Striving together for people
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1 John 4:7-12
1 John 4:7-12
Introduction: As we begin
This morning
Allow me
To relay a story
Told by DL Moody
Many years ago
He said
When the California gold fever
broke out,
a man
went there,
leaving his wife
in New England
with his boy.
And
As soon as he got on
and was successful
he was to send
for them.
So...
It was a long time
before he succeeded,
AND
at last
he got enough money
to send for them.
and
When he did
The wife’s heart leaped
for joy.
She took her boy
Then
to New York,
got on board
a Pacific steamer,
and sailed away
to San Francisco.
But
They had not been long
at sea
before the cry
of “Fire! fire!”
rang through the ship,
and rapidly
it gained on them.
Now
There was a powder magazine
on board,
and the captain
knew the moment
the fire reached the powder,
The gunpowder...
He knew
That
every man, woman, and child
Would perish.
so...
They got out
the life-boats,
but they were too small!
And they were quickly
Overcrowded.
And the last one
was just pushing away,
when the mother pled
with them
to take her
and her boy.
“No,” they said, “
we have got as many
as we can hold.”
so…
she entreated them
so earnestly,
that at last
they said they would take
one more.
now…
Moody said…
Do you think …
she leaped into that boat
and left her boy to die?
No!
She picked her boy up...
gave him one last hug,
kissed him,
and dropped him over
into the boat.
“My boy,”
she said,
“if you live
to see your father,
tell him that
I died in your place.”
And listen please
That is a faint picture …
of what Christ has done
for us.
He laid down his life
for us.
He died
that we might live.
And
It was His love
His love for people
That compelled him
To do that.
And with that in mind
Let’s read
Our text today
The Bible says
In 1 John 4:7–12 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.”
Let’s go to the Lord
In prayer
(Pray)
I. Consider the command v.7
Declaration
as
We begin
This Morning
Let me say that
The book of 1 John
is a great book.
It is a great book
of a great love!
a love
That
is mentioned
46 times
in 135 verses.
And this book
was written
to combat a heresy
known as Gnosticism.
Now
The Gnostic believed
that knowledge
was power.
And They felt that
they had a special knowledge
of God
and His ways.
so
John was writing
to put them
into their place!
And, as he does…
he tells the rest
of us...
And
Here
Is what I want you
to see
John tells
The rest of us
About
a great God
with a great love
for great sinners.
and
It is
that great love …
of that Great God …
that I want to address
for a few minutes. …
As we continue our series
On striving together.
And as we do…
Allow me
For the next Few minutes
To talk to you today
About striving together
For people.
And notice
Our key verse
If you would please.
John said
Here
In verse 4
1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
Now
I want you
Think about
What John was saying
With regards to people.
He was telling his readers
Who were likely
A network
Of established churches
In Asia minor.
But
John was telling them
To love one another.
That is
He was telling his readers
Let’s all of us
Strive together
For people
In loving them.
So
For little while
Let’s talk about
Striving together
For people.
But before we talk about
The mandate here
For us as Christians
To love people…
It
Is important for us
To understand
That as Christians
Our ability
To love one another…
And in fact
To love those
Who are lost…
Is directly tied
To the love of God
Within us.
In fact
Listen to John
Again
He said
(1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
He was saying
Our ability
To love one another
Rests upon
Is founded in
And
It dependent
Upon
God’s love
Working through us.
And…
That being the case…
Then
It is important for us
To garner…
Or do understand…
Some of the Facts
About God's Love.…
For just a few minutes.
And
To repeat
what John said
Love is of God.
Notice also
Verse 8
John said
(1 John 4:8 “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.”
Listen also
to verse 16
Here in chapter 4
John said
(1 John 4:16 “And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”
So
Let me make
A few statements
About God
Who is love.
That is
About God’s love.
And first of all
Let me say that
God’s love
Is unspeakable.
And let me tell you
What I mean by that.
His love
Is perfect
In fact
The word love
Used
Throughout this chapter
Is the Greek word
agape
Now
The Greek word
Agape
Refers
To the highest
And most selfless form
Of love
In existence
It is a selfless love
It
is a sacrificial,
benevolent Love
and is a deliberate choice
of the will.
and by way of information...
Agape love
is distinct
from romantic (eros)
or friendly (philia) love.
and
It is used
Throughout the New Testament
to describe God's love
for humanity.
But
God’s love
Is unspeakable
I can't Completely
understand it,
and
I
Don’t know why
God Would have extended it
To me.
but This I know …
I have experienced it …
and I can never
be separated
from it !
In fact
The apostle Paul
Wrote
In the book of Romans
And in chapter 8:38-39
And he said
(Romans 8:38–39 “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
By the way
Do you know
What
The word separate
Means
There in that verse?
It means…
To come between.
Paul was saying
That
Because we are believers
Because we are children
of God
Then
Nothing
Can come between us
And God’s great love
For all of us.
Man
God’s love
Is
An unspeakable love.
Discussion
But
Not only
is God’s love
An unspeakable love
But at the same time too
God’s love
Is an unending love.
In fact
The Lord said
In Jeremiah 31:3 “, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: Therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.”
Now
Think about that
If you would please
God’s love
Is everlasting
It never ends
It has
No expiration date
It
Doesn’t come
To a screeching halt
When I offend Him.
And let’s be honest…
We do offend the Lord
From time to time.
Because we are sinners.
Oh but
No matter
What we do
In terms of sin
No matter how often
We do them…
God’s great love for us
Doesn’t come
To a screeching halt
When we offend Him
With our sin.
Now
There are times
When the people in our lives
React that way
That
When we offend them
They sometimes
Withhold love from us
But not God
His love
Doesn’t change
Amid circumstances
Carnality
Or even changes.
God’s love
Is both unspeakable
and is unending!!
And
Our text
Makes it clear
As to why….
God’s love is unending.
"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
It says in verse 8
But
Not only is God’s love
Unspeakable
And unending
But at the same time too
God’s love
Is unselfish.
In that
When
God
Extends love
To us
He asks
for nothing
in return!
Now it is true
That God’s love
leads man
to repent
and turn to God
In fact
John said right here
in 1 John 4:19 “We love him, because he first loved us.”
But nonetheless
God’s love
Is unselfish.
It is a selfless love.
In that it gives…
And it gives…
And it gives!
Expecting
Nothing
In return.
And by the way…
The sad truth is
When it comes to people
Sometimes
God
Gets nothing in return
For His great love!
But
I’m so thankful
That God is love
Aren’t you?!?
And God’s love
Is unspeakable
It is perfect
And is the highest form
Of love
In existence!
God’s love
Is unending
Nothing can stop it
Nothing
Can remove it
Nothing can come between us
And God love.
And God’s love is unselfish
He gives it
To every man
Every woman
Every young person
In fact
The Lord Jesus said
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
But then
And this is important…
And I need you to hear this.
But God’s love
Is unmerited.
It is unfathomable
It is unending
It is unselfish
And it is unmerited
That is
it cannot be earned
or deserved!
Because see…
His love
is based
in His grace!
And
By way of example
I’m reminded
Of a time
When the Lord Jesus
Lamented
Over Jerusalem
In Matthew 23
And
Keep in mind
Jerusalem
The inhabitants of Jerusalem…
Many of them
Were far from God!
But as the Lord Jesus
Looked out
Across that vast city
The Bible says
That Jesus exclaimed
in Matthew 23:37–39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
And
The point is
in intense love
Jesus wept
Over that great city...
In great love
And the people
In that place
Weren’t deserving
Of the...
Unfathomable
Unending
Unselfish
Love of God
But I’m so thankful
Today that
God’s great love
Is still extended
To me
Every day of my life
Even though
I am undeserving
Of that love
But then
Not only
Is God’s love unfathomable
Unending
Unselfish
And unmerited
But I love this one
It is unconditional
That is
it
is not based
on what
we can
or cannot produce.
No...
it comes from the heart
of God.
see
The truth is
Man can never
reach a place
when he will not be loved
by God!
God loved us first,
He loved us
anyway
and He loves us
eternally!
But
Not only is God’s love
Unfathomable
Unending
Unselfish
Unmerited
And unconditional
But it is almost
unbelievable.
At least
To the human heart
Because God’s love…
is supernatural.
But I’m so thankful
That a Supernatural God
Extends to me
A Supernatural love
That knows no bounds.
Determination
I love
What John said here
In verse 10
And he was speaking about
God’s incredible love
But
He said
(1 John 4:10 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”
Now
Do you know
What the word
Propitiation means?
Here in this text?
The word propitiation
Refers
To Jesus Christs sacrificial death
As the atoning sacrifice
That
Satisfies
The righteous demands
of God’s Justice
Thereby
Turning away His Divine wrath
Against sin.
It represents the removal
of God's holy anger
against sin,
by
a substitute (Jesus)
Because
He bore the penalty
Oh that sin
in His own body.
Simply put
The Lord Jesus Christ
Took your place
On Calvary’s cross
The
High and Holy
Son of God
Took my place
On the cross of Calvary.
He died
In our place
To suffer our hell
For us.
So
That we wouldn’t have
To suffer it.
And all that is necessary
To become
The beneficiary
Of the Lord’s
great work
Of redemption..
Is
To first of all
Recognize the fact
That you like me
are a sinner.
The Bible says
In Romans 3:23 “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”
Nobody is perfect
Including you.
You
Need to likewise understand
That sin
Does carry a penalty
The Bible says
In Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
In other words
We deserve death
For sinning.
That is
Spiritual death…
Separation from God…
In a place called hell.
But
We also need to understand
That
(Romans 5:8 “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Now think about that…
Even though
We are all sinners…
Deserving
Of the wages of our sin…
Yet
God expressed His love for us
By allowing Jesus Christ
To die in our place.
And the Bible says
In Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
So
Let me ask you
Has there come a time
In your life
Where you confessed
That Jesus Christ is Lord?
Where you
Believed in your heart
That Jesus
Was
the only way you had
To get to heaven?
Where
you understood
You couldn’t get there
On your own?
But you understood
That the only way
You could ever get to heaven
Was through Jesus Christ?
Have you ever
Accepted Him
In your heart?
Well
In just a little while
When I bring this sermons
To a conclusion…
I want to invite you
To call upon the name of the Lord.
The Bible says
(Romans 10:13 “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.”
Would you do that?
Would you
Ask Jesus…
To be your Savior?
(John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:”
And receiving Jesus Christ
Is the single
Most important thing
You will ever do!
But
Be that as it may
When it comes
To striving together
For people
In loving people…
Our ability
To love people
Is dependent
On God’s love
Working through us
Again
John said
Back in our text
(1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
II. Consider the challenge
Declaration
But
I want you to consider
The challenge
that John gave us here
Again he said
And listen to it
But he said
(1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
Now
Think about
the challenge here.
John said
Beloved
Those
Who are dearly loved by God
Let us
Love
one another!
But
Let me spend a few minutes
Talking about the word
Beloved
That we find here.
My dear friend…
We as Christians
Are dearly loved
By God
Aren’t we?
That’s what that were beloved means
We are dearly loved
By God
And
Let me quickly share
Some of the ways
That you and I
Our dearly loved
By the Lord our God
As believers.
And first of all
We are the recipients
Of a forgiving love
And
I say
Hallelujah!
We are the recipients
Of a forgiving love
That
(1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
and
Let me ask you Christian
Aren’t you
So glad
That all of your sins…
Past
Present
And future
Have been forgiven by God
And aren’t you so glad
That
Through the blood of Jesus Christ
And because of the love
Of God the Father…
You have been cleansed
Of all unrighteousness?
By the way
The word cleanse
There in that verse
Means to purge
To rid
or to remove.
In other words
If we Confess our sins
To God
He then
Forgives us…
Releases us…
From the guilt of our sins.
But
at the same time too
He rids us
From our sins
And removes them from us
All of them!
But
How is it possible
That God
Can do that for us?
Well…
There’s just one way!
That is
God’s love
But not only is God’s love
For us
A forgiving love
But
At the same time too
It is
A redeeming love.
The Bible says
In 1 Peter 1:18–19 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”
See
God displays His love for us
Through the shed blood
Of Jesus Christ
On Calvary’s cross
So that we
can be redeemed!
By the way
The word redeemed
In 1 Peter: 18
Carries the idea
of freeing someone
by paying a ransom.
and
The word redeemed
is often used
in
the context
of releasing a slave
from bondage.
And what a vivid illustration
That is…
For humanity.
Because see
There was a day
When
We were in bondage
To our sin
And to Satan.
But the Lord Jesus Christ
Paid our Ransom
By dying on the cross.
He bought us out
Of the bondage
of our sins
So
We are the recipients…
The beneficiaries
Of both…
God’s forgiving love
And God’s
Redeeming love
And I say
Hallelujah!
What a great Savior.!
We
Are likewise
The beneficiary
Oh God’s
Compassionate love.
In fact
I think about Peter
In the Gospels.
There
Was a time
Just hours
Before Christ’ crucifixion
When Jesus
Was partaking of the Passover
With the disciples.
And during that supper
The Lord…
In fact
Shortly after
That supper…
The Lord Jesus
Made a statement
To all the disciples
In fact
It says
In Matthew 26:31 “Then saith Jesus unto them, All ye shall be offended because of me this night: for it is written, I will smite the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be scattered abroad.”
Oh
But in pride
(Matthew 26:33 “Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.”
My
How boastful
Peter was.
And by the way
Before we are too critical
Of him…
We
Better take heed
To ourselves
Because many of us
Might have said
the same thing.
But Peter did
And the Bible goes on
to say
In verses 34 – 35
That
(Matthew 26:34–35 “Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.”
And
As you continue reading
The rest of the chapter
You find that
Shortly after
Jesus made that statement
To them
He was arrested
By the religious crowd
And
When he was
The Bible says
(Matthew 26:56 “But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.”
Jesus was then taken
And subjected
To illegal trials.
and In the midst
Of those trials
The
Bible tells us
Beginning in verse 69
(Matthew 26:69–75 “Now Peter sat without in the palace: and a damsel came unto him, saying, Thou also wast with Jesus of Galilee. But he denied before them all, saying, I know not what thou sayest. And when he was gone out into the porch, another maid saw him, and said unto them that were there, This fellow was also with Jesus of Nazareth. And again he denied with an oath, I do not know the man. And after a while came unto him they that stood by, and said to Peter, Surely thou also art one of them; for thy speech bewrayeth thee. Then began he to curse and to swear, saying, I know not the man. And immediately the cock crew. And Peter remembered the word of Jesus, which said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And he went out, and wept bitterly.”
Now think about that
The boastful
Apostle Peter
Said emphatically
I don’t care
Who else
May deny you
But Lord
I want you to know
I never will!
Yet
He did!
He forsook…
The Lord Jesus Christ.
He deserted the Lord.
Oh but
The Lord Jesus Christ
In loving compassion
Did not forsake him.
In fact
We know
That Jesus was condemned
To die
By the religious leaders…
He
Was then crucified
On a Roman cross…
And He died.
But we also know
That the Lord Jesus Christ
Arose from the dead…
Praise His Name!
But not long
After His resurrection...
Discussion
Jesus
Met
With a group of women.
In fact
Keep your place here
In 1 John 4
And turn way back
To the gospel of Mark
Mark 16
And read with me
Versus 1 –7
The Bible says
In Mark 16:1–7 “And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre? And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him. But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.”
I call your attention
To the phrase
“,tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee:”
see
The Lord Jesus
Singled out Peter.
He wanted Peter to know
That He still loved him.
Even though Peter
had denied the Lord thrice.
Jesus wanted Peter to know
That
He still loved him.
And my point is this…
Jesus extends
Compassionate love.
That even though
– Peter denied Him …..
and lied
about Him…..
Yet
Jesus still said……..
Tell my disciples
And especially Peter.…
That I want to meet them
And
Let me ask you
Aren’t you so grateful
this morning
To be the recipient…
The beneficiary…
Of the great love……
Of the Lord Jesus Christ?
It
Is a love
That is forgiving
Praise God.
It is a love
That is Redeeming.
It is a love
That is compassionate
And
Praise God
It is a wonderful love
That is Healing.
Because
Think about yourself.
And I’m thinking about
Myself.
I
am a sinner
Who has been lazy
Lustful
Lewd
Greedy of filthy lucre
Often times
Giving God
lame excuses.
I was lost
And undone
When
The Lord Jesus Christ
Came to where I was
And picked me up
Out of the gutter of sin
Providing spiritual healing
For me.
I’m reminded
of Psalms 40
The Psalmist said
In Psalm 40:1–3 “I waited patiently for the Lord; And he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: Many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the Lord.”
And
The point
I’m trying to make is
God
Brought spiritual healing
To my life.
He saved my soul
And brought me
Out
of an horrible pit
He
Set my feet
Upon the Solid Rock
The Lord Jesus Christ
And established
my goings
Oh
How I praise God
That I am
the beneficiary
Of the unfathomable
Unending
Unselfish
Unmerited
Unconditional
An unbelievable love
Of my Savior
And
He has loved me
With a forgiving love
A redeeming love
A compassionate love
And a healing love
But
That brings me
To the point of my sermon
As a believer
I too
Have the capacity
To love others
Because of God’s love
Working in me!
Deliberation
In fact
Listen again
To 1 John 4
In verse 7
John said
(1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
Now did you hear that?
John said
Let us
Love one another
That is
We as believers
Ought to be
In the loving business.
We need to strive together
For people
In loving them.
And we can
Because
our love
Is of God!!
That is
Our capacity to love
Is rooted in
Founded upon
Derived from
The great God
of love!
And
Therefore
I too
Can love
In the same manner
That God loves
For example
I too
Can extend forgiving love
For those
Who offend me too.
I’m reminded
Of Joseph
In the book of Genesis
We know the story well
Joseph
Had 10 older brothers
Who hated him
They were jealous
Of him
So they plotted
To kill him.
But instead
They did something
So nefarious
That it almost defies
Our ability
To comprehend it.
They
Sold there brother
Their own flesh and blood
Into slavery…
What a terrible thing..
And I don’t know
All of the emotion
That …
That evoked
In young Joseph
Because
Remember
he was only a teenager.
But he was sold
in to slavery.
And for more than
13 years
He suffered
Untold torments
He
Was lied about
Unjustly imprisoned
he was ripped
from his home
and father,
He was waiting... waiting
waiting!!
For 13 years
all because of his jealous brothers!
What an awful fate!!
Yet
Joseph
Because of the love of God
That had been working
It is own heart.
Joseph
Extended forgiving love
To those brothers
Who had so offended him
Because see
Eventually
God brought Joseph
Out of prison
God then
brought Joseph
And his brothers together again
Along with his daddy
But
In time
His daddy died
and the Bible says
In Genesis 50:15–21 “And when Joseph’s brethren saw that their father was dead, they said, Joseph will peradventure hate us, and will certainly requite us all the evil which we did unto him. And they sent a messenger unto Joseph, saying, Thy father did command before he died, saying, So shall ye say unto Joseph, Forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin; for they did unto thee evil: and now, we pray thee, forgive the trespass of the servants of the God of thy father. And Joseph wept when they spake unto him. And his brethren also went and fell down before his face; and they said, Behold, we be thy servants. And Joseph said unto them, Fear not: for am I in the place of God? But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good, to bring to pass, as it is this day, to save much people alive. Now therefore fear ye not: I will nourish you, and your little ones. And he comforted them, and spake kindly unto them.”
So what happened?
well
After all he was put through
Joseph began
To strive together with God
In offering
Forgiving love
To those brothers of his
Who had treated him..
So badly
Determination
So
Let me ask you
What’s your excuse?
Somebody said
Pastor
You don’t understand!
That person wronged me.
They treated me
So very poorly!
So
How can I possibly
Forgive them?
(1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
And the point is
You have the capacity
To love that person
Who wronged you
You have a capacity
to
Extended to them
Forgiving love
Because that love
Is of God!
And all you need do
Is to avail yourself
To the love of God.
He can then
Give you the grace
To love others
The way that He
loves you
But
Not only
Can you extend
Forgiving love
To those who have wronged you.
But at the same time too
Because of the love of God
You can likewise
Extend Redeeming love
To those who are lost
see
(John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”
In other words
God loves everybody
So much
That He will Redeem them
If they will believe
on Him
And
God wants us
To love others
In the same fashion.
You say
What you mean by that?
Well
Here’s what I mean
God wants us
To do our best
To help others
Get redeemed.
God wants us
To do our best
To help others
Come to know Christ.
And
Let me offer
A few suggestions..
Carry gospel tracts
Everywhere you go
And give them out
Indiscriminately.
Secondly
Invite people
to your church
So that they can hear the Gospel.
Thirdly
The Bible says
In Luke 14:23 “And the lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.”
So we can go out
And knock on doors
And
If you can’t go out
Then do something
To get the word out.
And let me tell you a story
That I have
told her before.
About 20 years
Before my mom died
She became burdened
For the lost
She
Wanted to see someone saved
She wanted somebody
To get redeemed
Through her efforts
And because she had neuropathy
Like I do
She could not walk
To go knocking on doors
And
At the same time too
Like many people
She was a little nervous
About doing that
So
She bought a bunch of tracts
She bought envelopes
And postage stamps
She got her phonebook
Which contained
The addresses of people
In my hometown
And
She started sending gospel tracts
Through the mail
With the intention
of sending gospel tracts
To everyone in town.
Now
It cost her some time
And a little treasure
But she sent out
Hundreds and hundreds of gospel tracts
And
You’ll never guess
What happened.
People got saved
People became
Members of her church
all because
my mother
Decided to strive together
With the Lord
In giving out
Redeeming love!
So
What about you and I
What can we do?
Oh listen
God wants us
To strive together
With Him
In loving people
With forgiving love
And with redeeming love
He
Also wants us
To strive together
With Him
For people
In giving out
Compassionate love
And healing love
see
God said
(1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
In other words
Those of you
Who are dearly loved
You need
To love one another
Because
Love
Is of God
III. Consider the Concern v.8
Declaration
You
And I as believers
Because we have been born
Of God
And because we know God
We have the capacity
To strive together in love
For people!
We
Not only have the capacity
to love the Savior
To love the Scriptures
To love this sanctuary
That is the church
But
We had the capacity
to love lost sinners
And to love the saints
Because again
God extends to us
An Unspeakable love
An unending love
An unselfish love
An unmerited love
An unconditional love
And an unbelievable love
So
1 John 4:7 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.”
But Christian
Let me ask you
Are you actively
Engaged
In striving together
For people
In loving them
Do you
Love your fellow Christian enough
To forgive them
When they wrong you
And…
To be compassionate with them
When they need you?
Do you
Love the lost
Like Jesus loved them?
Do you love them enough
To help them get redeemed?
And
Do you love Jesus
The way you should?
In a moment
When the invitation begins
When the piano begins to play
You might need to come to the altar
To do a checkup
On your love
For people
I hope you will.
And
Maybe
You’re not a believer
Maybe you haven’t personally
Accepted Christ
As your Savior
But
Let me ask you
Wouldn’t you
Like to have
All of your sins forgiven
And to be given
A home in heaven?
If you would like those things
Then come to Jesus
And if you’re not sure how
Then
When the piano began to play
Walk down this aisle
I’ll meet you at the front
And I’ll get someone
To help you come to Jesus
And
If you’re listening from home
Call us
And let us help you come to Jesus
Conclusion: Let’s close in prayer
