 John chapter 14 verses 19 through 24 Jesus said a little while longer and the world will see me no more But you will see me because I live You will live also At that day you will know that I'm in my father and you in me and I in you He who has my commandments and keeps him it is he who loves me and He who loves me will be loved by my father and I will love him and Manifest myself to him Judas not a scary it said to him Lord. How is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world and Jesus answered and said to him 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 He who does not love me does not keep my words and the word which you hear is not mine But the fathers who sent me Now as we go through our study, let me remind you of a few things. Let me remind you that Jesus has been Emphasizing this last night with his disciples That he was going to leave them in chapter 13 for example Verse 33 he had said to them little children. I shall be with you a little while longer You will seek me and as I said to the Jews where I am going you cannot come So now I say to you so he said I shall be with you a little longer in Chapter 14 we saw in verse 2 how he told them I go to prepare a place for you and then in Chapter 14 verse 12 he once again said I go to my father Now his continued insistence that he was going has troubled his disciples And that's why he says to them let not your heart be troubled This is also why he had said I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you notice He said that in verse 18. I will not leave you orphans. Now, let me give you something I didn't give to you last time we were together in this verse What does he mean when he says I will not leave you orphans? well the original word in Greek means obscure Because an orphan was deprived of a father and a mother because an orphan was little esteemed and was neglected and Was obliged to wander about in obscurity and darkness and that's why they would use that word orphan obscure because they wandered without anybody supporting them Hebrew was different the word translated orphan means to strip or make bear Because such a child is destitute of comfort direction and support and would be prey to misery disease sin and death Now at that time the disciples of a particular teacher often called him father You might know that or may not have known that if I was being discipled by somebody a Rabbi I would refer to him as my father I would call him father and The scholars Would be called his children and When that when that rabbi died His children scholars those whom he was mentoring were referred to as orphans So the word was spoken concerning those who had no rabbi and those who had no minister over them What had happened though is during that day is the rabbis became so important to him that Jesus actually issued a warning to these people in Matthew 23 verse 9 when he said do not call anyone on earth your father For one is your father he who is in heaven they had begun to elevate these rabbis to a place They should not have been and that's why Jesus was speaking and said don't call them Father why because the rabbis were mentoring their their disciples the disciples were calling them father but when that rabbi died they were considered orphans and so Jesus as the chief rabbi is Saying not to call any man on earth your father having that mentoring relationship Because the one who was to have taken that place is Jesus himself who is the master of them all and So he's speaking concerning these things because spiritual truth comes from God and that's why he's commanding us to Actually trust him and so he's saying to them You shall not be left fatherless Meaning you shall not be left without a rabbi. You will not be left without a teacher So he says to them again. He says to them. I will not leave you orphans But he also says I will come to you now last time we together I mentioned that his coming can have three basic aspects one he once again will see them after he's Resurrected from the dead. There's that aspect of it secondly He'll be with them at Pentecost when the Holy Spirit descends on them and then third He will once again be with them at the rapture second coming that will take place in the yet future And so as we look at this we'll pick up now at verse 19 where he says a little while longer in the world will see Me no more, but you will see me because I live You will live also Jesus is about to be taken and crucified After his death the world will no longer see him physically He's going to be physically removed from the world by his death well The world rejects the spirit And because the world rejects the spirit they will not miss him Notice verse 17 how he had said speaking of the Holy Spirit He refers to the Holy Spirit as the spirit of truth Whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him But you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you Well, the spirit doesn't see him and know him this the world doesn't perceive who the Holy Spirit is and therefore The Holy Spirit is rejected by the world and thus because they're rejecting the Holy Spirit They don't miss they will not miss Jesus and they're not going to be seeking after him But he went on to say in verse 19, but you will see me And then he goes on to say because I live You will live also They think that i'm dead buried and gone But you will see me when i'm resurrected You will see me He will be alive But you notice this in verse 19 You because I live i'm resurrected you will live also My resurrection will be the proof and promise of your own resurrection Now this is something that he has consistently been saying to them All the way back in john chapter 3 verse 36 John the baptist said he who believes in the sun has everlasting life He who does not believe the sun shall not see life But the wrath of god Abides on him in john 5 24. Jesus said most assuredly I say to you he who hears my word and believes in him Who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment But has passed from death into life And so because I live you will live also if you hear his word And there are some right now listening that perhaps have heard The bible but you haven't really taken in his word You haven't applied his word by faith in your own life But when you hear his word, it's more than simply hearing it read It's something deeper than that. It's it's hearing with a heart to obey If you hear his word In in a christian sense means more than just hearing the sounds of the words being read It is it is Believing in holding fast to those words. That's how you're saved And that's why jesus would say if you hear my word and believe And that's how you're saved you hear the gospel of jesus christ And you believe and you believe in the one who sent him Well, you have present tense everlasting life And when you have a present tense everlasting life You do not come into judgment or condemnation. You are passed from death into life That comes through the hearing of the gospel faith comes by hearing Hearing by the word of god paul said to the romans and so when the message of the gospel is presented And the unbeliever hears and believes in the father They have a relationship with god through jesus christ and you're born again paul made this kind of statement in in romans in chapter eight verse 11 Where he said if the spirit of him who raised jesus from the dead dwells in you He who raised christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his spirit Who dwells in you and so jesus is making it clear because i live You will live also Later on john when he wrote first john repeated this promise In first john chapter five verses 11 through 13. He said this is the testimony That god has given us eternal life. This life is in his son He who has the son has life He who does not have the son of god does not have life These things i've written to you who believe in the name of the son of god That you may know that you have eternal life and that you may continue to believe in the name of the son of god That you may know that's something you can have certainty with You know, you give your heart to christ and god has made all these promises that he he cleansed you from all of your Sins that that you would become his child that he would make your body his temple That your name is written in the lamb's book of life that he's coming to receive you to himself There's so many promises in scripture and and the promises is if you believe in me you will never die Remember how he asked martha that do you believe this? He who believes in me Will never die And so we have a relationship with god We move on into eternity Because we have eternal life in him and the holy spirit lives within us and the holy spirit gives us the Internal witness by his holy spirit He bears witness with my spirit that that i'm a child of god I have that sense within me That i've been born again somebody was writing to me recently they listened to the Second second carinthian study and in the second carinthian study. I was mentioning that that that you could know um Your relationship with god you can have a a certainty in it and your sins are completely forgiven in And they wrote and they said, you know, that's the thing that they deal with all the time is their past You know, the holy spirit Takes the word of out. We're going to see this in a moment, but he takes the word of god And as you by faith Trust the word and believe that word the holy spirit comes as it's imparted to you and he actually he actually works in your heart So these things become a certainty I I know beyond a shadow of a doubt That when I die I go to heaven I know that when I close my eyes here on earth and people say he passed on Uh, the bottom line is as I simply change residence and I went home I'm going home When my father when my father Went to be with the lord and my wife marina. We're working together with uh, some lawyer Related to my father's death and all and and I said to him what my father just went home And this lawyer looks at me and he said well, that's really an unusual way to say that He said wow that I liked that Apparently he had never heard that because I said my father went home Well, you know absent from the body present with the lord You know Jesus said I go and prepare a place for you if I go and prepare a place for you I'll come again receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also I mean that's a promise from the lord that that we can take to the bank if you will And we can know that and that's what jesus is teaching us. He says because I live You will live also Because I've been resurrected and I have resurrection life in me You will have the same thing Trust in that It seems to me that there are quite a number of christians today with this coronavirus thing going on right now That I've forgotten that And as I was sharing before I've said it before I'll say it quickly The worst thing that'll happen to me if I were to get the coronavirus And I'm so again on a personal level. I'm not saying how people would feel if it happened I'm just saying on a personal level The worst thing that can happen to me personally Is I go to heaven I go to be with jesus. I've been preparing myself in him for almost 50 years So why would I be afraid to go to the place? I've been wanting to go For all this time So I don't want to live in fear I don't live with presumption. I I'm not running around kissing every person that I see um, I'm not being unwise But I am definitely not afraid Because I know in whom I have believed And I know that he's able to keep that which I have given to him And I know that he's begun to work in me that he'll continue and complete in the day of jesus christ And I know that because he lives I live also That's a hope that we have we just celebrated the reality of christ Who overcame sin and and and the devil and the grave and and and we just celebrated Easter We need to live as if Easter's every day in our life. And so he makes that very clear He says because I live you will live also in verse 20 at that day You will know that I am in the father and you in me and I In you you will know that the holy spirit will make that clear to you He goes on in verse 21 and he says He who has my commandments and keeps them It is he who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my father And I will love him and manifest myself to him He who has my commandments and keeps them notice how he says keeps them He who has my commandments and keeps them Uh, I looked up the word has I mean When I when I study the bible there are words that that I think are are Are important enough to look at and when he said he who has my what does that word mean So I looked it up What what was the the greek word for the word that is translated by the english word has And so the greek word is to lay hold of something to cling to But it goes on to say to personally own He who has my word is the one who personally owns it There's an ownership of the word of god It's a person who is clinging to his commands It's a person who observes them The word is so important to them That their lives are actually built on the reality of the commands When when you have god's word, it's not that you're holding a bible in your hand When you have god's word god's word actually has you And you cling to it It is what makes you alive It's adhering to it His word is is to be more valued like job said that my daily bread You know, we we know that that that that god's word proceeds from his mouth And and that is the bread that we need the bread of life. I I don't know how many people Have heard that so many times that they forget that Your your life is built on something What is it built on what is the foundation? Everybody's life has a foundation Everybody's life is built on something we all know that The question is what is it built on? You know, is it built on on sinking sand? Or is it built on the sure rock of jesus christ? And you may be a young christian right now and you may be feeling overwhelmed by all your circumstances and all but this is how you learn faith. You'll see this in a minute This is how jesus manifests himself to you This is where you know be on a shadow of a doubt that what you have said you believe you actually do believe It's when you go through things that tests what you say you believe Do you do you hold fast to his promises? Do you? Do you cling to them adhere to them? Do you hold tightly to to what you've read and are you hungry to read his word? You see we're to hold fast to god's word second timothy chapter one verse 13 Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me in faith and love Which are in christ jesus first john chapter two verse five Whoever keeps his word Truly the love of god is perfected in him By this we know that we are in him second john verse six This is love that we walk according to his commandments It's it's what orchestrates my behavior. It's what informs me as to what is right and what is wrong And love and faith are tied With obedience When you have a hunger for the word of god and to obey him That's what separates a genuine believer And that's from one who professes to be a christian and that's been one of the identifying marks of a of a genuine christian In the old testament book of deuteronomy in chapter five verse 29 We read oh that they had such a heart in them That they would fear me and always keep all my commandments That it might be well with them and with the children forever See I I want my life to be blessed But my life isn't the only life that can be blessed by keeping god's word My children will be blessed also In my obedience to what christ teaches My children will see faith lived out in a home There are a whole lot of people Who are going through a lot of struggles right now my heart is with you of course But but has the lord revealed anything to you about that? Some of you perhaps felt that sunday was an option to go to church because Your kid was in little league or playing soccer or something like that some sport Or you worked six days in seventh day. You're supposed to have a rest therefore you don't go to fellowship you you'll Kind of do what you do and and and parent and you're not aware that you've been training your child That worshiping god is an option not something you really need to do Are they watching you and learning from you? Are they discovering that this is a person that actually holds fast to god's word and does it? So that you will be that voice above the waves They'll be able to hear you When they're making decisions in their life That will affect them and you and everybody forever That's why it's so important for us to stay in the word of god to cling to the word of god And it demonstrates that that we know him, but it's not just so that my life is blessed It's so that I can bless others, especially my children In deuteronomy chapter 10 verses 12 and 13 We read and now israel What does the lord your god require of you? But to fear the lord your god To walk in all his ways to love him To serve the lord your god with all your heart with all your soul And to keep the commandments of the lord and his statutes Which I command you today for your good And so love and obedience are tied together But jesus also makes a promise notice in verse 21 how He says he who has my commandments and keeps him it is he who loves me And he who loves me will be loved by my father And I will love him and manifest myself to him I will love him and manifest myself to him Love for the son Produces a deeper understanding of the love that god has for us And this love for the son Results in a deeper manifestation And understanding of his love In john 16 27 we read for the father himself loves you because you've loved me And have believed that I came forth from god Notice how jesus said I will love him and manifest myself to him Do you want god to manifest himself to you? I know that that that's the spiritual thing. Oh, yes. Oh lord show me your glory Now there's a song that we in this church sing the first time we sang the song show me your glory I thought that's probably not the wisest thing to sing I had to think it through a little bit and put it in a new testament framework and the and the intent of the author Because in the old testament we have a man who said to god show me your glory And god said no man can see my glory and live and I think that sometimes we uh, we have Dumbed it down the glory of god and elevated the goodness of man to the degree that we don't really understand What it would be like to see the glory of the lord You know, and so the bottom line is is that If I want to know the lord and jesus made this promise and let me make this point very quickly here Do I want to have a manifestation of jesus in my life? Let me ask you even though you're my staff and I pay you to say yes Um That was a joke by the way for those watching online Do you want god to manifest himself to you? I'm not quite sure everybody does But say you do Say you say you want god To manifest himself to reveal himself clearly How can that happen Some people say well go to the desert take some granola take some water stay out there for 40 days You'll see something You will probably hallucinations You'll see something But will it be a manifestation of the lord? Oh, i'm going to do this i'll pray and pray and pray or i'm going to do this This is usually is related to some discipline of some sort that i'm supposed to do. Maybe i'll go to a monastery or Or whatever Let me tell you how jesus said he would manifest himself to you. You said obey me Simple isn't it? It's really simple obey me I was sharing earlier how that when The 12 spies were sent into the land prior to Israel entering in and taking it That as they spied out the land they came back with a report They said the fruit is in abundance There's this big cluster of grapes that they brought back and they said these these things. It's amazing the place that That they have said what we've been commanded to take but then they began to speak amongst themselves and openly said this they said but They're giants in the land. They're giants And it's interesting read the passage and you'll see it's interesting how it it's presented because they say They say we are grasshoppers In their sight speaking of the giants because there were giants They said we are like grasshoppers in their sight But read on and it goes on to say and we are like grasshoppers in our own sight Which i found interesting I found that interest. I find that interesting. We are grasshoppers in their sight So we began to see ourselves through their eyes And so what we are is incapable Of taking even though God said it's yours And then you have these two others joshua and calib And calibs 80 years old And he says give me the hardest place He says I may be 80, but I still am as strong as I was when I was 40 And I don't want to walk into something that I don't have to Exert anything yet. I want to go in and prove myself a man I think that if you were to survey the average christians That the ten spies are represented by a good portion of what are called christians And the other two the men who are combat ready who men of faith men men who want to excel men who Want to see God move men who want to see God manifest themselves. They're very few of those today There really are and I don't say that to bemoan the fact of the church and and and yet in a sense. It's true It's true There are a lot who who who say I believe But when we're put when our feet are put to the fire We've got every excuse as to why we can't do that why it's not possible I don't understand that If the holy spirit put it on your heart to do something who can stand against him Who can stand against him if the holy spirit is in it? He's leading you and you're obeying him I don't know why you're afraid It's a lack of faith And I suspect that many churches are filled with the ten spies Oh, it's got good things great promises left to have it But it would require something on my part. I'd actually have to go to battle And we were like grasshoppers Then you have some people and the old people usually in the church are the ones that say you're we don't need old people We need young people really We need more calybs We need we need more men of valor who've experienced and have seen what God can do It's like when David stood there before Goliath And everybody was trembling because this nine foot nine inch man And who wouldn't tremble at the physical stature of somebody like that When David looked at him and how my dog Goliath says that you should come to me with sticks And how David looked back at him He says you've got the weapons of your warrior shield and all of that the javelin You come you come in battle array With physical weapons But I come to you in the name of the Lord And I'm going to take your head off your body And the and the birds of prayer are going to eat your flesh Oh, what a gross sing and on all the effeminate effeminate men say oh that sounds gross to me. Do you know that? David was saying My god, I come to you in the name of the Lord. You see the church needs to wake up to that right now We really do We really do we're living in a time right now where the church is folding Because of a virus God is greater than any virus God is able God is able And I want to come in the name of the Lord not in the name of presumption But in the name of the Lord I want to see god move And I want to see him manifest himself And he has He has All these new ministries monday night ministry the young adults tuesday men's study Tuesday afternoon facebook live wednesday bible study thursday Of facebook live friday q&a with my wife and me and saturday Saturday night saturday night study on marriage and the family sunday three services in the morning Doing the morning one in the afternoon than an evening study. We're getting letters from people. They're saying not everybody but some are saying I prayed with you. I gave my heart to christ I'm following god now I'm being told by people that family members who wouldn't enter into a church are entering into time of study with us Now they're listening sometimes eight nine family members who don't go to church Are listening to bible studies looking for an answer that's taking place right now And people are giving their offerings this place, you know is god is sustaining us I remember when I was told that we could not gather together We have 45 50 staff members We have a church grounds that we we pay for And my son joseph and I were talking Uh, and I said to him you don't understand what just took place I said this church is built on on the word of god and community of the believer We we we were built on fellowship and and now we don't have the opportunity Fellowship I said and I've never emphasized giving some people who are watching right now I said, oh, it's all you pastors. You don't know me and you don't know this church I've never done that. I've always expected god to sustain But I'm also a realist and and as that took place and and I was I watched the news He said all churches are being shut down My son joseph was there And I spoke to him and I said he said god's going to move dad and I said son, you don't understand What's going on right now You don't I said this may be the way that our fellowship Ceases to exist And as I spoke to him I said I didn't expect to leave ministry like this and I cried I cried in front of my son I didn't expect my ministry to end like this And I cried My son was disturbed to see his father so distraught Because guys I I I don't know I don't only care about me I care about us I care about you I care about you and and it gripped my heart And I prayed I went to bed Woke up the next morning praying Father, what are we going to do? What are we going to do lord? I've never emphasized giving I don't even know how to go about it And he spoke to my heart a word that I've told you this recently, but He spoke to my heart a word He reminded me of something he had told me in my heart 38 years ago I did not raise you up to let you fall And I came to the office that day knowing that God has raised us up If God has raised us up God will hold us up. Do you believe that? I do I do I forgot for a moment I had my moment in my own little garden Oh lord, if you could remove this police to do Paul's words ring true In my weakness, then I made strong And God is taking care of us guys God is taking care of us In an abandoned campus This is use of me used to life People coming in God is taking care of us Jesus said if you keep my word I will come to you and I will manifest myself to you. He's doing that right now He's manifesting himself He's showing us that he can sustain us You keep his word You see it's one thing to teach a bible verse It's another thing when that bible verse teaches you And the lord does that Love for jesus is the motivation for what you do And love for the sun has a a fresh and deeper revelation Of him He said I will manifest myself So obedience results in a special sense of the presence of the lord And the knowledge that you have becomes experiential It deepens your fellowship with jesus So if you want to see jesus love and obey him Now as he's speaking verse 22 judas and notice how he says not to scare it Judas not the betrayer Judas said to him lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world? And jesus answered and said to him 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 He who does not love me does not keep my words and the word which you hear is not mine But the father's who sent me Judas is a little known apostle. He's also known by other names Thaddeus and labaius And so he's saying how is this going to take place? How is it that you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world? I thought you you said that when you are revealed it's going to be open Jesus had said that in matthew 24 30 The sign of the son of man will appear in heaven And then all the tribes of the earth will mourn And they will see the son of man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory So you said that when you're revealed it's going to be open But now you're saying you're going to manifest yourself to us and not to the world How's that going to happen? And so jesus in verse 23 if anyone loves me he'll keep my word My father will love him and we will come to him and make our home with him We will make our abode with him our home. It speaks of a permanent eternal stay not a temporary Residency we will come and abide with them. How will I manifest myself to you and not to the whole world? Well the answer is simple You're going to love me And obey me I'm not speaking of my return I'm speaking of fellowship I'm going to be with you And I will be in you You see where love for me and obedience to me is There shall I be also I will never leave you nor forsake you I will be with you. I'm closer than Than your own heartbeat. I've never been alone since I gave my heart to christ never Marie knows this about me. I grew up a lonely kid I grew up a lonely little boy There's a song that I play sometimes and I think of it. I tear up It's an old song nobody would like but it was by a guy named neil sedacca. There's a blast from the past some of you Gray hairs know who he is Neal sedacca. It's called solitaire And I and I the song always makes me tear up every time I hear it. Marie knows that she's seen me cry more than once because Solitaire is the game that I play to this day every night when I go to bed I play solitaire every night It's a game. I've been playing since I was a little boy when my mom and dad taught me that game my mama did But when my mom was sick and my mom was working and my mom wasn't home and I spent years alone Solitaire means more than just a game It speaks of being alone And I was alone. I didn't have anybody in my life nobody nobody I was lonely. I was a lonely boy very lonely And then I came to faith in Christ And I'm never alone. I'm never alone Because he's with me He will never leave me nor forsake me. Can you see the same thing? He will never leave you or forsake you. He's there. He's closer than your own heartbeat And I know that about my lord When I'm by myself, I'm never by myself I'm always with him No matter whether it's at home or whether it's in here with a group of people Whether it's driving in a car I'm never alone Jesus says I will come And I'll be with you And I will never leave you I will always be with you And to me I have to tell you That knowledge that there is one who never leaves you nor forsakes you has changed my life He said in verse 24 He who does not love me does not keep my words and the word which you hear is Is not mine, but the fathers who sent me My words are originating from my father and their heavenly and their origin But those who do not love me will not experience my presence with them So that speaks of the world of non-believers who have no desire for him or his teachings his word And and even if they try to do things that kind of like are good like oh I'm going to try and live by the sermon on the mount or whatever There's no love for christ that spurs them on And so he says because they don't love my word They're actually rejecting My father who sent me And in rejecting the son there is no fellowship with the father In first John 2 23 whoever denies the son doesn't have the father either He who acknowledges the son has the father also So if somebody says oh, I believe in god. I love god. I follow god, but they don't have the son. Jesus would say no you don't You don't have a relationship with the father because you've rejected his son You know, I I see that in a very spiritual way quite obviously you have jesus you have the father But there's also a practical application as a father and a grandfather I think I understand an aspect of that in a different way and that is this If you love my son or my daughter I'm gonna love you I'm gonna love you you love my baby And if you love my baby I will love you When I love god's baby when I love jesus Is a relationship with his father He loves me I love his son And the ones who don't love the son don't have a relationship with the father So somebody can say oh, I'm a god-fearer or I'm a believer but not in jesus And the lord would say Then you and I don't have any relationship now. That's not me saying that that's what we just read If you don't have a relationship with the son, you don't have the father either Because the only way to have a relationship with the father Is to have a relationship with the son And so that's why when you get saved you have a relationship with god Because you received his son And the father loves you and he manifests himself to you And that's because you've obeyed him And you've obeyed him because he said believe in my son And when you believe in the son You have relationship with the father and you now start doing the things his word says Because his words have become more dear to you and more precious to you Than even your daily bread Because you know man doesn't live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of god And because you have that hunger Your life transforms God manifests himself to you You're growing your deepness of understanding And your religion is so longer theoretical It's practical and experiential Because I know that I know that I know That jesus christ is alive Because he lives I live also