Hey this is Malachi and we’re continuing our series on the
book of first John.
We’re going to be picking up in chapter four.
There have already been three other segments that goes into a lot of different material:
How to hear the voice of God.
How to walk righteously with the Lord. And how to be led by God to minister.
We’re going to get right into it in first John chapter four and we are going to be picking up from verse seven.
When initially touched on it last, we talked about the importance of acts 17 vs 11.
I’ll read it and it says:
“These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”
I encourage you to examine the scripture yourself, seek out God for yourself.
All I can do is share what the lord has given me and share the understanding and the wisdom that God has graced me with, to be able to rightly divide the word of truth, to encourage you — that’s what Ephesians 4 talks about — to encourage you to grow and be used by God.
However, as it determines with your soul and salvation, you must talk to the lord about these things, you must receive God for yourself.
You must receive the the loving kindness, sacrifice and the resurrection of Jesus.
You must receive the holy spirit and his anointing in order to be effective in
life, in marriage, ministry and everything you do.
Let’s go to first John 4 vs 7:
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
And we talked about that in the other articles.
[8] He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
This very important especially if you’re ever seeking out spiritual gifts or gifting that first
Corinthians talks about.
We’ll go into this in moment.
1 Corinthians 12:1 ;
Now concerning spiritual gifts , brethren, I would not have you ignorant.
I don’t want you to misunderstand this, in some translations it says I don’t want you to be ignorant.
It is not good to be ignorant okay? We touch it based on “my people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.”
It is very important not to be ignorant. If you don’t know something, ask somebody who has been walking with the Lord for a longer time than you.
You’re welcome to ask me, you welcome to ask your pastor. You need to ask something if you don’t know oka?
1 Corinthians 12:2-6
Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led.
[3] Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.
[4] Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.
[5] And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord.
[6] And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all.
I’m going to pause here, and to circle back to what we talked about in first John 4:8; Anyone who does not love, does not know God because God is love.
Now, as it pertains to spiritual gifts and really hearing the voice of God, we must understand that God is love.
There is always an account of Jesus as he goes to pray and have a precedent that says “he showed compassion or he had compassion.”
It’s always by love that you minister and share the gospel, you work without complaining or grumbling.
Let us pull this up here.
Philippians 2:12 through 16;
“Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
[13] For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
[14] Do all things without murmurings and disputings:
[15] That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;
[16] Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.”
That is very important because when the Lord comes
from, we can boast in him.
Jeremiah 9:24 ;
“But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the Lord.”
It’s important as it pertains to spiritual gifts, to walk in love, to be led in love and I’m not going to get into the spiritual gifts today.
If you go by first corinthians 12, you will be able to read about the spiritual gifts.
There are nine different gifts that the Lord uses and make effective in a minister’s or christian’s life, in order to be effective to witness for him.
This very important and we’ll do that in another post okay?
Head over to first John 4:10 ;
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
[11] Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
Sometimes, I know we get upset or angry as we are all wrapped in the same flesh. However, we must believe God and love others as he loved us. We must ask God to increase our capacity to love.
In verse 12;
“No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
It is important to have the love of God perfected.
Let’s get down to verse 16.
And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
[17] Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
In order to understand who jesus is, we have to understand:
Who he is in scripture? How does he act?
How does he talk?
How does he minister?
why
Do we serve him?
All these truths are found by digging into the word of God, by seeking, by being hungry.
God’s heart cry to for us get hungry for of him. his people need to be hungry.
if you are seeking God now, ask the Lord more hunger. His spirit will honor that prayer and ignite a flame in you.
He will supercharge you to be hungry.
I encourage you to get in the book of John.
There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
[19] We love him, because he first loved us.
[20] If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
[21] And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Let’s now turn over into chapter five, so first John chapter five verse three.
The reason I’m skipping around is again that younknow acts 17:11. You have to search out the scriptures I’m sharing with you.
1 John 5:3-5 ;
“For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
[4] For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.
[5] Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
We must have faith in order to overcome the world. As a result of that faith, we have victory, we believe God blesses us, we believe he anoints us and he hears us. The love of God is to keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome.
Matthew 11:28-30 says
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
[29] Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
[30] For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”
When we come to the Lord, when we lay down everything that we think is important and say,
“God, what is important to you?”
We should repent for those sins and walk according to his ways.
Only he can lead, guide and use us.
Our job is to trust, have faith and obey him.
In the next post, we will take about the spiritual gifts and anointing that gives us and how we can use it to be effective in our lives.
Thanks for reading.