Series: 1 John
Week: 21
Passage: 1 John 4:19-21
Title: Three Truths about God’s Love that Move us to Love Others
Focus: Loving Others
INTRODUCTION: Take a moment and think about what you do in the week. Now think about why you do those things. What is the reason in which you are doing the things you do? Have you ever thought about this?
SCRIPTURE: “We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother.” 1 John 4:19-21
This morning we let John answer the question: why do we love others?
TITLE: Three Truths about God’s Love that Move us to Love Others
POINT #1: God’s Love Inspires Us to Love (1 John 4:19 – The Foundation/Reason)
• Explanation: John states “we love because he first loved us.” (4:19). John aspiration is that we as Christians would come to understand that God’s love motivates or drives us to love others. His love is the momentum and foundation we need for service.
o QUESTION: Name one thing you do in the week because of God’s love for you?
• If we want to know God better then we must understand that ALL we do is done because of His love for us. He is the ONLY one who makes everything possible!
o 3 Ways to Get Motivated
• Draw Near to God/Worship: To serve God better there must be a longing to draw near to God, to worship Him.
• Hebrews 10:22 “Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith.”
• James 4:8 “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts.”
o Immerse yourself in that which is of God!
• Might be worth describing “worship” here. I think we are still at a place where many of our people would say this is singing. A mention of serving, giving, practicing spiritual disciplines, etc could be good for our people.
• Align Yourself Under the Lord: Often times we do not like what we do. Our jobs are demanding and stressful. The people we work with are draining, etc. etc. If we align ourselves under the Lord we can change our perspective of whom we ultimately work for.
• Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.”
• Colossians 4:1 “Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.”
o The self does not advance, God’s kingdom advances!
• Eliminate the World: What are you holding on to that is keeping you away from experiencing the joy of the Lord? What is God asking you to release so that you can engage Christ more?
• 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."
• Illustration: "I'm so depressed and I can't get any dates," the out of shape and overweight man told his minister. "I've tried everything to lose weight." "I think I can help," said the minister. "Be dressed and ready to go tomorrow at 8 a.m.” Next morning, a beautiful woman knocked on the man's door. "If you can catch me, you can have me," she said, as she took off. He huffed and puffed after her. This routine went on every day for the next five months. The man lost many pounds and felt confident that he would catch the woman the next day. That morning he whipped open his front door and found a out of shape and overweight woman in a jogging suit waiting for him. "The minister said to tell you," she began, "that if I can catch you, I can have you."
• Application: The moral of the story is that we all have something that motivates us to do what needs to be done so that the end result will be a product that is worthy to be seen. God gives us all the motivation we need to prepare ourselves for an eternity with Him. Remember…
o God will never leave us:
• “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.” Deuteronomy 31:6
• He has promised to provide for us in ALL things!
o God will always love us:
• “I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 8:38-39
• He FIRST loved us! This is our motivation for loving others!
POINT #2: God’s Love is a Demonstration for us to Love (1 John 4:20 – Motivation/Testing)
• Explanation: John continues, “We love because he first loved us. 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.” (4:19-20). John is showing the believers that the ability to demonstrate God’s love to others has already been demonstrated for us.
o How do you demonstrate God’s love? I’ll give you five ways.
• Stay Through Tough Times.
• “Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away. – Proverbs 27:10b
• Find Common Ground.
• “When I am with those who are weak, I share their weakness, for I want to bring the weak to Christ. Yes, I try to find common ground with everyone, doing everything I can to save some.” 1 Corinthians 9:22
• Reach Beyond your Comfort Zone.
• "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.” Luke 9:23
• Offer Encouraging Words
• “A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.” Proverbs 25:11
• Put Others Needs Above Your Own
• "There is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." Proverbs 18:24
• “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." II Thessalonians 3:9-10
• Illustration: Tomas a’ Kempis “Whoever loves much, does much”
• Application: God demonstrated His love for us so that we could demonstrate God’s love for others. John says, “We 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 and it our motivation to love others.
o How can we not demonstrate love to others?
• Let God’s love be seen!
POINT #3: God’s Love is the Ultimate Movement for us to Love (1 John 4:21 – The Call from God)
• Explanation: John lastly tells us “We love because he first loved us. 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. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.” (1 John 4:19-21) John says that if we start down this path we are launching a movement that will ultimately advance something greater than ourselves.
• Illustration: The great Billy Sunday was once asked "Why do you keep having revivals when it doesn't last?" He asked back, "Why do you keep taking baths?"
• Application: While we are in the movement of showing God’s love we may be getting to a point where we feel as if nothing is happening. However, we must take note that in our demonstration of love God is glorified. God used people so that we would see Him (parents, teachers, pastors, etc.) now we must turn and do the same. We must continue to show it to others so that Christ will be made known near and far!
o Start showing Christ’s love today!
CONCLUSION:
1. Know God’s Love is the foundation we need to be inspired to love others. It is possible if we are willing to be motivated.
2. Demonstrate God’s love in real, applicable, tangible ways.
3. Know that when these happen it may not feel like God is moving but He is! Say the course!!
