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January 12, 2000

EXPLORE THE BIBLE:
God's children should
work at perfecting their love
___ 1 John 4:1-21
___By Ellis Orozco
___Calvary Baptist Church, McAllen
___A father of four was asked, "Why do you love your kids?" The father thought for a minute, and then answered, "Because they're mine."
___So it is with God's love for us. He loves us because we are his. We should return that love to him.
___John gives us some of the essentials of a healthy love for God.
___ Test the spirits (1 John 4:1-6). A healthy love for God is willing to question everything that comes across the spiritual plate. John reminds us that God's Spirit is not the only spirit out there. Satan and his legion of spirits are masters of disguise and will seek to infiltrate your life in order to ruin you from the inside out.
___We must be willing to rigorously test every spirit that comes our way, and here is the test: "Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God" (1 John 4:2).
___We are not to worry about the evil spirits once we identify them because "the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world" (1 John 4:4b).
___ Brotherly love (1 John 4:7-12). A healthy love for God is intrinsically tied to the way we treat each other.
___We cannot love God and treat each other with contempt. John gives us the reasons for our love for each other: 1) Love comes from God (1 John 4:7); 2) Knowing God naturally produces love (1 John 4:8); 3) God first loved us and sent his Son to die for our sins (1 John 4:9-11); 4) God's love is made complete in us when we love each other (1 John 4:12).
___ Christian witness (1 John 4:13-15). A healthy love for God will lead us to testify about that love. John points out that anyone who has the Spirit of God inside will be filled with a desire to share that Spirit.
___One year someone gave me four tickets to watch the Aggies play in the Cotton Bowl. I had no trouble at all calling three of my friends to go watch the game with me. I had something I thought was wonderful and I was excited about sharing it. We should feel the same way about testifying for Christ.
___ No fear (1 John 4:16-18). A healthy love for God drives out all fear. John reminds us that fear has to do with punishment (1 John 4:18), and punishment with judgment. The perfect love of God, however, brings peace in the midst of judgement. When we rely on the love that God has for us, we are tied to the One who will judge all people. If we know he loves us with an unconditional love, we have no reason to fear.
___ Obedience to God's commands (1 John 4:19-21). A healthy love is willing to obey. We love because of the example set by God in sending his only Son to die on the cross for our sins. That kind of self-sacrificial love demands our loyalty and obedience.
___God's command is two-fold: Love God; Love each other. (1 John 4:21). The two are inextricably tied together. You cannot obey one without obeying the other.
___Someone said the love of God is like the Amazon River flowing down to water one daisy. You would think it would crush the daisy--not when the daisy is his.

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