Incarnating the Love of Jesus

Introduction

Over the past five weeks we have been looking at the disciplines of worship. Last week we heard Captain Catherine share on the discipline of hearing God’s Word. We were asked to consider how we pursue knowing God through the study of His Word and being intentional about making this time.

Our theme for this week is “Incarnating the Love of Christ.” The Apostle Peter takes this concept, incarnation, and unfolds it in practical ways for “the temporary residents dispersed throughout Asia Minor” (1:1). Our text reveals that we are ALL called to live lives incarnating the love of Jesus Christ. Peter never calls Jesus Jesus, he always refers to Him as Jesus Christ or Christ Jesus because He was “uniquely different from every other man and prophet who ever lived.[1]Our lives should, therefore, reflect this incredible uniqueness, this revolutionary Kingdom agenda ushered in through the Incarnate life of Jesus Christ. Scripture calls us to develop revolutionary relationships, promote revolutionary returns, and offer revolutionary responses.

I want us to consider today how our are calling as Christian is tied to the idea of living lives of such revolutionary action that people are compelled to take notice and ask us why we live the way we do. PRAY

Main 1: When we take on the Incarnate Jesus, we are called to form revolutionary relationships.

Take a moment and turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter 3 verse 8. Beginning in verse 8, he lays out principles for incarnating the love of Christ and identifies a critical piece of discipleship: our actions follow our thoughts. Incarnating the love of Christ is done first with thoughts then with actions. When these are in order and aligned, we are able to form revolutionary relationships.

First, Peter calls everyone to be like-minded. Capt. Peter taught on this concept a few weeks ago and said that to be in unity or like-minded does not mean we all become the same – it means that we all share the same focus and the same purpose. In some translations, you see “live in harmony” and this concept makes sense to anyone who ever listens to music. Harmony produces a fullness of sound that resonates within us. While the notes are different, they belong together and achieve a beautiful result. Paul tells us in Romans 12:16 to “Be in agreement with one another.” He again tells us in Philippians 2:1-2 – “If then there is any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, 2 fulfill my joy by thinking the same way, having the same love, sharing the same feelings, focusing on one goal.[2]” Forming revolutionary relationships means we go beyond barriers because that is what Christ did in His incarnation.

In 1 Peter 3:8 Peter combines like-mindedness with being sympathetic. The word sympathetic combines “suffer” and “with” and it a picture that is painted of Jesus Christ. In Hebrew 4:15, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin.” [3]Isn’t it ironic that this message of – suffering with – comes from the guy who claimed “til the end.” How do we remember Peter – “I don’t know him”, “I’m not from there.” How are you seeking to live sympathetically, to suffer with someone?

Next, he says love believers. Peter is saying “stop the infighting!” Imagine what the world must think of people called to love one another and they see anything but. Peter is saying you can’t live and love as Christ commanded if you are not foundationally loving one another! Are we willing to widen the net of brotherly love? Forming revolutionary relationships requires an in-house cleanup.

Peter combines the next two characteristics of revolutionary relationships: compassion and humility. Being compassionate is a feeling that comes from deep within the inner most part of a person. Compassion is a different response than sympathy – compassion is more about the emotional response or feelings. This Samaritan has compassion on the critically wounded man and in 1 Peter 2:24 – Jesus himself bore our sins and suffered; the righteous for the unrighteous. What would bring a person to such a place? Peter knows it’s humility, which is lowly-mindedness. The picture of humility painted by Peter is so evident in Christ’s life – the towel and the basin at the feet of the disciples – the pain and agony on the cross. Brothers and sisters, are we so moved by compassion to form revolutionary relationships that we come with the towel and basin? Are we incarnating the love of Jesus by clothing ourselves with Paul’s “outfit” – “compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, and forgiveness.”[4]

Main 2: When we take on the Incarnate Jesus, we are called to promote revolutionary returns.

But what comes of revolutionary relationships? 1 Peter 3:9 answers this for us: revolutionary returns. The text says “not paying back evil for evil or insult for insult but, on the contrary, giving a blessing, since you were called for this, so that you can inherit a blessing.”[5]. “Scripture is jammed with blessings (Calhoun 199).” We also see this in the Old Testament in Leviticus 19:18 – “Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am Yahweh.” Adele Calhoun provides us with ideas on how we can do this practically: speaking or writing words of encouragement for someone, pray God’s delight on someone else, give strength to those who are ready to give up, share with kids your desire to see them achieve greatness.

How are revolutionary returns tied to incarnating the love of God by giving a blessing? First, the idea of being a blessing is tied to God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 12:2 – we are the recipients of a blessing given by grace. The return for this blessing is immediately turned over to believer to “be a blessing to many.” Our purpose is to be a blessing to others and there is nothing more revolutionary in terms of return to a temporal world than the offer of eternal life through Jesus Christ. What kind of investment firm is this? Imagine if we viewed our relationships as so revolutionary that the return on our investment with another person is eternal! What returns have you been seeking lately in your relationships? Temporary or eternal?

Why should we be people of revolutionary returns? It is consistent with our purpose and it is the exact business of God. As God’s holy people, we have been called children of God who will inherit a blessing. We have nothing of blessing outside of God’s gift to us, therefore, we should live lives characterized by blessing others. The word “blessed’ literally means “to speak well of.” The blessing we receive as God’s children far exceeds anything of this world.

James 3: 9-10 tells us we can’t bless God and curse men. Peter’s message rests on the same principle. The world says our present determines our future. As Christians, our future determines the path of our present behavior. (repeat) This week, can you leverage a relationship to be a blessing to someone who you know hasn’t seen one in a long time? When you are encouraged by someone, how does it make you feel? Imagine the eternal returns if we lived as a Christian community focused on praying blessings for others. This is incarnating the love of Christ; it is the life that we were called to when our lives became hidden in Christ.

Main 3: When we take on the Incarnate Jesus, we demonstrate revolutionary responses.

Peter has woven a beautiful tapestry in the verses 8-9. Now, he is going to use Psalm 34 to make his final point: When we incarnate the love of Jesus Christ, we demonstrate revolutionary responses. Peter grounds his message in Scripture and he chooses a selection that emphasizes his theme – “suffer now, glory later” (Wall Nienhuis 124). While he was speaking in verses 8-9 to the whole group, he now calls the listeners to individual accountability. He leans on the power of individual accountability in forming revolutionary relationships and he sets apart those who seek to see good days and those who will face eternal punishment.

In verses 10-11, Peter addresses the greatest instrument of evil the world has ever seen: the tongue. He isn’t the only Biblical writer to do this. In the book of James 3:5-8, the picture of the tongue is one of pure, unrivaled evil. James doesn’t say it can’t be tamed; he says it can’t be tamed by man. Satan’s agenda is based on doubt and deceit, the very things we are called keep our tongues from.

The problem with the tongue is its source – the impure and evil desires of an unrepentant heart. One of the biggest problems in forest fires burning out of control is uncleared underbrush. Isn’t the same true of unrepentant hearts? A spark ignites a pile of old, dead, decaying branches (underbrush) laying on the ground. The old and dead nature of a tree is the very thing that becomes the fuel for the destruction of the living trees around it. And it isn’t one tree that burns – it’s the whole forest! Brothers and sisters, is this our Christian community? Have our verbal responses burned the forests of our communities, our jobs, maybe even our homes because we fail to clear the underbrush of sin in our lives? Have we repented and turned from our evil ways?

I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase “you can’t fight fire with fire”, but in the case of these spiritual fires, I disagree. As Christians we have the pure, divine fire of the Holy Spirit that burns away the sin of our old selves and simultaneously refines and heat-protects our new lives in Christ. Jesus Christ calls us to a revolutionary response – to repent, to turn from evil, not join with it by spewing words of evil, doubt, and deception.

Through our revolutionary responses, we reveal a unique posture – one of worship. Does our tongue demonstrate a posture of worship? Is our conversational fallback with others representative of our conversations with God? Let’s be proactive with our responses and seek understanding by checking for clarity instead of jumping to conclusions. Let’s avoid generalizations like “always” and “never.” Maybe we need to specifically change a habit of speech. I have a really hard time in the confines of a car and poor officiating, maybe you do to? Let’s account to the Lord with our responses, particularly with our tongues.

Conclusion –

On the screen you see examples of ways we can incarnate the love of Christ (read a few). Incarnating the love of Jesus Christ should guide and motivate us to form revolutionary relationships, promote revolutionary results, and demonstrate revolutionary responses. Brothers and sisters, people need the Lord. This is the title of our closing song and you’re going to see the lyrics on this screen soon (Pete and the praise band come up) and as the music begins, take this time to meditate on what the Holy Spirit has stirred up in your heart.

My challenge for you– what is your response to the Incarnate Jesus asking you to live a revolutionary life, to truly be like Him? In these moments, the Holy Spirit begins to burn in our hearts because revolutionary living requires sacrifice. Maybe you have forgotten what it is like to be in communion with Jesus. The pace, the schedule, the meetings, the exhaustion, all of them pressing down on you when someone living in pain and in need asks us, “What is it like to be with Jesus?” Conventional or revolutionary? Our song says – “Through His love our hearts can feel all the grief they bear. They must hear the words of life only we can share.”

Incarnation took Jesus Christ to the last breath of his life, a complete self-donation. Are you living your life on complete self-reliance? Christ gave His life so that you don’t have to live on self-reliance. Incarnating the love of Christ does require the sacrifice of our self-interested kingdom agenda and replacing it with Christ’s Kingdom agenda. Amy Carmichael, a Christian missionary in India said “There are times when nothing holds the heart but a long, long look at Calvary. How very small anything that we are allowed to endure seems beside that cross” (Calhoun 205). If we intend to follow Him, we must expect that our lives will take us to the same place as our Lord. To a place of compete self-donation. If you need to make this decision or commitment today, please don’t leave this place until you have. People need the Lord, and you are uniquely placed for this purpose – to bring them the words of life.

[1]Ball, Charles S. “First and Second Peter .” Hebrews-Revelation. Vol. 6. Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1966. 249. Print. The Wesleyan Bible Commentary. [2] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009. Print. [3] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009. Print. [4] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009. Print. [5] The Holy Bible: Holman Christian Standard Version. Nashville: Holman Bible Publishers, 2009. Print.