Love Comes From Action
The sermon emphasizes that love comes from action, and by serving God with our whole lives, we will learn to love Him with our whole hearts.
Mary Wilder Tileston preaches about the importance of keeping God's commandments to abide in His love, emphasizing that true love for God is manifested through our actions and obedience to His will. She highlights the process of learning to love God by directing our thoughts, intentions, and actions towards Him, trusting that our feelings and affections will gradually align with our actions. Tileston encourages believers to serve God faithfully with their whole lives, assuring them that the ultimate reward is the ability to love God wholeheartedly.
Text
If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love.
--JOHN 15:10
THIS did not once so trouble me,
That better I could not love Thee;
But now I feel and know
That only when we love, we find
How far our hearts remain behind
The love they should bestow.
--RICHARD CHENEVIX TRENCH
OUR Lord gives the answer to a difficulty continually perplexing honest Christians--"How am I to learn to love God? I want to do my duty, but I do not feel as if I loved God." Our Lord gives the answer, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Act for God, do and say the things that He wills; direct your thoughts and intentions God-ward; and, depend upon it, in the slow process of nature, all that belongs to you--your instincts, your intelligence, your affections, your feelings--will gradually follow along the line of your action. Act for God; you are already showing love to Him and you will learn to feel it.
--CHARLES GORE
They who, continuing faithful to divine grace, however partially communicated, serve God with their whole lives, will never fail of that one reward, the greatest which even He has to bestow, the being made able to love Him with their whole hearts.
--DORA GREENWELL
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Action in Loving God
- Acting for God
- The Reward of Serving God
- Faithfulness to Divine Grace
- 'The Greatest Reward: Loving God with the Whole Heart'
Key Quotes
“Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“Act for God; you are already showing love to Him and you will learn to feel it.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“They who, continuing faithful to divine grace, however partially communicated, serve God with their whole lives, will never fail of that one reward, the greatest which even He has to bestow, the being made able to love Him with their whole hearts.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- Acting for God and following through with His will can lead to loving Him with our whole hearts.
- Faithfulness to divine grace is key to serving God with our whole lives.
- Serving God with our whole lives is the greatest reward, as it allows us to love Him with our whole hearts.