This morning we continue our journey into this new year with a focus on making “Intentional Progress.” I shared with you six steps to intentional progress and I will walk through them over the next few weeks. As a reminder, here are the six steps.
Here are the steps again:
1. Pray/Discern
2. Plan/Prepare
3. Wait/Discern God’s Timing
4. Execute/Measure Progress
5. Wait/Faith & Patience
6. Receive When Harvest Time Comes
After studying chapters 5, 6, 8, and 12, and seeing how Jesus operated in the earth, in chapter 14, we learned that Jesus expects us to do what He did, to live like He lived, to hear from the Father, and to make Kingdom impact everywhere we go. In our last message, we learned that the key to hearing from God is realizing that God’s Spirit (God Himself) lives inside us. God wants to speak to us, lead us, and reveal His plans to us, but we must be willing to listen. We also must be willing to DO what He tells us to do. Earlier in the chapter, Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments.” Jesus’ point is that we show our love for God by simply doing what He tells us to do. In verse 21 (the verse we will focus on today), Jesus said, “Every man who knows my commandments and obeys them is the man who really loves me, and every man who really loves me will himself be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and make myself known to him.” (John 14:21 Phillips).
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. The proof of your love for God is your obedience to Him, His Word, and His Spirit.
Jesus said, “If you love me, obey my commandments,” and “Every man who knows my commandments and obeys them is the man who really loves me.”
To understand what Jesus was saying, you must understand the context. Jesus was not talking about the 10 commandments. He was not talking about the 613 addition commandments in The Law. He had already taught them how He lived. He made it clear that He only said what He heard the Father say and that He only did what He saw the Father do. He then said that they (and we) would do what He did, and even greater works. He then explained that all of this would happen because of the Holy Spirit. Jesus was WITH them, but He told them that the Holy Spirit would be IN them like He was IN Jesus. It is after talking about the Holy Spirit that He said what He said in John 14:21.
— Do you love God? Are you filled with God’s Spirit? Do you want to live like Jesus lived? Then Jesus told you what to do about it. He explained that you show your love for God by simply doing what He tells you to do.
— God wants to reach the world through you. He wants to perform the impossible in, with, and through your life. He wants to show the world what heaven is like, and He wants to use you and your life as the picture He will paint. So how will He do it? He will do it by filling you with His Spirit, by revealing His plans to you, and by seeking your cooperation. If you cooperate, He can operate. If you die, He can live. If you yield, He will flow. Now, this means that you must be willing to attempt whatever He leads you to do. This will include things you cannot do without Him. This means you have to love God enough to do what He leads you to do, even at the risk of looking foolish. When you do, He will do what you can’t, and the world will see Jesus IN you!
2. As you express your love to God you will experience His love on another level.
Jesus said, “Every man who really loves me will himself be loved by my Father and I too will love him.”
— God loves all people. But the type of love Jesus is talking about here is another kind of level. It is another level of love.
— When you first come to God you experience His love, because you could not be Born-Again without it. But at first, you don’t know how to love God back. The more you grow in Christ, and the more you die to sin and self, the more you are able to express your love to God, and the more you are able to experience His love. When you get to this point, you experience God’s love on a greater level, and it changes you forever. The greatest truth I have ever learned is that God loves me! I thought I knew it when I was Born-Again, but I got a real revelation of it as I began to walk with Him in earnest.
— Jesus taught us that as we walk with God and do what He leads us to do, the Father will love us, the Son will love us, and the Holy Spirit will reveal this love to us. Once He does, we will be changed forever! The love of God changes everything. God’s love never fails. Say this: “I am God’s beloved. I am God’s favorite!”
3. The more you obey God, the more He will reveal Himself to you.
Jesus said, “Every man who really loves me will himself be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and make myself known to him.”
— As you show your love for God by obeying what He tells you to do, not only do you experience God’s love on another level, but God also reveals Himself to you on another level.
— Why would God reveal the deepness of His nature to someone who is not willing to do what He says? People say that they want to know God’s will for this or for that, but if God already spoke to you about countless things, and you never do what He reveals, then why should He reveal Himself to you on another level?
— When God finds a person who is committed to doing whatever He tells them to do, even at the risk of looking foolish, then God reveals Himself to the submitted son in a way only reserved for those who are willing to die to self.
— If you want to hear from God continually, be willing to obey whatever He leads you to do, whenever He leads you to do it. Many people are looking for God to give them a new “WORD,” but they have not done the last thing He said to them. It has been my experience that God will sometimes lead you to go back and obey what He said to you before He leads you to what is next.
— As we seek progress this year, just know that the progress for the NEXT will not come until you obey God in the NOW!
4. Your love for and obedience towards God will lead to the revelation of the Holy Spirit.
Most Christians say things like:
— “I just want to know God’s will.”
— “I just want to hear God’s voice.”
— “I want God to speak to me.”
— “I want God to reveal Himself to me.”
— and etc.
Jesus gave us the key to hearing from God. He said, “Those who truly love me are those who obey my commands. Whoever passionately loves me will be passionately loved by my Father. And I will passionately love him in return and will reveal myself to him.” (John 14:21 TPT).
— If we want God to reveal Himself to us, then we must be willing to walk with Him, allow Him to walk with us, and obey Him along the way.
— Jesus taught that when we love and obey the Father, the Father will love us, He [Jesus] will love us, and He [Jesus] will reveal Himself to us. This revelation comes through the Holy Spirit.
In 2022, as we are believing God to experience the progress He has already ordained for this season, one of the scriptures you will hear bring up over and over is Proverbs 4:12 from The Passion Translation. This verse reads, “Your progress will have no limits when you come along with me, and you will never stumble as you walk along the way.”
— The key to experiencing progress that has no limits is simply coming along with God and allowing God to come along with us.
— We walk with Him, He walks with us, we love and obey Him, He reveals Himself to us, and we get to experience the progress He ordained for this season. Notice how this does not seem forced, and there is no pressure associated with it. This is not about religion. This is not about obeying a bunch of external rules. This is about discerning the divine impulses of the Holy Spirit, allowing yourself to be led by Him, doing whatever He leads you to do, and embracing the grace to do what you could never do without Him.
— Since it is not about human effort, there is no pressure, no stress, and no fear.
— Life is much more simple when you get up every morning with this mindset: “Father, here I am. All that I am and all that I am not, it all belongs to You. I place myself in Your hands. I am open to Your Spirit. I love you, and all I want is what You want for me. I don’t have any selfish desires or ulterior motives. As You reveal Yourself to me, I follow, and allow You to live through me freely. You give me the words. You perform the work. You open doors. You set up divine appointments. My life is all about You. My progress has no limits because I am not in the way!”
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I thank You for Your undeserved grace and everlasting love. You loved me enough to send Your Son Jesus to die for me, even when I was of no use to You. You loved me while I was a sinner. Jesus loved me enough to die in my place. The Holy Spirit loves me enough to live in me, even during those times when I expose Him to things that make Him cringe. Thank You, Father, for Your love and grace. You are far better to me than I deserve. By faith, I declare that I prove my love for You by doing what You tell me to do. I obey Your commandments. I submit to the divine impulses of the Holy Spirit. I attempt to do whatever You tell me to do, even if I know it exceeds my human ability. I launch out in faith, at the risk of looking foolish. What is impossible with man is possible with You, so I am ready, willing, and open to attempting the humanly impossible by Your supernatural power. I decrease that You may increase through me. And as I do, You reveal Yourself to me on a greater level. I show my love for You by dying to self and living for You. You then pour Your love into me on a greater level, and it continually changes me. I love You, You love me, and Your love is the fuel that keeps me going, even when I feel like giving up. This is how I know GREATER IS COMING FOR ME! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
