Children have very simple views of life… and of love. The following are children’s views on the topic of love.
A 7 year old said – “If falling love is anything like learning how to spell, I don’t want to do it. It takes too long.”
A 5 year old boy – “Once I’m in kindergarten, I’m going to find me a wife.”
David, age 8 stated – “Love will find you, even if you are trying to hide from it. I’ve been trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me.”
An 8 year old observed – “I think you’re supposed to get shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn’t supposed to be so painful.”
Another: “Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other.”
And my favorite: “When someone loves you, the way they say your name is different. You know that your name is safe in their mouth.”
Today is February 14th, and we’re going to talk about LOVE. In this case, we’re going to talking about the love that Christ has for us.
In John 17 is the longest recorded prayer of Jesus in any of the Gospels. And a lot scholars call this prayer: Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer, because in this prayer Jesus is interceding for His church just like a High Priest in the Old Testament would have interceded for God’s people. Now, that’s nice - but it sounds a little sterile for my taste. You see, I don’t sense that Jesus is praying like He’s some kind of religious official I sense that He’s praying just like a Husband would pray for the woman he loves. I sense a passion and a depth of emotion.
In Ephesians 5:25, Paul tells husbands to “love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her.” Did you catch that? Christ loves the church! That’s His Bride. He gave Himself up for her!! It’s a passionate love… a sacrificial love. And so I don’t picture Jesus droning on a dutiful priest. I picture Jesus pouring His whole heart into these words. BECAUSE THIS PRAYER IS IMPORTANT!
But now, what’s so important about this prayer? Why would Jesus bother to pray the things - He prays here to the Father? Well we need to remember that just a few days after His prayer, Jesus is going to die on the cross. He’s going to buried in a tomb, and 3 days later He’s going to rise from the dead. And 40 days after that, He’s going to go UP into heaven, and He’ll not come back until the end of the age.
Jesus is going to be (pause) gone (pause) and the church will be pretty much in the hands of His followers. And when that happens there were going to be dangers to be faced, because He’s not going to be there in the flesh any longer. And so in the vital prayer - just days before His crucifixion - Jesus was praying for the Father to protect the church from those dangers
The 1 of those dangers, is our arch-enemy - someone called evil one or Satan. Jesus prayed: “I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one.” John 17:15
We have an enemy… and he doesn’t like us. In fact, he intends to destroy us. Revelation 12:17 described it this way: “the dragon (Satan) became furious with the woman (the Church) and went off to MAKE WAR on the rest of her offspring (Christians), on those who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” (see footnote)
Satan’s intention is to take us out. It’s nothing personal… he just hates God, and he hates God so much that he has made it his personal agenda to destroy US because we’re precious to God. We’re LOVED by Jesus. Jesus died for us, so we could belong to Him and so we could be saved. And Satan figures that if can take us out, he can hurt Jesus. And that would satisfy his desire for vengeance against God.
Now understand… Satan is real. But not everyone believes that. Several years ago, the New York Times reported on a survey where Americans were asked if they agreed or disagreed with the statement: “Satan is not a living being, but just a symbol of evil.” Two-thirds of those questioned agreed with that statement.
But NO! Satan is not “a symbol of evil.” He’s quite real, and he is a formidable adversary. There’s an old saying that declares “KNOW YOUR ENEMY! (derived from Sun Tzu's The Art of War). Know your enemy’s tactics and know his objectives, because if you don’t know your enemy… you become an easy target and he will take you down!
That’s why Peter warned us: “Be sober-minded; be watchful. YOUR ADVERSARY THE DEVIL prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” 1 Peter 5:8
And Paul warned us: “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the SCHEMES OF THE DEVIL. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the SPIRITUAL FORCES OF EVIL in the heavenly places.” Ephesians 6:11-12
So we need to remember that Satan IS real, and we need to know that he is a formidable opponent. But here’s the deal - Satan can’t touch you IF you stay close to God. In I John 5:18 we’re told “We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.” As long as you and I stay close to God… Satan can NOT touch us!!!!
So, the 1st focus of Jesus’ prayer was that the Father keep us close to Him, and safe from the Evil One!
The 2nd focus of His prayer was that we would be sanctified by His Truth. “Sanctify them in the truth; YOUR WORD is truth.” John 17:17
Now, why is that important? Well, Jesus told us that “When (Satan) lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) Thus, one of the most important things that can protect us from Satan… is Scripture. Scripture is truth and Satan is a liar! Its our best weapon against his tactics.
ILLUS: Do you remember the time that Satan tried to tempt Jesus in wilderness? Satan tried 3 different temptations on Jesus – but none of which worked. Every time Satan tried to tempt Him, Jesus responded by repeating the same 3 words: “It Is Written…” Written??? Written where? Written in the Bible! Jesus told Satan “It is written ‘Man shall not live by bread alone.’” “It is written: ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” “It is written: ‘You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you worship.”
IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN! IT IS WRITTEN!
Satan wanted to get Jesus into a theological debate, but Jesus wasn’t going there. All Jesus had to do was quote Scripture, and the argument was over. And do you know why? Because when you quote Scripture… you’re quoting God. You can’t get a higher authority than God. God said “For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but IT SHALL ACCOMPLISH THAT WHICH I PURPOSE, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:10-11) No matter how clever any man or woman may have been throughout history, none of them have uttered words that have the power to do what God’s Words can do.
God’s Word is TRUTH… and it is powerful. That’s why Hebrews tells us “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12
ILLUS: I recently read an article recently where the author started out by saying “A simple reading of the Bible here is that (such and such a miracle) occurred. But…” And then he went on to explain why the plain reading of Scripture was wrong. In essence he was saying – “I know that’s what the Bible SAYS, it just that that’s NOT what it means.”
Satan’s been using that tactic for centuries. When he tempted Eve in the garden Satan said: “Did God REALLY say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” And then he went on to twist the truth and convince her she was wrong – and implied that God had lied to her.
Now, if Eve had simply said: “The Bible Says It. I Believe It. And That Settles It” she’d have been OK. But she abandoned God’s truth for Satan’s lies. Don’t let Satan do that to you! CLING TO GOD’S WORD!!!!
Now, the last focus of Jesus’ prayer of love for you was this: “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.” John 17:20-21
Jesus prayed that we would be unified: One church, with one message, and one Savior. Or as Ephesians says:
“One Lord, One Faith, One Baptism, One God and Father of all.” Ephesians 4:5-6
Satan’s objective is to destroy our unity - to divide us - because he knows that a unified church is his worst nightmare. I saw this meme on Facebook this week and it sums this up well: (it showed a snake surrounded by a huge flock of large birds - with the phrase) “When the church is in unity… the devil doesn’t stand a chance of victory.” Satan knows that he can’t do damage to a church that’s unified, so his objective is to create division in the body of Christ.
Now, lots of folks think about this as a prayer about unity should be all about unity between ALL churches EVERYWHERE. And that’s noble objective… it’s just that I’m pretty sure that’s not gonna happen. The early church split 3 years after Jesus rose from the dead. There was a conflict over whether the Gentiles should be circumcised to be saved. And even though God said circumcision was no longer required, a group of Jewish believers went about trying to divide the church. And down thru the ages, there have been repeated divisions in the church until now (just in the US) there are over 1500 recognized denominations.
Now, I’ve got nothing against trying to unify all these different denominations under the Lordship of Christ - I just don’t hold out too much hope in my lifetime.
ILLUS: But – that said - I’ve seen individual congregations that have a hard time keeping it together. The story is told of the poor church in Tennessee back in the early 1900s that had had a terrible split – but neither side could afford to leave and build their own church building. So, both groups still continued to worship in the same building but would have nothing to do with each other. They say that the building was heated by coal, and there was a storage building out back that sheltered the coal. Someone apparently posted this sign over the building: “One Lord, One Faith, Two Coal Piles.”
Now I’m not sure I know how to undo all the divisiveness in all the different churches in world. But you and I CAN DO what’s necessary to make sure there’s no divisiveness here in this congregation (and there hasn’t been any for over 25 years because we cling to the following principles).
I know the secret for why there has been unity in this congregation for so long. It’s because we have a motto in our brotherhood we take very seriously: “No Creed but Christ, no Book but the Bible, and No Law but Love.”
1. No Creed but Christ – Our total belief hinges on the fact that Jesus is Lord. He’s bought us and owns us. This is NOT our church (not the Elders/Preacher/staff) it belongs to Him. And we (you and I) are responsible to Christ to make sure we do things here that honor Him.
2. No book but the Bible – We are unified behind the idea that “Where the Bible Speaks we speak… where the Bible is silent we’re silent.” Why is that important? Because the Bible is GOD’S WORD, and it is THE truth. And we will not allow any human teaching to undermine that.
3. No Law But Love – This is the tough one, because people get upset with one another once in awhile (that’s why there are so many church splits everywhere). The reason that church had two coal piles was because somebody forgot that we need to love one another.Jesus said: “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.” (John 13:34) That’s such an important commandment, it’s REPEATED several times in the New Testament. James 2:8 says it is “the royal law of the kingdom.” But what’s that mean? It means that if you’re upset with a brother/sister – you go make it right.
Did you realize most churches don’t split over theology? More often congregations are torn apart because of conflicts between members… and those conflicts can escalate because other members take sides. When such evil behavior takes place – Satan wins. That’s why Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount that if you’re bringing your gift to God, and there remember that a brother has anything against you… don’t bother with the gift. God won’t want it. Leave the gift and go make things right with your brother THEN you can give God your gift. Otherwise, God’s not interested.
CLOSE: I once heard the story of a young man named “Frank” (names have been changed) who was so much wanted to become a preacher that his home church sent him to Bible College. When he completed his studies, he returned to his home church with an attitude of “I know everything” and he promptly was upset with the preaching of “Harry” who preached there. He became antagonistic and even confronted the preacher about his disgust with the way Harry was running things.
In time, Frank got a church 2 states away, and settled into his ministry with excitement. But then he began to find people who were treating him the way he’d treated Harry years before. The more he encountered this mistreatment, the more convicted he was by his behavior towards that previous preacher.
Then, one day, Frank heard that Harry had been hospitalized back home… and he knew what he had to do. He got in his car and drove that great distance back to his hometown and went directly to the hospital. He found Harry’s room, entered and visited with the old preacher for awhile. And then he asked if he could pray for the man. Literally in tears, Frank laid his hands on Harry and prayed for him, and then he begged for Harry’s forgiveness for his behavior years before. Harry smiled and said “It’s OK. I forgave you long ago.” And Frank returned home a different man.
That’s what “Loving One Another” looks like. A willingness to humble ourselves with people we’ve mistreated. And that willingness will do more to defeat Satan than even the most profound theology.
INVITATION
Footnote on the Revelation 12 reference: I actually simplified the terminology there for the "woman" being the church. The best connection (that I'm aware of) for that prophecy about Satan's attack on the woman's children is found in Galatians 4:24-26 which says "these women are two covenants. One is from Mount Sinai, bearing children for slavery; she is Hagar. Now Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia; she corresponds to the present Jerusalem, for she is in slavery with her children. But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother."
The woman in the Revelation 12 passage is not only spoken of as existing before the crucifixion (the "present Jerusalem") but also as following the Resurrection, whose children "hold to the testimony of Jesus" (the Jerusalem which is above, which is our mother).
