DO YOU LOVE GOD?
2 Corinthians
13:5-9 The
Message (MSG)
Test
yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking
everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand
evidence, not mere hearsay that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you
fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won’t show that we have
failed. But if it comes to that, we’d rather the test showed our failure than
yours. We’re rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn’t possibly do
otherwise.
We
don’t just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to
celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that
it will all come together in your lives.
A
friend of mine is convinced that one of his College lecturer really enjoyed
giving tests. He didn’t give just 6 week tests & final exams. He gave his
students a test every single week without fail.
On one occasion he gave a very difficult test. You could tell that by the groans of the students. And as one question followed another, the groaning got louder.
Then, after the test was finished, each student was told to grade his own paper. My friend recalls, "He read us the correct answers and to my dismay, I found I scored low on the test. In other words, I failed the test. And I thought, ‘This will ruin my grade point average for the whole semester!’"
But just then the lecturer said, "Now I’m not going to record the grades of this test. I gave you this test for your benefit, and not for mine."
You know, at times God does the same thing. In fact, all the way through the Bible you’ll find God giving that kind of a test to his children. Remember the story of Abraham and Sara whom God presented with a wonderful gift in their old age, their son, Isaac. But later, God tested Abraham. He said, "I want you to take your son Isaac, and offer him as a sacrifice on the mountain." This test was for Abraham’s benefit, not God’s. God already knew Abraham’s heart, and He knew that Abraham loved Him. But God wanted Abraham to know just how far he was willing to go in trusting God, and Abraham passed the test.
On one occasion he gave a very difficult test. You could tell that by the groans of the students. And as one question followed another, the groaning got louder.
Then, after the test was finished, each student was told to grade his own paper. My friend recalls, "He read us the correct answers and to my dismay, I found I scored low on the test. In other words, I failed the test. And I thought, ‘This will ruin my grade point average for the whole semester!’"
But just then the lecturer said, "Now I’m not going to record the grades of this test. I gave you this test for your benefit, and not for mine."
You know, at times God does the same thing. In fact, all the way through the Bible you’ll find God giving that kind of a test to his children. Remember the story of Abraham and Sara whom God presented with a wonderful gift in their old age, their son, Isaac. But later, God tested Abraham. He said, "I want you to take your son Isaac, and offer him as a sacrifice on the mountain." This test was for Abraham’s benefit, not God’s. God already knew Abraham’s heart, and He knew that Abraham loved Him. But God wanted Abraham to know just how far he was willing to go in trusting God, and Abraham passed the test.
Now,
I need to ask, how about you? If you were asked, "Do you love God?"
how would you answer? I imagine that most of us would answer, "Why, yes. I
love God."
It’s easy to say that we love God, as long as we don’t probe any deeper than that. But the Bible does probe deeper, and it asks more questions than just that one.
It’s easy to say that we love God, as long as we don’t probe any deeper than that. But the Bible does probe deeper, and it asks more questions than just that one.
2 Corinthians
13:5 The
Message (MSG)
“
Test
yourselves to make sure you are solid in the faith. Don’t drift along taking
everything for granted. Give yourselves regular checkups. You need firsthand
evidence, not mere hearsay that Jesus Christ is in you. Test it out. If you
fail the test, do something about it. I hope the test won’t show that we have
failed. But if it comes to that, we’d rather the test showed our failure than
yours. We’re rooting for the truth to win out in you. We couldn’t possibly do
otherwise.
We
don’t just put up with our limitations; we celebrate them, and then go on to
celebrate every strength, every triumph of the truth in you. We pray hard that
it will all come together in your lives.
But
let’s look again at what Paul is saying, "Examine yourself. Give yourself
a test: Are you in the faith?” As a Christian, if Jesus Christ lives in you and
His Spirit affects the way you think and speak and act, then the answer is
“Yes.” But if the way you speak and act shows that Jesus Christ is not living
in you, then no matter how much you may say you love God, the answer is “No,” and
you have failed the test.
Can
you truly say that you Love God when you refuse to obey His COMMANDMENTS...
Many
a time, we profess that we love God when actually refuse to obey Him…
Disobedience is an act of hatred unto Him (GOD). There are some issues in our
life that we refuse God in taken care of…..you know them, they are issues that
you cannot mention of.
I
need to ask, do you love GOD?
What about all the Don’t of God that you find hard in accepting?, or issues that you call Old doctrine and that you have been released from such laws (I need not bring those issues up because so many people love to justify their sin by using scriptures to cover up their own evil device). Issues like COVERING OF HAIR…….THITHE,……..FORSAKING THE ASSEMBLY OF THE CHILDREN OF GOD……….you know many of them. Listen to what the Bible say in:-
Revelations.22:10-17 “Don’t seal the words of the prophecy of this book; don’t put it away on the shelf. Time is just about up. Let evildoers do their worst and the dirty-minded go all out in pollution, but let the righteous maintain a straight course and the holy continue on in holiness.”
“Yes, I’m on my way! I’ll be there
soon! I’m bringing my payroll with me. I’ll pay all people in full for their
life’s work. I’m A to Z, the First and the Final, Beginning and Conclusion.
“How blessed are those who wash their robes! The Tree of Life is theirs for good, and they’ll walk through the gates to the City. But outside for good are the filthy curs: sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters—all who love and live lies.
“I, Jesus, sent my Angel to testify to these things for the churches. I’m the Root and Branch of David, the Bright Morning Star.”
“Come!” say the Spirit and the Bride.
Whoever hears, echo, “Come!”
Is anyone thirsty? Come!
All who will, come and drink,
Drink freely of the Water of Life!
Whoever hears, echo, “Come!”
Is anyone thirsty? Come!
All who will, come and drink,
Drink freely of the Water of Life!
Can
you see if you are in faith or not?
Like
I was privilege to listen to a sermon in our Church yesterday in which the
preacher shared on FEELINGS or FAITH?
Many
of we so called are reacting to issues with our feelings and not faith. We had far
abandoned the issue of faith in God with I call feelings……
Proverbs.14:12-13
MSG “There’s a way of life that looks harmless enough;
look again—it leads straight to hell. Sure, those people appear to be having a good time, but all that laughter will end in heartbreak”.
look again—it leads straight to hell. Sure, those people appear to be having a good time, but all that laughter will end in heartbreak”.
(NIV)
“There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to
death.
Even in laughter the heart may ache, and rejoicing may end in
grief.
The Bible taught
us that if we have a living, dynamic faith that we will be obedient to the
commands of the Lord.
Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15). The Apostle John wrote, "This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3).
Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments." (John 14:15). The Apostle John wrote, "This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome." (1 John 5:3).
Are you in love
with God? If so, then obey His words. There is no way for you to separate God’s
Word away from your life and say that you are truly in Love with Him……..
I have another
question for you. 1 Corinthians.11 It is in a passage of scripture that we
don’t hear too often.
The verses preceding it are often read during Communion services, and we generally end our service with verse. 26 where it says, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” That’s a good place to end. So we don’t often read the rest of the passage.
But vs. 27 goes on to say, “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” Those are pretty heavy words, aren’t they?
Continuing on, in verses 28 and 31, “A man ought to examine himself before he/she eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak, sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment."
Have you ever really stopped to think about that passage? The Bible teaches that the early church met together regularly in a time of Communion. And that is why we meet together and serve the emblems of the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day.
Now here is what Paul is saying. "Every time you gather around this table you ought to look deep inside and examine yourself. You ought to give yourself a test. And here is the test question, ‘Am I recognizing the Lord’s body?’
The verses preceding it are often read during Communion services, and we generally end our service with verse. 26 where it says, “For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.” That’s a good place to end. So we don’t often read the rest of the passage.
But vs. 27 goes on to say, “Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.” Those are pretty heavy words, aren’t they?
Continuing on, in verses 28 and 31, “A man ought to examine himself before he/she eats of the bread and drinks of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many among you are weak, sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. But if we judged ourselves, we would not come under judgment."
Have you ever really stopped to think about that passage? The Bible teaches that the early church met together regularly in a time of Communion. And that is why we meet together and serve the emblems of the Lord’s Supper every Lord’s Day.
Now here is what Paul is saying. "Every time you gather around this table you ought to look deep inside and examine yourself. You ought to give yourself a test. And here is the test question, ‘Am I recognizing the Lord’s body?’
Are you
recognizing the body, or are you just taking the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary
for granted?
I think that "recognizing the body of the Lord" also includes this: The Bible tells us that the church is the body of Christ. And the only way the world will ever know about God is for the church to do its God given job.
Do you recognize the church as the body of Christ? Are you faithful in it? Are you giving of your time, your talent, even the way that you DRESS and your energy to make the church a true reflection of the love of God expressed through Jesus our Lord?
The question is, "Are you recognizing the body of Christ?" If the answer is "Yes," then partake of the emblems. If the answer is "No," then Paul says, "You are becoming weak, sick, and in danger of falling asleep (DEATH)."
I think that "recognizing the body of the Lord" also includes this: The Bible tells us that the church is the body of Christ. And the only way the world will ever know about God is for the church to do its God given job.
Do you recognize the church as the body of Christ? Are you faithful in it? Are you giving of your time, your talent, even the way that you DRESS and your energy to make the church a true reflection of the love of God expressed through Jesus our Lord?
The question is, "Are you recognizing the body of Christ?" If the answer is "Yes," then partake of the emblems. If the answer is "No," then Paul says, "You are becoming weak, sick, and in danger of falling asleep (DEATH)."
Then notice how
Paul ends this passage about examining ourselves. He says, "If we judge
ourselves, then we won’t have to worry about the judgment of God."
You see, final exam time is coming. And Paul says, "If you have passed all the pop quizzes, if you have been answering the questions correctly, then when the final exam day comes, you won’t have to worry about the judgment. Because all along you have been judging yourself."
You see, final exam time is coming. And Paul says, "If you have passed all the pop quizzes, if you have been answering the questions correctly, then when the final exam day comes, you won’t have to worry about the judgment. Because all along you have been judging yourself."
In conclusion, I
will like to quote Revelation.22 once again:-
Revelation.22:10-17 “Don’t seal the words of the prophecy of this book; don’t put it away on the shelf. Time is just about up. Let evildoers do their worst and the dirty-minded go all out in pollution, but let the righteous maintain a straight course and the holy continue on in holiness.”
“Yes, I’m on my way! I’ll be there
soon! I’m bringing my payroll with me. I’ll pay all people in full for their
life’s work. I’m A to Z, the First and the Final, Beginning and Conclusion.
“How blessed are those who wash their robes! The Tree of Life is theirs for good, and they’ll walk through the gates to the City. But outside for good are the filthy curs: sorcerers, fornicators, murderers, idolaters—all who love and live lies.
“I, Jesus, sent my Angel to testify to these things for the churches. I’m the Root and Branch of David, the Bright Morning Star.”
“Come!” say the Spirit and the Bride.
Whoever hears, echo, “Come!”
Is anyone thirsty? Come!
All who will, come and drink,
Drink freely of the Water of Life!
Whoever hears, echo, “Come!”
Is anyone thirsty? Come!
All who will, come and drink,
Drink freely of the Water of Life!
Can
you see if you are in faith or not….or can you see if you truly Love God or not?
Answer that you give, signify the very path you are treading.
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