MGD: Beloved Let Us Love

Shalom, beloved. God bless you so much for connecting with

us here, Harvest Chapel International Kumasi, for our morning glory devotion.

This is Pastor and Mrs. Amwasa facilitating this morning's session.

Let's share a word of prayer. Our dear Lord and Master,

we thank you so much for this exalted privilege to

know you more in your word. We pray that even

as your word comes, you open up our hearts and

that you help us receive and understand your word. In

Jesus' name, Amen. Praise God. Let's take our confession together

from Joshua chapter 1, the verse 8. This book of

Joshua 1 · chapter mention

the law shall not depart out of my mouth, but

I shall meditate in it day and night. that I

may observe to do according to all that is written

in it. For then I will make my way prosperous,

and then I will have good success. Amen. The topic

this morning is Beloved, Let Us Love. Beloved, Let Us Love.

We'll take our scripture readings from Matthew 22, verse 35

Matthew 22:35–40

to 40, and Luke chapter 6, verse 28. Then one

Luke 6:28

of them, a lawyer, asks him a question, testing him

and saying, Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?

Jesus said to him, You shall love the Lord your

God with all your heart, with all your soul, and

with all your mind. This is the first and the

great commandment. And the second is like it. You shall

love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang

all the law and the prophets. Luke chapter 6, the

Luke 6 · chapter mention

verse 27 to 29. But I say to you who hear,

love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,

bless those who curse you, and pray for those who

spitefully use you. To him who strikes you on one cheek,

offer the other also. And from him who takes away

your cloak, Do not withhold your tunic either. May the

Lord add his blessings to the reading of his word. Amen. Beloved,

let us love. Have you ever found yourself feeling compelled

to love someone who in your heart of hearts you

have already tagged undeserved of your love? Have you ever

had the pendulum of love in your heart swing all

the way from one point of love in one moment

and then swing all the way to the other point

of hatred. One of the toughest things to do is

to laugh. To laugh genuinely. Many of us have felt

like cursing and many of us have even gone ahead

to curse friends, family and colleagues. We have wished evil

for people because of offences and hurts. Sometimes, having come

back to our senses, we really wonder if we were

the same people who made those pronunciations and even thought

about those things about our friends and loved ones as

we did. Beloved, as social beings, it's inevitable that we

interact and engage with people on a day-to-day basis. Unfortunately,

because of our weaknesses, which stems from our fallen nature,

there are many moments of strife and conflict. Our pride

and ego, as well as our temperaments, tend to clash

with one another and these lead to hurts and the

breakdown of relationships. Knowing this, beloved, you may ask yourself

if it is even possible to express the kind of

love that Jesus has asked us to express. Is it

not too burdensome the instruction that has been given to

us in the scripture that we read from Luke chapter 6,

Luke 6 · chapter mention

the verse 27 to 29? Jesus said that we should

actually love our enemies. He said that we should do

good to those who hate us, to bless those who

curse us. He says we should pray for those who

spite us. Then he goes on to say that if

we are struck on one cheek, we should turn the other.

Our immediate response surely may be, no, this is not possible.

Our minds may immediately go to that spouse, that sibling.

that neighbor, that colleague, that boss who has been a

thorn in our flesh and a constant source of offense.

We all know that it is difficult to love those

who offend us, but it is exactly what the demand

of love is. This is the God standard of love.

The scriptures teach us that God is love. It is

his true nature. And since we are his children and

bear his image, we must also work in love. Our

responsibility is to represent and reflect His nature. The Apostle

Paul said something so profound. He says that if we

do not love, we do not know God. The God

standard of love is unconditional in nature. The God kind

of love is as described in 1 Corinthians 13. It

is kind, it is patient, does not envy, It is

not proud. It is not disrespectful. It does not dishonor others.

It is not self-seeking. The God kind of love, beloved,

does not keep a record of wrongs. It always protects.

It always trusts. And it always perseveres. Jesus Christ himself

led the way by living out this example of true love.

He revealed and fulfilled all those qualities and characteristics of

divine love. He washed the feet of all his disciples,

including the feet of the one who was just about

to betray him. Beloved, how many of us would yield

ourselves to love in that manner? Afterwards, he availed himself

to be nailed on a cross for the very same

people who reviled and hated him. Beloved, so how do

you and I do this also? I believe that first

of all, we need to admit to ourselves our true

emotions and feelings towards the people we are struggling to love.

We must admit that indeed we are hurt and that

we are struggling to show the God kind of love.

We need to go to God and ask God for

mercy for ourselves and also ask God to take away

bitterness and unforgiveness from our hearts. We need to look

at the extent to which God has gone for us.

We must remember that we too have hurt others and

have hurt God. The Bible says that whilst we were

yet sinners and enemies of God, that was when He

chose to show His true divine love towards us. We

must continually humble ourselves and appreciate that when we didn't

deserve it, God still loved us and was patient with us.

We must ask God for grace from His Holy Spirit

to help us bear the fruit of the Spirit, which

is love. Being like Christ should be our ultimate goal.

Loving like Christ should be our desire. It is okay

to look like the fool. It is worth it because

we glorify God and make Him known by loving the

way He loves. Amen. God bless you. Let's take our

memory verse from 1 Peter 4, verse 8. And above

1 Peter 4:8

all things, have fervent love for one another, for love

will cover a multitude of sins. And above all things,

have fervent love for one another, for love will cover

a multitude of sins. Amen. Let's pray. Our dear Lord,

we come before you this morning. We confess that we

are struggling to show your kind of love. Teach us,

fill us with your Holy Spirit, and let us bear

the fruit of love for that brother, for that sister,

for that neighbor, for that relative, for that spouse who

has hurt us. Let us persevere and be patient and

continue to show love. Amen. Beloved, God bless you so

much for connecting and being a part of this session.

As you step out there today, may you be empowered

to forgive, may you be empowered to love. God bless you.