“20Now
there were certain Greeks among those who came up to worship at the feast. 21Then
they came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida of Galilee, and asked him, saying,
“Sir, we wish to see Jesus. 22Philip came and told Andrew, and in
turn Andrew and Philip told Jesus. 23But Jesus answered them,
saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24Most
assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and
dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain. 25He
who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will
keep it for eternal life. 26If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me;
and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My
Father will honour. 27“Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I
say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this
hour. 28Father, glorify Your name.” (John 12:20-27 NKJV)
Being
part of a great festival such as the just concluded CRM World Congress can be
very spiritually exhilarating to the extent that people may want to consider it
as an end in itself. Usually God grants us opportunities of such gatherings to
ignite in us the quest for deep intimacy with Him. Great as our experience at
the Congress was, there is still more God want us to know and experience of
Him. We were given unique opportunities to experience the goodness of God so
that we can become hungry for more. People who went out of the congress
satisfied with what they have received are grossly mistaken. There is more! This is the time to draw
closer to Christ so you can get more of Him and from Him.
The
congress marked the beginning of a transformational journey with God and in God
for each of us. Wisdom demands that we make the most of the opportunity. This
was what the Greeks of our text did.
The
visitors from Greece approached Philip to arrange for a meeting with Jesus
privately, outside of the clutter of the feast. They have seen Him at the
feast, but only from afar while He ministered to the congregation. They enjoyed
listening to His message and experienced the wave of glory that came in the
sequel. They enjoyed the exuberance of the corporate worship and power of group
praying. They saw the miracles and the
excitement they generated in the crowd. They enjoyed every bit of what they
saw, heard and experience in the feast. Notwithstanding all those, they still
wanted something more –a personal touch of Christ. They desired a close-up
meeting with Him so they could feel His heartbeat and discuss personal matters
with Him. They went to Philip, who seems to be our Lord’s PR guy and made a
simple but very profound request –“Sir, we wish to see Jesus.”
Why
were they the only people who went to Jesus while all the others have been
invited too? The answer is not farfetched. They were thirsty for more. Our Lord have given out the invitation, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and
drink” (John 7:37 NKJV). Some people are satisfied with too little. Some
are desirous for more of Jesus. Our Lord has inexhaustible resource of
refreshing blessings for any person who cares to have more. Not only the Greeks
were invited, the Jews also as well as the rest of the people. But only the
Greeks came for more and the Lord had declared, “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37 NJKV).
When
they got to Jesus, He opened His heart to them and shared some deep personal
issues with them, saying, “The hour has come that the Son of Man
should be glorified.” How could they have known this if not that they
were hungry for more. Hunger will take you to a place in God where nothing else
can. He unravelled to them the secret of fruitfulness in life and ministry “Most
assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and
dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.” There is a depth of mystery that God want to
lead you into but cannot because of your lack of hunger for more. Whatever
blessing, or revelation, or impartation, or wisdom, you have received, from the
Lord much more is still waiting to be received by those who can put a
legitimate demand on them by their hunger for more.
Our
Lord went ahead to reveal to them His desire for His followers, “If
anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be
also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honour”. He wants us to
be where He is! The implication of this is confounding. Being where He is affords
us the intimacy with the Father that He enjoys. It affords that power and
authority that He controls and bequeaths to us the glory and honour He shares
with the Father. We can desire for more!
May
the Lord deepen your hunger for more of Him in Jesus name!
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