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Our lesson today is about LOVE. Everyone desires to be loved. Let’s define love... The dictionary defines LOVE this way... VERB 1. To feel tender affection for somebody: to feel tender affection for somebody such as a close relative or friend, or for something such as a place, an ideal, or an animal 2. To feel desire for somebody: to feel romantic and sexual desire and longing for somebody 3. To like something very much: 4. To show kindness to somebody: to feel and show kindness and charity to somebody love your enemies 5. To have sex with somebody: NOUN 1. Passionate attraction and desire: ... a passionate feeling of romantic desire and sexual attraction 2. Very strong affection: an intense feeling of tender affection and compassion 3. Romantic affair: possibly sexual 4. Somebody much loved: somebody who is loved romantically or sexually 5. Strong liking: 6. Something eliciting enthusiasm: 7. Beloved: used as an affectionate word 8. U.K. term of friendly address: used as a friendly term of address, usually to a woman At the very bottom of the list.... 9. Christianity ... God's love for humanity: in Christian belief, the mercy, grace, and charity shown by God to humanity 10. Christianity worship of God: in Christian belief, the worship and adoration of God GOD’S LOVE.... GENUINE LOVE is NOT a FEELING.... It is a DECISION accompanied by ACTION that expresses that DECISION The dictionary defines LUST this way... 1. Sexual desire: the strong physical desire to have sex with somebody, usually without associated feelings of love or affection 2. Eagerness: great eagerness or enthusiasm for something a lust for power ( or things ) Now lets see what Jesus has to say about the matter... Mat 12:49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! Mat 12:50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. Jesus put His relationship to us in the same category as close family relationships. Most people will defend their relatives even if they don’t like ‘em. Won’t they? They can say all kinds of bad things about them but you had better not or you will be on the receiving end of their wrath. Heb 2:9-11 “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,” Are we worthy of His love? NO! A thousand times NO! And yet ... Rom 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;” AND... Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; BUT ... Rom 5:6-8 “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” SO... Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord AND.... Rom 6:22 But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. . NOW the fruit that is expected is spoken of in these verses... Joh 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. Joh 13:35 By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. Now, Jesus says... I want you to love one another like I love you. THAT is a tall order. It is at those times that we MUST remember who we are. Remember, love is NOT a feeling. It is a DECISION! And that decision evokes action. Jesus decided to love us in our unworthiness... and the action He took to express that love was one of SACRIFICE unto DEATH... thus we are to extend that love toward others. One illustration of this might be those who sacrificed their life for others at the World Trade Center. Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Now John continues in His Epistle... 1Jo 3:16-17 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” God loves us supremely... Did God eliminate the consequences for of our sin? Does God eliminate the consequences for our sin after we accept Him as our Savior? That’s an important understanding. Love disciplines! LOVE MUST OFTEN BE TOUGH.... IT CERTAINLY NEVER CONDONES SIN Pro 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him quickly. WHY, DOES LOVE DISCIPLINE? There is a great chapter on discipline that you never hear preached but is very important... Hebrews 12 Heb 12:5 And ye have forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children, My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him: Heb 12:6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Heb 12:7 If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? Heb 12:8 But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Heb 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? Heb 12:10 For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Heb 12:11 Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. The world has said that if we genuinely love we will give everyone exactly what they want.... Did you ever stop to think how ridiculous that is? If I give you everything you want.... what about my wants? You want... I don’t... NOW what are we supposed to do? Do I then decide that my want is more important than yours and thus take advantage of you? How then am I loving? JESUS extended His definition of love to even those who are our enemies... Mat 5:44-48 “But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” DID HE SAY GIVE THEM EVERYTHING THEY WANT? No ... he said LOVE THEM.... Love gives what is best....Love disciplines for their benefit... BLESS THEM... Speak well of them... don’t engage in slander Remember the old adage... “If you can’t say something good... don’t say anything at all?” Does that mean that if someone does something against us that we DENY THE TRUTH and or LIE about their behavior? Absolutely not... but it does mean that we don’t go around bad mouthing them... Jesus gives us a formula so that we will exercise HIS kind of love... Joh 15:7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. Joh 15:8 Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples. Joh 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. Joh 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love. The FRUIT is in accord with OUR CONNECTION... IF we are to truly love... we must ABIDE in HIM...AND LOVE GIVES WHAT IS BEST! That means I must LIVE IN HIM... Gal 5:16 - 18 “Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” <------------ flesh _______ Spirit -------------> The NIV puts things into perspective this way... Ro 6:11-14 In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace. Ro 6:18-22 You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness. I put this in human terms because you are weak in your natural selves. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the control of righteousness. What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin l and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. LOVE IS OUR DECISION... and if we genuinely love God we will decide to be a person of love. 2Co 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. In essence, Paul is calling the definition of the World’s kind of love... FILTH We need to CLEANSE OURSELVES (MAKE A DECISION) from all that and PERFECT HOLINESS in the fear of God 1Th 3:12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you: 1Th 3:13 To the end he may establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God, even our Father, at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. If you allow yourselves to increase and abound in love.... TOWARD ONE ANOTHER.... AND.... TOWARD ALL MEN You will establish your hearts unblamable in holiness before God... before the Father... and at the Lord Jesus’ coming... 1Jo 3:1 Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, (The world doesn’t understand us....) because it knew him not. 1Jo 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. 1Jo 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. 1Jo 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 1Jo 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. Those who lack love... do not know God.... they totally misunderstand what LOVE is all about. 1Jo 4:7 - 12 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
Article Source: http://christian-topics.info
Although wheelchair bound most of the time, Willetta continues to write for the glory of God. Her three websites take up most of her time but she still teaches the Flagship Sunday School class at her church. www.theseedsower.org www.teachmethyways.org www.successwithkids.
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