Love?: Friendships
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Read
Read
This is My command: Love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you slaves anymore, because a slave doesn’t know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have heard from My Father. You did not choose Me, but I chose you. I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask the Father in My name, He will give you. This is what I command you: Love one another.
John 12:
Context
Context
John is writing verbatim what Jesus was teaching at this time. Chapter 15 would be one of the final teaching times that the disciples would get to sit in on before Jesus was arrested and ultimately, crucified. So considering the timeline, I think it is interesting that one of Jesus’ final teaching times is on “Love”. It wasn’t on church governance, laws, or religion, it was love.
Many people believe that our primary job as Christ followers is to love.
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command.
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”
37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.
Matthew
Matthew 22:
If we love God, then our heart’s desire will be to serve Him.
If we love people, then their heart’s desire will be to be know by the source of our love.
Points
Points
What does this passage show us?
1. Real Love (v.12-14)
1. Real Love (v.12-14)
I think it is important to not only define what real love is, but also figure out how we can communicate what it looks like on display because we live in a world where the definition of love changes based on the status quo of society.
So what is the real love that John writes about in verse 12?
Eros: Which is a strong desire or longing for someone. Usually in a romantic relationship
Philos: Which is a brotherly love.
Agape: Which is the divine love that God has for us.
He is referring to AGAPE love, which is a form of brotherly love
Love is
Defined - it means to forfeit you rights or privileges on another persons behalf.
In being called to love one another, we are called to serve, care for, encourage one another.
4 Love is patient, love is kind.
Love does not envy,
is not boastful, is not conceited,
5 does not act improperly,
is not selfish, is not provoked,
and does not keep a record of wrongs.
6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness
but rejoices in the truth.
7 It bears all things, believes all things,
hopes all things, endures all things.
1 Corinthians 13:
This passage, love is also translated as “agape”.
I heard a quote the last Thursday that has made a lot of sense to me the longer that I have thought about it.
Discipleship flies best on the wings of relationships.
Meaning that we have to be willing to love people the way that God loves us in order to establish real relationships.
2. Right Relationships (v.15-17)
2. Right Relationships (v.15-17)
Note that the distinction is made between friends and slaves. When we have entered in to a REAL relationship with God, we experience real love, when we experience real love, we have the freedom to experience real relationships.
Real relationships do not pull you farther away from you faith, but rather makes it stronger.
If you are in any sort of relationship that drives you away from your faith, that not a real one that God want’s you to be a part of.
Now, does God call us to seclude ourselves from everyone simply because they are imperfect?
23 For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
No, but he does call us to have profitable relationships that bring Glory to God.
12 A sensible person sees danger and takes cover;
the inexperienced keep going and are punished.
Proverbs
Relationships are tricky meaning at the beginning, we never know what they hold.
But God gives you something called conviction to give you warning signs when you are in relationships that aren’t good for you.
17 Iron sharpens iron,
So one man sharpens another.
Good relationships are like an iron forge, they purify you and harden you for battle.
This world is full of battles and attacks of the enemy, so we must be ready.
12 And if someone overpowers one person, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not easily broken.
We are made for relationships. But the right relationships are meant to help you thrive, not just survive.
Eccl 4:12
Response
Response