Transformed to Love

INTRODUCTION:

*Open your Bibles to Romans 12

While you are finding your place, let me tell you a story

This is old-fashioned day, and we have just past Veteran’s Day, and so I thought I Would share an old-fashioned story

There is a 12th century church that stands in gray stone as a pillar in the community of Angoville-Au-Plain, a small village in Northwest France

At first glance, there is nothing spectacular about it, though it is picturesque and typical for the place that it stands

What is not typical, though, is the memory held by this church

For the stained-glass windows of the church depict the scenes of battle

And its wooden pews hold 77 year-old blood stains that stand as a reminder of love

For in the early morning hours of June 6, 1944, the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army parachuted into Angoville-Au-Plain

The day would be known as D-day

And like most places on D-day, the fighting in Angoville-Au-Plain was fierce

Both sides were experiencing heavy casualties

Wounded soldiers from both sides were seeking aide

And on that very morning, in that little church, two American medics made history

Their country was engaged in the war to end all wars

Their enemy was a force of evil that threatened the entire world

And yet, as Robert E. Write and Kenneth J. Moore setup triage in the sanctuary of that church, none of that mattered

Because what these two men chose not to be Germans or Americans-the chose to be life and love

American and German soldiers alike poured into the doors of that church that day

And every man that passed through the door was viewed the same: A dying man in need of life-saving care

Only one requirement was given to them as they came seeking aide: if you want to come in, you must leave your gun outside

The two men labored in toil for friend and enemy alike, for with their weapons down they were all the same

dead men, clinging to a hope of life

Because of the love of those two men, 80 soldiers and a child injured in the fray were saved from death that day

Their blood stands to this day as a testimony to the power of love to save

We are reading from Romans 12 this morning, beginning in verse 9. Would you stand with me in honor of the reading of God’s Word

Romans 12:9–21 NASB95

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

PRAY, Invite the church to be seated

*LISTENING GUIDES OUT

Today, as we celebrate old-fashioned day, I would submit to you that we live in an old-fashioned society

Sure, our world is full of new technology everyday

Sure we have new vices, new ways that we sin, new forms of debauchery and greed

Yes, the music of our age is different

And don’t get me started on fashion trends of this hour

But we live in an old-fashioned society because sin and death still rein

Hell still burns with unquenchable fire, and most of the world seems all to eager to get there

Hatred and division are still alive and well. In some ways, they are better off than they ever have been

Despite being a nation with a heritage as immigrants, criminals, persecuted, and marginalized peoples,

we still find in each other more differences than commonalities

more causes for hatred than reasons to love

more walls of division, than bridges to unity

And yet, in this morning’s illustration, we find a picture of our text...

In Romans 12, we have been talking about the transformed life

If you are a follower of Jesus Christ, you must live a transformed life

You cannot live your life as you did before you knew Christ, because Jesus changes you forever

As followers of Jesus Christ, let us look upon two medics from our nation’s darkest hour and see that love changes everything

FOR ON THE CROSS ARE STAINS OF BLOOD THAT PROVE THAT LOVE SAVES LIVES!

The blood of Jesus was shed to bring peace to the enemies of God

The blood of Jesus was shed to win victory over sin and death

The blood of Jesus was shed to heal the broken and the hopeless

The blood of Jesus was shed to tear down the walls that divide us

The blood of Jesus was shed to bring dead men back to life

ALL of these things are what you were before that moment you met Jesus

You were God’s enemy

You were a slave of sin and death

You were divided from your brothers and from the Lord

You were a dead man walking

But then, you met Jesus

If this isn’t true of you, let it be true today

YOU CANNOT FOLLOW JESUS AND BE THE SAME

THE LOVE OF JESUS TRANSFORMS YOU!

HIS GRACE IS FREE, BUT IT WILL COST YOU EVERYTHING!

Today, let’s be set free. Look at verse 9:

Romans 12:9–13 NASB95

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor; not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality.

If you are in Christ, you will be transformed!

There are three things I would have you to note about your transformation this morning, the first one is this:

Love requires more than lip-service

I often hear people tell me there are too many hypocrites in the church

First, let me say that the church is where hypocrites belong

Give me the liars, cheats, and traitors. Give me the adulterous thieves and hypocrites, they are right where they need to be

We welcome every sinner that would walk through the door

Jesus will meet you this morning right where you are!

But let me be clear, friend, that while He meets you there, He loves you too much to leave you that way

Jesus will change everything about you

One of the biggest changes that Christ will call you to is to learn to truly love

Not the feel good, Christmas and valentines, Hallmark-movie-kind-of love

The blood, sweat, and tears kind-of love

Not just loving those that you like, but those that hate you

You can’t just say “I love you,” and then bite each other’s backs

Love is displayed in actions

It is the choice to put the good of others before your own

It is the choice to hurt so that another may heal

Love without sacrificial action isn’t love

THIS IS WHY THE CROSS IS THE ULTIMATE ACT OF LOVE: What more could Christ give than His life?

John 15:13 NASB95

“Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.

If you are in Christ, Love is not a word, it is a lifestyle

We are to love those that are in the body of Christ and those that are not

Love is to be the earmark of the body of Christ

John 13:35 NASB95

“By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

To love like Jesus means each person must think of yourself as least and last

Love takes active action and participation

There is no bench-warming-fandom-from the pews.

Christ doesn’t need fans, He calls followers

Either you are on the team, or you simply do not love

Love is always hoping, pushing through the hard, never stopping, praying without ceasing.

Love is an open door to caring, giving sacrificially, and giving all of me for others

Look at verse 14:

Romans 12:14–16 NASB95

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep. Be of the same mind toward one another; do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

Love requires more than lip-service, but secondly

Love requires a giver happy not to receive

I like giving gifts, but it is hard to give and never get back

you get them a gift, they give you a card

You take them to dinner, they call you

It’s nice to get given love

But Christ calls us to love those who won’t repay it

To love your enemy seems counter-intuitive

Love those who hate you so much they actively seek your harm

But this is what Jesus did for you-He died for His enemy

We are called to love our enemies

sacrificing for those that hate us

Going without so that they can be blessed

rejoicing at their successes, and praying for them

And we are to go further than that in our giving into really hard things

Rejoice when others rejoice

even when your world is crumbling

even when their victory is your loss

even if you don’t feel like it

This requires you to thing of others first. If you do that, you won’t think of yourself

Weep with those who weep

Leave your place of comfort to sit in their ashes

enter their pain and mourning

We do this because our love for Christ is greater than our discomfort

These things should be a two-way street, with believers all thinking of themselves as the lowest

But even if you were the only one to live this out, doing so means you will never be offended

It is hard to take offense as feeling the lowest or unnoticed when you do all things in thinking of yourself last

Always assume others know more than you

Let’s look at the last few verses

Romans 12:17–21 NASB95

Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. “But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

Loving requires more than lip-service, it requires a giver happy not to receive, and finally,

Love requires peacemakers among warmongers

In a world full of sin and death...

People will do evil to you

They will do wrong and get away with it

They will seek to anger and malign you

But transformation calls you to love and peace

Love doing what is right everywhere with everyone

Stay at peace when others rage against you

Seek peace when others seek a fight

Your revenge now might drive a soul towards Hell and away from the Gospel

Loving them may lead to repentance and salvation

If they don’t come to saving faith, God’s wrath is more than sufficient to repay their wrongs against you

Choose to love your enemy as Christ loved You-you just might keep them out of Hell

REMEMBER: Good overcomes evil, not by fighting fire with fire, but by quenching the fire in love and kindness

It is hard to hate in the presence of love!

It is easy to hate someone that hates you, but it is hard to continue hating someone that loves you in return for your hatred

INVITATION:

That fateful day in 1944, almost every soldier was happy to put down his weapon to save his own life

But one Nazi officer was so filled with hatred and mistrust, he couldn’t bring himself to put it down

It wasn’t until he realized that his fight in hatred was going to cost him his life that he laid it down

And those that were his enemies saved his life

There is a cross that is stained and tarnished. It is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains

Lose all their guilty stains, Lose all their guilty stains

And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains

This morning, won’t you learn to love like Jesus!

Won’t you be transformed!

Won’t you lay down the gun you been fighting with

Won’t you lose your guilty stains

For at the foot of the cross, we are all just dying men who have come to find love saves

PRAY