Earning vs. Receiving God’s Love wk.11-3

Glory, hallelujah.

The promises of the Lord are yes and amen.

Grace and Peace, beloved,

till the day is Sunday, March the 15th, 2026.

And my name is RJ and it's my honor to welcome you

to another episode of God is faithful and just

with a focus on all things relational.

Glory, hallelujah, friends, family,

how did your day go yesterday?

Yes, how did it go concerning the challenge

of holding a verse in your heart throughout the day

and allowing it to shape your thoughts, actions,

and attitudes?

Now of course, yes, that should be our focus every day

since the beginning of the year.

Taking a verse a week and allowing it to transform

the way we relate to the Lord our God.

However, yesterday we made it more intentional

and impersonal as to the point of choosing a specific verse

that the Lord placed on your heart.

That could have been the same as the one

we were focused on this week, which is John,

chapter 14, 23, or it could have been another one

that the Lord placed on your heart in particular.

Mine was Psalm 34 verse 1, which says,

I will bless the Lord at all times.

His praise shall continually be on my lips.

And full transparency family, it was quite the challenge

indeed was even my thoughts before I ever interacted

with anyone, you know, just at home and, you know,

after devotion and quiet time and getting ready for work

and then going to work just in my own thoughts,

I needed to arrest many of them and hold them

to the obedience of the Word of God.

I tell you, it's amazing how the enemy can hear you say something

concerning blessing the Lord and try his best

to throw you off your praise, but I tell you he is a liar

and a defeated foe.

And I thank God for his mercy, glory hallelujah.

And family, I hope you find a joy in making this

a regular part of your life for the rest of this 52 week series

of remaining in God's presence and beyond,

because God invites us to embrace this journey with him

full of hope, full of victory knowing that

his desire is for us to grow closer and deeper and love

with him, glory hallelujah.

Father God, we thank you today.

Thank you for being God.

Thank you for being our father, our confidant.

Thank you for Jesus being our Lord, our Savior.

Thank you Holy Spirit for being our guide, our guard.

Our governor, you are truly our source of faith

and our absolute rule of conduct.

And we lean into you each and every day that we might learn

of you, there will may take of you and walk with you

getting to know you deeper and deeper until that very moment

when we see you face to face and we will see you and know you

fully as you truly are.

So we thank you today looking forward to receiving this day,

our daily bread and being not here and only of your word,

for doers as well that you might receive the honor, praise

and glory in the mighty magnificent name of Jesus, our Lord,

hallelujah.

I scripture today, family, for this week is John chapter 14,

verse 23, which says, Jesus answered him,

if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will

love him and we will come to him and make our home with him.

Glory, hallelujah.

The contrast and comparison that the Lord has allowed us to

extract from this portion of scripture today is earning

God's love versus receiving God's love.

Because remember the scripture says, Jesus answered him,

if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love

him and make our home with him.

You hear that, my father will love him.

So our pastures to contrast and compare our life under God

versus life with God, the perspective from the life under God

posture would have us to think that we try to earn God's love

through performance.

But the life with God posture, the one that God prefers is chosen

pastures, we receive God's love as a gift.

Now, the scripture that the Holy Spirit has given us to flesh out

the concept of earning God's love versus receiving God's love

is Romans chapter 5, verse 8, and our emphasis is on God

shows his love for us.

Yes, he shows his love for us.

And a brief context of that chapter family is Paul is writing

to those in Rome.

He has not seen the believers in Rome.

Those who are actually, oh my goodness, Jewish, Jewish

believers as well as Gentiles, right?

So he has not yet seen them, but he wants to let them know.

He's heard of them, he knows of them, and he's soon to go

through that region.

And he wants them to know what we have, what they have in Christ

Jesus, right?

You know, them being believers who are both Gentiles and Jews.

You know, there could be some confusion, right?

But he wants to clear it up in first and foremost, let them know

that Christ's sacrificial death for sinners, again,

whether Jews or Gentiles demonstrates God's love, offering

salvation from wrath.

So that's just a brief context of that chapter in them itself,

right? So let us reach chapter five, but we're going to read

verses one to eight.

And remember our emphasis is on verse eight, and we'll read it

from the new international version, the NIV.

So that's Romans chapter five verses one through eight from the

new international version.

Paul says, therefore, since we have been justified through faith,

we have peace with God through our Lord, Jesus Christ through whom we

have gained access by faith into this grace, into which we now

stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God, not only

so, but we also glory in our sufferings because we know that

suffering produces perseverance, perseverance, character, and

character, hope, and hope does not put us to shame because God's

love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy

Spirit, who has been given to us. You see, at just the right

time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the

ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person,

though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die, but

God demonstrates His own love for us in this, while we were still

sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by

His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath

through Him? For if while we were God's enemies, we were

reconciled through Him, through the death of His Son, how much

more having been reconciled shall we be saved through His life?

Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord,

Jesus Christ through whom we have now received reconciliation.

Glory, hallelujah, family now. Thank you for the hearing and

reading and receiving of God's Word, Holy Spirit, have your

way and our minds and our hearts and our attitudes, and that

what we receive from you this morning. Family, when it comes

to earning God's love versus receiving God's love, especially

looking at it through the lens of Romans, chapter 5, verse 8, and

our verse for the week, John, chapter 14, verse 23, we need to

make some sense of the difference. And what I mean like that by

that is because when we read Romans, chapter 5, verse 8, we can

clearly see how God's love is a gift freely given because

while we were yet sinners, while we were God's enemies, God

gave His love for us. And it was for us to receive it. However,

in John, chapter 14, 23, it appears that there is a condition to

God's love. But these verses don't actually conflict, family,

they show two parts of the same truth, which is God's love comes

first. And our response follows, right? Because Romans 5, verse 8

tells us that God proved this love for us when while we were

still sinners, Jesus died for us. God's love isn't based on

anything we do or accomplish. It's a free gift. Indeed, the

Bible says God loved us before we ever loved Him. And He sent

Jesus for us because of that love. We simply need to receive that

love. John 14, verse 23, our verse for the week on the other

hand says that if we love Jesus and follow His teachings and

His commandments, then God will love us and be close to us. But

this doesn't mean we have to earn God's love. Instead, it means

that when we obey, we get to enjoy and experience God's love

in a deeper way. You see, you understand the difference? The

key is to remember that God loved us first before we ever loved

Him. His love is the starting point. And our response is to

love Him back by following Jesus. God's love is shown through

what He does, not just what He feels. Jesus says real love

shows itself in obedience. And when we do that, we experience

God's love more fully. Friends, family, there's no need to

earn God's love. It's already given. John 14, verse 23, it

isn't a checklist for earning love, but it's a way to stay

close to God and feel His love in our lives. When we keep

Jesus teachings, His commandments, we remain in His love. And

that love grows stronger and deeper. Obedience is how the

love we receive becomes more real to us. Not something we

pay for, but something we enjoy. Our faith and obedience are

not payment for God's love. There are ways to take part in

the relationship that God's grace has already made possible.

Glory to God in our family. This first, it just simply reminds

us that God's love is demonstrated, not earned, perfectly

aligning with John, chapter 24, or John 14, verse 23. So

again, Jesus is not saying, if you obey, then God will start

loving. No, He's saying, as you walk with me, you will

experience the Father's love more deeply. Life with God

means we stop striving for love and start living from it. The

Father's love is not a reward. It's a reality. So reflect

on this today, family, where do I see or where do I still feel?

I must earn God's love. How have I experienced the Father's

love recently? And let this be our challenge for the day, which

is to pause, pause once, maybe even twice, three times, if

you have to say, Father, thank you for loving me. Glory

hallelujah. Lord God, thank you for loving me. Thank you for

loving us, Lord God, thank you for allowing your love, the

shine so bright that we could see that indeed, there is

nothing we can do, nothing we have to do to earn that love,

hallelujah. And it's because you are love that you so freely

give that gift of love. Holy Spirit in the mighty and magnificent

name of Jesus, I'll go and save you, help us to receive that

love and walk in it each and every day. Not something that we

have to earn, no, but something that we need to walk in and

embrace and fully adopted knowing that we are children of you,

the most high God. Let us recognize this. Let us live it

out. Let us talk it in our self talk. Let us walk it in our

walk. Let us live it out among those that are around us for

deep. This is the day, Lord God that you have made. We shall

rejoice and be glad in it and be that blessing that you've

called us to be to those who we've placed in our sphere of

influence. We love you today, Father God, for you are forever

our King, our Lord, our Savior. And we forever so mindful to

give you all the honor, all the praise, all the glory from

the depths of our heart in the mighty and magnificent name of

Jesus. I'm a Lord. Hallelujah. Friends, family, remember

John 14, 23, it's not a condition. It's something for us to

receive. And Jesus answered, if anyone loves me, he will keep my

world and my Father will love him and will come and we will

come to him and make our home with him. Glory, hallelujah,

grace and peace be unto your family. Enjoy your fellowship with

the brothers and sisters in Christ. We look forward to being

with you here again on tomorrow. And in the meantime,

be that blessing to those around you. Glory, hallelujah.