Sunday, February 13, 2005

BE FOLLOWERS OF GOD, LIKE CHRIST.

Jesus Christ gave us three commandments:

1. Obey His Word.

15) “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 21) “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. 24) “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.” John 14:15,21,24 (Abide in what we’ve learned.)

Keeping God’s commandments are tied to loving Him. What was taught you, let that abide in you and live in it, or you will not be able to have communion with the Father.

You can be academically right, and spiritually wrong when you’re not obeying what God TOLD you.

3. Go into all the world and preach the gospel.

18) And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19) “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20) “teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:18-20 (Our duty, not our option.)

2. Love others as I have loved you.

33) “Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. 34) “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35) “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:33-35

Love is the fulfillment of the Law. It is always costly to treat each other in love; to treat each other right. Love is not a feeling. It is a sacrifice. It is that love, the love that costs, the sacrificial love, that fulfills the law.

1) Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2) And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma. Ephesians 5;1,2

Love as a sweet aroma before God, on behalf of those who stink! Love because of what it does for them, not you. Love requires daily decisions accomplished by a daily walk (to act a certain way). It’s not about how we feel.

Faith works by love. —Galatians 5:6b 35) Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36) “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37) Jesus said to him,” ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38) “This is the first and great commandment. 39) “And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:35-39 (The Greatest Commandment)

1. Love God (37)

2. Love your neighbor (39a)

3. Love yourself (39b)

You must love yourself in order to love others. First you must be consumed with God’s love for you to be able to love others.

Your love for others can be no greater than your love for yourself — as a lifestyle!

How do you love yourself? Start with love for God (because of what He has done for me, and how much He loves me.)

(The love of Christ constrains me…)

(I love Him because He first loved me…)

The quality of my love life decided everything! Conditional love is 1st grade love.

Let your love abound in knowledge and discernment. — Philippians 1:9-11

Sincere love does NOT mean you feel strongly about something! The key is being sensitive and obedient to the Spirit and His desire to meet the needs and requirements of others. Do I allow God to meet my needs and requirements? Meeting needs will get me by. Meeting my requirements will cause me to be built up, grow, and flourish. The devil loves to challenge the quality of my love.

Where there is truth, there is love. Don’t look for the faults, look for the love.

The most sincere form of love is the decision to love on purpose!

All we have in common with God is because of the grace of Christ’s love.

22) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23) gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. 24) And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-24 (There’s no law against love!)

Notes taken by Lorraine Drummond.

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