Turn with me, please, to the Gospel of John, Chapter 14. The Gospel of John, Chapter 14, entitled the message, The Presence of God Through Faith and Obedience. The Presence of God Through Faith and Obedience. John 14, and we'll begin reading at verse 15 through 27. Jesus speaking. If you love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the father and he shall give you another comforter that he may abide with you forever. Even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him. For he dwelleth with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world seeth me no more, but ye see me. Because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in the Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me. And he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, if a man love me, he will keep my words and my father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings. And the word which he hear is not mine, but the father's which sent me. These things have I spoken of you being yet present with you. But the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. Peace I leave with you, and my peace I give unto you, not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Look at verse 21 again. He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me, And he that loveth me shall be loved to my father and I will love him and will manifest myself to him. You know God designed us with the ability to experience love. God is a good God. I mean you just see the beauty and the glory of creation even with the curse upon it. You can just see God's goodness in creation now. This ability to love is no doubt part of the image of God because God indeed is love. And God loves himself and each person in the Trinity loves the other persons. God is not lonely. God expresses love and God is love. And we realize that this is a great blessing in our lives to be able to love. One of the great joys of life, for those that have been granted that joy, is when a young couple falls in love. I know in many cultures, marriages are made by arrangement and various things but even at that when the two come together and get to know one another and there is a love there. I can remember when I met Vicki before she became my wife and the love developed and what a joy indeed that experience was and a good memory. You think how God designed the intimacy of marriage to have the strength to uniquely bond a relationship. That's why fornication and adultery is so sinful because God equipped us with a bonding agent in the love and that intimacy has a way of sealing that relationship and that is part of God's design of love. And if you stop and think, love is something that is both given and received. Now, there could be differences between the love given and the love received. And as far as the experience, in other words, some can give love and the love not be received. And one can imagine that some love is given that really isn't there. So, I mean, there is some confusion at times concerning love. Now, the Gospel of John was written by the Apostle John, but he wrote what we call incognito. In other words, he doesn't tell us. He doesn't mention himself. He doesn't mention his name. He refers to himself as the Apostle whom Jesus loved. We find that five times. There may be a little variation in the words, I'm not sure. But basically five times you'll find in the Gospel of John that he refers to himself as the one whom Jesus loved. Now, we need to understand that John is not asserting that he believed that Jesus loved him more than the other disciples. That's not what he was thinking when he said that. That would be rooted in pride and so forth and I don't believe that that's what John was thinking in his heart. We know, matter of fact, if you'll just look over at chapter 15, that Jesus speaks of how he loves all those. that receive him look at chapter 15 verses 13 through 15 greater love has no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends ye are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you henceforth I call you not servants for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth but I've called you friends for all things that I have heard of my father I've made known unto you. So what is he says there's no greater love than you lay down your life for someone. And Jesus didn't just lay down his life for the apostle John. He laid it down for the other apostles and each one here saved tonight. He laid his life down for you. You know that and have claimed that you say. And we see that this love this friendship manifest itself in revealing. You know, when someone has a close friend, they're able to communicate to them things they wouldn't tell others. And Jesus tells them, I told you everything the Father told me. And that's this love. And he looks at this relationship. It sounds kind of strange. You are my friends, if you do whatsoever, I command you. What he is showing is that when we live in a relationship with love toward Jesus Christ, we receive his love. That's what we're going to be seeing tonight. Now, Lord willing, let's go to the book of Ephesians. And again, chapter three, what I'm showing you is reasons why John, when he said the disciple whom Jesus loved, that he was not thinking well he loves me more than he loves others and that's not what he was thinking the reason being because he himself wrote in John 15 that this greatest love were for all Jesus those that come to Christ and will come to Christ and so forth and then in Ephesians we see Paul talks about this love and the point that we want to see here in Ephesians 4 excuse me, Ephesians chapter 3, Ephesians 3, is that His love is immeasurable. Now if His love is immeasurable, how can one have more than the other? Because anyone that Jesus loves in regard to salvation and being in Christ, to them He gives them the immeasurable love. So look at Ephesians 3, beginning with verse 14. The Apostle Paul is praying for the Ephesian church. 3.14. For this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints, note that, with all saints, What is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height? And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. And so since his love is immeasurable, since his love here is for all saints, then it is the idea in John's heart was not that, well, he loves me more. I think what we see here is that John the Apostle identified himself by Jesus' love. How do you identify your relationship to Jesus Christ? You see, he identified it by the fact that Jesus loved him. You see, he was not thinking when he said the disciple whom Jesus loved that Jesus loved him more than the other disciples. He just so received Jesus' love in such a way that Jesus' love filled his heart and life. He's just making a positive statement. It's like if my wife cooks a good meal and I say, man, that is really good steak. That doesn't mean the potatoes don't taste good. I'm just telling you the steak tastes good. You see? And so when he says that he loved me, he is not saying that he didn't love the others. He is just telling us of his experience of receiving the love of Christ. And that this is the way he identifies himself. That he is the one whom Jesus loved. Are you the one that Jesus loves? Is that the way you think of your relationship to him? Yeah. And so you see, we need to think of it this way. Now, this grace, and it is a grace to be able to have such a relationship with the Lord as John had experientially. And I no doubt it was the grace of God so that John could be a model and encourage us in having such a relationship. with the Lord Jesus Christ and walking with the Lord Jesus Christ. I think that Paul had a blessed relationship. I often quote a quote Galatians 2 20 and I in many ways think that's probably Paul's life verse. I think if you said Paul what is your life verse. He'd say Galatians 2 20. Of course it was first given they didn't have verses but Galatians 2 20 is this I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me he identified himself one in union with Christ's death, in union with his life, and the one for whom Christ died because he loved Paul. Doesn't mean that he didn't love others, as I just said, but Paul saying, I know he loved me. You see, it's like that blind man in John 9, you know, They were asking him a lot of things. He wasn't sure about a lot of things, but he said, you know, I know this. I was blind, and now I see. And so we see this here. Now, the word crucified in Galatians 2.20, in the Greek language, you have what's called the perfect tense. That's much like we have the present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect. The word perfect, as far as a tense, means something completed. Present tense, I have arrived. In other words, I'm right now, but my arrival's completed already. Past tense, he had arrived. Meaning you're going back to a time in the past, but there was something that happened before that past time. And then you have future perfect. At 8 o'clock, we shall be finished. You see? Well, when you get to 8 o'clock, which is future, something will already be past, and that will be finished. And in the Greek, it has somewhat the same idea, but a much richer and fuller idea. The Bible says when the fullness of time was come, God sent for this son. I mean, you can preach a whole message on all the things that were right for the coming of Christ. And one is that Greek was the lingua franca. It was the language of the known world. And it was very it's very exact. And so the perfect tense means that action is completed but the effects are abiding. So Paul was saying him being crucified with Christ was passed, it's completed. But the effects of it are abiding every day of his life. You see it's abiding unto the present. And then four times he mentions the word live. In the King James one of them has an ETH on it. you find in Galatians 2 20 let me read it again I quote it for I'm crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me all four times that verb for live is present tense it's continuously So he viewed himself having been united to Christ's death, united to his resurrection, with abiding results of that every day of his life, and that he lived unto the Lord, you see, and Christ lived in him. Now if you think of this, we see Paul's perception of Christ's love. It's mentioned at the end of the verse 220. For it says, I live by faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. And if you notice in the Bible and in 1 John, Paul, it isn't so much he loves me. typically is he loved me because obviously if he laid his life down and took the guilt of our sin and all the shame and suffering and infinite loss that was involved in that you don't question his present love and so it is spoken of in the sense of an action he loved me and gave himself for me, you see? And so this word, this idea intensifies that Paul lived and walked with a conscious understanding of Christ's love to him. Now, let's go back to John 14. John 14, verse 21 through 23. I want to read it again, because I want you to see this. John 14, 21 through 23. he that hath my commandments and keepeth them he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved to my father now look at this and I will love him and will manifest myself to him that's why this is in the series on the presence of God to Judas saith on him not Iscariot Lord how is it that thou will manifest thyself unto us and not into the world In other words, how are we going to see you and the world won't see you? Well, he tells us, Jesus answered and said to him, if a man loved me, he will keep my words and my father will love him and we will come unto him and make our abode with him. You see? so what we see here to it to manifest means that there must be a perception in the heart to those to whom he manifest himself manifest means to make known to see so obviously if Jesus manifest himself to us in some way we must perceive that or it's not a manifestation I want you to also see this manifestation is interwoven with our obedience and walking in our love to God. It's a reciprocal thing. You see. And so this is what we find here. Now, I want to confirm. Just take a minute or two to confirm a couple of verses, two or three verses that the Bible we know we have the Trinity, the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Bible teaches that we dwell in in God. We dwell in Christ. We dwell in the spirit. And God dwells in us. The Christ dwells in us and the spirit dwells in us. So the whole trinity is involved. I want you to see that very clearly in scripture. Let's see it right here where we're at in John 14. I think we may have turned to 15 if we did go back to 14. And look with me. First of all, the spirit. Look at verse 16. It says, and I will pray the father and he will give you another comforter. that he may abide with you forever you see once you receive the spirit he's united to your spirit even when your body's in the ground the spirit still dwelling in your spirit even in eternity the spirit is still dwelling in your spirit course in eternity dwelling in your body you have a new body first 17 even the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it see them not neither knoweth him but ye know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you so we have the spirit dwelling in us now look at chapter 14 verses 12 and 13 okay I know let me see here we want to go 16 and 17 verse 23 is where I want to go in John 14 before we go to 1st John look at verse 23 Jesus answered and said unto him if a man loved me he will keep my words and my father will love him and we the son and the father will come unto him and make our abode with him so here you have the father and son so in verse 16 and 17 you have the spirit dwelling in us In verse 23, clearly he speaks of the Father and the Son dwelling in us. You see? Now, I want you to note something here. Go with me to 1 John, chapter 4. 1 John. That was the Gospel of John, but let's go to 1 John, chapter 4. And look with me at verses 12 and 13. He says in 1 John 4, 12, no man has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his spirit. Now here, the way this is written, it's talking about the father. Not only does he dwell in us, but we dwell in him. Romans 8 1 let me quote that there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit. Now listen to me as I quote Romans 8 9 an important verse but you're not in the flesh but in the spirit if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he's none of his. So basically this verse is saying that we dwell in the Spirit and the Spirit dwells in us. Romans 8 1 says we are in Christ and then this verse says that Christ is in us and in 1st John we read that God is in us and we are in God dwelling in God and in that context it's the Father so each person of the Trinity we are in God we are in the Son we are in the Spirit and God the Father is in us the Son is in us and the Holy Spirit is in us you see that now what I want to do I want you to see this evening the connection in the scripture between the manifestation of Christ and the love of the Father in Christ with our obedience with our obedience now remember back in John 14 21 and 23 he said you love me you say and and you obey me and you'll know my love you see this is what is is said that's in john go back to 14 let's go back and look at that want to make sure that it's john 14 look at it again verse 21 will be sufficient john 1421 he that hath my commandments and keep it then he it is that loveth me and he that loveth me shall be loved to my father and i will love him and will manifest myself to him now i'm going to have to do something kind of quickly here in verse 21 he that hath my commandments now i was studying that one time and man it just came as clear as could be what does it mean he that has my commandments well and we won't take time but in John 10 Jesus said he said no man takes my life I can lay it down and they have power to take it up again this commandment have I received of my father now what does that mean in that context it means that he knew he had power to lay his life down and take it up again because that was the father's will So when he says, he that hath my commandments, it means a redeemed person that doesn't just have the knowledge of the commandments. He has the power to keep the commandments. He has been delivered from the slavery of sin. He has been given a new spirit. And Hebrews 8 says this. Listen to Hebrews 8 10. I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts. And I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people. So that's what he's talking about. He that hath my commandments. It is a redeemed person with the renewed nature and that renewed nature. Godliness and righteousness has been the very nature and inclination of that new nature. And you have the power of the spirit, the power of a new nature energized by the Holy Spirit so that you these commandments are not just things you read about, but God gives you Christ gives you the power to obey these things. That's the idea. Now, I want us to go on to 1 John now. Go back to 1 John. I know we've been flipping back and forth, but I usually, I put too much stuff down, and so I'm kind of skipping. I want to go to the crucial part. Go to 1 John. Now, the point I'm wanting you to see is that when we are obedient in faith, and love God, Christ manifests his love to us. You see, assurance, we have security in Christ, unchanging. But assurance is your perception of that, and it can change. And when you are loving God and walking in faith and obedience, you are in a position to receive his love and receive assurances. I mean, when I'm in a right relationship with my wife, I'm more likely to understand and receive her love when I'm loving her. You see, this is what he's talking about. Now look at 1 John 2, and this is unique. Read what's actually there in verse three. And I say that not as though you don't understand, but I mean, sometimes things are said and we need to see the details. Look at 1 John 2, 3. Hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. He that sayeth I know him and keepeth not his commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in him. This is very important this basically summarizes what I'm trying to get across to you. First I'll look at verse 3 what it actually says. I'm going to read it again and you're assignment is to see what words I leave out and think, what I read, does it make sense? Not am I reading the verse, but does it make sense? And am I leaving words out and which words are being left out? So I'm going to read it again. And hereby we do know him if we keep his commandments. Now, does that make sense? Hereby we do know him if we keep his commandments. Doesn't that make sense? But that's not what the verse says. The verse says, Hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his commandments. That's assurance. You can know Jesus, but assurance is you know you know him. You see what I'm saying? That's what assurance is. And he's telling us that we have that assurance when we're keeping his commandments. When we're keeping his commandments, his love is being perfected in us. That's the same thing. So basically, how does Jesus manifest himself? Well, in Gospel of John 4.23, we will come and make our abode in you. So it is through the indwelling spirit of God that dwells in us, the spirit of God, the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, one spirit, three persons. It is through the Spirit that we know God and experience His love and the assurance, and that's the way Christ manifests Himself. You see, the way that you really see Him is that you are assured of His love. His love is perfected in you. Now, love is of such nature, the only way you can know Christ's love to you is if you are responding in love. If you aren't responding in love and obedience, you can't know that love. I mean, my wife could be doing all kinds of good things, loving me and doing all kinds of things. If I got a bad attitude, I'm reading into everything she does. I'm not receiving it. I'm not experiencing it. And she's, you know. Now, if we both, if she is loving me and I am loving her, there's a reciprocal relationship and our love is perfected. Now when our love is perfected, that's God is love. And so the more you know is love, the more you know God. And so in this series on God manifesting himself, if you want to experience and know God, then humble yourself, repent of sin, walk in the spirit, and receive the word of God and walk in obedience and obey God. And as you do this, you're loving him and you'll be in a position to know and experience his love. And His love, as we see here, and as we see in John 14, has to do with Him dwelling in us, Him assuring us. Look at verse 3. This is essential to the point. Verse 3 of chapter 2 of 1 John. And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. Now he's not saying you're not saved if you don't keep his commandments, at least if your life is such you don't keep his commandments, you're lost. But I mean, what he is saying here, he's talking about assurance. That's what the theme of this book is. These things have I written that ye might know that ye have eternal life. That's one of the major themes of 1 John. So what he is saying here is assurance is when you know that you know him. Not just that you know him. Every saved person knows Christ. He's been saved by faith. But sometimes he doesn't have assurance and you can doubt and not have assurance periods of not having assurance and be saved. We are not saved by our assurance. We're saved by Jesus Christ. Brother Ron Chris preached a beautiful message on this at a Bible conference and he told a true story of a man. And the man was confused about assurance, and he was dying. And somewhere or another, someone had talked to him, and he just confused, and it was, he didn't, you know, finally he said, he said, Brother Ron, He said, can I just believe Jesus and not worry about the assurance? Can I just believe Jesus and be saved? And I mean, he was very sincere and he was broken hearted. And I'm sure when he did, the Lord did assure his heart. But the point being that we're not saved by our assurance, we're saved by Jesus Christ. You can have periods where you doubt, you're confused. That doesn't mean you're not saved. Your security is Jesus Christ. Like right now, I think I have some money in a particular place. But while we were in here, there could have been some kind of stock crash in China, and it's gone, okay? So that's a case where I think I have security, but I don't. And you can have the opposite. Someone could go, let's say someone goes and puts money in your account and you don't know about it. Instead of stealing it, they put money in your account. You've got all kinds of security, but you don't know it. You see, you can have security, but your knowledge of that, which is assurance, can go up and down. And what he is saying here, is that Christ, I believe, Christ manifesting himself is this assurance that we have. Because when you're sure of who he is and his relationship to you. And it makes sense to me and according to the scriptures that you must obey him and walk in love to receive his love. Now it's not that he doesn't love you when you're disobedient, but you're not experiencing that love. You see what I'm saying? It's like a disobedient child. The father still loves the child, but the child is not, you know, the father's discipling the child and the child thinks the father's terrible. But when the child is obedient and loving the father, then the child is in a position to receive the love of the father. And that's what he's saying, and that's when Christ manifests himself to us. In that assurance, when we love him and we obey him. I believe that this is what these passages are talking about. Hence, in this subject of the presence of God. He said, I will manifest myself. His love, we're perfected in his love. Let's all stand and thank you for your attention tonight. We'll close in a word of prayer and Jacob Dunn, would you close us in prayer?