Imitators of God Part 2 (Abounding in Love)
Notes
Transcript
Imitators of God (Abounding in Love)
Imitators of God (Abounding in Love)
What do I want them to know? We are to be imitators of God by abounding in Godly love
Why? Godly love leads people to Jesus
What do I want them to do? Imitate God by abounding in love
Why? It a witness to the world God
ME/WE/TENSION
One of the biggest questions the church is wrestling with, I hear this pastors, church leaders, and church members, is how do we reach the world for Jesus during this Covid-19 pandemic....how do we make disciples who make disciples as Matt 28:18-20 says or be a witness to the world as Acts 1:8
Especially when we are witnessing millions of people are suffering
- financially (people have lost jobs and received pay cuts), CAUSING AN IMMENSE AMOUNT OF SUFFERING AND STREE
- emotionally (ONE OF THE BIGGEST Culprits for that is wired to be around people and when we are not around people we suffer emotionally and the longer this happens Biblically speaking phycology speaking is the more it fells like HELL....millions of people have had not people connection
Spiritually suffering
What compounds the suffering is
WE ARE ALSO AT TIME
At time when in some parts of the country and world church buildings are closed.... the church is not closed.
Matt 16:18
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
This means every time hell puts up gates to stop the church it cannot do it....hell has tried over and over to stop the church through persecution and hardship....but what’s so fascinating to me is every time the pressed in grows....
It makes no sense logically but we live in an upside down kingdom....
Not only are some building closed, some people are advised from public gatherings, with churches being one of the public gatherings because they are high risk to Covid-19 because they have comorbidities and for some of those who cannot join in person they are over online church FB LIVE FATIGUE
Barna research has 1/3 of church members have stop attending church during this pandemic
....which makes sense because the church was meant to be relational....we are wired for relationships
Not only that we are facing time that is opposite of 9/11....On 9/11 people flooded churches....people who never been to church came to church for answers....but now people do not feel safe coming to church because of Covid, though they are wanting it
TENSION
This paints a bleak picture....but that is ok because always does His best work during bleak situations.
David vs Goliath
Israel and their captivity in Egypt
Jesus the Messiah being crucified
How is going to use us to reach the world during this bleak time?
How do we reach the world for Jesus that so desperately needs Jesus, at time when people are hurting.
What chapter and verse do we go to in the Bible where it says in case of PANDEMIC DO THIS
It is not explicitly there…no where will it say IN CASE OF PANDEMIC DO _____
But it shows it how we are to reach the world in any season
The Bible does not have any clauses that say the Word of God does not work in a pandemic
SO HOW DO WE REACH THE WORLD DURING THIS PANDEMIC?
What is the foundational, I am highlighting foundational thing we must do?
Is what we need to is have amazing preachers flood the public airways such as social media, TV, radio.....is that the foundational thing we need to do? No, because if the preaching is lacking something foundational it just collapses....we have seen this over the past ten years in the church where we have witnessed mega churches rise and fall within 10-20 years....why it was not because the preaching was not good it was because they forgot the foundation
Is what we need to do is have prophetic ministers prophesying over people, people need a prophetic word, which is good, but if the prophetic person lacks something at their foundation it does not matter
Is what we need is to serve people, give everything away, even our bodies as scripture says or as some people say that is not theologically correct but I get their point, “serve the hell out of people so heaven can enter”....we can do that but if we lack something foundational scripture says I gain nothing.
What is missing??? LOVE
We see the Apostle Paul bring this to light in 1 Cor 13…Paul brings this to light right after he wrote in 1 Cor 12 that everyone SAINT is gifted by God and you are gifted for the BUILDING UP the body and to reach the world for JESUS...
BUT in 1 Cor 13:1-3 Paul gives a warning, that your gifts will not matter if it is lacking the foundation…if they are lacking love
Does this mean that gifts are not vital? NO
if we think about houses have to major components to them a first level and a foundation…but you are really in danger if you try to build the first level without a foundation.
Paul is the warning many of us want to build the first level, put our master bedroom in, walk-in closet, big screen tv, huge garage....BUT HERE’S the deal if you spend all your money on the first floor but have not foundation will you have a house?
Paul is saying in a similar manner…our giftings are like the first level, they are needed to have a house, but if I lack the foundation it does not matter.
1 Cor 13:1-3
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Do you see what it says in this passage?
You do amazing things but if there is not LOVE it means nothing
Where is love to be? IN our foundation....It is not something we add to the living room or kitchen....Eph 3:17
so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
Then even further in Eph 5:1-2 we are to be imitators of God
Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
What is one of the characteristics that God wants us to imitate? LOVE!
Ex 34:6-7
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, but who will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children and the children’s children, to the third and the fourth generation.”
We are to be people who are lovers at our foundation…Godly lovers.
THIS IS ONE OF THE WAYS WE REACH THE WORLD DURING THIS PANDEMIC
IT IS OUR WITNESS TO THE WORLD TO BE GODLY LOVERS
But what does that mean? What does it mean to have godly love....what does godly love mean love is used a lot but means a lot of different things.
For example, some of us on Thursday and Friday when we had phenomenal weather said....I love this weather
Is that the same type of love we say we love our favorite food, for me it is medium rare steak?
Or is this the same type of love I mean when I tell my wife Robyn “I love her” she sure hopes not....one of the reasons is because love of food and weather it conditional
If the weather turned to freezing rain or 20 below zero most of us are not going to say I love this weather!, nor are we going to say we love our steak when it is burnt to crisp....our love of weather and food is not to be conditional..
But how often have we made our love conditional?
So what is godly love? first we are going to define it, God is going to define it, and then we are going to see it in action and how it reach the world today.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
Love is patient: No, no that has nothing to do with love that is another category…But that is not what God’s word says....this first attribute I am guilty…love is patient…doesn’t God know I need to get things done. I do not have time for patience, but what is one of the biggest ways we can love in today’s world....being patient, bearing with them, listening to them, sitting with them when they need to be sat with, crawling with them when they need to crawl, walking when they need someone to walk with them....I am confronted with temptation not to be patient on a daily basis having kids…I like to get things done (and my kids will need my assistance on something and I get mad, wrongly mad in head because it is detracting from what I want to do) and God says your foundation is to be love, they need your patience…that’s one of the biggest ways you love the....AND SAME WITH YOU, ONE OF THE WAYS YOU LOVE SOMEONE IS BY BEING PATIENT
NOT Envy or jealous: We do not see what someone else has that I do not have and get envious or jealous of what they have....when you become jealous and envious of them you become hurtful and harmful…you say things you should not, because you are trying to tear them down…it is a insecurity that we have because we do not have what they have but we forgot God has given us everything already, for SAINTS it is misalignment with reality…reality we have it all because we have it all maybe not this side of heaven but the next
It does not insist on its own way: Love says “what do you want” let’s practice “what do you want” love does not say this is what we must do whether you like or not
Not Resentful: Love does not hold grudges or resentment, but it forgives like we have been forgiven by God it’s unconditional and not limited
- “Resentment is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die.” - Augustine
Rejoices with truth: Truth and love are not polar opposites. They are like peanut butter and jelly sandwich you cannot have a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with peanut butter or jelly....you cannot have true love without truth
What truth does to someone it is encourages and corrects
You think you are SINNER WHEN YOU are a saint
It also corrects, but this can be hard at times because sometimes we do not like to be corrected
But if we look at our life our life changed from wide gate that leads to destruction to narrow gate of truth because someone lovingly had the courage to show me the errors of my ways....I might have not responded well when they said it but it changed me.
If I look at the timeline of my life, there are markers, where courageously lovingly told me the truth in love
When Brian said, “Pete you need to do”
I responded badly
This is what love is but how does this love shine, and reach the world during this pandemic?
The place we need to go to is the greatest commandments in Luke 10:25-37… The parable of the Good Samaritan....I believe God has the church in a Good Samaritan moment....we have spent so much time on the first floor in the church in America and God says we need the foundation....the world that is hurting, broken, lost, and we are going see more hurt and lost after the election.
God is saying church rise up this is your moment....be the church…imitate God as SAINTS
Luke 10:27-35
25 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him Jesus to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus how do I inherit eternal life 26 Jesus said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it? (Jesus says you’re the expert you know the law, how do you read it?)
27 And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.” 28 And Jesus said to him, “You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live.” (the lawyer got it right, praise Jesus, end of story…no…pride gets in the way)
29 But he, desiring to justify himself (he wanted everyone to see how great he was at fulfilling the law), said to Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” (what was commonly thought was people like me are my neighbor…not different nationalities) 30 Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho (10 mile journey), and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. ((he is in bad condition) 31 Now by chance a priest was going down that road (good news, he is a made of God, he will save the man), and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. (he wanted nothing to do with them) 32 So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him (a supposed man of God who is to imitate God), passed by on the other side. 33 But a Samaritan (these were the people Jewish people hated, they were considered halfbreds and sell outs, talk about someone having resentment towards a group), as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him (he had patience, he stopped), he had compassion. 34 He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. (he was kind, bearing with him) Then he set him on his own animal (he did not insist on his own way and say that’s my donkey, you need to walk )and brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 And the next day he took out two denarii[a] (two months wages, this is how beaten this man is he paid in advance for two months) and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, ‘Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.’ 36 Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?” 37 He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” And Jesus said to him, “You go, and do likewise.”
church I believe the moment we are in is a moment of being Good Samaritan
- People are hurting emotionally, they are being crushed, weighed down, and God is saying to the church go in love and bandage the wounds.....the church buildings maybe closed, people may not come, but this has never stopped the church....the church is meant to live on mission
- People are hurting financially and church some of you have been provided for and God is saying church pay their bills, buy them food, (don’t take a picture to show on social media what you are doing…as scripture says do not let your right hand, know what your left hand is doing)
People are looking for Jesus, show them the Godly love with you witness that people will see your love and wonder how and why
This is your moment church....be the Good Samaritan…show the love