See, what is so important is this, brethren: When we look at what Christ is teaching us here, if you as a branch remain in the vine, guess what? No man can take you away. The only one that takes away is the Father. And that’s important. This also shows us something very profound too. That there is such a thing as a falling away or a drying up, and there is such a thing as a lake of fire because the branches are burned, correct? Yes, indeed. So all of these are very profound and important in connection with our relationship with God. And in connection with how we respond to God and live in Christ and dwell in His words, and His words in us, His Spirit in us, and all of this together, you see.

Ok, let’s continue on here. Verse 15: “ ‘No longer do I call you servants, because the servant does not know what his master is doing. But I have called you friends because I have made known to you all the things that I have heard from My Father.’ ” And that is obviously all the things necessary for salvation. Verse 16 is the key: “ ‘You yourselves did not choose Me, but I have personally chosen you…’ ” This helps end the argument about someone appointing himself to do the work of God. You don’t choose God to do a work for Him. You don’t choose God so that He must save you. God chooses you. “ ‘You yourselves did not choose Me, but I have personally chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain; so that whatever [there it is again] you shall ask the Father in My name, He may give you.’ ” So here’s the fourth promise of answered prayer right within the chapters that we have, you see. And this becomes an essential and profound part of what we are doing in our relationship with God.

Now then, does this mean that no one can seek God? No, it doesn’t mean that at all. Let’s see some other things here that Christ has taught that we find here. Let’s come to Isaiah 55. Let’s see something very important. Yes, we can seek God. And yes, He will hear us and answer us. And yes, if we repent and yield to God, He will choose us. But we can’t demand of God, we can’t force upon God, we can’t command of God, but we can seek God. And we seek God on His terms, not on our terms. A lot of people like to seek God on their terms. “God, if You’ll do this for me, I’ll repent.” That’s backwards. Repent and then let God decide what He’s going to do.

Now Isaiah 55, let’s go to verse 1 because here’s the invitation: “Ho, every one that thirsteth come ye to the waters…” Christ is the living waters, isn’t He? Yes, He is. “…And he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat…” It costs nothing to do the things spiritually. The Holy Spirit of God is a gift. And after all the whole purpose and the whole meaning as we know of concerning the Passover is eating and drinking Christ, isn’t it? Yes, it is. He said, “I am the true bread which came down from heaven. And any man that believes on Me shall never hunger and shall never thirst.” So this is what it’s talking about here. This is a prophecy of the gospel. “…Yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” Now this is all spiritual. You have the strong meat and the strong drink, don’t you? You also have the milk – the milk of the word for babes.

“Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread?...” That’s for people chasing off on religions that have nothing to do with God. “…And your labour for that which satisfieth not?” And I think about labor here in this particular situation… How many have seen on some of these documentaries showing, say, like the Tibetan religion. Now there is a certain pilgrimage that different of the men do which is this: they put on certain garments and they have certain things to cover their hands and their knees, and they walk so many steps while they are praying. And this prayer is just kind of a repeat, you know, mla-mla-mla-mla-mla, and then they prostrate themselves on the ground and say another prayer. And then they get up and they take a few more steps, and they do this for mile after mile, after mile, after mile, which is labor. Wouldn’t you say that is labor? Labor for something that profits not, and you finally end up at this big Tibetan temple.

Or, you can say the same thing even in churches that call themselves Christian. How many have been so busy with activities – and part of the psychology of keeping people locked into a status of playing church, or living church, or being part of a church is to give them work to do. Keep them busy. Have this activity going, put so-and-so in charge of it, and do this and do that and do the other, and get them so busy that they forget about God even in a church which professes God. And that’s why there is a great movement even among Protestant churches to stay at home. You can go on-line and read about “Home to Home,” or “House to House.” I forget what it is. But anyway that’s why when we finally get around to doing “Church at Home” there will be a big nitch for it to fill. We’re not going to be like the others. We’re not going to talk about things that human beings relate to in griping and complaining about the church that they just left because they’re almost as dead at home as they were when they were in this church that they are complaining about. No, we’re going to tell them that at home what you need to do is right here – seek God. And we’ll show them what the Word of God is. We have to start out with the milk but we’re going to bring them up to speed as quickly as we can. We’ll go from milk into chopped liver and then into steak, if I can put it that way.

Now notice, here is what you do to solve the problem of “laboring for that which satisfies not.” “…Hearken diligently unto Me…” Listen to God. And of course that’s the whole thing through the whole Bible – “If you will hear My voice.” “…And eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.” Now that is in the richness of the Word of God. “Incline your ear [don’t be hard-headed and unwilling and stubborn], and come unto Me [so you have to come to God]: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” Now that’s really a bargain, isn’t it? God is saying, “I’m going to give you eternal life and it’s not going to cost you a cent. It’s going to cost you yourself.” That’s what it’s talking about.

Verse 4: “Behold, I have given him for a witness to the people, a leader and commander to the people [who was also a type of Christ]. Behold, thou shalt call a nation that thou knowest not, and nations that knew not thee shall run unto thee because of the LORD thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel; for he hath glorified thee.” Now this goes into the glorification of Christ, preaching the gospel and all of those things going out to the Gentiles who then become grafted in, etc., etc. All of those things are there in this verse.

Now verse 6: “Seek ye the LORD while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near…” So we can seek God. God is near. He’s not way off. And here’s how you do it: “...Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts [showing repentance and conversion and change of mind and change of heart and that’s what it’s all about]: and let him return unto the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” Now that’s a great and fantastic promise, isn’t it? Now this is not the way that people normally think. So that’s why He says in verse 8: “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the LORD.” So it’s kind of foolish if we think we are going to do something for God our way, right? I mean when you really get in and go through the Bible and understand it, it makes everything clear, doesn’t it? Yes, indeed.

Verse 9: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” See, that’s why the Word of God is spiritually understood. That’s what’s important. There is no way, which they have tried to do in the Contemporary Bible, remember I brought that to you and read a little bit out of that. That contemporary message is absolutely blasphemous. But what they try and do in the translations is this: instead of faithfully translating the Word of God so that it conveys what God wants, what they do, they say, “We have all of these unbelievers out here that don’t know the Word of God, so how can we convey it to them in a contemporary language that they will receive it?”

Well, what is happening when they do that then is that they are taking away the spiritual power and punch and meaning from the Word of God to try and make it comprehendible to someone who is antagonistic against the Word of God. The carnal mind is not subject to the law of God neither indeed can be. That’s why in translating, it needs to be that the words are faithfully translated because the words that were originally given were given in such a way that it universally applies to all people at all times in all circumstances in any part of the history of the scope of man. Then let God do His work with His Spirit of calling people.

Now God is not going to be left out of the equation at all because He says verse 10: “For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth…” And that’s the whole point of anything concerning the Word of God. These are the Words of God that came out of His mouth that He inspired to be written, therefore they should be translated in such a way that it still projects the Word of God. “…It shall not return unto Me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isa. 55:1-11, KJV). God is going to make it happen.

Now let’s come back here to John 15. No, no we are not going back to John 15 yet. Let’s talk about seeking God. That’s what we’re looking to. Let’s go to Psalm 63. Here’s how we are to seek God. This is the attitude. When we come to this understanding, which is very important and profound that we need to come to, which is this: every day is a new day. Everything we did yesterday has already been spend and exhausted and there’s nothing more we can do. What we do today will affect what we do tomorrow, but you can’t wait until tomorrow to do everything. So in relationship to God here’s the best way to do it: take each day as a new day, and each day if possible, as if you’re waking up in the middle of a desert.

Now let’s begin Psalm 63: “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek Thee…” This needs to be the attitude. There is no person on earth who attempts to seek God in this manner and will not find Him. I don’t care where he is, what nationality he is, what the circumstances are in his life – if he truly does this, God will answer because God is God. Remember how we showed how that the seven Spirits of God are going through the earth seeking those who are seeking Him? Yes. “…Early will I seek Thee: my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is…” (Psa. 63:1, KJV). You know, you can tie that in with what we read there… Here hold your place here. We’ll come back to it.

Let’s come to John 6 because here’s the answer of that. Christ is the answer. You’ve heard, you know Billy Graham has said. “Christ is the answer.” And then he tells you that the church of your choice you attend is the answer. Christ is the answer, but here is how this is fulfilled, you see. John 6:35 (KJV), you come to Christ. “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to Me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on Me shall never thirst.” So if you are coming after God, as it says here in Psalm 63, as in a dry and thirsty land, you are going to be filled. Your thirst is going to be quenched. The satisfaction of God’s Spirit is going to fill you.

Now notice he says, “where no water is.” And that’s just the way this world is. It doesn’t have any of God’s Spirit. It’s out there just like a dry vast desert. But here’s what he wanted to do. He wanted the eternal life. See, that was his driving force. And that’s what we need to have concerning the New Testament and renewal of the New Covenant when we take the Passover. The driving force behind it is eternal life. And that comes through Christ. And that must always be in front of us, just like it is here, you see. “…[That I may] see Thy power and Thy glory (and we know Revelation 22 says we’re going to see Him face to face), so as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary. Because Thy lovingkindness is better than life…” It is better to know God, better to have the love of God, and to have the lovingkindness of God than to live in the world. Or as it says there in the Proverbs concerning a poor man that has his bread, but righteousness, you see.

“Thus will I bless Thee while I live: I will lift up my hands in Thy name. My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness (and that is just talking about the depths of the understanding of the Word of God); and my mouth shall praise Thee with joyful lips: when I remember Thee upon my bed, and meditate on Thee in the night watches.” See, many times you will have tremendous spiritual experiences at night. That will happen. “Because Thou hast been my help, therefore in the shadow of Thy wings will I rejoice. My soul followeth hard after Thee…” That’s how we need to follow God. Not in a lazy hap-hazard way. Come-see, come-saw. “Well, if I pray that’s ok. If I don’t pray, that’s ok. Well, if I study, that’s ok. If I don’t study, that’s ok.” No. “My soul followeth hard after Thee: Thy right hand upholdeth me” (Psa. 63:2-8, KJV). See, that’s the attitude that we need to have.

Now turn back to Psalm 62 and see what this leads to. Let’s pick it up in verse 5: “My soul, wait thou only upon God…” Notice the single-mindedness. Notice the attitude toward God. “…For my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation: He is my defence; I shall not be moved.” See, that’s something. Do you have your mind set that way, that you will not be moved? That’s what we need to have. “In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God” (Psa. 62:5-7, KJV).

Now hold your place here and turn back to Psalm 57. And here’s where we need to come in our lives and our hearts and our minds toward God, you see. Notice what he said here, Psalm 57:7 (KJV): “My heart is fixed, O God, my heart is fixed…” See, you believe God to the very depths of the morrow of your bones. See, “My heart is fixed.”

Now come back here to Psalm 62:8 (KJV). When your heart is fixed then you have faith, and faith from God. And you will do this: “Trust in Him at all times (that means regardless of whatever the circumstances may be); ye people, pour out your heart before Him (always go to prayer to God): God is a refuge for us.” Now when you do that then you will come to a situation that is most profound. You will understand the world. And you will realize that the spiritual things of God are forever, and everything else doesn’t count. Notice verse 9: “Surely men of low degree are vanity, and men of high degree are a lie (We’ve seen that, haven’t we? Yes, yes): to be laid in the balance, they are altogether lighter than vanity.” You’ll understand that’s the way the world is. “Trust not in oppression, and become not vain in robbery: if riches increase, set not your heart upon them.” We’ve already talked about that. “God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God. Also unto Thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for Thou renderest to every man according to his work” (verses 8-12). So all of those things have to do with seeking God, and those are the ones that God is going to choose. Because as Christ told them, “I have chosen you, you have not chosen Me.” Well this then is how you seek God, and how God makes His choice. He does it because of this attitude and this seeking of God.

Now let’s come back to John 15:16 (FV): “ ‘You yourselves did not choose Me, but I have personally chosen you, and ordained you, that you should go forth and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain…’ ” And this is meaning “unto eternal life” because if it doesn’t result in eternal life then it’s at the end whenever we pass on. “ ‘…So that whatever you shall ask the Father in My name, He may give you.’ ” Verse 17: “ ‘These things I command you, that you love one another.’ ” Now notice how many times He said, “Love one another.” Now He said that because it’s not an easy thing to do with those that He calls. Why? Because we’re all called from different backgrounds, different walks of life, different everything. And when you get – and I hate to use the word “diverse” because that is a politically acceptable word in the world today – but when you get a composite of many different people from many different backgrounds, with many different personalities and many different ages and experiences and types of work, it is difficult to love one another. It’s easy to love your own flesh because they’re part of you. It’s difficult to love someone else that is not loveable. And many of us are not loveable because God called us because we are weak, you see. So that’s why we need to work on loving one another constantly. Love doesn’t come naturally, but God has put us in a situation where that according to the circumstances of the world and our natural inclinations we’re going to be what? In a very unnatural situation, aren’t we? So it’s the Holy Spirit of God that gives us the love of God and also gives us the love of each other. So what we need to do is constantly ask God to help us love Him and love each other. And part of that includes what is called the word “forbearance.” You know what forbearance is. Forbearance is putting up with the idiosyncrasies of someone else that you don’t particularly care for those idiosyncrasies because they don’t hit you just right. You know what I mean?

So how do we handle it? We have forbearance. We have understanding. And if we love each other maybe some of those things will change, won’t they? It’s like anything else – if you know you’re loved, your behavior is different, isn’t it? If you know you’re not loved, your behavior is also different, isn’t it? So that’s why He told us, “Love one another.” He said, “This I command you: love one another. Love one another as I have loved you.” And the reason He said it over and over again is because it’s a difficult proposition for the people of God to really do. So we need to really take that to heart and really have the forbearance, and have the love, and have the understanding, and accept each other for what we are and let God do the changing for the things that need to be changed. God can do that. There is no problem with that, you see.

Now verse 18: “ ‘If (and of course there’s another one of those “if’s”) the world hates you (and you know that it will), you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own.’ ” And you see, that is what is so blasphemous and damnable about the Contemporary Message, the new Bible just put out. And by the way it’s sold by CBD. Amazing. I wonder if they’ll sell mine? (Laughter) Probably not. I’m not concerned about it.

But you see, they want to get it to a world where then the world will love what that says because it’s not really the Word of God. “The world will love it’s own.” So you need to understand this: don’t go out of your way to offend people, but just realize that sooner or later differences and problems are going to come. You know, like the first thing when people find out that you keep the Sabbath and holy days, what’s the first thing they ask you? If they find out about the Sabbath first they say, “Are you Seventh-Day Adventist?” Then they find out about the Passover and the holy days and they say, “Are you a Jew?” Then you tell them you’re not and they’re completely frustrated. They don’t know what to do because the world is used to hearing what it has been told. And you may lose some friendships over it, you see, because the world will love it’s own.

“ ‘However, because you are not of the world, but I have personally chosen you out of the world, the world hates you for this’ ”(verse 19). Now as long as they perceive us as nice and good and kind and that sort of thing, that’s fine. But you see, when you go out and start preaching the truth of God there’s going to be some hatred come along, is there not? Yes, indeed. When you stand for the truth the world’s going to hate you. So isn’t it something if the world hates us and we don’t love each other, we’re really in trouble, aren’t we? I mean think about that. That’s why He said, “Love one another.” And then He said, “The world’s going to hate you.” The world’s not going to love you. So the message is, is that if you don’t love God and love each other – question: How much love is in your life? See, none. And we’ve experienced trying to play church without love, haven’t we? And we’ve experienced trying to play church by law rather than grace, haven’t we? And it’s manifest: the letter of the law kills, but the Spirit gives life. And that’s what we’re talking about in all of this here. You see this is so important.

Now let’s come to I John 4 and see about the world loving it’s own. And if you want a message that is accepted by the world you’ve got to preach the way the world preaches. That’s why when they heard Christ preach they were astounded because He spoke with authority, not as the scribes. And wherever the apostles went to preach the Word of God, what was it said of Paul, “Here come these men that turn the world upside down.” Yes, the world likes to hear what it wants to hear. But when someone comes along and says, “God says, and this is what God means, and this is what you are commanded to do,” then the world hates you.

Now notice what the world likes, and it comes from false spirits. Let’s pick it up here in I John 4:1: “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God (because Satan appears as an angel of light and all that sort of thing): because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” Which says what? False spirits come with false prophets. That’s why they have a spiritual impact. “Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist…” which then is the spirit of the world. The spirit of the world is the spirit of antichrist. “…Whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world. Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them…” So if you have come out of the world, you’ve overcome them, don’t go back. “…Because greater is he that is in you (that is Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit), than he (Satan the devil) that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.” Now we’re not of the world. That’s why we’re hated of the world. “We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we (that is, perceive and understand) the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error (or the spirit of deception)” (I John 4:1-6, KJV). That’s how we understand, you see.

So, let’s go ahead and end here and we’ll pick it up next time beginning in verse 19.

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Passover Preparation # 4

Scriptural References

1. John 15:1-19

2. I John 1:6-9

3. John 3:17-21

4. Galatians 5:22

5. Matthew 28:19-20

6. John 7:37-39

7. Ephesians 5:25-26

8. Luke 13:6-9

9. Hebrews 10:16-20

10. Luke 12:15-21

11. I John 5:2-3

12. Isaiah 55:1-11

13. Psalm 63:1-8

14. John 6:35

15. Psalm 62:5-12

16. Psalm 57:7

17. I John 4:1-6