To love Jesus is to love the Word of God 

In John 1:1 it’s written: in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. 

The Bible says that Jesus is the Word, the Word of God and Jesus is the same. In Sweden we used to say a 100 years ago: you don’t love Jesus more than you love His Word. I say amen. 

Because We don’t just believe in Jesus, we love Jesus, and Jesus is worthy to be loved, because Jesus is Amazing! X1) We love Jesus for His Amazing Grace, for His goodness and kindness. We admire the glory and Majesty of Jesus Christ, we are speechless before the beauty of Jesus Christ. And we also fear God, because He is Holy. We should not be afraid of God, but we should fear and respect Him. But we also love Jesus. 

I want to be loved by Jesus and people primarily for who I am, not for what I do. Jesus has the same wish, that we first of all love Him for who He Is. We thank Jesus for His blessings in our lives, but We thank and love Jesus first of all for who He Is. That’s the way Jesus wants to be loved. 

Jesus said in John 14: if anyone loves Me, he will keep My Word. Jesus Himself says that a sign of love for Him is to keep Jesus’s commandments and to keep His Word. To keep His Word I believe means not only to remember what Jesus said, but also looking at the Words Jesus has spoken as something precious. I look at the Words Jesus spoke as a treasure of my heart and life. And often when I open my Bible, I marvel, I feel inside of me: wow, this is the Words that God has spoken, and it’s what God is saying to me! And the promises of this book are for me! 

And the Bible says that Jesus is The Word, so when we love Jesus, we love His Word. 

And to love is very much to listen. A man called Bonhoeffer said: love for my brother starts when I listen to him, and love for God starts when I listen to His Word. To listen is a sign of love, and to not listen can be a sign of disrespect and lack of interest in the person that speaks. If I come and speak to you and you don’t listen, I would not feel loved, and appreciated. And To listen to Jesus is a sign of love for Jesus. 

And Jesus loves when we come to Him and to the house of God to listen to His Word. Jesus loves all people, but those who sit at the feet of Jesus Christ and listen when He speaks, that’s the kind of heart that really loves Jesus and Jesus will show that kind of people so much love, He will give you so much spiritual blessings, He will fill you with His love, His Holy Spirit, His grace and peace. 

Draw a picture inside of you of Mary when she sits at the feet of Jesus, just sitting there to hear Jesus speak. She is Full of peace. She Listens with attention. She is Full of love for Jesus. She is longing to hear Jesus speak, the words coming out from the Mouth of Jesus is like honey to her soul. Mary says: Jesus, I love to listen to You. Jesus, When You open Your mouth, it’s like Heaven being opened for me. Mary is so in love with Jesus, she wants to be with Jesus all the time. And to be with Jesus is to listen to His Word. 

When I read the Word of God, I am spending time with Jesus. Yes, we also do that in prayer, but maybe even more when we are in the Word. To listen to His Word is to be with Him, to get to know Jesus. In the Bible “to know” is a synonym with “to love”. So to love Jesus is also to know Him, and we get to know Jesus when we get to know His Word. 

And Jesus said that the Words He spoke was Spirit and life. When I listen to Jesus’s Words, something happens to me. I get new life, strength, love, I am filled with the Holy Spirit. I am being changed and shaped to my inner man into the likeness of Jesus Christ. Hebrews says: For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit.

And When we hear the Word, our faith is made stronger, because faith comes by hearing. When I read the Word, Jesus will create faith in my heart. Faith doesn’t come by my own effort, it doesn’t come because I really try to convince my heart to believe. No, faith is something that Jesus creates in my heart when I listen to His Word. 

And there is nothing stronger in the Universe than Jesus’s Word. Jesus said: Heaven and earth will pass away, but My Words will never pass away.  If you build your faith upon the Words of Jesus, you will never pass away, you will be given Eternal life.

Jesus says that those who built their house, it means their faith, upon sand, they will vanish in the storm, because it’s without foundation. I believe that’s if your faith is built upon emotions or spiritual experiences. That foundation is not strong enough, Jesus says. But if you build your house, the foundation of your faith, upon the rock, upon Jesus Christ, what He did on the cross and upon His Word, the storm can come, the winds can come, but they can’t shake your house. 

David Wilkerson said: Jesus didn’t come to make us believe in His miracles, Jesus came to make us believe in His Word. (A) 

During my conversion I was led by the Lord to a wonderful church in Stockholm, where Jesus was really present and did mighty things in people’s lives. I myself saw Jesus with my own eyes, twice I felt Jesus touch my right side, and Jesus did many other miracles in me, and in others. 

But in this church, miracles and wonders was NOT in the center of the attention. No, they spoke about Jesus, and they said: “it’s written”. They mentioned the miracles only occasionally. Once a deacon said: the Lord gives us spiritual experiences but this is what we put our faith in, and he was holding up the Bible and his face was shining of the glory of Christ, full of faith, joy and love. 

Because Spiritual revelations and emotions come and go, but the Word of Christ does not come and go, it will stand. (B)

Jesus had a problem with those who were more interested in seeing Jesus do signs and wonders, instead of getting to know Him as a person, to be with Him and listening to the Words that Jesus spoke. 

(C) 

But In the West today very few come to church to hear the Word of God. Some people come to hear poems, others come for emotional experiences and to see miracles. But not many come because they want to hear the Word. That’s sad.

During my conversion there was a hunger and a thirst inside of me, and every time I went to church there was an expectation in me. Wow, today I will go to the house of God, and I will hear the Word of God being preached. If you have that kind of heart, Jesus will bless you and lead you, and you will not be deceived. 

Because if you really know the Word of God, it will be very hard for the Enemy to lead you away from Christ. Jesus is coming soon, and Jesus said in Matthew 24 that before His Coming, false prophets would come and present a false Jesus and say: this is what Jesus Christ is like! But Jesus said He doesn’t know them, and that we shouldn’t be deceived. They will often use a single verse of the Bible and make a whole theology of that. But if you know the Word in full, from Genesis to Revelations, it will be very hard to deceive you, because it’s written “the entirety of Your Word IS truth!”

So if you build your faith by reading the Word of God, your faith will grow stronger, you will be able to stand when the rain and storms come, and it will be very hard for the Enemy to deceive you. 

But If you listen today and you think: I don’t love the Word as I should, don’t judge yourself, and Jesus doesn’t judge you. No, but go to Jesus and tell Him the truth, that you don’t have the love for His Word as you should, and just ask Him to give you a love for the Word, and I believe that Jesus will give it to you, sooner or later! Ask and it shall be given. Jesus hears and loves that kind of prayer! And if you are a pastor today and you listen, I strongly advise you to always make sure that the Word is really preached, and as it is written, not twisted.

Today I see mostly two kinds of false Jesuses being preached, all over the world. One is the liberal Jesus, and one is the prosperity Jesus. 

The liberal Jesus doesn’t care about your sins, He accepts all lifestyles, homosexuality is not a problem. He is not the Son of God but just a wise and good man. But it’s not Jesus. 

The prosperity Jesus appeared in USA in the 60ies, invented by Kenneth Hagin. If you believe in that Jesus, you will have no problems, no suffering. You will never be sick, always rich, healthy, successful and prosperous. This Jesus is of course very, very popular in the Charismatic church in the West today, because He gives you the life that you want in your old nature. But it’s not Jesus. 

There is a famous American preacher today called Bill Johnson. He teaches that when Jesus walked on earth, He was not the Son of God, just a born again man baptized in the Holy Spirit, and did all His signs and wonders as an ordinary man. But that’s not what the Word says, because the prophets said that the Messiah would come, and He would be God in the shape of a man. And the gospels say that Jesus was the Son of God in Mary’s womb, and when walking in Israel. Peter said: You Are the Christ, the Son of the Living God. And also Jesus says it many times, when Jesus uses the Word “I Am”, a Hebrew Name for God, and also the demons said that: we know who You Are, the Holy One of Israel, which is a Name for God. everywhere the Bible says that Jesus is the Son of God, before the world began, on earth and today. 

Now 1 John says: by this you know the Spirit of God: every Spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. Christ means Messiah, and To come in the flesh means to come as a man, and since Bill Johnson doesn’t confess that, it’s not God’s Spirit. If you love the Word and the truth, you will see this, because he teaches contrary to the Word of God. 

And in 2nd John verse 7 it’s written: I say this because many deceivers, who do not acknowledge Jesus Christ as coming in the flesh, have gone out into the world. Any such person is the deceiver and the antichrist. Once again, Christ is the Greek word for the Messiah, and the Messiah was to be God in the flesh, and since Bill Johnson doesn’t teach that, the Word of God says it’s not God’s Spirit at work. It’s not what I say, it’s what the Word of a God says. It’s another Christ. 

Listen to me closely now: this other Christ will come also to Bangladesh, and you have to be able to see that it’s false, or you might be deceived. 

I’d say that maybe 80% of the most famous preachers in North America today is deception. Thank God there are true men of God, like Carter Conlon and Wilkerson, who died recently, but most is deception. And I could mention more names, but I won’t, because it would take all day and it won’t help you, because they are so many and more will come. No, you have to get your own discernment, so you can see what is true and false, and it’s done by getting to know the Word of God, and classic theology like Luther, Moody and Wesley. 

I have mostly been in the church of pastor Patric, but I have also met other believers in Christ here in the Methodist church, and I really believe that you preach the Christ of the Bible, and that makes me rejoice. No, I don’t understand a single word that you preach, but the gift of discernment has been given to both me and sister Liliane, and we both sense the same thing: Jesus Christ is here and is being preached the Way He Is, and that brings more joy to my heart than if I was given ten thousand dollars. 

Keep Preaching Jesus Christ of the Bible, and you as a preacher will have spiritual riches here on earth and be given a great reward in Heaven, because you will lead people to salvation. Preach another Christ and then Galatians says it’s not good for others, and it’s a catastrophe for yourself. The Bible says that if we preach another gospel, another Christ, we will be under God’s curse! That’s serious! We who preach have been given a great grace from God, to preach His Word and represent Him, but also a responsibility before God to preach it the right Way, to preach Jesus Christ the Way He Truly Is. and as pastors you need discernment, to be watchful and protect the sheep, from another Jesus. 

Finally, The greatest thing is love. To be loved by Jesus Christ is the greatest thing in life, but to love Jesus is not far behind. But We love Jesus because Jesus first loved us. 

Prophetic speak will end, so also speaking in tongues. But love will never end. Be rich in love, and you are rich before God. Ask Jesus to give you a heart filled with love for Jesus, and His Word, and I believe that Jesus will answer your prayers, and the treasures of Heaven will dwell in your heart. It’s written in Isiah 45: I will give you hidden treasures, riches stored in secret places, so that you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel, who summons you by name. 

I believe these words have a twofold meaning, also speaking about the treasure of Jesus inside of you. If you love the Word of God, Jesus will pour over you His Spiritual Blessings. You will be given a foretaste of Heaven already on earth by the Holy Spirit inside of you, and in full measure in Heaven. I will end by quoting Bishnus favorite verse of the Bible: Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. Love Jesus, love His Word, and Heaven will be your home, forever. Amen.