3 Days of Prayer and Fasting (2022/12)

20 Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and asked him, “Sir, we wish to see Jesus.” 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew and Philip went and told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.

27 “Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: “I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” 29 The crowd that stood there and heard it said that it had thundered. Others said, “An angel has spoken to him.” 30 Jesus answered, “This voice has come for your sake, not mine. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. 32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die. 34 So the crowd answered him, “We have heard from the Law that the Christ remains forever. How can you say that the Son of Man must be lifted up? Who is this Son of Man?” 35 So Jesus said to them, “The light is among you for a little while longer. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you. The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going. 36 While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”

Jesus is the light of the world (John 8:12) by whom we are to walk, for “… The one who walks in the darkness does not know where he is going” (John 12:35). “… God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 John 1:5-6). What areas of your life remain in the dark? Is there an unconfessed sin that you need to bring to light?

Walking in the light as a disciple of Jesus entails following the pattern that Jesus set for us, namely glory through suffering/death, for “unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24). As Jesus died on the cross for our sins, we, too, must die to ourselves, to our selfish and sinful desires, so that we might live to Christ, for His purposes and priorities. In what ways is God calling you to deeper humility and sacrifice for His sake? It is when “we all, with unveiled face, [behold] the glory of the Lord,” that we are “transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another…” (2 Cor. 3:18). Have you been beholding Christ lately with your mind and in your heart?

Recommended Song: “At the Cross (Alas and Did My Savior Die)” by Nathan Drake (Find it on our church’s Spotify playlist, “Trinity Hymnal.”)

“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:9-11). Walking in the light of Christ necessarily involves loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. We cannot rightly claim to “love God who [we have] not seen,” if we do not “love [our] brother whom [we have] seen” (1 John 4:20). Is your love for God borne out by your love for the church?

Recommended Song: “Come Ye Souls By Sin Afflicted” by Indelible Grace (Find it on our church’s Spotify playlist, “Trinity Hymnal.”)

Jesus says in verses 31-32, “Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out. And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” In Jesus’s death, the world that passed judgment on Jesus and sentenced Him to death is (e.g. 6:14, 42, 60; 7:15; 8:48, 52-53; 9:29; 10:19; 11:37), in turn, “judged” by God, because in rejecting Jesus they have revealed that they stand condemned already. Those who turn toward Jesus in faith are illuminated by His light, but those who turn away from Jesus are engulfed by the shadow cast by His great light over them. Likewise, in Jesus’s death, “the ruler of this world [is] cast out” (cf. Matt. 4:8-9; Luke 4:6-7; 2 Cor. 4:4; Eph. 2:2; 6:12). The True King has come, so as Jesus is glorified, enthroned, first, on the cross, then, at the right hand of the Father after His resurrection and ascension, Satan is overthrown. Psalm 82 prophesied of a day when the LORD God Himself will come and “inherit all the nations” from the wicked spirits who rule over the world. In His death and resurrection, Jesus “cancel[led] the record of debt that stood against us” and “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them,” as it says in Colossians 2:13-15. And this is precisely why, Jesus, after His death and resurrection, “draw[s] all people to [him]self,” meaning that all kinds of people, Jews and Gentiles alike, are invited to come under the banner of Christ the King.

We, as witnesses of Christ, have the responsibility to shine the light of Christ in the world. “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:14-16).

Recommended Song: “Hear Our Praises” by Hillsong (Find it on our church’s Spotify playlist, “Trinity Hymnal.”)