Morning Worship

FOLLOWING JESUS BUT FAR FROM HIM

-     John 18:1-27

INTRODUCTION

John 18:1-27 is the account where Jesus Christ was arrested by the Roman soldiers in the garden of Gethsemane by the conspiracy of Judas Iscariot. It also contains the denial of Peter as a disciple of Christ and the manner he have followed Him as the Roman soldiers executed him to death.

þ  Before the arrest of Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, where he prayed all night, he asked His disciples to sell their garments to buy some swords. The disciples was able to produce two swords and Jesus have said it was enough [Luke 22:36-38]. The sword that they have bought was the same sword that Peter used to smote the ear of a Roman soldier named Malchus [John 18:10] but was scolded by Jesus Christ himself. It might be confusing that the one who gave instructions to buy those swords is the one who also scolded Peter of what he have done to the Roman soldier. The reason behind the instruction of the Lord about the sword is related to the kind of arrest that He wants from the soldiers-with honor, respect and dignity.

þ There was a disciple who followed Jesus in a distance-the one who smote the ear of a Roman soldier-Peter. Though he promised Christ that He will be with Him until His death; he will not allow anyone to hurt Him but received words from the Lord that He will be able to deny Him three times before the cock crow. He has done it while following Christ in a distance without failing to fulfill what the Lord has said.

þ Peter’s condition is not far from our condition. We have a relationship to God as His children. Though the only difference, Peter was a disciple of the Lord during His earthly ministry present bodily but we are also considered disciples though God is not present physically.

þ Every one of us has a commitment that we want to do for the Lord through the church but sometimes our obedience is like what Peter have done- follows the Lord in a distance.

þ Are we consistent in our prayer and devotion to the Lord? Are we able to be in line with God’s will and not of our own? Are we able to prove the sincerity of our commitment to the Lord? Or are we doing all these things from afar?

POINTERS :

1. Being a believer, we must learn first to count the cost in following Christ in our lives.

  þ We should learn and understand the will of God by listening and meditating His words to be able to follow Him in a near distance.

þ We must not rash into making a decision about our desires in a certain aspect of our service to the Lord for we will be like the ones who build a tower without counting what it would cost and would not be able to finish building it [Luke 14:28-30].

þ Our desires in serving the Lord and its fulfillment into action should not be based only on our emotions, the idea that it is good, and for our own pleasures.

þ Remove the idealism of doing only our best when there is an upcoming special event in the church. Being present in the event, using new bought clothes, bringing invited visitors, giving out special numbers, being active all through out the event and many more. We should not limit those things for a Big Sunday but rather should always treat every Sundays as special as the days with events.

þ God wants us to be consistent in our service to Him. Faithful in everything that we do.

 2.  If we have a desire to follow, we should know first the direction of the path [1 Thessalonians 3:11-13]

þ The end of the road that God has prepared for us holds things that are good-happiness, everlasting life, joy

þ We must always bear in mind that the road may have many turns but we must continue to follow the direction that God showed us.

þ There are things that we thought seems right or paths to be taken that we thought may lead us to safety but the end of it may be danger or even death [Proverbs 14:12]. Like Peter who has thought that Christ will free the Israelites from the Roman Empire. He have thought that Jesus was going to establish something that is political and spiritual combined, not knowing that the Church was only established purely for spiritual purposes.

3. We should have the strength and determination to reach the finish line [Luke 14:26-27].

þ In our obedience to God, He did not promise a smooth road ahead of us but a yoke that is easy to bear for He is with us [Matthew 11:28-30].

þ  He wants us to follow him in the same yolk. Walk beside Him not being ahead or in a distance.

Conclusion:

In any matters of decision in following the Lord in our lives, we should put our complete trust and submission. Having no fear and being ready to whatever may happen along the way. We are ought to surrender our fears and doubts to Him. Lean on Him and He will carry you.