Untitled Sermon (4)

Good morning family how are you guys doing this morning?….How we doing, you believe Jesus is alive today?……..…It’s pretty crazy at cornerstone now there are kids that get vocal during the sermon….like there doing the head shake, but some say Amen, and others preach….which is pretty cool so don’t be bashful about getting vocal…Im not scarred…….So we have started with Jesus….the more we focus on Jesus this ones will naturally come…but for these next two sermons we are going to look at how to work on community how to be more unified and at times what come in between…..so we will be in….

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I am titling this message, “ A New commandment” turn your neighbor and say a new what? now turn to your other neighbor your second option…….and say a new commandment…..

Amen lets pray

Hook-I remember the Christmas of my 4th grade year like it was yesterdays….So it was the Christmas of my 4th grade year and I lived in Taylorville IL and I had this horrible habit around Christmas, and mom and dad still don’t know I did this…..so here was the habit, instead of trying to find the Christmas items around the house, I would sneak under the tree and try to unwrap these gift very carefully, just a little bit so that I could see a little of what it was….Well that day in 4th grade I unwrapped a gift just enough to see this symbol…..Yes the Nitendo 64 sign……the nitindo 64 was the new system to have…I thought it was the best thing in the world, thought the graphics, where the clearest they had ever been…..it was awesome and new……but then like next year it was a new system……

Do you guys remember answering machines….like it was an event that we would record hey its the dyas….and we would get home and be like who is on the answering machine…..what about when cell phone first came out……..I thought I was the coolest guy in the world, with this giant phone…that was black and white…..

What about when flat screens came out…..I bought one for like a thousand dollars, fresh man year because I thought I needed them…

We are sitting here laughing today because these things are so out dated…….and its crazy that today we have a culture that built around new….what the new, new video, new phone, the new essential oil that will change your life…… but we love the new……and for that reason john 13 captures my attention because it has this word NEW, a New commandment….

Jesus is getting close to leaving the earth and he is in an intimate moment with his disciples.

which we will explain the importance of that in just a bit…

.but, Jesus says a new commandment I give you….love one another… love one another love one another..…wow, I am in school and it reminded me again just how not that great I am at writing….…But I am good enough writer to understand that Jesus is being over redundant here…..listen to this….love one another…love one another…o and by the way if you forget o that right yea you need to love one another…….reminds me of my kids….Gavin, I walk in the door and he will be like dad want to play, want play want play want play…..I don’t even have a chance to respond yea buddy I get it lets play…

So Jesus is clearing trying to get us to understand that we need to love one another…..But he says a NEW commandment….

But what makes this commandment of love new and different?

Because If we look into the context of the whole bible we will see that love one another has been commanded before in , which says, “You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.” which by the way Jesus referred too when he was questioned on what was the greatest commandment was in he replied, with , “that you shall love the lord your God with all thy heart, and with all they soul, mind and strength and second was lev 19:18(love your neighbor as your self)

So what is new?

The reason that this commandment is new is because it takes on an upgrade….and the upgrade is love one another JUST AS, JESUS has loved you.

which is sacrificial agape, unconditional, serving, perfect, patient love……it’s to love now with a perfect fulfillment of love which is Jesus, who by the way is the perfect example of 1 corinthians 134-7: passage….you can enter Jesus name in ever part…..Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind, Jesus does not envy or boast Jesus is not arrogant or rude, Jesus does not insist on his own way, Jesus is not irritable or resentful. Jesus does not rejoice at wrongdoing, Jesus rejoices with the truth, Jesus bears all things, believes all things and hopes all thing, Jesus ender all things…Jesus never ends….come on somebody!

What makes this love different is that we are to love one another JUST AS Jesus………..wow does that change everything……..because I think right now there is a love movement…..o we just need to be more loving…..fluffy clouds and chubby babies and everything is great…..we need to play sweet love songs, hold hands, and own a bunch of puppies, we have to just love……..Thats the answer to this hurting a broken world? No!!! Love is not the answer to a broken and hurting world…..Jesus’ love is the answer to a broken and hurting world…..and church how is the world too see this love? the church!!! the followers of Jesus….yes they can see it in creation, dreams, etc. but the primary way the world is going to see is by how we love one another…..

So I want to make three observations from this passage that will help us I believe in showing this type of radical crazy love, the love of Jesus…this is not all but what I have observed

1. Rest in the law giver not the law.

AS I have loved you…..thats where we start…….church…we start by realizing…..that Jesus has so loved us first…...… See when we read scriptures, look where Jesus has taught this before and after, look around and see the parallels….and we don’t have to look far to find one on this point…..….now look above that at verse 9…..ABIDE,, and then looking at the start of chapter 15 and we see….you are a branch I am a vine….remain remain remain…….and how do we remain by being blown away with the love of Jesus daily…..preaching the fact that he laid down his life for me when I was at my worst….being blown away with the fact that I was dead….Rem Dyas was dead…..See guys we daily need to be blown away by the gospel….we daily need to preach the gospel to our selves.

It’s never about the commandment….

Theres no power in the commandment but in the commander of the commandment

we can never make love some commanded part of christianity……some obligation to follow

I was thinking about this as it pertains to parting….and I know we have a lot of parents in the room, and I am by know means a parenting expert….Seriously, if anything thats probably the sins I confess the most…but I am almost down with a book right now called parenting, by Paul trip….and the whole point of the book is the Gospel has to be preach all the time around your kids, and your job is transforming the heart….Not behavior modification…..right because I can make Gavin obey if I treating him to do something…..but whats the reason for him to obey….yea me taking the toys away…there is room for some of that but my main responsibility is going after the heart…so that he willing makes that decisions…same way we can’t make it some behavior modification-but out of a transformers heart.

-“ When love is obligation it isn’t love anymore. Now I understand that you are not always going to feel like you want to love someone one, I know that’s crazy to think….but don’t go around with this robot like mentally of we have to love so lets love….and there is no heart in it……

Because again

people are going to see if you are just trying to be a good christian, and trying to force love……

they are going to see if you really care or not,

practical things-Shut up…..listen, serve before you shove……

2. Love in your relationships even when its chaos.

What blows my mind with this statement is where the commandment is given…..Look at verse 31…..and when he had gone out…..? who? who had gone out, Judas…..Which by the way he saw as the beginning of the process of him going to the cross or as the text says going to Calvary to be Glorified…….So he is given this commanded in the midst of pain, because

Jesus is giving this new commandment not to 12 disciples but to 11

Jesus is making a great point here:

That this new type of love is not to just love each other when its convenient, or when we are lovable.

or hey they did something loving to me so now I am going to do something loving to you……

Again look at the fact that it’s when Judas leaves that Jesus speaks…..Man I don’t know about you but if I was Jesus and Judas had just left I would have been like….dang glad that guy is gone…..wow, that little betrayer…Now Im telling you guys this because…… I'm not gossiping just want you guys to pray with me….it’s like the things we say as christians that justifies what we are about to do….like o I'm not gossiping but did you here so and so….…Anyway they have no clue what he is going to go do, and this is a prime moment to just tare into Judas……and Jesus had every right to even tell you the truth…..he guys Judas is going to go betray me……Peter jumps up…i new it that little punk…..Jesus i knew it…ok peter calm down……….

Jesus was choosing to love even in the midst of being betrayed

he is showing that even in the midst of someone hurting you are to love them.

Wow man I am suppose to be praying for ISIS

Wow man I have to pray for this friend of mine that’s a democratic or republican and who just is so off and Contradictory to what I think……and has public humiliated me for what I believe………. yes…….Jesus loves you and you betray him daily….. so pray…

If you have hate in your heart for somebody, maybe it starts with “God, I hate that person, and I don’t want to.”

As C.S. Lewis has said, “Prayer doesn’t change God—it changes me.”

Some people in here literally probably need to walk up to each other and say and ask for forgiveness——Would you please please do me a favor church, if we have a problem with someone GO to them…….. Leave my gift at the alter, yes leave church…..and go to THEM, doesn’t say go to their friends, doesn’t say talk to your small group about this person……its says GO to them!!! Guys, I know its hard, but do you know what keeps us from doing that….our pride….well Rem if you only new what they did, or he or she said…..you would understand….ok maybe your right, but again….look at Jesus he is being betrayed to death…crucifixion death, and choose say this command….Forgive them: write a letter, burn it, make a phone call……..

This leads me to my final point that ties into this one……..

3. Love close before you love far.

Look where this commandment starts, It starts with the disciples.

Did you catch it…..love one another…..ummm wait you mean the 11 dudes around this table, who I am always arueing with about who is the greatest….wait love them first……Man kinda wish it didn’t say that if I am honest…right….wish it said the WORLD….right it’s a lot easier to love the world, then the person, sitting right next to me at times….my neighbor, family, co workers…

I catch myself not all the time, like we will be in Springfield and I meet someone random at a store, and I will treat them like, they are the prince of Egypt or something….Ill be like o how are you doing? you look amazing today…..o what you want my whole bank account oooo ok…sure, then to get in the car…and sit down Gavin, why where you interrupting me in that conversation, this van is going home…NO Cherry Berry for you!!

Right it’s crazy what we do….we will be like o I want to go to Iraq, or ugonda…or better yet Mexico on a mission trip, and share the the love of Jesus…..but wait my aunt or cousin……ummm they are so crazy…..ummm not sure…

I want to sponsor a child, somewhere it the far world…..but my neighbor or that person who sits three pews from me…..hmmm boy

See the sad this sometime this happens in church…..we go to a church and walk in the doors and be like wow….this place is so amazing, nice to meet you, nice to meet you, o wow…wow The Next week, well come and be like wow this is amazing, how you doing o Hi nice to meet you….o you are kinda odd ill, The week you will come in and be like wow this is amazing HI guys…o they are weird….Hi…o avoid them……..After a little while you will come in…..o man ok avoid them…o man they they are again….o go over here…..yes my donut!……ok Matt hurry up……

Jesus, is saying I want you to love each other the closest first…..Hey Rem can I get like a nation first no…..start with the people you know…start there.

I love it just about every church planting or ministry book, that I read always reminds me of this…..in sum they say…don’t bother being a church planter or pastor if you can’t love and lead the people within your own home….they are your first church plant…….

Guys…..I love this church really do, but do you know what I love more and I pray I really do……is the Kingdom of God, seeing people reached with the Gospel….seeing people so stained with sin and destruction find hope and life and liberty in Jesus!!! And they will NOT see it if we are divided and unloving…..we are

Im not trying to get all political right now, but I was watching this election—-so closely this year by the way(which if we have let who was elected so dramatically effective us we better check who is on the thrown) But, I was literally almost in tears……of how divided we are…and we have to understand, that really it’s nothing brand new…..there has been division before……..But it’s no lie that hostility is on the rise, division, anger, pain, hurt……is rising………And do you know who is the becon of hope and love…..who is to show this world the love of Jesus us!!!

A church the last thing….is for this world to look in and see a divided church….un-loving toward one another…..I know again that we are not perfect….But please don’t let that be an excuse for, not reconciling, loving and caring for each other, in such an intense way….Because we see that the disciples did fight for this love……

Want to land the plane with

-Pray, speak life, reconcile, push each other in the fight! and please stop sharing your opinion with the world…..

So yes cell phones, games systems, tvs, answering machines might get old….But this New commandment never gets old, and lets never let it!