MESSAGE
TITLE: THE LOVE OF GOD AND CHRISTIAN
MINISTRY
Scripture Reading: Matt22:34-40
and Acts 2:41,42 and 47
WHAT
LOVE IS
According to JD Douglas and M. Tenney love is described as the very nature of
God, it lies at the very heart of Christianity, being essential to man’s right
relationship both with God and fellow men. Jesus quoted love from Deuteronomy 6:5
and Leviticus 19:18 as the greatest commandment while answering the Pharisees.
The two above two verses focus on LOVE as it relates on one hand to God (verse 37) and on the other hand
to fellow human beings (verse 39). Love finds its expression in service to our
fellowmen (Gal.5:13) and it is the
chief test of Christian discipleship. All the laws and the Prophets hang on
love as taught by the Lord Jesus Christ in the above scriptures.
Some 1st Century Rabbis were
actively involved in trying to establish a hierarchy of Biblical laws, while
others insisted all commandments were of equal importance. Our Lord Jesus
Christ says All laws founded on love for
God and love for the neighbour. This implies that the law and the Prophets can be understood and lived only by one who
loves both God and their neighbour.
THE END
PRODUCT.
What kind of people does the church want to
deploy in the World and what kind of Church produces those kinds of people?
What is our end product?
The above question is pertinent to those of
us in the church leadership for us to move stuff in our Churches or else we
will live frustrated lives and start blame games even when it is obvious that
we have failed in our approach to ministry. Please note that; ‘a mist in the
pulpit is a fog in the pews.’ No one who calls himself or herself a responsible
leader can proceed with the development of anything unless he or she has a model of an expected outcome. Imagine
opening a factory, installing expensive machinery in it and turning in
operation to work with them without any instruction or direction on what is
expected of them. One must have a product design and an idea of the expected outcome.
We must have the Church God wants in his mind before we set out
to make one. Bring up people, and nurture believers who are healthy members
of the second incarnation, who are ready to glorify God by revealing the
universals of God’s character, streaming freely from their everyday life.
However, there is one virtue that will make this possible. LOVE is it were is the
magic WORD in this regard. What am saying friends is this; I see a church in NKOROI,
with men and women of God, Children of Almighty God who make LOVE a core way of
their life as they radiate it to the World around them. Jesus said in John 13:35 “All men will know that you are my disciples if you LOVE one another.”
LOVE that is bound by Holiness is the ultimate expression of God’s presence in a
human being.
THE
BIBLICAL PROFILE OF A HEALTHY MEMBER OF THE SECOND INCARNATION
The fruit of the Holy Spirit is the ultimate
mark of a wholesome Child of the King. Galatians 5 says the fruit of the Spirit
is LOVE, Peace, Patience, Kindness,
Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and self control. Paul tells Timothy in
1Timothy 1:5 that the ultimate of his ministry is LOVE. When that love is lived
out or expressed, it is felt and the message sinks or reaches home. Every person in the whole world desires to
be loved and appreciated by someone. A person who feels unwanted and
worthless would rather not live. While dealing with the challenge of disunity
in the Philippian Church, Paul said to the Philippians, “Make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same LOVE, being
one in Spirit and purpose” (Philippians
2:2) Where is that love in us? Human
beings because of their sinful nature are not good lovers. They are prone to self-centeredness,
selfishness or are self seeking. Most men (and women) are like people who have activated
or tripped all the circuit breakers of anything good that functions in their beings
and thus culminating into hardness of
heart, resistance to change, unbelief and jealousy. Thank God for the Lord
Jesus Christ who began His transformation or sanctification process in us the
day we gave our lives to Him. Even if we might be still struggling with
questionable motives, unwholesome desires and self-centered actions and
reactions, we must never forget Jesus’ most important commandment – LOVE.
THE
BIBLICAL PERSPECTIVE OF THE CHURCH OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
I see a Church full of God’s BEAUTY and
LOVE, a transforming “Community” or body which “should” be having the ability
to move the believers God-ward in a life of concern and care for the lost.
“Should” here is used deliberately because movement toward LOVE is not ‘automatic’
going by the kind of different experiences we have undergone in life. Some of us
need to go through counseling sessions to forgive others because without forgiveness,
there is no LOVE.
We will need to work harder
to realize the status and level of the Church mentioned in Acts 2. This was a Church
full of vitality as demonstrated by their dynamic fellowship of believers and
their great impact on their environment. I am seeing a similar Church in NKOROI. A church that is healthy, energetic, mature, balanced and full of the
Holy Ghost – Amen!
In Acts 2, I see the Holy
Spirit revealing FOUR distinct characteristics
that build a strong and energetic body of believers. I would wish to quickly
share with you these characteristics even as I end the sermon of the day.
1
BELIEVERS
MUST HAVE LEARNING THAT LIVES
In Acts 2:42, we see that
believers devoted themselves to the Apostles’ Teachings (or Doctrine).
i.
We must be a learning people, who aim at understand the Biblical Doctrine,
because when we cease to learn from
God, we starve and die
spiritually. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light for my path. (Psalms
119:105 NIV). The Scripture records that, “faith
comes by hearing and a hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17)
ii.
We must hide the truth in our hearts. Attending a Bible School
is important but sitting down under the ‘Apostles’ feet’ is equally important
if not best.
iii.We must practice the
Apostles doctrine. Someone has said that, ‘to know and not to do is not to know
at all’. A dietof doctrine alone can easily produce sick souls who are
suffering from spiritual constipation (difficulty in the bowels). This is
because their heads are full but their hearts are empty due to lethargy. Let us
regularly attend weekly meetings and Bible study with the aim of living the
word on a daily basis.
2
BELIEVERS
MUST HAVE FELLOWSHIPS THAT FUNCTION
The second characteristic
in this scripture (Acts2) is that Christians were involved in fellowship (Koinonia) (Acts2:42). They
devoted themselves to the Apostles’
Teaching and to fellowship. This is more than drinking tea or coffee and
eating madazi in between services or after a church service. Fellowship
involves both the Church abiding in the
vine for fruitfulness and the body joined
and knit together so that it can build itself in LOVE. It is the fellowship of the spirit which gives
the dynamic living, and the healing quality to the fellowship of the believers.
Paul’s prayer in 2 Corinthians 13:14 is that “He prays the fellowship of the Holy Spirit may be with the believers
in Corinth”.
Please note one important point from
Paul’s statement that; ‘genuine fellowship cannot be duplicated outside the
church.’ Fellowship comes as a result of set atmosphere, environment, context, set of attitudes and actions which
grow and develop as Spirit controlled
believers meet and share their life
experiences, coupled with giftedness
together under the control of the Holy Spirit. The Christians in Acts 2
were fellowshipping Christians. Let us
be the same.
3
BELEIVERS
MUST HAVE WORSHIP THAT WITNESSES
The third Characteristic
of a believer in this scripture describes him as a model of one who worships
God. We note in Acts 2: 42, 47 that they devoted themselves …..to the breaking of bread and to prayer…….praising God……thanksgiving and
obedience. One who worships has a table prepared for him in the presence of his
enemies (Psalms 23:5)
A worshipping Christian
affirms the presence of God’s rod and staff in the midst of enemy territory
when the battle rages. The Christians in Acts 2 lived when the Martyrdom was
common due to the hatred of Christians by the Roman Emperors. Worship is
acknowledging the person and presence of God and sensing Christ’ presence, lifting Him up, exalting Him, responding to
Him with praise and thanksgiving in obedience to His Holy Spirit. In order to worship effectively we
need exposure to God’s word through
the teaching of His word and to God’s people even as they share God’s LOVE
4
BELIEVERS
MUST HAVE SERVING THAT SACRIFICES
Finally friends, the Holy
Spirit of God builds healthy bodies by using believers who are ready for service. Acts 2:45 and 47
says, “They sold possessions and goods,
they give to any one as he had need...and the Lord added to their number daily.”
Please note something important here...The Non-Christians saw people with the
aroma of love, they saw beauty in them… Their lifestyle was so attractive to an
extend that it drew people into the faith. What do we have to offer today as
the body of Christ?
They saw uncommon and
extraordinary responses and experienced unusual care and concern. And because
of their Christ-like attitude and sacrificial love, they enjoyed favor with God
and man and God added to their numbers
daily. What an effective evangelism tool that was! This is the Church my heart yearns for friends, an evangelizing church!
I love evangelism. To evangelize means you care,
you have a passion to rescue dying
souls, you love and you have the will to serve and this gives credibility to the message of the gospel. My
message here is that the Church Community that reaches out to serve, to give, to sacrifice and to care will be
effective in evangelism…and that is the Church I am looking at in NKOROI friends!!....And
what is the driving force in this commitment? LOVE!!! How do you appropriate
it? By loving yourself first.
APPLICATION
It pays a great deal to
take stocks of ourselves. This messages is a wake up call and we may need to
ask ourselves a few simple questions as follows:-
-
Do I love myself?
-
Do I feel loved?
-
What is it that I treasure most in life and what do I need to do to
achieve it?
-
Am I in control of myself?
-
Can I be trusted in my decisions?
-
Can I own up to my actions without passing the buck?
-
Do you judge others
Mother Teresa once said
“If you judge people, you have no time to love them”
What kind of believers do
we wish to deploy to the World and more so in NKOROI? My answer is, Learning, Fellowshipping, Worshiping, and
serving individuals who are full of love for themselves and others.
I conclude by quoting Jacob
Gelt Dekker, “Love yourself before you
love another. Loving another before yourself is impossible” Love is the most
important ingredient of success. Without it, your life echoes emptiness. With
it, your life vibrates warmth and meaning. Even in hardship, love shines
through. Therefore, seek love because if you don’t have it, you’re not really
living – only breathing. Amen!
Message by: Geoffrey Manene on Sunday 8th May 2011
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