Love Like Jesus

I like to ask it, I haven't done in a while, anybody brought your Bible, any Christians brought your Bibles to church today. Can I see them? Christians with Bibles, it's like soldiers with their swords in their hands. I love it. If you have your Bible or if you have your device, you can put a little marker in John 13, we're going to start there in a few moments. In John 13, a little bit ahead. We'll go to Philippians 2, put a little bookmark or a little stringy thingy. And then at the end, 1 John 4. So John 13, Philippians 2, and at the end we'll close off in 1 John chapter 4. Today, we're closing off the series, Love Like Jesus. And something special about the Love Like Jesus series is that we are part of a series called Love Like Jesus. And we're going to talk about how to love like Jesus. And something special about the Love Like Jesus series is that we are part of a church unity movement here in South Florida called Church United. And Church United is a group of over 100 churches that we have considered unity for the sake of mission. Even if there's different denominations or a few little variances in how we do church, we believe that the capital C Church, which is the Church of the Lord, it's important that we are not in competition but rather in collaboration with each other. And so a lot of the churches, we've been in this Love Like

Jesus series in these last couple of weeks, in the month of November, a little bit in December as well. And it's a beautiful thing. I'm actually on the board of Church United. And so it's a blessing and an honor to be able to see a movement of church unity, which is blessing South Florida in special ways. And last week, Pastor Juan shared a message with us entitled, Something's Missing. Anybody was here for the message of Pastor Juan? What a good message he gave. I took a few notes, a few of the things that stood out of his message to me was, you can't love God well if you don't love people well. That really stood out to me. Also, another point, vertical worship requires horizontal love. Right? And then he stamped the message with the issue of forgiveness. Right? And how sometimes unforgiveness is what inhibits us from loving others. He said that forgiveness is not just an internal decision, it's an external commitment. And I thought that was really, really good. One thing that he did is that we were all challenged to love the people right in front of us. And it's funny, because if I say, hey, let's love the people in front of us and we're in church, what do we as Christians say?

Amen. Let's do it. Right? But can I be honest? Sometimes it's hard to love the people right in front of us. And if you're sitting here thinking, well, I don't know anybody who's hard to love. Maybe you're the one we're all praying for. So I was tested in all this thing about loving the person in front of me in Publix this week. Out of all places. So I went to Publix. Right? And have you ever been to Publix and you're in a rush because you're going somewhere and you're just getting three things? So I had three things. And there's a special lane. You have three things. Which lane do you go to? The express lane, which is what? Ten items in a row. Ten items in a row. Which lane do you go to? The express lane, which is what? Ten items or less. And so I'm happy. I get into the line. And then the guy in front of me has 47 items. I counted.

How many items did he have? He had 47. And I was very frustrated. I wanted to share with him that there's other lanes for 47 item people. I didn't. And I felt the Holy Spirit whisper to me, love like Jesus. Love like Jesus. And I whispered back, are you sure? And then I went out. I went outside of Publix. Now, if you want to know if you're a real Christian or not, there's only two types of people. People that take their shopping cart back in or at least put it back by the entrance. Or you other people. You shove the cart into any bush or even between our cars. And I was about to leave and a person left their car behind my car. Their cart behind my car. And so the Holy Spirit said, love like Jesus. And I said, and I whispered back to the Holy Spirit, it's so hard. It's true. Loving people is beautiful until people do things. And by the way, we're people. And sometimes we do things. And sometimes we can be hard to love. Can I get an amen? Jesus didn't call us to love in theory.

He called us to love authentically, truly, practically, sacrificially, intentionally. And Jesus calls us to a love that doesn't just show up in big moments but rather a love that shows up in every day, small moments. for this message is love like Jesus. Can we just take a moment and pray and ask God for help in this? Lord, we need you, want you in our lives. I pray today that as we study your word, as we read your word, that we would receive good seeds, it would land in good soil in our hearts, and that we would understand your word, apply the principles in our lives, and reap the blessings and benefits that come from obedience to your word. In Jesus' name I pray, amen. So let's go to John 13 so we can kind of set just a foundation here, a foundational Bible verse that Jesus speaks to his disciples then, and I believe he's speaking to us as his disciples today, and Jesus kind of makes it clear about something. John 13, 34, he says, a new command I give you, love one another. What's the command? Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. Check it out. By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you love one another.

Okay, and Jesus drops the mic, right? This is a huge, huge statement. Notice that Jesus did not say, people will know you are my disciples by your theology. Notice that Jesus did not say, people will know you are my disciple by your Instagram posts. He did not say, people will know you are my disciples by how many Bible studies you've completed and how many Bible verses you have memorized, although that is very, very good. No, no, no, he said, he said, the mark of a disciple, he says, the evidence that you are mine, the way people will know you are a Christ follower, you follow Jesus, is when you love one another as I have loved you. That's a big calling right there. So today, we're gonna talk about how to love like Jesus, specifically the people right in front of us, the people in our home, the people at work, the people in our school, the people here at our church, the people in our neighborhood. So I wanna unpack with you three ways to love like Jesus, three ways, and by the way, I wanna keep this message really simple because one of the things that I love about Jesus is he didn't complicate things. You know, when you talk about, Pastor Robert Berger has shared with us before here about the whole, you know, about the smart, intelligent,

brilliant, and genius, right? And genius is people who can take complicated things and make them simple. A lot of people make things that are very simple, very complicated. And so this is a very, very, it's complicated, but Jesus makes it very simple. So three ways to love like Jesus. Number one, to love like Jesus, you have to see like Jesus. To love like Jesus, you have to, help me, see like Jesus. Jesus didn't just love, he noticed them. Jesus saw overlooked people. Jesus saw the hurting people that others didn't notice. Jesus saw the seemingly invisible people. It's funny because in John 13 that we read, Jesus says, you gotta love one another, but you have to do it as I have loved you. So how did he love? Well, he saw people and didn't walk past them. I love that about Jesus and I love that about the gospels. We don't have time to read the story, but in Luke 19, there's a story about a man named Zacchaeus. Anybody remember that story or that name, Zacchaeus? If you grew up in church as a kid and went to Sunday school, or if you have a kid, you might've heard the Zacchaeus song. Anybody remember that? Zacchaeus was a wee little man and a wee little man was he, remember? So what was the important characteristic physically about Zacchaeus?

He was tiny, right, he was short. But in addition to that, he was a tax collector. So all the people, all the Jewish people saw him as a traitor because he was working for the Roman Empire, who's the enemy, and he was also stealing and keeping some of it for himself and so people didn't like Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus catches when he hears that Jesus is coming to town. And Jesus is coming to town, Zacchaeus is curious and interested and Zacchaeus can't see a thing because he is so short, so he climbs up a tree. What kind of tree was it, anybody? It's a sycamore tree. And these are the details of the Bible that when you learn, you remember them, right? And so Zacchaeus goes up the sycamore tree and Jesus is passing by. Nobody else cares about Zacchaeus. In fact, most people have a bad idea of Zacchaeus and Zacchaeus probably thinks I'm gonna get to see this guy walk by, but to his surprise, what happens, Jesus sees Zacchaeus. He looks up, he stops, he. Calls him by name, what's up, Zach? Let's go eat at your house. Probably nobody had told him in a long time, let's go eat a meal together, or let's go to your house. Sees someone that everybody else was dismissing. It happened often when there was somebody in the city

or in the town that maybe was sick, or was a beggar, or was in need, and people would just, oh, that's the guy in the corner, or that's that woman, and he would walk by, and he would what? He would see them. There's something about being seen that makes you feel cared for, something about being seen that makes you feel, I have value. Have you ever been somewhere and felt like nobody sees you? Have you ever been in a conversation and the person you're talking to is not even looking at you? Sometimes we might even be guilty of doing that sometimes, right? Because we're such in a rush, or we're so quick to move past or beyond. Jesus wasn't like that. Jesus was fully present, fully aware, fully engaged. Here's a point. Love begins with noticing, noticing. So how can we apply this practically in our daily lives? Let me just give a few thoughts here. If you have a place where you work, where you go to, and there's other people that work there, can you notice maybe somebody who feels or might be going through a discouraging moment? Question, can you notice that sometimes when somebody is a little discouraged? The question is, first, do we notice? And then if we notice, we'll get to the next step after that. But just noticing, pay attention.

If you're married, you get home, or even with a family member or a loved one, instead of asking, how was your day at work, here's a better question is, hey, how's your heart doing? It helps you feel seen, helps you feel noticed. Parents, your kids are kind of asking for your attention and wanting to ask you or wanting to be with you. It might be a good idea to put down your phone, shut down the laptop, or put down your tablet for a while and just be present. Help your kids feel seen by you. You know, here at church, I mean, we have five services. If you're like, man, I wish I could be somewhere and I could see people, there's five services here on Sundays. Just come and people watch. Because I promise you one thing, if you come and you actually intentionally look, you're going to see people. You're going to see a person, man, that person can use a good 30-second prayer right now. You're going to see, notice, you're going to notice someone that you can bless and help and encourage. You're going to notice somebody that comes alone, and maybe you can go and greet them and share them who you are and ask them how they're doing. And that little greeting might be a blessing. You could see that single mom pulling up in the car, dropping off her kids, and seeing those four tires are bald. Let's go get some new tires for her so after service she could.

Are you following me? See, notice. Seeing like Jesus starts the engine of love. And it's important to see people. Ask me why. Because if you don't see people, you won't love people. So number one, you want to love like Jesus? You have to see like Jesus. Number two, to love like Jesus, you have to serve like Jesus. I got a hmm and two amens over there in the back corner. Let me try that again. To love like Jesus, you have to serve like Jesus. Yeah, amen. To serve like Jesus. You know what's interesting about the chapter John 13 that we read about Jesus' statement? It's the same chapter where Jesus puts on a towel and washes his disciples' feet. An act of servant leadership which is second to none. This teaches us that love isn't just a feeling. Love is a service. Love is movement. Love is action. Let me show you on the screens. Mark 10.45. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. This is Jesus. Jesus shows us that love is not about our convenience. What do I need?

What do I want? That's unfair for me. No, no, no. It's about someone else's need. This is where you see the towel versus the title in Jesus' life. When Jesus picked up a towel in that upper room with his disciples, check it out. Jesus has the highest title of anybody there, not to mention in the world. He has the title of Son of God, Creator of the Universe. But he didn't take that time with them to show off his title. He grabbed a towel and he washed his disciples' feet. Their feet because nobody else did. There was no servant there to do it. Serve them. The world says, climb the ladder and get yourself high. Jesus says, grab the ladder and hold it steady for someone else. It's a different mentality. I want you to see a verse with me about Jesus, Philippians chapter 2. Let's go together. Philippians chapter 2. Bible trivia, is Philippians in the Old Testament or the New Testament? It's in the New Testament. Who wrote Philippians? Anybody know? The Apostle Paul wrote Philippians, the epistles.

Philippians chapter 2, verses 5 to 8. Now check this out. Check what Paul writes here. He says, in your relationships with one another, pause. He's talking about what? Relationships. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. What was his mindset? Here it is. Who being in very nature God, because Jesus is God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant. Being made in human likeness, and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even death, on a cross. I want you to notice here, here's a line. Love moves from noticing to action. And Jesus models this for us. Because he noticed our need from the beginning. But he didn't just notice it and say, oh, they need some help down there. He came. He served. So how does this apply to my life, pastor? How do I serve? How do I love others by serving others? OK, let me give you a few examples.

Question, has anybody ever encouraged you with a word or a word of encouragement? Anybody ever? Question, can you do that? Yeah, so that's one way that doesn't cost you dollars. And so here's a good question to consider. Who did I encourage yesterday? Who can I give a word of encouragement today? I'm just trying to speak life and cast some vision to you. Who can I encourage tomorrow? How about if we live with this mentality? Not with a mentality, well, who's encouraging me? No, no, no. Because remember, we reap what we sow. Here's another thought. Sometimes, so often, we see a need, right? So what's the first thing to love like Jesus? We've got to see like Jesus. So if we see a need, if we see or notice, well, there's a need there, sometimes you and I can practically meet that need. Sometimes it's a need that, oh, we have that, that we can share with them, or we have an extra one of those, or you know what? We can actually afford to bless that family, or help that person, or make a difference. It's beyond seeing. We are called to serve. You know what I love? I love nowadays that happens, and even in church

it happens where maybe somebody gets sick, goes to the hospital, or a situation happens in a family, other friends and family members rally and send meals to their home, or cook a meal. Isn't that beautiful? If you've been on the receiving end of that, you feel loved. You feel seen, and you feel served. Not because, oh, I deserve it, and people should do this, but because, oh my goodness, wow, they're thinking of us. And if you've been on the giving side, how good does it feel to say, man, we helped and blessed that person, that family, that mother, that guy. What a beautiful thing it is. I love that. These are ways that we can go beyond seeing now to serving. And sometimes our attitude is, well, they didn't ask for help. How about this? Offer help even when not asked. It could be a beautiful way of serving. Here's another question. I'm not being facetious. I'm being very honest or real. Who here, you know how to just do a simple prayer? Anybody? You know how to pray? Just like 10 of you? How many know how to pray? OK, all right. If you don't know, you can learn,

and we want to help to teach you. But here it is, here it is. How much does praying cost you? Nothing. So here's my question. Who did you pray for yesterday? So let me give you a vision. Can you pray for today? Who and how can you pray for them tomorrow? Are you following me? Let's go beyond seeing to serving, to adding value. I often talk about parents serving kids. I want to talk to kids, teenagers, middle schoolers, high schoolers, college. When's the last time you served your mom? When's the last time you prayed for dad? It doesn't have to come from the oldest person to the youngest person. Sometimes young people, we can model the example and set it as well and set the tone at home. Serve. And yes, sometimes love means loving the person in front of you with 47 items in the 10 items or less lane at Publix. If I really loved him, I would have said, sir, can I help you with that? Out to your car. As we follow Jesus in the Gospels, in his life, it would be appropriate to say this. Let me give you this line.

Love is spelled S-E-R-E. So you wanna love like Jesus? You have to see like Jesus. You have to serve like Jesus. And number three, you have to stay like Jesus. Pastor, don't go there. I'm gonna go there. To love like Jesus, you have to stay like Jesus. Remember, the call and the commandment is love one another as I have loved you, Jesus says. How did he love you and me? Not temporarily, faithfully. Faithfully. Check this out. 1 Corinthians 13, seven, up on the screens. Love never gives up. When does it give up? Love never loses faith. When does it lose faith? Love is always hopeful. When is it hopeful? Love endures through every circumstance. Do you wanna know what the most Christ-like part of love is? It's not the butterflies in your stomach when you feel like you're in love. It's not the warm feelings when you do something good. It's staying. There's a reason some people have left you because it was easier to leave than to love you. And let's be real.

You thought about leaving some people too because sometimes it's easier to leave than to love. But I love this about Jesus is that his love is a staying love. Jesus stayed with Peter after he denied him three times. Jesus stayed with Thomas after he doubted him. Imagine doubting Jesus. Jesus stayed with people that others kicked to the curb. He stayed with the sinful woman. Who poured the costly anointing oil and perfume on his feet that others criticized and judged. He stayed. And guess what? Jesus stayed with you on your worst day. And he stays with me and you on our worst days and in our worst moments. Can I get an amen and a thank you, Lord? Here's the point. Love remains when others walk away. How does this look practically, Pastor? Love like Jesus by staying. How? Stay committed to your spouse. Stay present with your family. Stay faithful to your church. Stay patient in hard friendships. Stay praying for the lost people, family members and friends in your life. Stay hopeful when things look apparently impossible. Here's a line.

Loving like Jesus means staying even when it's easier to walk away. Is the Lord speaking to anybody here today? I don't know. You're thinking about your ceviche after lunch, right? Let me read this last passage together in 1 John chapter four. Chapter four. By the way, this is a great chapter. I love this chapter. If you haven't in a while or haven't read it ever, I encourage you to take some time to read 1 John four. 1 John four is different than the Gospel of John. The book of John is in the four Gospels at the beginning of the New Testament. 1 John is towards the end. It's the first of three letters. John. Hi, John. So 1 John four, verse seven to 11. Look what it says. Dear friends, let us continue to love one another for love comes from who? From God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God, but anyone who does not love does not know God for God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him.

Thank you, Jesus. This is real love. This is real love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love. each other. And it comes back to the original words of Jesus, as I have loved you, so you must love one another. Must love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you're my disciple. What does that mean? That means, see like Jesus. That means serve like Jesus. That means stay like Jesus. This is the Jesus way. Closing story, a pastor once visited a man in the hospital who had only a few days left to live. When he walked in, he noticed the chair pulled up right next to the hospital bed and the pastor said, oh, I see you were expecting a visitor. The man shook his head and said, no, that's, that chair is for Jesus. He explained that years before, prayer had been very difficult for him. He didn't know what to say or how to start. And so a friend from church told him, well, just imagine Jesus sitting in a chair next to you and talk to him like you would to a friend. He said, so for years now, every day I put the chair there and I sit and I talk to Jesus and I feel him with me. Jesus always stays with me.

After he passed away, the nurses found him leaning out of his bed, his head resting on the chair as if he had laid his head on Jesus's lap one last time. This is a reminder that love, to love like Jesus is to have a love that sees, to have a love that serves, to realize it's a love that stays. This is Jesus's love in our lives. I want to pray two prayers. The first prayer is for all of us that we might repent of having done that we should be doing as far as loving others. That we would invite God and his love into our lives in such a way that we would be contagious with it. Spread it to others. After that, I have another prayer for anybody who needs Jesus and after that we have something special to finish with. So let's bow our heads, let's close our eyes, let's pray. Lord, thank you for this word that not only speaks to us but actually challenges us today. And the first thing that we want to say as we pray here together, Lord, we want to say please forgive us in the moments that we have not seen people around us, in the moments where maybe we could have but have not served out of love the people put in front of us, and for the moments that maybe we walked away instead of staying, love. I pray, Lord, that you would help us open our hearts and our lives to you because we need and we want more of you. I pray, Lord, that we would be receptive, open-hearted, open-minded, and as we receive more of you and your love, we would become carriers of that love. We would become true disciples who are marked with the evidence that we are your disciples because we love one another, how you loved us. Lord, this is not always easy, so we ask for your help. Holy Spirit, work in us so you can work through us. Place this time and our hearts in your hands. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.