An Uncommon Love

23
An Uncommon Love

description

An Uncommon Love. From beginning God has required us to Love. In OT God commands this of the Jews: - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Transcript of An Uncommon Love

Page 1: An Uncommon Love

An Uncommon Love

Page 2: An Uncommon Love

From beginning God has required us to Love In OT God commands this of the Jews:

Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,

Page 3: An Uncommon Love

God also required the Jews to love their neighbor

Leviticus 19:18 “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD.

It was understood that you had a love of self to base how you treat others, thus treat others as you would like to be treated.

Page 4: An Uncommon Love

God also commanded the Israelites to love strangersLeviticus 19: 33 ‘And if a stranger sojourns

with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34. ‘But the stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God.

A stranger could easily be also an enemy.

Page 5: An Uncommon Love

And in NT we are told the same things

Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, “You shall the love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38. “This is the first and great commandment. 39. ‘And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

Page 6: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

All of this is an uncommon love in the world today.

World expresses love and thinks about in a different way from what the Bible teaches.

It is often unevenly (or too closely) linked to emotions, feelings, or actions that bring a desired feeling.

Page 7: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

Bible often relates love to actions, and thoughts followed by emotions, or felt with reason.

Understanding leads to action in many of the examples.

Ephesians 1:15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which ye show toward all the saints,

Page 8: An Uncommon Love

How do you define love?

Difficult to define love in exact terms.

Draw our conclusions based upon what the Bible gives us to understand and to understand that love is a growth process that can get stronger over time.

Page 9: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

Look today at what God’s word says that we need to love:

1. Our enemies

2. Our brothers and sisters

Page 10: An Uncommon Love

1. Our enemiesLuke 6:27-35 Even in OT it was not commanded to hate

enemies. Jews inferred wrongly that if they were to love their neighbor as themselves that they should hate their enemies.

Deuteronomy 23:7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land.

Page 11: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

Luke 6:31 “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. 32. “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.

Matthew 5:45 “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Page 12: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

Luke 6:33 “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same.

As Christians do we compare with sinners? Do we love uncommonly?

Do we give love only if we can get something out of it?

Some people in this world that cannot give us anything, do they deserve love?

Page 13: An Uncommon Love

Who is our enemy?

How do we make enemies? How does someone become our

enemy? Are they ours alone for shallow

reasons? Or are they enemies because they

spited us and we want vengeance?

Page 14: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

Even so, we are commanded to love those who spitefully use us.

Acts 16:18ff Paul is cast into prison Dealt with harshly Calls out to jailor Teaches jailor and baptizes him

Page 15: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

Do we have love for our enemies? Someone we call enemy, are they not

our neighbors? Look at parable of good Samaritan Accounted only in Luke 10. After

discourse of great command from lawyer found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke.

Page 16: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love Lawyer believed in these commands yet

wanted to justify who was his neighbor. But Jesus showed him and us a more excellent

love of neighbors, and to love our enemies. Do we do the same?

John 14:23 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.

Page 17: An Uncommon Love

2. Our brothers and sisters

Also commanded by Jesus to love our brothers and sisters.

Even though it may seem easier thing to do than loving our enemies, we sometimes fail in this respect.

John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

Page 18: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

A mark or proof to others that we are disciples of Jesus, evidence.

I John 3:17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?

Page 19: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

I John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

I John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

Page 20: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

I John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us. 20. 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?

Do we love our brothers and sisters as we should, proving that we do indeed love God?

Page 21: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

So let us strive to understand what the love of the brethren is.

I John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

Do we give what we have in our lives to the brethren? Do we appreciate those that do?

Page 22: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

Looked at love from what bible says how we should love

1. Our enemies

2. Our brothers and sisters Jesus showed us the way in his love for

all.

Romans 5:1-9

Page 23: An Uncommon Love

An uncommon love

Do you want to be at peace with God? Do you know that your sins separate

you from God? Do you want to become a disciple of

Jesus Christ? Come and confess and be baptized for

the remission of your sins.