PROMOTING LOVE

By David J. Riggs

Intro.
   A. Love is important as seen in many passages. To cite only a few:
      1. When we love one another, God dwells in us. 1 John 4:12
      2. The one who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John
         4:7
      3. Love is the first and great commandment and on it hangs all
         the law and the prophets. Matt. 22:35-40
      4. Love is the greatest virtue. 1 Cor. 13:13
      5. Faith working through love is what avails. Gal. 5:6
      6. Love is the end of the commandment. 1 Tim. 1:5
      7. Love is the bond of perfection. Col. 3:14
      8. We must love one another fervently with a pure heart. 1 Pet.
         1:22
      9. Above all things, we should have love. 1 Pet. 4:8
      10. By love, others will know that we are the Lord's disciples.
          John 13:34-35
   B. Very few people can explain or define what love is.
      1. The world's concept of love is shallow, confused and        
         selfish.
      2. To most people, love is a mere "emotional attachment" to
         someone.
      3. To them, love is something you easily fall into or out of,
         depending upon how your needs are met.
   C. The love that Jesus demanded of His disciples goes far beyond
      mere emotion involvement.
      1. It is a learned, disciplined, unselfish response to others.

I. JESUS TAUGHT US TO LOVE EVEN OUR ENEMIES. Matt. 5:43-48
   A. If one loved his enemies, surely loving family and brethren    
      would be easy.
      1. In other words, if through the teaching and discipline of
         Christ, one has conditioned himself to love his enemies,
         loving others would be easy, especially those who love him.
   B. Certainly, there is no "emotional attachment" to an enemy.
      1. Loving those we find unlovable (irritating, detestable) is  
         not easy.
      2. It's not natural for an ordinary human being to love his
         enemies.
      3. Nevertheless, God requires it of us.
   C. Consider the examples of others who loved their enemies.
      1. Consider David with Saul.
         a. Saul threw a spear at David on two occasions. 1 Sam.
            18:7-16; 19:8-10
            (1) Saul sent men to kill David. 1 Sam. 19:11-17
            (2) He went after David himself. 1 Sam. 19:18-24
            (3) He has the army of Israel chasing David for many
                years. 1 Sam. 26:2
         b. Nevertheless, on two occasions, David deliberately
            chose to spare Saul's life. 1 Sam. 24:1-7; 26:7-21
         c. Application: When was the last time someone threw a
            spear at you? sent hired assassins after you?
            (1) Perhaps they have hurled hurtful words at you. Or,
                they have plotted behind your back to get other
                people to not like you.
      2. Consider the apostle Paul in all that he suffered from the
         Jews.
         a. Paul escaped from his own countrymen by being let
            down through an opening in the wall in a basket. Acts
            9:23-25
         b. He was stoned in Lystra and left for dead by some of his
            own country. Acts 14:19-22
         c. He said, "From the Jews five times I received forty
            stripes minus one." 2 Cor. 11:24
         d. Yet, Paul had deep rooted love for his fellow Jews.
            Rom. 9:1-5; 10:1
         e. When was the last time your relatives openly made fun
            of you because you were trying to do what was right?
            (1) When were you ridiculed because you did not take
                the popular stand?
            (2) When was the last time they tried to exclude you
                from "the family" because you are a Christian?
      3. Consider the example of Joseph.
         a. Gen. 37:4,20,28
         b. Later, his brethren know that Joseph now has his chance
            to get even. However, Joseph was of a different spirit.
            Gen. 50:15-21
         c. When was the last time someone tried to kill you and
            sell you into slavery?
      4. Consider, Jesus Christ.
         a. When He started His work, people in His home town
            tried to kill Him. Luke 4:25-30.
         b. He was falsely accused of many things and finally was
            betrayed, deserted, arrested, beaten, mocked, insulted,
            and then murdered in the cruelest of fashions. 1 Pet.
            2:21-24
         c. When was the last time you were arrested on totally
            false charges?
            (1) When was the last time someone twisted your
                motives, insulted you, mocked you, tried to hurt
                you, or was just flat-out-mean to you?
         d. Remember Jesus. He left us an example that we should
            follow in his steps.

II. WE PROMOTE LOVE BY MANAGING OUR WORDS AND ACTIONS.
   A. Controlling our actions is usually not as difficult as         
      controlling how we react verbally.
      1. I doubt if any of us have walked up to the person who has
         gossiped about us and punched them out.
      2. Usually, we retaliate with words. However, consider Rom.
         12:14; 1 Pet. 3:8-9
   B. We promote love by not seeking revenge. Rom. 12:17-21
      1. Revenge is one of the names God wears (Yahweh Gmolah).
         Jer. 51:56
      2. In dealing with those that we don't particularly like, or   
         with those who don't seem to like us, we need to chose our
         weapons well. Rom. 12:21
         a. In the movie, "Raiders of the Lost Ark," Indiana Jones
            was threatened by a man with a sword. What did he do?
            He took out his gun and shot him. He used a more
            powerful weapon.
         b. Our "more powerful weapon" is "rendering good for
            evil," not "evil for evil.."
      3. Not taking revenge does not mean that we must allow evil
         people to walk all over us.
         a. When Saul threw the spear at David, David fled.
         b. David did not throw a spear back at Saul. He resisted
            the temptation to take vengeance.

III. LOVE CAN BE VERY DIFFICULT TO PRACTICE.
   A. It can be difficult to forgive, but love demands it. 1 Pet. 4:8
      1. The one who forgives is truly seeking love. Prov. 17:9
   B. At times brethren will disappoint, discourage, or abandon you.
      1. Instead of leaving, members of the church should stay
         together and work out their problems.
      2. There is no such thing as a perfect church and the Lord
         expects Christians to stay together and work together in
         love.
   C. Everyone of us should be willing to surrender in situations    
      that don't matter.
      1. Example of Abraham. Gen. 13:7-9
   D. Doing the loving thing is not easy at times. In fact, it can be
      exceedingly difficult.
      1. For instance, discipline is not pleasant for the giver or   
         the recipient. Heb. 12:11
         a. Parents must love their children with a love that will
            effectively dispense the needed discipline. Prov. 13:24
   E. Caring for an invalid spouse is not easy.
      1. Ask the husband or wife, who for years has cared for an
         invalid spouse, if love is always easy and convenient.
      2. Ask the child who tenderly and patiently cares for aging
         parents who can no longer care for themselves.
         a. Genuine love does not run away from the bedside of the
            sick and dying.
   F. Practicing love can be difficult in marriage relationships.
      1. Remember the words: "For better, for worse; for richer, for
         poorer; in good times and in bad times..."?
      2. Unfortunately, at times we seem to receive the "worse," the
         "poorer" and the "bad times."
         a. The love we have toward our spouse must be
            unconditional. Eph. 5:25,28; Titus 2:4
         b. Far too many have the idea that they will love their mate
            as long as it is convenient, easy, and their needs are
            being met.
      3. There are a lot of jokes regarding marriage these days. For
         example:
         a. A man was asked by his friend, "This is your 30th
            wedding anniversary, isn't it?" The man said, "Yes it    
            is." His friend said, "What are you going to do on your
            anniversary?" The man said, "I'll think I'll take my wife
            to Australia." His friend replied, "That's wonderful - to
            take your wife on a nice trip like that, and what are you
            going to do on your 40th wedding anniversary?" The
            man said, "I'll guess I'll go and get her."
         b. Two men were golfing together near a cemetery. While
            one man was preparing to putt, a hearse turned into the
            cemetery. He immediately dropped his putter, removed
            his hat, and bowed his head. After of couple of minutes,
            he returned his attention to his golf game. His friend
            said that he was deeply moved by the respect he showed
            toward the deceased. The man answered, "It's the least I
            could do; I was married to her for thirty-four years."
      4. With marriages being burst apart at a record pace today,
         genuine love is sorely needed.
         a. Husbands and wives need genuine love to help them
            weather the inevitable storms of life.

Concl.
   A. Let us work at practicing love among us. We are to have        
      "fervent love among ourselves."
      1. Most people are committed to raising their standard of
         living.
      2. Let us be committed to raising our standard of loving.
      3. That standard is that we love one another the way Christ
         loves us. John 13:34
   B. A boy, noticing a sign "Puppies for Sale," got off his bike and
      said to the man, "How much do you want for the pups, mister?"
      "Twenty-five dollars, son." The boy's face dropped. "Well, sir,
      could I at least see them anyway?" The man whistled, and in a
      moment the mother dog came bounding around the corner of the
      house tagged by four cute puppies, wagging their tails and
      yipping happily. At last, another pup came struggling around   
      the house, dragging one hind leg. "What's the matter with that 
      puppy, mister?" the boy asked. "Well, Son, that puppy is       
      crippled. We took her to the vet and the doctor took an X ray. 
      The pup doesn't have a hip joint and that leg will never be    
      right." The boy dropped the bike, took out a fifty-cent piece, 
      and pleaded, "Please, I want to buy that pup. I'll pay you     
      fifty cents every week until the twenty-five dollars is paid." 
      The man replied, "But, Son, you don't seem to understand. That 
      pup will never be able to run or jump. That pup is going to be 
      crippled forever. Why would you want such a useless pup as     
      that?" The boy paused for a moment, then reached down and      
      pulled up his pant leg, exposing an iron brace and leather     
      knee-strap holding a poor twisted leg. The boy answered,       
      "Mister, that pup is going to need someone who understands him 
      to help him in life!" 
      1. Crippled and disfigured by sin, the risen, living Christ has
         given us hope. He understands us--our temptations, our
         discouragements, and even our thoughts. By His resurrection
         we have help in this life and hope for the life to come.    
         (From Illustrations Unlimited, By James S. Hewett, p. 75).
   C. We need to develop the kind of love Jesus had for us, and then
      manifest that love to others.

Chart:
Love is important as seen in many passages:

1. When we love one another, God dwells in us. 1 John 4:12
2. The one who loves is born of God and knows God. 1 John 4:7
3. Love is the first and great commandment and on it hangs all the   
   law and the prophets. Matt. 22:35-40
3. Love is the greatest virtue. 1 Cor. 13:13
4. Faith working through love is what avails. Gal. 5:6
5. Love is the end of the commandment. 1 Tim. 1:5
6. Love is the bond of perfection. Col. 3:14
7. We must love one another fervently with a pure heart. 1 Pet. 1:22
8. Above all things, we should have love. 1 Pet. 4:8
9. By love, others will know that we are the Lord's disciples. John  
   13:34-35