This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘Love is The New Commandment’. Her main scriptures were taken from the books of 2 Sam 15:1-22; 1 Jn 3:8-18.

THE AGAPE LOVE OF GOD

Love is the greatest word in the Bible. In Greek, there are three words for love. Eros refers to sexual love. Philio refers to friendly attachment. Agape means unconditional sacrificial love. In the New Testament, the word Love appears about 200 times, and it is always ‘agape’ love. This Love is not just a feeling. It is the highest, most pure form of love, born not out of natural attraction or obligation, but a willful choice and a command to be obeyed.  It is the unselfish, pure, powerful, and sacrificial love that desires the best in another person. This love is best expressed as the Fatherly Love of God for human beings. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16). This is the Gospel: God the Father sent God the Son to become a Man and die on behalf of sinners. This agape Love of God ignites love in the heart of the believers. It also helps them to love their ‘neighbors’ as they love themselves. The unbelievers may be religious, but they do not know this agape love. It is a gift given only to the children of God, who are saved by grace and thru faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Agape love is a sacrificial love that saves, unites, and heals. It is the love of God that we see through the cross of Jesus Christ. This love saves and restores humanity in the face of sin and death. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Because we are born sinners, agape love does not come naturally to us. But because God is Love, as His children, we learn how to love God and people. The description of love appears in 1 Corinthians 13. These are the basic attributes of agape love: It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love is unconcerned with the self and concerned with the greatest good of another. Agape love requires faithfulness, commitment, courage, strength, wisdom, faith, and sacrifice. When we love others, we do it expecting nothing in return from them. Love trusts God alone to respond and reward the sacrifice. It is the Spirit filled lives of the Christians, their love for God and for one another that is the magnet God uses to attract the world to Jesus! It was like that in the early church, during the time of the Reformation and it is the same during all the revivals in the history of the Church! Selah!

TRUE LOVE MANIFESTS IN WORDS AND IN DEEDS (1Jn 3:8-18)

“He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

13 Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. 15 Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deeds and in truth” (1 Jn 3:8-18).

Here we see that there are only two types of people in this world: the children of the devil (who have his seed in them) and the children of God (who have God’s seed in them). We are all born sinners. At the beginning, we do not know if we are among God’s children. But time will tell. At the right time, the sinner who is chosen by God will encounter His saving grace. He will repent of sin and surrender to Christ, becoming a new creature, born again unto eternal life. Salvation is a miracle. Nobody can save himself. Salvation is God’s Gift thru Jesus Christ! From the moment you become born again, you start to grow spiritually, by the power of the Holy Spirit. You start to hate sin. You love righteousness. You want to be like Jesus. Little by little, thru the study of God’s Word and prayer, you mature spiritually. Spiritual fruit, especially love, will surely manifest. Jesus died to destroy the works of the devil. One by one, all bondages will be destroyed. The power ‘engine’ now is Love. Loving God and people is the sure sign that you are saved. This is a simple definition of a Christian: someone who ‘has passed from death to life’ (1 Jn 3:14).

Many believers are worried about not being able to ‘like’ some people. There is a big difference between Loving and Liking. We are never commanded to ‘like’ others. We are commanded to love them! Love is not a continuation, or an improvement of liking. It is something totally different. Love is always connected with God, it is spiritual, penetrating deep, and changing everyone for the better. Another word for ‘liking’ is ‘infatuation’. This is defined as strong but not usually lasting feelings of love or attraction. Infatuation is falling in love or becoming extremely interested in someone or something for a short time. Some get infatuated with actors, singers, football stars, or fashion brands. Infatuation is very strong emotionally, but it makes you foolish. The strong emotions do not last. You will be disappointed by them. This type of ‘love’ will soon be forgotten. Infatuation is connected with the devil; it is worldly, fleshly, superficial, natural, instinctive, and leaves you worse than you were. It is part of ‘the animal’ part of man. Liking is not patient, intelligent, or wise like true love. You may like that woman (man) because of her physical appearance, color, behavior, or mode of dressing. Unbelievers like or dislike others based on superficial things. An unbeliever moves from ‘like to dislike’ very easy and very fast. If he dislikes somebody, he will just reject or abandon that one, without feeling guilty. Almost all cases of ‘love at first sight’ are in fact a manifestation of infatuation. If ever the initial ‘like’ becomes love, it is a miracle, just the way Jesus turned the water into wine at the wedding of Cana (Jn 2:1-12). If not, with time, ‘the like’ becomes the bitter ‘dislike’. Selah!

There are many books written about Love, mostly about the romantic love between a man and his wife. But people still find it hard to love. This is because they do not understand it. Love is still a mystery to many. Agape Love can be experienced only by a born-again child of God. First of all, true Love is spiritual. Love always connects with God. “God is Love” (1 John 4:16). You cannot love your spouse or neighbor without being filled with the Holy Spirit, without God helping you. Love may not ‘like’ the person, but Love wants to help. How Love does that? Love is wise! Therefore, Love ignores superficial things and goes deep into the eternal soul of that person. “He who covers and forgives an offense seeks love, But he who repeats or gossips about a matter separates intimate friends” (PV 17:9; AMP). Gossip is fleshly, an enemy of Love. Lesson: Avoid people who talk too much and habitually criticize others. Selah!

God loves the sinner in spite of his sin. The believer must do the same. That is why we are commanded to be and love like Jesus. Love sees the sinner thru the eyes of Christ. It sees the hope in the sinner’s heart even before the sinner knows anything about love or hope. Love is bold and practical. Love always seeks the best others. Love takes risks to help others. Love is a leader and a champion. Love always achieves what she wants. Love is patient and perseveres to the end. Love overcomes all hindrances and excuses until it accomplishes its goal. Love is a bridge between impossible and possible. Love is a miracle and makes dreams come true. “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers and overwhelms all transgressions [forgiving and overlooking another’s faults]” (PV10:12; AMP). “Good sense and discretion make a man slow to anger, And it is his honor and glory to overlook a transgression or an offense [without seeking revenge and harboring resentment]” (PV19:11; AMP).  “Beyond all these things put on and wrap yourselves in [unselfish] love, which is the perfect bond of unity [for everything is bound together in agreement when each one seeks the best for others]” (Col3:14; AMP). “Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others]” (1Pet 4:8; AMP).  

How do you love people you do not like? By the power of the Holy Spirit, you treat them exactly as those you naturally like. You forgive them, encourage them, and help them, the best way you can. You do not expect a return of appreciation. You do it purely for Christ’ sake. You love others because God loves you. That is why Love feeds and grows on prayer and the Word of God. This Love is the strongest tool in evangelism. Nothing compares with it. In the early church, the Romans who killed the Christians were amazed how they loved God and one another. The world never loves like this!!! This agape love is unique, and it is purely the work of God in the soul of His children. Selah!

“By this we know love because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” (1 Jn 3:16). At the Cross, God’s Love and Glory is revealed. There is double glory: The Son glorified His Father, and the Father glorified His Son. First, Christ glorified God the Father. He obeyed God’s Law that says, ‘sin is to be punished by death’. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). The devil lied to Adam when he said, ‘you can disobey God and you will not die’. By dying for our sins, The Son honored and glorified His Father. Secondly, God the Father glorified Christ by resurrecting Him from the grave. God the Father raised His Son from the dead and gave Him ‘all things’. God’s Love exalted Jesus and made Him Lord of all. “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand (Jn 3:35). The resurrected Christ told His disciples: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen” (Matt 28:18-20). The Great Commission is rooted in Love. We preach and teach God’s Word so that sinners become saved, and believers will grow spiritually. We teach believers to obey God’s Commandments. Obedience is Love. We are making disciples and lovers of Jesus!  As children of God, we are invited to partake from this Holy Family’s glory. Lesson: if you give God all the glory, God will raise you up from the miry clay. Jesus said: “If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor” (Jn 12:26). Lesson: worship Jesus and God will honor you!   

“My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deeds and in truth” (1 Jn 3:18). One of the greatest dangers for those of us who try to love others is to use loving words without backing our words by loving deeds. Hypocrisy is always a damaged, fake, poisonous love. It has caused much harm in the churches. John warns us about this. It is possible to go to church and experience high emotions about the love of God. It is possible for you to sing about the love of Jesus, how He died on the Cross for you. After the church service, at the parking lot, somebody provokes you a little and you immediately insult the person. That same Sunday! There is a disconnect between the feelings of love you just sang about with the temptation outside the sanctuary. And you don’t even feel guilty. You have failed the test of love!!! Love means action. Words alone, without deeds, are deceiving and dangerous. They wound the hearts of others. Our Lord warns us of false brethren who are very religious, speak about love, but lack love in their hearts. They talk well, but they do not love others. They preach well but they break God’s laws. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves. 16 You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? 17 Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. 19 Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 Therefore by their fruits you will know them” (Matt 7:15-20). People have been deceived by sweet tongues covering their bitter hearts. To avoid deception, pray for the revelation of the person’s heart before you can trust his tongue. As you see, it is not easy to love! Love is always a sacrifice. Lovers are disciples and friends of Jesus! You can trust their hearts and their words!

Love is a mysterious combination of spirit (feelings) and action (doing good deeds). Many people think of love only as a spiritual quality and others think that love is just helping others. The truth is that love is both spirit and work. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Cor 13:1-3). Sweet loving speech, and religious knowledge describe ‘the spirit’ of love. A sacrificial life on behalf of the poor describes the works of love. All this is good, but Love may be missing from either one. Love needs both, spirit, and good deeds, done for the sake of Christ and to the glory of God!

WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS!

“You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you” (Jn 15:14; AMP). “The man of too many friends [chosen indiscriminately] will be broken in pieces and come to ruin, But there is a [true, loving] friend who [is reliable and] sticks closer than a brother” (PV 18:24; AMP).

Because of the internet, more and more people become isolated. Friendships are rare these days. Men are affected more than the women. Only 10% of men have real friends. God declared from the beginning of time: “It is not good that man should be alone” (Gen 2:18). God invented marriage. That is a wonderful blessing. God also created us to live among brethren and to have quality relationships called friendships. That is why God invented the local church. Jesus died so that His Bride, the Church, can exist. In the local assembly we hear God’s Word and learn to put it into practice. We learn to love God and people. Godly friendships are God’s gift to all believers. None should be lonely! Selah!

Who is a friend? A friend is someone who is close to you, who knows you well, with whom you have a bond of mutual affection and respect. This person is not a family member. The relationship is not sexual. Other words for ‘friend’ are confidant, classmate, associate, or advocate. The opposite of ‘friend’ is ‘foe or enemy’. A friend is faithful to you. You trust him. He gives good advice, help and support when you are in need.

A relationship is called ‘friendship’ if it has three qualities: 1- It is a long-lasting, stable emotional bond; 2-It is positive, encouraging, 3-It brings the best in each other; it is helpful to both. All true friendships bring glory to God! A true friendship is free from sexual manipulation. That includes marriages too. Sex is God’s gift to the married couples only. But even sex in marriage should not be used as a weapon. If you give access to the devil, he will use money and sex to destroy marriages and friendships. Let the Holy Spirit purify your hearts and trust Him for all your relationships. No relationship can survive without deep mutual respect and true love that desires the best in others. You can have a close by neighbor as a friend, or one who is far away. Your friend can in person or online. True friendship stands the test of time and of distance. An acquaintance is someone you like, and you meet at a party. The relationship is not deep. When you are in trouble and need help, you do not call an acquaintance. You call your friend, trusting that he will help you. A good friend is not a hireling. He does not avoid you when you are in trouble. You can be open and vulnerable with your friend. You can tell him the truth and not be afraid of betrayal. You are not afraid that he will judge you. He gives you space to express your feelings. He has sympathy for you. He cares for you. He listens to you and gives you good advice. Good friends are ready to apologize and forgive when there is a mistake, then move on with the friendship.  

Bad friends, or ‘fair-weather friends’ are like hirelings. They run away and avoid you when you are in trouble. They speak negatively about people. They tend to gossip about you to others. Good friends know that we are all different and accept you as you are. Bad friends judge you and force you to be like them. Bad friends are manipulative and pushy. Bad friends are not stable. They disappoint often. A good friendship grows with time and becomes a blessing to many. Good friends are comfortable. A good friend is a child of God who prays for you!

Experience has proven that any friendship that has Christ at the center is blessed. It has a higher quality than even the best secular friendships. It is the most stable of all relationships. Christ is indeed the best ‘glue’ that keeps relationships. It applies to the marriage bond and to other friendships. A good friendship is basically a spiritual partnership. These high-quality agape love relationships are quite rare these days. Because people hear of so many sexual (homosexual) stories, it is hard to find good, spiritual, Christ honoring friendships among brethren. “But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more” (Rom 5:20). These last days sin increases. But grace does not only ‘increase’. It overflows in its increase. Grace is always much more powerful and effective than all sin combined. It is true that many marriages and friendships are breaking down because of sin. But all the sin the world cannot nullify the sovereign reign of King Grace, our Lord Jesus Christ. If Christ is the foundation and the pillar of your marriage or friendships with others, the gates of hell cannot destroy them. Grace always leads to glory!

For the ancient people of Israel, friendships were very deep. They were like a covenant of marriage. That is why betrayal was considered the greatest crime. For example, David had many good friends, especially with King Saul’s son, Jonathan. “Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul… Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul… Jonathan again caused David to vow, because he loved him; for he loved him as he loved his own soul)” (1 Sam 18:1,3; 20:17). David and Jonathan made a covenant that if any one of them dies, the survivor will take care of the other’s descendants. Jonathan died in battle. David became the new King of Israel. David kept his promise to his friend Jonathan. When he became king David asked: “Is there still anyone who is left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?” (2 Sam 9:1). He had been told him that Jonathan’s only surviving son is a man called Mephibosheth, who was lame at both his feet. David said to him: “Do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan your father’s sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul your grandfather; and you shall eat bread at my table continually.” 8 Then he bowed himself, and said, “What is your servant, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I?” (2 Sam 9:7, 8). Selah!

ITTAI THE GITTITE – A TRUE FRIEND FOR LIFE (2 Sam 15:17-22)

I have never preached on Ittai the Gittite before. But he has recently won my heart. He was a Philistine from the city of Gath. Just for your information, Goliath was a Gittite (2Sam 21:19). Obed-Edom, who kept the ark of God in his house for 3 months, was also a Gittite (2Sam 6:10, 11). The most serious trouble David encountered was when his son Absalom rebelled against him and took over the throne. Thru flattery and manipulation, Absalom stole the hearts of the people of Israel (2 Sam 15:6). David decided to abandon the palace and run away so that people would not die in Jerusalem. David personal servants followed him. “And the king’s servants said to the king, “We are your servants, ready to do whatever my lord the king commands” (2 Sam 15:15). This faithfulness in time of need is love! 

David was going up the mount of Olives, weeping, barefoot, with his head covered. David is a type of Christ. Jesus too crossed the Kidron brook to the Mount of Olives (Jn 18:1). Like Absalom betrayed David, Judas betrayed Jesus. David’s enemies took advantage of his trouble and quickly manifested. David was told that his friend and counsellor, Ahithophel, had betrayed him and he is now working for Absalom. This caused David deep anxiety. Ahithophel knew him well. David prayed: “O Lord, I pray, turn the counsel of Ahithophel into foolishness!” (2 Sam 15:31). God answered his prayer. Then, a man from the house of Saul, called Shimei, came to throw stones and curse David. David allowed him to curse him saying: “See how my son who came from my own body seeks my life. How much more now may this Benjamite? Let him alone and let him curse; for so the Lord has ordered him. 12 It may be that the Lord will look on my affliction, and that the Lord will repay me with good for his cursing this day” (2 Sam 16:11). You see here the humility and the wisdom of David. He chooses not to kill this wicked man who slanders him in the day of his pain. After Absalom dies, the same Shimei came to beg, and David granted him forgiveness (2Sam19:16-23). These are men of darkness, servants of the devil who comes only to steal, kill, and destroy. But as the darkness envelops the land, the true light starts to shine.

At this time of pain and great need, David’s true friends also came to help and support him. The first one was Ittai the Gittite. His name means ‘The Lord is with me’. He stands out as a shining star in the night. He is a faithful friend to David. A Gittite was an inhabitant of Gath, one of the five Philistine cities. So Ittai was not an Israelite. He was a Philistine soldier who changed camps and came to Israel. He had pledged his loyalty to David along with 600 others, of whom he was their leader. He had followed David from the time David was in Gath years before, when running away from king Saul. Ittai is a type of a sinner saved by grace, and thru faith. He is a ray of hope in the darkest time. He is a great encouragement for any evangelist. Ittai has renounced Dagon and the idols of the Philistines. He follows David willingly, early, publicly, and physically.

Think about the position David was in as he left Jerusalem. Think how hard it must have been for those who loved him and followed him. David had lost his home and his throne. He was pushed out of the work God had called him to do. He had lost the affection of his son and the support of his people. He had to flee from his own city to save his own life. Yet Ittai and the others remained faithful to David and stood by their word.

Ittai was a true friend. This is love! Ittai told David that he is his servant. Initially, David told him to go back to his house, to submit to ‘king Absalom’. He did not say this because he did not trust him or that he did not need his help. There were few men with David. He needed all the help he could get. But David is a true leader. He did not want to force anyone to share in his trials. He is a type of Christ. Jesus does not force anyone to follow Him. He said: “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me” (Matt 16:24). There is always an ‘if’. Like Ruth followed Naomi who gave her no hope, Ittai willingly followed David when he was in need. This is Love!

Ittai not only gave himself willingly, but he gave himself early, when few men helped David. Ittai was a true leader. He did not wait for others to tell him what to do. A leader knows the timing of actions. David told Ittai that he is a ‘new convert’ to the God of Israel. But Ittai was ready to follow David as a true believer follows Jesus. When Saul, who became Apostle Paul, fell from his horse blinded by the glory of the risen Christ, immediately he said: “What shall I do, Lord?’ And the Lord said to me, ‘Arise and go into Damascus, and there you will be told all things which are appointed for you to do” (Ac 22:10). There are many Christians who are converted but not totally committed to Christ. Selah!

Ittai gave himself as a servant to David in the presence of others. It was a public surrender and commitment. He was not a secret disciple. Jesus said: “Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven” (Matt 10:32). Lesson: It is not good enough to believe Jesus only in your heart. The Lord is looking for a public witness. Apostle Paul said: “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation” (Rom 10:9, 10). Do you know where you will lose the fear and the shyness of testifying about Jesus in public? It is at the Cross of Christ!!! Jesus was forsaken by all except few women, his mother Mary, and John the apostle. The rest of the disciples became afraid and ran away. Ittai was like these women at the foot of the Cross. That is where you find the true friends of Jesus. If you love Jesus, you will not be ashamed of afraid to openly proclaim that He is your Savior and your Lord!

Ittai gave himself to David physically. He did not send a messenger with some food. He came himself. There is honor, promotion, and blessing in serving Christ. It may not be in this life, but it will surely be in eternity. David rewarded Ittai for his loyalty. When it was time to organize his few men to fight the army of Absalom, David divided his soldiers into three divisions. He placed a commander over each: Joab, Abishai and Ittai the Gittite. The first two were his family members. They were not his friends. But Ittai was a foreigner. He was a true friend. He proved to be more loyal to David than many Jews. He led a third of the army to battle and victory. “And David numbered the people who were with him and set captains of thousands and captains of hundreds over them. 2 Then David sent out one third of the people under the hand of Joab, one third under the hand of Abishai the son of Zeruiah, Joab’s brother, and one third under the hand of Ittai the Gittite. And the king said to the people, “I also will surely go out with you myself.” 3 But the people answered, “You shall not go out! For if we flee away, they will not care about us; nor if half of us die, will they care about us. But you are worth ten thousand of us now. For you are now more help to us in the city” (2 Sam 18:1-3). Ittai is a type of a Gentile believer and soldier for Christ. When Jesus comes in glory, He will reward all who left everything to follow Him! The honor of this life is temporary. But the honor of Christ is forever! Jesus told His disciples: “You are those who have continued with Me in My trials. 29 And I bestow upon you a kingdom, just as My Father bestowed one upon Me, 30 that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel” (Lk 22:28-30). Selah!

There is a saying: ‘a friend in need is a friend indeed’. “A friend loves at all times, And a brother is born for adversity” (PV 17:17). It is good to invest in quality friendships. Jesus said that we should use our money, not only to buy things, but to make good friends who will pray for us and help us in time of need. He said that good spiritual friends are better than money. “And I say to you, make friends for yourselves by unrighteous mammon, that when you fail, they may receive you into an everlasting home” (Lk 16:9). Lesson: Cultivate spiritual friendships! Spiritual friends involve their families in church activities! Selah!

After the war with Absalom, we do not hear any more about Ittai. Possibly, he died in battle. This is a friend forever, faithful unto death! Selah!

JESUS – THE FRIEND OF SINNERS

“John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon.’ 34 The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ 35 But wisdom is justified by all her children.” (Lk7:33-35)

Jesus told the Pharisees that they hate the truth and the wisdom of God. They found excuses to reject both John the Baptist and Jesus Himself. They mocked Jesus calling Him ‘a friend of sinners.’ They did not see that Jesus came from heaven to live and die as a man, so that sinners can be saved. Jesus is indeed the only true Friend and Savior the sinners have. He is waiting for the sinners to acknowledge Him and come to Him for salvation, for help in time of need. Jesus did not condone sin. He went to the sinners to tell them about the good news of salvation. It was His kindness that led them to repentance (Rom 2:4). Many sinners were convicted of sin and repented. Zacchaeus, a tax collector, became a true believer (Lk 19:1-10). The sinful woman who wept at the feet of Jesus, also became saved (Lk 7:36:50). When Jesus’ enemies called Him a “friend of sinners,” they meant it as an insult. To His glory and our eternal benefit, Jesus endured such slights and became “a friend who sticks closer than a brother” (PV 18:24).  Worship the Lord!

LOVE NEVER FAILS

How can we deal with this problem of selfishness? Love is the solution. The Agape love of Jesus is the cure against all pride, immaturity, and self- centeredness. If you have a problem with selfishness, the way to solve it is to be absorbed by someone else, to think how to help and care for another. By doing this, by investing in another, without you knowing it, you will forget about yourself, you become humble, and you start worshipping God. People who ‘fall in love’ will tell you how love made them forget about themselves. Multiply this ‘falling in love’ by infinity, gaze long at the face of Jesus, and catch something of His glory. It will reflect on you. It will change you. You shall discover that salvation is not just forgiveness of sins, not just getting free from the wrath of God. We are free but not only to enjoy material prosperity; to build houses, buy cars, and enjoy ‘good life’. Salvation goes far beyond these temporal benefits. Jesus lived and died to reveal the Father’s love to us, to manifest the glory of God on earth. Jesus died on the Cross so that we live a new life, to be changed into His image. This selfishness relates to ‘slave or poverty mentality’. The selfish lifestyle hates to give glory to God.

For example, prisoners are released from prison. Some go out of the prison’ gates and have nobody to help them. They are free but they are alone. Like we say in Nigeria, ‘you are on your own’. But others, after they are released, are taken by a limousine car to the palace of the King. These are the children of God. You are free from prison and now you become servants to the King Jesus. Once you enter the palace, all your needs are met. In the palace, the glory of the King overwhelms you, it will change you. You are not only free, but you are also made whole. You have a new vision of life. You have a glimpse of a new hope and glory in the future. You learn to love as you are loved. As you can see, the greatness of our salvation is derived from the greatness of our Savior and His glory. The effect of the glory of God on me is that I forget my petty problems and now, I can worship the King of glory getting lost in the ocean of His love.           

(From my husband’s notes, Pastor Richmond Sisan Leigh)

“What a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear!

What a privilege to carry everything to God in prayer!

O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear,

All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer!”

(Joseph Scriven)

This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘Love is The New Commandment’. Her main scriptures were taken from the books of Genesis 22:1-19; John 13:31-35; 15:9-17.  

THE AGAPE LOVE OF GOD

Love is the greatest word in the Bible. In Greek, there are three words for love. Eros refers to sexual love. Philio refers to friendly attachment. Agape means unconditional sacrificial love. In the New Testament, the word Love appears about 200 times, and it is always ‘agape’ love. This Love is not just a feeling. It is the highest, most pure form of love, born not out of natural attraction or obligation, but a willful choice and a command to be obeyed.  It is the unselfish, pure, powerful, and sacrificial love that desires the best in another person. This love is best expressed as the Fatherly Love of God for human beings. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16). This is the Gospel: God the Father sent God the Son to become a Man and die on behalf of sinners. This agape Love of God ignites love in the heart of the believers. It also helps them to love their ‘neighbors’ as they love themselves. The unbelievers may be religious, but they do not know this agape love. It is a gift given only to the children of God, who are saved by grace and thru faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Agape love is a sacrificial love that saves, unites, and heals. It is the love of God that we see through the cross of Jesus Christ. This love saves and restores humanity in the face of sin and death. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Because we are born sinners, agape love does not come naturally to us. But because God is Love, as His children, we learn how to love God and people. The description of love appears in 1 Corinthians 13. These are the basic attributes of agape love: It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love is unconcerned with the self and concerned with the greatest good of another. Agape love requires faithfulness, commitment, courage, strength, wisdom, faith, and sacrifice. When we love others, we do it expecting nothing in return from them. Love trusts God alone to respond and reward the sacrifice. It is the Spirit filled lives of the Christians, their love for God and for one another that is the magnet God uses to attract the world to Jesus! It was like that in the early church, during the time of the Reformation and it is the same during all the revivals in the history of the Church! Selah!

PRAYER FOR DEEPER LOVE

“I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, 5 for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, 6 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ; 7 just as it is right for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in my chains and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel, you all are partakers with me of grace. 8 For God is my witness, how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ. 9 And this I pray, that your love may abound still more and more in knowledge and all discernment, 10 that you may approve the things that are excellent, that you may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, 11 being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Phil 1:3-11).

Every religion has its own god and its own pattern of prayers. The followers offer sacrifices and pray to their god, hoping that they will be heard. But there is no love between the gods and those who trust in them. Also, there is no particular love between the followers. Christianity is the only ‘religion’ that has a God who loves His children. No other religion says that its ‘god is love’! Love is the major peculiarity of Christianity. “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1Jn 4:16). Prayer connects us with the greatest Love in the universe. Apostle Paul writes this letter to the believers in Philippi. He remembers them with love and joy from ‘the first day until now’. It was in Philippi that he met Lydia, whose heart God opened to believe the Gospel. Love started working immediately in her. She invited Paul and the brethren into her house. It was in Philippi that he delivered the slave girl possessed with a python seducing spirit. Because of that, he and Silas were sent to prison where a miracle happened. God saved the jailer and his household. It was the jailer that chained Paul and Silas. Once he was saved, love manifested. He washed their wounds in his house. These new believers gathered and started the church in Philippi. Paul remembers them with gladness. He is now in chains, in a prison in Rome, because of the Gospel, but he continues to pray for the church over there. He writes as a pastor and as father to his children. He describes the love between them as ‘fellowship in the Gospel’, as a good work that God has begun in them, and God will perfect it. This love makes them all to be ‘partakers of God’s grace’. You can feel his love. He says: “I have you in my heart… I greatly long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ”. Glory to God!

This is an apostolic prayer that applies to all believers. The first thing we observe is that Paul prays for spiritual things. He prays that they may grow spiritually and become fruitful. The reason is to become ready to meet the Lord ‘in the day of Christ’. The believers have received God’s Love as a seed. It has now become ‘your love’. The Holy Spirit gives them the power, but it is their responsibility to make the seed of love grow. Paul shows here that there is a greater and higher level of Christianity ahead. The center of action is the seed of Love growing inside. As Love grows, they will become ‘pure and blameless’ (Philip 1:10; NIV), ready to meet Jesus. Love both purifies and makes us blameless. Purity refers to the heart, to the motives of actions. To be blameless refers to the choices we make. Having a blameless character, we do not hurt others and are not a stumbling block to them. Other religions tell you to become what you can never be. But In Christ, we become ‘a new creation’. The Holy Spirit gives us all that we need to grow. But we need to cooperate with God. His work inside our heart must be manifested in godly character and kind deeds. Justification by faith is one event. Sanctification is a lifetime process. Paul said: “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12). This is a spiritual law: you sow seeds before harvest. Like a woman in labor, there is pain before progress in life. “Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. 6 He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him” (Ps 126:5, 6). Paul prays that this love will increase to be a spiritual harvest to the glory of God.

Paul prays that their love ‘will abound still more and more in knowledge and discernment’. In Greek, the word ‘abound’ means to be excellent in quality and to overflow in quantity. Paul says that Love has knowledge. The word ‘knowledge’ always refers to knowing God and His Word. Love has knowledge and experience to go deep to the root of the matter. People sometimes say that ‘love is blind’. This is because when people ‘fall in love’ they don’t care about anybody, they only ‘love’ themselves. They do not listen to advice. But that describes sexual lust, not agape love. For Love is not stupid, stubborn, or ignorant. Love’s knowledge comes from intimacy with God and that gives love its experience. The word ‘discernment’ means profound insight, wisdom, and spiritual sensitivity. Love’s knowledge tells you who to love and its discernment tells you how to love. Like an oak tree, love starts with a seed and becomes mature, mighty in exploits. There is a danger to be quickly satisfied with the seed love we receive as baby Christians. For this seed to grow, we must pay the price to love the unlovely expecting nothing in return from men but trusting God alone to reward you. Love’s knowledge and discernment gets deeper thru the practical application of God’s Word and prayer.

Love is interested in quality service. Like Daniel, love has an excellent spirit (Dan 5:12). Love does not waste its time and effort on foolish pursuits. Love tests and approves of things that are noble and excellent. That is why love is a leader and a mentor. Love purifies the heart like fire. Love is fruitful. The fruits of love are righteousness, which is the tested and approved Christan character. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches. The success of a branch is in fruit bearing. Jesus said that producing fruits gives glory to God. Fruitfulness means spiritual maturity which is always associated with the joy of Jesus. Fruitfulness means to be the friend of Jesus. A mature believer knows and loves God. He also knows and loves people. Jesus knew all about the weaknesses and sins of His disciples and still went to the Cross for them. He chose Judas who will betray him, but His love for people never failed. We love people as Jesus loves people. Even when people disappoint us, we continue to love them. This agape unfailing love is the engine of Christianity. Lack of love, lack of spiritual fruits, is a dangerous ground. Examine yourself!

Let us pray: Dear Heavenly Father, help us to grow deeper in Love with you and love people. Help us to love with Your love. Help us to abide in Christ, to abide in His love. Help us to pay the price to love excellent and noble things, to reject foolishness and gossip. Help our love to grow in wisdom and discernment. Help us to take risks in loving people. Help us to be spiritually fruitful to manifest Your glory on earth. Help us to learn daily how to love better, deeper, even to learn from mistakes. To Your glory alone! In Jesus’ name we pray, amen!

THE NEW COMMANDMENT – LOVE AS JESUS LOVES

“When he (Judas) had gone out, Jesus said, “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. 32 If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately. 33 Little children, I shall be with you a little while longer. You will seek Me; and as I said to the Jews, ‘Where I am going, you cannot come,’ so now I say to you. 34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:31-35)

“As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose Me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask the Father in My name He may give you. 17 These things I command you, that you love one another” (Jn 15:9-17).

Our Lord is a few hours away from the Cross. He desires to have one more meal together with His disciples. Judas has just left to betray Him. For the first time since they were called by Jesus, Judas is missing. They are now eleven disciples. They do not know yet, but for the first time they are free from ‘this virus of destruction’. Jesus then says: “Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. If God is glorified in Him, God will also glorify Him in Himself, and glorify Him immediately”. What does He mean? He identifies the Cross with God’s glory. For us, the Cross is the most painful and shameful deed ever committed by men on earth. The horrors of the Cross cannot be described by mere words. Many see the Cross as a complete tragedy and failure. But according to Jesus, The Cross reveals His glory and the glory of God the Father. The Cross is the highest revelation of God’s Love and Glory. As Jesus died for sinners, the tragedy that happened in the Garden of Eden, was now reversed. Adam fell, and with Him, all humanity fell. This was the devil’s greatest victory. He became the god of this world. Nobody could change the hopeless story of men. After 4000 years of sin being king on earth, on that Cross, God the Son, who became man, died on behalf of men. He set them free from the guilt and power of sin. For the first time since Genesis, the devil is defeated, and the power of death is destroyed. For the first time, the prisoners of sin and death are free to leave their eternal prison. No more condemnation! No more guilt! No more shame! Glory!

*At the Cross we see God’s perfect justice. God is holy. God hates sin. His Law demands death for every sin. God could not make an exception, even for His own Son. Jesus did not die for His own sins. Once He drank from the cup of our sin, He became sin. He had to die. At the Cross, the greatest eternal exchange was made. “For He (God the Father) made Him (Jesus Christ) who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21). Jesus took our sin upon Himself and died for us. He gave us His righteousness that we may live before God. It is Christ’s gift of Love to us. Covered with His ‘imputed righteousness’ we now become children of God!

*At the Cross we see God’s perfect faithfulness. God sent His Law thru Moses. But none could obey it. Since Adam fell, God has promised to send someone called the Savior, who will change the story, and turn the curse into a blessing. Over the years, there were many prophetic words and promises. The Jews expected the Messiah to come as a great royal soldier who will free them from the oppression of the Romans. When Jesus came, they rejected Him because He was different than what they had in mind. That is why they killed Him. They did not know that the first coming of the Messiah was to be like a lamb led to the slaughter. The second coming will be different. Jesus will come again as The King of kings to finally judge all evil and to complete the salvation of His people. This is God’s plan and purpose. None can defeat it! Jesus fulfilled it!

*At the Cross, we see God’s greatest Love. The Cross is the central point of history. The word ‘glorified’ means to display openly, and publicly. The Cross is like the theater stage of the universe. The Light of God eternally shines on it, and none can quench it. We see how God the Father loved the world and that He sent His only begotten Son to die for men’s salvation. We see God the Son agreeing with God the Father to pay the greatest price for men to be free. The Cross is the greatest picture of God’s love displayed! At the Cross we see weakness becoming power. But the greatest display is that of God’s Love. God’s Love is always connected with the death of His Son at the Cross. If you don’t understand the Cross, you don’t understand God’s Love.

Jesus commands His disciples: ‘Abide in My Love!’ “I have loved you just as the Father has loved Me; remain in My love (and do not doubt My love for you). If you keep My commandments and obey My teaching, you will remain in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and remain in His love” (Jn 15:9, 10). In Greek the word ‘abide’ means to remain, to stay, and wait in the same spot and without interruptions.

Jesus is preparing His disciples for the pain they will experience at the Cross. He is also telling them about the glories that will follow the pain. Up until now, each of the disciples have learned to love Jesus. But they did not love one another. Soon Jesus will die. Jesus does not want that their love for Him will be buried in the ground. He tells them that from now on, the love they have for Him, must be turned to love one another. Their Love indeed did not die. Love became the greatest force in the universe. Love is the glue that keeps the Body of Christ alive and strong! In the Old Testament, God spoke about loving others. “You shall not hate your brother in your heart. You shall surely rebuke your neighbor, and not bear sin because of him. 18 You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord” (Lev 19:17, 18). “And if a stranger dwells with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34 The stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Lev 19:33, 34). What the Jews understood by these scriptures was mainly to love their fellow Jews. They had serious issues with loving ‘the strangers.’ But now, Jesus brings Love for Almighty God and Love for all men at the center stage. He commands all who are in Christ to love all men, no matter their color, gender, social status, or nationality. From now on, Grace is King and Love is King! This is the New Commandment that fulfills the Ten Commandments! Praise the Lord!

JEHOVAH JIREH PROVIDES LOVE (Gen 22:1-19)

Abraham is the father of the faithful. God promised that he will have a son. He waited for many years before God gave him Isaac. Abraham had to pass many difficult tests of obedience. First, God told him to leave his country and family to go to a land that he has never been (Gen 12:1-3). Abraham obeyed. That is Love! Abraham went to battle to free his nephew Lot. Abraham refused to take the wealth from the king of Sodom (Gen 14:21-24). That is Love! Later, God told him to circumcise all the males in his household including himself and Ishamel. Abraham was 99 and Ishmael was 13 when they got circumcised in obedience to God’s command. This is Love! “Then Abraham circumcised his son Isaac when he was eight days old, as God had commanded him” (Gen 21:4). Abraham was told to send Hagar, the bondwoman, and her son, Ishmael away (Gen 21:9-14). That was painful for Abraham, but he obeyed. God. This is Love!

Few years later, God tests Abraham again. This was the greatest test of obedience. By obeying God now, Abraham passed the test to become ‘a friend of God’ (Jam 2:23). This is a wonderful story of Agape Love. Abraham stands for God the Father. Isaac stands for God the Son. This story is a prelude to the Cross of Calvary. God tells Abraham to offer his only son Isaac, the son he loves, as a sacrifice. At that time, his first son Ishamel was gone to Egypt with his mother. Isaac was the only son he had. Isaac’s name means ‘laughter’. He brought joy to his old parents. Ishmeal was born in the natural way. But Isaac was the son of promise. God gave them Isaac. Now, God wants Isaac back. It was a test of obedience for Abraham. Because obedience means love, this was the test of Love. Abraham obeyed God. He died to his pain of losing Isaac. He went to Mount Moriah where God wanted the sacrifice. Abraham called this obedience ‘worship’. This is the first place in the Bible where the word ‘worship’ appears. It is connected with Jehovah Jireh, God will Provide. God provides the power to love God, and to obey God. Jehovah Jireh is another name for God is Love.

Abraham had faith that God will raise Isaac from the dead. He tells his servants: “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you”. He uses the word ‘we’ will come back to you. “By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” 19 concluding that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense” (Heb 11:17-19). Abraham knew God’s promise that in Isaac, his descendants shall be like the stars in the sky. At that time, Isaac was not married and had no children. Abraham believed that even if Isaac dies, to be offered to God as a burnt offering, the same Isaac must rise from the dead to fulfill the promise of many descendants. Isaac too believed the same promise because he did not resist becoming ‘the lamb to be slaughtered’. Abraham was ready to slay his son in obedience to God’s command when God’s angel stopped him. Jehovah Jireh provided a ram to be offered. That ram is another symbol of Christ crucified. Abraham passed the test of faith and love. God blessed Abraham because he did not ‘withhold’ his beloved son Isaac. The word ‘withhold’ means to refuse, to keep for himself, or to spare his son. Because Abraham gave his greatest Love to God, God blessed him forever.  God confirmed that Abraham will be the father of many nations, that all people will be blessed thru him, and that God will protect and defend them forever. In Christ, God gives us all things. “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?” (Rom 8:32). Provision for our needs comes from Jehovah Jireh, God’s Love.

In this story Abraham is over 100 years old. God is asking for the greatest treasure Abraham has. God wants Abraham to break ‘his alabaster box’. Can he, do it? Immediately God calls him, Abraham responds: “here I am” (Gen 22:1). This is a proof that Abraham lives in the presence of God. He is ready to answer God’s call any time, day, or night. Lesson: It is hard to surrender your spouse, or children to God. But you must do it. Jesus said that we must love Him above all other loves (Matt 10:37). If not, we are not worthy of Him. Abraham, Isaac, and some servants went towards the place God told him about. Mount Moriah is located in the center of the Old city of Jerusalem. In it there are the ruins of Solomon’s temple and the Dome of the Rock, a Muslim shrine, and a mosque. This place was bought by King David from a man named Araunah. God’s angel directed David to buy this piece of land and build an altar to the Lord there (2 Sam 24:18-21). This was because of David’s sin when he numbered the people and a plague killed many. Abraham and Isaac trekked for two days. We do not know what was in Abraham’s mind as he was going to sacrifice Isaac. He could have changed his mind. He could have doubted God’s love towards him. After waiting for Isaac for all these years, the sacrifice of his son made no sense. Lesson: God leads us thru common sense but sometimes, nothing makes sense. What was the secret of Abraham’s obedience? It was worship! Abraham worshipped God above all else.

Isaac carries the wood on his back. This is a picture of Jesus who carried His Cross on His back. Isaac asked his father: “Look, the fire, and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So, the two of them went together” (Gen 22:7, 8). The fire represents God’s judgment on sin. On the Cross, The fire of God consumed Christ who became a sin on behalf of men. The knife is to kill the lamb. Jesus was puncture in His heart by the spear of a Roman soldier. Blood and water poured on the ground. When Isaac asked his father, where is the lamb for the burnt offering, the first word Abraham said was ‘my son’. Indirectly, he was telling Isaac that he is the lamb. Isaac submitted to the vision of the Cross. Jehovah Jireh provided a ram. This is a picture of the substitution that happened on the Cross. The ram is a picture of Christ on the Cross. The ram was ‘caught in a thicket by its horns’. The thicket is a low bush made of thorns. It is a symbol of God’s curse upon sin (Gen 3:18). The sinful men placed a crown of thorns upon the head of Jesus. The ram was caught by its horns. The horns are a symbol of strength. On the Cross, the strength of Christ became weakness so that He can die on behalf of sinners. After Abraham offered the ram, we read that only Abraham came down from the mountain. We assumed that Isaac was with him. But Isaac’s name is not mentioned (Gen 22:19). This is a picture that Isaac died as a burnt offering on that mountain. The next time Isaac’s name is mentioned is when he meets Rebecah, his bride, and He gets married. This is a picture of the pouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost or the second coming of Christ. The question Isaac asked: where is the Lamb?… is answered two thousand years later. John the Baptist answered the question. He saw Jesus coming to the River Jordan to be baptized. He said: “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (Jn 1:29). Hallelujah!

Abraham called the place on the mountain “Jehovah Jireh”. It was where God provided the ram instead of Isaac. The word Jireh means ‘to see’. The meaning is this: ‘In the mount of the Lord, things will become clear, and you shall see His provision’. Lesson: Before we surrender our all to God, before we truly worship God, things are not clear. We are confused. Once we break our alabaster box, the veil from our eyes and minds is removed and we see everything the way God sees it. That is when God will provide the breakthrough. God longs that we come to a place where we trust Him totally with our lives and the best gifts, He has given us. To have 100 % faith in God is to love God unconditionally. This is true worship. This is the price and the victory of Love! Worship the Lord!

This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘Love is The New Commandment’. Her main scriptures were taken from the books of 2 Samuel 6:1-23, Revelation 2:1-7.

THE AGAPE LOVE OF GOD

Love is the greatest word in the Bible. In Greek, there are three words for love. Eros refers to sexual love. Philio refers to friendly attachment. Agape means unconditional sacrificial love. In the New Testament, the word Love appears about 200 times, and it is always ‘agape’ love. This Love is not just a feeling. It is the highest, most pure form of love, born not out of natural attraction or obligation, but a willful choice and a command to be obeyed.  It is the unselfish, pure, powerful, and sacrificial love that desires the best in another person. This love is best expressed as the Fatherly Love of God for human beings. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (Jn 3:16). This is the Gospel: God the Father sent God the Son to become a Man and die on behalf of sinners. This agape Love of God ignites love in the heart of the believers. It also helps them to love their ‘neighbors’ as they love themselves. The unbelievers may be religious, but they do not know this agape love. It is a gift given only to the children of God, who are saved by grace and thru faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Agape love is a sacrificial love that saves, unites, and heals. It is the love of God that we see through the cross of Jesus Christ. This love saves and restores humanity in the face of sin and death. “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (Jn 15:13). Because we are born sinners, agape love does not come naturally to us. But because God is Love, as His children, we learn how to love God and people. The description of love appears in 1 Corinthians 13. These are the basic attributes of agape love: It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs. Love is unconcerned with the self and concerned with the greatest good of another. Agape love requires faithfulness, commitment, courage, strength, wisdom, faith, and sacrifice. When we love others, we do it expecting nothing in return from them. Love trusts God alone to respond and reward the sacrifice.

THE TIME OF LOVE – LOVE REJECTED AND RESTORED (Ezekiel 16:1-30)

This is a love story, a parable. It is the story of betrayal, pain, judgment, and mercy. God is the husband of a woman called ‘Jerusalem’ in Israel. She cheats God who has been so good to her. You feel God’s pain. Jerusalem is seen here as an abandoned newborn baby girl. Let us call her Miss. Jerusalem. Her parents were pagans, Canaanites, idol worshippers. God (Jehovah Adonai) comes and with love and compassion rescues the baby. God cuts the umbilical cord. If that cord is not cut, as the placenta decomposes, the baby will be infected and die. God washes, feeds. dresses, and gives gifts to this girl who now has become a beautiful young woman. It is now her ‘time to love’. her Savior, now becomes her husband. Her name is now Mrs. Jerusalem Adonai. But this wife does not appreciate all the love and care from God. She uses her beauty, fame, and gifts she received from God to seduce men. She becomes a prostitute. An ordinary prostitute ‘loves’ for money. But this woman does not need money because God has blessed her beyond her dreams. She uses God’s gifts to bribe men to sleep with her. She sacrifices the children that she bore for God to idols. She is ‘degenerate in her heart; a weak-willed wife’ (Ezekiel 16:30, NKJ, NIV). She has betrayed her first love. In Hebrew, the word ‘degenerate heart’ also means a feverish, never satisfied heart, weakened by longing, and inflamed with lust. This is a viral deadly ‘infection’. God, the rejected husband, is angry with His wife. This is His Word: “You shall worship no other god, for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God” (Ex 34:14). God is the Judge of the Universe. He judges and punishes his wife for breaking the marriage vows. He makes her poor and reduces her territory of influence. Her lovers hate and fight her now. This is a tragedy, from Grace to grass!

Her sister Sodom joined her in her sin. “Look, this was the iniquity of your sister Sodom: She and her daughter had pride, fullness of food, and abundance of idleness; neither did she strengthen the hand of the poor and needy. 50 And they were haughty and committed abomination before Me; therefore, I took them away as I saw fit” (Ezek 16:49, 50). This is a description of sin and lack of love. The people of Sodom were proud, well fed, idle, and lack compassion for the poor and needy. Sodom’s people do not love. God punished them with destruction. The cities and Sodom and Gomorrah have never been rebuilt. But now, Mrs. Jerusalem Adonai is behaving even worse than Miss. Sodom. God punishes her and finally, He has peace. But thru her sufferings, Mrs. Jerusalem Adonai, has been humbled. She comes back to God and repents. There is a restoration of marriage love. But that love is now manifested in the Church. Jesus is the Head of the Body of Christ. He is the Bridegroom of His Bride, the Church. This is the story: God sent His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to take the punishment for sinners. He died on our behalf. He shed His Blood for sinners, rebellious people like me and you. Jesus was the Propitiation for our sins. The word Propitiation means to appease an angry God. On the Cross, thru His death, Jesus made peace between God and man. Jerusalem was a wife to God. The Church is now the Bride to Christ. The wedding will be in the future. For now, the romance of love between Christ and Church goes on. “And I heard, as it were, the voice of a great multitude, as the sound of many waters and as the sound of mighty thunderings, saying, “Alleluia! For the Lord God Omnipotent reigns! 7 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” 8 And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. 9 Then he said to me, “Write: ‘Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ ” And he said to me, “These are the true sayings of God” (Rev 19:6-9). Glory!

YOUR FIRST LOVE AND FIRST WORKS  

“To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary. 4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent and do the first works, or else I will come to you quickly and remove your lampstand from its place—unless you repent. 6 But this you have, that you hate the deeds of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God” (Rev 2:1-7).

This is the first of seven letters given by the resurrected Christ to Apostle John to write and send to the seven churches. Each letter is addressed to ‘the angel’ of the church. The word ‘angel’ here is interpreted as bishop, pastor of leader. At this time John was on exile, on the island of Patmos. It is possible that the pastor in charge at the church in Ephesus was Timothy. Christ introduces Himself as One who holds the seven stars in His right hand: a star for each church. He walks freely among the golden lampstands; one for each church. The lampstands give light from heaven. This is the revelation of God’s Word to the churches. The light represents the presence and influence of Christ in the Church!

“We love Him because He first loved us” (1 Jn 4:19). To Love God with the first love is an acknowledgment and reminder that God loved us first. We love Him with the overflow coming from His Love. God is the eternal fountain of Love. We are the river that flows from that fountain. God’s Love is Free. Our love is an obligation. Selah!  

Ephesus was the second biggest city in the Roman Empire, next to Rome. It was a center of commerce and culture. It was in Ephesus that you could find one of the seventh Wonders of the ancient world, the temple of Diana (or Artemis). It was a great structure of the size of ten stories building. It was covered with gold and many works of art. Around the temple were thousands of male and female temple prostitutes. The area around the temple was declared free. Any evil person could hide there. Many thieves and robbers took shelter around it. That is why the city had a high rate of crime. Ephesus was like Las Vegas today. If you go there today, you will see a signboard that reads: ‘Las Vegas, welcome to sin city’! In the midst of this terrible environment, Jesus planted a church. Apostle Paul stayed there three years to preach and teach. Timothy was left behind as the senior pastor. Apostle John was also a bishop there. Mary, the mother of Jesus, left Jerusalem and stayed with John until she died in Ephesus. She probably attended this church. It was the biggest church in ancient times, of about three thousand people. Today, the Christians in Turkey are about 200,000. That means 0,3% of the population. Most of the Churches in Turkey are in ruins, museums for tourists, or converted into mosques. Most of the believers have left Turkey. The spiritual light is very dim now.  

The church at Ephesus was described as:

*Filled with the Holy Spirit. People came to the church not because of men. It was the presence of God attracted people there (Ac 19:5, 6).

*They were many miracles of healing and deliverance done by Paul (Ac 19:11)

*The fear of God fell on the people and the name of Jesus was magnified (Ac 19:17).

*People were truly repenting of idolatry and practicing witchcraft (Ac 19:18, 19).

*The Word of God was preached and believed. It ‘grew mightily and prevailed’ (Ac 19:20).

What did the church in Ephesus do to prevent being polluted by worldliness and sin? The brethren kept the church spiritually pure and strong!

*They had faith and love. “Therefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints” (Eph 1:15).

*They kept the unity of the Spirit in the church and in their homes (Eph 4:1-6).

*They received and manifested the gifts of the Resurrected Christ (‘the five-fold’ ministry gifts) (Eph 4:7-16)

*They repented of lying, deceiving others, stealing, bitterness, unholy anger, gossip, and malice. They worked hard to have something to share with others. They spoke encouraging words ‘to impart grace’ to the hearers. They were kind, gentle, loving, and forgiving others. They blocked the way for the devil to enter the church. They learned how to host the Holy Spirit, not grieve Him through unconfessed sin (Eph 4:25-31).

*They walked in love, in light and with wisdom (Eph 5:2, 8, 15). Love, honesty, and wisdom were a lifestyle for them.

*They were not close friends with unbelievers. “Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them” (Eph 5:11). 

*They were prayerful. They wanted to know God’s plan and will for them. “Understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph 5:17).

*They were filled with the Holy Spirit. They praised God, spoke the Word of God to one another and gave thanks to God! (Eph 5:18-20).

*They were humble and submitted to one another in the fear of God (Eph 5:21).

*They had strong marriages. The wives submitted to their husbands and the husbands loved their wives, all for the sake of Christ (Eph 5:22-33).

*They had godly homes. The father was the pastor of the home. He had authority. Children and servants submitted to him (Eph 6:1-9)

*They fasted and prayed. They did spiritual warfare (Eph 6:10-18)

*They prayed for their pastors to preach the Gospel with boldness, authority, and freedom (Eph 6:19, 20).

In each letter to the churches Christ says: ‘I know’. In Greek, the word means ‘I remember, I appreciate’. Lesson: The eyes of Christ are like fire. He knows and rewards our labor of love, work done in difficult conditions, a sacrificial painful work done for God. Jesus says: “And whoever gives to one of these little ones [these who are humble in rank or influence] even a cup of cold water to drink because he is my disciple, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward” (Matt 10:42; AMP). About Mary of Bethany, He said: “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, wherever this gospel [of salvation] is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her [for her act of love and devotion]” (Matt 26:13; AMP). Jesus appreciates those who patiently wait for Him, who persevere during trials of faith. Selah!

There were false apostles in the church. The word ‘apostle’ means ‘a sent one’. The resurrected Christ sent apostles, prophets, pastors, teachers, and evangelists as gifts to the Church. “He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love” (Eph 4:11-16).  A true Apostle is a believer who receives a special commission from Christ Himself, to do a special work for Him. Apostles are like fathers to the children. They lay the foundation of churches. They do original work for Christ, witnessing for Him in particular places where the powers of darkness have a stronghold. They have the highest authority among the church leaders. Together with others, they ‘edify’ the church and establish the unity of the Spirit. A true apostle speaks the truth of the Gospel in Love. The brethren in the congregation mature spiritually, in love and unity. Love unites! Love builds! Each believer matures, aiming to the perfection in Christ. True apostles identify, expose, and confront the false brethren, the agents of the devil, sent by him to divide the church thru lies and false doctrines.

With all the good work done in the church at Ephesus, Christ has a complaint. The believers there have ‘left their first love’. “But I have this [charge] against you, that you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me]” (Rev 2:4; AMP). In Greek, the word ‘left’ means to send away, to let go, to forsake, to abandon, to dismiss, or to neglect. The word ‘first’ is the most important, the principal, the greatest love of all. This is the root of the matter. This letter is written about 30 years after Jesus died. So soon, the people’s love for Jesus has become lukewarm. Here is the Bridegroom crying in pain that His Bride is neglecting Him. It is the same cry we find in the book of Jeremiah. “Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Go and cry in the hearing of Jerusalem, saying, ‘Thus says the Lord: “I remember you, The kindness of your youth, The love of your betrothal, When you went after Me in the wilderness, In a land not sown. 3 Israel was holiness to the Lord, The firstfruits of His increase. All that devour him will offend; Disaster will come upon them,” says the Lord.’ ” 4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord: “What injustice have your fathers found in Me, That they have gone far from Me, Have followed idols, and have become idolaters?” (Jer 2:1-5). Betrayal is a sin against love and the greatest pain!

If Love gets cold, every work and sacrifice become meaningless. Love alone gives value to our deeds. “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing” (1 Cor 13:1-3). The husband is not satisfied with a wife who is just cooking and cleaning the house but does not love him. It is the same with God. Many people ‘work for God’ in the church but they do not worship God. Jesus is always and forever our first Love. Many Christians have replaced their first love with secondary loves called idols. This letter is written to Christians, not to unbelievers. “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God” (Jam 4:4).

This spiritual coldness is a sign of the end times. “Because lawlessness is increased, the love of most people will grow cold” (Matt 24:12; AMP). It is known that during times of war, famine, and persecution, people are afraid of becoming poor. They become selfish, neglecting to practice acts of kindness to others. The word ‘lawlessness’ means breaking of the law. People don’t care about God’s law or government laws anymore. Each person becomes his own law. This manifests itself as wickedness. Love is suffocated by sin. People marry, do business, and attend to religion, but without love. Not going to church is a proof that your first love for Jesus is dying. “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Heb 10:24, 25). Encouraging one another to continue the race, is a manifestation of Love.  

Jesus does not say that the brethren in Ephesus do not love Him at all. He says that they have lost their initial passion and zeal for love. He tells His Bride, that she used to love Him more in the past. This loss of passion is a form of falling. The brethren are commanded to repent and be revived. They should go back to the first zeal, tenderness, and sensitivity of love they had when they first knew Jesus. Lesson: We must fight against the enemy of God, the devil himself. We watch for every form of backsliding. Jesus is in heaven but clearly, He monitors everything that happens in the Church. He is grieved when we are careless with the study of His Word, prayer and fail to gather together in the assembly of the saints. He is grieved when the husband does not have the water of the Word to wash his wife. He is grieved when the husband is not ready to lay down his life for his wife and family, but as a hireling, he runs away from the challenges of life. He is grieved when the husband thinks more about providing money than spiritual leadership to his family. Materialism and busyness and cooling your first love for Jesus!  

The Nicolaitans were a sect of people who tried to combine Christianity with pagan idolatry. The Romans forced people to worship Ceasar or their own gods. When the Christians refused to worship idols, they were tortured and even killed. The Nicolaitans said that you can worship idols and still be a Christian. For them, this compromise was a way to survive. This sect disappeared long ago but their ‘doctrine’ remains. These days, there are many Christians who go to church and still attend traditional feasts. If they don’t go in person, they send money to buy sacrifices offered to idols. Also, there are many Christians who try to worship two gods, God, and Money. But our Lord said that it is impossible to do that. “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon [money, possessions, fame, status, or whatever is valued more than the Lord]” (Matt 6:24; AMP). Jesus says that He hates this unholy compromise. It is like spiritual adultery. Jesus warns the Christians in Ephesus to repent of this sin that slowly kills their first love for Him. If they refuse to repent, He will take away the light from their church. In other words, Love always comes with light. Un-repented sin quenches both. Light is the revelation of God’s Word and the influence the church has around it. Lesson: backsliding comes slowly. There is ‘a drifting’ that is not quickly observed. A Christian start to backslide when he ‘neglects so great a salvation’. It is dangerous when as a believer, you stop praying, praising God, and stop coming to church. God’s light of life in you, His wisdom and guidance given by His Spirit and thru His Word, can be removed. The Holy Spirit can be quenched. You end in darkness, when the things of this world seem pleasant to you and God is far away from your thoughts. You stop being an influencer for Jesus. “Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. 2 For if the word spoken through angels proved steadfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation, which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4 God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders, with various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit, according to His own will?” (Heb 2:1-4). Historically, the church in Ephesus died. The seven churches are all now in Turkey, where Islam is the main religion. Lesson: Repent! Come back to the Cross! Fast and pray! Seek God! Study God’s Word. Attend church services. Remember you have a soul that needs food as your body needs food. Remember God!  Repentance leads back to Love. It manifests as eating fruits ‘from the tree of life’. This is a picture of the Garden of Eden before sin corrupted the paradise. Love leads to happiness, fulfilment, and perfect peace in the heart and in the home. You must live in love! We have ears; therefore, you must hear the warning of Love! Amen!

BETRAYAL PAIN

Betrayal is defined as not being loyal or faithful to your friend. It is the act of disappointing a person’s trust, hope, and expectations. It means to deliver to your enemy something that belongs to you. Betrayal is one of the worst pains experienced by people. It is so painful because it is done by someone you love and trust. For example, parents can betray their children who love and trust them. Romantic betrayals are quite common. After the betrayal, the victim decides if to continue the relationship or not. Some cannot separate from those who betray them. For example, the children have to stay in the home with the parents who abuse them verbally or sexually. They are too young to leave the home and stay alone. In marriage, because of children and financial dependence, the victim chooses to stay in the relationship. In these cases, the victims choose to bury their painful memories. This affects them later in life. These are some of the effects of buried painful memories: It affects your capacity to love and trust people and your self-esteem. There are feelings of anxiety, anger, and bitterness that can erupt any time. There is fear of commitment towards people, making it hard to marry, or to be happily married. These feelings may produce sickness, especially high blood pressure and stomach ulcer.  King David knew the pain of betrayal. He said: “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me; Then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; Then I could hide from him. 13 But it was you, a man my equal, My companion and my acquaintance. 14 We took sweet counsel together and walked to the house of God in the throng” (Ps 55:12-14).

What can you do to heal from past wounds? Pray! You need to acknowledge your pain. Confess your pain. Meet with a mature Christian or your pastor. Confessing to unbelievers will end in gossip and that will increase your pain. Forgive the one who betrayed you. Forgive yourself! Trust God for the healing. Then move on! Learn to love and trust again! Remember that Jesus was betrayed. He knows your pain more than any other. He told Judas: “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” (Lk 22:48). In His first sermon Jesus said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me because He has anointed Me. To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed” (Lk 4:18). Trust Jesus to heal you! He suffered and died to give you salvation, healing, and a new beginning!               

EXAMPLES OF FIRST LOVE

The first Love is the purest and most passionate Love you had for Jesus when He first entered your heart. This is before sin polluted and weakened it. These are some examples of First Love described in the Bible:

*Jacob loved beautiful Racheal. To marry her, he served her father as a shepherd for seven years. He was patient because of his love for her.  “So, Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed only a few days to him because of the love he had for her” (Gen 29:20).

*The sinful woman who washed the feet of Jesus with her tears, she dried them with her hair, and anointed them with expensive fragrant oil from her alabaster flask (Lk 7:36-50). She ignored the religious men’s rejection, just to worship Jesus. She was humble and bold at the same time. She had heart only for Jesus. The woman’s hair is her glory (1 Cor 11:15). This woman used her glory to dry the feet of Jesus! She gave all the glory to God for her salvation! Lesson: fear of men, or the desire to please men, these both will weaken your love for Jesus! Selah!

*Mary of Bethany loved Jesus. Each time Jesus and His disciples visited her house, she will sit at His feet to listen to His words. Her older sister Martha was working in the kitchen and complained that Mary had left her alone. Jesus rebuked Martha saying that Mary chose ‘the good part’ and that grace cannot be taken from her (Lk 10:38-42). Days before the Cross, Martha served the guests. This time she is not complaining. She took the rebuke of Jesus in all humility. Mary broke her alabaster flask with expensive fragrant oil on the feel of Jesus, by faith, preparing Him for burial (Matt 26:6-13). Lesson: First love means sitting at the feet of Jesus to listen to His Word and breaking your alabaster box for Him. One of the ways you know how that you truly love Jesus is during temptations, when the world calls you to its side. Do you turn away your eyes from sites that defile your spirit? Do you leave the crowd that gossips? Like Mary, can you worship Jesus in the presence of Judas? Worship is difficult and expensive. It is a sacrifice. Worshiping God is a great form of evangelism. Jesus said that Mary did ‘a good work’ for Him. She had no army to fight for Jesus. She had no political influence to change the course of events. ‘She did what she could’. And that was enough! Jesus is satisfied!!!

*King David loved God with all his heart. He wanted to bring the ark of God to Jerusalem. The ark of God represents the presence of God. It was captured by the Philistines but later returned by them. It stayed in the house of Abinadab for 20 years. Nobody worships God at that time. King David wanted to worship God and to bring the ark to Jerusalem. He made a tent for it called ‘the tabernacle of David’. The first time David tried to bring the ark, they carried it on a cart drawn with a pair of oxen. The Lord stroke Uzzah dead trying to hold the ark with his hands. David became afraid of God. David took the ark to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. It stayed there for 3 months. Obed-Edom was a humble servant of God. He honored the ark and worshipped God. As a result, God blessed Obed-Edom and his household. King David asks the priests for the correct protocol on carrying the ark. He was told that the Ark is to be caried on the shoulders of priests and not drawn by animals. Lesson: The presence of God is carried by men, in their hearts, and not by animals, like the way pagans do. The second time, David did the right thing. The two priests, Zadok and Abiathar carry the ark to Jerusalem (2 Sam 15:29). David is extremely happy. He humbles himself and dances before the ark worshipping Jehovah God. In God’s presence David does not care about his reputation as a king. Read 2 Samuel 6:1-23.

David’s wife, Michal, who was Saul’s daughter, did not participate in the open praises to God. She watched everything from the palace’ window. She was ashamed of her husband’s behavior. She rebuked him for disgracing himself before the common people. But David rejected the rebuke. Michal despised David in her heart. She was the queen. She cared about her reputation. If the king lowers himself, she will not look queenly enough. Pride despises worship. Like Judas hated Mary’s worship so Michal hated David’s worship. Be careful! Lesson: Do not criticize another’s worship to God! The reason why you do not love the brethren may be because you don’t worship God enough! For despising her husband’s love for God, for praising God, Michal remained barren until the end of her life. Lesson: Beware of a critical spirit like Michal’s! Fault finders end up barren! Tell her… ‘It is not about you, Michal! Worship is about God!’

Finally, what does it mean to break your alabaster box? David did it. What about you? Your first love means to be like a child. Jesus said: and said, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, unless you repent [that is, change your inner self—your old way of thinking, live changed lives] and become like children [trusting, humble, and forgiving], you will never enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 18:3; AMP). You must repent for forsaking your first love! Like Abraham offered Isaac on the later, offer your pet sin to God! People may criticize you! They may discriminate against you! But look unto Jesus! He alone is worthy of all worship! Forgive others. Forgiveness is a form of worship. Pray until you feel His kiss on your mouth. Then your mouth will speak God’s oracles! Bow at His feet… saying: ‘Lord, I don’t want me anymore! I want only You, now and forever!’ David did not dance to show off his skills. He did not dance to the beat of the music, but the beat of his heart. It was not to entertain people, but for the pleasure of One, His God! The dance was to the sound of the trumpet of heaven! Like David, can you dance alone for Jesus? May we never lose our wonder… Jesus, You are beautiful in all Your ways… Worship the Lord!