How to Love God More: Part 3

Actions

Love is not just a feeling.

It is a verb.

LOVE in action.

LOVE grows through what we do.

Men LOVE women more by doing more for them. They don’t really want a woman to love them. They need a woman to respect them.  The more they work to provide for a woman, and the more respect and gratitude the woman shows, the more a man loves a woman. Men die for the woman they love. It is a sacrificial LOVE. GOD made us like this:

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.  In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church.  However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
EPHESIANS 5: 25-33

Love is doing

What more can you do for GOD?

Seek him out more.

Pray more.

Read the Bible more.

Listen to GOD.

Worship GOD.

Follow what Jesus does… Jesus did everything through LOVE 

JESUS REPLIED, “ANYONE WHO LOVES ME WILL OBEY MY TEACHING.  MY FATHER WILL LOVE THEM, AND WE WILL COME TO THEM AND MAKE OUR HOME WITH THEM.  ANYONE WHO DOES NOT LOVE ME WILL NOT OBEY MY TEACHING.  THESE WORDS YOU HEAR ARE NOT MY OWN; THEY BELONG TO THE FATHER WHO SENT ME.

ALL THIS I HAVE SPOKEN WHILST STILL WITH YOU.  BUT THE ADVOCATE, THE HOLY SPIRIT, WHOM THE FATHER WILL SEND IN MY NAME, WILL TEACH YOU ALL THINGS AND WILL REMIND YOU OF EVERYTHING I HAVE SAID TO YOU.  PEACE I LEAVE WITH YOU; MY PEACE I GIVE YOU.  I DO NOT GIVE YOU AS THE WORLD GIVES.  DO NOT LET YOUR HEARTS BE TROUBLED AND DO NOT BE AFRAID.

YOU HEARD ME SAY, “I AM GOING AWAY AND I AM COMING BACK TO YOU”.  IF YOU LOVED ME, YOU WOULD BE GLAD THAT I AM GOING TO THE FATHER, FOR THE FATHER IS GREATER THAN I.  I HAVE TOLD YOU NOW BEFORE IT HAPPENS, SO THAT WHEN IT DOES HAPPEN YOU WILL BELIEVE.  I WILL NOT SAY MUCH MORE TO YOU FOR THE PRINCE OF THE WORLD IS COMING.  HE HAS NO HOLD OVER ME, BUT HE COMES SO THAT THE WORLD MAY LEARN THAT I LOVE THE FATHER AND DO EXACTLY WHAT MY FATHER HAS COMMANDED ME.”

JOHN 14: 23-27

Love of God is obedience

GOD knows that LOVE means DOING what GOD tells us to do.

YOU MAY ASK ME FOR ANYTHING IN MY NAME AND I WILL DO IT.  

IF YOU LOVE ME YOU WILL OBEY MY COMMANDS.

JOHN 14:14-15

This is a good way of looking at sin. If we indulge in sin, we are turning away from GOD and reducing our LOVE for him.  GOD sees everything and knows what is in our heart.

If we choose sin…

We offend GOD

We hurt GOD

We grieve the HOLY SPIRIT

Do Not Grieve the Holy Spirit

And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.  Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.  Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

EPHESIANS 4:30-32

Whoever claims to love GOD yet hates a brother or a sister is a liar.For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen cannot love GOD whom they have not seen.

1 JOHN  4:20

Love other People

GOD makes it clear. We must LOVE each other.

If we want to LOVE GOD MORE… LOVE other people.

Not just your favourite child and your best friend. BUT… everybody…

The Bible has many examples to show us how:

GOOD SAMARITAN

JOSEPH

AND THE MOST IMPORTANT ONE OF ALL… JESUS

Love God more by loving others

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. 

COLOSSIANS 3:12-14

Let us pray:

FATHER GOD HELP US TO LOVE YOU MORE. SHOW US OH LORD HOW TO LOVE YOU WITH EVERY FIBRE OF OUR BEING. HELP US OH LORD TO PUT YOU FIRST IN EVERYTHING. THANK YOU GOD THAT YOU LOVED US FIRST. WE ASK THAT YOU STEER OUR HEARTS AND MINDS AND LIVES ON THE PATH OF OBEDIENCE AND UNFALTERING LOVE FOR YOU.. IN JESUS MIGHTY NAME WE PRAY. AMEN.