Real Love

 

2/17/2023

Topic: Real Love  

Text: 1 John 4:16 – 19

16  And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

17  In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.

18  There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

19  We love because he first loved us.

 

Disorderly Love:

1.      Love things before God

2.      God is in second place

Our heart is the place that God dwell. When we but others at the number one, we put them in the place of God. Our Deepest Longing for Love can only be satisfied by God and his rightfully place to dwell is in our heart. Nothing else can replace it. When other things dwelled within our hearts, we experience disorderly love because we put other things before God’s love.

 

Look at verse 16: God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

 

This is our problem of today. I would say, My wife is Love and I lives in Love and my wife lives in me! What is wrong with that? If that is the case, this is tough, she is in the seat of God. What I expected from God, I expected from her. She is not designed for that. I will be unhappy because she is not meeting my expectation and she will be unhappy because I am expecting too much from her. This is what happen when we put other things in the place of God. Those things become god.

 

Our heart is only Compatible with God’s; just like a software or hardware for a computer. If the hardware is not compatible computer doesn’t work. God is the hardware for our lives.

The birds cannot make themselves fly, instead, it is the wind that makes the bird fly

The fish cannot make themselves swim, instead, it is the water that makes the fish swim.

When we disorder our love and not follow the sample that God has demonstrated to us. We fail.

 

Keep in mind, we cannot give away what we don’t have. If we don’t have the love of God because God is not seated in our heart. We can only give the disorderly love that is in our heart.

When we put our family first, they fail

When we put our friend first, they also fail

When we put our stuff first, they disappear

But when we put God first, it never fail!

Prayer

God our Father, You are the God of Love,

God All-mighty, you are beyond our knowing,
yet we see your glory in the face of our Lord Jesus Christ,
whose compassion pierce through the darkness of this world

You demonstrated Your Love on the cross
You gave your Son to embrace the power of death so that we may be saved

This is the greatest demonstration of your Love.

No one has greater love than to lay down his own life for others

Love is made complete in us because You are Love

You told us in our scripture today:

We are Loved because you have loved us.

Thank you for leading us back to You
Transform us into the likeness of Your Love
Renew our humanity so that we may be in Your divinity,
in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and redeemer Amen