GOD IS LOVE

First lesson: 1 John: 3 ; 16 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren Second lesson: 1 John: 4:16 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath for us. God is love: and he that dwellefh in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” Golden text: John: 15:9 “As the Father hath loved me, so have 1 loved you: continue ye in my love.” 2.1 Love covers a multitude of sins Brethren, this is our revelation this morning. It appears the whole world does not know God and it is not clear to people why our Lord said, "I and My Father are one". Our golden text, however, exposes this to us. "As my Father loves me, so I love you and you should abide in that love". Do not think of God as a material thing but think of Him as love. Love is greater than both heaven and earth and you cannot part with love, which is God. Any church that lacks love lacks God and Christ. If you should spread money to people without loving them, you have done nothing for them. The fact is you cannot give one pound or food to a visitor when you neither have money or food. If you feed the visitor out of the surplus you have, does, it mean that you have love? It does not show love when you give someone in need £5.00 out of the £40.00 that you have. Because you gave him out of the surplus you have, it is not love. Love has nothing to do with this worldly wisdom or the wealth of this world. It is a separate and distinct entity. Does a person who feeds and sends you to school but backbites, blackmails you love you? Since the world is unaware of the meaning of love, it gives a different meaning to it. Do not think that a person who presents you with a whole bank loves you. That person who does not disgrace you and counts no sins for you loves you. God does not count sins for us because He is love. He does not punish us because He loves. God is never angry; He is tolerant, patient and blesses all the time. Even if you murmur against Him, He still cares for you. It is stupid to blame God for not giving you clothes and other material things because these things do not show love. Love is longsuffering and is pleased with all creatures. We are stealing and doing many other vices and there are countries where God is not known and yet He still showers His blessings on all of us. Only 1% of the world population calls on the name of God, the remaining 99% does not know Him and yet His blessings extend to them too. He continues to bear with us because He is love. He adopts us as His children, His friends and part and parcel of Himself. We eat and wear whatever we love. This therefore shows that God is not trees, human beings but is love? That was why Christ replied Philip that the kingdom will not come by observation but is within us. If you have love, you will have patience, mercy and truth and will not count sins for any person in the world. Love does not harbour evil or utter useless words and sees no evil. Love is tolerant. You should therefore have love because it covers a multitude of sins. Why condemn what God has created and considers good? That person who is recommended for punishment is still loved by God. He does not delight on the death of a sinner but wants them to repent and be saved. 2.2 Preach and practise love You are not to preach any other thing except love because love is God. Those who have love for God are pure. This is why it is said whatever we may think we have achieved but lack love, we have achieved nothing. You lack God and Christ, patience and all the godly virtues if you lack love. While the worldly people boast about their chariots and houses, children and money, the children of God boast about God, the risen Christ. You will not harm a person you love. Love is power, truth, life, wealth, health and the knowledge of truth. Everything is passing away; love alone will abide forever because it is God and His Christ. Our Lord told us "I and My Father are one", because God is love and Christ is love and He taught His disciples and everybody else love. If God is love, Christ is love and you yourselves have love, then you all are one. It is imperative for you all to preach and practise love now because God, love has come and anybody who abides in love, abides in God. 2.3 Wisdom puffs up but love is humble and perfect I do not want you to exercise the worldly wisdom. Worldly wisdom will make you puff up but love attracts you to God and perfects you. Any town, church, government or society without love cannot stand because God is not there. Examine yourselves now; those who have no love have failed. By confessing that you have no patience, truth and humility, you are reporting that you have no love. Prophecies, wisdom, and languages will all pass away but love only will exist forever. When we say God is omnipresent, it means love covers everywhere. Omnipotent means, its power is universal and we call God omniscience because God love generates wisdom, which covers the whole world. Why run after the money you can have today and tomorrow it deserts you? . Why bother having children who will deny you tomorrow? The worldly knowledge you spend money and time to acquire only deceive. You are poor and worthless without love. It is said everything else will pass away but not God. Christ will not die forever because Christ is love and anybody therefore who abides in love will live forever. If you do not preach love, how then do you preach Christ and the Holy Spirit because Christ and the Holy Spirit are love? The work of God is the work of love. If you are easily vexed, then, you are lacking love. Persons with love do not see the sins of others. Stop regarding God as a tree, rock, or any material thing, but recognize Him as love and you will abide in Him. 2.4 The Trinity God exists in love You will spot God and Christ wherever you see love. God is not found in that prayer house, church or house that lacks love. You have to quit these places. Satan abides where pride, hatred and falsehood exist. What makes you say you have seen God face to face and that you are with God? You do not go to the field or room to look for love, it extends to every place. Christ warned you should not go to the mountain or desert to see love; it is like lightening which flashes from one end of the sky to the other. Wherever the carcass is, there will the vultures gather. 2.5 Putting on Christ means having love How can you study the word of God when you lack love yourself? Love is the word of God; it is Christ, the church and practising the word of God. As soon as you have love, you do not hear evil words. You will have no problems with anybody. Separating yourself from others because they are rogues, fornicators and liars does not demonstrate love. Love is power and when you put it on nothing harms you. When you have put on Christ, it means you have love. What you witness in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is that love. First lesson: 1 John 3:16 “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” 2.6 Love sees no evil Brethren, have you heard this? If God did not love the world how could He send His only begotten Son to come and die for our salvation? He feeds, protects and clothes us and still we deny his existence. In spite of our sins and ingratitude, God never gets angry but loves us still and His love is sufficient to everybody. God is good and unchangeable; our ungratefulness cannot even change Him. If you are a liar, you are not like God because He does not tell lies. We have to resemble Him in every respect. His sun shines on everybody evil and good. His rain falls on the roofs of everybody and He sees all persons as perfect. Why are we not like Him? The people of the world cause the troubles in the world. Our responsibility is to resemble God who is love because without love, you cannot have peace, mercy or forgive one anther's offence. As a loving Father, He sent His first Son to die to save us who were perishing. God's love covers heaven and earth. We see Him therefore as love, patience, righteousness and mercy. No one can see love with the naked eye but you can feel and realize the presence of love. It is easy to realize love wherever you go. 2.7 Seek love alone Brethren, whether the world likes it or not, it has got to possess love. Love has left the world, and that is why people are killing one another. Now is the fullness of time, therefore do not waste time looking for money and wealth? You hypocrites, first remove the beam in your eyes to enable you see the speck in your neighbor's eyes. If we have love then we should not get annoyed or tell lies. Man makes money. These are pieces of paper and metal but which man has ever made love? Money without love cannot give happiness or health. Every group is now busy constructing Bethels. Do you think God lives in buildings? God lives in love and the moment you have love, you have got God. What is Brotherhood other than love and if you have seen love in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, what love is that? Have you not seen patience, meekness, joy, and happiness? Why do you not seek these virtues that you see? The whole world is in commotion because what they had hitherto thought to be love was not love; now they have seen love descended to live among men. Any time you see Brotherhood of the Cross and Star, you see that light, love, peace and faith. Brethren, let us chase love only, preach nothing else but love because love is God. Christ did not preach money or cars. From January to January we preach nothing but love. All of us are debtors, we owe our neighbors the love of Christ who loves us. Worrying about money to accomplish this or that cannot help you but loving and not counting sins for your brethren pleases God more. Do not grudge or blackmail your neighbors or tell lies. Love tolerates everything. Love is pleased with everything, believes everything. Christ asked His disciples if they could drink of the cup He will drink and be baptized with the baptism He was to be baptized with. He confirmed that they could but it was the decision of the Father to say who was to sit on His right hand or left hand. Love rejoices in what is good. If we have that love then we will have no problem. If you have that love, you live in love and God lives in you. Live in any planet of your choice but outside love, you have nothing. 2.8 Only God provides Nobody feeds his children or brethren but God. God only educates; there is nothing that a human being can do for himself or for another. Before an individual is born into the world, his file is transferred with him and from the first minute of pregnancy, the mother begins to have benefits in order to care for the children. Those who are barren, how many houses have they built and those with many children, how impoverished are they? Christ did tell you to consider the birds of the air, the animals in the woods, the weeds, and flowers that never planted but God feeds them. If God could feed them what of you, whom He made in His own image and likeness? It is God only, not Satan or native doctor that gives all gifts. What of the angels, trees, water and bushes. God kept them in those position and feeds them. Has it dawned on you that it is more blessed to give than to receive? Leave the judgment of the world to God. It is said you should not prejudge before the coming of the Lord. Second lesson: 1 John: 4:16 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath for us. God is love: and he that dwellefh in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.” That is why it is said only the begotten Son saw God. How did He see Him? He saw Him in love. He saw the seeds grow and admired how God loved and administered His creation. Christ did not see God with the carnal eye but He saw God in love. He judged nobody. Anybody who has seen love has seen God. Are you not satisfied that you have not seen God with the naked eyes but with the mind's eye? That saying of our Lord is fulfilled today that none can see God by observation. Why should a policeman sit with an honest man? Why has someone duped you or slapped you and you have not taken him to court? Love makes you drink out of one cup with a child with a running nose. Why should a pauper eat with you a rich man? Why address somebody from another town and tribe "brother" or "sister"? All these happen daily in Brotherhood of the Cross and Star. Why should you still help a person who has deceived you? Why should you tolerate little children who decide to stone you? All is because of love. 2.9 Love overlooks our sins Do you see why despite our dirt. God still accommodates us? God forgives us all, even murderers but you reject your son because he had stolen. God still cares for him because before God he had done nothing. Why are we not like God? See, Cain killed Abel but the Father prevented people from killing Cain. He made a sign on his forehead so that he might not be killed. If it were you, you would have killed him straight away. Even though Adam and Eve offended or derailed, but God did not leave them an inch. You would have left them. Who is it in this world that will say that he has not seen God face to face? In spite of what God does for our families and us, we still commit sins, fight and commit all sorts of evil. And yet He loves us still and will not leave us an inch. Who would have remained on earth if God were to judge our deeds? We killed the angels, the prophets and the only begotten Son, who was the heir to the throne, yet He loves us the same. Christ is loving like his Father, even on the Cross He pleaded "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do". If we had understood this love, there would have been no problem. We would have had peace. The love of the Father and the love of the Son for the world led to the Supreme sacrifice on the Cross. The instruction the Lord passed to us is that we should love one another just as He loves us. See the way Christ judged the adulterous woman. She was taken to Him to be condemned. As He was writing the accusers' sins on the ground, they turned and saw their own sins and so they went away one by one leaving our Lord and the woman. God has one day for His judgment. That day has not yet come. He will judge the entire universe including the angels. All the tribulations of today are as the result of our sins. It is said that your sins will find you out. 2.10 The image of God in us is love You often say, "God will punish you", whereas God is perfect and sinless, judges none, rejoices and is pleased with all persons. We are treasurers, and He respects us. Jehovah and His Christ have to judge both the living and the dead and our duty is just to love one another. What is the yardstick for this judgment? It is love. It is said when your enemy hungers, feed him, when he thirsts, give him water to drink and by so doing you are heaping coals of fire on his head. I do not think I have lost anything being with Christ in love. This is the end time when it is right for all of us to think and care for others and do good deeds. Let us surrender everything to God and abide in this love, as we know it. Even if you are insulted bless; speak the truth to the person who hates you. It is said that this power ended with the apostles. Yes, it was so, because they lived according to the teachings of our Lord - living in love, as He did and as His Father did. Even Paul, who was Saul, taught that even if they were abused or cursed, they should bless and pray for them the offenders. This is that cross; bearing false accusations, and not revenging the evil others do to us. Christ surrendered His life because of that love and refused to defend Himself even when Pilate demanded it. The image of God in us is love; He has no other resemblance. Golden text: John: 15:9 “As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.” 2.11 Your weapon is love The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are one in love. "As the Father loved Me, so I do love .you, so you should abide in that love". Why have you departed from that first love? It is said that the wages of sin is death but the reward of righteousness is eternal life. How can you be with God and Christ if you lack love? Christ said, "if you do not stand with Me, you are against Me, and if you do not gather with Me, you are scattering". How can you be with Christ without love? Anyone who does not cover the sins of his brethren is not one with Christ. As the Father loved Christ, and Christ loved His disciples, the disciples too loved the people of the world so the whole world too has to love all the inhabitants of the earth. Love alone is your weapon and you can change persons with it. Your good deeds should extend to all persons, members of this fold and non-members. Do not be discriminatory; be liberal with your love, and generous with every human being. When you do this, you are living in love. Like what Paul said, if you give all you have to the poor or give yourself to be burnt and have no love then it avails you nothing. Whatever we do, if we count sins for our brethren, we have departed from love. We should pray and ask for love so that we will be able to tolerate all types of persons. This pleases God. Whatever wrong is done to you, show mercy because love is merciful. You are advised to overcome evil with goodness. Do not allow evil to overcome you. The love you show to the person who hates you will overwhelm him and eventually change him. Anybody who has love abides in God and Christ and is the greatest. Any person without love is a branch cut off from the parent plant. If you fall, you are finished because you are cut off from the main plant and nourishment cannot therefore get to you. The moment you depart from God you deny yourself of peace, happiness, good health, joy and everything good will leave you. Whatever crimes the world commits, it can carry on, but I will continue to shower all of you with love to the extent that you will acquire that love eventually. From this day, all those who grudge you, make peace with them, and you will see some peace in you. You suffer tribulations now because your love is not yet full. Once your love is complete, you will see the glory of God. Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is nothing but love, but you present it to the world as if it were juju. Often you call on the Father's name to harm or punish a person who owes you. When is it that you sin and I disgrace or punish you? But each time you commit sins, I try to cover you up or pretend not to have seen this. The foolishness of man does not recognize the grace of God but the wise man or the child of God knows that Brotherhood of the Cross and Star is love, is God and does all these things to win you back. The moment you love, you will cease to consider anything you have as your own. You will begin to be generous because all what you have belongs to God. Brethren, I will not stop preaching this love, because it is God, it is Christ and it is the Holy Spirit. Anytime I speak, I speak about the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit and these three beings are not three persons but one. Those who have ears to hear, let them hear, may God bless His holy words. Amen. THANK YOU FATHER