Next-Level Love: The Heart of Discipleship

And here's what it amounts to, and this is one of the reasons why we're doing this series, is because I think a lot of times we say and we do these things because we have not leveled up. We haven't leveled up from being a believer to being a disciple. A next level kind of level. God calls us to be next level kind of believers. And so what he does is he invites us to become disciples, and he recognizes that this will be a change for us. This is not always an easy thing. It really isn't. And he knows this. He knows that sometimes we're going to suffer from the flesh pulling us down and weighing us down. And he knows it's not easy, but I want to give you a description that Paul gives us, and it's in the book of Ephesians. He says this, I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and how long and how high and how deep is that love of Christ. And to know that this love surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled to the measure of the fullness of God. Paul says, I want you to be full of it. Turn to your neighbor and say, you're full of it. [00:38:35] (66 seconds) Edit Clip


We're all full of it, right? You're full of something. I don't know what it is, but you're full of it. Paul says, the thing that I want you to be full of is I want you to be full of love, right? And I think one of the greatest challenges that we have as disciples of Jesus is to empty ourselves of ourselves so we can be filled up with more of God. Because when we're full of God, when we make room for God to be in our life, God actually gives us the ability to love those around us the way that we need to. One time a guy asked Jesus, he said, what's the most important commandment? If you're just like, give me the number one. I kind of like that answer. Like, just give me the one that I want. I want to know the answer. Like, what's the most important one? And Jesus said, well, I'll tell you. I'll tell you the answer, but it's actually twofold. The first part is that, and he said, basically if you get this, it sums up the whole Bible. He said, you've got to love the Lord your God with everything you've got. And if he'd have stopped right there, I'd have been totally fine with it, you know? I mean, I'm like, I could get behind that. Like, that's not a big deal. Like, I love God. But the problem is he just kept on going, you know? And he said, and the next part, he said, the second part is just like the first part. In fact, it's really connected. They're almost the same. He said, you've got to learn to love other people the way you love yourself. [00:39:45] (73 seconds) Edit Clip


Can I tell you something that I think happens in the church? I think what happens is a lot of times inside of the church that we're connected to the power of God. We've got the life -giving, loving power of God. We're connected to it because of the work that Jesus did on the cross. We're connected to that power. But the problem is I want to get that love to the people around me. But some of them people got some junk and some debris in their life. And maybe sometimes I do too. And because of that junk and that debris, I could have all the power. But if I don't make a good connection, it's worthless. [00:46:07] (35 seconds) Edit Clip


I will never get that loving power into the people around me. I need the breath of God to blow that junk out of my life. I've got to get connected to Him because once I'm connected, everything changes. But if you don't do that, if you allow that junk to pile up in your life and allow yourself to remain disconnected, you'll never get that love to the people. Here's how Paul put it. Paul said this, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels but do not have love, I'm a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. I'm just a bunch of noise. [00:46:43] (30 seconds) Edit Clip


They're like the end boss in the video game. You know what I'm talking about? They're like King Koopa. It's like, oh my gosh, I got to be him. Jesus says the way that you do that's love. The way that you be him is love. And it's the only the kind of love that people who have really connected with Jesus can get. And so here's what I want to do for you this morning. I want to give you three aspects, three levels, three elements, three dimensions of the love that Jesus operated so well in. And my goal here is that you won't ever be better than Jesus, but if you're fully trained, you'll be just like him. And these are areas that he worked very, very well in. Here's the first one. Get out your notes. Write this down. Number one in your notes. This is a dimension of love that Jesus operated in. It's a love for the least. [00:48:28] (40 seconds) Edit Clip


And so what Jesus says is he's going to do, he says the king's going to say to those on his right, these are the disciples, come, you who are blessed by my father. Take your inheritance, kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in. I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me. I was in prison and you came to visit me. Then the righteous will answer him, Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you like a stranger and invite you in or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go and visit you? And the king will reply, watch this, truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did to me. [00:50:50] (45 seconds) Edit Clip


A love for the lost. This separates believers from disciples. You have to have a love for the lost. If you're wondering, what do you mean by lost? Well, if you're wondering that, you're probably lost. And I don't mean that, like, negatively. Like, lost people don't know they're lost. Lost people have no idea that they're lost. They don't even know they have to be found. Like, they don't know they need Jesus. They don't know that they need forgiveness for their sins. They don't know that. And they never will. They'll go their entire life not knowing that until somebody engages with them. Until somebody actually comes and tells them, listen, you've got to connect with God. And in order to do this, you've got to engage with lost people. And that can be really challenging for church -going people. Because here's the thing. Lost people will act like lost people. It always frustrates me when believers will get upset that lost people act like lost people. Well, yeah, of course they are. They're not following Jesus. So they're going to act that way, right? But sometimes this can be challenging because the lifestyle they're living, you don't agree with. It doesn't line up with what you read in Scripture. And so getting around those people can be challenging. That's exactly what Jesus had to deal with. Watch this. There came a place, and I love this, that the Bible says that later Matthew invited Jesus and his disciples to his home as dinner guests. Now, let me stop you real quick. Matthew was a tax collector. [00:56:07] (81 seconds) Edit Clip


Church people won't pull any punches, you know what I'm talking about? They're like, hey, your pastor's hanging out with some scummy people. Like, what's the deal? That's what they said. They're like, why is he hanging out with scummy people? See, you can always spot the difference between a church full of believers and a church full of disciples. A church full of goats and a church full of sheep. Because the church full of goats, the church full of just believers in Jesus, it's church is all about them. Right? It's all about me. Like, so where am I going to park? Who's going to watch my kids? Like, when I get there, where am I going to sit? That song is a little loud. That music's a little quiet. Right? That preacher is just going too long. That preacher didn't go long enough. Right? It's all about me. See, when church is all about me, you've lost it. Because you can tell, like, when a church is all about you, you're viewing church like a consumer. Show me that verse. Like, that's not in the Bible. That we are to have this thing like a consumer relationship. See, if it's all about you, then the minute that something doesn't work out the way you like it, boom, I'm out of there. Right? I'll just find another restaurant. I'll just find another gym membership. Right? Because if you look at it like a consumer, you're really only interested in what's in it for you. But the difference is, that's not what a believer and a disciple, there's a big difference. A believer looks at it like a consumer. A disciple looks at it like, I'm here for them. [00:58:17] (84 seconds) Edit Clip


Here's the thing that I have found. You want to know the number one reason, the number one way to get into the heart of somebody that's lost? Serve them. Just serve them. Just love them. Because, and it doesn't, sometimes it takes time, but if you do that enough, if you love them enough, eventually they say, why? Why are you doing this? Why are you so kind to me? Why are you doing this? They want to know why. Why? Because you don't look like the world. Like, the world is going to try and take advantage of them. And here you are. I got nothing but everything for you. And they're going to say, why? And here's your chance. [01:02:35] (31 seconds) Edit Clip


You got to have a love for your enemies. Here's the thing that I have found out. The longer I walk this earth, I have enemies. I didn't want to. I didn't expect to. But if you follow Jesus, like if you really follow Jesus, you're really going to have some enemies. How do I know this? Because Jesus had a lot of people that hated him. And he didn't do anything wrong. Like literally, he did nothing wrong. And a lot of people hated him. And you're going to have some enemies in this life. But here's how Jesus said to handle this. He said, you heard it said, love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you. I mean, this is leveling up here, guys. [01:03:44] (37 seconds) Edit Clip


This is a difference maker. And see, if you're going to ever become a disciple, you've got to make a decision to love. Jesus did this so well. Well, the very people that he came to save were the very people that were hurling insults at him. The very people that he came to die for were criticizing him and saying all this stuff. They nailed him to a cross. And what did Jesus say? He said, forgive them, Father. They don't know what they're doing. [01:06:29] (32 seconds) Edit Clip


One of my favorite verses in the entire Bible, if you want a little trivia, is Romans. And it's Romans chapter 5, verse 8. And it's just so powerful because it says, God demonstrates his own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [01:08:37] (17 seconds) Edit Clip