Full Title: We Love Because He First Loved Us (1 John 4:19-21)
Loving people is God's greatest challenge. That point bears repeating. LOVING PEOPLE IS GOD'S GREATEST CHALLENGE. God's love isn't just words on a page, it is experiential. The question is; does it make a difference in your life to know that truth? We, as believers are able to love others because He first loved us. Love is an action, not just words. This is a command from God. When people actually do this, it sends the message to others that the person doing it is a follower of Christ. John said that if we claim to love God, but hate other people, we are liars, and the truth is not in us. If we are liars, then we're hypocrites, so our focus should be on love, so that, even when it's difficult and we thrive in doing it, we can have confidence in fulfilling this command when we are held accountable to it on the Day of Judgment.
Spreading the Gospel in many territories around the world is dangerous, tense, and uncomfortable. It is very telling when you consider the level of perfect love Christ has for all of us. It magnifies, defines, and signifies the level of evil, darkness, and death-inducing nature of what contrasts it. That said, a believer in Christ has a costly decision to make; Will we have something to show for our faith when we are judged by Christ? Believers are judged by a different standard. We will be judged by the way we showed love for others, even when it is difficult, taxing, and consuming. Christ is the prime example for how to conduct this, as people around the world who follow Christ are giving their lives just as He did. This week, we will also pay tribute to the lives of those who gave it all up to follow Christ and make the dangerous mission to make His love known in territories that are Red Zones.
If you can stop an argument before the rush of emotions "breaks" the boundaries of rationale, sensibility, and reason, you can diffuse a big conflict. In this message, our special guest speaker, Minister, Chaplain for the Cook County Jail, Youth Minister, and Teacher Bryan Revor will give prime historical examples of, and personal experiences relating to the true power of Proverbs 15:1, where it states, ""A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger". Experience how this applies in everyday interactions with people, marriage, nations on the verge of war, and a host of other areas where people are likeliest to lose their composure and lash out.
One of the realities we as believers have to focus on in our witness to other people is that the Spirit that lives in us needs to radiate from within outwardly through the flesh. This will in turn serve as hope for other people because they will see the truth of Christ living out through us. If you have a relationship with Christ, you will experience His love being made complete (mature, seasoned) in you. In other words, as we experience God living in us, that work is revealed to the world in how we live that out. It reflects out to other people, much like a lighthouse signaling ships out in distress way out at sea. If you are struggling with this reality, or you need to revisit it in your walk with the Lord, Pastor Troy Billow will explain how love, abiding in Christ, truth and fact, obedience, and the Holy Spirit are all critical components of living out the reality that Jesus promises everyone who trusts Him and follows Him. To put it in a nutshell, it is the key to the power of experiencing the reality of Christ's word and promises, which in turn motivates, mobilizes, and energizes one's faith constructively and productively.
In a message that honors life from the womb on, Pastor Troy Billow preaches a message based on Paul's letter to Timothy, where he defines the roles between men and women, designated by God. Paul references Genesis chapters one through three as the foundation to his argument, and what happened to Adam who, after being created first as a leader, was influenced by Eve to act in accordance to what Satan deceived her on,thus unleashing sin into this world, and causing death. In His grace and mercy, God moves Paul to expound on the importance of roles as He designed it, and in that, expounds on the blessings that women are given when it pertains to bearing a child. Deviation from these things has caused this topic to be one of the most controversial, and how we respond to these things, arouses the components that shape our positions pertaining to it. Where do you stand?
After Jesus rose from the dead, and He he visited His disciples a few times, Jesus challenged Peter three times with one question. Jesus asked Peter, "do you love me?" Now, there are separate Greek words used to characterize the word Love in the English. Jesus asked "Do you [Agape] me?" which is love in a sacrificial way. Or, "do you [Phileo] me?", which is essentially "do you just love me as a buddy?" Peter saw the ugliness in people all the time, and he positioned his approach to people to confront them. Jesus was well aware of Peter's feelings towards people. That said, Jesus challenged Peter to live out his love for Him by loving, or showing love towards people. What does it mean to love like Jesus did? What did His love consist of? How do you fare in light of this examination? Are you just a professor of this truth, or are you a possessor of this truth? This message will hold a high powered magnifying glass to that question.
John makes a very bold observation from both a spiritual and behavioral standpoint; Everyone who truly loves has been born of God and knows God. The only reason why we can love is supernatural because God's spirit resides within us. Without that spirit, we cannot do it on our own. When you walk with God humbly, you will not steal from people, cheat them, deal unreasonably against them, and be evil towards them. If you love God, you can love people because you will be equipped to pay the love shown towards you, forward.
Truth determines a great deal about you. It will be determined in your life choices, behavior, actions, deeds, decisions, beliefs, and ultimately which all lead to your eternal destiny. How do you respond to Jesus in any capacity when His Words hit your ears? Can you distinguish the spirit of Truth from the spirit of falsehood? The thing is that today, where falsehood is so fierce and dominant in this world. one thing remains the same; Whoever knows God listens to Him and has a common comradery (a familiarity with experiencing God) with His people. On top of that, another truth remains the same as well; Every spirit that acknowledges Christ has come from God. Christ not only testified to the Truth with His words, but in every way, demonstrated God's nature in His behavior, actions, deeds, decisions, beliefs, commitment to mission, patience towards people, boldness in speaking truth etc. The question is; where do you land in light of this dynamic?
The Spirit of the Antichrist is alive, well, and stronger in influence than it has ever been before. Soon that spirit will consolidate in a central political figure that will rouse the masses globally and spellbind Israel into a trap of epic proportions. Until that comes to full fruition, its influence now rests in ideology, behavior, and false teaching, all of which leads to error and a hardened devotion to that error. As John warns about, and Pastor Troy Billow explains in this message, the spirit of the antichrist denies Christ, is against the Gospel, and is against Christians. John confronted false teachers of his day with his personal experience with Jesus Christ, not just on a spiritual level, but on a physical one that served as a front row seat to His truth. And while we may not have experienced Him on a physical plane as of yet, we can draw closer to Him and have a front row seat to his truth, so that, by Holy Spirit led discernment, we can distinguish between the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error.
What does it mean to live in Christ? When you live in Christ, your spirit will be more in sync with the Holy Spirit, and as a result, you will discipline yourself to service, to time set aside for Him, and you will have the capacity to radiate love to others. Pastor Troy explains in this message how God gives incentives to obeying His commands and maintaining a healthy relationship with Him.