iLove – Loving People with the Love of Christ
Last week, we started a brand new series, iTruths-Life Lessons for the iPod Generation. This series is so that we can see how Christians in today’s generation can live successfully, to be what God wants us to be.
Last week, our sermon title was iKnow. This sermon was based on doctrine, on truth. We talked about those core truths that we must adhere to, we must cling to, in order to be the Christian that He wants us to be. We talked about Absolute Truth. And, how this generation has lost sight of what truth really is.
They try to determine truth by looking inside, by searching their own hearts. But we know that the Scripture says that the HEART IS DESPERATELY WICKED. Meaning, that we can never look inside ourselves to find truth. We can only look to the one place that is perfect, that is holy, the one that is unblemished to find truth. And that source is Christ.
For us to be what God wants us to be, to experience what God wants us to experience, to accomplish what God wants us to accomplish and to know what God wants us to know…we must seek absolute truth.
This series is based on one idea. The idea that we as Christians can be world-changers. We can impact the world for Christ, IF WE FOCUS ON THE RIGHT THINGS. If we keep the main thing, the main thing.
We must do all we can in our lives to focus on truth. We must not allow our culture, a culture that seems to be less interested in God and absolutes, to temper our beliefs. We must not allow this culture to taint our lives, to keep us from standing on truth, to keep us from focusing on winning souls for Christ.
Last week, we focused on knowing the truth. Seeking the truth. Loving the truth. And, basing our lives on the truth. Today, we move forward in our iTruths series to a new topic. And this topic is iLOVE!
Love. This is a word that in today’s world has more meanings than probably any other word. You can love your family. You can love your church. You can love sports. You can love food. You can love Diet Pepsi, Lil Cucci’s pizza, even pop tarts.
And the definition of love has been so marginalized that many times we really don’t understand what love really is. We use the word so often and in so many ways, we tend to lose focus of what it really means to LOVE someone. And, because this word has been so overused, when you use it to describe how you feel about lost people, it once again doesn’t seem to hold its true value.
Christ understands the word LOVE. He knows what that word means, He knows the value of this word. He knows how to love. And we as Christians must do what we can to also understand this word…in the way Christ understands this word.
You see, until we understand love from God’s perspective, we will have an extremely difficult time reaching this world for Christ. Because people don’t really care about what you have to say if they don’t know that you care about them…that you love them.
Over the past couple of months, we’ve spent a lot of time talking about our priorities as Christians. We talked about prioritizing our time with God in Bible study and prayer. We talked about prioritizing our time with our family and how important that is.
But another priority that God wants us to put high on the list is our love for people. You see, we want to reach the lost with the Gospel of Christ. But to do so, to earn the right to be heard, we must show them we care. We must show them that we love them. Not in the world’s definition of love, but in God’s definition of love.
1. HOW DO WE LOVE?
a. We love according to God’s definition of love. The Bible teaches us that loving people with God’s love should be first and foremost in our minds and hearts.
Prov. 3:1 (NIV) My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart, 2 for they will prolong your life many years and bring you prosperity. 3 Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. 4 Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.
And notice this, when we love others with God’s kind of love, God will protect us, He will preserve us.
5 (NIV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
2. WHOM DO WE LOVE?
a. Let’s answer this by looking at what Christ said about it when He was asked this same question?
Matt. 22:34 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. 35 Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Matt. 22:37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
What is so interesting about the lawyer’s question is what leads up to this question. You see, throughout the years leading up to Jesus ministry, the Pharisees had been grappling with a problem among themselves.
Here was their problem: The Pharisees were considered the most pious & holy and they were considered holy as much as they could humanly keep the 613+ Old Testament laws in their society. The problem is that they (obviously) could not humanly obey all theses laws. So, they decided to make amendments to the laws – called “Oral tradition.” They added their own “interpretation” (or “reinterpretation”) to the laws so that they would be able to keep all the laws.
After realizing that even this didn’t work out, they decided to settle on the position that each person should focus on just keeping the “Big 10”- The 10 Commandments. But after quickly realizing that the human heart is even incapable of keeping just 10 commandments, they collaborated and decided that one could be considered holy IF he could say that he has kept ONE commandment 100% of the time. So, there was a debate as to which ONE should be adopted as the ONE commandment everyone should keep.
…It must be the greatest commandment – one worthy and most notable of keeping.
It was at this point in the Pharisee’s debate that this lawyer’s question & conversation with Jesus takes place.
Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, “ ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.
You see, the reason why you obey the 600+ commandments is NOT just to obey commandment for holiness…obeying commands is ALWAYS out of a heart APPRECIATION for who God is and what He has done for us!
So, if you love God, you’ll obey him. If you don’t love God, you won’t love obeying his commandments.
THEN after he settled the debate amid the Pharisees…Jesus added a SECOND commandment that is an OUTGROWTH of the first. Meaning – Jesus was saying that IF you love God…it is a given that your heart will love people!!
Matthew 22:39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’
If you others to know that you truly love God…the sign will be that you love ALL people. And ALL people refers to far more than those who look like you, that talk like you, live where you do and go to the same places as you do. We must love ALL people. Meaning, even those who we’re not comfortable around. Those who the pious among us might think we shouldn’t even spend time with. Look what Jesus did!
Luke 15:1-2 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, “This Man receives sinners and eats with them.” Luke 15:6b-7 ‘…Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!’ 7 I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance.
You see Jesus loved them all. He didn’t care their background, He didn’t care what they looked like. He just loved them. And why wouldn’t He? He knew that it was for them He would die!
3. WHY SHOULD WE LOVE?
Revelation 2:1-3 “To the angel of the church of Ephesus write, ‘These things says He who holds the seven stars in His right hand, who walks in the midst of the seven golden lampstands: 2 “I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; 3 and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.
It all sounds good, right? Don’t we all love a doctrinally strong church? Isn’t that what every serious believer in Jesus Christ looks for in a church? So, what’s the problem? Notice in Revelation 2:4 Nevertheless I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”
This love refers to love for people!
You see, to the church of Ephesus, they were so concerned that people maintained the same theological standard (and this is good) but they forgot to love the person!
Why should we love in God’s definition of love? Because if we don’t Christ will hold this against us. And my friends, we must never allow ourselves to be in the position of Christ having something against us. We want Christ to be for us.
Rom. 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
We want to stand with Christ. To stand in His truth. To stand in His love. To stand with His power.
1Cor. 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. 13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
The greatest of these is LOVE! Not the world’s definition of love, but God’s definition of love.
Rom. 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God demonstrated His love by sending His son to die for us. You see, God did something with His love. He sent His son. And today, we must also DO something with our love for others, for the lost, we must share JESUS!
We can’t love them to Heaven. We can’t love them to Jesus. We can’t love them to salvation. We can only share with them the love of Christ and let Christ do the rest. BUT, we must share the love of Christ.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God and rejoice with you.
