Established in LOVE
Each of us have influence in the home, community, and workplace. It’s no coincidence who our neighbours are, who we work with, or who our kids play with.
God wants to reach others through us, and it is when we are rooted and established in his love that we receive the power and strength to accomplish all that He has called us to.
Scripture
The apostle Paul says in Ephesians chapter 3:17-20 ‘I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to power that is at work within us’
Ephesians is a letter that the apostle Paul wrote from prison AD 60, around 30 years after Jesus’ death. When Jesus was resurrected and then ascended back to heaven, the Holy Spirit came upon all believers who were in Jerusalem and the church was born. Ref Acts 2 The church spread like wild-fire, and small gatherings of believers popped up all over the world. One of the most prominent and passionate of those gatherings at the time was the church in Ephesus, and so one of the reasons Paul wrote this letter was to encourage and remind them of the strength and power that comes when you are rooted & established in God’s love.
Rooted & established These words mean to be founded, settled, and set in God’s love, to have deep roots like a big tree going right down into the ground. A big tree stands strong in the storm because it’s usually got an extensive root system – it is established. And so, the apostle Paul is saying to us that our life needs to be like that and that when we are internally rooted and established in the love of God, we will be strengthened and empowered to live & outwork in all its fullness all that God has for our lives and for the lives of others.
Overflow comes when we Obey
It’s incredible to know that God has called and chosen each one of us to be people who love and reach others ref 1 peter 2:9, and that call starts with us being established in God’s love. If we are going to live the life of influence God calls us to, we must regularly align our lives to the Holy Spirit, align our hearts with God’s heart, fill our minds with God’s Word & obey His commands.
In fact, Jesus says in John 15:10 ‘If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love’.
So, the way for us to be established in God’s love and live from overflow, is to obey His commands.
In Mathew 22:36-40 we see the disciples asking Jesus, ‘Teacher, what is the greatest commandment?”, and Jesus answers saying, ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength, and then there’s a second commandment, love your neighbour as yourself, this sums up the entire law’.
Isn’t that amazing? Jesus is saying that all He requires from us can be summed up very simply, by having a whole-hearted love for God, and then an overflowing, passionate love for people. Both are connected to one another; you can’t have one without the other! It’s great to have love for God, but if you don’t do something with it to make life better for other people, then what use is it?! God calls us to do something great with His love, he calls us to be His ambassadors ref 2 Corinthians 5:20
To reach people and reconcile people to Him, to show His love to others by sharing hope, by standing in faith with each other and building people up in prayer.
Notice Jesus says in verse 37 ‘to love the Lord your God with ALL your heart’, that’s all your spirit, your desires, your will and affections, your emotions, all your mind, your thoughts. God doesn’t want a half-hearted response. Half-hearted means being indifferent, having an attitude of ‘I don’t really care’. Half-hearted means there’s no passion in it. Half-hearted means being passive and just having the mindset that someone else will do it.
In today’s world it is so easy to be half-hearted and buy into the excuse of busyness. The chaos of our busy culture can cause us to lose focus, get distracted and push loving God and others to the bottom on priority on our list!
Scripture shows us that the way to dodge the excuses trap is to be people that are again and again undone by the love that God has for us. REF John 17:26 Jesus prays that we would continue to know the love of God that is within us, and through that intimacy with our Father we would be moved to express His love in ways that reach a broken, hurt & lost world.
And even though we are all in different life stages and carrying different responsibilities it is important that we create a rhythm of having these moments of aligning heart with God. Routines of a new parent will look very different from the daily life of a professional, student or a retired empty-nester! But while our situations are different, we all need to have our everyday moments with God to keep us motivated with a passion to connect people to God.
- Briefly share one or two people who have influenced your life with God’s love. Why are they so significant in your story?
- Who do you influence? How are you currently affecting their lives with the overflow of God’s love?
- What does spending time with God look like in your life stage?
- Have you fallen into the busy culture of today? What needs to change for you to have regular time with God?
Called and Confident
How does it make you feel to know that God has called you to be an influenver and an ambassador?! Are you excited at the opportunity, honoured by the privilege, or intimidated by the responsibility? Or maybe you’re unsure how being called looks for you. Remember, each of us have influence in our home, community, or workplace. It’s no coincidence who our neighbours are, who we work with, or who our kids play with. God wants to reach others through us, and when He calls us to something, he equips & empowers us!
Ambassador for the early Christian readers meant someone of high regard who represented a state or land. They were official representatives of the one who sent them. By using the title ambassador in 2 Corinthians, Paul was saying that we as Christians should see ourselves as representatives of God and that we are to behave accordingly. We have an important job to do – to represent Jesus and deliver His message so others can know Him too. ref 2 Corinthians 5:20
Influence is having an effect of power or authority to bring positive change and action to a situation; having excellence of character or reputation.
For some of us, we may feel prompted to share the Good News at times but lack the confidence to follow through. Maybe we can find ourselves in a place of fear or feel insecure of not knowing how to speak about God or maybe we can have a perspective that nothings changes anyway – why should I even bother?
The best way to overcome any of these reasons is to remind yourself that God has called you and equipped you and that his perfect love casts out all fear ref: 1 john 4:18 – we have heaven cheering us on! And then we simply need to start doing it and not give up! Start by asking God to give you an opportunity to be used by Him, start by praying for people in your group or praying together with your family.
God’s heart is for others to know Him, and we are the people that God wants to use!
- How can we be intentional to build relationship with others? Take a moment to pray and consider who you can develop a connection with.
- Is there an area you would like to increase or improve your influence in? E.g., Confidence to share about Jesus, practically show God’s love, have fresh mindset towards loving God and others.
- Talk with your group about some practical ways we can be deliberate in our practice of sharing God’s message and love with others. How can you help each other outwork these ideas?
Sundays Message
Listen to Sunday’s message Established in Love – churchonline.lifeau.org
Coming up at Life
Prayer
- Men – 6am Tuesday at LIFE
- Women – 6.30am Wednesday at LIFE
RESOURCE REF: NIV Bible, Bible Hub DefInitions Life message