Love Series #12 - Part 2

So this is really showing us how important it is to walk in the way of God. Will God uphold you and guide you and watch over you and take care of you and do things for you that maybe you don’t even know anything about? Yes, I’m sure He does all the time. I’m sure He does all the time.

Verse 6: "I have called upon Thee, for Thou wilt hear me, O God: incline Thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. Shew Thy marvelous lovingkindness, O Thou that savest by Thy right hand them which put their trust in Thee from those that rise up against them" (Psa. 17:1-7, KJV). So that’s what it all means to walk in "the way of the Lord."

Let’s go to one other psalm since we’re here. Psalm 27, please. But here’s how we have to come to crave it. What were some of the things that Jesus said? He said, "Seek, you will find; knock and it shall be opened," and it means continuously be doing that. Now notice what it says in verse 11: "Teach me Thy way, O LORD…" Now we’re to be taught by the Word of God. And what does it say of the Holy Spirit? When the Holy Spirit will come it will what? It shall teach you all things. Now that’s a tremendous promise, isn’t it? I mean that is absolutely a marvelous promise when we understand it. All things what? Concerning the way of the Lord that we need to know for salvation, not everything that there is in the world.

Notice: "…and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies." And verse 12 is very important: "Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty." Now again, I think this is a prophecy of Christ’s life, while He was in the flesh on the earth. "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD" (Psalm 27:11-14, KJV).

Now let’s go to I Corinthians 12 and let’s find out that this then becomes the key way of God. Not only the commandments, not only the laws, not only the statutes, not only the instructions of God, not only will God teach us and lead us and so forth. What is the ultimate that God is going to lead us to? Let’s go to the very last verse because this is important for us to understand and realize concerning the way of the Lord, the way of Christ, the way of salvation.

After Paul went through the whole chapter there explaining about the various functions within the church – that it’s one body by one spirit; we are all baptized into one body; there are many different functions that people perform and so forth. Now then he says this, verse 29: "Are all apostles [because some desire to be]? are all prophets [a lot of people like to be prophet]? are all teachers? are all workers of miracles? Have all the gifts of healing? do all speak with tongues? do all interpret?" Because what was happening, they were looking at different people who had these different gifts and they were saying, "Boy, I want to be like that person. Oh, I want this, I want that, I want the other thing." No, Paul says, verse 31: "But covet [desire] earnestly the best gifts…" He says, "I want to show you something better because here’s something you can all do." "…And yet shew I unto you a more excellent way" (I Cor. 12:29-31, KJV), which then is the way of the love of God, which leads into Chapter 13, verse 1, which we’ve covered before and we won’t get into it today because that will extend it too long. But ultimately "the way of God" is going to lead us to the way of profound love of the Lord.

Now let’s look at certain things concerning the truth. Jesus said, "I am the truth." What is one of the first Scriptures we ever memorize concerning the truth? "Sanctify them with Your Word, Your Word is truth" (John 17:17, paraphrased). And in the Greek it means "the truth." Also, Jesus Christ came as the Word, didn’t He? And He was what? He was full of grace and truth. That’s why He is the truth – "I am the truth."

Now let’s come to look at this in several of the psalms again since we were just right back there just a minute ago. The way of truth and the way of God, and the love of God and everything like that is based upon truth. Now what is it that every young man and woman really want? I mean just even in the world, what are they looking for? True love. The only true love you’re going to get is from God. Let’s go to the book of Psalms now. Let’s come to Psalm 117, it’s one of those very long two verse psalms. Verse 1: "O praise the LORD, all ye nations: praise Him, all ye people. For His merciful kindness is great toward us: and the truth of the LORD endureth for ever" (Psa. 117:1-2, KJV). So if you’re going to walk in the way of the Lord, the way of His commandments, the way of His Word, it’s going to be the truth. That’s what we all want, and we all want the true love which comes from God. And in that then you will find there is no hidden agenda, there is no deceit or trickery involved in it at all. There is no self-serving involved in it. Did not God send Christ to die for us while we were yet sinners? Isn’t that the truest love you could possibly have? Yes. So then He gives us His true Word, His truth, and it endures forever.

Alright let’s go to Psalm 146, just a few pages over. Again, here is a very good psalm for us to learn. Verse 1: "Praise ye the LORD. Praise the LORD, O my soul. While I live will I praise the LORD: I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being." Down to the very last breath that he was going to give out. "Put not your trust in princes…" Where’s this election going to go this year? Oh my, the more things change the more they stay the same. Put not your trust in them, and what do they do? Everyone comes around and says, "Put your trust in me." Remember Numbers 9 in the brambles. And I think if you read that then you’re going to understand what’s happening politically. It’s all a bunch of brambles. "…Nor in the son of man…" Now, you know why it is so wrong to put a man between you and God? Because you end up trusting in him, and when you do that you give the trust that you ought to have to God, to the man. So when the man goes bad you’re mad at God because God let it happen because you were trusting in this man. Now I’m not telling you anything new. Churches and people fall apart and become disillusioned because of that.

Now notice: "Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help." Has any other human being yet kept any other human being from dying? No, they can’t help you. What happens? "His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God: which made heaven, and earth, the sea, and all that therein is: which keepeth truth for ever…" (Psa. 146:1-6, KJV).

Now what does this mean? This means that you can always count on God. If you get down, if you get discouraged, you have a problem or trial that’s too much for you get the Word of God, study it, go before God and claim the promises. And always remind God – "You’re a God of truth, You’re a God of love, and we can claim these promises. Not because we are anything, but because You are God." And He’s going to uphold His truth and keep it forever. Now did not Moses do that when the children of Israel sinned? And he came down and found them around the golden calf and went back up to God and God says, "Leave Me alone. Let me kill them all and I’ll work it out through you. I’ll make a mighty nation through you." What did he say? "Oh God, if I’ve found grace, please go with us. And if you’re going to take away all the children of Israel, take me with it." So God changed His mind because He keeps truth forever. And he says, "Remember the promises to the Fathers and think about what the other nations will say, that You brought them out here and You weren’t capable of taking them to the Promised Land." So God was reminded of His truth, right? Yes. Can we remind God of His truth when we are down and out and in terrible straights and difficult problems? Yes, because He keeps it forever. He says He will help us. He says He will uplift us.

Now let’s go to the Gospel of John again, since we’re right there. Let’s go to Chapter 8. Here’s what’s going to happen if you live with the truth, believe the truth, follow the truth, make it the guide in your life, led by the Spirit of truth. Now you can put all of those things together. Now isn’t that a tremendous thing that God has for us? Yes, absolutely marvelous.

Now let’s pick it up here in verse 31: "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on Him, If ye continue in My word [and the Word of God is truth, the Word of God defines the way of the Lord], then are ye My disciples indeed…" Now again, let’s take the opposite – "If you do not continue in My Word, then you are not My disciples indeed." See what you can do to understand the Word of God, make it clear for you.

Verse 32: "…And ye shall know the truth [only if you continue in His Word, which is His entire message, correct?], and the truth [what?] shall make you free" (John 8:31-32, KJV). Free from what? Free from sin. Yes, it will. And if Christ is "the truth" and the Spirit of truth is in you, that’s the motivation that you’re going to have. Now this is all very important concerning the Passover because these are the words of the agreement of the covenant between Christ and us; between Christ, God the Father and us. So first of all He’s doing the very same thing that He said back there in John 6 – to believe on Him, and here’s how you do it: He is the way, and the truth, and the life.

Now let’s come all the way over to…no we won’t go there, we’ve quoted it many times – I John 2:21, "There is no lie coming out of the truth." Let’s go first of all then to Colossians 1:3: "We give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith…" Now again, faith and belief. If you are believing you have faith. If you have faith you are believing. "…Of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints, for the hope which is laid up for you in heaven [so again we have faith and hope, then he talks about love], whereof ye heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel…" So again, this makes it very profound when Christ says He is the way, the life and the truth, here we have the way the truth and the life. "…The word of the truth of the gospel; which is come unto you, as it is in all the world; and bringeth forth fruit, as it doth also in you, since the day ye heard of it, and knew the grace of God in truth…" (Col. 1:3-6, KJV). Now those three verses tell us an awful lot about God’s way, and God’s grace, and God’s truth, and God’s love. And of course we have it there – faith and hope, and then we have the truth all mixed in together.

Now let’s go to I John 1 for just a minute. Let’s look at a couple of things here that are very important. I could go through quite a few more in here but I don’t want to since we just finished the series of the Epistles of John. And if you don’t have those yet be sure and write for them. But if you’ve been on the mailing list for two years you already have them so don’t write for them. Just maybe go back and review it again.

I John 1:8: "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us." So again, you cannot be double-minded. You cannot preach the truth out of one side of your mouth and live a double life which is a lie out of the other side of your mouth. It’s just not possible. The Scriptures say that anyone who does that, in James 1, is unstable in every one of his ways and sooner or later it’s going to come crashing down. It’s not possible.

Now here is what God wants us to do: He doesn’t want us to deny the fact that we have sin in us, or a sinful nature, because then that’s against the truth. There’s no truth in us. He wants us to understand that it’s there but then what do we do when we understand that it is there? Verse 9: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." That’s what God wants. God loves mercy. God loves grace. God loves longsuffering. And grace is going to abound where sin used to abound. But that’s all the way of walking in God’s way in truth, and so forth, that you grow in.

Verse 10: "If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar…" Now you don’t want to take it too far, because some people do, and make God a liar. Now there’s nothing worse than to accuse God of lying because God cannot lie. It’s impossible for God to lie. And so when men end up doing that they don’t realize the severity of what they are doing. "…We make Him a liar, and His word is not in us" (I John 1:8-10, KJV).

Now let’s come back to John 14:6 and let’s read that again and then we will focus in on the last part of it that Jesus is the life: "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way [we’ve given a small summary of that], the truth, and the life…" Now with this what I would like you do in preparation for Passover, and not only going through the short series of Passover preparation that we’re going to have, which is going to be four tapes I’m sure, but take this and study it even more so that when you come to the Passover, because this Passover, brethren, I hope is going to be the best one we have ever, ever, ever kept. I know there are a lot of people who have never kept a Passover in the small groups like we have, but I tell you what, those Passovers are more meaningful and more profound than ever before. And that’s why we are going through this word for word so that during the Passover ceremony when we’re going through and reading the words of the covenant, which this is, we are going to say, "Yes Lord. Yes, I love You. You love me. I’m going to walk in Your way. I’m going to trust in Your Word. I’m going to believe Your truth. Fill me with Your Spirit. Grant me Your forgiveness and Your understanding. Renew me again for this coming year." Because the covenant is to be renewed every year until Christ returns.

Now let’s look at "the life" because He says He is the life and we then are to receive life through Him. Let’s go to John 11:25 please. He shows how this life is going to be achieved. It’s not going to be achieved because we ourselves have life inherent in us. That’s not true because we have to receive the begettal of God’s Spirit unto eternal life, correct? Yes. But it’s going to be accomplished by a resurrection.

John 11:25, when Martha the sister of Lazarus came out she was crying and said, "Oh Lord, if you had only been here, he wouldn’t have died." The whole lesson in this is this: Death is not a problem to God. Death is only an enemy that’s going to be overcome in the long run. Death is not like it is in the world – the end of everything, because they don’t believe in God. Death is an ending of a physical life at a certain point in time waiting for the resurrection. And hopefully we can be in the resurrection when Christ returns unto life.

So He said to her: "…I am the resurrection, and the life…" because didn’t Jesus say that the Father has given judgment into the hands of the Son, and that the day is going to come when all in the graves will hear the voice of the Son of man, and some shall come forth unto the resurrection of life and some shall come forth unto the resurrection of judgment. So He’s saying and clearly pointing out here, very important, death in your Christian life is not a problem with God. Notice He continues: "…he that believeth [the one who is believing into Me] in Me, though he were dead [though he died]…" that is, in relationship to Lazarus. Did not Lazarus believe in Him and love Him? Yes. "…Yet shall he live: and whosoever liveth [is living] and believeth [is believing] in Me…" Now notice we have something very important which ties all of this "I am the way and the truth and the life," we have another thing added to this. Notice: "…Whosoever liveth [is living] and believeth [believing] in Me shall never die." And that means "shall not taste death forever." That’s what it means in the Greek. Not that the soul is going to live forever. But if Christ is going to resurrect you, even though you be dead, when He calls you, you are alive. "Believest thou this?" And of course Martha, she couldn’t understand it. "She saith unto Him, Yea, Lord: I believe that Thou art the Christ…" Notice she couldn’t answer the question directly. "…The Son of God, which should come into the world" (John 11:25-27, KJV). I suppose at that point that was the best answer possible.

Now the reason Jesus waited until it was the fourth day was to make sure that he was dead, because the legal requirement in Judaism was that a person had to be dead 72 hours in order to be proclaimed officially dead – three days and three nights. Now why did Christ stay in the grave three days and three nights then? The answer is simple. As a legal proof to all the Jews that He was dead. Because after a day and a half you could say, "Well, maybe he really wasn’t dead." We know of accounts like that.

Let’s go to Chapter 1 of the Gospel of John. And this is very, very important when we understand why John wrote this. And I’m still going to bring this sermon. I got a little bit delayed because I lost the copy of the book while I was on my trip to Georgia of Light by Light, by John Goodeno So I’m going to be caught up on that.

Now let’s pick it up in John 1:3: "All things were made by Him; and without Him was not any thing made that was made. In Him was life [always continuously was life]; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:3-4, KJV). So if He’s the life, not only is He the life but He is the light. He is the one Who is going to give us eternal life.

Now we already quoted John 5 about the calling to the resurrection. Let’s go to Romans 8:2, and here it shows how God is going to undo all of these things – and undo death, and undo everything that is wrong by the very power of the Spirit of God. And this is very encouraging for us, and this is something we need to understand when we take the Passover.

Now some people think they have to go make themselves perfect. Now the Jews used to do this: before the Passover and Days of Unleavened Bread they would come up to Jerusalem and they would "purify" themselves. What that meant was: they would come up and they would offer offerings and they would do alms and they would do various different things that they would have to do to purify themselves. Well no man through any animal sacrifice can truly purify himself, but only through the grace of God.

And with the Passover we need to understand this: Jesus said, "You are clean through the words which I have spoken." That means there is no condemnation, even though you’re still in the flesh, even though you still bear about in your body the law of sin and death.

Now Romans 8:1: "There is therefore now no condemnation…" – none. I want you to understand that and hope that we all grasp that. This does not give any license to sin. This does not mean that there is nothing for you to repent of. But it means there is no condemnation. "…To them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk [what? In the way of the Lord, right?] not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." So our way of walking then, ends up not only in the way of the Lord, not only with the commandments of God, but with the Spirit of God. "For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus [so it is a law that is effective, isn’t it?] hath made me free from the law of sin and death." It can no longer hold you. "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh [that is all the human endeavor without the Spirit of God and without Christ], God sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us [which is – the way, the truth, and the life], who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." Now that’s what’s so very important.

Now notice we come to an impossibility, verse 5: "For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit [mind] the things of the Spirit." You’re concerned. You have God’s Spirit. "For to be carnally minded is death [which is the way of the world]; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace [which comes from Christ]." And didn’t Jesus a little later, as we’ll see in John 14, say, "My peace, I give to you, not as the world gives, I give to you"? So it is life and peace. He wants us to have peace with Him because we’re not warring against Him and breaking His laws and commandments. He wants us to have peace with Him because we have the Spirit of God which brings peace, and He wants us to have that peace so we do not have the continuous internal self-condemnation. But you have the Spirit of God prick your heart and mind to lead you to repentance of those things you need to repent of. So any guilt that comes along, He wants you to get rid of that by repenting. That’s why it becomes so wrong to constantly keep the people of God in a state of fear and intimidation and guilt because there’s no condemnation. I hope you grasp that. If you’ve never understood or heard that before then this is something you need to learn.

Verse 7 now: "Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh [as reckoned by God], but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you [or is living in you]. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." It’s not those who think, it’s not those who claim, it’s not those who profess, it is those who are. "And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin…" And when did it die? In baptism. That’s when it died, the proper spiritual death. "…But the Spirit is life because of righteousness."

Now here’s why we have the way, the truth, and the life, because life is the ultimate end of all of this at the resurrection. Verse 11 now: "But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken [or that is give life] your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom. 8:1-11, KJV). Now this is all tied up in what Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life."

Let’s come to Colossians 3 please, and let’s see some more here concerning how we need to live our lives in relationship to it. It gives us a lot to do, a lot to overcome, a lot to work on, but with Christ in us, the truth in us, the Spirit of God in us we can do it. Let’s begin right here in verse 1, because here in then is kind of a type of the resurrection. We are raised out of the watery grave to walk in newness of life, correct? Yes.

Now here, Colossians 3:1: "If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God." When you do that think in your mind and ask God to help you to understand how is it going to be to be resurrected from the dead and to be a spirit being and be with Christ forever? How is it going to be to be filled with that perfect love which comes from God? That’s going to be amazing. That’s why we set our affections on that – that is the way, that is the truth, that is the life. "Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, Who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." Then all the rest of it tells us what we need to do in getting rid of the sins of the flesh and the carnal nature that we have. "Mortify therefore [that means put to death – we’ll cover some of this during the Feast of Unleavened Bread] your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry: for which things’ sake the wrath of God cometh on the children of disobedience: in the which ye also walked some time, when ye lived in them" (Col. 3:1-7, KJV). So then we have the contrast of God’s way and the way of the world.

Now let’s finish by going to I John 5:10: "He that believeth [the one who is believing] on the Son of God hath the witness in himself [that is, the witness of the Holy Spirit]: he that believeth [he who is believing] not God hath made Him a liar…" Boy, that’s pretty profound, isn’t it? I mean, think on that. Even going through the series we didn’t stop and emphasize that. "…Because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life [that’s why Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life]; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God" (I John 5:10-13, KJV). So that goes right back to John 14:1 where it says, "you are believing in God, be also believing in Me"

Now we’re going to see as we go through the rest of John 14 that belief in being part of faith helps make this part of the Scriptures the Faith / Love of God. These are the words of the covenant that we have so if we can this year, really concentrate on it and go through and really study it and come to the Passover having a real in-depth knowledge and understanding about the Passover and our relationship with God, I think we’ll find it really very helpful. Plus you’re going to find as you study these, you’re going to see this is a story of your life in Christ because it covers all the trials and all the difficulties, and all the ups and downs leading then to eternal life and being at-one with God the Father and Jesus Christ.

Love of God # 12

Scriptural References