A friend asked him why he went so far when there were plenty of other churches near his home.
He said, “I attend my church because they love a fellow over there.”
If only we could convince the world that we loved them there would be fewer empty pews in our churches.
A TRUE DEFINITION OF LOVE. Too many people believe and sometimes teach that love is a feeling or emotion. Yes, feelings and emotions are involved in love but the greatest part of love is action oriented.
Love is a verb (what you do) more than a noun (a feeling).
Many marriages, even among Christians, are failing because they value feelings over actions.
A counselor said, I have counseled many couples who say that they don’t feel the love that they once did for their mate. They fell “out of love” but there is really no falling out of or falling into love.
We can fall out of bed or fall in the bathtub but typically we grow to love someone over time. This love for another grows from what we see them do for us and for others.
Now, imagine if Christ, just before the cross, went to the garden and thought; I hate this feeling, I don’t feel like doing this, therefore I will base my decision upon what I feel. If that had happened, we’d all be hopelessly doomed to hell.
The good news, of course, is that Jesus resisted and fought back His feelings and even though He prayed three times to have the cup removed, He was more interested in doing the will of the Father than what He felt like doing…thankfully.
Jesus displayed His love by willingly going to the cross and dying for sinners and those of us who were still His enemies and desperately wicked (Rom 5:8, 10).
Love is not dependent upon feelings and emotions because feelings are one of the shallowest and most unreliable of all human emotions. Instead, we must emphasize that love is a choice more than a feeling because feelings are subjective while love is objectively displayed in actions.
The bottom line is that love is what a person chooses to do, not what a person chooses to feel. God so loved the world because He felt like it? Yes, He does love us but that love required action and that included the supreme sacrifice of His only Son’s life. That was the ultimate love in action.
Now this same love we are to love as He loved.
In this sermon I want to preach from I John 4 about this love God wants the church to have.
First, let’s look at…
I. THE CHARGE OF LOVE
1 John 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is begotten of God, and knoweth God.
When it comes to love we all know…
(1)Some people who are difficult to love.
That is, it is easier to love a SKUNK than to love some people.
Life is full of people who rub us the wrong way. Whether it's within our family, workplace, church, or community they make it hard to love them.
I gurantee you each of us know someone(s) like that…don’t you!
Some people make it very difficult to love them.
Also…
(2)Sometime love is misunderstood.
That is, some in raising their children out of love their children think they are mean and cruel.
Illus: Have you ever heard a parent say to their child…
• “You’re my child and you will....whether you want to or not.”
• “You are going to school like it or not!”
• “You will clean your plate or else you’ll go to bed hungry?”
Parents out of love do what is best for their children but children mis-understand this love.
Illus. Here are some examples of seeing love through the eyes of a child:
• Little girl named Darla prayed, Dear God, Did you really mean ‘do unto others as they do unto you,’ because if you did, then I’m going to fix my brother Tommy.
• Little boy named Andy prayed, Dear God, I bet it is very hard for you to love everybody in the world. There are only four people in our family and half the time I can not stand all four of them.
Now some people are not hard to love. Makes me think of the woman that wrote a love letter to her ex-husband named Jimmy.
She wrote…
Illus: “Dearest Jimmy,
No words could ever express the great unhappiness I’ve felt since breaking our engagement. Please say you’ll take me back. No one could ever take your place in my heart, so please forgive me. I love you. I love you. I love you!
Yours forever, Marie
“P.S. And congratulations on winning the 10 million dollar lottery.”
But God knows that love is:
• Mist-understood
• Some people are difficult to love
But nevertheless He tells us in John 13:34-35 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."
What makes this new command so difficult is because He said our love for others we are to love them AS I HAVE LOVED YOU.
The Lord Jesus became the example of how we are suppose to love others.
Illus: When Benjamin Franklin wished to interest the people of Philadelphia in street lighting, he didn’t try to persuade them by talking about it—instead, he hung a beautiful lantern on a long bracket before his own door. Then he kept the glass brightly polished, and carefully hung it at the approach of dusk.
People wandering about on the dark street saw Franklin’s light a long way off and came under the influence of its friendly glow with grateful hearts. To each one it seemed to say; “Come along, my friend! Here is a safe place to walk. See that cobblestone sticking out? Don’t stumble over it! I shall be here to help you again tomorrow night, if you should come this way.”
It wasn’t long before Franklin’s neighbors began placing lights in brackets before their homes and soon the entire city awoke to the value of street lighting and took up the matter with interest and enthusiasm.
He was an example to his neighborhood.
The Lord is an example to us in how we are suppose to love others as He loved others.
For example, we parents are an example to our children how they should live their lives.
Illus: A study once disclosed that if both Mom and Dad attend church regularly, 72% of their children remain faithful attending church.
• If only Dad attended, only 55% remain faithful.
• If only Mom attended, only 15% remain faithful
• If neither attended regularly, only 6% remain faithful.
Teaching by example is the strongest method of teaching.
Most of us are what we are today because of our parents’ example.
Most likely, if parents are loving then there is a very good possibility that their children will also be loving.
Now if you were to say to your child, “Do as I say, not as I do,” you might not get any action out of them.
But Jesus said, “As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
I doubt seriously we will ever love exactly like Jesus, but when we demonstrate love to others we are walking in His steps.
We need to learn to love as He love people.
The Bible tells us in Acts 10:39 “JESUS WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD.”
He did not go about life each day making life miserable for people
We can go about doing good each day by:
Learn to smile at total strangers and greet them.
(1) Learn to open doors for the elderly and dis-abled!
Illus: I love that commercial on television where a bus is crowded and people are having to stand up holding on to the holding rail as the bus is moving along.
And this young man looks up and see this elderly woman standing and he get up and give his seat to her.
Love can do some powerful things in any society.
Illus: Dr. Odell Belger and his wife went to a grand parent breakfast with their grand daughter.
There were several hundred of grand parents there with their grand children.
As Dr. Belger watched his little grand daughter to see how she would conduct herself with other children since this was her first year in Kindergarten with other children he was so pleased to see her on a number of occasion walk up to other children, hold their hand or give them a hug!
And he watched these children being greeted by his grand daughter he saw FROWNS TURN INTO SMILES.
WHAT IS THAT OLD SAYING…Smile and the whole world will smile with you.
Illus: Did you know that you can put your arm in a sling and leave it there for a long period of time and it will freeze up on you and become useless!
Some folks have went so long with out smiling the muscles in their face seem to be frozen.
Illus: A preacher goes into his favorite restaurant. When he goes there he ask for a certain waitress to wait on him. Why? He noticed from previous visits this waitress walks around with a glowing smile on her face. She has the prettiest smile on her face and it stands out so much that customers can not help but notice her.
One day this preacher said to her, I want ask you something, where did you get that pretty smile?
Her smile seem to get even bigger when he asked her where she got that big pretty smile and she said, FROM MY MOMMA!
What an excellent example this mother has given to this young lady. That smile on her face will accomplish many things for that young lady.
Illus: A little girl was sitting in a church service. She whispered to her mother and said, “Mom, what is a Christian?” The mom asked her to be quiet she would talk to her later. After some period of time pondering the question she started look at one of the stained glass windows in the church the church auditorium. She was looking at a picture of Jesus in one of the stained glass windows when the sun began to shine through it and she whispered, “Mom, I know what a Christian is, a Christian is a person who will let the light of Jesus shine through them!!!
The Lord Jesus is our example, He tells us we are to LOVE AS HE LOVE.
We have looked at THE CHARGE OF LOVE ONE ANOTHER now let us look at…
II. THE CREATOR OF LOVE
I want you to listen carefully, I am fixing to read a scripture that IS SHOCKING!!!
1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
When it comes to loving others God said, He that loveth not knoweth not God
The proof of our salvation is that we are full of the love of God!!!
Why? BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE!!!
For example, IF GOD IS IN YOUR HEART AND GOD IS LOVE THAN WE WILL LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
• 1 John 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
•
• John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Listen, you can go in churches all over this nation and you will find folks who profess to be full of the Love of God but they are full of hate.
You do not have to do much to get some folks to hate you. Sometime you do not have to do anything because they are full of hate and they looking for someone to hate!
But God’s Word teaches clearly IF YOU LOVE GOD WHO IS LOVE, YOU WILL HAVE THE LOVE OF GOD IN YOUR HEART FOR OTHERS
The only place you can get this love is from God because GOD IS LOVE!!!
Illus: Have you ever bought something from some company and they had the franchise on that product.
That is, if you were ever going to get that product you had to get it from them.
Any love we get will have to come from God because the Bible tells us that GOD IS LOVE!!!
Now some do not know what genuine love is.
Illus: A young man said to his father at breakfast one morning,:
• “Dad, I’m going to get married.”
• “How do you know you’re ready to get married?” his father asked. “Are you in love?”
• “I sure am,” said the son.
• “How do you know you’re in love?” asked his father.
• “Last night as I was kissing my girlfriend good-night, her dog bit me and I didn’t feel the pain until I got home.”
• The father said, SON, THAT IS NOT LOVE, THAT WHAT YOU CALL “PUPPY LOVE”?
There are three kinds of love in the greek.
(1) EROS - This is a sexually arousing love. Many divorces take place each year in this country because people make the decision to get married based on this kind of love. They have not learned that this kind of love will not keep a home together.
(2) PHILEO - This is a brother/friend love. Remember the city of Philadelphia. Translated, this means the city of brotherly love. This is a good kind of love, and we all would be in bad shape if we did not have it.
(3) AGAPE - This is the kind of love that God has for us. It is the purest kind of love. It is a love that gives, and keeps on giving, expecting nothing in return.
When the Lord tells us we are to love as He love He is talking about Agape love.
It is the kind of unconditional love that is never based on how someone looks or what they can do for you. It is a unconditional love.
Illus.- Mark Guy Pearse used to tell of the time he overheard one of his children admonishing the other, “You must be good or Father won’t love you.”
• Calling the boy to him he said, “Son, that isn’t really true.”
• The boy asked, “But you won’t love us if we are bad, will you?
• “Yes, I will love you whether you are good or bad,” Pearse explained.
• “But there will be a difference in my love. When you are good I will love you with a love that makes me glad; and when you are not good I will love you with a love that hurts me.”
When we have this god of love in our hearts it will be reflected in our life that we love as He loves.
We have looked
I THE CHARGE OF LOVE
II THE CREATOR OF LOVE
Now let us look at…
III. THE CROWN OF LOVE
The lost world tells us the greatest love story is:
• History tells us that Cleopatra and Mark Antony was the greatest love story.
• Elizabeth Barrett Browning and Robert Browning tells us they were the greatest love story.
• Hollywood tells us Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward was the greatest love story.
But all of these are wrong, they do not come close to the Love that God has for us.
Illus: I have nothing but admiration for these missionaries that love lost souls so much they are willing to:
• Leave their parents, brothers and sister to go to a land thousands of miles away.
• Leave the luxury of living in the greatest nation on the face of the earth to live in something far worst.
• Leave a land where they could have made lot of money to live on what people will send them.
Yes, I have nothing but admiration for these missionaries!
But let me tell you something far great than their love.
• The Lord Jesus left His heavenly father and the angels to come and live among mankind.
• The Lord Jesus left the beauty of heaven to live among us.
• No one has left so much to do what He did…WHAT DID HE DO?
He came among us and he was hated and despised. Why?
Because He loved us and knew if we did not have such love to do what he did we all would be doomed for eternity.
Illus. Some years ago, a German scientist counted the hairs on different human heads. He found that they vary in number, depending seemingly on color. Thus, there are more on:
• On a head with black hair than red,
• On brown than black,
• On blonde head than brown.
But it does not matter what color your hair is, color of your skin, short or tall HE LOVES YOU!
Conclusion:
Illus: Aleida Huissen, 78, of Rotterdam, Netherlands, has been smoking for 50 years. And for 50 years she has been trying to give up her harmful habit. But she has not been successful—that is, until recently.
She has now given up cigarettes, cigars, and pipes. The secret? Leo Jansen, 79, proposed marriage last year, but refused to go through with the wedding until Aleida gave up smoking.
Says Aleida now: “Will power never was enough to get me off the tobacco habit. But love did it.”
It is no question:
God love you!
Do you love God and love others like He does.
When it comes to how we are to love, we have looked at…
I. THE CHARGE OF LOVE
II. THE CREATOR OF LOVE
III. THE CROWN OF LOVE
Song: The old time religions makes me love everybody!
