Loving Through the Tough Times

The Entech podcast Wednesday, July 20 and genuinely love those around you. Let's continue studying first Peter having a name barrier that hinders that loving others in circumstances are difficult when this is the easiest little of someone is not usually when they love you without treating you well there slowly going along what you want to do. But suppose that a lot and suppose they don't agree with you. And suppose they don't want to do what you want to do. Suppose they object to your lifestyle and suppose they get ugly and honorary and little bit vicious and sometimes maybe even threaten you, then, is it easy to love. You recall that Peter wrote this first epistle, the people who are beginning on the go persecution and were going to undergo great persecution about a year later and so we have been looking at this first chapter of the way he has reminded and assured and reassure them again and again and again of their position in Christ and then as he begins in this latter part of the chapter to remind them of their conduct and habits operate how they respond and what there to do the difficult times, now we come to verse 22 through verse 25 and listen to what he says. Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls. For a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart. You've been born again out of seed, which is perishable, but imperishable, that is, through the living and abiding word of God.

Many quotes from Isaiah for all the flesh is like grass in all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers and the flower falls all of our fades, but the word of the Lord abides the stands forever, and this is the word which was preached to you. Now when you think about log. Usually we think about it the way the world thinks about it that you know you love me I love you. We love each other but there's probably one final area that we forget and that is what is it that enables us to love someone else, what is it in the human heart that enables us to love someone else and especially sometimes that person is acting in a very unloving fashion. Well Peter knew that they were going to face that kind of circumstance, and so what he says in these few verses. Here he talks about loving through tough times and notice how he begins. Verse 22. Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls. Now when he talks about love here. It's interesting that he begins with these two words, obedience to the truth purified your souls you think about this. First of all, it's not always easy.

Love because loving someone means you willing to lay down your own desires and to give yourself over to someone else as easily do that when that person is in harmony with you. But suppose that they are not. So what happens is, even when they're in harmony with us when we don't want to express love and we want to be selfish. What happens to well a selfish spirit short-circuits love in a selfish, self-centered spirit hinders the flow of love in our life is an interesting that he begins by saying since you have in oh obedience to the truth purified your soul.

So if we are going to be able to love through tough times that begins I believe with the purifying of the heart, and he says that happens by obedience to the truth now the only way for us to be pure in the eyes of God and to live a life that is obedient to him. A life of righteousness and holiness is for us to be purified to be obedient through the truth of God's word and this is why so you oftentimes in open the word of God each weekend that is, it is in this book that you and discover what the truth is it is in the word of God, that you not discover the truth that is the Holy Spirit who sealed you the day you were redeemed is the one who now dwelling in you and abiding in you is the one who enlightens our mind. That is when you open the word of God to read a passage. It is the Holy Spirit who lives within you, who opens the truth of the word to you know the more you meditate upon it and the more you think upon it and the more you pray over and most of all, the more you submit to it that clear out the word of God come. Sometimes a person says you know I read the Bible. I don't get a thing out of that book. I know exactly why it isn't because they haven't been to school. It is as you and obey the little we do understand that God does what he enlarges our capacity to understand is interesting to me that those who refuse refuse to believe this book if you watch their life.

They also refused to yield to the requirements of this book that you see this is what he said.

Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your soul. If I want to live selfishly lustfully if I want to live disobedient and I just want to get my needs met my way and what I'm gonna do is I'm going to somehow finagle and manipulate myself in a position that I don't have much time to read this and therefore if I don't have much time to read it. A lot of it. I just never will know and so I'll just go doing my thing and just sort of skipping around the periphery of the Christian life. Listen when you get into the word of God.

One of the first things the word of God does is the surface those things in your life that are not right.

Listen, wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way how by what by taking heed to the word of God. The Bible says that word is a what a lamp under my feet, and what a light in the my path.

The Bible says it is by the word of God, that our understanding is made clear. Now if you want to understand God's word. The first thing you have to do is to submit to what it requires, and you watch this.

I believe if you try to happen. You say well you know I read so many passages in and some I don't get much out of them.

If you set a gun at Lord I don't understand much of this but I am going to obey what I do understand and I'm going to trust you to open my understanding in order that I may be obedient Laura, I guarantee you your understanding of the word of God is going to begin to grow this and if you want your meditation to get exciting when you read something you say yes to God. And when you say yes to God the Spirit of God begins to open your understanding as to what he says is the product of this since you have in obedience to the truth that you can obey the truth if you don't know what if you don't read is that the word of God.

You not going to know now what would you raise your hand, but I wonder how many folks talked about on the arm and come to church on Sunday morning, we say turn the second chapter 5 man they turned the Bible there. Everybody sees them doing it. I wonder how many when they leave here, go home and lay it down until next Sunday morning and listen. It doesn't make a difference to the pastor is God is only going to teach you so much through somebody else. God expects you to get in the way. Listen, you know what, if you would go home and just ponder the things if you take a few notes on the sermon and you go home and get back into that passage yourself. You know what happened, you will begin to read that and feast upon it from your perspective where you are what you are hurting what you facing what you going to know what got you sick man. You look at it printed and even mentioned that know that know that know that. Listen when you and obey the truth, God purifies the heart, so that so much there for you if you would just get into it and I want to tell you my friend, God never sent pastors to be the teachers of the flock and teach them all that they learn to learn about the word of God. It's what you do in your private reading as God helps you to meditate upon his word and submit this when you come across any principal in the word of God is no way can I do that. Listen, the last time you turned away from some principal Scripture you can market that you are not going to learn much did you get back there and obey. The last thing he taught as a way got operates you think God is going to let you detour around some principal. He brought your mom and gold teaching uses great tremendous things the word of God and he's got you back there where he intended for you to deal with something you like. He's not going to and that's why this and that's why people can sit in Sunday school for years and years and years and years and sit in church listening to preaching for years and years and years and listen no very little about the word of God. Listen the pastor's responsibility is to listen is to get you churned up about it your responsibility to getting them find and I got what you saying to me. If you turn to the hundred 19 Psalm and I don't have time to go through all this, but if you turn to the hundred 19 Psalm you will be amazed at what he says in the hundred 19 Psalm about the word of God, because it's all about his word. Look at 23 verses. Let's start with the that we could to start right here verse one just go all rest of the time we can just read this and get excited. Listen to this. Let's start with verse one. How blessed are those whose way is blameless who walk in the law of the Lord listen. How blessed are those who observe his testimonies to seek him with all their heart is not how can a young man keep his way pure by keeping it according to thy word with all my heart absolutely do not let me wander from thy commandments, thy word I have treasured in my heart that I may not sin against the verse 15 I will meditate on thy precepts and regard thy ways verse 18 open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from thy law. Verse 34. Give me understanding that I may observe the law and keep it with all of my heart. You could just go right on through that on through that listen. He says, verse 165 those who love thy law have great peace and nothing causes them to stumble the whole hundred 19 Psalm has to do with inspiring and motivating us to get to the word, and so what he says here in verse 22. Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls or a sincere love medicine when you and I are living a pure life that is the word of God has surfaced those issues and those attitudes we deal with him in repentance what happens, God purifies the heart. Now when the heart is pure. You and are able to love anybody and assure you, why, for example, if God brings to your mind that your attitude toward somebody else's really nasty. I mean you don't like him is nothing about the need they wronged you, and you don't want to get late you see them a one-sided street you want to cross.

On the other you just the light you simmer.

Once the church sanctuary. You want to go. The other is double and you don't like something you just so hostile about now. The only way you love them, as have the animosity the anger, the hostility of the self-centeredness of the selfishness of the pride in your heart cleansed out.

That's what he says in this passage, he says that you been obedient of the truth you have purified your souls. For a sincere love of the brethren. Now when he says sincere love uses the word hypocritical, but he principal ailment in the Greek what you mean. It's the opposite. That is an on hypocritical kind of love that is having obey the truth of the word of God.

As souls have been purified and now we're able to love with what this what he says for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart. It's interesting that word ferment that means with intensity, straining, stretching strenuous. That is man listen when you love somebody, since all of them with all of your heart and what Peter is doing. He's equipping them to go through difficult times because he knows if you and I can learn how to love in difficult times we going to be able to suffer all kinds of problems and heartaches and burns and hurts and somehow come through it and this God will enrich us if he can teach us how to love him when times are tough, he's going to enrich us in a very deep fashion.

So he said to them, since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls. For a sincere. That is a non-hypocritical love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.

Let me ask a question, do you love anybody fervently, I mean when you see them do you get excited well go answer this question publicly, do you fervently love your son or your daughter you fervently love your mom, your dad, you fervently love your husband or your wife you fervently love anybody who's not a member of your family. I mean you just comfortable with them and is like being with Emma with her and and having you just genuinely love that you know that most folks in the world probably can't name anybody that they really and truly, genuinely love and you know why most folks create love, because our hearts are impure. Is that whether was I got to do with love. I'll tell you why you know if a person is living in sin. First of all, they feel the guilt of their sin, guilt does something to your ability to love someone else if a person is living in sin. They know that their self-centered they want their way.

They don't even have the capacity love. He says listen, he's is having purified your heart to the truth fervently love each other. Listen, the puerile heart, the greater our capacity to reach out and love other people. If you are a child of God. Your heart ought to be overflowing with fervent love, that is, there will be two levels. Love, first of all, just a general love that you just always reaching out to other people. You see, if you have to evaluate everybody you meet, you know, level, genuine, true love just accepts the other person. Just the way they are then have to go through the test well are you Christian should that be a criteria for loving somebody not really.

But I want to do lots of folks who have will criterion if you don't need a friend they are, they don't love you. The truth is they don't love anybody they love themselves and their heart needs to be purified by getting the word of God and recognizing that every single one of us has been saved by the same grace of God that one single one of us is any better than the other person.

Another one is maintenance where you came from what you background what you where where you live what you drop.

None of that has anything to do God loves every single one of us perfectly because he loves is out of a pure heart know what Peter is saying is is listen when times get tough you going to need some friends and when you learn to love out of a pure heart. What happens is easier to love somebody loves you and you meet somebody that that Eugene will love who say please love me all I need to be loved. They don't realize that the driving you off at the same time you know why he says out of a pure heart. Listen, if I feel guilty if I feel unworthy. If I feel I don't belong.

If I feel incompetent if my mind is all confused about who I am and what's going on in my life aware I've been on how unworthy I is very difficult to love somebody like that is not an accident. Peter said out of a pure heart that we are to love fervently witnessing this invoke you all to be excited about now and ask again. Is there anybody you are excited about love. Listen to what he said.

He said now since you have in obedience to the truth purified your heart, your soul for a sincere long non-hypocritical love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart for he says you are equipped to do it. I was equipped you been born again out of seat, which is perishable and imperishable, that is, to the living and abiding word of God is in the by the word of God you not been born again. We have become new creatures in Christ Jesus in drop of the Holy Spirit now have a teacher to teach is the word of God, and now when you go back to Isaiah chapter 40 verse seven. The grass withers, the flower fades when the breath of the Lord blows upon sure the people grass.

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands how long the word of our God stands for. And that's what he scored again. So he says and this is the word which was preached to you not guess what he saying in this passage look times are going to get tough. And it's going to be very difficult to love.

Some folks are what you will do is to get in the word obey the word of God. Obedience purifies the heart is the pure heart that is able to love the lovely and the unloved and when you love them go out of your way. Go the 2nd mile before giving accept them just the way they are. He says strenuously reach out to love the other person fervently love each other because human equipped to do it. You are born again the grace of God and the word of God has made you rich and the word of God has the witness you with true purifying your heart therefore you have the capacity love of books. Thank you for listening to nothing through the tough times to know more about Charles more intense ministry intent started liking back after the presentation of intense ministry in Atlanta, Georgia