3 Things To Do When Waiting On God

So much as occurred in the metropolitan areas of where I live lately, that it’s easy to get into a state of despair over where our culture is headed. Murder just seems to be a regular occurrence right now. Last week, a brother in Christ and a good friend lost his son while serving in his duties as a state trooper. The news in St. Louis continues to report children being shot and killed. Often it is mere children doing the killing. Nationally there is a continuous battle of those who support our president and those who don’t. Life right now just seems wrong. I pray day and night for God to change this world or for Jesus to just come back and usher in the new heaven and new earth. But until He does, I, we must wait.

At my church we are studying the Book of Acts, which is the story of the church and how it came into being. Its author is Luke, the physician who also wrote the Gospel that bears his name. While Luke’s Gospel records the story of Jesus and his life before and up to His ascension back into heaven, Acts begins at the ascension of Jesus and then tells the story of the church and its work to take the Gospel out into the world.

Chapter one of Luke finds the disciples in a very difficult place. They have just watched their leader, not just any leader, but the Son of God, the great Immanuel, God himself, ascend into the sky. They are left leaderless. But before He left Jesus gave them instructions.

Acts 1:4-5
Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me;  for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."

They were told to wait. They were told to wait for what the Father has promised them. They were told they would be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

Wait? How do like waiting? If you are anything like me, waiting has never been an easy thing. Waiting is hard. Remember when you were a child and there were presents under the Christmas tree with your name on them? But the response from mom and dad when you asked if you could open them was, no, you can’t open them until Christmas morning. So, you had to wait. But now as adults, as parents, grandparents, as employees, and even as citizens of a society that appears to be falling apart, we are often waiting on God to do what He promised. It’s hard. Especially when what we are waiting for involves those we love.

So, what do we do as we wait upon God?

In Acts 1:12-26, we see what the disciples of Jesus did.

They obeyed Jesus. He told them to stay in Jerusalem and wait. So, they did. But they didn’t just brood and worry as they waited.

Acts 1:14
These all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

They devoted themselves to prayer. But they prayed together as they unified themselves with each other. The church had yet to be born. Yet, they did what church does. They gathered together and prayed.

Then they did something else.

Acts 1:15-16
At this time Peter stood up in the midst of the brethren (a gathering of about one hundred and twenty persons was there together), and said,  "Brethren, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus.

They looked at the scriptures to see what God had commanded them to do and by properly interpreting and applying God’s Word, they also obeyed scripture and followed through on replacing Judas, who had left the twelve to betray Christ.

Acts 1:20
 “For it is written in the Book of Psalms, “‘May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it’; and “‘Let another take his office.’

As they waited, they turned to the scriptures and did what it had prophesied them to do. This is what church is about. Properly interpreting and then understanding how to apply the Word of God so that we know what God wants us to do. And then doing it.

Acts 1:24-26
And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen  to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.”  And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles.

They also prayed about the scriptures and sought God’s sovereign leading in accomplishing what they were to do. That they cast lots to decide who replaced Judas does not mean we do that now. This is the last time we ever see that method of hearing from God again, for we have received the Holy Spirit, which is what they were waiting for and we have the full revelation of scripture to test what the Spirit leads us to and to insure it lines up with God’s Word.

But don’t miss the application we find here in the response of the disciples in Acts, chapter one.

When God has us in a period of waiting on Him to move, we need to do three things.

1.      We need to gather together with other believers in a spirit of prayer that is united and dependent with each other.

2.      Our prayers need to be scripture dependent. We need to pray through God’s Word.

3.      We need to pray in the Holy Spirit, meaning we are dependent on Him to guide our prayers.

It’s so tempting when things get hard and we are struggling to wait on God, to either sit and do nothing or to act impulsively in our own perceived strength and wisdom. Bad idea.

Church is important. But church is more than going to a building on a Sunday morning and just sitting through its program. Church, as we see in the Book of Acts, is God’s people uniting together in prayer and worship, and helping each other grow into obedience to God.

If you are not entrenched within a body of believers committed to Jesus and to being in one accord to unite in prayer and worship, then you must find that today. Go to church and become part of the body. Get into a small group that gathers weekly to encourage and exhort you. Find someone to be your accountability partner who will push you to be more than you are and to grow more like Jesus every day.

Waiting on God is hard. But He hasn’t left us alone. He lives within us through the indwelling Holy Spirit. He gave us His Word to know who He is and what He promises to do for and to do with us. He gave us the church to put it all together in. Don’t try and isolate yourself from what God has provided for you. Become the church.

God bless all of you.

 

 

 

 

 

Sorrow That Leads to Salvation

There is a teaching out there that I was made aware of in recent months that I had not really heard a preacher or teacher ever speak about. Certainly, many who lay claim to be Christians often seem to be accepting of it, but that’s a different issue, as sometimes Christians are slow in their growth as disciples of Jesus. The idea being put out there is this. Repentance, which does mean a change of direction or of the heart, does not require we change our minds about sin to have salvation. The teaching suggests the only change of heart, the only repentance needed for salvation, is to change your mind about who Jesus is. This is false teaching and this morning as I did my morning Bible study, the text I was in, confirms this.

2 Corinthians 7:8-10
For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it—for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while—  I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.  For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

If you are unfamiliar with the context here, this is Paul responding to the response of the Corinthians when he wrote 1 Corinthians, the letter in which he confronted the sin in their church and their response to it. To better grasp the entirety of this situation, you need to read carefully both First and Second Corinthians. But the point that I want to make today is this; Though we are not saved by any work we do; true salvation experiences result in certain responses. Repentance is a necessary fruit of salvation.

Obviously, as we see happening in the Church of Corinth, Born-Again Believers still sin. They are susceptible to falling into a sinful pattern or situation. But when we do fall into sin and get off the path, it is the responsibility of the church, the pastor, the elders, and even the people, to lovingly confront the one in sin. Paul had done this in First Corinthians. Actually, Paul was more focused on how the church had allowed this sin to go on without action, than he was on the single offender.

We find here in chapter seven of Second Corinthians, Paul’s vindication of the way some responded to his first letter. But the point I am making here is that repentance plays an extremely important role in our salvation experience. It is Paul who is making the point. Listen again to what Paul says here in 2 Corinthians 7:9,  “I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.”

It hurt Paul to hurt the people of the church in Corinth. Paul became depressed over the whole situation. Yet, in one of those great nuggets of treasure we find in scripture, Paul reminds us in verse 6 that God “comforts the depressed.”

But how God comforted Paul here was by the repentance of the Corinthians. And it was the very change of heart towards their sin, that changed his sorrow into joy. Why?

2 Corinthians 7:10
 For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Paul was in God’s will when he confronted their sin. And though that brought much sorrow, that sorrow had a fruit to come, repentance and that repentance leads to salvation. That’s what the text says, people.

We must stop being afraid to face the difficulties in confronting sin. We must stop trusting in ourselves and our psychological nonsense about not hurting people’s feelings by speaking truth to them.

However, tread carefully in this endeavor. Jesus gave specific instructions on how to do it. Follow His way and be sure it is soaked in pure, Godly love. It’s about restoration, not destruction. Anyone can tear down a building but being part of restoring one that needs repair, well, that is not an easy task. It might even bring sorrow and pain for a season.

2 Corinthians 7:10
For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.

Sin is serious. If we love God, we will hate sin. If we love each other, we will do whatever it takes to be sure we are all on the track of salvation. There is a “sorrow that is according to the will of God.” That sorrow will culminate in joy. There is also sorrow that is worldly and that leads to death.

Don’t listen to me. Open your Bibles and figure out what all this means. It’s important. It’s literally life or death. Eternal life or eternal death.

Chossing the Right Route

Proverbs 16:25
There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.

Most of us Christians are familiar with that verse. When we hear it, we usually think of the unsaved. We look at the people around us and we apply it to them. They don’t want to follow God, believe in Jesus, and accept that He is the only way to get to heaven, so we apply this saying to them and them only. And yes, it does apply. If our faith is true, then all who reject the Gospel, the plan of salvation as laid out in scripture, then they will find themselves outside God’s heavenly Kingdom. They will be eternally damned and live in hell.

But if we were to be honest with ourselves, look hard at the Word of God and use it as the only standard by which we judge ourselves, we might be surprised to find out that far too often, we choose our own paths.

Last Sunday while preaching through the Book of Genesis, our pastor used a very good analogy to describe the way people navigate through life. If you know me well, you know I love analogies.

He was talking about using GPS units. The ones that are independent of your phone. Garmin and TomTom are two of the more well-known units. They stick on your dashboard and you type in a destination and then usually this woman’s voice instructs you with step by step directions. “Turn left at exit 23B.” “Take the third exit at the roundabout.” “Make a U-turn,” she says should you miss her last command. And then theoretically, she guides you to your destination in the most efficient route, getting you where you’re going.

But Pastor Micah mentioned something that many of us do as we use these devices. I used one these GPS units quite often as a repairman for AT&T, traveling the streets of the greater metropolitan St. Louis area. I almost always did this. You see, you don’t have to follow her commands to the letter. If she says to turn left at Telegraph Road, but you know the area, or think you do, better than her, then you can take a different street and she will then say this, “Recalculating.” She will then determine the new path to your destination based on the street you now are on. Sometimes I would do this because I liked the scenery better my way. Other times I wanted to stop at a specific restaurant to eat at. In other words, I simply liked my way better than hers. Even though most of the time, the computer chip in the GPS knew that its directions were shorter or faster, it was my belief that I knew the direction I was going would please me more than the lady speaking through its speaker.

That is fine for getting from point a to point b. But the truth is, most of this are doing this with God. When Jesus ascended back to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father, He sent us His Holy Spirit to live in us and to be our guide. John 16:13 tells us that
“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.” All truth. This is our Spiritual GPS unit; which God has placed within the heart of ALL believers.

But what we do is we read our Bibles, our pastors preach its truth to us, and the Holy Spirit says this is the way, and then we say “Yea, but…” Then we go the way we want and expect God to just recalculate the route our way. And then we wonder why we have trouble, sickness, and sorrow in our hearts. Sometimes we even blame God. “Why didn’t you recalculate that little change I made and then get me to my destination without the pain?” we ask God.

When we venture off the route and make a left instead of a right, because we want the pleasures on that street, be they sexual, financial, relationships or whatever, God allows us to experience the difficulty that he knew that road would bring after the pleasures of our sin had passed. The road I took to eat at Bandanas, might have at its end a traffic jam. Or maybe a tractor trailer waiting to plow me over at the next stoplight. He is trying to grow us and to teach us that he is God, He is sovereign, and He knows what is best for us.

Oh. the pain and sorrows we might have avoided had we just followed the way He set out for us as written in the Bible and confirmed by the Holy Spirit. This the cost of free will we all clamor for so loudly. The truth is that usually we use our free will to make sinful and/or poor decisions that God had already warned us of.

The good news for Christians is that God has provided a recalculated route for us in the work of Jesus and by His mercy and grace He will get us home to heaven. He made this promise in Romans 8:28, “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”

But following our own way at any stage of our journey towards God is never the best option. He is the perfect GPS. Follow Him. If He says turn left, then do it.

Listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah.

Isaiah 30:1-5
 “What sorrow awaits my rebellious children,” says the LORD. “You make plans that are contrary to mine. You make alliances not directed by my Spirit, thus piling up your sins.  For without consulting me, you have gone down to Egypt for help. You have put your trust in Pharaoh’s protection. You have tried to hide in his shade.  But by trusting Pharaoh, you will be humiliated, and by depending on him, you will be disgraced.  For though his power extends to Zoan and his officials have arrived in Hanes, all who trust in him will be ashamed. He will not help you. Instead, he will disgrace you.”

This is what happens when you try and direct your own way. But listen,

Isaiah 30:18-22
 So the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.  O people of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.  Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes.  Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.  Then you will destroy all your silver idols and your precious gold images. You will throw them out like filthy rags, saying to them, “Good riddance!”

The result?

Isaiah 30:23
Then the LORD will bless you with rain at planting time. There will be wonderful harvests and plenty of pastureland for your livestock.

When we follow our way, even turning just a little to the left or right of His way, we lose the blessings, but when we turn to Him, “He will be gracious if you ask for help. He will surely respond to the sound of your cries.  Though the Lord gave you adversity for food and suffering for drink, he will still be with you to teach you. You will see your teacher with your own eyes.  Your own ears will hear him. Right behind you a voice will say, “This is the way you should go,” whether to the right or to the left.”

God isn’t recalculating anything, but He will show the way back and the only way, His.

We get to choose. His way? Or ours? Remember this, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death. Choose wisely.

The Answer to Worry and Anxiety

When one takes the name of Christian, he ought to be careful how he lives. I have noticed in my own life that I have a propensity to worry and be anxious, yet clearly there is a Biblical command to not do so. The phrase “Do not worry” can be found twenty-three times in scripture and there are countless other teachings in which we are called to live without worry as the very opposite of faith is the idea of worry. Jesus specifically tells us not to worry and made this a salient point in His great sermon we call The Sermon on the Mount.

Yet, worry and anxiety seem to knock on our doors daily. And many of us, I know I do, keeping opening that door and letting worry in. As God’s children, this is unnecessary. He has promised to be with us through whatever we face. The problem is though, He never promises to remove all the things in life that we don’t want to face. He only promises us to be with us in the storms of life, not to always stop them. We remember Jesus stopping the storm in Matthew 8:23-27. So, we expect Him to do the same whenever the waves get a little high.

But the truth is, God allows storms into our lives. They are for our own good. Yet, we struggle not to be worried that we might drown. The fact is, this is a lack of faith on our part.

There are many beautiful verses in the Scriptures that offer us comfort in our times of fear and uncertainty. But there is one verse, that if we will commit to memory and to believing, that is the foundation of our faith. I share this verse often. Listen to what God says in Romans 8:28 which says,

 “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

Do you believe that verse? Do you believe that God causes all things to work together for good? Do you believe that it is all things? All of them? Cancer, death, accidents, and every other event that happens in your life?

You see, for those who have received Christ, been born again to new life, God is working out everything for good. Everything. Not just the things that we enjoy and like, but every bad thing we can barely stomach, is going to have a good result when God has finished working in it. That, my friends, is a fact. It is not arguable. You cannot interpret this passage any other way.

So, do you believe this? If you do not believe it, then you have a problem. To deny this truth as found in Romans 8:28, is to call God a liar.

I believe this verse. Yet, I still struggle with anxiety and worry. The problem lies in my faith. It just hasn’t yet reached its full potential. But I need to keep moving forward in growing my faith. How do I do that?

Romans 10:17
So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the Word of Christ.

We must be in His Word. Not just by going to church on Sunday, though we are to do that. But everyday we must be intentional about reading, studying, and memorizing His Word. This is how we build our faith. We must have fellowship with other believers, who will remind us and encourage us in the promises of Jesus.

Whatever you face today, if you are in Christ, you need not worry or be anxious. Instead you can trust God in the situation. It’s okay to pray about it. It’s okay to ask God to remove it or change it. But at the end of your prayer, let it go to Him. If after praying and praying and seeking His intervention, He still allows it to happen, you can trust that He is causing it to work out for good. We know this. Commit to memory this verse and then rest in faith the God who is with you always. Rest in Jesus. Believe Him. Let Him be God. We know God is working it all out for good. We know this. Why? How? Because He told us.

Romans 8:28
And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

The Importance of Conviction

I came across a scripture reading this morning in which, during the course of explaining the proper use of the Spiritual Gift of tongues, the Apostle Paul contradicts the modern concept of soft preaching and witnessing to the lost which has become prevalent today. It’s timely for me as I was recently asked by a brother in Christ to listen to a sermon recently given at his church. It doesn’t matter which church or who gave this sermon, I can assure you that far too many churches are propagating this very untruth. The devil has misled many well-being preachers, teachers, and members of Christ’s church into the notion that in order to win people to Christ, we need not preach to them about their sin. It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to convict they say.

I don’t disagree. The Bible is clear that one of the works of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of its sin. But God has built up His Church, the true Church, to be the vehicle by which the truth of the Bible is to be taken to the lost. We were given the Great Commission by Jesus and empowered by the Holy Spirit and endowed with special, spiritual gifts, to take the Gospel out to the world and then to make disciples.

Read this passage.

1 Corinthians 14:24-25
 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all,  the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

The object of the Gospel is to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus, so that through the work of sanctification, all who believe in His name will make Him Lord of their life and do as Jesus did, His will.

John 17:1-4
 When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you,  since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.  And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.  I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

If we are to become like Jesus, then our goal must be to glorify God.

When an unbeliever walks into our church or into our lives, according to Paul, this is what should happen. “He is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed.” This is how the Holy Spirit works in conviction, by opening their hearts to the truth of the entire counsel of God, as is recorded in the Bible, and then using what they heard to bring conviction.

Romans 10:14-17
 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”  But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”  So, faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

The good news is that though we are sinners, God has sent Jesus to pay that price for our sin. People need to know what they are “saved” from. For when they hear God’s Word spoken, they are convicted by “all”, the secrets of their hearts are disclosed and then, they will fall on their face, worship God, and know God is present in that place.

This is the method God has chosen to use to bring people to a saving knowledge of Himself. This is why we have been each, given a spiritual gift. This is why the entire counsel of scripture must be preached in the church. Some of us are teachers, some pastors, and some lay people, but all of us are to be speaking the truth of the Word.

Hebrews 4:12
 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

We cannot continue to ignore the truth of scripture. I don’t know when Jesus is coming back, I sure hope soon, but until He does it is our work to preach His Word. Our culture is in serious moral decline. It’s no coincidence that the less we prophesy the truth and call out the sins in the world and be the salt and light of Christ, the worse it is getting.

1 Corinthians 14:24-25
 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all,  the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.

The Bible is clear. Do it in love, for much of 1 Corinthians tells us we must, but do it. It is not love to let someone live with a false hope that they can live in sin and still be Christ’s.

What is God's Will For My Life

One of the most often asked questions about life is this, “What is God’s will for my life?” As we grow and traverse through this life, as a follower of Christ, we want to make good and Godly decisions. Maybe it’s a choice of a college to attend, what career to pursue, where to live, and who to be in a relationship with. In some way or another, most of us have wondered what God’s will is for us personally.

It’s good to seek God’s will in all our life decisions. But the Bible, and by extension, God, has not written a personal, detailed list of steps we are to take as we live life. You cannot simply open your Bible and find a passage that says, “Go to the University of Kansas’, or “Marry Bob.”

Yet, God did not leave us to wander this earth without direction. No, He intentionally provided a book, a book written by men, yet inspired by His Holy Spirit, in which we can know His will. He has provided a way to make good, Godly decisions. He even sent His Holy Spirit to guide us unto all truth and to teach us what the scriptures mean. We can not only read His Word and understand it; we can learn how to apply it to every situation life presents.

The question, “What is God’s specific will for my life”, can only be truly answered by a different question first. That question is simple. “What is God’s will?” To rephrase, what is the general will of God for all of us? Why must that question be answered first? Because the answer to our personal questions as to what God wants us to do, is found in following the general will of God in our lives. There are Biblical principles that if we follow in their complete, yet simple callings, will guide us to be good decision makers.

Did you know that the Bible lists four specific “wills” of God? Certainly, there are treasures to be mined from all scripture. God’s general will can be seen in His commandments, but God has given us four foundational building blocks that if we start with, give us the foundation we need to stand firm as we build.

Here are the four wills God directly gives us all from His Word.

John 6:40
"For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18
Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.

1 Peter 2:13-15
 Submit yourselves for the Lord's sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, or to governors as sent by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right.  For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.

1 Thessalonians 4:3-6
 For this is the will of God, your sanctification; that is, that you abstain from sexual immorality;  that each of you know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification and honor,  not in lustful passion, like the Gentiles who do not know God;  and that no man transgress and defraud his brother in the matter because the Lord is the avenger in all these things, just as we also told you before and solemnly warned you.

I’m just going to leave this here. Here are four passages of scripture upon which we can build upon. There are four passages of scripture that no one who lays claim to being a Christians can deny are God’s will. There can be no argument amongst ourselves or with God, for He is explicit in these four passages.

No matter who we are or where we are, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us commit ourselves to these four wills of God. We must study these principles and we must apply them in our lives. Every decision we make must be in line with at least, these four wills. They are clear and if we desire to do God’s will and yet do not submit to these, we are fooling ourselves if we think we want to know and do His will.

I’ve got work to do. How about you?

For more info read your Bible, The 4 Wills of God by Dr. Emerson Eggrichs, and Found: God's Will by John MacArthur

The Elusiveness of Joy.

We are a rebellious people on this earth. That rebellious nature extends into the life of the Christian. Yet, we are called out of rebellion and into slavery when we come to Christ. This is not a forced slavery, but it is instead, an exercise of our free will, motivated by our love for Jesus, that calls us to become bondservants. You see this is one of the great paradoxes of scripture, that Christ has set us free, but He set us free so that we would use our freedom to become slaves to Him. Why? You can find the explanation in what Jesus says in John 14:31, “But I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.”

The way the world can see we love the Father and His Son, is through our response to His commands.

Jesus went on and said this in John 15:9-10, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

Yesterday in the sermon I heard preached, the pastor made this statement, “Christians ought to be the most joyful people on earth.” Yet, many of us walk around as if the whole world is coming down upon us. Maybe it is. But joy, Christian joy, is not dependent upon circumstances.

Why aren’t we joy-filled? (I’ve read your Facebook posts people, don’t be in denial, joy isn’t characterizing us as it should.) Again, let Jesus explain.

John 15:9-11
 As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love.  If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.  These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Our joy will be full, when our obedience is towards His commandments. It’s that simple. Abide in His love. Let love, not this fake, phony love the world speaks of, but true Christian love, dominate your life. Abide in His love. Again, what did Jesus say? He said this, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love.”

These aren’t my words; they are the words of Christ. Abide in them. Abide in Him. Now go, open your Bible and learn what this means.