1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,160 Now, come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,160 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,440 --> 00:00:26,240 We're going to go ahead and open up our Bibles to First John. 10 00:00:26,320 --> 00:00:30,650 So if you're not normally with us on Wednesday nights, we typically 11 00:00:30,650 --> 00:00:35,050 are going through a book, and we are going through First John right 12 00:00:35,050 --> 00:00:35,210 now. 13 00:00:35,210 --> 00:00:37,090 And we are in First John chapter four. 14 00:00:37,650 --> 00:00:41,090 And we've come to 1 John 4, 7. 15 00:00:42,210 --> 00:00:45,810 And in my house we sing a song, 1 John 4, 7, 8. 16 00:00:45,810 --> 00:00:46,970 And we sing that quite a bit. 17 00:00:46,970 --> 00:00:48,050 It's one of our favorites. 18 00:00:48,530 --> 00:00:51,690 I'm not going to sing it for you here this evening, but this is 19 00:00:51,690 --> 00:00:56,180 a verse that I think all of us should, and I believe, obviously 20 00:00:56,180 --> 00:00:58,540 we all should put the whole Bible to memory if we could. 21 00:00:58,940 --> 00:01:01,780 But these are really good verses to put to memory because it 22 00:01:01,780 --> 00:01:06,500 reminds us of the importance of demonstrating the love of God 23 00:01:06,500 --> 00:01:08,220 that he has demonstrated to us. 24 00:01:09,340 --> 00:01:13,340 And I've seen a common theme throughout our book studies here 25 00:01:13,340 --> 00:01:13,660 recently. 26 00:01:13,900 --> 00:01:14,220 The. 27 00:01:14,220 --> 00:01:17,660 The reminder that we are called to love others. 28 00:01:19,830 --> 00:01:21,190 And there's a reason behind that. 29 00:01:21,190 --> 00:01:22,590 And he's going to give a reason here. 30 00:01:22,590 --> 00:01:25,910 He doesn't just say love other people because it's going to benefit 31 00:01:25,910 --> 00:01:26,230 you. 32 00:01:26,950 --> 00:01:31,070 That's a material or humanistic way of thinking about 33 00:01:31,070 --> 00:01:31,430 love. 34 00:01:32,310 --> 00:01:32,630 And. 35 00:01:32,630 --> 00:01:35,910 And so many times that seeps into the church that we should love 36 00:01:35,910 --> 00:01:38,550 people that we believe can bring something to us. 37 00:01:39,190 --> 00:01:41,230 But what we're going to see here this evening is that there's 38 00:01:41,230 --> 00:01:45,470 a different source or reason for the love that we are to have 39 00:01:45,470 --> 00:01:46,310 for other people. 40 00:01:46,960 --> 00:01:50,720 And so one might call verses 7 and 8 the call to love. 41 00:01:51,760 --> 00:01:56,440 And we see love maturing hopefully in the believer. 42 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:01,560 As the believer matures in his or her fellowship with God, love 43 00:02:01,560 --> 00:02:02,640 should mature as well. 44 00:02:02,880 --> 00:02:03,920 They go hand in hand. 45 00:02:04,400 --> 00:02:09,920 So if I say that I'm growing in my relationship with God, if I 46 00:02:09,920 --> 00:02:13,820 believe that I'm maturing in my relationship with God, love will 47 00:02:13,820 --> 00:02:14,460 correspond. 48 00:02:14,940 --> 00:02:19,980 I wouldn't say equally, but love should and will correspond with 49 00:02:19,980 --> 00:02:22,460 that maturity in the believer's life. 50 00:02:22,460 --> 00:02:25,820 And so verse seven, he's obviously addressing believers. 51 00:02:25,820 --> 00:02:29,900 He's been talking about the importance of loving others and demonstrating 52 00:02:29,900 --> 00:02:30,700 that love for others. 53 00:02:31,020 --> 00:02:35,460 And then he spoke in verses one through six about being deceived. 54 00:02:35,460 --> 00:02:35,780 Right. 55 00:02:35,780 --> 00:02:40,980 And he's mentioning different areas in our life that can cause 56 00:02:41,300 --> 00:02:45,420 hindrances to our fellowship with God because everything that 57 00:02:45,420 --> 00:02:48,420 God asks us to do stems from him, right? 58 00:02:48,420 --> 00:02:52,860 We can't do what God calls us to do without tapping into his love, 59 00:02:52,860 --> 00:02:55,700 his grace, his forgiveness, his power. 60 00:02:56,020 --> 00:02:59,860 So if God calls us to love somebody, he is demonstrating that 61 00:02:59,860 --> 00:03:04,220 love to us, but he's also giving us the opportunity in our 62 00:03:04,220 --> 00:03:05,460 lives to love other people. 63 00:03:05,940 --> 00:03:08,860 If God asks us to do something, whether it be ministry 64 00:03:08,860 --> 00:03:13,660 or forgiveness, he's already shown us and given us the empowerment 65 00:03:13,660 --> 00:03:14,380 to do these things. 66 00:03:14,380 --> 00:03:18,020 And so in verse seven, he jumps right into this fact of, okay, 67 00:03:18,100 --> 00:03:20,100 don't allow different things to hinder you. 68 00:03:20,100 --> 00:03:21,700 One of those things being false teaching. 69 00:03:22,500 --> 00:03:24,580 Another thing would be unrepentant sin. 70 00:03:24,900 --> 00:03:27,540 He goes back to talk about a bunch of different things in John 71 00:03:27,620 --> 00:03:30,660 First John, chapter one, two and three, and even into chapter 72 00:03:30,660 --> 00:03:30,980 four. 73 00:03:31,390 --> 00:03:34,670 But now in verse number seven, he says, beloved, let us love one 74 00:03:34,670 --> 00:03:34,990 another. 75 00:03:35,950 --> 00:03:39,310 And so there's a call here to love one another. 76 00:03:39,310 --> 00:03:41,550 In this context, loving other believers. 77 00:03:41,870 --> 00:03:44,630 Now, we know that we are not just to love other believers. 78 00:03:44,630 --> 00:03:47,710 We're to love our enemies and we're to love the unsaved. 79 00:03:47,710 --> 00:03:49,990 We need to love the unsaved enough to tell them the truth of 80 00:03:49,990 --> 00:03:50,670 the gospel. 81 00:03:50,910 --> 00:03:53,470 But in this context, he's speaking about loving one another 82 00:03:53,470 --> 00:03:55,950 inside the fellowship of God, the family of God. 83 00:03:56,030 --> 00:03:59,100 And by the way, I want you to understand that just because we are 84 00:03:59,100 --> 00:04:02,140 believers in Jesus Christ and we are saved, that doesn't mean that 85 00:04:02,140 --> 00:04:04,020 we are walking in fellowship with God. 86 00:04:04,500 --> 00:04:09,340 We could be believers, but yet walking in disobedience and therefore 87 00:04:09,340 --> 00:04:10,980 not being in fellowship with God. 88 00:04:10,980 --> 00:04:15,980 So he warns us about what to do when we fall into these times 89 00:04:15,980 --> 00:04:18,260 where we drift away in our fellowship with God. 90 00:04:18,420 --> 00:04:19,620 First John, chapter one. 91 00:04:19,780 --> 00:04:21,380 Confess before the Lord. 92 00:04:21,460 --> 00:04:24,140 And that word confess means to say the same thing, to agree with 93 00:04:24,140 --> 00:04:27,270 God about our disobedience and come back to him in that repentance. 94 00:04:27,270 --> 00:04:29,790 He will extend that forgiveness and that restoration. 95 00:04:29,870 --> 00:04:31,590 So it's a cycle of. 96 00:04:31,590 --> 00:04:32,670 Of restoration. 97 00:04:32,750 --> 00:04:34,990 It's a s. A cycle of repentance. 98 00:04:35,070 --> 00:04:36,510 It's a cycle of revival. 99 00:04:36,590 --> 00:04:38,950 And we go through that within the Christian walk. 100 00:04:38,950 --> 00:04:41,710 And so that's what it means to have fellowship with God. 101 00:04:41,710 --> 00:04:44,830 And so fellowship with God is manifested with fellowship with others. 102 00:04:45,150 --> 00:04:47,150 So he says, beloved, let us love one another. 103 00:04:47,630 --> 00:04:48,030 Why? 104 00:04:48,110 --> 00:04:50,110 For love is of God. 105 00:04:50,990 --> 00:04:54,230 And everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. 106 00:04:54,230 --> 00:04:55,150 Now, we're going to stop there. 107 00:04:55,970 --> 00:04:59,090 Just in verse number seven, we see so much that we can take away 108 00:04:59,730 --> 00:05:00,050 in. 109 00:05:00,050 --> 00:05:02,610 In the original language, in the Greek, the Sentence basically 110 00:05:02,610 --> 00:05:03,490 is framed this way. 111 00:05:03,810 --> 00:05:09,130 Those that are loved, those that have experienced love, should 112 00:05:09,130 --> 00:05:10,410 show that love to other people. 113 00:05:10,410 --> 00:05:13,330 And we know that in this case, in this context, he's talking about 114 00:05:13,330 --> 00:05:15,770 the love of salvation, the love of God to us. 115 00:05:15,770 --> 00:05:19,610 And so we're not commanded to love one another because people are 116 00:05:19,610 --> 00:05:22,370 worthy of God's love, that we're worthy of God's love. 117 00:05:22,720 --> 00:05:26,560 Ultimately, we're called to love other people because God has 118 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:27,520 shown us love. 119 00:05:27,520 --> 00:05:29,200 And we are recipients of that love. 120 00:05:29,280 --> 00:05:31,000 And we should live in light of that love. 121 00:05:31,000 --> 00:05:32,320 And we should show other people that. 122 00:05:32,320 --> 00:05:35,360 And that's how we prove to other people that God has changed 123 00:05:35,360 --> 00:05:35,680 our life. 124 00:05:35,680 --> 00:05:38,480 That's how we prove to other people that God is real to us. 125 00:05:38,480 --> 00:05:40,680 That's how we prove to other people that God is worth believing 126 00:05:40,680 --> 00:05:43,960 in, that God has changed us, that he can transform their life 127 00:05:43,960 --> 00:05:44,480 as well. 128 00:05:45,600 --> 00:05:48,320 And so I think about this love, and I think about a love that's 129 00:05:48,320 --> 00:05:49,040 sacrificial. 130 00:05:49,790 --> 00:05:53,750 I think about a love that is serving, right? 131 00:05:53,750 --> 00:05:54,070 If. 132 00:05:54,070 --> 00:05:57,070 If I say that I love somebody, I'm willing to serve them. 133 00:05:57,390 --> 00:06:02,110 And so it says here and everyone that loveth is born of God. 134 00:06:02,110 --> 00:06:04,510 And it's talking about this distinct type of love, this different 135 00:06:04,510 --> 00:06:05,030 type of love. 136 00:06:05,030 --> 00:06:07,910 And he says, if you understand this love, you. 137 00:06:07,910 --> 00:06:10,830 You can demonstrate it through the fact that you have that fellowship 138 00:06:10,830 --> 00:06:11,110 with God. 139 00:06:11,110 --> 00:06:13,070 You're born of God and knoweth God. 140 00:06:13,070 --> 00:06:16,920 And that that word knoweth is more than just knowing intellectually 141 00:06:17,000 --> 00:06:18,360 God, right? 142 00:06:18,520 --> 00:06:21,240 We could all sit in this room and say, yeah, I know that God exists. 143 00:06:21,800 --> 00:06:25,400 I know that there is someone who loves me. 144 00:06:25,400 --> 00:06:27,720 I know that there is someone who saved me. 145 00:06:27,720 --> 00:06:30,520 But it's more than just knowing it intellectually. 146 00:06:31,000 --> 00:06:34,120 That word there really has the understanding of experiencing God. 147 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:35,640 So basically, it's this. 148 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:39,560 Those that have experienced the love of God, those that have 149 00:06:39,560 --> 00:06:42,950 experienced the change of God, those that have experienced the forgiveness 150 00:06:42,950 --> 00:06:46,590 of God, show other people that same thing that happened to you. 151 00:06:46,750 --> 00:06:50,350 And so John emphasizes love among the brethren. 152 00:06:50,590 --> 00:06:54,550 He emphasizes it in chapter 2, verses 9 through 11. 153 00:06:54,550 --> 00:06:58,750 He emphasizes it in John 3 all the way to the verse 18. 154 00:06:59,070 --> 00:07:01,670 And now he's bringing it back up again. 155 00:07:01,670 --> 00:07:03,070 He's repeating himself. 156 00:07:03,070 --> 00:07:03,910 And he. 157 00:07:03,910 --> 00:07:05,790 He shows here why it's so important. 158 00:07:05,870 --> 00:07:10,710 Because if love is of God, so it's from God, then those who claim 159 00:07:10,710 --> 00:07:14,950 to be born again, those who claim to be in the family of God, 160 00:07:15,110 --> 00:07:18,990 that claim to know God, that have experienced God, must be able 161 00:07:18,990 --> 00:07:21,910 to show the love of Christ to other people around them. 162 00:07:22,390 --> 00:07:26,470 And so part of the maturity process as a believer Is understanding 163 00:07:26,470 --> 00:07:31,950 that the reason or the motivation behind my love, it's understanding 164 00:07:31,950 --> 00:07:34,630 the necessity of my love for other people. 165 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:37,600 And it's hard because let's all be honest. 166 00:07:38,720 --> 00:07:40,800 In our flesh we are selfish. 167 00:07:42,080 --> 00:07:45,440 In our flesh we want to be loved, but we don't necessarily want 168 00:07:45,440 --> 00:07:48,320 to love other people with this type of agape love. 169 00:07:48,320 --> 00:07:50,400 Now remember, agape love is sacrificial. 170 00:07:50,879 --> 00:07:52,160 It's not self seeking. 171 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:54,280 And that's the type of love that he's talking about here. 172 00:07:54,280 --> 00:07:58,720 And so John is making his point that there is a connection 173 00:07:58,880 --> 00:08:02,910 between the love of God experienced and the love of God displayed 174 00:08:02,910 --> 00:08:03,510 in our life. 175 00:08:04,470 --> 00:08:06,990 And so if someone sits here and says, why I've experienced the 176 00:08:06,990 --> 00:08:11,830 love of God, I've tasted of his forgiveness, I've tasted of his 177 00:08:11,830 --> 00:08:12,230 grace. 178 00:08:12,950 --> 00:08:16,390 But in no way does their life demonstrate that type of love and 179 00:08:16,390 --> 00:08:17,750 grace to any degree. 180 00:08:18,150 --> 00:08:21,790 There is a disconnect between what they are saying and what they 181 00:08:21,790 --> 00:08:25,310 are doing that goes back to chapter three, when he says not just 182 00:08:25,310 --> 00:08:28,910 to love in word, but also indeed to, to love in truth. 183 00:08:29,550 --> 00:08:32,510 And it's been so easy for me even in my own life to say that I 184 00:08:32,510 --> 00:08:33,230 love somebody. 185 00:08:33,390 --> 00:08:34,910 Love you brother, I'm praying for you. 186 00:08:35,470 --> 00:08:40,870 But the truth is, is where, where does our, our life stop when 187 00:08:40,870 --> 00:08:43,390 it comes to us proclaiming our love for someone? 188 00:08:43,390 --> 00:08:47,430 Does it stop with just a verbal proclamation of our love or 189 00:08:47,430 --> 00:08:51,110 does it continue on with actually the demonstration and the 190 00:08:51,110 --> 00:08:51,790 follow through? 191 00:08:52,670 --> 00:08:55,790 And, and I'm convicted as I've been reading this passage this week. 192 00:08:55,790 --> 00:08:59,070 I've been really convicted with this understanding of yes, I 193 00:08:59,070 --> 00:09:01,950 know that I tell people I love them, but do I really show them that 194 00:09:01,950 --> 00:09:02,630 I love them? 195 00:09:03,510 --> 00:09:07,350 And that's really what John is talking about here, putting our words 196 00:09:07,750 --> 00:09:08,390 to action. 197 00:09:09,750 --> 00:09:12,710 You know, you've heard it say, you know, someone can talk to talk, 198 00:09:12,710 --> 00:09:13,910 but do they walk the walk? 199 00:09:14,230 --> 00:09:16,070 And I'm going to tell you, talk. 200 00:09:16,550 --> 00:09:17,430 It speaks. 201 00:09:17,830 --> 00:09:20,230 But walk always speaks louder than our talk. 202 00:09:20,550 --> 00:09:23,350 What we do always is going to speak louder than what we say. 203 00:09:24,160 --> 00:09:26,040 And so that's what John is talking about here. 204 00:09:26,040 --> 00:09:28,160 And he's talking about the connection between the love of God 205 00:09:28,160 --> 00:09:29,640 and the love of the believer. 206 00:09:29,640 --> 00:09:34,040 So there are obviously a lot of words in, in scripture that we 207 00:09:34,040 --> 00:09:34,560 could say. 208 00:09:34,560 --> 00:09:39,400 Okay, for example, the word know K n o w K n o w could, could 209 00:09:39,400 --> 00:09:40,560 mean a lot of different things. 210 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,480 And, and so this type of no is an experiential knowledge. 211 00:09:44,880 --> 00:09:46,320 It's being personal with. 212 00:09:46,800 --> 00:09:51,320 It's John is saying, basically when we experience God, it changes 213 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:55,260 us, it changes our hearts and it changes our mind, it changes our 214 00:09:55,260 --> 00:09:59,060 actions, it changes our friendship, it changes the way that 215 00:09:59,060 --> 00:10:01,180 we work, it changes the way that we serve. 216 00:10:01,180 --> 00:10:02,220 It changes everything. 217 00:10:02,780 --> 00:10:05,180 And so it's an experiential knowledge. 218 00:10:05,980 --> 00:10:08,900 Obviously it's never going to be completely perfected on this side 219 00:10:08,900 --> 00:10:09,580 of heaven. 220 00:10:09,820 --> 00:10:12,580 But what he's explaining here is that it must be maturing. 221 00:10:12,580 --> 00:10:16,860 If we are desiring to know God more and we are growing in our faith, 222 00:10:16,860 --> 00:10:20,360 this will be manifested by the way that we live. 223 00:10:21,240 --> 00:10:22,400 And so he goes on further. 224 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:27,280 He says, he that loveth not, knoweth not God. 225 00:10:27,280 --> 00:10:29,160 Now again, remember what that word knoweth means. 226 00:10:29,240 --> 00:10:32,840 It means experiencing God, fellowshipping with God. 227 00:10:33,320 --> 00:10:34,160 So what is he saying? 228 00:10:34,160 --> 00:10:40,280 He says the, the Christian who cannot love, he, he, he cannot love. 229 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:45,080 Someone who is difficult is someone who is not experiencing God. 230 00:10:45,480 --> 00:10:46,800 It doesn't mean that they're not saved. 231 00:10:46,800 --> 00:10:51,400 It just means that in that context, in that area, he or she 232 00:10:51,400 --> 00:10:54,120 is not experiencing the power of God in their life. 233 00:10:54,120 --> 00:10:56,680 They're trusting in something else to give them their fuel for 234 00:10:56,680 --> 00:10:59,720 love or their fuel for grace or their fuel for forgiveness. 235 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:03,400 And ultimately all of our fuses will run out if we're trusting 236 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:05,960 in anything outside of the love of God. 237 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:09,240 Because there's all of us will reach that point where we go, okay, 238 00:11:09,240 --> 00:11:09,720 no more. 239 00:11:10,360 --> 00:11:11,560 I can't love anymore. 240 00:11:12,230 --> 00:11:13,350 I can't serve anymore. 241 00:11:13,830 --> 00:11:15,430 I can't sacrifice anymore. 242 00:11:15,830 --> 00:11:18,830 But when we go back to what God has done for us, it frames it 243 00:11:18,830 --> 00:11:22,390 in our mind, okay, I, God could have said that about me. 244 00:11:22,390 --> 00:11:23,750 He should have said that about me. 245 00:11:24,070 --> 00:11:27,590 And so first John 4, 7, 8 is just simply this, you should love. 246 00:11:27,910 --> 00:11:29,030 This is why you love. 247 00:11:29,270 --> 00:11:32,270 And if you say that you love, but you don't demonstrate that you 248 00:11:32,270 --> 00:11:34,950 don't experience God, you're not experiencing God. 249 00:11:34,950 --> 00:11:35,670 He says, why? 250 00:11:35,670 --> 00:11:38,710 Because God is love for God is love. 251 00:11:39,170 --> 00:11:42,050 Not just God is loving, but God is love. 252 00:11:42,610 --> 00:11:43,650 And I think that's so important. 253 00:11:43,650 --> 00:11:45,370 He that loveth not, knoweth not God. 254 00:11:45,370 --> 00:11:46,330 For God is love. 255 00:11:46,330 --> 00:11:48,130 Love is of God and God is love. 256 00:11:48,130 --> 00:11:51,410 The love John speaks of here is, is that word agape. 257 00:11:51,810 --> 00:11:53,130 It's that sacrificial love. 258 00:11:53,130 --> 00:11:55,370 And we know that time and time again. 259 00:11:55,370 --> 00:11:57,490 The Bible says that Jesus proved his love. 260 00:11:57,490 --> 00:12:00,130 God proved his love for us because he died for us. 261 00:12:00,530 --> 00:12:03,730 There's verse after verse that we could go to, I think of in the 262 00:12:03,730 --> 00:12:04,210 book of John. 263 00:12:04,210 --> 00:12:06,260 It says that true love, right? 264 00:12:06,260 --> 00:12:09,180 The true love is when someone will give their life for someone 265 00:12:09,180 --> 00:12:09,620 else. 266 00:12:10,340 --> 00:12:12,820 And that's what exactly what Jesus Christ did for us. 267 00:12:13,300 --> 00:12:17,140 So this doesn't mean that every act of Love in the world is 268 00:12:17,220 --> 00:12:18,260 from a Christian. 269 00:12:19,060 --> 00:12:20,500 That's not what we're saying here. 270 00:12:20,740 --> 00:12:23,180 It doesn't mean that every person in the world that has ever 271 00:12:23,180 --> 00:12:25,740 said that they love and demonstrate their love must be a 272 00:12:25,740 --> 00:12:26,260 Christian. 273 00:12:26,740 --> 00:12:30,100 But ultimately we see that God has graced the world with this type 274 00:12:30,100 --> 00:12:30,420 of love. 275 00:12:30,420 --> 00:12:33,160 And therefore, if we're experiencing God, this will be a 276 00:12:33,160 --> 00:12:35,480 character trait that is manifested in our life. 277 00:12:36,280 --> 00:12:39,920 And so the, the, the end of verse eight is such a glorious truth. 278 00:12:39,920 --> 00:12:42,680 It's, it's this, it's that God is love. 279 00:12:44,200 --> 00:12:47,640 Love describes not only the action of God, but the character 280 00:12:47,640 --> 00:12:48,200 of God. 281 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:52,800 The, the, the source of our love is not just, hey, we're all 282 00:12:52,800 --> 00:12:55,880 sitting around a fire and singing Kumbaya and everyone's happy. 283 00:12:55,880 --> 00:13:00,010 No, we see that the source of love that we have is, is coming from 284 00:13:00,010 --> 00:13:01,210 the Creator of the universe. 285 00:13:01,210 --> 00:13:04,770 And he has demonstrated that to us so that we might demonstrate 286 00:13:04,770 --> 00:13:05,410 that to others. 287 00:13:05,650 --> 00:13:08,730 And we know that that's one of the greatest acts that we can do 288 00:13:08,730 --> 00:13:10,690 when it comes to sharing the gospel with somebody. 289 00:13:11,330 --> 00:13:14,850 If, if I share the gospel with someone and I prove my love for them, 290 00:13:15,010 --> 00:13:17,490 the gospel is going to resonate a lot more than if I just 291 00:13:17,490 --> 00:13:20,490 come to someone, throw them, you know, a track. 292 00:13:20,490 --> 00:13:22,850 And I'm not, I'm not speaking against tracks, by the way. 293 00:13:22,850 --> 00:13:24,130 I think that's an amazing tool. 294 00:13:25,100 --> 00:13:28,220 But what I am saying is, is that if we reduce the gospel down 295 00:13:28,220 --> 00:13:32,580 to words on the paper, we ourselves are not completely presenting 296 00:13:32,580 --> 00:13:36,340 the gospel because the Bible says that we are demonstrations of 297 00:13:36,340 --> 00:13:36,980 the love of God. 298 00:13:36,980 --> 00:13:40,340 So therefore, if I reduce it down to something on a paper and 299 00:13:40,340 --> 00:13:42,380 say, well, here, read this, could they get saved? 300 00:13:42,380 --> 00:13:42,860 Of course. 301 00:13:44,220 --> 00:13:47,660 But what we see Jesus doing in Scripture is having compassion for 302 00:13:47,660 --> 00:13:50,980 those that are in need of the truth, compassion for those who that 303 00:13:50,980 --> 00:13:52,780 are in need of salvation. 304 00:13:52,940 --> 00:13:55,900 And so for us as Christians, I think it's taking the step further 305 00:13:55,900 --> 00:14:00,060 of saying, yes, we love our community, we do events for our community, 306 00:14:00,220 --> 00:14:01,900 we pass out flyers in our community. 307 00:14:02,220 --> 00:14:06,420 But how much more I think the gospel would resonate if we demonstrate 308 00:14:06,420 --> 00:14:09,300 our love and did things for people not because they deserve it, 309 00:14:09,300 --> 00:14:12,740 but because God tells us to love them and do things that point 310 00:14:12,740 --> 00:14:14,500 them to the truth of Jesus Christ. 311 00:14:14,500 --> 00:14:17,300 Now, I always pause when I'm talking about love because I think 312 00:14:17,300 --> 00:14:18,140 it needs to be clear. 313 00:14:18,550 --> 00:14:20,310 We're not talking about accepting everybody. 314 00:14:20,630 --> 00:14:23,270 We're not talking about the love that the world says means, I 315 00:14:23,430 --> 00:14:24,950 approve of what you are doing. 316 00:14:25,270 --> 00:14:29,070 I think we all can understand what it means to love somebody but 317 00:14:29,070 --> 00:14:30,390 not approve of what they're doing. 318 00:14:31,110 --> 00:14:35,750 And, and the truth is, is that we, we can still show people love 319 00:14:35,830 --> 00:14:40,070 when we are in disapproval of their actions and their lifestyle. 320 00:14:41,270 --> 00:14:43,030 So, so what do, what do I mean by that? 321 00:14:43,030 --> 00:14:45,190 I, I think what I mean by that would be this. 322 00:14:45,740 --> 00:14:49,340 I love someone enough to tell them the truth and I don't condone 323 00:14:49,340 --> 00:14:52,260 what they're doing, but I still need to show them the love 324 00:14:52,260 --> 00:14:52,780 of Christ. 325 00:14:53,660 --> 00:14:56,100 I still need to show them grace and forgiveness. 326 00:14:56,100 --> 00:14:59,540 And a word that I like to use sometimes in the area of forgiveness 327 00:14:59,540 --> 00:15:00,940 is what's called forbearance. 328 00:15:01,420 --> 00:15:03,620 Forbearance would be offering that forgiveness. 329 00:15:03,620 --> 00:15:07,020 Now whether or not that person comes in repentance or that person 330 00:15:07,020 --> 00:15:09,260 comes and gets right with God, hey, that's for them. 331 00:15:09,340 --> 00:15:11,860 But ultimately we as Christians have to offer that gift 332 00:15:11,860 --> 00:15:15,850 of grace, offer that gift of forbearance after that gift of patience 333 00:15:15,850 --> 00:15:17,210 and service to them. 334 00:15:17,770 --> 00:15:21,450 And so he says, he that loveth not, knoweth not God, for God is 335 00:15:21,450 --> 00:15:21,850 love. 336 00:15:23,210 --> 00:15:24,490 Now I know this is difficult. 337 00:15:26,170 --> 00:15:29,290 I know that there's a lot of things that hinder our love for people, 338 00:15:29,930 --> 00:15:32,650 hinder our love for the unsaved specifically. 339 00:15:32,730 --> 00:15:35,450 Now I know that in the context here, it's talking about other Christians. 340 00:15:35,450 --> 00:15:38,690 And by the way, I think sometimes we as Christians struggle 341 00:15:38,690 --> 00:15:41,090 enough with other Christians loving them that we don't even need 342 00:15:41,090 --> 00:15:41,370 to. 343 00:15:41,570 --> 00:15:42,810 We, we'll get to the world in a minute. 344 00:15:42,810 --> 00:15:44,450 We need to deal with loving other Christians. 345 00:15:44,690 --> 00:15:47,770 And I think that's where sometimes we are ineffective in our 346 00:15:47,770 --> 00:15:51,770 witness for, for the gospel because the people on the outside 347 00:15:51,770 --> 00:15:54,290 of the church look in and say that those Christians can't even 348 00:15:54,290 --> 00:15:55,570 get together and love each other. 349 00:15:56,050 --> 00:15:58,370 Why, why, why should I accept the love of God? 350 00:15:58,370 --> 00:16:01,050 Why should I believe in the love of God if the people that say 351 00:16:01,050 --> 00:16:04,130 they follow him can't even get along and they're fighting and they're 352 00:16:04,130 --> 00:16:05,010 at odds with each other. 353 00:16:05,490 --> 00:16:09,160 And so it's a wake up call for us to check ourselves before we start 354 00:16:09,160 --> 00:16:10,360 proclaiming the love to the world. 355 00:16:10,360 --> 00:16:13,040 Do we have the type of love that God has called us to have within 356 00:16:13,040 --> 00:16:13,640 the church? 357 00:16:14,040 --> 00:16:15,320 Are we in one accord? 358 00:16:15,320 --> 00:16:16,200 Are we unified? 359 00:16:17,320 --> 00:16:22,280 I was reading some passages of scripture for Friend Day, and one 360 00:16:22,280 --> 00:16:25,440 of the passages of scripture that I came across that really resonated 361 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:27,320 with me was Psalm 133. 362 00:16:28,520 --> 00:16:31,640 If you go there, you can see it with me. 363 00:16:31,640 --> 00:16:37,170 And I think that this is, I believe, one of the prayers that 364 00:16:37,170 --> 00:16:38,290 I'm going to start praying. 365 00:16:40,050 --> 00:16:42,050 And I think it's good to pray through scripture. 366 00:16:43,090 --> 00:16:46,970 I think it's a really great tool to look at a passage of Scripture, 367 00:16:46,970 --> 00:16:48,450 specifically the Psalms, right? 368 00:16:48,610 --> 00:16:50,530 And, and use those as prayers. 369 00:16:51,170 --> 00:16:54,770 Now, I don't think that that means that every single time we read 370 00:16:54,770 --> 00:16:57,410 something on paper that it's heartfelt, you could read these verses 371 00:16:57,410 --> 00:16:58,130 and not mean it. 372 00:16:58,210 --> 00:17:00,890 But if we read these verses and we, and it's something that's 373 00:17:00,890 --> 00:17:02,690 real to us, I think it's something that we can lift up to 374 00:17:02,690 --> 00:17:03,090 the Lord. 375 00:17:03,500 --> 00:17:05,100 So Psalm 133, verse 1. 376 00:17:05,900 --> 00:17:08,580 Some of you, once you read this, you'll understand why a pastor 377 00:17:08,580 --> 00:17:09,340 would want to pray this. 378 00:17:09,340 --> 00:17:10,700 But any Christian should pray this. 379 00:17:10,940 --> 00:17:16,780 It says, behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to 380 00:17:16,780 --> 00:17:18,460 dwell together in unity. 381 00:17:19,740 --> 00:17:24,020 What the psalmist is saying here is it's such a blessing, it's 382 00:17:24,020 --> 00:17:28,340 such a wonderful thing when brethren, when fellow people, fellow 383 00:17:28,340 --> 00:17:31,730 Christians in this context of the church can dwell together in 384 00:17:31,730 --> 00:17:32,290 unity. 385 00:17:32,930 --> 00:17:34,850 He, he goes on to describe what it's like. 386 00:17:34,850 --> 00:17:37,290 He says, it's this beautiful thing, it's this precious thing. 387 00:17:37,290 --> 00:17:39,290 And I think that's something that we have to think about when 388 00:17:39,290 --> 00:17:42,850 it comes to love and when it comes to the context of the church. 389 00:17:43,650 --> 00:17:47,170 You know, my love for my fellow brother or sister in Christ 390 00:17:47,650 --> 00:17:48,290 matters. 391 00:17:48,530 --> 00:17:51,010 It doesn't just matter with our personal relationship. 392 00:17:51,010 --> 00:17:54,930 Even though it does, it's a testimony, testimony of my relationship 393 00:17:54,930 --> 00:17:55,490 with God. 394 00:17:56,300 --> 00:18:00,060 And it's a testimony to the world about our change that we have 395 00:18:00,060 --> 00:18:03,260 in our life when it comes to being in the family of God. 396 00:18:03,260 --> 00:18:05,660 I think about the early church in the book of Acts, right? 397 00:18:05,740 --> 00:18:08,500 We saw one of the character traits of that church was that they 398 00:18:08,500 --> 00:18:11,180 were in one accord, they were in unity. 399 00:18:11,500 --> 00:18:14,180 And over and over again the Bible speaks of this unity and this 400 00:18:14,180 --> 00:18:14,580 fellowship. 401 00:18:14,580 --> 00:18:17,260 It doesn't mean that there's not going to be conflict. 402 00:18:17,580 --> 00:18:18,900 There will always be conflict. 403 00:18:18,900 --> 00:18:20,860 If we're human beings, there will always be conflict. 404 00:18:21,670 --> 00:18:23,950 There will always be issues, there will always be disagreements. 405 00:18:23,950 --> 00:18:25,350 There will always be criticisms. 406 00:18:25,350 --> 00:18:27,110 There will always be questions. 407 00:18:27,270 --> 00:18:28,110 So it doesn't. 408 00:18:28,110 --> 00:18:31,230 The Bible never says stop having criticisms or stop having 409 00:18:31,230 --> 00:18:31,790 conflict. 410 00:18:31,790 --> 00:18:34,230 Because the reality is, is that we always will have conflict 411 00:18:34,310 --> 00:18:35,270 because we have opinions. 412 00:18:35,270 --> 00:18:35,830 We're different. 413 00:18:36,070 --> 00:18:38,150 God didn't create us all as robots having. 414 00:18:38,230 --> 00:18:40,550 And I don't think that we should all be the same way. 415 00:18:40,710 --> 00:18:43,070 I think it's good that we are different and we see things from 416 00:18:43,070 --> 00:18:43,910 different perspectives. 417 00:18:43,990 --> 00:18:46,430 Because if everything was done through my perspective, it would 418 00:18:46,430 --> 00:18:49,130 all be one way and we would miss a lot. 419 00:18:49,610 --> 00:18:51,210 We would, we would miss a lot of things. 420 00:18:51,370 --> 00:18:54,690 But that's the beauty of the brethren, the church, the family 421 00:18:54,690 --> 00:18:55,090 of God. 422 00:18:55,090 --> 00:18:56,490 Coming together with different perspectives. 423 00:18:56,490 --> 00:18:59,050 But when there's different perspectives, sometimes there's hardships 424 00:18:59,050 --> 00:19:01,730 and there's confusion and there's, you know, people can get 425 00:19:01,730 --> 00:19:02,570 upset with that. 426 00:19:02,570 --> 00:19:04,770 And the Bible says that there's ways that we can deal with 427 00:19:04,770 --> 00:19:05,370 that conflict. 428 00:19:05,370 --> 00:19:06,650 But what I will say is this. 429 00:19:06,730 --> 00:19:10,170 Dealing with conflict in love will always win when it comes to 430 00:19:10,170 --> 00:19:10,970 the will of God. 431 00:19:12,330 --> 00:19:12,650 Just. 432 00:19:12,650 --> 00:19:20,120 Just to love somebody means to see it in a selfless way, not a selfish 433 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:20,440 way. 434 00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:23,800 So if I'm coming to, and this is something I'm working on, by the 435 00:19:23,800 --> 00:19:28,040 way, let me just explain this to you as a pastor and as a teacher. 436 00:19:28,120 --> 00:19:31,160 When I preach or teach something, it doesn't mean that I'm 437 00:19:31,160 --> 00:19:31,960 perfect in this. 438 00:19:32,600 --> 00:19:34,680 It means that I'm actually preaching to myself. 439 00:19:34,680 --> 00:19:35,240 Okay? 440 00:19:35,480 --> 00:19:39,440 So in this conflict, let's say this hypothetical conflict that comes 441 00:19:39,440 --> 00:19:43,750 up, someone's upset with something in a selfish, fleshly way. 442 00:19:43,750 --> 00:19:46,990 It's like I come and I see it my way, right? 443 00:19:46,990 --> 00:19:51,870 Selfishly, my way is the right way because I'm right and therefore 444 00:19:51,870 --> 00:19:53,630 I'm going to stand in being right. 445 00:19:55,070 --> 00:20:01,910 But if I'm going to deal with a confrontation in love and the type 446 00:20:01,910 --> 00:20:05,070 of love in the Bible, agape love, remember selfless. 447 00:20:05,630 --> 00:20:07,430 So selfless means not selfish. 448 00:20:07,430 --> 00:20:09,390 It's the opposite of selfish, which would mean this. 449 00:20:09,780 --> 00:20:11,620 I need to see it from their perspective. 450 00:20:12,660 --> 00:20:13,540 That's hard to do. 451 00:20:13,860 --> 00:20:16,860 For me to come in and be so sure that I'm the right one and come 452 00:20:16,860 --> 00:20:19,500 in with the conflict and go, well, let me see it from your perspective. 453 00:20:19,500 --> 00:20:23,380 Instead of lashing, I'll say, well, give me your thoughts. 454 00:20:23,860 --> 00:20:25,380 Give me your perspective on this. 455 00:20:26,740 --> 00:20:29,940 And I think a lot of conflict would resolve right then and there 456 00:20:29,940 --> 00:20:31,220 when we could just talk it out. 457 00:20:32,100 --> 00:20:35,020 But a lot of times, and I'm using conflict as one example, but 458 00:20:35,020 --> 00:20:38,360 there's many things that we could do within the family of God 459 00:20:38,360 --> 00:20:40,440 that could cause us to not have love. 460 00:20:41,640 --> 00:20:44,960 It could be a plethora of things, but ultimately, what I want 461 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:45,880 to get to is this. 462 00:20:45,960 --> 00:20:49,440 When we're dealing with love, we're dealing sacrificially, we're 463 00:20:49,440 --> 00:20:53,199 dealing selflessly, and we come into a situation to the best 464 00:20:53,199 --> 00:20:56,080 of our ability to see that person's side of the coin. 465 00:20:56,080 --> 00:20:59,360 Now, the reality is, is that person might be wrong, that person 466 00:20:59,360 --> 00:21:01,800 might be in sin, that person might have bitterness. 467 00:21:01,880 --> 00:21:05,000 But that will be revealed when I bring forth that love. 468 00:21:05,880 --> 00:21:08,680 Because true biblical love would be reciprocated, but it doesn't 469 00:21:08,680 --> 00:21:10,840 mean that I only give love when it's reciprocated. 470 00:21:11,160 --> 00:21:12,880 So in First John 4, 7 and 8. 471 00:21:12,880 --> 00:21:15,120 He says, you gotta love because why? 472 00:21:15,120 --> 00:21:15,960 God is love. 473 00:21:15,960 --> 00:21:19,000 And if God is our Father, our identity is his identity. 474 00:21:19,000 --> 00:21:20,120 We want to be like him. 475 00:21:20,120 --> 00:21:22,200 We want to be characterized by our love. 476 00:21:23,320 --> 00:21:24,480 I know this is difficult. 477 00:21:24,480 --> 00:21:26,200 I. I know that for me, some. 478 00:21:26,680 --> 00:21:27,520 Here's what I do. 479 00:21:27,520 --> 00:21:32,290 Sometimes, some of you are not going to want to hear this, but I'm 480 00:21:32,290 --> 00:21:33,570 gonna confess it to you now. 481 00:21:34,050 --> 00:21:37,810 When I am coming to a situation where I'm having a difficulty 482 00:21:37,810 --> 00:21:41,170 with somebody or a group of people, I'm. 483 00:21:41,170 --> 00:21:43,650 I'm not always listening to what they're saying. 484 00:21:43,650 --> 00:21:45,570 I'm trying to figure out how I'm going to respond. 485 00:21:45,570 --> 00:21:46,370 I already have my. 486 00:21:46,370 --> 00:21:48,850 Like, I already have my ammunition ready to go. 487 00:21:48,850 --> 00:21:49,730 And they're talking. 488 00:21:49,730 --> 00:21:50,930 I'm going, huh, huh? 489 00:21:50,930 --> 00:21:51,250 Okay. 490 00:21:51,250 --> 00:21:52,170 I would say that to that point. 491 00:21:52,170 --> 00:21:53,810 I'm gonna say that at that point instead. 492 00:21:53,810 --> 00:21:56,050 I think with love comes listening, right? 493 00:21:57,260 --> 00:21:57,900 Listening. 494 00:21:58,140 --> 00:22:00,140 So if I love someone, I'm going to listen to them. 495 00:22:01,820 --> 00:22:05,260 And sometimes I struggle with that, even with my. 496 00:22:05,260 --> 00:22:06,780 My own family that I love. 497 00:22:07,660 --> 00:22:11,180 You know, they come home and, you know, I had a long day and there's 498 00:22:11,180 --> 00:22:15,020 a lot going on, and I hear, you know, people talking, I hear 499 00:22:15,500 --> 00:22:18,220 noise, but I'm not comprehending what's being said. 500 00:22:18,220 --> 00:22:19,420 And they go, you know what I mean? 501 00:22:19,500 --> 00:22:20,540 Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. 502 00:22:20,540 --> 00:22:21,380 I know exactly what you mean. 503 00:22:21,380 --> 00:22:22,220 Yeah, sure, yeah. 504 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:24,880 But a lot of times my selfishness. 505 00:22:25,040 --> 00:22:28,480 Dad's tired, Dad's hungry, dad just wants to get. 506 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:29,600 So that selfishness. 507 00:22:29,680 --> 00:22:32,280 I put those blinders up and I'm not listening. 508 00:22:32,280 --> 00:22:33,000 Because my, my. 509 00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:37,360 In that moment, I can't be selfish and loving at the same time. 510 00:22:37,760 --> 00:22:41,000 Because if I'm loving, because when I'm selfish, I'm loving myself, 511 00:22:41,000 --> 00:22:41,320 right? 512 00:22:41,320 --> 00:22:43,200 That's the definition of selfishness. 513 00:22:43,360 --> 00:22:45,280 So selfishness is loving myself. 514 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:48,040 And if I'm loving myself in that moment, I can't be loving that 515 00:22:48,040 --> 00:22:48,320 person. 516 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:52,320 I have to distribute my love to that person in that case. 517 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:54,080 And so it's like put that person first. 518 00:22:54,160 --> 00:22:55,160 So it's listening. 519 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:56,000 It's listening. 520 00:22:56,560 --> 00:22:58,480 So he goes Forward here, verse 9. 521 00:22:58,560 --> 00:23:01,280 And this was manifested, the love of God toward us. 522 00:23:01,440 --> 00:23:05,360 So he's going to give a demonstration of his love. 523 00:23:05,360 --> 00:23:06,640 And what was that demonstration? 524 00:23:06,640 --> 00:23:09,480 Because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that 525 00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:10,520 we might live through him. 526 00:23:10,520 --> 00:23:11,280 There's the gospel. 527 00:23:11,280 --> 00:23:15,800 He says, okay, in case you need a reminder about God's demonstration 528 00:23:15,800 --> 00:23:17,770 for you, he gave his only begotten Son for you. 529 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:19,720 And that's, that's. 530 00:23:19,720 --> 00:23:21,160 That's the greatest act of love. 531 00:23:21,160 --> 00:23:24,600 That's the greatest sacrifice, that's the greatest act of service 532 00:23:24,600 --> 00:23:26,080 that anyone could ever give. 533 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:28,160 Herein is love. 534 00:23:28,560 --> 00:23:32,720 Not that we love God, but that he loved us. 535 00:23:33,679 --> 00:23:40,160 He says, God, God doesn't love us because we love Him. 536 00:23:40,720 --> 00:23:42,560 God initiated the love. 537 00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:46,090 And by the way, that's another aspect of true biblical love in the 538 00:23:46,090 --> 00:23:49,690 family of God is taking the initiative to be the one who starts 539 00:23:49,690 --> 00:23:51,170 that process of love. 540 00:23:52,050 --> 00:23:55,970 I think where I sometimes fail is while I'll wait for someone to 541 00:23:55,970 --> 00:23:58,410 come up to me, I'll wait for someone to initiate it, then, then 542 00:23:58,410 --> 00:23:59,650 I'll be nice back to them. 543 00:23:59,970 --> 00:24:03,490 The Bible says here that it's God if, if we want to have the type 544 00:24:03,490 --> 00:24:06,490 of love that God has, He's the one that initiated the love. 545 00:24:06,490 --> 00:24:09,970 We love God, as we're going to see later on in this chapter, verse 546 00:24:09,970 --> 00:24:10,290 19. 547 00:24:10,530 --> 00:24:12,850 We love God because He first loved us. 548 00:24:14,260 --> 00:24:15,700 So it's taking that initiative. 549 00:24:15,700 --> 00:24:20,460 It's taking the first step, even if it means that I'm risking 550 00:24:20,460 --> 00:24:23,060 someone being upset with me by demonstrating my love. 551 00:24:23,140 --> 00:24:24,740 And that's really where I usually come. 552 00:24:24,820 --> 00:24:29,339 That's, that's where my mental gymnastics start kicking in. 553 00:24:29,339 --> 00:24:30,660 I start trying to justify myself. 554 00:24:30,660 --> 00:24:32,140 I say, well, you know what? 555 00:24:32,140 --> 00:24:34,180 They probably don't want me to do that for them. 556 00:24:34,340 --> 00:24:36,860 And I start giving myself reasons why I shouldn't demonstrate 557 00:24:36,860 --> 00:24:37,300 my love. 558 00:24:37,700 --> 00:24:39,620 The Bible says, no, it's God's love. 559 00:24:39,620 --> 00:24:42,020 Therefore we should be the ones who are initiating in verse 560 00:24:42,020 --> 00:24:43,330 10 here in his love. 561 00:24:43,330 --> 00:24:46,650 Not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent His Son to be 562 00:24:46,650 --> 00:24:48,210 the propitiation of our sins. 563 00:24:48,770 --> 00:24:50,690 We've already talked about that word propitiation. 564 00:24:51,170 --> 00:24:55,810 It's a big word, but it has a very impactful meaning when it comes 565 00:24:55,890 --> 00:24:57,490 to our salvation. 566 00:24:58,130 --> 00:25:02,850 It's the word that we use for the fact that God's wrath, his holy 567 00:25:02,930 --> 00:25:06,210 righteous wrath, has been satisfied by a payment. 568 00:25:06,690 --> 00:25:08,210 That payment being Jesus Christ. 569 00:25:08,210 --> 00:25:11,130 Jesus is the one who took the weight of Jesus is the one who took 570 00:25:11,130 --> 00:25:11,810 the wrath. 571 00:25:11,810 --> 00:25:13,770 Jesus is the one that took the punishment. 572 00:25:14,010 --> 00:25:17,050 And so therefore that is that type of love that we are all called 573 00:25:17,050 --> 00:25:17,410 to have. 574 00:25:17,410 --> 00:25:21,970 He says, beloved, if God so loved us, so he says, this type of 575 00:25:21,970 --> 00:25:26,090 love that God had for us, we ought also to love one another. 576 00:25:28,250 --> 00:25:30,730 So a lot of times we think, well, of course I can't love like 577 00:25:30,730 --> 00:25:32,410 God, so therefore my love's different. 578 00:25:32,730 --> 00:25:34,090 No, that's not what he's saying here. 579 00:25:34,170 --> 00:25:37,130 He says, God's loved you, you love like God. 580 00:25:37,130 --> 00:25:39,210 Now, are we all going to fall short of that? 581 00:25:39,210 --> 00:25:44,010 Of course, but that doesn't mean that we don't strive for goes 582 00:25:44,010 --> 00:25:45,490 back to what Paul says in Romans. 583 00:25:45,490 --> 00:25:48,530 Just because the standard's up here and we can never meet that standard, 584 00:25:48,530 --> 00:25:49,690 that doesn't mean we just quit. 585 00:25:49,930 --> 00:25:52,450 It doesn't mean that we just give in and just go back to the worldly 586 00:25:52,450 --> 00:25:53,050 way of thinking. 587 00:25:53,210 --> 00:25:55,250 The standard is loving exactly like God. 588 00:25:55,250 --> 00:25:58,490 None of us can love like God, but we can do our best to reflect 589 00:25:58,490 --> 00:26:00,650 those things that God has shown us in our life. 590 00:26:01,690 --> 00:26:03,850 And so he says, beloved, let us love. 591 00:26:04,330 --> 00:26:05,530 This is that agape. 592 00:26:05,530 --> 00:26:06,810 This is that sacrifice. 593 00:26:07,270 --> 00:26:10,070 He says, if you understand the love of God, if you have experienced 594 00:26:10,070 --> 00:26:12,390 the love of God, show that to other people. 595 00:26:12,630 --> 00:26:14,070 And so the meaning of love. 596 00:26:14,070 --> 00:26:15,990 And then he's going to get to the application. 597 00:26:16,150 --> 00:26:18,070 The application is there in verse number 11. 598 00:26:18,070 --> 00:26:21,670 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 599 00:26:21,910 --> 00:26:24,830 So the whole point is, is that if you've experienced the love of 600 00:26:24,830 --> 00:26:26,710 God, show that love to other people. 601 00:26:28,070 --> 00:26:30,710 And so I think that that is a tough task. 602 00:26:30,710 --> 00:26:31,190 It's. 603 00:26:31,510 --> 00:26:31,910 I would. 604 00:26:31,910 --> 00:26:36,430 I would even say, in many cases, it's impossible to love unless 605 00:26:36,430 --> 00:26:40,470 we're meditating upon resting in and experiencing the love of God 606 00:26:40,470 --> 00:26:40,950 in our lives. 607 00:26:42,230 --> 00:26:42,590 And. 608 00:26:42,590 --> 00:26:45,990 And I would say to you now, if you're struggling with somebody, 609 00:26:48,470 --> 00:26:51,190 maybe you're struggling in conflict, maybe you're struggling 610 00:26:51,430 --> 00:26:53,430 with division. 611 00:26:54,070 --> 00:26:55,510 Maybe you're struggling even. 612 00:26:55,510 --> 00:26:58,710 Maybe it's gone as far as, like, hatred and bitterness and malice 613 00:26:58,710 --> 00:26:59,590 towards another person. 614 00:27:00,970 --> 00:27:03,690 Don't look at the situation and say, well, this doesn't. 615 00:27:03,690 --> 00:27:04,890 I can't go back now. 616 00:27:05,530 --> 00:27:07,090 The Bible says, what do we look to? 617 00:27:07,090 --> 00:27:07,490 What's. 618 00:27:07,490 --> 00:27:10,770 What's the focal point in the story of love? 619 00:27:10,770 --> 00:27:12,250 The focal point is the gospel. 620 00:27:12,250 --> 00:27:13,450 The focal point is Jesus. 621 00:27:13,450 --> 00:27:15,450 The focal point is what God has done for us. 622 00:27:15,850 --> 00:27:17,690 The focal point's not what has been done to me. 623 00:27:17,690 --> 00:27:21,290 Now, I'm not saying, by the way, let me just clarify, because 624 00:27:21,290 --> 00:27:24,010 I want to make sure that I'm not confusing anybody. 625 00:27:24,010 --> 00:27:26,730 I'm not saying that someone that comes and harms us, we just 626 00:27:26,980 --> 00:27:30,380 accept that harm and just keep taking that harm and go, well, is. 627 00:27:30,380 --> 00:27:31,700 Aren't I supposed to love him? 628 00:27:31,860 --> 00:27:33,300 No, that's not what I'm saying. 629 00:27:33,380 --> 00:27:36,380 What I'm saying is, is that there's a time and a place for us 630 00:27:36,380 --> 00:27:39,980 as Christians to stand in the truth and to separate ourselves from 631 00:27:39,980 --> 00:27:42,100 people because of our love for God. 632 00:27:42,100 --> 00:27:44,780 Because our love for God is always going to exceed the love that 633 00:27:44,780 --> 00:27:45,540 we have for other people. 634 00:27:45,540 --> 00:27:49,060 So if someone else is leading me into sin, I don't have to go, 635 00:27:49,060 --> 00:27:51,260 well, let me Just join in with them and keep going on with them. 636 00:27:51,260 --> 00:27:52,420 No, I love God. 637 00:27:52,420 --> 00:27:54,620 And so I'm going to separate from them and I'm going to love them 638 00:27:54,620 --> 00:27:56,810 enough to tell them why I'm separating from, from them. 639 00:27:57,130 --> 00:27:59,930 So love doesn't always mean condoning and joining in. 640 00:27:59,930 --> 00:28:03,330 And, and what I would even say is, is justifying someone else's 641 00:28:03,330 --> 00:28:03,850 actions. 642 00:28:04,570 --> 00:28:07,450 But what I am saying is, is that all of us as Christians must 643 00:28:07,450 --> 00:28:10,690 understand that loving someone means so much more than just, hey, 644 00:28:10,690 --> 00:28:13,290 it's good for me, it's good for them, so we can just stop there. 645 00:28:13,290 --> 00:28:16,050 No, it means that we're experiencing the love of God in our 646 00:28:16,050 --> 00:28:16,330 lives. 647 00:28:16,330 --> 00:28:20,330 Now the Bible doesn't say that we have to be best friends with everybody. 648 00:28:20,810 --> 00:28:24,170 The Bible doesn't say that we have to join in with every single 649 00:28:24,170 --> 00:28:27,490 person and, and love them in the same way that we love everybody 650 00:28:27,490 --> 00:28:27,850 else. 651 00:28:28,810 --> 00:28:32,610 But what the, the Bible does say is that love should be a characteristic 652 00:28:32,610 --> 00:28:33,170 in our life. 653 00:28:33,170 --> 00:28:36,250 As a maturing Christian, if we are in fellowship with him, it's 654 00:28:36,250 --> 00:28:38,890 not going to be hard to get to that place of love in our life. 655 00:28:38,890 --> 00:28:42,210 And he goes on and talks about it in verse number 12, he says, no 656 00:28:42,210 --> 00:28:43,770 man has seen God at any time. 657 00:28:44,090 --> 00:28:47,610 If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected 658 00:28:47,610 --> 00:28:48,130 in us. 659 00:28:48,130 --> 00:28:51,510 Meaning that we're perfected doesn't mean like completely perfect, 660 00:28:51,510 --> 00:28:52,110 sinless. 661 00:28:52,190 --> 00:28:55,230 It means this idea of maturing and growing in us. 662 00:28:55,870 --> 00:28:58,070 And so there's a huge theological truth there in verse 663 00:28:58,070 --> 00:28:58,270 12. 664 00:28:58,270 --> 00:28:59,270 We're not going to get into this. 665 00:28:59,270 --> 00:29:02,950 But it speaks of no man has seen God and the concept that God 666 00:29:02,950 --> 00:29:03,550 is a spirit. 667 00:29:03,550 --> 00:29:05,070 We know that through John chapter four. 668 00:29:05,470 --> 00:29:10,310 But, but he says, okay, so no, no one has seen God at any time if 669 00:29:10,310 --> 00:29:11,310 we love one another. 670 00:29:11,310 --> 00:29:17,320 So if we show that love to one another, it shows people God. 671 00:29:17,560 --> 00:29:19,400 It shows that God is living within us. 672 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:24,160 And then he says, and that shows us God's love maturing in us. 673 00:29:24,160 --> 00:29:28,120 And so the way that we could say it is this loving one another. 674 00:29:28,200 --> 00:29:30,120 Jesus even mentions this in the Gospels. 675 00:29:30,360 --> 00:29:35,960 Loving one another is, is the best tool to show that God is living 676 00:29:35,960 --> 00:29:36,520 within us. 677 00:29:37,880 --> 00:29:39,800 And so that's, that's why we love. 678 00:29:39,800 --> 00:29:42,040 We don't love because it is good for our health. 679 00:29:43,040 --> 00:29:45,480 We don't love because people are going to make our lives better. 680 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:47,360 It's just a big networking event at church. 681 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:51,640 We love God because it's a demonstration of God's love to us. 682 00:29:51,640 --> 00:29:54,960 It's a testimony to other people to understand that God's love 683 00:29:54,960 --> 00:29:55,920 can change their life. 684 00:29:56,080 --> 00:29:58,880 And ultimately, it's glorifying God and obeying him. 685 00:29:58,880 --> 00:29:59,680 Remember what he says? 686 00:29:59,680 --> 00:30:01,640 If you love me, keep my commandments. 687 00:30:01,640 --> 00:30:04,880 And so evidently here we know that it's important for us to love 688 00:30:04,880 --> 00:30:05,440 other people. 689 00:30:05,840 --> 00:30:09,950 Even, even when, even when this guy comes to Jesus and asks 690 00:30:09,950 --> 00:30:12,830 him what the greatest law is, what's the greatest commandment? 691 00:30:12,830 --> 00:30:14,310 Jesus says, love God. 692 00:30:15,190 --> 00:30:16,190 I'm summarizing here. 693 00:30:16,190 --> 00:30:19,430 Love God with everything and love your neighbor as yourself. 694 00:30:20,950 --> 00:30:25,270 So tied up in everything that we do in our faith and our belief 695 00:30:25,430 --> 00:30:29,030 and in our actions is tied up with loving God and loving others. 696 00:30:29,750 --> 00:30:31,870 Now, it doesn't mean we throw everything out, but what does he 697 00:30:31,870 --> 00:30:32,030 say? 698 00:30:32,030 --> 00:30:35,760 He says on every, on these two things, everything hangs, the law 699 00:30:35,760 --> 00:30:36,560 and the prophets. 700 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:40,000 And so everything that we see in Scripture is tied together with 701 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:45,280 the love of God, Demonstrated to us our love to him and then manifesting 702 00:30:45,280 --> 00:30:46,320 that to loving others. 703 00:30:46,720 --> 00:30:49,120 And so I know that that's something that you've heard a lot. 704 00:30:49,360 --> 00:30:49,840 It's. 705 00:30:49,840 --> 00:30:50,640 Love is thrown around. 706 00:30:50,640 --> 00:30:53,080 Like every church in Amer, every church in the world for that 707 00:30:53,080 --> 00:30:54,560 matter, talks about the love of God. 708 00:30:55,280 --> 00:30:57,840 But that doesn't mean that every church in America is demonstrating 709 00:30:57,840 --> 00:30:58,560 the love of God. 710 00:30:58,560 --> 00:31:01,740 And it might not even mean that every church is interpreting 711 00:31:02,460 --> 00:31:04,780 biblically what it means to have the love of God. 712 00:31:04,780 --> 00:31:11,140 Because some churches will justify sin or at least overlook 713 00:31:11,140 --> 00:31:13,740 sin in the name of love. 714 00:31:14,300 --> 00:31:15,980 And that's not a biblical thing. 715 00:31:15,980 --> 00:31:18,700 We're not supposed to say, well, we love these people enough 716 00:31:18,700 --> 00:31:20,300 that we'll overlook that sin in their life. 717 00:31:22,380 --> 00:31:24,980 Now, again, I'm not the arbiter of justice in this world, 718 00:31:24,980 --> 00:31:27,660 but what I do know is that God's word says very clearly that 719 00:31:27,660 --> 00:31:31,330 certain things are wrong and we must say the same thing again. 720 00:31:31,330 --> 00:31:31,970 Confessing. 721 00:31:31,970 --> 00:31:34,130 Confessing means homologea. 722 00:31:34,130 --> 00:31:34,850 Same word. 723 00:31:35,250 --> 00:31:37,330 Agree with God about what his word says. 724 00:31:37,650 --> 00:31:39,770 And when we're in that, hey, you know what? 725 00:31:39,770 --> 00:31:43,130 If people call us hateful, that's okay. 726 00:31:43,130 --> 00:31:47,010 Okay, Because a lot of times what will happen is, is as we demonstrate 727 00:31:47,010 --> 00:31:51,450 the love of God, people will interpret that as hate because it's 728 00:31:51,450 --> 00:31:53,170 not celebrating sin. 729 00:31:54,130 --> 00:31:56,330 But at the end of the day, I'm going to guarantee you you're going 730 00:31:56,330 --> 00:31:56,490 to. 731 00:31:56,490 --> 00:31:59,880 At the end of times, at the end of this time, and then into eternity. 732 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:05,120 I don't think any of us are going to ever, like, regret standing 733 00:32:05,120 --> 00:32:06,000 on God's side. 734 00:32:06,720 --> 00:32:10,280 I think that maybe some people will regret saying, wow, I wish I 735 00:32:10,280 --> 00:32:12,840 would have been more convicted in that area. 736 00:32:12,840 --> 00:32:15,280 I wish I wouldn't have been compromised in this area. 737 00:32:15,760 --> 00:32:18,560 And so I think that we can love. 738 00:32:18,880 --> 00:32:19,480 So we. 739 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:21,640 But then on the other side, let me say this, there are some other 740 00:32:21,640 --> 00:32:24,640 churches that no one would ever say that they're loving, right? 741 00:32:24,860 --> 00:32:27,140 Because the moment that they, Someone walks to the door, it's all 742 00:32:27,140 --> 00:32:29,500 about condemnation, all about how bad they are. 743 00:32:29,660 --> 00:32:32,220 How about there's no hope and everyone leaves church with no hope. 744 00:32:32,620 --> 00:32:33,300 It doesn't. 745 00:32:33,300 --> 00:32:35,260 Again, that's, that's not love either. 746 00:32:35,260 --> 00:32:40,060 So I, I think that we can be a church and believers that can be 747 00:32:40,060 --> 00:32:42,860 loving, but at the same time be standing in the truth of God. 748 00:32:43,100 --> 00:32:44,580 I don't think those are contradictions. 749 00:32:44,580 --> 00:32:46,860 I actually, I know that they're not, because biblically speaking, 750 00:32:46,860 --> 00:32:48,860 we can love in truth. 751 00:32:49,340 --> 00:32:52,100 And so loving in truth means I love someone enough to tell them 752 00:32:52,100 --> 00:32:52,540 the truth. 753 00:32:52,840 --> 00:32:54,120 But it doesn't mean condoning. 754 00:32:54,120 --> 00:32:56,920 But what it does mean is that I can sacrifice for someone for the 755 00:32:56,920 --> 00:32:57,880 cause of the gospel. 756 00:32:58,120 --> 00:33:00,000 I can sacrifice for somebody. 757 00:33:00,000 --> 00:33:03,920 I can serve somebody that God has called me to serve because I 758 00:33:03,920 --> 00:33:05,560 love him more than anything else. 759 00:33:05,880 --> 00:33:07,400 And so I encourage you to think about that. 760 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:10,280 Encourage you to think about, like, I want to leave you with takeaways. 761 00:33:11,320 --> 00:33:11,960 Okay? 762 00:33:11,960 --> 00:33:14,320 It's not really necessarily homework because I won't be able 763 00:33:14,320 --> 00:33:15,160 to check you on this. 764 00:33:15,560 --> 00:33:19,040 But think about in your life, areas where you can say, you know 765 00:33:19,040 --> 00:33:19,200 what? 766 00:33:19,200 --> 00:33:21,080 I'm not loving where I should in this area. 767 00:33:22,000 --> 00:33:24,400 I'm not loving my family the way that I should. 768 00:33:24,400 --> 00:33:26,800 I'm not loving my co worker, I'm not loving my neighbor. 769 00:33:26,800 --> 00:33:30,480 I'm not loving my church family member the way that I should. 770 00:33:31,120 --> 00:33:35,000 And then I would, I would have you look into the word of God and 771 00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:38,240 see what God would have for you to do to show that love to those 772 00:33:38,240 --> 00:33:39,440 people that you're thinking of. 773 00:33:40,960 --> 00:33:44,080 You know, for me, the big word that keeps coming back into my mind 774 00:33:44,080 --> 00:33:45,040 is sacrifice. 775 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:51,860 Am I willing to sacrifice my time, my comfort, my. 776 00:33:51,860 --> 00:33:53,860 My plans for somebody else? 777 00:33:55,380 --> 00:33:58,500 If I'm not willing to do that, I need to grow in my love. 778 00:33:58,500 --> 00:34:00,020 And what it goes back to is this. 779 00:34:00,020 --> 00:34:03,620 I don't just sit there and go, well, let me just try harder to love. 780 00:34:04,180 --> 00:34:05,460 What does the Bible say to do? 781 00:34:05,460 --> 00:34:06,700 Go back to the focal point. 782 00:34:06,700 --> 00:34:08,500 Go back to your love for God. 783 00:34:09,380 --> 00:34:11,620 Go back to see what he has done for you. 784 00:34:12,260 --> 00:34:15,180 And that's where we can tap into more strength in our lives when 785 00:34:15,180 --> 00:34:17,820 it comes to loving people that are difficult, that are. 786 00:34:18,140 --> 00:34:18,460 That. 787 00:34:18,460 --> 00:34:19,900 That maybe aren't loving us. 788 00:34:21,260 --> 00:34:25,460 So think about that and pray about that here this week and then 789 00:34:25,460 --> 00:34:26,380 put it to practice. 790 00:34:27,340 --> 00:34:28,380 Like, if God. 791 00:34:28,620 --> 00:34:30,380 Here's what I'VE been working on again recently. 792 00:34:30,780 --> 00:34:35,700 If God places somebody on my mind and in my heart, follow up with 793 00:34:35,700 --> 00:34:35,980 that. 794 00:34:36,860 --> 00:34:41,020 Either call them or text them, or next time you see them, make an 795 00:34:41,020 --> 00:34:43,980 effort to ask them a question about how they're doing. 796 00:34:44,790 --> 00:34:46,150 But God puts people in our hearts. 797 00:34:46,150 --> 00:34:50,390 I think we could all agree with that, but we can't be everywhere 798 00:34:50,390 --> 00:34:51,110 all at once. 799 00:34:51,430 --> 00:34:56,390 But if God does lead someone to you, maybe it's a stranger to 800 00:34:56,390 --> 00:34:57,430 show them the love of Christ. 801 00:34:57,830 --> 00:34:58,910 Take that opportunity. 802 00:34:58,910 --> 00:35:02,910 Try to take that opportunity and I know that God will be pleased 803 00:35:02,910 --> 00:35:03,590 when we do that. 804 00:35:04,550 --> 00:35:07,190 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 805 00:35:07,190 --> 00:35:07,830 podcast. 806 00:35:07,990 --> 00:35:10,490 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for for you. 807 00:35:11,050 --> 00:35:13,330 If you would like to find out more information about our church 808 00:35:13,330 --> 00:35:16,810 or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org 809 00:35:17,130 --> 00:35:19,690 or find us on Facebook or YouTube. 810 00:35:20,410 --> 00:35:25,370 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaro, Middletown BaptistChurch.com 811 00:35:25,849 --> 00:35:27,530 if you've enjoyed this podcast. 812 00:35:27,690 --> 00:35:32,170 Please subscribe and follow along for future podcast and updates. 813 00:35:32,810 --> 00:35:33,690 Thank you so much. 814 00:35:33,930 --> 00:35:34,730 God Bless. 815 00:35:34,970 --> 00:35:36,250 Have a wonderful day.