Jesus Said...If You Love Me...!

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

I would love some day to go to a public place, with lots of people and do a poll asking passers by to fill in this blank ... “Jesus said ‘If You Love Me ______’”. I would love to see the answers to that poll. Based upon what I see from modern day religion, I think the answers would be very selfish or silly in nature.

So, after thinking that thought, I took a quick poll on-line and this is what I got.

"If you Love me, represent my message accurately". – Bill (Being judgmental and divisive rather than accepting and loving is the main criticism I have of many Christians.)

I only got the one answer but it is telling. I think it is interesting that they did not recognize that Jesus did make this statement. But when he answered it, he filled in the answer with his own view of things instead of God’s.

So what is Jesus’ test for Loving him? Faith? Nope? Tolerance? No, not hardly. Condemnation of Judging others? No way.

Jesus Says that if you love me .... KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS. Huh? Obedience? That is what Jesus says. Obedience is Essential to pleasing Him! They are not called the 10 Suggestions. They are called the 10 Commandments.

I have heard some “religious” folks criticize others that stress the importance of obedience as being “legalistic” and “pharisaical”. That’s funny. Because Jesus calls in Love in action. If you want to Please God, Learn what he wants from you and do everything in your power to be obedient to it.

Matthew 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.

Jesus...The ONLY Way!

John 14:1-6 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. (2) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. (4) And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. (5) Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? (6) Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

Yesterday we examined the first 3 verses as Jesus gives us HOPE about our heavenly home. In the latter part of verse 2, Jesus gives yet another subtle hint that about his appending death. Specifically he says ...”I GO to prepare a place...” Up until now, the apostles have been at Jesus’ side. Everywhere that he goes, they follow along, watching and learning.

In verse 5 then, it is natural for Thomas to ask the question... (and I am paraphrasing) “Where are you going and how can we know the way? Of course, the apostles have not been listening because Jesus has consistently warned them of this day, and especially during this conversation.

Although the apostles did not understand the proper context of what Jesus is talking about, Jesus then takes that opening to teach an essential truth in verse 6 about how to get to where he is going .... heaven. Jesus, what is the way?

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

There is a simple, but non-popular characteristic about the truth that Jesus teaches here. And that characteristic is Exclusivity!

Jesus says there is only one way to get to heaven. We see this in his use of the word “THE”, Jesus isn’t just a Way .... He is THE Way! The ONLY Way. Jesus is not just a Truth .... he is THE Truth. The ONLY Truth. He is not just a life .... He is THE Life! The only Life!

When we understand the power of this it should change our focus. Instead of thinking that “religion” in general is adequate to accessing God, we should clearly see that we must seek the will of God as he has given it to us. Therefore the religions of the world has NO value to our Creator. Because Jesus is THE Way. Our opinions are insignificant. Because Jesus is the Truth!

May we all seek God’s will that we might go where Jesus is.

The Hope of Heaven!

John 14:1-3 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. (2) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Jesus starts out this chapter by stating .... “Let not your heart be troubled...”. Why would his disciples be troubled? Keep in mind that Jesus is giving essentially, his final instructions to his disciples before his arrest later on in that evening. Not only that, he has already made some troubling statements during the passover observance and Jesus’ institution of the Lord’s Supper memorial....

John 13:21 When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me.

John 13:33 Little children, yet a little while I am with you. Ye shall seek me: and as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come; so now I say to you.

John 13:38 Jesus answered him, Wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The cock shall not crow, till thou hast denied me thrice.

Jesus is giving hints that he is not going to be around very much longer. For them, that was very troubling. However, Jesus sensed that and tried to calm their fears. He calmed their fears, in part, by giving them Hope. Hope of a better life. Hope of better things to come. A hope of escaping from the burden of this life.

While most people focus on the beginning of verse 2 ... that he is preparing a mansion, I think there is something much better to look forward to. In the end of verse 3, he tells us about a characteristic of heaven that I look forward to the most....

John 14:3 ... that where I am, there ye may be also.

If you are in heaven, and you have a chance to spend time with Jesus or spend time in a house, even if it is a MANSION .... which would you choose? I would choose Jesus!

This past weekend, I had some friends that had the opportunity to meet John Calipari, the basketball coach for the University of Kentucky. I too would like to meet him because I have been a huge fan of KY most of my life. But, meeting John Calipari, or the president of the United States ... or any other human, does not hold a candle to being able to meet the man that left heaven, to come down to earth, and died on the cross for MY sins.

In my opinion, the greatest hope of heaven is the opportunity to be in the presence of the Creator; my Father in Heaven and he amazing, loving sacrificing Son that went to the cross of Calvary so that I would have that very opportunity. You can have your mansion. I want to spend time with my Father and my Savior!

The Ultimate Command!

John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. (35) By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

What’s so new about this? Jesus has commanded that we love one another several times ... right? Yes, but not like this!

Notice the manner in which we are to love one another here ... as Jesus has loved us!

Jesus didn’t just talk about love. He didn’t just preach about love. Jesus put his money where his mouth was. He loved like no other.

His love was SACRIFICING! Not just the giving of his life on the cross, but also, the giving up of heaven, to come down to earth. When he could have lived like a king, he instead lived like a pauper. His life ... and death is the epitome of sacrifice

His Love was BENEVOLENT! Jesus went around looking for folks to help. He healed the sick. He made the blind to see. He made the deaf to hear, the mute to speak, He made the demon possessed to be free. He fed the hungry. He visited the lonely and the list can go on and on.

His love was ACTIVE! Everyday of his life was about serving and helping others,

Matthew 20:28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

If we are going to love like Jesus, we too need to love in a sacrificing, benevolent and active manner.

To Be Like Jesus is to Be a Servant!

John 13:4-5, 14 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. (5) After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

(14) If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet.

The word ‘servant’ has a very negative connotation in our society. It brings to mind people being subjected to practically inhumane treatment, of which no one would ever CHOOSE. However, the definition of the word is much more benign. A servant, by definition, is simply one who serves.

Jesus, not only commands us to serve, he sets the ultimate example for us. Not only in dying on the cross for our sins, but in the act found in our text today. To best understand this passage, we must better understand the context.

Walking was the primary mode of transportation for the common man during that day. Shoes were more like our sandals today, so feet got extremely dirty and sweaty while walking. Furthermore, many believe that dining was done in more of a lounging position so the feet of others could be very close to your face and plate. For that reason, washing feet prior to eating was customary.

If you could afford a servant, the servant would do the foot washing of guests. If no servant, then the low man on the totem pole was the one stuck with this awful job. In the case of Jesus coming together with his apostles to eat Jesus’ last passover meal, there would not have been a natural hierarchy.... with one obvious exception: Jesus was the king of Kings, Lord of Lords and the son of God, so he clearly was on top of the heap.

Instead of Jesus asking the others who was going to do the nasty job and having a dispute ensue to prove between all of the apostles that “I am too good to do that”, Jesus quietly put on an apron and quietly began the task.

After finishing the chore, he simply and succinctly states, “I have washed your feet, now you ought to wash one another’s feet” By saying this, Jesus is not stating a policy or mission of sanitary conditions for feet, but rather we should never let our pride get in the way of serving others.

Remember that Jesus said that we should love one other. But love in the Bible was never isolated to being a warm and fuzzy feeling, but rather activity. We are told that “God SO LOVED the world that he..... GAVE! Action!

If we are going to be like our savior, we must look out to help others in every way possible.

Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.

We are seen for who we are and to whom we represent not by what we say necessarily but by our GOOD WORKS!

Look out today and try to help someone out. Pay for the groceries of the elderly lady behind you in line. Carry the heavy packages for the young mom with a couple of kids in tow. Opportunities exist everywhere .... we just have to open our eyes to them.

There is a Standard!

John 12:47-49 And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. (48) He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day. (49) For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak.

What does the Bible say?

Imagine that one day you are pulled over by the police while driving your car. The police officer walks up to your window and inquires, “Why were you driving on the wrong side of the road?” Your response? “Well”, you said, “I was watching a movie set in England and they all drove on that side of the road, and it just SEEMED better?’

What are your chances of the police officer, shrugging his shoulders and saying “ well you are right, that is the law in England...have a nice day”?

IMPOSSIBLE! Never would that happen! There is a better chance that he would have a psych evaluation done on you before he would just let you go. So why would that excuse not work? Because we are judged in this country, state, or municipality by their appropriate laws. Trying to say that a law somewhere else permits a particular action has NO value here.

In our text today, we have Jesus telling us about the Standard for the Judgment. Jesus specifically and unambiguously says that HIS WORDS will judge us in the last days. HIS WORDS. God’s Will. The Bible will be the Standard and basis for what is right, what is wrong, what is sin and what is righteous.

My illustration this morning was borderline ridiculous. Nobody in their right mind would EVER do such a thing. However, it is not ridiculous because I assure you, countless people will try to defend themselves on that Day of Judgment based upon some other standard. I can hear it now...”But my preacher said”.....”But the church that I went to said it was OK”.....”But the religious council approved that”...and on and on and on.

It will not matter one wit what ANYBODY thinks, feels or says. We will be judged by the Word of God!

Here is the Crux of the problem. The world’s religious...yes even the world’s “christian” religious groups are removing themselves from what the Bible says at an all time pace. Almost every year I will hear on the news that some religious group will say that this or that sin is no longer condemned by that particular religious group, therefore making it acceptable for their followers to participate in. The one primary sin that keeps coming up is fornication. I cannot remember how many organizations have declared that fornication is no longer a sin. The problem is that Bible does!

1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,

It does not matter how many religious groups say it is OK, fornication is still a sin. And all those that go to the day of Judgment without having this or any other sin forgiven, will be lost.

But you cannot be forgiven if there is no repentance.

Luke 13:3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Matthew 3:8 Bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance:

And there will be no repentance of any sin that you are convinced is okay. Therefore we must be VERY careful not to listen to what you want to hear religiously, but hear the Bible for what it says and to make the proper adjustments in your life to repent and to be forgiven.

You simply cannot stand before God and say...”My church said it was OK”! It is simply the wrong Standard!

Oh to Be Like Jesus!

John 12:24-25 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (25) He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Several years ago, there was a clever fad that spread across this country. Young and old people everywhere were wearing bracelets with the inscription: WWJD. These simple letters stood for “What Would Jesus Do”. While that is a very useful memory devise for thinking about temptation prior to the act, I think there is a slightly better question: What Did Jesus Do?

1 Peter 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:

While speculating what Jesus MIGHT do can be useful, following what he DID DO is essential! In our text today, Jesus eludes to his death on the cross to teach us how that we might follow in his steps. Jesus, of course, is best known for his death on the cross. He literally died in an agonizing an painful fashion so that we might have the hope of eternal life.

That is what he did. We MUST follow in his steps!

Jesus teaches us that in order for a seed to become more than an individual, self contained unit, it must first die. Once it does, it can produce much fruit. If you read that passage alone, you might conclude that he is speaking of himself here. But the verse following clearly indicates that the death that he is speaking of is OURS!

In verse 25 he teaches us that we must be willing to lose or die to this life. In all honesty, we really do not HAVE to. However, losing this life or dying to our old self is the ONLY way that we gain the spiritual, eternal life to come. So what if we choose not to die and forfeit this life? We will lose our life to come!

Jesus is telling us that we cannot have our cake and eat it too. We will either have to make sacrifices in this life to gain the next, or sacrifice our eternal life to keep doing what we are currently doing.

Is this life so great, so incredible that you are willing to sacrifice eternity with our Savior and with our Creator? No matter how much we might like this life, it is full of heartache and disappointments. One of the most awesome promises of the life to come is that there will be no pain, no suffering and no tears.

That is worth dying for!