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 book of 1 Cor 13:4. AMP; Matthew (Matt 5:7), and Luke (Lk 10-25-37)

We are living in what the Bible calls ‘the last days’. The powers of darkness will increase in their attacks against the believers of God. There shall be more religion but less real Christianity. Deception and wickedness will increase. Love will decrease. It will manifest especially as the preaching of the Gospel in spite of persecution. This is what the Lord Jesus said: “And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come” (Matt 24:10-14). In Greek, the word ‘lawlessness’ means sin, breaking of God’s Law, and all forms of illegality. The Love of many (not all) will grow cold. Love towards God, true worship, and love towards others, will become less and less. Pride, greed, selfishness, rudeness will become fashionable. But he who stands in the faith and continues to love God and man, will be saved.      

LOVE IS OBEDIENCE TO GOD’S WORD

“He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him… The person who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who [really] loves Me; and whoever [really] loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and reveal Myself to him [I will make Myself real to him]” (Jn 14:21; NKJ, AMP).

In Greek, the word ‘manifest’ means to become visible, to appear before you, to disclose His heart in a special way. It is the deepest form of spiritual intimacy given to the true lovers and friends of Jesus, who have totally and unconditionally surrendered their lives to Him. Jesus here makes it clear that Love means obeying His Commandments. To Love Jesus does not mean to sing or dance in the church. That is only one of the manifestations of love you have in your heart for Jesus. Agape love is proven by obedience to God’s Word. Some people try to look humble in church. That is not loving God. Others try to work hard for God. They do many things in church. That is still not loving God. Jesus sets Love and Obedience in an intimate relationship. A lawless person (unrepentant sinner) does not love God!!! A man who does not study God’s Word does not love God. It is that simple! Loving Jesus is not some great heroic, act you do once in a while. No! It is everyday obedience to God’s Word, as led and empowered by the Holy Spirit. If Jesus says ‘go’, you go! If Jesus says ‘sit’ you sit. If He says ‘pray’ you pray! That is Love! Many people sing and dance in church to cover up their disobedience to Jesus. Often, religion is a cover up for true love. Selah!

The commands of Jesus are hard. No flesh can obey them. Only Love has the power and the motivation to obey Jesus. For example, Jesus describes the way of the Cross like this: “A man’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. 38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me. 39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matt 10:36-39). You must love Jesus, more than you love your family. Because of Jesus, you must ‘hate’ your family. It means that if your family tells you to disobey God’s Word, you have to refuse them and obey Jesus. In this process, you ‘lose your life’. You lose your childhood dreams; your family’s plans and ambitions for you. Because you chose to obey and follow Jesus, you will disappoint family and friends. This is called dying to self, taking your cross and following Jesus. What is the gain in this dying? Like Jesus died and rose again, you too will experience the power of resurrection. You will discover your true self, God’s plan, and destiny for you. You will find fulfilment in this life on earth and eternal rewards in heaven. Love accepts you as you are, a sinner coming to Jesus. But love will never leave you as you are. Love is like a surgeon, very harsh against ‘the cancer’ of the flesh. To Love Jesus means to trust Him as the surgeon who will kill your flesh to liberate your spirit. No other man or god can change you so radically. Love alone does it. Jesus will manifest to you as your Surgeon and as your Bridegroom. In Christ you will taste pain and joy like never before. The intimacy of sharing in His sufferings and in His glory is unique. It changes you forever. This is the power of Love!        

BLESSED ARE THE MERCIFUL

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy…  Blessed [content, sheltered by God’s promises] are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” (Matt 5:7 NKJ; AMP;).

The scripture above is taken from the Sermon on the Mount preached by our Lord. Each sentence describes the born-again believer. The natural man cannot obey these commands. No one can be merciful except he is saved. The Lord is interested in the heart more than in the outward deeds. He is interested in the attitude more than in our actions. In Greek, the word ‘blessed’ means to be happy, someone to be envied, one who is to be congratulated. The word ‘merciful’ means compassionate, or full of pity.

“Love endures with patience and serenity, love is kind and thoughtful, and is not jealous or envious; love does not brag and is not proud or arrogant” (1 Cor 13:4; AMP). Love is kind and merciful. In Greek, the word kind means to serve others, to be useful doing good deeds.  

What is mercy? Mercy is defined as kindness towards your enemy, especially when he is in your power. Mercy is the twin sister to agape love. Love is the Queen! Grace is the King! Mercy is the Mother! To understand it better, we must compare mercy with grace. Both are ‘unmerited favors’ from God. Grace is unmerited favor shown to a sinner. Grace sees the sinner and his many sins. Grace saves the sinner, so that he will not go to hell. Mercy is concerned with the consequences of sins, with the deep misery and trouble that the sinner finds himself in. Mercy is sorry for the sinner who suffers and does something to help him. Mercy is not just a feeling of compassion. Mercy has feelings and mercy has strong arms to help. In other words, mercy=pity+help! Without doing something in action, to help the troubled man, you have not exercised mercy. Grace intervenes to save the sinner and mercy intervenes to help the sinner who is in trouble because of his sin. God is the source of both Grace and Mercy. God may choose to show mercy and help or heal a sinner in trouble. But without the work of Grace at the beginning, the sinner who was helped by mercy will still go to hell. To love your enemies or to show mercy to those in need (that you may not like) is impossible to the natural man. It is only a child of God that loves and is merciful. But even in a believer, his flesh will fight against the Spirit and find reasons why he should not show mercy. Question: are you merciful?

“Through the Lord’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness” (Lam 3:22, 23). Just like agape love, God’s mercies and compassions never fail. In Hebrew, the word ‘fail’ means to come to an end, to be finished. The word ‘compassion’ means the mother’s womb where the baby is implanted and grows. Therefore, God’s tender mercies surround us, protect us, heal us to become whole. We recognize that our suffering could have been greater, if not for God’s mercy! “His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation” (Lk 1:50).

THE PARABLE OF THE GOOD SAMARITAN (Lk 10:25-37)

In the Parable of the Good Samaritan, you see mercy displayed. A man was beaten and left to die along the road. Two religious Jewish men, a priest, and a Levi, pass by. They may have felt pity in their hearts for the victim. The Levi even went to ‘look’ at him. But they did nothing to help him. Their behavior simply means that they had no mercy. Then a Samaritan came. He not only felt pity towards the victim, but he did something to help him. He poured wine and oil on his wounds. He carried him on his donkey. He paid for his treatment. He alone is the one who showed Love and Mercy to a needy neighbor. According to God’s word, he alone will receive mercy from men and from God. Selah!

THE LAW OF SOWING AND REAPING

“Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Gal 6:7-10). The Law of sowing and reaping is one of the fixed laws of nature. It works both spiritually and naturally. If you plant corn, you will reap corn. You cannot reap apples. If you plant a few seeds of corn, your harvest will be small. If you plant a lot of corn, you will reap a great harvest. Nobody can change this law. It is God’s law in the universe. Spiritually, the law works through our actions and words.

God said: “While the earth remains, Seedtime and harvest, Cold and heat, Winter and summer, And day and night Shall not cease” (Gen 8:22).

“My experience shows that those who plant trouble and cultivate evil will harvest the same” (Job 4:8, NLT). There are two men who sow: one godly and the other wicked. There are two types of seed that each one sows: The good seed is the Word of God. We speak or the good deeds we do for the glory of God. The bad seed are evil words and evil deeds. There are two types of grounds where the seeds are planted. The bad ground is the flesh (the totality of man inherited from Adam that is not under the influence of the Holy Spirit). The good ground is the Spirit. The believers alone can plant in the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is Love, Peace, etc. Cultivating this fruit pleases the Holy Spirit who has the power to give eternal life. For example, a young Christian man and woman plan to marry. Having sex before the wedding day is surely planting sinful seeds into the flesh. They experience some pleasure. But the harvest will be an emotionally damaged relationship. But if another Christian couple decide to abstain before the wedding day, they will experience spiritual and emotional bonding and intimacy in their relationship. The difference is clear. Another example: a husband and wife keep grudges. Their marriage relationship will slowly become weak. Little by little, they emotionally separate from one another. They reap am harvest of loneliness, bitterness, and anxiety.   

The word ‘deceive’ means to go astray, to wander away from the path of truth. We can deceive others and even ourselves quite easily by thinking that what we do or say does not matter. But this is the truth: Words and actions are seeds for good or for evil. Each word and each action have consequences. Speaking in the flesh means sowing sin and it will surely lead to a harvest of ‘corruption’. If you are merciful, kind and loving, you will receive the same from men and God. In Greek, the word ‘corruption’ means ruin, rottenness, decay. Speaking as led by the Holy Spirit leads to eternal life. This life is the life or God. It is not just a life without end, it is a special quality of life. It is holy and glorious. It is the life of those who live in heaven. The center of eternal life is knowing God. Jesus said: “And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (Jn 17:3). Living a godly life is not easy. There is a price to pay. The flesh complains. But we are commanded not to become weak, grow weary, or faint in the process of sanctification. We should continue to listen to God’s Word, build up the faith in the heart, and speak words of faith and life, no matter the contrary circumstances. We should continue to love, be kind and do good to all people, especially to the believers. Eventually, the good harvest will come. This is God’s Law! God measures our words and deeds. The harvest will be paid in the same measure, both in quantity and quality. “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you” (Lk 6:38). “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Cor 9:6).

Sometimes, the harvest is delayed. But it will surely come. You need to speak the same word of truth many times, until you build enough faith to believe it. The opposite is also true. If you speak negative things often, one day, the ‘negative’ harvest will come. The Law of sowing and reaping was given by God to be a blessing to us. After sin entered, the same law worked against us as we speak lies and unbelief. For example, if you say: ‘you make me sick’ often enough, one day you will get sick. If you say ‘one day I will divorce you’ one day you will. It is a spiritual law. Believing is not a feeling! You speak God’s Word because it is in the Bible. Most of the time faith does not come immediately. It takes a long time until God’s Word settles in your heart and becomes faith and conviction. Faith is a choice to believe God’s Word. If you separate believing from confessing, there is no manifestation of your faith. The word believed in your heart, without confession, will not work for you. For example: I say that God’s Word is health to my body! “My son, give attention to my words; Incline your ear to my sayings. 21 Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; 22 For they are life to those who find them, and health to all their flesh” (PV 4:20-22). I must quote this scripture to myself every day for a long time. I may still feel sick. But little by little, by the confession and hearing of God’s Word, I will be healed!

“He who speaks truth declares righteousness, but a false witness, deceit. 18 There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword, but the tongue of the wise promotes health. 19 The truthful lip shall be established forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment” (PV 12:17-19). The tongue of the believer speaks truth, declares righteousness, speaks wisdom, promotes health, and is established forever. The tongue of the liar speaks deceit, hurts others like a sword, and will soon be forgotten. If you complain, the words of your mouth will come to pass. For example, if you say: “I am getting worse… I am getting worse…” you will indeed get worse. Many people say: ‘but I can’t lie about it. I am really getting worse…’ That is when you need to pray for your mind to be renewed. “We have the mind of Christ” (1Cor 2:16). And Christ was never sick.

The circumstances that you see are temporal. They do not last forever. They will change. But God’s Word and reality never changes. “While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal” (2Cor 4:18). Be careful: Fear, doubt, may look like faith, but it is not! What God says in the Bible, even if you can’t see it now, is the truth. God cannot lie! Faith 100%! Fear 0%! Doubt 0%!

When the miracle does not manifest, many people get discouraged along the way. This is the sequence: you hear the Word of God- you believe it – you confess it (many times, noy just once)- and you pray like a woman in labor, until the word becomes part of you. It may take a long time, but one day, you shall receive your heart’s desire. Borrowed faith works only for baby Christians. Until you take responsibility for your sins, you truly repent, and you pay the price for greater faith, your miracle will not manifest. Many people start with faith. They believe a promise of God and they confess it. After some time, when the results do not appear, they change their minds. They stop believing and stop confessing it. Faith has been weakened and damaged. Faith becomes doubt. God will not answer their prayer anymore (Jam 1:7). They start complaining. They get angry and bitter at God. It is not God’s Word that stopped working. It is the people who have stopped believing and confessing the Word. Faith must be combined with perseverance. This holy perseverance is sustained by fasting and prayer. Eventually, faith wins the battle. Your confession gives birth to manifestation when you have worked it out by yourself in your prayer closet. God grants your request. Faith mixed with confession leads to miracles. The Holy Spirit must seal your faith and confession with the sign of peace. Peace will help you believe with all your heart. Then a miracle will happen! If the miracle has not come there are some reasons for that: maybe it is not God’s will. it is a fleshly desire; it is not the right time; or your faith is not a conviction yet. God. Pray for wisdom for all things. The truth remains: God rewards true faith!

Apostle Paul said this: “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day” (2 Tim 1:12). You see that he speaks like a man who suffers pain to believe and know Jesus. He is free from fear, doubt, and shame. He not only believes in Jesus but he also ‘knows’ Jesus. That is ‘eternal life’ speaking here. He has come to a place of assurance in His identity and relationship with Christ. He trusts Jesus to keep his soul. He trusts Jesus to fulfill His destiny. This assurance is a great work of God done in his heart. We should desire the same. Just complaining to God is not prayer of faith. You need to tell God about His promise, then tell Him your need, and ask Him to help. We are children of God. We must speak, think, and behave like God, our Father. “God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did” (Rom 4:17). Like Jesus, we can call out the Lazarus of our circumstances and he must come forth, in His name. We need to have total faith in God, and we need to pray and prophecy the miracle. Many Christians do not take their words seriously. But God takes our words seriously. “But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment” (Matt 12:36). Idle words are useless, non-working words. Idle words are dangerous too. God rejects them. God cannot use them to produce miracles. Idle words produce death.

Jesus is the High Priest of every confession, of every word from our mouth. “Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus” (Heb 3:1). Jesus says that faith (believing) and speaking (confession) must be mixed together for God to remove the ‘mountain’ from your path. “So, Jesus answered and said to them, “Have faith in God. 23 For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be removed and be cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. 24 Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mk 11:22-24). Faith in God comes first. Then ‘you say’ what you believe. That is ‘the confession’ part. The internal faith and the audible words must be in harmony. You take authority in the name of Jesus, and you command with your mouth that the mountain be removed. We often complain to God, even in prayer, saying: “This mountain is getting bigger every day… My pain is getting worse… I am broke…” And the words come to pass. We do not even see that there is a problem. God’s promises are true but not automatic. It is our responsibility to store God’s Word in our hearts. There is a promise in the Bible for every legitimate need of men.

“Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it and indulge it will eat its fruit and bear the consequences of their words” (PV 18:21; AMP). Actions and words have consequences. God commands that we ‘mortify’ the flesh. It means to kill its desires. “For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live” (Rom 8:13). Pleasing the flesh, sowing to the flesh, ends in ‘corruption’. This word suggests the gradual decaying of a corpse. Spiritually, pleasing the flesh will end in weakness, in a ‘bad odor’ that will drive all people away from you. God cannot be mocked. Men think that they are free to do what they want. But they forget this law. No matter how wealthy or famous, no selfish, greedy, ungodly man, can be truly happy in life. Men like Pharoah, Herod, or Goliath have tried to mock God. They lived to regret it. Pharoah drowned. Herod was eating by worms and died. Goliath was killed by a teenager with just a stone. Fear God!

Sowing in the Spirit means to live every moment to please God, to the glory of God! The harvest is a sure eternal life. Anytime we think, we speak, or we do something having the glory of God in mind, we sow to the Spirit. Jesus said that if you help the needy for His sake, you do it for Him and He will reward you. What help can we give: food, water, clothes, hospitality and visiting the prisoners (Matt 25:31-46). We are to love and help all people but especially the brethren. A Christian who is wicked to another Christian is not only wrong, but he is a monster. One day you will meet the Christian you hated in heaven. Love seeds are planted on earth and the eternal harvest is in heaven. We are to love and do good ‘as we have opportunity’. In Greek, the word means ‘seasons.’ We see that the opportunity to plant good seeds is limited. Learn to take advantage of any little open door to do good for Christ’ sake. Don’t miss it! Worship the Lord!!!