WEBVTT 00:00:06.399 --> 00:00:12.759 John chapter 13, verse 34. If you don't know 00:00:12.759 --> 00:00:14.900 this scripture, then you need to know it. It's 00:00:14.900 --> 00:00:16.960 a good thing you're here today or listening online. 00:00:20.039 --> 00:00:26.980 John chapter 13, verse 34. Give everybody a second 00:00:26.980 --> 00:00:28.660 to get there and we'll read through it and then 00:00:28.660 --> 00:00:42.350 we'll pray. This is Jesus speaking to his disciples. 00:00:42.929 --> 00:00:45.810 This is not long after he had washed their feet. 00:00:45.929 --> 00:00:48.789 He had humbly showed them what it meant to be 00:00:48.789 --> 00:00:52.469 a servant of all and given them an example to 00:00:52.469 --> 00:00:56.490 live by and to follow. And his days on the earth 00:00:56.490 --> 00:00:59.450 are numbered. It won't be long after this point 00:00:59.450 --> 00:01:02.670 that he is going to be crucified. And these are 00:01:02.670 --> 00:01:06.109 some of the last words that he spoke to his disciples 00:01:06.109 --> 00:01:09.480 here toward the end of his life. This command 00:01:09.480 --> 00:01:19.540 we see in John 13, 34. I give you a new command. 00:01:20.599 --> 00:01:24.700 Love one another just as I have loved you. You 00:01:24.700 --> 00:01:29.879 must also love one another. Let's pray. God, 00:01:29.900 --> 00:01:31.760 we come to you. We thank you for your good word. 00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:35.920 Dear Lord, this is a simple word to understand 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:39.219 what you are saying, but it is... not always 00:01:39.219 --> 00:01:43.040 easy to live out. So I pray, dear Lord, whatever 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:45.659 we may have come in here with, dear Lord, sometimes 00:01:45.659 --> 00:01:47.959 we get caught up in the weeds, even trying to 00:01:47.959 --> 00:01:50.739 understand your words, dear Lord. We get caught 00:01:50.739 --> 00:01:53.739 up on things and we get sidetracked with things, 00:01:53.879 --> 00:01:57.000 but God, I pray that we just see the simplicity 00:01:57.000 --> 00:02:00.400 of this command of Jesus Christ, that we would 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:03.900 examine our own life to see if we are living 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:06.459 this out. And God, if we're not, I pray that 00:02:06.459 --> 00:02:09.090 you would help us to see ways in our life in 00:02:09.090 --> 00:02:12.129 which we can show your love, that we can experience 00:02:12.129 --> 00:02:15.449 your love, Jesus Christ. If there's one who does 00:02:15.449 --> 00:02:18.090 not know Jesus today, I pray, God, that you would 00:02:18.090 --> 00:02:20.210 help them to know Jesus and to know the love 00:02:20.210 --> 00:02:23.189 of Jesus. And I pray, God, that once we experience 00:02:23.189 --> 00:02:26.430 that love, that you would help us to live out 00:02:26.430 --> 00:02:30.150 this command and to love others. And I ask these 00:02:30.150 --> 00:02:35.659 things in Jesus' name. Amen. We have a whole 00:02:35.659 --> 00:02:38.379 Bible full of teachings. We have a whole Bible 00:02:38.379 --> 00:02:40.759 full of things that Jesus taught and that Jesus 00:02:40.759 --> 00:02:43.840 said and a whole Old Testament that contained 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:47.060 the law that God had given to his people. And 00:02:47.060 --> 00:02:49.539 it was a lot of them. We kind of are familiar 00:02:49.539 --> 00:02:51.819 with the Ten Commandments, probably most of us, 00:02:51.840 --> 00:02:55.199 but there were a lot of laws that God had given. 00:02:55.439 --> 00:02:58.719 And Jesus came onto the scene and Jesus taught. 00:02:59.129 --> 00:03:01.990 in a beautiful way that was really unlike anybody 00:03:01.990 --> 00:03:04.650 that had come before him or anyone who had come 00:03:04.650 --> 00:03:08.909 after him. And Jesus said something here that 00:03:08.909 --> 00:03:12.669 was so beautiful, and I think that the more that 00:03:12.669 --> 00:03:15.889 we read the Word of God, hopefully the more that 00:03:15.889 --> 00:03:18.789 we read the Word of God and we read the teachings 00:03:18.789 --> 00:03:22.969 of Jesus Christ, that we see what really matters 00:03:22.969 --> 00:03:26.439 and what's really important. And I think it's 00:03:26.439 --> 00:03:29.460 easy for us sometimes to fall into the trap of 00:03:29.460 --> 00:03:32.360 religion. And there are a lot of things we do, 00:03:32.520 --> 00:03:34.979 and they're not necessarily bad things. They're 00:03:34.979 --> 00:03:37.759 not things that God commands us to do, but we 00:03:37.759 --> 00:03:40.139 do them, and they're not necessarily bad. But 00:03:40.139 --> 00:03:43.800 the problem is that we can get so caught up in 00:03:43.800 --> 00:03:47.000 doing things that may not be bad in and of themselves 00:03:47.000 --> 00:03:52.180 that they just become routine for us, that we 00:03:52.180 --> 00:03:56.000 begin to blur the lines from, from what righteousness 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:59.360 is and the kind of religion that God really calls 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:02.840 us to, we kind of blur the lines from what we 00:04:02.840 --> 00:04:06.259 think religion is to what God really wants us 00:04:06.259 --> 00:04:09.039 to know. And that was the problem that Jesus 00:04:09.039 --> 00:04:11.379 encountered with the people that he faced. When 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:13.159 he came up to his ministry, there were a lot 00:04:13.159 --> 00:04:14.939 of religious people that he had encountered, 00:04:15.060 --> 00:04:18.779 but they didn't really grasp the law of God and 00:04:18.779 --> 00:04:20.720 what God really wanted. And they knew the law. 00:04:21.310 --> 00:04:23.410 He could have probably asked many of those who 00:04:23.410 --> 00:04:26.670 confronted him, who called him out and disliked 00:04:26.670 --> 00:04:29.209 him. He could have probably questioned many, 00:04:29.310 --> 00:04:31.449 if not most of them, and they probably could 00:04:31.449 --> 00:04:34.610 have answered his questions in regards to the 00:04:34.610 --> 00:04:37.750 law, but they didn't really understand the heart 00:04:37.750 --> 00:04:41.769 of what the law was. They were too caught up 00:04:41.769 --> 00:04:45.209 in their religion. And I think that we have to 00:04:45.209 --> 00:04:47.550 be careful because we can fall into that same 00:04:47.550 --> 00:04:51.410 trap that For us, maybe a relationship with God, 00:04:51.509 --> 00:04:54.629 we kind of just dumb it down to, well, I'm going 00:04:54.629 --> 00:04:56.509 to come to church on a Sunday, and I'm going 00:04:56.509 --> 00:04:58.589 to put some money in the plate, and I'm going 00:04:58.589 --> 00:05:01.470 to sing a few songs, and maybe I'll help with 00:05:01.470 --> 00:05:03.949 a project the church has going on every once 00:05:03.949 --> 00:05:06.550 in a while, and we'll leave feeling pretty good 00:05:06.550 --> 00:05:09.310 about ourselves. And all of those things are 00:05:09.310 --> 00:05:11.430 good things. It's good for God's people to meet 00:05:11.430 --> 00:05:13.350 together. It's good for us to give back what 00:05:13.350 --> 00:05:16.250 God has given to us for the furtherance of his 00:05:16.250 --> 00:05:18.779 kingdom. It's good for us to help. in the ways 00:05:18.779 --> 00:05:22.379 that we can, but what God really wants is our 00:05:22.379 --> 00:05:25.680 heart. He doesn't just want us to do the religious 00:05:25.680 --> 00:05:28.379 things. He wants us to do them with the right 00:05:28.379 --> 00:05:32.699 heart. And so the people that Jesus encountered, 00:05:32.839 --> 00:05:36.339 many of them were very religious, but they didn't 00:05:36.339 --> 00:05:42.160 quite understand what God really desired. And 00:05:42.160 --> 00:05:44.980 so they had a lot of commands that they were 00:05:44.980 --> 00:05:49.670 aware of. But what Jesus really wants his people 00:05:49.670 --> 00:05:52.769 to know is what's most important. And we see 00:05:52.769 --> 00:05:54.870 this throughout the gospel accounts of Jesus 00:05:54.870 --> 00:05:58.410 Christ. That the most important commandment is 00:05:58.410 --> 00:06:00.189 to love the Lord your God with all your heart, 00:06:00.209 --> 00:06:02.629 mind, soul, and strength. And the second is like 00:06:02.629 --> 00:06:06.529 it, to love your neighbor as yourself. Now the 00:06:06.529 --> 00:06:10.009 whole law is summed up in these two statements. 00:06:10.110 --> 00:06:12.170 Now that's a beautiful thing. That's a beautiful 00:06:12.170 --> 00:06:15.189 thing that Jesus was able to do. It's beautiful 00:06:15.189 --> 00:06:17.629 that you and I today, that we don't have to sit 00:06:17.629 --> 00:06:20.350 here and we don't have to like work our way through 00:06:20.350 --> 00:06:23.029 the Old Testament trying to figure out what sacrifices 00:06:23.029 --> 00:06:25.649 we got to make and this one's for that and that 00:06:25.649 --> 00:06:28.009 you ain't got to come to a priest and man, that 00:06:28.009 --> 00:06:30.990 was a horrible mess. And the people then failed 00:06:30.990 --> 00:06:33.110 at it and I've got bad news. We would have failed 00:06:33.110 --> 00:06:35.870 at it too. We would have failed God and you say, 00:06:35.930 --> 00:06:37.629 well, how do you know that? Because we do every 00:06:37.629 --> 00:06:40.850 day. We still fail God. We still fail to live 00:06:40.850 --> 00:06:44.889 up to his commands. And so Jesus, In such a beautiful 00:06:44.889 --> 00:06:46.910 way, he said, look, here's what I really want 00:06:46.910 --> 00:06:48.689 you to get. Here's what I really want you to 00:06:48.689 --> 00:06:52.329 know. I really want you to know that you need 00:06:52.329 --> 00:06:54.709 to love God and you need to love other people. 00:06:55.189 --> 00:06:57.750 If you can do those things, Jesus is saying, 00:06:57.930 --> 00:07:01.529 you've got it. You've got it. If you can do those 00:07:01.529 --> 00:07:05.629 things, you've got it. And here he reaffirms 00:07:05.629 --> 00:07:10.329 that same point. He says to his disciples here, 00:07:10.550 --> 00:07:15.459 I give you. A new commandment. Now, certainly 00:07:15.459 --> 00:07:18.339 God had called his people to love throughout 00:07:18.339 --> 00:07:21.879 the Bible. This is not new in that sense, but 00:07:21.879 --> 00:07:24.439 it's new in that Jesus says, here's what matters. 00:07:27.000 --> 00:07:29.600 Jesus was soon going to go to the cross and everything 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:31.720 was going to be finished. He said, it is finished. 00:07:31.819 --> 00:07:34.379 Everything was going to be fulfilled. Everything 00:07:34.379 --> 00:07:37.500 that God had promised was going to be fulfilled 00:07:37.500 --> 00:07:40.779 in Jesus Christ. The law was going to be fulfilled 00:07:40.779 --> 00:07:43.319 in Jesus Christ. Everything was going to be taken 00:07:43.319 --> 00:07:47.750 care of for you and I through Jesus Christ. The 00:07:47.750 --> 00:07:50.290 wages of our sin was death, but Jesus paid the 00:07:50.290 --> 00:07:53.009 ransom. He gave his life for yours and for mine. 00:07:53.290 --> 00:07:55.769 And so Jesus had done everything, and he says, 00:07:55.790 --> 00:07:59.009 look, here's what you need to focus on. Don't 00:07:59.009 --> 00:08:01.189 get caught up in the Old Testament law and the 00:08:01.189 --> 00:08:03.930 sacrifices and all these other things. Jesus 00:08:03.930 --> 00:08:05.949 says, look, here's the new commandment. There's 00:08:05.949 --> 00:08:08.689 a new covenant. Jesus had told his disciples 00:08:08.689 --> 00:08:11.589 at that last supper, I'm establishing a new covenant 00:08:11.589 --> 00:08:15.290 with my blood and my body. Here's the new covenant. 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:18.180 I'm establishing a new priesthood. Jesus is our 00:08:18.180 --> 00:08:20.579 high priest as we see in the book of Hebrews. 00:08:20.939 --> 00:08:22.920 And when there's a change in the priesthood, 00:08:22.920 --> 00:08:25.420 the scripture says, there's a change in the law. 00:08:26.000 --> 00:08:28.819 And so Jesus says, here's what I want you to 00:08:28.819 --> 00:08:34.799 focus on. I give you a new command to love one 00:08:34.799 --> 00:08:40.159 another just as I have loved you. Now that's 00:08:40.159 --> 00:08:42.580 pretty easy for us to understand. There's not... 00:08:42.860 --> 00:08:44.860 There's not much difficulty there, I wouldn't 00:08:44.860 --> 00:08:47.759 think, in us understanding that very simple command. 00:08:49.120 --> 00:08:52.139 But the difficulty doesn't come in understanding 00:08:52.139 --> 00:08:55.559 that command. The difficulty comes in living 00:08:55.559 --> 00:08:59.679 that command out. And the question that we need 00:08:59.679 --> 00:09:02.860 to think about, maybe today and this week, maybe 00:09:02.860 --> 00:09:05.340 you can spend some time and you can think about 00:09:05.340 --> 00:09:08.360 this. And you can really ask yourself and ask 00:09:08.360 --> 00:09:11.419 God to help you and say, God, do I really... 00:09:11.899 --> 00:09:16.860 Love people. Now the scripture says, no man has 00:09:16.860 --> 00:09:18.440 greater love than this, that a man would lay 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:22.139 down his life. Now that's exactly what Jesus 00:09:22.139 --> 00:09:25.940 has done for us. Jesus has given his life for 00:09:25.940 --> 00:09:29.679 every one of us. That's the ultimate example, 00:09:29.980 --> 00:09:35.080 the ultimate definition of love. It's loving 00:09:35.080 --> 00:09:38.919 people that are unlovable. Now it's interesting 00:09:38.919 --> 00:09:42.620 that Jesus doesn't say in his teachings, he doesn't 00:09:42.620 --> 00:09:46.179 say just love the lovable. Now we can all do 00:09:46.179 --> 00:09:49.000 that. It's easy for us to love one another. Hopefully 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:51.580 everybody in this room, we can love one another. 00:09:51.679 --> 00:09:53.679 Hopefully there's no troubles going on with anybody. 00:09:53.720 --> 00:09:55.519 If there are, you need to work through that and 00:09:55.519 --> 00:09:58.419 you sit down and talk about that. But hopefully 00:09:58.419 --> 00:10:01.799 we can love one another. And it's easy for us 00:10:01.799 --> 00:10:05.240 to love the lovable, but what Jesus calls us 00:10:05.240 --> 00:10:10.659 to is... is a love that really requires some 00:10:10.659 --> 00:10:16.840 sacrifice. It really requires some effort. And 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:21.240 the question that we have to answer is are we 00:10:21.240 --> 00:10:27.940 really willing and ready to love like Jesus has 00:10:27.940 --> 00:10:33.220 loved? Are we really ready to love those who 00:10:33.220 --> 00:10:39.580 are unlovable? Now, I got bad news for you. When 00:10:39.580 --> 00:10:42.259 Jesus was hanging on the cross, knowing that 00:10:42.259 --> 00:10:44.340 you and I were going to exist, I don't believe 00:10:44.340 --> 00:10:46.059 that he hung there and said, man, those people 00:10:46.059 --> 00:10:48.500 are going to be so awesome. I mean, Enterprise, 00:10:48.899 --> 00:10:53.059 they are going to be so good. And I know the 00:10:53.059 --> 00:10:54.659 rest of the world is going to be pretty weak, 00:10:54.759 --> 00:10:56.980 but those folks, those are good country folks, 00:10:57.200 --> 00:10:59.879 and they're the people that I really want to 00:10:59.879 --> 00:11:03.879 die to save. I don't know that that's what he 00:11:03.879 --> 00:11:06.700 said. I don't know what he said or what he thought. 00:11:08.419 --> 00:11:14.559 But I think that maybe he saw us and he saw that 00:11:14.559 --> 00:11:18.519 we were sinners. He saw that we didn't look like 00:11:18.519 --> 00:11:23.899 much. He saw that we were going to fail. But 00:11:23.899 --> 00:11:28.059 even though he saw that, he still loved us. Even 00:11:28.059 --> 00:11:30.620 though he saw all your flaws and all your sins, 00:11:30.759 --> 00:11:34.950 even though in... In a lot of ways, you're unattractive, 00:11:34.950 --> 00:11:37.169 and I'm unattractive because of our sinfulness. 00:11:38.409 --> 00:11:44.070 Jesus still saw the beauty in us. And perhaps 00:11:44.070 --> 00:11:48.309 that's what love really is. Perhaps love is not 00:11:48.309 --> 00:11:54.649 just being attracted to what is beautiful, but 00:11:54.649 --> 00:12:03.549 being attracted to what isn't beautiful. covered 00:12:03.549 --> 00:12:07.129 with nastiness and wickedness and dirty and sinfulness. 00:12:07.970 --> 00:12:12.350 That's you and I. And so Jesus shows us what 00:12:12.350 --> 00:12:16.350 love is and he calls us to love. I give you a 00:12:16.350 --> 00:12:18.950 new command. Love one another as I have loved 00:12:18.950 --> 00:12:24.950 you. So it's easy for us to love the beautiful 00:12:24.950 --> 00:12:32.289 and the lovable and the clean and the pure. But 00:12:32.289 --> 00:12:35.450 it's not so easy for us to love those who have 00:12:35.450 --> 00:12:39.669 hurt us. Who have done things that really hurt 00:12:39.669 --> 00:12:44.049 us badly. Maybe physically. Maybe emotionally. 00:12:44.129 --> 00:12:47.769 Maybe just somebody did you wrong. It's just 00:12:47.769 --> 00:12:51.730 dirty. And those things are hard for us to get 00:12:51.730 --> 00:12:54.070 over as human beings. We are weak in that way. 00:12:54.129 --> 00:12:57.289 I wish that I could get over those things better. 00:12:57.330 --> 00:12:59.629 Maybe you do. But man, those things are hard 00:12:59.629 --> 00:13:02.769 for us to get over. And yet that's what Jesus 00:13:02.769 --> 00:13:07.490 calls us to do. He calls us to pray for our enemies. 00:13:07.629 --> 00:13:13.009 He calls us to love our enemies. This is a pretty 00:13:13.009 --> 00:13:15.889 extreme teaching, but if we say we want to be 00:13:15.889 --> 00:13:19.690 followers of Jesus Christ, then man, it's going 00:13:19.690 --> 00:13:21.269 to take some work. We're really going to have 00:13:21.269 --> 00:13:24.370 to ask the Lord to help change our heart. And 00:13:24.370 --> 00:13:26.950 that change begins once we accept Jesus Christ. 00:13:27.690 --> 00:13:30.700 Once we say, okay. Well, I wasn't really that 00:13:30.700 --> 00:13:33.340 great. And don't fool yourself. If you come in 00:13:33.340 --> 00:13:35.179 here thinking you were pretty good, don't fool 00:13:35.179 --> 00:13:39.059 yourself today. You're not that great. But nevertheless, 00:13:39.240 --> 00:13:41.659 Jesus died for us. And when we come to that realization 00:13:41.659 --> 00:13:44.299 that we realize that, you know what, I'm not 00:13:44.299 --> 00:13:47.159 that great, and I'm not deserving of the grace 00:13:47.159 --> 00:13:49.159 of Jesus Christ, but yet he died on the cross 00:13:49.159 --> 00:13:53.019 for me, then that's the start of the change of 00:13:53.019 --> 00:13:55.889 our heart where we say, you know what? This is 00:13:55.889 --> 00:13:58.710 what Jesus calls me to. This is his command to 00:13:58.710 --> 00:14:03.090 me today. It's to love others as he has loved 00:14:03.090 --> 00:14:08.990 us. So Jesus was willing to sacrifice his life. 00:14:10.110 --> 00:14:13.570 Jesus was willing to suffer greatly. Jesus was 00:14:13.570 --> 00:14:17.590 willing to get his hands dirty to do the will 00:14:17.590 --> 00:14:23.129 of the Father. But what about you and I? We say 00:14:23.129 --> 00:14:27.950 we love, but do we? Well, the way that we know 00:14:27.950 --> 00:14:30.870 that we love is through our actions. It's not 00:14:30.870 --> 00:14:33.129 just something we say. It's not just a feeling. 00:14:33.230 --> 00:14:35.610 It's not just a word that we say to one another. 00:14:36.190 --> 00:14:41.289 Love is shown in action. Jesus showed he loved 00:14:41.289 --> 00:14:44.389 the Father because he was obedient to the Father. 00:14:45.330 --> 00:14:48.750 Jesus showed that he loved God and that he loved 00:14:48.750 --> 00:14:51.350 you and I because he gave his life on a cross. 00:14:52.129 --> 00:14:54.789 Jesus showed that he loved people because he 00:14:54.789 --> 00:14:57.870 had compassion on them. Jesus showed that he 00:14:57.870 --> 00:15:01.570 loved people because he was willing to touch 00:15:01.570 --> 00:15:04.049 people that the religious people didn't want 00:15:04.049 --> 00:15:07.090 to touch. He was willing to drive out demons 00:15:07.090 --> 00:15:11.029 and he was willing to heal those who were unclean. 00:15:12.450 --> 00:15:16.049 Jesus was full of compassion. He showed his love 00:15:16.049 --> 00:15:23.000 in so many ways. But what about you and I? So 00:15:23.000 --> 00:15:25.039 I'm at church today. I love God. Well, I'm glad 00:15:25.039 --> 00:15:26.879 you're at church today. I praise the Lord. That's 00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:32.500 good. But do you show your love of God through 00:15:32.500 --> 00:15:36.500 the way you live your life? Are there things 00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:38.940 that God calls you to, opportunities that God 00:15:38.940 --> 00:15:44.980 puts in your path, and you don't do it? Because 00:15:44.980 --> 00:15:50.059 sometimes love is hard. Sometimes love calls 00:15:50.059 --> 00:15:55.159 us to places. that we don't want to be. It calls 00:15:55.159 --> 00:15:57.980 us to people that we don't want to be around. 00:16:01.700 --> 00:16:03.919 There are so many people that God calls us to, 00:16:03.980 --> 00:16:08.000 to serve, to love. The poor and the needy and 00:16:08.000 --> 00:16:11.120 the widows and the orphans and those who are 00:16:11.120 --> 00:16:15.580 in prison. And dealing with those people, guess 00:16:15.580 --> 00:16:20.659 what? Very seldom is it easy. It's usually very 00:16:20.659 --> 00:16:24.460 hard. Because we don't want to get involved with 00:16:24.460 --> 00:16:28.080 those kind of people. We don't want to go to 00:16:28.080 --> 00:16:31.200 the prisons, do we? You know what those people 00:16:31.200 --> 00:16:33.799 have done in there? It's probably not safe. We 00:16:33.799 --> 00:16:36.080 can come up with some excuses, boy. You want 00:16:36.080 --> 00:16:37.799 some excuses to not do something? You come see 00:16:37.799 --> 00:16:40.200 me. I can give you excuses. I should write a 00:16:40.200 --> 00:16:43.799 book on excuses. Chan's book of excuses. I can 00:16:43.799 --> 00:16:46.500 come up, and y 'all probably can't do this. Y 00:16:46.500 --> 00:16:48.850 'all probably don't do this. But man, if there's 00:16:48.850 --> 00:16:51.330 something I feel like I need to do, I can come 00:16:51.330 --> 00:16:54.750 up with a million reasons to justify why God 00:16:54.750 --> 00:16:57.850 probably really doesn't want me to do it. But 00:16:57.850 --> 00:17:00.789 it don't work because in our heart, we already 00:17:00.789 --> 00:17:05.150 know that God does want us to do it. And so we 00:17:05.150 --> 00:17:09.029 can't. We can't go visit anybody in prison because 00:17:09.029 --> 00:17:13.529 it's scary and it's dirty. And I'd love to do 00:17:13.529 --> 00:17:15.430 it, but I can't do it this weekend. I got other 00:17:15.430 --> 00:17:20.049 stuff I got to do. Can't go visit people in a 00:17:20.049 --> 00:17:23.710 nursing home because we don't like to see people 00:17:23.710 --> 00:17:26.109 in that shape. We come up with excuses. Part 00:17:26.109 --> 00:17:29.529 of our excuses is we need to toughen up. I say, 00:17:29.569 --> 00:17:33.509 oh, I can't do that. I can't go to a nursing 00:17:33.509 --> 00:17:36.150 home. It just breaks my heart to see those people. 00:17:36.230 --> 00:17:37.910 Well, praise the Lord. It should break our heart 00:17:37.910 --> 00:17:40.190 to see people who are suffering. You know what 00:17:40.190 --> 00:17:42.650 else it should do? It should cause us to have 00:17:42.650 --> 00:17:46.049 some compassion. To say, man, these people are 00:17:46.049 --> 00:17:49.849 suffering. They're laying in these beds all day. 00:17:50.630 --> 00:17:52.130 And a lot of them, their family doesn't even 00:17:52.130 --> 00:17:54.369 come to see them. And we make excuses. We say, 00:17:54.470 --> 00:17:56.809 oh, it's too hard. Or, man, it stinks. I don't 00:17:56.809 --> 00:18:00.269 want to go there. Oh, it's scary there. I don't 00:18:00.269 --> 00:18:04.089 want to think about that. So we miss opportunities 00:18:04.089 --> 00:18:07.750 to love people. Because we don't want to get 00:18:07.750 --> 00:18:12.049 our hands dirty. We say, man, I don't want to 00:18:12.049 --> 00:18:17.180 get involved with the orphans. want to get involved 00:18:17.180 --> 00:18:20.720 in that. I don't know what their background is. 00:18:22.180 --> 00:18:23.980 What am I going to get into if I get involved 00:18:23.980 --> 00:18:28.460 with these kids? We don't want to get involved 00:18:28.460 --> 00:18:30.839 with the poor and the needy and the homeless. 00:18:33.140 --> 00:18:34.680 They should have done better and they wouldn't 00:18:34.680 --> 00:18:38.980 be in that shape. Man, he's high. He's drunk. 00:18:39.920 --> 00:18:44.819 He stinks. I don't want to do that. There's a 00:18:44.819 --> 00:18:47.380 part of us that says, yeah, I'll just put an 00:18:47.380 --> 00:18:49.420 extra 20 in the offering plate. Well, praise 00:18:49.420 --> 00:18:53.039 the Lord, that's good. It takes money to do the 00:18:53.039 --> 00:18:57.140 Lord's work, but if we really want to do the 00:18:57.140 --> 00:19:01.160 Lord's work and our lives be transformed, then 00:19:01.160 --> 00:19:04.140 we have to love people. We have to stop making 00:19:04.140 --> 00:19:08.500 excuses in our life as to why we can't. We don't 00:19:08.500 --> 00:19:11.180 want to. We've got to toughen up. And we've got 00:19:11.180 --> 00:19:13.039 to say, God, this is hard for me and this is 00:19:13.039 --> 00:19:16.119 scary for me. And I don't know if I really want 00:19:16.119 --> 00:19:18.319 to do this, God. There's a part of me that doesn't. 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:22.220 But if we follow Jesus Christ, there should be 00:19:22.220 --> 00:19:24.740 something within us that even though the human 00:19:24.740 --> 00:19:27.519 part of us says, I don't want to put myself in 00:19:27.519 --> 00:19:30.539 that situation, that the Spirit of God just calls 00:19:30.539 --> 00:19:33.940 us to love people in a way that He loves people. 00:19:35.339 --> 00:19:37.759 That we don't see people who are struggling and 00:19:37.759 --> 00:19:42.230 turn a blind eye. But that we see them and it 00:19:42.230 --> 00:19:47.230 does something to us. It breaks us in a way that 00:19:47.230 --> 00:19:51.990 draws us to have compassion on them. But we don't 00:19:51.990 --> 00:19:55.809 want to do that sometimes. We don't want to do 00:19:55.809 --> 00:19:58.869 that. Because things are pretty good in this 00:19:58.869 --> 00:20:02.390 church on this pew. Things are pretty good for 00:20:02.390 --> 00:20:05.630 us when we come together and we sing a few songs 00:20:05.630 --> 00:20:08.069 and we throw some money in the plate. And things 00:20:08.069 --> 00:20:11.349 are pretty good when we do that. So don't tell 00:20:11.349 --> 00:20:14.029 me about the person struggling on the street. 00:20:14.289 --> 00:20:16.450 Don't tell me about the person down the road 00:20:16.450 --> 00:20:18.490 that doesn't have food to eat. Don't tell me 00:20:18.490 --> 00:20:21.509 about the kids who don't have a family. Don't 00:20:21.509 --> 00:20:23.410 tell me about the homeless guy. Don't tell me 00:20:23.410 --> 00:20:25.430 about the people in the prisons. I don't want 00:20:25.430 --> 00:20:27.230 to hear about them because that's going to mess 00:20:27.230 --> 00:20:30.809 up my little view of the world. And we don't 00:20:30.809 --> 00:20:32.150 want to have to deal with that. We don't want 00:20:32.150 --> 00:20:34.549 to have to think about it. And so we just, we 00:20:34.549 --> 00:20:39.109 push these things to the side. But that's not 00:20:39.109 --> 00:20:46.180 love. Jesus saw those who were weak and who were 00:20:46.180 --> 00:20:53.319 sick and who were sinners. And Jesus showed love. 00:20:54.720 --> 00:20:57.759 He brought love to them. He brought compassion 00:20:57.759 --> 00:21:04.240 to them. And what about you and I? What about 00:21:04.240 --> 00:21:08.660 you and I? You can't just tell people you love 00:21:08.660 --> 00:21:12.160 them. You have to show people you love them. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:15.180 You want to lead people to Jesus Christ, you 00:21:15.180 --> 00:21:17.579 love them. You can share the gospel with them, 00:21:17.599 --> 00:21:19.160 praise the Lord, you do that. And there are a 00:21:19.160 --> 00:21:21.140 lot of people that come to the Lord. But if you 00:21:21.140 --> 00:21:22.940 really want people to listen to you, you love 00:21:22.940 --> 00:21:28.059 those people. And you make the time. We'll say 00:21:28.059 --> 00:21:30.099 that, oh, I ain't got time, I'm too busy. Boy, 00:21:30.119 --> 00:21:32.180 don't we say that. We are all so busy. It is 00:21:32.180 --> 00:21:34.019 unbelievable that we can be here today. We are 00:21:34.019 --> 00:21:37.200 so busy. How in the world did we carve out an 00:21:37.200 --> 00:21:39.470 hour? And you're hoping it's only going to be 00:21:39.470 --> 00:21:41.329 an hour. God, please don't let him preach 15 00:21:41.329 --> 00:21:45.190 minutes too long. I'm too busy. We're always 00:21:45.190 --> 00:21:48.490 so busy. I say that sometimes. Like I always, 00:21:48.630 --> 00:21:50.829 in my mind, I think, I'm so busy. And then somebody 00:21:50.829 --> 00:21:53.029 will ask me occasionally, they'll say, oh, what 00:21:53.029 --> 00:21:55.250 did you do today? Or this week? And I'm like, 00:21:55.329 --> 00:21:59.349 dang. I am so busy, but I really can't think 00:21:59.349 --> 00:22:01.509 of five things that I did this week that are 00:22:01.509 --> 00:22:05.890 worth anything. So maybe we aren't as busy as 00:22:05.890 --> 00:22:09.269 we think we are. And maybe you need to make some 00:22:09.269 --> 00:22:13.029 time this week to love somebody. Now, I don't 00:22:13.029 --> 00:22:15.009 know who that is, but you probably do. You probably 00:22:15.009 --> 00:22:17.130 already know somebody that's on your mind, that's 00:22:17.130 --> 00:22:20.289 on your heart. Make some time and love that person. 00:22:20.289 --> 00:22:21.670 You say, I don't want to go see that person. 00:22:21.710 --> 00:22:24.309 It's too hard. They're in bad shape. Well, then 00:22:24.309 --> 00:22:27.589 you've got to toughen up. You don't think it's 00:22:27.589 --> 00:22:29.450 hard for people who are struggling and who are 00:22:29.450 --> 00:22:31.970 in bad health? You don't think it's hard for 00:22:31.970 --> 00:22:36.750 them to sit there alone day after day after day? 00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:42.059 You say, man, I wish I could help somebody. I 00:22:42.059 --> 00:22:44.400 know they ain't got no food, but I don't know. 00:22:44.440 --> 00:22:45.859 We ain't got much food either. Well, you got 00:22:45.859 --> 00:22:48.839 some food. Maybe you got a bag of rice you could 00:22:48.839 --> 00:22:52.440 take. Maybe you got something you could do. Maybe 00:22:52.440 --> 00:22:54.619 instead of turning a blind eye and a deaf ear 00:22:54.619 --> 00:22:57.980 to those in need, we say, okay, God, help me 00:22:57.980 --> 00:23:03.619 to love people like you love people. There are 00:23:03.619 --> 00:23:08.759 lots of people that we encounter. We need to 00:23:08.759 --> 00:23:12.140 love them. Some of you may be saying, yeah, but 00:23:12.140 --> 00:23:14.079 you're the preacher. That's your job. It is my 00:23:14.079 --> 00:23:17.079 job, praise the Lord. But it's your job. It's 00:23:17.079 --> 00:23:19.779 not just the job of the preacher to love people. 00:23:20.099 --> 00:23:24.359 It's the job of the Christian. So those of us 00:23:24.359 --> 00:23:27.119 who follow Jesus Christ, that's what God calls 00:23:27.119 --> 00:23:32.380 us to. And you don't even know the blessing that 00:23:32.380 --> 00:23:36.519 you're missing. You don't even know. When you 00:23:36.519 --> 00:23:39.839 miss those opportunities to love. And we miss 00:23:39.839 --> 00:23:42.279 them because sometimes we just kind of prejudge. 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:44.980 We've got a preconceived notion about the people 00:23:44.980 --> 00:23:46.859 that we're going to see or choices that they 00:23:46.859 --> 00:23:49.059 made or whatever's going on in their life. But 00:23:49.059 --> 00:23:52.119 maybe we just need to ask God to help us to get 00:23:52.119 --> 00:23:55.779 that out of our mind and just talk to people 00:23:55.779 --> 00:24:00.339 as though they are people. And just love them. 00:24:02.119 --> 00:24:06.180 Just find out who they are. Find out what their 00:24:06.180 --> 00:24:10.579 struggles are, their pains are. Just love them. 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:17.200 Just show some compassion. And whatever way that 00:24:17.200 --> 00:24:19.079 looks like, I don't know there's a million needs 00:24:19.079 --> 00:24:23.019 and a bunch of ways to meet those needs. But 00:24:23.019 --> 00:24:26.119 you might be surprised how much a visit would 00:24:26.119 --> 00:24:32.529 mean to somebody. Because one day, Praise the 00:24:32.529 --> 00:24:34.230 Lord, we can all get here today because we're 00:24:34.230 --> 00:24:37.730 all here. That's great. One day, if you live 00:24:37.730 --> 00:24:44.349 long enough, it may be you in a bed, in a room, 00:24:44.410 --> 00:24:48.910 in a place that's not your home, and there you 00:24:48.910 --> 00:24:53.829 are alone, afraid, miserable, and in pain with 00:24:53.829 --> 00:24:57.309 nothing to look forward to but a meal that tastes 00:24:57.309 --> 00:24:59.980 horrible. And neighbors that are hollering and 00:24:59.980 --> 00:25:02.259 screaming across the hall from you. And that's 00:25:02.259 --> 00:25:04.339 all you've got to look forward to. And you never 00:25:04.339 --> 00:25:09.839 see a soul that comes to say hello. That's going 00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:12.279 to be you one day probably. It's a good chance 00:25:12.279 --> 00:25:19.079 that's going to be you. Wouldn't it be great 00:25:19.079 --> 00:25:23.779 if you said, you know what? I don't know if anybody's 00:25:23.779 --> 00:25:25.359 going to come see me when I'm old, but I'm going 00:25:25.359 --> 00:25:29.099 to go see somebody. And I'm going to love somebody. 00:25:30.579 --> 00:25:32.559 And I don't know why that homeless person's on 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:34.900 the street and what their struggles are, but 00:25:34.900 --> 00:25:36.720 if not by the grace of God, that could be me 00:25:36.720 --> 00:25:40.960 one day. And I don't know what they've done, 00:25:41.099 --> 00:25:43.740 and they may not deserve a morsel of food from 00:25:43.740 --> 00:25:47.079 me, but I see them and I have compassion on them, 00:25:47.119 --> 00:25:51.420 just as Jesus did. So I'm going to love them. 00:25:53.519 --> 00:25:55.720 If we're going to love like Jesus loved, we're 00:25:55.720 --> 00:25:59.000 going to have to get our hands dirty. It's not 00:25:59.000 --> 00:26:02.099 always going to be easy. It's going to mean that 00:26:02.099 --> 00:26:10.299 sometimes we get out of our comfort zone. We 00:26:10.299 --> 00:26:12.299 have to do things that are tough, that are painful, 00:26:12.380 --> 00:26:17.019 things that break our heart. But maybe in that 00:26:17.019 --> 00:26:21.559 process we learn things about people. Maybe in 00:26:21.559 --> 00:26:23.960 that process, God begins to change our heart 00:26:23.960 --> 00:26:28.359 as our heart begins to have compassion on others. 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:32.079 Jesus said, I give you a new command to love 00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:39.759 like I have loved. I watched a video this week. 00:26:40.619 --> 00:26:45.220 You can look it up. It was almost too hard to 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:47.839 watch, I'll be honest with you. It was about 00:26:47.839 --> 00:26:52.400 a young man. His name was Marky Jackwiz, and 00:26:52.400 --> 00:26:57.720 he was 21 years old when he passed away. He was 00:26:57.720 --> 00:27:04.539 born with a rare disease. I won't even try to 00:27:04.539 --> 00:27:08.380 say the medical term. It's usually known by the 00:27:08.380 --> 00:27:12.019 name of butterfly skin. If you're not familiar 00:27:12.019 --> 00:27:14.200 with this disease, I'll tell you a little bit 00:27:14.200 --> 00:27:17.539 about it. As the body is formed in the womb, 00:27:17.799 --> 00:27:23.519 the skin doesn't form properly. It doesn't stick 00:27:23.519 --> 00:27:27.119 together. It doesn't stick to you. And so very 00:27:27.119 --> 00:27:30.859 likely, with the lightest little brush, the skin 00:27:30.859 --> 00:27:34.559 is removed from your body. So when this young 00:27:34.559 --> 00:27:38.000 man was born, when he came from the womb, just 00:27:38.000 --> 00:27:42.039 that process had left him with a lot of his skin 00:27:42.039 --> 00:27:46.920 removed. He wasn't expected to live very long. 00:27:46.980 --> 00:27:51.099 He ended up living 21 years. There are lots of 00:27:51.099 --> 00:27:53.019 videos about him, about his family, about his 00:27:53.019 --> 00:28:00.640 story. And pitiful, pitiful. You can only imagine 00:28:00.640 --> 00:28:04.680 the pain that he felt from the moment he was 00:28:04.680 --> 00:28:08.220 conceived in the womb to the moment that he died. 00:28:10.180 --> 00:28:14.420 His skin was constantly... Being removed from 00:28:14.420 --> 00:28:21.660 his skin day after day after day. Hard to look 00:28:21.660 --> 00:28:25.539 upon something like that. Hard to look upon something 00:28:25.539 --> 00:28:28.099 like that. We don't want to know that those stories 00:28:28.099 --> 00:28:30.140 exist. We don't want to know that those people 00:28:30.140 --> 00:28:34.059 exist. But those are people that need to know 00:28:34.059 --> 00:28:36.220 that there is the love of Jesus Christ, that 00:28:36.220 --> 00:28:38.079 there is compassion, that there is hope. Can 00:28:38.079 --> 00:28:41.549 you imagine being in such pain? Day in and day 00:28:41.549 --> 00:28:45.009 out for 21 years with your skin being ripped 00:28:45.009 --> 00:28:50.529 from your body. You can't take antibiotics continually. 00:28:51.950 --> 00:28:56.349 And so to keep infection from spreading throughout 00:28:56.349 --> 00:29:02.890 the body, bandages are dipped in bleach and wrapped 00:29:02.890 --> 00:29:09.130 around his body, his open wounds. Day after day. 00:29:09.980 --> 00:29:17.000 After day. And you want to know something. That's 00:29:17.000 --> 00:29:22.119 pretty crazy about. Marky. Is that he loved. 00:29:22.240 --> 00:29:30.480 Jesus Christ. And you watch him. His frail. Skinless 00:29:30.480 --> 00:29:35.539 body. With blood seeping. From his open wounds. 00:29:38.029 --> 00:29:41.430 You see these videos of Marky with his hands 00:29:41.430 --> 00:29:47.670 to the heavens praising the Lord. Day after day 00:29:47.670 --> 00:29:54.589 after day. I don't know what's going on in your 00:29:54.589 --> 00:29:58.130 life. And I ain't telling you that it ain't bad. 00:29:58.269 --> 00:30:04.049 I'm not belittling your situation. Maybe things 00:30:04.049 --> 00:30:12.859 aren't as bad as you thought they were. Before 00:30:12.859 --> 00:30:18.740 he died, a few days before he died, he told his 00:30:18.740 --> 00:30:25.079 mother, he said, I saw Jesus. He said, Jesus 00:30:25.079 --> 00:30:28.839 came to me. He let me see him. And his mother 00:30:28.839 --> 00:30:34.359 said, what did he look like? And Mark, he said, 00:30:34.660 --> 00:30:42.289 he looked like love. He looked like love. What 00:30:42.289 --> 00:30:50.470 do people say about you and me? If you were to 00:30:50.470 --> 00:30:53.450 ask people that know you, what does he look like? 00:30:53.470 --> 00:30:57.670 What does she look like? How would people describe 00:30:57.670 --> 00:30:59.710 you? I'm not talking about, oh, he's six foot 00:30:59.710 --> 00:31:01.910 tall, he's got a beard, he's 100. I'm not talking 00:31:01.910 --> 00:31:03.950 about that. I'm talking about if people had to 00:31:03.950 --> 00:31:07.049 describe you, what word would they describe you 00:31:07.049 --> 00:31:14.339 with? But they say, well, he looks like anger. 00:31:16.039 --> 00:31:18.599 He looks like meanness. He looks like wickedness. 00:31:18.599 --> 00:31:23.900 He looks like negativity. What word would people 00:31:23.900 --> 00:31:28.539 use to describe you? Let's not fool ourselves, 00:31:28.839 --> 00:31:31.680 because we'd probably all sit here and say, boy, 00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:32.759 if somebody had to describe me, they would say 00:31:32.759 --> 00:31:41.880 awesome. Maybe we're not that awesome. When Mark 00:31:41.880 --> 00:31:48.759 saw Jesus, he said he looks like love. Can people 00:31:48.759 --> 00:31:53.759 say that about us? Can people say that about 00:31:53.759 --> 00:31:59.019 you? In a way that you treat other people? In 00:31:59.019 --> 00:32:01.059 a way that you have compassion on other people? 00:32:01.940 --> 00:32:05.859 In a way that you care for other people? By the 00:32:05.859 --> 00:32:09.910 way that you give to other people? By the way 00:32:09.910 --> 00:32:12.049 that you pray for other people and hug other 00:32:12.049 --> 00:32:14.630 people and give an encouraging word to other 00:32:14.630 --> 00:32:23.150 people. Can people describe you as love? Well, 00:32:23.190 --> 00:32:26.609 if not, today's a good day for us to go to the 00:32:26.609 --> 00:32:31.529 Lord and say, God, we know what love is through 00:32:31.529 --> 00:32:35.230 Jesus Christ. Help us to experience that and 00:32:35.230 --> 00:32:40.269 help us to be love to others. Because that's 00:32:40.269 --> 00:32:44.589 what Jesus has called us to. I give you a new 00:32:44.589 --> 00:32:50.210 command. Love one another as I have loved you. 00:32:51.769 --> 00:32:55.990 Are you doing that today? Do you have opportunities 00:32:55.990 --> 00:33:02.549 to love and you make excuses to avoid it? Stop 00:33:02.549 --> 00:33:06.589 making excuses. God gives you opportunities. 00:33:07.950 --> 00:33:09.930 And ask Him to give you the strength to love 00:33:09.930 --> 00:33:15.569 like He's loved. Maybe today you don't really 00:33:15.569 --> 00:33:19.269 know what love is. Maybe you're questioning and 00:33:19.269 --> 00:33:21.250 you're trying to figure out what love is. Love 00:33:21.250 --> 00:33:26.549 is Jesus. Love is Jesus Christ, the Son of God, 00:33:26.730 --> 00:33:31.289 who was beaten and mocked and nailed to a cross 00:33:31.289 --> 00:33:37.509 so that your sins could be forgiven. Not because 00:33:37.509 --> 00:33:43.069 you deserve it, but because he loves you. That's 00:33:43.069 --> 00:33:47.029 the Lord and Savior worth loving. And it's Jesus 00:33:47.029 --> 00:33:51.309 Christ who said, look, here's the example. And 00:33:51.309 --> 00:33:55.190 here's your command. Go and do the same. Let's 00:33:55.190 --> 00:33:59.490 pray. God, we come to you today. We thank you 00:33:59.490 --> 00:34:02.470 for your good word. I pray that you help us to 00:34:02.470 --> 00:34:07.460 examine our own hearts. Help us to see, God, 00:34:07.500 --> 00:34:09.539 if there's things there that shouldn't be there. 00:34:09.599 --> 00:34:15.760 Maybe we don't love the way that we should. God, 00:34:15.900 --> 00:34:17.659 I pray that you would help us to be a people 00:34:17.659 --> 00:34:20.699 that would see the opportunities we have to serve 00:34:20.699 --> 00:34:25.159 and not make up excuses. Dear Lord, it's not 00:34:25.159 --> 00:34:28.940 always easy. There may be times, God, that we 00:34:28.940 --> 00:34:33.150 have to get our hands dirty. But dear Lord, whatever 00:34:33.150 --> 00:34:35.829 it is you call us to, I pray, God, that we would 00:34:35.829 --> 00:34:39.949 look at people different, dear Lord. That we 00:34:39.949 --> 00:34:43.829 wouldn't look with a heart of judgment, but that 00:34:43.829 --> 00:34:45.730 we would look with a heart of compassion, and 00:34:45.730 --> 00:34:51.690 that would drive our actions, dear Lord. God, 00:34:51.750 --> 00:34:53.349 if there's one that doesn't know Jesus Christ, 00:34:53.469 --> 00:34:56.489 I pray today that they would know His love, that 00:34:56.489 --> 00:34:59.829 they would experience His love. And for the rest 00:34:59.829 --> 00:35:03.030 who do know Him, God, I pray that we would follow 00:35:03.030 --> 00:35:07.409 this command to love others. And I ask these 00:35:07.409 --> 00:35:09.670 things in Jesus' name. Amen.