Loving Like Jesus

The children may go or stay, but going is more normal, I suppose.

! So out you go. Thank you.

Let me read your Bibles this morning to John chapter 13. Let me read the passage, and I

John 13 · chapter mention

want you to follow along in your own copy of the Scriptures, beginning there in verse

34. A new commandment I give you, that you love one another just as I have loved you,

you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are my disciples

if you have love one for another. Since we don't have a problem with this passage, and

it's something we're pretty good at, I'm just going to pray that God helps me preach for

my own soul's edification. How's that? The rest of you just listen in and see how it applies.

But let's pray together. Our Father God, this morning we are so very thankful for the blessing

we have of being able to open the Scriptures and find in them words of life, truth.

We're thankful also for the fact that we who know the Lord Jesus Christ have the indwelling

Spirit, and one of His ministries to us is enabling us in listening, in understanding,

and applying the Scriptures. And we would ask that this morning you would do a work in our lives

that is powerful to the point that the unbelieving world marks the radical difference in our lives

from this day until you take us home. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

So I want to ask you a question. Just kind of think with me here for a minute at the start. And I do this

because I want to frame this lesson against the backdrop. The context is important. Question.

Do you think the disciples really, really loved each other a whole bunch?

Nod your heads like this or go like that. Okay. I'm kind of convinced that. Okay.

Are there any Bible indications that they struggled a little bit with getting along with each other?

Any Bible? I mean, after all, we're not up here to hear my opinion. We want to know what the Word says.

Right? Are there any Bible

information items that kind of tell us they

struggled a little bit with each other?

What were they arguing about this night?

Remember?

If you were to go, and don't need to, but if you were to look in Luke,

in the context of the Last Supper, you'll find that

they ended up in a dispute.

Now, you've got to understand that this was in the context

of Jesus breaking bread and sharing the cup and saying,

this blood is the New Testament.

This is my body, which is for you.

I'm going to die for your sins.

I am going to die because I love you,

and I'm going to die because I love the Father.

And here they are having their little intramural spat

about who's going to be what.

Can I tell you,

you can't be arguing about who's going to be the greatest

and really be in love with anybody other than yourself?

Okay.

Now, we've got the disciples in the bag.

We know where their hearts were, right?

Here's what I want you to do.

Just think with me just a minute.

I want you to make a short list.

I don't want you to cover everything,

but I just want you to make a short list of some people

that you honestly really don't like a whole lot.

I know you have to think hard.

But some people that you actually kind of struggle with,

even that are in the body of Christ,

I mean, you know, they irritate you.

They've offended you.

I appreciate pastor's prayer.

If it were not for the fact you know better as a believer,

you would go ahead and get involved in bitterness

and an unforgiving spirit, right?

But what happens when you have an unforgiving spirit?

Does anybody know what the Bible says,

the unintended consequence of that disobedient act is?

Matthew 18 says this.

You get turned over to the tormentors.

Some of the most miserable people I've ever met

are people that will not forgive.

Okay, so here we are.

We're just talking about the fact, short list,

some people that are really honestly a real challenge for you to love.

You got your list, right?

I grew up in India.

My parents were missionaries.

One of the things I learned in India

is that missionaries a lot of times leave the field because,

do you know why?

Why?

Because they can't get along with other missionaries.

I have had the privilege of serving here for 30 years.

Well, it will be 30 in December 30th, something like that, you know.

I have seen people come and go, sadly, profoundly saddening to me.

And one of the most common denominators

is they were having trouble with other people.

Yesterday, a number of us were taking oatmeal to homeless people.

Do you know what the number one common denominator is

over the years that I've discovered with people

that are in a homeless environment?

Do you know what it is?

They can't get along with other people.

I talked with an individual a couple months ago,

several months ago.

The dad and mom are attorneys here in Columbus

living under the bridge.

Reading a play by Moliere.

And you need to know the name,

so I'm just throwing them out there so you can hold on to them.

Right, Jared?

He's like, who cares?

But reading a French play and reading Oedipus Rex.

You know, it's like, I mean, these are important books to read.

And there he is, chattering at night, freezing,

because he doesn't like his mom and dad.

Met a guy yesterday.

Has a sister in Mount Sterling.

I mean, is that very far away?

Does anybody know?

Is that?

I'm teasing you.

It's like, I would rather sleep under the bridge

than sleep with my family, right?

Okay.

How does that happen?

You got your short list?

I want you to remember my prayer.

It's for me.

Lord, I want your word to make me different

than I am by nature.

I want to be a person who understands

what it is to love like Jesus loves.

Oh, add this little piece there.

Father, with the power of the Spirit of God.

Well, with that, let's get into the lesson.

And I want you to understand that

had you asked the disciples,

okay, so what is Jesus going to say

just, you know, like five hours

before he dies on the cross?

What is he going to say?

How many of you think,

I mean, if you didn't know the story

because you got the book,

but how many of you think that,

oh, yeah, yeah, I would talk about loving one another.

And so here we go with Jesus.

As he goes about the Last Supper,

the first thing that he does is

he gets involved in a Passover lesson.

And I want you to understand that

the way in which the Passover was constructed,

going all the way back to the book of Exodus,

and you don't need to go back there at this time,

but one of the characteristics of celebrating the Passover

is that it was a time of family instruction.

I'll just kind of recite the portion.

In Exodus chapter 12, verse 25 and 27, it says this,

Exodus 12:25

And when you come into the land

that the Lord will give you as he promised you,

you shall keep this service.

And when your children say to you,

what do you mean by, why are we doing this?

You shall say to them,

it is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover,

for he passed over the houses of the people of Israel

in Egypt when he struck the Egyptians

but spared our houses.

So, in this pattern of conducting the Passover

in a very typical and traditional Jewish fashion,

one of the things that was wrapped up in that ceremony

and that service was teaching and instruction.

And so I have no doubt that in relationship

to that responsibility,

Jesus, as he conducted the Passover,

the Last Supper,

he actively engaged himself

in teaching critical lessons to his disciples.

And I've got to tell you that I am fully persuaded

that the disciples didn't get it.

I mean, do you think they did?

No.

But the benefit is that it was placed into their hearts

by the teaching of the Lord Jesus

recorded for us in the Scriptures

and enabled in terms of the ministry of the Spirit of God,

bringing back to remembrance

those things which he said,

for our sakes that we may grow

to be more like the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so I do think there is some significance

for us to stop and think here this morning

of just how important this particular portion

of the lesson must have been

for Jesus right on the other side

of Judas going out

and him saying,

now is the Son of Man glorified

and God is glorified in him.

He says, and by the way,

I've got a new commandment for you.

So what I want us to do now

as we frame this issue of here's the Passover lesson

and Jesus says,

I've got a new commandment for you.

Let's think a little bit about what is new.

What are we talking about here?

The newness of his command.

As we take up verse 34

and kind of put your finger on it there

and look, it's a new commandment.

We recognize that actually

this statement of loving other people

was not an entirely new idea.

It wasn't something that Jesus kind of

just invented on the spur of the moment

or thought up

because if you know the ministry of Christ,

one of the things that characterized it,

it was Bible rich.

What I mean by that is that

every time he had a lesson,

every time he had a statement,

you could track it back.

You could track it back to the Old Testament

that was just kind of the genesis of his teaching.

He who was the Word brought the Word forward.

Not new, but the Word that had already been given.

And you recognize that Moses had already given,

under God's instruction,

the commandment in Leviticus chapter 19, verse 18.

Leviticus 19:18

Take a look at that passage just for a moment.

Leviticus chapter 19, verse 18.

Leviticus 19:18

Let's go back there just for a second

and mark the instruction there.

Leviticus chapter 19, verse 18.

Leviticus 19:18

Leviticus chapter 19,

Leviticus 19 · chapter mention

you shall not take vengeance

or bear a grudge against any of the sons

of your own people,

but you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Deuteronomy chapter 6 is the other one.

Deuteronomy 6 · chapter mention

In Deuteronomy chapter 6, verse 5,

Deuteronomy 6:5

hear, O Israel,

the Lord our God,

the Lord is one,

and you shall,

what?

Can anybody say the rest of it?

You shall love the Lord your God

with all your heart,

with all your soul,

and with all your mind.

And you'll remember that Jesus was asked

the question by a lawyer,

hey, by the way,

what's the greatest commandment?

Which one I really need to focus in on?

And Jesus said what?

Love the Lord your God

and love your neighbor as yourself.

So we have to ask ourselves the question,

it's a practical one,

so what's new about this?

Fair?

I mean, Jesus said,

he said what?

A new commandment.

What is new?

It helps us to understand,

first of all,

that the word that Jesus used for new

is a Greek word that refers to something

that is more impressive

or superior in value,

more attractive.

Now, this is not to be compared

with boxes of cereal,

but you and I have been trolled

innumerable times

by advertising that tells us

this is new and improved.

And the truth of the matter is

the packaging is new,

but the actual contents is less.

How many of you figured that one out?

It's like, what happened?

That box of Cheerios used to be this big

and now it's this big.

And it does have a fancier exterior,

but hey, I was into what was inside the box,

not the outside.

Can't eat that.

And so here's Jesus saying,

this is new.

He's saying,

this is something that is,

that's better.

And we have to stop

and ask ourselves the question,

where is the superiority

in this matter?

The newness of this command

lies actually in the benchmark

that Jesus set for loving.

So keep in mind the passage

that we have over in Leviticus

that I just recited

where it said,

love your neighbor as yourself.

Here is Jesus saying,

I want to kind of up this a little bit.

I want you to love one another

like I have loved you.

And so the newness lies in this matter

of the comparison

and the connection he is making

with the expectation

that you and I love one another

the way he loves us,

not the way you love yourself.

Now let me get over on a side here

just for a moment

because it continues to be

one of these things

that just stuns me.

I can remember having a conversation

with an individual

that had been engaged in immorality

and gross behavior.

And as he was,

how many of you have learned

that in counseling

it's always good to start out

by listening longer than anything?

Take time and hear

what a person has to say.

And this person was just going on

about all the filth and vile.

And I asked him a question

after he'd talked for a long time.

I said,

so why do you think you did that?

I mean, you know,

I expected a Sunday school answer.

The guy said he was a believer.

He's like, oh, I sinned.

Now here's what he said.

He said,

I guess I didn't love myself enough.

I was like, what?

Now one of the things

that goes with being 68

is you learn just kind of like,

uh-huh, yeah.

Yeah, that was really good.

I didn't do that.

I just kind of,

no, I didn't.

You just have to act like,

yeah, I get it.

But I said, you know,

your problem wasn't loving yourself.

Your problem is

you're just focused entirely on yourself.

You're really full of yourself.

I didn't say it exactly that way.

It was a little slower.

But here's my point.

The church of the living God

has bought into the unbeliever's mindset

that the starting of all of our getting it all right

is loving ourself.

Jesus wasn't saying,

guys, you need to get a handle

on how much you love yourself.

He was saying,

let's get an idea

of how you ought to love other people.

At least kind of bring it up in your game

to the way you love yourself.

How many of you love yourselves?

No, I don't want to admit it publicly,

but are you good at that one?

Try this.

Hit your thumb with a hammer one time.

Your entire psyche wraps up with saying,

don't do that again.

Do you follow me?

It's really, you got the memo.

It's like, I like my thumb.

Don't be so, you know,

you got my point, right?

We love ourselves.

And Jesus says, hey, you know,

you need to get into this a little more.

And by the way,

the newness also relies

or lies in this issue of

the frame of reference

that Jesus was pointing to

was new,

was superior.

So Jesus here is calling his disciples,

in fact, he is calling us,

to love one another like he loves us.

How many are doing well at that?

Come on, just say to me,

I am.

I'm really good.

I love people like Jesus loves me.

Liar.

I mean, you know.

Any of you here struggle

with being a little judgmental?

I mean, when, you know,

the first thought that you have

is not sweetness and light,

you know.

Someone is five minutes late

and you don't immediately think,

oh, they may have gotten struck

by a train, you know.

You're just thinking,

yeah, they don't care about me.

My time is really important.

Or someone doesn't answer your text,

you know, the full day

and you think to yourself,

well, if they cared more,

they would keep their watch chart.

You know,

they have all kinds of things

that help them know

when I'm texting.

And when I'm texting,

it's, you know,

it's not God,

but it's close.

Jesus says,

hey, you're to love one another

the way He loves you.

And the truth of the matter is,

is loving other people

the way we love ourselves

does have some inconsistency

and is insensitive.

How many of you have to admit

there are times that

you aren't very impressed

with yourself?

I mean, you admit it.

But the fact of the matter is

that Jesus calls us

to a standard of love

that absolutely surpasses

the best we do

at loving ourselves.

So when we love like Jesus loves,

our love goes to a far higher,

nobler,

and spirit-enabled plane.

I want you to hold on to that fact.

Because if you walk out of here

this morning thinking to yourself,

all right,

I need to up my game

and I have got a list

of three people

that I'm just going to really focus

on loving more.

And you go and stop at

Walmart,

Meyers,

CSV,

I don't want to name all of them,

but you know,

you're going to get five cards

and you're going to make

a little list

and you're going to put it on you

and you're just going to go

all hog wild to do this

and you don't recognize

that you can't pull it off

apart from the Spirit of God,

you're missing the point.

When we love like Jesus loves,

we're going to step it

to a spirit-enabled plane.

So let's think a little bit

about how Jesus actually loves us.

Now, for the sake of continuity,

I'm going to stay primarily

within the frame

of John chapter 13.

John 13 · chapter mention

John 13 has enough information

of how Jesus loved

that we don't have to go beyond it.

Now, I want to tell you this morning

for me to propose to you

that John chapter 13

John 13 · chapter mention

kind of presses together

all the important information

about the love of Christ

would be wrong

and I couldn't do that

because for one,

in Ephesians chapter 3,

Ephesians 3:14–19

verse 14 through 19,

what does Paul say?

How many of you know it

without looking?

You should.

For this cause I bow the knee.

Well, what's he going to pray for?

He's going to pray

that we might be able

to comprehend with all the saints

what is the breadth

and height and width

and depth of the love of Christ.

How big is the love of Christ?

How big?

It is mind-blowing.

But at least,

for this morning's lesson,

I want us to think about

the love of Christ

as we see framed here

in John chapter 13.

John 13 · chapter mention

So, first of all,

I want you to understand

that the love of Christ

is settled in its unwavering commitment.

It is settled

in its unwavering commitment.

John chapter 13, verse 1,

John 13:1

it says here,

Now before the feast of the Passover,

when Jesus knew that His hour

had come to depart

out of this world to the Father,

having loved His own

who were in the world,

He loved them to the, what?

He loved them to the end.

Aren't you glad

that He loves you to the end?

Huh?

Huh?

He hasn't changed His mind.

I'm trying to think of the author.

Pastor Saul,

can you bail me here?

David Platt,

I'm thinking,

There's nothing you can do

that will make Jesus love you more,

and there's,

I'm waiting for a nod

from somebody.

Just nod

to make me feel better.

There's nothing you can do

that will make Jesus love you more,

and there's nothing you can do

that will make Jesus love you less.

That's really hard to believe,

isn't it?

I mean,

we are in a performance-based world.

Isn't that right?

Huh?

I love this statement.

The love of Christ is settled

in its unwavering commitment.

That means that when we love like Jesus,

we know up front

that it's going to cost us

more often than not.

Courtship,

I'm talking about

between a young man and a woman,

are usually,

I call it hide-and-seek, actually.

It's not full disclosure.

You never want to talk about,

you know,

all the things that really come

with marriage,

but, you know,

it's like,

I am going to be the answer

to all of your dreams.

I mean,

I am the best thing going.

I am going to satisfy your interests.

I will love on you.

It's just going to be wonderful.

It would probably be wise

in pastoral counseling

on premarital to say,

do you realize

what you're signing up for?

Huh?

Do you understand

what's going to happen?

You're going to spend

the rest of your life.

You're going to hand over

your check.

You're going to run up

and down steps

for a drink of water.

You're going to move furniture

until you die.

Yes!

She's in the nursery today.

When we love like Jesus,

we understand

that it's going to cost us something.

When we love like Jesus,

we do not walk away

from relationships

because of the disappointments

that come with them

and the frailties

that are involved in that.

Loving like Jesus

means we don't say,

pay attention

because these are some things

that when you're counseling

other people,

you can help them with.

When we're loving like Jesus,

we don't say,

here we go.

Are you ready?

Write this down

so you can pick it up

on helping others.

I'm not getting my needs met.

You ever heard of that said?

I'm not getting my needs met?

Or here's another one.

Stinky, stinky.

I didn't sign up for that.

You heard that one?

I didn't sign up for that.

What?

Loving like Jesus?

Can you imagine Jesus saying that?

What?

What?

What?

What?

It settled

in its unwavering commitment.

Second thing about the love of Christ,

it is joyfully sacrificial to the end.

As you look at John chapter 13,

John 13 · chapter mention

here is Jesus at the table

in verse 3 and 4.

Jesus, knowing that the Father

had given all things into His hand,

that He was come from God

and was going back to God,

He knew exactly what was going to happen.

And as He was there at the table

with His disciples,

that He loved unconditionally

and with an unwavering love,

He knew that His life

was going to be sacrificed for them

and it was joyful in doing so.

I think about the passage in Hebrews

where it says this,

There are times when we're going to sacrifice our rights.

We're going to sacrifice our preferences.

I remember a dear saint came to me once

and said,

Pastor, I've been led to believe

that you prefer hymns

over some of these more contemporary songs.

And I said,

Yes, I do.

And this dear saint said,

Well, then why don't we sing more of them?

And I said,

Well, let me tell you,

when we have dinner at the Kenoyer Home,

I never fix a meal

that is reflective of just my personal preferences.

I fix a meal to the preferences of the children

that God has blessed me with.

I grew up in India

and I can eat it as hot as you can make it.

In fact, I like it that way.

I prefer it that way.

And any of you here that on occasion

have decided to go spoon for spoon,

you understand that I can stay with you.

But here's the deal.

Love gives away some of those preferences

because of people that you genuinely love.

I got to tell you,

my mom knocks me out of the park.

She's with Jesus now.

But I remember when she began that process

of adapting to more contemporary music.

It was like nails on the chalkboard.

Do you follow what I'm saying?

There was a learning curve.

There really was for Marlia.

But she loved Jesus

and she loved others.

And when it came time to do her funeral,

one of the songs was one of the more contemporary ones

that we sing here as a congregation.

And when we had that service,

you guys knocked it out of the park.

I remember your dad.

Same thing.

You cannot love like Jesus

without being willing to give away your preferences.

By the way,

if you're going to love like Jesus,

you're also going to have to learn a whole lot about forgiving.

Will you write that down?

We are hardwired for justice.

Isn't that right?

Huh?

Justice?

Merchant of Venice,

some of us play Shylock to the extreme.

It's like,

I want my pound of flesh

and it's going to be your heart.

You can't be faithful in loving like Jesus

and not be well-practiced at forgiving other people.

Well,

there's a third thing that I want you to see here.

It is a sanctifying love.

You find there,

as Jesus goes about washing his disciples' feet,

you'll remember that Peter was all about,

you're not washing mine.

And Jesus says,

oh yeah,

I am,

or you don't have anything to do with me.

And it really comes down to that.

This business of washing the feet

is kind of a word picture,

an image of this business of progressive sanctification,

dealing with the grit and the crud of daily living.

And Jesus is into that.

And that means if you're going to love like Jesus,

that you are conscious and deliberate

in going about building other people up.

Are you listening?

Dad,

so what's your plan

for helping your boy learn

how to be a godly leader in his home

before he walks out the door at 18 or so

and is on his own?

Are you going to nurture godliness?

We do a much better job

of teaching our children how to work

than how to walk godly.

There's nothing wrong

with teaching your children how to work.

That's important.

But,

it's more important

to teach your children

what it is to walk uprightly

before the Lord.

What does it say in Micah?

Love mercy,

do justice,

walk humbly with your God.

Get those down.

And here we look at

the sanctifying ministry of Christ.

His interest was in

the ministry to the disciples.

There's a fourth point

that I want you to recognize

if you're going to love like Christ.

Christ's love was spirit-enabled

in its power.

Now,

I don't want to overemphasize this

to the point of diminishing

the entirety of the divine nature

of Jesus,

but at the same time,

Jesus, the Son of Man,

was dependent on the Spirit

for His earthly ministry.

I love the summary statement

that you find

over in Acts chapter 10, verse 38.

Acts 10:38

And let's turn there,

lest you think I just kind of

come off the top of my head

with this,

but Acts chapter 10, verse 38.

Acts 10:38

If you're going to love like Jesus,

you're going to have to rely

upon the Holy Spirit.

Remember the list of three people

that you struggle with loving?

You have them.

I know you.

Most of you.

Some of you.

Okay, you got your list.

You can't do it without the Holy Spirit.

Acts chapter 10, verse 38.

Acts 10:38

Let me read it to you.

How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth

with the Holy Spirit

and with power,

and He went about doing good

and healing all who were oppressed

by the devil,

for God was with Him.

How was God with Him?

In the Holy Spirit's presence,

enabling His ministry.

Jesus had the Spirit

without measure.

No restraint,

no restriction.

Here is the encouraging piece

to us.

Listen,

if you're sitting here

and thinking

that you actually need

to walk out of here

and kind of pick up

your energy just a little bit

and be a little more loving

towards maybe two or three people

on the list occasionally,

that's not the purpose

and vision that Jesus had

in this lesson to His disciples.

You cannot love effectively

like Jesus calls us to love

apart from a persistent dependence

on the Holy Spirit.

I love Galatians chapter 5, verse 16.

Galatians 5:16

I was reciting it to myself

over and over again this morning.

How many of you know it?

Walk.

Help me out here.

How many of you?

Just raise your hand.

Just nod at me like you know it.

You know the verse.

Stop just for a second.

Everybody know it.

If you don't know the verse,

it may be because you haven't thought

it necessary to know it.

Right?

Illustration.

I bet you I could call on

Dr. Radcliffe

or Dr. Malumba

and they could give me

a fairly reasonable explanation

of what it is to have

tachycardia.

Could you do that?

Bang.

If I said to them

I've had PVCs,

they could answer all the details.

Do you know why they know those things?

Because it's,

hello,

it's important to their well-being

and mine.

Are you listening?

Galatians chapter 5 verse 16,

Galatians 5:16

walk by the Spirit

and you will not fulfill

the lusts of the flesh.

And if you don't have that verse

on the short list,

maybe you're just so adept at this

you don't need the Holy Spirit's help.

Okay?

A little snarky.

Forgive me for that.

I mean that.

I would plead with you.

You can't love the way

Jesus wants you to love

unless you have the enabling

of the Holy Spirit.

So when we love like Jesus,

we're going to do it in a manner

that is beyond our natural bent.

We're going to go beyond

what it is to love ourselves.

And we're only going to be able

to do it through the power

of the Spirit.

So let me push this

to this point.

His expectation is that

you love like Him

backed up by the power

of the Spirit of God.

You need to get that in your mind.

His expectation is that

you love like Him

backed up by the power

of the Spirit of God.

And it would be extremely frustrating

and unfair to call us

to love like Him

apart from the enabling

of the Spirit of God.

Does that make sense?

Do you understand the logic

of what I said?

It would be unfair to say

here's what you ought

to be doing

and not recognize

or encourage you to understand

here's where the empowerment

comes from.

Take a look just for a second.

You're there in John

or you were in Acts

but I want you to go

to Romans chapter 8

Romans 8:4

verse 4 and 5.

Romans chapter 8

Romans 8:4

verse 4 and 5.

Let me go ahead and read verse 3.

For God has done

what the law weakened

by the flesh could not do

by sending His own Son

in the likeness of sinful flesh

and for sin He condemned sin

in the flesh

in order that the righteous requirement

of the law might be fulfilled in us

who walk not according to the flesh

but according to the Spirit.

Do you understand what that's saying?

I don't have to be the way I am.

If you don't think

that's pretty good news

let me say it again.

I don't have to be like I am.

For those who live

according to the flesh

set their minds

on things of the flesh.

You wonder why you're thinking

the way you are?

There's the word.

But those who live

according to the Spirit

set their minds

on the things of the Spirit.

Now, what is it like

to set your mind

on the things of the Spirit?

It means that when those things

of the flesh

go zinging by

you say

no, no, no

that's not

no, no

not that one.

You got me?

Going back to the passage

in John

if the idea of loving

with an unwavering commitment

with a sacrificial joy

with a planned effort

to bless the ones you love

seems incredibly hard

and very frankly

impractical

then you must confess

either that you do not know

the Lord Jesus Christ

and the expectations

of His word

are just beyond

your imagination

or

you are a believer

who is not appreciating

the blessing

of living much

of the Christian life

with the power

of the indwelling Spirit.

You know what Jesus said

to His disciples?

He said,

listen

it's a good thing

that I'm going

because guess what?

You get the Spirit.

It's good for you.

You need the Spirit.

That brings me

to one more

incredible truth

and I'll close with it.

Go back to the passage

in John

and just be struck

by what it says there

in John chapter 13

John 13:35

verse 35.

By this all people

will know

that you're my disciples

if you have love

for one another.

By this

all people

will know

that you are

my disciples

because you have

love for one another.

Now it's not

the only way

that the unbelieving

world knows

that we're His

disciples

and the unbelieving

world is used

to looking for

signals as to

what your faith

or your religion

is.

I mean hey

if you're an Amish

person guess how

you can pick out

an Amish person

if you're up

around Millersburg.

How do you do it?

How many

buttons?

I mean hey

what is a zipper?

Not to be had

by a good Amish man.

Okay.

Hats.

I mean do you

follow what I'm

saying?

I was up in

I went to

Lehman's.

How many of you

know Lehman's?

I had to go.

Okay.

And sure enough

there was buggy

parking.

I didn't park there

but you know

you can tell

the Amish.

How many of you

can pick out

a Muslim?

How many of you

can pick out

a Muslim today?

What's a giveaway

of a Muslim woman?

What?

Are we this

culturally

a headscarf?

I mean

I was at

Home Depot

the other day

and there's a guy

there named

Mohammed.

I'm a frequent

flyer at Home Depot.

They know me

and I'm talking

to the guy

and I noticed

that he had

actually left

where he was

working normally

and he was

walking around

with a young lady

and an older woman

and I could tell

by the way

they were talking

that they were

related and so

I said to Mohammed

I said

I want to tell

your mother

that you are

a fine young man

and I held out

my hand.

Mohammed said

oh

she won't touch

that.

Tim Kenoyer

should know better

it's like

I'm sorry

Muslim women

do not what?

What?

What?

What?

They don't touch

the hands of men

I mean

die and go to

wherever

you know

but

can you pick out

Muslims?

Yes.

How many of you

can pick out

Sikhs?

Do you know

what a Sikh is?

Sikhs.

How many of you

have seen Sikhs

with turbans?

They never

cut their hair

never cut

their hair

in all

of life.

It does

fall out

occasionally

but

a Sikh

also wears

a steel

bangle

around his

wrist

if he's

a good

one.

So Jesus

says

you don't

have to

wear a

steel

bangle

you don't

have to

have a

dot

you know

what a

tikka is

right here

between the

eyebrow

if you're

a Hindu

our

neighbor

put out

a website

called

connect

the dots

it's a

little bit

like

e-harmony

for

Hindus

okay

took you

a while

I know

it's a

little slow

on the

uptake

you know

but

connect

the dots

duh

so how

do you

pick out

Christians

huh

no red

dots

no lots

of hair

you know

you

we

are to

be

marked

by our

deep

love

for

one

another

our

deep

love

for

one

another

and I

thought

very

quickly

just

what

was

the

early

church

so

good

at

that

there's

a lot

of

history

about

how

the

early

church

took

care

of

each

other

and

you

can

work

through

the

book

of

Acts

you

can

work

through

books

on

church

history

for

one

they

cared

for

one

another

in

times

of

need

remember

in

the

early

church

in

the

book

of

!

Acts

church

but

there

were

people

who

got

the

idea

that

hey

why

work

and

what

did

Paul

say

if

you

don't

work

you

don't

eat

so

we

see

the

pendulum

going

back

and

forth

but

they

were

willing

to

help

each

other

the

early

church

rescued

abandoned

babies

to the

point

that

a lot

of

people

came

to

Christ

through

the

ministry

of

the

early

church

and

rescuing

abandoned

babies

they

took

care

of

the

sick

that's

really

interesting

isn't

it

if

norovirus

had

happened

in the

lobby

of

the

new

testament

church

how

do

you

think

the

church

would

have

acted

I

won't

go

there

email

me

they

protected

one

another's

reputation

okay

so

when

someone

comes

to

you

and

has

something

to

say

you

can

say

hey

how

did

it

go

when

you

practice

Matthew

18

step

one

to

go

real

well

they

protected

one

another's

reputation

they

spoke

well

of

one

another

and

they

served

one

another

I'll

tell

you

one

of

the

things

that

has

been

a

consistent

testimony

of

this

ministry

has

been

the way

we

take

care

of

each

other

when

people

are

sick

and

when

people

need

to

move

and

over

and

over

again

when

we

are

John

where

are

you

when

you

left

your

neighborhood

everybody

I gotta

hire

two

men

in

a

truck

and

they're

not

very

happy

and

all

these

people

parked

up and

down

the

streets

carrying

boxes

and

you

know

having

a

great

time

so

we

are

to

be

marked

by

the

joy

of

spirit

enabled

obedience

and

we

are

to

be

marked

in

such

a

fashion

that

the

unbelieving

world

looks

at

the

way

we

care

for

one

another

and

says

wow

they

must

be

following

Jesus

so

let's

close

in a

practical

way

I

would

venture

to say

that the

truth of

the matter

is

is that

every

one

of us

here

have

more

to do

at

learning

to

love

like

Jesus

loved

isn't

that

right

and

if

you're

kind

of

giving

yourself

a

pat

on

the

back

go

back

to

that

list

of

three

people

you're

really

struggling

with

Jesus

doesn't

have

people

like

that

on

his

list

for

the

reasons

you

have

them

there

and

you

go

to

the

Lord

and

say

Lord

I

want

the

enabling

of

the

Spirit

of

God

to

love

like

you

do

I

want

to

love

others

like

Jesus

loves

me

let's

close

in

prayer

God

to

Father God

this

morning

as we

attend

to

the

word

of

God

we

recognize

that

it

speaks

with

authority

in

our

lives

and

its

purpose

is to

help us

see the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

Lord

of

glory

Savior

of

the

world

the

one

who

came

to

die

for

our

sins

and

rise

again

that

we

might

be

his

children

that

we

might

be

examples

and

witnesses

to

his

glory

and

Lord

the

purpose

of

preaching

is to

put us

on the

spot

of

saying

yes

or

no

to

God

and

this

morning

the

word

of

God

convicts

us

that

we

who

know

Christ

blood

bought

need

to

work

at

loving

one

another

as

we

ought

to

we

don't

want

to

have

a

short

list

we

want

to be

like

Jesus

and

so

quietly

and

deliberately

this

morning

we

ask

for

your

spirit

to

convict

us

and

that

from

this

day

forward

we

are

growing

in

our

love

in

a

conscious

and

deliberate

fashion

and

we'll

give

you

the

glory

we

ask

in

Jesus

name

amen

let's

stand

together

as

we

sing

and

to