Jesus Loves People - Part B

Love is to be expressed in a variety of ways. Mature love, responsible, love learns to distinguish what's the right way.

Should I rebuke this person or give this person a hug. What is the best expression of love. Jesus could heal in one instance and overturned tables. In another instance, you could say Blessed are you one day and then say hello. Are you the next.

Why is that because love authentic love. According to first Corinthians 13 is this law does not rejoice in iniquity. It rejoices in truth, love will always be honest, the Holy Spirit illuminates God's love in your life opening your eyes to God's complete love for you today on connect with skip-Skip shows you how you can love others the same way at the end of the program Skip and his wife. When you share how you can tap into Jesus love in order to love others extraordinaire like the rich young ruler when it came to Jesus and they have that encounter.

It says Jesus looked at him and loved him always been attracted to that scripture. Jesus just love this man presented as he was left to Rex, but he also laughed and Mary was a prostitute and he looked at her with love South. That's a beautiful thing that Jesus can love someone, you matter where there had.

Thank you.

Skip a millennium. Be sure to stay with us after today's message to the full discussion right now we want to tell you about a special resource that will help you know God's love more intimate.

The Bible makes it clear that Jesus loves the devout and the doubters priests and prostitutes. The disease and the depressed Jesus just loves people all people, no matter what their past or their present. Sadly, sometimes it's the people who need love the most, who feel the most rejected even by the church. But Jesus loves all people shouldn't leave. We want to help you grasp God's relentless love for people by sending you the complete booklet. Jesus loves people collection my Skip I think these booklets look to Scripture to demonstrate Jesus's love for people from every walk of life. Yet all four Jesus loves people titles including Jesus loves the broken and Jesus loves addicts when you give the gift of $25 or more today to help expand this Bible teaching outreach to give all 800-922-1888, or give online securely connectwithskip.com/offer Mark chapter 10 in Philippians chapter 1 as we get into the message with Skip Heitzig. Jesus had this unique ability. Of course he was God so he could read people's minds and he knew their motives, so that was helpful, but he he knew he was who he was dealing with, and his approach was accordingly.

Example to the woman caught in adultery. He said women were are your accusers. She said Sir I have none. He replied, neither do I condemn you go and sin no more, so tender to the man, the leper was ostracized from society who said, Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean out he was a leper. Nobody was allowed to touch them. Jesus touched him.

The Bible says Touchton and said I am willing be claim that on the other hand to the scribes and the Pharisees.

He spoke very harshly. Words like this will undo you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, you are whitewashed tombs filled with dead men's bones and all corruption out very different than the leper very different than the woman caught in adultery.

Sometimes you call people by name like Mary Magdalene after the resurrection with the tender tone. Mary or Peter.

Other times he didn't call people by their first names. He made up new names for them. One time he said of vipers. That's what he called. There's another difference in the way he approached people. He walked up one day to Matthew the tax collector and publicly called him out and said come and follow me is my disciple.

Then on another occasion when he cast the demon out of the young man in good Dara, who they Jesus to let him come and follow him. Jesus is no you can't follow me go back home and tell your friends the good things God has done very different approaches to these two there's another difference to his own disciples.

Jesus spoke profusely, he instructed. We have chapter after chapter in the New Testament, given directly to the disciples. He's training them had a lot to say to them, but then on another occasion as he stands before Pontius Pilate and the religious elite at his own trial he has nothing to say to them, and then when he finally speaks, it's just a few words. Not much. Another difference in Capernaum whaling crowd at the funeral of a young girl who was died. Jesus comes in the scene and the ghost stopped crying, stop weeping on another occasion at the funeral of his friend Lazarus. We are told that Jesus himself stood in front of the two minutes is Jesus wept. Now he knew he was in a race both of them from the dead. When one sent to go stop your crying and here Jesus wept is what I want to point out the love of Jesus Christ was tailor-made for every individual that he met every expression was unique. Each encounter was a one-off wasn't canned love has different expressions all expand on that in a moment but will even do this will give our children gifts for their birthday for Christmas or just because then on another occasion, we might spank them we love them.

But those are two very different expressions, are they not only have spouses and we will cite our spouse. I love you. On another occasion, we will argue with our spouse because we want to resolve conflict. Both can be expressions of love by the way, I burned out, and every argument to words yes dear, it works every time Jesus loves people.

Jesus loves people individually. Here's the third foundational cornerstone for this series. Jesus loves people through us his people he loves people through us his people. Jesus came, taught, lived, loved, died, rose, ascended, and now how does he reach people through us. We are called in the Bible, the body of Christ. Have you ever thought to the implications of that metaphor, we are the body of Christ.

Simply put, we are his hands reaching out to people. We are his feet going to our people are.

We are his ears listening to people's hurts, we are his voice, giving counsel and encouragement, or even confrontation in his name.

We are the body of Christ. Jesus loves people through us. He said to his disciples, as I have loved you, so you must love one another. I've loved you know you love one another what I've done for you due to one another. Now the critical Bible student will hear what I just quoted and say we know skip. Technically, Jesus was referring to other believers when he said love one another. He was saying literally to his apostles, his disciples, as I have loved you, my disciple. Your love one another disciples that's true. However, on another occasion when Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment.

He said this hero Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one, and you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart, all of your soul.

All of your mind.

All of your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment before they could get any word in edge wise, he said, but the second one is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these know again somebody listening to that might want to pick it apart. A little more and say well he said here to love your neighbor. He didn't say anything about loving drunks or prostitutes or homosexuals yeah but you know eventually you still have to deal with that one troublesome text in the sermon on the Mount Matthew five verse 43 where our Lord said you have heard that it was said he will love your neighbor and hate your enemy is. But I say and do you love your enemies so we get the picture in what Jesus commanded his followers to do. Is it is a divine mandate to love people with the love of Jesus Christ.

Even even what you might consider to be the worst. By the way, you be surprised who Jesus considers to be the worst, it's a divine mandate to love people with the love of Christ. Even those you consider to be the worst you can be a good doctor and not love your patients, you could be a good lawyer not love your clients, you could be a good geologist and not love science but you cannot be a good Christian, without love, you can't be in Romans five verse five were told the love of God is been shed abroad into our hearts, or it is been word out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

We love that idea, but we don't love it enough.

We love the idea that he loves me he loves me.

Jesus loves me this I know hope for the Bible tells me so.

But don't stop it's been poured out into our hearts.

And if it's been poured out into our hearts.

It should be poured out from our hearts were to be a conduit not just a receptacle would be a channel of it in the early part of Christian history when the church was scattered throughout the Roman Empire.

The last Roman Empire, the last pagan Roman Emperor Julian was his name. Julian the apostate said something very intriguing. He wrote whilst the pagan priests neglect the poor, the hated Galileans his term for Christians devote themselves to works of charity.

They not only feed their own but hours also welcoming them with their agape, they attract them. That's noteworthy this pagan emperor noted there is a huge difference between Christians and the rest of the citizens of the Roman Empire and that is they love people and not just their own. They love all people know I'm not naïve, I know that church history is a history of the church's failure to love in many cases we have to deal with that in conversations with people all the time. We could go all the way back to the original apostles. They argued about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God and they did a lot.

Then there were two disciples of Jesus whom Jesus nicknamed sons of thunder member that and he called them sons of thunder was an inside joke, really, because on one occasion, they said, Lord, you want us to nuke this village in Jesus name.

Do you want us to call down fire from heaven like Elijah didn't consume them because they didn't receive Christ so wishes get rid of them.

Jesus said, you don't even know what manner of spirit you are and he nicknamed them sons of thunder because of their nuclear capabilities. So there were problems even in the original bunch we go on to church history. We see the church of Corinth, all rights to letters to them. One thing we notice as we go through those letters is that this was a very troubled group of Christians. There were divisions among them. There were lawsuits among them.

There was immorality among them, and then we have to move on to church history and account for the Crusades in the 11th, 12th and 13th century, the Spanish Inquisition in the 15th century, and I know you say well it's not real Christians who did that but you still have to answer the questions and deal with that blocks on church history given answer for why the Catholics and the Protestants in Ireland have blown each other up. For decades, generations. I like to say the church history is replete with Christian showing love to the world and wondered to one another, but I can do that I can't even say that even we've gotten better at it in these days because as you have seen, there's a church in Topeka, Kansas that has websites that announce God hates America what you do with John 316, and other groups that are listed.

Jesus loves people. Jesus loves people individually. Jesus loves people through us his people. That's third now the fourth and final foundational pillar that will go to build a series on Jesus loves people through us responsibly know Hermie responsibly go back to our text in Mark chapter 10 and you'll notice something that even though we are told in this biblical text that Jesus looked at the young man and that he loved him, that love is not some kind of a sappy love, sentimental love wasn't sloppy. A copy was mature love. It was a responsible love notice in verse 21 Jesus confronts him with his failure. Listen to the words of love one thing you lack he confronted him. Love will confront notice. Also, Jesus told him what was keeping this young man from God, get an idol in his life. Materialism go, sell what you have and give it to the poor, and then notice the Jesus told him what he needed to do. Come, take up your cross and follow me.

See, this is responsible love you and I'm hoping that will get to see this in the series that love doesn't turn a blind eye to every kind of behavior in the name of tolerance.

Well, if you love people. You just let them do whatever they want as long as they want to do it.

That's not mature love. That's not responsible. Love, sure, sometimes love will embrace and encourage other times you will confront and rebuke that's responsible love there's a passage that I thought about for the last two weeks. I wanted to include in this opening message is in Philippians chapter 1, you can turn there or I'll just put the verses up on the screen for you to see Paul is writing a letter to the Philippian church yeah he's in prison when he writes that she's in a Roman jail.

He loves this group of people.

You can hear it in the tones of the words that he uses Philippians 1 verse eight for God is my witness how greatly I long for you all with the affection of Jesus Christ here that love in his voice hear the love in those words but now he turns to a prayer that he makes for them and get this, he's praying for their love and I want to see what he prays and this I pray that your love may abound still more and more in the knowledge and in all discernment that you may approve the things that are excellent that she may be sincere and without offense until the day of Christ. First of all, notice the word abound. I pray that you love and abound more and more the word abound means to overflow or to exceed a fixed mark or a fixed number means to flow freely. Maybe that's a better translation. I pray that your love would flow freely sounds ideal is in it to be around a group of people were love is freely flowing. Hold that thought. If anything flows too much.

There can be a problem. It's like a river, a river is meant to carry water from one place to the other. It takes a circuitous route to get there but on either side of the river are banks, boundaries as long as the water stays within the boundaries, no problem. If it exceeds the mark. Uncontrolled it can destroy. I was in Honduras a few years back and villages were wiped out churches, homes, thousands of people, their homes were wiped out because it rained it's a blessing.

Rain is always a blessing, but in this particular part of the world.

It rained so much. The rivers overflowed and destroyed lives. So Paul says I want your love to flow freely like a river abound more and more, but it needs boundaries and needs a bank on either side. The bank on one side is called knowledge. He says in the text the bank on the other side is called discernment. I pray that your love will abound more and more in knowledge and all discernment knowledge he uses here means full knowledge, complete knowledge at the gnosis is the Greek word, a full and complete knowledge of what love really is and what love really is not and how to use it properly. I pray that your love would flow so freely, but within the boundaries of knowing what real love is and how it's to be used may give you an example. Sometimes only a parent who believes that he should let us could get away with anything and do whatever the kid wants because the kid is demanding it and after all I need to show this child that I love him so I'll give him whatever he wants. You need to add knowledge to that feeling you have because knowledge will come along and say you should know better than to do that if you do that you could actually destroy her child is another example. A person may say I seal out of love with my current spouse, but I feel in love with his other person you need to bring knowledge to your feeling that says you should know better.

You can destroy so many people following letting that emotion overflow its banks. So the first boundary is knowledge. The second one according to Paul, is discernment.

That's the other bank on the other side of the river that means to distinguish. Simply put, it's this love is to be expressed in a variety of ways. Mature love, responsible, love learns to distinguish what's the right way. Should I rebuke this person or give this person a hug. What is the best expression of love.

That's why Jesus could heal in one instance and overturned tables.

In another instance, you could say Blessed are you one day and then say hello. Are you the next day to someone else and why is that because love authentic love. According to first Corinthians 13 is this love does not rejoice in iniquity. It rejoices in truth, love will always be honest and so our love as free-flowing as it should be should be responsible and mature having the banks, the boundaries on either side of knowledge and discernment. Now back to that Doctor Who watch that young couple in the postoperative care and that young husband bend over to kiss his wife slips twisting his lips to accommodate to hers. When I read that what touched me the most is I thought that's a small picture of the greater picture of the love of God.

He stooped so far he came from heaven to earth in the form of Jesus Christ to show a variety of individuals is love. He accommodated if you will let me use the term to our condition not becoming sinful, like us, becoming one of us and is perfect God loving us even to the death on the cross. That's in John's mind and first John chapter 4, where he says in this the love of God was manifested toward us that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. Jesus loves me this I know.

Good to know no more than that Jesus wants to love through you to other people responsibly, maturely, but definitely all father, thank you that we can look at a subject that is at the very heart of your character. As John said, for he who does not love is not of God, for God is love that includes give high fixed message from the series Jesus loves you, skip, and when you share how you can tap into Jesus in order to love others extraordinaire skeptically started a series called Jesus love and today you pointed out that Jesus left us individually and extends tailor-made expressions of his left parents can learn from Jesus.

How to demonstrate Christlike love to their children. How can they tailor make their own expression of love for their candidate.

You know Jesus love the people, but you know you the way you love them. He love them remarkably and individually and thing about Jesus is that he loved whatever was in front of him.

He wasn't like trying to remake a person's behavior instantly like the rich young ruler when he came to Jesus and they had that encounter. It says Jesus looked at him and loved him always been attracted to that scripture. Jesus just love this man presented as he was, and so I think as parents we need to see and discover what God puts in front of us to study their their children to sort of opened the package that is the gift of their child to them effect. We called our son Nate or Nathan, which means a gift. It is a God is given us a gift.

And so when when it comes to loving people like Jesus. Jesus love people, of course sacrificially give his life love them without reciprocation.

Sometimes, so it was unconditional. We know that, but I just think we need to love them individually and admire the unique traits that God has put within them as they go well you know your children go through different things and and loving them throughout a lifetime. I just such a profound thought that you sad when he looked at the rich young ruler because we have this whole 99% and in a putting social injustice. God loves you if you Brits, but he also laughed and Mary, who is a prostitute and he looked on her with an beautiful thing that Jesus can love someone, you matter where they're at. Thinking my goal is to connect listeners like you the truth, and that's far exceed the solid foundation tracing your faith. Please consider getting a gift today to keep these messages available to bless you and others around the world just call 819 to 88, 1900 9288 or visit connect.com/donate back connectwithskip.com/donate.

Thank you. Come back tomorrow. Skip Heitzig to share some encouragement that will help you when you struggle with Skip presentation of connection communications through