Mon.9.28.15...He Will Show You Things To Come...John 14:15-31

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!