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Bob Davis: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another exactly as I have loved you, that you also love one another." How short have we fallen from that commandment right there? That one commandment that He gave us.

And we've got our reasons, and I hear more and more from people, they use scripture to back themselves up with it. But let me tell you again what Jesus said the commandment is, that you, Bob, love all others, just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

Guest (Male): Welcome to Apply Within, a verse-by-verse study of the Word of God with Pastor Bob Davis of North Country Chapel. We invite you to join with us as we, by the power of God's Holy Spirit, apply His Word within our own hearts as we study line upon line, precept upon precept, verse by verse through the Bible. Join with us as we study through the New Testament Book of John. Here's Pastor Bob.

Bob Davis: So verse 27, "After the sop, Satan," remember he's still in the room, "Satan entered into Judas." Then Jesus, He knew that, Jesus knew that, then He said, "That thou doest, do quickly." What you're going to do, do quickly. Now that was out loud. So in other words, the disciples still don't know who's going to betray Him, and they hear Jesus say to Judas, "What you need to do, do it quickly," rapidly, let's get this going.

"Now no man at the table knew for what intent Jesus said this to him." They still haven't put two and two together, and I'll tell you why. They loved Judas. Of course, Judas wouldn't be the one, the most trusted in the crowd, of course. So they think we don't know what He means.

Some thought because Judas had the money bag that Jesus had said to him, go buy the things we need for the feast. Remember, the feast isn't just the Passover, they've got the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread coming up. So remember, they're going to need some more victuals, some more fixings. So they think He's saying go get it. Some of them thought maybe just go out and make sure the poor, go on out now and make sure the poor have a Passover dinner, make sure, you know, help them.

He, Judas, then having received the sop went immediately out, and John writes, "It was night." The devil was in the upper room. I'm telling you, nothing has changed for the last 2,000 years, and you can believe the devil shows up at church maybe more regularly than you and me do. You can believe it, but we're not scared and run away, scared to go to church, because where two or three are gathered together Jesus is right there, but the devil's in the upper room with Jesus Christ in the upper room. It's not bothering Jesus, is it? And He knows it.

But don't pretend that we're more modern now and that the devil's not interested in destroying every one of us, don't pretend, because nothing has changed. The devil's in that upper room with Jesus and His disciples. As soon as Jesus gives Judas that piece of bread and he takes it, Satan entered into Judas' heart.

The disciples don't know why Judas got up to leave, they don't know. They make up in their own hearts, we all do that. "Well, I wonder why so-and-so did this, I wonder why so-and-so we haven't seen them, you know, oh, he's probably working or he maybe's sick or they maybe," right? But there's something going on somehow in the hearts of everybody, and so look, Judas left right away. He got out of there, and you notice he could have changed his mind on the way, "You know, I'm not going to do this, I'm just not going to do it, I'll give them the money, forget it." But he doesn't repent, and he could. He just chose not to.

Judas, by the way, left immediately, not even, according to the language, not even the slightest hesitation. He knows what he's doing is no good, he knows that it's condemning Jesus to death. He says he loves Jesus, but he's just going to do it.

I don't think if you asked him, if he wouldn't have taken his own life and you sat down and asked him what were you thinking, I believe he probably couldn't explain it to us, just like we all can't explain half the things we think and say. After all that mercy, all that kindness, all that grace, all those blessings, all that love, Satan was in Judas' heart instead of Jesus. He didn't have Jesus there, he was not a believer. You see, "Greater is He that is in you," 1 John 4:4, "Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." If your heart doesn't have Jesus, Satan is in and out of there all the time.

Judas was leaving the light. He was there in the room with Jesus Christ, the light of the world. He left there and he went out into spiritual darkness for eternity because he instead of repenting will take his own life. I already know how it ends, you've probably read it before too. He could have repented even after he did it, and God, the only unpardonable sin is to reject Jesus, the work of the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, now he was gone, Jesus, notice Jesus, it's almost like He's speaking a little more freely now, watch this. Therefore, verse 31, when he, Judas, was gone out, Jesus said, "Now, now." It's almost like a relief. "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God be glorified in Him, and God shall glorify Him in Himself, and shall straightway glorify Him."

The Son of Man, Jesus Christ our Lord and our Messiah will be glorified, and God the Father in heaven because Jesus goes to the cross will be glorified as well. See how the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ is, just look at His heart. See how important it is that Jesus glorify God in heaven. Look how important that is to Jesus. It's His own death He's going to, but look how He's willing to do it. "Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified. That's what I came to do, to glorify my Lord, to save all the ones that I love by grace through faith, but it glorifies my Father in heaven." That's how important it is for His Father in heaven to be glorified.

And I have to ask us, how important is it to me and to you that our Father in heaven is glorified? Dr. Ironside once again, "God's heart went out to sinful man. God felt sorry for us because of sin. Adam and Eve, they got the left foot of fellowship out of the garden. God's heart went out to sinful man, but He could not save sinners till sin was settled for." Sin had to be paid for. God just can't say, "Really, you're the cutest, Bob, you're just funny, and so I just like you, forget all that sin." He can't, God can't do that, He's holy, He's righteous.

So God's heart goes out to sinful man, but He could not save sinners till sin, the price of sin was settled or paid for, for it would violate His holiness and His righteousness, and the righteousness of His throne. He couldn't do it. God Almighty could not save sinners if it involved His acting in a way that was contrary to His own holy nature. You understand that, right? He can't just act like it didn't happen, it's filth to Him, it's gross. Sin is wickedness and ugliness, and it can't be around God.

So God's own beloved Son, the one whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting, His Son miraculously became flesh. In humility He became man and went to the cross, paid the full price of all sin, our redemption, and every claim that God had against the sinner was met and taken care of. And now God can be just and the justifier of anybody that believes in Jesus. Get it? That's how it works. Jesus became flesh because no one else could pay the price but God Himself.

"Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God be glorified in Him, God shall also glorify Him." Jesus is not worried about what's going to happen to him next. You're going to the cross, You're going to die. Yes. "Well, that's crazy." "My Father wants me to do this, it brings Him glory, He will glorify me." He knew that He would be raised from the dead on the third day, and He just went to the cross willingly and did it.

So look at verse 33, "Little children." Look what He calls you and me and His eleven. "Little children, yet a little while I'm with you." In other words, I'm not going to be here much longer. "You shall seek me, and as I said to the Jews, where I go you can't come, and so I'm telling you that right now too."

So I'm leaving, in a little while I won't be with you anymore physically right here. So I'm going to give you a new commandment, memorize it. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another exactly as I have loved you, that you also love one another." How short have we fallen from that commandment right there, that one commandment that He gave us? And we've got our reasons, and I hear more and more from people, they use scripture to back themselves up with it. But let me tell you again what Jesus said the commandment is, that you, Bob, love all others, just as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

"By this," this is how, "all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another." There's the proof. Not speaking in tongues, not just having such a perfect wardrobe, not just being so sweet and so kind, you don't have an enemy on the planet. No, love. The only proof that the world can see that we are Christians, and how short are we falling from that commandment right there?

Do you know that commandment He gives you is impossible to do without Jesus Christ in your heart? Did you know that? And you can't fake it. You can fake it for a little while, but sooner or later the real you's going to come on out there unless Jesus Christ is truly in your heart. You must be born again. What a great command. "By this shall all men know, all people everywhere, you are my disciples."

He calls His disciples little children. He loves us all that way. He understands how weak I am. I don't, and I'm usually trying to prove him wrong, and he's always right. You may not know how weak you are even as a believer, you may think you got this, you've been doing it a long time, but believe me when I tell you the wisest thing to do is just bow down and say, "Lord, here I am again. I need more grace. Here I am just looking for direction. Here I am just confessing everything, even if I didn't do it, I'm making it up, Lord, because I don't even know what to say."

He loves us all that way, little children. He says I'll only be with you a short time, literally just a little bit longer. Tonight He's going to leave them and they will watch Him, some of them will watch Him die, but He's going to die, three days later rise again, they forgot that part.

He says, "I'm just here a little while longer, I'm leaving, I'm going to a place that you can't come to." So I'm going to give you because you're mine, you're my little children, you're my disciples, you're my followers, you have freely given your hearts to me, Jesus says, so I'm giving you a new commandment. What is it? That you love one another. Now I don't even think He's talking really about just the church, I think He's talking to every Christian to love everybody out there like Jesus did. In here and out there, just like Jesus did. I don't think if you start separating it out I think you're just looking for a loophole.

He says again, "I give you a new commandment, you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another." Love everyone exactly as Jesus has loved you. You love everyone else exactly as Jesus loves you. If he was on your back all the time for everything that was wrong with you, do you think you'd want to be talking to him after a while? Do you really?

God has got the kindest, simplest ways. It's his kindness that draws us back. He doesn't slap you around, throw you in the trash and hurt you. There are times when he allows us to go through things and we go, "What is going on?" and all that is is sometimes, you know, discipline, it just gets your attention. But God is kind, God is such a loving Father. Once you realize how much He loves you, you're not afraid of that.

So He says love everyone exactly as I have loved you. Jesus loved me selflessly. He held nothing back. He gave everything for me and he still does. I could call him at three in the morning, I could talk to him at five in the morning, I could hop in my car go to lunch and talk to him on the way to lunch and he has never once said, "Why don't you just leave me alone for five minutes?" He's never said that to me. As a matter of fact, he goes, "Why don't you talk to me more? I miss you."

How about it, Christian? How did Jesus love you? Selflessly. He denied himself. What is he calling us to do? "If you want to follow me, deny yourself, take up your cross every day and come on, let's go." Jesus loves us selflessly. He gives, he gave everything and he's still right there on the throne making intercession for you all the time.

By this love, people, non-believers and believers alike, will know that we are his disciples. Not by the miracles that we do, false miracles are done all the time. Not by the pomp and circumstance. Not by, it's great if you can quote every scripture, you know, the entire Book of Job. It's great if you could do that, I mean God bless you, but understand that's not the proof that you belong to Jesus. The proof that we belong to Jesus is how we love. And the only way to love selflessly is you must be born again. This is love, and this love is a sign to the whole world because they'll never see it anywhere else except in a true believer on this planet.

Simon Peter, verse 36, Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, where are You going? I don't get it, what do You mean You're leaving? Where are You going?" Jesus answered him, "Where I go you cannot follow me now, Peter, but you shall follow me afterwards." In other words, you don't quite understand what I'm saying. You'll get it soon. You'll die.

And Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can't I follow You now?" Here's one thing about Peter that I see in quite a few of us. We take charge. Peter took charge over Jesus quite a few times in the last three and a half years, didn't he? "Lord, don't say that, don't even say those words, not going to happen, Lord no way, no, we're not going there, no." He takes charge. Why? Because poor Jesus doesn't know what He's doing.

Peter said to Him, "Lord, why can't I follow? I will lay down my life for Your sake. I would die for You." And Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for my sake? Truly, truly, this is the truth, Peter. I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied me three times." That's tonight, He's saying that. Before the rooster crows tomorrow morning early at dark thirty, you will deny, have denied me three times. You won't die for me. "Yes I would." I love it when you take charge and start actually arguing with God. And look how He treats us with it. "Peter, stop it."

God smiles. "Hey, I'll do this for you, Lord, just give me a chance. Bob, sit down. Okay." Peter's not bothered by that love statement, I noticed. He's still bothered by the fact that Jesus made a statement He's going somewhere and Peter can't go. "I quit everything for You, I'm the best You got." That's the attitude.

You know, he'll say it, others might, Lord, never, never me, no, no, no. It didn't bother that you got to love everybody that way. Peter goes, "Yeah, we'll figure that out some other time, I want to go back to that last statement You made, I don't, I don't like it. What do You mean where are You going? How can You possibly go somewhere? How could You go somewhere and I don't get to go?" And he says, and let's paraphrase, "Hey, wait a minute, where do You think You're going? Where are You going to go that I can't go?"

Jesus said, "Peter, you can't follow me now, but you will." Jesus is going to die. If he'd have said that to me and you, we understood that, we'd go, "Oh, okay. I don't need to follow You really if You don't want." He's going to die. But so you don't understand, Peter, but you will. He's talking about Peter's death.

Peter's not understanding that at all, and Peter takes charge because somebody's got to be the man, you know. And sometimes women are the man and they'll just take charge with God. "You are not doing this to my husband! Who do You think You are?" He thinks He's God, everybody. He is, in fact. We got to quit taking charge and authority over God. We don't have it, we can't handle it, and He's not going to let us have it either.

He takes over. Peter loves Jesus. This is not because Peter is angry with Jesus. Peter loves Jesus. You got that right? He loves him. "I don't want You, I'm going with You wherever You go, I'm just, I'll die for You." He's completely devoted to Jesus. This is a good thing. It's just that he forgets and he decides, "I'm going to take control here and tell God what to do." He doesn't mean to, but that's what he does a lot. He explains to Jesus, "You're not going anywhere without me." I like that. "Why can't I follow You? I would die for You, Lord. I would lay down my life for You."

And Peter meant every single one of those words. You know that, from his heart he means it. He's just dead wrong, but he means it. I say things to the Lord all the time and I mean it, and then it doesn't happen. I'm too scared. Peter didn't know the deceitfulness of his own heart. Jesus did. He knew the deceitfulness of Peter's heart. Just like you and me when we pray. We say, "I'll trust You, Lord. I'll serve You. I'm Yours. I'm on it." And God smiles and goes, "Follow me."

And I want you to keep this in mind when I give you Jesus' answers, when we read Jesus' answers. Keep this in mind, there are no chapter breaks in the Bible in the original manuscripts. There are no chapter breaks, there's not a break between 13 and 14.

So let me read it to you the way it's written instead of chapters, listen closely. Jesus says in verse 38, "Will you lay down your life for my sake? In other words, you, you would lay down your life for my sake? Truly, truly I say to you, Peter, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied me three times. But let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me."

Do you hear what He just said to Peter? Now it's to all of us, yes, it's to all the disciples, yes. But do you see what happens when you put a chapter break where you shouldn't have it? You miss something. Listen, this is killer. I love it. I quote this chapter 14 all the time, but understand that there is no break.

So here's what He's saying. There is no chapter break. "Truly, truly I say unto you, Peter, I love you, man," He says. "The rooster shall not crow till you have denied me three times. But don't let your heart be troubled. You trust in God, trust in me."

Let me say it in American, "Peter, I know you're going to fail me, I know it." He could also put your name in there and mine, couldn't he? "I know you will fail me, I know it. You do not understand how undependable your heart is, but it's okay." Put your name in there, Peter, Bob, it's okay.

When at last you discover the corruption that's there in your own heart and you're ashamed and you're embarrassed and you're heartbroken to think about what you've done, I want you to remember, Peter, I love you still, and I'm going to prepare a place for you. Let not your heart be troubled.

He knows Peter's going to fail Him with flying colors. He knows. But what did He just tell him? "You just keep your eyes on me, you just keep trusting in me. You'll be embarrassed, you'll be hurt, but I'm there and I'm going to prepare a place for you." Not just you, but for Bob too and for Thomas and for, right? Every true believer.

What a heart Jesus has. He loves you that much, He loves us. We want to serve, we don't want to sin. When we do, we just, we just run to the Lord, we run. We need hearts that are humble, that are willing to stay low so God can use us. Sometimes we try to take control. "I'm on this, Lord, You, You can count on me."

Trust me when I tell the Lord doesn't count on me, He just uses me. He doesn't count on you, He uses you. He will allow you, and what happens when we, when we crumble, when we fall and everybody else says you're just a weasel and a loser and it's like everybody that used to love you now doesn't love you anymore. Who still does? Jesus.

"I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you, and I'm going to prepare a place for you." That's good news for Peter and for me and for you. But why don't we take our own hearts to the Lord and let Him work in our hearts right now?

Guest (Male): Thank you for listening to Apply Within with Pastor Bob Davis. Apply Within is the radio outreach ministry of North Country Chapel. Our Sunday morning Bible studies are at 9:00 and 11:00 AM. We also have a Friday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM and a Monday evening Bible study at 7:00 PM.

You can download today's message in its entirety at NorthCountryChapel.com/studies. That's NorthCountryChapel.com/studies. If you would like a copy of today's message, write to us and ask for the message with today's date. The address is Apply Within, 2281 West Seltice, Post Falls, Idaho, 83854, or call us at 1-800-572-8851. That number again, 1-800-572-8851.

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