“so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name.” John 15:16-17 Do you have a person you admire for their relationship with God, that when you grow up, you hope to be like them? How about a person who is willing to at any opportunity to share about Jesus? I have many people like that in my life. I am still striving to be like them in this area of my life. To have that confidence!!! Let’s read 1 John 5:14-15. How do these verses relate to John 15:16? What can we be confident in? How does this make you…
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Appointed To Go
“I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit,” John 15:16-17 Today will focus on the verse above. Jesus revealed the purpose behind your “chosen-ness.” We all have a “go appointment.” How it looks for each of us will be different. We will go, where we will go, and what we’ll take with us will vary. The one thing we do have in common as Christ-followers is that we are appointed to go. The fruit we will bear in this appointment. Proverbs 11:30 says this: “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and the one who is wise…
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Jesus Chose You: Part 2
“I chose you.” John 15:16-17 Have you ever had to apply for something in your life, like a job, a contest, etc., and you got chosen out of how many people? How did you respond to the news that the organization chose you for the position? Picked? Were you excited, scared, appreciative? Let’s do a little word study on the word chosen. According to the Greek language, the word chose comes from exelezamen. It means “to pick out for myself, to select.” Now let’s put it into context. Jesus picked us out for Himself. He selected us to be His abiding…
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Jesus Chose You
“You didn’t choose me. I chose you. John 15:16-17 Today, We are going to focus on choice. Who chooses and why it matters. In the above verse, Jesus said we didn’t choose Him. In the Jewish religious culture, a student would pick a rabbi. In return, the Rabi then has to choose the student back or not to choose the student. There is a whole process to go through—interviews, tests, and applying for such training. Jesus, though turns this process upside down. He chose His disciples, and then in return; they chose Him back by abiding in Him for the long haul. Let’s look at some scripture verses on who…
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You Are My Friends
Now you are my friends since I have told you everything the Father told me. John 15:13-15 Do you have a friendship that you cherish? When we are friends with Jesus, we get a treasure of the life-giving wisdom of the Father. Let’s read some scripture about some of the treasures to be discovered from these words for your own life? Matthew 6:1-4 Matthew 6:9-15 Luke 12:31-32 John 6:44 John 10:28-30 John 11:25-27 In Colossians 2:2-3 is says, “I want their hearts to be encouraged and joined together in love, so that they may have all the riches of assured understanding and have the knowledge of…
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No Longer Slaves
“I no longer call you slaves because a master doesn’t confide in his slaves. John 15:13-15 In this verse, Jesus takes us from slaves into friendship. He invited His friends to vital inside information. What important truths did he reveal from the following verses? Matthew 6:6-8, 16:21, 18:3, 12:36 Matthew 6:25-34 Mark 12:30-31 John 3:3-8 John 14:1-6 These words of Jesus and the eternal truths revealed have become very familiar to us. However, can you imagine hearing them for the first time? According to 1 Peter 1:12, the king told commoners wondrous things even the angels long to know. Jesus broke the mold of unapproachable, unknowable leadership in other ways.…
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You Are My Friends
“You are my friends if you do what I command.” John 15:13-15 Let look at the word “friend”. In verse John 15:13, a friend in Greek is a philon. It refers to associates for whom there are affection and personal regard . . . and conveys a greater sense of intimacy than does our modern use of friend. Obedience to Jesus doesn’t allow us to be His servants or disciples. Obedience also opens the door to a true friendship with Jesus, His highly regarded associates, The recipients of His affection. We will read the following verses about some friendships in the Old Testament that had…
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Love Livingly
“When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! ‘This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” John 15:10-12 Living a life of obedience, love, joy, and more love brings fullness to one’s life. Read Luke 1:26-56. What are expressions of obedience, trust, love, and joy? Do you see from this passage of scripture? We have a hard time telling the difference between the words…
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Love Each Other
This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. John 15:10-12 Do you know that Jesus loves you? He does, and with that love, we are to love others. In John chapter 15, we see a progression of this love. The father loves the Son. The Son remains in the Father’s love through obedience. The Son loves us in the same way the Father loves him. We remain in Son’s love through obedience. We love each other in the same way the Son loves us. By loving each other, we are obeying the specific commandment of Jesus; thus,…
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Filled With My Joy
I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! John 15:10-12 How much do you love our Lord and Savior? Does your life show it? Today, we will focus on the result of having steadfast obedience for Jesus out of our tenaciously abiding love for Him. Have you ever put abiding and obedience together to be filled with joy? I sure haven’t. Let’s look at the following verses: John 4:31-34, Philippians 2:5-11, and Hebrews 12:2. What can we learn from these verses about the connection between obedience and joy from the life of…