What's Love Got To Do With It Sermon Series

1 John 3

Intro and Recap

Part 1
1. Love the light
Part 2
1. Love the will of God
Peter Ahlin
1. Patience and trust in God’s plan
Reggie Roberson’s Prophetic Word
1. New wave of 100 people coming into the church this fall
2. Get prepared
3. Don’t be intimidated by their status, both influential and the poor are coming
A word from the Lord to preface today’s message
1. ‭‭Matthew‬ ‭24:12-13‬ ‭NIV
  1. “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.”
2. Revelation 2:1-7
  1. “To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. 2 I know your deeds,your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. 4 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. 5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. 6 But you have this in your favor: You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. 7 Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.
3. Part 3: Love Jesus
4. PRAY

Message: Love Jesus (and everything else follows)

Read 1 John 3

Overview

The theme from chapter one and two carries on into chapter 3. I love the Gospel of John and the letters from John because he makes the Gospel, the message of Christ, so clear and cut and dry. John uses easy language of comparing two opposite things to make the right choice obvious. When reading John’s writings it’s hard to come to a conclusion that isn’t expressly given.

John is rightly called the disciple whom Jesus loved. The interesting thing is that John labeled himself this! John was SO CONFIDENT not in his love for Christ, but in Jesus’s love for him that he could boldly call the himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved.’ John talked about love ALL THE TIME! This radical sacrificial love that God had lavished on him changed him. It became his primary message to the world and what he used as the test of a child of God.

1. Love Jesus by recognizing (believing in) His love for you.
  1. God the Father has lavished His love on us, and the result is we are children of God.
    1. 1 Jn. 4:19
      1. We love because he first loved us!
    2. John 1:11-13
      1. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
    3. John 3:16
      1. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son so that whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life.
    4. John 15:13
      1. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
        This is lavish love.
    5. We are children of God now but what will we become?
      1. 1st John 3:2
        Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.
      2. Expand:
        Children look like their parents, and increasingly so as they grow. Think about a baby: small, certain color, maybe a little hair. They all have pretty much the same features and same build, so maybe they’re a little hard to distinguish from each other with the few exceptions of birthmarks or skin color. Probably none of us would be able to walk into the baby ward with their Dad and point out which one is his without a little help (praise the Lord for for name tags!). But the Dad and Mom could probably tell.
        Now fast forward to when the kid is 5, then 15, then 30. As the child grows it begins to look, act, and think more and more like their parent even if the parent didn’t raise them. Now imagine the child that was raised by their parent: they wouldn’t only look like them due to DNA, but they would most likely have the same or very similar thought patterns, beliefs, character traits, and ethics. I never thought I looked much like my Dad (Mike Parleir) or acted like him, but now that I am 33 years old I find myself looking and sounding and thinking more and more like him.
        As John points out, the world may not recognize who God’s children are because it does not recognize God, so in turn, they of course would not know what His children look like.
        Saying: It takes one to know one. It takes a child of God (or God) to recognize a child of God.
        In this same trajectory, the child of God who remains in the vine of Jesus will be like Him when He returns.
        John 15:9-13
        9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you keep my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.13 Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
    6. Reiterate Point:
      1. Love Christ by recognizing (believing in) His love for you.

Love Jesus by purifying yourself (live holy).

1st John 3:3

“All who have this hope in him purify themselves, just as he is pure.”

1. 1. 1. 1. The hope is Jesus’ return.
    2. When we have tasted God’s pure sacrificial love we can not and will not stay the same or remain in the sin we used to tolerate. This is not us saving ourselves. This is us yielding our hearts to our lover, our lord, our saviour and asking Him to have His way in us, otherwise known as sanctification.
    3. Integrity: confessing your sin before the devil does.
    4. Phillipians 2:11-13
      1. Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.
    5. Example:
      1. It’s like an engagement period. We are the bride to be and Christ is the groom to be. Christ has declared His love by bearing the cross of our shame, bought the ring of the Holy Spirit and given it to His soon to be bride so the onlooking world will know by this token (deposit of the Holy Spirit) she’s about to get married. She in turn prepares to become one with her husband by aligning her body, soul, and mind to be all that she was designed to be because she herself is the gift to her husband. All of this is fueled by the already declared unfailing love of Christ. She knows she won’t be rejected. Rather, she knows who she is and will be loved as she is.
  2. 1st John 3:4-5
    1. Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness. 5 But you know that he appeared so that he might take away our sins. And in him is no sin. 6 No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. 7 Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. 8 The one who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.
    2. Point:
      1. Don’t be deceived, or as John says, “led astray,” by thinking that your actions don’t matter. John makes it very plain that because Jesus had to physically take on a body, be physically crucified, and raised from the dead with a physical yet spiritual resurrected body, our actions in this life, in this body, are of eternal importance.
      2. There are only two sides to choose from: child of God or child of the devil. Those who do what are righteous are children of God, and those who do what is sinful is of the devil.
      3. They key to focus on here is “keeps on sinning.” Remember in chapter 2 when John wrote to “children whose sins had been forgiven” as well as “young men who have overcome the evil one”? Babies poop in their pants quite often because they are being trained and growing to use a toilet. This is fine, because God is a loving father and every time we mess up we have an advocate in Jesus who washes us clean. But when your 13-year old is still wearing diapers, then there’s a problem. At this point they should be helping change the diapers of their younger siblings.
  3. 1st John 9-10
    1. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God. 10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
      1. The Self Test:
        Do I do what is right consistently?
        Do I love my brother and sister consistently?

Love Jesus by loving your brothers and sisters.

1. 1. 1st John 3:16-18
    1. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
      1. Jesus set the standard for us by giving His very life, and commands we do the same. This takes faith and grace.
        Galatians 2:19-21
        19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!

Love Jesus by obeying Him with action.

1. 1. 1st John 3:18-22
    1. Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. 19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him.
  2. Obedient action leads to
    1. Knowing we belong to God
    2. Sets our hearts at peace when anxiety tries to rule
    3. Answered prayers

Summary and Action Points

1. 1st John 3:23-24
  1. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
2. Receive God the Father’s lavish love by receiving Jesus Christ as your lord and saviour, letting His blood cleanse you of your sin and guilt. Be born again today.
3. If you have received Jesus as Lord and Savior but have been stuck in habitual sin or your heart has been condemned, receive freedom today by confessing your sin and receiving God’s grace by praying with someone.

Further Notes on Loving Well

1. Loving people well is understanding that they will do what they see you doing more than what they hear you saying.
  1. This is why we need Christian community. We need to live in a life sharing community.
2. Husbands: God won't answer your prayers if you're not living right (1 Peter 3:7).
  1. Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers
3. Elders and deacons (those who serve and love the church) must prove themselves by living (not just being) holy - (1 Tim 3).
4. The prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective.
  1. James 5:16
    1. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
5. When you pray you do not get what you ask for because of selfish reasons for asking.
6. Some vessels are for common use and some are for special use. Living holy sets you apart for special use.
  1. 2 Timothy 2:20-21
    1. 20 In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. 21 Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work

“Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” ‭‭John‬ ‭13:17‬ ‭NIV‬‬

““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭13:34-35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”” ‭‭John‬ ‭14:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit—fruit that will last—and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.” ‭‭John‬ ‭15:16‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Love: the willingness accompanied by the action of self-sacrifice for the benefit of another.

What's purity got to do with loving well?

We can only give what we have, so if we’re tainted, so is our love which is not as beneficial to the recipient.

The most important command of God:

Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength.
Love your neighbor as yourself.
1. Who's my neighbor? Everyone!
2. The golden rule: Do to others as you would have them do to you.

It's all about love baby!

1st John 1

God is light (truth). Walking with God is living in truth (the light). The truth is all are sinners, so walking with God is admitting sin. This admittance leads to Jesus’s blood purifying us from all sin if we confess and believe. Truth brings fellowship.

1st John 2

Because the truth is we’re all sinners, we need Jesus as an advocate with the Father. Since not only the Jews are sinners, but the Gentiles (whole world), Jesus’s atoning (at-one-ment) sacrifice is sufficient for the whole world, anyone who believes.

Walking in the light, knowing God, is proven by our obedience to His commands. Love for God equates to obedience to God, and perfect obedience is perfect love. Jesus’s love is perfect because His life was sinless (perfect obedience). “Whoever claims to live in him must love as Jesus did.”

1st John 3

John tells us that we are children of God, so we should act like it and not just talk about it. Children grow up. When God’s children grow up we are not quite sure what we will be like, but we know it will happen when Jesus returns, and when we see him as he is we will then become like him. This hope purifies us as He promised it would in 1 John 1:9 because this hope leads to the actions of confession and repentance which leads to forgiveness and purification.

Hate is darkness. Love is light.

Hate leads to stumbling. Love leads to a perfect walk.

Hate blinds people from the destination. Love enlightens people and reveals the destination.

God’s kingdom is light, truth, and love through obedience. Satan’s kingdom is darkness, falsehood, and hate through lawlessness.

Love for the world and love for the Father cannot coexist in the same heart, because you can only have one master, since love is obedience.

Love for the world looks like:

Lust of the flesh
Lust of the eyes
Pride of life

Love for the world is darkness because it deceives us saying “these temporal creations will give you eternal life,” when in reality they do not fulfill (the heart desires eternal life) and lead to death.

Contrary to the love for the world is love for God which results in doing God’s will which lasts forever and leads to eternal life.

Hope leads to faith that leads to love.

Perfect faith leads to perfect love. Perfect love casts out fear of punishment because perfect love is perfect obedience which does not warrant punishment. Our righteousness is in Christ because no one has done this, and we all have wrath stored up outside of faith in Christ.

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭1:22-23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Above all…

“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4:8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Labor prompted by love. -Paul

Love is the fuel for all lasting labor.

Loving deliverance does not always bring obedience but loving obedience to God always brings deliverance. Loving God and obeying God re-wires are heart in the moment to wear our desire for deliverance is overshadowed with our pleasure of being intimate with God.

In matters of love time becomes secondary to intimacy and this is why for those who love Jesus and eternity is what we will have as our reward. Do you remember when you were in love with another person and there was no amount of time that could pacify the desire to be with them? And this is why we get married so that we can wake up together work together eat together clean together sleep together and do it all over again for all the days of our lives because of love. This is salvation, being born again into the family and household of God not primarily as a servant the primarily as a child and family member who serves because of a love that plops labor.

Love labors.

Love leads to reward.

“Whoever pursues righteousness and love finds life, prosperity and honor.” ‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭21:21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Love dies.

Application:

Social Media Conversations
Honor one another.

Second City Church - What's Love Got To Do With It Sermon Series 2016

What's Love Got To Do With It: Love Jesus

1 John 3

Guest User