1 John 4:20
If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who
does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not
seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him; that he who loves God must love
his brother also.
John was
writing this to the “church’. And He saw it as critical to those that were living
in his day. So how much "more" critical is it toward us who live today and in this hour? We are nearer to the end time than they were, and now each day reads like horrors! But we look for the return of Jesus Christ our hope!
Certainly one
can view the newscast and some might give it and most will not. They do not
want you to know the horror that resides in their streets. I wonder what they
will do when a real pandemic arrives on their doorstep. For it surely will arrive
to meet them since they talk daily for hours about it and its horrible harm on
man. Even in years past like 2016 it was the Zika virus...yet there were not many cases and seemed to be within certain counties in Florida!
But back to love growing cold:
Matthew
24:12 NKJV 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love
of many will grow cold. In 2 Timothy 3:2 “men will be lovers of themselves”,
and verse 3 “without self-control”, brutal….this appears daily.
In the years I
was growing up and still at home, the violence was months are even years apart
and then when they occurred, it was disheartening to know we lived in a land
where people had no compassion and were about terrorizing human beings. If we
heard a report, it was overseas in some country far from what I knew up close
and personal. Yet, in this day, violence is seen in “road rage” and to run a
child down who is playing in his yard near a street with little traffic. Then
suddenly, the child is left motionless on the side of a roadway.
When Jesus
gave the word of lawlessness abounding and their love growing cold, it was
talking of the descendants that would come after them. The love Jesus uses is agape, the God-kind of love and the spiritual love is only attainable by those
who know God. Those as of the world do not know this kind of love. Romans 5:5
tells us of the love, that love of God is poured out in our hearts by the Holy
Spirit. He the Holy Spirit was given to us in the New Birth.
So Jesus is
warning His body of believers of the wickedness of the world that would
increase to that end where the spiritual heat is in Jesus’ own people will grow
dramatically colder in regard to that which would be occurring on earth.
Is there horror in the streets or is it just the Signs of the Times: Matthew 24:3-10 NKJV Now as He sat on the mount of Olives the
disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us when will these things be?
And what will be the sign of Your coming & of the end of the age?” 4 And
Jesus answered & said to them: “Take
heed that no one deceives you. 5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,& will deceive
many. 6”And you will hear of wars & rumors of wars. See that you are
not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”
7 “For nation will rise against nation, & kingdom against kingdom. And
there will be famines, pestilences & earthquakes in various places. 8 “All
these are the beginning of sorrows. 9 “Then
they will deliver you up to tribulation & kill you, & you will be
hated 10 “And then many will be offended,
will betray one another, & will hate one another.
In this passage of Matthew 24:10…points
to hate that no love was found in their hearts. 1 John 2:19 They
went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us , they
would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made
manifest, that none of them were of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy
One, & you know all things.
Matthew
24:11-14 NKJV 11 Then many false prophets will rise up
& deceive many, 12 And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. 13 but
he who endures to the end shall be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom
will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, & the end
will come.
2
Corinthians 6:14-18…..14 Do not be unequally yoked together
with unbelievers. For what fellowship
has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?
15 And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an
unbeliever? 16 And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are
the temple of the living God. As God has said: “I will dwell in them, and walk
among them. I will be their God and they shall be My people. 17 Therefore come
out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is
unclean and I will receive you. 18I will be a Father to you, and you shall be
My sons and daughters, says the LORD Almighty.”
Matthew 21:42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
“the stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. This
was the LORD’S doing and it is marvelous in our eyes?” 43 Therefore I say to
you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing
the fruits of it.
Rendering to the God the appropriate fruit; Those
who love and endure will always be expressing love always giving to the other’s
good. It
gives Freely doing without expecting anything in return. It is expressing
an honor to one being helped and the Gospel will be preached as a “witness”!
In this attitude of Growing Cold: Jesus said for us to take heed that no one deceive us. "For many will come in My name saying, " I am the Christ and will deceive many.
Matthew
24:12 …. is not addressed to the people in the world at large but
directly to Jesus' disciples and their spiritual descendants. Jesus uses the word
agape for the love that grows cold. Such spiritual love, godly love, is
unattainable by those driven by the spirit of this world.
Satan has no love. He is driven by me, myself and I. Jesus,
then, is warning His church that the wickedness of the world will increase to
such an extent that it would sap the spiritual heat out of His own people,
causing their love to grow cold.
Major
point: the people within God’s church
will love God less & love each other
less ....Matthew 24:11-13
11 Then many false prophets will
rise up & deceive many. 12 & because lawlessness will abound, the love
of many will grow cold. 13 But He who endures to the end shall be saved. Deterioration will occur!
It
will appear as a gradually moving off on the prayer time and study of God’s
word. Interesting truth: back about 10 years ago, my friend Loretta and I
searched for a Wednesday night service……..and many had moved their youth night
to Wednesday and there was no time for the Adult service on Wednesday. We
finally found a Bible study at a church
but of the 700 who attended, those attended only added up to about 20 people
attending.
Yes, even ten years ago, the church seemed to be backing off the word of God for their "free time"! Relaxing our relationship
with God is not a good thing. It allows one to sin in
haste……..and to repent……….maybe later!
Godly Love has to be seen in the Church: 2 John
1: 4-8 nkjv I rejoiced greatly that I have some of your children walking in truth, as we
received commandment from the Father. 5 And now I plead with you, lady, not as
though I wrote a new commandment to you, but that which we have had from the
beginning that we love one another.
6 This love, that we walk. according to His commandments. This is the commandment that as you have heard from the beginning,
you should walk in it. 7 for many deceivers have gone out into the
world who do not confess Jesus Christ as
coming in the flesh. This is a deceiver & an anti-christ. 8 Look to
yourselves, that we (you) do not lose those things we worked for, but that we
may receive a full reward
We are not to be swayed: false teaching contradicts the Bible. Leaving
the Bible is leaving God. John is saying that we are to be carrying forward the Name of Jesus Christ....and that we should have an active voice as we have our walk with Him.
Proverbs
29:2 reminds us of this: When the righteous are in authority,
the people rejoice; but when a wicked man rules, the people groan.
The consequences proved people would groan……….but allowing a
God-loving man to rule, we find peace and joy. Whether it is with us, with a
spouse, with leaders who allow God to rule their leadership and then within our
country!
1. In
our lives
2. Within
our homes
3. In
our communities and country
But there is a Rule that tends toward the narsacistic……..Paul writes of this in Acts 26:4-5: My
manner of life from my youth, which was spent from the beginning among my own
nation at Jerusalem, all the Jews know. They knew me from the first, if they
were willing to testify, that according to the strictest sect of our religion I
lived a Pharisee.
Paul Names a Religion, Strict: The Super
Righteous: Super-righteousness
is a beginning step into the super-strict sect!
Jesus
described them with this: Matthew
23:21-24 He who swears by the temple, swears by it and by Him who
dwells in it. 22 And he who swears by
heaven, swears by the throne of God and by Him who sits on it. 23 Woe to you,
scribes & Pharisees,
hypocrites!” For you pay tithe of mint & anise and cumin & have
neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice & mercy & faith.
These you ought to have done without leaving the others undone. 24 Blind guides
who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
These Pharisees did not look inwardly. They were morally defiled! These
Pharisees took on themselves to make God strict and so added their own traditions
to His laws! They taught their own doctrine!
The foul fruit of super-righteousness is pride:
Solomon cautions strongly in Ecclesiastes
7: 7-10 Surely oppression and
extortion make a wise man foolish, and a bribe destroys the understanding &
judgment. 8 Better is the end of a thing than the beginning of it, & the
patient in spirit better than the proud in spirit. 9 Do not be quick in spirit
to be angry or vexed, for anger and vexation lodge in the bosom of fools. 10 Do
not say, why were the old days better than these? For you do not inquire wisely concerning this.
Pride destroys relationships, whether with God
or man. The proud person demands attention & submission that can never be
satisfied. That means one must be submitted to them, their time and to their
trouble. It is the height of being self-centered. They are demanding, with displays
in various degrees of narcissism. Certainly it was their narcissism, that drove the Pharisees to their absolute end: not to
recognize God in the flesh through His teachings
They, like Satan, were always actively on
the attack against Him. They were the successful: yes! By manipulating political and religious pressures to the extent that they, with
the help of the Romans and Sadducees, put Him to death.
The Narcissistic behavior will showboat their good works. It is a behavior that loves to be
catered to, & not to serve anyone else; They much desire public praise and love to receive titles! They are reliable but in that which is
always looking down on others as inferiors ..
Remember Luke 18 of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector?.....
Luke 18:11-13 NKJV
The Pharisee stood & prayed thus with himself, God I thank You that
I am not like other men---extortion-ers, unjust, adulterers or even as this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a
week; I give tithes of all that I possess.’ 13 And the tax collector, standing
afar oft would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast,
saying, ‘God, be merciful to me a sinner!”
From
Ecclesiastes 7:8 we find Solomon addressing the proud spirit. . 8 Better is the
end of a thing than the beginning of it, & the patient in spirit better
than the proud in spirit. 9 Do not be quick in spirit to be angry or vexed, for
anger and vexation lodge in the bosom of fools.
For you and I can find ourselves looking back to yesteryear and placing it on Facebook. We might want to remind others of some great moment back then because we have none to post of this moment. So eagerly, we shift to yesterday. But in those moments are we planting life, that which relates to Christ or is it something else?
We must find patience in today, for the proud and angry one will always choose to have their way! Yes, the one in anger can always point to that day when things did not go the way they had planned. And within that moment all points to that person not having patience but pride in themselves. But pride only teaches discontentment! Pride leads to a negative outlook on life! And the negative person will always gravitate toward other negative people. But patience teaches us to endure the day, and to endure the situations of unreasonable people. But the person of patience will always look toward the future always being brighter.
So the next time you see horror on your streets, whether road rage on I-5 or anywhere that someone has no patience with other drivers, or you hear of another life has been take by an armed person with no love for their neighbor, no but only discontented with his own life, he chooses to end the lives of others as he does his own. In truth, the discontented are empty without the life of God. And for those who knew God but have walked away because their love grew colder for their brethren, well it looks or appears as those desiring to have favor like the wicked do. But going after that kind of praise or glory is no glory at all. For those choosing the spotlight in the moment but only bringing shame to their name can only expect wrath that comes with that kind of living. Truly the Lord is our safe refuge. May you and I stay within the confines of His instructions in the word of truth. May we know that it came to us with great mercy and grace......so that we might be the example of His love to others of that great love indeed!
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Hell is a Place
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New teaching at: Life Giving Wells
Lowering Our Standards Will Not bring God’s Strength
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