Topical Sermon: Men Learning to Love
INTRODUCTION: Acts 13 and 14 tell the story of Paul and Barnabas’ first missionary journey. They return to Antioch from their relief mission to Jerusalem to spend a considerable time with the Antioch Church in preaching and teaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and worshipping God.
In the opening statements of Chapter 13 Luke gives us another glimpse of the profile of those who "were first called Christians at Antioch".
Barbabas was a Jew from the island of Cyprus.
Simeon’s Roman name is given, probably indicating his experience with Roman culture. It has been widely accepted to mean dark skinned.
Lucius hailed from Cyrene in North Africa
Manaen grew up with royalty. His aristocratic background must have been quite an interesting addition to the Church at Antioch.
If we take nothing else from this group of men we must recognize the universal and unifying nature of the Gospel. Only Christ can bring together men of so different backgrounds. In case you haven’t notice men in general are not noted for their ability to exist in harmony with each other.
DRAMATIC HUMOR:
I am a male carnivore. First, I protect my hunting grounds from other predators of my type. My hunting grounds secured, I turn my attention to others of my species. Rising before the others of my den, I normally begin my pre-dawn vigil with various loud and echoing actions that bring the rest of the pride to their first levels of the day’s consciousness. I’m awake why aren’t you? Though the pride is aroused, it often takes further words and deeds of encouragement to motivate the younger members and their female leaders into effective action. (biting snarling, head butting) As the pride pushes out of the den into their assigned sectors for the morning hunt, I proudly ease my way into an over watch position. The sun now rises slowly and methodically until it reveals the full glory of my presence.
Of course this is the man of the world. A sharp contrast to the glory God can reveal in a true man of Christ. We pause today to consider the difference. Next week we launch into the 1st missionary journey of these men.
Our need to pause at this point in the Scriptures is brought to our attention mostly in reaction to our Thursday Night Bible Study. This past Thursday Night we spent a considerable amount of time discussing the Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. We by no means put the issue to rest but we all grew substantially in our understanding of how we are created in the image and likeness of God.
As men of Christ we accept a burden of leadership and authority not only in our homes but in this church family as well. Our charge is to serve this congregation in the same manner as Christ served this world. We are to serve this church in the same manner as the prophets and teachers listed at the beginning of Acts 13. In general this passage doesn’t appear to tell us much more than they ministered, fasted and fulfilled the roles of prophets and teachers.
My point to you today is that these roles were not accomplished easily. Each of these men, all from vastly different backgrounds, joined hands (and knees) in Antioch to accomplish a vision most congregations will never see. The evangelization of the Greek speaking world began with this church in Antioch. This church had eyes to see and ears to hear the voice of the Lord calling the nations to salvation. This church dispelled the dark clouds of pagan rituals with the Truth about Jesus. This church taught people to worship in spirit and in truth. This church never failed to put its mission first.
And.....
If this church is going to make a difference in Frenchtown, it will be because the men in this room will learn to love as deeply as Barnabas, Paul, Simeon, Manaen and Lucius.
SERMON IDEA: A love that Sacrifices, Purifies, Cleanses, doesn’t come easy.
Division 1: Sacrificial Love
Text: Romans 5:7-8 "One will hardly die for a righteous man ...." NKJV
Reasoning: You are equipped with a love that enables you to do what others cannot.
justified by faith in Jesus
peace with God through Jesus
hope and glory in tribulations
perseverance and character
presence of the Holy Spirit
Pivotal verse: "For when we were without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungoldly." NKJV
Application: There is a great need in our families, communities and our church for men to fill gaps only they are equipped to fill. I will never downplay the role of godly women. I strongly believe in the equality of the sexes as equal image bearers of God. However, as we see in the Trinity, there are the mechanics of functioning that must be considered.
For the sake of this argument, those functions are going to produce different outcomes.
Two aspects of sacrificial love:
1. Things that are "Acceptable Sacrifices"
prayers of a clean heart
clean hands
obedience
2.Sacrifices that make things acceptable
Old Testament Priestly function of sprinkling blood
Scape Goat - Tying a scarlet ribbon around the neck to symbolize sin
Christ’s sacrificial atonement for sin
Division 2: Purifying Love
Text: Eph 5:26-27 Christ sanctified the church
Reasoning: We exist to maintain the purity of our church family. We must not defile, but protect its sanctity.
Application: Condemning and cleansing. In this body we must be able to identify those things that attack our families and friends. Sin is sin, it doesn’t need a lot of discussion. It just needs to be dealt with. Men, that is our job. These are our hunting grounds, when the enemy invades we must pursue his defeat. Of course this is not so much a physical pursuit as it is a spiritual endeavor. We are not going to kill or destroy Satan. But we will maintain a constant vigil to keep this body cleansed of his influence.
I look to you brothers to help me carry the burden for my own cleanliness.
Division 3: Caring Love
Text: Ephesians 5:29
Reasoning: We must love those in our charge, not love ourselves off them.
Application:
feed
maintain
nourish and cherish (cherish means to warm with body heat)
Illustration: I love pizza. I love the way it smells. I especially love a thin crust pizza with three meats and extra cheese. Oh what a wonderful feeling when the waitress arrives with yours, steaming hot and still sizzling. And the anticipation of waiting and watching for its arrival as time and time again others emerge from the back only to be taken to others, who often arrived after you. But all that anxious energy flows away as she places that first slice on your plate. I can’t wait to sink into that first slice, even though I never fail to burn my mouth. It seems the world ceases to turn during those early bites. Conversations continue all around me, but I remain oblivious. Its just me and the one I love. Normally, I’ve eaten three pieces before I snap out of my gluttonous stupor. Bringing our relationship to a more reasonable pace, my pizza and I pass the time in more frequent engagements, but with much less intensity ... trying to recover from our whirlwind start. Soon I realize our relationship is loosing its appeal. I just want to go home, so I signal for the waitress to bring me a take home box. Now, I really pizza so even though I’m through with it for now, I’m going to keep it somewhere safe until I want our friendship to strike up again. Now we all realize that I don’t really love this pizza. If I did I wouldn’t put it the frig. No sir, if I really loved this pizza, I would wrap it up and keep it warm and safe from any harm. I’d feed it and watch it grow. I’d pray for this pizza. No, I don’t love this pizza, I love myself with this pizza. That’s why it gets tossed in the trash after three weeks in the frig.
Conclusion: Unbreakable Love
What the church can accomplish when men exercise this type of leadership cannot be broken by this world.
"They will know you are My disciples if you have love for one another." John 13:35 NKJV
But the man of this world cannot love this way. He is only man enough to love as long as he recieves something in return. As soon as the object of his love no longer yields returns, it is no longer worthy of his love.
But as men of Christ we can love as an act of the will. We can choose to love as Christ. Christ loved the world though He found nothing in it worthy.
Men, I challenge you love based on these principles, not on worth or return.
Put others before yourself.
Protect the sanctity of this church.
Provide for the spiritual and physical needs of this community.
