Which came first the chicken or the egg?
Which came first the Parents or the baby?
Which came first the creator or the creation? Which comes first the person, the neighbor, or the Lord?
Something or someone did come first, but then that which was created,
joined together in a relationship to produce another.
Into a relationship of
dependency is the way we were created. We
were created to be dependent on one another.
Whether we want to acknowledge it or not we are dependent on others.
When we grow, live, learn, and love we are dependent on one another.
We think that we are rugged individualists, but in truth we are
dependent. We are dependent on
our parents for our birth. We are
also dependent on those early caregivers for our lives. There is only one who is truly independent of all and that is
God alone. He can and does exist
without any help or assistance from anything or anyone. Remember his name is I am what I am or I am whatever I choose
to be.
Many worldly philosophies teach that we should become individualists,
but the Bible teaches otherwise. God
teaches that if we are to know him as our Lord then we must enter into a
relationship with him that is defined on his terms.
His terms include something that is very important to our existence.
That something is a relationship with others.
If we choose to be linked to Him through his sacrifice for sins then we
must accept His desires for our lives to be linked to others in our families,
churches, jobs, and schools. We
can’t be lone ranger Christians. But,
even the Lone Ranger had Tonto.
We are
called to share the gospel and share our lives.
Our relationships should strengthen our spiritual lives and vice versa.
God wants us to Intentionally build relationships, which facilitates
spiritual growth. Are we solving
the relationship puzzle? How does
the Lord want us to relate to each other?
How does our relationships effect ourselves?
The others? The whole? The
Lord?
Scripture Text:
John 13:34 A new
commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you,
that ye also love one another. 35 By this shall all [men] know that ye are
my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
The purpose of this message is to show how the Lord
wants us to be connected to one another and invite each listener to choose
God’s way over ours.
A new commandment:
Commandments are direct orders. But
they may be kept or they may be broken. Commandments are from the Lord and are meant for our benefit
and blessing. How do you take
commands? If someone says come
with me and that someone had died for your would you be inclined to go?
What’s new about it?
Is this not found in the Old Testament?
Yes, it is, but the newness is the revelation of the love of Jesus.
He died for us. It is this
demonstration of love that makes the difference.
Never before in all of history had one given so much for so many.
He said, I give unto you. Who
is this I? He is the great I am.
How: As he has loved us. Tough
Love, unconditional, without thought of return, sacrificially, without
restriction and requirements. (cf.
John 3:16) This is the sign. Here is your sign.
This is how others will know us as a people who love others.
How can I?
I can through submission of myself to the Lord.
Take his commandments and walk down the road of love with him.
Let the Lord love others through you.
Pray for your enemies and those who despitefully use you.
No one ever said it better than
C. S. Lewis: To love at all is to be vulnerable.
Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung and possibly be
broken. If you want to make sure
of keeping it intact, you must give your heart to no one, not even to an
animal. Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries; avoid all
entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket or coffin of your selfishness.
But in that casket -safe, dark, motionless, airless -- it will change.
It will not be broken; it will become unbreakable, impenetrable,
irredeemable.... The only place
outside Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers of love...
is Hell.
This is how He says to love one another:
1.
Be devoted to one another. Rom.
12: 10 Be devoted to one another
in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves.
Remember you must give
yourself to others. Devotion is
to be loyal, dedicated, dutiful, faithful, stanch, constant, and committed.
Without devotion there will be no stability and the house will
eventually fall. Devotion is the
foundation of the building called the relationship.
Are we devoted as the Lord was devoted to us?
2. Don’t
Judge One Another. Rom.
14:13 Therefore let us stop
passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any
stumbling block or obstacle in your brother's way.
Remember you must not judge. Judging is the process of tearing down another person.
Instead of helping, the critic chooses to hurt and destroy.
We can’t judge another when we have so little true knowledge of each
other’s lives. Instead of
judging Paul says to stop putting stumbling blocks in the lives of others.
It takes a wise person to understand how building up another also
builds up him. Will you
build up others?
3. Receive/Accept
One Another. Rom.
15: 5 May the God who gives
endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you
follow Christ Jesus, 6
so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted
you, in order to bring praise to God.
Remember you must be
willing to Accept others. Acceptance
allows growth. This ability to
grow is the vital key to life. Living
is growing in our lives to accept others.
Some choose to deny others entrance into their lives and thus they are
doomed to stagnation and eventual death.
Will you welcome others?
4.
Teach One Another.
Rom.15:14
I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of
goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
Remember you must be willing to take
time to teach. Teaching is the
building up of another. It is
sharing what you have been given with those who God has put into your lives.
Will you teach others and share what others have taught you?
5.
Forgive One Another. Eph.
4:32 And be ye kind one to
another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake
hath forgiven you. Col. 3:13 Bear
with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one
another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Remember you must be willing to forgive
and forget. This is the glue that
holds it all together. Without
forgiveness then eventually the connections and the relationship will be
severed. Will
you forgive and forget?
6.
Encourage/Spur One Another. Heb.10:
24 And let us consider how we may
spur one another on toward love and good deeds. 25
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing,
but let us encourage one another--and all the more as you see the Day
approaching.
Remember you must get
together. Encouragement to a
person is like spurs to a horse. It
gets them going. When we get
together we have opportunity to spur each other to become who God wants us to
be. At the same time we are spurring each other we are growing
ourselves in our relationship with God and with each other.
Meeting together shows our commitment to God and to each other.
Will you meet together?
Remember the banana -
when it left the bunch, it got skinned.
The
banana is not the only thing in nature that teaches us the value of belonging.
All around us are illustrations - some obvious, others not so obvious -
that God created life to be nurtured in an environment of togetherness.
For example, scientists have discovered that when the roots of trees
contact one another, a substance is released which encourages the growth of a
fungus. This fungus becomes a
link between the roots of different trees - even different kinds of trees!
If one tree has access to water, it is shared with the other trees.
If one set of roots is in soil packed with nutrients, those nutrients
will soon be passed to the other trees. Thus,
the trees share with one another, providing for the survival of them all.
Our
society tends to isolate people. We
live in homes with mini-blinds and curtains over the windows to insure
privacy. Many work in
environments where interpersonal relationships rarely have the opportunity to
develop. We can walk through a mall crowded with hundreds of people - and all
of them are strangers. No wonder
so many people struggle with feelings of boredom and loneliness!
The
church can provide a place where boredom and loneliness are conquered. It is
the soil in which we can sink our roots and touch one another in meaningful
relationships. We have the
opportunity to give and receive - to nurture and to be nurtured. This is the value of belonging. Is there a place for you?
Yes! Is there an advantage to
regular church attendance? Absolutely! Remember
the banana - be part of the bunch!
7. Kiss one another.
1Pet
5:14 Greet one another with a kiss of love. Peace to all of you who are in
Christ.
Remember to kiss.
The kiss was the sign of the betrayal of Judas, but it is also the sign
that shows the connection between two people.
The Holy kiss of the days of Peter and Paul is similar to the type of
greeting that Eastern people of today share.
In our society we greet one another with a handshake or a hug.
But it shows that we are willing to get in touch with another.
Are you willing to shake the hand and greet all those that God has put
into your life? Then you are
ready to greet the Lord.