Let me ask you a question today: “Was Hitler a believer?” The answer is simple. Yes, but a believer in what?
He was a believer in a godless society. He believed in evolution and the natural selection teaching of Charles Darwin. He was a believer in superiority; race superiority. He preached it. Lived it. Believed it.
This was evidenced in how he saw people, treated people, and accepted or disposed of people; his hatred led to the Holocaust.
It is interesting to read his philosophy of life. He wrote this: “Nature is cruel; therefore we too can be cruel.” -- Adolf Hitler
Hatred is synonymous of the name of Adolf Hitler. It is also synonymous to the name Satan.
Yet, God’s name is just the opposite. The Bible says: “God is love.” I John 4:7 According to Jesus, the greatest commandment is to love; to love God and love others. Matthew 22: 34-40.
I John 4:8 says: “Whoever does not loved does not know God, because God is love.”
Transition:
The cry of the human heart regardless of ones culture, language, or background is to be loved.
As we look into the window of God’s Word, to the writings of the gospels, we see Jesus this man who would give and give an give when it came to showing the love of God to us.
The Bible says: “We love Him because He first loved us.” I John 4:19
In verse 1 we read: “Let the love of the brethren continue.” Where did it originate? It originated with Jesus.
His love ignites our love. His Spirit moves our spirit and leads us to loving one another and others. The Greatest Man that every lived gives us gives us the greatest love to share.
The word “continue” means to continually “keep on lodging”--“Keep on dwelling in and through us”- to “Keep on lodging among us.”
The mandate is for Jesus’ love to be consistent in our lives.
Transitional Sentence: How do we show Jesus’ love to others?
I. We Start With Strangers
vs. 2- “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by some have entertained angels without knowing it.”
Introduction:
The writer calls and commissions every Christian to show and share Christ’s love with everyone and to start with strangers.
It is easy for us to care about ourselves, our own families, and our own friends but true love takes another step- a step outside our concentric circles and to step up and show love and kindness to strangers.
In the ancient world hospitality was seen in providing for the needs of others. Before there were motels and hotels; Godly men of old would go to the city gates as the sun sat and search for strangers would needed a place to lodge for the night.
Hospitality in the New Testament is actually a requirement for Pastors, overseers, and church leaders. I Timothy 3:2 as we read: “So and elder must be a man whose life is above reproach. He must be faithful to his wife. He must exercise self-control, live wisely, and have a good reputation. He must enjoy having guests in his home, and he must be able to teach.”
In Genesis 18 Abraham provided hospitality to three strangers and one of them was God!!!
In verse 2 we are told that God has dispatched angels that appear to be strangers among us who in reality are angels. They come to us looking like an ordinary Joe-- but in reality are on a mission for Jesus.
You might ask: Do you really believe this? The answer is easy. The Bible says its true so it obviously is the truth.
Jesus actually affirmed this saying that people will meet Him in judgment as say: “And when did you see a stranger and invite you in or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick, or in prison, and come to you? And the King will answer and say to them, Truly I say to you, to the extent you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:38
Whether it is an angel or a brother, the bottom line is; God was present. He is watching. He is involved and aware of our character and behavior. He is watching us and aware of every time an ounce of His love is being transferred to the individuals around us.
Illustration: Lord Shaftebury- Actions not appearance
Across the pond in England, in the late 18th and early 19th century was a man named Anthony Cooper. He was a philosopher and became an enormous influence and today his works have seen a significant increase in the Universities in England.
Anthony Cooper is better known as Lord Shaftesbury. As A Christian, while he is seen as a social reformer; all he really did was to live out his faith in a practical way. He was an advocate for people who struggled with mental health issues. He sought to benefit the health of Chimney sweepers in his day. He wanted school opportunities for the under privileged. He didn’t do this for the sake of “goodness”-- He did it for God.
One day he was going to meet some strangers for supper at the train station and the strangers said, “How will we know who he is among the many people exiting the train?” A local man responded: “He will be a tall man who helps someone off the train.”
Sure enough, when they arrived there was a tall man getting off the train carrying a little old ladies luggage. It was his actions that identified him; not his appearance.
Application:
The Bible tells us that Jesus was like this. He was known by his actions over his appearance. There is virtually nothing in the Bible that speaks of Jesus appearance except for one miniscule statement in the Old Testament prophecies.
Although this week, Ai was used to provide this possibility from the Shroud of Turin. This came out on Monday.
Yet, Jesus’ actions and teachings make up the entirety of the flow of the gospels.
Acts 10:38 sums up Jesus’ ministry in this way. “Then Jesus went around doing good...”
Acts 10:38 tells us that He did this in the villages and cities. Jesus visited everyone, We are told in verse 3 to go to prisons and to places where people are mistreated. We are to live on-mission allowing the love God put into our hearts to be left behind everywhere we go.
He loved others. He had “compassion” on them. The word used to describe Jesus’ compassion was the Greek word “splagchnizomai” (I just love saying that word) but the word is an anatomy word. It means “deep inside your system.” It is often translated as bowels-- Bowels of compassion.
What Jesus did on that outside came from deep on the inside. As God in the flesh, He never met a stranger, yet many did not know Him, but when they did; they were overwhelmed by His love and concern for them and their lives.
If there is a stranger beside you, why not turn to them now and say: “I splagchnizomai you.” After the service prove it. Hang out with them for a minute. Listen to their story; pray with compassion over them and launch a friendship that is all based on Jesus.
This is one of our core values: We are Kennesaw First build deep relationships. Do you know why? Jesus did. “Let brotherly love continue...”
Transitional Sentence: How do we show Jesus’ love to others?
II. Continue With Your Spouse
Vs. 4- Marriage is to be held in honor among all, the marriage bed is to be undefiled;
for fornicators and adulterers will be judged.”
Explanation:
One of the most entry places where we learn to love is in public places where strangers, and in our churches were brotherly loves is to continue.
Yet, another place where love is to continue and “continually” be dwelling and lodging in our life is in our homes.
Before God created the church, He created marriage and homes. His first location for love to be on display following God taking walks with man in the Garden of Eden was at the Marriage Altar of Eden where God personally united Man and Woman in holy matrimony,
In Jesus’ ministry He honored marriage by performing His first miracle at a wedding in Cana. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit honors marriage by using it as a picture of the church in the New Testament.
God loves marriage and said: “It is not good for man to be alone; I will make a helper suitable for him.” Genesis 2:18.
In other words, God created a man and a woman with deficiencies that only the opposite sex could fill. Together, they complete a picture of God’s sufficiency and fill the spaces in each other’s lives that need fulness.
One place where the love of God’s is to be on display privately is in the sexual relationship. When sin entered the world, the sacredness of marriage was cheapened.
This cheapening made its way into the culture; then it makes its way to the bedroom.
Two ways marriage is cheapened in the culture is
a) Through forbidding of marriage- I Timothy 4:3 tells us: “In the last days,
apostate teachers will “forbid marriage.” According to God, celibacy does not communicate
a “greater love for God.” Paul only advocated for it as a viable and perhaps preferred option
for missional ministry.
b) Through fornication and adultery- God created sexual expression as one
the most beautiful and loving expressions of commitment that a couple can share in.
The commitment that God honors in sexual expression is marriage. His word clearly calls out
two sinful forms of sexual expression; fornication and adultery.
1. Fornication is the first sinful expression. Fornication is the Greek word “porneia” We get
our word “pornography” from this. Oxford Dictionary provides a strong definition of
fornication. It reads: “Sexual intercourse between two people not married.” Porneia is
defined in a stronger sense. It means: “Any sexual exchange between two people who
are not married. Sex is sacred and God promises He will judge those who engage in
fornication.
2. Adultery is the second sinful expression. Adultery is the Greek word “moichao” which means
participating in any sexual exchange with someone who is not your spouse.
Sex is far more than physical. It’s a spiritual act with physical, social, legal, and emotional consequences. If sex were just physical, it’d be like a handshake. It wouldn’t matter who you had sex with. But sex is more than physical.
The Bible makes it clear that sex is exclusively reserved for a husband and a wife who are committed to one another in a marriage. Anything outside of that, like sex before marriage and sex outside of marriage, will have profound consequences on your emotions and your spiritual life, and it may even physically harm you.
Illustration: Licking toads
One of the weirdest and most dangerous things that has become a problem in the Southwest is that people are licking toads.
At first thought, you would logically think, licking toads is a terrible idea. Why would anyone lick a toad.
The reason why people lick toads is because it feels good to some people. To ward off predators, toads in that area secrete a milky, poisonous substance that actually gives people a natural high.
Law officials and game wardens have warned that it’s a terrible idea and that it is dangerous behavior, but people have now normalized it. They say that “everyone is doing it.” They even say that its “not that harmful.”
From this its more than a fad; it’s a fast cheap high that most do not discover was actually harmful until later. It’s an action of the moment; not a long term benefit.
Application:
A lot of people have fallen prey to the culture and ignored Christ. Yet, God’s standards are in your best interest. If you want to live by them—and avoid all the negative consequences that come from living outside of them—it starts with a commitment.
God is clear: “Fornicators and adulterers God will judge.” Vs 4
Transitional Sentence: How do we show Jesus’ love to others?
III. Keep Your Heart In Check
vs. 5-6- “Male sure your character is free from the love of money, being content with what
you have; for He himself said, I will never desert you, nor will I forsake you so that we
confidently say, The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me?
Explanation:
God loved us so much that on the cross; He forsook His Son. His love for us elevated to the place where the Bible says: “Yet it pleased the Lord to crush him and cause Him to suffer and though the Lord make his life and offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.” Isaiah 53:10
What is interesting about this is that the verse was written in Isaiah. It was a prophecy of Jesus. It was written 800 plus years before the cross.
In other words, God thought out Calvary long before it happened. Long before Bethlehem, God loved you enough to send Jesus. Long before the cross, God loved you enough to allow Jesus to become a sacrifice for your sins.
This truth leads us to ask ourselves: “How much do I love God?”
Strangely enough, God knows that money is one of the biggest attractions and distractions from your loving Him with your whole heart.
Therefore He says: “Make sure your character is free from the love of money...” vs. 5
Having money is neutral. Nothing is wrong with having money; but if your life is motivated and your heart is moved daily by your attraction to money; it will steal away your love for God slowly and steadily.
Do you know what money will do? It’s a terrible god because it will forsake you.
Proverbs 23:5 says: “In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.”
Don’t marry your life to the love of money because it will be stepping out on you every day. It’s never been a faithful companion and never will.
Verse 5 says: “Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have, for He Himself said: “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”
Our faith in God is realized by our contentment in doing his will and being satisfied with what He gives us.
In the Old Testament we see all kinds of tragedies that were brought about by greed.
a) Achan’s love of money cost Israel a defeat at Ai resulting in his death and the death
of 36 other people. Greed is taken seriously by God.
b) After Naaman was cleanses of leprosy following Elisha’s instructions when Naaman
wanted to pay Elisha for the healing; he refused, because it was God’s power that healed
him, not Elisha’s. But Elisha’s servant returned to collect the money himself and God
struck him with leprosy. God takes Greed seriously.
c) Because of greed Judas betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver.
d) Ananias and Sapphira, from their greed lied to the Holy Spirit; resulting in their death.
Their love for money hurt them; it did not help them.
When it comes to money Jesus said: “Give to Caesar the things that are Caesars; and to God the things that are God.” Luke 20:25
A clinched hand will never discover where true riches are. True riches are not found in clinching our hand holding tight to the money God gives us; it’s found in holding on to the hand of the one who gave it to us.
For this reason verse 6 says: “so we will confidently say, The Lord is my helper, I will not be afraid. What will man do to me.”
Illustration: Cow and human banks
Veterinarians often have to treat cattle for what they call “hardware disease.” Evidently cows are at constant risk of illness and death because they eat grass and graze in pastures and are constantly eating and ingesting silver and other metals.
Among those metals is pocket change that has been dropped on the ground through the years and it builds up in the cows stomach creating all kinds of problems. It causes lethargy, lack of milk production, excessive grinding of teeth, and sometimes a rupture of the stomach walls.
In other words, the cow becomes a type of piggy bank but in reality; it’s a cow, not a pig.
To cure the cow magnets are put down the cows mouth to collect the regular metals but removal of coins is much more invasive and difficult. It requires surgery where a hole is made in the cows side to remove these coins by hand.
What’s worse is that in 2022 a man from India was rushed to the hospital with abdominal pain only to discover that he had 187 coins in his stomach that weighed 3.3 lbs. After surgically removing them they admitted him for mental health issues.
Application:
The reality is: We are not human piggy banks.
In Luke 12:15 Jesus said: “Beware! Keep yourselves from covetousness, for a man’s life doesn’t consist of the abundance of the things which he possess!
The reality is: God created and designed you to have something else inside you. That something is someone. It is the presence of God through the infilling and outliving of the Holy Spirit.
The more you get to know God, the more we understand His love for us and the things He provides; and the greatest thing He provides is His Holy Spirit to live in our heart where there is a continual exchange of God’s love for us, and our love pouring out of that same heart in worship to God and in love for our brothers.
That’s how brotherly love continues.
Invitation: How’s your love life?
Today, how’s your love life?
Let me ask you two questions:
a) Have you accepted Jesus love for you?
b) Do you love like Jesus? Strangers, your spouse, those around you.
If not, you can. Jesus is here to fill your heart with His love. To enter your empty heart and fill it with His love.
He’s here to fill your emptiness. He’s here to make you a depository of His love, and a storehouse of His grace. Today, will you lay your heart on the line? Will you lay it on the altar here and invite Him to come change your heart?
He’s the ultimate change agent. He will change us when He lives in us.
