How To Truly Love

We do invite children at this time. If you would like to go downstairs for a Children's Program Jam, you can do so now.

Good morning, everyone. Can you hear me in the back? Okay. Okay, good. Just making sure I have this Mike on here, where it should be. Well, I need to confess that it this is an unexpected pleasure.

Me being here this morning up front of all of you Proclaim and God's word. But yeah, I got the phone call yesterday from Pastor, Mike that he is not feeling well. And so we need to be praying for him and also his family because this bug seem to hit every one of them. So you want to keep the measles in prayer. So I had yesterday and last night to prepare for today. So I asked all of you for a little Grace, I wasn't able to get quite all of this in my head, the way I want, but it's in my heart. So I'm hoping that the Lord is going to use me today and just Proclaim his word through me. So so let's get started.

Pastor Mike, and I both agreed that it would be beneficial for us to focus and keep our focus on true love, right? Because last week Pastor. Mike explain. What true love is as we studied 1st Corinthians 13. And we found out that love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy and it does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not Delight in evil. But rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always, trusts always hopes and always perseveres.

Now it is important that we understand what Biblical love is. But how do we functionally live this out in our relationships? Right? That's the challenge that were faced with what does it take to actually love like this? Well, today, we're going to lay the foundation at least 4, how to truly love others. As we study, John chapter 15 verses 1 through 12. Now. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time to make up slides for the verses. So you're going to have to do what you can to follow along in your Bibles and your Bible apps today. I'm so if you can just turn to the gospel, John chapter 15, and we will begin in verse 1. But before we begin, let's just go to the Lord in prayer and ask him to open our hearts and Minds this morning to really meet him in this particular way of learning how to truly love him and want another let spray.

Father, I thank you so much for this opportunity. As I jokingly said it is unexpected, but it is a privilege. I am honored to be able to stand here and Proclaim your word and Lord. I pray that you would give me all that. I need to get out of your way of what it is that you want to do in our hearts and Minds this morning. I pray that you would use me to do all of that work and more as you continue to meet us where we are each and every day and patiently, and consistently lead us and guide us as our great High Shepherd. Father, we ask all this in our precious savior is named Jesus our lord. Amen.

Okay, so let's get started. I'm going to go ahead and read John chapter 15 verses 1 through 12 and you can follow along with me there. Jesus says, I am the True Vine and my father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me. That bears, no fruit. Well, every branch that does bear fruit. He prune so that it won't be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word. I have spoken to you. Remain in me as I also remain in you. No Branch can bear. Fruit by itself. It must remain in the vine and neither. Can you bear fruit unless you remain in me? I am the vine. You are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me. You can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away. And Withers. Such branches are picked up front Into the Fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words, remain in you ask, whatever you wish and it will be done for you. This is to my father's Glory that you bear much fruit showing yourselves to be my disciples. As the father has loved me. So have I Loved You Now remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love. Just as I have kept, my father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this love each other as I have loved you.

Love each other as I have loved you. The hearing versus one and two Jesus refers to himself as the True Vine and the father, as the gardener and the father being, of course, the good Gardener that he is. He trims off the branches that bear no fruit and the branches, that do bear fruit, he prunes so that they will become even more fruitful.

The fruit that Jesus keeps referring to throughout this passage is the fruit of the spirit, right? And it consists of love joy, peace, patience. Kindness goodness faithfulness gentleness and self-control.

Then cheese is pauses from speaking metaphorically about branches and Vines. And he makes a very direct statement here in verse 3 and like us to take a look at this. He says you are already clean because of the word I've spoken to you.

Why did the Lord feel the need to stop and make this point right here? I believe Jesus here in the beginning, wants us to understand that he himself is our righteousness. It is the gospel, the good news about Christ, finished work on the cross that enables those who believe in him to be viewed as holy and righteous through his blood shed on the cross. This is extremely important for us to remember as we seek to understand how to truly love.

We can truly love only because Jesus truly loved us first.

And now his love lives in US.

God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. It is impossible for you and I to bear fruit and truly love apart from Christ and us.

As we're about to find out here in verse 4. Let's look at verse 44. Jesus says, remain in me. As I also remain in. You. No Branch can bear. Fruit by itself. It must remain in the Vine. Neither. Can you bear fruit unless you remain in me? And so just to be sure there's no misunderstanding. Jesus makes this clarifying statement in verse five and says, I am the vine. You are the branches, if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit, but a part for me. You can do nothing.

There it is. We cannot bear the fruit of true love Port, others apart. From being in Christ.

I'm going on here in verses 6 & 7, Jesus tells us that if we do not remain in him that we are like a withered branch that is eventually thrown away and burned. However, if we do remain in Christ and his words remaining us, we are encouraged to ask the Lord for anything, according to his will, and it will be accomplished.

Jesus, a statement here in verse 8 is Sookie. He says this. This is to my father's Glory that you bear much fruit. Showing yourselves to be my disciples.

The Lord gives us a glimpse here of how to truly love as his heart's desire is to bring glory to his father. See Jesus selflessly once his disciples you and I to bear fruit. So that the father is glorified. Christ, perfect. Love is always centered on others, not on himself. Not only that, but he truly loves by sacrificially, giving of himself. Jesus is sacrificial. Love is most recognized at calvary's at Calvary as it should be. But do you remember that? He continues, truly loving us, sacrificially Everyday by his long-suffering and patient love with each and everyone of us. When we sin against the Lord, repent and turn to him. Scripture tells us if we confess our sins. He is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins and purify us of all unrighteousness.

Jesus keeps on giving of himself and giving of himself, doesn't he? Sacrificially. And selflessly.

What do you think is going on here? In verses, 9 and 10? And says as the father has loved me. So have I loves you. Now, remain in my love. If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love. Just as I have kept, my father's commands and remain in his love. See. Jesus models. His love for us after the Father's. Love for him, right?

Well, then who's love are we to model in order to show true? Love to others? Yeah, we modeled Jesus is Love as we remain in his love. And how do we remain in this love? By keeping his commands. I3 says, which commands do we keep? Where do we start?

Well, I believe we must keep first things first, and start with the greatest commandment where Jesus tells us to love the Lord, your God with all your heart. And with all your soul, and with all your mind that this is the first and greatest commandment. The pursuit of truly loving others needs to start here. We must remain in an intimate love relationship with the Lord. First and foremost before we can ever expect a truly love others.

and as we keep him as our first love, we are done and able to keep the second command to love our neighbor. There's no other way to truly love somebody. It must happen out of the Overflow of our love for Jesus.

In verse 11. Jesus says, I've told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. Now, many of you know that your boy acronym, right, number grown up with that yet stands for. Joy Wright. J. O, y stands for Jesus first. Other second and yourself last. And I believe this is true and relevant and can be used as a helpful reminder of how to truly love. Let me live. When we live our lives in this way. Christ Love Remains in US. And our joy is made complete. Wouldn't complete Joy. Be something amazing to experience on this side of Eternity. Think about that.

Finally, Jesus tells us in verse 12. He says my command is this love each other. As I have loved you. In order to keep this commandment. We must know how Jesus has loved us right now. He's loved us first. Based on our study of this passage then how has Jesus loved us?

Well, he's cleanse us from all unrighteousness through his sacrificial. Love on the cross. By the washing of his word. He is the true vine. Who loves us selflessly by providing nourishment. That enables us to bear fruit. He has remained in the Father's Love, Ruby dance. And he kept the father, his first love. Enabling him to love us with the Father's Love.

He Loves Us joyfully so that our joy may be made complete in him.

So here's a summary statement of how we are to truly love one another then as Jesus loved us.

Try to make this as succinct as I could. Here we go. We truly love by making Jesus Christ. Our First Love. And remaining in his love through obedience. Then we are unable to joyfully. Love others, sacrificially and selflessly out of the Overflow of our love for the Lord.

There you go. Nice and neat and all tied up in a little bell. Now, we can all leave here today and truly love the Lord and others and having our joy made complete every day until the Lord takes us home, right?

Right. You know, I would be doing you a disservice if I stop here. Without addressing our biggest problem. Our biggest obstacle. The Flash, our sin nature.

Well, everything we learn from our past of study is true. We must cooperate with our human condition and God's sanctification process for a realistic understanding of what it looks like to love like this. And how this works out in our lives. The first will address The Human Condition. I think the Apostle Paul give us a really good snapshot of this and REM and 718 through 20 when he says. I know that. Nothing good lives in me. That is in my sin nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out for what I do is not the good. I want to do know the evil. I do not want to do this. I keep on doing. Now if I do what I do not want to do, it is no longer, I who does it, but it is sin living in me. That does it.

See, this is Paul. Being painfully honest about his struggle with sin, when living in the Flash. But thankfully, that is not the condition that we are left in as Believers in Christ. Is poggers on the talus? He says. You were taught with regard to your former way of life to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires to be made new in the attitude of your minds and to put on the new self-created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. All right, if you just forward 22 through 24.

Putting off and putting on. Apple race again, about the sin nature in light of living, by the spirit. He says, so I say walk by the spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh for the flesh desires, what is contrary to the spirit and the spirit, what is contrary to the flash? They are in conflict with each other so that you are not to do whatever you want.

Right. Now, we need to marry these spiritual realities of putting off the old sin nature and living, by the spirit.

I need to marry that to God's change process.

Growing in the ability to truly love others is going to require us to join God in his work of making us like Christ. This isn't a static process. We don't just sit back and say, okay, Lord, have at it in my heart. We need to join him in his work. Need to join him.

God desires to continue remaking, our character to reflect that of Jesus. You must often uses our relationships and our circumstances to accomplish us in our heart, doesn't he? He gets turned up and the allegiances of her heart, get exposed. And our faithful father, the good Gardener does, his work of cutting and pruning. When we allow him.

Hope you have a teachable spirit.

We practice putting off the old self and its deceitful desires and putting on the new self is created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

We submit more and more to the holy spirit's patient and persistent interventions and walk by the spirit. Not gratify, the desires of the flesh.

And understand us, we measure this kind of change in decades. Not by a 25-minute sermon on how the truly love.

God's change. Process takes time.

Growing in our ability to truly love God and others will require us to join God in a lifelong change process.

You know, I can't help but remember the wedding vows that Kathy and I shared with one another. We promised the Lord and we promised each other that we would commit to growing in how to better. Love one another.

Committed to growing in how to better. Love one another. You see, we understood that truly loving one. Another would be a lifelong process of learning.

We knew that we needed to remain in the Lord and move toward one another especially and that is the last thing we feel like doing.

And the same is true for you. If you keep moving toward God and toward others in times of trouble.

God is going to do is work and your heart is going to renew your mind. He's going to change your heart. You're going to join him in his work.

And I will continue being confident of this. Just like Paul said, to the Philippians that he who began a good work in, you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

Let's pray.

Father. I thank you so much again for your church. I thank you that we have your word. I think you that we have your spirit. And Lord, we we truly need you to do this work in US. Yes. We need to participate. Absolutely join. You and remain in you.

But you do it all. You have done it all and you continue to do it all and you will do it all.

Set alarm me when I praise you. I want to exhaust you lift. You want high? And I pray that each one of us would continue to be fully dependent on you and and get out of the way of what it is that you want to do as you do your work in us as you continue to, to help us. Love one another. The way you loved us. Help us. Lord. We need you. I need you. And ask all this in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you.