DEVELOPING IN THE LOVE OF GOD

FOUNDATION STATEMENT:  As believers to develop in the love of God we must commit to exercise the love of God in our lives. 

I. The love of God has been poured out in your hearts by way of the Holy Spirit

A. Ezekiel 36:26, 11:19 – I’m going to put the ability in you to do what I’m commanding you to do

1. We need to major on the law of Jesus (John 13:34 – This is the law of Jesus)

a. John 14:15,21, 15:10 – He said my commands

b. When he referred to the 10 he said, “You know THE COMMANDMENTS.”

2. All the ten are fulfilled when you do this one (Romans 13:8, Galatians 5:14)

B. The agape love of God has been poured out in our hearts by way of the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5)

1. The ability to walk in agape has been deposited on the inside of you if you’re born again

a. The same love that the Father loved Jesus with is on the inside of you (John 17:26)

C. God would never command you to love and not give you the ability to do so (Mt 22:37, Jn 13:34)

1. Luke 9:1-2 – He called, he empowered, and then he sent

a.  “I can’t do it is no longer an excuse.” 

II. Love is a fruit of the spirit, so it can grow and must be developed in your life (Gal 5:22)

A. A muscle that is not used will never develop and become stronger.  The more you use it the stronger it will become.

1. You can take a muscle that is not very strong, and through exercise and discipline that muscle will become stronger

B. We must exercise the muscle of Love (1 Timothy 4:7)

1. Exercise so that you can develop in being more like God, who is Love

2. Development will not come without exercise

a. Whatever you do you will develop in and you cannot develop in that, which you do not do

i. If you do love, you will develop in love, If you do strife you will develop in strife

3. Exercise – portrays a person who wants change so much that they are willing to put themselves through vigorous, demanding, strenuous, discipline to bring about the change

a. The development of a muscle requires that pressure be put against that muscle and then under the pressure that muscle must resist it if it wants to develop

i. The only way to develop a muscle is when the pressure is put on

ii. Without pressure development cannot be obtained

iii. You can do things before the pressure shows up that will help you to exercise the right way under that pressure, but ultimately development will only take place when that muscle is exercised under pressure

C. When our love walk is challenged we need to confront the pressure and stay in love

1. When you are under pressure and tempted to violated the law of love if you will exercise the agape that’s already in you, that agape will develop

a. A bicep muscle is there even if it can't be seen, love is there even if it can’t be seen

b. When you exercise that muscle under pressure that muscle will develop strength and that pretty soon lifting that amount of weight won’t be as hard as it used to be

c. You can develop this love in you to the point that it won’t be so hard to love people anymore because you’re muscle is developed

2. You’re going to have to love when you don’t feel like loving if you’re going to develop

a. If you are never chose to love under pressure, then you will not develop in the love of God

D. We’ve got to go to work on this love muscle

1. 1 Thessalonians 1:3, Hebrews 6:10 – Your Work of Agape

a. We have to work at love, we have to take the time to develop this muscle of love

2. Philippians 1:9 (AMP) – His prayer for us is that our love reaches it’s fullest development

a. 1 Thessalonians 3:12 (AMP)

3. If there’s no pressure you exercise that love muscle on purpose

a. When an athlete goes to train he puts his muscles under pressure on purpose

b. You put your love muscle under pressure on purpose

E. Developing in the love of God will bring manifestations of the Word, zoe-life, and it will free us from oppression (John 14:21)

1. Love makes the word work, faith work, and hooks you to the anointing.  Love  produces days of heaven on the Earth

2. If you want the results of that big muscle then you got to be willing to do the exercise and if you want the results of love you got to be willing to do the exercise

III. Ultimately we can reach a place that love is no longer something that we have to train our flesh to do, but ultimately we can reach a place where our natural reaction is love (Hebrews 5:12-13 KJ&AMP)

A. Developing sincere real love (Romans 12:9-21 AMP)

1. At first you’re going to have to make yourself love and you’re going to have to do it on purpose because it’s not “a part of you” yet

2. If you’ll exercise love by practicing loving on purpose you’ll get to a place where you won’t have to try to respond in love because through exercise love has become your natural reaction. 

B. We need to develop to a place where our automatic response is always love

1. We get to that place by training in love and practicing love every day of our lives

a. Hebrews 5:12-13 (KJ) – By reason of use – If you continue to use love and exercise it  you’ll reach a place where it’s not a religious exercise, but love is who you’ve become

C. This is going to require discipline on our part

1. There’s got to be a commitment to train in this because if there is no commitment to train you’ll never become automatic

a. Training must take place 

2. This training starts with training our thinking to think love thoughts by confessing the commandment of love

a. Romans 12:1, Isaiah 55, Romans 8

3. You have to continue in the love of God to develop in it (John 15:9)

a. Hebrews 13:1 – You got to make love a fixed practice

b. Ephesians 3:17 – Root yourself – That’s an act of your will