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Sermon –
John 16:13 |
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Audio Sermon Things To Come "When He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come" (John 16:13) The Rev. Dr. John H. Jowett, a man of a century ago, wrote on John 11:4 - "And Jesus lifted up His eyes and said, 'Father, I thank Thee that Thou has heard Me.'" Dr. Jowett said, "This is a very strange and unusual order of things. Lazarus is still in the grave, and the thanksgiving PRECEDES the miracle of resurrection. I thought that the thanksgiving would have risen when the great deed had been wrought and Lazarus was restored to life again. But Jesus gives thanks for what He is ABOUT to receive. The gratitude breaks forth BEFORE the bounty has arrived, in the assurance that it is certainly on the way. The song of victory is sung BEFORE the battle has been fought... It is thanksgiving before the miracle!" Of course, our tendency is to wait until the healing has HAPPENED, before we shout "Hallelujah," give praise to the Lord, and thank Him. We often don't understand or recognize that the real miracle is that God hears our prayers in the first place. When He answers "No" or "Not yet" to our insistent demands for "justice" in this life, healing to our bodies, or continued relationship with some other person, we tend to decide He did not hear us, or worse, that He does not care. But He does care and in every case He ANSWERS you and me. Rev. Henry W. Ford was in China, when he "received bad and sad news from home," and said, "deep shadows covered my soul." He continued, "I prayed, but the darkness did not vanish. I summoned myself to endure, but the darkness only deepened. Just then I went to an inland station and saw on the wall of the mission home these words: 'Try Thanksgiving.' I did, and in a moment every shadow was gone, not to return. Yes, the Psalmist was right, 'It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord’" (Psalm 92:1). The key to thanksgiving during the trial is not complicated. You may or may not already know the outcome, but Jesus did know when He thanked the Father BEFORE Lazarus was raised from the dead. He knew what would happen because the Holy Spirit had revealed it to Him. But often our fear, our resentment, our UNBELIEF obscures the clear, gentle REVELATION of the Holy Spirit, who is within, comforting each one who trusts in our Lord. He is reassuring us about the outcome, but our depression and fear will obscure the comfort He provides. The same Holy Spirit who was available to Jesus during His time on earth, is touching you right now. When you are worried and upset inside because things are not the way you want them, try something different in prayer - calmly bring the situation to Him IN THANKSGIVING. Simply lay it all before Him, and see if you do not already know the outcome. Then pray IN HIS WILL, and TRUST IN HIM, who will bring it to pass. For years, I longed to be used of God. "Everyone," it seemed, knew that all you had to do was just "be available and God will use you," as they tended to say. I had that lurking feeling, "Is there something wrong with - me?" Why would He wait this long to use me? All those decades, He was gently and patiently preparing me, giving Scriptures that became "my" verses, like, "I will restore unto you the years the locust has eaten” (Joel 2:25). I trusted in Him, but it is so difficult for us to wait. The people of the Old Testament had many interesting and often rather strange experiences. There is a danger that we might think the people in the Bible are somehow different than we are, in relation to the events of their lives. You might decide that Moses and Abraham were the only two that waited until they were very old before God's promise was fulfilled in their lives. Was David typical, in that he dramatically and horribly sinned, and then was forgiven? And is it the norm that lingering negative effects continued in his life, even though he was forgiven by the grace of God? Was Hannah the only woman who waited longer than she could stand in wanting a child, and then had that child after prayer? What about Sarah and her wait for the child, Isaac?" Was Joseph the only man who went first into slavery and then to jail as a path toward usefulness in service to God? The answer is: No, they weren't unusual - such experiences are more common than we know. If you were able to counsel with people over a lifetime, you would find many "Davids" and "Abrahams" and "Hannahs" in this world. Those in the Bible were written about as examples, so you might recognize yourself in them, and see how God works in relation to people just like you. Men like Peter and John and Moses are real people, but are they also used as parables, so that you and I might see ourselves and understand how God works in our lives. Was Job the only one who ever lost his children, health, reputation, money – everything; and then was condemned by his "friends?" Emphatically not. Good "friends" are often the first to accuse, when your "ship" of life heads for the rocks. Job was surprised by everything that happened to him, but often the Spirit of God will lessen the “surprise” by preparing God’s people for things to come. That’s what it says in John 16:13 - "When He, the Spirit of truth has come, He will guide you into all truth, for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come," and this was not just for the disciples of Jesus. This is also for you and me - right now. Most of the time we DON’T know what is to come, either because we do not hear, or the Lord in His wisdom, chooses to not reveal it to us. Trust Him and give some prayerful thought to these words:
Father, we trust in You today and forever, because of Your love. We may not already see the victory in our lives but we see You, Jesus, and You have saved us from our sins. Thank You that we can have faith in You. In Jesus Name. Amen.
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