Sermon Cloud

·        Last week we talked about living with a sense that God might do great things among us.  I even went so far as to describe that feeling as a holy despair that God might not.

·        Those great things of God require of us a necessary Godliness so that we might best be used by God when those opportunities arise. 

·        We talked about the fact that if we aren’t preparing for Godliness, then we assume that God will do not great things among us, and He probably won’t.

·        And the hope was that we would be radically transformed in the image of Christ this year.  I encourage you all to pray with a holy despair that God would do great things among us.  Despair that God might pass us by.  We should love each other and our community with a radical love that causes people to be uncontrollably attracted to this community but ultimately to Jesus Christ. 

·        We must, and when I say we I mean you, must feel personally responsible for the work of the kingdom in Garner specifically at Sovereign King Church.

·        This week, John continues describing what the life of Godliness does and does not look like and John is going to use the story of Can and Abel to help frame that picture.  Let’s remind ourselves for a moment about the story of Cain and Abel. 

o       Abel was a kind hearted but more than likely a pretty smelly shepherd, and his brother, Cain was strapping young farmer.

o       Well, the time came for both of them to make an offering to God.  Cain brought the fruit of the ground and Abel brought the firstborn of his flock.

o       Now when you read Genesis 4, we see that God found favor in Abel’s offerings and not in Cain’s.  Maybe Cain didn’t bring the best of the fruit of the ground.  Maybe he only brought brown bananas or moldy peaches.  But we know that Abel found favor before God because giving the first born is always a step of faith.  It says, “I have no guarantee of another sheep giving birth, but I will give this one that I have to God in faith.

o       Essentially, Abel’s offering required faith.  Cain’s didn’t.  (Always another reminder that if what we give doesn’t hurt it a bit, it ain’t faith). 

o       God ultimately rejects Cain’s offering, so Cain decides to go off and pout about it essentially becoming the world’s first bratty child.

o       God, ever gracious and patient, gives Cain this ominous warning.  He says, “Cain, sin crouches at the door.  Its desire is to overtake you.  You however, must overtake and rule it.”

o       What startling words.  Sin is like an intruder hiding in your house waiting to seize you and rob you.  Sin is the dark character of every horror movie ever written sitting just out of sight but just within your reach.

o       However, Cain could not get beyond the jealousy he had over his brother, so sin ruled Cain and Cain murdered his brother Abel.

o       Cain wanted to be good and righteous on his terms and not God’s.  He wanted to offer God His second best and have that count as if it was his first.

o       God confronted him and asked, “Where is your brother Abel?”  Cain response was, “Am I my brother’s keeper?”

o       The obvious answer was, “Yes, you are your brother’s keeper.”

·        So, with that story as our backdrop, this week we are going to ask two questions as they relate to what Godliness looks like:

o       What does it look like for you to be your brother’s keeper?

o       What does that look like specifically at Sovereign King Church?

I John 3:11 - For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

·        John begins by emphasizing that the message of Godliness that he has for God’s people has never changed.  If you want to demonstrate a love for God, love one another, love your neighbor, and love them both as much as you love yourself. 

·        Let’s take a moment consider what that means:  loving as much as you love yourself.  We talked about it all the time, but it is such a huge concept and so far from us that I’m afraid we never actually consider what it looks like. 

o       Consider for a moment if you will…your shower routine.  Some of us have an elaborate routine and require an immense amount of care.  Some of us keep it simple.

o       For example, guys, you have got to shave, shower, put on aftershave so your neck doesn’t burn, put on some deodorant, and then do something with your head.  Then you have to figure whatever it is you are going to wear.

o       It requires before hand:  shaving gel, a razor, shampoo, soap, a clean towel, aftershave, deo, a comb, brush, or hair gel, and clean clothes.

o       The quickest of folks take about 10 minutes.  The slowest of us take an hour.

·        This is all part of taking caring or loving yourself.  Can you imagine putting that much effort and gathering in all the things needed in just your shower routine and loving someone else in the same way?  We do those things for ourselves without even thinking.  What if would put that much concerted effort in loving your neighbor?

·        What if we thought, “Okay, I know that my neighbor just lost his job and I know he likes to grill out.  I’m going to go and buy hamburgers, buns, all the stuff that goes on top of the burger, buy some drinks, make sure the grill is ready to go, then I’m going to invite them over and serve them with no agenda other than loving them. 

·        That is loving your neighbor as yourself and just as you shower daily, we are to love our neighbor daily.  It requires that much of you.

·        Now John is going to make an argument that I find fascinating and if it wasn’t scriptural, I would say it is a bit overblown or even out of proportion. 

·        John makes the argument that if you are not loving your brother, if you’re not loving someone, then there is no line in between.  You are hating them.  I used to think that the line between loving and hating was indifference but apparently not.

·        John gives three reasons to justify his point.

o       John tells us not to be like Cain who was evil and murdered his righteous brother, Abel.  Instead of loving and learning from his brother, he was jealous and murdered his brother.

o       John mentions that the world hates us.  The world does not love those that claim Christ because the world does not know Christ.  If they knew him, they would love their brothers as that is a defining characteristic of a believer.

o       John then goes on to say, that not loving is abiding in death.  Hating your brother is the same as murdering him.

·        Those people who make a continual habitual pattern of hating are not believers but actually murderers who will not inherit eternal life.

·        So, let’s take one moment on this passage before we move on.   John tells us that if we do not love we are abiding in death.  Last week we saw that he said in order to love we need to abide in Jesus just as a fruit comes from being connected to the vine.

·        Those are our two options:

o       Abide in Jesus and love others

o       Abide in death and hate and murder others.

·        In case we still can’t figure out which one we are, John gives us this advice.

16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.

·        You will know love if you understand that the definition of love is Jesus’ laying down His life for us, His brothers, as a penalty for sin. 

·        A practical example of your demonstrating love?  Seeing someone in need and meeting that need.  John says you imitate the love of your Savior Jesus if you give yourself away.

·        If you have the world’s goods and see someone in need and you close your heart against them, how in the world can you convince yourself that you are a child of God?

·        Now I want that to sink in:  if you see your brother in need and you do not care for them, it is preposterous for you to claim to be a child of God. 

o       You might say, “Well my brother is only my immediate family or at most my church family,” and though I think that is decent interpretation, it does not go to far.

o       When the definition of loving God is loving Him with all your heart, soul, and mind and loving your neighbor as yourself, I don’t think we can get away with just saying that we only have to care for the folks within the church.

·        John, says, “Put your money where your mouth is.”  He says, “Don’t love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”  In other words, don’t say you love your family or your church or your neighbor unless you are willing to put feet on those words.  Love them with hard work and effort.

·        The book of James reiterates this very same thing in chapter 2.  He says

o       15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.  18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

·        Again, folks let’s not fool ourselves.  Saying “I’m praying for you” is the modern day equivalent of “go in peace be warmed and filled” – those things are fine to say but if we have the means, we have to back up our faith with the hard work of loving people.

·        Because there are million who will say, “Oh I believe in Jesus.”  James is not impressed, He says, “Well I do too but I’m show you my faith by what I do.”

·        You know when we read this, you would think that the church would be renowned worldwide for the being the place where deeds of mercy and justice are met.  With the commands of John and James in our ears, we should desperately be about loving others in service because Jesus loved us first.

·        Don’t get me wrong, the church does mercy and justice but our reputation across the board doesn’t show it.  The world doesn’t think “mercy” when they think “church” and for that we are failing and should repent.

·        Now this kind of talk probably and should shake us to our foundations.  The promised transformation from God is so powerful that it is impossible for us not to love others actively.  We should rightfully be taking assessment of our hearts and lives and probably even be repenting.

·        Towards the end of self-reflection, John gives us this reassurance in verse 19.

19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

·        Again, John wants us to know whether or not our Godliness is legit.  He says, believe it or not, our hearts can be reassured before God, even if our hearts condemn us.  How is that possible when he is throwing around language like “abiding in death” and “children of the devil”?

·        Because God is bigger and greater than your heart.  Folks, can you hear this reassuring message for a moment?  There are so many applications here I don’t know where to begin.

o       Does your heart condemn when you sin?  God is bigger than your heart.  You haven’t lost your salvation.  So rest assured and walk away from your sin in God’s power.

o       Do you keep on the fringes of commitment with the work of God because you say your heart is not in it?  Well, God is bigger than your heart so get to work.

o       Do you wish you had a heart for mercy or service or evangelism but since you don’t you sit on the sidelines?  Well, God is bigger than your heart so go show the love that has been shown to you to those in need.

·        When we begin to walk in God’s assurance, we begin to walk in God’s will.  Walking in His will causes our prayers to be both powerful and purified.  We begin to ask according to it.  We begin to obey.  We begin asking for things that we are assured to be answered.

o       We ask the ability to love those in need.

§         This means we repent honestly of all the people we pass by that we know are in need.

o       We ask that God would enable us to serve the most heinous of sinners no matter what because we are called to do so.

§         You know I was reading recently an article that talked the relationship between the church and homosexuals.  One professed homosexual talked about being involved with the church during what he termed his struggled.  He ultimately left the church.  When asked why he said, “I just found it easier to get a hug in the homosexual community than I could at church.  No one at church would treat me as a person.”

o       We ask for the salvation of many souls.

§         We should despair if we aren’t personally offering the salvation of Jesus to people who do not know it.

o       We ask for the advancement of God’s kingdom.

§         We despair that God has not gathering us in more quickly.  We beg God to advance His kingdom right here in this congregation and this community. 

·        Though, we can take any and all and even the most minute request to God, we grow less worried about the minutiae of this world and we begin praying big, bold, great prayers.

·        We ask, “God would you use Sovereign King in a mighty way? 

o       Would you bless a great harvest of people coming to know you? 

o       Would you use us to help those in need? 

o       Would you; would you?

·        He would.  He would

o       Have us love each other well by the abiding gift of the Holy Spirit at Sovereign King. 

o       Have our hearts assured by the truths of His scripture.

o       Have us pray big bold kingdom prayers, not small, puny, navel gazing prayers.

o       Have us love and serve our community well.

·        This text comes at the perfect time as we are about to launch our new CE Groups. You know why?  Because the primary way in which this congregation can love and serve each other well is through our CE Groups.  Here you can be in a group small enough where you can ask for help and encouragement and can experience.

o       Last time our groups threw wedding showers, offered babysitting, threw baby showers. 

o       I can’t wait to see how we grow in loving and serving one another.

·        The primary way in which we love and serve our community is through the CE Groups.

o       Last time we fed police officers, served firemen, visited folks in rest homes and cared for the facilities of a women’s shelter.

o       This time I hope we can do all of that and more.  I hope our expression of love to the community is even more personal where we are serving people we know and we get face time to show the love of Christ.

·        We do not have the option of not showing love folks, and though this church is incredibly loving and serving, we never get to tap out and say, “I’ve done enough.”

·        To be your brother’s keeper means that if someone in this congregation has a need, then this congregation meets that need.  If we are aware of any need in the community, we should demonstrate our faith by meeting that need.

o       That also means that you need to be vulnerable and express your need so that someone here has the privilege of being your keeper.

·        We do not have the option of saying “Go in peace” or to offer shallow “I’ll pray for you.”  We are called to live out our faith by loving our brothers and our neighbors. 

·        We cannot grow content with our prior efforts, our present size, or anything other than what we have been called to do and be:  that is a people who love their brother and love their neighbor.