A Love Relationship With God

(pp. 61-64 – Experiencing God)

John 14:21

Quote Jn. 14:21 – PP

I. God takes the initiative to pursue a love relationship with you and me. (PP)
*All quote John 3:16 together.
Ro 5:8
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners , Christ died for us.
NASB
2 Pe 3:9
9 The Lord is not slow about His promise , as some count slowness , but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance .
NASB
1 Pe 3:18
18 For Christ also died for sins once for all , the just for the unjust , in order that He might bring us to God , having been put to death in the flesh , but made alive in the spirit ;
NASB
1 Pe 2:24
24 and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross , that we might die to sin and live to righteousness ; for by His wounds you were healed .
NASB
God takes the initiative to pursue a love relationship with you and me.

God draws people to Himself.
God causes people to seek after Him.
God reveals spiritual truth to man.
God convicts man of sin.
This love relationship is not a one-sided however. He wants us to know Him and worship Him. Most of all, He wants us to love Him.
Jesus said, "If you love me, you will obey what I command" (Jn. 14:15).
When you obey Jesus, you show that you love Him and trust Him.
The Father loves those who love His Son.
For those who love Him, Jesus said He would love them and show Himself to them.

I. Obedience is the outward expression of our love of God. (PP)
Quote Jn. 14:21 – (PP)
"Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me. He who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him."

The blessing of obedience and love is that He will show Himself to you.
Jesus set an example for us in His life, He said, "The world must learn that I love the Father and that I do exactly what my Father has commanded me" (Jn. 14:31).
Jesus was obedient to every command of the Father. He demonstrated His love for the Father by obedience.
How can we demonstrate our love for God? (PP)
A true love relationship with God will result in obedience to His commands. If we have an obedience problem, we have a love problem.
Think with me about God’s Love.
III. God’s Nature Is Love.
God’s nature is love. God can never function contrary to His own nature. Never in your life will God ever express His will toward you except that it is an expression of His perfect love. (PP)
God will never give you second best.
His nature will not let Him.
He will bring discipline, judgment, and wrath on those who continue in sin and rebellion.
His disciplines are always based on His great love for us
(Read - Heb. 12:6).

Hebrews 12:6 (NASB)
6 For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines ,
And He scourges every son whom He receives . "


Because of God’s great love for me, I am always confident that however He expresses Himself to me is always best. (PP)

Read – Jn. 3:16, I Jn. 3:16
John 3:16 (NASB)
16 "For God so loved the world , that He gave His only begotten Son , that whoever believes in Him should not perish , but have eternal life .
1 John 3:16 (NASB)
16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren .
"God is Love" (I Jn. 4:16).
My trust in the love nature of God is crucial.
This has been a powerful influence in my life.
I try never to look at circumstances without seeing them with the backdrop of the cross of Jesus.
IV. My relationship to God should determine everything I do. (PP)
My relationship with God right now reveals what I believe about Him. It is spiritually impossible for me to believe one way and practice another.
If I really believe that God is love,
I will also accept the fact that His will is always best. (PP)
God is omniscient – all-knowing.
He has all knowledge – past, present and future.
Nothing is outside the knowledge of God.
Whenever God expresses Himself to you, therefore, His directions are always right.
How many options does God have to give you to choose from
so you can select the best one? (PP)
(Answers?) [God always knows best and gets it right the first time.]
Whenever God gives you a directive, it is always right. God’s will is always best.
You never have to question whether His will is best or right.
It always is best and right.
This is true because He loves you and knows all.
Because He loves you perfectly, you can trust Him and obey Him completely. (PP)
God is omnipotent – all-powerful.
He was able to create the world out of nothing.
He can accomplish anything He purposes to do through you.
If He ever asks you to do something, He Himself will enable you to do it. (Phil. 4:13, 1:6)
Php 4:13
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
NASB


Php 1:6
6 For I am confident of this very thing , that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus .
NASB



Change Will Come!!!

When your life is in the middle of God’s activity, He will start rearranging a lot of your thinking.
God’s ways and thoughts are so different from yours and mine they will often sound wrong or crazy.
We need a readiness to believe God and trust Him completely.
We need to believe what He is doing is best for us.
We don’t need to second guess Him. We should just let Him be God.
God begins to make Himself known to you very simply as He would to a child.
As you respond to Him in a simple child-like trust, you will find a whole new way of looking at life unfolding to you.
Your life will be fulfilling.
You will never have to sense an emptiness or lack of purpose.
He always fills your life with Himself.
When you have Him, you have everything there is.




V. God’s Commands.
Read - Dt. 10:12-13. (PP) (Read Slide)
"What does the Lord your God ask of you but to FEAR the Lord your God, to WALK in all His ways, to LOVE Him, to SERVE the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to OBSERVE the Lord’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?"

"Fear" - What does this mean? (Answers)
"Walk" - What does this mean? (Answers)
"Love" - What does this mean? (Answers)
"Serve" - What does this mean? (Answers)
E. "Observe" – Obey – What does this mean? (Answers)
Read – Dt. 32:46-47, 6:24-25.
Deuteronomy 32:46-47 NASB
46 he said to them, " Take to your heart all the words with which I am warning you today, which you shall command your sons to observe carefully, even all the words of this law. 47 "For it is not an idle word for you; indeed it is your life. And by this word you shall prolong your days in the land, which you are about to cross the Jordan to possess."
Deuteronomy 6:24-25 NASB
24 "So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival, as it is today. 25 "And it will be righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all this commandment before the Lord our God, just as He commanded us."
God loves us deeply and profoundly. Because He loves you, He has given you guidelines for living lest you miss the full dimensions of the love relationship. Life also has some land mines that can destroy you or wreck your life. God does not want to see you miss out on His best, and He does not want to see your life wrecked.
(Photos of people blown up! PP)

Suppose you had to cross a field full of land mines. [You know the dangers of land mines. Here are some persons who have been blown up by them.]
A person who knows exactly where every land mine is buried in the field offers to take you through the mine field. Would you say to him, "I don’t want you to tell me what to do. I don’t want you to impose your ways on me"?
I don’t know about you, but I would stay as close to that person as I could. I certainly would not go wandering off. His directions to me would be to preserve my life. He would say, "Don’t go that way, because that way will kill you. Go this way and you will live."
That is the purpose of God’s commands. He wants us to have life and to have it abundantly. When the Lord gives you a command, He is trying to protect and preserve the best He has for you. He does not want you to lose it. When God gives a commandment, He is not restricting you. He is freeing you.
God has given His commands to us to make us prosper
and live life to the fullest measure. (PP)
Suppose the Lord says, "Let me tell you about a beautiful, wonderful expression of love. I will provide you with a spouse. Your relationship with this person will bring out the very best in you. It will give you an opportunity to experience some of the deepest and most meaningful expressions of human love. This individual will release in you some wonderful things, affirm some things in you and will be there to strengthen you when you lose heart. In this relationship this person will love you, believe in you, and trust you. Out of this relationship I will give you some children and those children will sit on your knee and say, ‘Daddy (or Mommy), I love you.’"
But the Lord also says, "Do not commit adultery" (Mt. 5:27). Is that command to limit or restrict us? NO! It is to protect and free us to experience love at its human best. What happens if you break the command and commit adultery?
The love relationship is ruptured between husband and wife. Trust is gone. Hurt sets in. Guilt and bitterness creep in. Even the children begin to respond differently. Scars may severely limit the future dimensions of love you could have experienced together.
God’s commands are designed to guide us to the very best in life. We will not obey Him if we do not believe Him and trust Him. We cannot believe Him if we do not love Him. We cannot love Him unless we know Him.

Note the Progression (PP)
If we really come to know Him as He reveals Himself to us, we will love Him.



If we love Him, we will believe and trust Him.
If we believe and trust Him, we will obey Him.

God is love. Because of His love, His will for us is always best. He is all knowing, so His directions are always right. He has given His commands so we may prosper and live life to its fullest measure. If we love Him, we will obey Him! If we do not obey Him, we do not really love Him (Jn. 14:24).
CONCLUSION: (PP)
We must Know God.
We must Love God.
We must Believe God.
We must Trust God.
We must Obey God.
Summary: [Read Together – PP]

1. Obedience it the outward expression of my love of God.

2. If I have an obedience problem, I have a love problem.

3. God is love. His will is always best.

4. God is all-knowing, His directions are always right.

5. God is all-powerful. He can enable me to do His will.

6. All of God’s commands are expressions of His nature of love.

7. When God gives a commandment, He is not restricting me. He is freeing me.


8. If I love Him, I will obey Him.