Heaven in the Real World
“Beloved, if God so loved us; we also ought to love one another.” I John 4:11
For centuries man had been searching for God’s love. The sacrificial system of the Old Testament was one way that man sought after the love and approval of God. Even before Christ came, men knew in their hearts that they must be cleansed and purified before they could come into the presence of God, and man thought that he must be clean before he could receive the love of God. Then at the proper time God sent Christ into the world not because we were already clean, but so that through Him, and His sacrifice, we could be made clean. Listen to the words of I John 1:7 “…… the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sins.” No matter how many sacrifices we make or how many good deeds we do we can never be made clean before God. Like Isaiah the prophet said in Isaiah 64:6 “… all of our righteousness is like a filthy garment.” There is nothing in our past, in the present or in the future that can make us righteous before God. However, because of His great love for us God sent His Son to cleanse us. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates His own love for us in that while we were yet sinners He sent Christ to die for us.” Did you hear that “we were yet sinners”, we were not clean and righteous, but we were “filthy garments”; despite the fact that we were Godless, dirty and vile creatures God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. That is the ultimate expression of love. Which brings me to the core of the message for today.
“By this the love of God was manifested in us; that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him.” I John 4:9
God loved us so much that Christ came to sacrifice Himself for us, and because of His sacrifice the love of God was manifested, made apparent. As Christians we are filled with the love of God, and I ask what you are doing to make the love of God apparent in this world. Can people see through you the love that God has. I am not trying to, nor can I, condemn anyone because there are times in my life that God’s love does not shine. I am merely stating that during the times that we do not shine for Christ that we are not “a fragrant aroma” (EPHESIANS 5:2). We are always filled with the love of God, but at these times; we are not living the life that we were saved for. God, through Christ, saved us so that we could represent Him to others. We were saved so that we could show others Heaven in the Real World.
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Father, I thank You for giving me the perfect example of love through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and I ask that You help me to live out that example in my life so that others can see Your love through my life. In Jesus’ name, Amen
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Yes, You Can Ministry 