Summary:

God's love is unconditional; however, His love for us shouldn't be an excuse to continue in sin. We must know how to properly respond to God's love. We demonstrate that we
love God by obeying His commandments. If we don't obey God, we
demonstrate that we don't really love Him.

1. We love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19).
   1. God's love for us is not based on what we have or haven't done.
   2. God loves us because He is love.
   3. How do we love God?
      1. We love Him by obeying His commandments (John 14:15).
      2. We demonstrate our love by saying no to those things that seduce us away from God.
      3. We love Him by not allowing Satan to distract us from our personal time with Him.
         1. Our heavenly Father has blessed us when we didn't deserve it.
         2. We come to church and read our Bibles to experience God, Himself, not for a show or to be religious.
            
            
2. Sin can be wiped away by repentance and through the blood of Jesus. The problem arises when you choose to stay in sin (1 John 5:3).
   1. Partial or delayed obedience is still disobedience.
   2. Choose whom you will serve: God or Satan.
   3. Obeying God's commandments does not cause grief and regret (1 John 5:3, AMP).
      1. Many times people think that doing what God says will cause them grief and loss.
      2. For example, the rich young ruler thought he would lose out by serving God.
      3. When you try to fulfill selfish desires, you will lose something. However, there is great gain when you obey God.
         1. His orders are not burdensome; they are for our own good.
         2. You will never know the harvest that comes as a result of a life of obedience, unless you try it.
            
            
3. Which commandment do we keep?
   1. We keep the first and great commandment, which is to love God.
   2. We love God by obeying Him (2 John 6).
   3. The commandment to love meets all biblical requirements and is the fulfillment of all the law (Romans 13:10).
      1. We should love our neighbors as we love ourselves, and thereby have a healthy love for ourselves (Galatians 5:14).
         1. Love God by obeying Him with all your heart, soul, mind and strength (Matthew 22:37).
      2. Obeying God and obeying His Word are the same.
      3. If we continue to demonstrate our love towards God, we will love others, which is pleasing to Him.
         
         
4. Satan doesn't want us to obey God. He wants us to obey our selfish desires.
   1. You will have to deal with negative emotions, but don't allow them to take you away from God's will for your life.
   2. Satan wants you to justify your desires even if it means disobeying God.
   3. You have to judge your desires daily and make sure they line up with the Word of God.
      1. You can't simply make decisions based on your feelings. What you feel like doing, may not be good for you in the long run.
      2. When you learn to deny your selfish desires, you begin to choose only those things that will be beneficial to God's will for your life (Matthew
         16:24).
   4. Those with a pure heart will see God (Matthew 5:8).
      
      
5. Combat temptation with the Word, just as Jesus did (Matthew 4:1-11).
   1. Trust that God's Word is best and He will work things out to your benefit.
   2. Why would God allow you to be tempted?
      1. Temptation forces you to choose God's way or your own way (Deuteronomy 9:13).
      2. God wants to see what's in your heart and if you'll live by His Word or choose otherwise. He wants you to prove yourself to you (Deuteronomy
         8:2).
      3. He wants to see if you really love Him or not. God wants to know who He can use (Deuteronomy 13:3, 4).
   3. God will enable us to do His will, which is to resist temptation, love Him and others (Philippians 2:12, 13, AMP).

• 1 John 4:19
• John 14:15
• 1 John 5:3
• 2 John 6
• Romans 13:10
• Galatians 5:14
• Matthew 22:37
• Matthew 16:24
• Matthew 5:8
• Matthew 4:1-11
• Deuteronomy 9:13
• Deuteronomy 8:2
• Deuteronomy 13:3, 4
• Philippians 2:12,13, AMP