Good morning and welcome in everyone. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture from the book of John.
John 14:15, 21, 23-24 If ye love me, keep my commandments. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
Jesus taught in the scriptures that the two greatest commandments were to love God completely, and to love your neighbor as yourself. Millions of people on the Earth will quickly claim that they love their neighbor and care about people in society, but that’s only one part of God’s equation for salvation. In order to obtain eternal life, we must love and obey God’s only begotten Son Jesus. The commandments are in order for a reason. If people choose to refuse to obey the first commandment it doesn’t matter how much they claim to love others. We prove our love for God through obedience to His precious Son.
When your dad commands you to cut the lawn one summer day, and you complete the task later that afternoon, it pleases him. When a wife completely obeys her husband and does everything she is told, she pleases him. When we obey the commands and teachings of Christ, it pleases Jesus. Our obedience to his teachings show how much that we truly love him.
John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.
When we love and obey His precious Son, the Father shines down His Love upon us. God loves us by sending His Son into this world, but His love abides and remains on those who believe and obey His son Jesus. What Earthly dad among you is not going to get upset when their son is treated poorly by somebody else at school? How do you think the creator of the universe feels when they treat His Son this way? Those who don’t serve His Son faithfully are going to be rejected and punished eternally. Love for Christ is to obey His commands and teachings. Those who won’t, don’t truly love the Lord and will be anathema.
1 John 2:3-5 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.
He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.
If you were employed at any kind of job in the community, but refused to follow and obey the things that the owner commanded you to do, what do you think the end result is going to be? Do you think he’s going to be jumping up and down with joy? You’re not going to last very long because disobedience displeases him. Your actions only reveal that you’re unreliable and undependable, and cannot do as you are told.
The Christian Life is no different.
To obtain eternal life we must show our love towards Jesus by obeying Him in everything. Not everybody’s going to inherit eternal life, not even people who profess Christianity. It comes down to doing the will of God rather than your own. Christianity is more than just confession with your mouth, it’s true faith in your heart. if you possess true faith I guarantee you it will result in obedience. Anyone who says otherwise is a liar and a fraud. To fulfill the first commandment is to love God and if you refuse to obey the commands of Christ you don’t love Him. That’s foolishness, because you are neglecting your salvation and its requirements.
Matthew 21:28-32 But what think ye? A certain man had two sons; and he came to the first, and said, Son, go work to day in my vineyard. He answered and said, I will not: but afterward he repented, and went. And he came to the second, and said likewise. And he answered and said, I go, sir: and went not. Whether of them twain did the will of his father? They say unto him, The first. Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That the publicans and the harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
The son who truly loved his father eventually did what his dad had commanded him to do. All of us have been disobedient, all of us have sinned and come short of the glory of God, but through the riches of God’s grace, we are given the opportunity to turn around and do what is right. You made a wrong turn, you took a wrong step, you went the wrong direction, but God grants us grace so that we can go back and do what we were supposed to be doing in the first place. God has certainly proved his love towards this entire world by sending His precious son to die as a propitiation for our misdeeds. Now it is high time to prove our love towards Him by becoming faithful and obedient to His purpose for us.
Before I became a Christian I told my wife that there was no way that I would ever teach anything because I hated the profession and absolutely loathed it. When I became a Christian 24 years ago, I realized that God wanted me to teach and preach His Son. Andrew and my family have been with me as I preached at flea markets, shopping malls, unused Church buildings, daily in our own home, on the streets, community rooms, door to door, handing out Bibles and flyers, on reservations and in the city. In order for me to be capable of doing these things, I had to deny myself and my hatred of teaching, and do the complete opposite thing.
God calls us to a specific purpose, but it means going in the opposite direction. It means going against your will and doing His will. That is the proof that shows Jesus how much we love him. Christianity is more than just words, you must prove it by your actions of obedience. The first commandment is to love God wholeheartedly, and if you truly love Christ, you will keep His commandments. This is how you can know if you are truly walking in the love of God. Even Peter, who was already an apostle, did something that was wrong. He denied knowing Christ. Later on he felt extremely sorrowful for what he had done, and repented. He explained to the Lord how much that he loved Him, but Jesus wanted to see the proof of his love, and commanded him to feed His sheep.
Jesus wants to see our love by our faithful obedience. Christianity is not about you, or what you can get out of your life, it’s about self denial. It’s about obeying His will, rather than doing your own thing. Those who can’t understand this are blinded by their own sin. In that state they really don’t love God, they love themselves and the world more than Him. God wants to see our love towards Him through faithful and obedient hearts, because when all is said and done…..
…..The Proof is in the Pudding
Let’s think about these things for right now, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody. ❤️
tlkjbc.wordpress.com
Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 