The Process of Loving God: Do You Really Know How to Express Your Love for the God You Claim to Love?

By Adekunle A. Adeniran and Rev Kingsley Appiagyei

Is your love for God really apparent to those around you? Do you really love the Lord as you claim? Or perhaps you do not know how to express genuine love for the One who loves you endlessly? This book is here to help you in your pursuit of loving God.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Jan 11, 2019
• ISBN: 9781973649441

Adekunle A. Adeniran

Adekunle is cardinally a child of God who indeed loves the Lord. He graduated with a first class degree in Bsc. Biomedical Science from the University of Essex, United Kingdom and obtained his Health and Care Professions Council registration following his placement year at the clinical microbiology department, Cambridge University Hospital, Addenbrooke’s. Whilst at the University, Adekunle served as the youth leader of his local church where he contributed in setting up the ‘Youth of providence’, aimed at equipping the youths with the adequate life skills and spiritual knowledge needed to excel in life. In his final year at University, Adekunle served as the cell group leader at a vibrant Christian fellowship on campus- Arise. He also volunteered extensively at University and obtained the bronze, silver, and gold Big Essex Awards for his various contributions. In the 2018/2019 academic year, Adekunle started his postgraduate degree at Imperial College London, where he started studying MSc. Molecular Biology and Pathology of Viruses. In his home church in London, Adekunle is a worker and is part of the youth ministry. Adekunle has also launched a Christian clothing brand called Cim (Christ in me), and products can be purchased online at www.cim-hopeofglory.com. He enjoys sports- football especially. Adekunle has four siblings, and is the youngest of them all. As his favourite scripture in Philippians 1:21 reads “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” he longs to show Christ to the whole world through everything that he does.

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Copyright © 2019 Adekunle A. Adeniran.

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Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

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Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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ISBN: 978-1-9736-4945-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-9736-4944-1 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date:   01/09/2019

Dedication

This book is dedicated to the whole of humanity who have, and who are yet to make a rigid resolution and a concrete commitment to walk in lasting love. This book is for all.

More especially, The Process of Loving God is for Christians all around the world who desire and yearn to continually experience the unchanging love of God; and who desire to reciprocate love back to God in an undeniably gallant fashion.

Foreword

It is a great pleasure to write an introduction to the first book by Kunle. I have known him as a young Christian growing daily in the faith. His servant spirit and passion for Kingdom dynamics makes him a great leader among his peers. He is someone with great potential, who will, no doubt, be a blessing and asset for the Kingdom.

Carl F. H. Henry was right when he said our generation is lost to the truth of God, to the reality of divine revelation, to the content of God’s will, to the power of His redemption, and to the authority of His Word.

Our generation has chosen to walk in the darkness of the age.

The Church today is illiterate in terms of Biblical revelation because only four out of ten adults will read any portion of the Bible outside the Church during the week

In this book, Kunle opens our eyes to the true light that came from God. the light shines in the darkness, but the darkness comprehends it not. The responsibility of the believer is to let a lost world see the light of the glory of God shine through us.

Biblical literacy is at an all-time low in the Church because the world has crept into the Church. The book encourages us to walk in the light of our new birth and live our lives in the light of the Word. You cannot live in the light of the Word and not be distinguished.

The insights in this book are applicable for generations to come. Each chapter is an inspiration and Christ centred

Kunle has kept the book grounded on eternal values and rooted in the vine of ultimate truth – Jesus Christ. He makes it clear that when we have the light of His Word, we automatically shine as lights wherever we find ourselves, and we reflect His glory.

This book is highly recommended for all those who want to have an in-depth study and understanding of God’s Word.

Pastor Kingsley Appiagyei

Senior Pastor at Trinity Baptist Church and former President of the Baptist Union Of Great Britain (2009-2010)

Acknowledgement

But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding. (Job 32:8, KJV)

I would first and foremost like to acknowledge God the Father for the gift of the Holy Spirit Who has evidently supplied the sheer inestimable inspiration used in writing this book.

I would like to thank God for the lives of my parents, Mr Akinade Adeniran and Mrs Kehinde Temilola Adeniran, who have availed themselves to be used by God in bringing me up in the way of the Lord.

I would also like to celebrate the grace of God in the lives of my Father in the Lord, Head Pastor of Trinity Baptist Church London - Pastor Kingsley Appiagyei and his wonderful wife Pastor Cynthia Appiagyei who have both been exceptional and inspirational examples, shepherds and role models to me.

My sincere gratitude also goes to Pastor Steve Asibuo- who is a great mentor to me- for his Godly counsel and advice especially during the course of writing this book.

Lastly, I would like to acknowledge and celebrate all the current and previous youth leaders and Pastors at Trinity Baptist Church London who have contributed towards the successful completion of this book; and all my friends and family members who were delighted to hear about this book project and gave their support and warm words of encouragement.

God bless you all!

Contents

Dedication

Foreword

Acknowledgement

Introduction

Chapter 1   The misconception and abuse of Love

Chapter 2   The Source of Love

Chapter 3   Accessing true Love

Chapter 4   Love by Obedience

Chapter 5   Let your light shine

Chapter 6   Being thankful and serious

Chapter 7   Soul winning and giving

Chapter 8   Righteous living

Chapter 9   Prayer, Friendship, and Fellowship

Introduction

Christians are to live a life of love; we are not to be indifferent to the act of love. Our lifestyles ought to reflect and embed in every aspect what Love is. Is your lifestyle built on love? Are you living out the love that Christ exemplified for us?

The practice of love has been deduced to nothing. The word ‘Love’ has no relevance, meaning or status in our societies. In the entire English language the word ‘LOVE’ is more powerful, more complex, and more intense than any other four letter word. This four letter word has ignited songs, books, articles and many forms of artistry work however there is still a lack of understanding of what it really is. What is love? What does it mean to love? What does it requires from us?

We live in a world today, where the practice of love has been so undermined, and in most cases has no relevance or bearings in the way we relate with others and approach life.

As a catalyst, love no longer ejects an effect in the actions taken by us. Rather, selfish ambition, envy and the pride of life had become the triggering factor contributing to the problems affecting our society.

A well-known renowned author and speaker once described love as being like a diamond; it is very much multi-faceted and has different phases in how it can be expressed. It is precious, sparkles and can be extremely rare, and so demands that it is treated with high delicateness.

In our world today, love is barely recognised when it is expressed. Due to its multi-faceted characteristic, love is not being identified as love anymore and thus people take it for granted because it means nothing to them.

The average human being will give a reaction when shown love. The problem today is that many people have a wrong definition and interpretation of love and so do not recognise it and therefore cannot respond to it.

Patience for example, which is a facet of love has been interpreted to be weakness when shown towards someone and thus people take liberties of it and leave the giver of the love in a dismantled condition.

In our relationship with God, He shows us so much love as exemplified in His patience towards us. As much as He is very keen on us maturing into the full image of Christ, He still waits on us- constantly interceding for us before the Father- even when we keep making the same mistakes and are slow in our growth and development.

Now, in this instance if we fail to recognise the love of God shown towards us in His patience, we would abuse it and not give much interest in developing into the full image of Christ.

Furthermore, whereas some do not consider love at all, for some love is only given an aftermath consideration when regrettable actions have already been taken. For example, a politician who chooses to abuse his position by embezzling the government’s funds would later regret his actions when he is apprehended and may then afterwards decide to start walking in love.

One of the major factors that leads to this kind of situation is the fact that not many people are willing to practice delayed gratifications. Many people are not willing to trust and have faith that their current situations will be better tomorrow.

In this book we would learn how to reciprocate and express genuine love for God and as we do so, it is my prayer that it would also influence the way we relate with our neighbours.

Giving is another facet of love and this will be discussed later on in detail. The psychology of a child or a baby study makes us to understand that a baby would fall in love with and will be build an attachment with the parent that shows them more love and protection. This is more or less the inherent and natural nature that every human being is born with.

When a baby sees a stranger or a family member for the first time, there is a tendency for the baby to cry or not accommodate/entertain the company of this stranger or family member that they are seeing for the first time. However, when the face of the stranger or the family member becomes more reoccurring to the baby, the baby may then become more familiar with them and then start to feel more comfortable around them and the crying and anxiety would eventually seize as time goes on. Some may resort to giving the baby treats until the baby becomes more accustomed to them. In this case, the baby has shown a reaction.

There is a mystery about Love that always provoke a reaction. In the same way, when we receive the Love of God- expressed in the giving of His one and only Son to come and die for us that we may live and be reconciled to God the Father- we ought to be provoke in our reaction by living our lives for Him in return.

Whilst babies are innocent and can easily exhibit the inherent nature in them to reciprocate love, some adults who might have been scared by life’s experiences may find it difficult to reciprocate love when they are shown love. For some others, their issue lies in simply not recognising and identifying love when it is shown and they therefore have no basis to react to it.

Incidentally, this is how some of our relationships with man and especially God is. In this book, we will look to address this issue and focus on how we can respond and react to the love God has shown towards us which will also serve as a template of how we can love the people around us too.

In addition, Christians are also to exhibit love amongst themselves and be the beacon of love because by this we show that we are disciples of Jesus. When people see the love being shown amongst us, they should get inquisitive and highly inspired to the point that they want to know God and desire a relationship with Him.

Sadly enough, love is appearing to be scarce in the church. Many people have been angered by certain behaviours to the point that they have left the church. This is very ironic as the church is supposed to draw and point the world to the cross where they can encounter the Lord Jesus Christ. In this book, we will also learn how to build and develop godly friendship and relationships that reflects true love.

Essentially, the book The Reciprocity of love is a book that details some essential practices that ought to be present in the lives of believers which effectively reflects their love for God.

The bible makes us to understand that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him would not perish but have an everlasting life. This is an express demonstration of His love towards humanity in that He did not really have to do it but He decided to do so out of the unending love that He has for us.

Now that God has demonstrated His own love towards us in that He gave His life for us that we might live, the Bible makes us to understand that God is also to be loved. Proverbs 8:17 says,

I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently will find me (Proverbs 8:17, NKJV)

This further suggests that we ought to expressly demonstrate our love towards God too and not just be mere recipient of His love.

The question then would be ‘How then can we believers reciprocate our love back to the God who so loved them that He gave His son to die as a propitiation for their sins?’ This is what this book, by the grace of God, will enlighten us on and seek to answer.

Before moving on however, it is vital to note that with Jesus, the reciprocating of love is of no value if we are yet to receive His love in the first place i.e. if you haven’t surrendered your life to Him; accepted Him as your Lord and saviour and have been reconciled to Him. In other words, if you are to love God, you must have accepted His love towards you!

With this in mind and based on Romans chapter 10 verses 9 to 10 which says,

…if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10, NKJV)

You can respond to the love of God by confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believing that He was crucified on the cross, was buried and that God raised Him from the dead by His glorious power. Following this, you can then start, by the grace of God, to live a life that reflects your love towards Him so that like Paul, you can also say according to Philippians 1:21 that "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain". (Philippians 1:21, NKJV)

CHAPTER 1

The misconception and abuse of Love

The word ‘Love’ has become a very conversant lexical choice in the vocabulary of every individual, ranging from kids to adults. It usually amazes me when I overhear the conversation of young primary school children talking about the subject of love and how they are ‘in love’ with this person or that person. They are usually so intrigued and fascinated about the subject of ‘love’ as though they really know and understand the meaning of ‘love’. The subject of love is so widespread to the extent that it seems to have lost its meaning and significance in the way we relate with one another

I strongly believe that we cannot fully come to the knowledge and understanding of Love and that our quest in trying to fully know and understand ‘love’ will always be an unending process. We can never reach the point where we can confidently say that we fully know and understand love. As a matter of fact, some who are really convinced that they understand the meaning of love actually do not have a clue about the subject of love. Relationships, families, businesses, cities, nations and the world at large have fallen victims of the misconceptions and abuse of love. And in all honesty, this is one of the major correction that needs to be made if the world is to be a better place to dwell in. This correction would need to start with each and every individual coming to reframe their misconceptions of love; stopping their abuse of love; and appropriating the true essence of love in every facet and ramifications of life.

Nations have literally been damaged and broken because people do not understand love. Politicians have taken greed and selfishness to the uttermost end of the spectrum and have used it in the name of ‘love’ to make things better for themselves and their immediate circle while neglecting and destroying the prospect and potential of a nation’s citizen and ultimately the nation. Because of the misconception of love, the potential of individuals under the governance of certain 3rd world country corrupt political leaders have never been actualised.

People forget that love does not only look out for itself. It considers the other people around.

The Holman reference concise bible dictionary defines love as the unselfish, loyal, and benevolent concern for the well-being of another.

Love thinks afar into how it can positively impact the lives of even