Worship, Love and Grace PART FIVE
I am hoping all of you are well
Yesterday we started speaking on love, as the second segment of our Worship, Love and Grace series.
Today we expound a little further on love. We will look at the expressions of love tonight.
There are three key expressions of love in our lives:
√To self
√To God
√To others
Today I want us to take a journey of depth, just so we can establish how these three facets align with each other
TO SELF:
Now, this dimension of love appears to be seemingly a very obvious expression, but just how obvious is it?
Loving self can often be an uphill task, because the quantity needed for this can neither be too much nor too little!
Let as look at it this way: if you love yourself too little, you will not care about what happens to you at all; if you love yourself too much, then yourself is all you will be obsessed with!
Quick question: Just how easy is it to afford yourself the right measure of love?
Actually, it may not be as easy as it looks. Here's why...
You are tripatriate in nature: Spirit, body and soul!
When any of these three faculties are not being properly ministered to, then the wholesome nature of 'yourself' cannot be okay as appropriate
And so, the expression of love to 'yourself' is inadequate as long as one of these three faculties has a deficit!
And thus to love yourself, is to see to it that your Spirit, body and soul are not malnourished in any way or area!
So, how do we achieve the wholesomeness of 'self'?
Well, 1st Thessalonians 5:22-23 says this:
22 Avoid every kind of evil
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And there lies the answer: We must be sanctified so that at the coming of Jesus Christ we are blameless in our Spirit, soul and body!
Hence, this could only mean that loving yourself is about being sanctified through and through!
TO GOD
If I asked here how many of us love God, everybody would probably have their hands raised up high!
But just how much do we understand on what loving God is all about?
Let us take this journey deeper
It is difficult, well...actually impossible to love what you do not know!
And so loving God is a claim that only those who know Him can make!
But to know Him is about having an intimate relationship with Him!
Yet, how can we relate with God, when we do not spend time gaining an understanding of who He is?
How can we gain an understanding of who He is if we do not spend time in the place He revealed Himself to the prophets and apostles, and,men of old - His word!?
So I ask another question: How often do you spend time in the Word of God understanding who He is?
We all are meant to emulate the life of Jesus Christ as Christians, yet it is funny how many Christians do not know the life of Christ as scripture puts it!
John 14:23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Just how much do we obey the teachings of Jesus? Because that verse there makes it so clear what it takes to love God!
But here is where I throw a caution: Apparently, a lot of Christians know the word of God, but sadly they do not know the God of the word!
Thus, to love God is to know Him! PERIOD!
TO OTHERS:
Now, call me wierd, but I just have one thing to say about this:
Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
Now, if you can love your neighbour as yourself, (and by yourself here i mean what is spoken in the 'TO SELF' section), then you have nailed it!
And that concludes the expressions of love tonight!
I will leave you with this:
1st John 4:18 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.
Yesterday we started speaking on love, as the second segment of our Worship, Love and Grace series.
Today we expound a little further on love. We will look at the expressions of love tonight.
There are three key expressions of love in our lives:
√To self
√To God
√To others
Today I want us to take a journey of depth, just so we can establish how these three facets align with each other
TO SELF:
Now, this dimension of love appears to be seemingly a very obvious expression, but just how obvious is it?
Loving self can often be an uphill task, because the quantity needed for this can neither be too much nor too little!
Let as look at it this way: if you love yourself too little, you will not care about what happens to you at all; if you love yourself too much, then yourself is all you will be obsessed with!
Quick question: Just how easy is it to afford yourself the right measure of love?
Actually, it may not be as easy as it looks. Here's why...
You are tripatriate in nature: Spirit, body and soul!
When any of these three faculties are not being properly ministered to, then the wholesome nature of 'yourself' cannot be okay as appropriate
And so, the expression of love to 'yourself' is inadequate as long as one of these three faculties has a deficit!
And thus to love yourself, is to see to it that your Spirit, body and soul are not malnourished in any way or area!
So, how do we achieve the wholesomeness of 'self'?
Well, 1st Thessalonians 5:22-23 says this:
22 Avoid every kind of evil
23 May God himself, the God of peace, sanctify you through and through. May your whole spirit, soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And there lies the answer: We must be sanctified so that at the coming of Jesus Christ we are blameless in our Spirit, soul and body!
Hence, this could only mean that loving yourself is about being sanctified through and through!
TO GOD
If I asked here how many of us love God, everybody would probably have their hands raised up high!
But just how much do we understand on what loving God is all about?
Let us take this journey deeper
It is difficult, well...actually impossible to love what you do not know!
And so loving God is a claim that only those who know Him can make!
But to know Him is about having an intimate relationship with Him!
Yet, how can we relate with God, when we do not spend time gaining an understanding of who He is?
How can we gain an understanding of who He is if we do not spend time in the place He revealed Himself to the prophets and apostles, and,men of old - His word!?
So I ask another question: How often do you spend time in the Word of God understanding who He is?
We all are meant to emulate the life of Jesus Christ as Christians, yet it is funny how many Christians do not know the life of Christ as scripture puts it!
John 14:23 Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.
Just how much do we obey the teachings of Jesus? Because that verse there makes it so clear what it takes to love God!
But here is where I throw a caution: Apparently, a lot of Christians know the word of God, but sadly they do not know the God of the word!
Thus, to love God is to know Him! PERIOD!
TO OTHERS:
Now, call me wierd, but I just have one thing to say about this:
Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'
Now, if you can love your neighbour as yourself, (and by yourself here i mean what is spoken in the 'TO SELF' section), then you have nailed it!
And that concludes the expressions of love tonight!
I will leave you with this:
1st John 4:18 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.
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