1 00:00:01,120 --> 00:00:03,680 Everyone has a least favorite teacher. 2 00:00:06,160 --> 00:00:10,640 I had professors in college who'd read their PowerPoint out 3 00:00:10,640 --> 00:00:16,000 loud the whole class. That was it. 90 minutes of read 4 00:00:16,000 --> 00:00:19,440 aloud. Let's just say on Tuesdays and 5 00:00:19,440 --> 00:00:21,960 Thursdays. Not a lot of students found 6 00:00:21,960 --> 00:00:26,920 their way to those classrooms. Everyone also has a favorite 7 00:00:26,920 --> 00:00:31,720 teacher. By far my favorite teacher was 8 00:00:31,720 --> 00:00:35,480 my finance professor. First day of class he told us 9 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,440 there's no textbook, no PowerPoints, no lecture notes, 10 00:00:40,680 --> 00:00:46,040 no homework. Your grade depends on 2 tests, 11 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:50,000 one halfway through the course and if you pass that one at the 12 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,120 end. And he said everything you need 13 00:00:53,120 --> 00:00:59,000 to know for those tests will be spoken by me in this classroom. 14 00:01:00,720 --> 00:01:04,680 When those are your teachers first words, you have reason to 15 00:01:04,680 --> 00:01:10,200 hang on their every word. Let me tell you, finance was not 16 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:12,840 a class that I skipped for any reason. 17 00:01:14,520 --> 00:01:17,040 And it turned out my professor was also a great teacher. 18 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:22,320 He was engaging, he was clear. It was clear he cared about the 19 00:01:22,320 --> 00:01:23,880 topic that he was teaching about. 20 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,360 It was clear he knew something about what he was teaching 21 00:01:26,360 --> 00:01:28,840 about. He was even funny at times. 22 00:01:29,400 --> 00:01:31,440 Most importantly, he was effective. 23 00:01:32,200 --> 00:01:35,960 He'd learned finance himself. He was able to teach and train 24 00:01:35,960 --> 00:01:39,720 others also. Multiple students, however, 25 00:01:40,240 --> 00:01:44,000 still failed that first Test and had to drop the class. 26 00:01:44,760 --> 00:01:46,400 By God's grace, I was not one of those. 27 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:52,280 I think the problem was with the students, not with the teacher. 28 00:01:54,320 --> 00:02:00,680 If you're in Christ, the day of your conversion was your first 29 00:02:00,680 --> 00:02:08,000 day in God's classroom. In God's classroom, there are 30 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:14,720 some subjects we must unlearn. There are other topics we have 31 00:02:14,720 --> 00:02:19,960 yet to learn. There are also many lessons we 32 00:02:19,960 --> 00:02:24,360 must keep learning. Turn your Bible to First 33 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:27,040 Thessalonians chapter 4. If you don't have a Bible, maybe 34 00:02:27,040 --> 00:02:29,120 you forgot yours at home. Maybe you don't own one. 35 00:02:29,120 --> 00:02:32,240 Just raise your hand. Somebody will bring you a Bible. 36 00:02:33,080 --> 00:02:35,000 Just raise it high. Great. 37 00:02:36,800 --> 00:02:40,200 We've been learning from Paul's letter to the one year old 38 00:02:40,200 --> 00:02:44,360 church in Thessalonica. Paul was so concerned about this 39 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:48,800 suffering church plant that he sent his protege Timothy to 40 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:52,560 check on them. Paul was so comforted by 41 00:02:52,560 --> 00:02:57,080 Timothy's report that he sent this letter to encourage them. 42 00:02:58,400 --> 00:03:03,240 Last week we saw that Paul ended chapter 3 with a pastoral 43 00:03:03,240 --> 00:03:05,080 prayer. He prayed for two things. 44 00:03:05,320 --> 00:03:08,480 He prayed for their holiness before God and their love for 45 00:03:08,480 --> 00:03:12,240 one another. In chapter 4, we saw Paul exhort 46 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:16,640 them to keep walking in holiness. 47 00:03:18,160 --> 00:03:23,440 Today Paul exhorts them to keep loving one another. 48 00:03:24,080 --> 00:03:27,960 Listen to God's word as I read verses 9 to 12. 49 00:03:31,880 --> 00:03:36,680 Now concerning brotherly love. You have no need for anyone to 50 00:03:36,680 --> 00:03:42,320 write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love 51 00:03:42,320 --> 00:03:46,800 one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the 52 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:52,040 brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do 53 00:03:52,040 --> 00:03:58,080 this more and more and to aspire to live quietly and to mind your 54 00:03:58,080 --> 00:04:02,840 own affairs, and to work with your hands as we instructed you, 55 00:04:03,600 --> 00:04:10,240 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be 56 00:04:10,240 --> 00:04:17,480 dependent on no one. Friends, notice how similar 57 00:04:17,480 --> 00:04:20,399 these verses are to the previous ones we looked at to verses 1 to 58 00:04:20,399 --> 00:04:21,920 8. Look at verse one. 59 00:04:22,600 --> 00:04:26,880 Paul urges them to please God with holiness in their 60 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:30,280 sexuality. Paul encourage them, verse one, 61 00:04:30,520 --> 00:04:35,520 that they're already doing this and to do it more and more. 62 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:42,000 Now look at verses 9 to 12. Paul reminds them to love one 63 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:46,000 another and Paul encourages them, verse 10 that they're 64 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:51,240 already doing this and to do it more and more. 65 00:04:52,280 --> 00:04:57,400 In verses 1 to 12, we see two topics, holiness and love, that 66 00:04:57,400 --> 00:05:01,640 belong together. Paul begins verse one with how 67 00:05:01,640 --> 00:05:07,840 they ought to walk before God. Paul ends verse 12 with how they 68 00:05:07,840 --> 00:05:13,960 ought to walk before outsiders. So really verses 9 to 12 are 69 00:05:13,960 --> 00:05:16,800 kind of like Part 2 to the same question we asked last week, 70 00:05:16,800 --> 00:05:22,160 which was how can you please God? 71 00:05:23,840 --> 00:05:26,880 See the answer from verses 9:00 to 12:00. 72 00:05:27,280 --> 00:05:34,120 So simple. Keep loving one another, keep 73 00:05:34,360 --> 00:05:38,840 loving one another. Love for one another is the 74 00:05:38,840 --> 00:05:43,800 heartbeat of this passage. There's 4 verses in the passage. 75 00:05:43,800 --> 00:05:46,960 We'll take each of them 1 by 1 four points. 76 00:05:46,960 --> 00:05:52,600 Here's the 1st 1.1. Love one another as God taught 77 00:05:52,600 --> 00:05:57,200 you. Love one another as God taught 78 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:00,400 you. Look at verse 9 again now 79 00:06:00,640 --> 00:06:04,240 concerning brotherly love. You have no need for anyone to 80 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:09,400 write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love 81 00:06:10,040 --> 00:06:14,200 one another. Paul obviously shifts topics 82 00:06:14,200 --> 00:06:17,320 from holiness to love. Not just any love. 83 00:06:17,320 --> 00:06:21,360 Paul says. Brotherly love. 2 words in 84 00:06:21,360 --> 00:06:24,480 English, one word in the Greek. Many of you are probably 85 00:06:24,480 --> 00:06:26,360 familiar with it. Philadelphia. 86 00:06:26,920 --> 00:06:30,440 We've got a city named after it, the city of Brotherly Love. 87 00:06:31,200 --> 00:06:34,720 And as I mentioned earlier, Paul's previously prayed for 88 00:06:34,720 --> 00:06:38,680 their love for one another end of chapter 3 to increase to 89 00:06:38,720 --> 00:06:42,320 abound. In chapter 1, Paul thanked God 90 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:46,120 for their love. He called it a labor of love. 91 00:06:46,480 --> 00:06:52,040 Apparently the Thessalonians love for one another excelled to 92 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:58,560 such a degree that Paul can say in verse one you have no need 93 00:06:58,720 --> 00:07:02,520 for anyone to write to you about this. 94 00:07:03,600 --> 00:07:10,320 Their love was observable, but to some their love was strange, 95 00:07:11,320 --> 00:07:14,600 especially to non Christians. One second century Roman 96 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:18,360 rhetorician commented on the brotherly love of Christians. 97 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:24,280 He says hardly have they met when they love each other 98 00:07:25,600 --> 00:07:30,120 indiscriminately. They call each other brother and 99 00:07:30,120 --> 00:07:32,720 sister. Perhaps you're a non Christian 100 00:07:32,720 --> 00:07:35,440 sitting here. Are all these people related? 101 00:07:35,440 --> 00:07:37,480 I keep sitting here. Hey brother, how are you? 102 00:07:37,800 --> 00:07:40,040 Hey sister, how can I pray for you? 103 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:44,320 To outside observers, this love was different. 104 00:07:44,800 --> 00:07:48,200 It was familial love. For those outside your family, 105 00:07:48,680 --> 00:07:53,080 it was a new kind of love. As I was doing the dishes 106 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:57,320 earlier this week, I heard one of my kids ran up the stairs to 107 00:07:57,320 --> 00:08:02,360 tell me someone else wasn't using a gentle tongue. 108 00:08:03,880 --> 00:08:05,720 That's a good phrase, I thought to myself. 109 00:08:06,640 --> 00:08:10,240 That's a new phrase. So I asked my child to come 110 00:08:10,240 --> 00:08:14,120 here, and I asked them, Who taught you that? 111 00:08:16,040 --> 00:08:20,920 The answer learned it at school. This particular child is being 112 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:24,080 homeschooled, meaning their mother taught them. 113 00:08:25,000 --> 00:08:27,840 Seems Hannah's been teaching the Proverbs. 114 00:08:29,520 --> 00:08:34,440 Who taught the Thessalonians this new love? 115 00:08:35,799 --> 00:08:39,720 Who taught them to love like this? 116 00:08:40,640 --> 00:08:46,640 Look at verse one. The Thessalonians were taught by 117 00:08:46,640 --> 00:08:49,760 God. You may be wondering. 118 00:08:49,960 --> 00:08:52,160 Paul and his missionary team taught them, didn't they? 119 00:08:52,160 --> 00:08:54,960 They taught them the scripture over 3 Sabbaths when they 120 00:08:54,960 --> 00:08:58,320 planted the church. Paul continually taught them for 121 00:08:58,520 --> 00:09:01,480 weeks or even months before he had to flee. 122 00:09:01,960 --> 00:09:05,320 Yes, Paul is even going to instruct them on their love for 123 00:09:05,320 --> 00:09:11,400 one another in these verses. But Paul was not their primary 124 00:09:11,560 --> 00:09:16,640 teacher. They'd been taught by God. 125 00:09:18,360 --> 00:09:22,640 The prophets prophesied a day when God would no longer write 126 00:09:22,640 --> 00:09:26,640 on tablets of stone, but on his people's very hearts. 127 00:09:28,200 --> 00:09:32,320 The prophets promised today when God would no longer dwell in 128 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:38,840 tabernacles or temples, but in his very people, by his very 129 00:09:38,840 --> 00:09:42,320 spirit. Through Christ's death and 130 00:09:42,400 --> 00:09:47,560 resurrection and ascension, that day has come. 131 00:09:48,520 --> 00:09:52,880 Every believer is a student in God's classroom. 132 00:09:53,520 --> 00:10:00,800 God is our divine teacher. Good teachers are lifelong 133 00:10:00,800 --> 00:10:04,520 learners. God is the only teacher who 134 00:10:04,520 --> 00:10:07,600 teaches others without being taught himself. 135 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:15,680 What man shows him his counsel? The prophet Isaiah asks, or Paul 136 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:20,200 wonders who has been his counsellor? 137 00:10:21,400 --> 00:10:23,360 There's a little game we've played as a staff. 138 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:27,000 Who would be your top five counsellors, living or dead? 139 00:10:27,560 --> 00:10:29,160 Top five? I wonder what you'd pick. 140 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:34,560 You know, Spurgeon's mentioned Augustine, John Calvin. 141 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:39,640 Who would be your top five? What wisdom would be displayed 142 00:10:40,000 --> 00:10:44,840 in the men and women you choose to just have access to to call 143 00:10:44,840 --> 00:10:51,240 up a quick phone call? God has no top five. 144 00:10:52,800 --> 00:10:55,600 He needs no top five. Imagine if one of the staff were 145 00:10:55,600 --> 00:10:58,200 to say top five counsellors don't need any. 146 00:10:58,520 --> 00:11:03,440 We'd think what that is just pride for God. 147 00:11:03,720 --> 00:11:08,120 To not need any counsellors is to be God. 148 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:12,880 Good teachers store up wisdom from the ages. 149 00:11:13,080 --> 00:11:18,560 God is the only teacher whose wisdom has no source and no end. 150 00:11:18,920 --> 00:11:21,520 How unsearchable are his judgments? 151 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:26,480 Paul says. How inscrutable his ways? 152 00:11:27,760 --> 00:11:34,080 How good is God, our teacher? He always knows what to say. 153 00:11:35,640 --> 00:11:40,440 He always knows when to say it. He has the answer for any 154 00:11:40,440 --> 00:11:44,360 question. He never needs to prep a lesson. 155 00:11:44,880 --> 00:11:50,480 He always gives each student individual instruction according 156 00:11:50,480 --> 00:11:53,840 to their needs, according to his purposes. 157 00:11:55,240 --> 00:12:01,880 Every teacher teaches better than they live, except God. 158 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:07,480 His teaching always perfectly matches his character. 159 00:12:07,640 --> 00:12:12,200 Who is a teacher like him? Eli, who asks? 160 00:12:13,680 --> 00:12:18,840 And how does God teach us? He doesn't teach us everything, 161 00:12:19,040 --> 00:12:23,880 everywhere, all at once. He does not upload the 66 books 162 00:12:23,880 --> 00:12:27,240 of the Bible into our brains upon conversion. 163 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:34,600 He teaches us slowly by helping us observe the world He made and 164 00:12:34,600 --> 00:12:39,640 leading us slowly as we study the word that He's given. 165 00:12:40,320 --> 00:12:46,080 He teaches us as we receive divine mysteries by faith. 166 00:12:47,120 --> 00:12:51,000 He teaches us through loving encouragement and gentle 167 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:55,520 critique, through hopeful stories and heart piercing 168 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:59,200 rebukes. He teaches us as we meditate on 169 00:12:59,200 --> 00:13:05,880 His law day and night, as we sit under sermons, and as we counsel 170 00:13:05,880 --> 00:13:12,960 one another with His Word. He teaches us in the school of 171 00:13:12,960 --> 00:13:21,840 suffering through pain, sickness, uncertainty, sleepless 172 00:13:21,840 --> 00:13:25,480 nights. He even teaches some through 173 00:13:25,480 --> 00:13:31,320 donkeys and others through encounters with large fish. 174 00:13:33,200 --> 00:13:41,600 In teaching us, he tests us not to tempt us, but to show us our 175 00:13:41,600 --> 00:13:49,480 sin, to help us learn to rely less on ourselves and more on 176 00:13:49,480 --> 00:13:55,520 Him. In other words, friend, God is 177 00:13:55,520 --> 00:14:01,160 creatively and consistently using every circumstance you 178 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:09,440 face today to teach you to grow your faith and your hope and 179 00:14:09,440 --> 00:14:14,440 your love so that you could declare, like David in Psalm 18, 180 00:14:14,640 --> 00:14:19,240 this God. His way is perfect. 181 00:14:21,400 --> 00:14:27,120 What lessons has God tailored for you today? 182 00:14:30,000 --> 00:14:31,640 Pray you won't be dull of hearing. 183 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:36,160 If you're not a believer, think of all the things you've learned 184 00:14:36,160 --> 00:14:39,360 in life. You've likely learned a whole 185 00:14:39,360 --> 00:14:44,000 language, maybe even one or two. You've learned how to walk. 186 00:14:44,640 --> 00:14:49,120 You've learned culture. You've learned different foods. 187 00:14:49,120 --> 00:14:52,560 You learn how to cook, different skills, how to drive, You've 188 00:14:52,560 --> 00:14:54,480 learned the skills required for your job. 189 00:14:54,680 --> 00:14:59,280 You've learned so many things. The most important thing you 190 00:14:59,280 --> 00:15:02,440 need to learn are spiritual truths. 191 00:15:04,120 --> 00:15:09,360 You need to learn to live your life according to God and His 192 00:15:09,360 --> 00:15:14,080 Word, which is the problem. If you're not a Christian, 193 00:15:14,080 --> 00:15:18,000 you're hard headed. You're a stubborn student in 194 00:15:18,000 --> 00:15:20,600 ignorance. You've resisted this divine 195 00:15:20,600 --> 00:15:22,400 teacher. You've forgotten his 196 00:15:22,400 --> 00:15:24,360 commandments. You've walked out of his 197 00:15:24,360 --> 00:15:26,800 classroom. You've preferred the wisdom of 198 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:32,400 this world to the wisdom of God. And what are the stakes? 199 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:36,160 Flunking a test in college? You might fail to graduate. 200 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:43,240 If you refuse this divine teacher, you invite His wrath 201 00:15:43,760 --> 00:15:47,120 upon you. But here's the good news. 202 00:15:47,280 --> 00:15:52,840 God has a way of teaching those who've proved unteachable in 203 00:15:52,840 --> 00:15:55,960 love. He sent his only Son, Jesus 204 00:15:55,960 --> 00:16:00,240 Christ, to reveal God's hidden wisdom. 205 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:03,480 Jesus obeyed the Father perfectly. 206 00:16:03,680 --> 00:16:06,360 He died sacrificially for sinners on the cross. 207 00:16:06,920 --> 00:16:11,800 He bore God's wrath. 4 hard hearted, stubborn sinners stuck 208 00:16:11,800 --> 00:16:15,840 in their ways. And the cross is the greatest 209 00:16:15,840 --> 00:16:18,600 lesson of love. If you want to learn love. 210 00:16:19,680 --> 00:16:24,440 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life 211 00:16:25,480 --> 00:16:28,960 for his friends. But the cross was more than a 212 00:16:28,960 --> 00:16:33,640 lesson on love. Jesus rose again and ascended to 213 00:16:33,640 --> 00:16:36,680 the Father. And if you turn from your sins 214 00:16:36,920 --> 00:16:40,200 and trust in him, you will have salvation. 215 00:16:41,520 --> 00:16:47,680 God loves to soften hearts of stone and to write His law on 216 00:16:47,680 --> 00:16:52,640 our hearts and to send us His Spirit to train us in 217 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:58,200 righteousness. Brothers and sisters, this is 218 00:16:58,280 --> 00:17:04,160 the glory of the New Covenant, God writing His law upon our 219 00:17:04,160 --> 00:17:08,440 hearts. Jeremiah said no longer will one 220 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,520 teach his neighbor or his brother, saying know the Lord, 221 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:17,200 for they will all know me from the least to the greatest of 222 00:17:17,200 --> 00:17:21,160 them. You know your Creator, you know 223 00:17:21,319 --> 00:17:25,680 the love of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. 224 00:17:25,920 --> 00:17:31,560 Nothing could ever separate you believer from his steadfast love 225 00:17:32,120 --> 00:17:37,640 in Christ Jesus. And now, with God as your Father 226 00:17:38,400 --> 00:17:42,360 and the Spirit as your Teacher, you can be like your older 227 00:17:42,360 --> 00:17:46,520 brother Jesus. You can not only love your 228 00:17:46,520 --> 00:17:51,040 enemies, you can even love one another. 229 00:17:52,000 --> 00:17:58,080 We love one another because he first loved us. 230 00:18:00,760 --> 00:18:06,640 Consider the love of God. For the Christian, the deep, 231 00:18:07,480 --> 00:18:14,880 vast, unmeasured, boundless love of the Trinity is like a mighty 232 00:18:14,880 --> 00:18:19,680 ocean. We brothers and sisters are 233 00:18:19,680 --> 00:18:24,400 swimming in it. So what should this love in the 234 00:18:24,400 --> 00:18:28,560 local church look like? It looks like verse verse 9, 235 00:18:29,200 --> 00:18:33,000 brotherly love. In other words, it looks like 236 00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:36,680 the love of a family in God's common grace. 237 00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:41,120 Families were created to foster mutual love and affection and 238 00:18:41,120 --> 00:18:44,520 care. But not everyone grows up in a 239 00:18:44,520 --> 00:18:48,560 loving family. Kids in the congregation, are 240 00:18:48,560 --> 00:18:53,680 you contributing to the love and the warmth and the affection of 241 00:18:53,680 --> 00:18:56,560 your home? Or are you contributing to a war 242 00:18:56,560 --> 00:18:58,720 zone? Good question to ask your 243 00:18:58,720 --> 00:19:04,640 parents after the service. This church, according to God's 244 00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:10,720 Word, is a family. Not a family by blood, but by 245 00:19:10,720 --> 00:19:13,320 grace. When God reconciled you to 246 00:19:13,320 --> 00:19:16,760 himself, he reconciled you to a people. 247 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:19,480 Mom and dad adopt you from the orphanage. 248 00:19:20,120 --> 00:19:22,040 They take you home, and what do you find? 249 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:25,960 You've got brothers and sisters. Look around this room, 250 00:19:25,960 --> 00:19:29,440 Christian. Seriously, These are your 251 00:19:29,440 --> 00:19:32,640 brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. 252 00:19:34,200 --> 00:19:38,040 By God's grace, we can see a picture of brotherly love at 253 00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:41,240 work in our own church. Love in our local church looks 254 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:44,400 like a lot of things. Here's a few Christians 255 00:19:44,400 --> 00:19:48,680 submitting to and joining the church, staying after the 256 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:52,920 service for fellowship. Last week I told a brother or 257 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:56,000 sister, I can't remember who. We cannot get these people to 258 00:19:56,000 --> 00:19:57,600 leave. They won't do. 259 00:19:57,600 --> 00:20:03,520 It seems they love one another. It looks like initiating 260 00:20:03,520 --> 00:20:07,440 spiritual conversations. Scheduling rides so other 261 00:20:07,440 --> 00:20:10,960 members can get to church. Bringing meals to one another 262 00:20:10,960 --> 00:20:13,960 when a member's in need. A family having the same single 263 00:20:13,960 --> 00:20:16,440 brother or sister over every single week. 264 00:20:17,040 --> 00:20:19,640 A single brother or sister bringing a meal to a family. 265 00:20:20,240 --> 00:20:23,480 Men gathered around the scriptures weekly in the early 266 00:20:23,480 --> 00:20:27,520 morning before the sun rises. Sisters meeting together weekly 267 00:20:27,520 --> 00:20:29,960 for fellowship, for prayer, to study the Word. 268 00:20:30,680 --> 00:20:33,720 Texting another member that you're praying for them. 269 00:20:34,680 --> 00:20:37,720 Rebuking a brother or sister when it's the last thing you 270 00:20:37,720 --> 00:20:41,600 want to do. Regularly encouraging others by 271 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:43,960 the spiritual growth you see in their life. 272 00:20:44,280 --> 00:20:47,400 Helping a family move that you don't know very well. 273 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:51,760 Opening up your heart and your arms to new members in the 274 00:20:51,760 --> 00:20:54,200 church. Greeting visitors you've never 275 00:20:54,200 --> 00:21:02,200 met in your life before. So ordinary and so supernatural. 276 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:05,200 We are fulfilling by God's grace, our church covenant. 277 00:21:05,400 --> 00:21:11,920 We will walk together in love as brothers and sisters, a family 278 00:21:12,160 --> 00:21:16,800 whom God is saved by grace. If you look around this local 279 00:21:16,800 --> 00:21:22,400 church and you see evidence of love, thank God that we have a 280 00:21:22,400 --> 00:21:25,360 good teacher. If you look around this local 281 00:21:25,360 --> 00:21:31,200 church and see love lacking, pray because it just means we 282 00:21:31,200 --> 00:21:35,920 have more to learn. Is there someone in the church 283 00:21:36,760 --> 00:21:39,120 that your love has grown cold towards? 284 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,640 Pray for them, initiate with them. 285 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:48,960 Is there someone in the church you need to move towards today 286 00:21:49,640 --> 00:21:52,960 in love? Remember the love of Christ for 287 00:21:52,960 --> 00:21:56,040 you. Pray for yourself. 288 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:02,400 Pray that every action and motivation and intention would 289 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,760 be love for God and for this family. 290 00:22:06,320 --> 00:22:11,680 We have not loved perfectly, but perfect love is at work in us. 291 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:16,680 God is perfecting our love for one another. 292 00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:21,120 We've been taught by God to love one another. 293 00:22:22,400 --> 00:22:27,000 Would Paul also say to us, as he says to the Thessalonians, that 294 00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:32,680 indeed is what you are doing. Point #2 friends, .1 was the 295 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:34,480 longest. We're going to speed up for the 296 00:22:34,480 --> 00:22:35,680 rest. Look at verse 10. 297 00:22:36,440 --> 00:22:44,760 Point #2 love one another more and more, love one another more 298 00:22:45,280 --> 00:22:49,240 and more. Verse 10 For that indeed is what 299 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:53,040 you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. 300 00:22:53,280 --> 00:22:59,280 But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more. 301 00:23:00,560 --> 00:23:03,360 God's love flows to the Thessalonian Church. 302 00:23:04,040 --> 00:23:07,720 It fills them up, then overflows throughout the region of 303 00:23:07,720 --> 00:23:10,680 Macedonia. Their love is a fountain. 304 00:23:10,960 --> 00:23:15,040 Fountains don't just gush once and then stop. 305 00:23:15,320 --> 00:23:21,280 They pump out water continually. Fountains were made to overflow 306 00:23:21,960 --> 00:23:29,080 again and again and again. Or as Agustin says, 1 loving 307 00:23:29,080 --> 00:23:35,400 heart sets another on fire. The fire that started in 308 00:23:35,400 --> 00:23:38,520 Thessalonica was spreading throughout Macedonia. 309 00:23:39,400 --> 00:23:42,440 How did the Thessalonians love travel throughout the region of 310 00:23:42,440 --> 00:23:45,840 Macedonia? Some people speculate 311 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:48,520 Thessalonica was the economic and political center of 312 00:23:48,520 --> 00:23:50,160 Macedonia. It could have been that 313 00:23:50,160 --> 00:23:53,040 Christians from other cities needed housing as they were 314 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:55,880 passing through. When my wife and I lived in 315 00:23:55,880 --> 00:23:59,600 Dubai, home to the world's busiest airport, we regularly 316 00:23:59,600 --> 00:24:03,080 got texts calls, Hey I have a friend passing through, do you 317 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:04,680 have an extra room for them to say? 318 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:08,000 Paul could be referring here to Christian hospitality. 319 00:24:09,120 --> 00:24:13,480 It's more likely, though, that Paul refers to the aid the 320 00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:16,040 Thessalonians may have provided for needy Christians and 321 00:24:16,040 --> 00:24:19,760 churches throughout the region. Paul mentions how the churches 322 00:24:19,760 --> 00:24:25,200 of Macedonia in 2nd Corinthians 8 experience extreme poverty. 323 00:24:25,720 --> 00:24:28,000 It could be that the Thessalonians heard about that 324 00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:31,720 and sent help. Paul doesn't tell us, though, 325 00:24:31,720 --> 00:24:35,360 exactly how the Thessalonians loved the churches of Macedonia. 326 00:24:36,240 --> 00:24:41,720 He just tells us that they did, and he urges them, verse 10 do 327 00:24:41,720 --> 00:24:45,520 this more and more. In other words, whatever they 328 00:24:45,520 --> 00:24:48,800 were doing to love the other churches, they needed to keep 329 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:51,480 doing. Their love was already deep. 330 00:24:51,720 --> 00:24:54,480 It needed to go deeper. It was already wide. 331 00:24:54,640 --> 00:24:58,800 It needed to get wider. Now picture this. 332 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:02,760 The church in Thessalonica had its own problems, didn't it? 333 00:25:03,680 --> 00:25:08,480 Lots of suffering, persecution. They could have just said we've 334 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:11,440 got enough issues here, we don't need to worry about what's going 335 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,960 on there. But the New Testament paints a 336 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:19,880 picture of the local church as both independent and 337 00:25:19,880 --> 00:25:24,320 interdependent. Independent in that no local 338 00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,360 church is subject to an outside authority. 339 00:25:26,560 --> 00:25:29,160 Our church's authority is the congregation itself. 340 00:25:29,320 --> 00:25:32,480 There are no bishops. There's no outside boards. 341 00:25:33,240 --> 00:25:36,840 Interdependent, though, in that each local church must be 342 00:25:36,840 --> 00:25:40,880 concerned about the health of other local churches. 343 00:25:41,920 --> 00:25:45,720 Now, historically, the word used to describe churches caring for 344 00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:51,360 other churches is catholicity. That's little C Catholic. 345 00:25:51,760 --> 00:25:55,680 Catholic means worldwide or universal. 346 00:25:56,000 --> 00:26:00,520 So what is Catholicity? I won't give you a definition. 347 00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:04,240 Here's a description. It means, as one pastor says, 348 00:26:04,720 --> 00:26:10,760 you are as interested in helping others win gold medals as you 349 00:26:10,760 --> 00:26:18,320 are in winning them yourself. So there you are, competing at 350 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:21,400 the Olympics. You've worked years for this 351 00:26:21,400 --> 00:26:27,320 moment, cheering as lane two over there passes you towards 352 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:30,320 the finish line. That's Catholicity. 353 00:26:31,240 --> 00:26:35,320 In other words, it's praising God for revival when he sends it 354 00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:39,720 to the church down the street. Or very practically for us, 355 00:26:40,000 --> 00:26:42,880 praising God for rising Christchurch when He keeps 356 00:26:42,880 --> 00:26:46,160 answering all our prayers for more collections at their church 357 00:26:46,360 --> 00:26:50,640 downtown Chapel Hill. In our short life as a church, 358 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:55,360 we have been blessed by the catholicity of many local 359 00:26:55,360 --> 00:26:58,280 churches. Praise the Lord when we consider 360 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:02,200 planting here, a number of a number of pastors encouraged us 361 00:27:02,200 --> 00:27:05,360 to come. No feeling of competition. 362 00:27:05,760 --> 00:27:09,400 There's more work to be done in this city as we raise money. 363 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:14,120 Lots of churches gave generously like Capitol Hill Baptist Church 364 00:27:14,120 --> 00:27:17,240 in Washington DC, Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Mevin, 365 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:20,840 University Baptist Church in Fayetteville, AR, Redeemer in 366 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:24,680 Fuquay, Varina Denver Baptist Church in North Carolina, just 367 00:27:24,680 --> 00:27:27,160 to name a few. Churches from all over the 368 00:27:27,160 --> 00:27:31,480 United States partnered with us to see this little work become 369 00:27:31,480 --> 00:27:35,280 reality. Many local churches generously 370 00:27:35,280 --> 00:27:38,920 gave some of their best members you. 371 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:43,040 They sent out their best FBC. Durham was one of those 372 00:27:43,040 --> 00:27:46,080 churches. They even hosted Us Weekly for 373 00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:49,120 three months in their own building to help us get started 374 00:27:49,360 --> 00:27:52,360 for free. Risen Christchurch, which was 375 00:27:52,360 --> 00:27:54,920 just a year older than us, connected us with our first 376 00:27:54,920 --> 00:27:59,080 meeting space, the Sheraton. Even the Anglicans helped us. 377 00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:01,920 Cornerstone Anglican Church helped us find this current 378 00:28:01,920 --> 00:28:06,320 meeting space here at Creekside. And I could go on. 379 00:28:08,160 --> 00:28:12,200 It's an understatement to say that we've benefited from the 380 00:28:12,200 --> 00:28:15,480 love of other churches. It's not been a trickle. 381 00:28:16,680 --> 00:28:22,800 It's been a shower. Yet Jesus says it is more 382 00:28:22,800 --> 00:28:28,800 blessed to give than to receive. We have received so much. 383 00:28:29,240 --> 00:28:33,640 How can we grow in giving our love away to other local 384 00:28:33,640 --> 00:28:37,880 churches? Here's some ways we try to love 385 00:28:37,880 --> 00:28:39,960 and encourage and support other local churches. 386 00:28:40,360 --> 00:28:43,520 As you've probably noticed, we publicly pray for other churches 387 00:28:43,520 --> 00:28:46,160 in the Pastoral Prayer every single week. 388 00:28:46,600 --> 00:28:49,120 We regularly recommend other churches to visitors. 389 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:52,640 If you're visiting today and live near Carrboro, Risen Christ 390 00:28:52,640 --> 00:28:55,640 Church is a great church. I'd be glad to connect you with 391 00:28:55,640 --> 00:28:58,520 one of the pastors there. If you're deeper into Durham, 392 00:28:58,760 --> 00:29:02,840 FBC Durham and Mount Hermon Baptist Church also great 393 00:29:02,840 --> 00:29:05,520 churches. It's not that we don't want you 394 00:29:05,520 --> 00:29:08,400 to join our church, it's that there are other good churches 395 00:29:08,400 --> 00:29:11,280 you could join. We regularly fellowship with 396 00:29:11,280 --> 00:29:15,360 other pastors to strategize, to pray for one another, to 397 00:29:15,360 --> 00:29:18,360 encourage one another. We send preachers like our 398 00:29:18,360 --> 00:29:22,200 brother Joe Bird last week to other churches needing brothers 399 00:29:22,200 --> 00:29:25,040 to preach. We have a pastoral internship 400 00:29:25,280 --> 00:29:27,400 for brothers aspiring to pastoral ministry. 401 00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:31,840 We hope to send out some of our best for the sake of the gospel 402 00:29:32,200 --> 00:29:34,360 here and to the ends of the earth. 403 00:29:35,000 --> 00:29:37,560 We want to grow in loving other churches. 404 00:29:39,200 --> 00:29:45,800 Love either grows and overflows, or it wanes and then trickles 405 00:29:46,480 --> 00:29:50,160 and then dies. A church could have a full 406 00:29:50,160 --> 00:29:53,880 parking lot, a bustling children's ministry, and 407 00:29:53,920 --> 00:29:57,840 expositional preaching. But if that church is an island 408 00:29:58,720 --> 00:30:03,240 cut off from other churches, with no concern or affection for 409 00:30:03,240 --> 00:30:06,960 other churches, it's a sick church. 410 00:30:08,320 --> 00:30:12,880 It may look healthy on the outside, but something's wrong 411 00:30:13,800 --> 00:30:17,720 on the inside. So how can we together as a 412 00:30:17,720 --> 00:30:22,000 church, keep our hand on the pump and continue pouring out 413 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:25,800 love to churches in Durham and Chapel Hill and to the ends of 414 00:30:25,800 --> 00:30:27,920 the earth? A couple things. 415 00:30:27,920 --> 00:30:32,120 One, pray for other local churches in your family 416 00:30:32,120 --> 00:30:35,360 Devotions. Get to know pastors and 417 00:30:35,360 --> 00:30:36,880 missionaries at our evening service. 418 00:30:36,880 --> 00:30:38,320 We regularly have them come through. 419 00:30:38,640 --> 00:30:41,240 They usually stick around. Get to know some of those 420 00:30:41,240 --> 00:30:43,760 brothers and sisters so you can pray for them better. 421 00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:48,400 Be careful how you speak about other churches. 422 00:30:49,280 --> 00:30:53,480 Build them up with your words when a critique is necessary. 423 00:30:54,280 --> 00:31:00,320 Speak the truth in love. Imitate the faith, hope, and 424 00:31:00,320 --> 00:31:04,800 love of other faithful churches and other faithful Christians. 425 00:31:05,360 --> 00:31:09,760 I have met so many faithful pastors in this area, so many 426 00:31:09,760 --> 00:31:12,080 other faithful Christians who aren't members of our church. 427 00:31:12,520 --> 00:31:16,360 I've learned so much from them. Let's keep doing that. 428 00:31:17,360 --> 00:31:23,080 Lastly, meditate on heaven, where every believer will gather 429 00:31:23,080 --> 00:31:28,680 together in one assembly, a great multitude from every 430 00:31:28,680 --> 00:31:34,120 nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. 431 00:31:36,080 --> 00:31:41,800 Picture our love for other local churches five years from now, 10 432 00:31:41,800 --> 00:31:48,560 years from now, even 50 years from now, when most of us will 433 00:31:48,560 --> 00:31:51,520 be far gone. What would it look like? 434 00:31:52,800 --> 00:31:55,640 It could look like helping revitalize dying churches in our 435 00:31:55,640 --> 00:32:01,280 area, planting new churches in our region, sending out then 436 00:32:01,280 --> 00:32:04,480 supporting missionary church planners to the ends of the 437 00:32:04,480 --> 00:32:10,600 earth. Each one of those will come with 438 00:32:10,600 --> 00:32:18,000 a great cost to us, but our losses will be the Kingdom's 439 00:32:18,000 --> 00:32:22,080 game. As we love one another more and 440 00:32:22,080 --> 00:32:27,080 more, our love will grow and overflow to North Carolina and 441 00:32:27,080 --> 00:32:33,160 beyond. In verse 11, Paul zooms in on a 442 00:32:33,240 --> 00:32:36,520 specific aspect of how we love one another. 443 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:43,560 Point #3 love one another by working with integrity. 444 00:32:50,380 --> 00:32:54,300 Look at verse 11. Paul gets very specific, he 445 00:32:54,300 --> 00:32:58,100 says. And to aspire to live quietly, 446 00:32:59,140 --> 00:33:04,600 and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as 447 00:33:04,600 --> 00:33:07,800 we instructed you. 3 commands. There you can see them. 448 00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:12,640 Aspire to live quietly, mind your own affairs, work with your 449 00:33:12,640 --> 00:33:15,160 hands. But why are those 3 commands 450 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:17,560 here? And what do they have to do with 451 00:33:17,560 --> 00:33:20,960 love? Now one popular view is that the 452 00:33:20,960 --> 00:33:23,800 Thessalonians got too eschatologically excited. 453 00:33:24,280 --> 00:33:26,800 Perhaps they wondered, Christ is going to return. 454 00:33:26,960 --> 00:33:29,600 Paul talked about that often. If he could return it every 455 00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:32,040 moment, any moment, why should we work? 456 00:33:33,280 --> 00:33:36,200 If that was their view, then Paul's message is get back to 457 00:33:36,200 --> 00:33:39,160 work. The problem with this view, 458 00:33:39,160 --> 00:33:42,720 however, I think, is Paul never mentions this is the reason. 459 00:33:43,280 --> 00:33:45,120 In other words, it's just speculation. 460 00:33:45,400 --> 00:33:48,160 Sure, he talks about the second coming and the next verse, but 461 00:33:48,160 --> 00:33:50,720 as we've seen in every chapter he talks about the second 462 00:33:50,720 --> 00:33:53,160 coming. I think a better option is 463 00:33:53,160 --> 00:33:56,800 clarified in Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians. 464 00:33:57,320 --> 00:33:59,040 If you have your Bible, turn there briefly. 465 00:33:59,040 --> 00:34:02,120 Second thoughts in mind. You just have to turn one page. 466 00:34:02,360 --> 00:34:07,720 Second Thessalonians, chapter 3, verses 6 to 15. 467 00:34:07,960 --> 00:34:14,159 Here Paul addresses the sin of idleness in the church. 468 00:34:14,159 --> 00:34:19,840 He says verse 11. Some were not busy at work, but 469 00:34:19,840 --> 00:34:21,960 busy bodies. Paul exhorts them. 470 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:27,080 Do your work quietly. Earn your own living. 471 00:34:27,360 --> 00:34:30,639 Verse 12. Some members weren't working 472 00:34:30,639 --> 00:34:34,280 hard, but they were busy in other people's business. 473 00:34:34,280 --> 00:34:38,280 They were lazy, living off the charity of others, Paul's 474 00:34:38,280 --> 00:34:39,679 command to them. Verse 10. 475 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:45,320 If anyone's not willing to work, let him not eat. 476 00:34:46,679 --> 00:34:50,639 Now back to First Thessalonians. In First Thessalonians 1 477 00:34:50,639 --> 00:34:56,080 commentator says failure to work hard was a small flame, but it 478 00:34:56,080 --> 00:35:00,840 had become a full blown fire by the time we get to 2nd 479 00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:04,600 Thessalonians. In First Thessalonians, Paul 480 00:35:04,600 --> 00:35:08,080 preached against idleness, and he practiced what he preached. 481 00:35:08,080 --> 00:35:11,400 Like any good teacher, Paul's life proved his preaching. 482 00:35:11,560 --> 00:35:14,240 Paul says First Thessalonians 2 verse 9. 483 00:35:14,480 --> 00:35:18,280 You remember, brothers, our labor and toil. 484 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:24,360 We worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of 485 00:35:24,360 --> 00:35:27,600 you. Paul practiced what he preached. 486 00:35:28,320 --> 00:35:34,280 Now how are Paul's 3 commands connected to brotherly love? 487 00:35:36,080 --> 00:35:40,680 They flow from love. I don't know about you, but 488 00:35:41,160 --> 00:35:44,400 personally I do not like water parks. 489 00:35:45,520 --> 00:35:47,360 You could even say I hate water parks. 490 00:35:47,920 --> 00:35:53,560 But I love the lazy river. It is a paradox, I do not 491 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:56,600 understand it. I hate water parks, but I love 492 00:35:56,600 --> 00:35:59,040 the lazy river. You just sit in that thing and 493 00:35:59,040 --> 00:36:01,160 you just float. All they are. 494 00:36:01,160 --> 00:36:05,720 You'd have to do a thing. The local church is not a lazy 495 00:36:05,720 --> 00:36:08,800 river. You need to paddle. 496 00:36:09,440 --> 00:36:11,560 And Brian was correcting how I paddle you. 497 00:36:11,560 --> 00:36:13,240 Apparently you do both at the same time. 498 00:36:13,480 --> 00:36:18,160 Not one, one after another. Every church member has an oar. 499 00:36:18,440 --> 00:36:22,200 Everyone needs to be paddling. That's the picture of the local 500 00:36:22,200 --> 00:36:26,240 church here. So failing to work when you can 501 00:36:26,240 --> 00:36:31,080 work is a failure to love. Picture all of us in a boat. 502 00:36:31,320 --> 00:36:34,320 All of us are rowing the boat. One of us is chilling. 503 00:36:34,960 --> 00:36:37,760 That is not loving to your brothers and sisters. 504 00:36:38,720 --> 00:36:42,720 In other words, Paul's focus here on working with integrity 505 00:36:43,640 --> 00:36:47,280 is that it flows from loving your neighbor. 506 00:36:47,520 --> 00:36:52,920 Brotherly love includes working hard and not taking advantage of 507 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:54,680 your brother and sister's generosity. 508 00:36:55,360 --> 00:36:58,080 Paul tells the same idea to the church in Philippi. 509 00:36:58,600 --> 00:37:03,120 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to 510 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:07,760 the interests of others. Brotherly love works in both 511 00:37:07,760 --> 00:37:10,840 directions. It's like being willing to help 512 00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:14,120 those in need and not taking advantage of those willing to 513 00:37:14,120 --> 00:37:17,440 help. It looks like sharing with those 514 00:37:17,440 --> 00:37:20,520 in need and working as you're able. 515 00:37:20,520 --> 00:37:24,960 So you're not in need, of course, and you know this. 516 00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:26,520 There are exceptions to the rule. 517 00:37:26,760 --> 00:37:31,200 There are times where sickness or job loss or physical ailments 518 00:37:31,200 --> 00:37:34,480 prohibit work. Paul is not talking about that. 519 00:37:34,720 --> 00:37:38,640 Paul is not talking about those who can't work but want to. 520 00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:42,360 He's exhorting those who can work but won't. 521 00:37:43,640 --> 00:37:50,720 So the question for us is, are we someone who needs to forsake 522 00:37:51,520 --> 00:37:55,840 idleness? Are we someone who needs to stop 523 00:37:55,840 --> 00:37:58,480 taking advantage of other people's generosity? 524 00:37:59,960 --> 00:38:04,120 If that's you, pay careful attention to Paul's 3 525 00:38:04,120 --> 00:38:09,120 exhortations. Love for brother rolls up its 526 00:38:09,120 --> 00:38:13,600 sleeves and gets to work. First command, Paul mentions. 527 00:38:14,160 --> 00:38:20,880 Aspire to live quietly. Make it your ambition to be 528 00:38:20,880 --> 00:38:24,320 faithful with small responsibilities. 529 00:38:24,960 --> 00:38:30,600 Kids, do your chores without being asked, even without 530 00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:32,400 complaining. Stay at home. 531 00:38:32,400 --> 00:38:36,520 Moms, you live a life of quiet faithfulness. 532 00:38:36,840 --> 00:38:39,040 Keep loving your husbands and your children. 533 00:38:39,600 --> 00:38:43,320 It's pleasing to the Lord. Living quietly may feel like 534 00:38:43,320 --> 00:38:49,520 you're shrinking, but you're actually exploring the caverns 535 00:38:50,160 --> 00:38:54,640 of brotherly love. Second, mind your own affairs. 536 00:38:56,160 --> 00:38:58,280 In other words, you could say, mind your own business. 537 00:38:59,040 --> 00:39:02,720 Don't be a busy body. There are some questions that we 538 00:39:02,720 --> 00:39:07,360 can ask which pry at answers and don't serve in the interest of 539 00:39:07,360 --> 00:39:09,600 love. Don't be a meddler. 540 00:39:10,240 --> 00:39:13,960 Don't be a gossip or a walking tabloid or a private 541 00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:16,920 investigator. You have enough going on in your 542 00:39:16,920 --> 00:39:20,280 own life. You don't need to comment on 543 00:39:20,280 --> 00:39:24,280 every controversy. You should have a gentle tongue. 544 00:39:25,400 --> 00:39:30,320 Don't # the keys spending your days adding to the noise of 545 00:39:30,320 --> 00:39:36,080 social media. Third, work with your own hands. 546 00:39:37,200 --> 00:39:39,680 Working with integrity is an act of love. 547 00:39:40,680 --> 00:39:44,160 Working when you can work frees you up to serve those who truly 548 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:47,680 can't work. Deliberately giving up your work 549 00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:50,800 when you can work is a breach of love. 550 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:54,760 It's being a parasite on Christ's body. 551 00:39:56,000 --> 00:39:59,960 God gave the gift of hard work before work was tainted by the 552 00:39:59,960 --> 00:40:02,520 fall. Since the fall, though, work is 553 00:40:02,520 --> 00:40:07,520 subjected to futility. For many, work is not aimed at 554 00:40:07,520 --> 00:40:11,880 loving others. It's twisted and contorted to 555 00:40:11,880 --> 00:40:16,440 serving self. Our work is often distorted by 556 00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:19,880 the black hole that is self love. 557 00:40:20,200 --> 00:40:25,640 We take God's gift of work and try to suck everyone and 558 00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:29,920 everything into the service of our own little kingdoms. 559 00:40:30,520 --> 00:40:37,040 When work serves self, not others, it always yields losses. 560 00:40:38,520 --> 00:40:42,240 Is your work serving your family, or is your family 561 00:40:42,240 --> 00:40:46,040 serving your work? Selfish love is a bottomless 562 00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:49,400 pit. When you throw work in, it never 563 00:40:49,400 --> 00:40:52,560 finds the end. One more e-mail, one more phone 564 00:40:52,560 --> 00:40:58,640 call, one more trip, one last project, the next raise, the 565 00:40:58,640 --> 00:41:03,600 next promotion, the next career. But at what cost? 566 00:41:05,440 --> 00:41:08,640 How does brotherly love need to be brought to bear on your work? 567 00:41:10,160 --> 00:41:14,720 Is your failure to work hindering this church family, or 568 00:41:14,720 --> 00:41:17,160 is your incessant work harming your own family? 569 00:41:18,720 --> 00:41:23,200 Get to work at working with integrity. 570 00:41:23,840 --> 00:41:27,720 And as you work, don't forget that God is the one by His 571 00:41:27,720 --> 00:41:31,440 Spirit working in you. The Divine Teacher is a holy 572 00:41:31,440 --> 00:41:34,040 gardener. He loves cultivating the 573 00:41:34,040 --> 00:41:39,760 Spirit's fruit of love for him and for others in your life. 574 00:41:41,200 --> 00:41:46,040 When you work with integrity, you are opening up your arms in 575 00:41:46,040 --> 00:41:49,160 love wide toward your brother or your sister. 576 00:41:49,720 --> 00:41:54,080 When you work with integrity, you are extending your arm to 577 00:41:54,080 --> 00:41:56,640 your brother or sister in their need. 578 00:41:57,440 --> 00:42:01,840 When you work with integrity, your love and sacrifice. 579 00:42:02,400 --> 00:42:07,440 An example spills out into the congregation and as we'll see in 580 00:42:07,440 --> 00:42:17,040 verse 12, even beyond to the watching world .4 Finally, love 581 00:42:17,040 --> 00:42:24,520 one another because the world's watching, because the world's 582 00:42:25,000 --> 00:42:28,200 watching. Here's the purpose of Paul's 583 00:42:28,200 --> 00:42:34,480 commands, verse 12, so that you may walk properly before 584 00:42:34,480 --> 00:42:39,240 outsiders and be dependent on no one. 585 00:42:40,640 --> 00:42:46,520 Keep loving one another by working with integrity because 586 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:51,960 the world is watching. Paul's concerned about how the 587 00:42:51,960 --> 00:42:55,240 family of God loves one another, and Paul is concerned about the 588 00:42:55,240 --> 00:42:59,080 reputation of God's family before the watching world. 589 00:42:59,600 --> 00:43:03,640 As Jesus says, by this all people will know that you are my 590 00:43:03,640 --> 00:43:08,400 disciples. If we have love for one another, 591 00:43:09,480 --> 00:43:11,720 the world's watching Trinity Baptist Church. 592 00:43:13,320 --> 00:43:17,840 They're watching how we walk. They can tell if we're people of 593 00:43:17,840 --> 00:43:20,840 integrity. In other words, the world is 594 00:43:20,840 --> 00:43:24,760 pressed up against the window of the church wondering, are these 595 00:43:24,840 --> 00:43:28,520 Christians any different? Is their love different? 596 00:43:29,160 --> 00:43:35,080 Is their work different? And Satan himself is scheming 597 00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:39,160 against this church's love because if our love is 598 00:43:39,160 --> 00:43:42,520 destroyed, then our witness will be too. 599 00:43:44,320 --> 00:43:47,280 What do your neighbors think of our church? 600 00:43:49,040 --> 00:43:52,600 What about your Co workers or your non Christian family 601 00:43:52,600 --> 00:43:58,480 members? Do they see a family filled with 602 00:43:58,480 --> 00:44:05,440 love, working with integrity? Or do they see a group of 603 00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:12,760 gossips, busybodies, a Church of consumers, of getting without 604 00:44:12,760 --> 00:44:16,880 ever giving? Brothers and sisters, if that's 605 00:44:16,880 --> 00:44:22,440 our billboard, it's a picture empty of God's love. 606 00:44:24,160 --> 00:44:28,040 The local church is a display of God's love to the world. 607 00:44:28,280 --> 00:44:33,200 Pray that our church would tell the truth about God's love. 608 00:44:35,720 --> 00:44:42,240 Friends, it's been so simple. Love God, love one another, work 609 00:44:42,240 --> 00:44:45,560 with integrity. Aren't these lessons first 610 00:44:45,560 --> 00:44:50,480 things, the basics? Christianity 101. 611 00:44:50,480 --> 00:44:54,520 And yet these are the daily lessons in God's classroom. 612 00:44:55,600 --> 00:44:57,720 No one gets the test out of this class. 613 00:44:58,320 --> 00:45:04,200 No one can avoid this teacher. You will never graduate from 614 00:45:04,200 --> 00:45:12,280 this school of love, but one day our love for God will be 615 00:45:12,280 --> 00:45:17,120 perfected without any rivals. Our love for one another will be 616 00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:22,440 purified without any division on the other side of Jordan. 617 00:45:22,760 --> 00:45:29,120 We will keep learning of God's steadfast love in Christ Jesus 618 00:45:29,320 --> 00:45:36,200 forever and ever, and we will keep loving one another forever 619 00:45:36,960 --> 00:45:45,320 and ever. Let's pray, Father, we are 620 00:45:45,520 --> 00:45:53,040 eternally grateful for the love that you've shown us in Christ 621 00:45:53,040 --> 00:45:56,960 Jesus our Savior. And we pray, Lord, that we would 622 00:45:56,960 --> 00:46:02,120 be faithful to extend that love to our brothers and sisters in 623 00:46:02,120 --> 00:46:07,560 this church, to brothers and sisters in other churches, even 624 00:46:07,560 --> 00:46:10,960 beyond this city. Lord, may our love for one 625 00:46:10,960 --> 00:46:17,560 another be seen in our work and in our witness to the watching 626 00:46:17,560 --> 00:46:20,560 world. We pray in Jesus name, Amen.