The Traits of Love

Guest (Male): This is the Power Walk Ministries broadcast with Pastor Paul Cannings. Thanks for joining us today as Pastor Cannings brings the final message in this two-volume series, The Measure of Love. When we say God loves us, it's not just a simple statement. When we accept Christ's work on the cross for us, there's so much that love does in and then through us, transforming us from the inside out. From 1 John chapter 2, Pastor Cannings brings this message on the traits of love. Let's listen.
Dr. Paul Cannings: A child once said to the mother, "Mom, you want me to do all these dishes and you want me to do all these chores. You know what? I'm going to charge you for those because you're asking me to work, and so a person that works gets paid." The mother was kind of stunned. She didn't know that the young boy wanted to save up for a bike and all these different things. She looked at him and said, "I'm not going to respond to that. He really needs to learn better, but I'm going to go ahead and just let us play this out." So, the mother decided that when she put the plates on the table, she'd put a note there that said, "For doing this, I charge you nothing. It's free." Then she washed his clothes, and when she finished folding his clothes and putting it by his bedside, she put a note: "Enjoy doing this for my son. Love you. This is free." She continued this process. Breakfast came, same note. When she picked him up from school, she'd give him the same note. The young boy came to realize of all the things his mom was doing for him that she never charged him for, and she was so willing and happy to do it. She kept telling him over and over again how much she loves him to the point where the young boy came, sat in her lap, and said, "Mommy, I'm sorry. I would like to have a bike, and I thought that if you pay me, then I could save up for a bike and then I don't have to ask you to buy me a bike." The mother said, "I love you. Let's talk about it, and maybe we can afford to buy you a bike just because we love you." The nature of love is what we've been talking about all week. What does it look like? What does it become? What is required for it to become that way? I want to bring out some principles now as we walk through 1 John chapter 4. When we have this love, what does it mean to us? Verse 10 would say, "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." It's not that we are out here loving; it's that God is loving us and God is constantly pouring Himself out to us. We can't breathe without Him. Yes, we may be able to buy a nice meal, but we can't cause the green beans to grow in the ground. We do not cause different animals to be fertile so we could eat meat. We have to rely on the Creator to have the ability to do what we need to do each and every day. He keeps the Earth spinning, the sun shining, the moon shining. He is the one that manages the ecological system, the solar system, to make sure the gravitational forces function for us every day. We are constantly being loved. Hebrews chapter 1, verse 3 says His word is constantly being displayed in order for all that we have to be available to us. So, he's saying when I accept that God is loving me and God is loving people when they're not even acting right, that took His sacrifice on Calvary's cross for Him to pay for all of our sins. Out of that covenant, God has a covenant to keep working with us each and every day. As we confess our sins, He's faithful and just to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God now pours His Holy Spirit into us, so we now have this Holy Spirit inside of us. Jesus sits at the right hand of the Father to make intercession for us. We have so much available to us as angels encamp around us in Hebrews chapter 1, verse 14 and Psalm 34, verse 7 through 9. Paul would say we live in heavenly places, all because God so loved the world. He provides us all of these spiritual blessings in heavenly places. His constant loving of God should be a reflection as to how we function every day. It should bring out a sense of appreciation, a sense of consciousness that without God's love we are nothing. There are certain things that take place in our lives when we obey and respond to the messages that we've heard this week. If these characteristics are not coming out of our lives, then we are living maybe a passive Christian life, but not an active Christian life so that God's nature takes over our life and we end up with this life and life abundantly that displays the fruit of the Spirit. Here's the first characteristic that comes out in verse 11 of 1 John chapter 4. He says, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we are obligated." He says you're obligated because that's the family of God in Ephesians chapter 1, verse 14 through 15. It's God's family, so we are obligated to love because He is loving us. Since He's loving us when He's doing all these things, we are now obligated to love those who are our brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. That's why he goes on to say, "No man had seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us." God remains. You say, "Wait a minute, are you talking about losing my salvation?" That is not what he's saying. The word "dwell" means I experience God in the knowing way that we talked about. He says, "Beloved, let us love one another," in verse 7, "for love is from God and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God." We talk about how that is an intimate experience of God. This is what he would say in chapter 2, verse 3 through verse 6. He said, "And hereby we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He that saith, 'I know Him,' and keepeth not His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know that we are in Him." He said that he abideth in Him, ought himself also to walk, even as He walked. Understand, when a person decides to abide in God, to keep His word, to walk in Him, he says they develop an intimate relationship with Him so that we experience the dwelling power of the Holy Spirit each and every day. That's why he says that love becomes perfected because I'm no longer walking in the flesh; I'm walking in the spirit. As a result of that, he says God starts to take over my life, so I become drunk with the Spirit. The same writer, John chapter 15, verse 1 through 5, "If I abide in Him, He abides in me. I will bear much fruit, for apart from Him I can do nothing." But if I choose not to abide in Him, He cuts me off. In other words, the wages of sin is death. He's not going to keep convicting me when I'm not interested in being convicted. In a state of apostasy, Hebrews chapter 6, when I know He's convicting me and I turn it off and keep turning it off, he says there is nothing to bring me back when I get into a state of apostasy because I ignore the Holy Spirit. With the word of God, I'm not going to respond to it. There's no new salvation, so I can't crucify Christ all over again to get us back to where we need to be. That's why he's saying here, the person who functions this way experiences the dwelling of the Holy Spirit: the illumination, the conviction, the understanding of the word of God to guide me into truth. He brings the scriptures back to me, hears the very groans of my heart, and affects my prayer life. This dwelling, this remaining, this experiencing Him from abiding in Him, the Bible is saying to us even leads to prayers being answered. I end up with my prayers being answered where I get to the wishes of my prayers, the desires of my heart. God answers in John chapter 15, verse 7 through 9, and right here in 1 John chapter 3, verse 21 through verse 24. He's saying this dwelling takes place because I choose to function in this manner. He says the same thing will take place when we go to verse 16. He says, "And he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him." This person begins to experience the powerful movement of the Holy Spirit as they commit to abide in God. This causes them, the Bible says in verse 17, "Hereby is our love made perfect." It's complete. We can love enemies. We can love people who can't stand us. People can say evil things, and we could still obey God towards them. It could be a husband or a wife that does not love back, but we could still do what God has called us to do relevant to them. There could be difficulties in the church and hardships attached to that, and I could still do what God tells me to do. My love becomes perfect because He dwelleth in me. I feel an obligation because I recognize all He does for me. So, God's love becomes perfect, and when that happens, there is no fear in love. There's no need for me to worry that all of a sudden this person could do things to me that can hurt me. The Bible says no, when God dwelleth in me, when God is the one who is powerfully moving through me, He who is in me, same writer chapter 4, verse 4, He who is in me is greater than he who is in the world. The Bible says now the angels encompass around me in Hebrews chapter 1, verse 14. No harm can come upon me because He'll never give me more than I can bear, and then when I decide to keep loving Him through that, He'll give me a crown of life for staying through trials. This love that God has provided to us casts out any need to fear because fear kills faith. Fear and faith are like oil and water; they don't mix. So, a person who lets fear in thinks, "Oh, I can't do that because that person is going to just think I am just weak." The Bible says that person is not now committed to do what God is saying because they're more concerned about their own safety rather than trusting in the Lord. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not lack anything. That's why when we come to this, the attributes that come out of us are these attributes. I feel obligated to do it. I experience God perfecting me where now I feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and so now I'm willing to do what God is saying because I can't help but respond to the movement of the Holy Spirit in my life. Now he says in verse 13, "Hereby know that we dwelleth in Him, and He in us, because He had given us of His Spirit." He has given it. It's now dominating us. What is the fruit of the Spirit? Loving anybody within our vicinity because we love the Lord with all our heart, our soul, and our mind. You see, the measure of love is not in how I love anybody around me. The measure is first trusting His measure to me so that I could love Him with all my heart, my soul, and my mind. When I do that, I could now walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. When I walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, gentleness, patience, and self-control. As a result of that, the love of God is manifested in perfection. Perfection is not where I do everything perfect every day. Perfection means I know what to do and when I don't do it, He convicts me. So, I challenge you today to let the measure of love be your love for God. Stay focused.
Guest (Male): Thanks, Pastor Cannings. Friends, love is such an important characteristic to develop in our lives. It's not just receiving God's love, but also working it out in our lifestyle each day towards Him and towards others. To receive this entire series, log on to powerwalkministries.org. That's powerwalkministries.org. Or call us at 281-260-7402. When you contact us, would you consider making a one-time or ongoing financial contribution to Power Walk Ministries? That would really help in our media outreach and the mission work that we carry on in Africa. Again, that's powerwalkministries.org or call us at 281-260-7402.
Dr. Paul Cannings: Hello everyone, this is Pastor Cannings. It's been a pleasure coming into your home, maybe your car. It's been a blessing to serve you. I hope that you will become a partner as we seek to continue to serve God in an effective manner. Many times He opens up so many doors, but what we lack is resources to get it done. You can't go through every door, but you know the ones that are a great fit for our ministry to touch lives. So, I pray that you would become a Power Walk partner as we power walk together to empower lives. Thank you for listening. It's been a blessing serving you.
Guest (Male): And as we leave you, keep in mind, as you take time to grasp and apply God's love to your own life, you'll also be able to convey it to those around you.