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Week:12, Season:1,
2015
Posted on Saturday by PCT
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Glory be to God
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Scripture：《
John 12:20-33
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20 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the festival. 21 They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. 23 Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25 Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me. 27 “Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name!” Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him. 30 Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. 31 Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
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Following Jesus closely
The Bible passage today shows that Jesus’ teaching has made great changes to his disciples: their vision, life, calling and mission. The disciples were chosen by the grace of the Lord. What changed them so rapidly？ I believe that Jesus’ teaching about the glory of the kingdom of God and the ultimate goal of human life changed them.
Many of us might hear a question often, “What is the meaning of your life？” and everyone has very different answers. One thing is definite that when we are closely connected with Jesus, as if we dine with him, walk with him, and say goodnight to him, we shall know that Jesus is there for us in difficult times and that our life is definitely distinct from that of others. Observing the life of Jesus’ disciples, we can suggest that the major cause of their changes is the teaching of Christ which deeply influenced them. Jesus’ disciples lived for the glory of God and no longer lived for themselves alone.
An article written by Rev. Shih Chien-Shen discusses how human beings can feel satisfied about life because of Jesus. Rev. Shih says that we should ask ourselves a question, “When you have figured out life is full of uncertainty, have you given thanks to God for what you already have？ It is such a happiness to own health so you can do anything you want to do and eat anything you like. It is given by the grace of the Lord that you learn to love your own personality and appearance; you own a dream and you enjoy what you are hearing.” This question throws out another one: when will we feel satisfied by what we already have？ We should always give thanks to this God of the Trinity who loves people so much.
Lent is a time to remember Christ’s crucifixion for mankind. Jesus made a decision which impacts on all mankind on the earth. By this decision, humans “are forgiven, die and are born again to become new to glorify our Lord.” This decision must be made and carried out by someone “completely innocent, holy and perfect who has humanity but not sinfulness;” who is willing to die for carrying all sin before God; who is able to fulfil the salvation of confession, repentance, and forgiveness so that we, mankind, will be able to learn to live in the glory of God. How great this grace is. Let us think again what Rev. Shih said in his article: when shall we truly be willing to give thanks to this God of the Trinity？ We need to spend time to think of how much thanks and prayers we have given . How much time have we spent on God？ There are many as ordinary as Jesus’ disciples whose knowledge and talent is only mediocre but still they chose to follow Jesus closely; so they did not take the grace of the Lord for granted; they did their best to live a life with witnessing beautifully to the glory of God.
Live for Christ
During World War Two, Rev. Bonhoeffer, who was stood up against the Nazis, wrote his testimony in prison, “I think I can live a holy life to gain faith…one must complete this present life to learn what faith is.” Even in deep hopelessness, Bonhoeffer still witnesses to God’s presence with him and saw prison as another lesson in his life. He took up his cross boldly with Christ. Life should not only focus on earthly vanity but should be used to witness to the salvation of Christ. Staying away from worldly temptation does not renew our lives. We do this through carrying the cross of Jesus Christ and living and facing worldly challenge and experiencing the renewed life in Jesus. This is is the way, even in prison, not to stop working of the glory of God.
The Bible teaches us to think of how Jesus would act in all we are doing and carrying out in this world so that we shall be able to embrace the beauty of the world. The love of God helps all his followers to love one another, including oneself, family, friends and neighbours. The decision to be a Christian is not because this identity helps us escape from evil, but instead, through the grace of Jesus Christ, we are able to conquer evil. We do not need to hide from reality or lie to ignore our responsibility.
The passage today tells us that people expected to see Jesus; they hoped to hear of the truth, kindness and beauty of the kingdom of God being presented in the world and helping them to receive new life and reconciliation with God. There are two important messages from Jesus’ preaching:
Firstly, the Son of God, Jesus Christ, will fall to the ground (the earth). God will show this world through Jesus’ cross and grave that his son, Jesus Christ, is buried in the world; all shall repent and return to him for a new glorious life. Secondly, a Christian must live the present life to witness to Jesus. A Christian receives the renewed life promised by God and must become the seed (wheat) of the gospel to fall on the soil and grow to bear the fruit of the gospel for the world. Jesus Christ is our model to remind us not to live our spiritual life with a dissatisfied, unhappy and unwilling attitude but to fulfil the glory of God by showing his presence in everything we do. God has equipped us with the authority and talent of prayer so that we can become witnesses to the glory of God in this world.
See the glory of heaven come to earth
The advance of modern life is built on unlimited demands. Mankind continuously exploits the limited natural resources to satisfy our demands. The circle of supply and demand has made many lose their life and hope. Everyone expects a Messiah come to save this sinful world. In verse 29, the crowd heard “a sound of thunder” but did not know that this voice came from heaven. So Jesus assured them in verse 30 that this voice was for the benefit of all people, the cost Jesus is going to pay on the cross to set all sinful people free and give them a new life glorifying the name of God.
May God help us to keep our eyes on his glory and the salvation of Christ and to remember the suffering Jesus bore for us. May the Lord help us to live and follow the wonderful example of Jesus.
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For discussion：
1. How many times in your prayers do you only pray for your own demands？ How many times did you give thanks for the cross of Christ given for you？
2. Are you willing to offer your time and ability to serve others at church and take this to glorify God and his call？
Please pray for：
1. All Christian churches. May they take the Word of the Bible as the centre of teaching and help all members to establish their discipleship.
2. Brothers and sisters who no longer feel touched by the Sunday sermon. May God help them to regain their religious zeal and keep their life renewed.
3. Brothers and sisters who are weak in body and mind. May God help all church members to learn to support one another to glorify his name.
Prayer：
Dear heavenly father, please help us to practise our faith by following Jesus’ example. Help us to live by following Jesus’ teaching and to glorify your name. May everything we do be through your grace. Help us to forgive those who hurt us. Forgive us if we have hurt someone. May you draw us closer to you so we become one body in Christ. In the name of Christ. Amen.
Something you can do：
1. Ask for the blood of Christ to become your strength to help you forgive those who once hurt you. Forgive them as God forgives you.
2. Attend a prayer group or Bible study group; try to make it regularly. Pray and serve one another in the group.
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