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[0:01] Welcome. Thank you for choosing to listen to this spirit-filled word by David Enshree. When you catch a word, you have caught God. May you catch a word today that will cause God to change your story.

[0:13] Be blessed. I want to talk about the love of God. Teach on the love of God. Let's all say the love of God. The love of God.

[0:25] Because it's a subject that has not been properly taught and explained.

[0:38] And in our modern days, when you say the love of God, and you talk about God being love, if you talk about God is love, sometimes it doesn't do justice to your audience or to whoever is listening to you for a few reasons.

[1:06] John 3.16 is one of the commonest texts that most of us will be familiar with and a lot of people are familiar with.

[1:20] Let's all say John 3.16 together. Let's go. John 3.16. John 3.16. So when we talk about God loves the world, most, in fact, I grew up in church a while ago.

[1:39] I've been in church for a while now. And I've realized much of the past century and a half, or a century, decade, so about two decades now, the focus of gospel message, preaching to unbelievers, has been the love of God.

[1:56] It's really subjective. It depends on how you define love. And many people have all kinds of understanding and perception about God.

[2:09] That's why someone will say, but if God is there, why did he allow this to happen to me? It depends on how you understand God. So Christians shouldn't be asking people, do you believe in God?

[2:24] Because that question is so broad. People will say yes. It depends on what you mean by God. Because Buddhists believe in God. It's the kind of God you are talking about.

[2:35] Atheists are also religious. Their religion is, I don't want to accept that there's a certain power out there. And they are very religious about it. And it takes more faith to be an atheist than it takes to be a atheist.

[2:50] It takes more faith. I'm not a person of faith. So I don't believe in God. No, it takes a lot of faith because every common sense proves that there's something beyond. So it takes a lot more to say there's nothing.

[3:03] It takes a lot more faith and audacity to say that the dictionary is a product of a blast in a printing press. It takes too much faith to believe that order came out of chaos.

[3:18] So it takes a lot of faith to say there's no God. Your shoe is a fact that there's God. Yeah. Just your shoe. Your phone tells you that there's God.

[3:29] Because something must come from somewhere to get to where it is. So, yeah. But when we talk about God, people say, yeah, I believe in God. That is not a problem.

[3:41] That true problem is that what kind of God are you talking about? Who is this God? So there are a lot of things about Christianity which a lot of God didn't know.

[3:52] Now about God, when some people say God is good, what do you mean by God is good? When we say, oh, good food. Good food, what do you mean? You liked it.

[4:04] Good weather, what do you mean? Ah, you like it. Yeah, you're having this good. Oh, holiday was good. So when we talk about good, we are talking about something that we like.

[4:15] So when we say God is good, we point in mind that a kind of God that fits into my ideal logic of good, nice for me, I like it.

[4:26] That's why hell becomes a problem to talk about. Because we can't merge this good God and hell. Wow. So when we talk about God is good, God is love.

[4:38] In fact, someone came to Jesus in Mark 10, verse 17, and he said, good master. Mark 10, 17.

[4:51] Let's go to verse 18. Yeah. Jesus said to him, why? Okay, let's go to 17. Let's go to 17. Let's start from 17. Verse 17, please. And when he had gone forth into the way, there came one running and kneeled to him and asked him, good master, what shall I do that I might inherit eternal life?

[5:14] Now, look at Jesus' immediate answer. Jesus said, why call thou me good? Why are you calling me good? There is none good but one. That is God.

[5:24] So inherently, no human being can be described as good. You are no good. There is only God who is good.

[5:39] Good God. Someone say good God. Good God. Maybe it's just, even that we think of good, when we think of good God, it's like good weather, good something. So, but now it comes to the love of God.

[5:52] It is, a few reasons why, let me just mention three reasons why preaching to unbelievers must be based on, must not be based on God, the love of God.

[6:05] Don't go and be preaching the love of God because it may not represent the gospel. I will explain it. One, about, Bible says that for God's will love, the original Bible, that statement was not for unbelievers.

[6:20] It wasn't talking to unbelievers. When it said for God's will, he was discussing it with his people. It's not unbelievers. And then even that, I'll come to the love itself.

[6:30] But, one of the reasons why we can't focus on the love of God when we are preaching the gospel to the lost is number one, the love of God is not a central, message in the Bible.

[6:46] It's not the central. The Bible has about 34,000 verses. The love of God is mentioned about a thousand times. So, it's almost 34, one over 34, or one over 33, is the love of God.

[7:03] If it was a key message, we should have, in fact, Genesis doesn't mention the love of God. Exodus mentions the love of God once. Leviticus doesn't mention the love of God.

[7:14] Numbers doesn't mention the love of God. Deuteronomy mentions the love of God twice. Joshua, no. Judges, no. Ruth, no. First Samuel, no.

[7:25] Second Samuel, go on, on. Then you come to Psalms. Then Psalms talks, because the singing, talks a lot about the love of God, the compassion of God. But from there, Proverbs doesn't really talk about it.

[7:38] Songs of Solomon, which is even about love, doesn't talk about the love of God. It's our love of boy and love of girl. Isaiah, make one or two references to the love of God.

[7:52] The Old Testament doesn't say too much about it. Then when you come to the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke doesn't really talk very much about the love of God. John is what talks about the love of God.

[8:03] How about the Acts? Acts of the apostles, where they preached, and they were always preaching, preaching. Check, there's no once they spoke about the love of God. All the preaching to save the world, when the church was birthed, and they were preaching and preaching.

[8:17] Not once did you see Peter preaching about the love of God. They didn't preach about the love of God. So, where did this focus come from? That we are preaching what the early churches didn't preach.

[8:30] Early church did not preach. If you want to have effective preaching, let's check what the early church preached. It's in the book of Acts. You see, our world has forced Christians to be a certain way, in order to look appealing to the world.

[8:50] That is why Christianity is losing its impact. The more we want to be like the world, the more the world can accept us. The more we want to be accepted by the world, the more we lose our message.

[9:05] And our relevance to the world has everything to do with our message. This pastor is saying something. Go, go, read, check your Bible.

[9:17] Because we have, many puppets in churches are filled with preachers who don't understand God. We are preaching what Jesus didn't send us to preach. So, in the Bible, it's not a major focus.

[9:32] Jesus actually didn't even majorly preach about the love of God. He didn't preach. He preached on repentance. But not the love. Paul, Peter, the early church, they didn't preach about the love of God.

[9:46] And you know, the love of God is not heavily spoken about in the New Testament. Practically, I think Romans is mentioned once. Corinthians, going through Revelations, or John, Revelation doesn't talk about that, but John, where John chapter four, what was it?

[10:03] Behold, the manner of love the Father has given to us. That John, first John chapter three, and then first John chapter four, that is where he speaks. And then, look, let's look at first John chapter four, from verse seven.

[10:14] First John chapter four, verse seven says that, beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. And everyone that loves is born of God, and knows God.

[10:25] This is a very important one, okay? I'll come to that. Verse two, sorry, the next verse. He that loves not, knoweth not God, for God is love.

[10:37] That's, he dropped that big, God is love. God is love means, love is God. Then he went, go to the next verse, that he's talking about. In this was manifested, the love of God.

[10:50] And look at when he mentioned the love of God, he left it to the, towards the end of the New Testament, he mentioned God is love. It should have been in Genesis, that God is love. But look, talk about the end. And even that, this message is not for the world, it's beloved, it's for the church.

[11:07] So whenever the church, the Bible spoke about the love of God, he spoke about it in the context, of the people of God. Now, and number, so number two, number three, the reason why we don't have to focus, on the love of God, is because of the definition, of love in our modern day.

[11:26] Times. When you talk about love, most, 75% of the songs, about love that are written, is all about romantic love. Romance.

[11:37] It's about erotic love. Erotic love, which, the New Testament, actually Greek, in Greek, there are four types of love. First one, is the epithumia.

[11:51] Epithumia is addiction love. It's the love, that someone is addicted, to sex, that it makes a person, rape somebody. It violates somebody, and they use anybody, they don't care.

[12:05] It's an aggressive, animalistic love. And that is not a love, the Bible talks about. So it's an addiction love. The second type of love, there are now three, three main love, the Bible talks about, which Christians, it's okay to have.

[12:21] Every Christian, it's okay to have, that kind of love. No, I can't say every Christian. But no, it's okay to have, that kind of love. I'll explain it. The first of them, is the, where should I start?

[12:32] Okay, let me start with the, the ones everybody, okay, let's go to, Phileo, Phileo love, Philadelphia. I mean, Philadelphia is in the Bible, when I was teaching, on the seven churches.

[12:45] So, Philadelphia, is a, love, brotherly love. Adelphos is brotherly, and Phileo is love, okay. And then, as some of you know, Philadelphia in America.

[12:56] All right, so, it's, it's, Phileo, it comes from the word Phileo, which is love, which is love, friendly love, is, is love of affection. The love you have, for your brother, the love you have, for your sister, the love you have, for your mother, the love you have, for your father, the love you have, for your friend.

[13:14] What, what makes you like, to be around the person, I like you. So, sometimes a guy is telling, girl, you know, I like you. It means, it's in a different way. Yeah.

[13:27] Yeah. So, Christian brothers, we normally will not say, I love you, girl. We say, I like you, but we actually mean, sometimes, no, I don't know, always, sometimes, we actually mean, I last to you, every now and then, sometimes, because it's, it's that love, so we have, the addiction love, and then we have, the affection, love of affection, and then the love of attraction, which is the eros, that is what generates into sex.

[13:54] And most of the, when we talk about love, most of that love, is what people, when you say, love, that's what you are thinking about. Valentine's, Valentine's Day, is all about eros love.

[14:08] Yeah, that's when a lot of people, lose their, whatever. They lose, they lose their something. They lost their potential girlfriend, because somebody showed more love, by buying a whole car, of a bouquets.

[14:24] All those things. That's why many of the girls, on our street, in our community, they get hurt so easily, because what you think, is love is lust. That guy is doing all that, he's bought a car, it's not because you are so special, it's because, there's this attraction, he has for you, which he can't control it.

[14:43] And that attraction love, you can't build a marriage, based on that, you will divorce. Because that attraction love, is involuntary, you can't start it, and you can't turn it off.

[14:55] Yeah. So, so, so that kind of love, cannot be commanded. But when God said, husbands love your wife, it cannot mean, attraction love, because that's why, you can't command it, it just comes.

[15:13] In the same way, romantic love, you can't choose that, I'm going to switch off, and like it, or not. No, no. They think, sometimes it comes, when you have a crush on someone, sometimes you, if you don't want, what's wrong with me, why am I having a crush on this person?

[15:24] What's wrong with me? Yeah, it's called humanity. It's, it's your humanity that's, you're married, and you're beginning to have a crush on somebody else. Another man, you're having a crush on another man.

[15:36] You see, being married doesn't stop that. It's a love of attraction. Okay, so, so, some guys haven't been able to get over this thing, I don't know why, I like girls like that.

[15:50] Sort yourself out, bro. Yeah, you better sort it out, because it will hurt you. It doesn't lead anywhere. There's a way that leads, it does seem right before men.

[16:01] The end, Proverbs chapter 14, verse 12, the end is death. Liking girls can be very dangerous for your future. No man who likes women has peace in life, and usually they die early.

[16:14] You are a prophet. No, they die early. They die early, and they die living mess behind them. Children who are fighting each other.

[16:28] Women who are fighting each other. So, they live, and bitter women. So, it doesn't matter where you pass, as a Christian, love, and I'm going to tell you, that's, that's a command.

[16:40] That love is a command. It cannot be errors. It cannot be errors. And that is what makes marriage last. However, you can't marry and enjoy the marriage without errors.

[16:53] Oh, no, no, no, no. Some of you have found errors out of your marriage, and you want prayer to bring it back. You want us to lay hands on you for it.

[17:05] No. You have to do something. Do something to generate the thing. It must be stand up. Because it takes errors for people, children to be born.

[17:18] Yes, yes, yes. There must be an attraction. Yes, yes, yes, yes. And somebody must be activated. Yes. Based on an attraction. Yes, yes, yes. Yeah, attraction. Yes. So, we have the, we have the epithumia, which is attraction, sorry, addiction, love, love of addiction.

[17:36] We have a failure, which is affection. We have errors, which is attraction. And we have the last one, which the Bible commands, which is agape. Agape love, which is the God kind of love.

[17:48] But it's not just, that's the kind of love. So, when we tell someone God loves you, obviously, God is not, is not attracted to you. You understand that? The way the guy is attracted. God is not attracted.

[17:59] You should know why. Yeah. God cannot be attracted to me. What is it in me that must attract God? So, when you say God loves, some people think that is a, God is so good and he's attracted to me.

[18:13] Or he has an affection. Affect. God's love, agape love, is an action love. It's an action love. For God so loved the world that he did.

[18:28] It's a love that wants you care about somebody, you want to do something about their situation. And so, when your enemy is hungry, feed him. That love, that makes you feed him, it's not because you feel good about the person.

[18:40] But the person is in need and you have to do something about their need. That is where many Christian charitable organizations stem out from. That love.

[18:51] It's a love that makes you take action to help somebody, to do something about a person's situation. And so, for God so loved the world, that love is about God so our miserable state for whosoever believes in should not perish.

[19:06] Should not perish. You are perishing. So, God chose to take an action. That love will always generate an action. It makes you give somebody your time.

[19:16] It makes you give somebody your resources. It makes you give somebody your attention. So, that's why if you marry a man who doesn't have that agape, he doesn't have to even say a Christian, but it's a love of care, a love of response.

[19:35] Mother's love for their children is not just phileo. It's agape. I want to make sure my child is well. Which is different from the love you have for your car.

[19:49] Even those and fathers may love their cars more than they are. Oh yeah, in the modern day western life, people love things more than people. Yeah.

[20:00] So, that's why we can't ever overemphasize on the love of God because when we talk about the love of God, people have different judgment about the love of God.

[20:13] So, we can't focus on that. Now, when we talk about the love of God, listen to this very carefully. One problem about just focusing on the love of God is that, you see, God God has attributes, attributes, in other words, characteristics of God.

[20:35] God, have you seen God before? So, when he brought Israel out, he gave them a lot of his attributes. So, like, Jehovah Jireh, his name tells you, he doesn't have one name in the Bible.

[20:49] He has several names. He has so many names. Jireh, Shammah, Shalom, Saboath, Nisi, Rohi, Tikenu, Mekadishkem, Adonai, Elohim, Eloheka, El Elyon, El Gibor.

[21:10] We have several of them. And every one of them tells you what he does. So, for instance, Jehovah Rapha means healer. Yeah.

[21:20] Jehovah Nisi is our banner. Jehovah El Shaddai, Almighty God. Jehovah Saboth or Saboath is the Lord of the hosts.

[21:37] He has an army. He's the fighter. He has an army to fight. So, you know, when someone is making, trying to attack you, see, when Joshua was going to take over Jericho and he saw a man standing, he said, I am the captain of the Lord.

[21:50] So, he has come, he's coming to fight on our behalf. So, you see, some people may know God just as Jehovah Ra, the Lord is my shepherd.

[22:01] But they may not know your God to be a God who fights. He told the children of Israel, the battle is not yours, the battle is mine. Some Christians must learn how to keep quiet and let God fight for them.

[22:13] Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. If God takes on your enemies, you will feel sorry for them. Indeed. Yeah. Yeah. He's, and he's not just shalom. Jehovah shalom.

[22:25] So, shalom means our peace, peace, peace, peace. No, he is also Jehovah mechadishkem, righteousness, sanctifier, tikenu.

[22:37] He sanctifies us. So, no, these are different aspects of God one human mind cannot capture. Even that, that's very limited. Yeah. Because if God is God, trying to understand God defines a different, it's not, it loses his Godness.

[22:54] How can a human being understand God? Think about it. For him to be God, that means that he's transcendental, is beyond us.

[23:05] He is incomprehensible. You can't comprehend. Your mind is too small to get around him. Yeah. That, that, that alone makes him God. He is, the theologians call the aseity of God.

[23:19] He's beginning. He doesn't have beginning. You have beginning. So, can you imagine, that's why a child will say, who made mommy? Mommy, who made you? Where did you come from? I came from my mommy. Where did your mama, your mama come from?

[23:30] She came from her mama. Or, where did, where did I come from? I came from. Where did this come from? And so, and then we eventually say, we came from God. Where did God come from? Or, who made God?

[23:40] That is a human, or anthropological thinking. Thinking about God in human terms. Because we have a beginning, we think he should have a beginning. That's where the problem of the Trinity comes in.

[23:53] See, how can you say God is three in one? What's your problem about that? What's your problem about that? Haven't you seen cartoonists, designing a cartoon with maybe seven eyes?

[24:05] Yeah. Or for, just a, if a designer can do that, he can, haven't you even seen fashion designers, they design clothes, one is sleeveless, and one has long sleeves.

[24:16] Yeah. Yeah. But if you grow up somewhere where you never know sleevelessness, you see, what's that, what's the meaning of, in fact, recently now, they do different fabric here, leather, and normal, soft fabric.

[24:33] They combine, that's, people can do whatever. So in the same way, if God created you, he can choose to give you two eyes whilst he has eight. Wow. Wow. Wow. Do you understand what I'm saying?

[24:43] He's just saying, God can choose to make you one person in one being. Whilst he is three persons in one being. And you have a problem with that?

[24:54] How, what makes you think you can understand God? You have an exaggerated opinion of yourself. You can't even understand your wife. Yeah. So, it's, it's very interesting how people project human attributes onto God.

[25:15] So when we talk about the attributes of God, one of the attributes of God is God is merciful. Merciful means that where someone is guilty, he can have, he can have compassion and find a way of waving punishment or judgment.

[25:30] God is merciful. God is kind. God is just. If God is loving, why must he punish sinners in hell?

[25:43] But life generally is unfair so you can't be building your life around I wasn't treated well. You'll be stuck in life. Just pick up your life and make decisions that will help you in the future. Say amen.

[25:56] That's one of the attributes of God that has been heavily marginalized on in our time in our journey or in the West. We don't talk about the justice of God because people want to just enjoy their life and die and still continue enjoying.

[26:08] People must know that God is a God of justice. Listen, God, watch this, one of the attributes of God is that he has to punish sin.

[26:22] That makes him just. God has to. He doesn't have a choice. He has to punish sin. I know I'm talking to somebody. You tell me God is love.

[26:33] He's also just. And all the attributes is not like God is a big chamber and he has different chambers. He's a big, well, there's this chamber here.

[26:44] When you go here, you get love. When you go here, you get mercy. When you go here, you get the kindness. When you go here, you get judgment. No, no, no. He is always just. So his love is a love of justice.

[26:57] His justice is a loving justice. His justice or his love is a merciful love. His kindness is a loving kindness and at the same time it's loving kindness, justice, and just and righteous.

[27:19] So what the early church preached was not, watch this, the love of God. They preached, Paul preached heavily about the righteousness of God. Wow. If God is righteous, he has to deal with that bad stuff somebody's doing.

[27:34] He has to do it. God is, you know, can you imagine? Okay, how about the guys who blew up their twin towers? The terrorists who blow themselves and kill a lot of people and know I'm dead, you can't do anything about it.

[27:47] You have to go and meet God. If your child was, God forbid, has been meted by such a wicked person and finished and kills himself, what can you do to the person?

[27:58] You can't do it. But if there is a God of justice, we'll meet there. God has to judge his question. You can't get out of there. If there is a God of justice, the victims must expect some judgment from God that shows that he's a righteous God and at the same time he's a loving God.

[28:13] That's right. So when we talk about the love of God, people say, oh, because God is loving, he shouldn't do anything about sin. No, he can not do nothing about sin and remain just. He has to.

[28:25] God punishes sin. Tell someone, God punishes sin and has to. Tell somebody. God punishes sin and has to. It's a necessary requirement about the attributes of God.

[28:39] So please, let's underscore this point that when we talk about God being a God of love, it doesn't negate the fact that he's a God of justice. Unbelievers want to hear God loves you.

[28:52] How about the sins? Now, sir, if God is a God of justice, then your sin, he must punish it. And God will never just ignore sin.

[29:04] Remember this. God will never turn a blind eye on sin. He cannot do that and remain just. So he has to punish sin.

[29:14] God will always punish sin and must punish sin. So how about those who are being forgiven? No, you are not forgiven arbitrarily. You are forgiven because God decided to pay.

[29:27] Somebody must pay, must receive the punishment for the sin. And Christ, God himself, came and received the punishment on our behalf. So then when you come into Christ, you have done, undergone an exchange.

[29:40] Somebody asked a question some time ago. When we die and we go to heaven or we meet God and he's going to judge us, is he going to include the sins we committed before we came to Christ?

[29:55] Is he going to include that because he's going to judge us for all the things we have done when we were in our lifetime? Then is he going to also include the bad things and some of the things we did before we came into Christ?

[30:08] And the answer is no because it doesn't exist in his sight. When you are a believer, if any man be in Christ, 2 Corinthians 5, 17, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.

[30:24] A new creation means new creation. All things are passed away. When you come to Christ, your sin is history. Amen. Amen.

[30:35] Amen. Amen. That is what is called the good news. You know, because you need a miracle, but you need forgiveness. And the best God can do for you whilst you are alive is to offer somebody to take care of your punishment before you die.

[30:55] because he has appointed a day. Yeah. God has appointed a day. Acts chapter 17, verse 31.

[31:06] God has appointed a day. Yes. Because he has appointed a day in the which he will judge the world.

[31:16] He will judge the world in righteousness by that man who he has ordained. Whereof? He has given assurance to all men in that he has raised him from the dead.

[31:29] He raised him from the dead as a proof that he's going to judge. But I, somebody get it. This is Christian, Christian doctrine. Read your Bible. Many people don't read their Bible.

[31:39] You call yourself a Christian, but you don't have a relationship with the Bible. Wow. And you go by what somebody say, a preacher say, or a popular opinion say. If you don't believe the whole of the Bible, you are not actually a proper Christian.

[31:52] Amen. How dare you say that? I just said it, didn't you hear it? Yeah, I'm not. Say it again. If you don't believe in the whole of the Bible, you are not a true Christian.

[32:06] Christianity is hinged on the absolute authority on God's word, not a popular opinion. Pastor, no, I can't accept that.

[32:17] Yeah, I'm telling you, I'm not a Christian. It's as simple as that. No, I'm a Christian. What makes you a Christian? Can we go into that then? What makes you a Christian? Oh yeah, I'm not sinning. You?

[32:32] My sins are forgiven. Who says? Said who? On what grounds? Where do you get an idea from? Where do you get an idea from? No, part of the scriptures is the word of God.

[32:46] Which part is not? Now you are doing buffet. You are picking and choosing. I like this one. I like this one. That's what I'm telling you.

[32:57] You are a Christian of convenience. You are not actually a... Marriage of convenience is different from actual marriage. You know what I'm talking about. Yeah. Let's settle this thing once and for all.

[33:08] Oh, okay. It's all... It's subject to semantics or subject to hermeneutics. Your interpretation. How you interpret the scripture. That detail.

[33:18] Because someone would... Excuse me. Before we go into hermeneutics, let's underscore the fact that it's the whole of scripture. Bible says all scripture is given by the inspiration of God. Do you believe that? No.

[33:29] Then you are not. You are not one of us. Christians, genuine worship is predicated or predicated on belief in God's word.

[33:40] God's word. So then, whatever the word says is what we are here to. Now we can talk about hermeneutics. Hermeneutics is the proper way of interpretation.

[33:52] So maybe one thing, somebody is interpreting it this way or this way. It can only mean one thing anyway. You can't say... I can't say that you are nice and mean different things. You are nice means you are nice. Because when I was saying, I had something in mind.

[34:04] So intelligibly, whatever the scripture says, we have to find out what exactly does the Bible mean by saying this. Not what if now. Not allegories.

[34:17] There are allegorizations. For instance, I like what Reverend E. 2 said. Jesus walked on the water, didn't he? No, no, no. He didn't really have one. He didn't really walk on the water. You know, he was in the boat and then people saw him.

[34:29] He just put his... He was using a scooter on the water. So he... A surfing board. So he really... But at that time, they are not advanced to realize that surfing board... You see where you are now going to all this stuff.

[34:41] You are interpreting... It's called... Theologians call it a c-j-s. You are reading into the text what is not there. Wow. You are reading... Many people do that. They read into the text.

[34:52] And it's very common with charismatics too. Wow. We read prosperity where there's no even prosperity. We read breakthrough into the text where it has not got anything to do with breakthrough.

[35:10] We read it into it. You see what the Bible is saying? All right. So that is why Christians must have... Every effective Christian must... It's a necessary requirement.

[35:21] Must have that attitude of personal studies. He said, You search through... You search the scriptures thinking that in them you have eternal life.

[35:35] John 5, 39. But these are they which speak about or who testify of me. The 40 is a very serious one. He says that, And you will not come to me.

[35:46] If you really open your eyes and study the Bible, you'll find Christ. You realize that everything... Your knowledge of Christ is not based on...

[35:56] It shouldn't be based on history. That is what makes you a Christian. I don't know where you are getting your philosophy of Christ from. Theologians call it Christology. What is the basis of your Christology?

[36:09] Is it based on your bibliology? Is it based on your Bible studies? Or is it based on opinions of extra biblical information?

[36:24] Extra... The gospel according... Some people... They are looking for something to make... To prove that this is not the whole word of God. So see, some people have written the gospel according to me. There are other things that were written but they were hidden. Were you there?

[36:37] Were you there? Brilliant minds have done a lot of research and have come to conclusions. And other apostate minds and depraved minds and skilled minds and perverted minds have also found something.

[36:55] We are looking for a way to disprove it. So they've come up with things that are not even provable. Like... Big Bang.

[37:05] What makes it scientific? What... Excuse me. What makes... Let's be rational. What makes Big Bang scientific? What makes it scientific?

[37:17] Think about it. Nobody was there. And a scientific... Something can only be scientific when you can prove the experiment. That's why they're trying to... If you can repeat the experiment and prove that scientific...

[37:28] But creation, you can't repeat it all. It's not a repeatable... Watch this. It's not a repeatable or provable experiment. So it's beyond... It lies outside of the remits of science.

[37:42] So why has it become a hotbed in scientific discourse or political discourse or social discourse? Because if we say that it is God created, then we have to admit that God.

[37:54] And if we admit God, we have to admit that He's a God of justice and we will give an account. And because of that, then that means that you have to live your life based on the laws of God. People don't want to hear that. So let's go back.

[38:06] Let's rewind everything and get rid of God and anything that will point to God, let's disprove it quickly. Quickly, quickly. If we can try to disprove it and make the children believe that there's no God, we are free to just now live freely and do our own...

[38:19] make our own laws. Because there are some laws in the UK that are good, but when you go to America, it's not acceptable. There are some laws. Laws work where people live and people make their own laws.

[38:31] But there must be a higher lawgiver who is above all of us whose law is standard everywhere. A universal lawgiver.

[38:42] Now, if we accept Him, then we have to comply with the universal law. Even though it may not be advantageous for us in what we are trying to do.

[38:53] That is where atheism is stemming out from. It's not an intellectual issue. It's a moral issue. Because if it's based on intelligence, everything points.

[39:05] If you use your brains a little bit, you do true, genuine research, you'll come into the fact that there's God. Genuine research will let you know that there's God. Oh, I feel like preaching. Preaching. Preaching.

[39:19] All right. So let's go back to the love of God. So people use all kinds of human constructs to define what God must be.

[39:31] Because we are limited by our worldview or our exposure. So what you know is at the mercy of your exposure.

[39:48] Is that one getting one? So if your exposure is limited that's why in this our generation if we overemphasize to unbelievers about the love of God to unbelievers we may mislead them.

[40:02] That's how people come to church and they retain their sins and they are coming to add God to it. No, no, no. I'm not ready to change but I need what this God has.

[40:14] Because is he not loving? Look at the way I'm suffering. Look at what I'm going through. God, do something about it. So we come to receive what God has got because he's a God of love.

[40:25] He cares so much about us. He will do anything for us. That's what we don't understand. Why must he even punish us? He loves me. I did a little sin. Why must he punish us?

[40:35] No, no, no, no. You don't understand it. You don't understand it. Bible said, hell. You say, yeah, the thing is here also. In 2 Thessalonians 1, verse 7, 8, and 9, don't forget about this.

[40:49] He said, and you who are troubled, rest with us, talking about the believers, rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, look at what he's coming to do, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

[41:10] If you're a Christian, you don't have opinion about this. Wow. That's where, it doesn't matter how intellectual I try to be or socialist I try to be, I can't say, oh, okay, but how about that?

[41:26] My uncle, he never got to hear much about Jesus, so I won't, no, no, am I trying to advise God? When I go further, which I may not be able to do today, on this subject of the love of God, some of these questions will begin to make sense to you.

[41:45] The love of God. God is love. In what way? When we talk about the love of God, there are three aspects of the love of God.

[41:58] Three aspects. the first one is God's love for himself. The second one is, the second two has to do with God's love for man.

[42:15] Now, the first one, God's love for himself, we can call it the intra, the intra, intra, Trinitarian love.

[42:29] Because, you can't say you have love when you are alone. Love can only be expressed in the context of two or more.

[42:42] That's it. How can you say, I love? What do you love? What do you love? Or, it's myself. No, you can't love yourself. That's why I say, love your neighbor as just yourself.

[42:55] It's just, it's you love. When people say, I hate myself, don't mind it. It's because they are overly in love with themselves. Okay. Think about it. He just never said that love your enemies like the way you think you want them to love.

[43:09] He said, love them because the way I even think I want to love you is because of the way I love myself. So, he said, everybody naturally you care about. That's why when you step on fire, you, unless you are very sick and even when you are sick or your mind can't work properly, that's when you make some, you can't even make proper judgment.

[43:27] But, every human being by nature at core is selfish. So, you can't say God is love when he's alone.

[43:41] So, when in the beginning God said, let us Genesis 1, 26, let us. He didn't say let me.

[43:54] When, before he created human beings or anybody he can relate to, he said, let us. Oh, I know what you are thinking. When he said let us, he was talking to the animals, the sun, the moon, and the star.

[44:04] For those of you who keep talking to the elements, those of you who believe in horoscope, you believe your fortune is tied to horoscope, it's exposing you to demonic elements.

[44:16] believe in the word. Your future is in God and in his word. Jesus said, because I live, you shall live.

[44:28] Oh, but pastor, what's wrong with horoscope? You are exposing yourself to demonic elements. I'm telling you. I don't agree with you, pastor. No problem.

[44:39] That one, no problem. You are free to. necromancy, soothsaying, magical activities, clairvoyance, sorcery, all those things.

[44:52] They expose people to demonic influences. You don't understand why suddenly your mind begins to feel funny. Somehow, you don't understand why you have these issues going on in your life suddenly.

[45:04] Where did this come from? Most of us were not born like that. You may think it's nature. It's not nature. It's exposure. Well, so what the point I'm making here is that some of those things can negatively affect you.

[45:20] Why am I saying, I had to say it because I pray for people for deliverance. I pray for them to break things and some of the sources through these things come is what have and sex, which people don't want to.

[45:33] when you finish having sex, you are not the same person. No, no, no, no, you are not the same. That's how come those of us who have not gone too deep, you remember all.

[45:48] Whether all the incidents or all of them, depending on who you are, you remember all. All of them because you are carrying part of them.

[45:58] Hey, wow, guys. Oh, my God. You see, you don't read your Bible. It said, he who is joined to the prostitute, someone you are not married to and having, he who is joined to the harlot is one.

[46:16] Yeah. First Corinthians chapter, we don't want to see it. Don't you know that he which is joined to an harlot is one body?

[46:27] Yeah. One flesh. Yeah. For the Bible says the two shall become one flesh. There's some, there is, there is some, watch this, watch this.

[46:39] There is some cleaving, the real word, cleave. Therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother in Genesis chapter, chapter 2, verse 24. For this cause, a man shall leave his father and mother and shall cleave.

[46:53] The word cleave. This scripture is repeated in the New Testament twice. Paul said, Jesus also said in Matthew chapter 19. Paul said this in Acts chapter, sorry, Ephesians chapter 5, verse 32, 32.

[47:05] So, a man shall leave his mother and father and not mother, father. A man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave. That word cleave, most of the time when we hear cleave, we are thinking about division, like cleavage.

[47:22] They all come from the same word. Cleavage. Cleft. All right. So, but the original meaning of cleave means bound together or the real word is glued.

[47:39] If you glue two pieces of paper together, can I have, please? If you, thank you, thank you. If you glue two pieces of paper together and after, I don't like what I've done, I'm going to separate them, you never have the same paper.

[47:56] That's what I'm telling you. You have cleaved. Some of you are not the same but you don't know. You are carrying somebody around and some of you is not somebody. You are calling other people.

[48:07] you are carrying other people around. That's why you have changed so much.

[48:18] You are not free. That's why in Christ, you have to deep yourself in Christ. Because he who the son says free is free indeed. I feel like, now I don't know whether she says teaching or preaching.

[48:33] Preaching. All right. So, so when we talk about the love of God, it's in three aspects. The intra-Trinitarian love. When we talk about Trinity, God is three.

[48:44] He's one by three. That's why Bible says that. And God said, let us. He wasn't talking to the animals. He was talking to himself.

[48:55] Why are you saying that? He said, let us make man in our image. God is not three. God is not three. Our image.

[49:06] Our image. He has one image but he is an ass. Let us make man in our image after our likeness.

[49:18] Not the animals. After our likeness. And let them, man, man. Okay, let, we are making man but it's a corporate man. Let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the fowls of the air, over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creep.

[49:38] He's not talking to the animals. And man made, verse 27 says that, and God made in his, his, not there, his own image.

[49:52] God made man in his own image. In the image of God created man, created he, male and female, not she-male, male. It's a word.

[50:10] It's a word. I thought you were a Christian. Let's talk about the Bible. See, this is why I don't like Christians. Christians have always not been liked. God, the message, the message, unfortunately, we don't have our own message.

[50:26] We carry his message and we can't, we can't alter it. We can't change it. We can't amend it. We can't. We can't update it. The message is one.

[50:38] He is our message. So, we are willing, if I want to remain a Christian, that means I'm ready for death. That's how Christians have always been.

[50:48] Everywhere, even where Christianity was born in the, in Israel, they, it was the religious leaders who killed them. Pontius Pallet said, even Jesus, I don't see anything wrong with you.

[51:01] I can't kill. They said, kill him. Kill him. Kill. And then they managed to send a blast on social media. Suddenly, everybody believed what they are believing.

[51:13] And so he asked, what should I do? The people who he came to help, they said, crucify him. They said, ah, what has he done? He hasn't, they said, crucify him. Because, the opinion of the people had to rule in a day.

[51:26] And they said, if you don't crucify him, it will go against you politically. We will say that you are not Caesar's friend. Because this man says that he's the king of the Jews. He's making himself, so the accusation against Jesus amongst the Jews was that, it was blasphemy.

[51:41] He said, he makes himself equal with God. But when they got to Caesar, they didn't talk about God because he's not a religious person. They said that he says he's the king of the Jews. And that makes it a political issue. And someone who is rising up to control the Jews, you who are representing Caesar has to get rid of him.

[51:58] So they made it a political issue. But the real reason for his, they're killing him was a religious one. They said, he makes himself equal with God. He said he will build, destroy this whole temple and build it, raise it back, act in three days.

[52:15] Crucify him. Popular opinion. Crucify him. This is what everybody believes. Where are you coming from? You are bigoted. Crucify him. Get rid of him. Hey, hey, hey. You can't be a Christian and look for public applause and acceptance.

[52:32] Does that mean you should be anti-social? No, no, no, no, no. You see, the problem, the conundrum is that they like our kindness. They like our niceness. They like our peacefulness. Peacefulness.

[52:44] Actually, Christians marching and destroying things. It's not Christian. It's if you're a Christian. You can never join the picket line and start breaking, destroying things. It's never Christian. It's never Christian.

[52:55] We fight on our knees. Yes. Yes. So, they like, they like our kindness, our niceness, our peacefulness, but the problem is they can't stand our message because our message converts.

[53:15] Read the Bible. The reason why they killed Stephen was because of what he was preaching. They killed him. Bible said, they blocked their ears. They ran. They took stone. Ah! How are you preaching this?

[53:26] They killed him. Bible said, they were cut to the heart. Acts chapter 7, verse, I think 51 or 52 or something like that. And they were cut to the heart. So, why do you receive the Holy Ghost?

[53:38] And they were cut to the heart. And they stopped their ears and ran towards him. Stoned him to death because of their message. In Acts chapter 5, they whipped them and warned them never preach in the name again.

[53:53] So, preaching is not our problem, but the name. Your message is too offensive. Your message is antisocial. But our message changes people. It makes them good citizens.

[54:05] It makes them good husbands. It makes them good wives. It makes them wonderful children. Their message is a blessed message. Just that, if you want to live in your sins, it will catch you.

[54:17] It's a problem for sinners. That's the problem. It's a problem for sinners. So, you can't have both. It's a problem for sinners. And that's what is happening in a lot of bless me now churches.

[54:32] Yeah, that's what's happening. Christianity starts from your heart. You are a changed person and it will be evidence in your actions.

[54:45] If you are a Christian, we will see it in your actions. Something will change in your behavior. The way you treat your wife will change. The way you treat your husband will change. The way you talk to your mother will change. The way you are so annoying to your cousins, it will change.

[54:57] You still have the anger, but you can't execute it because you're a changed person. Something holds you back. You are not free to behave anyhow because the word of God has, you have beaten into the word and it's beginning to have an effect on you.

[55:13] Christianity. Yeah. We are a product of a book. And this book is a hymn book.

[55:26] H-I-M. Hymn. Book. Next week we go into that. But today, the intra-trinitarian life, what it is about? God loves the son.

[55:39] God saved us. Oh, I like this. I'm about to say something so nice. Thank you, Jesus. This is so amazing. Are you ready for this? This is so amazing. God loves us and saved us as long as loving us is an expression for his love for Christ.

[55:58] God saved us. I'll take my time. I'll take you. He didn't save us because we are miserable. Fundamental reason why God saved us is because of his love for Jesus.

[56:17] John chapter 14 verse 31. This kind of love that exists between God and the Godhead, the Father and the Holy Spirit.

[56:28] It is a love that provokes or that generates a total obedience. But that the world may know that I, this is Jesus speaking, I love the Father and as the Father giveth or gave me commandments, if it's so, I do.

[56:49] Because I love him, that's why I do what he asks me to do. Now, the point I want to establish here is that Jesus loves the Father. There is a love, a certain type of love, which is not influenced between Jesus and the Father.

[57:10] So he said, I love the Father. Now, look at John chapter 15 verse 9 and 10.

[57:21] Is somebody learning something? I know some of you are hearing a lot of something new today. I think that's what church should be about as well. As long as it's just purely based on God's word.

[57:34] So that you become a Christian who is well taught in God's word. Hallelujah. The strength of your Christian life has a lot to do with your exposure to his word.

[57:46] Remember that. It's not your moral behavior that determines how strong a Christian you are. but your exposure to his word determines how strong a Christian you are. What did I say?

[57:58] John chapter what? Verse what? Nine. As the Father has loved me. Oh, really? Okay, this is Jesus speaking. As the Father has loved me, so have I loved, talking about the disciples, you, continue in my love.

[58:14] If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love, even as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love.

[58:24] Do you realize that the Father loves Jesus? So there is a love relationship between the Father and the Son. Chapter 17, verse 23. John 17, 23. In them, this is Jesus speaking to the Father, in them, I in them and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that thou has sent me and has loved them as thou has loved me.

[58:53] Verse 26. And I have declared unto them thy name and I will declare it that the love wherewith thou has loved me may be in them and I in them.

[59:06] Did you see, he kept talking about your love for me, your love for me, your love is kind. Praise God. Now, quickly, to draw a curtain on the intra-Trinitarian life, I need to tell you about just the two parts of this intra-Trinitarian life.

[59:25] The first one is what I've actually spoken about is how the Father loves, no, Jesus has been talking about I love the Father, the Father loves me. Look at John 5, verse 19. This is a very interesting text when I saw it.

[59:36] It says that then Jesus answered and said unto them, verily, verily, I say unto you, that the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father do, for what things so ever he does, this also does the Son likewise.

[59:52] So it's like God doesn't hide anything he does from the Son. His activities are what is mimicked by the Son. Go to verse 20, verse 20.

[60:03] For the Father loveth the Son, oh really? And shows him all things that he himself does. Before that we heard Jesus say I love you, I love you. Now we're talking about the Father loves the Son and shows him all things.

[60:14] He loves him so much that he lets Christ the Son know everything he's doing. Shows him all things that he himself doeth and he will show him greater works than these that ye may marvel.

[60:27] Go to the next verse, please. For as the Father raises the dead and quickens, even so the Son raises. So every power the Father demonstrates, he has allowed the Son to demonstrate to him.

[60:38] Because of the love relationship, he said nothing, I can't withhold anything. I raise the dead raised, I give life, I give life, 22, I give life, I give life, for the Father judges no man, but has committed judgment to the Son.

[60:50] He said I don't have that. The Son will take care of that. Go to the next verse, that all men should honor the Son, even as they honor, oh you honor me, he said then the same for the Son. Because of this love that exists between the Father and Son, everything the Father has belongs to the Son, and everything the Father does, the Son is doing, and everything he's doing, he shows to the Son.

[61:08] He said I deserve honor the Son, I share my honor with the Son. Isn't that amazing? He that honor not the Son, honor not the Father which has sent him.

[61:19] 24, Verily I say unto you, he that heareth my words and believeth on him that sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into condemnation but pass from death unto life.

[61:30] Quickly, verse 25, this is a serious one, Verily I say unto you, the hour is coming and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God and they that hear shall live.

[61:42] Verse 26, for as the Father has life in himself, so has he given to the Son to have life in himself. The same, the same.

[61:52] Go to the condemnation.

[62:24] I can of my own self do nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is judged because I seek not my own will but the will of the Father who has sent me.

[62:37] And the last words, I bear witness, I bear witness of myself, my witness, if I bear witness of my witness is not true. Is that 32? There is another that bears witness of me and witness.

[62:53] I know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true. This is talking about we love, I love the Father. The Father loves me so much that everything he does I'm doing.

[63:06] Everything he does he shows me. And that is the kind of relationship that exists. So one, the two aspects of this inter-Trinitarian love is number one, the father loves the son and has not hidden anything.

[63:19] Makes the son, shows the son everything the father deserves he makes sure the son also deserves that. The second aspect of this is very important. John chapter 6 verse 37.

[63:30] 37. I like that one. Let's read it from the Bible. Let's go. Oh, that the father give me shall come to me and get that coming to me out to me the Lord.

[63:41] So read it again. Oh, so all that the father gives.

[63:54] Oh, okay, he's talking about the believers. God, God gives certain people to the son. God, and I'm one of them.

[64:10] And you are one of them. If you are in Christ. God gives all some people to his son. And look at chapter 17, verse 11.

[64:24] Chapter 17, verse 11. It says that, and now I am no more in the world, but these are, Jesus praying to the father when he was about to live. But these, the disciples are in the world, and I come to thee.

[64:37] Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou has given me, that they may be one as we are one.

[64:48] Remember, the disciples or the Christians were given to Christ by the father. That's very important because it was an act of his love to the son.

[65:01] Go to the next verse. Christ. While I was with them in the world, I kept them in my name. Watch this, those that thou givest me, I have kept.

[65:13] Watch this, I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition that the scriptures might. So he said that the ones you have given me, I have kept them.

[65:24] I made sure that none got lost. Because that's why Christ kept him. So watch this, that will move to next week, the love Jesus had for the disciples is not because they merited it.

[65:44] If he had left them, they would have backslided. So when they were coming to arrest him, he said, leave this one, let them go. If you are looking for catch me, arrest me, leave this one.

[65:55] Because if they had arrested, they would have backslided. So the love Jesus has for you is not because you are so righteous. It's because God gave us to him.

[66:11] We are his expression of love to the son. Hallelujah. Look at verse 24.

[66:23] Look at verse 24. Of John chapter 17. Father. I love that.

[66:36] I love that. Father, I will that they also whom thou has given me be with me where I am that they may behold my glory which thou has given me for thou loveth me from the foundation of the earth.

[66:57] You gave me these people because you love me and I want to bring them to where I'm going so they will see the glory I have before. You love me.

[67:09] Watch this. God God rewarded his son with a bride. Let me read this. God loving people stems out from God creating people to redeem a bride for his son.

[67:28] So he created people. Before we sinned, he loved God Christ from the foundation of the earth. He has chosen that's where I'm going to go next week. I'm going to show you what is called the electing love.

[67:43] It's unconditional. You can't play a role in it. If you are saved, you didn't play a role. It's a function of God's love. He loves his son and he is saving us because of his love for his son.

[67:57] He also came to die to save us because of his love for his father. The love of God. God and the justice of God and the mercy of God makes sense.

[68:15] Then his punishment and his pardon make sense. His love and his hatred make sense. Because what people don't realize is the Bible talks about how God hates the wicked.

[68:28] Psalm 5 verse 5, Psalm 11 verse 5, Psalm 5 verse 5, Psalm 11 verse 5, Psalm 5 verse 5, Psalm 11 verse 5, 5, 5, verse 5, verse 11 verse 5, the foolish shall not stand in thy sight.

[68:41] Thou hatest all workers of iniquity. God hates some people. At the same time, he loves all people, but not the way he loves the redeemed.

[68:56] God's love for us is secondary. His love for his son is primary. If he's loving us means his love for his son, that's when he's going ahead.

[69:08] He loved us just to demonstrate his love for his son by winning us and giving us to his son. God God God speaks works show and the works will surely show in your life.

[69:27] To hear more from David Entry follow him on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn and subscribe to Karis Church on YouTube. Don't forget to share and subscribe to our podcast so you're always up to date.

[69:40]  Be blessed.