Prior Information - Pt. 3
Rev. Osei Kwabena Nkrahene | August 23 2024 | John 16:1-4
KEY VERSE:
“Indeed, the hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God.” John 16:2b (ESV)
MESSAGE:
From our key verse for today’s devotion, it's as if the Lord Jesus is saying, "If expulsion shocks you, then you haven’t heard the worst yet. God's people will be murdered, and the killers will believe they are offering a service to the Triune God."
What a profound deception, likely from the stable of Satan himself, who was a murderer from the beginning (John 8:44). Saul and others wielded the weapon of death against the disciples of Christ. In Acts 23:12-15, some Jews even took an oath to neither eat nor drink until they had killed Paul.
Church history reminds us of the early Reformers who were killed and burned. Some of our spiritual forebears were mercilessly drowned because they advocated for water baptism. We can also recall the Martyrs of Uganda and our own Samuel Otu of Techimantia.
Ironically, this method hasn’t proven effective for those opposing the Gospel. Being forewarned, the people of God became forearmed. The death of Stephen, for instance, led the Church to scatter and spread the Gospel as directed (Acts 1:8, 8:1, and 11:19). Death has not been the deterrent that the adversaries of the Gospel anticipated.
FEET AND HANDS FOR THE MESSAGE:
The early Church rejoiced in suffering for the sake of Christ. Paul was ready for imprisonment, even death. Seeking to obliterate suffering from the faith is not Biblical.
PRAYER:
Lord Jesus, please help us to embrace the whole package of the Gospel.
THERE SHALL BE SHOWERS OF BLESSING.
SHOWERS! BLESSINGS!!
DAILY word study: SERVICE TO GOD
The term "service to God" in John 16:2b is tied to the Greek word "λατρεία" (latreia), which generally means worship or religious service. However, in this context, it refers to actions done in the name of religious duty or devotion. The phrase indicates a misguided sense of worship where individuals believe their actions, such as persecuting Jesus' followers, are acts of faithfulness to God.
This statement reflects the distorted perception of zealotry and religious fervour that can lead people to commit grievous acts, all while believing they are righteous. This forewarning is crucial because it reveals the extent of misunderstanding and spiritual blindness that Jesus' disciples would face from the religious authorities and others who saw them as heretics.
Reflections:
How do you discern whether your actions and beliefs are truly in line with God's will, rather than being driven by personal or cultural misunderstandings of what it means to serve God?
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