Because We Love Him

Father, we love your presence. We love your presence. We love you Lord and we give you all the glory. You are such a good, good Father. We love you and we give you praise this morning.

My grandfather married Doris and I – it will be 44 years in two weeks, July 30 – in a small intimate wedding of immediate family. When we said “I do” we obligated ourselves to each other. We obligated ourselves to a relationship where two became one. We see this in scripture as well in John 17 where Jesus says that He wants the disciples to be one with Him just like He’s one with the Father.

When you have a relationship where two become one – two become one. I like to say it this way: two independents become one. You don’t give up who you are. Your personalities are the same. How you think is going to be different, but you have come into agreement that we are two, but we’re going to be one.

Every relationship has obligations — things that must be done because of what the relationship requires.

When I married Doris, one of the relationship requirements for each of us was no more dating. When we became one, we were separate from our families. When we became one, the influence of our families became minimal in our lives as far as decision making.

Now, if you work in an office, for example, and you are responsible for answering the phones and making sure the right messages get to the right people, how accurate and timely you are in fulfilling that requirement could be the difference in a positive outcome or a negative outcome for the person receiving the message. That’s relationship.

We have folks who operate the sound board at our church. When the Praise Team is singing the sound board person has to balance the different voices or they will not sound good. And, the person has to make other adjustments when the Pastor or someone else stands to deliver the message. That’s relationship.

We also have folks who operate the camera. When the Praise Team is singing, a wider shot is needed so that the entire group is in the frame. However, when the Pastor or someone else delivers the message, the shot is much closer so that the person fills the frame. That’s relationship.

In these two examples, how the sound board person and the camera person interact and respond to the Praise Team and the Pastor or other speaker impacts how the congregation and the viewers on the internet and YouTube respond to the service. That’s relationship.

In the body of Christ, we are in a relationship and in that relationship we have obligations. Relationships make us debtors to the person with whom we have the relationship. Generally, you don’t enter into a relationship haphazardly and this is especially true of a Christian’s relationship with God. We are in a relationship that obligates us to do certain things for the One who made the relationship possible.

As Christians, our obligations to Jesus is our love response to what He has already done for us. If you are truly responding out of love, do you see anything as being an obligations?

Turn to Colossians 1. As Christians, our obligations to Jesus is our love response to what He has already done for us.

(9) For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.

(10) That ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing in the knowledge of God:

(11) Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joy fulness:

(12) Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light:

(13) Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, [The word “power” is “authority.” Satan no longer has authority in our lives unless we give it to him.] and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son:

He’s painting an image for us ladies and gentlemen. He’s translated us. In other words, we have been moved from one place to another place. The place we were removed from was the eternal death associated with the sin nature. We now live in the place of eternal life that’s associated with our new nature.

We no longer live in the kingdom of darkness. We live in the kingdom of light. Can the kingdom of darkness still influence and dominate our lives? Not unless we allow it to. Who holds all the power in this situation? Say it with me, “I do.”