Do_You_Love_God_

Do you love God' This may sound like an odd question, don't we all love God' Perhaps, but that depends on how we are answering this question. With biblical godly terms or our own definition of love' That matters right' So what definition are we using' matthew 22:35-38 jesus said to him, “you shall love the lord your god with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind. this is the first and great commandment. So how do we love God with all of our heart, soul and mind - which is the number ONE commandment. S h a m e o n u s if we can't get the number ONE commandment correct! So how do we love Him' Let's look at what the scriptures has to say: John 14:15 15 If you love Ne, you will ke e p N y c o m m a n d m e n t s . John 14:21 21 Whoever has N y c o m m a n d s and ke e p s t h e m is the one who loves Ne. The one who loves Ne will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show Nyself to them.” John 15:10 10 If you ke e p N y c o m m a n d s , you will remain in Ny love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in His love. John 14:23-24 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who l ove s N e w i l l o b e y N y t e a c h i n g . Ny Father will love them, and We will come to them and make Our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love Ne will not obey Ny teaching. These words you hear are not Ny own; they belong to the Father who sent Ne. It should be obvious that loving God is defined by k e e p i n g H i s c o m m a n d m e n t s . When we disobey or ignore His word we are showing that we in fact do not love Him, regardless of all the loving words we may say to Him or about Him. It is o u r o b e d i e n c e to His word and N O T our loving words, good intentions or good deeds that reveals our love for Him. Nark 7:6-8 6 Jesus replied to the Pharisees “These people draw near to Ne with their mouth, And honour Ne with their lips, but their hearts are far from Ne.” What would you think if your husband/wife told you and everyone else around you that they loved you, but always ignored you and did what ever they wanted to do, day after day, without considering your wishes' What if they did whatever was r i g h t i n t h e i r o w n e y e s based on how they decided they should love you. Their words of love would not mean much to you, would they' You would know that either they were lying or they don’t know what the word love really means. 1 John 2:4-5 4 Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. So it is the same when we tell Jesus how much we love Him while ignoring or disobeying His word, to do whatever we want to do. We have been persuaded that doing God’s commandments is legalistic but this is far from the truth as scripture clearly states that if you love God, you will do His commandments. It is the fruit of your love for God. Don’t get me wrong, we do not follow Gods commandments FOR our salvation, we follow them BECAUSE OF our salvation Overview of the Clips: Love is not just about keeping His commandments. Love is not just about doing the right thing. That is what love looks like when it walks and talks but that’s not love. Love is passion! Do you have a passion for God' Do you desire him' Do you long for Him' Yes we all struggle at times but If some-one were to look at your life would they say, this person has a passion, not for religion, not for missions but for God! The sign of the general work of God, in the heart, is when Yo u b e g i n to H a te t h e s i n y o u o n c e l ove d & l ove t h e r i g h te o u s n e s s y o u o n c e i g n o r e d. The question is not do you agree with that or are you challenged. The question is, is that a reality in your life' Is it' Are you continuing to grow in your hatred of sin and your love for righteousness, that’s the question. People come to me all the time and say “I have a new relationship with god!” and I say, “Well do you have a new relationship with sin because if you do not have a new relationship with sin, you do not have a new relationship with God.” Eternal life does not begin with dying and going to heaven. Jesus says this is eternal life, that they may know You. That begins the moment that He regenerates your heart and reveals to you the Father. Christ will cost you an easy life. You will have to discipline yourself. You will have to say no to the things of this world. Even if no-one follows after Christ. You have to be willing to stand, even if you are the only one on earth to stand. You must lay down your own life or you cannot be my disciple and if you do not, you will meet me in the final judgement. You r l i f e i s no l onger you r l i f e, i t i s now H is l if e . You r ti me i s no longer your ti me, i t i s now H is t im e . You r f u t u re i s no l ong er y ou r f u t u re, i t i s H is f u t u r e . Salvation is purchased with the total surrender of your life to Christ. That’s what saving faith is. It is coming to the end of yourself and completely and entirely trusting all that you have to all that He is. Salt is good but if even salt has become tasteless - meaning it gives evidence that is was never true salt to begin with with. What will it season' The answer is nothing, it is useless. It’s no good to anyone not to God, not to Christ. You are just taking up a seat for some-one else, because you have not come to the place of total surrender to Christ. You have not taken up your cross to follow Him. Christ requires the total commitment of your life to Him. We ought to search our hearts today. Have I yielded my life' The gates of paradise have been swung open to you. And the narrow gate is open. He who comes unto Me I will not wise, cast out. He is calling you today to come to Him. But if you come to Him don’t play games! You must surrender to Christ.