Abounding Love Podcast with Former ”Tex” Watson

202 - Why Witness to the Lost

The goal of this Abounding Love podcast is to give a burden for witnessing to the lost, which all of us were at one time. It seeks to inform with examples how any believer can be a witness. In John 3:36, Jesus stated that we need to witness because the world is perishing without a personal relationship with Him. As believers, we share God's Word with the lost to build a relationship based on faith. This relationship with Jesus saves and brings eternal life, not Buddha, Mohammed, Krishna, Joseph Smith, etc. Ephesians 2:12 confirms that without Christ; we're without life and hope. Luke, chapter 6 tells the story of Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man ends up in Hell (v. 23). Hell is a real place, and it's a place of torment [eternal pain]. Anyone without life in Christ is going to end up in Hell without appeal. This is why Jesus gave us the "Great Commission," because everyone needs Christ. There is no hope without Him. Join me as we share these truths. Selah!
Let me hear from you - Charles
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391 - The Love Walk

Continuing from the previous message about "Perfecting Love", I share how Jesus' compassion came from Him seeing that the people were "like sheep without a shepherd." But we have a Shepherd: Jesus Christ! Why should we have compassion on those lost people we encounter? Because they are scattered and lost, wandering without a place to rest -- like sheep without a shepherd. We become that shepherd when we think like Jesus thinks. Join me, in what I am told is "one of the best messages yet", as we look into the way Jesus thinks and the way He walked -- the Love Walk. I end with an uplifting prayer, relevant to the message. Selah!
Let me hear from you - Charles
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390 - Perfecting Love

In this message, we're looking into two (2) commandments our Lord gave us. That is, to love the Lord our God completely and to love our neighbor as ourselves. Both are impossible to keep without the grace of God. We find in 1 John 5:1-5 how to developed our love relationship with God, so we can have a love relationship with others. Thus, not allowing Satan to steal our love, nor fear to make God's love ineffective. Do you realize God is at work, when you are born again, not of flesh, but born of the Spirit and of His love? We have to perfect this love in our soul [mind, will and emotions], so that God's love becomes an action in our lives. Join me as we look into many other Scriptures to find out how to perfect the love we've been given. Selah!
Let me hear from you - Charles
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284 - Put On Charity

This episode includes me testifying of my fruitless search for love in drugs, sex and the flesh. Today, I have "put off" those vices and have "put on" the love of Christ. The apostle Paul wrote: "Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things [the flesh] put on charity [agape love], which is the bond of perfectness" (Colossians 3:12-14, KJV, emphasis added). These verses, and those preceding them, say we are to "put on" these things as Christians. In verse 10, it says we ". . . have put on the new man," since the old man has been done away with in Christ. This new man has been regenerated in the image of God. "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17, KJV).
In Colossians 3:12, quoted above, Paul says that we are to "Put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved . . ." We are the elect of God, holy and beloved; separated from the world. When we experience this, we begin to act differently. We become humble, patient, merciful, kind and forgiving; when we weren't before. Paul goes on to say, "And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness" (v. 14). "Bond" is the Greek word for "ligament." Our born-again Spirit has been made perfect in Christ, and our soul [mind, choices and emotions] is the "ligament" to our bodily actions. We are to "put on charity," which is the Greek word "agape", unconditional, sacrificial love. The ancient Greek word translated "put on" in these verses is used elsewhere in Scripture to mean the putting on of garments. In other words, we are to wear God's love like clothing; as a covering for everyone to see and experience. As the chorus goes, "They will know we are Christians by our love, by our love; yes, they will know we are Christians by our love." Our love defines us and shows we are perfect in Christ. Selah! [See my article and brochure, "God's Divine Flow" at aboundinglove.org/outreach/gospel].
Let me hear from you - Charles
https://www.aboundinglove.org/
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282 - Enemies of Love

In this episode, we will recognize who our enemy is. The enemies of God are enemies of Love. They don't want us to experience the love of God. They keep us from loving our brothers and sisters in Christ. We know who the deceiver is; Satan, who comes to steal, kill and destroy. And we know Jesus came to give life more abundantly. We see two opposing forces. In John 10:10, Satan is presented as a thief. He creeps in unaware to bring us into bondage and to deceive us. His success is due only to our lack of knowledge of the truth. Satan wants us to abandon God's will and come in line with his evil will. He opposes God, and God opposes him. We know Who is the winner -- Jesus Christ!
In Genesis, after the Fall of man, we find God addressing Satan [the serpent], and He says: ". . . And I will put enmity between you and the women, and between your seed [Satan] and her Seed; He [Jesus] shall bruise your head, and you [Satan] shall bruise His heel" (Genesis 3:15, NKJV). That word "enmity" means mutual hatred and hostility. Satan hates God, and God hates Satan. And this enmity extends between those who follow one or the other. We are to hate [have enmity towards] the deeds of Satan, especially when found among believers. We don't hate the believer, but the inappropriate actions of the believer. We hate the sin, but love the sinner [Romans 5:8].
Jesus bruises the head of the "seed of the serpent", and the serpent bruises the heel of the "Seed of the woman," temporarily at the cross. Satan comes at us and plants thoughts that are in opposition to what God's will is for our lives. These contrary thoughts are enmity towards God and enemies of God, and His love. In this message, we find the truth of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, that we use as weapons against the works of the enemy. Selah!
Let me hear from you - Charles
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277 - Owe Nothing But Love

This episode shares how we are to perfect the love of God in our lives, but we must remember that we love because He first loved us. As believers, we are born of the Spirit of love. We have God's love within us, and we owe [have an obligation] to share His love with others. We must allow His love to flow from our lives. The Greek word for God's love is "agape," the unconditional and sacrificial love of God, which put His Son on the cross in our place for our sins. There are other words used for love in the Scriptures, such as "phileo" [brotherly love] and "storge" [affectionate love], but only "agape" is used for God's love. The word "eros" for physical love is not used in the Scriptures.
We're not to keep God's love stored inside us for safekeeping, but we are to give it to others. The apostle Paul wrote: "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' 'You shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Romans 13:8-10, NKJV). If we are to fulfill the law, then we'll be "loving our neighbor as we love ourselves." We are not to do any harm to our brothers and sisters in the Lord, but don't we?
At times, we speak evil of others, but we are called to perfect the love of God in our lives and in out thoughts. This way we can be effective representatives of God on earth as the light of the world. By perfecting God's love in our lives, we not only meet the requirements of the Law of God, but also the criminal and civil laws. Romans, chapter 13 continues: "And do this, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep; for now our salvation is nearer than when we first believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lust" (Romans 13:11-14, NKJV). Join me as we look into the importance of the love of God and how to manifest it. Selah!
Let me hear from you - Charles
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283 - Let None Imagine Evil

How many of us have trouble with our imaginations? Zechariah prophesied, "Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart" (7:9-10, KJV). During the day, we're tempted the think badly about other Christians. Let none "imagine evil" against their Christian brother and sister. There is no room for this in our lives. These verses state that we're to "execute true judgment," not based on our imaginations. When God looks upon Christians, He sees the blood of Jesus. Without it, judgment would come upon all mankind.
Jesus wiped all our sin away, taking our judgment upon Himself. God sees the believer as pure and righteous because of Jesus' blood. Zechariah tells us to "Execute true judgment, and show mercy and compassions every man to his brother." True judgment today involves showing mercy and compassion [suffering with another]. If we're not showing love to our fellow Christians, we're not executing the right kind of judgment. Absent love, our judgment is worldly and even demonic. It brings destruction, instead of healing.
This message is intended for born-again Christians. We are not to oppress the less fortunate; widows, orphans and foreigners. And we are not to even think [imagine] evil against our fellow Christian. The people of Zechariah's time, ". . . refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear" (7:11, KJV). My prayer is that we won't stop up our ears, but will listen to this message and put on the mind of Christ, as Zechariah told us to do. Join me as we discover how we can get rid of our evil imaginations and think as God thinks. Selah!
Let me hear from you - Charles
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278 - Keep Yourself in Love

"But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life. And of some have compassion, making a difference: And others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire; hating even the garments spotted by the flesh" (Jude 20-23, KJV). This means we are not only to keep ourselves in the love of God; but we are to help keep others in the love of God. As the body of Christ, we are united in love, so we are to keep the body of Christ in the love of God. In the verses quoted above, Jude addresses the statement to "beloved." When you see "beloved" used in the Scriptures, it's being addressed to Christians. Then Jude says, "building up yourselves," and this indicates there is something we need to do. It has been said that God has already done everything He is going to do. He has given us Jesus and made us a new creation. After we are born again in Christ, we must keep ourselves built up [edified] in the most holy faith.
These Scriptures, verses 20 through 23 has seven (7) commands that a Christian needs to do. #1, ". . . building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost," #2, "Keep yourselves in the love of God," #3, ". . . looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life," #4, ". . . have compassion" on some, #5, ". . . making a difference," #6, ". . . others save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, and #7, ". . . hating even the garments spotted by the flesh." The first is to build up ourselves in the most holy faith. You may have noticed that within Christianity there is a lot of putting people down, and it's very easy to be put down through gossip. But, Jude instructs us to build up ourselves  and others in the faith.
Jude precedes the above verses with this warning. "These are murmurers, complainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling words, having men's persons in admiration because of advantage. But, beloved, remember ye the words which were spoken before of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ; How that they told you there should be mockers in the last time, who should walk after their own ungodly lusts. These are they who separate themselves, sensual, having not the Spirit" (Jude 16-19, KJV). Things were the same then as they are now. We're told by Jude in verse 3, ". . . that you should earnestly contend for the faith. . .", because there are those who will teach you falsely to have you deny the faith that saved you. Join me as we study this episode on how we can build ourselves up in the faith and keep ourselves in the love of God, so those who come with such evil intentions will have no affect and can be overcome. Selah!
Let me hear from you - Charles
https://www.aboundinglove.org/
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