The Commandment of Love Part 2

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Commandment of Love Part 2. He will be in John 13:31-38.

We cannot love people who are difficult by being an island unto ourselves. You cannot receive forgiveness from others unless you are with others. And so church, we are called to love one another in community that the world may know that we are the disciples of Christ.

This is Hope Worth Having and I am your host, Pastor Mike Sanders, and I am delighted to be with you today. Thank you for tuning in and being a part of our radio broadcast. We’re going to continue our study in the Gospel of John.

John chapter 13 is where we’re at and we’re covering verse 31 through 38. Last week we started the series on the commandment of love and today we’re going to continue that study and we’re going to break down what it really means to love God and to love others.

So grab your Bibles and join me as we continue to study the commandment of love. He is not only a holy God but he is a God is love in that the very essence of God is that he is love. And the Bible teaches us in 1 John 4 16 that we have known and believed the love that God has for us.

God is love and he who abides or practices in love abides in God and God in him. And that’s why I say to people your assurance of your salvation is not when you prayed a prayer. It’s not when you signed a decision card.

It is not when you were baptized. It is not that you took a class. The assurance of your salvation is the manifestation of the Spirit of God in your life. And you know that you know God by who you love.

Do you love the world? Do you love God? Because wherever your love is directed is the manifestation of your heart and whether the Spirit of God lives in you. The commandment that Jesus gives us to love one another is a commandment that stems from the glory of God.

This is what I want you to get. Since God’s glory is His shining brilliance, His weighty presence, all of His commands that He has given us are for our good, but they emanate and they come from His person and His work.

The work that He did on the cross, the work that He does within us. So many people are trying to be loving. So many people are trying to love in their own effort and they miserably fail because they do not realize.

that they must come back, if you will, symbolically to the cross and they must cry for the love of God to be poured out in their hearts through the power of the Holy Spirit that they might love others as they should.

For when the Spirit of God is filling our hearts, the love of God will manifest itself in our life. You cannot separate His glory and His work and me loving as I should. Listen to what Peter taught in Acts chapter 3 verse 13, the God of Abraham and of Isaac and of Jacob and the God of our fathers has glorified His Son Jesus whom you delivered up and denied Him in the presence of Pilate when He was determined to let Him go.

Jesus Christ was glorified. The Father was glorified as Christ was delivered up to His enemies to be crucified. And there is glory in the cross and there is glory when God’s people come to Christ and the cross and they come to God the Father for the source of this love and that we surrender everything completely and say, Lord help me to love this difficult person in my life.

Jesus said, where I’m going you cannot come. Where was Jesus going to the cross? Yes. His disciples could not come because they were not qualified to die for their sins, for our sins. Only Christ was because His life was sinless.

His life was holy. His life was righteous, but He was preparing them that as He’s given them this new commandment, the source of that would not be in their own strength, but it would be in Christ. And think about this, Romans 5 .8, you know what God demonstrates, His own love towards us.

And while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. He died for us. I want you to notice the sample of love, not only the source of love, but the sample of love. Look at verse 34 in our text this morning, and notice that Jesus said, a new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

It was not new in the sense that it had never been taught in the Bible. Leviticus chapter 19, God taught His people to love their neighbors, to love others, but it was new in the sense. that the Pharisees and the religious crowd, the community had been teaching, the religious community had been teaching that you gotta get even with people.

And you gotta get back at people. And you don’t let anybody take advantage of you. And so Jesus comes and says, I’m gonna be counter -cultural. I’m gonna go against the grain. And I’m gonna give you a new commandment.

And that new commandment is that you love one another. But Jesus told us how to do that. Look at verse 34. As I have loved you, as I have loved you, Jesus instructs the disciples to love one another as he loved them, as he loved them.

This is why it’s important for a consistent study of the life of Christ in your life. Because he is your example. He is up on display for us to show us how to love. To not only define love and to be the source of love, but to show us how to love.

How did Jesus love us? Let’s just start right here. He was unselfish, right? He was unselfish. Love’s highest expression in any relationship is self -sacrifice. You see, you wanna fix your marriage? Quit being selfish.

I’m telling you the truth. I mean, the greatest marriage advice, Jesus gave it. It’s the greatest marriage advice ever. Deny self. It is. Some of you may say, that’s comical, that’s trite, that’s not true, but it is true, friends.

If every day you came home and said it’s… It’s not about me, but I want to serve my spouse. I want to help my spouse. I’m telling you to transform your marriage. If it wasn’t always about you and what you wanted, it would change your relationships.

If you didn’t get up every day thinking about what you want and my way or the highway, if you would say, look, I’m a servant, I’m gonna grab the towel and serve others, you know what would change relationships in this church family?

Choosing to be unselfish. You say, but Mike, it’s always been done that way. Yeah, it’s always been done that way, but that doesn’t mean it’s always the right way, right? And so what I’m trying to tell you is that some of us need to back down and say it doesn’t have to be my way.

There are things that I’m very… determined, very strong in, uncompromising. And the older I get, the less those things are, right? And then I’m like, hey, I’m flexible, you know? I was at Xfinity the other day, Comcast store, getting something, a piece of equipment.

And they said, we’re sorry, sir, our computers are broken down. And do you mind being a little patient? I said, don’t worry, I’m flexible. I’ve been married 28 years. Amen? How did Jesus love us? He was so unselfish.

Listen to John 10, 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd give us his life for the sheep. First John 3, 16, by this we know love because he laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Maybe you need to let go of something. Maybe you need to come in with a humble heart in your relationships. Maybe you need to be flexible. I always tell parents when you’re raising your teenagers, you really need to pick your battles.

Because if you don’t pick your battles, you can rag on your kid every day of their life. Because how many of us know teenagers are just, sometimes making just one bad decision after another, right? And yes, we understand that, but focus on the priorities.

You’re worried about the hair, I’d worry about the heart. Right, amen. Okay? And what I’m trying to say is get those big rocks, but be flexible and don’t be selfish and don’t tell them that this is the way you were raised and this is what your parents did because that isn’t going to help.

In all your relationships, be unselfish. How did Christ love us? I think this… This love was not only unselfish, it was undeserved, right? It’s undeserved. I mean, have you ever really thought about what a rotten person you are?

I know we get up and we say, man, you’re an amazing person. We look in the mirror and say just how wonderful we are and how special we are and how gifted we are. And I believe all that. But the truth is, the best of you and I are miserably short of the righteousness of God.

And the Bible says that our righteousness is as filthy rags before God. Filthy rags. I’m not talking about the rags at your kitchen sink, ladies. I’m talking about the rags that the lepers use to wipe their body down.

As the puss spewed from their skin, the lepers would come and use this rag and wipe their body down. And then, guess what? I mean, you’d think they’d throw it in your Samsung washing machine, right? But no, they left it there, and the next leper came, and the next leper wiped his body down.

That’s the best of you and me. And I know that’s not the power of positive thinking, and it’s but listen, friends, what it ought to be is that you and I ought to be so overwhelmed that God would love us, that He would go to the cross for us, that He would pursue us, that He would draw us, that He would speak into our life, that He would call us unto Him for salvation.

And here’s the reason I’m saying this, because you’re struggling, and I’m struggling. We’re struggling together to love others, and here’s why we struggle. They don’t deserve it. Amen. I would agree with you, they probably don’t deserve it.

Probably cut you off on 81. You know I’m saying? Upset you, rude, unkind. But I just want you to remember this, you didn’t either. You didn’t deserve His love, and I’m challenging us this morning to love people who do not deserve it.

I’m challenging us to love people who mistreat us, who say things about us, who mischaracterize us. I’m challenging us to love people who we know they’re wrong, and they have hurt us, and they have let us down.

But friends, listen. Loving people is difficult, but if you’ll love like Jesus, you’ll still love those who are undeserving. When we treat others like Jesus, you’ll still love those who are undeserving.

like God treated us. It will change the world. And it’ll not only change the world, it’ll change your family. It’ll change our church. It’ll change all of your relationships when you treat people like God treated you.

I gotta keep moving. Certainly we say, who can love like this? And I can’t, you can’t, but in Christ we can, right? We can do all things through Christ. And that’s probably why that John 3 16 comes before John 13, verse 34 and 35.

Because I need His love in me. I need His love through me. I need His love around me. because Mike in and of himself cannot do this. Let’s talk about the sign of love. Verse 35. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

The sign of love, believer’s love for one another, is the distinctive, decisive evidence that they are disciples of Jesus. Nothing identifies you more as a follower of Christ than when you love others like Christ loved you.

Love is convincing the world of the reality of your faith every day as you love others, as you love the family of God, as you love the people of God, as you love people all around you, you are making the most apologetic, the greatest defense that your faith is real, that Jesus is alive and the Spirit of God is inside of your heart.

Nothing is going to persuade unbelievers in your life like love. Some people think that they’re going to win people to Christ by giving the most profound defense of the faith. Others believe that if they can just show the scientific evidence of our faith that this will convince other believers.

Some people believe that if we could just do a better job of making an emotional appeal, if we could be more relevant, if we could just somehow connect more with the world and be like the world, that we would persuade others to come to Christ.

But that’s not what Jesus said. He said, you’re most profound. Your most profound sign that you truly are a disciple and what is convincing to the world is your love for one another The Apostle Paul commended the Thessalonians for their love He said concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you For you yourselves are taught by God to love one another and indeed you do So towards all the brethren who are all in all Macedonia,

but we urge you brethren That you increase more and more So what I’m challenging is use this I want you to go Beyond You say man Mike I am doing a good job. I love my grandkids. Okay. Okay. I’m with you I’m glad you love your grandkids, but can we step our game up?

Okay, let’s do that church let’s say yes, I’m thankful you’re loving But let’s go more, let’s ask God to help us love more people and let’s keep loving people. The Bible says, let all that you do be done with love.

Love distinguishes believers from the rest of the world. God’s not asking you to be like the world, he’s asking you to be unique and distinct and he wants to distinguish you from the world. Listen, the world, they know how to gossip, they know how to back by, they know how to fuss, they know how to fight, they know how to undercut, the world knows how to turn on one another and to talk behind each other’s back and rather than working it out together and loving each other and say,

look, it doesn’t have to be my way. It’s okay because I’m here for the glory of God and I’m here for what Christ has done on the cross and I’m here to spread that message to others, then that’s when God makes a difference and that’s when God changes lives and that’s when God makes an impact and that’s when people walk on the campus and they say there’s something different about that group of people.

It’s because we love, we love, we love people. Christ’s love needs to be displayed in all of our hearts and listen to this, I’m gonna say something tough, you got your seat belts on? Are you sitting down?

Just teasing. We need each other, I know you don’t believe that. You’re an American, you’re an individualist, you celebrate Independence Day, right? But here’s the bottom line, we need each other in the Christian community because we cannot fulfill all that God has called us to do unless we are with each other, we can’t forgive people we’re never around.

We can’t forbear, be patient with others, that we are never around. We cannot love people who are difficult by sitting by ourselves, by isolating ourselves, by being an island unto ourselves. You cannot receive forgiveness.

You cannot receive patience from others unless you are with others. And so church, we are called to love one another in community that the world may know that we are the disciples of Christ. And so you’re hurt and you run and you quit and you isolate and you say, I’ll just go over here.

It’s like the guy who had seven wives and he felt like it was all their problem and never his. Right? You know, after a while, it just might be you. And so what I’m saying is coming to grips, look, you can push people out of your life and you can burn all the bridges you want, but I’m telling you will never fulfill the command to love one another unless you are with one another and in those difficult times that we don’t run.

You see, I am here for 14 years, not because I’m a great pastor, but because you all are a forgiving people. The only way relationships last is through forgiveness. The only way there is an enduring relationship is through forgiveness and love and forbearance or patience.

That’s the only way. Now don’t get too high on your horse and say, man, we are forgiving, Mike, we put up a lot with you. I know, I know. I mean, just be glad you’re not my wife, amen? But there’s two sides to that coin.

I’ve been here 14 years because I’ve been forgiving. Oh, I’ve been hurt. And I’m not here to pick on Mike and get pity for Mike, okay? But I’m just saying all of us, right? All of us together, we’re in this together, it’s community, it’s relationship, it’s connecting.

Let me just end with this, the scope of love. The scope of love. I love this, verse 36 through 38 tells you. I mean, after Jesus given us the source of love being the work of Christ on the cross and Him being glorified through the salvation of souls, and then He teaches us the commandment of love, He shows us, He shows us the scope of what He means in this love.

Simon Peter said unto Him, Lord, whether goest thou, where are you going, Lord? Jesus answered, whether I go, thou cannot follow me now. but thou shalt follow me afterwards Peter said unto him Lord why cannot I follow thee now I will lay down my life for thy sake Jesus answered oh I love this wilt thou lay down thy life for my sake really Peter really barely, I say unto thee the cock shall not crow till thou has denied me three times in this walk of faith in this journey that you and I are called can we be honest that people fail can we be honest that we have failed and there’s many times we have not been what we should be and there’s many times that we have let down others and others have let us down.

Let’s just keep on. I mean, we can get the list. You got your list. I got my list. We got it. All those who have offended us, but listen to me. Jesus said the scope of love is this, that even if you fail me, I will not stop loving you.

Peter, you’re going to walk out of my life. You’re going to deny me three times. You’re going to say you never knew me. You’re going to curse. You’re going to lose it. You’re going to have a meltdown, Peter.

I still love you. Later on, we’ll learn in John 21 that Peter’s so discouraged, so defeated, he went back to fishing. And Jesus said, come dine with me, Peter. I don’t want you to go back to the world.

I don’t want you to go back to what you used to do. I want you to know that even if you fail God, even if it’s been a bad week for you, I mean, you don’t even just have bad days. You have bad months.

I want you to know that you are loved at the open door church. And I want you to know that if you have messed up and you have fumbled the ball and you know that you have disappointed the Lord and you have disappointed your church family and you have disappointed other people, that there is a warm welcome waiting for you every Sunday at the open door church.

That there is a community of believers who are like, I’m right there with you. I mean, your bad week was last week, but mine was two weeks ago. Your bad week was yesterday, but mine is today. But we’re there for each other, right?

What I want to challenge you, church, is this. There are some people who have floundered, who have failed, who are struggling in this journey of faith. And they’ve said some things, done some things.

that are not honoring and glorifying to God but I need you to fan out of here into this community and go find those hurting Christians and say we miss you you’re welcome at the open door church but you don’t understand what I did it doesn’t matter this is a place where we know God is at work and it is a place that is receptive and that it is not a place that God is coming down hard on us every day but if your heart is true and you are sincere and you’re authentic you will receive the wonderful love of Jesus Christ listen to me I’m not calling on us to have a pampering love okay but I am calling on us to demonstrate a perfecting love and Jesus loved Peter he did not excuse his behavior He did not overlook his behavior,

but he identified it, he helped Peter own it, and he helped Peter move forward. This is a place where you can move forward. This is a place where you can bring your broken heart. It is a place where you can bring all of your struggles and all of the burdens and all the things that are weighing heavy on your life.

This is a place where there is redemption, there is grace, this is a place where the love of Christ is being obeyed, and you don’t have to be this perfect person, but we know that in his redemptive plan, he is shaping us, and through our failures, he’s gonna use it.

He’s gonna use it to be a stepping stone and not a stumbling block in our life. Would you pray with me? Is there anything more amazing and profound than the love of God? It’s really hard for us to fathom and grasp how much we are loved by God, and yet, amazingly, even though we are undeserving, his love is consistent and constant in our life, and now he’s calling us to love others.

And the truth is, we can’t give what we don’t have, and when we are receiving the love of God through the power of the Spirit and his word, you and I are able to love others as we should, and you may be struggling in loving others and trying to figure out how in the world can I fulfill this great commandment of loving people.

Remember that your source of strength is always in Christ, and by his power, you are able to love as he is pouring his love in you, and that love is flowing through you to those that are around you. I want to encourage all of you to take time and to check out our YouTube channel.

channel we have a hope worth having YouTube channel and every week we are uploading new sermons that I’m teaching and they are very current going on what’s happening today so you have that opportunity in addition there’s many other sermons that you might look up and look at topics in addition we want to encourage you to check out the Q &A’s on the YouTube channel and these question and answers are questions that people have asked me through the years and we try to do our best to answer these according to what the God’s Word says so make sure you go to YouTube and in that search button that you type in hope worth having and our channel will pop up become a subscriber and continue to let hope worth having be a part of enriching your faith so that you can be more like Jesus Christ this is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.