December 14, 2023
Topic: THE BIRTH OF JESUS: LESSON ON HUMILITY AND OBEDIENCE-
Spirit of Love
Text: John 3: 1-21
Memory Verse: : For God so loved the the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16 NIV)
Love is an action that comes at a cost, it is a sacrifice, not a feeling as the carnal world would have us believe. The cost to God for loving the whole of humanity was in sending His only Son to sacrificially pay for our sins and redeem us.
In verses 5 to 9 of our text, Jesus told Nicodemus that being born of the Spirit is a requirement to understand the things of God. Apostle Paul further stated in I Corinthians 2:14 that without the Spirit of God, we cannot understand and accept the things that come from God and will consider them as foolish.
If we have been led by the spirit of God to accept that in great love and humble sacrifice, our Lord and Saviour came into to world as a Child to save and redeem us, then we can boldly say as Paul did in Galatians 2:20 that “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”? If this is our testimony, then led by the spirit in attitudes of thanksgiving, humility, submission, and obedience daily, we will walk in the spirit and not gratify the desires of our carnal self.
Evidentially, the first and greatest fruit of our walk in the spirit of the living God is LOVE. Jesus Christ who confers Grace on us said the love of God and of others like ourselves is the summary of our life expectations (Matthew 22:36-40) by which our times on earth will be assessed! Love is a sacrifice. Love is a fruit. Am I showing love to the brethren in my small groups (1 John 3:17). Am I in humility and obedience doing what Jesus did for me to others (1 John 3: 16)
Consider this:
To be born again is by the spirit of God and the evidence of being born again is a life in Love.
Prayer: Precious Lord, please examine me and help me by your Holy Spirit to live my life in thanksgiving of your sacrificial love as an expression to my fellow men.