LOVE FOR GOD
Introduction
Love for God is rooted in obedience to His word, love for souls and the zeal of service. There is the love for our neighbours, which itself is evidence of our love for God.
The love for God is a holistic thing and never fragmented. When we love the Lord, we obey His every word and instruction to us. We serve Him willingly and joyfully. The bible talks about an 84 years old widow, who became a widow after 7 years of marriage, and who served the Lord with fasting and prayers night and day. A great woman indeed, God gave her the priviledge to see baby Jesus on His dedication - Luke 2:36.
Love for God goes beyond mere words, into every action we take our thought and speech. Again, we see in Romans 12:1 that holiness is a service unto the Lord. It's not just a command that God gave us, but by holiness, we are accepted by God. These are services that show that we love the Lord.
When I review our walk on earth and the promises of what is to come for us in heaven, the mansion that is waiting for us, based on our earthly kingdom accomplishments, I came to one conclusion.
We are here on a test, to prove that we genuinely received the Lord and we love the Lord. They are tested in every aspect of life to see whether they are worthy of heaven. That is why Christians should get out of carnality quickly and start thinking and walking spiritually. Your earthly walk is the yardstick for your eternity in heaven, so if a child of God should understand one thing, it is that we are here to prove we love the Lord who died for our redemption.
It is a priviledge for me to share this message, because many people spend their days pursuing their dream and personal visions, forgetting the godly visions and planning for their lives. Every dream or vision not pursued along with eternity is a journey in vain spiritually. So, let's start laying our treasures in heaven. Let us love the Lord and serve Him, love our neighbours and live holy, presenting our bodies as a living sacrifice unto the Lord.
Let's fulfil our covenant obligations as children of God, pay your Tithe, honour the Lord with your first fruit offering, win souls and give to the work of God's kingdom. As we do all these and more, we are laying treasures up in heaven, and the bible says "Where ever your treasures are, there will your heart be".
In Mathew 6:19-21, the bible says:
"Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal. But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal, for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also"
Our walk, service and love are tangible evidence of the love for God in our hearts.
God created us for Fellowship
The devil distorted God's plan for mankind by deceiving Eve and wrestling the dominion given to man. By the sin of disobedience, all mankind was born with the nature of sin in us, instead of the nature of God. Being born with the nature of sin, we are separated from God from birth, so Christ has to die for us to be reconciled back to God.
The moment we are reconciled unto God, the remaining days we have here is for us to learn how to fellowship and worship the Living God. We are expected to praise, honour and worship Him in truth and spirit, in righteousness and holiness, as a chosen group of people.
John said: “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is” (1 John 3:1-3).
Every step we take after in our relationship with God must be according to the grace He has given, and according to His ordinances. We worship the Lord according to His terms and not the terms of the world or our own.
Love is the key to Friendship
Love for God and love for our neighbours is at the centre of our relationship with God. I prefer to call the entire scenario a test because how well we live the love life will determine where we will spend eternity; Some people continue to sing about belonging to the family of God. Good, but we must remember that our love life is proof of our genuine salvation and regeneration in Christ.
A carnal man cannot love in the way that God wants us to love. Our relationship with God has a time limit, while we are still living. So, we should study to know to live right with God, so that our purpose will be fulfilled, to the glory of God. When a Christian walks with the mentality of the expected end in mind, it will help moderate his behaviours and conducts.
Love must come from the Heart:
The Bible emphasizes the central role that loves plays in our lives. The bible says that “God is love” (1 John 4:16). In another place, Jesus asked His disciples to love sacrificially like God, who forgives and blesses his enemies. The bible says we should likewise love our enemies because love makes us perfect like God.
Human beings have the capability to love since we are made in the likeness of God, He must be the source of love. When a person receives the Holy Spirit, he is renewed and empowered to love, if the person is willing to inconvenience himself for the sake of others. Inconveniences are one of the prices we pay for love. Love makes a person vulnerable, helpless in almost all issues relating to the one you love.
Love is sharing with people, what may not even be enough for you. Love is to accept people for who they are. We are called to love unconditionally. Whosoever cannot love does not know God. Love is the nature of God, and every regenerated child of God should possess it. So, whoever does not have a love for others is not yet regenerated.
Here are 16 ways to please God:
1. Faith pleases God: The first requirement for pleasing God is to have faith in God. The bible says in Hebrew 11:6, “Without faith, it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him”. God rewards those who diligently seek and serve Him, an example is found in the person of Enoch, who the bible says walked with God, having a testimony that he pleased God.
2. Obey Him - Obeying God pleases Him: Prophet Samuel expressed God’s displeasure with Israel’s first king Saul, when. Saul disobeyed God’s direct command with the excuse that “the people” had wanted to give what should have been destroyed to God instead. But God doesn’t want our physical gifts if we are going to break His laws to give them!
Samuel asked him "“Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice” (1 Samuel 15:22).
3. Soul Winning: We are saved to bring others to repentance through preaching Christ to them. The salvation of souls is the reason Jesus came and each time a soul is won, Jesus says there is “joy in heaven over one sinner who repents” (Luke 15:7). God is pleased with His children who heed the call to soul-winning.
4. The fear of the Lord pleases God: - “The LORD takes pleasure in those who fear Him, in those who hope in His mercy” (Psalm 147:11). Everyone that fears the Lord avoids sin and relies on Him for all our needs. When we fear the Lord and reverence Him, He is pleased.
5. Love His Son Jesus Christ: Loving the Lord with all your heart, spirit, soul and body is a command of the Almighty God. Without loving the Lord, there is no eternal life for such a person. The question we should be asking then is "What does it mean to Love the Lord"?:
It is written "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. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40).
6. Love your Neighbours: One of the proof that we love the Lord is our love for our neighbour. How we help and support people in need, shows our love for God. Proverbs 14:31 says he that honoureth the Lord has mercy on the poor. Every committed servant of God seeks to please Him. Paul says we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so, we speak, not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts” (1 Thessalonians 2:4).
7. Doing God’s will pleases God: Identifying our purpose and doing it is most pleasing to God. This is because in doing His will, we are fulfilling His plan in our life and the lives of people around us. In doing His will, we bring down His glory and He is glorified.
The will of God for our life is the purpose of our creation. It is the reason why some people have some gifts and grace that others do not have, so when we do His will for our lives, we stand the chances of touching other people for good easily. We cannot know His will without being in a relationship with Him. We cannot fulfil his will without His help. So, the early we seek Him concerning His will and how to fulfil it, the earlier our struggle will come to an end.
8. Be Holy, live righteously
God is pleased with the righteous and His eyes is continually upon the righteous to deliver them from difficulties. He commanded us to be holy because He, the Almighty is holy. Coming from among the world, refusing to touch unclean things and standing with the Word of God is what the Lord expects from us. By our salvation, we are 'Called-out' people unto the Lord, and we should live righteously.
8. Be spiritually-minded: - The bible says “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Romans 8:6-8).
There is a carnal and spiritual mind. The carnal is constant in disagreement with the spiritual and the two cannot agree. The only option left for man is to choose between the flesh and the Spirit. If we accept the Spiritual mind, we then do things of the spirit and depart from the things of the flesh, like adultery, fornication, witchcraft, stealing prostitution, stealing and telling lies.
9. Pray to God daily. Tell God that you love him and love his creation. Tell him you appreciate everything you have. The Bible says that we are to "pray without ceasing."
10. Do good things to people. This will show how much you actually love God. Doing Random-Acts-of-Kindness, Do good things. Jesus said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments."
11. Honour God's name. Do this by helping people to believe in God and by sending messages of hope to others to encourage them. The Bible says that we are to not take God's name in vain.
Image titled Show God You Love Him
12. Pray to God. Tell God that you love him and love his creation. Tell him you appreciate everything He has given to you. Tell Him you love what He loves and then go ahead and do those things that He loves. The prayer should be daily, as when you wake up in the morning, you greet your heavenly Father through prayer and giving thanks.
13. Love your enemies. Turn the other cheek. God will make you a stronger person and give you the ability to do this, even though it can be hard.
14. Practice forgiveness and compassion with others. Jesus had compassion for every person he saw. Jesus also said that we are to forgive anyone who sins against us 70 times 7, as in countless times.
15. Have a lively fellowship with Christ: The bible says God created man for fellowship and we are in the family of God as His sons and daughters. Whoever will please His heavenly Father will have to come to himself, like the prodigal son did. You have to realize the importance of your heavenly Father to your joy and happiness and humble yourself like the Prodigal son, and He will accept you and re-clothe you like a son.
16. Give to the things of God - His gospel: The challenge of giving to God is that people think it is the only money they can give. You can give anything to God and for His work and those things can be turned into money and used for the gospel. You can also give your time and skills.
Why we should please God
1. All the good things we have come from Him, including life. Every act we commit that does not please God has the potential to hurt us. Whatever displeases God will hurt us. Sin has dented our relationship with God, and the bible says "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23)
2. Thankfully, God loved us so much that He made a way to wash away our past sins and allow us to start afresh. Jesus Christ’s sacrifice made this possible.
3. He first loved and gave to us: No matter how much we give God, we can never come close to scratching the surface of what He has done for us—much less what He wants to do for us. In this life, He offers awesome benefits, such as making our enemies be at peace with us (Proverbs 16:7).
4. The Lord wants to give us the Kingdom to enjoy. The bible says it is the good pleasure of the Father to give us the kingdom. It says “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32).
What to do
God wants us to receive the gift of salvation and walk in the newness of life. God wants us to follow in the steps of Jesus.
Start living and loving. Lay up your treasures in heaven where thieves cannot break into and steal. Love God with all your heart and love your neighbours as yourself.
FIRE...
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