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Nov 04, 2018

Called To Love

Called To Love

Speaker: Dr. David Ferguson

Series: Other

Category: Sunday Morning

Imagining our own call to love Jesus and love people. We need Jesus. We need His Word. We need each other.

John 13:34  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 

John 12:35 So Jesus said to them, "For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes." 

The Christian life is a walk in the light. If we stop walking, darkness overtakes us. Darkness is always chasing us. So we need to equip children to walk in the light. How?

Recognize three sources of light:

1) The person of Jesus – John 8:12 "Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, "I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life."  This requires of us fresh encounters of Jesus, of a contemporary Jesus.

2) His Word – Do Bible Verses  Psalm 119:105 "Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path."

Exercise of prayer: God show us what fruit of the Spirit we need to develop. Galatians 5:22-23 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." 

3) His people – Matt 5:14 "You are the light of the world." Jesus’ light is in His people. That’s why deep fellowship is with each other and we need it.

Therefore, living out our call to love will require:

  • Fresh encounters with Jesus - He is the light of the world. John 8:12
  • Frequent experiences of scripture - The Word is the light to our path. Ps. 119.105
  • Faithful engagement in fellowship with one another - We are His light for the world. Matt 5:14.

Deep community is so important. We need Jesus. We need His Word. We need each other. When we live out those sources of light, we express love for Him and love for other people. 

How to love the Lord? Not by doing things, but by:

  1. Showing up with a glad heart. Psalm 100.
  2. Listening to Him and letting Him speak into our lives.
  3. Doing His book – Keep yourself focused on loving Jesus and loving people.                        

I Peter 1:22 "Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart."

We Fervently Love by:

  • Celebrating Together – Romans 12:15
  • Sharing Appreciation – I Thes 5:12
  • Sharing Encouragement – Heb 3:13
  • Giving Comfort – II Cor 1:3-4

What distracts you from doing His book?

How have you experienced a fresh encounter with Jesus?

How can we start today to fervently love?