Let Love Be Real

Last week I talked about the barriers to true Gospel-motivated, self-sacrificial community and unity within the church.

Today I want to talk about how we hit the target presented in .

These verse point out the marks of a transformed mind as it is lived out in community.

Testing Genuineness

My dad’s dad died when I was 6 so I don’t remember much about him.

One of my most my most vivid memories is standing next to the trailer we used to carry water to his trailer and looking up at the moon.

He asked me “do you see the man in the moon?” and pointed out how the shadows on the moon look like a man’s face. (ever noticed that?)

Obviously there really is no “man in the moon”.

It is just the sun reflecting off the moon and the irregularities of the moon looking like eyes and a mouth.

The reality is we wouldn’t be able to see the moon at all if it wasn’t for the sun.

I ran a thrift store operation in Fargo the last 2 years we lived there.

I think we underestimate the power of the sun’s light.

The moon is literally just a light reflector. There is no source of light in the moon at all.

Why do I tell you this?

We would often get purses, belts, and other items that had designer logos on them.

Light is a powerfully revealing tool that exposes the legitimacy of something.

The first few times we got those things in I was charged with figuring out whether they were genuine or not.

I got pretty good at it.

There are tell tell signs that point to the genuineness of items.

Today I want to talk about how we hit the target presented in .

The stitching, the quality of materials, the way the material was cut...

After just a few tests it was clear whether or not something was legit.

In Paul’s day, there was a practice of testing the genuineness of pottery by holding it up to the sun.

If a piece of pottery had been broken and repaired it would show when it was looked at under the sun.

The cracks and malformations would point to whether something was what it was claimed to be.

So Paul’s words in vs 9 have an imagine in mind.

If you held our church family and the members of it up to the sun, would you find that our love is really genuine?

Is your love GENUINE?

Love is a primary focus of the bible as a whole.

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.

It is the very root of why Jesus came.

God LOVES us so He sent His Son to save us.

1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV

13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

It is declared to be the greatest of the virtues we are to seek in our lives.

John 13:34 ESV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.

John 13:34–35 ESV

34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

And it is the way God intends for Christians to impact the world we live in.

We often read this passage as a list of the “Marks of the True Christians” and put this command to let love be genuine in among the other commands, but that was not Paul’s desire.

Paul meant for us to understand the authenticity of our love to show up in all the other characteristics mentioned.

Genuine love will…

This is non-hypocritical love...

Tests of GENUINE love

1) HATE evil and EMBRACE good.

Maybe this should go without saying, but we should hate evil with intense passion.

When you hate something then you determine to not have any relationship with it.

But how often do we tolerate evil (also known as sinfulness and wickedness) in our selves and in others.

When we hate

Sexual sin, the pursuit of pleasure, greed, gluttony, gossip and slander.

Abhorring evil is a sign of genuine love in that love motivates us to seek the best for those we love.

If I tolerate sinfulness in myself of others I am not showing love, I am showing selfishness.

Instead we are told to embrace what is good.

Abhorring means that we turn our backs on that which is evil.

Holding fast means that we embrace that which is good.

The bible word is righteous- basically meaning that which is pure, right, and what God intended.

Hate the evil that drives us apart as we seek what is best for ourselves, and embrace the goodness that comes from a transformed heart and mind in Christ.

2) Love one another like FAMILY.

I have spoken a lot over the past couple of years about our adoption into the family of God.

How that truth defines who we are in Christ.

We are not disconnected religious types, we are part of the family of God.

Paul says here a mark of true love will show up in HOW we love one another.

We are to be like brothers and sisters.

Matthew 12:46–50 ESV

46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

There is a long held southern tradition to call pastors and ministers “Brother” when referred to them.

It took me a minute to get used to that when I came back south.

And I think it is because I don’t see myself as important, or significant, I just have a particular gifting that puts me up here on Sunday mornings.

I am one of the family, a brother to the sisters in this room today.

Being a part of the family means that we are brought together not be our likeness in worldly standards

We are brought to gather by our shared belief in Christ.

Story of Shane Kosloske.

3) Make HONOR our aim.

I love pointing to this passage in marriage counseling.

What if both you and your husband competed in showing honor toward one another.

It isn’t about getting something in return or waiting on the person to earn your honor.

But just wake up every day trying to out honor your spouse. or out love, out serve, or out sacrifice for your spouse.

How would that change your marriage.

That is a definition of genuine love.

Not speaking in a way that hurts or demeans your brother or sister in Christ.

Not slandering or gossiping about them.

It has do to with out we handle conflict amongst family members in the church.

lays out how we do it and it was given so that we would go about honoring one another and not bringing accusations against someone publically that should first be brought to the person.

Selfishness drives us to think of ourselves first, but genuine love seeks to make honor the aim.

4) Let the FIRE of the SPIRIT BURN in us.

The passage is saying

Don’t let the fire to live for Jesus die out.

Let the Holy Spirit stoke the fire of faith in your hearts that drive your obedience to Christ.

A Spirit-filled believer by definition cannot be dull and boring.

The Spirit of God in our hearts sets us on fire to:

Serve the Lord in obedience.

It isn’t about our recognition

It isn’t about our salvation

It isn’t about our feeling justified in what we do.

It is about being passionate about knowing and follow the Lord.

Serve one another.

Romans 12:5 ESV

5 so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.

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Romans 12:8 ESV

8 the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness.

This reality motivates our service and love for one another.

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Through rejoicing in hope of eternity.

When Paul mentions hope in his letters, he almost exclusively is directing us to the hope of heaven.

Paul is saying “set your hearts not on what is perishing, but what is eternal.”

Let you love for others be motivated by the hope you have in the promises of God.

Through being patient through suffering.

The only way we make it through trials and suffering in our life is if we lean into the comfort of the Spirit of God.

Don’t let trials in your life steal the joy of the Lord from you.

Through seeking the Lord in prayer.

The most important source of spiritual zeal is our pursuit of God in prayer.

Prayer is our source of life, of wisdom, and our source of power.

Prayer allows us to speak to and hear from God.

Yet many of us rarely tap into this incredible source in our lives.

Genuine love is marked by consistent, longing prayer.

May the fire of the Spirit ignite our hearts to love one another.

5) Be devoted to GENEROSITY and HOSPITALITY.

He closes this section with a call to give.

I spoke last week about materialism being one of the barriers to gospel community.

The antidote to materialism is generosity.

Our willingness to give is an indication of how much we love and how firmly we trust the Lord.

When we have brothers and sisters in need and yet we are not generous, it indicates that our hearts are not focused on the needs of others before our own.

Generosity breeds selflessness in our hearts breaks down barriers to the gospel’s impact in our lives and the lives of others.

But not only are we to be generous, but we are also to be hospitable.

Literally, hospitality is means here “love for strangers”, particularly believers traveling through.

Traveling at this time was hard back then and staying in “hotels” was not for the faint of heart.

Paul is encouraging Christians to open their homes as places of peace and rest.

Genuine love doesn’t see “my casa” as castle to myself.

We are to use our homes in a way that blesses the lives of others.

There is a common, yet selfish, belief in our culture that our homes are meant to be a refuge from the world.

It is where we rest, play, unwind, and escape from others.

But genuine love drives us to open our homes to those in need.

In need of shelter or food

In need of friendship

And in need of

Or in need of care

Genuine love shows in our generosity with all God has given us.

1 Timothy 1:5 ESV

5 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.

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1 Peter 1:22 ESV

22 Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart,

Galatians 5:22 ESV

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

The love we have for one another does not come from a really good program in our church

It doesn’t come from an awesome church building

It does not happen by our own effort

It flows from a transformed heart.

A heart that has been transformed by experiencing the gracious love of God and the filling of the Holy Spirit.

Experience the generous and transformational love of God in Christ and let genuine love flow from your renewed heart and mind.

I don’t want to walk out of here today assuming everyone here has received the love of Christ.

The reality is that some of you haven’t

Others of you have prayed a prayer and tried to be a good person, but you do not know Christ.

The invitation today, as in everyday, is to believe on the the Lord Jesus and be saved.

If you confess with your mouth that you are a sinner, in need of a savior.

If you believe in your heart that Jesus Christ lived a perfect life in your place, died the death you deserved to die for your sin, and rose from the grave to defeat sin and death.

Then you are saved.

And my prayer is that you will be welcomed into your newfound faith by a people who genuinely love you as we seek to genuinely love one another.

I want to pray this verse over our church right now.

Romans 12:9–13 ESV

9 Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. 10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. 11 Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. 13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.