Let us now read from John 14, 21.
He who has my commandments and keeps them,
he it is who loves me, and he
who loves me shall be loved by my
Father, and I will love him, and will
disclose or reveal myself to him.
This one verse contains so much, and I
want to just quickly touch on five points.
The first point, he who has my commandments,
second point, and keeps them, third
point, he loves me.
He will be loved by my Father, and
I will love him.
And the last point, I will reveal myself
to him.
So you can see how much is in
this verse, and one could speak so much
about each of these points.
The first point, he who has my commandments,
let me ask you friends, tell me, do
you have the Lord's commandments?
Jesus here is speaking about those who have
his commandments.
Are you one of those people?
Now if we had to open that opportunity
now, had a service just for that, each
one of you, the bridegroom, the bride, and
all of us had to have an opportunity
to stand up and tell the rest of
the congregation what God has commanded him or
her.
We don't have time for that now, but
maybe in eternity we will have such an
opportunity.
And one could stand up and say, this
is what the Lord Jesus has commanded me.
These are his commandments by which I live.
And you may find that there could be
someone who won't be able to say what
God has commanded him, who will say, well
I'm not really sure what the Lord has
told me, it's not so clear to me.
And then it's obviously quite obvious that someone
like that will live a lawless life.
The Lord has not called us to lawlessness.
Jesus commissioned his disciples, he said, go into
all the world and teach the nations to
keep all that I have taught you.
And so is the one who is a
disciple of the Lord, it is one who
keeps his commandments.
He who has my commandments,
it's
such a pity that there are so many
Christians in the world today who don't seem
to have any command from the Lord.
They wander around aimlessly, seemingly not knowing what
God expects from them.
And then one isn't surprised when one sees
in the world how lawless things have become.
And without any order or command, where in
the family, in the marriage people are fighting,
eventually it ends up in divorce, young girls
out of marriage, bringing children into this world.
But the problem with the Church of Christ
today is that there are so many people
who call themselves Christians who claim to know
the Lord's commandments, but they don't keep them.
And that is the second group of people
in the Church.
The first group of so-called Christians, they
don't even know what God has commanded them.
But the second group, they will even tell
you what the Ten Commandments are.
They'll claim to know it, but they don't
keep them.
And that is the problem with the Church
today.
One woman in America went to the doctor.
As she was waiting in the waiting room,
the doctor said, she suddenly got the idea,
the Ten Commandments.
And she wondered, well, what are the Ten
Commandments?
And she looked around at all the literature
that was available there in the waiting room,
and suddenly she spotted a black book that
looked like the Bible.
And she fell into the first group that
we spoke about.
She never knew what the commandments of the
Lord are, but she remembered someone having said
something about the Ten Commandments, and therefore she
took the Bible and she opened it.
She opened it, and
she opened right there at Exodus 20 where
the Ten Commandments are written.
She read there, do not kill.
And she said, oh, Lord, is that what
the commandments say, that it says you shall
not kill?
You shouldn't, you shall not kill.
And that was the first thing she saw,
do not kill.
And she said, oh, Lord, what about me?
I've killed so many children, I've aborted how
many children already?
And the tears started rolling down her cheeks.
She started weeping.
The receptionist got into the doctor quickly, and
there she started opening her heart, and he
was a Christian.
She said, doctor, I'm guilty.
I've aborted 16 of my own children, not
other children, my own.
She didn't know the commandments, but when she
opened the Bible, there she found them.
So to those who are confused in our
midst, if you don't know the Lord's commandments,
take the Bible, you'll find His commandments in
the Bible.
And to the bridegroom, if you don't know
what a husband should be like, then take
the Bible.
Read what the Bible says concerning a husband,
how he should live together with his wife.
And to the bride as well, take the
Bible.
The Bible will teach you how to live
together with your husband.
And whatever
category
you fall into, maybe you're a widower or
a widow, or maybe you're a teenager, a
girl or a boy, whatever category you fall
into, the Bible will teach you how to
live, and then live accordingly.
So to those who are confused in our
midst, if you don't know the Lord's commandments,
take the Bible, you'll find His commandments in
the Bible.
And to the bride, if you don't know
what a husband should be like, take the
Bible.
The Bible will teach you how to live
together with your husband.
And to the bride, if you don't know
what a husband should be like, take the
Bible.
The Bible will teach you how to live
together with your husband.
And this girl wept and told the doctor
of her blood-stained hands.
And then the doctor said to her, look,
the Bible says if you deny your sin,
you won't prosper.
But if you confess and forsake it, then
you will receive forgiveness.
And even if your sins are scarlet, they'll
be washed whiter than snow, and you can
cry to the Lord.
He will forgive you, and He will make
you a brand new person.
The Bible is quite clear as to how
a person should live.
And things would come right in your own
life, and even in our country, South Africa,
things would come right if we just take
God's Word and live accordingly.
Remember, it's not enough just to know the
laws of God and His commandments.
You need to keep them even when you're
all on your own.
Joseph was in Egypt, in the land of
sin, but he had God's commandments.
When Daniel was in Babylon, among the people
of Babylon, he was a man of God.
And he was a man of God, and
he was a man of God.
And he was a man of God.
godless people but even while he was there
he knew and he had God's commandments when
he was offered of the food of those
nations things that they did and they said
well even the king does this it's of
the king's food he said I'm of another
royalty and this is not allowed for me
daily to lead him into sin he refused
even when she grabbed him he slipped out
of her hands like a wet soap he
said how can I sin against God I
cannot do that see he had God's commandments
so you if you don't have them make
sure you get them and when you say
you've got them make sure you keep them
a gripper you've given us an amazing word
today that teaches us that we should have
God's commandments and if we have them we
should keep them by their trying that we
love God to love God is something of
utmost importance in the Bible many people claim
to love God he called 1957 58 I
remember 1957 58 when I which got converted
here in the New Hanover area what a
yes you gotta know and she said well
I'm going to forsake all my old life
the occult a life that I've lived one
Jonah Napa no say we need guano Bob
and then she moved there to the women
area and
I said I wanted to visit her because
there are such people they get converted they
put their hand to the plow but after
after a while they look back there
are such that are like lots wife that
even when they've left Sodom and Gomorrah have
escaped on their way out they look back
so when I got to this area where
she lived I went to the local police
station and I inquired about this woman explained
who she was they said oh yes we
know where she is but do you really
want to go and see her today and
still make it back you you probably will
never make it it's too far away it's
in those mountains over there Oh what figure
um patty stay she what my let's
we'll offer your horse you can go on
horseback I said well that's not something that
I grew up with rather a bicycle than
a horse but all the younger people there
they started walking already and eventually the horse
arrived it was a huge horse almost looked
like an elephant I'm not even continental who
is in my legs number nine number nine
number nine it whoa baby to my auntie
and then I got on to the horse
and off we went but unfortunately this elephant
of a horse was a very slow one
and I thought oh my they're not really
helping me with such a slow horse and
then I remembered
what
my father had said long before that if
you want to get a horse going just
get him give it a jab with your
heel and I thought well let me give
it a try well when I did it
it took off like lightning I
was almost thrown off I hung on for
dear life I
said well tell me how is it going
and she said I love the Lord I
really love him I love him dearly but
then I asked some of the other people
around there I said well just tell me
how is it really going with her they
said well you just don't know because she's
fully back in her old occult ways and
she's even advising other people
the Bible says that someone
claims to love God but does not keep
his commandments he's a liar and
then
it goes on to say that if you
claim to love God and don't love the
brother whom you can see then you're also
a liar for how can you love God
whom you don't see if you don't even
love the one you can see the
Lord also asked Simon Peter said Simon son
of Jonah do you love me he asked
him three times and then he said then
feed my sheep so if
we really love God we will keep his
commandments if we say we love God but
we don't keep his commandments the Bible says
such a person is a liar and the
love of God is so great the Bible
even says love is greater than death and
then if you keep his commandments and thereby
showing that you love him then the father
will love you and he will love you
and they will come and they will fellowship
with you and abide with you.
Blessed is the one who has the love
of God in here
that
you love God to the point that you
will keep all his commandments no matter where
you are even when you're all on your
own out there in the city among evil
people and other and all the wickedness of
the world but because of the love of
God in your heart you keep his commandments
and then Jesus says you should also then
love even your enemies he speaks evil of
you speak well of him he who curses
you you should bless him that is God's
love but
if you go around spreading stories writing evil
things about other people and speaking evil things
about them the Bible says the love of
God is not in you it's
no secret that there are people who claim
to be Christians but all they can do
is going around speaking evil of other people
they don't realize that one can see through
them fulfilling the words of the Lord where
he says they are dressed like sheep but
inside they're ravenous wolves and
so
you
also should love each other with the love
of God and God's Word teaches you how
to live out that love and that you
should honor each other in 1960 I was
preaching there in Ladysmith the neighbor there was
someone that was quite high up in the
railway a strong Afrikaner and
now
this big man had a small English
wife but despite her size you could see
that they were like two bulls in a
ring this man
came to me he said well you have
no idea of the problems that I have
I pull in one direction my wife pulls
in the other direction he said eventually I've
I've even considered divorce and then he said
but I was helped when I once saw
a certain sketch an illustration of two donkeys
two donkeys that were tied together with a
rope these two donkeys were tied together with
a rope and
then they had two feeding points one on
the one side the other on the other
side one for each of these donkeys
and
then
the battle started because this donkey wanted to
get to its food that one wanted to
get it to its food on that side
but the rope was not long enough so
it was a battle day and night none
got to its food because they were pulling
in both pulling and the rope didn't snap
and eventually they were both exhausted and they
stopped for a moment just to think about
it and
then
eventually the one came up with a bright
idea and said listen sister let's rather go
and we have go to your place of
to feed first when we finished there then
we can go together to my side and
we'll enjoy that together as well and that
solved the problem and this man said this
illustration helped me he
said now things are working out so well
because we get along well in together it's
like carrying a basket the one carries the
one side and I carry the other side
but there is a danger here if
this
only works when it's good wholesome food that
you both can enjoy but if there's poison
in the other man's food well then you
shouldn't agree and go along then rather a
fight and even if the rope had to
snap
now
to
the bride here I referred to her as
a daughter because she is like my daughter
her father was one of my best friends
I honored that man I loved him why
because I remember even when he was in
my home on his deathbed and where I
helped nurse him I remember when he told
me said I've taken everything out of my
heart there's nothing else left but the love
of God
there's
another man who I also appreciated and loved
dearly and that was mr.
Bixie Sakunene these
are people
who
really loved the Lord and one can only
appreciate such people it's also people like mr.
Duber who was a drunkard before who really
got nowhere in life but when he got
converted everything changed I even said that his
chickens and his cattle everything his fields got
converted because suddenly everything multiplied
and
many people can't understand why I loved such
people but that's because of their love for
the Lord and there will be those that
mock but also know where they end up
and
Jesus says he has my commandments and keeps
them my father will love him I will
love him we will have fellowship and I
will reveal myself to them I
will love him I will love him I
will love him I will love
him
I will love him I will love him
I
will love him I will love him I
will love him I will love I don't
know.
No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
No, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, No, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,
no thank you for the life you have
chosen may you continue in that way and
don't become blunt in the things of the
lord when you get married but that you
bring life to other people and that you'll
be an example to them to everyone