GIVE YOURSELF AS A SACRIFICE? SELFLESS LOVE GIVES…
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
GOD IS LOVE… WHERE GOD IS --- IS LOVE. Series: GIFTS OF: 1. Joy, 2. Hope, 3. Peace, 4. Love
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
I read where a group of 4 young boys that had found an old bird cage... They loved to hear the birds sing. So they finally captured a bird and placed it in the cage. They mocked the bird and was mean to it. The old preacher was walking by and saw the 4 boys gathered around the cage. The preacher asked: WHAT’S THAT BIRD WORTH? One boy said: Preacher that old bird ain’t worth nothing!
The Preacher said: I have $20.00, that is all I have. I will give each of you boys $5.00 a piece for that bird and the old cage. The boys talked it over and said: IT’S A DEAL, PREACHER. They all wondered why the preacher wanted that worthless bird? The preacher paid the boys $5.00 apiece. Then he walked away carrying the cage and the bird. They followed the preacher down the street. The preacher got to some trees in an opened field. The preacher talked to the bird. The bird sang to the preacher. The preacher listened to the bird. The bird sang a song of GIVING A SACRIFICE OF LOVE. The boys thought the preacher would take the bird to his house. The preacher knelt down over the cage and opened the door… PREACHER SAID: YOU ARE FREE, FLY AWAY. The $20.00 sacrifice of love was SIMPLE, the bird was RELEASED: FLY AWAY. FLY HIGH. There was a rumor that went around town, there was a family of birds that gathered around the preacher’s office window and sang each day a song of THANKS FOR SETTING US FREE.
LOVE THINKS IN THE LANGUAGE OF “WE” NOT THE LANGUAGE OF “ME.” I LOVE TO BE LOVED! I LOVE TO LOVE. LOVE CAN DRIVE US THROUGH MANY DANGERS AND FEARS.
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
SOME PEOPLE SEEM TO BE LIMITED IN THEIR LOVE. IF YOU DON’T LOVE GOD YOU ARE LIMITED. IF YOU CAN’T LOVE YOURSELF, WHO CAN? IF YOU LOVE YOU WILL FIND LOVE! SOW? REAP? HEAVEN’S SECRET PASSWORD IS LOVE!
Mark 12:32 And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he: 33 And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.
YOUR NAME MEANS SOMETHING OVER LIPS OF LOVE. HAVE YOU EVER HEARD SOMEONE SAY YOUR NAME THAT IS IN LOVE WITH YOU?
Isaiah 49:16 Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me.
I WANT US TO UNDERSTAND LOVE… See, God has written your name on the palms of his hands. You are always in God’s mind. TALK ABOUT LOVE.
My Mom called my name often. The way Mom said my name was different than the way anyone else said it. I loved to hear my Mom call my name. My name sounded different off my Mom’s lips. I remember my senior year in high school waking up to Mom’s tears falling on my arm. Mom’s love made my name sound so sweet. Mom died. After her death I occasionally would hear Mom call my name. Often I would wake up in the night after hearing Mom call my name. I could hear my name and I recognized her voice. It was my Mom calling my name. Slowly over the years Mom’s voice faded from my ears. I would say it has been over 20 years since I have heard my Mom call my name, her call was ALWAYS IN LOVE. Seems Mom knew me was a fact. But there is something greater than knowing me… MOM LOVED ME!
CAN WE DEFINE LOVE WITH WORDS?
Love is an intense feeling of deep affection. Love is deep interest and pleasure. Love enjoys and likes very much. LOVE IS WE NOT ME… LOVE WILLINGLY PRIORITIZES OTHERS WELL BEING ABOVE YOUR OWN. Love is compassion and
tender passion. LOVE MAKES THE CHOICE OF COMMITMENT AND TRUST. Love desires to grow closer. LOVE IS A BASIC NEED OF DAILY LIVING.
PETER HAS 3 ACTS OF DENIAL. HE DENIED JESUS 3 TIMES… 3 TIMES JESUS ASK PETER: “DO YOU LOVE ME?”
The English language has some problems… for example. I love my car. I love my dog. I love my nation. I love my pastor. I love my sons. I love my wife. EACH TYPE OF LOVE IS DIFFERENT…
First time in John 21 Jesus asks Peter : Peter do you love me? (Feed my lambs.)
Second time: Peter do you love me? (Feed my sheep.)
Third time: PETER DO YOU LOVE ME? Lord you know… (Feed my sheep.)
Perhaps there are more levels of love than meets the ears.
*EROS: eye candy, pleasing to the senses/emotions, lust, desire.
*PHILEO: friendship, brotherly love, deeper love, lasting longer.
*AGAPEO: highest form of love , love of God for man, man for God, deep, profound, sacrificial.
LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT? HOW WOULD YOU DEBATE: “LOVE IS A CHOICE?” HOW MUCH DOES LOVE COST? WHAT IS LOVE? COMPASSION? IS LOVE PERMANENT? IS IT TEMPORARY?
I fell out of love? Probably not. You probably fell in love with someone or something else… Love does not die… YOU KILL LOVE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO IMPROVE YOUR LOVE? LOVE? LUST?
Love is kept by faith and hope. Love never gives up. LOVE ENDURES.
I HEAR OFTEN I WOULD DIE FOR JESUS… JESUS SAYS I AM NOT ASKING YOU TO DIE FOR ME… I AM ASKING YOU TO LIVE FOR ME. WHAT SHALL I GIVE? TELL WE THE BENEFITS: CAN THE CHURCH AND JESUS GIVE ME? WHAT CAN YOU GIVE ME? TODAY WE FIND SELFISHNESS, EGOS IN SELF-ABSORBED DAILY LIVING. GIVE ME OR SACRIFICE?
Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1 (MSG) So here's what I want you to do, God helping you: Take your everyday, ordinary life—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering. Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him.
A couple served on the pioneer China Mission Field. They died in serving as missionaries. They had a daughter born there in 1837 her name was Maria Dyer. There was no other choice but to ship Maria back to her Uncle in England to raise her. Maria always had a deep love for China and the people there. Maria’s parents gave their lives’ in China. Maria felt the call to return to China. When Maria was 16, her and her sister returned to China to work in missions at a girls’ school. After serving there for 5 years MARIA met and married the famous missionary HUDSON TAYLOR. Hudson gave his life to faith, love, ministry and SACRIFICE. HUDSON and MARIA decided to be the best missionaries they could be and give their lives as a LIVING SACRIFICE for missions. They had 9 kids. 5 of their kids died. At 43 MARIA DIED OF CHOLERA. She gladly made the LIVING SACRIFICE. MARIA had these words of sacrifice engraved on her headstone. “FOR HER TO LIVE WAS CHRIST, AND TO DIE WAS GAIN.”
LIVING FOR THE CROSS IS NOT WHAT WILL YOU GIVE ME… SERVING JESUS IS WHAT WILL I BE WILLING TO SACRIFICE FOR THE SAKE OF LOVE? When we find the presence of God more important than life itself… the importance of the things of this world slowly dim AND FADE AWAY.
GREATER LOVE? LOVE SAYS: I WILL TAKE YOUR PLACE…
John 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
There was a man that heard of the get rich California gold rush. He left his wife and little son in the New England area. He promised as soon as possible he would send money and his wife and son would come and live with him. Several years passed and finally the man sent money to his wife to join him in California. His wife and son were so excited and they sold all they had and prepared for the trip. They purchased tickets from New York to California on a PACIFIC STEAMER. They boarded the ship and away they sailed. At last they would be reunited with the husband/father.
The STEAMER was still in the ATLANTIC when the FIRE BELLS STARTED RINGING. The STEAMER had a massive fire. The STEAMER HAD CARGO OF GUN/ BLACK POWDER. The captain of the ship knew when the fire reached the powder room the ship would explode and all aboard would die. The captain had all the life boats loaded. The last lifeboat was overcrowded. The mother cried let us escape? The boat was pushing away from the steamer. The captain said: THERE IS
NOT ENOUGH ROOM FOR BOTH OF YOU WITHOUT SINKING. She begged, the captain refused. The mom and the son kissed. They all thought she would jump into the lifeboat. To the amazement of all, the MOTHER PLACED HER SON IN THE BOAT. The last words the son heard his momma say: “MY BOY, IF YOU LIVE TO SEE YOUR FATHER, TELL HIM I DIED IN YOUR PLACE!”
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
