What does the Lord Require?

Matt 7:22-23 “Many will say to Me in that day, Lord , Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness!  Lawlessness is direct rebellion to the Holy Spirit.  You cannot fulfill the will of the Heavenly Father if you do not abide by His commands. 

 John 15:12 “ This is my commandment, That you love one another, as I have loved you.” 10 “ If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love.”  17 “These things I command you, that you love one another.”   

1 Cor 13: 2 “ And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge: and though I have all faith, so that I could move mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.”  The love of the Lord requires action.  It requires us to do something. 

Luke 6:46 “ But why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do the things which I say? Whoever comes to me, and hears my sayings and does them, I will show you whom he is like:  He is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on rock.  And when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently against that houseand could not shake it, for it was founded on the rock.  But he who heard and did nothing is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream beat vehemently: and immediately it fell and the ruin of that house was great.”  

 Romans 2:13 “ For not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God but the doers of the law will be justified.”  We see here that it seems to suggest that there must be an act of doing something.  Jesus had a job to do when he was in this earth and so do we.      

John 17:4 “ I have glorified you on the earth.  I have finished the work which you have given me to do.”  He too was required by God to do works.  
 James 2:14 “ What does it profit, my brethren if someone says he has faith but does not have works? “ Have you ever encountered an individual who professed themselves to be a Christian and yet the vile hurtful things that they speak out of their mouths is a contradiction?   They are hearing the word and all the while they are deceiving themselves into thinking that simply because they hear it they don't have to apply it and live according to it.   

Jer 9:8 “Their tongue is as an arrow shot out; it speak deceit :one speaks peaceably to his neighbor with his mouth, but in his heart he lays his wait.”  They might speak words that are so nice to you to your fact and yet inwardly their heart is wicked and they are just waiting for the opportunity to hurt you.   

The commandment that Jesus gave is so simple to love one another even as He has loved us and yet its so hard for some individuals because their hearts are full of bitterness, unforgiveness, malice and hatred.  Sometimes you can almost see what is in their hearts manifest on their facial expressions.   

 Jer 15:19 “ Therefore thus saith the Lord, if thou return, then will I bring thee again, and thou shalt stand before me: and if thou take forth the precious from the vile, thou shalt be as my mouth:” The Lord was saying that if you repent of the iniquity of your mouth that he would once again bring you into a covenant relationship with him.  He wants us to remove the bitter words of slander, complaining, doubt and unbelief and replace it with words of faith, hope and encouragement.   

James 3:2-6 “For in many things we offend all.  If any man offend not in word, the same is a perfect man, and able also to bridle the whole body.  Behold, we put bits in the horses’ mouths, that they may obey us; and we turn about their whole body.  Behold also the ships, which though they be so great, and are driven of fierce winds, yet are they turned about with a very small helm, whithersoever the governor listeth.  Even so the tongue is a little member, and boasteth great things.  Behold,how great a matter a little fire kindleth!  And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity; so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire of hell.”  Here we see that the tongue is able to defile the whole body of Christ.

In the Old Testament King David knew the serverity of coming up against God’s anointed.  He would not speak against Saul or raise his hand against him.   

1 Sam 24:6  “And he said unto his men, The Lord forbid that I should do this thing unto my master, the Lord’s anointed, to stretch forth mine hand against him, seeing he is the anointed of the Lord.” Verse 10 “Behold, this day thine eyes have seen how that the Lord had delivered thee today into mine hand in the cave: and some bade me kill eye spared thee; and I said, I will not put forth mine hand against my lord; for he is the Lord’s anointed.”  We must be careful about what we speak out of our mouths concerning the Lord’s anointed. 

Matt 12:34-37 “O generation of vipers, how can ye being evil, speak good things?  For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.  A good man out of the good treasure of heart bringeth forth good things:  and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things.  But I say unto you, that every word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.  For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.”  Matt 15: 11 “ Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.” 

 

Matt 15: 17-20 “Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the drought?  But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.  For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: these are the things which defile a man:”  It is interesting that Jesus mentions false witness as a thing coming out a man’s mouth that defiles him. 

Even the ones who were chosen to be used mightily by God were purged of the iniquity of their lips first. 

 Isaiah 6:6-7 “ Then flew one of the seraphins unto me, having a live coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the alter: and he laid it upon thy mouth, and said, lo this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and they sin purged.

Prov 16:23 “The heart of the wise teacheth his mouth, and addeth learning to his lips.”

If we are committed to keeping the command of the Lord of loving one another even as He has loved us then we must learn to bridle our tongues and determining to keep our hearts pure.