John 14:23-29.                        Love God – obey his teachings!!!                   5/5/13

 ²³ Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. ²⁴ Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.

²⁵ “All this I have spoken while still with you. ²⁶ But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. ²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
²⁸ “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. ²⁹ I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe.

 Here in this reading, this morning we have a great and very important challenge placed before us. One that is critical in light of much of the thinking that is around about us and especially in our own nature. However in light of what God has done for us through Jesus and his death and resurrection for our salvation and life, surely it is one that we would all too willingly take up. As difficult as it is to overcome our sinful, selfish nature, we will want God’s help to do what he would want us to do.

 Here remember, that this challenge and encouragement is given by Jesus Christ himself: Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. There are two issues here that need addressing by each and every one of us. Loving God, and obeying his teaching: both of which our present society has a huge problem with.

 Again the basic issue is: where is the focus? Who or what is most important to us? Who do we listen to and follow?

 Here again we can see that it is I, me and myself that is what is front and centre for each and every one of us. Life is all about me. Yes, even I as a Christian minister am beset by this horrible focus on myself far, far more than should be the case. By nature we all too often make the focus of life be all about ourselves; and it is deadly: It is the main source of all the troubles we have in life; yet we don’t want to acknowledge this fact. The idolatry of ‘self’ is the greatest problem that we all have.

 Here, let us be quite clear about the results of this. God told Adam and Eve and every one of us that if we choose to go against God and his Word and instead set ourselves up as our own little gods, we will bring death, here and in eternity, on ourselves. Just because we can get away with things now for a little while, God is true to his word. Although he tells us that even now we will reap the results of our self-centredness: and we don’t need to look far at all to see that this is the case all around us. Without God we are in deep trouble: blind Freddie could easily tell us that.

 This then has a big impact on what our text here has to say with regard to obeying God’s teachings. And if we are not prepared to obey his teachings then, as our text indicates, God does not come to us and make his home with us. Now I am not sure about you, but I cannot think of anything worse than to not have that assurance of God with us now and for all eternity. Yet I fear that this is the case for a growing number of people around us today.

  May God have mercy on us all! May God have mercy on us all! And he has! We have just come from celebrating the death and resurrection of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He took the punishment for our stupidity and rebellion on himself, so that we might be forgiven and accepted back into God’s family. He rose again three days later so that we can be sure that he has power over sin, death and the devil. This is the most remarkable thing that could have ever happened in the history of humanity.

 Despite who we are and our rebellion against God, he does this so that there is a way out for us: So that we can once again live with and for God. For those who can see and accept the fact that our sinfulness has wrecked life for us and doomed us to eternal separation from God, and then who believe that he has died and risen again for us and our salvation, there is a sure and certain hope for us. We have been assured of eternal life in heaven.

So this is by far the greatest thing that has happened in life for us. As a result we will surely seek to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength. He will be the most important thing in our lives: Even; and by far, more important than we ourselves. He will be Lord of our lives; and we will see ourselves as of little consequence, other than as someone who God can use as he wishes. We will see ourselves as his servants.

 This then is where this text gets very interesting, challenging, and encouraging. Jesus says: Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. Our love for Jesus will be shown in our desire to obey his teachings. The two go hand in hand. We will not have the one and ignore the other.

 Now in our present climate this is very challenging. There are many who claim that that they love Jesus; however there is little desire to obey what he has to say to us in his word. They have been taught that Jesus loves us and has died for us and that is all that matters. Now we don’t need to take too seriously what he says to us: as long as we believe that is all that matters. Or on the other hand, we can change what he says to suit the culture of the day; and the like. It doesn’t really matter what we say and do; as long as we are sincere that is all that matters.

 Yet what does Jesus say here: Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. If we love Jesus: if he is all important to us we will obey his teachings. No ifs’ or maybe’s, or if it suits our thinking. No, we will obey. After all he is our Lord who has saved us from eternal damnation. We will want to do everything that he says is good for us.

 Here also take careful note of what Jesus goes on to say: Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. And conversely if we do not want to obey his teachings, then we obviously do not love Jesus: Now that is something that will surely make us all sit up. For we know the consequences of turning our backs on the Lord Jesus.

But then comes the greatest of encouragements for us to do what he says to us. Not just because he has died and risen again for us, but because Jesus says that when we do: My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. As we live by his teachings: obeying what he has to say to us, then God will come and live with us. Now surely that it something we all would want: Surely as a Christian our whole desire is for us to live at peace with our God here and in eternity.

Then he goes on to say:  “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

So now we also have the assurance that the Holy Spirit is with us to help us in this regard. He will teach us all that we need to know: he will remind us of everything Jesus has said. The Holy Spirit does not add to or take away from what he have in the Bible. Everything he tells us will be in accord with what the Bible has to say.

 Now this is particularly important to us at this time as we have people wanting to change what the Bible has to say, in order to be better able to fit into the present day cultural thinking. As we can see here in this text this morning, this is deadly thinking.

 So let us listen to and heed what the Holy Spirit has to say us. Let us take every opportunity to hear God’s Word, week in week out; making the most of the opportunities to study his Word, so that the Holy Spirit can continually remind us of what a great thing it is that Jesus has done for us by dying on the cross for us. But then also of all the teachings that Jesus knows are important for us as we live out our lives every day.

 Yes let us take to heart what Jesus has to say to us here this morning: Love God and obey his teachings. Then we will have the assurance that he will live with us and we will have peace now and always. Jesus is Lord and Saviour so to him again be all glory and honour, now and always. Amen.

 Pastor Roger Atze

Glandore/Underdale Lutheran Parish