Victory Life KY

Love is a BATTLEFIELD II

Episode Summary

According to the New Testament, “love always wins” but if you think for even a second that our carnal, un-renewed human nature is simply going to walk in love because Jesus tells us to, make no mistake, there’s going to be a battle.

Episode Notes

• 1 Corinthians 13:4-8,NLT-  
• Love is patient and kind. 
• Love is not jealous, boastful, proud or rude. 
• Love does not demand its own way. 
• Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 
• Love does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 
• Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

• According to the New Testament, “love always wins” but if you think for even a second that our carnal, un-renewed human nature is simply going to walk in love because Jesus tells us to, make no mistake, there’s going to be a battle.

• Last week we talked about how human nature wars against our born-again nature. You see, the good fight of faith, many times is that war that wages in our soul.

• 2 Corinthians 10, We do not wage war as the world does. 
• The weapons we fight with are not worldly. We have divine power to demolish strongholds, and take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.

• Galatians tells us that for the born again, the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love. 
• Remember our faith confession from last week?

• “Lord, I commit to living a life of love. To be passionate and surrender excuses. I refuse to do nothing!” 

• Ultimately, love has to be expressed. This is why we’re always saying, love is a decision, not an emotion.

• Unfortunately, a decision to do nothing is still a decision. And deciding to do nothing only make our influence weaker.

• 1 John 4, The person who refuses to love doesn’t know the first thing about God, because God is love.”

• John 13:34-35,NLT-  “So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

• Would God lead you to someone that He knows needs a touch of His unconditional love, specifically from you?

• What if it’s the one you’ve concluded doesn’t deserve it? You know, the one that did something specifically to you... Tell me love isn’t a battlefield!

• 1 Peter 4:8,AMP- Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins, it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others.

• MSG- Most of all love each other as if your life depends on it.

• Jesus didn’t wait for us to measure up, He didn’t wait until we got our lives straightened out, He refused to hold all our sins and failures against us. He started with love.

• This is why we repeatedly see commands throughout the NT telling us, above all things put on love.

• Remember, love isn’t an emotion, it’s a decision.

• At some point, those of us that confess to belong to Jesus have to stop assuming someone else will make sure the world encounters God’s love.

• God’s plan for every member of His body is for each of us to be an expression of Him with those He sends our way, or He sends us to them. And it starts with each of us, right inside these four walls.

• John 13:35,MSG- This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other.

• Thunk about it, it was Jesus who said, we would know a tree by its fruit.

• Psalm 15 says, He honors the Lord who holds to his own hurt and doesn’t change. In other words, keeps his word even when it hurts.

• He wants His love, His mercy, His nature, flowing through us. And He will grace us to be the person He knows we can be.

• John 17:21,NLT- I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me.

• At the end of the day, there's always going to be someone He's leading us to, that's away from Him. Someone hurting or maybe confused about Him.

• Just like when Jesus showed up in people's life and said, "I've come that you may have life"

• This is why God graces us, gifts us, anoints us to introduce someone else to this new life in Him.

• Listen to how Paul encouraged, even challenged Timothy to embrace those gifts.

• 1 Timothy 4:14-15,AMP- Do not neglect the gift which is in you, that special inward endowment which was directly imparted to you by the Holy Spirit... Practice and cultivate, meditate upon these duties; throw yourself wholly into them as your ministry so that your progress may be evident to everybody.

• I believe he’s saying? "God, use me to be an expression of You every where I go."

• I truly believe that any of us willing to walk closer with Jesus, acknowledge His nature in us, embrace our giftings, it’s going to evident toward other people. 

• Listen to Paul’s instructions in Ephesians 4, Now that you’re learning the truth about Jesus, it’s time to let go of your old nature. Instead, let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes. Put on your new nature, created to be like God, righteous and holy. 

• As Christians, as part of His body, Jesus is counting on us influencing those along our journey. Thing about it, someone has to take the high road. Someone has to go first.

• This is why God says that we're to keep company with Him and learn a life of love.

• You ready for this, when it comes to a life of love, it’s a pretty simple concept, Love In, Love Out.

• Colossians tells us since we’ve been chosen by God for this new life of love. A life of compassion, humility, and kindness, willing to forgive as quickly and completely as the Master forgave us. So regardless of what else we put on, wear love.

• And I realize that this is a big ask from Jesus; but do you really think Jesus would ever ask us to do something we couldn’t do?

• Think about this for a second, since we’re willing to accept His unconditional love for ourselves, shouldn’t we be just as willing to extend it to others as He was to us?

• He didn’t wait for any of us to get it all right, to meet certain legal expectations, He didn’t wait for us to come and say I’m sorry, He didn’t say, get your life right first, He started with love.

• Ephesians 5:1-2,MSG- Watch what God does, and then you do it, like children who learn proper behavior from their parents. Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with Him and learn a life of love...

• Think about it, a life of faith is really the only way we’ll be able to honestly look past peoples failures, mistakes, rejection, disloyalties, their sin and love them like Jesus.

• Seriously, those of us that get up everyday and embrace God’s love, do you honestly think we’re always that lovable?

• Ultimately, Love is our greatest witness. It’s what wins the world. Love is spiritual, it’s supernatural, it’s who Jesus is.

• Remember, Love In, Love Out!

• Here’s the thing, He deliberately plants the righteous among the ungodly.

• The Bible says, Jesus was moved with compassion when He saw the multitudes; not just the nice ones, the good ones, the regular church goers; but the multitudes.

• You really want to be an expression of Jesus, show somebody some mercy.

• Whether they want to admit it or not, the world is watching.

• Galatians 6:1,AMP- Brothers, if anyone is caught in any sin, you who are spiritual, that is, you who are responsive to the guidance of the Spirit are to restore such a person in a spirit of gentleness, not with a sense of superiority or self-righteousness, keeping a watchful eye on yourself, so that you are not tempted as well.

• MSG- Live creatively, friends. If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out.

• I know I hammer this truth all the time, but it’s a fact, the closer we follow Jesus, the more He's going to lead us to love people.

• You see, if love is the driving force behind what we do, the more “otherly” we’ll be, not to mention, our influence will always be attractive and effective.

• JOHN MAXWELL says: "It's impossible to add value to others if we continually put ourselves in front of them."

• Hebrews 10:24,MSG- Let’s see how inventive we can be in encouraging love and helping out.

• “Lord, I commit to living a life of love. To be passionate and surrender excuses. I refuse to do nothing!”