Embracing the Simplicity of Love in Worship
Summary
In our journey through the series "Supernatural and Simply Supernatural," we are reminded of the profound simplicity of worshiping and honoring Jesus. Often, we overcomplicate our faith, burdening ourselves with the need to understand every theological nuance or biblical lineage. Yet, the essence of our faith is simply acknowledging Jesus as the divine Son of God, sent to reveal the Father to us. This acknowledgment stirs a desire within us to delve deeper into the Bible, to grow in understanding, and to embrace the Holy Spirit's guidance in our lives.
The Holy Spirit sees through our facades, recognizing our true needs and prompting us towards transformation. He orchestrates encounters and moments that seem coincidental but are divine interventions, leading us to a deeper relationship with Jesus. This journey is not about mastering religious language or rituals but about genuinely loving Jesus and allowing His love to transform us.
Love, as taught by Jesus, is not a mere feeling but a reflection of God's presence in our lives. It is the glue that holds our relationships together, enabling us to love others genuinely. Our love should not be transactional or based on our terms but should mirror the sacrificial love of God. This love requires us to sacrifice our egos, emotions, and preconceived notions, allowing God's love to prevail in our lives.
Reflecting God's love involves sacrificing our thoughts and perceptions, embracing a supernatural love that transcends our natural inclinations. It calls us to love our enemies, pray for those who persecute us, and seek restoration in our relationships. By doing so, we align ourselves with God's will, experiencing His peace and making better decisions.
As we reflect on our lives, we must ask ourselves what we need to sacrifice to see God's love thrive. By doing so, we become true disciples, reflecting God's love in every situation and allowing His love to govern our lives.
Key Takeaways:
1. Simplicity in Faith: Embracing the simplicity of acknowledging Jesus as the divine Son of God leads to a deeper desire to understand and grow in faith. This acknowledgment invites the Holy Spirit to guide us, stirring our curiosity and transforming our lives. [09:19]
2. Love as a Reflection of God: Genuine love is not a feeling but a reflection of God's presence in our lives. It is the evidence of knowing God and is the glue that holds our relationships together. By loving God's way, we allow His love to transform us and our relationships. [19:28]
3. Sacrificial Love: True love requires sacrifice, mirroring the sacrificial love of God. This involves giving up our egos, emotions, and preconceived notions, allowing God's love to prevail. Our response to God's love is our faith in His sacrifice, leading to genuine love and transformation. [36:43]
4. Loving Our Enemies: Jesus calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. This requires us to sacrifice our feelings of hurt and offense, seeking restoration and peace in our relationships. By doing so, we reflect God's love and align ourselves with His will. [40:55]
5. Reflecting God's Love: To love is to reflect God, sacrificing our perceptions and embracing a supernatural love. This involves changing our thoughts and aligning them with God's will, allowing His love to govern our lives and bring peace and transformation. [48:29]
Youtube Chapters:
- [00:00] - Welcome
- [00:30] - Introduction to the Series
- [02:15] - Simplicity in Worship
- [04:45] - Acknowledging Jesus
- [07:30] - The Role of the Holy Spirit
- [10:00] - Overcoming Religious Complexity
- [12:30] - Genuine Love vs. Transactional Love
- [15:00] - Love as a Reflection of God
- [18:45] - Sacrificial Love
- [21:30] - Loving Our Enemies
- [24:00] - Reflecting God's Love
- [27:15] - Practical Steps to Love
- [30:00] - Sacrificing Ego and Emotions
- [33:00] - Aligning with God's Will
- [36:00] - Conclusion and Prayer
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
1. 1 John 4:8-12
2. Romans 12:1-2
3. Matthew 5:44
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Observation Questions:
1. According to 1 John 4:8, what is the relationship between knowing God and love? How does this passage define love? [19:28]
2. In Romans 12:1-2, what does it mean to offer our bodies as a living sacrifice, and how is this related to worship? [36:43]
3. Matthew 5:44 instructs us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. What are some practical examples of how this can be done in our daily lives? [40:55]
4. The sermon mentions that the Holy Spirit orchestrates divine interventions in our lives. Can you recall a moment in your life that felt like a divine intervention? [09:19]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the concept of sacrificial love in Romans 12:1-2 challenge our natural inclinations and perceptions of love? [36:43]
2. In what ways does 1 John 4:8-12 suggest that love is evidence of God's presence in our lives? How does this align with the sermon’s emphasis on love as a reflection of God? [19:28]
3. The sermon discusses the simplicity of acknowledging Jesus as the divine Son of God. How does this simplicity impact our understanding and practice of faith? [09:19]
4. How does the instruction in Matthew 5:44 to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us align with the sermon’s message about sacrificial love and transformation? [40:55]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a relationship in your life where love feels transactional. What steps can you take to transform this relationship into one that reflects God's sacrificial love? [19:28]
2. The sermon emphasizes the importance of the Holy Spirit in guiding us. How can you be more open to the Holy Spirit’s guidance in your daily decisions and interactions? [09:19]
3. Consider a situation where you have been hurt or offended. How can you apply Matthew 5:44 by praying for those involved and seeking restoration? [40:55]
4. Identify an area in your life where you are conforming to the patterns of this world. How can you renew your mind and align your thoughts with God's will as described in Romans 12:1-2? [36:43]
5. Think of a person who has manipulated or hurt you. What practical steps can you take to bring peace to that relationship, as suggested in the sermon? [45:44]
6. The sermon encourages us to reflect on what we need to sacrifice to see God's love thrive. What specific thoughts or behaviors do you need to sacrifice to allow God's love to govern your life? [48:29]
7. How can you actively demonstrate love as a reflection of God in your community or church this week? What specific actions can you take to show genuine love to those around you? [19:28]
Devotional
Day 1: Embracing the Simplicity of Faith
Acknowledging Jesus as the divine Son of God is the cornerstone of our faith. This simple yet profound truth invites us to explore the depths of our beliefs, not through complex theological debates, but through a genuine relationship with Him. As we embrace this simplicity, the Holy Spirit begins to guide us, stirring a curiosity within us to delve deeper into the Scriptures and grow in our understanding. This journey is not about mastering religious complexities but about allowing Jesus to transform our lives through His love and guidance. [09:19]
"For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified." (1 Corinthians 2:2, ESV)
Reflection: What is one way you can simplify your faith today to focus more on your relationship with Jesus rather than religious complexities?
Day 2: Love as a Reflection of God's Presence
Genuine love is more than a fleeting emotion; it is a reflection of God's presence in our lives. This love is the evidence of truly knowing God and serves as the glue that holds our relationships together. By loving others in the way God loves us, we allow His transformative power to work within us and our relationships. This love is not transactional or conditional but mirrors the sacrificial love of God, inviting us to love others genuinely and selflessly. [19:28]
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God." (1 John 4:7, ESV)
Reflection: How can you demonstrate God's love to someone in your life today, even if it requires going beyond your comfort zone?
Day 3: The Call to Sacrificial Love
True love requires sacrifice, mirroring the sacrificial love of God. This involves giving up our egos, emotions, and preconceived notions, allowing God's love to prevail in our lives. Our response to God's love is our faith in His sacrifice, leading to genuine love and transformation. By embracing sacrificial love, we open ourselves to the transformative power of God's love, which can change our hearts and the hearts of those around us. [36:43]
"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13, ESV)
Reflection: What is one area of your life where you can practice sacrificial love today, putting aside your own desires for the benefit of someone else?
Day 4: Loving Our Enemies
Jesus calls us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. This requires us to sacrifice our feelings of hurt and offense, seeking restoration and peace in our relationships. By doing so, we reflect God's love and align ourselves with His will. Loving our enemies is not an easy task, but it is a powerful testament to the transformative power of God's love in our lives. [40:55]
"But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." (Matthew 5:44, ESV)
Reflection: Think of someone you consider an enemy or someone who has hurt you. How can you begin to extend love and forgiveness to them today?
Day 5: Reflecting God's Love in Our Lives
To love is to reflect God, sacrificing our perceptions and embracing a supernatural love. This involves changing our thoughts and aligning them with God's will, allowing His love to govern our lives and bring peace and transformation. By reflecting God's love, we become true disciples, allowing His love to shine through us in every situation. [48:29]
"By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:35, ESV)
Reflection: In what ways can you align your thoughts and actions with God's love today, allowing His love to be evident in your interactions with others?
Quotes
One of the things that the Lord did at the beginning of the year with me is I go before the Lord and I plan pretty much our message series are now planned out pretty much to Christmas this year and where we're going and what I feel the Lord is taking us on and what journey I think we need to go on well he radically changed the plan this message series wasn't actually planned it was it was something that I just felt that the Lord pressed upon me and I really want to thank you for your feedback I want to thank you for for your questions I want to thank you for the conversation that we have on a Wednesday night about these messages and the reason we had to I had to pivot is I really believe that church by and large has over complicated what it means to worship and honor Jesus worshiping and honoring Jesus yes there is a process of making sure that we understand who Jesus is and what he's done for us but when we come just close to just acknowledging that Jesus wasn't just a man that Jesus was something a little bit extraordinary he was the divine son of God he was he was sent to present the father to us kids you know that right Jesus came to show us the father. [00:00:09] (79 seconds)
And all of a sudden, you start more and more of your own wisdom starts aligning with things that Jesus taught. And the moment you can acknowledge that you didn't come up with all of that, all of those good things on your own, then you're acknowledging that the Holy Spirit's working in you to try and get you into a better relationship with Jesus. And when you say yes to that relationship, watch him drop the bombs of what your salvation means, who he is, what he's doing. Watch him drop the bombs and you just get it. [00:09:19] (29 seconds)
And so I can love my wife because the glue that holds us together, the screw or the glue that holds us together is not my ability, is not my love, but the love of the Father. And because I have the love of the Father, I can love my wife. I can love the mother between Leanne and I. I can also at the same time rest in peace that our relationship's okay, because God's got it. And I can love my son over here at the same time and he's got that. And I can love my parents even though they hurt me, because God's got that. And I can go away and I can have different relationships bound together in God's love, because God is omnipresent. So even though when I'm not working on my marriage, God is. [00:22:52] (45 seconds)
There is a way of love that is not based on ourselves. 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verse 1 to 8. We're gonna read this whole scripture but it's gonna be a very simple lesson. So bear with me. It's a little bit of a lengthy, but it's a little bit of a long scripture. If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels. So I want you to put through the lens of all of your Christianese and all of the things that maybe church has taught you that you have to be, you should be, the hoops you're supposed to jump through. Have a look at this. If I speak in the tongue, now none of this stuff is wrong, but if you make it your God instead of love, there's a problem. [00:28:20] (35 seconds)
And here's the next step that the Lord showed me. To lead is to serve. And if leading is serving and serving is loving, then leading is loving. Not to serve. Prophetic TV broadcast deals. You see, because being in God, we are all in love. Oh, I'm yet to find my number one. No, number one found you long time ago, Cotton Eye Joe. Your husband is number two. He's not number one. Your wife is number two, not number one. Jesus found you. Your number one has already sealed the deal. He has married you. Whether you like him or not, you are bound together and you cannot get divorced from him. Sorry for you. [00:33:27] (45 seconds)
Reflecting God's love is all about sacrificing our thoughts sacrificing how we think how we feel and changing our mind when the world screams out for justice and suffering I will never suffocate. and retribution, and human rights, and equality, we shout out God's love. When the world judges the way you look, or the way you don't look, or what you identify with, or what you don't identify with, we scream out love. Because there is room for all in this world to be loved by God. When our mind screams out and says that we've got a right to something, the only right we have is to reflect God's love. Because elevating our love elevates everything, our salvation, our purpose. [00:39:58] (47 seconds)
no we pray for our enemies we pray for those who persecute you who is that i call those kinds of people my enemies and those who persecute me those people those people those people at that church who's spreading gossip and rumors those people those people that speak badly of me those people who are those people we're going to have a look very quickly at some practical ways that you can take this message today and make it practical in your life i want to define who those people are first of all we need to understand that hurting people cause hurt raise your hand if you've ever been hurt by the church hurt by somebody else raise your hand if you've been hurt well according to that you've caused hurt oh no i know no no no not me i've been hurt i don't cause hurt no hurting people cause hurt so here's the deal we have to love those who cause hurt and to love those who cause hurt means to restore how many of you need some relational restoration in your lives today relational restoration will come from understanding that there's something you have to put down there's some thoughts you have to give up about that situation to present divine love in that situation where there's been hurt where you've caused hurt or are hurting for god's love to cause that restoration you can't come into the church hold on to a fence and pray for restoration at the same time that's like having your break your foot on the brake and the accelerator in your vehicle you you can't have restoration and offense you've got to sacrifice your offense so that god's love can prevail to love those who cause hurt is to restore here's three sentiments of prayer that you can be praying for if you have been hurt or you acknowledge you've caused hurt [00:41:14] (122 seconds)
Father, we come to you knowing and absolutely wanting to raise ourselves towards your love. You can love us better than we can ever dream or hope to love others. So Father, we just come into a place of receiving right now. That despite our past, despite our past, despite our future, despite our future, despite our future, despite our future, despite our future desires, despite the hurts, despite our attitudes, our egos, our pride, thinking that we always right, despite all of those things, you still love us. And that love presses out, pushes away any clanging cymbal in our life. [00:51:15] (38 seconds)
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