If you have love one to another.
John 13:35 "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one to another."
Jesus didn't say that all men would know we are His disciples by our doctrine, our rituals, our hatred for sin, or even by the way we express our love for God. He said very clearly, that the one characteristic that would cause the world to identify us as His followers, is our love, one for another.
This same night, the Lord prayed to His Father using this same thought saying, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" (Jn. 17:21).
The only way that Christ's body will be one as the Father and Jesus are One, is through God's kind of love.
Unity of believers, that can only come through a genuine God-kind of Agapa love, is the greatest tool for evangelism that the church has or will ever have, according to Jesus. The early church didn't have the massive organizational structures that we see today or the ability to travel anywhere in the world in just a matter of hours.
They certainly did not come close to spending as much money, in proportion to us, to spread the gospel. And yet, the pagans of Thessalonica said of Paul and his companions, "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also" (Acts 17:6).
They had evangelized the known world in less than thirty years.
Before we can ever fulfill the great commission of Matthew 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
This same night, the Lord prayed to His Father using this same thought saying, "That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me" (Jn. 17:21).
The only way that Christ's body will be one as the Father and Jesus are One, is through God's kind of love.
Unity of believers, that can only come through a genuine God-kind of Agapa love, is the greatest tool for evangelism that the church has or will ever have, according to Jesus. The early church didn't have the massive organizational structures that we see today or the ability to travel anywhere in the world in just a matter of hours.
They certainly did not come close to spending as much money, in proportion to us, to spread the gospel. And yet, the pagans of Thessalonica said of Paul and his companions, "These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also" (Acts 17:6).
They had evangelized the known world in less than thirty years.
Before we can ever fulfill the great commission of Matthew 28:19-20
19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
There must be a revival of love in the church, where doctrine and ritual take a "back seat" to love for one another.
AWMI.net
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Remember : The Greatest Commandment
There must be a revival of love in the church, where doctrine and ritual take a "back seat" to love for one another.
AWMI.net
====
Remember : The Greatest Commandment
To Remember: Total devotion to God is our purpose in life
The Jews were not finished questioning Jesus. A lawyer asked Jesus: "Which commandment is the greatest of all?"
Jesus answered from the Old Testament: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.
Jesus added a second command, that we must love our neighbor as ourself. Then he explained that every other law of God was based on these two laws. What did he mean by that? If you love God, would you ignore him or speak badly about him? If you love your neighbor, will you steal from him or hurt him?
Jesus added a second command, that we must love our neighbor as ourself. Then he explained that every other law of God was based on these two laws. What did he mean by that? If you love God, would you ignore him or speak badly about him? If you love your neighbor, will you steal from him or hurt him?
No. the other laws (don't steal, don't take the Lord's name in vain) all are based on loving God or loving man.
Note that true love is 1) total, and 2) sacrificial. You can't love God and something else. You must only love him. And you can't love God but do nothing for him. Loving someone means doing things for them, caring about them and their feelings. giving up your time and money and things for them.
What does God mean when he says we are to love god with alove godt, soul, mind and strength? Our heart is our affection. Our soul is our spirit, our conscience - it's what makes us alive. Our mind is our brain, the part that thinks things through. Our strength is our will, our desire and commitment. All these things must be devoted to God. It's not enough for our heart to love god but our will to be too lazy to do anything. Nor can our spirit believe in God but our mind have doubts.
Total Commitment. There are few people in life who are totally committed to something. What does it mean to be totally committed?
Note that true love is 1) total, and 2) sacrificial. You can't love God and something else. You must only love him. And you can't love God but do nothing for him. Loving someone means doing things for them, caring about them and their feelings. giving up your time and money and things for them.
What does God mean when he says we are to love god with alove godt, soul, mind and strength? Our heart is our affection. Our soul is our spirit, our conscience - it's what makes us alive. Our mind is our brain, the part that thinks things through. Our strength is our will, our desire and commitment. All these things must be devoted to God. It's not enough for our heart to love god but our will to be too lazy to do anything. Nor can our spirit believe in God but our mind have doubts.
Total Commitment. There are few people in life who are totally committed to something. What does it mean to be totally committed?
Olympic athletes are totally committed to their sport. Everything decision they make hinges on whether it will help or hurt them reach their goal of being a good athlete. What they eat, how often they practice, where they go, and who they spend time with is all determined by whether it helps them meet their goal. Even the apostle Paul used Olympic athletes as examples of how we should live our life. "1 Cor 9:24-25 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize?
Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever." How does this affect how we live?
Every decision about what we do, where we go, and who we spend time with should be determined by whether or not it will help us reach our goal of pleasing God and reaching heaven
-- http://www.sundayschoolsources.com/lessons/greatestcommand.htm
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