From Trinity Breakthrough, June 28, 2014: BREAKTHROUGH June 28, 2014 Music/Love By Pastor Walt Scott, Let Go and Soar Ministries Music is good for the soul, isnt it? This talent and ability to write, make and interpret music along with the ability to play and construct various instruments are all basic gifts from God. Our job is just to develop those gifts. Music seems in many ways to set the mood or at least adjust it to suit our particular circumstance or situation; if we let it. Music can be a good reliable remedy for many of our trials or personal challenges. Music can open the door of praise to God and in turn to receive His blessings. It doesnt seem to matter what kind of style or age; music expresses emotion and usually evokes or promotes and emotional response. How does God feel about music? Psalm 108:1-4 1 My heart, O God, is steadfast; I will sing and make music with all my soul. 2 Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn. 3 I will praise you, Lord, among the nations; I will sing of you among the peoples. 4 For great is your love, higher than the heavens; your faithfulness reaches to the skies. Ephesians 5:19-20 19 speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. What has always been interesting to me is that the majority of all music is about love or relationship. Whether we are trying to gain it, have lost it, or are somewhere in between. To have love—a genuine, honest, trustworthy, mutually beneficial relationship—seems to be one of, if not the most important goals in our life. Why do you think that is? I believe God programmed that into us when He created us. I also believe that Triune God has made that love relationship available to us all along. But, we have to know Him. He loves us and wants us to love Him back. God is love. 1 John 4:8-16 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. 13 This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. How much did He love us? Our creator loved us enough to sacrifice His only son for us. John 3:16-17 16 For God so loved the world that he gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. All this so that we could have relationship with him. That was the purpose for Jesus Christs coming. To give us equal opportunity for relationship and show us how much father God loves us. It doesnt matter who you are, what you have done, or any other concern you might have. Jesus took on himself all the sins of the world on the cross. Everyones; past, present and future. God loves us all equally and we all have equal opportunity to approach him. Confess your sins, repent, ask for forgiveness, receive reconciliation and you have relationship. Then you are redeemed and become an hei9r to the kingdom of God. His holy Spirit will live in you from then on, and will guide you into understanding His word. Sounds easy and it is, but it must be real to be life-changing. You have to want it. God wants us to come to him voluntarily, not by threat or coercion. He wants to see our faith and show us His favor. Jeremiah 29:11-14 11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. 14 I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Gods love for us is by and through His grace. Grace and truth came through Jesus Christ: John 1:17 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. Gods love is undeserved, unmerited and unconditional. We dont have to earn it or ask for it. It is given freely by him. His love for us deserves our trust, obedience, hope, faith and belief. What does this world need more than anything else in or der for us to live in peace? We need relationship with God and each other. This involves communication, interaction, mutual respect for all members of society and caring and compassion. All of this leads to love for one another just as God intended 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. One of the most important lessons of learning to love is learning to love yourself, and not in a narcissistic way. We are a creation of God, created in His image. When you have accepted and received Jesus Christ as your savior you graduate from His offspring to a child of God and His Holy Spirit comes to live in you. Our body is now a temple of God. How can we mistreat or abuse ourselves or others physically or mentally and profess to love ourselves, others and God? That would be a contradiction. You must love, respect and care for yourself because we are all created in Gods image, and He loves us. We must love ourselves first before we can honestly love God or others. Sometimes it is difficult to love our neighbors as Jesus stated: Matthew 22:37-40 37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” We must learn to love them as we have learned to love ourselves. Follow the example of Jesus Christ. John 15:12-14 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. Remember, all people from all nations were created equal and in the image of God and are considered His offspring. Equally loved and equally favored. Just accept and receive him. We change our world by example. The best example for us to follow is Jesus Christ. And how did Jesus love others? Did He exclude anyone? Did He create or allow division? Did He have conditions or restrictions? No! He was compassionate, forgiving and understanding, displaying His love through His word and actions. Just as we should. Conditions, denominations, etc. were all created by men, and are not truth. Jesus gave us His human example so we would be able to see and understand how we are to love father God and each other. And His Holy Spirit will guide us. His love never grows old, gets boring or fades away, and neither should ours. Ephesians 4:1-6 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. Love and peace, Amen.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Aug 2014 23:16:06 +0000
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