Show us the Father May 19

May 19, 2013  Show us the Father

Pentecost Sunday Reading: Acts 2:1-21

It is assumed that "Luke wrote both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles – The Gospel being the story of Jesus and Acts being the story of the early church. It seems unfortunate that the two books are separated in the NT by the Gospel of John, because placing Acts directly after Luke would help us to see how one flows into the other – how the Acts of the Apostles picks up where the Gospel of Luke leaves off. This is significant to the story of Pentecost, because the first Christian Pentecost is deeply rooted in the Gospel of Luke. (For example):

 

– (In Luke, the angel says to Mary,) 'The Holy Spirit will come on you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.' (Luke 1:35) … (What we find is,) The Spirit responsible for the birth of Jesus is also responsible for the birth of the church.

 

– (Also,) The gift of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 fulfills the prophecy of John the Baptist in Luke's Gospel, (when he said,) 'He will baptize you in the Holy Spirit and fire.' (Luke 3:16)

 

– (What's more,) The Spirit that fills the disciples in Acts 2 is the same Spirit that descended upon Jesus at his baptism (Luke 3:22).

 

– (Just as) Jesus began his ministry Spirit-filled (Luke 4:1), so does the church (Acts 2).

 

– (And finally,) Jesus told the disciples not to worry about what to say when brought before the authorities, because the Spirit would teach them (Luke 10:11-12) – a prophecy that we see fulfilled in (numerous places) in Acts. (For example, when Stephen spoke out against the elders who had arrested him, Luke writes, 'They weren't able to withstand the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke' (Acts 6:10)).

 

 

Point by point, it's clear: Luke wants us to see the connection – the same Spirit that filled Jesus and empowered him to usher in the Kingdom of God on earth was given to the disciples on the day of Pentecost that they might continue Jesus' mission of reconciling the world to God.

 

"But you will receive power," Jesus said, "when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

 

Well, this is the gist of it all: We are Jesus' disciples in the world today; we are the ones to whom the Spirit is bestowed. As such, we are charged and empowered to speak and act in Jesus' name, bearing witness to God's love and inviting others into fellowship with him.

 

And this is the point I'd like to emphasize in the sermon this morning: The gift of the Spirit is not to be taken lightly. It's a stimulus for new life. It's a catalyst for change. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is the potential for transformation and renewal, often in the most unexpected and unpredictable ways.

 

When I was growing up, hearing the Pentecost story for the first time, I was intrigued by the way Luke describes the scene. Listen once more:

 

"Now when the day of Pentecost had come,

 they were all with one accord in one place.

Suddenly there came from the sky a sound

like the rushing of a mighty wind,

and it filled all the house where they were sitting.

Tongues like fire appeared and were distributed to them,

and one sat on each of them.

They were all filled with the Holy Spirit,

and began to speak with other languages,

as the Spirit gave them the ability to speak." (Acts 2:1-4)

 

Like everyone else, I pictured these "tongues of fire" as little flames sitting on the disciples' shoulders, much like the burning bush in the story of Moses –plain to see, but not doing any harm. This is how the day of Pentecost has traditionally been pictured in religious art through the ages – little tongues of fire dancing like the flames of a campfire.

 

What if, instead of thinking of the Pentecost "tongues of fire" as docile little flames casting a glow and warming the heart, we thought of them as bolts of electricity setting the soul on fire with passion for the gospel? What if we thought of the whole room that day as electrically charged and filled with a surge of new vitality? And what if we thought of the disciples as shocked, then energized with the awesome power of the Holy Spirit?

 

Didn't Peter speak boldly to the crowd? Didn't the disciples go on to witness to the power of the resurrection and the promise of eternal life? Let's think of Pentecost as high voltage energy sufficient to spark new faith in common, ordinary folks like us, to the end that the whole world is filled with the radiance of God's presence.

 

High voltage energy: It's something to think about. First, as we all know, electricity is conductive – if you touch someone who's electrically charged, you'll get shocked. It happens all the time, especially in winter. You slide your foot over the carpet, it produces static electricity, then you shake hands with someone, and you both feel the spark.

 

Electricity is conductive – once the current gets generated, it flows out in every direction bringing energy and power to everything it touches.

 

Well, I like to think that the Holy Spirit, like electricity, has this conductive property – by God's grace we are filled with the Spirit and, through our relationship with friends and family and co-workers and neighbors, it spreads to them and, through them, to others, until, before long, the whole community comes alive with the spark of God's grace and love.

 

Electricity is conductive. That's the first point, and the second is, it's also versatile. It'll cool your house and, at the same time, it'll heat your oven. It's not selective. As such, it plays a major role in just about everything we do. The same electrical current runs our appliances, keeps us comfortable and manages our information technology. Any more, when the electricity goes off, things come to a stand still.

 

Electricity is at the heart of so much of what we do. It's what makes possible so many of the inventions and gadgets we've come to depend on. It's so versatile. Again, I see a correlation with the Holy Spirit. In his First Letter to the Corinthians, Paul says,

 

"Now there are various kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit.

There are various kinds of service, and the same Lord.

There are various kinds of workings,

but the same God, who works all things in all.

But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the profit of all."

(1 Corinthians 12:4-6)

 

In the Epistle reading we have this….

Epistle- Romans 8:14-17

¹⁴ For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

¹⁵ For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.

¹⁶ The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

¹⁷ And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

 

John 14:8-17

⁸ Philip saith unto him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us.

⁹ Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?

 

“Show you the Father?” Jesus says. “I’ll do one better than that. I’ll send you the Spirit, and when the Spirit comes you will be able to do even greater things than I have done. And if you ask for anything in my name, I will see that it happens for you” (see vv. 12-14).

 

Jesus actually makes it sound like it will be to their advantage that he is gone, and that he will send the Spirit in his place. And maybe it was. You see, Jesus knows something they don’t know. He knows that God cannot be seen or explained. God can only be experienced…..

 

there came a sound like a mighty wind (see Acts 2:1f.).

 

Then came the tongues of fire resting on each of them. Though they were of different nationalities, they were able to speak and understand one another in all their various native languages. They were from all points of the globe, each with his own language, but there wasn’t a dropped sentence in the whole place.

 

Have you ever wondered what they talked about? I doubt they discussed the weather... or NASCAR. Not even golf. Though we are not told specifically what they talked about with each other, you don’t really have to guess. They talked about God. And they remembered Jesus’ promises.

 

Philip was there. Even though he is not mentioned specifically – once again Simon Peter draws the top card – Philip had to be there. So... any more questions, Philip? Do you still want to see the Father, Philip? Is this good enough for you, Philip?

 

It certainly ought to be good enough for you and me. You see, we’ve been shown the Father. “Whoever has seen me,” Jesus said to Philip, “has seen the Father.” And the Son. And the Holy Ghost.

 

The promise has been fulfilled. And that should be enough for all of us. Don’t you think?

 

Prayer:  Spirit of God, recreate, renew, and restore us this day. Open us to the power of your transforming Spirit, that we may proclaim your love, make know your gifts, and share your blessing, with all the world. In Christ name we pray. Amen.

That they May be One May 12

 

May 12, 2013  That They May be One

This is a day that shows God’s power to the World. Jesus calls the disciples to be one, not only with each other but also with Him. Through this unity of the spirit, the world may know God’s presence through the disciples ministry

Acts 16:16-34

In Acts, Paul has the power to heal a slave girl suffering from demon possession – a healing that leads to transformation throughout the town as people witness this miraculous act.  The girl lost her ability to make money for her owners and Paul and Silas ended up in prison.

Paul and Silas find themselves at the center of captivity: they are in the innermost cell, feet fastened in stocks, at the darkest hour, midnight. In this complete darkness, Jesus prayer is answered.

Paul and Silas are praying and singing hymns to God, with their fellow prisoners listening to them, when there is a violent earthquake that shakes the foundations of the prison. “Immediately all the doors are opened, and everyone’s  chains are ‘unfastened”.

The jailer is scared out of his wits and cries out: Sirs, what must I do to be saved?...Paul and Silas cry out : Believe on the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.

The irony is that those who seem to be in prison are actually free in Christ, and the jailer, who supposedly has the keys to freedom, is actually the one shackled by his duty.

What duties shackle us today?

Psalm 97-

The Glory of God is proclaimed in both Psalm 97 and Revelation 22.

Many people find God in sunsets, storms, waves, the beauty of the forest, or even the stark barrenness of the desert.  In nature they experience deep feelings of gratitude, mystery, reverence, and joy. 

Many people are much more inclined to experience and name the presence of God in nature then in history or in the complexities of human interaction.  Psalm 97 provides ways to  invite worshippers into theological reflection and spiritual formation around their own experiences of revelation and insight, found in the beauty, majesty, and awe of God’s creation.

Revelation 22:12-14, 16-17, 20-21

God’s glory is evident even to the heavens, so that the world may know God.  Christ announces that he is coming soon to reward everyone according to deeds (22:12).  The theme of the book is the nature of Christ as Alpha and Omega.

And the message that there is blessing for those who have washed their robes in the blood of the lamb…so they will have the right to the tree of the life.

John 17:20-26

This is the ministry to which the disciples will soon be sent – the ministry of showing and proclaiming God’s glorious presence to the world.

The purpose of Jesus’ prayer is unity not for its own sake, but for the sake of witness to the love of God and the authenticity of Christ as the one “sent”. It is a prayer needed as much in the divided fragmented world of the 21^st Century Christianity as in the churches of the first century.

When Christians are one with one another, their unity surely allows the world to see the “peaceable” teacher, Jesus. Unity among the followers of Christ may offer a model of a better world for all of humanity., a healed human race, yet to come.  Imagine a world without war.

Our moments of unity with god and with our neighbors allow us hope for the eventual reconciliation and unity of all humankind.

The importance of unity among believers is that such oneness leads the world to believe (v.23). The counterpoint of that truth is that the world does not believe in Jesus because the world sees partitions among the followers of Jesus…..

If two churches can’t get along what kind of testimony is that for the world? Even in our small community.

Jesus prays that the 11 disciples and those who come to believe because of the disciples be unified into one body (V.20). There is no second class citizenship among the people of faith.

Jesus does not call for doctrinal unity, organizational unity, or political unity.  This prayer is for unity that grows out of the love of God, received and shared among his followers, leading to an experienced unity in love between Jesus and his followers, and with the one from whom Christ comes.

If we were to take such love to heart, would our divisions and hostilities melt away?

As Jesus walked among people, the Father’s love filled His Son.  Jesus recognized that no ordinary love could motivate Him to go to the cross. No human love could keep Him perfectly obedient to His Father throughout His life.  Only His Father’s love was powerful enough to compel Him to commit His life to the saving purpose of His Father. God’s answer was to play His Son in them.  It is impossible for a Christian to be filled with this measure of love and not to be on mission with God.  I in them as You are in Me.

Jesus prayed that God would place this same love in His disciples. He knew that no other motivation would be sufficient for the assignments God had for them.

Five times within these six verses, Jesus names “love” as the key descriptor of divine relationships (vv 23,24,26).

Love is the bond within the Godhead (vv.23-24).

Love is the divine gift to the disciples (23.).

Love is the magnetic grace through which God seeks to attract the world (vv.25-26).

Love is the ingredient that the Lord prays will be within his followers. (v.26).

The Scriptures say:  God is Love. If we are to be one with God then when others see us they see the Love of God in our lives and this love draws all men to Him.

Prayer:

We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord…and we pray that all unity may one day be restored. And they ‘ll know we are Christians by our love, by our Love, yes they’ll know we are Christians by our love. All praise to the Father, from whom all things come, and all praise to Christ Jesus, God’s only Son, and all praise to the Spirit, who makes us one. And they’ll know we are Christians by our love. Amen.

May 5 Sermon

May 5, 2013   Those who love me will keep my words

Acts 16:9-15

Paul is continuing to reach out and evangelize Gentiles. It is interesting that two of the last three readings have dealt with the restoration of another group of outsiders – women. In relation to the psalm reading for today it  reminds us that all persons are called to be in relationship to God, not just persons who are like us. The Acts reading relates to the Gospel lesson as well.  Jesus who is about to ascend, tells the disciples that they must now be his body through the power of the Holy Spirit, because his fleshly body will go to the Father. Paul embodies Jesus mission by reaching out to and baptizing Lydia and her household.

Psalms 67

The most difficult instrument to play in a symphony orchestra is second fiddle.  No one will notice how well you play it – but make a mistake and all will notice and remember it.  This psalms plays second fiddle to the passage in Acts 16 – it does not give an uncertain sound.  The gospel is ours not to keep but to give away. This text in connection with the Acts passage is that it makes it clear that God’s intention for God’s people is for them to see a Larger vision.

Revelation 21:10 22-22:1-5

We are empowered to view this revelation through eyes shining with new astonishment as we identify aspects of the holy city that reach beyond those detailed by John.  We are invited to encounter unique applications of God’s construction of the heavenly city for the brokenness of our own lives.  There is a street address here for everyone where stands a dwelling place that is furnished with grace specific for each one’s needs.

John 14: 23-29

Those who love me will keep my word, and my Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them.

Jesus is clear that he and the Father are on the same page….Jesus has lived out what he taught his disciples to pray: “Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven” (Matt. 6:10)

Jesus said what the Father said. Jesus did what the Father told him to do.

“As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.  The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one. (John 17:21-22).

The Christ Jesus of Philippians 2:5-8, who” Did not regard equality with God as something to be exploited,” invites us to have the same mind as Christ does. It is a mind of full love of God and love of neighbor.

John 14:26 God the Holy Spirit is described as teacher and reminder….He is our Advocate, Helper, Companion, and Comforter…like one who expects and sees the best in us.

The challenge in this text arises out of Jesus promise of the Holy Spirit, the “counselor” the advocate.

John’s Jesus can see what his disciples cannot, while he looks forward to a time when they will finally get it.  Jesus tells his followers he is about to leave and breaks the news to them that they are going to b e receiving a teacher who will clarify all that remains hidden.  They will remember, he tells them, and therefore believe.  Yet their transformed remembrance will come not just by their doing, but through a Counselor who will “teach…everything.”

The church is full of spots and wrinkles, Paul always seems to add, tough Christ will present the church to God as though it were “Holy and blameless” (Ephesians 5:27.

That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing but that it should be holy and without blemish….

How??? Look at Ephe. v. 26 that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.

But the disciples are needing encouragement and comfort as Jesus is saying farewell…

The disciples know that they are sinful and feel inadequate, incapable of doing the things that Jesus is forecasting…in verses previously the Teacher predicts that this ragtag bunch of fishermen followers will do greater works than he has done (John 14:13).

How do you feel when you read this passage:

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto my Father.

If you are honest it makes me feel a bit inadequate without some type of help.

So, how do you feel about yourself and your ability to comfort, to heal, or to simply speak a word of forgiveness to another person?

The answer is usually NO! Not me. God heals , teaches, preaches, forgives, and comforts through me. We are the vessels. This is the crux of Jesus message to the disciples….”The Companion, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will Teach you Everything and remind you of everything I told you….Don’t be troubled or afraid.

Mother Theresa said we are to be “Christs hands and feet” but we can only be this body if we are a Spirit filled people.

We should be challenged to look more like the first century church and to rely solely on the Spirit in humility. This is the truth of Pentecost, which we will experience next week;  to be a Christ follower after Jesus’ ascension is to be a person who continually leans on the Spirit..

Without the Spirit we can’t love the way we should, and we can’t be the body that we are called to be.

So as we end this Easter season and rapidly head toward the Ascension and Pentecost, we are caught in the middle, looking back to the Resurrection, but also forward to the oddity of the Ascension and the even odder arrival of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said we can’t do it on our own..we need a Companion, a powerful and available and continually renewable resource in the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit reminds us who Jesus is….

The Holy Spirit brings Jesus’ actions into the present tense.  The same one who sent Jesus as the Word made Flesh (v.24, and John 1:14). Is the one who sends the Holy Spirit as the reminder (refresher) of that presence (v.26). No wonder the persons of the Trinity all seem cut from the same piece of cloth.

The Comforter will aid us in remembering Jesus’ words and in enacting them.  May God give us the strength and the awareness of our weakness to rely on him for the glory of God’s name.  Amen.

Prayer:

Come, Holy Spirit, send the comfort and power that only you can provide.  We are a fallen, fearful, and sometimes weak people.  We know that we cannot be Christ’s body without you.  And yet our Lord promised that with you, anything is possible.  So we ask you to come into our midst for the building up of your kingdom. Amen.

Sermon April 28, 2013  Love One Another

Most of us can recall meeting someone important. You might have driven a long ways to just have an opportunity to be in a special concert of a famous person because they were playing close by.  I can remember driving to Macon Georgia one time because President Lyndon Johnson was coming to the city. About all I saw was him passing by in the presidential limousine. But I was there.  I was sitting in a restaurant in Macon one time and the guy with me said look! Its Tina Turner and she and her entourage sat in the booth behind us. I remember ushering for a David Wilkinson preaching event and had a chance to meet him afterwards.  But what about meeting personally with the Almighty God!! Creator of the Universe?

And you know He is here in our Congregation right now.

Take a moment and think about this…..God dwells among us.  Right here, right now.  God is with us.  Today’s scripture call us into the presence of the One who truly is worthy of our praise and adoration.

Acts 11:1-18

In This passage the Jews in Jerusalem want Peter to explain to them how he can baptize non-Jews or even associate with them.  Peter, making it clear that he is permeated by the Spirit…(Think about that for a minute)….Permeated with the Spirit of God….and goes on to explain that God wants us “to go with them and not to make a distinction between them and us” (v. 12). 

As we live with “the other”  this is a very empowering text.  It also meshes with the psalm for this week, which similarly clarifies that all persons are created by God and called into communion with God.

Psalm 148-

Praise , praise , praise. God is worthy of our praise. Praise ye the Lord. Praise ye the Lord from the heavens: praise him in the heights. Praise ye him, all his angels: praise ye him, all his hosts. Praise ye him, sun and moon: Praise him, all ye stars of light.  Praise him, ye heavens of heavens, and ye waters that be above the heavens.  Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created…….

Revelation 21:1-6

This week and next week’s reading in Revelation reveals that UNITY with God is indeed possible, that the redemption of the earth is not a foreign idea to the Christian narrative. God desires to dwell with God’s people (Rev. 22:3)  This is emphasized in todays other readings, from Jesus’ unity with the Father in John 13, to Peter’s emphasis in Acts 11 that all persons can experience such unity.  Even as the psalmist has described, all of creation has the capacity to praise the Lord.

John 13:31-35

Jesus gave disciples a farewell speech….I am with you only a little longer…..I give you a new commandment, that you love one another.  Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.

The gospels and the Apostles Creed spell out very clearly: Jesus will die, be buried be resurrected, live on the earth a few weeks more, and then ascend to the right hand of God.  The Spirit will then descend to his body (the church), empowering humans to boldly wear the banner “body of Christ”.

As Jesus bids them adieu, he also equips them. His parting words are “Love one another”. Jesus tells them three times in the space of only two verses.

First, and most simply, Jesus says the disciples are to love one another just as he has loved them.

Second, the call for the disciples to love one another is evangelistic.  By actively loving one another, members of Christ’s body communicate to outsiders that they are followers of Jesus.  Jesus said: “this is how everyone will know.”

Third, remember Jesus’ bold proclamation in last week’s text, “ I and the Father are one” (John 10:30).

If this is true, that God is one, one being and yet somehow three persons, and humanity is created in the image of the Triune God – then Christians are to embody this oneness in the world.

We are to be one with one another just as the persons of the Trinity mutually indwell one another.

Jesus prays later in John that the disciples may be one just as he and the Father are one (John 17:21).

“I and My Father are one”

The Jews confronted Jesus on another occasion, asking Him, “Howlong do You keep us in doubt? If you are the Christ [the prophesied Messiah],tell us plainly” (John 10:24). Jesus’ answer is quite revealing: “I

told you, and you do not believe” (verse 25).

 

He had indeed confirmed His divine identity on a previous occasion (John 5:17-18).

Jesus adds, “The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness

of Me” (John 10:25). The works He did were miracles that only

God could do. They could not refute the miraculous works Jesus did.

 

He made another statement that incensed them: “I and My Father are

one” (verse 30). That is, the Father and Jesus were both divine. Again,

there was no mistaking the intent of what He said, because “then the

Jews took up stones again to stone Him” (verse 31).

 

Jesus countered, “Many good works I have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?” The Jews responded, “For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man, make Yourself God” (verses 32-33).

The Jews understood perfectly well what Jesus meant. He was telling

them plainly of His divinity.

The Gospel of John records yet another instance in which Jesus infuriated

the Jews with His claims of divinity. It happened just after Jesus

had healed a crippled man at the pool of Bethesda on the Sabbath. The

Jews sought to kill Him because He did this on the Sabbath, a day on

which the law of God had stated no work was to be done (which they misinterpreted to include what Jesus was doing).

 

 

 

 

Jesus then made a statement that the Jews could take in only one

way: “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working.”

Their response to His words? “Therefore the Jews sought all the

more to kill Him, because He not only broke the Sabbath [according to

their interpretation of it], but also said that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God” (John 5:16-18).Jesus was equating His works with God’s works and claiming God as His Father in a special way.

 

The first Gospel writer, Matthew, opens with the story of the virgin

birth of Jesus. Matthew comments on this miraculous event with the

quote from Isaiah 7:14, “‘Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and

bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,’ which is translated,

‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23). Matthew is making it clear that

he understands that this child is God—“God with us.”

 

John is likewise explicit in the prologue to his Gospel. “In the beginning

was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God … And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:1, 14).

Some of them called Him God directly. When Thomas saw His

wounds, he exclaimed, “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

 

Paul refers to Jesus in Titus 1:3 and 2:10 as “God our Savior.”

The book of Hebrews is most emphatic that Jesus is God. Hebrews

1:8, applying Psalm 45:6 to Jesus Christ, states: “But to the Son He says:

‘Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.’” Other parts of this book

explain that Jesus is higher than the angels (1:4-8, 13), superior to Moses

(3:1-6), and greater than the high priests (4:14-5:10). He is greater than

all these because He is God.

 

Satan is always trying to put doubt in our minds. Some wonder -Did Jesus Really Die

and Live Again?

“This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses” (Acts 2:32).

One of the greatest proofs that Jesus is exactly who He said

He was—the Son of God and the only One through whom

eternal life is offered—is His resurrection from the dead.

His followers were convinced that He was the Messiah

and the Son of God. His miracles, His sinless life and His teachings all

proved to them who He was. But His resurrection confirms every claim

Jesus made to all people for all time.

And today we read again Christ’s New Commandment

Jesus said, “A new commandment I give to you , that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another (JN 13:34.

Did Jesus replace the clear definitions of the Ten Commandments with a new religious principle, that love alone can guide our lives?  Does this new commandment supersede the Ten Commandments and replace all other biblical laws.?  Jesus clearly answered this fundamental question when He said,

“Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets (Matt. 5:17).  Yet many people who believe in Christ as their Savior also believe this new commandment frees them from any obligation to obey God’s laws.  They misunderstand What Jesus said and meant.  The Holy Scriptures, in the Old and New Testament, teach that we should love each other (Leviticus 19:18).  Jesus did not introduce love as a new principle.  That was already in the Bible and a fundamental part of God’s instruction to ancient Israel.

What, then, was new in Christ’s “new commandment”?  Notice His wording.  He said we are to “love one another, as I have loved you.”  What was new was His own example of love!  The whole world has a perfect model of the love of God in Christ’s perfect example of loving obedience.

Christ loved us so much that He sacrificed His own life for us.  He Himself explained: “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13).  Jesus came as the light of the world to illuminate the application and practice of the royal law of love.  We no longer have an excuse for saying we don’t understand what to do or how to do it.  Jesus demonstrated what loving obedience is all about.

If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His Love (John 15:10).

We comply with Jesus new commandment when we obey every commandment of God in a genuinely loving manner and are willing to lay down our lives for the sake of others.

Jesus did not only teach or expound His message. He was identical with His message….He did not just proclaim the truth, He said, “I am the truth.”  He did not just show a way, He said, “I am the way.”  He did not just open up vistas. He said, “ I am the door.”  I am the Good Shepherd.”  I am the Resurrection and the life.  I am that I AM..

Jesus did not offer bread to nourish the soul, He said , HE IS THE BREAD.

Jesus wasn’t just a teacher of superior ethic, He was The Way.  Jesus didn’t just promise eternal life, He said I Am the resurrection and the Life. (John 11:25)

What becomes clear is that only Jesus is the true Revelation of the true God.  There could be no escaping what people saw.  God revealed Himself in such a manner that there is no easy way out for any of us.  We have to face it squarely – that Jesus was who He said He was and Had been sent here by His Father.

There is no such thing as “many roads that lead to God.”  Jesus declared : “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).  That is why Peter could courageously proclaim: “Neither  is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12),.

If there is any doubt in your mind today about your relationship with Jesus I encourage you to come and kneel at this old fashioned altar and make things right with God. Get it settled and have assurance in your mind that you are on your way to heaven. Start acting on the new commandment:  Love One Another.