September 28, 2019

WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR?
  September 29, 2019
Pastor Jonathan Falwell

 

Every day on Facebook there are thousands of posts showing the positive or negative character qualities of the potential candidates in the upcoming Presidential race.  Do you respond in anger or are you able to love those people who declare views contrary to yours?

As we continue our series, Who Is My Neighbor, we want to examine our personal lives to see if love—real, unconditional, godly love—is the motivation for our actions, our speech, our giving, or works. If it’s superficial or false, it falls short of God’s ideal. Today we want to learn how we can really love those people who are not very likeable! How does love act when we think someone is wrong, hateful, or evil?

Key Verse: Matthew 22:37-39: Jesus said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” and Matthew 5:43-44a: “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy,’ but I say to you, love your enemies…”

Focal Passage: 1 Corinthians 13:1-7.

Open:

Love unconditionally

  • Read 1 Corinthians 13:1-3. What does God mean by the word love? How do you love those within your family? What about the times when they disappoint, rebel against, or anger you?
  • Are you able to love unconditionally, regardless of someone’s behavior? Why or why not? How do you love if they hate you, or are truly your enemy?
  • Do you want to be loved unconditionally? Why is it so hard to love others like that, when we desire it for ourselves?
  • What is the ultimate goal when we love enemies as God desires us to?

Love authentically

  • Read verses 4-5a. What are some definitions of the word authentic?
  • What do you do if someone is pretending to care for you, but you know they are insincere? When a believer acts in a way different from their words, what does the world call them? How does the world discern hypocrisy?
  • If you believe you love your enemies, ask yourself what you base your answer on, and what your motivation is; explain your answer if you will. Where does genuine, godly love, spring from?
  • Can you think of times you are rude? Why is it important to us that we are “right”? If you—and all Christians—reacted only in love to those who oppose us, what would happen? Would it impact their lives eventually?

Love completely

  • Read verses 5b-6. Where do we draw the line in withholding love from our enemies? How much did Jesus love us? Read Romans 5:10. Do you love your enemies like that?
  • Read Luke 6:32-35. Who are we supposed to love, according to these verses? What did Jesus mean when He said “God is kind to the unthankful and evil” people?
  • If we consistently react with love when confronted with hate, what are some possible outcomes?
  • If we love in order to gain something, what does our love mean to God?

Love strategically

  • Read verse 7. If we love intentionally, when will we stop loving? Who are you focused on, if you love without giving up?
  • How can you deliberately strive to love, no matter what occurs? Did Jesus love like that? Where did He draw the line?
  • In John 3:16, what are some phrases that show how much God, before the creation of the world, ordained that He would love? Can you love like that?

Close:

As we think about loving those who are our enemies, often our mind goes to the guy who cut us off in traffic, or the person who ran the red light, almost causing a wreck. Perhaps it was the person who snickered when the boss called us into his office, or that post on social media that drove you wild. But those people are only frustrations in a normal day—they are not enemies. The truth is, very few of us have real enemies. Enemies are people who have a strong desire to see us hurt physically, mentally or emotionally; they spend time plotting evil and wicked plans to bring us hurt.

We get so comfortable being in control in our own life that we often believe those who challenge that control are enemies. The truth is, those aggravating people, as well as any genuine enemies, need the gift of God’s love more than the friends who are in our inner circle.

Rather than getting riled because of those who irritate us, we need to take our thoughts captive and pray for whatever circumstance has caused them pain. We need to be examining our heart to bring it into conformity with God’s will for us.  He established His word and His law, not to take away our freedom, our fun, or our happiness, but that we should find beautiful peace and joy by obeying those things He has said are for our good. Can you obey Him for a day? A week? Can you keep on “keeping on” until your heart has become like His?  If we can learn to carry our cross daily, we can love our enemies as Christ desires us to!

 

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