Loving Others by Pursuing Jesus.

Steve Gentry

[0:00] Before we get started I just wanted to make known to you two different announcements [0:04] The first one is that on August the 4th. We will be starting a series called cow tipping [0:09] We will be talking about things that sometimes in church [0:13] We may be a little frightened to talk about and here’s the way that works if you don’t know

[0:19] There is a place on our website where you can submit anonymous questions [0:24] You can ask questions about is this a sin? What does this mean in the Bible? [0:30] What does this certain thing about God? How does that work? Is this lifestyle coherent with Christianity? [0:38] Anything under the sun like that that you are curious about [0:40] What I am going to do is we are already working through the questions that we have had [0:44] and we are trying to make some of them a little more concise

[0:47] and I am going to spend a series of weeks dealing with issues that you ask questions about [0:53] It can really run the gambit [0:56] Now those of you that are submitting complaints anonymously we just delete those [1:01] So don’t use it for that [1:03] I mean you can [1:05] It’s just not going to fall on deaf ears

[1:08] If you have a complaint give me a ring [1:10] I need a name with a complaint [1:13] But on those questions we are going to spend a series of weeks going through those [1:17] and I will answer them to the best of my ability [1:20] The ones that are submitted that we can’t get to and that maybe don’t make the cut [1:25] we are going to commit to you guys that we are going to write some essays

[1:29] on those questions and answer those on the website as well [1:32] for you [1:33] Now if there are like 500 questions have mercy [1:37] But we are going to do the best that we can and during that series I am not sure how we are going to work this out [1:42] but I am also going to do a little impromptu Q&A with you so you can put me on the spot [1:47] and really embarrass me in front of everybody

[1:49] But I am going to try to work that out don’t know exactly how that is going to work [1:52] but we are going to try to do that as well [1:53] I want to serve you with this series so we are kind of letting you guys steer the ship a little bit [2:00] and I am looking forward to that [2:02] Now secondly on June 2nd we go to one service at 10 am for all of June and all of July [2:09] I am going to talk about that every week from here and there

[2:12] and one of you is going to show up at 11 o’clock for the 11 o’clock service [2:18] I am certain of it so get your iPhone or whatever it is that you use [2:22] get a calendar out 10 am for June and July [2:26] Now what that means is I am okay with you guys showing up at 9 [2:30] because then I can just put you to work for an hour [2:32] but when you show up at 11 you are only going to hear the second hour of the sermon that week

[2:38] you will only be here for the final hour [2:40] so you really need that first hour [2:42] if this is your first Sunday here I am only kind of joking on that [2:45] but if you have your Bibles let’s go to 1 John [2:48] 1 John chapter 3 [2:50] Now last week we entered into a section of 1 John where he really begins to unpack

[2:56] who we are in Jesus, what the Gospel does to us [3:00] and last week he spent some time unpacking our identity as a child of God [3:05] what it means that we have been adopted into God’s family [3:08] what it means that Jesus makes us his brothers and sisters [3:12] what it means that we are the child of God [3:15] and our identity as completely forgiven, completely cleansed of sins

[3:19] we have the righteousness of Jesus [3:21] and then he began to talk about how that flows out of our lives [3:25] through obedience to his commands [3:27] through pursuing righteousness with our lives [3:30] and he made an interesting comparison and contrast between [3:33] what it means to be a child of God as compared to what it means to be a child of the devil

[3:38] and the reality that there is no in between [3:42] you’re either one or you are the other [3:44] and that was kind of a sobering reality that makes us look at our lives and say [3:48] do we really have faith in Jesus and does my life [3:52] proclaim a truth in Jesus? [3:55] but then in verse 10 when he’s done with that section

[3:58] the last sentence in it talks about the love that we have [4:03] for our brothers [4:04] he basically says that we do not know God if we do not have love for our brothers [4:10] so one signifying aspect of being a follower of Jesus Christ [4:15] is love [4:16] and then he gets into a section really what he’s going to be dealing with

[4:21] from chapters 3 through chapter 4 [4:23] is the issue of what is love [4:28] alright, here’s the reality we’ve got to deal with in our culture [4:30] love can be unfortunately a very subjective word [4:36] it’s something that if I were to poll all of you right here [4:39] I may get a different answer from each and every one of you as to

[4:42] what is love [4:44] and what John does in this section [4:47] is he means to define for us [4:50] what God says love is in his authority [4:54] so this morning what we’re going to do is we’re really going to unpack and we’re really going to have to change [4:58] some of our definitions as to what love is because some of us are operating under a definition

[5:03] that the world has given us in a world that’s dead in its sin [5:08] and so what John’s doing is he’s riding the ship [5:10] about what love is and I hope it’s very helpful for you but join me in verse 11 [5:16] of first John chapter 3 [5:18] for this is the message that you have heard from the beginning [5:22] that we should love one another

[5:26] and then he gives us a great example [5:28] he says we should not be like Cain [5:31] who was of the evil one and murdered his brother [5:34] and why did he murder him? [5:36] because his own deeds were evil and his brothers righteous [5:40] so he begins to unpack for us here the reality of what love does not look like

[5:48] because if there’s one thing that we may get from scripture if it’s one thing that most of us have [5:52] gauged from it [5:53] it’s that God really wants us to love one another [5:56] because as he says there you’ve known this from the beginning to love one another [6:01] but then as soon as he says that he begins to unpack [6:06] and define what love is because he knows they’ve been operating under a wrong definition

[6:10] if you weren’t here for the Genesis series and you don’t know the story of Cain [6:14] here’s what happens in that story [6:16] Cain and Abel are the children of Adam and Eve and they’re offering sacrifices for their sins to God [6:22] Cain offers a sacrifice of fruit from the garden that he has [6:26] and Abel offers a sacrifice of meat from his hunting [6:31] God accepts Abel’s sacrifice and he does not accept Cain’s sacrifice

[6:36] and Cain is irate at this [6:38] and we come to find out it had nothing to do that God hates fruit or anything [6:42] it happened because of Cain’s heart [6:46] and so what happens is Cain is so irate that he goes to his brother to make his complaint about God [6:51] and at the end of that conversation Cain kills Abel [6:56] clearly that is not a good example of loving one another

[7:00] if you leave the conversation and the other person’s dead you did it wrong [7:05] okay that should just kind of be obvious to each and every one of us [7:09] so here’s the reality that John gives us he’s saying [7:12] Cain is a bad example of what it means to love other people [7:17] do not be like Cain [7:21] but there is an entire subtext to what he’s saying there that we may not think through

[7:25] we may not realize [7:27] what he’s saying really in this section is do the opposite of Cain and what would the opposite of Cain be [7:32] the opposite of Cain in that story is going to be Abel [7:36] so Cain was unloving [7:39] Abel was loving [7:41] what does Abel do?

[7:43] first and foremost Abel seeks the glory of God with his life [7:47] so if you’re going to love one another [7:50] God has to have authority in your life [7:53] you must seek the glory of God in your life but then secondly [7:57] when Cain comes to him with his complaint about God [8:00] we don’t really know the content of their conversation but because of the way Cain reacted

[8:05] it would appear that Abel confronted him [8:08] with truth Abel confronted him with the reality [8:12] God did not accept your offering because [8:15] you are in sin [8:18] and from this story we see the reality point number one this morning that love is found in repentance and [8:25] reconciliation

[8:26] you cannot have love apart from those two things [8:30] now that may seem completely [8:32] different than how you begin to think about love [8:36] and that’s why John is correcting us here [8:38] he’s bringing us back to the reality that the only way that you can know what love is [8:44] is if you are under God’s authority because he’s the one

[8:48] that defines what love is so from Cain’s example we know that love is not self-centered [8:56] love is not about what you get [8:59] this is the problem of most of our relationships [9:02] we enter into a relationship and as soon as that person stops doing for you [9:07] as soon as that person stops giving you everything that you wanted to get from that person [9:13] well clearly they don’t love me

[9:17] your definition of love was counterfeit before they stopped doing for you [9:22] because you don’t love them [9:24] the object in love is not you first [9:28] the object in love is others first [9:31] that is what John begins this with [9:34] love one another

[9:36] so whether it be your marriage whether it be friendship whether it be relationships in [9:41] community groups or Bible studies or whatever it is that you’re doing [9:44] understand that your love for that other person is going to determine the scope of that relationship [9:50] with Cain and Abel, Abel loved Cain but Cain did not love Abel [9:56] but here’s what our world would say [9:57] our world would say that love accepts people as they are

[10:03] love is unconditional love never tries to change anybody [10:08] because if you really loved me you would love me as I am right now [10:14] here’s why scripture fights that because that’s not what God and Abel offered to Cain [10:22] Abel was killed because he looked to Cain and he said [10:25] Cain you need to change [10:30] our world has a counterfeit and very self-centered view of love

[10:36] where love does not confront you with truth [10:40] where love no it has to let me continue in my sin [10:44] when in actuality from the very beginning in Genesis chapter 4 [10:48] we see the reality that love demands truth [10:53] love confronts with truth and love looks to someone dying in their sin [10:59] and says the only hope for you is change

[11:03] and Cain kills Abel in his anger against God [11:10] because God’s love demanded change from him [11:15] love also pursues righteousness [11:18] you see in the life of Abel the most [11:22] important thing to him was the glory [11:25] of God his sacrifice was accepted because his desire

[11:31] was to worship God with everything [11:34] that he had when his brother came to him he had a choice [11:38] I can either just kind of [11:42] help Cain and just kinda make him feel better about himself maybe give him a [11:47] self-esteem booster [11:48] maybe say better luck next time because you know

[11:52] love is about Cain no [11:55] love from this story we understand first and foremost is about [11:59] God and Abel knew that if he was going to be any help to Cain whatsoever [12:05] the thing that he had to defend above [12:09] all is the glory of who God is [12:12] and the righteousness that God desires from

[12:16] so in love Abel [12:20] rebukes Cain and in [12:23] anger and lack of love Cain [12:26] refuses to repent and he refuses the reconciliation [12:31] that God desires from him so there be [12:35] any hope in us understanding what love

[12:39] is in our life and in our relationships [12:42] we must understand that love finds its source in the very righteousness [12:46] that God calls us to and this is our problem oftentimes [12:51] when we enter into church when we enter into [12:56] community groups when we enter into any type of relationship [12:59] we understand that the church is there of course

[13:03] it’s here for me the community group [13:06] I just don’t fit in that community group because they’re not reaching my [13:10] needs understand that right then and there [13:14] the reason your needs are being met is because you’re coming with wrong [13:17] expectations [13:18] you’re coming with wrong desires understand that when you enter into

[13:22] discipleship relationships if you’re going to grow in the grace of Jesus [13:25] Christ [13:26] you must hold that other person is more valuable than yourself [13:29] you must hope to feed into their lives and here’s the reality here’s the ideal [13:33] here here’s what we need to be running after [13:36] if I enter into community with you with my hope

[13:39] of pushing you to excel in the gospel of Jesus Christ [13:43] and if you enter into community with me and in your relationship your hope [13:47] is to push me to excel in Jesus Christ you realize what’s happening [13:51] both persons needs are being met but when you enter into a relationship [13:55] wanting that other person to fill you up you’ve always got at least one person [13:59] left destitute and in the end it’s going to be both of you because number one that

[14:01] person [14:02] cannot hope to fulfill all of your needs that’s what God is for [14:05] and number two that person’s never gonna get a thing out of you because you’re so [14:08] selfish [14:10] we’ve got a counterfeit definition [14:12] as to what it means to love other people

[14:16] and the scriptures here are demanding change [14:20] from us continue on in verse number 13 with me [14:24] do not be surprised brothers [14:27] that the world hates you [14:30] we know that we have passed out of death into life [14:34] because we love the brothers whoever does not love abides in death

[14:37] everyone who hates his brother is a murderer [14:40] and you know that no murder has eternal life abiding in him [14:44] in verse 16 by this we know love that he laid down his life for us [14:50] and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers [14:54] see transitions more into the reality of the type of love that Cain had [14:59] and the type of love that the world is going to define for us I love the

[15:02] reality that he uses the phrase [15:05] do not be surprised here’s why he uses that phrase [15:09] in my life following Jesus and in seeking to make disciples and in seeking [15:14] to tell others about the gospel as God has commanded me to do [15:18] I mean I feel like I’m offering people the best of the best here okay [15:21] first of all you get forgiveness of sins alright you get

[15:25] eternity in heaven you get a completely reconciled relationship [15:29] with God you get the righteousness of Jesus Christ counted towards you [15:35] as if you did it when you made no effort to please God at all [15:39] you’re deemed perfect because of what Jesus did [15:42] and you’re made an heir and a citizen of the coming kingdom of God for eternity [15:48] that sounds like a wonderful offer to me

[15:52] but he says don’t be surprised [15:55] when they hate you for that here’s the reality [15:58] I’m surprised because a lot of people hate me for that [16:01] here’s the reality here’s why they don’t understand the benefit [16:05] of all of this because it is an audacious thing to look at a world [16:10] and say you know that forgiveness oh that’s because you’ve sinned

[16:15] you know that righteousness that’s because Jesus was perfect and you weren’t [16:18] and your sin took him to the cross [16:20] oh you know the kingdom of heaven well it’s coming because this world [16:24] is so sinful it [16:27] all of the gospel proclaims to us [16:31] that there is an ultimate authority higher than us and his name is God

[16:36] and number two we have offended a righteous [16:40] perfect and holy God by rebelling against his law [16:44] and the end of our sin is hell the reality is [16:48] is that in this world rather than see the glory of the hope that’s in Jesus [16:53] all that they oftentimes hear is that we’re judging them because we’re sinners [16:57] but wait a second Christians don’t judge anybody

[17:01] Christians are supposed to love here’s the reality [17:04] when you remove the judgment [17:07] you remove the sin that took Jesus [17:11] to the cross you see when Jesus came he said I came to bring judgment [17:16] and that judgment was fulfilled completely [17:19] in the cross so the reality is that judgment is a real thing that must be

[17:24] presented to a sinful world [17:26] for that world to even begin to understand the purpose of the cross in [17:29] the first place [17:29] because if it wasn’t for judgment of sin there would be no purpose in the cross [17:34] so number two this morning the love of Jesus is offensive [17:38] when it demands to change your life

[17:42] the grace of God offends [17:44] this is a world dead in selfishness [17:47] in this world to point out unrighteousness or to claim to know [17:51] an objective source of truth that brings into question our motivations and [17:55] actions [17:55] is not loving judgment because there is no such thing

[17:58] as loving judgment to this world because remember [18:01] you have to accept me as I am to want me to change [18:04] well that’s not very loving the judgment of God though [18:09] is always loving because that is what drove [18:13] the cross that’s the purpose of verse 16 [18:17] what verse 16 seeks to expose to every single one of us

[18:21] is that there is no proper definition [18:25] of love apart from the cross of Jesus [18:29] actually goes forward to say we would not know what love [18:32] is if it weren’t for the gospel but [18:36] we have to understand that the change of the gospel is offensive and burdensome [18:41] to those who don’t believe because the world’s definition of love

[18:44] is bankrupt the gospel shows that there is life that is not defined by us and [18:50] shows that life cannot [18:51] be defined by us it is sourced in God who has ultimate authority [18:56] and reveals it in the person and work of Jesus Christ [18:59] it is a complete shift in definition [19:02] to a world that oftentimes defines

[19:05] sin as progress because in our progression [19:09] apart from God we progress away from God [19:13] and we progress away from God we begin to look at things that God defines as [19:17] sin [19:18] and say well we’re just progressing as a society and acceptance of everyone [19:22] that is not love according to scripture

[19:25] that is the most hateful thing you could possibly do to someone [19:29] is to allow them to stay dead in their sins [19:32] because what do we see in verse 17 I think no [19:36] what do we see in verse 13 and 14 what we see in verse 13 and 14 [19:39] is the reality that we have passed from [19:42] death into life there is no bigger change than that type of change

[19:48] you once were dead now you are alive so [19:52] in that change when we have life those who are still in death [19:56] they cannot comprehend what life would be like just as often times when I’m in [20:00] life [20:00] I can’t understand what’s going on in death because I’ve got life and I’m [20:04] trying to pull them

[20:05] towards life you cannot pull them towards life apart from the cross [20:09] of Jesus Christ because what great love do we see in the cross of Jesus Christ [20:14] that the person to whom we have thrown our rebellion at and we have sinned [20:19] against greatly he comes lives a perfect life for us [20:23] goes to the cross to sacrifice himself for us and die for us [20:27] to give us this great redemption there’s no greater love

[20:31] than that look in John [20:34] chapter 15 in John chapter 15 verse 13 we read greater love has no one than [20:40] this that someone laid down his life [20:43] for his friends this is what Jesus himself proclaims and he’s foreshadowing [20:48] his gospel [20:48] as well as revealing the truth about who we are

[20:52] Jesus gives his entire life [20:55] over as a sacrifice so that we can have life [20:59] and then he calls us in that reality that when we pass from death to life [21:04] we’re going to be transformed to the point where we begin to sacrifice [21:08] of the things that we’re wasting our lives on for what actually is [21:13] love because we believe

[21:16] in Jesus Christ but an unbelieving world will view Jesus’s judgment of sin on the [21:22] cross as hate [21:23] they will respond thusly towards us [21:26] but it is our hope to continue and endure [21:30] in what we know by faith is love [21:34] to show the world the truth of the cross

[21:37] number three this morning we have to understand that for love to be genuine [21:41] it must seek to change and sacrifice [21:45] like Jesus here’s what’s often [21:49] tempting for us and that’s to reduce love [21:54] to being nice we really do we have that temptation [21:58] because love is just something that’s always

[22:03] to everyone and we confront people with truth well that’s not gonna seem very [22:08] nice to them so [22:09] we avoid that reality ultimately though when we look at first John 3 16 Jesus [22:14] shows our definition of love is wrong [22:16] we’re tempted to believe that love is accepting someone as they are [22:20] not judge it never confronts with truth to expose the lies that they’re

[22:24] believing [22:24] and is just nice to people no matter what this is not what Jesus brought or [22:29] what he showed [22:30] on the cross of redemption sure we need to be nice and loving [22:34] as we inform people that their sin will ultimately end up in hell [22:39] that is the nicest thing you could ever do

[22:42] there’s no greater love than looking at someone who’s dead in their sins [22:46] and show them what life is all about there’s no greater love than looking at [22:51] someone that’s walking a walk of a condemned man on his way to hell [22:54] to be with the his father the devil for eternity than to show him the grace and [22:58] truth [22:59] that’s available in Jesus Christ and to be redeemed from his sins

[23:02] there’s no greater love for that but we are afraid to expose [23:06] that very death to a culture that dares look at us and say well why don’t you [23:10] just be nicer [23:12] ultimately they got a pretty bad definition what it means to be nice [23:16] because they got a really bad definition of what it means to be loving [23:19] and here’s what I want to do with you just for a minute is I want to go

[23:23] through a few texts [23:24] and help you understand why it is loving [23:27] to confront the world with truth and why the most loving thing that you can do [23:32] with your life [23:32] is to pursue Jesus to obey him look in John [23:36] chapter 13 verses 34-35

[23:40] a new commandment I give to you this is Jesus himself speaking [23:45] new commandment I give to you that you love one another but notice if you go [23:49] back to first John [23:50] chapter 3 verse 11 here’s what he says in this text [23:54] this is the message you have heard from the beginning that we should love [23:58] one another

[23:58] this is a little bit of review because we covered John 13 a few weeks ago but if [24:02] you weren’t here [24:03] the reason Jesus is saying I’m bringing you a new commandment [24:06] is because those people had never seen God himself show them what it looks like [24:11] to be a loving human being [24:13] but in Jesus we’re not just told to love

[24:16] we’re shown what love actually is by his very life [24:21] and then he says by this in verse 35 [24:25] all people will know that you are my disciples [24:28] if you have love for one another look in Romans chapter 12 verses 9 and 10 [24:34] the apostle Paul writes let love be genuine [24:38] abhor what is evil hold fast to what is good

[24:41] love one another with brotherly affection out do one another in showing honor [24:45] here’s what we’re tempted to do with this verse okay [24:48] love one another then hate evil [24:52] then love what is good but I want you to see in the context of this verse [24:57] he’s sandwiching hating evil [25:00] loving good with love he says

[25:05] love let it be genuine then have brotherly affection one another [25:09] so in the context of this verse here’s what he’s saying love people [25:13] by hating what is evil let your love be genuine [25:17] by the fact that you love and follow after [25:21] what is good and then [25:25] one chapter later he writes in Romans chapter 13 starting in verse 8

[25:28] oh no one anything except to love each other [25:32] for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law [25:35] for the commandments you shall not commit adultery you shall not murder [25:39] you shall not steal you shall not covet and any [25:42] other commandment are summed up in this word [25:45] you shall love your neighbor as yourself love does no wrong to a neighbor therefore

[25:50] love [25:51] is the fulfilling of the law you catch it there [25:55] he’s saying that in order to love people [25:58] you must first look to how God has defined [26:02] how you treat people how does God define how you treat people [26:05] in the last half of the Ten Commandments he points out how you are to

[26:10] treat one another [26:11] and he’s saying the unloving thing to do is to disobey God [26:16] so if you ever have any hope of actually showing love [26:19] to people then you will pursue [26:23] Jesus in righteousness there’s two things [26:27] that I want to cover that this text shows us about

[26:30] our obedience to God where love in 1st John chapter 3 is concerned [26:34] the first thing is that it is never [26:38] loving to sin

[26:41] that’s what Paul is unpacking for us and where John is leading us in this text [26:45] it is never ever ever [26:49] loving to sin against God [26:53] and oftentimes in our culture we will excuse [26:57] ourselves into sin by saying it is the loving [27:01] thing to do people will cheat on their spouses

[27:05] because they didn’t know what love was until they found that adulterous whore

[27:12] friends we [27:14] have a wicked definition [27:17] of what it means to love men [27:21] love your wives mature past the point of a 12 year old

[27:28] and I hope you know what that means [27:31] so obsessed with sex that you cheat on your wife and call it love [27:35] women same goes for you grow up

[27:42] men [27:42] raise your children as a father [27:46] should show them the love of our great God and King Jesus Christ and God the [27:50] Father who sent him [27:51] to redeem us we have a society and a culture [27:55] with fatherless children the church must rise

[27:59] up and show what true obedience true fidelity [28:02] true masculinity really is and we must [28:06] pursue the righteousness that Jesus Christ came to give us [28:10] no matter what means loving our spouses [28:15] means raising our children and also means [28:18] loving them and raising them while showing them

[28:22] what it means to live the mission of Jesus [28:27] because our family can become just as large of an idol [28:30] as anything else and it’s not loving to allow your spouse [28:36] to keep you away from Jesus [28:39] greatest love you can have for your spouse is an amazing relationship with [28:42] God

[28:42] while you’re pursuing his holiness red-hot in worship by the power of the [28:46] Holy Spirit [28:47] so that you can reach the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ [28:50] and if you’re in here and you’re a spouse stop attempting [28:53] to detract your spouse from discipleship [28:59] sometimes our spouses will attempt to become our gods

[29:02] you make a lousy God straight up

[29:08] the greatest thing [29:10] husbands and wives can do for one another is pursue Jesus [29:14] and stop wasting their time on stuff [29:18] that’s not gonna be in heaven you know what’s gonna be in heaven [29:22] the glory of God you know it’s not gonna be in heaven [29:26] your softball team alright

[29:33] I would love it [29:34] if if husbands and wives come to me and said oh they just love God too much

[29:42] but I rarely get that complaint

[29:46] I get a few others [29:48] people wasting their time on a bunch of nonsense that’s gonna go to hell with the [29:52] devil [29:53] here’s the reality we have [29:56] the great honor and privilege being called children of God [30:00] and in love he’s calling us to pursue

[30:03] that identity and what he’s saying is the best way that you can love [30:08] other people is to pursue Jesus because then [30:12] the world will see what a child of God looks like [30:16] because here’s the reality of who we are in Jesus here’s the reality [30:20] of what it means to change here’s the reality of what it means to sacrifice [30:23] it means that I am a child of God and the scripture says that Jesus died

[30:27] so that he could be the firstborn among many brothers that means Jesus Christ [30:31] is my big brother in the kingdom of God and when I look at my big brother [30:35] I look at how life was meant to be lived and I begin to change my life [30:40] because I’m so in love with him and I’m so [30:44] in glory and I want to worship him and the world looks to that [30:48] and the world sees what love is because I am obeying the king

[30:52] but absent my obedience to God [30:56] the world will not look and say that’s love [31:00] so we live in a reality in a world [31:03] in which the world will look to us and the world will say [31:06] you’re a hypocrite how dare you judge me aren’t Christians supposed to love [31:10] and what they’re actually doing is they’re calling out our hypocrisy

[31:14] that we dare confront their sin [31:16] while we’re living lives of sin here’s the reality here’s two things you need [31:20] to do with that [31:21] number one be gutsy with your guilt [31:24] you will sin and you must trust God to forgive you of that sin [31:29] you must trust that what Jesus did was enough for my sins past

[31:33] for my sins present and for my sins in the future his forgiveness [31:38] is enough to endure you to the end even in the face [31:42] of haters that will always call you out on the little pity things [31:48] trust his forgiveness but then number two [31:53] here’s where I think we fumble a lot be [31:56] gutsy with your obedience we do have a problem in the church with hypocrisy

[32:03] and I believe it hurts [32:06] the heart of God here’s a reality when the world sees someone red hot for the [32:12] Lord in obedience the world is in [32:16] all that is what [32:19] the world needs to see and that’s where the text [32:23] goes I’m getting ahead of myself look in verse 16 again

[32:26] by this we know love [32:29] that he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the [32:33] brothers [32:33] I want you to understand just for a second I forgot this [32:37] first John chapter 3 verse 16 is the hinge [32:42] on which the entire book of first John

[32:45] is swinging on this reality [32:48] that outside of the person and work [32:51] of Jesus Christ you cannot hope to know [32:55] what love is you will be left with nothing but [32:58] counterfeit definitions of love [33:01] and you will expose yourself to those who would deceive you

[33:06] about what love is but when you know the love of Jesus you will know the [33:11] love that’s not [33:12] the love of Jesus and you can run away from that [33:15] but when you know the love of Jesus you stay faithful [33:19] to Jesus then in verse 17 he writes [33:22] but if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need yet closes his

[33:27] heart against him [33:28] how does God’s love abide [33:31] in him little children let us not love in word or talk but indeed [33:36] and in truth here’s what the gospel does to us [33:40] the gospel gives us everything I’ve been talking about the kingdom of God is [33:44] concerned

[33:44] and because of that we look to this world and we hold everything in this [33:48] world with an open hand [33:51] it breeds generosity inside of us [33:54] because everything that I have if it can further the gospel [33:57] I’ll give it give of your possessions [34:01] it starts inside of the church when we see brothers and sisters hurting

[34:05] scripture says there that we love the brothers so everything we’ve got in an [34:09] open hand [34:09] we give to our brothers when you have need in your life [34:14] the first place you should turn is the church because the church should be the [34:18] most generous but oftentimes it’s not [34:20] because we love this world more than we love God so we hold our possessions we

[34:23] hold our money [34:24] in a closed hand we pad our bank account [34:27] so that we can have comfort and we can have leisure the gospel of Jesus Christ [34:31] changes that [34:33] to where our bank accounts exist for the proclamation of the gospel [34:36] it’s where we can be generous we are generous

[34:40] we take care of one another but then that also [34:45] if you look in verse 18 let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth [34:50] it means let your walk match your talk

[34:56] you [34:57] have the responsibility to believe the gospel [35:01] and live for the gospel and when someone confronts you with truth [35:06] for your growth in discipleship oftentimes your reaction to truth [35:10] will show your faith in Jesus [35:13] when the truth is shown to you

[35:16] do you respond in repentance or do you respond in resentment [35:21] when someone points out something that you know the gospel wants to change in [35:25] your life [35:25] are you quick to say that’s so true I need to do some hard inventory [35:29] or do you point out to them well you’re a sinner too [35:33] oh well I saw you do this last week

[35:36] hypocrite don’t be like Cain [35:42] don’t be like Cain [35:46] look in verse 19 by this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our [35:52] heart before him [35:54] for whenever our heart condemns us [35:57] God is greater than our heart

[36:00] and he knows everything

[36:04] so I love first John because he’s hard on us isn’t he

[36:09] but then he always follows it up with the gospel

[36:14] he’ll follow it up and I’ll just man I’ll be so [36:17] mired in guilt I’ll be consumed with it [36:21] I’ll be like I need to change what do I do [36:23] oh man Jesus must hate me my heart will condemn me won’t it [36:29] then he follows it up and he says wait

[36:34] the answer isn’t try harder the answer isn’t just [36:38] do more if your heart condemns you [36:42] take your heart to Jesus [36:46] that’s true for unbelievers [36:49] that’s true for believers the forgiveness [36:53] of Jesus is enough and when your heart

[36:57] is taken to him he sends you away strengthened [37:00] to put your effort your grace filled [37:04] effort towards obeying him in verse [37:08] 21 beloved if our heart does not condemn us we have confidence before God [37:15] and whatever we ask we receive from him [37:18] because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him

[37:21] and this is the commandment that we believe in the name of the Son Jesus [37:25] Christ [37:26] in love with one another just as he has commanded us [37:30] whoever keeps his commandments abides in God [37:33] in God in him and by this we [37:36] know that he abides in us by the spirit whom he

[37:40] has given us finally this morning love that sacrifices [37:46] for truth and obedience reveals [37:49] a life changed by Jesus last few verses there he summarizes [37:56] everything that he’s talked about the book of first john so far [37:59] he’s showing us that our obedience to the commandments of Jesus Christ will [38:03] reveal a life

[38:05] that’s been changed by Jesus Christ and he shows us [38:08] that obeying Jesus is the only loving [38:12] way to live if you want to love [38:16] others you cannot do it apart [38:19] from the work of Jesus in your life if you want [38:24] to show the world what love is

[38:27] you may begin to look into your life [38:30] and see the things that are distracting you [38:33] from growing in Jesus because he’s making a [38:37] parallel walk here the things that are distracting you from Jesus are the [38:41] things that are keeping you from loving other people [38:44] the way that you should love does not seek its own

[38:48] love seeks the good of others in God and what is the best thing you can seek for [38:52] others [38:53] the best that you can seek for others is the redemption in Jesus [38:56] to the reconciliation in God and that is what you need to make your life’s [39:01] pursuit about [39:02] so the question maybe you’re asking yourself this morning is am I loving

[39:06] others

[39:08] the rest of the text seeks to expose the answer to that question [39:13] and to answer that I need you to ask [39:16] where is your effort in life what are you pursuing [39:20] what are you desiring where are your passions taking you [39:25] do you have an affection for God [39:28] that seeks to obey him that seeks to find your identity in him

[39:33] or are your affections towards a host of other things [39:36] from your career to your comfort

[39:42] to people filling you before you fill them

[39:47] are you self-centered

[39:51] the best way to answer that [39:53] is to answer are you seeking [39:56] the joy of others in Jesus [40:00] that is where he started in 1 John chapter 1

[40:05] in 1 John chapter 1 [40:07] in verse 3 John writes this [40:11] that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you [40:15] so that you too may have fellowship with us [40:18] and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ [40:23] and we are writing these things so that our joy

[40:27] may be complete if you weren’t here for that understand what he’s saying is [40:32] is that the way that I get my [40:35] joy is I spend my life in relationship with God [40:39] and in my relationship with God he fills me up to the point [40:43] where I live like he does and what does God do he seeks other people to have [40:47] fellowship with him through Jesus and so I get my joy

[40:50] from giving other people joy in Jesus [40:55] are you doing that with your life

[41:00] therefore stop living for yourself [41:03] stop only loving yourself as supreme [41:06] and live to make others glad [41:10] in God

[41:14] easiest way to put it stop wasting your life on stuff that just [41:18] doesn’t matter he throws an interesting thing in there to close [41:23] this part of the text out in the middle of all that he says whatever you ask [41:30] you will receive from him at first glance that may seem like an odd thing [41:35] to kind of close himself out with [41:37] that he begins to talk about our prayer life but I

[41:40] look at that and I think that’s actually a fitting way to end [41:44] because our prayer life will speak volumes [41:46] about what we love because what we’re seeking for God to give us [41:54] shows where our affections actually are [41:57] when we pass from the death of sin to the life of Jesus [42:00] he begins the work of changing our affections towards him

[42:03] and our actions follow him and a life lived for his mission [42:07] because of that we begin to want what God wants [42:10] and our prayers move towards him because if he’s going to transform my life [42:15] he’s going to transform my desires and my wants [42:18] his spirit speaks he leads and we follow him in joy [42:23] what we must realize is that it is only in that life

[42:27] the life that sacrifices to grow the kingdom of God to give Jesus to others [42:34] that we can hope to find what love actually is [42:39] the only way you can love people is by being [42:42] a disciple of Jesus Christ so that others may become [42:46] disciples of Jesus Christ and when we [42:49] sacrifice everything in order to love others

[42:52] you will know what the love of Jesus in 1 John 3 16 is

[42:58] because sacrificing [43:00] for others to know the glory of God is what it’s all about [43:05] as the band comes up I want to transition into a time [43:09] of communion we take communion every single week [43:13] but I think it’s really fitting with some messages this [43:20] metaphor of the cup and the bread

[43:24] because what it represents is really what [43:27] John was talking about in 1 John 3 16 [43:30] that Jesus gave his life as a sacrifice for you and for me [43:38] that our sin drove him there that his response [43:42] is always a sacrificial love because here’s what this represents [43:47] the cup represents the blood of Jesus shed

[43:50] for our sins the bread represents his broken body [43:56] and that he poured his life out [43:59] and then when you take the cup and when you take the bread [44:03] it represents the metaphor for his life entering into your life [44:08] represents that Jesus wants to forgive your sins [44:12] it represents that he wants his righteous perfection to count towards you

[44:17] it represents that he wants you [44:20] to be in his eternal kingdom it represents that he wants you to know [44:25] what it is to worship him forever and it represents that he wants you to know [44:30] what it is to live in joyful anticipation [44:33] that there’s coming a day where we will see him face to face [44:38] because ultimately friends without those things

[44:42] you can’t know what love is because to know Jesus [44:47] is to know love if you’re in here and you’re a follower of Jesus [44:53] in just a minute I’m going to call you to one of the six stations in here [44:57] and when you come I want you to meditate on those things [45:01] when you come I want you to understand those truths about Jesus [45:08] and what you’re doing today is a testimony to others that you believe it

[45:11] and also that you’re going to seek to love them [45:15] if you’re not a believer this morning today you can know God [45:20] trust Jesus for the forgiveness of your sins [45:24] take them to him believe in the name of Jesus Christ [45:28] I’ll be right over there I’d love to talk to you about it [45:33] don’t let anything hold you back from an eternal relationship

[45:36] with the God that created everything that is [45:39] when you’re ready come