I
started out by thinking, “I have no thoughts at this time.”
Then
I first thought about preaching about pain, since I've gone through
so much of it over the past year. However, then I thought, “No,
I've got to focus on something else more important than ME and
my pain.
Then
I thought, How grateful I was for the sacrificial love shown to me by
several church members in helping me with my yard and gutters. I
didn't deserve it. What would prompt people to show such love –
such sacrifice?
My
wife reminded me of a recent Wednesday evening message. One of the
Fruit of the Spirit is LOVE!
I.
God's
Love Is Inseparable
Romans
8:37-39
No,
in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who
loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor
rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate
us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There
is nothing that will separate God from loving us.
Human
nature seeks rewards for giving sacrificially. In Christ we don't
seek the reward, we seek to demonstrate God's love to others as He
has shown us.
What
would prompt someone to be so loving as to expect nothing in return.
It
is very difficult to receive the sacrificial gift of someone. It's
difficult to receive someone's sacrifice when it's impossible to
repay in like kind. What Jesus has done for us, it's not possible to
repay in like kind.
Lord,
thank you and bless each one of them in a way that only you can do.
I.
God's Love is Inseparable
II.
God’s
Love Is Shown Through Jesus Christ
John
3:16
“For
God so loved the world, that he gave
his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have
eternal life.
- God's love is a giving love.
- It is a sacrificial love.
- It gives without expectation of return.
All
God expects of us is obedience to Him. Doing what is right! Doing
what is right even when I don't feel like it. We are to have the
right attitudes and right behavior.
Romans
5:8
but
God shows his love for us in that while
we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
His
love was shown to us in the midst of our rebellion against Him.
People will say such things as , “Well let me clean up my act first
and then I'll accept Him.” No, it doesn't work that way. The way
it works is that we 1st
accept Him and then He cleans up our act.
We
demonstrate our love and appreciation of Him by becoming the person
He wants us to be.
A
parent might say something like, “If you love us, you'll clean up
your room!” No, the way it works is for the child to say,
“Because I love you, I'll clean up my stuff.” Because
you are my parents, I will do it because I'm to respect those in
authority over me.
Because
I love you Lord, I'll do my devotions. Because I love you, I
demonstrate love to my mate. I love you Lord, therefore I'll clean
up my house, do my dishes, and sweep the rooms.
Because
I love you, I will take care of the body you've given me.
Galatians
2:20
I
have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but
Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I
live by faith in the Son of God.
who loved
me and gave
himself for me.
Because
I love my wife, I went to the grocery for her because she wasn't able
to do it at that time.
Ephesians
2:4-5
But
God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he
loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive
together with Christ— by grace you
have been saved—
1
John 4:9-11
In
this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his
only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this
is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his
Son to be the propitiation
(only
acceptable sacrifice) for
our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one
another.
God's love is inseparable
- God's love is shown through Jesus Christ
III.
God Love Is
Shown Through Caring For Others
Therefore,
we are to love and care for one another. One
of the greatest gifts we have to give is the gift of ourselves.
Zephaniah
3:17
The
LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will
rejoice over you with gladness; he
will quiet you
by his love; he
will exult over you
with loud singing.
How
wonderful to have a love that quiets us! Is our home filled with
noise and hostility or quietness with love? Only by
allowing
Christ to rule and reign in our hearts can this
happen.
1
John 4:7-8
Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever
loves has been born of God and knows God.
Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God
is love.
The
Fruit of the Spirit begins with Love! Are we Spirit filled?
1
Peter 5:6-7
Humble
yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the
proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him,
because he cares for you.
What
are you anxious about? The things of this world bring anger and
hostility, but being Spirit Filled includes
Love, Joy and Peace etc.
Job
34:19
who
shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the
poor, for they are all the work of his hands?
Psalm
86:15
But
you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow
to anger
and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
1
John 3:1
See
what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be
called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does
not know us is that it did not know him.
Christ
was falsely accused because they did not know Him. God's love was
falsely misunderstood. Christ was crucified because they
misunderstood him.
Do
I behave like a Child of God or a child of the devil?
IV.
What
God Says About Love?
Deuteronomy
7:9
Know
therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who
keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep
his commandments, to a thousand generations,
How
incomplete is a one-sided love. There is nothing more empty. How
empty it is to live in a home where love is
one-sided – a home where a mate or children don't love back. How
cold and disheartening.
Proverbs
8:17
I
love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find
me.
Jeremiah
29:11
For
I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare
and not for evil, to give you a future
and a hope.
John
13:34-35
A
new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I
have loved you, you also are to love
one another.
By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have
love for one another.”
We
demonstrate the reality of Jesus Christ by our love for each other.
V.
Respond To God’s Love Through Thankfulness
Psalm
136:26 Give
thanks
to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever. God's
love never wears out.
God's
love is an enduring love. We live in a world where many things
hinder our love for one another – greed, money, fame, fortune,
health and prosperity.
Romans
5:2-5
Through
him we have also obtained access
by faith
into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the
glory of God. More than that, we rejoice
in our sufferings,
knowing that suffering
produces endurance,
and endurance
produces character,
and character
produces hope,
and hope
does not put us to shame,
because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy
Spirit who has been given to us.
VI.
CONCLUSION
Colossians
2:6-7
Therefore
as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk
in Him,
having been firmly rooted and now being built up in Him and
established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and
overflowing with gratitude.
We
demonstrate our gratitude by loving others.
Hebrews
12:28-29
Therefore,
since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show
gratitude,
by which we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and
awe; for our God is a consuming fire.
CONCLUSION
We
all need a “Thank You” spirit! It's all about God's Love! Not
ME!
There
is no greater calling than for us to demonstrate God's love to those
around us by living sacrificially.
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