30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
Luke 21 25-28 WATCH AND PRAY IV 06 Luke 21 27 Loving God
📖 Luke 21:25-28
*FRIEND OF GOD*
10Jun2021 - *Loving God* - _Luke 21:25-28_ - WATCH AND PRAY IV (06) – Bible reading: _Mark 12:29-31_
The Lord has provided the way for us to meet His righteous requirements. We need not fear the judgement of God, which is to take place when He comes with power and great glory.
*The righteous requirements of God are all met in Christ Jesus*.
The Spirit of Jesus living in us and operating through us enables us to meet all the righteous requirements of God. This life is not a life of drudgery and bondage but a life of freedom for we are carried, controlled and driven by the Holy Spirit. This freedom in the Holy Spirit causes us to think of the needs of others more than being worried about our own.
_Luke 21:27 Then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with *power and great glory*._
_Matthew 25:31 "When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then *He will sit on the throne of His glory*.
Let us look a little further into our righteousness before God because of our life in the Holy Spirit.
_Romans 8:9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now *if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His*._
At the judgement, this is what will be decided. Do I belong to Jesus at all? To belong to Jesus, we must be led by His Holy Spirit. *If we continue to live by the flesh and not by the Holy Spirit, then, we need to be clear, we do not belong to Jesus*.
_Romans 8:10-14 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but *the Spirit is life because of righteousness*._
The Spirit of God gives us life and *the Spirit of God gives us His righteousness*.
_(11) But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you._
This is the freedom that we have that our mortal body is now under the control of the Holy Spirit and not under the control of the flesh. We are mortal, we are limited, we are finite but we can have the amazing and awesome experience of the Holy Spirit operating out of our mortality.
_(12) Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. (13) For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. (14) For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God._
As we read the above verses, we can understand that there is a matter of our will, which must be exercised, in submitting to God’s will.
The Lord will judge whether we chose to gratify the deeds of the flesh or did we surrender to the leading of the Holy Spirit. We have come into a relationship with Jesus but we continue to live in this body.
Our body can either be led by the flesh or by the Holy Spirit. The body that is led by the flesh cannot please God. _Romans 8:8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God._
_Galatians 5:16-18 I say then: *Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh*. (17) For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and *these are contrary to one another*, so that you do not do the things that you wish. (18) *But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law*._
Being led by the Holy Spirit makes us be those who fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law, which is what the judgment will be all about. The righteous requirements of the law cannot be met by the flesh.
Jesus gave us the summation of the law.
_Mark 12:29-31 Jesus answered him, "The first of all the commandments is: 'HEAR, O ISRAEL, THE LORD OUR GOD, THE LORD IS ONE. (30) AND YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH ALL YOUR MIND, AND WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH.' This is the first commandment. (31) And the second, like it, is this: 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' There is no other commandment greater than these."_
The law consists of two parts, both are on the same plane. There is no hierarchy here. Loving God and loving man, go hand in hand.
Loving God is in four areas. Loving God has to be with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.
*Firstly, there is the matter of loving God*. We cannot place God in a compartment, in our lives. Loving God, completely and fully, is only possible in the enablement of the Holy Spirit. We cannot love or please God by the flesh.
_Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because *the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit* who was given to us._
*The heart* represents our desires, motives and our intentions. *The soul* represents man’s will. *The mind* represents our understanding, our perspectives, our world view or belief. *The strength* represents our potentials, our capacities, capabilities, talents and our body.
These are four areas in which the Lord will judge if we have met the righteous requirement of the law.
We are not going to delve into these four areas of loving God. We have done it earlier. *The recordings of loving God in all these four areas are available. Let me know if you like to have the links for these recordings*.
*Thought to ponder*
```We are here to love Him.```