The Essential Ingredient

I enjoy cooking on Sunday afternoon. Now this is cooking for myself, no one else. Because usually the things I cook on Sunday afternoons, no one else in the house will eat. I like to cook pasta with some kind of sauce -- might be a cheese sauce, maybe a mushroom sauce. Now the ingredients I choose vary considerably. Once I learned the recipe for "Noodles Romanoff," I was fascinated at the way different ingredients could produce such wonderful shades of flavor. If you enjoy "Noodles Romanoff" as I do, did you know it includes worchester sauce in it, along with a little tabasco sauce? I never knew it until I made the recipe. But no matter what version of this dish I prepare there is an essential ingredient: pasta. Without it, nothing else matters -- there would be nothing worthwhile to eat.

In our Christian life, there is an essential ingredient also. The Apostle John writes of this essential in chapter four of his epistle of 1 John. There is no way around it, no way to bypass it, no way to ignore it. The God who loves you so much inspires such a response on the part of His people.

Scripture Passage: 1 John 4:7-21

Main Thought: An essential in your life of faith is love for people, because of God's awesome love for you.

Outline:

As a believer, you love people in response to God's overwhelming love for you.

Your demonstration of love demonstrates the reality of God to a world who cannot see Him.

The love you share with others gives you confidence in time to face God in eternity.

Your love for people is an essential requirement for one who loves God.

1. As a believer, you love people in response to God's overwhelming love for you.

(7) Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. (8) He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. (9) In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. (10) In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (11) Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. (1 John 4:7-11, NKJV)

Since God's character is summed up as love, it is obvious that His children should love one another.

When you share "agape" love (see the related message, Agape Love is What You Need), the kind of love God has for us, you reveal your new nature as a child of the God who loves ("born of God" v7). The opposite of this is also true -- one who does not love reveals his nature as a child of the devil! The Bible's point here is that if you do not show God's love to people, you do not know the God who loves people.

Imagine a plumber, after years of training with an older, wiser, highly-skilled plumber, comes to your home to fix your leaky faucet. He manages to take out the pipe but forgets to turn off the water first. After you shut off the water, he holds up a small, round piece of rubber and says, "What is this?" Aggravated, you say, "It is a washer!" The plumber looks puzzled and asks again, "Well, what is washer good for?"

Such a person could call himself a plumber, but I would not. I am sure you would not either. And a person who calls himself or herself a Christian had better demonstrate the kind of love that God has demonstrated to us, or maybe not call yourself a Christian?

The love God has for you was demonstrated to you when He sent "sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him" (1 John 4:9, NKJV). And even though you and I did NOT love God, He loved us anyway -- even to the maximum extent possible (v10).

If you are born of God, the God who loves with "agape" love, then you will demonstrate His love to others. It is not what you would call "natural." It is, however, a commitment you make to the LORD acknowledging your dependence upon His help to carry it out.

God fills you up with His "agape" love so that you can love others in response to what He has done for you. There are a lot of people in your life, a lot of different types of people all with different needs to be met. Are you passing on God's love or are you just passing on?

2. Your demonstration of love demonstrates the reality of God to a world who cannot see Him.

(12) No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. (13) By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. (14) And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. (15) Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. (16) And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. (1 John 4:12-16, NKJV)

God is spirit in nature (John 4:24) and invisible as John points out in verse 12. The Bible affirms this elsewhere (Romans 1:20; Colossians 1:15; 1 Timothy 6:16; Hebrews 11:27). So how can you know that God is real and at work in your life? You know it when you share God's love with others. The Bible says that when you share this kind of love, "God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us" (1 John 4:12, NKJV).

Sharing God's love brings you close to the heart of God because "God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God and God in Him" (1 John 4:16, NKJV). Sharing His love means you will share a close, intimate relationship with your heavenly Father.

You do not see God but you do see His love.

You see the way He provides for your needs.

You know His comfort and assurance during difficult times.

You gain His wisdom to know what to do.

So you never see God but you do see His love. This is critically important. Because the people around you do not see God either! But they can experience His love through you, and thus "see God." Think of some ways your can demonstrate God's love to your coworkers. Here is a list that may help:

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You see, I cannot say specifically how to offer God's love to your coworkers. I do not know them. I do not know their needs specifically. If I am to love someone as God loves me, I need to be getting to know them on a deeper and deeper level. Knowing their needs, I can work to meet their needs and give them the kind of love I have received from God!

Understand, though, that sharing love with someone does not make you a child of God. Many people have spent years of sacrificial giving to others without ever being born of God. John writes that drawing close to the heart of God through love is only possible for "Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God" (1 John 4:15, NKJV). Only those who embrace the LORD Jesus Christ as their Savior can draw close to God and love as He loves us.

3. The love you share with others gives you confidence in time to face God in eternity.

(17) Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. (18) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (19) We love Him because He first loved us.. (1 John 4:17-19, NKJV)

"Judgment Day" is a term that evokes much fear and trepidation in the hearts of people. No one wants to be judged, much less by a perfectly holy and righteous God whose standard is perfection. Yet John offers in this passage the solution to our fear of judgment day. The solution is -- you guessed it -- God's love.

First of all, when we demonstrate God's love to others, we can be bold (as opposed to fearful) in the day of judgment (1 John 4:18) because we know that God is pleased by love. When we "walk as [Jesus] walked" (1 John 2:6, NKJV), we will have nothing to fear before God. In fact, when you demonstrate godly love to others, you will look forward to "Judgment Day." You will want your deeds exposed to the light!

Consider an important project you have been asked to complete -- could be a school project, work related, or even a church project. It will require a lot of work over a long period of time. It will take commitment and sacrifice to accomplish. But you persevere through it and complete the project. Then you get a phone call saying the project was cancelled, "thank you anyway." How does this make you feel? Angry? Yes. Disappointed? Yes. But not afraid to have your work judged...

When you are doing what you know you need to be doing -- sharing God's love -- you will want to show God and everyone else what you have accomplished. Obviously, we all know it is not possible to share God's love without the work of the Holy Spirit to empower us to love. God's love is in fact a fruit, or a result, of our loving Him (Gal. 5:21-22). Yet the Bible tells us that we can be confident, even bold, when we have spent our time and energy in the wise pursuit of sharing God's love with others.

Second, there is a building up of your confidence that occurs as you are loved by God. John writes:

(18) There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. (1 John 4:18, NKJV)

As a believer in the LORD Jesus Christ, you have experienced the greatest love of all. God loved you and sent His only begotten Son into the world to die for YOUR sins (1 John 4:10). He offered up His Son on your behalf. As John writes, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down His life for us" (1 John 3:16, NIV) and "In this is love..." (1 John 4:10, NKJV). and who can forget the same truth found in John 3:16, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (NKJV). If God loves you that much, then what does that do to your relationship with Him? It does not bring fear, but the casting out of fear (1 John 4:18): in other words, confidence. You rest secure in His love for you because that is what His love for you accomplishes.

In your marriage, for example, you are to exercise God's love for your mate. When first married, your relationship has not had time to mature. You are less certain of how your mate will react to any given situation. You dent the car -- uh-oh! what will he say? You break that little glass thingy on the mantle that her mother gave her -- uh-oh! what will she do? But as you demonstrate God's love to your mate, your mate will grow secure in your love. When bad things happen, your mate will learn not to fear your wrath but to appreciate your godly love. This is how godly love builds up your confidence and boldness.

If you still have things you are afraid to share with your mate, it is because you have not been loved with godly love. Perhaps you have not shared godly love with your mate either? Either way, the resolution to such issues in your marriage relationship is to commit yourself to demonstrating godly love for your mate. This kind of love is:

Tender -- like the love of a father for his child (1 John 2:15).

Generous -- like a father lavishing gifts on his child (1 John 3:1).

Sacrificial -- like a father who sacrifices all for his child (1 John 4:9).

Unconditional -- like a father who affirms his child as his own no matter what (1 John 4:10).

Remember, "We love Him because He first loved us.. (1 John 4:19, NKJV). Your commitment to godly love for your mate, your children, your friends, your enemies...rests on the love you have received from God. God's love never runs out or gives up. Make that commitment today, afresh and anew, to really love those people in your life. Gain the confidence that God desires you to have in life by demonstrating godly love for others.

Reflect on YOUR life:

Your love for people is an essential requirement if you love the LORD:

(20) If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? (21) And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. (1 John 4:20-21, NKJV)

  Is there anyone you feel you cannot love? From this passage, I would say you need to repent. Turn away from that evil thought, confess your bitterness or hurt or disappointment or whatever offense caused you to feel that way. Forgive that person and start loving them today! Do it because of God's awesome love for you. Show "God" to that person by demonstrating God's love to them. Nothing is more essential for you as a child of God. And nothing else can bring you more joy!

Our Creator God loves you and wants you to know Him! If you would like to contact this ministry for further information or questions, please send your e-mail to:
Email: ministryrequest1@WordTruth.Com
Web Site: WordTruth.Com

Copyright 1/23/2000, Randy Lariscy.