"If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves me, him My Father will honor." (John 12:26)
He was "born" to lead. You and I were born to follow.
Try this: "If anyone serves Jesus, let him follow Jesus; and where Jesus is, there Jesus' servant will be also. If anyone serves Jesus, him/her...Jesus' Father will honor." By the way, the word, "honor," here does not mean as in puffing up. It means, "I value at a price." O, Father, may it be!
When we were wondering about the call to Berlin in 1998, our text is the verse which came to me. It is as though Jesus were saying to me, "I have many friends, sons and daughters, and servants. I am many 'places' for them. For you, I am in Berlin." Now some would have some theological questions about this, to which I am open to discuss. But the reality of this verse, a verse which I read at least every quarter, can not be challenged, nor taken from me. Do you have such "words" from our Lord Jesus? Are you walking in a, "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me"?
Now this is not an "isolation" teaching, nor a "seek-your-own-unique-ministry" word. You and I are not individualists in the American or humanistic sense; we are members of Jesus' Church, the Church of which He said, "I will build My Church," note, "My Church." In his Life Together, Bonhoeffer says, "Thus all singing together...must serve to widen our spiritual horizon, make us see our little company as a member of the great Christian Church on earth....Whether our church is large or small, it represents only a tiny part of the Church on earth." I did not go, and do not go to Berlin, nor Washington, DC, nor North Korea as "my ministry." Wherever you and I go, how and whom we serve, it is, yes, as a "tiny part of the Church on earth," but nonetheless as a member of Jesus' Church. This of course does not in any way diminish the importance of what we do as individuals, rather it greatly magnifies our "work." I pray that you and I always remember that we are an integral part, one with Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit, in His Church. All of us who are following our Lord Jesus Christ, members of His Church, can say with Nehemiah, "I am about a great work." It's a "following-Jesus" work.
You may feel alone today and relatively insignificant as a Follower of Jesus, such a small "cog" in a great "wheel." We are small, but think and worship for a moment on our text, a Word of Jesus to you, right there and wherever you live and work. Today I can hardly think of a greater reality, following and serving Jesus, serving His Church, serving the World. Those who are such have Father's approval and approbation, "I value at a price."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I greatly desire Your, "I value at a price." Amen.
************************
Will be in DC again next month, and are targeting Berlin/East Europe for March of 2015
He was "born" to lead. You and I were born to follow.
Try this: "If anyone serves Jesus, let him follow Jesus; and where Jesus is, there Jesus' servant will be also. If anyone serves Jesus, him/her...Jesus' Father will honor." By the way, the word, "honor," here does not mean as in puffing up. It means, "I value at a price." O, Father, may it be!
When we were wondering about the call to Berlin in 1998, our text is the verse which came to me. It is as though Jesus were saying to me, "I have many friends, sons and daughters, and servants. I am many 'places' for them. For you, I am in Berlin." Now some would have some theological questions about this, to which I am open to discuss. But the reality of this verse, a verse which I read at least every quarter, can not be challenged, nor taken from me. Do you have such "words" from our Lord Jesus? Are you walking in a, "If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me"?
Now this is not an "isolation" teaching, nor a "seek-your-own-unique-ministry" word. You and I are not individualists in the American or humanistic sense; we are members of Jesus' Church, the Church of which He said, "I will build My Church," note, "My Church." In his Life Together, Bonhoeffer says, "Thus all singing together...must serve to widen our spiritual horizon, make us see our little company as a member of the great Christian Church on earth....Whether our church is large or small, it represents only a tiny part of the Church on earth." I did not go, and do not go to Berlin, nor Washington, DC, nor North Korea as "my ministry." Wherever you and I go, how and whom we serve, it is, yes, as a "tiny part of the Church on earth," but nonetheless as a member of Jesus' Church. This of course does not in any way diminish the importance of what we do as individuals, rather it greatly magnifies our "work." I pray that you and I always remember that we are an integral part, one with Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit, in His Church. All of us who are following our Lord Jesus Christ, members of His Church, can say with Nehemiah, "I am about a great work." It's a "following-Jesus" work.
You may feel alone today and relatively insignificant as a Follower of Jesus, such a small "cog" in a great "wheel." We are small, but think and worship for a moment on our text, a Word of Jesus to you, right there and wherever you live and work. Today I can hardly think of a greater reality, following and serving Jesus, serving His Church, serving the World. Those who are such have Father's approval and approbation, "I value at a price."
Father, in Jesus' Name, I greatly desire Your, "I value at a price." Amen.
************************
Will be in DC again next month, and are targeting Berlin/East Europe for March of 2015
When Peter, an 18 year old Norwegian, "heard the call to evangelize China, on that day he not only emptied his wallet into the collection plate, but included a small note with the words, 'and my life.'"
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
"Looking unto Jesus"
Hebrews 12:2
