Practice Love
Notes
Transcript
Introduction - ARK (act of random kindness)
Start with “random acts of violence and senseless acts of cruelty” - then transition to “acts of random kindness and senseless acts of beauty” - What is a random act of kindness?
A random act of kindness is a nonpremeditated, inconsistent action designed to offer kindness towards the outside world. The phrase "practice random kindness and senseless acts of beauty" was written by Anne Herbert on a placemat in Sausalito, California in 1982. It was based on the phrase "random acts of violence and senseless acts of cruelty".
Which do you see and hear more of in the media?
Transitional sentence: So every time we perform a random act of kindness we practice Love!
And that is counter to the culture of the world because the world hates Christians! So, what does our passage for today say about “random acts of kindness?”
13 Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death.
15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?
18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.
19 We will know by this that we are of the truth, and will assure our heart before Him
20 in whatever our heart condemns us; for God is greater than our heart and knows all things.
21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God;
22 and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.
23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
This passage begins with John reminding us that the world hates the disciples of Christ Jesus. Verse 13 “Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.” Then he tells us the difference between those who believe and those who do not believe with verses 14 and 15 point out those who have eternal life and those who do not. And then he finishes up with what we the disciples of Christ can do as disciples. Verse 17 points to acts of random kindness, and verse 23 with believing and loving. Did you see the random acts of kindness mixed into this passage? whether you did or you didn’t, the question for now is: Why does the world hate us?
Well according to the answer given by Jesus and recorded in the gospel of John chapter 15:18-19 the world doesn’t really hate us, it hates the one living in us - Christ Himself.
John 15:18–19 (NASB95)
18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you.
19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.
They hated Jesus first because He was not of this world - and if they hate us because of Him it proves that we are not of this world. This hatred translates to persecution and murder. According to the Christian ministry Open Doors; 13 Christians are murdered every day for their faith. This is probably a low number because in a lot of countries, like North Korea the murders would be in secret or would not be reported. This is how we know the world hates Christians, we are persecuted and murdered for our faith.
So, why does the world persecute and murder the disciples of Christ?
5 Reasons Christians are persecuted according to Open Doors
1. Jesus is competition for power - Think about a dictator like Kim Jong Un. His rule over North Korea is based on the fact that he has absolute power. No one is above him or his family; no one can question him; no one can have any allegiance to anyone other than to him.
But if someone becomes a Christian, that position is filled by Jesus. He is our King, our ultimate allegiance and His name is above all others
2. Christianity challenges the surrounding culture - In every culture, following Jesus means challenging culture. A group of peacemaking people who seek justice, love mercy and orient their lives around God’s Word are naturally going to look a little … well, different!
3. Doing good means opposing the bad - In places like Colombia or Mexico, Christians, especially church leaders who are also often community leaders, are targeted because they boldly oppose organized crime and corruption—following Jesus means they stand for Jesus and truth. Standing up for justice when the surrounding culture is unjust means that persecution will soon follow.
4. A new identity is dangerous - In many places around the world, religious faith is tied up in questions of ethnicity, culture and family. When a person converts to follow Jesus, they are doing more than adopting a new belief system; they are often viewed as having turned their backs on their families, their friends, their communities and even their nation.
5. Jesus is competition for other beliefs - In many places, following Jesus is viewed as more than even a social or cultural threat—it’s seen as a direct challenge to the dominant belief system of faith. In Pakistan, Christians are regarded as second-class citizens because Christianity is viewed as inferior to Islam. Christians in South Asia can be accused of blasphemy against Islam without any proof, leading to mob violence. The assumption is that anyone who belongs to a minority religion, like Christianity, is automatically guilty of openly challenging the surrounding religion. This is also why so many countries have anti-conversion laws.
Basically because Christ Jesus lives in us and we try to live our lives according to His Word we oppose everything the world stands for and so we are persecuted and murdered. Love standing against the storm of hate. Unfortunately hate is equivalent to death. All those who hate will die 1 John 3:15 “15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” No Jesus - No love No love - No Life
But how does Hate = Murder? After all hate is an emotion and murder is an act of violence direct towards someone. Jesus said it this way -
Matthew 5:21–22 (NASB95)
21 “You have heard that the ancients were told, ‘You shall not commit murder’ and ‘Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.’
22 “But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-nothing,’ shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’ shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell.
So, anger is just as bad as murder in God’s eyes.
He also said:
21 “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,
22 deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness.
Hate is just an emotion... but emotions lead to actions. When we become so angry with someone that we actually hate them it isn’t long before the emotion in our heart begins to spill out into action. Hate = murder or physical violence, lust = fornication or adultery, greed = coveting = theft, pride = fear = deceit and whatever other evil thoughts we may have spill out into some kind of physical action. It all starts on the inside and that list of five reasons the world persecutes Christians, covers a lot of reasons why the emotions begin.
But why does it matter that hate = murder? Well go back to verse 15: “15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” Murderers do not have eternal life, they only have eternal death. And eternal death is something that everyone should want to flee from.
Revelation 21:8 (NASB95)
8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
That second death comes after the great white throne judgement where everyone will stand before God and answer for their life. So check your heart, get rid of any anger that you are carrying around. You don’t need it, it will only bring you pain and suffering.
So if hate = death; does love = eternal life? Maybe. The problem is what motivates the love. If the love is from Christ Jesus who abides in the one doing the loving then yes - if it is loving so you can gain points for something, well maybe not. Even murders can love their own.
So, how can we know Love; and know that our love leads to eternal life? John tells us this in verse 16 of our passage.
16 We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
This is the point of all of it - He did it first for us. He provided an example, an example that is difficult to follow.
But the big point of this is that He did it, He laid down His life, it wasn’t taken from Him by the Jews, or Rome or any other power. He chose to do it for our sake. He even told His disciples that He was going to do it and He told them that He would take it up again.
17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it again.
18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”
Since we have such a wonderful example of love with Jesus laying down His life there shouldn’t be any problem knowing what to do. The Spirit will lead us to act in such a way if it is ever necessary. When Jesus laid down His life He died for us. But the point of laying down our lives doesn’t necessarily mean we need to die for someone. Most of us will never even be in a situation that would lead us to die for someone. Most of the time we simply need to be able to stop what we are doing or change our plans and help someone. Or even simply do something in the middle of what we are doing to help someone.
In the movie Even all mighty Morgan Freeman who was playing God asked this question - “How do we change the world?” The answer was “One random act of kindness at a time.”
“How do we change the world? One random act of kindness at a time.” --Morgan Freeman
When we take a minute out of our day or we stop what we are doing and help someone with expectations we are performing a random act of kindness. Even more so if you willing put aside your plans for the day and help with a bigger need. This is laying down your life. We don’t need to die for someone the way Jesus did - we simply need to help how we can.
But if the world hates us why should we should lay down our lives or perform random acts of kindness? Well...
27 “But I say to you who hear, love your enemies, do good to those who hate you,
28 bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Our Lord and Savior has given us a different example. Love, not hate, good, not violence, blessing not cursing. Even to those who are mistreating you.
And how do we do good and bless those who mistreat us...
Romans 12:20 (NASB95)
20 “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.”
Random acts of kindness. Your enemy would never expect you to feed him or give him a drink. Quite often the stranger you bless won’t expect it either. So what does our passage say about it?
Verse 17 tells some of the simple things that we can do to show love to others. 1 John 3:17 “17 But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?” In the context of almost two thousand years ago giving someone clothes was a big deal. Now giving away clothes is common. But it shows that even taking care of someones smallest needs can do wonders. It also shows that God abides in you.
Verse 18 goes on to tell us to love with deeds and truth, not just your words. 1 John 3:18 “18 Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” Anyone can say they love you and say nice things to you but sometimes that doesn’t help. Sometimes we need to actually do something for someone. We need to give them the shirt off of our back, take time to help someone move, or perform some other act of random kindness. Sometimes something so small that it seems trivial, but it might just be something special for the person who receives the blessing.
So here are a few random acts of kindness that we can do.
Top five Acts of Random Kindness (according to the Berkeley Well-Being Institute)
1. Compliment someone on one of their personality traits
2. Write a handwritten card to someone to say thanks
3. Text a friend to share your gratitude for something they did for you
4. Leave a positive review online of a restaurant you like
5. Tell a friend what you love about their children
So what does all this have to do with you? Where is your heart? Love or hate? We practice Love through random acts of kindness, but to know love we must know God’s commandment. Verse 23 tells us God’s commandment 1 John 3:23
23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
The wonderful thing about believing in Christ Jesus is eternal life. Love brings eternal life...
John 17:3 says:
John 17:3 (NASB95)
3 “This is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent.
Love God, Love the Son and Love one another. This is the commandment. The result - eternal life.
Exit - Believe in the Son so that you will know love. Practice love by doing acts of random kindness that our deeds may point others to Christ Jesus. Through Him we know love. Through Him we know how to lay down our lives. The world hates us. We are not being openly persecuted to much in this country yet… But when it comes how will you react? Will you crumble and forsake Christ or will you practice love. Sometimes it is hard to love someone - especially someone who is mistreating you but through the power of the Holy Spirit we can do it. Practice love, bless others and let others know to whom you belong. They will know we are Christians by our love.
Pray!!