Scripture:
John 14:15-21 NKJV
[15] “If you love Me, keep My commandments. [16] And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— [17] the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. [18] I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. [19] “A little while longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also. [20] At that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. [21] He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
Observation:
I love the scripture, it has been exactly what it has said it would be, “the light unto my path and the lamp unto my feet. In saying that I have not always made the right decision, but even in that the word of GOD has always had an answer for me when I have made the wrong decision as well. So as I was praying and searching through the bible looking for what we need to hear this morning, I wanted to write about 1st Timothy chapter 4 because….well its Friday and its Bible study night, but the Holy Spirit just wouldn’t let me get started there, so I just had to keep searching when I landed here in the gospel of John I knew that I had found what needed to be said, however it didn’t leave me with much time. So we had better dive in. John’s gospel has always focused on the fact that Jesus is the SON of GOD. Looking at where the Holy Spirit has brought us to this morning we can see that there are a lot of things that don’t necessarily get preached from the pulpit. Looking at the very first verse that was chosen this morning we see something that gets glanced over in the church, and it’s right here in red letters, “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” Wait, that’s not what my pastor says…. Well you might be right, your pastor may not say that. But what does the word say, because that’s what matters. GOD has given us free will for a reason. When I see this verse I’m convicted, but as we get into what is said afterwards I think we can get a good idea of what needs to happen as a true believer. So let’s put it together, “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father and HE will give you another Helper, that HE may abide with you forever—– the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees HIM nor knows HIM; but you know HIM because HE dwells in you. I know I’m honestly just restating the scripture, I feel like it’s important to see what is being said, so let’s break it down. It brings me to a question, can you sin without conviction? I know that gets into the application process but it also opens up what is being said. Surrendering to Chris as the LORD does something on the inside of us, and as we look at verse 18 we start seeing what that is, “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. What we see is a reconnection. You see something did die that day in the garden. It was something that couldn’t physically be seen. When the Bible says we were made in GOD’S image it’s a true statement, and the answer to the question about what that looks like is given. GOD is spirit. The spirit inside of us died that day in the garden. That’s why Christ had to come and die on the cross for us, so that we could be reunited with the image we bear. I know the dive is getting deep but this needs to be understood. Submitting to Christ as our LORD is bigger than one might think. In fact just that statement brings a verse to mind that doesn’t get preached as well, Luke chapter 6 verses 46 through 49, what are you building your house on. In the verses we are looking at this morning we see Christ preparing to be crucified, HE is explaining that although HE will not be here physically that HE will be back in the form of the Holy Spirit, The Helper, The counselor, mighty GOD. Looking at verse 19, we can see how that plays out. The world won’t be able to see HIM but those who are true believers will see HIM clearly, because HE will dwell inside of us.
The reconstruction at that point will be complete; verse 20 tells us that, but verse 21 says something that is very clear as well. It makes me think of another set of verses that people tend not to consider, or maybe they do but only for a brief moment. Matthew chapter 7 verses 15 though 20. You will know them by their fruit. What you do will be seen. As we finish out what is being said we can see how it all plays out. I will put exactly what the scripture says in front of you so you can see it for yourself. I’m only saying what the book says, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves ME. And he loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.” Look now…. That what the book says there is no twist to it. That’s the scripture with no filter.
Application:
When I first started this walk my life was a lot different. I had been conditioned to believe that certain things were ok. But the further I got down the path the narrower the road got. The things that were ok when I started this walk are just not ok today. The more wisdom that Christ revealed to me the more that had to change in my life. It’s just how it happens Christ has manifested HIMSELF in me. Over time my life has started to look more and more like HIM. Now in saying that I am not perfect yet. In fact there is still a long way to go. But the longer I walk with HIM the narrower the path gets. It’s called the sanctification process. For some of us it happens over night like the flip of a switch, for some of us it takes time, and some of us think it happened over night but the process is still taking place and we don’t even realize it. True surrender to Christ does not mean that we will be sinless, but as HE manifests HIMSELF in us we will certainly sin less. That’s the key, if you are still in the same place you were when you started this walk you might ask yourself if you are following Christ, or if you decided to stay at the boat, and wait for HIM to come back. The power that I have found in the grace that is found in Christ has honestly changed my life. It didn’t leave me where I was, in fact it has begun to conform me into HIS image. As the Holy Spirit takes over our lives will begin to look different. That’s the point. It’s a process. The thing is you don’t know where people start their walk. For me it started from a jail cell. For you it may have started from a church pew. That means our walk will look different. My path may still be a little wider than yours still but trust me as the walk continues the path will become the same width. There is only one gate and that’s Jesus. Don’t be fooled by the lie that says you can live however you want. You will have to kill your flesh. It will have to be done daily. That’s how HE did it, and that’s how we will have to do it. Tune into the Holy Spirit, let HIM guide your steps. HE will not lead you wrong.
As HE manifests HIMSELF in you, your desires will change. You will not want the sin you once chased after, because you will see how it only leads to death.
Prayer:
Father, you have thought about everything. The fall in the garden did something that only you could fix, but it did not take you by surprise. You saw it before you ever placed us there and already had a plan to reconnect us. What an amazing GOD you are. The love you have shown us is honestly beyond our understanding. It’s a love that shapes us to be more like your SON. As we continue to seek you, you will continue to manifest Yourself inside of us. Today we pray that we are a little more like you than yesterday. We pray that as you sanctify us that we are willing to let go of who we think we are and grab a hold of who you say we are. We want to leave the old man in the grave, and emerge from behind the stone a new creation. Made in the express image of your SON. When they see us, let them see a reflection of who you are in us. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.