WEBVTT

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Brother Geoff spoke to us last night

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about the privileges of the Christian.

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And he mentioned to us that privileges

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come with responsibilities.

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And so I'll be speaking more

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on the responsibilities that we have

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in the Christian life.

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If you'll open your Bibles

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to the first letter to 
the church at Corinth

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in chapter 13.

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I want to begin by stating 
a concern that I see.

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It's a concern that's 
repeated in Scripture

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in numerous places.

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And it's a concern that's prevalent

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in the church today.

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The concern pointedly is this:

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How do we handle our differences

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in our local churches?

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I have a concern that

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we all too often view ourselves

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much more spiritually mature

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than we really are.

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And the evidence of our immaturity

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is revealed in our lack of love

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towards one another,

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demonstrated in how we 
respond to one another

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and handle our differences

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in our local churches.

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I'm concerned this is especially true

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for us in the reformed church

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in the area of doctrinal differences

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and in the area of how we live out

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our convictions in our lives.

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Reformed churches and reformed Christians

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are known for their focus

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and their emphasis on doctrine and truth.

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And praise God for that.

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That is commendable.

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Let me say from the start,

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every Christian and every true church

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should be known and marked

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for their careful attention

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to right doctrine.

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I mean, after all,

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the Scriptures tell us that the church

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is a pillar and buttress of truth.

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Most of you who are here

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in the churches represented here

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are in those because you love

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doctrine and truth.

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You're in those churches

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because the pastors of those churches

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unashamedly proclaim truth,

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uphold truth, and defend truth,

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and the whole counsel of God.

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Beloved, we should thank 
God for those pastors.

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We should thank God for those churches,

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for those Christians

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who long for truth,

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proclaim truth, and defend truth.

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Over the years, I've gotten 
to know many of you here.

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I know that you're a people

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who individually study doctrine.

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Your desire is to glorify God

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and you want to take 
the truths of Scripture

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and apply them in all areas of life

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and be ever conformed

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to the Word of God for the glory of God.

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But we must be careful.

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At the same time that we are

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in our pursuit of truth,

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and the application of truth -

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individually and corporately -

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as local churches,

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that we don't fail to heed

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a very important call in Scripture.

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And that is to maintain the 
unity of the Spirit in Christ.

NOTE Paragraph

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This unity of the Spirit

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that we have in Christ is wonderful.

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It's what we love to experience

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when we gather together

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in fellowships like this.

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It's that unity of Spirit 
that we've all had

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where maybe we are on
a plane trip somewhere

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and we sit down next to someone,

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and we begin a conversation,

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and we feel a bond to them.

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We feel a oneness with them,

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and as we go further in the conversation,

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we begin to realize,

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this is a brother or sister in the faith.

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And we may not even know their name,

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but we love them and 
we're drawn to them.

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We even want to be with them.

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This is that oneness of spirit 
that we have in Christ.

NOTE Paragraph

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Know this, church,

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the church of Jesus Christ

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is united together supernaturally.

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We are not called in 
Scripture to create unity.

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Do you know that?

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We are called in Scripture

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to maintain and preserve the unity

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that God Himself has created in us.

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Maintaining our unity in 
Christ is vitally important

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because the church's unity

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is a living witness to the lost world

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about the saving and uniting power

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of Jesus Christ.

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Jesus Christ, through the gospel,

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brings together a diverse people -

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a people from every nation, tribe,

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tongue, and language.

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and makes them one in Jesus Christ.

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In Christ, we are one body.

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We are one spirit.

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We have one hope.
We have one Lord.

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We have one common faith.

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We have one common object of our faith

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and affection of our hearts

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and that is Jesus Christ.

NOTE Paragraph

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In our churches;

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in our families of faith

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our unity though is tested.

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It's tested in the midst of our diversity.

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When I speak of diversity,

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I'm not just speaking about

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cultural diversity here.

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Although, there is cultural diversity.

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The diversity I'm speaking about

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is the diversity, maybe,

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in maturity in Christ.

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Or, our growth in the understanding

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of truth and doctrine.

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Or, the diversity in our convictions

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and how we apply the Scriptures

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to our lives.

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How we live out those understandings.

NOTE Paragraph

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So what do we do?

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Do we just set doctrine aside?

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Find the lowest common denominator?

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And just rally around that?

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Of course not.

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Of course that's not what we do.

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We do see that happening in some places;

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some of the professing churches

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who set aside doctrine

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for the sake of unity,

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which is a fake unity.

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But no, we don't set aside doctrine.

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Again, the church is the 
pillar and buttress of truth.

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We must all be consistently growing,

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understanding, defending,

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and proclaiming truth.

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We must be conforming to truth

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personally in our lives.

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We must maintain that unity 
that we have in Christ

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and the witness that we have

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to a lost and dying world.

NOTE Paragraph

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So let me summarize it in one question

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and put it before you,

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and then try to answer it for us.

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How do we as local churches here

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with such diversity

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maintain our unity in Jesus Christ

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while we vigilantly 
pursue and defend truth.

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That's the question I want 
to put before us today.

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And I think Paul in 1 Corinthians 13,

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he gives us the answer.

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Let's read 1 Corinthians 13.

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Please follow along as we read

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God's holy and inerrant Word.

NOTE Paragraph

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"If I speak in the tongues of men

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and of angels but have not love,

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I'm a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.

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If I have prophetic powers

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and understand all 
mysteries and all knowledge,

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and if I have all faith

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so as to remove mountains,

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but have not love, I am nothing.

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If I give away all I have

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and if I deliver up my body to be burned,

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but have not love,

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I gain nothing.

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Love is patient and kind.

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Love does not envy or boast.

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It is not arrogant or rude.

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It does not insist on its own way.

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It is not irritable or resentful.

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It does not rejoice at wrongdoing,

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but rejoices with the truth.

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Love bears all things;

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believes all things;
hopes all thing;

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endures all things.

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Love never fails.

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As for prophecies, they will pass away.

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As for tongues, they will cease.

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As for knowledge, it will pass away.

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For we know in part 
and we prophesy in part,

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but when the perfect comes,

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the partial will pass away.

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When I was a child,

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I spoke like a child;

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I thought like a child;

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I reasoned like a child.

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When I became a man,

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I gave up childish ways.

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For now we see dimly in a mirror,

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but then face to face.

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Now I know in part,

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then I shall know fully

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even as I have been fully known.

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So now, faith, hope, and love abide

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these three,

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but the greatest of these is love."

NOTE Paragraph

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I'll be focusing on verses 1-7,

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and I won't even be able to cover them all

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in this short period of time.

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In verses 1 - 3,

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I hope to convince us all

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of the essential need for love

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in our local churches

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in the midst of our differences.

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In verses 4 - 7,

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we will look at the picture

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that Paul paints for us,

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which is nothing less than a portrait

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of Jesus Christ Himself.

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And I believe that we will all

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look at this portrait of love;

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this portrait of Jesus Christ,

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and I think we're all going to see

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that we are falling short.

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What we will all see is

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that the genuineness and the depth

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of our love towards one another

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may be found lacking.

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And I think we're going to discover

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that we're not quite as mature

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as we think we are.

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As Paul said,

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when he was a child, 
he thought like a child.

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He reasoned like a child.

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He's talking about the maturing process.

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Beloved, I think many of us think

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that we're men or women,

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but by how we handle our differences

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in our local churches,

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we're proving to still be children.

NOTE Paragraph

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Well, it's no secret that the answer

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to how do we maintain our unity

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in Jesus Christ in the 
midst of our diversity

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in our local churches is love.

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Before we walk through these verses,

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I don't know about you,

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but I find it very interesting

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that the greatest treatise on love

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in the entire Bible

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is not written to a man and a woman

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standing at an altar with rings in hand

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about to exchange vows.

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But it's written pointedly

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to a local church.

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A local church - and we've all read

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the book of Corinthians who no doubt

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is in the face of diversity;

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has some differences.

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And the unity that they have 
supernaturally in Christ,

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right now is at stake

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in this local church.

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And I will tell you, that's true

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for all of us sitting here right now.

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The context again is that this is written

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to a local church

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who had experienced wonderful fellowship

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in their union of Christ.

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And now that fellowship,

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that unity in Christ,

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is in danger.

NOTE Paragraph

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Look at verse 1.

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"If I speak in the tongues 
of men and of angels,

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but have not love,

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I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."

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We know from chapter 12 that there

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is a division sprouting up 
in the church of Corinth

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over spiritual gifts.

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They're priding themselves

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in what gifts they have.

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It seems people are creating

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what you might call subcultures

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within the church.

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Based on what?

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Based on what spiritual gifts they have.

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They're creating spiritual hierarchies

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within their local church it seems.

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Different classes of Christianity.

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Treating some people with 
preferential treatment

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or elevated treatment over other people

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based on which gifts they have.

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Well, Paul will have none of that.

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In fact, in chapter 12,

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we know that he spent time

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straightening that out.

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He helped them all see

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that the body of Christ is one body

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with many different parts.

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But the gifts within the church

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are distributed by God,

00:13:48.363 --> 00:13:49.946
and we're not to boast in those,

00:13:49.946 --> 00:13:52.049
and they're to be 
used for the edification

00:13:52.049 --> 00:13:55.351
and the building up of 
the church as a whole.

00:13:55.351 --> 00:13:56.950
But here in chapter 13,

00:13:56.950 --> 00:13:59.502
Paul says something different.

00:13:59.502 --> 00:14:02.260
Paul says essentially

00:14:02.260 --> 00:14:04.552
you're finding your identity

00:14:04.552 --> 00:14:07.097
in believing that you are something;

00:14:07.097 --> 00:14:09.671
believing that you have something to offer

00:14:09.671 --> 00:14:13.594
based on what gifts God has given to you.

00:14:13.594 --> 00:14:16.564
"If I speak in the tongues 
of men and of angels,

00:14:16.564 --> 00:14:18.180
but have not love,

00:14:18.180 --> 00:14:22.015
I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal."

00:14:22.015 --> 00:14:25.296
What is it that Paul's doing here?

00:14:25.296 --> 00:14:26.885
Well, please know this, beloved.

00:14:26.885 --> 00:14:31.376
Paul is not minimizing the importance

00:14:31.376 --> 00:14:34.780
of spiritual gifts in the local church.

00:14:34.780 --> 00:14:36.959
He just spent an entire chapter

00:14:36.959 --> 00:14:39.250
letting them know spiritual gifts

00:14:39.250 --> 00:14:41.420
are important and vital

00:14:41.420 --> 00:14:43.739
to the local church.

00:14:43.739 --> 00:14:45.957
Well, if he's not minimizing 
the importance

00:14:45.957 --> 00:14:47.246
of spiritual gifts,

00:14:47.246 --> 00:14:50.892
what is it that Paul is doing here then?

00:14:50.892 --> 00:14:57.303
He's maximizing the necessity of love.

00:14:57.303 --> 00:15:01.413
Paul is not minimizing 
the importance of gifts,

00:15:01.413 --> 00:15:04.823
but maximizing the necessity of love.

00:15:04.823 --> 00:15:06.387
He's essentially saying this,

00:15:06.387 --> 00:15:07.509
if you have gifts -

00:15:07.509 --> 00:15:09.561
even the ones you're all boasting about -

00:15:09.561 --> 00:15:10.985
the gift of tongues maybe,

00:15:10.985 --> 00:15:13.759
but it's not rooted in love;

00:15:13.759 --> 00:15:17.016
it's not used and governed by love,

00:15:17.016 --> 00:15:21.764
then your gifts do not help the church.

00:15:21.764 --> 00:15:24.308
They distract from the church.

00:15:24.308 --> 00:15:27.553
They hurt the church.

NOTE Paragraph

00:15:27.553 --> 00:15:29.410
Verse 2.

00:15:29.410 --> 00:15:31.105
"And if I have prophetic powers

00:15:31.105 --> 00:15:33.829
and understand all mysteries 
and all knowledge,

00:15:33.829 --> 00:15:35.127
and if I have all faith

00:15:35.127 --> 00:15:36.689
so as to remove mountains,

00:15:36.689 --> 00:15:38.082
but have not love,

00:15:38.082 --> 00:15:41.290
I am nothing."

00:15:41.290 --> 00:15:45.691
And I think is where we'll focus our time.

00:15:45.691 --> 00:15:47.604
This is where we in the reformed church

00:15:47.604 --> 00:15:50.372
with our emphasis on doctrine

00:15:50.372 --> 00:15:53.844
seem to struggle a lot.

00:15:53.844 --> 00:15:56.895
Praise God again that we study doctrine,

00:15:56.895 --> 00:15:58.148
and we seek to live it out

00:15:58.148 --> 00:15:59.816
and apply it in all of our lives.

00:15:59.816 --> 00:16:01.494
That's something we must be doing.

00:16:01.494 --> 00:16:04.762
But for many in the reformed church,

00:16:04.762 --> 00:16:07.144
understanding doctrine

00:16:07.144 --> 00:16:09.663
has become everything to them.

00:16:09.663 --> 00:16:11.401
At any time I begin to discuss

00:16:11.401 --> 00:16:13.459
this type of subject,

00:16:13.459 --> 00:16:15.824
like Paul's discussing here in v. 2,

00:16:15.824 --> 00:16:19.286
it's not long before I hear from someone,

00:16:19.286 --> 00:16:21.477
"Jesse, you're minimizing doctrine,

00:16:21.477 --> 00:16:23.473
and doctrine is from God's Word,

00:16:23.473 --> 00:16:26.410
and we can't minimize doctrine."

00:16:26.410 --> 00:16:28.745
So let me say loudly and clearly,

00:16:28.745 --> 00:16:32.616
and I will repeat myself 
throughout the entire sermon,

00:16:32.616 --> 00:16:36.306
I'm not minimizing doctrine.

00:16:36.306 --> 00:16:37.428
I agree with you.

00:16:37.428 --> 00:16:40.145
All of doctrine is of vital importance

00:16:40.145 --> 00:16:42.931
because it comes from the Word of God.

00:16:42.931 --> 00:16:47.211
I'm not minimizing doctrine.

00:16:47.211 --> 00:16:51.969
I'm not suggesting that 
we set doctrine aside.

00:16:51.969 --> 00:16:53.681
As a pastor, I'll tell you this.

00:16:53.681 --> 00:16:57.329
I've given myself to doctrine.

00:16:57.329 --> 00:16:59.253
To the study of doctrine.

00:16:59.253 --> 00:17:01.593
To the teaching and preaching of doctrine.

00:17:01.593 --> 00:17:03.903
To the defending of doctrine.

00:17:03.903 --> 00:17:07.095
Week after week, year after year.

00:17:07.095 --> 00:17:12.006
I'm not minimizing doctrine.

00:17:12.006 --> 00:17:17.709
But I'm maximizing the need for love.

00:17:17.709 --> 00:17:21.901
The need for love in our doctrine.

00:17:21.901 --> 00:17:27.147
The need for love in our 
doctrinal differences.

00:17:27.147 --> 00:17:29.137
Look what Paul is saying here.

00:17:29.137 --> 00:17:31.934
"If I have prophetic powers

00:17:31.934 --> 00:17:37.295
and understand all mysteries 
and all knowledge..."

00:17:37.295 --> 00:17:39.952
All mysteries.

NOTE Paragraph

00:17:39.952 --> 00:17:41.890
One of my favorite portions of Scripture

00:17:41.890 --> 00:17:43.102
is in Luke 24

00:17:43.102 --> 00:17:44.719
after the resurrection of Christ

00:17:44.719 --> 00:17:47.898
on the road with the disciples.

00:17:47.898 --> 00:17:50.149
He's speaking to the disciples.

00:17:50.149 --> 00:17:54.335
And Jesus unlocks all mysteries for them.

00:17:54.335 --> 00:17:55.837
He helps them to see

00:17:55.837 --> 00:17:58.333
how He is the fulfillment,

00:17:58.333 --> 00:18:01.299
and how all of Scripture 
finds its fulfillment

00:18:01.299 --> 00:18:03.689
in Jesus Christ.

00:18:03.689 --> 00:18:06.527
Jesus who understands all mysteries.

00:18:06.527 --> 00:18:08.887
What a value that would be to the church!

00:18:08.887 --> 00:18:11.261
To have an individual 
or people in our church

00:18:11.261 --> 00:18:14.104
who understood all 
the mysteries in Scripture

00:18:14.104 --> 00:18:19.883
and how they find their 
fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

00:18:19.883 --> 00:18:22.656
What about the one who has all knowledge?

00:18:22.656 --> 00:18:25.453
Deep doctrine.

00:18:25.453 --> 00:18:27.117
This may be the person who has

00:18:27.117 --> 00:18:28.527
all the covenant issues

00:18:28.527 --> 00:18:32.817
sorted out perfectly.

00:18:32.817 --> 00:18:36.153
They have all their eschatology down.

00:18:36.153 --> 00:18:40.740
Paul says here they have all knowledge.

00:18:40.740 --> 00:18:42.235
He's giving them credit.

00:18:42.235 --> 00:18:43.913
You understand all mysteries.

00:18:43.913 --> 00:18:54.109
You have all the knowledge.

00:18:54.109 --> 00:18:57.171
But if you have not love,

00:18:57.171 --> 00:19:02.688
you are nothing.

NOTE Paragraph

00:19:02.688 --> 00:19:04.073
Again, I think this is where

00:19:04.073 --> 00:19:06.080
the rubber meets the road for us.

00:19:06.080 --> 00:19:10.141
maybe these churches represented here.

00:19:10.141 --> 00:19:11.868
There are some of us who believe

00:19:11.868 --> 00:19:14.707
we have all the mysteries and knowledge

00:19:14.707 --> 00:19:15.696
figured out.

00:19:15.696 --> 00:19:17.132
And I think if we're honest,

00:19:17.132 --> 00:19:19.049
we need to confess

00:19:19.049 --> 00:19:22.079
we don't have it all figured out.

00:19:22.079 --> 00:19:24.674
We're all still growing.

00:19:24.674 --> 00:19:26.882
These men who have walked in the faith

00:19:26.882 --> 00:19:29.595
40, 50, 60 years faithfully,

00:19:29.595 --> 00:19:31.552
you could bring them up here one by one

00:19:31.552 --> 00:19:32.898
and they would acknowledge,

00:19:32.898 --> 00:19:34.497
listen, I'm still growing.

00:19:34.497 --> 00:19:36.250
The Word of God is still sharpening

00:19:36.250 --> 00:19:38.874
and shaping my 
understanding of who God is.

00:19:38.874 --> 00:19:41.439
The mysteries are still 
being unlocked to me.

00:19:41.439 --> 00:19:44.050
The knowledge and the 
deeper things of the Lord

00:19:44.050 --> 00:19:45.574
are still being revealed to me.

00:19:45.574 --> 00:19:47.749
And praise God, we never stop growing.

00:19:47.749 --> 00:19:49.194
But what Paul says here is,

00:19:49.194 --> 00:19:53.220
what if you did 
understand all the mysteries

00:19:53.220 --> 00:19:56.882
and have all the knowledge?

00:19:56.882 --> 00:20:05.535
Even then, without love you're nothing.

NOTE Paragraph

00:20:05.535 --> 00:20:07.667
In verse 3, Paul goes on to say this:

00:20:07.667 --> 00:20:08.931
"If I give away all I have

00:20:08.931 --> 00:20:10.822
and deliver up my body to be burned

00:20:10.822 --> 00:20:14.557
and have not love, I gain nothing."

00:20:14.557 --> 00:20:16.396
Again, I've talked to so many of you.

00:20:16.396 --> 00:20:20.146
You're living self-sacrificing lives

00:20:20.146 --> 00:20:21.925
so you can be more faithful to Scripture

00:20:21.925 --> 00:20:23.675
and give more.

00:20:23.675 --> 00:20:25.507
I mean, aren't you the kind of people

00:20:25.507 --> 00:20:27.212
you want to see in our church?

00:20:27.212 --> 00:20:30.000
The ones who are gifted by God?

00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:32.093
The ones who have and 
are studying doctrine

00:20:32.093 --> 00:20:34.001
and have knowledge and understanding?

00:20:34.001 --> 00:20:35.784
The ones who are living sacrificially

00:20:35.784 --> 00:20:37.507
for the glory of the Kingdom of God?

00:20:37.507 --> 00:20:39.866
Aren't these the people 
we want in our church?

00:20:39.866 --> 00:20:41.418
And the answer is yes.

00:20:41.418 --> 00:20:43.545
And don't they bring value?

00:20:43.545 --> 00:20:45.742
Don't they help edify and 
build up the church?

00:20:45.742 --> 00:20:49.241
And the answer is maybe.

00:20:49.241 --> 00:20:53.662
But maybe not.

00:20:53.662 --> 00:20:55.741
Do you see the progression that happened

00:20:55.741 --> 00:21:01.090
in these first three verses?

00:21:01.090 --> 00:21:06.997
Without love, we accomplish nothing.

00:21:06.997 --> 00:21:10.717
Without love, we are nothing.

00:21:10.717 --> 00:21:17.719
And without love, we gain nothing.

NOTE Paragraph

00:21:17.719 --> 00:21:22.340
What's the conclusion 
that we must come to?

00:21:22.340 --> 00:21:25.774
In measuring our Christian maturity,

00:21:25.774 --> 00:21:30.149
if we have everything without love,

00:21:30.149 --> 00:21:32.777
we have nothing.

00:21:32.777 --> 00:21:33.923
We have nothing.

00:21:33.923 --> 00:21:37.596
Love is essential.

00:21:37.596 --> 00:21:40.386
Oh, how important the use of gifts are

00:21:40.386 --> 00:21:42.757
in the local church.

00:21:42.757 --> 00:21:45.588
Oh, how important doctrine is

00:21:45.588 --> 00:21:47.332
in the local church.

00:21:47.332 --> 00:21:50.017
Oh, how important sacrificial living

00:21:50.017 --> 00:21:53.777
is in the local church.

00:21:53.777 --> 00:21:57.237
But apart from love, beloved,

00:21:57.237 --> 00:22:00.339
it's nothing.

NOTE Paragraph

00:22:00.339 --> 00:22:02.600
Right away, some of you 
may begin to struggle

00:22:02.600 --> 00:22:03.998
as we talk about doctrine

00:22:03.998 --> 00:22:07.042
and begin to ask a question like,

00:22:07.042 --> 00:22:08.914
"So, are you saying that we should

00:22:08.914 --> 00:22:13.218
let go of doctrine and pursue love?"

00:22:13.218 --> 00:22:16.167
And I want you to know this: No.

00:22:16.167 --> 00:22:21.323
It's not truth or love.

00:22:21.323 --> 00:22:25.550
It's truth in love.

00:22:25.550 --> 00:22:27.675
So often, we have that pendulum swing

00:22:27.675 --> 00:22:29.550
in our life, don't we?

00:22:29.550 --> 00:22:31.585
Where, okay, I'm pursuing truth.

00:22:31.585 --> 00:22:33.111
I'm given to truth.
I'm studying.

00:22:33.111 --> 00:22:35.997
I'm reading systematic theology.
I'm going through all these things.

00:22:35.997 --> 00:22:37.980
I'm growing in truth;
growing in truth.

00:22:37.980 --> 00:22:40.324
And we begin to neglect 
other areas of our life,

00:22:40.324 --> 00:22:42.309
and you realize, wait a minute,

00:22:42.309 --> 00:22:43.786
I'm lacking in love.

00:22:43.786 --> 00:22:45.271
So what do we often do?

00:22:45.271 --> 00:22:47.983
We overcompensate and we set truth down,

00:22:47.983 --> 00:22:49.572
and we walk over here

00:22:49.572 --> 00:22:51.631
and begin to pursue love.

00:22:51.631 --> 00:22:54.017
Saints, it's not truth or love.

00:22:54.017 --> 00:22:55.357
It's truth in love.

00:22:55.357 --> 00:22:58.550
It's not 50% of truth and 50% of love.

00:22:58.550 --> 00:23:02.367
It's 100% of truth and 100% of love

00:23:02.367 --> 00:23:05.875
working together.

00:23:05.875 --> 00:23:10.999
It's not either/or; it's both/and.

NOTE Paragraph

00:23:10.999 --> 00:23:13.084
Well, it's at this point that some of you

00:23:13.084 --> 00:23:16.426
may say, okay, I'm pursuing truth,

00:23:16.426 --> 00:23:18.678
and I believe that I'm loving.

00:23:18.678 --> 00:23:20.528
But you may believe that you're loving

00:23:20.528 --> 00:23:22.660
because all too often, we find -

00:23:22.660 --> 00:23:25.030
especially in reformed circles -

00:23:25.030 --> 00:23:26.827
statements like this:

00:23:26.827 --> 00:23:29.352
Of course, I'm loving. 
I told them the truth.

00:23:29.352 --> 00:23:34.039
That's the most loving thing you can do.

00:23:34.039 --> 00:23:37.697
Well, it is loving to share 
truth with people.

NOTE Paragraph

00:23:37.697 --> 00:23:39.207
But Paul now in verse 4

00:23:39.207 --> 00:23:40.615
is going to help you see

00:23:40.615 --> 00:23:43.733
what does love look like

00:23:43.733 --> 00:23:46.331
actually lived out.

00:23:46.331 --> 00:23:48.002
He's going to help us see that

00:23:48.002 --> 00:23:50.487
love is not just sharing the right,

00:23:50.487 --> 00:23:51.941
correct doctrine,

00:23:51.941 --> 00:23:55.878
but the spirit in which 
you share that doctrine

00:23:55.878 --> 00:23:58.782
is vital.

00:23:58.782 --> 00:24:01.128
Here's what Paul's going to show us.

00:24:01.128 --> 00:24:06.951
The genuineness and depth of our love

00:24:06.951 --> 00:24:13.391
is not seen in just sharing truth

00:24:13.391 --> 00:24:15.595
or how we respond to people

00:24:15.595 --> 00:24:19.306
who agree with our doctrinal positions,

00:24:19.306 --> 00:24:23.723
but the genuineness and depth of our love

00:24:23.723 --> 00:24:26.658
is revealed in how you respond

00:24:26.658 --> 00:24:28.997
to people who disagree

00:24:28.997 --> 00:24:41.080
with your doctrinal positions.

00:24:41.080 --> 00:24:43.820
What I keep seeing in reformed circles

00:24:43.820 --> 00:24:47.444
is people pursuing truth.

00:24:47.444 --> 00:24:50.183
And typically as I begin this discussion,

00:24:50.183 --> 00:24:51.997
I'll see them pursuing truth

00:24:51.997 --> 00:24:55.387
as it pertains to doctrines 
that we would call

00:24:55.387 --> 00:24:58.680
non-salvific.

00:24:58.680 --> 00:25:01.101
Meaning, we're not usually struggling

00:25:01.101 --> 00:25:04.524
in the areas of whether Jesus is God

00:25:04.524 --> 00:25:07.048
or we're saved by grace 
through faith alone.

00:25:07.048 --> 00:25:09.181
We're dealing in doctrinal areas

00:25:09.181 --> 00:25:11.179
that although very important

00:25:11.179 --> 00:25:14.423
and vital because they're 
from the Word of God,

00:25:14.423 --> 00:25:17.094
that we know that some through the ages

00:25:17.094 --> 00:25:18.689
have disagreed upon

00:25:18.689 --> 00:25:21.060
and come to different conclusions upon.

NOTE Paragraph

00:25:21.060 --> 00:25:23.032
And that's kind of where I want to focus

00:25:23.032 --> 00:25:28.651
my effort and energy today if i could.

00:25:28.651 --> 00:25:31.419
Someone begins to study 
a doctrinal position.

00:25:31.419 --> 00:25:33.221
Maybe they were unaware of it.

00:25:33.221 --> 00:25:35.756
It wasn't even on their radar before.

00:25:35.756 --> 00:25:37.552
They become passionate about truth,

00:25:37.552 --> 00:25:40.826
as we all should be 
passionate about truth.

00:25:40.826 --> 00:25:42.681
Well, they begin to talk with others

00:25:42.681 --> 00:25:44.488
in their local church about this truth

00:25:44.488 --> 00:25:46.181
because they're excited about it.

00:25:46.181 --> 00:25:47.792
They see how God can be glorified

00:25:47.792 --> 00:25:50.266
in it and through it.

00:25:50.266 --> 00:25:51.847
And this is good.

00:25:51.847 --> 00:25:53.775
But then they find someone in the church

00:25:53.775 --> 00:25:55.413
or different people in the church

00:25:55.413 --> 00:25:58.740
who disagree with them.

00:25:58.740 --> 00:26:00.828
And it's at this point that I begin to see

00:26:00.828 --> 00:26:03.061
that unity that we have in Jesus Christ -

00:26:03.061 --> 00:26:05.870
that supernatural bond that we have -

00:26:05.870 --> 00:26:09.581
this is where I begin to see a disunity.

00:26:09.581 --> 00:26:12.002
Not a working to preserve 
and maintain that,

00:26:12.002 --> 00:26:14.358
but a division beginning to occur.

NOTE Paragraph

00:26:14.358 --> 00:26:16.319
And I see the divisions occurring really

00:26:16.319 --> 00:26:18.063
in two different ways.

00:26:18.063 --> 00:26:19.876
One of the divisions that may occur

00:26:19.876 --> 00:26:21.187
is they say,

00:26:21.187 --> 00:26:24.007
"Well, if you're not going to side with me

00:26:24.007 --> 00:26:25.682
in my beliefs, I'll just go find

00:26:25.682 --> 00:26:27.152
another group of Christians;

00:26:27.152 --> 00:26:32.079
another church who more 
believes in these areas

00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:33.798
the way I believe,

00:26:33.798 --> 00:26:36.260
and I'll go be with them."

NOTE Paragraph

00:26:36.260 --> 00:26:38.166
But another division I'm actually seeing

00:26:38.166 --> 00:26:39.706
more likely happening,

00:26:39.706 --> 00:26:41.162
and probably more prominent

00:26:41.162 --> 00:26:43.716
in our churches represented here

00:26:43.716 --> 00:26:47.093
is a division that stays 
in the local church.

00:26:47.093 --> 00:26:49.605
And what this division looks like is this:

00:26:49.605 --> 00:26:51.577
When I find someone who doesn't agree

00:26:51.577 --> 00:26:53.404
with my new study of doctrine

00:26:53.404 --> 00:26:55.195
or my new arrival of understanding,

00:26:55.195 --> 00:26:56.646
or I find someone who doesn't

00:26:56.646 --> 00:26:58.466
live out their convictions

00:26:58.466 --> 00:27:00.865
the same way that I do,

00:27:00.865 --> 00:27:03.858
there's division within the church.

00:27:03.858 --> 00:27:05.363
And that happens by treating

00:27:05.363 --> 00:27:09.935
other Christians in the church 
who disagree with me

00:27:09.935 --> 00:27:14.359
as second-class Christians.

00:27:14.359 --> 00:27:16.918
"You're not as spiritual as I am."

00:27:16.918 --> 00:27:20.647
"You clearly don't love holiness 
and God as much as I do."

00:27:20.647 --> 00:27:22.413
"There's something wrong with you,

00:27:22.413 --> 00:27:24.401
or you would come to the same conclusions

00:27:24.401 --> 00:27:25.483
I have come to."

00:27:25.483 --> 00:27:27.220
You would live out your convictions

00:27:27.220 --> 00:27:32.212
the same way I live out my convictions."

00:27:32.212 --> 00:27:33.595
This person that we once had

00:27:33.595 --> 00:27:35.617
such intimate fellowship with;

00:27:35.617 --> 00:27:37.875
that we shared the joy and union

00:27:37.875 --> 00:27:40.667
of fellowship and union 
in Christ together -

00:27:40.667 --> 00:27:42.860
my brother and sister in the Lord -

00:27:42.860 --> 00:27:46.644
someone who, like me, 
has been blood-bought,

00:27:46.644 --> 00:27:49.315
now, I realize has come to 
a different conclusion

00:27:49.315 --> 00:27:51.539
in an area of doctrine,

00:27:51.539 --> 00:27:52.878
and I don't even treat them

00:27:52.878 --> 00:27:59.824
like a brother or sister anymore.

00:27:59.824 --> 00:28:01.402
I want everyone in here to know,

00:28:01.402 --> 00:28:04.316
especially myself is this:

00:28:04.316 --> 00:28:06.673
that's not loving.

00:28:06.673 --> 00:28:09.028
That works directly against our call

00:28:09.028 --> 00:28:12.941
to maintain the unity that 
we have in Jesus Christ.

00:28:12.941 --> 00:28:17.493
I see this played out 
in churches all the time.

00:28:17.493 --> 00:28:19.782
Maybe you come to a conviction

00:28:19.782 --> 00:28:23.438
about how you should 
educate your children.

00:28:23.438 --> 00:28:26.825
Something that never was 
even on the radar.

00:28:26.825 --> 00:28:30.999
And then your eye diffused that 
quickening ray in the dungeon.

00:28:30.999 --> 00:28:33.823
And the light came in 
and Christ became real.

00:28:33.823 --> 00:28:35.369
And then everything in your life

00:28:35.369 --> 00:28:37.606
began to look through 
the lens of the gospel

00:28:37.606 --> 00:28:39.367
and the Scriptures as we should do.

00:28:39.367 --> 00:28:42.544
And you've come to convictions
you've never even thought about.

00:28:42.544 --> 00:28:44.143
How should I educate my children?

00:28:44.143 --> 00:28:45.784
And you arrive at a conclusion.

00:28:45.784 --> 00:28:48.043
I think the best way 
for me to live this out

00:28:48.043 --> 00:28:52.879
might be for me to homeschool my children.

00:28:52.879 --> 00:28:56.151
And then you become 
convinced that's the only way

00:28:56.151 --> 00:28:57.914
that you can educate your children

00:28:57.914 --> 00:29:00.592
if you're seeking to glorify God.

00:29:00.592 --> 00:29:03.595
And you begin to look at other people

00:29:03.595 --> 00:29:06.052
who don't follow the conviction

00:29:06.052 --> 00:29:07.681
that you follow there.

00:29:07.681 --> 00:29:11.483
And you begin to categorize 
them in your mind.

00:29:11.483 --> 00:29:13.165
They don't love Jesus like I do.

00:29:13.165 --> 00:29:15.185
They're not willing to make the sacrifices

00:29:15.185 --> 00:29:17.017
that I'm willing to make.

00:29:17.017 --> 00:29:19.267
Do you see the spiritual pride?

00:29:19.267 --> 00:29:22.090
Do you see the classes of Christianity

00:29:22.090 --> 00:29:23.432
beginning to divide?

00:29:23.432 --> 00:29:25.127
Do you see that the basis

00:29:25.127 --> 00:29:26.723
of our fellowship,

00:29:26.723 --> 00:29:29.057
which was once the sweet union

00:29:29.057 --> 00:29:31.062
of Jesus Christ and the gospel,

00:29:31.062 --> 00:29:32.987
now becomes the basis of:

00:29:32.987 --> 00:29:36.198
well, how do you educate your children?

00:29:36.198 --> 00:29:37.863
What happens when we do that?

00:29:37.863 --> 00:29:40.089
Inevitably, whether we mean to or not,

00:29:40.089 --> 00:29:43.775
we begin to minimize 
the gospel of Jesus Christ.

00:29:43.775 --> 00:29:45.926
We begin to minimize the power

00:29:45.926 --> 00:29:48.222
of the purchasing blood of Jesus Christ.

00:29:48.222 --> 00:29:49.815
We begin to find fellowship

00:29:49.815 --> 00:29:52.360
in something other than Jesus Christ.

00:29:52.360 --> 00:29:55.591
We begin to find our unity

00:29:55.591 --> 00:30:00.239
in something other than Jesus Christ.

00:30:00.239 --> 00:30:05.095
Saints, it's dividing our churches up.

00:30:05.095 --> 00:30:06.979
That does not work to maintain

00:30:06.979 --> 00:30:14.385
the unity that we have in Jesus Christ.

00:30:14.385 --> 00:30:16.655
How you respond to that person

00:30:16.655 --> 00:30:19.336
who disagrees with 
your doctrinal position;

00:30:19.336 --> 00:30:21.204
how you respond to that person

00:30:21.204 --> 00:30:23.305
who comes to a different conclusion

00:30:23.305 --> 00:30:25.788
on how you should educate your children

00:30:25.788 --> 00:30:31.199
or what premarital 
relationships should look like -

00:30:31.199 --> 00:30:33.561
how you respond to that person

00:30:33.561 --> 00:30:36.011
is the evidence and depth of your love

00:30:36.011 --> 00:30:38.042
in the local church.

00:30:38.042 --> 00:30:40.430
You see, if we just keep 
surrounding ourselves,

00:30:40.430 --> 00:30:41.718
within the church,

00:30:41.718 --> 00:30:43.455
with little subcultures -

00:30:43.455 --> 00:30:45.714
we're the homeschooling group;

00:30:45.714 --> 00:30:47.644
we're the courtship group;

00:30:47.644 --> 00:30:49.667
we're the amillenial group;

00:30:49.667 --> 00:30:51.584
we're this group;
we're that group;

00:30:51.584 --> 00:30:53.373
and anyone who doesn't agree with you

00:30:53.373 --> 00:30:55.227
in those areas, although you do have

00:30:55.227 --> 00:30:56.773
union with them in Christ,

00:30:56.773 --> 00:30:59.237
that's not good enough 
for fellowship anymore.

00:30:59.237 --> 00:31:01.165
I won't let my kids be around anyone

00:31:01.165 --> 00:31:02.460
who doesn't homeschool.

00:31:02.460 --> 00:31:04.719
What are you teaching your children?

00:31:04.719 --> 00:31:06.413
That homeschool is more important

00:31:06.413 --> 00:31:09.099
than union in Jesus Christ.

00:31:09.099 --> 00:31:11.459
I think some of us are 
going to wake up one day

00:31:11.459 --> 00:31:13.790
and realize we put all 
of our hope and faith

00:31:13.790 --> 00:31:16.055
in educating our 
children in our home.

00:31:16.055 --> 00:31:19.778
Homeschooling doesn't save anybody!

00:31:19.778 --> 00:31:25.156
It's Jesus Christ that saves.

00:31:25.156 --> 00:31:36.173
And I homeschool my kids.

NOTE Paragraph

00:31:36.173 --> 00:31:38.977
Listen, I'm not implying

00:31:38.977 --> 00:31:40.811
that the love you have

00:31:40.811 --> 00:31:44.072
with the group of people you 
have surrounded yourself with

00:31:44.072 --> 00:31:46.536
that hold to those same convictions -

00:31:46.536 --> 00:31:49.119
I'm not saying it's not love.

00:31:49.119 --> 00:31:51.168
It is love. I think it's love.

00:31:51.168 --> 00:31:53.450
What I want us to look at is this:

00:31:53.450 --> 00:31:55.796
But what is the depth of my love?

00:31:55.796 --> 00:31:57.513
And Paul seems to think

00:31:57.513 --> 00:31:59.835
the depth of your love is revealed

00:31:59.835 --> 00:32:02.523
not with those you've 
gathered around yourself

00:32:02.523 --> 00:32:04.444
who affirm you all day,

00:32:04.444 --> 00:32:07.267
but the one who doesn't 
see it the same way

00:32:07.267 --> 00:32:09.667
and how you treat that brother or sister

00:32:09.667 --> 00:32:11.818
is the reality of the depth of your love

00:32:11.818 --> 00:32:13.922
for the local church.

NOTE Paragraph

00:32:13.922 --> 00:32:16.352
Let's look at it in verse 4.

00:32:16.352 --> 00:32:20.869
Paul says, "Love is patient."

00:32:20.869 --> 00:32:25.521
Love suffers long.

00:32:25.521 --> 00:32:30.614
Assumed in this first 
characteristic of love

00:32:30.614 --> 00:32:32.880
is offense.

00:32:32.880 --> 00:32:35.179
He assumes that there's provocation here

00:32:35.179 --> 00:32:36.340
between two people.

00:32:36.340 --> 00:32:37.987
He assumes there's differences

00:32:37.987 --> 00:32:39.963
and disagreements here.

00:32:39.963 --> 00:32:41.497
Why do we say that?

00:32:41.497 --> 00:32:42.754
Because know this,

00:32:42.754 --> 00:32:46.078
you don't have to 
suffer long with people

00:32:46.078 --> 00:32:48.253
who agree with you in 
every point of doctrine

00:32:48.253 --> 00:32:51.078
and live out the same way you do.

00:32:51.078 --> 00:32:52.792
You don't suffer with those people.

00:32:52.792 --> 00:32:55.431
You just sit around and affirm each other.

00:32:55.431 --> 00:32:57.768
Look how spiritual we are!

00:32:57.768 --> 00:33:00.883
Look how unspiritual they are!

00:33:00.883 --> 00:33:03.723
I don't suffer long if you 
just build me up all day

00:33:03.723 --> 00:33:05.740
and agree with me in every area.

00:33:05.740 --> 00:33:07.920
That's not suffering.

00:33:07.920 --> 00:33:14.390
But Paul says genuine love suffers long.

00:33:14.390 --> 00:33:19.172
Genuine love is revealed 
in the face of adversity.

00:33:19.172 --> 00:33:24.775
In the face of disagreement.

00:33:24.775 --> 00:33:26.796
So how long are we suffering

00:33:26.796 --> 00:33:29.390
with those who disagree with us

00:33:29.390 --> 00:33:30.746
or have offended us

00:33:30.746 --> 00:33:34.243
because they haven't come 
to the same conclusions?

00:33:34.243 --> 00:33:38.399
Well, that's the reality of 
the depth of your love.

00:33:38.399 --> 00:33:40.110
What's assumed in the characteristic

00:33:40.110 --> 00:33:42.292
again is provocation.

00:33:42.292 --> 00:33:45.319
It assumes someone has provoked you here.

00:33:45.319 --> 00:33:46.393
They've provoked you

00:33:46.393 --> 00:33:50.871
by not seeing it the way that you see it.

00:33:50.871 --> 00:33:53.074
"Well, I showed it to them in Scripture.

00:33:53.074 --> 00:33:54.011
It's so clear.

00:33:54.011 --> 00:34:00.386
Why can't they see it?"

00:34:00.386 --> 00:34:03.322
Love when they've been provoked,

00:34:03.322 --> 00:34:06.714
does not provoke back.

00:34:06.714 --> 00:34:17.508
But it suffers long with the other person.

00:34:17.508 --> 00:34:19.430
What becomes very clear in Paul's

00:34:19.430 --> 00:34:21.701
definition of love here

00:34:21.701 --> 00:34:24.001
is that the love Paul is speaking about

00:34:24.001 --> 00:34:27.330
is not the love the world speaks about.

00:34:27.330 --> 00:34:29.277
The love the world speaks about

00:34:29.277 --> 00:34:31.618
is emotion-driven;

00:34:31.618 --> 00:34:33.778
feelings-based.

00:34:33.778 --> 00:34:36.112
And know this, genuine love

00:34:36.112 --> 00:34:38.879
is full of emotion and feelings.

00:34:38.879 --> 00:34:44.038
But it's not feelings-driven 
or feelings-based.

00:34:44.038 --> 00:34:46.972
Beloved, the love that 
Paul is calling you and I to

00:34:46.972 --> 00:34:49.962
to preserve the unity we 
have in Jesus Christ

00:34:49.962 --> 00:34:55.696
is nothing less than the love 
of Jesus Christ in the gospel.

00:34:55.696 --> 00:34:59.703
This is the love that you 
and I are being called to.

00:34:59.703 --> 00:35:02.122
This is not a love in word only.

00:35:02.122 --> 00:35:04.684
It's a love in deed and action.

00:35:04.684 --> 00:35:08.335
It's a love in the face of provocation

00:35:08.335 --> 00:35:13.890
that suffers long.

NOTE Paragraph

00:35:13.890 --> 00:35:17.153
Let's apply this first 
characteristic again here.

00:35:17.153 --> 00:35:19.148
Suffering long.

00:35:19.148 --> 00:35:21.424
Someone in the church disagrees

00:35:21.424 --> 00:35:24.343
with a doctrinal position you 
spent the last six months

00:35:24.343 --> 00:35:27.018
reading three books on and 
listening to 25 sermons on.

00:35:27.018 --> 00:35:29.805
And you're convinced you've 
come to the right conclusion.

00:35:29.805 --> 00:35:32.370
You've sat down with them
and you've shown it to them,

00:35:32.370 --> 00:35:34.892
and they just don't see 
what you're talking about.

00:35:34.892 --> 00:35:39.617
In fact, they see the other side of it.

00:35:39.617 --> 00:35:41.463
Now, we become passionate about truth,

00:35:41.463 --> 00:35:44.235
and Christians should be 
passionate about truth.

00:35:44.235 --> 00:35:47.030
But what this love does

00:35:47.030 --> 00:35:51.030
is it's patient with that person.

00:35:51.030 --> 00:35:52.268
Have you ever noticed -

00:35:52.268 --> 00:35:54.495
and I've seen this in my own life -

00:35:54.495 --> 00:35:55.578
you'll begin to study

00:35:55.578 --> 00:35:57.245
and focus on an area of doctrine.

00:35:57.245 --> 00:36:00.058
Something that maybe 
wasn't even on the radar

00:36:00.058 --> 00:36:02.729
for the first ten years 
in your Christianity.

00:36:02.729 --> 00:36:04.952
You spend six months studying on it

00:36:04.952 --> 00:36:06.535
and you're an expert on it.

00:36:06.535 --> 00:36:09.153
You dogmatically go to other 
people in your church,

00:36:09.153 --> 00:36:11.203
and you can't stop talking about it,

00:36:11.203 --> 00:36:13.513
and you struggle that they can't see it

00:36:13.513 --> 00:36:15.590
the way you've explained it.

00:36:15.590 --> 00:36:18.401
You forget that it was 
ten years in the faith -

00:36:18.401 --> 00:36:20.241
it wasn't even on your radar.

00:36:20.241 --> 00:36:21.589
But now if they don't come

00:36:21.589 --> 00:36:23.396
to the same conclusion 
as you've come to,

00:36:23.396 --> 00:36:25.561
you can't even be in 
fellowship with them anymore

00:36:25.561 --> 00:36:36.816
in the local church.

00:36:36.816 --> 00:36:38.452
Know this, saints, suffering long

00:36:38.452 --> 00:36:40.182
is more than just biting your tongue

00:36:40.182 --> 00:36:42.643
when someone disagrees with you,

00:36:42.643 --> 00:36:45.563
and distancing yourself from them.

00:36:45.563 --> 00:36:47.830
Because one of the things 
we need to see here

00:36:47.830 --> 00:36:50.223
is that these first two characteristics -

00:36:50.223 --> 00:36:52.177
patience and kindness -

00:36:52.177 --> 00:36:54.941
actually go together.

00:36:54.941 --> 00:36:57.379
One's the other side of 
the coin of the other.

NOTE Paragraph

00:36:57.379 --> 00:36:59.669
Let me put them together with you

00:36:59.669 --> 00:37:03.581
and show you what this really looks like.

00:37:03.581 --> 00:37:05.337
Love is patient. It suffers long

00:37:05.337 --> 00:37:07.328
in the face of provocation.

00:37:07.328 --> 00:37:10.505
But more than that, love is kind.

00:37:10.505 --> 00:37:12.849
The root word here in "kind" has the idea

00:37:12.849 --> 00:37:15.546
of being "fit for use."

00:37:15.546 --> 00:37:17.398
Usefulness.

00:37:17.398 --> 00:37:20.930
Serving each other.

00:37:20.930 --> 00:37:26.259
Think with me for a moment here.

00:37:26.259 --> 00:37:29.062
True love is demonstrated

00:37:29.062 --> 00:37:31.656
when someone disagrees with you

00:37:31.656 --> 00:37:33.961
or offends you,

00:37:33.961 --> 00:37:36.232
and instead of responding back to them

00:37:36.232 --> 00:37:38.150
and provoking them back,

00:37:38.150 --> 00:37:40.868
you do not respond back to them with that,

00:37:40.868 --> 00:37:43.660
but rather you show them patience.

00:37:43.660 --> 00:37:46.810
But more than that,

00:37:46.810 --> 00:37:50.883
you move towards that person

00:37:50.883 --> 00:37:55.949
to serve them in kindness.

00:37:55.949 --> 00:37:59.843
I don't know about you, 
but that's really hard.

00:37:59.843 --> 00:38:01.256
I'm so convinced I'm right.

00:38:01.256 --> 00:38:02.235
I'm so passionate

00:38:02.235 --> 00:38:04.121
because this is about the glory of God,

00:38:04.121 --> 00:38:06.778
and I think they're robbing 
the glory of God in their life,

00:38:06.778 --> 00:38:07.820
so I'm trying to show them,

00:38:07.820 --> 00:38:09.631
I'm trying to sit with them 
and work with them,

00:38:09.631 --> 00:38:11.302
I've walked them through 
every Scripture in the Bible.

00:38:11.302 --> 00:38:12.531
They still don't see it.

00:38:12.531 --> 00:38:14.306
And they're getting a 
little frustrated with me

00:38:14.306 --> 00:38:19.141
because I won't stop talking 
about my doctrinal points so much.

00:38:19.141 --> 00:38:21.357
And what this says is this:

00:38:21.357 --> 00:38:25.883
That even if I'm right in 
the doctrinal position,

00:38:25.883 --> 00:38:29.977
I'm going to be patient 
with this brother or sister.

00:38:29.977 --> 00:38:31.930
But more than that, I'm going to begin

00:38:31.930 --> 00:38:33.957
to move towards them

00:38:33.957 --> 00:38:37.619
and serve them in kindness.

00:38:37.619 --> 00:38:39.511
You know what I see happening?

00:38:39.511 --> 00:38:42.416
I shared truth with you 
and you didn't get it.

00:38:42.416 --> 00:38:44.692
You're not going to be 
in the circle anymore.

00:38:44.692 --> 00:38:46.491
I'm not going to fellowship with you

00:38:46.491 --> 00:38:51.363
as much as I used to anymore.

00:38:51.363 --> 00:38:53.447
It's one thing to bite your lip

00:38:53.447 --> 00:38:55.138
and not respond when 
you've been provoked.

00:38:55.138 --> 00:38:56.717
It's a whole other thing to move

00:38:56.717 --> 00:38:58.883
towards that person you disagree with

00:38:58.883 --> 00:39:00.866
and find ways to serve them

00:39:00.866 --> 00:39:05.697
and welcome them in the church.

NOTE Paragraph

00:39:05.697 --> 00:39:09.333
Can I ask you something?

00:39:09.333 --> 00:39:14.924
Isn't that what Jesus Christ did to you?

00:39:14.924 --> 00:39:18.044
Weren't you and I provoking Jesus Christ?

00:39:18.044 --> 00:39:20.525
In fact, I think the only 
thing we were doing

00:39:20.525 --> 00:39:23.849
was provoking Jesus Christ.

00:39:23.849 --> 00:39:27.270
And didn't He pointedly and individually

00:39:27.270 --> 00:39:29.489
not only not give you what you deserved

00:39:29.489 --> 00:39:30.450
which was His wrath?

00:39:30.450 --> 00:39:33.332
He did not. He was 
long suffering with you.

00:39:33.332 --> 00:39:35.683
But more than just 
suffering long with you,

00:39:35.683 --> 00:39:39.450
didn't Jesus Christ move towards you

00:39:39.450 --> 00:39:40.976
and seek you out

00:39:40.976 --> 00:39:42.353
and look to serve you

00:39:42.353 --> 00:39:50.916
by laying His life down for you?

00:39:50.916 --> 00:39:54.629
And isn't this exactly what we need to do?

00:39:54.629 --> 00:39:56.464
If we're going to maintain the unity

00:39:56.464 --> 00:39:58.043
we have in our local churches

00:39:58.043 --> 00:39:59.549
in the midst of our diversity,

00:39:59.549 --> 00:40:01.879
we need to respond with Christ-like,

00:40:01.879 --> 00:40:03.406
gospel-centered love

00:40:03.406 --> 00:40:06.183
and move towards those 
people we disagree with

00:40:06.183 --> 00:40:09.431
and serve them.

00:40:09.431 --> 00:40:12.108
What a testimony that would be to them

00:40:12.108 --> 00:40:15.571
and to those outside.

00:40:15.571 --> 00:40:17.967
This is the love we're called to.

00:40:17.967 --> 00:40:22.221
Gospel-centered love.

00:40:22.221 --> 00:40:26.501
Ask yourself right now,

00:40:26.501 --> 00:40:29.310
those in your local church

00:40:29.310 --> 00:40:32.716
who view premarital relationships 
different than you,

00:40:32.716 --> 00:40:35.546
who view how to educate your 
children different than you,

00:40:35.546 --> 00:40:39.419
who've arrived at different 
conclusions of your favorite doctrines,

00:40:39.419 --> 00:40:41.926
are you moving towards that person

00:40:41.926 --> 00:40:45.282
to serve them and welcome them?

00:40:45.282 --> 00:40:47.935
Because that's the genuine 
depth of your love

00:40:47.935 --> 00:40:51.477
in the local church right there.

00:40:51.477 --> 00:40:55.660
That's it right there.

00:40:55.660 --> 00:40:57.399
Or are you like so many that I see

00:40:57.399 --> 00:41:00.213
that say, well, I'm only 
going to associate

00:41:00.213 --> 00:41:03.436
with the people who homeschool like me.

00:41:03.436 --> 00:41:05.796
I don't want their lack of seriousness

00:41:05.796 --> 00:41:08.716
to rub off on me or my children.

00:41:08.716 --> 00:41:10.004
And you forget all along

00:41:10.004 --> 00:41:11.678
that you're speaking about someone

00:41:11.678 --> 00:41:17.441
purchased with the blood of Jesus Christ.

00:41:17.441 --> 00:41:20.097
This is not being patient.

00:41:20.097 --> 00:41:21.832
This is not being kind.

00:41:21.832 --> 00:41:24.506
And it is unloving.

00:41:24.506 --> 00:41:27.165
It's sin.

NOTE Paragraph

00:41:27.165 --> 00:41:32.653
Do you know that 
loveless orthodoxy is sin?

00:41:32.653 --> 00:41:35.307
In Revelation 2, Jesus warned a church

00:41:35.307 --> 00:41:37.750
that seemed to have 
all their doctrine right,

00:41:37.750 --> 00:41:40.556
debated it, stood in the 
face of false teachers,

00:41:40.556 --> 00:41:43.200
and hated evil.

00:41:43.200 --> 00:41:45.696
He commended them for all of that.

00:41:45.696 --> 00:41:47.766
And then He turned to them and said this:

00:41:47.766 --> 00:41:50.262
you need to repent though.

00:41:50.262 --> 00:41:52.838
You say, well, they had 
left their first love

00:41:52.838 --> 00:41:56.134
and that's referring to Jesus Christ.

00:41:56.134 --> 00:41:58.383
I agree.

00:41:58.383 --> 00:42:00.746
But can I ask you this question?

00:42:00.746 --> 00:42:06.339
Where is the evidence of your love 
for Jesus Christ most revealed?

00:42:06.339 --> 00:42:08.820
In love for His church.

00:42:08.820 --> 00:42:11.048
How can you love Him 
whom you have not seen

00:42:11.048 --> 00:42:17.217
if you can't love your brother 
or sister who you do see?

00:42:17.217 --> 00:42:22.560
"I love Jesus!"

00:42:22.560 --> 00:42:24.322
The depth of your love for Jesus

00:42:24.322 --> 00:42:28.141
is revealed in how you love His bride.

00:42:28.141 --> 00:42:29.988
And the reality of love is not just

00:42:29.988 --> 00:42:31.264
those who agree with you,

00:42:31.264 --> 00:42:33.388
but those who have disagreed with you

00:42:33.388 --> 00:42:41.104
and offended you.

NOTE Paragraph

00:42:41.104 --> 00:42:43.103
I'm not suggesting in any way, beloved,

00:42:43.103 --> 00:42:46.038
that we do not discuss these doctrines

00:42:46.038 --> 00:42:48.084
or our convictions in our local churches.

00:42:48.084 --> 00:42:49.429
We need to.

00:42:49.429 --> 00:42:50.996
It's one of the means of grace

00:42:50.996 --> 00:42:54.459
that God has used to 
grow us and sharpen us.

00:42:54.459 --> 00:42:56.464
But I am suggesting that we discuss them

00:42:56.464 --> 00:42:59.282
in the context of gospel-centered unity

00:42:59.282 --> 00:43:04.320
and clothed in Christlike 
humility and love.

00:43:04.320 --> 00:43:08.658
When we allow something 
other than Jesus Christ

00:43:08.658 --> 00:43:12.105
to become the basis of our 
unity and our fellowship,

00:43:12.105 --> 00:43:18.835
again, we inevitably minimize 
Jesus Christ and the gospel

00:43:18.835 --> 00:43:21.046
and the work against the unity

00:43:21.046 --> 00:43:24.005
that He's given to us.

00:43:24.005 --> 00:43:26.375
Think of this statement 
and see if it just

00:43:26.375 --> 00:43:30.020
rings wrong for you.

00:43:30.020 --> 00:43:32.465
"Yes, you're my brother in Christ,

00:43:32.465 --> 00:43:35.337
both saved and redeemed 
by the grace of Jesus Christ,

00:43:35.337 --> 00:43:36.667
and we have that in common

00:43:36.667 --> 00:43:38.714
and we agree on those things,

00:43:38.714 --> 00:43:42.316
but we've come to a 
different place eschatalogically,

00:43:42.316 --> 00:43:48.875
so I can't even be in 
fellowship with you anymore."

00:43:48.875 --> 00:43:50.951
I'm not minimizing the importance

00:43:50.951 --> 00:43:53.820
of any other doctrines.

00:43:53.820 --> 00:43:55.524
But I'm saying that the unity

00:43:55.524 --> 00:43:57.072
that we share in Christ,

00:43:57.072 --> 00:43:59.401
and the love within that unity

00:43:59.401 --> 00:44:01.619
should help us be able to work together,

00:44:01.619 --> 00:44:03.679
have these discussions,
encourage each other,

00:44:03.679 --> 00:44:05.317
sharpen each other

00:44:05.317 --> 00:44:07.671
without breaking the 
fellowship and unity we have

00:44:07.671 --> 00:44:09.000
in our local churches

00:44:09.000 --> 00:44:17.834
which is centered upon Jesus Christ.

NOTE Paragraph

00:44:17.834 --> 00:44:20.736
So yes, discuss these things.

00:44:20.736 --> 00:44:22.784
Yes, encourage and build up each other

00:44:22.784 --> 00:44:23.993
in these things.

00:44:23.993 --> 00:44:26.485
Yes, sharpen each other in these things.

00:44:26.485 --> 00:44:29.437
But do it clothed in love and humility.

00:44:29.437 --> 00:44:31.799
And when others disagree with you

00:44:31.799 --> 00:44:33.121
or do it differently,

00:44:33.121 --> 00:44:35.438
suffer long with them

00:44:35.438 --> 00:44:37.234
and move towards them

00:44:37.234 --> 00:44:39.446
in kindness and service.

00:44:39.446 --> 00:44:43.589
So we don't treat them 
like second-class Christians.

00:44:43.589 --> 00:44:45.053
Because know this,

00:44:45.053 --> 00:44:52.489
there are no second-class Christians.

00:44:52.489 --> 00:44:56.910
The fact that our 
rallying point is a cross

00:44:56.910 --> 00:45:00.083
says one thing:

00:45:00.083 --> 00:45:03.840
the playing field is level.

00:45:03.840 --> 00:45:07.952
The only reason why any of 
us are getting in is grace.

00:45:07.952 --> 00:45:09.539
That's it.

00:45:09.539 --> 00:45:10.847
And when you make something

00:45:10.847 --> 00:45:15.265
other than the cross and Jesus Christ

00:45:15.265 --> 00:45:17.340
the basis of our fellowship,

00:45:17.340 --> 00:45:22.159
you minimize the work of Christ.

00:45:22.159 --> 00:45:23.812
Jesus Christ identifies

00:45:23.812 --> 00:45:30.602
with the lowest of 
understanding doctrine Christian.

00:45:30.602 --> 00:45:33.458
They will be welcomed in

00:45:33.458 --> 00:45:36.995
to the same degree that you will be.

00:45:36.995 --> 00:45:39.032
They are loved by Jesus Christ

00:45:39.032 --> 00:45:41.232
in the same way that you are loved,

00:45:41.232 --> 00:45:43.593
because the basis of His love

00:45:43.593 --> 00:45:48.690
is not rooted in you, 
it's rooted in Himself.

NOTE Paragraph

00:45:48.690 --> 00:45:51.912
I'm not condoning immaturity in doctrine.

00:45:51.912 --> 00:45:53.470
I'm not condoning indifference

00:45:53.470 --> 00:45:54.906
to how we live out our lives

00:45:54.906 --> 00:45:57.690
and Jesus Christ is not either.

00:45:57.690 --> 00:46:05.129
But again, Jesus Christ 
identifies with them.

00:46:05.129 --> 00:46:06.782
We need to be careful how we speak

00:46:06.782 --> 00:46:08.730
about the body of Christ;

00:46:08.730 --> 00:46:12.507
how we treat the body of Christ.

00:46:12.507 --> 00:46:13.918
Jesus said to Saul,

00:46:13.918 --> 00:46:16.094
"Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?"

00:46:16.094 --> 00:46:18.768
when he was persecuting the church.

00:46:18.768 --> 00:46:21.027
Jesus so identifies with His church

00:46:21.027 --> 00:46:23.057
that how you treat them,

00:46:23.057 --> 00:46:27.835
He views it as how you treat Him.

NOTE Paragraph

00:46:27.835 --> 00:46:29.991
Know this, we can have our doctrine right,

00:46:29.991 --> 00:46:32.422
but the doctrine that we 
believe we have right

00:46:32.422 --> 00:46:34.526
has not had its full work in us

00:46:34.526 --> 00:46:36.826
until it manifests in Christlike love

00:46:36.826 --> 00:46:40.438
towards each other.

00:46:40.438 --> 00:46:43.411
You can have your doctrine right,

00:46:43.411 --> 00:46:46.306
but that doctrine has not 
had its full work in you

00:46:46.306 --> 00:46:48.910
until it manifests itself through you

00:46:48.910 --> 00:46:55.574
in Christ-centered love.

00:46:55.574 --> 00:47:02.267
This love we're called 
to is patient and kind.

NOTE Paragraph

00:47:02.267 --> 00:47:03.362
One more here.

00:47:03.362 --> 00:47:06.056
Paul says this love 
"does not envy or boast,

00:47:06.056 --> 00:47:09.513
it is not arrogant or rude."

00:47:09.513 --> 00:47:12.584
Can I tell you that nothing works faster

00:47:12.584 --> 00:47:14.698
at causing disunity in the local church

00:47:14.698 --> 00:47:17.700
as spiritual pride?

00:47:17.700 --> 00:47:19.488
The Corinthians thought:

00:47:19.488 --> 00:47:21.902
We are something.
We have these gifts.

00:47:21.902 --> 00:47:24.295
We understand this doctrine.
We've arrived.

00:47:24.295 --> 00:47:26.533
We're living sacrificially. Look at us.

00:47:26.533 --> 00:47:29.352
And Paul didn't deny any of 
those things were important,

00:47:29.352 --> 00:47:30.995
but he knew without love,

00:47:30.995 --> 00:47:35.990
those things would divide the church.

00:47:35.990 --> 00:47:38.725
The genuineness and depth of my love

00:47:38.725 --> 00:47:42.053
is not seen with those who agree with me,

00:47:42.053 --> 00:47:44.076
but with those who disagree with me

00:47:44.076 --> 00:47:46.553
and how I respond to them.

00:47:46.553 --> 00:47:48.573
I've often referred to the local church

00:47:48.573 --> 00:47:53.373
as a brewing pot of sanctification.

00:47:53.373 --> 00:47:55.100
Sometimes I find people just leaving

00:47:55.100 --> 00:47:56.849
local church after local church,

00:47:56.849 --> 00:48:00.074
looking for people who are 
exactly like themselves.

00:48:00.074 --> 00:48:02.331
One of the reasons God put you in churches

00:48:02.331 --> 00:48:04.112
with such diversity culturally

00:48:04.112 --> 00:48:07.540
and maturity-wise is to abound you

00:48:07.540 --> 00:48:10.216
in Christlike love.

00:48:10.216 --> 00:48:11.582
And that's hard.

00:48:11.582 --> 00:48:13.445
It's a lot more comfortable and easy

00:48:13.445 --> 00:48:15.642
just to keep finding 
subgroups of Christians

00:48:15.642 --> 00:48:17.282
who believe all that you believe

00:48:17.282 --> 00:48:18.946
and do it all the way you do.

00:48:18.946 --> 00:48:21.578
But that's not how He made the church.

00:48:21.578 --> 00:48:23.600
He made the church diverse,

00:48:23.600 --> 00:48:25.104
so we could abound in love

00:48:25.104 --> 00:48:26.810
as we show patience and kindness

00:48:26.810 --> 00:48:30.956
to those who disagree with us.

NOTE Paragraph

00:48:30.962 --> 00:48:33.209
Can I give you one test that you're being

00:48:33.209 --> 00:48:36.108
boastful or arrogant?

00:48:36.108 --> 00:48:37.803
If you constantly feel the need

00:48:37.803 --> 00:48:39.772
to talk about your doctrinal positions

00:48:39.772 --> 00:48:42.199
with everyone in the local church,

00:48:42.199 --> 00:48:46.176
that's a sign of arrogance and boasting.

00:48:46.176 --> 00:48:48.681
If you view everyone in your local church

00:48:48.681 --> 00:48:51.191
as positions rather than people,

00:48:51.191 --> 00:48:52.962
and your goal is just to win everyone

00:48:52.962 --> 00:48:54.114
over to your position -

00:48:54.114 --> 00:48:55.986
you're not even asking people anymore:

00:48:55.986 --> 00:48:58.481
hey, how are you doing?

00:48:58.481 --> 00:49:00.310
What's going on at work?

00:49:00.310 --> 00:49:01.694
How can I be praying for you?

00:49:01.694 --> 00:49:04.370
If every time they walk up to 
you all they hear about is

00:49:04.370 --> 00:49:06.191
why they should be doing it this way

00:49:06.191 --> 00:49:09.520
or why they should believe this doctrine,

00:49:09.520 --> 00:49:15.569
you're in a dangerous place.

00:49:15.569 --> 00:49:16.849
If you look down at others

00:49:16.849 --> 00:49:17.948
who disagree with you

00:49:17.948 --> 00:49:19.933
and only surround yourself with people

00:49:19.933 --> 00:49:21.735
who look like you and talk like you

00:49:21.735 --> 00:49:23.045
and do like you do,

00:49:23.045 --> 00:49:26.879
that's a sign of spiritual pride.

00:49:26.879 --> 00:49:31.011
It's not preserving unity.

NOTE Paragraph

00:49:31.011 --> 00:49:33.423
Let me ask us this question.

00:49:33.423 --> 00:49:38.902
What if Jesus Christ did that to us?

00:49:38.902 --> 00:49:40.768
What if Jesus said to us:

00:49:40.768 --> 00:49:43.196
You know, I know we have 
this whole gospel thing

00:49:43.196 --> 00:49:45.263
that we agree in,

00:49:45.263 --> 00:49:47.775
but in these areas of doctrine,

00:49:47.775 --> 00:49:49.921
you're wrong.

00:49:49.921 --> 00:49:51.344
And He began to treat you

00:49:51.344 --> 00:49:56.775
like a second-class Christian.

00:49:56.775 --> 00:49:59.274
What would happen?

00:49:59.274 --> 00:50:01.583
Every single one of us would be put out

00:50:01.583 --> 00:50:04.503
of His inner circle.

00:50:04.503 --> 00:50:05.555
Can I tell you this?

00:50:05.555 --> 00:50:10.147
Jesus Christ has never 
done that to you once.

00:50:10.147 --> 00:50:12.165
He keeps moving towards you

00:50:12.165 --> 00:50:15.846
and pursuing you in love.

NOTE Paragraph

00:50:15.846 --> 00:50:18.301
How can we as Christians so freely receive

00:50:18.301 --> 00:50:21.098
this love from Christ 
on the basis of grace

00:50:21.098 --> 00:50:26.162
and then treat others without love

00:50:26.162 --> 00:50:27.885
because they differ from us

00:50:27.885 --> 00:50:31.316
in different areas of 
conviction or doctrine?

00:50:31.316 --> 00:50:33.151
You know what that's called?

00:50:33.151 --> 00:50:36.635
Gospel amnesia.

00:50:36.635 --> 00:50:42.762
You're forgetting how Christ has 
treated you in the gospel.

00:50:42.762 --> 00:50:44.408
To have right doctrine

00:50:44.408 --> 00:50:46.805
but lack love for one another,

00:50:46.805 --> 00:50:48.863
it is sin.

NOTE Paragraph

00:50:48.863 --> 00:50:50.540
There's so much more we could say

00:50:50.540 --> 00:50:53.912
here in Corinthians about it.

00:50:53.912 --> 00:50:58.873
But before I finish, I 
want to encourage you

00:50:58.873 --> 00:51:03.335
because saints, the hope we have

00:51:03.335 --> 00:51:05.179
of maintaining our unity in Christ

00:51:05.179 --> 00:51:06.619
in the midst of our diversity

00:51:06.619 --> 00:51:08.963
is Jesus Christ's gospel-centered love

00:51:08.963 --> 00:51:11.949
towards those who disagree.

00:51:11.949 --> 00:51:14.461
Again, it's not love or truth,

00:51:14.461 --> 00:51:17.671
it's truth in love.

00:51:17.671 --> 00:51:19.464
It's a love that suffers long.

00:51:19.464 --> 00:51:21.344
It's a love that moves towards others

00:51:21.344 --> 00:51:23.262
who disagree; who provoke us.

00:51:23.262 --> 00:51:24.927
And it's about that person -

00:51:24.927 --> 00:51:26.960
serving them in kindness.

00:51:26.960 --> 00:51:29.104
It's a love that keeps 
no record of wrongs.

00:51:29.104 --> 00:51:32.019
It's a love that believes 
the best about each other.

00:51:32.019 --> 00:51:33.697
And why?

00:51:33.697 --> 00:51:35.872
Because this is the love that Jesus Christ

00:51:35.872 --> 00:51:37.277
has shown to you

00:51:37.277 --> 00:51:39.775
and continues to show you day after day,

00:51:39.775 --> 00:51:41.065
week after week,

00:51:41.065 --> 00:51:42.377
month after month,

00:51:42.377 --> 00:51:45.683
year after year.

NOTE Paragraph

00:51:45.683 --> 00:51:47.248
I will confess to you personally

00:51:47.248 --> 00:51:49.726
that as I studied this,

00:51:49.726 --> 00:51:53.535
and preached six sermons 
on it in our church,

00:51:53.535 --> 00:51:55.587
I came to the conclusion

00:51:55.587 --> 00:52:00.914
that I'm not quite as 
loving as I thought I was.

00:52:00.914 --> 00:52:03.342
In fact, I talked to some 
people in our church

00:52:03.342 --> 00:52:06.756
after we finished six sermons on this.

00:52:06.756 --> 00:52:10.194
And they were discouraged.

00:52:10.194 --> 00:52:12.265
They said I thought I was loving,

00:52:12.265 --> 00:52:14.282
but I realize I've just surrounded myself

00:52:14.282 --> 00:52:17.431
with people who think of the 
doctrines the way I think of them

00:52:17.431 --> 00:52:19.297
and do it the way I do it,

00:52:19.297 --> 00:52:21.807
but I'm struggling with those 
who disagree with me

00:52:21.807 --> 00:52:23.991
and I'm not as loving 
as I thought I could be

00:52:23.991 --> 00:52:31.370
and it's really hard to love those people.

00:52:31.370 --> 00:52:33.337
If that's you today,

00:52:33.337 --> 00:52:35.332
if you say if I'm going to be honest,

00:52:35.332 --> 00:52:37.149
I haven't been treating people

00:52:37.149 --> 00:52:39.134
who disagree with me with kindness,

00:52:39.134 --> 00:52:40.899
looking to move towards them,

00:52:40.899 --> 00:52:42.700
to serve them and welcome them;

00:52:42.700 --> 00:52:44.649
and I've made the basis of my fellowship

00:52:44.649 --> 00:52:46.067
in my local church those who

00:52:46.067 --> 00:52:47.619
agree with me and affirm me.

00:52:47.619 --> 00:52:50.592
And I want to love like 
you're talking about.

00:52:50.592 --> 00:52:52.527
I see that's how Christ loves me,

00:52:52.527 --> 00:52:54.390
and I want to love like that,

00:52:54.390 --> 00:52:56.694
but I'm really struggling

00:52:56.694 --> 00:52:59.925
to love like that.

00:52:59.925 --> 00:53:01.720
What do we do?

00:53:01.720 --> 00:53:03.395
Well, most of us have been taught

00:53:03.395 --> 00:53:05.057
our whole life

00:53:05.057 --> 00:53:07.017
that Jesus is our example.

00:53:07.017 --> 00:53:08.980
And He is.

00:53:08.980 --> 00:53:11.137
And that when you find 
yourself struggling

00:53:11.137 --> 00:53:16.065
in obedience to Him, to just try harder.

00:53:16.065 --> 00:53:17.699
And then you keep falling down

00:53:17.699 --> 00:53:22.045
and realizing I can't do this.

00:53:22.045 --> 00:53:28.102
The reason why trying harder doesn't work

00:53:28.102 --> 00:53:31.308
is because the love that 
you and I are called to

00:53:31.308 --> 00:53:36.109
is not something we 
can produce on our own.

00:53:36.109 --> 00:53:39.173
Think of Galatians 5 with me.

00:53:39.173 --> 00:53:47.874
The fruit of the Spirit is love.

00:53:47.874 --> 00:53:49.742
What does that tell us?

00:53:49.742 --> 00:53:53.753
The love you and I are 
called to is a fruit.

00:53:53.753 --> 00:53:57.840
It's something I cannot 
grit my teeth and produce

00:53:57.840 --> 00:53:59.469
by trying harder.

00:53:59.469 --> 00:54:01.367
It's something that must be produced

00:54:01.367 --> 00:54:04.601
in me and through me.

00:54:04.601 --> 00:54:06.665
Well, does this mean I'm not responsible?

00:54:06.665 --> 00:54:08.412
I don't have a part in this?

00:54:08.412 --> 00:54:12.532
No, you are responsible in this area.

00:54:12.532 --> 00:54:15.074
Well, how do we love like this then?

00:54:15.074 --> 00:54:17.203
I heard an analogy that I'll close with

00:54:17.203 --> 00:54:20.308
and I think will be helpful for you.

00:54:20.308 --> 00:54:21.606
As we all look at the call

00:54:21.606 --> 00:54:23.243
that Paul's put before us of love,

00:54:23.243 --> 00:54:26.352
which is nothing short of Jesus Christ,

00:54:26.352 --> 00:54:27.884
and we become discouraged to see

00:54:27.884 --> 00:54:29.449
I'm struggling to love like this

00:54:29.449 --> 00:54:30.494
and I fall short.

00:54:30.494 --> 00:54:32.213
I want to emulate Jesus Christ.

00:54:32.213 --> 00:54:33.596
I want to love like He does,

00:54:33.596 --> 00:54:35.046
but I'm struggling so much.

00:54:35.046 --> 00:54:36.260
What hope do I have?

00:54:36.260 --> 00:54:37.871
Is it just try harder?

00:54:37.871 --> 00:54:40.224
And here's the analogy.

NOTE Paragraph

00:54:40.224 --> 00:54:43.567
Let's say all of you love music.

00:54:43.567 --> 00:54:46.593
And you love beautiful music.

00:54:46.593 --> 00:54:48.100
And I come to you and I say,

00:54:48.100 --> 00:54:51.811
well, I want you to begin to produce,

00:54:51.811 --> 00:54:54.287
write, and play music like Mozart.

00:54:54.287 --> 00:54:56.300
He's your example.

00:54:56.300 --> 00:54:57.717
And you say wonderful.

00:54:57.717 --> 00:54:59.117
I want that kind of music.

00:54:59.117 --> 00:55:00.565
I want to produce that music;

00:55:00.565 --> 00:55:02.496
write that music; play that music.

00:55:02.496 --> 00:55:04.829
And you sit down and you study Mozart.

00:55:04.829 --> 00:55:06.089
You look at Mozart.

00:55:06.089 --> 00:55:07.560
You examine Mozart.

00:55:07.560 --> 00:55:11.523
And you try really hard.

00:55:11.523 --> 00:55:14.606
And you fall miserably on your face

00:55:14.606 --> 00:55:16.731
over and over again

00:55:16.731 --> 00:55:19.262
and you become discouraged.

00:55:19.262 --> 00:55:20.862
You say, I'm trying so hard

00:55:20.862 --> 00:55:22.319
to play music like Mozart;

00:55:22.319 --> 00:55:23.238
to compose.

00:55:23.238 --> 00:55:26.650
I just don't find the strength to do that.

00:55:26.650 --> 00:55:28.815
And I would agree with you.

00:55:28.815 --> 00:55:32.882
You're not going to play 
like Mozart if you try harder.

00:55:32.882 --> 00:55:34.394
But what if I told you this?

00:55:34.394 --> 00:55:37.938
The spirit of Mozart was going to come

00:55:37.938 --> 00:55:40.868
and reside inside of you?

00:55:40.868 --> 00:55:43.247
And compose through you?

00:55:43.247 --> 00:55:44.914
And write through you?

00:55:44.914 --> 00:55:47.737
And empower you to write music?

00:55:47.737 --> 00:55:48.944
To compose music?

00:55:48.944 --> 00:55:50.810
And to play music like him?

00:55:50.810 --> 00:55:52.438
Then, you'd be mightily encouraged

00:55:52.438 --> 00:55:54.737
and say yes, I can play music!

00:55:54.737 --> 00:55:56.173
I can compose like Mozart.

00:55:56.173 --> 00:55:58.574
Not because of my strength,
my trying harder,

00:55:58.574 --> 00:56:02.935
but because the spirit 
of Mozart lives in me.

00:56:02.935 --> 00:56:05.888
Well, beloved, that's what 
happened in the gospel.

00:56:05.888 --> 00:56:08.517
Jesus Christ not only forgives you and I

00:56:08.517 --> 00:56:10.211
for our lovelessness,

00:56:10.211 --> 00:56:13.359
He takes up residence within us.

00:56:13.359 --> 00:56:16.935
It is the Spirit of Christ 
and His love in us

00:56:16.935 --> 00:56:19.216
working through us,

00:56:19.216 --> 00:56:23.680
being produced for His glory.

00:56:23.680 --> 00:56:25.618
So where do we begin with that though?

00:56:25.618 --> 00:56:28.925
You need to begin by confessing inability.

00:56:28.925 --> 00:56:32.534
John 15:5 - I can't do this, God.

00:56:32.534 --> 00:56:35.459
Then by faith, you abide in Christ.

00:56:35.459 --> 00:56:36.931
You be led by the Spirit.

00:56:36.931 --> 00:56:39.223
You walk by the Spirit.

00:56:39.223 --> 00:56:41.995
And you lay hold of 
the truth of the gospel

00:56:41.995 --> 00:56:44.054
that Jesus Christ in us

00:56:44.054 --> 00:56:46.628
will produce His fruit through us

00:56:46.628 --> 00:56:49.989
and make it so we can maintain

00:56:49.989 --> 00:56:53.371
the unity of Christ in our local churches

00:56:53.371 --> 00:56:56.163
for the glory of God.

00:56:56.163 --> 00:56:58.008
This is our gospel.

00:56:58.008 --> 00:57:03.762
It not only forgives, it empowers.

NOTE Paragraph

00:57:03.762 --> 00:57:11.603
Let's pray.

00:57:11.603 --> 00:57:14.706
Father, in the name of Jesus,

00:57:14.706 --> 00:57:19.942
I pray that You would help each of us.

00:57:19.942 --> 00:57:22.692
Lord, convict us of our lovelessness.

00:57:22.692 --> 00:57:25.900
Help us to mark it for 
what it is which is sin.

00:57:25.900 --> 00:57:28.529
Help us believe the gospel.

00:57:28.529 --> 00:57:30.605
That if we confess this sin,

00:57:30.605 --> 00:57:33.586
You're faithful and just to 
cleanse us and forgive us.

00:57:33.586 --> 00:57:37.417
But help us believe 
the rest of the gospel.

00:57:37.417 --> 00:57:39.497
That the Spirit of Christ is now in us.

00:57:39.497 --> 00:57:43.597
That love that we so seek to emulate.

00:57:43.597 --> 00:57:47.363
His power is towards us who believe.

00:57:47.363 --> 00:57:48.939
God, that we would abide more

00:57:48.939 --> 00:57:51.444
and appropriate the gospel more.

00:57:51.444 --> 00:57:53.561
Led by the Spirit;
walking by the Spirit.

00:57:53.561 --> 00:57:56.996
And that Your fruit would be manifest

00:57:56.996 --> 00:57:59.617
in us and through us for Your glory.

00:57:59.617 --> 00:58:01.722
God, accomplish these things.

00:58:01.722 --> 00:58:03.507
Preserve the unity in Your church

00:58:03.507 --> 00:58:05.642
for the testimony of Jesus Christ

00:58:05.642 --> 00:58:08.227
to a lost and dying world.

00:58:08.227 --> 00:58:10.208
In the name of Jesus we pray,

00:58:10.208 --> 00:58:11.630
Amen.