John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands.”

May Christians say that they want to know God’s Will for their lives but once they do will they be obedient to it? Do we really want to know His Will so we can please Him, or is it more a case of wanting to know His Will so we can determine if it fits our wants and then decide if we will follow? In John 14 we find Jesus preparing His disciples for His departure, and as He does He not only reveals God’s Will to be a lifestyle of obedience, but models it in His own walk. Jesus was “obedient to death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8). It is here that we who claim to be followers of Christ also come face to face with the call of every Christian, to follow His commands.  God’s Will is not about some specific place it’s a practice called obedience. It’s not some hard to grasp concept it is simply choosing to obey His commands. Today we tend to shy away from talking about obedience because we live in a society that is tuned to self not sacrifice, but the Bible has much to say about obedience. For Christians, the very act of taking up our cross and following Him requires a life of obedience. Obedience is careful compliance to the commands of Christ, it is at the very heart of our relationship with God. We can’t have a healthy connection to our Father if we have a disobedient life. Obedience comes from a heart that is at home with Him being in charge. But this is not just a matter of outward compliance to His Will, it involves our hearts not just our heads. It’s not just outward conformity to commands but inward change, the driving force behind our obedience is love not the law. Today we see obedience as obligation, all we see is restrictive rules and so we miss the relationship. It is here that Jesus also reminds us that our love for Him is not just a matter of words but action. So let me ask you do you Love Jesus? Before you answer that first answer take the time to answer these questions:

Does your life show that you love Jesus? 

Do your actions prove your love for Jesus? 

Are the choices that you make based on your love for Jesus?

Would others testify of your love for Jesus?

It is in this simple verse that we see:

• The Evidence of our love for Jesus 

Jesus begins His statement with the word “IF” because He knew that not everyone who had said that they loved Him did. One of His own disciples, Judas, had already left to betray him for 30 pieces of silver, the price of a Hebrew salve (Exodus 21:32). That’s how much value religion places on the Redeemer, they see the Savior as nothing more than a slave there to do their bidding. Jesus makes it clear that if we really love Him then there will be evidence and that evidence is obedience. What about the life that you are living, are you living in complete obedience to Jesus? Can others see what it looks like to be Christian by watching your daily life? Today there are many who claim to love Jesus yet continue to live life their way. The truth is that their lives do not conform to God’s commands because they are caught up in their own cares. Vance Havner said, “You have not really learned a commandment until you have obeyed it.… The church suffers today from Christians who know volumes more than they practice.” Anyone can say they love God, but the proof is in obeying Him. Following Christ involves conforming every area of our life to him. It requires submitting every relationship, every attitude, every word, every thought, and every action to Him. It involves our whole lives, not just a few specific things that we do or don’t do. Today we practice compartmentalized Christianity, where we choose which of His commands we want to follow. When we see obedience as optional instead of being conformed to Christ we live compromised and carless lives. Listen to what Peter said : “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 Peter 1:14-16.  We are called to be obedient “In all that we do” not in some of what we do. There are many things vying for control of your life like magnets pulling you in different directions. But true freedom comes when we are conformed to God’s Will, when we choose to follow His commands. A compass works, not when the needle does what it wants, but when it is directed to true north. The alternative to obeying God is not freedom, but obeying another authority.  We either surrender our lives to the Savior or we live lives as slaves.

Psalm 139:13-18

13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous—how well I know it. 15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb. 16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed. 17 How precious are your thoughts about me, O God.    They cannot be numbered! 18 I can’t even count them; they outnumber the grains of sand! And when I wake up, you are still with me!

After seeing God’s omnipotent power in the source of our being and the wonder of our being, now David reveals: 

• The Plan For Our Being (v. 16)

The plan is that we have a significant purpose to fulfill, Psalm 139:16 says “You saw me before I was born.” Our natural eyes cannot see the human fetus in the womb, but God can and what David is saying is that even while we were concealed from the world in the womb, God was there watching over us. God was superintending our development all along, even from day one. “Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Here we see another wonderful Bible doctrine, one that is seen over and over in Scripture. And that is, God’s sovereign control over every detail of our lives. “All the days or every moment” refers not only to the time in every 24-hour day, but every circumstance within those 24 hours. Each individual day with all that it brings is not a surprise to God. He has a plan that involves every moment of our lives, but this doesn’t relieve us of our responsibility for how we act. So, what about the crazy out of control moments? Well, the truth that “every moment was laid out” should serve to reassure us that anything out of our control is still in His control. We can trust Him because His purposes are good, and His plan is perfect. We might not always understand and see that, but they are. It doesn’t make sense for God to create us and save us only to walk away from us. Do you believe that God does what is best for us? If we look at our lives like a tapestry, what we see is the underside, with all its gnarls and tangles, but God sees the beauty of the upper side. While we see the mess, God sees the Masterpiece.  There is a poem that puts this truth to words:

My life is but a weaving

Between my Lord and me;

I cannot choose the colors

He worketh steadily.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow

And I, in foolish pride,

Forget He sees the upper,

And I the under side.

Not til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God unroll the canvas

And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the Weaver’s skillful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned.

My life is but a weaving between my God and me.

I see the seams and tangles, the fairer side sees He.

Then let me wait in patience and blindness satisfied 

To make the pattern lovely upon the upper side.

It’s hard to wait in patience especially when we can’t see what God is doing on the upper side, and all we can see is the mess instead of the masterpiece. So often when it comes to our lives instead of believing the bible we start to feel like we fit more with what Shakespeare described in one of his plays, “A tale told by an idiot full of sound and fury signifying nothing.” But the truth is we can agree with the Psalmist in Psalm 31:15, “My future is in your hands” Our days are known by God, He has established them for a worthwhile purpose. We were not created to meaninglessly bumble through this life we were designed for a purpose. Not only do we see the plan for our being but also:

• The Joy of Our Being (v.17-18)

Psalm 139:17-18, “How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you.” The thoughts that David is talking about are all the things he has revealed in this Psalm. The intricate details of his body, the many circumstances of his life, God has it all in His mind at every moment. If we could count them all up, they would be even more than all the grains of sand. That’s how much God thinks about you. Even while we are sleeping, He thinks about us, and when we wake up in the morning, God is still thinking about us, because He does not slumber and sleep. David does not rebel or react negatively to such close scrutiny by His Creator. Instead, he sees God’s thoughts of him as one of his most valuable treasures, verse 17 “How precious are your thoughts about me, O God” If I would ask you to make a list of your most valuable assets what would you say, where would you start? Many of us would start with our house, or other material possessions. But as a child of God, one of your most precious possessions is that God is thinking about you right now. Maybe you feel insignificant and unimportant. Maybe you feel insignificant and unimportant to your family or at work. But to the One that matters you are valuable. Because to Him you are His unique and special creation, He made you and He cares about you deeply. So much so that He will never stop caring about you, and He will never put you out of His mind. Do you believe it, accept it, and rejoice in this revelation? Are you resting in His sovereign control of your life, and in the assurance that everything He does is for the best? Why not take time today to cultivate your relationship with Him. Get to know the One who knows you intimately and start to trust Him fully.