The Blueprint For Brotherly Love Series

INTRODUCTION

• SLIDE #1

• When one decides they are going to have a house built, they may go to a home builder to get it done.

• One of the things the homebuilder should have is some plans or blueprints for building the house.

• Can you imagine what kind of home you would have without some blueprints for the builder to use as a guide?

• Most important things in life need a plan to follow.

• Without a plan, you will not accomplish much in life.

• If you want a successful career, it is wise to have a blueprint to follow. If you want to have a family, a plan is good to have.

• Today we are going to look at God’s blueprint for showing brotherly love to those around us.

• Love is not easy to give, there are times when we will not feel like giving love to others, yet we are called to love one another.

• By its nature, love demands some things from us.

• Relationships with others will demand some things from us.

• Do you realize that your desire to have a relationship with Jesus on the level that means something will demand something from us?

• Why is it that so many of us feel like we can get something out of their relationship with Jesus when they are not willing to put anything into it?

• As we examine the blueprint for brotherly love, we will open up some aspects of what love will demand of us. Love is never easy, it will require and demand things from us.

• It is great to talk about loving one another, it is another issue to put that talk into practice.

• The blueprint we will examine today will help us convert good thoughts into real results.

• Let’s look at 1 John 3:13-15 to being.

• SLIDE #2

• 1 John 3:13–15 (HCSB) — 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

I. Brotherly love requires understanding the blueprint. (13-15)

• The world shows it will hate what is good.

• This is a bit of an odd way to begin this section, but there is logic to it.

• John tells us not to be astonished or surprised when the world hats us. What he is really says is “stop being surprised” at what is happening.

• Are you ever surprised when a person tries to do good and then they become the object of scorn? You see a person who is doing good things being mistreated and you wonder why.

• The same world which Cain belonged to is the same world we live in. I have seen many instances where a person who is trying to do good or be a righteous person will be made fun of and even hated by those of the world.

• Tim Tebow is ridiculed, and some of the musical “artists” are hailed for their vile music.

• We live in a world which we are called not to love (1 John 2:15-17), a world where anti-Christ’s flourish. We live in a world which is blinded by Satan, is it any wonder that righteous, God-loving people would be mistreated?

• SLIDE #4

• John 15:19 (HCSB) If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.

• The world rejected Jesus, it will reject you also.

• We are living in a world that is offended by righteous people because it makes them feel bad about their own condition; it makes them realize they are not as good as they thought.

• This is why Jesus is so offensive to many people. Jesus makes you face the reality about yourself and your condition.

• This is why the next though we see in verse 14 is vital to the blueprint.

• The love we show to one another is evidence of our salvation.

• We must be careful to remember that our goodness is not the reason we are saved; it is not HOW we are saved. I have repeatedly spoken of how we cannot earn our salvation. We must understand that loving someone is not going to earn your ticket to heaven.

• Our ability to love one another is evidence of the salvation we possess by grace though our faith in Jesus.