How's Your Spiritual Health?
Sermon three: Are You More Loving?
This sermon series is based on the book entitled 10 Questions to Diagnose Your Spiritual Health by Donald Whitney
Prepared by Thomas A. Gaskill for June 5, 2011
How's your spiritual health:
Do you thirst for God?
Has your thirst for God increased over the last couple of weeks?
Are you governed increasingly by God's Word?
Have you read your Bible more lately with renewed interest? Are you searching the Scriptures to clarify how to live your life?
My question this Sunday is :
Are you more loving?
Thomas Jay Oord writes in his book entitled RELATIONAL HOLINESS: Responding to the Call of Love the following –
Many ideas about love exist. Here are just a few:
“Love is a kind of warfare.” – Ovid
“Love ain't nothin' but sex misspelled.” – Harlan Ellison
“Love is a never-ending feeling.” – Adeil Prince
“Love makes the world go 'round.” – Various
“Love is just another four-letter word.” – Tennessee Williams
“Love kills.” – Sid Vicious
“Love means never having to say you're sorry.” – Love Story
“Love is a perky elf dancing a merry little jig, and then he suddenly turns on you with a miniature machine gun.” – Matt Groening
What comes to your mind when you hear the word “love”? As your pastor, I hope that none of the ideas just mentioned comes to mind. I also hope nobody thinks of love as: extreme permissiveness, wimpiness, laid-back attitude, or anything goes.
Love is purposefully responding to promote the well-being/best interest of others and the greater good. Love can be directed to God, individuals, families, groups of people, communities, tribes, and nations. There are thousands of ways to love others but the reason remains the same – it is for their well-being and the greater good. I haven't shared much about the “greater good” but I would like to do so now. The Lord tells us to love our enemies. When an enemy desires us to lose our employment, we love differently than when an enemy is thieving, murdering, and raping. The first example would require loving them personally; the second example would require loving our family and community by defending ourselves against the criminal and hopefully putting him or her out of commission by seeking the full measure of justice. It would be crazy, irresponsible, and unloving towards the greater community to not restrain and imprison criminals.
I wanted to share this because I am not promoting a passive or mushy sentimental kind of love. There are times when love prays that the government not falter in bearing the sword to protect its citizens and free the oppressed from tyranny. Speaking of governing authorities listen to what God's Word says in
Read Romans 13:1-4
With these things kept in mind, a person can begin to understand why God commanded His people to conquer in the book of Joshua. Love takes different shape when the greater good is to be pursued but the reason remains the same to the glory of God and the nurturing of His people.
Are you more loving today than you were 30 years ago, 20 years ago, 2 years ago, 2 weeks ago? If you aren't, why not? What is keeping you from walking in God's abundant love and being an agent of His love? Each of us should be growing in our ability to love others. The only way we can do this is by delighting ourselves in God's love towards us and ask Him to show us His love for others as well.
My prayer that we would be known as the most loving place in the area remains and I believe God is answering this simple, sincere prayer. I praise God for the love that I experience in this church. May God's blessing continue to rest upon us in a mighty way as we seek to excel in love for Him and one another. A loving church is a great place to be!!
Did you know there are now eleven commandments instead of ten? Listen to what Jesus says in John 13:34-35 NKJV “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. (35) By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
What if Jesus' love grew cold and was fleeting? If this were the case, many Christians would be just like Him. If this were the case, then He would not have loved us to the point of death on the cross. If this were the case, we would all still be lost in our sins and without hope – doomed for eternal damnation! But HALLELUJAH Jesus' was, is and always will be steadfast in love towards His own.
When our love grows cold we become more unlike Jesus. Listen as Dr. Whitney shares about a love that grows cold:
We lose patience easily, whereas the Bible tells us “love suffers long”. Unkindness becomes common, yet “love is kind.” We become sinfully envious of the advantages and privileges of others, perhaps even of those within our own family; conversely, “love does not envy.” When challenged about our lack of love, we quickly and quite confidently list all the sacrifices and other proofs of our love, and yet “love does not parade itself, is not puffed up.” As our hearts harden against love, we become less courteous, especially to those closest to us, in contrast to love which “does not behave rudely”. We begin to consider ourselves and our “rights” as more important than others and their needs, whereas love “does not seek its own.” When love is in decline we are more easily angered, but love “is not provoked.” A lack of love is often faultfinding, and it mentally keeps score of offenses, but love “thinks no evil.”
Donald Whitney goes on to say:
Love's decline may also be typified by unconcern for the lost. We become less sensitive to the physical needs of people and less burdened by others' spiritual needs. A declining love acts but is not “without hypocrisy”. Love's decline is not “given to hospitality”. It is too indifferent to “rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep”. Perhaps worst of all, it is apathetic about the rise of things in the heart and life that are contrary to love. – The only person who loved without fail was Jesus Christ.
When our love excels we become more like Jesus. Thomas Oord writes:
Some of the most common expressions of love are actions such as forgiving, offering words of encouragement, donating time or money, displaying self-control, showing humility, showing trust, showing respect, showing compassion, telling the truth, being patient, liberating the captive and oppressed, and being kind.
More specific, writing a conciliatory letter to an offended friend, sending money to a relief organization so that underprivileged children might be fed and educated, serving in one's community, etc....
Donald Whitney writes: “Those who are growing in love will demonstrate it in at least three areas.” According to him these areas are:
love for other Christians
love for the lost
love for your family
While I agree with him, I believe a fourth and most important one needs to be added and I'm sure that Dr. Whitney would be in agreement:
love for God
It is God's love for us that fuels our love for Him; and, it is His love within us that fuels our love for others.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”
1 John 4:19 NASB “We love, because He first loved us.”
Is your love God the Father growing?
He is the One who planned our salvation in Christ.
He is the One who sent His only Son to die for our sins and set us free.
Is your love Jesus,God the Son, growing?
He is the One who became man and dwelt among us.
Jesus is the One who gave His life on the cross willingly and purposefully for us.
He's the One who shed His blood for us.
He's the One who was tempted as we are, yet without sin.
He is the One preparing a dwelling place for us in eternity.
He is the way, the truth, and the life.
Is your love the Holy Spirit growing?
He is the One who is here with us now in His special presence.
He is the One who dwells in us.
He is the One who counsels us, teaches us, comforts us, and empowers us.
He is the One we are told to fellowship with until Jesus comes again in all His glory.
He is the One who sanctifies us.
The Bible tells us that God is love. It is love that is at the core of who God is. There is mutual love between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Love is the abiding bond which unifies the three relational persons of the trinity into One Being – One God – Yahweh – Jehovah – the great I AM.
But listen, there's more to it: 1 John 4:16 “God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.”
So let me ask again: “Are you more loving?”
Is your love for other Christians growing?
1 John 3:14 “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren.”
Love for other Christians should be very evident in a person's life who is abiding in Christ. If you are abiding in Christ, you will love His people. As you love His people, you are loving Him. Listen to Jesus:
Read Matthew 25:34-46
I say again: as you love the followers of Christ, as you purposefully respond to promote the well-being of others – you are loving Him!!!
Do you love your family more?
Children of all ages, do you love your parents more?
Parents, do you love your children more?
Do you love your siblings more?
Husbands, do you love your wives more?
Wives, do you love your husbands more?
Home should be a place of rest and safety. Home should be saturated with love. Not only a love of purposeful response for the best interest of another, but also love that is tender affection. Home should be a place of embracing and encouraging, listening and talking, teaching and learning. Is your home becoming sweeter as the days progress? Or is it like many in the world, becoming bitter and draining? Is your home bonding or splitting?
The devil especially targets families because he knows that families make up the core units of any given society. The devil has many tools that he seeks to use in hopes of redirecting the love and attention of family members: addictions of many kinds, work-a-holism, unhealthy internet/television/music, inordinate friendships or relationships, etc.... Resist the devil steadfast in the faith by declaring as Joshua: “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!” (Joshua 24:15)
Families consists of individuals in relation. Let love be the glue that unites. There are times that love compels to speak and there are times that love compels to be silent. Love always compels to listen. James 1:19 “Be swift to listen and slow to speak, slow to wrath.” Let love be at the core of your family and the only way this can happen is if God is your core. Forgive each other and love one another. Spend quality time with your family conversing with one another about God. Read a portion of Scripture together every day. Pray for one another. Spend time with God alone and as a family.
Do you have a growing love for the lost, the unsaved, those currently not in Christ?
I recently had a conversation with another pastor on evangelism. I shared that my evangelism isn't primarily driven by fear of the torturing flames of hell. I told him that I do believe in a literal eternal hell; I believe in the infinite justice of God towards those who reject Christ; I believe hell exists as the eternal realm in the presence of God's pure justice.
My evangelism is primarily driven by God's love rather than His wrath. In saying this, I am not down playing the importance of unbelievers being made aware of God's eternal wrath. “Primary” is the key word in my statement. My primary concern isn't so much that a person save their hide from the flames of hell as it is that they delight themselves in the abundant life-giving love of God through Jesus Christ His Son. I do not believe that God saves a person just so they can narrowly escape hell; but I believe He saves people so that we can have a deep and intimate walk with Him. We are saved to no longer be alienated. We are saved by deep love rather than shallow concern. In other words, God's primary purpose in saving us is so that we can now walk in love with Him and others. His primary purpose was not to save us from His wrath – this is a result but not the primary purpose. Any selfish person will say a prayer and make a mental assent to Jesus just to save their hide from the pains of hell if they think they can go on living in sin as usual! Jesus never presented His gospel in such a diluted way! Listen to Jesus:
Read Luke 18:18-24
Listen: there are some today who would seek to correct Jesus' treatment of the rich ruler. Jesus' ministry was driven by deep love. Jesus desired those who follow Him to follow Him with all their heart. He warns in other places that a person cannot serve God and pursue riches (mammon) at the same time.
( A brief comment: Even the thief on the cross confessed his guilt, repented, defended Jesus innocence against the mockery of the other thief, and then exercised genuine faith in Jesus as Lord by requesting for Jesus to remember him in His kingdom. The one thief on the cross surrendered to Jesus and was given great hope by Christ Himself of being with Him in Paradise. – salvation is to know God and be with Him now and forever relationally. )
I desire to win people to Christ so that they too can become lifelong devoted followers of Christ. So that they too can seek to walk as He walked. So that they too may have close and growing fellowship with the Divine lover of our souls. I desire people to come to Christ and abide in Him so that my and their joy may be full as we love one another in the ways of God. Apart from Christ – it is hell. In Christ – it is faith, hope, and love; the greatest of these is love.
Do you love God more?
Do you love other Christians more?
Do you love the lost more?
Are you more loving?
Let me conclude by quoting the ideas that Donald Whitney offers in cultivating love:
Meditate on love as the most important distinguishing mark of a Christian.
Let your heart be often warmed by the fire of God's love.
Discover assurance that God is your Father by loving as He loves.
Delight in imitating God.
Ephesians 5:1-2 NKJV Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. (2) And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.
Identify those relationships where you most need to grow in love. Whitney continues:
Does your family come to mind first? How about someone with whom you work? A neighbor? A church member?
Target specific people as you grow in love, not just everyone in general. In particular, who would know that your love is more Christlike, and how would they know? Once these faces are in your mind, …
Take the initiative in showing love, especially where you have little or no expectation of love in return. Again, Whitney continues:
Let your delight in imitating God be enough, regardless of the response your loving initiatives receive. Isn't that what Jesus did? Aren't you [listening to] this because you want to grow more like Him?
Invitation
Prayer
