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Word from Scotland
by Sandy Shaw
We are in John’s Gospel, at Chapter 17, where we hear Jesus Christ, the Son of God, at prayer, before he goes to the Cross to shed His blood to wash away our sin and to die that we might have and know eternal life. Come again into what could be called the Holy of Holies, as we read the Lord’s Prayer, remembering that only Jesus Christ could pray these words.
In verses 1 to 5, His prayer is concerning Himself and yet there is not a word of selfishness in it. In verse 3, we saw how exclusive our Christian Faith is. To know God, and to have eternal life, we need Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord.
His mission is now almost fully accomplished, yet the worst and hardest part lies in front of Him. Jesus has been perfectly obedient to the Father.
He did not give in, nor did He give up. He never allowed Himself to be sidetracked or diverted, by those who would have liked Him to become involved in some other way or take some other road. From the outset, the enemy of God attempted that.
Jesus is now preparing to hand on to these men the work of God, and as He does this, He prays for them. We so need this prayer of Jesus in these days when the Church of Jesus Christ is under such attack.
Father, I have revealed You to those men whom You gave Me. Father, keep them, protect them, guard them. Father, as I have shepherded them, and nourished them, and fed and trained them, Father, continue to minister to them. I pray for them.
When we move on to verse 14, we read, I have given them your word, and look what happened. The world hated them. As soon as these trained men began to preach the mighty Word of God under the anointing power of the Holy Spirit, they were persecuted, hated, rejected, imprisoned.
When we truly receive and accept and embrace the Word of God, and the authority of Jesus Christ, and the Power of the Holy Spirit, a hostile world confronts us with constant antagonism – and it can be sore and hurting and wounding – but there is no other way – and Jesus Christ knew that!
We are not of the world, just as Jesus was not of the world, and the world cannot stand the brightness of the brilliance of the light of Jesus Christ showing up the world and all its sin.
This can happen even in the life of a Christian when he or she is living wrongly or sinfully. In such situations we cannot stand the brightness and brilliance and glare of the light of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a challenge, because if man tries to walk against that light it is blinding and painful.
It is like walking along a road on a dark night and the full lights of an on-coming car can be blinding.
The world has only two ways to handle you – absorb you or persecute you.
And yet, Jesus Christ’s call to His Disciples is to be holy – to be set apart – to be different – to be like Him – loving – compassionate – forgiving – powerful – bold – challenging – courageous – and also, willing to minister to the needs of a hostile world.
Alexander 'Sandy' Shaw is pastor of Nairn Christian Fellowship in Nairn, Scotland. Nairn is 17 miles east of Inverness - on the Moray Firth Coast - not far from the Loch Ness Monster!
Gifted as a Biblical teacher, Sandy is firmly committed to making sure that his teachings are firmly grounded in the Word.
Sandy has a weekly radio talk which can be heard via the Internet on Saturday at 11:40am, New Orleans time, at wsho.com.
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