Love One Another

Introduction

Funny Story about Love

Question: Have you ever been so in love with some that there isn’t anything you wouldn’t do to be close to them and to show them how much you love them?

24 years go I fell head over heals for a girl that walked into the lunch room at college ,. and after that moment, all I could think about was wanting to be close to her so that I could show her how much I liked her. I would do anything I could to prove to her that I had totally fallen for her.

after the school year was over she decided that instead of staying around Iowa where I was) to go all the way back home to Hibbing Mn -7 hours way, to work in the iron mines to make money for college.

And when she left and headed North, I felt alone.

I felt incomplete,

I felt like part of me was missing. and all I wanted to do was to be united with her again.

Have you ever been so in love with someone else that when they are not there, you feel like your life just isn’t complete?

I couldn’t Handle the separation any longer, SoOne Sunday Morning, I got this bright idea that if I left right after the morning service in Nevada Iowa and drove a little faster than normal, I could get to her church in Hibbing in time for the 6 pm service.

So as Soon as the sermon was over - I jumped in my 1991 Nissan Maxima and hit the road.

everything was going great for the first hour, until I passed the CLEAR LAKE EXIT. Where my plan got totally disrupted.

As I passed the exit I looked in my rear view Mirror and Realized that there was a Highway Patrolman fastly approaching my car.

I pulled over and He gave me quite a large ticket for Driving a little too fast .

Luckily for me he only took 15 minutes off my time, and Iw as still determined to make it to Hibbing in time to surprise Amy at her church

I pulled back out on the highway and My plan was back into motion. The ticket didn't even matter, In fact, I thought it was worth it for the opportunity to be with Amy.

You know Men, sometimes we dont seem to learn our lessons do we?

3 hours later as I was passing Hinkley Minnesota , They decided to give me another thank you for visiting our community card.- I got pulled over a second time. and Got a 2nd speeding ticket.

After that one my urgency to get to Hibbing slowed down a little bit, but my mission was still under way.

I pulled into town just in time for the service to end, and When I finally saw her face to face, My heart was filled with Joy, because I felt complete once again.

Church Family , This morning as we Continue to Look at the One another Commands Jesus gave us as the church. I believe that there is no greater command than what He said in John 13:34-35

John 13:34–35 (ESV)

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

In fact this command is so important for the church that it is mentioned 13 times in the New Testament letters to the church.

Jesus again in John 15:12-13

John 15:12–13 (ESV)

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Paul writes to the Roman church and says

Romans 12:10 (ESV)

10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

Peter says to the church

1 Peter 1:22 (ESV)

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

and then as He closes His letter He says

1 Peter 4:8 (ESV)

8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

ˇhe apostle John wrote about loving your brothers and sister multiple times in his letters to the church as well.

1 John 4:7 (ESV)

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

The church is called to love one another with so much passion that there wouldn't be any extreme they are not willing to go to to be One with their church family.

When it comes to the church, loving one another is not an option. its the foundation of who we are in Christ.

Simply put- If we are not loving one another in the church than we are not truly IN Christ,

This morning I want us to consider three things about our love for One another in the church..

The first thing I want us to consider is that our love for One Can only come through Jesus… We can Can only....

Love One Another Because of Jesus

Understand that it is only through Christ love for us, that we now have the capacity to sacrificially love one another. 1 John 4:7-11

1 John 4:7–11 (ESV)

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Do you get what John is telling the church? Our ability to love one another can only come through being born of God.

look again at John’s Words in verse 7

vs 7- “whoever loves has been born of God and knows God, Why “Because God is Love.”

Church- it is impossible for you to have love for one another if you are not in Christ.

in verse 8 John says anyone who does not love does not know God.

Your love for your brothers and sister in the church is a paternity test for your salvation. Your love for others in the church proves you are a child of God.

John Reminds us in verse 9-10 that the only reason we even have the capacity to love one another is Because of Gods great love for us.

Look again at what He says

1 John 4:9–10 (ESV)

9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

The greatest love story of All times is that the God of the universe sovereignly chose to love sinful man despite our hatred towards Him.

Romans ROAD

Romans 3:23 (ESV)

23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Romans 6:23 (ESV)

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5:8 (ESV)

8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Romans 10:9–10 (ESV)

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

Romans 8:1 (ESV)

1 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.

God loved you so much that He sent his only perfect son to come to thus earth to pay the penalty for your sins in full.

and the Bible tells us that when we accept this free gift of salvation that God offers we are Born again into Christ.

and its this New Birth in Christ we receive the character of Our Father- Of God in our lives.

So you see church family the only way that we can love one another is all because Christ first loved us, and willingly went to the cross so that He could pay our debt of sin and redeem us back to the father. .

Trans: the next thing we need to consider is that we are commanded to...

Love One Another Like Jesus

Not only is Jesus sacrificial love towards us what Saves us it is also the example He has called us to Follower in the church.

4Look again with me at what Jesus said in John 15:12-13

John 15:12–13 (ESV)

12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

When Jesus tells his church to love one another He is saying “follow my example”.

“Your Love for your brothers and sisters in the church should be so deep that there isn't anything you wouldn't do for their spiritual good.

The Apostle Paul was a Missionary who planted many Churches across the Roman Empire. And one church that Paul Planted and discipled was the Church in Corinth.

And the Bible tells us that After Paul left, the church in Corinth, it began to fall away from the teachings that Paul had given them to follow. The teachings of how to be a church that loves Jesus and Follows after Jesus.

In Fact, it doesn’t take long for the reader of 1 Corinthians to realize that this church had some major sin problems going on. and the root of all these problems was that they were not loving each other the way that Christ had called them to love.

In the first chapter right after Paul gives his greeting to the church . Look at what he says....

1 Corinthians 1:10–11 (ESV)

10 I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 11 For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers.

This church was not loving one another

They had forgotten how sinfully rotten they were before Christ chose to save them. and now some of the people in the church were bent on getting their own way no matter the cost ,and Paul says that they were causing many divisions among the people in the church.

(pause)

Pauls heart was broken for this church, they abandoned their love of Christ for one another and went back to their selfish desires.

and So Paul begins this letter as a reprimand to the church, pointing out the many sinful behaviors and attitudes that have been allowed to fester and grow in the church. And because these many sins were not dealt with the church as whole had lost its love for Christ and for One another.

and then we come to chapter 12 where Paul reminds this broken church that they are many members of one Body- Abd they need one another- and it takes all of the members using the gifts that God has given each of them for the church to function as a church should function.

and now we come to chapter thirteen where Paul says “ the only way that you can function properly as a church is if you first have love for one another.

and Paul writes for the church some of the most precious words in all of Scripture He writes what loving others like Jesus looks like in a believers life.

Listen to how Paul describes the Love of Christ that our lives should display to one another in the church

1 Corinthians 13 (ESV)

1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Church family IN order for each of us to truly love one another- we must first be willing to put aside our own preferences, our own desires, our own selfishness so that we can love one another like Christ loved us as his enemy

Love is Patient- it understands that we are all growing in Christ and still battling a sin nature

Love is Kind- It is generous and considerate of others

Love does not Envy - it does not get jealous of others success and blessings

Love does not Brag - it does flaunt what God has given him

Love is not Proud - it does not build himself up, but humble serves

Love is not Rude - it is not impolite in how it speaks to others

Love does not Demand its Own Way- It seeks the spiritual good of others if even its not how it thinks the church should

Love does not get Irritated at Others- Instead of angry responses, it allows for grace to overflow

Love does not keep a record of being wronged- It lets go of sins that have been committed against it,

Love is not glad about injustice- it doesn’t find joy in other peoples failures

Love rejoices when the truth wins- It gets excited when God’s Word wins the battles

Love bears all things - it never gives up on others

Love believes all things - it never loses faith in others

Love hopes all things- it always hopes the best for others

Love endures all things - It stays faithful no matter the cost

Love Never Ends

Church family to love one another like Christ means that we have to lay aside our own desires, to lay aside our own preference, all for the spiritual good of our church.

to love like Christ means that we love one another just like He loved us when we were still in our sin. When were where his enemy.

Trans: Finally we must consider Why it matters for us to “love one another in the church”,

It matters- Because when we show unconditional love for one another Jesus Christ Receives the Glory.

We....

Love One Another For Jesus

When we love one another in the church - We are being the hands and feet of Jesus to the church, to God’s Chosen people.

Think about it this way,

Have you ever been given a gift that just blew you away with how amazing it was?

Story: When Amy and I were 19 and 20 we were young and in love and decided we wanted to get married. And one of the big responsibilities for a newly wed couple is to have a place to live. And being broke college students this was a little bit of a problem.

So we began to pray about what to do about it, and our church family also prayed about it with us.

And as a result an elderly lady in our church w named Anna Wessinhauer came up to my dad - the pastor and said I would like to give Jason and Amy my mobile home for free so that they have a place of their own to live.

I didn't really know Anna Wessinhauer before she gave us this gift. I knew about her, I had talked to her on occasion but I didn't really spend time with her.

But after that gift, I really enjoyed getting to know her, I went out of my way to make sure to talk to her each week at church. When she needed help I wanted to to jump in and be a big part of.

You see it wasn't a burden to love Anna because she loved me first. I was excited to show love to Anna because her love for me was so overwhelming

The same is true for those of us who have been given the gift of eternal life through Jesus.

Living our life for his glory isn't a burden any more- It should bring us joy. when we truly understand the magnatude of the love Christ demonstrated for us, than sharing that love with others should be one of our greatest desires as His church.

You see when we love one another we are bringing glory to Jesus because we are faithfully serving His church and joyfully obeying His commands.

But our love for One another in the church is even greater than this

remember what ....

John 13:34–35 (ESV)

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Church family- When we love One another like Jesus loved us We are proclaiming Christ to world.

We love one another in the church so that Christ receives the glory in our lives.

BRING IT HOME

How is your love life with your church family?

Are you joyfully loving your church in a way that builds them up?

Are excited to come to church so that you can be close to the ones you are called to love?

If you are here this morning and have never experienced the love that God has offered to all mankind through his son jesus.

I plead with you to stop trying to live your life for yourself and let Jesus Christ redeem you back to God.

If you have never asked God to forgive your sins. You are still condemned to an eternity apart from God and His love forever in that place called hell.

and as we looked at briefly this morning the only thing that can redeem you from this eternal judgment is the love of God. The love that Sent His only son to take your place and pay the debt of sin you owe in full.

Romans 10:9–10 (ESV)

9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.

CHALLENGE FROM THIS VERSE

Christians -Are you obeying the command to love one another in your life?

Dont loose sight of God’s love that He graciously poured out on you as his enemy,

Let the love of Christ dwell in you richly, Over flowing as you serve your church family. I challenge you brothers and sister sin Christ to purposely choose to love ONE ANOTHER in Christ all so that the Name of jesus will be glorified in this church, and in our community and around the World.

If we are going to make and equip discipels of Jesus in this community. It must first start with our love for One another. There is no other way

PRAY