John 15:20 Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
Oh Friends, the time is fast approaching when my neck of the woods will be covered with the cold, slushy white stuff – as early as today. Bah humbug! Many areas have already been inundated with it; have felt the cold hands of Ole Man Winter, which means Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is close at hand -another three weeks to be exact. Christmas! What a joyous time of celebration for believers, cause it not only heralded the birth of a precious child, but also signified the birth of hope, of a new day dawning, of better times, of a new covenant, of salvation and a right relationship with our Heavenly Father. Consequently, I implore us to remember that’s the real and true meaning for this festive season, not the rampant commercialism been touted by Lucifer’s iniquity workers, where it’s all about gifts and buying and shopping; ergo, the bottom line. As Jesus declared: ‘Remember the word that I said unto you,’ for though He’s talking about something else here, we still need to remember and pay close attention to what’s happening around us, because it’s another way the ungodly are trying to remove Christ from our lives. ‘But the servant is not greater than his Lord,’ so Beelzebub, a mere angel of darkness will never be able to remove Christ from Christmas or our lives, cause Jesus is the Son, and therefore much greater than him. That principle of servant-hood, or not being better than the one you serve, seems to be a favourite theme of Jesus, for He tells it to the disciples when He first gathers them together. ‘The disciple is not above his master (teacher), nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord.’ (Mat.10:24-25) He also mentions it after washing their feet. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither is he that is sent greater than he that sent him.’ (John 13:16) Embedded in that part about being sent is a subliminal message about His relationship with the Father; that likewise, He is not greater than the Father who sent Him. Yuh see Friends…would you believe I spelt it wrong again? Steups! That’s three for three already. So subliminal messages are really old hat (smile) for Jesus was using them two thousand years ago. But seriously though, if we look at many of His teachings, especially the parables, a lot of significant undertones, implied truths and messages abound. I guess one reason Jesus kept bringing up the servant/master relationship was to remind His followers that theirs was to be a humble mission on earth, but exalted in heaven. He does so again in Today’s Bit while warning them of the world’s hatred. ‘The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.’ That’s normal and logical. Followers of a persecuted leader are highly likely to undergo persecution too. But Jesus’ warnings to His disciples, mostly uneducated men of low status, shows that He was a most caring, considerate, faithful and honest leader, who did not want His people to be unhappily surprised by His sudden, atrocious demise, nor their persecution later on, for simply talking about Him. It’s also not the first time God’s spokespeople were warned of persecution and resistance. One example of note is when the Lord commissioned Ezekiel. He warned him: ‘But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.’ (Ezek.3:7) But the God we serve is so caring and kind-hearted that He won’t send anyone to do a job without the necessary tools. Thus He comforted Ezekiel: ‘As an adamant (stone) harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.’ (Ezek.3:9) And it was the same with Jesus and the disciples. He did not totally demoralize them by talking of persecution only, but also gave them hope that their efforts would indeed bear some good fruit. ‘If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours.’ So anyone who took Jesus’ teachings and principles to heart would do the same with the disciples. If they heard the gospel preached and believed it, then the disciples would be safe from harm and make their own presence felt, make a difference. Oh my Friends, (got yuh) unfortunately both the negative situations of Ezekiel and the disciples also apply to us as Christ’s followers today. Many of us have evil come against us simply because we believe in Him and joyfully, valiantly and proudly proclaim it. But by the same token, we are also included in the second part of the equation, where the Word is welcomed, eagerly heard and applied. We therefore have reason to be careful and cautious in our dealings with the ungodly, but also a solid reason and purpose based on faith, to go forth and proclaim the gospel without fear, because of promises made by Jesus and the Father. Like Ezekiel, our foreheads are harder than adamant stone, and the spiritual armour that Jesus provides, makes us nigh invincible. Yes my people, we are more than conquerors through Him who LOVED and died for us, and they can only kill the body, but definitely not the soul. So we need not fear the evil of persecution. In conclusion Friends, (wrong again) let’s remember that the world hated Jesus, before it hated us for simply being His followers. But remember too, that Jesus overcame the world, and so can we, if we follow His guidance and remain steadfast and strong, protected by the promises in His Word. Much LOVE!…though trials persist…under Jesus’ caring mantle…His followers safely exist…
Oh Friends, the time is fast approaching when my neck of the woods will be covered with the cold, slushy white stuff – as early as today. Bah humbug! Many areas have already been inundated with it; have felt the cold hands of Ole Man Winter, which means Christmas, the birth of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ is close at hand -another three weeks to be exact. Christmas! What a joyous time of celebration for believers, cause it not only heralded the birth of a precious child, but also signified the birth of hope, of a new day dawning, of better times, of a new covenant, of salvation and a right relationship with our Heavenly Father. Consequently, I implore us to remember that’s the real and true meaning for this festive season, not the rampant commercialism been touted by Lucifer’s iniquity workers, where it’s all about gifts and buying and shopping; ergo, the bottom line. As Jesus declared: ‘Remember the word that I said unto you,’ for though He’s talking about something else here, we still need to remember and pay close attention to what’s happening around us, because it’s another way the ungodly are trying to remove Christ from our lives. ‘But the servant is not greater than his Lord,’ so Beelzebub, a mere angel of darkness will never be able to remove Christ from Christmas or our lives, cause Jesus is the Son, and therefore much greater than him. That principle of servant-hood, or not being better than the one you serve, seems to be a favourite theme of Jesus, for He tells it to the disciples when He first gathers them together. ‘The disciple is not above his master (teacher), nor the servant above his lord. It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord.’ (Mat.10:24-25) He also mentions it after washing their feet. ‘Verily, verily, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither is he that is sent greater than he that sent him.’ (John 13:16) Embedded in that part about being sent is a subliminal message about His relationship with the Father; that likewise, He is not greater than the Father who sent Him. Yuh see Friends…would you believe I spelt it wrong again? Steups! That’s three for three already. So subliminal messages are really old hat (smile) for Jesus was using them two thousand years ago. But seriously though, if we look at many of His teachings, especially the parables, a lot of significant undertones, implied truths and messages abound. I guess one reason Jesus kept bringing up the servant/master relationship was to remind His followers that theirs was to be a humble mission on earth, but exalted in heaven. He does so again in Today’s Bit while warning them of the world’s hatred. ‘The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you.’ That’s normal and logical. Followers of a persecuted leader are highly likely to undergo persecution too. But Jesus’ warnings to His disciples, mostly uneducated men of low status, shows that He was a most caring, considerate, faithful and honest leader, who did not want His people to be unhappily surprised by His sudden, atrocious demise, nor their persecution later on, for simply talking about Him. It’s also not the first time God’s spokespeople were warned of persecution and resistance. One example of note is when the Lord commissioned Ezekiel. He warned him: ‘But the house of Israel will not hearken unto thee; for they will not hearken unto me: for all the house of Israel are impudent and hardhearted.’ (Ezek.3:7) But the God we serve is so caring and kind-hearted that He won’t send anyone to do a job without the necessary tools. Thus He comforted Ezekiel: ‘As an adamant (stone) harder than flint have I made thy forehead: fear them not, neither be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.’ (Ezek.3:9) And it was the same with Jesus and the disciples. He did not totally demoralize them by talking of persecution only, but also gave them hope that their efforts would indeed bear some good fruit. ‘If they have kept my saying, they will keep yours.’ So anyone who took Jesus’ teachings and principles to heart would do the same with the disciples. If they heard the gospel preached and believed it, then the disciples would be safe from harm and make their own presence felt, make a difference. Oh my Friends, (got yuh) unfortunately both the negative situations of Ezekiel and the disciples also apply to us as Christ’s followers today. Many of us have evil come against us simply because we believe in Him and joyfully, valiantly and proudly proclaim it. But by the same token, we are also included in the second part of the equation, where the Word is welcomed, eagerly heard and applied. We therefore have reason to be careful and cautious in our dealings with the ungodly, but also a solid reason and purpose based on faith, to go forth and proclaim the gospel without fear, because of promises made by Jesus and the Father. Like Ezekiel, our foreheads are harder than adamant stone, and the spiritual armour that Jesus provides, makes us nigh invincible. Yes my people, we are more than conquerors through Him who LOVED and died for us, and they can only kill the body, but definitely not the soul. So we need not fear the evil of persecution. In conclusion Friends, (wrong again) let’s remember that the world hated Jesus, before it hated us for simply being His followers. But remember too, that Jesus overcame the world, and so can we, if we follow His guidance and remain steadfast and strong, protected by the promises in His Word. Much LOVE!…though trials persist…under Jesus’ caring mantle…His followers safely exist…
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