March 29, 2004
Hi everyone!
We are continuing on this week in our "faith walk" series. Before
going any further in this teaching I thought it necessary to mention the
primary and most important ingredient we must use to ensure our faith works.
Our faith would be of no value to us if it didn't work. This ingredient
is love. Could you imagine trying to bake a cake but you forget to add any
flour to the mixture. It wouldn't turn out too well would it? The same happens
to our faith if we neglect the love ingredient - because "faith
works by love" Galatians 5:6.
Our Lord Jesus said when He was on the earth in John 14:6 “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” Our Father God is a love God! 1John 4:8 does not say that God has love but that God is Love! What Jesus could have said in John 14:6 is no one comes to Love except through Me. If God the Father is Love then that makes Jesus Love because they are one together, aren’t they? That’s what Jesus said in John 10:30 I and My Father are one. Let’s now read John 14:6 this way “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through LOVE”.
As important as faith is in our lives, love is more important. And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love 1Corinthians 13:13. I am not down putting the value of faith in our walk with the Lord because we even need to love by faith. But as our scripture today declares, if we don't love then our faith is of no value whatsoever. Without love we are a useless nobody and are unable to be used by the Master in helping build His kingdom. Look at these Words…
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1John 4:7-8
We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God”, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 1John 4:19–20
Are these words too strong for you? They shouldn’t be if you are a Christian. Look at the words of the Master…
Why do you call Me Lord Lord and not do the things I say? Luke 6:46
Well what did He say? He told us plenty we should be doing if we are to be His followers, but more than anything else we have been commanded to walk in love.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:34-35
These things I command you, that you love one another. John 15:17
It’s amazing to me the amount of NOT walking in love I see within the Body of Christ today! Is Jesus your Lord? Do you know what Lord means? It means MASTER! He is the BOSS right? Is He your Boss? Are you willing to have your Master tell you what to do? Do you OBEY??? Our Master Jesus has not suggested we walk in love – He has commanded us to!! Any amount of walking out of love with anybody is unacceptable. Any amount of strife, complaining, arguing, touchiness, jealousy, envy, unforgiveness or bitterness… just to name a few, are unacceptable behaviors for the child of God. We are to put these things away as the Word tells us to, and walk in love as His dear children. Loving God is our highest law, and the first part of loving Him is to keep His Word… If you love Me, keep My commandments. John 14:15
Let me just talk a little about one of these walking out of love things… unforgiveness. Folks, do you realize that you do not have the luxury of holding ANYTHING against ANYBODY at ANYTIME for ANY REASON if you are to inherit eternal life? Every one of us deserves to burn for eternity in the lake of fire. But, for our redemption through our Lord Jesus Christ, that’s where we would be!!! To not forgive is to not love. To not love is to not walk with the Lord. And to be without the Lord your life would be empty. When teaching about faith Jesus told us in Mark 11:25-26 (Amp) … whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop (leave it, let it go), in order that your Father Who is in heaven may also forgive you your [own] failings and shortcomings and let them drop. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings.
2Peter 1 tells us how to be fruitful and not barren in our faith walk. It is possible as a child of God to become shortsighted and blind, and forget that you were once purged from your old sins. Many have picked up offences and chose not to forgive a brother or sister and thus drifted away. Some are even offended at the Lord!! You must choose whom you will serve no matter what has been done to you. No one on earth has been unjustly mistreated any worse than Jesus! Are YOU any greater than your MASTER??
My friend, remember we are called to walk by faith and not by sight (emotions). Faith is first given to us by the Lord to love with. We love Him because He first loved us. We love what He loves and hate what He hates. This God kind of love is a choice we each need to make every day for the rest of our lives if we are to be the world overcomers we are called to be. I’m believing with you for your victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Together we can get the job done for our Master as we obey Him.
Let me close with these powerful words from the Lord Himself.
The person who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I [too] will love him and will show (reveal, manifest) Myself to him. [I will let Myself be clearly seen by him and make Myself real to him.] John 14:21 (Amp)
Love
David
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Faith Works by...
If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn't love others,
I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging
cymbal. If I had the gift of prophesy, and if I knew all the mysteries of
the future and knew everything about everything, but didn't love others,
what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak
to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody.
If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could
boast about it but if I didn't love others, I would be of no value whatsoever.
Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.
Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no
record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but
rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith,
is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. Love will last
forever
1Corinthians 13:1-8 (NLT)