Series Title: How to have Godly Character
Type: Series/Christian Growth
Objective: Every Christian Can display Godly Character by applying three supports that are found in John 15.
Sermon 2: “What, I’m Supposed To Love Who?” – The Fellowship of Believers
Text: John 15:12-17
Intro:
Has anybody here ever heard of a man by the name of Coach Lou Holtz? He is a retired college football coach and a motivational speaker.
Coach Holtz has been a builder of (football) programs throughout his illustrious 32 years as a collegiate head coach. First at William & Mary ... then at North Carolina State ... then at Arkansas ... then at Minnesota ... then at Notre Dame ... and then at South Carolina.
At all six universities, Holtz has led those programs to a postseason bowl game by his second season at the helm and regularly has produced winning teams that also record superlative graduation rates.
Coach Holtz entered the 2004 season as the third winningest active coach and ranks eighth all-time with 243 victories, while his 12 bowl game victories rank fifth on the all-time list.
Prior to going to Carolina, Holtz served as a college football analyst for CBS Sports for two years.
He was the ultra-successful head coach at Notre Dame for 11 seasons from 1986-96, where he rekindled the football fortunes of one of the country’s most prestigious programs, claiming a national championship in 1988 and leading the Fighting Irish to nine consecutive New Year’s Day Bowl games.
Coach Holtz is a phenomenal man who has an incredible message.
He has put together motivational speeches on DVD for Fortune 500 companies which cost thousands of dollars to purchase.
I recently heard a speech given by Lou Holtz who was speaking at a prayer breakfast that was re-played on James Dobson’s “Focus on the Family.” You can hear the whole speech if you go to family.org.
But before I tell you about his message let’s review where we are in our sermon series.
You’ll remember that last week we began a three week mini-series of sermons called “How to Have Godly Character.”
We saw from God’s Word that having Godly character is not something that a person can fake, and it is something that He wants us to have.
Godly Character flows out of a person who is connected or plugged into Jesus, just like apples grow naturally on a branch if they are connected to the tree.
We learned that the first support structure that Jesus left us was the ability to have fellowship with the Son of God by Abiding in Christ.
Without Christ, we can do nothing…including having Godly Character.
So, it all starts there – our own efforts at producing Godly character apart from Christ will only result in living a life of frustration and failure.
But, using that first support structure of Abiding in Christ will produce a life that bears much fruit for the Kingdom of God.
We will continue reading from John 15 in just a moment to see the second support structure for having Godly Character, which I call ‘fellowship of believers’, and the Title of today’s message is “What, I’m Supposed to Love Who?”
And we will see in just a moment as we pick up our text in John 15:12 that Jesus has commanded us to love one another – in essence He has commanded us to have true fellowship with each other.
I hope to show you that Godly Character is on display for all to see when we truly ‘love one another’.
But right now, let’s get back to Lou Holtz.
DESCRIBE CLIP
(find clip at http://oneplace.com search Lou Holtz, its amazing!
When enough people care…
I have heard others and I myself have preached messages on the topic of the power of one.
I have preached many times about how God has used one man that was willing to obey Him to change the course of history.
I have tried to challenge people to understand that God and One person make a majority.
It is true that throughout the O.T. God used individual men to bring about His progress of redemption.
And, I believe that God still uses individuals to lead others to impact lives in this world for Christ.
But the truth that I want to share with you this morning is that although God always uses the individual, the One man, the One woman, real change occurs only when enough people care!
Yes, I said the “c” word – change.
I want to challenge all who can hear me today to consider allowing change to take place in your lives.
Change from a heart that believes our church, our religion, or our own lives are meant to be lived in a selfish pursuit of happiness to hearts that truly display the very character of God by loving one another.
-PLAY VIDEO CLIP-
Think about what brought about changes in our own history…
When enough people cared about maintaining their religious freedom, they left the safety of England to set out on a new adventure…
When enough people cared about maintaining their political freedom, a nation was born, and a colonial empire was defeated…
When enough people cared, men and women of all races were given equal rights and protection…
When enough people cared, men and women pulled together through financial collapse to defeat the most heinous tyrant the modern world has ever known…
When enough people cared, a nation united to do whatever it took to win the space race…
When enough people cared, a dividing wall between the nation of Germany was destroyed…
When enough people cared, when enough people cared…
True, every one of these great movements in history was lead by individuals, but real change and success happened only when enough people cared…
The individuals like Roger Payne, George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, Winston Churchill, J.F Kennedy, Martin Luther King, and Ronald Regan would have been held powerless to change the course of history unless they could have inspired enough people to care.
I would never ever try to equate myself with these great men of God, but the same principle is true for us here at CHBC.
I can preach week after week about Salvation…
I can preach week after week about abiding in Christ…
I can preach week after week about loving one another…
I can preach week after week about obeying God by seeking the lost to try to win them for Christ…
But we will never see lives transformed until enough people care.
We are living in a society that carries this well known indictment:
“If God doesn’t judge our nation soon, He owes Sodom and Gehmorrah an apology”
Our world looks just like the world that Jesus Himself called a generation of vipers and children of their father, the devil.
All of the moral corruption, broken homes, and blatant sin in the face of God, seem to have dulled our resolve to fulfill Christ’s command to love one another & make disciples.
Our church can make an impact on our community…
Our church can lead every lost person in Marlboro to Christ…
Our church can feed every hungry person in our town…
Our church can meet every need inside and outside these walls…
But we’ll never even attempt to try until enough people care!
Jesus made it clear in John 15 that He has commanded us to love one another just as he has loved us.
Some very interesting thoughts come up as we try to figure out what he meant by saying love others as I have loved you.
Last week we learned that we have been saved unto good works.
If we stay plugged into the vine, that is Christ, we will naturally begin to bear much fruit.
We learned that staying attached to the vine means that we are obedient to Christ’s commands.
Let’s pick up our text in verse 12 and we will see his command in action.
Read 12-17.
We see hear very clearly that Jesus was giving some deep teachings before he went to fulfill his purpose.
He is talking to the followers of Christ, & those of us that have been born again.
After he describes Godly Character as a natural occurrence in a believer’s life by being connected to Him, he gives us a direct order:
LOVE ONE ANOTHER Just as I have loved you.
How did Jesus love his followers?
He answers that question in the next verse:
“Greater love has no one than this, the one lay down his life for his friends.” Verse 13.
We seem to live in a society that is as far from this concept as possible.
How many people really love others enough to lay their lives down for them?
In the context of John 15 Jesus is clearly telling His disciples to love one another, but this concept of loving others is certainly not limited to just members of the group!
Jesus tackled this idea in His famous sermon on the mount.
In Matthew 5:43-47 he said:
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate you enemy.’ (which was the pharisees’ twisting of lev. 19:18). But I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?
So Jesus’ teachings on love were not at all exclusive to members of the church.
He taught that we should love even our enemies.
“What I’m supposed to love who?”
Many churches have no problem loving other members of the church – in fact most churches pride themselves on just how loving they are.
Most churches pride themselves on being places where everybody is welcome, and they advertise the fact that they are a very loving church.
They list all of their ministries in their bulletins and fliers and hope that people from outside the church will some how just “feel the love.”
Many churches proudly proclaim the fact that they provide a place for fellowship and belonging.
But many churches do nothing to actively show that love to the unlovable.
In an attempt to follow Christ’s command to love one another, church people often have a lot of fellowship so that they can get to know each other.
But some churches have a very wrong idea of what fellowship is all about.
Koinonia-
The word has such a multitude of meanings that no single English word is adequate to express its depth and richness. It is a derivative of "koinos," the word for common. Koinonia, is a complex, rich, and thoroughly fascinating Greek approach to building community or teamwork.
In the context of outer goodness, translated into English, the meaning of koinonia holds the idea of joint participation in something with someone, such as in a community, or team or an alliance or joint venture. Those who have studied the word find there is always an implication of action included in its meaning. The definition of the word is quite rich in that there are many connotations because the word is used in a variety of related contexts:
It can imply general sharing, partnership, marriage, or fellowship.
Fellowship : To create a bond between comrades is the meaning of koinonia when people are recognized, share their joy and pains together, and are united because of their common experiences, interests and goals. Fellowship creates a mutual bond which overrides each individual’s pride, vanity, and individualism, fulfilling the human yearning with fraternity, belonging, and companionship. This meaning of koinonia accounts for the ease by which sharing and generosity flow. When combined with the spiritual implications of koinonia, fellowship provides a joint participation in God’s graces and denotes that common possession of spiritual values.
Thus early Greco-Roman Christians had fellowship, sharing the common experience of joys, fears, tears, and divine glory. In this manner, those who shared believed their true wealth lay not in what they had, but in what they gave to others. Fellowship is never passive in the meaning of koinonia, it is always linked to action, not just being together, but also doing together.
Jesus commanded us to Love one another as he loved us.
There is a difference between sharing a cup of coffee with a virtual stranger after church, and really loving somebody.
In order to really love someone and experience true fellowship with one another we have to share our joys and pains together.
We have to get beyond our pride and fear that somebody will judge us because we have weaknesses.
We have to have a common goal – and talk about that goal.
Coach Lou Holtz ended every single one of his practices with a question to his team.
He would ask them, “O.K., who has a problem?”
He would tell his players, ‘If you have a problem, I have a problem.”
He says that invariably somebody would mention that their battery was dead. Someone else would volunteer to help jump-start his battery.
Someone else would need a ride to Chicago for the weekend. Another player would mention that he was heading in that direction and would drive him there.
You see, enough people cared about each other to take on the world view that – ‘If you’ve got a problem, I’ve got a problem – and they would do whatever it took to help meet each other’s needs.
That’s how we should love one another.
We should know beyond a shadow of a doubt that we are all so focused on caring enough about truly loving one another that we will do whatever it takes to make sure that our brothers and sisters are cared for.
When I think about the love that Jesus has for us, I know that it was sacrificial and unconditional.
I think of how he loved me even while I was sinning against Him.
That’s one of the interesting things that I alluded to earlier – Jesus loved me even when I was His enemy:
Romans 5:8 says “But God demonstrates his own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
I think of how patient He is. How forgiving.
It’s a tall order for him to command us to love each other the same way he loved us –
But in order to display Godly Character, that’s the exact kind of love we will have for each other when we are abiding in Him.
I know that I’ve preached about love and forgiveness in the past.
I know that most of you have heard this same old message a thousand times in your Christian life.
But, sometimes, we need to be reminded. We need to be reminded that there is such a thing a Godly Character.
There is a lifestyle that God wants us to live.
But it doesn’t happen by our efforts.
Once we are plugged into the vine, and are abiding in Christ, we will naturally display the kind of self-less, forgiving, patient love that Jesus loves us with.
He left us the support structure called the fellowship of believers so that we would have the ability to lean on one another no matter what.
Remember the part of the definition of the word fellowship that said “fellowship is never passive in the meaning of koinonia, it is always linked to action, not just being together, but doing together?
Well, what is it that we should be doing together?
I would suggest that we read verse 14 together.
Jesus makes it clear that we followers should be doing whatever He has commanded us to do.
Matthew 12:50 says it this way: “For whoever does the will of my father who is in heaven, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
So what is the teaching here.
Context- Jesus is telling us that whoever loves the brethren is considered His friend.
He can call us his friend because in order to truly love each other we have to be saved and abiding in Him!
Application: if we love Him, we will do what He asks us to.
What has he asked us to do?
Clearly, Jesus Christ has asked us to love other people.
He has asked us to love our Christian brothers and sisters, and He has asked us to love our enemies.
He showed us how to love by giving us his example of laying his life down for us.
I think of the most well-known bible verse: John 3:16. For God so loved the world that he gave…
Imagine if the verse stopped with just, For God so loved the world.
God teaches us that Love is more than just saying it…its an action.
Well, how does all of this apply to me?
-BODY EXAMPLE-
And, how does this apply to my life regarding how I should love the unsaved.
Well, if we love Jesus, we will keep his commandments.
He has commanded each one of us to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…
I know that God has called me here to preach his Gospel in this church…
God has called me here to CHBC to challenge you…
Just like all of the individuals throughout history that God has called.
I am confident that God has called me to speak His truths to you.
But nothing will ever change until enough people care about God’s truths…
Nothing will ever change here until enough people decide that this is not the “ME CHURCH”, and we really start loving each other…
Nothing will ever change until each one of us is willing to get passed our own problems, our own desires, our own rights and needs…
Nothing is going to change until enough people have their hearts broken as they think about the lost and dying people living next door…
I can’t change anything…on my own.
Yes, God has called me to be your pastor, and I will be until He calls me away to another work, but I am just one man among many.
I am sure that God wants us to change.
God wants us to Abide in Jesus Christ, He wants us to love each other, and he wants us to take his message to the lost people around us!
I titled today’s message “What, I am supposed to love who?” because I am sure that so many people have no problem loving the lovable.
But, what about the unlovable? What about the people that you never talk to during the week.
What about the person that is doing all they can to hurt you?
What about the person who is destroying your life and your dreams?
“What, I’m supposed to love Who?”
Yes, we are supposed to love the unlovable – and you will if you are abiding in Christ.
How about your deadbeat husband who is worthless and refuses to live up to his responsibilities as a husband & a father – I don’t know, you tell me – Is your vow worth anything to you?
How about your nag of a wife who drives you to the brink of suicide? I don’t know, will God make an exception for that?
Jesus commanded us to love one another and he didn’t put any escape clause in there.
How about the person who is lost and dying and on their way to a devil’s hell?
Its just not convenient enough to love that guy!
It’s just not easy to love that guy enough to pray for his soul!
I talked earlier about challenging you to change.
Every day that we live, we have the wonderful blessing of free will.
Today, we can choose to continue down the road of just existing here as a religious institution – a place to get all of our own needs met OR,
We can choose to abide in Christ so that our Godly Character will be on display for all the world to see because of our deep love for one another and for the world.
Handout after service preceeding alter call:
(write name of unsaved person above)
Sunday Evening:
I will pray for, ____________________, for at least 15 minutes. I will lift this name up before God and ask Him to save their soul.
Monday:
I will pray for,______________________, for at least 30 minutes. I will beg God to save this person’s soul.
Tuesday:
I will pray for, ______________________, for at least 45 minutes. I will plead with God to save this person’s soul.
Wednesday:
I will bring this name with me to CHBC. We will lift up the names on these sheets for at least one hour.
Thursday:
I will call the person on this sheet of paper. I will ask them to arrange a meeting. I will pray for one hour that God will save this person from the wrath to come.
Friday:
I will pray that God will give me the boldness and words that are required to lead this person to Salvation. I will pray for him/her until I need to stop.
Saturday: I will spend today with my family.
This Week, I will love these five people the way that Jesus loved me.
1._____________________________________________
2.______________________________________________
3.______________________________________________
4. _____________________________________________
5. ______________________________________________
I will ABIDE in Christ so that His love naturally flows through me toward these brothers/sisters.
I will give of myself to help these people.
I will not settle for just barely knowing these people.
I will have true fellowship with these people.
I care enough to love the way Jesus loved me.
