In Your Bible Read This
John 12.
Here Is Your Memory Verse
If anyone would come after me, he must deny
himself and take
up his cross
and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses
his life for me will find it. Matthew 16, 24-25
Afterwards Talk About
This
Have you ever asked God about one thing and heard
a very
different
answer back? Tell each other what God said.
Something To Do Before
Next Time
Make a list of all your possessions, every one,
big and small.
Bring all your lists to a time of prayer and place them on the
altar of worship
before the Lord, publicly surrendering ownership to him.
Written Diploma Work
Explain in one page of writing what it might mean
to a
believer
today to have to carry his own cross. Give examples.
Meditate Word By Word On
This Verse
Luke 24, 30-31
- Spend
a Minute to Change the World
- Pray
For Eskimos - 32,000 Inuits in the Arctic
- Suffering
from western life, many conversions since 1982
- Be
sure to teach this lesson to others.
- Always
pray and prepare well adding
- your
own verses and stories to bring it to life.
The best way to see Jesus is to be with him,
then you will both see him and hear his voice clearly. See Luke 8.1.
Those that followed Jesus he called his disciples, a word which
means learners, pupils or apprentices. This lesson is from John
12, 19-33 and is all about the cost of being a disciple of Jesus,
a price that has little to do with money.
The Whole
World Has Gone
After Him
Some men from Greece came to Philip, one of
Jesus’ apprentices who was a Greek like they were, and said
that they would like to see Jesus. Philip told his brother Andrew
and both of them went and asked Jesus for an appointment for
their new friends. 12.21
Jesus would have been pleased with their
request because he had just taught saying, John 10.16, " I
have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring
them also. They too will listen to my voice." Maybe these
men from Greece were the first to come to him from other nations.
We Want To See Jesus
Have you noticed that sometimes Jesus gives the
most unusual response to our questions and requests. His answers deal
with the real issues, which are not always what we are asking about! We
would expect an answer like 3 o’clock, or tomorrow at 10 am. But the
answer that Jesus gave, once we understand it, will tell us all how we
can see Jesus and know him intimately. What did he say? John 12, 23- 28
The Hour Has Come
Meaning yes, it is time for men to see the
glory of God’s Son. It is still time, now is always the best time of
all.
You Have To Die
That sounds like a shocking statement but Jesus
is not talking about physical death. In order to grow and multiply a
seed of wheat has to be buried, lose its outer shell and at the right
time emerge with a new life which bears much fruit. The same is true of
our life and old nature. It too has to die with all its selfish
ambitions and passions, be buried with Christ and rise up, born-again
into a new life. When you are born again spiritually you will see Jesus
clearly. John 3.3; Romans 6.1-14.
A Disciple
Also Has To
Die - Daily
The greatest obstacle to seeing Jesus is
always self, that is doing our own thing, in our way, even doing
it in the name of Jesus. How must a disciple die? Jesus says this
~
By Not Loving His Own Life
That means no promoting ourselves
and our plans, like Korah did and was swallowed alive by the grave when
God opened up the earth. Numbers 16,32
That means no fighting to
get your own way as Moses did before God taught him a better way, but
that took forty years in the wilderness. Exodus 2.12
That means no helping God
to fulfil his promises, like Abram and Sarah did and by doing so
brought about the birth of Ishmael the father of Islam. A price for
impatience that we are still paying for to this very day. Genesis 16.
By Hating His Life
Jesus never meant that we are to hate the one
precious life that God has given us, rather we are to hate our life in
this world. The life the world offers is a life of eat, drink
and be merry for tomorrow we die and that is the end. The world says
live - drink, try drugs, sex, and selfish living. No wonder Jesus says
die to it. Say no. Hate it.
A Disciple Must Follow Jesus
To be with him means discovering where Jesus is
and then following Jesus’ own rules, from Luke 14, 25-33 where we read
that a disciple must:
Love Jesus More Than Any Other
Even more than father, mother, wife and family.
If for example, father tries to entice you to worship the family idol
you say, "No, I love Jesus." If brother-in-law invites you to go
gambling with him, you say, "No, I love Jesus." 14.26
Carry His Own Cross
That is to bear the weight and suffering of
doing whatever it costs to obey the will of God, as Jesus did. 14.27
Give Up Everything He Has
Which means to say whatever you thought was
yours actually belongs to God, and is his to use and your brothers to
use as God directs. 14.33. A disciple must also always want to be where
Jesus is, not asking for deliverance from suffering, trials and death,
asking only for the glory of God. John 12.26,27
Heaven Said,
"Yes,
That Is Right"
The Father was so pleased with what his Son
was saying that he leaned over the balcony of heaven and spoke,
so confirming Jesus’ message. The unbelievers said it was
thunder, and the religious people said it was an angel that spoke
but Jesus said it was the voice of God. John 12, 29-30
Jesus Then
Prophesied
First, the imminent judgement and defeat of
Satan, bringing the release of his grip on man. John 12, 31. Then
his own death, and the purpose it would accomplish on the Cross,
so opening the way to God so that as many as wish to see Jesus,
may indeed be able to see and know Jesus for themselves. John 12,
32-33
To Close Pray For The
World's Most Unreached Peoples By Name
Taken from the
Joshua
Project Unreached Peoples List these people have no
churchand as yet no cell, church or mission has committed themselves
to prayer, adoption or church planting among this people.
Myanmar
(Burma)
|
People
Name
|
Language
|
Population
|
Chaungtha
|
Chaungtha
|
121,700
|
Danau
|
Danau
|
10,000
|
Hani
|
Hani
|
180,000
|
|