DO YOU WANT TO KNOW HOW WE CAN LOVE?
I want today to continue on the theme of the Holy Spirit until this Sunday, (Pentecost Sunday). Thank you for the great response to some of my recent blogs on the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and an our desiring an outpouring of the Holy Spirit in our day. Today I want to talk about one of the awesome personal effects of the Holy Spirit coming in our life.
My readers may remember that Margaret and I celebrated 55 years of marriage recently, I still take much pleasure in saying to her every day (and usually more than once) I LOVE YOU, and that love has sure grown deeper and deeper over the years. I felt the Lord reminded me this morning that our ability to really love is because on the day we were born again we had a Rom.5:5 NKJV experience “The love of God has been POURED OUT in our hearts by THE HOLY SPIRIT who was given to us.
PASSION We can now experience the endless love of God cascading into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who lives in us!
The very first thing God’s love does is to give us the ability to love HIM Matt.22:37 NKJV You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. A command that we can’t really obey without God’s help.
THAT IS JUST THE START
We now have the ability to love our ENEMIES Matt. 5:44 NKJV But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.
We are now able to love our NEIGHBORS Matt.22:39 NKJV You shall love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus even qualifies it by saying we love our neighbors like we love ourselves.
SOME PEOPLE ARE HARDER TO LOVE THAN OTHERS, BUT THERE IS NO ONE WE CANNOT LOVE IF WE LET GOD’S LOVE FLOW THROUGH US.
We now have the ability to LOVE ONE ANOTHER John 13:34 NKJV A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. This I think especially is talking about loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. It may be a commandment, but one we can fulfil because God has poured His love into us. When we do it, it is a proof that we are truly disciples of Jesus John 13:35 NKJV By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
We now have the ability to love the CHURCH, both the local church (oh how we have missed it (meeting together) during this lockdown/isolation period). Also we can love the World wide Body of Christ, we are part of a glorious family, I have had such a privilege of meeting thousands of believers from many nations, languages, colour and culture, I LOVE THE CHURCH.
Paul tells us this divine AGAPE LOVE can grow 1Thess. 3:12 NLT And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people GROW AND OVERFLOW.
It is so expressed in the FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT Gal. 5:22-23 NKJV But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law..
LET US FEED GOD’S DNA IN US AND LET THE GROW.
I am sure this happens the more we surrender to the Lord, and let the HOLY SPIRIT FILL THE HOUSE.so when we are baptised in the Holy Spirit, our ability to love should increase more and more.
Paul again tells un in Eph. 5:2 NKJV this type of living is to become our lifestyle. Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And WALK IN LOVE, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Paul describes the love in 2 Cor. 6:6 NKJV we must have as “by SINCERE love”, it is also described as HONEST or UNCRITICAL LOVE. I heard a Preacher friend years ago describe the opposite to this love as SLOPPY AGAPE, sadly, I am sure you know what he meant.
We must learn to keep very short accounts with God and man, maintaining a spirit of repentance, and surrender and STAYING UNDER THE SPOUT WHERE THE LOVE COMES OUT. This way as Jude says in verse 21 NKJV keep yourselves in the love LOVE OF GOD,
By the grace of God, every time we open our mouths let us fulfil Eph. 4:15 NKJV by SPEAKING THE TRUTH IN LOVE.
We literally do not have a single excuse as we let the LOVE OF GOD keep flowing in our hearts we can fulfil every command of God to love.
I AM MADLY IN LOVE WITH JESUS, and thank God every day for GOD’S SO GREAT SALVATION. I TRUST YOU ARE TOO.
I am concluding this blog with 2 songs that express so much better than I can my love for Jesus.
Jesus, Sweet Jesus, What A Wonder You Are
You’re Brighter Than The Morning Star.
You’re Fairer, Much Fairer
Than The Lily That Grows By The Wayside
Precious, More Precious Than Gold. (2)
You’re The Rose Of Sharon,
You’re The Fairest Of The Fair.
You Are All My Heart Could Ever Desire;
Jesus, Sweet Jesus, What A Wonder You Are,
You’re Precious, More Precious Than Gold.
Jesus, Sweet Jesus, What A Wonder You Are
You’re Brighter Than The Morning Star.
You’re Fairer, Much Fairer
Than The Lily That Grows By The Wayside
Precious, More Precious Than Gold.
Jesus, tender lover of my soul,
Pardoner of my sins, and friend indeed,
Keeper of the garden of my heart,
Jesus, thou art everything to me.
chorus
Jesus, thou art thou everything to me,
Jesus, thou art everything to me,
All my lasting joys are found in thee;
Jesus, thou art everything to me.
What to me are all the joys of earth?
What to me is every sight I see,
Save the sight of thee, O Friend of mine?
Jesus, thou art everything to me.
Here I lay me at thy bleeding feet,
Deepest homage now I give to thee;
Hear thy whispered love within my soul;
Jesus, thou art everything to me.
I do trust this blog has blessed and challenged you, I would love to receive your response [email protected] or John E. Ollis on FB or John Ollis on Twitter.
this is my 999th blog
