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Let me preface this sermon by telling you that the scriptures teach and I believe that God loves everyone and that He is no "respecter of persons." All of that is scriptural and is truth. Take the most sinful man, with the most violent temper and worst attitude that has ever existed and if that vile man had been the only human being alive on earth, I believe that Jesus Christ would have still suffered and died and paid the price for humanities' sin, because of His great love for us! As Paul said in the book of Romans:

What an awesome love that is something that we can barely fathom! That Jesus Christ would die for us while we were still in our sin and in our state of "ungodliness" and yet He died just for the "chance" that we mighty live for Him and receive His Word and Spirit in our lives! How great a revelation it is and one that must never be taken lightly: For God so loved the world . . . !

And so it is proper to say that even before conversion, God loves every man equally. Before a person is born again, God loves all with the same great love that reaches out to men and women equally regardless of their past sins and shortcomings. But there is something in the Bible that indicates to us that when a person has started following Jesus and living for God, that some people develop in their lives, a spirit or attitude, that cause God to love them even more than their fellow Christians. This sort of goes beyond our ability to comprehend, but it seems from scripture that despite the great love that God exhibits to everyone that is so far beyond our understanding, that there is an even greater degree or side to God's love that is conferred on certain individuals who are following Him in such a way. There seems to be a special, "greater great" level of God's love. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not talking about salvation or anything to do with that. I'm talking about after a person has decided to follow Christ. And I'm not talking about a post-conversion experience or work of Grace. I'm simply saying that after a person begins to follow Jesus, there is a level that a person can attain to that places them in an elite area of the servants of God where they can experience a "greater great" level of God's love!

Perhaps this seems a strange teaching, but let me show you some of this principle in the scriptures. Of all of His disciples, Jesus had inner divisions of leadership. Out of the multitudes were selected the 120. Out of the 120 were the 70 who were sent forth in pairs to minister. Of the 70 there were the familiar twelve. Of the twelve, there were the inner three of Peter, James, and John. Of the three, Peter was the overall leader to whom was given the "keys to the kingdom" and who would preach the first message of Grace on the Day of Pentecost in Acts chapter 2. We understand that this was a division of leadership within the church that Jesus Christ was establishing. We later find out that God elevated the Apostle Paul to be Peter's peer and they formed a "check and balances" system on each other. Likewise, God elevated James, the brother of Jesus, to be the overseer of the mother church in Jerusalem. God likes authority and likes it to be organized. God wants you to be accountable to someone!

And so it follows that as His chosen leadership, Jesus loved all of these men (and the later women) who fulfilled the leadership positions within His church. Yet in scripture, there is one man of all of these myriad of believers whom the Bible says "Jesus loved" and that is the Apostle John. Four times in scripture, John refers to himself as "the disciple whom Jesus loved" signifying not that Jesus didn't love the other disciples, but rather that there was something about John that was inherently close to Jesus' nature and that in His humanity, Jesus was closer to John than the others (see John 13:23; 20:2; 21:7, 20). Four times he is referred to as the "disciple whom Jesus loved." Jesus, of course, loved all of His disciples, but there was something about John that caused Jesus to naturally be closer to John and love Him with a special kindness and adoration.

The difference had to be in the characteristics of John's personality and life and here's the point: God loves all of us regardless of our faults and our shortcomings because we are His chosen creation, but God does not love everything about us. It is a trait of divine love to love someone with unselfish and genuine love and yet not approve of everything that they do. There are some Christians that never grasp this revelation and will say things like "I cannot truly love them, because they do certain things that I dislike or do not approve of." What they are saying is that they give their love based upon perceived perfection, but that is a selfish and misguided love and one that is continually disappointed because given time there is not a human being on this earth that is perfect, therefore there is no one for such a person to love! True, Godly love loves people despite their faults and despite approval or not. True Godly love responds kindly even when the object of their love responds in a way that they do not approve of. If loving despite failures is condoning those failures, then God condones sin because "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." But God does NOT condone sin, He commands us to repent and turn away from it, therefore to love someone despite not agreeing with their actions is not condoning their sinfulness but is rather exhibiting Godly love. For God so loved the World . . . !

This sermon's purpose is not to preach about the unconditional love of God for the world, but simply to state "I want to be someone whom Jesus loves!" Not just in the sense of John 3:16, but in the sense that my spirit and actions cause God to love me more. Like David, I want to be known as a "man after God's own heart." Like Daniel I want to be singled out of the crowd as "the beloved." Like John, I want to have the characteristics that endear God to me and cause Him to desire to spend time with me as I desire time with Him. I want God to like me. I want God to approve of my lifestyle. In the sense that it was said about John, I want it said about me: "he was a disciple whom Jesus loved."

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For that to be so, then I'm going to have to emulate the things that John did right in my own life. Here are some of the traits of those whom Jesus greatly loves as evidenced by John's life:

1. They respond to Godly correction positively.

John didn't start following Jesus and just "poof" become perfect. None of us do that. Everyone who has ever followed Jesus does so needing improvement. The difference between those who make it and those who don't, and as this study proves: those who get a closer walk with the Lord than others, is the individuals response to Godly correction and instruction.

We find that John had a zealous streak and we find that three times Jesus had to do some major rebuking and correcting of that misplaced zeal. In Matthew 20, we find John and James in cahoots with their mother asking for a the honored positions in the kingdom of God and having to be rebuked for their presumption that they were ready for such an honor. In Luke 9:49, we find John rebuking a man for casting out devils in the name of Jesus because he was not one of the disciples, and Jesus rebukes him again for false presumptions with the words "forbid him not, if he is not against us, then he is for us!" John obviously had a little "better than thou" attitude and thought that since he was with Jesus every day that only people like him should be able to cast out devils! In Luke 9:54 -- it must have been a bad day for John -- when the Samaritan village that they had just left did not receive the words and teaching of Jesus, John asked for Jesus to call down fire on them and consume them, again to be rebuked by Jesus who said "you know not what spirit you are of." We find that during all of this correction, John didn't get offended and quit following Jesus. He didn't sulk and have a pity party. In fact, he obviously took the correction to heart because all three of these areas that Jesus had to correct, later became John's greatest strength!

Some people walk around with a "chip on their shoulder" and are just looking for something to be offended at. If you correct them, or their children, or something that they are involved in, they swell up like a toad frog and then become a "hold out" on God. If you are always getting offended at something, then you need to respond to the correction and let God change that! The scripture says:

If you are easily offended then you do not love God's Word as you should. We need to learn that the kingdom of God and my relationship with God means so much more than everyday personality problems or my hurt feelings because I needed correction! All of us need correction because all of us are less than perfect!

And then there are some who when corrected, receive it in so much as they don't get offended or hurt, but they simply disregard it and they never make any changes to their lives. They'll smile at you or the Word of God but they full well don't intend to change anything. They are hearers only and not doers of the Word of God and the Book of James says that they are only fooling themselves.

But John was not like that. He changed everything that Jesus corrected Him on and it turned out that everything that Jesus had rebuked was what was needed to be changed in John's life to become the "beloved," a disciple whom Jesus loved! Look at the story of our text and notice the difference in John. Whereas before John was seeking for glory and name recognition, we find in the story of the Last Supper, and indeed throughout His gospel, John refuses to even mention himself by name, choosing instead the obscure moniker, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." In fact, the Apostle John always referred to Himself this way in His gospel and the only time the name "John" is used in the Gospel of John is when talking about John the Baptist! John had responded and obeyed the correction of Jesus Christ!

Not only that, but in the story of our text, we find that Jesus gives John the information that the one who will betray Him is the "one who dips the sop." John only, of all the disciples at the table, knew that it was Judas Iscariot that would betray Jesus Christ, but this time, he's not saying anything about calling fire down from heaven, and when Jesus gives Judas Iscariot one more opportunity and even washes his feet, John does not object. The one who formerly lacked mercy now had a new revelation of Jesus' grace and mercy!

We find that John was sitting next to Jesus at the Last Supper and Peter was sitting a few seats down. When Jesus announced that someone was going to betray Him, it was Peter who motioned to John to "ask Jesus" who it was. John is sitting at the place of honor, and Peter, the imperfect mouth is sitting further down the table and yet John doesn't look at him with the attitude that "I don't need your input." Instead John realizes that Peter has thought of something that he hasn't done and privately asks Jesus "who is it?" There is no longer a "better than thou" attitude in John and he readily realizes and accepts that he can learn things from people in a "lower position" than he is currently holding!

Incidentally, if you want to be a "disciple whom Jesus loved," then you must have these three characteristics in your life. If you want Jesus to be drawn to you in a special way then realize you must exhibit the characteristics of such people:

2. They are humble and are not out to build a name for themselves.

Some people will only do things if there is glory in it, or if someone pats them on the back. But we find that John was willing to go with Peter and do the servant's work of setting up the place for the Last Supper. I'm not talking about false humility, but a genuine burden for the work, that even if I don't get recognized I'll continue doing it because I'm doing it unto the Lord. We have very few people ever offer to change out light bulbs or cut the grass or clean the toilets, but there are also very few people who attain the highest anointings and powers of God in their life, because the greatest things of God come to those who become like a servant. The first shall be last and the last first. He who exalteth himself shall be debased. As our example, Jesus Himself picked up a servant's towel and washed His disciple's feet. Remember this: if you're too good to do something in the kingdom of God, then God views it as you are also too good for the greatest anointings! That principle's so true that we should probably spend an entire service on it. And if you want to be a "disciple whom Jesus loved" then you'd better get the revelation of true humility!

3. They properly exhibit the grace and mercy of the Lord.

That's what the very name John means: "the graciousness and mercy of God." But it took a little work and a little correction and a little time before John lived up to his God-given name! When you were baptized you took on the name of Jesus, but you didn't automatically become as Jesus! We are all working to "live up to our God-given name!"

That means to be a disciple whom Jesus loved, then you must not criticize others when their failures become apparent. You, too, will need the mercy and graciousness of God in your life! But it also means that -- like John -- you don't abuse the mercy of God as an excuse not to change and to keep living like you want to. Unfortunately, sometimes people don't properly exhibit the grace and mercy of God: they take advantage of the mercy of God to excuse their lack of changing and disobedience to God's Word, and if they receive Godly correction, they'll say "well I'm still working on that" when really all they are doing is abusing God's graciousness. And at the same time, such people notice and are quick to point out the faults of others and criticize them. Such are not the traits of a "disciple whom Jesus loves!"

4. They understand that they can learn things and be helped by others in a lower position.

Like John, we must not develop a "holier than thou" attitude. You can always learn something from someone else, either what to do or what not to do. And God, it seems, specializes in using avenues that you think are "below you" to deliver His message. Ask Balaam who had his donkey talk to him! Ask the disciples about the lesson of simple faith that they learned by a little boy with a sack lunch.

When a person first begins living for God, the devil tries to distract them by a "non worthy attitude." He tries to convince the person that they are not worthy to receive God's love and worthy of the Holy Ghost, and not worthy to receive the blessings or to live in the kingdom of God. The devil tries to keep people from believing for the best things and being faithful to God by putting condemnation from everything that they've ever done upon them and trying to convince them that they can't be as blessed as others because they are not "good enough." If that doesn't work, then the devil goes to the other end of the spectrum. He tries to convince you that you are better than most of the other people in the church, and that they are "lower than you" and that you "have arrived." The scripture says that "pride goeth before destruction." And the devil knows that scripture better than most because it was pride that caused his fall from heaven and so he tries to get us to fall into the same trap!

Positions and responsibility sometimes brings out the worst in people. I've known people who desired a position, got it, and suddenly turned into perfection and a much better person than everyone else. You'd better remember that God can use anybody or anything that He wants you and that He doesn't need your great contribution and talent for His perfect will to be done. A less talented person with a servant's heart will always go further in the kingdom of God than a talented person who thinks that he has nothing to learn from someone lower than him. But it is a trait of the "disciple whom Jesus loved" that even though he is sitting at the seat of honor right now, he still has time for and listens to the voice from further down the table!

5. They understand the giving of the "sop" and are not jealous.

The "sop" was a lot like taking a tortilla and dipping it rolled up into a sauce before eating it. In the days before forks and spoons this was the most common method of getting the food from the table to the mouth. The interesting point here is that Jesus did not point out Judas Iscariot by criticizing him or being mean. Instead, acting in the role of the servant, Jesus served Judas food through the form of the "sop." And it never recorded that Jesus did this special act of service to any other disciple, John included.

Some times God will show special attention or give a sudden blessing to someone to whom in your mind definitely doesn't deserve it. I've known people who got jealous of the blessings of God in someone else's life and even got mad because God had blessed someone mightily who definitely had not sacrificed seemingly to receive it. But understand that sometimes God blessed people who are "on their way out" trying to get their attention and trying to remind them of His goodness. He'll sometimes give a "sop," a financial blessing or a miracle to someone who has blatant sin in their life trying to remind them of the benefits and power in living for Him. The "sop" is a last-ditched effort to keep them within the fold! He may not have done that miracle for you because it simply was not needed, you are blessed and living for Him. And a Christian who is as a "disciple whom Jesus loves" will understand that and not be jealous when in a desperate, last-minute attempt to keep someone, God bestows a special mercy on someone. You've got to remember the lesson of the "sop."

What other traits of a "disciple whom Jesus loved" can be discerned from this story of the Last Supper? Let's look at two more:

6. They lean on Jesus' bosom.

This line causes confusion for readers today until you realize that they didn't actually sit in chairs around a dining table back then, but instead laid on a raised platform on one side when they ate. Painters and carnal people have tried to make this into all sorts of perverted things saying that John was effeminate or whatever because of the way it's worded. Those things are such a lie from the pits of hell that they don't even warrant any more attention. All this means in the text is that John leaned back to ask Jesus quietly "who is it that will betray you?" It's a perfectly normal action when dining as they were dining.

But it is worded in a weird way, and that's probably no accident. To "lean on Jesus' bosom" means that John was very close to Jesus. And notice that he was the closest to Jesus when he had a question! It is a trait of the "disciple whom Jesus loved" that when he had questions, he drew closer to Jesus Christ. He knew that the answers to all of his queries would be found by getting as close as he could to the Master!

I've known people with questions about God and His Word and there's nothing wrong with that, but I've also known people to let their questions drive them further away from God. I've known people to shake their fist in the sky when they didn't understand something in their life and quit because they didn't understand why something had to happen. I've known people to live for God for a long time but when a particular question wasn't answered in their timing, they walked away.

Eventually you are going to hear some commandment of the Word that you do not understand. If that never happens, then rest assured that life is going to bring some circumstances that will cause you to have questions like "why did this have to happen?," or "what could possibly be the purpose of this?," or "where is God in all of this?"! Let me remind you that during the time of questions, is the time that we must draw closest to Jesus Christ and not further away! You need to be in the house of the Lord most when you have questions. You need to pray most when you have unanswered queries. We must let our questions drive us closer to God and not further away! Such is the traits of a "disciple whom Jesus loved!"

You say how do I draw closer to Jesus? And, yet, the answer is simple: by talking to Him directly. This leads us to our next lesson about "disciples whom Jesus loves:"

7. They are men of prayer.

When John leaned to Jesus and addressed Him directly, it was a form of prayer. Prayer is direct communication to God. The two men in scripture designated as "beloved of God," in the New Testament, John, and in the Old Testament, Daniel, were both men of direct communication with God. Like us, Daniel didn't have a physical manifestation of God to address, but he learned that he could still talk to God through prayer. In our other text, we read that it while Daniel was praying that he received the title "beloved of God." To be loved as "the disciple whom Jesus loves" we must become people of prayer!

It has been said that a church rises and falls on it's prayer life, and that is true not only for the church but for you personal walk with God. It's hard -- very hard -- to walk close to someone without having regular meaningful conversation with them. We understand that in the natural, but we tend to forget it in the spiritual. I will only be as close to Jesus as my prayer life will allow! I will only go as far in God as my prayer life will take me! A Christian that does not pray is a Christian heading the wrong direction!

And we can learn a valuable lesson on how to pray by the prayers of Daniel and John. In Daniel's prayer in our other text, we find no hint of self-righteousness. In fact, Daniel's prayer was of contrition and in it he was "confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel,." It is a trait of a disciple whom Jesus loves to pray prayers of repentance and realize their faults and do not try to hide them from God. What this means is that when disciples whom Jesus loves pray they:

Daniel recognized that he had faults and yet he still prayed faithfully to God. It seems to be human nature that when we know something isn't right with God, that's when we skimp on faithfulness to the house of God and to prayer, when really that is when we need Him the most! There are some who have the attitude that they must get rid of their faults to be able to pray and never get the revelation that they should pray to get rid of their faults! You don't get good to get God, but rather get God to get good! If the devil can't get you to fall away because of your strengths, then he'll go back to trying to beat you up with condemnation. Christians who are as "disciples whom Jesus loves" get the revelation that they need prayer everyday because of their faults and prayer is always a priority and they let true, heart-felt repentance propel them into the presence of God beyond their faults!

This is the acid test! Daniel was praying about visions that God had given to him about others that he would probably never see or meet, and yet Daniel was praying to God for them and asking God to have mercy and help them! In like manner, it was the genuine concern for his fellow disciples spiritual walks that prompted John to ask Jesus "who is it?" Of the twelve disciples that heard Jesus say "someone here will betray me" only two -- Peter and John -- cared enough to ask who it was. And those two would eventually hold the two greatest anointings and positions in the Early Church. Coincidence? No, because what you pray about tells a lot about your selfishness or the lack thereof. There's nothing wrong with bringing God personal requests, and we must certainly allow God to work on our private lives during prayer, but someone who is as a "disciple whom Jesus loved" will always be concerned about others to pray for them!

How self-centered is your prayer life? Do you call other people's names out? Do you mention other's situations? Have you ever got a burden and prayed for someone to get the Holy Ghost, or receive a revelation of Jesus Christ!? Do you regularly forget in your prayers to even give others outside of your family and little circle of influence a second's thought? We must become kingdom minded! We must expand our prayers beyond our life and into the lives of others! Such is the trait of someone who is as a "disciple whom Jesus loves."

When John leaned toward Jesus, he said "Lord, who is it?" Not just the question, but he prefaced it with a profession: "Lord." We should likewise remember that when we pray to God, that He is sovereign. He is the master. Ultimately, whatever His will is, is what we want also in our lives. Perhaps, He will choose to answer our prayer in an unexpected way. Perhaps He will choose to wait a while before answering. Perhaps, the answer will be sometimes "no." A trait of a disciple whom Jesus loves, is that they preface their questions with a confession of His lordship. In other words, He is Lord, so no matter what the outcome is I'll be content and happy and serve Him! Eventually you will learn that His ways and answers will always be better in the long run than what you wanted! When you pray, say "Lord."

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And so I want to be someone whom God loves, not just in the sense of John 3:16, but in the sense that my Spirit and my actions are pleasing to God. We've learned how to be that way, but now, as we close this lesson, I would like to point out to you three of the benefits of being a disciple whom Jesus loves greatly:

1. God reveals His greatest plans to those whom He greatly loves.

Daniel and John are both characterized in scripture as being men whom God loved specially. Both are also characterized as having the future prophetic plans of God revealed to them more than any other people that lived! To those who are as a "disciple whom Jesus loves" God delights in sharing His plans for the future. When you become as this, your vision will increase and your faith will increase, and your knowledge of God and revelation of Him will increase well beyond others who never do these things we are talking about. If you want a fresh and mighty revelation of Jesus Christ, then do the things to become as a "disciple whom He loves!"

2. Their ear is tuned and positioned to hear the voice of God even when others are oblivious.

John was able to hear the voice of Jesus even when the others were so caught up in the fellowship and the festivities of the Last Supper that they didn't notice. Daniel was able to hear the voice of God in a time when no one else seemed to have that connection because they were in Babylon. When you become as a "disciple whom Jesus loves," you will be able to discern the voice of God even among the cares of life, carnal people, or a bad situation! I definitely want to be as a "disciple whom Jesus loves!"

3. Those whom He greatly loves sit on His right hand.

John did get his coveted position at the right hand of Jesus, but only after he became the "disciple whom Jesus loves." The right hand, of course, denotes power and strength, but it also refers to salvation. Jesus said that in the time of judgment:

It's very clear! If you want to "inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world" then you have to be "on his right hand." If you want to be at His right hand, then you must be as a "disciple whom Jesus loved." Such people will not only be there, but will "sit at His right hand" meaning that they will live forever in the place that He has gone to prepare for us! It's essential and the benefits are too good to miss: whatever I've got to change and do, I want to be as "a disciple whom Jesus loves!"