[Steve Myers] So I thought, "Well, maybe I'll just take a couple of seconds to talk about it this afternoon." The McNeely’s, and Kathe and I went to Malawi, and they went to Zambia, and then we went to South Africa, over the A.B.C. break. And talk about God's Word being alive. It is… it was quite an experience. We had never been to Malawi before, and going there we didn't know what to expect, probably the poorest country in the world just about. And yet getting together with God's people, there was no doubt God's Spirit, was there. And it was such a powerful thing to be with about 40 of the brethren that came for some meetings throughout the week. And seeing and experiencing their love, their enthusiasm, their joy for God's way was really remarkable and inspiring. I'll tell you I learned probably more than they did in many ways because as Americans, we're so spoiled. Oh, we are so spoiled and sometimes we get off track looking to those physical things.

And yet here are God's people, who really have nothing when it comes to the physical things, but when it comes to submitting to God's Spirit, wanting to learn, wanting to grow, wanting to serve, being connected together was just a powerful thing. And we really appreciated the opportunity to be there and share God's Word with them and have that opportunity to really experience this brotherhood that we share. And it was really very remarkable. They come together and are so excited about it. The weather was hot, of course, it wasn't winter, it wasn't snowing there. It was very hot. And so, Kathe and I were probably burning up and they're there, the men were there in their suits and ties when it's 95 degrees, just dedicated. And you know that they're used to this because not only did they have these suits on but they drank coffee in between our breaks so you knew that they were very well used to this. And so it was really encouraging. They have a beautiful building in Blantyre where they meet.

And it was really a joy to see some of the blessings from some of our labors here because we here, even in Cincinnati East, we've had the opportunity to contribute through LifeNets and Good Works to that building project. And so to see that in real life was really a phenomenal experience, a beautiful building, a big area that they can meet in, and they utilize the blessings that have been given to them even with... even though they have little personally. They have a wonderful church building where they can come together and hear God's Word spoken. And so it was really an encouraging time that we spent together, about 40 of us during the week from various areas throughout Malawi. And then on the Sabbath that two, let's see, three weeks ago now, we came together. We had about 130 people, the members all came as well. We got together and we ate together, we fellowshipped together and really had a wonderful experience as we shared God's Word and the challenges that we face as well.

Their challenges are different than we face. And yet despite the fact they have so little, God has blessed them with so much. They have an enthusiasm for God's Word that… and His way that I want to have. That it didn't sway them from coming and being a part of things no matter what the distance was, no matter what the physical challenges were, they were dedicated to God. And so here we might come through a little snow and a little ice to get here today, but they do things like that every week and face those kinds of challenges on a daily basis. And to see this dedication for God's way was truly remarkable, and the fact that they feel connected. I mean, you have a sense of being brothers and sisters in Christ when you're there. And so here we are, we are one, and you see the power of God's Word working through us all, and they feel connected to us here as well. Even though you may not know their names or know who they are, there is a brotherhood of believers and so it was just absolutely encouraging to be together with them.

And then following that week we met back up with the McNeely’s and went to South Africa. And in South Africa, we met at a game reserve in an area called Bloemfontein, a beautiful area, opportunity to get together. There was about 85 people there altogether. They had a summer camp in combination with some A.B.C. style leadership classes. And so we had about 40 hours or so of classes throughout that week and so it was a little strenuous. They got the idea of what it was like to sit in A.B.C. for hour after hour and put up with Mr. McNeely and me, so that was a little bit of a challenge for them. But what a great opportunity because it was not only the South Africans that were there, we also had several of the ministry and their wives come from Angola, and also a couple from Brazil, that were able to come. And so it was quite a mix of people and yet, once again, God's Spirit at work, it was a wonderful opportunity that the de Campos were there. So Jorge was able to translate things into Portuguese because the Angolans and the Brazilians speak Portuguese. And so we had that opportunity to kind of share even though our languages were different, we were able to share in the truth of God and learn and grow from that experience.

And so it was a very, very powerful thing. And then to be there with the kids and we ate our meals together and shared experience. We just spent the whole time together and it was really enjoyable, just a fantastic opportunity to be together with God's people and see this commonality that we have between us. And so it was a wonderful opportunity and one I think that helped build bonds between us even stronger even though it's already there. To come together and get to know each other better was really a powerful thing. In fact, we had the opportunity to get to know or at least get to know people a little bit better from our trip about a year and a half ago. We were there just before the Feast and during the Feast in 2016.

And we had a couple of Beyond Today seminars, one in Johannesburg, one in Cape Town, at that time. And there was one fellow who came, had watched Beyond Today on South African T.V., came to Cape Town to the lectures that we had there and was still attending. And so it was encouraging to see Calvin come back and be a part of things. In fact, he had just moved recently to the Bloemfontein area, and we got to talking about things. And he had been talking with his pastor and some of the elders about baptism. And so big concluding event as we got to the Sabbath on that last week, Calvin was baptized and we all had a hand of laying hands on him. And so that was also an exciting occurrence as well to sort of see God's Spirit at work among His people, was just a powerful experience. And so we really benefited personally from the trip. We had a little bit of sickness at the end but no big problems overall.

Kathe got a little sick at the very end but she says she'd do it all over again because of the wonderful nature of the whole experience. So appreciate your prayers, certainly, God blessed those prayers and blessed the trip overall. And we're hoping that it will certainly be a benefit and produce good fruit in both South Africa, Angola, Brazil, and Malawi, and Zambia as well. So remember your brethren there, they feel connected to you and it's by the power of God's Spirit that we are one. In fact, I got to thinking about that overall and thought, "Well, maybe that's something we could even talk about in general." As a familiar subject, we know that we are brothers, we know that we are sisters together in Christ. And yet what is it that binds us together? Yeah, we can say it's God's Spirit, but I think there should also be an evidence among us that shows very clearly that we are God's people.

I was reminded of this just thinking of various tools of the trade for different occupations out there. And you think about it for a moment. If you think of a plumber, you know, what tools of the trade come to mind? And you probably think of a pipe wrench or, you know, his stack of tools that he would have with his unions and his threading and his pipes and the whole thing, his fittings. Those things could probably come to mind because you can identify him as a plumber, because his pants are probably hanging down a little bit too low in the back. Okay, maybe that's not a good image, but there are certain identifying factors when you think of… All right, think of a carpenter. What's an identifying tool for a carpenter? Well, he's got his saw, he's got his hammer, his Sawzall, his sabre saw, he's got all of the lumber that indicate this guy is a carpenter. My dad used to be a carpenter before being called in the ministry and I used to love to help him. I wasn't a very good carpenter. I remember one time helping my dad, and he said, "You know, you hammer like lightning." I thought, "Hey, that's really great. I'm really fast at this, right?" He said, "No, you never hit in the same place twice."

But when you think about these different occupations, there are certain things that come to mind immediately. A painter. All right, if you're a painter, you've got your paintbrush, you've got your paint cans, you've got your drop cloths. You've got all of those things that are tools of the trade and it becomes very obvious. Now, for us, let's turn it around just a little bit. For you and I, as a part of the household of God, what is our identification as a disciple of Christ?

Well, we know we have God's Spirit, but I'd like to talk about what should be the most discernible tool when it comes to us as Christians. If we're true disciples of Christ, this has to be our trademark. And it was something that was so important that as Christ neared the end of His physical life, He emphasized this very fact, and you know what it is. John 13:34-35 talks about what becomes so critical for all of us as God's people. Perhaps you know, it by memory, John 13:34, Christ said, "A new commandment I give you," what was that commandment? "To love one another,” love one another, and then He says how we're supposed to do it, He says, "as I have loved you, that you also love one another." In fact, He adds to that in verse 35 by saying, "By this all will know that..." No, you're not a plumber, you're not a carpenter, you know, you're not a painter, but, "…you are My disciples,” "All will know you're My disciples, if you have love for one another."

And so it's taking that command to love your neighbor as yourself and really make it even more specific. That as disciples, disciples need to love their fellow disciples. We are God's disciples when we show that. And He said this would be the sign this would be, this identifying recognizable instrument of the people of God. And so I think we need to even ask this very simple question. Would people identify me? Just like when they see the carpenter drive by with his truck full of tools or the painter with his drop cloths, would they recognize me as one who loves? Loves the brethren, those that are here today. In fact, what would be the evidence that you would bring forth to prove that you are fulfilling what Christ said?

What evidence do you have to show that I am fulfilling this command of God? You know, we know we're supposed to be God's family, and as His family that shows a very, very close relationship is possible but it doesn't mean its automatic. And if you think about this family analogy when it comes to loving one another, yeah, families not always exhibit love, sometimes there's challenges, sometimes there's friction, sometimes there's disagreements. But in that family analogy, also comes the opportunity for a close personal, deep and binding relationship that we should have. And so is the evidence there? I mean, we're told over and over and over again. If you looked up love one another like disciples love each other, you'll find it over 29 times mentioned throughout the New Testament. So it's not something that we should ignore.

We are even told in the book of Galatians, we're to love everybody. But that for those of the household of faith, it should even be more evident, it should even be more obvious. And so as we look at this, it's not something that's just a nice idea because love sounds so nice, "Oh, it's wonderful we should love each other and that's a nice little token that we should all have." But when we read what Christ said about it, we read what the apostle Paul wrote about it, you read about what the apostle John wrote. It's more than just a nice idea. Look over to the book of 2 John for just a moment. Let's think about this as more than just a nice idea because love sounds nice. Why can't we all just get along? Let's love each other and everything will be fine.

It's kind of a token phrase that sometimes, I think, we don't recognize how critically important it is and it's more than a nice idea and it's more than just a challenge. If you look at 2 John, take a look here in verse 4. The book of 2 John, it's only got this one chapter. 2 John 1:4, he says, "I have rejoiced greatly that I found some of your children walking in the truth, as we have received commandment from the Father.” So people are walking… What is the evidence that someone's, if you want to say “in the Church,” someone is walking in truth? Well, he says, verse 5, "I plead with you, lady," “I’m asking you, lady, as the woman who represents the Church.” He says, "I'm not writing you a new command, but one we've had from the beginning." Had it from the beginning. What is it that we've had from the very beginning? “That we love one another.”

So it's not just a nice idea, the Father commanded us and we have had this command from the beginning. A command. It's not just, "Well, I hope I can grow in love." I am not a disciple unless I am keeping this command, that I'm walking in obedience to His commands as we've heard from the beginning. Fulfilling that new command that we read about in John 13. This is critical that this love is exhibited in our life. And this isn't a brotherly love, it's not a romantic love, so it's not philia or eros. When you look at these different passages, whether it's here in 2 John 4 or John 13, this is agape love. Agape love, that's the base word in Greek, that this word for love comes from. And so if you had to define agape love, what is it that comes to mind for you? I mean, we have a song in our hymn book that says, "If I have not charity then I am as nothing." And so being charitable is certainly an aspect of this kind of love but probably not the most basic definition that we should have when it comes to agape.

Certainly, it should be a deep love, an abiding love, a caring love, a love that shows that we're affectionate toward one another. We love the brethren, we love each other as Jesus Christ loved us. And so we begin to see there's a connection to this kind of love and relationships. How do we relate to each other as brothers and sisters in Christ? This love is an identifying factor in our relationships. And because we belong to God, because we have a relationship with God the Father and with Jesus Christ, we know how to love one another because He loved us. And so this agape should rule our relationship as Christians. In fact, it's so critical. If you turn back just to page to 1 John, 1 John 4. Notice how critical this is, this is not just a nice idea but if you look at verse 8 of chapter 4 of 1 John. 1 John 4:8, "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."

You look up the Greek for this particular passage and once again it's that same word. He who does not agape can't even claim to know God. You don't know God if you don't have agape. And that agape should be the basis for our relationship with God, our relationship with each other as well. And, in fact, this kind of love supersedes any other kind of love to such an extent that not only do we love those that love us, Christ was pretty specific, this love even should extend to those who don't like us, those that mistreat us, those that are our enemies. You could just write down Matthew 5:38. That whole section of Scripture talks about that. It's not an emotional thing. It's a thing that takes action opposite of our emotions, because, "I don't want to like those people who don't like me. My enemies, I want to hate them." That would be a normal everyday human reaction.

But agape, Christ teaches, works opposite of our emotions, of just our feelings so that even those who mistreat us and hate us and are our enemies, we're supposed to love, we're supposed to love. So this agape isn't just an emotional reaction to someone else. This agape produces actions that are the exact opposite of our normal every day human emotions, normal actions or reactions. And so it's not just an emotional response. Agape becomes so much deeper than that, that it gets right down to the heart and core of who God is and what He's done for us. If you're... well, maybe we could turn over Romans 5 because I think this begins to help us to frame in a greater sense what this agape love is all about.

Romans 5:8. Let's take a look at what it says here and then put these passages together to see if we can come to a couple conclusions when it comes to this kind of love. Romans 5:8, we know these passages, they're familiar ones, nothing new here. But what we find in Romans 5, Paul is writing to God's people in Rome, and he wants them to recognize this important concept. In verse 8 he says, "God demonstrates His own love toward us,” so here's this love in action. Well, what is this action and how is it demonstrated? Well, God says, or Paul says that "God demonstrates His love… in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

So did Christ, died for us because we have a right relationship with God because we love Him, because we're such good people because we're doing the right thing? None of those things. He's basically saying even despite the fact we are enemies of God, Jesus Christ gave His life for us. Even though we were in a bad attitude, we were enemies of God, God still loved us, God still agape’d us. So as we think about these various passages we can see agape supersedes others' actions, that agape is a way of thinking.

It's something that motivates us. And involves, well, what we see here in God's actions, it involves sacrifice. We see a self-sacrifice on Christ's behalf for us. So it's definitely not contingent on what someone else is doing for us, how they treat us, if they even like us, it has nothing to do with that. It has nothing to do or no contingency on what others do, what they say, how they act toward us. And so we see this agape is an unselfish love. It's a self-sacrificial love and so it's not just an emotion. I mean, even though, yeah, there's positive emotions that are experienced when people act this way but it's not based on that.

And so we'd have to conclude by looking at what Christ said in John 13, looking what John wrote in 2 John, what Paul wrote, what Jesus Christ wrote about our enemies. If we had to define this kind of love, it is a sacrificial love, it is a selfless love. It's an unconditional love. And that's a hard love for us to have. Sounds easy but when we recognize, this is the highest form of love that you can find in the Bible. It's the highest form of love you can find in life. And when we recognize, this is the kind of love that Jesus Christ Himself lived. And the evidence of this kind of love is that He gave His life for us. He died. He sacrificed Himself for the sins of the world.

And He calls us to have that kind of love. We're to have that kind of love and we're to demonstrate that kind of love between ourselves within the Church. Yes, we're to love our neighbors as ourselves as well, but do we really love each other? Do we love our fellow church members? Can we honestly say that, "I really care about everyone in this room, that I have this kind of selfless sacrificial unconditional love for others"?

It's that recognizable tool that every one of us are required to have, we're required to have that. And yet as human beings, it works against our normal every day, yeah, carnal way of thinking, because we live in a world that is opposite of this way of thinking. You know, we live in a world that is kind of a gotcha mentality. Isn't that the kind of world we live in? We love gotcha journalism, don't we? Don't you love to see these politicians that say one thing and then the reporter catches them and they say, "Hahaha, I gotcha." And it seems our society thrives on that kind of journalism, that kind of gotcha politics. We, at some level of our human nature, we delight in seeing those kinds of stories where the celebrity gets it in the end or the politician is caught. And they say one thing and they do an exact opposite thing and we can't believe that they're such hypocrites

But I wonder if sometimes that infiltrates our thinking? You know, do we ever look to a brother or sister and say, "Oh, boy, look at them"? Where we're looking for what they're doing wrong, what bad attitude they may display, or we're looking for ways that we can catch somebody else. You see we can't let that be our way of thinking. Yet, God's people have a tendency to do just that.

The Bible is filled with examples. We could look to the whole book of 1 Corinthians to find that attitude prevalent in Corinth, it was prevalent there. Do we have that tendency as well? It was there in Galatia. If you'd like to go over to the book of Galatians, Galatians 5, notice verse 14. Do we look to catch somebody else with a gotcha kind of mentality? Galatians 5:14, Paul was inspired to write, "All of the law is fulfilled in one word,” yeah, it's the word of the day. It's love and that is the word for agape, the self-sacrificing godly love. Says, "For all the laws fulfilled in one word, even in this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’"

Great principle, great idea, but once again Paul is telling the Galatians, "It's not just a nice idea, this is a command, this is a requirement, this has to be evidence in your life if you're claiming to be God's people." He says, "If you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!” You see it undermines our faith if we have that kind of mentality. If you read this in The Living Bible, it says, "Instead of showing love among yourselves you're always critical, you're always catty, watch out, beware of ruining each other." You see because that's our human nature. Our human nature is to see other's faults even among the brethren, among ourselves, among our own congregation, among our own family.

And isn't that the way it is sometimes with families? Boy, you see everybody's fault. Why do you see them? Because you're supposed to be closest, you're supposed to be closest. And so instead of seeing what's right and what's good, we have this tendency to see what's wrong and what's bad and recognize the difficulties rather than love. James wrote about the same aspect of our way of thinking. James 5:9 puts it in another context I think that maybe can help us to see a little bit bigger picture here with this idea of the command to love. James 5:9 says, "Don't grumble against one another, brethren,” yeah, that's our normal tendency, to find the faults with the people, with each other. It says, "Don't grumble… lest you be condemned."

You see on the other hand Christ is commanding sacrificial love toward one another, loving each other, loving our enemies, demonstrating the kind of love that Christ did when He sacrificed His life. "Don't grumble…  unless you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!” And so I have to step back and I better ask myself, "How critical am I? How critical am I of others? How critical am I of the Church? How critical am I of our congregation? How critical am I of each other? Do I condemn and grumble and murmur? Do I gripe and complain about things?" It's just ungodly to do that. That is a lack of the demonstration of the kind of love that God has for us.

Can you think of any Biblical examples of Christ demonstrating just the opposite way of thinking?

I mean, we've got the famous example of the woman that was caught in adultery, caught in the very act. Remember they brought her to Christ, it's in the book of John. John 8 talks about that example. You know the story, we don't have to turn there. They bring this woman to Christ, caught in adultery, she's a horrible sinner. And yet, being caught in the act, you see the people that brought her were looking for the gotcha and they found it. You're going to find the gotchas if you're looking for them. But how did Christ handle that situation?

He turned it on, turned it around on all those that were in that gotcha mentality. And He wrote on the ground, "And he who is without sin cast the first stone," they all went away. And so what a great reminder for us. We can't have that kind of attitude. We can't be looking for the critical. We can't be looking for the complaints.We can't be in a grumbling state of mind and murmuring against each other. It's not helpful, it's not right, it's not demonstrating the kind of love that God wants us to be. Because there's no doubt, if we're looking for the gotcha, we're going to find it. Yeah, we're going to find it, no doubt about that. We will be successful. But, boy, are we going to be miserable. We will be miserable. And so it's more than just a good idea. God has given us this command to put on that kind of an attitude, to have that kind of perspective that Christ had, and that kind of reaction even when someone is caught doing wrong. Can we have love and compassion on them?

I think that helps us to recognize it's not only the things that I recognize but I've got to watch what I think and I've got to let that rule what I say. Because if I'm really going to have this kind of love that demonstrates the fact that I am a Christian, that I am converted, that I have that commandment in my heart and in my mind to love as Christ loved, follow that new commandment that He gave, I could be blowing things out of proportion. Better not be. I'm going to make a big deal about things, "Oh, but maybe they're wrong, maybe they deserve it, maybe…" Wait a second, is that my frame of mind? Am I going to be one of those that are majoring in the minors? We've heard that. Am I going to be saying things that hurt others, unhelpful things, gossip? Yeah, it's a problem. Yeah, we gossip about each other and we say it and we listen to it. Bible talks about it over and over. How often are we commanded not to speak evil against one another?

I mean, if we're here in the book of James, we've got to flip back to James for a moment. Agape reminds us we've got to watch what I think, I've got to watch what I say and my reaction to things. James 4:11 is a powerful section of Scripture that is such a reminder. Sometimes we don't necessarily connect this with the kind of love we're supposed to be demonstrating. But these attributes are certainly aspects of how we should be thinking and what that looks like then in real life. So if you look at the book of James, in James 4, here's a powerful example, verse 11, James 4:11, "Don't speak evil of one another, brethren." If you were to read this in The Voice it says, "Don't assault each other with criticism."

Okay, I might not speak evil because evil is such a harsh word, isn't it? But, boy, can I criticize? Can I put somebody down? Yeah, The Voice, "Don't assault each other with criticism," don't speak evil of one another. Going on in verse 11, "He who speaks evil of a brother and judges his brother, speaks evil of the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you're not a doer of the law but a judge." So where are we when it comes to this? Am I one that judges? That is taking that to a whole another level is really what this is saying.

The Voice goes on, "If you decide your job is to accuse and judge another believer, then you're a self-appointed critic and judge of the law, so, you're no longer a doer of the law and subject to its rule, you stand over it as judge." Then going on in verse 12, "There is One who stands supreme as Judge and Lawgiver. He alone is able to save and to destroy, so who are you to step in and try to judge another?" And that's talking not just discernment, that's not the discernment kind of judgment. This is the condemnation it's talking about. Criticizing putting down kind of judgment that's what it's talking about here. And that should make us a little nervous as we read this. You know, am I recognizing God's law and it rules my life, it rules my attitude, it rules my perspective? Or am I critical of others, putting others down and that makes me the judge or is God truly the judge of my life?

You see I'm actually speaking evil, when I'm gossiping, when I'm talking bad about others, when I'm putting others down, I'm speaking evil about God's law and I'm setting myself up above God. I'm asking for trouble when we do that, and so no wonder he says, "Wait a second, you can't be doing that." That's just the opposite of agape love, the self-sacrificial love that we're to have, the godly kind of love where Christ sacrificed Himself for me a sinner. Because if He was in this attitude I'd have no hope. Absolutely no hope, because, yeah, I deserve it. But He died for me, and I'm to emulate that kind of an attitude. And sometimes it doesn't show itself necessarily as blatant evil because sometimes we read these passages, "Oh, don't speak evil." "Well, I didn't say anything evil. I just said, 'The guy's a jerk,' you know, it isn't anything terrible." You know, and we have this sense of justifying the things we say, "Well, it wasn't really that bad. I didn't really put him down that bad. It wasn’t... I wouldn't categorize it rising to the level of evil because that's really bad. I just said, you know, couple of small little things."

But that's the problem when we try to categorize the level of something that's bad. If we say it's not that bad, is it still bad? Well, it's not just not that bad. Well, yeah it's still bad. So we can't justify things like that. I was thinking about that when I was reading a little bit of 3 John. I got into the John's a little bit. So if you go to 3 John, there's an interesting character that comes into the story in the beginning of 3 John. In John's third letter, he speaks of a man named Diotrephes, and when you read about Diotrephes, you probably think that this must be the most evil, horrible, obviously bad individual there could ever be. Because it says here in verse 9, "I wrote the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to have the preeminence among them, doesn't receive us. Therefore, if I come, I'll call to mind his deeds which he does, prating against us with malicious words. Not content with that, he himself doesn't receive the brethren, and forbids those who wish to, putting them out of the church." And so you read that and you even say, "Wow, this guy's horrible. What a horrible human being."

Yet, not everybody felt that way. Somehow he was able to maintain a position in the Church acting this way. And the interesting thing is not everybody called him on it. Yes, some people obviously saw this horrible example that he was setting, John obviously saw it as well. But not everybody did. Some people must've put up with it, some people probably misunderstood and maybe saw it as some kind of strength even, that he was able to maintain this position, that ultimately the apostle had to come to straighten the situation out.

And so Diotrephes, obviously had fooled himself into thinking this was good, this was good behavior. And this prating is kind of an interesting word because it kind of speaks to looking at trifles, trivial kinds of things. Sometimes you think, "Well, maybe he was just so obviously blatantly evil, it was obvious to John," but it wasn't obvious to everyone. “He loved the preeminence and he had prating words against us.” Prating those are things like gossiping or babbling, the word can mean babbling or trifling over things. Well, if it's a trifle that's a little thing, but somehow made it into big things. And so, yes, he also berated people, there was malicious, there was hurtful things. And so when you consider these types of things, do I fall into that category some? Do I pick up on these little things and I make big deals about them?

You see, John connected this with a lack of love, a real lack of love. And so even with these small things, these trifling things we can't allow that, even the small things. And so I think if we're going to have the kind of love that God wants us to have and not fall into this kind of a category of just being a critical person, just finding all the negatives, we've got to have a change of heart and we can find a little bit written about this change of heart in 2 Corinthians 6.

This is one of my most favorite examples of someone demonstrating a godly love, a self-sacrificing love. 2 Corinthians 6, and see apostle Paul, and in 2 Corinthians 6, we remember the situation in Corinth, when Paul was journeying, he spent a year and a half in Corinth. He knew these people, he loved these people, and he cared about the people. The Church was begun because the apostle Paul came and visited, and so these people knew Paul, and he knew them very well. In his first letter, he had to straighten out all kinds of problems that were there. But why did he do it? He didn't do it just because he was in charge. He did it because he loved the people and he loved God, and he wanted them to act like converted individuals. And so he talked to them very directly, probably one of the most harsh letters in all the Bible. He tells them they've got to shape up, they've got to change, that what they were doing was not godly. Of course, some of them changed. Some of them changed but others didn't. Others didn't.

Others of them didn't like Paul, others criticized Paul because after all, he's just this guy that, "Well, he's big in words but when he's in person, I don't like his sermons they're boring, they're not that interesting. But, boy, he writes big powerful strong letter. But if comes in person he's kind of this wimpy looking guy, doesn't seem like any big powerful, you know, man of God." And they actually criticized his appearance, they criticize the way he looked. You talk about this kind of a prating, finding the trivial kinds of things to criticize, they did. And they put him down. They put down his teaching, they looked to false teachers, false apostles, they embraced the wrong individuals and put down Paul.

Now when you keep that in mind, what would be the normal human reaction to that? You know, because most of us, we'd say, "Forget those guys. I don't like those Corinthians, you know, all they do is put me down. They don't see how God's working through me. They don't understand." But that wasn't his point of view at all. Even despite the fact he was put down, criticized, ridiculed, made fun of, told that he wasn't being godly, that he wasn't that good of a teacher, that there were other teachers that were better than him.

What was his reaction to that? This is... it's amazing. 2 Corinthians 6:11, here was his reaction. He said, "O Corinthians! We've spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. You're not restricted by us, but you're restricted by your own affections. Now in return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open."

Yeah, Paul was demonstrating love your enemies. These people, many of them were against him, were opposed to him and yet he didn't shut himself down. If somebody doesn't like you, what's your first reaction? "Oh, I'm not going to like them. They said bad things about me. Well, I'm going to say bad things about them. They don't like me, well, I'll just stick to my own little group and I'm not going to talk to them." Wait a second that's not what Paul said. Their love for him was restricted. They shut down Paul. But his reaction was just the opposite and not just that the door was open just a crack, but he says his heart was wide open.

If we're to demonstrate agape, self-sacrificing love, we have to be wide open, our hearts have to be wide open. If you read this in the New Century Version, look at verse 11 again, "We've spoken freely to you in Corinth and have opened our hearts to you. Our feelings of love" and this is agape, "it has not stopped, but you've stopped your feelings of love for us. I speak to you as if you were my children. Do to us as we've done — open your hearts to us." And so I have to step back and ask myself, "Do I have a restricted heart? You know, have I closed my heart to some people, to some brothers or sisters in the faith? Have I done that?"

You know, Paul, is saying here, "If I have a restricted heart, I'm spiritually immature. This is a spiritual issue this isn't just a relational thing. This is a spiritual thing and I've got a spiritual problem. I'm not following the commandments of God. In fact, that first commandment to love as Christ loved. I have to have a heart wide open, and I have to put that into practice. I have to put it into practice." And it's not that we don't because I believe that we do.

But do we practice it perfectly? Or do we have our own little groups, our own little cliques, those that where we don't really associate? I don't have to like them I just have to love them. What kind of attitude is that? Are you kidding me? That's a cop-out. That's not self-sacrificing love. That's just the opposite. When you really get down to it, yeah, and I've heard God's people say that "I don't have to love them… or like them, I just have to love them." Well, wait a second. You think Christ loves us? You think He likes us? Absolutely. There's no doubt about it. And so we need to have this kind of an attitude, a heart wide open. Wide open.

Paul wrote about this to the Thessalonians, 1 Thessalonians 4. Notice verse 9. Here, Paul begins by talking about the philia kind of love, the brotherly kind of love, 1 Thessalonians 4:9. He says, "Concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for yourselves are taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more.” So you may have an open heart, but now is the time to open it wide, have no restrictions. How can I have a wide open heart that will increase more and more? Because when we've experienced the love of God, I believe He's opened that door and our heart begins to open. And when we recognize that it's got to come into play in every aspect of our life, in our relationships within the Church, out of the Church as well, "Have I really thought about this?"

I think one way we can have a heart that's wide open is that as we begin to really think about what God has done for us. "Where would I be without God's love, without the sacrificial love that God the Father and Jesus Christ have?" If God the Father didn't have a sacrificial love, we wouldn't have a Savior. If Jesus Christ hadn't given His life, we would have no hope, no hope whatsoever. Have we really thought about the kind of love that God has for us? And as we think about that kind of love, we can pray and ask God to motivate us to love in the way that we should love.

The kind of love that breaks down barriers, the kind of love that steps out of comfort zones, the kind of love that Jesus Christ Himself demonstrated, that we make and we take opportunities to display that kind of love. We can pray and ask God for those opportunities. In other words, as Paul wrote to Thessalonians, don't be content with okay. Don't be content with good enough. Don't be content with, "It's not that bad." We shouldn't be content with where we are right now. We can pray and ask God for more ways to express godly love, this agape love. We can ask Him to open our hearts and our minds wide so that opportunities will just jump out at us, so that we will help and serve and give and fellowship and take advantage of opportunities to be together, to get to know each other to make opportunities to be together, so accept those opportunities. Show hospitality. We can share together. And whether it's a potluck, or whether it's a chili cook-off, or whether it's church services, whether it's snacks afterwards, or whether it's inviting people over. Practicing the kind of hospitality that we're required to. We should take and make those opportunities. Don't shut yourself off, don't say, "Well, I'm too busy. I can't make it happen." No, you can. What's most important to you?

This is important. It is critical. It shows who we really are if we really have the kind of love we're to have for one another. And it's not just a one-time once-in-a-while intermittent kind of thing. 1 Peter 4:8, this is a life-altering kind of love that God wants us to have for each other. Look at 1 Peter 4:8. It's interesting is as Peter is nearing the end of this first letter, this general letter that he writes, he says a remarkable statement here in verse 8 of chapter 4, he says, "Above all things," boy, that's a lot, “Above all things this is something you really have to emphasize,” he's saying. He says, "The end is getting near, you know, we're nearing the end." That's what he says in verse 7, so above all things what becomes critical? What was critical to Christ as He neared the end of His life? What He spoke about in John 13. He was near the crucifixion at that time and He said, "Love one another as I have loved you."

Here's Peter, saying the same thing, "We're near the end. Life isn't going to go on indefinitely." So he says, "Above all things have fervent love for one another," and that is that self-sacrificing love, that godly love, the sacrificial kind of love that God has for us. Have that kind of love, and he says, "That love will cover a multitude of sins." So instead of seeing the critical things, the mistakes, the bad attitude, whatever it may be, this kind of love, it says, covers a multitude of sins. And then we see it's also evident in how we act, "Be hospitable to one another without grumbling." You can't be whining and complaining about each other and gossiping about each other and demonstrate this kind of love, it's not possible. So he says demonstrate it, put into action, the hospitality and love that we showed toward each other, demonstrate that fervent love.

So, how fervent have you been? That's a hot kind of… that's a boiling hot kind of… look up that word for fervency. You know, that's boiling over the pot. That's the kind of love we're to have for one another he says because it demonstrates that I get the kind of love that God has for me. I understand it and so it's demonstrated in what I do. It's flowing out of me because Christ is living His life in me. And so, well, since we're right here, let's go over to the 1 John 4. 1 John 4 we have kind of a summary of this kind of love as it's demonstrated in our life.

Notice how interconnected these things are. 1 John 4:20, 1 John 4:20 gets us off to a good start here, it says, "We love Him because He first loved us," And that is that godly sacrificial kind of love that was demonstrated. We love Him, He loved us. But it doesn't stop there. Verse 20, "If someone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he's a liar." “Okay, well, I don't hate him.” Okay, but that's not the point. We've got to take it to the kind of love God has for us. Says, "He who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?" So, in a sense, God is saying, "I can recognize a fact, if you love Me by how you treat each other, by how you love each other, how you demonstrate that to each other, how you talk about each other, what you say behind somebody's back, the things that you do, how you are one body, that shows God. How can you love God, when you haven't seen Him? How is it demonstrated in our life? Verse 21 then, "This commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also."

So let's think about this, especially maybe something we can meditate on this week. Because as we may see the carpenters drive by with their tools, or the plumbers and their pipe wrenches, and the painters with their brushes, we recognize their occupation. For us, it should be just as obvious as disciples of Christ. We have to have that recognizable attribute. How obvious is it in our life? If we truly are disciples of Jesus Christ, let's be that much more dedicated to do all we possibly can. Let's pray and ask God to show us and open our minds and our hearts wide to His ways so that we can even put forth more effort to do everything we possibly can to show the sign of a true disciple. Let's love one another.