Introduction
There are mornings when your "today" weighs too heavy. A situation that isn't moving, a child drifting away, a marriage growing cold, a project that's stalled. In this Part 5 of the series Lord, Show Me Your Glory, Elder Junias ANANE starts from a very targeted prophetic word to open up a broader teaching: God gives you an appointment at "soon" and at "later," and your responsibility today is to step out of a short-term outlook and see the deliverance he has already hidden in your situation.
The base texts are John 13:7, John 13:36, Proverbs 25:2, Exodus 14:10-14, and John 12:23-32. The thread running through it all: stop letting your right now define you.
Article Outline
1. Two words from God: "soon" and "later"
Junias opens the service with a precise word for two groups within the congregation. To the first, he speaks with John 13:7: "What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will understand later." It isn't because you don't understand today that you will never understand. God is about to open your mind.
To the second, he brings John 13:36: "You cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterward." It isn't because someone lacks the ability today (a child, a spouse, or you yourself facing a goal) that this ability will never come. God is the one who equips.
The preacher insists: these two words, soon and later, are an appointment. God is literally telling you: "I'm giving you an appointment for later."
2. Today does not define you
The great danger, says Junias, is a short-term outlook. The accuser whispers: "If it doesn't change now, it never will." Peter is the prototype: he understood nothing and could do nothing at the moment Jesus spoke to him. But his right now did not sum him up, did not define him, did not qualify him.
"We limit people to today. We judge them, we condemn them, we bury them, while tomorrow is the resurrection." This statement from the preacher is the heart of Part 5. Stepping out of the short term means refusing to let your right now become your identity, and also refusing to draw a final conclusion about your child, your spouse, your brother, or your sister based on who they are today.
3. Proverbs 25:2: the glory of God is to conceal
The preacher then moves to the central text of the series: Proverbs 25:2 · "It is the glory of God to conceal things, but the glory of kings is to search things out." In every situation he brings about or allows to happen, God has hidden a treasure: his glory. Your responsibility as a king is to search it out so it can be revealed.
The image Junias uses is striking: God hid the antidote inside the virus. The vaccine works because a dose of the virus itself produces the antibodies. In the same way, "it is in our sufferings and our humiliations that God has hidden his glory."
4. Moses at the Red Sea: what do you see?
On to Exodus 14:10-14. The children of Israel lift their eyes and see the Egyptians marching behind them. They fixate on what they see and talk, and talk, and talk: "Were there no graves in Egypt?" The slave looks at the problem and magnifies the problem.
Moses, on the other hand, redirects their gaze: "Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today, for the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again." The preacher's question becomes the question of Part 5: what do you see? A king doesn't deny the distress, he looks for the deliverance hidden within it.
5. Jesus in John 12: announcing glory, not suffering
The high point of this teaching is found in John 12:23-32. Jesus announces his crucifixion, but he announces it this way: "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified." He does not say "crucified," he says "glorified." He does not deny the pain: "Now is my soul troubled." But his prayer is not "Father, save me from this hour," it is "Father, glorify your name." And the Father answers from heaven: "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again."
Facing the hardest event in history, Jesus takes on the posture of a king. He looks at what the Father has hidden in the cross: the judgment of this world carried, the ruler of this world cast out, and all people drawn to him. This is the very same gaze Junias invites you to bring to your own hour.
6. Entering into God's calendar
At the end of the sermon, Junias prays for the congregation: "Lord, we are entering your calendar. Lord, we position ourselves within your timing. Your time will be our time. Your deadline will be our deadline." Stepping out of the short term means giving up imposing your calendar on God and accepting that he works on his own schedule. It also means receiving patience as a fruit of the Spirit, being set free from stress, oppression, and anguish, and remembering the road already walked with God: "He who delivered me from the paw of the bear and the paw of the lion will deliver me again from the hand of this Philistine."
Key Takeaways
- God speaks to you in two words: soon and later. It's an appointment, not a refusal.
- Your right now does not define you, and it does not define the people you love either.
- In your situation, God has hidden a treasure: his glory. Searching it out is your work as a king.
- The slave fixates on the problem and magnifies it. The king does not deny the problem but looks for the deliverance.
- Jesus himself, facing the cross, announced the hidden glory before announcing the visible suffering.
- Entering God's calendar brings peace; imposing your own wears you out.
Personal Application
- What situation is pushing you today to draw a final conclusion about yourself or about someone you love?
- When you describe what you're going through, what does your mouth focus on: the Egyptians, or the deliverance?
- Is there a "soon" from God that you're refusing to step into because you wanted to understand it now?
- Can you name what God might have hidden in what you're living through?
- Does your worship look like that of a slave who complains, or that of a king who acknowledges God?
Scriptures Cited
- Psalm 40:1-6 · The new song and the multiplied wonders.
- John 13:7 · "You will understand later."
- John 13:36 · "You will follow afterward."
- Proverbs 25:2 · The glory of God and the glory of kings.
- Exodus 14:10-14 · "See the deliverance."
- John 12:23-32 · "The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified."
- Romans 8:31-37 · "More than conquerors through him who loved us."
FAQ
What do the words "soon" and "later" mean in this sermon?
Junias ANANE draws on John 13:7 and John 13:36. Jesus uses these two words for Peter, telling him he will soon understand what he doesn't understand now, and that he will follow him later where he cannot follow him today. These are two appointment words that protect the believer from a short-term reading of their life.
How do I step out of a short-term view of my situation?
By refusing to let your right now become your identity. The preacher invites you to enter God's calendar, to welcome patience as a fruit of the Spirit, to be set free from anguish, and to remember the road already walked with God as a guarantee of what is still to come.
What should I do when I still don't see the promised deliverance?
Like Moses in Exodus 14:10-14, you turn your gaze away from the Egyptians chasing you to fix it on the deliverance the Lord is about to grant. Deliverance is hidden within the distress itself; searching it out to see it is already an act of faith. This is the posture of the king, according to Proverbs 25:2.
to take notes and ask questions.