ONEFAMILY Outreach

Brief Overview

ONEFamily Outreach exists to "Connect Kids to Community and Communities to Kids."

Have you considered having a mission week for your church? This is one of my favorite "in-depth" ways of reaching out with the Great News of Jesus Christ. Activities can include:

  • Interactive and participative praise concerts for children, youth, and families;
  • Morning staff studies on Servant Leadership
  • Soup lunches for the community with a gospel-study focusing on our scriptural call to justice;
  • In-service for your volunteers or teachers on reaching today's youth and families with the vibrant, living, message of Jesus Christ;
  • Evening parent seminar on "Significant Conversations: The 21-conversations you want to have with your child before they leave home";
  • Local networking with other groups to talk about starting a "Character-Based Mentoring Program" for at-risk youth in your area;
  • Humorous and thought-provoking assembly for local schools (secular or religious).

ONEFamily Outreach is primarily supported by trainings, workshops, retreats and concerts (God has blessed me with five popular music awards from the American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers). Please consider bringing ONEFamily Outreach to your community and support our endeavors.

- jerry goebel


“As I have loved you”

John 15:9-17

Easter 6b

May 25th, 2003

John 15:9-17

9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and {that} your joy may be made full. 12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14 “You are My friends, if you do what I command you. 15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and {that} your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. 17 “This I command you, that you love one another.” (NAS)

Scripture Overview

 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. [John 15:9-17]

“Love like I loved…”

 “I see Jesus in everything you do.”

Would it be possible to hear a compliment greater than this?  Are our lives so illustrative of Christ that someone could tell that we were Christians without our words, symbols, or bumper stickers?  Our Lord tells us to; “Love one another as I have loved you.”  He is the only religious leader who personalized the Golden Rule.  He doesn’t just say; “Love others like you want to be loved.”  He says; “Love others like I loved you!”

Is my life so illustrative of God’s love that:

1.        Someone would be able to follow me to the places I go each day and say; “His life exemplifies the priorities of Christ.”

2.        I could dare invite someone to follow me from head up to head down for a month so they could see how a Christ-Follower lives each day?”

3.        Someone could drive behind my car from one place to the next and say; “His driving sure models Jesus.”

4.        Someone would be able to walk fifteen paces behind me and see a change in the faces that I walk by?  Would they see me saying a kind word to strangers, offering a loving gesture to the elderly, sharing prayer and assistance to the downhearted?  If someone were fifteen paces behind me, would he hear people make comments like; “He really has a heart for hurting.”  Or, “He always has a kind word to say to me.”

Does my life model the statement attributed to Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary use words.”

The statement of Jesus is truly amazing, try as I might, I would never have the audacity to say; “Watch what I do and replicate it; that will get you to heaven.” Yet, our Lord, after three incredible years of intense living with his disciples is able to tell them; “Look at everything I have done. How I have loved you, how I have loved others—everything you have seen. Live like that and you will know God.”

John 15:9-10

9 “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love. 10 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments, and abide in His love.” (NAS)

Abide in My love

In our study of verses John 15:1-8, we learned just how important the term “abide in me” [GSN3306 meno] was to John.  It was the term of living together, “committing to” and “enduring with” your closest friend(s).  It was the term that changed John’s life: And Jesus turned, and beheld them following, and said to them, “What do you seek?” And they said to Him, “Rabbi (which translated means Teacher), where are You staying?” [GSN3306 meno] [39] He said to them, “Come, and you will see.” [GSN3306 meno] They came therefore and saw where He was staying; and they stayed with Him [GSN3306 meno] that day, for it was about the tenth hour [John 1:38].

In those two verses alone John uses “meno” three times.  Here is the Gospel of Jesus at its core: “If you obey me; you will live with me in love.”  Jesus does not call us to live within the parameters of Mosaic Law; he calls us to live beyond them.  People who live by the law usually do what is required of them and no more. Jesus tells us to begin with what is required of us and then go even beyond that point to love-without-limits (Agapao). It is not law that calls us to obey Jesus, rather it is gratitude that calls us to follow him, go where he would go, and love like he loved.

People often talk about being confused by Jesus’ “call” on their lives—as if it were something that we were supposed to do. But his three commands to us are not at all confusing and it is ultimately about a way that we are supposed to be:

1.        Fall completely, hopelessly, and recklessly in love with God;

2.        Extravagantly love those within your influence [Mt 22:36-39; Mk 12:29-31];

3.        And, if you want to be perfect; sell all you have, give the money to the poor and follow him [Mk 10:21; Lk 18:22].

Of course, living this way is impossible without God’s help.  It is only in his blessing through the Holy Spirit that we can achieve such focused joy.  The joy of the Holy Spirit is experienced in obedience to God and our ability to obey God is in direct proportion to abiding (living) with Jesus everyday.  We can abide with Jesus on earth; we can live in his love through constant obedience, which is exactly the kind of life that Jesus desires for us.

If you keep My commandments

The term that is used for “to ‘keep [GSN5083 tereo]’ his commandments” is very similar to the Hebrew word that Jesus would have studied since childhood [HSN8104 shamar].  Both words are used with the following purposes:

1.        It is a word of obedience;

Genesis 17:9-10

9 God said further to Abraham, “Now as for you, you shall keep [HSN8104 shamar] My covenant, you and your descendants after you throughout their generations. 10 “This is My covenant, which you shall keep, between Me and you and your descendants after you: every male among you shall be circumcised.” (NAS)

John 14:15-18

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments [GSN5083 tereo]. 16 “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; 17 {that is} the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, {but} you know Him because He abides with you, and will be in you. 18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” (NAS)

2.        It is a word of warning: “Be alert!”  “Beware!”

Exodus 10:28-29

28 Then Pharaoh said to him, “Get away from me! Beware [HSN8104 shamar], do not see my face again, for in the day you see my face you shall die!” 29 And Moses said, “You are right; I shall never see your face again!” (NAS)

Revelation 3:3

3 “Remember therefore what you have received and heard; and keep {it,} [GSN5083 tereo] and repent. If therefore you will not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come upon you.” (NAS)

3.        It is a word for diligently following instructions; as if you were doing a pre-flight check on a brand new jet for the very first time;

Deuteronomy 4:9

9 “Only give heed to yourself and keep your soul diligently [HSN8104 shamar], lest you forget the things which your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life; but make them known to your sons and your grandsons.” (NAS)

John 8:51

51 “Truly, truly, I say to you, if anyone keeps My word [GSN5083 tereo] he shall never see death.” (NAS)

4.        It is a word of “watching over someone,” a word of protection and specifically, for the protection God offers to those within his care;

Genesis 4:9

9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?” [HSN8104 shamar] (NAS)

1 Samuel 2:9

9 “He keeps the feet [HSN8104 shamar] of His godly ones, but the wicked ones are silenced in darkness; for not by might shall a man prevail.” (NAS)

John 17:11-15

11 “And I am no more in the world; and {yet} they themselves are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father, keep them in Thy name [GSN5083 tereo], {the name} which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as We {are.} 12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them [GSN5083 tereo] in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 “But now I come to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 “I have given them Thy word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them [GSN5083 tereo] from the evil {one.} (NAS)

5.        It is a word of preservation, as in preserving food from spoiling or even preserving a people from being “spoiled” as in bad meat infested with germs:

Joshua 24:16-17

16 And the people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods; 17 for the LORD our God is He who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage, and who did these great signs in our sight and preserved us [HSN8104 shamar] through all the way in which we went and among all the peoples through whose midst we passed.” (NAS)

1Thessalonians 5:23

23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete [GSN5083 tereo], without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. (NAS)

6.        It is the word of safety; for when we know we can find refuge in the Lord;

Psalm 16:1-2

1 Preserve me [HSN8104 shamar], O God, for I take refuge in Thee. 2 I said to the LORD, “Thou art my Lord; I have no good besides Thee.” (NAS)

John 17:6-10

6 “I manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou gavest Me out of the world; Thine they were, and Thou gavest them to Me, and they have kept Thy word [GSN5083 tereo]. 7 “Now they have come to know that everything Thou hast given Me is from Thee; 8 for the words which Thou gavest Me I have given to them; and they received {them,} and truly understood that I came forth from Thee, and they believed that Thou didst send Me. 9 “I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom Thou hast given Me; for they are Thine; 10 and all things that are Mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I have been glorified in them. (NAS)

7.        It is also the word that is used for staying pure; for not participating in the sin of this world, to be free of this world’s encumbrances;

Psalm 17:4-5

4 As for the deeds of men, by the word of Thy lips I have kept [HSN8104 shamar] from the paths of the violent. 5 My steps have held fast to Thy paths. My feet have not slipped. (NAS)

Psalm 17:8

8 Keep me [HSN8104 shamar] as the apple of the eye; hide me in the shadow of Thy wings.” (NAS)

Psalm 18:21-24

21 For I have kept [HSN8104 shamar] the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God. 22 For all His ordinances were before me, and I did not put away His statutes from me. 23 I was also blameless with Him, and I kept [HSN8104 shamar] myself from my iniquity. 24 Therefore the LORD has recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in His eyes. (NAS)

1 Timothy 5:22

22 Do not lay hands upon anyone {too} hastily and thus share {responsibility for} the sins of others; keep yourself free from sin [GSN5083 tereo]. (NAS)

In Hebrew or Greek, the meaning of this word “to keep” is full.  To preserve, reserve, to keep pure, to be watchful and protecting; these are all the things that Jesus offers to those who abide with him.  Who live in obedience to him.  It is the fullest relationship promising the fullest reward.  As I have so often repeated: This is the relationship that is worth “keeping”; this is the relationship that is worth giving up everything to “keep!”

John 15:11

11    “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and {that} your joy may be made full.

I have spoken (preached) to you

Here is the ultimate preacher giving the ultimate lesson.  In essence, Jesus tells his followers; “These are the things that you have consistently heard [GSN2980 laleo] from me.” Kids might like this word because it’s root word is lego [GSN3004], like the play toys.  It means to lay out your teachings as in a systematic discourse or lesson plan.

Yet, it is not just our Lord’s “homiletics” that makes him the ultimate preacher.  There are three components that make a person a great preacher:

1.        There is consistency in all their messages;

2.        There is a consistency between what they say and how they live;

3.        They do not just say what to do but they consistently lead (not just send) people out to do it!

The viability of Jesus’ ministry was not just that he was an incredible speaker.  Although I have read many theologians say that his words were neither new nor dramatic; I would have to disagree with that at the core.  Often, the translations of his words lose their beauty—and wit—just as a poem would when translated from English to German.  Yet, the prose of Jesus would have been amazing when set in his language and in his culture (not just as a Jew; but as an oppressed member of an occupied nation).  The stories of Jesus were the best crafted stories in history; especially given that most were “off the cuff” in response to the harassment of the religious leaders.

Still, the most dramatic thing about the words of Jesus was that he was the embodiment of all of scripture.  He didn’t speak about healing as a metaphor; He spoke of healing while he was healing!  He didn’t speak of advocating for the poor as something “someone” should do; He spoke of advocating for the poor while he fed them and cleared the Temple of profiteers.

The viability of a preacher is not what they say; but what they are doing WHILE they are saying it.  To preach about the poor while ensconced among the rich is obviously a practice in the allegorical, but to preach like Jesus was to preach among the poor while sharing their situation.

Furthermore, we measure a person’s preaching by the lives it changes.  Jesus did not just preach to the alien, the unclean and the “least of these.”  He empowered them to go out and visit, cleanse, heal and preach.  He made the “least of these” into practicing leaders of the Kingdom.

Can I say that my “preaching” meets these standards? 

1.        Is my preaching consistent with the heart of God (compassion and justice)? 

2.        Are my words a reflection of my life? 

3.        Are my words an outgrowth of the empowering work of my life?

4.        Does my preaching endear me to the poor and enrage those who would manipulate them?

If not, my tongue needs to keep still until my deeds can catch up.  In Ecclesiastes, we are commissioned:

Ecclesiastes 5:1-2

[1] Guard your steps as you go to the house of God, and draw near to listen rather than to offer the sacrifice of fools; for they do not know they are doing evil. [2] Do not be hasty in word or impulsive in thought to bring up a matter in the presence of God. For God is in heaven and you are on the earth; therefore let your words be few. (NAS)

Francis of Assisi would simply say: “Preach the Gospel at all times.  If necessary, use words.”

Your joy may be made full

The joy of the Lord [GSN5479 chara] has six traits:

1.        It exceeds all earthly joy;

2.        It is a gift that unwraps itself with our deepening obedience, it commissions us and gives us courage to act;

3.        It is not circumstantial (based upon circumstances), it is joy in the midst of chaos not the absence of strife

4.        It is unfathomable to those of this world (for it is most often the result of endurance and pain);

There are 72 references in which the word “chara” [GSN5479] is interpreted as joy in the New Testament; but the root word of joy [GSN5479 chara] is a similar word [GSN5463 chairos] which is used another 77 times.  Between the two, there are 149 references to true joy; exceeding joy; the eternal joy found only in Jesus!  I thought I would print just a few New Testament pictures that exemplify the previously mentioned traits of our Lord’s joy:

1.        Exceeding joy;

Matthew 2:10

10 And when they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. (NAS)

John 16:24

24 “Until now you have asked for nothing in My name; ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be made full.” (NAS)

Acts 13:52

52 And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. (NAS)

2.        The gift of joy that grows with obedience;

Matthew 13:44

44 “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field.” (NAS)

Matthew 25:21

21 “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful slave; you were faithful with a few things, I will put you in charge of many things, enter into the joy of your master.’“ (NAS)

Mark 4:16-17

16 “And in a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky {places,} who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy;  17 “and they have no {firm} root in themselves, but are {only} temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they fall away.” (NAS)

Luke 10:17-18

17 And the seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” 18 And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. (NAS)

John 3:28-30

28 “You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ,’ but, ‘I have been sent before Him.’ 29 “He who has the bride is the bridegroom; but the friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly because of the bridegroom’s voice. And so this joy of mine has been made full. 30 “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (NAS)

Galatians 5:22-23

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (NAS)

3.        Joy beyond the circumstances

2 Corinthians 8:1-3

1 Now, brethren, we {wish to} make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, 2 that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. 3 For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability {they gave} of their own accord. (NAS)

Philippians 2:1-2

1 If therefore there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, 2 make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. (NAS)

Hebrews 12:1-2

1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (NAS)

James 1:2-4

2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have {its} perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (NAS)

3 John 1:4

4 I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth. (NAS)

4.        The unfathomable joy:

Matthew 28:8

8 And they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy and ran to report it to His disciples. (NAS)

Luke 15:7

7 “I tell you that in the same way, there will be {more} joy in heaven over one sinner who repents, than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.” (NAS)

2 Timothy 1:3-4

3 I thank God, whom I serve with a clear conscience the way my forefathers did, as I constantly remember you in my prayers night and day, 4 longing to see you, even as I recall your tears, so that I may be filled with joy. (NAS)

Hebrews 10:34-37

34 For you showed sympathy to the prisoners, and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and an abiding one. 35 Therefore, do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. 36 For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised. 37 For yet in a very little while, He who is coming will come, and will not delay. (NAS)

Joy is BIG in the bible!  Is it big in our life?  Do we know this kind of joy: Exceeding, obedient, beyond the circumstantial, unfathomable to this world?  This is a joy promised from God for our radical obedience:

Psalm 16:8-11

8 I have set the LORD continually before me; because He is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will dwell securely. 10 For Thou wilt not abandon my soul to Sheol; neither wilt Thou allow Thy Holy One to undergo decay. 11 Thou wilt make known to me the path of life; in Thy presence is fulness of joy; in Thy right hand there are pleasures forever. (NAS)

We spoke about this topic last week at the homeless shelter; that to the extent that Jesus lives in all of the rooms in my heart (abides with me), I experience joy.  If there are rooms where I do not invite Jesus (or that I think I can keep him out of) then my joy is diminished proportionately.  We spoke very directly as men about locking Jesus out when we decide to go into a bar; locking him out when we choose to view pornography; locking him out when we choose to cut other’s down; or when we choose to place ourselves above others.

To know the joy of abandonment to Christ is to have an open house for Jesus; to let him into every room and not just our front room (our public self).  To know the fullness of joy is to include him fully in our lives.  That alone is when God becomes GOD!

John 15:12-13

12    “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

13    “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. (NAS)

Love one another, just as I have loved you

No other religious leader has made this command: “Love like I love.” 

“Look at the way that I have always behaved and use that as a model.”

Jesus said this to people who had been with him nearly every day and night for three extremely intense years; through varying circumstances of intimidation, harassment, but also miraculous joy.  Throughout it all, Jesus says; “The consistent character that you have seen in me; model that to each other.”

Other religious leaders have stated; “Do unto others as you want them to do unto you.”  Yet, only Jesus says; “Do unto others as you have seen me do unto you.”  How do you know someone is truly a Christian leader?  Put their words aside and watch their daily actions.  If their actions match their words then they are worth listening to.  After all, would you take flight lessons from someone who has only used a computer simulation game?  Would you want to learn to sail the world from someone who has only read a magazine article on sailing?  Would you take advice on climbing Everest from a person who saw a commercial with mountain climbers in it?  So, why would we let a person who is not living a life of service teach us about the a God who models leadership by washing feet and dying on a cross?

Hebrew 12:1-3

1 Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 For consider Him who has endured such hostility by sinners against Himself, so that you may not grow weary and lose heart. (NAS)

If you want to be the best, learn from the best.  If you want to learn about character, learn from someone with proven character.  If you want to rise from the dead, follow the one who already has risen from the dead!

Follow the One who says, “Love like I loved.”

Greater love has no one

“I love you as much as you love me–plus one.”  My daughter and I tease each other with statements like this, or; “I love one more than you could ever say even if you say infinity plus one.”  However, whatever we say, we could never say: “I love you more than God.”

God’s love is the greatest [GSN3185 meizon] love.  It is not just great + ‘er’, it is great + ‘est’.  It is love that involves complete and ultimate sacrifice:

John 10:11

11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.” (NAS)

Romans 5:6-8

6 For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (NAS)

Ephesians 5:1-2

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; 2 and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you, and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. (NAS)

My love for my daughter can only ever be but a shadow of God’s love for her.  It will never be equal to the love of God.  For, we cannot out-give God.  We cannot out-love God.  What then is the greatest gift that I can expect to give to those whom I love?  God.  Jesus Christ.  His love!  My love should faithfully point others to him making others less dependent on me and more engaged with him.  Ultimately, the only love that I have that is beyond the temporal is the love of the Risen lord. 

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends [v13].”

This Great + est love is beyond imagination.  Let’s look at a couple of the critical words used in this verse:

·         To lay down [GSN5087 tithemi]

The term for “to lay down” would also be used for laying down one’s weapons, taking a passive posture (as in kneeling or prostrating oneself before God), and also to ordain (or consecrate) someone or something for a specific purpose.  The man who lays down [GSN5087 tithemi] his life for another literally ordains his life or consecrates his life to serving others as an act of supreme service to God.

·         His life [GSN5590 psuche]

The Greeks separated the laying down of one’s life (body and vitality) from laying down one’s spirit or breath (immortal self).  Abraham gave up his spirit (gave up the ghost) in Genesis 25:8.  Isaac did likewise in Genesis 35:29.  When Jesus died he breathed his last, gave up the ghost, or—in other words—gave up his spirit (depending on the version you read and whether you are reading Mark’s account [15:39], Luke’s account [23:46], or John’s account [19:30].

Gnosticism (the premier heresy of the 1st Century church) stated that Jesus gave up his body but not his spirit.  This heresy stated that Jesus didn’t die completely on Calgary.  The Greek mind would think, “Well, only his body died and therefore it doesn’t matter what we do with our bodies because it is our spirit that is resurrected.”  Yet, Luke is very clear in telling us that it wasn’t a “ghost” the disciples saw in the upper room; it was someone who actually ate with them.

Luke 24:41-43

41 And while they still could not believe {it} for joy and were marveling, He said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” 42 And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish; 43 and He took it and ate {it} before them. (NAS)

Jesus is talking about giving up our lives—not as a metaphysical euphimism—but as a physical gift.  To give up our lives is not just a spiritual statement.  It is not just saying; “Well, I will keep you in prayer.”  It is saying; “I would die for you…” and then doing it.  It is saying; “I would give up everything to bring you to Jesus,” and then doing it.

I John 4:20

20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. (NAS)

These were words that Jesus and all the disciples backed with radical acts of love.  They gave their last breath so that the Gospel would be given to us. It is like the children’s poem; “How much do I love you?” Jesus said to the child.  “This much,” and he spread his arms out wide and died.

John 10:14-15

14 “You are My friends, if you do what I command you. 15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

If you do what I command you

The big “if.”

People often speak about the unconditional love of God and it is true; his love is given unconditionally to all people.  Jesus tells us that:

Matthew 5:45

45 “In order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on {the} evil and {the} good, and sends rain on {the} righteous and {the} unrighteous.” (NAS)

Still, it would be very dangerous for us to confuse God’s unconditional love with salvation.  Salvation is very conditional and the truth of that statement is presented in this verse with surprising alacrity; “You are my friends, if you do what I command.” 

Jesus also states:

Luke 8:21

21 But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” (NAS)

In fact, direct relationship with God (the fruit of salvation) has been conditional since it was first offered to Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  In Genesis 2:14-16, God gives Adam free reign EXCEPT from the Tree of Good and Evil.  At that time, there was only one condition of obedience (and humanity even blew that)!

Genesis 2:15-17

15 Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; 17 but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you shall surely die.” (NAS)

There is an “if” to God’s “then.”  “You are my friends if…”  “You are my family if…”  The Greek term for “if” [GSN1437 ean] is no different than our term for “if”; it is a conditional particle.  It would be used in situations like; “When you do this, then you receive this.”  “If you act in this manner, then you can expect this result.”

When Matthew lays out the guidelines for right living according to Christ (the Beatitudes); he uses this term [GSN1437 ean] no less than eleven times in two chapters:

1.        If salt becomes tasteless it will be thrown out.

Matthew 5:13

13 “You are the salt of the earth; but if [GSN1437 ean] the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty {again}  It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled under foot by men. (NAS)

2.        If someone throws out the least of the commandments and unless our commitment to righteousness (seeking what is right) is not greater than the religious leaders - we will not enter heaven.

Matthew 5:19-20

19 “Whoever [GSN1437 ean] then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and so teaches others, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches {them,} he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 “For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses {that} of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven. (NAS)

3.        If we offer our prayer to God and hold a grudge against someone; then the prayer is not heard until we go immediately and forgive that person.

Matthew 5:23-24

23 “If therefore you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your offering there before the altar, and go your way; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering. (NAS)

4.        Whoever divorces his wife (except for unfaithfulness), is responsible for his own lack of chastity and whatever happens to her as a result of the divorce.  What a statement!  “You are not only responsible for your own sin,” Christ is saying, “but if your spouse is forced on the streets or your family drifts into sin as a result of the divorce - then you are responsible for that too!”

Matthew 5:31-32

31    “And it was said, ‘Whoever [GSN1437 ean] sends his wife away, let him give her a certificate of divorce’; 32 but I say to you that everyone who divorces his wife, except for {the} cause of unchastity, makes her commit adultery; and whoever marries a divorced woman commits adultery.” (NAS)

5.        If I don’t extend my love beyond those who are good to me; then I am not living out the sacrificial love of God.  That is merely the selfish love of this world.

Matthew 5:46-48

46 “For if [GSN1437 ean] you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax-gatherers do the same? 47 “And if [GSN1437 ean] you greet your brothers only, what do you do more {than others}?  Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48                “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” (NAS)

6.        If I do not forgive others - I cannot expect to receive God’s forgiveness.

Matthew 6:14-15

14 “For if [GSN1437 ean] you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if [GSN1437 ean] you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.” (NAS)

7.        If I choose to focus my sight on what is impure; then I will think the world is impure.  If I choose to keep my eyes on God; I will see God in all things.

Matthew 6:22-23

22 “The lamp of the body is the eye; if [GSN1437 ean] therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 “But if [GSN1437 ean] your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If [GSN1437 ean] therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (NAS)

If [GSN1437 ean] is a big world to Jesus, a conditional word of receiving relationship with God.  In his letters to the fledgling churches, John tells us that the essence of our relationship with God is obedience to him:

I John 5:3-4

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. (NAS)

What is the simple command that is not burdensome?  John, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit, tells us that the simple condition (commandment) of salvation is the practice of love:

I John 4:21

21 And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. (NAS)

John boldly states that to not obey this command (this conditional particle) is to not be in relationship with God:

I John 4:18-20

18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. 19 We love, because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.” (NAS)

Of course, there are religious scholars who would like to abandon the writings of John; just as there are other scholars who would like to abandon the writings of James who (in even more direct terms than John) clarifies that faith is obedience which results in works:

James 2:14-20

14 What use is it, my brethren, if a man says he has faith, but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for {their} body, what use is that?

17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, {being} by itself. 18 But someone may {well} say, “You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”

19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? (NAS)

In Hebrews we are told:

Hebrews 11:1

1 Now faith is the assurance of {things} hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. (NAS)

When you are convicted of something; you act on it!  The age-old question is; “Could I be convicted in a court of law for my faith?”  Is there enough evidence to show that I am a follower of Christ?  Could someone look at my life and say; “He is definitely a Christian, convict him!”

Once again I am drawn to the words attributed to Francis of Assisi; “Preach the Gospel at all times - if necessary, use words.”

Do I have to “tell” people I am Christian - or do my actions already prove it?

No longer do I call you slaves

Graduation with the highest honors a person could ever receive!  Not Ph.D., J.D.D. or Ed.D., but instead, the initials F.O.G..   When we “graduate from earth” we want to have the title F.O.G.; Friend Of God.  Indeed, no other title will serve us any heavenly good:

Matthew 23:2-12

2 …saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses; 3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say {things,} and do not do {them.} 4 “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men’s shoulders; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with {so much as} a finger.

5 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries, and lengthen the tassels {of their garments.} 6 “And they love the place of honor at banquets, and the chief seats in the synagogues, 7 and respectful greetings in the market places, and being called by men, Rabbi.

8 “But do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. 9 “And do not call {anyone} on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. 10 “And do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, {that is,} Christ. 11 “But the greatest among you shall be your servant. 12 “And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted. (NAS)

To understand John 15:15 fully we need to understand the “education system” of the Jewish child in Christ’s time.  First of all, a disciple was considered a slave of his teacher.  Jewish disciples would call their teacher “Rabbi,” [GSN4461 Rhabbi] which also means “Master.”  Most Jewish males would begin Hebrew studies at age three and start learning a trade by ten.  By twelve, you were considered a man and expected to do a full days work (sun up to sun down).

Most male children would remain with their family and learn their father’s trade.  However, many families would have numerous children because the infant death ratio was so high.  If more children survived their infancy than the family could economically sustain than the younger siblings would be apprenticed out at the age of ten.

This alone tells us a great deal about Jesus’ childhood and why he was not given the option of remaining in Jerusalem as an “apprentice” or disciple even though it was clear he had such a high aptitude for religious studies.  If, on the one hand, it is true that he had older step-siblings through Mary’s marriage to Joseph; than his family must have had very meager resources.  As a result, our Lord grew up with the hardened hands of a common laborer rather than the soft hands of a religious scholar.

The Jewish culture held a much higher standard over the sanctity of children than either the cultures of Rome or Greece (where a child would be abandoned if it did not please the father for any reason).  However, children were still seen as more or less property of the father (and then the elder brother when the father died) with no inherent rights.  Mercy was at the whim of the master.

We know little about Jesus’ childhood; but we do know this; he had an immense compassion for children.  It was the kind of compassion that either comes from being deeply loved or sadly neglected.  Given his birth circumstances and his treatment by his brothers during his early ministry it wouldn’t be hard to ascertain that our Lord was a “second-hand” child.

Our Lord’s love of children becomes most evident in Jesus’ incredibly compassionate statement to his disciples about children:

Mark 10:13-16

13 And they were bringing children to Him so that He might touch them; and the disciples rebuked them. 14 But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, “Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. 15 “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it {at all.} 16 And He took them in His arms and {began} blessing them, laying His hands upon them. (NAS)

I personally believe that only a man who experienced exclusion as a child would know that the journey from slave to family begins with the simple step of inclusion.

Herein lies a great insight into the loving depth of our Lord, Jesus.  It was never our God’s desire to create slaves or automatons.  He gave us choice and with choice came sin.  He even knew that we would choose sin before we were even created so he gave us salvation through Jesus Christ.  Our God is inviting and inclusive.  He invites us into relationship and includes us in creation.  The entire story of creation is the story of our fall from relationship with God to the depths that God will go to in order that we can return to him.  Once, we walked with God.  Then, we choose our own path.  God does not seek to be above us, but alongside of us.  The death of Jesus is about our life with God.  That we may walk beside God again, that we may know the ways of God, that all of life will be revealed to us by his love.

Isaiah 40:5

5 Then the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all flesh will see {it} together; for the mouth of the LORD has spoken. (NAS)

Jeremiah 33:6

6 ‘Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them; and I will reveal to them an abundance of peace and truth. (NAS)

Matthew 11:25-27

25 At that time Jesus answered and said, “I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that Thou didst hide these things from {the} wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. 26 “Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight. 27 “All things have been handed over to Me by My Father; and no one knows the Son, except the Father; nor does anyone know the Father, except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal {Him.} (NAS)

Matthew 16:17

17 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal {this} to you, but My Father who is in heaven. (NAS)

Romans 8:18-19

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. 19 For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. (NAS)

1 Corinthians 2:10-16

10 For to us God revealed {them} through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the {thoughts} of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the {thoughts} of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual {thoughts} with spiritual {words.} 14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. 15 But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no man. 16 For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he should instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. (NAS)

John 15:16-17

16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and {that} your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. 17 “This I command you, that you love one another.” (NAS)

I chose you, and appointed you

Chosen [GSN1586 eklegomai] and ordained [GSN5087 tithemi]; that’s what the Lord now names us.  We need no other title or commissioning to go forth in Christ’s name.  We are chosen and ordained, called and sent, appointed and compelled.  Our cause is evident and we are thoroughly equipped; we are to take the Great News of the salvation of Christ to the ends of the earth.

What is the tool of our commission?  What have we been equipped to give?  Love!

Not any type of love, but radical love [GSN25 agapao]: Boundless love, love that gives ridiculously, beyond all reason.  This is the love by which the world is supposed to know us.  This is the love that we are chosen, ordained, and even COMMANDED to give.

Yet, he that chooses and appoints us also empowers us for the task.

Psalm 71:18

18 And even when {I am} old and gray, O God, do not forsake me, until I declare Thy strength to {this} generation, Thy power to all who are to come. (NAS)

Psalm 79:11

11 Let the groaning of the prisoner come before Thee; according to the greatness of Thy power preserve those who are doomed to die. (NAS)

Isaiah 40:29-31

29 He gives strength to the weary, and to {him who} lacks might He increases power. 30 Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, 31 Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength; they will mount up {with} wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary. (NAS)

Zechariah 4:6

6 Then he answered and said to me, “This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel saying, ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the LORD of hosts. (NAS)

Luke 9:1-2

1 And He called the twelve together, and gave them power and authority over all the demons, and to heal diseases. 2 And He sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God, and to perform healing. (NAS)

Luke 10:19-20

19 “Behold, I have given you authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall injure you. 20 “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.” (NAS)

Luke 24:49

49 “And behold, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (NAS)

Acts 1:7-8

7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or epochs which the Father has fixed by His own authority; 8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (NAS)

Romans 15:13

13 Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (NAS)

1 Corinthians 1:18

18 For the word of the cross is to those who are perishing foolishness, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. (NAS)

2 Corinthians 12:9-10

9 And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong. (NAS)

Ephesians 3:14-21

14 For this reason, I bow my knees before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name, 16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; {and} that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God.

20 Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him {be} the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen. (NAS)

Revelation 5:11-13

11 And I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels around the throne and the living creatures and the elders; and the number of them was myriads of myriads, and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing.”

13 And every created thing which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all things in them, I heard saying, “To Him who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb, {be} blessing and honor and glory and dominion forever and ever.” (NAS)

The power of God is different from the power of the world.  One of the words for God’s power [GSN1849 exousia] describes both authority and mastery.  It is chosen and ordained power; the power of someone who has been given the right to speak on “the King’s behalf.”  The other word used to describe our power in God [GSN1411 dunamis] defines an abundant or mighty, even miraculous, force.  It is the root word for dynamite: Explosive power.

God has given us both the authority and the miraculous power to achieve our task.  We are appointed and ordained; commissioned and sent.  What are we waiting for???

In the Old Testament, one of the most frequent words we read is the Hebrew word for “sent” [HSN7971 shalach].  It too means to appoint, ordain, sow and send forth.  Perhaps it’s most familiar usage is in from Isaiah:

Isaiah 6:8

8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?” Then I said, “Here am I. Send me!” (NAS)

This is the cry of the Follower of God; “Here I am.  Send me!”

“Send me!”

Our word for Apostles comes from the term “to be sent” [GSN649 apostello].  Literally, it means “freeing a hostage to be sent to serve his king.”  Our Jesus, our loving Savior, freed us to be sent in the power of his love.

John 17:12-26

12 “While I was with them, I was keeping them in Thy name which Thou hast given Me; and I guarded them, and not one of them perished but the son of perdition, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 “But now I come to Thee; and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy made full in themselves. 14 “I have given them Thy word; and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 15 “I do not ask Thee to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil {one.} 16 “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. 17 “Sanctify them in the truth; Thy word is truth. 18 “As Thou didst send [GSN649 apostello] Me into the world, I also have sent them [GSN649 apostello] into the world. 19 “And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth. 20 “I do not ask in behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; 21 that they may all be one; even as Thou, Father, {art} in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be in Us; that the world may believe that Thou didst send Me. 22 “And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; 23 I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send [GSN649 apostello] Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me.

24 “Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am, in order that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world. 25 “O righteous Father, although the world has not known Thee, yet I have known Thee; and these have known that Thou didst send Me; 26 and I have made Thy name known to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou didst love Me may be in them, and I in them.” (NAS)

John 20:21-22

21 Jesus therefore said to them again, “Peace {be} with you; as the Father has sent [GSN649 apostello] Me, I also send [GSN649 apostello] you.”

22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” (NAS)

Chosen and ordained, called and commissioned; we are the apostles, the “sent” of God! No longer slave, no longer hostage, but family, sent to serve our King with great news.

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Copyright © 2003 Jerry Goebel. All Rights Reserved.  This study may be freely distributed, as long as it bears the following attribution: Source: Jerry Goebel: 2003 © http://onefamilyoutreach.com 

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