SERMON: LIVING LOVE

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Hebrews 13:1-5

 

Hebrews 13:1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters. 2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it. 3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

 

4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral. 5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

 

“Never will I leave you;

    never will I forsake you.”

 

            -- Friday afternoon, I got called into a meeting with my commander about an email that he had received – the email was sent to his boss and his boss’ boss – and he wasn’t happy

            -- the email contained a list of Air Force bases that had not completed a task on time and who had failed to turn it in before the deadline – and right there, in the slides attached to that email, it said that Moody AFB was one of only six bases in the entire Air Force that had failed to meet this requirement

            -- and guess whose office was responsible for completing this task? – yep.

            -- so, I went to the guy who works for me who is the head of the department responsible for this task – I asked him, “Were you aware that we had this task?” – “yes” – “Were you aware that we had to submit our data to the Air Force in August?” – “yes” – “Did you complete the data collection?” – “yes” – “then why are we listed on this email as failing to complete the task?” – “I didn’t send it in”

            -- “So, you knew about the task – you knew it had to be completed and submitted to the Air Force in August – and you didn’t do it?” – “I knew about it – I worked on it – I just didn’t complete it”

 

            -- after having banged my head on the wall repeatedly for several moments, I reflected on what my employee said – and it occurred to me, that his actions – or inactions, as the case may be – were a perfect representation of what a lot of our spiritual lives look like – and I’m saying “our” in here, because I am there with you

            -- I feel confident that everyone in here is a Christian – at least, you have expressed to me that you have put your faith and trust in the Lord Jesus for your salvation and the forgiveness of sins – you are faithful in coming to church and Bible study – and I see the fruit of the Spirit in your lives

            -- I believe all of you are born again, saved Christians – and I can tell that you know the Bible – you know the foundations of our belief – you know the commands of Jesus – but like me, sometimes you fail to put into practice what it is that we know we ought to be doing – sometimes, like my employee, we are well aware of what Christ demands from us – we can recite it – we can point to it – we can sing about it and talk about it and teach it to others – but we don’t take that next step and actually do it

 

            -- that was a warning that Jesus gave to His disciples about the Pharisees – in Matthew 23:2-3, Jesus said, “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat – so you must be careful to do everything they tell you – but do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach”

            -- Jesus’ warning to His disciples is a valid criticism of the church in our world today – we know the law – we know the commands – we know what Christ demands – but a lot of the time, we do not practice what we preach – we don’t complete the task and we miss the mark set before us

            -- and I see this most when it comes to the commandment that Jesus spelled out for us on the night He was betrayed – the day we know as Maundy Thursday – derived from the Latin term, “Dias Mandatum” -- the Day of the Command – and what was that command? – we talked about it last week – 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 everyone will know that you are my disciples”

            -- we know this command to love – out of all the commands in the Bible, everyone knows this one – love one another – love your neighbor as yourself – and love your enemies – love, love, love

            -- we are all familiar with the great love chapter in the Bible – 1 Corinthians 13 – where we read the Apostle Paul’s treatise on what love looks like – Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud -- It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. -- Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. -- It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. -- Love never fails

            -- we know this – we are aware of the task – we are aware of the command – but a lot of the time, we just don’t do it

            -- and that’s why we find in the Bible passages such as this one here in Hebrews 13, where the author of Hebrews – after having laid down a theological foundation of justification and salvation – goes on to say that because of this – because of what Christ has done for us – this is what we should do in obedience to Him

            -- and He lays out practical examples of what love looks like in practice – of how we can take Jesus’ command from John 13 and the description of love in 1 Corinthians 13 and put it into practice in our lives today

            -- so, in an effort to keep us from doing what my employee did and failing to complete what he knew he was supposed to do, I want us to look at this passage this morning and see what we can learn about actually living love out in our lives on a day-to-day basis

 

II.  Scripture Lesson (Hebrews 13:1-5)

            -- as we turn to this passage, I want you to notice something as we work our way through these verses – in Acts 1:8, Jesus told His disciples that they would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and finally to the ends of the earth – they were to start being His witnesses by sharing the gospel first at home, then in the surrounding area of Judea – and then, going on from Judea to Samaria – and finally, to take the gospel to the ends of the earth

            -- in a similar way, the author of Hebrews introduces to us this same concept of expanding love out until we reach everyone

-- so, first, we must learn to love in Jerusalem – in other words, we must learn to love at home – to love our family – our friends – those who are in a faith community with – our brothers and sisters in Christ

            -- and then, after we have learned to love those at home, we expand out and learn to love those in Judea – those outside our familial bonds – the strangers and people that we come into contact with every day – the people at work, in the store, in the restaurant – the people we pass in life

            -- from there, we go to Samaria – and learn to love the ones those who are looked down on by the rest of society – the outcasts and the strangers – those who are persecuted and mistreated – those in prison – those the rest of society has turned their back on

            -- and finally, we take our love to the world – and love everyone, everywhere – until we are living love constantly and fulfilling the command of Christ

            -- look for that pattern as we go through this passage together

 

            -- let’s look now at verse 1

 

Hebrews 13:1 Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.

 

            -- the first practical type of love that we see in this passage is brotherly love – as you know, there were four words in the Greek that are translated in our Bibles as love

– phileo – brotherly love – which we see in this verse

-- eros – romantic love

-- storge – familial love – the love that binds families together

-- and, of course, agape – the highest type of love – unconditional love – the love of God

 

            -- while we don’t see agape used in these verses here in Hebrews 13, its presence is implied – because it is through this agape love that the other types of love become possible – and as agape love fills our hearts, the other forms of love naturally proceed from it – so, we can never really love others as we are called to until we first have God’s agape love in our lives

            -- if we are filled with agape love – if we let agape love command us and direct us and lead us – then we cannot help but love our brothers and sisters, our spouse, and everyone else – this is how we know we are of God

            -- the Apostle John pointed this out in 1 John 3:14, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death”

 

            -- one point about phileo – brotherly love – here – the Greeks typically used this term to describe the love among family members

            -- but in the NT, we see this word used to describe the love that Christians are to have for one another – it’s use here is a reminder that although we may not have the same natural mother, we are still all family because we have been born again through the same womb – in other words, everyone who is a Christian was born through Christ – and that makes us family – brothers and sisters in the faith, bound together just as closely as we are to our natural-born brothers and sisters

            -- that’s why we read in the Bible that Greeks and Jews, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarians, Scythians, slaves and freemen, men and women are now all one in their Lord – we are one family – brothers and sisters with one another – regardless of who we were in our past physical lives, for all eternity, we are part of a new family that is greater and higher than our former

 

            --  the writer of Hebrews admonishes us here to “keep on” or let this type of love “continue” – this implies that loving our brothers and sisters is already being practiced in our communities of faith – to “let it continue” means to let it “remain -- to abide -- to last -- to endure -- to survive -- to live – to not let it perish” – to keep on keeping on in loving our brothers and sisters

            -- this is the first stage of living out love in our lives – living it out at home – among our church families

 

            -- verse 2

 

Hebrews 13:2 Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by so doing some people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.

 

            -- most translations of the Bible render this verse as “do not forget to show hospitality” or “do not forget to entertain” strangers – but the American Standard Version – the ASV – has this verse as, “Forget not to show love unto strangers” – which is probably the best reading of the original Greek, for it is in showing hospitality and respect to strangers that we demonstrate our love for them

            -- so, the writer is beginning to direct us to carry our love out of our churches and into the communities around us by loving strangers – by loving those we don’t know – by showing hospitality and respect to everyone we meet

            -- God takes the concept of hospitality and respect very seriously – even a casual reading of the Bible, especially the OT, makes this clear – the condemnation of Sodom and Gomorrah was not a result of sexual immorality, as many assume, but actually a condemnation for their refusal to offer hospitality, respect, and protection to the angels who came as strangers to their city

            -- in his commentary, William Barclay writes about the ancient traditions of “guest friendships” – instead of relying on inns or paying others for accommodations while traveling, friends would rely on each other’s hospitality to take care of them if they were in the area

-- this type of “guest friendship” became especially important in the early Christian church, as Christians were forced to travel because of persecution or as part of their ministry – when they arrived at a town, they would seek out the other Christians in that place, and accommodations were made for them without question

-- you see that in the references to Paul and Peter and others in the NT staying in the homes of other Christians while they were traveling

-- so, Christianity became known as the religion of the open door – and Christians became known as people who were always ready to show the love of Christ to strangers by showing them hospitality and meeting their needs, regardless of their relationship to the Christians or the church

 

            -- when we meet the needs of strangers in our communities today, we are fulfilling this call to love strangers – to show hospitality and to entertain those in need

            -- it is through this love of strangers that many people are introduced to the saving grace of Christ Jesus and the love of God expressed through Him and His people

 

            -- verse 3

 

Hebrews 13:3 Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

 

 

            -- a corollary to the love of strangers is the requirement for us to love those who are mistreated – the call to show love to those who suffer from injustice or prejudice or persecution

            -- in the days of the early church, this call to remember those who were in prison was a call to love them by meeting their needs – unlike our prisons of today, the basic needs of prisoners were not met by the government – instead, prisoners relied on family and friends to bring them food and clothing

            -- and when the early Christians were persecuted and thrown into prison because of their faith, the church reached out to them and met those needs – they brought food and clothes and water to all that were there – they took care of them when they were sick – they ministered to them physically and spiritually – and they did this for both the Christian and the unbeliever – sharing the love of God with others tangibly regardless of their relationship with Jesus – simply as an act of love

            -- and while prisoners today do not have the same needs as those in the first century, we can still fulfill this call to love those who are mistreated by advocating for justice and equality – by reaching out to the downtrodden and the communities that are being discriminated against – by speaking out against injustices and immorality, wherever we see it

            -- when Christians stand against injustice, it is a form of love – it is a demonstration of how the grace of God through Christ continues to batter against the gates of hell and how God’s love and grace permeates all society

            -- when we see persecution and injustice, we cannot remain silent – we must speak out – we must act – we must side with the widows and the orphans and the outcasts – with those in prison and those who are being mistreated – we must speak for those without a voice and show God’s love to them, just as we would our own brothers and sisters

            -- remember Christ’s command to love our neighbors as yourself? – when you see someone hurting – someone being mistreated – someone being unjustly persecuted or harassed or abused – ask yourself, “What would I think if this were happening to me?” – and do for them what you would like done unto you

– this is how  you show love to those in prison and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering

 

-- verse 4

 

Hebrews 13:4 Marriage should be honored by all, and the marriage bed kept pure, for God will judge the adulterer and all the sexually immoral

 

-- going back to the circle of love for our families, the writer of Hebrews reminds us of our responsibilities to one another as husband and wife – we show our love for our spouse by honoring the holy bonds of matrimony – by keeping the marriage bed pure and not seeking fulfilment outside the marriage – by staying pure and holy with one another – by sustaining and supporting traditional families

-- showing God’s love by honoring marriage means standing up for the institution of marriage and standing up for the traditional family in our communities today – this means that we don’t follow the world into sexual immorality or into forms of marriage that are not prescribed by God – this means that we honor the family and support laws and policies that are in favor of traditional families

-- and this means that we demonstrate to this world a better option than the sexual immorality and promiscuity that is so often portrayed in media and experienced in our communities today

-- we point people to a better way and a better understanding of God’s original plan for marriage and for families – and we work to help people move into that understanding – whether that is through showing support to single mothers and helping them with daycare or transportation or other needs or by mentoring young couples who are living together to help them understand God’s call for couples to only live together within the state of marriage

-- this means helping people who are thinking of divorce or who have been divorced – extending God’s grace and love to couples who are hurting and who think separating in their only answer – this means reaching out to the LGBTQ community – to homosexuals – to transgender people – and sharing love and not hatred

-- I know that this a very touchy issue in society today – with different types of families and relationships and marriages being held up as the new normal – it is not for us to judge or condemn others for their lifestyle choices – but it is up to us to show them God’s plan and to help lead them out of these lifestyles and into the lifestyles that God commands in His word

-- we have to keep in mind that most of the people in these lifestyles do not know God and many have been hurt by the church or by Christians in the past – as they have experienced hatred and rejection rather than love and care – that is not who we should be as Christ’s witnesses in the world today

-- rather than berating or harassing or judging people who are living in these lifestyles, our call is to love them into the Kingdom by showing God’s love to them – just as the writer of Hebrews commands here

 

-- verse 5

 

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said,

 

“Never will I leave you;

    never will I forsake you.”

 

-- this last verse is an example of how we are to reject the ways of the world and instead live in the Kingdom of God by following His principles and precepts

-- this world is governed by two things – the love of money and the love of sex – the writer of Hebrews addressed the love of sex and sexual immorality in verse 4 – and now he turns his attention to the love of money, commanding us to keep our lives free from that worldly love

-- in 1 Timothy 6:10, the Apostle Paul wrote that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil and that some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

-- the siren call of money has derailed many a Christian from following God in the world today – loving money causes us to choose the world over Christ – and to put our faith in money above all

-- we see that right now – I hear that every day – I have had countless people telling me that they are voting for this candidate or that candidate in this upcoming election – not because they are godly people – not because they have impeccable characters and high moral standards – not because their policies and platforms line up with God’s word – no, I get told that people are supporting these candidates because of the economy – because of money

-- it doesn’t matter if they are immoral or morally bankrupt – if it looks like they will improve the economy and help this person’s financial bottomline, they are voting for them

-- this is exactly what the writer of Hebrews is saying “Don’t do,” in this passage – for putting your pocketbook and your wallet above Godly principles is never a good idea

 

-- instead, the writer says to reject the love of money and lean into the love of Christ by trusting Him to supply all your needs – by being content with what you have – by trusting the promise of Christ that He will never leave us or forsake us, but will stand by us, regardless of what may come

-- the love of money is a form of idolatry and people who show they love money more than anything else in their life are making a god of money and putting their faith and trust in it rather than in the God who saved them from eternal condemnation

 

            -- the writer counsels us here to be “free” from the love of money – to not be entangled with it – to not let the love of money drive us or direct our paths and decisions in life

            -- I see way too many people concerned more about money than anything else – and not just with politics – I see it in churches and in Christians, too

            -- so, the lesson here is to use money but love Christ – use money but don’t put your faith in money – instead, put your faith in Jesus, who will never leave you or forsake you

 

III.  Closing

            -- several years ago, there was a satirical video that was being passed around by email called “Husband Daycare” – the video was supposedly by this company that offered daycare services for husbands so wives could drop them off and go about their busy days without worrying about what their husbands were doing

            -- it’s been a long time since I watched that video, but I remember one little scene in there vividly – the video shows the daycare workers escorting a man to the door of a workshop that is filled with other men working on a variety of crafts and projects – and the announcer says, “Here at Husband Daycare, we even have multiple projects for your husband to begin and never finish”

            -- and I don’t care if you’re a man or a woman, you understand what was being said there

 

            -- just yesterday, Kim was telling me that her chickens are continually getting out of their pen – they’ve learned to fly and now they’re just going out the top – and, while I’m sure she didn’t mean it like this, I couldn’t help but feel responsible because I started a project this summer to put a top on the pen – I started making PVC-framed nets that go across the top to both keep predators out and to keep the chickens in

            -- but just like the men in the Husband Daycare video, it’s a project I started, but never finished – I’ve got two panels up and about four more to go – but I haven’t done anything on it now in probably two months – it’s my unfinished project

 

            -- but, like I said at the beginning of this message, I am not the only one with unfinished projects in my life – the majority of us have left the Christian life unfinished – we know the words to say – we have the knowledge of how to live it – but we’re just not finishing what we started – we’re not living love in our lives – we’re not loving as Christ commanded

            -- the writer of Hebrews was aware of this, so he gave us here in these verses five practical steps of love to help us finish living life as Christ intended

            -- so, as we close, let me just sum these up for you again

            -- first, we must continue to love one another as brothers and sisters

            -- second, we must love strangers as ourselves

            -- third, we must love those who are mistreated or who are treated unjustly

            -- fourth, we must love our spouses and our families

            -- and, finally, we must not love money, but show our faith and trust in Christ by loving Him and being content in what He has provided

 

            -- it’s not enough to know what to do – we have to finish the task that was given to us – so, as we close, let me encourage you to take a moment and ask God to reveal to you how He would like you to expand your love today – to reveal to you what He would like you to do to show and share His love with others

            -- let us finish the task that Christ has set before us – and let us learn to live love out in our lives as never before

            -- let us pray

 

 

SERMON: PRAYERFUL CARING

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13

 

1 Thessalonians 3:11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you. 12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you. 13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

 

-- the popular commentator William Barclay wrote of a young woman who would take the newspaper to bed with her each night – before she turned in for the night, she would kneel beside her bed, spread the newspaper out before her, and prepare to pray

-- she would read the announcements of the births of children in her community, and pray for each child and their protection, both spiritual and physical protection and care

            -- she would read of the marriage announcements, and pray God’s blessings on each couple – that they would come to know each other and Christ through their relationship – that God would bless their marriage and make their love grow and increase for each other

            -- and she would read of the deaths – and pray for God’s grace and comfort to be with the families of those who lost loved ones – and that if there were any in their families that did not know Christ, that this death would lead them to the cross and to the justifying grace and forgiveness of sins that comes through Jesus

            -- how wonderful would it be if we could all emulate this prayer warrior in our own lives

 

-- regardless of what the world thinks today, prayer is important – prayer is vital – prayer is a necessary part of our lives as Christians – for through prayer, we are ushered into the very presence of the Lord God Almighty and we can intercede and ask for God to move in the lives of those we know and love – and even those who don’t know or don’t love

            -- the degree to which we love others is shown through our prayers and intercession for them -- if we truly care for one another, we will pray for them – especially for their continued spiritual growth – because, as the Apostle Paul writes elsewhere, physical training may have some limited benefit, but spiritual training has eternal benefits

– this is a reminder that we are not living for today or tomorrow but for eternity – prayer directs our thoughts and our hearts and our lives to an eternity with Christ – and through prayer, we enter into the very presence of God

            -- I love what Steven Cole wrote about loving, intercessory prayer: “If we truly care for one another, we will want to be together to strengthen and encourage one another spiritually. We will find true joy when we hear of others who are standing firm in the Lord through trials. And we’ll pray for one another for continued spiritual growth.”

 

-- Paul understood the need for this type of prayer, especially being distant from so many of the churches and Christians that he knew who were scattered throughout Asia, Europe, and the Middle East – in every letter that Paul wrote – in all the books that we have of his in Scripture – we see Paul praying to God on their behalf – praying not only for their physical well-being, but especially their spiritual well-being – that they would grow in their faith and become mature and holy believers in Christ

-- last week, we looked at Paul’s concern about the church at Thessalonica – how he worried so much about their faith and whether they were suffering persecution at the hands of the Jews or the Romans -- and after being assured of their continuing faith and well-being by Timothy, Paul concludes this chapter by offering up a prayer to God on behalf of his friends

            -- so, let’s look together now at 1 Thessalonians 3:11-13 and see what we can learn about praying for others through Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonian church

 

II. Scripture Lesson (1 Thessalonians 3:11-13)

            -- verse 11

 

1 Thessalonians 3:11 Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you.

 

 

-- the first thing we notice in Paul’s prayer is that he is praying to “our” God and Father and “our” Lord Jesus – the use of the word, “our,” reminds us that God is God of all – He is the Father or all – He is the Lord of all

-- when we pray, we should pray, “Our Father,” and not “My Father” – because God is the Father of all who believe – that’s why Jesus told us to pray in the Lord’s Prayer, “Our Father, who art in heaven” – it’s because God is a personal God in a shared relationship with all of us

-- it reminds us that Christianity is not a solitary relationship with God, but is lived out in community with one another – we need one another in order to truly live out the Christian life – for the call for us to love one another cannot be done in isolation

 

            -- next, notice that Paul’s prayer is to both the Father and the Son – when Paul prays this way, he is recognizing and proclaiming Jesus as equal with the Father – he is affirming the word of Jesus that “I and the Father are one” – this really comes out in the original Greek that this letter was written in, which shows that Paul was praying to the Father and the Son as an indication of the unity of the Godhead

            -- even in English we can see this – if you look at the action that Paul is praying for here – that God would clear or direct him to the Thessalonians – the verb is singular, not plural – indicating that Paul knows he is praying to one God – one Lord – one Savior – and one Redeemer – the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit

 

            -- having learned that the Thessalonians are standing firm in their faith and are longing to see Paul as he longs to see them, Paul prays that God would clear the way for him to come to them – that God would direct his path and open a way for Paul to come back to Thessalonica

            -- are we so concerned about others that we pray for God to open the doors so that we might come alongside them in their Christian walk?

            -- that is the heart of Paul’s prayer – he is crying out to God to open the door and clear the path back to the Thessalonians so that he might share with them more of God’s word and help them to grow in grace and become mature in their Christian walk

– we need to have that same calling and same earnestness in our hearts to disciple others and see them grow in their faith

 

-- one last thing I want you to pay attention to – a couple of weeks ago, we talked about hearing God through our circumstances – and how we shouldn’t take a closed or open door as evidence of God’s will for our lives, but we should seek confirmation through His word, prayer, and the church

-- the reason for that caution is because Scripture shows that sometimes God closes doors to prevent us from going somewhere or doing something – either because it’s the wrong thing or because it’s not the right time

-- but sometimes doors are closed by Satan because he is trying to keep us from fulfilling God’s will and call on our lives

-- in this case, we read that Paul was prevented from coming to see the Thessalonians earlier because of Satan’s interference – look at 1 Thessalonians 2:18

 

1 Thessalonians 2:18 For we wanted to come to you—certainly I, Paul, did, again and again—but Satan blocked our way.

 

-- Satan had kept Paul from coming to Thessalonica, just as Satan had caused the angel Gabriel to be held up by the prince of Persia when Daniel prayed for God’s help in Daniel 10:13

-- but Paul recognized that he was being blocked by Satan, and so he turned to the only one who could do anything about it – he prayed to God to open the way – to clear the way – to make it possible for Paul to visit the Thessalonians again

 

            -- how do you know if the door is closed by God or by something else? – as we learned in our series on hearing God, we seek confirmation from God’s word, prayer, and the church to discern whether our circumstances are occurring as part of God’s will or whether they are coming from another source – be it Satan, the world, or even ourselves

            -- the bottom-line is that, regardless of what might be going on in this world or in our lives, God is still sovereign and can remove any obstacle that He chooses to or He can shut any door that He wants to

            -- as Jesus said in Revelation 3:7-8, “What He opens, no one can shut, and what He shuts, no one can open”

           

            -- the use of the term “direct” or “clear” shows Paul’s dependence on God to open the way for him to visit Thessalonica – Paul understood that the only way he was going to make it to Thessalonica is if God opened the way for him – it was only through God that the path would be made clear – so Paul prayed with a discerning spirit for God to open the way and direct his path to the church in Thessalonica

 

            -- verse 12

 

1 Thessalonians 3:12 May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else, just as ours does for you.

 

            -- Yohanna Katanacho is a Palestinian Christian who pastors a small church in Jerusalem – as a Palestinian living in Israel, Yohanna faces a wide variety of persecution on a daily basis

-- the worst form of persecution that he faces comes from the Israeli soldiers who patrol the city, looking for potential terrorists -- these soldiers routinely impose spontaneous curfews on Palestinians, and even have the legal right to shoot at a Palestinian if he or she does not respond quickly enough to their summons.

-- in light of this daily harassment and persecution, Yohanna struggled with Christ's command in the Sermon on the Mount to "love your enemies" – it seemed impossible to Yohanna. – as he said, “not only did the context promote hate, but the circumstances fed it on a daily basis—the newspapers, television, media, neighbors, everything. One of the markers of the Israeli Jews and the Palestinian Arabs is alienating the other. To break that marker, I must have some other worldview."

-- because of Christ’s command to love your enemies, Yohanna made the decision to follow Christ and to love everyone, even the hated Israeli soldiers -- "For me,” he said, “love was an active and counter-cultural decision, because I was living in a culture that promoted hatred of the other,"

-- when he first tried to love as Christ commanded, Yohanna failed – he just could not do it – but then he realized that biblical love – the radical love of Christ – is not an emotion, but a decision – and he decided to show love by sharing the gospel with the soldiers on the street

-- he began to carry copies of a flyer with him, written in Hebrew and English, with a quotation from Isaiah 53 and the words "Real Love" printed across the top -- Every time a soldier stopped him, he handed him both his ID card and the flyer -- Because the quote came from the Hebrew Scriptures, the soldier usually asked him about it before letting him go.

-- After several months of this, Yohanna suddenly noticed his feelings toward the soldiers had changed. "I was surprised, you know?" he says. "It was a process, but I didn't pay attention to that process. My older feelings were not there anymore. I would pass in the same street, see the same soldiers as before, but now find myself praying, 'Lord, let them stop me, so that I can share with them the love of Christ.'"²

 

            -- the number one defining characteristic of a Christian is love and the sharing of that love with others – love for neighbors and love for our enemies

– in John 13:34-35, Jesus said, “A new command I give you – love one another – as I have loved you, so you must love one another – by this everyone will know you are my disciples, if you love one another”

– and in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said in Matthew 5:43-44, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you”

            -- we are to be known by our love

 

            -- the Apostle Paul understood this more than most, as the hatred he originally had for the Christians had been conquered through the love of Christ on the road to Damascus – he knew what it meant to love your enemies – he knew what it meant to experience the love of Christ

            -- and, so, as he prays here for the Thessalonians, he prays specifically for this spiritual need in their lives – he prays that God would cause their love to increase and overflow for all

 

            -- too often when we pray, we pray only for the physical needs of our family and friends – we pray for healing – for protection – for help in their relationships

– what would happen if we prayed for their love to increase and abound? – what would happen if we prayed that same prayer for ourselves? -- if we prayed for us to have God’s heart, so that we might love as He loves – what if we prayed for us to have God’s eyes, so that we might see others as He sees them

-- what if our prayers looked past the physical to the spiritual needs for ourselves and others – and we began to have a heart for them – to seek their best – to pray for them to love and to be loved – how would that look?

-- that is the prayer that Paul is praying here in this verse – and when he prayed this, God moved and the love of the Thessalonians increased – look at 2 Thes 1:3

 

2 Thessalonians 1:3 We ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters,[a] and rightly so, because your faith is growing more and more, and the love all of you have for one another is increasing.

 

-- just as Paul had prayed, their faith was growing more and more and their love for one another was increasing

 

            -- Someone has paraphrased this prayer as follows "May the Lord enable you more and more to spend your lives in the interests of others, in order that He may so establish you in Christian character now, that you might be vindicated from every charge that might possibly be brought against you." 

 

            -- remember that Paul is praying this prayer for new converts – he had only been with them for three weeks before he had to leave Thessalonica – and now, having reflected on what it was that they were lacking in their faith, this was the most important thing – that their love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else

 

            -- like the Beatles said, “all we need is love…” – and love was what the Christians in Thessalonica needed – and it’s what we need, too

 

            -- one of the most disturbing and telling things in this current political season is the utter hatred that some have for others who were created in the image of God – hatred for those who are different from them – hatred for those who have different political ideas – who have different cultures or come from different places

 

-- several years ago, Arthur Brooks, a professor at the Harvard Kennedy School and the author of a book called, “Love Your Enemies,” was the keynote speaker at the National Prayer Breakfast – he was asked to share some thoughts in his address on the command from Christ to love your enemies and to love your neighbor as yourself

-- in his book, Brooks had written the statement that we “increasingly view people who disagree with us not as merely incorrect or misguided, but as worthless.” – and in his address that day at the prayer breakfast, Brooks commented on that and said, “Some people say we need more civility and tolerance. I say, nonsense,” -- “Why? Because civility and tolerance are a low standard. -- Jesus didn’t say, ‘tolerate your enemies.’ -- He said, ‘love your enemies.’ Answer hatred with love.”

            -- when Brooks was finished with his speech, a national politician took the stage and said, “Mr. Brooks, I don’t agree with you” – he went on to say that when it comes to dealing with enemies, he prefers the part where the Bible says, “an eye for an eye” – that that is better than loving your enemies¹

 

            -- the truth is that we don’t have to agree with other people – we don’t have to like what they do – we don’t even have to like them -- but we have to love them

– Jesus told us that – and I’ve seen too many Christians this year expressing hatred for people that Jesus called them to love – and I may step on some toes here, but I want to make this clear – that type of behavior and attitude does not belong in the church of Christ

-- if someone is defining their political stance based on who they hate rather than how they will express the love of Christ if they are elected, you need to think long and hard before you support them

            -- as Christians, we are not called to pay allegiance to any politician, political party, or even any nation – we are to give our allegiance to the Lord and follow His word and His command as we live in and support His Kingdom over any earthly kingdom

 

-- Pastor Ray Ortlund writes, "The kind of God we really believe in is revealed in how we treat one another.” – if we are not loving each other and everyone else with a love that is increasing and overflowing, we cannot truly call ourselves followers of Christ

-- and that is why Paul prays this specific request to God on behalf of the believers in Thessalonica

 

-- verse 13

 

1 Thessalonians 3:13 May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes with all his holy ones.

 

            -- Paul’s last petition to God is that He might strengthen the hearts of the Thessalonians – just like for us, the heart is always used figuratively in Scripture to refer to the seat and center of human life

– when we speak of our hearts today, we refer to it as the center of our personality – we talk it about it controlling our intellect, emotions, and will – and, as the Bible points out, no outward obedience is of any value unless the heart first turns towards God and we are made holy from the inside out³

           

            -- the Greek word Paul uses here for strengthen was used to refer to the strengthening of buildings – to make them strong and not liable to fall because of external forces – to strengthen them and making them capable of standing and not collapsing

            -- when it comes to our hearts, Paul’s prayer is that the hearts of the Thessalonians be strengthened in the faith – that they become strong and solid and firm – able to stand against the devil’s schemes – and truly formed in the image of God’s own heart

 

            -- so, the heart must be strengthened first through the justifying grace of Christ and the sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit – then God uses our increasing love for Him and for others as the catalyst to grow our faith and make our hearts firm and solid

-- the point of Paul’s prayer is that true holiness begins on the inside

 

– the devil tries to convince us that it doesn’t matter what our hearts look like so long as we act holy and righteous on the outside – but Jesus said that those who do that – those who act holy on the outside without being holy through and through – like the Pharisees of His day -- were like white-washed tombs that were dirty and impure inside – they looked good, but inside they were unclean and corrupt

            -- acting good on the outside while being rotten on the inside is like putting lipstick on a pig – it’s putting on a show – it’s the definition of hypocrisy – you’re only pretending to be good while inside your heart is corrupt

            -- before we can grow in faith or in love – before we can truly become who God called us to be – our hearts have to be made right in Him – and they have to be strengthened through His grace and power

            -- this means that all that we are – our intellect – our emotions – our will – our very being – our hearts – all that we are is strengthened through God’s grace and power

 

            -- this prayer for God to strengthen the hearts of the Thessalonians is the final petition in this prayer – the last of three requests that Paul makes to God on behalf of the believers in Thessalonica

            -- the first was that God would clear the way for Paul to come to them

            -- the second was that their love would increase and overflow for each other and everyone else – neighbors and enemies

            -- and the final request was that their hearts would be strengthened

 

            -- we know that because of the phrase, “so that,” in this verse – those words are transitory words – they link Paul’s petitions to God with the outcome that he prays for

-- make clear the way – increase their love – and strengthen their hearts – so that they will be blameless and holy in the presence of God the Father when Jesus comes again

            -- prayer should always have a purpose – and Paul always prays with intentionality – “God, do this in the lives of those I am praying for so that they may grow in grace and faith and maturity in their relationship with You”

 

            -- the two things Paul is hoping to see God bring to pass in the lives of the Thessalonians is that they would be blameless and holy

            -- blameless – without blame – without fault -- without defect or blemish – true and honorable in all ways

            -- Archeologists have found this word inscribed on tombs in Thessalonica – when someone wanted to record or proclaim that their deceased loved one was a Christian, they would inscribe the word, “Blameless,” on their tomb

            -- blameless was used to describe Godly men throughout the Bible, including Abraham and Job – both were described as being blameless before God

            -- blameless speaks of our standing before God – it is positional holiness – it refers to the righteousness that has been imputed to us from Christ – imputed righteousness means that the very righteousness of Christ has been transferred to us through His death and resurrection, and we stand blameless and righteous before God through Him

 

            -- the next thing Paul is hoping that God brings to pass in their lives is that they would become holy -- holiness speaks of our daily walk with Christ

– holiness refers to progressive holiness and progressive righteousness – the change in our lives as our hearts become strengthened and we grow more and more like Jesus every day through the sanctifying power of the Spirit working within us

            -- this is imparted righteousness – practical righteousness – practical holiness – holiness lived out by us day to day

 

            -- so, we see the two types of godly righteousness described for us here in this prayer from Paul

– imputed righteousness – righteousness that has been given to us by Jesus – His righteousness transferred to us

– and imparted righteousness – the righteousness that is developed in us by the Holy Spirit – the righteousness that comes from the inside as we grow in grace and as our hearts are strengthened and we begin living holy lives through the power of the Spirit – with our external habits and actions being directed and led by holy and loving hearts

 

-- so, Paul prays that they be blameless and holy – blameless – in a right relationship and standing with God – having come to Jesus in faith for the forgiveness of our sins and standing in hope of eternal life with Him – also called imputed righteousness or positional holiness

-- and holy – set apart from the rest of the world and empowered by the Holy Spirit to demonstrate changed lives and changed hearts – holiness in our lives occurs when we allow the Spirit to make us more like Jesus every day – this is imparted righteousness or progressive holiness

 

III.  Closing

            -- so, let’s bring this to a close

            -- to summarize all that Paul has prayed in these verses, he has cried out to God and asked Him to clear the way for him to come to them – that He would make their love increase and overflow for each other – and that God would strengthen their hearts – so that, they might be blameless and holy in the presence of God and stand ready for the coming of Christ

 

            -- as Dave Black points out, “There's no greater incentive to personal holiness than a vision of the return of Christ. Although perfection awaits his coming, progress in holiness is still possible.”

            -- in Luke 18:8, Jesus asked the question, “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, will He find faith on the earth?” – that is a question we should be asking of ourselves every day

– when the son of man comes in His glory, will He find us faithful? – will He find us holy and blameless? – will He see our love increasing and overflowing for others? – will He see our hearts being strengthened in the faith?

            -- if Jesus came back today, how would He find us?

 

            -- Paul’s prayer for the Thessalonians was that Jesus would find them blameless and holy – and that is the prayer that we should be lifting up to God for ourselves and for our loved ones

            -- our goal as a Christian should be to become blameless and holy – united in love with one another – and living as servants in God’s Kingdom by offering His love to all, including our enemies – as we look forward to the imminent return of Christ

            -- Paul reminds us here that at the end of the age, Jesus will come with all His holy ones, and we will be in His presence forever – and, when He comes, we should pray that He finds us blameless and holy and filled with faith and trust in Him

 

            -- let me close by reminding you of how close we are to the moment of Christ’s return – when Paul wrote these words almost 2000 years ago, he anticipated the immediate coming of Christ – he expected Jesus to return at any moment

            -- we find ourselves now at this time ever closer to that blessed hope – to that glorious moment when Christ will return with the voice of the archangel and the trumpet call of God

            -- when we look around us, we see prophecy unfolding – we see prophecies fulfilled – and we see the fury of the devil being poured out on this world because he knows his time is short

            -- so, in light of the return of Christ, Paul prays that we might be found blameless and holy – that we might be living lives of faith and trust and hope in Christ – that we might be true believers – not just superficially through our actions – but completely and wholly – body, mind, and spirit

 

            -- Anne Lamott wrote about keeping short accounts – about being ready to go at any moment – about not living in sin, but living in holiness, in recognition of the impending coming of Christ

            -- it is a good idea for all of us to take time in our lives on a regular basis to evaluate where we are in our walk with Him – to honestly and truthfully look at how we are living our lives – and whether we are known for our love or for our hate – for our righteous and holy actions or for our sins

            -- are we ready for the return of Christ? – when He returns with His holy ones, will He find us faithful, blameless, holy, and loving?

 

            -- so, as we close, let’s a take a moment to do an honest inspection of ourselves – of our actions and behaviors and thoughts – of our hearts

-- are we truly living for Christ in this moment? – or do we need to make a change – to repent of our sinful behaviors and attitudes and emotions – so that we might be found blameless and holy in His sight?

            -- let’s close now, and as we turn to the Lord in prayer, I invite you to respond to God’s word and to the leading of the Holy Spirit, as He directs

            -- let us pray

 

 

1 “Love your enemies? Nah, says Trump ,” Analysis by Daniel Burke, CNN Religion Editor [https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/politics/trump-love-enemies-prayer-breakfast/index.html]

2 Source: "When Love Is Impossible," Trinity Magazine (Fall 2005), p. 16-17

3 Austin Precept Ministries, Commentary on 1 Thessalonians 3