Monday, June 30, 2014

6/30/14 - "THE LOVE OF GOD"


1 Cor. 13:4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.
1 Cor. 13:5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].
1 Cor. 13:6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
1 Cor. 13:7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
1 Cor. 13:8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].

God has been speaking to me quite a bit lately about love. In my walk with God I have been very blessed to have some great spiritual fathers who have poured directly into my life, and others who have poured into my Pastor’s life, which I have been a grateful recipient of their wisdom. Two of those men were Dr. George Evans and Kenneth E. Hagin. Dr. Evans was both a spiritual father to my Pastor, and then became a spiritual father to me as well. Kenneth E. Hagin was quite influential to my Pastor and knew him personally, and now I have gleaned from him in my walk with Christ also.

Many times Dr. Evans would talk to me about walking in love. He was a great example of one of God’s servants who did so. There are many little nuggets he gave me about loving God’s people. I have certainly not perfected doing so, but I am continually endeavoring to get better. I have learned much through Kenneth Hagin’s teachings about walking in love as well. I will never forget what his son Kenneth Hagin Jr. said about his dad at his memorial service. He said, “Many of you knew my dad as a great man of faith, but I knew him as a great man of love.” I have never forgotten that statement.

In the latter years of Kenneth Hagin’s ministry the Lord had him deal with this subject quite often. I believe like brother Hagin taught that walking in the love of God is the most important thing for the body of Christ to learn. There is no doubt why doing so is so important in the scriptures. As 1 Corinthians 13:13 states, “And now abide, faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” The reason this is true is because when we walk in love we win and the devil loses. God is love, and therefore when we walk in love we walk in God.

Scripture reveals in Galatians 5:6 that faith works through love. When we are out of love our faith will not work. The love I am talking about is not a feeling, nor an emotion, but it will change our feelings for one another and our emotions. You see the love of God is of the spirit man within. It is the first fruit of the recreated human spirit. Brother Hagin used to teach that the best way to begin to develop your spirit man is by walking in love. Love, the God-kind of love, is a spiritual fruit. It is residing in every born again believer’s spirit man. It requires action, not emotions to work. God’s love like faith must be acted upon. When we act upon the love of God within us it will then go to work to change our emotions and feelings.

I just shared this on Sunday with our church family; to walk in the love of God we must begin practicing the God-kind of love. To do that we must deny our flesh, how we feel, or what we think about something, and we must renew our minds to the Word of God as to what love is. As Romans 12:2 states if you don’t want to be conformed to the world you must renew your mind to God’s Word to be transformed in the way you live. I have included as our foundation verses above the scriptures on love from 1 Corinthians 13. Kenneth Hagin would tell people if you want to walk in the love of God then take these verses in the Amplified translation and meditate on them for the next 30 days everyday, and you will be amazed at how much different you will be at the end of those 30 days.

To walk in love we must also remember that we are all human. Who has never said something they shouldn’t have said or done something they shouldn’t have done? Because no believer has perfected walking in love yet we need to realize that people do make mistakes, but when we choose to walk in love we slam the door to the devil bringing in his destructive works, and we open the door wide to God’s goodness and His presence to come into our lives and relationships. Love creates an atmosphere for God to thrive in, for He is love, and as I already stated when you walk in love you are allowing your spirit man to dominate you, not your soul or body. As Ruth Graham, Billy Graham’s wife said, “A happy marriage is the union of two good forgivers.” If we want to have God’s best in our life we must learn to walk in love. So let’s take a look at the love of God.

1 Cor. 13:4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

Love is not quick to give up on relationships, and it will empower you to persist and not quit, and love will work at being kind in doing so. I am so thankful my wife has endured long with me. Love does not get envious at others when they are blessed and doing well, nor does it become jealous of what someone else may have. Love does not become boastful nor focused upon self as it does not allow one to display themselves haughtily or puffed up.

1 Cor. 13:5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

Love will not become arrogant or inflated with pride, which is both someone who either sees themselves more or less than who God says they are. Love is not rude with other people, which is to act unbecomingly from the new nature within us. Love does not insist on it’s own way, for the love of God is always wanting to do things God’s way, so it is therefore not self-seeking. The love of God is not touchy, easily offended or resentful toward others. God’s love doesn’t keep a record of the wrongs that others may have done, it does not focus on a suffered wrong but on God instead.

1 Cor. 13:6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.
1 Cor. 13:7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

Love does not rejoice at any type of injustice that is done, love rejoices when the truth of God prevails. Love bears up under anything; it is a force that cannot be stopped and therefore will help you to bear up under anything that comes. Love is ever ready to always believe the best of everyone for love will help us to look beyond our humanity and look to the heart. Love’s hopes (expectations) are never put out nor diminished no matter what circumstances may come, for when we walk in love we don’t focus on the natural, we focus on the spiritual. God’s love will never be overcome by anything for it is God Himself.

1 Cor. 13:8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].

Last must in no way least love, God’s love, will never ever fade out nor become obsolete because love is not a fad, love is God and God is forever and ever and ever. Love is the very reason God created man. God is love and love is not selfish but wants to share with others. God wanted someone to share Himself with. This is why He made us. He wanted us to both experience His love, and share His love with others. Think about this, every time we choose to love, walk in God’s love, God Himself his being manifested through our very spirit being. Where God’s love is, God is.

I have hurt my wife through things I have done and said. I have hurt other people in the past through things I have done and said, but I never intended to do so. Since I have become a new creature in Christ like brother Hagin I am on a quest to get better and better at walking in love. Just imagine how powerful we the church, the body of Christ are, when we walk in love. We put the devil in his place, slam the door in his face, and bring God into manifestation through our lives. May we all develop, grow, and learn to walk in the love of God, for then He will be glorified more and more through our lives as Jesus said, “…that the world may know that You have sent Me, and have loved them as You have loved Me.”

See You Again Next Week For More “Weekly Wisdom”

May God’s Best Be Yours!

Pastor Darryl Baker