Yesterday we read Jesus saying, "Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command" John 15:13-14. (Love was used 8 times.) But we will see in today's passage that Jesus is forewarning his friends that they will be hated and persecuted. (Hate is mentioned 7 times). Will you let your friends be persecuted?! Ugh! Someone has humorously quipped, "Lord, you would have more friends, if you treated them better." But that is our problem. We think that the Lord should treat us better. Yet Jesus makes his closest friends with those who enter into battle with him. The same is true of soldiers in battle who make such incredible bonds of friendship with those they fight alongside. They would die for each other. Christians sing the song, "I am a friend of God." But Jesus said, "You are my friends if you do what I command." And he commands us to go into battle to bear fruit- "I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit" 15:16. "You also must testify" 15:27. Tragically, a lot Christians don't go with the gospel, even though they know they should. Yet we've got it easy in America. We are not facing the hatred and persecution our brothers are facing elsewhere. If persecution came to our shores, how would we fare? I think a lot of people would wonder why a loving God would let them suffer. Yet Jesus has already told us, "If they persecuted me, they will persecute you" 15:20. Jesus, why are you telling us such bad news? "All this I have told you so that you will not go astray" 16:1. We need to be battle ready. (Here is a picture of you in the spirit with your shirt off :) So don't you dare turn away! The enemy has reason to fear when we war as a team.
Christians are glad Jesus suffered and died for them, but I fear many will hide their faith if they should face suffering. They may now boast as Peter did, "Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death" Luke 22:33. Yet they might deny him before a servant girl. O Lord, help us to be manly! Help us to be like the apostles, who after being beaten for witnessing to the Sanhedrin, went away rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer for Christ (see Acts 5:41). I really like the words from an old hymn, "Onward Christian soldiers, marching as to war, with the cross of Jesus, going on before." Men, let us keep marching into war. I love the epitaph Osiris chose for his tombstone- "Died at W.A.R." We are at W.A.R. to- Walk in a manner worthy of our Warrior King- Keep seeking to live a pure and pleasing life by God's power. Activate the sidelined saints- keep seeking to recruit the fans in the stands. Release the locked up lost- Keep sowing gospel seeds into the lives of the lost. While so few regularly share their faith, I'm proud of you for the way several of you are doing so. Christians who don't share now, may be the ones to quickly cower in the future. But you are warriors. Fight the good fight of the faith. 1.- Share a time recently when you shared your faith or a Greatest Minimovies card or link to them. 2.- Read John 15:18 through chapter 16:4. Inspired by it, write a short warriors prayer for you and your fire team wingmen. Please mention them by name in this Attack prayer you're composing. (This is a different type of prayer than yesterday's. Attack! Warfare! Endure.) The smarter person has written goals they review and pursue. How ya doin' on yours? Anyone can drift but you are pursuing great things. It's not always easy, but fighting to advance for God's glory, your good, and the good of others is certainly worth it.
When you were a kid, did you ever make secret messages?
This kid will make you smile :)
What's
that got to do with today's passage- John 15:1-17? Well, to many people, it seems like Jesus is
giving a secret message for being a fruitful Christian. Thankfully, it's not written
with lemon juice. It's there for all to see, but a lot of people just don't see it. Perhaps the
many words surrounding Jesus' main points make it hard for them to see.
Thus, lot's of people come up with mystical efforts to remain in the vine to
bear fruit. (Hey, we all want to be fruitful.) They put the focus in the
wrong place, perhaps because they don't read far enough. So let's look at
all the passage- 15:1-17. Let's also focus on key words. Sometimes all
the surrounding words can hinder a person from seeing the most important words. It reminds
me of another decoder you may have used as a kid to decode a
secret message.
So here
is John 15:1-17 passed through the decoder. Focus on those highlighted words
and see if the secret starts to be revealed to you on how to bear much fruit.
1“I am the true vine, and my Father is the
gardener.2He 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.3You are already clean because of the word I have
spoken to you.4Remainin me, as I
also remain in you.No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the
vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless youremain in me.
5“I am the vine; you are the branches.If youremain
in meand I in you, you will bear much fruit;apart from me you can do nothing.6If you do notremain in me, you are like a
branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown
into the fire and burned.7If youremain in meand my
words remain in you, ask whatever
you wish, and it will be done for you.8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much
fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you.Nowremain
in my love.10If you keepmy
commands, you will remain in my
love, just as I have kept my
Father’s commands and remain in his love.11I have told you this so that my joy may be in you
and that your joy may be complete.12My commandis this: Love each otheras I have loved you.13Greater love has no one than this: to lay down
one’s life for one’s friends.14You are my friends if you do what I command.15I no longer call you servants, because a servant
does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for
everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.16You did not choose me, but I chose you and
appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so
that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.17This ismy command: Love each other.
Do you see the secret now to bearing fruit?
It's remaining in Christ. (The Greek word for remaining is "meno"
which is used often in this passage.) Jesus repeatedly emphasized the vital
importance of remaining in him as you saw above. But what does it mean to
remain in Him? Great question! Do you see how Jesus progressively reveals the
answer? After telling us to remain in him, he then ties it to remaining in his
word (v.7. You can't separate the person of Jesus from his words). Next he
says, "Remain in my love" (v.9). Then he tells us how to remain in
his love- by keeping his commands. Lastly, he reveals exactly what command is
of foremost importance to this remaining- "My command is this: Love each
other...v.12. Lest we miss it, he ends the passage on fruit bearing by saying,
"This is my command: Love each other" v.17.
Thus, to remain in him is not reached by pursuing some
mystical experience with Christ or by practicing some private spiritual disciplines. Nor is it even developed by some
deeper, exchanged life. Note the individualism in those attempts. Our
individualistic society blurs our vision. So we end up viewing the Christian life and
remaining in Christ as an individualistic thing. "I go to church. I read my
Bible. I pray. I was told that's how to remain in Christ." But to the
ancients, such individualism was a foreign concept. They saw themselves as part of a
community. Jesus was talking to his team. The "you" in his speech is
plural. "You all cannot bear fruit unless you all remain in me." This
was Jesus' last supper message to his team, whom he was preparing
to send out into the world with the gospel. They needed to remain dependent on
his word, specifically his command to love one another. His team would fail if they didn't learn to love one another. (And Luke reveals they had just been arguing about who was the greatest. Ugh! See Luke 22:24.) Jesus is re-emphasizing
what he had already said, "By this all men will know you are my disciples,
if you love one another" 13:35. Want more proof? John writes elsewhere that
whoever loves his brother remains ("meno") in the light. See 1 John
2:10; also 3:23-24; 4:16. If I am going to remain in Christ and be truly fruitful, I can't be a Sunday morning spectator.
I need to be devoted to others in brotherly love. Hmm. I need a band of brothers,
whom I am learning how to devote myself to. It doesn't come naturally, especially in our day.
But we are growing in our love for each other as we pray by name for each
other, as we share Scripture with one another, encourage one another, as
we bear one another's burdens and thus fulfill the law of Christ- love (Gal.6:2).
Yes, to remain ("meno") in Christ requires being devoted
to one another in brotherly love. Judas was self-centered. He did not remain with them. John writes
"If they had belonged to us, they would have remained ("meno")
with us" 1 John 2:19. If the disciples were going to be fruitful in life
and ministry it would not occur by being lone ranger Christians as so many are today. They needed to remain
in Christ by remaining in his words or commands he was giving them- especially to love one
another. So let's put the emphasis where Jesus did: Be fruitful by remaining
devoted to Christ and to one another in brotherly love. The person who loves his
teammates is a fruitful man indeed!
1.- Read John 15:1-17 and share one thing that grabs your attention.
Note: The team that loves the Lord and each
other can bear fruit in prayer and evangelism. "I chose you to go and bear fruit-
fruit that will last" John 15:16.
This is my command: Love one
another" 15:17. All the other kinds of fruit mentioned in Scripture grow best in this...
Corporate fruit setting: (just as children grow best in a family setting)
Character fruit- such as the fruit of the Spirit- Gal.5:22-23
Conduct fruit- Eph.5:9; Phil.1:11; Col.1:10
Contributions fruit- financial giving- Rom.15:28
Conversation fruit- the fruit of our lips- Heb.13:15; Hos.14:2
Converts fruit- as we see at the end of our passage today John 15:17; Col.1:6.
2.- We are growing in the fruit of brotherly love. Write a loving, encouraging prayer for your wingmen, including their names in your prayer. (Love is the greatest.)
Announcements It was a long work day and late before I got to reading your blog entries last night, but I was very impressed with how so many of you are doing. Your SMART and SMARTER goals are enabling you to grow and impact more people in GREAT ways. I salute you! Speaking of being fruitful in today's blog, I want to congratulate a man I consider to be very fruitful, Pastor Mike Berry. Characteristic of Mike, he has been faithful every day since he joined M3 over a month ago. So it will be my privilege to honor him at our next M3 meeting with the Unstoppable award pin which he has so faithfully earned. Well done Mike! Our next M3 meeting will be Sunday, Oct.18th at 3:00 PM. Mark your calendars. Come early if you wish and help us cheer the Bears on. We''ll throw in for pizza. See you there. Up for a hike? We will be rendezvousing at my home (9541 S. Oakley) this Saturday at 8:00 AM to go hiking in the Indiana Dunes. Just bring lunch money. We will be back by around 1:00 PM. If you don't have to work, sure hope you can join us. You'll be glad you did. Happy birthday Luis Ortiz!
What's this billboard got to do with today's topic? You'll soon find out.
(May 21st- Judgment Day? How about Sept.28th- Birthdays! Best of blessings to Luis Ortiz, Rich Petre and Dave Ramirez! Happy birthday brothers!) Let me make an important statement that will eventually lead us back to the billboard. All the Bible is written for you, but not all the Bible is written to you. Aren't you glad? For example, the book of Leviticus was written to the Israelites under the OT. We are not under their dietary restrictions, sacrificial rites and clean and unclean ceremonies, etc. Then why bother reading the OT? Paul answers that- "All Scripture is God breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" 2 Tim.3:16. Paul also said, "For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through endurance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope" Rom.15:4. Some of the stories of the OT "were written down as warnings for us" 1 Cor.10:11. So though the OT may not be written to us, it is written for us. Actually, the same could be said for the NT. For example, the letters that Paul wrote were to specific people or congregations, but they have benefit for us. Sadly, there are some people who are ignorant of such basic Bible truths, and they twist the Scriptures to their own harm (2 Pet.3:16). Unfortunately, many people make such a basic mistake within our passage today, John 14:15-31.
Who is this passage being spoken to? It's being spoken by Jesus to his 11 disciples. Just as Jesus was sent by his Father and performed miracles to verify his message, he would soon send out his apostles (apostle: one sent with a message), who would also be given power to perform amazing miracles, confirming the heavenly origin of their new covenant message. They would also be enabled by the Holy Spirit, whom Christ would send, to write the most important book in the world, the NT. The Spirit would remind them of everything Jesus said (John 14:26). So we don't have to worry that the disciples may have gotten brain fog when they they wrote their gospel accounts a few decades after Jesus' return to heaven. More than just reminding the disciples of what Jesus said, the Spirit would also give them more truth needful for the coming church age. Jesus put it this way, “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come" John 16:12-13. Let me repeat that last part- "He will show you things to come." Who is that written to? To his apostles, not to us. For example, his disciple John was shown things to come on the isle of Patmos where he wrote down the book of Revelation. The Spirit showed him things to come. I have yet to meet a Christian who consistently and accurately predicted things to come. (Lucky guesses don't count:) A few years ago Harold Camping predicted Judgment Day would come May 21, 2011 and plastered that warning on 5,000 billboards across the country. When that day passed, he revised the date for five months later. He was not only embarrassed again, but led many astray. He and every one else who has predicted such end times dates have been proven wrong, including the JWs. The Spirit did not show them things to come. But he did show the apostles things to come. Thus, this gives us all the greater confidence in the book of Revelation. It is the fulfillment of Jesus' promise to John and the other apostles that the Spirit would show them (not us) things to come. You might be surprised how many people, especially in charismatic or Pentecostal churches, claim the verses in John we have just quoted were written to them, not for them. You may meet people who sincerely believe that the Holy Spirit leads them into all truth. Thus, their interpretations are correct and yours are wrong. But even if that promise was written to all believers, not just to the apostles who wrote the NT and founded the church (Eph.2:19-20), then how come the Spirit would only lead them into all truth and not you as well? Hmmm. Those promises of Jesus regarding the Spirit bringing everything to mind that Jesus said, and of guiding them into all truth and showing them things to come, were given to the apostles, not to us. But those promises do have an application for us. They are for our assurance that what the apostles wrote was God breathed. With that confidence in what John wrote down as being from God for us, get ready to read John 14:15-31. It's mainly spoken to the 11, but you can glean things that are for us. For example, notice the repeated emphasis on loving and obeying Christ (14:15,21,23,28). This is vital. Jesus is training his team and ours on what is essential to succeed. (In chapter 13, Jesus stressed the crucial importance for his team to love one another. Here in chapter 14, he is stressing the vital importance of loving him by obeying his commands. Tomorrow, you may be surprised to discover what Jesus reveals as the crown of his commands. As you read, you'll note that Jesus made another promise to his disciples, not to us, that they would soon see him again. But you will also note that Jesus speaks to more than just his disciples. At times he uses words such as "If anyone" or "Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me..." (John 14:21). Jesus foresaw his apostles writing down his commands for us, and we his people, choosing to lovingly obey them. You'll see a wonderful promise attached at the end of that verse (14:21). We have seen that there are things which Jesus spoke to his disciples that we would be wrong to claim as being spoken to us. But there are some things that seem like they at least apply for us as well. For example, Jesus said to his disciples, "I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever" 14:16. Isn't that a word that you and I can claim also? How can we know? Because we see that promise of the Spirit already being given to all believers in Paul's letters to all Christians. The apostolic epistles (letters) clarify the way God now faithfully works. For example, Paul's epistles reveal that all Christians receive God's Holy Spirit at their salvation (Eph.1:13-14; Rom.8:9; 1 Cor.12:13). If you don't already have the promised Holy Spirit, you wouldn't be a Christian. You can't have one without the other. Having the Holy Spirit is a fact to rejoice in, not an experience or feeling to chase. 1.- Now read John 14:15-31. What is one verse from John 14:15-31 that grabs your attention? Just write it out for us and on your MP3.
Last week we looked at SMART vs. Dumb goals. Setting a numerical goal is part of setting SMART goals. Dumb goals aren't really goals at all. They're just wishful thinking or said to pacify someone. "I'll try to get in shape doc." SMART goals are- Significant- Is this worthy of pursuing? In M3 we are a pursuing GREAT things in God's eyes. Measurable- example: How many M3 men will you seek to encourage by next week? Accountable- Who are you sharing your goal with to motivate you to succeed? Reviewed- Will you look at your goals for the week, daily? If not, it will probably get sidelined. Time bound- When will you achieve this by? Date it. For our purposes, it's next week.
2.a- Last Monday, you set a SMART goal. Since evaluation is the breakfast of champions, let's evaluate. Write down here the SMART goal you wrote down last week and have been reviewing.
2.b.- Now look at the scoreboard below and write down how you did. What helped you to hit your SMART goal? If you missed it, what hindered you from achieving it.
There is no shame in not achieving, only in not attempting. Let's learn from life and live it better. That's your champion's mindset. So let me be the first to share this: I read with my wife every night but Saturday. I came up from my office in the basement and found that she was already in bed asleep. ): I need to set a smarter goal.
Last week I also promised to show you how to set SMARTER goals. The shortcoming of SMART goals is that there is no Elastic in them or Reward that honors you for your achievement. In M3 we do Reward or honor you each week and month for your achievements. But you can always add your own personal Reward when you hit an important goal in your life. You can also build in a powerful Retribution (consequence) should you blow it off. What would you hate having to do? Example: "If I don't hit my goal, "I will sing to a stranger." Or "I will give you a painful amount of money."
So let's focus now on the Elastic part of SMARTER goals. Just as elastic can stretch from a Small to a Medium to a Large size, so SMARTER goals have stretch in them. Here's why this is important. No one likes to fail or to miss the goals one sets. Imagine a brother sets this noble goal- "I will encourage 3 brothers on the blog each day and call my two wingmen three times each week, thus scoring a weekly total of 21 in the Encouragement column." Wow, that's excellent! But what if he only scored 14? Ugh! He failed. No he didn't. That may have been a few points more than he had ever scored before. So set Elastic goals- Small, Medium and Large. Example: Small- "I will encourage 1 brother on the blog each day (M-F) and call my two wingmen one time this week, thus scoring a weekly total of 7 in the Encouragement column." Medium- "I will encourage 2 brothers on the blog each day and call my two wingmen twice this week, thus scoring a weekly total of 14 in the Encouragement column." Large- "I will encourage 3 brothers on the blog each day and call my two wingmen three times each week, thus scoring a weekly total of 21 in the Encouragement column."
Small goals are easy to hit. You can do it. But don't live there. That's not manly. Medium goals are a bit of a stretch. Go for it! That's how we grow. Large goals will make you work hard and pray hard. If you hit your Medium goal before the end of the week, then try to achieve your Large goal. You may not hit the stars, but you'll land on the moon. 3.- So as you evaluate how you did last week, set a SMARTER goal for this week that includes a Small, Medium and Large size to it. You don't have to write out three separate goals, just add some elastic into one. Example: "I will encourage 1-3 other brothers each day on the blog this week (thus scoring 5-15 points)." After you write out your measurable goal here, write it on a sticky note, etc and post it where you can regularly review it. Important Note: Due to the very subjective nature of how to count an extra mile Act of Kindness, we will no longer be giving points for such. Of course continue to do such :) The A column will only be used for Attacking in prayer. And you can score one point each day that you include your wingmen by name in prayer. Attack! Attack! Attack!
G
R
E
A
T
Tot.
dave garratt
U
R?
10
16
50
9
7
92
Squad 1
35.71
Eddie Morales
U
R5
19
6
48
6
4
83
Fire Team 1
47.5
William Dyckman
U
R1
7
1
20
1
1
30
Phil Raymond
U
21
5
27
10
6
69
Ismael Andrade
R2
5
7
21
5
0
38
James Schmidt
U
5
5
15
28
0
53
Fire Team 2
20
Gary Remson
R1
10
1
19
7
1
38
Luis Ortiz
U
5
3
2
2
0
12
Alex Dyckman
U
10
0
0
0
0
10
Squad 2
24.5
Sam Vargas
U
R3
20
2
22
15
5
64
Fire Team 1
38.5
Oscar Nunez
U
9
5
15
15
5
49
Lou Ojeda
U
5
2
11
6
4
28
Fire Team 2
17.5
Israel Fuentes
U
R1
6
1
0
13
0
20
Dave Ramirez
0
0
0
0
0
0
Dave DeBoer
U
R1
10
1
4
9
1
25
Tim Dearborn
U
7
2
7
8
1
25
Squad 3
37
Robert Roman
U
R1
5
0
47
35
2
89
Fire Team 1
36.5
Vince Diaz
U
R1
5
4
27
5
1
42
Nic Palhegyi
U
R1
6
1
13
18
1
39
Mike Dunn
U
2
10
0
13
15
0
38
Rich Petre
U
6
0
10
7
4
27
Fire Team 2
38
Osiris Alday
U
R1
7
11
16
14
7
55
Mark Lauber
New
Ed Lake
3
2
5
6
5
21
Squad 4
29.83
George Rabiela
U
R1
22
8
25
31
26
112
Fire Team 1
24.5
Dave Heidekruger
U
R2
10
1
5
11
0
27
Chuy Cervantes
5
4
0
13
0
22
Fire Team 2
43.33
Rich Guardiola
U
R1
9
3
14
9
2
37
Mark Estrada
7
7
4
11
3
32
Horacio De La Torre
U
12
7
12
24
6
61
Squad 5
41.14
Jack Rogers
U
R5
43
3
49
12
6
113
Fire Team 1
56.33
Roger Vinlasaca
U
R1
48
0
20
4
0
72
Armando Hernandez
U
24
0
17
4
0
45
Jose Billegas
U
23
5
16
8
0
52
Fire Team 2
29.75
George Doherty
U
R1
10
2
15
7
5
39
Andre Vargas
U
9
0
3
15
0
27
Lemmy Lukudu
U
R1
14
3
6
9
0
32
Kevin Long
4
0
5
12
0
21
Squad 6
Mike Berry
U
R1
7
2
7
6
3
25
Kudos once again to Squad 5 and their fire team 1 for leading the pack. There is some great scoring (aka ministry) going on in whole lot of other teams as well. Excelente!
