INTRO.- Because, because, because. There is always a “because” about things in life. We do this or that because of something else.
ILL.- A bumper sticker read: I owe, I owe, so it’s off to work I go! So very true.
What’s your because? Why do you do what you do? Why do you work? Why did you get married? etc.
ILL.- My older brother Larry is 68 years old and he’ll be 69 in July. He’s still working around 65 hours a week, managing that large Price Chopper grocery store in Lenexa, KS. Why does he still work since he’s made a whole lot more money that I have? So why does he still work? Number one reason is probably because he likes his work. And he was taught to work. And he does make good money and he is probably thinking he’ll need every dime of it in the future.
Now if his retirement was good and maybe nearly as good as what he makes at work he just might quit work and start playing golf every day. But I’m sure his retirement will not be that good and that’s the very reason most of us keep on work as long as we can! Retirement doesn’t always pay very well!
Why did you get married? That’s the way God made you. God made most of us to need a mate of the opposite sex and so when we become attracted to the opposite sex we often get married. And, of course, hopefully we love that person or as the world say, “We fall in love with that person.” And that’s why we get married.
ILL.- In 1969 while preaching in the small town of Bayard, IA, I had a board member ask me, “Why do you drive a car like that?”
I was driving a 1968 Pontiac Firebird with 400 engine, 4 speed. I think I said, “Well, I like the car.” He was a man in his 70‘s and since he was a board member I really didn’t want to tell that I liked to drag race and that’s why I bought the car!
I think a year later I traded on a more sane and safer car. I think it was a 1970 Chevy Nova, 3 speed and small V8 engine. And why do I drive a Grand Prix with a supercharged engine?
Why do you do what you do? And why did you believe what you believe? And why do you love people like you do?
PROP.- In our text, John addresses the question: why do you love others? And then answers the question for us.
1- We love because of Him - motivation
2- We love because of His love - demonstration
3- We love because of His first love - inauguration
I. WE LOVE BECAUSE OF HIM - MOTIVATION
19We love because he first loved us.
Motivation. God is our greatest motivation or motivator in the world.
ILL.- Columbus’ Goal: God Not Gold: August J. Kling, a specialist on Columbus, said: “Columbus’ use of the Bible is one of the best documented facts of his remarkable career, but it is one of the least known to the general public. Columbus was a careful student of the Scriptures. He spoke Latin fluently and knew enough Greek and Hebrew to exegete biblical words. All of Columbus’ sailing journals give evidence of his biblical knowledge and his devout love for Jesus Christ.”
There is no denying that when Christopher Columbus first set sail across the ocean blue, it was God, not gold or glory, that directed his course. In his only book, Book of Prophecies, Columbus wrote: “It was the Lord who put into my mind (I could feel His hand upon me) to sail from here to the Indies...
“I am a most unworthy sinner, but I have cried to the Lord for grace and mercy, and they have covered me completely...The fact that the gospel must still be preached to so many lands in such a short time—this is what convinces me.”
How great is this? God, not gold apparently motivated Columbus. Don’t you wish all people were as motivated? If God was our motivating force in life we’d all do better and live better.
Think about your life now. What is it that you do or say because God is your motivating force in life? Is there anything that you do because of Him?
What about going to church? I suspect that God is your motivating force. You know Him and want to know Him better and you fully recognize that He’s the one you’re going to see on the other side. And He’s the one who makes the other side possible!
Hebrews 10:22-23 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.”
There it is. There’s the motivation for drawing near to God in worship. It’s because He who promised is faithful!
Colossians 4:1 “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.”
I wonder how many bosses or managers treat their employees fairly and with respect because they recognize that they too have a Master in heaven? They should and that’s pretty good motivation for doing so.
Hebrews 13:5 “Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, "Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you."
Here is motivation for becoming more content in life and with what we have: GOD WILL NEVER LEAVE US OR FORSAKE US. In other words, He has promised to provide for us so quit worrying about gaining more. HE IS OUR GAIN IN LIFE!
19We love because he first loved us. And here’s why we demonstrate love to others. Because He loved us and loves us.
That’s our motivation for loving others!
II. WE LOVE BECAUSE OF HIS LOVE - DEMONSTRATION
19We love because he first loved us. 20If 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.
Demonstration. We love others because of the demonstration of God’s love to others. I might be able to do something if you show me how it’s done.
Proverbs 27:17 “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."
Have you ever sharpened anyone to do anything good? We are either a demonstration of good or bad.
I Corinthians 11:1 “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
Or follow me in the ways that I follow Christ. We don’t always follow Christ in every way but we do in some ways. And in those ways we are to be a good example for others to follow.
ILL.- I had a Bible College professor named Don DeWelt. It was said that Don got up every morning at 4, 7 days a week for his devotional time with the Lord. Back in my early days of college I admired Don but thought that was a bit extreme. Now that I’m older and want to work more and play less, I like what he did and try to do it myself.
Philippians 3:17 “Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.”
II Thessalonians 3:9-10 “We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to make ourselves a model for you to follow. For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: If a man will not work, he shall not eat."
If you want to motivate people to work then you go to work! Both my mom and dad worked hard in life and it paid off in two of the three children! I was the only lazy one of the three!
I Timothy 4:12 “Don't let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in life, in love, in faith and in purity.”
ILL.- Mark Twain said: Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example.
ILL.- When Gen. George C. Marshall took command of the Infantry School at Fort Benning, GA, he found the post in a generally run-down condition. Rather than issue orders for specific improvements, he simply got out his own paint brushes, lawn equipment, etc., and went to work on his personal quarters. The other officers and men, first on his block, then throughout the post, did the same thing, and Fort Benning was brightened up. It’s called leadership by example.
19We love because he first loved us.
God demonstrated the greatest love this world has ever known. He demonstrated His love for us in that Christ died for us. How can we not demonstrate love to others?
III. WE LOVE BECAUSE OF HIS FIRST LOVE - INAUGURATION
19We love because he first loved us. 20If 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. 21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
Inauguration. This is the idea of a beginning. The inauguration or beginning of some great happening.
Did you ever invent anything? Ok, then how about start something good in someone else’s life? Your kids? Your grandkids? How many of your kids or grandkids do something good that you taught them by example?
ILL.- I happen to know that all of B. J. and Nelda’s boys hunt for deer. How did that happen? Who started that? I would guess that B. J. taught them about hunting. He got it started and it’s not a bad thing. Of course, I think both B. J. and Nelda started them off in church too and that’s even better.
ILL.- The large-scale, production-line manufacturing of affordable automobiles was started by Ransom E. Olds at his Oldsmobile factory in 1902. In 1901 Olds designed the Curved Dash Oldsmobile which sold for $650.00. It was this car, rather than Henry Ford's Model T, that was the first mass-produced, low-priced American motor vehicle. Although the factory was destroyed by fire that year, the company still sold over 600 models of the Curved Dash. In 1904 sales were up to 5000 units.
This concept was greatly expanded by Henry Ford, beginning in 1914. As a result, Ford's cars came off the line in fifteen minute intervals, much faster than previous methods, increasing productivity eightfold (requiring 12.5 man-hours before, 1 hour 33 minutes after), while using less manpower. It was so successful, paint became a bottleneck. Only Japan black would dry fast enough, forcing the company to drop the variety of colors available before 1914, until fast-drying Duco lacquer was developed in 1926. This is the source of Ford's remark, "any color as long as it's black". In 1914, an assembly line worker could buy a Model T with four months' pay.
Both R. E. Olds and Henry Ford had good ideas and we have some pretty good transportation today as a result of their leadership. Aren’t you glad for the automobile you drive? It may not be the ideal car but it’s pretty good compared to what we all started with!
Thank you, R. E. Olds and Mr. Henry Ford for starting some good! And thank you, God, for showing us first and foremost what true love is all about!
19We love because he first loved us.
HE FIRST LOVED US. God demonstrated love before any human ever knew it existed. God demonstrated love in the Garden of Eden and He’s been demonstrating it ever since and during every dispensation of time.
And He demonstrated love to you before you probably even realized it. He did it through your parents, school teachers, Sunday School teachers, etc. But now that we know what true love is there is only one option: We must continue to show it to others! To any and all!
ILL.- I recently received an email note from Ted and Beverly Skiles who founded the orphanage, THE HOME OF GOD’S LOVE, in Taiwan, China, 34 years ago. I went to Ozark Bible College with Ted and Beverly and knew they were special people even back then.
The Home of God's Love is an non-profit Christian orphanage that is located in Taiwan. Founded in 1975 by Ted and Beverly Skiles, two strong Christians that saw that God was leading them to take care of children. This is the only Christians orphanage on the Island of Taiwan. Their main ministry is to provide a loving Christian home for children that cannot live with their family for some reason.
Here is what Ted wrote: Dear Steve, “Like cold water to a weary soul is good news from a distant land.” Proverbs 25:25
Thanks for your note of encouragement. We especially appreciate your prayers. Were it not for the prayers of the faithful, I’m sure we would have given up long ago. Thank you for remembering us before the throne. Right now Bev has 17 infants and we’re expecting 2 more in the next day or two. I’m glad God knows how much she and we can take!
Ted and Beverly Skiles are two wonderful Christian people who have dedicated themselves to demonstrating love on a foreign soil! WHAT LOVE THAT IS! I wonder where they got it? No wonder. I know where they got it.
CONCLUSION---------------------
We love because. Why do you love anyone? More than likely, it’s because God’s love has touched your heart through someone else. Now we have only option: LET’S KEEP ON SPREADING IT AROUND!
