Bible Study Series: What The World Needs Now Is Love Sweet Love,, Hosea 14:4

 WHAT THE WORLD NEEDS NOW IS LOVE SWEET LOVE

           

Hosea 14:4

"I will heal their waywardness and love them freely,

for my anger has turned away from them.

 

The world we live in today is full of division, hatred, violence, and misconceptions

There is one thing that can cure all of this: it is LOVE.

 

God has given us His greatest commands

Matthew 22:36-40

"Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?"

37 Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'  38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

 

If I can be obedient to these two commands all the rest will fall in place in my life.

My objective each day should be to Love God and to love you.

According to 1 John 4:16-17

God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him.

 

Since we have the essence of God and His greatest commands, we ought to spend more time discovering His Love

 

The Bible presents us with four to five types of Love

1. Storge love is used to describe familial love. This word describes the type of deep and caring bond that develops naturally between parents and children, husbands and wives, siblings, as well as other people who you may consider to be family. This type of love can withstand many trials, is protective, and loyal.

While the word storge itself is not found in Scripture, its contrary form is: the word astorgous is used in the Greek translation of Scripture to mean “without natural affection,” as we can see in the King James Version (Romans 1:31 KJV). Paul warns that during the end-times, people will become so selfish that they will live without any sense of natural affection for their own family (2 Timothy 3:3 KJV).

Storge love is depicted in the Bible by the concern shown by Jairus for his sick daughter (Luke 8:40-56) and by the grieving shown by Martha and Mary for their brother Lazarus (John 11:1-44

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 2. Eros love refers to romantic or sexual love, and is the root of the English word erotic. Eros or sexual love in and of itself is not impure, but is a gift from God to married couples so that they may express their love with one another and continue the human race.

While the word eros doesn’t appear in Scripture, the Song of Solomon was written to commend the virtues of passionate (or eros) love shared between a husband and wife. 

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3. The word phileo is expressly used in the Bible and refers to the warmth and affinity shared by close friends, almost as if those friends were actual siblings.

 

Phileo love is seen in Scripture in the passage about the raising of Lazarus. There, we’re told that Jesus wept at the sight of His friend Mary and others weeping over the death of Lazarus (John 11:33-35). At the site of Jesus crying, one witness in the passage pointed out the depth of Jesus’s love for Lazarus by using a derivative of the word phileo to exclaim, “See how He loved him!” (John 11:36).   CROSSWALK.COM

 

4. Agape (New Testament) is God’s love for mankind:  to love. Love, affectionate regard, goodwill, benevolence.

With reference to God's love, it is God's willful direction toward man. It involves God doing what He knows is best for man and not necessarily what man desires. For example, John 3:16 states, "For God so loved  the world, that he gave." What did He give? Not what man wanted, but what God knew man needed, i.e., His Son to bring forgiveness to man.

(from The Complete Word Study Dictionary:

 

In the Old Testament the word for God’s love, is  ahab, to have affection

Deuteronomy 7:13

13 He will love you and bless you and increase your numbers.

 

Storge, Phileo, and Eros are man-directed.

Agape is the true essence of God.   We will focus on Agape, God’s love for mankind.

 

What does agape love look like? How do we put it into practice in our daily lives?

 

1.     The first thing is to be mindful of God’s greatest commands.

 

2.     Love is directional      God directs His love to you. We are commanded to direct our love to each other.

 

3.     Love is intentional     It Is God’s complete intent for us to experience His Love

Ephesians 1:4-6

In love, he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—  to the praise of his glorious grace

God did not choose the whole world.      Rev. 20:12 focuses on a book for the saved and books for the unsaved.

 

4.     Love is sacrificial        God sent His Son to die for our sins    John 3:16

 

5.     Agape Love has Divine Characteristics

Love is the foundation of His grace and mercy

 

6.     Love is purposeful     

Ephesians 2:10

For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

 

7.     Love is generational     from parents to children to grandchildren ……

Psalms 102:18

Let this be written for a future generation,

that a people not yet created may praise the Lord:

 

8.     Love has evidence     

John 14:15

 "If you love me, you will obey what I command.

 

9.     Love is encouraging     Gives us hope in the mist of trials and tribulations

2 Thessalonians 2:16

May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope,

 

10. God’s love is free                    A gift from the Lord before the foundation of the earth

 

11. Love is reciprocal :    God loves us, we are commanded to love others

The objective is not to get human reciprocation from the ones we love

 

12. Love is effectual    God rewards those who love Him

Hebrews 11:6

 for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 

13. Love is essential     Without God’s Love there is no heaven

 

14.Love bring joy

John 15:11-12

 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete.

 

15.Love brings peace

John 14:27

 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives

 

16. Love is never ending.

Malachi 3:6

For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.

 

17. Love  is non circumstantial    

Luke 6:27

But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you.

 

18. There is no fear in love

1 John 4:18

 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.

 

19. Love is generous

1 Timothy 6:18-19

Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

 

20. Love promotes compassion

2 Corinthians 1:3-4

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles,

 

1 Corinthians 13 sums up what love is

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.

 

 

IN GOD’S LOVE WE ARE VICTORIOUS

1 John 5:4-5

 This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

 

God love is uncomprehensive.  God sees us in ways that we can’t see ourselves

We see God incompletely

 

Questions to consider

 

Is there power is God’s Love?

 

How does God’s Love control your actions?

 

How can I disagree with another person and still love them?

 

How do you love someone who hates you?

 

 

Rev. M. Mitchell

 

This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "Falling Pery To Fear", Numbers 14:1-15, 10/31//2021

 FALLING PREY TO FEAR

Numbers 14:1-15

 

GOD HAS YOUR BACK, NO NEED TO FEAR

V:1 That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" 4 And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

A.    Having heard the report of the size and strength of the people in the promised land,

The entire nation of Israelites who God freed from Egypt, was filled with fear and doubt.

1.     When facing new difficult problems, it is easy to focus on what you can’t do.

2.     When looking at life through our own eyes, we often time see our weaknesses.

3.     It is our weakness that presents us with fear and doubt.

B.     The Israelites knew of God. They had witnessed the miracles of God repeatedly.

1.     They refused to trust God with their lives.

2.     The Israelites had a recent history of the mighty hand of God providing all their needs

And protecting them daily.

3.     You would think they should have risen and championed victory with God.

4.     Satan uses our fears to drive us away from God.

5.     Satan uses our fears to discount the power of God.

6.     For some, it is hard to believe that since God did it yesterday, He can do it today.

C.     It takes courage to move forward in the face of adversity.

1.     The Israelites looked back and saw only the good old days.

2.     In the desert, they didn’t see the bad in their history

3.     In slavery, they had become comfortable because they didn’t have to take responsibility

For their future.

D.    In a desert situation, you must take responsibility for your existence.

1.     You can choose to be positive or choose to be negative,

2.     You can choose to trust God, or you can choose to fear the unknown.

3.     The Israelites chose to trust slavery in Egypt over freedom in the desert.

4.     God has a better future for us, but it comes by trusting in God’s plan.

5.     The grumbling of the Israelites against Moses was their way of refusing to

To take responsibility for their future.

1.     It was their way of trusting a certain future in slavery over a future as

God’s people.

6.     There are people today who look a the Covid19 virus as a death sentence.

1.     However, it is a desert situation where we have put our trust in God.

2.     God has given us the tools to survive.

3.     We have to take responsibility for our actions.

4.     We are always in a desert situation. Some are more published than others.

5.     It is in the desert that we have opportunities to grow in the Lord.

 

LISTEN TO THE VOICE OF REASON

V:5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them."

A.    In the midst of confusion, God sends a voice of reason.

1.     God always has someone who will proclaim hope and trust in Him.

2.     We have to publicly proclaim victory in the Lord for all to hear.

3.     Tearing their clothes was a sign of grief before the people.

4.     We ought to grieve when people refuse to trust God.

B.     During our grief, we ought to proclaim the goodness of the Lord.

1.     What we must understand is that God does not put us in the desert to die.

2.     God prepares desert situations as the time to grow our faith in Him.

3.     The desert is not designed to be an easy street.

4.     The desert is a place to learn how to work with the tools and skills God has given us.

5.     A desert is a place of creativity and a place to develop new ideas.

6.     The desert is time is a time to explore in our minds all that God has done for us.

a.     It is a time to see in the bad, the good God has placed before us.

b.     The desert is the place to see victory over all our enemies with God leading

The battle.

7.     If we rebel against God in the desert, we defeat ourselves.

8.     The Lord is with us when we entered the desert, He is with us in the

Desert. He will take us out of the desert.

 

THE PENALITY OF UNBELIEF

V:10. But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The Lord said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, despite all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they."

A.    When people get violent against God’s chosen leaders, God will step in with His arm of protection.

1.     God can put fear in a mob so they with shut up and listen.

2.     Every time there is a violent storm, most people turn their attention to God.

3.     While the storm is raging, criminals hide, gun violence cease, people, pray for safety.

B.     When God shows up, He has a way of making us look at our sins.

1.     God showed up in a cloud and reminded the whole Israelite population of their sins

Of contempt.

2.     God reminded them of their sin of unbelief

C.     Sometimes we need to be reminded of the penalty of unbelief.

1.     We anger God with our unbelief.

2.     The sin of unbelief brings curses into our lives

3.     Unbelief brings plagues into our minds which destroys all desires of hope.

D.    Our unbelief does not change God’s plan for future generations.

1.     God’s blessing pass from the unbelievers to those who believe in Him.

2.     Those who believe grow strong in the Lord.

 

STUDY THE BIBLE FOR YOURSELF

V:13 Moses said to the Lord, "Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power, you brought these people up from among them. 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O Lord, are with these people and that you, O Lord, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

A.    The message of what God has done for those who believe in Him has already been broadcast to all

Unbelievers.

1.     The Bible is a living record of the goodness of the Lord.

2.     The Bible is a living record of the victories of the Lord over sin.

3.     The Bible is a testimony that battle is not ours, but the Lords.

B.     It is up to each individual to read the Bible for themselves and believe it

True for them.

 

 

THANK GOD FOR THE GLORY HE HAS SHOWN US

 

Rev. M. Mitchell.

 

This Week's Sunday School Lesson, "Don't Let Your But Lose Your Blessings", Numbers 13:1-33, 10/24/2021

  

DON’T LET YOUR BUT LOSE YOUR BLESSINGS

 

Numbers 13:1-33

 

CHECK OUT WHAT GOD HAS PROMISED

V:1. The Lord said to Moses, 2 "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."

3 So at the Lord's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites.

A.    Before you make a purchase, you ought to know everything you can about the product.

1.     You ought to inspect the product and make comparison with similar products

2.     Before you purchase, inspect the product.

B.     When inspecting a product, it is best to take other mature individuals with you get a

Different perspectives.

1.     Other people may see things you can’t see.

2.     Other people may think about the purchase in ways you may not consider.

C.     To inspect the promised land, God sent a leader from each of the 12 tribes.

1.     In exploring the land, Moses gave instructions to follow God’s command.

2.     We should consult God before we make any decision.

3.     Many times, God provides what we need free of charge.

4.     It is up to us to trust God with what He has given us.

5.     The promised land was a gift to the Israelites promised to Abraham over 430 years

Earlier.

 

INVESTIGATE WITH COURAGE

V:17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)

A.    God gave the 12 leaders specific details on how to  inspect the land and what to inspect

1.     The place of inspection was Negev and the hill country.

a.     Negev was the south land of Canaan

b.     The Hill country included Judea, Samaria, and Galilee.

c.       

2.     The time of inspection was 40 days.

3.     The purpose of the inspection was to have an accurate view of the land.

4.     Before we take possession of something we need to know what we are getting

Into.

B.     The spies were instructed to gather the information that would be helpful in taking possession.

1.     They were instructed to know the quality of the land.

a.     Good soil or poor soil

b.     Trees or no trees

2.     They were instructed to determine the strength of the people.

They were to determine the number of people in each city

3.     They were instructed to inspect the quality of the towns.

Walled or non-walled

4.     They were to examine the fruit and bring back samples

5.     The more information you have, the better decision you make.

 

A POSITIVE REPORT WITH THE BUTS OF UNBELIEFS

V:25.  At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.

26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."

A.    Since there were twelve spies, there were 12 reports.

1.     Every report was presented to Moses.

2.     Each person probable saw a different portion of the land and

Gathered different information

3.     Every man's report was heard and their opinions of each were valued.

B.     They reported on the people in each area, the land, the fruits, and the strength of

Their armies.

1.     They reported the positives and the negatives as they saw them.

2.     What is positive to one person. May be negative to another.

3.     No decision should be made until the full report is evaluated.

4.     God gives us a mind to see things from our own perspective.

5.     The perspective we have may depend on our education, experiences, backgrounds, and fears.

6.     We must be careful that we don’t let the negatives outweigh the positives.

 

LACK OF TRUST IN GOD CREATES FEAR AND DOUBT

30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."

31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

A.    Since Caleb had to silence the people, it appears the majority  were disturbed by the report.

1.     Caleb looked at the possession of the land through the eyes of God.

2.     He expressed his confidence not in the strength of the Israelites but in the power of God.

3.     There is nothing too hard for God.

4.     There is no enemy stronger than God.

5.     Caleb saw the beauty of the land and success through the eyes of God.

6.     God does not promise us gifts without the ability to take possession of them.

B.     Those who do not trust God, see accomplishments through their own limited abilities.

1.     The perspective of the majority of the people was focused on the size and strength of the

People living in the land.

2.     Their perspective was negative because they did not trust themselves.

3.     They had a history of recent successes with God, but that was discounted.

4.     They were constantly blessed by God with provisions and protection but did not trust

Him with victory in the promised land.

5.     They were stuck on stupid with fear and unbelief.

6.     When fear sets in, reason goes out the door.

What we must learn is God has not given us a life without problems.

I believe that problems are designed to strengthen our faith in God.

 

Throughout the Bible, God makes promises to us. We can only receive them

Trusting the Lord.

 

Each of us must read the Bible for ourselves and act on God’s promises.

When we face trials, we must trust God to work out things in a way

That is best for us.

 

Rev. M. Mitchell

Asst. Pastor Of Greater Macedonia Baptist Church

5510 West Sam Houston Parkway North

Houston, Texas 77041