God Loved Us First

Intro

Hey everybody! How is everyone? Did everyone have fun giving thanks last week? Let’s see show of hands, who likes baked turkey? Okay, Who likes Fried Turkey? Aight. Who likes Smoked Turkey? Okay Cool.

So question for you, who already has Christmas decorations up? Okay, we have them up, we actually went ahead and decorated for Christmas early, because we are adults now and there was no one there to stop us.

The real question is who has most of their presents wrapped? Okay. We do! well, Lauralee does. I’m really bad at wrapping gifts. Who is good at it? okay, see I’m really bad at it. I watched the video of some lady who was way too excited to be wrapping presents. I watched a dude tell me how to wrap a present without using any tape, I found a whole youtube channel devoted to wrapping gifts, like that is a lot of content to put out all year, just for the Christmas video to get the same hits every year from dude’s like me who are like, I’m gonna get good at this, and then not be good at it.

But anyways, I watched these videos and tutorials, and thought, okay, that looks pretty easy, I’m gonna be able to do this. But it was actually harder than it looks. Have any of you ever had that feeling, like where you see some one do something, and you’re like. “Oh, I can do that.” It’s like Golf, you watch these dudes on TV crush the ball close to four football ball fields like it’s nothing and then when you go to play, you shank it in to the woods half the time. That’s how I was watching these videos on gift wrapping, “I can do that.” Spoiler, I could not do that. I actually asked Mrs. Susan to help me yesterday in the office so I could have one gift wrapped for LL when she got home yesterday.

But that is where I want our heads to be at tonight. What we are talking about tonight sounds so much easier than it is, and that is why we study the bible, to really get everything we can out of scripture.

Context

So before we jump in, let’s review cause we were off last week. So we are still in 1 John. This whole time John has been making distinctions about who is truly following God and who is not. He used the Light and Dark metaphor. He has spoke against the false teachers. He talked about how to know you are following Christ.

We talked about the different facets of the atonement process. Which means, I have Gift Card to give out. So two weeks ago, I gave you not one, but three words that I need to you to tell me and give the definition for. So the first one who can stand up and tell me the three words and definitions will get a gift card.

So we talked about those three words and now we are here. We are in 1 John, Chapter 3, verses 11-24.

So if you have your bible, great! Turn to 1 John 3:11-24. If you don’t have a bible, you know the drill, throw a hand up and we will get one to you. If you have a bible at home, bring it next week. If you don’t have a bible at home, you can take that one home. We can always buy more bibles. Anyways, you know my pitch, bring a bible. If you’re going skiing, you’re going to need to bring your bible to that, so go ahead and start getting in to the habit.

Okay, so let’s get in to it, let me pray for us before we really jump in.

Prayer: Lord thank you for you. We come before you tonight seeking your heart. Jesus go before us in this text and make a way, Holy Spirit give us eyes to see and ears to hear, and father speak, for your servants are listening. We ask these things in your name, so we know you hear us, amen.

Okay, so we are in 1 John 3, starting in verse 11.

so read with me starting verse 11, and we are going to stop some on the way.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

Okay, so first off. John starts this new thought by saying you have heard this before. Jesus said this, love one another. Then John brings up Cain and Able and the Murder that took place. Which is still a reference to what Jesus said in Matthew 5,

English Standard Version Chapter 5

You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment

So what John has done, is to make sin a heart issue. And love, a heart issue. What John is saying is, you have to love one another. But not in a, well I’m nice to them kind of way. But our hearts should truly want the best for our brothers and sisters.

SO this is the set up to verse 13. Which if we have missed what was going on or just glossed over it, it is doesn’t make sense. Verse 13, let me read it again.

13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.

John says, don’t be surprised. Why would John start the verse like that? Well, it is because the people he was writing to, are genuinely surprised. They are actually taken back that the world hates them.

So if you’re writing things down, write this down. The world is going to hate you.

The World is going to hate you

The people are confused that the world does not like them. Roman persecution is going on, there are false teachers. And people are legit surprised that no one likes them.

They are all, “why are you booing me? I’m right.” So John, is telling them basically, don’t be caught off guard, Jesus told us this, and now you are experiencing what he told you.

And this is true then, and it is true today. The world is going to hate you. If you are sitting here thinking about this, and you’re thinking to yourself, “no one hates me?” then just give it time. If you are following Christ, you are going to experience the world’s hate towards you at some point. And what this text here is telling is, don’t be surprised by this. Don’t be caught of guard by this. This comes with the territory and most importantly, it’s okay. Don’t let it get to you.

But I know the question you may be wondering, because I wondered this myself. Which is why, why is it expected that the world hates us? First, is because of the way we love. Which sounds weird. Who hates love? the world hates the kind of love that we have, which is love with truth.

The natural response from the world to the love we are talking about here is hate.

why though? if we are supposed to love everyone why do people hate that? Let’s look at what we mean by love and truth. because our love is interwoven with truth.

So first off, if you are a believer in the room, you have a Christian world view. Even if you don’t know it what that means, you have that. The way you view the world is based on your beliefs about God, and namely Christianity.

So if you’re writing things down, world view might be a good word to remember for next week. This topic is going to come up again later down the road. So remember for next week the word, World View, which simply means, beliefs which shape your view of the world.

So as Christians, we believe in God, and that God is the foundational truth. Which just means all other truth is founded on the fact that God exists, and that God is perfectly loving.

Most of us like football right? If you like football, raise your hand. Okay what is the goal in football or what is the foundational truth of football? Other than the Falcons will blow a late game lead. What is the foundational thing in football? It’s the end-zone. What is the first thing you do when you play a pick up game of football in the backyard? You set up the end-zone.

Now imagine you have no endzone, but you have to play the game. You have to run the plays. Does that game matter? No, because no one can win, you’re just going to run plays. Would it matter if you are running beautifully designed plays? No. Does it matter that your QB can scramble like Lamar Jackson, and throw like Tom Brady? nope. Does it matter that your running back just plows through the other defense at will? Not at all. Because it is pointless. There is nothing to found the game on. If you drive for 90 yards, you might as well have driven for 200 yards, because it doesn’t matter.

That is what it is like to not have a worldview that is founded on God. First, that God exists. Why does the world hate us? Because the world is saying, “you have to figure out what truth is,” and the christian world view says, “We have the truth, now this is how to live.” we know where the endzone is.

The second foundational truth is, that God loves us. So the reason the world hates the love we show, is because it does not understand Love.

We talked about it earlier in this study that with out Christ we do not have the ability to love well. The world is going to say, Love no matter what someones truth is. Our response is to love according to truth. Which is how Christ loves us. Christ’s way is the better way.

One of the most common objections to this, is if you tell someone something simple about Christianity, like, “Christ is the only way to heaven.” I have had people tell me, “you know that’s a pretty arrogant way to look at your worldview. It is really arrogant to assume you know actual truth.” Anybody ever run in to that? If you haven’t, you will eventually hear that from somewhere.

But imagine this. Imagine you and a buddy are lost on the way to somewhere, and you pull out your phone and pull up Google maps, and you tell him, hey you need to turn around and go back, you missed the turn, it is right down that road. Imagine if your buddy is like, “You know, that is really arrogant of you to assume that you know the way to get there. You believe that map? That map was made a while ago, it has probably changed since then. it is really arrogant of you to say you know the way.”

But is it, who is more arrogant in this situation, the guy who has the map, or the guy blindly driving thinking he will come to the right destination eventually? It’s the guy with the map.

So as Christians, we don’t have to think very much of ourselves. We are just the guy with the map. We are the people who say, “Yeah, the turn was back there, turn around.” Which I know sounds way easier said than done. Because most people really hate being given directions.

Because God loved us first

So how do we tell the world, that we have the map? How do we tell the world that the turn was just a few blocks back? Before we can tackle the how, we have to answer the why.

Why should we tell the world that we have the map. Why should we tell them they missed the turn? It seems like the world doesn’t want to hear it, so why should we keep telling them?

Because God Loved us first. Write that down. God loved us first. We are no better than the world we find ourselves in. It is easy to sit back and say, “well, they’re not listening, so we might as well not even try.” but that is not how God treated us. and that is not the story of redemption in the Bible.

The whole old testament is the story of God’s people rebelling, he save them, only for them to rebel and God have to save them again. This is why Christ came and died in our place. So that we could have a relationship with Him.

But none of that is possible if God had not first loved us. There is nothing we could have done to earn or get to God by our own doing. We would be just like the rest of the world, without a map, not knowing we missed the turn 5 blocks back. God could have washed His hands of us, and done nothing to restore the relationship. But he did, look at verse 16, let me read it.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.

God loved us first, and that love should leak in to everything we do, look at verses 17 and 18,

English Standard Version Chapter 3

17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

The love the text is talking about it more than just good thoughts toward one another. It involves action, it involves seeing a need, and not hoping someone meets that need, but that if you can meet that need, you are that someone. And verse 18 can be roughly translated to say, lets not talk the talk, but walk the walk. Our love has to be more than empty words. Our deeds must be done in love and in truth.

And I keep saying in love in truth, and what I mean by this is that, our love must be guiding one another towards the truth. So why the world hates us, is because the love we show says to a person, we love you, we want you to know the truth that is God. Here is this better life laid out for us by the ultimate truth.

God Commands us to love one another

So let’s keeping going, because there is another why and how to the love we have.

read with me verses 19 - 24

English Standard Version Chapter 3

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

We said earlier that John made sin and love a heart issue, not merely an action issue. Here john is reenforcing that thought. Look at verse 22.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.

Now we need to look close at this verse, because it would be super easy to take this verse way, WAY, out of context. If we read this verse by itself, it sounds like we are going to get what ever we pray for. Like if I prayed for a new car, I’d get a new car or I’d win the money. And in our world today, there a people who preach that is true, if you have enough faith and pray, God will give you what ever you want. And that is simply not true. No this verse here is dealing with that second word of those words from last week, Sanctification, the process of being made like christ, being made holy. So this verse is not saying we can bend God to our will, but that God replaces our will with his will.

So how does this work, let’s keep reading. read with me in verse 23 and 24.

English Standard Version Chapter 3

23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

So this answers the questions of how and why. God commands us to love one another. If you’re taking notes write that down. God commands us to love one another. We love one another by abiding in the one who is love.

Why Does this matter?

So why does this matter? Why talk about this tonight?

Well for one, to prepare you. I know living in Jones County we have it pretty sweet as Christians, we are still in the bible belt. Not many people are doing a lot of hating directly at us. But I would be doing my job poorly, if I tried to hide the fact from you, that as a Christian you are going to run in to people who hate you because of what you believe, and they will challenge every belief you hold. And that is okay, as christians, we are to expect that. We should know it’s coming, so when you get asked hard questions about you faith, you’ll be ready to answer them. You’ll think, oh yeah, we planed for this.

Second reason we talk about this, is that, when we meet the people in the world who hate us, we have to remember, those people also need Jesus. We will be known by how we love, and that starts in the church. If we in the church can’t seem to love one another, how can we show the world truth in love outside the church.

So believers here tonight, I want you to think about how you can love one another well, how can you be made more like christ in the way that you love.

For anyone here tonight who doesn’t know Christ. Know that without him, you are walking this world with out a map. There is no ultimate hope in this world apart from Christ. If you want to know more about how to know Christ, come talk to me, talk to a friend, grab a leader. Grab someone. But submit your life to Christ. His ways are better. Pray with me.