As the Father loved Me …

On Friday, 21 February 2020, the Chief Apostle conducted a divine service in Lahore in Pakistan, which he based on John 15: 9: “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.” With these words Jesus calls upon us to follow His message and remain faithful to Him.

The love of God

In his sermon, Chief Apostle Schneider addressed God’s love for mankind. He started off with two questions: “How do we know that God loves us? How do we know that Jesus loves us?” In response he said “because our parents have told us, because it is written in the Bible, and because the Holy Spirit tells us in service and in our hearts. Remember, you are a child of God, God loves you.”

The mission of Jesus

Chief Apostle Schneider explained that because God loves and trusts His children, He sent His Son to them with a special mission: “God wanted to save man, to deliver them from sin, and sent His beloved Son whom He entrusted with this mission.” Jesus in turn entrusted His people with a mission: “He wants us to proclaim the praises of God.” We do this when we

• help our neighbour: “Do good to My brother and My sisters. Serve each other, help each other, support each other.”
• proclaim His praises: “Every Christian is sent to profess the glory of God.”
• assist the Apostles through the ministers: “Every ordained minister has received this mission. Jesus loves him and says: ‘Take care of My flock, of My people. Help the Apostles to prepare the bride of Christ.”

Fulfilling the mission

In his sermon, Chief Apostle Schneider gave a set of instructions on how Christians should act in order to remain in the love of God and fulfil Jesus’ mission.

• Trust in God: “Whatever happens, He will give you the strength and the possibility to enter His kingdom. As long as you are determined to follow Jesus, He will give you the strength to follow Him.”
• Serve out of love for Jesus: “We serve Him because we love Him. Even if we were to get nothing for our service we would still serve Him steadfastly because we love Him.”
• Fight evil with good: “Whatever happens, we abide in the love of Jesus Christ. We do not resort to violence or threats. We abide in the love of Jesus Christ knowing that God will always bless those who abide in His love.”

In summing up, the Chief Apostle said the following: “Every Christian has been sent to profess the glory of God. We have been elected to show the presence of God in Jesus Christ. We have been elected to be witnesses of Jesus Christ, and show and prove what one can do when Jesus is with you.”