When we may be on the precipice of a possible fall and our brain is exhausted or we need change in our lives, we will search our hearts for answers and call out to God. It is the heart that cries out to God for change, in love, hate and a myriad of emotions which are involved in the development of our relationship with God and our fellow man.
All of us have faced challenges whether on a personal level or in a group situation such as the family, church, work and so on, and as Christians we ask God to help us. We may do that by prayer on a daily basis, but in some very difficult or stressful times we may go into a fast to see the hand of God moving in our lives and hearts.
God’s love does change when a person becomes a believer, but it does not increase for some and not for others! We will see that there is a difference between the love God has for the believer and the unbeliever.
Choice
In John 3:16, God’s action to love (agapao ) everyone as a prize, and desiring them unconditionally.
Agapao love does not equate to happy. God is not happy with everyone, because not everyone is calling on His Son’s name.
God shows no impartiality in the magnitude of His unconditional agape love. He agape loves us all 100 per cent and you cannot get any more. Agape love is a dear love based on a decision of the mind. God must agape us. Agape love is God’s obligated demonstration of love to all mankind.
John 15:13 No one has greater love (agape) than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. (MKJV)
Matthew 5:44 But I say to you, Love (agape) your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who despitefully use you and persecute you, (MKJV)
Feeling
Phileo in the Greek is to approve, like, sanction; to treat affectionately or kindly, to welcome, befriend and show signs of love. God is pure. If we believe in Jesus, God loves (phileo) Jesus (1 John 5:2) and us completely (John 16:27) and we are treated affectionately, romantically sanctioned.
John 16:27 for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came out from God. (MKJV)
In John 16:27 the Father’s love is “phileo” in Greek, which is a love with strong emotions, to treat affectionately. God phileo loves us tenderly, because we are committed disciples who love His Son (John 5:20; 11:3; 11:36; 12:25; 15:19; 20:2; 21:15-17).
1Corinthians 16:22 If anyone does not love (phileo) the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be accursed. The Lord comes! 23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you. 24 Let my love (agape) be with you all in Christ Jesus. Amen. (MKJV)
Revelation 3:19 As many as I love “phileo”, I rebuke and chasten; therefore be zealous and repent. (MKJV)
Unconditionally obligated, God (agapao) loves everyone in the world. God conditionally (phileo) affectionately loves the believer in reciprocation to the believer’s call for salvation in the name of Jesus. After our adoption by God to become His sons (teknon) by His faith, He then calls us philoteknon which is, dear intimate sons and friends. When we in obedience to His Word follow His direction, He is then well pleased (eudokeō) in us and then He officially grants us authorization by saying, “He is well pleased in us.”
It is the acts of agape love that we should show to the world, but it is by our free will in obedience to His Word, God will be (eudokeō) well pleased in us. He does not say I love you more.
We may grow in a phileo affectionate feeling love towards others we serve and fall deeper in love as time passes.
In John 3:16, God loves (agapao) everyone, but after we responded to His calling His love will change to the demonstrative love (phileo) (John 15:14) as we become His friends and sons (philos and teknon) simultaneously. When we are saved at that moment of our prayer of repentance and consecration at the Cross of Jesus we become His (philoteknos) loved sons. Nothing after our salvation can gain more agapao or phileo love from God. God may at times be well pleased (eudokeō) in His loved sons (philoteknos) as we walk obediently to His Word. We then embark as sons of God to minister to the whole world as special loved believers (1Peter 2:9) but not every believer fits into the five ministry gifts God gave to the Church.
The Sabbath is a perpetual covenant between the Lord and His people (Exodus 2:1-2), but what day that is depends on your work. Jesus taught that the Sabbath was made for man’s benefit, not man for its benefit (Mark 2:27). The Sabbath is to give us a certain day of the week on which to meditate on God’s Word with a heart of worship and build our personal relationship towards God.
Some people work on Saturday and Sunday so they can only get to have a Sabbath on another day. Jesus worked on the Jewish Sabbath.
Did you know that the Jews had two Sabbaths in a week? Jesus ministered for 3 1/2 years, from 27 AD at the beginning of a year of Jubilee to His death in 31 AD Passover which meant that that Passover week had two Sabbaths, a High day Sabbath (John 19:31) followed by a regular Sabbath.
The Gregorian calendar was introduced in 1582, then in 1752 the British by an act of Parliament advanced the calendar overnight from September 2 to September 14, 1752. It has also been proven that the year date could be up to 4 years out.
Then if we look in our Bibles we have prophetical year which has 360 days.
In chapter four of Ezekiel we see that he uses the pattern that is set out in Leviticus verses 3 and 14 and then 18, 21, 24, 27 and 28 in Deuteronomy and in Numbers for the Biblical day of disobedience, which is, each day of disobedience was to represent a year of judgment and punishment against the nation. We see here that Ezekiel’s theme of punishment or judgment is a prophetic day which equals a year.
Ezekiel 4:5 For I have laid on you the years of their iniquity, according to the number of the days, three hundred and ninety days. So you shall bear the iniquity of the house of Israel.
Please note that in Numbers 14:34, where a day equals a year of punishment (Ezekiel 4:6) “and when you have completed these you shall lie down a second time but on your right side and bear the punishment of the house of Judah, forty days I assign you a day for each year.”
One prophetical day stood for one year of 360 days – one cycle.
A “time” was 360 days in prophetical year .
Some don’t agree on the 360 days prophetical year or even 365 day year and say that the Israelites had a 354 day year and they at times added days or a month to keep things in balance thus we are now talking about a year of 383/4 days as it suited.
With this type of discrepancy even our Saturday and Sunday may be incorrect; therefore the actual Sabbath of a Saturday or Sunday has been lost. Thus many “Sabbatarians,” (Saturday Sabbath) and “Lord’s Day” keepers are wrong on what day the Sabbath can be.
In the big picture it is not important to know what day of the week that Jesus died on or rose again! It has nothing to do with our salvation, other than we are saved by the faith of Christ on the Cross and our act of repentance. What is important is that we give a day to the Lord.
Religious people want to say, ‘which is the correct day’ and they don’t see the issue of having a day of rest as the most important. In either case you could be wrong! If you are worshiping and giving God a day on a Tuesday or any day you will not be condemned because you are in Christ Jesus.
In China we have church on a Wednesday to cater for people, who work on weekend, and we have church on Saturday and Sunday for others who work during the week and I have a day on Thursday. I am too busy on the other days even though I enjoy fellowship with the saints (Hebrews 10:25).
For example pastors work on the Sabbath, so for them to have a day just with God in rest, it maybe a Monday or any other day.
To say it must be and can only be on a certain day then it is under the Law.
How can we find out if we are under the Law?
If we say:
• I must do this to get more of God’s love, then it is under the Law.
• I want to do this; because God is well pleased then it is under grace.
We do certain things not only because He commanded it, but because we want to do them in obedience using our free will.
Saturday or Sunday is not the issue; it is the condition of the heart of worship in the believer towards God in having a day of rest.
God ended his work Genesis 2:1-3
Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 31:13-14)
Remember the Sabbath day, (Exodus 20:8-11, 31:12-13, 16; Isaiah561-8; Jeremiah 17:19-27)
Six days ye shall gather it; (Exodus 16:22-30)
Direct our thoughts towards God (Mark 2:27)
Pastor working on a Sabbath (Luke 6: 1-11)
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