Living Generously
Love as Jesus Loves
Sunday, October 20, 2024
Call to worship Creator God, you call us to hospitality; to give as generously to others as you have given to us.
For there are angels among us. Loving God, you call us to give you glory
in the compassion we show to one another. To love without judgment, of ourselves or of others.
We gather as one Body, seeking to walk in the way you have set for us.
We gather as one Body, to worship the one who is Love.
We gather as one Body to be washed and refreshed in Your Love.
Come and move in us Holy Spirit. As we lift up praises to You O God, may Your love rise within us.
Pray before message.
Intro: Love. There are so many understandings of what love is in our human interactions-so often it can wrongly
come with conditions; we can choose to give it or take it away. Some might use it to manipulate others and get what
they want. Some only know “love” as something hurtful, that doesn’t last or can’t be trusted in, and therefore they
have put up walls and close off their heart to avoid further pain.
While others have beautiful examples of love full of grace, patience, compassion, understanding, a give and take,
and trust in it as something that lasts.
How we view love in our humanness is directly linked to our experiences connected with love. If I were to ask each
of you what love means or looks like to you based on your experience-it would be different for nearly all of you.
This is why it is so very important for us to gain right understanding of God’s love for each of us-all of us-including
those we aren’t inclined to get along well with, those we might just as well avoid, those He brings together as the
Body of Christ. Look around there are no doubt people here that you might choose to not interact with on your own,
but God has grafted us all together for a specific purpose, to put us in one place so we can see His love for everyone
is the same; to see He cares for everyone the same; and to teach us how we also must love others.
Have you ever considered the Church to be the perfect training ground to help us learn to love others freely,
joyfully, and generously? Have you considered God does this on purpose?
Sadly, in human history, people will leave a church because they don’t like someone, can’t get along, or become
offended about any multitude of things. Not realizing they were brought to that church to learn to not only deal with
but to love that specific person, a person Jesus loves with all His heart. They miss the growth, they miss the beauty
in learning this, and they miss what God was trying to teach them. For if we can’t learn to love here within these
walls, we surely won’t do it out there.
I invite you to see this as your training ground and give thanks for what God wants to do in and through you!
Here in the church, we learn about the love of God and how very different it is from our human definitions that
come from our experiences with broken and flawed people. As we begin to grow in right understanding of God’s
love, we are then called to love others around us in the same manner. We are to learn to let go of our skewed
versions of love and choose to grab hold of His love. This is not easy-for our experiences we have lived through
run deep within us as our guide, so this requires a willing surrender to living as we are accustomed to-in a
reactionary/protective or selfish manner, and choosing to live for God and out of His love that flows within us. This
is why we need one another-because we can’t often see when we are operating out of old habits and fleshly
thoughts-but someone else can and encourages us to let that go and take hold of the freedom God offers.
Why does this matter so much?
Because-the obvious- KING and He says so.
More so, we live in a world-especially here in the U.S. that is supposed to be a nation built on freedom-yet
thousands upon thousands are bound within ourselves to depression, anxiety, despair, bitterness, hate, and
loneliness. So, the truth is many are not living free-they are living bound, imprisoned to negative emotions and
thoughts that rule their lives. THIS is why God calls us to love Him with all our heart, mind, and soul. This is why
God calls us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Because if we are choosing love-which is action- we are also
actively rejecting bitterness, offense, division, and hate. These choices are what lead to true freedom.
Let’s take a look today at what God says love is and what love is not. Let us have ears to hear and a heart willing to
receive the truth of His love, and a heart willing to act in the truth of His love with others. It is to our great gain to
do so!
You might be quite familiar with this Scripture from various weddings you have attended. But this message is for
all of us for it is a message of understanding God’s pure love and how we are to express it all others.
1 Corinthians 13:4-13 NASB
4 Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. 5 It does not act
disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a
wrong suffered, 6 it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; 7 it keeps every
confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away with; if there are tongues, they
will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away with. 9 For we know in part and prophesy in
part; 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away with. 11 When I was a child, I used to
speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish
things. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know
fully, just as I also have been fully known. 13 But now faith, hope, and love remain, these three; but
the greatest of these is love.
Notice what love IS and specifically what love IS NOT. This is very important distinction between the love of God
that is pure and the love of humans that is self-centered and often dysfunctional.
1. Love Without Conditions.
If we are to love as Jesus loves, we must stop placing conditions on our love for others. This is an act of
manipulation, to get what we want out of a relationship and it means our love is based on their performance that we
measure. We love because others because God chose to love us, so who are we not to love someone else.
God never put conditions on His love for us. Are there conditions for His blessings-absolutely. But not His love.
1 John 4: 9-10 9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we
might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice for our sins.
He loved us first and He loved us in our rebellion, in our sin, and before our hearts ever turned towards Him. If you
are here today and unsure of how you feel about God, His love is full and unfailing for you-it’s not determined on
your response to Him. You are and always will be completely loved by your Creator.
John 13:34-35 34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
Notice Jesus doesn’t just say love one another because He knows our understanding of love is messed up and very
often focused on self. He says, as I have loved you, so you must love one another.
Why? Because as we love others like Jesus has freely loved us, He tells us this is how everyone will know you
follow Me. It’s LOVE that defines Christianity in this world-a love that is not self-centered, but others focused.
A love that doesn’t come with conditions-but is just extended whether others reciprocate or not. Isn’t that what God
did for all of us? Some will choose not to receive His love, but that didn’t stop Him from giving His love.
We show the world who Jesus is through our love for one another-when we love as Jesus defines and demonstrated.
2. Choosing Love Over Offense.
This can be a hard one for us to really grasp and buy into. All nations have it in varying degrees- this offense we
can hold towards others. In some countries if someone does something that isn’t culturally acceptable, they bring
shame on the family name and they can be disowned forever-that offense is never forgiven. Love is taken away.
In America, it’s a delicate balance because we live in a land of freedom and we pride ourselves on having many
rights-so many other nations don’t have for their citizens-in fact we know that’s why many come to America isn’t
it-for the freedom of these rights. BUT the catch to that is we become offended when someone tramples on our
rights-I’m not just talking about laws. As a person who has grown up here in America we have unstated rights we
all carry within us on how people are to treat us and when they don’t uphold those commonly or uncommonly
known rights- there can be offense.
The closer we walk with God, the more He begins to show us how holding on to offense and harboring offense only
steals our peace, joy, and true freedom. We should learn to take those offenses to God and ask Him to help us sort
through them so we can be free from letting any seeds of bitterness, division, fear, and hate well up. Those aren’t
healthy gardens in our hearts and will not produce anything but thorns and weeds. What do we gain by holding on
to offense, really? We have our pride-true, and we also now have anger and bitterness.
Jesus flips the script and says instead of doing what you have learned in this world, I want you to do something
different because it will be better for your well-being in the long run and it in fact will show the world what My
kingdom is about-love and peace.
Matthew 5: 44-45 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be
children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous.
Proverbs have several Scriptures teaching about how we are to handle offense when we face it.
Proverbs 17:9 Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close
friends.
Remember love covers a multitude of sin. What if you chose to love anyway, over holding on to offense?
If you are angry and upset quite often, if life seems to be coming undone-maybe ask yourself where might I be
withholding love to someone and why am I doing that? Where am I standing in offense to someone? Where am I
bitter and why?
Then ask, what am I really gaining? Because likely what we’re gaining when we do this is greater isolation,
increased negative emotional reactions and even feelings of despair.
Look at our Key Scripture again about what love is not:
1 Corinthians 13:5 5 It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not
keep an account of a wrong suffered,
Jesus humbled Himself to being a servant who washed other people’s feet, our KING. He humbled Himself to
being spit upon and mocked, to dying a humiliating criminal’s death on a cross, stripped down in front of all who
mocked Him.
Yet, He continued to love, even those who scorned them. He prayed, “Father forgive them for they know not what
they do.”
Why? Because love never fails. Love keeps hate at bay and love keeps our heart pure.
The Apostle Paul continues on in our scripture encouraging us to grow in our maturity and our faith. When we
begin in faith we’re like little children and we don’t understand many things and we respond spiritually as little
children might when they don’t understand. But as we walk more closely with God, we read His Word and allow it
to shape our thinking and our hearts, we grow in understanding and we come to know we don’t have to sit in
offense. We can let it go and choose to love anyway-for it’s to our gain to do so.
1 Corinthians 13:11 11 When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when
I became a man, I did away with childish things.
3. Love Generously.
What Jesus is calling us to do is to love generously as He does. He calls us to share this love freely with others
so they too might know of God’s love for them and the hope we have in Christ.
Let’s look at two examples we see a response of receiving God’s love and a willingness to love others generously
around them. The first is a tax collector-Jesus chose to love-actively love. Not only did He call him to follow Him
but He chose to have dinner with Him-something the Pharisees wouldn’t ever consider doing.
Luke 5: 27-30 27 After this, Jesus went out and saw a tax collector by the name of Levi sitting at his tax
booth. “Follow me,” Jesus said to him, 28 and Levi got up, left everything and followed him.
29 Then Levi held a great banquet for Jesus at his house, and a large crowd of tax collectors and others were
eating with them. 30 But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law who belonged to their sect complained to his
disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” 31 Jesus answered them, “It is not the healthy
who need a doctor, but the sick. 32 I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”
Levi’s response: he freely shared love to other sinners who needed to meet Jesus. He opened his home and invited
every social outcast and gave them a place at his table-so they too could experience the love of Christ. He didn’t
keep Jesus for Himself-He was compelled to share Him with everyone else! And Jesus showed up loving all.
I’m so excited to see many of you inviting others to come join you at church or for our conference yesterday-so
many came because you told them! Through your invites they experience what you have been experiencing-to
come to know the love of Christ as you are. That’s all we need to do-simply extend the invitation, make a space for
them to feel welcome and trust Jesus will show up and love on them as He has each of us.
Peter in Acts 10 God gave Peter a dream -changing Peter’s whole understanding of what was clean and unclean
for animals-but the dream was really talking about a bigger truth-what Israel deemed clean (themselves as the
chosen people of God) and unclean-everyone else. God said My love is for all. My salvation is for all. It’s not for
you to decide and don’t call something unclean that I have called clean or good. So then Peter is called to go meet
with some Gentile people to share the Good News of Jesus. God had given a Gentile man a dream and told this man
to call for Peter. Peter went and what he experienced was life changing about the vast love of God.
- 28 He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But
God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. 29 So when I was sent for, I came without raising
any objection. He saw what God was trying to show him in the dream. That God cares for these people too and
wants all to come to salvation through His Son Jesus and for all to be unified. So Peter shared the Gospel.
Acts 10: 34-35 34 Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism 35 but
accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right.
The Holy Spirit came upon this household in a powerful way that Peter could not deny.
Then Peter said, 47 “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the
Holy Spirit just as we have.” 48 So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked
Peter to stay with them for a few days.
He chose to love who God loves. He chose to look at them through the eyes of God and see their worth to God.
This is how God is asking us to see others, through His eyes and His heart.
Conclusion: God is love and He calls us to extend His love freely given to us towards others. We can choose to love like God for it is the outflowing of Christ in us. It is through this love the world will come to know the hope of Jesus. It is in the sharing of this love we find freedom, peace, and joy.
Let’s pray.
Offering-still a call to give to relief funds for NC/TN/FL. Let’s be generous and love our neighbors who are greatly in need.
Final Blessing: As God’s own, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, and patience, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you, and crown all these things with love, which binds everything together in perfect
