How To Love The Lord by Apostle Michael Orokpo: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Crisis of Lovelessness in the Church

One thing literally defines the quality of a believer's existence: whether they have a genuine love walk with God. Many people's walk with God has reduced largely to religious activities. Once on Sunday they go where Christians gather, they identify with Christians, they walk away, and they think that is enough. What they have is an emblem over their heads that they belong to a particular belief system — but critically, they do not have a relationship with God.

Matthew 24:12: Jesus warned that because iniquity would abound, "the love of many shall wax cold." There are many who no longer have a love, experiential relationship with God.

Jesus Himself confronted this directly in John 5:42: "But I know you, that you do not love God. The love of God is not in you." That was Jesus speaking to people who came to Him — religious people, people present in spiritual settings.

1 John 2:15: "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. For if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him." There are many people in church — passionate in church — who do not love God. They have been taught the gospel of transaction. They know that if they do certain things, they will get certain things. There is no relationship. What they are doing is no different from going to a shrine. You don't need a relationship with a demon to use it. You just need to do what the native doctor instructs. Tragically, many Christians have the same orientation toward God.

What It Means to Love God

Matthew 22:37–38 — Jesus, quoting Deuteronomy 6:5: "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment."

Love for God is not primarily affection — though affection is included. Love for God is expressed through obedience.

John 14:15: "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." That is how God quantifies love. When someone loves God, His word becomes law — not a burden but the expression of a devoted heart. Everything His word says becomes a command that is obeyed with joy.

Love and the Entrustment of Authority

John 21:15–17 — When Jesus restored Peter, He did not ask about Peter's gifts, ministry effectiveness, or track record. He asked one question three times: "Lovest thou Me?"

Each affirmation of love was met with an enlarged commission:

• First: "Feed My lambs"
• Second: "Tend My sheep"
• Third: "Feed My sheep"

Lambs are young and follow the direction of the flock. Sheep are mature and follow the shepherd. In three exchanges, Peter moved from oversight of the young and immature to the full charge of the whole flock. The one who loves God is the one to whom He commits authority, resources, and dominion. You may have all the revelation, but if your heart is not right before God, your growth will be stunted. God looks for love before He looks for gifting.

How to Cultivate a Love Walk with God

• Time in His presence — You cannot love someone you do not spend time with. Some people cannot stay in God's presence for 30 minutes. They invest time and money to impress others, but when it comes to God, even basic devotion becomes an issue.
• Prioritize His commands over your comfort — John 14:21: "He that has My commandments and keeps them, he it is that loves Me." Obedience is the language of love. Every area of your life where you choose convenience over His command reveals the measure of your love.
• Serve Him, not just use Him — Religion asks what God can do for me. Love asks what I can do for God. The gospel of transaction uses God as a resource. A love walk with God means you serve Him because you love Him, not because you want something from Him.
• Develop consistency, not occasional passion — Love is not an event. It is a sustained orientation. Those who truly love God don't just encounter Him on Sundays and then disappear for weeks. They maintain a continuous, consistent walk.

Love for Others as the Evidence of Love for God

John 13:34–35: "A new commandment I give you, that you love one another as I have loved you." Jesus said when you love one another, the world will know that you are His disciples — and things will start happening in your life. Love for others is not separate from love for God; it is the evidence of it.

1 Corinthians 13:1–3: tongues of men and angels without love — a sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal. Gift of prophecy without love — nothing. All faith to remove mountains without love — nothing. All goods given to the poor without love — nothing.

So there is no genuine enlargement where there is no love. No real authority, no lasting increase, no authentic fruitfulness — without love as its foundation.

The love of God is not a feeling you work up. It is a capacity you develop. Begin with obedience. Begin with time. Begin with choosing His word over your preference. And the love will grow.