"Communion Before the Cross, Part 2
Joh 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall
be done unto you.
If we stay in Him, if we tarry in His presence, remain in our place in Him, and we hold closely His Word, His commands, as our Treasure, our Life, then what we crave and desire more of Him will be ours. It will be our portion-performed for us by HIM. It will be shown to us, fulfilled in us. His Divine Nature, manifested in and through us, as it was in Christ and as it was in Paul. His will shall come to pass in us because if His Word abides in us, it will cut us loose from that which is unlike Him. What a promise! The more we see and learn of Him the less we will want what is unlike Him! He says, the things I have spoken to you, I said them so that when the things you will soon face happen, you may have MY calmness, my delight, in your heart, in fullness. Heb 12:2 says He despised the shame of the cross but for the joy set before Him He endured. We must remember this. We may despise the trial and the shame and reproach the world will throw on us and at us. But HE is our EXCEEDING GREAT REWARD. Hold on to that, no matter what happens. Hold on to HIM. Mansions in heaven aside, gold streets aside, gates of pearl-who cares? HE did these things for His reasons. He prepared a place for His Bride. But HE is our Prize. HE is our Reward! Earthly praise and acceptance of men? Keep it. Reputation among men? He didn't have it so neither should I. Wealth and Fame? On earth-nah. But in hell I want to be known as one who will not let go of faith in the Word and will refuse to be shaken loose from the Rock on which I stand! In heaven, I want to be known as the one who loves Him enough to give Him all and be satisfied with just HIMSELF. His fellowship. I didn't say miracles, or visible ministry known by crowds. I said known by HIM, in private. That is my reward. Him and Him alone.
Oh, God help us be willing to lay down our lives for you, for our friends, as You did. You laid down Your life for us. You know in the Greek, that word for 'lay down' is tithemi. (G5087) Could that be where we get the word 'tithe' from? That means you laid down what wasn't yours anyway, but what was set apart for God before you ever got it to start with. He laid down everything, His heart, mind, soul, the very essence of His life in that body was nailed to that cross for us. His whole person. Nothing was reserved for self. No provision was made for self. All to God's will. He says "You're no longer My servants, but you are My friends. My beloved, dear to My heart. You will revelation, understanding of all things of the Father. I make them known to you. I declare spiritual truth so you can understand. You did not choose Me, I chose you. I made the choice to call you to Myself, for a purpose. You will lead others into this same life I have for them that I share with You. Because My life is in you, you will be able to ask of the Father and He will give you what you require. You must love one another unselfishly as I have loved you. The world does not love this way, so they will not understand or like you or accept you. Know that now. They did not accept Me and they will not accept you. They will persecute and despise you as they have Me. When this happens, you must remember what I have said. You will drink the cup I drink.
The Comforter, the One I send to parent and take care of you, on whom you must depend totally, He will bear record of Me to you. He will reveal who I really am to you. He shall know My heart and share it with you. He will give you the power to bear witness (G3140) martureo, the root word for martyr, in the same family with the Greek word "martus" (Act 1:8). He is telling them that they will give a firsthand account based on their personal experience with Him and intimate knowledge of who He is to others. In short, He's saying because you yourself KNOW me, you can reveal me to others. You can't teach or show what you yourself do not know. That is hearsay and not reliable. You will testify to them what you yourself know, not what others say or think.
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