Turn on Your Love Filter
1. Setup: there are different types of things that contaminate our spiritual environment. Things that poison the atmosphere. Words, actions, deeds and often times with good intensions. These are worldly and human devices and emotions that can creep into dialogue, our conversation, our message, our tendencies, and even into our lifestyle. It is only through God’s love that we can guard against and remove these carnal contaminants from our spirit.
2. Ephesians 4:1-6; AND 1st John 4:7-12
3. Let's not confuse Christian love with its modern-day counterfeits
4. Define Love:
a. Eros (erotic; romantic; and sometimes selfish love);
b. Storge (love of a parent toward an offspring and vise-versa);
c. Phileo (brotherly); it is where we get the term Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love.
d. Agape (selfless; unconditional). Has nothing to do with the one being loved, but with the lover of the one being loved.
5. St. John 21:15-17: Peter, do you love me, feed my lambs…, Feed my lambs..., thou knowest all things, you know I love thee,… feed my sheep. What is critical here is the type of love Jesus was talking about – He asked if Peter Agape, and Peter answered Phileo.
6. [I have three sons]
7. How do we make love the prime characteristic in our lives?;
8. [LOVING PEOPLE IS HARD, DIVERSITY]
a. We’re not the same: Socially; Economically; Educationally, we are different in every way the world can define us.
9. Ephesians 4: [Paul is calling for unity] There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; 5. One Lord, one faith, one baptism,; [what do we have in common]
a. One Body: we may have different denominational preferences, but one body (Methodist; Episcopalians; Protestants; Catholics; Church of Christ; Church of God in Christ; Baptist
b. One Spirit: We may be called and motivated to do different things in the ministry.
c. One Lord: We have different parents; there are different church structures; different pastors
d. One Hope: Not a desire, but a conviction from the word of God. That binds us in love
i. Hebrews 13: I will never leave thee nor forsake thee
ii. Matthew 28:20 lo, I am with you, even unto the end of the world
iii. Philippians 4: My God shall supply all your needs, According to his riches in glory through Christ Jesus
iv. Romans 8 and 17: we are ares of God, and joint ares with Jesus Christ
v. Romans 8:28 - And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
e. One Faith:
f. One Baptism: The catholic sprinkle water; the Baptist
10. 1 John 4, Verse 7: Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. Verse 8: He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
11. [The writer is trying to reason with us]
a. If I sneezed, and coughed, and had runny nose, you can conclude that I have a cold. Because I carry the requisite symptoms that would indicate to you that I must be sick. The sneeze is the symptom of the cold. Our Love for one another is not a cause of our salvation, but instead, our love for one another is the result of our salvation.
b. Our love for one another is not a pre-condition for being born of God, our love for one another is a consequence of being born of God
c. Therefore, those of us not willing to love one another, simply don’t know God; and therefore are not saved.
12. When we demonstrate Christian love, it distinguishes believers from the rest of the world. Jesus goes on to say, St. John 13:35 "By this [love] all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another".
13. [A long time ago, Texas]
14. [In your wallet, is an ID Card; Love is the Christians Identification Card]
15. If we are experiencing God’s love, three things will occur:
a. We will fall in love with God
b. We will fall in love with His people
c. We will value the things of God
16. Dr. W.A. Criswell, former pastor Dallas, Texas - weddings.
17. When Ira Gillett, missionary to East Africa, returned home to report on his activities overseas, he reported an interesting phenomenon. Same treatment different hands.
18. 1 John 4:12-15 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
19. Our Role: There are different types of filters:
a. Blood Filter: When the filter is placed in your intravenous catheter (IVC), the blood flows past the filter. The filter catches blood clots and stops them from moving up to the heart and lungs. This helps to prevent a pulmonary embolism. 1John 4:9-11 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. [BEGOTTEN = BEGET] Having no peer; or having no equal. [BLOOD FILTER]
b. Water Filter: remove chlorine; pharmaceuticals and chemicals; heavy metals such as lead and mercury; and other organic compounds that can give water an unwelcome taste and odor. John 4:10-11 10. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
c. Air Filter: Prevents harmful debris, dirt and contaminants from entering your system or body. Acts 2:2-4 2And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
d. Oil Filter: remove contaminants from your engine oil that can accumulate over time as the oil keeps your engine clean. Clean motor oil is important because if the oil were left unfiltered, it could become saturated with tiny, hard particles that can wear surfaces in your engine. Luke 4:18 (The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,) 1John 2:27 (27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.)
a. Love Filter: 1John 4: 9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
20. 1John 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.
21. Scripture: Galatians 5:6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.
22. If we fail in our loving we have missed what it means to be a Christian.
