WEBVTT 00:00:00.880 --> 00:00:04.679 In case you're wondering, my name is Billy Nile. 00:00:04.759 --> 00:00:06.179 I'm an associate pastor here. 00:00:06.379 --> 00:00:12.040 Pastor Mike, our lead pastor, is at Village Church of Gurnee this morning. 00:00:12.160 --> 00:00:20.420 He is giving personal thanks for their kind gift and offering to help our King's Place 00:00:20.420 --> 00:00:24.660 ministry, and so he is out there this morning. 00:00:24.660 --> 00:00:31.320 If you would turn in your Bibles to 1 John 3, 1 John chapter 3. 00:00:31.420 --> 00:00:37.740 Remember, 1 John is a little letter toward the back of your Bible, and I'm going to begin 00:00:37.740 --> 00:00:39.840 by reading this passage this morning. 00:00:40.820 --> 00:00:45.219 It's found in verses 11 to 18 in chapter 3. 00:00:45.340 --> 00:00:48.500 I'm going to get a running start starting at verse 10. 00:00:49.079 --> 00:00:52.460 Read God's Word with me and receive it as such. 00:00:52.460 --> 00:00:58.740 By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. 00:00:59.640 --> 00:01:05.780 Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love 00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:06.819 his brother. 00:01:07.280 --> 00:01:11.420 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one 00:01:11.420 --> 00:01:11.700 another. 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:16.359 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. 00:01:17.159 --> 00:01:18.240 Why did he murder him? 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:21.920 Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 00:01:23.060 --> 00:01:25.919 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 00:01:26.780 --> 00:01:32.239 We know that we have passed out of death and into life because we love the brothers. 00:01:33.419 --> 00:01:35.739 Whoever does not love abides in death. 00:01:36.640 --> 00:01:42.140 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life 00:01:42.140 --> 00:01:43.099 abiding in him. 00:01:43.099 --> 00:01:55.319 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives 00:01:55.319 --> 00:01:56.519 for the brothers. 00:01:57.519 --> 00:02:02.599 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against 00:02:02.599 --> 00:02:06.060 him, how does God's love abide in him? 00:02:06.060 --> 00:02:13.840 Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. 00:02:14.979 --> 00:02:17.439 Thanks be to God for his word. 00:02:19.300 --> 00:02:22.939 What comes to your mind when I say the word high school? 00:02:25.099 --> 00:02:30.199 It could be a lot of things, some a guessing, some positive, some negative, some nostalgic, 00:02:30.879 --> 00:02:31.740 some nightmarish. 00:02:31.740 --> 00:02:36.460 One thing that might come to your mind is groups. 00:02:38.580 --> 00:02:39.960 High school is full of groups. 00:02:41.620 --> 00:02:49.460 Stereotypically, you've got the jocks, the nerds, the popular crowd, the misfits, and 00:02:49.460 --> 00:02:52.580 each group has their kind of distinguishing mark. 00:02:55.200 --> 00:03:00.700 Based on their behavior, their attitude, their speech, their clothes, you can usually kind 00:03:00.699 --> 00:03:06.019 of figure out where each high schooler fits just by observing them. 00:03:07.560 --> 00:03:10.959 Jocks tend to wear sport jerseys, and they walk confidently. 00:03:12.419 --> 00:03:18.039 Nerds tend to run around with disheveled hair and clothes, and they passionately discuss video 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:18.819 games with each other. 00:03:19.799 --> 00:03:22.459 The popular crowd tends to dress very fashionably. 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:24.199 They're very active on Instagram. 00:03:24.199 --> 00:03:31.539 So how each student acts or speaks or dresses tends to make it clear to everyone that they 00:03:31.539 --> 00:03:33.699 fit into this group or that group. 00:03:35.019 --> 00:03:36.219 What about Christians? 00:03:38.039 --> 00:03:39.259 Obviously, we're a group. 00:03:40.060 --> 00:03:42.620 We have a common identity that makes us a group. 00:03:43.620 --> 00:03:44.699 What sets us apart? 00:03:44.699 --> 00:03:52.239 What visible, observable evidence can the world point to and say, yeah, those are Christians, 00:03:52.939 --> 00:03:57.419 and we know that these are Jesus' people because they're like this? 00:03:58.679 --> 00:04:04.219 It could be because we have a little fish on the back of our cars sometimes, everywhere 00:04:04.219 --> 00:04:05.500 crosses around our necks. 00:04:05.579 --> 00:04:06.319 That could be it. 00:04:06.319 --> 00:04:11.859 Even better, we have a common set of beliefs and values that we hold, and that sets us apart 00:04:11.859 --> 00:04:12.439 as a group. 00:04:12.900 --> 00:04:14.680 We kind of speak the same way. 00:04:14.979 --> 00:04:18.240 We have this shared vocabulary that kind of makes us a group. 00:04:18.319 --> 00:04:21.279 But what really tells us apart? 00:04:22.719 --> 00:04:28.019 Such that if it's missing, the world won't know who Jesus is like. 00:04:29.659 --> 00:04:31.100 It should be our love. 00:04:32.480 --> 00:04:34.039 Our love for one another. 00:04:34.040 --> 00:04:38.140 That should be the mark of a Christian. 00:04:39.379 --> 00:04:43.360 Years ago, a man named Francis Schaeffer wrote a little book called The Mark of a Christian. 00:04:43.480 --> 00:04:44.439 I totally ripped his title. 00:04:45.840 --> 00:04:48.840 I recommend you find it online or pick up a copy. 00:04:49.340 --> 00:04:50.439 It's not a copy. 00:04:51.640 --> 00:04:53.160 It'll take you like an hour to read. 00:04:53.280 --> 00:04:54.680 It's very, very short. 00:04:55.180 --> 00:05:01.259 And the whole book is a reflection on what Jesus said to his disciples in John 13, 35. 00:05:01.259 --> 00:05:07.639 By this, all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. 00:05:08.899 --> 00:05:12.839 And one of the people who heard Jesus speak these very words was John the Apostle. 00:05:12.899 --> 00:05:16.039 And he wrote this letter that we're studying this morning. 00:05:16.740 --> 00:05:22.099 And he wrote it to a church in the Roman province of Asia, particularly the city of Ephesus. 00:05:22.100 --> 00:05:28.520 And one of John's favorite themes to dwell on, particularly in this letter, but all throughout all of Scripture. 00:05:28.640 --> 00:05:33.120 In fact, if you do a study of the use of the word love or loving or anything like that, 00:05:33.379 --> 00:05:37.660 and you kind of graph which each of the Bible uses that the most. 00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:40.120 It's like the other books are kind of like this. 00:05:40.240 --> 00:05:41.200 John is like this. 00:05:41.760 --> 00:05:43.620 He talks about love all the time. 00:05:43.620 --> 00:05:50.980 Because he's very concerned that these Christians continue to obey Jesus' command to love one another. 00:05:51.040 --> 00:05:57.439 Because if we're characterized by love, then that's evidence that we do indeed belong to Jesus. 00:05:58.079 --> 00:06:00.160 That we are born of God. 00:06:01.000 --> 00:06:04.019 And that's the big idea of the particular passage we're studying this morning. 00:06:04.259 --> 00:06:09.819 If you want to jot this down, it's if we are born of the Father, we will love the brothers. 00:06:09.819 --> 00:06:15.219 If we are born of the Father, then we will love the brothers. 00:06:15.759 --> 00:06:19.800 And by the way, when I say brothers, I'm not trying to be gender exclusive. 00:06:20.279 --> 00:06:22.180 That's just shorthand for fellow Christians. 00:06:22.339 --> 00:06:23.159 Brothers and sisters. 00:06:23.300 --> 00:06:23.899 Male and female. 00:06:24.779 --> 00:06:34.079 Our brotherly love within God's new family in Christ, within the church, is evidence that we are born of the Father. 00:06:34.699 --> 00:06:36.199 That we belong to his family. 00:06:36.199 --> 00:06:38.279 So we're going to walk through this passage. 00:06:38.399 --> 00:06:40.099 I'm going to unpack this big idea for us. 00:06:40.479 --> 00:06:46.979 I want to point out five ways that John describes our brotherly love for each other as Christians. 00:06:47.560 --> 00:06:49.219 They all start with the letter C. 00:06:49.399 --> 00:06:50.879 So five C's this morning. 00:06:52.219 --> 00:06:56.579 First, brotherly love is central to the Christian message. 00:06:57.360 --> 00:07:00.939 Brotherly love is central to the Christian message. 00:07:01.060 --> 00:07:02.360 We see that in verse 11. 00:07:02.360 --> 00:07:09.600 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 00:07:10.240 --> 00:07:13.480 Before we move on, let me just define two things that he says right here. 00:07:13.920 --> 00:07:15.520 First, love one another. 00:07:15.600 --> 00:07:18.639 That doesn't mean like sentimental feelings of affection. 00:07:19.420 --> 00:07:23.120 Love can include sentimental feelings of affection for other people. 00:07:23.280 --> 00:07:25.840 But that's not what love primarily is. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:28.520 John is talking about love in action. 00:07:28.519 --> 00:07:33.180 Caring about the well-being of others and doing something about it. 00:07:33.799 --> 00:07:38.259 John is saying actively care about and do good to each other. 00:07:40.019 --> 00:07:42.299 And the second thing I want to define is this. 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:51.099 When John says from the beginning, he's talking about when this particular church in Ephesus heard and received the good news of Jesus. 00:07:51.180 --> 00:07:53.000 When their walk with Jesus started. 00:07:53.240 --> 00:07:55.159 When they first heard it and responded. 00:07:55.160 --> 00:08:04.660 So, apparently what John is saying here is that at least part of the Christian message that was communicated to them in the beginning was love each other. 00:08:05.860 --> 00:08:10.300 Now, to be honest, the theologian in me is a little surprised when I hear this. 00:08:11.180 --> 00:08:17.660 Because at first glance, it kind of sounds like John is saying the good news of the gospel is love one another. 00:08:17.660 --> 00:08:19.180 It's a moral command. 00:08:20.140 --> 00:08:26.800 When I know that other parts of scripture say that the good news of the gospel is not so much do this, but it is done. 00:08:27.080 --> 00:08:29.960 What Christ has done for us to save us from our sins. 00:08:30.780 --> 00:08:35.500 I don't think John is confusing the gospel of grace with a gospel of good works here. 00:08:35.580 --> 00:08:36.800 I don't think that's what he's doing. 00:08:36.799 --> 00:08:48.799 I think what he's doing is reminding these Ephesians of how the command to love each other is so closely linked to the central message of Christianity. 00:08:49.199 --> 00:08:54.559 Which is God's love for sinners revealed in the cross of Jesus. 00:08:54.559 --> 00:09:04.799 If you look across the page in your Bible to 1 John 4 verses 10 and 11, which is our memory verse for this month, take a look at this and we'll see how it helps us. 00:09:05.479 --> 00:09:06.879 In this is love. 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:14.819 Not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. 00:09:14.899 --> 00:09:16.919 And then we see it really compactly in the next sentence. 00:09:17.339 --> 00:09:22.979 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 00:09:22.979 --> 00:09:23.719 Did you hear that? 00:09:24.559 --> 00:09:26.319 They go hand in hand. 00:09:26.899 --> 00:09:29.899 God's love for us in Christ, our love for the brothers. 00:09:30.059 --> 00:09:33.279 It's almost as if they're two sides of the same coin. 00:09:33.359 --> 00:09:34.979 They go together like a wink and a smile. 00:09:35.659 --> 00:09:42.539 If we've been loved by God in such a marvelous way that Christ would die for us and bear the Father's wrath for our sin, 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:48.719 then doesn't it immediately follow that we ought to be characterized by love for everyone, 00:09:48.899 --> 00:09:51.759 the same kind of love, especially for our fellow Christians. 00:09:51.759 --> 00:10:00.899 Brotherly love is not some kind of optional add-on to the Christian faith for the really committed ones. 00:10:01.439 --> 00:10:09.939 It's not some kind of obscure, specialized discipleship 601 course that you take after you've been a Christian for a few decades. 00:10:09.940 --> 00:10:13.700 There aren't the kind of normal Christians and then the really loving Christians. 00:10:14.080 --> 00:10:22.680 The command to love one another is intimately connected with who you are as a Christian because you've been loved by God in Christ. 00:10:22.679 --> 00:10:28.699 In fact, according to church tradition, the Apostle John, who lived to an extremely old age, 00:10:29.959 --> 00:10:34.139 he would be carried to the church's gatherings in the city of Ephesus. 00:10:34.519 --> 00:10:36.120 He could barely talk above a whisper. 00:10:36.120 --> 00:10:41.100 And the thing he said over and over and over to them was, 00:10:41.600 --> 00:10:43.500 little children, love one another. 00:10:44.279 --> 00:10:46.840 Little children, love one another. 00:10:47.539 --> 00:10:51.060 And some of the people who heard him do this, he kind of got annoyed after a while. 00:10:51.159 --> 00:10:53.320 They're like, teacher, why do you say this so much? 00:10:54.200 --> 00:10:57.460 And he would respond, because it is the Lord's commandment. 00:10:57.860 --> 00:11:00.620 And if it alone is kept, it is sufficient. 00:11:00.620 --> 00:11:06.720 If this commandment of our Lord is so central to the very essence of our faith, 00:11:07.240 --> 00:11:11.639 it must also be central to our lives and the way we live. 00:11:12.519 --> 00:11:15.279 I don't want to linger too much here because we're going to touch on this a lot later, 00:11:15.700 --> 00:11:17.419 but I need to ask at least this. 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:23.100 Do you consider your treatment of others, especially your fellow Christians, 00:11:23.639 --> 00:11:25.960 to be central to your faith? 00:11:25.960 --> 00:11:32.280 Or do you tend to consider your treatment of others as an optional add-on 00:11:32.280 --> 00:11:37.220 that you can pursue on good days when you're feeling particularly Christian-y? 00:11:38.600 --> 00:11:43.639 Our brotherly love is and must be central to our faith. 00:11:43.980 --> 00:11:49.240 Second, brotherly love confirms who we are and aren't. 00:11:50.240 --> 00:11:55.320 Brotherly love, our brotherly love for others, confirms who we are and aren't. 00:11:56.639 --> 00:12:00.259 We're going to spend a little more time on this because John spends quite a bit of time on it. 00:12:01.180 --> 00:12:06.060 Last week, Pastor Mike used an illustration about how similar he and his dad are. 00:12:06.960 --> 00:12:11.240 They tend to laugh the same way, work the same way, they like the same things, 00:12:11.280 --> 00:12:13.019 they have similar physical traits. 00:12:13.960 --> 00:12:20.139 This is because Mike Salvati, to put it the way John does, is born of Steve Salvati. 00:12:20.139 --> 00:12:28.600 When you are fathered by someone, you, not always, but often, reflect their characteristics, 00:12:28.960 --> 00:12:30.819 their values, their way of being. 00:12:31.500 --> 00:12:33.960 The same is very true in many ways of me and my father. 00:12:34.480 --> 00:12:37.659 It's just kind of who I am because he's my father. 00:12:39.240 --> 00:12:41.240 What about those who have God as their father? 00:12:42.120 --> 00:12:42.980 What are they like? 00:12:44.179 --> 00:12:49.120 John introduces this idea of being born of God back at the end of chapter 2, verse 29. 00:12:49.120 --> 00:12:50.060 Take a look at it. 00:12:50.779 --> 00:12:55.720 Everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him. 00:12:56.700 --> 00:13:02.100 So God's offspring, God's children, they share his family resemblance. 00:13:02.580 --> 00:13:05.779 They do what is right, just as he does what is right. 00:13:05.779 --> 00:13:13.939 And now, in verse 10, skip forward a little bit, we see a black and white contrast between 00:13:13.939 --> 00:13:19.379 those who are fathered by God and what they are like, and those who are fathered by the 00:13:19.379 --> 00:13:21.259 devil, what they are like. 00:13:21.439 --> 00:13:22.159 Look at verse 10. 00:13:22.319 --> 00:13:28.159 By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. 00:13:28.699 --> 00:13:34.240 Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love 00:13:34.240 --> 00:13:35.000 his brother. 00:13:36.039 --> 00:13:39.500 Do you hear that key word evident in verse 10? 00:13:40.500 --> 00:13:49.320 The righteous and loving way we live as Christians provides a proof, evidence, a mark of who we 00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:51.240 truly are as God's children. 00:13:51.419 --> 00:13:57.519 How we live our lives confirms who we are and who we aren't. 00:13:57.519 --> 00:14:01.539 We live our lives, either God's children or children of the evil one. 00:14:02.279 --> 00:14:06.879 Those who do not do what is right, whose lives are not characterized by love, are demonstrating 00:14:06.879 --> 00:14:08.120 who their father is. 00:14:08.279 --> 00:14:09.759 Not God, but the devil. 00:14:10.100 --> 00:14:15.059 Because the devil has been a liar and a rebel and a murderer from the beginning. 00:14:16.340 --> 00:14:19.139 And in case you think John's kind of going off the rails here, this is what Jesus said 00:14:19.139 --> 00:14:24.720 exactly, almost the same kind of language back to the Pharisees in John chapter 8. 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.560 So John's just unpacking what Jesus said. 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:32.740 In verses 12 to 15, John unpacks this more and he teases it out. 00:14:33.259 --> 00:14:39.580 In verse 12, he brings in this Old Testament character of Cain, who was the first offspring 00:14:39.580 --> 00:14:40.399 of Adam and Eve. 00:14:40.519 --> 00:14:42.820 And he was jealous of his brother Abel. 00:14:43.139 --> 00:14:46.240 He hated him and then murdered him. 00:14:46.360 --> 00:14:47.660 Take note of the progression. 00:14:48.100 --> 00:14:51.779 Starts in the heart and then works itself out in the actions. 00:14:51.779 --> 00:14:58.839 For John to kind of drop Cain's name here had the same effect on his audience as if you 00:14:58.839 --> 00:15:00.620 drop Hitler's name today. 00:15:01.399 --> 00:15:05.159 When we hear Hitler, we think, oh, murderer, evildoer, par excellence. 00:15:05.740 --> 00:15:09.039 That's what his audience would think when they heard Cain. 00:15:09.959 --> 00:15:11.419 And notice what John says of Cain. 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:13.899 He is of the evil one. 00:15:13.899 --> 00:15:18.919 In other words, Cain's father was not God, but Satan. 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:20.620 He imitated Satan, not God. 00:15:21.679 --> 00:15:24.539 And then in his actions confirmed him to be that. 00:15:25.199 --> 00:15:29.419 Then John says in verse 13, don't be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 00:15:30.179 --> 00:15:30.480 Why? 00:15:31.340 --> 00:15:32.620 Because the world is like Cain. 00:15:33.120 --> 00:15:37.240 The world imitates Satan, the father of those who hate, rebel, and murder. 00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:39.659 They're children of the devil, not children of God. 00:15:39.659 --> 00:15:42.240 Then look at verses 14 and 15. 00:15:42.699 --> 00:15:47.879 We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. 00:15:48.620 --> 00:15:50.759 Whoever does not love abides in death. 00:15:51.219 --> 00:15:56.000 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:57.459 abiding in him. 00:15:58.360 --> 00:16:00.439 John changes his language around a little bit here. 00:16:00.539 --> 00:16:03.799 He starts talking about death and life, but he's getting at the same idea. 00:16:04.139 --> 00:16:08.379 He's saying your brotherly love confirms that you are indeed a child of God, 00:16:08.379 --> 00:16:11.879 that you've been moved out of spiritual death and into spiritual life. 00:16:12.039 --> 00:16:13.539 You don't abide in death anymore. 00:16:13.659 --> 00:16:15.399 You have eternal life abiding in you. 00:16:15.700 --> 00:16:20.179 And the opposite is true for the children of the devil, 00:16:20.299 --> 00:16:25.779 those who are characterized by jealousy, hatred, indifference to the well-being of others, 00:16:26.259 --> 00:16:27.820 full of self-love. 00:16:27.879 --> 00:16:30.679 They're just proving that they still abide in death. 00:16:32.519 --> 00:16:33.879 Now, John's not mincing words here. 00:16:35.159 --> 00:16:36.899 This is classic John the Apostle. 00:16:36.899 --> 00:16:43.860 He uses really strong black and white language to paint a crystal clear spiritual truth. 00:16:44.279 --> 00:16:49.840 Either we're born of God, we're his children, we abide in light and life, and we imitate his love, 00:16:50.059 --> 00:16:51.679 or we are children of the devil. 00:16:52.220 --> 00:16:56.399 We are abiding in darkness and death, and we imitate Satan's hatred. 00:16:56.559 --> 00:16:57.679 There's no third way. 00:16:57.939 --> 00:17:00.639 There's no middle ground in the middle between the two. 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:05.180 Now, we should let John's strong language have full effect. 00:17:06.079 --> 00:17:13.299 It's right to let God's sword wound us with conviction every once in a while and help us see our sin, 00:17:13.559 --> 00:17:19.519 help us see our tendency to be loveless or to be indifferent to the well-being of others, 00:17:19.619 --> 00:17:21.279 to be self-absorbed. 00:17:21.279 --> 00:17:29.039 Perhaps some of you do need to hear this this morning and be shaken out of a loveless self-absorption. 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:37.720 It's possible to be a disciple of Jesus, but to grow cold in your affection toward him and toward your church family, 00:17:37.720 --> 00:17:42.639 to be absorbed with your own stuff and not thinking about the well-being of others. 00:17:42.859 --> 00:17:45.659 This should put healthy fear in our hearts. 00:17:45.779 --> 00:17:46.299 That's good. 00:17:46.960 --> 00:17:48.500 Scripture's good at doing that. 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:49.839 And it's good for us to say, 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:51.539 Wait a minute, I'm a child of God. 00:17:51.559 --> 00:17:52.539 I'm not a child of Satan. 00:17:53.139 --> 00:17:54.779 I need to love my brothers. 00:17:56.000 --> 00:17:58.699 If that's you, deal with that. 00:17:59.259 --> 00:18:00.659 Take that to Jesus. 00:18:00.939 --> 00:18:06.619 Repent of that lovelessness and turn around and move toward Jesus and toward others in love. 00:18:07.519 --> 00:18:12.359 But at the same time, although it's right for us to let Scripture shake us a little bit here, 00:18:12.859 --> 00:18:18.559 the purpose, I think, of this is less for wounding us with conviction and more for assurance. 00:18:18.559 --> 00:18:19.879 Look at verse 14 again. 00:18:20.299 --> 00:18:25.399 We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. 00:18:26.500 --> 00:18:29.500 John's confident that these people love each other. 00:18:29.619 --> 00:18:35.899 He's confident that they are truly born of God, that they have been brought out of death and into life. 00:18:36.139 --> 00:18:38.480 And so what he's saying here is confirmation of, 00:18:38.779 --> 00:18:39.859 Yes, you do love the brothers. 00:18:39.899 --> 00:18:41.159 Not perfectly, but you do. 00:18:41.399 --> 00:18:44.919 And you are indeed children of God. 00:18:44.920 --> 00:18:52.620 As I was preparing to preach this sermon, I began to feel an appropriate amount of fear and trembling here. 00:18:53.420 --> 00:18:56.140 Because I know my own self-absorption. 00:18:56.560 --> 00:18:58.000 I know my own lack of love. 00:18:59.120 --> 00:19:01.940 And boy, I've got a lot of self to put to death still. 00:19:02.080 --> 00:19:04.480 And a lot of ways to grow in loving others. 00:19:04.580 --> 00:19:07.840 But it was also helpful to remember, and God helped me with this, 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:10.939 ways in which I have been loving others. 00:19:10.939 --> 00:19:16.179 Ways in which I have laid down my life in one sense to love others lately. 00:19:16.539 --> 00:19:18.559 And that's not natural to my sinful heart. 00:19:19.359 --> 00:19:22.799 So it was a comfort to me, not as a boasting, but of, 00:19:23.299 --> 00:19:24.599 Wow, God's doing this in me. 00:19:24.879 --> 00:19:26.319 He's starting to work this in me. 00:19:26.379 --> 00:19:28.759 Not perfectly, but step by step, I'm learning. 00:19:28.899 --> 00:19:32.579 And I'm becoming one who knows how to love the brothers. 00:19:32.579 --> 00:19:39.240 The other day, one of our kids, who particularly struggles with caring about and doing good to others, 00:19:39.639 --> 00:19:44.599 spontaneously shared something with his brother, whom he particularly has a hard time loving. 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:49.500 And Jess and I nearly went ballistic with praise and affirmation of, 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:50.819 Yeah, you did it. 00:19:50.879 --> 00:19:52.259 That's what you're supposed to do. 00:19:52.759 --> 00:19:54.779 There's something going on underneath the surface. 00:19:54.859 --> 00:19:55.460 This is great. 00:19:55.879 --> 00:19:58.019 And that's how our father is with us. 00:19:58.019 --> 00:20:07.519 He celebrates the evidence of his spirit's work in us when we act in Christ-like love toward our brothers and sisters. 00:20:07.660 --> 00:20:13.180 It's not perfect, but it does confirm that we are indeed children of God. 00:20:14.299 --> 00:20:16.400 So, brotherly love is central to our faith. 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:19.639 It confirms who we are and who we aren't. 00:20:19.980 --> 00:20:24.319 And thirdly, brotherly love is challenged by a hateful world. 00:20:24.319 --> 00:20:28.179 Brotherly love is challenged by a hateful world. 00:20:28.319 --> 00:20:29.059 This will be brief. 00:20:30.379 --> 00:20:32.059 Did you notice what John says in verse 13? 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:35.059 Don't be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 00:20:36.019 --> 00:20:37.279 It kind of seems a little bit out of place. 00:20:38.099 --> 00:20:39.179 Why is he saying that right here? 00:20:40.099 --> 00:20:42.119 Well, remember what this church had just gone through. 00:20:43.039 --> 00:20:45.839 There had been some false teachers who had infiltrated the church, 00:20:46.220 --> 00:20:49.779 had convinced some of the members of this church of this false teaching, 00:20:49.859 --> 00:20:52.019 and there had been a church split. 00:20:52.019 --> 00:20:55.900 And no doubt, based on some evidence we read in this letter, 00:20:56.079 --> 00:20:58.460 it had been hurtful and hateful. 00:20:59.859 --> 00:21:03.619 The church that remained had been hurt, had been betrayed, 00:21:04.180 --> 00:21:11.019 and no doubt they had been on the receiving end of some hateful or slanderous actions 00:21:11.019 --> 00:21:14.279 by the self-righteous false teachers and their disciples. 00:21:15.079 --> 00:21:17.680 And basically what I think John is saying here is 00:21:17.680 --> 00:21:20.200 they're proving themselves to be in the line of Cain. 00:21:20.200 --> 00:21:23.200 They're proving themselves to be children of the devil 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:24.940 because they're acting out of jealousy. 00:21:25.600 --> 00:21:30.220 They see your righteous actions, and they're jealous of that, 00:21:30.420 --> 00:21:35.240 and they are hateful, and they're even murderous in their actions toward them. 00:21:36.120 --> 00:21:43.160 I'm guessing that at one time or other you have been hurt by others in a similar way, 00:21:43.160 --> 00:21:48.240 maybe treated slanderously or unkindly, maybe spitefully. 00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:54.540 If you have, I don't have to tell you that it is very difficult to want the good 00:21:54.540 --> 00:21:58.580 of those who are hurt and hate you and to love them. 00:21:59.740 --> 00:22:02.519 These Christians in Ephesus not only needed assurance 00:22:02.519 --> 00:22:04.779 that they were still being faithful to Jesus, 00:22:04.779 --> 00:22:08.820 but they also needed a soft reminder to not return evil for evil, 00:22:08.819 --> 00:22:14.859 to remember that, hey, they're doing this because they are still abiding in death. 00:22:15.960 --> 00:22:16.679 You don't. 00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:18.019 You abide in life. 00:22:18.679 --> 00:22:22.720 You love the brothers, and you are able to love like Jesus loves. 00:22:25.099 --> 00:22:26.639 You are children of God. 00:22:26.799 --> 00:22:27.980 You are abiding in the light. 00:22:28.179 --> 00:22:29.460 You're in eternal life. 00:22:29.559 --> 00:22:31.960 So you don't need to be confused about what's going on here. 00:22:32.559 --> 00:22:34.079 You don't need to return evil for evil. 00:22:34.079 --> 00:22:38.119 So just continue loving each other as you are already doing. 00:22:39.179 --> 00:22:43.019 Our brotherly love is going to be challenged in this hateful world. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:47.439 As we boldly speak of the truth that is in Jesus, 00:22:48.279 --> 00:22:50.960 Christians might become even more and more hated 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:56.939 because of our insistence on absolute truth or our stances on moral issues. 00:22:57.599 --> 00:22:59.919 But Christian, remember who you are. 00:23:00.740 --> 00:23:02.659 You've been brought out of death and into life. 00:23:02.660 --> 00:23:04.980 You are born of the Father. 00:23:05.100 --> 00:23:09.200 We are not to hate and murder like Cain, who was of the evil one. 00:23:09.279 --> 00:23:14.519 We are to love like Christ, who is the perfect son of the God of love. 00:23:15.300 --> 00:23:18.660 And speaking of which, that sets us up perfectly for the fourth C, 00:23:19.580 --> 00:23:22.080 which is this, and it's my favorite. 00:23:22.900 --> 00:23:26.620 Brotherly love copies the self-giving death of Jesus. 00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:31.860 Brotherly love copies the self-giving love of Jesus. 00:23:31.859 --> 00:23:38.539 If we look closely at this passage, we'll see that there are two examples that John gives us. 00:23:39.219 --> 00:23:43.819 One is the negative example of Cain, whom we should not be like, 00:23:44.299 --> 00:23:48.119 jealous, self-absorbed, hateful, spiteful, murderous. 00:23:48.759 --> 00:23:51.399 We should not imitate Cain's example. 00:23:52.399 --> 00:23:53.659 But who should we copy? 00:23:54.799 --> 00:23:56.979 What does brotherly love look like? 00:23:56.980 --> 00:23:59.620 Look no further than verse 16. 00:24:01.000 --> 00:24:09.460 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 00:24:10.220 --> 00:24:13.500 If you don't remember anything else from this sermon, remember this. 00:24:13.980 --> 00:24:15.079 Remember this verse. 00:24:15.720 --> 00:24:16.940 Notice how John sets it up. 00:24:17.380 --> 00:24:19.960 By this we know love. 00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:24.380 In other words, this is how we know what real love looks like. 00:24:25.779 --> 00:24:28.680 The love of Jesus is not just a great example. 00:24:29.400 --> 00:24:31.079 It is the gold standard. 00:24:31.920 --> 00:24:35.680 It's the very definition of brotherly love. 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:41.000 Jesus placed his life in the hands of brutal men 00:24:41.000 --> 00:24:45.720 because he cared about your eternal well-being. 00:24:47.539 --> 00:24:49.259 That is love. 00:24:50.660 --> 00:24:52.740 Jesus himself said it in John 15. 00:24:53.160 --> 00:24:58.700 Greater love has no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 00:24:58.759 --> 00:24:59.920 The exact same words. 00:25:01.019 --> 00:25:01.880 It is costly. 00:25:02.680 --> 00:25:03.960 It is self-giving. 00:25:04.819 --> 00:25:06.019 It is sacrificial. 00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:10.339 And it is oriented to the good of others. 00:25:11.000 --> 00:25:12.220 Let's just take a minute. 00:25:12.339 --> 00:25:13.559 We can't rush past this. 00:25:13.640 --> 00:25:18.599 Let's take a minute just to gaze at the self-giving death of Jesus 00:25:18.599 --> 00:25:22.660 on behalf of those who rebelled against him. 00:25:23.640 --> 00:25:27.220 God the Son, the apple of his Father's eye, 00:25:27.819 --> 00:25:29.400 willingly obeyed his Father, 00:25:30.180 --> 00:25:32.839 humbled himself, as Paul said in Philippians 2, 00:25:33.259 --> 00:25:35.119 not only to become a human, 00:25:36.119 --> 00:25:39.019 not only to become a servant of humans, 00:25:39.019 --> 00:25:42.960 not only to die for those humans, 00:25:43.119 --> 00:25:47.980 but to die the shameful, painful death on the cross. 00:25:48.619 --> 00:25:53.379 All the way to the bottom is where Jesus went for us. 00:25:53.619 --> 00:25:54.980 And it wasn't for good people, 00:25:55.759 --> 00:26:02.960 but for rebellious, blasphemous, hateful, lustful, greedy, 00:26:02.960 --> 00:26:07.799 self-absorbed, loveless people like you and me. 00:26:09.299 --> 00:26:11.039 That is love. 00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:14.620 That's how we know what love is. 00:26:14.720 --> 00:26:17.779 He gave himself for us. 00:26:17.779 --> 00:26:23.680 Dear friends, that gold standard of love ought to move us. 00:26:25.119 --> 00:26:28.339 Not just sentimentally and emotionally, although it should, 00:26:29.779 --> 00:26:34.000 but that kind of self-giving love ought to move us toward others. 00:26:34.000 --> 00:26:36.180 Look at the last half of the verse. 00:26:36.880 --> 00:26:40.819 And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 00:26:41.700 --> 00:26:45.480 Our posture toward others, and especially our church family, 00:26:46.140 --> 00:26:48.140 towards the brothers and sisters in Christ, 00:26:48.339 --> 00:26:55.079 must be one of self-giving, costly, sacrificial, others-oriented love. 00:26:55.079 --> 00:26:59.419 That word translated ought in the ESV, 00:27:00.039 --> 00:27:04.039 it has a little more muscle to it than just a soft oughtness. 00:27:04.619 --> 00:27:07.779 It means we owe something to someone. 00:27:07.899 --> 00:27:10.619 We have an obligation to someone. 00:27:11.639 --> 00:27:13.079 You remember in Matthew 18, 00:27:13.199 --> 00:27:17.460 Jesus tells the parable of the guy who owed money to the king, 00:27:17.759 --> 00:27:22.079 and then he got angry at the guy who owed him a little bit of money. 00:27:22.419 --> 00:27:23.119 It's the same verb. 00:27:25.079 --> 00:27:29.599 Why are we owing love to our fellow Christians and to others? 00:27:30.919 --> 00:27:36.779 Because we have received such a marvelous gift of the love of Christ. 00:27:36.899 --> 00:27:40.679 And the giver of that gift expects us to be so transformed 00:27:40.679 --> 00:27:44.980 and delighted with that gift that we do not keep it to ourselves, 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:48.399 but we freely share it with others. 00:27:48.519 --> 00:27:51.480 As Christians, we owe it to one another to treat each other 00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:57.319 with self-giving, sacrificial, costly, or others-oriented love. 00:27:57.400 --> 00:28:01.720 We owe it because we are in a joyful, eternal debt 00:28:01.720 --> 00:28:03.920 to our great God and Savior Jesus, 00:28:04.200 --> 00:28:08.099 because he loved us in laying down his life for us. 00:28:08.519 --> 00:28:11.319 So we lay our lives down for each other. 00:28:11.319 --> 00:28:14.720 Take just a minute and look around at each other. 00:28:15.480 --> 00:28:19.700 Just take a moment and look at the other people in this room. 00:28:20.639 --> 00:28:21.379 See their faces. 00:28:22.099 --> 00:28:22.879 See their eyes. 00:28:23.819 --> 00:28:25.980 It's a sweet thing to see each other. 00:28:25.980 --> 00:28:32.500 Take a look at the people who are bound to you as family in Christ. 00:28:33.240 --> 00:28:34.519 Some of them are like you. 00:28:35.500 --> 00:28:37.059 Some of them are very different than you. 00:28:38.200 --> 00:28:40.120 Some of you have a lot in common with. 00:28:40.220 --> 00:28:42.019 Some you have hardly anything in common with. 00:28:43.079 --> 00:28:44.460 Some are easy for you to love. 00:28:44.980 --> 00:28:46.579 Some are harder for you to love. 00:28:46.579 --> 00:28:50.279 But regardless, these are the people 00:28:50.279 --> 00:28:54.240 for whom Jesus asks you to lay down your life. 00:28:56.599 --> 00:29:00.460 To give of your heart, of your affection, of your time, 00:29:00.619 --> 00:29:03.960 your energy, your money, your home, your comfort. 00:29:05.179 --> 00:29:06.960 All for their good. 00:29:07.639 --> 00:29:11.099 You owe it to them because you owe it to Christ. 00:29:11.099 --> 00:29:15.319 It will cost you to give of yourself to them 00:29:15.319 --> 00:29:19.599 just as it cost Jesus to give himself for you. 00:29:20.359 --> 00:29:22.199 And it is right and it is good 00:29:22.199 --> 00:29:24.359 and it is the distinguishing mark 00:29:24.359 --> 00:29:27.879 of a community that follows Jesus. 00:29:28.740 --> 00:29:31.439 It proves that we are born of the Father. 00:29:32.299 --> 00:29:33.319 Church, if we do this, 00:29:33.379 --> 00:29:35.459 if we love each other in a way that copies 00:29:35.459 --> 00:29:37.459 Jesus' self-giving love for us, 00:29:37.779 --> 00:29:39.139 then the world will take notice. 00:29:39.140 --> 00:29:41.580 They will not think of Christians 00:29:41.580 --> 00:29:43.500 as self-righteous, stuffy, 00:29:43.940 --> 00:29:45.720 rule followers with arms crossed. 00:29:46.820 --> 00:29:49.060 We will be the aroma of Jesus 00:29:49.060 --> 00:29:51.080 in their nostrils. 00:29:51.540 --> 00:29:53.460 And they will either hate us all the more 00:29:53.460 --> 00:29:55.600 or they will say, 00:29:56.380 --> 00:29:57.740 oh, so that's what Jesus is like. 00:29:59.700 --> 00:30:01.259 I think I want to know that, Jesus. 00:30:02.940 --> 00:30:07.340 We must copy the love of Jesus to each other. 00:30:07.440 --> 00:30:09.020 And here's how we do that. 00:30:09.380 --> 00:30:10.259 Let's look at the fifth C. 00:30:12.200 --> 00:30:12.940 I apologize. 00:30:13.080 --> 00:30:14.120 I snuck in two Cs. 00:30:15.180 --> 00:30:16.060 The fifth C is, 00:30:16.200 --> 00:30:19.100 brotherly love is compassionate and concrete. 00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:23.420 Brotherly love is compassionate and concrete. 00:30:24.000 --> 00:30:25.360 Look at verses 17 and 18. 00:30:25.359 --> 00:30:28.699 But if anyone has the world's goods 00:30:28.699 --> 00:30:30.379 and sees his brother in need, 00:30:30.519 --> 00:30:32.219 yet closes his heart against him, 00:30:32.719 --> 00:30:34.279 how does God's love abide in him? 00:30:35.039 --> 00:30:37.599 Little children, let us not love in word or talk, 00:30:37.679 --> 00:30:39.359 but in deed and in truth. 00:30:40.419 --> 00:30:41.859 I love where John goes here. 00:30:42.099 --> 00:30:43.459 He gets really practical. 00:30:43.740 --> 00:30:44.979 And he gets realistic. 00:30:45.639 --> 00:30:46.399 He doesn't say, 00:30:46.699 --> 00:30:47.919 so the next time your brother 00:30:47.919 --> 00:30:50.079 is about to be martyred in the Colosseum, 00:30:50.519 --> 00:30:51.439 go and take his place. 00:30:52.299 --> 00:30:53.140 I mean, obviously, 00:30:53.259 --> 00:30:54.180 that would probably be a good thing. 00:30:54.320 --> 00:30:56.400 But he gets really practical, 00:30:56.640 --> 00:30:57.740 like really nitty gritty. 00:30:57.820 --> 00:30:58.180 He says, 00:30:58.500 --> 00:30:59.799 hey, if you have something your brother needs, 00:30:59.880 --> 00:31:00.400 give it to him. 00:31:01.559 --> 00:31:03.320 If you close your heart toward him, 00:31:03.680 --> 00:31:05.519 you're proving that you have neither understood 00:31:05.519 --> 00:31:08.120 nor received God's love for you in Christ. 00:31:08.119 --> 00:31:09.759 Oosh. 00:31:11.099 --> 00:31:12.679 Our costly, self-giving, 00:31:12.819 --> 00:31:15.039 others-oriented love must be concrete 00:31:15.039 --> 00:31:17.779 and it must be fueled by compassion. 00:31:18.239 --> 00:31:20.139 The situation that John describes here 00:31:20.139 --> 00:31:22.399 demonstrates that although this hypothetical brother 00:31:22.399 --> 00:31:25.459 who comprehends his need of his fellow Christian 00:31:25.459 --> 00:31:27.079 and knows that he can meet that need, 00:31:27.599 --> 00:31:31.479 he just literally shuts off the spigot of compassion 00:31:31.479 --> 00:31:32.879 and a desire to help, 00:31:33.179 --> 00:31:34.159 and he walks on by. 00:31:34.259 --> 00:31:35.799 It's like the Levite and the priest 00:31:35.799 --> 00:31:37.659 in the parable of the Good Samaritan. 00:31:38.380 --> 00:31:40.740 Walking past the injured man on the road to Jericho, 00:31:40.820 --> 00:31:41.600 they see the need, 00:31:41.680 --> 00:31:42.560 they know they can meet it, 00:31:42.600 --> 00:31:43.720 and they walk by. 00:31:45.860 --> 00:31:47.320 And John asks a powerful question 00:31:47.320 --> 00:31:48.460 that we know the answer to. 00:31:48.700 --> 00:31:50.320 How does God's love abide in him? 00:31:50.360 --> 00:31:51.620 And the answer is it doesn't. 00:31:52.840 --> 00:31:54.720 Because someone who understands 00:31:54.720 --> 00:31:57.680 and receives God's self-giving love for them in Christ 00:31:57.680 --> 00:32:00.300 is going to respond with the same kind of love 00:32:00.300 --> 00:32:00.980 for someone else 00:32:00.980 --> 00:32:02.519 because that's what God's children do. 00:32:04.600 --> 00:32:05.460 And then in verse 18, 00:32:05.620 --> 00:32:07.580 John finishes with this final exhortation. 00:32:07.660 --> 00:32:11.160 To love each other sincerely and concretely, 00:32:11.279 --> 00:32:12.920 not in word or talk, 00:32:13.300 --> 00:32:15.000 but in deed and in truth. 00:32:15.120 --> 00:32:16.920 Not, I love you brother, I love you sister, 00:32:17.320 --> 00:32:18.820 I hope everything turns out well for you, 00:32:19.160 --> 00:32:22.580 but doing something to help meet the need. 00:32:24.060 --> 00:32:26.140 Perhaps you're thinking something like this right now. 00:32:26.140 --> 00:32:28.700 Like, I think I'm a pretty loving person. 00:32:29.720 --> 00:32:31.580 I don't think I particularly hate anybody. 00:32:32.160 --> 00:32:33.300 I think I love everybody. 00:32:34.480 --> 00:32:36.220 But it's good to be challenged a little bit 00:32:36.220 --> 00:32:37.400 by the words of C.S. Lewis, 00:32:37.940 --> 00:32:38.840 who says, 00:32:39.520 --> 00:32:40.900 loving everybody in general 00:32:40.900 --> 00:32:43.900 may be an excuse for loving nobody in particular. 00:32:43.900 --> 00:32:47.460 So church, what can this look like? 00:32:48.960 --> 00:32:51.519 How can we love particular people 00:32:51.519 --> 00:32:54.200 with real concrete steps 00:32:54.200 --> 00:32:55.519 towards self-giving, 00:32:55.940 --> 00:32:57.880 Jesus-copying love? 00:32:57.960 --> 00:32:59.700 Well, we need to start with the people we live with. 00:33:01.019 --> 00:33:02.920 You're not going to hit a home run every day, 00:33:03.460 --> 00:33:04.500 but by God's grace, 00:33:04.540 --> 00:33:05.620 if you're a child of God 00:33:05.620 --> 00:33:07.480 and you have the love of God abiding in you, 00:33:07.480 --> 00:33:10.220 you're going to perceive what is best 00:33:10.220 --> 00:33:12.620 for the people who live with you 00:33:12.620 --> 00:33:14.160 to meet that need. 00:33:15.059 --> 00:33:16.120 So husbands, wives, 00:33:16.460 --> 00:33:18.860 how do you need to move 00:33:18.860 --> 00:33:21.440 toward your spouse this week 00:33:21.440 --> 00:33:25.360 with Jesus-copying, self-giving love? 00:33:26.960 --> 00:33:27.920 Fathers, mothers, 00:33:28.620 --> 00:33:31.779 how do you need to move toward your kids 00:33:31.779 --> 00:33:37.339 in Jesus-copying, self-giving love this week? 00:33:38.480 --> 00:33:41.099 High school or college-age children, 00:33:41.559 --> 00:33:42.319 if you're in the room, 00:33:43.279 --> 00:33:45.519 how can you move toward your parents 00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:46.559 or siblings 00:33:46.559 --> 00:33:51.880 in Jesus-copying, self-giving love this week? 00:33:53.279 --> 00:33:55.160 Now how about us as a church family? 00:33:56.500 --> 00:33:58.599 How can we move toward each other 00:33:58.599 --> 00:34:02.599 in Jesus-copying, self-giving love this week? 00:34:03.140 --> 00:34:05.140 Let me just give you a few ideas. 00:34:05.140 --> 00:34:07.019 This is not an exhaustive list. 00:34:07.019 --> 00:34:08.780 The Holy Spirit in you 00:34:08.780 --> 00:34:11.420 is going to give you what you need 00:34:11.420 --> 00:34:12.659 to love each other 00:34:12.659 --> 00:34:13.719 way better than this list, 00:34:13.820 --> 00:34:15.759 but this is a place to start. 00:34:15.920 --> 00:34:18.099 First, be postured 00:34:18.099 --> 00:34:20.259 to be humble 00:34:20.259 --> 00:34:22.300 and honest and forgiving, 00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:24.500 especially when you have 00:34:24.500 --> 00:34:26.039 some sort of conflict. 00:34:27.019 --> 00:34:28.480 Be postured to be humble 00:34:28.480 --> 00:34:30.500 and honest and forgiving 00:34:30.500 --> 00:34:32.079 because that's how we love each other 00:34:32.079 --> 00:34:33.300 when there's a difference, 00:34:33.300 --> 00:34:34.100 when there's a rub, 00:34:34.180 --> 00:34:34.880 when there's friction. 00:34:37.120 --> 00:34:38.600 Another thing is to listen. 00:34:39.340 --> 00:34:41.120 It's small, but it's big. 00:34:42.039 --> 00:34:42.920 When we listen 00:34:42.920 --> 00:34:44.420 and we really care 00:34:44.420 --> 00:34:45.620 about other people 00:34:45.620 --> 00:34:47.560 when they're talking about their lives, 00:34:48.060 --> 00:34:49.400 we lean in. 00:34:50.060 --> 00:34:51.120 That is love. 00:34:51.780 --> 00:34:52.720 It is very practical. 00:34:53.820 --> 00:34:54.280 A third, 00:34:54.360 --> 00:34:55.160 and this is huge, 00:34:55.580 --> 00:34:56.300 is to pray. 00:34:56.300 --> 00:34:59.380 We throw that word around a lot. 00:34:59.880 --> 00:35:00.660 I'll pray for you, 00:35:00.720 --> 00:35:01.720 but when we mean it 00:35:01.720 --> 00:35:03.400 and we really do it 00:35:03.400 --> 00:35:05.100 with thoughtfulness 00:35:05.100 --> 00:35:06.420 and looking at the scriptures 00:35:06.420 --> 00:35:07.200 of how, 00:35:07.660 --> 00:35:08.440 what does God 00:35:08.440 --> 00:35:10.440 want to give this person 00:35:10.440 --> 00:35:11.200 this week, 00:35:11.539 --> 00:35:12.560 and we actually go 00:35:12.560 --> 00:35:13.340 before the throne 00:35:13.340 --> 00:35:15.140 and we pray for that person 00:35:15.140 --> 00:35:16.500 in an unhurried way, 00:35:16.660 --> 00:35:18.120 that is self-giving 00:35:18.120 --> 00:35:19.400 and costly love. 00:35:21.720 --> 00:35:23.180 Another is showing hospitality. 00:35:23.179 --> 00:35:24.019 This is difficult 00:35:24.019 --> 00:35:25.119 in this COVID season. 00:35:25.219 --> 00:35:25.779 I realize that, 00:35:25.879 --> 00:35:27.579 but we can all find ways 00:35:27.579 --> 00:35:29.079 to show hospitality 00:35:29.079 --> 00:35:30.339 toward one another, 00:35:30.699 --> 00:35:32.179 even in this tricky season. 00:35:33.319 --> 00:35:34.419 A fourth is encouragement. 00:35:36.319 --> 00:35:37.179 There's a lady 00:35:37.179 --> 00:35:37.859 in the congregation. 00:35:38.039 --> 00:35:38.839 I won't say her name, 00:35:38.940 --> 00:35:40.559 but I love her to death. 00:35:40.899 --> 00:35:43.279 She is often stuck at home, 00:35:43.639 --> 00:35:44.980 and she often has 00:35:44.980 --> 00:35:46.159 lots of time on her hands, 00:35:46.339 --> 00:35:47.960 and she uses that time 00:35:47.960 --> 00:35:50.619 to write cards and letters 00:35:50.619 --> 00:35:52.039 for people in this church. 00:35:53.179 --> 00:35:54.099 I'm not going to say her name 00:35:54.099 --> 00:35:54.799 because it would embarrass her, 00:35:54.899 --> 00:35:56.919 but it's a wonderful model 00:35:56.919 --> 00:35:58.639 of I've got the time. 00:35:58.919 --> 00:36:00.339 I want to love the people. 00:36:00.399 --> 00:36:01.279 I want to love the brothers, 00:36:01.379 --> 00:36:02.119 and she does it. 00:36:04.039 --> 00:36:05.099 Use what you're good at. 00:36:05.199 --> 00:36:05.779 Here's another thing. 00:36:05.879 --> 00:36:06.839 Use what you're good at 00:36:06.839 --> 00:36:07.940 to serve the body. 00:36:09.279 --> 00:36:10.099 There's another lady. 00:36:10.159 --> 00:36:10.759 I'm not going to say 00:36:10.759 --> 00:36:11.199 who it is, 00:36:11.519 --> 00:36:12.960 but she does 00:36:12.960 --> 00:36:14.179 what she's good at, 00:36:14.679 --> 00:36:15.940 particularly to help 00:36:15.940 --> 00:36:17.500 this body every week 00:36:17.500 --> 00:36:18.559 here at the church building. 00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:20.500 It's such a good thing 00:36:20.500 --> 00:36:22.920 to see a sister 00:36:22.920 --> 00:36:24.119 loving the body 00:36:24.119 --> 00:36:25.340 in a very practical way 00:36:25.340 --> 00:36:28.199 to help and serve 00:36:28.199 --> 00:36:29.440 this body every week. 00:36:30.440 --> 00:36:31.079 Another thing, 00:36:31.400 --> 00:36:32.340 keep a sharp eye 00:36:32.340 --> 00:36:33.159 out for needs. 00:36:34.360 --> 00:36:35.860 Have a postured heart 00:36:35.860 --> 00:36:37.759 ready to look for needs, 00:36:37.820 --> 00:36:38.619 and if you need to know 00:36:38.619 --> 00:36:39.579 what those needs are, 00:36:39.719 --> 00:36:40.440 find a deacon. 00:36:40.980 --> 00:36:42.360 Find Billy or John 00:36:42.360 --> 00:36:43.019 or Randy 00:36:43.019 --> 00:36:44.820 or Jasmine or Mary 00:36:44.820 --> 00:36:45.539 or Cindy. 00:36:46.420 --> 00:36:46.679 There you go. 00:36:46.679 --> 00:36:47.279 You got everybody. 00:36:48.759 --> 00:36:50.559 Find one of the deacons. 00:36:50.679 --> 00:36:51.379 They tend to know 00:36:51.379 --> 00:36:52.099 really well 00:36:52.099 --> 00:36:52.719 what's going on 00:36:52.719 --> 00:36:53.219 in the congregation 00:36:53.219 --> 00:36:54.759 and just what practical ways 00:36:54.759 --> 00:36:56.239 you can meet needs. 00:36:57.859 --> 00:36:58.839 We need to keep 00:36:58.839 --> 00:36:59.500 the spigot 00:36:59.500 --> 00:37:00.819 of compassion 00:37:00.819 --> 00:37:01.579 in our hearts 00:37:01.579 --> 00:37:02.440 turned on 00:37:02.440 --> 00:37:03.879 so that we can love 00:37:03.879 --> 00:37:04.299 each other 00:37:04.299 --> 00:37:05.719 with self-giving, 00:37:05.940 --> 00:37:07.759 Jesus-copying love 00:37:07.759 --> 00:37:08.759 to our brothers 00:37:08.759 --> 00:37:09.879 and sisters in Christ. 00:37:10.279 --> 00:37:10.619 And church, 00:37:10.719 --> 00:37:11.059 guess what? 00:37:12.000 --> 00:37:12.759 If we do that, 00:37:13.759 --> 00:37:14.679 it is the mark 00:37:14.679 --> 00:37:17.559 that distinguishes us 00:37:17.559 --> 00:37:19.259 as Jesus' people. 00:37:21.259 --> 00:37:22.399 It helps us 00:37:22.399 --> 00:37:25.379 promote a right perspective 00:37:25.379 --> 00:37:26.440 who Jesus is 00:37:26.440 --> 00:37:28.059 to a watching world. 00:37:29.139 --> 00:37:30.039 This brotherly love 00:37:30.039 --> 00:37:31.679 is central to our faith, 00:37:32.059 --> 00:37:33.219 and it confirms 00:37:33.219 --> 00:37:34.059 who we are 00:37:34.059 --> 00:37:35.339 as God's people. 00:37:36.139 --> 00:37:37.599 It does get challenged 00:37:37.599 --> 00:37:38.980 in this hateful world, 00:37:39.460 --> 00:37:40.679 but when we love 00:37:40.679 --> 00:37:42.599 with Jesus-copying love, 00:37:42.599 --> 00:37:43.519 compassionately 00:37:43.519 --> 00:37:44.699 and concretely, 00:37:44.779 --> 00:37:45.679 we show the world 00:37:45.679 --> 00:37:47.339 what Jesus is like. 00:37:48.739 --> 00:37:49.199 So, 00:37:49.440 --> 00:37:50.980 let's do that this week. 00:37:51.319 --> 00:37:51.839 If we are born 00:37:51.839 --> 00:37:52.380 of the Father, 00:37:53.019 --> 00:37:53.559 if we are loved 00:37:53.559 --> 00:37:54.239 by the Son, 00:37:54.799 --> 00:37:55.440 let us love 00:37:55.440 --> 00:37:56.059 the brothers. 00:37:57.119 --> 00:37:57.619 Let's pray. 00:38:03.860 --> 00:38:04.279 Father, 00:38:04.380 --> 00:38:05.319 no words of mine 00:38:05.319 --> 00:38:06.239 can translate 00:38:06.239 --> 00:38:07.099 into 00:38:07.099 --> 00:38:09.380 love 00:38:09.380 --> 00:38:10.000 and the work 00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:10.940 of your Holy Spirit 00:38:10.940 --> 00:38:11.940 in our hearts, 00:38:12.039 --> 00:38:12.300 and yet, 00:38:12.420 --> 00:38:12.619 Jesus, 00:38:12.780 --> 00:38:13.639 you are so kind 00:38:13.639 --> 00:38:14.380 to use 00:38:14.380 --> 00:38:15.039 the words 00:38:15.039 --> 00:38:16.920 of your word 00:38:16.920 --> 00:38:18.380 to quicken 00:38:18.380 --> 00:38:19.179 our hearts 00:38:19.179 --> 00:38:20.059 to love 00:38:20.059 --> 00:38:20.760 and good deeds. 00:38:21.659 --> 00:38:22.079 Oh God, 00:38:22.139 --> 00:38:22.840 would you make 00:38:22.840 --> 00:38:23.880 us a people 00:38:23.880 --> 00:38:24.480 who know 00:38:24.480 --> 00:38:25.079 who we are 00:38:25.079 --> 00:38:26.099 as your children, 00:38:26.900 --> 00:38:27.659 who understand 00:38:27.659 --> 00:38:28.740 and comprehend 00:38:28.740 --> 00:38:29.820 your great 00:38:29.820 --> 00:38:31.240 self-giving 00:38:31.240 --> 00:38:32.179 love for us 00:38:32.179 --> 00:38:32.740 in Christ, 00:38:32.880 --> 00:38:33.720 and help us 00:38:33.720 --> 00:38:35.300 to copy that. 00:38:36.139 --> 00:38:36.740 Help us 00:38:36.740 --> 00:38:37.619 to show 00:38:37.619 --> 00:38:38.300 the world 00:38:38.300 --> 00:38:38.940 around us 00:38:38.940 --> 00:38:40.000 what you are 00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:40.460 like, 00:38:40.820 --> 00:38:41.720 what your love 00:38:41.720 --> 00:38:42.500 is like. 00:38:43.079 --> 00:38:43.200 Lord, 00:38:43.220 --> 00:38:43.539 help us not 00:38:43.539 --> 00:38:44.320 to be like Cain. 00:38:45.139 --> 00:38:45.300 Lord, 00:38:45.340 --> 00:38:45.760 guard us 00:38:45.760 --> 00:38:46.440 from that kind 00:38:46.440 --> 00:38:48.240 of jealousy 00:38:48.240 --> 00:38:49.119 and hatred, 00:38:50.019 --> 00:38:50.500 indifference 00:38:50.500 --> 00:38:51.179 to others, 00:38:51.360 --> 00:38:52.300 and self-absorption. 00:38:52.440 --> 00:38:52.619 Father, 00:38:52.740 --> 00:38:53.260 make us 00:38:53.260 --> 00:38:53.679 a people 00:38:53.679 --> 00:38:54.559 who love 00:38:54.559 --> 00:38:55.099 one another 00:38:55.099 --> 00:38:55.679 earnestly 00:38:55.679 --> 00:38:56.720 from the heart 00:38:56.720 --> 00:38:57.800 because we've 00:38:57.800 --> 00:38:58.300 been transformed 00:38:58.300 --> 00:38:59.159 by your love. 00:39:00.220 --> 00:39:00.440 Lord, 00:39:00.480 --> 00:39:01.079 take us 00:39:01.079 --> 00:39:02.340 and use us 00:39:02.340 --> 00:39:03.240 this week. 00:39:04.039 --> 00:39:04.760 In Jesus' name, 00:39:04.980 --> 00:39:05.240 amen.