Pastor Bob reviews I John 1:5-7, I John 4:15–18, Matt. 5:14-16; Ps. 104:4, and Heb. 1:7. God is light. God is love. We are the light of the world, and God make His servants a flame of fire. Chester Petersheim and Rachel Stoltzfus share testimonies of the recent trip with Dominic Russo Ministries to the Dominican Republic. Two other team members also testified to God’s goodness on the trip. There was time for ministry.

(There are several words, personal and general given at the beginning of the sermon.) God is light and God is love, and so are we. We are created in God’s image to do good works. What are you to be doing? Jesus did more than teaching, preaching, and healing. We are to be zealous for good works. Scripture is profitable. We can’t change if we don’t allow the light to expose our sin and the darkness in us. God wants profit from His church, and so we must present ourselves to Him to a higher degree. He wants to instruct us in righteousness. Where do you stand in your love walk?

Prov. 20:27 tells you that the spirit of man is the lamp of the Lord, searching all the inner depths of his heart. Your spirit man must be fed on the Word, and you must take time with the Lord. It’s your spirit man’s strength that will give you the victory. Your future, purpose, and destiny are inside of you, but the enemy tries to cloud what God has done and wants to do in your life. God has revealed to you through His Spirit the things He has prepared for you. ((I Cor. 2:12-16) For you to get to the deeper place that God has for you will take your being hungry and thirsty for His presence. For you to experience the greatest pleasure and the perfect will of God, you need to be in fellowship with Him. There’s a caution: don’t let culture, fables, and worldly suspicions keep you from the purposes of God. Make sure what you’re believing and acting on is the Word of God. Let God direct you, not your mind, discern the spirits, and operate out of your spirit.

Ps. 119:130 tells you that God’s words give light and understanding to the simple. Do you love the light? Eph. 1:16-18 is a prayer for spiritual wisdom (pray … that the eyes of your understanding being enlightened). God is your Father, and Jesus has already paid the price so that you are redeemed and can access your Father’s throne room. God wants to flood the eyes of your heart with light. You have a certain time from now until you die or Jesus comes for His church, whichever comes first, to reach the unsaved people. Are your eyes set on Jesus? What do you pour your life into every day? You need to make the decision to not be deceived, and the biggest deception might be your thinking that you’re going the right way when you aren’t. Keep your eyes on God and Jesus. Fellowship with God. Make sure your thinking is in line with His. We are headed to a great awakening, and the whole body needs to be motion. John 12:46, 47 Jesus Christ came to save, not judge, the world, and so should you be doing. Are people not being reached because the church too busy? Another deception is taking the Word for granted. If you believe in Jesus, you shouldn’t be abiding in darkness ( not understanding and tapping into all the grace and truth of Jesus, not being filled with the Holy Spirit, and having your understanding clouded, etc.). You are to be world-changers. What have you done with Jesus? What are you doing with what He has given you? Light is revelation. You should walk in the light (I John 1:5). Ask people questions to get into a conversation about Jesus. Reach souls for Jesus. Who have you reached with the Gospel? REPENT. Ask forgiveness and turn away from the sin and the distractions, not to go back to them again.

I John 4:7-21; I Cor. 13:4-7; I John 2:5, 15-17; Jude 20-25; Rev. 2:1-5; Matt. 24:3-14. Pastor Bob continues the series of sermons on the love walk with a sermon on monitoring our love walk. To monitor means”one who warns of faults or informs of duty; one who gives advice and instruction by way of reproof or caution.” (1828 Webster’s Dictionary)If you are in fear, there’s something wrong in your love walk. Do you keep God’s Word and your own word? Are you a doer of the Word? Do you love one another? Love never quits. We are to keep (prevent from escaping) ourselves in the love of God, not falling out of love with others and God. We are to repent and do the first works- those things we did in joy and enthusiasm of our new relationship with Jesus- obnoxiously passionate for Jesus. Don’t lose your love for God or for your spouse. He who endures to the end shall be saved. Love never fails, and he who does the will of God abides forever. Do not love the world.

Rom. 8:1-32. God’s commandment is for us to walk in love and to pray in the Holy Spirit. If we pray in the flesh, our praying can be manipulative and will not release what God’s will is for whomever we are praying. These kinds of prayers displease God. We have to answer to God for what HE has called us to do, not all the “good” things that we do “in the flesh”. We are to pray for the body of Christ, our brothers and sisters, and pray for the them to go into all the world and preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Praying in the Spirit connects us to the divine commission and to the Word. Find out where you are not living to your full potential, because that is where you need to pray by the Spirit. Eph. 6:10-18 tells us to stand, take authority, not settle for good instead of best, and to pray and supplicate in the Spirit. PRAY FOR THE BODY, YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST. Do not limit and manipulate other peoples’ lives by what you speak and “prophesy”. Praying Spirit prayers produces things working for our good and allows God to take over. Trust the Holy Spirit to pray through us for the youth. (Also Eph. 6:10-18)

We are commanded to walk and act in love. Strife, bitterness, jealousy, etc., cause a person to disconnect from the love walk, and then God cannot reveal Himself to you. God IS love; you are love and are a vehicle of His love to others. We are to follow Jesus and imitate Him in the way He loves. God loved us first, and when we realize His love for us personally, we have a reason to love, give, and to serve. Monitor what you’re saying and make sure your words are life and blessing. Keep the enemy out of your heart, so you do not lose your fruit. Perfect love, a mature love, does not fear evil, because we know God is with us and is our helper. We build ourselves up by praying in the Holy Spirit. Scriptures: I Cor. 13:8; Rom. 13:8-10; John 13:34; John 15:9, 10; Eph. 5:1; I Cor. 13:4-8; I Cor. 13:13; I John 4:15-21; Jude 20.

I John 3:13-18 tells us to love in deed and in truth. Faith without action is dead. We must do His commandments, which are to believe in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and to love one another. I Thess. 3:8-13 … and may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another … so that He may establish your hearts blameless in holiness at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. In Phil. 1:8 Paul prayed that our love may abound in all knowledge and discernment. Ask yourself: “Am I still teachable?” (Prov. 1:5) John 13:34, 35. In the same way God loves and forgives us, so we need to love and see other believers. We are to be imitators of God as children, walking in love (Eph. 5:1, 2). Selfishness stops love from flowing and keeps us from serving God and opening our mouth for Him.

Faith works by love. Faith pushes your love into operation. I Thess. 3:12, 13 – May God make us increase and abound in love to one another and to all. We are God’s material, and He is transforming us every day. If your prayers aren’t being answered, check up on your love-walk. John 15:12- It’s God commandment that we love one another as He loved us and that we lay down our life for our friends. Faith without works is dead. The earmark (a mark on the ear by which sheep are known) is our love. Gal. 5:13 and 14 tell us by love to serve one another and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Other scriptures: Rom. 13:8-10; Phil. 1:3-11; I John 4:8, 16, 17; I Cor. 13. God is love, and His love is in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Make I Cor. 13 a part of your life in every part of your life.