I returned a week ago from Nepal… to be a part of… South Asia Vineyard Family Gathering.
Included a few key Indian leaders… but mostly Nepali… about a quarter from the urban area of Kathmandu… many from NE India border… and a majority from the villages that spread many miles up into the Himalayas.
One of the qualities that stood out… was the basic love by which they related to one another. I had the opportunity to fly over the Himalayas… moved by their majesty…. Sensed the magnificence… the greatness of God. But later that day.. in gathering in worship and fellowship… I felt the presence of God. A different dynamic… but a very real sense of God. I suppose it shouldn’t surprise me.. for God is love… and where the reign of His kingdom prevails… he inhabits such love.. is there in it’s midst.
Intro – As we continue in our series focusing on becoming friends with God… let me ask you to consider a question with me…When have you tended to feel closest to God?
Now for many… there may be a natural tendency to have felt more passionate… more heart fluttering… at some initial point in your relationship. It’s often the case with romantic relationships. Yet if we are wise… we realize initial feelings are initial feelings. A different closeness naturally emerges. So perhaps the question should be considered in terms of when… in the longer relationship… have you tended to feel most connected… most at peace… with God?
Now I can’t answer that question for you. But I can share what I have found most true for many. We tend to be most at peace with God…
When selflessly serving… especially the poor… but even one’s friends and family
When sharing the love of Jesus with someone whose heart is open
When truly forgiving and extending grace to one who is indebted to us in some way
When giving generously
What do these times have in common?
> Loving and active compassion
We tend to feel most at peace with God when we are operating out of selfless love… out of compassion.
An essential dynamic in experiencing friendship with God is our love for others.
There are many dynamics involved with being close with God… but there is no substitute for compassion in our hearts.
Perhaps thinking you are not the sentimental type… you don’t do mushy as easily as others. Well this isn’t about what we feel… but it is about our hearts. Divinely rooted love… compassion is not simply what we feel…. But what we willfully give our hearts to… our inner disposition towards others.
Loving compassion is not simply a position we hold (i.e. our mere position in a political campaign or cause) … nor simply an outward persona (‘niceness’)… but rather it is an inner posture and active presence in relationship to others.
If we really want to live in peace and connection to God… we do well to hear what He spoke to His people through the prophet Isaiah…
Isaiah 58:1-10 (NIV)
1 "Shout it aloud, do not hold back. Raise your voice like a trumpet. Declare to my people their rebellion and to the house of Jacob their sins. 2 For day after day they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. 3 ’Why have we fasted,’ they say, ’and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ "Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. 4 Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
(5 Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for a man to humble himself? Is it only for bowing one’s head like a reed and for lying on sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the LORD?)
6 "Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke? 7 Is it not to share your food with the hungry and to provide the poor wanderer with shelter-- when you see the naked, to clothe him, and not to turn away from your own flesh and blood? 8 Then your light will break forth like the dawn, and your healing will quickly appear; then your righteousness will go before you, and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard. 9 Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; you will cry for help, and he will say: Here am I. "If you do away with the yoke of oppression, with the pointing finger and malicious talk, 10 and if you spend yourselves in behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed, then your light will rise in the darkness, and your night will become like the noonday.
God is speaking to very devout religious people.
The essence of these words is this:
You cannot expect intimacy with me with indifference towards others.
Jesus made this reality clear… when asked which is the greatest commandment… what matters most?
Matthew 22:34-40 (NIV)
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" 37 Jesus replied: "’Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ’Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Jesus’ response is so profound. He essentially says it can’t be summed up in one thing. He must speak of two… but it’s more like one ting with two dimensions. Notice…
“the second is like it’ which implies that it is not entirely separate… but rather inseparable.
And ‘love your neighbor AS YOURSELF.” It’s a matter of allowing what you feel in connection to yourself to be connected to others. That is the very nature of compassion… to feel for and with others.
Quite natural - My commitment to my children may be unconditional… but my closeness to my children is effected by many things… and one very fundamental aspect is one they may often not sense… which is how they treat each other. When they choose contempt… there is a barrier to our connection… and when they choose to care… there is a bond.
When Jesus came he came in fulfillment of God’s heart… to show us what God is like… and fulfill what God is about.
He announces his purpose by quoting the OT prophet… Luke 4:18-19 (NIV)
"The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor."
Then he demonstrated this.. it defined his ministry… healing… touching… the least, left out, and lost. Sends his core 12 disciples to do the same. Sends the 70 to do the same. He was inviting them to a shared heart. To be friends.
It’s actually rather remarkable that western forms of following Christ have developed a pursuit of being close to God … without the necessity of love and compassion for others.
American individualism has created a model for being close to God that is so centered in one’s private life… it can cultivate a narcissistic spirituality.
Some good news… Jesus understands how our self centered preoccupations… and seeks to liberate us. We see him constantly working with the lives of his first disciples… you may recall moments when he stopped to show care for children, blind man, woman at well… which they clearly didn’t get. Jesus had to explain… he was doing the work of the Father. It was his food.
We see him constantly working with the lives of his first disciples… and we can be sure he will with us.
Lets return to the words of Jesus…
John 15: 9-14 (MSG)
"I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved me. Make yourselves at home in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in my love. That’s what I’ve done—kept my Father’s commands and made myself at home in his love. 11 "I’ve told you these things for a purpose: that my joy might be your joy, and your joy wholly mature. 12 This is my command: Love one another the way I loved you. 13 This is the very best way to love. Put your life on the line for your friends. 14 You are my friends when you do the things I command you.
> Obey my commands… and what is his command? To love. There are certainly many aspects of how we should live that he taught… but they are all a reflection of a love for others… that is willing to selflessly serve rather than exploit. With such care and compassion for others… we will live out what is fitting regarding our material possessions, our sexual desires… our way of speaking and acting towards others.
One of Jesus’ closest disciples… John… who was an apostle and author of the Gospel of John… would expound on this in a very pointed way in his additional writing…
1 John 2:9 (NIV)
Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.
1 John 3:16-24 (NIV)
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
1 John 4:8 (NIV)
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 John 4:15-17 (NIV)
15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him.
1 John 4:20-21 (NIV)
20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Here John drives home the connection. Do we want to be close to God? Then we must allow our hearts to cultivate a love for others.
Some monitors for the spiritual heart…
1. Am I operating out of detachment towards those in need… as if unrelated to my love for God?
I know that life is overwhelming… and we all need to manage our hearts and energy. Those who tend to be naturally responsible can easily be overwhelmed by so many needs. The danger is that in the face of being overwhelmed… we can naturally withdraw into ourselves… and the result is that we become smaller. If we find ourselves in depression.. it is so natural to withdraw further. However… it usually only deepens it. If we don’t feel close to God… I would suggest we consider where and who we are selfishly serving.
Friendship with Jesus grows as I see my love for God in my love for those in need.
2. Am I operating out of a selfish protection from rejection by not sharing what I have experienced in Christ with others who have yet to understand?
Friendship with Jesus grows as out of love I consider the spiritual needs of others more important than my emotional needs for approval and acceptance. I will neither try to impose my beliefs in a selfish means of treating others as projects to express my superiority or alleviate my guilt… but nor will I selfishly ignore their deeper needs for the sake of my comfort.
3. Am I operating out of a heart that has accepted another as my ‘adversary’ or ‘enemy’ … unworthy of love and mercy?
Psalms 145:9 (NIV)
“The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.”
Yes there are consequences to rejecting love and walking right… but God sends the rain on the good and the evil.
Jesus spoke rather notably about the dangers ofcontempt towards others. How a refusal to live out mercy… can cast us out of living out of God’s mercy and grace.
When we seek the harm of others… we are striking at those who bear his image.
Story –
(STUDENTS THROW DARTS AT PICS DISCOVER PICTURE OF JESUS BEHIND IT)
A young lady named Sally, relates an experience she had in a seminary class, given by her teacher, who we’ll call Brother Smith. She says Brother Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons.
One particular day, Sally walked into seminary and knew they were in for another fun day. On the wall was a big target and on a nearby table were many darts. Brother
Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone that they disliked or someone who had made them angry . . . and he would allow them to throw darts at the person’s picture.
Sally’s girlfriend (on her right), drew a picture of a girl who had stolen her boyfriend. Another friend (on her left), drew a picture of his little brother. Sally drew a picture of Brother Smith, putting a great deal of detail into her drawing, even drawing pimples on his face. Sally was pleased at the overall effect she had achieved.
The class lined up and began throwing darts, with much laughter and hilarity. Some of the students threw their darts with such force that their targets were ripping apart.
Sally looked forward to her turn, and was filled with disappointment when Brother Smith, because of time limits, asked the students to return to their seats.
As Sally sat thinking about how angry she was because she didn’t have a chance to throw any darts at her target, Brother Smith began removing the target from the wall.
Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus . . .
A complete hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and jagged marks covered His face and His eyes were pierced out.
Brother Smith said only these words, "In as much as ye have done it unto the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto Me."
No other words were necessary; the tear-filled eyes of each student focused only on the picture of Christ. The students remained in their seats . . . even after the bell rang . . . then slowly left the classroom, tears streaming down their faces.
Friendship with Jesus grows in grace towards all… not confusing having ‘boundaries’ with accepting a lack of love.
4. Am I operating out of the demands for reciprocation… and the calculations of ‘fairness’?
Jesus’ example… of dying for ALL.
It’s insightful that the story by which Jesus unfolds the love of neighbor… known as the Good Samaritan… ends without any response from the one cared for.
> The reward must ultimately lie in God…
Proverbs 19:17
If you help the poor, you are lending to the Lord—and he will repay you!
Matthew 10:42
And if you give even a cup of cold water to one of the least of my followers, you will surely be rewarded."
Friendship with Jesus will grow in the ability to operate out of a new nature despite the limitations of others.
5. Am I operating out of the eyes that see some only in the light of their current condition… the failures that may be offensive?
As Helmut Thielicke wrote:
"Jesus gained the power to love harlots, bullies, and ruffians. . . he was able to do this only because he saw through the filth and crust of degeneration, because his eye caught the divine original which is hidden in every way - in every man!. . . First and foremost he gives us new eyes. . .
When Jesus loved a guilt-laden person and helped him, he saw in him an erring child of God. He saw in him a human being whom his Father loved and grieved over because he was going wrong. He saw him as God originally designed and meant him to be, and therefore he saw through the surface layer of grime and dirt to the real man underneath. Jesus did not identify the person with his sin, but rather saw in this sin something alien, something that really did not belong to him, something that merely chained and mastered him and from which he would free him and bring him back to his real self. Jesus was able to love men because he loved them right through the layer of mud."
Friendship with Jesus grows in seeing people as the objects of God’s love.
Closing: The law of entropy reveals that closed systems are destined to die.
Spiritually… God broke into a closed system that had become separated from His life giving love… and he offers life… through that love.
For some… an opportunity to receive that love.. and that life.
For others… an opportunity to be embrace the challenge of learning to take up the love that reflects the very nature of God.
