the Spirit had them write in order to learn and understand the things that God wants us to know. Paul wrote the following in his first letter to the Corinthians; "Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual" (I Corinthians 2:12-13). Jesus’ apostles were told to “testify” and they were to tell the world only what they had personally seen and heard and what they knew to be true. As modern day disciples, we too are called upon as witnesses to testify to anyone who’ll listen what we have (personally) seen Jesus do in our own lives and everything that we’ve heard and know to be true about Him. “Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9)

Why do we believe that the Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force or power, but a Person? The Holy Spirit has characteristics that we attribute to a person, certainly not to some sort of nondescript entity. There is also biblical confirmation that clearly leads one to the conclusion that, as one of the Trinity (the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit), He is indeed a distinct being. Jesus is all the proof that I need… in His own words: “When the Advocate (Paraclete) comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. (John 15:26) But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the 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. (John 16:13) What kinds of functions that we attribute to persons does the Holy Spirit do? He appoints missionaries and leads and directs them in their ministry, he corrects and comforts us, teaches, guides and sanctifies and much, much more. Why is it so easy to refer to the Spirit as "it" rather than "Him"? Jesus said, “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.” (John 14:17) The characteristics that define us as a person also apply to the Holy Spirit. Even though He a spiritual being, He is a distinct entity, fully aware of His own being and fully aware of others and he obviously has a will of his own which indicates the ability to think and reason. These are all attributes and characteristics that are generally linked to a person but… since the Holy Spirit can’t be seen so it’s easier for most people to relate him to some kind of mysterious spiritual power rather than a living being.