Episodios

  • Who Exactly is God? // Power Unlimited, Part 3

    Who Exactly is God? // Power Unlimited, Part 3
    Apr 8 2026
    God is so profoundly different to anyone or anything that this world has to offer. His ways are so different to our ways, and unless and until we have a personal encounter with the risen Christ, unless and until we encounter Jesus in our own, personal experience, our lives simply cannot be transformed. Who or what is God? Well you go out and ask different people and what you discover is that they have a picture of God in their heads that doesn't always have a whole bunch to do with who God actually is. It's almost like we reconstruct Him in our own image, to suit ourselves, to suit our own agendas, but let me ask you something, if God is God wouldn't it be worthwhile kind of figuring out exactly who He is? IF God has the power, is the power, to transform our lives, shouldn't we get to know Him? I mean, who is He really and how do you and I relate to Him? What if God is awesome and powerful and loving and kind and we spend the rest of our lives missing out on all that because we never really went after Him to discover who He really is? So how do we discover who God really is? This week on the program we're setting about laying hold of God's power to completely and utterly transform our lives. And the place that we discover that power, the place that God the Holy Spirit has made available for us to lay hold of that power – is His Word, the Bible. I mean reading the Bible was something I would never have done in a million years. What do you think I am, some wacky fundamentalist? But you know something, reading the Bible for myself has completely and utterly transformed my life. It didn't stunt me, it opened me up. It didn't narrow my mind; it opened me up to the wonder and the possibilities of life with God, to the power that God wants to unleash in my life. Over the last twenty or so years I guess I've spent a lot of time in that Book, in fact its 66 different books. I've had the chance to study and to learn and to think and to mull it all over and truly, in those twenty odd years I've really only scratched the surface. But the more I think about it, the Bible is basically about four things: Who God is, what He's like and how He reacts to things.What God's will and purposes are, what His plan is.Where my life is headed. It's about who I am, made in His image but how does He see me? Who did He make me to be?And … how I can respond to God. Some people think this last one, number four, is all that the Bible has to offer; just rules and regulations … but you know, as you read it for yourself, how to respond to God is quite simply not the main thing, it just kind of drops out at the end, it's the natural consequence of the first three. Those four things again are: who God is, what His will and purposes are, who you and I are in His eyes and how we can respond. That's what the Bible contains, it's real and it's practical, it's about life, it's awesome and it's exciting and it contains power … power unlimited to transform you, to transform your life, to heal you, to bless you, to empower you. Today I just want to look at the first one of those; who God is. I mean if God is God, shouldn't we figure out who He is? Who He says He is? Where better to do that, to search Him out, than that great love letter that He's written to you and to me, the Bible. It makes sense, doesn't it? When I first laid eyes on my wife Jacqui, when I first saw her from a distance, I was speaking at a Church and she was sitting in that congregation. As far as I was concerned, she was just another face in the crowd and had I never sought her out, I would never have come to know her and to have a relationship with her. So, I did seek her out and she responded to that. In a sense, picking up the Bible is seeking God out, it's the same thing, He responds. It's not a dead book written by men thousands of years ago. It's the living, active word of God and His promise is that when we pick it up, the Holy Spirit, God Himself, will bring it to life in our hearts. God promised that He would pour His Spirit out on all flesh and that He would write His words onto our heart. By far, the greatest reason for reading the Bible, is to encounter God Himself, to discover who He is, and how He sees things; what He's like and what He's up to. You see, it's easy to read this story or that in the Bible and say, "Well that was a story about King David" or "That one over there, that's the story about Moses or Peter or Paul". But so often in the pages of this great and mighty book, the great unseen player is God Himself and as I read every story, every verse, I keep asking myself, "What does this tell me about God Himself? What's He up to in this story?" Let's take just one example, it's a short story. God makes a promise to this man called Abram who is childless. You know, Abram's an old man, his wife Sarai is an old woman, they're childless and yet God has called them to go from their home on this huge journey. God's promised them children, a ...
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  • The Power to Change // Power Unlimited, Part 2

    The Power to Change // Power Unlimited, Part 2
    Apr 7 2026
    The Bible tells us (Ephesians Chapter 1) That God has already made His incredible great power, His resurrection power, available to each and every person who believes in Jesus. So today, were going to take a look at what happens, when we lay hold of that power. As you can imagine, I speak with a lot of people. People who respond to this radio program, people I meet in my travels, people who've hear me speak and want to know how to apply it to their lives. And most people, come to me with a problem. This is working in my life … and I just don't know why. That isn't working in my life … and I don't know what to do about it. I want to follow Jesus … but Satan keeps on winning as he tempts me with this sin or that sin. Over and over again, I hear the same thing, the same question, the same problem, the same frustration in people's voices. Why isn't my life all that Jesus promised it would be?! It's a question that plagues many a Christ follower. It causes many to fall by the wayside. It causes many people to live a life that falls so far short of all that it could be in Christ. To my way of thinking, this is one of the greatest tragedies playing itself out in the Kingdom of God today. And just like many of the lifestyle and diet related illnesses that are killing people across the globe, this is a sickness that is completely avoidable. Here is what I see happening in God's Kingdom, amongst God's people. The societies in which we live are moving further and further away from God. Look at the United States. A country of religious freedom, founded by the pilgrims, who came to the land to have the freedom to worship God. A nation who, on its dollar bill, has the words "In God we trust". And now, a country, where it's illegal to pray at school, illegal for an officer in the military to share his faith or a Bible with a soldier, a country where four in ten unborn children are 'terminated' – that's a genocide of around 1.2 million children each year. I'm not just picking on the US of A … it's happening right around the globe. Societies founded on Christian love, as they become more secular, are shifting further and further away from God. And they're behaving as though this is progress. It's progress to allow one man to marry another man, or a woman to marry another woman. It's progress to allow a woman to choose whether or not to kill her unborn child. It's progress for women not to respect their husbands and men not to cherish their wives. And anybody who stands in the way of this so-called 'progress' is a narrow-minded, conservative bigot. And these sweeping changes are sweeping many a Christian along them. Christians en masse are forsaking a life based on God's Word, for a life based on the world's ways. And not just individual Christians, but preachers, Bible teachers, churches and denominations. And then we wonder why things aren't going so well for us in our lives. Really?! Back to the Bible International based in Lincoln Nebraska, is a ministry that I have been closely involved with now for a good many years. They in fact founded the ministry of Christianityworks that I now lead here in Australia, way back in 1957. Part of Back to the Bible is the Centre for Bible Engagement, which has conducted extensive research around the world on the impact in the lives of men and woman, who are engaged with God's Word on a regular basis. Remember, the Bible itself says that there is incredible power to defeat Satan, in God's Word: … our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armour of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:12-17) The only offensive weapon in our spiritual armour given to us by God is the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. All the other parts of the armour are defensive, which is good, but you don't win a battle by going on the defence. You have to go on the offence, you have to attack the enemy to defeat him. And the one tool, the one weapon that God has given us to do that, is the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. So the Centre for Bible Engagement researched the spiritual lives of more than 100,000 people 21 countries, ranging from ages of eight to 80 years. They began with this question: What is it, of all the things that Christians do, that is the most powerful predictor of spiritual ...
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  • Resurrection Power // Power Unlimited, Part 1

    Resurrection Power // Power Unlimited, Part 1
    Apr 6 2026
    Too many Christians, in fact, way too many Christians, are living lives that fall so far short of the life that Jesus promised. When Jesus promised power, they instead end up living a powerless life. I wonder if you know anyone like that. I wonder if this scenario sounds at all familiar to you. At some stage, way back when, you decided to believe in Jesus. Perhaps you, like me, can remember the day that you took that step. Or maybe like many people I know, you can't remember a time when you didn't believe in Jesus. So you've believed … and believed … and believed … and somehow life doesn't seem to get any better. You seem to have the same challenges, successes, failures … whatever, as all the other people you know who don't believe in Jesus. In fact, often times, they seem to be living a better life than you are and on top of that, they're not wracked by guilt the way you are, because by not believing in Jesus, they don't have to worry about the idea of temptation, or falling short of God's ideals, or any of that stuff. Does that sounded all familiar? Sadly, it's de rigour for many a Christian. Most Christians in fact. The Christian life doesn't seem all it's cracked up to be. Wasn't it Jesus who said: The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly. (John 10:10) So where is that abundant life (the original Greek word used there actually means super-abundant!) Where is this super-abundant life that Jesus promised us? Why is everything so difficult? Why is it that I'm not filled with the joy and the excitement that I first felt when I gave my life to Jesus? Can I tell you, I speak to a lot of people, all around the world, who come to me with basically that scenario; basically that same story. Here it is in a nutshell: I know that my life isn't what it's meant to be in Christ. I know that. But I don't know why. I don't know what to do about it. And that's why today we're kicking off a brand new series of messages called 'Power Unlimited'. Because the thing that's lacking in the lives of these people – perhaps in your life too – is the power to live the life that Jesus promised us. The devil comes along and whispers in our ear You're not good enough for God. And actually He's right. That's exactly what the Apostle Paul says of himself (and remember God called him to write almost half of the books of the New Testament). For we know that the law is spiritual; but I am of the flesh, sold into slavery under sin. I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. Now if I do what I do not want, I agree that the law is good. But in fact it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. For I know that nothing good dwells within me, that is, in my flesh. I can will what is right, but I cannot do it. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I do. Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer I that do it, but sin that dwells within me. So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. (Romans 7:14-21) So Paul, as it turns out, has exactly the same problem that you and I have. But happily, he doesn't give up, because the old Paul, God bless him, also has the answer. The only answer that has the power to make a difference: Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 7:24) You see I have some very good news for you today. Listen carefully so you don't miss it: God has already placed within you all the power that you need, to live the super-abundant life that Jesus died and rose again to give you. God has already made the resurrection power, the very same power that raised Jesus from the dead, available to you, here and now, to live the super-abundant life that Jesus came to give you. I know, I know … you don't believe me. Good, you shouldn't believe me, it's not within my purview to grant you that power. But will you believe what God says in the Bible: I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him, so that, with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his great power. God put this power to work in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come. And he has put all things under his feet and has made him the head over all things for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. (Ephesians 1:17-22) Do you see? Paul's prayer...
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  • Then They Nailed Him to the Cross // The Week Leading Up to Easter, Part 5

    Then They Nailed Him to the Cross // The Week Leading Up to Easter, Part 5
    Apr 3 2026
    We race through Easter. A long weekend, chance for a break. Maybe a trip to church … but then again, perhaps not. And to do that, we have to shield our eyes. We have to avoid looking at the cross. Because when you do, when you turn your eyes to Calvary, let me tell you, it's something you just can't ignore. Then Pilate took Jesus and had Him flogged and the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on His head and they dressed Him in a purple robe. They kept coming up to Him saying, 'Hail, king of the Jews', and striking Him on the face. Pilate went out again and said to them, 'Look I'm bringing Him out to let you know I find no case against Him'. So Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, 'Here, here is the man'. When the Chief Priests and the police saw Him they shouted, 'Crucify Him, crucify Him'. Pilate said to them, 'Take Him yourselves and crucify Him. I find no case against Him'. The Jews answered, 'We have a law and according to that law He ought to die because He has claimed to be the Son of God.' Now when Pilate heard this he was even more afraid. He entered his headquarters and again asked Jesus, 'Where are you from?' But Jesus gave him no answer. Pilate therefore said to Him, 'Do you refuse to speak to me? Don't you know I have the power to release you and the power to crucify you?' And Jesus answered him, 'You have no power over me unless it had been given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.' From then on Pilate tried to release Him but the Jews cried out, 'If you release this man you are no friend of the emperor. Everyone who claims to be a king sets himself against the emperor'. When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus outside and sat on the judge's bench at a place called The Stone Pavement or in Hebrew Gabbatha. Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover and it was about noon. He said to the Jews, 'Here is your king'. They cried out, 'Away with Him, away with Him. Crucify Him'. Pilate asked them, 'Shall I crucify your king?' The Chief Priests answered, 'We have no king but the emperor' and he handed Him over to be crucified. So they took Jesus and carrying a cross by Himself He went out to what is known as The Place of the Skull which in Hebrew is called Golgotha. There they crucified Him and with Him two others. One on either side with Jesus between them. Pilate also had an inscription written and put it on the cross, it read 'Jesus of Nazareth king of the Jews'. Many of the Jews read this inscription because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city and it was written in Hebrew, Latin and Greek. Then the Chief Priests of the Jews said to Pilate, 'Do not write "the king of the Jews" but "this man said, I am the king of the Jews".' Pilate answered, 'I have written what I have written.' When the soldiers had crucified Jesus they took His clothes, divided them into four parts, one for each soldier. They also took His tunic. Now the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top. So they said to one another, 'Lets not tear it but cast lots for it to see who will get it'. This was to fulfil what the Scriptures says, "They divided my clothes among them and for my clothing they cast lots." And that is what the soldiers did. Meanwhile standing near the cross of Jesus were His mother and His mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas and Mary Magdalene." When Jesus saw His mother and the disciple whom He loves standing beside her, he said to His mother, 'Woman, here is your son'. Then He said to the disciple, 'Here is your mother'. And from that hour the disciple took her in his own home. After this when Jesus knew that all was finished He said, in order to fulfil the Scripture, 'I'm thirsty'. A jar full of sour wine was standing there so they put a sponge full of the wine on a branch of hyssop and held it to His mouth. When Jesus had received the wine He said, 'It is finished'. Then He bowed His head and gave up His Spirit. Since it was the day of preparation the Jews did not want the bodies left on the cross during the Sabbath especially because that Sabbath was a great day of solemnity. So they asked Pilate to have the legs of the crucified men broken and the bodies removed. Then the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and of the other who had been crucified with Him but when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead they didn't break His legs. Instead one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear and at once blood and water came out. He who saw this has testified so that you may believe. His testimony is true and he knows that he tells the truth. These things occurred so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled, "None of His bones shall be broken." And again another passage of Scripture says, "They will look on the one whom they have pierced." After these things Joseph of Arimathea who was a disciple of Jesus, though a secret one ...
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  • Betrayal Arrest Trial // The Week Leading Up to Easter, Part 4

    Betrayal Arrest Trial // The Week Leading Up to Easter, Part 4
    Apr 2 2026
    Judas Iscariot would have to be one of the most infamous men in all of history. The friend of Jesus who betrayed Him. The man who betrayed the Son of God. Have you ever wondered – what made him do it? What if I told you that the trigger, the straw that broke the camel's back, was a love of money?! All of us have experienced some time in our lives the betrayal of a friend. It's a terrible thing and in fact it is quite possibly the worst thing we could ever experience. When a trust is broken. When there's an infidelity or a betrayal where there should have been faithfulness and trust. Where there's hate where there once was love. Where there's strife where once there was peace. These are the most painful of all pains. The greater the love, the greater the trust that once was, the deeper and darker the betrayal. As I speak these words no doubt your mind turns to a betrayal in your life. Your heart remembers the darkness and the depth of the loss. That's because betrayal was never meant to be. And so when we talk about Jesus betrayal by Judas Iscariot, this man whom Jesus took to be one of His closest disciples, then this is the thing of which we speak. It's not just a story as familiar as it may be, it's a real human and spiritual drama based on betrayal and desertion. And as it turns out Judas wasn't the only one of the disciples who betrayed Jesus. When push came to shove they all fled, they all left Him completely alone in His hour of need. Jesus didn't just die on that cross, he was betrayed and He was deserted by His closest friends. Turns out He suffered in a whole bunch of different ways, in ways that we sometimes gloss over and miss and ignore. Betrayal is something that begins in the heart and that is exactly what happened with Judas Iscariot. Interestingly the thing that seemed to trigger it was money. Have a listen, John chapter 12 beginning at verse 1: Six days before the Passover Jesus came to Bethany, the home of Lazarus whom He'd raised from the dead. There they gave a dinner for Him. Martha served and Lazarus was one of those at the table with Him. Mary took a pound of costly perfume made of pure nard and anointed Jesus feet and wiped them with her hair. The house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume but Judas Iscariot, one of the disciples, the one who was about to betray Him said, 'Why was this perfume not sold for three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor?' He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief. He kept the common purse and used to steal what was put into it. So there they were just six days before the Passover, less than a week before Jesus was arrested and tried, that money was playing merry hell in Judas' heart. Am I drawing too long a bow here? Well I don't think so particularly when you look at a similar thing that happened also in Bethany just four days later. Matthew chapter 26 beginning at verse 1: When Jesus had finished saying all these things He said to His disciples, 'You know that after two days the Passover is coming and the Son of man will be handed over to be crucified?' Then the Chief Priests and the elders of the people gathered in the palace of the High Priest who was called Caiaphas and they conspired to arrest Jesus by stealth and kill Him. But they said, 'Not during the festival or there may be a riot among the people'. Now while Jesus was in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment and she poured it on His head as He sat at the table. But when the disciples saw it they were angry and they said, 'Why waste this for this ointment could have been sold for a large sum and the money given to the poor'. But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, 'Why do you trouble the woman? She has performed a good service for me. For you always have the poor with you but you will not always have me. By pouring this ointment on my body she has prepared me for burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the good news is proclaimed in the whole world what she had done will be told in remembrance of her.' Then one of the twelve who was called Judas Iscariot went to the Chief Priests and said, 'What will you give me if I betray Him to you?' They paid him thirty pieces of silver and from that moment he began to look for an opportunity to betray Jesus. So there it was. It was Judas' love of money that caused him to go out after the thirty pieces of silver and sell out the Son of God. It is the sin that triggered the crucifixion of Jesus, the love of money. And it wasn't long before the wheels were set in motion. John chapter 18 beginning at verse 1: After Jesus had spoken these words He went out with His disciples across the Kidron valley to a place where there was a garden which He and His disciples entered. Now Judas who betrayed Him also knew the place because Jesus often met there with His disciples. So Judas brought a detachment of soldiers together with police from the ...
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  • The Prayer of Jesus // The Week Leading Up to Easter, Part 3

    The Prayer of Jesus // The Week Leading Up to Easter, Part 3
    Apr 1 2026
    You discover a lot about someone when you see how they react under pressure. That's when you see the real man or the real woman. And one of the things that Jesus does just before He's to be crucified is that He prays. Question is – who or what does He pray for? Now that's an interesting question, because the answer tells us an awful lot about Jesus. Prayer is something that most of us, well we don't have time for, right? I mean life's busy, we're under pressure and so we're just flat out getting through life. The idea of spending twenty minutes or half an hour or maybe even an hour praying each day, well I guess that's nice, maybe it's good for the minister to pray every day, I mean after all it's what we pay him for but me, I'm just under too much pressure, I don't have time. And you know when we're in a difficult place if we do pray then the things that we're praying fervently about are the things that are putting us under pressure. If it's a financial thing we pray for that. If it's our children we pray for them. Whatever's affecting our little world that's where the focus of our prayer is. Imploring God, make a difference, fix this up. Now there's absolutely nothing wrong with that, we should take our problems and our pressures to God, we should lay them at His feet and ask Him for His help, all good. That's why when Jesus prays just before He's about to be handed over and crucified, that's why this pray completely blows me out of the water. John chapter 17. The theologians call it the "high priestly" prayer. Bit much for me. Here is Jesus, the Son of God, the Son of man, praying to His Father in heaven just before He's about to be nailed to that cross. What do we imagine He's praying about? Who or what is He praying for? I know who I'd be praying for I have to tell you if I were in His shoes. So let's go and have a listen, it's rather a long prayer but it's a beautiful one and it's worth eavesdropping to see who or what He prayed for. Come on, let's have a listen and carefully, who's He actually praying for? After Jesus had spoken these words He looked up to heaven and said, 'Father, the hours come, glorify your Son so that the Son may glorify you. Since you have given Him authority over all people to give eternal life to all whom you have given Him. And this is eternal life that they may know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you sent. I glorified you on earth by finishing the work that you gave me to do. So now Father glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had in your presence before the world existed. I have made your name known to those whom you gave to me from the beginning from the world. They were yours and you gave them to me and they have kept your word. Now they know that everything you have given me is from you for the words that you gave to me I have given to them and they have received them and they know in truth that I came from you and they have believed that you sent me. I'm asking you on their behalf, I'm not asking on behalf of the world but on behalf of those whom you gave me because they're yours. All mine are yours and yours are mine and I have been glorified in them. And now I'm no longer in the world but they are in the world and I'm coming to you. Holy Father protect them in your name that you have given me so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost so that the Scriptures might be fulfilled. But now I'm coming to you and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves. I've given them your word and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world just as I do not belong to the world. I'm not asking you to take them out of the world but I ask you to protect them from the evil one. So they do not belong to the world just as I don't belong to the world. Sanctify them in your truth, your word is truth as you have sent me into the world so I have sent them into the world and for their sakes I sanctify myself so that they also may be sanctified in the truth. I ask not only on behalf of these but also on behalf of those who will believe in me through their word that they may be all one. As you Father are in me and I am in you may they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them so that they may be one as we are one. I in them and you in me, they may be completely one so that the world may know that you have sent me and have loved them as you have loved me. Father, I desire that those also whom you have given to me may be with me where I am to see my glory which you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. Righteous Father the world doesn't know you but I know you and these know you that you have sent me. I made your name known to them. I ...
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  • Joy and Peace are Yours // The Week Leading Up to Easter, Part 2

    Joy and Peace are Yours // The Week Leading Up to Easter, Part 2
    Mar 31 2026
    Back in those few days leading up to that very first Easter, the Disciples were afraid. Petrified in fact. There was a plot afoot to assassinate Jesus. That was bad enough. But were they in the firing line too? Were they going to die too? And into that little mess, Jesus spoke to them about joy and peace. The days leading up to that first Good Friday, which incidentally at the time must have felt anything but good, they were frightening days. Not for Jesus. Of course His impending crucifixion weighed heavily upon Him but He didn't seem to be afraid since He knew where He was going and what He had to do. But His disciples, they were very definitely afraid. Why? Not just because they felt the plot to assassinate Jesus, not just because they were aware of the under currents and the plotting and the scheming and the conniving that was afoot to rob them of this amazing Jesus but because their lives were under threat too. I mean they were His disciples, they were widely recognised as being the inner circle of Rabbi Jesus followers. That's why Peter ended up denying Jesus three times because he feared for his own life. So while on these days leading up to Easter you and I may well be looking forward to a long weekend and a rest and having just a bit extra chocolate that frankly our waistlines and cholesterol levels just don't need, these disciples of Jesus were living in fear. Fear not just of losing Jesus but fear of losing their own lives, fear of their whole belief system collapsing. Everything they'd dedicated their lives to these last three and a half years and fear for their own skin. No, that Friday looked anything but good and it's into this reality, this fearful reality that Jesus speaks these words to His disciples. John chapter 16 beginning at verse 16: 'A little while and you won't see me any longer and again a little while and you will see me.' Then some of His disciples said to one another, 'What does He mean by saying "In a little while you'll see me no longer and again in a while you'll see me, because I'm going away to the Father?"' They said, 'What does He mean by this "a little while"? We do not know what He's talking about.' Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him so He said to them, 'Are you discussing amongst yourselves what I meant when I said "A little while and you'll no longer see me and again in a little while you'll see me?" Truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn but the world will rejoice and you will have pain but your pain will turn to joy.' When a woman's in labour she has pain because her hour has come but when her child is born she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy of having brought a human being into the world. So you have pain now but I will see you again and your hearts will rejoice and no one will take your joy from you. On that day you'll be asking nothing of me. Very truly I tell you if you ask anything of the Father in my name He will give it to you. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive so that your joy may be made complete. I've said these things to you in figures of speech but the hour's coming when I'll no longer speak to you in figures but will tell you plainly of the Father. On that day you will ask in my name and I do not say to you that I'll ask the Father on your behalf for the Father Himself loves you because you have loved me and believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into this world. Again I am leaving the world and going to the Father.' His disciples said, 'Yes now you're speaking plainly, not in any figure of speech. Now we know that you know all things and do not need to have anyone question you. By this we believe that you came from God'. Jesus answered them, 'Do you now believe? The hour is coming, indeed it has come when you'll be scattered, each one to his home and you will leave me alone yet I am not alone because the Father is with me. I have said this to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you face persecution but take courage I have conquered the world. Now as I put myself in the shoes of these disciples, this rag tag group of fishermen and tax collectors, uneducated yokels by and large who had fallen for Jesus, I have to say what Jesus just said to us, its frightening and confusing, it just doesn't make sense. For a little while and then I'll be gone and then you'll see me again and then I'll speak plainly instead of in riddles and you're going to suffer pain but your pain will turn to joy. I mean give me a break Jesus, I would have been saying, can you please, please tell me exactly what you mean. So are you saying the forces of darkness that are plotting against you, they're going to win? Is that what you're saying? And if it is so what about all your miracles? What about all the amazing things that you told us and taught us, is this how it's all going to end? Are we just going to be left behind? And how can you come back again from all of that...
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  • A Foot Bath // The Week Leading Up to Easter, Part 1

    A Foot Bath // The Week Leading Up to Easter, Part 1
    Mar 30 2026
    Just before He was betrayed, Jesus got down and washed the dirty, smelly feet of His disciples. Have you ever wondered how you'd react if He knocked on your front door tonight and offered to wash your feet? I'm not sure I'd be that keen to let Him do that … but as it turns out, that's exactly what He came to do! An amazing week coming up this week. Not just here on the program but in life generally as we head towards Easter. Here we are on the Monday before that Friday where we celebrate, oh maybe celebrate isn't quite an apt choice of words here, when we remember that Jesus was nailed to that cross. We call it Good Friday but back then it didn't look too good, it didn't feel too good and those days and weeks leading up to that fateful day, a day on which the whole of the history of humanity pivots. They were tense and dangerous days and for the disciples it was quite a frightening time. And so today and over the coming days we're again going to spend some time just travelling alongside the disciples, seeing what they saw, hearing what they heard and hopefully feeling what they felt. Why? Well that's simple. Because I for one am sick of kind of just zooming through Easter as though it's just a long weekend and a religious celebration, a time for some extra chocolate which truly I just don't need. No this Easter thing is huge, I mean it's huge and my hunch is that as we walk beside the disciples, as we're going to do by recounting the Apostle John's account of events through the Gospel, my hunch is that Gods Spirit will touch our hearts with a fresh revelation and what it is that our mighty God was up to. And today we're going to take a look at this thing that Jesus did of washing His disciples feet, what was that all about? John chapter 13 beginning at verse 1: Now before the festival of the Passover Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world and to go to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world He loved them to the end. The devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Him. And during the supper Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands and that He had come from God and was going to God, got up from the table, took off His outer robe and tied a towel around Himself. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciple's feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around Him. He came to Simon Peter who said to Him, "Lord, are you going to wash my feet?" And Jesus answered, "You do not know what I'm doing but later you will understand". Peter said to Him, "You'll never wash my feet" and Jesus answered, "Unless I wash you, you have no share in me". So Simon Peter said to Him, 'Lord, not just my feet but also my hands and my head'. Jesus said to him, 'One who has bathed does not need to wash except for the feet but is entirely clean and you are clean though not all of you', for He knew who was about to betray Him and for this reason He said, 'Not all of you are clean.' After He'd washed their feet and He put His robe back on again and He returned to the table He said to them, 'Do you know what I have done for you? You call me teacher and Lord and you are right for that is what I am. So if I, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have set you an example that you also should do as I have done to you. Very truly I tell you servants are not greater than their masters nor are messengers greater than the one who have sent them. If you know these things you are blessed if you do them. I'm not speaking of all of you, I know whom I have chosen but it is to fulfil the Scriptures that "The one who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me." I tell you this now before it occurs so that when it does occur you may believe that I am He. Very truly I tell you whoever receives one whom I send receives me and whoever receives me receives the one who has sent me. So there's Jesus, the Son of God, He washes the feet of His disciples on that night as they celebrated the Passover meal together in the upper room and literally just hours before He was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane. It was a difficult time, a dangerous time. I suspect the disciples had never celebrated the Passover quite in this way, with this dark cloud of danger and betrayal and fear and death hanging over them. The thing we can so often forget is that they knew there were plots afoot to kill Jesus and they simple couldn't imagine that happening after having seen Him do all the things He'd done. The miracles, the acts of kindness and after having heard all that He had to say, the wisdom and the truth and the love in His words. But that wasn't all, they were afraid for their own lives too. Would they be arrested? Would they be tried and crucified too? So they eat the meal, roast lamb with the bitter herbs and unleavened bread and they drink the wine and then Jesus gives them a foot ...
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