Pastor Leon’s SOAP:  Scripture, Observation, Application, Prayer
December 22, 2022: SOAP #4767: John 12-14

SCRIPTURE:  John (NIV) 12:47 “As for the person who hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge him. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save it.  48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. 49 For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. 50 I know that his command leads to eternal life. So whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.”

OBSERVATION:  Jesus understood that He had been sent to the earth by the Father.  He was here with a purpose.  He was representing the Father.  His words and actions would be communicating the Father’s heart.  The Father who sent Jesus made sure Jesus knew “what to say and how to say it.”  So, Jesus spoke “just what the Father” told Him to say. 

In light of these verses, it is not hard to understand why Jesus spent so much time with the Father in prayer.  Jesus lived in constant communion with His Father, but there were key times when it was just the two of them. 

APPLICATION: I also have a purpose for my life.  I am representing Jesus.  God has sent the Holy Spirit to be my constant companion.  I am never alone!   He is fully aware of everything that happens to me and around me.  As I spend quiet time with Him in the Scriptures, He sets the course of my life and prepares me for the major decisions I need to make.  As He is my constant companion, He often guides my individual steps to protect me from danger or to place me in the center of the Father’s will. 

PRAYER:  Holy Spirit, how I need your guidance so that I will say “just what the Father” tells me to say.  Help me do “just what the Father” has given me to do.  Amen

Pastor Leon
Making friends for time and eternity!   
On Facebook:  Today’s SOAP from Pastor Leon