Imitating God's Sacrificial Love in Our Lives

1. "In fact, you could argue that the Bible is a simple autobiography of God reaching down into a broken world, trying to reach his creation to say, hey, I love you, and live a life in the same way that I behave toward you, live that kind of life with other people. You could almost say that the Bible is that. It's an autobiography of God saying, I love you, and love each other how I love you. The biblical narrative really crescendos with Jesus on the cross. Jesus goes to the cross in this great act of substitution, of reconciliation, where Jesus pays the price, right?" [00:06:41] (51 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


2. "Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God. Let's pause for a moment. Point number one is this. We are called to love like God. You are called out from the miry clay as the great songwriter said you were called out of blindness darkness you were called out to love like God to imitate God in love." [00:08:28] (36 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


3. "Paul says, you were called to imitate the father you were called to imitate God 1 Peter 1 .16 says, for the scriptures say you must be holy because I am holy be holy, right live the right life live in the right way live in the blessings that I have for you because I am those things we are to be imitators of God, people that's who we are called to be I'm asking you, are you imitating God in everything that you do?" [00:12:13] (38 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


4. "I'm going to give you the answer right now God's love is sacrificial it's not transactional God's love is sacrificial and this is the way that we are to imitate Him you know, we live in a society that reduces love to a feeling yeah? reduces love to a feeling this morning's sermon is M -rated, by the way this section will be, so just block little kids' ears if you don't want them to hear stuff our culture brings love to a feeling and our culture brings love to a feeling our culture says, right the culture of Hollywood the culture of our music industry the culture of our arts right, the our culture has led us to a place where love ends with sex where love ends with a feeling that if I feel good then I must have love if I feel good not you if I feel good then I must have found love but that's not the way it works that's not the true meaning of love that's one part of what love is but that's not real love if you've been married for more than 15 seconds" [00:13:58] (76 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


5. "feelings change there must be more to love to make it last the distance you learn very quickly if you're married that love is not a feeling but it's a feeling it's a fortitude right Romans 5 .8 says but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us so that while we were still separate from God God still loved us have you ever had someone in your life that did something bad to you and then you had that feeling of well I'm not going to be your friend then I'm not going to hang out with you then that's not what God did with us we upset God and God still took a step forward and said hey I'm still going to sacrifice for you because I love you love is not a feeling who knows that when we sin we break the heart of God and it upsets God yet God still takes that step forward to us you have a father who loves you right?" [00:14:04] (62 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


6. "says here that we are to show love that's like an aroma it's like an aroma it it's a good thing it makes the other person feel good there's a pleasantness about it that's the love that we're to show not a transactional love right i'm going to do this so you do this for me a pleasant love is i'm going to do this for you and expecting nothing in return that's the love that we are called to live right here's some differences between transactional love and sacrificial love here's one with trade -offs let's go to the next slide right if you've been any married people know here that another word for marriage is compromise right trade -offs right transactional love is a give -and -take model right i do this for you i do this for me sacrificial love though is selfless and given without expecting anything in return that's sacrificial love when it comes to conditions transactional love is conditional it depends on whether the person fulfills certain expectations or provides something in return so if you do this for me then i'll love you that's transactional sacrificial love is unconditional it persists regardless of the circumstance let's look at focus transactional love focuses on what i can get from the relationship sacrificial love it focuses on what i can give to the relationship with relationships in your life are you looking to get something out of or to give to it's a different mindset and it'll lead to two different destinations let's look at the response to conflict right when you get two people in the room it's inevitable that it'll happen eventually transactional love its response to conflict is it withholds affection when there is a conflict or when expectations aren't met right but sacrificial love seeks reconciliation offering forgiveness and grace in times of conflict we are to imitate the love of god which is sacrificial we are not transactional people when it comes to love now" [00:20:56] (158 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


7. "here's the hard thing right is you need both parties to own that if you want to have a really healthy pump and marriage both the husband and the wife the wife and the husband have to live sacrificially right you need to have a healthy pump and marriage and you need to have a healthy if one is sacrificial and the other transactional and so you got to figure out together hey here let's have that talk right let's get to this healthy space imitating god and his love is moving towards sacrificial love not superficial selfishness 1 john 4 verse 7 says this dear friends let us continue to love one another for love comes from god anyone who loves is a child of god and knows god but anyone who loves is a child of god and loves each other and knows each other and knows each other and knows each other and knows one another 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 that we might have eternal life through him this is real love sacrificial 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 that much no one has ever seen God but if we love each other God lives in us meaning if we love sacrificially people see God in you how do people see God by the way that we love each other right that's how people see God and his love is brought to full expression in us if all we did as a church was love each other sacrificially almost everything else in your life would kind of fall into a happy place think of the top three problems that you have in your life right now I could almost guarantee that there's a face to that problem most issues in your life come with a person attached to it most of them right if you and that person that person and you could get to a place where you sacrificially love each other that problem would probably cease to exist right peace unity and conflict resolution all come when we live that life that we're called to live which is to reflect the love of God when you walk in the imitation of God's love right it leads to good places so the question is this then well if there's a walk that leads to goodness there must be a walk that leads to darkness Paul talks about this let's continue Ephesians 5 verses 3 let's continue let there be no sexual immorality impurity or greed among you such sins have no place among God's people obscene stories foolish talk coarse jokes these are not for you instead let there be let there be thankfulness to God you can be sure that no immoral impure or greedy person will inherit the kingdom of Christ and of God for a greedy person is an idolater and a sinner and a sinner is a sinner and a sinner is a sinner worshiping the things of this world don't be filled by those who try to excuse these sins for the anger of" [00:23:14] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


8. "While I was studying I read an article of this guy an Aussie guy he he um they were interviewing him because he slept with 400 people in two years and how did he get the time for that far out anyway he said something quite profound I'm like oh man that'll preach he said this he said I'm a sex addict and he said I thought that the next person was going to be the person that I would have a long lifelong relationship with that's what he said but at the end of every night he said that he felt more lonely and more disconnected because when you have an uncontrollable mismanagement of that desire that's the only place it leads to he was having his cake but it didn't fulfill the need it didn't give him that energy and that goodness that this guy was looking for leads to addictions leads to decreased self -worth of trust and relationships Paul is saying if you walk in porneia if you walk in uncontrolled mismanagement here's where it leads it leads to broken relationships right Paul starts talking about other things you know impurities greed um Ephesians 5 4 obscene stories foolish talk and coarse jokes these are not for you um I'm going to call this the words of a moron right um because the word here used for foolish talk in the Greek is the word moros that's where we get the word moron from right and so Paul is saying right um moros means taking something good and then flipping it around to be dirty that's what that's what that's what it means to take something good and then to flip it around and to make it dirty or to be sarcastic in a way that rips people down right that's what this word means moros and Paul goes on to say that he says that porneia and moros have no space in heaven and isn't that scary I don't know about you but one two three and four let's put my hands up I reckon we've all done one of them if not all of them been greedy right whatever porneia and moros walk hand in hand in God's sight when we have uncontrolled mismanagement desires in our life and when we can't control this thing and it rips people to pieces those two things will break relationships if you walk with uncontrolled mismanagement and a tongue that cuts you will destroy relationships that's where that walk leads it's a little scary isn't it let me say this Paul says instead right turn to your neighbor and say instead right Paul says instead instead instead instead instead instead instead instead instead do this right that walk will lead to broken relationships so instead meaning this and here's the good news about Jesus right the good news about Jesus is Jesus always says instead right you there's another way" [00:27:53] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


9. "there's a way of salvation there's a way for freedom there's a way for a good life we just have to live instead right the other way and then Paul gives some great ways of how we can live but what I want to tell you and ask you and convince you to do today is live in the moment of instead right there might be things in your life that are breaking relationships breaking trust stop doing those turn away and walk in the other direction that's called repentance right we're saying okay I'm not going to live like that I'm going to turn and walk in a different direction I'm going to walk this way instead of that way amen right let's be people who walk in the instead of Christ and walking in light Ephesians 5 8 to 14 we're not going to read this chunk but what it's said what it says is um that God is light walk in the light right God is light live in the light of Jesus we went camping a few weeks ago and uh the kids made some friends with some other people in the campground and they played spotlight who remembers spotlight as a kid that was a fun game in fact let's turn the lights off now let's get me a torch right who wants to play right so it was so fun anyway they're they're playing spotlight and maybe you haven't played spotlight spotlight is a game it's like tiggy but in the dark but the has a torch and they have to run around and shine the light on all the people who aren't it and if you get shone upon you're it right in in in in the next game Paul is saying in this chunk of scripture that God he loves playing spotlight he loves you inviting him into your life and him going okay let's let's look around what things are in your heart what things are in your heart your mind that we that I can say hey let's deal with this let's hey let's go let's look at this one let's deal with this one I reckon if we deal with this you'll become more healthy if you deal with if you deal with this unforgiveness I can see some unforgiveness here deal with this and that relationship will slowly increase back to a good level right God wants to put a light on some things in your life right and we let him do that we let him do that and you'll find that when he does that right you will find some freedom in your life let's continue Ephesians 5 verses 15 it says this so be careful how you live don't live like fools but like those who are wise make the most of every opportunity in these evil days don't act thoughtlessly but understand what the Lord wants you to do don't be drunk with wine because that will ruin your life and instead be filled with the Holy Spirit singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourself and making music to the Lord in your hearts and give thanks to Christ and everything to God the Father in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ last point is this where does love lead that was the title this morning where does love lead point number four love leads to sacrifice love leads to sacrifice if you are to imitate God in love it always leads to sacrifice sacrifice sacrificial love is the best deepest most unbreakable kind of love that you and I can have because it's not based on a feeling it's not based on a transaction right it's it's not based on anything else but I'm gonna love you no matter what and even if you don't love me back the same way that you love me I'm still gonna love you that way that's the kind of love that God is calling us to imitate let's just pull this apart three things Ephesians 5 15 so be careful how you live" [00:31:07] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)


10. "don't live like fools but like those who are wise make the most of every opportunity in these evil days I want to just for a second pull apart two things in the English in verse 16 it says make the most of every opportunity a few English words there other translations sat this way redeem the time three words redeem the time redeem means to buy back and it means that you lost something something was taken from you and then you're buying it back redemption it means to give freedom to redeem the time that word there's two words for time first word is Kronos which means minutes right so that that's so right now it's nine fifty nine that's Kronos time right they're exact time then there's another word for time called Kairos and Kairos isn't about minutes but it's about moments think back to a moment in your life right now that you just enjoyed you there was just lots of fun think back to that moment that's Kairos time you can't remember the Kronos but you remember the Kairos Paul says redeem the time and he uses the word Kairos redeem the moment what he's saying is this it doesn't matter if you've done one or all of those four things that leads to broken relationships what matters right now is are you going to put yourself in a place where you can buy back that moment are you going to put yourself in a moment right now that you can find freedom in to Paul is saying yes there might be hurt yes there might be broken trust yes someone may have done something to you you may have done something to someone else and you look back and you go man I wish I didn't do that Paul is saying hey redeem the time take this moment right now church" [00:35:03] (137 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)