Series: WHO ARE YOU?
By
Pastor Darryl Woodson
1st
John 4:12-13_12 No man has seen God at any time. If we love
one another, God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we dwell in him, and he
in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
All
of us have had times in our life where we have been overwhelmed by emotions and
especially by love. It is often in such moments that some of us make decisions
that change us for the rest of our life. And for the Born Again Christian, love
is wrapped inside you (God is love and He lives in you) waiting to touch the
world around. Part of knowing who you are is knowing what you were made for;
you were made to worship God and this means you were made to love, you find
your life meaning in this without looking to the world to give you purpose.
To
be born again is to be born of God, of incorruptible seed, to be born of
love…therefore you have become love you who are born of it. Love seeks its
neighbour and not self, so when we believe the lies of the world and walk in
our old nature, we put self first then begin to cheat, lie, lust, frustrated
and many other vices arise.
Colossians
3:1-14_1If
you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ
sits on the right hand of God. 2Set your
affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3For
you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. 4When
Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall you also appear with him in
glory. 5Mortify therefore your members which
are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil
desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry: 6For
which things' sake the wrath of God comes on the children of disobedience: 7In which you also once walked, when you lived in them. 8But now you also put off all these; anger, wrath,
malice, blasphemy, filthy talk out of your mouth. 9Lie
not one to another, seeing that you have put off the old man with his deeds; 10And have put on the new man, that is renewed in
knowledge after the image of him that created him: 11Where
there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian,
Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. 12Put
on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humbleness
of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13Forbearing
one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any:
even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. 14And
above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.
A
lot of times we spend much of our concentration focusing on our sin. We don’t
need to do that. Satan is a defeated enemy – the cut off withering branch who
is coming to nothing. We don’t become victorious by becoming “sin conscience”
and learn everything we can about sin. We become victorious by learning
everything we can about Jesus. This brings out the new man who is renewed in
knowledge according to the image of Him who created him. This new man has
crucified his old members which are on earth. Get the Word in you, and you will
walk in Truth as new.
7
How’s to begin with in letting love flow and keep it flowing in your life;
1.
Bless
other people.
We
need to bless others without expecting anything in return or having
expectations of others. You are blessed to be a blessing. Genesis
12:2_ 2…and you shall
be a blessing:
2.
Pray
for others.
Every
chance we get, we should pray for others. Even when a simple thought about a
person drops in your mind, pray for them. 1st Thessalonians 5:17_ 17Pray without
ceasing.
3.
Be
kind to people.
The
moment you get into the kindness mode. Look out! Love flows like a river when
you are kind but if you want to be right all the time forget about being kind.
1st
Corinthians 13:4_4Love suffers long, and is kind; love envies not; love
vaunts not itself, is not puffed up,
4. Be patient with others. 1st Corinthians 13:4
It’s
just a fact of life, busy people – don’t love very well.
5.
We
respect others.
People
don’t have to do things your way before you give them the respect they deserve.
They deserve to be treated as who they are – not who we think they should be. Romans 12:10_ 10Be
tender loving one to another with brotherly love; in honor preferring one
another;
6.
We
share with others.
It
is about being ready to be a blessing at any moment. If you are not ready to
give at any moment you may miss out on wonderful opportunities to bless. It is
one thing to give and it is quite another to share. Giving can mean you have
surplus – but the sharing (the kind I am talking about) is giving a portion of
what you have in your hands (in front of you).
7.
We
love people.
If
we don’t genuinely love people then we should forget about impacting their
life. Everyone knows a fake when they see one. People can tell if we are
genuinely interested in them. And no one likes a person who just making them
out to be statistic (just another notch on the belt).
1st
John 4:7_7Beloved,
let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loves is born of
God, and knows God.