I Love the Lord 1 John 4:19 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
Why do you love the Lord? I love the Lord because of:
The Lord’s Love for us – 1 Jn 4:19 – we have much more reason to love him than he has to love us and yet he loved us first – when someone loves you as much as God loves us the natural response is to love him.
The Lord’s Covenant and Mercy – Neh 1:5 – he has given us the covenant of the sure mercies of David – the Lord’s love for us is manifested in his abundant mercy toward us – he has extended us his limitless mercy – by now we should have exhausted his mercy and I love him because we haven’t.
The Lord’s Commandment – Mk 12:30 – the Lord commanded us to love him – He’s God; we’re his creatures – we should do as we are told – the sun, the moon, the stars and all of the rest of God’s creation do what he commands them to do.
The Lord’s Strength – Ps 18:1-3 – everything in this life diminishes our strength – that’s why we are told to trust in the Lord and in the power of his might – the Lord is stronger than all of our enemies – I love the Lord because he strengthens our every weakness – his grace is sufficient.
The Lord’s Attentiveness – Ps 116:1 – the Lord listens to you when you pray – and he is ready to answer – I love him because he is always available, always able and he always knows just what to do in every circumstance in life – can you imagine having the ear of the King of the universe.
The Lord’s Promise – Jas 1:12 – the Lord promised the crown of life to then that love him who endure temptation – one of the greatest ways to endure temptation is to love the Lord – when you love him so much that you don’t want to hurt him by giving into temptation, you are more likely to endure the temptation – and he has promised you the crown of life for loving him that much – [see Rev 2:10 for the value of the crown of life].
The Lord’s Warning – Paul said, “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema,” [I Cor 16:22] – see 1 Cor 12:3 for the translation of anathema; it means “accursed” – I can remember several times when Paul turned someone over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, but this is the only place that I can remember Paul pronouncing a curse upon someone – and it is for not loving the Lord.
Conclusion: if you that are here today love the Lord let it be known among all men that you love him and why you love him – if you do not love him, remember Paul’s warning and repent.