Love's command from Jude

Jude 1:20-21

This is one of the brothers of Jesus. He lived with love and did not know it. He thought Jesus was crazy (Matthew 12:46-50) and gave him "family" treatment (John 7:1-8). Jesus knows of of family trouble... He has gone through the same troubles as we have with our own family. But now Jude acknowledges Jesus as the Christ and this book is what he has to say: "Keep yourselves in God's love." Turn to God and draw near to Him...and God will draw near to you. If you love God, you will keep His commands. One who does not keep His commands, cannot love God. Why? Because if we love Him, we will pay attention to what He says. Period. But this does mean read your bibles everyday. People in those days didn't have bibles... So the best interpretation should be to live our lives in faith... "I know God wants me to do this, so I'm going to do this." Obey...for there is no other way. Faith acts. Faith moves. This is how faith grows. We should respond to God in faith. This is not necessarily a call to study. It is a call to do so we will know. We want to know before we do. Want to build up your faith? Use what God has given you and God will give you more. Love does not stay where it is...it keeps moving outward. So if you wish to stay in God's love, we must keep moving out. God's love does not grow stagnant.

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Love's command from Peter

1 Peter 4:7-11

This is from the point of view of one who has walked on water with Jesus and stumbled many times. Peter even denied Jesus several times.

Maybe you've fallen several times. Maybe you've held yourself back because of expectations or pride. You've made some mistakes and you are not sure you want to try again. Jesus is calling you. Peter had gone back to fishing... From the original call to become a fisher of men. Jesus came back for Peter. For those of you who identify with Peter, Jesus calls to you as well. Peter was a man's man. Peter was told to leave everything behind.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.

This is spoken by one who has worked miracles and heard God during the transfiguration. ABOVE ALL. I can only hope you don't need to learn like Peter did. In addition to your skills, talents, gifts, self-control, and clear-thinking... ABOVE ALL... LOVE ONE ANOTHER. We need to start with love. Deeply...like a well of love that can handle even when someone repents seven times seven in a single day. We need this at church, because there is a multitude of sins here. So we must love deeply to cover them.

Forgiveness proves love. Love proves faith. And faith proves salvation.

This love will remind when someone has forgotten the way of Christ. It will tritone those who are straying into dangerous territory. It will encourage those who are discouraged.

Those who do not love God, do not know God. THIS is the great warning. Pay heed and give it all to Christ. This is an all-or-nothing proposition. Don't continue to refuse the call of God, accept and give it all to God.

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Love's command from Paul - Ephesians 5:1-7

Communication today is very different. We are told that the worse thing is to be boring. But if we look in scripture, we find that God gives us his presence in a quiet voice. I think if we are honest, we don't just want to be entertained. We want to meet with a God who loves us deeply much more. We are to be different in how we love one another. Love is not about being entertaining.

So then, how are we to communicate love to each other?

"Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. Therefore do not be partners with them."
- Ephesians 5:1-7 (NIV)

Our God is a triune God. He is one God, but three persons. Because of this, we know that God is always loving. Love is in community and outward-facing from the self even before man came into being.

In Ephesians, Paul is trying to correct the church in Ephesus. He is saying that as Christians, as those who have been born again, we now have a new choice. We now are free to choose to love. We are new creations and as such, we should act like it. Ephesus was drawn to the false gospel of performance. Revelation 2 tells us of this:

"To the angel of the church in Ephesus write:

These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand and walks among the seven golden lampstands. I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary. Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first."
- Revelation 2:1-4 (NIV)

For Christ, love is primary. It is not secondary or tertiary. When we make it a secondary priority, we are not following Christ. We have lost the Gospel. Consider this warning seriously. How do we know that losing love means losing the Gospel? Consider 1 Corinthians 13:2-3 (NIV) "If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." What is nothing? How far does NOTHING get you? Do you have NOTHING?

"Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."
- Revelation 2:5 (NIV)

This is what we should do when we have lost love. We should repent. Why do we constantly have trouble with sexual immorality? Because we do not have the love of God. Battling sexual immorality is IMPOSSIBLE without traveling the road of the love of God. We cannot fight a spiritual battle without the love of God. We must dedicate ourselves to living lives of love. To be children of God, constantly walking with God.

For a society where we are missing rites of passage, let me ask:
When does a boy become a man? Let me give you a definition, when he starts giving more than he is getting. When he is blessing and not just being blessed.

Let's explore the greatest commandment

Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” - Matthew 22:37-40 (NIV)

Why do you get up in the morning? Why do you eat? Why do you do what you do? If we do any of these things w/o selfless love, we are wasting our time. More than just praying. More than just going through the motions. Acting in love will please God.

There are two walls to love. Guilt and shame. But Christ has taken our guilt. He has paid for our sins in full. He is our righteousness. Jesus wants also to cover our shame. But we have to come to God with our need, our inability to love those around us. Then God will come and answer our prayers and empower us.

Consider that when catastrophe hits our lives, this can be a great testimony. But instead, we just want it to go away. Why? Because all we want is our own comfort... and we super-impose it on everyone. Instead, we should see these conflicts, these problems as opportunities to love more.

Love's command from Jesus - John 13-17

How does Jesus set love as the standard for his followers?

John 13

We need to abandon lesser loves to gain the greater love that Christ gives. What matters the most to God? The love of God. This is what it means to follow Jesus. We are called to continual intimacy with God. Love is other-focused, not self conscious.

How does John 13 show how love looks? Jesus washes His disciples feet. When He does this, He is saying that there is nothing love will not do. Regardless of how disgusting and menial it is. But notice that Jesus says that Peter must LET Jesus wash his feet. There must be willingness. We must let Jesus cleanse the dirty parts of our lives.

After Judas leaves, Jesus issues a new command. People will tell you that this is not new. During those days, it was the golden rule, do unto others as how you want them to do unto you. The new command was for the Holy Spirit to come in and have us love with God's love instead of our own love. Love others as I (Jesus) have loved you. "As I have loved you, so you must love one another." Why MUST? We only know how to love because of Christ. Everything Jesus did was love. Everything He said was love. Everything He did not do was love. But we can't. Our love is self-focused and prideful. So we need to repent. The world will recognize us by how we love one another. But there are no exceptions. We are to love others in the body without exception. We are to expend time, money, & resources to love one another. Not only that, but to do so with joy. Anything that is not done in love, even when it is costly, is probably ineffectual and unwise in light of Christ.
Jesus was a rabbi. Being a rabbi meant people were going to follow. And not just physically follow, but also imitate in speech and action. So for us to be Jesus' disciples mean we should follow Jesus in all He does and says. Jesus calls us to be slaves of all and servants of all.
Love is the first-fruit among the fruits of the Spirit. It is the root of everything else. When we are called to love our enemies, we are told to pray for them. But proper prayer comes from love. So we need love first to pray and then to act in love for our enemies. Forgiveness comes from love. We are wishing good for them now, regardless of what they have done.
John 17 - I have made you known to them... (I have taught them good theology.)
What is the point of good theology? It is so that we can be filled with the love of God. When we learn more and know God more, God's love will be more and more within us.

Mercy: A Vital Sign of Living Faith

[James 1:1-17]

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

To the twelve tribes in the Dispersion:

Greetings.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Let the lowly brother boast in his exaltation, and the rich in his humiliation, because like a flower of the grass he will pass away. For the sun rises with its scorching heat and withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beauty perishes. So also will the rich man fade away in the midst of his pursuits.

Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him. Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.

Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.

{Rev. Dwight Yoo}

Why does our treatment of the poor and powerless reveal the state of our faith?

It identifies those who have received mercy from God.

When we treat people with partiality, we treat things at face value. This occurs with those who have not received the gospel. Why is this? This is because when we have received mercy from God, it flattens our view of people. We see them as either saved or unsaved. We do not treat people differently between rich and poor, powerful and powerless, beautiful and ugly. We should see believers as co-heirs of the kingdom of heaven; brothers and sisters in the faith. Yet, even more than that, when we see the poor and destitute, we should be reminded of our own story. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich." - 2 Corinthians 8:9 The story of our salvation is one of God becoming poor so that we could become rich. Those who have been saved by God in this manner, will not treat the poor in this manner.

How you treat the poor reveals what you treasure.

If we treat the rich person better, it reveals that we want something from the rich person. We treat them better because we think they can do us a favor. If we scratch their back, they will scratch ours. But this is just selfish and worldly, not the way a Christian should act. We treat people well so that we can get what we want. It is not altruistic. It is not loving. How does this apply to us? We may not overly mistreat the poor, but we are busy... too busy to help the hurting and destitute. We ignore them. We may even give money to charities, but all we can think of is how the money has just disappeared. The money has given us no benefit. This also reveals our treasure as something in THIS world. It is still worldly treasure. We are not investing with a mind on eternity and the kingdom. Do not take this as a call to quit your job and join some organization to end poverty. Keep working. But remember that this is not just for you. Remember this money is to be used for the glory of God. Use it to further the kingdom of God and to alleviate the suffering in this world to His glory. "Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need." - Ephesians 4:28 We should earn money to share with those around us.

Reveals whether we are saved.

"So speak and so act as those who are to be judged under the law of liberty. 13For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment." - James 2:12-14

We usually think of how this passage tells us that we have salvation through Christ... that through the acts of Christ, we have mercy. But that is not how this should be viewed. Those who know Christ, ACT with mercy. Those who do not know Christ, ACT without mercy. So those who have no mercy... are destined for judgment. James is telling us that mercy is a test to see whether we have a genuine and living faith.

Application

Love the poor.

Whether this means supporting a poor child or donating to a charity. We should go and meet the needs of those who are poor and needy.

Help the deacons.

Serve with those who are charged with leading our church in meeting the physical needs of those around us.

The Power of Doing the Word

[James 1:19-27]

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

{Rev. Charles Han}

There is a book called, "In The Land of Believers" by Gina Welch. The author went undercover to investigate believers. She went for two years in a church and pretended to be a Christian. It's an interesting read, but not exactly our main point. It's very easy to blend into the church. The book of James is being very pointed on addressing this point. It is really showing us how we really know we are Christian.

Verse 18 sets the tone about the word of God, "Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures." Those of us who are believers have been given new life. The Word of God has become alive in our lives. There is plenty of scriptural support for this: Psalm 19:7; Hebrews 4:12; John 17:17. For those of us who are spiritually asleep or dead... we need the Word. It is how God revives us. This is the point of the passage today. This is authentic Christianity.

Be desperate for the Word of God, and receive it with humility. (Ver 19-21)

We should be hungry and have the right posture to receive. But flip the attitude over, and you will see the tendency of our hearts. We are quick to speak and slow to listen. Quick to anger. This does NOT result in what God wants. If we know someone who always has something to say or a word for someone else, this person is the hardest to learn. They are too proud to receive the word of God with meekness. Godly people have the posture to receive more. They do not know enough. Isn't that the paradox of the Christian life? Those who know more, feel like they know nothing? Those who pray so often, feel like they pray so little... For those of us who sit in these pews, day after day, with hard hearts... our pride grows and poisons us.

Be doers of the Word of God and not just hearers. (Ver 22-25)

Isn't this a cycle in our lives? We hear God's word, day after day, but we never apply it into our lives. When the author talks about looking into the mirror intently, he is referring to a bronze mirror. In those days, you would need to focus intently to see our reflection. But the author says, we forget after looking... The mirror is there to help us to fix ourselves. We are supposed to examine ourselves and apply God's word to our lives. This is the height of foolishness. Spiritually speaking, you're a mess. Spiritually out of shape and flabby. Look into our lives. Do you see a living prayer life? Or does it only happen when we feel like it? This is why we do not spiritually mature. Where are our convictions, our resolve?

Is this you? Spiritually, out of shape and flabby? Then resolve to walk in the Word this year. Let me get practical.

Here are some ideas...
* Have a plan to read the Bible regularly
I have a few caveats.
ONE, pick a plan that you can sustain. Don't try to read the whole bible in one year... That's a hectic pace for someone who never reads. How about reading the bible in 2 years? 5 years? a decade? The point is not to finish in a year. That's just an arbitrary number. The point is to be in the Word regularly.
TWO, it's not about checking it off your list. The reading plan should be a guide. Don't keep restarting on Genesis 1. If you miss a week, don't get guilty. Just start again where you left off.

* Learn the discipline of meditating on the Word
It is not about just reading the Word. We should not just read the Bible in the morning and completely forget about it for the rest of the day. It never comes up for the rest of your life. Consider this a slow meal of the Word. Do NOT just inhale your food. Chew it. Savor it. Take it slow and finally swallow it.

"One sentence of the Bible prayed over and bedewed with the Spirit, and made alive, though it is only a short sentence of six words, will profit you more than a hundred chapters without the Spirit..." - Charles Spurgeon

* Live out the Word in community
Everything in the New Testament is done in community. This is not just about personal and private study. Join into studies with a friend. Share the word together and seek to apply the Word into our lives with one another.

Remember the gospel: we obey God not for his acceptance but from his acceptance. (Ver 25)

What happens when we start studying the Word and praying? Someone asks us how we are doing? We feel like ZERO. Like a spiritual FAILURE. But the author doesn't want this, he wants us to stand on Christ. Not studying the Word as if our salvation depended upon it. We are saved by Christ. He is our Rock. This is not some sort of performance standard we must adhere to. This is not a law of bondage. It is a law of liberty.

God is not one who is hard to please. C.S. Lewis said, "God is easy to please and hard to satisfy." A good parent is thrilled by every step their child takes. They aren't like... I think you can do better. It is the same for God. Maybe last year, we didn't open our bible. Maybe, this year we read a little more. God isn't going to say... That's terrible. He is pleased with every incremental step we take. How about being hard to satisfy? God wants to perfect us and He will not stop until we are perfect in the likeness of Christ.

How trials make us new

{James 1:1-18}
(Rev. Dwight Yoo)

James is the brother of Jesus. He is writing to a church where there is strong theology but weak living. This results in hypocrisy. We believe one thing but we live according to something else. We quote principles and we don't live accordingly. This gap is hypocrisy. God wishes to close this gap. He wants us to live lives of integrity. God wants us to eventually look like Jesus, the one who has lived a life of integrity.

We are saved by faith alone. But that faith is not alone.

The purpose of trials

Trials are one of the main tools God uses to remove hypocrisy from our lives. James calls us not to avoid trials, but to rejoice in them. He's not saying we welcome troubles with smiles. He's saying we see the purpose of God in these sufferings. God is building our character and integrity. When tough times come, they reveal who you are. They don't make you who you are...you are already that way. The circumstances are not to blame, they just reveal your true colors. When our sins are revealed, we can address them: repent, pray over, fight it. This is how we become spiritually mature. But there is one assumption here: we want to become like Christ. If this is missing, none of this makes sense. We must want to change to become more like Christ. Otherwise, we can only wait for this trial to pass. It does nothing for us.

The need for wisdom

Wisdom is important for going through trials. In order for trials to have their full effect, we need wisdom. Wisdom is being able to see how the world/God works and how we fit into it. It allows us to mine those tough situations for the full/maximum benefit. Looking at the cross, we see how God can work through tragedy. James gives an example in the text. He says that the poor man should exalt in his riches. How so? A believer has everything in Christ. He is not worried and striving for more money. Riches are also a trial. How so? A rich person is tempted to place their hopes and worth into earthly riches. Instead they should invest into heavenly things! Eternal rewards and glories.

So how do we get it? ASK, and God will give generously. This means God well give with no ulterior motives.

The anchor of the character of Christ

If we react with rebellion and anger, it means our character is coming out. That is not from Christ. The spirit and character of God is constant and stable. No matter what happens, God loves us and wants the best for us and is working out things for our good. Christ anchors us regardless of tough times, temptations, and trials.

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