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Weekly Reminder...
The Weekly Reminder is an informative tool to help people who read it consider what the man of God has said. This weekend’s articles are based on what was heard on March 7 & 8, 2009 in the Westbury assembly.written by Br. Samuel Philogene
“Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God”. (1 John 4:7)
Last weekend Br. Moses from Stamford, Connecticut visited us on Saturday evening and he was talking to us concerning charity. It is so important to love one another, as Jesus loves us. Jesus prayed for that in John 17:21 – “That they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I in Thee, that they also may be one in Us: that the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me”. The bond of love will make us one as Jesus and the Father are one. Br. Moses quoted 1 Corinthians 13; everybody knows this scripture talking about love. Most of the time we think that love is like a technical formula like giving some food, money or any other type of assistance to someone in need but the 1 Corinthians 13 let us know that love goes further than that. Paul is talking concerning acts that most of the time we do and think that is love, like giving food (give all my goods to feed the poor), Paul even said that even if we are willing to give our life to somebody that is not yet the love that he’s talking about (and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing [verse 3]).
So what is this love and how can we accomplish it? We understand that Paul is talking about a greater level in God, because we have to remember that God is love (1 John 4:8). So Paul is talking about a nature not some technical practice, this is God Himself; it is to put on the nature of God, to have the same mind with Jesus (Philippians 2:5, Romans 6:5). Then Paul goes on to say exactly what this love is. He says, “Charity suffereth long, is kind, envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). To have real charity we have to put on the good characteristics (of God) and put away the bad ones. So we understand that this love is not how I treat people but how I incorporate the Word of God in my life first, how I’ve been transformed from my evil nature to put on the new man created in the image of God, then now love toward people around me will come. So the work has to be done inside first by the word of God with the assistance of the Holy Spirit.
Br. Antoine stood up on Sunday to tell us that the charity that Paul was talking about is not (derived from) fleshly activity trying to show people that we are good but that love come from the very inside, inside of a heart regenerated by the Word of God and full of the Holy Ghost. He emphasized on the fact that by the Holy Spirit we can really love, because we saw that love is the nature of God, so not anybody can possess the nature of God. That is why he told us that we have to surrender to the Spirit of God and let God thru His Spirit have its way in every aspect of our lives. Whatsoever we do, the Spirit of God has to lead (1 Peter 4:11). He was talking a lot about our worship, we have to worship with the love inside and when we love God enough we will give Him our best. He quoted a scripture in the old testament in Deuteronomy 16:17 “Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD thy God which He hath given thee”. We also have to see this scripture spiritually today; we have to praise God according to the spiritual blessing which God has bestowed upon us (Ephesians 1:3, Psalms 116:12-13, Micah 6:6-8). According to our spiritual blessings we will be able to love one another with the love that Paul was talking about, a nature to love God enough so we will give Him the honor due unto Him.
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written by Br. Samuel Damus
“I pray that your love for each other will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in your knowledge and understanding” – (Philippians 1:9)
We were encouraged to have the love of God in our lives. This love is different from the love that this world understands. This love the world can not understand because in order to have this love we must love the Lord. The Lord showed His love for us by sending His only Son to die for our sins that we might have eternal life. This love was not merited but we received this love because God could do nothing else for He is Love. The scriptures tell us that “God showed how much He loved us by sending His only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. This is real love. It is not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins” (1 John 4:9-10). This love is described in 1 Corinthians 13.
Paul said that this “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged. It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). This is the great love that God has shown towards us (Romans 8:35-39). We must make the manifestation of the love of God in our lives our highest priority (1 Corinthians 14:1). It is no coincidence that the two greatest commandments revolves around this love (Matthew 22:36-40). In order to show this love we must “abide” in this love. Jesus said, “I have loved you even as the Father has loved Me. Remain in My love. When you obey Me, you remain in My love, just as I obey My Father and remain in His love” (John 15:9-10).
Let us remain in God’s love that we can manifest His love. By keeping God’s commandments we are exercising that which the law is built upon – God’s love. “If we love each other, God lives in us, and His love has been brought to full expression through us” (1 John 4:7-12). With the love of God growing in us as we keep His commandments we will be able to show this great love that Jesus said must be manifested in a child of God (Matthew 5:38-48). “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God--for God is love (1 John 4:7-12).
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