1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,640 Turn in your Bibles to 1st John chapter 4. 2 00:00:05,600 --> 00:00:11,800 I would encourage you to turn there because we have 15 verses 3 00:00:11,800 --> 00:00:14,080 that we will be reading this morning as part of our text. 4 00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:16,960 And, and I know sometimes it's a little weird when we're standing 5 00:00:16,960 --> 00:00:20,920 together and we're reading and you're just looking and stuff. 6 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:22,480 So I would encourage you to turn there. 7 00:00:22,480 --> 00:00:27,960 Page 1023 If you're using one of our own Bibles there the first 8 00:00:27,960 --> 00:00:32,240 John chapter 4 we spent a couple weeks in Acts One and two 9 00:00:32,240 --> 00:00:36,360 talking about the Holy Spirit coming to and dwell followers of 10 00:00:36,360 --> 00:00:40,240 Christ and the radical difference that this makes in 11 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:44,880 our lives as we're now empowered by the Holy Spirit's and we are 12 00:00:45,160 --> 00:00:48,920 equipped for the tasks and life that God has in store for us 13 00:00:49,720 --> 00:00:53,120 when we live life filled with the spirit, the old ways will 14 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:57,120 will fall away and we find a list of new character traits in 15 00:00:57,120 --> 00:01:00,400 Galatians chapter 5 and these character traits are called the 16 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:03,720 fruits of the spirits. If we walk by the spirit, then 17 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,240 our lives will produce these character traits. 18 00:01:07,240 --> 00:01:12,080 These fruits Lovejoy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, 19 00:01:12,080 --> 00:01:14,920 faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. 20 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,080 So we're looking at the fruit of the Spirit because it seems like 21 00:01:19,320 --> 00:01:22,600 it would be a good place for us to go after we spent some time, 22 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:26,680 I spent a couple weeks examining Pentecost and and the beginnings 23 00:01:26,680 --> 00:01:30,240 of the early church. So as we begin this series, it's 24 00:01:30,240 --> 00:01:34,680 important that we understand the nature and source of our fruits. 25 00:01:35,520 --> 00:01:39,080 You see, it could be easy for us to look at this list as as a 26 00:01:39,080 --> 00:01:43,800 scale to measure ourselves and see where do I measure up? 27 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:45,560 Am I good with this? Am I good with this? 28 00:01:45,560 --> 00:01:47,640 Oh, I'm really lacking in this area. 29 00:01:48,640 --> 00:01:52,360 That's not really how the fruit is designed for us to use it as 30 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:58,560 a scale, but rather this is called fruit of the Spirit. 31 00:01:59,400 --> 00:02:01,960 It's not fruit of our own efforts. 32 00:02:01,960 --> 00:02:06,760 We can't will them into being. We can't just produce them by 33 00:02:06,760 --> 00:02:11,440 our own willpower. The fruit comes only as we 34 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:15,680 submit our lives to the Holy Spirit and we allow Him to 35 00:02:15,680 --> 00:02:19,480 control us. The more time we spend with Him 36 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:24,280 in prayer, in the Word, with His people, then the more the more 37 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:28,000 our hearts turn into the rich soil and and we're able to 38 00:02:28,000 --> 00:02:31,080 produce the fruits of the spirits. 39 00:02:32,560 --> 00:02:37,400 A life not submitted to the Holy Spirit won't exhibit these 40 00:02:37,400 --> 00:02:40,720 virtues, though. When we walk with God, He 41 00:02:40,720 --> 00:02:44,720 transforms us and turns us from the works of the flesh. 42 00:02:45,840 --> 00:02:49,040 So here we are at the beginning of the series with the first 43 00:02:49,040 --> 00:02:52,920 virtue in that list, and the first one is love. 44 00:02:53,880 --> 00:02:57,120 Love has been denuded of its meaning. 45 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:04,200 We use it in all sorts of ways. I love cars, I love CrossFit, I 46 00:03:04,200 --> 00:03:08,400 love Chipotle, I love Mexican food. 47 00:03:09,280 --> 00:03:13,800 I also love my wife and my kids. These are all the same thing, 48 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:15,960 right? No, they're not. 49 00:03:16,640 --> 00:03:21,880 Of course not. We use context to help us 50 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:26,920 understand what is meant when we use the word love. 51 00:03:27,880 --> 00:03:31,200 Now the Greeks, they had several different words for love. 52 00:03:31,200 --> 00:03:34,760 So they can they can pick the word that they wanted to use to 53 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:38,400 fit the right context. There's storgay. 54 00:03:38,400 --> 00:03:42,040 Storgay is a familial love that can withstand hardships and 55 00:03:42,040 --> 00:03:45,880 trials. Phileo is a love that exists 56 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,480 between close friends and sometimes family. 57 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:53,560 Scripture often translates the word phileo as a friend. 58 00:03:53,880 --> 00:03:59,360 We will refer to Philadelphia as the city of brotherly Love. 59 00:04:00,040 --> 00:04:02,600 That is, unless you're a Chiefs fan. 60 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:07,000 If you're a Chiefs fan, there is no love to be found in 61 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:12,520 Philadelphia. There's also Eros. 62 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:17,320 Eros is romantic and sexual love and we get our word erotic from 63 00:04:17,320 --> 00:04:20,320 this word. But then there's agape. 64 00:04:21,440 --> 00:04:26,600 Agape is sacrificial, selfless, unconditional love. 65 00:04:26,600 --> 00:04:30,400 It's the highest form of love that we find. 66 00:04:32,000 --> 00:04:36,200 Last month I taught you the Hebrew word hesed, and agape is 67 00:04:36,200 --> 00:04:40,080 the is the Greek counterparts to God's hesed. 68 00:04:40,760 --> 00:04:42,960 The best description of love that we find in the New 69 00:04:42,960 --> 00:04:47,200 Testament is of course found in First Corinthians 13, the love 70 00:04:47,200 --> 00:04:49,240 chapter. You hear it at like every 71 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:53,280 wedding, stuff like that. So in this chapter, love is 72 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:58,600 presented as the greatest and most essential of all virtues. 73 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:03,000 It says you can be the most talented, the most spiritually 74 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:10,800 gifted person, but if you don't have love, it's meaningless. 75 00:05:10,880 --> 00:05:16,480 It means nothing to have all these gifts but not love. 76 00:05:17,280 --> 00:05:21,360 So love is set apart as greater than any of the spiritual gifts 77 00:05:21,720 --> 00:05:26,320 that we can have. So love, though, it isn't simply 78 00:05:26,520 --> 00:05:32,160 a state of being or an emotion. Back to the 90's, the the great 79 00:05:32,160 --> 00:05:42,040 poet TobyMac informed us that love is a verb. 80 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:43,880 I know somebody was tracking with me. 81 00:05:43,880 --> 00:05:44,880 Come on, somebody. Right. 82 00:05:45,160 --> 00:05:48,440 OK, thank you, Emily. Yes, love is a verb. 83 00:05:48,440 --> 00:05:51,800 Love is active. It sees the needs of others and 84 00:05:51,800 --> 00:05:55,800 it responds with a helping hand. Not everybody's going to go home 85 00:05:55,800 --> 00:05:57,480 this afternoon and start listening to that. 86 00:05:57,480 --> 00:06:00,360 I know, right. All, all you who grew up on that 87 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,960 in the 90s, if you're able, would you stand as we read from 88 00:06:04,960 --> 00:06:10,120 first John chapter 4? First John 4 will begin at verse 89 00:06:10,120 --> 00:06:17,240 7, reading through 21. Beloved, let us love one 90 00:06:17,240 --> 00:06:20,680 another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born 91 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:24,720 of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does 92 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:26,800 not know God because God is love. 93 00:06:27,280 --> 00:06:31,240 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent 94 00:06:31,240 --> 00:06:34,440 His only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 95 00:06:35,120 --> 00:06:38,240 In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He 96 00:06:38,240 --> 00:06:42,360 loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 97 00:06:43,080 --> 00:06:47,400 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 98 00:06:47,800 --> 00:06:50,960 No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God 99 00:06:50,960 --> 00:06:54,520 abides in US and His love is perfected in us. 100 00:06:55,560 --> 00:06:59,080 By this we know that we abide in Him and He and us, because, 101 00:06:59,280 --> 00:07:03,000 because He has given us of His spirits, and we have seen and 102 00:07:03,000 --> 00:07:05,760 testified that the Father has sent his Son to be saved. 103 00:07:07,760 --> 00:07:09,720 Professes that Jesus is the Son of God. 104 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:12,840 God abides in him and He and God. 105 00:07:13,480 --> 00:07:16,240 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has 106 00:07:16,240 --> 00:07:17,720 for us. God is loving. 107 00:07:17,720 --> 00:07:21,480 Whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 108 00:07:21,960 --> 00:07:25,360 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have 109 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:29,520 confidence. For because as He is, so also 110 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:32,800 are we in this world. There is No Fear in love, but 111 00:07:32,800 --> 00:07:37,040 perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment. 112 00:07:37,040 --> 00:07:40,080 And whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 113 00:07:40,760 --> 00:07:42,760 We love because He first loved us. 114 00:07:43,440 --> 00:07:47,200 If anyone says I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. 115 00:07:47,640 --> 00:07:50,760 For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, 116 00:07:50,760 --> 00:07:53,240 cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 117 00:07:54,200 --> 00:07:55,880 In this command we have from him. 118 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,880 Whoever loves God must also love his brother. 119 00:08:00,680 --> 00:08:06,040 You may be seated as we begin looking into this passage this 120 00:08:06,040 --> 00:08:09,960 morning, we start with the rationale for love. 121 00:08:10,080 --> 00:08:16,720 Why should we love others? Does how I treat other people 122 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,200 really matter in the grand scheme of things? 123 00:08:20,000 --> 00:08:23,080 John said. John said we love each other 124 00:08:23,440 --> 00:08:27,240 because that's what God has given to us and it and it shows 125 00:08:27,240 --> 00:08:30,880 our relationship to God who is himself love. 126 00:08:31,400 --> 00:08:35,679 Verse eight said anyone who does not love does not know God 127 00:08:35,679 --> 00:08:40,240 because God is love. God is love. 128 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:44,800 I mentioned this a few weeks ago, but our God Yahweh is he's 129 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:49,640 unlike all the other gods in that he has chosen to identify 130 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:57,560 himself specifically by love. Exodus 34, You'll remember I 131 00:08:58,240 --> 00:09:01,160 read this Exodus 34, six through 7. 132 00:09:01,160 --> 00:09:04,480 As God is introducing himself, He's saying this is who I am. 133 00:09:04,480 --> 00:09:07,920 He's telling Moses this. He says the Lord Lord passed 134 00:09:07,920 --> 00:09:11,280 before and proclaimed the Lord. The Lord, a God merciful and 135 00:09:11,280 --> 00:09:15,840 gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and 136 00:09:15,840 --> 00:09:20,400 faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving 137 00:09:20,400 --> 00:09:23,200 iniquity in transgression and sin. 138 00:09:25,040 --> 00:09:30,160 There are so-called gods and goddesses who would attempt to 139 00:09:30,360 --> 00:09:34,040 be called the gods or goddesses of love, but really those are 140 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:38,760 actually gods or goddesses of lust and desire is really what 141 00:09:38,760 --> 00:09:44,840 those are about our God. He's unique in that he has 142 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:48,120 identified himself with love and love. 143 00:09:49,000 --> 00:09:53,360 Love is the basis for his relationship with his followers, 144 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:56,640 his love for them and their love for him. 145 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:03,280 So when John wrote this letter we're in, he didn't say God is 146 00:10:03,280 --> 00:10:05,560 loving, though of course he could have said that. 147 00:10:06,600 --> 00:10:10,840 Neither did John say one of God's activities is to love us. 148 00:10:11,400 --> 00:10:13,440 Of course, he could have said that as well. 149 00:10:13,840 --> 00:10:18,600 No, John said. God is love. 150 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:25,280 Love is his very nature. Love is the essence of his 151 00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:31,120 being. So the fact that God is love has 152 00:10:31,120 --> 00:10:35,240 an impact on us. You see, because God is love, 153 00:10:35,240 --> 00:10:42,440 that in turn we love others. We we love others because God is 154 00:10:42,440 --> 00:10:44,080 love. We're loved by God and then we 155 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:46,800 dole that love out to others around us. 156 00:10:47,120 --> 00:10:51,000 To know the love of God is to manifest it in our life and in 157 00:10:51,000 --> 00:10:54,640 our interactions. Of course, some people will 158 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:59,400 receive a greater depth of love depending on our relationship to 159 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:05,720 them, but the aim of our interactions should always be 160 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:10,440 love. In John 13 verses 34 through 35, 161 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:13,880 Jesus was talking to his disciples and he says, you'll 162 00:11:13,880 --> 00:11:18,320 notice on the screen a new commandment I give you that you 163 00:11:18,320 --> 00:11:20,680 love one another just as I have loved you. 164 00:11:20,960 --> 00:11:23,400 You also are to love one another. 165 00:11:24,000 --> 00:11:28,360 By this all people will know that you are my disciples if you 166 00:11:28,360 --> 00:11:34,920 have love for one another. So this this is to say that love 167 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:39,600 is the mark of Jesus disciples. People will know that we're 168 00:11:39,720 --> 00:11:43,160 Jesus disciples because of our love for each other. 169 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:47,280 That's the next points. The mark of Jesus disciples is 170 00:11:47,280 --> 00:11:53,000 love. So none of us none of us is a 171 00:11:53,000 --> 00:11:56,240 perfect representation of Jesus and and the world is watching 172 00:11:56,240 --> 00:12:01,040 out for any mistake that that they can use as an excuse to not 173 00:12:01,040 --> 00:12:06,960 follow Jesus. But what does bring conviction? 174 00:12:08,200 --> 00:12:11,280 What does bring conviction to the world and it and it proves 175 00:12:12,400 --> 00:12:15,840 who we are and proves who Jesus is. 176 00:12:16,800 --> 00:12:21,960 It's our love for other people. When they see our love it, it 177 00:12:21,960 --> 00:12:27,120 serves as a sign that we are God's children and that God 178 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:32,520 exists. So here we've seen God is the 179 00:12:32,520 --> 00:12:34,360 basis and rationale for our love. 180 00:12:34,720 --> 00:12:37,960 So now we look at God's love demonstrated. 181 00:12:40,480 --> 00:12:44,720 God's love was demonstrated in verses 9 through 11, it read. 182 00:12:44,920 --> 00:12:47,720 The love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent 183 00:12:47,720 --> 00:12:51,840 his only Son into the world so that we might live through him. 184 00:12:52,560 --> 00:12:54,840 And this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He 185 00:12:54,840 --> 00:12:59,360 loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 186 00:13:00,320 --> 00:13:05,040 So first of all, God's love was demonstrated in Jesus. 187 00:13:07,160 --> 00:13:09,480 His love was demonstrated in Jesus. 188 00:13:09,880 --> 00:13:11,880 Jesus was the revelation of God's love. 189 00:13:11,880 --> 00:13:13,760 Now it may sound a little elementary. 190 00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:17,160 We've heard this before. But it's always good to remind 191 00:13:17,160 --> 00:13:21,120 ourselves of this, right? The Father sent his Son into the 192 00:13:21,120 --> 00:13:24,160 world in order to bring salvation through the Son's 193 00:13:24,160 --> 00:13:29,040 death on the cross. If you ask any earthly father, 194 00:13:29,040 --> 00:13:32,080 they'll tell you they would rather take the place of their 195 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:36,200 child's suffering every time. They would rather take the place 196 00:13:36,480 --> 00:13:39,440 of their child's suffering. Fathers, instinctively, 197 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,360 intuitively, we want to prevent our children from suffering. 198 00:13:44,120 --> 00:13:51,280 Yet God the Father's love for us was so great that he allowed 199 00:13:51,440 --> 00:13:54,640 Jesus to die to pay the penalty for our sin. 200 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:02,680 The Father knew what was on the other side of the cross, Jesus, 201 00:14:03,440 --> 00:14:06,200 He knew what was on the other side of the cross, and it was 202 00:14:06,400 --> 00:14:12,000 love for us that carried the Godhead through this horrible 203 00:14:12,000 --> 00:14:18,680 moment in history. The Romans 5/8 informs us of the 204 00:14:18,680 --> 00:14:21,880 depth of God's love. Romans 5/8 says, But God showed 205 00:14:21,880 --> 00:14:26,760 his love for us and that while we were sinners, Christ died for 206 00:14:26,760 --> 00:14:30,680 us. Our holy God demonstrated His 207 00:14:30,680 --> 00:14:34,160 love for us sinners by sending Jesus to die for our sins. 208 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:37,040 This is truly God's Amazing Grace. 209 00:14:39,600 --> 00:14:45,160 My sin, it costs something and then the penalty for my sin has 210 00:14:45,160 --> 00:14:47,840 to be paid right now under the law. 211 00:14:49,080 --> 00:14:52,280 Under the Old Testament law, blood was spilled to pay the 212 00:14:52,280 --> 00:14:56,000 penalty for its sin. But here in the church age, 213 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:03,000 Jesus, Jesus spilled his blood to pay the penalty for our sin, 214 00:15:03,000 --> 00:15:05,320 to pay the price that we couldn't pay. 215 00:15:06,720 --> 00:15:10,560 A verse 10 read in this isn't love, not that we have loved 216 00:15:10,560 --> 00:15:13,720 God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the 217 00:15:13,720 --> 00:15:20,160 propitiation for our sins. Now I suspect you probably don't 218 00:15:20,160 --> 00:15:22,640 go around using that word propitiation. 219 00:15:23,720 --> 00:15:28,800 I would also venture to say that probably most of us don't know 220 00:15:28,800 --> 00:15:33,320 what that word actually means, if we're being honest. 221 00:15:33,640 --> 00:15:36,720 But to say that Jesus was the propitiation for our sins is to 222 00:15:36,720 --> 00:15:40,160 say that he was the atoning sacrifice. 223 00:15:40,280 --> 00:15:45,160 He was the appeasement for the punishment that we deserved. 224 00:15:45,200 --> 00:15:48,320 Not because of his own sin, of course, because he didn't have 225 00:15:48,320 --> 00:15:53,000 any sin of his own, but he was the propitiation. 226 00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:58,320 He was the appeasement for our sin because of His great love 227 00:15:58,400 --> 00:16:03,320 for us. So God's love was demonstrated 228 00:16:03,320 --> 00:16:06,080 in Jesus. That's where it starts. 229 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:13,080 But then God's love is also to be demonstrated in us. 230 00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:18,000 So God's love is demonstrated in US. 231 00:16:19,600 --> 00:16:24,440 Verse 11 read If God so loved us, we also ought to love one 232 00:16:24,440 --> 00:16:28,240 another. John's point is this is the 233 00:16:28,240 --> 00:16:32,320 reasonable thing to do. If God loved us, God, the holy 234 00:16:32,320 --> 00:16:35,560 Creator of the universe, the one who is outside of time and 235 00:16:35,560 --> 00:16:40,920 space, the one who sits above the earth, it's he who loved us. 236 00:16:41,080 --> 00:16:45,800 It's he who has phenomenal cosmic powers, but yet inserted 237 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:51,800 into this itty bitty living space of a human body, God, the 238 00:16:51,800 --> 00:16:58,920 one who holds all power, clothed himself in humanity and came 239 00:16:58,920 --> 00:17:04,280 into this world. He loves us. 240 00:17:06,079 --> 00:17:09,680 It's a wonder of wonders for sure, but God's love mustn't 241 00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:13,400 stop with us, right? The love must keep going on. 242 00:17:13,400 --> 00:17:16,359 We must love each other. It only makes sense. 243 00:17:16,920 --> 00:17:20,920 If God loved us, then we love others. 244 00:17:22,240 --> 00:17:26,599 Now here in this text, we come to a somewhat difficult part to 245 00:17:26,599 --> 00:17:28,319 understand. There's a good bit to sift 246 00:17:28,319 --> 00:17:32,280 through here, so I'll do my best to try to illuminate what the 247 00:17:32,280 --> 00:17:37,120 text is trying to say. I'll read it again here. 248 00:17:37,360 --> 00:17:40,760 No one has ever seen God. Starting at verse 1212 through 249 00:17:40,760 --> 00:17:42,840 18 says no one has ever seen God. 250 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:45,920 If we love one another, God abides in US and His love is 251 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:50,720 perfected in us by this. We know that we abide in Him and 252 00:17:50,720 --> 00:17:54,040 He and us because He has given us of His Spirit and we have 253 00:17:54,040 --> 00:17:57,160 seen and testified that the Father has sent His Son to be 254 00:17:57,160 --> 00:18:00,400 the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is 255 00:18:00,400 --> 00:18:03,840 the Son of God, God abides in him and He and God. 256 00:18:04,160 --> 00:18:06,720 So we've come to no one to believe the love that God has 257 00:18:06,720 --> 00:18:09,440 for us. God is love, and whoever abides 258 00:18:09,440 --> 00:18:12,120 in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 259 00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:16,200 By this is love perfected with us, so we may have confidence 260 00:18:16,200 --> 00:18:20,480 for the day of judgment, because as He is, so also are we in the 261 00:18:20,640 --> 00:18:22,040 world. There is No Fear in love, but 262 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:25,640 perfect love casts out fear, for fear has to do with punishment. 263 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,760 Whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 264 00:18:29,560 --> 00:18:35,400 So we can sum up this portion of the text by saying making a 265 00:18:35,400 --> 00:18:40,120 statement. God's abiding love in Jesus is 266 00:18:40,120 --> 00:18:44,960 our confidence. God's abiding love in Jesus is 267 00:18:44,960 --> 00:18:49,920 our confidence. Verse 12 said no one has seen 268 00:18:49,920 --> 00:18:52,280 God. God is spirits. 269 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:56,280 We can't actually see God not in this earthly realm anyways. 270 00:18:56,280 --> 00:19:01,440 But the invisible God abides in US. 271 00:19:02,880 --> 00:19:07,200 He he resides inside of us and John loves this word abide. 272 00:19:07,200 --> 00:19:11,600 He, he uses the word abide 6 times in just five verses here 273 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:14,720 in this passage. And then, and then in John 15, 274 00:19:15,360 --> 00:19:18,680 there's this famous passage that the scholars love to talk about 275 00:19:18,680 --> 00:19:23,560 in John 15 where he talks about abiding in him and, and him 276 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:25,320 abiding in US. And there's all sorts of 277 00:19:25,320 --> 00:19:29,280 discussion about what it means. And when we talk about abiding, 278 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:36,040 I like to say that abiding is simply the place where we live. 279 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:41,440 You see, there are all sorts of places that we can make our 280 00:19:41,440 --> 00:19:45,160 home. For example, I could make my 281 00:19:45,160 --> 00:19:55,800 home in fear or lust or or desires, or I can make my home 282 00:19:57,720 --> 00:20:02,600 in God. That is what abiding is. 283 00:20:03,960 --> 00:20:07,880 John calls us to abide or live in God, and when we abide in 284 00:20:07,880 --> 00:20:11,320 Him, then then love is the evidence. 285 00:20:11,560 --> 00:20:15,280 Of our home in God when we abide in him. 286 00:20:15,280 --> 00:20:18,360 Love is the evidence of our home in God. 287 00:20:20,360 --> 00:20:25,520 Now we're shaped by the places we live like literally right. 288 00:20:26,400 --> 00:20:29,280 We'll have certain cultural practices and and we'll adopt 289 00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:31,680 the language in ways of the place where we live. 290 00:20:32,480 --> 00:20:35,960 For example, should you hypothetically happen to meet 291 00:20:35,960 --> 00:20:43,760 someone from the land Down Under, their accent is a clear 292 00:20:43,760 --> 00:20:49,640 giveaway that their home was it was in another place or may 293 00:20:49,640 --> 00:20:53,800 still be in another place. They start using words like boot 294 00:20:53,800 --> 00:20:55,880 and bonnet and you think they're talking about clothes and 295 00:20:55,880 --> 00:20:57,440 they're actually talking about cars. 296 00:21:00,880 --> 00:21:05,720 The ways and language of of our dear Aussie friends are evidence 297 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:09,600 of their home having been in another place. 298 00:21:09,960 --> 00:21:13,960 They've been shaped by their Australian surroundings. 299 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:28,880 Now if my home is in God, then I will be shaped by God being my 300 00:21:28,880 --> 00:21:34,760 home, just as our Aussie friends are shaped by that culture. 301 00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:41,760 When we are living in God, living in Christ, we will be 302 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:46,000 shaped by Him. It's as though I'll have a God 303 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:51,000 like accent and people will instantly be able to tell that 304 00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:55,840 my home is in God. Now think about this for a 305 00:21:55,840 --> 00:22:01,440 moment. One of those verses said that 306 00:22:01,440 --> 00:22:05,560 God is invisible. When we love people, we are 307 00:22:05,560 --> 00:22:10,400 making the invisible visible. Our love for each other is 308 00:22:10,400 --> 00:22:14,360 evidence to a world, to the world of an invisible God. 309 00:22:15,960 --> 00:22:19,840 When we love him, we're making him visible to those around us, 310 00:22:21,520 --> 00:22:26,760 which leads to the next points, our confidence. 311 00:22:28,680 --> 00:22:34,280 When God is our home, the Spirit produces mature love, which 312 00:22:34,280 --> 00:22:38,440 removes any fear at the judgment seat of Christ. 313 00:22:39,680 --> 00:22:42,720 Sounds like we went from nice fluffy stuff talking about love 314 00:22:42,720 --> 00:22:50,120 right to judgment. But hold on, it's not as bad as 315 00:22:50,320 --> 00:22:53,360 it may initially sound. You see, I've often heard people 316 00:22:53,360 --> 00:22:57,480 talk, take part of this verse 18, perfect love casts out fear. 317 00:22:57,480 --> 00:23:00,480 We love to throw this out there, perfect love casts out fear. 318 00:23:00,640 --> 00:23:03,840 And what they're trying to say is God loves you, so don't be 319 00:23:03,840 --> 00:23:05,680 afraid. Well, guess what? 320 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:09,040 That is a verse taken out of context. 321 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:11,680 No, you don't need to live in fear. 322 00:23:11,680 --> 00:23:15,760 We don't need to be afraid, but we have God's presence for that. 323 00:23:16,120 --> 00:23:22,360 Actually, when the text says perfect love casts out fear, 324 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:27,760 it's revealing a progression. See, it goes like this. 325 00:23:28,920 --> 00:23:34,320 Making our home in God will will lead us to mature love. 326 00:23:35,840 --> 00:23:37,920 I had these cool little arrows. Hopefully they show up. 327 00:23:38,240 --> 00:23:42,400 So when we make our home in God, it'll lead to mature love and 328 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:46,200 then mature love will lead to the removal of fear at the 329 00:23:46,200 --> 00:23:52,720 judgment seat of Christ. So we we make our home in God. 330 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,400 Oh here, let me go this way. Make our home in God. 331 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:00,080 That brings us to mature love, and the mature love is that 332 00:24:00,080 --> 00:24:04,720 grows in us. That removes fear at the 333 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,640 judgment seat of Christ. This isn't the removal of fear 334 00:24:08,640 --> 00:24:11,680 in everyday life. It's the removal of fear at the 335 00:24:11,680 --> 00:24:15,560 judgment seat of Christ. You see, the judgment seat of 336 00:24:15,560 --> 00:24:19,280 Christ is the moment after Jesus returns, when Christians from 337 00:24:19,560 --> 00:24:23,800 all of time stand before God to be judged. 338 00:24:24,840 --> 00:24:29,200 Now this isn't a judgement for salvation. 339 00:24:29,640 --> 00:24:32,160 This is actually a good judgement. 340 00:24:32,840 --> 00:24:34,520 Essentially, it's a good judgement. 341 00:24:34,680 --> 00:24:38,160 The judgement seat of Christ is only for Christ followers. 342 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:42,560 And it's actually more, more characteristic of an athlete who 343 00:24:42,560 --> 00:24:46,000 is standing on a podium and they're awaiting to receive a 344 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:48,440 medal or, or to receive a trophy. 345 00:24:48,440 --> 00:24:52,640 Or back in, back in biblical days, the Greeks, they would 346 00:24:52,640 --> 00:24:59,280 receive a, a crown of branches. Basically is, is what it was. 347 00:24:59,280 --> 00:25:04,480 This was, this was their reward. So the judgement seat of Christ 348 00:25:04,480 --> 00:25:11,240 is a time of reward. We will receive or not receive 349 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:15,360 rewards depending on how we've lived our lives. 350 00:25:18,040 --> 00:25:22,320 Did we choose to build our lives with wood, hay, and stubble? 351 00:25:22,480 --> 00:25:26,480 Things that can easily be burned up in the fire of refining? 352 00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:31,760 Or did we choose instead to build our lives with things that 353 00:25:31,760 --> 00:25:36,880 won't decay with with precious stones and gold and silver? 354 00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:44,080 You see, whatever we choose, we'll be examined at the 355 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:47,440 judgement seat of Christ and, and the hope for each of us is 356 00:25:47,440 --> 00:25:51,560 that our works won't be burned up as we will have spent our 357 00:25:51,560 --> 00:25:56,520 lives and resources in a way that reaps heavenly rewards. 358 00:25:58,640 --> 00:26:02,760 And those rewards we just sang about it didn't even know we 359 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:07,680 were going to sing about. But those rewards are crowns, he 360 00:26:07,680 --> 00:26:09,680 said. That's that hymn, Holy, holy, 361 00:26:09,680 --> 00:26:12,840 holy, he said, casting down our golden crowns. 362 00:26:13,000 --> 00:26:15,760 We'll receive those crowns, those rewards. 363 00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:21,240 Then it'll be our joy to lay those back down at Jesus feet. 364 00:26:23,400 --> 00:26:28,240 So if I had mature love, I will have spent my life in valuable 365 00:26:28,240 --> 00:26:30,720 ways and I'll look forward to the judgment. 366 00:26:30,720 --> 00:26:34,720 Or sometimes this is called the Bhima seat of Christ. 367 00:26:36,360 --> 00:26:39,640 That perfect or mature love I've walked in will will cut, will be 368 00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:43,760 caused to remove any fear for this occasion. 369 00:26:45,120 --> 00:26:48,360 If, however, a Christian has chosen to build their life with 370 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:51,680 the worthless things of this world and hasn't attained to 371 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:56,040 mature love, then that person may perhaps look with 372 00:26:56,360 --> 00:27:01,480 trepidation and fear on this occasion and not be as excited 373 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:11,400 to come before our Savior. So next, as we wrap up the 374 00:27:11,400 --> 00:27:16,680 passage, we have the foundation and the command to love. 375 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:20,240 The foundation and command to love. 376 00:27:20,600 --> 00:27:26,280 Looking at verses 19 through 21, it says we love because He first 377 00:27:26,280 --> 00:27:29,360 loved us. If anyone says I love God and 378 00:27:29,360 --> 00:27:32,160 hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his 379 00:27:32,160 --> 00:27:35,360 brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. 380 00:27:36,240 --> 00:27:39,400 And this commandment we have from him, whoever loves God must 381 00:27:39,400 --> 00:27:47,200 also love his brother. So he loved us first. 382 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:52,640 He loved us first. This is the foundation of love, 383 00:27:52,640 --> 00:27:56,600 right? God is love and 1st loved us. 384 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:00,320 We can't earn his love we we don't deserve it. 385 00:28:00,560 --> 00:28:05,400 God simply chose to set his love on us. 386 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:12,560 In Matthew 22 as well as in Mark and Luke's gospels, the 387 00:28:12,560 --> 00:28:17,440 Pharisees approach Jesus. See Jesus had just silenced the 388 00:28:17,440 --> 00:28:21,440 Sadducees as as the Sadducees were asking him questions about 389 00:28:21,680 --> 00:28:23,400 marriage. Well, who are we going to be 390 00:28:23,400 --> 00:28:26,520 married to when, when we're in heaven? 391 00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:30,480 And Jesus is basically the little saying, you fools, you're 392 00:28:30,480 --> 00:28:33,440 not going to be married in heaven. 393 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:37,200 So the Pharisees, all right, OK, we got it. 394 00:28:37,200 --> 00:28:39,960 We got the right question. These Sadducees, they, they, 395 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:43,720 they don't really quite have it all together, but we have the 396 00:28:43,720 --> 00:28:53,040 perfect thing, Jesus. Which of the laws is most 397 00:28:53,040 --> 00:28:56,880 important? Which one we have all these 398 00:28:56,880 --> 00:28:59,400 laws, Which one is most important? 399 00:29:01,320 --> 00:29:05,520 And Jesus says, you shall love the Lord your God with all your 400 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:07,720 hearts, and with all your soul and with all your mind. 401 00:29:08,120 --> 00:29:10,480 This is the great and 1st commandments. 402 00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:13,640 And a second is like it. You shall love your neighbor as 403 00:29:13,640 --> 00:29:19,840 yourself. On these two and the prophets, 404 00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:25,840 Jesus was 2 wise for their games. 405 00:29:26,480 --> 00:29:32,880 He said all of the law, all of it boils down to two things. 406 00:29:33,800 --> 00:29:36,360 We call this just essentially the great commandment. 407 00:29:36,360 --> 00:29:38,600 The great commandment technically refers to just the 408 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:42,280 first part, but whenever we talk about it, we lump both of these 409 00:29:42,280 --> 00:29:45,200 things together. The great commandment is to love 410 00:29:45,200 --> 00:29:49,840 God and love people. Love God, love people. 411 00:29:49,960 --> 00:29:52,400 That's it all done. We can go home. 412 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:57,240 It's that simple right? Now, of course, it takes a bit 413 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:02,640 of work to to grow in our love both for God and people. 414 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:07,800 You see the 1st 4 commandments are about our relationship with 415 00:30:07,800 --> 00:30:10,880 God, maintaining our relationship with Him. 416 00:30:11,640 --> 00:30:17,240 And then the next six of the commandments are about our 417 00:30:17,240 --> 00:30:21,560 relationships with people guidelines, if you will, to how 418 00:30:21,560 --> 00:30:25,880 to love others well, don't lie to them. 419 00:30:25,880 --> 00:30:29,320 Don't don't covet your neighbor's wife, don't steal 420 00:30:29,320 --> 00:30:31,200 from them. You know, these, these are just 421 00:30:31,520 --> 00:30:33,280 good things to do as a human being, right? 422 00:30:34,440 --> 00:30:39,720 So here in verse 20 John wrote, if anyone says I love God and 423 00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:44,720 hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his 424 00:30:44,720 --> 00:30:48,320 brother whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 425 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:55,160 We can't love God and hate our brother or sister. 426 00:30:56,160 --> 00:30:59,160 If we say we love God but don't love our brother, then we make 427 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:02,160 ourselves liars. Our lives are shown to be 428 00:31:02,160 --> 00:31:04,640 inconsistent with the love for God. 429 00:31:05,920 --> 00:31:10,240 We haven't even seen God, like actually seen God, right? 430 00:31:10,440 --> 00:31:12,680 We haven't even seen God, but we say we love him. 431 00:31:13,240 --> 00:31:16,840 So how is it that we can possibly say we love him when we 432 00:31:16,840 --> 00:31:23,240 can't even love the people that we come into contact each day? 433 00:31:24,600 --> 00:31:30,640 If we love God, then we will love others. 434 00:31:32,120 --> 00:31:39,200 So all of this begs the question, what keeps us from 435 00:31:39,200 --> 00:31:40,360 love? What is it? 436 00:31:40,360 --> 00:31:44,680 What is it that actually keeps us from loving other people? 437 00:31:46,200 --> 00:31:47,920 Banu, sorry, I forgot to tell you. 438 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:50,880 I'm skipping that slide, but guess not. 439 00:31:51,640 --> 00:31:53,600 Hey, you put it up there. Let's go there. 440 00:31:54,440 --> 00:31:57,120 Go ahead and show that. So have you ever seen this? 441 00:31:57,960 --> 00:32:00,040 Everyone brings joy to this office. 442 00:32:00,560 --> 00:32:03,720 Someone they enter, someone they leave. 443 00:32:07,320 --> 00:32:08,880 I'm so glad you're laughing. Thank you. 444 00:32:12,200 --> 00:32:15,800 I had cut it because I was like, oh, I don't want to be too edgy 445 00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:19,560 here, but love is kind of like that. 446 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:25,280 Some people, when they enter our presence, it's easy to love them 447 00:32:25,840 --> 00:32:29,640 when they leave, it's a little easier to love them when they 448 00:32:29,640 --> 00:32:32,160 leave. Some people are just hard to get 449 00:32:32,160 --> 00:32:35,680 along with. Rights, different personalities 450 00:32:35,680 --> 00:32:38,840 and character traits. A number of things that that 451 00:32:38,840 --> 00:32:41,360 come into play in our capacity to love others. 452 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:48,680 Well, in ministry, we have this little designation for for 453 00:32:48,680 --> 00:32:54,720 people like this. We call them EG Rs. 454 00:32:56,080 --> 00:32:58,240 Perhaps you know this, maybe you don't. 455 00:32:58,920 --> 00:33:10,360 EGR extra grace required. Some situations are just 456 00:33:10,360 --> 00:33:15,600 difficult, some people can be difficult, and loving people 457 00:33:15,600 --> 00:33:19,720 through difficult situations can be really hard. 458 00:33:21,040 --> 00:33:26,160 And in these times, we need an extra bit of grace to navigate 459 00:33:26,160 --> 00:33:30,320 those moments. And in those moments when I 460 00:33:30,320 --> 00:33:36,040 might be dealing with an EGR, then I pray especially hard for 461 00:33:36,040 --> 00:33:39,680 the Holy Spirit to fill me up and for everything that comes 462 00:33:39,680 --> 00:33:45,000 out of me to be the Holy Spirit, to be God's working and not 463 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:49,280 drew. So some personalities just don't 464 00:33:49,280 --> 00:33:53,280 mesh. But beyond that, what is it that 465 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:57,960 keeps us from loving others? Well, first of all, there's the 466 00:33:57,960 --> 00:34:01,800 works of the flesh. The works of the flesh. 467 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:05,920 Interestingly, in this same section of Scripture where we 468 00:34:05,920 --> 00:34:10,239 find the fruit of the spirits, the verses preceding the fruit 469 00:34:10,239 --> 00:34:13,239 of the spirit there in Galatians 5, the verses preceding it 470 00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:18,480 actually list what you could call maybe fruits of the flesh, 471 00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:22,320 the works of the flesh. And it lists all these things 472 00:34:22,320 --> 00:34:27,360 that that don't really apply to our conversation really about 473 00:34:28,080 --> 00:34:29,800 loving others. Well, it lists a number of 474 00:34:29,800 --> 00:34:32,120 things such as sexual immorality, impurity, 475 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:36,280 sensuality, idolatry, sorcery. These are these are qualities 476 00:34:36,280 --> 00:34:38,679 that are more related to 1's own self. 477 00:34:39,840 --> 00:34:47,120 But then what follows those is a list of items that are 478 00:34:47,120 --> 00:34:52,440 especially pertinent to our discussion on loving other 479 00:34:52,440 --> 00:34:58,520 people, Paul says. He lists enmity, strife, 480 00:34:58,800 --> 00:35:02,920 jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, 481 00:35:02,920 --> 00:35:10,200 divisions, envy, these things. These are the works of the flesh 482 00:35:10,200 --> 00:35:12,520 that prevent us from loving others. 483 00:35:13,080 --> 00:35:15,600 There was that word enmity. What does enmity mean? 484 00:35:15,920 --> 00:35:19,840 Well, enmity is being opposed or hostile towards someone. 485 00:35:19,840 --> 00:35:24,320 It's basically enmity is like having an enemy. 486 00:35:25,280 --> 00:35:30,920 Strife is anger or bitterness, in a word, conflict. 487 00:35:32,920 --> 00:35:36,240 Then there's jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, 488 00:35:36,240 --> 00:35:39,080 divisions, and envy. You, you understand basically 489 00:35:39,080 --> 00:35:44,120 what those things are. All these things can and do work 490 00:35:44,320 --> 00:35:47,880 against us. Satan loves to use these tools 491 00:35:47,880 --> 00:35:53,080 to get people's, to get people off track and at odds with each 492 00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:58,040 other. And also he loves to get us to 493 00:35:58,160 --> 00:36:01,360 stop loving others. If the enemy can get us to stop 494 00:36:01,360 --> 00:36:06,960 loving other people, then he is being successful in his job. 495 00:36:10,040 --> 00:36:13,200 So the works of the flesh prevent us from loving others. 496 00:36:14,240 --> 00:36:19,000 The last thing, if we could sum it all up, the thing that 497 00:36:19,000 --> 00:36:23,320 prevents us from loving others is me. 498 00:36:24,640 --> 00:36:29,920 I'm the problem. Well, not me actually, but self 499 00:36:30,200 --> 00:36:35,800 rights. Jesus said we have to deny 500 00:36:36,000 --> 00:36:40,560 ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him. 501 00:36:41,200 --> 00:36:44,320 So self is the thing that we have to watch out for. 502 00:36:45,120 --> 00:36:48,920 That's your last points a little bit. 503 00:36:50,760 --> 00:36:55,880 A lot of loving others is about denying ourselves. 504 00:36:56,120 --> 00:36:59,400 Denying my pride, denying my selfishness, my arrogance, the 505 00:36:59,400 --> 00:37:03,720 belief that I'm owed something in every situation, my belief 506 00:37:03,720 --> 00:37:14,120 that everything is about me. I have to die to my flesh daily. 507 00:37:17,120 --> 00:37:24,200 I have to say Holy Spirit. Holy Spirit, fill me up, take 508 00:37:24,200 --> 00:37:32,120 control of my life as I deny myself. 509 00:37:32,120 --> 00:37:39,560 I may sometimes find that love means choosing to let an offence 510 00:37:39,560 --> 00:37:46,360 go sometimes the first Peter 4/8 Peter wrote. 511 00:37:46,360 --> 00:37:49,680 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly. 512 00:37:50,120 --> 00:37:59,360 Since love covers a multitude or sins, when someone does 513 00:37:59,360 --> 00:38:04,480 something that offends me, love may mean that my response is 514 00:38:04,480 --> 00:38:11,160 just like Elsa's, and that is, I know somebody's with me, let it 515 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:17,240 go. Sometimes My response when 516 00:38:17,240 --> 00:38:19,760 somebody offends me. Should we break out in song 517 00:38:19,760 --> 00:38:22,800 right now? No, I guess it won't. 518 00:38:24,640 --> 00:38:34,320 Sometimes when somebody offends me, my love for them will call 519 00:38:34,320 --> 00:38:37,320 me. Just let it go. 520 00:38:38,240 --> 00:38:44,440 Let love cover it. That's not always the case. 521 00:38:45,360 --> 00:38:50,400 Some offenses are simply too big to be ignored, and we have to 522 00:38:50,440 --> 00:38:55,160 address those. But sometimes love means letting 523 00:38:55,160 --> 00:39:04,880 love cover over an offence. So where are you this morning? 524 00:39:09,440 --> 00:39:11,800 Where do you need to extend love? 525 00:39:14,200 --> 00:39:20,800 Is there an EGR in your life? Someone you need a little extra 526 00:39:20,800 --> 00:39:26,360 grace to interact with them. You need the Holy Spirit to come 527 00:39:26,360 --> 00:39:31,000 into you and and just fill you so that you can act in love. 528 00:39:36,160 --> 00:39:37,640 Who do you need to show love to? Is there? 529 00:39:37,960 --> 00:39:41,720 Is there someone who you may need to extend grace and let 530 00:39:41,720 --> 00:39:47,080 love cover an offence or two, or 10? 531 00:39:50,680 --> 00:39:53,680 Is your life characterized by mature love leading to joy at 532 00:39:53,680 --> 00:39:58,520 the thoughts of meeting your Savior, at the judgement of 533 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:02,440 Christ? Let's all clothe ourselves in 534 00:40:02,440 --> 00:40:06,320 love as we each continue to grow in the faith. 535 00:40:08,280 --> 00:40:09,880 Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. 536 00:40:15,370 --> 00:40:19,170 And as we do this, let's take a moment to just look in our 537 00:40:19,170 --> 00:40:25,840 hearts to see what's. The Holy Spirit would say into 538 00:40:25,840 --> 00:40:30,360 our hearts, pause for just a quiet moments of quiet. 539 00:40:34,560 --> 00:40:41,160 Say, God, show me, is there an area where I need to demonstrate 540 00:40:41,320 --> 00:40:46,080 your love where I have not been diligent about loving other 541 00:40:46,080 --> 00:40:49,280 people? Let Him bring that to your 542 00:40:49,280 --> 00:40:58,360 thoughts and then say God, would you grow that in me? 543 00:41:00,720 --> 00:41:04,400 Moment of quiet as we just rest of the Lord. 544 00:42:04,280 --> 00:42:12,720 Holy Spirit, we thank you that it is not our job, our duty to 545 00:42:12,720 --> 00:42:20,040 grow the fruit of the Spirit, but that as we spend time in 546 00:42:20,040 --> 00:42:24,920 you, as we, as we make you our home, we abide in you. 547 00:42:27,760 --> 00:42:32,000 Then you will work your supernatural power in us to grow 548 00:42:32,520 --> 00:42:41,120 these these fruits in us. So, Spirit, would you make us 549 00:42:42,640 --> 00:42:49,040 loving? Help us see others through the 550 00:42:49,040 --> 00:42:56,760 lens of love. Not just feelings or emotions, 551 00:42:58,240 --> 00:43:05,120 but actions. We thank you for teaching us 552 00:43:05,120 --> 00:43:10,160 from your word this morning. We pray. 553 00:43:11,160 --> 00:43:11,480 Amen.