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Thunder And Love Part 2 Series
Contributed by Michael Mccartney on May 22, 2025 (message contributor)
Summary: Today we are going to focus – maybe refocus on Love – John was called the apostle of Love and He knew love and truth had to be linked together to be able to live in a world which distorted both love and truth!
Thunder and Love part 2 – John the Apostle of love!
Scripture: 1 John 4:7-21:
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Love – biblical love comes from God
Those who love are born of God and they personally know God.
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
The opposite is also true a person who does not love does not know God – because when we know God we are wrapped up in His love and that love pours out onto others.
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
God showed love through sending his son Jesus to die on the cross for us! This is love manifested for all to see and embrace.
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
It’s the pay it forward principle!
12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is made complete in us.
God is seen and revealed through love – Jesus’ love for the unlovable reveals God to others to see – Jesus is the manifest presence of Love in the flesh – you see Jesus you see a God.
13 We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God.
God through his act of love has given us the Spirit – the Spirit comes and lives in us when believe and accept Jesus as Lord and Savior!
16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.
We rely on God’s love for salvation, for the Spirit – He is love – he is the creator of love – those who chose to live in His love – live with and in connection to God – through His spirit.
17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
When we walk in God’s love – embrace God’s love and love others like Jesus we know that judgment day has nothing on us and we can live at peace – embracing God’s love – creates in us a “No fear” mindset – Love has the power to cast our all fear! If we live in fear then we have not embraced all that love has for us – we all keeping love still at a distance rather than embracing it and immersing ourselves in it.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. The Holy Bible: New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1984), 1 Jn 4:1–21.
If we live and are immersed in God’s love we will love others – especially our brothers and sisters in Jesus – love is a key the world is looking for – genuine God type love and that love needs to be seen in all Christians – if we do not manifest love – we do not have God in our life – we are Christian in name only!
Illustration: LOVED, TO BE LOVE from sermoncentral.com Jason Bonnickson shared this story:
One of the neatest gifts I've ever received was this little, hand towel. I was given this during my seminary commencement, and have cherished it ever since. The towel has a little saying on it: "Blessed to be a blessing" Isaiah 61:1. Isaiah 61:1-2 says: "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives... to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn."
