In his book, Enjoying Intimacy with God, J. Oswald
Sanders penned these words, In its essence, love
is the self -imparting quality in the nature
of God that moves him to seek the highest good
of his creatures, in whom he seeks to awake responsive
love. Because of that love, Because of that,
love is basic to our knowledge of and intimacy
with God. Let me read that statement again, I
hope. Because of that, love is basic to our knowledge
of and intimacy with God. Love is grounded in
the nature of God and is the highest expression
of character. We are mature only to the degree
we are mature Love is more than sentiment. It
is an activity. It must express itself, sacrifice
itself, pour itself out on another. And that
is what Romans chapter 12 explains to us, that
love is not mere sentiment or emotion, but love
is action. It is deeds. It is words. It's what
we do. Love is the lubrication which allows the
members of the body of Christ to function smoothly,
harmoniously, and without friction. He says,
let love be without hypocrisy, in verse 9. In
other words, let love be genuine, true, real.
And then he begins to describe to us various
aspects. of genuine love. He speaks in verse
9 about love's morality. Love abhors evil and
clings to what is good. In verse 10, he speaks
of love's loyalty. He says, be devoted to one
another in brotherly love. That is, there is
to be a warm love, a tenderheartedness, within
the family of God, which causes us then to give
preference to one another in honor. We seek the
advance of the other, not ourselves, shunning
the spotlight for ourselves. In verse 11, we
see love's energy. Love does not lag behind in
diligence. That is, it is not slothful. It is
resilient, not lazy. Love is fervent in its spirit.
It is energetic, zealous, enthusiastic. And it
causes us to serve the Lord as slaves, as those
who are entirely given to the will of their masters.
And so the energy of love is that it boils with
enthusiasm, it is fervent, it is not slothful,
and it serves God. as slaves, obediently. In
verse 12, we come to its buoyancy. There is a
buoyancy in love. I did not say flippancy. Sometimes
the two are confused. But there is a buoyancy
about love. He says, rejoicing in hope, persevering
in tribulation, devoted to prayer. Let's read
on through verse 16. Let's think first about
this aspect of love, its buoyancy. Love rejoices
in hope. Hope is the reason for love's buoyancy.
Hope being defined, biblically, as a confident
expectation which rests upon the promises of
the God who cannot lie. That's what hope is,
biblically. It is a confidence in God that he
is coming through. That what he says he will
do. Rejoicing in hope is the buoyancy of love.
That hope can be defined in various ways. In
one sense, it is Christ indwelling us. Paul says,
Christ in you, the what? The hope. Of glory.
And so we have a Christ who lives in us who will
never leave us or forsake us. Never. Even when
we are caught by surprise with circumstances.
It does not mean that he has left us or forsaken
us. Because our hope in him is that he lives
in us. He indwells us. Furthermore, he is in
control. Our hope rests in a God who not only
indwells us, but who is sovereign. And therefore
we can rest in our present circumstances, though
we may not understand them or be able to perceive
them with all of the depth we would like to,
we can rest in our present circumstances, knowing
that God is never caught off guard. Our Lord
is sovereign. Either He is sovereign or He is
not sovereign. It's one or the other. And if
He is sovereign, that means He can take the circumstances
that we face today as a church and bring them
out to His ultimate purpose for us. Now that
we either believe that or we don't believe it.
But we believe it. And that is the buoyancy in
our hope. That's the reason we rejoice in hope.
Because God can take the heart of a king or a
banker or any of us and turn our hearts so that
we will accomplish what he wants us to. But then,
if in this life only we have hope in Christ,
we are of all men most miserable. Our hope is
not just for these years that he's in control,
but the fact that he's in control of our eternal
destiny. Our hope goes beyond the years of life
to eternity to come. And our hope is secure in
Jesus Christ. We have the promise that where
he is, there we will be also. Therefore, we rejoice
in our hope in all of its aspects. And this rejoicing
leads us then to persevere in tribulation. We
are to expect tribulation. May I remind you of
what the apostle of our church said, the apostle
Paul in Acts chapter 14, verse 22. It is through
many tribulations that we enter into the kingdom
of God. The Lord Jesus himself said in John chapter
15, don't be surprised if the world hates you.
Know that it hated me before it hated you. May
I paraphrase that and say, don't be surprised
if the world doesn't understand you. It didn't
understand Jesus either. We are to expect pressures.
We are to look forward to stress without complaint.
We are to be courageous as we face them. We are
to stand quietly. We are not to seek to evade
tribulation or pressure. but rather we are to
stand up under it, as did Jesus. John MacArthur
shares the story of Christendom in his book,
Kingdom Living. Christendom was a marvelous Christian
in ancient times, an orator, perhaps unexcelled,
a mighty preacher. He was summoned to Rome. to
appear before the emperor Arcadius, and was threatened
by the emperor with banishment if he didn't cease
to proclaim Jesus. And to that, Chrysostom replied
to the emperor, Sire, you cannot banish me, for
the world is my father's house. Then I'll slay
you, exclaimed the angered ruler. Nay, but you
cannot. for my life is hid with Christ in God.
Your treasures will be confiscated, came the
fiery retort. Sire, that cannot be. My treasures
are in heaven, where none can break through and
steal. But I will drive you from man, and you
will have no friends left. That you cannot do
either, for I have a friend in heaven who has
said, I will never leave you or forsake you.
What do you do with a guy like that? I'm sure
Arcadius would like some advice. Ultimately,
Chrysostom was banished to the edge of Armenia.
But he so continued there to influence his friends
by his letters that his enemies determined they
would banish him even further away. And on that
journey, he died. There was a man who persevered
in tribulation. Love does that. It is buoyant
in the time of tribulation. It perseveres. Now
how is it that we can rejoice in hope, especially
in the midst of pressure? The answer is found
in the third phrase in that verse. Be devoted
to prayer. That's the source of buoyancy, folks.
That's how we maintain the first two statements
in this verse. Give yourselves to prayer. steadfastly
continuing in prayer. When we pray, we look beyond
our present circumstances to see the omnipotent
God who controls our circumstances. Dr. Norman
Geisler defined prayer recently as that slender
nerve which moves the muscle of omnipotence.
I like that. Prayer is that slender nerve that
moves the muscle of omnipotence. When we pray,
we are not seeking to overcome some reluctance
on God's part, nor are we attempting to convince
God of some good thing for us, as we would perceive
it. But rather in prayer, what we are doing is
really saying, God, this is what our requests
are. We know that you are sovereign and you are
all good. And we're going to be satisfied with
whatever you do. You see, prayer is not trying
to convince God of our way. Prayer is saying,
Lord, what is your way? We want to do it. There's
a difference. Prayer is not commanding the hand
of God to do something for us. But prayer is
coming before our Heavenly Father and saying,
Father, what would your hand do for us? There's
a difference. We need to be devoted to that kind
of prayer. The kind of prayer that gets in tune
with God and then walks with God. When we are
devoted to prayer, it will produce love's buoyancy.
In verse 13, we come to love's liberality. We
are to be liberals, you know. Not in doctrine,
but in love. He says, contributing to the needs
of the saints, practicing hospitality. The verb
contributing is our word fellowshipping. Koinonia.
It means to share. And frankly, the idea is to
share money, to share things, to share material
wealth with those who have need. We are to look
out for one another in this way. In fact, as
Paul pens this epistle, that's exactly what he's
involved in. Look over in chapter 15, verse 25.
He says, For if the Gentiles have shared in their
spiritual things, they are indebted to minister
to them also in material things. You see, the
Jewish brothers in Jerusalem were undergoing
severe persecution, and so the Gentile brothers
in other parts of the empire took a love offering
and contributed to the needs of those Jewish
brethren. Now, Paul says they were pleased to
do that, but actually they're obligated because...
The Gentiles have come to share the Jewish spiritual
heritage, their Christ. And because of that,
there's a debt to them. But nonetheless, he says
they were pleased to do so. Would it please us
to contribute today to the needs of the saints?
I mentioned in my column in the worship folder
today, an orphanage that I'd like for us to help
during this Christmas season. Some little children
in Sao Paulo, Brazil, who are facing some difficult
circumstances, as I've explained briefly in that
column. Can we, in this time, when we are so
focused upon what we're going to give to people
we know and love, reach out to strangers we don't
know and say, I want to share with you? How many
of the people in Macedonia and Achaia, you suppose,
knew somebody in Jerusalem? Well, a few of them
may have, but not many probably. And yet they
shared generously because they were part of God's
family. You see, love was liberal. And he goes
on to tack it down even further. He says, practicing
hospitality. A few weeks ago I said that hospitality
is one of the characteristics of a healthy church.
Literally the word means to love strangers. The
Phillips translation puts it this way in this
verse, never grudging a meal or a bed to those
who need them. Being hospitable. In Hebrews chapter
13 and verse 2, we are commanded to show hospitality
to strangers. And he says, some in so doing have
entertained angels unaware. And that day there
were... primarily three groups that would need
this kind of hospitality. There were those who
would travel and who were Christians. You say,
why didn't they stop in at the Holiday Inn? Well,
I think you know the answer to that. In fact,
the few inns that did exist in those days were
more like brothels than they were motels. And
so if a Christian wanted to maintain a pure testimony,
he could not stay normally in an inn. He would
look elsewhere. And the apostle says, take in
your brothers and sisters who are traveling.
But then there was a second group, and those
were those who were exiled for their faith. You
see, the state had confiscated all of their belongings.
They had nothing, nothing. And they would go
from place to place, and the apostle says, reach
out to them and share with them. And a third
group was comprised of those who were messengers
of the churches. They didn't have a very good
mail system. If a letter was going to get from
one place to another, you had to take that letter
there. And so if a church wanted to communicate
with another church, they would send a messenger.
And so the command was for those who were the
messengers of the churches, receive them, be
hospitable, share with them. He says practice
hospitality. That's an interesting verb. The
word really means hunt. Hospitality. Hunt it
down. Go out of your way. Seek it with the same
enthusiasm that a hunter seeks his prey. Search
out someone who needs to be ministered to and
do it. Hunt him down. Roy Smith said, The greatest
difficulty with the world is not its ability
to produce, but its willingness to share. But
let that not be said among God's people. That
brings us to verse 14 where we see love's charity.
Verse 14 at first glance seems a little out of
place, doesn't it? I mean, you would think he
might put that down with verse 17. And yet there's
a reason for it being where it is, and I think
the key is found in the word persecute. For the
word persecute is the same word as the word practice
in verse 13. And it seems to me that as Paul
was saying, hunt down people to show hospitality
to them, he was reminded that some believers
are hunted down. They are pursued as prey. They
are persecuted. And so he is reminded to say
to those who are hunted by the enemies, bless
those who persecute you. Bless and curse not.
Jesus said the same thing to us. He said, love
your enemies. Don't hate them. Here the verb
is in the present tense. It's to be habitual.
He says, invoke continually God's blessing upon
them. And on the other hand, he says, do not
habitually curse them. Are you facing a persecutor?
It may be someone in your own family. It could
be a supervisor in the office. Maybe it's a professor
at the university where you go. Are you facing
someone who is hunting you down as a Christian?
What is your response? You say, I'm going to
put his lights out, poke him in the eyes. No.
That may be what the flesh would like to do with
a persecutor. Maybe you'd like to punch him.
But that's not what God tells us to do. We'll
get into this more later. But what he tells us
to do is to bless them. Do you really want to
get under the skin of somebody who is trying
to get you? After they have done you rotten,
after they've stuck the knife in and then turned
it, say, God bless you. You know what? It'll
blow their minds away. That's how to really get
even with them. After they have done what they're
going to do to you, turn around and say to them,
well, thank you. God bless you. Bless them continually.
And do not habitually curse them. That is the
charity of love. And frankly, that is not the
kind of love the world knows. The world says,
look out for yourself. Be assertive. Fight back.
Right? But among those who know God's agape,
we are to show charity. It is interesting to
think that within a few years of these people
receiving this letter from the Apostle Paul,
many of them would be found in the arena, being
eaten by wild animals under the heavy hand of
persecution of Nero, the emperor. As they walked
into the arena, hand in hand with other believers,
and saw the wild animals unleashed to attack
them and kill them, perhaps it was then that
they remembered what Paul said, Bless those who
persecute you, and do not habitually curse them.
And that kind of sensitivity brings us to verse
15, where we see love's sensitivity exposed even
more clearly. He says, rejoice with those who
rejoice and weep with those who weep. In other
words, be sensitive to where other people are.
Don't be so preoccupied with yourself that you
don't sense others' circumstances. My friend,
today you will brush against numerous people.
Who are fighting battles greater than yours?
Be sensitive to that. Rejoice and weep. Frankly,
I think it's easier for us to weep than it is
to rejoice, though. That is more natural, isn't
it? It doesn't mean it's less important. It's
certainly important. For many of us have stood
beside a casket, for example. And as we've stood
there, some other believer has come beside us
and just put the arm around us, maybe not even
said a word. But there was that ministry, there
was that empathy, that feeling, that support.
And that's important. But let's also remember
that we are to rejoice with those that rejoice.
When was the last time that you actually did
that? I would suppose... That we could remember
the last time we wept with someone much more
easily than we could remember the last time that
we celebrated with someone some victory. But
we are to do both. We are to be sensitive to
the successes and the defeats that others are
experiencing. That is love's sensitivity. Someone
has said, divided joy is doubled. Divided sorrows
are halved. I like that. Then we come to verse
16 where we see the final aspect of love in this
paragraph we've read. And that is love's humility.
He says it in three statements. Be of the same
mind toward one another. Do not be haughty in
mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be
wise in your own estimations. In other words,
be humble. By the first statement, he does not
mean that we are to always be exactly of the
same opinion, because that is not possible with
human beings. But what he is saying, that beyond
opinions, we are to have at heart the same interest,
the same goals, the same purpose. And we are
to cause our differences of opinions to come
together harmoniously in love and humility so
that we can achieve our common objectives. That's
his point. He says, do not be haughty in your
mind, but associate with the lowly. Literally,
he says, don't set your mind on high things for
yourself, but be moved along with the lowly brethren.
To be associated depicts a flood, which is unleashed
across a plain and picks up debris and carries
it along with it. Now what he says is that we
are to be swept up and carried along with those
who are lowly. Perhaps you look around and you
see someone who is lowly. Your response should
not be, well, I would like to associate with
them, but I'm really above that. Now, we wouldn't
say that, would we? But we think it. It really
concerns me when people and organizations focus,
for example, on just the wealthy. or just those
who are leaders. I remember several years ago
an organization working on the campus which said,
we are going after the leaders, and we're forgetting
the rest, because if we get the leaders, we'll
get everybody else. That may seem wise, but that
is not God's program. God says that we are not
to forget those who are not leaders. Those who
are not wealthy. Don't forget them. We are to
associate with them. We are to be carried up
with them and move with them. And why is that?
Because if you were to examine and survey the
church during this age, down through the hundreds
of years, you would find that by far the predominance
of believers have been among those who are the
world's lowly people. He concludes by saying,
do not be wise in your own estimation. The idea
is here, don't be overcome with your own ambitions.
Don't be overcome by self -centered living and
thinking. But remember others. Andrew Murray
said it this way, do you want to enter what people
call the higher life? then go a step lower down.
How well he said it. And maybe that's the reason
that some of us have had a hard time getting
into the higher life, as he puts it. Because
we are not willing to take a step lower down.
If so, then love doesn't control us, because
you see, one aspect of love is this humility
of verse 16. It is good for us to examine ourselves.
Let me ask some questions of myself, of you.
Have you taken time to find out what's on the
mind of your roommate or your spouse, your child,
your parent, your co -worker? Has that one who
perhaps is closest to you seen love in action
as you've taken time just to find out what's
on their mind? Are you on an ego trip? So much
so that you are unable to realize that there
are people around you that are hurting and need
you? When was the last time you sought out, you
pursued, you hunted down a needy Christian and
practiced liberality? Is your Christian life
noted for its energy, for its joy in the midst
of pressure and stress, for its devotion to prayer?
Would others around you characterize you as tender,
gracious, affectionate, delicate? Or would they
perceive you as being harsh, brash, perhaps injurious?
Has love produced in you purity, high standards,
And above board morality? Are you glued to good
and a hater of what is evil? Depending on how
we answer those questions, we have a love that
is without hypocrisy. The kind of love that God
produces in the church so that our spiritual
gifts are ministered in an atmosphere. of harmony
and unity. If you will go back through this list
on your own and think about Jesus Christ, you
will find that Jesus Christ lived exactly this
way. As you and I live this way, a life of unhypocritical
love, we will be living like Jesus did. Let's
pray. Father, this description of love that is
without hypocrisy causes many of us today to...
Be ashamed. Because we are exposed in the superficial
nature of our love. How easily we use the words.
But when it comes to actions and deeds and what
we do, we're hypocrites. Father, deliver us from
hypocrisy. And having understood what your will
for us is, now I pray, give us wills to obey
and strengthen our wills so that we will live
as Jesus did. And Father, wherein there are decisions
and commitments we need to make today to be humble,
to be sensitive, to be moral, then give us, I
pray, obedience, and repentance, that we may
bring our lives into step with your will. In
Jesus' name, amen.