06.12.2022 | WALKING IN LOVE
WALKING IN LOVE
Matthew 5:43-44 – “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
Matthew 5:45-46 – “That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?”
Matthew 5:47-48 – “And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.”
Perfect – Teleios – Completeness, wholeness, becoming what one was designed for
John 13:34 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another.”
How do we love those who are difficult to love?
1. Remember that Jesus Loves Them and Gave His Life for Them
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
Romans 5:8 – “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Matthew 5:45 – “That you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and the good, and send rain on the just and the unjust.”
Luke 6:35 – “But love your enemies, do good and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”
Luke 6:36 – “Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.”
Ephesians 5:1-2 – “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.”
2. Make a Decision to Love
Ephesians 5:2a – “And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us.”
“Agape is a divine love that gives, and gives, and gives, even if it’s never responded to, thanked or acknowledged.” – Rick Renner
“You could say that agape is a love that isn’t based on response but on a decision to keep on loving, regardless of the recipient’s response or lack of a response.” – Rick Renner
John 15:12-13 – “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
“Agape Love, ‘does not need a chemistry, an affinity, or a feeling.’” – Spirit- Filled Life Bible
3. Choose to Speak Life
Matthew 5:44a – “But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you.”
Bless – to speak well of
Proverbs 18:21a – “Death and life are in the power of the tongue.”
We want to speak words of life, words that bless, words that heal.
Matthew 12:34b – “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”
4. Pray for Them, Forgive Them, Do Good to Them
Matthew 5:44 – “Do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.”
Luke 23:34a – “Then Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.’”
Acts 7:60a – “Then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.’”
Ephesians 4:32 – “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.”
Romans 5:5 – “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
Discussion Questions:
1. Who are the people in your life that are difficult to love?
2. What is your response to them? Have you given up, withdrawn, or stayed engaged?
3. What are some of the big differences between agape love and the world’s understanding of love?
4. Are you speaking words of life over the people God has called you to love?
5. Have you experienced the love of God filling you when you have come to the end of yourself?