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HAVE IT ALL

And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them.

Jn.17:22

 

Who says we can’t have it all? Jesus asked the Father to give us the same glory that Jesus had enjoyed from eternity. What exactly is that glory? Why; it is God Himself. He is our portion and our treasure. The problem we have with this promise is that we have no idea of what the riches of the glory of God are. When we catch an inkling of that greatness, it produces a massive shift in our lives. We treasure and pursue different things than we used to. We see the incredible chasm between the wealth of creation and the Creator Himself. He is the treasure of our lives. When we are first saved we taste the edge of it, when we are baptized in the Holy Spirit, we see a little bit more of His nature, as we gaze into the scriptures we often fall into giant holes of revelation actually tasting the goodness of the Lord. When we see Him we will finally know, our inheritance will begin to unfold. Here is how Charles Spurgeon describes it.

 

 

“Behold the superlative liberality of the Lord Jesus, for he hath given us his all. Although a tithe of his possessions would have made a universe of angels rich beyond all thought, yet was he not content until he had given us all that he had. It would have been surprising grace if he had allowed us to eat the crumbs of his bounty beneath the table of his mercy; but he will do nothing by halves, he makes us sit with him and share the feast. Had he given us some small pension from his royal coffers, we should have had cause to love him eternally; but no, he will have his bride as rich as himself, and he will not have a glory or a grace in which she shall not share. He has not been content with less than making us joint-heirs with himself, so that we might have equal possessions. He has emptied all his estate into the coffers of the Church, and hath all things common with his redeemed. There is not one room in his house the key of which he will withhold from his people.”

 

Joint heirs with Christ. He has brought us into an incredible family with unthinkable wealth. All of the fairy tales in the world can’t come close to what has actually happened to us. He has given us His glory.

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DIFFERENT DIFFERENT

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MERRY MONDAY BY PARRIS

I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

John 17:14

And there you have it, Jesus even said it. “The world hated them because they are not of the world”. Hate is a strong world and using it brings division. One could say it separates one group from another and that makes people even angrier. Most of the 12 disciples were martyred for their faith by the hatred of men.

McCLAREN’S COMMENTARY SAYS, “A man who has drunk into the spirit of Christ’s life is thereby necessarily thrown out of gear with the world. Happy is he if his union with Jesus is so deep and close that it is but deepened by his experience of the lack of sympathy between the world and himself! Happy if his consciousness of not being ‘of the world’ but quickens his desire to help the world and glorify his Lord, by bringing His all-sufficiency into its emptiness, and leading it, too, to discern His sweetness and beauty! The measure of our discord with the world is the measure of our accord with our Savior. It is in the degree in which we possess His life that we come to be aliens here, and it is in the degree in which we keep in touch with Jesus, and keep our hearts wide open for the entrance of His Spirit, that we possess His life. A worldly Christian-no uncommon character-is a Christian who has all but shut himself off from the life which Christ breathes into the expectant soul.”

The MARY’S SONG gals wrote this rap song to communicate the DIFFERENCE-

“BE DIFFERENT WHEN YOU WALK BE DIFFERENT WHEN YOU TALK

BE DIFFERENT IN THE CALM, BE DIFFERENT IN THE STORM

WHATS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ME AND YOU

YOU TALK A GOOD ONE BUT YOU DON’T DO WHAT YOU SUPPOSED TO DO

I CAME TO BRING THE GOOD NEWS TO THE BROKEN

HOPE TO THE HOPELESS CAUSE I’VE BEEN AWOKEN

PEOPLE FROM MY PAST SAY THERE IS SOMETHING DIFFERENT BOUT ME

I JUST SMILE POLITELY AND SAY IT AIN’T ABOUT ME

BE THE DIFFERENCE THEY CAN SEE, CHRIST IN ME HOPE OF GLORY

ONCE WAS BLIND NOW I SEE, HE CAME TO SET THE CAPTIVES FREE

YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT I’VE BEEN THROUGH

TO BE DIFFERENT, HE MAKES ALL THINGS NEW

WHAT IT FEELS LIKE WALKING IN MY MY SHOES

NEW CREATION THIS IS ALL FOR YOU” ————

DOES THE WORLD HATE YOU?

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Splendor of God’s glory bright

MERRY THURSDAY BY PARRIS-

Father, it’s time. Display the bright splendor of your Son

So the Son in turn may show your bright splendor.

You put him in charge of everything human

So he might give real and eternal life to all in his charge.

John 17:1 Message

Jesus prayed in the gospel of John the night before his cruxifixction that the Father would be glorified. His earthly ministry was finished and the most important thing to him was to shine at the hour of his death. He recognized that his time had come and he knew the purpose of why he had come.

Have you ever retraced the path of your life? Have you seen the hand of God upon you and realized your purpose? The splendor of God’s glory will reveal more and more his plan of redemption. Sometimes our lives seems so small and insignificant that we feel so worthless. Christ has a design plan for us all.

Ambrose prayed this prayer;
“O Splendor of God’s glory bright,

from Light eternal bringing light,

O Light of light, light’s living Spring,

true Day, all days illumining.

Come, very Sun of heaven’s love,

in lasting radiance from above,

and pour the Holy Spirit’s ray

on all we think or do today.

And now to Thee or pray’r ascend,

O Father, glorious without end;

we plead with sovereign grace for pow’r

to conquer in temptation’s hour.

Confirm or will to do the right,

and keep our hearts from envy’s blight;

let faith her eager fires renew,

and hate the false, and love the true”
Christ will keep us along the way. His promise is to us and to all that call upon His name. The act of divine love was that Christ desired us to be with him throughout all eternity. He paved the way and now we follow his lead and become a light bearer. This is life eternal and the way of truth.

Ambrose closing prayer was;

“Dawn’s glory gilds the earth and skies,

let Him, our perfect Morn, arise,

the Word in God the Father one,

the Father imaged in the Son.”

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FATHER’S LOVE

FATHER’S LOVE

John 17:5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.

The term Father erupts various feelings in all of us. The son who was raised by a single mom may have confused or a distorted concept of a father. The children of an alcoholic father can have mixed, or a polluted idea of what a father is like. Their father may have been inconsistent, sometimes there and sometimes not very dependable. Then there is the horrific situation where a young girl was abused by her father, her concept of what a father is, is destroyed by the sinful behavior of her dad. For others, their memories are very healthy. Some were blessed with faithful, loving fathers. My point is this, when the word “father” is spoken, it takes on the connotations of the person doing the speaking. That brings us to Jesus and His love for His Father. Jesus had spent a literal eternity enjoying His Father’s love. The Father and Son have an infinite, eternal love for one another. When Jesus says “Father”, His words literally drip with the love of God. Charles Spurgeon had something to say about the love of the Father for His children. Check this out.

“Here is honor and love. How great is a Father’s love to his children! That which friendship cannot do, and mere benevolence will not attempt, a father’s heart and hand must do for his sons. They are his offspring, he must bless them; they are his children, he must show himself strong in their defense. If an earthly father watches over his children with unceasing love and care, how much more does our heavenly Father? Abba, Father! He who can say this, hath uttered better music than cherubim or seraphim can reach. There is heaven in the depth of that word-Father! There is all I can ask; all my necessities can demand; all my wishes can desire. I have all in all to all eternity when I can say, Father.”

So what kind of feelings stir in your heart when you talk about your Heavenly Father? Without knowing it, many times our feelings for our Heavenly Father can be strangely effected by our past experiences. The good news is this, our minds are being renewed by the powerful influence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Often, people who carry a wound in their hearts, longing for a father’s love, find an unusual intimacy with their Heavenly Father. Everything they seemingly missed out on is replaced with so much more as they discover and explore the amazing love of our Father in heaven. As we open our hearts to the love of God, the Holy Spirit comes upon us, He pours into us the amazing love of God. Maybe today you are in need of the Father’s love, the truth is all of us need His love every day. Call upon The Lord, the Father’s blessing will surely fall upon you.

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WHO DAT

The Language of Sovereignty

Who Dat?

Rom. 8:35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

The Language of Sovereignty (the Almighty God/ the Creator/ the Ancient of Days/The Everlasting Father) brings to us the rhetorical question; “Who Dat?”
You might ask, what is meant by “Who Dat”? This is New Orleans speak for “Who Shall”? or “Who Will”?, etc.
The God of Heaven by His own free will and according to His own pleasure in choosing us before the foundation of the world to be redeemed through the blood of His dear Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; sits in the heavenlies and asks this question:

WHO DAT GONNA OUTSMART GOD?

Romans 11:34 (KJV)
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

The Lord Jesus prayed this prayer:

John 17:1 ¶ Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You,
John 17:2 even as You gave Him authority over all flesh, that to all whom You have given Him, He may give eternal life.
John 17:3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.

And we know that the Son always did the will of the Father, and the Father always answered the Son.
We who believe in the Lord Jesus Christ have been prayed for by the Son of God before He went to the cross and we are secure in His redemption;
Therefore we hear this question thunder with the all the authority of God,

WHO DAT GONNA SEPARATE YOU FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST?

WHO DAT GONNA ACCUSE YOU? YOU HAVE BEEN REDEEMED

WHO DAT GONNA CONDEMN YOU? IT IS CHRIST THAT DIED AND NOT ONLY THAT HE IS RISEN AND AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD.

WHAT IS HE DOING FOR YOU AT THE RIGHT HAND? HE IS INTERCEEDING, BY MAKING SURE THAT WHAT HE PAID FOR AT THE CROSS BECOMES YOURS. YOUR COMPLETE FORGIVNESS!

We are not saved because we believe in a high moral belief system.

We are born again, born of the Spirit. It is because of His mercies that we are not consumed.

He has called you out of darkness, into His marvelous light. He has made us to be His children.

No matter what trials and tests we may be facing. No matter what situations in our own families that is causing stress in our lives. The language of the Sovereign King of Glory Who Dat King of Glory (Psalm 24) is :

WHO DAT FIGHT AGAINST HIS WILL? Romans 9:19

In other words, is there anyone on the earth who is stronger than your King to change His mind concerning you and your life?
Is there any man? Is there any power? Principality? Devil? Government? That can interfere, change or undo what God has already determined to do for you?
No, a thousand times No!

Jer. 29:11 ‘For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.

Let’s look to Him today in faith, in complete assurance that we know that no matter what happens, we have a God in heaven, Who fills us with His Spirit and His Word , Who delights to do His will in our life.

WHO DAT?

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SCHOOLS OF FISH-DANCE FOR JOY

SCHOOLS OF FISH

“that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.”
John 17:21

Parris and I recently went on a family vacation to the beach, an awesome time of rest, reflection, and just some fun and down time. One of our outings was kayaking in St. Joseph’s State Park in Florida. On this short excursion, the Lord, as usual, had His glory on display. Near our boat we saw some amazing schools of little fish, like a moving dark cloud through the water. As they drew near, Parris put her hand into this “cloud” and immediately they divided into two companies. It was as if the school itself was one being, with a mind of it’s own, flowing in a beautiful, almost musical harmony. Jonathan Edwards’ wife, Sarah, had a powerful encounter with God in which she caught a glimpse of the harmony Jesus spoke of in His famous John 17 prayer. Listen to her testimony as she caught a glimpse of this spiritual harmony.

“So strong were my feelings, I could not refrain from conversing with those around me, in a very earnest manner, for about a quarter of an hour, on the infinite riches of divine love in the work of salvation; when, my strength entirely failing, my flesh grew very cold, and they carried me and set me by the fire. As I sat there, I had a most affecting sense of the mighty power of Christ, which had been exerted in what he had done for my soul, and in sustaining and keeping down the native corruptions of my heart, and of the glorious and wonderful grace of God in causing the ark to return to Northampton. So intense were my feelings, when speaking of these things, that I could not forbear rising up and leaping with joy and exultation. I felt at the same time an exceedingly strong and tender affection for the children of God, and realized, in a manner exceedingly sweet and ravishing, the meaning of Christ’s prayer, in John xvii. 21. `That they all may be one, as thou Father art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us.’ This union appeared to me an inconceivable, excellent, and sweet oneness; and at the same time I felt that oneness in my soul, with the children of God who were present.”
Harmony with Christ brings us into a place of harmony with His church. In that place of oneness, like the schools of fish, we begin to move together in an almost unconscious movement, each of us responding to the Lord, causing us to flow in His incredible dance with His body. This place of spiritual harmony is the place of fullness of joy (Jn.17:13). Turn your eyes upon Jesus, you may be surprised when you meet the God of Sarah Edwards, you may be leaping for joy too.

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WHY THIS WASTE?

 

Matthew 26:6-13

There is an amazing encounter of two followers of Jesus in this passage of scripture.  Mary is shown at the feet of Jesus pouring out her most precious possession.  She is anointing Jesus with (compare Jn. 12) one pound of spikenard valued at approximately one year’s wage. 30,000 dollars worth of perfume, Judas was offended at what he considered excessive displays of affection and wasteful uses of her resources.  Judas confronted Mary in anger and posed his famous question, “why this waste?”

 

Obviously Mary and Judas had different value systems.  Mary was focused on the spiritual while Judas was hung up on the natural world.  The reason for these different values was found in both of their perceptions of the ministry of Jesus.  Spiritual understanding of Jesus and His kingdom comes only by revelation; obviously Judas could not see the spiritual realities that were obvious to Mary.

 

Mary loved the teachings of Jesus; she loved to hear his word.  “Never a man spoke like this man.” To her, He had the words of life and she lived off of every word.  To Judas, Jesus had just another opinion; His words open to question and discussion.

 

Mary also loved the anointing.  After Jesus was baptized by John a fresh anointing for ministry had come upon Him.  He was known as the anointed one.  Today, His anointing is poured out on all flesh but not all flesh appreciated and value His presence.  Some people would go anywhere or do anything to sit in His presence, while others can never make time for church, because frankly it is just a waste of valuable time.

 

Jesus said that Mary was anointing His body for burial.  Mary had accepted the painful news of Calvary and began to understand the message of the cross for all of us.  She was grateful for the message of redemption, and she was pouring out her love while she could.

 

Judas had no use for the cross. He wanted an earthly kingdom. When he saw that Jesus was not about politics or power, he was offended and his offense led to betrayal.

 

In John 17:12 Jesus called Judas the son of destruction using the Greek word apoleia, the same word used for waste in Matthew 26:8. Jesus was saying that Judas was the one wasting his life, choosing to live for this world rather than the one to come.

 

We have the same conflicts that existed between Mary and Judas in the church today.  It all boils down to spiritual revelation which gives birth to our value system today.  Why this waste?  What are you wasting your life on?  If you seek God and His kingdom first, the people of this world may not understand but you have chosen the best part.