Just How Do We Show Love to One Another?

Well, happy samples once again! What did our Lord Jesus Christ say would be the major way that others would know that we are His disciples? How many believe you have the answer for that? How many think you know what it is? Well, you know, we correctly do a lot of things in God's Church. We correctly emphasize doctrine. And we are a doctrinal church, and we've even had visitors who consider themselves to be theologians the last couple of years, who I had breakfast with and interviewed me.

They were very interested in our doctrines, and they consider us a doctrinal church, which we certainly are. And we're a prophetic church. We emphasize prophecy. We look at the prophecies of the Bible, and of course, my major emphasis is on the most important prophecy in my mind that's called the coming kingdom of God. So we spend a lot of time—I don't think a Sabbath goes by—that we don't talk about the return of Christ and something regarding the kingdom of God.

So we spend a lot of time on prophecy. We talk a lot about moral living, changing our lifestyles, growing and improving, transforming our lives into the mind of Christ. We spend a lot of time doing that, and correctly so, and we emphasize God's law. We respect all of God's commandments, including the one regarding the Sabbath day, when he chose to be worshipped from the beginning.

And we believe in God's commandments. We believe in God's law. So having said all of that, the answer is—from Jesus Christ, if you'll turn to John 13 and verse 34, John 13 and verse 34—the answer is that Jesus stated that those on the outside, for those who are outside looking in at God's church or God's people or God's disciples, the way that they would know that we are his disciples is how much love we have for one another.

Let's read John chapter 13, verse 34. Jesus said, How did Jesus love us? Well, first of all, he was all in. Total sacrifice. He was willing to be beaten. He was willing to accept humiliation. He took the greatest demotion in human history. All that's his example. He lived a perfect life. That's how he loved us. And he said by his example that the way we should love one another should be sacrificial. It should be patient.

It should be service oriented. And it should be generated from a heart of love. Everything we do and in our relationships and the way we treat one another. Here's verse 35. He says, By this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. So what do you think he meant by the phrase loving each other, love for one another? Do you think he meant just simply happy thoughts?

Well, that's good. But that doesn't help anyone. How about prayer? Prayer is great. We should pray for each other. Prayer is really good. But prayer isn't actively involved in helping someone else, is it? The truth is that Jesus Christ showed love towards others in three major ways.

And those major ways were physical. Those major ways were how he treated people. They went beyond prayer. They went beyond just having a positive attitude regarding others. They were active. So let's take a look at these three major ways in which Jesus Christ showed love towards his disciples and towards the world. Number one, Jesus was a doer.

He wasn't just a talker. He wasn't just a feeler. He wasn't just someone who thought happy thoughts. He was a doer. His life, his entire life, from the time he got up in the morning until his eyes shut at night, was one of service towards others. And that is so contrary to the world that we see today. Two thousand years later, people still don't get it. Let's go to Matthew 20, verse 25, because people still think, including our own beloved government here in the United States, that greatness is hierarchical. It's like a pyramid. The great people are at the top, and they just bark out orders and tell everyone else what to do.

Much like the same model. Larry said there's nothing new under the sun. The same model of ancient Egypt. Who was on top? Pharaoh. Under the Pharaoh was all the aristocrats, the priests, the lawyers, the professionals. And then under that were just the poor farmers, the workers, the worker bees. And here we are, five thousand years later, and we basically have the same model of society today. Jesus wanted to turn that completely upside down. Matthew chapter 20, verse 25. But Jesus called them to himself and said, you know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them.

And those who are great exercise authority over them. You may have heard in the news some business owner this week. Perhaps a former business owner basically told his employees that if you voted for a particular candidate, you are welcome to resign.

You can just leave my company. You know, I thought of this scripture when I read that. Here's someone who's far too deep into himself. His opinion of himself is far, far too high. Now we'll control what people think. Now we'll decide that their employment is based on if they choose my political preference. Whatever that political preference may be. Continue, verse 26. Yet it shall be not so among you, but whoever desires to be great among you, let him be your servant.

Not the boss, not the chief, not the grande, the pubach, but a servant. Verse 27, and whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave. Let him have an attitude of, how can I help you? Well, what do we see in our world today? Do we see that as far as leadership in our world today? No, we obviously we don't. Verse 28, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many.

If you look throughout the Gospels, as I'm sure most of us have, you'll find that Jesus, he healed others. That's physical. Putting hands on people, talking to people, having a communication, a conversation with people, a physical action. He encouraged others. He listened to others, listened patiently, heard them out. He traveled wisely. That's very physical. Hey, come and heal my loved one.

He traveled all over the place. He even made breakfast. He did whatever the need was. He was willing to jump in and fill that need. Ultimately, he gave his very life for all of humanity. These are not mere thoughts or words. They are actions because he did things to serve others. By example, he wanted to show how I have loved you.

This is how you should love one another. Now, we may not be able to do all that Christ did because he had special gifts, but there are a number of things that we can do for one another. I'd like to talk about some of those things today. First of all, we can provide spiritual help. What is spiritual help? Well, you know, like in the situation with George, or someone shares with you something they're going through, you can pray for them.

And you know what? If they know that you're aware of their challenge, tell them that you'll pray for them. That really concerns me. I'm sorry to hear that. I am going to pray for you. You know how comforting that is? I've had people say that to me in some very difficult situations in my life. I'm going to pray for you. We can fast for one another. We heard that in a sermonette recently. When someone's struggling with an obvious problem, we can do things spiritually for them. We can ask God to intervene in our behalf. We can do a lot of things behind the scenes, just us and God, letting God know how we feel, seeking His will, and asking for His intervention.

We can provide physical help. Sometimes that may be a gift of a small amount of money. If someone has a particular problem, it may be giving someone food. It doesn't have enough food to eat. It may be giving someone a gas card. Maybe they just don't have money for gasoline. They'd like to get to church. It might be clothes, giving them clothes that you no longer need. It might be running an errand for them.

Maybe they're shut up in the house, shut in, and say, okay, can I go and get food for you? Give me your shopping list. I'll go get you some food. It can be helping to repair something. If you know how to fix a leaky toilet, and their toilet's leaking, it might be, well, let me fix your leaking toilet for you.

Let me help you out. In that way, so a lot of things that we can do physically to show love for one another, in the same way that Jesus was willing to provide for our needs, unconditionally, without making us complete a 20-question quiz to see if we're worthy, he served us with great love. We can also provide emotional help. We can offer compassion. We can be patient with others when they're going through something. We can encourage them. We can patiently, after we hear them out, without being too pushy or condemning, we can offer good counsel.

Hey, have you considered doing this as a solution? Have you thought about doing this to begin getting out of this problem that you have? So we can offer good counsel. We can offer good advice. There are a lot of things that we can do in order to help one another. There's something else we can do, and I want to take a few minutes as we talk about point number one.

Jesus Christ was a doer, and that his life was one of service. Some other ways that we can serve in this congregation. We have three very wonderful committees in this congregation. They basically make this congregation work, and I'm going to mention what they are, and I'm going to read their mission statement because I think it's important for us to understand that we function, and we function very well because, behind the scenes, the people on these committees do so many great and wonderful things.

So I'd like to mention what they are. First, we have a committee called the Public Proclamation Committee, and I'm going to read its purpose. The purpose of this team is to provide ways to preach the gospel in greater Cleveland, including Grafton, where our building is located.

It will look at ways to promote the Beyond the Day magazine, Beyond the Day television, plan for Kingdom of God, future Kingdom of God seminars, and serve the local community as living ambassadors of Jesus Christ. And here's their scriptural motto, 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 20. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us, we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. This committee's done a fantastic job, just really a good job in doing this. We had a year ago, we had a Kingdom of God seminar that resulted in three people who are here now, worshiping with us, who were not here at that time.

We also had a Kingdom of God seminar in downtown Cleveland this year. Since Larry confessed a little bit of shame, I'm going to confess a little bit of shame. Not that I'm personally responsible for it, but the last five years, I have seen us do more good things to help communities, through backpacks and putting together kits for the elderly, little food kits and blankets and all the things I've seen more done in five years than I saw in the congregations I was a member of for the previous 40.

So we're doing a far better job. This committee has done a great job, and we're in the middle of serving the local community with even another project now, Project Linus. Now, some folks believe it's only the home office's job to preach the gospel, and if you believe that, it is a very serious mistake. God gave the great commission to the church of which you and I are part of. He did not give it to a geography. He didn't give it to a headquarters. He gave it to his church. And in some way, either by our examples or by physical distribution of the magazine in dentist offices or doctor's offices or whatever we're doing, in some way, every one of us should be preaching the gospel. And that might also include something like putting a sticker on your car that says, beyond today. Right? We can all do something, is what I'm saying. So that's one committee we have. It's the Public Proclamation Committee. A very important one. Another one is Brethren Serving Brethren Committee. I'm going to read what the purpose of this is. The purpose of this team is to provide a high degree of love and encouragement to brethren struggling with age-related challenges, health issues, or a personal crisis. They will coordinate with each other to send cards, make occasional phone calls, provide food, run errands, and make the pastor aware of any special needs. On behalf of the entire congregation, they will provide comfort and hope to anyone in serious need. Their motto is Galatians 6, verse 10, Now, when we have an opportunity to help anyone, we should do it, but we should give special attention to those who are in the family of believers. That's the new century version.

And again, we have a committee that does that, and every week, I can tell you, I see every week I get a request from asking me, who do you know that's sick that we could send a card to? Who do you know that's going through a personal crisis who could use a card of encouragement? That email circles around every week, and every week there are members of this committee who make a phone call or send out a card of encouragement to someone whom they found out is sick or a little bit under the weather. It's an important part of what we do. Again, an incredibly productive and wonderful committee that serves us. The third committee is called the Building Maintenance Committee. It says, the purpose of this team is to guide the maintenance and upgrades of the church building. They are to analyze the routine maintenance required and prioritize the upgrades needed for the future. They shall create a budget for improvement, solicit bids when necessary, and oversee general maintenance of both the inside and outside of the building. And their motto is 1 Corinthians chapter 14 and verse 40, that all things be done decently and in order. And again, they have done an incredible job. Almost every room in this building has a fresh coat of paint. Many of the floors have fresh floor covering. We've done work on water damage under the back of the building. We've done, in just two years, it's two years ago, that we, two years ago in November, that was our first Sabbath here, we've done a tremendous amount of work for this building to give glory to God and to serve God's people. So why do I bring out something like a committee during a sermon? I bring it out because of a couple of reasons. Number one, it's the way that we can serve one another. Number two, we're coming on a new calendar year and the people that have served on these committees have served for two straight years. We need some new members of these committees. We need some fresh blood. Each one of these committees needs to select a new chairman because the chairman has already served for two years and that is a long time, week by week, in some cases, some of these committees, week by week, be having duties and responsibilities to make sure that everything functions. So part of what I wanted to do today was to encourage you to volunteer for one of these committees, to participate in serving others by being part of a committee. Now, I want to say something a little bit about committees and human nature. And I say this from my experience in the church and I say this from my experience in the work world, in the business world. Some people don't want to serve on committees and I'll tell you the attitude of a lot of people who will not serve on committees. I don't like to serve on committees because there are people with other opinions there. I don't want to really hear all of their opinions. And when you say that, what you're basically saying is, I'm a know-it-all.

I don't need to hear anyone else out. We don't need committees. Just let me make the decision all the time. And that is an unchristian attitude. I can tell you that if you will not serve on a committee because you don't have the patience to hear differing opinions, if you won't serve in a committee because you think that you're smarter than everyone else, you are not ready for prime time. You are not fit to serve in the kingdom of God because the kingdom of God is team-based.

And it's a good training ground to teach us when sitting on a committee to listen to other points of view, to gather input from people of various backgrounds and experiences, and to learn to work with people. And frankly, a lot of people that I know in the church do terribly at working with other people. There is a dysfunction, a relationship dysfunction in many people in the church of God who have problems on the job and in the church working with other people. And, brethren, frankly, we've got to get better at that. A whole lot better than that. Now, why do we have committees?

We have committees because, first of all, the United Church of God is modeled on a consensus form of government. The United Church of God basically is run by committees. The General Conference of Elders chooses a council. The council builds a whole bunch of committees, and that's what even makes the church function. It's a good system. So you go in Genesis chapter 1 and verse 26, God said, let us create man. He didn't say, I think I'm going to create man in my image. No, talking to Jesus Christ in the heavenly host team, here's what we're going to do here. Let us do this. In Genesis chapter 11 and verse 7, when it was decided that man's languages needed, the one language needed to be divided so mankind wouldn't accelerate too quickly towards his own destruction, God said, let us go down and confuse their languages. Not let me go down there as a team. Let's go down there and work this thing out together.

In Acts chapter 15, when they faced a major church crisis that could have divided the church forever over whether circumcision was required for Gentiles, it says this in verse 6, now the apostles and the elders came together to consider this matter. No one man said, well, I'm just smarter than everyone else. I'm the oldest. I've been around. I knew Jesus closer than anyone else. So here's the decision. No, it wasn't done that way. They all came together. They all had a meeting. They all vented. They all heard each other out, and they came to a consensus and the right kind of consensus. And I can tell you that the most highly successful organizations use committees to make decisions. You use committees because, first of all, you pool together various talents. No one person can know everything. Everyone has a different experience, a different talent, a different gift. And when you get people together in a room, you find out just how much you don't know. You may assume you know a lot of things, but when people start asking questions that weren't asked before, when they start pointing out things that no one thought of before, potential obstacles or issues, then you find out that, you know, when we get a bunch of heads together, we can come up with a great decision. The scripture says there's wisdom in a multitude of counsel, and that's one of the things that occurs when you're working in a committee. It also encourages coordination. When you participate in committee meetings, everyone, if they're listening, they come up with a mutual understanding and a cooperation. All right, here's the direction we're all going to go in. It's a useful environment for educating and training future leaders. It's how our deacons and elders will be prepared in the future are people who serve on committees, because when you serve in a committee, you learn the biggest thing that being a pastor or a deacon needs to know, and that is hear people out. Let them express their feelings. Let them tell you what they're going through, what they're feeling, what they're experiencing, and then, after you've heard them out, if you have some counsel or if you have some input, then give it. But you learn in a committee to work with people who are different than you are, who think differently than you are, and who are at a different place than you are. And that's great training, again, frankly, for the ministry in any aspect within the Church of God. So these are some of the reasons why we should be doing things as a team in this congregation. We should be doing things as a committee, and we need your help. These committees only function when they've got people on them who want to be there, who are willing to participate, and want to serve the congregation. And I hope you will consider that. Remember, Jesus Christ was a doer. His life was one of service to others. So all of this was under point number one that I mentioned, which is Jesus Christ was a doer, and he had a life of service.

Number two, the second major way he showed love to his disciples into the world, was that Jesus Christ patiently forgave others of their trespasses. He patiently forgave others of their trespasses. Let's take a look at a very powerful parable metaphor. Matthew chapter 18, if you'll turn there with me. Matthew chapter 18 and verse 21.

This is a metaphor of how much God forgives us. He forgives us. He doesn't withhold any forgiveness.

He doesn't remember our past debts. He isn't offended by our lives. He's put offense, the offense of sin that we had. He put that away. He's not offended with us. He's not angry with us. We're not forgiven. Just 99% were forgiven. 100%. The moral of this parable is he doesn't stay offended.

He doesn't hold a grudge. Then Peter came to him and said, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? If someone offends me, if I don't like someone, if I don't like what they do or what they say or how they think, how about seven times? Is that a good number?

That's biblical. Sounds make sense to me, Peter says. Jesus said to him, I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to 70 times seven. And he begins to tell this metaphor. Beautiful story.

Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants, just like God wanted to settle the account of our sin against him. And therefore, it says, and when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him, owing 10,000 talents, big sinner, big debt, really offensive to God.

But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold with his wife and children and all that he had and that the payment be made. The penalty of sin is death.

That's the condemnation we have unless Jesus Christ is our Savior. It's going to cost you everything. Verse 26, the servant therefore fell down before him, saying, Master, have patience with me and I will pay you all. That's a metaphor for repentance. God, forgive me. I'll clean up my life. I'll stop sinning so much. I'll go to church on the Sabbath. I'll do all of these things to improve my life. Please have mercy on me.

Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him and forgave him of his debt. Jesus Christ died and he shed his blood on the cross so that you and I could have forgiveness. God had compassion on us. He's forgiven us of all of our sins. New relationship. That's the first part of this very beautiful parable. Now, within God's church, will we do the same thing that's spoken of here when we're offended by someone? Verse 28. But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, just a small sum compared to what he had been forgiven of, a hundred denarii and laid hands on him and took him by the throat saying, Pay me what you owe. You've hurt my feelings. You've offended me. So his fellow servants fell down on his feet and begged him saying, Have patience with me. Look, I know I've got problems. I know I've got issues. Please have patience with me and I will pay you all. I'll try to do better. I'll try to be better. And he would not, for he went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, that he was emotionally, physically abusing one of his brothers, they were greatly grieved and they came and told their master. They prayed to God. God is his fair. God, look what this person is doing to one of my brothers and sisters in Christ. What did Jesus say? Say that as you've done it to one of these little ones, it's like you've done it unto me. So it says, then his master, when he had called him, said to him, you wicked servant, I forgave you all, everything, all the debt, because you begged me, should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you.

And the master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due him, so my heavenly father will do also to you. If each of you from his heart does not forgive his brother his trespasses, have you been offended by someone in the church? I think when I started attending services, it only like took two weeks before someone offended me. Have you been offended by someone? I'll backtrack. It probably took less than two weeks for me to offend a whole lot of people, so, including my father-in-law. But that's another story for another sermon.

So my point is, if you're offended, if there's someone in here that maybe you don't like the way they look, maybe you don't like the way they act, maybe you don't think they're fully with the program, maybe you don't think they're all in, the only thing I will ask you to consider is how much God has forgiven you. And to understand the fact that my experience has been in the church of God that it usually takes people decades to overcome problems. Not weeks, not years, decades to overcome deep-seated personal dysfunctions that they struggle with.

I've known people who lived in their entire church 40 years, and I don't mean to be cruel or harsh, taught them for 40 years, and they died with the same problems they had 40 years earlier. Maybe muted a little bit, maybe a little bit improved, but died with the same personal problems they had when I admit them 40 years earlier. That's why we need God. That's why we need the righteousness of Jesus Christ inside of us. We are just one big spiritual family here. We don't get to choose our physical brothers and sisters. Did you get to choose your physical brothers and sisters in your family? I didn't like it or not. They were there when I showed up, and I just had to learn to love them and deal with them, and I love them to this very day. Well, you know what? We don't get to choose our spiritual brothers or sisters either. God calls them, and oftentimes they're different than us. Oftentimes they're struggling with every possible kind of background, every possible kind of sin, and everyone comes in God's church at different levels. Some come in deeply spiritual and 100% all in, and others don't. And let's just leave that in the hands of Jesus Christ.

The truth is, brethren, is that we are usually blind to our own weaknesses. We have weaknesses that we're blind to that everyone else in the church knows we have. That's the harsh reality.

We don't get it. We're living in la-la land, and everyone who knows us knows we got that problem.

So considering the fact that every one of us is that way to some degree, maybe we should just have compassion and mercy on each other, knowing that it takes time. Our role is to patiently teach and encourage and love others who repeatedly struggle with the same weaknesses over and over. Some of us come from very dysfunctional families and families that were cursed. I came from a family with generation after generation after generation of alcoholism.

All right, that was a curse in my family, handed down from great-grandfather to grandfather, grandfather to father. And if God hadn't been merciful and called me at an age in which I was almost too young to get into too much trouble, I probably would have been the same way. It's only by the grace of God that I'm not an alcoholic. Those things are hard to break.

Generations after generations of family problems are hard to get over. But, brethren, God has called each and every one in this room, and God is working in us in ways that we can't see. He's working with you in ways that I can't see. We just have to leave God to do his job.

And you know what? Here's the bottom line. In God's Church, it isn't us and them.

In God's Church, it's really we. Because we really are one family. One big family.

The third way that Jesus Christ showed love for his disciples and the world was he had compassion on those whose lives were empty, chaotic, and stressed out. Let's read about that in Matthew, chapter 9. Empty, chaotic, and stressed out. Sound like maybe a society that you've heard of?

Matthew, chapter 9, verse 35.

Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages. Here he is. He's a doer again, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, healing every sickness and every disease among the people. But when he saw the multitudes, he said, oh, those vile, filthy, worthless sinners. No, he doesn't say that. He says when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion for them because they were weary and scattered like sheep, having no shepherd. And he said to the disciples, the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers into his harvest. What is Jesus Christ saying here? He's giving you the definition of his harvest, and here they are. Weary and scattered. And when people come through the door of the church of God, they're usually very weary, and their minds are very scattered. And you know what Jesus says? This is my harvest. God doesn't call perfect people. I've never met anyone in the church that's anywhere near perfect. I've met some wonderful people, some fine people, some godly people. I have never met a perfect person. The Greek word for compassion here is important because it says the Greek word means to have your bowels ache. So he looks at these people, and he just sees suffering. He sees people that are weary. Life is a burden. Think about the brethren we've read about in announcements who are worrying about eating. Food shortages, because it had three bad... Life is hard for a lot of people. And that's what Jesus sees. He sees people that are weary. He sees people that are scattered. They have no hope. Their lives are purposeless.

Their thoughts are like a pinball, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, all over the place. They have no idea why they're born. They have no hope. This is who Jesus sees. And you know what he says?

This is my harvest. It's just too bad that there aren't more who could help bring them to God's way of life. He's talking about us, brethren. He's talking about you. He's talking about me. Some other translations here in verse 36. King James said, weary and scattered, the new international, harassed and helpless. The New American Standard Bible describes them as distressed and downcast. The New Century version says, hurting and helpless. And again, I want you to notice what he calls people with these kinds of problems. My harvest. These are the problems of the harvest of Jesus Christ. They're the problems that you and I struggle with and the problems that people have when they come into the church. He didn't get angry with them. He didn't belittle them. He had compassion on their very sad condition. Brethren, Jesus Christ is saying that there are a lot of people with messed up lives and too few people to provide spiritual help to them.

But those ones with the messed up lives are the people that he calls. There is harvest.

You know, but the Apostle Paul put it in a more direct way. His isn't as nice as the way Jesus put it. Paul says in 1 Corinthians chapter 1 and verse 27, but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise. He's called the weak things of the world to shame the things which are mighty and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen and the things which are not to bring to nothing the things that are that no flesh should glory. So, brethren, whereas Jesus Christ is kind of nice and he just refers to them as weary and scattered, how would you like to be referred to as foolish, a weak thing, a base thing, despised, and a nobody?

That's Paul's definition of us, including himself, I might add.

So when we see someone struggling in the church having a problem, how do we react?

Are we willing to cut them some slack? Are we willing to be patient with them? Are we willing to give calm, measured, sound advice? Are we willing to serve them? How can I help? Tell me some way that I can help you. Are we forgiving them? Do we have genuine sympathy for them or do we get angry? Do we get frustrated? Do we tell everyone else all about it? Let's go to 1 John chapter 3 and verse 14. See what John wrote about the importance of love in his church. 1 John chapter 3 and verse 14.

1 John chapter 3 and verse 14. He says, 1 John, we know that we have passed from death to life. In other words, we know that we are passing into eternal life because we love the brethren. Heed, who does not love his brother, abides in death. You may know all the right stuff. You may have read every booklet in that rack back there. You may keep the Sabbath faithfully forever. But what the apostle was saying here, if you don't love your brother, you're as good as dead. Spiritually, you have a reward waiting for you, and it's not a pretty one, but it may be very warm. Verse 15, whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this, we know love. Here's the example. This is the definition, because he laid down his life for us. And I might add, he did it unconditionally. He didn't have us fill out a quiz form. He said, if you respond by your belief, I will accept you, and my blood will be the reconciliation for your sin. Continuing, and we all delayed on our lives for the brethren, but whoever has this world's goods, meaning God doesn't expect us to give anything away that we don't have. He doesn't expect us to give what we don't possess. But he says, whoever has this world's goods, that means material possessions, the ability to help, and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him. How does the love of God abide in him, my little children?

Let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth. So in Paul's letter to the Corinthians, which is actually the final scripture we're going to be looking at today, if you'll turn to 1st Corinthians chapter 13, Paul reminds us just how important it is to love one another.

There are a lot of important things about this way of life that we have.

But his greatest condemnation was for a group of people who knew all the truth, but whose attitudes and lack of love was disgusting to Jesus Christ. They were called Pharisees. They kept the Sabbath and Holy Days. They tied far more meticulously, tied than you and I do. Trust me, they passed it once a week. That was their tradition. They did a lot of things that we don't do, and Jesus says it means nada, because your attitudes are putrid, because you're judgmental. You're too condemning. So Jesus said, all that knowledge doesn't serve you well at all. It means nothing. 1st Corinthians chapter 13. This is Paul defining what Jesus meant when he said, by this, all will know that you are my disciples if you have loved one for another. 1st Corinthians 13, though I speak with the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, I have become a sounding brass and clanging cymbal. I can speak all the languages of the world, and if I don't have love, all I am is an obnoxious noise, like a big gong. Doesn't do any good at all.

And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all the mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could move mountains, if I have not love, I am nothing. Wow, is that strong. He doesn't say if you have these spiritual qualities but lack love that you're spiritually immature. He doesn't say you need to grow. He says if you have those qualities but you don't have love, you're zero in the eyes of God. I'm nothing. I'm nobody. That's a pretty powerful statement. Verse 3, and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profits me nothing. He says if we give away everything we have to the poor, or on the other hand, if we willingly accept martyrdom, if we do those things but we lack love towards others, there's no benefit. You just died for... you just gave everything away for nothing. You just died for nothing. There's not no benefit to be gained from that at all. No gain.

So let's take a look at the next few verses and see how well we're doing when one of our brothers or sisters stumbles or when someone in God's family is struggling with a problem. Verse 4 says, love suffers long and is kind. Love is patient with others even when your patience runs out. Love says you respond with kindness. Even when your patience has been tapped out. It says love does not envy. Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up. Love isn't jealous of another person's success, or another person gets blessings. They get a promotion, maybe they get ordained, maybe they get a big pay raise and you find out about it.

Love isn't jealous of someone else's success. Love doesn't say, well how about me? How come I'm always left out? That's not what love is. Love does not have a look at me or give me attention attitude. It doesn't demand attention. It doesn't seek attention. Verse 5, love does not behave rudely. Even when you're treated rudely, you respect with kindness. Again, look at the example of Jesus Christ as he's preparing for his crucifixion. If you read the Gospels, you will see he said very few words. He didn't lash out. When he was slapped, he didn't lash out.

When a crown of thorns was rammed on top of his head in a drew blood, he didn't lash out. He wasn't rude. When his authority was questioned, when those nails were driven into his hands, he didn't lash out. Even though he was treated rudely, he didn't treat others with rudeness. He treated others with kindness. It says it does not seek its own. Love is not selfish, and it doesn't have to have its own way.

Continuing, love is not provoked. It doesn't get angry and snap at others because it doesn't get its way. It doesn't say or feel, I am superior. It says love thinks no evil. It doesn't count up wrongs that someone has done.

It doesn't hold on to past offenses just like God let go of our past offenses towards him and doesn't think about them and doesn't remember them and doesn't hold them against us the same way we should be. I've had some discussions with people where I've been absolutely stunned, and I know sometimes I can be strong with particular individuals, but I had a discussion with one person about 10 years ago who said that, quote, I can't, I haven't been able to stand this person since 1989.

And I said to that person, you know what? You've been pretending to keep the passover for 20 years because if you've been holding an offense or a grudge against that person, you don't get what the passover is about. What the passover is about is this renewal of the understanding and commitment that God forgives me of all. And my responsibility in that is to forgive everyone else of everything they've done against me. If God can forgive me of all of my offenses against him and the ways that I've offended him, my responsibility is to forgive all the offenses against my brother and sister.

And if you're twelling me for 20 years that you can't stand this person, I don't even know why you're here because you don't get what Christianity is about and you've been keeping the passover in vain. Brethren, we don't want to keep the passover in vain. We want to do what's right. Let's continue here. Verse 6, does not rejoice in iniquity.

It doesn't rejoice in wrongdoing or it doesn't rejoice when others suffer because of their sins. Oh well, finally got coming on his head what he deserves, finally got punished for what he deserves. That's not what love is. Love is compassion. Maybe the person does deserve it, but love says all. That's got to be so painful. I hope they come to their senses, but they don't gleefully rejoice in someone else's suffering or the fact that someone else is going through a difficult period because of their sins, because of their dysfunctions.

It says, but rejoices in the truth. Love is excited to see truth and honesty and integrity prevail, and again it rejoices when others are greatly blessed. Verse 7, it bears all things. Love believes that God is in charge of the universe, including his church.

And when the time is right, the God who was powerful enough to create the world, the God who was powerful enough to resurrect his son who was dead in a tomb, is powerful enough to correct every problem that all of us have. He's powerful enough to correct every problem in someone's life. He's powerful enough to correct every problem in the church of God, and we have to believe that God is in charge of the universe, including his church. He will see to it that every wrong, every error, and every sin will in good time, in God's time, be corrected, be cleaned up, because he's all powerful.

He's omnipotent. He's omnipresent. And he will correct everything that needs to be corrected until then. Can we bear with it? Even seeing things that maybe we don't agree with? Even seeing things that we know are wrong? Can we say, God, I'm going to pray for this person and leave it in your hands?

You called him. You called her. They're yours. They're your chosen vessel. So I'm going to leave this in your hands. I'm not going to judge. I'm not going to be offended. I'm not going to try to ostracize this person in some way. I am going to bear all things and leave it in your hands.

Continuing, believes all things. Love gives others the benefit of the doubt.

Love withholds judgment until fruits are obvious. Do you know what Jesus said? He said, you shall know them by their fruits. It takes a season. However, we want to define a season before you know what the fruits are. Jesus did not say, you shall know them by their leaves. No, that's too early. He didn't say, you shall know them by their flowers. No, flowers don't last very long, especially on a fruit tree. And my, they're pretty and they're magnificent.

But a week later, they all fall off. He didn't say, you shall know them by their leaves. He didn't say, you'll know them by their flowers. He says, you have to be patient and let a whole season go by. And then you'll know by their fruits. Are we willing to believe that? Are we willing to take God up on his statement? That's very important for us, brethren. Before fruits are obvious, love is not sarcastic. It's not cynical. It's not suspicious. It's not judgmental. It's not condemning. It hopes all things. Love looks for the good in others. Looks for the positive in all events. Kind of has the perspective that Paul mentions, I believe it's the book of Romans, where he says, God calls, referring to Abraham, using Abraham as an example, God calls those things which are not as though they are. Meaning, God looks into the future and he looks beyond the quivering carnal bowl of carnality we are today. And he sees greatness. He sees potential. He sees awesomeness in our lives and his family. He doesn't just view us and look at us the way we are right now. So can we hope all things and look for the best in people? Look for the positive in all events? Endure all things. Love doesn't say, all right, I'm tired of it. I've had enough. I can't take it anymore. I'm out of here. I'm frustrated. Well, let me ask you this question. What would have happened if Jesus Christ had that attitude? Let's say that he's hanging up there and they're ready to put that first nail into his hand. And he says, stop! I've had it! I'm not going to take it anymore. I'm not going to endure this anymore. I don't have to endure all things. I went out of here. I want this to stop right now. If he had said that, where would you and I be today?

What spiritual condition would you and I be in today? Let's close it up here in verse 8. Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they'll fail. If you don't believe me, by the way, just ask Jonah. Whether there are tongues, they will cease. And as mentioned in a sermon a few months ago, a number of human languages totally die every year on planet Earth. Whether there be knowledge, it will vanish away. It will be replaced. People will discover better knowledge, new knowledge. I think I mentioned in the past how some of the medical books I have from the 70s are almost humorous. They're so outdated, so ridiculous that it's almost sad reading them. You could die from following that advice. So, knowledge will vanish away, for we know in part and we prophesy in part. We don't know near as much as we'd like to pretend we know. But when that which is perfect has come, that's talking about Jesus Christ returning to Earth, then that which is in part will be done away, because then we'll know everything. Verse 11, when I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. Now, if you read closely in verse 12, he's going to say, we're all still spiritual children. For now I see in a mirror, dimly. I don't quite see it clearly. I don't quite get it all. But then I'm going to see Jesus Christ face to face. There's not going to be any more questions. I'm going to know it firsthand. I'm going to be there. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I am, I also am known. Right now God knows me. He reads my heart. God knows me to the core. But I don't know God yet fully, only in part. He said, but there's coming a time when I will know God and I will know everything that God reveals as well as God knows my heart right now, this very minute. Verse 13, and now abide faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love. So, brethren, Paul is saying humbly that we're all spiritual babes.

Every one of us were spiritually immature, including the great apostle himself. That's what he's saying.

So in conclusion, Paul says the same thing as Jesus Christ. The one major thing that distinguishes God's people from all others is how much we love one another in spite of our weaknesses, our flaws, and our dysfunctions. Can we understand that? Are we ready to live up to the challenge that Jesus Christ said how others will know that we are his disciples? Are we ready to turn it up a notch in the Cleveland congregation? Are we willing to make serving and loving each other a hallmark of who and what we are? Because I've said it before, and I will say it again. We print awesome literature. Our literature is the truth. We can send out all the literature in the world, all the Beyond Today magazines. We can send out all the great booklets. We can send out a correspondence course. People can watch the Beyond Today television program, but it all boils down to when they walk through that door, how they're treated. If they feel a deep sense of love immediately, if they feel like they're welcomed in spite of their problems that they might be struggling with, if they sense a culture of caring and service towards them and towards one another, that's what it's all about. Because if that isn't here in God's church, all the booklets, all the TV programs, and everything else is in vain. So, brethren, I think today we've seen that God wants us to more fully and more deeply love one another and set an example to the world and help us as a congregation to take another step towards the important growth. And when we do that, then we'll be ready for the next wave of people that God will call into this congregation. We're like an incubator here, and God wants to send new believers to a warm, loving incubator where they will feel loved and warmed and nurtured and encouraged and helped. That's our job. But let us never forget how people will know that we are the disciples of Jesus Christ, primarily as we have love for one another. Have a wonderful Sabbath.