John 1:24…

The fulfillment of a ministry calling is always an amazing thing, especially to the one who has been called by God.

One thing we must remember about John the Baptist is he is performing all God has called him to do without having seen the results of his ministry – or even really knowing what the result may be.

Also, we must remember John is doing all this in a confrontational manner before what could be a hostile crowd. Apparently, the majority of the crowd comes around to his message, and is deeply affected by it – but he did not know that would happen prior to launching off into his message of Spiritual conviction and the requirement for repentance as a means of heart preparation for the coming of the Messiah.

And the Messiah had NOT come yet when John began, and he really had no certainty He would. John was operating and placing himself in grave danger by faith alone. He told the crowd the Messiah was coming before he himself had seen the Messiah or known of his existence - except by God’s word.

God had told John to “Go and do,” and so John ‘went and did.’

This is the kind and quality of obedience to God’s calling we seldom see any more. There is perhaps an evaluation of whether what God is telling us can be so before we even begin to think about whether it may be so. Of course, our own sense of personal comfort, protection, and even convenience also enter the equation. “Can this be accomplished without too much being required on my part?”

John was nothing like that. He is a personal hero of mine for that reason. I am here to remind everyone John was operating only on faith in the face of grave personal danger to himself. His faith was not yet sight at the time the bulk of his ministry was carried out.

Yet, I am also here to remind us all of the great reward from simply doing what God says to do, when God says to do it – even when the result is not known, and even if the result may never be known.

Oh, but what if John had not gone and done what God told him to go and do?

-Pastor Bill

John 1:18…

Humility is one of the greatest traits exemplified by John the Baptist. It seems he almost spends more time telling us who he is not rather than who he is.

In John 3, he makes the classic statement that to me makes him so very admirable as an example: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30) (Of course, he was speaking of Jesus in this instance as The One Who must increase.)

Well, truly John was the leading proponent of Jesus’ increase. John was the one who was charged with creating the pathway into the human heart Jesus would cross over.

It was the reason John was created. It was the very nature of his calling. And – by the way – what if the nature of his calling also meant he would be arrested and eventually beheaded. That Jesus, once introduced, would be the last Man standing? (You could say once the sun has risen there is no longer any need for the moon.)

Was John simply discarded by God once the need for his ministry was at an end? I suppose some might look at it that way – but once John was beheaded he went straight into heaven. There is no way he would have been upset with that outcome of his ministry.

But when your ministry has drawn a massive crowd, through its freshness, and also through its abrupt truth-telling even to those being drawn to it – might there not be a very human tendency toward making all this last? (The fame, the notoriety, the acclaim, the power?)

Even the religious leaders saw John the Baptist as a force to be reckoned with. They came out to HIM. They came to see what HE was about, not the other way around.

What they saw must have shocked them. Here they found the son of a priest wearing outlandish clothing telling people, (all people – every person,) they MUST repent. Even the Jews. Especially the Jews. Especially the Jewish leaders. And he held the crowd by the force of his calling, right up to the moment his calling ended.

Then he stepped into the shadows, just as it had been prophesied of the one crying in the wilderness, “Make straight the way of the LORD.”

-Pastor Bill

John 1:14…

One of the integral passages of Biblical Christianity is, “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”

There is no escaping the significance of this fact. John, having already established Jesus is God, now tells us how he knows this is true. God in Christ has come to live in their midst, and He has directly informed them of Himself and about Himself.

And they literally beheld His glory, as the only begotten of the Father – full of grace and truth. God was fully on display. His nature. His diety. His character. His love. Then He submitted Himself to death on the cross and rose from the dead to prove this was not imagined.

None of this had ever been known to this degree before, and it has not been revealed to this degree since. It is the most important moment in the history of the world – and it is the most significant event in each of our lives.

Other faith systems claim many things about the god or gods they serve. Chief among the claims of the Islamist faith is god (Allah) cannot be known. This is one of the central messages of their messenger sent from their god. Muhammad said Allah cannot be known. Muhammad literally wrote Allah is the chief of all deceivers. (Qu’ran Sura 3:54, 7:99, 8:30)

When it comes to Bhuddism or Hinduism, the same is true. In Bhuddism, god transcends everything and is in everything and is a mystical force and not a person. There is no personality to know, but a mystical perspective to be gained. In Hinduism, there are at least 300,000 gods, and they are unknowable on that basis alone. Too many to count. And they are capricious, (as is also ascribed to Allah.) You can never know what those gods may do. All you can do is attempt to appease them by your conduct.

Jesus, on the other hand, is God-in-Flesh. This is the whole point of Biblical Christianity. There can be no doubt. Here He is. This is it. God has come into the world He created to fully reveal Himself. If you are truly searching for God, He can be found. He can be known. Furthermore, God has revealed He desires to be known. He desires a personal relationship with every man, and His entry into His creation proves this is so.

If you desire to know God, you can. All you need to do is study the God of the Bible and He will reveal Himself to every heart open to the desire to know Him. Later, Jesus told Philip, “He who has seen Me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9) God came into the world so we may behold His glory as truth and not imagination.

-Pastor Bill

John 1:6…

“Let me introduce you to my good friend…”

That’s probably something you have heard yourself say from time to time. When you have a good friend, you’d like your other friends to know about this one. Sometimes, you’d even like to introduce your new friend to strangers.

It all has to do with the perceived benefit of others getting to know the friend you’ve made, and the benefits you’ve gained by knowing your new friend. In other words, you’d enjoy sharing this new friendship with others, because you know it will be a blessing to them as well.

Now imagine being called by God to introduce His Son to a lost world.

John’s life was created specifically for this purpose. Remember how in Luke’s Gospel we were informed John’s parents had been barren up to and until the time an angel of the Lord spoke to John’s father about John’s conception and birth – and that John would be brought into the world to be the forerunner of Jesus, the Christ?

Now thirty years later, all this has come to fruition. John has been born and walked with God all the days of his life. Jesus has been born and met with John at the River Jordan.

All has taken place exactly according to God’s design.

If you had only known all of this had gone into Jesus’ entry into the world, perhaps you would have a better grasp on the supernatural relationship God is desiring with you.

All of this is staggeringly amazing.

John the Gospel writer calls this information, “light.” He also refers to Jesus as, “the Light,” because Jesus is the source of the ‘light’ of illumination we perceive as coming from John the Baptist.

Unfortunately, John (the Gospel writer) also informs us for the most part the world was not ready for such a ‘Light’ as the one John the Baptist was created to introduce the world to. (In your ministry life, you may experience the same mixed results as John.)

But always remember, darkness does not perceive light – it is driven out by it.

-Pastor Bill

John 1:1…

John 1:1…

The Gospel of John is different than the other three Gospels in almost every way.

It is topical, rather than chronological, and it has one intended purpose, (stated plainly by John in Chapter 20, verse 31): “these (things) are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name.”

While Matthew focuses on Jesus as ‘The Lion of Judah,’ (Jesus as the long-promised Jewish Messiah,) Mark focuses on Jesus as ‘Servant to all.’ Luke presents Jesus as ‘The Son of Man.’ John, on the other hand, presents Jesus as ‘The Son of God.’

John’s Gospel is written to express the Deity of the Christ, the Son of God. Rather than follow Jesus chronologically through the days of His ministry life as the other gospels do, John presents Jesus performing seven miracles. (Eight, if you include Jesus’ resurrection – as I do.)

John informs us this is NOT to say Jesus only performed eight miracles. He pointedly informs us at the very end of his gospel there are so many OTHER things Jesus did, if he, (John,) were to attempt to write them all down one by one even the whole world could not contain all the books that would be written to contain all Jesus did. (John 21:25.)

John leaves out the birth and early life of Jesus, and we join Him at the inception of His ministry, as He is introduced to the world by John the Baptist.

But wait – before we get there, there is the little matter of how we all got here to deal with – and John does that also.

John begins his gospel with a full expression of Who Jesus is. The miracles John will take note of later only support his presentation of Jesus as God-in-flesh. (The ‘Incarnate God’ presented by Isaiah prophetically in Isaiah 7:14.) Isaiah said of Messiah, “the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (‘Immanuel’ literally means ‘God-in-flesh, or God Incarnate.)

John clearly informs us Jesus’ entry into the world was by Divine plan. He was not born in the usual way. Though Jesus was born of woman, He was eternally pre-existent and responsible for all creation. Jesus, in fact, is God in human form. John knew this to be true and plainly communicated it to us.

-Pastor Bill

Luke 24:36…

Now things get really exciting…

Upon returning to Jerusalem, Cleopas and the other disciple Jesus revealed Himself to on the Emmaus road, (and in their home,) find that amazing things have been happening back at Jerusalem as well!

Jesus is alive! He is risen!

What they hurried to report of their revelation at Emmaus the disciples had already experienced for themselves.

Jesus is indeed alive and has appeared to Peter!

And as they discussed these things excitedly among themselves, suddenly, amazingly, Jesus stood in their very midst – and all saw Him with their own eyes!

Jesus, noticing their trembling and fear of seeing all they were seeing, declared, “Peace to you.”

How interesting Jesus’ first message to His disciples perceiving eternal life for themselves is simply a pronouncement of, “Peace.”

Peace is the one thing all lack and all need. Peace of mind and heart is something only Jesus can provide. It has been lacking in mankind since the fall of Adam. You cannot find peace of mind and heart in any other place or resource apart from Jesus. He alone is the Prince of Peace.

And Jesus brings peace into every situation, no matter how troubling or how difficult. In His appearing, Jesus is eternal peace. In warfare, in sickness, and in health. In poverty, and in wealth.

Finally, and formally, peace with God is pronounced by the appearing of the risen Savior. Only a risen Savior can declare peace with God for mankind, because it was through His shed blood the way of peace was provided. And now, by His resurrection, God demonstrates the sacrifice of His Son - the Perfect One - has been accepted. Welcome home to the peace of eternal life found only in following Christ Jesus into it!

-Pastor Bill

Luke 24:13…

Imagine the disappointment. However long you’ve been walking with Jesus, learning from Him and learning of His ways – it’s all over.

When it comes to the two disciples of Jesus traveling to the village of Emmaus, we don’t know much. (We don’t even know which Emmaus they were traveling to, as there are two villages named Emmaus about that far from Jerusalem.) The only thing we do know is one of them was named Cleopas.

The other thing we know is they were disappointed, and they had a lot to be disappointed about. Whatever they had thought about what Jesus had come to do, His death had brought all of that to an end. Their lives which had soared emotionally and spiritually and legally and logically in His presence were now ship-wrecked. Back to square one...

Jesus joined them in their disappointment, drawing them out and drawing them along. One thing we can say for Jesus: He always desired people to come to Him out of thinking for themselves about Who He was, and coming to their own conviction and conclusion.

For this reason, Jesus did not physically reveal Himself to these disappointed disciples. His physical presence was veiled in a way we cannot understand. Their eyes were hindered from recognizing the One they had followed and seen many times. In fact, I think we can be fairly certain when in Jesus’ presence, His disciples could not take their eyes off of Him. Now their eyes failed them because Jesus would not allow recognition by sight. Not yet.

Jesus spoke to them of their sadness; and the source of it – as if He didn’t know. The obvious nature of their disappointment was being borne by all of Jesus’ disciples in these days, and is revealed by the incredulous response of Cleopas. Basically – “Have you been living under a rock? How could you not know what has been happening in Jerusalem in these days?”

But Jesus was not rebuffed by his response, because He was on a rescue mission. Jesus will never leave His followers alone, and this is one lesson we certainly learn here. He would end their quandary – but not before completely informing them why these things had to be.

-Pastor Bill