Compelled by Love

Have you ever felt compelled to do something?

Forgetting to call my mother in college for 3 weeks and then being yelled at. I felt compelled to then phone every week since.

There are a few ways we can feel compelled:

1) Compelled by Force - threat of violence or punishment - This way involves authority - parents often use this to get kids to do chores - how many of us have gone and cleaned our room because of two words: “or else”?

2) Compelled by Obligation - social pressure that makes you do that which you don’t really want to, but do. - This way usually involves guilt - “Go visit your grandma. I don’t want to - she smells like iodine and cheese. Remember, she won’t be here forever so go do it.”

3) Compelled by love - the love you have for someone is so great, it causes you to want to do something for them.

In the passage Brandon read us earlier, it says that we, the followers of Jesus, because we know about the future state of humanity, are trying to persuade people about Jesus. But why would we do this? Paul says it’s because we are compelled to.

Paul’s argument is that because we know and have experienced Jesus’ deep and lavish love for us and for the world, we have to - we are compelled to - respond to that love by sharing it with others.

But is it true? How can we know that God actually loves us?

In 1994, 67-year-old Russell Herman of Dolton, Illinois, passed away from cancer in a VA hospital. After his death, his will was read and it included a staggering set of bequests.

Included in his plan for distribution was more than two billion dollars for the City of East St. Louis, two billion and change for a small town in Illinois called Cave-In-Rock, another billion and a half for the State of Illinois, two and a half billion for the national forest system, six trillion dollars to the Federal Reserve to help pay off the national debt, and another six trillion to the U.S. Treasury to “help get the country back on track.”

And while that sounds amazingly generous, but there was a small problem—Herman’s only asset when he died in 1994 was joint ownership of a 1983 Oldsmobile Toronado.

Someone can say “I love you” every day, but if they don’t back up their words with actions, their words become meaningless, like Russell Herman’s will.

We often say in the church that “God loves you.” And some people react to that with skepticism because, to them, it may feel like it’s simply just words.

So what evidence is there that God loves us?

It’s his Divine Nature

1 John 4:8 NLT

8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

Whenever Christians have acted outside of love, they have acted outside the nature of God himself. When Christians hate anyone else for any reason whatsoever, they are actually denying God. When Christians are indifferent to the pain and the problems in the world, they are denying God who loves all of his creation.

And if you have experienced a lack of love in some of the Christians you have met at some point in your life, I am so sorry. I hope you can forgive us. It’s why its so important to judge Christianity on the one its founded upon, Jesus, and not those who adhere to it, because we are imperfect people.

Our God is love.

He proves it by answering our prayers

Mark 11:24 NLT

24 I tell you, you can pray for anything, and if you believe that you’ve received it, it will be yours.

Our God is not aloof, up in the clouds, watching history dispassionately unfold while eating grapes. He is involved! He not only sustains everything by his word, he is actively listening to you and responding to your prayers.

Sometimes he says no, because what you want isn’t what’s best.

Sometimes he says, wait, because it’s not the right time for what you are asking for.

And sometimes he says, yes, because he loves to shower you with blessing.

He even prays for us when we don’t know what to pray!

Romans 8:26 NLT

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words.

Our God proves his love to us over and over when he answers our prayers.

He proves it through the cross

Romans 5:8 NIV

8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

The cross is the ultimate act of love. On it, Jesus takes all the sin of the world - all your sin and my sin - upon himself.

Although he himself was completely innocent of all wrongdoing, he took the punishment meant for you and I because he loves us.

1 John 4:10 NLT

10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

So when God says, “I love you,” - when we tell others that “God loves them” - it has been backed up with actions that prove that it’s true. God really does love you and he shows it to you through these examples and through the million little ways he sustains you everyday.

Our God IS love - he loves you and invites you to experience the fullness of life in him. And you can experience that fullness…

Romans 10:9 NIV

9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

And if this is the first time that you can honestly say that you believe that Jesus rose from the dead and that he is the Lord of all creation and of your life, then welcome to the family of God.

But this love that God gives isn’t just meant for you. Jesus wants each of us to share that love with others, so that they also can become adopted children of God and experience a life that is fully alive in Christ.

But, beloved, let us be honest with each other for a moment. Sharing the love of Jesus can be a monumental challenge for some of us.

Many people are afraid of rejection. They believe that if people hear them talking about religion and Jesus, they will be spurned, rejected, cast out socially as one of those “weirdos.”

We fear confrontation and we assume that if we share about Jesus there will be confrontation.

We are afraid that they will ask questions we won’t have the answers to and will reject Christianity because we weren’t smart enough. We feel like we don’t know enough to talk about Jesus - that we haven’t been equipped to do so.

Many of us have bought into the lie that we should “live and let live.” That it is okay for you to believe in Jesus, but that it’s wrong for you to share that with others. Maybe it’s the Canadian culture within us that doesn’t want to offend anyone.

And maybe we are resistant to share the love of Jesus because many of us believe that everyone is entitled to believe what they want. And I think that’s true. Everyone is entitled to believe what they want. No one should force another to adopt their view.

BUT if the love of Jesus - which makes us fully alive - which has been proven through his death and resurrection - is truly good news, then it is good news for EVERYONE and I believe that our world is desperate to hear some good news these days.

Sharing your faith - sharing the love of Jesus - isn’t forcing anyone to agree with you - it’s about providing them the the knowledge and the opportunity to come to faith.

Throughout the book of Acts, Paul the apostle would preach and over and over again, it books says that some believed and others did not. But despite the mixed results, Paul kept telling people about Jesus. He was compelled to share the love of Jesus because he had experienced the love of Jesus.

And for Paul, sharing the love of Jesus wasn’t about a demographic. He shared it with everyone.

Believers - he wrote to the churches about God’s love

2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV

14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

Unbelievers - In Acts 26, Paul shares about Jesus to Agrippa and Festus, who don’t believe.

Jews - In Acts 9, Paul, who had just met the resurrected Jesus himself, goes into the jewish synagogue and shares with them about Jesus.

Gentiles - hated by the Jews for centuries. Also in Acts 9, God says to Ananias about Paul that he is the chosen instrument to proclaim Jesus to the Gentiles.

Women - In Acts 16, Paul shares about Jesus to the women gathered at the river.

Paul shared the love of Jesus with everyone because everyone needs the love of Jesus.

Church, listen to me - for the sake of the world, for the sake of our families, for the sake of the next generation, we must allow the love of Jesus to compel us to share that love with others.

But what does sharing the love of Jesus look like?

1. Sharing the love of Jesus prioritizes relationships over results

People are not projects. We have to engage with them honestly and with integrity. If found out that someone you knew was trying to be friends with you only so that they could try to convert you to their religion, how would you feel?

To put it bluntly, you would probably feel unloved. You would see that their goal wasn’t your good and they weren’t interested in a mutual life-giving relationship. You were just a project to them.

I believe that we are called to love people no matter what they believe. So yes, try to have a conversation about Jesus. Share your story. But, whether they say yes or no to Jesus should not change the relationship for you. If they say yes, you don’t move on to the next project person and hope they figure it out. If they say no, you don’t abandon them and write them off.

1 Corinthians 3:6 NIV

6 I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow.

Someone’s spiritual journey is just that - a journey. There are people and events that God uses to bring that person to faith. You are just one piece of that puzzle.

Your job is to share the love of Jesus, not to win souls. It’s God’s job through the Holy Spirit to make the truth that you share come alive in a person’s heart that leads them trusting in Jesus.

Prioritize relationship over results.

2. Sharing the love of Jesus is about weaving a tapestry of stories.

Listen to and engage with THEIR story. Be curious without judgement on their history.

Weave your story in with theirs. Find points of commonality

Weave both those stories in with God’s story. Where has God been at work in your life, even lately? Where do you see God working in their life? How does the gospel speak good news into their story?

Learn to be a good listener -active, remembering details, etc.

Be able to articulate your spiritual story - Why do you follow Jesus and what difference has he made, and is He making in your life? Include the past and the present work of Jesus in your life.

Know the basics of our faith. Be able to articulate the death and resurrection of Jesus. For some help with that, there is a good book called “Know What You Believe” by Paul Little that can be a great tool for you. It’s short (120 pages) and to the point.

3. Sharing the love of Jesus is done through word AND deed

It’s not enough to say I love you and not show it with actions. Like Russell Herman’s will, a love that is only spoken and never demonstrated is empty and useless.

On the other side, to continually do things for others that you think are loving without telling them why you are doing it, leaves room for them to doubt and misunderstand your love.

We need to love people with both words and deeds. It’s true in relationships and it’s true in Christianity. If you tell people God loves them by yelling it on a street corner, most people won’t believe you or care.

If you do all these nice things for your friends, family and neighbours, and never tell them about Jesus, then they will praise you, not him.

But if you tell people about the love of God, and show them he loves them by helping them, listening to them, encouraging them and being present to them, then the gospel is truly going forth.

Matthew 5:16 NIV

16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

4. Sharing the love of Jesus involves three major components

Perhaps one of the most important verses about sharing our faith is found in……

1 Peter 3:15 NIV

15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,

A. Hope

Live and speak with hope for the future. We have a God who is going to redeem all of this. We have a great hope and in today’s world, which is full of despair, we need to live and express that hope. Don’t start telling people how they are sinners and need a saviour - start with your hope.

B. Gentleness

I don’t think you can yell someone into the kingdom, especially in Canada. I pretty sure that when Westboro Baptist waves their posters of hate towards military funerals, musicians, or during Pride week they are not representing the character of Jesus. Our scriptures command us to give people a reason for our hope with gentleness, just like Jesus was when he interacted with people. In fact, the only times he wasn’t very gentle was when the religious leaders took advantage of the people for their personal gain. Then he got the whip out and drove them away.

C. Respect

Respect for people’s choice; respect for people’s journey; respect for people’s beliefs that differ from ours. Whether we agree with them or not, we need to speak with respect to people and never belittle them.

To share the love of Jesus means we should prioritize relationship over results. We should weave a tapestry that involves their story, your story and God’s story. We should share the love of Jesus through both our words and our deeds. We should share how the love of Jesus gives us hope. And we should share the love of Jesus with gentleness and respect for everyone.

Conclusion

Have you ever been compelled to do something?

When we were dating, I drove in my ‘89 Hyundai Excel to see Abby, who was a camp counsellor at Crowsnest Lake Bible Camp in Coleman, AB. It took, because of summer construction, 10hrs one-way to get there. I was there in time for supper and an amazing evening visit where we dreamed of the future together. In fact, that was the first time we had ever really talked about getting married. At about 10 pm, we said goodnight and went to our separate rooms and the next morning, I got up, said goodbye and drove home.

I drove over 20 hours for a 5 hour visit. Why? Because I was in love. And love compelled me to go see her. And I am so glad I made that trip.

Jesus loves you even more than I love my wife. And I love her a lot. He proves that love by answering your prayers, by caring for you. He proved it ultimately by dying on the cross for you - so that you can have a relationship with him.

So, like the apostle Paul, let’s be people who are compelled by the love of God to share that love with friends, our families, with each other, and with the world that is crying out in desperation for some good news.

Pray.