Love In Action Part Two Series

Love in Action part two

Romans chapter 12:14-21

Introduction-

We have been in a sermon called “Love in Action” and we didn’t get finished last week and I am not sure we will finish it this morning either because I believe there are several truths that we can and must live out as believers in Christ.

If we don’t finish today, I will try to wrap it up next week.

Last week we said that:

Love must be sincere- your love, my love must be sincere and it must line with Christ love

Your love must not have ulterior motives that are not pure.

It must not be lacking in zeal. (For others and for God)

It must be patient, joyful, faithful, and it must be lived out in our lives.

It is easy to talk the talk but it is not easy to walk the walk!

How many this morning are sick of the same old same old and are willing to go see what God has for you?

A lot of us believe we are better Christians than we are. We all need to practice what we preach

Let’s talk to the Father about it

Prayer-

Father, today as we look at the rest of this passage, we see very quickly that we would not be able to love like Jesus without the help of Jesus. We would not be able to love those that persecute us without realizing the depth that Jesus loves us. Help us this morning to grasp your love and love like you love and be more Christ-like. In Jesus name Amen.

Romans chapter 12:14-21 Read from Bible

Wow!

Blessing others… that is a whole lot different than the world. The world trains us to think it is all about us

Rejoicing (laughing) with and morning (weeping) with others…

You are being asked to live in harmony (one accord) with each other, when this world is in such a mess.

You have to go back to the beginning of this chapter- Romans Chapter12:1-2

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God-this is your spiritual act of worship. Do not be conformed any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Paul tells us that for the believer the body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is where the Spirit of God dwells and where the Spirit of God wants to work from.

Apostle Paul reminds us that we can use our bodies to do everyday tasks, everyday functions but to remember that is also where the Spirit of God has taken up residency.

In view of God’s mercy, (I don’t know about you) I want my body to be a body of sacrifice.

When I go to work, home, office, playground, yes, even to church, my body will be a place of worship.

Real worship is giving back to God all of you! It is being a mirror, reflecting Christ everyday.

That is why you cannot love like Christ, be joyful in the things of God, faithful in prayer, patient in your trials, act in brotherly love… without Christ in you.

It is not your nature, unless Christ has changed you from where you were to where you need to be. Amen!

“Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.”

Remember I said that your love must be sincere- Christ love- you must hate what is evil and cling to what is good.

When everything in you says I can never do that! Christ says that you are to bless those who persecute you.

You can’t do it, but Christ in you can do it!

First of all this scripture is not that you need to be a human punching bag (physical or emotional) for someone and if you are in physical danger, you are not told to stay in that dangerous situation.

It is not about putting yourself in harm’s way for the sake of someone else’s evil.

You would not leave children under your responsibility in a home or place that is dangerous to their welfare.

This verse is directed to the way we respond to people who are the ones that rub us the wrong way.

The ones that make our lives difficult just because they can.

The ones where our personalities just clash and you cannot get on the same page to make good decisions together.

Christians are to meet these kinds of persecution with prayers for those that persecute-

Plato said “That a good man will choose to suffer evil rather than to do evil; and it is always evil to hate.”