The Apostle Paul wrote his Letter to the Philippians while he was in prison, awaiting trial and possible execution, weighed down with concerns for his fellow believers,. Yet the letter is filled with joy and exhortations to rejoice (16 times in four chapters). How could he rejoice in those circumstances? The answer lies in this truth: True joy is found in Christ! Paul points us to Jesus Christ 75 times in this short letter, urging us to "Rejoice in the Lord always! Again I will say, 'Rejoice!'" (Philippians 4:4). In desperate times, difficult situations, and even the darkest periods of our lives, joy can be found when we hold our eyes on Jesus Christ!

The Gospel of John Week 19
Scripture: John 14:6 - 31.

As we continue with more of the evening of Jesus' last day with His disciples, we see Him sharing important teachings with them.
⁃ that He is the Way, the Truth and the Life
⁃ that He is the only way to the Father
⁃ the promise of the Holy Spirit, the Advocate
⁃ that He's going way for a wile but will come back
⁃ that they are not to be troubled
⁃ that they are not to be afraid
⁃ that He is sharing all of this so that when it happens they will believe.

In John 14:26 Jesus tells them, "But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." Pastor shares that the Holy Spirit is a person, not an "it." The Holy Spirit is a living being - not a force - and that the Holy Spirit lives in the hearts of believers.

Jesus then tells them, in verse 27 "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid."

Pastor shares a personal testimony about the Holy Spirit teaching him the meaning of, "Do not be afraid." Do not be afraid, means don't even imagine the things that cause you fear!

The One saying this is the One who loved us enough to die for us, He's the One who endured hell on the cross for our sins and He's the One saying, "don't sweat this!" Can you imagine how much that meant to the disciples that night, but also in the days, months and years afterwards as they came to understand Jesus was risen, ascended, coming back and had given them a mission to carry out.

Jesus is still telling us these same words today, we do not have to live in fear - we are to walk in His peace.

In verses 30 - 31 Jesus says, "I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me." The prince of the world is the devil, but Jesus is telling them that the devil has no hold over Him!

Soon they will see Jesus arrested, beaten, crucified and put in a grave. They will be devastated, but Jesus is telling them in advance that HE is in control - not the devil - Jesus says the enemy has NO hold on Him.

He tells them He only does what the Father tells Him (and so He will go to the cross) and Jesus tells them, "My peace I give you, fear not!" for the devil has NO control over me!

1 Corinthians 2:8 says, "None of the rulers of this age understood it (God's wisdom/God's plan for salvation), for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory."

Even when it looks like the devil has won - God triumphs!

God flips what looks like disaster and turn it into salvation!

Today the battle goes on, BUT THE WAR IS WON!!!

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⁃ The Gospel of John study is part five of five of our Two Year Study of the Gospels.
⁃ The Gospel of John may be one of the most powerful books ever written. Many people have come to faith after reading only this book of the Bible. Scholarly and archeological discoveries in recent decades give us new insight on details in the Gospel of John. We can now understand it as the most Jewish rather than the most "Gentile/Greek" of the Gospels, and when we do that we see many things that we missed before.

Our 2 year study of the gospels is great for large group, small group or home group study and can be started at any time!

The battle of Jericho, the battles waged by Jesus, and our own daily battles are surprisingly (or, perhaps unsurprisingly?) all interconnected.

Fear paralyzes us, both throughout history and still today. The good news is, however, that God's perfect love casts out all fear!

Too often we seek a "God" who is recast in our own image; one who is comfortable with who we are and with whatever we want to do. We look for a little "sprinkling of religion" to season our everyday lives, but God wants us to turn to Him alone and receive real life, both now and forever.

Today we continue our study of Elijah's ministry.

Elijah's Ministry

⁃ Prediction and Provision - no rain or dew
⁃ Contest at Mount Carmel the time of drought ends in a contest
⁃ Encounter at Mount Horeb
⁃ Word at Naboth's Vineyard
⁃ Elijah taken to heaven

We pick up the story from last week, at the contest at Mount Carmel where we learn that Jezebel has promised to kill Elijah. After the threat, Elijah, fearful for his life, travels forty days to Mt. Horeb (Mt. Sinai). Pastor shares several possibilities for the location of this mount leaning towards today's Jabal al Maqla.

Elijah makes it to Mt. Horeb and he is discouraged and fearful and exhausted and we read of his depression in 1 Kings 19:9-10. He ends this verse saying, "I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too." God's response is, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord for the Lord is about to pass by."

Divine Encounter

⁃ Wind comes - but the Lord was not in the wind
⁃ Earthquake comes - but the Lord was not in the earthquake
⁃ Fire comes - but the Lord was not in the fire
⁃ Gentle whisper comes - the Lord speaks of Elijah's assignment. Elijah thinks of himself as a failure and wants to give up, but God tells him He has more for him to do, that he is not to give up.

Mission: Anointing

⁃ Elijah is told to anoint Hazael as king over Aram
⁃ He is told to anoint Jehu over Israel
⁃ He is told to anoint Elisha as his successor

Then God assures Elijah that he is not alone and tells him that there are 7,000 in Israel who have not bowed down to Baal.

Elijah obeys God's commands and leaves Mt. Horeb and he comes to Elisha working in the field and Elijah anoints him. Elijah now has a partner for the rest of his ministry time on earth. This may have been as long as 10 years together.

God gives Elijah a word of judgement to give to King Ahab. Ahab's response was to tear his clothes, put on sackcloth and fast. And because Ahab humbled himself in repentance, God withheld the judgement saying, "I will not bring this disaster in his day, but I will bring it on his house in the days of his son" God relents, because He is gracious and He desires all people come to Him. God responds when we repent.

At the end of Elijah's ministry Elijah is one of two people mentioned in the Bible who were taken alive to heaven. We read in 2 Kings 2:11-12 "As they were walking along and talking together, suddenly a chariot of fire and horses of fire appeared and separated the two of them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. Elisha saw this and cried out, 'My father, My father! The chariots and horsemen of Israel!' And Elisha saw Elijah no more."

Elijah's Legacy

⁃ Malachi's prophecy (Malachi 4:5-6)
⁃ Gabriel and Zechariah (Luke 1:17)
⁃ Elijah who was to come (Matthew 11;13-14)
⁃ Transfiguration of Jess (Matthew 17:2-3)
⁃ Prayer life of Elijah (James 5:17-18)

A big takeaway from Elijah's story is that we are to follow God no matter what comes our way, no matter what may be happening in our lives or in the world around us because God is faithful and He knows how to defend and take care His own.

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The word "holiness" should not intimidate us. Through His Holy Spirit, God works changes in each of us to bring a new life in Christ: a life of both holiness and wholeness.

God's promise to deliver us is both in the future, and in the present time. What deliverance do you need today?