Made For More (Love Without Conditions) pt.3
All Scripture taken from the New Living Translation
As we continue our sermon series, “Made For More,” we are going to look at a very challenging command that Jesus gives all of His followers…
Every single person who puts their faith Jesus is given this command… And it’s something that causes us to be intentional…
We are going to be challenged today on how we are to “Love without conditions.”
When God established His relationship with the Israelites… He chose the Israelites to be His people… He gave them very specific instructions on how to live… Everything from medical, to relational, to scientific, even specific things that we would call the “dos and don’ts.” … We know these instructions as, “the laws of God.”
Over time, what happened, was it became a list of things the religious leaders used for people to live by, where every T had to be crossed and every I dotted!
But then Jesus comes along and by observation He turns everything upside down…
But He was turning everything right side up…
It’s very important to note… He did not do away with the law… He brought grace and mercy onto the scene…
Because life isn’t always black and white… When we read the Gospels, we will see that Jesus allowed more room for grace than people were used to…
He looked at each person’s situation and allowed for the Kingdom of God, the Holy Spirit, to minister accordingly…
And the religious leaders couldn’t comprehend this… Plus Jesus was forgiving people of their sins and only God can do that… Exactly!
We’re going to look at a scene during the last supper when Jesus is having a final conversation with the disciples, and He gives them a new command…
And in this command, He raises the bar as high as it can go when it comes to relationships and people… He tells them…
John 13:34-35: 34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. 35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
How does Jesus love us? Unconditionally… No conditions… This is a high calling…
It’s beyond what the Israelites were taught when God was establishing the law in Leviticus 19:18 when He says, “We are to love our neighbor as ourselves.”
The original command was to love others the way we would want to be loved… The way we expect people to treat us is the way we should treat others…
Jesus is now calling us to a higher level of love… The measure of love we are to have for others is not what we expect in return…
It is what God shows… The love we receive from Jesus is the love we are to extend to others… Unconditional… No terms, no limits!
There are so many stories of Jesus breaking cultural barriers by elevating a person and restoring their hope and dignity… The religious leaders questioned this…
But they are examples of God’s unconditional love for mankind… Jesus was modeling for us the love He expects us to extend to others…
Jesus repeats this again in John 15:12: “This is My commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.”
All throughout the Scriptures, the New Testament, are “love one another” verses, but there is a specific passage the Apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that we are going to look at…
1 Corinthians 13:4-7: 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
This is what unconditional love looks like… This is what love without terms and conditions looks like…
As human beings we tend to put conditions on passages like this…
These terms and conditions might come from our past, or even current experiences… Maybe it’s a certain person, or people …
Things that have been done to us, or experiences that have shaped who we are today may now have us putting conditions on how we treat others…
And maybe we just need some time to work through hurts to help get us to a place of unconditional love… This is where the inner healing of God’s Holy Spirit comes into play…
But let’s be honest with ourselves as we unpack this and do some self-reflection on the conditions and limits we may have with some of these…
Love is patient… If I’m being honest we aren’t easing our way into this, are we?
We’re starting out with patience… How many of us put conditions on our patience with others? … We do this without even thinking about it!
There’s a story in Matthew chp. 14 where it talks about the death of John the Baptist by Herod, the Roman ruler of Galilee…
John was Jesus’ cousin.. And it says…
Matthew 14:13-14 – “As soon as Jesus heard the news, He left in a boat to a remote area to be alone. But the crowds heard where He was headed and followed on foot from many towns. Jesus saw the huge crowd as He stepped from the boat, and He had compassion on them and healed their sick.”
Jesus didn’t even get time to mourn… He didn’t tell everyone to give Him some space… He saw the need of a broken humanity with compassion and spent time with them… Healed the sick!
He loved on them… He taught them… He restored their dignity… He had patience with them!
Ephesians 4:2: “Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”
This is intentional living at its highest form!
And love is kind… Kindness… I can be kind if people respect me… I can be kind as long as others are being kind…
In Luke chp. 19 there’s a story about a tax collector by the name of Zacchaeus, and the Bible says he had become very rich… Very rich from collecting taxes!!
Zacchaeus was despised by the community because of this!
Now Zacchaeus hears that Jesus is coming to town and he wants to see what this Jesus is all about… Jesus sees Zacchaeus and says, “I’m going to be a guest in your house today.”
Luke 19:7: “But the people were displeased. “He has gone to be the guest of a notorious sinner,” they grumbled.”
Jesus broke many social norms and cultural barriers to show kindness to others…
He leads by example… How can we show kindness to those who are despised?
By doing so we are extending the love of Jesus to others…
Ephesians 4:31-32: “Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.”
Love is not jealous, or boastful, or proud, or rude…
Jealousy is an indication that we are not satisfied… Even with what God has provided for us…
When the religious leaders brought Jesus to Pilate it says this in…
Matthew 27:18: “He (Pilate) knew very well that the religious leaders had arrested Jesus out of envy.”
I would not want a sentence like this in my book of life…
James 3:16: “For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and evil of every kind.”
Proverbs 14:30: “A peaceful heart leads to a healthy body; jealousy is like cancer in the bones.”
Envy and jealousy are closely related, and they are the result of a dissatisfied heart… It’s an issue of the heart…
Are we content, are we satisfied with the provision of God?
Love is not boastful or proud…
Unconditional love is humble… It does not brag or is prideful… Again, these are conditions of the heart…
James 4:5-6: “… God is passionate that the Spirit He has placed within us should be faithful to Him. And He gives grace generously. As the Scriptures say, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.”
The Spirit God has placed in us should be one of humility… Humility will drive away a prideful heart… Humility is respectful of others and creates a servant’s heart…
We’ve all heard the phrase, “Respect is earned.” That is a phrase that comes out of a me attitude, it’s prideful…
I have news for you, respect is not earned… It’s given!
Love is not rude…
Being rude to others is just degrading… We are to lift others up and serve them…
Philippians 2:3-4: “Don’t be selfish; don’t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don’t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too.”
2 Timothy 2:23-24: “Again I say, don’t get involved in foolish, ignorant arguments that only start fights. A servant of the Lord must not quarrel but must be kind to everyone, be able to teach, and be patient with difficult people.”
How many times have we used the excuse that the other person was difficult to get along with?
We are told to be kind to everyone… Especially difficult people… What if you’re the one who’s difficult to be around???
READ 1 Corinthians 13:5-7: “…5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.”
Loving without conditions is forgiving… It does not rejoice when others fail… It is not demanding… It is hopeful and never gives up on others…
Loving without conditions is always rooting for those around you…
Loving without conditions is walking into a room with the mindset that everyone has the best of intentions…
Loving without conditions is asking ourselves, “Am I to others who Jesus is to me?”
I want to end with one more passage and then we’ll bring this message to a close…
Titus 3:4-7: “4 But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, 5 he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit.[a]6 He generously poured out the Spirit upon us through Jesus Christ our Savior. 7 Because of his grace he made us right in his sight and gave us confidence that we will inherit eternal life.”
It is the grace of God… The mercy of God… The forgiveness from God through His Son Jesus, that we experience His kindness and unconditional love…
It is being made right with God through the grace and forgiveness of Jesus that we are a changed person who now has eternal life in heaven to look forward to…
It is God’s Holy Spirit that lives within us that makes everything we talked about today a possible way to live…
But it isn’t always easy, and it all begins with prayer… Asking Jesus to help us… Help me to be more patient… Help me to be more loving… Drive away this prideful heart…
Remove from me the jealousy that I deal with… The irritabilities with other people…
Help me to be kind and hopeful… To never give up on not only myself but those around me as well!
When we love without conditions… When we love in the same manner Jesus loves us… Here’s what He said would be the result …
John 13:35: “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are My disciples.”
The bottom line is this…
The extent we are willing to love others, is the extent to which others will see Jesus in us!
LOVE OF JESUS
Author Unknown
Every Sunday afternoon, after the morning service at their church, the Pastor and his 11-year-old son would go out into their town and hand out Gospel tracts. This particular Sunday afternoon, as it came time for the Pastor and his son to go to the streets with their tracts, it was very cold outside as well as pouring down rain. The boy bundled up in his warmest and driest clothes and said “Okay Dad, I’m ready.”
His Pastor Dad asked, “Ready for what?
“Dad, it’s time we gather our tracts together and go out.”
Dad responds, “Son, it’s very cold outside and it’s pouring down rain.”
The boy gives his Dad a surprised look, asking, “But Dad, aren’t people still going to Hell, even though it’s raining?”
Dad answers, “Son, I am not going out in this weather.”
Despondently the boy asks, “Dad, can I go — Please?”
His father hesitated for a moment then said, “Son, you can go. Here’s the tracts; be careful son.”
“Thanks, Dad!” And with that he was off and out into the rain. This 11-year-old boy walked the streets of the town going door-to-door and handing everybody he met in the street a Gospel tract. After 2-hours of walking in the rain he was soaking bone-chilled wet and down to his very last tract. He stopped on a corner and looked for someone to hand a tract to but the streets were totally deserted..
Then he turned toward the first home he saw and started up the sidewalk to the front door and rang the door bell. He rang the bell — but nobody answered. He rang it again and again bit still no one answered. He waited but still no answer. Finally this 11-year-old trooper turned to leave but something stopped him. Again, he turned to the door and rang the bell and knocked loudly on the door with his fist. He waited, something holding him there on the front porch. He rang again, and this time the door slowly opened. Standing in the doorway was a very sad looking elderly lady.
She softly asked, “What can I do for you, son?”
With radiant eyes and a smile that lit up her world, this little boy said, “Ma’am, I’m sorry if I disturbed you, but I just want to tell you that Jesus REALLY DOES LOVE YOU! I came to give you my very last Gospel tract which will tell you all about Jesus and His great love.” With that
he handed her his last tract, and turned to leave.
She called to him as he departed, “Thank you, son! And God bless you!”
Well, the following Sunday morning in church, Pastor Dad was in the pulpit and as the service began he asked, “Does anybody have a testimony or want to say anything?”
Slowly, in the back row of the church, an elderly lady stood to her feet. As she began to speak, a look of glorious radiance came from her face. “None of you in this church know me. I’ve never been here before. You see, before last Sunday I was not a christian. My husband has passed
on, some time ago, leaving me totally alone in this world. Last Sunday, being a particularly cold and rainy day, it was even more so in my heart as I came to the end of the line where I no longer had any hope or will to live.
“So I took a rope and a chair and ascended the stairway into the attic of my home. I fastened the rope securely to a rafter in the roof then stood on the chair and fastened the other end of the rope around my neck. “Standing on that chair, so lonely and brokenhearted, I was about to leap off when suddenly the loud ringing of my doorbell downstairs startled me. I thought, ‘I’ll wait a minute, and whoever it is will go away.’ “I waited and waited — but the ringing doorbell seemed to get louder and more insistent and then the person ringing also started knocking loudly. I thought to myself again, ‘Who on earth could this be?! Nobody ever rings my bell or comes to see me!’ “I loosened the rope from my neck and started for the front door, all the while the bell rang louder and louder. When I opened the door and looked I could hardly believe my eyes! “There on my front porch was the most radiant and angelic little boy I had ever seen in my life! His smile! Oh, I could never describe it to you! And the words that came from his mouth caused my heart, that had long been dead, to leap to life as he exclaimed with cherub-like voice, ‘Ma’am, I just came to tell you that JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU.’ “Then he gave me this Gospel tract that I now hold in my hand. As the little angel disappeared back out, into the cold and rain, I closed my door and read slowly every word of this Gospel tract. Then I
went up to my attic to get my rope and chair. I wouldn’t be needing them any more.
“You see, I am now a happy child of the KING, and since the address of your church was on the back of this Gospel tract I have come here to personally say, ‘Thank you to God’s little angel who came just in the nick of time, and by so doing, spared my soul from an eternity in Hell.'”
There were now no dry eyes in the church. As shouts of praise and honor to the KING resounded off the very rafters of the building, Pastor Dad descended from the pulpit to the front pew where the little angel was seated. He took him in his arms and sobbed uncontrollably.
Probably no church has had a more glorious moment and probably this Universe has never seen a Papa that was more filled with love and honor for his son, except for one: This Father, God, also allowed His Son, Jesus, to go out into a cold and dark world. He received His Son back with joy unspeakable, and as all of Heaven shouted praises and honor to the King, the Father sat His beloved Son on a throne far above all principality and power and every name that is named. There may be someone, reading this, who is also going through a dark, cold and lonely time in your soul. You may be a Christian, for we are not without problems, or you may not yet know the King. Whatever the case, and whatever the problem or situation you find yourself in, and no matter how dark it may seem, I want you to know that I just came to tell you, “JESUS REALLY DOES LOVE YOU!”
Who Makes the Coffee?
A man and his wife were having an argument about who should brew the coffee each morning.
The wife said, “You should do it, because you get up first, and then we don’t have to wait as long to get our coffee”.
The husband said, ” You are in charge of the cooking around here and you should do it, because that is your job, and I can just wait for my coffee.”
Wife replies, “No you should do it, and besides it is in the Bible that the man should do the coffee.”
Husband replies, ” I can’t believe that, show me.”
So she fetched the Bible, and opened the New Testament and shows him at the top of several pages, that it indeed says:
“HEBREWS”
Bible Jokes
Q. What kind of man was Boaz before he married Ruth?
A. Ruthless.
_____
Q. What do they call pastors in Germany?
A. German Shepherds.
_____
Q. Who was the greatest financier in the Bible?
A. Noah. He was floating his stock while everyone else was in liquidation.
_____
Q. Who was the greatest female financier in the Bible?
A. Pharaoh’s daughter. She went down to the bank of the Nile and drew out a little prophet.
_____
Q. Who was the greatest comedian in the Bible?
A. Samson. He brought the house down.
_____
Q. Which servant of God was the most flagrant lawbreaker in the Bible?
A. Moses. He broke all 10 commandments at once.
_____
Q. Which area of Palestine was especially wealthy?
A. The area around Jordan. The banks were always overflowing.
_____
Q. Who is the greatest babysitter mentioned in the Bible?
A. David. He rocked Goliath to a very deep sleep.
_____
Q. Which Bible character had no parents?
A. Joshua, son of Nun.
____
Q. Why didn’t they play cards on the Ark ?
A. Because Noah was standing on the deck.
——–
A little boy opened the big and old family Bible with fascination, and looked at the old pages as he turned them. Suddenly, something fell out of the Bible, and he picked it up and looked at it closely. It was an old leaf from a tree that had been pressed in between the pages.
“Momma, look what I found,” the boy called out.
“What have you got there, dear?” His mother asked.
With astonishment in the young boy’s voice, he answered: “I think it’s Adam’s suit!”