I John 4:7-21
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us andhis love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.
"We are" every1one Praying
Our Father, Exalted, Holy, Above, Loving, Merciful...from me, as a new creation in-Christ Jesus Your Son, we come to pray every-1-one. “We are” Your Body, Your Bride, & Your Beloved by Your Blood, for our forgiveness and newness.Our sincere and simple prayer of believing, is that “We are” Receiving Your Heart, the Heart of God. And that LORD, “We are” Reflecting Your Heart, because as You Are so also are we in this world. “We love because YOU first loved us.” God Your Love, Your Thoughts, Your Heart is toward us. “We are” Your Heart. Therefore LORD, Your love, Your thoughts, Your Heart is our Identification for who “we are” and represented toward people in our world. Father, in the Power of The Holy Spirit, Flowing as The River of GOD, cause Life and it more Abundantly in every occupied seat, every hearer by media, ppl touching ppl, some are praying as learners for discipleship, some as leaders for penetration of truth, some who hunger & thirst for Righteousness to be Filled; some that are practical in need for The Word to be made flesh by application in their personal lives, some who want us to give more attention and value to seeing Jesus ask for communication of The Christ and His completion of The Cross, some are deliberate about the spiritual warfare of deliverance from darkness and bondages that dampen, while others are just wishing for the nitty gritty of how does the all this make sense of The God of The OT, and yet we pray all of these private petitions wound be met by YOUR profoundness and prophetic revelation to every-1-one of us because we need to know who “We are,” that God is what today is for...! in The Name of Jesus Christ our Identifier, Amen
Identification
A Reason why we ARE and we are BECOMING is because...Identification
- Last week, we asked, “have you ever used a fake I.D. before?” (and we chuckled)
- This week i ask, “have you ever been in a mistaken identity?” “And did someone have to step in for you?”
- One late late night i was coming home from “Mama Ristorante”...
- to know who you and/or we are
- and know what you and/or we are about (many hero identity issues i.e.- Lebron J, Kobe, orgs, Mikes, “x”, Jesus
- because out of who you are or we are, we live and give
- And you are and we are NOT what we do, but simply live & do from who we are!
- NO longer, NO me, for who i use to be
- we are NOT who we used to be, the old me...
- and even if i do what i use to, that is not me!
- I am NEW!
- to become the Heart of God, we have to know God & HIS Heart
- that is why min. dr. Anthony stated in “of God” —It is our desire as a body to (seek, search, &) study out what is genuinely sincerely in God’s Heart; to study Who God is, and out of that we hope to discover His Heart.Today we will see God’s Identification
- but 1st let us see...
- vs. 7 - we need to define this 3 times mentioned love
- even the world & ungodly love (Matt 5:46-47)
- must be defined & measured by Jesus’ Love (John 13:34-35; 15:12-13) & God’s Perfect Love (Matt. 5:43-45, 48; sweet sixteen 1Cor.13:4-8)
- vs. 8- God is Love
9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
- vs. 10 “in this is love”- refers back to vs.9; then in vs. 10 further defines love
- E*- but our “Receptivity” to this Love is based upon our ability to Receive Jesus’ feat fulfilled & finished
10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
- Propitiation- (def.)- covering, atoning sacrifice, appeasing, sin-offering- i.e.- how many of us feel or know bad/judgements happen when bad is done? Let’s call that bad “sin.” Jesus’ Love upon the Cross was our propitiation fulfilled & finished sin-offered for us
- Again i say, when did This Gospel Good News... twisted
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.
- vs. 11- This is a direct tie
- vs. 12- Q: Why this statement? A: The Invisible God is in us then Love demonstrated & perfecting through us.
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
- HIS SPIRIT is the way in us
- vs. 14-15: Father sent, Son-Savior of world, by our believing & confessing Jesus, then His Spirit enters us
16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
- This is our NEED
- The key is we need to RECEIVE.
- Abides is the continual mechanism of Receiving!
17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.
- Abiding is how Love is grows, matures, is completed and perfected with us.
- Confidence- is this Love being Received by Abiding constantly in that One Exchange Moment by Moment
- Result- is in that Christ is in the current by Abiding present day ppl who are the Heart of God.
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