The Love Of Christ

Greetings in the name of Jesus! This is Rob Haymes. This is 15 Minutes with Jesus. Today’s program is called The Love of Christ. Let’s turn to Rom 8:35-39, Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: For your sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. I want to say something; I wasn’t expecting to say this, but don’t think for a minute, if you are serving the Lord with all your heart, if you are obeying Him, you are seeking to follow Him, that those powers and those principalities, and Satan himself, don’t want to cut you off, don’t want to kill you or destroy you. Don’t be deceived. That’s their plan; they want to kill you, they want to destroy you. But they cannot do it, they cannot do it, if you continue in the love of Christ.  Whatever you may suffer for the name of Jesus Christ, if you will remain faithful to Him, even unto death, He has promised you a crown of life! Thank you Lord! Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ! It is his love wherewith He loved us, in that while we were dead in sins, He came and lived as a man, tempted in every way, yet without sin, and willingly sacrificed Himself on the Cross of Calvary for our sins. Herein is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation, or satisfying agent, for our sins. God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing our trespasses unto us. John 3:16-21, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God. 2 Cor 5:9-15, I’m going to read from the King James Version. I think it’s better: Wherefore we labor, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of Him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences. For we commend not ourselves again unto you, but give you occasion to glory on our behalf, that ye may have somewhat to answer them which glory in appearance, and not in heart. For whether we be beside ourselves, it is to God: or whether we be sober, it is for your cause. For the love of Christ constrains us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. Do we understand that we were all dead in trespasses and sins; we were doomed, without a savior, without hope in the world. But God loved us and sent his Son for us to die for us that we might live. Verse 15, And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again. I want to say this: If you will do these things, you will never fail. This is the Word of God that I’m sharing with you. If you will do these things; if you have a willing heart, and you will try, with all your heart, to love the Lord and follow Him, He will uphold you, He will be with you. Believe me. I’ve experienced this. I’ve been following the Lord since 1976. He is faithful! Hallelujah! Eph 2:4-8, But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ; by grace you have been saved, and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. It’s not of yourself. God gave his Son for you. He gave his life for you. 

The Lord has made a way for us to continue, and remain in his love. 1 John 2:5, But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him.  Jesus said, If you love Me, keep my Words. We love Him because He first loved us, and saved us from eternal damnation by the sacrifice of Himself. Greater love has no man than this: that a man lay down his life for his friend. Jesus said, You are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you. Because He loved us so much, and so perfectly, by giving Himself for us, we want to love Him; we want to please Him, and the Father; we want to keep his Words and do what is pleasing in his sight. 1 John 3:16-18, By this we know love, because He laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Jesus loved us in deed and in truth. 1 John 4:7-12,   Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Verse 16, And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. It’s not enough to just quote these verses and say how wonderful they are, which they are, but we must do something. In 1 John 5:1-3,  Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome. 

Let’s go to Mat 24:3-14, 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, and of the end of the age? And Jesus answered and said to them: Take heed that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, saying, I am the Christ, and will deceive many. And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of sorrows. Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another. Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. And because lawlessness will abound, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end shall be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come. It is in the love of Christ that we shall endure. As we read in 1 Cor 13, Love endures all things. We are living in the days of Mat 24 and 2 Tim 3. Let’s go there. Verses 1-5, But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! These are the days that we are living in. Men are definitely lovers of themselves, lovers of money, and lovers of pleasures, and all these unholy and ungodly things are abounding in the Earth. How shall we endure? It is in the love of Christ that we shall endure. We cannot allow ourselves to fall into this. If we are already in it; if you are already in this, if you will be honest with yourself and say to God the truth about the way you are, if you are this way; if you love yourself, if you love money, if you love your pleasures more than God, be honest with Him. If you are willing to repent, He will receive you; you can repent; you can come to God. He came to save sinners! All of us have been this way. He came to save us and deliver us. 1 John 2:15-17, Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. If you love the Lord; if you love the Father, you will want to do his will, and He will help you. He will help you. His commandments are not burdensome. He will help you to keep his Words if you are willing.

How do we keep ourselves in the love of Christ? Let’s turn to Jude 1:20&21,  But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. As you continue to build yourself up on your most holy faith, continuing in the Word of God and praying in the Holy Spirit, the Spirit will lead you to overcome evil in your life. He will make intercession for you. He will lead you to forgive people you’ve never forgiven. He will lead you in doing good to others, even to those who hate you. He will lead you in showing mercy that you may receive the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. Heb 3:12-14,   Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called today,  lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end. We must understand that we ourselves can separate ourselves from the love of Christ by hardening our hearts, by loving the world, loving ourselves and our pleasures more than God and turning away from Him. Then we will experience the severity of God. Jesus is the judge of all mankind, as well as our Savior, and He has promised that He is going to give unto everyone of us according to our works. Don’t be deceived by all the lies. Stay in the Word of God. Keep yourselves in the love of God, praying in the Holy Spirit, looking unto the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. If we will do that, nothing can separate us from Him, and from his love.