“Jesus and True Love”
John 12:1-11
Hello friend, I’m J. Mark Horst, your host and this program is Hope for Today. It is produced by Heralds of Hope, an international Gospel media ministry. Each week the Bible teaching broadcasts of Heralds of Hope circle the globe in English and 22 other major languages. Thousands are tuning in each week to receive spiritual nourishment and blessing. We receive many exciting testimonies of people who have come to faith in Jesus by listening to the programs.
If you listen to this program regularly, I’m alerting you to expect some changes to our programming in the next several weeks. At Heralds of Hope, we are a growing and changing ministry. We are expanding our audience, we are adding new personnel, and we are updating our content. Eventually, you will hear a new musical intro to the program as well as some other cosmetic changes. But one thing that won’t change is our commitment to teaching God’s Word!
If you’re tuning in for the first time today, we are currently being led through the Gospel of John by the teaching of the late, Dr. J. Otis Yoder. He was the founder, first president, and Bible teacher for Hope for Today. He went home to be with the Lord in the year 2003.
But he taught the Bible in such a way that his teaching never goes out of date. And so, we’re rebroadcasting his teaching from the Gospel of John. We are confident that, if you tune in each week, you will be blessed by the clear, simple presentation of biblical truth. And that truth, if you accept it, will change your life now and for eternity.
In just a few moments, Dr. Yoder will come to share his teaching about Jesus. It’s titled, “Jesus and True Love.” But before he does that, let’s pray.
Gracious God our Heavenly Father, we come to you in the precious name of Jesus. It is alone through Him that we have access into your holy presence. His blood, shed on the cross at Calvary, is the only sacrifice that is acceptable to you to wash away our sin.
And now, Father, as Dr. Yoder comes to teach us from the Word, open our hearts to receive your truth. Teach how to love your more truly and completely. This I ask in Jesus’ name, Amen.
The word love is difficult for us to define. We don’t really know how to express ourselves with respect to love. Let me try.
Love is the response of the heart. Love grows by the association of the object of love with the lover: the closeness of the lover and the object. We do not need to try to think out love, that is, to analyze it scientifically or technically, because it is an emotion, an expression and response of the heart more than of the mind.
However, to be proper, love needs control and direction. Because we are made in the image of God our first and basic expression of love should be directed toward God. Even though we cannot see Him, we need to direct our first and basic love toward God. Then we need to direct our love toward our families and neighbors.
You know, Jesus said it once like this, “The first and great commandment is, Thou shalt love the Lord Thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
The Bible further counsels us in these words, “We love Him because He first loved us.” That means that true love is a sharing experience. Real true love is that love which God has expressed toward us and we may express toward Him.
So I am going to be talking to you a...
