KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:19 KJV” Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.”

The Lord declared that, when He leaves the disciples into glory, the world would not see Him. He added that His disciples would continue to see Him. The Lord has consistently shown Himself to His disciples. Acts 1:3 KJV” To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God:” This was the post resurrection appearances of Jesus to the disciples. God used these visitations to strengthen the disciplines. The Lord said, “His disciples will continue to see Him. How were they going to see Him?” Christians see the Lord as we study and read the scriptures. He is the word of God John 1:1. By reading and meditating on the word of God, Jesus is revealed to us.

We see Him as He  answers  our demands we make in His name. John 14:13 ,14 Every step of faith we take pleases Him, and He responds by answering, therefore manifesting His power. As we go about sharing His word with others, He works with us. Mark 16:20 KJV “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

Jesus reveals Himself through various Christians, as we live by the word of God. God intends to revel His Son Jesus through us. Galatians 1:15-16 KJV “But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:” Every Child of God is God’s vessel to reveal His Son. We have to understand we have received the ability to do so, and must yield to the Spirit’s leading always. Please note that your call as a child of God is to make Jesus known, first, by your life, and by your speech.

Finally, the Lord comes to many of His children through visions of all kinds. Our Lord has appeared physically to some Christians, or audibly spoken to them. Jesus indeed went  to the heavens, yet through the Holy Spirit with us ,we see and  fellowship with Him in various ways.

THOUGHT: JESUS WENT PHYSICALLY TO HEAVEN, YET BECAUSE OF THE SPIRIT, WE SEE HIM ALWAYS

FURTHER STUDIES

Phi 1:20 KJV” According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.”

Mark 16:20 KJV “And they went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:18 KJV “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.’

In the above key scripture, the Lord said He will not leave His disciples comfortless. The word, comfortless is the Greek word ‘orphanous’, out of which we have the word, orphans. There are occasions when believers go through certain events that it appears the Lord is very far away. Some even feel the Lord is not there. Dear one, the Lord says He will never leave us as orphans. The presence of the Spirit in you is the Lord Jesus with you. The Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of Truth. This means He would communicate the truth to you always.  The Lord said He would come to us.  Jesus is with you as are reading this piece.

The Lord also said the Holy Spirit will be with us and will be in us. He is with us to lead us; He is with us to protect us. He is with us to fellowship with us. We must enjoy Him through worship and prayer. Learn to ask Him about matters that are of concern to you. When you ask a question, wait for Him to respond. 2Cor 13:14 KJV “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen”. There is so much we have not known about the Lord, as we maintain our communion or fellowship with the Spirit, we get to know Him more and more.

The Lord also said the Spirit would be in us. In 1 John 2:27 “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him”. The Holy Spirit in the believer according to this verse is the anointing. Every believer has the Holy Spirit in Him, and so has the anointing. The word Christian, means, the anointed one. Every Christian is anointed. Never think you are not anointed. The flow of the anointing in a man is dependent on his faith in God, and in His word. God gives of His fulness to us. Eph 3:19 KJV “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.” If the Holy Spirit is in you, then you are full of power.

THOUGHT: YOU ARE NEVER ALONE, AND YOU ARE ALWAYS FULL OF POWER.

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 1:8 KJV “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

Acts 6:8 KJV” And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:16 KJV” And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;”

The Comforter who is the Holy Spirit is just like Jesus Christ, come in the form of the Spirit. Ps Benny Hinn says the Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ unlimited. That is He cannot be confined to one location at a time. The Lord said, He would ask the father to send another Comforter. The word Comforter in the Greek is parakletos. It means  one called alongside or called near  to help .The Comforter is one who pleads another’s course before  a  judge as a lawyer. He is a Counsellor who advises in the right ways. He is also our strengthener. In whatever areas of life that one may need divine or physical strength to function in every way possible, He grants   that strength.

The Comforter or Holy Spirit came to play the place of Jesus in the life of the Christian. He came that the believer should live constantly in fellowship with God, and express the nature and life that our Lord Jesus manifested whiles He was physically on earth. One of the biggest errors of most Christians, is the poor understanding of who the Holy Spirit is. The Holy Spirit is the Father in us. John 14:10. The Holy Spirit is God, with unlimited power. He has unlimited wisdom and everything we need to stand out in this life. All we need is to be aware of the awesome presence that is in us. We have to approach life as our Lord Jesus did. He spent moments fellowshipping with the Spirit and learning from the Holy Spirit.

From our key scripture, the Lord said that, the Holy Spirit will live with us forever more. Beloved brother and sister you do not need to see Jesus in His physical form to know He is with you; He is already and forever with you. He never leaves you. He has almighty power in you. Let your confidence and audacity rise up. Get bold, set your life free from every sinful way, and give Him full charge over your life. He is forever with you, irrespective of the place, time or the people or person you are with. Please meditate on this study and allow your life to be greatly transformed.

THOUGHT: GIVE A PROPER REVERENTIAL ATTENTION TO THE HOLY SPIRIT.

FURTHER STUDIES

Isa 63:10 KJV “But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore, he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.”

Luke 4:1 KJV” And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness,”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:15 KJV If ye love me, keep my commandments.

The Lord expresses a very important point to His disciples in our key scripture. He said if a man loves Him then he would keep His word. The Lord has been speaking about His relation to the Father as well as working the work of Christ, and even doing greater. The Lord said it takes love to do all these things or walk in them. Love for the Lord is the highest principle or law that would make a man to stand out in life. God’s greatest commandment is that we might love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul and mind.

Loving God is that which brings a man to be accepted by God.1Co 8:3 KJV ‘But if any man love God, the same is known of him’. One can profess to serve the Lord yet without any love for the Lord. Many serve God purposely to have certain material blessings. This is an error, for love for Him should be the basis of all that we do for Him.2Co 5:14 KJV “For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:” Apostle Paul was motivated into loving the Lord because he came to terms with the love God had for him. Appreciating God’s love is the answer to having that right relationship with God.

David was a man who lived most of His days to honour and please the master. David took time to appreciate God through meditating on the goodness of God and His greatness, by considering the works of His hands. Psalms 143:5 KJV” I remember the days of old; I meditate on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands.” Take time to consider God’s power and love for us in the abundant mercies and goodness that He has shown us. This is what stirs up the love in us.1Jn 4:19 KJV” We love him, because he first loved us.” When a man comes to understand these things, He turns the focus from himself unto God. When a man comes to terms with the fact that, pleasing God, is the reason for living, then has he or she found the meaning to being alive.

THOUGHT: LOVE FOR GOD, BEGINS WITH APPRECIATING HIS LOVE FOR US

FURTHER STUDIES

1Jn 4:16 KJV “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

 2Co 5:15 KJV” And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:14 KJV “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.”

Bishop David Oyedepo said Jesus said what He meant and meant what He said. We must learn to take Him at His word. In verse 13 of John 14, He says whosoever shall ask anything in His name, He will do it. In the next verse He repeats that word and says ‘if’ you shall ask anything in His name He will do it. If is a condition that depends on you, choosing to ask, or not to ask. This statement means you are bound to have Him, responding to your demand, so long as you ask.

The Lord assures all His Children to ask. He says if we would make a demand for anything, He would honour it. This is an assurance to believe when you ask. It also assures us not to limit ourselves in any way we desire. Nothing is too big for Jesus to do for us. Receiving answers has two parts. These are

1. Speaking forth the word, or asking the condition to change.

2. Believing in your heart that God has answered and that you have the answer

This principle is seen in Rom 10: 10 ” For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation, and Mar 11:24 KJV” Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them”.

A lady went to Archbishop Benson Idahosa, with a divorce document from her husband. The man of God said, your husband is coming tomorrow. The woman wondered; how will this be? To her amazement, the man came back, pleading with the wife that he knew not what came upon him. How did the man of God do it? He operated according to John 14:14. When he said the husband was coming the next day, he believed that what Jesus said is truth, and that Jesus had responded positively to his word. Let nothing be too big, to get answers and miracles from Jesus. Believe in your heart that He heard and answered you, when you prayed.

THOUGHT: JESUS CANNOT LIE

FURTHER STUDIES

Heb 6:18 KJV “That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:”

Num 23:19 KJV God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?

KEY SCRIPTURE: Joh 14:13 KJV” And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.”

We have encountered the Lord Jesus talked about prayer on many occasions. In all those times, He asked us to ask the Father in His name, and the Father would answer us. An example is John 16:23 KJV “And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.” He said in this verse that we will not ask Him, but ask the Father in His name, and the Father will answer. He repeated this same statement in John 15:16, 16:24, and 16:26. This verse explains how we approach the Father to bring our requests.

In John 14:13, the word ‘ ask’ means to demand that a condition changes in Jesus’ name. This time it is not a request unto the Father, but you are asking or demanding a situation to change. An example is what the Lord said in Mark 11:23. He said: “whosoever shall say to the mountain be removed, and be cast into the sea, and doubts not in his heart, but believes that whatever he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he says”.  The child of God is not making a request here, but asking a condition to change. This is done in the name of Jesus. The Lord Jesus said, in that situation He would honour that prayer, to bring glory to the Father.

When apostles Peter and John, met the crippled man, at the entrance of the temple in Acts 3. The Bible said Peter said to the man, after he asked for arms, saying, ” Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” The man who was a born cripple, walked that very day. Peter did not ask the Father in Jesus’ name; he rather commanded the situation to change in Jesus’ name. It is at such moments that the Lord says if any of the children of God would command, demand, or ask in His name, then He would surely show up to honour that act of faith. In such moments, the child of God need not consider how serious or big the condition might be. All he needs to know is, Jesus is with Him, and He would do it, to bring glory to the Father.

Dear child of God, do not complain about the problems, or mountains, speak to the situations, telling them what you expect to happen to them, and Jesus, who is ever with you would cause what you said to come to pass.

THOUGHT: JESUS WAITS FOR YOUR COMMAND TO THE CONDITION, SO HE WOULD ACT.

FURTHER STUDIES

Acts 9:34 KJV” And Peter said unto him, Aeneas, Jesus Christ maketh thee whole: arise, and make thy bed. And he arose immediately.”

Mark 16:20 KJV “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:10 KJV “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

Great leaders leave behind them strong legacies. This is seen in the exploits of his or her followers. The Lord anticipated men and women who came after Him, to make a great impact after He has left the scene. He said those who would believe in Him, would do greater works than He had done. The Lord was very much concerned about the effective continuity of what He had initiated. He was looking forth to them doing far better than He had done. The Lord performed outstanding miracles of healing, feeding multitudes, walking on water raising, and many more.

What does it take to do this greater work than the Master Himself? The Lord said, those who believe in Him, are those who would do this greater works. ‘Believing ‘in this context means accepting everything about Him. It means to cast your life on His word. Jesus once taught that a servant is not greater than his master. This means to experience what your master had, you must take the path of your master and approach your task with the altitude like the master. You must be ready to endure some of the challenges he went through. The assurance in this word is that, His spirit will cause you to see the greater impact and mightier works. The basis to do greater works lies in having that submissive heart to follow the way the master went.

A look at the life of Elisha who took over from Elijah reveals one who did almost double of what his master did. As said above Elisha was very submissive to the will of God in going the way of his master went. The results of the works are a product of the Holy Spirit. It is the desire and the will of God to make the later days or later works, exceed the former. Isaiah 43:19 KJV Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it? I will even make a way in the wilderness, and rivers in the desert. It is the desire and mandate of God to always do new and greater works in comparing with what He had done earlier.

There is no need for any servant to feel he is anything bigger than his master, if he should discover, the results he is having are far greater than his former master. These things show the word of God is prevailing and being fulfilled.

THOUGHT: TO SEE GREATER WORKS, BELIEVE IN THE MASTER, GO HIS WAY, AND THE RESULTS WILL PROCEED FROM THE SPIRIT

FURTHER STUDIES

Matthew 10:24 KJV” The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord.”

John 6:29 KJV” Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Joh 14:10 KJV” Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.”

We continue with Jesus’ answers to His disciples, concerning His relationship with the Father. We have learnt in our previous discussions that, our Lord Jesus is God, yet for the purpose of coming to give His life for the salvation of all men, He had to lay down His glory as God., and took on the nature of men. This was the only legal grounds for His sacrifice for all men, to be acceptable. If men sinned, then a man must die for them. Phi 2:6, 7 KJV” Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:”

At the end of His ministry, He asked the Father to give Him back the glory He had with Him, from the beginning of the world. John 17:5 KJV” And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” (Note: He asked the Father to glorify Him with Himself. This fully shows He is God) Phil 2:5 and 6, explain why the Lord in some cases talked as if He was inferior to the Father. He did so because He had laid down His glory as God, which He asked the Father to honour Him with after He had come to the close of His work on earth.

Now, Jesus said, the Father in Him was the one leading Him, and speaking through Him. We know that God the Father is always on His throne in Heaven. Do you remember that, on the day of his baptism, the Holy Spirit descended on Him, in the form of a dove? All that the Lord did, was through the power of the Holy Spirit.

The secret of the Lord’s success was through the Holy Spirit. The Christian also has the same Holy Spirit at work in us. The Lord never acted or did anything on earth in His capacity as God. Everything He did was through the ability of the Holy Spirit. He said the words that I speak, I do not speak them from my mind, but the Father who lives in me. He considered the Holy Spirit as the Father in Him. He treated Him with the Highest reverence. It is possible for children of God to walk like Jesus walked. It begins by knowing and accepting that the Holy Spirit in you is the Father, and must reverence Him greatly and above everything.

THOUGHT 1: THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE FATHER IN YOU, YIELD TOTALLY TO HIM IN AWE OF HIS PRESENCE

THOUGHT 2:  IF GOD IS IN YOU WHAT CAN OVERCOME YOU?

FURTHER STUDIES

John 14:16,17 KJV” And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”

John 16:13 KJV” Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Joh 14:9 KJV “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father?”

We continue with the deity of Jesus. The Lord Jesus kept explaining this very thing to His disciples that, anyone who sees Him, has seen the Father. It is very important to know and believe that Jesus and the Father are one. You can only be saved if you believe that Jesus is God, for it is only this highest divine blood that can wash away your sins.

Apostle John introduces His epistle by saying,” In the beginning, was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God”. It said   in the verse 14 that, this same word took on flesh and came through a virgin, and was born into this life. Jesus existed in eternity as the word of God. He was not created, or born as men give birth to their children.

Only God the Father could say He is the alpha and omega, that is the beginning and the end. Listen to the Lord Jesus speak in Rev. 1:8; He said, ” I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.” Please consider some of the words He used in this verse; He said He is, He was and He is the one to come again. Consider the last word, the almighty.  Please who is the almighty? God the Father of cause. If Jesus says, He is almighty, then He is God.

When apostle Paul was bringing his letter to the Corinthians to a close, He said in 2Co 13:14    as follows ” The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.” In this scripture we see, the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit playing various roles in the stability of the children of God. The scripture clearly said, the grace of our Lord Jesus, yet some people would never accept that, it is the grace of Jesus, rather they claim it is the grace of Jehovah. Well Jesus is still Jehovah. Jesus’ name means Jehovah is Saviour.

We also consider one verse that reveal our Lord Jesus as the great God. Titus 2:13 KJV” Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;” We know our Lord Jesus is going to appear in the clouds and the scripture identify Him as the great God and our Saviour. Glory be to God.

THOUGHT: ACCEPTING JESUS AS GOD, IS VERY IMPORTANT TO YOUR SALVATION

FURTHER STUDIES

Joh 10:30 KJV “I and my Father are one.”

Joh 10:33 KJV “The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: John 14:7 KJV” If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him.”

May we be reminded that we are still taking a walk with Jesus through the gospels. We are presently considering the gospel of John. In the gospel of John, he presented Jesus as the Son of God. The gospel of Matthew presents Jesus as the king, whiles Mark presents Him as the servant and Luke shows Him as the Son of man. When Luke  referred  to Him  as the  Son of man it simply means He is of the human kind not just because He was born by a woman. When He is also called Son of God, it also means He is divine. In today’s study the Lord said if you see Him, then you have seen the Father.

What did the Lord mean by the statement, if you see Him then you have seen the Father? Did He mean that He is the same as the Father? The scriptures show that God is three persons in one God. This is what the early fathers called the Trinity God is one, yet He has revealed Himself as three distinct persons, that is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Matt 28:19 KJV “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”: The scripture did not say in the names, but in the name that is singular. We see the trinity in the following verses: 1 Corinth 12:5,6,7. Eph 4: 4,5,6., 1 Pet 1:2.

In Isaiah 9:6 KJV reads, “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” Consider the names of the Lord in the above verse. He is called, Wonderful, Counsellor, who is predominantly known as the Holy Spirit. He is also called the mighty God and the everlasting Father. These scriptures show that Jesus is God, and one with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Indeed, if you have seen the Lord Jesus then you have seen the Father.

THOUGHT: JESUS IS NOT LESS IN RANK THAN THE FATHER, HE IS ONE WITH HIM.

FURTHER STUDIES

1Peter 1:2 KJV “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.”

1Tim 3:16 WEB” Without controversy, the mystery of godliness is great:  God was revealed in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, and received up in glory.”