“All You Need Is Love”
Pentecost Sunday, 5/31/09
Romans 5:5-8
Introduction: Hopefully when you think of Jesus, you think of love. There are many reasons for this: Jesus giving up His place in heaven to come to this earth and live among us; Jesus loving people while He was on this earth; Jesus allowing Himself to be beaten and crucified on our behalf. Jesus exemplified love throughout His life on all occasions. When we think about Jesus, we should think about love.
And one of the points of Jesus coming to this earth is for us to learn what love is, and how to love. In fact, as this sermon is titled, “All you need is love.” This is because if we learn what love really is, and how to love like Jesus, then all things will fall into place in our lives. We will be happier, more at peace, and more fulfilled in our life. So this morning I want us to get a sense of what love is not, and what love is.
I. Love is not just a word- (1 John 3:18; Romans 5:5-8)
a. More than a word- First, love is not just a word. It is very easy to
say to someone: “I love you.” The reason I say it is easy, is because so many people say it, but they don’t back it up. Love is as much an action, if not more, than a feeling. You can think you feel love for someone, but then when you try and live that out, you fall short. The father who tells his kids he loves them, but is never around to spend time with them. The wife who tells her husband she loves him, but she is in the midst of an affair. The friend who says “I love you,” but gossips behind your back. It is easy to say I love you, but love is more than just a word.
We read in 1 John 3:18, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.” I want to introduce you to someone named Matt Harding. Harding was a video game designer. Harding claims that a sarcastic joke about the popularity of shoot 'em up games led “Pandemic Studios,” for whom he worked, to develop the game “Destroy All Humans!” on which he received a conceptual credit. Saying, "I didn't want to spend two years of my life writing a game about killing everyone," he quit his job and began traveling, leading to the production of his first video.
Illustration: Matt Harding dancing around the world. (4:00)
b. Jesus showed us love- Now just going around the world and
dancing with people isn’t the quintessential example of love. But on this Pentecost Sunday, it is a reminder that God wants us to love all people, of all backgrounds, and all languages, in the midst of our differences. Love isn’t just about having things in common, it is about having the same God in common. God created all people, and desires for us to love everyone.
Now in the reality of our world, people can make it difficult to love them; some people aren’t worthy of our love. But we should not make a decision on how we feel about someone without knowing who they are. We are told in Romans 5:5-8, “…God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Did you hear those important statements? The love of Christ was shown when we were powerless, at just the right time, while we were still sinners. And this love is to be poured out into our hearts for us to love others. This love is to be shown not just in our words, but in our actions. As Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we are to love people for Jesus, not because of what they do, or who they are, but because Christ has poured out His love to us and given us this charge.
II. Love is not burdensome- (Matthew 23:6-7, 23, 25, 23:4; 1 John 5:3)
a. Self-indulgence- Second, love is not to be burdensome. We
can see love as being burdensome sometimes, because people are not always easy to love. There are always people who have great needs, needs that you can’t seem to meet; needs that never go away. There are some who only focus on themselves, and whenever you see them, all they do is talk about themselves and their own troubles. There are still others with great health issues. These are just a few of the myriads of situations that can make it difficult to love others, and make it loving them seem like a burden.
In Matthew 23:6-7, 23, 25 we read Jesus saying: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees…Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the market places and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’…You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness…You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”
Jesus is telling the religious leaders that they lift themselves up, and make themselves seem great, but have forgotten what is really important: LOVE. The religious leaders have gotten so caught up in themselves, in thinking of themselves as great, as reveling in their power, that they have forgotten their call from God, to love others by showing justice, mercy and faithfulness. They are full of greed and self-indulgence, not love.
This self-indulgence is a great problem in our society. We live in a very “me” oriented society. Because of this, when we have to do something that takes away from being able to focus on ourselves, we get put out and think of it as a burden. For so many, it is tough enough to come to church each week, much less find ways to care for those less fortunate than ourselves. It used to be routine for people to serve in the church, but even more, to go to convalescent homes, soup kitchens, or go door-to-door to share the love of Christ.
Example- I have to confess, there was a part of me that saw it as a burden to have to go out and see my dad in the hospital in his last days. It wasn’t because I didn’t love him. It was really because first of all, I didn’t know those were his last days. My dad was in a hospital in Hemet, and so it took an hour and 45 minutes every time I went to see him. I had to take off time from work, and felt some guilt for that. And it took time away from me being able to be with my family. In the end, I did not see it as a burden. But the selfish part of me struggled with this.
b. Overcoming the burden- If this is true with my father, how much
more true will it be when we try and love others around us? How can we overcome these feelings of being burdened when we try and love? Especially when we try and love those different from us, or those who are harder to love?
I think the important point, is understanding that love comes from God. When we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Just like on the day of Pentecost, the power of God’s Spirit comes upon us and fills us; fills us with God’s love. And as we seek to be God’s children, we know that God desires for us to love others. We then seek to love people with God’s love, not our own. We open ourselves up to those opportunities God gives us to love.
Even more, we let God bring special people into our lives to love us. In this way, it is not a burden, because God continually renews this love in us. If we rely on God, our love will not run out. If we seek to see things with the eyes of God, and the heart of God, then our desire to love will not leave us. How can it be a burden, when God places this desire to love in us, and gives us the power to love?
In Matthew 23:4 we read, “The teachers of the law and Pharisees tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” All too often the burden comes from our mind. But if we renew our mind to think like Christ, then our willingness to love will increase. When we follow through on these opportunities, we will enjoy life all the more. Any life that focuses on itself becomes a life that is truly burdened and unhappy. God knows that it is in giving away that we can truly live and be blessed.
Let me share a verse with you that speaks to this issue, and also leads us into our next point: 1 John 5:3 tells us- “This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome…”
III. Love is found in obedience- (John 4:28-29, 14:12; 1 John 2:3-6)
a. Obedience is not burdensome- Lastly, we see that God’s
commands are not burdensome. They actually bring us freedom, and purpose, and blessing. They are only burdensome before we try and follow them, because we think that having to follow rules is burdensome. But like the woman at the well, once we leave our burden of having to do things our own way, thinking we have to go it alone, we can rejoice in the love of God we experience.
If you remember the story, Jesus comes to the well and is sitting there when the woman comes to draw the water. She comes alone, at the noontime hour, to avoid others; to avoid ridicule and judgment since her life has not been well lived. Jesus let her know that He knows about her life; her 5 husbands, plus the fact that she is now living with a man outside of marriage. In the end, Jesus offers her forgiveness, and God’s love. Let’s pick it up in John 4:28-29, “Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’ They came out of the town and made their way toward Him.”
She left her water jar, which represents her burden. She left her water jar, which represents her sinfulness. She left her water jar, which represents the life she was living. In following Christ, we leave our burdens, and are given forgiveness. This forgiveness is what helps us to understand how to love others, for one of the great aspects of love is forgiveness.
b. Jamie’s painting- JAMIE painted a picture earlier this year that
fits with this theme, and I wanted her to take a few minutes to share her painting as an illustration of being obedient to Christ in how to love by forgiving….
Let me close with a verse: John 14:12- “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Just like as a father I set rules for my kids to help them learn what is right and good and have the best life they can have, so God gives us commands to help us to learn what is right and good and have the best life that we can have. When we are obedient to God’s commands, we will be able to do great things for the kingdom of God!
Conclusion: 1 John 4:9 tells us: “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.” This living is about letting the love of God flow in us, and through us to others. It is about loving by action. It is by letting God lead us to the people He wants us to love, and giving us the love and understanding of how to love them. If we know God’s commands, and live them out, we will understand that God loves us, because He is giving us guidance in how to live. Take with you today this thought: All You Need is love. Amen.
Pentecost Sunday, 5/31/09
Romans 5:5-8
Introduction: Hopefully when you think of Jesus, you think of love. There are many reasons for this: Jesus giving up His place in heaven to come to this earth and live among us; Jesus loving people while He was on this earth; Jesus allowing Himself to be beaten and crucified on our behalf. Jesus exemplified love throughout His life on all occasions. When we think about Jesus, we should think about love.
And one of the points of Jesus coming to this earth is for us to learn what love is, and how to love. In fact, as this sermon is titled, “All you need is love.” This is because if we learn what love really is, and how to love like Jesus, then all things will fall into place in our lives. We will be happier, more at peace, and more fulfilled in our life. So this morning I want us to get a sense of what love is not, and what love is.
I. Love is not just a word- (1 John 3:18; Romans 5:5-8)
a. More than a word- First, love is not just a word. It is very easy to
say to someone: “I love you.” The reason I say it is easy, is because so many people say it, but they don’t back it up. Love is as much an action, if not more, than a feeling. You can think you feel love for someone, but then when you try and live that out, you fall short. The father who tells his kids he loves them, but is never around to spend time with them. The wife who tells her husband she loves him, but she is in the midst of an affair. The friend who says “I love you,” but gossips behind your back. It is easy to say I love you, but love is more than just a word.
We read in 1 John 3:18, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth.” I want to introduce you to someone named Matt Harding. Harding was a video game designer. Harding claims that a sarcastic joke about the popularity of shoot 'em up games led “Pandemic Studios,” for whom he worked, to develop the game “Destroy All Humans!” on which he received a conceptual credit. Saying, "I didn't want to spend two years of my life writing a game about killing everyone," he quit his job and began traveling, leading to the production of his first video.
Illustration: Matt Harding dancing around the world. (4:00)
b. Jesus showed us love- Now just going around the world and
dancing with people isn’t the quintessential example of love. But on this Pentecost Sunday, it is a reminder that God wants us to love all people, of all backgrounds, and all languages, in the midst of our differences. Love isn’t just about having things in common, it is about having the same God in common. God created all people, and desires for us to love everyone.
Now in the reality of our world, people can make it difficult to love them; some people aren’t worthy of our love. But we should not make a decision on how we feel about someone without knowing who they are. We are told in Romans 5:5-8, “…God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were powerless, Christ died for the ungodly…But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Did you hear those important statements? The love of Christ was shown when we were powerless, at just the right time, while we were still sinners. And this love is to be poured out into our hearts for us to love others. This love is to be shown not just in our words, but in our actions. As Christians, followers of Jesus Christ, we are to love people for Jesus, not because of what they do, or who they are, but because Christ has poured out His love to us and given us this charge.
II. Love is not burdensome- (Matthew 23:6-7, 23, 25, 23:4; 1 John 5:3)
a. Self-indulgence- Second, love is not to be burdensome. We
can see love as being burdensome sometimes, because people are not always easy to love. There are always people who have great needs, needs that you can’t seem to meet; needs that never go away. There are some who only focus on themselves, and whenever you see them, all they do is talk about themselves and their own troubles. There are still others with great health issues. These are just a few of the myriads of situations that can make it difficult to love others, and make it loving them seem like a burden.
In Matthew 23:6-7, 23, 25 we read Jesus saying: “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees…Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries wide and tassels on their garments long; they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues; they love to be greeted in the market places and to have men call them ‘Rabbi.’…You give a tenth of your spices—mint, dill and cumin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law—justice, mercy, and faithfulness…You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.”
Jesus is telling the religious leaders that they lift themselves up, and make themselves seem great, but have forgotten what is really important: LOVE. The religious leaders have gotten so caught up in themselves, in thinking of themselves as great, as reveling in their power, that they have forgotten their call from God, to love others by showing justice, mercy and faithfulness. They are full of greed and self-indulgence, not love.
This self-indulgence is a great problem in our society. We live in a very “me” oriented society. Because of this, when we have to do something that takes away from being able to focus on ourselves, we get put out and think of it as a burden. For so many, it is tough enough to come to church each week, much less find ways to care for those less fortunate than ourselves. It used to be routine for people to serve in the church, but even more, to go to convalescent homes, soup kitchens, or go door-to-door to share the love of Christ.
Example- I have to confess, there was a part of me that saw it as a burden to have to go out and see my dad in the hospital in his last days. It wasn’t because I didn’t love him. It was really because first of all, I didn’t know those were his last days. My dad was in a hospital in Hemet, and so it took an hour and 45 minutes every time I went to see him. I had to take off time from work, and felt some guilt for that. And it took time away from me being able to be with my family. In the end, I did not see it as a burden. But the selfish part of me struggled with this.
b. Overcoming the burden- If this is true with my father, how much
more true will it be when we try and love others around us? How can we overcome these feelings of being burdened when we try and love? Especially when we try and love those different from us, or those who are harder to love?
I think the important point, is understanding that love comes from God. When we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Just like on the day of Pentecost, the power of God’s Spirit comes upon us and fills us; fills us with God’s love. And as we seek to be God’s children, we know that God desires for us to love others. We then seek to love people with God’s love, not our own. We open ourselves up to those opportunities God gives us to love.
Even more, we let God bring special people into our lives to love us. In this way, it is not a burden, because God continually renews this love in us. If we rely on God, our love will not run out. If we seek to see things with the eyes of God, and the heart of God, then our desire to love will not leave us. How can it be a burden, when God places this desire to love in us, and gives us the power to love?
In Matthew 23:4 we read, “The teachers of the law and Pharisees tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.” All too often the burden comes from our mind. But if we renew our mind to think like Christ, then our willingness to love will increase. When we follow through on these opportunities, we will enjoy life all the more. Any life that focuses on itself becomes a life that is truly burdened and unhappy. God knows that it is in giving away that we can truly live and be blessed.
Let me share a verse with you that speaks to this issue, and also leads us into our next point: 1 John 5:3 tells us- “This is love for God: to obey His commands. And His commands are not burdensome…”
III. Love is found in obedience- (John 4:28-29, 14:12; 1 John 2:3-6)
a. Obedience is not burdensome- Lastly, we see that God’s
commands are not burdensome. They actually bring us freedom, and purpose, and blessing. They are only burdensome before we try and follow them, because we think that having to follow rules is burdensome. But like the woman at the well, once we leave our burden of having to do things our own way, thinking we have to go it alone, we can rejoice in the love of God we experience.
If you remember the story, Jesus comes to the well and is sitting there when the woman comes to draw the water. She comes alone, at the noontime hour, to avoid others; to avoid ridicule and judgment since her life has not been well lived. Jesus let her know that He knows about her life; her 5 husbands, plus the fact that she is now living with a man outside of marriage. In the end, Jesus offers her forgiveness, and God’s love. Let’s pick it up in John 4:28-29, “Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, ‘Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Christ?’ They came out of the town and made their way toward Him.”
She left her water jar, which represents her burden. She left her water jar, which represents her sinfulness. She left her water jar, which represents the life she was living. In following Christ, we leave our burdens, and are given forgiveness. This forgiveness is what helps us to understand how to love others, for one of the great aspects of love is forgiveness.
b. Jamie’s painting- JAMIE painted a picture earlier this year that
fits with this theme, and I wanted her to take a few minutes to share her painting as an illustration of being obedient to Christ in how to love by forgiving….
Let me close with a verse: John 14:12- “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.” Just like as a father I set rules for my kids to help them learn what is right and good and have the best life they can have, so God gives us commands to help us to learn what is right and good and have the best life that we can have. When we are obedient to God’s commands, we will be able to do great things for the kingdom of God!
Conclusion: 1 John 4:9 tells us: “This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him.” This living is about letting the love of God flow in us, and through us to others. It is about loving by action. It is by letting God lead us to the people He wants us to love, and giving us the love and understanding of how to love them. If we know God’s commands, and live them out, we will understand that God loves us, because He is giving us guidance in how to live. Take with you today this thought: All You Need is love. Amen.
posted by Logan's Blog at 3:07 PM
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