2/7/21 LOVE GIVES

God is our Source  - El Shaddai,  The God that is more than enough.  He gave sacrificially.

John 3:16 is the cornerstone on which Old and New Testaments stand.
 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. 3:17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
Today, we focus on LOVE.  Especially in respect to giving.  LOVE GIVES SACRIFICIALLY OF ITSELF
 

The Love of God – all that we do should be motivated by the love of God.  HE HAS GIVEN THE COMMAND TO LOVE
Our giving and our serving, all that we do for Him, even toward one another, should be motivated by the love of God.
 
In this message, we focus on Three Types of Love, and on the concept of  seed time and harvest time.
STEWARDSHIP, GIVING AND SOWING REAPING
The blessings of the Lord maintain an open heaven.  Keep resources flowing from heaven. KNOWING THAT GOD IS OUR SOURCE.

There is a difference between love that gives and love that takes.
 
There are 3 aspects of God’s love.
Sacrificial giving– those that give sacrificially receive a greater portion .
Ie: the church of Macedonia : gave of themselves out of their lack, although impoverished. They had great joy in giving because they understood God’s love for them.     The greater the sacrifice the greater the reward. They had first given themselves to the lord. Not a problem for them to gave to the people of God.
 
God loved us and demonstrated that love by giving
 
1JOHN - if our life is not motivated by love it is easy to forget the Love of God.
God’s love for us is sometimes easy to forget
Jude 1 says build up ourselves in our most holy faith will keep us in the love of God.
Holy Spirit in us intercedes for us when we don’t know how to pray. How to respond, what scripture to quote…   Romans 8 Causes us to be reminded that perfect love casts out fear. 
 
Jude says it keeps us in the love of God.  Reminding us of god’s love for us.  enemy’s greatest attack is to make us feel that God is not aware or does not care
 
The Devil tries to attack your mind and give you a spirit of fear.  Holy Spirit reminds us that
God is in control and all things do still work together for your good,  because you love him because he first loved you.
 
I John 4:9 the love of God toward is manifested because God loves us
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him….sent his son to be the propitiation for our sin
Not that we love God but that he love us….
Love is not an emotion, it is more than a feeling
1John 3:16  hereby perceive we the love of God…lay down our lives for the brethren
Love takes action, not just an emotion a feeling a promise but acts of mercy
God love to us was a deliberate choice,  not good works 
Titus 3:3-6   3 For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. 5 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;
There is nothing we can do to deserve His love.  Without the love of God, we’d stlll be on the way to destruction.
 
Sin entered into the world, and after that it is impossible to enter into the kingdom of God.  “except a man be born again, he cannot enter in…
We were dead in trespasses and sin.
The spirit of God came into us
Ephes 2:8.9 “ For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast ."
 
Salvation is a gift that God gave.  It is not of works and it is nothing to boast in!  He has nade us his workmanship!
Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost.  We were purchased.  We were in sin until justification came
He is our mediator: the name of Jesus!
 
1John 3  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
Be encouraged, we shall be like him n
And we shall see him as he is!
 
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard the great things He has in store for us, but He reveals and the Holy Spirit of God is revealing truth about Hs return!  He is coming quickly!
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1. Agape Love – Does not demand love in return.  Jesus says “deny yourself, take up your cross and follow me!

If you save your life in this world, you will lose your eternal life
Works for the welfare of all, ill toward no one!
Love God with all your heart and mind and soul, treat people as you would have them treat you.
Love one another as He has loved us. Do good to all, especially those of the household of faith,  Love our enemies.  Bless them, pray for them, forgive them.
Forgive and bless them who despitefully use you
Regardless of how deep down you are, when you cry out for mercy He answers.  He expects us to do the same
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    2.  Phileo love is comparative love …   “more than these “ We sometimes hold security, money, business to be of more importance than God.
Jesus says we must love him more than mother or father, etc. 37 He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me 
 
Brothers and friends, love, bloodline.  Natural has greater responsibilityEROS  physical, sexual intimacy in marriage between a man and a woman Marriage is honorable but whoremungers and idolaters God judges
 
    3.  LUST:  love verses lust:  Love gives, lust takes
Programmed to take from others…whatever it takes to make one feel happy.  Satan causes man to expect help above the love of God!
Mankind has a sin nature, a selfish nature
Love gives of itself to the benefit of others.  Lust takes.
We are commanded to imitate the Lord.
GIVE should be our nature,  love gives of itself to benefit others.
Lust takes.
  
“Give” should be our nature.  “if you love me, keep my commandments”
The way of transgressors is hard.
We love because He first loved us.

John 12  as long as the earth remains…seed time and harvest  
Sow bountifully and you will reap.
 
The sower went out to sow 
sowed on stony ground, thorny ground and good  ground and reaped 30 fole, 60 fold and 100 fold from those efforts
Good seed always produces a good harvest
You reap what you sow.  The anointing determines the amount of harvest
 
John 12:23,24  And Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified. 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
Jesus referred to himself as a corn of wheat
A seed looks as lifeless as a little rock/pebble but something in the seed has life
It must die first.  If you hold it and don’t sow it, it will not produce.
It has the power to produce after its own kind
Sow into the kingdom and reap a harvest
Sow money, time, friendship.
Or sow into the wind and reap a whirlwind
Expect a harvest for whatever you sow,
 
Jesus sowed.   He was the seed that was sown     
Vs. 32 – if I be lifted up from the earth, I will draw all men unto me.
God desires that sons be brought into the kingdom. 
He was the first fruit, the first born from the dead.
We are the harvest of Jesus’ death.
He was sown to bring many sons into glory.
 
Hebrews 2:9-12  9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.
10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.
11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren,
 (He calls us brothers, the saints, the beloved of god,)
 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee.
 
We see Jesus!  We would have no life had he not died.
He made this great sacrificial investment to bring many sons into glory.   He came to destroy the devil and grant supernatural favor to the people of God.
 
Honor God with the tithes.  God gave his son that we should not perish.
Invested to bring many souls into glory.
 
Understand these principles of giving
If we are faithful to honor God in giving, He blesses us in all aspects of our lives.
Remain in the mindset of giving and sowing, investing into the kingdom of God, knowing that God will cause the windows of heaven to be open to us, He will rebuke the devil for us, fight battles for us. 
Honor the lord with the first-fruit of your income, Trust in Him and lean not to your own understanding.  Be grateful for the ability to get increase.

Recognize and reverence that it is He that has given you power to get wealth, favor to get wealth.
Lean not to your own understanding.
 
We are confident of this very thing, that he who has begun a good work in us will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.
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