All In Part 5

And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.'

The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these."

What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don't show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone?

Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing,

and you say, "Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well"—but then you don't give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?

INTRODUCTION

INTRODUCTION

Good evening Southpointe!!

We are on the last part of this series All in!!

So as we get started to tonight, let me ask you some questions:

What does it mean to love someone?

Is it just a feeling?

Do you only love your spouse or relatives?

Can you love strangers?

Of all the virtues for a Christian life, love is considered the most important.

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

And one of things that we see Jesus talking a lot about is Love.

Jesus declares that the greatest commandment is to love God with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.

But Jesus does not quit there, Jesus goes on to says the second is this:

The second is equally important: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' No other commandment is greater than these."

You are to love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other commandment greater than these.

It isn’t just enough to love God, you must direct that love outward toward others.

You could comes to a conclusion that it is impossible to fully love God with your entire being(heart, soul, mind, and strength) and not show that same love to other people.

Understand this both the Greek and the Hebrew words for love show a meaning beyond just emotion.

One of the most common Greek words translate love is agape- meaning love, affection, goodwill, benevolence.

Show the video: word study agape love

The Hebrew word referenced is ahavah, a broad word that means love (affection, friendship)

God’s love isn’t just a sentiment; it is something God does. Ahavah is not just the feeling, emotion part only but it is the action part of love.

Deut 10:12 And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,

Deut 10:13 To keep the commandments of the LORD, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?

If you notice here there’s some action words, Fear, walk, love, serve, keep.

All of these actions are center around love and if I am not doing them, then I really don’t love God, I am just saying I do.

Which led us to one more thing: The way I treat the people around me shows how much I love God.

Because love goes beyond feeling and involves action and how we live and show that love.

What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him?

If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

These scriptures describes a faith that lacks action which really lack love.

James was addressing a church that had church members that would play favoritism with those who were wealthy and neglect the members who were poor.

James was emphasizing that real love and faith deals with works.

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.

Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.

Real love and faith that is showed by works cultivate heartfelt praise.

Real love and faith is expressed in the service of others.

Love and faith is connected together and action must take place that will express its beliefs and passionate convictions.

The love we have for God must be shown in taking care of needs.

You know if there was one person in society that showed love to neighbors, it this man.

play the video: Mr. rogers (love yourself and love your neighbor)

Here Mr. Rogers is sharing the relationship between love yourself and love for others.

While Mr. Rogers is referring to Christian gospel but is merely speaking about being nice to others, but he is showing how important the relationship between inward love and outward love.

The greatest commandment discusses loving God which is a very personal relationship with God. But understand this it would be very difficult to properly love God if I did not first understand God’s love for me and my value.

It would be difficult to fully love God if my heart and mind was filled with self-hatred.

Loving God with every aspect of myself and experiencing and understanding God’s love for me helps me share that love for my neighbor.

And who my neighbor? anyone that I am around.

last week, I talked about the Upward look, which is man in relation with God and the Outward look, which is man relation to His fellowman.

And I don’t know if you notice but all the things dealing with the upward look and the outward look deals with having the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

The upward look:

Faith

Meekness

Temperance

The Outward look:

Longsuffering

Gentleness

Goodness

Now let’s deal with The Inward look which is man in relation to himself.

Really we are backed up to where it all begins, inside of us.

This is the fountain from which all thing flow that river.

a. Love

This is the supreme quality which forms the foundation to the whole structure of life. God is love and love is God.

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.

But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

And this is what I do know about God’s love,it is unconditional.

If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead.

This is the su

Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don't have eternal life within them.

We know what real love is because Jesus gave up His life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

b. Joy

The world is killing itself trying to rejoice. We want to have something in our lives to give us a reason to rejoice.

A reason to celebrate just something to make us happy.

But what brought joy to Jesus was:

We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith. Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame. Now He is seated in the place of honor beside God's throne.

And what Jesus desire for His disciples was this:

But if you remain in Me and My words remain in you, you may ask for anything you want, and it will be granted!

When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father.

"I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love.

When you obey My commandments, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father's commandments and remain in His love.

I have told you these things so that you will be filled with My joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!

This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

There is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends.

You are My friends if you do what I command.

The last one of this inner completeness is Peace.

c. Peace

This peace brings the right spirit with God. It is the serenity of a secured soul.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in Him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.

I am fully convinced, my dear brothers and sisters, that you are full of goodness. You know these things so well you can teach each other all about them.

Trust, full of goodness, teach, other.

And when peace comes then this is what happens.

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. May the grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

It closing I want you to see, that the meaning of these fruit.

The whole cluster of fruit is just the life and character of Jesus Christ, which is what the Holy Spirit produces in us.

The first one third of the cluster it is Jesus. Who is love, joy, and peace standing in me to make my inner life complete.

In the second one third of the cluster it is Jesus who is longsuffering, gentle, and good standing in me to minister to my fellow man in the outward life.

In the last one third of the cluster it is Jesus who is my faith and faithfulness, meekness, and self-control who stands in me to please the Father in my upward life.

We have been placed in a position of crucifixion to the things of the flesh that we should live in the Spirit and walk in the Spirit.

When you produce much fruit, you are My true disciples. This brings great glory to My Father.