It was once said that if all the things Jesus did were written down that the world could not contain them. We are not here to read books and obtain knowledge, for knowledge puffs up but the spirit gives life. The bible is a book of experiences leading us to Christ for experiences of our own. It shows us the character and personality of Almighty God. Our goal is not just to know about Him but to know Him and become like Him. To accomplish this, we need the power of God in our lives. For what truly matters is not what we know, but who we know.
Mat. 28:19-20 Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.
- Jesus said” Go and make disciples… teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” If you just took this verse at surface level you would think that you could just do the things that God said to do and that would be good enough to get to heaven. Jesus was not talking about good works, he was talking about fruit (Matt 7:15-19), there’s a huge difference. The Pharisees had good works and Jesus called them vipers. Fruit is something that comes from the inside. The only way a branch can bear fruit is that it has to remain on the vine. This brings us into dependency on the last part of the verse, I am with you always.
“Teaching them to obey” means putting His commandments and teachings into our lives and putting them into practice. In closing the sermon on the mound Jesus encouraged His listeners to put His teachings into practice.
- Matt 7:24-27 "Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock. "And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. "Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. "The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell — and great was its fall."
- There is an action that leads to salvation. You must act upon what you hear and pursue God. This is our choice and God will not violate our choice. Without a step towards God in faith nothing will happen. The first group of people in the verse above were founded on the Rock, because they tested God word by stepping into faith and trusting God. They found out that Jesus spoke the truth and God was real. The winds of adversity came and the house remained because they knew how to stand in God.
- The opposite is also true. The second group never stepped into God. They decided to pursue life on their own and never obeyed the teachings of Jesus. When the tests came, their house fell with a mighty crash.
It’s all about knowing Jesus
Mat 7:21-23 says that, Only he who does the will of my Father will enter the kingdom of heaven. So how are to do his will. We must know his voice and learn to lean on Him. If God doesn’t regularly speak to us, we should be putting ourselves in a holding pattern searching to find him and wait until he does speak.
- He did not dispute they did many things or even cast out demons. They understood principles and spiritual laws but they did not know Him. One thing that’s better than knowing God is Him knowing us. Check out the next verse.
- Jesus said that “Many will say to Him did we not prophesy in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?” His reply was, “I never knew you.” Mat 7:21-23
The scriptures point to Jesus. John 5:39-40. We can see God’s plan all through the Old Testament, It has always been to know the heart, character, and love of the Lord. His love for the nation of Israel, His Righteous judgments, promises of the coming Messiah, the life of Jesus. If we know Jesus we know the Father.
- We have to know Jesus. John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
- How can we know Him unless we have His spirit. John 15:26, John 16:7-14 Here Jesus is talking about the coming Holy Spirit and how the Holy Spirit will speak to us, lead us, and guide us and reveal who Jesus is.
The Holy Spirit is the spirit of wisdom and revelation talked about in Eph 1:17-19
- Here Paul is praying, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe… It’s the Holy Spirit who reveals God the father and God the Son. Remember it’s the Holy Spirit that’s in us, so you don’t need to go up to the heavens, just speak to the Holy Spirit who’s already there with you.
How do we know when we know Jesus?
- 1 John 2:3-5 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, " I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected.
- Remember we start to know God as we start applying his teachings in our life.
- When we’re filled with God’s spirit, He births a new desire in your heart to do right. You will not always do right and fail many times but the desire will be birthed in you. This is not from you, it’s a gift from God. God is literally going to transform you from the inside out.
- As you begin to understand what God has done for you, your Love for him will increase. As our love for him increases it provides the power to do what is right.
After we know Him and love Him we learn to obey
Our motivation will always need to come from the love we received from Him. It’s His love and grace working in our lives that makes the difference and empowers us to walk in a life we would not normally be able to walk out.
- James 1:22, “Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.”
- So at first we choose God through our own freedom of choice and submit to his ways, trusting him to deliver us. In the process we develop a dependency on Him and learn how to trust Him and walk through the law of the spirit.
- James 2:19-24 You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe — and tremble! But do you want to know, O foolish man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, "Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness." And he was called the friend of God. You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only.
- This is why Jesus taught us to obey His teachings. Even though we don’t understand everything when we begin our walk with him, we know we can trust him. Some of us need this in black and white so now we have it.
- If your faith doesn’t change the way you live your life it's not real faith.