Scripture: John 14: 15-24; Dt. 6:4-9 and ( Psalms 36 - Call to Worship)
Theme: God's Cookie Jar
Loving God and Obeying God leads us to three great Supernatural Treats - 1. The Infilling Presence of God's Holy Spirit 2. "Jesus moments" of manifestation 3. Creating a Home (Life) with God at the Center
INTRO:
Grace and peace from God our Father and from His Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ who came to take away the sin of the world!
This morning as we listened to those scripture passages, especially the one from John chapter 14: 15-24 I am reminded of my mom's cookie jar. Growing up there was nothing I liked more than peanut butter cookies or chocolate chip cookies. My mom made some of the best peanut butter cookies in the whole wide world.
There was just one hitch. Most of the time you got a cookie as a reward for doing one of two things :
+showing some love to her or (LOVE)
+doing exactly what she wanted you to do (OBEDIENCE)
It wasn't that way all the time but a lot of times cookies were one of her ways to make sure that I cleaned my room, took out the garbage, washed the dishes or helped around the house. They were also a reward for doing some chores as well. If you went outside and picked some flowers or did well on your homework or on a test or something along that line then you would get an extra cookie or two. And then there were those times that you got a cookie just because - just because she wanted to tell you that she loved you. Those were by far the best cookies.
I don't know if I loved those cookies more for how they tasted as I did knowing that when I got one that meant I had done something that she loved and appreciated. My mom had this wonderful way of making life fun. She even knew how to make doing your chores fun. While she was strict and at times her judgment was swift and sure my mom was/is one of my life's greatest heroes.
This morning, as we look at our passage in the Gospel of John, our Evangelist shares with us that in a very comparable way the LORD has some wonderful treats for all us of us who love Him and obey Him. You could say that the LORD has come treats from His Cookie Jar that He wants to share with all of us.
As we read this particular passage we discover that the Apostle John uses the word "love" eight different times and refers to "keep my commandments or keep my word" at least four different times. Love and obedience. Obedience and love.
That's what I would like for us to look at this morning - love and obedience. I believe based on Scripture, reason and experience that those two qualities and those two actions open up for us a host of goodies from God's Cookie Jar. Goodies that include
a. The Infilling Presence of the Holy Spirit
b. "Jesus moments" of manifestation
c. The LORD inviting us to make our Home/Life with Him
I. We see first of all that the LORD wants to TREAT our Love and Obedience with the Infilling Presence of His Holy Spirit - v. 16-18
The Apostle John tells us that LOVE PLUS OBEDIENCE leads us to being able to experience the infilling presence of God's Holy Spirit. We know this morning that to love the LORD is to live out the words of Dt. 6:5 - "to love the LORD with all our heart, with all your soul and with all of your might."
At first, that sounds like a tall order doesn't it? After all, how does one love the LORD with all that they possess - heart, mind and soul? We see a little later on in John 21:15-17 Jesus asking the Apostle Peter the love question. Jesus appears to seven of his disciples on the shoreline and while sharing a meal with them asks Peter three times - "Peter, do you love me?"
We are to understand that the Apostle Peter was on the verge of giving up on the mission that Jesus had given to His disciples post- resurrection. The Apostle was on the verge of going back to his old fishing business but Jesus approaches him and begins to deal with Peter concerning his love, his commitment and his obedience to His Heavenly Father and to Him.
At first Peter attempts to deflect the questions by quickly telling the LORD that He knows that he loves Him. In other words, Jesus that is a rather silly question. You know that I love you. Let's move on.
However, we all know that Jesus was able to look inside a person's heart. Jesus knew that Peter did love him but Jesus also knew that it was a love that needed to grow deeper and richer. Jesus knew that at the present time the love that Peter had for Him was never going to be enough for Peter to stay true. If Peter was going to accomplish anything good in the future for the Kingdom of God it would only be because he allowed his love and obedience to grow deeper and richer.
Shallow love produces shallow results.
Partial obedience leads to being spiritually barren.
Remember Jesus' Parable of the Four Soils? Remember how each soil started off with the exact same Sower and the exact same seed? They all started on level playing ground. But each soil received the seed different and treated the seed differently.
+ The first soil was so hard that it never had a relationship with the seed and therefore nothing happened. In fact, that seed was taken away by some birds.
+The second soil received the seed but the relationship never got past the rocky stage. The soil never created enough room for the seed to get a good hold. Once the sun came out and things got heated the emerging little plants withered away. Again, nothing happened.
+The third soil started well, it received the seed and created a way for there to be a relationship. However, it also allowed some other things to come in and become more important. Those things became so important that they choked out any hope of the little plants producing anything. In time, the good plants were defeated by other interests
+ We read how it was only that 4th soil - the one that made way for the seed, that allowed the seed to dig deep and stretch out that was fruitful. In fact, it was so fruitful that it brought about a 30 fold, 60 fold and even 100 fold harvest. Now that is some good soil. That is soil that both loves and obeys.
Now, what am I trying to say? Loving and obeying the LORD is very similar. Some people never allow the LORD an opportunity to get into their lives. They are like that 1st soil and like that 1st soil it is not long before the WORD is removed. Other's love and obedience is much like what we see with the 2nd and 3rd soil - they don't allow the LORD to get deep enough or they allow other things to push God's love out.
In John 21, I believe what we see here is that at the time the Apostle Peter's love is like the 3rd soil - he was getting ready to allow fishing and other things take his mind, his heart and his soul away from the LORD. He was getting ready to disobey the LORD and go back to his former life. Our evangelist tells us that Jesus came to talk to the Apostle Peter about his depth of love for Him and His Heavenly Father.
What is so pivotal about all of this in that we know what happened just a few days after this event. Just a few weeks later on the Day of Pentecost these men along with many others would receive the power of the infilling presence of the Holy Spirit. And it would be Peter who would be God's catalyst to leading 3,000 new converts to faith in Jesus as God's Only Son and Messiah.
What the Apostle did not know at the time here in John 21 was that he was in danger of missing out on it all. He was in danger of not being filled with the Holy Spirit nor being God's agent in preaching that first message. It all hinged on whether or not he was going to love God with all that he had and whether he was going to obey the Lord's promptings and leadings. Thankfully, the Apostle Peter goes from this encounter to deepen his love and obedience for the LORD.
This morning, we too can receive the outpouring and infilling presence of God's Holy Spirit. We too can have the LORD open up His Great Big Cookie Jar and give us the treat above all treats - the infilling presence of His Holy Spirit. We too can be one of God's Spirit led and Spirit empowered change agents in our world.
I believe that being filled with God's Holy Spirit is more than a one off event. In Acts chapter two Dr. Luke shares with us what happened on Pentecost. He shares with us what happened as 120 disciples of Jesus received the outpouring and infilling presence of God's Holy Spirit. In Acts chapter four and in Acts chapter eight, Dr. Luke shares with us again another outpouring and infilling presence of God's Holy Spirit. In fact, the whole book of Acts if filled with story after story of how God's Holy Spirit came and infilled and renewed and empowered the early Church.
Yes, I believe that initially we receive the Holy Spirit when we are born from above. Peter tells us that in his sermon on Pentecost morning (Acts 2:38-41). But we are to understand that time after time the Holy Spirit will anoint us, renew us, infill us, empower us and give us a spirit of righteousness, peace and joy. This is exactly what the Apostle Paul refers to in Romans 14:17 -
"For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit." - Romans 14:17
This morning right now I believe that God's Holy Spirit can renew you as you lift up your heart, mind and soul and say to the LORD - I love you and I obey you unconditionally. When we do that the LORD tells us that He will anoint us and infill us with even more of His Sweet Holy Spirit.
II. Secondly, we see that the LORD wants to TREAT our Love and Obedience with "Jesus moments" - verses - 18 - 21
When Jesus first said these words in these verses we know that it was only a few hours before His Arrest, Trial and Crucifixion. Jesus was wanting His disciples to know that for a little while he would have to leave them but if they continued to love and obey then in a matter of days they would see Him again. They would experience "Jesus moments" of manifestation.
By the time John writes his Gospel we know that at least twenty or more years had passed. I believe that John wrote these words both as a way of sharing some history and as way to promote these "Jesus moment" manifestations as present realities.
Yes, Jesus did appear to the disciples again in just a few days. The Bible tells us this and also tells us that over the next forty days or so Jesus appeared to over 500 disciples ( 1 Corinthians 15:6).
But, I also believe that these words are for us this morning. History is full of testimonies of people who have spoken of experiencing the Presence of Jesus around them - of them experiencing what I have called "Jesus moments" - manifestations. History is full of testimonies of people seeing Jesus, feeling Jesus and hearing Jesus.
When Jesus ascended back into Heaven it did not mean that He left us here all alone. When Jesus went to heaven we are not to understand that He handed off the baton to the Holy Spirit and began His eternal rest with His Heavenly Father.
Just the opposite. The Holy Trinity, Father, Son and Holy Spirit have always been active and will always be active in our world. We hear the voice of the Father throughout the Old and New Testament. We know that Jesus was very active in creation and we see glimpses of Jesus throughout the Old Testament. Finally, we all know that God's Holy Spirit has been active since the time of creation as well.
John merely wanted his readers and those of the Early Church to know that when we love and obey the LORD it is very likely that at times we will experience "Jesus moments" of manifestation. Many times these moments happens while we are in worship or during our times of prayer.
On some occasions it happens as we look at a picture of Jesus. Our brothers and sisters in the Eastern Orthodox Church believe in the sacredness and presence of the LORD in waht they call Icons. It is their belief that the LORD allows certain art/sculptures to able to be vessels of grace and presence.
While that is not our belief this morning, it is true at times when you look at a picture of Jesus that you can feel His presence. As a child I had this particular picture of Jesus that brought great peace and joy to me each time I looked at it. There are pictures of Jesus that I have in my home that when I look at them I can feel His presence - His love, His grace, His mercy, HIs warmth and His Holy Spirit.
St. Matthew reminds us the end of his Gospel these wonderful words - "And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age." (Matthew 28:20)
I believe those words this morning. I believe that as we live in His love and as we open up our hearts, minds and souls in obedience to Him that we can experience "Jesus moments" of His manifestation. At times those moments are merely a warm feeling that we are not alone. Jesus is right there with us. At other times it is as if He is talking to us - encouraging us , letting us know that He is right there and that everything is going to be alright.
As a child there were those wonderful times as I shared that my mom would just make some cookies and lay all of them on a plate to be enjoyed. Those cookies were a little gift of her love for all of us as her children.
Boy, did I love those times. Not just because I like/liked cookies but I loved the time of fellowship. I loved the way all of us children would grab a cookie and then eat them together. I loved the way the room would be filled with joy and happiness.
In a parallel way I believe the LORD wants to open up His Cookie Jar and let us feel His presence, sense His closeness and be warmed by His love. He wants us to experience some "Jesus moments". At times they happen right after we have declared our love or displayed our obedience but there are those times that they just happens. They happen because Jesus loves us and wants to spend time with us.
III. Thirdly, this morning, the Apostle John shares that the LORD wants to treat us by asking us to spend time with Him - to make a Home with Him. - verses 22-24
As a child I developed what I called a cookie run. There was two or three houses that I could go to and more often than not I could get a cookie or two. I would visit Lilly who lived right next to us and usually I would get a little treat from her. Then I would go over to Annette's trailer home because she always had a soft spot for me. She would welcome me in and I would get a cookie or two from her as well.
In some ways I was like some neighborhood dog or cat that knew my rounds. I would start here and go there and get a cookie or two along the way.
But it would be more than just a cookie. Many times I would invite me into their homes and I would get to stay and talk to them. I have always loved people and I have always loved to talk to people. My children tell me that I was never taught - STRANGER DANGER and that I was lucky that I grew up in a small town or someone would have kidnapped me.
I am glad that I grew up in a small town. I spent a great many hours going from house to house and spending time with Lilly and Bill, Sam and Annette, Mrs. Gabbard, Howard and his family, the Mayor's wife, our pastor's home, Elaine and her family along with a host of others. I would catch people working outside and just spend time talking to them. Usually, I would get invited in for a while and we would just share some space and time. And of course at times there would be a cookie or two.
Looking back, I wonder now how many times my mother wondered where in the world I had gone? More than likely she knew that I wasn't very far away - just visiting this neighbor or that neighbor. It was a wonderful way to grow up. I learned a lot and I learned to care a lot about all those people. We became more than just neighbors - we became friends. We shared one another's lives.
Jesus tells His disciples that through love and obedience we can enjoy the same relationship with the LORD. In fact, Jesus tells us that through love and obedience the LORD will make His home with us.
Let's read that again - verse 23
"Jesus answered 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." ESV
Take those words to heart this morning. It isn't the fact that Jesus and His Heavenly Father wants to invite you to their home so you can spend some time there and then leave. It isn't that He wants to come and visit your home for a little while and then disappear. It is the fact that God wants to come and live with you.
God wants to come and live in your home - into your heart, your mind and your soul.
The creator of all that we see - the creator of millions of galaxies and gazillions of stars and planet, comets and asteroids wants nothing more than to come and live with you and me.
This is more than a promise of blessing or a promise of protection. This is more than a promise of victory or providential provision. This is more than supernatural support or full forgiveness or even answered prayer. This is God Himself - God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit saying that they want to live wherever you are - they want to share sacred space and time with us.
This is the Garden of Eden living all over again. This is Enoch living. This is living alongside the likes of Abraham, Moses, Ruth, David, Elijah, Hezekiah and Daniel. This is enjoying the presence of the LORD and receiving His grace and mercy. This is enjoying a life of being infilled with the Holy Spirit, enjoying "Jesus moments" and knowing that all around you is the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. All of this has some great results as well.
Way back in 538 BC the first wave of Jewish exiles left Babylon and returned back to Jerusalem. Once they arrived they began rebuilding their homes and God's Holy Temple. However, in just a short while the work on the Temple seem too daunting and so they gave up. But they did not give up on rebuilding their own homes. They not only rebuilt their homes but the Bible tells us that they planted new gardens, new fig and trees and new vineyards. Everyone did their best to recreate the life of prosperity their families had enjoyed before the Exile.
Except things were not the same. It seemed that no matter how hard they worked they could not get ahead. Year after year they reaped only meager grain harvests there was never enough gold or silver to go around. The vineyards and the fig trees all leafed out but their yields were meager at best. All of them had returned home to Jerusalem hoping for the Messianic Age to come to pass. They all hoped that greater days than those enjoyed by King Solomon would soon come to pass. But with each passing year it seemed no matter how hard they tried their rewards for their hard work was minimal at best.
Nearly twenty years into their rebuilding project the LORD sent the Prophet Haggai to speak to them. It did not take the prophet long to figure out what was going wrong. The people had decided that it was more important for them rebuild their own homes, their own businesses and farms rather than rebuild God's Temple. They had chosen to put themselves before the LORD.
By abandoning the Temple they had disobeyed the LORD and worse than that they had failed in inviting the presence of the LORD back into the center of their lives. No doubt they were grateful to the LORD for bringing them back home but they were not loving the LORD or obeying His commands to rebuild His Temple.
Please understand - Our Lord does not need a Temple in order for Him to dwell with us. That is not what we are read into the Book of Haggai. The people needed to rebuild the Temple because the LORD had told them to rebuild the Temple. They needed to create a sacred place for them to spend time with the LORD (Leviticus 26:2-20). They needed to repent of their sins and renew their walk of love and obedience to the LORD. They needed to do whatever they could to surrender to the LORD, invite the LORD's Holy Spirit and make sure that they loved the LORD their God with all their hearts, souls and minds instead of their own "paneled houses", fig trees, vineyards, olive trees and pomegranates.
Thankfully, the people listened to the Prophet Haggai and started living a life of love and obedience to the LORD. They brought their tithes and offerings and began to do whatever was necessary to rebuild the Lord's Temple. They began to live out a life of love and obedience to the LORD.
All of this lead to some wonderful rewards from the LORD. Listen to the Lord's words to them in Haggai 2:18 -
"Consider this day onward, from the twenty-fourth day of the ninth month. Since the day that the foundations of the LORD's temple was laid, consider; Is the seed yet in the barn? Indeed, the vine, the fig tree, the pomegranate, and the olive tree have yielded nothing. But from this day on I will bless you."
The very thing that had been hindering them from being able to reap large harvest had not bad grain or poor soil conditions. It had not even been favorable weather. It all had hinged on the fact that they had not surrendered their hearts, minds and souls to the LORD GOD ALMIGHTY. They had not invited God into their own homes/hearts.
God had waited nearly twenty years for them to get it all together. Long enough for them to rebuild their homes, their farms and their businesses. You would have thought that this first wave of exiles would have understood that more than anything they needed to rebuild the Temple and reestablish their love and obedience to the LORD. You would have thought that in light of the Exile they would have realized the need to put God back into the center of their lives. You would have thought that they would have know more than anything the need to both love the LORD and obey the words of the LORD. But they didn't.
It was only after they began to rebuild the Temple that God's manifold blessings began to fall on them. We see that the day of their obedience became their day of blessing. They day they showed more love for the LORD than they did for themselves or for their own material possessions was the day when they started receiving God's supernatural blessings and favor. The barrenness that they had experienced over all those years was being quickly replaced with manifold fruitfulness.
It all had to do with loving God, obeying God and making sure that we have a home (life) with God. I believe this same principle is in effect today. God is waiting for us to love Him and obey His leadings and promptings. As we love and as we obey Him we will find discover untold divine blessings, anointings, miracles, graces and provisions.
One of the questions we have to ask ourselves today is do we have room for God to come into our home - our hearts and lives? Do we make a place for the LORD today?
We answer those questions each day of our lives with our actions:
+Do we find that we have enough time to primp and prepare our faces and bodies to face the world physically but fail to take enough time to make sure that we face the world each day spiritually prepared?
+Do we find that we have enough time to catch up all that is going on around us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter and yet we don't seem to be able to find the time to catch up on our Study of God's Word Time or our Prayer Time?
+Do we find ourselves attending more ball games, going on more shopping trips or even watching more TV shows than we do spending time enjoying and resting in God's Presence?
You see, it is one thing to say that we love the LORD and want to obey the LORD and it is another to actually love the LORD and obey the LORD.
Now, don't get me wrong. No human being aside from our LORD JESUS got everything right. Not even the greats like Daniel, Noah or Job. The fact is there are no perfect people. Our Lord knows that. However, there are people who do their best to live in the light of God's Holiness. There are people who will not tolerate sin in their lives and when they discover sin in their lives they are quick to confess their disobedience and seek God's mercy, grace and love. There are people who plan each year, each month and each day to grow closer and closer to the LORD. They know that it will not happen by accident but only by a daily walk with the LORD. They choose each day to surrender more of themselves to the LORD and they ask the LORD to fill them more and more with His Holy Spirit. They do all they can to obey and love the LORD with all their hearts, minds and souls.
As a child I loved those peanut butter cookies. I loved them best right after mom made them. They would be warm and to me they tasted like heaven. I loved them because for some reason they brought mom and I closer. Even know as I think about them I can relieve the love and the joy of being with mom and eating those cookies together.
But all of that pales in comparison to the riches of joy of having a home (life) with the LORD. It all pales in comparison to enjoying "Jesus moments" and it all pales in comparison to receiving the infilling presence of God's Holy Spirit.
This morning if you have never experienced any of these wonderful "God Cookies - Treats" they are yours for the asking and receiving. As we close this morning take a moment right now and pray the greatest prayer you can ever speak - the prayer of asking the LORD to forgive you of your sins and come into your heart and life today. Take a moment and ask the LORD to fill you with His Holy Spirit and then commit yourself to living out a life of loving the LORD and obeying His words and commands. Commit yourself to reading His Word, spending time with Him in prayer and worship and growing deeper each day in the LORD.
As we close this morning - we do so with our altars open for any who would like to spend some time with the LORD.
Closing Prayer/Altar Time
