I’m inviting you to turn in your bibles to the book of first Peter chapter 4. I’ve so enjoyed the, sharing the preaching ministry with brother John Parker, over the last couple of weeks as we’ve been working through our series of messages on the one another passages. And, we’re nearing the end of this series. But I’ve really enjoyed, being able to look at these together and then take some time in smaller group settings to talk about how do we implement this. And I trust that it has been an enriching experience in your spiritual life in helping you to walk closer with the lord.

There are two reasons that I wanted for us to look at this particular series. One of the reasons is because a healthy church that is living out the word of god together is a church that is healthy. It’s a healthy church that walks out living together. Somebody say amen. Amen.

An unhealthy church does not walk together. They’re disjointed and divided and there’s conflict. And so as we live out these passages of scripture, we’re developing as a healthy church learning how to live in community. I was just reading this past week in my quiet time, the words of the lord in the Sermon on the Mount, And he ends the sermon by his sermon on the mount by saying, those that hear these words of mine, those that do them are ones that build their house on a rock. So it’s not enough that we just simply hear these messages.

We have to do them. Right? We have to love one another. We need to stir one another up to love and good works. We need to be sharpening ourselves one with another, living this out.

But I think the second reason that this series is important is a church that is going to live out these, these principles, these elements of scripture. We live out the mission of the church. We live out the mission of the church because as we come together in healthy relationship, what happens? We’re then called to be the light of the world to the world. And a church that is disjointed, a church that is not living this out is not a place that the world desires to come to.

You know why? They get that out there. You don’t have to go far to realize that we live in a world that is disjointed and fractured and there’s strife and division. I’m just gonna state the obvious. We’re an election cycle year.

And it’s obvious that we live in a world that is divided and fractured. But whenever the body of Christ comes together and we’re living in healthy relationship, we’re a healthy church, but that plays into the second role of living this out. We become a place that the world looks at and says there’s something about that church. Because anytime that you bring people together, personalities together, there’s potential for conflict, isn’t there? Whenever we learn to live together in healthy relationship, it has a magnanimous effect.

As we’re nearing the Easter season, the whole purpose of Easter, of Christ coming, dying on the cross was to purchase his church, purchase us, so that you and I can become what we’re gonna look at as a part of first Peter this morning. In fact, in first Peter chapter 2 just hold your bibles at chapter 4. We’re gonna get there. The purpose that Christ is has redeemed us, according to first Peter chapter 2, is that we would become a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for god’s own possession so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. I want you to hold that thought.

The purpose for which god is building us together is for mission so that you and I can become a royal priesthood. So let me just give you a little maybe a little road map of where we’re going with our message this morning and the transitioning into the Easter season. God redeems us so that you and I can become witnesses unto the world. Are one anothering, my new word, alright, are one anothering in here is not just for us in here. It’s so that we are built up so we can go out there and make a difference in the world.

So as we come through the Easter season and we move past the Easter season, where we’re going is how do we then live out the mission of the church? But this morning, we’re considering first Peter chapter 4. I’m gonna invite you to stand with me as we read our text together. Let me just ask you, by the way. My ADD won’t let me go any farther until I ask you this.

Is everybody comfortable this morning? Are you warm? Cold? You’re cold? You were warm earlier, weren’t you?

Y’all are just really hard to please. I’ll tell you what happened. We have these really fancy thermostats in here that are automatic thermostats. They will automatically adjust the temperature, when the run schedule hits the cycle. There’s just one small problem.

They have to be on the automatic cycle for that to happen. They were not. They were on the cool cycle. So when you come in here, it’s a little chilly. Now I thought it felt really nice, but when we adjusted them to the automatic cycle, the heat kicked on, and it went from 66 degrees, supposed to take it up to 69.

The problem is it’s dumping a whole lot hotter than 69 degree air in here, so it got really warm. So then they readjusted, and now you’re getting cold air. I’m really sorry. Deal with it. In the love of Jesus.

No. I’m I really am sorry. We’ll we will try to get it regulated. I feel comfortable now, and, hopefully, it’ll adjust and be fine by the end of service. First Peter chapter 4.

We’re looking beginning at verse 7. Now I’ll just warn you that we’re breaking into a middle of a text, that Peter is working through, and we’re gonna come back and try to pick up some of the context. But we’re gonna begin in verse 7. First Peter chapter 4 verse 7. But the end of all things is at hand.

Be ye therefore sober and watch into prayer. And above all things, have fervent charity among yourselves. Maybe it would help for us to hear it in another way. Be fervent in love to one another for charity shall cover the multitude of sins. Use hospitality to one another without grudging.

As every man hath received the gift, even so, minister the same one to another. Even so, minister the same one to another as good stewards of the manifold grace of god. If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of god. If any man minister, let him do it as the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

This morning, we’re looking at a trichotomy of one another’s. I texted my mother-in-law this morning and told her, bring your blanket and your pillow and maybe even your lunch. I’ve got more notes than I have time for. So hold on. Let’s pray together.

Father, thank you for your word. Thank you for your spirit. Your spirit that is with us this morning, that has already been speaking to our hearts, but also for your spirit that wants to illuminate your word, enrich it to our hearts and apply it to us. So help us this morning to have ears to hear what the spirit of the Lord has to say to his church. And help us, your people, to have hearts of obedience to walk in the truth of it.

We pray in Jesus’ name. Amen. You may be seated. I think for us to understand this text in its fullness, in its richness, we need to understand the broader text that we’re looking at. Peter is writing this particular letter unto the church, and I want you to notice who he’s writing to.

So if you have your bible still open, you may wanna look at some of these passages of scripture. Let me give you the time frame in which Peter is writing. Peter is writing somewhere between 63 65 AD. It’s a tumultuous time in human history. Within the known world, Nero is, pushing all sorts of persecution upon Christians.

That persecution has caused the church to move out, to spread out. There’s been a dispersion of the churches. And so Peter is writing to these who have dispersed. If you have your Bible still open, first Peter chapter 1 and verse 1, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who reside as aliens scattered throughout Pontius, Galatia, Kapodicea, Asia, and Bithynia, who are the chosen. So he’s writing to a diverse group that have been spreading out.

And then in verse 6 is verses 6 and 7, he says, in this, you greatly rejoice even though now for a little while, if necessary, you’ve been distressed by various trials. So he’s talking to a church that’s been spread out. They’re under persecution. They’re experiencing various trials, verse 7, so that the proof of your faith be more precious than gold, which is perishable, even though tested by fire. And if you know some of the history behind Nero’s persecution of Christians, it’s literally testing by fire.

Nero was known for taking Christians, dipping them in tar, and lighting his gardens with their bodies that had been dipped in tar. May be found to resolve in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. He’s also writing to these Christians about their new life in Christ. He’s telling them that they are being built up as new believers. In chapter 1 verses 3, through 5, he says, blessed be the God and father of our lord Jesus Christ, who according to his great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you who are protected by the power of god through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.

So Peter’s writing to this dispersed group who’s experiencing extreme persecution as a result of their new life in Christ. Then in chapter 2 verses 45, he gives us kind of the focus of what he’s writing about. And coming to him as to a living stone, which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God. Who’s he writing about? Jesus.

He says you’ve come to him and here’s what’s happening. You also as living stones. So as you are experiencing the new birth, new life in Christ, you are living stones and are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood. What’s a priesthood? If you understand the Old Testament context of priesthood, the priest stood as the mediator, the one who linked god with man.

And so Paul or Peter is saying, you, as new believers, though experiencing extreme persecution because of your new life in Christ, you are being built up as a royal priesthood, links of the grace of god to the world, as a spiritual house for a royal priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to god through Jesus Christ. So the first focus of Peter’s letter is to help these persecuted believers to understand that they’re being built up together as a spiritual house. Can I just say to us here this morning that you and I are to be being built up as a spiritual house? How many of you are wearing green this morning? Anybody wearing green?

How many of you are wearing orange this morning? Anybody know the difference between those 2? Today’s Saint Patrick’s Day, isn’t it? And Saint Patrick’s Day, we think of wearing green. Almost wore, orange.

I probably should’ve. The difference between those two is green represents the Catholic side. Protestants wear orange. I tell us that for this purpose. You and I are a local fellowship being built up, but you and I are a part of a greater church, the church, the holy catholic church.

And I use that word not as some would interpret it, but the universal church. We are being built up to be a royal priesthood, a holy nation for god’s own choosing. You and I, if I could just narrow this scope back in for just a second, as a local body, we are being built up like Lego bricks, being built up to be a royal priesthood. We’re being put together. That’s part of Peter’s focus.

You’re being built up together. His second focus of his letter is found in verse 9, and I’ve already read it to us. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. So god has redeemed you. He’s building you up so that you can be his witnesses in the world.

Amen? God is not redeeming us just so that he can build 4 walls and bring us all together and say, woo. Look at my family. Let me snap their picture and put it on the wall. No.

He’s building us up for the purpose of equipping us to be his hands and feet in the world. All of this is in the overarching theme that god is working out his holiness in us and through us. You can’t read first Peter without recognizing that Peter is writing about holiness being worked out in us and through us together. So with that as kind of our background, let me bring us back to our text. I want you to understand that broader text that god is building us together.

He’s putting us together so that you and I can become living a living priesthood to the world around us. As Christians, we’re being built up together. That means that god intends for his people to do life together, to live together, to fellowship together, to work together, to serve together, to be hospitable one to another. Anybody recognizing some of the one anothers from our text? This particular passage of scripture, verses 8, 9, and 10, have a one another passage of scripture.

We’re gonna just lightly touch on the first one because we’ve already looked at this. But if you have your bible still open, what is it that Peter tells us with this particular love one for another? He says, be fervent in your love one for another. Now what’s interesting about these one anothers is he gives us the one another, and then he gives us the modifier to it. Kinda gives further explanation to it.

So he says, be fervent in your love one for another. Why? Because love covers a multitude of sins. Why does Peter tell us to be fervent in our love one for another? In essence, what he’s saying is you’ve got to work at this element of loving one another.

If I could maybe put it in an application that we might Right? Guys, I’m really trying to help you here. Marriage is a loving relationship. One more time. Marriage is a loving relationship.

Next week’s message is gonna be on marriage But I don’t have to tell you that for a loving marriage to happen, it takes work. Anytime you bring 2 personalities together, I don’t care if they were born as neighbors, raised in the same community, go to the same church, go to the same school. You come from 2 totally different families that function totally different and your 2 totally different personalities. In fact, all you have to do is even look a little closer and look in homes. I don’t understand.

I’ve Tanya and I have 4 boys. They have the same genes, but they are as different as night and day. Unique personalities, unique, features about them. And in the marriage relationship, you’re bringing 2 people totally different together. And it takes work to make it happen.

And can I just tell us this morning that for you and I to love one another, it’s gonna take work? We have to be fervent to love one another. And the reason that we’re called to be fervent in our love one for another, the modifier is that love covers a multitude of sins. Now Peter is not saying that means that you sweep sin and you cover it up. You hide it.

That’s not what Peter is indicating here. Peter says when you love one another and you’re fervent about it, you’re more apt to overlook elements of your brother or your sister of faults and failures. Doesn’t mean that you excuse blatant sin. Right? No.

It means that you are you’re quick to be less critical, to be more gracious towards one another. So love one another. Be fervent. The second one and the second and the third are the 2 that I really want us to focus on this morning. The second one another that Peter writes about is being hospitable one towards another.

Here’s what I want you to understand from this one is that the modifier to that is we are to do it how? Without grumbling. We are to be hospitable one to another, doing it without grumbling, without complaining. What does it mean for us to be hospitable? What does it mean to show hospitality?

Maybe it would help us to kind of put it in its context. So Peter’s writing in a period of time where if a person is traveling, there were not Days Inns and Hotel Sixes where Tom Bodette leaves the light on for you. Alright? There was no Hilton’s or Hampton Inns. People were dependent on somebody giving them a place to stay.

We understand that from Mary and Joseph when they were traveling, to Bethlehem to register for the census. They get there and they need a place to stay. We think of, oh, but they went to the inn. They went to, you know, Days Inn and, you know, just didn’t have any room. No.

They didn’t go to Days Inn. Alright? More than likely, they were looking for, Peter is saying And Peter is saying to us, you need to have an open door policy. Please hear me. Right?

Please hear me. Right? When people need your to provide for their It helps us to become selfless. It puts to death human pride. We chose It means that you and I have to be willing to put to death our pride, to provide for somebody else.

I would suggest to us that we have lost the art of hospitality. Maybe I should rephrase that. We now entertain guests. Do you know what the Entertainment focuses on the host. Host is concerned about making sure that the floors are swept, the bathrooms are cleaned, that there’s food, good food, and plenty of it.

You don’t want to run out. It’s all about that making sure that whoever comes over enjoys their time. That’s an innate. That I am able to provide for you know, you can be hospitable with your floors, less than Do you know you can be hospitable It’s really quiet. Anybody else notice that?

I would dare say this morning, most of you ladies are saying, uh-uh, pastor. Ain’t doing it. Now let me just qualify some of this. Alright. One of the best ways that you can be hospitable is to make sure that you have clean house, clean toilets, something to provide for people, alright?

Who has need. You know, one of the ways that you can be hospitable in the let me just put it in the context of the one of the ways that you can be hospitable is and then you just put it in the context of the one guess that comes into the church, you provide them a place to sit. To sit. Right? They go to the back seat and they sit and sit and sit.

If there’s a back seat available. Should I duck behind the pulpit now? Is that a good time? Alright. Let me go a little beyond that.

The COURTNEY: It means that we open up even our Hospitality means that we would open our places for people to come and find refuge. When I was a boy, one of the things about living in a broken world is that you discover that there are people that live in broken situations. Home. It was just it was tough. It was really tough.

He was in his late teens. I was just 11, 12 years old. Chris became a part of our family. There was hardly a Friday or Saturday night, but what my parents didn’t open the doors of our house. And he might as well just come and lived with us know what hospitality looks like to us, we live in a world where there’s a lot of broken homes and broken families and broken situations, that it may mean that you and I can open our doors.

And so you have a place of rape. Story. I’ve watched that right here in this story. Where some of you have opened your doors and inconvenienced yourself to be able to serve the needs of somebody else. God is calling us to a life of hospitality.

It becomes Hospitality becomes constructive. It develops deep fellowship. Let me just say to us, relationships are not formed deeply in this church. Do you all catch what I just said? I don’t mean that we as a church don’t form deep relationships.

I’m saying inside these four walls, that’s not where deep relationships are built. – We pull up to our house, we hit the button, the garage door goes up, we drive our car in, and we hit the button, and the garage door goes down. We go in, we get our cup of tea, and we go sit on our back deck so that nobody disturbs us. And I say, ouch, because guess what I do every time I go home? I hit the garage door.

I go in, I hit the garage door, and it closes. And I love to sit on my back deck. In fact, I’m so excited that Spring is But guess what’s closed when I do that? The front door. What is Peter saying to us?

We’re being built up as people. And one of the ways that we’re built up together is through the opening of our doors to welcome people into our lives to do life to. But let me just give you an example of what this looks astras winner. Our son Tyler played, basketball in a church, and a And I don’t know that there was a Saturday went by when he had a game, but what somebody from this church wasn’t there.

But what somebody from this church wasn’t there. Austin and some of his kids were there. David Heintzelman and some of his kids were there. The James’, the Hester’s, boy, I started naming names and I shouldn’t have. Several of you were there.

No, No. Nobody would go camping together. That doesn’t work. Let me think of something else. You go shopping together.

The one and the one and the Right? So we’re to a life of hospitality, homes. But if I could expand it just for a moment to take it maybe a little out of its context, we’re opening our lives to do life together. Why? Because I need you and you need me.

Let’s get to the last one very quickly. The 3rd, trichotomy of one another’s that Peter gives to us is serve one another. Words We I’m sorry. In this chapter, he tells us a little bit more about And he says, use what God has given you to serve, have through the areas that you’re gifted. And why are we supposed to do that?

If you have your bible still open, look at this. As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another. Why? As good stewards of the manifold grace of God. If in any or if any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God.

If any man minister, let him do it as to the ability which God giveth, that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion forever and ever. We serve one another that God be glorified. Do you know every one of you have a gift? And just to tell you, everyone here has a and just to even those of you that are younger Let me just talk to even those of you that are younger, our young people and our children. You have a gift.

God has given all of you a gift. Listen to some of the gifts that God has given to us. Peter says, these gifts employ, use them In 1st Corinthians chapter 12 verses 4 to 10, now therefore, our various, now, I’m sorry. Now there are very, various gifts, but the same spirit, and there are various, services but the same Lord and there are varieties of activities but it is the same God who empowers them all to everyone. To each is given the manifestation of the spirit for the common good.

Utterance of wisdom, and to another, the utterance of knowledge according to the same spirit, to another, faith by the same spirit, and to another, gifts of healing by the one spirit, and to another, the working of miracles, To another, prophecy. And to another, the ability to distinguish between spirits. To another, various kinds of tongues. To another, the interpretation of tongues. Paul mentions this in Romans chapter 12, for by the grace given to me, I say unto everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.

For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function. So we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually members, one of another. Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them. If prophecy, in proportion to our faith, if service, in our serving, the one who teaches and is teaching, The one who exhorts in his exhortation. The one who contributes in generosity.

The one who leads with zeal. And the one who does not I’m sorry. And the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. Who does acts of mercy with. Did you do with it?

Somebody help me out. Teach. Teach. You say, I don’t have a platform. Build 1.

There’s a lot of times that we say I’ve got a gift but there’s I don’t have anywhere to use it. There’s no That’s not available. Build it. If you have a gift to teach, find a platform and teach. Say, I don’t know where.

You know, the internet’s an incredible thing. On Thursdays, I attend a discipleship group with guys from Alabama, Indiana, and the other guy. I don’t even I’ve never met the guy. I don’t even know where he lives. Right?

If you have the gift of teaching you have the gift of helps, help If you have the gift of wisdom Allow your name to run as a board member. Boy, I was hoping for an amen somewhere in there. You have the gift of encouragement. Encourage. You say, I don’t know what my gift is.

I don’t So, you all know that we have a school here at the church. Donates their time to come in and help in the school. It’s my mother-in-law and you all thought I couldn’t say anything nice about her. I can’t tell you what a blessing that is to have people who are willing to say, whatever I can do, I’m available. Some of you say, pastor, I just your gift is If your gift is tongues, go to Honduras and interpret.

Right? Just release a bit. God has gifted every one of us something to employ for the purpose of the kingdom of God that God would be glorified. Let me just skip through some of this really quickly. I can’t read this passage of scripture, but what it doesn’t remind me of Jesus’s words in Matthew chapter 5, when he says that he desires that people would see our good works and glorify our father, which is in heaven.

Loss for the purpose of their employment to work, to do good works. So let me ask you this morning, Dayton, Ohio to pastor the church there in Dayton, because of the finance of the church finances of the church, they were not able to support him full time. And so he started a lawn business, and that became a means of revenue to him. And so he had used that for a number of years. But the church had grown and got to the place where he was able to go full time at the church, and he thought about just getting rid of his lawn service.

There was a guy that had come to the church, and God was really helping. John was investing in. And John was thinking about, just giving up his lawn care service, and this guy needed a job. And he said, as I was praying, the Lord just began to press upon me and say, what do you have in your hand, John? And he said, hire that guy on to run your lawn service so that he has a job.

The last that I knew, John still owns that lawn service to provide a job for that guy. When you have in your hands. Familiar probably with that ministry. Was on a trip, to Taiwan. He and some pastors, some native pastors, Taiwanese pastors had hiked their way back through the mountains to do some ministry.

Stas and Trotman, the great well known American evangelist who had come to Taiwan to teach and to preach and walked with these men through the mountains. It’d been rainy. It was a rainy season. The roadways were made. When they asked those pastors later what stood out to them about Dawson Trotman, one of the pastors said, the morning after we got up from our initial hike into the mountains, when we came out, all of our shoes.

And made ready for the day. And Dawson Trotman had claimed the shoes. You know, every one of us have something in our hands So here’s my encouragement to us, as we won another together. Let’s be Let’s take what God has put in our hands and serve 1 another. Let’s stand together as we close in prayer.

Father, thank you for knitting us together as a body of believers in this local fellowship as, We need your help to be open and allow our doors to be open to one another, so that we can develop deep relationships and care for one another. You’ve also given to each one of us gifts to employ for your kingdom’s work so that you would be glorified. And so I kingdom’s work so that you would be glorified. And so I pray this morning that the gifts that you’ve put into our hands, would you stir our hearts up this morning to use those do you stir us up this morning to deepen our, our relationships one with another through our hospital, one with another through our hostage, deep in our relationships one to another through our serving of 1 and Help us to live this out to be more than hearers of the word but doers also. I pray it in Jesus name.

Amen. The Lord bless you. You’re dismissed.

I’m inviting you to Paul’s letter to the church at Colossi. Colossians and we’re looking at chapter 3. Pastor has outlined these Sundays and assigned me even the passage that we’re looking at today and it’s been good for me. It’s been a challenge to kind of dig back into some of this and the Lord’s helping me with it. We’ve been talking about loving one another, being kind to one another.

And in these days being kind can mean you just, you ignore, you tolerate, you enable all kinds of people’s dysfunction in their lives that’s being kind. The fact is we cannot if we love one another as Christ loved us, we cannot ignore one another in our struggles. And by the way, admit it or not every single one of us have those times of struggles in our life. I don’t know if any of you remember the restaurant a few years ago here in Easley, that was named struggles. One of my favorite places to eat.

And I asked the guy one day, I said, where did you come up with that name? He said, man all my life it’s been a struggle. And he opened it in one of the roughest former beer joints in town and it was not a beer joint. It was a good place to eat and I miss it. But all of us have had struggles in our life.

Right? And the fact is some of us are sitting here right now this morning deep in the struggles of life and their failures and then dangers. And as I’ve said, our current culture would have us enable people who are living dangerously, recklessly. But if you love someone you cannot enable their dangerous living. Right?

So we’re called by God’s word to come alongside of one another not only in our struggles, but in the areas of our life where we need some help. And that’s where we’re focused today. Loving and being kind to one another is not being an enabler. It involves some teaching and admonishing and that’s what Paul is instructing us to do here in Colossians chapter 3. We’ll begin our reading at verse 1.

If then you are raised with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ is. Sitting at the right hand of God. Set your affection or mind on things above and not on things on the earth for you have you are dead and your life is hidden with Christ and God. He’s speaking of dead to the old life and alive to Christ. When Christ who is our life appears, then you will also appear with him in glory.

So therefore, put to death your members which are on the earth. Fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, covetousness which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience in which you yourselves once walked. So he’s speaking to people who’ve been there and done that, unfortunately. Have a past life of sin and brokenness.

But he said, the, the wrath of God that is that comes on those things and you yourselves experience them. And he goes on to give that list. Now you yourselves are to put off anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Don’t lie one to another. Since you have put off the old man or the old way of life with his deeds and have put on the new man who’s renewed in knowledge according to the image of Christ who created him where there is neither Greek nor Jew circumcised nor uncircumcised barbarian, Scythian, slave or free but Christ is all and in all.

Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on you don’t just put off, but you put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, long suffering, bearing with one another. It’s not all easy. It requires some bearing with one another. Every relationship does. Forgiving one another If anyone has a complaint against another even as Christ forgave you so you also must do.

But above all these things put on love which is the bond of perfection and let the peace of God rule in your hearts. That word rule is the word, referee. Let him call the balls and strikes in your life. To the which you are also called in one body and be thankful. And here’s the verse we’re gonna focus on tonight today.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual Psalms singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatever you do in word or do deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God, the father through him. Wives, submit to your husbands as is fitting to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives. Do not be bitter toward them.

Children, obey your parents and all things for this is well pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, don’t provoke your children lest they become discouraged. Bond servants or employees obey in all things your masters, your employer according to the flesh not with eye services men pleasers, but in sincerity of heart, fearing God. And whatever you do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not to men knowing that from the Lord, you will receive the reward of the inheritance for you serve the lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he’s done and there is no partiality.

So Paul just kinda covers the whole gamut of the Christian life and why it’s important that we live lives of spiritual integrity in order that we might be a help, a blessing, teaching, admonishing others. Now two words that we’re focused on today that are the actual subject we’re dealing with. Number 1 teaching and the second word admonishing. We find them here in our text verse. The word teaching is essentially the word that we’re most familiar with and that is it is an educational informational instructional process through which you help somebody learn.

And, it’s also it’s very much part of this concept of learning and teaching, but it is also a vital function of what the church does in discipleship. That is bringing people into a relationship with Christ and enable the enabling them to grow in that relationship. But there’s a second word that we’re focused on as well, teaching and admonishing. Now our context or concept of admonishing is more warning, of setting straight someone. The word here has more of a reference and it is a unique Greek word in the new testament text.

It’s more reference to a larger process of influencing people of reminding them through life example rather than wagging our finger under their nose. So we’re focused on teaching and living it out. Now if you look at the context, it becomes very clear to us where Paul is focused as he writes this letter to the Christians at Colossi. Verse 12, as elect of God put on tender mercies, kindness that list bearing with one another, forgiving one another. In our text verse, let the word of Christ dwell in you.

He’s not saying, stand in front of your class, point your finger and teach. This is living it out. So it’s clear to me from the context of what Paul is saying and I believe what the Lord would have us to get from this today is God is calling his church more to living it out than wagging our finger or teaching it as an teacher and student classroom setting. In other words, folks, let me just put this in good South Carolina English. This is a lot more about living it.

As someone said, what you are speaks so loud I can’t hear what you say. You get that? It’s hard to hear what somebody’s saying when they’re living something contrary, right? And some have put it like this, it’s walking the walk not just talking the talk. Right?

It’s easy for us to talk the talk. I need to be careful how I say this, but I bumped into a person that I thought was very vaguely familiar. And the more I looked at the person, the more I realized that I was looking at a guy I knew from about 30, 35 years ago when I was a bivocational pastor and spent a lot of time on job sites. And, found out this guy and I had some common interest. He’s quite a singer and a guitar player and very, very, very popular on the, the in the local churches, around the area, especially in revivals to come sing and play guitar and extremely popular on local radio station, which no longer exist here in the county.

Because back in those days, 30, 35 years ago, most of the broadcast were live. So you just took your guitar and your buddies and you went to the radio station and some of them just hung out all day, you know. They just played on this program and that program and next program and, he was one of them. And man, you never heard such hooping and hollering and carrying on in your life as they could do and, I understood from some that had been there and that, he could really whoop up a crowd. But I also worked with him on the job and he could cuss louder than he could sing.

He could throw fits that were absolutely mind blowing. And his reputation was fairly tarnished as a business man, as a man who worked in that industry in that day. And you know, just seeing him reminded me of the distasteful that was expressed on numbers of occasions back there 30, 35 years ago. People said things like, if that’s religion, I don’t want any of it. But I’ve also heard some people who lived around the saints of God in the workaday world, in the real world, who have said, if I ever get religion, that’s the kind I want.

Now, folks, let’s just put it in a nutshell this morning. That’s what Paul is trying to say to this church. That’s what Paul is trying to say to us the tender mercies, the kindness, the humility, the meekness. Bear with one another, forgiving one another. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly and let it come out in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing, making melody in your heart to the Lord and whatever you do, whether it’s working on a construction job or in the business world, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the father through it’s living it.

Amen? And it’s in that context that Paul calls us to teach and admonish. You know, people who live and work around and know folks who live that out. What Paul is instructing us here, they they’re hungry for what that person has. They want it.

You know, it’s not about being an authority, a master, a teacher in that sense of the word with students in your classroom and underlings and disciples. It’s so much more about being the good example. Jesus said pretty harsh words for the masters of the law in his day that like to be called rabbi or father, you know. He said call no man master, rabbi, father And I’m afraid sometime we get an overly we get a little overly pretentious. Folks, it’s not our pedigree.

It’s not our position. God is calling his people to be examples of his grace. James said in James chapter 3 verse 1, my brethren, be not many masters. Be not many teachers for we shall receive the greater condemnation. I love the ESV of that verse.

Not many of you should become teachers. You’re not talking about school teachers teaching children and that. He’s talking about people that assume that position, that authority. You know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness. So the word of God is not calling us to a position of authority.

The challenge today, our biblical challenge to one another is not to climb up on a soapbox or a podium as I’m standing on this morning with our professor hat on and our rabbinical robes wrapped tightly around us and our fingers wagging at our students in a teacher kind of way, but rather to live out the gospel in the everyday laboratory of life so that people who are struggling can look at us and say, I need whatever she has. Because I’ve watched her struggle. I’ve watched her go through difficult things. I need what he’s got because he’s facing this and he’s been through that and grace has been evident in his life. Paul doesn’t just leave us to figure out what that looks like.

If you have your bible handy, turn back to chapter 2 of Colossians. He paints a very clear picture here. Verse 6, as you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him rooted and build up in him and established in the faith as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit according to the traditions of men, according to basic principles of the world and not according to Christ. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you are complete in him who is the head of all principality and power.

And then he carries right over into chapter 3 in the beginning verses. We did not read. If you’re raised with Christ seek those things which are above where Christ is. Set your affection. We did read that then.

We have on things above and not own things on the earth. For you have died. You have been buried with Christ. Your life is hidden with Christ in God. And then he gives those very specific instructions which we’ve been referring to in verse 12 and following.

Very clear, no doubt left about what that looks like. When the word of Christ dwells in you richly in all wisdom and it can your life becomes a prime example for new believers. For people who are not yet believers. Brother Faye would call them pre believers and less mature believers, even non believers. And Paul goes on to give some ways this teaching and admonishing is expressed.

This is interesting to me. He doesn’t say anything here about sermons. He didn’t say anything here about Sunday school classes. He didn’t say anything here about small group studies. What does he say in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs?

But preacher, I can’t sing. Well, you can have a song in your heart. Amen? I’m not real sure what all that looks like. There’s some folks I don’t know how inspiring or helpful it would be if they went around singing all the time.

Kind of sound like the hound dog howling at the moon. But the Bible does say make a joyful noise under the Lord. And I’ve heard people sing that couldn’t sing that bless my heart because they had a song in their heart. There’s something about, being able to express the emotions of your heart and the feelings of your heart, the sentiments of your heart. Your music tells an awful lot about you folks.

Amen? And this is the way Paul says it’s to be expressed. Though it’s obvious here we’re not talking about a school master with a yardstick banging on the chalkboard his finger pointed at his students barking authoritatively his wisdom or giving pop quizzes, you know, just to harass his poor students. But it’s a fellow that’s saying follow me as Paul did. Follow me as I follow Christ.

Folks, can you say that? And the joy of the Lord flowing out of your life in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, It’s seeing a fellow Christian struggling, overtaken in a weakness or a fault in their life. And with tenderness in your heart as Paul instruct us, you go to come alongside of that person in their struggles and remind them that you’ve been there, that you failed, that you struggle. Galatians chapter 6, if you want to know the context of what I’m talking about. Brethren and it includes cistern too.

If a man or if a woman is overtaken in a fault, you which are spiritual criticize. No. Restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, gentleness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. Bear one another’s burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ. For if anyone thinks himself to be something and truth is he’s nothing.

He deceives himself but let each one examine his own work and then he will have rejoicing in himself alone and not in another for each one of us shall bear his own load. Let him who is taught in the word share in all good things with him who teaches. What is God calling us to in his word? He’s calling us to be sensitive to the struggling soul to come alongside that soul, to let them know I’ve been there too. I understand.

The apostle Peter who had experienced that powerfully in his own life in first Peter chapter 2 tells us more of what that looks like. Therefore, to you who believe he’s precious, but to some those who are disobedient. The stone which the builders reject has become the chief cornerstone. A stone of stumbling, a rock of offense. They stumble being disobedient to the word to which they are appointed.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people. Why? That you may proclaim. How do you proclaim? Not just verbally finger pointed but living it in the laboratory of life.

You may proclaim the praises of him who have called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Who once were not a people but now are the people of God who had not obtained mercy but now have obtained mercy. Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lust which war against your soul. Having your conduct honorable among all among the gentiles that when they speak against you as evil doers, they may by your good works, which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation. These are people living it out folks.

For this is the will of God that by doing good, you may put to silence ignorance of foolish men. There we go. That’s it. Love the brotherhood. Fear God.

Honor the king. Peter gives us clear instructions on what this looks like. And is never to be condescending. That’s a great place for a good amen. Never to be condescending.

Always to be gentle, to be kind, to be considerate, to be edifying. I will never forget as a college student in a Bible college, in the middle of ministry, finding myself in a spiritual desert, I didn’t feel like I felt like I dropped off of God’s radar screen. That God didn’t know who I was. He didn’t hear when I prayed. There was just he was gone in my life and it gone on for days weeks.

And I couldn’t figure it out. And I thought I’m gonna talk to the godliest person I know. And the godliest person I knew was doctor Jay Wesley Adcock, one of my professors. So I went to him prior to a chapel services and said doctor adcock can I talk to you a minute? I have I’m struggling.

He said just meet me here after chapel. And he stayed in his seat. So I went over after chapel. Everybody had left and I started pouring out my sorry, sad story about how horrible my life was and how sad this situation was. And as I was telling him this sad story, I got pretty deep into it and doctor Adcox suddenly said, oh, thank God.

Thank God. And I thought the poor old man doesn’t have a clue what I just told him. He missed the point, but he didn’t. And this is what he said. He looked at me and he said, John, I’m so glad I’m not the only one that goes through situations like this.

I’m not the only one that’s had the struggles when it felt like God was silent. I can just say to your son, hang in there. Don’t give up. Just keep obeying God and the victory will come back and the grace will come back. It’s just a tough time.

Hang in there. I’ve been there. Done that. That’s all he needed to say to me. If the godliest man I knew on planet earth had been through that kind of an experience in his life and survived it, I knew I could.

And I’m talking to people in Eastly Bible Methodist Church this morning that could look at some struggling soul and be impatient and short-tempered with them and think, come on, you know, get it together. Or you can be like doctor Adcock. You can slip around an arm around their shoulder and say, honey, I know exactly where you are. I’ve been there. I struggled.

Just hang in there. Keep obeying God. Keep doing the right thing. Victory will come. Amen?

That’s what God’s word is calling us to. Some time ago, I saw one of our Lord’s most powerful illustrations and teaching in an entirely different light. It follows immediately on the hills of the most quoted verse in the bible. Anybody know what that verse is? It ain’t John 3 16 anymore.

No. It’s Matthew chapter 7 verse 1. Most quoted verse in the bible. But you got to go on and read the context. No.

It’s Matthew chapter 7 verse 1. Most quoted verse in the bible. And it says, judge not that you be not judged. People love that verse. But you gotta go on and read the context of that verse.

Jesus is not saying it’s wrong to judge. He’s saying it’s wrong to judge with the wrong attitude. It’s wrong to judge with a critical spirit. And he gives this crazy little story about a fellow who is just transfixed, obsessed with a moat, a speck in his brother’s eye. He just can’t let it go.

You got a speck in your eye. Let me get it out. And all the while, he’s got a 4 by 4 beam sticking out of his eye. A beam in his own eye. And Jesus doesn’t say, forget it.

Let the poor fellow struggle with his speck in his eye. You ever had a speck in your eye? My dad’s a bricklayer and I used to be his mud maker and brick toter. I’ve decided somewhere along the line there. I’m too smart for this.

There’s gotta be an easier way to make a living. Though daddy made a good living doing it. But often, the wind would blow or something would happen and the face off the brick, the sand, or the something would fly off of the scaffolding and into your eye. And I’m telling you, it doesn’t have to be very big to be absolutely debilitating to you. You can’t function when you get something in your eye.

You know, you can’t see. Your other eye starts watering. You can’t function. And my dad never said to me, just get over it. Deal with it.

You know? He didn’t ignore the mote in my eye. He would stop what he’s doing. He’d get down off of the scaffolding and with tenderness, very because he’d had a lot of motes in his specs in his eye across the year. They dig out his handkerchief and find a clean corner on it.

And he’d hold that eye very tenderly and he’d take that little corner of that handkerchief and he’d pick that little speck out of your eye very, very tenderly and gentle. And I’m just telling you what glorious relief there was when the speck is out. Really? Is Really? Is that what Jesus is saying here?

Leave people struggle with their modes. It’s not what he’s saying at all. He’s saying there’s a wrong way to do it and there’s a right way to do it. And the right way is you get the beam out of your own eye first. 1st.

Roy Hession in his little book, which inspired my thoughts on this, the Calvary Road, he said the beam is resentment towards the speck. So somebody has a fault in their life. It’s irritating to you. It may even affect you somehow and you get resentful and angry and bitter and you get your big old 2 by 4 or your big old crowbar and you say I’m gonna get that out of your eye. And they’re saying please leave me alone.

You’ve got a problem. But when you come at that person as my dad did on those jobs with tenderness, with gentleness, with kindness, with love. What a wonderful experience it is when that speck is gone. What is God calling us to do? He’s calling us to care enough about one another that we do some soul searching and say, Lord, how is my attitude?

What is my motive? Is it love? Is it tenderness? Is it restoration? Unfortunately, we have some folks around that are moat collectors They like to go around and pick moats out of people’s eyes and put them in their moat collection.

And when you get near them they’re going to say, hey, you ever seen my moat collection? I got this out of brother Tom’s eye. I got this one out of brother Austin’s eye. I got this Rita Stanley, you know what? You should see this when I got out of her eye.

They dig around and find the little niggling troubling difficulties in people’s lives and then they spread it. You can’t trust those people, right? There are some saints among us. You can trust them. You can talk to them about the thing you’re struggling with.

You can pour out your heart. You can tell it in its worst case scenario and they’re not gonna go show it to somebody else. They’re gonna come alongside you to help you and get that thing out of your eye. That’s what God’s calling us to. I hear somebody say this morning, but preacher, I’m just not a teacher.

It’s not my personality. I’m shy, timid. But can I remind you intentionally or unintentionally, you are teaching? You don’t have to be up in front of a class. You don’t have to be standing in this pulpit.

You don’t have to assume the position of a teacher. You are living it out And there are those who are following you. We are called to do it with all lowliness and gentleness, with long suffering, bearing with one another in love. Folks, it’s gonna take that kind of love. Unfortunately, there are too many of us.

The Hebrew writer talks about we should be mature spiritually but we’re still infants. God wants to enable us as he says in that passage in Hebrews chapter 5. By reason of the use of their senses, they learn to discern between good and evil and to do it carefully. I’m asking brother David to come to prepare to close the service. I have felt such a compelling call of God in preparation of this message this morning.

Our church desperately needs some mature grown up Christians who are good examples of grace and spiritual maturity, who are not afraid, who are willing to come alongside of struggling souls, not just to come and go and smile at one another and worship together and live our own lives. God is calling us to care enough about one another that we’re willing to be vulnerable enough to say to them, I know where you are. I’ve been where you are. Number of years ago, I was in South Alabama hunting with my old college roommate, and he invited me to go to church with him. I was there on a Sunday, and so we went to the church he was attending at the time.

It was different than anything I’d ever been to. Kinda weird, truthfully. They didn’t have instrumental music. A lot of different things they did different did things differently, but it was a huge church and packed full of young families. And I was just dumbfounded.

How do you get this many people in a strange kind of a church? And then the preacher got up and he preached a good solid gospel message on God and his power to break the spiritual strongholds in people’s lives. Which somebody joined them from that church family. They didn’t walk the aisle alone. They walked it with somebody from the church family.

Rows and began talking with them. And I thought, what’s going on here? Conversation went on and the invitation extended. And finally, the pastor said, okay. We’re gonna pray for these who have come forward this morning.

Do you have the cards ready? And those that had joined them as they came down the aisle got up and walked up to the pastor and handed him a little index card. Pastor picked up one of those cards and he said as he looked at that card, he said, Joe has come this morning He’s struggling with the stronghold of pornography in his life. We have a whole bunch of guys in this church. Would some of you guys be willing to come and pray with him right now?

And I mean, before the words ever got out of the pastor’s mouth, guys were getting up out of their seats all over that place. They streamed down the aisle with tears running down their faces. Joe came and nailed at the altar with the person that was with him and those guys gathered around. Tears flowed as they prayed. And then the pastor picked up a second card.

And he said, Jane says she’s struggling with an addiction to prescription pills and alcohol. We have a bunch of ladies in this place. This is a tough one, ladies. But you know where Jane is. Would you be willing to come pray with her?

And I could not believe There was a whole group of women that got out of their seats and walked down the aisle. A lady who admitted that she was in a severe sexual addiction struggle from one relationship to another to another. And the pastor said, some of you dear women know where she is. And I’m telling you, folks, they got out of their seats and went down and knelt around her publicly saying, I’ve been there. And it dawned on me, no wonder this church is packed.

No wonder there’s so many young families in this place today. Strobe. This is a place of refuge. This is a place of refuge. This is a place of healing.

This is a place of healing. This is a place of healing. Folks, I believe with all my heart. That’s what God wants to make easily. Bible Methodist Church.

I believe that’s exactly where our pastor’s heart is. I think that’s why he’s pushed this one another series. I know it’s where the heart of numbers of you in this place are today. Lorraine and I were just talking before the service. You should say, Brother Parker, it’s the love that just keeps drawing me back.

Love that’s willing to walk, of divorce. Would you stand with me this morning with your heads bowed and your eyes closed? I cannot help but believe there is somebody here this morning. That’s in a struggle, a life struggle. You’ve come to church this Sunday morning not knowing how it’s going to end, how it’s going to turn out.

Could I invite some people, if you’re struggling, if there’s a stronghold in your life this morning and you just like to pray about it before we leave this place today, could I invite you to come? And I believe there will be people that will join you quickly as you come to pray with you. Is there anybody here today that would just like to say, Lord, I’m struggling. I need some fresh grace in my life. This altar is open.

The Godly people of this church would be more than delighted to pray with you. This is a loving place. This is a safe place. This is a place where you can find grace. Anybody with the desire to seek his help this morning?

While our heads are bowed and our eyes are closed and some are coming, maybe you would just say, well, no one’s looking at you. Thank you for just giving some privacy to those is there anybody here this morning who would say, pretty much, is there anybody here this morning? It would say right now, but would you please pray for me? Thank you. I see your hand.

Thank you. I see your hand. I see your hand. Any others. To be those who come alongside of people who are strobe Now, we’re going to have some prayer here at the end.

If you need to go, you’re more than welcome to go. I’m going to lead in prayer. But I would I’d like to invite there’s several here at the altar. I’d like to invite some to just come near close to them and pray along with them this morning. If you need to go, God bless you.

You’re more than welcome to go. You’re welcome to sit. Stay. You’re welcome to come and join us as we gather around this alter father. We thank you this morning that you are a God who cares about the struggling.

Lord, if you were not, we would not be standing in this Lord. You’ve been so good to us, Lord. In the midst of our failures, Lord, you didn’t cut us off. You didn’t cast us out. You have loved us.

You have cared for us. And Lord, as we’ve I’ve shared this morning, you sent people alongside of us, not only to give us comfort, but to give us help and strength and encouragement in life. We rejoice in that today. Most of all, we thank you for the Lord Jesus who came to this world, Took upon himself our sin, our struggles, our failures. Went to an old rugged cross and bled and died there.

That he might pay the penalty of our sins and set us free. And today, Lord, we claim the blood of Jesus. We claim his death. We claim his power in our lives. We claim the resurrection power and victory over sin.

I pray you would help everyone whose hand was lifted and those who in their hearts know this is me. I’m struggling. Lord, I pray today would be a day when they turn to the Lord even before they leave here today and find your grace fresh and new in their lives. Thank you for these who have come and those who are praying with them. I pray, Lord Jesus, right now, give that strength.

Give that help. Give that grace that they are seeking. Lord, pour yourself fresh and new into their lives enable them to overcome and lord I pray for the people of this good church, the church family, the believers of this Eastly Bible Methodist Church. Lord, let us not just be good folks. Let us not just love on the surface, but all God made the love of God compel us to care enough about one another that we will come alongside of one another in our struggles that we will be safe, that we will be a Lord, tender and merciful and kind in our responses to the struggles of others Enable us as a church to be able to teach and admonish one another through our love, through our lives, through our care.

Have your way, Lord Jesus, in our church, in our church family. These that have come to visit with us today that are here, Lord, may what they sense in this place of the love of God, the presence of God cause them to want to come again and, Lord, to experience it afresh and anew in their lives. And then, Lord, I pray you’d help each and every one of us to fully yield and fully surrender ourselves completely to you. Thank you for your presence today. Thank you for meeting with us.

Thank you for helping us, Lord. We give you praise Thank you so much for being with us today.

I’m gonna invite you to turn in your bibles to Ephesians chapter 4. That’s where we’re gonna be looking this morning, Ephesians chapter 4.

We’re in the middle of a series of messages that is focused on the passages of scripture that deal with one another, our relationships one with another. And this morning, we’re gonna be looking at Ephesians as we consider the idea that we are called to be kind one to another. Why don’t we need that in our culture today? Maybe I should say, be kind one to another on Facebook. I’ll just let that hang for a minute.

What does it mean for us to live out relationship one with another in such a way that is a reflection of the glory of God, But impacts each other here. Last week, Brer de Parr, spoke to us about loving one another. Spoke to us about loving one another. Really, that message is the hinge on which all that we look at, swins, all that we look at In fact, even the first message in this series of iron sharpening iron, so one man sharpens another hinges on our love, one for an another. And so you love one and But once you develop a relationship of love, one for another, deep relationships can be formed that then become transformational.

This morning, we’re going to be turning our attention to Ephesians chapter 4. When we live out love, one of the ways that that’s expressed is through our kindness expressed to one another. I’m gonna invite you to stand as we read this together. Ephesians chapter 4, we’re gonna take a little bit of a larger section to really focus on the last verse. So I’m just going to tell you that in advance.

Ephesians chapter 4, we’re gonna begin reading in verse 25. Wherefore, we’re gonna begin reading in verse 20 5, wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor, For we are Right? Here’s that connection of 1, degree, angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down upon your wrath, neither give place to the devil. Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor, working with his hands, the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that and not the holy spirit of God, whereby you And the holy spirit of God, whereby you are sealed under the day of redemption.

They’re all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you. You may be seated. If we were to take the time this morning to kind of rewind a little bit in Paul’s a letter to the Ephesians earlier in this chapter. Paul has been communicating to the church the importance of taking some things off and putting some things on.

He illustrates that through the idea or the imagery of changing clothes from the old self, the old man, putting on a new set of clothes that are a part of the new man and living out a different life. You know, the clothes that you wear identify You’re aware of that, right? The way you wear your clothes identify you. Let me give you an example of that. You can take the plainest colors available, black and white.

Person. For example, you see somebody wearing a black suit, a guy wearing a black suit, a white shirt, a black bow tie with a woman who is wearing a black shirt, a black bow tie, with a woman who is wearing black formal attire. And what do you typically think? You take those same colors, black and white, and you find a kid walking through, the store with a pair of black pants, kind of hanging a little bit low. Still not sure how he’s holding them up, but you know kind of the look.

Alright? Shirt hanging down, black eyeliner, white lettering on his shirt, and what do you think? It’s probably a goth. The clothes that you wear tell a whole lot about who you are. Tell a whole lot about who you are.

Number of years ago, I was selected to appear for jury duty. Anybody ever appeared for jury duty? Isn’t that a fun thing? I showed up that Monday morning and we were escorted in. We were seated in the gallery and the man that was on trial was gonna be put on trial.

His lawyer was going through and asking every potential juror. He said, Now, I want you to observe my client. Now he had put on some nice clothes. Alright? But shining from those clothes were tattoos, and dreadlocks, and markings that told a story.

And he asked every person, will you be fair and impartial to my client even though he has tattoos and dreadlocks? And a part of me wanted to say, listen. I’m gonna be fair and partial no matter what he wears or what he has on, but he’s telling a story. Speak volumes about who we are. Paul is beginning to talk to this church in Ephesus about clothes that they’re to take off of the former life, things that they’re to put on as a part of the new life.

All that we looked at this morning in the text that we read deal with our relationships 1 with a and a. And then, we have a lot of people that are in the how we connect one with another. John R. W. Stott made this observation.

He said, holiness is not a mystical condition experienced in relationship to God. For a minute, Holiness is not a mystical condition experienced in relationship to God, but in isolation from human beings. If somehow you and I can capture that this morning, when we talk about living out holiness, it’s more than just a set of doctrines that we believe, but it is a life that we live in relationship 1 with another. Test. Sometimes that’d be really nice, wouldn’t it?

Wouldn’t it be really easy to live out your Christian life in isolation from others? All you extroverts are saying, oh, absolutely not. I gotta be around people. All you introverts are saying, oh, yes. Man, that’s a great idea.

Give me about 25 acres in Montana that’s 100 of miles from anybody else and I’m a happy man. Some of you are looking at some other people, and you know who I’m talking to. Living out the gospel is always in relationship one with another. As we look at this particular text this morning, I want you to notice several things about this text as it relates to kindness. So we’re focusing on verse 32, be ye kind one to another.

How do we live out this life of holiness, lives, the road, in the nitty gritty, one with another. How do we be kind? I want you to know this first thing is that there is a nature to kindness. There is a particular nature to kindness. It is supernatural.

Holding the door for the elderly lady as she goes into the grocery store, rather than slamming the door in front of her. Alright? There’s a nature to kindness that is supernatural. Biblical kindness is something more than just random acts of goodness, but it stems from something deeper within. I’ll tell you why I believe that kindness has a nature that’s deeper than just an external act.

Because if you go over to Galatians chapter 5 in verse 22, Paul writes about the fruit of the spirit, and guess what is a part of the fruit of the spirit. And guess what is a part of the fruit of the spirit? What is a part of the fruit of the spirit? Kindness, right? In the spirit of God, it produces the fruits of kindness in our life.

In Luke’s gospel chapter 10, we read an account that Jesus tells about a man who is making his way to Jericho and on his way he’s attacked by thieves and he’s beaten and left for dead and along comes a Levite and along comes a priest and they look at the man and they’re shocked by his appearance. And what do they do? They step to the side. Bless you. I’m busy.

And along comes this Samaritan, looks upon a Jew. And rather than doing what the priest and the Levite who are Jews did of stepping aside and walking away, what does he do? He reaches down to that man and he begins to minister to that man’s need. And he begins to apply ointment to his wounds. And he picks him up, and he sets him on his donkey.

He takes him to an inn, and he provides for him. That’s not the shocking part about that whole story. Account. If you read it in acts or I’m sorry. In Luke chapter 10 verse 33, this is what Luke records for us.

Jesus says, but a certain Samaritan as he journeyed came where he was, this man who was wounded. And when he saw him, he had compassion on him. That’s significant. Samiritan, looking at a Jew who he would say, this Jew views me as a dog. Not even worthy to receive scraps as a dog would.

A or not born a Samaritan. This man looked with him. Samaritan looks at this Jew with compassion. That’s shocking to me. There is something that is going on deeper inside of the heart of this Samaritan than just a service, oh, poor fella.

Something has stirred within him. Him. He had compassion on him. I want to ask you the question. What was his kindness?

Was the kindness the fact that he reached down and he bandaged him up and took care of him and took him in? Or is the kindness really that there was something stirred within his heart that said, this man needs my kindness this man needs my kindness. And I would submit to us this morning that the true kindness was what was going on inside of the Samaritan’s. Super natural kindness being expelled from him, kind to them? Oh, sure.

They may have gone through some acts of kindness. You some somebody come and observe this? See what I’ve done? Somebody pin a metal on my chest. The Samaritan has no desire for recognition.

It’s out of the compassion of his heart that he says, this man needs ministered to. Supernatural kindness is more than just what you do, but rather is who you are. Remember, when we talk about kindness, it’s a fruit of the spirit. It’s something that is being born through us through the spirit. One writer stated it this way, the kindness of the new testament is more than just doing something nice once in a while.

It is the inclination of a person’s character. When the spirit works in us, we begin doing kind deeds because of who we are. We are kind. I’m concerned when we excuse people who are unkind and gruff by just saying, well, that’s just who they are. You ever heard that?

They’re just gruff people. It’s awfully quiet this morning. Isn’t it really easy for us to excuse our unkindness and our callousness to just being, well, it’s my personality. To and it’s a day, that’s why God puts people in your life so that he can help you. Because he wants to take the rough edges, and he wants to begin to refine you.

Why? Because the spirit of God wants to work within you to begin to smooth off all of those rough course edges to make of you a spirit and do kind Ephesians, Paul tells us how to walk out spirit filled kindness. I want you to notice with me this morning the expression of kindness. If its nature is supernatural, it has to come out in some form of expression. And it has to come out in some form of expression.

And there are connections that Paul draws to us this morning and how we show kindness. Alright? Kindness is extended in community. Again, you can’t show kindness in a test tube apart from people. Kindness is lived out in the everyday life.

So what does that look like? If you have your bible still open, and if you don’t, you may want to just open it up because I want you to see some of this. In verse 25, Paul says, therefore in other words, now that you’re a new creature in Christ, now that you have taken off these old clothes, put on new clothes, therefore, putting away lying, let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor for we are members one of another. That means that kindness is expressed by our care about truth. So that you and I can put on words of truth to speak one to another.

For truth to be spoken, it must replace false. You must be willing to speak truth, one to another. You ever found it easier to And so we just kind of massage it a little bit until when it comes out, the truth is, it’s not true anymore. Couple months ago, my nephew asked me a question about himself. He said, do you think I am this?

Oh, man. Don’t ask me that. You know why I didn’t want him to ask me that? Because what he asked me was true about him. And if I’m going to speak the truth to him, I have to say, you know what?

You’re Yeah. Yeah. That’s you. Merry Christmas, happy New Year. God loves you.

And now, with Jay does too. Just kind of massage the truth. And in reality, what we’re doing is we’re speaking a lie rather than speaking the truth one to another. Sometimes it’s hard because that means that you and I have to stop speaking words to appease somebody, give you an example of that. You go to the doctor, and you have something going on in your body.

You don’t want them to lie to you, do you? And you don’t want them to lie to you, do you? And you don’t want them to lie to you. You don’t want them to lie to you. You don’t want them to lie to you.

You don’t want them to lie to you. You don’t want them to lie to you, do you? No. You may not want to hear the correct diagnosis because result is worse. Isn’t it?

Oh, you’re fine. You’re fine. You don’t have cancer. Truth is, is yes, you do have cancer. And because he lied to you, you can’t do anything about it.

And because you don’t do anything about it, you die from it. Divorce. Let’s move on. Verse 26, be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath nor give place to the dead.

And I thought, how in the world do we express kindness through anger? Is it possible? I mean, aren’t those like polar opposites? Get angry and be kind? How do you bring those together?

Aren’t they Then I got to thinking about it. You remember when Jesus went into the temple, and he saw what was going on, the money changers, those that were selling, the sacrifices, and he went and he overturned the tables. And he didn’t just turn the tables, but he braided a cord together and he drove them out. And I look at that and I say, Jesus. Let me read to you Ephesians.

Be kind one to another. Then I stop and I think about it a moment. No, it may not have appeared kind what he did to those money changers and the salesman of the sacrifices. But can I tell you something? He was being really, really kind to all of the people who were coming to worship because they were being What does that look like in our world?

How does that play out? For the unborn. When you go and you protest outside of an abortion clinic, whenever you go down to a Hope Women’s Shelter and you volunteer your time, that’s a way that you show kindness steal or let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor working with his hands what is good that he may have something to give him who is in need. What is that look like? We live out kindness whenever instead of taking advantage of others, we take what we have to be able to help provide for others.

I find this really interesting. Paul says, let him who steals labor. Says, let him labor so that he has something to give. Do you know that the Lord gives to us what we have in our hands, so that we can help those around us? You show kindness when you take what you’ve made from your labors, and you give to things like the medical brigade team going to Honduras, or you give to Tim and Sharon Teed, or to the Melton’s, or it may mean whenever you take your hard earned money, and you give to a family that’s in need, or a single mother who’s struggling to make ends meet.

Let him labor so that he has something to give. What are we talking about? We’re talking about living out kindness one with another. Look at verse 29, verse 29 is a powerful way to express kindness to one another. That it may impart grace to the hearers.

Words are incredibly powerful. We all grew up with that little saying, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me. Whoever said that, to use a more palatable word was ignorant. So untrue. The power of words is immense.

Do you know one of the ways the easiest ways that you can show kindness to somebody is through your mouth, being kind in your speech. We have boys in our house. That was evident by what you saw up here on the platform earlier. And they love to play basketball. And there are times that they’ll come in and they’ll be like, oh, man.

I broke your ankles. I burned you. Or they go around, you’re small. You’re small. Are those words that build up and edify?

Can I tell you something? That’s you want to know how to pray for the pastor and his wife? Right there. That’s how you pray for us. We’re still trying to work on words that are edifying.

Can I just stop here for just a minute? Some of us learned words as children to speak to one another negatively, critically and we never grew out of it. We’ve not learned how to use the words of our mouth to build one another up, to edify one another, to impart words that are grace filled. Sometimes our words are seasoned with salt. It’s just they’re salty.

Right? I’ll never forget. I’ve told this illustration before going over to LKQ a number of years ago. I was looking for an arm rest for our van and went in, had my boys with me. They were small at the time.

Went up to the counter, said do you have, or I saw one line that you have, my model year van. Do you have the leather armrest for the driver’s side? I don’t know. You’d have to go out and look. It’s $3 to go out and look.

Really. $3.3 for me to walk all the way to the back of your property. And by the way, you have to be 16 years old to go out there. My boys aren’t 16 and I’m not leaving them up here. And I just snidely remarked as I went out and said, well, I said, come on boys.

We’ll look for it online. I got him. Burned him. Yes. Till I’m driving away and the Holy Spirit said your words were wrong.

Was it true that I was gonna go look online? Yeah. It was true. I was gonna go look online, but my words were salty. And the Holy Spirit sent me right back there a couple days later to say, I was here a few days ago, and I made a comment.

I don’t know if you remember me. Guy said, Yeah. I remember you. My words were wrong, and I need you to forgive me. What am I talking about?

Being kind one to another, letting our words speak words that are building up and not tearing down. Paul concludes verse 32 by telling us to be kind one to another by saying this, and be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you. Why does he say that? I think that’s connected some back to verse 31 where he says, he just tastes like this grocery bag and says, let me throw the rest of all of this stuff in here and tell you how you can live out kindness. He says, let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice.

He says, put that all together. Listen. You need to learn to forgive others. You ever been hurt? And we all say, yes.

What happens when you’re hurt? Usually, you project that hurt in unkindness one to another. And Paul says, look, you need to learn to be tenderhearted. Let the fruit of the spirit of kindness be born in you. Become tenderhearted.

Forgive one another so that Christ can work through you to be kind one to another. Reason that Paul cautions his readers to be forgiving towards one another is because there will be times that you’re hurt by people. And the natural response is to show forth unkindness in response. Let me bring this to a close. There’s one more point that I think we need to make as reference to this text.

It’s the question of why. Why does kindness matter? And I would suggest to you this morning is because kindness is powerful. You want to know how powerful kindness is? Listen to what Paul says in Romans chapter 2 and verse 4, or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience repentance.

And in so doing, our kindness can become a catalyst through which people are drawn to Christ. Christian than by all the theological arguments in the world. Can I just also put a little caveat on that? Darken the churches because of a lack of kindness. Because the roots of our soul are not in the soil of the spirit producing the fruit of kindness.

In her memoir about her journey from being a committed lesbian to committed Christian, Rosaria Butterfield tells the story of how a preacher without preaching a sermon radically impacted her life. She tells about how she had written this article. It was a 2 page response from a local pastor. She wrote it to submit to the paper. And she had expressed her frustration about an organization, a Christian organization.

And it was published as a critique against this evangelical Christian group. Produced it in her local paper. In response to that, she received all sorts of letters. A box that was, letters that were sympathizers to her cause. And then she had one that was letters from haters, her hate mail.

She had from haters. Her hate mail. She’d written this critique against this Christian evangelical Christian organization. All of the sympathizers here, all of the hate mail here. She said, I got a letter from a local pastor, didn’t know what to do with it.

She said, I read the letter, and I didn’t know which how to put it in. So she said, it sat on my desk for 7 days. In that letter, the pastor spoke words of truth. He didn’t lie to her, which was painful to her. But she said, that letter was written with the kindest of words.

This is what she says. It was the kindest letter of opposition that I’d ever received. Its tone demonstrated that the writer wasn’t against me. A committed lesbian wrote an article in opposition to a Christian organization. And here comes a letter from a pastor that she’s holding in her hand and has sat on her desk for 7 days.

It’s not hate mail. But it’s also it’s not affirming who I am. She goes on to tell that she contacted that pastor, became friends with that pastor and his wife, and through their kindness and love to that woman, she was transformed by the power and the grace of God. She’s married today to a pastor. She’s a mother.

She’s a homeschool mom and she’s authored several books. Why? Because the power of kindness can transform a life. If it was the kindness of God that has transformed us, then may the roots of our heart Help us to be kind one to another. Tonight, we’re going to come back and look at this.

How does that play out? What does that look like? A whole lot easier to be sharp and to come back with a burn, pray. Father, thank you for your kindness that you expressed towards us that has drawn us to repentance. Another.

And that means that through our lives, through our actions lived out in the real world, in the nitty gritty, you’re calling us to live out this spirit and kindness that is so powerful in the world around us. People are drawn to you. Church, but also, out many souls would be drawn into the church where they can hear of the graces of God that’s drawing them into Raises things in Jesus Father, go with us now as we leave. Keep your hand upon us. Help us to honor you with all that we do.

We’ll praise you in Jesus name. Amen. The Lord bless you. You were just so Amen. The Lord bless you.

You are dismissed.

I wanna invite you this morning as we look into God’s word to first John chapter 3. And as I understand it, that was actually part of your Sunday school, at least the young adults this morning.

And while you’re turning there, and I hope you have your bible or some means of looking into the word of God. I’d often am using a tablet or but I want my bible nearby Sometimes you just need to mark something You need to underline something. But while you’re looking for it, 2 things I wanna say. So delighted to hear doctor Peake speak or sing this morning. I told, pastor earlier this morning with doctor Peake being here.

I said, oh, I’d love to hear him sing. He said, he is. Wow. Thank you, doctor Peake. I love that song.

It touched me most deeply. And first, at, watching Ruth Graham Bell or Ruth Bell Graham, doctor Billy Graham’s wife’s funeral. It was the first time I heard part of that, give me Jesus. Thank you. The second thing, and I’d asked pastor’s permission to say this, is that when Kathy and I retired and made our plans to move back here, I did discuss it with my pastor.

I’ve been a member of this church all along, but I discussed it with my pastor and I said, now, you know, we’re coming back. I’m more than comfortable to just stay busy in other places doing ministry where and there here and there, But with us, being with our parent my parents and caring for them, I’d love to be able to be in Easley Bible Methodist Church. This is my church and has been now for wow. 40 some years, I don’t know. 1982 Figure that out.

So, he said, oh, no. We want you to come. And I said, now listen. Please understand. Is there any time anywhere any place I can be an asset or help or blessing I’m ready but I’m gonna be very comfortable and blessed to be able to sit under your ministry and just let that in the Lord’s hands And I have to say God has used my pastor to minister to my heart over and over in these recent months since July.

And, I have had opportunity to speak on other occasions and I am delighted to have that opportunity this morning So I thrilled to be a part of this church, continue to be a part of this church, and, very thankful for what God is affording me today and over the next few weeks. I think it’s every other Sunday I’m speaking in three, messages Our scene for this series is love one another and I don’t think there’s ever been a time when it was more desperately needed than right now because we’re living in a polarized world of conflict. And, the political scene is just it’s a train wreck. And then our own culture with all the racial tensions and the cancel culture, there’s just everybody’s out to get everybody else. And I have said even in our own circles, I’m very very distressed about the mentality that tends to divide people even within the church and, our identification as conservative holiness people into us and them.

Folks, we’re not us and them. We’re the family of God. Amen? Yes. May God never allow us to be comfortable putting people in some other basket.

We are in God’s basket, the family of God, and the call of the word is as clear, as powerful, and specific as it can be to love one another, and first John 3 is a great place to start with that. We’re reading beginning at verse 1 of first John chapter 3 behold what manner of love the father has bestowed on us that we should be called the children of god? Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know him. Beloved, now are we the children of God and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed we shall be like him and we’re not yet there we’re still seeing through the glass darkly and failing to fully understand one another but we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is and everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself even as he is pure. Verse 10.

In this, the children of god and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness or purify himself is not of god nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you’ve heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain, who was of that wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous.

Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you, we know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death Whoever loves or hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him By this we know love because he laid down his life for us and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of god abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue but in deed and in truth. And by this, we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him.

Reading down through verse 18 of first John chapter 3 What does love truly mean in these verses? So what is the implication of it? There’s so many various levels and implications of the word love in our english language. Everything from loving a good hot dog, which I’m guilty of, to loving God or loving your wife or loving your children. And people learning the English language are confused as to what you mean.

You love hot dog I thought you only love your wife no, well okay In the Greek language in which our new testaments were written there are 4 words that are used for love the first two of them are actually more implied than they are specifically used. There’s the basic form of love which is eros from which the word erotic comes and has been misconstrued and it simply refers to or speaks of fleshly passion natural desire the desire of a mate. And, again, it’s not used specifically in the new testament, but it’s referenced on a number of occasions throughout the new testament. The second one less familiar is storge and s t o r g e, and it speaks of family love and that is instinctive or natural even animals have family love their offspring, and, it is truly the love of a mother, that is just instinctive and natural. That word is not used specifically but Paul writes of those who’s in the last days in Romans 1 who are without storge without natural affect affections so the, contrast of that word is used and of course the New Testament is very clear in its admonitions to family love and we need it in these days by the way.

We need a revival of good family love. Amen? The last 2 are very clearly and often used in the scriptures and that is fileo from which the word the name of the city of Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love comes and it is simply brotherly love but it is not necessarily instinctive. It is more, a chosen love. In other words, I choose to love Jonathan Slagan White.

He’s my brother. He’s my friend. I choose to love Bob Ravenscraft. It’s not just because I can’t resist liking them, you know. It’s more a choice, and it’s less instinctive.

And you don’t find this necessarily in the animal world, but you do find it among humans. And you would think that might be the word that the apostle John is using in this passage, but it’s not. There is one higher and that is the love that god has for each and every one of us, and it’s the word agape, which many of us are familiar with. It’s a word that’s often used, in churches, and, you’ll read of agape love. And it is, and I like to base my definition on what I learned from doctor Leslie Wilcox, who used to attend our church many years ago.

Doctor Wilcox said it is simply the love of choice, not innate passion or desire, not necessarily attraction but choice. And it is divinely sourced and divinely enabled. So that is the love that John is writing of here in these verses in first John chapter 3. Now for a clear understanding of that, turn over the gospel of John, if you with will with me this morning, and chapter 15 of John’s gospel. And there Jesus himself lays out what agape love is.

We find it beginning in verse 9. As the father loved me, agape love, I also have loved you. Every one of these are agape. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my father’s commandments and abide in his love.

These things I have spoken to you that my joy may remain in you and that your joy may be full. This is my commandment that you love one another agape as I have loved you. So what is the level God is calling us to love one another? It’s agape, the highest form of love, the love that brought Jesus from heaven to this world, to be our savior. And this is what he says about that love.

Verse 13, greater love has no man than this, than to lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do whatever I command you. No longer do I call you servants for a servant does not know what his master’s doing, but I have called you friends. For all things that I heard from my father, I made known to you. You did not choose me.

Here it is. I chose you. God doesn’t love you because you chose him. He just couldn’t resist you. You were just so cute.

You know? He just couldn’t resist. No. He loved you when you were anything but cute. He loved you in your worst estate.

You didn’t choose me. I chose you and appointed you that you should bear fruit and your fruit should remain. And whatever you ask the father in my name he may give it you these things I command you. Why? That you love one another.

I call you friends. I think about that. Wow. God calls me friend. You did not choose me.

I chose you. I’m so thankful that I wasn’t raised or taught that god randomly elects or selects some people to be saved and some to be damned. Aren’t you? Are you thankful that you’re not taught that? No.

It’s my understanding in God’s word that it’s whosoever will. Amen? That it’s not God’s will that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. How serious is God about it? Jesus said I lay down my life for you.

That’s how serious he is about it. So let’s look in this passage again and let’s get a better understanding of the biblical command to love one another and go a beat a bit deeper in this. And we are coming back to this evening in our breakup groups to discuss it. So it’s important that you maybe make a note or 2 as we go through this. First, I wanna talk to you about the inspiration to love one another.

And I’m just gonna give you a list of verses straight from the word of God. Okay? And you’ll have those in your notes this evening, but, they’re also here this morning. 1st John 4 verse 11 and John is the apostle of love he writes a lot about it most of our references to this matter of love come from John’s writings Beloved 1st John 411 If God so loved us we also ought to love one another Amen. First John 4:19, we love because he first loved us.

First, John’s gospel chapter 13 in verse 34, a new commandment I give you, Jesus, that you love one another even as I have loved you that you also love one another. John’s gospel chapter 15 verse 12. This is my commandment that you love one another as I have loved you. Are you getting it? We’re talking about the inspiration to love one another.

And then in the writings of Paul in Romans chapter 13 verse 8, Owe no man anything except to love one another for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. The inspiration to love one another comes straight from the mouth of our lord, from the law, from the word of God. Amen? And exemplified for us in Christ himself. The inspiration is modeled for us in God’s love for us.

Well, there may be somebody here this morning that is not really feeling love. You’re not feeling it, the love of God for you. And maybe you’re not feeling much love from other people as well. May I affirm to you this morning from my heart and I’ve prayed about this earnestly over the last few days and especially this morning. God, help me to help somebody today realize you love them.

You care about them. This church loves you. This church cares about you because we are God’s people expressing God’s love. And may I affirm to you the most familiar verse in all the Bible probably, and I need you to say it with me. For god so loved me.

Change out the word the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever amen Whosoever that includes me. I’m thankful for that this morning. But it includes you whosoever believeth in him need not perish but have eternal life. Hallelujah. God didn’t send his son into the world to condemn the world.

The next verse says, but that the world through him might come to know his love and be safe. You know, Israel was feeling alone and forsaken taken and forgotten and God said to them in Isaiah 49 verse 15 through his prophet, can a nursing mother forget her child? No. He said, I have inscribed you in the palms of my hands. I see Jesus holding out nail scarred hands as he says that, saying to us, I have the reminder of my love for you right here in the nail prints in my hand.

Friend, may I emphasize to you this morning, you’re not forgotten God loves you Most of our concepts of love are based on emotional or physical attraction my love of hotdogs is based on that only not on my doctor’s advice but on just how I like hotdogs And there’s something about whatever it is we say we love whether it’s our dog, our hot dog, your family, your car, or truck It it’s just something appealing about it, you know? And all of us have a different taste whether it’s food or automobiles, vehicles, there’s just something about it that appeals to us. Some of us like fishing. Some of us like hiking. Hiking.

Some of us like whatever. Well, this is not the case with agape love. And that’s why some people struggle with it. They want this overwhelming euphoric desire to sweep over them. And they’re willing to let God do that to them.

So they’ll kinda go to church and say, well, here I may am, Lord. If you want me to love you, make me love you. Well, God’s not gonna make you love him. You have to do what Jesus said god has done there in John 15. You didn’t choose me.

I chose you It’s a decision It’s a choice And Paul writes about what God did in Romans chapter 5 in verse 6 When we were still without strength in due time, Christ died for the ungodly. Scarcely for a righteous man will one die, but perhaps for a good man some would die. But God demonstrates his love for us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. God loved us. God sent his only begotten son to die in our place when we were aliens and strangers and enemies in our minds by wicked works and unloving.

He chose to love us. Amen? Are you thankful He loved you when you were unlovely and unloving His selfish, sacrificial love for us to whom he owes nothing. He owes us nothing when we were at our worst is the inspiration for us to love him and not only love him but to love one another. So do we love one another just because we just can’t resist loving each other or liking each other?

Well, that’s the case in some place. You know, some of you are just so likable you can’t be resisted. I’m trying to think of who that is. It’s in my notes but okay. Cathy.

I know Cathy is the one. There you go. That’s the world’s concept of love, isn’t it? You just can’t resist. They’re just so they’re such nice people.

How can you not like them? Well, friends, that’s not why we love one another in the church. Amen? We need to get this morning. It’s not because we just can’t resist one another.

It’s because we are part of the family of God and we love one another because he loved us first And let me tell you what my friends, that love is redemptive. When you love people on purpose, you love people when they’re not lovely and they’re not loving. They’re actually everything but lovely and loving. They’re ornery and resistant, but you still love them. Amen?

A dear friend of mine in ministry many years ago lost his way, backslid, wound up homeless in another state and lost. We no one knew where he was or what he was. His family broke apart. His marriage. It was just disastrous.

But one of our friends got him on his heart and just set aside days in his schedule and went to the area, the general area that he knew he was, that he started to search an investigation. He was the next military guy with some knowledge. And sure enough, he started making contacts and tracking, and he finally narrowed it down till on a hot summer day on a sidewalk. He saw him, and he’s walking down the street behind him, and he called his name. And that man who had been so gifted in ministry turned around in all of his lostness and brokenness and looked into the face of a former friend and he said the lost man said to him, why?

Why? Why are you pursuing me? Why do you care? Why are you here? And my friend wrapped his arms around him and said, because I love you, and God loves you, and he’s not done with you.

I’m glad to report to you that started that poor man on a return journey. It hasn’t been easy, but it’s been a return journey. I’m thinking of a day when I went to a far distant state, and some of you would know who I’m talking about this morning, to preach in a bible college. And god put a young man on my heart that had been in our church here in Easley that had a powerful testimony, but it had a brokenness in his life. And last I knew was angry and bitter and lost as he could be.

And I managed to figure out how to get a message to him. And I said to put you on my heart. I’m in the area. I’m gonna see you. I’m coming to see you or you’re coming to see me, 1 or the other.

And he showed up and had every plan to sneak away, but I had somebody watching for him to grab him and took him out to a restaurant that night after the service. I sat across the table from looked him in the eyeball, and this is what I said. You may be done with God, but god is not done with you. Folks, there’s people in this community that used to sit in our pews that have somehow become convinced god didn’t love them anymore. The church doesn’t love them.

Somebody needs to look those people in the face and say, you may be done with God, but God is not done with you. He loves you. That’s redemptive. God is calling us as his people not to love because we can’t resist it, but because he loves. To love on purpose.

Amen? To love by choice. You probably ought to just look at somebody right now and say I choose to love you I choose to love you I don’t love you because I can’t help it I choose to love you know what? That’s a good thing to say to your wife once in a while. Because once in a while your wife is not well, let’s don’t go there.

Probably good thing to say to your husband because sometimes your husband is just not is not it’s just irresistible. Right? You love him anyway. You choose to love. And yes, your kids, especially your kids I love you though I don’t like you Amen?

Got it? The inspiration for this loving one another, the second is the indication and boy, I gotta move. How significant or critical is it that we love one another? Is it an is it optional? Is it a nice add on to the Christian life?

Is it a personality thing? It’s just a gift. Some people are just gifted at loving people. Do I have to? I can hear somebody asking that right now.

Well, let’s let the word of god speak to it again. You ready? 1st John chapter 3 verse 14. We know that we passed from death to life because we dress a certain way or we give a certain testimony or we’ve had these experiences at an altar. No.

Because we love the brethren and whoever does not love abides in death, spiritual death. First John 47, beloved let us not love one another or let us love one another for love is from God and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. It’s pretty important. Right? 1st John 4 verse 8.

The one who does not love does not know God. So how critical is this? If you don’t love, you don’t know god for god is love. First John chapter 4 verse 12. No one has seen God at any time.

If we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. That’s how important it is. 1st John 4 verse 20. If someone says I love god and doesn’t love his brother or hate his brother, he’s a liar. Wow.

For the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen how can he love god whom he’s not seen? And then John’s gospel 13, chapter 13 verse 35 by this all men will know that you’re my disciples if you have loved one for another. That’s how important this is. So the indication of love of our love for one another is that we belong to God. We are modeling that love.

But somebody says, but preacher I’m not naturally a loving person I’m just not naturally loving I’m not gifted in that way I would just reemphasize. We’re not talking about natural here. We’re not talking about gifts. We’re talking about choosing to love. Agape love.

Loving because we’ve been loved. Jesus said to the woman who broke the priceless alabaster box and anointed the feet of Jesus the one who has forgiven little loves little but the one who’s forgiven much loves much. So the question I have for you this morning is have you been forgiven? Then love. If God’s loved you, if God has forgiven you, if God has cared about you, that ought to inspire all the love in the world.

You cannot say you love God and love your or not love your brother or sister and that’s why this series is weighing so heavily on the heart of our good pastor He wants us as a congregation of people to love God. He wants the blessings of God on us. And, we’re not talking about something that’s a nice not optional add on to the church or in our lives. This is critical. We know that we passed from death to life not just individually but as a church because we love one another and he who does not love abides in death Folks, a good pastor doesn’t want his church abiding in death amen So we must love one another and we need a revival of genuine heart love for one another.

Love for God but also love for one another. Otherwise, we’re abiding in death. We’re dying church. The third thing we’re gonna talk about is the confirmation of our love for one another how will this love for one another be manifest? How is it demonstrated in our lives?

1st John chapter 3 verse 18 Little children let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. It’s not just rhetoric, folks. Not just romance. It’s not just a nice song we sing from the songbook like we did this morning. It’s not testimony.

It’s not doctrine. It’s indeed and in truth. It’s not fakery. It’s not pretending. It’s real 1st Peter chapter 1 verse 22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren fervently love one another from the heart.

And what does that look like? Paul tells us in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 32, be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you. Peter writes in 1st Peter 4 and 18, above all, keep fervent love in your heart for one another for love this kind of love covers a multitude of sins. Oh, don’t let that rock your doctrine too hard Amen? Divine love caused you to be compassionate, loving, tenderhearted, forgiving.

And it, by the grace of god, deals with the sin issue within the church, within your own life. So the word of god’s clear 1st John 316 we know love by this he laid his life down for us we ought also to lay down our lives for the brethren. So it’s clear that this love, this agape love is manifested in tenderness towards one another and readily forgiving one another and willing to put failures behind us and giving selflessly, sacrificially for one another and that’s so contrary to the spirit of our culture and of our age this age, this culture is all about me all about me kindness and selflessness and consideration and thoughtfulness and humility wow Those are not the spirit of this age. But those are the spirits of this love. And that’s how it’s manifest in our world.

Can I just vent for a moment with a little pet peeve? Just an illustration of what I’m talking about. Leaving your shopping cart in the middle of the parking lot. When there’s a cart corral 50 feet away. Y’all hear what I’m saying?

That’s inconsiderate. That’s not kind. That’s not loving. Okay. I’m done with that.

There’s a 1,000 ways our current culture is living out the polar opposite of what the preacher is trying to preach this morning. And we need some good examples of people who are selfless. Amen? Considerate I love how our young parents in this church are training their children to be considerate and loving towards especially us older people loved it this morning. They’re holding the door open for us when I pulled up to let my parents out for church today.

I love it. I love it. That’s what I’m talking about. And you know what? It wouldn’t hurt you as you’re going into the store or whatever to look around and see some elderly person coming and just forget your hurry for a minute and back up and hold the door.

Most of these doors open on their own these days. But if you need to hold a door, open a door or get a shopping cart for them or help them. Could I give you a little homework for this week? You alright with that, pastor? You okay with that?

Could you think of some ways that you might one time a day, just once a day, do something considerate for somebody something that you might not have done otherwise and just maybe we’ll have a pop quiz next Sunday night I’m joking but my guess is if you do that you’ll find there will be some people that will be very expressive of gratitude and appreciation. I’ve been asking I’ve been forcing myself, making sure that I when I go through a cashier and boy, I don’t like the self checkout thing because it breaks down some of this and it’s robbing people a job. But nonetheless, sometimes I’ll choose the cashier over the self check simply because it gives me an opportunity to do a little interaction. And I’ve been saying to myself, don’t let this moment pass without saying something nice to the cashier. And you know, it’s as simple as saying, how’s your day going?

And sometimes they’ll say, hey. Great day. Having a good day. And one young man the other day gave me a testimony. But many times, most of the times, they’re saying, hey.

It’s been rough. It’s been hard. I’m sorry. I hope it goes better for you. And sometimes, I’ll just open the door.

If there’s a bunch of people in line behind you, you probably shouldn’t go too far with that, but no. Just little things like that. The nurse at the doctor’s office wherever it is, let people know there’s compassion in your heart And then the last thing I wanna talk to you about is the interconnection of our loving one another. That’s what God wants to do in his church. 1st Thessalonians 312, increase and abound in love for one another and for all people, just as we also do for you.

That loving one another brings an increasing and abounding until God’s people have become known as a loving people and by this people know. 1st Corinthians 12 25, that there should be no schism in the body. Members should have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all the members suffer with him. And if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with him.

You are the body of Christ. Amen? 2nd Corinthians 1 verse 3 to 7. Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies, the God of all comfort, who comforts us in our tribulation. Why?

That we may be able to comfort those who are in tribulation or in any trouble with the comfort wherewith we’ve been comforted. Amen? Yes. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us so also cons our consolation also abounds through Christ. Now if we’re suff or if we’re afflicted, it’s for your consolation.

Salvation which is effective for the enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer. If we’re comforted, it’s for your consolation and salvation. And our hope for you is steadfast because we know that as you are partakers of the sufferings so also you will be partakers of the consolation. So that is what Christ’s church should look like. When we go through uses pastor, uses other members of the body of Christ of the church to be an encouragement and blessing, we realize this is a blessing.

And then when someone else is going through it, we think about how it was a blessing to us, and we do the same for them. And often, we can comfort them through what God did for us in those moments. That’s what it’s supposed to be. So the question this morning is, am I enabling the church to look like that? Or am I hindering Easley Bible Methodist Church from truly demonstrating the love of Christ within the body and within the world.

That’s what the church should look like. Some time ago I was preaching a camp meeting evangelism team, get it out, from hope’s And I was just very blessed watching a beautiful young lady, very gifted, very talented, and very used of God in that camp. And then God put on my heart to share a message and I called that girl up to stand beside me and scared her half to death. And I said, I gotta tell you a story. Easy Bible Methodist Church many, many years ago, couple in that church, both are gone.

Couple in that church that were about as countrified, I guess I could probably say redneck, and it wouldn’t have been to them as it gets. Some of y’all figuring out who I’m talking about already. She’s amazing. He’s just a redneck. One of my buddies.

God really worked in their lives. And he’s a seabear. And boy, some of you remember, he couldn’t stand it till I had a CB radio in my little pickup truck. I had one of them antennas that you had to tie down. It was so tall.

I got a handle. My handle was the circuit rider. He had a big powerful base station, lived up in the country in the middle of nowhere. Some of you been to that house, way back down the lane, pit And the fire usually going in the evenings and sometime a pot of beans cooking on it. And he’d get on that radio and just talk.

It was a teenage boy roaming around in an old beat up pickup truck in this town. Parents had divorced, broken, and lost as he could be. Pretty well homeless, just bouncing from place to place, making it through school simply because he was a good ball player. But he had a CB radio in his truck. And guess who found him and said to him, hey.

You like to eat? What teenage boy doesn’t like to eat, especially if he doesn’t have a mama cooking for him? How about coming up here and eating supper with us? He found his way down that long lane and sat down at that table, and they put that amazing spread in front of him, and he was hooked. I mean, the hook was set.

And they began to reel him in and Sam said to him, you know, the only way you can eat my table is if you go to church with me. So come Sunday, he was sitting on a pew beside him. God got a hold of that boy in an amazing way. He came to an altar and gave his heart and life to Jesus Christ. Wound up at Hope’s Sound.

Met and married a wonderful Christian girl, have lived their lives serving the Lord to this day. And that teenage girl doing that youth ministry in that camp is their daughter. Some of you probably saw a Facebook post recently that Danny’s celebrating his 50th birthday. I believe it was. Raised a beautiful family, been involved in ministry, including missions.

How? Why? Because people that weren’t highly equipped with all kind of evangelistic things just loved. Just loved. Just loved.

I could not help but think. There are people like that all around us, touched by a loving heart, wakened by kindness, cords that are broken can vibrate once more. Rescue the perishing. I cannot tell you personally this morning how thankful Kathy and I are that we got to raise our children in Easley Bible Methodist Church, a church that I said across the years has never had anything of major schism or conflict. It just loved one another, Been unified.

What a legacy that is. But folks, I believe God is calling us and I believe the purpose and aim of our pastor is not just to call us to be more loving within the walls, within the social structure of this church, but that that love would get out, Lorraine. I can’t help but think of so many illustrations back in the day. God used you and Paul to touch base. It’s good to see you.

God used you and Paul to touch base. It’s good and arranged here this morning. God wants to do that again. There’s girls like Valerie standing under a railroad trestle, wet and pregnant, that Lorraine brought to church. God wants to do that again.

We’ve got to get our minds off of just being comfortable. We’ve got to start loving intentionally. Some of you need to love some family members intentionally that have become hard to love. You need to say to God, God, I need a fresh baptism of agape love. I believe he wants to do that.

Pastor, I want you to come. I want us to stand this morning. I want the pastor to close as he sees fit this morning. May God help us. And I would just remind you before you leave here today, it wouldn’t it would be a good thing for you to just go up somebody and say, god loves you, and I choose to love you too.

Amen. Let’s sing this little chorus together. He is here. Hallelujah. He is here.

His name again. He is here. Listen closely. Hear him calling out your name. Touch him.

You bow your head with me? Lord, you are here today and you’re calling us to love. Lord, we confess as a congregation that the love that you’re calling us to is hard. Brother Parker shared, it’s divinely sourced, and we acknowledge that there are times in our humanity it’s not easy to love. There are people that are unlovely.

There are times that we just recoil. And yet, lord, you demonstrated the way in which we’re called to love. And so I pray this morning as your holy spirit is speaking to us, maybe there are some here this morning that you’re saying you’ve allowed things to get between you and someone else, maybe within the church. And as a result of that, the love relationship has been broken. Maybe there are some here this morning that we’ve gotten so comfortable sitting in pews, have nice padding, and we’re just comfortable with the people around us that we’ve lost sight, that there’s a world out there that’s broken, and they understand hate.

They don’t understand the love that would compel somebody to be a like a Sam who would just say, why don’t you come over for lunch or dinner? Lord, would you help us to see others as you see them, and would you put within our hearts a love that is deep within that flows because you’ve forgiven us. May our love for one another stem from that truth that you have forgiven us. And as a result of being your children, we bear the marks of your life and that is a life of love for others. And so I pray that you would help us to divinely love one another.

Would you help us tonight as we work through these passages of scripture and this idea that it would become more than just a message that we hear, but a life that we live. Help us to know how to walk this truth out this week, I pray. In Jesus name, amen. Amen. The lord bless you.

You are dismissed. Let’s look forward to our time together tonight.