John 13 has said, to remind you, we looked last Sunday at the Lord's love for His own. Verse 1, having loved His own, which were in the world. That really blessed me. He knows we're in this world. He says we're not of it, though at times we feel like we are. We're certainly tempted by it. He knows that. He was tempted in all points, like as we are, without sin. And He loved them to the end. And we saw that there is no end to His love.

And after this, He speaks many words of comfort to His disciples, especially after Judas left. And he mentions the love of the Father and His love and their love, the disciples, over 30 times. Over 30 times, as much as any passage in all of Scripture. Oh, the Lord loved His own. He called them His little ones. Down in verse 33, it says, little children. These were grown men. Some of them were maybe in their 40s at this time. We don't know for sure, but he called them little children. And he said this other times. He said, except you be converted and become as little children, you'll not enter the kingdom of heaven.

What that means is, and little children, are like toddlers. You have infants that have no understanding, you know. And we, though, are like babes. We start out babes, don't we? With no understanding. But we desire the sins of their milk of the Word. But then they're little children, and toddlers are just learning to walk and so forth. Little children have these characteristics. They receive what you say. They believe what you say. Especially their parents, don't they? They believe what their parents say. And He says, so you should receive the Word as a little child. Just soak it in and believe. Should we believe everything the Lord says? He's the only one we should. He cannot lie. Barely, barely, He keeps saying that. Truly, truly.

Little children trust their parents, don't they? They do. They don't trust strangers. Our Lord said that, didn't He? A stranger's voice, they will not hear. The sheep, John 10. Little children need and want their parents' presence. That's why they cry when they leave. These babies, I feel so sorry for them. These mothers bring these babies into what babies think is a prison house. And these strange women get them and they, This is what's happening to the disciples. The Lord's leaving and they're upset. He's been there everything for three and a half years. Grown men were reduced to crying babies when the Lord Jesus Christ told them he was leaving. Is it not our greatest fear? that the Lord would leave us. Lord, that we would leave Him. He's leaving them.

Little children need constant comfort, don't they? Constantly. And usually the parent does it more with words than anything. Oh, it's okay. It's okay, honey. God is the God of all comfort and His Word is our only true source of comfort. And Christ, His name is the Word, so He is the comfort of God for God's people.

No man has seen God at any time, but the only begotten Son, He hath declared Him. And He keeps telling His disciples here, we read it, if you've seen me, you've seen God. How do we know God is? Because Christ came. God manifested.

So the Lord is showing his little ones, and they're upset. They really don't understand. Though he'd been telling them from the beginning, hadn't he? He opened up, well, I say, they're understanding, but they were yet without understanding after three and a half years. That's really not very long to know the Lord, is it? It's not. How well do you know the Lord after 33 and a half years? How much do you believe Him? How much do you trust Him?

So let's not be hard on these disciples at all. They really don't understand yet. They will after He's crucified and buried and rises again. They will know then. That's what He said. You'll know. He's been telling them over and over again.

And how little children you have to keep reminding them of things. It's like that one mother said something to her child over and over again and somebody counted and said, you said that to them nine times. And she said, yeah, because he didn't get it after eight. We keep hearing the same thing, don't we? Why? Because we're so forgetful.

Peter said, I'm going to stir up your minds by way of remembering. And he said, I want to make it so that you remember after I'm gone. Meaning, he wrote a book. So they really didn't understand. He told them and he showed them there when he was washing feet. He showed them. I'm not sure they still understood. And how many people do know why he washed their feet? You now know, don't you? Ain't that a clear picture of who Christ, where He came from? He robed Himself in flesh, stooped down, why He came? To put away our sins, to wash us in His own blood. Who He did it for? Everybody? His disciples. Was it successful? Yeah. He took His garment back, sat down, work finished. He said, do you know what I've done for you? We do. The world doesn't. But they didn't really know. They heard, they believed, they understood a little. That's all little ones can understand, a little. So He calls them little children.

Do you already have a little more comfort than when you came? He knows our praying. Have a little understanding. Have little faith. So little children are weak, aren't they? They're so weak. And so are we. The strongest of us are weak. So it says he loved his own to the end. And you know something? They loved him. That's what he said. He said, by this shall all know you're my disciples. You have loved one another. He also said, the Father loves you because you love me. You believe me? They loved Him. All of God's people loved Him. He loved them to the end, and here's a matter of fact. If God has truly put His love in your heart, you will love Him to the end. Yes, you will. Because the love of God doesn't fail. Not only His love for us, but what He puts in us. It's love for Him. Herein is our love perfected. 1 John 3 said. So they loved Him to the end. They did.

Well, how do you know that you love God? How do you know you love God? Will you turn with me to Song of Solomon? Song of Solomon. You know, the whole Song of Solomon is about the Beloved and His Beloved. Isn't it? Christ and His church. It expresses His love for her and her love for Him, doesn't it? He is altogether lovely and she is just taken up with Him. And you know what? He's smitten with her. Isn't that something? That's amazing.

Song of Solomon. You have it? You know, God's people don't talk about their love for Him. No, we don't. John loved the Lord, didn't he? Didn't he? You won't hear him talking about how much he loved the Lord. You know what you'll hear him say? I'm the disciple he loves. God's people are ashamed of their love. But they're sure thankful for His love. Oh, my. What's the song? I was trying to think of it. You reminded me of it. Oh, come Holy Spirit, heavenly dove. It goes, look how we grovel here below upon these earthly toils. Thy love to us so. .. Our love to Him so cold and faint and Thy love to us so great. Isn't that right? That's what we all feel. Here's a few things. It says in Romans 8.28, all things work together for good of them that what? That love God. It says that. Because God puts His love in their heart. That's what He said in John 17, didn't it? That love, Father that loves me is in you.

What is that love? Well, it's a love for God as God. We love that God is God. I mean, we don't just believe that. We love it. That God is God. We want Him to be God. He is God. We want Him to be. God as God, holy, just, righteous, all His characteristics, all His attributes. We wouldn't change one, wouldn't we? We love His love. Love is His attribute, but we love His holiness. We love His justice. We love His righteousness.

I notice these men pray and quite often use blood and righteousness, blood and righteousness. That's a foreign term to the world. Every now and then you hear blood, but not blood and righteousness. Is that not so? You listen to the modern preachers. But that's the language of God's people, because they know it's these two things in Christ our Lord that are our salvation, that makes God just and justifier.

We love God as God. We love Christ as Christ, as prophet, priest, and king. and all his offices and all his work, his sovereignty, a whole bunch of people that hate that we call Christ God. I hate that. I love it, don't you? Aren't you glad? We know He's God. God our Savior.

We love His Word. Don't you love God's Word? There was a time He didn't. Why do you now? These disciples, there was a time they didn't read God's Word. They had no use for God's Word. But they do now, don't they? Why? Because God loved them. Christ loved them. He put His love in them. They love the truth. They love the truth. They love His salvation.

What's the Scripture say? Let such as love thy salvation say continually, the Lord be magnified. What is His salvation? That means salvation is of the Lord. That it's His completely from start to finish. Author and the finisher. God thought it. Christ bought it. The Holy Spirit brought it. Relection by the Father. Redemption by the Son. Regeneration by the Holy Spirit. It's of the Lord. Don't you love that? You're smiling right now, John. You've heard that a thousand times. You smile at things you love and you like.

We're so blessed. The love of God has been shed abroad in your heart. Love for Him. Love for Christ. Love for the truth. Love for the gospel. Love for His Word. Love for His Kingdom. Love for His people. You love what you're doing here? It's obvious you're here. And it's Wednesday night.

I was talking to someone the other day about this. Ron, was it you? Yeah, this is huge. Wednesday night worship is a thing that's about going to the wayside. It used to be every single so-called Protestant church in America had Wednesday night service. Didn't it? Growing up, you know what's up. Not now. I love this, don't you? It's a respite. It's in the middle of the week. I need it. Can you go seven days without hearing the gospel?

Oh, these disciples loved him. They loved each other. They did. Did they ever fuss and fight? Yeah. In fact, a couple of times they were arguing about who's the greatest. That's why they got in a fuss. The Lord's right there in their midst and they're arguing about who's the greatest. And they got indignant with one another. They got indignant with James and John. They wanted to be one on the right hand and one on the left. And the other disciples just got angry. But they didn't leave each other. Did they?

Man, my oldest brother was too old. He didn't really pick on me. Not too much. But my second brother did. Only four years between us. And he denies it now, but we still loved each other. I still love them. They loved each other. There were conflicts, but they still loved each other.

That's why our Lord said, you love as I have loved you. He kept saying that. Love one another. And this is how the world will know you're my disciple. Not only do you love God, but you love the truth. But you love one another.

Well, Psalmist Solomon. Now, if you love the Lord, you lean on Him, don't you? You're totally dependent on Him. John, the beloved disciple, the world thinks this is strange, but he was literally leaning up against the Lord. Now, this is not two men. This is God. And this is his little child. Just like Corbin leaning up against you, or Joseph, or Pawpaw. That's what this is. John, he feels like a little baby. And that's his mother. That's his father. And he's leaning on him. He doesn't want to leave his side. You understand that? Yeah, you understand that.

Look at the Song of Solomon chapter 8. It says in verse 6, you have it? Verse 5. Verse 4. Let's start in chapter 1. Look at verse 4. I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, that you stir not up, nor awake my love till He please. Well, who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved? She's leaning on Him, she says. He raised her up under the apple tree. Verse 6, Set me as a seal upon thine heart, as a seal upon thine arm. Love is strong as death. Jealousy is cruel as the grave. Our Lord said He's a jealous God, didn't He? He said, You have no other God before me. You shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, mind, soul, and strength. Didn't He say that? We want to. And we're ashamed that we don't.

It's said in verse, well, let's go on. I'm going back to the text. I've got to go. Go back to the text. So our Lord said, love one another as I've loved you. And by this shall all men know. Now why is it that we're talking about love for a little bit? The love of God. We dwelt on that last time we were together. Love for your flesh and blood is natural. That's natural love. Love because that's your self. We love ourselves. And when we have a child, that's a part of our self. And we would literally lay down our lives without thinking about it. We defend them right now without thinking about it. Because they're our self. We love our self.

So he tells us to love as we love our self. And our Lord loved that way, didn't he? It's natural to love ourselves, our kin, and prefer them and choose them and their company over others. Isn't it? That's just natural. It's natural to serve them, to give generously to them. Men keep saying, we need to cut back this year on Christmas gifts. Those girls have too much. I say, no, let's give more. But that's love, isn't it? That's natural, isn't it? To give, to sacrifice, to labor. It's not labor at all for them. It's supernatural to leave your blood kin for your brethren in the Lord. That's not natural. That's supernatural. That's the grace of God. That's salvation.

And our Lord said then, if any man loved father, mother, husband, wife, son or daughter more than me, who's me? That's where his body is. And they all do. Every one of us, every believer in some way or another has had to make a choice. Like Moses. Didn't he? He refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter. Those Egyptians are not my people. Who are your people, Moses? Those poor and needy wanderers and strangers and pilgrims wandering through Followers of Christ looking for a prophet. That's my people. You're going to leave all this for them? Yeah.

What happened? Was it his choice? God chose Moses. And that's how you know. Supernatural. It's the work of God. A new creature. New heart. New mind. New spirit. New desires. New affection. The old man passing away. All things become new. So it's supernatural.

Like Moses, like Ruth. Ruth going back. Your sister-in-law went back to her gods. And her mother and father-in-law. You go back. No. No. I'm not going anywhere. I want to go with you. I want to die with you. And Simon Peter and all of them. He said, Lord, to whom shall we go? Well, you got a wife, Peter. No, she's not my life, my love, my personal. You are. Did he say that?

Now, we're all ashamed of our love for him and one another. And we don't talk about it. And anybody that has that on their bumper sticker, I love Jesus, doesn't even know him. Number one, big eye. Who are they bragging on? Themselves. If they really thought God loved them, it'd be this. I am so... They wouldn't be on their bumper anyway. But if it did, they were so ignorant to put God's name on their car, they'd say, it's an amazing, marvelous mercy and grace of God that He would choose such a wretched, vile sinner as me and set His love on me before the world began. I'm amazed at this. I know I love Jesus. No, you don't even know Him. Because if you did, you're so ashamed of your love that you don't even make mention of it.

I'm stating the fact, but none of God's people go around telling people how much they love the Lord. They don't do it. They talk about His love. Listen, John Newton that wrote Amazing Grace that saved a wretch like me, he wrote this.

It's a point I long to know, and it often gives me anxious thought.
Do I love the Lord or no?
Am I His or am I not?
If I love, why am I thus?
Why this dull and lifeless frame?
Hardly sure can they be worse who never heard His name.
Could my heart, why is my heart so hard, remain?
And prayer a task and a burden prove,
and every little trifle give me pain,
if I knew the Savior's love.

When I turn my eyes within, all is dark and vain and wild,
I'm filled with unbelief and sin.
Could I deem, call myself His child?
Is this you?
If I pray or hear or read, sin is mixed with all I do.
You that love the Lord indeed, tell me, is it this way with you?

Every single child of God feels this way. Is it striking a nerve with your heart? Like amazing grace? Wait till the end.

Yet, I mourn my stubborn will.
I find my sin a grief and a thrall, that means just a pain.
Should I grieve for what I feel if I did not love it all?
Could I enjoy His saints to meet and choose the ways I once abhorred and find at times a gospel suite if I did not love the Lord?

Lord, decide the doubtful case.
Thou who art Your people's Son,
shine upon this work of grace,
if indeed it is begun.
Let me love Thee more and more.
If I love it all, I pray.
If I have not loved before, help me to begin today.

That's the love of God. What He's going to do is make you hate yourself. and ashamed to say anything about you. Your love, your faith. You don't talk about your faith, you don't talk about your love, any of that do you? You talk about His. Because salvation is not based on our love, it's His. And we do love Him, John said, because He first loved us. You see who gets the glory.

Alright, go back to John. Thirteen. The Lord is leaving and we're going to get to fourteen. But we're not going to get very far. But that's alright. Has any of this been a help to you? The Lord is leaving and they love Him. And how it's known is they can't stand the thought of Him leaving them. What if you thought the doors of this church building were going to be closed tomorrow forever? No more gospel. Can't see your brethren anymore. No more worship.

And Simon Peter, this is one time he spoke up. I'm so glad he did. I'm glad the Lord recorded all this for us. Simon Peter said, Lord, whither goest thou? Where are you going? The Lord had been telling him all along. He's a little child. He said, whither I go thou canst not follow me now. Where is the Lord going? He's going to the cross. And they can't go with Him.

Like Abraham and Isaac going up on the mountain. And He left those men, those three men that were with Him, left those at the foot of the mountain while they climbed up Mount Moriah. That's the Father and the Son. Salvation between the Father and God, the Son on Calvary's tree. Christ had to go there by Himself. They all had to leave him because Scripture said they would. Despite the shepherd and the sheep will be scattered. They all had to leave him. He had to go up Calvary's mountain by himself.

But he says, Whither I go thou canst not follow me now, but thou shalt follow me afterwards. Simon Peter literally was crucified. Some say upside down. The Lord told him he was going to be crucified. They're going to carry you. to a place you don't want to go. They're going to crucify you. And we've got to be crucified with Christ. We've not only got to be crucified in Him on Calvary's tree, dead in Him, crucified with Christ, buried, risen with Him, but we need to be crucified to the world. And the world does. Don't we?

He said you will. You will be. You will take up my cross. And you will follow Him. Later. But you're not going to the cross with me. I'm going to do this alone. And he did. So he gets all of the Lord. And Peter said, Lord... You see what they call him? I remember he said, he called me that because so I am. Lord, why cannot I follow Thee? He's like a little child, isn't he? I want to go. You ever say to your children, we're going somewhere, I got to go. I want to go. You can't go. Why? They know now, they knew later.

And here's what Simon said, bless his heart. I will lay down my life for thee. And our Lord said, Wilt thou? Now, Simon meant well, didn't he? He meant that. Yes, he did. That's what love will do. And when they came for our Lord in the garden, what did Simon Peter do? Huh? He took his sword out of that sheath and was going to take on the whole crowd. He meant it. But here's the problem with what he said. I will. Another time, the Lord said, you're all going to forsake me. And Simon Peter said, they might, but I won't.

We should never say, I will do anything. That's free will. And we don't have free will. We should always say, if thou wilt, I will. We should never say, I will not do that. I've done many things, but I won't do that. Oh, don't say that. That's what Simon said, and that's what Simon did. They that exalt themselves shall be abased. They that humble themselves shall be exalted. John didn't say that. And John didn't forsake him. And I'm glad old Simon Peter, the Lord made an example out of him, aren't you? I am. I really am.

Because the Lord said, Simon, verse 38, wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake? Verily, verily, I say unto you, the cock shall not crow till thou hast denied me thright. Before the sun comes up, you're going to deny me.

You're going to act like you don't even know me. Three times.

What about us? What are we going to do? What are we going to say? What are we going to think before the sun comes up tomorrow? There are going to be thoughts in our head like we never heard a thing. We're going to do things and say things and act in such a way that nobody will know we're a believer if they heard us or saw us or read our thoughts. Because that's what we are. Sinners, completely dependent on the sovereign grace and salvation of our Lord. We need to keep this in mind, don't we?

And this is why James said, don't ever say, I'm going to go here and do this. Don't ever say, the Lord willing. That needs to be in our vocabulary.

But now, how do you think Simon Peter felt now? I will lay down my life for you, will you, Simon? Before the sun comes up, you're going to deny me that you even know me. Three times, you're going to deny me three times. You reckon? Like you. I see you hanging here. Look at the next words.

Let not your heart be troubled. Let not your heart be troubled. He's not going to let his little ones grieve too long, is he? You know, does it not really, Kara, let me just talk to you. You're a sweet mother and so are the rest of you. Does it not really hurt you more than it hurts him? I heard my parents say that. I never believed it for a moment. When my dad was, it's going to hurt me worse than it's hurt you. No, it's not. Oh, yes, it is. We enjoy discipline

Correcting your children? Do you enjoy it? Oh, no. You wish you never had to do it. Don't you? How often do you have to? That boy of yours. Oh, my. Gabe said he got 15 spankings a day. He said, I deserve more. But he's not going to let you grieve too long. He shall not always chide. Let not your heart be troubled. You're going to act like you don't know me. You're going to deny me. What's our hope, John? He cannot deny himself. If you are in him, If you are his wife, his bride, his little child, you belong to him. He knows everything about you. Your thoughts are far off. And though you deny him, he cannot, he cannot deny himself. Isn't that wonderful?

Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God. He's not asking. There's no question mark there. He said, you believe in God. Why do they believe in God? Well, he said that. He said, they believe in me because I've given you a word. In the prairie, they believe in me. They know now. I revealed you to the Father, you to them. They know me. They know I came from you and they know you and your love is in them and they love me.

But keep them. Keep them from the evil ones. You believe in God, believe also in me. Why? Because He is God. And look at this, verses 2 and 3, and I close. As much as I'd like to deal with the rest of it, I don't have time. He said, In my Father's house are many mansions. It says mansions. You know, I literally don't believe there's literally going to be any actual dwelling place. There's not going to be a ceiling over it. There's not going to be the sun. the lambs alike thereof. We don't need, there's not going to be a temple, is there? No. It's all symbolic, isn't it? What he's saying is there's many, many dwelling places, many, there's room for all of you. And a mansion, you think of a mansion, you think of this huge place, it's too big and, you know, we can't use all this space. We're not going to get in by the skin of our teeth. There's going to be an abundant entrance into this large place.

Well, there's not room for me. No, yes there is. Many dwelling places. If it were not so, we'd have told you. You can't tell a lie. I go to prepare a place for you. Our Lord went to the cross. He faced our enemy, our foe. Defeated him, he faced the law and satisfied that. He faced God's justice and satisfied that. He went to the cross and he went to the grave and like the pit man, carried our sins away and put them as far from us as the east is from the west and he rose proving what he did. was accomplished and sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high and he's sitting there and he's not going to get up until every elect person brought in the pope.

He said, if I go, verse 3, and he did, to prepare a place for you, Christ is the place, actually. I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am you may be also. Does that sound good to you? You want to be where He is? You know, we come now, where two or three are gathered, He said, there am I in their midst. And that's why we come, hoping the Lord will be with us and give us a spirit of worship. And we love Him. We love one another. We love to meet, fellowship around our Lord. And that's what it's going to be in heaven.

what he said in this prayer, and I close with this. Father, I will that they also whom thou hast given me be with me where I am, that they may behold my glory. We come here now to behold his glory, don't we? And if we behold a little bit of it, it gives us such hope and such peace and such comfort and such joy. And those which thou hast given me, for thou lovest me before the foundation of the world, O righteous Father of the world, hath not known thee. I know thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me. And I have declared unto them thy name, and will declare it, that the love wherewith thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them."

Was his prayer answered? Yeah. All right. I'm staying with you.