Hopeology, Part 14

It's so good to have you with us today as we worship the Lord together. You know, the Lord is so good to us, and the song about, you know, honoring the Lord, I would trust that that's your prayer. You know, the Bible says that He who honors me I will honor.

I quote that verse probably at least once a month, probably twice a month, all the time to my children, because I want them to honor the Lord. And when you honor the Lord, 1 Samuel 2.30 says, He will honor you. You've got to put Him first.

You've got to glorify His name. You've got to put Him on display. And that's what's important.

And I would trust that that's your prayer this morning as we gather together to worship the Lord. We're grateful that you're here. I want to pray for you, for your family.

I pray God does a great work. So if you're able, join me on your knees as we approach with a little grace. Father, thank you for today.

It is a great day to be able to come and worship the King, to bow before you in submission, saying, yes, Lord, whatever you say, you will do. You have said, honor me. If you honor me, I will honor you.

My prayer for everyone in the room, that Lord, that would be their desire to stay this week throughout the rest of their lives, no matter what they say, no matter what they do, no matter where they go, no matter what relationship they're in, no matter where they work, where they go to school, that they would honor you, that the glory of your name would reign supreme, that everything about you would be of a priority to all of us. We pray, Father, for our families, husbands and wives, children, that you do a mighty work in the families of our church. We pray for husbands, that they lead their wives, they'd honor you by loving them as Christ loved the church, that wives would honor you by living in submission to their husbands' leadership, that children would honor you by honoring their mother and father and living in obedience to their authority.

We pray, Father, that all of us as a family, a family of God, would learn to love one another and serve one another, pray for one another, lift up one another, be of service one to another. We pray, Lord, for those who might be here for the very first time. We pray that they would find at Christ Community Church a place of refuge, a place of protection, a place where you are lifted high, and they could be fed spiritually, grow deep in their understanding of the King.

We thank you, Lord Jesus, that we could gather together today to worship you. We pray, as we open your word together, that, Lord, you teach us. There's so much for us to learn, but yet, beyond that, Lord, there's so much that we've already learned, and yet, somehow, we have yet to live it.

So we ask ourselves the question, did we truly learn it to begin with? And if we did, help us to live the truth. Help us to walk in truth. John did say that he has no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.

Well, Lord, that would be your desire as well, that the children of God would live according to the word of God and walk in truth. May what we hear today enable us to walk in truth and best imitate the God of truth. We pray in the name of our coming King, Jesus Christ, our Lord, amen.

The hope of the Lord Jesus Christ revolutionizes every single relationship that we're in. That's point number 10 of our outline on the doctrine of hopeology. For truly, every relationship that we have is changed because of what Paul says in Colossians chapter 1, verse number 4. He says, the love which you have for all the saints because of the hope laid out for you in heaven.

Because there is this anticipation of the fulfillment of the promises of God, it truly enables us to love one another. It revolutionizes every relationship that we're in. It changes it.

It transforms it. It transforms it in such a way that everything about how I relate to you and how you relate to me and not just in the family of God, but in our families themselves has all been changed because my focus truly is above. And because it's focused above and I'm focused on loving God, the natural byproduct of that is that I'm going to love you in return.

And so we begin to understand that by realizing that every relationship that I am is turned upside down in a good way, not a bad way, because the Lord is the central figure of those relationships. And so I'm able now to pursue love, as 1 Corinthians 14 says. I pursue it.

I hunt it down. I want to love you. So I pursue love.

And because I pursue love, the only way I can do that is because I'm born again and the love of God has been shed abroad in my heart, Romans 5, 5. And because it's already there, all I have to do now is dispense it to you. In fact, the fruit of the Spirit is love. And so because I'm Spirit-filled and the Spirit of God resides within me, then the natural byproduct of that is that I'm going to love you.

In fact, Jesus said in those very familiar words in John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35, a new commandment I give unto you, a new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another. And if you're a disciple and you're hearing that, you say, that's not a new commandment, that's an old commandment. What do you mean a new commandment? In the context of John 13, it's very important.

Because he says, a new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another. In other words, he says, you are to love one another as I have loved you. In other words, loving one another as you love yourself is no longer the standard.

Loving one another as I have loved you has become now the standard. And by this shall all men know that you're one of my followers, you're a disciple of mine, because you have this kind of love one for another. You see, the reason the world knows that we are followers of Christ, because we have this certain kind of love for one another.

Not a love that we love ourselves, but a love like God has demonstrated to us. And in John 13, it's very important. Because you remember the context in John 13, verse number one.

It says that he loved his disciples. John 13, verse number one says, Now before the feast of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come, that he would depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end, he loved them perfectly. So now he says, love one another as I have loved you, because I have loved you perfectly.

And you know, the context of John 13 is the eve of the crucifixion. Jesus is going to die the next day, and all the disciples now are arguing about who's the greatest in the kingdom. And while they're arguing about who's the greatest in the kingdom, Jesus quietly gets up.

He girds himself with a slave's apron and begins to wash the disciples' feet. And Peter's outraged that the Lord of the universe would wash his feet. But Jesus said, if I don't wash your feet, you have no part with me.

And then Peter says, well, then throw the whole bucket of water on me because I want to have a part with you. And Jesus says, you just need a daily cleansing, Peter. And he washes the disciples' feet.

And then he says those familiar words in John 13. He says, do you know what I have done to you? Now if you're sitting there, you're thinking, yeah, you washed my feet. That's what you did to me.

He says, you call me teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, the Lord and the teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.

And the natural assumption is, well, OK, so we are to wash one another's feet. No, you missed the point. Missed it all together.

For you've got to read on. Jesus says, for I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave is not greater than his master, nor is the one who is sent greater than the one who sent him.

If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. Does that mean I am blessed if I wash your feet? No. That's not what it means.

We would think that, but that's not the point. The whole point of the passage is very important. Jesus is going to die the next day, and nobody in the room really cares.

How do we know that? Because they're arguing about who's the greatest in the kingdom. They're so self-absorbed that all they can think of is themselves. And Jesus isn't saying, hey, wait a minute, guys.

Could you pray for me? I am going to die for you tomorrow. Would you do that? Do you not care about what I'm going to do? I'm going to give my life away for you tomorrow. Could you not just care a little bit about me? Jesus never says that.

Because you see, he set an example. If you follow, you'll be blessed. So he quietly girds himself with the slave paper.

He begins to wash the disciples' feet. To show them that during the time of your greatest loneliness, your greatest emptiness, your greatest isolation, when nobody cares two hoots about what you are and what you're doing, you serve them. If you do that, you're blessed.

And then he says this. A new commandment I give unto you. That you love one another as I have loved you.

This is what love is. True love says, I am not the central focus of what's going on here. True love says, you're the central focus.

So I'm going to serve you. Even though you don't pray for me. Even though you don't talk to me.

Even though you don't ask me about what's happening in my life. Even though you don't care about what's going on in my life. What I'm going to do, I'm going to wash your feet.

I'm going to serve you during this time of need. That's love. That's the new commandment.

On the standard. You love that way? You're blessed. You don't love that way? You haven't loved as Christ has loved the church.

And that's why, that's why Paul says. If you have this hope laid up in heaven, you love one another. That's what you do.

That's why it revolutionizes every relationship that I'm in. Because I live in anticipation of all the promises of God. So now I can pursue love.

Because the love of God is shed abroad in my heart. And because of that, I can, as we said last week, I can put on love. I can abound in love.

I can continue in love. I can increase in love. I can be consistent in love.

I can provoke others to love. I can be sincere in love. I can let all I do be done in love.

I can love from a pure heart. I can walk in love. I can be fervent in my love.

I can do all the commands that God says because his love is shed abroad in my heart. Now I can love as the new commandment says, as he has loved me. And that's why it revolutionizes every relationship.

Because my hope is fixed on God in heaven above. And we told you that that love is determined by a personal knowledge of God. 1 John 4, verse 7. The only way you can love is if you know God, for God is love, right? And love is of God and from God.

And so it's all determined by a personal knowledge of God. You see, the reason most of us can't do what Christ says is because we don't know who God is. Just because you come to church doesn't mean you know who God is, right? Just because you were maybe baptized in the church, like many over the years have been baptized here, doesn't mean that you know God.

Because if you have a personal knowledge of the living God, if you know God and God is love, John says, now you can love God's way. So if you don't love God's way, the question is, do you really know God? That's the assumption, right? And so it's determined by a personal knowledge of the living God. Do you know him? Do you know the God who's ascribed as a God of love? Is he light? Yes.

Is he life? Yes. Is he Lord? Yes. Is he lamb? Yes.

Is he love? Yes, he is. And those who know him are imitators of him. Be imitators of God.

Walk in love. It's determined by a personal knowledge of God. This is last week, this is review, okay? Number two, number two, it's what? It truly is demonstrated by what it does.

That's number two. Love is demonstrated by what it does. In other words, love is visible, not just vocal.

Talked about this last week, right? I can say I love you, but I'd show you. But if I show you, now you know that there truly is love. So what did Jesus say in John 13? He didn't say, come on guys, you know, I really love you guys.

Come on, man, let's all gather around, let's have a love hug. You know, didn't do that. He just demonstrated his love to them.

Because love is visible more than it's vocal. It's not that he didn't ever say that he loved them. But the fact of the matter is, it's what he did that mattered.

Right? Love is more visible than vocal. And if it's visible, it's always, listen, sacrificial. If it's visible, it's sacrificial.

Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. Love is sacrificial.

How did you show sacrifice this past week to those in the family of God? How about in your own personal family? Who did you sacrifice for? Because love is not just visible, love is sacrificial. If love is sacrificial, listen, love is beneficial. Right? Love is beneficial.

Because it always benefits the object it loves. We forget that. Who in the room has benefited from your love toward them? Who in your family benefits from your sacrificial, visible love that you have demonstrated every single day? Because love is beneficial.

Because love is sacrificial. Very important. Remember, love is active, never passive.

Love is an action verb. You're pursuing something. You're aggressively attacking something, in a good way, not a bad way.

But you are loving the brethren. So it's a verb of action. So therefore, there is something that's going to benefit you by what I am able to sacrifice on your behalf.

Love is visible. If it's visible, it's sacrificial. If it's sacrificial, it's beneficial.

If it's beneficial, remember, it's always volitional. Love is a choice. I choose to love you.

God demonstrated his love toward us. And as Christ died for us. There was a demonstration there of a sacrifice.

There was a demonstration there of a benefit for us. There was a demonstration there of something that truly was a choice that he made. Because love is volitional.

Listen, love is not compulsive, necessarily, as much as it is volitional. I don't have to love you. I want to love you.

See? It's something that I want to do. Because the love of God has been brought in my heart. I'm going to pursue love.

I'm going to show it to you in such a way that it's sacrificial. It's beneficial. It's volitional.

Also, on top of that, that love is unconditional. It's unconditional. It doesn't determine your actions.

It's totally determined by my actions. I don't love you because. I love you in spite of.

Because our Lord is a Lord that loves unconditionally. Also, on top of that, love is transformational. It's transformational.

Revelation 1, 5, it says that God loved us and released us from our sins. It transformed our lives. So there's something about my unconditional, volitional, beneficial, sacrificial love for you that's transformational.

Because it revolutionizes everything about your life. Because of my willingness to give my life away for you. Also, that kind of love is sensational.

It's sensational because, oh, what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us. That we should be called the children of God. What other kind of worldly love is this? What kind of alien kind of love is this? That the Father should bestow upon us.

That we should now be called the children of God. This is a sensational kind of love. You see, your wife, gentlemen, should be overwhelmed with sensationalism from you.

She's overwhelmed by how it is you demonstrate your love to her. Because it's sacrificial. It's unconditional.

It's volitional. It's beneficial. It's transformational.

It is absolutely sensational. Oh, by the way, love is emotional. Put that toward the end because love is not based on emotion.

But love is emotional because love rejoices. Not in unrighteousness, but love rejoices in the truth. So, love does rejoice.

Love is emotional. There is passion behind my love. There is a passion about my life.

There's a passion about the way I demonstrate things because love truly is emotional. But, in spite of all those things, don't miss this. Love is always judicial.

Love is always judicial. Love, true love, always passes judgment. Because love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth.

Right? So, there is a difference there. You must understand that. You see, some say, you hear it all the time.

Don't judge me. People who say that are always guilty. If you say, don't judge me, you're guilty.

You're guilty. Because, you see, you should want to be judged. I want you to judge me.

I want you to judge my sermons. I want you to judge my lifestyle. I want you to judge my dress.

I want you to judge everything about me. I'm open to that. I want to be scrutinized.

If you don't want to be scrutinized, you've got a problem. You've got a you problem. You should want to be scrutinized.

Because you always want to pursue Christ-likeness. You always want to be better. You always want to honor the Lord in all that you say and do.

And so, love is always judicial. Think about this. Paul was judicial.

He passed judgment on a man who had been living in immorality in the church of Corinth, 1 Corinthians 5. And he delivered that man unto Satan. Love is judicial. He judged that man's behavior.

Peter. His love was judicial. Ananias and Sapphira.

So judicial, they both died in church. Right? Because they lied to the Holy Spirit. He confronted them.

Because love, not just is judicial, it's confrontational. All love, as beneficial as it is, as unconditional as it is, as sensational as it is, as emotional as it is, as sacrificial as it is, is always confrontational and judicial. It has to be.

It has to be because you can't rejoice in unrighteousness. You can only rejoice in the truth. So Peter would confront sin in the church.

Because he loved Ananias and Sapphira. All Ananias and Sapphira had to do was tell the truth. But they lied.

Love doesn't rejoice in unrighteousness, only in righteousness. So they died. Paul didn't say, ah, the guy's in immorality, just love him.

Just love on him. He's living in sin. Just love on him.

No, no, no. Delivered him over to Satan. He did not repent of his sin.

You must too deliver him over to Satan. John. John, the disciple of love.

Remember, in John's gospel, John is called the disciple whom Jesus loved. That's how he described it. He never called himself John.

He was so overwhelmed by the love of God in his life, he called himself the disciple whom Jesus loved. And John's whole first epistle is an epistle of unconditional, judicial, confrontational love. Because he says these words in 1 John.

He says this. Little children, make sure no one deceives you. The one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as he is righteous.

The one who practices sin is of the devil. That's judicial. He's passing judgment on those who live in sin.

That's what love does. For the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil.

No one who is born of God practices sin, because his seed abides in him. And he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this, the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious.

Are obvious. Are absolutely clear. I can tell you right now, John says, here are the children of the devil.

Here are the children of God. It is absolutely clear. Obvious.

No discrepancy. He says this. Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.

That is confrontational judicial love. Happens that way. Does love cover a multitude of sins? Yes.

Love has a forgiving spirit. But I love you so much, that I can't let you continue in sin. I love you enough to confront you where you are in error, because I want you to walk with Christ.

I love you enough because I want you to live a pure and holy life before the true and living God. So I will pass judgment on a behavior that's displeasing to God, and say, honor the Lord. It's so important.

We miss that in the church. I'm afraid of that today. So love is determined by a personal knowledge of God, who, by the way, is a judicial God, who is a confrontational God, right? So if we're going to be imitators of God, we've got to be imitators of Him in every area, not just one area, right? So it's determined by a personal knowledge of God, and it's demonstrated by what it does.

And thirdly, it is defined by its ability to keep on giving. It's defined by its ability to keep on giving. This is very important.

Listen to what it says in Romans chapter 12. Let love be without hypocrisy. Let love be genuine.

Let it be sincere. I want you to have a genuine kind of love. I want you to have real love, not a hypocritical kind of love, where you say one thing and do another, okay? You give verbal assent to what the Word of God says, but don't live it out.

I want you to let your love be sincere without hypocrisy. I want your love to be truthful. I want it to be genuine.

How is your love genuine? Here's what it says, right? Abhor what is evil and cling to that which is good. By the way, that is confrontational, judicial, sincere, genuine love. You hate evil.

You abhor it. And you cling to that which is good. That's genuine love.

And then it says this. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.

If you're abhorring evil and cling to what is good, now you can be devoted to one another in brotherly kind of love. He says, give preference to one another in honor, not lagging behind in diligence. Why does he put that in there? Because that's what you're going to do.

You're going to lag behind in your diligence. Be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. He puts that in there because he knows that brotherly love is sacrificial.

He knows that brotherly love is unconditional. He knows that brotherly love is judicial. He knows it's confrontational.

He knows it's transformational. He knows all that. And so because it is, don't lag behind.

Be diligent in your spirit. Why? Because you're going to want to sit back and say, you know what? I don't want to do that anymore. I'm tired.

Some of you women are like that with your husbands, aren't you? I'm tired. I'm done. I'm done giving when I get nothing in return.

I'm done serving and being disrespectful. I'm done. So Paul says, don't lag behind in your diligence.

Oh, by the way, Proverbs 12, 27. What is man's most precious possession? Diligence. Isn't that good? Solomon did that.

Paul picks up on what Solomon says in Proverbs 12 and says, don't be lagging behind in diligence. It's your most precious possession. It's the most prized possession of an individual person.

He is diligent. He's hardworking. He is disciplined.

See that? We live in an undisciplined society. We live in a lazy society. Lazy.

Everybody wants freebies. Hands out. You know? And yet, we can't lag behind in diligence.

But we're to be fervent in spirit. We're to be boiling over in the spirit, serving the Lord. Because that's what you're doing.

You're not serving your brother whom you are to love. You are serving the Lord. Don't forget that perspective, right? Husband, why do you love your wives as Christ loved the church? Because you're serving the Lord.

Ladies, why do you submit to your husband's leadership? Because you're serving the Lord. Why are you devoted to one another and brotherly love? Because you're serving the Lord. That's why.

You're not serving necessarily one another. Although you are, you are serving the Lord. Therefore, you can't afford to lag behind in your diligence.

You must be fervent in your spirit because it's for the Lord. You've got to be excited about that. See? Now that frees me to love you sacrificially, beneficially, judicially, sensationally, transformationally, yada, yada, yada.

See that? See how it comes together? It just comes together in one neat little package. But it's so hard to do. And yet, all that love has been shed abroad in your heart.

It's all there. All there. That's why love is volitional.

It's a choice. I can just choose to do that. Because God has already demonstrated his love towards me.

And shed that love abroad in my heart. And then he goes on to say, Rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality, contributing to the needs of the saints. Do you know somebody in the room has a need? Do you contribute to that need? He who sees his brother's need and knows there's a need and shuts up his bowels of compassion, the love of God does not dwell in him.

If you know somebody in the room has a need because we're to be devoted to one another in brotherly love, if you know someone on the other side of the auditorium, or that side of the auditorium, or in the second service, you know a brother who has a need, you don't meet that need, you're not responsible. Somehow, some way, you can come alongside that brother, alongside that sister and say, Hey, I want to meet that need. I want to practice hospitality.

I want to be devoted to you in brotherly love. I want to do what I can. That's why we, you know, as a church, we give to an emergency needs fund, right? Because we want to help brothers and sisters in need.

A lot of you do that. Every first Sunday of the month, Communion Sunday, we give to those in need, so we take an emergency needs offering so that we can come alongside of those who have needs and minister to them. You know, we have needs.

The church has needs. I remember when this church started 25 years ago, 25 years ago, next week, okay? I was supporting two men that had great, great outreach and missions, one in Portugal and one literally around the world. But when this church started, I cut off all my support to those two men.

And I told them, I called them both. I said, you know that I love you and I love your ministry. I've been supporting it for over six years.

I said, but we're starting a church. And every ounce of the money I give has to be devoted to my church. Has to be.

I can't diversify my funds because if I do, I will weaken what I give to the church. And the church is young. It's growing.

And it needs to have all the support I can give it, not just me physically, but me financially. And I knew that when I gave, it'd be given to emergency needs. I knew that when I gave, it'd be given to missions.

I knew that when I gave, it'd be given to the ministry of the church. It would tackle everything that these guys were doing automatically. It would encompass that and more.

But it was all to my church because I loved and still love the church. My wife and I have maintained that policy throughout our entire marriage, about 25 years of this church. It doesn't mean that we don't give there or give there to other people, but that's above and beyond what I give all the time to Christ Community Church because I want to contribute to the needs of the saints the best way I possibly can.

So people can go around the world and preach the gospel. We can send Bruce and Tommy to Myanmar. We can send teams to Ecuador, Russia, and do that kind of stuff and reach the world with the gospel.

It goes on to say, be the same mind toward one another. Do not be haughty in mind, but associate with the lowly. Do not be wise in your own estimation.

All this is loving sincerely, loving without hypocrisy, loving truthfully. Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men.

Don't pay back evil for evil. If possible, so far it depends upon you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God.

For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. Thirsty, give him a drink.

In so doing, you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let me tell you something.

When you love genuinely, without hypocrisy, you overcome evil with good. You're never overcome by evil. That's so good.

That's just so rich. So love is determined by a personal knowledge of the living God. I know Him.

He's the God of love. It's demonstrated by what it does. It's defined by its ability to keep on giving.

And that's where we left off last week. All the review. But I got to finish this today.

It's developed by obedience to God. That's point number four. It's developed by obedience to God.

You say, you know what? How do I do this? Obey God. If you love me, what does Christ say? Keep my commandments. Right? If you want to know what it means to truly love somebody, all you have to do is obey what God says.

Duty breeds delight. If you're waiting for the delight to fulfill your duty, it might not ever come. But if you're dutiful in your ministry, if you're dutiful in your service, the delight will always come.

Because you're living in obedience to God, you're honoring his word. And the Bible says in 1 John 2, and we got a lot in 1 John, because John is the disciple whom Jesus loved. And it says in 1 John 2, these words, verse number four, or verse number three, By this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments.

The one who says, I have come to know him, and does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in him, because we listen to what he says, and we obey what he says.

So love is developed by my obedience to God. If I obey the true and living God, my love abounds, it increases, it grows with each passing moment in those commands that God gives, 1 John 5, 3. Do you know that none of them are burdensome? Isn't it interesting that as a child of God, God gives commands, but none of them weigh me down? They don't. Why? Because I have a hope laid up in heaven that allows me to distribute my love to all the saints here on earth.

Note this, that when you disobey the law of God, you'll never display the love of God. When you disobey the law of God, you'll never display the love of God. All you have to do is obey what God says, because it truly is developed by obedience to the true and living God.

I want to serve him. I want to obey him. I want to live for him.

That's what I want to do. Number five, love is deterred by sin in my life. Love is deterred by sin in my life.

John says it this way, 1 John 3, 1 John 3, verse number 11, For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of the evil one, and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brothers were righteous.

Cain did not love his brother Abel. He slew his brother, because his deeds were evil. See, sin is always a hindrance to my love for you.

That's why you can't love unconditionally. That's why you can't love beneficially. That's why you can't love judicially, and transformationally, and sensationally, and emotionally.

It's because of your own sin. Stop blaming somebody else. We just live in this world where we're just victims.

You realize that? I hate that victim mentality. We're not victims, we're victors. We're overcomers.

Come on, people. But we live as victims. They just treat me so badly at that church.

I just wish someone would reach out to me, and minister to me, and serve me, and love me, and care for me. What are you doing? Nothing. See? Why not? Why aren't you ministering to them? Why aren't you reaching out to them? Why aren't you loving them and serving them? See? But we have this victim's mentality.

We just see ourselves as poor victims instead of seeing ourselves as victors in Christ, that we might rise up, and be strong in the Lord, and the power of His might. We forget that the greatest hindrance to you loving somebody else is not them. It's all you.

I hate to break it to you. It's just all you. You can say whatever you want to say about how you're treated.

Think about Jesus and how He was treated. He's your example. Not me.

I'm not your example. Jesus is your example. He was treated so unlovingly, so unkindly, so wrong, that He was completely sinless and righteous.

And you're not. And I'm not. I hate to say it.

A lot of times we deserve what we get. I don't mean that in an offensive way or in an abusive way. What I'm saying is that we have to release ourselves from this victim's mentality and truly see ourselves as victors in Christ with a hope laid up in heaven that allows me to distribute my love toward one another.

But because I see myself as a victim, I become very lazy. I become very selfish. I look inwardly, not outwardly.

And all of a sudden, my selfishness turns to bitterness. My bitterness to more laziness. Slothfulness.

And all of a sudden, I see myself as this victim. And I no longer reach out to those around me. That's why we took you to John 13, 34, and 35 at the very beginning.

Because Jesus, no one reached out to Him. No one prayed with Him or for Him until He told them to pray with Him. And when they did, they fell asleep.

No one said, You know, Lord, we're really sorry about what's going to happen tomorrow. We know it's prophetic, but our hearts are breaking for You. Nobody said that.

But He loved His own completely to the very end. Perfectly to the very end. And so He allowed us to see the beauty of what it means to give yourself away.

He's your standard. Ask yourself, How do I measure to that standard in my family? How do I measure to that standard in my church? See? So important to understand that. Love is always deterred by sin in my life.

Remember 1 Corinthians 13, 5? Love never seeks its own. Its own what? Its own benefit. Love never seeks its own interest.

Love never seeks its own benefit. Love, true love, the love that is patient, the love that is kind, the love of God that's demonstrated to us, that love never seeks its own welfare, never seeks its own benefit. Ask yourself that what you did today for the people in your church, is it to benefit you or to benefit them? Because love is beneficial, but not to you.

It's beneficial to them because you're actively pursuing them. So love is not beneficial to me, it's beneficial to the one I serve. They're the object of my love.

Therefore I reach out to them and serve them. And that's what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 13, 5. Love never, ever seeks its own benefit. How about you? Whose benefit are you seeking? Whose welfare are you looking out for? Yours or those in your church? Yours or those in your family? So love is determined by a personal knowledge of God, demonstrated by what it does, defined by its ability to keep on giving, developed by obedience to God, deterred by sin in my life.

Number six, it's devoted deeply so as to withstand pressure. It's devoted so deeply so as to withstand pressure. I tell my children all the time, and pressure is pleasure.

The stronger the pressure, the sweeter the pleasure. You need to teach your children that pressure is pleasure, not painful. Because love is devoted so deeply that it will not let up.

It withstands pressure. In the Song of Solomon, listen to what is recorded in Song of Solomon chapter eight. For love, true love, is as strong as death.

How strong is death? Death has a grip on everybody. Everybody's gonna die. Death is a sure thing.

Love, true love, is a sure thing. As death is sure, so my love for you is sure. Solomon's wife says.

Then she says this. Many waters cannot quench love, nor will rivers overflow it. If a man were to give all the riches of his house for love, it would be utterly despised.

Love is so strong. Love is so sure. Love is invincible.

Love is indestructible. And love is invaluable. Because no matter what the pressure, it withstands and does not falter.

How many times do we in the church crumble under pressure? And therefore, can't begin to reach out and serve someone else. Because we are so self-absorbed with what's happening to me, that I can't even begin to think of what's going on in your life. There's always somebody worse off than you.

There's someone going through a greater tragedy, a greater problem, a greater pressure than you are. They need you to love them. They need you to reach out to them and sincerely, genuinely, truthfully abhor what is evil, cling to what is good, because your love is without hypocrisy.

It's genuine. It's determined by a personal knowledge of God. You know Him.

Because it is, it truly keeps on giving and giving and giving and giving. Say, wait, time out, Pastor, time out. You can't really mean that, do you? Can you? That we just keep on giving? Yeah, you're the Energizer bunny when it comes to loving.

You just keep loving, keep giving, keep giving, keep giving. But what about me? Listen to that sentence. What about me? Just think about it for a minute.

What about me? How selfish can you be? What about me? What about you? It's not about you. See, one thing you got to realize in Christianity, it's never about you. It's never about you.

Why? Because you've denied yourself and followed Christ. Maybe if it's what about you, you haven't denied yourself, maybe you're not a Christian. You ever think about that? You've denied yourself, you've taken up your cross, and you're following Christ.

You're an imitator of Christ who kept on giving and giving and giving and giving, giving his life away to the point of death because he loved so much the world. That's our God, see? So it just keeps on giving and giving and giving because it wants to demonstrate Christ. Do you really want to demonstrate Christ? Do you want to be an imitator of God and walk in love? Do you want to do that? See, we find ourselves wanting others to imitate Christ and walk in love so I can get the benefit instead of me leading the way and doing that.

And lastly, this should be point number seven. It is. Love is dependent not on a response in order to function.

It is dependent not on a response in order to function. In other words, I never need you to respond. I don't.

Because it's not about your response. It's about ultimately my reward and glory. It's not about what you do.

It's all about what I do for you to benefit you because love is beneficial. It's all about what I do for you because love is volitional. I choose to do this.

Love is about what I do for you because love is unconditional. See? That's just the way it is. So love is dependent not on a response from you in order to keep on functioning.

I can function even though you never respond. That's what God's love is all about. That's why my relationships are revolutionized.

If you follow that, your marriage is going to explode in a good way. It's going to just take off. Take off.

Your church life will blossom in ways you can't even begin to imagine because you truly are seeking the honor and glory of the Lord God. The Lord never was looking for a response. He knew he would get a response ultimately because he would call men to himself.

But the first time he came to his own, his own received a nod. But the essence of his love was that he just kept on giving and giving and giving and giving his life away. Think about all the people he healed.

He pretty much banished all disease in the land of Israel in three years. He healed everybody. Everybody.

He didn't say, you know, I healed you. You got to give a little bit to the ministry here. You know, I healed you.

How about coming to the synagogue so you can hear the word of the Lord. You know, I healed you. I did this for you.

What are you going to do for me? He never says that because love is dependent not on a response from others in order to function. If you are dependent upon a response in any way, shape or form, if you're dependent upon a thank you, if you're dependent upon someone giving you a gift back because you gave a gift to them, if you're dependent upon someone responding back to you in a positive way, you are in a relationship that you are manipulating for your own benefit. That's manipulation at its highest.

You want something in return. If you're in your church for something in return, you're killing your church. You are.

Your selfishness is killing the church. If in your family you want something in return, you're killing your family. You're just bringing it down.

Lift it up. Love lifts. 1 Corinthians 8, verse number 1. Love edifies.

Love builds up. Love lifts. Lifts others above yourself.

See? It's hard to do in today's society, but that's what God's called us to do. If you have the hope that's laid up in heaven for you, it truly revolutionizes your relationships. Let's pray.

Father, we thank you for today. Truly you are great and greatly to be praised. We come today, Lord, because we are thankful for your word that truly convicts us.

I am extremely convicted today about how far short I fall from your standard. I pray that I would be the husband to my wife that I need to be for the glory of your kingdom. Father, to my children, the pastor to your church, that I would truly be one who loves as you have loved us.

And pray, Father, that every one of us would leave this place today wanting to fulfill your word every day in our lives for the honor of your kingdom and your glory. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

The offering after I preach is if I preach good, you give more. If I preach bad, you give less. That's just not true.

But we do reverse things this morning, but we want to give the opportunity to give to the Lord. Don't forget, you know, just the different opportunities we have for service in our church. You know, the prayer ministry that comes together every month that is open to the entire church this Saturday, October 26th, that you can come and be a part of if you want to be here and pray for our church and where we're at.

That's at 7.30 in the morning. We'd love to have you. Don't forget Operation Christmas Child where we can minister to needs, to needs of children that have needs.

Don't forget the Women's Ministry event where we make blankets and we do this every year for small children that need to be taken care of. Women get together and make blankets so that we can minister in a very unique and special way. I want to be a part of that.

See Peggy Kastler. But it's a great opportunity for us to serve once again and to see needs and to meet those needs. You know, I know you can't meet every need of the church, every need that comes up.

I know you can't do that, but when you have the opportunity to and you can, you do, right? That's what makes the church so unique. And don't forget Wednesday night as we continue looking at the pathway of praise. Great study for us to be with us as you look at the practice of praise in our lives and how it manifests itself every day and what it does in our lives as we lift our voices in praise to the living God.

Let's bow for a moment. Father, thank you for a chance to give. May we give for your glory and not ourselves.

May we give for the purpose of furthering your kingdom until you come again, as you most surely will. In Jesus' name, amen.