Text: 1 John 3:11-18, Title: So That They May Know, Date/Place: NRBC, 9/7/08, PM
A. Opening illustration: read first half of letter on p. 90 MacArthur Comm Acts 1-12
B. Background to passage: John is writing to a church involved in a split with its roots in theology. He wrote the book to salvage the church from the ruins of a damning heresy. And one of his main focus points in the book is discerning who is really “in the truth.” He has just revealed two manifestations of genuine belief, with the latter being love for the brethren. And so the text that we have read tonight is the elaboration on the fact that we must love the brethren in word and truth so that they may know that we are disciples
C. Main thought: We promise to exercise brotherly love toward others in the church in very specific ways.
A. Pray and help one another (v. )
1. One of the ways that we promise in our covenant to love one another in practical ways is by praying for one another continually, but also when sick or distressed. This is just a tangible way that we agree to demonstrate Christian love toward one another.
2. James 5:16, 1 Thess 5:17, 25, Heb 13:18, 1 Thess 5:11, Gal 6:2,
3. Illustration: This last week I was thinking about this priority of love and I saw an incredible example of it on Dateline NBC. It seems that two members of the same church participated in a 40 day prayer and fasting time to seek God’s will for their lives. One of the woman badly needed a kidney transplant, and at the end of the 40 day time of prayer and fasting, the other woman felt strongly that God was leading her to donate her kidney to this other woman. People couldn’t understand why, after all they weren’t family, they weren’t even friends before that, one was white the other was black. Her response was simply, "She has a need and God has given me the ability to meet that need…that’s what loving each other is all about." Love then is the giving of self, and as long as we have a body and are working out our salvation, it will always be synonymous with sacrifice, in the Christian sense of the word. Love sacrifices naturally just as the eye sees and the ear hears. Sometimes I am amazed at how the poorest are the most compassionate,
4. We are pretty good about praying for the sick among us. Maybe not quite as good at praying for those among the distressed (partially because we don’t always know the needs, because everyone is scared to share b/c it might become community knowledge.) We are good at praying for people who are hurting, but what about people who are not? Do you ever just pray through the church roll? And you must remember that this doesn’t happen by itself. There are wonderful people in your SS class that are responsible for it. There are 7 active deacons who are responsible for the ministry of mercy. And it takes individuals like you to take the initiative and look for needs to meet. What church member have you prayed for this week? How have you helped another in distress this week?
B. Cultivate sympathy and courtesy (v. )
1. This promise takes things a step further. It says that we agree to cultivate (do things to achieve something in our lives) sympathy in feeling and courtesy in speech. And since we have already labored the point of cultivating Christian speech, we won’t say much about it, except that it is in perfect harmony with the rest of scripture. But what is striking is that we promise to strive to make our feelings toward others right. We promise to be sympathetic in our feelings.
2. 1 Peter 3:8, Heb 10:24, Eph 4:29, 32, 1 Cor 12:25,
3. Illustration: “Come to us with a problem only if you want help solving it. That’s what we do. Sympathy is what your girlfriends are for.” 1 of about 20 reality checks for women from men, For 30 years, Randy Murphy drove without a traffic incident, without being stopped by the police, and without a driver’s license. Then, the 46 year old Knoxville, Tennessee native’s luck ran out. On his way home from work as a dishwasher, he increased the volume on his radio. Turning the corner he was stopped by police officer Mark Taylor who pulled him over because of the blaring music. When Officer Taylor asked Murphy for a driver’s license, Murphy admitted he didn’t have one. What would we expect in that situation? Officer Taylor asked Murphy why he didn’t have a license. Murphy said that he couldn’t read enough to pass the written test. With uncommon courtesy, Taylor told Murphy, if you’re willing, I’d like to help you with the reading part of the test. The police officer gave Murphy his pager number. Later that afternoon, Murphy paged Taylor to schedule their first meeting. For the next three months the men met several times a week to review the test booklet. When Murphy felt ready, Taylor accompanied him to the department of motor vehicles. Murphy took the test six times before he passed and then sailed through the road test. Taylor’s act of kindness earned him the Officer of the Month award from the Knoxville Police Department.
4. The things above one could do with a heart that is not right, but simply willing it to happen. But in this phrase we agree that we will love in truth. Not only does this promise say that we will speak sweetly to each other, but that we will want to speak sweetly to each other. So we must work on our own attitudes and feelings toward others in the body. Is there someone here that you may not be mad at, but you just don’t get along with, and your would rather not be around them? Don’t look so spiritual! Are you cultivating your feelings for that person? This doesn’t mean that you have to be best buds with everyone, but it goes further than “I love them, but I don’t like them very much.” And this, if we practice it, will cause our hearts to be softened, and will not allow bitterness and strife to explode after many years of simmering. Nor will it cloud our judgment when dealing with those folks.
C. Thick-skinned and ready to reconcile (v. )
1. Now we have promised to do something that no one in our society promises very well—be slow to anger. This means that we won’t get offended easily. This means that we get mad and stop speaking when we don’t get our way. That’s kinda like a toddler.
2. Col 3:13, James 1:19-20, Matt 5:23-24, 18:15-17, Rom 12:18, 2 Cor 2:7, Eph 4:26,
3. Illustration: “If something we said can be interpreted two ways, and one of the ways makes you sad or angry, we meant the other one.”--1 of about 20 reality checks for women from men, tell about the man who was offended by Herb Reavis about encouraging the teenagers to kiss, Amy Biehl died a violent death in 1993. She was a 26-year-old Fulbright scholar who had gone to South Africa to help register black voters for their first free election. But even though she was seeking to help the people of South Africa, as she was driving one day, she was dragged out of her car, stabbed and beaten to death by a mob which was committed to violence in order to overthrow of the apartheid government. Soon afterward, Amy’s parents, Linda and Peter Biehl, quit their jobs and moved from their Orange County, California home to South Africa — not to seek revenge, but to start a foundation in Amy’s name. Today, two of her killers work for the foundation. They call Mrs. Biehl “Makhulu,” or grandmother, because of the way she treats them. She says, “Forgiving is looking at ourselves and saying, ‘I don’t want to go through life feeling hateful and revengeful, because that’s not going to do me any good.’ We took Amy’s lead. We did what we felt she would want.” That is the picture of reconciliation. It not only forgives, it reaches out to restore. It pays back good for evil. It is following the heart and character of God, for the Bible says, “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
4. This means that we won’t take things personally. And if there are circumstances, like the note that I received the other day, initiate an encounter with the person. What if I will get too angry? Then you are already too angry, or your temper is dominant in your life, not Christ’s Spirit. But this warning doesn’t imply not caring about anything, it means being in control of your own emotions and submitting yourself to Christian teaching even when it is in direct opposition to what the flesh wants you to do.
A. Closing illustration: read second half of letter on p. 90 MacArthur Comm Acts 1-12
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
Additional Notes
• Is Christ Exalted, Magnified, Honored, and Glorified?
