The Priority of Christian Love

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>The Priority of Christian Love</B></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="VOID" RULES="NONE" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id398.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="A Last Meal With Friends"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id410.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Waiting and Working"><U><B><IMG SRC="008151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="13"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <div> Previous/Next Sermon</div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="www.stanbaker.org"><U><B>Home</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Biblical and Theological Studies"><U><B>Biblical and Theological Studies</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Church Ministry"><U><B>Church Ministry</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id15.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Sermon Notes"><U>Sermon Notes</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links"><U><B>Links</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="id5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Personal"><U><B>Personal</B></U></A></div> <bR> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> <div> <A HREF="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:stan@stanbaker.org"><U>stan@stanbaker.org</U></A></div> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B>"The Priority of Christian Love," </B><A HREF="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passage=John+13:18-38" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.biblegateway.com/bible?passag"><U><B>John 13:18-38</B></U></A></div> <div> <B>Berean Bible Church, September 7, 2003am</B></div> <div> <I>Note: This series will be once a month on the first Sunday </I></div> <div> <I>in celebration of the Lord's Table in our church.</I></div> <bR> <div>      Mary Ann Dennis was walking her bull mastiff, Buz, in New York City's Riverside Park when an elderly man told her, "That guy robbed me." The suspect, in black jeans and tank top, was fleeing. Mary Ann urged the victim to help her follow the robber, but the man couldn't run. So five-foot-two Mary Ann went it alone. With Mary Ann and Buz in pursuit, the suspect raced out of the park, ran one block and hailed a cab. "I was screaming and waving my hands," Mary Ann says, "but a taxi picked him up." Mary Ann kept running. Just as she was losing hope, a white van pulled up beside her. After she explained the situation, the driver said, "Get in!" When they caught up with the cab, its passenger was gone. The cabby told Mary Ann the man had fled toward Broadway. She and Buz picked up the chase on foot. Spotting her quarry hopping into another cab, Mary Ann leaped in front of it, shouting, "Stop! That man robbed somebody." The thief jumped out and threatened Mary Ann before running to a third taxi. Mary Ann jumped in front just before the traffic light changed. Within moments the police arrived and handcuffed the suspect, who was charged with third-degree robbery and criminal possession of stolen property. Would Mary Ann do it again? "Definitely! Jesus said love your neighbor as yourself. If the whole world lived that way, this wouldn't be a cold city." (Debra McGrath-Kerr and Dick Sheridan in New York Daily News, 1996. Bible.org, "Love").</div> <div>      If just the church lived that way, what a difference it would make in the world. Experiences in dysfunctional, unloving churches are all too common! This is not the way it is supposed to be. Maybe you have visited a a business that advertises friendly, helpful service and when you get there, they forgot to tell the person who is supposed to help you, and you never see that friendliness that was advertised. A church that does not love lacks integrity. Our love for one another is supposed to set the church apart from the rest of the world.</div> <bR> <div> I. In a time of crisis, Jesus gave a new command for our relationships.</div> <div> A. Bookends: Two crisis points for Jesus on the way to the cross.</div> <div>      Bookend 1 was Judas' expression of unity, but coming betrayal (John 13:18-30). His heart was set against Jesus. Bookend 2 was Peter's promise of faithfulness, but coming denial (John 13:36-38). His heart was loyal toward Jesus, but he was weak.</div> <div> B. The "new" command (John 13:31-35).</div> <div>      Jesus knew that the time of his death was near (vss. 31-33), and he is facing these crisis points with some of his closest friends. The command takes on a sense of great urgency and importance. He command us to love one another as he has loved us (vss. 34-35). The old command in Leviticus 19:18 was, "Love your neighbor as yourself." The new part is not "love one another," but "love as I have loved you." That raises the standard considerably.</div> <bR> <div> II. How do we obey this command?</div> <div> A. Love by following the example of Jesus (John 13:34).</div> <div>      Jesus initiated love with his disciples, and with us. 1 John 4:19 says, "we love, because he first loved us." Act in the best interests of others (consider Jesus' example of footwashing, of humble service), in what you say and in how you say it, and in what you do for others. Remember that the fruit of the Spirit is love (Gal 5:22) - it requires the Holy Spirit's work in your love for you love others as Jesus loved you. You cannot love that way in your own strength.</div> <bR> <div> B Identify and deal with your excuses for not loving others.</div> <div>      Some excuses might be: "getting my way is more important;" "we don't agree about . . . color of carpet, how people dress for church, music, programs, how to spend money, some point of doctrine, etc.;" or, "being happy is more important than loving you;" or, "I'm too busy in my own world to think about anyone else's needs." The opposite of love is not hatred, so much as it is selfishness. The opposite of love is to have a greater concern for oneself than for someone else.</div> <bR> <div> C. Get connected with other Christians.</div> <div>      We need community. We need to be connected with one another relationally and spiritually. In community, others show love to you as you show love to others. Therefore, everyone is taken care of in love. You cannot really love or be loved if you are not connected.</div> <bR> <div>      Genuine love is what is to set us apart (vs. 35). People who do not attend church are attracted to churches mainly on the basis of its love for one another and for outsiders. And people stick around when they experience Christian love. Pastor Rick Warren told of a study that asked 400 church drop-outs why they left their churches. 75% of them "I didn't feel anyone cared whether I was there or not." Starting showing the love of Christ to the people around you.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> copyright, 2003, Stanley Baker</div> <div> www.stanbaker.org</div> </td> </tr></table></body>