All in the Family

I first John chapter 4 beginning in verse seven and will go down to verse 21. I know you think that's absolutely impossible as icicles like this is will be brief tonight and I'm there so many wonderful truths you could unpack and spend hours and hours. I'm going to purpose, to bring out four main truths verse seven blood, let us love one another, for love is from God, and everyone who loves is born to God and knows God.

The one who does not love this not know God, for God is love.

By this, the love of God was manifested in. You could say in our case that God has sent his only begotten son to the world so that we might live through him.

And this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No want to sing God any time.

If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he is given us of his spirit. We have seen and testify that the father has sent the son to be Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God, God abides in him and he and God, we come to know would have believed the love which God has for us. God is love and the one who abides in love abides in God and God abides in him by this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love because he first loved us. If someone says I love God, and hates his brother, he's a liar but one who does not love his brother whom he seen cannot love God whom he's not saying this commandment we have from him one who loves God should love his brother also interesting in verse 21 have that word commandment again and again I was safe you that's not used in the sense of another absolute commandment like the 10 Commandments but I have of a biblical RA, theological, religious principle that now is the guiding principle for us as Christians call this all in the family because it truly is family stuff. This is family business and this is all only family business. Only those in the family have this can grasp this can experience this love this special kind of love.

It's simply all in the Femina I. The nature of our love is seen in God the father, the very nature, the essence of the kind of love we as Christians have treasure and share one to another, came from the listen to me came from God himself. We don't whip this love out of our old fallen man. The old fallen and redeemed humanity. We don't whip it up and bring our teeth and try to get in shape and then try to love one another. I seen so many people in so many church or Christian settings try to live biblical love without God in their lives is not an attractive thing.

It's an ugly thing. The Bible says here in verse eight God is love. That is, he gives luggage true essence, he himself is the nature of love. Now let's remind ourselves to not that the Bible does not say love is God. God is love, but love is not God and of the liberals begin to say that some decades ago that is professing Christians of professing theologians and pastors who would veer from the Bible begin to say what wherever people just really love and care there. God is manifested there. God is realized because of their love. That's radically in completely all that is not true because love that define God. God defines love. That love is not a complete revelation of God. But God gives love a complete definition. For example, the Bible says God is light, but you can't say lightest God, he's more than just like Billy is life.

The Bible says God is spirit, but he's not just spirit that's one of his many many attributes.

She's more than just that. Love is the founder love defined by God is the only true and only lasting love. So, right quick three things. Love is not as were talking about this nature, essence of our love, love, first of all, is not feeling now feelings flow with it.

Emotions flow with it, but the foundation is not a feeling it's deeper than that. Again, I would caution you not to say infections are not involved there, just not the foundation love is that capacity in me want to strive to do toward your stride to do for you what the Bible says I should do what I am not at that moment, my emotions feel like it or not. I lash my emotions to the truth of God's word, and here's what you'll find out if you'll love it because it's right.

You begin to feel love. Later all I didn't happen to us in this church, but counselors will People convincing time so you know I'm going to leave my husband. I'm lonely my wife. You know, I just spend some time. I just don't love them and here's my site so big deal then you learn to love them, we don't understand, they are terribly difficult, are terribly difficult person and an end that I mean they work against me, and I mean series.

Even my enemy with about us is love. He said that's not a feeling now feelings but it ended true here Grace Locke church we we are committed and devoted out of duty to love one another. But don't you feel like loving one another to but you never just base it on their sometimes you may not feel like loving me but hope you still love me.

I was let you know the secret. I don't always feel like loving some of you, but I still prepare this Texan priest you with all of my heart possess the greatest love. I can show you I can just preach to my room and preach to me what I cannot do it every week when I prepare your future steps higher the sermon swaps and I have to repent twice every time I hear them well. Love is not a feeling your first Corinthians is that we call that great chapter on love and it is with the context of spiritual gifts and the point of that chapter is that when you're maturing love the spiritual gift.

Just take care themselves because people died of themselves.

They're not about probably not about showing off and on about thing I got this gift will know I got that different people don't do that when the maturing love is not when you're maturing. Love you not thinking about you think about the glory of God and the good of others in the same just can't take care of himself. Love is kind love is patient, love is long-suffering to love does not take into account a wrong suffered on and on and on we could go say thing about feeling they attend the commitment of love with her, not the base of love looks not a Felix. Secondly, love is not a desire or amplify that a lush James 115 says then when lust has conceived gives birth to cinema seen as competent, brings forth death.

You can have a deep desire and not a passionate emotion in your heart that I don't anything about love overwhelmingly today. People called sexual lust, love, it just simply is not is not love you know culture has shown us depraved and debased nature. When everything is defined now by whatever sexual lust you had lately. I'm seriously that's the way you define what kind of person you are now schoolteacher told the other day that a little gray schoolgirl came up and she begin to describe the scooter to what I found out I'm trans and I'm this non-Latin well how in the world. Does that mean that's what you are. Just because you had these thoughts float across your fallen in depraved heart and mind.

The father then define love love love always agrees with the author of love and that is he is truth and that is his word. When you contradict this word you left out love of anything to love. Love is not a luster silos, not a feeling.

Love is not something you fall into the light falling into dig you may fall into lust.

You may fall into deep emotional feelings about something, but that is not love.

Sometimes you gotta lasso your feeling. I just so feel this I do so want this and that you have to lasso it to get in line with the word of God. You have your will to take over and command your motions to get in place since God is love.

God's love reveals God's character which means all true love harmonizes with the truth of Scripture. If one clear scriptural truth is violated, it isn't love.

That's the nature you are as Christians, those born again of God. Those who believed on Jesus Christ both sides of the equation. There, God has to birth you disking the but you believe on Christ. But you wouldn't believe on Christ if he did birth to their simultaneous, as if there one, but they are two separate things and the sin, but nevertheless God burst you disking you believe on Christ and from there you carried this nature of love. That's the very nature of God. Certainly we need to grow in it.

We need to mature in it. We need live it out more. You can't deny it's there. What your site is just there.

It's it's the nature of the love that is in us at light verse seven says, everyone who loves is born of God. Love is a virtue produced in the new birth that is this love is and I'll be honest it when we watch the news today and we see what's happening in our schools or universities and companies in all these warped perverse concepts today of what a person is of what a gender is of who can love one another and I thought these words are and I'm so, so very glad that we know the nature of true love and that is our God, by the way he was holy and whose true when not only the nature of our love is God the father but notice.

Secondly, the example of our love is God the son, the example of love for us is God the son, Jesus Christ will just look at a few verses here notice it in verse nine. By this, the love of God was manifested, and I like what the scholar so you can amplify the next two words, not just manifested in us but in our case, our own, our behalf that God has sent his only begotten son into the world so that we might live through him.

So first of all that speaks of the condescension of the son he sent him into the world. Sometimes we just say that and we we throw that around the folks that is a glorious and marvelous and incomparable thing that God put on human flesh and came into this world as a condescension beyond comprehension.

That's love. He came for us. He demonstrated his love for us on our behalf. In our case, you could say by coming to us cross reference your Philippians 26 and 72, although he existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be graphs but emptied himself, taking the form the notices of a bondservant being made in the likeness of men. Condescension, his willingness to lower himself you have trouble sometimes and lowering yourself to show love to somebody when they don't deserve it. You you you don't, you're not even in the league with Jesus. He lowered himself to reach you and you are radically the opposite. You are holy offensive. You were fully depraved in his eyes, but yet he chose and loved you condescension notice next on not only the condescension of his coming to earth. But notice the crucifixion of his son, the condescension is one thing is not to be compared with the crucifixion of the son.

Look at verse 10.

In this is love, not that we love God we didn't initiate this thing, but that he loved us.

Notice the love toward us notice these are these are personal pronouns and is talking to a particular group personal pronouns about a particular group here is children.

He loved us (Christine and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins. You could say the expiation for our sins, he took on himself on the cross, the father looked upon him on the cross as if he were sinful like you as if he were the sinner like I am and then he took on himself not only our sins but he took on himself. The just consequence of being a sinner like us and he began put out more on the eternal one, the son of God, hangs on a cross either hanging on the cross and he is very human flesh. He put on yet without sin became sin and absorbed expurgated the right to send just a rat that you are not to deserve our duty deserve. I should say and he takes it completely out of the way. Jesus didn't die to get you 78% are 88% or 95 or 98 or 99% of all the way to a good standing before God Jesus the task when he God you are sin was propitiated was expurgated the wrath of God has been a please and the death of Christ on our behalf. John writes Christian friend local church members danced a little bit was demonstrated.

Here's a powerful thing. Thus the love is now in you may keep it bottled up too much, but it's there. It's he planted it in you crucifixion of the son is another example of his love.

Philippians 28 says, being found in appearance. This man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on the cross. I pulled out this old hymn, just going to read it. I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene, and wonder how he could love me sinner, condemned unclean. For me it was in the garden.

He prayed, not my will, but thine. He had no tears for his own grief, but sweat drops of blood for mine and Kitty angels beheld him and came from the world of light to comfort him in the sorrows he bore for my soul that night.

He took my sin in my sorrows. He made them his very own. He bore the burden to Calvary and suffered and died alone when with the ransoming glory. His face eyelash LC will be my joy through the ages to sing of his love for me. Oh how Mark oh how wonderful and my song shall ever be all. How marvelous. Oh, how wonderful is my Savior's love for me. He's the example of our love, God the son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Number three.

Not only do we see the nature of loving God the father, the example of loving God the son, Jesus Christ.

Third list. Notice the object of our love.

God's people are local church, remind yourself that this is read by local churches and in this kind of context, historically speaking, I couldn't think in terms of just bumping into Christians everywhere.

Most of them didn't travel very far nailing the Christians in their community and there's only a church in a community that would like many churches around so it was natural to them to think about each other in their local church. And that's the object of our love notice password and you're looking for 70 and blood let us love who one another love is from God, and everyone loves is born of God and knows God. It's one another. That means your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, i.e., that means the folks in your local church and of course honey tundra said this, of course we love old man a course when were converted. There's a new love for all mankind theories that unique spec church for his children because in I'm conveyance accurate theology.

His death on the cross wasn't just one blanket universal thing Universalists with Jesus.he.absolutely, absolutely, completely the same for everybody. Then you live loose the intent of the unique special preciousness of his special love for his church to see if your theology is wrong on the atonement did you start losing everything, love your wives like Christ loved the church, have had us was that mean love your wife like Christ of the church Christ made the church his one and only sees his special one all Christian man love all ladies but they only won one lady in that special way. Yes, Jesus died and I believe the Bible would bear out.

He had great love for all mankind, but in addition to that there was that special cabinet elect love for his bride church office of the Scriptures come alive with meaning when you grasp was he died for us church.

So we see the direction of our love. You can't have his love in you and not love one another ask you to stop right where you are.

Don't think about anything else is a somebody in the church.

You got a problem with. I got to three words.

Get over it.

You're not allowed to not love the.! Well think it's right when you die on the cross form. Call me up now so you go far enough that clear enough now the Bible gives us guidelines to resolve issues in the church.

Amen.

Sometimes will have to go to somebody get the but we can always get it worked out. If we love each other always look to ourselves first objects of her love is one another and he keeps owning a look at verse 11. Here, beloved of God so loved us, we all also all to love one another. That's Christian that's not love for mankind in general course, we do not like we love one another because I told you. Be sure to not go to Matthew 25 Matthew 25% tax were Jesus separates the sheep and the goats remember very well. It's very familiar text and he says to those on his right. He said man when I was sick you you visit.

Will you help me when I was in prison you Vista me.

I hope you get me something to eat first. Give some drinks and Lord in wind resale that she could whenever you did it unto the least of these brothers of mine, of the Christians. The point is there going to be errors of great worldly persecution against the church and then you'll find out who the true Christians are those who are not really God's will fall away and go with the world they wanted, they that I don't the persecution those are truly God's will. Hang in there and care for each other and love each other and take the blow because they can get over the love they have one for another, it's loving, that's the object of this new love this been putting this one another and then verse 20 someone says I love God, and hates his brother, he's a liar and the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he is not saying listen to many. You may have a moment. You have a spat, you may have a difficult time or two if you are abiding with a heart of hatred for tort somebodies is a Christian Jesus Christ content you God says you're not. Here's that is more the acid truth in any of the job tricks. Every evangelist ever showed you check your heart. Can you about intimate someone who claims to be a child of God.

John scissors with no Megan there might be a spat not be a troubled spot in the road to humble yourself and you'll get through it. If you both really belong to God can't do it. Good. There's another option you just get over it.

You said you know what, I'm a sinner to you know what I done something wrong. The people didn't really mean to happen. I still response you know what I just go put that on the shelf appear every time a look at it was, I got I forget the minutes over I will commend my emotions to get in line with that truth, but telling me well. I feel I don't care how you feel will I do, but I don't know how many Baptist churches are in actually continual turmoil because people are functional. How they feel. You know how many different feelings we got in here right now the absolute chaotic insanity. If we start on the church by Amway buddy Phil a member I was visiting Bellevue Baptist Church in Mrs. 35, 37 years ago they were about to build this brand-new complex out in East Memphis and Dr. Roger sit on him if you want red carpet refuse, but half razor have a yellow blue carpet beep peers about the other half razor handy so that's what I thought that's what will have the color I want them to be. His point was is just endless.

This is how we feel the South look. The point is love overcomes that stuff that doesn't matter if you're talking about somebody teaching Eric doctrine I'm going be loving with the rod you not you will come in this church and teach false doctrine. You can teach things on minor points different than one another. That's fine. But you're not will come in here, talk, talk about some this radical nonsense that I hear folk around in bed to sleep in jungle churches that not all have done all my watch, so there's a time to deal with things and I think just rollover about things that matter when it comes to us personally. We can die to ourselves and love one another, just like our Lord God, to himself, hung up his crown of glory and condescended to walk among us and went to the cross and now we have this love in us that enables us to love one another.

One more verse on this loving one another. This object of a loving the church in this commandment we have from him that the one who loves God should love his brother also there.

John goes again. He just keeps it art number four, not only the nature of our love, God the father not only the example of our love was Jesus the son God the son not only the object of our love is God's people or the local church, but the source of our love is God the Holy Spirit comes from the Holy Spirit who now abides in God's true children look at there in the verses 12 and 13 noticing God to be time. If we love another, God abides in us in this love is perfected in us will say more about that second verse 13. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us because he has given us of his spirit also to talk about love love club level of use you.

Since this love.

There's this capacity to love the church that is unique in that you so clearly in my life when I was converted how I begin to love people who love God loves scriptures when things got it a total change for me. So just talk about that talk of the Nelsons is not.

Here's how you know. Here's how you know because he's given you the spirit of what Dwight, John, were talking about love is what John means the same time. Love came in through the spirit.

When the spirit came in love came in for God's people.

When the spirit came in God's agape that special capacity of love one for another came into your line Holy Spirit came in and he brought this unique special love with him.

Romans 5:05, the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to I don't expect you to be all that loving but I do expect you to get out of the way. Let the Holy Spirit love through you that him God that love now verse 14 will go to in verse 18 camp there for this moment we have seen and testify that the father has sent the son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God.

God about CM and he and he and God were 16.

We've come to know and have believed the love which God has for us will think on that just a moment we come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. That's what you need to focus on. You don't need to focus on what you do for God. You need to focus on the love God has for you.

God is love and the one who abides in love abides in God.

God's abides in him or 17. By this, love is perfected in other words, you come to a mature relationship with this love by this, the love of God is perfected with us, that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world peace is when you come to a mature relationship with his new love, God put in your new birth, then you have no fear, and judgment is pretty good stuff on a recent list all if your child about the only reason you fear facing Jesus because you don't have a mature relationship, love he has for you.

You don't get his level yet and can I say this is just old-fashioned regular run-of-the-mill stinking arrived because if you're thinking you're not going to face Jesus in good standing. Because your thinking about you think about what you've done what you haven't done what you perform what you have formed and no matter what you're thinking putting yourself up putting yourself down you are thinking about you and that's pride you need to have a more mature relationship with the love of God in your rest and say this done for me I will welcome his return to say words at there in verse 18 he amplifies this in the context offered hurt so many people talk about this verse is a really loose the context to context. The court is verse 17 talk about facing God in judgment. Then he says there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear, because, because fear involves punishment and the one who fears is not perfected in love.

If you're fearing in your your freight punishment is coming upon you by God, then you don't really grasp God's love for you get, you haven't come to mature places, mature relationship with the wonder of the glory, the power, the dimension of this great great love.

You cannot begin to grasp the doctrines of sovereign grace that saves you, including all this great love. All that motivated God in this great love to bring his son to the earth to die specifically personally for you just children. You can't grasp the glories of that what you think I preach on that and try to elaborate on and struggled to articulate that because you didn't give that so your rest and that enjoy you and that, and glory, and that all that wind comes your good no fear as I grant something of love. Yes, that wonderful evening. Got nothing to do with you it's all here it's all Elam bring your right Mr. him bring your bankrupt depraved fall and we pray out arrogant self concern himself family sale Christ to save me and Chrysler site just exactly the kind of people I say is your honest, honest, we confess our sins, he is playful and righteous to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness will enjoy the Holy Spirit in us is trying to teach us from the word of God and he is the interpreter of the Scriptures so that we begin to have this mature relationship with this love you see fear is that which abides in us lay our relationship to God is not master slave it's father and beloved child. Is that kind of love. When you understand and grasp something of his love that it drives out that fear the arrogant man is not the Christian who knows the word and loves the Lord and says I have no fear of God. I know he loves me. That's not arrogance.

Arrogant man is the one who striving and working and trembling and acting humble all the time and's slaving and hoping somehow people feel somehow. Please. This God. That's pride and arrogance and you will never, never, never appease our police God with your efforts. Only his effort on the cross, pleased God and appease the wrath that is righteously against you perfect love to see again. It's like a relationship. Have you ever gotten an impression about someone well I know little bit about them and tell you I don't know about them.

I see this and see this message, see what you're doing is as you saw some other people you knew some of the people in your past and you saw those 34 things and I turned out to be really bad people and now you conclude if I got one, two, three and four going around and I got five, six and seven to like Lombard and the people that had all seven that I don't know about them, and then finally you learn more you mature in your knowledge of them and find out whether not like that all I was completely wrong, good feeling. I thought that way, but some of you I got 1234 and you are doing good and we can't come to church together and I got 56 and send it there okay not to burn the house then I'm okay but don't love me were okay, here's one thing you gotta mature in your relationship before you come to that final conclusion. That's what he think that's the picture he's painting here.

You gotta mature your relationship with this love of God that you know how comprehensive and complete and final.

It is for you. Perfect love John calls it a mature relationship with love. If you're Christian you have that you do not look with fear facing the Lord. If you do look look with fear in your the lost are you need to mature in grasping and embracing this love until you are. You listens me. If your faith is in Jesus Christ, you are so radically secure. Nothing can take you out of that standing before God, nor God put you there God God for you with us his son Jesus Christ. He sealed you in the spirit God the spirit and the father rejoices in all of that work because he said it all.

At the start with imported his heart for you to start if he loses you he failed in his purpose and God cannot fail to don't you accuse God of failure by you somehow not making it to heaven if you know Christ your secure but that's the question you Baptist you walk now of your repeated the prayer had to go into the ordinance of baptism. I wouldn't say anything about that policy is believed on Christ. Have you believed on Christ that you come to him, saying, I repent.

I turned from looking to eat anything and everything and I look only now to Jesus and he is expiring death for me on that cross.

That alone is my hope think I'm gonna write up for the staff little statement that every person goes that baptistery's gotta say in that simple statement is I want the church to know. But today, my only hope.

My only hope is in Jesus Christ resurrection on my behalf.

That's my, she compared that not mean it that needs to be said to Denise to be understood. That's my only well that's the kind of love by the way, don't go out there in the world try to share this they don't get it. It's a family secret is just all only those born of God's children can grasp anything of this