This morning, we continue the journey we started together, called “Renewed.” This series is about God restoring what has been poured out, not by effort but by his Spirit. Renewal is not something we can achieve by our own strength. But it is something God initiates as he breathes fresh life into his people.

Over the past 2 weeks, we have talked through how God renews us from the inside out. Each step has built on the one before it, and today's message is no different.

In week one, we talked about a renewed spirit. We learned how God breathes into places that felt empty and poured out. We learned that renewal did not start with effort; it started with his presence, as the Spirit of God hovered over those unformed things. And so God met us where we were, tired, dry, and depleted, and he breathed the life back into us.

In week number 2, we talked about renewed purpose. Once the spirit is renewed, purpose follows. When God fills us again, vision and clarity come. It’s not something we can force, but it flows from his presence. When the Spirit fills us, our steps begin to align with his.

Today, in week number 3, we are taking the next step in that same movement. I want to talk to you today about a renewed love.

You see, it is a renewed spirit that allows us to love again. Renewed purpose gives us direction, but renewed love sustains everything God is rebuilding in our lives. That matters because without renewed love, renewal becomes a chore. We may keep moving, but it feels burdensome. We may keep serving, but the joy fades. We may keep obeying, but it feels forced. With renewed love, renewal becomes life-giving again. Obedience flows, worship is deeper, and faith breathes once again.

This is why Paul writes what he does in Romans chapter 5. He is not describing our behavior first. He is describing what God does within us before anything changes on the outside. Look with me at verse one,

“Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

In other words, peace with God comes first. It is the fruit of a renewed spirit. No striving. No proving. Peace with God.

“Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand” (Romans 5:2).

We do not visit grace; we stand in it. That is a renewed purpose. We know where we belong and where we are going.

“Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope” (Romans 5:3–4).

Paul is being brutally honest because he knows that life comes with a certain amount of pressure. Faith does not remove difficulty, but it gives meaning to it. And so a renewed purpose keeps us moving forward when things get hard and circumstances push back, because we know that God is doing something in us, not just around us.

And then, in verse 5, he brings us to the heart of it all,

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:5).

That is our subject today, a renewed love. How God pours love into the heart by the Holy Spirit, not something earned or deserved but poured out.

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him” (Psalm 103:11).

This morning, we are not talking about trying to love God harder. We are going to talk about letting God love us again so that everything he is renewing can last.

The prophet Zephaniah gives us one of the clearest pictures of God’s extravagant love in all the Scriptures.

“The Lord your God is with you; he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you; he will quiet you with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17).

We do not love God by willpower but by overflow. Love was never meant to be something we force out of ourselves. It was always meant to be the result of what God pours into us. When we try to love God by effort alone, love turns into religion, a burden or pressure. But when love flows from what God has already done in us, it becomes natural and life-giving.

The Bible is very clear about the direction love moves. It never starts with us reaching up to the heavens. It always starts with God reaching down. The Bible says,

“We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

That verse settles the issue. Our love for God is always a response, never an initiation. We are not chasing God’s affection; we are responding to a love that has already been given. That is why renewal always begins internally before anything changes externally. God does not start by correcting behavior; he starts by restoring our relationship.

This is where so many people get stuck because we try to fix the outside first. We promise to do better, serve more, give more, pray harder, and love deeper. But God works the other way around. He restores the heart so the life can follow.

And so, when love is received, obedience becomes willing. When love is experienced, worship becomes sincere. When love is restored, purpose becomes sustainable.

That is why Paul says God pours his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Because love is not manufactured, it is received. When the Holy Spirit fills the heart again, love begins to flow out naturally.

However, even with a renewed spirit and renewed purpose, love can quietly run low. It doesn’t usually disappear all at once, but it fades slowly. And so people who once had love that was active, warm, and visible begin to cool over time under pressure.

In fact, Jesus addresses this as one of the conditions leading up to the end times. He says,

“Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold” (Matthew 24:12).

But it’s not just moral decay and exposure to wickedness. Life has a way of doing that. Disappointment sets in. Exhaustion builds. Pressure mounts. Prayers seem unanswered. Battles last longer than expected. Relationships wound us. None of that happens overnight, but over time our love cools.

We keep showing up. We keep serving. We keep doing the right things. But the warmth is gone. The joy has diminished. The tenderness is missing. And what once flowed freely now feels forced.

This is not rebellion but weariness.

Jesus spoke directly to this reality when he addressed the church that was still active, still faithful, still working, but they had lost something essential. Jesus said,

“You have forsaken your first love” (Revelation 2:4).

In other words, they hadn’t abandoned the faith or walked away from the truth; they had simply grown tired. Their love had cooled under pressure.

I want you to see how Jesus responds. He doesn’t condemn them. He invites them to…

“Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first” (Revelation 2:5).

God never responds to a tired, weary love with shame. He responds with restoration. He doesn’t accuse us of being tired; he calls us back into relationship. When your love is on empty, God does not demand more effort; he offers renewed presence, because

“God is love” (1 John 4:16).

That is why renewal is needed even after the spirit has been refreshed and purpose has been clarified, because love must be restored for what God is building to last.

When the Holy Spirit breathes again into our spirit, love has room to come back to life. Love does not revive because we decide to be more disciplined. Love revives because God fills what has been empty.

Renewal always follows the same pattern: the Spirit comes, and order follows. We see this from the very beginning of Scripture, before anything was formed, fixed, or spoken. The Spirit of God was present. The Bible tells us:

“The earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2).

In other words, God did not speak until the Spirit hovered. His presence came before renewal, and filling came before purpose, and that same order still applies in our lives. When things feel formless and empty inside, God does not rush us into correction but brings us into his presence.

That’s why I said love cannot be restored by discipline alone. Discipline can keep us functioning, but it cannot soften a hardened heart or heal a wounded one. Love is restored by the presence of God. When the Holy Spirit fills what was empty, love begins to flow again.

This is why Romans chapter 5 says what it says.

“Hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:5).

Love comes back to life when the Spirit of God fills the space where weariness once lived.

A renewed spirit makes renewed love possible. When God breathes again, love returns, desire is rekindled, and joy begins to surface. Love flows not because we forced it but because God restored it.

A renewed love is important because when love is depleted, God can feel distant, harsh, or disappointed. We may still believe in him, but we relate to him under pressure rather than in peace. We approach him with guardedness rather than confidence. But when love is restored, our view of God begins to change.

As love is renewed, we see him clearly again. We see him as a Father, not a taskmaster. A shepherd, not a supervisor. A Savior, not a critic.

Paul has already told us how this works in verse one:

“Since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1).

So, peace comes before performance, relationship before religion, and love before responsibility. When love is poured into the heart, peace rises to the surface again.

Over the years, I have discovered that many distorted views of God are not really theological problems. They are love problems formed by pain, disappointment, and exhaustion. When we are tired, we assume God is tired of us. When we are frustrated, we assume God is frustrated with us. And when our love diminishes, lies find room to grow.

But renewed love restores truth.

“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline” (2 Timothy 1:7).

In other words, when the Spirit renews our love, fear loses its grip and clarity returns. We are reminded of who God truly is and who we truly are to him.

When the Holy Spirit pours love back into your heart, you stop relating to God through assumptions and begin relating to him through truth. A renewed love restores right vision, and right vision restores right relationship with God and others.

When love is restored vertically, it always affects horizontal relationships. How we receive love from God shapes how we show love to others. When we have little love within, irritation replaces compassion. Guardedness replaces grace. Instinctively, we become defensive and easily offended. But when love is renewed, something begins to soften again.

We discover that patience returns, compassion grows, and forgiveness becomes possible. We stop reacting from emptiness and start responding from overflow.

Jesus made this connection clear when He said,

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind… And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:37–39).

Those 2 loves are always connected. When love for God grows cold, love for people usually follows. But when God pours his love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, it changes how we see the people around us. We stop seeing them as problems and start seeing them as people God loves.

The Bible says it this way,

“And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity” (Colossians 3:14).

In other words, love is the binding agent. Without it, everything else falls apart. With it, relationships begin to heal.

We will see how important that is because next week we will talk about a renewed community. A community cannot be healthy if love is depleted. You cannot build strong relationships on empty hearts. God restores his love in us before he strengthens connections among us. He heals the heart before he heals the house.

And so, a renewed love prepares us for a renewed community. When love is restored, unity becomes possible, and grace becomes visible. The people around us begin to experience the same love God has poured into us.

When love is renewed, our response changes. Obedience no longer feels forced because it flows naturally. We are not obeying God to earn approval; we are responding to the love we have already received.

Worship becomes sincere again. We are not just singing songs; we are responding to God’s presence. Prayer becomes relational again; we are not reciting words but fellowshipping with God. Serving becomes joyful again because we are not trying to prove our worth; we are expressing gratitude for his grace.

Jesus said it simply and clearly,

“If you love me, you will obey what I command” (John 14:15).

Notice the order. Love comes first, and obedience follows. Jesus never said, “Obey me so you can love me.” He said love leads to obedience. When love is restored, obedience is no longer a struggle but a natural response.

Paul reminds us in verse 2,

“We have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand” (Romans 5:2).

So we are not working our way toward God. We are living from a place of acceptance. When love fills the heart, striving loses its grip. We stop trying to prove ourselves and start partnering with what God is already doing in us.

This is how renewal becomes sustainable in our lives because a renewed love is not an obligation but a joy. A renewed love fuels our faith, strengthens our purpose, and keeps us moving forward without burning out.

And so, when God pours his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, our response is a willingness, our worship becomes alive, and obedience becomes an act of love rather than effort.

This is not a moment to push harder or promise God you will do more. This is a moment to open your heart again, because renewal doesn’t happen when we try harder; it happens when we surrender.

Some of you may need to release the disappointment you have quietly carried for years. Prayers that did not turn out the way you hoped, seasons that lasted longer than you expected, and battles that wore you down. Others need to let go of offense, because that hurt hardened your heart just enough to protect you, but it also kept love from freely flowing. And some of you simply need the Holy Spirit to rekindle love that has grown tired from weariness.

This is where Romans 5:5 becomes more than information; it becomes an invitation.

“And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us” (Romans 5:5).

In other words, God does not ask us to create love; he gives it and pours it out. He doesn’t ask you to try harder; he restores it. The Holy Spirit is present to fill what has been empty and to revive what has grown weary.

As we close, this is a personal moment for response. You don’t need to perform, explain, or have the right words. You simply allow the Holy Spirit to do what only he can do. Open your heart and receive again. Let the love of God touch you right where you are.

God is renewing the love today so that what he has already restored in your spirit and clarified in your purpose can endure. And as love is renewed, he is preparing us for what comes next. A renewed community begins with renewed love.

Graphics, notes, and commentary from LifeChurch, Ministry Pass, PC Study Bible, Preaching Library, and Sermon Central. Scripture from the New International Version unless otherwise noted.