Loving God & Loving Each Other Series

Sermons from 1 John: 02-21-2010

Sermon #07: Loving God & Loving Each Other

Scripture Ref: 1 John 4:7-11

Introduction:

Several years ago BILL GAITHER wrote a song entitled, Loving God & Loving Each Other. That song title is what I would like to use for the subject of this morning’s message; Loving God & Loving Each Other.

JOHN was known as the APOSTLE of LOVE. When he was WRITING HIS GOSPEL he did not want to use his own name so he referred to himself as, the DISCIPLE who JESUS LOVED. It must have been OBVIOUS that JOHN had a SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP with JESUS.

Now I think that is a GREAT NAME, how about you? Wouldn’t we want to BE KNOWN as the DISCIPLE who JESUS LOVED? I surely would!

JOHN was FOND of the word LOVE. Here in this very brief epistle of 5 short chapters, John used the word LOVE over 40 times in 1st JOHN.

PREACHERS with HOBBY HORSES:

No matter what they say their SUBJECT is; they most always find their way back to that HOBBY HORSE SUBJECT. Years ago in PENTECOSTAL HOLINESS CHURCHES such as ours, some preachers’ HOBBYHORSE may have been WOMEN'S HAIR or WOMEN’S DRESS. They had MEMORIZED some OLD TESTAMENT SCRIPTURES and they were CONVINCED that these things were the CAUSE of ALL the EVIL in the WORLD.

We might CONCLUDE that JOHN had a HOBBY HORSE. As I just said, he used the word LOVE over 40 times in 1 JOHN & he used the phrase, “LOVE ONE ANOTHER” 4 times and he used the phrase “LOVE THE BRETHERN” 5 times. If one is going to have a HOBBY HORSE then LOVE is a GOOD HORSE to RIDE, especially TODAY!

Someone has said that if you BOLIED the CHRISTIAN FAITH

DOWN to just ONE WORD then that ONE WORD would be LOVE.

Remember what PAUL wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:13

‘& now abides, faith, hope & charity {LOVE} but the GREATEST of THESE is LOVE.’

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In this passage that we’re looking at this morning – JOHN is going to DRAMATICALLY DEMONSTRATE for us the RELATIONSHIP of GOD’S LOVE for us & OUR LOVE for GOD & also OUR LOVE for ONE ANOTHER.

This PASSAGE takes up the ARGUMENT of GOD’S HEART.

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JOHN begins in chapter 4: 7-8 by giving us a DEFINITION of GOD’S LOVE.

‘Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of GOD & everyone who loves is born of GOD & knows GOD. He who does not love does not know GOD, for GOD is love.’

GOD is NOT just a LOVING GOD, ------ GOD is LOVE.

ALL that we KNOW about LOVE is ROOTED in the CHARACTER & in the NATURE of ALMIGHTY GOD.

GOD is the ORIGIN of LOVE.

GOD is the ORIGINATOR of LOVE.

LOVE is of GOD.

Any LOVE that we KNOW comes from GOD.

GOD is the ONE that TEACHES us HOW to LOVE ONE ANOTHER.

The VERY DEFINITION of GOD is LOVE.

GOD is LOVE.

& WHAT is the DEFINITION of GOD’S LOVE, it is GOD HIMSELF.

GOD & LOVE are INTERTWINED so that there is NO WAY to SEPARATE THEM

This is the 3rd TIME that JOHN has TAUGHT on this SUBJECT of LOVE in this LITTLE EPISTLE.

This is NOT JOHN being FORGETFUL & REPEATING HIMSELF. NO, this is the WORK of the HOLY SPIRIT DRIVING HOME a MUCH NEEDED POINT in JOHN’S DAY & as well as in our day TODAY.

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In this EPISTLE JOHN gives us 3 WAYS that we MUST REMEMBER THIS:

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#1: 1st JOHN reminds us that WHEN we LOVE ONE ANOTHER we are WALKING in the LIGHT of GOD.

1 John 2:9-10 ‘He who says he is in the light, & hates his brother is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light & there is no cause for stumbling in him.’

GOD who is the ORIGINATOR of LOVE & the ORCHESTRATOR of LOVE & who TEACHES US to LOVE ONE ANOTHER reminds us through the WRITINGS of JOHN that WHEN we LOVE ONE ANOTHER we are WALKING in the LIGHT.

#2: WHEN we LOVE ONE ANOTHER we are WALKING in the LIFE of GOD.

John 3:14-15 ‘We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethern. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer & you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.’

WATCH CAREFULLY:

JOHN is saying, ‘The WAY we RESPOND to the LOVE of GOD & to LOVING OTHERS is a TESTIMONY to the FACT that we are WALKING in the LIFE of GOD. He talks here about ETERNAL LIFE.

#3: In the PASSAGE that we are LOOKING AT this morning JOHN TEACHES US that when we LOVE ONE ANOTHER we are WALKING in the LOVE of GOD.