Aug. 06, 2023

The Words of Jesus - Keeping His Commandments – Pastor John Custer 

(6 August 2023)

Introduction - Our Study of the Kingdom of God, and Jesus as King, unfolds to us many rich truths.  The rich fruit of today’s lesson is joy.  It is, coincidentally, a fruit of the Holy Spirit.  In my early Christian life, I had concluded, correctly, that it was an important thing to have - maybe the most important fruit a Christian could enjoy, because with it, you could ride out any storm.  Joy is not just happiness or giddiness, which are very transient, but a deep abiding sense of contentment, not related to circumstances.  This means that you can be in the middle of struggles, but have a deep sense that things will absolutely turn out good for you, absolutely, because God will see that you prevail.  Let’s examine the kingdom dynamic which brings this about:

John 15:7-11 But if you remain in me and my words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted! 8 When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father. 9 “I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. 10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.  11 I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! 12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.NLT

16 You didn’t choose me. I chose you. I appointed you to go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for, using my name. NLT

The joy spoken of here must be really great.  Jesus said we will be filled with it and it will be overflowing.  The key to this joy is to keep Jesus’ commandments.  Now a natural question which should occur to us is: What are the commandments Jesus is referring to?  The Bible contains about 49 or 50 specific commands which Jesus gave us. Probably more are contained in less direct teachings in parables.  I’ve picked out seven commands which are representative of his direct commands:

John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.  By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

Matthew 5:44-45 “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Matthew 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

John 14:11 “Believe me that I am in the Father and the Father is in me, or else believe on account of the works themselves.“

Matthew 16:24-25 “Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.  For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

Luke 21:36 “But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

Matthew 28:18-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We could have included many more.  Here’s a question: Of this list, which one involves the producing of “fruit” in the normal sense of a vine producing fruit, which is the context of John 15?  Answer: A grapevine produces more grapes, which are actually a type of flower (floret) for the grapevine.  In this setting, “fruit” wouldn’t mean spiritual character traits, as in the list of “fruits” of the Spirit in Galatians 5.  It would mean producing more grapes, or by analogy, disciples. Our version of modern cultural Christianity is comfortable with the passive production of Galatians 5 characteristics of the Spirit, which are all personal manifestations of God’s spirit.  We have little trouble listening to sermons, learning interesting new facts, maybe learning to give a little to God, practicing being nice to others, thinking lovely thoughts, praying for our needs and for the needs of others, tolerating children, etc. etc. But, we are a lot less comfortable with the idea of a commandment which tells us to produce something.  We are even less comfortable with the idea of God monitoring our production!  

Since this commandment is so important, let’s examine what the Lord’s expectation for it really is. To “make disciples” does not simply mean to help someone to understand if they are saved or not.  The entire discipleship process involves three steps, not just one: 

Our job isn’t complete until the church is formed. 

Part I Identifying a Believer

Our modern definition of making disciples is usually that - guiding someone to understand whether or not they have believed.   We call that “leading them to the Lord” or “getting them saved” or “praying the sinners prayer.”  That is only the first step in the process of making a disciple.  This is based on a quick, shallow application of the following verse:

Romans 10:9-10 If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. NLT

Every course I ever took on Evangelism uses this verse to prompt a person to repeat a prayer or make some declaration before they are saved.  This is not necessary.  Ever notice that there is no sinners prayer written anywhere in the Bible?  You’d think if it was as important as our modern approach says it is that there would have been multiple incidents of people repeating a sinners prayer recorded in the Scripture.  Notice that verse 10 plainly says that “It is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God.”  This important phrase refers to the act of justification done by God on behalf of any person who believes in Him.  That person’s record of sin is expunged and he is, therefore not condemnable.  As he gets acquainted with the Christian church, he is taught that he needs to get baptized and begin following Jesus, which means keeping regular company with his followers, the church.  This is what the second phrase in verse 10 refers to: “It is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved.”  This is called sanctification.  There are multiple declarations of our faith which follow the initial water baptism we undergo.  We begin to pray with and for the saints, we speak forth praises to God, we join in the mutual support of the group and its needs, etc.  Verses 9 and 10 could be summarized by saying “If you’re a believer, you’ll start talking about it.” Sanctification is a lifelong developmental package which involves our gradual transformation into ever more mature people of God.  

When you meet someone who seems to be seeking the Lord, follow the normal course of conversation and explain Jesus as necessary to answer questions:  “You seem troubled; Let me tell you who helped me.  It’s Jesus, the son of God who died for the sins of the world.  He rose from the dead and set in motion a great life of victory for all of us. Do you believe in Him? Great, then you need to get baptized and join his followers.”  Notice that the prominent invitation should not be “say this prayer after me” but “if you believe in Jesus, you need to be baptized in water.’

Part II Making a Disciple

A disciple is a pupil or a trainee.  Jesus did not make apprentices. Usually an apprentice was a sole person who was being trained to take over a family business or profession for the founder of the business.  Jesus recruited 12 believers who he then began to disciple.  He is our example, so it is likely that we will not make disciples one at a time (singly) either.  We may do training singly sometimes, but disciples were made in small groups, both by Jesus, and in the examples of the church in the Scriptures. This is probably because one of the most effective ways to learn is by doing, especially with the feedback of peers who are learning at the same time.  This is more effective than a big class.

Our small groups naturally involve a good bit of discussion.  This is a very natural form of teaching, as we share our knowledge and opinions with each other in an informal way.  The teaching done in our groups is much more the introduction of a subject or a Scripture which opens up a sharing by all the other members, rather than a prepared lecture on a subject.   This is very different and less intimidating than the old concept of preparing a canned sermon and giving a lecture.  Just simply being in the group makes you a part of a team which is making disciples!  God is pleased with this.  

Part III  Forming the disciples into a church

Matthew 16:18-19  Now I say to you that you are Peter (which means ‘rock’), and upon this rock I will build my church, and all the powers of hell will not conquer it. 19 And I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you forbid on earth will be forbidden in heaven, and whatever you permit on earth will be permitted in heaven.” NLT

Jesus said, “I will build my church.”  Did this mean that we just sit back and watch Jesus miraculously do it all? No, this involves our active participation.  Notice that Jesus told Peter “I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven.”  There was a certain amount of authority given to humans to restrict certain activities on the earth and to permit others.  For example, we obviously have authority to cast out demons (Mark 16) thereby forbidding evil, and to permit good by praying for it instead.  Paul’s command to the church to pray for kings and those in authority was so that our influence would give the church time and freedom to grow.  

All the myriad instructions given to the church in the epistles are evidence of how much human involvement God wants us to have in the church.  Pages and chapters and paragraphs are devoted to caring for widows, dealing with the unruly, supporting the poor, healing the sick, instructing on what to preach about, conducting worship, and observing the Lord’s Supper, to name just a few.  The entire discipling process is not complete until the church fills as much of the earth as God wants it to.  The predominant model of the church was small groups in homes, not the static, large congregations we are used to today.    

Conclusion - This teaching is fundamentally new for us.  It is liberating and exciting, because as God’s expectations for us become clearer we can get better at our part in building His church.  Don’t forget that this is the real path to real, unshakeable joy!