Church Sermon - June 1, 2003

LIVE IN LOVE!

Rev. Mark F. Bartels

Old Testament Lesson; Acts 1:15-26
Gospel Lesson; John 17:11-19
Sermon Text; 1 John 4:13-21

During our sermon today, we are going to talk about two different kinds of love. The one type of love I will mention is God’s love for us. God’s love for us is best demonstrated on the cross. The other type of love that I am going to be talking about is not God’s love for us, but rather our love for God.

I want to start out today by asking you a question. It is kind of like a pop quiz! And, I want you to remember your answer to this question, because we will get back to it at the end of the sermon. First of all, think about these two types of love, God’s love for us and our love for God. And, then in your own mind, answer this question: Which of those types of love, do you think, is necessary for a Christian?

Let us start out by thinking about our love for God. There were two little brothers. One was named Stevie and the other named Ryan. Stevie and Ryan were fighting at the table one day, over who would get the biggest piece of pie. Their mother listened to them bicker with one another for quite awhile, and finally (after she was tired of it), she stepped in and said, "Boys, boys, boys! Why are you fighting about who gets the biggest piece of pie? You are both Christians. Just imagine if you were Jesus. What would Jesus do? Would Jesus fight over who was going to get the biggest piece of pie?"

Both of the brothers were silent for a while. Finally, little Stevie broke the silence and in a gesture of "extreme graciousness" said to his brother, "Ryan, why don’t you ‘be Jesus’?"

You see, he was acting like such a nice guy to let his little brother ‘be Jesus’ for the day. But was it really an act of love? Well, Stevie wanted (he wanted) his little brother to ‘be Jesus’, so he could still end up with the biggest piece of pie. It was really self-love, wasn’t it?

The reason I bring up that story is because when we think about our love for God (or what appears to be our love for God), sometimes I wonder if it isn’t tainted.

Let me ask you this question, this very hard question. If you found out, right now, that there is no Hell,

if you found out, right now, that there is no Hell, how would that change your life?

Would you still come to church every Sunday, if you knew there was no Hell?

Would you still read your Bible on a daily basis, if you knew there was no Hell?

Would you still say your prayers every day, if you knew there was no Hell?

Would you follow the lusts and desires of your heart, if you knew there was no Hell?

Why do you want to go to Heaven? Is it really motivated out of sheer love for God? Do you absolutely want to go to Heaven only because you love God and that is whom you want to be with and that is where you want to be?

Or, do you want to go to Heaven, because you don’t want to go to Hell? Could it be that you are more concerned about love for self than love for God?

As we really begin to examine our own hearts, we begin to recognize that our love for God is not at all what it should be. I don’t love God, with all of my heart, with all of my mind, and with all of my soul. I don’t love Him and His Word the way a mother loves her child, or the way a husband loves his wife. I don’t always love God that way. In fact, sometimes (and even many times) I am cold towards God, forgetting about God.

Love for God is to manifest itself by the way I treat my brother. And, I certainly don’t always treat my brother as if I love God. In the work place, do I always put other people before myself? In the work place, do I see myself as someone to serve others, out of love for God? In my home, do I see myself as self sacrificing and totally giving? Am I showing a real love for God, in my home? As we really begin to evaluate our lives, we have to recognize that our love for God is certainly not what it should be. It is cold and often times nonexistent.

Scripture is very clear that we deserve God’s condemnation for our lack of love. So if I am depending upon my love for God to get me to Heaven, I have real problems, because my love for God is never going to be good enough to get me to Heaven.

Which gets us back to the other love, God’s love for us. That is why our scripture passage says,

"And so we know and rely on

the love

God

has for us."

That is what we rely on.

Following a very tricky surgery to remove a tumor from a woman’s cheek, the surgeon quietly waited in a corner of her hospital room. He watched, as the young woman lie in her hospital bed, looking at her husband, who stood next to her bedside. Even though it was nighttime, and the room was dimly lit, the surgeon noticed that one corner of her mouth hung down (kind of clownishly), and a little drool was running out.

The surgeon knew that during the surgery, he had gotten too close to a nerve and had severed that nerve. He also knew that severing the nerve caused permanent damage.

Looking at the surgeon she tried to speak. It was difficult for her to speak, because of the nerve damage, but finally she was able to ask, "Is it always going to be this way?"

The surgeon looked at his patient and sadly replied, "Yes, it is."

The woman’s young husband looked at his wife and said, "I like it. I think it looks cute."

Then the surgeon watched as that man bent over his young wife. He watched, as her husband tried to conform his lips to accommodate the lips of his wife. And then, he lovingly gave her a kiss, to show that their kiss still worked.

That is unconditional love. No strings attached. I love you, no matter what. And that story is only a tiny picture of the love that God has for us. Because there is a lot more wrong with us, than just a drooping lip. In God’s eyes, we are unlovable. We are filled with all kinds of sin. And, there is no reason why God should love us, and yet, what does the Bible say about Jesus? The Bible says,

"Though being in very nature God,

He did not consider equality with God

something to be grasped,

but made Himself nothing,

taking the very nature of a servant,

being made in human likeness."

There, in that passage, we see that Jesus came to accommodate Himself not just to the shape of my lips, but He took my fingers, my ears, my hands, and my eyes! He became one of us!

Then scripture goes on and says,

"Being made in human likeness,

He humbled Himself

and became obedient to death,

even death on a cross."

There, in that passage, we see Jesus accommodating Himself to our shape, taking our sin, spreading out His arms on that cross and suffering everything that we deserve for our sins, so that our sins can be paid for and washed away. That is why the Bible says,

"God demonstrates His own love for us in this,

while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us."

That is why the Bible says,

"This is love.

Not that we first loved God, but that

He first loved us."

That is why the Bible passage you know so well by heart starts out with the words,

"For God so loved the world,

that He gave His only begotten Son

that whoever believes in Him

shall not perish, but

have everlasting life."

When it comes to salvation, this is the love that is absolutely necessary. God’s love for me is what provides my salvation. In fact, our scripture reading goes on and says,

"In this way,

love is made complete among us

so that we will have confidence

on the Day of Judgment.

There is no fear in love.

But perfect love drives out fear,

because fear has to do with punishment.

The one who fears,

is not made perfect in love."

What is that talking about? That means that, if I am relying on my love for God to get to Heaven, I am going to be afraid on Judgment Day. I am going to be afraid on Judgment Day, because I know my love for God was not strong enough to please God and cause Him to accept me. It never can be strong enough.

But our passage says,

"Perfect love

drives out fear."

God’s perfect love for us, drives out all of our fears. What is perfect love? The Bible says,

"Love

keeps no record of wrongs."

God does not keep a record of my wrongs, because His love is perfect. That love drives out all of my fears! I know on Judgment Day, I can stand there, with absolute confidence, knowing that there is not going to be a record of any wrongs that I have committed. I can stand before God in absolute joy and confidence with my salvation, based on God’s love for me!

So which of these two loves is necessary for salvation? God’s love

That gets us back to the other love, our love for God. There was a boy in eighth grade, by the name of Billy. Billy was born with something called cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy had distorted Billy’s body. Because of the cerebral palsy, he had a very labored time walking. His face was also distorted and speaking was very difficult for him, and so it took him a very long time to say things.

The other kids in Billy’s eight-grade class would mock him, walking like him, thinking it was funny. Sometimes they would mock him, by talking like Billy. They would all laugh at him, thinking they were funny.

Then, one day in their eighth grade classroom, the teacher was teaching a lesson on how to make speeches. She asked the students to pick someone to make a speech so they could evaluate that speech. The class picked Billy, thinking they would get a real kick out of Billy up there, trying to make a speech.

Billy walked up to the front of the class. And, Billy did make a speech. It took him five minutes to say 7 words. This is how Billy’s speech went:

"Jesus loves

me.

And, I love Jesus."

Oh, how Jesus loved Billy. Maybe no one else did, but oh, how Jesus loved Billy. Jesus paid the ultimate price for Billy. Jesus shed His blood on the cross, for Billy, so that Billy’s sins could be forgiven. Jesus took Billy to His heart, the way a shepherd takes his little lamb to his heart, to keep him safe. Jesus purchased a home for Billy in Heaven.

And, Billy knew that someday he would finally be free from all of his troubles, for all eternity. And, that is why Billy could say, "Jesus loves me. And, I love Jesus." Oh, how Billy loved Jesus. Oh, how thankful he was to Jesus.

Is there anybody in this room, who must not say the same thing that Billy said? Oh, we may not have cerebral palsy, but there is much wrong with every one of us in this room. And must we not say,

"Jesus loves me.

And, I love Jesus.

Jesus has died for my sins.

He has paid that precious price of His own blood

to wash away my sins.

He has taken me to His heart,

like a shepherd takes a little lamb.

He has a home waiting for me in Heaven.

Oh, how Jesus loves me!

And, I love Jesus!"

That is why our scripture reading says,

"We love,

because He first loved us."

That is part of being a Christian. It is a natural fruit of faith. Knowing what Jesus did for me, causes my heart to love God and love my Savior in thankfulness. In fact, our scripture reading from the Bible goes so far as to say,

"Whoever does not love,

does not know God because

God is love."

Our scripture says,

If anyone says,

"I love God,"

yet hates his brother,

he is a liar.

If we know Jesus, if we know the love that He has for us, there is going to be a love in our hearts for God.

When this sermon began I asked you a question. The question was: Think about God’s love for us and our love for God. Which of those is necessary for a Christian?

The answer is: They both are. They both are!

God’s love for me is necessary for my salvation. I cannot get to Heaven, without God’s love for me. But my love for God is going to be a natural fruit of faith. My love for God is not going to get me to Heaven. Jesus gets me to Heaven. But my love for God is going to be there.

The Bible says,

"We love

because He first loved us."

My love for God is something that I want to grow in, all of the time. So, how do I grow in my love for God? The more I hear the Gospel, the more I know the Gospel. The more I know the Gospel, the more I know Jesus. And then, the more I am filled with what God did for me, the more I am going to grow in my love for God. That love for God is then going to manifest itself, in the way we treat others.

Amen.

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