20-01-2019
Ecclesiastes 12:12-14 Living Bible (TLB)
12 But, my son, be warned: there is no end of opinions ready to be expressed. Studying them can go on forever and become very exhausting!
13 Here is my final conclusion: *fear God* and *obey his commandments*, for this is the *entire duty of man*.
To be able to relate and build an understanding of the culture and values of your parents and to capture the values and see things from their perspective and honour your parents with the same calling, values and fear.
The fear of the Lord allows us to get into a place of relationship with God to capture the heart of God to capture His intentions and plans. We begin to understand His plans and purposes.
Proverbs 9:10 New International Version (NIV)
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom,
and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
The Pharisees and the Saduceess who formed part of the religious leaders could not accept Jesus as the Messiah. They never got to understand the heart of Jesus.
The crowd in Jesus' days wanted to make Jesus as King and ran after Him. Jesus saw the wrong intentions and withdrew to the mountain. The crowd saw Jesus at the lake.
John 6:26 New International Version (NIV)
26 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw the signs I performed but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.
They were never close to Jesus and Jesus withdrew. They even asked of Jesus, "Aren't you the son of a carpenter?" (Matthew 13:55)
Ask ourselves how we look at Jesus.
A fisherman encountered Jesus.
Matthew 16:13-19 New International Version (NIV)
Peter Declares That Jesus Is the Messiah
13 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”
14 They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”
15 “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
16 Simon Peter answered, *“You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.”*
17 Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[b] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[d] loosed in heaven.”
From that time onwards, it was a relationship that understood Jesus.
Jesus spent time to reveal to them more and more of the heart of the Father.
See the heart of the Father through the life of Jesus and all that followed Him.
Matthew 16:18-19 New International Version (NIV)
18 And I tell you that you are Peter,[a] and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades[b] will not overcome it. 19 I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be[c] bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be[d] loosed in heaven.”
Jesus even came down and washed the disciples' feet.
John 14:6-7 New International Version (NIV)
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[a] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”
He carried the conviction of how God cared for us.
John 15:1-17 New International Version (NIV)
The Vine and the Branches
15 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 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. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you. 17 This is my command: Love each other.
John 17:25-26 New International Version (NIV)
25 “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. 26 I have made you[a] known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”
Fearing God means taking the heart of the Father and to share His love to those around us. It is to take upon the call of God upon our lives to be His servants. Without ownership, it is very difficult to take on this role.
The fear of God allows us to grow closer and closer to Him so that we begin to pulse the heart of the Father to share with those around us.
Jeremiah 31:31-33 New International Version (NIV)
31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
32 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they broke my covenant,
though I was a husband to[a] them,[b]”
declares the Lord.
33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
Matthew 22:35-40 New International Version (NIV)
35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: *“‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’*[a] 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: *‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’*[b] 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
The first commandment is about our personal journey. It is loving God with all our heart and soul and mind.
The second commandment is loving our neighbours.
Our call is to go and care for and love our neighbours.
All of us have the ability to love our neighbours. We sow the seed. And some of us will have the privilege of reaping the harvest. That is the job of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus came and showed in His life. He broke the Old Testaments rules into a New Covenant to build a vertical relationship to love God and we begin to exercise the ownership to love our neighbours.
Each of us is available and able to love and care for one person.
What is called of us is to love our neighbour. Conversion is of the Lord.
The disciples understood the need to go beyond themselves and to follow Jesus to carry the heart of Father to the people.
You carry the heart of the Father to love that person. It is such a joy to see somebody responding to the love of God.
John 13:34-35 New International Version (NIV)
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Loving one another allows for people to see the truth of God's love in our hearts.
After Jesus left and went back to the Father, the disciples caught the Father's heart.
Acts 2:42-47 New International Version (NIV)
The Fellowship of the Believers
42 They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.
When they began to love God and to love each other, the anointing and the power of God was released.
Loving one another needs us to be in a community. It is impossible to love one another if you do not know the person. You need to be part of something that God has for you in this place.
Loving one another is also serving one another. Jesus showed that as a leader, He served by first washing the disciples feet. You need to come out and serve the community. Make it as something as truthful in your life to serve.
In loving our neighbours, we connect and inspire each other. Let's love in action and not only in word.
