Understanding the Father's Love in Christ pt 3: Walking in Love

Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is

designed to uplift and strengthen you in your

walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until

the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive

right in. Welcome to service. See, my mind is

renewed. My mind is renewed by the word of God.

I grow by the word of God. The standards of the

world is not my standard. The standard of the

world is not my standard. So I want us to continue

in the teaching that we've been having, understanding

the Father's love, but I want you to add Something.

Add a column and put walking in love. Understanding

the Father's love in Christ and put a column

and then write walking in love. I want us to

read Ephesians 1. 1 and 2. It says, therefore,

be imitators of God as their children and walk

in love as Christ also has loved us and given

himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to

God for a sweet -smelling aroma. I'll read it

from the NLT. It says, imitate God. Therefore,

in everything you do, in everything you do, imitate

God. That's chapter 5. Sorry, did I say? Oh,

sorry. Chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5, verse

Ephesians 5:1

1 and 2. It says, imitate God, therefore, in

everything that we do. You know, before we start,

we said we're thanking God in every situation

we find ourselves. We're imitating God in everything

that we do because you are his dear children.

And we'll see what walk in love means, or we'll

see a bit of it because that word walk there

is not the physical or literal walking, right?

It's not you taking one step and the second step

after the first. It's living. It's a lifestyle.

A life filled with love, following the example.

of Christ. We have an example to follow and our

example is Christ. And we'll see time and time

again, we're not living our lives as people that

are lawless. We're living our life by standard.

Praise God. We're living our life by standard.

And it says he loved us and offered himself as

a sacrifice for us. Remember last week we were

teaching, we said Christ did not... He did not

give himself to us. He gave himself for us. And

how he did that is by laying down his life for

us. And he says he offered himself as a sacrifice

for us, a pleasing aroma to God. A pleasing aroma

to God. And the New King James starts with a

therefore, right? If you see a therefore, it

means that a communication has been happening

before. The DF4, right? The communication has

to have been happening before the DF4. I want

us to go to Ephesians 4, verse 17. We're going

Ephesians 4:17

to be taking a long reading from 17 to the end,

which is 32. So I will read from the NLT, it

says, With the Lord's authority I say this, Live

no longer as the Gentiles do, for they are hopelessly

confused. Their minds are full of darkness. They

wander far away, far from the life God gives,

because they have closed their minds. and hardened

their hearts against him. They have no sense

of shame. They live for lustful pleasure and

eagerly practice every kind of impurity. 20.

But that isn't what you learned about Christ.

Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned

the truth that comes from him, Throw off your

old sinful nature and your former way of life,

which is corrupt by loss and deception. Instead,

let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

Put on your new nature, created to be like God,

truly. Righteous and holy. 25. So stop telling

lies. Let us tell our neighbors the truth. For

we are all part of the same body. And don't sin

by letting anger control you. Don't let the sun

go down while you are still angry. For anger

comes. For anger gives a foothold to the devil.

28 now. If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead,

use your hands for good hard work. And then give

generously to others in need. Don't use foul

or abusive language. Let everything you say Be

good and helpful so that your words will be an

encouragement to those who hear them. 13. And

don't bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the

way you live. Remember, He has identified you

as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved

on the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness.

rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well

as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind

to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another,

just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Then it now goes to the chapters five that starts

with the J4 said, imitate God, therefore, in

everything that you do. So we're coming from

somewhere. And when we started in 17, I would

just highlight, that's not the point we're discussing,

but I'll just highlight certain things. When

he mentions Gentiles, even the New King James

does that, mention Gentiles, know that it's not

saying, it's saying people that don't believe.

It's not speaking of the Gentiles who do believe,

not hopelessly confused, praise God. So as a

believer, you're not hopelessly confused. Tell

your neighbor, the person next to you, You might

think what you are not. So just tell them and

say, you are not hopelessly confused. And then

add, if you are in Christ, you are not hopelessly

confused. So, and it goes further to say that

their minds, you see, their minds are full of

darkness. And the New King James will say, their

understanding is darkened. It's darkened. It

says, because they have wandered far away from

the life God gives. There's a consequence for

wandering far away from the life God gives. Even

to a person that is a believer, wandering far

away, wandering away, there are some consequences.

You will be in, we'll see that even mentions

ignorance, right? Mentions ignorance, meaning

that you can have a life and be ignorant of the

life that you have. Ignorance of the things that

our life entails. Hence, we give ourselves to

the teaching of God's Word. We give ourselves

to the study of God's Word. And in 20, I like

the way NLT puts it in the 20. It says, but that

isn't what you have learned about Christ. Meaning

that there is a learning. There is a teaching.

There is a training. There is an understanding

that we learn. from the example that we have

in Christ. That's why in chapters five, it says

the example that we're to follow is the example

that Christ is giving to us. And once you don't

learn, you don't open God's word, you will not

know what the example, you'll be living your

life as the world or living your life on the

basis of what you have before you. Praise God.

And it says, what it means is that there is a

learning that will transform the way we know

the love of God, and many other things that pertains

to the kingdom of God. Yes, you are in the kingdom,

but there are certain responsibilities that you

have, which is to learn, to know. And all of

this transformation happens at our minds. We

come to that understanding and it will affect

our action. Praise God. Because if your mind

is not affected by what you are learning, your

actions will show it. Your actions will show

it. It doesn't nullify the fact that you are

saved. It doesn't nullify the fact that you have

the life of God. What is going to be affected

is your actions, your actions. And I want us

to pay attention to 23. Chapters 4, 23 says,

And be renewed in the spirit of your mind. The

NLC says, Instead, let the Spirit renew your

thoughts and your attitude. Let the Spirit renew

your thoughts and your attitude. Let the Spirit

renew your thoughts and your attitude. And this

is very, very important. And that's why you see

times where Apostle Paul will write letters and

he will pray. He will pray for the minds of these

people to be enlightened. for their minds to

be enlightened, for their minds to be enlightened,

for them to come to an understanding of the riches

that they have. Very important that there's the

prayers and there's the study that brings you

into that understanding. And that understanding

is a precise knowledge of Christ. Praise God.

Precise knowledge of Christ. And I want us to

see a couple of prayers. Because what we're looking

at pertains to love. Let's see the kind of prayers.

In 1 Thessalonians 3, 12. Let's just look at

12. 1 Thessalonians 3, 12. And it says, May the

Lord make you increase and abound in love to

one another and to all. just as we do to you.

May the Lord make you increase and abound in

love to one another and to all. In one another

and to all, just as we do to you. I want us to

go to Philippians 2 and see. Philippians 1, verse

Philippians 1:9

9. We're going to read to 11. It says, And this

I pray, that your love may abound still more

and more in knowledge and all discernment, that

you may approve the things that are excellent,

that you may be sincere and without offense till

the day of Christ, being filled with the fruits

of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to

the glory. and praise of God, to the glory and

praise of God. I want us to see that Apostle

Paul, what will make him pray this prayer for

them is that he himself would have experience

and know that for himself to be able to say,

I want this to be more and more in your life.

I want us to see in it. In it, we see him saying

words. I like the way NLT puts it. He says, God

knows how much I love you and long for you with

the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. He says,

God knows how much I love you. You can hear his

words. He's not just, the words are not empty.

They're not empty words of affection. I think

the New King James says affection. They're not

empty words of affection. It shows in the fact

that he takes his time and prays for them to

abound in the love that he himself knows and

they should know. Praise God. They abound and

bound. When we'll discuss and we'll talk more

about what it means or what that abound is, what

abound is, what more and more means. But I want

you to know that there's a standard that the

world There's what the word calls love and there's

what the word calls love. And we are called to

leave out the love walk above what the world

calls love. Because if you are dealing with what

the world calls love, there's the nuances of

it. And sometimes you have people pretend to

you, have people lie to you. But the love that

we have in the word is true. And we had explained

previously. The love is practical and it was

demonstrated in how God sent his son to lay down

his life for us to have not just the life that

we have in him, but to have his spirit be one

with us. Praise God. And it's very important

that we put that into consideration when we're

thinking because there's a nature. There's a

believer's love nature compared to the world

standard. And you don't want to mix that up because

what happens is that we are mostly exposed to

the one the world offers. You just need to have

a social media account to see certain things

that kind of communicates what you think love

is. But all of that is empty in comparison to

the... See, Apostle Paul is praying this prayer.

We saw him praying this prayer for the church

in Thessalonica. Praying the prayer again for

the church in Philippi. And we get a sense that

this is the will of God for the church, the will

of God for his people. This is the will of God

for his church and the will of God for his people.

And it's in the abounding more and more in it

that we express it. Something that abounds more

and more in you will have no choice than to find

expression to you. When something overflows from

you, it will spill to the person next to you.

The person next to you will have no choice than

to experience it, whether they like it or not.

Praise God. Whether they like it or not, they

will experience it. And all of this is made possible.

When we come to an understanding, when our minds

are renewed to the right or what love really

is. Praise God. What love really is. And then

when our mind is renewed to it, our walking now

will be consistent with what it really is. Praise

God. Praise God. So he prays this prayer for

them and he says that your love. may abound still

more and more. That your love may abound still

more and more. And that your love there, you

know, when somebody says your love and is praying

to a church, you get a sense that he's talking

about the general public, right? But note that

the love walk is seen like every one of us will

manifest it, right? Every one of us will manifest

it. And when you go out of here, it's now you

manifesting it. It's not the entire church. Some

of us can hide under the crowd to do the manifestation,

right? When something is happening here, there's

a sense of you can either copy, you can look,

and you can participate. But note that when he

says your love, the word that is used here, the

Greek word that is used here is indicative of

an individual, right? It's indicative of individuals.

It's not just collective. It's not just collective.

I just want you to write it down that when he

says that your love will abound, it's not just

collective. It's that every individual that he's

praying for will abound more and more in that

love. And that abound, the word abound is a Greek

word. I will just spell it to us. The word abound

is P -E -R -S -S -E -U -O. P -E -R. I -S -S -E

-U -O. Perissure. And it means to exceed normal

limits. It means to exceed normal limits. It

means to exceed normal limits, to go above and

beyond. To go above and beyond. It means to exceed

normal limits, to go above and beyond. So what

this means is that a believer's love should be

above the ordinary. It should be extraordinary.

It should surpass the worldly kind of love. A

believer's love should surpass... It's not matching

it. What makes you different from the person

that doesn't have the Spirit of God empowering

them to do the things that you are empowered

to do? So it should surpass it. It should surpass

it. It should go above the ordinary. And when

it says more and more, the word more, there is

malon. It's M -A -L -O -N. And he says more and

more, which is the chi is in between the malon,

chi, malon. That's K -A -I. So that phrase there

is indicative. It's a comparative. It's a phrase

used to compare. And it says it's progressive.

It means that you're measuring growth by the

progression. So it says more and more. That means

there's an increase. It doesn't stay static.

It keeps growing. So it means that you should

check yourself. You should check to see, okay,

how much... of God's love? How have I grown?

Like, am I better at loving than I was before?

Like expressing love to my fellow brother and

sister. You know, sometimes we don't, we just

allow ourselves, just go through the motions.

We come to church, we just go. You want to have

times where you check yourself. You ask yourself

very important question. Am I loving more than

I was before? And that... Is it a function of

what you have been listening to, what you have

been learning? Because we ask that you grow in

zeal, you grow in knowledge, and that in itself

will affect certain areas of your life. And one

very key area will be how you engage your brother,

how you engage your sister. Is there love in

how you talk to them? You know, we read a list

of things. We don't have the time to address

them. But what you want to know is that you want

to manifest God's love. you want to manifest

God's love, let it not come to a point where

it goes down. Let it be that you are looking

for ways, you are believing God for the best

of your brother, believing God for the best of

your sister. If that is not a burden for you,

you want to check yourself. If you're more focused

on yourself, you know, when we talked about rejoicing

and joy, and the one thing that causes people

to... Go down and think. You know, when you spend

time thinking of your problems, you will be depressed.

And I say this thing. I will say this like this.

Your emotion can only go where your thoughts

have gone. Your emotions can only go where your

thoughts have gone. If you spend time thinking.

about certain things, know that the emotions

will be valid because they are all what you have

thought through and thought over and over again.

But what scripture calls us to do is to set our

minds on things that are above. We're encouraged

with that upper Wednesday. We're encouraged to

set our minds on things that are above. And when

we set our minds on loving the person next to

you, regardless of whether they are loving you

back, it changes a lot of things. Your focus

now is on your brother, sister, the work that

God has called you to do. It takes your mind

off you. Praise God. And in our wanting to express

this love, we sometimes find ourselves as Romans.

Let's go to Romans. Romans 12, verse 9 and 10.

Romans 12:9

And sometimes we can pretend to love, right?

Because we're forced to. We can pretend to love.

He says, don't just pretend to love others. Don't

just pretend to love others. Really love them.

You might start off pretending, but don't stay

pretending. Because to love is part of your nature.

Love flows naturally from you. You might not

feel like it, but remember we had talked earlier

about it's not about how you feel. It's knowledge

that empowers how you act. It's knowledge that

empowers how you act. Because you know you act,

your feelings are fleeting. They come and they

go. It says, don't just pretend to love others.

And for some of us here, you stop. expressing

love to your brother and your sister because

you feel that that is not you. You are pretending.

How many of you know that when you pretend long

enough, it becomes your number? You know, if

you pretend, that's how you pretend long enough.

You know, some people, in the wrong things, they

pretend long enough and they forget their reality.

Because you can wake up in the morning and pretend

that you have money in your account, but it doesn't

put money in your account. But there are certain

things that you have an abundance of, you're

not pretending. You might be feeling or telling

yourself you're pretending, but you're not pretending

because your understanding of what Christ has

done will cause love to spring up from within

you. Praise God. It says, hate what is wrong

and hold tightly to what is good. I think, let

me just say this while we're here. When we were

praying and they said, that we should give thanks

in all situations. And for some of us, we think

that our giving thanks is for, our giving thanks

also helps us, right? Your giving thanks puts

you in a posture, like it's something it does

to your mind. When you know that this is a challenge

and you're thanking God for that challenging

situation, that difficult boss, I will tell you

for free that what took me through, some difficult

times is thanking God for certain individuals.

You know, it's a different thing when you have

a situation that's difficult. You can find a

way, walk around. But when individuals are difficult,

it will take God himself touching their hearts

or making changes to happen. And I had times

like that. And I've seen it happen where you

come and then you're like, there's a problem

here and I'm struggling to deal with this person

because this person is not seeing reasons at

all. And then I'm... I had no choice but to keep

thanking God and believe in the best. And know

that when I spend time thanking God for those

individuals, and I don't want to mention, but

yeah, it's done. She celebrated her birthday

some weeks ago. That's my supervisor, my PhD

supervisor. And you'll be doing all the work

you can. Your tissues will just be changing.

I mean, you will spend time, you will work and

work and work. And they come by and say, oh,

sorry, we have to change the topic. And then

I'll be like, one time I just, I was like, I'm

tired of changing the topic. Like, how, like,

is this? And then it makes you not to walk giving

your best because you have tried it. How sure

are you it's not going to happen again the next

minute? And I was like, praying and believing

God. I said, let's come to a place where we can

move. Even when I say, okay, this is a way out.

She says, no, let's do it this way. I say, I

know people here. She said, no, no, let's do

it this way. And it gets frustrated. But what

thing that kept on happening was the fact that

the more you pray for the person, the more you

have compassion towards the person that you cannot

explain. And when people are saying, oh, this

person is a bad person. In fact, I've gone to

a place where someone tells me that your supervisor

has psychological problems. I was like, does

she know I can tell her what she just said? And

the funny thing is that she talks bad about her.

What blew my mind was when they met, they were

like talking like friends. I was, in fact, when

they met, I was like, I saw her, I was like,

I don't want to greet this woman and be too,

and then my supervisor would now be asking me,

are you friends with my enemy? So I greeted very

quickly and passed. And then all of a sudden,

they were greeting, I was confused. I said, am

I hearing very, like they are greeting like long

friends that have not seen themselves. And they

were, I was thinking, I was like, oh, so if you

took time and then you were, you would just be

caught in the, the crossfire. But, The moment

I did the thing, you want to, even for, I can

count several persons that you'll be praying

for them. And your heart, see, the love of God

is very much abundant in you. The moment you

start doing it, you just find yourself. And the

moment you see results, you keep at it. The moment

you see that it worked for this person, there

was somebody, the guy, the boy told me that this

man is a racist. That there's nothing you can

do to this man. And so, I kept on praying for,

I spent a lot of time, every time I woke up in

the morning, I just wrote down the names of the

different individuals, just to be praying for

them, praying that they would know, come to the

knowledge of the truth, take time. During that,

at some point in time, it was funny because the

man said, can I drop you off at home? I was like,

ah, it's like, what does it say? Like, this is

not normal for this person to go out of his way.

That is, that means that it works. When I told

the person, I was like, ah, what do you do? I

said, I didn't do anything than to just pray

for the person and look for opportunities to

present. And that is the power of when your compassion

does a lot, even when someone is sick, we will

do that and we will get to that on Wednesday.

When someone is sick and you have so much desire,

and speaking, going back to what Apostle Paul,

just... I was just thinking this morning, when

I was just going over, just thinking about how

the pastors of NECF take their time. Even I myself,

I've seen instances where you are so concerned

about the person's situation like it's yours.

You'll be praying and say, Holy Spirit, how can

this person be helped in their situation? And

then you do all of that. And sometimes you're

even met with turn downs. They say, oh no, there's

this and there's that. Sometimes we have had

situations where the person even blocks your

line. And what you're doing is not for your own

good. What you're doing is for their own good.

So it doesn't stop your attitude and some point

in time they will unblock and ask you for help

and you will still help them regardless. You

know that that is not normal. Even themselves,

they are shocked that you responded. And that

is what will work every time because that is

not the way the world does it. The world will

block you if they can block you twice. They will

block you. Even if you find a way around, they

will block again until you stop coming back.

But we see that the instruction that is given

to us and the example that has been set for us

is the example of Christ. Not the example of

the world. Not the example of your boss. Not

the example of anyone other than the example

of Jesus Christ. Praise God. 10 says, love each

other. with genuine affection. Love each other

with genuine affection. Romans 12 verse 10 say,

Romans 12:10

love each other with genuine affection and delight

in honoring each other. Delight in honoring each

other. You know, when we say these words, some

of you think that you can only just honor your

pastors. You sometimes think that honoring your

pastors is the right thing to do. It's beautiful.

But once you honor your pastor and you don't

honor your brother and sister, We have a problem

with you. You're just pretending. You're just

a hypocrite. You're just doing it because you

have to do it. Praise God. And it doesn't help

your own work because you are dishing out dishonor.

You yourself will be affected in some shape or

form because you will be dishing out the dishonor

and one time will block. The person that is meant

to help you to go out of a difficult situation.

Because whether you like it or not, every one

of us here, the way God designs it, we are designed

to be a blessing to one another. Regardless of

wherever it is that you are, it's designed that

way. And it's something that God does to humble

each and every one of us. That you might be so

great and mighty, but there's... Someone so small

that will have to say something or do something

to bring you forward. I think I heard a story

once of a man that was struggling to meet someone

that is high ranking. And then he was just sitting

at the front of the man's office, the building

of his office. And he was just there mumbling

and he just said a word of prayer that how we

wish you could have access. And this little child

just came and asked him, why are you looking

down? What's the problem? And then the child

said, he said he has been looking forward to

seeing this man and he's been, he's feeling down.

And then the boy just told him he should come.

He didn't realize, but he just said, okay, who

is this child? He follows the boy and he discovered

that the securities that were blocking him from

passing, they were just giving way, giving way,

giving way until he got to the man that happens

to be the boy's father. And he said, daddy, this

man wants to see you. He has been looking, he

explained his situation and that was how. the

man had his problem solved because he prayed

a prayer, but a little boy showed up and he not

say, you, what is your problem? You don't know

what I'm going to get out of here. You know,

that would have been the end of his, he would

not even have known what would have happened

if he had not listened and even talked to the,

you know, sometimes we are so into our problems

that we can't even talk to, you know, it's as

little as the boy asked the question, the boy

did not say, are you, are you? He asked the question,

what's the problem? And he didn't even feel that

he's wasting his time explaining all of that

to the little boy. And that's how you can be

able to receive blessing. Because there's not

just the showing love, there's also the receiving

the love that is being shown to you. Because

if he had said, no, why am I following you? He

would have been a different story. In John 3,

34 to 35. John 13, 34 -35. John 13, 34 -35. It

says, A new commandment I give to you, that you

love one another. And we know that it's not new.

It's something that we have seen before. It says

that you love one another as I have loved you.

That's what we'll introduce. As I have loved

you. That you also love one another. It says,

and this all will, by this all will know that

you are my disciples. If you have love for one

another. It says, by this all will know that

you are my disciples. If you have love for one

another. And another thing, it's very clear.

It says, as I have loved you, as I have loved

you. And how has he loved you? Romans 5. Verse

8, it says, Romans 5 verse 8, it says, But God

Romans 5:8

demonstrates his love towards us in that while

we were still sinners, Christ died for us. So

it means that even when we were in our broken

state, he still chose to die for us. And sometimes

you cannot understand this until certain things

are practically explained or illustrated to you.

Nobody goes to the market and buys something

that is broken. Nobody goes to the market and

sees things that are in perfect condition and

picks that one thing that is broken. Nobody goes

to the market and says, I want to buy something

that is working and sees something that is not

working and then picks that up. You would say

it's a mad person that goes and does that because

it costs them something. Praise God. And he says,

even while we were still sinners, he died. So

even while the person doesn't act like they deserve

it, you are instructed to do it anyways. Even

regardless of the action of the individuals to

you, what shows that you are bound or you are

bounding is in the way you respond or the way

you give regardless of what the condition of

the situation is. And note that in the abounding,

it says, we're abounding, it says, the love must

abound in knowledge and all discernment. Let's

continue. The love must abound in knowledge and

all discernment. It means that it points to the

primary area of growth. All of this points to

growth because the knowledge and the discernment

will be growth. And note that we have to come

to that. precise knowledge that precise and accurate

and full knowledge our minds is the one that

is catching up because the primary area of this

growth is our minds because remember what we

read we said the renewing of the mind the spirit

renews the renew of the mind that happens is

what brings us into and we're not we're renewing

all that we're putting away the old stuff and

putting our new identity and putting that into

check I will do this very quickly and bring us

to a situation that happened with Philemon. I

will discuss that very shortly. So in knowledge,

the Greek word for knowledge is epignosis. It's

E -P -I -G -N -O -S -I -S. E -P -I -G -N -O -S

-I -S. And this is not... General knowledge.

This is not general knowledge, but precise, accurate,

and full knowledge. And it is the knowledge of

God and his ways. It's not general knowledge.

It's the knowledge of God and his ways. So it's

a precise, accurate, and full knowledge of God

and his ways. And we'll see this in Ephesians

Ephesians 1:17

1 verse 17. Ephesians 1. Verse 17, it says that

the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father

of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom

and revelation in the knowledge of him. The key

thing you want to focus on is in the knowledge

of him. And note that when he says spirit of

wisdom, you know, you can be thinking, oh, spirit

of wisdom, am I receiving another spirit? Because

when he says he will give you the spirit of wisdom.

Know that in the verse 13 of that particular

chapter, 13 of that particular chapter, he says,

in him you also trusted. After you heard the

word of truth, the gospel of your salvation,

in whom also, having believed, you were sealed.

You were. sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

You were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

So it means that you are not receiving... So

we had said that it is the wisdom of the Spirit,

which is the revelation in the knowledge of Him.

The revelation in the knowledge of Him. And how...

What does the... Spirit of God enable us because

he says in, I want us to see Romans 5 verse 5.

Romans 5:5

Romans 5 verse 5 and see how the love of God

Romans 5:5

and what is the role of the Spirit. 5 verse 5

it says, now hope doesn't disappoint, does not

disappoint. Because the love of God has been

poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, which

was given to us. Now the love of God has been

poured into our hearts by the Spirit of God,

which has been given to us. So we see a couple

of things there, that the Holy Spirit, because

we are sealed and we have the Spirit of God,

it means that it comes naturally for us to extend

and express the love of God. And I want to see...

I think we'll probably close around this particular

area. In Philemon, I want us to, many of us know

this passage of Philemon because what we come

to mostly in this passage is Philemon 6. I want

to bring something to our attention, something

that will help us understand and see love in

action. Philemon 1 verse 6, which is to point

Philemon 1:6

the acknowledgement, to talk about the acknowledgement,

which is epignosis. And this is opposed to Paul

writing to Philemon. And Philemon is a, if you

see in the chapter, in that particular chapter,

and Philemon is just one chapter and it can be

lost in your Bible between Titus and Hebrew.

It's one page and sometimes you can be flipping

trying to find the page. I want you to see something

that Philemon, is a believer, first and foremost,

and the church meets in his house. We see that

in verse 2 of the book. It says, and your sister

and our fellow soldier and to the church that

meets in your house. So Philemon was a convert.

By Paul, Apostle Paul, we see that in 19. Apostle

Paul alludes to that. And he meets in his house.

And the church meets at his house. At this time,

they had like house where people, believers would

come and gather and meet at the house. So Apostle

Paul now writing to him in verse 6, he says that

the sharing of your faith may become effective

by the acknowledgement of every good thing. which

is in you in Christ Jesus. If you notice, you'll

be seen in Christ. You'll be seen by Christ.

You'll be seen. All the things that we have is

anchored on what Christ has done. And that should

not, you should not even miss it. You know, sometimes

we will think when we are asked, oh, the things

we almost would think that the things we have

is in our own strength or because, you know,

sometimes we say, you know, the Lord loves me.

You know, when I was coming out today, I suggested

my heart like this. Somebody stopped for me.

Do you believe it? All of those things are beautiful.

All of those things are wonderful. But the greatest

of all of those things is what Christ has done

for you. That should be what should always excite

you. That should be what should always spoil

you to give thanks to God because of what Christ

has done for you. As good as that is, we're not

saying you should not share about the things,

but you want to ensure because What happens the

day you did your hand like this and nobody stopped?

You know, that now can look like, ah, God is

not with me today. Because the last time I did

so, like two, three cars stopped, I was even

choosing which one to enter. Praise God. So know

that you want to anchor your faith on something

that is solid, not something that can happen

today and not happen tomorrow. Praise God. And

I will read it from, I like the way it goes.

It says, It says, I am praying that you would

put into action the generosity that comes from

your faith as you understand and experience all

the good things we have in Christ Jesus. He's

praying that you act on what you have received

that is anchored in Christ Jesus. You act on

it. That you should put into action that comes

from the faith as you understand and you experience.

All the good things that we have in Christ Jesus.

And in verse 7, he says, for we have great joy

and consolation in your love because the hearts

of the saints have been refreshed by you, brother.

You see, for the hearts of the saints have been

refreshed by Philemon. The hearts of the saints

have been refreshed by Philemon. Let me just

give you something that will help us too. Philemon,

I think I was looking at the meaning of his name.

It means friendly. His name means friendly. Philemon,

his name means friendly. And it also, the friendly

is just the, it says the one who kisses or the

one who shows sign of love. All right. The one

who kisses and one who shows sign of love. The

Philip without the moon at the end is the one

who shows the sign of love. And it makes sense

when you think about it. And I think one of the

things that, you know, cultures are very different.

Like if you're from a different culture and you

come into a new culture, certain things will

shock you. Certain things will shock you. And

one of them for me, very quickly, to help you

understand that if you don't understand a culture,

you will be met with a shock. And if you understand

that culture, you just flow with it because you

understand the culture. That's to help us to

understand how understanding affects the way

you respond or even receive things. When I came

to this island in like, that was 2013, you know,

one of my first, I think I had a couple. One

was with the whole idea of when they say no,

they do it like this. And then many of you, if

I was to do, shout out what you think this is.

you will have a good amount of people still think

that it's yes because there's a note that comes

with it. But that was a rude shock to me and

I had to learn the hard way and I learned it

very quickly because I learned from my own experience.

I don't learn. I don't like learning from my

own experience. And when it happens to me, it

will never happen again. Praise God. The other

one is when I was, I think I met this Turkish

guy for the first time and... what happens was

that, you know, typically you give a handshake,

but you know, my, the, I, nobody prepared me

for what I experienced because I was full, I

was trying to, my brain is like, what's going

on? What is going, what exactly is going on?

And the, the guy held my hand, pulled me close,

gave me a nod on the side and the other side.

And I was like, he, when, if he had paid attention,

he would just see that I was, I was full. I was

like, what did he just like, like, what was it?

Because, Like, I couldn't, like, because he did

not was, you could hear the sound. So that, my

brain, my brain is like, is it the pain I should

come out? My brain is like, what just happened?

What just, what exactly just happened? Because

I have, I was like, nobody prepared me for the

whole experience. But after that day, I got it.

So anybody that's coming, I was like, yeah, it's

just, we can go for it. So, because now I know.

But, you know, when you don't know, you don't

know. And when you experience it, nobody, you'll

just be there wondering. And knowledge really

empowers you to be prepared. Because if I'd seen

that, even if it was a video, I'd seen that.

You know, when he comes, okay, I would have seen

it before. We just go for it. But I haven't seen

it before. So it would be difficult for me to

engage or even participate in it. And for some

of us, we really have not experienced, we don't

even know what the love of God is. And once we

see it or see someone, do something that is,

the person do something that is above and beyond

the normal that you know, which is of the world.

You are like, ah. And some of us, our immediate

response is that we drop because it's strange.

So why does this person love me like this? Why

does this person keep calling my name? And I'm

thinking to myself, they start thinking, okay,

is there something? Maybe they're trying to collect

something. You just start becoming suspicious

or thinking that the person is trying to... Some

people just spend time thinking, thinking all

manner of things. They should just receive the

love of God. Praise God. Don't overthink it.

If you think there's a problem, you can report.

Right? Yeah, you should report. And please feel

free to report if you think that the love is

getting too much. But let it be that we are challenging

one another to outdo one another in the things

that God has instructed us to do, not in the

things that the world is showing us every now

and then to do so. Praise God. And we see that

Apostle Paul now is challenging Philemon to do

something. In the verse 10 and 11, we see a man

or we see someone named Onesimus. You know, Paul

had already set the stage and reminded him of

his identity, reminded him of how his love is

refreshing them to bring it to this point. And

there are many ways Paul would have done what

he did, but he goes back to the identity of Philemon.

How Philemon should know that this is the situation

or this is the kingdom that we found ourselves.

And this is the response that is required. So

in verse 10, he says, I appeal to you to show

kindness to my child Onesimus. I've become his

father in the faith while here in prison. 11

now says, Onesimus hasn't been much use to you

in the past, but now he's very useful to both

of us. And it's funny that the name, the meaning

of Onesimus' name is useful, profitable, or beneficial.

It's almost like Paul is playing on words and

saying, see, You will wonder like his name is

useful, but in the past, he has not been useful.

You know, for some people, your name means something

and you don't seem to find that thing in your

life. And it doesn't mean that because people

have been calling you that, right? People have

been saying that, calling you, saying, calling.

But the moment you have a revelation of what,

the moment you come to an understanding of what

that means or what you have, it changes everything.

Because what has happened is that, let me explain

it to us. Onesimus was a slave that ran away.

And running away in those times means that he's

either dead or they will brand you. They will

brand you the brand that if you run, they will

say this is a slave. And most of the times the

branding is unique to them. So they will find

you and bring you back to your master. And they

are branding you on purpose so that anytime they

will bring you back. So what had happened was

that Onesimus had run away and then had an encounter

with Apostle Paul, then now was saved. And now

that's why if you notice, he addresses him. He

says he's his child, his son, right? And he's

the father. And know that he's not talking about,

Apostle Paul is not saying that I give birth

to him. Apostle Paul is saying that he is now

a spiritual father or is a father to this person.

And he goes further too. And the church he is

part of. Let's just confirm that from Colossians.

Let's go to Colossians 4. Colossians 4, verse

Colossians 4:9

9. I think we read that. Colossians 4, verse

Colossians 4:9

9. And by the way, This church is in Colossae.

The church that Philemon is part of is in Colossae.

You'll see similarities. You'll see names mentioned

there. They're mentioned here as well. Verse

9, it says, I am also sending Onesimus a faithful

and beloved brother. See how he addresses him

here. He says he's a faithful and beloved brother.

This is somebody that he has said that wasn't

useful. Now this person has, there's something

that the gospel had done to him, right? There's

something that the gospel has done to you. And

the same way I would challenge you that there's

something that hearing God's word, showing up,

listening to God's word, learning God's word

will do to you. You might be somebody before,

but there's some things that we'll see. You can't

say I am a believer and then we can't see evidence

of a walk, a lifestyle that is consistent with

what you said you have believed. Praise God.

So now we see that this person now is clear.

There is a brother. He's one of your people.

And then he and Tychicus, which were the people

that are going to take this in, will tell you

everything that is happening here. Praise God.

Let's go back to Philemon. And what Apostle Paul

is doing here is he's challenging. Philemon,

and he even, if you go to 20, he says in verse

20, he says, yes, my brother, please do me this

favor for the Lord's sake. Give me this encouragement

in Christ. Give me this encouragement in Christ.

Give me this encouragement in Christ. He now

goes that I am confident as I write this letter.

that you will do what I ask. And even more, praise

God, and even more, remember what we said about

the love he knows. In fact, if you read the way

it reads, you understand that. Paul is writing

this letter knowing that when Philemon reads

this letter, the response will be, like he knows

what the response will be. Praise God. And regardless

of what, he even... To tell you how interesting

it is, in 9, he says, even if he had done anything,

put the charge on me. If he had, you know, there's

a likelihood he might have stolen some things

and left. So he says, if any of those things

are going to be a problem, put it on me. It just

goes to show you the heart of the apostle and

his concern and his desire for this man to be

restored back to his master. And not just restored

back to the master as a slave. but he wants,

he brings it, he wants, he's conscious, let him

be conscious that this is not just a slave, this

is a brother because he writes it there and he

says, receive him as a fellow brother in Christ.

Praise God. And if someone, we see all of this,

all of this goes to tell us that there's a way

the world does things and there's a way the word

instructs us to do things. You must unlearn.

Unlearn. You must unlearn. You must unlearn the

way the world does things and learn. For many

of us, what has hampered or delayed our growth

and what makes it difficult for us to discern

and size up situations correctly, which is what

the discernment part is, and size up situations

correctly is the fact that we are stuck in One

end, and I will see on Wednesday that it's our

thinking. Because our thoughts, we allow things,

the world, the different things, the world keeps

bombarding us with things, showing us certain

things, showing us how things should be, and

then we superimpose that on the Word of God.

And for some of us, it's when we come to the

Word of God and we say, ah, is that what we should

do? You know, today for some of us, the root

shock to us is that you thank God even for that

person that you don't, even for the person that

broke your heart. Some of us, it was like, ah,

I thought you... And that is what the word of

God does. When you see it, it means that when

he says everything, it means include that as

well. Praise God. Include that as well and you

will see what happens. You'll see the joy. You'll

see the peace. All of those things will be evident

in your walk. All those things will be evident

in the way you move around and you will know.

you will know that it has been there all along.

It has been in your nature to manifest it. But

you are just holding yourself back or thinking

that it's not possible or waiting to feel it.

If you're waiting to feel certain things, you

will never do it. You're waiting to feel like,

I can pray for this person. It will not happen.

Because the kingdom of the world to manifest,

is in the instruction of the one who is in charge,

the one who has brought us into the kingdom.

If Jesus Christ went about doing good, healing

the sick, raising the dead, all of those things

that he has done is the example we should live

by. He was moved with compassion. He prayed for

the sick and they were healed. He saw the blind.

He opened their eyes and they could see. The

lame, he would look at, he's moved with compassion

and say, you have been here for this. regardless

of the laws they have set in place and say, oh,

you should not come and receive healing. There

are many days in a week you can come and receive

healing. The woman was bent over for 30. He said,

set the woman free. All of this is only what

an abounding, a life that is abounding in the

love of God is able to see or is able to manifest,

is able to experience. Praise God. I'm charging

you this afternoon now that you have to. desire

to see above the normal limits. In fact, your

mark is not the world standard. You want to understand

that. But the mark is what we see Christ do in

Scripture. That is the person we are to imitate.

That is the person we are to imitate. We'll discuss

this. We'll finalize this on Wednesday. I want

you to just open your mouth and thank God because

The DNA we have is that of our Father, and the

actions we take is that of our Father. Our thoughts

align to it by the Word of God. We're able to

see ourselves do miracles, signs and wonders.

We're able to pray for situations. In fact, first

and foremost, we're able to let go of circumstances

and situations that have held us bound. I see

people being set free. from things that have

held them down for so long that the word of God

now brings your attention to it and you see a

release. We appreciate you being here today.

We hope you carry this word with you throughout

your week. Don't forget to check the show notes

for additional insights. Stay connected with

us through our website or follow us on social

media. If you are encouraged, share this message

with someone you care about. Until next time,

stay blessed.