He touched me. Six years old, just a wee baby, but he’s been touching me ever since. So I want to speak with you today as we continue our month. And I guess I didn’t really plan on it, but it sort of turned into that. Just the month of love, and every message that I’ve come up with or I feel like the Lord has laid on my heart has been on love.
And today I would like to talk to you. You remember the old song, the commodores, or whatever, whoever they were, sang the old song, do you love me? The old lively song, do you love me? Well, that’s what Jesus asked, do you love me? He asked Peter that when he was walking on the shore. Peter, lovest thou me, Peter? Oh, you know I love you, Lord. He said, well, feed my sheep. He asked that question a lot.
And we come in, and as we are doing our Wednesday night Bible study, we know that you’re going into the book of John. And around chapter eleven, Jesus is ending up his earthly ministry, and he focuses the rest of the book of John on the last instructions that he gives his disciples, on the crucifixion, the resurrection. And John covers all that.
So I want you to turn your bibles to John, chapter 14 this morning. For you Wednesday night ones, we’ll give you a little glimpse of what we’ll be studying here in the next couple of weeks. As I touch on just a little this. But do you love me? In John, chapter 14, verse 15, it says, if you love me, keep my commandments.
Father, as we study your word this morning, we pray that you would reveal to us all truth. I ask, Father, that you would just speak every word that you would have me to speak, that you would just lead me by the power of the Holy Spirit to reveal the truth, to speak to our hearts and to our minds that we’d be doers of your word this morning. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.
So do you love me? He says, if you love me, you will keep my commandments. Now, a lot of people use that verse, and it can almost be scary, right? If you love me, you’ll keep my commandments. How many times you heard that? And so I want to talk about this. What does that mean? What did Jesus mean when he said that? What was he talking about?
I want to ask you, have you ever broken one of God’s commandments? If anybody says no, I need to talk with you after the service. We’ve all broken one of them. Or know thou shalt not bear false witness. That’ll probably get most of us. How about COVID Well, you got a nice car, Miss Tony. I wish I had your car. There’s covet right there. My grandfather used to say, I’m not covenant. I just wish they’d had a better one than I had theirs. That’s not covenant, is it? So we’ve all broken God’s commandment at one point or another.
So then obviously, do we really love him if we broke his commandments, is the question. A lot of people preach this today, and I want to hit on this and show you what Jesus was talking about, what he meant when he said this.
If you go on down to verse 21, he goes on to say, he that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is who loves me says it again. And he that loveth me shall be loved of my father. So not only if you keep my commandments, you’re showing you love me. And if you keep my commandments, the Father loves you because you kept my commandments.
Now y’all hold on. I’m just telling you how this is often preached. Is this what Jesus meant here? So don’t run yet, don’t shut off the phones or start searching the Internet. And bear with me here. The father and I will love him and he will manifest himself to me is the end of verse 21.
If you turn over to John, chapter 15, he says, if you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my father’s commandments and abide in his love. Now, Jesus kept every one of the commandments, right? So is he talking about the ten Commandments? Is he talking about the law? Jesus perfectly fulfilled all the law. He said, I’ve kept my father’s commandments and I abide in his love. He kept these commandments because he loves the father and because he loved us. It was important that he did that to bring salvation to the world so that he could die for the sins of the world.
He said these things in verse eleven, John 1511. These things have I spoken unto you that my joy might be remain in you and that your joy may be full. So they’ll teach that if you keep these commandments, you love God and you’ll be a happy person. As we sang that song this morning, he has made me glad. He has made me glad. I wanted to turn around and look and see how many was going. He has made me mad. He has made me mad. Sometimes we sing that song and I wonder if you saying he’s made me mad instead of glad is your joy full? Is your joy in him remaining? Are you keeping his commandments?
So let’s look at this a little bit. Many, as I said, many are teaching this. That if you’re saved, you’re going to keep the Ten Commandments. Everybody believe that? Are we under the law? These are questions I want to pose to you this morning. Today, are we under the law? No, we’re not under the law. It was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ. Okay, but we’re no longer under the law. The Ten Commandments. And these people teach this.
But you say, well, wait a minute. Jesus said, if you love me, you’ll keep my commandments. So what are you talking about, Brother Kenny? All right, let’s talk about that. Let’s look in the context of the gospels, of the people that Jesus was dealing with. We’ll look a little more in the context of John 14 and 15. Of what Jesus was trying to tell his disciples.
For three years now, he has taught the disciples. He has taught many. But in focusing primarily on the disciples, these last minute instructions before he goes to the cross, ascends back to the Father. The most important thing, as I can tell you, is if you love me, love the father, love one another. What does that mean?
So we’ll look at that, go to Matthew, chapter 22. We’ll pick up in verse 34. And we’ll just understand, get an understanding of who Jesus was dealing with and talking to. At this time. It was Israel who for hundreds of years has kept the commandments, has kept the law, has done the sacrificial system. Now Jesus is coming in with almost a new message. But it’s not a new message. As John says in first John and a new commandment. But it’s not a new commandment, what John is saying. The commandment has always been the same. So what is that? What is he dealing with?
Matthew 22 34. But when the Pharisees had heard that, he had put the sadducees to silence. I like that. They had nothing else to say. They had nothing to come back with. So they were sad, you see, they were gathering together. Then one of them, one of the Pharisees, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him insane. So you see the motive behind his question. He was trying to test Jesus. Trying to get him to say something that he shouldn’t say, or better say, or whatever. And want to sound all philosophical and knowledgeable about things.
We expect that out of a lawyer. You all ever read a lawyer’s stuff? I mean, it’s a whole lot of garb. And I think all it is is just job security. Because nobody can understand what they’re saying. Because they want to sound so important and so intelligent. When they could probably say this whole list of stuff in two or three sentences. But this is what you have here.
And he says, master, I can just see this lawyer Pharisee. Knows the scriptures inside and out. Wanted to just sort of put Jesus to the test, master. Which is the great commandment in the law. Can you hear him saying that? I know so much. Let’s see how much you know. What’s the greatest commandment now? I can imagine these Pharisees. Number one. Thou shalt love the. Or thou shalt have no other gods before me. Or another two, this commandment, that commandment. They could all come up, say, which of the ten are the most important?
And Jesus really, really doesn’t answer their question like they expect, as we see. We’ll see in just a few minutes. But what I want to point out here, Jesus said, if you love me, keep my commandments. A lot of times we live our christian lives just like this Pharisee saying, which box should I check off to say, I love you, Lord. I went to church today. Check. I gave a little old money, $20 to help her buy groceries. Check. Hello.
See, we live our christian lives checking off boxes. This is what God wants me to do. I better do this. I better do that. Check. Check. I’ve done all these things. Check. This is what this Pharisees were living like. They had a bunch of boxes that you better check off every day. If you were to be righteous in the eyes of God. And today, we’re no different. A lot of christians live your christian life. Just trying your best to check off boxes. What have I done for the Lord day. I better do this day. Oh, I got to do this day. Oh, I forgot to do that today. I better get that done. And you live your life trying to check boxes. Rather than just, do you love me? Do you love me? What does that mean?
Let me go on and show you some more of the kind of people. That Jesus was dealing with. And the mindset of that time. Go to Mark, chapter ten. I’ve got a lot of verses. And I’ll try to just briefly run through them. To give you the idea. The setting of what Jesus had been teaching his disciples. What he’d been showing them. What he’s trying to show these religious jewish leaders. And the people of the Jews.
This is in Mark, chapter ten. Go down to verse 17. It says, when he was gone forth in the way, there came one running and kneeled to him and asked him, good master. Here we had the Pharisees say, master. Now he says, good master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? What box should I check off to make sure I have eternal life? Y’all hearing me this morning? See, we won’t live our christian lives checking out boxes, hoping God’s going to be okay with us. That’s not the case. That’s not true. God knows you can’t check off the boxes. We’ll get to that in just a few minutes.
But what box, or what should I do to inherit eternal life? Jesus said unto him, why callest me good? There is none good but one that is God. Now, this is interesting and probably a whole subject in itself. But I’ll just briefly say. Why did Jesus ask him that, good master? Jesus said, there’s nobody good but the father. Nobody good but God. What the man had acknowledged here. And probably, maybe didn’t even understand it. Is that he knows he’s God. Jesus is God.
This is what Jesus is saying here. You call me good because you recognize I’m God. See, the jews only thought that the only good person ever was. Was Yahweh. But this man comes up and says, good master. It was an important term to them today. We may not look at it as that important. Good just means you’re a pretty good feller. But to them, to say good master. Was almost an acknowledgement of you are God yourself. There is none good but God is. Jesus responds, so, like I said, there’s another whole nother message in there. But just wanted to throw that in.
Jesus said unto him, why calls me good? There’s none good but one that is God. He says, jesus goes on, say, thou knowest the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Check that box. Do not kill. Definitely check that box. Do not steal. Yeah, check that box. Do not bear false witness. Check that box. Defraud not nowhere’s lie. Don’t be fake. Don’t be cheating other. Defraud not. Honor thy father and mother. And then listen to what the man that came running to him, the rich jeweler, said to him. I’ve checked all those boxes. He said unto him, that’s my turn, but I’ll say what he says here. And he answered and said unto him, master, all these I have observed from my youth. I have been checking these boxes since I was this tall. I’ve been doing all God has told me to do. Therefore, I love you because I keep your commandments. Right. I’m checking boxes right and left. He’s saying, I’m doing all this.
But see, we need to understand here where Jesus is going and what he was so good at and what God knows as man looks on the outside where it seems. We’re checking boxes. We look good on Sunday. We come to church on Wednesday. We help this family. We help that we do all these things to check these boxes. But there’s something wrong with our heart. There’s something in our heart that’s not quite right. And he does the same thing to this man. Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him, he showed compassion on him. Oh, you’ve checked the boxes, budy, but you’re still not right. He said unto him, one thing thou lackest, go thy way. Sell so whatsoever thou hast and give to the poor. And thou shalt have treasures in heaven and come and take up like the cross and follow me.
Now listen, I’ll just tell you this too. You could take that verse right there and cherry pick that verse and say, if you want eternal life, you got to sell everything you have and give to the poor. There’s so many people that do that. Acts 238, you got to be baptized to be saved. See, Peter said it, repent and be baptized for the remission of sin. We want to cherry pick verses. So if acts 238 is true, then this must be true too. If you got to be baptized, then you also got to sell everything, give to the poor to get eternal life, right? Is that what Jesus was teaching? It absolutely was not. What he was doing is not. He first came to him with the outward, the physical. You checking these boxes? Yes, Lord, I’m checking these boxes now. He says, let’s look at your heart. Let’s look in your heart here. Let’s see where your motives really are. And he asked him to sell all that he have and give because he was very wealthy. What happened to verse 24 22? And he was sad at that saying and went away grieved, for he had great possessions.
See, Jesus started out with the physical, letting him check his boxes, trying to be the good christian, live the good christian life. Jesus said, that don’t mean anything because your heart’s not right. The truth is, you do all these things to show others how great a person you are, that you’re doing your job just like you’re supposed. I love Jesus, so I’m keeping his commandments. Y’all following me yet? Probably not. We’re going to get there in a minute, though. I hope to bring all this together for you.
He’s looking at the heart of this rich ruler. His heart was, is my riches or is everything to me? I count on my riches more than anything else in this world. I love my riches. Don’t ask me to sell my riches. Hello? What are you dependent on? What are you trusting in? What are you looking for? And this is what Jesus did. He went from the outward to the motives of the heart.
Jesus looked round about and said unto his disciples, how hardly shall they that have riches enter the kingdom of God. Now, is Jesus saying, if you’re rich, you can’t be saved? Absolutely not. I’ve said this before. Riches don’t send you to hell. Riches don’t get you into heaven. Riches is God’s blessings on you. What is the importance of your life? How much money you make? How many houses you have or his kingdom? Seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. And understand that all that God has blessed you with is a blessing from God for his purpose, for his glory. So I’m not preaching against being rich. Wouldn’t mind being that way one day myself at 62. I don’t think it’s going to happen at this point, but that’s okay. But Jesus is not saying, if you’re rich, you can’t go into heaven. He’s saying, it’s the motive of your heart.
Listen to his disciples again. They’re astonished. The disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answered again and said unto them, children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter the kingdom of heaven? You’re trusting in riches, not Jesus. You’re trusting in what you can do, not what he does. He’s going from the physical to dealing with the heart of man. And this is the issue here. Let’s see. Verse 25. It is easier for a camel. Everybody knows this one. Easier for a camel to go through an idol of edel than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. Now, I’ve heard just messages just on that verse. And what Jesus meant by that, what he’s saying is very difficult. It’s hard to do. And I won’t get in that verse for now, for time’s sake. Verse 26. And they were astonished, out of measure. I mean, they were blown away at this. How could Jesus say such a thing? And then they were astonished, out of measure, saying among themselves, who then can be saved? If a rich man can’t be saved with all what he’s got, who can be saved? You see the attitude of the people. Jesus was dealing with and all of in his ministry. It was all an outward expression. Jesus is saying, no, it’s a heart condition. Don’t check the boxes. It’s not about checking boxes. He says, lord, we’ve checked all your boxes. How can we be saved if this man can’t be saved? Jesus looked at them and said, with men it is impossible, but with God. For with God, all things are possible.
See, men try to change the outside. We try to check those boxes. We try to do his commandments to show we love him. And Jesus is saying, no, God changes the heart. And if he changes the heart, then the boxes check for themselves. You don’t have to keep this lid. You don’t have to go to this tablets of stone and make sure I’m doing every one of them. Let me keep going. So you understand this, go to Matthew, chapter five, dwell. Just say briefly, five through seven. What is that? The sermon on the mount, very important sermon that Jesus gives. And he’s going, and you see, as he speaks to them, they’ve done the law, they’ve done this for years. And now he comes and preaches something that just blows their mind. As the disciples said, they were astonished out of measure. It blows the mind of the people that hear his message.
Here in chapter five, we see in verses one through twelve, I won’t read it all, but he begins to speak to the multitude. Verse three, he says, blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are they that mourn. Blessed are the meek. Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart. Blessed are the peacemakers. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness sake. Blessed are ye when men revile you and persecute you. Are you getting the picture here? All those things that he said you’re blessed for is checking the boxes, right? No. All these things are the attitudes of the heart. Poor in spirit, I thirst for. Right? David says, I love you, Lord. I seek your righteousness. I seek you. I want to be holy as you are holy. Thirsting for righteousness is a key of salvation. Not the key of salvation, but a result of your salvation. You want to see do good. You want to see others do good. Because I am saved. Because I do know him.
He goes on that all these blessings here, he didn’t say, blessed are you if you don’t covet. Blessed are you if you keep the Sabbath. I think Clint talked about that in Sunday school this morning. You keep the Sabbath, you’ll be blessed. Right? Did Jesus say that here. He absolutely didn’t. Do you know, Jesus never put on others to do the commandment. Now, this rich ruler, he threw those out there for him, to show him his heart. The law only brings us to Christ to understand that we can’t do it. Only he can do it through us. Is that being pretty clear this morning? You understanding that? So you’re blessed if you have a condition of the heart. Who’s right in the eyes of the Lord.
He goes on down to say in the sermon on the mount. In chapter five, verse 20. For I say unto you that accept your righteousness. So exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees. What is he talking about there? All the scribes and the Pharisees did what? They kept the ten Commandments. They kept the commandments? They didn’t really. They just thought they did. The rich ruler thought he kept the commandments. And Jesus is saying, accept your righteousness. Exceed those you will in no case enter the kingdom of heaven. Now, we all admitted at the start of this. That we’ve all broke the commandments. So none of us have succeeded. The scribes and Pharisees have. Uh oh. How do we exceed those? Through the blood of Jesus Christ. I am found righteous under the blood of Jesus. He’s the only one that ever kept the ten Commandments. This is what Jesus is saying here. This is what he’s getting at. This is progressive revelation. As he tells them, you got to do more than the law. The law brings you to me. I fulfill the law, and in me you have eternal life. That’s how your righteousness exceeds the law. That’s how your righteousness exceeds the ten Commandments in me. That’s what he’s teaching here.
You’ve heard of him, said of old, thou shalt not kill. He goes here, and he’s talking about the external. But he says, here, listen. This is. He gives the example how you exceed the scribes and pharisees. How you exceed the law. He says, I shall not kill. That’s the law. That’s external. But jesus goes. And whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of judgment. That’s external. That’s checking the boxes. But he says, but I say unto you, whosoever is angry with his brother without cause. Shall be in danger of judgment. You ever been angry at anybody? I have, whether y’all want to admit it or not. Am I in danger? See, jesus is going from. Thou shalt not kill. External. Check the box to a condition of the heart. You just say it in your heart.
He goes on down through there and he talks about adultery. Thou shalt not commit adultery. But he said, if you’ve looked on the woman to lust, you’ve committed adultery. Where in your heart. He’s dealing with a heart issue, not a checking of the boxes.
Let’s keep going. Chapter six. I won’t read any there, but just give you a summary of it. You do what you do as unto the Lord and not unto man. You put your mind on heavenly things, not earthly. That’s basically what he’s telling them in chapter six. It goes from the physical to the spiritual. We’ve talked about that on Wednesday night studies. We see all through the book of John how Jesus is constantly dealing with spiritual. And everybody brings up the physical. Nicodemus, he says to him, you must be born again. Nicodemus says, how can I enter my mother’s womb again? Spiritual, physical. See, Jesus is dealing with the same thing here, with a heart condition, not a physical condition.
So he’s telling them, chapter six, when you pray and when you do these things, you do it as unto the Lord and not man. You’re not doing it to impress man, you’re doing it to please God.
Chapter seven, he’s talking about, worry about your heart before you worry about others. How can you get the toothpick or the splinter out of your brother’s eye when you have a log in your own? He said, you need to first examine yourself. Where is your heart? Before you try to help someone else. Your heart needs to be right. This is what the sermon on the Mount is all about.
So now we go back to our text. What is Jesus talking about when he says, if you love me, keep my commandments? Well, he tells us in the context of this, now that you understand who he’s dealing with and the mindset of the people that he’s dealing with and what he has been teaching them all along. It’s not so much about checking boxes, but a condition of the heart.
Then he says, if you love me, you keep my commandments. So back to our text was Jesus makes it clear he’s not talking about ten commandments. If you love me, he’s not saying keep the ten commandments. He’s talking about a condition of the heart. How do I know that? Go to John 1423. See, Jesus said in John 1415, if you love me, keep my commandments. Then 1423 says, jesus answered and said unto him, if a man loved me, he will keep my words. He didn’t say commandments. What he’s saying there, if he loved me. You’ll keep what I’m trying to teach you. Your walk with the Lord and your christian life and righteousness is not found in checking boxes. It’s in doing what jesus has told you to do, what he’s taught us to do, what he teaches to do. I’ll keep going, and my father will love him. If you keep my word, my father will love him. Almost sounds like what he said earlier. Right? And we. And we will come to him and make our abode with him. If you keep my words here, you keep my teachings. He that loveth me not keepeth not my commandments. No. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings. What I’m trying to teach you, you can’t love me if your heart’s not right. It’s not about checking boxes. And many people think they can check boxes and get their way to heaven. And Jesus is saying all along, no, it’s a heart condition. It’s where your heart is. These are my teachings. And if you love me, and if you understand those things, then you love me, and my father will love you. What are his commandments? Flip over to John 15, verse twelve. This. He says it just. I mean, I don’t know how you can get it any clearer. This is my commandment. What? That you love one another as I have loved you. If you love me, love others. That’s what he’s saying there. It’s a condition of the heart. Not about checking boxes. Did I say that already? It’s not about checking boxes. I just want to make sure you all got that this morning.
He says in verse 17, these things I command you, that you what? Love one another. See, your expression of love to Jesus comes from your expression of your heart. And as you love Jesus, you love others. That’s what it’s all about. That’s the commandment he’s talking about. Go to Matthew 22, 34 and 36. I’m moving through them quickly. You just have to listen quickly. This morning Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, thy soul and thy mind. You had one there. He says, remember when he said, what’s the greatest commandment? This is Jesus response to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, thy soul and thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
So when Jesus answered the law, your pharisee, what’s the greatest commandment, Lord? See, what he says? He doesn’t say, thou shalt not covet. Thou shalt not have any other gods before me. Thou shalt keep the Sabbath day and keep it holy. He says, no. Love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul and mind. And then when you’ve done that, you love one another. That’s the greatest commandment. It’s a condition of the heart. He says, on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. These are the commandments Jesus is talking about.
If you understand the ten commandments, and just briefly, the first five, deal with God. He says, if you love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul and mind, you will not have other gods before me. You will not make idols. You will not take the Lord’s name in vain. You will remember the Sabbath and keep it holy. And you will honor your father and mother. Because that’s what God has told you to do. If you love him, you’ll do those things.
The next five, deal with loving one another. If I love you, I’m not going to murder you, Robin. I feel like sometimes, but I don’t. I love her. She feels the same way about me, I’m sure. You shall not commit adultery. See the relation between one another. If you love, you’re not going to do that. If you love, you’re not going to steal from them. If you love, you’re not going to bear false witness about them. You’re not going to lie about them. You’re not going to backbite them.
The first five deal with loving God. The second five, deal with loving your neighbor. And you won’t covet what your neighbor has. So in the Ten Commandments, even there, if you’re breaking up into fives, all the first five is love the Lord thy God with all your heart, soul and mind. You won’t do those things. The second five, love your neighbor as yourself. And you won’t do those things.
It’s a condition of the heart, not of checking boxes. It’s not about what’s written on tablets of stone. See, Jesus never once said, keep the commandments or the law for salvation. See, that didn’t work. Jesus knew that. The Pharisees didn’t know that. Yet the disciples were learning that it didn’t work. Paul reveals that to us. And the writer of Hebrews reveals that to us. Of how it’s not an external thing, but an internal thing.
Hebrews, chapter eight. And I’ll just read verses nine and ten. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers. God is speaking and talking about in quoting scripture of the Old Testament, I’m going to give a new covenant, but not a covenant that made with their fathers. And they, when I took them by the hand and led them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued, not in my covenant or in my law or in my commandments, they couldn’t do it. And I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
Jesus never taught keep the Ten Commandments. God already knew we couldn’t keep them. Israel tried and failed. That’s not the new covenant. The covenant that Jesus is saying to his disciples what God promised all the way back in the Old Testament. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel for those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their mind and I will write them on their. What? Heart.
It’s all about the heart issue, the condition of the heart. What’s he saying there? When you get saved and you accept Jesus, your personal savior, and the Holy Spirit comes to indwell, you guess what? You are a new creation. Your mind thinks differently, your heart acts differently because of the Holy Spirit within you to reveal to you what God wants for you.
Jesus said, when the comforter comes, he’s going to bring all things to you. Remember, whatsoever I have told you what I have taught you, he’s going to bring that to remembrance. And you will do those things not because it’s a box to check, but because you know in your heart or in your mind in your heart that the Holy Spirit is telling you those are the things you do. It’s a heart thing, not a physical thing.
So salvation is not a list of do’s and don’ts, but a condition of a heart toward God, a heart that believes, puts its faith in and loves him. Says, I love you, you love me and I love you. And I want to serve you. I want to do what you have taught me to do because you love me. This is what Jesus is saying here.
Go all the way back to the first verse of 15. If you love me, you will keep my commandments right. What he’s saying here, because you love me, you will keep my teachings, because your heart is right. It’s just like when he says, you shall go out and you shall be witnesses unto the uttermost parts of the world. When he’s telling his disciples and the great commission, you will be witnesses. Everybody wants to check that box and say, oh, I got to go knock on doors. I got to stand on the street court and preach the gospel. I got to be a witness every day for Jesus and check them boxes. That’s not what he’s saying there either. What he’s saying there is. If you are saved and indwelt by the Holy Spirit, you’re going to be a witness. It’s not a choice. It’s just that the natural love of God that is in you will flow out of you. You will be a witness. If you love me, you will love others. Therefore fulfilling what I have been teaching you all along. Get your heart right before God.
Is everybody understanding this this morning? Is this pretty clear? I know I’ve covered a lot of scripture, but I just felt it was important to bring that because there’s so much false teachings around the commandments and loving God and doing all these things. And I just want this to be clear. Because you love me, you will love others, you will keep my teachings. This is what he’s saying. Because the salvation experience that you experience, you will love one another as you love the Lord your God.
He says in Luke 645, a good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good. Now listen closely. Same message Jesus has taught all along, his teachings all along. A good man out of the good treasure of his heart, that’s love, bringeth forth that which is good. An evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart, bringeth forth that which is evil. For of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh people.
It’s not about checking boxes. It’s not about did I look good enough on Sunday? Does the preacher think I’m okay? Do the deacons, do the Sunday school teachers think I know enough scripture? Have I impressed enough? Did I give enough to the little old lady? Did I do this? Did I check? Check? You know what? You’re going to check boxes until you just wore slap out because you’re going to find out that I can’t keep checking these boxes. I’m getting tired. Because you’re doing it physically, not from the heart.
I said a few weeks ago, we are driven by love. We are driven by the love in our heart. That’s what makes a mama stay up all night long with a sick child. It’s love. It’s not about checking a box. If you love me, you will keep my teachings. It’s not keep my teachings to show me you love me. If you love me, you will do this. If you love me, you will love others.
You can go to one corinthians 13 and look and see what love is. Maybe we’ll talk about it next week. Love is a powerful thing. And I’m not talking about fileto love. I’m not talking about the romantic love. I’m talking about agape love. Where somebody can make you man as a hornet. But you still love them. I’m not going to mention any names here. I like messing with Danny. I love him. I love you, brother. That’s a godly love that comes from God. I’m not trying to check a box. I love each and every one of you because God loves you. And I love him. I love you. If you love me, you’ll love one another.
Father, we thank you for your word. We just thank you that you look at our hearts. Help us to examine our hearts and to see. Do I love as you would have me love? Do I forgive as you have me forgive? Do I suffer long because you suffer long. Am I patient? Because you’re patient, lord, am I being like you? I love you. And I want to love others as you would love them.
We just thank you for your word today. To making it so crystal clear to us that it is our heart that needs to be in right step with you. Lord, you did it all on the cross. You paid it all. And it is finished. There’s no more boxes to be checked. But to love you with all my heart, my soul and my mind.
Father, I praise you for that today. Because I know without the I would fall so short. Help us all to just love you. Love one another. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.