JOHN: So this is what God says to us: He says until you’re very established in who you are before Me, and very established in who I am before you, I got to keep you at a servant level even though you’re an heir because I don’t want happening to you what happened to Ananias and Sapphira. But once you’re established in who I am in your life and who you are in my life, the fear of the Lord, I can bring you in as a close friend. Are you seeing this?
AUDIENCE: Yeah. (APPLAUSE) JOHN: So Jesus says ‘no longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing”— the master’s ways, his secrets, his wisdom. “But I now have called you friends.” Now here’s His universal decree to the whole church. This is John 15:14, you ready? Jesus said, “You are my friends…” Now we always stop it right there. We sing songs about it, we preach sermons about it, we write books about Jesus being our friend, right? But we never finish the statement. Because He said, “You are my friends if—” Now “if” where I come from in Colorado is a “condition.” Okay? In other words, if I look at you and I say, “I will pay you 2000 dollars if you work for me next month.” Did you hear the word “if?” IF you work for me next month. So you don’t do anything for me next month and then you come to me saying “where’s my 2000 dollars?” I say forget it. I told you I would pay you the 2000 IF you work for me next month.
You didn’t work for me the next month therefore you don’t get the 2000. We all understand that. Why don’t we understand it when it comes to the Bible? Because Jesus said, “You are my friends IF—” Well, what’s the condition? You want to know it? He said “You are my friends IF you do WHATEVER I command you.” There it is, the fear of the Lord, trembling at His word. You know what Jesus is saying? Not everybody in the church is My intimate close friend. But He passionately desires everyone to be His close friend. Because James 4:5 says “the Spirit who dwells in us yearns—” To yearn means to long for intensely and consistently. He yearns for our intimate fellowship. He yearns for our friendship intensely. So He yearns, but you see He loves us so much He wants to protect us so we’re not a statistic like Ananias and Sapphira or an example like Ananias and Sapphira.
So can you imagine, here’s God wanting to come down, wrap His big arms around Israel and reveal Himself to them “cause He said “I brought you out to reveal you to Myself.” But He comes down and they all run away. And if you keep reading you’ll find out in Deuteronomy chapter 5, God reviewed that account with Moses. And God said: You know what, Moses? I really, really wanted to reveal Myself to all of them but they didn’t fear Me so I couldn’t. So I told them to go to their tents and I told you to come stand by Me and I talked to you face to face and My voice to them was like thunder. You know people ask me all the time they say where do you get these revelations from your book? Can I be really honest with you? I believe what God has revealed has come out of the fear of the Lord. And can I tell you something?
Tags: It's Supernatural, Sid Roth
Tags: It's Supernatural, Sid Roth