Love

Love is seen in forgiveness because it covers a multitude of sins. Love for our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is evidence of our relationship with God and loving with our actions is proof of our sonship, that we are indeed the children of God. So, what more can be said on the subject of love. Well, in the span of 14 verses between 1 John 4:7-21, love is mentioned 27x!! There is a lot of love to go around in the house of God! IT IS A BIG FAMILY TO LOVE! Here we get to the very foundation of why love makes us real. Love is part of the very nature of God. It is not a forced response, but should become a very natural way to respond in our lives.
It is more that just the love of creation or a beautiful sunset we are talking about here. We can only truly love a person. God is love, and so we come to Him through people. There is no separation between the spiritual and the social. The way you feel about other people is the way you feel about God. This is exactly what we are learning from John here woven through this passages. The way we treat other people is the way we treat God.

God’s love is a releasing love 4v7-9
It isn’t a love that we create and produce. It is a love that is released in us. You can’t manufacture the love of God. This love of God will grow in you and become a constant overflow, a running stream if we let it.
Right now with the ever increasing cost of fuel topping $120- barrel now is spiraling a world food shortage crisis. We will be most likely one of the last countries touched by this crisis since we are well insulated, but a believer in whom the love of God flows cannot turn a blind eye to what is going on in the world around them.
Josette Sheeran, executive director of the United Nations World Food Programme, focused on the crisis Wednesday during a speech at a London summit dedicated to the subject. She said the cost of rice has more than doubled in the last five weeks, and the World Bank estimates food prices have increased 83 per cent in three years.
While there have been restrictions placed on specialty rice in the States, the sad reality is that Dave Toycen, president of World Vision Canada, said Thursday that his organization has to cut back on how much food it can distribute. The international aid organization is cutting back on the vital flow of food it can provide to the world's most impoverished -- saying it can no longer afford to feed 1.5 million of the 7.5 million people that received aid last year. Everything from fuel increases and the loss of food to producing bio-fuels is causing these food pains.
The riots are taking place in the world’s poorest countries and this crisis hits the hardest with the estimated 20 million poorest children.
What is our response to this crisis? Jon takes great pains to tell us to let it flow.
· Generosity to the poor will flow from those who hold fast to the gospel as their profession of faith as we see in 2 Corinthians 9:6-13-15
· Pray for the land. Psalm 107:33,34 He turns rivers into a desert, flowing springs into thirsty ground and fruitful land into a salt waste, because of the wickedness of those how lived there. What is wickedness ultimately? – forgetting the Lord
As our team learned last week at NHOP http://www.nhop.ca/ – the land will bear the effects of our wickedness. God will get our attention with the rice, wheat and corn shortages. We need to 2 Chronicles 7:14 pray for healing on the land because that is not the end of the story for those who exalt His name and give thanks for the Lord for His unfailing love.
V35 He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs; there he brought the hungry to live….LET IT FLOW LORD, LET IT FLOW THROUGH ME.
Luke 4:18,19 …Jesus healed and fed while preaching the gospel as foretastes of the coming kingdom
As one writer writes, “Are we paying what Romans 13:8 calls the continuing debt of love? Or do we treat people with the civilized equivalent of killing and beating: ignoring or resenting them, sitting in silent judgment, rationalizing our lovelessness?"
For the loveless Christian to profess that they know God is like saying that you really understand a person whose language you don’t even speak. Love is as much a sign of the authenticity of our faith as righteousness is in us.

God’s love is a receiving love 4v10
Real love is not that you love God, but that He loved you so much, He gave His Son as an atoning sacrifice. To atone means He paid the ultimate price so that we could have this incredible oneness with God. Sin could not be passed off lightly, it’s penalty had to be met and its power had to be broken over us. It was done in order that we could experience the mysterious union when Christ’s life is being lived out through us.
We learn again that it isn’t man seeking after God, but God who once again is seeking after man.
Isaiah 52:14… 53:2-4, 10
It is a mystery that He has called us to His inner circle to be in full communion with Him, infinite God, as the HS comes alive in us and we participate in that divine fellowship with God, Jesus Christ and His Spirit in us.
God’s love goes full circle 4v11,12
God’s love which originates in Him and which was manifested in His Son,is made complete in US. It is a profound mystery…and it goes full circle when His love is revealed in me.... What did I just do? Did I just tell that person I will look after it? Did I just write that check to that to respond to the world food shortage crisis? Did I just say yes to leading a small group? Did I just say that I will go on that missions trip?
Love must have an outlet. Just like a stream needs an outlet, we will become spiritually stagnant. Case in point is the Dead Sea and it was named this because of that very fact…no outlet. One who keeps taking in, but never gives out will lose their freshness, their vitality and not experience the real Christ life within. It was never meant to just soak in…we need to be SQUEEZED out like a good Florida orange and become the Tropicana of the Spirit in people’s lives!!
Sometimes I am asked, “how do you give a fresh message every week?”. Sometimes I think that too. I wonder can there be anything more to say on this subject? However, I sometimes think, “I’ll save that for next week,” but it rarely or never happens. I’ve learned that when I’m faithful and pour it all out, God refills my reservoir week after week
Craig Gross, who heads up a ministry called xxxchurch was on George Stroumboulopoulos’ The hour this past Monday night sharing about the how they are reaching out to porn addicts, helping even those who feel trapped in the industry and seeing people find true freedom. They have been given opportunities to go to the big conventions and give out 20000 Bibles titled, ‘God loves porn stars’, at a time. What makes someone do that? What makes them face all the hate mail from other Christians….the love of God!
God’s love is perfected in you!
God’s love is a confident love 4v17,18
Perfect love drives away fear. What do we fear? When you really get the love of God, it gives you incredible confidence. What is that cripples you with fear of judgment ‘krisisphobia’. It is often something that in our past that haunts us or it is the future that threatens us. The enemy would love to throw it right back in your face. Real love drives out fear as well as hatred. Agape love, our very capacity to love God and our neighbor is due because of His prior love for us and in us. You can’t help but love when it is generated by Him.
It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. Hebrews 9:27
Romans 8:1 There is now no condemnation to those who are in Christ.
v31 If God is for us, then who can be against us!
Greater is he that is in you than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4 KJV
Fear is the beginning of torment and we have nothing to fear when we experience His love in us and through us.

The Takeaway
Give way to love and let it come full circle out of the overflow of the presence of God in you heart.

The more I express God’s love, the more confidence I have.
The more confidence I have, the more I pray
The more I pray and listen, the more I see answers to prayer.
The more I see answers to prayer, the more I get on fire and express the love of God

Questions For Discussion and Small Group

1. Talk about love languages. Gary Chapman has broken these down in his book. They are:
· Words of affirmation – For example, I am so blessed to have you in my life, you make me a better person, you have helped me understand God better…
· Quality time – This is time and attention to detail. Quality time with our family is found within quantity time. We cannot just say, ‘this is quality time now’ Those moments will flow naturally as we spend time together.
· Receiving gifts – we often think this is the easiest way to pass love, but it only becomes meaningful when the gift is thoughtful and meets the need of another
· Acts of service – this is the ability to support and come alongside a family member and lift the load or at the very least share the load and work together.
· Physical touch – We shared a few weeks ago how important meaningful touch is in the lives of our children and it is so valuable to connecting to the hearts of our spouses and family members.

2. Talk about love languages. Gary Chapman has broken these down in his book. They are:
· Words of affirmation – For example, I am so blessed to have you in my life, you make me a better person, you have helped me understand God better…
· Quality time – This is time and attention to detail. Quality time with our family is found within quantity time. We cannot just say, ‘this is quality time now’ Those moments will flow naturally as we spend time together.
· Receiving gifts – we often think this is the easiest way to pass love, but it only becomes meaningful when the gift is thoughtful and meets the need of another
· Acts of service – this is the ability to support and come alongside a family member and lift the load or at the very least share the load and work together.
· Physical touch – We shared a few weeks ago how important meaningful touch is in the lives of our children and it is so valuable to connecting to the hearts of our spouses and family members.

3. What is the love language that you most appreciate?
4. What is the love language that you tend most to communicate?
5. Is there a disconnect between the love language you communicate and the one that your family members receive?
6. How can His love flow more through you?

Commitment

Commitment is the defining characteristic of our lives. We can talk about it and the sacrifice involved in keeping our word, but it is quite another thing to live out commitment. The title for a marriage conference was, ‘I still DO!’ and that is what we are going to flesh out. Staying true to our marriage, staying the course with our children 10, 20, 30 years and beyond is huge in a throw away society where all too often the modus operandi is to give up and move on.


In commitment there is identity with Jesus.v1-3

John begins by focusing on the reality of who we are. You have a place in this family, you belong to God and He loves you. He loves you so much that He does not want to leave you where you are and He wants you to catch a glimpse of where you are going and His perfect plan and design for you.

This week we learned about our calling as believers to be a personal house of prayer. I spent the past week in Ottawa with a team from my church at the National House of Prayer www.nhop.ca It is often said “oh, but if the church could return to its roots like the early church!” Certainly that would seem like a noble goal, but what about what the church is to become? What about “Back To The Future!”

Revelation 21:3 I heard a loud shout from the throne, saying, “Look, the home of God is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them.

V22 No temple could be seen in the city, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.
1 Corinthians 3:16 Don’t you realize that all of you together are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 2 Corinthians 6:16

We are consecrated to be pure! One day we will be like him, Jesus. We will be part of the everlasting temple in heaven, the bride of Christ.

What does it mean to be consecrated!

· It means to be set apart as God’s children...I love the NLT ....AND WE REALLY ARE! Remember though that the people of the world just don’t get it, they don’t understand the reality that they too can become children of God....That is why we pray the veil the enemy has placed over their eyes would be removed so that they can see the light of the glorious gospel! 2 Corinthians 3:14
· Being holy and loving God are one and the same. Often the concept of being pure, holy growing up was to do nothing, but pure means to keep God at the center of your life....don’t pollute it with other affections!


In commitment we bind together right thinking and right living. v4-10


Have you ever heard of ‘stinking thinking’. Well that happens when your words don’t jive with your lifestyle. It is one thing to say all the right things, its quite another to live it out. This is what is happening here. John is saying that you just don’t get it when you lifestyle doesn’t match up with your beliefs. To commit is a latin word meaning to bind together. If we are truly the temple of God, becoming pure just as Christ is pure that the transformation should be evident in our life. If its not, John is asking the simple question, “Did you really commit your life to Christ in the first place?’ If you did, then you are going to be on the transformational highway to righteousness.

v9 they don’t keep on sinning because God’s life is in them. He is driving the point home the presence of God in your life should make a difference. You just don’t get it when you sin recklessly in light of His Coming.

Another truth we learned about prayer this week is that we have no authority to pray for something in someone’s else life if it hasn’t been or is being dealt with in our own life. To pray for our integrity in our leaders when we do not display integrity holds very little weight with God if any. Judgment must first begin with the house of God 1 Peter 4:17

In commitment we love in to action v11-24

Commitment is being bound to a course of action and John is pleading out of love. Once again he is saying that you just don’t get it when you talk eloquently about loving actions, but that is all that you do and you can sense the frustration in his letter. He is pleading with what he sees as apathy. He is saying let’s stop just saying it and really show it! v18

It was incredible to listen to the Christians MPs in Ottawa this week who shared how much it means to look up and know that we are praying for him as a leader in the midst of all the mud slinging. He spoke with us about how God keeping waking him up at 5:30am on Wednesday mornings to the point where he just has to get up and go to the prayer and Bible study.

I watched our team members love each other not in deed but in action!

Spontaneously praying over each other
Reaching out to people on the street and challenging those not presenting the whole message of God
Taking time to really listen to each other

The Takeaway

V23 And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he commanded us.

How To Sharpen Your Family Commitment.

1. Consecrate your family. It means to declare holy and set apart. Maybe you need to repent of a half hearted commitment to your family. Maybe you need to repent of selfishness and avoidance of your #1 responsibility before God. Its never too late to say to your wife , “I’m sorry, I have not been the husband that God wants me to be.” Maybe it is as a mother to say, “I’m sorry kids, I haven’t been the mother that God wants me to be. I have been distracted with maybe even good things, but they are not the best thing. The shema in the OT clearly has taught that as parents we have the #1 responsibility for training our children in righteousness.
2. Bind Together. Talk to your family about your new commitment and live it out. Take time to set aside a family verse, a family calling. We are a family that keeps our word. We will keep our word, we are not quitters, we will follow through with each other and hold each other up in prayer, keep each other accountable, build in each other strong minded determination to follow through. We are here for each other.
3. Love in to action. It means that we will sacrifice for each other and put the needs of each other first. We will have each other’s back and give each other freedom to pursue dreams and godly desires.
4. Jesus. This is one of those ‘don’t try this at home’ unless you bring Christ centeredness with you. You will be unable to do this in your own strength unless you call on him for His!

Honour!

Honour is unpacked and displayed in the family blessing. It is when we recognize and clearly identify as fathers the blessings of our children. Honour is also given in the challenge to live out the will of God and the anointing to follow through. Honour is lived out by example…

Honour ranks #5 on God’s Top Ten in the commandments that He gave. It is expanded in Deuteronomy 5:16

Ephesians 6: 1-3
When children do not honour their parents, the very fabric of society begins to unravel.

Honouring your parents means choosing to place a great value on your relationship with them. It means that we take the initiative to improve it, to strengthen it and to recognize our parents before they pass away! It means to acknowledge the sacrifices, see them as Christ sees them and forgiving them.

The blessing to live long is more than just physically living longer, but better health as we saw last week and it’s more about a promise of a legacy, a ripple effect that lives beyond you in the lives that you influenced for righteousness.

The Family Blessing v12-14-

John first addresses:

Dear children v12,13

Children get the basics, their focus is on relationship and the security found in that place. A child knows His Father’s voice, he recognizes it, he doesn’t doubt it, he just accepts it. A child wants to know that they are right with daddy.

The challenge here is to grow in the grace and the knowledge of Him

Young men v13b,14b - do not lose the essence of this next stage of spiritual maturity. This is not a gender specific address as much as it is giving a picture of the person who has moved along in their spiritual journey and what characterizes his or her life.

You have overcome the evil one - what does it mean to overcome the evil one? It is the awareness that God has given you tangible evidence in your life of victory, victory over his lies. This person has practically put James 4:7 to the test. They have submitted to God, they have resisted the devil and he has fled. You have covered yourself in the blood of Christ and he has left your home, left your mind. He is not welcome here, there is a new stronghold in place. Whether you have experienced this in a new sense of peace in your heart or your family, it is a new level of awareness and expression of faith. Bondage Breaker – Neil Anderson.


You are strong – because the Word of God lives in you. It is living from strength to strength because of the manifest presence of His Word being lived out in your life. We are not just talking about reading the Bible here – anyone can do that. It is when the Word of God begins to penetrate all areas of my life. Ephesians 6:17 The Word saturates my decision making process from relationships to work and God is giving me some spiritual backbone and muscle. We overcome evil with good; we overcome by continuing to stay in the fight and by pushing ahead in all that will strengthen your faith.

fathers v13a,14a

Because you have known Him who is from the beginning – there is an expression of maturity here, a sense of growth that has come through the knowledge of God and His work in history, that He transcends time.
In order to be a father there is the implicit sense here that this person is bringing along children in their faith. Certainly this holds true for actual fathers, but more so those who are spiritual fathers, those who are mentoring those that they have brought by the Spirit of God to faith

A blessing is a statement of affirmation that builds confidence, breathes spiritual hope and gives recognition to a specific person.

In the OT, it was rooted in a child’s personhood. It was given informally and formally at times. The emphasis was certainly on the firstborn, but every child received it. The Hebrew father would gather his peers together in a circle and would speak blessing into his son or daughter’s life. It would take place usually between their 14th and 16th BDAY. It would bring insight and practical wisdom for the child and bring confidence for him or her to build on their future.

Jesus called the little children to come to him for blessing in Mark 10:14,16

Blessing, bestowing honor on a child, begins with a meaningful touch. We should never think that our children are too old to show affection to them.

In Genesis 27:26,27, we read, “Then his father Issac said to him, “Come here, my son, and kiss me.”

Once again just like forgiveness studies have shown that meaningful touch lowers blood pressure, protects children from seeking sexual intimacy prior to marriage and can add up to two years on your life!!

To say, well, I show my love by my actions just doesn’t cut it. You need to confess that attitude and realize just how important it is.

Blessing is fulfilled with the spoken word

Death and life are in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21 The tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark.
We need to share words of affection and spiritual vision.

AFFECTION

This week my girls took it upon themselves to clean out the flower bed in the front of the house. Unfortunately the ‘clean freak dutchmen’ in me could only see the path of mud left by the trail on the bottom of their shoes at first. “Look at your dress shoes’ was the first thing that came out of my mouth and immediately I caught myself and felt terrible for that ugly side of me and missing the joy they were deriving in their wonderful project.
Naturally, that is what we do. As I was watching a leadership video with some of our men this week, it pointed out that if we were to choose between focusing on our strengths or eliminating our weaknesses, two thirds of us would normally focus on eliminating the weaknesses. We need to focus on strengths!

Now, hear me out, I am not talking about sin. I am talking about where the attention and focus of our lives is on. We need to build up our children. If we have something negative to critique, we better be ready to affirm the 5,6,7 positive things they are doing.

SPIRITUAL VISION

We need to be praying and speaking spiritual vision into the lives of our kids

Genesis 27:28 as Issac blessed Jacob he spoke the abundance of God into his life. We need to do the same because every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of lights. He is the one that we need to pursue and speak His favor, His goodness into their lives.

The Family Challenge v15-17


The challenge here is to train your children to live lives of righteousness, to train them to pursue those things that will last for eternity, to crave the spiritual milk and meat of the Word instead of running after everything else this world has to offer.

There are 3 undertoes, 3 very strong current systems that this world operates on:

The cravings of sinful man – when normal appetites turn into addictions – you name it – food, sexual intimacy… going outside the boundaries that God created for their ultimate and true fulfillment.

The lust of the eyes – the desire for more, coveteousness, the need for more possessions, when our possessions possess us, materialism.

The boasting – the need for affirmation turned ugly to the point where it becomes all about what I have accomplished

The will of God is the challenge found in leading our children to a place of surrender and sacrifice. It is teaching that shows that God rewards a life lived out for His purposes. It trains a child to see beyond the eternal present that so many are caught up living only for.


The Family Anointing v20-29

But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and all of you know the truth. v20 The truth is that Jesus is the Christ, He is God, He is the one we have been anointed and empowered to follow.

Teach your children the truth, the truth about Jesus and the truth of the anointing and the power to live out the blessing for the will of God!

Have you ever considered yourself to be an anointed Christian?
· Maybe you’ve thought that only certain people in ministry are anointed?
· Maybe you’ve only considered that the O.T. prophets and the N.T. apostles were the only ones anointed and that you are not.
· No matter what you have or haven’t thought about the anointing of God, if you are a Christian, then you have received an anointing.
To anoint means to "rub oil or ointment on," "to put oil on in a ceremony of consecration." So, to anoint something or someone is to apply something, in this case oil, to an object.
· Maybe you have been anointed with oil in a prayer service, or when someone has prayed over you for healing.
· Maybe you’ve even done the anointing.
· Then again, perhaps the idea of anointing with oil is foreign to you.
· Whatever the case, anointing is found all over the Bible.

· Prophets were anointed to be able to proclaim God’s word.
· Priests were anointed to carry out their duties of worship and sacrifice.
· Kings were anointed so they could rule.
· People were anointed for healing.

Jesus was anointed, so that He could carry out His ministry.
We have received an anointing from the Holy Spirit

To be able to discern truth - 1 John 2:27.
To testify of the truth - 1 John 5:6 "To be able to pray - Rom. 8:39

To live a righteous life - To be strengthened with power in your inner being - Ephesians 3:16

To be led by God - Romans 8:9

To live in joy

To live in hope - Romans 15:13

To receive spiritual gifts - 1 Corinthians 12:7

To bear spiritual fruit - Galatians 5:22-23 "It is this anointing that opens your mind, teaches you, guides you, calls you to pray, empowers you, and enables you to be stronger Christians, more powerful Christians. Not just people who are saved, but people who are saved, indwelt, and empowered.

It is only because of the cross that you have forgiveness of sins, and the privilege of the indwelling Spirit, no only in you, but upon you.
You are anointed vessels of God. You have been cleansed by God and been filled with the Holy Spirit.
Not only is He in you but He is upon you!!
As the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples at Pentecost in the upper room and anointed them for service, you too have been anointed by God with the Holy Spirit for Christian service.

In 1 John 2:28, John is not rejecting the teaching office in the church, but what he is strongly guarding against is false teaching and he is calling the believers to look for the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

The Takeaway

Families that honor God choose to live in the place of blessing as they live out the will of God under the anointing of the Holy Spirit!


Questions For Discussion and Small Groups:

Did you grow up in a home of honour?
What are practical ways that you can bless your children?
How do you teach your children about Jesus and his place in their lives?
How often do you focus more on sheer determination than the power of the Holy Spirit to live out the will of God?
Take the time this week to write a living tribute to your parents that focuses on the things that they have done right with you and then share it with them.

Forgiveness

As the weather slowly turns warmer we get into project mode again or that time known as ‘Spring cleaning’. What is the room that we want to tackle first in our home? Well, we are going to look at seven words to strengthen your family. The acid test of our faith usually is found in talking to the people that know us the best, the ones who see the good, the bad and the ugly. When it comes to families, I think a lot of people feel that it is what it is. The truth doesn’t always come out in a conversation. However, it is in the heart that one may feel that there son is too far gone or never dream that they could have a better relationship with their spouse. Today’s word for families is forgiveness.

I know the pain of alienation and unforgiveness have experienced it as a brother. I know how much it hurts to bring unresolved issues back up. We all live with regrets in moments of desperation and we say, “I don’t know where that came from?” But His Word teaches us in Matthew 12:34, that ‘out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks”.

We all acknowledge that the people who can hurt us the most are the people who are the closest to us, those who we have seen us with our guard down. No one can hurt you more than your own family as evidenced by the life of David’s own son Absalom.

It was Absalom who murdered his half-brother for raping his sister Tamar. Later Absalom became so jealous of his father that he turned his most trusted advisors against him and chased David from his throne. So, there we find David in exile again with the remains of his faithful army. In 2 Samuel 18, two runners give David an update on the battle and all he wants to know is whether his son is OK, forget about the battle, forget about the victory, how about my son….yes, the one who wants me dead.

As v33 shows, there is no more pain greater than family pain.

One magazine asked this question, “What would you rather have: five extra hours a week at home or ten thousand dollars a year?” 83% took the money.

Hope for your family begins when we call sin sin! v8,10

1 John 1:8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.

It starts with you.


When we are ready to sit down and honestly see ourselves for who we really are and our part in the mud bath we are not going to experience the grace of God in transformation. As long as we call sin a weakness or that’s just the way I am, we put up the road block to forgiveness.

Ownership is the first key to forgiveness and admitting my neglect, my avoidance of the issue, my refusal to live according to His Word….when I fudge the Word of God to ease my conscience.

People say well, Jack, the issue is communication. However, what is the deeper issue when we don’t talk to each other?

Pride – the root issue is sin. Don’t tell me you can’t communicate guys. We can all communicate with our buddies about sports, weather, you name it. It is pride that keeps us from opening up to the point where we starve each other emotionally and find affirmation from others.

Finances – the #2 issue they say, but in reality it is sin again. The deeper problem is usually materialism, the spending problems happen when things replace people. You can label the entire folder SIN…discipline issues, intimacy issues…it is SIN.

In that place of conflict, we either turn into bulls in a china shop and run rough shod over each other or we become a hedgehog as you would learn in the marriage course.

Only God can change and transform our families.

Psalm 127:1 Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain.

Hope for the family continues when we choose to live in the light. v7

To live in the light means that we are going to have to show vulnerability and a willingness to be open about our lives.

Here at the church I keep my office door open unless I am in a private and confidential conversation or in a real time crunch. An open door communicates that I am always ready to listen. I do not want to miss divine appointments. It is the same in our homes as we can choose to live with transparency and keep the lines of communication open or choose to live behind closed doors so no one really knows what is going on.



Hope for the family is solidified in a spirit of forgiveness v9

It is the basis for fellowship. In verse 3 John shares that the reason we proclaim this hope is in order to experience community and make our joy complete

This past week I was watching the results show for American Idol and it was as blatant Christianity as you can get with a Christian band singing, The Clark brothers singing, ‘this little light of mine’ and Dolly Parton singing about Jesus and gravity. Yes, she is still around.

One thing really caught my attention was when they take live questions from people across the country. The person asked Simon, ‘why do you feel the need to apologize when you give a negative critique to a contestant?’ He responded by saying, ‘Your right, I will not apologize again’

You see an apology admits a sympathetic heart. To not apologize or admit any wrong in judgment opens no door for fellowship. Now I realize that this is just a show, but it characterizes the natural human tendancy to rear its ugly head called pride!

When I choose to make a judgment call on one of my children without first opening the door for error, I choose being right over being connected. To be connected means that I will walk in love and a spirit of forgiveness.

We can be either be filled with pride ….which is just being full of myself or filled with joy …which is the end result of writing about all of this for John.

The point of this letter - TO MAKE OUR JOY COMPLETE.

Psalm 16:11 In His presence is fullness of joy. John 15 It is as we abide in Christ, in that fellowship that our joy is complete.

With no forgiveness, there can be no fellowship and without fellowship, we are easily led down a path of self destruction. We hate feeling guilty, disconnected, empty and alone and long for acceptance and love. To choose to live without forgiveness in our lives opens us up to painful addictions and substitutes.

The spirit of forgiveness can only be released in confession.

What does confession mean:

Coming to the end of oneself
dependence on God
self examination
honesty with others
confession of sin and character defects
restitution for harm done
working with others

Jesus didn’t die just for His friends or good people. Mart De Haan

He died for people like Mary Magdalene who was suffering from being possessed by seven demons. He died for people caught in their self destructive desires.

Forgiveness is a decision to release a person from the obligation that resulted when they injured you. James MacDonald

Matthew 18:21….the whole 70x7 thing…the point with forgiveness is that we don’t keep track.

To not forgive allows us to guard ourselves with those layers of self protection, but it has the opposite effect, it drives us further into emotional and spiritual pain.

Forgiveness is not:
encouraging the person to continue their same pattern of behavior
keeping yourself in a place of harm
being responsible to bail them out from negative choices.


To truly forgive someone is to treat them as if the offense never happened in the first place. It is hard to bring that up again isn’t it?

Jesus took upon Himself the offence of the cross.


Joe’s Stowell’s made a great insight on forgiveness and the significance of why David was inspired in Psalm 103:12 to write so far is the east is from the west as opposed to the north and south. North and South are fixed points, east and west are not.


The benefits of forgiveness have shown that:
Forgiving people are more stable and have stronger romantic and platonic relationships.
Forgiving people have fewer cardiovascular problems, fewer heart attacks, less stress which strengthens the immune system.

Forgiveness filters into facial expression, body posture and general wellbeing in life. It sounds like John knew what he was talking about.

Takeaway

Real joy in the family can only happen when there is true confession and forgiveness.

That means we call sin sin, we don’t try to hide things from each other and we have the grace to forgive.

Go open concept with your home…. start today by building bridges of forgiveness not walls of contempt.


Questions For Discussion and Small Groups:

1. Why is forgiveness easy enough to grasp but so hard to live out?

2. What amazes you most about God’s forgiveness? Do you really believe it? How do you know?

3. A personal exercise. Get a pad of paper and spend some time on your knees prayerfully considering who you may still need to forgive. Ask God to search your heart and reveal that to you. As their names come to mind, write down the specific thing they did to injure you and how their actions have negatively affected your life. Then declare your forgiveness for that person and burn the sheet as a statement of finality

Choose To Live Right

What is reconciliation and what characterizes it? I am talking about being right today, but not in the sense that I am right or have to somehow show that I am on the right side. It isn’t about being right and proving it, but more about living right and showing it. Often when it comes to our faith, we find it easier to prove things, point things out, tell it like it is! Today’s message is about living right and a life that becomes living proof of everything that is talked about. This message is about a life on display, a life that is marked by an attitude of reconciliation. It is why Jesus paid the price on the cross to reconcile us, make us right with the Father.

We will discover what Joseph is made of now that he has the upper hand and once again he passes the test. We will look at choosing to live with right relationships, choosing to live right now and choosing to live in the right mind!


1. Choose To Live With Right Relationships

Are you capable of releasing yourself from the offence of the past? 41v50-52

Joseph was out of a physical prison, but now he had to confront his past. He could have easily fallen into the prison of the mind. We either let a painful event keep us in an emotional prison or go through the steps to freedom.

The name Manasseh 41v51means ‘God has made me forget my trouble” God enabled him to forget the ‘poison’ of his past. Why is it poison because emotional pain goes right into your spiritual bloodstream.

We grieve the Spirit of God when we choose to be driven by bitterness

Ephesians 4:31,32 Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as Christ in God has forgave you.

There is a chance for him to retaliate and in love he does not focus on ‘pay back’ time.

The name Ephraim means fruitful in the midst of suffering.



Cry Out To Jesus – Mac Powell
To everyone who's lost someone they loveLong before it was their timeYou feel like the days you had were not enoughwhen you said goodbye
And to all of the people with burdens and painsKeeping you back from your lifeYou believe that there's nothing and there is no oneWho can make it right
There is hope for the helplessRest for the wearyLove for the broken heartThere is grace and forgivenessMercy and healingHe'll meet you wherever you areCry out to Jesus, Cry out to Jesus
For the marriage that's struggling just to hang onThey lost all of their faith in loveThey've done all they can to make it right againStill it's not enough
For the ones who can't break the addictions and chainsYou try to give up but you come back againJust remember that you're not alone in your shameAnd your suffering
When your lonely And it feels like the whole world is falling on youYou just reach out, you just cry out to JesusCry to Jesus
To the widow who struggles with being aloneWiping the tears from her eyesFor the children around the world without a homeSay a prayer tonight




2. Choose To Live Right Now

Learn to pursue harmony in the present 42v6-44v34

Joseph teaches us that there is need for repentance. If we are to have genuine community then we must be ready to test the water for reconnection. Reconciliation does not mean to become someone else’s doormat. We are taught to show mutual respect in 1 Peter 3:11. Notice –‘he must seek peace and pursue it’

There is a call to raise here to raise the bar of harmony. Joseph doesn’t let his brothers off the hook.

Joseph delays his immediate identification for the greater good. There was a need for Joseph’s brothers to be made right with God. The brothers needed to have their darkened hearts brought to light and their dull consciences made sharp.

If we let others off the hook, if we sweep things under the carpet we have done offenders and ourselves a great disservice. Joseph allowed the conviction of the Spirit of God to work again in their hearts. He tests them with an accusation, ‘you are spies’ 42v9

Another test for the brothers - Joseph puts on a great feast for his brothers and gives the youngest brother Benjamin greater portions to test the brother’s heart. He then also places the silver cup in Benjamin’s sack to once again test the brothers. Are they still willing to sell out a brother or have they learned to go to bat for each other.

Joseph gets the answer he is looking for in 44v18-34 They have learned from their past failure and he sees a change of heart. Judah steps up to the plate and offers his life in the place of Benjamin. The test is passed and Joseph can contain himself no longer and finally reveals himself to his brothers.
If we are truly going to live on a higher plane of living then we have to be prepared to call others on their behavior at the same time we allow others to do the same with us.

The principle of Matthew 18:15 is to have the courage to approach someone who has sinned against you and confront them on their behavior. The godly person does not sit back and wait for the person to come to them, but is the first to walk across the floor.

All too easily we would rather sit back and choose to live in silence and isolation. We have chosen to do this because we feel we are justified. ‘They are in the wrong’ we tell ourselves, but we are just as much in the wrong if we do not address it.

We are calling the offender to a higher level of expectation. We will not tolerate abusive behavior and we expect more from each other

**Maybe you are on the wrong side of reconciliation and you are the offender. It is never too late to make things right, seek forgiveness and make right, God honoring decisions
Realize that Jesus Himself who did sacrifice Himself comes through the line of Judah. Luke 3:29. Judah did not have a pretty past as evidenced by his treatment of his brother Joseph and sleeping with his daughter in law Tamar who was disguised as a prostitute. He had a life that could easily have been forgotten but God in His mercy choose to remember him for the redeeming quality of his life.
Maybe you have blown it big time and think that you have left your mark and it is a real place of pain. Don’t be gripped by failure. Don’t let that mistake keep you in the pit. Expose it to God, learn from it and be better because it!
Here is a message for those of you on the wrong side of reconciliation. There is still time to make things right. It is never to late to make right decisions that are God honoring. Yes, you may have blown it big time, but don’t let that mistake keep you in the pit. Expose it to God, learn from it and be better because it!


3. Choose To Live With the Right Mindset

Allow your pain to inspire your future Genesis 45v3-8

I have made it clear that we are to forget the offences of the past and to forget in the sense that it cripples us with fear for the future. Our past pain was not meant to control us, but our pain can shape our future if we see the twists and turns for where it is leading us. God will never waste your pain, but use it for His glory

First of all nothing touches you that hasn’t already been touched by Jesus. We have a great high priest who is able to sympathize with us in every way.

I was listening to a neuroanatomist, Jill Taylor, from a link that one of you sent me this week who herself experienced a stroke as a blood vessel broke in her brain. She went on to speak.
Our right hemisphere functions like a parallel processor and our left functions like a serial processor
The two hemishpheres are completely separate from each other but are connected and communicate with each other but have very different personalities.
RIGHT – it is all about this present moment, right here, right now and thinks in pictures and learns kinesthetically through the movement of our body. It takes information in all the sensory images, what everything feels like, tastes like, looks like, smells like, sounds like etc. It is how we are connected with each other and realizes we are in community

LEFT – it think linear and methodically. It is all about the past and all about the future and it categorizes everything we are thinking about, that enormous collage of the present moment and tries to connect it, details, details and more details. It is a calculating intelligence and thinks in language. It makes its reference points in the past and makes projections for the future. The left side thinks separately, thinks individually on its own.
Now where we differ is that she speaks about the need for us to make the conscious choice to step outside the left side of our brain and live more on the right side, the place of ‘nirvana’ because this is the peaceful place where we are most connected with each other.
I am here to proclaim that we need both. Paul taught about a peace that protects our minds, a peace that transcends all understanding…living on the right side is powered by the Spirit of God and we are to guard our minds and take every thought captive as Paul teaches us in 2 Corinthians 10:5 – we do that with the left side according to this approach.
In all things…Colossians 2:8
Practically, in Joseph’s life the only way that he could move forward in relationship with his brothers was grounded in the left side of his mind. He clearly had the perspective of his past to propel him to a proper understanding of his future.
The right mindset is where we choose to live more on the right side of our brain, where we are clearly more visionary, more open to all the possibilities that present themselves to us where the Spirit freely roams. However, the left side grounds us so that we can continue to absorb the new possibilities and make them a reality!!

The Takeaway
Living RIGHT starts with the right mindset which prompts you to making things right with the people that matter most right now!!

Questions For Discussion and Small Groups:
1. Where have you seen one person make all the difference in the lives of others?
2. What opportunities which currently may be seen as problems, are in front of you today?
3. Can you relate a story that God used an adverse situation in your life to further his plan in the lives of others to make things right?
4. What is right about you as a person? What needs to made right?