Confident - Love Triumphs
Notes
Transcript
The Power of Love
The Power of Love
I grew up in the 80”s
We gave the things like:
Sony walk man, Microsoft and Apple - mobile phones (size of a brick), but most of all music
100’s of Love songs like
Saving all my love for you -Whitney Houston, Faithful - Journey, Crazy for you - Madonna, Endless love - Lionel Richie /Diana Ross, Power of Love - Huey Lewis
So much love
We believe love wins out in every song and movie and sitcom
We want to know love, experience love
The world does not understand theology or dogma, but it understands love and sympathy. - Dwight L. Moody
The Power of Love
The Power of Love
There is a huge difference from knowing about and knowing love
From saying you love and demonstrating love
Love is mentioned 287 times in the NT
No other word used more in 1st John (46 times)
We have been talking about being Confident
I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.
Confident - in what God has done, His way
Today we will see we can be Confident that Love Triumphs
That Love is something I feel and experience and something I do and give
Turn to 1 John 3
Let’s pray
Love Demonstrated
I believe love is something we can see, feel, and touch
We experience love when we see fleshed out
The perfect example and model for us is Christ
I john also shows us what life without love looks like
For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous.
Cain Demonstrated Hate - He murdered his brother
Hate is the absence of love - definition of what love is not
Interesting to note - Cain was a”worshiper”
He brought sacrifice - he knew what to say, he went to service, may of been in a small group
One commentator said -
But these actions in themselves are not valid proof that a man is born of God. The real test is his love for the brethren—and here Cain failed. - Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, pp. 509–510). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
Genesis 4 we find the story
By faith Abel offered to God a better sacrifice than Cain did. By faith he was approved as a righteous man, because God approved his gifts, and even though he is dead, he still speaks through his faith.
God warned Cain of what was building in his heart , but Cain let His envy and jealousy lead to murder
This whole scene is played out again centuries later in Jerusalem
This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
Christ Demonstrated Love - He was murdered by His brothers
But God proves his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
If you ever doubt God’s love for you - look at the cross
This is the defining moment for all of history
This where love triumphed
Our enemy had us dead to rights - we walked away, we sinned, this was our price to pay
God revealed His love and mercy and satisfied His righteousness and justice
We have seen love modeled
How do we respond
If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.
We Demonstrate Love - When we share with others
What does love look like? It has the hands to help others. It has the feet to hasten to the poor and needy. It has eyes to see misery and want. It has the ears to hear the sighs and sorrows of men. That is what love looks like. - Augustine
Love is something we share
We experience love when we live it out
Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us work for the good of all, especially for those who belong to the household of faith.
Share with the Family
And show it to those outside -
How, then, can they call on him they have not believed in? And how can they believe without hearing about him? And how can they hear without a preacher? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.
The Power of Love
The Power of Love
This week 7 days of Love -
Everyday on social media - give you a way to show love
Talk is cheap
Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.
If we have got the true love of God shed abroad in our hearts, we will show it in our lives. We will not have to go up and down the earth proclaiming it. We will show it in everything we say or do. - Dwight L. Moody
Have you experienced His love? Do you know it?
Are you sharing His love?
Let today be the day we begin not a summer of love but life time of love marked by loving God and loving others in real tangible ways.
Let’s pray