Pentecost John 14:23-31 Do You Love Jesus?

Genesis 11:1-9 Acts 2:1-21 John 14:23-31

Do you love Jesus? Jesus said, "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love Him, and we will come to Him and make our home with Him.” John 14:23 (ESV) What if Jesus wanted to come home with you today right after this service?  Would He be welcome at your house? Would you allow Him to watch the DVD’s, video tapes and your favorite channels on the TV? Or would you put Him off so you could clean up the house before He came?

 And what if Jesus wanted to stay at your house permanently—to live there all the time, would He still be welcome?  Would your lifestyle have to change so as not to reveal your sinful life to God? 

Some people set an extra place at the table and pull out a chair for Him when they sit down for a meal to remind them that Jesus is always welcome at their home. Would you and your family say a prayer with Him at every meal if He was there with you?

Could you even tolerate Jesus following you around for just one entire day, let alone every day? Would you stay away from your own house, perhaps get an extra job or find some reason no matter how lame it may be so you didn’t have to be around someone who never sins, who always tells the truth and who is always kind, gentle and forgiving?

Or would you rather visit Him at His own house once in a while? That would be much easier; less embarrassing. You can put on your Sunday clothes and look pious for an hour or so. And you can share a meal at His house without Him looking into your closets. Many people prefer to visit Jesus this way. You can enjoy His pleasant company for a while and then go back to your sinful life without anything really changing.

Perhaps you prefer Him to be around only when you need Him.  When you are in dire need of something, you can go searching for Jesus. When you have run out of money, lost your job, are sick or when some other tragedy has befallen you. Then like a teenager or a college student who only talk to their father or mother when they need something you go searching for God.

Teenagers may show up once in a while just long enough to drop off their dirty laundry and then they return shortly after to pick up their clean clothes and be on their way. Sometimes they will stay for a meal and sometimes they even say thanks.  But you can be sure that you won’t see them again until they need something else.

There is a fact of life that most kids do not know or understand. We love our children so much that we would die for them. There is another fact that many in the world do not know. God, out of His love for you, came into the world to die a horrible death for your sake. God loves each of you as if you were the only one He came to save. He loves you as if you were His only child.

He took the punishment for your sins and died in your place. That is how much he values each and every one of you. Do you, in your immaturity take Christ’s death on the cross for granted? Does it seem right to you that you only take from the One who loves you without giving Him back something in return?  Just as parents want their children to love them, God desires your love.

The first duty of love is to listen. You need to hear and understand what God is saying before you can obey Him. Jesus said, “The word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” When you hear the word of Jesus you are hearing the very words of God.

When you love Jesus, you will naturally want to obey the commandments. But you and I fail to keep those commandments as we should. And there are consequences in our lives that occur because we have broken those commandants.

 Like any parent who loves their child, God is disappointed when you make mistakes and sometimes He lets you suffer the consequences for your sinful actions.

A parent who loves their child disciplines him or her so that they may become a better person. And a child who grows up disciplined has a better life than one who has grown up wild and unrestrained.  The fourth Commandment comes with a promise; Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” Exodus 20:12 (ESV) 

Think for a moment about all that God has given you as I read these words from the 8^th chapter of Deuteronomy: ^“Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers. Remember how the LORD your God led you all the way in the desert these forty years; to humble you and to test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands. He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your fathers had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Your clothes did not wear out and your feet did not swell during these forty years. Know then in your heart that as a man disciplines his son, so the LORD your God disciplines you.”

“Observe the commands of the LORD your God, walking in his ways and revering him. For the LORD your God is bringing you into a good land—a land with streams and pools of water, with springs flowing in the valleys and hills; a land with wheat and barley, vines and fig trees, pomegranates, olive oil and honey; a land where bread will not be scarce and you will lack nothing; a land where the rocks are iron and you can dig copper out of the hills.”

“When you have eaten and are satisfied, praise the LORD your God for the good land he has given you. Be careful that you do not forget the LORD your God, failing to observe his commands, his laws and his decrees that I am giving you this day. Otherwise, when you eat and are satisfied, when you build fine houses and settle down, and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. He led you through the vast and dreadful desert, that thirsty and waterless land, with its venomous snakes and scorpions.”

“He brought you water out of hard rock. He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you. You may say to yourself, “My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.” But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your forefathers, as it is today.”

Look at all God has given you.  You have been greatly blessed to be living here in the United States. And look at where you are right now.  Pagosa Springs in one of the most beautiful places on the whole country and you are truly blessed to be here today. Yes there may be others who have more than you, but also remember that the more He has given, the more He requires. (Luke 12:48) 

And God has given you even more through the new Covenant He made with you through His Supper.  You remember His covenant each and every time you share His body and blood given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. You see, hear and taste His love at every supper served in His house. Jesus is the manna that comes down from heaven to give you eternal life. When you love what Jesus has done for you, every word that Jesus has spoken becomes something that lives in your heart.  There is great joy to be found in loving Christ and living a life that is pleasing to Him.

So it is not a matter of Jesus wanting to live in your house.  He wants to live in your heart.  He wants to be with you wherever you go. You can either reject His love or embrace it. That kind of love only comes from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

That indwelling comes only from God through the Holy Spirit. It is what we call a mystical union whereby the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit live within you. Your body becomes a temple of God where He dwells and as your love for Him increases your desire to sin decreases.

Therefore those who love God do not become weary of doing little things for the love of Jesus, who regards not the greatness of the work, but the love with which it is performed. It’s the love that comes from your heart that pleases God, like when your son or daughter brings you a picture they drew or gives you a bouquet of dandelions out of the yard.

That kind of love gives a peace which the world does not understand. There is a sense of security and well being that goes along with knowing the love of Christ, but it is more than an emotional feeling. Jesus gives you a peace that actually conveys true blessings of divine grace. By God’s divine grace, you can live with Jesus knowing that even when you fail, He never stops loving you, never stops caring for you and never forsakes you.  It is that knowledge deep down in your heart that gives you joy instead of fear. And that joy enables you to live as a child of God.

That Joy causes us to face the world we live in and to cope with the hardships we encounter until Christ returns.  What a glorious day that will be for those who love Jesus!  What a glorious day that will be for you--His beloved children!  In Jesus Name, Amen.