The life of Jesus was one long prayer. He lived in the atmosphere of prayer. Every breath He took was a prayer. Every thought was a prayer. Every action was in response to prayer. There was no “self” in Jesus. The prayers he offered up were for the lives of those around Him. His prayers were for strength to live so others could see His Father in Him. He prayed for those who were struggling against sin. He lived in strict obedience to the Father’s will. He was the true legalist.
Jesus came for two purposes. The first was to live the legalistic, perfect, sinless life of the Ten Commandments. This was done in order to set the example for us. It would be unjust for Jesus to command us to do that which He could not do. It would also be unjust for Him to command us to do that which we could not do. Therefore, by taking on humanity and disconnecting Himself from His own divine power, he lived in humanity as we do. Therefore, He was able to show us how to live His perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life in our humanity.
The second purpose was to pay the penalty for sin. All sin must be destroyed. If you have sin in your life, either when you die or when probation closes, you will die eternally. However, if you live the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life as Jesus lived, through the power that Jesus offers, and look to Jesus in faith as your “penalty” for your past sins, then you will be eternally accepted into Heaven. Your sins will be taken from you and placed on the scapegoat to be eternally destroyed.
In order for you to live as Jesus lived, you must pray as Jesus prayed. Your life must be so closely bound up with the Father and His Ten Commandments that you would rather die than commit a sin. Through prayer you can resist all sin. By exercising your “willpower” and putting forth the sweat, blood and tears to say “no” to temptation; you will be working out your salvation and strengthening your spiritual muscles in order to live the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life.
How do we do that? Jesus gives us the metaphor on how to do it. All you must do is pray for the Spirit of God to open your heart, mind and soul to the understanding of His metaphor, so you can live it in your life.
John 15:1 to John 17:26
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”
Our churches today have totally forgotten about the Father. All the attention is on Jesus, and yet, He came to glorify His Father and to point us to the Father. Yes, Jesus is the Vine, but we forget to remember that the Father is the Vinedresser. Jesus loves us, but His Father will take away every branch that does not bear fruit to His glory. Therefore, we need to see “through” Jesus and see the Father and understand that they work in unison. Jesus cannot save one person the Father has pruned from the Vine. You must remember the Law, the Ten Commandments, came from the Father through Jesus to us. Jesus can’t change them, abrogate them or exterminate them. They are as eternal as the Father Himself. No church is “the vine”. No denomination is “the vine”. Only Jesus is the Vine and only the Father is the “vinedresser”. Therefore, it is strongly recommended that you live in obedience to Jesus when He commands us, at this time in Earth’s history, to come out of all churches. We must be attached only to the true Vine.
“Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me.”
It is “the Word” that Jesus has “spoken to you” that makes you “clean”. His Word to stop sinning, be perfect and to keep the Ten Commandments to get your eternal life is what will cleanse you if you put His Word into action in your life. That is how you “abide in Me, and I in you”. You cannot abide in Jesus sitting in church. No more than Judas was abiding in Jesus by sitting beside Him. You cannot abide in Jesus belonging to any denomination. You cannot abide in Jesus listening to your pastor. You cannot abide in Jesus accepting the teachings of men who are not teaching you the teachings of Jesus. You can only abide in Jesus if you have His Word abiding and living in you. Through obedience to His Word, you show, prove to the Father, that you are abiding in Jesus.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”
“You can do nothing” sitting in church. “You can do nothing” listening to your pastor. He “that bears much fruit” must only abide in Jesus and in obedience to His Word. Apart from His Word to stop sinning, be perfect and to keep the Ten Commandments, you are incapable of producing “much fruit”.
“If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”
The Pharisees did not know they had been “thrown away like a branch” to wither. They were still going to church, putting on their religious shows and performing all their religious ceremonies. But they were being gathered to be burned. The same is true today. People are going to church, going through their rituals and ceremonies as if they were “saved”. But they are simply being gathered to be burned. They do not abide in Jesus. They abide in church and man-made philosophy. They love their pride, ego and church activities. It makes them feel good.
“If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.”
Those going to church have not proved “to be My disciples”. They have proved to be disciples of their church, their pastor or a denomination. But because they refuse to abide in the words of Jesus to stop sinning, be perfect and to keep the Ten Commandments to get eternal life, they will be burned up. But if you abide in the words of Jesus by being obedient to them, you are His disciple and you may ask anything of Him and He will do it.
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.”
We are to abide in the Love of Jesus as He abided in the love of His Father. He was obedient unto death to His Father. He came to glorify His Father in every thought, word and action. He came to keep the Ten Commandments perfectly so that His Father’s love could be demonstrated. Therefore, if you want to abide in the love of Jesus, you must do the same.
“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.”
Their commandments are one and the same. Jesus stated that He came not to do His own will but the will of His Father. Therefore, both are living the same sinless, perfect and Ten Commandment keeping life. That is how you must live in order to “abide in His love”. Going to church, listening to your denominational TV, radio, internet or media programs will not get you into His love. He hates all those showy, goody-goody materials. They refuse to teach and prepare people for Heaven. It is all about “fun and games” to keep people entertained and money flowing into the church. Ask yourself a simple question: “When was the last time your pastor or church media rebuked church members for breaking the Ten Commandments?” Obviously, you are sitting in the wrong church. Sin cannot go to Heaven. Liars won’t be there either. Your pastor, your church and your denomination are all liars. They are telling you fables that have nothing to do with getting to Heaven. If you want a good heartwarming story, open up the Reader’s Digest. It will get you “a leg up” into Heaven no different than your church.
“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”
The joy Jesus offers is not any kind of worldly joy. It is a joy that I can’t explain. Since God called me to this ministry, my joy has been of a totally different joy from when I was in the world. I loved my wife and four kids, they brought me joy. I loved owning my own business, it brought me joy. I loved what I did. But there was a “joy” that was missing. There was a “peace” that was not there. But I did not recognize it. The world and the church had me so bound up in them, I had no time to see or understand what I was missing. There is only one way for you to experience the Joy of Jesus. Begin right now to put into practice everything He has commanded you. Put forth every effort to align your character to the perfect character of Jesus. Look into the Ten Commandments with prayer and a true desire to live in obedience to them and watch what happens. Instead of going to church, stay home and spend the time in prayer and Bible study.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you.”
“You are my friends if you do what I command you.” Jesus has commanded us to stop sinning, be perfect and to keep the Ten Commandments to get our eternal life. All of His commands revolve around the Ten Commandments. To lay down your life for Him is to live in strict obedience to the Ten Commandments. That is “dying” to self every day and living for Jesus. Refusing to sin is to sacrifice your selfish life for the life of Jesus. Many think they will “lay down their lives” for Jesus by some great sacrifice as a “martyr” in the future. But God is calling you to be a “martyr” for Him every hour of every day right now. He wants you to live as He lived, perfect, sinless and commandment keeping. He wants you to kill all sin in your life and live in obedience to His Ten Commandments. That is laying down your life for Him. If you are not laying it down for Him now, you will not be able to lay it down for Him in the future.
“No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you.”
Jesus is not holding any “secrets” from us. We are His friends. He loves us. He gave His life for us. He has given us everything that he has “heard from My Father”. There is no conspiracy to hurt us, destroy us or to take away our joy. Just the opposite. Jesus and the Father are trying to take the blinders off our eyes and reveal to us the greatest life that could ever be lived. However, through the agency of the church, the devil is destroying billions of lives. The “blinders” Lucifer has put on the eyes of the world has truly kept the world from seeing the beauty of Jesus and His truth. It is the prayer of Jesus that we remove the “blinders” and look into the life of Jesus and experience His joy, peace and eternal life.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.
Would we not pull up a dead, unproductive fruit tree? Would we not remove a grape vine that did not produce fruit? God wants us to be fruitful. But the devil has been feeding the churches his poison and it is destroying the fruit trees. Soon the Father will have to prune them and cast them into the fire. But if you will produce the fruit of the perfect, sinless commandment keeping life, “whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”
“These things I command you, so that you will love one another.”
How do we “love one another?” By doing those things that Jesus has commanded us. At no time did He command us to go to church. At no time has He commanded us to belong to any denomination. At no time has He commanded us to listen to our pastor. He simply commands us to live as He lived: perfect, sinless and commandment keeping. That is how we “love one another”.
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
I can guarantee that you will be hated by the churches if you live as Jesus commands. The churches hate Jesus and His truth. They use His name. They throw it around. They blaspheme His name by claiming to be “Christian” or “of God”. But none are living or teaching in obedience to His commandments. If you go to church, you are living in obedience to the devil through his Catholic church system.
“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
Are you being hated for living righteously? What persecution have you gone through for Jesus? Does your church praise you? Why is it praising you? If you are living as the world lives, it will praise you. But if you live as Jesus lived, it will hate you and throw you out. Recently, a lady who decided to follow Jesus instead of the church, has found that persecution. Her family and the members of her Sabbath-going church have rejected her. But she has found her joy in Jesus.
“Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.”
It is very easy to know who is of God and who is not. This ministry teaches the words of Jesus. Those who love the words of Jesus love this ministry. Those who hate this ministry hate the words of Jesus. They prefer their churches and the praise of men instead of the praise of God. We are not to go where it is “easy” or to avoid persecution. Jesus lived the perfect, sinless and righteous life and persecution came to Him. And it will be with you if you live as Jesus commands. But be sure you are living as Jesus commands. Many are being “persecuted”, but it isn’t for righteousness sake. It is because they are selfish, hardhearted, unkind and push for or fight for their church or beliefs, which is very annoying. Many inmates think they are getting persecuted when in fact it is only punishment for living sinfully. But if we live for Jesus, the churches can’t stand that and will do everything in their power to keep their members away from you.
“But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me.”
The key here is “on account of My name”. People have been persecuted because of their wrong doings, sins, beliefs and religion, but unless it is “on account of My name” it has nothing to do with eternal life and righteousness. Thousands of Catholic priests have been persecuted and martyred for their religion, but it has nothing to do with Jesus and His righteousness. Thousands of Muslims have been persecuted and martyred for their religion, but it has nothing to do with Jesus and His righteousness. It will accomplish nothing for their eternal life. Millions of Jews have been persecuted, but not for Christ. If you are being “persecuted” because you belong to a denomination or church, it will not do you any good in the judgment day. The only “persecution” that will count for anything in the Day of Judgment will be the persecution that comes to you because of your obedience to the teachings of Jesus. If you are living the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life and are persecuted for such, you will have eternal life with Jesus.
“If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.”
By the time of Jesus, the devil had so scrubbed righteousness out of the church the people had no idea what righteousness was. The same goes today. It is all about ceremonies, traditions, rituals, feast days and church order but righteousness has been deleted from the world. When Jesus came He lived the righteous life. He kept the Ten Commandments perfectly. He refused to sin. Therefore, the people of the church and of the world had “no excuse for their sin”. You have no excuse for sinning since you have the words of Jesus to stop sinning, be perfect and to keep the Ten Commandments to get your eternal life.
“Whoever hates me hates my Father also.”
How do we hate Jesus? By refusing to believe and accept the teachings of Jesus. We hate Jesus by refusing to live as He lived: perfect, sinless and commandment keeping. Going to church, no matter what day that may be on, has nothing to do with living perfect, sinless and commandment keeping. What does count is your character, your attitude towards others. Are you living as Jesus commands you?
“If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.”
We immediately think of those “works” as healing the sick, giving sight to the blind, curing the leprous, giving health to the cripples and raising the dead. However, most of those things had been done over the past 4,000 years of earth’s history. Those are not the “works” Jesus is talking about. True, the quantity of those miracles within such a short span of time was something that “no one else did”. But just the same, most had been done before. No, what Jesus is talking about are the “works” of living the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life. It wasn’t the miracles that drove the people of the church to hate Jesus and His Father. Actually, they liked those very much. It was the perfect, sinless, commandment keeping life He lived, and which His Father required, that drove them to murder Jesus.
“But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’”
How true that was. They had no “cause” to hate Jesus. He came to bring them life, but they did not want His Life. The same today. This ministry was raised up to bring the Life of Jesus back to church members and they hate it. They love their church-going, sinful lives. They do not want God interfering with their “happy” sinful lives. They are satisfied with the devil’s church system of rituals, traditions and ceremonies that have become “anti” Christ: “in the place of” Christ.
“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”
In 1997 the Spirit of Truth was sent from the Father and dictated the book, “Change Your Life Biblically”. It bears witness about Jesus and His teachings.
“And you also will bear witness, because you have been with me from the beginning.”
You also are required to “bear witness” about Jesus and His truth if you claim to be a Christian. Every single person who takes the name of Christ on the lips is to “bear witness” to the truths Jesus taught. To “bear witness” is not sitting in church. To “bear witness” is to speak those truths, live those truths, promote those truths and to support those truths. If you are not bearing witness to His truth that we must stop sinning, be perfect and keep the Ten Commandments to get your eternal life, you are taking the name of Jesus in vain. You are breaking the Ten Commandments. You are living a lie and no liars will be in Heaven.
“I have said all these things to you to keep you from falling away.”
And yet, every pastor, church and denomination of the world today has fallen away. They refuse to listen to “all these things” Jesus has said to us. The pastors, churches and denominations of the world today are filled, not with the teachings of Jesus, but with man-made philosophy, higher education, speculations and interpretations. But none are listening to and living the commands Jesus has taught us.
“They will put you out of the synagogues. Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.”
Yes, they will. The churches and denominations do not want a follower of Jesus in their organizations any more than they wanted Jesus in His day. They can put on a show of piety, acts of devotion and give eloquent prayers, but none of it is of God. Going to church is of the devil. Going to Jesus is of God. That is how we offer service to God. But the churches and denominations will think they are serving God by persecuting you and throwing you out. All in the name of Jesus!
France is setting up laws whereby “Mosques or other places of worship can be shut down if preachers there are found to be promoting radical ideology”. Truth is always “radical” to the lies being taught by the world. The ideology of living the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life will be considered subversive and hateful in a world of sin. Is your church teaching God’s “radical ideology”?
“And they will do these things because they have not known the Father, nor me.”
If they had known the Father or Jesus, they would love those who teach, live and promote the teachings of Jesus to be perfect, stop sinning and to keep the Ten Commandments for their eternal life. However, they hate those teachings and therefore, they hate those of us who teach them.
“But I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you. I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.”
As long as the disciples were with Jesus, nothing could happen to them. However, now that Jesus was leaving them, they would be at the mercy of the devil. It was Christ’s time to suffer and die, not the disciples. Soon, over time, they also would follow in His footsteps. They all would be hated, suffer persecution, be tortured and killed. All because they wanted to live as Jesus lived: perfect, sinless and commandment keeping. The same is true today. If you are not living the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life, you will not have any persecution because of the name of Jesus. The world loves its own. All churches, even those that go to church on the Sabbath, will fight against those who love Jesus and want to live His perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life. Actually, it has already begun.
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.”
The “Helper” was always with them. But they did not recognize Him because Jesus was standing, physically, right there in front of them. They could not hear the voice of the “Helper” since they were listening to the voice of Jesus. But when Jesus left, they craved to hear His voice again. It was then that they were able to hear the voice of the “Helper”.
“And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.”
The voice of the “Helper” was no different than the voice of Jesus. There has been no change in that voice since the Garden of Eden. That voice has always been convicting “the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment”. As Jesus spoke the truth, the “Helper” was pressing upon the hearts of the people the importance of obeying the teachings of Jesus. But the world refuses to listen to it. The world does not want to be convicted of sin. It would rather kill the voice that convicts it of sin than to humble itself and change its behavior. Going to church is far easier than going to Jesus and hearing what sins have to be removed from the life.
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.”
How true that is. There is so much that Jesus wants to say to us today, but we “cannot bear them now”. Why? For the same reason the disciples were not able to bear them. They had their own agenda and Christ was not following the agenda they had already mapped out. It wasn’t until after their agenda had been smashed, beaten down and nailed to a cross that they were able to listen to the truth.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.”
How many pastors, churches and denominations claim to be “lead by the Spirit” or to be “Spirit filled”. But not one has the Spirit of God. Why? Because, if they were “lead by the Spirit” or “Spirit filled”, they would glorify Jesus by taking what He taught and declare it to the people. But are they teaching the teachings of Jesus to be perfect, stop sinning and to keep the Ten Commandments to get their eternal life? No! If they speak anything different, they do not have the Spirit of God since Jesus declared that “He will not speak on His own authority.” They do have a “spirit”, but that spirit was cast out of heaven. It is in rebellion to the law of God.
“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We do not know what he is talking about.”
Again, religious indoctrination was very strong in them and prevented them from comprehending or understanding the true mission of Jesus. Even though He kept telling them of His death and resurrection, they were still convinced that He was about to take the throne of David and reign as king. Therefore, “going to the Father” was incomprehensible to them. Jesus might as well have been talking to them about landing a spaceship on Mars. The same is true of the churches today. Talking to them of the truth as Jesus taught it is as foreign as a Martian. The churches have completely brainwashed and indoctrinated the minds of their members. It is all about church but nothing about the teachings of Jesus to stop sinning, be perfect and to keep the Ten Commandments to get your eternal life.
Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me’? Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”
Those who will be going through the “Time of Trouble”, the seven months after the close of probation, will also weep, lament and sorrow. But their “sorrow will turn into joy.” Even now, those who truly love Jesus and are putting away all sin out of their lives are weeping and lamenting and sorrowing over the sins of the world. While church members are holding potlucks, homecomings, exciting seminars, revivals and other entertainments, their books are being closed and their probation is coming to an end. But they are way too involved with church to search their souls for sin.
“When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”
As the disciples were to be deprived of Jesus for a few hours, they would be sorrowful and filled with anguish. But with the resurrection and their reuniting, their hearts would rejoice again and “no one will take your joy from you”. So it will be for those at the end of time who are looking for Jesus. Those who will be persecuted for living the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life will be under a strong delusion that Jesus has left them alone. Yet, they will hang on to their faith because they have been practicing that faith in living the sinless, perfect commandment keeping life now. Then when Jesus breaks through the dark cloud and appears to them in the sky, they will rejoice, and “no one will take your joy from you”.
“In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”
I was talking to the Lord about our “needs” here at the ministry for a ground’s keeper. I was talking to Him about the cost and how to go about it. He told me to wait. Back in 2008, an inmate by the name of Joe was paroled from prison. He was about 80 years of age at that time. He had been in prison for quite some time. During that time, he had received the book, “Change Your Life Biblically” and our monthly newsletters. We kept up a correspondence that continued after his parole. Even though he had very little to exist on, he always seemed to find a way to send tithes to the ministry. I was amazed at his determination to support the ministry in his hardship. He moved in with his brother and his wife for a few years, and then in May of 2017 he told me that the home was being sold and he would not be able to find any place to live. He would be a homeless veteran. I thought about it and invited him to come to the ministry. I knew nothing about him, but the Spirit of God seemed to be impressing me in that direction.
He consented, and by the first of July he arrived. I put him up in the “laundromat”. There isn’t any room in the “house” for the washer and dryer, so they reside in a shed. He was now 87 years of age and I was not sure what I would be getting into. Would he be a “vegetable” that would need a lot of attention? How could I handle that? Would he be cooperative?
Well, it didn’t take but a couple of days for me to find out his capabilities. I jog every morning and yet, I could hardly keep up to his “power walk”. Next, he was fixing the watering system to the trees, digging around the trees and helping me prune them. Then he was moving a “mountain” of dirt that had piled up in the corners of the fence. Now I was in trouble. He wouldn’t sit down. From 6 am to 8 pm, he just kept going. He was wearing me out!
The point is, God answered my prayer. But instead of the ministry having to pay for a “grounds keeper”, Joe loves the ministry and puts all his Social Security and VA disability into the ministry. That has helped the ministry very, very much. Plus, each month when it is time to put the newsletters together, he is right there by my side helping me. One big help is his ability to “proof read” the newsletters before they go out. He has been a big help to the ministry.
The interesting part is, he came to the ministry with many physical defects and problems. A few months before coming to the ministry, this little man that barely reaches above 5 feet, weighed over 185 lbs. But while living here at the ministry and giving his life to it, his physical defects and problems have basically all disappeared. He is healthier, more active and mentally alert. Within a few months his weight was down to 145 lbs. God’s promises are truly believable when we live in obedience to Him. I have noticed over the years the blessings that are bestowed on those who love, support, promote and live by the teachings of this ministry. It has truly amazed me. When you live in obedience to Jesus and His teachings to be perfect, stop sinning and to keep the Ten Commandments to get your eternal life, you can ask for anything and He will give it to you.
“Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.”
John received the book, “Change Your Life Biblically” as he was paroling from prison. He had spent 15 years straight in prison. He laid the CYLB book down when he got home and began looking for work. For four years he searched, hunted and applied for work. Nothing happened. His life was going nowhere. Then one day he rediscovered the CYLB book and began reading it. He decided to be obedient to it. Shortly after, he had a job and after a few moves, and prayers, the Lord led him to the job he loves. He looks forward to it every day. It satisfies his life. The owners of the company he works for love him dearly. They do all they can to give him what he wants. From the time he started living in obedience to CYLB, he was sending total tithes and offerings to the ministry. Then we put him on the Board of Directors as Secretary/Treasurer. He still holds that position. He loves the ministry and will do everything possible to support it, promote it and share it. God has blessed his life beyond his wildest dreams.
“I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God.”
I truly believe that the “modern” Christian has no idea where Jesus came from. Oh, we sing about, talk about and put on plays and movies about His “birth”, but I am not sure we really understand where He “came from”. He is not a “new” God that showed up on the scene. He “came from God”. He came into the world in order to point us to the Father. But how many really think about the “Father”? That is why the worldly churches today are so confused with regard to the “Law”, the Ten Commandments. They do not realize that Jesus did not come to do away with them. He can’t. They belong to His Father. He came to glorify them in His life. He came to teach them. He came to show us how to live them in our lives. If Jesus came to do away with the “Law”, His Father would have to do away with Him.
“I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father.”
Very few realize why Jesus went back to the Father. Like Enoch, Moses and Elijah, Jesus went to Heaven because He was living the Law. Even though Enoch, Moses and Elijah made mistakes, their lives were totally for living in obedience to the Law. Jesus never made a mistake and showed that we don’t have to either. Then, as a “reward” for His love of the Law, He was taken back into Heaven. After all, the world didn’t want Him, so He left. But when He left, He left behind “gifts” for the world. Those “gifts” were His disciples. They were to spread around the love of Jesus through obedience to the Law of God. They were to continue revealing to the world what the world would be like if everyone lived in obedience to the Law. What mighty “gifts” He gave. How rejected they have been. Are you willing to be a “gift” from God to those around you?
His disciples said, “Ah, now you are speaking plainly and not using figurative speech! Now we know that you know all things and do not need anyone to question you; this is why we believe that you came from God.”
Jesus could read their thoughts. He had told them what they had been whispering among themselves. After three and a half years of walking with Jesus, watching Him raise the dead, heal the sick and cure the demoniacs, now they believe!
Jesus answered them, “Do you now believe? Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me.
No matter how much they “believed”, their faith in God had not yet reached the point of permanence. They would lose their faith and “be scattered, each to his own home and will leave me alone”. They still believed, but their faith was weak. Over the last three and a half years they should have been putting their faith to work in order to strengthen it. But they put their faith to sleep under their blanket of “belief”.
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Jesus didn’t want anything of the world. He knew how fleeting the things of this world were. Nothing of this world lasts. Only the peace of Jesus will last. Only the peace of Jesus in your life will withstand the tribulation that is soon to take place. But if you are not exercising your faith, it will be too weak to hold up under the pressure of the world. It is in living in obedience to Jesus now that enables us to exercise our faith and to strengthen it. Jesus exercised His faith every day in order to live without sin. We must follow His example.
When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.”
Eternal life isn’t for everyone. Not everyone is going to Heaven. Jesus said that few would be saved. Only those whom the Father has given Jesus will be in Heaven. To be “given” by the Father to Jesus, you must live as the Father commands: perfect, sinless and commandment keeping. Jesus glorified the Father by living the Father’s Ten Commandments. He glorified the Father in every act. Love flowed through Jesus to every person under every circumstance. Not a trace of “self” could be found in all Jesus did. The Ten Commandments, embodied in the heart of Christ, were the defining pattern of love. There is not a taint of selfishness in the Ten Commandments.
“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
To get your eternal life, you must “know” the Father and Jesus. This is not a “handshake” know. This is not a “buddy-buddy” know. This is not a “social” know. To “know” Jesus is to “know” Him absolutely. To know Him inside and out. To know Him is exampled in knowing our own parents. You grew up with your parents for years in order to know their likes and dislikes, their habits and quirks, their behaviors and thinking, their colors and tastes. You were intimately involved in their lives. You must know Jesus intimately. You must grow up with Him. He is waiting for you to become that close to Him. He wants to speak to you, talk to you, share with you His thoughts, His likes and dislikes, His tastes and behaviors. But as with any “knowing”, it takes time. For children, to come to the realization that they “know” their parents is usually after they have lived with them for over 18 years. Have you “lived” with Jesus that long? Going to church is not “living” with Jesus. Belonging to a denomination is not “knowing” Jesus. Going to church is like going to a party where your parents are mentioned and liked. But that is not the same as spending time with Jesus, in His presence, listening to Him speak to you personally.
“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”
To “glorify” the Father, we must accomplish the “work” that He has given us to do. Nowhere in the Bible will you find any mention of “going to church” as your work. Your work is to develop the character of your Heavenly Father. As Jesus said, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect”. And then He tells us in Matthew to go and teach the world to obey everything He has commanded us. Have you accomplished that work in your life as Jesus did in His?
“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.”
They lived in obedience to “your word”. That Word, those “Ten Commandments”, was on their hearts. Of course, decades of church interpretation obscured them, but the disciples were set on living them as they understood them. The sacrifice of Jesus, His glorifying the Father, would enlighten those Ten Commandments as nothing else could. They saw the manifestation of the Father’s name lived out in the life of Jesus. Jesus lived them in the presence of the Father “before the world existed” and He lived them in the world. He would die for them. Are you willing to do the same in order to glorify your Father in Heaven? Or do you live in sin to glorify your church?
“Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.”
Only love comes from God. “Words” from people, governments, media and churches are not from God unless they are the “words that you gave Me”. Only those words, be perfect, stop sinning and keep the Ten Commandments to get your eternal life, are from the Father. That is how we can know who has been sent from the Father.
“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.”
This goes along with the Old Testament where we are admonished not to pray for the wicked. Those who have rejected God, purposefully, with intent, are not of God and are not to be bothered. Intentional rebellion is far different from unintentional sin. Those we pray for. Those who have not had an opportunity to know Jesus or have been deceived by their churches, we are to pray and work for as Jesus did.
“All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.”
As we live in obedience to Jesus, keeping His commands to live perfect, sinless and commandment keeping, we are living in obedience to His Father and glorifying the Father and Jesus. That is how He is glorified in us. Have you glorified the Father today?
“And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one.”
The work Jesus came to do on earth was now finished. Those who would believe in Jesus were now to take up His work and continue it. As they lived in obedience to the Ten Commandments, the Father would keep them. Even though they may lose their physical lives, their eternal lives would be bound up with the Father and Jesus would raise them up at the last day. Since this world no longer held any consideration for the disciples of Jesus, they had no interest in living in it. Death was preferable to living in this world. The only reason to live now was to glorify the name of Jesus and His Father.
I have stated many times that I do not want to live any longer. I have had enough of this world. I want nothing it has to offer. I only use the things of the world for the glory of Jesus. Obviously, Jesus still needs me or I would be sleeping peacefully waiting for Him to wake me up and take me home.
“While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”
In all Christ did it was for the purpose “that the Scripture might be fulfilled”. That should be the aim of our lives. We are to fulfill Scripture in every aspect of our lives. Every Word of God is to be imprinted on the heart and mind, so we live it instinctively. Going to church is a smokescreen which will only destroy your eternal life.
“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
How true. The world hates this little ministry because we “are not of the world”. We “have given them Your word, and the world has hated” us. The churches and the world are united to destroy the Word of God in our lives. Under the pretense of upholding the Word by talking about believing in it, obeying it, fighting over creation, arguing about what foods to eat, they totally reject Jesus by refusing to live according to His truth to stop sinning, be perfect and to keep the Ten Commandments to get their eternal life.
“I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.”
Will we turn Jesus into a liar? We don’t have to “leave this world” in order to live the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life. We don’t have to wait until we get to Heaven. All we have to do is put the prayer of Jesus into our hearts which is to keep us “from the evil one”. It is a choice. You choose who to follow and obey: the world, churches and sin, or Jesus and His Ten Commandments.
“They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
Those of us who strive daily to live the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life are truly “not of the world”. We want nothing to do with it. We don’t want to follow its ways, its thinking or it fashions. We look to Jesus and follow His perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life.
“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”
That is the only way we can be “sanctified”. The truth of Jesus, His word to stop sinning, be perfect and to keep the Ten Commandments “is truth”. Only by living “them in the truth” will we be sanctified. It isn’t a “once-save-always-saved” experience, it is a day by day sacrifice of the old life to the new life. Developing new habits and persevering in them is the only way to live that sanctified life. That is how Jesus did it. It is like putting muscle on the body. It isn’t done “once-muscle-always-muscle”, no, we must work every day to keep the muscle on the body.
“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”
Jesus was sent into the world to give His life for the world. So has Jesus “sent them into the world”. If you have accepted Jesus into your life, then you must live as He lived. You must give up this world in your heart. You must give up your church, as Jesus gave up His. You must let nothing come between you and obedience to the Ten Commandments. You must glorify the Father and the Son through a life of daily surrender to the Ten Commandments.
“And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be sanctified in truth.”
As Jesus consecrated Himself for us, we are to sanctify ourselves, through living the truth for others. They are to see in use what the world saw in Jesus: perfection. By beholding we do become changed. If the world has no one to behold who is living the perfect, sinless life, how then can the world be changed?
“I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.”
This is truly amazing. It isn’t about the Father and the Son being “one”. It isn’t about how close the Father and the Son are. It has nothing to do with what difference, if any, exists between the Father and the Son. The truly amazing thing is that Jesus wants His followers to be the same “oneness” as He is with His Father. He wants us to care for each other with the same love and “oneness” that He and His Father have for each other. There is no bickering, no arguing, no pride, no ego or desire to be first in their relationship. They serve each other. They glorify each other. They move with the same desire to love and serve. My heart aches for the day when Christians will put aside their churches, doctrines, denominations, beliefs and simply live in unity with each other as Jesus did with His Father. He prayed that we who claim to be His followers be one in the same truth as He and His Father are one in that same truth.
“The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me.”
If each of us lived our lives to fulfill that prayer, what a difference we would make in a world gone mad. If we would strive to “become perfectly one” as Jesus lived, the world would see what true love is and it would transform the hearts of the world. But to do that, you would have to love as Jesus loves by living the Ten Commandments perfectly. The Ten Commandments are the “glory” the Father gave Jesus and which He gave His disciples. There can be no “self” in you. No desire to be “right” or to put your beliefs, church or denomination above others. You would simply live the perfect, sinless and commandment keeping life as Jesus did, and then the world would sit up and take notice.
“Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
Do you have the perfect, sinless love of the Father in you? Have you loved those around you as the Father loved His Son? How do those around you know you are a follower of Christ? Or maybe they don’t. Going to church only makes a mockery out of your profession. Go to Jesus and learn how to make His prayer your prayer. Ask the Father to put the prayer of Jesus into your heart so you may love as Jesus loved.