Moving from Selfishness to Godly Love

What would you do if you knew you only had three months to live? Would you eat your favorite meals more? Would you spend more time with family? Would you travel internationally? It's always interesting to see what people prioritize, where they put their focus, when they know they don't have much time left. If you return to John 13 in verse 1. John 13 in verse 1. Have you ever stopped to look at how Jesus lived the last day or days of his life? Because he knew that he only had days to live, right? I mean, he was fulfilling prophecy. So everything he did, all of his actions, were very intentional. John 13 in verse 1. Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that the hour had come that he should depart from this world to his Father, having loved his own, who were in the world he loved them to the end. So studying this perfection of Jesus Christ, it's really this ideal mirror for us to figure out how we can be more God-like. And Jesus' last days really provided this perfect example for how we should care for each other, as it says, and how we should exemplify Agape love, which was one of his priorities. You all probably know the word paradigm, right? And you've heard the phrase, paradigm shift. Paradigm is a frame of reference.

So if you start at the beginning, you have the Garden of Eden, and there God taught Adam and Eve the correct frame of reference for life. He showed them their purpose. He showed them what the universe was created for. And when Satan entered the scene, well, his primary goal was to change the paradigm away from God, away from God's way of life to his own. And he's been very successful. He has shifted a lot of focuses. He has shifted from success being spiritual wealth to being physical wealth, changed from the way of love and give to the way of self and get Saturday to Sunday, feast at Tabernacles to Christmas, Passover and Days of Eleven Bread to Lent, Good Friday and Easter. We keep going. Satan's desire is to distract us with anything really other than God, but it's oftentimes lusts its pride, self-contentment, challenges, even anger. His desires have us focus more on ourselves than on Jesus Christ.

And all of Christ's actions over the last few days of his life were outward. They were to help his disciples, both present and now, right, us as well, understand the right frame of reference for life. And he wanted them to see the world from, you know, this proper paradigm. And he ultimately showed the example he set in verse 34. John 13 verse 34, a new command I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you. You also should love one another. By this, all will know that you are my disciples, in that big two-letter word, if you have love for one another.

So for those of you who like titles for sermons, I call this moving from selfishness to godly love. And let's start with probably the most foundational, the most critical lesson about godly love.

Godly love is outgoing. It is focused away from self. Godly love is outgoing, and it's focused away from self. In Jesus' last days, there's this ultimate example of outgoing concern of do one to others. Jesus knew everything that was in store for him. Yet, his actions were outward. They were giving. They were concerned about other people. In his last 24 hours, what did he do? He washed his disciples' feet. He told them not to be troubled. He showed them the Father. He prayed for and expressed his love for. He encouraged them. You don't see stories when you look through those parts of the Bible about signs of stress or self-concern. It wasn't until after his long discussion with the disciples, after praying for them, and when he was alone in prayer with God, that he kind of prayed for the cup to be removed. And even after his prayer for that plan B, God, could you still put a plan B in here? Even as that was not an answer to that, was not answered. It was always in God's will for that one. He immediately returned and again focused on others. Let's focus on a few of those examples. A good place, I think, to start is John 13, verses 3 through 5, because it's the foot washing. It wasn't that long ago we were going through this. But have you ever examined how selflessly Jesus lived those days? John 13 and verse 3, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God, and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, took a towel, and girded himself. After this, he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. So here was the Son of God, who knew he was about to be whipped and falsely accused and denied and beaten and crucified, being grateful because God had given all these things into his hands.

It's a powerful example.

The creator of the universe spends the evening of his accusation the day before his death, acting like a servant washing his disciples' feet. And that perspective is always this humbling one around the Passover time, because to see the hands of God massaging the toes of men, you know, it's just not right, in a sense. Because those were good men, but they weren't perfect men. If you think about it, none of the disciples deserved to have their feet washed. Jesus, or just prior to him washing, what were they doing? They were fighting about which of them was the greatest. That's what had just happened. Jesus could have asked, how many of you are going to stand with me in Pilate's court?

How many will share the Romans' whipping? Who's going to pick up the weight of the cross when I fall?

You know, but that's what the paradigm of this world would say. Why? Because we're focused on what's fair. It's not fair! Every kid has heard that line.

The world's paradigm of right and wrong doesn't want to see our God behaving as a servant. But Jesus didn't see it that way, because Christ, who was the greatest, and knew he was about to suffer, thought only of others. He thought only of them. And it's hard, that's why it's so hard to comprehend God, to comprehend Godly love. Because, basically, what else would he do? God is love. And therefore, that's why Jesus could be so kind, even when things like that were happening around him. And after the foot washing, Jesus' total focus, again, was outward, on preparing his disciples for what was coming. You remember with the verses, or the chapters, 14 through 17, preparation, preparation, preparation. None of his words were self-absorbed. None were feeling sorry for himself, or asking to be comforted. He never spoke negatively about those he knew would treat them wrongly or betray him. He never spoke against his father, who had called him to make that ultimate sacrifice. Instead, he was outwardly focused. You can follow along with me if you want. I'm going to read a bunch of verses very quickly, starting. And they're starting John 14. But John 14, 13, Whatever you ask in my name, that I will do. John 14, 16. And I will pray the Father, and he will give you another helper, that it may abide with you forever. John 14, 18. I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. John 14, 27. Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give it to you. Let not your heart be troubled. Neither let it be afraid. John 15, 11. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. Jesus is talking about joy at the time. He knows he's about to have an awful death.

Turn to Luke 22 in verse 60. Luke 22 in verse 60. Even when Jesus was being condemned, when he was having false accusations just flung at him, his focus was still on preparing and caring for his disciples. And what we're looking at is when Peter betrayed him. But maybe you haven't thought about it from that lens. Luke 22 starting in verse 60. But Peter, after being accused of knowing Jesus, right, said, man, I do not know what you are saying.

Immediately while he was still speaking the rooster crow, and the Lord turned and looked at Peter. Then Peter remembered the words of the Lord, how he had said to him, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times. So Peter went out and wept bitterly. Put that in perspective. Jesus is being surrounded by accusations to justify a death sentence. But he doesn't hear them. He doesn't hear them.

He doesn't hear them. But he doesn't hear them. He hears only the denial of his friend. And if Peter ever thought that he could keep that denial a secret, that went away. But he also knew that Jesus loved and cared far more about him than his own life. And that's pretty amazing. And throughout the crucifixion, Jesus asked God not to hold the people accountable who did it to him.

He even encouraged the other prisoners while they were on the cross, being executed. And at the point of death, the last thing we know he did, he looked down and he handed his mother to John to take care of. Focused on others. So the lesson is clear. Godly love is outgoing and it's focused on others, not on self. So now, the pivot. Do you and I love each other that way? That way. Second point.

A second lesson about love from Jesus last day is Godly love must be chosen. Godly love must be chosen. I don't know if you ever thought about the dangerous liberty that God gave humans. God gave humans the liberty to choose. We have this power to choose. It's quite fascinating how many areas that ripples into life. In the greatest mind of the universe, he granted Adam a choice. But God the Father and Jesus knew from the beginning that Adam would choose wrongly. Now, that didn't affect their love for Adam. It didn't affect their love for all humans that followed.

It would have been a whole lot safer. I remember my son arguing this with me when he was young. It would have been a whole lot safer if God would have just scripted everything. Why didn't God let Satan make a mistake? Why did God let Adam pick the tree? Choice was intended in all of this.

All of it. Even in our lives. It would have been, you could say, safer if God would have scripted every option. But it wouldn't have been love. Because love is only love if it's chosen. God wants children who will choose him. That's why we do it. And we disappoint him a lot. We also please him along the way. What makes the understanding of Adam's failure even more overwhelming is that it meant Jesus knowingly choosing to give up his own Godhead.

To become a servant. Allow himself to be wrongly accused. Painfully killed. So, play that backwards. God was creating the universe. He was shaping Adam out of dirt knowing what was going to happen. Knowing that would ultimately lead to him having to have that implication of giving his life. And he knowingly committed himself to endure this from before the creation was even formed until he finally died on the cross. Please turn to Matthew 1 in verse 23. Matthew 1 in verse 23.

I think it's important to realize it wasn't just Jesus who set us an example by choosing love from before the time of creation. God the Father made that same choice. He selflessly gave up his only Son to be a human being to face all the testing, the trials of being human. Matthew 1 in verse 23. Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and his name shall be called Immanuel, which means God with us.

So, it was the ultimate, outgoing concern of love that helped God the Father choose to give us Immanuel. God with us in the flesh. Both members of the Godhead chose life, though it meant death, with the hope that we as children would do the same. Do we choose life? Do we choose love? Or do we choose selfishness? The Bible says God is love. And therefore, how can love not love? We often talk about love, but humanly we fight, right? We fight showing it when living a way of love is confronted by some daily choice.

The I-wants of life, or the struggles of life, or the it's not fairs of life. We change the terms a little bit, then. Jesus chose love to the end. So, another question, of course, to you and I. You can figure where I'll go next. Please turn to Deuteronomy 30 in verse 19. Deuteronomy 30 in verse 19. Jesus thanked God for the disciples, though he knew they would sin.

He knew they would make wrong choices. He knew they would denounce him when he was gone. So, this overwhelming example that Jesus set is there to help us make the right choices when tough times come our way. I don't know, maybe one of you is facing a tough time today. Maybe one of you is struggling this week. Perspective.

Deuteronomy 30 in verse 19. I call heaven and earth as witness today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and cursings, therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live. So, I'll submit to you that choosing life means choosing love. They come together. They're synonymous. All right, let's go on to the third lesson about godly love.

Godly love forgives regardless of the evil shown it. Godly love forgives regardless of the evil that's shown to it. And if you think about it, God has every reason to abandon us. We pollute the world that he gave us.

We ignore the words that he sent us. We killed his son. And all these evil actions are the ultimate byproduct of us being allowed to do what? Oh, that's right, to choose. So, what came with it? And God knew mankind would do all these wrong things once given a chance to choose. So, let me share one of these concepts that I get and I don't get and I struggle with because I don't think our brains are fully set to understand it because of our inherent selfishness.

God's love never ceases. God's love never ceases. Never. So, though we spurn it, though we ignore it, though we disobey him, God's love isn't going to change. Keep playing that thing forward. Our evil doesn't diminish God's love. Our goodness can't increase it. God is love. Right? Our faith doesn't earn it any more than our stupidity jeopardizes it. God doesn't love us less if we fail. He doesn't love us more if we succeed. Now, again, let's do the parent thing here, right, of where it comes in. He may be more proud of us. He may have more confidence in us and ultimately will reward those who obey by being part of a spiritual family for eternity.

But God's love never ceases. Does ours, right? You know, turn it from God. What about us? Does ours? Please turn to Luke 23 and verse 34. Luke 23, 34. So, the night before Jesus was killed, hours before he was betrayed, what did he do? Jesus washed Judah's feet. That's this amazing example of love and forgiveness. Luke 23 and verse 34. And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. You know what? Forgiving those who crucify you, that's an ultimate example of Godly love. Forgiving regardless of the evil shown. And he continued loving and forgiving to the end. Do we? Or do we have these people that we just look at and we go, Ooh, can't forgive you?

How do we approach this? Do we do the same? Are there times we find it hard to forgive others? Are there things that are just too tough for us to let go? You know, the Bible never says living godly is going to be easy. But the key is this. We will never forgive anyone more than God has already forgiven us. We will never forgive anyone more than God has forgiven us. That's perspective again. That's love. And as I thought of God's love never ceasing, I realized that we have this human example of it here today. It's you moms out here.

It's you moms. Moms, why do you love your newborns? Kids, think about this one. Why do your moms love you? For months, they brought you pain. They made you go through wild mood swings. You waddled like a duck. The baby occupied space that wasn't theirs. It punched you in the stomach. If you ever watched the stomach of a pregnant woman. Ate food it didn't prepare. You kept the baby warm and safe. But when the baby came out, did it say thank you?

You went through all that pain at childbirth. So were you angry when the baby was born? No! You were elated. You were thrilled when it was born, even though you knew it was going to then wake you up every night for months to come. Why? You love your newborns because the baby is you. It's your blood. It's your flesh. It's your legacy.

And you knew the newborn was helpless. It was weak and it didn't ask to come into the world. Similarly, God... We are God's idea. We are God's legacy. God sees us for what we can be and become. Please turn to Isaiah 62 in verse 5. I read this one quote that said, God has no cousins, only children. There's a lot of elements to that, at least from a human perspective. Even as your children get older, even as they do stupid things, your love doesn't cease. You forgive and you go on. And that's the example that Jesus set for us to the end of his physical life. And he continues as he interacts in our lives. And you know, this touching reason for why God offers salvation to you or to me is because he's fond of us. He kind of likes us. Isaiah 62 in verse 5, If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it. God loves you and me. Max Ducato put it this way, and several of the concepts in this first part came from him because he has an interesting way of casting some of these concepts. But he wrote, God's love is not human. His love is not normal. His love sees our sins and loves us still. Does he approve of our errors? No. Do we need to repent? Of course. But do I repent for his sake or mine? Mine. His ego needs no apology. His love needs no bolstering. And he couldn't love you and I more than he does right now. You know, that's something to treasure as we go through that Christian journey that we're on. All right, next point. Fourth lesson from the last day of Jesus' life is love focuses on what the loved ones can be, not what they currently are. Love focuses on what the loved ones can be, not what they currently are, and I will put an addendum and certainly not revisiting mistakes they made in the past. See, it takes time to grow. It's a parent in the delivery room, ashamed of their baby because that baby can't talk, it can't spell, it can't walk yet. Of course not. The parents aren't ashamed. They're proud because they know that growth is going to come with time. And so does God. Jesus was very patient with his disciples, even as he was being killed, because God continues to be patient with them, with us. It's about the big picture, right? Bringing many sons to glory. How we finish this journey. Not this stage in our life. We see life as this stage and say, God help, give me your will right now in this one moment and what I need in this decision. God's will is the big picture. Bringing many sons to glory.

Turn to Philippians 1 and verse 6. Philippians 1 and verse 6. I think God is often more patient with us than we are with ourselves. And that's just one of these sad realities of how life tends to work. We assume that if we sin, well, we've done it now. God's no longer our Abba. He doesn't love me anymore. If we stumble and if we have the old desires, then we must not be truly converted. If you struggle with that one moment, ruins everything with God, here's a voice, a verse that hopefully makes you less anxious. Philippians 1 and verse 6.

We have to do our part, right? But that's God's perspective and that understanding is why we recently celebrated the Passover feast in love and bread. Every year we do what? We look and identify new and old love and stuff inside us. We may have been around a long time, maybe new stuff. We're like, ah, sorry, God. Try to remove it from our hearts and our minds. And that awareness is intended to lead us toward action, lead us toward awareness. Right? And that's our part. That's what we need to be doing. Despite being a carnal sinner, though, we have the pleasure of celebrating the Passover. Annually knowing that Jesus died for us, knowing we're not perfect. And that's a beautiful perspective. And knowing that should help us view in a different light why Jesus was so focused on developing, on preparing others, His disciples. Our role there.

Please turn to John 17 verses 20 through 23. John 17, 20 through 23. Jesus knew His death was just the start of this good work, just like a parent does when their child is wherever, in the hospital, in first grade, as a teenager, as a young adult.

And He was helping us along the way. Jesus, in this prayer, is praying to His Father, and He's showing that He knows all His disciples can be. John 17 and starting in verse 20. You, me, other believers around the world. O all the thousands of years that followed. I am sorry, that they all may be one, as You Father are in me, and I in You, that they also may be one in us, and that the world may believe that You sent me. And the glory which You gave me, I have given them, that they may be one just as we are. I in them, and You in me, that they may be made perfect in one, and that the world may know that You have sent me and have loved them as You have loved me. If you think about the motto of the United Church of God, it says, preaching the gospel, preparing a people. And that was Jesus' focus. He wasn't just preparing His disciples for the moment of His death, right? No, He was preparing us, His future disciples, those who would come after. And He loved the disciples, even though He knew that they would run in fear when the soldiers came to apprehend Him. And I'm sure the disciples felt guilt. You know they had to feel guilt over their actions. I wonder if that's not why they left immediately for a period of time.

So we often feel guilt. Is that bad? Is guilt bad? Let me give you a different point of view of guilt. Guilt should be a healthy regret for telling God one thing and doing another. That's what guilt should be. It should pull on our hearts. It should yank us back. Turn to John 15 in verse 1. When you see the word, godly sorrow, that's guilt. Guilt, or godly sorrow, is good when it makes people change their hearts and their lives. Because that's what ultimately leads to salvation, the big picture, God's will, that's it. Salvation. So to feel guilt is no tragedy. To feel no guilt or only shame is.

What if Peter hadn't dealt with his feelings of guilt? How many lives would have gone untouched? Epistles gone unwritten?

God loves us for what we can be, and he's not blinded by what we currently are or what we did wrong in the past. We've got to move past that, not just wear that as an anchor. That's our badge of, I'm a failure, I made a mistake in the past. John 15.1. I am the true vine, and my father is the vine-dresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit, he takes away. And every branch that bears fruit, he prunes that it may bear more fruit. So God is the gardener, Jesus is the vine, we are the grapes. What does that have to do with love? Gardeners trim. They trim the abundance of vines in Palestine, you all do in your backyards. Why? So that they can bear more fruit. And God trims us. Why? For that same reason. Look at verse 16.

So Jesus chose us, and he loves us so much that he wants us to bear fruit. What fruit? Love, joy, peace, patience, long suffering. You know them. Godly love cares about our development, and that's why God as the gardener prunes us. But there's a very interesting word in here that I think a lot of times we read over or read how it's translated. Look in verse 2. It says, he takes away every branch of mine that does not produce fruit. That word for take away or cut off is from the Greek word aero. And it has at least two meanings. One is to cut off. The other is to pick up or lift up. And I think they both apply. God repositions the fruitless branches so it can get more sun. It can get more space. And if you look in your life, you will see times where God has realigned your life like a gardener's realigning some of the vines. They're both examples of love. They may not feel so good because you didn't mind laying on the ground there in that moment.

But we're being worked on. And we can't force spiritual fruit. That's why Jesus nowhere tells us to go out and bear our own fruit. John 15, you get just this boom, boom, boom coming right after. Abide, in other words, or remain in the vine. Abide or remain with me. That's verses 4 and 5 and 6 and 7. Then abide in love is verses 9 and 10. Our task is just stay close to the vine and let God work through us. That's the task we're being asked to do. We need to let God's Spirit remove our carnality so that we can work and bear fruit or have him bear fruit through us. It's not us. And the lesson is that God's love cares for the development of others. And if we are looking at life in a godly perspective, then we should care for others in the same way.

I'll chat more on that as we go, but we'll be far less judgmental and much more forgiving when that's our focus. Because whoever has bugged us, that's a future brother and sister in Christ. That's a future spiritual sibling that God is planning to work with or is working with. Let's finish this lesson by reading the last sentence of John 15 in verse 5. It says, So Jesus wants us to bear fruit, but he also says he's going to help us do it.

Please turn to John 18 in verse 1, and I'll give you the fifth lesson. The fifth lesson about godly love is this. God's love protects us. God's love protects us. John 18 in verse 1. When Jesus had spoken these words, he went out with his disciples over the book Kidron, where there was a garden, which he and his disciples entered. And Judas, who betrayed him, also knew the place, for Jesus often met there with his disciples.

Then Judas, having received a detachment of troops and officers from the chief priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, therefore, knowing all things that would come upon him, went forward and said to him, Whom are you seeking? There is a word you might have jumped past that I want you to better visualize.

Verse 3 refers to a detachment or a band of soldiers. The Greek word is spirra, and the word has three possible meanings from what I've read. It can signify a Roman cohort of 300 men, a cavalry and infantry totaling 1900 men, or a detachment known as a mannipole, which contained 200 men. Either way, we're talking about a whole lot of soldiers.

Alright, let's keep going. Verse 5. They answered him, Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus said to them, I am he. And Judas, who betrayed him, also stood with them. Now when he said to them, I am he, they drew back and fell to the ground. In context, these were the best soldiers in the world. They were implementing Satan's best plan, full support of Satan.

And yet one word from Jesus made them all fall down. All these Roman soldiers turned into the keystone cops. At least 200 men, with all their clanking armor that was on them. You can hear the crashing in your mind. And the basic lesson is, when Jesus speaks, Satan falls. Verse 8. Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he. Therefore, if you seek me, let these go their way. These are not the droids you're looking for.

These are not the droids I'm looking for. You know, 200 men, oh, we only want that one. That's what you tell me. Okay. Think about what was happening. Jesus commanded the very group of soldiers who came to seize him. Why? To protect those he loved. Satan is powerless against Christ. And Satan will have to get through him to get to you, me, us.

As verse 9 says, of those whom you gave me, I have lost none. So the lesson is that God's love protects us. And when Jesus said, he will keep you safe, he means he will keep you safe. In the big picture, he loves you that much. And let's look at a couple other words of encouragement. John 16 and verse 33.

You can flip there, or you can say, I'm in John a lot to help you keep somewhat close. John 16 verse 33 says, I have spoken to you that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation, but be of good cheer I have overcome the world. So that's one of those ouchies. Jesus is very candid, right, about the fact that we will, the world will bring tribulation on those who are obedient to him.

But he won't prevent that from happening, but he does give us peace, because our calling is for much more than just his physical life. Perspective again. John 17 and 15. I do not pray that you should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them or protect them from the evil one. And then John 13.1 says God loved him to his own to the end. And that means, in perspective, that he's still loving.

He's still protecting you and me. Turn to John 14.1, and let's go to the next lesson. The next lesson is that God's love looks past physical death. God's love looks past physical death.

John 14.1. Don't let your heart be troubled. Trust in God. Trust also in me.

That is an odd statement from a person facing the grave. Look at it just that way.

When you face death, don't be troubled. Trust God. Because you almost get the impression that to God, death was like this no-brainer.

And he speaks as casually as a mechanic, right? Who could look at a worried client and say, Yep, an engine's going to need an overhaul, but I got you. I can do this.

For God, death is no big tragedy. The termination of the body is the beginning of life. And Jesus loved us so much that he's preparing a future home for us. I don't know if you've ever thought of it that way, but... Okay, again, I love the perspective parts of the Bible, but Jesus healed hundreds that we know of. He fed thousands. He resurrected three. You have the daughter of Jarrus, the boy near Narnon, and Lazarus. Why so few? Could it be that he knew he was doing them no favors?

A core spiritual lesson is that we must trust God does what's best for us in the long-term best interest of us. He does what is in our long-term best interest. And as much as we'd like to think we're exempt from the grave, we aren't. The lessons of God's love when facing death is, rather than avoided, welcome it. Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not wanting you all to run out in front of a bus after church. Woo! But we can also embrace the death of a faithful Christian as a mile marker to remind us we aren't home yet, but we're closer than we've ever been.

And that's, you know, people ask about the people I've had. A lot of people have died in my life, but I could look at it from that perspective, and it gives perspective. John said Jesus was carrying his own cross as he walked up the hill, but, you know, he was actually carrying ours. Because the only reason that he carried a cross in the first place was for what? For us, for my sins, for your sins. God's love allowed Jesus to look past his physical death, and as a result, it allows us to look past ours. Whatever you're struggling with, this isn't our home. We're not supposed to be at home here. Our true body, our true home isn't finished yet, but we know that when it is, Christ will invite us there. He loves us that much. John 14 and verse 2, In my father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you, I would go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that where I am, there you may be also. We're not going to do a pivot and have like a second section of this message that ties together with the first. I would like us to consider what Jesus taught us about the three ways Christian love is expressed. Love toward God, love toward neighbor, love toward self, because they fit together as a package. We need to evaluate how Christ like we are when we display each of those. So let's start by looking at love toward God. Can we honestly claim God comes first in our lives?

Can we honestly say God comes first in our lives? Of course he is most of the times. But when do we put God as priority 1B? I'm always saying priority 3. If there's 1Bs, we can easily fall prey to. Oftentimes, we focus on doing right for these small intense bursts.

You know, I'm fired up. I feel zeal. The problem is we don't sustain those efforts. I read this interesting quote which said, Our life is not a short story. Our life is a long, long, long book. And there are many, many chapters. What does that mean? When we see life as this long book with many chapters, it lets us see beyond relying on these short sprints. But rather growing in a step-by-step manner.

Every day, am I making the next right decision? Am I trying to be more loving? Am I caring for others in an outgoing, selfless way? That's our journey. The Ten Commandments serve as guides to help us avoid the rough places in life. That's why they were given to us. God said to the people of Israel, Here are ten rules for a better way to live.

And it begins with, You shall have no other gods before me. That's your foundation. We know physical rules, right? We know physical rules. Like if you get on the roof of this building, you jump off, you probably can hurt yourself.

Especially because there's more floors than this. The Law of Gravity. And in the same way, you can't disregard God. You can kill another. Go down the Ten Commandments. You can steal. And you go outside that moral order, and then bad things are going to happen to you. Ultimately, that's when we hurt ourselves. So the commandments represent this covenant between God and His people. And it all begins with what?

The First Commandment. Our relationship with God. And that makes the First Commandment the most important. I am the Lord your God, who brought you up out of Egypt. You shall have no other gods before me. Okay, so at first glance, this seems like the easiest commandment to keep. Because we don't believe in any other gods, right? Well, the First Commandment, you know, it's beyond just religious commitment. It almost takes that for granted.

The question isn't whether we'll have a God, it's what will be our God? In whom or in what will we believe? Martin Luther once asked, what does it mean to have a God? Whatever your heart clings to and relies upon in actual practice? That is properly your God. And there's a lot of truth to that. Turn to John 14, verses 15 through 23. John 14, 15 through 23. God is ultimately selecting a family for eternity. And so what we're about to read is Jesus is telling what it looks like to love God and to have no other gods before him.

That's what we're about to read. And that ends with this amazing promise. John 14, verse 15. If you love me, keep my commandments. Verse 21. He who has my commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my father. And I will love him and manifest myself to him. Judas, not as scary, it said to him, Lord, how is it you will manifest yourself to us and not to the world?

Jesus answered and said to him, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love him. And we will come to him and make our home with him. So these verses put this very tangible measurement to loving God. Loving God means keeping his commandments, means obeying all we're advised to do in the Bible. And it also means when we look inside, we find what we treasure most is what's most important to God.

That means we're starting to get it figured out. And Jesus set that example by loving God more than his own life. You and I, again, prioritize the right things. How much do we prioritize God in our lives? God's plan is to bring many sons to glory, right, to expand his spiritual family. Play that out. If we share that priority, then shouldn't God's work be a top priority? Here's a good test question. How much do we pray for the work of the church that it's doing and participate in enabling it? Play to my own fault.

I don't focus on that as much as I probably should. Do we contribute our talents and our blessings to that cause as much as we should? If that's the big picture of what this world's all about. Turn next to Matthew 10, verses 37 through 38. Matthew 10, 37 through 38. Friends, we all have a lot of room to love God more than we do.

And the more we understand the depths of the first commandment, the more room we realize we have to grow in that very special relationship that we have a chance to be a part of. And Jesus presents a contrast to emphasize how important our love for God should be in this next verse. Or verses. Matthew 10, verse 37.

So discipleship is about emulating and imitating the teacher. That's our job. That's what we're being trained for. And Jesus put his love for God the Father first. Our love for God as disciples must be above anything else. Again, something we can examine ourselves for. See where we're at, where the opportunities are. How much is our goal for eternity the same as God's? Because if it is, then that means what we're working on, we're focusing on how we're treating others would reflect that. What is your greatest hope for eternity? I just wanted those questions I remember my dad asked once, and that was one of these out questions. Is it salvation? If so, I'd argue we're loving our own life more than we love God. Remember, we're not called to be saved, we're called to do a job. Salvation is a byproduct of being selected for the job. Think about that. I mean, obviously, we all want eternal life and salvation. It's this beautiful thought. Therefore, focusing on God's perspective, it's something much greater, and that's just part of the great opportunities that God has in store for us after. If we have a pure, godly perspective, then our goal should be helping God expand His family and remove evil from this world. Oh, by the way, eternal salvation comes with it. David, you know, he had this passion about God in God's way and doing all he could to grow, and how much he wrote about reading and loving Thy law and loving all that he's asked to do. It's this beautiful area. There's no doubt he loved God and everything God said to do. All right, the second aspect of love is love toward neighbor. Love toward neighbor. Turn to 1 John 4 and verse 19. 1 John 4 and verse 19. All right, let's be transparent. Some people love God, but they can't stand their fellow man. We all have met some of them. 1 John 4 and verse 19. We love him because he first loved us. If someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. For he who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him, that he who loves God must love his brother also.

So we commonly think of neighbor as the people that are near us, right? But Jesus means it to include all of humanity, including our enemies.

Let's again consider the example of Jesus. If you'll turn to John 13 verses 34 through 35. These verses I'm cycling through to bring out different parts of them. John 13, 34, 35. Jesus died for every living human. That's important to keep in mind. He died for those who whipped him, who spit on him, who falsely accused him, who crucified him. His actions showed that he loved everybody again. What about us? Do we show that type of compassion? Because if we really love someone, we express it by our actions.

John 13, 34, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. It doesn't stop there. As I have loved you, there's that high bar for us, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. So how well do we love our neighbors? Do we display that affection within the church? Take a next step forward. Do you display that at work?

Wherever you're working. Do you display it at the grocery store? Do you display it with a stranger? Turn next to Matthew 25, verses 41 through 46. Matthew 21, 41 through 46. We're stepping into the parables, if you think of Matthew 25, three very well-known parables. And we're going to step into the middle of this parable, where Jesus tells us how he would judge when he returns as king. How he's going to separate those sheep and those goats. But it's always this powerful area to look at what he condemns the goats for.

Matthew 25, verse 41. Then he will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me no food. I was thirsty, and you gave me no drink. I was a stranger, and you did not take me in. Naked, and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison, and you did not visit me. Then they also will answer him, saying, Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you? Then he will answer them, saying, Assuredly I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.

And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into everlasting life. How often do we really help people in those ways? Another area, there's a lot of opportunities, right? All of us can do much more, and that awareness should keep us humble and should make us retain the right perspective, the right focus.

Because we each have areas where we can have a better attitude to how we help and love those that are in our lives that we come in contact with. Where are we judging? Who do we condemn without really knowing? Is it with our family? Is it with our friends? Is it with strangers? Is it with ethnic groups? Is it with... You pick the races, whatever! Where do we need to be more God-like?

Because it all starts with us loving God first and foremost and having no other gods before Him. That makes His plan the ultimate desire in our life. And when that's the case, we're going to have to love our neighbors deeply because they're our future brothers and sisters.

Play it forward. Turn to Romans 12, verses 9 through 21. Romans 12, verses 9 through 21. This is one of those long lists of Paul giving us things to work on that everyone is a, I got to work on that more.

I got opportunities there. All right, opportunities. Romans 12, starting in verse 9. Let love be without hypocrisy. Okay, now let's start talking about that. A poor one is evil, cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love. In honor, giving preference to one another. Not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord, rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer, distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse. Okay, we can keep going, but there's a whole lot of things in there that it's easy to say, whoo, all right. It's something to work on. Again, understand we all fall short. I absolutely don't have any of those items licked. But are we really making progress? That's the easiest way as humans to look at it.

Are we making progress? How do we do today? If today is a bad day, if yesterday you failed on something, don't give up on yourself. Let's do better next time. Ask God to help with the right perspective. Do we lose patience? Do we become selfish? Because we can't really love our neighbor if we speak evil, if we spread rumors, if we do all the things that Paul urges against. Now, you may say, wait, my neighbor is just so different from me. So you get your head turning.

They're just so different. Well, don't forget God intentionally made us different to fill in needed parts of his future perfect family. That's what I'll talk about in my two messages in May, is about the body of Christ. But all of our differences test us. They help us grow. All the parts of the body are necessary.

You can't do without all the parts. We may not get it. God does. Working with different people is hard, but the Bible tells us that a converted mind seeks peace and pursues it. And if we love our neighbor, we're going to live peaceably with them. Okay, let's continue in verse 17. Repay no one evil for evil.

Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourself, but rather give place to wrath. For it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay you, says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him a drink. This is your enemy we're talking about. For in so doing, you will heap coals of fire on his head.

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. Let's go and find the person that you have misunderstandings worth. Work out that relationship. Figure out how to become spiritual brothers and sisters again. And to finish loving our neighbors, I'd like you to turn to Galatians 6, verses 2-3. And while you do that, I'm going to read you a story. Galatians 6, verses 2-3. Here's the story. There was a big valley where an observer noticed many pilgrims walking. Most people entered it weeping and crying and left it feeling the same woes. It didn't matter their color, their age, their size or description.

In view of all over the entrance of the valley, there was written in great big letters the following words, bear one another's burdens. The observer noticed that many of the travelers hurried on without even stopping to read this inscription. And others read it, but paid little or no attention. Others thought it good advice for other people. But very seldom applied it to themselves. In short, he saw that too many of these people were of the opinion that they had burdens enough of their own, and that there was therefore no occasions to take upon themselves those of others.

So each tried to make his own load as light and his own journey as pleasant as he could without so much as once casting a thought on other poor overloaded neighbors. It was so ordained and contrived by the lord of this valley that if anyone stretched out his hand to lighten a neighbor's burden, he at that moment would also lighten his own. The obligation to help each other and the benefit of doing so were mutual.

If a man helped his neighbor, it commonly happened that some other neighbor came by and helped him in turn. For there was no such thing as what we call independence in the whole valley. How much do we want to do things on our own to be independent? No traveler, however stout, however strong, could move on comfortably without assistance, for so the lord of the valley, whose laws were all kind and good, had expressly ordained. Galatians 6, verse 2, bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ, for if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing, he deceives himself.

I want to read that last verse to you from the New Living Translation because I like how it writes it. It says, If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important. I like that. We all know the importance of bearing one another's burdens, but how often do we really put it into practice? Remember, it all goes together. It starts with love toward God, and we can't love our neighbor until we love God.

Then we go to the third part of Christian love, which is love toward ourselves. And you're going to say, That sounds like psycho-babble. That sounds like self-love. Okay, so for starters, please realize I think we all have enough vanity, enough human nature, that we're not in danger of not loving ourselves. You know, there's no danger of us not loving ourselves enough. There's a lot of room for opportunities there. But I agree that self-love can be selfish.

That's not where I'm going. What's the godly way to have love toward ourselves? I think it's important to think about. Some have a tendency to torture themselves, reliving past sins which are forgiven. Self-reflection time does not mean digging up and mourning past wrongs which God has forgiven for a long time, or saying, that defines you because you did something wrong.

Think of all the heroes in the Bible and all of the mistakes they made. They were not defined by their sins or their mistakes. Turn to Romans 6, verses 3-4. Romans 6, 3-4. Most of the sermon, again, is focused on what Jesus did in his last hours of life as a human. I think it's critical that we remember why Jesus suffered, why he gave his life.

Why did he call us? It's because he believes in us. We have to share that same confidence. Romans 6, verse 3. Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? Therefore, we were buried with him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so, we also should walk in newness of life.

Whatever happened today, you can start walking from here before it in newness of life. Seek repentance and look to God. So the question about whether God has forgiven us, that's this conversion question, if you're wondering that. We must not only learn to forgive others, we also need to learn to forgive ourselves. Because God promises to forgive.

Do we forgive ourselves? Matthew 6, 12 says, And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. So you may see that word forgive. I see we must love others as ourselves. Because if we don't love others as ourselves, then we'll never be able to forgive others or ourselves the way God wants us to. There are a lot of biblical examples of this one.

If you look around the Bible, you're going to see Joseph's example with his brother who sold him to slavery, right? He suffered tremendously, but he didn't hold grudges against them. He didn't let that define him. He learned to trust and love God. And as a result, he was able to love and forgive his brothers. The same can be said for David, Saul, Moses, Israel, Jonah. Jonah's this fascinating one where he had to realize God wants to forgive. God don't do it anymore.

God wants to forgive. And that helps us understand that he wants us to forgive others as well as ourselves. God is absolutely willing to overlook our terrible mistakes and to allow us to repent. And he's excited. He's passionate about forgiving. God's forgiveness is one of the most inspiring displays of love. So we need to be forgiving toward others and ourselves. And in our Christian journey is about becoming prepared for the spiritual job God created us to have. However you look at yourself, that's how we need to look at ourselves. Because God looks at us as future children to rule the universe, to reflect him, to have his powers. Believe in yourself. Realize where the strength is coming from. And that's why the standard is so high. That's why the room for growth is never-ending. Turn to Luke 23 verses 33 through 34. Luke 23, 33 through 34. God's plan for humanity is what allowed Jesus to not only give his life, but to also have that singular focus about the best interest of others all the way up to the end. So what's our attitude when we've been wronged? What would have been our attitude if someone was in the process of wrongly killing us, like Jesus did? Luke 23 and verse 33. And when they had come to the place called Calvary, there they crucified in the criminals, one on the right hand and the other on the left, then Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do. So that is true love toward neighbor and self. Jesus knew that the very people who killed him could be his spiritual brothers and sisters in the future. And he deeply hoped and hopes that happens. And if he has that much forgiveness and hope for us, we need to show it to ourselves as well. And once our sins are buried, don't mull over them anymore. Stop looking backwards. Stop condemning yourself. I'd like to read two passages from Paul as we finish this up. Turn to Philippians 3 and verse 13. Philippians 3 and verse 13. And again, put Paul in perspective here. Paul played a seriously high role, fighting against Jesus, fighting against his followers. I would imagine Paul was continually challenged regarding his involvement in that. So again, he's human. Even more ironically, as Paul is going to be a spiritual family member of the very people he killed. Talk about opportunities for guilt and shame and all these other things. Talking about a need to forgive yourselves. Philippians 3 and verse 13. Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended, but one thing I do, forgetting those things, which are behind, and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.

That's why if you're in Christ, if you're doing your best, you have nothing to fear. That's the perspective we're to have. For the final scripture, turn to Romans 8 and verse 1. Romans 8 and verse 1. And look at this verse for the assurance it gives. For the assurance that there is no condemnation following us for our past wrongs once we have repented and been forgiven. Romans 8 and verse 1.

Hold on to that word.

So I hope today has helped you learn more about what godly love looks like, right? Godly love is exemplified by a love that's outgoing, that's chosen, that's forgiven, forgiving, that's focused on our future development, what we can be, right? It's protective. It looks beyond this physical life and death. He taught us how to love God, how to love neighbor, how to love ourselves. And the lesson from Jesus' last days is that we should always show all three of these types of love with a forgiving attitude. The disciples showed they learned from Jesus by how they lived what he taught afterwards. Christ taught us by how he lived and by how he loved. That then reflects back on us. When a person says something and does what they say, there's this fusion. It's dynamic, right? Of course, we know the other side of it, that when people say one thing and live another, it's destructive. Do our actions exemplify godly love? Because people are going to know we are Christians, not because we bear the name, but because we live the life, because we love.