Agape

If you have your Bibles with you tonight turn with if you would to first John chapter 4 will start in verse 19 and then go to chapter 5, verse one we love him because he first loved us. If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother is a liar, for he does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen in this commandment we have from him. Whoever loves God must also love his brother. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God and everyone who loves the father loves whoever has been born of him is pray. Heavenly father.

What a glorious passage you given us tonight passage where you are teaching us about the God kind of love we pray heavenly father. That is, we look at these words, they will become more than just words to us.

They will truly become life we might take heed to what you have written and inspired John to write in this great letter that we might understand the emphasis that you put on agape love heavenly father I pray for my brother Don Carol as he is got catheterization coming up this Wednesday. We pray heavenly father that you would be with him in great great power. We pray if there is a need for a stand or something else Lord that they'll be able to do that in that procedure and that Don would have problems from the symptoms that he's been experiencing some shortness of breath and and some other problems with his heart or just have mercy on our brother and touch him and help him, that he might be made whale will be.

Thank you again for your precious word asked the chief take it tonight drive it into our hearts, we might love Jesus more, and it's in your holy and precious name we pray.

Amen to be seated. We are living in a culture that is manipulated by the media and the media is extremely wise and one of the great lessons that the media has learned and invested in is this people are controlled and manipulated by fear. The media does this with the economy if they want to try to get a recession going than the best thing they can do is to tell every body that there's going to be a recession.

There's no way around it and what people do they immediately run after the stock market. I try to sell their stocks as fast as they can for anybody else can before their stocks go down, and then everybody else starts doing that and sure enough it's not long before there's a real recession going on.

The media's politicizing the coronavirus right now blaming the contagious disease on certain politicians, the media knows that if enough people are worried about a possibly deadly disease than they can manipulate them through fear. This kind of fear is called a servile theater, a servile theater makes servants or slaves out of us. It attacks the emotions it makes us do things not because we think it's right but because of what we feel. John Bunyan says that the devil is the author of servile theater so servile theater is destructive accused by the devil and is used by evil people to try to get us to do what they want us to do the fear of God is different. John Murray describes it this way, the fear of God in which God lists godliness consist is the fear which constrains or compels or powerfully produces adoration and love is the fear which consist in all reverence, honor and worship in all of these on the highest level of exercise is the reflex in our consciousness of the transcendent majesty and holiness of God.

Folks, that's not being afraid of God as being awestruck by God.

That's developing a reverence for God that is so great that it drives you to joyful obedience. We give you three verses Proverbs chapter 7 per chapter 9 and verse 10 the fear the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.

Proverbs chapter 16 verse six by the fear of the Lord. Men depart from evil. Isaiah chapter 33 verse six says that the fear of the Lord is Diane's treasure, hundred three verse 11, and in that bursae is as a father site shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. I could spend weeks worth all the scriptures that deal with the glorious wonderful fear of God. I one of the most important books that I've ever read outside the Bible is Jerry Bridges book the joy of fearing God and that book explains how if you truly fear God in the way that the, the Bible commands us to fear God, that you were going to have an experience overwhelming joy, but there is a type of fear that is not the type of fear that the Bible commands us to have. We look last week are in our last sermon on the first John chapter 4 verse 18 it says this, there is no fear in love but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. In other words, when you're truly born again that horrible plaguing tormenting fear of hail is driven from you is driven from your heart is driven from your mind. Now to truly fear God is to refuse to fear man.

I shared with you last week that the in Proverbs chapter 29 verse 25.

The Scripture says in the fear of man is a slayer and we look at that word slayer in the Hebrew and that word means a reading in the nose when a farmer as a litter of pigs little piglets. The farmer knows those pigs are going to go strong they're going to get big and so he needs a way to control. So what is a farmer do. He takes a ring and puts it in that pig's nose when that pig gets big, no matter how big he has no matter how tough he thinks he is that farmer can take a stick with a little hook on the end of it, stick it in the nose ring and that farmer can take that little pig, or that big pig anywhere he wants to go and that pig can't do a thing about it that's with the fear of man does to us. So what is spiritual warfare spiritual warfare is a battle in your heart between the fear of God in the fear of man as you increase in godly fear, you will decrease in the fear of man.

So as I said last week, we can't just roll over and ignore reality. God has called us to fight. He has called us to develop a wartime mentality to do spiritual battle, but what does that look like it does that mean that God's calling us to stand up on own the town square and to point out people sins as they go by, as with the Pharisees dealer didn't work very well for them. Did it. They were all just about condemning other people and and that just didn't have much effect. So what should God's people do in times of great spiritual darkness.

How can God use us to open the eyes of the spiritually blind what do we have to do to make a difference in Isaiah chapter 55, Isaiah's door.

The Lord said for my ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. In other words, the world's methodology and God's methodology are not the same.

In fact, they are diametrically opposed to each other when we humans wage war.

We intend to obtain victory by force. We say were going after the enemy, and we will hurt him. We will name him we will killing. We will do whatever we have to do to reach our objective that insane the S I'm not suggesting that our military. Be passive, and if you do some studying on Augustine's theory of just war you will see that is very biblical. What I'm talking about right now is how God uses the Christian individual in his personal Christian life in the type of warfare. He is called us to God's warfare is different. He doesn't say to take. He says to give it doesn't say to Keeley says to die. He doesn't say to persecute, he says, to be persecuted.

I think what John is telling us in this verse is this the answer to the cultural war that you and I see every single day is agape love is not quitting is not becoming reclusive is not physically forcing our way.

Instead it is sharing the truth in love, and then trusting God through the persecution that will inevitably come second Timothy chapter 3 verse 12 says that all who live godly in Christ Jesus will do what they will suffer persecution. I have a personal belief that our society is not going to listen to the church until the world sees the church being persecuted and then the world sees those that are being persecuted standing there taking it and taking it with joy counting in a joy if they were worthy are shown worthy to suffer for Christ sake.

In the last sermon I told you about a movie that came out 2003, entitled say it was horrible movie. It was attacking true Christianity and after the first showing of that movie they had some interviewers out there that were reporters that were warning interview people that what they thought about the movie and one lady came out and a reporter came up to her and put a microphone up to her. Her mouth and said well what did you think about the movie.

She said that was the worst movie I've ever seen.

She said that was a horrible, terrible movie and she said if if that had been a movie about the Jews or the Moslems or the Hindus or the Buddhist then there would've been an absolute outrage and that movie would've never been shown. She said hey, maybe it's time that we have a Christian Anti-Defamation League. I said to myself.

Note no, no, not at all. The persecution proves reality and it is through our agape love in times of persecution that the gospel will really proliferate. Once again we must see that what is happening is warfare in our greatest weapon is Christlike. Agape love. Perhaps the Deacon Stevens were the best examples that I could use tonight you remember just in the early church. The gospel was beginning to to penetrate into the hearts of the people and in Jerusalem. Many people were coming to Christ and they were coming to Christ and it was changing their lives and people could see the fruit of peace and joy at these people were experiencing.

I mean these people come to Christ and that their lives have been turned upside down by by the joy of the Lord and then the the religious leaders saw it in the religious leaders are the ones who just a few months before this and nailed Jesus Christ to the cross when they saw what was going on that could stand it and they begin to persecute deeply. The early church and they begin to jump on them.

They began to have them put in prison have been put to death and all of a sudden with the courage of a lion.

Stephen step forth a deacon. He step forth and he preached a sermon and it was a powerful sermon that rubbed all the religious leaders for the wrong way and he stood up before them that he didn't do it out of malice.

He didn't do it out of anger.

He just was preaching the truth in love, and what are they doing, they picked them out, they carried into a pit they threw them down in that pit. They took huge stones and they pelted him with those huge stones until he died.

But as he was being pelted with those stones. They cried out to his heavenly father and stepfather, lay not this sin to their charge.

Then he died. The Scripture says that godly men devout man took him and carried his body is battered, broken body to his grave, and there they gave him a Christian burial. That's God kind of warfare, who won that battle religious leaders thought they had one because they had silenced Stephen but no, they didn't win.

Jerusalem saw a man who stood for Christ.

No matter if it was going to cost him his life are not and who was glad to die for Christ sake, if that death would bring God glory that one of the it turned Jerusalem upside down. Can you imagine the conversations the people in Jerusalem after that happened, as we saw Stephen get killed those religious leaders is wicked, evil men were so feel with hatred and malice. I think took these huge stones and they pounded on him until he died. But as he was dying he was crying out to his heavenly father begging his heavenly father to have mercy on his murderers and to forgive them for what they are doing while it was Stevens agape love that broke through the spiritual darkness in Israel. In turn that city upside down. All right, let's take a look at what John has to say about this type or the importance of agape love the four points only share with you. Number one, the source of love verse 19 begin in verse 19 we love him because he first loved us some of your translations if you got a ESV or NIV tonight. It will say we love because he first loved us. Both of those statements are true. The King James version says we love him because he first loved us and that they think that their that the verb they are needed. A subject and I think the King James was probably right. I think it might best be said we love EM because he first loved us the ESV and NIV wanted it to be more inclusive and then we love which would mean we love him and also we love others because he first loved us and and that could be attended to grieve the King James layer but it tells us that we have the ability to express agape love because God supernaturally empowered us to do it, Almighty God is the source of agape love is not something that we work up is not something that that we can make happen is not something that we can can just feel differently about to start doing no and were not talking about mushy sentimentalism here were not talking about romantic or erotic love. We are talking about unselfish sacrificial costly godly love when Stephen was being pelted to death with the stones. What was his response. He cried out to his father AA and he said father lay not this the end of their charge when you get that from Otay. We got it from. You got it from Jesus is exactly what Jesus said and as he was being crucified, father forgive them for they know not what they did. Verse 19 tells us that you can't fake agape love doesn't come naturally comes supernaturally but it grows through usage. The more you use the agape love that God puts in your heart. The more of it.

You're going to have people who give sacrificially your people usually start off by patting and they get a start given a time in the Lord just blesses them with peace and joy.

And then as they give the Lord blesses them with more so they can give more and is just an amazing thing. How God does that some who the people who the most miserable on earth.

The people are most miserable are the people are selfish and the other the people who who just endeavor just to spend all their time trying to gather stuff for themselves so they work hard, like they try to get more money that they can spend more on their sales and and accumulate more wealth and accumulate more stuff and those people usually most frustrated aggravated and dissatisfied people you'll ever meet. Look at the people in this church right now who have a servant spirit their hearts desire to meet the needs of other people. They give give give and they remind me of the lady and the widow who minister to Elijah and the Elijah was carving the death he was hungry lady didn't have hardly anything left just a little bit of flour little bit all and what is she doing she made a logic cake with that she she took it she she put it together, making the cake, gave it towing and guess what happened.

The Lord replenished her supply though as she reached down into the flower pot that she thought was totally empty and there was more flowering. She took the olive bottle when she poured some more out and there was more in there was more olive oil hatted that happened in every time she did it the same thing would happen God supply is never diminished. So through agape love. She took care of others as well as yourself. Now, the Scripture tells us that God is love doesn't say that God has love. It doesn't say that God contains love is says that God is love and since God is eternal. That means that that his law supply is endless is limitless, so if you will simply died a sale then you can become a conduit of God's love. God can use you like the hose that shoots out his love to a love starved world and my former church. Our youth group was going through a spiritual drivetime and they had been on three trips that year and the first trip was in the springtime, and an inner or early summer and they they went to Baltimore Maryland in a poverty-stricken area to teach VBS and they got there they saw the the just the sadness of this whole situation with these these little kids.

They share the gospel. Some of his kids came to Christ. They brought food agape food to those kids in hungry kids got to eat and then they counsel these kids and help them lot of them coming up.

Coming from dysfunctional families and they came back they were just all excited.

The next trip. They went was just a beach trip the next trip. They went was a ski trip in the mountains and so when they were going through this dry, I got them together secures me ask you something us.

It took three trips this year which trip did you come back the happiest and they said every single one of them. It was a trip that we took to Maryland we did the VBS who minister to those kids.

So in other words the time were they were experiencing the greatest joy was not the time when they were taking. It was a time when they were giving. Why is it that the Michael Bloomberg's and the Warren buffets in the Howard Hughes net the the J.

Paul Getty's of this world are so cynical and unhappy and why is it that the Tony Marciano disease. The director at the Charlotte rescue mission in the Larry warranties head of African leadership are so filled with joy. Could it be that man is programmed to be God's hose to take the love of God that he is put in our heart and to be a conduit that love might go out to others, but that's not something that's accomplished through academics. That's not something that comes just a theological study that comes by pouring your life out in love for other people in Israel are two main bodies of water. One is the Sea of Galilee. The is Dead Sea Sea of Galilee is is a interesting body of water that there is water that flows down from the creeks and the and the. The streams from the mountains that are north of the of the Sea of Galilee and Atwater slows down right into the Sea of Galilee.

But there's an outlet in the alley to the Sea of Galilee is the Dead Sea the war. I'm not the Dead Sea. It's that the River Jordan and the water goes right into the river Jordan and it flows down to the Dead Sea.

The Sea of Galilee is filled with life is all kinds of Marine like they are. There's fish, tilapia was first found in the in the Sea of Galilee as muscles or scribes are sprawled all kinds of wonderful marine life.

The Dead Sea is not like that that the the Jordan River flows down into the Dead Sea and there's no outlet is of the water flows down into it and stops it stagnates, and because of its stagnation. Some strange things that happened to that water.

There's been a chemical buildup is a buildup of potash, a buildup of salt, a buildup of sulfur in these other collected chemicals that are so strong that you can smell it when you get around it.

It smells like death is smells like sulfur. And there's nothing no Marine life living in the Dead Sea. It's all completely dead but I believe that that's of metaphorical message for us that that God wants us as Christians to be like season Galilee which agape love in an agape love out not to be like Dead Sea's, which agape love in and then it just stagnates we as Christians are to be like flowing rivers and not stagnant reservoirs. Almighty God is the source of agape love. It's a source that never quits flowing. I point to the proof of love verse 19 through 20. We love because he first loved us.

If anyone says, I love God hates his brother, he's a liar, for he does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen only take a second and read you what Martyn Lloyd Jones said about this verse and I think he's right I said this, we tend to think instinctively that is easier to love God and to love our brothers and we think so. For this reason, the brother is guilty of sin is not perfect and there are many things about him which we dislike, but as for God. God is perfect God is without sin. He has no flaws, nothing which in any way objectionable in his character's nature. Therefore, we tend to argue in human terms only that it ought surely to be easier for us to love God into love our brother. There's so many hindrances and obstacles to loving our brother, which are entirely absent in the case of God. Therefore we feel at first John's argument is is put the wrong way round. And that is not easier to love the brother whom we had seen in the God whom we have not seen so it comes to pass that we often delude ourselves into thinking that while we do not love our brother.

We really do love and are concerned about our love to God when he put it quite directly and bluntly the most difficult thing for each one of us is to love God and we fool ourselves as much of our talk about loving him no man has seen God at any time. As John is reminded us, and it is because we cannot see him with the naked eye that is so difficult to loving is a help to be able to see the object that calls forth our love. We know this from our own human experience, faith, hope, love, the greatest of these is love is the last thing at which we arrive. We feel a sense of gratitude to God, a sense of dependence upon him long before really loving it took to love God is the highest achievement of the Christian in this world and in this life. Therefore, John's argument is perfectly right is easier to love the. The brethren and we have seen that it is to love God and we have not seen enough. First Peter chapter 1 verse eight through nine, Peter was saying what Martyn Lloyd Jones was saying though you have not seen him, you loving that you do not now see him you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory obtain an outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls. If we are not doing the easier than how you think were going to do the more difficult to know anything about the love of God is to know that it means loving the unworthy loving that which we might have an objection to. I must learn to look at my brother in the way that God looks at me.

Verse 20 starts off by saying this. If someone says I love God, but hates his brother is a liar and what would constitute hate. Is it possible to dislike somebody's personality and still love them. I think it is. That would mean fair in the same room with them that you're friendly with them if they have a need and you can meet it then you do it if it if you think that they're going through a difficult time then show them that you care maybe do something to take care of that need.

But if you run out the back door when they come in the front that might be bordering on hate. If they're moving away and they tell you they're moving away, though never see you again and you jump up and give a fist pump that might indicate that there's some hate.

They are not know that some Christians read folks the wrong way. I realize and understand that they are not in our life by accident.

What are they, they are our heavenly Sandpiper God uses people like that to sand off the old parts of us that are not late. Yet, like Jesus, I share this with you before, but my mentor Thurman Stone was a pastor Calvary Baptist Church went came back from college and started going to that church and he asked me one night to go out with him on a Monday night visitation asking where we were going as we were headed over there and he said well he said were going to visit a couple an older couple and said they join this church.

20 years ago and they had been in church since and he said I won the pastor Lance I don't know what happens and I'm going to find out. And so we got over the people's house with small talk for a little while and and then Mr. Stone got serious and he said listen said you join this church. 20 years ago and all of a sudden you quit and you had been back in 20 years. He said why'd you do that and in the old man said well they said we had fuss in the church about where we will go put the piano and said we wanted to put the piano on right side of the church and say this is another great one. Put the piano unless the church and he said we got voted down, and it made us mad so we had been back since. And Rev. Stein said let me ask you something he said what's the church.

Did you wanted all man scratched his head and he said you know I don't remember any looked over at his wife and said honey what side of the church did. We wanted all she said. I forgot and Mr. Stone just looked at them for about a minute without saying a word and then he said to them, you've missed 20 years of publicly worshiping Jesus because of the location of the piano.

He said maybe it's time for you to repent and get yourself back in church folks when they didn't get their way. They quit what is that proof of that's proof that there was no agape love like .3 is the command of love verse 21 and this commandment we have from him. Whoever loves God must also love his brother. The emphasis here is on the word commandment the Lord is not given a suggestion. This is not a choice here.

He say and if you love God you must love your brother. If agape love is all about feeling and that might be even harder, but is not just about feeling it's about doing it's about doing encouraging a person is negative about everything and helping that person to fight cynicism and negativism and help them walk in faith that's agape love. Refusing to get defensive when somebody hurts your feelings. Agape love investing something of value to you when somebody else is hurt you and you invest something of value into that person a golf course. The fourth was the grandson of a golf course whose famous for the brewery out Colorado but a golf course. The fourth had a father that was murdered by man and broke his heart loved his dad and another man came into his life. Share the gospel with them. In this I golf course came to Christ as Lord and Savior. We went back to this mandate share the gospel with him. He said look I I've got a problem. He said I just got this bitterness in my heart toward this man that killed my dad and he said I don't know what to do with it and the. The guy that led him to cry, said look, is that Manson prison. He's on death row set is not going to be long for his life is taken from him since he's gonna die and he said but you know if you continue to go on refusing to forgive this man that bitterness is going to kill you. So what can I do about it.

He said you need to invest in him. He said what kind fancies and first thing that you can invest his prayer.

Pray for that man soul. Pray for that man salvation and he did and he continued to do it and then he wanted to do more say when it bought a Bible and then he sat down in the road, on the letter piece of paper he wrote in his testimony he gave his whole testimony put it in the Bible. He went to the jail and he went with just an excited heart about taking this Bible to the to the man and given it to him and enable shares testimony withing and the man wouldn't seem the chaplain said I'll give it time and so the chaplain did chaplain gave the man the Bible and telling that the man's testimony was there and asked him if he rated the man read it as the chaplain was set in the siding and the chaplain told a golf course that tears ran down the cheek of that man is a red this man's testimony now we don't know whether that man ever came to Christ will not before he was put to death, but we do know this God did a work in a health course heart that removes that bitterness and absolutely setting free. That's agape love like .4 is the result of love verse first John 51. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God and everyone who loves the father loves whoever has been born of him.

This verse is a reiteration of the previous three verses if you been born again by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, then you will love God and you will love God's people units. A strange situation when physical brothers and sisters hate each other, happens on occasion, but not as is normal. It's unnatural. I know brothers and sisters often get in arguments and disagreements in and they get, ticked off at each other that that happens. That is pretty normal, but it's not normal for a brother and sister. Their physical brother and sister to hate each other is something about that genetic makeup that just Gives us a bond with each other how many fights have gone this world because somebody did something to somebody's brother or somebody sister. I think of second Samuel chapter 2 we read that Abner killed as hail and then right after Abner killed after hail what it has failed me would add sales brother do he came after Abner and he killed him.

Blood is thicker than water. And when we were in Crete mourns pastoring olive grove church. They are, there was a family in the neighborhood had five boys and it's not 588 boys and they were all came within just one, one after another and now came in about one year periods of time. So there about eight years difference between them.

But if one of those boys got in a fight. I mean, it was amazing what would happen if the if the other boy won the fight in the next brother would take over and then the next brother would take over the sticky one again until finally, that other guy was was was beaten up, not God's people should not be looking for fistfights, but we should be jealous and protective of our spiritual family. One of the greatest proofs that we have in our faith is real is agape love for each other. It was Jesus who said by this shall they know that you are my disciples by the love that you have one for another.

That means you don't gossip or talk ugly about a brother or sister in Christ. That means somebody comes to you starts gossiping about a brother or sister in Christ you say no I won't hear that use my ear for a garbage can is amazing how the Lord will bless when you take this command seriously. The greatest weapons we have defined against against a radically secular society is this. Three things unconditional truth holy living and unselfish love with those weapons correctly used will win will win hallelujah is pray. Heavenly father, we thank you for this great passage that is so much to teach us and father. These things are not easy for any of us. It's hard to love people are un-lovely. It's hard to love people who have hurt us. It's hard to love those who have been sandpaper in our lives but heavenly father give us the agape love that we need to be able to love like you loved us to love like Stephen loved when he prayed to the father about those that were stoning in the death said father lay not this sin to their charge, may we be like Stephen. And may we be even more like Jesus who said about those that were crucifying him. Father forgive them for they know not what they did. We love you today. Jesus, thank you for loving us. Thank you for putting up with us and thank you Lord for the grace that we experience each and every day that's in your holy and precious name we pray. Amen