6 December 2015
I -- Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to 1 John 3:16-24
1 John 3:16-24 (NIV)
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid
down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his
brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue
but with actions and in truth.
19 This then is how we know that we belong to the truth,
and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence
20 whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater
than our hearts, and he knows everything.
21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have
confidence before God
22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey
his commands and do what pleases him.
23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his
Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in
them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he
gave us.
-- as we
join together this morning to celebrate this second Sunday of Advent, I wanted
to share with you a story by Carol Chand that has been very popular over the
past several years and that I think really illustrates the text before us this
morning
--
"Each December, I vowed to make Christmas a calm and peaceful experience
-- I had cut back on nonessential obligations - extensive card writing, endless
baking, decorating, and even overspending -- Yet still, I found myself
exhausted, unable to appreciate the precious family moments, and of course, the
true meaning of Christmas
-- My son,
Nicholas, was in kindergarten that year -- It was an exciting season for a six
year old -- For weeks, he'd been memorizing songs for his school's "Winter
Pageant --" I didn't have the heart to tell him I'd be working the night
of the production -- Unwilling to miss his shining moment, I spoke with his teacher
-- She assured me there [would] be a dress rehearsal the morning of the
presentation -- All parents unable to attend that evening were welcome to come
then -- Fortunately, Nicholas seemed happy with the compromise
-- So, the
morning of the dress rehearsal, I filed in ten minutes early, found a spot on
the cafeteria floor and sat down -- Around the room, I saw several other
parents quietly scampering to their seats -- As I waited, the students were led
into the room -- Each class, accompanied by their teacher, sat cross-legged on
the floor -- Then, each group, one by one, rose to perform their song
-- Because
the public school system had long stopped referring to the holiday as
"Christmas," I didn't expect anything other than fun, commercial
entertainment - songs of reindeer, Santa Claus, snowflakes and good cheer --
So, when my son's class rose to sing, "Christmas Love," I was
slightly taken aback by its bold title -- Nicholas was aglow, as were all of
his classmates, adorned in fuzzy mittens, red sweaters, and bright snowcaps
upon their heads
-- Those in
the front row- center stage - held up large letters, one by one, to spell out
the title of the song -- As the class would sing "C is for
Christmas," a child would hold up the letter C -- Then, "H is for
Happy," and on and on, until each child holding up his portion had
presented the complete message, "Christmas Love"
-- The
performance was going smoothly, until suddenly, we noticed her; a small, quiet,
girl in the front row holding the letter "M" upside down - totally
unaware her letter "M" appeared as a "W"
-- The
audience of 1st through 6th graders snickered at this little one's mistake --
But she had no idea they were laughing at her, so she stood tall, proudly
holding her "W" -- Although many teachers tried to shush the
children, the laughter continued until the last letter was raised, and we all
saw it together -- A hush came over the audience and eyes began to widen
-- In that
instant, we understood the reason we were there, why we celebrated the holiday
in the first place, why even in the chaos, there was a purpose for our
festivities -- For when the last letter was held high, the message read loud
and clear: "CHRISTWAS LOVE" -- And, I believe, He still is."1
-- more
than anything else, this was the message of John in this epistle to his
followers -- Christ was love -- He was the physical representation of the
Father and in Him and through Him we saw God's love lived out in this world for
us
-- in fact,
in two occasions in this letter, John boldly states that not only was Christ
the epitomy of the Father's love when He was here, but "God is Love"
-- in other words, God 's love is like all of
His attributes -- it is never-ending -- it was and is and
will be -- His love has no end and is the same yesterday, today, and forever --
God is the originator and the perfecter of love
-- when we
say that God is love, we are describing His whole being, for it is only because
of His love that we know and experience all of His other attributes -- His
goodness -- His mercy -- His grace -- His majesty -- His glory -- His
omnipotence -- His omnipresence -- His all
-- love is
the reason God created us -- love is the reason God sent Jesus to us -- and it
is only because of love that we share in His eternal glory and salvation -- as
John makes so clear in this epistle, it is only when we are living in Christ do
we truly recognize and experience and share in this love that comes from God
-- let's
look back at this passage again and see what we can learn from John's letter to
his followers
II. Scripture
Lesson (1 John 3:16-24)
-- look
back at verse 16
1 John 3:16 (NIV)
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid
down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.
-- as I
said, the overall message of 1 John is love -- before we begin, it's important
to understand what kind of love John is talking about here -- the word for love
he is using here is "agape" love -- unconditional love -- he's
talking about the perfect love of God that was expressed through Jesus and, as
we'll see as we go on in this passage, the perfect love that we should be
expressing towards others
-- so, how
do we know what love is? -- our culture is obsessed with the concept of
"love" -- it's in our songs -- it's in our movies -- it's on our lips
daily -- but do we truly know what love is? -- are we truly experiencing the
agape love of Christ or are we settling for a cheap, worldly imitation? -- how
do we know?
-- the word
"know" that John uses here is the Greek word "ginosko" --
it literally means "knowledge by experience" -- and John chose that
word deliberately -- he didn't use the more common word "eido" here,
which means "knowledge by understanding"
-- in other
words, John is saying that to know what love is -- to know agape love -- you
have to experience it -- you have to feel it
-- John
knew the agape love of Christ -- he had seen that love expressed in the eyes of
Jesus as He looked with compassion on the leper that He was reaching out to
heal -- John had felt that love pouring from Jesus as the water poured from the
basin in the upper room and Jesus started washing his feet -- and John had
experienced the perfect and unconditional love of Christ as Jesus looked down
on him from the cross and expressed with His eyes, "I'm doing this for
you"
-- John
knew what love was -- and so he's trying to express that to his readers so that
they, too, might truly know the extent of God's love and share that love with
others -- to know love, you have to experience it -- to know love, you have to
live it -- you can't just read about it in a book -- it has to be something
real in your life -- to know agape love in this way, you have to show it
yourself
-- when
John says "this is how we know what love is" he is saying, "This
is love with feet -- this is love with skin on -- this isn't just loving with
your head -- this is real love -- and to know this love you must first have
experienced God's agape love through Christ"
-- so, in
other words, the love that we proclaim and are obsessed with in our culture
only reflects the love of Christ in as far as we have experienced that love in
our own hearts -- to truly love you must have been loved -- to truly love you
must know Jesus
-- John
says, "this is how we know what love is -- Jesus Christ laid down His life
for us -- and we should lay down our lives for others"
-- what
does it mean to lay down your life for another? -- what does John mean when he
says that Jesus laid down His life for us?
-- when we
read these words, we are immediately drawn to the cross -- but that's not all
that John means here -- when we read these words, we should also be drawn to
the manger
-- for, you
see, Jesus did not just lay down His life for us on the cross -- He laid down
His life by willingly giving up His glory in Heaven and humbling Himself and
becoming a man so that we might receive eternal life through Him
-- at this
time of the year, we tend to forget who the baby in the manger was -- this was
not just another baby -- this was not just the promised Messiah -- this was the
Lord God Almighty -- the maker of heaven and earth -- El Shaddai -- the King of
Kings and the Lord of Lords
-- one of
my most favorite Christmas songs is "Mary, Did You Know," because it
reminds us of just who Jesus was -- of what He gave up to be born in a manger
-- of what He gave up to walk on this world for 33 years all so that we might
have eternal life
-- let me
share with you a few of the lyrics:
--
"Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would one day walk on water? --
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy would save our sons and daughters? -- Did
you know that your Baby Boy has come to make you new? -- That this Child that
you delivered will soon deliver you?
--
"Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will give sight to a blind man? --
Mary, did you know that your Baby Boy will calm the storm with His hand? -- Did
you know that your Baby Boy has walked where angels trod and that when you kiss
your little Baby you kissed the face of God?
-- Mary,
did you know that your Baby Boy is Lord of all creation? -- Mary, did you know
that your Baby Boy would one day rule the nations? -- Did
you know that your Baby Boy is heaven's perfect Lamb and that the sleeping
Child you're holding is the Great, I Am."
-- when
John says here that Jesus laid down His life for us, he certainly is referring
to the cross -- but we can never forget what else Christ gave up for us -- we
can never forget that He laid down His glory and His honor and His power and
His majesty for us -- to be born at Christmas -- not in a temple or in a palace
-- but in the humblest of circumstances -- in a manger in a stable --
surrounded by animals -- but celebrated by the universe
-- does
that help you understand what John means when he then goes on to tell us that
we are to lay down our lives for our brothers? -- John isn't calling us all to
martyrdom -- he isn't saying that we should all die for those around us --
that's not what he means here
-- to lay
down our lives for our brothers means that we give ourselves up just as Jesus
gave Himself up for the world -- as John the Baptist put it, we decrease so
that Christ might increase -- we willingly put aside our wants and our wishes
and our desires -- we sacrifice ourselves, so that others might experience
agape love through us
-- verse 17
1 John 3:17-18 (NIV)
17 If anyone has material possessions and sees his
brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue
but with actions and in truth.
-- how
wonderful is it that at this time of the year, more than other, we see Christ's
agape love expressed in this way -- we see people laying down their lives and
sacrificing for their brothers
-- what
other time of the year do you know that people are willing to give up their
hard-earned cash to buy presents for people they don't even know -- for
families in need? -- what other time of the year do you know that people are
willing to give up their time and their comfort to share the love of Jesus with
those who are less fortunate, whether it's volunteering in the local food bank
or ringing a bell for the Salvation Army or just giving out food and water and
gifts to those in need?
-- John
says this is how we should love -- this is how we should live -- not with words
or tongue but with actions and in truth
-- what
good is it for us to be biblically correct? -- to know in our heads the truth
of God -- to know in our hearts the love of God -- and to do nothing with it
-- if
Christianity is just about coming to church on Sunday and learning about God,
it is an utter and total failure -- that is not what Christianity should be
about -- that is not the message of the cross -- and that is not the message of
the manger
-- before
Nike ever came up with the slogan, "Just do it," -- John was using it
here -- when it comes to love -- to God's perfect, unconditional, agape love,
John says, "Just do it" -- love not with word and tongue -- but love
with your hands and your feet -- love with your life -- love by laying down
your life for another
--
Christmas is about love -- Christ is about love -- and more than anything else,
that is what we are supposed to be doing
-- skip
down to verse 23 and let's end there
1 John 3:23-24 (NIV)
23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his
Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in
them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he
gave us.
-- when
Jesus was here, He fulfilled the law of Moses -- He fulfilled every aspect of
it through His life and through His death on the cross -- the law of Moses is
gone -- it is no more --the old covenant that was experienced through the Old
Testament law and the sacrificial system has been replaced by a new and better
covenant through the blood of Christ
-- and, as
we are so fond of saying in our modern, New Testament churches, we don't live
by law -- we live by grace
-- and that
is true, for we are not bound by the law of Moses any longer -- but that does
not mean that we are not bound by another law
-- Christ
gave us two laws -- two commands -- that we must follow if we are to be part of
His kingdom
-- first,
we are to believe in Him -- not just head knowledge belief -- but heart belief
-- we must know that we know -- we must put our faith and our trust in the fact
that Jesus was and is God and that He died on the cross to pay the penalty for
all our sins -- and that if we trust and believe in Him we are forgiven -- that
if we trust and believe in Him we have eternal life with the Father -- that if
we trust and believe in Him we are new creations -- made pure and holy and
spotless through His death on the cross
-- the
second command is just as important -- Jesus told us to love one another -- to
lay down our lives for our brothers -- to show them His agape love with our
hands and our feet and our mouth and our heart
-- Jesus
said that the world would know us -- not because of the name on our church sign
-- not because our name was written on a church roll -- not because we had a
little Jesus fish on the back of our car -- Jesus said that the world would
know us because of our love
III. Closing
-- let me
close by asking you -- how's your love life? -- are you loving your neighbor as
yourself? -- are you loving one another as Christ commanded? -- are you laying
down your life for another?
-- you
know, we tend to do pretty well with this at certain times during the year --
we do really well at Christmas -- we do the Angel Tree and give presents to
needy children -- or we give gifts to the girls at the Methodist Home -- or we
make donations to organizations that reach out to the homeless and the abused
and the hurting
-- we even
do pretty good at Thanksgiving -- and we see people volunteering and serving at
food banks and soup kitchens and giving out turkeys and baskets of food to
others
-- but are
you really loving one another -- are you really laying down your life for
another -- if this is the extent of your service -- of your sacrifice?
-- I read
one time about this woman who was surprised at church one day when this other
lady, who often ignored her and snubbed her at church, came up to her before
the service and gave her a warm and welcoming hug
-- she sat
there throughout the whole service wondering what had the change in this woman
-- what had touched her heart and made her come up and hug her in such a loving
way this Sunday
-- well,
she got her answer when the pastor closed his message by saying, "Don't
forget the challenge that I issued you last week -- I want you to go out there
and love somebody that you can't stand"2
-- loving
in this way is not loving as Christ -- loving out of duty or responsibility is
not loving as Christ because it is not done in truth -- and loving just because
it's Christmas is not loving as Christ because Christ's love never ends
-- as you
continue to prepare for Christmas this week, I want to encourage you to keep in
mind the message of John in this passage and the command of Christ to us in the
gospels
-- remember
to love one another -- remember to show love to one another -- not just in
words and in tongue -- but with actions and truth -- and not just at Christmas
-- but every moment of every day
-- this is
the message of Christmas -- this is the message of Christ -- this is the
message for you
-- let us
pray
References:
1 Copyright © 2002 Candy Chand [http://www --motivateus
--com/stories/win --htm]
2 Adapted from Reader's Digest, [4/02], pg. 48 -- as cited
in a sermon by Steven J. Cole --
http://www.fcfonline.org/content/1/sermons/040206M.pdf
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