Love = Life A Study of Love in I John 3

Love = Life   A Study of Love in I John 3                      Kelly Durant 

 

Money can buy a dog, but only love can make his tail wag! You can give a beggar bread, but if you put butter on in, then that is love!

 

When I was in college years ago and I was studying all the religions of the world, I was hoping to find one that could meet my spiritual needs and my desire to be loved. Even though my mother was nice, I actually was disappointed in the lack of love that existed in most everyone I knew. God made us to hunger for love! Only His love can satisfy us!

 

In the early 70’s Buda was popular, transcendental meditation was popular, and I tried these for a while but they did not fill the spiritual emptiness of love that I longed for. It was only when I was invited in the home of some non-judgmental (say this because my hair was long then), loving Christian missionaries that I experienced a hug and love as I had not known it before! It was their love and sincere interest in me that touched my heart my to want to hear what they had to say and make me want serve Jesus and be an on-fire Christian as they were. Love=time: we must show it in some way to prove it!

 

Today we are in the month of love and will do a study on love as the Bible describes it in I John. I want to tell you, when the news gets back to me that one of you did something loving for another my heart jumps for gladness and I praise God for you! 

 

In the same manner, when someone reports on someone doing something unloving mine and Regina’s heart gets very sad, angry, and disappointed. God has no other hands to serve others with but ours and they do nothing good if they are not motivated by love!

 

Remember John the disciple was called the beloved because he got that good name from understanding and practicing his master’s love. John is my favorite disciple!

 

1 John 3

3:1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are, children of God or of love! That is our main characteristic! 

 

No Christian should ever say that they are unloved or do not know or have love, because only the lovers and followers of Jesus get to be the sons of a God love! You are very special! If the entire world treats you like you are trash, if all your family rejects you, if your life gets complicated, you can still sleep in peace to know that you are special and that you could die happy because you are loved by God!... and that love is enough to make you cry and sing, and praise Him for the rest your life!

 

2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.

The greatest love of all is that Jesus will not let us die just as He did not die! One day we will get to resurrect and have a supernatural body as He has. That is what the verse is stating; that we will be like Him one day! Love is sharing with another the same gifts you have, and Jesus’ love includes giving us in the future a supernatural body as His is!  

 

3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.

Here is an important detail, just as Jesus is pure, we must be pure in order to feel and experience being in His beautiful love! 

 

Pure people wake up in the morning and purify themselves, and they use God’s word and prayer like bleach and they clean their minds and hearts. Those who are not pure wake up and start throwing dirt on others and in the process get their selves dirty! How pure are you? Love means making your thoughts, your heart, and your spirit clean by prayers, obedience, and the Word.

 

4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 

I want you to see the shift in the context in which John explains it. It implies, you either have God’s love and live in it, or without it you will have sin and with sin you will be separated from God!

 

This is a good thesis statement for the day: You either have love, or you have sin!

 

When people do wrong things, they are breaking the law. Do not worry, all of us have broken the law in our days of ignorance and Jesus forgave us, but Jesus tells us to go and sin no more! In other words, you will not be able to feel nor enjoy God’s love in your life if you keep on sinning and doing wrong, unloving things. These words in this chapter are of love but they are strong; they say that you do not even know Jesus if you keep on sinning and hurting God and others which means you will not have eternal life and go to heaven if you do not stop doing your sins and start loving God, Jesus, and everyone!

 

7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous.

Isn’t that clear, it is as simple as this, if a person does good and loves and stops sinning, then they are in God’s righteousness. People can distinguish between a rose and a weed right away! Unjust people are unjust in everything! Good and righteous people are good and righteous in everything!

 

 8 He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work.

It does not matter what addiction, what sin, what problem you have, Jesus came to free everyone from it; and if we are letting His love work, all the chains of the flesh will be cut off and Jesus will be the victorious one governing in your life and mine!

 

Often, we forget to remind people that Satan is real. He comes into our minds and even in our lives in this world through evil people to temp us to be participating in a sin, to be cold hearted, selfish, and proud, and to destroy others that are of God that expose your unrighteousness preventing you from getting your wants. 

 

 9 No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother. 

 

In the end you will be judged to be a child of God or a child of the devil according your actions, whether you loved Jesus and your brother or not! And you are either of God or of the devil according to who you love! Did you choose to do what is right or did you not care and sin against God knowing it causes everyone to stumble by seeing your horrible example?

 

11 This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

My brothers and sisters, up until now we are getting this message over and over to love one another! 

 

 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. 

 

Now we are seeing a new element that destroys the love between us…jealousy! Cain killed his brother because Able was loved, or accepted by God more than Him over the sacrifice. Able was simple, he just loved and obeyed God; whereas Cain did not want to love and obey God as God wanted and his sin caused him to hate and attack his brother.

 

Everyone sees this sin of attacking and killing others verbally every day in the news media and in families. This hate and jealousy is even within the churches and everywhere, and this is a product of having no love, God, or forgiveness at all; It is sin as the jealousy leads to hate, and then it leads to murder!

 

13 Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 

 

Here we are getting a repeat of how not having love makes a person a murderer whether there is a dead body or not! He wants us to understand, if you hate your brother you will not have eternal life! In the world the non-Christians hate us because we proclaim Jesus, and anyone hating will have to pay with eternal death for their charge of being a murderer. And as stated here only being in God’s love brings us into life eternal!

 

16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

There is the ultimate test of love, have you laid down your life as Jesus for dis for us? Many people will not give up $10, or even one hour for someone in need! True Christians, however, do what ever they need to for Jesus and for their brothers! Ask your self, how much do I lay down my life for the brothers and sisters? What have I done lately that is proof of a real sacrifice for others? How much love do you have?

 

 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 

 

In other words, this love is not just talk, “I love you”? No, love makes sacrifices to help and shows pity. That is what the Salvation Army, and every Christian should be about, that we should be doing actions to prove we are loving and showing God’s love by doing actions from our hearts. Many times, I have given away my furniture, clothes, and things. 

 

19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 

 

Only you know how you are in your heart, if you feel condemned or not. When you go to bed at night, do you feel restless like there was something you needed to do that God brings into your mind? It says it here clearly that God knows everything! If something is not right, then fix it as soon as possible! If you were unloving, go back and do something loving!

 

21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God

 

So, when a person feels guilty for not being loving due to sinning and not helping someone as we are clearly taught to do; it is judgment and consequences that they will have. They will have a disturbed, sad, and restless heart, not just now on earth, but forever in hell as there is no rest for the wicked! 

 

22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 

The implication here is God will answer prayer if we are in Him, loving and obeying Him, but if not, God does not answer our prayers! That is only fair right? You do not reward a child with an ice cream who has been disobeying you all week! But those who love by doing deeds of love, these are the ones who have a good relationship with God, and a confidence that He is close and they get their prayers answered in the way God sees fit.

 

23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. 

 

Does your spirit sense God near you? You know or not if you really believe in Jesus’ love: you measure your love by how much you believe, obey, and live in Him! Let’s love and obey all the way! Amen? Ask God for more love!

El Amor = Vida
Un Estudio del Amor en 1 Juan 3 Kelly Durant

El dinero puede comprar un perro, pero solo el amor puede hacer que mueva la cola! Puedes darle pan a un mendigo, pero si le pones mantequilla, ¡eso es amor!

 

Cuando estaba en la universidad, hace muchos años, y estudiaba todas las religiones del mundo, yo esperaba encontrar una que satisficiera mis necesidades espirituales y mi deseo de ser amado. Aunque mi madre era amable, en realidad me decepcionaba la falta de amor que existía en casi todas las personas que conocía. ¡Dios nos creó con hambre de amor! ¡Solo Su amor puede satisfacernos!

A principios de los años 70, Buda estaba de moda, la meditación trascendental era popular, y las probé por un tiempo, pero no llenaron el vacío espiritual de amor que yo anhelaba. ¡Solo cuando fui invitado a la casa de unos misioneros cristianos que no me juzgaron (digo así porque en ese entonces tenía el cabello largo) ellos fueron amorosos y experimenté un abrazo y un amor como nunca antes había conocido! 

 

Fue su amor y su sincero interés en mí lo que tocó mi corazón, me hizo querer escuchar lo que tenían que decir y me impulsó a querer servir a Jesús Cristo y ser un cristiano en fuego como ellos. ¡Amor = tiempo: debemos mostrarlo de alguna manera amor para para que sea tangible! 

 

Hoy estamos estudiando el amor y haremos un estudio sobre el amor tal como lo describe la Biblia en 1 Juan. Quiero decirles que, cuando me llega la noticia de que uno de ustedes hizo algo amoroso por otro, ¡mi corazón salta de alegría y alabo a Dios por ustedes! 

 

De la misma manera, cuando alguien reporta que alguien hizo algo sin amor, el corazón de Regina y el mío se entristece mucho, se enoja y se decepciona. ¡Dios no tiene otras manos para servir a los demás más que las nuestras, y estas no hacen nada bueno si no están motivadas por el amor!

Recuerden que al discípulo Juan lo llamaban “el amado” porque recibió ese buen nombre por entender y practicar el amor de su Maestro. 

¡Juan es mi discípulo favorito!         1 Juan 3

3 Mirad cuál amor nos ha dado el Padre, para que seamos llamados hijos de Dios; por esto el mundo no nos conoce, porque no le conoció a él.   Y eso es lo que somos: ¡hijos de Dios o de amor! ¡Esa es nuestra característica principal! 

 

Ningún cristiano debería decir jamás que no es amado o que no conoce el amor, porque solo los que aman y siguen a Jesús son hijos de un Dios de amor! ¡Ustedes son muy especiales! ¿Que esperamos del mundo? Si el mundo entero los trata como basura, si toda su familia los rechaza, si su vida se complica, aún así pueden dormir en paz sabiendo que son especiales para Dios y que podrían morir felices porque ¡Dios los ama!... y ese amor es suficiente para hacerlos llorar, cantar y alabarlo el resto de nuestras vidas!

 

2 Amados, ahora somos hijos de Dios, y aún no se ha manifestado lo que hemos de ser; pero sabemos que cuando él se manifieste, seremos semejantes a él, porque le veremos tal como él es.
Jesús nos dio un amor sobrenatural y no nos va dejar morir, Un día resucitaremos y tendremos un cuerpo sobrenatural como El suyo! Eso es lo que dice el versículo: ¡que un día seremos como Él!

El amor es compartir con otros los mismos poderes que uno tiene, y el amor de Jesús incluye darnos, en el futuro, ¡un cuerpo sobrenatural como el tiene! No habrá más dolores, abre, ¡ni ningún sufrimiento! 

 

3 Todo el que tiene esta esperanza en él se purifica a sí mismo, así como él es puro.
Aquí hay un detalle importante: así como Jesús es puro, ¡debemos ser puros para sentir y experimentar su hermoso amor! Las personas puras se despiertan por la mañana y se purifican; usan la Palabra de Dios y la oración como lejía y limpian su mente y su corazón. Los que no son puros se despiertan y empiezan a embarrar con suciedad los demás y, en el proceso, se quedan sucios ellos mismos.  ¡Amor implique la santidad!

¿Qué tan puro eres tú? El amor significa limpiar tus pensamientos, tu corazón y tu espíritu mediante la oración, la obediencia a la Palabra.

 

4 Todo aquel que comete pecado, infringe también la ley; pues el pecado es infracción de la ley. 5 Y sabéis que él apareció para quitar nuestros pecados, y no hay pecado en él. 6 Todo aquel que permanece en él, no peca; todo aquel que peca, no le ha visto, ni le ha conocido.

Quiero que vean el cambio de contexto en el que Juan lo explica. Implica que o tienes el amor de Dios y vives en él, o sin él tendrás pecado y con el pecado estarás separado de Dios. Esta es una buena tesis para el día: 

¡O tienes amor, o tienes pecado! ¡NO puedes tener los dos al mismo tiempo!

Cuando las personas hacen cosas malas, están violando la ley. Pero no se preocupen, todos hemos violado la ley en nuestros días de ignorancia y Jesús nos perdona (es nuestro abogado), y Jesús nos dice: “Ve y no peques más”. En otras palabras, no podrás sentir ni disfrutar el amor de Dios en tu vida si sigues pecando y haciendo cosas malas. 

 

Estas palabras en este capítulo son de amor, pero son fuertes: dicen que tu no conoces a Jesús si sigues pecando y lastimando a Dios y a los demás, y eso significa que no tendrás vida eterna ni irás al cielo si no dejas tus pecados atrás y empiezas a amar a Dios, a Jesús y a todos los demás.

 

7 Hijitos, que nadie los engañe. El que hace lo que es justo es justo, así como él es justo.
¿No esta claro? Es tan simple como esto: si una persona hace el bien, deja de pecar, y entonces está en la justicia de Dios. ¡La gente distingue entre una rosa y una mala hierba de inmediato! Con el tiempo se nota que es justo y quien no. ¡Las personas injustas son injustas en todo! Las personas buenas y justas son buenas y justas en todas sus acciones.

 

8 El que practica el pecado es del diablo; porque el diablo peca desde el principio. Para esto apareció el Hijo de Dios, para deshacer las obras del diablo.

No importa qué adicción, qué pecado o qué problema tengas, ¡Jesús vino a liberar a todos de ello! Y si dejamos que el amor de Dios obre, todas las cadenas de la carne serán cortadas y Jesús será el vencedor que gobierne sobre tu vida y en la mía. 

A menudo olvidamos de recordarles a las personas que Satanás es real. Él entra en nuestras mentes e incluso en nuestras vidas en este mundo a través de personas malvadas para tentarnos a participar en el pecado El vuelve el corazón frío, egoísta y orgulloso, ¡y a destruir a los que no se liberan! ¡Exponen su injusticia! ¡Podemos tener victoria en Jesús!

 

9 Todo aquel que es nacido de Dios, no practica el pecado, porque la simiente de Dios permanece en él; y no puede pecar, porque es nacido de Dios. 10 En esto se manifiestan los hijos de Dios, y los hijos del diablo: todo aquel que no hace justicia, y que no ama a su hermano, no es de Dios.

 

Al final serás juzgado como hijo de Dios o hijo del diablo según tus acciones, según hayas amado a Jesús y a tus hermanos o no. ¡Y eres de Dios o del diablo según a quién amas! ¡Si somos de Dios, perdemos el deseo de pecar! 

 

11 Porque este es el mensaje que habéis oído desde el principio: Que nos amemos unos a otros. 

 

12 No como Caín, que era del maligno y mató a su hermano. ¿Y por qué causa le mató? Porque sus obras eran malas, y las de su hermano justas.

 

Ahora vemos un nuevo elemento que destruye el amor entre nosotros… ¡los celos! ¡Y el odio! Caín mató a su hermano porque Abel era más amado o aceptado por Dios que él en el sacrificio. Abel era sencillo, solo amaba y obedecía a Dios; en cambio, Caín no quería amar ni obedecer a Dios como Dios quería. 

Su pecado lo llevó a odiar y atacar a su hermano. 

Todos vemos este pecado de atacar y matar verbalmente a otros todos los días en los medios de noticias lo hace Y vamos esto en las familias. ¡Este odio y celos están incluso dentro de algunas iglesias y en todas partes, y es producto de no tener amor! Los que no tienen a Dios no perdonan; y los  los celos llevan a uno al odio y luego al asesinato.

 

13 Hermanos míos, no os extrañéis si el mundo os aborrece. 14 Nosotros sabemos que hemos pasado de muerte a vida, en que amamos a los hermanos. El que no ama a su hermano, permanece en muerte. 15 Todo aquel que aborrece a su hermano es homicida; y sabéis que ningún homicida tiene vida eterna permanente en él.

Aquí repetimos cómo no tener amor convierte a una persona en homicida, haya o no un cadáver. ¡Quiere que entendamos que si odias a tu hermano no tendrás vida eterna! En el mundo, los no cristianos nos odian porque proclamamos a Jesús, y todo el que odie pagará con muerte eterna por su cargo de homicida. ¡Y como se dice aquí, solo estando en el amor de Dios entramos en la vida eterna!

 

16 En esto hemos conocido el amor, en que él puso su vida por nosotros; también nosotros debemos poner nuestras vidas por los hermanos

Ahí está la prueba definitiva de amor: ¿has dado tu vida como Jesús la dio por nosotros? ¡Muchas personas no dan ni 10 dólares ni una hora por alguien necesitado! Los verdaderos cristianos, sin embargo, hacen todo lo que sea necesario por Jesús y por sus hermanos. Pregúntate: ¿cuánto doy mi vida por los hermanos y hermanas? ¿Qué he hecho últimamente que sea prueba de un sacrificio real por los demás? ¿Cuánto amor tienes?

 

17 Si alguien tiene bienes materiales y ve a su hermano en necesidad, pero no tiene compasión de él, ¿cómo puede estar en él el amor de Dios? 18 Hijitos, no amemos de palabra ni de lengua, sino con hechos y en verdad. En otras palabras, este amor no es solo hablar: “Te amo”. No, el amor hace sacrificios para ayudar y muestra compasión. Eso es de lo que se trata el Ejército de Salvación y todo cristiano: hacer acciones que prueben que estamos amando y mostrando el amor de Dios desde el corazón. Muchas veces he regalado mis muebles, ropa y cosas.

 

19 Y en esto conocemos que somos de la verdad, y aseguraremos nuestros corazones delante de él; 20 pues si nuestro corazón nos reprende, mayor que nuestro corazón es Dios, y él sabe todas las cosas.

 

Solo tú sabes cómo estás en tu corazón, si te sientes condenado o no. Cuando te acuestas por la noche, ¿te sientes inquieto porque hay algo que Dios trae a tu mente que debías hacer? ¡Aquí se dice claramente que Dios lo sabe todo! Si algo no está bien, ¡arréglalo lo antes posible! Si fuiste sin amor, vuelve y haz algo amoroso. 

 

21 Queridos amigos, si nuestro corazón no nos condena, tenemos confianza delante de Dios. Así que, cuando una persona se siente culpable por no ser amorosa debido al pecado y por no ayudar a alguien como claramente se nos enseña; tendrá juicio y consecuencias. Tendrá un corazón perturbado, triste e inquieto, no solo ahora en la tierra, sino para siempre en el infierno, ¡porque no hay descanso para los impíos! 

 

22 y recibimos de él todo lo que le pedimos, porque guardamos sus mandamientos y hacemos lo que le agrada.
La implicación aquí es que Dios responderá la oración si estamos en Él, amándolo y obedeciéndolo; pero si no, ¡Dios no responde nuestras oraciones! Eso es justo, ¿verdad? No le das un helado a un niño que te ha estado desobedeciendo toda la semana. Pero los que aman haciendo obras de amor son los que tienen una buena relación con Dios, confianza de que Él está cerca y reciben sus oraciones contestadas según lo que Dios considere apropiado.

 

23 Y este es su mandamiento: Que creamos en el nombre de su Hijo Jesucristo, y nos amemos unos a otros como nos lo ha mandado. 24 Y el que guarda sus mandamientos, permanece en Dios, y Dios en él. Y en esto sabemos que él permanece en nosotros, por el Espíritu que nos ha dado.

 

¿Tu espíritu siente a Dios cerca de ti? Sabes o no si realmente crees en el amor de Jesús: ¡mides tu amor por cuánto crees, obedeces y vives en Él! ¡Amemos y obedezcamos hasta el final! ¿Amén? ¡Pídele a Dios más amor!

 

You or I Could Lose Everything!

You or I Could Lose Everything!                                                 Kelly Durant 6-1-08

 

Luke 12:16-21

16 And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully:

17 And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits?

18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.

19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

20 But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then

whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?

21 So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

 

 In Caracas, Venezuela, we had a frightful experience one time in our apartment on the 4^th floor. We started smelling smoke and we thought maybe someone was burning trash in the neighborhood next door, but it got worse and we decided to open the door and take a look and when we did the entire hallway was full of dark thick smoke! It was so thick, you could not see the stairs, and for sure we were not going to go on the elevator! We put wet rags on the bottom of the door and prayed! I thanked God that at least the kitchen window did not have bars on it so we could jump out but I thought I could throw out my kids one by one if need be! I thought it better to have a broken bone and yet survive, than to die by being burnt up! It turned out to be a car in the basement level that was on fire and the firemen arrived on time to control it. Later they said that if the fire in that car in the lower garage would have spread to all the cars, then there would have been no chance to save the whole building! It was a sobering experience and once again we were brought face to face with the reality we could all die at any moment! God has allowed me to be scared and in dire situations many times and I revert to this; I will honor God, thank God, and love Him for His mercy and salvation on me and those close to me!

 

This past week has been a difficult one for the community. I was contacted to see how to help a mother of 6 kids whose husband went to jail and is being deported. Many people have been deported and lost all they worked for, the few thousand dollars’ worth of furniture, and its left behind for another person often as trash! Regina also went to the hospital for 3 days straight to spend time with a family that lost their 18-year-old son due to a horrible traffic accident. She cried and prayed with them! Many people are suffering terribly in every community, but how are you and the people nearby responding?

 

I would like to invite you come with me to Sam’s club to shop sometime. On almost any given day you can come in and find shoppers with flatbed carts full of cases of beer, 10 cases, or even 20 cases! You would think by the attendance at the clubs and restaurants around the city that life in this country is one big party, but considering what I just told you about people suffering, you can conclude it is not!

 

 So, what do we have in society? Bad behavior, partying, people living as if there is no judgment, gossiping, and all happening as if there is no tomorrow despite warnings!

 

The scripture today addresses how wrong any of us could be to think there is no tomorrow and no consequence for our actions! Some people get a little prosperity, an apartment, a car, a few electronic toys, and they think they have arrived! They are invincible! Compared to cousins in poor countries, many are folks here are considered to be rich! 

 

What did the scripture say about the man who got a little prosperity and was rich? He wanted even more! When he had no problems, when God was good to Him, what was his attitude? Did he go to the temple and thank God for his prosperity? No! He became more and more selfish, he wanted to build bigger barns! And what provoked God’s wrath on his life? What caused God to decide to not only let Him lose everything but cut his life short?

 

Read verse 19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

 

He had a heart that only could think about himself, no one else! He wanted to enjoy life without the bother of seeking or thanking God who gave him his life and his prosperity!

He had no fear of God, but imagine now he has to face God; now he is in the predicament of having lost it all and losing his soul as a punishment!

 

Don’t you see everyone one of us should have a sense of urgency, we are in a crisis in the community! God is allowing tragedy, persecution, and suffering in our neighborhoods to sober people up so they will stop all their foolishness, their lack of respect to honor God, and stop their pride and arrogant mouths which offend God and others! 

 

People who never let their heart be converted like the heart of Jesus, people who hear and know the Word of God but do not practice it, people who could come to church and worship but make accusing and exaggerated statements against people in the church, people who reject Biblical thinking and view all things from the carnal, selfish I got to put myself first attitude, are not spiritual and they are exposed to God’s wrath just like the person in these verses of focus today. 

 

Where else does it talk in the scriptures about the sin of being shallow with God? Or another way to look at it, how does God deal with people who live life as if they are the powerful ones, calling the shots and in control? People who want their selves to appear to be a great somebody by attacking other people? Often people who believe that because they have a little more than others, they have the right to judge and put down others? What happens when in the church some people put others down? Our words bring serious consequences! 

 

Luke 12:45-47 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;

46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

 

Always there will be people in the church who are drunk on their own pride despite all the horrible suffering of those in their own city nearby them! Why is it some people, and include yourself, always have their minds on their selves and they do not have the capacity to have compassion on others and love as Jesus did and they have to always tear down and attack others in order to make their selves look good? Sin brings death and suffering!  

 

In the church what happens, some people benefit from our love, God’s love and mercy, and this may include material help, yet some have been known to say the most offensive and ugly things about others and church members. Why?

 

It is because they have unrepentant hearts and because they, with a false image, lie to others, they lie to their selves, and they tell themselves that people in the church are more hypocrite than they are as to way a justify themselves as righteous enough. A tragedy! 

 

But the people who put others down, those who hurt others with their words are like the ones in the verse 45 who attack and beat others. And where do these people who do the works of unbelievers spend eternity? In the lake of fire!

 

Not everyone who comes to church will go to heaven but only those who repent and honor God and do his will! Only those who show love and compassion to others, only those who consider the poor and suffering, only those who sacrifice their pride and forgive and do the works that Jesus taught us will make it to heaven!

One cannot think one is a Christian and then live and speak in an unholy way!

 

Matt 12:36-37

36 But I say unto you, That every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment.

37 For by thy words thou shalt be justified, and by thy words thou shalt be condemned.

 

Who sees a need to repent today? Who wants to call their family and friends and warn them and tell them that they could lose everything at any moment? Get right with God! Be aware that God is angry with those who insult and harm good people, His people? 

 

Warn the community! Wake people up that God’s wrath has been revealed on many cities. Catastrophe could fall on any one of us! We have no guarantee of tomorrow. Build your future plans on doing God’s will and don’t let yourself become greedy, arrogant insulting your brothers, or over indulging in life’s pleasures storing up too much for yourself while others are in need. 

Christians, Your Job Is To Persuade and Encourage! And save souls with Jesus!

Christians, Your Job Is To Persuade and Encourage! And save souls with Jesus!                 by Kelly Durant 

1 Thessalonians 5:10-11 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

2. How many of you know about Aesop’s fables, the Greek philosopher with parables of wisdom? There is one where the sun and the wind have an argument over who can get a man to take his coat off. Each of them think they have more power and influence so they decide to compete. The wind says, you have seen how I blow over trees; I will make him take the coat off right away! The sun laughed and said okay, you go first then. The wind blew and the man feeling the cold wind held his coat tighter. The man even fell over but he held on to the coat even tighter. The wind gave up. Then the sun came out. He made himself hotter and hotter, then the man took the coat off from the heat. The sun won!

These Aesop tales are simple children’s stories but they teach each of us, no matter the age or culture basic principles. This one teaches us that people will do things given the right type of persuasion and encouragement, but people will not do something if they feel forced into it!

Wouldn’t you agree with me that all of us need to learn how to encourage and persuade others better? God is giving us many opportunities all through life. Last week we had an opportunity to connect with many of the new visitors, so consequently we must with love and wisdom encourage them to get closer to the Lord and to be our friends! We must bring them to know Jesus! How much do you encourage? What kind words do you say?

3. Let’s apply these encouragement (not discouragement) verses, for the moment, not to others but to ourselves. To learn what something is, you need to know what it is not, do you not agree? How many of you have visited a church where instead of knowing you as a person, they just dictated to you their doctrine, or their preacher’s theology, like a set of rules and behaviors that you must follow? Do this, and do that, which is a works religion, the follow the leader without question attitude? They have their ten or I should say 100 commandments! Thou shalt not wear jeans, thou shalt not dance, thou shalt not…on and on.  

This type of ineffective religion is like the wind, trying to force people into a mold. The irony is that human nature resists being pushed into a prefabricated mold. The system of knocking one down forces people to become either, hypocrite, passive-aggressive, or just bottle up with anger for being pushed into something. You and I know bitter resentful people in the churches, these people have their own unresolved personal issues with God but these people from time to time spill over their discouragement and burn others standing nearby: they discourage, not encourage!  

God made each of us all as individuals and we must allow for the personalities that God created, no one will be perfect, but God is in the process of perfecting and His Holiness will burn out impurities. If you want to compare God’s diverse choice of personalities, compare Moses, Samson, David, and Peter and notice it took time to shape their lives into what they needed to be! Sadly people who discourage, who are rude, or prideful, or offensive to another, later pay the price! The price is usually they end up without any friends! Loving encouraging people attract friends and followers, but critical negative people repel others like a magnet with another having both polls set on the negative.  

4. In general people that go to church for the first time get turned off by Christians that are hard-faced, proud, critical, legalistic, condescending, arrogant, over corrective, and unfriendly! What a crime to misrepresent our loving Lord Jesus in this manner! 

I am sure in the past we have lost a few members from someone’s bad behavior in this Church Corps: it happens everywhere and in all churches! We must repent and start over! It is sad but true that it is the human nature of many people to just naturally be legalistic, critical, negative, judgmental and condemning, pointing out the faults of others. How many times have you hear comments about people who come to church, and someone was finding fault with them, or the pastors? People who want everyone perfect forget they also have several huge faults in their own lives to work on! What God needs is encouragers to win others to Jesus!

Jesus did not leave an example for us to embarrass, judge or condemn those He reached out to. He convicted to not sin anymore, but He never was discouraging. Remember he talked into the night with the wine-drinkers, tax-collectors, and sinners? He also did not even condemn a naked prostitute when the self-righteous hypocrites brought her to Him, right? Jesus, however, was harsh and critical with the ones who did judge others being hypocrites their selves! The self-righteous hypocrites of the Jewish leadership of his day he labeled as a den full of vipers, and that their spirits were as white painted coffins full of dead men’s bones! 

If Jesus had mercy on others, how much more mercy we must have! We have not had a guilty prostitute in our Corps yet, but when a person you do not like or approve of does visit, I hope every person here treats that person with great love and kindness! Abused people expect abuse from others but Christians should be the first ones to break that cycle and seek to heal the wounds of someone that is broken, trapped, and suffering!

5. Romans 14:20 For meat destroy not the work of God. All things indeed are pure; but it is evil for that man who eateth with offence.21 It is good neither to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor any thing whereby thy brother stumbleth, or is offended, or is made weak.

This verse is describing that some Christians were rejecting eating meat because usually the Romans would say a prayer offering it to a Roman god, (a false one!) Certain Christians had the conviction to just not eat it, yet there were others that had the attitude that well, his god really is nothing, so if I pray and bless it in Jesus name it will be alright to eat it. Which is correct? Paul says according to your faith, you decide, but not to eat it if a brother will stumble and think you are a pagan! 

So, we must consider others on what we encourage. It could offend me when someone corrects another in their personal matters, please don’t do that! Notice that this dispute over eating meat was amongst Christians, so amongst Christians we solve things in house. Those outside the faith or visitors deserve more tolerance when we see them doing something. They may be unaware of it not being alright according to Scripture.

6. Differing ideas on things is not just a church community issue but differences also apply to politics, workplace rules, schooling methods, and within family kin. There will always be disagreements but we should never get offended and overheated over any matter! Some people even scream at each other when others won’t agree with them! This is like the wind blowing, not as the sun shining! 

The truth through God’s Holy Spirit will always win so no one ever has an excuse to get ugly with anyone over the standard they want! God has everyone in a process of maturity and holiness; it is His work, so to be discouraging with the visitors or the pastors shows a lack of love for Jesus! God does not credit one for being more holy because one rebukes another, or because one prays all the time, and it’s not in going to church all the time either. 

What credits a person to be holy is the amount of love for Jesus they have which is reflected in the love they have for others that makes one a true Christian. And these people who are close to Jesus just overflow with encouragement for everyone! 

7. It is pride and arrogance to presume that your own sins do not count, that your frank words are always well spoken, to think that you own self is above others, that you have never been very bad so you are better than others and you can therefore dictate what is correct according to your way of understanding.    

In the Salvation Army a person might comment, “Look who is here without uniform”, or “look what kind of a dress so and so came in with” but who is anyone to judge? There should always be within the Church Corps and in God’s work flexibility to allow for growth and maturity and some different ways of expression. Around the world TSA has many strange uniforms and ways of expressions! Our doctrine in no way condones us to become legalists but to the contrary, we are taught that we are in the process of becoming holy, and with obedience over time, full of more and more love and grace!

8. The verses of today says to build others up! I just told you how each of us have been guilty of breaking others down, so we must learn to do the opposite and pray to learn how to build others up! 11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing. So, are you doing that? Some of you are and do great! But always there will be a few of you who need to learn how to encourage others better.

I was told recently that someone said to a person, “Oh, I see you only come when there is food”. Imagine, several dozens of people worked many dozens of hours to decorate and make our event special. Dozens more spent many hours in the kitchen, and several more spent many hours in prayer for people to come to learn about Jesus, but then with one sentence all of that work can be destroyed by a discouraging comment!

We must have a revolution of encouragement in our lives! Better always is a hand on the shoulder than a hand swat on the rear! Ask God to help you to see that your job is to encourage, and to allow people space and time to mature in.  I know of a person that use to eat free in a mission home every day. Every day he would get preached at until one day after 6 months and about 180 sermons, he gave his life to God and went on to be a missionary! It is my friend, Robert, and today at age 75 he still serves in food pantries! People need space and time to choose what is right. The Holy Spirit does the work!   

9.  Hebrews 10:24-25 Let us consider how we can stir up one another to love. Let us help one another to do good works. 25 Let us not give up meeting together. Some are in the habit of doing this. Instead, let us cheer each other up with words of hope. Let us do it all the more as you see the day coming when Christ will return.

Church meetings 2 and 3 times a week have been happening ever since Jesus died due to these verses that recommend we do so. These verses encourage us to get together to cheer each other up, and we need each other. How many times have people expressed they didn’t feel like coming to church, but they went anyway and then afterwards they felt so much better and happier full of hope! It has happened to me! 

We must speak good of one another and encourage one another cheering each other up. I always brag on the people wherever I am at, that you are hardworking people and that we love everyone! Often people who visit comment that they feel love here! Thank God love is transforming you! But just a few bad words from one or two people can bring many down.

10. So, in communicating with others we always should bring a word of hope and cheer about your Christian family, your Corps, your leaders despite the fact that there are faults, and things that you and I wish were better. Do not let that get in the way of remaining upbeat and encouraged because an awful lot does get done for Jesus! Think of all the good done here, and of the soul winning that gets done for Jesus because as a team everyone plays a part in it all getting done. 

So encourage others with some kind words, with a small note, with a bowl of soup, or with a cup of coffee! We can all show more our appreciation and love to others by deeds of kindness, and by words that lift up! Jesus Words are ‘spirit & truth’ and they do touch you deep inside!

So, whether we are dead or alive, whether Jesus comes within a decade or a century, the encouraging truth is that we will all live with Him and our loved ones forever! How encouraging that knowledge is! Praise the Lord for these words from the book of 1 Thessalonians & Hebrews! 

The Character of Men in the World vs. Men of God

Men in the World vs Men of God              Kelly Durant 9-15-13 Re 6-14-26

1. I Tim 5: 17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.

2. Have you heard about the woman waiting for the perfect man? She waited and waited and then so much time went by that she just never seemed to find him! (See image of skeleton) Ha!

It is a very complex problem when we want to analyze men being perfect. How can men be perfect in his relationship involving the treatment of the woman and children and also in relation to his treatment of his fellow man? 

The real issue of men being perfect is in their knowledge and obedience to how God has revealed in Scripture. A man flourishes in spiritual maturity, wisdom, and a connection to God provoking a passion to treat everyone with respect, lovingly, and guiding them into God’s truth by words and deeds. Men must mature, and maturity means learning to be humble and doing God’s will in everything. Altruistic love is the foundation which Jesus taught.

3. Men maturing into men of valor as God intended contrasts the opposite image to what the pride of the world projects. There is a glory in men being strong; we all glory in seeing strong soldiers, but consider this, the strongest man who ever lived was Samson, and he killed a lion with his bare hands. However, look how the ultimate strongman ended up broken without faithfulness to God! Obedience and faithfulness is everything!

The ultimate question is, what does God want from me and you, or of men in general? All cultures have different ideas of how the perfect man should be. Usually when you say the word “man”, an image of how a man should dress, talk, and act is shaped by the expectancies of that culture and by the standard of the women of that society. And many cultures of the world have created evil men!

Woman live concerned about what the men do in relationship to them, so they are usually focused on the home and family. Men care for the women but men usually live very concerned about what other men might do to them and they think more about the society at large preparing their selves for survival and making a living within their environment which is often surrounded by hostility. 

4. Ever since the murder of Able by Cain men have worried how to protect their selves. They govern the society with police and armies and write laws and carry arms to help protect their selves from their own fellow man, and in particular defend their selves from those of other tribes, gangs, belief systems, or countries. For millennia men have had the tendency to scheme how to conquer and dominate their part of the world and this comes by cruel brute organized force.

I will confess as a man when I go out in the community, I subconsciously put myself on high alert and I focus in on any danger or threat that could be around me either while walking or in the vehicle. It is a natural tendency, right?

The sad reality is men, due to the sin of pride in the world, have failed in their mission to stop all hostility and greed and just love and obey God and enjoy Him! Men were created to love, not fight and kill. The inflicting of pain and the absorption of pain creates trauma and the results create the broken hostile, sad world of men today.  Why are there so many addicts in the world? Men (and women) are often trying to drown out their pain! Sin either committed or imposed causes a person to have pain, but Jesus does heal it and take it away!

5. God created men and women to give and receive love through their families and friends and fellow brothers in the faith. Every person in life gets an interest in knowing God usually because someone who loved God was loving, caring, and helpful to them. Doesn’t it seem that way? Love changed them and they gained hope, faith, and a new happy life. But only the Christian faith expresses correctly the most important concept of God that exists: that God is love!

What is the final purpose for man’s existence, anyway? Why am I here on earth we often ask ourselves? Ecclesiastes 12:13 Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the duty of all mankind. Jesus said to love God with all your heart mind and soul as well! Men analyze: If God made me in the womb, then He is the Father I must obey. Those who hate, steal, and do violence of course hate God even though they know inherently He exists. The demons fear God and tremble! Hell ultimately is a prison for the rebellious souls who do not stop their destructions.

Imagine how perfect, holy, and righteous a man could be if he would just practice the wisdom of God in the Bible! The men who truly understand God’s word always want to live to teach and preach it! It becomes their burning passion! 

6. Reviewing the verses of today, a man highly honored by a double portion in God’s view is one who teaches His Word. I Tim 5: 17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. Here is the example; the ideal man is esteemed by God and others when he learns the Holy Scriptures so well he practices them becoming responsible in the church; it is then he becomes qualified to teach.

What God wants from a man, which is his love, service, and obedience transferred into living a life of teaching & preaching, and what about loving your neighbor as yourself? Who is your neighbor closest to you? Usually, your wife and family, right? How a man treats his wife and family reveals everything about his character! 

7. Expounding more on a women’s definition of a perfect man she might describe him as one that is faithful with no other loves, one that is faithful to provide and protect, who does not lie, kill, abuse, and loves her always, caring to listen to her intimate concerns and communications.

Do not these desires remind you of something? They sound a lot like the list of things included in the 10 commandments, right? 

The Mosaic laws set up a good control and in most parts of the world, most of these basic commands are applied in some form because it is justice and righteousness to punishment those that offend God and others. The Law may guide and teach to deter man’s natural born abusive sinful nature, but only love can transform him into a self-controlled exemplary model for others.

8. Christians in the church, or the body of believers, are compared to being the bride of Christ. In the real world men must submit to other men in their jobs, schools, & etc., Women submit to men as well, but the ultimate submission of everyone must always be to Jesus & God’s will. Submission brings on freedom and protection from God and in our case with Jesus, eternal life as well! 

Romans 7:4 Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. 

Men were created to live in relationships. God desires a deep connection with each one of us. God also desires that we have a connection with one another and that ‘being one’ with love. This brings health, happiness and progress. 

9. Sadly, a majority of men in the world today are deceived and not being real “men” submitted to God and loving as we have covered so far. The defamation of the character of men in the West (USA) has been happening for decades. It is a Satanic ploy to disintegrate respect one for one another and crumble our society. The media and the dark higher powers promote the feminization of men, the mocking of men’s roles as fathers and authority figures. Music and sports influences the debauchery of men by having them copy these narcissistic arrogant violent stars. The lack of good men role models is devastating communities indiscriminately! Good leaders always come under attack just as Jesus exposed.

Men, nor women, are upholding God’s standards and enforcing laws and responsibilities in society demanding the standards that maintain happiness and peace! So, the end product is hate, broken dreams, frustration and violence, and the resulting extremely perverse horrible sins wreaking havoc on everyone. 

10. Another male problem are the undesirable customs of ancient man still influencing modern man today. In 80% of the world with the Arabs, Israelis, Native Americans, Hindus, Asians (past and current), the men are expected to principally be spiritual teachers in the home and community and they are expected to fight and defend, hunt or do commerce. The women are expected to work hard but usually in domestic chores. This stereotype is in many cultures.

Some people are happy with this ancient way of life but not many. It seems like a good life for man, but often the women are not happy with it. Willing service and servitude are distinct things! The oppression of men, women, and children today is at an all time high! Look at the Far East, the Middle East, Africa and all the world, observe the governments. Mafias, gangs, slave labor, the sex trade, and abuse of all kinds are on the rise and being ignored by governments and the media! What an injustice! PS Don’t forget to pray for the victims of human and labor trafficking! We know men are doing great evil, no matter the country or race!

In the West (USA), today, it is often expected that men help with the duties of the home in order to share the daily workload. This is love manifested in deeds of service and this is a noble thing to be respected. This shift of men helping at home occurred in part because the women started work in professional jobs and they no longer had the time to serve in the home as their grandmothers use to. In today’s modern world, men must learn professions and also how to be handymen at home because to call a painter, tech man, or plumber over to your house can cost you in one day what you earn in a whole week! 

11. Let’s go back further and look at the position of men for millennia. Men in most cultures in history have not ever really had the chance to be in the role of being good fathers, providers, and lovers. Why is that?

The reality is that most men throughout recorded history have been at war defending and building their cities, or fighting to acquire more land and all of their energy is consumed with just basic survival. The training to fight, and the fabrication of war weapons, or the actual engagement in conflict is what most men have been forced into ever since the beginning of time. In the end men have suffered greatly under other men who never learned to submit to God and love!

Consider how it was to rebuild the wall of Jerusalem for Nehemiah. 4:17 They which built on the wall, and they that bare burdens, with those that laded, every one with one of his hands wrought in the work, and with the other hand held a weapon.  All of what we enjoy today was defended and built by the blood, sweat, and tears of the ones before us and we should always honor them!

12. All of the former so called “great” world domineering societies, the Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans had within their own practices the suppression of other men (slaves), and women and children. Socrates stated “I thank god that I was born Greek & not Barbarian, free man & not slave, man & not woman, but above all, I was born in the age of Socrates”. This arrogant attitude was fueled by their worship of false gods, knowledge, progress, and pride. 

Only 500 years ago with the Renaissance, which was the product of the Church Reformation under Martin Luther who translated the Bible, was a new light shed and only then did respect and esteem open up towards men, women, and families. The Bible clarifies how we are to love God and our neighbor and keep his commandments, but evil men cannot oppress, deceive, and dominate other men who learn these values that Jesus taught. God’s word liberates our souls with wisdom, and with Jesus, and we are appalled by the injustices in the world and we are moved to do something about them.

13. So where do we stand with men in our corrupt societies of the world today? Most men today have never been taught to, “Fear God and keep his commandments… the duty of all mankind”. Men today have lost their role as loving defenders and providers following the lies of the world. Men today still have an innate desire to conquer and govern, but the problem is when they obtain a high position without a fear of God, they rapidly fall into corruption keeping the cycle of oppression and destruction alive. Laziness and idle time is becoming the enemy of many souls of men as well due to slow economies.

Today, men, I challenge you, will you be thankful you have the freedom to love and serve God and also to love and serve your families and help in the community? The world history of mankind is dark, cruel, and bloody, and it can only change when we, as illuminated Christians who know the “duty of man” take a stand in wisdom against our own pride and then take a stand in the community against the injustice of man to man and against women and children.  

Instead of Socrates statement, we as men of God could state, “I thank God that I was born to be in Christ & not continue as a Barbarian, a free man & not a slave to sin anymore; born a man so women I will love as equal to my own self; but above all, I am glad that I was born in the age of Christianity”. The world is suffering because too few men teach God’s wisdom! Souls are being lost because people have not accepted Jesus love because no one shared it! Be ready at all times as honorable men to teach and preach the word of God to your families and friends!