This morning we continue our series entitled, “Power of Fellowship.” We have been learning the importance of connecting with one another. God did not place everything we need in life inside of us. Since God created us to be relational beings, He placed some of what we need inside of others and some of what they need inside of us. The only we can maximize the purpose and potential He placed in us is by connecting with others and allowing them to connect with us. The foundation for all of this is love. The love of God comes TO us first. But once it does, the goal is for God’s love to flow THROUGH us. This is what we will discuss today. I will use two passages from the Gospel according to St. John as the foundation for the message.
(John 15:9-12 New Living Translation)
“I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love. When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love. I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.”
(John 1:14&16 NKJV)
And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth… And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace.
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
1. In the life of Jesus we have a model for how man is supposed to respond to God and how God wants to respond to man. Jesus was God and He came as a human. As a human, He had to receive and embrace the love of the Father, just like any other human. He did. He opened His heart to the love of the Father and He then loved others with that very same love. With this being the context of John 15, Jesus said, “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.” The Lord expects us to love others the same way He loves us. This love is the foundation for the fellowship we have been learning about. Without God’s love we cannot have true fellowship. But when we start loving others the way God loves us, we will have fellowship one with another, and God’s best will be on display in the earth. Living this way should be our aim. Don’t just focus on loving God. If you truly love the God you cannot see, you will love those you see everyday.
2. Everything God teaches in the Bible can be summed up in our requirement to operate in love. We are called and commanded to love God and love others. When it comes to loving others, the Bible is clear that we are supposed to love them the same way God loves us. Simply put, we cannot do that without God. God gives us the grace to operate in His love. His love is beyond human love. This is one-sided love. This is a love that is not contingent upon the performance of another. This love is not moved by what others do or fail to do. This love is supernatural. It is beyond human ability. The only way you can operate in this love is by God’s Spirit. But thankfully God gave us His Spirit. We have God’s Spirit and His grace. So we can love others the same way He loves us! When we do, the world gets a glimpse of heaven on earth.
3. In John 1:14 we learn that Jesus came to usher in grace and truth. John contrasts the Law that was given by Moses with the Grace which came through Jesus. The Law was performance-based. Grace is not. We are no longer under the Law, but under Grace (Romans 6:14). Not only are we under a dispensation (or time period) of God’s grace, but in John 1:16 we learn that we have received “grace for grace”. We have received the grace of God to be able to even operate in God’s grace. What God calls us to do is so supernatural that we need His grace to even open our hearts to it. Allow me to connect this to our topics of fellowship and God’s love. My point here is that God’s requirement for us to love others the SAME WAY He loves us is humanly impossible. As mere humans we have too many hang-ups and issues to truly love others the SAME WAY God loves us. In order to love others this way, in order to operate in this grace, we need the GRACE of God to do it. This is a good example of “grace for grace”. God calls us to operate in a level of grace that enables us to love people the SAME WAY He loves us. This is a love that is beyond human ability. He then gives us grace to even embrace this grace. God gives grace to open our hearts to the grace Jesus came to provide for us. So it’s time for us to stop making excuses. Don’t say, “I know I am supposed to love everyone, but I am not Jesus.” Stop saying, “I can’t forgive. I know God forgave me, but I can’t forgive what they did to me.” The truth is that you can. You may not be able to do it in your human ability. But God has given you the grace for it. You have grace to even embrace God’s grace. You have grace for grace to love others the SAME WAY God loves you. The day you stop fighting this grace and simply receive it, will be the day you start living AS JESUS IS, in this world! (1 John 4:17). This is how we have true fellowship. Not by our human ability. But by God’s amazing grace.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, I have opened my heart to Your love. Your love has come TO me and I know it is Your will for this very same love to flow THROUGH me. You want me to love others THE SAME WAY You love me. Without You Father, I cannot. Your love is supernatural. But You have given me the grace to do it. You gave me Your Spirit and You gave me Your grace. I have the grace to love others THE SAME WAY You love me. And from this day forward I will stop fighting Your grace and simply open my heart to it. I embrace Your supernatural love and I love others THE SAME WAY You love me. This is Your will and from now on it is my will as well. I will my will to love the way You love! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
