1 John 3 verses 11 through 18. For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brothers righteous. Do not be surprised brothers that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love that he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him, little children? Let us not love and word or talk, but indeed and in truth. This is the word of the Lord. Holy Spirit, it's a privilege this day to celebrate that great Trinitarian work. It's always a privilege to ask you to do what only you can do in this hour of being together. And at this particular time in our service when we open up the Holy Scriptures, we know we need you to work. The enemy, our devil, the devil hates, hates, hates the preached word. He hates that truth is proclaimed. He would seek to make many, much noise, many distractions in the lives of all who are here. And so would you do a work that only you can do in clarifying? Be with me, be with the people, may we be transformed this day as we prepare to come to the table, change us. And then through the sacrament, change us that we might leave deeply impacted and eager to see the sanctifying work of Holy Spirit continue in our life. Until Jesus returns, and for all eternity, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Imagine your present listening to this letter penned by John, carried along by the Holy Spirit. You know, the people of God in those days did not have bibles. They didn't have pews where they could sit and one forgot to bring their Bible. They could use one that was in front of them or even use the word printed in the bulletin. It's not how it worked. They had to listen to the word being read. And they couldn't remember it all, but I guarantee you they were better listeners than we are. They had to be. They would lean in and listen. And then the one who was reading the letter that was written, this letter written by one, carried along by the Holy Spirit, is they would lean in and listen. There would be certain phrases that they would pick up on. And like you and like me, after hearing this letter, after reading this rapture worship service, I'm sure that they would walk away and talk about the things that they heard, the things that the Holy Spirit had convicted them of. Some would come to saving faith. Others would say, there's parts of my life that I need to deal with. Upon hearing this, one thing would be certain that they would know John was deeply committed to the idea that the church made up of the saints is to love one another. Not just this second time in this book, but more times to come. He is going to say, you must love one another. Today you will leave. Most of you, like most Sundays, you will ask each other something about the worship service or something about the sermon. People often want to know what I think about after the sermon. Do I think about what people are saying about me after the sermon? No. No. I do everything I can to not think about such things. I turn my email off so that I won't be tempted to look at what people might say, whether it's encouraging or discouraging. I don't do it. Why? Because I'm seeking to be faithful to applying what the Lord's late on my heart just as you ought to be. You're going to talk about many things. You're going to say things like, I really like the illustration or, yeah, he went long again. Or you know what? He does need a little work on grammar. You're going to say lots of things. And I really don't mind because I'm not perfect. And I never will be. No preacher who preachers here ever will be. Nor will you be a perfect listener. We just won't. You know, as I preach, I have to listen. My listening starts earlier than yours, but it's listening to God for the same purpose of which you should listen. That is to be transformed. I was taught as a preacher to write of the top of my page in preparation and then in delivery. This simple question, so what? So what? And that question is the question that I battle with all week or two weeks or three weeks or months before I actually preach. And I really don't care, frankly, what you talk about, about worship or about the sermon after, as long as you will commit to looking at one another, your bride, your husband, your children, your small group. And would somebody please say, so what? So what does it mean? What does it mean that we've heard this truth? We're in an interesting age where you can listen to so much great preaching. So what? You can find your favorite preacher online. You can get their CDs. You can find old preachers, old sermons on things, young people call cassettes. They're little square things. You can find great preaching in print. And you can quote great preachers. So what? You see, it's not about building a library of quotes in our heart and mind of great preaching. It's about asking the question, so how should I live now after hearing the truth preached every time, every Sunday, both for the preacher, whoever the preacher is, and the congregation? It's awesome. It's powerful because this is the sword of what? The spirit. It's the sword of the spirit. And Ephesians, it's the one weapon that God has given us in all the spiritual armament. And it's not meant to be seen as entertainment. It's not meant to be seen as art. It's not meant to be seen as something you have preferences about. And simply step back and say, my humble opinion is this. It is meant to transform your life constantly. And it does. There's examples of it in our body every Sunday, but it should be the expectation of all of us that we walk out the door not simply nodding him into the truth, but we look deep inside and inside one another and say, so what? What does this now mean for us as a family? What does it mean for us as a couple? What does it mean for me as a single person as an empty nester as someone who's retired? What does it mean because it means something? And if you will stop, and if I will stop, and if you will listen, if I will listen, the Lord will reveal truth to us. And then when we have the privilege of following him, our life is transformed. See, as Lewis said it this way, it is the difference between paint which is merely laid on the surface and staying or die, which soaks right through. Sunday after Sunday, it's quite possible that we're pulling out paint brushes and paint and we're painting ourselves a different color. But what we need to be interested in is the holy soak where God's spirit takes God's word and it moves into the deepest parts of who we are and the so-what question is answered. With phrases such as, by God's grace, I'm going to battle this sin. By God's grace, I'm going to seek to be still and know He's God. By God's grace, I am going to die to myself because that's what He's told us to do, time and time again, by God's grace and for His glory. And so, when John says again to the people who he calls little children frequently in the gospel, his little letter, he says this, for this is the message you've heard from the beginning that we should love one another. He doesn't mean from the beginning of his letter, he means from the beginning, which these people began to understand who God is. So, loving one another is an essential feature of the Christian life. It is not an option. You know, we buy things today and one of the signs of our culture in the Western world is we have lots of options every time we seek to purchase something. Take a car, for example. I remember a few years back, I was at a ranch and a white truck, the same white truck, I preached about a few months ago that I got stuck. John Hawkins truck, a great farm truck, basic simple. My children were in the front seat with me and I asked Kara, Kara would you roll down the window and she looked at the door and didn't know what to do. There was no button. There was this little thing about that long with a knob. You see, back then, power windows was an option, not so much anymore. The Christian life has aspects of it that are really like options. One of those is gifts. You have been given gifts that other believers haven't been given and you have the privilege of using those gifts for his glory. Some of you are called to be elders, some deacons, some teachers, other servants, administrators, etc. And those are wonderful options that he has given this diverse body, but love is an option. Love is not some option package that only those who have the LX or the EX version of the Christian life are to possess. Love is a standard feature that is present in every, is to be present in every Christian's life. Not just once in a while, but always. And not just once in a while with levels of depth, but a love that continues to grow. I'm confident of this, that if you're in Christ, you have exhibited love for others. But I'm also confident of this, that just like the Apostle John is digging around the roots and fertilizing, he's longing to stimulate more love in us constantly, for God and for one another. And you're going to hear it today before we come to the table. It's convicting, I'll tell you, how do I know it's convicting? Because I wrote so what? And my study notes, and the Lord held up his powerful light and said, look, are you really about these things? No, Lord, not really. I know, Mark, that's why I died. But together, I'm going to move you towards a greater love. And you know what? Moving towards that greater love is the great privilege of being a Christian. I'm going to put it together this way, three points before we come to the table. I want to say it this way, love reveals life, love demands life, and love delivers life. Again, love reveals life, it demands life, and it delivers life. First point, love reveals life. Look in your Bible, if you don't have your own Bible, grab the blue one in front of you and turn, because you're going to need it, we're going to flip through a few passages before we come to the table. First thing John says, as he begins to speak about love again, is in verse 14, he says this, we know that we have passed out of death into life because, I want to stop before I give you the because answer, we know that we have passed out of death into life because this is what skip was preaching about last week. It's what Paul says in Ephesians 2, before we're in Christ, we're dead, we're not a little bit sick, we're dead, we have no heartbeat for God, we are actually children of, not the Heavenly Father, but of devil, of the devil of Satan. That is who we belong to. We have no spiritual interest, but then by his grace, this is what Ephesians 2 says so beautifully, our heart begins to beat for God. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. It's his work, and if you've professed faith in Christ, you know something of that work. You belong to him. And so up in chapter 3, John is speaking about that through verses 4 through 10, about little children, are you children of the devil or are you children of God? Well John then goes on to say, if you belong to Christ, essentially you have passed from death to life, but then he tells how you can know and assurance again, verse 14, we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. Love reveals life. It reveals eternal life. In other words, if someone ever asks you, are you a Christian and you say, I am? And they say, can you tell me your testimony? You don't have to go back to a summer at Canacock or Pine Cove or at a young life camp like me, June 23rd, 1982. You really could say this. You know what? My testimony could begin right now. Let me tell you about it. I love you. I love you. And if I didn't have Christ in me, I couldn't. I wouldn't. I might say I do, but I couldn't and wouldn't really love you. Do you see love for the brothers is a sign because it's a standard feature. It's not an option. It is a sign of every believer. So our love for one another actually reveals that we have passed from spiritual death into spiritual life. The opposite is also true. If we resist loving another, if we consistently say, I'm not going to love them. I don't have to love them. They're my enemy. You understand. You're speaking against the word of God. It reveals life. And it's powerful. Another thing I want to say about love, though, is love not only reveals life, it acts as a profound assurance of our salvation in ways that really aren't that difficult to see. But there is a very important thing to distinguish. Martin Lord Jones said it this way, it's not that we make ourselves Christians by loving the brethren. Do you see how that horizontal vision could be present? It's not that we make ourselves Christians by loving the brethren and so on. No, rather, it's the other way around that we prove we are Christians by loving the brethren. In other words, years ago, Gatorade did a commercial. It simply showed an image and it showed the bottle, the fluid in Gatorade going into the person and you could see it against a black drop, green or orange or red, whatever the flavor of Gatorade. And the question came, what is it in you? Well, if Christ is in you, if you are part of the fellowship, then love is going to be the fruit. And when it's difficult to love another, you'll know it's true. But by God's grace and for his glory and by his power, you will seek to love that person in the way Christ calls us to love. Love reveals life. Secondly, love also demands life. This is why people ought to pause before they say I do to Jesus. His message was strong. If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow me. In our world, crosses are everywhere. Their popular is art, hanging on walls. I don't know if you saw that one picture of a home and grandberry that was nearly demolished. The roof is off. The walls are standing and on the two walls are what? Crosses everywhere. That's wonderful. It's their art. They love it. It's beautiful to them. The cross is powerful. But it was the symbol of execution, of criminals. It was a symbol of death, brutal death. And it is a symbol that our Lord and Savior, the power of the Father and the Holy Spirit, chose to go forth to that we might live. And then John tells us here of that love for 16, by this we know love that he laid down his life for us. And there's not a period we somewhat wish there was. He laid down his life for us. He died that death for us, that we might live forever. And then he says, John carried along by the Holy Spirit. And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. John was present with Jesus when Jesus washed their feet. John was present with Jesus in that last night when he spoke about the promise of the Holy Spirit. John heard what Jesus said about love. John said, Jesus said to John and the others, a new commandment I give you. Love one another is I have loved you. What does that mean? He came, the king of kings and Lord of Lords, the creator of the universe. He came and walked in our midst and died our death that we might live forever. Love one another is I have loved you. Sacrificial, selfless, death to self. Isn't that awesome? John says, this is the way the church is to look, not for just a few higher in models of Christians, but this is a standard feature for the brothers and sisters of the faith. Incredible. So then the question becomes, well, how? How do we love this way? And then John in just a verse gets specific, very practical. He says this essentially, verse 17. If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need yet does close his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? Little children let us not love and word or talk, but indeed and in truth. So this is it. Love reveals life. Eternal life. Love demands our life. How much of it? How much of it, man? You're elders in this church. How much of it? Say it. How much of it? Say it. All of it. All of your life. Does that feel like a burden? Are the greatest blessing? See as those who say it's both. It is a burden that we could never carry, but Jesus speaks of it as a yoke that's easy. His burden is light. The demand for our life is all of it. What does it look like? John actually gives us a formula. And in this formula, you see this that love, it reveals our life, it demands our life, but it also delivers life. How? Well, here's the formula. Verse 17. Do you have the world's goods? So what? Here we go. Look at your life right now. Do you have the world's goods? If you do, raise your hand. Keep it up. If you do not, everybody put their heads down. If you do not, raise your hand. Some might be lying. They might be. They may be in desperate trouble financially through choices that won't ride or godly or through circumstances that weren't thrown. They may be in here, but they will be terrified to admit it because of the world we live in. And if you have needs, I mean it, real needs. You need to come to your brothers and sisters who raise their hands and make those needs known. It will be humbling. It might be frightening. It will be death itself. And then brothers and sisters that raise their hands, give, give. Here's the formula. If you have worldly goods, we do look in your closet today. Look in your garage today. Look at your bank account today. Look at what you have and praise God for those gifts. But don't stop looking there. You have to look somewhere else. Listen to what he says. If you have worldly needs, and if you see a brother in need, if you see regularly, brothers and sisters in need, raise your hand.
This service is being videotaped. So I will be able to go back and look and see who raised their hands on both accounts. It's no question that we see need all around us, all around us. The needs of people are so great. Those who are not in the faith and those who are in the faith, the needs are great. And we as the church have the privilege of answering the so what question about love by meeting those needs. And if we don't, John is saying that we are closing off our hearts,
literally in the Greek, it means the lowest portion of the bowels. The most inner part of the person we're closing them off to those who are in need. And if that's true of us, he speaks of us closing it off to the Lord by abiding in death and not in life. And so our reaction to the way in which we see the worldly possessions that we have and our reaction to the things we see of those who are in need has an equation that should translate to a result that says, I am going to give. How much is enough? This is where God is so wise. Don't you know the Pharisees wanted to know that question, the answer to that question? How much is enough? And the reason we want to ask is because when does the need of the world end? And with the internet and the types of emails you can get and needs that are made, I don't mean the ones that are nutty that have no real reality to them, or they're fraudulent, I'm talking about real needs being made known. When is it enough? And because it's overwhelming, do you not walk through this earth going, I don't want to see. I don't really want to see. It overwhelms me. I know, I'm like that too. But that's not a privilege, it's actually not a privilege period, but it's not something we can do as Christians. The Lord calls us to look, do you have worldly goods? Do you see brothers in need? Do you hear brothers in need? Then guess what? Choose whether you're going to close your heart or whether you're going to open it. Life is revealed in love when you open it. Today, is it not revealed to you again and to me that this love is going to demand all of our life? But in that call to give all to him, to be all in him, do you not see how the church delivers life to the world? Before we come to the table, I want to close with this picture. The one writing this and urging the little children is one of the ones who is present when that mighty noise of when called the power of the Holy Spirit came upon them. John is an old man at this point, an old man, an old saint who literally put his head on the chest of Jesus, who likely heard the heartbeat of God. And as he is teaching these little children what the church should look like, he has to have in mind what he wants experienced. And do you remember what the church looked like in those early years? Let me read. And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching. Just listen. And the fellowship to the breaking of bread and the prayers and awe came upon every soul. And many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles and all who believed, really listen, all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with the people and the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. And then again, just a couple chapters later, it speaks once again of the brothers. Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own. Did you hear that? That's true to this day for the church. None of this belongs to us. None of them, no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own. But they had everything in common. And with great power, the apostles were given their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And great grace was a bomb them all. There was not a needy person among them. And for as many as were owners of lands or of houses, they sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles' feet. And it was distributed to each as any had need. John was there. He was part of this. This was motivated not out of anything other than the love of Christ Jesus. These people were not doing this reluctantly under compulsion, but they were overwhelmed by the love of God, the love of God the Father who revealed life in sending His Son, the love of God the Father who gave His Son, His life He died for us. And we might live forever. And Jesus had come and conquering death and being raised from the dead and ascending into heaven and reigning His King and promising to return that gospel message overwhelmed them. And they were being obedient to what Jesus said. Love one another. Now church, if we really believe in the spiritual poverty that we who were in Christ were one sin, that we were here separated from God, dead, no heartbeat for him. And he sent his Son and the Holy Spirit to make our heartbeat for God. And we believed if we believe in that spiritual poverty, then what will happen is this love that's in us because of Christ will continue to grow. And as it grows, I believe we will find ourselves doing things that we never thought possible, letting go of things that we think are holding on. Some today are going to wrestle with what this means. And that's good because you're answering so what? For some this is going to feel like a burden. I don't want to have to give more. I don't want to have to evaluate that. Just give me a percentage and I'll be done. God doesn't do that really. Instead, He reminds us constantly. I want you all. And you know what? Some call that the cost of discipleship. Maybe we should say it's the blessing of discipleship. That we understand that this love for one another reveals our love for God. That we understand that the love we're talking about demands all of our life. And then as we go out together as brothers and sisters looking at how we can meet the need, the love of Jesus in us through the power of the Holy Spirit delivers life. So now we come to a table. So what? This table is meant to remind you and me that we were so poor. None of us could purchase what Christ did. And so we come and we eat. This table is for every believer. But it is only for believers. If this day you know you've not trusted Christ as your Savior, may you in this very moment pray for salvation. But if you don't want Jesus or any part of Jesus, then don't come. I should eat and drink judgment on yourself. That's what the God's word tells us. But for the rest of us, calm, humbled, broken, would come to be fed and encouraged and blessed. If you're in Christ, this feast is for you. This feast is for me. Let's take of it, considering the love present here. And then let's take the message of the table to all the world, giving all we have because as Christ loved us.