Profound love of people 2023
Further Up, Further In (2) • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Series and today’s text
Series and today’s text
What a journey we have been on through out this lenten series. If you have missed any part of it, I would encourage you to go to youtube and get caught up. Or if you would like to read about these stops, there is a very accessible book called Maximum Faith.
So on this Palm Sunday, we turn to the final stop.... Profound love of people.
(Show pressing on chart)
This is what Barna says about this stop:
One of the hardest points of the journey — and probably the reason it is the final stop — is that of loving people as much as you love God or yourself, and more than you love any other aspects of life. Based on my interviews with the people who have reached this place, I think it is usually last on the map for the simple reason that people are not loveable. Only God could truly see past all the garbage and obstacles to embrace them unconditionally. Stop 10 — extreme love of people — is possible only if you become a vessel for God’s love. In other words, it is not even you who loves them as much as it is God, who now controls your life and determines your demeanor and behavior. It is He who is loving them through you, in spite of you.
“He is so lovable” ....reminds us that we know it’s a hard thing to find.
We all know those EGR people....
I am not talking about any of you of course.
Now coming to today’s text 1 Peter 1. I was surprised when I dug into the passage from when we first assigned this text.....
Let’s read it...
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.
21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
24 For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall,
25 but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
Let’s pray.
Introduction
Introduction
Cancer floor introduction. How do you love hard people?
Peter is speaking to the family
Peter is speaking to the family
In our text today, the apostle Peter is writing to the family. Which is not where I thought we would land to end this series.
But we preach the text and not the series, and I think you will see how this leads to a greater call to love people.
In this section he speaks in three movements that we will cover:
Remember who you are
Loving our family
Crave life
1. Remember who you are
1. Remember who you are
What is curious about all of this is that you cannot reach stop 10 without remembering the truth that you found in stop 5. Forgiveness, identity, adoption is foundational to loving people.
Peter puts it this way:
18 For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,
19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.
21 Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.
and again in a couple verses....
23 For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.
Before he ever gets around to the community values and any instruction on Christian living, he tells them to remember the first love.
What is Peter saying here?
He is a little repetitious....
There is this linguistic sandwich here (Inclusio)
18-19: you were not purchased with some minor cost. It was not like a financial debt, even a big one. Not something that can be taken away or erased. But you were purchased by the imperishable Jesus. You were bought with life, the life of God.
21: that is where your hope is…in the enduring, imperishable life.
23: Then in 23, he says you are imperishable. The life that bought you, fills you. The old is gone and the new has come.
What Peter is going to say about love in this passage, is to not love deeply is to actually cheapen the grace that saved you and deny the life within you.
say it again.
Love your family
Love your family
Now Peter turns to the community. Remembering who you are and whose you are is the foundation for community.
22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart.
Peter does something interesting here. He uses two different words for love here:
Philadelphia: mutual love between siblings
and Agape love: This is often the word used for Christian love. Agape is sacrificial and given without the need for reciprocation.
Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love (Philadelphia) for each other, love (agape) one another deeply, from the heart.
Why use these two different words?
Peter is saying: A community of individuals that understand they are born again will love one another , firstly, and love one another deeply, secondly.
If we as individuals will embrace the love of God in our lives and will love deeply, without the need of reciprocation, then there will be kingdom movement of mutual love in a community.
Crave life
Crave life
Now Peter talks about how to sustain and build the life given us....
1 Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind.
2 Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,
3 now that you have tasted that the Lord is good.
First, get rid of all of this that is from the old life. It is not who you are anymore:
malice,
hypocrisy,
envy,
slander
Peter starts with the need to purge these things for a particular reason.
Pouring a glass full of malice, hypocrisy, envy, slander....we leak out on people.
Pour full of love, this is what spills out on others....
This is so important for the church
When I first moved to Kentucky for seminary, I went church shopping. One of my professors, told me to pay attention to how people treat one another.
bible study, hearing someone talking bad about another member
and then another church, I heard someone make fun of one of the pastors a little
I did not attend either one of those churches again. You know why? Because I did not get the impression that there was a culture of agape or philadelphia love.
Since the McManns first arrived here, we have experienced a genuine hospitality that is of the Lord. Back in June/July, I was here but started my tenure on paternity leave, so I tried to attend without you knowing I was here. We had a wonderful experience. This church is in a place where hospitality is a priority. But it isn’t perfect. I have also still heard some experiences of people visiting and it not as favorable. So let me challenge us:
I love the work we do to make contact and invite people into the life of the church.
But let me ask you a question, if we do all of these things. Do you think it will make any difference if there is a person at every door. Every pastor makes a genuine point of contact, they love the music, preaching, and then they experience one of us talking junk about another person.
I have been in too many rooms at church where we find casual ways to slander another brother or sister in the church. There has been too many harmed by malice, anger and selfishness.
Peter says take it off. It is gone.
and he puts it in the most amazing terms:
Crave pure spiritual milk, so that you might grow up in your salvation.
Milk here is life itself. Since you have been born again by life, crave life with all that you have.
Do you hunger for it? Do you desire it in your life?
Conclusion:
One anothers: at least 45 instances of ways that we are to care for one another.
The primary activity of the church was one-anothering one another. – Andy Stanley
Some overlap, to at least 25 of them and they can be broken down into these 4 categories:
Love and appreciate each other
Protect each other
Support each other in growth
Trust and Respect each other
• Love and appreciate each other. This includes the injunctions to love each other; live in harmony; accept each other; eliminate jealousy or envy; care for each other; show patience and kindness toward one another; and enjoy fellowship together. example: passengers on an airplane
• Protect each other. We are to look out for each other’s best interests, which includes warning each other — especially about sin, deception, and becoming hardened against God. Example: racism, book club,
• Support each other in growth. The Bible exhorts us to build up each other; offer encouragement; give help or assistance through our spiritual gifts; teach and counsel each other; do good to others; facilitate the spiritual receptivity of others; pray for and serve each other. Example: this is not just an all loving acceptance. Do we consider a responsibility that others might grow in salvation?
• Trust and respect one another. This is accomplished by honoring each other; refusing to condemn others; being sensitive to each other’s needs; seeking common ground with each other so there is no needless quarreling; speaking truth; forgiving each other; and sympathizing with each other. example: politics. Not sure we are ready for Jesus and politics full on. But listen, there is too much fighting across the aisles. Do you know that there are people that vote democrat because they care for the poor and the immigrant and the minority groups? Do you know that there are those that vote republican because they care about sanctity of human life?
Start learning to listen to understand.
This is where it begins. You want to do something amazing in the kingdom? start practicing love right here.
35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”