Love

I think there’s probably no greater message that we could possibly circle back to again and again. What we just sang about. What we’re going to think about this morning. The great love of God. And if it doesn’t still surprise you.

No if it doesn’t still shock you. That he loves you. There’s only a couple possibilities your view of you is too big. Or your view of him is too small. So today that’s my hope is that we talk about some things that will further make us healthy.

As followers of Jesus lovers of Jesus Christ. And maybe take a step closer to loving him the way he loves us. And by implication loving our neighbors and others with that kind of effect in influence. I chuckle when I look at the slide today it says healthy. And I’m just happy to be here I threw my back out badly yesterday and so I’m not as healthy as I.

Had hoped to be but I’m here and I have my backup brothers ready to. Quietly lay my motionless body on the floor and. And finish the sermon all right so we’re in good hands this morning but. No it wasn’t gardening it was thank you for the clarifying question I was enjoying a wonderful new dish that my wife made me for breakfast. Made us and we were just the two of us and it was this wonderful coffee cake apple.

Crumb. Heaven right there and I just I took a bite and I shot a look at her like oh my gosh did I marry up or what. And then I was on the floor so anyway there we go so. Still knocks me over right there how you guys. All right all right.

So my message today of course is about love. All right and. And the sermon series is healthy. The things it’s all about things God says a healthy Christian is. Has.

Or does. So we’re only early in the maybe 12 week series. As I do each week though this particular week I sat down in my study and. And turn on a little. Sort of sound.

Concealing fan that lets me just sort of get in the zone and visit with God. And I sat there as I normally do and prayed for God’s message to come to me that would in fact come to you. And so it’s a big weight and it’s something I’ve lived with all these years and as I sat there and prepared to explore. You know what God’s word as I do each week this particular week was on love. Pretty foundational stuff.

On this particular. Morning I decided to go Google. And I did open up my computer and I googled the word love. Apparently. I’m not the only one curious about love.

Some of you are googling right now. And as it turns out. The results of my search produced one billion four hundred million. Results in one half second. So.

Undeterred I decided to get more specific. Since I would be preaching a sermon I googled sermons on love. Apparently. There have been. I went to when I read this sixty five million sermons preached on love.

That is ridiculous. That’s a lot. And it truth be told. There are some of my sermons in that list. Over the thirty seven years I’ve been preaching.

So. When I digested those two facts I thought okay that pretty well covers it. So would you close your bibles and we’re done pretty much because you’ve heard a sermon somewhere along line right. I actually thought okay God what is it that you want said that hasn’t been said. What do you want said again that needs to be said.

Again about your love. So I sat there. And. It wasn’t long before I took a trip back to that last night. That Jesus spent with his followers in a place a kind of a hidden.

Off the radar at least for the moment location in Jerusalem called the upper room. And. It was an evening that was described in detail by all four gospel writers it was a big deal night there was a lot going on but no one spoke more extensively about that night than John. The fourth of four gospel writers. He took five chapters John 13 to 17 to sort of condense and capture the content of that night.

And so following his lead I’d like you to locate John 13 if you haven’t turned there already. And when you do as you do brace yourself because I think. That there’s something that’s going to be said that is in fact circle the word new about love. Okay. It’s new because Jesus called it new with me.

It’s not new because it’s the first time anybody pointed out what I’m about to point out it’s new because Jesus that night called it new. So that’s that has us framed a little bit for what we’re about to read. And it that it’s described it begins this way verse one I was it was just before the Passover festival. They’re in this upper room Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the father is that an epic sort of summary sentence. He knows his time short he’s about to leave this world and he even knows where he’s going to go to be with his father.

And having loved his own look at these words having loved his own were who were in the world he loved them to the very end. And with those words were introduced to a new view of love a clear marker at the beginning of this upper room and you got to appreciate this. This is John brother of James and both of them were sons of Zebedee and they were fishermen that lived up in the north but they dropped their nets way back at the beginning of Jesus ministry at his request at his invitation. He said leave them there and follow me. And along with Peter and Andrew two fishermen brothers as well.

So here he is three years later in the very last night before Jesus and the cross collided and he’s capturing something here about himself and the other 11 that were in that room up to this point. He’s saying that he he loved his own who were in the world. You hear him thump in his own chest including me and he loved them to the end to the very end. This marker is placed at the starting point of this last night that Jesus spent with his disciples for a reason. Now while the evening was young they had just started this Passover meal.

Jesus pushes back from the table and some very fast moving and frankly if you were there with these you would have been on more than one occasion because Jesus is revealing some things that are kind of shocking not the least of which right out of the gate verse four the meals in progress and then jump to verse four and notice he gets up from the meal took off his outer clothing and wrapped the towel around his waist. Every eyes on him at this point it’s like the look we’re not done eating but he’s got something to do. Verse five after that he poured water into a basin they’re taking it all in and and then he begins to do something that made every one of them terribly uncomfortable. Begins to wash their feet. One in particular found it unbearable.

Peter verse eight drop down you shall never wash my feet. I’m not sure where he was in the 12 at this point but they Jesus gets to him probably he’s wrapped feet behind I mean like in this stop stop I see where you’re going Jesus and it’s it’s it’s it’s impacting me it’s wrecking the meal it’s bothering me it’s distracting me but it’s it’s more than that it’s humiliating it’s embarrassing he says you shall never wash my feet verse eight and Jesus replied unless I wash

you you have no part in me. Peter has a sudden change of heart verse nine says okay then not just my feet my hands my head everything. Don’t you love it okay that works do it Jesus you know and then Jesus goes on to explain a little bit more so this first image is an interruption big time to the meal but take it in if you’ve ever had your feet washed you know it’s a moment that you don’t forget easily it’s not meant to be forgotten.

Right on the heels of that drop down to verse 21 a second sort of moment and it altogether changes the entire tone in the in the room after he had said this Jesus was very troubled in his spirit notice verse 21 and he testified very truly I tell you one of you is going to betray me so did I capture it well enough already he’s washed now all of their feet and he’s done with that and he puts you know the towel back around himself and

then and then he says one of you is gonna betray me and and he reveals that the trader who the traders to be is Judas his disciples stared at one another and a loss to know which of them he meant so so far they’re tracking with him but one of them the disciple whom Jesus love was reclining next to him Simon Peter motioned to this disciples and said go ahead and ask him ask him what he meant leaning back against Jesus he asked him Lord who

is it you just said they’re gonna somebody in this room is gonna betray you who is it Jesus answered it is the one to whom I will give this piece of bread when I have dipped it in the dish and I’ve sat there imagining okay I’m watching his hand and he dipped the piece of bread and he gave it to Judas the son of Simon Iscariot and as soon as Judas took the bread Satan entered into him I don’t know if the movies get it right

that he suddenly shook in his eyes crossed and weird smells started happening or coming from him I don’t know I don’t know but based on what comes next I get the sense not a lot happened John was giving us vision to see something here look at this Jesus told him Judas what you are about to do do quickly I would have gone it’s him verse 28 says though no one at the meal understood why Jesus said this is him since Judas had charge of the money

some thought Jesus was telling him to go get something buy something for the festival or to give something to the poor and then verse 30 as soon as Judas had taken the bread he went out and it was night so he’s washed their feet beautiful and he was waiting at times very humbling moment and then he reveals the traitor among them Judas and then he discloses that Peter himself would eventually deny Jesus that night and he says I’m going to go shortly in the very next

verse verse 31 when he was gone Judas was gone Jesus said now the son of man is glorified and God is glorified in him if God is glorified in him God will glorify the son and himself and will glorify him at once look at this my children I will be with you only a little longer you will look for me and just as I told the Jews so I tell you now where I’m going you cannot come a new commandment is declared next this is all

happened in the short span of a maybe a couple of hours maybe an hour didn’t take the whole night and there’s this disclosure made that Jesus is going to be leaving and then a declaration a very powerful statement is made verse 34 a new commandment I give you love one another as I have loved you so you must love one another by this everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another so let me stop for a minute and observe something that

was clear in their minds a hundred percent clear they absolutely knew about the commandment to love one another they knew from about a thousand years before maybe more than a thousand years before they knew through their ancestors and the communication that was very clear and continuous generation after generation that their ancestors spent a long time at this mountain called Mount Sinai and it’s a place where Moses originally met with God and while he met with God the people were gathered around Mount Sinai in fact you

may not know this but most of the Torah which is the Pentateuch first five books of the Bible Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy took place right there they left Egypt they went through the Red Sea we talked about that recently and they arrived at this mountain and at that mountain they are hearing from meeting God they are the gods delivering them a new identity as his people because they’ve been in captivity forever hundreds of years no one had ever known freedom and he’s he’s saying look

there’s a whole new change that’s happening here and a whole new way I want you to live after we’ve spent this time here and at Mount Sinai the disciples will recall this through the ancestors these words from Leviticus for example God says do not seek revenge he’s in the middle of saying what happens when somebody messes with you what happens when somebody hurts you don’t seek revenge or bear a grudge against anyone among your people but love your neighbor as yourself I am the Lord so

they’re going way back in their memory when they hear Jesus say this very night new command but I give you love one another so they understood that part furthermore the memory was clear for the disciples not long before this there was an urban there was a there was a yuppy a rich yuppy remember the word yuppy young urban professional think is what it meant so most of you were yuppies at one time anyway here’s the deal there’s this this rich yuppy and his story is actually

told in Matthew 19 and he comes to Jesus and get this he comes to Jesus with a question he was trying to trap him everybody was at that time trying to box him in somehow but his question was turns out the most epic question humanity can ever ask what must I do to someday wind up in heaven pretty good question would you agree I mean I don’t I can’t think of a more important question because every other question is you know what what am I going

to do for a job what am I you know which doctor am I going to go to which person am I going to marry or maybe not get married are we going to have kids or not kids those are all important questions but they pale in importance to the ultimate question so this guy had the right question on his mind and he comes to Jesus with it and he says hey what’s what’s the what’s the most guaranteed way that I can get to eternal life someday

if you’re asking that question you’re on to the right question and here’s the deal this Jesus has an answer for you like you had for that man Jesus said well you need to keep the commandments and the guy’s smart too he’s young he’s professional he’s successful he’s loaded and he says like like okay which one and Jesus lists off like five or six of them honor your mom and dad don’t lie don’t cheat don’t steal don’t go with girls that do you know that kind of

thing the whole deal so he gives important commands and then he comes down to you know for this rich man he says that you know I’ve done all those Jesus says well there’s one left sell all that you have and come follow me that was a deal breaker man this guy was in love with his master and it wasn’t Jesus all right back to the answer though that Jesus gave he gave the same answer we saw in Leviticus he says keep the commandments love your neighbor

as yourself so here in John 13 what was new about love I’m looking at verse 34 again did you catch your did catch your attention like it did mine that Jesus changed the standard from love your neighbor as yourself to love your neighbor love one another as I have loved you in a short sentence Jesus took that bar and raised it way up some of us live by the golden rule which is sure that’s perfect I know we’re all where it’s it’s treat others as you

would have them treat you okay I think JCP that was their founding you know and they’re going out of business anyway that’s a bad thing but so but but here’s the deal we get that we that’s an important thing it’ll keep you out of a lot of harm’s way it will keep it will keep things current relationally with people treat others the way you want to be treated in most of your problems get solved that way right with people problems right with me but but here

we have a change in a standard from love Steve love these people as you love yourself well what if I’m having a bad day and I don’t really happy with me and I’m not loving me then all of a sudden I don’t have if I follow those words I don’t have a lot to give to you right I don’t I’m not my loving you as I love me isn’t gonna look so sweet that day is it is it but Jesus changes that and he goes from

self to himself it’s a radical change in every way a raising of the bar change love others as you love yourself became love as I have loved you you see how you shift your focus to a cross and to a reality that we’ve sung about and we’re going to respond to in a moment so revolutionary was this new standard of love that Jesus correctly called it a new identity a verse 35 that’s exactly what we’re reading by this will everyone know that you are whenever you

read those words you are you’re about to hear a an identity statement you are a man you are a woman you are a American you are married you are single you are you know whatever sometimes I get to the identity question this way if I was sitting next to you on an airplane I didn’t know you and I said hey tell me about yourself some of what comes out of your mouth is identity stuff you’re not gonna give your you know social security number I’m not

talking that kind you’re gonna say hey you know I’m I’m I’m a big shot you know businessman or woman you’ll you’ll bring out what you do because you’re tied to what you do it’s an important reflection of you if you don’t go that direction you’ll go there relationally you’ll say well I’m married I’ve got 12 kids you know whatever it is and because that’s part of who you are it’s identity stuff right so Jesus here is talking about identity you will they everyone will know that

you are mine my disciples if you have love for one another you will be marked you’ll have this marking as one who belongs to me how by the way you love one another we’re not done if possible Paul made a similar statement if you were to take the time I’ll just throw it up here on the screen Ephesians five says be imitators of God as dearly beloved children imitate God in everything you do because you belong to him you’re his children and then he doesn’t waste

any time and his first example of imitating God is what in verse two you don’t see verse two but it starts live a life filled with love walk in love new American standard says just as following the example of Christ he loved us and he offered himself up for us as a sacrifice and it was a pleasing aroma to God there’s all sorts of stuff built into that clearly one of the ways we display Jesus is to walk in love just as Jesus walked that’s what

Ephesians five one and two is getting it so let’s think about our culture today okay we live in a watching world okay people this is something to write down you want to write some down this is this is good okay it should come as no surprise to you but I’m going to put words to it okay and that is that people critique our creed based on our conduct let me break it down so it makes sense people who walk around with invisible clipboards judging us just

like we do we just sort of see people and we we make assessments of people okay so people that do that they’re watching our lives and they make certain judgments about what we say that’s our creed based on what we do that’s our conduct you with me now so so let me give you the negative example I can tell you all day long I’m crazy about my wife and I am for the record but if you found out some way that I yell at her I

routinely forget birthdays and anniversaries I don’t sit quietly and listen to her and care about her needs one day you come up on my porch I didn’t know you were coming and there’s a bunch of yelling and screaming and it’s my voice well you think about my creed I told you and I keep telling you I’m crazy about Debbie the evidence points otherwise does it not and you conclude otherwise too you conclude a lot of dark things about me actually you go that’s a joke it’s

empty empty words why cuz actions while you’ve heard that before we know that’s true right you and I know that we live in this watching world – and folks take notes on our lives Jesus said as much love each other as I love you and when you do verse 35 people won’t stop talking about what they see it’s cool I want to be respectful if you’re an evangelist I want to be respectful if you’re a an apologist anybody know what that means besides it doesn’t mean

I’m sorry that’s not apology in the in that sense what’s an apologist given a defense yeah explanation of the gospel first Peter 3 verse 15 is generally the verse that says always being able to give a defense or give an explanation for the hope that’s within you okay so I don’t mean I don’t mean to say those people don’t have a very critical role in the church they do God made sure they’re in every church and we have them here I want to tell you something

the presentation you might give about about Jesus could be very airtight and if it lacks love it falls way short it misses the target let me go a step further and say it positively now okay you ready this is good you know the best the best evangelistic campaign or tool or technique ever is not to hand them evidence that demands a verdict book by Josh McDowell phenomenal book you know what it is I love you I love you I no more than that I show it

I live it you do too and people when we do that it’s it changes everything people are like oh by this shall all people who are the people he’s talking to about in verse 35 he’s talking about the world watching us by this those people will know that you belong to me they will know that there’s something cool about us can I say something very affirming to us today I want you to know this church is is incredibly good at love I’ve said this is a

weird way to put it but I’ll put it if you get hurt this is a good church to get hurt in you know I had several people say I’ll be willing to preach for you my brother John I you know if my back went out today they’re like I’m here to sit it out I’ll take over you know and you’d probably hear a better sermon but anyway you know it’s you get what I’m saying it’s it’s this church loves you up a four tire blowout have

it here at Grace Point seriously and listen next time somebody else has a four tire blowout it’s not you it’s somebody else you be the lover you be the lover see how it works and guess what everybody’s gonna be talking about us they’re gonna be looking for a seat they’re gonna be saying ah I want to be part of that because it is indisputable that Jesus is among us when we operate that way just ask John let me let me I want to make a connection

quickly at the end would you find your way to first John okay we’re at the fourth gospel let’s go clear near the back of the Bible it’s almost the Bible is almost done and so is this sermon but first John he was the same John by the way that wrote the fourth gospel brother of James son of Zebedee remember that he wrote first and third John and revelation and he wrote these at the end of the first century very late in his life okay so first

John noticed that John hasn’t changed his message here from the night that we just spent with Jesus in the upper room okay he hasn’t changed his message from the from from the night he reported that what is said and done in the upper room that by Jesus said what we say and do in love is is the thing people talk about as you’re finding your way to chapter four can I say something about this John I want you to write this down to you will because

it’s so cool this is the disciple that Jesus loved okay ten times he refers to himself and in his gospel as the disciple Jesus loved you want identity Brendan Manning who’s who’s gone now but he used to say the most foundational fact about my life is that I am the disciple Jesus loved by the way there’s room for you to say that to anybody that’s a follower of Jesus I hope that becomes the defining feature of you he tell me about yourself ah let me start

with I’m a lover of Jesus because he loves me which is coming up in chapter four here okay so so what he says about what’s what he’s about to say about love isn’t this John the disciple that Jesus loved it is not theoretical for him what you and I are about to read it is incredibly personal and and amazingly practical okay so look at verse seven dear friends let us love one another for love comes from God and everyone who loves has been born of God

and knows God there’s another song where you sing love it let us love one another member I love it from God and everyone who loves is born of God and know if God you does not oh yeah you’re leaving me hanging this is wrong okay whoever does not love does not know God verse eight because God is love hey there’s a song we used to sit no I’m just kidding okay so this is how God showed his love love among us he sent his one and

only son into the world that we might live through him this is love not that we love God but that he loved us and he sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins dear friends since God so loved us can you hear the throwback to John 3 16 in those words since God so loved us we ought to love one another no one has ever seen God but if we love one another guess what he becomes visible it’s what he’s saying there in verse

11 when we love one another he’s seen he’s visible God lives in us his love is made complete in us look down at verse 19 we love because he first loved us whoever claims to love God yet hates his brother or sister is a liar in other words you said your creed said you love God which conduct says otherwise you’re not telling the truth for whoever does not love their brother and sister whom they have seen cannot love God whom they’ve not seen and he has

given us this command anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister what is love Trinidad Trinidad born singer hadaway name ring a bell it’s a few years old now but he wrote a song that asked that question and it became an international hit and I think I know why and I think you know why in this song called what is love he asked that question nine times and he answered it 16 times what is love baby don’t don’t hurt me don’t hurt me

no more take that in right there which he’s asking what is love good question he’s revealing his experience in his response there’s a lot of that in the world there’s a lot of that in the church today we talk about love are we living it these words from the Bible answer the song’s question the source of love verse 7 tells us God love comes from God verse 19 says we love because he first loved us so the source of love is God someone said you must

experience God’s love before you can express God’s love I agree with that I do so how did he love well verse 9 and verse 10 is all about actions did you catch that as we read it verse 9 is how God showed his love he’s answering our question he sent his one and only son verse 10 he repeats himself he sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for us he sent he gave he sacrificed those are verbs Jesus took this out of a conversation of words

and said it should show everywhere you go that’s what love is that’s what this kind of love is final word of God’s love as the video earlier presented it was the cross when Jesus suffered and died on the cross he overcame and he overwhelmed sin and death and darkness and all the other things that were some sort of marked on that cross the vertical beam the shame the guilt truly nothing stronger as the song said nothing higher nothing greater than the love of Jesus and the

cross is the final word when it comes to a message like this or when it comes to how you and I are to live I do have a final thought love like this isn’t for a few now hear me now we brushed by it by John 3 16 is on everybody’s lips and most people’s hearts for a reason God so loved whole world so that’s everyone and he sent his son to die and and his offer isn’t isn’t isn’t extended just to a few he says

that whoever believes in him shall not perish I can say very few things that have a hundred percent connection to everybody listening and that’s one of them a hundred percent of us are in the are under the word whoever if you put your name in there believe in him you will not perish but have everlasting life amen would you bow your heads with me we’re gonna have a few moments to respond this morning as the worship team joins me I want you to hear this appeal

from him would you would you just listen the lights are coming down for you to just not be distracted but to be focused on Jesus I’m gonna speak as though Jesus were speaking these words because I believe he is I love you I know who you are and I still love you my love for you is safe so don’t hide I won’t destroy you hiding will destroy you I love you and I and I long to show compassion to you I really do I made the

move and I’d make it again just for you have you accepted his invitation received his love forgiveness pardon for your sin if you’ve not done that please do so today if you have his clear expectation is that you show the same love to others we’ve established that throughout this conversation this morning it’s a habit the healthy Christians do so long that line is there someone to whom you need to reaffirm your love will you do so today want to give you some time this morning even

in this service to respond to Jesus whose cross has the final word it’s important for you and it is for some to make their way to the front here I’m gonna ask overseers to be ready to pray come alongside you for a few moments and lift you up and reaffirm the love of Jesus for you but maybe there’s somebody in this room you need to you need to pray right now or go to see them right now and reaffirm your love for them in the spirit

of what we’ve read this morning and the reality that the cross has the final word

Transcript machine-generated from the sermon audio, so it may contain errors. 5,806 words.