John 12:20-36

1) Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes) 

2) Scripture Reading: John 12:20-36
²⁰ Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. ²¹ They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” ²² Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.

 ²³ Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. ²⁴ I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. ²⁵ The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. ²⁶ Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
   ²⁷ “Now my heart is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour. ²⁸Father, glorify your name!”
   Then a voice came from heaven, “I have glorified it, and will glorify it again.” ²⁹ The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered; others said an angel had spoken to him.
 ³⁰ Jesus said, “This voice was for your benefit, not mine. ³¹ Now is the time for judgment on this world; now the prince of this world will be driven out. ³² But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself.” ³³ He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die.
 ³⁴ The crowd spoke up, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ^[a] will remain forever, so how can you say, ‘The Son of Man must be lifted up’? Who is this ‘Son of Man’?”
 ³⁵ Then Jesus told them, “You are going to have the light just a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. ³⁶ Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.” When he had finished speaking, Jesus left and hid himself from them.

3) Devotional: Instructions. . . an important part of any child's Christmas present, especially when faced with two sheets of different colored stickers!  One Christmas my son asked for a bus that held many little race cars.  It was really cool.  It had little compartments for the cars, and it folded up into a suitcase, so he could carry it around.  The bus on the box looked amazing too, until I opened it up and found a plain blue shell.  It was my job - as the parent to affix the labels to the bus, to make it look like the bus on the box.  At 2:00AM on Christmas morning - it was not an easy task.  It was time consuming, and if it weren't for the instructions - I don't know what it would have looked like, as things are not always as easy as they appear on the outside.  The same thing can be said of becoming a follower of Jesus.

In this passage - two Greek men wanted to meet Jesus.  I would assume that Phillip and Andrew, when they went and told Jesus, didn't expect what they he was about to tell them.  He explained the cost.  "Those who love their life in this world will lose it.  Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity.  Anyone who wants to be my disciple must follow me, because my servants must be where I am."  Following Jesus, was not as easy as it looked.  The expectations were great then, and they are still great today.  To be a follower required death. . . death to self and death to sin.  It also required a turning towards the light. . . truth and righteousness, and walking in it.

When people come to Christ - when they ask Him to be their forever friend, it's exciting.  There's the promise of eternal life.  On the outside it seems so easy.  They are saved from a death sentence - from an eternity in Hell.  But is it really that easy?  Do people really understand what it costs to follow Jesus?  Jesus made it clear - "those who love their life in this world will lose it.  Those who care nothing for their life in this world will keep it for eternity"!!

4) Questions to Consider: Have you ever truly counted the cost of being a follower of Jesus?  What sacrifices have you had to make, in order to embrace the light, to walk in truth?  Eternal life is a free gift, but comes with a hefty price. . . self sacrifice.  What does that mean to you?  Take time to journal your thoughts.

5) Prayer: Father, show me what gets in the way of me following you.  Help me to daily walk in the truth, and to reject all that hinders me from receiving your mercy and grace.  I am your child - much beloved by You.  Let my words and action reflect that truth.  In Jesus name.  Amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes)

John 11:38-43

1)   Silence, Stillness, and Centering Before God (2 min)

2)   Scripture Reading: John 11:38-43

³⁸ Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. ³⁹ “Take away the stone,” he said. “But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” ⁴⁰ Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” ⁴¹ So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. ⁴² I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” ⁴³ When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” ⁴⁴ The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”

3)   Devotional:

Here we see Martha question Jesus’ actions despite her saying she believed who he is.  She believed that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus from dying, but still had doubts.  She didn’t believe that she would see a miracle at this point.

Jesus had to remind her that if she believed, she would see the glory of God – he seeks to stretch her faith.

I know that in my own life, Jesus stretches my faith.  There is no question in who Jesus is.  But more than often I question what He’s doing.  That I question his ways and timing.  Dr. Frank put it best in his sermon from last Sunday, that “God’s delays are not God’s denials.”  There have been many times in my life where God shows up at the right time – not necessarily when I want him to, but in his time.  We may question that if God does something outside of our desires, it’s surely going to “stink”, that it won’t turn out in our favor.  Let’s not forget that Jesus represents life and wants us to experience the glory of God.  Let’s put to death our own desires or perspective and allow Jesus to stretch our faith in Him and what He is and will be doing.

4)   Questions to Consider

In what areas of my life do I see my faith stretched?  Where do I see God’s delays and how can I put more trust in his timing?

5)   Prayer

Dear Lord, forgive me for not trusting in you.  Help my disbelief.  Protect me from the enemy that wants to put my desires over yours.  Increase my faith, strengthen it and stretch it in Jesus’ name.  Amen.