Sermon - First Christian Church

So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11

The following sermon is included here to give you a "sample" of our Pastor's preaching. It had to be transcribed verbatim from the tape recording as no notes were used in its delivery.

THE INN CROWD

Turn in your Bibles, if you will, please, to Luke, Chapter 10. Luke, Chapter 10. If you are going to use the pew Bible, we are going to be looking at pages 902 through 903. Luke, Chapter 10. We are going to start at Verse 25. We are going to read through Verse 37; pages 902 and 903 in the pew Bible. You all found it? Luke Chapter 10, beginning at Verse 25. I think you are all there. I don’t hear any pages rattling. Oops, there’s one more page. Okay, beginning in Verse 25; "…and behold a lawyer stood up to put Him to the test saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life”? He, Jesus, the Christ, said to him “What is written in the law”? “How do you read”? 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”. And He said to him “You have answered right”. “Do this and you will live”. But he, the lawyer, desiring to justify himself said to Jesus “And who is my neighbor”? Jesus replied “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho and he fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead”. “By chance a Pharisee was going down that road and when he saw him he passed to the other side. So likewise a Levite when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was. And when he saw him, he had compassion; and went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine; and set him on his own beast; brought him to an inn, and took care of him. The next day, he took out two denarii (that is, two days’ wages) and gave them to the innkeeper; saying to him “Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back”. Which of these three do you think was proved a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? The lawyer said “The one who showed mercy on him”. Then Jesus said “ Go and do likewise”. You have all read this account many times and you have probably all heard a number of sermons preached on this particular account. What have you learned from it? That you are supposed to be like the Good Samaritan? Show mercy on people? I think there is more to it than that! I think there is a lot more to learn from this account than just that! Go back up to Verse 30. A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. That man was me; that man was you, Hester; that man was you, Pearl; that man was John; Eric; Bobby; Clyde; Patsy; Clorinda. This man was traveling on the “Highway of Life”. He was traveling the “Highway of Life”, the road from birth to physical death from this particular realm. He was traveling this “Highway of Life”; Bobby, Eva Mae; whoever this particular individual happened to be. And when he gets to the end of the road, he will either cross over the river into the land beyond, or, he will go down to the Dead Sea, from which there is no way out! He fell among robbers who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. He fell into the hands of evil; was overcome by sin; and was left for dead. If that were the end of the story, he would have spent eternity in Hell. Wouldn’t you, Wilda? Wouldn’t you, Virginia? Wouldn’t you, Homer? So there we are on the “Highway of Life” fallen into the hands of evil, overcome by sin, as good as dead; and a Pharisee was going down the “Highway of Life”. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Why? Because the Pharisee represented the law. What was that Scripture Dan read to you earlier? “Therefore, no one will be declared righteous in His sight by observing the law. Rather, through the law we become conscious of sin”. The law cannot save you. The Pharisee had to pass by on the other side because the law cannot save you. The law only shows how dead you are. No one has ever, nor can ever, observe the perfect law perfectly. We are all guilty, overcome by evil, overcome by sin, as good as dead. The law cannot save us. So likewise, the Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. Why? What does the Levite represent? The priesthood, the sacrifice, the ritual. Sacrifices and rituals cannot save you. What was the Scripture Dan read earlier this morning from Micah? “With what shall I come before the Lord and bow myself before God on high. Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings”? The ritual and the sacrifice cannot save you. The Levite had to pass by on the other side. Partaking of communion cannot save you. Being baptized cannot save you. Being dedicated to the Lord as an infant cannot save you. If you will recall, a while back, we talked about Samuel having been asked as a gift from God; having been an answer for prayer; having been dedicated to the Lord; having been raised in a "Christian" family; having grown up in the Church; having served Eli, the Priest, in seminary; and when God spoke to him, the Scripture says “Samuel did not yet know the Lord”! The Levite had to pass by on the other side! No - sacrifices and rituals of the priesthood cannot save you. But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was and when he saw him, he had compassion. Who is this Samaritan? Jesus. Jesus, the Christ; the King of Kings; the Lord of Lords; the Messiah; the Anointed One. The law cannot save you. Religion cannot save you. Only Jesus can save you! Why would Christ portray himself as a Samaritan in this account? The Samaritans were despised. They were hated. They were cursed. They were ridiculed. They were mocked. They were shunned. Well, think about that! Isn’t that exactly how the world treats Jesus? He is hated, despised, cursed, ridiculed, mocked, shunned and many times when Jesus, the Good Samaritan, goes up to take care of this one who has fallen into the hands of evil and is overcome by sin on the “Highway of Life”, what happens? This guy, as good as dead, says, “Get away from me. Don’t touch me”. Jesus goes to the next one lying in the road. “What do I have to do with you, Jesus? Have you come to torment me before my time”? Jesus, the Good Samaritan, goes to the next one lying in the road. “I don’t want anything to do with you, Jesus! You are just a crutch!” Well, buddy, you need a crutch. You are half dead! Jesus, the Good Samaritan, comes to you, Leona; comes to me; comes to you, Clorinda; we reach out our hand, and he takes our hand - - and he takes our hand, and he binds up our wounds; pours on healing oil and wine; takes us to the "Inn". He has saved us! He has rescued us from the hands of evil. He has released us from the bonds of sin. He takes us to the “Inn”. The “Inn” represents the Church. Jesus took out two denarii (that is, two days’ wages) and he gave them to the innkeeper and said, “Take care of him until I come back”. Two days’ wages… "A day is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as a day." About two thousand years ago, Jesus said, “Here is two days’ wages until I come back”. It’s been about two thousand years and he is due back soon! So, He has brought this rescued, redeemed, healed one to the “Inn” - the Church. Now this person is a part of “The Inn Crowd”. He’s a part of “The Inn Crowd”! Yeah! And when he has gained a little strength, a little maturity in the Lord, soaked up a little bit of the Word, the other members of the “Inn” say, “Well, now you need to get involved. Work in the kitchen”. And he says, “You know, I want to be fed. I don’t want to feed somebody”. I’ve got news for you. Remember that Pharisee that was coming down the road? He was headed for the “Inn”. He’s a part of “The Inn Crowd”, and he’s got his little list of do’s and don’ts in his hip pocket and there’s already a half dozen other Pharisees there and they also have their little lists of their do’s and don’ts in their hip pockets - and all the lists are different. You remember that Levite that was coming down the road? He’s at the “Inn”. That’s where he was going. There’s a half dozen other Levites there already, too. They all have their rituals and they all have their sacrifices and they are all a little different. One of them says, “Oh, you’ve got to be baptized by sprinkling”; another one says, “Oh, no. you’ve got to be baptized by immersion”; another one says you’ve got to be baptized as soon as you are born”. They’re all a little different and they fuss with each other. They fuss with each other and we are supposed to be like that Good Samaritan, Jesus the Christ. The one place where we most fail to be like that Good Samaritan, Jesus, is in the “Inn” - in the Church. We fuss with each other. We slap each other up the side of the head with our list of do’s and don’ts, which is different than their list of do’s and don’ts, which is different than their little rituals. “I want to be fed. I don’t want to work in the kitchen and feed somebody. What do you mean work in the spa? I don’t want to wash feet. Somebody ought to wash my feet. Well, I’m mad at you. I'm not washing your feet!" "Oh, yeah? Well then, I am not going to feed you in Sunday School!” “The Inn Crowd” is almost vicious. Oh, but we want to be like the Good Samaritan - we really do - so we’ll go down to the soup kitchen and volunteer to serve lunch to the homeless. “That’s fairly easy as long as I don’t have to do it with that 'so-and-so' from Sunday School. Besides, I only see those homeless for an hour, so I can do that - I don’t have to live with them; so I’ll go down there and put on my "smiley face" and I’ll feed them lunch and I’ll be a good Samaritan.” What is it with “The Inn Crowd”? We gossip about each other; we criticize each other; we complain about each other; we talk about each other behind our backs. That’s not the way it is supposed to be! The “Inn” is supposed to be more like the “Kibbutz”. If you have ever been to Israel, you will know what a “Kibbutz” is. It is a community that is self-supporting, self-sufficient, self-sustaining. Everybody that lives in that community lives there twenty-four hours a day,seven days a week. They all get along. They all have a job. They provide a service to outsiders and occasionally draw the outsiders into the community. If one of them doesn’t do their job, the whole “Kibbutz” suffers. That’s how it is supposed to be at the “Inn” - the Church - but we beat each other up, shoot our own wounded. It is not supposed to be that way! I'm going to really quickly give you an overview of how it ought to be. I'm going to read Romans Chapter 14, Verse 1 through Chapter 15, Verse 7 from The Living Bible. I am going to read it fairly quickly because we are running out of time; but bear in mind, you who are in “The Inn Crowd”… You are supposed to love each other, get along, support each other, forgive each other and love each other. You are not supposed to be at war one with another. You’re not supposed to be judging each other. You’re not supposed to be condemning each other. Romans Chapter 14, Verse 1: “Give a warm welcome to any brother who wants to join you even though his faith is weak. [The guy the Good Samaritan just drug into the “Inn” off the highway, half dead, is weak. He’s got a lot to learn. Don’t start thumping him up side of the head with your Bible. Bring him along slowly, lovingly.] Don’t criticize him for having different ideas from yours about what is right and wrong. For instance, don’t argue with him about whether or not to eat meat that has been offered to idols. You may believe there is no harm in this but the faith of others is weaker. They think it is wrong and will go without any meat at all and eat vegetables rather than eat that kind of meat. Those who think it is all right to eat such meat must not look down on those who won’t. And, if you are one of those who won’t, don’t find fault with those who do, for God has accepted them to be his children. They are God’s servants, not yours. They are responsible to Him, not to you. Let Him tell them whether they are right or wrong - and God is able to make them do as they should. Some think that Christians should observe the Jewish holidays as special days to worship God but others say it is wrong and foolish to go to all that trouble for every day alike belongs to God. On questions of this kind, every one must decide for himself. If you have special days for worshipping the Lord, you are trying to honor him. You are doing good things. So is the person who eats meat that has been offered to idols. He is thankful to the Lord for it. He is doing right and the person who won’t touch such meat, he, too, is anxious to please the Lord and he is thankful. We are not our own bosses to live or die as we, ourselves, might choose. Living or dying, we follow the Lord. Either way, we are His. Christ died and rose again for this very purpose so that he can be our Lord, both while we live and when we die. You have no right to criticize your brother or look down on him. Remember, each of us will stand personally before The Judgement Seat of Christ for it is written “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me and every tongue confess to God”. Yes, each one of us will give account of himself to God, so don’t criticize each other any more. Try instead to live in such a way that you will never make your brother stumble by letting him see you doing something he thinks is wrong. As for myself, I’m perfectly sure, on the authority of the Lord Jesus, that there is nothing really wrong with eating meat that has been offered to idols, but if some one believes it is wrong, then he shouldn’t do it, because for him it is wrong; and if your brother is bothered by what you eat, you are not acting in love if you go ahead and eat it in his presence. Don’t let him see you. Don’t let your eating ruin someone for whom Christ died. Don’t do anything that will cause criticism against yourself even though you know it is right; for, after all, the important thing for us as Christians is not what we eat or drink but stirring up goodness, and peace and joy from the Holy Spirit. If you let Christ be Lord in these affairs, God will be glad and so will others. In this way, aim for harmony in the Church - in the “Inn” - and try to build each other up, not tear each other down. Don’t undo the work of God for a chunk of meat. [He is speaking figuratively there. This chunk of meat could be any bone of contention between any of us.] Remember, there isn’t anything wrong with the meat but it is wrong to eat it in someone else’s presence if they think it is wrong and it makes them stumble. The right thing to do is quit eating meat or drinking wine or doing anything else that offends your brother or makes him sin in any way, where he will see you. You may know there is nothing wrong in what you do, even from God’s point of view, but keep it to yourself. Don’t flaunt your faith in front of others who might be hurt by it. In this situation, happy is the man who does not sin by doing what he knows is right. But anyone who believes that something he wants to do is wrong - he shouldn’t do it. He sins if he does, for he thinks it is wrong and so for him it is wrong. Anything that is done apart from what he feels is right is sin. Even if we believe that it makes no difference to the Lord whether we do these things, still, we cannot just go ahead and do them to please ourselves for we must bear the burden of being considerate of the doubts and fears of others - of those who feel these things are wrong. Let’s please the other fellow, not ourselves, and do what is for his good and thus build him up in the Lord. Christ didn’t please himself. As the Psalmist said, “He came for the very purpose of suffering under the insults of those who were against the Lord”. These things that were written in the Scriptures so long ago are to teach us patience, and to encourage us, so that we will look forward expectantly to the time when God will conquer sin and death. May God give patience, steadfastness, and encouragement, and help you to live in complete harmony with each other. Each with the attitude of Christ toward each other. Then all of us can praise the Lord together, with one voice, giving glory to God, the Father of our Lord, Jesus Christ. So, warmly welcome each other into the Church just as Christ has warmly welcomed you. Then God will be glorified." You who are part of "The Inn Crowd" must love one another. Even as Jesus bound up your wounds, healed you with oil and wine and brought you to the “Inn”; even as Jesus, the Christ, gave himself for you; saved you; even as Christ loved you, so you must love others. If you are still lying on that “Highway of Life”, falling into the hands of evil, being overcome by sin, and as good as dead, then none of this made much sense to you. About the only part of it that might have made sense to you is - Jesus can save you! Jesus can heal you! If you need that saving, healing touch, come forward while we sing the invitation hymn. We will pray for you. If you have already been saved and healed, then "be" Christ - not to just those who are still out there on the “Highway of Life” - but also to the rest of “The Inn Crowd”, here in the Church, where we are to love one another. Our Invitation Hymn is Number 90 - “His Way With Thee”…

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If the foregoing "bothered" (or puzzled) you in any way, here is a follow-up sermon you really ought to read...

WHY CHRISTIAN?

· Jeremiah 29:11-14a NIV (page 677 in the pew Bible)

For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you seek Me with all your heart. I will be found by you," declares the LORD…

· Acts 4:10-12 RSV (page 950 in the pew Bible)

Be it known to you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, by Him this man is standing before you well. This is the stone which was rejected by you builders, but which has become the Head of The Corner. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other Name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

· Psalm 107:41-43 NAS (page 527 in the pew Bible)

But He sets the needy securely on high away from affliction, and makes {His} families like a flock. The upright see it, and are glad; but all unrighteousness shuts its mouth. Who is wise? Let him give heed to these things; and consider the lovingkindnesses of the LORD.

Three Sundays ago, in talking about "The Inn Crowd", we learned that people in the church - people who call themselves "Christian" - are "messed up". Two Sundays ago we said, "Don't Kid Yourself", you are one of the ones who is messed up. You are messed up! I am messed up. Everyone is messed up. Even Billy Graham is messed up! I don't know what Billy Graham's faults and "hang-ups" are, but I can guarantee you he has some! He has said so himself. By the way, many times, for many of us, "messed up" means, "You are different from me, therefore you are 'messed up'!" Last Sunday, in studying how we are made "In His (God's own) Image", we saw why we are messed up… even though god has created within us a clean heart - placed a new, right, perfect, spirit within us - we are still having to function through a warped, distorted, brain-washed, habit-bound, out-of-balance soul that is in a life-long process of being transformed/renewed. Given all this, why, then, would anyone want to be Christian? Before we can answer this question, we have to ask ourselves 3 or 4 other questions. Like…

· What is Christianity?

Christianity is a personal love relationship with God… the God who created everything there is; everything seen and everything unseen. The greatest harm mankind has done to this relationship is to make it into a "Religion". Christianity is not a religion, but, by "institutionalizing" it we have de-personalized the relationship and have lost the sense of the fact that God loves us. His desire is that we love Him back. God has caused a book to be written - a book we call the Bible - which tells us how, and how much, He loves us and how we are to relate to Him. God has promised that if we truly seek Him, He will see to it that we find Him. As we read His book - spend more time getting to know Him - He causes us to desire to know Him better and love Him more. It becomes similar to a good, healthy, parent-child relationship… we want to "grow up to be like Him". Unfortunately, in our society many parent-child relationships are not "good" and "healthy" so God has placed another desire in us - the desire to want to associate with other people who love God - the desire to "belong". His intention is for those who love Him - Christians - to be His "family" of sons and daughters, loving Him and loving one another. He calls His family His "Church". To answer the question then, "Christianity" is the satisfaction of that deep, inner, insatiable need to be loved and to love in return. No other, none other, nothing other than God can supply and fulfill that kind of love relationship. It is not "believing in religion"; it is "belonging to God" - as God's children - beloved of the Father.

· What does it mean to be Christian?

To be Christian means to be "adopted" into the family of God. It means an end to "aloneness", depression, despair, dis-connectedness, and all of the other ills that foster the lie that "life isn't worth living" - that "life has no purpose". To be Christian means to experience love, joy, peace, contentment - to have a sense of well-being, value, and of destiny. It does not mean there will no longer be hard times, difficulties, troubles and the like, but it does mean these can be endured, dealt with, overcome with the help of God Himself. We no longer face life's sorrows alone. To be Christian means freedom; freedom from fear of having to "go it alone" as well as freedom from all of the other fears that plague us. It means trusting God will "see us through".

· What is the role, and what are the marks, of Jesus the Christ's "Church"?

God's church has no one "look" or "feel" to it. Every ethnic group, age group, culture, etc. has its own "style" for coming together as "church". And that's okay! God loves variety. God has only one "church" - one family - but, as in any family, its members may have as many differences as there are people. They range from the ultra-formal to the "free-wheeling"; from classical to rock; from gothic cathedral to jungle hut. The real church, however, will have several things in common: they love God; they believe the Bible is God's written revelation of Himself to us and that it is absolutely true; they believe that Jesus the Christ is God's physical revelation of Himself to us and that, as Jesus, He showed us how to live life according to His written word; they believe God expects them to show His love to others, and they do this by every means from speaking about Him to feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, caring for the sick, visiting the imprisoned and so on. There are also certain practices that almost all the members of His family will, at least at times, adhere to: such as "Baptism" (a public declaration of faith in God characterized by being put under water in some manner - this may range from being "sprinkled" to being "immersed"); and, "Communion" (a memorial celebration involving the symbolic use of bread and wine). God's family members believe they can and should talk to Him (this is called praying). And they expect Him to answer… they believe He can and does take an active, participating role in their lives and in the course of events in the world. They believe that the only way to come to know God is by trusting Jesus. They believe they can then get to know Him better by reading the Bible and obeying what it says about how to live. They believe that God's Holy Spirit helps them to understand and do these things.

· How would you give the invitation to become Christian?

Becoming Christian is what Christians call being "saved" and being "born again". People tend to make things really complicated… God, on the other hand, keeps it simple. God says, "I love you. I want you to love Me back. You can't do it. I will help you love Me if you ask Me to." The complications set in when we try to articulate the "why" and the "how": Why He loves us; Why we should love Him back; Why we can't; How He will help us; and, How we should ask. There are really only two ways to help someone understand God's love well enough to want to begin to experience it (I say "begin" because it is a life-long process of coming to know and love Him more and more). The first is by relating one's own experience and the second is by "walking them through" what the bible has to say about it.

My family never attended church. In fact, if you even mentioned god, my Dad was ready to physically beat you up! But, for some reason, I was drawn to church - I wanted to know God. I attended many different churches and I responded to every invitation I ever heard to "become Christian". Basically, I always said the same thing, "Lord God, please, give me Jesus!" Nothing happened. As I persisted, God helped me to understand that He already had given me Himself, in Jesus, two-thousand years ago! When I finally "got it" my prayer was, "Lord God, I give you me!" From that moment on my life was / has been / is being changed for the better. It has not been trouble and error free, but I know that God has helped me to handle everything with far better results than I could have achieved on my own. I have peace. I have love. I have life.

That same experience can be related using different words and including other details. Further, the results of that experience should show up in how I live. Basically, we tell how things were "B.C." (before we "met" Christ); what happened; how things changed; and, how things are now.

There are many ways to "walk" an inquiring person through the Bible. You can use tracts; a presentation such as "The Romans Road"; videos; Sunday school; etc. I have several Bibles that are "marked up", intended to be given away to anyone who is interested. Just inside the front cover it says, "see page 1026". On page 1026 a passage is high-lighted, there is an explanatory comment hand-written in the margin, and it says, "see page 1039". On page 1039, more high-lighting, comments, page numbers, and so it goes.

Obviously, many variations and combinations of these two ways of introducing someone to Christ become necessary and appropriate depending upon the circumstances, the individual(s) or group(s) interacting, the amount of time available and so on. The facts remain unchanged but the sequence, the level of detail and the words/phrases chosen and the way in which they are presented may vary. If you can get someone to church, most sermons are a combination of experience and Bible. In actual practice both experience and Bible are, more often than not, presented in "bits and pieces" over an extended period of time. One must first earn "the right to be heard". This is done by serving another in some way; by becoming a friend or "someone who can be trusted". God works the same way: He gets our attention; He shows He can be trusted; we enter into a relationship with Him; we spend the rest of our lives learning more about what that relationship really means. In the process we grow to be more like Him and better able to share His love with others.

· So then, to answer the question, "Why Christian?" Why not Muslim? Or Humanism? What is distinctive about the Christian faith? And what is its relationship to other faiths and other cultures?

Christianity says, with conviction, that Jesus the Christ is the only Way, the only Truth, the only Life, and that no one comes to the Father except through Him! Christianity is unique. Christianity is the only faith whose (earthly) founder was God Himself - in the flesh! Christianity is the only faith whose (earthly) founder is still alive. Christianity is the only faith to deny the possibility of "finding God" by "being good". Christianity is the only faith to proclaim the impossibility of "working one's way to heaven" by performing "good" (righteous) works. Christianity is the only faith to offer eternal life as a "free gift" from God. Christianity is the only faith to affirm God's free gift to be universally available to all peoples, everywhere, just for the asking! Christianity is the only faith to be based completely upon a love relationship with God. Christianity is the only faith to make the audacious claim that there is only one God, that there is no other, while at the same time saying He reveals Himself as three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). Christianity is the only faith to make the audacious claim that man is made in God's own image (body, soul, and spirit). Christianity, then, is the only faith to have a correct perception of God - the one, Triune, loving, Creator God. Christianity is the only faith to have a correct perception of man. Christianity is the only faith to have a correct perception of all creation; of heaven; of hell; of life; of how to live life; of life after death and so on. Christianity is the only viable answer to being "messed up"! The bottom line is, Christianity is the only faith to have a correct perception of love… the perfect love of the perfectly loving one true God of love. The God who loved us so much that, while we were yet sinners, gave His only Son to die for us - in our place - to pay the penalty for our sin - so that we could have the blessing of entering into a love-relationship with Him whom to know is life eternal!

Do you have that relationship? You can. You can have it right now. Come to this altar, as we sing our invitation hymn, #193 "Where He Leads Me", and give your heart to Jesus!

BENEDICTION

· I John 5:20-21 TLB

And we know that Christ, God's Son, has come to help us understand and find the true God. And now we are in God because we are in Jesus Christ His Son, who is the only true God; and He is eternal life. Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God's place in your hearts. Amen!

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"A new command I give you: Love one another.

As I have loved you, so you must love one another."

John 13:34

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“The Main Thing” is a sermon which assumes you have placed your faith in Jesus the Christ as your Savior & Lord and eagerly desire to live a life that is pleasing to God. However, it is also recommended reading for those who want to know what true Christianity is really all about.

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THE MAIN THING

For the [true] love of God is this: that we do His commands [keep His ordinances and are mindful of His precepts and teaching]. And these orders of His are not irksome (burdensome, oppressive, or grievous). 1 John 5:3 (AMP)

I want to impress on your mind that God says we need to do what He says! In Matthew 7:21 Jesus says, “Not everyone who says to me ‘Lord, Lord’ will enter the kingdom of heaven but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Well what is the will of the Father? We just read it in 1^st John 5:3 from the amplified... The will of the Father is that we do His commands; that we keep His ordinances; and that we are mindful of his precepts and teachings! Note He says “these orders of His are not irksome, burdensome, oppressive, or grievous.” Don’t you think that means we had better know what his command is? Jesus told us in John 15:12 – He said “This is my commandment, that you love one another.” That doesn’t sound “irksome, burdensome, oppressive, or grievous” to me!

Let’s go back to 1^st John 5:3 again… Recall that it starts off with “For the true love of God is this: that we do His commands…” and Jesus in John 15:12 says “this is my command, that you love one another.” Beautiful! Simple! Straightforward! Clear! But we make it oh so complicated!

Recently, while looking at Matthew Chapter 23 where Jesus was confronting the Pharisees, I reminded you that the verse commonly translated “judge not lest ye be judged” would be better translated “condemn not lest ye be condemned”. With that in mind we observed that, yes, He was making a judgment. But, in effect, He must have really been saying, “Hey! You are wrong! I don’t condemn you – I love you! I would rather that you repent and be saved. So you need to hear this...”

The New Testament does not give us a minute by minute completely detailed account of the entire three years of Jesus’ ministry, but really just touches the highlights. I have got to think that Jesus had a number of conversations with the Pharisees from time to time (and certainly a lot of conversations with his disciples) that we don’t have down in black and white. You know that when Jesus was having dinner in the home of the Pharisees there had to be some talk. His disciples often came to him with questions. The same thing with the Pharisees – they came to him with questions. Nicodemus, for example, came to him in the dead of night saying, “…tell me about this stuff - I don’t get it!” There had to be many more conversations than what we have listed!

I think we can extrapolate, from what we do have, how those conversations might have gone. So, to indulge in a little conjecture if I may, of what some of those conversations might have been like, I’m going to use Matthew 23 to remind myself of what they may have been about:

Jesus said to his disciples, to the crowd, and primarily to the teachers of the law and the Pharisees – the religious people (that is, those who claimed to know God – that is, us); Jesus said to them, “You sit in Moses’ seat – you go to the Synagogue regularly (or in our terms today “you attend church”). You know, that’s good. There are a number of reasons why you need to do that. But that’s not the main thing. You make your phylacteries wide and the tassels on your garments long – to remind you to pray without ceasing, to pray earnestly, to pray sincerely, to intercede for one another, to commune with the Lord your God in prayer, and that’s good. You need to do that. But that’s not the main thing. Men call you Rabbi (or Pastor, or Teacher or Bible Student), and that’s really good. It means that you are into the Word – you are studying the Word. You are writing His Word on your heart. You’ve got a lot of passages of Scripture memorized. And that is really, really good! You really do need to do that! It’s important! You need to search the Scriptures because they tell you of Me! But you know what? As good as that is, it’s not the main thing either. You teach. You tell others about your faith. You travel over land and sea to win a single convert – and that’s good. Evangelism is good. Crusades are good. Revivals are good. Seeing people get saved is good. As wonderful and commendable as all that is, it’s still not the main thing.”

“And when you make a promise (when you swear an oath), you are bound by your oath. You keep your word, maintain your integrity. You are growing in godly character. That’s good too. Very commendable – but not quite yet the main thing.”

“You give a tenth – not just of the gross of your income, but you give a tenth of everything you are and everything you own and your time and your talents. You tithe. Wonderful! Again, you are to be commended. That is something you really ought to do! But that’s not the main thing. And you appear to people as righteous – they see something in you that’s good and attractive and to be desired. Along with Me, even some of them commend you. And yet, none of these things are the main thing…”

So finally, in Matthew 22:36-38, they get around to asking him, “Well hey, Teacher, come on! Tell us straight out – what’s the main thing?” I paraphrased a little. It says, “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment?” Basically they’re saying, “Hey, Rabbi, what is the Main thing? And Jesus replied, “[The main thing is to] love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind – this is the first and greatest commandment…”

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind – that’s the main thing!

Well right away they’re saying, “Hey! That’s a problem! Because God is Spirit! He can’t be seen; He can’t be touched; He’s unapproachable; He has need of nothing! How can He be loved?” And Jesus answered, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” And they go, “Huh? Say what? I don’t get it! I don’t get it – love your neighbor as yourself? That’s how God can be loved?”

Jesus explains this in Matthew 25:35, 36, and 40 – He says, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me. I tell you the truth, what ever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did for me.”

Jesus said if you love your neighbor as yourself – by feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, ministering to the sick, and so forth – It is the same as doing it to Him.

Well at this point it is a good idea to remember and emphasize who Jesus is! Colossians 2:9 “For in Christ the whole fullness of the deity, the Godhead, dwells in bodily form.” John 10:30 “I and the Father are one.” Matthew 1:23 “They shall call His name Immanuel which, being interpreted, is ‘God with us’.” Do you get that? Jesus the Christ is God - in the flesh! So now let’s look at Matthew 25:35, 36 & 40 again…

I was hungry – I Am God and I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat...

Wait a minute! We’re talking about loving our neighbor as ourselves!

Yeah, that’s right… if you see someone hungry and you feed them, it’s the same as if you fed God Himself. You see somebody thirsty and you give them something to drink, it’s the same as giving God something to drink. You invite a stranger in and it is the same as inviting God Himself in for your hospitality. Somebody needs clothes and you give them clothes, it’s the same as if you gave those clothes to God Himself. Somebody is sick, you minister to them; guess who you’re ministering to? It’s the same as if you were ministering to God Himself. Somebody is in prison, or the nursing home, or the hospital and you go and visit them - it’s like visiting God Himself because He takes it personally when you help somebody else!

When you love your neighbor as yourself, God, Jesus, said, “I take that personally! If you show your love to your neighbor, I take it personally. It is the same as if you were showing love directly to Me and I tell you the truth, whatever you do for one of the least of these people that you bump into in life, you do it for Me because I take it personally when you show the love of God to somebody. That’s love! That’s how you love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind – and that’s the main thing!”

Jesus said all that and then Paul comes along in 1^st Corinthians 13 and he says, “If I speak with the tongues of man and of angels, wonderful! That’s great! But if I don’t love my neighbor as myself I’m only making noise. If I have the gift of prophesy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and have a faith that can move mountains, great! Praise the Lord God! But if I don’t love my neighbor as myself, I’m nothing. If I give all I have to the poor it might look good on the surface, but if my motive is to look good to other people (rather than out of love for God), I could even surrender my body to the flames and I would gain nothing - you cannot 'earn' salvation.”

“Love is the main thing! Love is patient with people that irritate you. Love is Kind to people that slander you. Love does not envy when somebody else has a new house or a new car or something else you’d like. Love doesn’t go around boasting about how righteous it is. Love is not proud; not rude; not self-seeking; not easily angered… (Last week we read a scripture that said, ‘Hey, wouldn’t it be better to just be cheated than it would be to take revenge or get even or sue somebody?’ 1^st Corinthians 6:7) …Don’t be easily angered. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects… (Protects whom? Your neighbor! Same as you would protect yourself! And it’s the same as if you were protecting GOD because He takes it personally!) Love trusts… (That’s kind of hard to do; you trust somebody and they let you down, they disappoint you. Well you don’t condemn them, but you make a judgment of how to better interact with them so that you can continue to love them in Jesus’ name just as you would love yourself; because it’s the same as loving God.) …Love always hopes, always perseveres. And Love never fails…”

Whoa, that’s a tough one! “Love never fails” – your neighbor has a need and you are aware of it. In one of those three little epistles of his, John said, “If you see a brother with a need and you have no compassion for him, how can the love of God be in you?” Paul says love never fails: your neighbor has a need, but you’ve got another priority so you ignore it and go do your own thing. Whoa! That’s a failure! Who did you fail? Same as if you’d failed God himself! Lord God forgive us, please, for being so self-centered! Help us to be more like Jesus Who never failed to help everyone!

“But where there are prophesies… hey wonderful! …prophesies are great, but they will cease. Where there are tongues, that’s nice, that’s wonderful, it does some good – but they will be stilled. Prophesies and tongues are not the main thing. Where there’s knowledge it will pass away; because we only know in part, and we only prophesy in part, but when perfection comes the imperfect disappears. Just the same as when we were kids – we talked like kids; we thought like kids; we reasoned like kids; when we grew up we began to be a little more logical, and we put childish ways behind. But we still have to recognize that we only see a poor reflection - like as though in a mirror - we aren’t there yet, we don’t quite have it, but when He comes and we see Him face to face then we’ll know fully even as we are fully known.” So Paul finishes up with, “Now these three remain: Faith, Hope, and Love. But the main thing is Love.” He says that, “The greatest of these is Love – that’s the main thing!”

“Love the lord your god with all your heart, and mind, and soul and strength; loving your neighbor as yourself” because when you love your neighbor as yourself God takes it personally. He’s saying, “That’s how you Love Me. That’s My commandment, that you ‘Love one another’ – that’s the main thing.”

Jesus said it, Paul reaffirmed it, and now Peter comes along and in 1^st Peter 1:6-8, 4:8, & 4:19 and he says, “Well you know, life is hard. You may have had to suffer grief and all kinds of trials – maybe somebody has done you dirt – love them anyway. These (griefs, trials, disappointments) have come so that your faith, of greater worth than gold which perishes even though refined by fire, may be proved genuine... [Oh, so that’s how our faith is proved to be genuine!] …and that will result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed” – when He returns, when He sets up His millennial reign, when He comes back to show us how it should have been done all along! And Peter says (like those Pharisees said), “(God is Spirit. You can’t touch Him. He’s unapproachable.) Even though you may not have seen Jesus, you love Him. How? Well the main thing is by loving each other deeply. By committing yourselves to our faithful Creator and continuing to do good to your neighbor.”

Love your neighbor as yourself. God takes it personally. He says, “That’s how you love Me.” Well how do you love yourself? You take good care of you don’t you? You keep yourself warm; you keep yourself clothed; you keep yourself housed; you keep yourself fed… you could go on and on. God says, “If you will do all those same things for your neighbor (and your ‘neighbor’ is everybody you come in contact with) I will take it personally; it will be the same as if you are doing it to Me That’s how you love Me. That’s the main thing.”

Ok - Jesus said it, Paul reaffirmed it. Peter jumps in and he says, “Yeah, that’s the main thing.” Now James comes along in James 1:27 and he says, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this; to look after orphans and widows in their distress…” [as if unto God himself]. Finally, in 1^st John 3:17-18, John also agrees, saying “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children let us not love with words, or tongue, but with actions and in truth.” Then verses 23 & 24, “This is His command, to believe in the name of His son Jesus the Christ and to love one another as He commanded us. Those who obey His commands live in Him and He in them. This is how we know that He lives in us: we know it by the Spirit He gave us - the Spirit of Love.”

Okay now – if you love one another, and love your neighbor as yourself (not for selfish reasons but as to God Himself), what’s going to happen? Well it will prompt some (not all, but some) to ask why… “Why do you love your neighbor as yourself? Really now, why do you do that? You don’t get anything out of it! At least you don’t seem to get anything out of it. So why do you do that? Why love your neighbor as yourself?” That is always an opportunity God has given you! You’d better give an answer – your testimony – your first-hand account as a witness. A ‘witness’ tells what they know personally – “Here is what my life was like before Christ; here is how I got ‘saved’ (by renouncing my selfishness and placing my faith in Jesus to show me how to truly live); and here is how life has been ever since.” Your loving kindnesses will have earned you the right to be heard!

1^st Peter 3:15 says, “In your hearts set apart Christ as Lord and always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have [for the love you show your neighbor], and do it with gentleness and respect.” So when your neighbor says, “Okay, you’ve done all this for me and I hardly even know you – why are you doing it?” it gives you a chance to say, “I’m doing it because God loves you; and God loves me; and God wants me to love you so that you will know that He loves you!” They might come back with, “How could God love me? I’m no lousy good!” Then you can tell them “God has demonstrated His love for you! God went to the Cross and took your punishment for your sins even while you were still a sinner! (Romans 5:8) Christ died for you! That’s how He showed his love for you. Now He’s showing his love for you through me doing what I can do for you. God loves you and you know what? 1^st Peter 4:8 says ‘Love covers over a multitude of sins.’ God loves you and all He asks is that you ask Him to help you to love Him back! You do that through faith in what Jesus Christ has done for you. Make Him the Lord of your life and you will be ‘saved’… you will have eternal life. Then you, in turn, can also ‘love your neighbor as yourself’ as a way of showing your love for God.”

"I give you [this] commandment: that you should love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you too should love one another. By this shall all [men] know that you are My disciples, if you love one another [if you keep on showing love among yourselves]." John 13:34-35 (AMP) That’s the main thing! That’s how you love God! That is so simple; so straight forward; so clear; so beautiful! Why do we complicate it with rules and regulations? Thou shalt this; thou shalt not that! You’ve gotta go to church – yes that’s nice, but it’s not the main thing. You’ve got to pray – yes you really should, but it’s not the main thing. You need to be in the Word so that you get to know Christ better – yes, that is essential! But even that isn’t really the main thing. That you love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, strength, mind, and your neighbor as yourself because He takes it personally as though you are loving Him directly – that’s the main thing!

Praise God! Thank you Lord! “Help us do it! Help us ‘be’ love personified to our neighbor!” [“God is love.” 1^st John 4:8 and 4:16] When you say, “We need to ‘be’ Jesus to our neighbor”, you’re saying you need to be God to your neighbor. Are you willing to really mean that? God loves you so much He was willing to die for you! Are you willing to die for your neighbor? Jesus says, “No one has greater love than this – to give up his own life for his neighbor.” (John 15:13) This means that when your neighbor needs clothes, food, ministering to, when they’re sick or whatever, you may have to sacrifice a little – it may cost you something! Do it anyway! Love them! And you will love some right into the Kingdom with you, praise the Lord!

BENEDICTION

· Deuteronomy 7:12-14 and Deuteronomy 30:16 (HCSB)

If you listen to and are careful to keep these ordinances, the Lord your God will keep His covenant of loyalty with you, as He swore to your fathers. He will love you, bless you, and multiply you. He will bless your descendants, and the produce of your soil — your grain, new wine, and oil — the young of your herds, and the newborn of your flocks, in the land He swore to your fathers that He would give you. You will be blessed above all peoples; there will be no infertile male or female among you or your livestock. For I am commanding you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commands, statutes, and ordinances, so that you may live and multiply, and the Lord your God may bless you…

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+++ To Jesus our Lord be the glory for ever and ever. Amen. +++