John 21:18-19 – “‘I tell you the truth, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.’  Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death by which Peter would glorify God.  Then he said to him, ‘Follow me!’”

In this passage, we see Jesus talking to Peter after restoring him.  Peter had failed, denying three times that he even knew Jesus.  WHEN YOU WERE YOUNGER – In the Bible, youth sometimes symbolizes spiritual vigor.

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John 15:1-6 – “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned.

In John 15, Jesus describes himself as the VINE, and explains that we are branches of the Vine (that is, of Him).  The teachings in this passage took place at the Last Supper, the night they arrested Jesus and took him away to his trial.  What is the meaning of the statement that Jesus is the Vine?

Jesus uses the image of the Vine and branches to make four basic points about our salvation:

1)     God expects and requires that we are spiritually fruitful

2)    Close connection – we “remain in him” and he “remains in us,” sharing the same spiritual life and sustenance from eternity, in the same way that a vine and its branches share the same life and are part of the same organism

3)    Absolute dependence – we can accomplish nothing (fruit) on our own, but only through our close connection with Him

4)    If we lose our close connection with him, there are dire consequences – lack of fruit, and eventually, permanent severance and judgment.

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John 10:10 – “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

God’s plan for his people is for them to have abundant life. He challenges us to give Him the opportunity for this by putting Him first, before everything else in our lives. God does not ask us to ignore or neglect our families, or jobs, or personal needs.

He only asks that we put Him first, and then attend to these other things. Jesus said the same thing in Matthew 6:33 – “Seek first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you as well.”

Abundant life includes two types of “abundance.” There is material abundance and spiritual abundance. The second type is much more important, but many churches unfortunately focus on material abundance instead.

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Esther 5:3-4 – Then the king asked, “What is it, Queen Esther? What is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be given you.”

“If it pleases the king,” replied Esther, “let the king, together with Haman, come today to a banquet I have prepared for him.”

When the King offers Esther whatever she wants, up to an equal share with him in the kingdom, Esther does something unusual – she simply asks to have a private meal with the King, an intimate conversation with him and his second-in-command (Haman). This shows us the disposition of the faithful church in prayer. Even when there is a great crisis or need that prompts her to seek God’s deliverance, her first request is to be close to Him (Jesus is our King of Kings), to be with the Lord. The number one prayer request of the Bride of Christ is this: to have intimate fellowship with the living Jesus, to be in His presence, to hear His voice. This comes before all our needs, all the problems we have to lay before Him, all out items for intercession.

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1 Corinthians 13:4 – “Love is patient, love is kind.  It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.“

God is love.  The Bible teaches that love is more important than spiritual gifts, miracles, doctrinal teaching, or hope (of course, God wants every church to have those things as well).  The Bible says love is even greater than faith (1 Corinthians 13:13).  Love does not boast.  Boasting is incompatible with Jesus living in us and loving others through us.

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Exodus 10:23 - “…Yet all the Israelites had light in the places where they lived.”

God’s plan is not just for us to have traditional or conventional family units or roles within the household, but to have the church members have their household indwelt with the Light, the Holy Spirit’s revelation. Our relationship with God should permeate our entire household and bring his light to our family members. continue

“…And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”  - Genesis 12:3

God wants to bless each person individually with salvation and a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  In addition, the Bible teaches that God has special blessings he intends to give to families as a whole, not just to individuals in isolation.  

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Genesis 47:14-19 - Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.  When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food.  Why should we die before your eyes?  Our money is used up.”  “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.”  So they brought their livestock to Joseph, and he gave them food in exchange for their horses, their sheep and goats, their cattle and donkeys.  And he brought them through that year with food in exchange for all their livestock.  When that year was over, they came to him the following year and said, “We cannot hide from our lord the fact that since our money is gone and our livestock belongs to you, there is nothing left for our lord except our bodies and our land.  Why should we perish before your eyes-we and our land as well?  Buy us and our land in exchange for food, and we with our land will be in bondage to Pharaoh.  Give us seed so that we may live and not die, and that the land may not become desolate.”

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Luke 10:39 - “She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.”

Throughout the Scriptures, we find pairs of people who, side by side, illustrate the attitudes and choices that please God and those that do not.  Martha and Mary provide one example of this pattern.  When these pairs present a contrast between two women (Sarah and Hagar, Hannah and Peninnah, etc.), we know that it prophetically represents the faithful church and the unfaithful who are nominal believers (see, for example, Galatians 4:21-31).   continue

Exodus 21:5-6 - “But if the servant declares, ‘I love my master and my wife and children and do not want to go free,’ then his master must take him before the judges. He shall take him to the door or the doorpost and pierce his ear with an awl. Then he will be his servant for life.”

This talks about servants or slaves in the Old Testament, but illustrates how we become the Lord’s servants today.  There is a similar passage in Deuteronomy 15:16-17.  Israelites had to release any Hebrew slaves or servants after seven years.  Even so, the servant could remain in the position permanently if he wanted to. The original languages of the Bible do not have differentiated terms for “slave” and “servant” as we do in English.   continue