The Foundation is Love

[tweet_dis]Love is not based on experience, but on the Word of God.[/tweet_dis]  “My love… her love… their love…” but does it match God’s identity, which is love?  Agape love meaning affection, benevolence, and a desire. Another rendition of the definitions is ‘a love feast’. Love isn’t just the words “I Love You.” If you are going to be a ‘love feast’ for others, you need to be willing to serve someone in love whatever they need at a particular time. When love is residing in your heart, you have a want, a passion, a desire to do good to others, and to see them blessed, regardless of your feelings.

Who gave us the perfect example of serving others through love?  God the Father through His Son.  Jesus did not send Himself to save us.  He was sent by the Father of all spirits.  Jesus showed us the love of the Father in obedience.

And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son [to be] the Saviour of the world. – 1John 4:14 KJV

And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. – 1John 4:16 KJV

The Godhead got together & planned your success in their ‘love-feast’ meeting about mankind.  They said, “We have pleasure in creation and want to share creation with others.  We know mankind’s potential in participating with Us; We know it is a risk, but We also know some will reciprocate this love-feast back at some level.  We all agree that We will offer the Son for them so they can have a way out of paying the same price for what sin represents.” No greater love hath a man, than he lay down his life for his friend.

In Romans 12:9 and 2 Corinthians 6:6, it talks about loving sincerely. It’s not just about saying I love you to your face, and then turn around two minutes later and you are just shy of cussing out the person you said I love you to. It means to love without hypocrisy and with sincerity; it truly is who God created us to be.

1 Corinthians 13:1, “Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (which is love),” which means that we can speak perfectly, eloquently, we get all the right words and phrases, “but if I don’t do it in love”, we are just making a bunch of noise. “And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all knowledge and have all faith so that I can move mountains, (the gifts of the Holy Spirit), and have not charity, I am nothing.” We are talking about looking at the fruits as a foundational tool; the first fruits.

Verse 4, “…charity (love)…rejoiceth in the truth (do we rejoice in the truth?)…love bears ALL things, believes ALL things, hopes ALL things, endureth ALL things.” Love (charity) is the foundation that everything else sits on.

John 15:9, “As the Father loved me, I love you.” Jesus came to show us the love of the Father, as the Father love me, I love you, now continue in that love. What is our directive: If we are truly going to get the mission of establishing generations of overcomers, the foundation has to be that we continue the Love that God the Father had towards Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, the Word, that He passed on to each and every one of us through His service at the cross.

John 15:10, “If you keep my Commandment then you abide in my Love.”  The law is fulfilled in one word, that you shall love thy neighbor as thyself-the foundation is Love.

 

-Pastor Scott Harper, excerpt from Walkout Workshop