Pass Along Jesus’ Love

I can’t believe I just heard that!  Did you?  It was a screech of tires, a horn blaring and a big crunch!  If we all heard such an unusual sound outside, perhaps even in our parking lot, I’m sure you would want to jump up and see what just happened!  I know this, because when there is a noise in the back of church many of you turn around to see what happened. 😉  I’m not suggesting that you would only want to run out to stand there staring at the crash, but you would want to offer whatever assistance you could until the police and fire rescue people arrived.  But, once the professionals are on the scene they would prefer that you would not hang around.  There are plenty of times you really don’t want to hang around.  Take the dentist for instance.  I have great respect for the dentist’s office, but after they are done poking and cleaning and drilling on my teeth I really don’t want to hang around. How about the kids at school who are called into the principles’ office.   A child may have to wait around in the waiting room until called into the office, but after the conversation and the punishment is handed out the student probably doesn’t want to hang around.

There are times in our life when we see and hear things for which we are excited to pass along the information, and times when we’re not so excited to.  What if you were enjoying a perfect concert where every note was sung or played perfectly and the experience caused you to have chills because it was so awesome.  Or how about you were on the beach in Florida condo watching the beautiful sunset of pink and purple.  Or how about a 4^th of July fireworks show with majestic explosions that appeared and disappeared just as quickly?  Some of these moments you so enjoyed that you really would like for them to last and after they’re over, to tell someone about your experience.

Into what category would you put the disciples in the days after Easter?  Yes, we are still in the Easter Season and meditating on the Resurrection Realities.  Would you compare your thoughts about Easter to those of the disciples?  They had extreme ups and downs.  And then Jesus would say to them, “In a little while you are not going to see me anymore, and again in a little while you will see me, because I am going away to the Father.” (John 16:16).  The disciples would be witnesses of some amazing things Jesus did.  They experienced Jesus’ love for them firsthand.  They cherished Jesus’ love.  They were comforted by Jesus’ love.  They had hope, peace and forgiveness in Jesus’ love.  It was theirs to keep and it was theirs to pass on.  This is the point of the Word of God before us in John 15.  May we be so inspired to

Pass Along Jesus’ Love

Intentional Love

Jesus wants us to pass along his love, so let’s begin our thoughts with verse 13. “¹³ No one has greater love than this: that someone lays down his life for his friends.”  Go ahead and give your definition of a friend.  A friend is someone who shares your happy times with you.   A friend can be brutally honest with you.  A friend is someone who is there for you when everyone else is gone.   You might appreciate a friend who will borrow you his car, cell phone or lawn mower, but I think we would agree that a true friend is there when things are really falling apart even if there is no benefit for themselves.  Jesus was very specific in his definition of a friend—“someone [who] lays down his life for his friends.” That sounds like a Marine who jumps into the water to save fellows Marines who just crashed their helicopter into a river to save them.  Or a fireman who runs into a burning building to rescue someone.  Or the Allen police officers who ran to the danger when everyone is running away?  We can’t disagree with Jesus’ description of a friend being someone who would lay down their life to save others.

Dear friends, Jesus’ love was more than that.  Jesus’ death was not for his friends, but for his enemies.  Jesus died for people who rebelled against God, were blind to God’s holy will, and ran away from God.  Therefore Jesus’ love was not only underserved but it was intentional! The words in John 15 were just hours before Jesus would hang on the cross.  Jesus was telling his disciples that he was going to die in their place.  He was talking to men like Peter who would deny knowing Jesus.  James and John who would foolishly ask for glory in Jesus’ kingdom. Matthew who had been a cheating tax collector.  Jesus’ love was intentional because he was giving up his life for sinners on purpose—God’s purpose!

We smile when we learn a rich man gives a large donation to help the poor.  We might even lift our eyebrows when we learn that a billionaire wills his entire estate to his chauffeur.  But we stand in awe that the holy Son of God gave up his life for people who are rude, selfish, insensitive, careless, greedy and guilty of a long list of sins.  Jesus intentionally gave up his perfect life to Love People who were originally his enemies.  Are you listening?  Jesus intentionally gave up his life for sinners like you and me!

That is a love for us to cherish every day.  That is a love we want to absorb as much of it as we can.  We realize that we didn’t deserve his amazing love at all.  That’s why Paul was inspired to write, “⁸ But God shows his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  Jesus aimed his intentional love at you to forgive you and assure you that you don’t have to be afraid of God’s anger because he took care of it all on the cross.  Listen to Jesus! “⁹ “As the Father has loved me, so also I have loved you. Remain in my love.”  Jesus’ love for you is intentional and it’s also

Intimate

We all love a friend who shares our good days and our bad days with us.  They help us celebrate the blessings and help us carry the burdens.  Another great quality of a friend is that they share their intimate secrets.  Jesus was sharing the most intimate, mysterious, personal qualities of his love with his disciples. “¹⁵ I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know what his master is doing.” When I read this I think of two guys who had been through a whole lot together.  They had gone to school together, enlisted in the Army together and even ended up serving together during the war.  After the war they decided to go into business together and loved each other’s friendship.  There really wasn’t much of anything that they didn’t know about each other.  One night these old guys decided to go on a double date with their wives.  They ordered their food and one guy proposes a toast: “Friends may come and friends my go.  Friends may disappear we know.  But, we’ve been best friends for many years, even in the darkest days.  Cheers!”  You can just imagine the warmth, joy and happiness these couples shared.  They wanted this intimate relationship to continue on for a long time.

You can get the sense that this is the type of intimate relationship Jesus was sharing with his disciples.  To be sure they would be Jesus’ servants, but Jesus teaches them that they were much more for a servant doesn’t know the purposes and plans behind a masters commands.  A servant simply obeys.  Jesus elevated his disciples into an intimate friendship “But I have called you friends, because everything that I heard from my Father, I have made known to you.”  Jesus had revealed to them his Father’s purpose and plan.  Jesus shared that which was a mystery for centuries—that God had a plan to save the human race from sin by his suffering, death and resurrection.  Jesus promised that he would visibly leave them after his resurrection, but promised to be with them always.  Jesus took the disciples into his deepest confidence and shared his deepest secrets with them.  He told them how people can go to heaven!

Jesus brings that same love to you.  Through his Word Jesus uncovers the heart of God’s plan to take you to heaven.  The Holy Spirit has used God’s Word to create and sustain faith in your heart to experience the intentional, intimate love of Jesus for you.  You are linked to God through faith in Jesus as God himself wraps his loving arms around you.  Praise to Jesus who Passed Along his Intentional, Intimate love because he knew it would also be

Inspiring

When we think of groups of friends we understand that in general people have friends in their own peer group.  If you’re a mom raising kids, you probably have moms who have kids as your friends.  If you’re a Dallas Cowboy’s fan, you probably have some friends who are Cowboy fans, too.  Think of your college days.  You probably had friends who were studying a similar major or enjoyed doing the same fun things you enjoyed.

I can’t say that any of us here today would qualify to be in Jesus’ peer group.  Can any of you walk on water, feed thousands, miraculously heal people, or rise from the dead?  No.  And if you thought I meant to only rise from the dead physically, I also meant spiritually.  You see, by nature we were all born dead in the transgressions and sins (Eph 2:1).  You were not only NOT included in Jesus’ peer group, but you and his disciples couldn’t become a friend of Jesus if you wanted to.  That’s why Jesus had to do it.  He said, “¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you.”  Pretty humbling isn’t it?  There’s no way one of could say, “Jesus, you picked a pretty good friend when you picked me!”   The Bible makes this so clear,

“³ For at one time we ourselves were also foolish, disobedient, deceived, enslaved by many kinds of evil desires and pleasures, living in malice and jealousy, being hated and hating one another. ⁴ But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, ⁵ he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and the renewal by the Holy Spirit, ⁶ whom he poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior.”

Titus 1:3-6

So, while we hear this message and are so humbled to be Jesus’ friend, we look to the cross where Jesus loved us to death to save us and that is inspiring!  We are inspired to do what?  Jesus told us, “¹⁶ You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will endure, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. ¹⁷ These things I am instructing you, so that you love one another.”  And what does loving one another look like?  Well, let’s say one of your friends or relatives asks you, “If my wife and I die would you be willing to be sure that our child is taught the truths of God’s Word as a sponsor?”  That wouldn’t be a burden!  You would be inspired to do it!  So do it!  Are you a sponsor of a child who you don’t see regularly in worship or being taught God’s Word as home?  Be inspired by Jesus’ love to remind the parents and the child to be faithful to God’s Word.  Jesus’ love inspires us, is the energy source and the power pump from which our love flows to another person.

What does “you love one another” look like?  We can express this love for each other right here at church.  You could sit back and say, “I’ll be back to church again as long as the sermon isn’t too long.”  But, did you ever think that God doesn’t want you to come to church like a damned up river?  No!  Jesus wants to fill you up with his love in this place so you can flow out into the world that is damned by sin and unbelief.   With your offerings given at this place you will soon hear about those pastors and teachers graduating from Martin Luther College or Wisconsin Lutheran Seminary to begin full-time ministry.  If any of them were here today they would say to you, “Thank you!  Because of all your prayers and generous offerings we have been trained to go out and share Jesus’ love with others.”  This all happens because of Jesus’ love that inspires us to share the gospel with more people.

If there was a screech of tires, the blast of a horn and crash you would want to go out and see what happened.  Then you’re probably share the story with someone else.  If you have a dentist appointment this week you’ll get your teeth taken care of, but you probably won’t stick around the office just like a student let out of the principal’s office. (Tell the Chicago toll booth story). Likewise you came here today God’s house today to hear and see a miracle.  And you did!  You heard about Jesus’ love for you and you see it right there before your eyes on the cross.  Now, it’s time for us to Pass Along Jesus’ Intentional, Intimate and Inspiring love to a friend.  Let’s Go!   Let’s Pass On Jesus’ Love!  Amen!