Love and Obedience

LOVE AND OBEDIENCE

Text: John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
John 14:18 I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
John 14:19 Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.
John 14:20 At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.
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.
John 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
John 14:23 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.
John 14:24 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.
John 14:25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
John 14:27 Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
John 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
John 14:29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.
John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.
John 14:31 But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence.

Abiding in His love is not speaking of enticing God to continue to love us, for He CANNOT cease to do that.
Rom 8:32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
Rom 8:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.
Rom 8:34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.
Rom 8:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Rom 8:36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Rom 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
Rom 8:38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Rom 8:39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Rather, it is to continue to dwell in the right relationship to God so that He can express that love to us and through us.

Illustration: The mother doesn’t stop loving the condemned man, but he has placed himself beyond the reach of her comforting arms. This is why such statements as we find in
Isa 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear are not only censures of the sinful but are cries of anguish from the heart of a loving God.

I. A Divine Truth; To love Him is to obey Him.
John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.
A. If we are to abide in His love we must obey Him in ALL things.

The spirit of rebellious ‘love’ says ‘do your own thing,’ and is robbing:
1. Children of opportunities to learn, because they are encouraged to ignore commands of God and the wisdom of 6,000 years of human experience. When doctors complain of mothers bringing in 10 year-olds for contraceptives, something is wrong!

2. Husbands and wives of real marriages. One cannot break apart a marriage without leaving a part of himself behind. For a happy home, obey God in it! You can’t know His love without it!

3. Churches of the unity of the Spirit; When ‘I want, ‘I demand’, etc. replaces preferring one another in honor, disobedience has entered and the love of God is gone.

4. Individuals of the joy of fellowship.

II A Divine Principle
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.
John 14:22 Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?
John 14:23 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.
John 14:24 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.

Man is either in God’s will or he is in the world. There is no way to either express or to experience the real love of God outside of His will! A rebel against the express commands of God who claims to be on speaking terms with God is a liar and if you listen a while you will hear him prove it by expressing dislike or contempt for the things God loves; the church, the saved, the lost, the pastor , Bible Truths, etc.etc.

III A Divine Warning.
Abide (continue) or be cut off by the Father.
John 15:1 I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
John 15:2 Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
Many professed Christians are living embittered lives in the world because they refused to continue in His love by submitting their lives to Him. GOD CUT THEM OFF (not from salvation but from accepted service) AND THERE IS NO FRUIT!

IV Divine Promises to those abiding in His love
A. A Comforter
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.

The Holy Spirit is God’s representative with us while Christ is our representative with the Father.
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: A ‘spiritual’ life is one that follows His advice.

B. Answered Prayer
John 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.

C. Much Fruit
John 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, The fruit of the Spirit is LOVE

V. The expression of Divine Love toward us - the cross of Christ John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

He became obedient unto death because He loved you; do you love Him enough to become obedient unto life? Love toward a HIGHER power is expressed in obedience - Love toward a LESSER power is expressed in providing for it.

DO YOU LOVE ME?

Hear the words so softly spoken;
Let them fall on trembling heart'
"Do you love me?" says the Master,
Then from our eyes, the tears must start.

As we think of hands so wounded,
And flesh so bruised and torn,
Of lips so parched and thirsty,
And brow, so pierced with thorns.

Then, we see our hands so busy
With things so often vain,
And from our lips, instead of love,
Fall words that bring such pain.

Let the words then sink in yielded heart
And search out fault and sin,
"Do you love me?" is the question,
"More than praise of mortal men?"

"Do you love me?" says the Master,
It doesn't matter what you say,
If you return just half His love,
You will follow All the way!

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