A Vision of Love

Personal Illustration: My doctor recommends that I see an optometrist. Although I use reading glasses regularly, I now realize that I need a prescription to see thinks clearly.

Seeing things clearly is not just for reading and driving. Seeing things clearly is an idiom that is used in business, education, governance, church, and in personal life—as a term for understanding purpose, establishing and fulfilling goals, and embracing a vision of what can be.

Vision—seeing things clearly—and embracing a vision of what can be—is an important part of who we are as a church.

The Vision for Racine Assembly of God: Real Love, Real Change, Real Life. But a vision must be more than banners hanging on a wall.

We must understand and own the vision—everyone of us!

This week we start a brand new series of messages about vision: seeing our purpose clearly.

If our vision is just words on a vinyl banner, it is nothing more than a decoration.

In this sanctuary, we have six banners, outlining this church’s vision and values. I want this words to be more than decoration!

The first banner I want to direction your attention to, is REAL LOVE.

This church as a God-given vision that we will be a people and a gathering place where we love God and we love people—that our love will be real (genuine, authentic)—not just a slogan!

Why? Because Jesus calls us to REAL LOVE!

A religious expert asked Jesus a question:

Matthew 22:36–40 ESV

36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”

QUESTION: What is Jesus saying—not just to the religious expert, but to us today?

1. Real love defines our purpose for being and doing.

In Jesus’ day, religious people debated about the meaning of everything in God’s Word—especially the 613 laws of the Torah (365 negative commandments (Thou shall not’s) and 248 positive commandments (Thou shall’s).

The religious leaders who viewed Jesus as a threat to their traditions and their positions of power attempted to trap Jesus by pulling Him into their debates.

But Jesus turned their trap into an opportunity to articulate the chief aim of a follower of God: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all you mind.”

Jesus identified Deuteronomy 6:4 as the the great commandment. Pious Jews would recite Deuteronomy 6:4 as part of the Shema twice each day.

What does loving God mean?

Loving God involves reverence and obedience.

Love for God means to worship God out of sincere reverence. God is holy and worthy to be glorified and honored.

Love for God means to obey what He says.

1 John 5:3 ESV

3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

If we do not obey God, we do not love God.

Jesus then connects this commandment with Leviticus 19:18 - This is a call to love people.

What does it mean to love others?

Loving others involves serving them and seeking their well-being.

Not only are we called to love God with reverence and obedience, we are called to love those created in Him image (that is every human being).

APPLICATION

We live in a time of significant emotion. Hate, devaluing people is commonplace. If someone disagrees with us, we view them as the enemy. If someone looks different than us, we view them with suspicion and unworthy of respect.

In the mass murder that happened in El Paso, Texas a week ago Friday, the person arrested for the crime is reported to have confessed. His reason for the murder of 22 people and the injury of two dozen more was that he wanted to kill Mexicans.

We are not called to hate—but to love others by serving people and seeking their well-being.

Hate has no place among the Christ follower!

TRANSITION

To call to love must be our priority of living! Even as Spirit-filled believer, the gifts hinge their value and purpose on love.

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 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.

Love is not just more important that speaking in other tongues or prophetic power, or knowledge, or empowered faith, or even benevolence—love is essential in saving faith.

2. Real love defines the genuineness of our faith.

Faith without love is faith in self.

Love is a choice. If we chose not to love (God and others), our faith is not motivated on God’s will but our own personal edification.

Without love, we worship at the altar of self exaltation.

Faith without love is faith in rituals

Without love, our faith becomes focused on traditions and rules—having a “form of godliness, but denying the authority of God and His power.”

So, what kind of faith do we need to have according to 1 Corinthians 13? We need a faith saturated in love.

Faith saturated in love is a faith that turns mere activity into live-changing action.

This kind of faith is focused on God’s will, rather than our will.

This kind of faith is centered on the well-being of others, rather than our personal advancement.

This leads us to the final point today on love.

3. Real love defines the quality of our character.

Embracing a life of real love is a choice, enabled by the Holy Spirit.

If we are going to wait for the right “feeling” before we choose to love, then we are going to wait for a long time.

Love—the love God calls us to embrace—is a choice—it is a matter of trusting in God command to love.

And, the only way we can truly live this kind of love is through the work and power of the Holy Spirit. We need God to help us love. This is done through a real relationship with God through Jesus Christ.

Embracing a life of real love reveals the truth of witness.

The effectiveness and truth of what we say we believe is authenticated through love.

John 13:35 ESV

35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Embracing a life of real love focuses on the eternal rather than the temporal.

Love seeks to honor God by following His will-to live life from His perspective.

What is God’s perspective?

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

Love sees the big picture! God loves people. He commissions His followers to help others see the truth of God’s love. This help is motivated by a sincere love for God and a sincere love for people.

This is the love God called everyone of us to embrace and make it our priority for living.

Without love, our Church is no Church at all.

Without love, our faith is no faith at all.

May we renew our passion to love God and love people. Period!