WEBVTT 00:00:01.439 --> 00:00:08.960 This podcast is a ministry of Grand Parkway Baptist Church, helping people know, enjoy, and glorify God. 00:00:09.279 --> 00:00:14.000 For more information about Grand Parkway, visit GrandProkway.org. 00:00:18.160 --> 00:00:19.199 Let's pray together. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:21.280 Father, we've come to do that today. 00:00:21.440 --> 00:00:31.839 It's not a word that we use very often in our normal everyday lives, the word adore, but it's befitting that we come to we use that word to describe our posture towards you. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:41.200 We've come to just uh save all our affection, our hearts' affection and our mind's attention, and to focus them on you and to bow them down before you. 00:00:41.359 --> 00:00:48.000 And in bowing down and adoring you, it causes us to see everything else that we've loved and the way we've loved it in a new light. 00:00:48.240 --> 00:00:53.439 And so let our lives reflect this new understanding we're going to gain and gather from your word this morning. 00:00:53.679 --> 00:01:02.399 Lord, say something today that has our name on it and say it in a way that we understand so we can get our head around it and our heart around it and our hands on it. 00:01:03.359 --> 00:01:05.120 That's what this is all about, God. 00:01:05.280 --> 00:01:06.239 And so speak. 00:01:06.640 --> 00:01:07.840 Your people are listening. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:09.840 We pray and we listen in Jesus' name. 00:01:09.920 --> 00:01:11.920 And everyone said, Amen. 00:01:12.079 --> 00:01:12.799 You can have a seat. 00:01:12.879 --> 00:01:16.239 If you've got a Bible, I invite you to take it and open it up to 1 John chapter 3. 00:01:16.480 --> 00:01:17.599 1 John chapter 3. 00:01:17.680 --> 00:01:18.799 Not the gospel of John. 00:01:18.959 --> 00:01:20.959 1 John's kind of towards the back of the Bible. 00:01:21.120 --> 00:01:25.040 Just uh if you see maps, you've gone too far, turn back to the left a little bit. 00:01:25.200 --> 00:01:27.599 Uh 1 John chapter 3, I want to talk to you today. 00:01:27.680 --> 00:01:28.959 It's the fourth Sunday of Advent. 00:01:29.120 --> 00:01:30.560 The theme of our service is love. 00:01:30.640 --> 00:01:34.480 And so I want to talk to you this morning about the indicting nature of the love of God. 00:01:35.599 --> 00:01:37.760 The indicting nature of the love of God. 00:01:37.840 --> 00:01:42.879 And by way of explanation, the word indict it means to make a formal accusation. 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:48.159 Like you hear an attorney who will say, Well, my clients have been indicted, but they've not been proven guilty. 00:01:48.799 --> 00:01:54.000 When you indict someone, it's basically we think we got enough evidence to prove the case that we have. 00:01:54.159 --> 00:01:59.599 And so this time of year, especially when we talk about the love of God, and people say, Well, my God's a God of love, and I get that. 00:01:59.680 --> 00:02:01.120 I don't want to take that away from you. 00:02:01.280 --> 00:02:07.920 But I do want to warn you that when you say, My God is a God of love, you are saying more about yourself than you are about God. 00:02:08.080 --> 00:02:10.319 In other words, that means a lot more for us. 00:02:10.400 --> 00:02:12.560 Uh, and we need to understand what it means. 00:02:12.719 --> 00:02:18.479 And so the love of God, it formally accuses us of some things that we're going to see in the Bible this morning. 00:02:18.560 --> 00:02:26.639 And relax, not to beat you up or put burden on you, but to invite you to think differently, and I would say biblically about the love of God. 00:02:26.800 --> 00:02:28.800 So are you up to that this morning? 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:37.439 First John chapter 3, verse 1, he says, See what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called the children of God, and so we are. 00:02:37.680 --> 00:02:41.039 The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 00:02:41.439 --> 00:02:45.599 Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared. 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:50.560 But we will know that when he appears, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. 00:02:50.719 --> 00:02:55.199 And everyone thus hopes in him, purifies himself as he is pure. 00:02:55.360 --> 00:02:59.120 And everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. 00:02:59.360 --> 00:03:00.800 Sin is lawlessness. 00:03:00.960 --> 00:03:05.360 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 00:03:05.599 --> 00:03:08.080 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning. 00:03:08.240 --> 00:03:11.120 No one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 00:03:11.520 --> 00:03:13.599 Little children, let no one deceive you. 00:03:13.759 --> 00:03:17.439 Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 00:03:17.599 --> 00:03:20.000 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. 00:03:20.159 --> 00:03:22.319 For the devil has been sinning from the beginning. 00:03:22.639 --> 00:03:26.800 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 00:03:27.039 --> 00:03:34.560 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he's been born of God. 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:38.479 By this, circle those two words, underline those in your Bible. 00:03:38.639 --> 00:03:42.560 By this, it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. 00:03:42.719 --> 00:03:47.840 Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 00:03:48.080 --> 00:03:52.000 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 00:03:52.159 --> 00:03:56.080 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. 00:03:56.159 --> 00:03:57.520 And why did he murder him? 00:03:57.680 --> 00:04:00.800 Because his own deeds were evil, and his brothers righteous. 00:04:00.960 --> 00:04:03.759 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 00:04:04.000 --> 00:04:07.919 We know that we have passed out of death and into life because we love the brothers. 00:04:08.080 --> 00:04:10.240 Whoever does not love abides in death. 00:04:10.400 --> 00:04:15.759 Every one who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:17.199 By this we know love. 00:04:35.519 --> 00:04:46.879 What I mean when I say the indict of the love of God, what I mean is that there's things that in our lives that the Bible uh accuses of uh in certain areas, and in in a good way, believe it or not. 00:04:47.040 --> 00:04:49.839 Let me list off five of them from the passage we read this morning. 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:52.480 The first one is the love of God indicts our motivation. 00:04:52.639 --> 00:04:53.839 It indicts our motivation. 00:04:53.920 --> 00:04:58.079 Look at verse 1, where John says, see what kind of love the Father has given to us. 00:04:58.240 --> 00:05:07.680 Now, right off the bat, when he says see, and then he says, what kind of love, those two words, what kind, now, when John wrote the epistle of 1 John, the New Testament, it was all written in Greek originally. 00:05:07.839 --> 00:05:14.959 And so when he says see, and then the word what kind, actually that that the literal translation from the Greek is, what country? 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:15.839 What country? 00:05:16.000 --> 00:05:22.079 In other words, the way God loves us is so beyond and bigger and better than anything we can know in this life. 00:05:22.480 --> 00:05:24.079 What country does this come from? 00:05:24.240 --> 00:05:27.519 So John has this sense of amazement and this overwhelmed. 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:29.040 It's the Greek word patapas. 00:05:29.120 --> 00:05:31.759 And it's like, hey, behold, what country? 00:05:31.920 --> 00:05:33.839 Where does this kind of love come from? 00:05:34.000 --> 00:05:43.360 And so right off the bat, John tells us, hey, when God, when you talk about the love of God, you're talking about something that we do not have a frame of reference for here in this life. 00:05:43.519 --> 00:05:45.279 Uh if you want to see it, don't turn there. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:54.959 But in the book of Ephesians, chapter 3, about verse 14, Paul writes to these to the church at Ephesus, and he says, I want you to understand the love of God. 00:05:55.040 --> 00:05:59.839 I want you to understand the height, the depth, the depth, the width, and all this stuff of the love of God. 00:06:00.000 --> 00:06:02.959 And then he says this that surpasses knowledge. 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:11.519 I want you to know something that is so incredible, it's outside the realm of your capacity to understand it, which is why I got an email yesterday from a friend of mine. 00:06:11.680 --> 00:06:15.759 They just graduated seminary, and he and his wife are going to the Grand Canyon to celebrate. 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:17.199 That's our wrote him back. 00:06:17.360 --> 00:06:27.839 Stand on the edge of the Grand Canyon and read Ephesians 3, 14 to 21, where it talks about, he says, I pray that you would comprehend the love of God, this height and depth and the width and all this stuff. 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:30.480 Because I said you'll never read that the same ever again. 00:06:30.639 --> 00:06:36.399 And John has that same kind of mentality and mindset here when he says, Hey, what country does this come from? 00:06:36.560 --> 00:06:38.639 But then he goes on and gets to our motivation. 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:44.800 He says, Hey, what kind of love the Father has given to us that we should be called the children of God, and so we are. 00:06:45.040 --> 00:06:48.079 The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 00:06:48.480 --> 00:06:50.160 Beloved, we are God's children now. 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:51.360 Now hear this, beloved. 00:06:51.600 --> 00:07:05.519 He says, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is, and everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 00:07:05.680 --> 00:07:07.199 That's where the motivation comes from. 00:07:07.279 --> 00:07:07.759 I don't know. 00:07:07.920 --> 00:07:10.879 Ask yourself today, what motivates you in the Christian life? 00:07:11.120 --> 00:07:14.240 What motivates you to live like the Bible talks about? 00:07:14.480 --> 00:07:28.720 Because the love of God indicts our motivations is insufficient because if we're motivating ourselves because I don't want to have a bad reputation or I don't want people to find out or I'm afraid any other motivation than simply this, that we are right now the children of God. 00:07:28.800 --> 00:07:31.120 But then he says this, we are not. 00:07:31.600 --> 00:07:33.360 We are not, excuse me. 00:07:33.519 --> 00:07:35.759 He says, beloved, we are God's children now. 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:38.639 And then he says, and what we will be has not yet appeared. 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:40.720 Now think about those two things for a minute. 00:07:40.879 --> 00:07:44.639 We are God's children now, but what we will be has not yet appeared. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:46.800 In other words, don't give up on yourself. 00:07:46.959 --> 00:07:53.360 If you're sitting there in that chair today and kind of thinking, you know what, I'm not really good at this whole thing, and I kind of do good, then I'll fall back. 00:07:53.439 --> 00:07:58.319 The Bible says, hey, we're God's children now, but who we are going to be has not yet appeared. 00:07:58.399 --> 00:08:02.399 And when he appears talking about Jesus, the Bible says this, we will be like him. 00:08:03.199 --> 00:08:04.639 We will be like him. 00:08:05.040 --> 00:08:07.600 Now you can't back away from that or shy away from that. 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:10.720 The Bible says there's this progressive nature to Christianity. 00:08:10.800 --> 00:08:18.720 And as this year winds down, you ought to look back on this year and you ought to see yourself kind of maturing and growing spiritually, and you're different spiritually. 00:08:19.759 --> 00:08:22.160 You're a little more Christ-like than you were last year. 00:08:22.319 --> 00:08:28.399 Because he says, hey, he says, hey, we're the children of God now, but what we will be, in other words, this is not as good as it's gonna get. 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:29.920 So don't check out yet. 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:34.240 He says, but we know that when he appears, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he is. 00:08:34.399 --> 00:08:35.600 And here's the motivation. 00:08:35.759 --> 00:08:40.639 And everyone, verse three, who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:50.799 The Bible says that, hey, our the thing that motivates me to purity, the thing that motivates me to do the right thing and say no to the wrong thing is that he's gonna appear. 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:57.440 And because my hope is in that, and I'm gonna be like him, then I'm making myself pure while I'm waiting for him to appear. 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:02.639 And Advent is a great time for us to ask ourselves, hey, what motivates me spiritually? 00:09:04.320 --> 00:09:09.279 What kind of when when I just think I don't care what I do, what motivates me? 00:09:09.519 --> 00:09:12.399 Because the love of God indices, number one, our motivation. 00:09:12.559 --> 00:09:14.000 Secondly, it indices our sin. 00:09:14.159 --> 00:09:15.440 Look at verse 4. 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:19.840 Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. 00:09:20.159 --> 00:09:21.600 Sin is lawlessness. 00:09:21.759 --> 00:09:25.840 And you know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:28.399 No one who abides in him keeps on sinning. 00:09:28.559 --> 00:09:32.080 And no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. 00:09:32.399 --> 00:09:34.240 Little children, let no one deceive you. 00:09:34.399 --> 00:09:37.919 Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. 00:09:38.080 --> 00:09:40.399 Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil. 00:09:40.559 --> 00:09:42.480 For the devil's been sinning from the beginning. 00:09:42.720 --> 00:09:47.039 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 00:09:47.200 --> 00:09:48.320 No one born of God. 00:09:48.480 --> 00:09:51.440 Pay careful attention to verse 9, because, beloved, look at me. 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:55.279 What the Bible does not say, the Bible does not say that a Christian will not sin. 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:59.600 The Bible does say this, however, that a Christian doesn't just keep on sinning. 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:00.879 Look at verse 9. 00:10:01.039 --> 00:10:09.440 He says, No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he's been born of God. 00:10:10.639 --> 00:10:14.080 He doesn't make a practice of sinning because he cannot do that. 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:18.240 It's not out of effort or out of duty or out of spiritual discipline. 00:10:18.480 --> 00:10:19.039 He cannot. 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:19.519 Why? 00:10:19.679 --> 00:10:22.320 Because God's seed, that's a reference to the Holy Spirit. 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:24.159 God's seed abides in him. 00:10:24.320 --> 00:10:28.480 And so when the love I say the love of God indicts our sin, let me just ask this question. 00:10:28.639 --> 00:10:31.279 Do you ever envision your life void of sin? 00:10:35.519 --> 00:10:36.720 Well, not really. 00:10:37.600 --> 00:10:38.559 You should. 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:39.440 You should. 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:43.600 I mean, just ask yourself, what would I do if sin were not a part of my life anymore? 00:10:43.759 --> 00:10:52.559 Because the Bible teaches right here, unapologetically, he says, first of all, up here in about verse 5, he says, you know that he appeared in order to take away sins. 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:57.759 And then down in verse 7, he says, the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 00:10:57.919 --> 00:11:05.200 And so it's easy this time of year to get real sentimental and real kind of Jesus as this ambient, glowy little baby in the manger. 00:11:05.360 --> 00:11:12.879 And all along the Bible tells us that the reason that he left heaven and came to earth was one word in mind: destruction. 00:11:13.759 --> 00:11:14.480 Destruction. 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:17.279 You should, matter of fact, you should put that on your Christmas stocking. 00:11:17.360 --> 00:11:20.559 When everyone's got Noel and seasons, greetings, and Merry Christmas. 00:11:20.720 --> 00:11:22.320 You should just put it over your mantle. 00:11:22.559 --> 00:11:23.519 Destruction. 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:26.480 That's a conversation piece. 00:11:26.559 --> 00:11:27.440 And people come over. 00:11:27.600 --> 00:11:29.919 Hey, Ozzy Osborne, what is this? 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:31.840 Yeah. 00:11:32.000 --> 00:11:45.360 I just want to remind myself, I want to stab my conscience and awaken my awaken my thoughts to the reality that the reason that God took on skin and was born and laid in a manger is He came to destroy the works of the devil. 00:11:45.519 --> 00:11:53.440 And so I don't have to live at the mercy of my sinful appetites the rest of my life and hating myself because I can't seem to make myself stop sinning. 00:11:53.679 --> 00:11:56.799 He came to destroy that which is going to destroy me. 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:00.960 Well, okay, let's have appetizers. 00:12:01.039 --> 00:12:02.000 Here we go. 00:12:02.480 --> 00:12:08.799 Because here's the thing we use all these words, and there's nothing wrong with these words, but the Bible is very, very clear. 00:12:08.960 --> 00:12:11.679 Now I brought a couple of pictures to help us understand destruction. 00:12:11.759 --> 00:12:13.679 And the first one is this picture here. 00:12:14.559 --> 00:12:14.960 Yes. 00:12:15.120 --> 00:12:15.600 Ooh. 00:12:16.000 --> 00:12:16.799 Beautiful. 00:12:17.600 --> 00:12:19.679 That's a city somewhere in the world. 00:12:20.559 --> 00:12:21.360 Take that in. 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:22.559 Look at that. 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:24.879 Now here's a picture of the same city. 00:12:27.679 --> 00:12:28.799 That's Aleppo. 00:12:30.639 --> 00:12:32.159 See what destruction does? 00:12:32.720 --> 00:12:43.200 And the Bible tells us very clearly that the reason the Son of God appeared, the reason Christ took on flesh and came into the world as a babe, laid in a manger, is to do that to your sin. 00:12:44.080 --> 00:12:47.200 So you don't live at the mercy of that which will destroy you. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:13:03.360 Now, when I say that the indicting nature of the love of God, again, he's not saying the Christians don't sin, he's saying they don't keep on sinning because God's seed, the Holy Spirit, abides in him. 00:13:03.759 --> 00:13:08.159 Ask yourself today, how does this affect the way you think about sin and salvation? 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:14.639 If the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil's work, is that being destroyed in you? 00:13:15.039 --> 00:13:18.960 Is sin losing its hold on you, losing its claim on you? 00:13:19.120 --> 00:13:23.360 Do you find yourself able to not be tempted by things that used to tempt you? 00:13:23.519 --> 00:13:29.279 Or, like many, that's there's a reason he's John says to him here, hey, beloved, let no one deceive you. 00:13:29.440 --> 00:13:35.200 Or have you kind of figured out this way of doing Christianity that kind of always involves a relationship with sin? 00:13:35.360 --> 00:13:37.519 Well, you know, God knows I'm only human. 00:13:38.240 --> 00:13:41.039 Or we're going to get married one day, so this is okay. 00:13:41.440 --> 00:13:47.600 We kind of get all around all these different things, which is why John uses to begin verse 10 these two words. 00:13:47.919 --> 00:13:54.080 By this, which brings us to the third thing that the love of God indicts us, it indices our standard. 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:55.039 Our standard. 00:13:55.200 --> 00:14:00.399 How do you define Christianity and what it means for a person to be in a relationship with Christ? 00:14:00.559 --> 00:14:13.279 Because when John says, hey, by this, these two little words, he's introducing us to a standard for how we think about what it means to be in a relationship with God and what are the outcomes that are produced because of this relationship. 00:14:13.440 --> 00:14:14.799 Now let me say that again. 00:14:15.120 --> 00:14:28.159 By this, very subtle, very innocuous, very simple two words, but he is interjecting and laying down a standard that says, hey, this is how you know who knows God and who just goes to church. 00:14:29.679 --> 00:14:35.360 By this, verse 10, it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:41.679 Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:46.399 Again, by this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. 00:14:46.639 --> 00:14:50.159 Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God. 00:14:50.399 --> 00:14:53.440 And so the standard is righteousness, beloved. 00:14:53.840 --> 00:14:55.840 It's not, well, I did my best. 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:56.639 Why? 00:14:56.879 --> 00:14:58.879 Because God's seed abides in us. 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:03.759 If you've been converted, you've been born again, you've been changed from the inside out. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:13.039 God lives inside of you by his spirit, and he is heaven sent and heaven bent on producing righteousness in you. 00:15:13.279 --> 00:15:21.759 And so when he says, hey, by this, he really what he indicates this thought that kind of says, Well, you know, I sin and I'm not perfect, and none of us are perfect. 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:22.879 You're not perfect, are you? 00:15:23.039 --> 00:15:23.919 And like, really? 00:15:24.000 --> 00:15:25.200 This this is where we're going? 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:31.039 Think about it this way it's impossible to go on sinning, otherwise, righteousness could never be the standard. 00:15:32.000 --> 00:15:33.200 Let me say that again. 00:15:33.360 --> 00:15:36.879 It's impossible for a believer just to keep on living in sin. 00:15:37.919 --> 00:15:40.000 Otherwise, righteousness couldn't be the standard. 00:15:40.080 --> 00:15:41.039 You say, What do you mean? 00:15:41.279 --> 00:15:44.639 It would be hateful, it would be the most hateful thing God could ever do. 00:15:44.799 --> 00:15:46.559 We talk about my God's a God of love. 00:15:46.720 --> 00:15:53.120 You cannot have a God who is a God of love if He hates you so much to make this impossible thing the standard. 00:15:54.879 --> 00:16:02.159 So either the Bible believes that righteousness is the standard and it's what's expected of us, not out of effort, but out of identity. 00:16:02.879 --> 00:16:05.039 Or God cannot be a God of love. 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:07.279 You can't have it both ways. 00:16:07.440 --> 00:16:10.480 You can't go all through the year saying, Well, my God's a God of love. 00:16:10.639 --> 00:16:15.759 And this God of love says, Hey, by this it is evident who are the children of God. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:23.440 Fourth thing that the love of God indicts is our definition of love. 00:16:23.679 --> 00:16:24.720 Our definition of love. 00:16:24.799 --> 00:16:25.519 Look at verse 11. 00:16:25.600 --> 00:16:29.360 He says, For this is the message you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 00:16:29.519 --> 00:16:32.960 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. 00:16:33.120 --> 00:16:34.320 And why did he murder him? 00:16:34.559 --> 00:16:37.039 Because his own deeds were evil and his brothers righteous. 00:16:37.200 --> 00:16:39.840 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:43.840 Well, we know that we have passed out of death unto life because we love the brothers. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:46.080 Whoever does not love abides in death. 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:51.840 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:54.240 Verse 16, by this we know love. 00:16:54.399 --> 00:16:58.720 They laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 00:16:58.960 --> 00:17:03.360 Anybody got anybody in your life by a show of hands this morning that you would just say, you know what? 00:17:03.440 --> 00:17:05.119 It's really hard for me to love that person. 00:17:05.279 --> 00:17:06.400 Can I see your hand? 00:17:06.640 --> 00:17:07.680 Hold it up real high. 00:17:07.759 --> 00:17:08.000 Come on. 00:17:08.160 --> 00:17:09.359 Tastes like chicken. 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:10.160 Yes. 00:17:10.319 --> 00:17:16.240 Yes, some of you men are kind of like, well, I mean, it's my wife's mother, but I'll raise my hand anyway. 00:17:16.480 --> 00:17:16.960 Yes. 00:17:17.119 --> 00:17:22.079 And some of those people that you don't love are coming to your house to eat your ham for Christmas. 00:17:23.839 --> 00:17:26.400 They're gonna drink your beer and sleep in your bed. 00:17:28.160 --> 00:17:32.880 Whoa! By the way, this is free. 00:17:33.359 --> 00:17:35.200 The gospel, I'm serious. 00:17:35.359 --> 00:17:42.480 The gospel is perpetually, it is always imposing upon you ironies that you don't want to embrace. 00:17:43.359 --> 00:17:44.640 That's just what it does. 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:52.240 I spent this past year writing a check every month to send to my brother to take care of my dad to pay for a home health care nurse. 00:17:52.319 --> 00:17:55.359 And one day I'm writing the check and I started laughing, and I'm like, why am I laughing? 00:17:55.440 --> 00:17:59.519 It clears the mail, God said, You're taking care of a man who never took care of you. 00:18:02.240 --> 00:18:10.480 Because the gospel does that, it imposes upon you things that you would naturally choose, and you're able to do it because of the gospel. 00:18:10.880 --> 00:18:12.240 That's the only reason. 00:18:12.720 --> 00:18:13.440 That is the only thing. 00:18:13.599 --> 00:18:20.400 So these people, when they come to your house, your sister-in-law, who you can't stand, and God knows that you can't stand her. 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:23.039 She's gonna eat the last piece of cake. 00:18:24.720 --> 00:18:26.880 Just like she did last year. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:31.599 And she's not gonna bring anything because she's gonna say, well, it was too far and it wouldn't keep. 00:18:31.680 --> 00:18:34.240 And you're like, it's 28 degrees outside. 00:18:34.319 --> 00:18:36.559 Put in the trunk, it'll be refrigerated. 00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:42.079 And when she talks, the hair on your neck is gonna stand up. 00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:49.680 And God's gonna say to you, what he's saying to you right now, hey, if you hate her, you're like Cain, you're a murderer. 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:57.680 Aren't you glad you shaved your legs for this? 00:18:59.279 --> 00:19:00.480 Oh, how was church? 00:19:00.559 --> 00:19:00.960 It was great. 00:19:01.039 --> 00:19:04.319 The God told me I was a murderer because I can't stand my brother-in-law. 00:19:05.039 --> 00:19:11.680 He's a mooch that can't keep a job because he's got a perpetual drug habit, yet we all gotta bail pitch in and bail him out. 00:19:11.839 --> 00:19:12.960 I just want to tell him off. 00:19:13.119 --> 00:19:14.799 I'm not saying don't tell him off. 00:19:15.440 --> 00:19:17.039 I'm just saying you gotta love him. 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:20.400 Yeah, because the Bible says that. 00:19:21.039 --> 00:19:23.200 We don't get to pick and choose who we want to love. 00:19:23.359 --> 00:19:24.799 Now, let me just ask you this. 00:19:25.440 --> 00:19:31.920 People that raise your hand said you had a hard time loving uh some people in your life because I'm your pastor and I care about you. 00:19:32.079 --> 00:19:34.880 Let me give you a practical way to get better at loving those people. 00:19:35.119 --> 00:19:36.000 You ready for it? 00:19:36.240 --> 00:19:37.759 Meditate on your sin. 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:41.920 Well, I can't write that down. 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:43.519 What do you mean? 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:44.079 Yes. 00:19:44.240 --> 00:19:51.359 Let me say it like this: there are behaviors that only love explains, and there is love that only forgiveness explains. 00:19:52.160 --> 00:19:53.680 Let me say it again. 00:19:53.920 --> 00:19:56.640 There are behaviors that only love explains. 00:19:56.880 --> 00:19:59.920 And then there's a love that only forgiveness explains. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.079 Uh, write down Luke chapter 7, starting in verse 36 to the end of the chapter. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:05.680 I'll summarize what happens for you. 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:07.839 There were the guys in the Bible that were called Pharisees. 00:20:07.920 --> 00:20:09.759 They're very religious, kind of do-gooders. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:11.039 They thought they were better than everybody. 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:14.640 And one of them said to Jesus, Jesus, would you like to come to my house for dinner? 00:20:14.799 --> 00:20:16.559 That's a bad idea, by the way. 00:20:16.880 --> 00:20:18.960 Because Jesus does not have manners. 00:20:19.200 --> 00:20:19.519 Okay? 00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.160 He's like the drunk uncle at the family reunion that cannot keep his mouth shut. 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:27.680 You know, like, did you just say Jesus is like the? 00:20:28.240 --> 00:20:30.880 I mean, you can't, my point is, you can't control Jesus. 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:34.640 So he comes to dinner, and you can't control what happens when Jesus comes to dinner. 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:38.079 He goes to dinner and they're sitting there, you know, having appetizers and orders. 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:47.039 Jesus said, We're gonna sit down in 15 minutes, so everyone get ready, and all of a sudden, boom, the door flies open, and a real sinner comes in. 00:20:47.359 --> 00:20:49.200 I mean, she's a woman of the night. 00:20:49.359 --> 00:20:51.039 Best we could tell she was a prostitute. 00:20:51.119 --> 00:20:54.160 She just heard Jesus teach at the temple, and she's got a flask. 00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:55.759 You know what a flask is? 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:58.960 Some of y'all are like, yeah, I got it in my boot right now. 00:21:00.480 --> 00:21:09.359 And she's got a flask, and the Bible says it's full of this perfumed ointment, like, like, like tootie fruity Vaseline that you've melted down and poured into a flask. 00:21:09.680 --> 00:21:12.000 You're like, well, that's not what I put in there, but okay. 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:18.880 And she's got it, and she's just like, uh, and she goes over and she kneels down and she starts, and these people are all out where you are. 00:21:18.960 --> 00:21:29.680 And Jesus is standing there talking, and there's a woman behind him, she's pouring this scented oil on his feet, and she's sobbing, and she's wiping his feet with her hair, and they're all thinking the Bible says, check me on this. 00:21:29.839 --> 00:21:39.039 The Bible says, and they were thinking to themselves, if this man were a prophet, he would know that this woman's a sinner and she's touching him because everybody knew this woman. 00:21:39.680 --> 00:21:43.839 And Jesus, the Bible says this, knowing what they were thinking. 00:21:45.279 --> 00:21:49.119 Now ask yourself this, especially if you're given the pretense and, like, hey, good idea. 00:21:49.920 --> 00:21:55.519 If you really believe that God knows what you're thinking, how would you act? 00:21:57.680 --> 00:22:01.440 And Jesus, knowing what they were thinking, said to them, Hey, Simon, can I tell you a story? 00:22:01.599 --> 00:22:02.720 Oh, yes, Rabbi. 00:22:02.799 --> 00:22:03.440 Go ahead. 00:22:03.599 --> 00:22:07.599 And Jesus is just like, I'm gonna smoke these fools down here in about two minutes. 00:22:07.839 --> 00:22:11.759 Jesus says, hey, one guy got in trouble, owed another guy 50,000 bucks. 00:22:11.920 --> 00:22:13.759 Another guy owed five bucks. 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:16.079 Both of them had their debt forgiven. 00:22:16.240 --> 00:22:18.079 Which one do you think is more grateful? 00:22:18.240 --> 00:22:20.799 Oh, teacher, the one that owed 50,000. 00:22:20.960 --> 00:22:26.559 And for the first time ever, there's a person, woman back here slathering perfume on his feet and weeping. 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:32.559 Jesus, for the first time, looks at her and says, Hey, she's been forgiven much, so she loves much. 00:22:32.720 --> 00:22:34.960 In other words, she owed 50,000. 00:22:35.039 --> 00:22:38.559 You owed five bucks, you ungrateful religious jerk. 00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:40.240 He doesn't say that part. 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:43.440 You gotta squint to see that in there. 00:22:45.119 --> 00:22:47.759 But here's what Jesus, here's what Jesus says. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:51.279 He says, hey, there are behaviors that only love explains. 00:22:51.519 --> 00:22:54.880 And then there's a kind of love that only forgiveness explains. 00:22:55.039 --> 00:23:01.759 If you want to get better at loving people, you need to remember that you owed 50,000 bucks. 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:03.920 And you couldn't pay it. 00:23:04.319 --> 00:23:06.319 And your debt got forgiven. 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:08.640 Somebody said to me, hey, is it hard? 00:23:08.720 --> 00:23:10.880 I know you see a lot of people in counseling and people just sin. 00:23:11.200 --> 00:23:11.519 Yes. 00:23:11.680 --> 00:23:12.960 And do crazy stuff. 00:23:13.119 --> 00:23:13.440 Yes. 00:23:13.680 --> 00:23:15.039 Do you ever get mad at them? 00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:15.680 No. 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:16.720 Why not? 00:23:16.960 --> 00:23:18.400 Because I remember my sin. 00:23:21.200 --> 00:23:23.920 And they're like, oh, oh, oh, oh, easy. 00:23:24.240 --> 00:23:28.559 So if you want to become more loving over the holidays, just think about your sin. 00:23:28.880 --> 00:23:30.079 And don't meditate on it. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:31.039 Just kind of remind you. 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:33.279 That's why I tell you every once in a while, you think I'm kidding. 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:33.839 I'm not. 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:39.039 I tell you, because you were born so wicked and sinful and depraved, you should be burning in hell. 00:23:39.440 --> 00:23:41.200 But God is rich in mercy. 00:23:41.440 --> 00:23:44.079 He made you alive and forgave you of all of your sins. 00:23:44.240 --> 00:23:49.039 Now tell me, because you got forgiven of all your sins, past, present, and future, he took away sin. 00:23:49.279 --> 00:23:51.839 He came to destroy the work of the devil. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:54.799 On what basis can you not love other people? 00:23:55.599 --> 00:24:03.200 Having been loved this way by this love that's so mind-blowing that John says that what country is this from? 00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:07.440 How can you have that living inside of you and not love other people? 00:24:08.640 --> 00:24:12.240 The last thing the love of God indicts in us is our indifference. 00:24:12.480 --> 00:24:14.240 Verse 17, are you still with me? 00:24:14.720 --> 00:24:15.839 Look at verse 17. 00:24:16.000 --> 00:24:17.519 This is why you should read the Bible. 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:25.680 He says, But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need and yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 00:24:26.000 --> 00:24:30.400 Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. 00:24:30.640 --> 00:24:33.119 Let me give you another question to think about while you're eating lunch. 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:33.839 How do you love? 00:24:34.000 --> 00:24:38.079 Do you love in word and talk or in deed and truth? 00:24:41.759 --> 00:24:44.720 Because the church by nature produces talkers. 00:24:46.799 --> 00:24:49.440 And the gospel by nature produces doers. 00:24:50.079 --> 00:24:51.599 Who love indeed and truth. 00:24:51.759 --> 00:24:55.599 What do you mean I say that the Bible, the love of God indicts our indifference? 00:24:55.759 --> 00:24:58.640 The opposite of love isn't hate, it's indifference. 00:24:58.880 --> 00:25:02.000 And here the Bible teaches us that we know what it's like to be loved. 00:25:02.160 --> 00:25:03.680 We have a frame of reference for it. 00:25:03.839 --> 00:25:07.359 By the way, the Bible never asks us to do things that we can't envision. 00:25:07.519 --> 00:25:08.720 We don't have a frame of reference for. 00:25:08.880 --> 00:25:11.920 He says, hey, we know love because he's laid down our life for us. 00:25:12.079 --> 00:25:14.240 And then he goes on to say the rest of it. 00:25:14.400 --> 00:25:18.000 So we know we have a frame of reference for what it's all about. 00:25:18.160 --> 00:25:20.480 It's just a matter of not just knowing it, but doing it. 00:25:20.559 --> 00:25:22.960 So he says, hey, let's not love in word and talk. 00:25:23.119 --> 00:25:24.319 Let's not just talk about it. 00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:24.880 Let's do it. 00:25:25.119 --> 00:25:34.640 Matter of fact, he says, hey, if you see, if you have this world's good and you see your brother in need, how and you close, the NIV says you close up your bowels of compassion. 00:25:34.799 --> 00:25:36.000 Then ask this great question. 00:25:36.160 --> 00:25:38.079 How does the love of God dwell in you? 00:25:38.960 --> 00:25:44.240 There's some people around here that somebody said to me the other day, man, you're just a really generous person. 00:25:44.480 --> 00:25:47.279 People ever say things to you that you know aren't true. 00:25:48.720 --> 00:25:50.880 And you just kind of like, well, thank you. 00:25:51.039 --> 00:25:52.079 Thank you very much. 00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:53.920 Someone said, Man, you're really generous. 00:25:54.000 --> 00:25:55.920 And I said, No, I just remember my sin. 00:25:56.400 --> 00:25:57.839