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Communion Sunday Service – The Church Unleashed Series
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Ligados pela passagem bíblica ou por temas comuns.
Good afternoon. Today we are gathered for our communion service, and I want to speak to you about something central to our faith and our mission as a church.
This year, the Church of Pentecost has been given a theme: we are Unleashed to go and take our communities—to go and convert souls, to save souls in our communities. Whenever we meet, we are called to talk about being unleashed to go and make a difference.
But I realized something important: if we are going to go as a people who have been unleashed, in confidence and in courage to win people, then we have to go in love. We have to go with love to bring people to Christ.
So this afternoon, I will speak about our own love and the love that the Father has loved us with. We will be reading 1 Corinthians Chapter 13, Verses 1-13.
When we look at verse 13, it mentions three things: faith, hope, and love. These are the main things that will help us to proceed in our Christian life and to do well.
When we look at the New Testament, all the people who became believers—those who became followers of Christ—they all called themselves brothers and sisters in Christ. Second Peter 1:7 talks about true Christianity being love in Christ, perfect love in Christ.
Christian brotherhood comes from our mutual relationship with the Father and His only Son. As we participate in the grace of Christ, we are all made sons and daughters with Him and fellow heirs of the Father's blessings.
From 1 Thessalonians 4:9, Paul says: you do not need anyone to explain to you brotherly love because this is what you have been shown among yourselves.
And in John 13:34-35, Jesus said: "By this shall all men know that you are my disciples." How will they know? By the love we show one another.
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The Bible explains love as the fruit of the Spirit—and it is more precious than faith and hope. It is the greatest of the three.
In 1 Corinthians 13:13, Paul explains clearly: love is the greatest of all. Love is the governing principle of spiritual manifestation.
So if we want to go as agents of change to transform our environment, then we need to go with love. We need to go in love.
Let us read 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. Paul says:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have not love, I am only an empty noise. I am nothing.
Think about this carefully. If we speak with the voice of angels, with the tongues of angels, and have no love, then we are nothing. We are only making noise.
Those who are religious are not a proof of God. For example, those who speak in tongues, who prophesy, who have knowledge or achieve great works of faith—yet at the same time, if they lack Christian love, then that spirituality is nothing. If you achieve great works of faith yet at the same time lack Christian love, you are nothing in the sight of God.
God judges their spirituality and profession of faith as empty.
In God's kingdom, you are nothing if you can prophesy, if you have faith that can move mountains, if you do great works—but there is no trace of love in your life or in what you do. When you reach that point, it means that all your effort in spirituality, everything you have done, does not really come from God. God is love. These things are not from God; they are from another spirit—from an evil spirit.
We see this illustrated in Acts 8:21. There was a man named Simon who indicated that he had believed and was working with the disciples. They all went out evangelizing together. But Simon demonstrated a character which meant that he was not from God.
When Peter met a man and healed him, Simon saw the miracles and said to Peter: "Can you give me some of these Holy Spirit power so that when I lay my hands on people they will also receive miracles?" And Peter said: "May you perish with your money, because you were trying to bribe Peter with money to get the Holy Spirit. But the Holy Spirit cannot be bought."
You see? If we go into our communities as a people of God who have been unleashed, but there is no love in how we go—if we don't go with love—then we are nothing. We would not be able to achieve anything.
So what is love? What does love mean?
The simple answer is: God is love. That is your explanation of love. God is love.
The Bible says: "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life."
In 1 John 4:7, we read: "Beloved, let us love one another, for anyone who loves is born of God."
Anyone who loves knows God. And the reading from 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 tells us:
Love is long-suffering. Love never ends.
This session describes love as an activity and a behavior—and it is the character of God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Everyone who has believed God, anyone among us who wants to move in that power, must know this: every believer must grow in love. Every Christian must grow in love.
Because if I speak with the voice of angels but have not love, I am nothing. I am nobody. And why? Because love is character. Love is the nature of God, and we can attribute it to God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. That is their nature.
Hebrews 13:1 says: "Let brotherly love continue."
I want you to say to the person next to you: "Let brotherly love abide."
Why is brotherly love so important? How was brotherly love manifested in the life of the disciples after the Day of Pentecost?
Read Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4:23-37. When you go home and read these chapters, you will come to understand the nature of brotherly love that was shown among the believers after the Day of Pentecost.
The love that was demonstrated among the believers at that time was this: those who had shared with those who did not have. The Bible says that by doing so, God added to them those who had been saved daily. Every one of them was their brother's keeper.
When we speak of love, it means that you are looking for the best interest of the people in your circle—the brethren, the Christians, the believers, and also your friends in school, even those who are not Christians. You simply wish them the best, and they will see your nature.
Love also means: bear one another's burdens. Esteem others better than yourselves. You are not proud. You are not arrogant towards one another. You are not teasing your friends. You are not making fun of them. You do not ridicule them. Instead, you help them. You show them kindness. You use kind words. To the younger ones, you use gentle hands and kind words towards your friends.
When you have love, you do not seek your own interest, but you look to the things of others.
Love is the nature of God—the nature of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. So if we say we have become Christians, then we need to demonstrate that love. Be kind to one another. Forgive one another, even as Christ forgave us for Christ's sake.
But there is a challenge in achieving this: love is a command. Everything we are saying now appears to be a command. We don't learn love by practice alone. It is a mandate. It is a command for every Christian. You just have to live it. You have to demonstrate it because it is your characteristic.
In John 13:34-35, Jesus said to the disciples:
"This is a new commandment I give unto you."
At that point, Jesus had almost finished His task on earth. He was about to be crucified. And He said to them: "This is a new commandment I'm giving you."
You see? In the old commandment it was: "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." If somebody slapped you, you were meant to do self-defense. But this time around, He's telling you a new commandment—love. This means that you have to demonstrate restraint. You have to esteem one another over yourselves.
The new commandment is: "Love one another even as I have loved you. By this all men will know that you are my disciples."
When you do that, it is not a one-day wonder. You don't do it today and stop tomorrow. You do it continually. It is unstopping, nonstop. You continue to do it. It is in motion, never ending.
Why? Because if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but have no love, I am nothing. You are nothing. So if I have all spiritual giftings—I can pray in tongues, I can prophesy, I can do everything in the gifts of the Spirit—but I'm not demonstrating love, why does he say I am nothing? Because love never ends. Love is unending. Love never fails. It never disappoints. It never breaks. And love must cover a multitude of sins.
Because if I and you say we love God but then hate our neighbor, hate our brother, then we are plain liars.
Today we're coming for communion. Many of us call ourselves Christians or believers. But you may be here, yet you're not on speaking terms with somebody next to you, or somebody who used to be your friend, or someone among us. Yet you will make sure you come for the communion. You come very quietly, thinking that nobody has seen you. But God has seen you.
So this is what He wants: that nature of love to come out from you today. Take that hat off. The Bible says: "Love your mother and your father, that your life may be prolonged on this earth." Yet there are some people who are fighting with their parents and then they claim to be Christians. Some people have brought their children to this country, yet they are fighting with them.
But if I speak with the tongue of an angel—brothers and sisters, let us learn to forgive one another. One another's sin. If you forgive someone's sin, you haven't really done anything new. God forgave your sin. So you must forgive one another.
This afternoon, if you are here and somebody has hurt you, forgive whatever somebody has done to you. We are saved by grace. So if you will glory in anything, glory in love. Let them say you are a fool. Let them say whatever they want to say. But because of Christ Jesus, forgive. Forgive them.
I remember a story from years ago. When I was a young man, I came from Germany into this country, and someone had wronged me greatly. I could have held onto that bitterness. But I chose to forgive, because love is God's character.
Remember always: love is the nature of God, the character of God. And our love for God is proved in our love for others. Our love for God is approved and demonstrated by our love for others. If we say we love God, then we can only tell by loving others.
If you profess—if you say to other people, "As for me, I love God"—the only way people can tell is that you're showing love to your brothers and sisters.
First John 4:7-8 tells us:
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God. He who loves is begotten of God and is coming to know and understand God. If anyone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this command we have from him: that he who loves God shall love his brother also."
Beloved, let us love one another because love is from God. Love is from God. Everyone who loves is born of God. And everyone who does not love anyone—if you are not loving—then you are of who? From the devil.
So anyone who loves knows God. That God is love. When you go home, please read 1 John 4:4 to the end. You will come across different examples and aspects of love that exist between God and man.
The Apostle John, who wrote the Gospel of John, is the same one who wrote the first, second, and third letters of John. He was somebody who really talked a lot about love. And in his old age, people demonstrated their love to him by carrying him and taking him to church.
As young Christians growing up, you need to know: love one another. Do not bear false witness against your friend. Don't tell lies. Don't be telling tales about other people and things they haven't done. Don't say it if you really want to go to heaven. You need to show the character of love. You need to love one another.
In conclusion: hope, faith, and love—love is the greatest of them all. Why? Because when we go to heaven, we're going to dwell in love. We're going to live with love. We're not going there to live in faith and in hope.
We need hope and faith on this earth as tools and vehicles that will enable us and encourage us to go to heaven. But when we go to heaven, there is a place of love. It is an environment of love. Everyone there loves one another.
So if you know you have no love, why are you deceiving yourself about going to heaven? Just exclude yourself until you have actually gotten the notion of loving.
This afternoon, if you have any bitterness, any grudge, any unforgiveness in your heart, please let it go. Ask for forgiveness and leave it behind so that you can come confidently with Christ.
If you are not able to do that, then perhaps assess yourself and do not come for the communion. Because if you come with bitterness and unforgiveness, it will become a curse on you. You are going to take a burden, and the anger of God, the wrath of God, will come on you.
Don't look at what other people are watching. But if you know you have something that you're not able to forgive, don't come here. Otherwise, if you want to come, then please confess your sins and be in a state of repentance. Then you can come confidently here.
To you the youth here: my advice to you is this—if you have any grudge against your parents, drop it here. Let it go. So that God will bless you. If you want the blessings of God, love your parents. Do not have any grudge against your parents.
In conclusion, this year—to allow God to do new things in our life as a church, as Christians—is to let brotherly love continue.
I want you to bow down your heads and think about what you've heard today. If you have anything against someone, and if you want to deal with the Lord, speak to God. Because of your word, surrender all. Because I want to go to heaven. And even if someone has anything against you, go to them. You know down within your heart if your husband or wife has offended you, and you're holding them in your heart, but you live in the same house—forgive them.
Some of us can't even stand the difficulties of this life because we don't have love. There was a woman whose husband was really mean. If you're not a Christian, people would give you bad advice to go and divorce the husband. But she said: "I should have endured because of heaven." How many of us can say that? Most of us are not good. We can't stand the difficulties.
Let us not pretend as if we are good Christians, but we've actually lost His power. Pray for forgiveness. Know what is troubling you. Know what is that thing you don't want to give up. Whatever anyone has done against you—forgive. Because we are nothing in the eyes of God without love. We are nothing.
Will you be justified in the presence of God as you want others to be justified?
