Join us for a profound discussion on the biblical principles of love and faith. This episode delves into Christ’s teachings, the significance of John 15:11, and how joy and happiness integrate into our daily Christian lives. Through real-life applications and divine promises, Rick guides listeners on an enlightening journey towards spiritual growth, emphasizing the critical distinction between belief and faith. Prepare to uncover the rich essence of knowing Christ, and the ultimate promise of a heavenly home.
welcome to the flatline with your host rick hughes for the next 30 minutes you’ll be inspired motivated educated but never manipulated now your host rick hughes good morning and welcome to the flatline i’m your host rick hughes and for the next 30 minutes please stick around it’ll be a short time of motivation some inspiration some education all done with no manipulation
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No solicitations, not asking you for money. We’re not asking you to join anything. We’re only asking for you to listen. Listen as I try to inform you about the plan of God for your life. I’ll try to verify it, identify it, and if you would like to orient and then adjust to the plan, that’s up to you. My job is to be accurate, to get it to you accurately. No games, no gimmicks, nothing playing around like that. We just want to give you the truth. You know, we call it the Flotline. And by the way, we’re broadcasting now on 56 radio stations across America. I’m so happy about that. And we do have transcripts from all of our radio shows. Especially last year, we have three volumes from all the shows we presented last year on 2019. That three-volume set of transcripts is absolutely free. All you have to do is write to us on the website, and we’ll send it to you. And we also have transcripts of each show that’s available. And we have many books available on our website, rickhughesministries.org, rickhughesministries.org. Remember, the name of the show is The Flot Line, F-L-O-T, and we’re talking about a forward line of troops. We’re talking about building an invisible barrier inside your soul made up of 10 unique problem-solving devices found in the Word of God so that you can stop the outside source of adversity before it ever becomes the inside source of stress. We’ve gone over these 10 problem-solving devices. We even have a bookmark that has them on it. If you’d like to bookmark, just write to us on the website. We’ll send you one, two, three, as many as you need. But the 10 problem-solving devices begin with Rebound, how you solve the problem of sin, confessing your sin to God. And then we move to the filling of the Holy Spirit, which is the impetus for the Christian life where Paul mandated us to be filled with the Spirit. And then we move to the faith rest drill where the Bible teaches us to live by faith, not by sight. Then we move to grace orientation where we learn how we’re saved by grace, live by grace, die by grace, and have surpassing grace in eternity. Then we move to another problem-solving device, which is doctrinal orientation or biblical orientation. That’s building a foundation on the word of God in your soul. As the Bible says, study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, but rightly dividing the word of truth. When you do this, this gives you a personal sense of destiny, another problem-solving device, where you begin to see God’s plan for your life and understand it and leave your agenda behind. All of this is motivated by your personal love for God, a great problem-solving device. In the Bible, in 1 John 5, 3, it says, if you love me, you will obey me, and my mandates are not hard. Personal love for God is related to God’s character, God’s virtue. But then we have impersonal love for others, and that’s you loving other people based on your character and your virtue. Both personal love for God, a virtue-related problem-solving device, and impersonal love for others, another personal virtue, love, and problem-solving device. They are wonderful gifts from God. So one is where you’re responding to the love of God. We love him because he first loved us. And the other is where you’re expressing that love for all of mankind the same way he did. And then we come to sharing the happiness of God, and this is basically what we’ve been talking about in our show here today, yesterday, or excuse me, last Sunday is what I mean to say. And then we’ll move on to occupation with Christ, the great problem-solving device. So we started last Sunday a study on John 15, 11. And in John 15, 11, Jesus Christ our Lord is wrapping up the Last Supper. They’ve had the Last Supper, the communion, and things are beginning to happen rather quickly now. And he told them these words. He said, these things have I spoken unto you so that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full. the question is what does these things refer to and these things refer to everything he taught them after that meal beginning with john chapter 13 going up to john 15 11. the first thing that he did after they had a wonderful meal as he began to wash the disciples feet he peter had a problem with it and the lord had to correct him and tell him If I don’t wash you, you have nothing to do with me. And then he said, well, give me a bath. And the Lord said, you don’t need a bath. You’ve already had a bath. And we saw the difference in the two Greek words, luo and nipto. Nipto means to clean your feet, and luo means absolution, that’s salvation. Peter was saved already. He didn’t need to be resaved. He just needed to have his feet washed. Of course, he didn’t understand what it was about. And Jesus said in John 13, seven, what I do, you do not know now, but you will know it hereafter. And it was, it’s teaching the illustration of forgiveness of sin. How when we sin and we go to our Lord, he cleanses our feet, he washes our feet, he cleanses us from our sin. And then we have to learn to forgive others just like the Lord Jesus Christ forgave Judas who betrayed him that night. We saw in Ephesians 4.32, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God and Christ forgave you. So we had to learn not to be bitter when you’re betrayed by those that you trust. These are all lessons the Lord taught in John 13. And then he said, happy will you be if you do these things, John 13, 17. And we have a different word, not joy, but happiness. Joy is the Greek word kara, and happiness is the word makarios. So the happiness that he’s speaking of there is the central essence of the Christian life. We know it as problem-solving device number nine, sharing the happiness of God. What it is is it’s a life with objective optimism. Let me say it again, objective optimism. Plus having a relaxed mental attitude that’s produced by the inner joy and the confidence that comes from the word of God stored in your soul. So you’ll never have more joy in your entire life than when you’re in the middle of the plan of God. Some of you have learned that already. Just from these radio shows and finding a qualified pastor, you began to grow, you began to see this, and you have sensed this new joy in your life, and I’m so happy for you about that. The future happiness of these disciples was linked to being obedient to these things, these principles that he taught them. And the Lord knew what they were going to go under and how they would be oppressed and how they would be hated and vilified because of him. And he told them. So that was one of the things in John chapter 13 we looked at. Then he identified the traitor. Another thing that we saw, and that was Judas. And I told you the thick-headed disciples didn’t quite figure it out yet. And then he gave them a new commandment found in John 13. John 13, 34, a new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you. That is impersonal love. Impersonal love. He loved us based on his character, not ours. When the Bible says God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life, that’s an impersonal love. He’s loving you based on his justice and his righteousness and his grace provided through the cross. And you have to use that same impersonal love with individuals that you might not like. Your personal love for God is your motivational virtue to use impersonal love as a function in your life. So one’s a functional virtue, one’s a motivational virtue. And this is what the Lord Jesus Christ taught, this new commandment, love one another. They didn’t like each other, some of them. They were very competitive, I told you that. In Luke 22, 24, however, there arose a heated dispute among them. They were arguing. about which one of them was considered to be the greatest. So our Lord had to get these guys together and say, look, I’m leaving. I’m going to my father’s house, but you’re going to have to get along if we’re ever going to have any success in the devil’s world. So, now we want to get down to another one of those things that he taught them in John 15, 11. Another one of these things that’s to be learned. Here it is, John 13, 36 through 38. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going? And Jesus said, well, where I’m going, you cannot follow me right now. You’ll follow me later. And Peter said to him, why, Lord, why can I not follow you right now? I would lay down my life for you, Lord. A little braggadocious there. Yeah, I’ll die for you, Lord. And Jesus answered, will you lay down your life for me? You will. And then he hit him between the eyes when he said, truly, truly, I say unto you, a rooster will not crow until you deny me three times. So between the time Peter said that statement and daylight the next morning, he was going to be totally embarrassed and totally ashamed of himself because unfortunately he will deny the Lord three times. That doesn’t mean he’s not saved. That means that he’s human, that he let fear overtake him. And it cost him dearly in his life. So Peter heard what the Lord said in John 13, 33. Little children, I’m with you a little while longer. You will seek me, and as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you. Where I’m going, you cannot come. So this dedication that Peter said that he all this braggadocious he had was emotionally based and would not hold up under extreme pressure. This is something you must understand. The Christian life is not emotionally based. It’s a soul-based life based on the mentality of your soul. You have to put in your mind the mind of Christ. That’s what the Bible says. Let this mind be in you that was also in Christ Jesus. Listen to what the Bible says. Stop thinking in terms of arrogance beyond what you should think, Romans 12, 3. Listen to this. As a man thinketh in his heart, so he is. The Christian life is lived in your soul, in the mentality of your soul. And it’s not emotion. Emotions will react to pressure. But humility responds to pressure. And there had to be humility. And his dedication was emotionally based and would not hold him up under this extreme pressure. So what’s going to happen to Peter? He’s going to be humbled. That’s right. He’s going to be humbled. He’s going to be broken down. The devil’s got him now. He’s going to be afraid for his life. He’s going to deny that he’s ever known him. And in Luke 22, 60, Jesus saw him and stared at him, and Peter wept like a baby. He thought he wasn’t even saved anymore. He thought he had failed the Lord. Listen, unless you understand and use the faithless drill, you too will fail similar tests like this. Because Hebrews 11, 6 says, without faith, it’s impossible for you to please God. So don’t make some kind of promise like Peter made that you cannot keep, especially to the Lord Jesus Christ. Yeah, Lord, I’ll die for you. I’ll go with you, Lord, and I’ll die for you. And Jesus said, you will? Listen, Peter, listen, I hate to inform you, but before the rooster crows in the morning, you’re going to deny me three times before daylight. The focus of your faith should always be on the biblical solutions, not the human solutions. Fear produces flight. Faith produces confidence. That’s why the faith rest drill problem solving device number three is critical. You must understand how it works as a Christian. You must use it. Remember Moses when he brought the Jews out of Egypt that had been in slavery for over 400 plus years. And the Pharaoh got after them, and he was going to kill them all and chase them to the Red Sea. And it looked like they were done for, the Red Sea in front, Pharaoh and his army behind. And you know what Moses said? Stand still and watch what God’s about to do. Faith requires you to stand still, to focus on the object of your faith, which is the Lord Jesus Christ and the plan of God for your life. Never be afraid. And this is what Peter did. He failed this test. He had to be taught humility. And this is what the Bible says in Philippians 5, Philippians 5, 6, the Lord Jesus Christ humbled himself and made himself of no reputation and took upon himself the form of a servant. Now, another one of these things, you see, all of these things relate to these problem-solving devices that we talk about. The Lord Jesus Christ had a wonderful way to teach it. Another one of these things found in John 15, 11 is in John 14, 1. These things, John 14, 1, here’s what he said, the Lord said it, “‘Let not your hearts be troubled. “‘If you believe in God, believe also in me.'” Now the verb cardia is the word heart, heart. It’s singular, but the genitive of possession is plural. Thus our Lord was saying that all 11 who remain, remember Judas took off, were to take this individually. Do not let your hearts be troubled. Do not be afraid. Do not get full of fear. You believe in God? Yes, they did. Believe in me also. The present passive imperative of the word let not is a verb of entreaty. So the Lord admonishes them not to be discouraged In the dark hours, it’s coming ahead. The reason I tell you it’s a present passive imperative verb is to understand the morphology of that word, let not your hearts be troubled. The present tense is there’s never a time in your life when you are to be troubled. In the Christian life, there’s no room for fear, no room for worry, no room for eager anticipation where you’re afraid of something. It’s not there. The present tense is telling us this, and the passive voice says the subject receives the action of the verb. He doesn’t produce it, so this comes through the Holy Spirit. whose wonderful job, Galatians 5.22, is love and joy and peace and longsuffering and gentleness and goodness and et cetera, peace, peace, peace. Did you hear that? And so the Lord is telling them to take this individually. The present tense, there never is a time here to be troubled. The passive voice, as the Holy Spirit will give you the ability to handle it, and the imperative mood is the mood of command. So the Lord is admonishing them never to be discouraged in the dark hours coming ahead because they had just been told there was a traitor in their midst and that the strongest of the group, Peter, the one they all looked up to, would even deny the Lord that night. And they all have now understood that he was going to be put to death. They’d been told he would be resurrected, but they didn’t completely understand it at the time. You know, listen to what the verse says again. It’s critical you understand this. If you believe in God, believe also in me. If you believe in God, believe also in me. Belief in God is easy faith, but trusting in Christ is different. The Bible says in James 2.19, the demons also believe and tremble. Believing in God is not salvation. I was watching a television show last night and a fellow was talking about his brother died and said before he died, he believed in God. Maybe he didn’t know how to say it, but that’s not getting saved. Believing in God is not trusting in Christ. Trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ is different than believing in God. Believing in God is not salvation. It’s believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved, Acts 16, 31. You know, a deist believes in God, but he’s too intellectual to believe in his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. So keep this in mind. Someone that says, I believe in God, that doesn’t mean they’re Christian. You become a Christian when you put your faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross. And you express that faith by prayer. Many times you simply say, Father, I know I’m a sinner. Father, I ask you to forgive me of my sin and I believe in Christ and accept him as my Savior. Technically, Christ has already forgiven you for your sin, but you’re now confirming that and you’re now accepting that by faith. Because the Bible says, whosoever should call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. And that’s how we get saved, not believing in God, but believe in me. And once we come to a relationship with Christ, now we can understand God the Father. because we are given God’s righteousness. The Bible says, he that knew no sin was made sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God by means of Christ. Once we are adopted into the family of God, Now we begin to trust God and understand God’s character, his essence, sovereignty, righteousness, justice, love, eternal life, immutability, and impeccability. I mean, this is what God is about. He is unbelievably God. He’s the same yesterday, today, and forever. But you will never know him personally until you come through the Lord Jesus Christ. Because the Lord Jesus Christ said, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes to the Father but by me. Another one of those, these things that Jesus mentioned in John 15, 11 is about your heavenly home. Here’s what Jesus said in John 14, two and three. He said, in my father’s house are many dwelling places. And if it were not so, I would have told you. for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also.” What a wonderful promise for us. He’s not going to abandon us and leave us in the devil’s world. And he told the disciples, don’t worry, I’m not gonna abandon you. see he just announced that he’s going to not abandon them he promised to return and that’s still true today because the kingdom of christ has yet to be established the millennial kingdom the thousand years of the rule and reign of the lord jesus christ is yet to be established that will happen after the exit resurrection called the rapture and after the seven years of tribulation At the end of the seven years of tribulation, the Lord Jesus Christ will return, the second advent, and he will establish the millennial kingdom, and we will be there with him, ruling and reigning with him in our resurrection bodies. So he’s not bailing out on us. So don’t get this picture in your mind of some giant mansion in heaven. This is a descriptive analogy of the fact that there is a place in heaven for each of us while we’re there, and even a place for us on the new earth that is going to be created, Isaiah 65, 17, 2 Peter 3, 13, Revelation 21, 1. All of these verses refer to the final state of the redeemed. Keep in mind, Peter said this earth will be destroyed, the universe will be burned up, and there will be a new heaven and a new earth, and this is where we will spend eternity, in the new heaven, and the new earth going back and forth between the two. Okay? So, remember that. The Lord announced he would not abandon them. Keep this in mind. The Lord Jesus Christ is a heavenly real estate developer. I like that. He’s making room for all of us when he went there. He’s preparing a way for us. And, you know, Thomas, one of the disciples, thinks he’s speaking of a physical location. That’s what he’s thinking in his mind. And here’s the question he asked. Lord, We don’t know where you’re going, so how can we know the way? And then remember Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man comes to the Father but by me, John 14, 6. Right after Thomas made that goofy statement, Lord, we know not where you’re going. How can we know the way, John 14, 6? I am the way. I am the truth. I am the life. No man can come to the Father but by means of me. That means that Jesus Christ is God’s appointed redeemer. And that means that no man can approach God unless he first comes through the Lord Jesus Christ. That’s one of these things he taught them. The mechanics of this is found in 2 Corinthians 5, 21. Listen carefully. He, that’s God, made him, that’s Christ, the one who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we might be made the righteousness of God by means of him. So there’s no greater joy than knowing that you are redeemed out of the slave market of sin and you’re now a firm member of God’s royal family. What a wonderful gift through the compliments of the Lord Jesus Christ. Another one of these things he taught, and I’ll give you a little bit of a modified, expanded translation of John 14. Since you have known me, you will know the Father also. In fact, in the future, you will know him because you have seen him. Well, the Bible tells us no man’s seen God. What’s he saying? The question is the degree to which, if any, they understood who they actually knew. I don’t think they really understood this was the God-man, undiminished deity, true humanity, and one body forever called hypostatic union. They’ve already looked upon God in the form of the Lord Jesus Christ. It’s evident they did not know at this time who he actually was. And it’s true the God-man, hypostatic union, the theanthropic nature of Jesus Christ, a Trinitarian person modified by union with human and nature divine. So he has God and man in one body forever. Christ is therefore both. He’s both God and both man, and he’s no less God because of his humanity, and he’s no less human because of his deity. He is the God-man. So when he says in the future you will know him because you’ve seen him, He’s telling them, I am God. John Valvard, the president of Dallas Theological Seminary, said these words, the proof that the two natures maintain their complete identity, though joined in a personal union, is based on a comparison of the attributes of the human nature and the divine nature. It should be clear that divine attributes must necessarily belong to the corresponding divine nature. and that human attributes must belong to the corresponding human nature. Though the attributes of either the human or the divine belong in the person of Christ because Christ is theanthropic in person. But it’s not accurate to refer to his nature as being theanthropic and there is no mixture of the divine. You can’t say that. He is God and he is man. So he’s not forming a third substance. He’s one thing. The human nature always remains human And the human and the divine nature always remains divine. So by coming to know the Lord Jesus Christ, the disciples would come to understand who the Father is. just as you do and are doing even now. They would now advance both intellectually and advance spiritually by means of their relationship with Christ. You know, you and I cannot see God the Father, but we can understand him through our relationship with Christ. Listen to John 14, nine. He that have seen me have seen the Father. So why do you now ask me to show you the Father? He that has seen me has seen the Father. So why do you now ask me to show you the Father? That’s pretty simple, pretty plain. Now, the question I have to ask you this morning before we wrap it up, have you met the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you have a personal relationship with him? Because that’s what Christianity is. It’s not organized religion. It’s not ritual without reality. It’s a personal faith in the atoning work of Christ on the cross for you. It’s a belief that he was dead, buried, and resurrected for you. It’s a guarantee, and when you put your faith in the finished work of Christ on the cross, then you can come to know him by faith. It’s faith alone in Christ alone. When you receive Christ as your Savior, you’re born again, the Bible says. Your dead human spirit is made alive in Christ, and you begin a new life called the Christian life, thus the need to learn God’s wonderful problem-solving devices. Well, I hope you’ve been listening. I hope it’s making sense. Until next week, same time, same place, this is your host, Rick Hughes, saying thank you for listening to The Flatline.
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Thank you for listening to The Floodline with your host, Rick Hughes. If you’d like to contact Rick, please write to him at P.O. Box 100, Cropwell, Alabama, 35054, or online at www.rickhughesministries.org.
