WHERE LOVE LEADS? (REVELATION 19:7-8)

 

WHERE LOVE LEADS?

(revised)

BIBLE PASSAGE: REVELATION 19:7-8

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

FEBRUARY 20, 2022

 

MEMORY VERSE

 And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

MARK 12:30

 

INTRODUCTION:

Being in love changes everything. For instance, a woman is not a fan of basketball but when she met a man who caught her attention which is a player of a certain team in basketball, changes her likes. She will try everything even watching basketball just to catch the man’s attention and let him know that they have common interest. What changes her perspective? Love did but the question is where does love to lead her?

Sometimes love leads us to the wrong direction and gives us bad perspective in life. One example is a woman who loves a drug-addict- person. Remember the one-line lyric in a song Somewhere Down the Road which says, “We have the right love at the wrong time” and another popular love quote, “Love is blind.” These one-lyric song and quote explain that a person in love can’t see what is wrong and bad. This love categorizes the wrong kind of love but how about what TRUE LOVE leads us? And what our love to the Lord leads us?

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  LOVE LEADS YOU TO BE FAITHFUL (HOSEA 3:1-3)

Then said the Lord unto me, Go yet, love a woman beloved of her friend, yet an adulteress, according to the love of the Lord toward the children of Israel, who look to other gods, and love flagons of wine. So I bought her to me for fifteen pieces of silver, and for an homer of barley, and an half homer of barley: And I said unto her, Thou shalt abide for me many days; thou shalt not play the harlot, and thou shalt not be for another man: so will I also be for thee.

 

In Hosea 3:1-3 shows the love of God to the people of Israel. God directed Hosea to go back to his wife, even though she was committing adultery. It wasn’t in the past; it was in the present; yet he was commanded to go back to her and to love her. This also shows us an important principle about love: Hosea is directed to love, even when it must have been hard to love. Just like the love of the LORD for the children of Israel: Why did God command Hosea to go back to his still-unfaithful wife? Not only for the sake of Hosea and his wife Gomer, but also so that they would become a living lesson of the LORD’s relationship with His people. They were still steeped in spiritual adultery, yet the LORD still loved them. When we think of the greatness of God’s love and compassion towards us, it should make us much more loving, compassionate, and forgiving towards others.

 

In human speaking, if you are in love, you give less time to other people; you focus to the person you are in love with. You’ll give your best to please the man or woman you love, and you’ll stay faithful not unless you fall out of love.

 

How about our love to God? Just like the love we show to our loved ones; God deserves our love. If we love God, we should be faithful too. Our love to Him must be the foremost in our hearts, exceeding the bond of any other relationship. Jesus identified the greatest of all commandments “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy souls, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment” (Mark 12:30). We should return to God the love He bestows upon us.

 

2.  LOVE LEADS YOU TO BE OBEDIENT (1 JOHN 2:3-6)

 ⁵ But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

 

There’s an instance wherein a young lady was once told by her boyfriend to stop wearing short skirts especially in church event and the next Sunday, all young people were surprised to see this young lady wearing long skirts and nice blouse. This is just a minor example of what love results; a person can do everything to please her love of her life.

How about our love to our God? The evidence of someone knowing God, and fellowship with Him is that he does keep His commandments. A simple, loving obedience is a natural result of fellowship with God.

Love is not primarily an emotion. We may feel lovingly towards someone or experience the emotional warmth of another's love, but love is much deeper and more active than the way we feel. True love is always expressed in action; like God's love was shown by giving His Son to be our substitutionary sacrifice. The believers who John was addressing were being caught up by Gnostic teaching which claimed that if you have a special religious formula and mental attitude you can know God: but John said you do not need a formula – you need love and obedience.

How do we know if we have a relationship with God? We will listen to what He says and obey. The people who claim to know God through a religious formula but do not obey Him are not listening to His word; they have no relationship with Him. Worse than that, they are liars and frauds because they are claiming to have a relationship with God which does not exist.

When the people who know God hear His Word and choose to obey Him, they demonstrate that they really do love Him. As they grow in their relationship with Him, they grow to be like Him: His character comes out in their behavior and lifestyle. It is not that they slavishly adopt the way Jesus lived, but that in knowing Him they love what He loves and hate what He hates. Our lifestyles become more like Jesus as we want to let His Word inform our desires and choices.

Alas, we do not always live consistently like that. But the personal test is: do we want to? Does it matter to us that we please Him? Indeed, even the act of confessing our sins demonstrates that we want to be made clean again so that we can be restored to a loving relationship in which we obey Him. If you love Him, seek out a new opportunity to obey His Word today. If you are ridiculed for being like Jesus, give thanks that your love for Him is shining through. https://www.wordatwork.org.uk/1-john/love-leads-obedience

3.  LOVE LEADS YOU TO COMMITMENT (PSALMS 37:4-6)

Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

TAGALOG: Maging tunay ang inyong pagmamahalan. Kasuklaman ninyo ang masama at pakaibigin ang mabuti.

 

Nowadays, we can see how a man prepares to be engaged. In the social media, there are lot of preparations and ideas men do. They are very creative and try their best to make it memorable so that their girlfriends would say “I DO.” What if a woman is waiting to be engaged but waiting for nothing? Just imagine a woman waiting for a man to say, “I’m committed to you” and at the end he would not see you as the woman he would commit. It’s hard to swallow and move on because you waited for years for nothing.  It’s best to find someone who would commit his life to you because LOVE LEADS YOU TO COMMITMENT.

 

In spiritual aspect, it’s questionable if a person who says, “I love the Lord” but doesn’t commit to Him. Why does God want us to be committed to Him? GOD WANTS YOU TO BE COMMITTED TO HIM SO THAT THE WORLD MAY KNOW HE IS IMPORTANT TO YOU. Our commitment to him is our witness. Our commitment to him shows others how important he is to us. The more commitment, the more we show the world how important he is to us. If something is important in our life, we commit ourselves to it.

 

If you like or love something, you commit to your time to it. If your job is important to you, you commit yourself to it. If your family is important, you commit yourself to it.  If a person is important to you, you commit time, to be spent with them. If your health is important to you, you commit yourself to working out.  Whatever it is important to you, you will commit yourself to it. We may say something is important but if we do not commit time to it obviously is not important.  If it is valuable to you, you make the effort to commit whatever resources you need to appreciate it. If serving God is important to us, we must commit ourselves to serving him. What we commit and how much we commit shows how much we value our relationship with him. Really, how much we really love him. When we are committed to coming to church, we show others that God is important to us. It is our witness to the world. https://www.guidinglight.org/being-fully-committed-to-god/

 

4.  LOVE LEADS YOU TO MARRIAGE (REV. 19:7; 21:2; GEN. 2:24)

-      .”

-      Any times the Judgement Seat of Christ is referred to by the biblical scholars as “The Bema Seat.” The reason for this is that the phrase, “Judgement Seat” is taken from one Greek word, “bema” which translated from Greek means “Judgement Seat.” During the time of Christ, this world could refer to the platform on which a ruler or judge decided to athletic competition in the New Testament, he was likely using the term as it applied to Greek sports. If the winner of a particular contest had followed the rules of competition and won, he has honored at the bema; there he was crowned. https;//www.arewelivinginthelastdays.com

-      In the city of Corinth, a stone platform was constructed to support the Bema Seat (Judgment Seat) of the local officials. The seat was used to give out awards to athletes for their competitive performances (usually a crown of wreath of leaves), but also to address legal charges brought against individuals. Apostle Paul was quite familiar with this seat. This is where he was brought before Gallio, who was the proconsul oF Achaia at the Bema Seat (Acts 18:12), “And when Gallio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul, and brought him to the judgment seat,” This seat was also what Paul referred to in 2Corinthians 5:9-10 as the “Judgement Seat of Christ.” In this context, Paul explains to us tha this is where the Christians will receive an evaluation for works done in the body, whether good or bad. https;//www.arewelivinginthelastdays.com

-      The participants in the Judgement Seat of Christ are members of the spiritual church. These are people who have trusted Christ as Savior from the Day of Pentecost, until the coming of Christ for His church. The Bible said that God will reward the actions of believers.

“Also unto thee, O Lord, belongeth mercy: for thou renderest to every man according to his work.” – Psalms 62:12

For the Son of Man is going to come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will reward each person according to what He has done (Matthew 16:27).

-      The Lord Jesus Christ is the Judge (John 5:22-27). It is for Christians only (2 Corinthians 5:8-10).

-      The rewards we receive on earth are all temporal and perish. The rewards in the Judgement Seat of Christ are eternal and will never perish.

-      By consistently focusing on the Judgment Seat of Christ, you will naturally develop a desire to please God rather than men. Developing this attitude is the surest way to handle criticism and opposition.

 

CONCLUSION:

Most people don’t want to be held accountable. Whether we like it or not we are all accountable. We feel and act like we’re not accountable but in reality, we cannot escape from the accountable to the Lord. If we act unaccountable in the work we do, we will be unable to do our best, it wasteful time and it hinders our spiritual growth. God’s Word motivates us to do our best in our commitment to God,

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

AM I ENGAGED? (EPHESIANS 5:25-32)

 

AM I ENGAGED?

BIBLE PASSAGE: EPHESIANS 5:25-32

Picture taken from Google

Lesson Prepared by: Krisha of Solomon’s Wisdom FB page

Lesson ideas taken from: ttps://www.lifeway.com

AUGUST 29, 2021

MEMORY VERSE

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

EPHESIANS 5:32

 

INTRODUCTION:

How Did Marriages Work in the Bible?

There were a series of different events culminating in a marriage ceremony. Let’s consider them:

The Betrothal – This was more than an engagement like we think of today. The betrothal was actually just as binding as being married. The woman who was betrothed to her future husband was bound to the husband.

She was considered married even though the actual wedding ceremony would probably not take place until later; likely for another six months to a year. In fact within the Mosaic law, a husband who was betrothed to his “wife” was exempt from military battle.

Has anyone become pledged to a woman and not married her? Let him go home, or he may die in battle and someone else marry her. – Deuteronomy 20:7

The Friend of the Bridegroom – The bridegroom would choose a close and loyal friend whose responsibility was to assist the bride in preparation for the wedding. He would stay by her side throughout this entire betrothal period and make sure she was ready for the bridegroom on the wedding day.

The Procession – On the day of the wedding, the bridegroom would leave from his father’s house and proceed to the house of the father of the bride to receive his bride. The bridegroom would not announce in advance the exact moment when he was coming, so the bride had to be prepared, ready, and waiting for the bridegroom.

The Ceremony and Feast - Once the bridegroom had received his bride, they would proceed to the house of the father of the bridegroom. They would then have a wedding ceremony followed by a spectacular wedding feast. These feasts could last up to a week and sometimes even longer.

 

We will not go deeper regarding the marriage here on earth, but we’ll talk about Christ's love for His bride, the Church. We know that church is a group of believers. The title of our lesson, Am I engaged? is a question that focuses on the bride. Let’s answer the question by checking some of the attitudes and actions of the bride for her coming marriage. AM, I ENGAGED?

 

LESSON OUTLINE:

1.  CHECK YOUR ACCEPTANCE (JOHN 14:6, JOHN 1:12)

Have you remembered the time you’d accepted the engagement, or you’d say “YES”?  You won’t forget that, right? Therefore, the same way in our spiritual, the date is very important. It’s a plus point if you’ve recorded it for a proof and as a keepsake. You’ll take that moment a big event in your life.

 

If you belong to Jesus Christ...if he is your Savior...then you are his bride. And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit – Ephesians 1:13

The moment you heard the message of the gospel and received salvation you were in a sense betrothed to Christ. Your eternal life began that very moment. There is a space of time between now and when you reach your eternal destination. However, as the betrothed bride is considered married to her bridegroom, the same principle applies to you.

Even though your faith has not yet become sight, and you have not experienced heaven in its fullness, you can be confident that your eternal home with Jesus is secured. You belong to him both now and forevermore.

 

John 14: 6 says, Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 1:12 - But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

 

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also. – John 14:3

What a promise! We will soon with the groom in heaven someday.

 

2.  CHECK YOUR COMMITMENT (EPHESIANS 5: 25, 32)

Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

 

In this 2^nd and the next 3^rd point, we’ll not be talking about the good works in salvation because we believe in salvation through faith.  We will be dealing to the actions and attitudes of the bride.  Are you betrothed or dating? Now the difference in the two is obvious. Dating is a kind of trial period in a relationship where your commitments are soft, relationships are tentative, and you keep your options open. Marriage is a covenant relationship of devotion and sacrifice and joy. In marriage, you've burned the ships, there's no turning back, and you only have eyes for the one to whom you have pledged yourself.

So I ask you again: are you engaged to be married -- fully devoted, making sacrificial investments of time and money and energy? Or are you just dating: nominally involved, partially invested, maintaining enough detachment so that if it doesn't work out the way you want, you can hit the door with no lingering obligations?

We need a personal commitment to a local church.  It is vital to have a strong, growing relationship with the people of God, where you can encourage each other in Christ and pray for one another and bear each other's burdens and intervene when you see a brother or sister lapsing into sinful patterns.

Statistically, one out of four church attendees are considered "church shoppers," with no real devotion to any particular local church. An estimated 15-20 million Americans have said they are Christians, but don't want to be a part of the church. Around 80 percent of American evangelical churches are plateaued or declining. When asked, people give the standard answers: church is irrelevant, boring, hypocritical, after my money. Some have been hurt by the church, in some cases deeply. ("The Condition of the Church in America," Compiled by Andy McAdams, Pastor to Pastor Ministry.)

We already have heard how important the church is in the previous sermons and lessons but personally to you, how important the church is? (Allow response from the audience or online)

 

Some of us here have been here for years and it could be one proof that the church is important to you. The question is you’ve been a member for so long but how often do you attend the church services? If you compare your attendance vs absences, what would be the higher. But sad to say that some treat church as a gathering only that we could meet our friends, and hear values in life.

 

Based from my experience, I don’t know if you agree, if you treat the church least, the enemy will give you lots of schedule during Sundays. Please don’t get mad at me this is based from my experience. You know what, not just busy schedules, many personal and unavoidable circumstances will arise. For example, you’ll get sick often, you’ll receive unexpected visit of in-laws or relatives and many more during church services. One time I had a problem with my internet provider, and they told me to fix it as soon as possible I had waited for the weekdays for the fixers to visit but they came Sunday, I received the call before 9am. I didn’t know what to do at first because I really needed to get it fixed. I told the caller that I was in the church and I can’t entertain them at that time. Though they said that was the only day they were available, still I was grateful because they gave me options. I chose 11am (after morning service) and they came back at that time. That is a simple situation but we need to pay attention to it.  When we entertain those things in our lives, time will come that though we don’t have schedules or anything, our mind gives you the thought that no need to church on that Sunday just rest and give yourself a break. You are already used to it. Sometimes we need to be firm and do what is right. Let’s remind ourselves of Hebrews 10:25. 

 

 

The whole context of this passage about marriage has this model of Christ's passion for His bride, the Church, as its foundation. And the point is powerful: Jesus wholeheartedly, unconditionally loves His Church. You know there is a moment in every wedding when the bride walks down the aisle to her groom. Everyone rises to their feet as the music soars and all eyes turn to see the bride - radiant, beautiful, adorned in white, she seems to float past on her way to the man who has captured her heart.

 

I’d experienced being an emcee in a wedding, I’d seen special moments wherein it somewhat like emotional. The reaction of the groom is what I see the most. He is grinning from ear to ear in anticipation, wistful, unspeakably happy, lost in love for the one who is coming to pledge herself to him and some get emotional too. Maybe the groom sees the person he would spend the rest of his life.

Now listen, if you can see that look on the groom's face, then you have a small understanding of the intensity of Christ's love for His church. It resonates through this passage.

What makes this thought and scene more striking for me is that I am a part of His church; I know you feel the same. The church in the Bible is made up of those who have been called out by the Spirit of Christ to salvation. The church is God's people. It's you and me and every believer in every place around this world who has put their trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord. The truth is when you read that Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her, you might as well be reading, "Jesus loves me like that."

It becomes intensely personal to meditate on the words Christ loved the church when I see that I am included among those He loves. And it strikes me when I see that the Greek word for love that Paul uses here describes immediately takes me to the cross. It is the word agape, which refers to the absolute, un-self-centered sacrifice of Christ for my sake. His love for His me never quits, never waivers, never weakens. Together, church, we will take a piece of bread and a swallow of juice to remember that cross love He has for His bride, you and me.

And then I read that He gave Himself for His bride, and I count the cost He has personally undertaken. The wording here speaks of voluntary surrender and total commitment to the horrors of bearing my sins in His body on the cross to ransom me from slavery to sin and take me to Himself. The broken body and shed blood of Christ are the measure of how far He will go for me.

And when I read that His holy love for the church moved Him with purpose to make her holy, cleansing her in the washing of water by the word, I am thrilled to see my complete forgiveness in those words, my justification accomplished at His Word, and the gentle, patient work of making me holy like Himself.

Christ is totally committed to the church. He is totally committed to me. Can I receive love like that from Him as an imperfect person He is sanctifying while ignoring the rest of what His love has purchased? The truth is the more like Christ we’ve become, the more we love what He loves and devote ourselves to what moves Him to action. Say what you want to say, but you know it's true. If we're going to be like Jesus, we won't date the church anymore. And you won't stumble over the imperfections that are going to happen when a group of imperfect people gather together. You'll just realize that it has its flaws, but it's what Jesus died for.

Knowing that you are the bride of Christ, and the Bible clearly states that the bridegroom or Jesus is coming again, stirs this question: How is your wedding prep going?

3.  CHECK YOUR SERVICE (EPHESIANS 5:30)

For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

Like the bride of Christ, if you accepted Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you belong to the Body of Christ. In v. 25, the church is the wife of Jesus Christ. But in v. 30, the church is called the Body of Christ: we are members of His body, it says. Paul changes the imagery to emphasize something important.

The image of the bride tells us deep things about the devotion and love of Christ Jesus for us, His bride. The image of the body of Christ reminds us that we have an assignment to fulfill. When Jesus bodily walked this earth, He moved from place to place in a small geographical area, doing the will of the Heavenly Father and securing the salvation of everyone who believes. Now, having ascended back to heaven, He still moves from place to place, only now on a global scale. How does He do it? Through us! We are His body!

Ephesians 1:22 expands on this picture when it explains, by telling us that God the Father has put everything under His feet and appointed Him as head over everything for the church, which is His body, the fullness of the One who fills all things in every way. Like the fingers and toes, like the eyes and elbows of your physical body, you are a part of Christ's body on earth, which is the church. And just like the various parts of your physical body have a specific function in relation to your body, so you have a specific function in Christ's body! There is no unimportant member of the church. Each of us has a function to fulfill for the good of the whole body. Ephesians 4 speaks about the body being built up in love as each part is working properly (v. 16).

Paul plays with this analogy a bit in his letter to the Corinthians: If the foot should say, "Because I'm not a hand, I don't belong to the body," in spite of this it still belongs to the body. And if the ear should say, "Because I'm not an eye, I don't belong to the body," in spite of this it still belongs to the body. If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were an ear, where would be the sense of smell? But now God has placed the parts, each one of them, in the body just as He wanted. (1 Corinthians 12:15-18)

Run with me on this, okay? Let's say for the sake of illustration that when God saved you, He made you a hand in His body. You have the gift of service that is meant to minister to the rest of the body by assisting and fixing and working. You are the oil in the machinery that keeps things running smoothly. So what happens when you say, "I love you Jesus, but I don't want to be a part of the church"?

That's like saying, "Jesus, I love you, but I don't want to be a part of Your body. So I'm cutting off Your hand from Your body. But hey I really love you, okay!?" How would that work out for your physical body if your body parts did a little mutiny? "As your big toe, let me just say that I'm sick and tired of working with these other toes. They're all a bunch of posers! I do most of the work, and they still get treated as equals. So I think I'm just going to take a break. You don't really need me anyway."

You get the point. If you're a Christian, you have an assignment to fulfill in the body of Christ. He's on the move and needs every member of His body in on what He's doing. So when you're missing in action, half-hearted, casually committed, the rest of the body is crippled and weakened.

Another thing that caught my attention, love leads you to service. Therefore, if you love your groom, you would serve him.

CONCLUSION:

Hebrews 10:24-25 calls us to a different value system when it comes to the church. "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

For this church to be all God wants it to be, each member needs to be working properly, needs to be connected, needs to be participating, sharing the burdens and the joys together. Most of you here today are living examples of this message, and I cannot thank you enough for your example, your partnership, your stewardship of life for His sake.