Every name in the story of Christ’s genealogy from Abraham to David shows the obstacles that hope must face when hoping against all human odds to succeed. Whether it is infertility or a rebellious child, immorality or being foreigners in a foreign land, marginalization or obscurity waiting to be found, the hope of God’s people to be seen, heard, and known finds fulfillment as God calls us to become what we could not become on our own.
Waiting is hard when we are under pressure or in need. Hope is the result of patiently waiting on God to fulfill his promises. Hundreds of years before the coming of Christ, Isaiah prophesied of the day when our every hope would be fulfilled in the coming of God himself. Beyond all doubt God’s people would be able to declare “Behold this is our God, we have waited for him that he might save us” Isaiah 25:9. Christ is indeed the fulfillment of this prophecy for he is Emanuel, God with us.
Waiting is hard when we are under pressure or in need. Hope is the result of patiently waiting on God to fulfill his promises. Hundreds of years before the coming of Christ, Isaiah prophesied of the day when our every hope would be fulfilled in the coming of God himself. Beyond all doubt God’s people would be able to declare “Behold this is our God, we have waited for him that he might save us” Isaiah 25:9. Christ is indeed the fulfillment of this prophecy for he is Emanuel, God with us.
Disciples grow into disciple-makers motivated not by what they lack but by what, in Christ, they have already received. We are in the process of becoming disciple-makers. For DFBC, this season is an opportunity to unite in love to display his glory to an unbelieving world.
Sometimes the challenge for disciples to grow into disciple-makers may feel overwhelming. When Christ calls us to step up and face a challenging world this task may seem impossible. In this section of his prayer, however, Christ assures his disciples that because he has already overcome the world, we have what it takes to do what he has called us to do. In Christ, disciples growing into disciple-makers have assurance, calling, significance, and purpose. All of this, provided by Christ's calling that sets them apart from the world by the powerful provision of his word. God created the world with the power of his word and will rescue the world one person at a time by the power of the same word. Because God has already spoken, there is no way to lose!
Christ’s work is finished and done. At the center of Jesus’ mission is hot burning passion for the glory of God. As these verses show, God is glorified when we are made alive in him. It is the Father’s lavish life-giving generosity through his Son that brought Christ down to do the Father’s will. We, his children are now the recipients of this generosity so that we may become just like him. We were given life so that we may also in turn give life.
Missional engagement can sometimes become a bittersweet affair. Although we may experience suffering, persecution, and pain when we join Christ on mission, he promises that the pain will turn to joy when we see the miracle of new life results from this suffering through intercessory prayer and peace through his overwhelming victory over the world.
Conversion is a miracle that only God can produce. The Holy Spirit is the Giver of life whose ministry brings life to the dying world. The success of our witness and mission ultimately depends not on our resourcefulness or cleverness but on the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit working through us. As long as we abide in Christ and depend on his Spirit for the mission is just a matter of time until he finishes what he has already started.
To be loved by Christ is to be hated by the world. Our relationship with Christ and loyalty to his calling puts us at odds with the values and agendas of the world. Despite this, Christ has promised that the fruit of his disciples will not be marred by the hate of the world. Through the witness of Christ’s disciples, the Holy Spirit will also convict the world.
We have been chosen by Christ so that we may be fruitful for Christ. Every true disciple of Christ has been appointed to be fruitful but not everyone is equally fruitful. Christ wants us to look at the future with a mindset of ever-increasing fruitfulness through his careful and loving pruning. Are we ready for the next stage of greater fruitfulness?
