We know from the Bible that loving Jesus really, really is the key and in John chapter 14 -17 we get an insight to why.
So let's start with looking at this and then look at why.
Jesus said: "If a man loves Me, he will keep My sayings and My Father also will love him and We will come unto him and will dwell with him." John 14:23
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2.
Jesus also showed us that loving God was the most important also in the law given by Moses, when He was asked the following;
“Master, which is the chief commandment in the law?
Jesus said unto him;
You shall love your Lord God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.
This is the first and the chief commandment.
And there is another like unto this. You shall love your neighbour as yourself.
In these two commandments, hang all the law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:36-40)
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So – why is it this way?
What Jesus tells us in John chapter 14-16 are so many wonderful things.
Let's start with looking at John 14:23 again:
"If a man loves Me, he will keep My sayings and My Father also will love him and We will come unto him and will dwell with him."
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4.
Then in John 15:4-5 Jesus says:
“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in Me.
I am the vine, you are the branches: He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.”
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5.
And in John 14:23 we saw
"If a man loves Me, he will keep My sayings and My Father also will love him and We will come unto him and will dwell with him ."
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So loving Jesus is clearly the key to → abide in Him.
And in John 15:5 we saw;
That abiding in Him → we will bear much fruit.
(So if bearing no fruit we need to look ourselves in the mirror.)
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And Jesus says in John 15:8:
"Herein is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit and be made My disciples."
So clearly bearing fruit is of importance.
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And we see that bearing fruit, is connected to answer to prayer.
In John 15:7 we see: "If you abide in Me, and My words also abide in you, ask what you will and it shall be done to you."
Jesus said: "If you abide in Me" and we already know from John 15:5 that then we bear much fruit.
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9.
Further Jesus said: "and My words also abide in you"
The greek word here translated "words" means "utterances" and we already know from John 14:23 that when loving Jesus, we will keep His sayings.
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10.
So loving Jesus is not only the key to → abide in Him.
But then we will also keep His sayings.
And as we saw above, then we also bear much fruit.
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And abiding in Jesus, and His words abiding in us, Jesus told us: "ask what you will and it shall be done to you."
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And this is really what we see in John 15:16 as well.
Jesus said: "and ordained you that you go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit remain that whatsoever you shall ask of the Father in My name He should give it you." John 15:16
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Because to "bring forth fruit" we have to abide in Jesus as we saw in John 15:5 where Jesus said:
“He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing.”
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14.
Here we see that we cannot bear fruit without abiding in Jesus.
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And in John 14:23 we saw that the key to abide in Jesus clearly is to love Him.
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16.
So thus we clearly see that:
1. Loving Jesus clearly is the key to → abide in Him.
2. And abiding in Him → we will bear much fruit.
3. And then we will get whatever we ask for.
So loving Jesus is really, really the key!
4. And loving Jesus → we will keep His sayings.
So loving Jesus is really, really, really the key!
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Real love
Now – love can be small – or big.
And for some the word love has very little meaning.
Like - “I love ice-cream.”
But this is not at all what the Bible talks about, when we look at love.
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The love we talk about is a strong, strong, real love.
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Paul in the Bible is an example to us, so let’s look at his love to Jesus.
Paul was a really up and coming man in Jerusalem before he became a Christian.
He had it really made, from this world’s perspective.
But when he met Jesus, nothing of this had any value any more.
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He testifies; “But the things that were winning unto me, I counted loss for Christ’s sake.
Yea I think everything but loss for that excellent knowledge’s sake of Christ Jesus my Lord.
For whom I have counted everything loss, and do judge them but dung,
that I might win Christ,” (Philippians 3:7-8)
And as Paul said in Philippians 1:21; “For to me to live is Christ”
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This is real love.
Only one thing (actually person) that matters – Jesus !
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This is the love we shall have to Jesus!
A strong, strong, real love where Jesus is the only one that really matters.
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Jesus loved us first!
And thinking about how much Jesus has done for us – to love Jesus back, should be really, really natural.
Being so highly loved - that is the very least we can do.
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And the promises when loving Jesus are enormous.
Jesus said:
“And he that loves Me, shall be loved of My Father:
and I will love him, and will show My own self unto him.” (John 14:21)
And:
“If a man loves Me, he will keep My sayings,
and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and will dwell with him." (John 14:23)
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Jesus wants to be your friend!
Yes, Adam and Eve were not created to do things for God – they were created to be WITH God.
This is what life is about.
Being with Jesus!
Loving Jesus!
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26.
As we read here:
"This is eternal life, that they know You, the only true God and whom You have sent, Jesus Christ." (John 17:3)
And here:
“For God is faithful, by whom you are called unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:9)
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Jesus really, really wants to be your very, very best Friend!
The Friend that is always there.
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And loving Him back - is really, really, really the key!
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29.
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