The Love Of The Truth

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. Today we’re going to talk about The Love Of The Truth. Let’s turn to John 8:31&32, Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. In the King James it says, If you continue in my Word, you will be my disciples indeed, and you will know the truth and the truth will make you free. I thank God for the understanding that He has given me about this scripture. I wish that I had it years ago. But it’s very simple, as we will see as we continue in this program. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth, and He teaches us the Word of God. And so, as you continue reading and studying God’s Word and seeking Him for understanding, the Holy Spirit will begin to reveal it to you, and as you get understanding; He is the teacher; and you continue in that understanding, He will lead you in different situations for you to do the Word of God; do the Words of the Lord Jesus. And as you continue in his Word; this is what it means to continue in his Word, you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free. Let’s turn to 1 John 2:3&4, Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.  But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. Let’s go to verses 20-27,   But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also. Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing, which is the Holy Spirit, teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him. Let’s go to Chapter 3, verses 16-19, By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. Let's go to 1 John 5:3, For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. Verse 20, And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life. 

2 John 1-11, The Elder, To the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also all those who have known the truth, because of the truth which abides in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy, and peace will be with you from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoiced greatly that I have found some of your children walking in truth, as we received commandment from the Father. And now I plead with you, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the beginning: that we love one another. This is love, that we walk according to His commandments. This is the commandment, that as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world who do not confess Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward. Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. If anyone comes to you and does not bring this doctrine, do not receive him into your house nor greet him; for he who greets him shares in his evil deeds. Ok, let’s read 3 John 1-12, The Elder, To the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth: Beloved, I pray that you may prosper in all things and be in health, just as your soul prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when brethren came and testified of the truth that is in you, just as you walk in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. Beloved, you do faithfully whatever you do for the brethren and for strangers, who have borne witness of your love before the church. If you send them forward on their journey in a manner worthy of God, you will do well, because they went forth for His name's sake, taking nothing from the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such, that we may become fellow workers for the truth. I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, does not receive us. Therefore, if I come, I will call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. And not content with that, he himself does not receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church. Beloved, do not imitate what is evil, but what is good. He who does good is of God, but he who does evil has not seen God. Demetrius has a good testimony from all, and from the truth itself. And we also bear witness, and you know that our testimony is true. Jesus said, If you love me, keep my commandments. John said, This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. His Word is the truth. If we love God, we will love his Son, we will love his Word, we will love one another, we will love the truth. Jesus is the truth. He said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of truth and He is no lie, as we read earlier in 1 John. In 1 Peter 1:22, Peter said, Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, see that you  love one another fervently with a pure heart.  In order for us to keep the commandments of Jesus; to love one another, our hearts must be purified. We must repent from our evil ways, and turn to God with all our hearts and embrace the truth; love the truth, and our hearts will be purified by obeying the truth through the Spirit. Then we can really love one another. Jesus said, Because iniquity shall abound, in the last days, most people’s love will grow cold.

2 Thess 2:1-12, Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? And now you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. They received not the love of the truth. We must love the truth; we must be valiant for the truth. For the antiChrist spirit is already in the Earth seeking to trample down the truth, and overcome the saints. If we do not love the truth with all our hearts, and continue in it, following Jesus, we will be easily deceived and overtaken by the Beast. It is written here that those that refuse to love the truth, God will send them strong delusions that they may believe the lie, and they will perish. It is not enough to know the truth, it is not enough to speak the truth, we must love the truth to keep from being deceived. The reason people won’t receive the love of the truth is because of the lies which they love that falsely justify their evil deeds which they love. If we love the truth we will love the Father, we will love his Son, and we will love one another. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. We love Him because He first loved us, and his commandment is that we love one another, not in word only, but in deed and in truth.

Ask yourself: Do I believe the truth? Do I really love the Lord, and my brothers and sisters in Christ? Or do I really love myself and my pleasures, my money, and the things of this world? The Scripture says, If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. Be honest with yourself before God. If that is you, repent! And acknowledge your sins to Him. Draw near to Him to love Him, to love his truth, and He will draw near to you. 1 Cor 2:9, But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. Let’s turn to John 17:13-23, But now I come to You, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. I do not pray that You should take them out of the world, but that You should keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 

Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. And for their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also may be sanctified by the truth. I do not pray for these alone, but also for those who will believe in Me through their word; that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You; that they also may be one in Us, that the world may believe that You sent Me. And the glory which You gave Me I have given them, that they may be one just as We are one:  I in them, and You in Me; that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me. Verse 24, Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world. God has reserved his Glory for those that love Him; that love his truth, and will be sanctified by his Word. His Word is truth; as the Apostle Peter said, those that purify themselves by obeying the truth through the Spirit. The Holy Spirit will help you. Jesus said He will lead you into all truth. If we have this blessed hope in us, of Jesus’ soon return and us entering into his Glory, we should be purifying ourselves, preparing to meet Him in the clouds. One shall be taken, and another left. The ones who shall be taken are those who love the truth.