SUBJECT - TRUE LOVE!!!
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The message for this month, has to do with a subject that, dare I say, everyone in the civilized world knows something about. And that is LOVE!!
This simple four-lettered word, is the highest degree of human emotion that there is. So much so that people have done all sorts of things, some good, and some bad, in the name of love.
Men and women have fought, and died because of it. Nations have fallen because of it.
It should be of no surprise that this emotion was embedded in us by the ultimate author of Love that there is, and that is our Creator, God/Christ!!
The reason I say this is because it plays a very strong part in our existence. Our subject scripture says that 'God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, to leave Heaven, take on the form of man, suffer and die for our sins, so that we could have eternal Life, even though we deserved an eternal damnation.
You can't find a greater example of Love, for someone than that!! That is Love that goes far beyond what mankind can rationalize as being possible, or even realistic.
It is one thing for a person to sacrifice their own lives for family, and possibly close friends, but totally another to do it for those that don't want to have anything to do with you at all.
The Bible addresses it thus,
Rom 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Imagine that for a minute.
Here you are, a Father of One Child, and you see someone, who, for all intents and purposes, is your enemy. You ask your child, to offer himself, as a human sacrifice, so that your enemy can have a chance to become part of your family, and inherit your kingdom.
Absurd you would say!! However, that is exactly what Christ did for each and every one of us.
As the Bible puts it, none of us were seeking God for anything. We were too busy doing what pleased us. We had absolutely no desire to fall in line with a bunch of commandments and such, that served to destroy our fun.
Now, for you to understand what this message is about, we have to look at just exactly what type of Love is being addressed here.
The Bible lists several types of Love, which I will not go deeply into in this message.
There is the love between a husband and wife. There is the love of a parent for their child[ren] There is the love of a child for their parent. Then, there is the love between siblings.
We also have love between friends.
We also have love of things like pets, property, art, music and things like that.
One of the main things we have real love for, is money!!
As the Bible puts it, 1Tim 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil:
Notice, it does not say money is the root of all evil, but rather the love of it. There is a difference.
But, what I want to address here is the highest degree of Love that one individual can show towards another. And that is the love for your fellow man.
Jesus told His disciples that the
new commandment that He was leaving them with, is just as great as the first.
The first is to Love God!! The new commandment was to love your neighbor, as yourself!!
Mat 22:39
This commandment has a far greater design on human behaviour, than the majority of us even care to think about.
The reason that I say this is because, in our society today, if you look at what is commonly accepted as being the all- encompassing definition of it [this commandment] you would be missing the total picture that it really represents!!!
If I were to ask you, define Love, for me. What would you say??
Most of the responses I would probably get, have to do with the notion that, if you really love someone, then, you would not do or say anything to hurt them. Or something along those lines.
It would boil down to the age old saying of
Love is never having to say you are sorry!!
This means, you will take extra care with the individual[s], that you care so much about, that you would not do, or say anything that would cause you to later, have to apologize to them for doing.
Just as the commandment says, we are to love our neighbor[s], as we love ourselves.
This means then, if we would not do, or allow someone else to do something to us, then we should not do it, to someone else, that is our neighbor.
None of us that are in our right minds, would verbally, or even physically abuse ourselves, so it stands to reason then, with that being the case, then we should not be doing it to others.
However, this is only part of what this commandment means.
The part that is being totally ignored is the part I will address here. And that is,
'If I am to love others as I do myself then, just as I would strive to avoid any actions that would end up destroying, or even injuring me, then I should warn others about the dangers of what they are doing.'
I am not showing love to an individual that is engaged in something that I know will cause them injury, or worse, if I say nothing
!
In fact, if I were to do that then, that would make me a hypocrite, and put me in direct violation of this commandment. Here I am, protecting my own skin, while standing by, and doing nothing to at least warn others of the danger they are facing.
That, my friends, is not love, but hate!!!
To stand by and watch others suffer and possibly die, and not say or do anything to warn them, as far as God/Christ is concerned, is tantamount to high spiritual treason!!!
Why do I say this??
Because each of these individuals are made in the image of God, and therefore are my brothers and sisters. In short, they are family. And as such, since Christ came here to make the way for our restoration to the relationship we had with Him at the beginning, and since He gave us the commandment to pass the message on to whoever would hear it, then for me not to do that, is sin!!
Just as I was grateful to those that delivered the message to me about my lifestyle, and its consequences then, I owe others to do the same for them.
In the old testament, the Bible mentions the duties of a watchman. [Ezek. 33:1-6]
The job of the watchman, was to be on guard to protect the children of Israel, from attack by the enemy.
If he saw danger, he was to sound the alarm so that the people could either prepare to fight, or do whatever was necessary to protect themselves. If, after hearing the alarm, they did not take heed, and perished, then their lost lives would be on them.
However, if the watchman saw the danger and did not warn the people, and they perished, then their lost lives would be accounted to the watchman's responsibility.
This same scenario plays out, when it comes to sin, and its consequences.
The watchman today, is the preacher. It is his/her job to address sin, and its consequences, so that the people that have an ear to hear, can respond accordingly and be saved/delivered.
If they do their job, and people refuse to hear them, then, whatever befalls them, is their own fault.
By the same token, if they don't do their job, and the people perish, then, that will be laid on their [the preachers] hands.
There are very few people that would blame a parent from punishing their child, in order to get them to stop behaviour that they know will lead to that child being injured, or worse. That shows love for that child.
If, on the other hand, the parent allows the child to continue in destructive behaviour, then, the parent is looked on as being unfit, and not loving that child.
By the same token, even if a person is grown and engaging in destructive behavior, then,
those that love them should warn them of that fact.
To say and do nothing, shows that they don't love this person, but rather want to see them destroyed. That is hate!!
There is a song that says,
'It's a Thin Line, Between Love and Hate!!' That's because, if you don't have the knowledge of how God views things, you will be in a fog as to what defines love and hate, when it comes to sin, and its consequences.
The Bible gives us a couple of scriptures that define the problem.
Prv 27:6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Prv 14:12, 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Look at the first verse and the underlined part,
'kisses of an enemy!'
What is being addressed here is something that is rampant in society today, and that is, people tend to believe that showing 'Love' for an
individual means supporting them in whatever lifestyle or decision, they feel is right for them.
If you don't support them, then, to them, you are the enemy, when in reality, it is the reverse.
The second scripture, reinforces the first, in that it points out the difference between what man thinks is right, and what God, says is right, and the ultimate result of that mindset, which is destruction[Hell].
And mind you now, that not only goes for the person committing the sin, but those that support them in doing it.
[Rom. 1:31-32]
You may claim you don't support things like abortion, gay rights/marriage, separation of Church/God/Christ and state, but, if you give money to, or vote for groups, and candidates that do, then, you are just as guilty as those that openly confess that they do. And, you will pay the price!!
There are more souls in hell today, than one could imagine, that were hailed as being Godly by man, simply because they were led to believe what they were doing and supporting was the right thing to do. They were friends of the world[ungodly]!!
The Bible says,
Jas 4:4 Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
You can't be on both sides of the issue. You are either going to be one side or the other. There is no straddling the fence here!!!
Rev 3:15 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.
Rev 3:16 So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
A lot of you saints need to face the fact that you are living a lie! Meaning you are in danger of damnation. Not only that, but there are those that follow in your footsteps like children, relatives and friends. Do you want to see them in hell as well???
What you need to do is get on your knees and repent by asking God's forgiveness, and change your evil ways before it is too late.
You only get one-shot[life] to get things right. And that is as long as you have breath in your body. Once you draw your last breath, that's it!! Your time is up!!
You might think I am being too hard-nosed, and judgmental. You might say I am showing hate, and not love. But, remember what I said earlier, I thank God for those that warned me about my evil ways before it was too late. I love all of you just as I love myself, and want God's best for you!! Amen!!!