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Deep Thoughts -
Deep Thoughts
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Written by Jonathan Hsieh
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Monday, 15 February 2010 17:06 |
17:16 They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. 17:17 Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth. 17:18 Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. 17:19 And I set myself apart on their behalf, so that they too may be truly set apart.
17:20 “I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, 17:21 that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 17:22 The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one – 17:23 I in them and you in me – that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.
17:24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 17:25 Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men know that you sent me. 17:26 I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.”
17:16 They do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. 17:17 Set them apart in the truth; your word is truth. 17:18 Just as you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. 17:19 And I set myself apart on their behalf, so that they too may be truly set apart.
Jesus begins to transition somewhat. He reiterates that the disciples don't belong to the world. They belong to Him. He wants the Father to set them apart based on His revelation to them. They are to live based on Jesus' teachings as opposed to the world. Just as Jesus was sent by the Father into the world, Jesus sends the disciples. Jesus sets Himself from the world, likewise the disciples must be set apart from the world. They must be different.
17:20 “I am not praying only on their behalf, but also on behalf of those who believe in me through their testimony, 17:21 that they will all be one, just as you, Father, are in me and I am in you. I pray that they will be in us, so that the world will believe that you sent me. 17:22 The glory you gave to me I have given to them, that they may be one just as we are one – 17:23 I in them and you in me – that they may be completely one, so that the world will know that you sent me, and you have loved them just as you have loved me.
Jesus isn't just looking at the immediate future of the disciples. Instead, He is concerned for those that believe in Him through the testimony of the disciples. He's looking forward to those who are the next spiritual generation. He wants them to be unified with each other and together with God. There is to be intimate connection between the believers and with God. They are all of one mind and purpose. It is through this unity that they will spread the testimony of Jesus Christ. It is this similar love, that Jesus said, that would indicate to the world that they are His disciples (13:34-35).
17:24 “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, so that they can see my glory that you gave me because you loved me before the creation of the world. 17:25 Righteous Father, even if the world does not know you, I know you, and these men know that you sent me. 17:26 I made known your name to them, and I will continue to make it known, so that the love you have loved me with may be in them, and I may be in them.”
The disciples don't know the end of the story yet. They don't see Jesus' glorified state and position. They don't see Him elevated in Heaven yet. He still has to go through much agony before that is to happen. Despite the fact that the world does not know the Father, the Son knows the Father and shared that with disciples so that they know Jesus was sent by the Father. And after the resurrection He word and teachings would continue to minister to the disciples through the Holy Spirit's work. Even after He ascends they will still enjoy God's love and they will all be together.
Not many of us are concerned about evangelism, spreading God's word with the intent of leading people to God. And for those that are concerned, many aren't focused on subsequent spiritual generations. Here Jesus is concerned for those that convert and those who are converted by them and so on. Last night I met a guy who wanted to run an orphanage over in the Middle East and what made his eyes light up was the idea of holding the kid of an orphan he had a hand in leading to Christ. What made this guy's heartbeat race was imagining seeing those He helped minister to have their own children and grow them up in the Lord.
When we spread the Gospel, we aren't just affecting that person. We are affecting all the people that interact with that person, including friends, family, and even future children! Let's try to have this realization of the impact that evangelism can have.
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News -
Latest
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Written by Jonathan Hsieh
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Monday, 15 February 2010 15:20 |
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The Planet Wisdom venue ran out of tickets so they're doing another one in April 23-24th. We, along with DCFC, will be moving to that date, also! So this Friday we will have a REGULAR Friday night program. |
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Deep Thoughts -
Deep Thoughts
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Written by Jonathan Hsieh
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Sunday, 14 February 2010 16:41 |
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17:9 I am praying on behalf of them. I am not praying on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me, because they belong to you. 17:10 Everything I have belongs to you, and everything you have belongs to me, and I have been glorified by them. 17:11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. 17:12 When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in your name that you have given me. Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled. 17:13 But now I am coming to you, and I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience my joy completed in themselves. 17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17:15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one.
17:9 I am praying on behalf of them. I am not praying on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those you have given me, because they belong to you.
Jesus continues His prayer for His disciples. His focus right now is not on the world, but the disciples. It will be through the disciples that Jesus reaches the world after the ascension.
17:10 Everything I have belongs to you, and everything you have belongs to me, and I have been glorified by them.
He acknowledges that the disciples belong to Him, after being given to Him by the Father. The disciples have brought glory to Jesus by believing.
17:11 I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them safe in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one just as we are one. 17:12 When I was with them I kept them safe and watched over them in your name that you have given me. Not one of them was lost except the one destined for destruction, so that the scripture could be fulfilled.
Jesus isn't in the world, in that He's on the way out. The disciples, on the other hand, will be sticking around. He prays to the Father, calling Him Holy, to keep the disciples safe so that they can be unified. The disciples are to act as a unity. Jesus was there to keep them safe and take care of them. None of them were lost, except the one that was planned to be lost. Matthew 27 give a quotation from Zechariah that parallels the later buying of the potter's field.
17:13 But now I am coming to you, and I am saying these things in the world, so they may experience my joy completed in themselves. 17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world. 17:15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but that you keep them safe from the evil one.
Soon Jesus would be going to the Father. He wants them to know this so that they would have joy. They received Jesus' message and because of that the world hates them because they aren't part of the world. Now they are like Jesus in that they don't go along with the world and its evil. Jesus asks the Father not to take them out of the world, and so to heaven, but to keep them safe for now. His mission on earth is finished. Their mission is about to begin.
The disciples were to stay on the earth for their mission. They did not belong to the world, but the world was their mission field. It's where they needed to do what they would soon be commanded to do, spreading the word of God and making disciples. And that's what we are to do. We must remember that we must remain in the world, but not be of the world. We can't act like those people who do not know or follow God, but at the same time we need to spend time around them so we can impact them. Let's make sure we don't go to one extreme. We can't end up acting like those who do not follow God, nor can we end up isolating ourselves from those people. |
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Deep Thoughts -
Deep Thoughts
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Written by Jonathan Hsieh
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Saturday, 13 February 2010 17:18 |
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17:1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you – 17:2 just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. 17:3 Now this is eternal life – that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent. 17:4 I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me at your side with the glory I had with you before the world was created. 17:6 “I have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word. 17:7 Now they understand that everything you have given me comes from you, 17:8 because I have given them the words you have given me. They accepted them and really understand that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
17:1 When Jesus had finished saying these things, he looked upward to heaven and said, “Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, so that your Son may glorify you –
There's a shift. Before Jesus talked to His disciples and now He is praying. He looks up toward heaven and prays. The time has come. Jesus knows He's about to die. It is through Jesus' death and resurrection that He will be glorified and through that the Father is glorified.
17:2 just as you have given him authority over all humanity, so that he may give eternal life to everyone you have given him. 17:3 Now this is eternal life – that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you sent.
Jesus continues to talk in the third person. God had given Him all authority so that He could give eternal life to those the Father entrusted to Him. Jesus continues by defining eternal life. It's knowing the Father and Jesus Christ. Knowing them is integral to salvation.
17:4 I glorified you on earth by completing the work you gave me to do. 17:5 And now, Father, glorify me at your side with the glory I had with you before the world was created.
Through His earthly ministry, doing the miracles and preaching the word, He glorified the Father while on earth. Now the Father would glorify Jesus after His ascension to the position He had before the creation of the world. As Paul wrote in Philippians 5:2-11, Jesus had emptied Himself of such glory to become a humble man to the point of dying on the cross, after which He was glorified.
17:6 “I have revealed your name to the men you gave me out of the world. They belonged to you, and you gave them to me, and they have obeyed your word. 17:7 Now they understand that everything you have given me comes from you, 17:8 because I have given them the words you have given me. They accepted them and really understand that I came from you, and they believed that you sent me.
Jesus had revealed God to the disciples. First they belonged to God and then were given to Jesus to care for. These men responded with obedience. They have what it takes to have eternal life. They accepted Jesus' words and believe that He came from the Father. Although soon afterwards they would desert Jesus, He knows that they will eventually pull through for Him.
Jesus is all about the mission the Father gave Him. He's wrapping up His earthly agenda He was given. Soon He will die on a cross, resurrect, teach, and ascend. His thirty-something year mission is coming to a close, yet all the while I was focused on it. I feel we all could learn from Jesus' mission-focused life. It was so full of purpose. There was something backing His every move. Now I know most people don't have such a clear-cut picture of what God wants them to do with their lives in the long run, but there are a lot of things we know we should do. For example, no matter what our specific God-given mission or goal in our life is, we should be reading and studying God's word. We should be sharing the Gospel with others that need it. We should be striving to advance our relationship with God. And over time a personal mission will eventually appear to you when you are ready. |
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Deep Thoughts -
Deep Thoughts
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Written by Jonathan Hsieh
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Friday, 12 February 2010 12:49 |
16:25 “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; a time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you plainly about the Father. 16:26 At that time you will ask in my name, and I do not say that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 16:27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 16:28 I came from the Father and entered into the world, but in turn, I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
16:29 His disciples said, “Look, now you are speaking plainly and not in obscure figures of speech! 16:30 Now we know that you know everything and do not need anyone to ask you anything. Because of this we believe that you have come from God.”
16:31 Jesus replied, “Do you now believe? 16:32 Look, a time is coming – and has come – when you will be scattered, each one to his own home, and I will be left alone. Yet I am not alone, because my Father is with me. 16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage – I have conquered the world.”
16:25 “I have told you these things in obscure figures of speech; a time is coming when I will no longer speak to you in obscure figures, but will tell you plainly about the Father.
Jesus has had to use roundabout ways to teach the disciples, using metaphors and other indirect means. But a time is coming when Jesus will tell them about the Father in plain and simple words.
16:26 At that time you will ask in my name, and I do not say that I will ask the Father on your behalf. 16:27 For the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. 16:28 I came from the Father and entered into the world, but in turn, I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”
Once this period has come, they will ask the Father in Jesus' name, instead of asking Jesus and Jesus asking the Father. People will have a direct connection to God. At the resurrection the temple curtain was torn in two, giving people access the Father without mediator. This will happen because there is an intertwining of love between the Father, Son, and the believers. It is from the Father that Jesus came into the world and it is to the Father that Jesus is leaving the world for.
16:29 His disciples said, “Look, now you are speaking plainly and not in obscure figures of speech! 16:30 Now we know that you know everything and do not need anyone to ask you anything. Because of this we believe that you have come from God.”
The disciples misinterpret Jesus' words and think the time is now. "Jesus is finally talking to them with simple talk! Now we know you're sent by God and we don't need to ask you anything else!"
16:31 Jesus replied, “Do you now believe? 16:32 Look, a time is coming – and has come – when you will be scattered, each one to his own home, and I will be left alone. Yet I am not alone, because my Father is with me.
Although the truths about Jesus they just spoke were true, Jesus knows it hasn't hit their hearts just yet. The time is really, really close when the disciples will leave Jesus and leave Him (physically) alone. The disciples were all concerned about Jesus abandoning them, but Jesus tells them they will be abandoning Him. Although no people will be with Him, the Father will stay with Jesus.
16:33 I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage – I have conquered the world.”
Logically, this would have disturbed the disciples, but Jesus tells them this so they'll have peace. Later on, after it happens, they will look back and see that Jesus had it all under control. It wasn't an accident. They'll experience suffering and persecution, but they are to take courage because Jesus conquered the world.
It seems sometimes we're like the disciples. We read something that Jesus said and immediately jump to a conclusion. In this passage they jumped to a conclusion and think they are fully Jesus-followers, but Jesus tells them otherwise. How often have we read Bible verses and immediately thought "I'll do it! That's easy!" or "Of course I'm like that!"? And then we fall flat on our faces and fail that same day. Like the disciples we need to take time to dwell on and process everything. And all the while we need to know we're not "there" yet and still have to rely on Jesus to grow.
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