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we're in Mark chapter 12 once again been struggling to find a place to
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to stop in this series for this uh this time and let Chuck come to the pulpit we do see that
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at the end of verse 34 of chapter 12 that no one ventured to ask him any more questions the day for Jesus continues this great Tuesday of passion week
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but I decided this would be a place to stop and when we pick up in the fall to let Jesus take over from there
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Mark 12 I'm going to read from verse 30 28. and one of the scribes came and heard them arguing them arguing and recognizing that he had answered
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them well asked him what commandment is the foremost of all Jesus answered the foremost is hear o Israel the Lord our God is one Lord
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and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength your strength the second is this you shall love your neighbor as yourself
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there is no other commandment greater than these and the Scribe said to him right teacher you have truly stated that he is one and there is no one else besides him and to love him with all the
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heart and with all the understanding with all the strength and to love one's neighbor as himself is much more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices and when Jesus saw that he had answered
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intelligently he said to him you are not far from the kingdom of God and after that no one would venture to ask him any more questions let us pray
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our heavenly father think we would we'd all be lying if we have not thought of those words that we just sang prone to wander
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prone to leave the God I love father we do ask that you withdraw us to yourself that you would help us to hear your voice and to turn and to
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follow you follow you and that we might be faithful and that we might have integrity in our walk and we ask father that you would truly
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be continuing to be merciful but also gracious to us to teach us to love us to build us up we ask that you would speak to us this morning by your Holy Spirit
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John wrote this in his epistle by this the love of God was manifested in US that God has sent his only begotten son into the world
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so that we might live through him in this is love not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins
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but how do we do the second commandment which is like it only by learning to love God and love others as God loves us
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notice that John says by this the love of God was manifested in US that it is not just something out there it is not just something to be
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acquired but it is something that he puts in US because John writes in that same section beloved let us love one another for love is from God and everyone who loves is
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born of God and knows God the one who does not love does not know God for God is love and he ends that section by saying
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beloved if God so loved us we also ought to love one another two Commandments that we cannot keep by
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ourselves unless we understand first of all that he loves us and second of all is that he manifests that love in Us by his power
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one of the first Christian messages that I can remember when I after I became a believer in college the Minister was talking about a man in his
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congregation a young man apparently who was in business and was struggling with this concept of love your neighbor as yourself
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and as they began to talk this man was trying to disciple him in the word and as they talked the man just finally said look I love God
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it's people I can't stand and I think in all of us if we really thought about it people get on our nerves do they not you're a boss your colleagues people in
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your family people in your neighborhood people who are your neighbor the people you were you were in contact with and I think that's the answer the basic answer
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of who my neighbor is is people that God puts you in contact with
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remember what John says here we love because he first loved us that's the foundation he first loved us but what is the love
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of God like the love of God comes from his himself it is self-originating
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we we eat in the scriptures that passage so often quoted but I think some often misunderstood John 3 16.
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God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son God so loved the world it's not
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it's not the way we tend to think of love when a man Loves a Woman I am convinced
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in at least in my experience there are things about that woman that are lovely to me to me that elicits my love for her
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for her but God's love does not find something lovely in the object of his love um our brother in his prayer
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but God chose his love for us how while we were yet sinners there's nothing lovely about the object
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of God's love you and me we're not I'm sorry if you thought you were lovely this morning it's in God's character to love those
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because it's who he is God loves what is unlovely so when we ask the question where does
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my love for my neighbor my love for others come from it's a derivative love that's not a self-originating love
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it is from God manifested in us as John said it is learned it is learned in a way that it it becomes at least more self-originating within us
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as God's grace through the Holy Spirit transform us transform us transforms us into the image of Jesus Christ we become less dependent on the
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loveliness of the subject of the object of our love and we become more characterized by our acts of love
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isn't that what Jesus expects of us John 13 we read these words by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another
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one of the things that came to my mind and I don't know those of you who know me know that I'm not into poetry we sang about a sonnet today and I was thinking of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's sonnet
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and I don't know I think I was absent that day in sixth grade when they must have covered it because I don't I know that first phrase how do I love thee let
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me count the ways and I thought well I'll Google that because that'll be my negative example how do I love and I was
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assuming that she was going to talk about what she saw in her husband that's what the sonnet is about
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but I think she got it right because she asked the question how do I love thee not why do I love thee and that's the love of God for us
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that's the love of God that he would manifest in us how do I love thee not why he loved the unlovely there's nothing in us to love
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and when we look at love for our neighbor there is a kind of indifference
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there and that may be a little shocking but what we we do not prove our love by our theological understanding of scripture we don't prove our love by our style of worship we don't prove our love
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by the mode of baptism that we choose and Paul goes so far and say I I may speak in the tongues of men and of angels whatever that might be
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I can have the gift of Prophecy I I can have all Faith so as to say to a mountain be up and gone
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but without love what does he say I have become a noisy gong and a clanging symbol in the context in the middle of
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Paul speaking of the power and the gifts and the the charismata we call it of the Holy Spirit Holy Spirit there there are those who say oh yeah see it's speaking in tongues they're
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they're like gongs and symbols and it's oh the prophecy yeah that that's gone and that's what makes people no Paul says I have become the noisy gong and
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the clanging symbol the one that's diminished diminished I'm the one that's word I'm the one that makes people go
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knowledge but it's me the problem is me it's not it's not displaying what Christ wants me to be for others
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for others what he wants me to be for my family what he wants me to be for my colleagues what he wants me to be for my church what he wants me to be for my neighbors
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the scripture speaks eloquently of our derivative love derivative love and in that great passage First Corinthians 13 it's not defined as much as described as described it's it's not theoretical but it's very
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practical it's not I don't know this is the way I think it's not ooey gooey it's not a sentimentality but he's speaking to our Behavior
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because we are to behave like Christ we are behave to behave as that which is manifested in US it's manifested in us so that it's
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manifested out of us to our neighbors to those around us to those in whom to whom we have contact
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Paul shows it's a love that's personified it it has this personality love is patient love is kind it is not boastful it's not irritable it's not envious so he's describing that person
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do you want to be that noisy gong that people are going to come and destroy and then and get rid we don't want to hear you
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or do we be this person who personifies this love of God that he has put in our hearts Jonathan Edwards in his book
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or excerpt from his two volumes the charity the love and charity of First Corinthians 13 asks what makes the
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church like heaven it's the love of God the love of God because God is love and God is in heaven
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the love of God through us to others again John says little children let us not love with word or the tongue
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but in deed and Truth he he puts feet on the love he takes it from being a Sentimental
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idea to a very practical Behavior of Christ's children
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I asked who is my neighbor we're not going to do Luke 10 the Good Samaritan but rather
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but rather I'd like to just say this is how I think of it of it the good and the bad
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some are friends some are enemies some are people who are thankful some people some people not so much those are your neighbors those are the people that we are going to meet
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to meet there there will be those who acknowledge the good that you do
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neighbor the scriptures tell us God makes the sun shine on the just and the unjust well some of your neighbors are the just and some are the unjust and we're to imitate him in doing good
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to all to all in Galatians 6 Paul writes so then why we have opportunity let us do good to all men all men and especially to those who are of the
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household of faith of faith perhaps that's the most telling we've already read from John 13 people will know we are Christ's disciples by
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our love for one another Paul reinforces that here especially of those who are of the household of faith
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again one of those early messages that I heard as a brand new Christian I guess because I was a new Christian they certain things just hit me to remember them
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but in the context and this was in the context of context of Ministry of those who would be in Ministry the person giving the message said that
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he had met with a young man who wanted to be a foreign missionary and he wanted to go to some third world country and Minister
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the gospel but as he began to ask him about his life he began to realize that that his his life as a Christian didn't add up with his testimony of who he
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thought he was and so he told him if your Christianity does not work at home please do not export it export it and I guess my my thought here with that
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is that if your Christianity is not working with those who are your immediate neighbors your family don't export it next door
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especially if Paul says to the household of faith
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dads who are tremendous in Ministry people admire them people flock to hear their sermons and then you talk to their children and you find that that at home
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they're totally different they did not preach to themselves but they preach to others
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but yes we will meet people of all walks of life all manners of World Views we'll meet the proud the ones who literally wear that t-shirt
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that says it's all about me we'll meet the immoral can't go on any job site now you can't go to anywhere without hearing profanity
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the covetous the covetous the ones contemptuous of God but I think the scriptures tell us do not let that hinder us from doing good
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to them as we have opportunity Paul did not put some restriction in his passage in Galatians 6. as we have
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opportunity let us do good to all men some will be our friends and some will be our enemies
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but remember that all people are made in the image of God we are obligated to do them good them good to Believers again we owe friendship we
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Jesus speaks to that as well you have heard it said You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy but I say to you love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
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persecute you there's a new word I guess it's a new word to me that I heard only recently A Friend Of Me a person who pretends to be your friend
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not rendering evil for evil but blessing them in spite of their feelings toward us and there will be the thankful and there will be the unthankful
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we can't limit our love to those who pay us back in kind we can't limit ourselves to those who are just appreciative of
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what we do for them kindness and thankfulness is not a trait that's found very much in our world
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today we can't expect it but again Jesus says love your enemies and do good and lend expecting nothing in return and your reward will be great and
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you will be the sons of the most high for he himself is kind and ungrateful two evil men I this is the love of God it's not natural
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in US in US but as John said it is Manifest in US by the love of God toward us
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over the past few weeks in our Chuck study and James we've been hearing about the Royal law
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and James calls us to fulfill the Royal law by loving our neighbor and again that question well how do I love my neighbor how do I love thee
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and that great passage in First Corinthians love is patient love is kind and as some of the theologians that I look at help me and flesh this out trying to understand the depths of the
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words in the Greek patience is more than just waiting on waiting on somebody to change their mind it's actually an endurance of suffering
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without a retaliation that's true patience and kindness is like it it's not paying back hurts
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back hurts with hurts but it's paying back hurts with kindness with kindness it's looking to see what does Scripture tell me to do what is the love of God toward me like God
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loved the unlovely that's my job whether they love me back or their unlovely toward me love is patience love is kind
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but love is not boastful it doesn't brag about what it does Paul uses a word quite often in First Corinthians puffed up and he says love
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is not puffed up love is is not outsized and looking for Applause and it's not rude it never behaves
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improperly toward anyone and again we want to measure our love we want to allow behave toward this one that way and this one that way
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I think we need to do a check of on ourselves and say is this appropriate for that person or that person love is not self-seeking it's giving up for the sake of others
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what we might say we're entitled to and here's one love keeps no record of wrongs
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do you have a file drawer do you have that file drawer open it up A is for attacks on my character
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B oh B oh beyond the back Whispering against me gee grievances I have against my
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neighbor s well that's the slice that I felt over the last year from my wife
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my wife haha those are the hurts those are the ones that really hurt do we keep that file drawer do we keep updating it do we we keep adding to those lists
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Paul says love keeps no records of wrong I think the implication is if we know that we have that final drawer
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we need to put it in the shredder need to burn it and what's like it love does not Delight in evil I think it's just the brother to keeping records of wrong
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because we have that drawer of all the wrongs against us but the drawer underneath is the records of the evil of the things that I see I remember that
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time when she said this oh hell foolish or you know that church does this where our church will never do that that's that file
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do we Delight in evil do we have a secret Delight in what's wrong with someone else
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truth it Delights with what is right and it rejoices with the truth as it sees it
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and Paul says love is always is always endures always trusts always hopes always perseveres in the context
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and there's some debate on this but one of the commentators said this is a polemic this is not just Paul's using this
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little technique of emphasis yes it is always always always always but it's it's an argument against these people he's coming down on the Corinthians who
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said well all of this has passed but this is what we have now all of these gifts and Paul is saying no no no no love always endures always trusts always
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hopes always perseveres this will never go out of style this will never stop being in Vogue for
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love prefers to be generous and accepting rather than skeptical and suspicious love hopes for the best even when we face personal abuse
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and as Leon Morris wrote Love refuses to take failure as final we're contributing to the good of others we're giving them things that they need
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and giving them out of what I possess that's loving my neighbor as myself I'm helping to promote their welfare by
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doing for them what makes for their good now sometimes that takes a lot of thinking it takes a lot of thought what will be the best for them as parents you
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do that with your children do you not you don't treat them all the same you look and see what they need what kind of love they need you're asking that
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question that Elizabeth Barrett Browning asks how do I love you and you
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we're bearing their burdens and doing what is within our power
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but love never love demands the sacrificing of personal freedoms in order to help others
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in Matthew 10 we see Jesus sending out his disciples his disciples to preach the gospel and he does tell them to heal the sick and raise the dead and
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to cast out the demons but in the middle of that same paragraph he says freely you have
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received freely give freely give see there the point of it was trying to tell them tell them you're dependent upon me go in my name I
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will support you I will strengthen you I will guide you but do it freely because freely you have received freely
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right she uses the phrase I love thee freely as men strive for right I love thee purely as they turn from praise I love thee with the passion
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put to use if you like alliteration how do we love our neighbor purely passionately
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purely it's no mercenary Spirit I'm not receiving anything from this I'm not looking for praise I'm not looking for reward I'm not looking for a pat on the back I do it purely
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I do it passionately always cheerful always with delight not grudgingly or reluctant I'm I
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I'm I I like and it's now 35 years old the prince's bride the movie right have you seen that seen that and it's very clever the lines are clippy it's fast it's just fun to watch
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but that guy Wesley that Farm Boy he puts every man who ever loved a woman under the bus
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now my wife never called me farm boy but I can tell you that not every time when she asked me to do something is my first response as you wish
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As You Wish isn't that love for my neighbor love for my family love for my church as you wish that ought to be my first thought
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I'm sorry can you get emotional over the prince's I think sometimes my wife must think I'm I'm count rugin he counts my fingers
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they have six fingers liberally bountifully open heart open hands
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that's how God invited us to be his children did he not there's no price there's no demand
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we read in Isaiah 55 this is God speaking to us as he drew us to himself oh everyone who thirsts come to the
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waters and you have no money come by and eat come buy wine and milk without money and without cause God's love is free like that it is
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purposeful like that it is passionate like that
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that we love because God first loved us let us pray
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showed his love for us that why we were yet sinners he died for us and this morning we are thankful for the bread and the cup
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that symbolizes his body given for us the blood that he shed for us the life that he laid down for us
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that we might live and yet father ringing in our ears is not only this call to love you
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love you but also to love our neighbor imitating our Lord Jesus Christ and giving ourselves giving ourselves in love
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in love a foreign concept and yet you have manifested it within our hearts our hearts father may you be glorified as we live
