Over the past several months we have mentioned that Beholding is Becoming many times...that is beholding the glory of Christ will transform you and me from the inside out, heart transformation, life-change! As I read our passage in John this morning I was reminded that we cannot see HIM if we have unconfessed sin and if we are not seeking to walk in obedience to our Lord. What does John teach us in 1 John 1:9-10 "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.
Oswald Chambers put it this way!
If ye love Me, ye will keep My commandments. John 14:15 (R.V.). Our Lord never insists upon obedience; He tells us very emphatically what we ought to do, but He never takes means to make us do it. We have to obey Him out of oneness of spirit. That is why when Our Lord talked about discipleship, He prefaced it with an IF—you do not need to unless you like. “If any man will be My disciple, let him deny himself”; let him give up his right to himself to Me. Our Lord is not talking of eternal positions, but of being of value to Himself in this order of things, that is why He sounds so stern (cf. Luke 14:26). Never interpret these words apart from the One who uttered them.
The Lord does not give me rules, He makes His standard very clear, and if my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without any hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone else in competition with Him, viz., myself. Jesus Christ will not help me to obey Him, I must obey Him; and when I do obey Him, I fulfil my spiritual destiny. My personal life may be crowded with small petty incidents, altogether unnoticeable and mean, but if I obey Jesus Christ in the haphazard circumstances, they become pinholes through which I see the face of God, and when I stand face to face with God I shall discover that through my obedience thousands were blessed. When once God’s Redemption comes to the point of obedience in a human soul, it always creates. If I obey Jesus Christ, the Redemption of God will rush through me to other lives, because behind the deed of obedience is the Reality of Almighty God. Chambers, O. (1993, c1935). My utmost for his highest : Selections for the year (November 2). Grand Rapids, MI: Discovery House Publishers.
John 14:21 Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me. And because they love me, my Father will love them. And I will love them and reveal myself to each of them.”
The Lord does not give me rules, He makes His standard very clear, and if my relationship to Him is that of love, I will do what He says without any hesitation. If I hesitate, it is because I love someone else in competition with Him, viz., myself. Jesus Christ will not help me to obey Him...LET ME ADD, PRAISE GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL! As a matter of fact it is impossible for me to walk in obedience without the filling of the Holy Spirit. The wonderful thing is that when I am filled with the Holy Spirit, I am filled with the fruit of the Spirit! The first fruit mentioned in Gal. 5:22 is love...what will motivate me to walk in obedience? The love of God within me. It is like 1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us.
Psalm 119:41-48 Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord— Your salvation according to Your word. 42 So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word. 43 And take not the word of truth utterly out of my mouth, For I have hoped in Your ordinances. 44 So shall I keep Your law continually, Forever and ever. 45 And I will walk at liberty, For I seek Your precepts. 46 I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, And will not be ashamed. 47 And I will delight myself in Your commandments, Which I love. 48 My hands also I will lift up to Your commandments, Which I love, And I will meditate on Your statutes.
Holy Spirit of God please fill me with your presence, fill me, cleanse me, return unto me the joy of YOUR salvation. What do I want? I want to SEE, I want to see JESUS. Father in heaven, turn my eyes from worthless things, turn my eyes to Jesus, to look full on HIS wonderful face...and the things of this world will grow strangely dim in the light of HIS GLORY AND GRACE. [hey, someone should write a song like that:)]
love,
m