Love is Always My Response Part 11

I. God has given us grace that supersede all our sins.

a. This grace is a demonstration of His love.

b. Love is the force that is the essence in all aspects of God’s creation.

c. Whatever He placed in the earth and the in the universe is founded upon His love.

d. The reason why God could say that everything He made was good was because it was an outpouring of His love for man.

II. God has granted His grace to all mankind because He is love.

a. His love is so strong that He desires that no one should perish.

b. He extends His grace to everyone in hope that they will receive it.

c. All who receive it He freely brings them into His family.

III. We too must be givers of grace and love.

a. Regardless of what happens in our lives we must love.

b. Love is the standard of a disciple of Christ.

c. Just like love was the foundation of all that God created, it too must be the foundation of all our actions.

d. We must examine our heart to see whether we are acting in love.

e. It is a tall order to measure one’s life by love, but it is the only choice that brings freedom.

f. The other choice, fear, brings torment and bondage.

g. We can live our lives in bondage of fear, or we can live in the peace and assurance of love.

h. God is love.

i. So, every action of love is a step closer to God.

i. Sometimes we say we want to get closer to God.

ii. If that is true then love is the way to do so.

j. Even when our love is not appreciated by others, it always draws us closer to God.

k. I would rather be closer to God than appreciated by man.

IV. The Bible tells us to base our lives on love from the top down.

a. We are told to love God with all that we are.

New Living Translation (NLT)

5 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your strength.

i. With our heart, with our soul and our strength.

1. I am to love with my heart, which the very essence of who I am.

2. With my soul where dwells my mind, intellect, emotions and will.

3. My strength, with my energy and all that I do.

ii. We are to love God with all that I am.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, obey[a] my commandments.

b. Love is the key.

i. What the world needs now is love sweet love.

ii. Love never fails.

New Living Translation (NLT)

13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

iii. These three things are built upon one another.

iv. Love is the foundation of all three.

1. Faith operates based upon love.

New Living Translation (NLT)

6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

2. When we have faith, we can truly hope.

a. By having faith in Jesus Christ, I have hope for my eternal future.

b. I have hope that all things will work together for good.

c. I have hope that no weapon formed against me will prosper.

V. We must love one another.

a. It’s a blessing to love someone, but it can also be a challenge.

New Living Translation (NLT)

Loving One Another

7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.

b. My love for God never exceeds my love for one another.

c. No matter how challenging love is we must continue in love.

i. We must always allow the inner movement of our hearts to love someone.

ii. I might take actions that place distance between a person and myself, but the inner workings of my heart must be moving towards love.

d. The only way that I can prove that I am a child of God is by love.

i. We are known as disciples of Christ by our love.

ii. Anyone who loves is a child of God and anyone who does not love is not a child of God.

e. Love is demonstrated.

i. God showed and demonstrated His love by sending Jesus.

ii. Regardless of how bad mankind was God still demonstrated His love.

iii. We too must demonstrate love to one another.

iv. Love is sacrificial and is given to those who do not deserve it or earn it.

f. Since God loved us so much, we ought to love one another.

g. The level to which I love another demonstrates my appreciation of how much God loves me.

h. If we love one another, God lives in us.

i. If we do not love one another God does not live in us.

ii. His love is brought to full expression in us, when we love one another.

VI. So, let’s elevate our hearts to love one another.