Loving Those Around Us
Notes
Transcript
Intro
Intro
Good morning everyone, i hope you are well and blessed today.
Today is the Lord’s day, I would remind you to rejoice and be glad in it today!
Do you find yourself feeling a bit lonely during this time?
The corna-virus, its about keeping our distance, about staying away so that we don’t get sick or carry something to someone else. Social distancing is the catch word that has been given to this cause… And honestly, I am tired of hearing it.
Why?
We miss others… We miss the blessing of being together. As I thought about that, we miss being with our brothers and sisters I began to think, Lord what can we do for each other right now?
I thought of this, be a servant to each other. How can we do that today.
Well this will be the message I want to share with you today, Love those around us and ask yourself, what can we do for our brothers and sisters today?
Today, let me take you to Colossians 3, verses 12-17 and we will use this for our base text and then we will add to that as we walk through this passage today.
So lets take our Bibles and lets find that passage
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians chapter 3 is a wonderful passage. Paul is writing to the church at Colosse, and he is reminded them to put on the new self.
The new life we have in Christ is just that, a new life. Remember what Paul said to the church at Corinth, 2 Corinthians 5:17...
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
You have come from one way of living and now you have a totally new direction, new focus and with it new way of living, and we are to exhibit in this life.
This transformation, those actions are to be used as we serve the Lord, we are to make a difference in the world in a two fold way, outwardly and inwardly.. We are called to take the gospel to the world, but we have the ministry of each other as well.
So how can we love each other more and be a blessing to the ones God has placed around us?
I want to share with you a few thoughts from this text, but we will also consider a few other passages as well.
Where does all this begin… How can we be His disciple and bless others..
1. Clothe Yourself In Christ....
1. Clothe Yourself In Christ....
The beginning of anything we seek to do for the glory of God and the good of others means that we must be clothed in Christ to serve Jesus and others.
As we look at this chapter, we know that Paul is speaking to those who have the church, those believer at Colosse.
When they were saved, when they began their journey with Jesus They were to put on the new life, and the ways that accompany this new life.
Remember, it begins with setting our minds on the things that are above, verse 1, those things where Christ is. Literally those things that are eternal.
Then Paul continues that thought in verse 12. There Paul shares those virtues that must inhabit our lives as we seek to serve and love others.
Look at these virtues for a moment we wont examine all of them, but a couple.. look at the garments of our life in Christ. He says put on compassionate hearts, Kindness, Humility, meekness and patience. Each of these are important and have a place in our work and ministry to each other and others..
The first one is where it all starts; compassion…
Let me share the thought of compassion with you...
He says put on compassionate hearts.... or as some translations refer to this as Bowels of Mercies… Compassion is to know and identify with the suffering and strife that others face, to know it…and to be moved inside of yourself at what you see and experience in that moment.
It is idea that when you see a situation, perhaps a need someone has and you are moved inside, your heart broken, you think and say, this should not be…
Matthew 9:36 gives us a wonderful picture of being moved inside of oneself at the needs of others.
36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
Jesus was heart broken at the needs of the people. He saw, knew and understood their need. Jesus allows us the same at times, we allows us to see and know the needs of others., and we are to have compassion toward them.
God cares about others, He revealed that in sending mankind the gift of His Son Jesus. He expects us to care about others as well.
Compassion is listed first I believe because it sets the stage for everything else for the rest of our virtues in Christ.
Compassion leads us to do much, for as His heart was broken and extended to others, so should ours...
Our hearts should be broken for others, especially the households of the faithful.
So as Child of God be clothed in Christ, making sure the new man is dressed well in the virtues of Christ...
Here is a question… are you compassionate toward others, how do you treat, how do you reveal your love to your brothers and sisters?
So with that in Mind… I want to remind you that compassion leads to love.
2. Love Each Other...
2. Love Each Other...
Paul reminds us to love each other.
I know we say that a lot. Love you… But in your heart, is it more than just words? Is there compassion, is Christ at the root of our love?
Compassion reveals the love we have for others
Let me share the words of our Lord in John 13, verses 34-35
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.”
A new command Jesus says. we are to love one another. And the model is clear.. As I have loved you, you are to love others.
Think about that, How would you define Jesus love?
I would describe it as a love that was self sacrificing, It is a love that is given freely to each of us regardless of who we were before meeting Jesus. And it is a love that continues in our hearts as His child.
So here is a question for you… Is your love like Jesus love?
A truthful answer would be, not as much as it should, not nearly enough. Truthfully it is hard for us to love like Jesus loved… It is hard for us to love everyone like Jesus did, right - I have a friend who always said “Jesus loves you, and I’m trying...”
But this is a new command, That is what Jesus says, it transcends, it goes beyond. Acceptance, no hate, no discrimination, no judgment, the call is simply to Love the Lord our God and our neighbor as ourselves.
In a time like we are living in right now, separated from our brothers and sisters the call is to be reminded to love one another. You see compassion leads us to love… it should lead us to action, right?
Drop back to Col 3, verse 14
14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony.
The word Paul shares here is “Agape” Love like God, above all else put on a godly type of love.... a love which Paul reminds us binds it all together in unity.
Remember we are more than just one person, we are a body, we are separate individuals, we have different thoughts, ways of doing things, but Love is the one attribute of God that joins us in unity, love is at the core, for His love made us brothers and sisters through the cross. So love brings a relationship, and in that relationship we are to love each other.
He said love binds everything together in perfect harmony. Love is the glue that unites us and makes us the body.
How sad it is when we have people in the body that do not understand His love like they should.... They have not seen it enough, perhaps they have not witnessed it enough… Now that leads me to a question..
Q. ..... How are yo demonstrating that love right now?
Through Covid-19, how have you demonstrated your love for others?
Compassion and love will be the complete foundation that enables us to act and serve those around us.. especially the household of the faithful.
Now, ask yourself how can love be shown to others? There are many ways we could answer that, but praying for others must be key.
So lets consider praying for others....
3. Praying for Others....
3. Praying for Others....
One of the greatest blessings we have as a child of God is the joy of praying for each other.
Prayer is an incredible ministry for each believer. You see it is in prayer that we have the joy of ministering on behalf of another, for their good and for God’s glory.
Listen to Paul in Ephesians 6:18
18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Now this is important, Paul is talking about the whole armor of God in Ephesians 6. He is reminds us to put it on daily, and with it we are told, commanded to pray at all times, in the Spirit and making supplication for all the saints.
Prayer here in this verse has a two fold application. It is a Spirit led action that secondly finds its purpose in ministering to others.
Literally we are to bear with one another, our burden as Paul mentioned in Colossians 3:13..
Walking in the hurt they have and the best way to do that is in love, with compassion and patience etc.. in prayer
So what does it mean to pray in the Spirit…? It is only in prayer, seeking the help of the Spirit can we pray the will of God for our lives and most certainly the lives of those around us.
Praying in the Spirit keeps our selfish will and ways out of it and enables us to pray, seeking God’s face and will more perfectly. It leads us into victory.
In Exodus 17, we see the story of Amalek coming up to fight God’s people. Moses directs Joshua to take men with Him and go down and meet Him in battle, and while Joshua fought with the sword, Moses was go to the mountain top over them and there He would pray on their behalf.
Joshua’s sword in the Valley and Moses prayer on the mountain top brought victory to the nation that day.
So we are commanded to pray without ceasing, I Thes 5:17, always be in communion, in touch with the Lord. Literally always remain in His presence.
And it is there, we pray, we intercede, we make supplication and intercession for others, and we lift others up and bring victory to our lives as well. Did you know when we intercede, when we pray for others, God sees our heart and blesses us all the more. Consider Job, in the midst of his torment and in the midst of those good friends, Job prayed for them, he pleased for them and God blessed Him.
10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
Will God not bless you as you lift up the lives of those around you as well. You see when you do that , you have truly placed the needs of others above yourself.
Remember Paul says in Col 3:17, whatever you do, in word or deed, let it be done in the name of Jesus.
When you pray for another, it honors God for you have sacrificed self for them, you have laid yourself aside and bore their needs to the Lord, supplication speaks to begging, pleading for the cause at hand.
How are you praying for those around you? Are you praying specifically for a persons individual need?
We are called to pray, and there is nothing greater than praying for each other
Let me challenge you, if you are not praying for your brothers and sisters, I want to challenge you to do so, to earnestly ask on their behalf to the Lord, seeing Him work and bless as we join Him in ministering to the lives of others.
Praying and seeing the good for others allows us to continue to teach and build one another up
So let me share this thought with you,
4. Edify One Another.....
4. Edify One Another.....
The word edify means to build up, it increase and grow or help others to grow. It is extremely important that we share in each others lives and help each other grow,
Look back at our text at verse 16
16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
When you look at that verse, you see for us the body of Christ, the focus for us is the Word of God.
In fact is it to dwell in us richly, it is to be so abundant in our lives that it is like overflowing wealth, the abundance of the word is like the old saying They have ore money than they know to do with… So the Word of God is to be in our lives.
And its use, is to teach and admonish one another in all wisdom....
So in teaching we instruct and provide wisdom, knowledge for the day and admonish means to strongly encourage. These work together to help the believer/ believers grow strong.
So that they can stand strong
If you jump over to Ephesians 4 verses 11-12, we see that God has given us partners in ministry, Apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers, they serve the body, and do the work of ministry. They teach, they lead and really each of us can fall into that last state… teachers,
Why do I think that??? Because God gives us so many audiences in life. Think of all the people you influence, in church and outside of church… You are teaching them whether you think so or not.
So as a child of God, our role is to teach each other, building one another up, so that we are not deceived, led astray or hurt in any way..as Eph 4:14 says..
14 so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
As the body of Christ, we are to work together to build, to teach to help strengthen the church so that no one falls away....
How are you building up your family, How are you building up your friends, your brothers and sisters in Christ. How are you doing that today??
That should be a great portion of our ministry to one another, never tearing one another down...
Lets do that, but one last thing I want to remind you of… practice forgiveness with each other.
5. Practice Forgiveness...
5. Practice Forgiveness...
Here is a topic that can be a little touchy for people, for it makes they look deep inside themselves and inspect that is going on in their own hearts. But forgiveness is something that can hinder the work of God in peoples lives and in the church.
Let me take you back to our passage… Col 3, verse 13
13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
Look at that… If you have a complaint against another, forgive each other. Now consider verse 12 again, how can you be God’s chosen ones, holy with these virtues or attributes and have un-forgiveness in your heart? You cannot, plain and simple.
Forgiveness is essential for each of us in our walk with God. Why, why one must ask? Paul tells us at the end of verse 13b… “… forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Our model for forgiveness is Jesus himself, as He forgave us, we are to forgive others.. it is a must.
Let me ask you a question, Was your offense great before God… Most certainly, we were dead in our trespasses and sins. We had sinned greatly before God. And God forgave our sins… Even while still in that state of sin, Romans 5:8, reveals how much..
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
And yet, like the story of the unmerciful servant, our indictment of someone else reveals their debt, their error before us is much smaller… yet why do we have trouble forgiving them when God has forgiven us so much?
Sin and self, not practicing love, compassion, kindness, Humility, meekness and patience. Not practicing these fruits of the Spirit hinders our ability to be like Jesus..
Loving those around us can be difficult at times, but He calls us to love one another..
Let me ask you a question today.. How is your love today?
Do you have anything against anyone else, go to them, well during Covid 19, call them, message them and forgive them.
As we forgive, we experience the joy of forgiveness and the freedom it brings in our lives.
So this morning
Clothe yourself in Christ
Love each other
Pray for one another
Practice Forgiveness at all times
Lets pray together