Authentic – Part 3 – Authentic Walk

WARM-UP

One thing in life that’s really easy to do is seeing the faults in others. It’s easy to judge, criticize, hold grudges, get irritated, assume. It’s easy to worry about yourself and get lost in your own messes without thinking about someone else’s. It’s easy to not care about other people, to be consumed about yourself and not be bothered by others. But here is the glaring fact, as clear as the sunshine in the sky: God commanded us to love even the most unlovable. In fact, the great commandment is to love God and your neighbor. The question is, would you be willing to love others, those who are difficult to love, just as Christ has loved the unworthiest of us?

ONE BIG  IDEA

ANYTHING SHORT OF LOVING OUR NEIGHBORS WOULD BE SHORT OF LOVING OUR FATHER IN HEAVEN.

 STUDY (Matthew 22:37-39 ESV)  

“37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

LEARN:

The Bible teaches us that it is impossible to be a Christian without love for your neighbor/brother/sister. We are commanded in a letter wrote to the Hebrew Christians: Hebrews 13:1 – “Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.” (NIV)

IMPORTANCE OF LOVE

A. First Love (1 John 4:19)

One of the important things we need to understand about Love, is that “God loved us first”. And He proclaimed it loudly on Calvary’s Hill (John 3:16). God himself put all the cards on the table, and said, “First of all, I Love You!” When we first started our relationship with Jesus Christ, what we did was, we simply said,  “I love you too Jesus” and a relationship started. Our relationship with God is based on the word LOVE. Without Love, we have NO relationship!

B. Father’s Love (1 John 4:20)

How do we put feet to the thought of loving our Heavenly Father? Simple! According to this passage: LOVE YOUR BROTHER/SISTER! Now notice it did not say: for he who does not LIKE his brother; or for he who does not HELP his brother; or for he who is not NICE to his brother. We can LIKE but we don’t love. We can help without love.  We can be nice with people but it can be done without love. But the word of the Lord says, “for he who does not love his brother…whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen”

IMPLEMENTING LOVE

A. Forgiving Love (Luke 17:3-4)

All of us are sinners. We’re all saved by the love of Jesus. We’re forgiven of our sin because God loves us. We are all in need of forgiveness. If we are to demonstrate the love of Jesus in our lives, if we are to love our brothers, then forgiveness is not an option. But maybe you’re saying, “Pastor, you do not know the extent of pain he or she has caused me!” “You do not know the heartache he inflicted in me! When he was in need, I helped him.  But now that I am in need, it’s as if I’m a stranger.”

Psalm 55:12-14 – “12 For it is not an enemy who taunts me – then I could bear it; it is not an adversary who deals insolently with me – then I could hide from him. 13 But it is you, a man, my equal, my companion, my familiar friend. 14 We used to take sweet counsel together; within God’s house we walked in the throng (ESV).”We all go through hard times as believers of Jesus. Maybe, my pain or hurt is unique to my situation, just as yours is to you. When someone hurts you, the best way to get over that hurt is to FORGIVE! We are often caught in the trap of UNFORGIVENESS, we won’t let go of it. Yes, it is painful, it really hurts. But you have to LET GO!

How are we going to REACT to our hurt/pain?” A lot of us are SCARED to forgive others because of the SCARS they caused us. The hole in the hand of Jesus when He was crucified on the cross for us did not bother Him. So why should we be bothered with the scars that other people have caused us? Jesus Himself bore the scars as a reminder of the pain He had to go through so we can be saved. The SCARS of Jesus shout His LOVE and FORGIVENESS for us. So, we should not be afraid to get scars. We should not be afraid to love again no matter how many times we get hurt.

B. Future Love (Luke 10:5-9)

Christ is our only hope. Jesus is the only HOPE for our neighborhood, our town and our nation. Can you imagine facing LIFE without Jesus? Can you imagine facing DEATH without Him? Probably not! But so many of our neighbors go through each day without that relationship with the Son of God that is so vital to us.The question is, how can we reach them? Reaching our neighbors with LOVE and sharing the Gospel to them will probably take many of us beyond our comfort zones. Consider non-Christians with GODLY COMPASSION. Remember that none of them is beyond the reach of God’s touch through you.

Prayer is not only for petitions getting answered but for relationship with God getting developed. Let God stir the passion in you. When you pray, take time to listen to Him.

B. Christian Cleanliness (1 Thessalonians 5:23 )

The writer of Hebrews echoes the words of Paul – “HOLINESS IS NOT AN OPTION!” GOD’S GRACE AND MERCY should lead us to HOLINESS.  We should walk in a manner worthy of the gospel. We must PRACTICE our righteousness. God is holy and he saved us to make us like himself. Impurity and every form of unholiness belongs to our former life. Now we are to put on our new self, created after God’s likeness in righteousness and holiness.

Hospitals encourage the practice of hygiene. They put signs and reminders all over the place–wash your hands. Don’t spread disease; wash your hands. They have containers of antibacterial gel all over the place. Boxes of latex gloves in patients’ rooms, specially marked trash cans. Every needle is individually wrapped and they don’t use a needle more than once. Before they draw blood, they swab your arm with something to kill any germs in the area. Hospitals practice hygiene. If they don’t, there are consequences. People can get sick and die. Can you imagine a hospital that said they believed in hygiene but didn’t practice it?

How much more should we practice what we preach? We have to walk the talk. We are to be holy and righteous in every area of our lives – Holy in our thoughts, holy in our speech. Cursing, dirty jokes, gossip and slander should be far from our lips.  We must seek to be holy in our actions so that people will see us authentic and genuine.

Grow:

Application Questions

1.) Would you honestly say to yourself that your talk matches your walk with Christ? Are there any aspects of your life that might be unhealthy that Jesus may want to remove or that He may be asking you to let go of? Share a weakness in character that you are still dealing until now.

2.) Where in your life is it challenging to be different from non-Christians around you? Will they see the difference that you are a true Christian? What Christlike traits can people clearly see in you?

3.) What are the things in your life that are a product of your relationship with Jesus? In what aspects of your life do you feel Jesus encouraging you to grow (cite/quote from Christian Actions or Christian Attitudes in the sermon)?

PRAY FOR EACH OTHER IN YOUR GROUP