The Word of God is full of commandments; the majority of them are about how we treat one another. It’s impossible to love God with all our heart and not care about His people.
The Word says in 1 John 4:7-11, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this way the love of God was revealed to us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we must also love one another.”
So many times we are so caught up in getting our lives right with God, that we overlook the very meaning of Christianity. As believers we are to win souls and make disciples! Can you name the times in the Bible when Jesus did anything selfish? No, and neither can I. His life was given to help others. Jesus was always concerned about God’s children. In John 21 three times Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Do you love Me?”
All three times Simon Peter said without any hesitation, “Yes, I love You, Lord.”
Then, Jesus would reply, “Feed My sheep.” See, Jesus was talking about loving people and Simon was talking about loving Jesus. It’s really hard to separate the two. If you love God, you will also love His people.
In Matthew 22:37-39 Jesus says, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'”
I love this passage how it says we are to love God with all things, then immediately it’s followed up by love your neighbor. You can’t separate the love of God and the love of people. When we confess to love Christ with our mouth but it’s not seen in our daily lives, it turns people away.
The Bible says people are destroyed because of the lack of knowledge. Where do we get this knowledge to transform lives for the kingdom? The Word says in Psalms 119:9-11, “How shall a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to Your word. With my whole heart I seek You; do not allow me to wander from Your commandments. Your word I have hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You.”
When we learn to live out the Word daily, lives will be transformed right in front of you. God gave some people the job they have to provide for their family and to become a pastor or missionary in the marketplace. See, my friends, the world doesn’t care about how much you know until they see how much you care. We are to out love the world and show people the true love of Jesus Christ. You never have to tell everyone you are a believer; they should know by your fruits!
“Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or else make the tree corrupt and its fruit corrupt. For the tree is known by its fruit” (Matt. 12:33).
Joe Joe Dawson is the president of Burn Texarkana Revival center and House of Prayer. Pastor Dawson also serves as staff evangelist for First Assembly of God in Texarkana, Texas, where he also is now the Tribe College/young adult pastor. Burn Texarkana has one revival/awakening service a month at First Assembly and also has Burn on the Road meetings in neighboring cites monthly. There are four Burn Texarkana prayer meetings each week! Joe is married to the love of his life, Autumn, and together they have three kids: Malachi, Judah and Ezra.