June 12, 2022

Loving The Lost

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When we speak the Word of the Lord, we release the presence of the Lord.

We are living in a time and season where sharing the Gospel is an urgency so that many will know Jesus.

“Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest!”
‭‭John‬ ‭4:35‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Many times we forget what God has called us to do and don’t look to the harvest of souls around us.

A harvest cannot be yielded without a harvester. It is our responsibility as believers to share what God has done for us to those around us.

“How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10:14‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

We are all called to be preachers of the Good News. Good things are meant to be shared.

Why not share the passion we have for Jesus to those around us?

“that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10:9‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good; Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!”
‭‭Psalms‬ ‭34:8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

There is something about tasting and seeing the Lord and His goodness.

We are called to be the salt and light of the earth.

““Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. “Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”
‭‭Matthew‬ ‭5:13-16‬ ‭MSG‬‬

We are called to reach out to the lost.
But we sometimes start categorize the lost.

Lost people don’t have a certain look. Whether they look lost and broken or whether they look like they are doing well in life…the lost could be anyone.

Every single one of us has a God shaped vacuum in our hearts that only Jesus can fill.

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3:17‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
‭‭I John‬ ‭4:7-8‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The word ‘Beloved’ is the same word that was used to speak of Jesus as he rose from the dead. This word is from Greek which is ‘agape’

Agape is the highest form of love that a man can experience.

When we identify with His love, we are more than capable of loving with His agape love to others.

The knowing of God becomes our portion. Knowing God personally.

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this 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 also ought to love one another.”
‭‭I John‬ ‭4:9-11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

“Just then a religion scholar stood up with a question to test Jesus. “Teacher, what do I need to do to get eternal life?” He answered, “What’s written in God’s Law? How do you interpret it?” He said, “That you love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and muscle and intelligence—and that you love your neighbor as well as you do yourself.” “Good answer!” said Jesus. “Do it and you’ll live.” Looking for a loophole, he asked, “And just how would you define ‘neighbor’?” Jesus answered by telling a story. “There was once a man traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho. On the way he was attacked by robbers. They took his clothes, beat him up, and went off leaving him half-dead. Luckily, a priest was on his way down the same road, but when he saw him he angled across to the other side. Then a Levite religious man showed up; he also avoided the injured man. “A Samaritan traveling the road came on him. When he saw the man’s condition, his heart went out to him. He gave him first aid, disinfecting and bandaging his wounds. Then he lifted him onto his donkey, led him to an inn, and made him comfortable. In the morning he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take good care of him. If it costs any more, put it on my bill—I’ll pay you on my way back.’”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭10:25-35‬ ‭MSG‬‬

In this story, only one stayed to help the man. The first two, even after knowing what God has commanded, did nothing.

The Samaritan man loved on the injured person.

God is inviting us to love our neighbors as ourselves.

“And the second, like it, is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.””
‭‭Mark‬ ‭12:31‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

The only way we can love others is when we know His love and let Him love us. To know the His full love and love ourselves.