God is loving but Just

Why do we sometimes feel God doesn’t hear our prayers? How to pray in a manner that we can be assured of answers at all times?

What is Love?

  1 Corinthians 13:4-7

Love is patient and kind;

love does not envy or boast;

it is not arrogant or rude.

It does not insist on its own way;

it is not irritable or resentful;

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,

but rejoices with the truth.

  Love 1. bears all things,

  1. believes all things,

  3.hopes all things,

  4.endures all things.

Overview

  • God’s love
  • Types of love
  • Examples from Bible on God’s love and justice
  • Rekindle your romance with GOd

Types of Love

  • Agape – It is the highest of the four types of love in the Bible. Jesus Christ showed this kind of divine love to his Father and to all humanity.
  • Philia – Philia is the type of love in the Bible that most Christians practice toward each other.
  • StorgeStorge is a term for love in the Bible you may not be familiar with. Even though this Greek word for family love is not specifically found in Scripture.
  • Eros – The Greek word for sensual love is eros which is self gratifying

Agape

  • Agape speaks of the most powerful, noblest type of love: sacrificial love.
  • Agape love is more than a feeling—it is an act of the will.
  • This is the love that God has for his people and that prompted the sacrifice of his only son, Jesus, for our sins. Jesus was agape love personified.

The Beauty of Agape

Only God is capable of Agape love. Human love is always several notches below. Only God can lift the level of human love to a higher level

  • Knowing that sinful man would kill His Son, but also knowing that without Jesus we were doomed, God loved us by sending his Son. John 3:16
  • Those who love Jesus will do what Jesus taught. John 14:15,23
  • If a person has material resources and the love of God within him, his heart will take care of his brother who is in need. 1 John 3:17
  • Just as Christ through love acted on behalf of the church, so too the husband is to be motivated by love to act on behalf of his wife. Ephesians 5:25-29

God’s Standards of Love

He is:

– Mighty defender, perfect, just in all his ways, faithful and true. (Deu. 32:4)

– Lord is loving & merciful, slow to anger, full of constant love and has compassion on all he made. (Psalm 145:8,9)

– Righteous judge, holy and forgiving god. But hates oppression & crime [Psalm 86:5, Isaiah 61:8]

 

God's Standards of Love (cont'd)

– His steadfast Love which is never ceases, His mercies never come to an end. (Lamentations 3:22)

– He loves equally and judges everyone by the same standard (Romans 2:11)

– Not slow to do what he has promised,  instead he is patient with you (2 Peter 3:9)

Philia

  • Philia refers to brotherly love and is most often exhibited in a close friendship.
  • “After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. . . . And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself” (1 Samuel 18:1-3).

Storge

Storge is the natural love and affection of a parent for their child.

Examples of family love :-

  1. The love and mutual protection among Noah and his wife, their sons and daughters-in-law in Genesis;
  2. The love of Jacob for his sons; and
  3. The strong love the sisters Martha and Mary in the

gospels had for their brother Lazarus.

Eros

As its name indicates, eros is passionate or sexual love.

 While eros is important within a marriage relationship and is created by God (see Song of Solomon), but not allowed before and outside marriage.

The Bible is clear that sexual immorality (out-of-control eros) is a sin (1 Corinthians 6:18; 1 Thessalonians 4:3).

Loving Someone

If you love someone then:

1.You will be avoiding those things which he/she doesn’t like and do things which he/she will like.

2.Accept the person with his/her lacking (as NO one is perfect)

3.There will be sacrifices/adjustment in things

4.There is blind eye towards hurt or wrongdoings.

5.Your life revolves around him/her i.e. you think of him/her all time, always wanting to spend time with him/her.

6.That person becomes more special and precious that you cannot effort to lose him/her.

7.You suddenly become dependant on him/her in every thing.

8.You become protective towards him/her.

9.You get the sense of happiness & peace at heart & mind when you are with him/her.

Do you know God loves you?

God loves us –

1.He forgives us even though we are sinners.

2.He accepts us completely, imperfect as we are.

3.He sacrificed His life to bring us close to him.

4.He turns a blind eye towards hurt and cleanses us from all unrighteousness.

5.He revolves around us i.e.  He think of us all time, always wanting to spend time with us through prayer.

6.We are special and precious to him that he cannot afford to lose us.

7.He protects us throughout our life.

8.He provides us sense of joy (eternal) and peace at heart & mind.

He provides his help in our daily routine and watches over us.

What God does for us

-He does what is right & fair [Rom 2:11, Deu 32:4]

-He is a righteous judge and always condemns the wicked (Psalm 7:11)

-He doesn’t want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins. (2 Peter 3:9)

–  He wants people to stop living lives away from Him. Wickedness, biblically, is not necessarily living evil lives, but living lives away from God. They should come back to God because he will freely forgive them. (Isaiah 55:7)

God’s Love is Blessing

God’s love brings to us many gifts:

  • Eternal life & joy
  • Forgiveness
  • No Judgments
  • Has overcome our past
  • Creates a new creature
  • Gift of Holy Spirit & it’s fruits.
  • Spiritually alive & more close to him
  • We become precious and are called child of God.
  • No failure/No condemnation/No power of hell
  • Bright future/abundant life
  • He protect us and help us to overcome temptation
  • No worries/No sin/No anxiety in Life as He is the planner of our life

God Punishes but Protects

God promises 7-fold vengeance to anyone who attacks Cain after banishing him post Abel’s death.

God protects Lot’s family from Sodom and Gomorroh but Lot’s wife turned to pillar of salt for disobeying and turning back

God Punishes but Provides

God sends a plague to kill people of Israel but stops it for those who look on the bronze serpant setup by Moses

Other instances of God's justice

  • Uzzah and 70 others killed when Uzzah touches ark and others look in irreverantly
  • Moses not allowed to enter promised land, but called into transfiguration
  • Moses’ sister Miriam – leprosy
  • David’s wife barren after laughing
  • Rachel barren as she was more loved
  • Rahab and Ruth in Messianic line
  • David not allowed to build temple
  • Israel, Judah, losing wars to enemies due to disobedience several times.
  • Warning that communion should not be taken irreverantly
  • ……and many more

God’s Love

God’s:

  • Patience in OT inspite of repeated disobedience and perseverence with mankind
  • Protection after punishment
  • Provision thru Christ – adoption as children – the gigantic provision
  • Permanency in eternity

Hey what are you thinking?

Oh yeah, 

You do love him

 but the question should ask to yourself is –

 How much do you love God? &

 in what ways do you love Him?

Answers are in the scripture – Check them out

  • (1 John 4:20) If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
  • (John 14:15) “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

Answers from the Scripture (Cont’d..)

  • (Romans 13:10) Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
  • Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. (Romans 13:8-10)

Answers from the Scripture (Cont’d..)

Disciplined prayer and personal study of God’s word often takes you through three phases. Persevere through the first two and you will reach the third – pure enjoyment.

1.Castor oil Phase

2.Cereal phase

3.Peaches & Cream phase

He that fears God fears nothing else as he that sees God sees nothing else. John Donne

Answers from the Scripture (Cont’d..)

  • Matthew 5:43-48 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same?

How do you Love?

We just saw the Scriptures which tell us

“How to love God.”

So friends,

God expects us to love him not only in words but also in actions. Therefore put

all the words into practice & love him fully.

What are the results of it?

True Love grows

 into something deeper.

or

Other loves will fizzle out

or even get Destroyed.

No one has power to separate us from love of Christ (Memory Verse)

Romans 8:35-39

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?

Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Rekindle your romance with God

  • “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:16)
  • Lord, you have examined me and you know me. You know everything I do; from far away you understand all my thoughts. You see me, whether I am working or resting; you know all my actions. Even before I speak, you already know what I will say. You are all around me on every side; you protect me with your power. Your knowledge of me is too deep; it is beyond my understanding. Psalm 139:1-6

Discussion

  • In what ways do we take God for granted?
  • What is the consequence?
  • How do we avoid it on a day to day basis?

“The Fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” Prov 9:10

References

  1. Material taken from Navigators’ LOAD (life of a disciple) series.
  2. Powerpoint presentation prepared by Swati G. Salins

 

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