Introduction:
1 John
4:19
19We love him, because he
first loved
us.
I would like
to speak on the subject of love – too many times
we
use that word loosely, we take the meaning
of that word for granted, or we just never truly
learn what love is.
The Bible is
the greatest book ever written about the subject
of love – the Bible contains the greatest love
story ever told – that of a righteous God and
His love for a fallen mankind.
The whole
message of Jesus Christ is centered around His
love for us – all that we are, have been or ever
will be as Christians will be because of the
love that Jesus Christ has for each of us – many
fail to understand this ever important principle
of the love of Jesus Christ.
The meaning of Christ's
love is a simple one – (Romans
5:8);
But God
demonstrates his own love for us in this: While
we were still sinners, Christ died for
us.
Jesus
Christ went
voluntarily to an cross, and bore the sins of
the
entire love so that you and I might have
the opportunity to accept the
offering
of God's love through His Son, Jesus Christ and
have eternal life and spare your soul from an
eternity in
Hell!
Salvation is a gift;
a free gift; no one will force you, nor can
anyone
force you to take it; while it is a
gift, you must request it and accept it
in
order to be a partaker of it – Jesus Christ will
demand that nobody take Him to be their Savior –
He wants you to see that sacrifice that was
made, to understand why that sacrifice was made
and then accept the gift that He selflessly
provided for us!
While
Christ died for all men, while the meaning of
His love is so that
you can have the chance
to accept Him as your Savior, it is also
consistent in its message – you MUST be saved to
be a partaker of His love
–
God loves us . . .
John
3:16
16"For God so loved
the world that he gave his one and only
Son,[a] that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but
have eternal life.
We are to love God . .
.
Matthew
22:37
37Jesus
replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your
heart and with all your soul and with all your
mind.
Because God
loves us, he cares for us . .
.
Matthew
6:25-34
Do Not
Worry
25"Therefore I tell
you, do not worry about your life, what you will
eat or drink; or about your body, what you will
wear. Is not life more important than food, and
the body more important than clothes? 26Look at
the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or
store away in barns, and yet your heavenly
Father feeds them. Are you not much more
valuable than they? 27Who of you by worrying can
add a single hour to his life
?
28"And why do
you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of
the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29Yet
I tell you that not even Solomon in all his
splendor was dressed like one of these. 30If
that is how God clothes the grass of the field,
which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into
the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O
you of little faith? 31So do not worry, saying,
'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?'
or 'What shall we wear?' 32For the pagans run
after all these things, and your heavenly Father
knows that you need them. 33But seek first his
kingdom and his righteousness, and all these
things will be given to you as well. 34Therefore
do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will
worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble
of its
own.
God wants everyone to
know how much he loves them . .
.
John
17:23
I in them and
you in me. May they be brought to complete unity
to let the world know that you sent me and have
loved them even as you have loved me
God
loves even those who hate him; we are to do the
same . .
.
Matthew
5:43-47;
43"You have heard
that it was said, 'Love your
neighbor[a] and hate your
enemy.' 44But I tell you: Love your
enemies[b] and pray
for those who persecute you, 45that you may be
sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun
to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain
on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46If you
love those who love you, what reward will you
get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that?
47And if you greet only your brothers, what are
you doing more than others? Do not even pagans
do
that?
Luke
6:35
35But love
your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them
without expecting to get anything back. Then
your reward will be great, and you will be sons
of the Most High, because he is kind to the
ungrateful and
wicked.
God seeks out
even those most alienated from him Luke
15
The Parable of the
Lost Sheep
1Now the tax
collectors and "sinners" were all gathering
around to hear him. 2But the Pharisees and the
teachers of the law muttered, "This man welcomes
sinners and eats with them."
3Then Jesus told them
this parable: 4"Suppose one of you has a hundred
sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave
the ninety-nine in the open country and go after
the lost sheep until he finds it? 5And when he
finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders
6and goes home. Then he calls his friends and
neighbors together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I
have found my lost sheep.' 7I tell you that in
the same way there will be more rejoicing in
heaven over one sinner who repents than over
ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to
repent.
God must be your
first love . .
.
Matthew
6:24;
24"No one can
serve two masters. Either he will hate the one
and love the other, or he will be devoted to the
one and despise the other. You cannot serve both
God and
Money.
Matthew
10:37
37"Anyone who
loves his father or mother more than me is not
worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or
daughter more than me is not worthy of
me;
We show our love for
God when we obey him . .
.
John
14:21;
21Whoever has
my commands and obeys them, he is the one who
loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my
Father, and I too will love him and show myself
to
him."
John
15:10
10If you obey
my commands, you will remain in my love, just as
I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in
his
love.
God loves Jesus his
Son . .
.
John
5:20;
20For the
Father loves the Son and shows him all he does.
Yes, to your amazement he will show him even
greater things than
these.
John
10:17
17The reason
my Father loves me is that I lay down my
life—only to take it up
again.
Jesus loves God . .
.
John
14:31
31but the
world must learn that I love the Father and that
I do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
"Come
now; let us
leave.
Those who refuse
Jesus don't have God's love . .
.
John
5:41-44
41"I do not accept
praise from men, 42but I know you. I know that
you do not have the love of God in your hearts.
43I have come in my Father's name, and you do
not accept me; but if someone else comes in his
own name, you will accept him. 44How can you
believe if you accept praise from one another,
yet make no effort to obtain the praise that
comes from the only God[a]?
Jesus loves us just
as God loves Jesus . .
.
John
15:9
As the Father
has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in
my love.
Jesus proved his love for us by
dying on the cross so that we could live
eternally with him . .
.
John
3:14,15;
Just as Moses
lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of
Man must be lifted up, 15that everyone who
believes in him may have eternal
life. 15that everyone who believes in
him may have eternal
life
John
15:13
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay
down his life for his
friends
14 You are my
friends if you do what I command.
The love
between God and Jesus is the perfect example of
how we are to love others . .
.
John
17:21-26
21that all of
them may be one, Father, just as you are in me
and I am in you. May they also be in us so that
the world may believe that you have sent me. 22I
have given them the glory that you gave me, that
they may be one as we are one: 23I in them and
you in me. May they be brought to complete unity
to let the world know that you sent me and have
loved them even as you have loved me. 24"Father,
I want those you have given me to be with me
where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you
have given me because you loved me before the
creation of the world. 25"Righteous Father,
though the world does not know you, I know you,
and they know that you have sent me. 26I have
made you known to them, and will continue to
make you known in order that the love you have
for me may be in them and that I myself may be
in
them."
We are to love one another and
demonstrate that love . . . (John
13:34,35)
34"A new
command I give you: Love one another. As I have
loved you, so you must love one another.
35By this all men will know that you are
my disciples, if you love one
another."
Matthew
5:40-42;
40And if
someone wants to sue you and take your tunic,
let him have your cloak as well. 41If someone
forces you to go one mile, go with him two
miles. 42Give to the one who asks you, and do
not turn away from the one who wants to borrow
from
you.
Matthew
10:42
42And if
anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of
these little ones because he is my disciple, I
tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose
his
reward."
We are not to love
the praise of men selfish
recognition
(John
12:43)
for they loved praise from men more than praise
from
God.
earthly
belongings (Matthew 23:6), they love the place
of honor at banquets and the most important
seats in the
synagogues;
(Luke
16:19-31)
The Rich Man and
Lazarus
19"There was
a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine
linen and lived in luxury every day. 20At his
gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered
with sores 21and longing to eat what fell from
the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and
licked his
sores.
22"The time came
when the beggar died and the angels carried him
to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and
was buried. 23In hell,[a] where he
was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far
away, with Lazarus by his side. 24So he called
to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and
send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in
water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony
in this
fire.'
25"But
Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your
lifetime you received your good things, while
Lazarus received bad things, but now he is
comforted here and you are in agony. 26And
besides all this, between us and you a great
chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to
go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross
over from there to
us.'
27"He
answered, 'Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus
to my father's house, 28for I have five
brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will
not also come to this place of
torment.'
29"Abraham
replied, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let
them listen to
them.'
30" 'No,
father Abraham,' he said, 'but if someone from
the dead goes to them, they will
repent.'
31"He said to
him, 'If they do not listen to Moses and the
Prophets, they will not be convinced even if
someone rises from the dead.' "
or anything
more than God . .
.
Luke
16:13
13"No servant
can serve two masters. Either he will hate the
one and love the other, or he will be devoted to
the one and despise the other. You cannot serve
both God and Money."
Jesus' love extends to each
individual . .
.
John
10:11-15;
11"I am the
good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his
life for the sheep. 12The hired hand is not the
shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the
wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs
away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and
scatters it. 13The man runs away because he is a
hired hand and cares nothing for the
sheep.
14"I am the
good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know
me— 15just as the Father knows me and I know the
Father—and I lay down my life for the
sheep.
Mark10:21
21Jesus
looked at him and loved him. "One thing you
lack," he said. "Go, sell everything you have
and give to the poor, and you will have treasure
in heaven. Then come, follow
me."
Jesus wants
us to love him through the good and through the
difficult times . .
.
Matthew
26:31-35
Jesus Predicts
Peter's
Denial
31Then Jesus told
them, "This very night you will all fall away on
account of me, for it is written: " 'I will
strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the
flock will be scattered.' 32But after I
have risen, I will go ahead of you into
Galilee."
33Peter
replied, "Even if all fall away on account of
you, I never
will."
34"I tell you
the truth," Jesus answered, "this very night,
before the rooster crows, you will disown me
three
times."
35But Peter
declared, "Even if I have to die with you, I
will never disown you." And all the other
disciples said the
same.
Jesus wants our love
to be genuine . .
.
John 21
:15-17
Jesus Reinstates
Peter
15When they
had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter,
"Simon son of John, do you truly love me more
than these?"
"Yes,
Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus
said, "Feed my
lambs."
16Again Jesus
said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He
answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus
said, "Take care of my
sheep."
17The third
time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you
love me?"
Peter
was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time,
"Do you love me?" He
said,
"Lord, you know all
things; you know that I love
you."
You are
precious in my sight,
and honored, and
I love you.
~ Isaiah 43:4
~
