Life University Midweek Bible Study
The Pentecostals of Cooper City 6/11/2026
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49:57
Summary
This study explores the depths of Agape love as a transformative force in our lives, emphasizing that true balance is found only when we prioritize our relationship with God above all else. By understanding what love is - and what it is not - we can better reflect Christ's character to a world in need of kindness and grace.
Key points
- •Biblical love (Agape) is a decision and a commitment, not merely a fleeting feeling or passion. It is the 'glue' that sustains marriage and all other relationships.
- •True love is defined by 14 characteristics in 1 Corinthians 13, including being longsuffering, kind, and not easily irritated or envious.
- •Life balance is achieved by putting God first (Matthew 6:33). When the relationship with God is prioritized, the spirit, soul, and body can live in harmony rather than in a state of constant stress and defeat.
- •Cultivating a relationship with God requires intentionality through a repenting heart, a consistent prayer life, faithfulness to the local church, and regular study of the Word.
- •Our love for God is practically tested by our obedience to His commandments and the way we treat and speak to others.
Scripture
The Nature of Love
Spiritual Discipline
Family and Marriage
Prioritizing God
Life application
This week, identify one area where you have been easily irritated or have held a grudge. Consciously choose to apply 'Agape' love by forgiving that person and praying for their restoration, mirroring how God treats us.
Reflection questions
- If your love for God is measured by your horizontal relationships with others, what does your current treatment of family and coworkers say about your spiritual health?
- What 'idols' - such as hobbies, technology, or sports - are currently competing for the 'first' position in your daily schedule?
- How can you transition from giving God your 'least' (leftover time at the end of the day) to giving Him your 'best' (your peak hours of energy and focus)?
- Is there a specific person in your life who needs you to be 'longsuffering' toward them right now, just as God is patient with us?
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Full transcript
0:00will cease. If there's knowledge,
0:00knowledge, it will vanish away."
0:00And I would like to read John 3:16,
0:02which we all know it, we see it
0:03everywhere. For God so loved the world
0:07that he gave his only begotten son that
0:10whosoever believe in him shall not
0:12perish but have everlasting life. I I
0:15believe that the that the the question
0:17of what love is, what is love, I believe
0:21that's a good question, especially in
0:23the days that we're living in today. The
0:26whe when you look around
0:30sometimes um I'm not much of a Instagram
0:33and Facebook kind of guy, but sometimes
0:36I get in there and 30 seconds later I'm
0:39like depressed. What is this? you know,
0:41all this division and everything that is
0:43going on. I I do love one that I saw
0:46this morning and it was from brother
0:48Mike Stone.
0:50I love his post. It's very very
0:52positive. I love that. And the one he
0:54posted this morning said, "God, your
0:57love is extravagant.
1:00Every morning I'm in it."
1:02It's a very It's an everyday type of
1:06love. I love that. And it goes well with
1:08what we're going to speak tonight. So,
1:10I'm going to ask you to let's pray
1:11together. The word is already anointed,
1:14but let's pray that the messenger be
1:17anointed. Amen. Lord Jesus, we worship
1:19you. We thank you so much for today. We
1:22thank you for your word. We thank you
1:24for your love, God. We want to learn
1:26more from you, God. We want to be more
1:27be more like you. We want you to speak
1:30into our life. We want to receive what
1:32you have for us today. I pray that the
1:34word will be falling on good ground.
1:36That our hearts, our minds will take it.
1:38that it will take everything from a God
1:40that doesn't only take it in but will
1:43let it ride out into others. Lord Jesus,
1:45use us Lord mighty God as a church to be
1:48the love that this world needs in Jesus'
1:51name. In Jesus name. Amen. Please be
1:53seated.
1:56It seems like there are many concepts of
1:58love
2:00and it seems sometimes that that love is
2:03nowhere to be found. Even is it just me?
2:07It just feels that way right now. And
2:10and this word love sometimes confuses
2:14people as well.
2:17Uh some people confuse it with some
2:19emotions,
2:21right? Or or with different kind of
2:22feelings. They they seem to get
2:26confused with these things. But today
2:28we're going to be talking about one love
2:31and is the the love that that we know
2:35that comes from God himself is the love
2:39that we can learn from the word of God.
2:43Now, every time I I pick up the word and
2:47not every time, but every time I want to
2:49sit down and study it, I like to to look
2:53back because the Bible was not written
2:55in English, right? As as much as I like
2:58Spanish, the word the Bible wasn't
3:00written in Spanish.
3:02Amen. I I guess I guess we're closer
3:04than English, but
3:08it was Hebrew, Greek, right? and and I
3:11like to go back to those languages and
3:14and read and study a little bit more, go
3:16a little bit deeper.
3:19And I'm going to say some words here
3:21that none of us here know, okay? So do
3:23not judge me when I don't pronounce them
3:25right.
3:27But when I was studying about love, I
3:29found four different words in Greek that
3:32when we translate them, they become
3:34love. Right? So let's go a little bit
3:37deeper on this. The first one is the
3:39word et.
3:43Yes, eeros. And and this is a word that
3:46refers to an intimacy.
3:48I It's a word that can be used within
3:51marriage.
3:54Another word is sto. And if I'm saying
3:57this wrong, let me know later. Not right
3:59now. Just say yes. Allelujah. And later
4:01we talk about it. Okay. Sto this word
4:05refers to family kind of love, right? Is
4:08a love from a a dad to to the children.
4:11Uh is a love between family members. The
4:15next love is the love filio. Kind of
4:18sounds like Portuguese. Filio filio. And
4:22this one speaks of us here is is a
4:25brotherly love, right? Is is a
4:28friendship love. But the love that I
4:32want to make sure I focus on today is
4:35that love of that agape love. This this
4:40word refers to the love of God towards
4:44us. It's an unconditional love. It's a
4:47love that there is no love higher than
4:50that one. This is a level of love that
4:52you and I should try to reach daily.
4:56Amen.
4:58So let me talk because there's a
5:00difference between passion and love and
5:03sometimes we make the mistake that we
5:06confuse these two things. Passion is
5:08necessary. We're all adults here, right?
5:12Passion is necessary, right? Within the
5:14the marriage is very necessary. But it
5:17is important to understand that passion
5:20and love are two different things.
5:23Passion is a strong feeling that that
5:25works in an attraction between a husband
5:28and a wife,
5:31but it's a fleeing feeling. It's a
5:34feeling that comes and goes.
5:37There are many moments like right now.
5:41>> Amen.
5:43>> Yes, we need you, God.
5:45>> There are many moments like right now
5:47where
5:48>> where the passion is not felt.
5:54Amen.
5:56>> There's places where where where you and
5:58your wife shouldn't be showing that
6:01passion.
6:03And the church says, "Amen."
6:06>> Now, love love is not a feeling. Love is
6:09a decision. It's something you have to
6:12make. It's a decision you had to take.
6:15And love includes many essential things.
6:17and and I come here today to tell you
6:21three of those things. And I have a good
6:24resume with me. Last month, my wife and
6:27I turned 21 years of marriage. Praise
6:31God. We got married right across over
6:34there in the Rook's auditorium right
6:35before we came in here to worship here.
6:38And I praise God for this wonderful 21
6:40years. But within this 21 years, I
6:43learned a few things. We need a balance
6:46of three things.
6:47One of them is passion, intimacy, and
6:51commitment.
6:53And love is the glue that that hold all
6:55these three things together. It's that
6:58invisible decision that motivates and
7:02sustains every aspect of marriage.
7:05But we can go beyond marriage and see
7:07how love sustains our entire lives when
7:11it comes to that agape love.
7:14So I'm bringing a few characteristics
7:17that we read, we just read them of what
7:20this agape love is.
7:23See, love is supreme in everything else
7:25in life. We learned that in the first
7:27verse that we read that love is superior
7:30to to spiritual gifts.
7:35It's quietness in the house. See,
7:38without love, your spiritual gift is
7:41only a noise.
7:45In what we read, the apostle Paul gives
7:47us 14 characteristics of true love. And
7:51first he gives us two things that love
7:54is.
7:55First one is love is longsuffering.
8:00Here is love is seen as an action. See
8:03true love always shows action.
8:06Longsuffering showing that love lasts
8:08for a long time.
8:12He is not the suffering of love of God
8:14who who is patient with us. He's he's
8:17longsuffering for us, waiting for all of
8:20us to change. See, when I was a kid, I
8:23grew up in church. I praise God for
8:24that. I grew up in church all my life.
8:26I've been a Pentecostal. And growing up
8:30in Colombia, all I heard growing up was,
8:33"Jesus is coming.
8:35Be careful. Jesus is coming. You better
8:37be ready." And one day when I was around
8:40seven years old, I came up to the
8:42pastor. I said, "Pastor, you keep saying
8:44he's coming and he's coming and I'm
8:46ready, but I haven't seen him yet. Why
8:49is he taking so long?"
8:54And why he told me, I still hold in my
8:56heart. He said, "You see, because he's
8:58waiting for your family members that are
9:00not here yet. He's waiting for those
9:02neighbors that are not here yet. He's
9:05waiting for your friends in school that
9:06haven't come to church yet. I thank God
9:10that we have a longsuffering love from
9:12him. Amen. Thank God. I praise him. I
9:17still have family that is not here yet
9:19and I'm still praying for them. Second
9:21Peter 3:9 says 3:9 says, "The Lord is
9:25not slack concerning his promise as some
9:28count slackness, but is long-suffering
9:31towards us, not willing that any should
9:34perish, but that all should come to
9:37repentance."
9:38I thank God for his long-suffering love.
9:42The next thing is love is kind. Love is
9:45kind.
9:47True love shows itself in in in deeds of
9:51kindness. One way that that we see if
9:54someone is kind and they've done they've
9:58done things checking this out, right?
9:59The universities and all of that smart
10:01people, they've done things to check and
10:03they said that if you bring a baby to
10:05someone, if the baby receives this
10:08person, this person is kind.
10:12if they don't want to be with a person.
10:14Now don't raise your hand if a baby has
10:17rejected you.
10:19I raise my hand that old babies love me.
10:21All right, praise God. Now something
10:24happened though. The babies love me, but
10:26then the kids my kids age think that I'm
10:29mean.
10:31Apparently I have a mean rest face.
10:34Okay, but if you get to know me, you'll
10:36know I'm not mean. Amen. But children do
10:39not normally receive somebody that is
10:41not kind. That's one way they say that
10:43we can check. But love is kind.
10:47Now we're going to look at few things
10:49here that love is not. We're studying
10:52today. Amen. Love is not envious.
10:56Envy is one of the most harmful sins
11:00that exist.
11:02The only thing that envy hurts is other
11:05people.
11:06True love does not envy when you re when
11:09someone receives a blessing. True love
11:11doesn't envy when when your your
11:14coworker receives a promotion.
11:17True love does not envy when somebody
11:19here shows up with a brand new car. We
11:22rejoice with them, right? Envy was what
11:25killed Abel in Genesis 4. Envy is what
11:29slave Joseph in Genesis 37. And envy is
11:33what crucified Jesus in Matthew 27.
11:37Church, please be aware of envy.
11:41Love does not envy.
11:44Another thing is that love is not
11:46arrogant.
11:47It does not parade itself.
11:50Love does love works alone. It doesn't
11:53need anyone's attention for love to to
11:56do its job. True love gives because he
11:59loves to give. It does not give to to
12:03receive praise from anybody else. That's
12:06what love is.
12:08Love is not jealous.
12:11Yep. Love does true love doesn't focus
12:14on itself.
12:16True love focuses on the needs of
12:18others.
12:21There is no place for jealousy in the
12:24house of the Lord. Amen.
12:27Love doesn't do anything wrong.
12:30True love is transparent. True love
12:33really wants the best for other people.
12:35True love is not rude. He He treats
12:38other people with respect.
12:41When when when a Christian falls into
12:44into this is because he's working on the
12:46flesh and not on the spirit.
12:49We must remember that we are examples
12:52to others.
12:54Just a few weeks ago, we have a a a man
12:57who walked into the Coral Springs Church
12:59in the theater and he's been living on
13:03the streets. We actually saw him many
13:06times when we were pulling in before and
13:08he decided to move somewhere else.
13:12But he, this man decided to walk into
13:14the church
13:16and I I was able to see him and talk to
13:18him after service and I went and I sat
13:21next to him and we talked for a little
13:24bit and then at the end when I was
13:25saying goodbye I gave him a hug and I
13:27said, "I hope I see you again." And he
13:30started to cry
13:32and I said, "Is everything okay?" And he
13:35said, "Ever since I I stepped into these
13:39doors, everybody has shown me love.
13:42Everywhere I go, people despise me.
13:44People don't even want to walk around
13:46me. But every ever since I walk into
13:49these doors, everybody has been so nice
13:51to me. Thank you." He was saying to me,
13:54we are examples to others. We are we are
13:58to show the love that God has given to
14:00us. Amen. Another thing is love does not
14:04seek its own.
14:07This is really like being like Jesus.
14:10This speaks to our motives. Why are we
14:13doing what we do? Is it for our own
14:16good? Is it because we feel good doing
14:18it or is it because we're really making
14:21a difference in others lives?
14:25In Romans 12 uh 10 says, "Be kindly
14:28affectionate to one another with
14:31brotherly love in honor giving
14:34preference to one another." Philippians
14:362:4 says, "Let each of you look not only
14:40for his own interest, but also for the
14:44interest of others."
14:47That's what we're called to do. Is this
14:50all right? Amen. Another thing is love
14:54is not irritated.
14:56If we're not careful, we can easily be
14:58provoked.
15:00We can be irritated with someone else.
15:03And
15:05I used to be this guy. And my wife is
15:07already laughing. She knows where I'm
15:08going with this.
15:11Picture this. A 16 year old boy with a
15:15Mustang 5.0 V8
15:18Xpipe. You know, back in the day when
15:20the muscle cars were muscle cars, when
15:23you press that gas and the whole car
15:25shakes,
15:26that's what I had when I was 16 years
15:29old.
15:30That car plus a young guy equals bad
15:35things.
15:37Okay.
15:38I have repented.
15:41[laughter]
15:42One time I passed brother's curving
15:44right here on Flamingo between 595 and
15:47Grieving. That's like a highway. And
15:50that's what I thought it was. It was a
15:51racetrack for me. And brother Scurvvin
15:54was driving one of his old cars, really
15:56nice cars. And I passed by him. I got
16:00here to the church. I used the restroom.
16:02I went into worship. And then he saw me
16:04after service and say, "Young man, you
16:07must be doing 150."
16:10And I said, "Honestly, I cannot tell
16:12you. The needle of my car, it was
16:15hitting the bottom like this. I don't
16:17know how fast I was going, but one of
16:20the things that I used to do was if
16:22somebody cuts me off,
16:25and that's why she was laughing.
16:28I was that guy that would get off the
16:31car first. I'll try to cut them off
16:34again, make sure they stop, and then
16:36I'll get off the car. I don't know what
16:39I was thinking. I don't know what I was
16:42doing. Hey, I have some windows here
16:45[laughter] in the house.
16:47Good. I'm not the only one. But we got
16:49to be careful to get irritated easily.
16:54You see, we think that irritation is not
16:56a sin, but it is.
16:59Moses became irritated with God's people
17:02and he showed it and because of that, he
17:04wasn't able to go into the promised
17:06land.
17:08Amen. We got to be careful. Love does
17:11not bear grudges.
17:13This literally means that love does not
17:16keep memory of all the injustices
17:19against oneself.
17:21This is not easy. I'm sorry. I know. I
17:24know.
17:26But true love learns to put things
17:28aside. It learns to put hurts aside,
17:32pain from our past, to leave it aside
17:36instead of holding on to them.
17:40If we really want to move forward in
17:42God's love, we must learn to forgive
17:46and forget.
17:48As far as the east is from the west,
17:51right? That's the one I follow. And when
17:54I was when I went in the water in Jesus
17:57name, my sins went as far as the east is
18:00from the west. You can continue going
18:03and we will never find those sins
18:05anymore. And I thank God that he did
18:07that for me because as you already
18:09heard, I I don't deserve to be here
18:11today. But I thank God for his love. And
18:14if he's my example, then this is the way
18:17I should be as well.
18:20Third, he gives us four things that love
18:23is. We go back to love is. We already
18:26did. Love is, love is not. We're going
18:28back to love is. We're just following
18:30what we read in the beginning. Amen.
18:33Love is strong.
18:35He it it endures all things.
18:38You see for us it would have been better
18:41if Paul would have said love endures
18:43some things but no he said he endures
18:47all things.
18:50People will try your patience.
18:52People have tried my patience but love
18:56should endure all. Let's remember that
18:59people are like us. They have their
19:02strong things, the strengths and they
19:05have their weaknesses just like we do,
19:08right? The word endures can also be
19:11translated and this is what I love
19:14learning in different languages, right?
19:17Is also translated as cover. It's a
19:20cover.
19:22So true love provides a covering for
19:25people.
19:27True love covers your family. True love
19:30covers your co-workers. True love covers
19:34your neighbors. And it provides a safe
19:37place for them to be able to grow just
19:39like you and I are.
19:41Amen.
19:43Number two, love is all believing. You
19:47see, we as human, we tend to to believe
19:51the bad news is easy to believe. Oh
19:54yeah, I knew it. Right?
19:57But for some reason, the good news, no,
20:00that's unbelievable.
20:02That's too good to believe. Has anybody
20:04done that? Lord, raise your hand. I I
20:07raise it for you.
20:09But true love decides to believe the
20:13best of other people.
20:16Always giving the benefit of the doubt
20:19instead of judging, instead of
20:21criticizing, without proof, without
20:23truth. True love chooses to believe the
20:26good in a person
20:28until it's proved otherwise. No, no, no,
20:32no, no, no, no, no. Even when is prove
20:34otherwise, true love comes and prays for
20:37the restoration of this person.
20:40Amen.
20:42I know it's not easy to hear, but this
20:45is in the word.
20:48Love, love is hope.
20:52True love is optimistic, not
20:54pessimistic.
20:56When it re when he receives hurt, when
20:58when we receive pain, true love does not
21:00say, "Oh, he's always going to be this
21:02way. He's never going to change. She's
21:06never going to change." No. Instead,
21:10believes, I believe that God is going to
21:12change you. I believe that in prayer,
21:15you're going to become a new creature. I
21:17believe that change is coming. I'm a
21:19receiver of this love. I'm a receiver, a
21:22big receiver of this love. And I thank
21:25God for my pastor. I thank God for my
21:27wife. For many years, I ran away from my
21:30calling. And instead of her giving up on
21:33me, she said, "No, I I I believe that
21:35God has a call in his life and he's
21:38going to turn around and he's going to
21:40come." Has anybody been on the receiving
21:42side of this kind of love? I don't know
21:45about you, but I thank God for this
21:46love. I wouldn't be here if it wasn't
21:49for this love.
21:51The last one is love perseveres
21:54and we go back to the endures all
21:56things. Can I go back to that? You see
21:59this part is very important because we
22:02can suffer all things, we can believe
22:04all things, we can hope all things but
22:07sometimes we have a limit.
22:11And the greatness of this agape love
22:14that we're talking about tonight is that
22:17this love perseveres.
22:19It never stops being. It doesn't have an
22:23end. It doesn't have a limit. It ne it
22:26will never give up on you. It will
22:29destroy enemies by making them your
22:32friends.
22:34That's what true love does.
22:39But
22:40we've been talking about loving
22:43one another, but there's more to that.
22:47You see, we need to love God as well.
22:51And Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek ye
22:54first the kingdom of God and his
22:56righteousness, and all of these things
23:00shall be added unto you." Romans 8:28
23:03says, "And we know that all things work
23:06together for good to those who love God,
23:09to those who are called according to his
23:11purpose."
23:12Romans 8:35-39
23:15says, "Who shall separate us from the
23:18love of God?" So tribulation, distress,
23:21persecution famine nakedness peril
23:25or sore, as it is written, for your sake
23:29we are killed all day long. We are
23:33accounted as cheap for the slaughter.
23:37But yet in all things we are more than
23:41conquerors through him who loved us. For
23:44I am persuaded that neither death nor
23:47life, nor angels, principalities, nor
23:50powers of things presence or things to
23:52come, nor heights, nor depth, nor any
23:55other created thing shall be able to
23:58separate us from the love of Christ
24:03Jesus our Lord. I love those verses.
24:07All it takes is one moment for us to
24:10look around and see that our lives are
24:12out of balance.
24:15The chaos of of imbalance is everywhere
24:19we look. Today looking online, it was
24:24hard everywhere. Unfortunately, we end
24:28up and unfortunately what we we as
24:31society try to do is deal with the
24:33symptoms and effects of them, but we
24:36don't ever get to the root of the
24:39problem.
24:40You see, it's not God's will for you to
24:42live a life filled the stress.
24:46It's not it's not God's will for you to
24:48be worry every single day. It's not
24:50God's will for you to be in conflict
24:53in a constant sense of defeat.
24:57That is just what it feels like right
24:59now.
25:01God has given us a plan and it's a plan
25:05of balance.
25:07And we can see in the scripture that the
25:10the being of us, a whole person includes
25:13three aspects. The spirit, the soul and
25:17the body. the spirit, the the the part
25:20that is closest to God, the soul, the
25:24center of the person where that's where
25:25you find your character that that's
25:28where you find your your your
25:29personality.
25:31And then this flesh, the body that this
25:35is the part that connects us more to
25:38earth here. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 says,
25:43"Now may the God of peace himself
25:45sanctify you completely and may your
25:48whole spirit, soul, and body be
25:50preserved blameless at the coming of the
25:54Lord Jesus Christ." You see, it is God's
25:58desire for you to live a balanced life.
26:02The moment that we lose our balance, we
26:05end up living miserable lives that lack
26:08something very important and very
26:10necessary.
26:11Now, if we are to achieve that balance,
26:15we must start where the God tells us to
26:17start.
26:19Seek ye first the kingdom of God. The
26:25first aspect of the balance of our life
26:27is that we must seek him first. Matthew
26:316:33. Let's read it all together. But
26:33seek ye first the kingdom of God and his
26:35righteousness, and all of these things
26:38shall be added unto you. It may it may
26:42sound very simple,
26:44but it could fix so many things in our
26:47lives simply by living the way that God
26:51teaches us to live. You see, it's our
26:54human nature for us to put God things
26:57for later.
27:00Okay? Yeah, I I I live on my hand by
27:02myself again. Okay.
27:04That that if we have time, we'll we'll
27:06we'll do God's thing.
27:10How many of you know the World Cup
27:12starts tomorrow?
27:14Amen.
27:16And guess who guess who's playing next
27:18week on Wednesday?
27:21Colombia.
27:23Guess where I'm from?
27:26Colia.
27:28Amen.
27:30Now trust me, you might see me here with
27:32my suit and my jersey underneath,
27:35but trust me, you will see me here
27:37first. You see, because God's things
27:40come first than my hobbies. God things
27:43comes first than the sports. But
27:46sometimes we make that mistake
27:50and and we're like, "No, no, no. We'll
27:51make a time for it. We will. It will
27:54happen."
27:56I I I we we've been teaching um and Gary
27:59and Lulu are back there. God bless you
28:01guys. Love you guys. They've been
28:02helping us in every single Welcome to
28:04the family. They're awesome family.
28:06Thank God for them. And and in welcome
28:09to the family, one of the things is
28:11teaching us when to study the word of
28:14God. What's the best time to do it,
28:16right? It talks about the places to do
28:17it. And I have a place that I always
28:19open my Bible on. And the time uh and it
28:23says to give the best time, right? So
28:26for me, my best time, if any of you have
28:29ever greeted me in the evening, I say
28:31good morning is on purpose. Okay, I'm
28:33playing with my head because when it
28:35comes to evening time, I go night.
28:41Okay, now pray for me because I have my
28:43wife who's opposite
28:46and it's 12 at night and that's when she
28:48gets the best ideas, the best talks to
28:51talk about and I'm just trying to stay
28:53awake. [laughter]
28:54I like baby, let's talk in the morning
28:56because morning is my best time. So for
28:59me, I give that time to God. When I wake
29:02up, that's when I pray, that's when I
29:04study, that's when I read the word,
29:06right? Guess what I want to do in the
29:08afternoon?
29:10We even bought weights. We did
29:11everything and said, "Oh, in the
29:13afternoon after work, I'm gonna work
29:14out."
29:17Well,
29:18let's leave it at that.
29:21Okay? You don't have to laugh so hard.
29:23Okay?
29:26It we want to we want to give him our
29:30best, right? It's just sometimes our
29:34intentions are good,
29:37but
29:39We're just giving him the less the least
29:42that we can. And guess what? Night night
29:45is going to come. We go to bed. We
29:47didn't speak to God that day.
29:51God is has more wisdom than I do.
29:57He's smarter than I am. And he makes it
30:00very clear to them that loving him first
30:05is very important thing to do.
30:08They came and they say, "Teacher, which
30:10is the greatest commandment in the law?"
30:13In Matthew 22:37 and 38 says, "Jesus
30:16said to them to him, you shall love the
30:19Lord your God with all your heart, with
30:20all your soul, with all your mind." That
30:23is the first and greatest commandment.
30:27The first of the ten commandments given
30:29to Moses in Mount Si was to the people
30:33to make it clear to them that there was
30:37no other gods for them. It's only one
30:39God right?
30:41They they will go and build things. But
30:44today we don't we don't see idolatry
30:46made out of wood or bronze or gold or
30:49silver.
30:50Now anything can be an idol in our
30:53lives. when you spoke about soccer or
30:55the real football, right?
30:59Amen.
31:01>> It it can be it can be your phone,
31:04right? It can be Facebook.
31:07It can be Instagram. It can be Latin
31:09Aloa. It it can be that that show that
31:13you like to watch, right? But in Exodus
31:1723 says, "You shall have no other gods
31:20before me." and be careful because we
31:23think that if we don't have a statue in
31:26our house, we're not worshiping
31:28something else. But if something is
31:30taking place for you in your life before
31:33God, you're putting that as an idol.
31:36Amen.
31:38Every single day the parents of these
31:40Jewish children they had the
31:42responsibility to remind them of these
31:44things in the morning when they wake up
31:47when they sat at the table when they
31:49were walking in the evening before they
31:51went to bed they had to remind them that
31:53the the most important thing is to put
31:56God first.
31:59Deeronomy. Man, that's a hard word for
32:01me to say. Deeronomy.
32:08Thank you, pastor. Duteronomy 64 five.
32:12You know what? Let's read four as well
32:14because I love it. Here, O Israel, the
32:17Lord God, our God is one. And then on
32:20verse five, say, you shall love the Lord
32:22your God with all your heart, with all
32:24your soul, and with all of your
32:27strength. is right here.
32:31But now what what good would it be if I
32:33just come and tell you this but not help
32:36you? How can we cultivate that love with
32:39God? So let's get into that. Let's give
32:43me a few more minutes. From the very
32:46beginning of creation,
32:48God had a desire to fellowship with us.
32:51[clears throat]
32:52We see that with Adam and Eve in the
32:54garden. The voice of God will come and
32:56we will will go through the garden and
32:58they will fellowship together. But
33:01immediately after the fall, that
33:03relationship was broken.
33:06What's the first thing they did when
33:07they heard God's voice after the fall?
33:09They went and they hid,
33:12right? That fellowship was broken. But I
33:14love that because from that moment
33:17we see God making the bridge to to to
33:22fix to to fix that relationship that he
33:25once had with humanity.
33:28We see him coming and and and making
33:30that the sacrifice to cover them.
33:37Then we see the covenant between him and
33:39Abraham.
33:41Then we see him making the the
33:43blueprints himself
33:45so that they can have the tabernacle, a
33:48place where his presence will dwell. And
33:50when one of them could come once a year
33:53and dwell with him,
33:55but he didn't stop there.
33:58In Jesus Christ dwelt all fullness of
34:01the Godhead bodily.
34:03He decided to come himself,
34:07walk our walk, feel what we felt. Not
34:10only that, but go all the way to the
34:12cross and becoming that sacrifice for
34:17you and for me. And that night as he
34:20closed his eyes, as he gave his life for
34:22you and for me, the veil in the temple
34:25ripped from top to bottom, that veil
34:28that was separating everybody from his
34:31presence. That veil that was on the way
34:34of what he loved, that relationship with
34:36you and with me was ripped in half. And
34:40now because of that, you and I can walk
34:42into this place and feel his presence.
34:45Because of that, we're able to have male
34:47miracles. Because of that, you can speak
34:50to him in your car, wherever you are,
34:52and his process just comes right away. I
34:55thank God that he love fellowshipping
34:59with us.
35:01And there are several things that we can
35:03do to maintain or to cultivate to grow
35:06that love with God.
35:09The first one is to maintain a repenting
35:11heart.
35:14The first step towards a new level of
35:17growth in God is to ensure that our
35:20hearts are not filled with sin and
35:22pride.
35:25The Bible tells us that a broken heart
35:29God will not despise.
35:32[snorts]
35:34Second thing is developing a prayer
35:36life. Prayer is the communication that
35:40we have with him. It is impossible to
35:43have a long a loving relationship when
35:46you don't speak with the other person.
35:50Does that make sense? [snorts]
35:53I praise God for my wife and myself. We
35:56I love our relationship. Guess what?
35:58Every night we put the kids down at
36:008:00m
36:02and it's our time. a time that we get to
36:05communicate, talk about the day, eat
36:07together, pray together, do
36:10fellowship together.
36:13Amen. But how how do you look to have a
36:16relationship with God if you don't speak
36:19to him?
36:24Prayer prayer is the means by which we
36:27learn about his heart, about his mind,
36:30about what he wants, what he loves, what
36:32he hates.
36:34And we strive to live a life to to
36:37please God. It all comes through prayer.
36:41Also in prayer, we give God the
36:43opportunity to speak into our lives, to
36:46give us direction, to give us strength.
36:50How can you not love praying? O, it's so
36:54powerful.
36:56Third,
36:57be faithful in the house of God.
37:01It is important to see that the early
37:03church dedicated themselves to gathering
37:06together.
37:08In the book of Acts, it says that they
37:10will get together every day either at
37:12the temple or in homes, but they will
37:15gather together with the saints.
37:18God in his wisdom reminds us that we
37:22must not give up meeting together as
37:24some are in the habit of doing. Not you
37:28because you're here on Wednesday night.
37:30Amen. But why did he say that? Because
37:33it's important for us to know how much
37:35we need to support one another.
37:39It's also because he dwells in the
37:40presence in the midst of the praises of
37:42his people,
37:44right? What we're feeling right now,
37:46even on a Bible study, we can feel the
37:48presence of God. What we were feeling
37:50here last Sunday night in the middle of
37:52that service, I would not change that
37:55for anything in this world. Amen.
37:59Number four is read and study the word
38:01of God.
38:03It's interesting to me. I I had somebody
38:06that came and asked me, I've been I've
38:09been waiting for a word from God and I
38:13haven't received it yet. He's not
38:14speaking to me. And I asked him, when
38:17was the last time you opened the word?
38:23>> He put his head down and he said, "Well,
38:25I read it when I come to church." And
38:28the pastor puts it up there.
38:32We want to hear from God,
38:35but we don't read his word.
38:39First of all, he's not going to to tell
38:41you something new or something that
38:43contradicts this.
38:45>> No,
38:47this must be our starting point if we
38:49want the communication with him.
38:52Second, the word of God is something
38:54beautiful and eternal that we get to
38:56hold in our hands.
38:59We can look at this Bible like a long
39:01love letter that God left for us.
39:06[laughter]
39:07It's all right here.
39:10We could include many more things, but
39:11it's almost 8 o'clock. Okay? But I pray
39:15that these things that I'm giving you
39:16today
39:18will be great things for you to start
39:20with.
39:21And I know I know that our lives are
39:25going to turn around. Our families are
39:28going to turn around. The situations in
39:31our lives, I believe God will turn them
39:33around. Those mountains that you've been
39:35praying for to move will start to move.
39:38Those doors that you've been praying to
39:39be open will be open. Amen.
39:43Now, let me tell you something real
39:45quick here because your love is going to
39:47be tested.
39:49It's important to know there are several
39:51measures that test our love for God.
39:57Number one, keeping his commandments.
40:00This is something that our flesh doesn't
40:02like.
40:03Yep. But it truly reflects our a level
40:08of obedience to him.
40:11The most effective way to prove our love
40:14to God is through our struggle to love
40:17him.
40:18A rebellious heart immediately rejects
40:21God's commandments. However, an obedient
40:24heart, no matter how hard it feels to
40:27this flesh,
40:28is going to reflect his deep love for
40:32us. Another thing is the love for
40:35others.
40:37Our vertical relationship with God is
40:39tested with our horizontal relationship
40:41with others.
40:43In one of the parts of the scriptures,
40:45Jesus said that the way people will know
40:48who were his disciples
40:51will be by the love they showed to one
40:53another.
40:55When somebody sees you outside, can they
40:58tell you a Christian? Can [snorts] they
41:00tell you follow Christ?
41:04Does your neighbor can your neighbor
41:06tell
41:08>> that you follow Christ?
41:13Number three, through the way
41:16that we speak to what we say out of the
41:20abundance of our heart. Our mouth
41:23speaking.
41:24Our mouth should be filled with the word
41:26of God. Our our mouth should be filled
41:30with words that edified each other, that
41:32lift each other up, that blessed each
41:35other. Amen.
41:38I'm going to ask you to stand on your
41:39feet.
41:42We're speaking about the love of God. We
41:45spoke about the things that can test
41:47you.
41:48But if if we hold on to that love of God
41:53the way that we read in the Bible, let
41:56nothing separate us from the love of
41:58God. If we walked out of this place
42:01today with our minds made up that
42:04nothing is going to come between myself,
42:07my family, and God, trust me, you're
42:11going to live a happy,
42:13powerful, victorious life.
42:19If we could continue with our prayer
42:21life, with our reading of the Bible,
42:24regular attendance to the church, to the
42:27small groups when they come,
42:29God is going to bless you. Now, let's
42:32remember that the goal is this. If we
42:34put God first in everything, then he
42:38himself will take care of the things
42:39that you truly need.
42:42When we seek him first, the rest will be
42:45added.
42:47We must be like the Apostle Paul in
42:48Romans 8 and be determined.
42:52Nothing will separate me from the love
42:56of Christ. And if this is your prayer
42:59today, tonight I'm going to ask you to
43:01please come to the altar. We're going to
43:03pray together. Who wants more of that
43:06love?
43:08Who wants more of that? And we know that
43:11all things work together for the good of
43:13those who love God.
43:16Who shall separate me from his love?
43:19Come with a mind mindset wi with your
43:22mind made up that no tribulation, no
43:26distress, not even persecution, no
43:29nakedness, no sore, nothing is going to
43:32separate me from his love. come together
43:36and say, "I am convinced that neither
43:39death nor life, nor angels, rulers, no
43:42present things, no past, no future, no
43:45powers, nothing is going to take me away
43:48from his love." Why don't you come and
43:50you cover your family today with your
43:52prayers? Why don't you start praying
43:54right now for those loved ones? Why
43:56don't you start praying for your
43:57neighbor? I wonder what will happen if
43:59the Pentecostals get together and pray
44:01for your co-workers. What will happen
44:04here in this house? What will happen
44:06here in South America, in South Florida?
44:08I wonder what will happen if we choose
44:10love. That we are in this world, but
44:13we're not of this world. I've came here
44:17and I'm I am to be that example. I am to
44:21be the difference. God has given me that
44:24love. Now, let's show it to others in
44:29Jesus name.
45:01Oh, how he loves [singing and music] us.
45:06how he loves us so
45:13and oh
45:17how he loves us [singing and music] so
45:22oh how he loves us
45:26[music] how [singing] he loves us so
45:34he is gent less for me.
45:39He loves [music] like a hurricane. I
45:42[singing] am a tree bending beneath
45:45[music]
45:47the weight of this wind and [singing]
45:50mercy. [music]
45:54When [singing] all of a sudden
45:58I [music] am unaware of these
46:00afflictions eclipsed by glory
46:04and I [singing and music] realize just
46:07how beautiful you are and how great
46:10[singing and music] your affections are
46:13for me
46:15and know [singing]
46:17[music]
46:18how he loves us so.
46:23Oh, how he loves [singing] us.
46:28How he loves us [music] so.
46:35And oho [singing]
46:38how he loves us so.
46:43Oh, [singing] how [music]
46:45he loves us.
46:48how [singing] he loves us so
46:53[music]
46:55and we are his portion and he is our
46:59[singing]
46:59price. We're drawn [music] to redemption
47:03by the grace in his eyes. [singing]
47:05If grace
47:07is our notion [music] we're all sinking.
47:15And [music] so heaven meets earth like a
47:18[singing] beautiful kiss. And my heart
47:21turns a vine in the [music] inside
47:24[singing] of my chest. And I don't have
47:27time to maintain these regrets when
47:30[music] I think [singing] about the way
47:36he loves us. Oh, [music]
47:40how he loves us. [singing]
47:44Oh, how he loves us. Oh, how he loves
47:53[music and singing]
47:57you.
48:00[music] Oh, [singing] he loves us.
48:15>> [music]
48:22[music]
48:26>> Heat.
48:30Hey Heat.
48:34>> [music]
48:36>> He loves us.
48:41He [singing] loves us. [music]
48:44Oh, how he loves us. Oh, how he loves
48:52[singing] us.
48:54[music]
48:55Yes, he loves us. Oh, how he loves us.
49:03[singing]
49:04Oh, how he loves us. [singing]
49:09Oh, how he loves us.
49:15Yes, [singing] he loves us. Oh, how he
49:21loves us. Oh, how [singing] he loves us.
49:29Oh, how he loves [singing]
49:36and we are his [music] portion and he is
49:40our price. Drawn to redemption by the
49:44grace in his eyes and grace. [singing]
49:48is an ocean.
49:52>> [singing]