If Anyone Loves Jesus

John 14:15-17,21-24 ESV

 

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.”

 

“’Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.’ Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father's who sent me.’”

 

Before Jesus Christ died on that cross and rose again, his disciples had the Spirit of God dwelling with them but not in them. But after Jesus died and was resurrected from the dead, and then he ascended back to the Father in heaven, he sent his Holy Spirit to indwell his followers. And since that time all who have believed in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior have been indwelt with the Holy Spirit, provided that they were crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him.

 

Now, to love God is to obey him and his commandments (New Covenant). If we do not obey him, in practice, then we do not love him, and we do not know him (1 John 2:3-6). And so if we do not know him, then we are the same as those who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We are still lost in our sins and heaven is not our eternal destiny. So, even if we profess faith in Jesus Christ, but we don’t obey him, in practice, then we cannot be indwelt with the Spirit of God.

 

When Jesus lived on this earth, he ministered to his disciples in person. But once he died for our sins and he rose from the dead and then he ascended back to heaven, he was no longer on the earth to minister to his disciples. So he sent his Holy Spirit to indwell all of his followers so it would be a lot like having Jesus with us alive and in person. Only via the Holy Spirit, Jesus can now live within the hearts and minds of people all over the world who are walking by faith in Jesus Christ.

 

And again he repeated what he said previously that whoever has his commandments and keeps (obeys) them, it is he who loves the Lord. And then he said that whoever loves the Lord will be loved by the Father, and Jesus will love us and make himself known to us, and they (Father and Son) will come to us and make their home with us. But if we do not love Jesus, we will not keep (obey) his Words. And to love the Lord is to prefer what God prefers, which is what is holy, righteous, morally pure, and upright.

 

So, if we love one another with this love, then we are preferring what God prefers, so we are not going to deliberately and habitually sin against our fellow humans. But we will show them love, compassion, kindness, tenderness, and consideration, yet we will not love the same things as what they love if they do not love God and if they do not obey him. But we will love the things of God and so we will want to share with them the things of God and his gospel so that they can love him, too, and so that they can come to know him and to have eternal life with him.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

When in The Stillness  

 

An Original Work / September 26, 2011

 

When in the stillness of this moment,

Speak to me, Lord, I humbly pray.

Be my desire, set me on fire,

Teach me to love always.

Help me to walk in fellowship with You,

Listening to You; sit at Your feet.

Whisper Your words to me,

Oh, how gently, guiding me in Your truth.

 

While we are waiting for Your blessing,

Lord, in our hearts be King today.

Help us to live for you ev’ry moment,

List’ning to what You say.

May we not stray from your word within us,

Help us obey You, Lord, in all things,

Walking each moment, Lord, in Your presence,

Our offerings to You bring.

 

Help us to love You, Lord, our master;

Be an example of Your love,

Helping the hurting, lift up the fallen,

Showing them Your great love.

Teach them to love You, follow You always,

Bearing their cross and turning from sin;

Walking in daily fellowship with You,

Making You Lord and King.

 

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