John 16:12 English Standard Version (ESV) “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.”

While we have been speaking to the issues of human nature, this anthem of faith was heard several times. It is this. The Holy Spirit will reveal truth as we are ready to hear it, believe it and act on it. This is the result of influences Christ has had over our human nature. In the last verse of this great chapter Jesus declares that He has overcome the world.

Did He destroy Rome and take over ruling the world? No. He was to be tempted in every way man can be tempted and remain without sin. He controlled His human nature and did not allow it to interfere with His mission.

Now with the help of the Holy Spirit, we too can control our human nature. We are not subject to every whim of our natural humanity. With His help we too can be overcomers.

What makes this verse important among so many great verses in John 16 is the issue of preparedness. If we are not ready to receive the truth, hear it, believe it and act on it, then it will be withheld until we are prepared. Thinking of it in human terms, we do not issue drivers licenses to infants.

God’s plan is to raise up a whole new generation of faithful believers. As brothers and sisters in Christ we have a place in a rather large family. Large families have complicated relational dynamics. We are all growing in Christ and as with any family, some grow faster than others. The growth in this kingdom is not genetic, it is based on faith and grace.

Romans 4:16a English Standard Version (ESV) That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring….

John 11:21 English Standard Version (ESV) Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.

Human nature wants what it wants without regard to much of anything else. We all have people we love and some of those people are in desperate danger of loss. So we pray and ask the Lord to do our will.

John 14:14 English Standard Version (ESV) If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

Note closely that it was Martha and not Mary that hurled this accusation at Jesus. Martha was the one who worried about much. Mary was the sister that hung on Jesus’ every word.

Our human nature desires to have things our way. We remember passages readily that tend to support that nature. Jesus is Lord and we are to do what He asks and not the other way around.

Human nature looks to blame anyone but ourselves when our prayers are not answered in the way and the timing we seek. Fake faith healers always blamed the faith of the seeker for a healing that did not happen. Our will cannot replace God’s will.

The death of Lazarus lead to one of our foundational beliefs. It was God’s will that his death would be so public and his resurrection so emotional in order that everyone would hear these words.

John 11:25-26 English Standard Version (ESV) Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?”

This is the lesson about faith and human nature. Faith does not change our nature but rather overcomes its failings.

2 Corinthians 5:7 English Standard Version (ESV) for we walk by faith, not by sight.