"Love Harder!" (Live UP! series - Sermon 3)
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 10 viewsNotes
Transcript
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.
He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
You are my friends if you do what I command you.
I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
Intro:
The critical question I want to ask you surrounding “Love” is,
......How were you raised?
(pause)
Freedom....
.......I was raised to Love!
(pause and expound)
And the follow up question to that is.....
Are you “Living UP!” to how you were raised when it comes to “Love?”
(pause)
And what I have discovered is that there are some things in life experience that....
.....Builds love
and.....
.......there are also some things that I call “Love Killers”
(pause)
And the objective of these love killers are to break down......
.......what has took so much time to build!
(pause)
And the dangerous part about it is that these Love assassins don’t shoot at your head......
.......they shoot at your Spirit!
(pause)
Jealousy and Bitterness are Love killers.......
(optional expound)
Unforgiveness and Hate are Love killers.....
(optional expound)
But.....
.......one of the greatest love killers of all is FEAR!
Because....
........Fear manipulates every other love killer that attacks our spirits.
(pause and optional expound)
And.....
.....if we are going to overcome these attacks that look to destroy our spirit
......there’s got to be another way of looking at things that cuases us to began acting out our lives in a greater way that looks like 1 Corinthians 13 where it tells us that......
Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant
(pause and expound)
And here’s how we start “Loving Harder....”
Look at the text.....
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.
He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
John’s Gospel opens in Chapter 15 with Jesus speaking to the disciples concerning production.......
Jesus says,
“I am the true vine.......and my Father is the gardner.”
(pause)
In the OT the vine is a common symbol for Israel......
......the covenant people of God.
.....and whenever Israel is talked about as being the vine the text is pointing to their failure to produce good fruit
.....which then results in this emphasis of God’s judgment on the nation.
(pause)
But in contrast to those failures we read in the OT relating to Israel as the vine...
....Jesus says here,
“I am the TRUEVINE...........who produces good fruit”
(slight pause)
And so....
Jesus is clarifying the position of the people by saying to the disciples,
........if they want to be connected to God’s vine they must be in right relationship with Jesus as branches.
And.....
......it is God the Father who plants, and cultivates the vine and the branches.
(pause)
And in verse 2 Jesus says.....
.....the way that branches produce fruit is by obtaining their life from the vine.
and......
God is constantly examining the results of the branches....
(pause)
and....
......for every branch that does not produce fruit, God cuts it off from the vine.
......and part of the reason for doing this is so that what’s dead or living down,
.....does not take up the room needed for the live wood, or the branch that is “Living UP!” to have room to grow!
(pause)
And so anything that is blocking growth........
........God is intentional to move it out of the way!
And.....
.......that’s a revelation for some of you who have been trying to hold on to dead wood.
.......you’re trying to understand why there’s no growth
......and the reason is because what’s alive does not have any room to grow!
(pause and expound)
And then Jesus says......
.......for every branch that does produce fruit, God trims the branch.
And.....
.......this “trimming” is a “LOVE CUT!”
.....based on the fact that God is fascinated about cultivating our lives in a way that helps us to make more fruit!
(pause)
Look at it.....
You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
Jesus says.....
“My teaching has already done the pruning and the purifying in your lives.”
In other words......
My love has already been cutting on your life in the areas that you neeeded.
(pause)
And then Jesus says in verse 4....
Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
In other words.....
“All you got to do now is........Remain in Me!”
(slight pause)
and......
.....that phrase “Remain in Me” is suggesting that they,
Continue to believe in the Gospel
Believe that Jesus is God’s Son
Receive Christ as Lord and Savior
Relate in love to the community of believers
And so......
.......when Jesus tells them to Remain in Him,
He is relating these “Live UP” moments to.....
....their Faith
......their Salvation
.......their Fellowship
(pause)
And so Jesus is saying,
You cannot say that you are “Remaining in Me” if you are disconnected to me in any of these areas......
and......
You cannot produce fruit if you are disconnected from the vine!
So stop telling folk that it don’t take all that........and still think you’re going to be productive!
........you need Salvation
......you need Faith
.......and you need your brothers and sisters in Christ!
(pause and expound)
And in verses 5-7
Jesus reiterates this same message of producing because of our connection to Him.
and.....
......what’s remarkable is that,
We are Producers...........through our Christ connection
and......
......this level of production is so pleasing to God, that our prayers become amazingly effective
....because of our Salvation
.....because of our Faith
......because of our love for others in Christ.
(pause)
And here’s the reason why.....
.......because we are praying for things that are going to increase production
.....in the areas of our Faith
......in the areas of Salvation
......in the areas of love for others in Christ.
(pause)
Freedom....
We’re not just praying for stuff that shows up at the “LIVE UP” level...
We’re praying for those things that are connected to the vine!
(pause and optional expound)
And that’s why Jesus says in verse 8....
My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
Because......
.....when we produce much fruit
....we glorify God!
(pause)
Because that says.......
.....All of the planting
....All of the pruning
.......has caused our lives to mature and start producing the way God intended!
(pause)
Freedom......
.....Living UP is when you are effectively producing
.....and others around you are affected by the FRUIT that’s on teh VINE!
(pause)
Now watch the text Freedom....
As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
The text says.....
“Remain...................in my love”
[Gk} - “Stay, or last, or persist to have interest or regard for another”
And Jesus is saying in these two verses......
When you obey my Father’s commandments....
…you stay interested in me
.....just as I obey my Father’s commandments, and my interest in him is lasting
(pause)
Now watch verse 11....
I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
And in my Sp. Imag. I see the text saying.....
“Here’s why I told you this......
because.....
Happiness is discovered when we “Stay Interested in Jesus Christ!”
(pause)
Watch this Freedom.....
We can’t be happy with the people and the things in our lives....
.....if we are not mastering the art of
“Persistently being interested in chasing after relationship with Christ!”
(pause)
And what happens is.......
.....we start chasing after things without what we produced on the vine.
And....
......then our expectation mutates in a way that causes us to want Christ to make us HAPPY
.......through UNPRODUCTIVE ways!
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination I hear Jesus saying.....
I want your joy to overflow.........
.......but it wont happen unless you “Love Harder!”
(pause)
Here it is......in verse 12
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
The text says......
“This........
.......is my commandment”
(slight pause)
In other words.....
.....everything that you do in your life is going to be tied to what I’m about to say next.
(pause)
Here it is.......
(slight pause)
“Love each other.............
........in the SAME WAY
.........that I have loved you”
(pause)
Now remember.....
If we are connected to the vine.....
.....we will produce much Fruit!
and.......
........the more we produce
.....the more God will continue maturing us to get more out of us!
(pause)
And so.....
God says,
“When you love each other in the same way I loved you”
.....Your Happiness will
“GROW Uncontrollably!”
(pause)
Hate can’t grow ANYTHING....
But.....
I hear God saying......
“Love Harder!
........and see what happens to your HAPPINESS!”
(pause and expound)
Watch this Freedom......
God’s not talking about “Loving one another the way we have been loving them...”
(pause)
But I hear God saying.....
The reason I need you to “Love Harder” is because.....
......I need you to Love them
....In the same way that I have loved you”
Same Grace
Same Forgiveness
Same Sacrifice
Same Kindness
Same Patience
Same Faithfullness
Same Compassion
Same Persistence
(pause)
Watch this.......
God how did you love us?
No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
John’s Gospel says.....
God didn’t love us halfway.......
God didn’t give us just a little bit of God’s love.......
(pause)
But according to the text......
This is a “Sacrificial Love!”
And so now we have a Standard for Loving harder....based on this “sacrificial love” example of Christ.
There must be sacrifice.
We can’t be so selfish that we don’t produce
It cannot stop at just friendship.
Because if its really good fruit, your enemies are going to want some too!
Can you sacrifice for folk who hurt you?
Your Fruit don’t make you better, it makes you productive!
Too many times we start looking down on others when we start maturing, but that’s when our Fruit starts spoiling!
We should be “Reproducing” what God is “Producing”
What’s coming out of God should be coming out of us!
Appreciation to produce says to check our fruit regularly
We got to see this as an amazing opportunity.
I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
We should be asking God “Who can I love the way you love me?”
You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
When we truly understand what we are producing.....
It ought to make us want to,
“Love harder!”
(slight pause)
And I pray that the Holy Spirit is breathing all over this Sanctuary.......
.......and every corner of Jealousy
......every pithole of Bitterness
........every dark place of Hatred
........every stronghold of Unforgiveness
......every setback of SELFISHNESS
(slight pause)
I pray that.......
A Divine “Love CUT” would do surgery all over this Sanctuary!
(pause)
Because “Sacrificial Love” says,
I refuse to allow anything to KILL......
.....what God is trying to BUILD!
(pause)
And even when FEAR trys to manipulate our hearts to LOVE LESS.......
......that’s when we ought to “Love Harder!”
and declare......
“Not while I’m on the Vine!”
.....not while I’m connected to Christ
......not while I’m Remaining in Him
(pause)
And in my spiritual imagination.......
When God watches us “Live UP” like this.......
and.....
When God sees us Producing more Love
(slight pause)
I hear God saying......
“The Harder they love.........
.....the more I need to SHAPE the branches to get more PRODUCTION out of their lives!”
(pause)
And I don’t know who this is for......
But you will never be punished by God for
“Loving someone else harder through your SACRIFICE!”
(pause)
Because.......
“Sacrifice is NEVER wasted on the VINE!”
(pause and expound)
Joseph said it best when he said......
“You meant it for evil...........
........but God meant it for good!’
(pause)
Now here it is.......
(Come on Rod)
The bible says in verse 17.......
I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
John’s Gospel says...
Let me reiterate everything I just said earlier........
......in this one verse!
(slight pause)
Because what the writer knows is that.......
we’re getting ready further down in scripture to talk about all of the hatred of the world twoards Christ and believers.....
(pause)
And so what I see Jesus saying in my spiritual imagination right here is that........
The last reason I need you to “Love Harder!”
......is because you’re not going to have trouble finding HATERS!
(slight pause)
Because.......
........everywhere you look you’re going to be able to find the Love Killers!
(pause)
But.......
.....the one thing we don’t need
.....is we don’t need branches that are connected to Christ
......believers of the Gospel
(slight pause)
........Refusing to “Love Harder!”
(pause)
You’re on the VINE for Production Reasons!
(pause)
And Freedom I hear Jesus saying,
“Love Harder!” (repeat)
........Love so hard that we “Set the captives FREE”
.....Love so hard that we “Produce more of heaven than the devil can raise Hell”
......Love so hard that we “RePRoduce another generation that honors God”
......Love so hard that “Our Fruit is UNFORGETTABLE!”
And Jesus says......
The harder we LOVE.......
......the more the VINE keeps PRODUCING
.......and the harder we LOVE
......the more the branches get pruned
........and the more we start GROWING.......LIKE......CRAZY
(pause)
And Freedom!
I wonder if there’s anybody in here........
........that’s ready for God to BLOW on the Branches!
(pause)
Live UP!
.........Love HARDER!
..........COMPLETION.............