Today I continue our new series entitled, “Power of Fellowship.” In this series we will study how we can be ONE with God and ONE with man. We are starting out by learning how to be ONE with God. With that as our aim, we have looked at statements Jesus made (about being ONE with the Father) in John 5, John 6 and John 8. Today we will look at John 12.
In John 13 we see Jesus washing His disciples feet. This begins the transition that will take Him to the cross. In this morning’s text, John 12, we find Jesus in His last public teaching before the cross. He knew the end was near. The Bible says that He shouted out passionately and said: “To believe in me is to also believe in God who sent me. For when you look at me you are seeing the One who sent me. I have come as a light to shine in this dark world so that all who trust in me will no longer wander in darkness… For I’m not speaking as someone who is self-appointed, but I speak by the authority of the Father himself who sent me, and who instructed me what to say.” (see John 12:44-49 TPT)
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. Jesus made it clear, time and time again, that He was not self-appointed, self-directed, or self-made. He only said what the Father told Him to say and He only did what the Father told Him to do. This is a picture of how we are supposed to live.
2. Jesus had no problem saying that He was ONE with the Father. He said, “When you look at me you are seeing the One who sent me.” He was so close to the Father, even in human form, that He saw Himself as a visible expression of our invisible God. This type of intimacy is available to us. If we ever develop our intimacy with the Father, the way Jesus did, we will also be able to develop our confidence in Him, the way Jesus did. Jesus was completely confident that the Father was with Him every step of the way and that the Father would provide power that exceeded human ability and strength. It is possible for you and I get to this level of fellowship and confidence.
3. When you fellowship with the Father in a truly intimate way you can get to the point where you see yourself IN Him and You see Him IN you. The goal is to see yourself as the visible expression of our invisible God.
4. Don’t let your history derail you from your destiny.
a) Before you came to God you lived a certain way. Once you are Born-Again everything is supposed to change.
b) The moment you give your life to Christ and you are Born-Again you are dead in Christ. You are a dead man walking. You just don’t realize it yet. Everything has just been made new, but you don’t know how to live like the new person you are in Christ.
c) Salvation is instantaneous, but living out your salvation and pursuing your God-given destiny takes a lifetime of dying to sin, self and satan, and becoming the man/woman you are destined to be.
d) In this series I am giving you picture after picture of what it looks like to have true and intimate fellowship with the Father. But if you saw God as some sort of higher power that ruled over you and you lived in fear of God and the upcoming Judgment Day, you will have a hard time fellowshipping with Him. Your mind has to be renewed in order to see God has your loving, caring and sharing heavenly Father. God is your Father and He wants to commune with You. The God who sits on the circle of the earth literally longs for you. He dearly wants you to commune with Him in fellowship.
e) If you don’t change your image of God it will be difficult for you to spend quality time with Him in fellowship. Fear and love cannot dwell in the same space. But if you truly open your heart to God’s love, you will discover what John said when He wrote, “perfected love casts out fear” (1 Jn 4:18).
f) The goal is to see yourself as ONE with God. The goal is to be so close to God that You talk to Him all day, as you engage in everything you have going on in your life. He wants to be part of everything you do and He wants you to discover the life He destined for you to have. The danger is in allowing your past image of God to hold you back. I heard Bishop T.D. Jakes say, “If you are not careful, your destiny is going to die and your history is going to kill it.” Your history will hold you back from your destiny. You must release the old image you have of God so you can fully embrace the new. Please open your heart to God’s love. Open your heart to His best. Open your heart to fellowship with Him. If you do, your life will never be the same!
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for teaching me the importance of true and intimate fellowship with You. By faith I declare that I no longer see You as a disconnected God who rules from heaven with a heavy hand. I see You as a loving, caring and sharing heavenly Father who lives in my heart. I am IN You and You are IN me. I love You and You love me. I long for You and as much as I do, it pales in comparison to how much You long for me. So from now on I shall fellowship with You every day. I am not self-appointed, self-directed or self-made. My life is now birthed out of the fellowship I have with You. I will no longer allow my history to keep my from my destiny. I launch out to live as the man/woman I am destined to be. I do so knowing that You are IN me and WITH me every step of the way! My life flows now from the fellowship with You! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
