THE LOVE OF GOD THE LOVE OF GOD APRIL 21, 2001 Unto the Church of God, and all who are called to be saints of Christ: All Hail: Is it well with thee?: I am well in the love of the Lord our God, who has lifted me up in His grace, as a black Hebrew saint, to testify of His name to the world. May His love shine ever so brightly upon all who are called to His Name. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life(St. John 3:16). God has surely showed His love to us: but how many of us truly seek the love of God? Some seek only when trouble burdens their life: and some seek only for convenience. Some seek the love of God only if the love of God is applied to their belief: and to their own understanding of things. But the Scriptures say, There is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism. So there is only one God: and one end to the love of God: and one manner of redemption in the grace of God. Everyone believe they are right in their own beliefs: and in their own manner of worship: and in their own faith: and in their own understanding. But the love of God is not your own belief, or your own worship, or your own faith, or your own understanding. The love of God is Jesus Christ: and only by Christ can we learn the knowledge of God: because Christ manifested himself in flesh to bring us the knowledge of God in his commandments to men. For unless we know God: we cannot love God. All Christians say they love God: all Muslims say they love God: all Jews say they love God: all Rastafarians say they love God: all others say they love the Creator who is God. But why is there such diversity when the Lord is one, and His faith is one, and His baptism is one? The problem is that every man think that he is right in his own belief, and in his own faith, and in his own worship, and in his own understanding: because men have leaned into their own understanding and forsaken Gods: and because the knowledge of God has been suppressed by the powers that be on the earth. So how are we to know the knowledge of God, which is the only way that we can truly love God? We know the knowledge of God by reason of Jesus Christ: because Christ Jesus is the mediator between men and God. If we stay in the words of Christ, then we are all one in Christ. But the words of Christ are not favorable to some: so they pick and choose among the Scriptures: the same is celebrating the love of God without knowing God or accepting God for who and what He is. It is written, that some shall say, Lord, Lord, and not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Why is that? And it is written, that there is one Lord, one faith, and one baptism; yet there are many in the earth: Why is that? The flesh seeks its own understanding as a righteous heart seeks the love of God: but as the flesh is easily seduced: so also is a righteous heart made blind. Let us open our bibles this Sabbath and read Proverbs 3:5-14 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine. My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD; neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold. My son, despise not the chastening of the LORD, neither be weary of his correction: For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth, even as a father the son in whom he delighteth. If the love of God is in you, then those words have touched your heart. And if you love God as God love you, then you gladly accept correction, and convert to the one Lord, one faith, and one baptism of Jesus Christ. And if there be any doubt of what Lord, and faith, and baptism: let a man know it come directly from the mouth of Jesus Christ himself. For the one Lord is written in St. Mark 12:29: and the one faith is written in St. John 4:22: and the one baptism is written in St. Matthew 28:19. Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. If you love God, you will put your trust in God. You will praise and glorify God in His love and with His word. You will not seek your own understanding, but pray for the Spirit of Understanding, which is every word from out of the mouth of Christ. Trust in the Lord with all your heart: and the love of God shall be in you: and He shall direct your paths with His love. And if your paths be directed by God, then your eyes are open to the love of God, and you shall be in the Spirit of Truth, which is not of your own understanding, but the unknown becoming known to you through the love of God. For it is written, For whom the Lord loveth he correcteth;: so know your correction is given out of Gods love for you, that the Lord may keep your feet in the path of His love, whom you keep in your heart. So be not angry or perturbed because the correction in serving God is given: but embrace the correction as God has embraced you to give you correction. For if it were not for the love of God: we all would be wallowing in the path to hell. Let us turn and read St. John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. So if you love Christ, you will keep the words of Christ, to walk in the likeness of Christ. And if you walk in the likeness of Christ, then God will love you, and the Father and the Son shall live in you. Can you imagine the love of God when the Father and the Son dwell in you? Can you imagine the grace? Can you imagine the mercy? I and all who love the Lord can imagine these things, and testify of them, because we are living witnesses to the love of the Father and the Son: because the Father and the Son dwell in us: and love us like none else can. It is the love of God that raise us from our sleep each morning: and it is the love of God that allow us to rest our heads each night: and it is the love of God that keeps us safe in our homes: and it is the love of God that enable us to leave our homes and return safely: and it is the love of God that forgive us of our debts: and it is the love of God that stretch our dollar bill to cover our needs. It is the love of God that makes a man see: and it is the love of God that makes a man walk: and it is the love of God that makes a man talk: and it is the love of God that beat a mans heart. It is the love of God that comforts us in our sickness: and it is the love of God that heals us in our disability: and it is the love of God that hear and answer our prayers: and it is the love of God that takes our dead into the embrace of eternal life. It is the love of God that makes us cry: and it is the love of God that makes us feel better after we cry. It is the love of God that makes us smile: and it is the love of God that gives us a reason to smile. It is the love of God that makes us laugh: and it is the love of God that gives us a reason to laugh. It is the love of God that makes us happy: and it is the love of God that gives us a reason to be happy. It is the love of God that eases our burdens: and it is the love of God that gives us light when there is only darkness. If you love Christ, to keep his commandments, then the love of God is in you, and you give praise to God on all those things, even the good things not mentioned. Let us read St. John 15:9-13 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love. If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Fathers commandments, and abide in his love. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full. This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends? I call upon my friends: who are given in the love of Jesus Christ: and adhere to their call to sainthood. Let no one be without my address: for if you have received this Sermon, then have you also received my address. For the dwelling place of my ministry is the worldwide web: for on the worldwide web I am at the fingertips of the whole world: and the whole world is at my fingertips. But I am given to travel: and I am given to speech in person: as I am given twelve holy apostles. So if any man call, I shall answer: and if any man listen, he shall hear the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost inside me. I wish it were not so: but the testimony I give is esoteric: for only one out of every thousand are true worshippers of God. Such is the reason why men say I speak with arrogance: and without compassion. But I speak with the voice of Authority: because the Spirit of Authority is in me. For the words that I speak are not my own: but that which is given from the Holy Ghost. Surely I am not the wise: for God is wise: I Cornelius know only that which He give. The Lord makes a man wise: but a man makes himself ignorant. Where then is the love of God for that man? Surely, it is in them that beseech him to understand that which he cannot understand: because he has leaned and made a bed in his own understanding. I heard a man say to me not many days ago: Where is the place for love in your teachings? I say unto that man and all in question: My love is for God: and the love of God is burning in my heart for my neighbor: so I lend myself to ridicule, so my neighbors might know the truth and be saved: because I love my neighbor as myself. I would not be a righteous man if I receive the riches of salvation and shared it not with my neighbor. So even the criticism I give is out of love: for it takes more love to say you are wrong than to say you are right. Where is the place for love in my teachings? Let me share just some of the places: St. John 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him. Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. James 1:12 Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. I John 3:16-17 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this worlds good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? I John 4:7-12 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 1 John 4:17-21 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love: but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love him, because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. I John 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. I John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever. The love of God is an endless testimony: so I shall shorten my sermon: or I will be preaching on this topic to the end of days. So let us continue for just a few minutes longer: and let us turn to St. Mark 12: 29-31 And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: 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. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. Jesus said the first commandment is: Hear, O Israel; the Lord our God is one Lord: So let all people who love Christ also love the God of Christ. And if you love the God of Christ, then you love the God of Israel with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength: and He shall deliver you from the way of the evil man, and from the man that speak froward (disobedience and opposition) things. For if you love the God of Israel, then you dwell in the Truth of God, and Christ is manifested in you. And if Christ is manifested in you, then you love your neighbor as yourself. And if you love your neighbor as yourself, then you are a righteous person unto the Lord. And if you and your neighbors are righteous unto the Lord, then all are righteous unto the Lord: and envy and jealousy shall pass away, and gossip, and rumors, and deceit, and lies, and other things not mentioned that cause a blemish. For no man want to be lied unto, so why should he lie: and no man what to be the object of gossip, so why should he gossip: and no man want to be the subject of rumors, so why should he spread rumors: and no man want to feel the thorns of envy and jealousy, so why should he throw such thorns: and no man want to be deceived, so why should he deceive. Let every man, woman, and child, do unto others as you would like others to do unto you: and the love of God shall abound throughout the earth. Now if a man should ask: Since Jesus said there is none commandments greater than the two spoken in Mark 12:29-31: what then are the Ten Commandments? I say unto that man and all in need of an answer: If a man follow the first commandment of Christ, the man is also following the Ten Commandments of God. For if a man love God with all his heart, and with all his soul, and with all his mind, and with all his strength: he will keep the commandments of God and Christ. All who seek the love of God, the love of God is seeking you. Seek therefore the love of God: for He is the God of Truth: and the Truth shall set you free. The voice of God is calling you today, at this very moment, with the piercing of your heart, and the massaging of your soul: to join the Church of God; and fellowship with the saints of Christ. You can hear the voice of God in your heart: and you will know His voice from all others by the sound of His trumpet, which is the Spirit of Truth. Let your heart therefore know the truth: and let your mind follow your heart to the salvation of Christ: for all are called to the Church of God to be sanctified in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Blessed is the one that hear their calling: but to the one that doesnt I leave a prayer. Amen. SEARCH SERMON ARCHIVE Message Board