Jesus Unfiltered - Love - Love... Obeys!, Part 1

Did you read the Bible the word love shows up everywhere and we all say and want to love God. Here's the question what's that look like, how do you know if you really do love God. That's today. Thanks for joining us for this Wednesday. Addition of Living on the Edge with shipping Living on the Edge is an international teaching and discipleship ministry between the Bible and the nature continues a series Jesus on filter by answering three sometimes using sometimes difficult doesn't mean from God to love us. Does it mean for us to love him and what does it mean for us to love each other from God's perspective just before we jump in. Let me encourage you to try using trips, message notes while you listen you'll see all of Chip Scripture references another helps along the way through quick download when you go to LivingontheEdge.org just click listen now if you have a Bible handy hope in another John chapter 14, let's join Chip's message. If you point your teaching outdoor start by asking a question that you might have a very first answer to, but I like to challenge how we tend to think of it in the question is this is a lot more than a feeling mean is is loving someone more than a good positive sort of emotional connection, feeling, and I would say for most of us, we would say we know there's gotta be more to it than that but in pop culture beginning in the 60s. We won't go into sort of the whole existential movement with truth. But if I say something like if loving you is wrong I don't want to be.

HOW did you guys know that it's an old song right but remember the BJ Thomas some of you this will really date you referred on elevator right hook. Donna feeling high on believing that your scary note literally you read the lyrics. I'm hooked on a feeling later in the song he says I'm powerless and a victim of your love.

I'm an addict. The Lord's love is something that's so powerful, so pulsating so penetrating that whatever is you just have to respond to it, but it's fundamentally a feeling and and honestly an awful lot of what's happened outside the church, and inside the church is if you really love someone or if you love something in justifies any behavior because you love them right. How can love be wrong, but sore love gets kind of squishy my first conflict with this concept was that in high school I talk about basketball a lot.

I played baseball in high school and college in getting a great baseball team. My senior year in high school and what made it great was we had a lot of guys that could hit. We had two pictures that were great in our ace I mean backbend I mean 85 miles an hour in high school when he had a curveball that would just drop off the table.

High school kids could get it championship game were there were ready to win the whole thing and we got our ace on the mound.

Well senioritis it's in.

Three days before the game.

He decides him to cut school he goes out and parties to get suspended. We want to kill him. So it's a championship game he shows up in a stress close to get an address out and he kinda gives this sort of struggling, Jordan's hey, I really want you guys know I and we had a rub brotherhood. It was a great team just want you guys know you really love you.

I'm thinking really, really not so. We also came away and I didn't feel real love by him at all.

His words were absolutely meaningless, was in a Christian at that time I had lots of responses that I will share here and get the idea.

Someone says I love you, but the behavior like come on man, what gets wrote personal and often very painful when there's a discrepancy between even a good feeling. I think he was sincere.

He felt good about us but I never made one of the earliest counseling times of the very young pastor and a young man came in, set my office and he said my wife met some guy at the gym and she told me that she's fallen in love and she can't deny herself and even though she knows it's wrong. She's leaving with this guy. These two little kids. But she said she still loves me but this is just remember thinking, and then scores and scores and scores of counseling sessions over the years I've set up more than a few restaurants who were in my office with the husband and wife and a guy who feels overwhelmingly remorseful but unconsciously love is such a pulsating feeling in your such a victim of it. You have to respond and he's telling me and telling his wife look she's just a prostitute.

It's just sex. I mean it just is just pictures on the Internet. It's just sex. It was an affair. I love you I love you I love the kids this is just sex. I mean, is not even and I just have to tell you if you've never been in that sort of situation. Her face was not sex her face as I've been betrayed in your words of I love you feel absolutely meaningless and and I think what it does is it raises the question of what's the relationship between kind of love and behavior or love and obedience and this is new.

This isn't like something that's happened in the last 50 or 60 years. It was so prevalent in Jesus that he total parable in Matthew 20 want to put it in your notes if you want to check out later and he tells a story of a father trying to teach people about obedience and love, and his father went to two sons and he says to the two sons. I want you to go out working the fields today. In one sense, the great good dad.

Another thing that I'm not gonna go the one son he said I'll go gets halfway there and decides on doing this on the blowing off so he he says he'll go, but he does the other son says I won't go and that he decides later you know what is my dad.

This is, and so he decides later to go ahead and obey. And Jesus said which one of these has obey the father and the inference was which one of them really loved their dad really talk about where love and obedience connects and how does it work in and you know what I mean our feelings and her passions and our lives are all really really important, but there's some things that are deeper and we can figure out how they fit together because Jesus has told his disciples he really loves them as you open your notes written a look in John chapter 14 and what working to do is working to see how he communicates his love by his words how he's gonna remind them of his actions and how he's then gonna flip it around and in about the middle of this evening of this conversation kill tell them and he'll tell us here's love. Here's obedience.

I want you to know. Here's how they fit together so that when you say I love you to a person or say I love you to God.

This is how they really fit together as you open the notes you notice there's a context in what I mean by that is what's been going on and I wrote it out for you because it's a very emotional moment may not on what you think of you know, like, here's a Bible story and were hearing this me this is this is 12 grown men have left everything but there by the authorities. They want to arrest them. They then abandon the been kicked out of synagogues there follow this itinerant preacher with multitudes of people following him. But on this evening.

He has told them that he's going to leave and I don't get it.

And then Peter says will never leave you, does not actually Peter, you know, I know you deleted all that you not only not follow me, you can deny me three times before the evenings even over and out the other side was gone you know Mr. Peter means he's gonna blow what about us. Judas is left and these guys are paralyzed with fear and anxiety and uncertainty that the dream that they had that the Messiah is Jesus and that he was going to take down Rome and he was gonna set up a political kingdom on earth in their lifetime and they were going to sorta be the head honcho is within evaporated and they're not sure what it is to follow this Messiah.

He's done all the miracles of the Messiah. He teaches like no one else. They believe that he's God, but his agenda for how he's going to play that out and their expectations are this far away anybody like that feel like that in your life become really following God. I really love God and I was thinking like we were going this direction and it feels like this direction in anybody here like wow and I really want to follow Jesus, but life, it's not turning out right now my relationships are my health or my worker the sense this if this is what it means I don't get it.

That's what he's going to address Peter Thomas Philip and Judy is not Iscariot the other disciple, they all have questions.

And so I want you know is what's in your mind. If you can picture this critical conversation after they've taken the Lord's supper and Judas is gone is the each one is going to ask questions and Jesus will weave teaching into the conversation and just listen.

His goal is to love them, to comfort them and to help them and as we eavesdrop. I think it'll help us. Peter basically said so where are you going and Jesus answers verse one. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, trust also in me.

In my father's house there are many rooms. If were not so, I would not have told you I'm going to prepare a place for you if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and I will take you with me that you may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I'm going now first of August. Imagine you kinda hurt all the stuff about you know when I die and I will be raised in Messiah in your head's been spinning and now people trying to kill you and your secret hideout and he's talked about this is my body and this is my Brandon, you know, this is what I'm going to do all of your all of you. I mean it's just what's going on in Peter says I want to follow you, but where are you going in number one what he says is I am going to prepare a place for you. I'm going to the father and where I'm going. I'm going to repair says many rooms are dull translation as mansions don't think a plantation, you know, like in the South in the ancient world of families live together. And so, the patriarch of the father of the family when someone get married he would betroth his wife, which would be a legal contract and then he was okay. You've agreed to marry me, and whatever dowry and everything that he would go back and actually build on to the father's house and the related network and then come back and take his wife and Jesus is picturing I am for you, but I'm leaving but I'm preparing why so that you can be with me. He's he's giving them comfort in the moment by saying there's an absolute certain future and I will be back because I love you and I'm for you and then he says you know the way.

If you have your own Bible.

Probably not one of these few Bibles you can circle the word no because there's two different words. He's going to use in this one is. This is a fact.

You know, the fact of the way I'm going where I'm going and I know it's it's it's a word to select 2+2 is for everybody knows that right.

The other word for knowing Greek is aware that means you know by experience, you know you know how this works because you've experienced that he'll use that just a minute and so to Peter's question. Basically, the comfort is on coming back. The agenda that you thought you were to get is different than the agenda that you can get but it's good for you. Will Thomas speaks up and basically said what what you say. We know the way.

It's simple. I don't get it.

Verse five he says Lord we don't know the way where you going, so how can we know the way Jesus said maybe the most profound words it ever came out of his mouth that are very direct. I am the way, the truth and the life.

No one comes to the father except through me. If you really knew me by experience, you would know by experience my father's well. From now on you do know me and know him and you have seen him in so the word way here.

Sometimes we look the literal word it's if you were picking up a great document and you read this would be the path for the road word is hot us. You know the path so your point today and you will go from the city to the city. Here's the road here's the path what he saying is everything I've come to do is to reveal the father and take people to the path back to the father there is this huge barrier of the selfishness and sinfulness of man and God the father, God the son God the Holy Spirit so loves all these made. He wants them to be with him.

I came to reveal the father and I am the actual path my life how I live what I said follow me.

I'm the path I'm not only the path or the way to the father. I am the truth of the father. All that's true of the father is true of me. In fact, I'm not only the path, and the truth, I am the actual source of life.

Because if you see me you seen the father. Now they've heard different teachings, but he's putting it together so you have. Hope you are in the presence he could be more clear of God and he's he's made. I think sometimes we as Christians get little bit squeamish.

It's very exclusive. It's very politically incorrect. The idea that there is a God that you can put any name to and there's multiple plans to go up to the mountain to this God one. It's not only not biblical. It's totally illogical. When I sit down with a Muslim or a Mormon or people from any truth claim there is a very clear path and they're all very very different and they're all mutually exclusive. Here's the deal. If Jesus is in fact God and if you rose from the dead to prove it and it's true. When he says I'm the only way he's the only way it's not narrow because the issue is not some formula or some way of living more some times that you need to pray for some concept that you can move into the cosmos. The problem is there is a barrier between a personal God, and he has broken the barrier and he's created a path by his death on the cross. He's forgiven sins of all people of all time and is risen from the dead to give life because it's about a relationship.

It's not about some style of living and so he's making it very very clear they would give their life and follow him and you are here today and I'm here today because of their faithfulness, but Thomas has a question okay I don't know the way you are, the way the actual way, if you seen the you seen the father. Philip goes you know what, how about a little closer look at father okay I'm still not following you and so Philip says that show us the father and that will be enough. Jesus said don't you know me, relationally, experientially, Philip, even after I've been among you such a long time.

Anyone who has seen me has seen the father. How can you say show us the father. Don't you believe that I am in the father and the father is in me proof number one the words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the father living in me, who is doing the work. If you don't believe only works then at least believe in the evidence of the miracles themselves. So he's clarifying all this teaching all this journey, saying when you see me you see the father will show us the father you've been living in the presence the very first chapter of John's Gospel. This is written about 90 between 90 and hundred A.D. the church is been multiplying thousands and tens of thousands of hundreds of thousands of people are following this Jesus down a very hostile environment is activating taking into Coliseum's and their being persecuted and killed, and the answer following him. John led by the Holy Spirit, writes the Gospel of John to help people understand who Jesus really wasn't correct.

Samir and he says in the beginning, not not of time in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. All things that have come into being, has come to being through him and there's been nothing created that has been created by him and the word became flesh the law Goss that the communication the personal communication of the second person of God's heart and Trinity. Jesus, the Word became flesh and literally tabernacle our lives among us that we would behold his glory.

See who God really is through the law came from Moses but truth and grace came through Jesus and then he was say no man has seen God at any time. This was the goal, but he Jesus has revealed them. If you want to know what God is like. It's exactly how Jesus is if you want know God how God feels about poor people. How did Jesus feel about poor people, should you want to know how God feels when you're discouraged and hurting and angry, and you've really blown it and failed. It's how he feels like when the woman caught in adultery is thrown at his feet. If you wanted a high feels about people there arrogant and self dependent and think they got it all together. It's how Jesus feels about the Pharisees and you can read that when you seen me you seen the father. I am the bridge on the path on the way to the father. I came to reveal the father now look at verse 12. Now is get a say there's an assignment we've been talking about this the whole time. Your assignment is to do the very thing that I've been doing.

I'm going to leave and you are going to reveal the father to the whole world. Look at verse 12 verse 12 he says.

I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I've been doing what you been doing revealing the father how by his words and his miracles.

He will do even greater things than these, because I'm going to the father is not quantitatively the qualitatively you all will have far more impact than the 30 or 33 years that I lived on the earth. You have far more impact than this little piece of geography you're going to do things literally transform the world and is true. It's happened in the notice this amazing promise, says, and I will do whatever you ask in my name focus so that the son may bring glory to the father.

You may ask me for anything in my name and I will do it so he's not only comforting them. And yes, it's not what you expect, but I have a different agenda. It's a better agenda than the question is applicable how we can pull this off.

How the world can we do greater works were actually scared to death right now and notice he's got to tell them he's going to say are you me get this down. He's going to say you all are uptight because you feel like you to be orphans and abandon you are uptight because all you can think about is the circumstances and the fear and what might happen later tonight. You guys are uptight because the agenda that you thought I had you on guess what the outcomes can be better and greater. But the way to get theirs can be really different.

I want you to know that I'm getting give you something better and richer and deeper than you've ever known. You think it's been great to walk with me on these dusty roads and we talk together we share together and I put my arm around you and we done counseling and you were used by me. I'm to tell you every single one of you and every future follower will never have to wait in line to talk to me he's going to say the Holy Spirit is going to be sent and he's going to live inside of every believer and this Holy Spirit will bring the very presence of the father and the son to live inside of every believer in this new thing called a new covenant so that you can have access and power in conversation 24 seven notice he explains it the very next section, verses 15 through 21 he says if you love me literally if you keep on loving me, you will obey what I command member.

He just commanded and ask of anything goes to reveal the father. If you obey me in this journey of revealing the father asked me whatever they wish. And I will ask the father and he will give you another counselor literally another advocate. The word is Paraclete. One is called alongside right next to you everything that you need that the word was used for, and lower your views for helper excuse for a counselor. In other words, but the word another you ready for this. It's another the same time be right back just joining us, you're listening to Living on the Edge with shipping chips message today level bays is from a series Jesus unfiltered volume 3.

No.

Whatever demonstrated love better, or more fully than Jesus. He loved people perfectly giving each person exactly what they needed the most. In the series Chip reminds us that that's what Jesus wants to do for us to know.

Sometimes it helps to listen again for these truths to really sink in an easy way to do that is with the chipping roadmap. If you prefer CDs or would like to set this up to a friend, you'll find all of the Jesus unfiltered volumes on our website LivingontheEdge.org check out the discounts on our current volume number three.

Just visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org or give us a call at 1-888-333-6003. I'll be right back in just a minute and you know as we study the first several chapters of the book of John, what's being challenged. Here is what we believe me, Jesus has come to explain the father and yet the culture of the world, my flesh, the enemy is constantly bombarding my mind and my heart with lies. As I went back through and I take the key truth out of each chapter as we call these truth cards. Let me give you an example. Here's a lie in private moments, I sometimes have thoughts that make me question my faith did these doubts.

Her thoughts mean that I don't really believe in Jesus and then at the bottom that card it says stop and back. There's a stop sign there and then we flipped the card over and it says everyone has doubts from time to time. We are bombarded by lies from the enemy, but the historical fact of Jesus resurrection, not my feelings on any given day is the basis of my faith and then right under that I have the core passage out of John chapter 20. So what we would love to do is put these in your hands so you can just review my time doing it at night before I go to bed not trying even to memorize just pondering and thinking and doing three or four or five cards you do if you had those before you go to bed.

It goes into your subconscious mind. It's amazing how your mind is renewed because what we all know what did Jesus promise in John chapter 8 you shall know the truth and the truth will set you free.

I hope you order set of these cards for you and maybe someone you love as well.

Will the Jesus unfiltered truth cards are available now while supplies last. When you go to your website. LivingontheEdge.org each of these 21 cards is a common lie or spiritual battle we all face and on the flipside, it has a passage from the Gospel of John to help you renew your mind with the truth whether there for you or someone else. Order your set of Jesus unfiltered truth cards and get free shipping by calling us at 1-888-333-6003 or order online at http://livingontheedge.org without here's trip with his application as we wrap up today's program. Jesus is talking in a very familiar passage and it's interesting he ends it with the huge assignment after he gives them a very huge promise. In fact, two of them. The first big promise was he's actually going to heaven, preparing an actual real place for them and that there's hope.

The second is that a he's going to have the Holy Spirit come and reside in them. God the Holy Spirit.

In other words, he promises his presence and his power is going to be more real and more available because he leaves then if he stays, and then he gives in this amazing assignment. You know I came to reveal the father and now instead of being limited to one human body. The spirit of God comes in every believer and their job. Our job is to reveal the father to others. People know God is kind when were kind know know God is forgiving when they experience us for getting and finally they'll know that God shows no partiality whatsoever when were not prejudiced and you know I can't do that you can't do that.

Jesus knew the disciples couldn't do it, but the Spirit of God living in you produces the life of Christ not here's what I've got to tell you, you can get overwhelmed and think you know I need to be this perfect person you need to take baby steps of obedience. The organ of transformation is when I trust God take a step of faith.

The spirit of God then empowers me so let me give you little assignment that I think be fun.

We want to reveal the father I want you to think right now of one person today that doesn't believe in God as far as you know is not a follower of Christ, at least, and that you want him or her to know that God is kind I want you to think of one single appropriate act. They don't even have to know that you did it but one act of kindness toward someone at work or in your neighborhood just out of the blue that you're going to do today and he got it now. Go do it if Living on the Edges making a difference in your life and you'd like others to receive the same blessing. We'd love to have you partner with us, whether it's in prayer or sending a gift you can begin making a difference in the lives of others today and thanks to the generosity of a small group of financial partners. Every gift we received between now and July 7 will be matched dollar for dollar to send a gift call us at 1-888-333-6003 or visit us online at http://livingontheedge.org, let me thank you in advance for your support tomorrow.

Chip continues his series Jesus unfiltered, so be sure to join this courtship and the entire team here. This is the thing. Thanks for listening to this Edition of Living on the Edge