How God Showed His Love
iTeach • Sermon • Submitted
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· 28 viewsThe question should not be "How can we do the things we want to do for the Lord?", but rather, the more important question is, "Why we do what we do for the Lord?", Remembering is the beginning of Revival.
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Opening
Opening
Story about “First Love”
Illustration: Workers Laying Down The Foundation
This July we started the series iTeach and we’ve been talking about:
Thrust - Vision from God - Write the Vision ().
The need to be EQUIPPED - Skills will Bring Success ().
Unless the Almighty builds the house - The Lord wants to partner with us ()
Communicate our Purpose - His Purpose is Very Clear ()
We must have been pondering by now “How” can we carry out the vision? “How” can we be equipped? “How” can we build the church? and “How” can we communicate the purposes of Agape?
But, The question that we must ask ourselves is not “How” but “Why”..
The question that we must ask ourselves is not “How” but “Why”. The question should not be how can we do the things we want to do for the Lord, but rather, the more important question is, why we do what we do for the Lord? God’s love for us Love one another with the love that comes from God whoever does not love does not know God because God is love He showed His love by giving His one and only Son and His love is made complete in us Meaning of Agape “Remembering” is the beginning of Revival & Renewal () The test of our faith () How God has been faithful () The blessings of the Lord () The Lessons we learned () 5 Renewals That God takes us through Personal Renewal () Relational Renewal () Missional Renewal () Structural Renewal () Cultural Renewal (The moral climate of our church changes)
The question should not be “How can we do the things we want to do for the Lord?”..
But rather, the more important question is, “Why we do what we do for the Lord?”
In first John chapter 4… verses 7-12 says these…
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
1 John 4:7
From these passages, it is without a doubt, that the reason “WHY” we must do what we do for the Lord is because of God’s Love for us.
God’s love for us
He showed His love by giving His one and only Son
How did God showed His love for us?
He showed His love by giving His one and only Son
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love
Love one another with the love that comes from God
Love one another with the love that comes from God
whoever does not love does not know God because God is love
and His love is made complete in us and through us
We should do the things we do for the Lord because of our love for Him
We should do the things we do for the Lord because of our love for Him
15 “If you love me, keep my commands.
We must keep His Greatest Commandments
We must keep His Greatest Commandments
37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
Greatest commandment is Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind
and His love is made complete in us
We must obey the the Great Commission
We must obey the the Great Commission
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Matthew 28
If you remember from last Sunday, the “5 Unchanging Purposes” of the Church is derived from these very words of the Lord Jesus (Worship, Ministry, Evangelism, Fellowship, Discipleship).
“A Great Christian, will Keep the Great Commandments and Obey the Great Commission.”
“A Great Christian, will Keep the Great Commandments and Obey the Great Commission.”
Now, the answers as to “HOW” can we do the things we want to do for the Lord will automatically reveal itself...
When we keep in mind that the reason “WHY” we do what we do for the Lord is because of LOVE, the question of “HOW” will answer for itself… for example...
We make coffee or any morning drink for our spouses everyday, why? because we love them;
We buy our children the things they need, sometimes we even buy them the things they do not need, Why?...
Occasionally, we go downtown to feed the homeless, why? because we love them;
We minister to the needs of our brethren in our church, why? because we love them;
I can go on all day long and we will not run out of answers as to “HOW” as long as we know the answer to “WHY”.
Agape means Unconquerable Benevolence
Agape means Unconquerable Benevolence
Eros - Between sexes, Philia - Between Friends, Storge - Between Families
Agape
The real meaning of agape is “unconquerable benevolence”
It means that nothing that they can do will make us seek anything but their highest good
Agape is a thing not only of the emotions but also of the will
It is the ability to retain unconquerable goodwill towards the unlovable, and those who do not love us
and even to those whom we do not like
Agape is that quality of mind and heart which compels Christians never to feel bitterness
never to feel desire for revenge, but always seek the highest good of absolutely everyone
Sounds impossible to do?
This may only be possible if we die to self and live in Christ.
Die to self, and in live in Christ? how can this be?…
It is only through personal renewal & revival that we can live in Christ
It is only through personal renewal & revival that we can live in Christ
Remembering is the beginning of Revival & Renewal
Remembering is the beginning of Revival & Renewal
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5 I remember the days of long ago; I meditate on all your works and consider what your hands have done.
The test of our faith ()
2 Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.
How God has been faithful ()
How God has been faithful () The blessings of the Lord () The Lessons we learned () 5 Renewals That God takes us through Personal Renewal () Relational Renewal () Missional Renewal () Structural Renewal () Cultural Renewal (The moral climate of our church changes)
9 Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children and to their children after them.
The blessings of the Lord ()
7 The Lord your God has blessed you in all the work of your hands. He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you, and you have not lacked anything.
The Lessons we learned ()
2 Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the Lord your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;
Let us remember our “First Love”
Prayer
Prayer
Lord, our memory fails, but Yours did not and will never be. You even know the count of our hair. You knew us since the time You knitted us in our mother’s womb. You have spoken our names even before we were born. You have set our destiny to be among your chosen people. You knew and remember everything about us. Our going out and coming in, our standing up and lying down. You knowing everything because Your are the Omniscient God. But our sins You’ve forgiven. As far as the east is from the west You’ve forgotten them. How could a forgetful wicked being like us deserves your agape love that always remembers? If it is not for Your grace and mercy, who could we be? where can we be? Thank You Lord for always remembering us. And today we remember. We remember that day when we receive Your grace. When you adopted us to sonship in Your most loving family. We remember when You helped us through the many tests of our faith. We remember your faithfulness in different seasons of our lives. We remember and count all Your blessings to us. And we remember the lessons You taught us through the experiences that You led us through. Lord we remember.. And as we remember, we pray for Personal Renewal Lord. We pray for Personal Revival God. Send us that wave of revival that we may continue to enjoy the love story that we once had with you. These are our prayers in the name of our First Love Jesus Christ, Amen!
Personal Renewal ()
Relational Renewal ()
Missional Renewal ()
Structural Renewal ()
Cultural Renewal (The moral climate of our church changes)