Alone, Yet Not Alone
Notes
Transcript
Alone, Yet Not Alone
Alone, Yet Not Alone
30 Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God.
31 Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe?
32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
33 These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.
Here we find a very powerful and revealing teaching of the Lord Jesus...
It is the revelation of what would be in the very near future, but it also reveals how the Lord would deal with “Things to come”...
Being alone...
Alone… what a word...
In the business of life we sometimes may even utter the words… “I wish they would leave me alone”
It’s one thing to say it… it’s far different to experience it...
Tonight we are going to delve into an area that seems like it may be more of the darker side of life - not sinful, not satanic… just hidden in the shadows...
Something that is dealt with in the recesses of the mind, yet not really discussed openly.
Jn.16.32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
Alone, Yet Not Alone
Alone, Yet Not Alone
The Lord, knowing the future… knowing that in just a few hours he would be left Alone with his enemies...
He would be left alone with his prosecutors
He would be left alone with those who would sentence him to death...
He who was life
He who was the giver of life was going to submit himself to the last enemy called death...
26 The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
Several things about being alone...
Alone (solitary) = Lacking companions or companionship
Selective Solitude
This can be enjoyable
This can be rejuvenating / refreshing
Sanctioned Solitude
I was texting this afternoon with one of our military men who has been deployed… He has another 10 days of quarantine…
Solitary confinement… maybe not quite the same, but it’s different than it would be if he had planned some time to be alone,
but in this situation, the Lord is referring to being abandoned by his:
Friends
Followers
Fellow believers
32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
Alone: (Moe-Nos)
lacking companions or companionship
In Chapter 18 of John, we find Judas come to the Garden of Gethsemane with a band of men and officers from the chief priests and pharisee’s… They came with torches and lanterns and weapons...
They came seeking Jesus - and Jesus, not avoiding the conflict or the plan of the crucifixion revealed himself to them - whom seek ye?
But when they took him, he was alone...
The disciples were scattered… - Peter and one other disciple followed along, but the Lord was alone...
ye shall be scattered
every man to his own -
own place of belonging
own people, family, friends, companions
own retreat, place of safety
shall LEAVE ME… ALONE
leave me (Uh-Fee-uh-me)
let go
give up
leave
depart from
leave standing
let go
allow
TO LEAVE OR ABANDON
what a terrible thing...
That the Lord would be:
left alone...
The disciples would
depart from him
leave him standing
let go of him...
allow
to leave or abandon him
But the Lord knew this was going to happen...
He still chose them
He still called them
He still commissioned them
He still cared for them...
They Left him alone...
Alone, Yet Not Alone...
32 Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me.
Jesus was left alone by man, but he was not left alone by God...
Alone: (Moe-Nos)
lacking companions or companionship
The companionship that Jesus had with the Father - would survive every event of humanity...
When we are abandoned by:
Spouse
Family member
Friend
When the dynamic changes and the companionship is no longer the same...
There is a friend that sticketh closer to a brother for the believer...
But the Lord Jesus had the Father...
Abandoned by all, but not alone...
He was not without:
love
care
companionship
he was not without
friend
family
There is coming a day that even this wonderful relationship will have a pause...
There will be a time when the Father will forsake the Son...
But not yet...
Only for a few short hours
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour.
46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
47 Some of them that stood there, when they heard that, said, This man calleth for Elias.
48 And straightway one of them ran, and took a spunge, and filled it with vinegar, and put it on a reed, and gave him to drink.
49 The rest said, Let be, let us see whether Elias will come to save him.
50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
For the sake of the Salvation of the lost souls of men and reconciling fallen man to the Father -Jesus was willing to be alone...
You and I do not have that same weight...
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
We may experience loneliness;
loss in life
loss in friendship
loss in proximity
We may be alone - yet… not alone...
The Lord is only a whisper away...
Illustr.
Grandma and Grandpa Coats...
They lived with us in their later years… we added on to our house and made an apartment so they could have their own living space - small living room, bedroom and handicapped bathroom...
You could go into the room, and they would be sitting there - not talking, not communicating audibly, but very much in communication...
Through the silence there was a line of communication that was very clearly open to both of them...
Just being together...
Companionship that was very real...
In this life, there will be times where we will feel alone… but we really are not alone -
as a child of God, He is right there with us...
Quiet
Silent
Unobtrusive… But very much present...
1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
5 Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.