1 of 52

General Conference

Multimedia Department

2 of 52

A moment

of Prayer

3 of 52

15

THE TWO DIMENSIONS

OF LOVE

4 of 52

The love of a mother

A mother's love is one of the clearest examples of what true love is.

The people in the Highlands of Scotland have the custom of taking their children with them whenever they go to work in the fields or take their animals to graze. The oldest children spend their time playing on the slopes of the mountains, while the little ones sleep in a basket.

Once a huge eagle got hold of one of the baskets and flew away, dropping the basket on top of a very high, inaccessible peak.

There the baby was exposed to all sorts of dangers. A strong, experienced peasant tried to climb up the mountain, but it was too steep; another man also tried to climb, but he soon turned back.

Not long afterwards a woman was seen. She was climbing very slowly, making tremendous efforts as she neared the summit. Nobody could imagine how she was doing it, but the fact was that she was getting closer and closer to where the basket was.

The people at the foot of the mountain were anxiously watching her and were moved by this act of heroism. Finally she reached the summit, took the baby in her arms and started climbing down. When she reached a safe spot she held the baby up and thanked God. All the people cheered. The woman was the baby's mother.

The love of a mother is only a faint example of what Christ, in His love, did for us.

5 of 52

1 Corinthians 13:13

"And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."

6 of 52

Love

Nourishment for a baby

Children long for the most

Support of love of an older person

7 of 52

LOVE

Written in blood

8 of 52

Did God abandon the beings He had created, in spite of their ingratitude?

9 of 52

Luke 19:10

"For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost."

10 of 52

LOVE

What is the greatest example of God's

for men?

11 of 52

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."

1 John 4:9-11

12 of 52

How can we be Jesus' friends and show Him our love?

13 of 52

"Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.“

"If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.”

"If ye love me, keep my commandments."

John 15:14, 10; 14:15

14 of 52

If we want to follow Jesus' example,

what should we do to receive eternal salvation?

15 of 52

"Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him."

Hebrews 5:8-9

16 of 52

What is the essence of the commandments?

17 of 52

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

Matthew 22:37-40

18 of 52

The two dimensions to love

Love to God

Love to the Neighbour

Love

To

God

Love

To the

Neighbour

19 of 52

How

to

Love

God

How

To love

Our

Neighbours

Why did God give

Moses two tables instead of one?

20 of 52

Love in

The first

Dimension

Love to God

21 of 52

LOVE

How do we show our

To God

in reference to the first three

commandments?

22 of 52

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

Exodus 20:3-7

I

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain…”

II

III

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image…Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them”

Exodus 20:3-7

“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.”

a) Putting God in the first place, above our material interests, above We have learned in Lesson 10 - 1 = 0 that each commandment has a spiritual aspect that we must fulfill.

If for us is more important than God, we are perhaps making other gods and we lack love.

“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.

Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate me;

And shewing mercy unto thousands of them that love me, and keep my commandments.”

b) Not worshiping Him as we think but as He has commanded, in spirit and truth.

“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain; for the Lordwill not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.”

c) Treating His name with respect and reverence.

23 of 52

LOVE

How do we show our

To God

when we keep the Sabbath?

24 of 52

"Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:

But the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work…"

Exodus 20:8-11

I

II

III

IV

25 of 52

Material: �We enjoy peace

on the day of rest that

we spend in nature.

Spiritual: �Rejoice in the change

He has brought about in us.

Material: We enjoy peace on the day of rest that we spend in nature.

Spiritual: We also rejoice in the change He has brought about in us. It is not just a physical rest but a rest in which Christ, the Author and Master of the Sabbath, becomes our spiritual balsam as He justifies us before the Father. (Hebrews 4:1, 2, 9, 10). Every Sabbath should be a foretaste of eternal life.

The commandment starts with the word "Remember," which means we should plan our week so we can keep that day free. I suggest you try to do this next Friday. The housewife can prepare a lot of things on Thursday. On Friday she can clean the house so she has it ready for Sabbath. You can prepare a meal that can be warmed up on Sabbath, On Friday, we take a shower and change our clothes, because a special day is about to start - a day in which we will meet Iesus. When the sun goes down, we come together at home with other people who share our faith and we worship the Lord. We sing, read God's Word and pray. Then we wish each other a blessed Sabbath. We will then have a peaceful day and a clear conscience, because, through obedience, we show our love and faithfulness to Iesus, who did so much for us.

26 of 52

When does the Sabbath begin and end?

What does the Bible call the sixth day?

27 of 52

"And ye shall proclaim on the selfsame day, that it may be an holy convocation unto you: ye shall do no servile work therein: it shall be a statute for ever in all your dwellings throughout your generations.."

Levíticus 23:32

28 of 52

Housewives also deserve a rest,

so what

should they

do on the preparation day?

29 of 52

"And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbath unto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning."

Exodus 16:23

30 of 52

How does the Lord want us to keep what He calls �"My Holy Day"?

31 of 52

Isaiah 58:13-14

«If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

Not doing our will means not doing business transactions, meaning not doing business transactions, or occupying ourselves with various tasks, and amusements, etc.

b) Not traveling unless it is to serve the Lord.

c) Not talking about problems or materialistic concerns. Not reading the newspaper or secular material or listening to the news. It should really be a Holy Day set aside for God.

d) We should not do things which make other people work for us. (Exodus 20:l0).

Isaiah 58:13-14

"If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.”

32 of 52

If we love God, what answers will we give to the following objections?

33 of 52

Aren't all days the same?

"…and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.."

God rested, sanctified and blessed a specific day.

.

34 of 52

Most people keep Sunday.

Can they all be wrong?

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

The point is not whether we are on the side of the majority or the minority, but whether we are on Jesus' side.

b) Most people keep Sunday. Can millions of people be wrong? Matthew 7:13, 14.

"Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.”

The point is not whether we are on the side of the majority or the minority, but whether we are on Jesus' side.

The point is not whether we are on the side of the majority or the minority, but whether we are on Iesus' side, If we think the majority is always right, we should worship Buddha or belong to one of the great eastern religions. Thousands of people nowadays practice and follow just what their spiritual guides tell them to. Many people keep Sunday in good faith, but there is not a single Bible text that authorizes a change of the day of rest.

35 of 52

My parents and grandparents have kept Sunday all their lives, and I don‘t want to do otherwise

"For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.”

God forgives all sins committed because of ignorance.

c) My parents and grandparents kept Sunday, and I don‘t want to do otherwise. Acts 17:20.

"For thou bringest certain strange things to our ears: we would know therefore what these things mean.”

God forgives all sins committed because of ignorance. (James 4:l7).

Once a woman went to a shop to buy some material. She asked for three meters. When she got home she measured the material and saw that there were 10 cms. missing. She went back to the shop to claim what was missing. The man measured the material again but it measured three meters. The woman felt very embarrassed. When she got home she measured it again and saw that there were still 10 cms. missing. She took her measuring tape and the material back to the shop.

There they compared her measuring tape with the shopkeeper's and saw that the one the shopkeeper used was not exact. The father of the shopkeeper had bought the shop from a man who, to get rich quickly, had used a false measure. The shopkeeper had deceived many customers without being aware of it. Could he continue doing this now that he knew the truth?

36 of 52

If we love Jesus, what will we do on His day?

37 of 52

We should attend religious services to worship Him and hear His word.

"… as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.”

Luke 4:16

Luke 4:16.

“And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.”

�

Jesus was accustomed to going to the synagogue (church) every Sabbath.

a) We should attend religious services to worship Him and hear His word.

We need faith. Faith comes through reading the Word of God. (Romans 10:17). On Sabbath morning, we should go to the Sabbath school. It is a wonderful way to learn because through questions and answers we can study different subjects in great depth. There is then a sermon, a message that gives us spiritual food. It is important to participate in the service, not only because we learn but also because we thus worship God with hymns, prayers and words of gratitude. It is different and very enjoyable! We expect you on Sabbath! In many places there is also a school for children.

Today 's world is very difficult, and children have to face different problems; they go through trials; their faith is threatened, and so are their moral principles. They need a spiritual foundation and this can certainly help them. If you happen to be where there is no church, just meditate on your own and do your lesson in the morning.

In the afternoon you can also read about the marvelous message of God.

38 of 52

We can visit the sick and relieve pain

We can talk to others about the good news of salvation.

We should attend religious services to worship Him and hear His word.

39 of 52

Love in the

Second Dimension

Love to the

Neighbour

40 of 52

LOVE

How do we express our

to our neighbors?

41 of 52

Honour thy father and thy mother

Exodus 20:12-17

I

II

III

IV

V

Thou shalt not kill

VI

VII

VIII

IX

X

Thou shalt not commit adultery.

Thou shalt not steal.

Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour.

Thou shalt not covet any thing that is thy neighbour's.

42 of 52

LOVE

If

is the foundation of our life, should it be difficult to keep God's law in these two dimensions?

43 of 52

1 John 4:20-21

"If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”

44 of 52

1 John 5:2-3

"By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous”

45 of 52

Whom can we not forget if we are guided by love?

46 of 52

James 1:27

"Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

47 of 52

What can we not neglect if we truly love our neighbor?

48 of 52

Mark 5:19

"…Go home to thy friends, and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee, and hath had compassion on thee."

49 of 52

Loving makes us happy! It is more blessed to give than to receive.

Love is not only a feeling but a principle of life.

Love makes us tolerant, forgiving, humble and faithful to God and our neighbors.

Christ has done everything for me; what should I give Him?

50 of 52

Thank you Lord, for showing me how to love!

51 of 52

The Next Topic:

Is There Life After Death?

¿What happens at death? Is it reasonable to be afraid of death?

When it comes to accompanying a relative or a friend to say the last Goodbye, we ask, does he know that he has died? Will he live again? What lies beyond death?

A really interesting topic.

GOD BLESS YOU!

52 of 52

biblewell.org

info@biblewell.org