Message Title: Unclogging A Slow Love Flow
Text: Philippians 3:10-11 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in (or the fellowship of) His sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead.
We get clogged up instead of being free-flowing conduits of God’s love. So, to unclog a slow love flow I want to present several reminders.
1. Remember how beloved You are.
Jesus didn’t just come for all of us, but for each one of us.
• As Paul said in Galatians 2:20, He delivered Himself up for me.
• It was inclusive of all of us, but it was personal for each of us.
2. Remember Jesus can relate
Every bit of Jesus suffering happened to Him not because of any wrongdoing on His part but because of His efforts to love.
• His confrontations with the Pharisees were all about their clogged love flow.
• When the religious leaders spoke against His disciples picking grain on the Sabbath because they were hungry. “I desire mercy, not sacrifice He said to them” (Matthew 12:7).
• He said they put heavy, cumbersome burdens on people but were not willing to lift a finger to help ease the burden (Luke 11:46).
• Even His statements about His identity as the Messiah were made from a heart of redemptive love. (John 3:16-17).
The fellowship of His sufferings.
As He attempted to love a stubborn and resistant world, He can relate to our struggle to love the stubborn and resistant.
• It wasn’t just the last days of His ministry on earth, culminating in His crucifixion that were a sacrifice, throughout the years of His ministry He lived under the stress of being doubted, ridiculed, rejected, slandered, misunderstood. He lived under the pressure of people always wanting more. And His motive was simply to love them.
• We do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses (Hebrews 4:14-16).
But let’s not limit our understanding of His ability to relate to the travails of trying to love, He also rejoices with us about the positive effects of love.
• Luke 10 – The disciples were sent out two by two on an expedition of love. To heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers and drive out demons. When the disciples returned full of joy with their reports Jesus was full of joy through the Holy Spirit.
Realizing Jesus can relate to the ups and downs of our love quest, keeps the pipes clear.
3. Remember faith is the means to God’s love.
John 6:29 – The work of God is always to believe.
1 Timothy 1:4 – God’s work is advanced by faith
When it comes to our partnership with the Lord, our focus is always to be on trusting the Lord to use what we have to give, not on producing as much we think is needed.
• Without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6).
• The life I live, I live by faith in the Son of God. (Galatians 2:20)
• We can never give “enough” to satisfy all the love needs of all our relationships.
As an example…
In Luke 4 At Capernaum, the people brought to Jesus all who had various sicknesses and he healed them all. He drove out demons. He started at sunset and continued until the wee hours of the morning and at daybreak Jesus went off to have some quiet time with His Father and the people found him and tried to prevent Him from leaving. And Jesus said, I’ve got to go the other towns, too. His focus was on trusting the Father for what He had to give, not on producing as much as the people wanted.
Matthew 26 At Bethany, when a woman anointed Jesus’ feet with costly perfume and the disciples protested, Jesus said, “The poor you will always have with you.”
When it comes to the love needs of others, our focus is always to be on trusting the Lord to use what we have to give, not on producing as much we think is needed.
4. Remember love costs us but it’s not at our expense.
The Lord will return our costs with interest. We can trust Him for this.
• Luke 6:38 “Give and it will be given to you good measure, pressed down, shaken together, will be poured into your lap.”
Don’t close the ledger on what you think were bad love investments of the past.
• I personally believe what the Lord wants to give us most is a qualitative blessing of an enriched relationship with Himself.
• You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound. (Psalm 4:7)
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