SERMON: THE WAY OF LOVE

4 February 2018

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 1 Timothy 1:1-7

1 Timothy 1:1-7 New International Version (NIV)

1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the command of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus our hope, 2 To Timothy my true son in the faith: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.

3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain people not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 or to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. Such things promote controversial speculations rather than advancing God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 6 Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. 7 They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm.

            -- I just started reading a new book yesterday called “The Island of Lost Maps” -- it’s a true story about Gilbert Bland, who was finally arrested in the 1990s and convicted of stealing numerous historical maps from libraries, universities, and archives

            -- as the author searches for the motives behind Bland’s thefts, he points out that historically, maps were extremely important -- they were treasured by kings and kingdoms because the wealth and power of nations rose and fell based on the maps and the secrets they controlled

            -- in the 1400 and 1500s, Portugal was a major world power because it possessed secret nautical maps showing various routes to India, Brazil, and other exotic ports of call -- no other nation could trade in these areas because they did not have the maps showing them the way -- and Portugal became rich and prosperous and powerful -- and other nations were forced to submit to Portugal if they wanted access to the spices and goods and fabrics from these exotic lands

            -- as a result, other nations, including the Netherlands, employed professional thieves and spies to infiltrate the Portugal government and sailing communities in an attempt to steal the maps, thus allowing them to begin trading with India and other countries on their own, apart from Portugal -- when caught, these spies and thieves were executed by the Portuguese to keep the secrets intact, but eventually the maps were obtained and smuggled back to Amsterdam, which led to the rise of the Dutch East India Company and allowed Holland to overcome Portugal and become the new world power in trade and shipping until the mid-18th century

            -- until I picked up this book, I had no idea of the historical importance of maps -- especially in regards to world power and wealth -- even today, maps are important -- as one person commented, if you possess a map and a compass -- if you know true north -- you can find your location anyplace on this planet -- you know where you are -- you know where you are going -- and you know how to get there

            -- this passage in 1 Timothy is about finding your way to the truth of the gospel message -- despite the Apostle Paul having spent more time in Ephesus than in any other city during his missionary trips, the church at Ephesus had lost their way

            -- being one of the largest and most powerful cities along the Mediterranean Sea and located on the route from Jerusalem to Rome, Ephesus was constantly visited by various other missionaries and Christian teachers -- the problem, though, was that the messages taught by these visiting missionaries and teachers did not always conform to the truth of the gospel or the orthodox doctrine of the fledgling Christian church

            -- false teachings arose and were taught in the church at Ephesus -- Paul writes that men were teaching false doctrines in the church -- they were devoting themselves to myths and endless genealogies, promoting controversy and confusion

            -- the thing to remember is that the intentions of these teachers were not necessarily wrong -- most of them were not intentionally misleading the people -- Paul says in verse 7 that these men want to be teachers of the law -- which is a good thing -- but they don’t know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm

            -- because of their ignorance -- because of their lack of knowledge of the truth of the gospel, these men taught that which was not true -- and even went a step further by countering and discounting the commands and previous teachings of Paul and of Apollos and other true teachers -- as a result, these visitors were confusing the church and leading them astray -- the people had lost true north -- they had lost Christ -- they had lost their way

            -- so, Paul sent Timothy to the church to serve as their pastor -- to be their guide on the path to Christ -- to be their compass and to give them the map that would lead them on their way in the Kingdom of Heaven

            -- that map is found in 1 Timothy 1:5:  “The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.”

            -- this morning, I want us to look at this map to Christ together, because it still holds true to this day -- by following this map and by keeping the Holy Spirit as our compass, we can confidently move forward in our Christian lives, knowing that we are heading in the right direction

            -- so, let’s look together at this verse and see what we can learn about finding our way with Christ

II.  Scripture Lesson (1 Timothy 1:5)

            -- the first thing we notice in this verse is the motive behind Paul’s command -- Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus with specific instructions -- in verse 2, he tells Timothy to stay there so that he might command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer

            -- the motive -- the reason -- behind this command of Paul was love -- the word Paul uses here in this verse is agape -- unconditional love -- the love of God -- the love that is pure and perfect and holy -- the love that puts others before self

            -- love is the universe that defines the Christian life -- all we are and all we do as Christians should be based on the agape love of Christ

            -- in the Upper Room on the night that He was betrayed, Jesus told His disciples in John 13:34-35, “A new command I give you: love one another -- as I have loved you, so you must love one another -- by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”

            -- Paul’s command to Timothy in regards to these false teachers was a reflection of Christ’s command to us -- Paul was telling Timothy to love these men back into the faith -- to guide them back to the truth through love -- to speak the truth to them in love

            -- the love of Christ was the mirror by which these men’s words and actions were to be measured

            -- in other epistles, Paul takes a more harsh stand against false teachers and false teachings -- but we don’t see that here in this passage -- I think Paul recognized that these men did not have evil intentions -- they were trying to do the right thing -- but, they had just lost their way -- they did not know what they were talking about -- so, rather than commanding Timothy to harshly rebuke them for their actions, Paul tells Timothy to direct them through love -- to guide them back to the truth -- to show them the error of their ways

            -- we need to keep this instruction firmly in our own minds -- too often in the church today, we see Christians bitterly opposed to other Christians because of doctrinal differences -- we see Christians attacking others because they have believed a false truth

            -- if these Christians are teaching from error, then our goal should be to lovingly confront them with the truth and show them the error of their ways -- to love them back into orthodoxy -- to love them back into the truth of the Kingdom -- not to accept or condone false teachings, but to separate the teaching from the teacher -- and to love them back into the church

            -- that is the counsel Paul is giving Timothy here -- and we need to remember that when we are confronted with false teachings in the church, too

            -- Paul goes on to say that this agape love which defines our Christian lives comes from three locations -- the first is a pure heart

            -- purity of heart comes from salvation -- it is the result of grace -- it is a gift of God -- it is not something we can do on our own -- it is not something that we earn by good works -- a pure heart is given by God through the justifying grace of the cross

            -- in Psalm 51:10, David cries out,, “Create in me a pure heart, O God” -- and in Ezekiel 36:26 God tells us, “I will give you a new heart and put a new Spirit in you; I will remove from your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh”

            -- a pure heart comes from experiencing and knowing the love of Christ -- it is the result of repentance and redemption -- it is what makes us a new creation

            -- a pure heart leads us in obedience to God’s commands -- a pure heart reflects our relationship with God -- a pure heart guides us and directs our path

            -- it has been said that every journey begins with a single step -- every journey with God begins with a pure heart -- it is the starting place on our map to God’s Kingdom

            -- the next location of agape love Paul mentions in verse 5 is a good conscience

            -- a pure heart is an internal transformation -- it changes our motives -- it changes what drives us and motivates us in our daily lives -- our conscience takes the next step by affecting our external behaviors

            -- as we are led by a pure heart, our conscience directs us and guides us down the path we should follow -- our conscience is the “God-created, self-judging faculty of human beings”¹

            -- when we are faced with a choice in life -- when we are faced with a decision as to which way to go or what to do -- our conscience leads us to choose the correct path

            -- it does more than just warn us that we have sinned and are going astray -- a good conscience is like a compass that points out the way we should go -- before we take a misstep -- before we choose a wrong path -- our conscience should alert us and help us choose the right way to go -- and, if we do start down the wrong path, our conscience is a check that alerts us of our error and leads us back to the truth -- back to Christ

            -- the third location on our map of God’s agape love is sincere faith

            -- faith is defined in Hebrews 11:1 as “being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” -- sincere faith means that we trust God with all our hearts -- that we are sure of His goodness and His love -- that we trust Him where He leads, knowing that He only has our best in mind

            -- to walk in sincere faith means we give God our lives and hold nothing back -- we rely on Him and follow Jesus as our example

            -- sincere faith does not mean we walk blindly, but that we walk in the light of God’s love -- following our conscience and the Holy Spirit’s leading -- and living with pure hearts and pure minds, cleansed by the atoning grace of Christ

            -- sincere faith means truly living out God’s word in our lives -- obeying His commands and following His path, regardless of what others might say -- sincere faith means staying true to the course laid out before us and trusting that our destination is secure

III.  Closing

            -- in John Bunyan’s story, “Pilgrim’s Progress,” the main character Christian is on a journey to the Celestial City -- although voices try to lead him off his past, he makes his way to the Cross, where his burdens finally roll away and are seen no more

            -- he continues on the Holy Way beyond the Cross by going through the narrow gate -- there he is joined by two other travelers who are trying to get to the Celestial City without first visiting the Cross or by going through the narrow gate

            -- as he tries to convince them of the error of their ways, their path leads to the foot of Difficulty Hill, where three paths join and they must make a choice -- one path goes straight up the steep slope of the hill -- the other two paths follow level ground around the right and the left sides of the hill

            -- Christian’s conscience tells him the right path is the more difficult one -- straight up the hill -- his two companions argue against him, telling him he would be foolish to choose a hard path when there are two other paths more easily traveled -- in the end, Christian follows his heart and his conscience, trusting in his belief that this is the true road to the Celestial City

            -- just like Christian in Bunyan’s story, we are on a journey to the Celestial City -- we are on a journey with Christ to our eternal kingdom -- and just like Christian, we are constantly confronted with conflicting choices -- other paths and other roads appear along the way -- other voices urge us to leave the path we are on and to follow them along easier ways

            -- how do we know where to go?  -- how do we know when we are going the right way or not?

            -- those were the questions that were plaguing the Ephesians -- the false teachers and false voices were urging them to follow down another path, and they didn’t know what to do

            -- so, Paul commanded Timothy -- out of love -- to show the Ephesians the right way to go -- to give them a map to follow, so that even if Paul and Timothy were not there, they would not falter or be foolishly tricked into leaving the way of God

            -- our journey to God follows a path -- it begins with a pure heart -- it continues with a good conscience -- and it is empowered through a sincere faith

            -- trust in your conscience and in the leading of the Holy Spirit -- don’t listen to the competing voices -- don’t follow every teaching that comes your way -- but, test them through the Spirit -- confirm them through the word of God -- and follow your heart to Jesus

            -- this is the way of love -- this is the way to heaven

            -- let us pray

[Ron Teed, “The Goal is Love, http://www.villagechurchofwheaton.org/docs/sermon2009-06-07.pdf]

SERMON: FINDING OUR VISION

PURPOSE AND PASSION SERMON SERIES 1

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Luke 9:51-62

Luke 9:51-62 New International Version (NIV)

Samaritan Opposition

⁵¹ As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. ⁵² And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; ⁵³ but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. ⁵⁴ When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them^[a]?”⁵⁵ But Jesus turned and rebuked them. ⁵⁶ Then he and his disciples went to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

⁵⁷ As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

⁵⁸ Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

⁵⁹ He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

⁶⁰ Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

⁶¹ Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

⁶² Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

            -- A few years ago, I saw IMAX movie "Everest" -- this was a documentary about a team of explorers who were making an expedition to the top of Everest in 1996

            -- the film spent a lot of time documenting the team’s preparations for the trip -- you don’t just go to Mt. Everest and start climbing -- it takes months -- even years -- of training to be prepared to go

            -- you have to have specialized gear -- you have to know how to use this gear and how to repair and put it up in whatever environmental condition you find yourself in -- and you have to have a plan -- you have to know where you’re going and you have to be ready for the unexpected emergencies and deviations that will naturally occur

            -- the documentary spent a lot of time talking about how the team got physically prepared for the trip and how they planned out what they would need and how they would they would make it to the summit of the world’s tallest mountain

            -- after some time, the team flew into Nepal and made base camp at the foot of Everest and began to prepare for their ascent of the mountain -- the camera showed a scene with the base camp in front of Everest, and then it panned up to the top of the mountain -- to their goal -- to their vision

            -- it was a beautiful, clear day -- the snow on the mountain radiated the light from the sun -- and the whole team just looked at it and just basked in the glory of that vision -- this was their goal -- this was where they were headed -- the preparations were over -- it was time to get started

            -- but, things didn’t always go as planned -- and I noticed something interesting that the film-makers didn’t really talk about -- on the days when the weather was clear and beautiful -- on those days when the team could look up and see their goal -- when they could see the route ahead of them and had a clear path to follow -- they made great progress

            -- but, on the days when the weather turned and the top of the mountain was shrouded in clouds and mist -- when snow blanketed the path and it was hard to see where they were trying to go -- the team didn’t do well -- they just couldn’t make any progress -- they bogged down and couldn’t go

            -- it was days like this that made several quit -- they just couldn’t find it within themselves to keep going -- to keep slogging through the cold and the snow to the top of the mountain

            -- but, for some people, it didn’t matter to them what the environment was like on any particular day -- they just kept on moving resolutely towards their goal -- they knew where they were going -- and nothing was going to get in their way

            -- when asked what it was that kept them going, they said they had kept a vision of their destination firmly in mind the whole time -- that vision of Everest -- shining in the sun against the clear, blue sky -- was what kept them moving

            -- that vision was eventually what led them to victory

            -- vision makes the difference between success and failure

-- Proverbs 29:18 says, "when there is no vision, the people perish" -- there is a profound truth in that statement that we can clearly see portrayed in two different ways in our society

-- first, without a vision of the future to lead them and guide them, people may just quit living, such as the case with people who have just retired or who lose their job and find themselves doing nothing with their lives

-- and, secondly, without a vision of the future to lead them and guide them, people may get wrapped up in themselves and fail to live up to their potential -- spending time and money and effort to please themselves or better themselves while not moving forward into the plans that God has for them and their life -- people who are the face for midlife crises

-- the night before he was assassinated, President John F. Kennedy used Proverb 29:18 in a speech to the nation -- it was an impassioned appeal for the people of the United States to dream big -- to be big -- to do things that were greater than themselves

-- all throughout his short presidency, Kennedy cast a vision for America that propelled us to do great things -- remember his famous words in his inauguration address? -- "Ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country"

-- Kennedy was a visionary leader -- a person who recognized the value in having dreams and plans and goals for our individual lives and for our nation -- and his vision of a brighter and more productive future invigorated our country in a time when a vision of the future was sorely needed

-- without a vision, people and nations and churches perish -- their lives may be filled with sound and fury -- they may burn themselves out with activity -- but if it is action without purpose, it is to no avail

-- to have a vision is to have a future -- to have a vision is to have a plan -- a goal -- a direction -- to have a vision is to be part of something bigger than yourself -- it is to make a difference in the lives of others as you seek to fulfill God's plans for your life

II.  Scripture Lesson (Luke 9:51-62)

-- this morning, we are starting a new sermon series I have entitled “Purpose and Passion: Finding a Vision to Live By”

-- before we can begin living a life of purpose and passion, we have to know where we are going -- we have to have a clear vision of what we are doing and why we are here -- the purpose for which we are called

-- this vision should be the driving force behind our actions as servants of God -- vision becomes the energy and assurance that guides us through unforeseen difficulties or that propels us to move when we are threatened with fatigue or discouragement or ambivalence

-- this passage from Luke is a passage of vision -- a passage of calling -- a passage written to direct us and guide us in our life here on earth -- in this passage, we see the steps to catching and fulfilling a vision for our lives and our church

-- let’s look at this together as we begin this journey towards living lives of purpose and passion for Christ

-- verse 51

51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

            -- this is one of my favorite verses in the Bible -- it shows that Jesus had come to earth for a purpose -- He had a vision -- a mission -- a calling from God -- to go to Jerusalem and offer Himself as an atoning sacrifice for the sins of the world -- and when the time came for that vision to be fulfilled, Luke tells us that Jesus "resolutely" set out for Jerusalem

-- that word, "resolutely" means "determined" -- "unwavering" -- in other words, when the time came for Jesus to fulfill His purpose -- to fulfill His calling -- to live out God's vision for Him -- He set His face towards Jerusalem with determination -- unwilling to detour or to waver from His path -- He knew where He was going -- He knew what He was supposed to do when He got there -- and nothing was going to keep Him from fulfilling that vision -- He was committed to the vision

            -- for us to be ready to live a life of purpose and passion, the first thing we must do is to be committed -- God wants us to have a vision for ministry, but it takes more than just envisioning the future -- we have to be committed to actually move forward to make that vision come true -- we have to be committed to the vision and have faith in God to provide all that is needed

-- just like Christ, we are called to be committed to the vision that God has for our lives -- we are called to keep this vision firmly in our mind and to set out resolutely along the path to fulfillment

-- when God gives us a vision, He wants us to act on it -- to move forward with unwavering determination to fulfill what He has called us to do

-- one thing we need to remember is that anytime we try to fulfill a God-given vision in our lives or in our church, we need to know we will face opposition -- our flesh and the things of this world will try to distract us from our mission

-- if we are going to be successful, we have to keep that vision constantly before us -- we have to keep that clear picture of our goal -- of what we’re trying to do -- of what we’re called to do -- in our minds or we’re not going to make it

-- remember the difference between those who were successful in climbing Everest and those who failed -- it was their vision

-- you are going to come up against people and things that are going to try to distract you from your goal -- and you need to be ready for that

-- immediately after Jesus set out towards Jerusalem, Luke tells us He was confronted with a group of people who didn't want anything to do with His vision -- who tried their best to divert Him from His calling

-- look at verse 52-56

52 And he sent messengers on ahead, who went into a Samaritan village to get things ready for him; 53 but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem. 54 When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” 55 But Jesus turned and rebuked them. 56 Then he and his disciples went to another village.

-- not everyone wants to be part of the vision that God gives -- there are many churches and many individuals who are living small lives because they refuse to live in the light of God's vision and God’s calling -- and, if we let them, they can distract us from our path -- James and John were more concerned with taking revenge on the villagers than they were in helping get Jesus to Jerusalem

-- when God gives us a vision, we need to focus on accomplishing the task at hand and not be distracted by the things of the world

-- I’ve seen churches refuse to live out God’s vision and calling for them because they felt like they didn't have enough money -- I've seen churches with a lot of money refuse to act because they didn't trust that God would provide in the future

-- a friend of mine was appointed to the finance committee in a church that sweated in the summertime -- and I literally mean sweated -- they had an air conditioner for the church that was put in in the mid 1950's and they wouldn't replace it -- when he joined the finance committee, he wanted to raise enough money to help them replace the air conditioner -- come to find out, the church had been given stock in Coca-Cola years before and actually had a net worth of several million dollars -- they just refused to cash it in to buy an air conditioner because they were worried about major expenses in the future -- now, how much ministry do you think that church did? -- that air conditioner was just a monument to that church's lack of faith in God's ability to provide

-- I've seen churches that refused to act because they didn't have enough time -- they were so busy with their own plans and projects and fellowship activities that they didn't think they could do anything else

-- I've seen churches that refused to act because they didn't think they were talented enough or skilled enough to do what God was calling them to do -- I’ve seen churches that refused to follow God’s vision and calling because they didn’t think they had enough people or enough resources -- the list goes on and on -- the excuses go on and on

-- "we don't have enough money" -- "we don't have enough talent" --" we don't have enough members" -- we need to remember that when we say, "don't have enough" that that is the point where God steps in and says, "I do"

-- but first, you must step forward in faith that God will provide where you fail -- as the Apostle Paul said, it is in our weakness that we are made strong -- this is especially true in setting and meeting visions in our individual spiritual lives and in our churches

-- more than anything else, churches are limited by their vision -- if they think they can't do something, then they are right -- the churches that you read about that are doing great things for God are doing so because they caught a vision of what God wanted them to do and they trusted that He would make it happen through them

-- finally, when we have a vision -- when God has called us to do something for Him, no matter the size -- then we have to do more than just acknowledge it -- we have to do something about it -- we have to act -- we have to move forward from where we are and start to fulfill the vision that He has given us

-- look at verse 57-62

57 As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.”

58 Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

59 He said to another man, “Follow me.”

But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”

61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.”

62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”

-- as Jesus headed towards Jerusalem, many people recognized this vision from God -- they were called to be part of it, but they refused to act -- just like those with a lack of faith, these people came up with excuse after excuse as to why they just couldn't participate -- it wasn't that they lacked knowledge of what God wanted them to do -- it wasn't that they lacked faith that God would work through them to fulfill the vision -- it was failure to act that caused them to miss out of God's vision

-- when God gives us a vision -- when God gives us an assignment -- He expects us to fulfill it

III.  Closing

            -- so, what should be our guiding vision for this church? -- what is God’s calling for us as individuals and as a church? -- to what is He calling us to resolutely set our eyes towards accomplishing?

            -- for the next five weeks, this is what we are going to talk about -- we are going to be discussing living lives of purpose and passion for Christ based on God’s vision and calling for us

            -- in Rick Warren’s book, “The Purpose-Driven Church,” he says that there are two passages in Scripture that give us God’s vision and mission for us as individuals and churches

            -- within these passages, we find the mission statement for the church -- the five purposes to which God has called all of us: worship, ministry, evangelism, fellowship, and discipleship

            -- the first passage is Matthew 22:37-39 -- “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind -- this is the first and greatest commandment -- and the second is like it -- love your neighbor as yourself”

            -- the second passage is Matthew 28:19-20 -- “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you”

           

            -- in these two passages, we see the five purposes for us as individuals and as a church:

            -- “Love the Lord Your God” -- worship

            -- “Love your neighbor as yourself” -- ministry

            -- “Go and make disciples” -- evangelism

            -- “Baptize them” -- -- fellowship

            -- “Teach them to obey everything I have told you” -- discipleship

-- as I said earlier, before we can begin living a life of purpose and passion, we have to know where we are going -- we have to have a clear vision of what we are doing -- why we are here -- the purpose for which we are called

-- vision should be the driving force behind our actions as servants of God -- vision becomes the energy and assurance that guides us through unforeseen difficulties or that propels us to move when we are threatened with fatigue or discouragement or ambivalence

            -- these five purposes -- worship, ministry, evangelism, fellowship, and discipleship -- encompass the vision God has given us

            -- by keeping this vision -- this calling --firmly in our minds, we will find ourselves living lives of purpose and passion -- we will know what we are supposed to do -- we will know where we are supposed to go -- and we will move forward knowing we are doing what God wants us to do in our lives

            -- next week, we’ll begin by looking more closely at what worship is and how we are to worship God with our hearts, minds, soul and strength -- I want to invite each of you to come back next week and to bring a friend as we start this study together

            -- so, let’s close in prayer and prepare ourselves to living lives of purpose and passion for Christ

            -- let’s pray