The DNA of Love

  • Pastor Dwain Tissell
  • May 13, 2007
  • Series: Friends

 

 

 

THE DNA OF LOVE

“Friends”” – Part 2 of 4

May 13th, 2007

Dwain Tissell

 

12And may the Lord make your love for one another and for all people grow and overflow, just as our love for you overflows. 13May he, as a result, make your hearts strong, blameless, and holy as you stand before God our Father when our Lord Jesus comes again with all his holy people. Amen. 1 Thessalonians 3:12-13 (NLT) 

 

 

I.  THE DNA OF LOVE

 

7Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 1 John 4:7 (NLT)

 

·      DIVINE ORIGINS

 

 

9God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10This is real love—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 (NLT) 

 

·      NEW CHANCE TO CHOOSE

 

7Dear friends, I am not writing a new commandment for you; rather it is an old one you have had from the very beginning. This old commandment—to love one another—is the same message you heard before. 8Yet it is also new. Jesus lived the truth of this commandment, and you also are living it. For the darkness is disappearing, and the true light is already shining. 1 John 2:7-8 (NLT)

 

11Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 1 John 4:11-10 (NLT) 

 

·      AUTHENTIC REACTION

…let’s not just talk about love; let’s practice real love. 1 John 3:18 (MSG)

 

 

II. HOW TO HAVE LOVE OF ANOTHER KIND FOR ONE ANOTHER

 

12No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. 13And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. 14Furthermore, we have seen with our own eyes and now testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15All who confess that Jesus is the Son of God have God living in them, and they live in God. 16We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. 1 John 4:12-16a (NLT) 

 

 

1.  ASK FOR GOD’S HELP.

 

“God sets himself against the proud, but he shows favor to the humble.” So humble yourselves before God.  James 4:6b-7a (NLT)

 

God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world. 

18Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced his perfect love. 19We love each other because he loved us first.  1 John 4:16b-19 (NLT)

 

2.  OWN UP TO YOUR OWN SINS.  

 

People who cover over their sins will not prosper. But if they confess and forsake them, they will receive mercy. Proverbs 28:13 (NLT)

 

20If someone says, “I love God,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see, how can we love God, whom we cannot see? 21And he has given us this command: Those who love God must also love their Christian brothers and sisters. 1 John 4:20-21 (NLT)

 

3.  BEGIN WITH YOUR TOUGHEST RELATIONSHIP.

 

“To you who are ready for the truth, I say this: Love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst.” Luke 6:27 (MSG)

 

1Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ£ has become a child of God. And everyone who loves the Father loves his children, too. 2We know we love God’s children if we love God and obey his commandments. 3Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome. 4For every child of God defeats this evil world, and we achieve this victory through our faith. 5And who can win this battle against the world? Only those who believe that Jesus is the Son of God. 1 John 5:1-4 (NLT)