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April 21, 2021 2:00 am
. A relationship with God includes an affection for God's people. In the message "Rock Solid Love," Skip explores several components of a rock-solid love, given by the very man who learned what true love is.
This teaching is from the series Rock Solid.
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Spiritual family because you have a spiritual birth of our unity.
The real basis of our love and unity is not our first birth. Our second birth were the same family same same Savior will have the same Holy Spirit living inside of you come to salvation exactly the same way by trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for us. Jesus said to believe your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples today on connect with Skip Skip shares about the importance of loving and serving others and how you can show God's love today would first want to share about what you can do even more encouraging vital messages from skip. I want to invite you to follow my podcasts so you can get even more in aspiring teacher. Just search Skip pipe segments HEITCIG on its modified Apple podcast or anywhere you listen to your podcast and don't forget to follow the podcasts so you know when a new teaching is available thanks skip. Now we're in first Peter chapter 1 as we dive into her study with Skip Heitzig do you know that the word sincere in our language comes from the Latin, that means without wax sincere sine Sarah literally means without wax. Let your love be without wax this work comes from.
In ancient times, porcelain dealers, statue makers would use wax to fill in their mistakes. Can you imagine making the statute, spending hours and hours upon a work of art, only to have the ear or nose of the statue you are making falloff with a chisel. Your two options you start all over again or you get some marble dust and wax and you fashion the fate appendage put it on or if you're a porcelain maker and you got a chip and a copperplate you could put some wax in porcelain and hide that little scarf quite easily so that when statue makers in porcelain dealers wanted to say that their product was the best and it was real legs would say it is sine Sarah is without wax. In a way to tell it hold up to the light hold up to the sunlight. You can imagine how embarrassing it would be in a hot summer day, if a woman decided to honor her uncle Fred at his birthday party but put in the statue of Fred in the backyard and about 12 noon when you unveil a statue in the hot sun comes out. Fred's nose just drips down to his mouth.
It's with wax. It's not sincere in sincere love is when you fill in your love with cheap substitute example, you pay some of your complement you really mean it. You're not really trying to encourage them you're trying to manipulate them and get something from them and butter them up.
The best way or you give somebody a hug, not because you care, but you want to get close to that person physically is in sincere love Matthew Henry put it this way hypotheses to do the devils work in God's uniform. Who among the 12 apostles was the one who had in sincere love easy answer. Judas Iscariot is a guide when the woman poured oil on Jesus to anoint him for burial in that house.
He spoke up and he said this could have been sold for 300 and Aryan given to the poor. Sounds like he loves the poor. He doesn't it's in sincere love.
It's got wax in it. It's dripping with wax as John says PS this guy didn't care for the poor. He was a thief. He wanted to take that money for himself. On another occasion, Judas Iscariot sees Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, his Roman soldiers until he walks up to Jesus and kisses sign of love, affection, that's in sincere love. That love has wax in it. He was simply trying to identify Jesus to the soldiers who were taken away. Let's not be without hypocrisy, sincere love, real love that fake love not only turn on the click smile, fake Christian love the real deal is the real deal will heal people's hearts. Dr. Paul Turney, a physician of Swiss doctors that I'm convinced nine out of every 10 people seeing a psychiatrist don't need one. They need somebody who will love them. With God's love and they will get well demonstrate your personal liberty second aspect second directive celebrate your spiritual family. Look at the word in verse 22 see it with your own eyes as you look down at the word) brethren brother sister. It's a family word where the spiritual family and then in verse 23 having been born again, these are family words you're in a spiritual family because you had a spiritual birth. The basis of our unity.
The real basis of our loving unity is our birth mother first birth. Her second birth were the same family we call in the same heavenly father we trust in the same Savior will have the same Holy Spirit living inside of us will come to salvation exactly the same way by trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ that was shed for us is an old saying in families. Blood is thicker than what water. Simply put, you can mess up you can fall down. You can fail.
But if were related by blood to get you through this man because work-family blood is thicker than water. Peter is Artie said that we have been redeemed by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, a lamb without blemish and without spot, Moody said you can be a good doctor without loving your patients. You can be a great lawyer without loving her clients which you cannot be a good Christian, without love, because were part of the family and we recognize that were part of the family woman sitting next to you right now is your sister in Christ, might be a wife but at your sister.
The man sitting next to you is your brother in Christ.
Some of us have really messed up but work-family. We love each other in spite of the mess that's real family love there is a psychiatrist. You came home after busy day.
He was tired. Bone tired drag himself in the front door and saw his wife and he just put his head his head in his hands.
He said sweetheart.
I have heard of one problem after another problem after another problem all day long. I do not want to hear any more problems. So whatever you have to say to me, give me good news. Don't tell me about another problem were having in our family.
She thought a moment and she said well the good news is two of our three children didn't break an arm today is one way to put it right one. Did but I won't tell you that two out of three did not could be the two out of three people sitting around you right now is okay, but please be sensitive to the one who is not in your family.
Let's get through that so demonstrate personal liberty celebrate spiritual family. Third were to radiate a mutual loyalty that brings us to verse 22 the command that is written in the tax that which everything revolves around in verse 22. Love one another fervently with a pure heart, and here's what I want you to notice. This is important. This is put listen carefully in the imperative mood which makes it a lot command and paired it is a command Peter's writing.
I am commanding you to love each other for no way way way way way can you do that. Can you imagine me going up to my girlfriend who would become my wife Lenny a one time thing I command you love me you think I will go over well. You think it would work. She would say give me one good reason why I should you command somebody love how you do that I listen again.
Here's why is there is a kind of love that does not depend on a motion but it's an act of the will you choose to do universally feel to do, to clear up this whole mess by simply saying this is two times the word love is used or same word, love, love but there's two different words in the Greek language so you notice in verse 22.
Since you perfect purified your souls in obeying the truth to the spirit in sincere love that word is Philadelphia, which means brotherly love, family, love and sincere love of the brethren.
Here's the second time. Love one another different word is the word agape love. This is divine love. This is sacrificial love. Since you already love each other as brothers.
Now I am commanding you love like God loves love with the sacrificial divine love, love fervently and with a pure heart.
So we share the first kind of love Philadelphia because were brothers and sisters, we share the second kind of love because he commands us to show it as an act of our will. Even though we don't feel like the keyword here is love fervently, fervently, deeply, some of you will be surprised to know this is an athletic term which means to stretch out a muscle to its limit to its capacity. The weightlifters here operator and raise your hand up to show us how big your muscles, but if you go to the gym and you put weights on the barbell you put as many weights as you can handle up to your capacity to lift and typically a person will do laps, repetitions until that final repetition is just like a struggle. That's the idea he's stretching the muscle out to its capacity, so what he means. Here is go all out in your love stretch out your love. So far that it graciously forgives and blesses and heals the love is something we gotta work on.
So now it's not just a one feeling how it's not your work on it just like you work on your golf swing on if it improves you much or not, but in a great feeling to have a good driver to see that baby does go down the fairway payoff. Now that muscle memory training or to have a great servant and a soda. Work hard at playing an instrument in getting it down pat, so too we have to work on our love work on treating people like God treat that takes an act of our will. We decide to show love to people, even when we have been hurt by that person follow me here.
Doesn't God love that way isn't the best reflection of God's love is to demonstrate love to somebody fervently who has hurt us. When that most reflect God's love for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. God gave us the world and they killed him and then heard God, but that's how God loves when the greatest sentences I ever heard was spoken to me in Baghdad, Iraq.
I was there on a special mission, not for the military before my Lord, taking some of your shoeboxes a few years ago several years ago when Saddam Hussein was still raining there. We brought 27,000 shoeboxes and big 18 wheelers all the way from Amman, Jordan, into Baghdad.
We got there we were sort of quarantine by Saddam Hussein's cabinet and I'll never forget were interrogated by two ministers of his Ministry of religious affairs and foreign affairs baskets. Why were there and we say we're not here in the name of America or Canada or Lebanon with several countries represented here in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to tell you that God loves you and loves your children and we wanted to give tokens of that love from people around the world and his name was an interesting conversation to say the least, and was televised on Iraqi television. But what is most interesting is that off-camera. The minister said to us until now we in this country have believed that it is the Christians of the world that hate us is and that a revealing statement, but now I realize it's the Christians of this world that love us. I heard that sentence it was like cheating. That's the money shot right just to hear him say I now know it's the Christians of the world who love us was worth the trip.
I might not felt like being there wanted to extend my love to someone who is called the enemy of America, but it spoke volumes. See, we must never say well I think I love people know just where I am really so often. The Bible says I know that you love to keep doing it. For instance, Philippians chapter 1 verse nine. I pray that your love may abound still more and more and all knowledge and all discernment same idea in first Thessalonians chapter 3 verse 13. May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else. Just as ours does for you. Take a test right now in your mind just for you. How fervent is your love just in the relationships the close relationships in your life. How fervent is in your marriage. How do you stretch out your love to bless your spouse at home.
What acts of your will. Do you show your children or your parents at work with your friends in your home group in your church. Mark Muggeridge once said, the biggest disease today is not leprosy or tuberculosis or any other disease like that rather it's the feeling of being unwanted uncared for and deserted by everybody.
The greatest evil is the lack of love he writes the terrible indifference toward one's neighbor who lives at the roadside, assaulted by exploitation corruption, poverty and disease measure?
What is your limit, which are limited love.
I put another way, how much capacity do you have is a Christian to love people on an answer for you. You knew that how much capacity you have Romans chapter 5 says for the love of God has been poured out or shed abroad poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.
The language there refers to filling up a bucket or a pot so full that it just keeps on overflowing to the brim and over and over.
So when you feel like I've done this enough.
I can't go anymore keeps filling it up and shed abroad in our hearts, which means you and I have an infinite capacity by God's grace to love people, which means no one in your life should ever be love starved is when you run out. He's got more important.
That's the evidence that you belong to him that you're in the same family because you have a new capacity which brings us to our fourth and final aspect cultivate scriptural dependency washes.
Verse 24 begins with what were because he's giving you the reason for anything. To quote Scripture because he writes all this all flesh is as grass, quoting Isaiah 40 and all the glory of man is as the flower of the grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades or falls away the word of the Lord endures forever.
Not this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you the growth requires good food to grow in love. You need to be nourished in your life. This book this Bible. This is loves food.
This feeds love this nourishes love this book, Scripture reveals how to love reveals a God who loves for God so loved the world. It tells us not only to love but how to love their marriages and our friendships with children and respecting parents, and even talks about physical love in the book of the song of Solomon for you couples check out report back sits there, how to love. So here is Peter's point. God's word was preached to us and he gave us life because he says it's a an incorruptible seed. It's an eternal seed.
It's a nonperishable seed so the seed was planted in the heart and germinated and brought forth what fruit fruit proves the seed is there. Without the food there is no seed you would surmise no seed is no fruit.
If there's fruit in your life. It's because the seed has been planted in your heart and the fruit of the spirit Galatians 522 is love. So here's the deal. Anytime the Bible gives you a command. It doesn't give you a command unless it gives you the capacity to follow the commands of God will give you the ability to do it.
Which means if you don't feel like loving that unlovely person in your life do it anyway if you don't feel like forgiving. That nasty person in your life do it anyway if you don't feel like caring for that belligerent jerk do it anyway if you don't feel like humbling yourself before that prideful person do it anyway. If you're an astute reader of the text. You can go timeout timeout timeout when when it says that you're supposed to do it from the heart right.
It says with a pure heart, not just mechanically not just obediently from pure. This is our works.
Your decision is the engine you're feeling is the caboose when you make a decision to show love feelings will follow feelings follow the act of love love one another. That's a command fervently from a pure heart.
Those feelings will follow. Yes, society is becoming less personal and more and more virtual, and technological, which means you and I we have to be more intentional about the real deal and how much love can you get on Facebook really well, I've got all these likes France. Not all Christian love is a love of the will that forgives and heals and proves that we love.
When the apostle John was getting up in years. It was said that he could stand no longer yet to be carried from congregation to congregation.
So men would carry him and people were so excited to see the apostle John. After all, he was Jesus best friend on earth still alive is the closest people got to Jesus, so this old apostle would be brought into the congregations and he would lift up his hand a blessing upon them, but they wanted to hear a sermon from them in his last days. The traditions say that John only gave a five word sermon some of your wishing for that. I know little children love one another.
Always little children love one another all the got tedious before expecting a sermon as it that's it. It's like kid stuff. Can we get any more than that in the people actually complained in one setting and says the tradition brother John might you not be able to offer something a bit well a bit deeper. John replied the Lord's command is that we love one another. It doesn't get any deeper than that love and Jesus command to love one another is still the most basic and the most difficult for us to do. We can do it. We've we've we've we've been set free with personal liberty and were part of a whole new family. We have a brand-new capacity so we can love fervently stretch out to the limit for if you live that way. It is a force God's love is a force. No unbeliever can withstand Skip hi text message from the series voxel right now want to share about an encouraging resource that helps you live confidently in the peace of Jesus even in life. Since her questions can be ambushed by supply struggles. You know how that feels.
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$35 or more today to help connect more people to the Prince of peace connectwithskip.com/offer to give online securely or call 819 to 1888, the apostle Peter learned an important affinity serve the Lord in relationship with God includes an affection for his people. We have a great opportunity for you to share your life with your brothers and sisters in Christ. You cannot only help connect them to the hotel truth in the Bible, but you can also keep this ministry going strong, how to get a gift 819 to 1888 at 819 T 1888 or visit connectwithskip.com/donate connect with.com/donate to him tomorrow. Skip hi to help you train your appetite for God's work. I recall our Lord Jesus Christ thing. Blessed are those who hunger and verse have to write they will be filled said nothing about casually snapping some people know we without even cracking feel good about until they feel the pull of the Sunday mass go for so Skip presentation of connection occasions changing truth ever-changing time