I like to welcome you to another exciting month, the month of May, the month of grace and our month of Love. Love is one word that resonates with both the divinity and humanity. We all love to be loved. The love of God is one thing we have all experienced at one stage or the other in our lives. When we get saved, God wants us to represent him.
There is an important spirit that is missing today among us as Christians, even as leaders, deacons, deaconesses, pastors and departmental leaders, that has affected the way we behave. One of the things I learnt as a young convert is that when you are born again, you experience four things; your sins are forgiven, your heart is changed, your kingdom is changed and your Lordship too. You were ruled by Satan, but now Jesus rules. The one that is applicable here is that your heart is changed. We are to have a new heart, a heart of love. When we get born again, God wants us to have a new spirit. God wants us to be like Him. God wants us to serve. But we cannot do that without love. So he enjoins us to love with our hearts. God wants us to represent him. If we are going to do that and do it productively, there is a forgotten key that is lost that we need to discover. Let us discover it afresh this month. That spirit is the spirit of Love.
Deut. 10:12 “And now, Israel, what doth the Lordthy God require of thee, but to fear the Lordthy God, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve the Lordthy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul (KJV)
What distinguished Jesus was compassion. Jesus was moved with compassion.
“And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.” Matt 14:14; 15:32
Good building, good music is good for our churches and services, but the best thing is love. God wants us to love. The area where most Christians are sick is love. That is the area we are challenged. We are love deficient. We need love, what I call vitamin-L (L for Love) in this generation. We talk it, but we rarely walk.We need to walk in the spirit of love and not the letter of it. What we need to practice is love in a new way from this month.
We are going to look at five ways by which God wants us to love. Who are those God wants us to love?
1. God wants us to love God.
Most people go through the motions or kinetics of service but their love for God is highly compromised. The extent to which they go is proportional to the love they have.
The extent to which people sacrifice is the extent of their love. God loves us equally, but we do not love God equally. We differ from one another in terms of our loving God. That is why in the final analysis the way God responds to us is not much of the way God loves us but the degree we respond to his love. In 1 Cor 2: 9, God says what ears have not heard or eyes have not seen are reserved for those who love Him. There is a special provision, special place, and special reservation for those who love him. Our love for God determines our obedience and correspondingly our open heavens.
When I hear the excuses Christians of this generation including pastors, deacons, leaders give for not coming to prayer meetings, not paying their tithes, not coming to church; it is a function of love. It is a love question. Jesus asked Peter do you love me? It is a love question. It is an overlooked key in church growth. John admonishes “ Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him’1 John 2:15-16.The bible tells us what to do to love God in
Matt 22:27; Deut 6:5; Matt 24:12 - you should love God with all your heart.
In the last days one of the greatest problems is that the love of many will wax cold. Jesus said to the church in Ephesus‘test your love for me, it has reduced, waxed cold and not as it was in the beginning’ Rev 2:4
The devil knows where to attack. He attacks us in the area of love. The bible says in the last days men shall be lovers of pleasure more than lovers of God.
There are four things Satan does to you in the area of your love:
A. He will give you something other than God. He will concentrate your love in something more than God; it could be your job, family or business, you will just love it more than God.The bible says thou shall love him with all thy heart. He will create a pocket of love for you and use that to deprive God from using you.
“O love the Lord, all ye his saints: for the Lordpreserveth the faithful, and plentifully rewardeth the proud doer.”Psalm 31:23.Saints need to be advised to love God. If asked why you are not doing something for God you give all excuses, but the truth is that you do not love God. Satan has given you something to do.
“Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.Jude 21. The Love of God is missing in the church today. If we want to see personal or church growth and experience miracles and have power to work more miracles we must return to the love of God. You find it difficult to give two hours of a week to God who gave you 80 years of life? May the Lord direct our hearts into the love of God!
B. Makes you love something in the place of God. The place where God used to be in your heart he will now give you something in his place. Before, you used to read the bible in the morning, but now it is Facebook. You check those who are following you on Twitter. Not those following you to church.
C. Makes you love God less instead of more.
D. Makes you love something else as much as you love God. So that you contend with time with God. It could be your job, your leisure.
“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.Read Rev 2: 4 in different translations.
2. God wants us to love the brethren:
Most people leave the church because we do not show love to them.
“Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.1 Peter; 2:17
“Let brotherly love continue.”Heb 13:1. In our undergraduate days we used to singand greet with that verse -We abbreviated it to LBLC when we shook hands we just said LBLC! Love is not just needed to attract people to church, or to marriage it is needed to sustain and keep them. What sustains relationship is love. When God tells us to do things, it is because they are not naturally easy. Prayer, giving, holiness. The most neglected key to church growth is loving the brethren. It is not just enough to have new comers, that is great, but we have to maintain them. Where there is love, you will see hundreds of people sandwich themselves in a place that can take only 20 people they will be sweating but they will stay. All the air conditioning and beautiful environment are desirable, decorations are good, but if there is no love, the people will not stay. Love is as strong as death.
The Love Jesus showed people was what made people to gyrate to him. The Sadducees, the Pharisees, the multitude. In Mark 1:45“but was without in desert places: and they came to him from every quarter”We do not have people in the church because we do not need them. If we need them, we shall show love to them. Love has no replacement or substitute. Jesus gave love to us as a commandment. “This is my commandment, that ye love one another, as I have loved you.” John 15:12. It was one of the major prayers of Paul for the church in Thessalonica. “And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you”I Thes 3:12
We are so busy with many things, but we are not busy growing our love life. That is why our spouses leave us, our children leave us, our youth leave us because they cannot see the love that we talk or sing about. People leave our church because they cannot see our love. They hear it but do not see it. Love is an action word. I remember the story of a young man who wrote a letter to the girlfriend in the morning saying ‘You are the sugar in my tea, the butter on my bread; I love you with all my heart. Come rain come sunshine, I will visit you tonight.’ In the evening it rained he did not go. The following day the girlfriend accused him of failing to turn up as previously written in his letter. He replied are you blind did you not see that it rained yesterday evening! Love is one thing that people gravitate towards.
3. God wants us to love our enemies.
There is nothing that can make you to make progress with your enemies than to love them. “Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; Matthew 5:43-44 It is unchristian to hate enemies. Your enemy is not your problem; God is the one who takes care of them. Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. When a man’s way pleases The Lord, he makes his enemy to be at peace with him. “Vengeance is mine, ” says the Lord. Why the enemy’s arrows get to us is because we are not where we should be. When you are in a wrong place everything happens to you. The power of the devil gets to you easily. Job was not in the place he was to be he was full of fear. To love enemies may be difficult. But it is not an advice it is a command. God says if we love only our people how are we better than the heathen?
Your enemy cannot harm you because you dwell in the secret place of the most high.
People come and they don't stay because they did not get love. Love is a scarce commodity.
4. God wants us to love our neighbours.“Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself” Jas 2:8 “For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.14 For the whole law can be summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”[c]15 But if you are always biting and devouring one another, watch out! Beware of destroying one another. Gal 5;14
Who is my neighbour? People in yourchurch, school, street, work place, houses, family. That person close to you who has a need. We are the salt of the world. If the salt is not helping his neighbour, it has lost its value. The impact you make by loving people is what causes you to be remembered. When Dorcas died (Acts 9:36) the neighbours ran to Peter that this woman should not die! Dorcas loved the neighbours. Do you love your neighbour? Will they miss you if you left your place of work, community and your church? Ministry is about changing lives. There is no point having schools where members contributed tithe and offering to build and their children cannot go there because it is too expensive. When the Missionaries came to Africa, they built schools and hospitals that were affordable! Jesus loves all the people. Love them even you too. Create community programmes that will help your neighbour. Sink bore holes. A pastor took me to his school in the outskirt of Abujawhich he built and it was tuition free! Make interest free loans available to the church members. Take care of the widows, the jobless, and the destitute. Any church that loves is magnetic and retentive.
5. God wants us to love strangers.
Many of our churches are not stranger friendly. Some churches are too close that they don't have a place for strangers. When we say strangers, we mean people who are not our brethren. They are not our enemies, they are not our neighbours, they are strangers, foreigners and visitors. Most churches have no burden; no plan, no thinking and no programme for strangers and visitors. God told Israellove strangers because you too you were once strangers: “You, too, must show love to foreigners, for you yourselves were once foreigners in the landof Egypt.”Deut 10:19.Rick Warrenadvocates a seeker friendly Sunday services! Strangers will not come where they are not wanted. I travel a lot, I am a stranger to the people but they care for me. The International Gathering of Eagles team just returned past week from Dublin, Ireland. The Joy in The Nation network of pastors and leaders took care of us. They fed us. They asked for our suit sizes and bought suits for us. It is amazing!
Some churches have no place for strangers. And strangers will not come to a place where they are not wanted. The church is close and they remain small. “Forget not to show love unto strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares.”Heb 13:2Job said:The stranger did not lodge in the street: but I opened my doors to the traveller.
Job 31:. The value we put on strangers show we don't love them. Some cities do not love strangers. David has a mind for strangers. He knew what it meant to be a stranger. He was a fugitive. So in 1 Sam 30 David was looking for his lost wives and children and he saw a stranger and he took care of him and from there he got his breakthrough and recover all! Let us love strangers. This word is a loveless place. Paul says” The greatest commodity is love.”
What is the nature of love God wants us to have? There are seven areas of love God, I want to share:
1. Nondiscriminatory law.
God wants us to have non-discriminatory love.The same word that God uses for love for Himself, strangers, brethren, neighbour is the same word, ‘agape.’ You say you love God but you are not showing it toward your brethren, enemies and strangers it is only for people you know. People who have favoured you in one way or the other. God’s nature of love is non discriminatory. Imagine a place like Torontohighly cosmopolitan and metropolitan, you cannot afford to discriminate on grace, race, tribe, gender, religion or colour! We are to love all people, whether in the workplace or church place!
2. Love that is not based on feelings. Whether you feel like it or not does not matter. It is a constant thing. It does not matter whether he is absent or not. Whether he gives you gifts or not. It is not about how you feel. It is not because he is your wife or my daughter. Or because she is a sister or friend, it is agape. True love is not a function of how you feel. Regardless of how you feel you must love.
3. It is unconditional. God’s love is unconditional. That is the type of love that he wants us to have for Him, strangers, brethren, neighbours. If they are members of the church or not you are to love them. Whether they are born again or not we need to love them. Whether of the same religion or not. Whether they love you or not. They do not need to have loved you before just love them. We were not lovable when Jesus loved us, we were still in our sins. God has given us the capacity and the ability to love unconditionally, let us live it. God never gave conditions when he loved us. If you love something you will have time for it. If you do not have time to show love, it is not lack of time it is a love question.
4. Love is different from lust.
Lust is a love that is based on trying to get something from people.
If a boy says I love a girl we know why he is saying it, he wants to get something.
When a young woman tells you she has seen a rich man and she loves that man, she wants to marry the man she probably wants to get something. That is lust, not love.
Genuine love is about giving. God loved and gave. The love we are talking about is a love that comes from within and has outward expression. It is a love that is committed, intended to lift someone, educate, assist, support and promote others!
Genuine love desires to give, lust desires to lust that is the difference between love and lust. If you love the brethren, there is no extent you cannot go to serve and sacrifice.
You can preach and not love. Many Pastors are milking the sheep. Jesus says I love my sheep. The Pastor that has love and not lust will desire for his members to make progress, advance and succeed. Not milk them dry.
5. It is not based on talk but the walk.
Genuine love is not empathizing or sympathizing it is helping. I normally tell people it is good to pity but go beyond pity go ahead and help the person you are pitying in one way or the other! I use to work in the refinery, sometimes the snack in the evening shift do not go round and I will encourage us to share saying-What is ‘holdable’ is shareable. If we love God it will show. Church has no welfare program. Sheep needs are many. It is not preaching it is showing love. People do not care what you know until they know how much you care.
6. God wants you to love others the way God loves you. It is not just sufficient to quote John 3:16, you must be able to quote and live 1 John 3:16-18:This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
7. God wants you to love others the way you want to be loved. How do you want to be loved? Think it through and do so! Lay hands on everybody, have the best of music, rug the ceiling it will not matter if you have no love for the people
In conclusion, if you love people you will win souls, you will not want any to go to hell. If you love people you will follow up people. If you have love for people you will help and pray for them irrespective of their nationality. Imagine the xenophobia going on in South Africa. I think those who are involved were not alive in the time of apartheid or just refuse to love strangers. All those who label themselves as terrorists, all they lack is love for their neighbours and strangers. This month and beyond let us show love to our God, brethren, neighbours, enemies and strangers. The word is hurting. Terrorists are on rampage, earthquake, and volcanic eruption all these things left one person wounded and vulnerable. Make your shoulders available for someone to cry upon .Let our love be the agape love.
If you love people you will care. One of the books I read growing up as a Christian is a book called ‘Love is a feeling to be learnt By Walter Trosbisch” I recommend it as a book for the month. The world is hurting. Love is the cure! Go and learn how to love this month and change your world, your marriage, your relationships, your church, your nation, your environment and your community. I pray that the love of God will garrison your heart. May this month bring peace of God to you, our churches, our nation and our world!
Pastor Amos Dada writes from Toronto.
