John 15, starting with verse 12. This is My commandment that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from my father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the father in my name, he may give it to you. This I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you were not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this, the world hates you. Let's pray. Dear Lord, we thank You for Your Word. We thank You, Lord, that these promises that we're going to look at today are for us. Yes and amen. Lord God, Your Word is forever settled in our heart. Today, as we partake of it, I pray that it not leave us, Lord, but that You would watch over Your Word and perform it in our lives. We give You thanks for this in the name of Jesus. You may be seated. Wow. Brother Andy and I didn't get together on any of this, A lot of the songs and the worship that we just got through with, worship session, fits well together in the verses that we're going to be looking at today. That's amazing, huh? I want to give thanks for my dear wife. I guess she sensed my nervousness. As Brother Andy was praying, she wrote me a little note, said, it's not you, it's God in you. I thank the Lord for my wife. She's been a strength for me for 35 years. Pray there's another 35, unless I go. There's an ongoing discussion about that, which one of us is going first. So, praise God. I thank God for my wife. Yeah, amen. I've been praying for that, brother. Last week, as the elders gathered together over the phone to pray, Brother Andy thought I was going to be preaching that week. So he prayed in that way. We got through praying and I told him, I said, Brother Andy, I'm preaching next week, I hope. I said, while you was praying, I was saying, dear Lord, your word says you're coming back. Why not make it tonight? But I wasn't ready. But really, I've been working on this for several months now. I thank God for our pastor. He does an amazing job at putting together the lessons, the Bible studies, the sermons, his radio broadcast. And he has a wonderful way of communicating. I'm not an accomplished speaker, and I don't communicate well. I have trouble at the drive-thru at the restaurant ordering my food. When you do something like this, you come to appreciate the man of God that we have here. Amen? The Word of God is under attack today as never before. That's why we place such a high emphasis on declaring, reading, and singing the Word of God. Winston Churchill, I don't know what you think about the man, but he had some amazing sayings and he did a lot. One of his quotes is, the truth is incontrovertible. Malice may attack it. Ignorance may deride it. But in the end, there it is. And that certainly holds true to the Word of God. Psalms 119.89 says, Forever, O Lord, Your Word is settled in heaven. We have a more sure word of prophecy. Amen. The Word of God is true. What I think, what I believe, what I speak is not necessarily true, but the Word of God is. Amen? For any man to stand behind this pulpit, or any pulpit, and misuse the Word of God or mislead the people is a very grave offense to God. So today as you hear the Word of God read, know that it is truth. Anything else I say is subject to question and scrutiny. Weigh my words against Scripture. Don't be like the little baby birds in a nest sitting there with your mouth wide open waiting for something to be shoved into it. Amen? Amen. In the passage we're looking at today, Jesus is talking to eleven of His disciples. Everyone else has left Him. Judas, in chapter 13, had left the group to betray Jesus. But in fact, it was in chapter 12 that it's written, Judas had already had it in his heart to betray the Lord. And a few chapters before this, in chapter 6, it says, many stopped following Jesus because the things He said was too hard to believe. That's amazing for us to look back and realize that now. Before Judas left, they ate together. Jesus washed the feet of all twelve of his disciples. Judas was in that group. Judas heard the things from the mouth of Jesus that the others had heard. He had seen the same miracles. He witnessed Lazarus being raised from the dead. Jesus made sure His disciples knew, including Judas, that He was telling them beforehand the things that were going to happen so that they had proof that He was who He said He was. Amen? In chapter 14, Jesus told His disciples, don't let your heart be troubled. He was comforting those who remained, letting them know that yes, hard times are coming, He told them about that, did He not? And it will seem for a while that they will be left alone, but they will see Him again. And not only will they see Him again, but a Helper, the Holy Spirit, will come and will never leave them. That they will go and do even more than Jesus Himself did. Not do greater in power, but greater by being far more reaching into all the world. Amen. Jesus and his disciples are making their way to the garden. They're still in the upper room right now, but these are the final hours for Jesus to be with them. He loved these men, and for three years had been preparing them to be the world changers for the sake of the gospel. Chapters 12 through 17, Jesus is recapping the teachings of those years. condensing them down into a summary as they make their way to the place of the disciples' graduation. Soon they would be without their master, and time would come for them to be the teachers. True enough, this is the site of the most horrific event in the history of the world. God Almighty is betrayed by His creation. Jesus said in chapter 12, now my soul has become troubled. He just told the disciples, don't let your heart be troubled, huh? What did Jesus say? Now my soul has become troubled. Time is short and there is an urgency in His voice that we need to keep in mind as we read again these eight verses. Start in verse 2. Verse 12 and 13, This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. Jesus said in verse 9 of this same chapter, Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you. This statement is amazing. To the same degree that God the Father loves God the Son, the Son loves His disciples. That's who He is talking to here. But by extension, He loves us the same way. We are His friends. Do you believe that? Amen. Amazing, because we can see how God would love Jesus, right? Perfection, loving perfection. But loving us? Not only the non-perfect, but when did He love us? When we hated Him. Jesus is worthy of God's love. We are not worthy. Yet He loves us. And Jesus laid down His life for His friends, and that includes us. His life wasn't taken from Him. He laid it down. He offered His life for us. He became the sacrifice for us. That's the demonstration of the greater love. Now I need to ask you a question. Is the love of God unconditional? The answer is yes. And no, God loves all His creation. It tells of His glory and His majesty, the good and the bad. Amen? But the love that Jesus is speaking of here, that's supposed to be verses 12 and 13, is reserved for the elect. Those chosen by God to be His children, His church. John 13, 35. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. 1 Thessalonians 4, 9. Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. What a promise. 1 Peter 4, 7. I'm sorry, 8. Boy, I've got a lot of mistakes. Above all, keep fervent in your love one for another, because love covers a multitude of sins. John 10, 11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Romans 5, 6, and 8. For while we were still helpless, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will hardly die for a righteous man, Though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die, but God demonstrates His own love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So yes, the love that Jesus has for the elect is unconditional. The condition is that it's for the elect. Amen? For that type of love anyway. Verses 14 and 15. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends. For all things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. Again, that's another wonderful promise. All things that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. Jesus calls us friends. If you take notice in the epistles, the apostles called themselves slaves of Christ, not friend. Is this a contradiction? No way. We're going to see it. With the same love that God the Father and God the Son have with each other, Jesus has towards us. Not only that, but Jesus told us to have that love one for another. And I can see that. I fall short on my part, but I can understand that the Word of God tells us this is so. But He goes on and calls us friends. Not slaves or servants, depending on which English version you're using, but friends. We must not use the generosity of our Lord to elevate ourselves to the same level as God, but with humility continue to remind ourselves and others that everything we have and enjoy is because of the work of Christ Jesus. Matthew Henry said it this way, The more honor Christ puts on us, the more honor we should study to do Him. The higher in His eyes, the lower in our own. Jesus shared with the disciples all that the Father asked Him to share for the purpose that they would in turn share with other men. Now our charge is to tell others as well, which is what I have the privilege of doing here today. Like I said, I'm not an accomplished speaker, but what a privilege, what an honor to be able to proclaim the Word of God. There's so many men here that could do a better job. I've been with Corey out on the street. And he does a wonderful job at proclaiming the Word of God to his listeners. We are friends of God. Let that soak in just for a minute. We are friends of God. You know angels are envious of our position with God? Now let that soak in as well. Angels are envious. Angels do not have the experience of the new birth But they get a glimpse of that miracle by looking at the church. 1 Peter 1.12 says, Announce to you through those who preach the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven, things into which the angels long to look. I don't know about you, but this blows my mind to think about it. So my question is, is there sin in heaven? We know there's not. So the account that we have in Isaiah 6 and the Revelation 4 about the angels are creatures or beasts, depending on your translation, with six wings and crying, Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord. These creatures have never sinned. Do you believe that? What happened to the angels that sinned? There's no sin in heaven. There's no sin in the throne room of God. Yet in Isaiah we are told why they have six wings. Isaiah 6, 2, and 3. Each having six wings, with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. These creatures have been in the presence of God for how long? Who knows? What's important are these facts. Even though we are saved and we have been redeemed, We can't, in this present condition, be in the presence of God. Our flesh is still corrupt. We have to be given new bodies for that trip. Amen. The angels who have been in the presence of God since they were created used two of their wings to cover their face, and two to cover their feet, and two for flying. The four used to cover with is a sign of humility and for protection. Moses did not look into the face of God, yet after he came off the mountain, the people could not stand to look at his face. Can you imagine what the glory of God has done to those angels? As the examples that we have recorded for us in the Word of God, mainly in the Old Testament, we too would probably fall down as dead were we to look in the face of one of these angels. You know what I'm talking about, huh? The humility the angels portray should be an example to us that while we are called the friends of Christ, we too are but servants or slaves of the Most High. Is there anyone here that can say, I deserve to be among the elect, or I deserve to be among the chosen by God? Isaiah 41a says, But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham, My friend, called Abraham his friend. I say to you, My friends, in Luke 12, verse 4, Do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. James 4.4 says, you adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility or enmity toward God? Galatians 4.6 and 7 says, because you were sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Therefore, you are no longer a slave, but a son. And if a son, then an heir through God. What promises? Philemon 16. No longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord. James 1.1 says these next three are the writer's view of themselves. James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter said, Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ. Jude said, a bondservant of Jesus Christ and brother of James. These men here too, like Brother Andy pointed out, or Brother Reese did, about Moses, a man of God. Amen? What better way to think of somebody that they're a man of God, huh? May we all be men of God, or women of God, huh? John 15, verse 16. You did not choose me, but I chose you. The title of the message today. and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you." So what is Jesus talking about here? The doctrine of election, huh? The most controversial and even hated subject in the Christian world today, and in fact, hated ever since Jesus spoke these words. Now in this church we discuss this subject on a regular basis, so much so that if you come here more than once and you hear somebody mention anything about election, you'll have to say, I've heard that before, right? One of the reasons that election has received such a bad rap is because embedded in that doctrine, in the doctrine of election, is the doctrine of total or here we say utter depravity. You see, the reason that Jesus had to choose us is due to the fact that we are dead. Spiritually dead. Meaning that left to ourselves, we do not have the ability or the desire to choose Jesus. The Word of God says we are God-haters, despising the very Word of God. So, after that phrase by our Lord, you did not choose me, but I chose you, we have little to boast about, right? Another reason for the reluctance to embrace the doctrine of biblical election. It goes against fallen nature to suggest we might not have the ability to do something, huh? While it is true we make choices every day, all day long, We just don't concerning the things of God. Especially where salvation is concerned. And I know what some people could be thinking right now. Wait a minute. What about what Peter said to the Lord in Mark 10, verse 28? Peter began to say to Him, Behold, we have left everything and followed You. So how about that? The disciples decided to follow Jesus. Why did they decide to follow Jesus? Who chose who first? And while we're talking about this, let me ask you, who chose Judas? Hmm? Jesus. Allow me to point out something to you here about verse 16. Now just say for a minute we omit this verse and read the passage. What is the context of these verses? Let me read it. This is my commandment that you love one another just as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends. For all things that I have heard from my father I have made known to you. This I command you, that you love one another. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you." So what are we talking about here? The context of these verses is love, is it not? 1 John 3, verse 1. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called the children of God, and such we are. The love between God the Father and God the Son, the love of the Father and the Son with the elect, and the love of one another of the elect. So this verse explaining how election works is not out of context. The Lord loves those who are His. Not in the way a master loves his slaves, but in the way that dear friends love each other. Brother Blair says that we are benefited because we are caught up in the love affair between God the Father and God the Son. So how is election brought about? By love. 1 John 3, verse 1, we read, See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us that we would be called the children of God, and such we are. He first loved us. For what reason were we elected? What reason was it that we might be saved? Was it because we're saved from the wrath of God? No, that's a benefit. We were chosen that we would go and do what? Bear fruit. Not because of our ability to be fruitful. We in ourselves do not possess that ability. We are to bear fruit that remains, so that it may bring glory to God. 1 Corinthians 3, 5-8, or 6-7. I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything but God who causes the growth. I got so many mistakes in this thing. I told you I've been working on this for a couple of months, huh? Brother Blair told the elders, you need to have a couple of sermons ready just in case. You never know what's going to happen, right? So I've been working on this. And when I realized, OK, this is my turn, I started pulling this together. And I had like 40-something pages. And I'm going, oh my gosh. And because I've been working at it for so long, so I started chopping it up. And left some out that I didn't need to leave out. But anyway. The last two phrases of verse 16. And appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, He may give to you. are so deep and rich that a whole series of sermons would be needed to unpack that meaning and do it any justice. Not only are you chosen, but you've been appointed to go and bear fruit. As I stated earlier, these words of Jesus were spoken to His closest disciples. But rest assured, these same words are just as true for you today. Jesus knew what was going to happen, didn't He? He knew each step of the way. So there was that urgency for him to keep pouring into those men who were going to take over after he was gone. So not only are you chosen, but you appointed to go and bear fruit. And as I stated earlier, these words of Jesus were spoken to His closest friends, His disciples. But rest assured, these are for us today. If you are chosen, they're for you. If you're born again, they're for you. If not, we're going to look at that in verses 17-19. These are wonderful promises attached to election. Those who are chosen have been appointed for something. We do not all have the same gift and calling. With the appointment mentioned in verse 16 comes the assurance of completion or victory. You will bear fruit, fruit that remains or last, because it is God who called. It is God who saves. It is God who keeps. And it is God who causes the fruit to come forth. So I ask you, what is this fruit? Is it our works? Is it the number of people we lead to the Lord in the campaign? It's us being conformed into the image of Jesus Christ. Amen. And whatever you ask for in Jesus' name, God will give it you. Is that what was written in the Word of God? Sure it is. What does it mean? Can we ask anything? Anything we ask will cause lasting fruit. Anything we ask that will cause lasting fruit to be brought forth. That's the prayer that gets answered. Now how do we apply that to our lives today? What is the subject of this passage aside from election? Love, right? Jesus commanded his disciples and us to love one another as we already looked at, but here's another reason to walk in that love, to guard it and to nurture it. Matthew Henry said, keep peace among yourselves and this will fortify you against the world's quarrels with you. Those that are in the midst of enemies are concerned to hold together. There's safety in numbers. Amen? Acts 22-14, And He said, The God of our fathers has appointed you to know His will, and to see the righteous one, and to hear an utterance from His mouth. Precious, wonderful promises. Romans 9, 10-17, Though the twins were not yet born and had not done anything good or bad, so that God's purpose according to His choice would stand, not because of works, but because of Him who calls. It was said to her, the older will serve the younger, just as it is written, Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated. What shall we say then? There is no injustice with God, is there? May it never be. For he says to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion. So then, it does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy. Amen. Then in 2 Timothy 2, the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Who does this apply to? Every believer. Amen. Ephesians 2.10, For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, so that we would walk in them. 1 Corinthians 3, I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth. Amen. Where does the fruit come from? From God. Amen. What's that? Yeah. Corinthians 1. which has come to you, just as in all the world also it is constantly bearing fruit and increasing, even as it has been doing in you also since the day that you heard of it and understood the grace of God in truth." And then John 15 verse 7, If you abide in Me and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. John 15, verse 17. This I command you, that you love one another. This is the third time in these chapters, chapters 12 through 17, this is the third time that Jesus gave this command. So do you think Jesus was trying to make it clear that Christians should love one another? The first one was in chapter 13, verse 34. A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. The second one was John 15, verse 12. This is my commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. And again in verse 17. This I command you, that you love one another. Starting of the sentence, this I command you, I'm expecting a list, huh? Were you? You feel that way? But it's simply to love, because love fulfills the law. Jesus didn't just tell us to love, He demonstrated that love by laying down His life for the elect. He demonstrated love by making us sons and daughters of God. He demonstrated love by calling us friends. He demonstrated love by choosing and sending the elect to preach the gospel. 1 John 3, we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Back to our passage, John 15, verse 18. If the world hates you, you know that it has hated me before it hated you. Starting at the first of the Bible, in Genesis, you don't have to get very far into the book to see this played out. The temptation in the garden by Satan is the first look of hatred toward God, and then hatred toward man. When God is left out of any situation like, say, our life, Satan dominates. I know you've heard Brother Blair say this too. You're going to serve someone. And to not serve God is an automatic declaration you're going to serve the devil. No one, hopefully, sets out to serve Satan. But from John MacArthur's commentary, he dominates the evil world system and leads it in rebellion to God. 2 Timothy 3.13 says, but evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived." Is it important that we know the Word of God? Amen. So whether it be the atheist who says there is no God, or the Jews who detest Jesus, or the person who says they don't know what they believe, to not love God is to love the world. To hate Jesus is to hate God. There's no separation here. To not believe the Word of God or to hate the Word of God is to hate the triune God. Verse 19. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. But because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. So if we look at this phrase by phrase, we're of the world. Matthew 5 says, blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Now how is it a blessing to be persecuted? We have that answered for us in 1 Peter. If you are revived for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. And then Matthew 10, 22. You will be hated by all because of my name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved. Now our enduring does not save us, but because of salvation, we are preserved. That is the preservation of the saints. In James 4, we read, Euodraltus says, Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. And then in Luke, If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. And again, 1 John. If you are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He... I'm sorry. You are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world. They are from the world, therefore they speak as from the world, and the world listens to them. Now, concerning the phrase, because you are not of the world, in John 17, I have given them your word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask you to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. This is Jesus' prayer. for His elect. Jesus prayed that God would keep us from the evil one. How about we pray this over ourselves, our family, and our church? This is one of those whatsoever you ask will be given you type of prayers. Ephesians 2, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now walking in the sons of disobedience. Among them, we too, all formerly lived in the lust of our flesh. indulging in the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved. Amen. 1 Peter, but you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. For you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God. You had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may, because of your good, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation." So here's the thing. More than likely, we will be falsely accused about something at some point in time. Our charge is to make sure it's a false accusation. Amen? When Lynn and I lived in Guatemala as missionaries... Let me back up. I'm always complaining about the roads here in Mississippi. I don't know if any of you are. But let me tell you something, the roads in Guatemala are a whole lot worse. And there was a highway going to where we lived, and in this highway were holes you could lose a whole car. And if it was raining, you didn't know that hole was there. There was a man riding in front of us on a bicycle, and he reacted bad, hurt himself bad. So we picked him up and took him to the hospital. His friends were following behind us. Well, needless to say, we're in a van. They're on bicycles. We got there way ahead of them. The first thing the hospital was concerned with, not treating this man. Here's a gringo. with a Guatemalan who's hurt, who hurt the Guatemalan, the gringos. False accusations come. That's just a small example of that, but they come. We've got to make sure it's false. Amen. And 1 John, 3 verse 12, Not as Cain, who was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brothers were righteous. In 1 John 5, We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one. We know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. And we are in Him who is true, in His Son, Jesus Christ. This is the true God in eternal life. The word here used for true also means genuine, Jesus is the genuine God. 1 John 5, 21, little children, guard yourselves from idols. Keep yourself from false gods. Then one last verse of encouragement to those who believe we have been made to be children of God. Look at 1 John 3. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called the children of God, and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are the children of God. and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself just as He is pure." So look at the contrast in verse 2. Children of God at the beginning of the verse and ending with, we will be made like Him. We will not be deity, but I confirm conforming to the image of Christ will be complete. We will finally be without sin. Amen.