-
If you'll open your Bibles
-
to the book of Colossians again.
-
We just sang that redeeming
love is our theme.
-
And if that's true,
-
it will be reflected in our lives.
-
We're going to look at Colossians 3:12-14.
-
It says, "Put on then,
-
as God's chosen ones,
-
holy and beloved,
-
compassionate hearts,
-
kindness,
-
humility,
-
meekness,
-
patience,
-
bearing with one another,
-
and if one has a complaint against another
-
forgiving each other,
-
as the Lord has forgiven you,
-
you also must forgive.
-
And above all these, put on love,
-
which binds everything together
-
in perfect harmony."
-
As I mentioned yesterday in Colossians 3,
-
Paul has transitioned as he does
-
in the book of Ephesians,
-
from out of the doctrines
-
and into the living out of these doctrines
-
in our lives.
-
Living the Christian life.
-
Again, he is speaking of living a life
-
that is consistent with the Gospel
-
of Jesus Christ.
-
And I want us to know that the only hope
-
anyone in here has
-
of living a life consistent
-
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ
-
is that verse 1 of chapter 3
-
is a reality for your life,
-
and look at it with me.
-
"If then you have been
raised with Christ..."
-
If you've been raised with Christ.
-
So let's begin there first.
-
Have you been raised with Christ?
-
Are you a new creation in Jesus Christ?
-
That is so much more
-
than knowing who Jesus Christ is;
-
knowing about Christ
-
or even affirming doctrines about Christ.
-
It is a supernatural work of God
-
where He literally makes us new creations.
-
He takes out our heart.
-
He puts in a new heart;
-
puts His Spirit within us,
-
and then we walk in the
newness of that life.
-
Having been raised with Him.
-
A new direction of life.
-
And it's not morality.
-
It's not morality.
-
Do you bear the evidence of a new life?
-
Brother Tim asked the question yesterday.
-
Is your chief desire Christ?
-
His glory?
-
Brothers and sisters,
-
without the work of the Holy Spirit
-
in your heart and a new Spirit within us,
-
there's no hope of
living this Christian life.
-
There's no hope.
-
Now, there's a very important truth
-
taught through all of Scripture.
-
And the important truth is this:
-
That every person,
-
saved and unsaved,
-
lives out of their heart.
-
The Bible speaks so much about your heart
-
and the living out of your heart.
-
And if you remember in Matthew 15,
-
when the Pharisees are coming
-
to Jesus' disciples and they say,
-
Hey, you didn't wash your hands
-
before you eat.
-
And Jesus says, don't you
know that it's not what goes
-
into the body that defiles a man,
but what comes out of the body?
-
And He says, for out of the heart
-
proceed evil thoughts:
-
murder, adultery, sexual immorality,
-
theft, false witness, and slander.
-
And what's He teaching us there?
-
That we live out of the heart.
-
That we live out of our hearts.
-
And for us as Christians,
-
God has given us a new heart -
-
A new heart that responds;
-
that has the ability to respond
-
in obedience,
-
and with the new heart came
-
new desires -
-
a desire to live for God
-
and to bring glory to His name.
-
So if Paul knows that we
live out of our hearts,
-
and he's calling us here to live
-
this Christian life,
-
then it's important where
our hearts are at
-
if we're going to live
this Christian life.
-
I think the beginning of v. 12
-
is the key to living out v. 12-14.
-
The beginning of v. 12,
-
Paul's going to work into our hearts
-
a remembrance of the Gospel and grace
-
of Jesus Christ.
-
And he wants us to live in light of
-
that Gospel and that grace.
-
Paul here is calling us to live
-
Gospel-centered lives.
-
Think about that.
-
Gospel-centered relationships
-
here in the church,
-
where I don't treat you
-
based on how you deserve,
-
but rather I treat you based on
-
how He treated me in the Gospel.
-
That's what Paul's calling us to.
-
A Gospel-centered relationship
-
here in the assembly of His people.
-
Paul's going to motivate and empower us,
-
so look at the beginning of v. 12 with me.
-
"Put on then, as God's chosen ones,
-
holy and beloved..."
-
Now, for time's sake,
-
I won't be able to hit all of v. 12-14.
-
So if you'll allow me some liberty
-
to focus on just a few of the words
-
in the text to get through it today.
-
The first thing Paul says is
-
you're chosen by God.
-
You're elect of God.
-
Now, how does that motivate
-
and empower us to be compassionate,
-
kind, forgiving, and loving?
-
And brothers and sisters,
-
this is where your understanding
-
of election becomes extremely practical.
-
Not just something to sit in rooms
-
and debate about.
-
But this is where how you understand
-
the doctrine of election -
-
the sovereignty of God in salvation
-
becomes extremely street-level,
-
practical in the living out
-
of the Christian life.
-
And Paul here is pointing to it
-
as a motivation and an empowerment
-
for you to live this life
-
He's called you to live.
-
You see, in the doctrine of election,
-
this so-called debate -
-
the argument is not whether God elects.
-
That's not the argument.
-
That's not the debate.
-
The question is the basis of His election.
-
The question is why does He elect?
-
Or on what basis does He choose?
-
I want you to think about
something with me.
-
You have a group -
-
an Arminian view -
-
that says and believes,
-
God elects,
-
but the reason or the basis He chooses,
-
or the reason or the basis that He elects
-
is based on foreseeing choosing of God.
-
In other words, they believe that God
-
looks into the future
and can see all things,
-
and He sees that they,
-
in and of themselves,
-
will choose Him.
-
And based on them choosing Him,
-
He now elects them.
-
So the Arminian argues
-
the basis of election is conditional.
-
It's conditional upon that man, that woman
-
choosing God.
-
Now, if that's true,
-
which I do not believe that it is,
-
but go with the thought for a second.
-
If that is true,
-
why in the world would Paul
-
point to that doctrine there
-
as a motivation to bring out
-
humility in you?
-
To bring out compassion in you?
-
To bring out love in you?
-
You see, if the reason I have been chosen
-
is because I chose God
-
on my own,
-
that does not breed humility in me.
-
It separates me from those
-
who did not choose
-
because I chose Him;
-
I figured it out;
-
I wanted Him;
-
I saw my sin;
-
I understood it more,
-
and therefore I'm elect.
-
That's not motivation to bring me
-
to a place of humility,
-
of lowliness, of compassion,
-
of patience with others,
-
of forgiving of others,
-
of loving of others.
-
It doesn't make sense in the context.
-
But, if the basis of God's election
-
is not found in me,
-
but rather in Him;
-
if the basis of God's election
-
is grace and mercy,
-
and the fact that He is love
-
and in His freedom, He sets that love -
-
all the people He sets that love on
-
are hell-deserving sinners.
-
It's not that He looked at us
-
and He saw something
-
that just attracted us to Him;
-
that He was wooed by us.
-
Rather, He looked at us in our sin,
-
in our filth,
-
and then He chose
-
to set sovereign grace upon us.
-
And if that's true,
-
I have no boast except for
-
the grace of God in Jesus Christ.
-
Now if that's true,
-
that is motivating in humility.
-
That is motivating in compassion
-
towards other people;
-
in patience toward other people.
-
Why? Oh, He was compassionate
-
to a wretch like me.
-
He was so patient with a wretch like me.
-
He forgave me in the cost of His own Son.
-
He set His love upon me
-
not because I'm lovable,
-
but because He is love.
-
You see why the doctrine of election
-
is very practical -
-
not just to have debates in rooms,
-
but to foster Gospel-
centered relationships?
-
That's humbling.
-
I need to say this to us all.
-
And maybe I'm speaking to some of you
-
and maybe I'm speaking to
-
some people that you know.
-
I meet many people in Texas
-
and in different places that I've preached
-
who claim to have reformed theology,
-
but they're not kind.
-
They're not humble.
-
They're not compassionate or patient.
-
And they're not forgiving and loving.
-
And it makes me wonder how much
-
of that truth they really understood.
-
Brothers and sisters,
-
listen, we believe in sovereign grace.
-
But if we believe in sovereign grace,
-
it should be manifested
-
in how I act towards all of you
-
continually.
-
We who believe in sovereign grace
-
should be the most humble people
-
on the planet.
-
And I know we are not perfected.
-
And I know we struggle.
-
And I understand sanctification
-
is a progression.
-
But if we really grasp sovereign grace,
-
like so many like to run around
-
and talk about in their debates -
-
if we really grasp it,
-
we should be a lowly people.
-
Poor in spirit.
-
Compassionate with one another.
-
Not harsh.
-
Paul's pointing to the grace of God
-
as a motivator to empower and compel us
-
to Gospel-centered relationships.
-
The grace of God is God's unmerited favor.
-
And I will tell you this,
-
the grace of God is the only
-
lasting motivation to
live the Christian life.
-
Did you hear that?
-
The grace of God
-
is the only lasting
-
motivation to live the Christian life.
-
You may have come to the conference
-
and met some brothers and sisters
-
like I have,
-
and I've heard your testimonies;
-
I've talked with you.
-
I've enjoyed you.
-
It's been great fellowship.
-
That's motivating.
-
But see, the context where Paul's asking
-
us to live this out
-
is in the context of a local church
-
where we share life together.
-
Where I have you in my home
-
and you have me in your home.
-
And I weep when you weep,
-
and I rejoice when you rejoice,
-
and I see your good days
-
and I see your bad days.
-
And he says in that context,
-
I want you to be loving,
-
compassionate,
-
kind,
-
and forgiving.
-
That's the context.
-
At a conference,
-
it's kind of easy
-
because I don't really know you.
-
And I only spend a little
bit of time with you.
-
But if I live in your town
-
and I live in your church
-
and you begin to see my inconsistencies,
-
the days that I'm not so kind,
-
what's going to motivate you to love me?
-
Can I tell you this?
-
It isn't going to be me.
-
It's going to be the grace of God
-
and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
-
It's not to say that what
we are experiencing
-
this weekend is not true.
-
It is.
-
But it is to say that our chief motivation
-
in living the Christ-centered life
-
is the grace of God and the Gospel.
-
The Gospel does not just deliver us
-
from the wrath of God
-
which we do deserve -
-
brothers and sisters,
-
it is the center of every relationship
-
we have.
-
Maybe my favorite Bible verse
-
in the entire Bible is Romans 11:36.
-
"For from Him and through Him and to Him
-
are all things.
-
To Him be glory forever.
-
Amen."
-
Now think about that.
-
My relationship with you is from Him.
-
My relationship with you
is lived through Him.
-
And my relationship with you
-
should point back to Him.
-
Meaning what?
-
It should manifest the Gospel.
-
How you and I relate
-
and how you relate with your people
-
in your local churches,
-
should be a manifestation of the Gospel.
-
My relationship with my wife
-
is to be a manifestation of the Gospel.
-
And I am to love you,
-
and be compassionate with you,
-
and be patient with you,
-
and be forbearing with you,
-
and be forgiving of you,
-
and be loving with you.
-
Why?
-
Because He has been so with me.
-
And when, by His grace,
-
in helping me see
-
and remember these things,
-
and empowering me in them,
-
people witness the love of God
-
in local churches,
-
Christ gets the glory.
-
I remember one day,
-
a 73 year old man came to our church
-
with his wife.
-
She was converted and he was not.
-
I remember the initial conversation I had.
-
She was standing there talking to me,
-
and he was about two
steps back right here.
-
And he came faithfully with her
-
for about three or four weeks.
-
And then he came up
-
and said something to the effect of this:
-
I have never seen love like this
-
amongst a people.
-
I have never seen love like this
-
amongst a people.
-
And let me tell you have typically
-
in Dallas.
-
Listen, the people of God
-
are every tribe, tongue,
-
and language and people.
-
They're not just one people.
-
But if you come to Dallas
and you step into some churches
-
you might think it's just one people.
-
Because there is great segregation
-
into each type of person
-
in many churches in Dallas.
-
And by God's grace,
-
He chooses who He saves.
-
He chooses who He draws.
-
But in God's grace, if you looked out
-
amongst the assembly in our church,
-
you would see almost every tribe,
-
tongue, and language out there.
-
You would see diversity of incomes.
-
You would see differences in ages.
-
You would see all of that together.
-
And when this man -
-
and I boast in Jesus Christ alone -
-
but when he looked at young,
-
African-American men
-
and old caucasian men,
-
and he looked at young Asian people
-
and he looked at poor different people,
-
and when he saw them centered together
-
with one unifying thing
being Jesus Christ,
-
and all the diversity that was there,
-
was cast aside,
-
because there was a greater unity,
-
a supernatural unity in Jesus Christ,
-
and they loved each other.
-
And he saw that.
-
And he said, I've never seen
-
anything like that before.
-
I'll tell you this,
-
God converted that man.
-
He is saved.
-
He is a saved man today.
-
We baptized him two years ago.
-
Brothers and sisters,
-
our relationships in our local churches
-
should be a manifestation of the Gospel.
-
In case you haven't figured this out yet,
-
Christians are an imperfect people.
-
Will you look at v. 11 with me?
-
Look at 3:11.
-
"Here there's neither Greek or Jew,
-
circumcised or uncircumcised,
-
Barbarian or Scythian,
-
slave, free, but Christ is all and in all.
-
That's the reality of the body of Christ.
-
We are united in Christ.
-
We are one person in Jesus Christ.
-
There are two realities in this world.
-
You are either in Adam
or you are in Christ.
-
There's neither slave nor Jew.
-
There is Adam and there's Christ.
-
And you're either in Him or in him.
-
But with those in Christ,
-
there's a great diversity, isn't there?
-
What do you mean diversity?
-
How about diversity in maturity of Christ?
-
I hope people are getting saved
-
in your churches.
-
What do you do when you have someone
-
who's been saved for 40 years
-
walking by God's grace faithfully in that,
-
and you have a brand new Christian
-
in the church now?
-
How are they going to be united?
-
How can they relate?
-
What do you do when
there's a great diversity
-
in the body of Christ with giftings?
-
We've studied 1 Corinthians 12.
-
We know that God gives gifts
-
to each of the members of the body,
-
and with that diversity of giftings,
-
he seems to give passions
towards those giftings, doesn't He?
-
Praise the Lord for that!
-
What are those giftings for?
-
The edification of the body.
-
The building up of the body.
-
What do they tempt us to do though?
-
To look through our gifting,
-
to look through our passion,
-
and look at Mack and go,
-
the Lord's called me
to evangelism, brother,
-
and you don't evangelize like I do
-
so you must not love Jesus like I do.
-
Now, that's wrong,
-
because my stirring by God's grace
-
and gifting in evangelism
-
should be an edification for the body -
-
not something that separates us,
-
but something that stirs us.
-
And where God has gifted this
brother and stirred this brother,
-
I should look at his life
-
and I should be compelled
-
to be more like that aspect of Christ
-
in my own life.
-
And the body comes together
-
and they form a body
that is fit for the Head
-
Who is Jesus Christ.
-
And when each part is doing its work,
-
we grow in maturity in Jesus Christ.
-
But it's hard. You know why?
-
Because we're not like each other
-
in many aspects.
-
And it's in that context
that he says this:
-
You love them.
-
You forgive them.
You be patient with them.
-
You be compassionate with them. Why?
-
Because I was with you.
-
Because I was with you.
-
So I'm only going to look at
two of the things here.
-
We've seen the motivation.
-
The motivation is God has loved us.
-
God has chosen us.
-
He has freely set Himself upon us.
-
He has purchased us with the blood
-
of His own Son.
-
Now live in light of that.
-
Now I want to look at two areas
-
where He called us to
live in light of that.
-
First one I'm going to look at
-
is this call to forgiveness.
-
The call to forgiveness.
-
In v. 12, he motivated us:
-
"Put on as God's chosen ones,
-
holy and beloved,
-
these things..."
-
And then when he gets to v. 13,
-
he says, "Bearing with one another,
-
and if one has a complaint against another
-
forgiving each other,
-
as the Lord has forgiven you."
-
What's my motivation to forgive?
-
Because that other person
-
deserves it so much?
-
Because that other person
-
has repented just like they should
-
and come crawling on their knees
-
and beg for my forgiveness?
-
No.
-
I have a model before me
-
of what forgiveness should look like.
-
It's Jesus Christ.
-
And how did He forgive us?
-
What if He said I'm going to wait
-
until you turn your life around;
-
Until you start acting like you should;
-
Till you treat Me with
the respect I deserve,
-
and then, I'll forgive you.
-
That's not what He did.
-
While we were yet sinners,
-
He sends His Son.
-
He pursues us.
-
I love that Jesus Christ
is a pursuer of me.
-
I need Him to pursue me.
-
And I want you to know this,
-
if your forgiveness is going to look like
-
and be modeled after Jesus Christ,
-
you have to be a pursuer of people.
-
You say will what if they
have sinned against me, Jesse?
-
Well, read Matthew 18.
-
What does it say?
-
If your brother sins against you, do what?
-
What do you do?
-
Go to him!
-
Go to her!
-
Pursue them.
-
You know what we do sometimes?
-
You sinned against me.
-
So I'm going to wait till you come to me.
-
No!
-
When your brother or
sister sins against you,
-
you go to them.
-
You pursue them.
-
You pursue forgiveness.
-
Well, ok, I can get with that one,
-
but what if they think I did something
-
to them and I didn't do anything to them?
-
What does Jesus tell us in Matthew 5?
-
If you've come to offer your gift
-
at the altar,
-
and there you remember what?
-
That your brother thinks
you have offended,
-
sinned against him.
-
What are you to do then?
-
Did you hear what He said there?
-
Leave your gift at the altar.
-
We're coming to worship You, God,
-
but I know this brother
thinks I've offended them.
-
There's something between us.
-
Set the worship down, Jesse.
-
Go.
-
Be reconciled to your brother first.
-
And then come back
-
and offer that gift.
-
I'm not saying everyone has to do this.
-
Every Sunday in our service,
-
we begin our service
with a time of confession.
-
Because I'm not going to stand up there
-
and sing songs when my heart's not right.
-
That's just going through the motions.
-
So we sit and we pray
-
and we ask,
-
"Oh God, search me and know me;
-
try me and see if there be any
-
evil way in me."
-
And we encourage,
-
if there is an issue in this assembly
-
between relationships,
-
you go be reconciled first.
-
Why? So you can worship
in spirit and in truth.
-
The onus is always put on you
-
in forgiveness.
-
If your brother sins against you,
-
you go.
-
If your brother has something
-
you've done against him,
-
you go.
-
We are to be pursuers of peace.
-
Why? Because Jesus Christ pursued you.
-
We must pursue one another.
-
And you say, Jesse, don't you understand
-
that in reconciliation,
-
it requires both people?
-
Yep. I understand that.
-
But what does Jesus tell us in Matthew 18?
-
You can listen.
-
I'm sure you're familiar with the text.
-
"The Kingdom of Heaven
-
may be compared to a king
-
who wished to settle accounts
-
with his servants.
-
And when he began to settle,
-
one was brought to him
-
who owed him 10,000 talents.
-
And since he could not pay,
-
his master ordered him to be sold
-
with his wife and his children
-
and all that he had
-
and payment to be made.
-
So the servant fell on his knees
-
imploring him,
-
'have patience with me.
-
I'll repay you everything.'
-
And out of pity for him,
-
the master of that servant
-
released him and forgave him."
-
Out of what?
-
Pity.
-
Compassion.
-
Seeing the hopelessness of this person
-
and the mercy of God is extended out
-
to that person.
-
If you're in Christ,
that just described you.
-
You had an unpayable debt.
-
You could not do anything about it.
-
You stood condemned justly.
-
And God in His mercy had pity on you.
-
Well, then how should
that impact my life, Jesse?
-
How should that change how I live?
-
"But when the same servant went out,
-
he found one of his fellow servants
-
who owed him a hundred denarii,
-
and seizing him, he began to choke him,
-
saying 'pay what you owe.'"
-
Do you see a problem already?
-
Oh God, give me grace and mercy.
-
Give me justice.
-
Do you see an inconsistency there?
-
I receive Your grace and mercy freely.
-
Thank You.
-
You better pay me what you owe.
-
How big of a problem is that for the Lord?
-
"When the same servant went out
-
and found one of his fellow servants
who owed him 100 denarii,
-
seizing him he began to choke him
saying 'pay what you owe,'
-
so his fellow servant fell down
-
and pleaded with him,
-
'have patience with me.
-
I will repay you.'
-
He refused.
-
He went and put him in prison
-
until he should pay the debt.
-
And when the fellow servants
-
saw what had taken place,
-
they were greatly distressed
-
and they went and reported to the master
-
all that had taken place.
-
Then his master summoned him
-
and said to him,
-
'You wicked servant.
-
I forgave you all that debt
-
because you pleaded with me,
-
and should you not have had mercy
-
on your fellow servant,
-
as I have had mercy upon you?'"
-
Gospel-centered relationship.
-
"And in anger, his master
-
delivered him to the jailers
-
until he should pay all of his debt."
-
Application: So also,
-
My heavenly Father will do
-
to every one of you
-
if you do not forgive your brother
-
from your heart."
-
I understand that there may be situations
-
in your life
-
where either you have been sinned against
-
or your brother thinks you have sinned
-
against him or your sister,
-
and you have pursued them,
-
and you have sought to be a peacemaker;
-
to have reconciliation,
-
and they will not have it.
-
But have you forgiven them in your heart?
-
Listen, if you sit here this morning
-
with a broken relationship
-
and as long as it depends upon you,
-
you have not sought peace,
-
you need to hear this.
-
God does not take that lightly.
-
You know why?
-
Because it is a minimization
-
of His grace and the Gospel towards you.
-
When we do not forgive others,
-
we minimize the grace,
-
and when the king saw
-
that the servant minimized
-
what he had done for him,
-
he seized him and he said,
-
"you are wicked!"
-
And Jesus said My Father
will do the same to you,
-
if you do not forgive.
-
Now, is He making a contingency
-
that God's forgiveness towards us
-
is contingent upon our
forgiveness of others?
-
No, what He is saying is this.
-
If you have truly experienced
-
the forgiveness and grace of God,
-
you will forgive.
-
You will forgive. Why?
-
Because of all the grace and mercy.
-
That doesn't mean it's easy.
-
That doesn't mean it's
not without challenge;
-
without difficulty,
-
but if you can sit here today
-
in bitterness in heart,
-
unwilling to forgive people,
-
and the Father has not in Hebrews 12
-
come and chastened you,
-
it's because you're not His child.
-
I witnessed a lady that was
-
close to our family growing up.
-
She went to church every single Sunday.
-
As long as I knew her -
-
40 years maybe?
-
She went to church every single Sunday.
-
She was in Bible studies.
-
She gave a lot of money away -
-
I'm talking millions of dollars away
-
to churches, to charities, to ministries.
-
But she was an unforgiving person.
-
And she died with bitterness
-
and unforgiveness towards so many people.
-
And listen, I don't stand here today
-
as her judge, but I
look at that and I say,
-
that is completely inconsistent
-
with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
-
Yes, we can struggle with forgiveness.
-
Yes, it is costly.
-
Yes, it is hard.
-
But God, in His grace, will enable us,
-
will empower us,
-
and He motivates us
-
by returning us to the Gospel.
-
Have you forgiven from the heart?
-
Have you sought reconciliation?
-
As long as it depends upon you,
-
are you living at peace with all?
-
Brothers and sisters, if not,
-
just stop playing games.
-
Go and be reconciled.
-
I think one of the fears we have
-
in being the pursuer
-
in the area of forgiveness,
-
especially, let's say it's a reality
-
where the other person truly is
-
at fault here,
-
and you are innocent.
-
That's often the perception we have,
-
but let's say it's a reality.
-
I think the fear is that if I pursue you
-
when you were the one at fault,
-
you're going to think that
what you did was ok
-
and you're going to think I'm saying
-
I was the one at fault.
-
And I want to tell you what that is.
-
That's unbelief that God's ways work.
-
Listen, it's not your job
-
to convict that person.
-
It's not your job
-
to help them see their sin, per se.
-
That's the work of the Holy Spirit.
-
My job is to obey the Scripture.
-
To be consistent with the Gospel.
-
So whether you're going to get
-
the wrong impression if
I'm pursuing you or not,
-
if you're going to go,
yep, here he comes.
-
He was at fault. I knew it.
-
And this is the evidence.
-
I don't care if you have
that perception of me.
-
I'm not here to have a right perception
-
from you towards me
-
or to have this situation appear
-
that it really was your fault.
-
We are here to glorify God
-
and to magnify the Gospel.
-
I'm going to be obedient to the Gospel
-
of Jesus Christ.
-
I'm going to pursue you
-
even if you think that's me saying
-
I'm at fault.
-
I don't care about that.
-
I'm going to give an
account to God one day.
-
Did I manifest the Gospel
-
in my relationship with you?
-
I'm going to trust
that to the Holy Spirit.
-
The other thing Paul says in Colossians
-
is "above all these, put on love,
-
which binds everything together
-
in perfect harmony."
-
Paul said you chosen ones,
-
you holy, you set apart by God,
-
you beloved,
-
you loved of God,
-
God has loved us.
-
Where does love come from?
-
In the book of 1 John 4,
-
the Bible teaches us in v. 8
-
that God is love.
-
Have you ever thought
about what that means?
-
That means anyone
-
who does not know God
-
through His love in Jesus Christ
-
has never known true love,
-
because love comes from God.
-
Now, I know there's a
lot of talk out there
-
about what love is.
-
And almost all the talk about
-
what love is from a worldly perspective
-
is emotion and feeling-driven and based.
-
But the love of God is not devoid
-
of emotion and feeling,
-
but it is not driven by
emotion and feeling.
-
Can I tell you this?
-
God did not look at us
-
and He was not wooed by us.
-
There was nothing in us
-
compelling Him to love us.
-
In fact, the only thing in us
-
that compelled God was our sin
-
and it compelled Him to
have just wrath upon us.
-
God is love (1 John 4:8).
-
Love is from God (1 John 4:7).
-
So why did God love you?
-
V. 10 of 1 John 4 tell us.
-
"In this is love,
-
not that we have loved God,
-
but that He loved us
-
and sent His Son to be
-
the propitiation for our sin."
-
God chose to love you,
-
not because you're attractive.
-
Not because He saw something in you.
-
But because He's love.
-
And what Paul is saying here
-
in Colossians is,
-
knowing that you have been loved
-
by God in that way,
-
love each other.
-
Not because the people in your church
-
are so lovable,
-
but God has set His love upon you.
-
Brothers and sisters,
-
the Scriptures teach us
-
that by love in our life is how people
-
will know we are disciples.
-
Listen, I know a lot of people that have
-
their doctrine and theology down pat,
-
and they're unloving.
-
They're just unloving.
-
They don't bear the fruit of love.
-
Which is really what all these things are,
-
aren't they?
-
Compassionate, kindness,
-
humility, meekness, patience, forgiving.
-
Fruits of the Spirit.
-
Manifestation of love.
-
So, I'll leave us with this question.
-
What is your spiritual
barometer for your life?
-
Your faith?
-
Ministry?
-
Your sacrifice?
-
I'm going to read to you in closing here
-
what your spiritual barometer
-
should look like.
-
And if you match this,
-
you're going to be safe.
-
"If I speak in the tongues of men
-
and of angels..."
-
Do you measure your spiritual life
-
by the gifts God has given you?
-
"If I speak in the tongue
of men and of angels..."
-
surely then I'm spiritually
mature and doing well.
-
Well, hold on a second.
-
"...but if you have not love,
-
you're a noisy gong and
a clanging cymbal."
-
So gifts aren't the test.
-
"If I have prophetic powers
-
and understand all mysteries
-
and all knowledge,
-
and if I have all faith,
-
so as to remove mountains..."
-
I've got my doctrine down!
-
I believe.
-
I understand these truths.
-
I can explain them.
-
I can tear people apart with them.
-
I know all the verses.
-
"...but if I have not love, I'm nothing."
-
"If I give away all I have,
-
and deliver up my body to be burned..."
-
I have the oldest car in my church.
-
I have the least amount of clothes
-
of anyone in my church.
-
I live in the poorest house in my church.
-
I can live off the least amount of money
-
in my church.
-
Do you have love?
-
I'm not in any way implying
-
that these other realities
-
that 1 Corinthians 13 is speaking of
-
are not important.
-
What this is teaching us is this:
-
If you have those, but
you don't have love,
-
you have nothing.
-
Now, we need gifts in the church.
-
We need knowledge.
We need faith in the church.
-
We need a sacrifice.
-
We need sacrificial living
-
in the church.
-
Amen to all that.
-
But if you all that, but
you don't have love,
-
you have nothing.
-
As one brother said,
-
five minus one equals zero
-
here in 1 Corinthians 13.
-
You have all these five things,
-
but you don't have love,
-
you've not nothing.
-
So what should the barometer be
-
of our spiritual life?
-
Love.
-
You know why?
-
Because if you genuinely have love,
-
these other areas will manifest
-
in your life.
-
These other areas will
show up in your life.
-
What's Paul calling us to do?
-
He is calling us
-
to understand who Jesus Christ is -
-
that's Colossians 1.
-
To believe Who He is.
-
To believe what He accomplished.
-
Colossians 2.
-
And to know who we are in Jesus Christ
-
through faith,
-
and to live in light of that reality.
-
To know this love.
-
To know this election.
-
To know this setting apart,
-
and then to live
-
in light of those realities.
-
You say, Jesse, I'm struggling with love.
-
I can tell you what you've done for sure.
-
You know what it is?
-
You've taken your eyes
off of Jesus Christ.
-
You've taken your eyes off of
-
the grace of Jesus Christ and the Gospel.
-
And Paul wants you to be fixated
-
upon the grace of God in Jesus Christ
-
and the Gospel.
-
And if that is continually
-
being renewed in your mind
-
and unveiled by the
power of the Holy Spirit,
-
then we will be motivated and compelled
-
to live that reality out,
-
and in living that out,
-
God gets glory in our
life and in our churches.
-
So that's my prayer for you
-
is that you would grow in the depth
-
of the Gospel.
-
Brothers and sisters,
-
the Gospel's not just the entrance
-
into the Kingdom of God
-
and then we move on
-
to greater things.
-
You're never going to
get out of that Gospel.
-
You're just going to go deeper
-
and deeper and deeper into it.
-
And as you understand it more,
-
here's where it will be reflected:
-
in your love, forgiveness, compassion,
-
patience, forbearing with the church.
-
That's where it shows up.
-
And the lost as we go out
-
and preach the Gospel,
-
and our love for God.
-
So, do you see the need to prioritize
-
the nurturing of your soul
-
in the Gospel of Jesus Christ?
-
If you take your eyes off that Gospel,
-
you forget that it's all grace.
-
All those things Paul called you to
-
are squashed by pride.
-
The Gospel as grace brings humility.
-
So, may the Lord work
-
the Gospel of Jesus Christ
-
and the grace of Jesus Christ
-
evermore into our hearts.
-
Amen?
-
Amen.