Sylvania Wesleyan Church 1
Sundy Morning 5/5

      • 1 Peter 5:7NIV2011

  • Good morning. I am so glad that we can be here this morning. It is always a joy. As we continue along our study of the Book of 1 John. Last week we talked about some of the deep theology behind the book of 1 John and how John has a strong emphasis on the study of God and what that means for us. Yet, we can’t deny that John has an incredibly strong emphasis on how we love and what I would call the ethic of love. These two ideas of how we understand God and how we are to love come together and help us to maintain a proper understanding of Christ. Let’s continue though as we look at what this book has to say for us. We are in 1 John chapter 5 this morning
    1 John 5:1–5 NIV
    1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 2 This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. 3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome, 4 for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world? Only the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.

    How do we Love?

    We are known by the fact that we exhibit love for God and that we follow his commands.
    What are the two most basic understandings of God’s commands. The entire law is summed up in this. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind. Love your neighbor.
    Pretty basic right.
    John continues to give us this emphasize on the relationship we share with God and the importance of that relationship and how it is the expression of our faith and that we are called to live it out.
    Love God, Keep his commands.
    It was this keep his commands one that captured my attention though.

    Commands

    What are the commands of Jesus. Let’s talk about this for a few minutes. We already mentioned the first one right.
    Matthew 22:37–40 NIV
    37 Jesus replied: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
    All pretty specific right yet it is incredibly broad. The whole of the commandments hinges on these things.
    Are there other commands from Jesus that he gives us?
    Here are some we have talked about recently.

    Remain in me

    Remain in him Live in his life stay connected to him right
    John 15:4–5 NIV
    4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

    Rejoice

    We are called to Rejoice in all things because of our love for God.
    Matthew 5:12 NIV
    12 Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

    Count the Cost

    We are commanded to know the cost of what it means to follow Him.
    Have you ever thought about what it cost to follow God?
    Did anyone tell you that as a new believer?
    Luke 14:26–27 NIV
    26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
    He follows this with a story about the idea of we prepare what it cost to build a tower because we look foolish if we aren’t able to finish the building.
    Its true isn’t it. If we don’t properly prepare what it cost to build something when our house is sitting half built people always wonder as they drive by.
    I wonder what happened there.
    Oh man that person sure messed up

    Practice the Secret Disciplines

    These are the things that are primarily done in our own times. They aren’t secret because we don’t want to talk about them. They are secret because we are to be humble about them and recognize that they aren’t a badge of honor to make us look better but exist to help us grow in our relationship with God.
    Matthew 6:6 NIV
    6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

    The Golden Rule

    We all know the golden rule right. Do unto others as you would want them to do to you. Of course we have the foundation of this in the scriptures.
    Matthew 7:12 NIV
    12 So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.
    This is a command. We can’t ever forget that. We are called to treat others as we would want to be treated. Notice that doesn’t say how we are going to be treated but how we would want to be treated.

    One more Command

    There is one more that I want to cover though this morning because i think it is an important one. The challenge with many of these commands is we don’t fully understand what they mean for us.
    Many of us might have started out as a believer. We started out as Kids or even as an adult where someone shared about Jesus and something inside of us resonated with the story of Jesus.
    that he came to die on the cross for us and that he did this because he loved us.
    Now some of us might have understood what we meant by sin.
    He came to forgive me of the bad things I have done right?
    How many of us though fully understood what he means by things like repentance?
    How many of us understand that Sin is a deeper problem than us just occasionally doing a list of things that God doesn’t like?
    Were you taught from the beginning what it means that Sin was something you were born with that it is deeply rooted in who we are as humans.
    Romans 5:12 NIV
    12 Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—
    Honestly how many of us were taught all these things?
    Any one of these commands i have given you this morning which Again I remind you didn’t cover all of them.
    The truth is that many of us this was stuff that people hoped we picked up along the way.
    Is that where we are as a church? Is that were the church of God is now? Are we just hoping that we pick it up and that people will understand what Jesus means when he says.
    Matthew 4:19 NIV
    19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will send you out to fish for people.”
    Come, follow me! That is serious business. He wasn’t saying in a little bit he was telling them now. Stop what you are doing and follow me.
    How would you respond if Jesus showed up at your work and said...

    Come follow me!

    We would like to admit that we would do it. I hope many of us would. Yet, there were others who told Jesus they would follow him but they tried to do it on their terms.
    Luke 9:59–62 NIV
    59 He said to another man, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.” 60 Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Still another said, “I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say goodbye to my family.” 62 Jesus replied, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.”
    There is a cost. There is a price to be paid. He is calling us to do more than just sit back and talk a good talk he is asking us to walk the walk.
    It was this idea that got me thinking about that Last command. This command he gave us before he left this earthly plane. Some of you might already know what it is I am talking about.
    Matthew 28:19–20 NIV
    19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
    We are called to love God with all of who we are and we are called to love others. We are called also in our love for others to make disciples of all the nations.

    What is a disciple?

    We like to use this word but do we really understand what it means. IT is important because we are commanded to go and make disciples.
    Don’t you think we should first understand what it is that he is commanding us. After all
    1 John 5:3 NIV
    3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,
    A disciple is a someone who is willing to go on the journey of a lifelong commitment to being changed in all areas of their life, actively seeking spiritual growth, and being obedient to God.
    A disciple follows his Master.
    We talked about the commands required of us a little bit ago. This is what Jesus is calling us to do. He is calling us to leave anything and everything for his sake.
    That is not an easy thing for many of us to commit to because our humanness gets in the way.
    How am I supposed to forsake my family for Christ?
    I might be called to quit my job to follow him?
    I have to give up of my own personal possessions so that I can help others?
    Yet, here is where we connect back to what John is talking about and why following his commands is not a burden.

    He makes it Easy!

    All this, Being a disciple following Jesus is only possible if we recognize that God is in charge. It is only through his strength that any of this is possible. The reason that his commands are not a burden is because
    He gives us the strength to carry out those commands.
    Disciples of Jesus abandon all else, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, begin to live their lives as if Jesus were living in them.
    It is only through his love for us and his grace for us that it is possible that we come to know and begin to be able to be a disciple of Jesus.
    He makes it easy to prioritize caring for and loving others because he first loved us.
    He makes it easier to read our bibles and pray because he wants to engage us and share with us the word that God wants to share with us.
    He makes it easier to give of ourselves, through our time, and our possessions because he was willing to give it all on the cross for us and he lives within us.
    I was looking for a way to finish this out and i realized that there is a passage of scripture that encapsulates this attitude so very well for us.
    Philippians 3:8–14 NIV
    8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. 10 I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, attaining to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. 13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

    Sermon title end

    Paul says it best. Everything is loss compared to knowing Christ. It’s garbage!
    It is only through him and my pursuit of becoming like him that I see that his commands are easy to follow because he took a hold of me.
    I am going to keep pressing on though. I am going to keep running the race. Because It is the love of God that drives me and fills me and I want it more and more in my life.
    Let us pray.

      • 1 John 5:1–5NIV2011

      • Matthew 22:37–40NIV2011

      • John 15:4–5NIV2011

      • Matthew 5:12NIV2011

      • Luke 14:26–27NIV2011

      • Matthew 6:6NIV2011

      • Matthew 7:12NIV2011

      • Romans 5:12NIV2011

      • Matthew 4:19NIV2011

      • Luke 9:59–62NIV2011

      • Matthew 28:19–20NIV2011

      • 1 John 5:3NIV2011

      • Philippians 3:8–14NIV2011

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