2017.04.23_Do You Love Me

Receive God’s Love

God is love. God only loves His Son. God loves mankind in His Son. It does not matter how virtuous you are, you cannot receive God’s love apart from His Son. Anyone who wants to receive God’s love must come in Christ Jesus. When Jesus was baptized and came up out of the water God said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Jesus not only received God’s love, but He also pleased God. And God also expects those who are in Jesus to please God as much as He loves them.

God already knows what we need and wants to help us. In order to receive His help, we must first establish a love relationship with Him. God has made us His children through grace. God sent His Son and redeemed our sins by shedding His own blood, and through baptism, we are united with His Son. By this we are not only forgiven of our sins, but we have become God’s children. Parental love towards their children goes beyond any other kind of love. This is also true of God. God loves His children with the same love with which he loves His only begotten Son.

God pours out His Holy Spirit on His children. In order to succeed in our spiritual life, we need the help of the Holy Spirit. No matter how many times you have read the Bible or how many sermons you have heard, without the help of the Holy Spirit all that knowledge only stays in your head and never comes into your heart. When you receive the Holy Spirit, then you can receive God’s Word and accept it into the deepest part of your heart. The Holy Spirit does not speak of Himself, but reminds us of what Jesus said. That is why Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit as ‘the Spirit of Truth’ (Jn 16:13).

The words written in the Bible distinguish Christians from the rest of the world. Christians hear the words of the Bible, repent and obey; the world doesn’t. Christians are baptized as the Bible commands, those in the world are not. Christians receive the Holy Spirit according to Scripture; the world cannot. Those in the world can hear the words of the Bible but they cannot retain them in their hearts. The only way to retain God’s word in one’s heart is by the help of the Holy Spirit, and yet they cannot receive the Holy Spirit. When you hear God’s Word, are you receiving help from the Holy Spirit? Are you retaining the Word deep in your heart?

Love God

God loves us not with mere words but with His whole heart. Anyone who receives God’s love will be radically changed. One cannot tell who is loved by God and who is not simply by outward appearance. But those who receive God’s love clearly know it. Do you have the assurance of God’s love? Jesus knew very well how much the Father loved Him, and He also demonstrated His love towards the father by serving Him unto death.

Given the commandment to love the Lord their God, people often feel burdened because they think they are required to offer something. The truth of the matter is that in order to love God you must first accept God’s revelation. We can only love God when we understand what God has commanded us and what God demands from us. God commanded us to pray sincerely, worship earnestly, and give willingly. These are the ways to love God.

God tested Abraham by telling him to take his only son and sacrifice him as a burnt offering. We can only imagine how terrifying it must have been to be commanded to offer his only son, especially since he was the son of his old age. But when Abraham received the word from God, he took Isaac to Moriah. When Abraham was about to offer his son, God called out saying, “Abraham! Do not lay a hand on the boy, do not do anything to him. Now I know that you fear God, because you have not withheld your son from me, your only son.” Abraham could love God because he knew God’s love. Anyone who has received God’s love can love God.

Those who love God will be chosen by God and used for God’s work. Our life of faith is about loving God. When we pray we are loving God. Therefore, when we pray God is glorified; and the Son of God, who works for the glory of God, will grant what we pray for (Jn 14:13).

Feed my lamb

After Jesus’ resurrection, He asked Peter this question: “Simon son of Jonah, do you truly love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” he said, “you know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Feed my lambs.” (John 21:15-17)

In the church, there are people who have been Christians for a while and there are new Christians. The way the older Christians live out their faith serves as the example for the new Christians. They learn by watching how the older Christians live out their life of faith. Even when the older Christians do not obey God’s will or serve God unfaithfully, they take after them and think that must be okay. New Christians are like lambs. If you really love the Lord, you must set a good example for them.

Some people attend a night prayer meeting and fall asleep, using the Bible as a pillow. A new Christian would look at this in disbelief when they first see it, and yet they learn from this example and later do the same. Parents also must exercise discretion for the sake of their children because children imitate their parents. In like manner, those who love the Lord must be mindful of their actions so that they set good examples for the new Christians.

Tend My Sheep

When Jesus asked Peter again, “Do you love me?” Peter replied, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you.”Then Jesus said, “Tend my sheep.”Tending sheep means teaching, guiding, and leading other souls. Those who love the Lord must teach, guide, and lead the sheep He entrusts to them. It is not a simple task and often brings no reward in this world. In fact, you will be hard pressed on every side; you will be falsely accused by hateful people. This is not something that most people desire.

But the Lord says, “If you love me, take care of my sheep!” Many people say they love the Lord, but they are not interested in taking care of the Lord’s sheep. “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me” (Isa 29:13). Do you truly love God? If you do, you must teach, guide, and lead the flock well. You must become a trustworthy servant of God.

Feed My Sheep

Jesus asked Peter a third time, “Do you love me?” If you were asked one time ‘Do you love me?’ you would likely answer yesright away. But if you were asked the same question three times, you might lose confidence and begin to question whether you do. However, the Lord would ask us not only three times but thirty times if necessary: “Do you love me?” To which we must confidently answer, “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” That is the person to whom Jesus will say, “Feed my sheep.”

When we take communion, what is it that we eat and drink? Jesus said, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Drink my blood and eat my flesh so you can have eternal life.” (Jn 6:51~54) The church does not proclaim contemporary world events, but the good news of the gospel to the world. People are not looking for slanderous and judgmental words when they come to the church. The pastor must present the bread of heaven, namely, the flesh and blood of Jesus, to feed the congregation in the church. If you truly love the Lord, you will offer them Jesus so they can be fed the spiritual food from heaven, which is Christ.

Be Mindful of the Lord’s sheep

We must not seek after what the world considers as righteousness. Jesus said, “Seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” We must seek heavenly righteousness. So we must stop criticizing or judging others based on our own righteousness. For God has saved us, through Jesus Christ, who were once condemned to die, and now it is our duty to testify of the grace and truth that was revealed to this world by Him.

The ‘Lord’s Sheep’ is not referring to those outside the church. Those who truly love the Lord must teach, guide and lead those who are in the church. If you love the Lord, you must also love the church which is His body. You must discern the mind of the Lord when He said “if you love me, feed my lambs”, and set a good example for the new Christians. Moreover, you must be careful as you listen to the word of God so that you do not regard it as the words mere men.

We cannot love the Lord with our own power. But it is possible by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives us the power to love Him. Those who love the Lord will hear His command to “Feed my lambs! Take care of my sheep! Feed my sheep!” Let us therefore be filled with the Holy Spirit. Let us live a life of faith that considers and loves and feeds the flock of God as much as we love Him.