Love One Another

We must love one another, because as we do, people will see how we relate to each other and will know that God lives inside us. We each have a part to play in the church. God has given us abilities that will enable us to outwork His purposes. The work that the preacher does is in no way better or of more value to God than the work of a cleaner.

It is important that we love one another.

John 15:12-14

I’m sure that when Peter reflected back on what Jesus spoke to him, this concept of a new commandment was a revelation. The disciples knew of the ten commandments, but now, in this New Testament, is a new commandment. We tend to think of God’s law as the ten commandments. Few people would refer to this commandment.

What I’m saying to you tonight is practical. It affects how you relate to the people around you. From what Jesus said in the Gospel of John, it is how we react to one another that will show people that we are God’s disciples.

1 Peter 4:7-8

The word ‘charity’ there could be translated as love. We must have ‘fervent’ love amongst ourselves, because love covers a multitude of sins. There are echoes here from the Old Testament.

Proverbs 10:12

Proverbs 17:9

Does that mean we have our head in the clouds? Not at all. This means that when you are a brother in Christ with someone else, we are commanded to love one another. We will automatically want to do that because Jesus Christ lives inside us. This doesn’t mean that we are in a holy huddle. We want to be open with each other because we are commanded to love one another. If you hear something about someone, you should not find that as a juicy piece of information that you can pass onto other people; that’s not the way we live.
Jesus spoke specifically to Peter here:

Matthew 18:21-27

There was a master who had a debtor who owed him, in today’s terms, a billion dollars. We see here that the person who owed the money begged the lord, and the lord forgave him.

Matthew 18:28-30

You see how Jesus was conveying to Peter the fact that, this guy who had been forgiven the billion pound debt, turned round, caught sight of someone who owed him ten pounds, and threw him into prison. The impact on Peter was that he could not believe that someone, who had been forgiven so much, could behave like that.

Matthew 18:31-35

This is to do with forgiveness. The parable means that when I’m in a situation in my life where there is immense pressure, and I’m asking God for help, I can’t be like that and then effectively ‘throttle’ my brother because of my own situation. You cannot take your anger out on your brother. Peter knew that there was severe persecution on its way to these people he was writing to. So this message was pertinent to them. It’s significant for you and me to find ways of loving one another. You should make the effort to have fellowship with others. Have ‘fervent charity’ among yourselves; the charity shall cover the multitude of sins. This ‘love’ will transcend age groups, cliques and inviting new people into the church.

The local church is the churches that are here in Brentwood. We are also part of the church worldwide. We will see that what God has been doing in our midst is this: inevitably, since March 2008, every one of us has had to re-examine what we believe in, and every one of us has discovered that God by His Holy Spirit has caused each one of us to develop our relationship with Him more than ever before. Prayer and Bible study has become more of a feature of this church. This is all to do with you and me fulfilling what God has for us to do in our lives. As each of us has had to examine ourselves and what is the foundation of our lives, the end result is that we are more confident in what we believe in. The end result will be whatever brings glory to God. I do not know how that will work out, but I know that God is in complete control. I know that God is working by His Holy Spirit in all of us. All of us have become more aware and what God wants to do is to develop that relationship with you, so that you can look up and know that you are a new creation in Jesus Christ.

Acts 18:1-4

Here’s an example of Paul linking up with a couple.

Romans 16:3-5

Acts reveals, in the growth of the Gospel, how God by His Spirit linked people up. There was a love between them in that common cause of spreading the Gospel.

1 Peter 4:10

What’s ‘the gift’? The gift is whatever ability God has given you to outwork His purposes in the church. Paul gives a list of what this ‘gift’ can be:

1 Corinthians 12:28

‘Helps’ is a good word. The work that you do in the church, as unto God, is of equal value to me working up here. It could be that God has organised you to be a ‘help’ in the church. Someone who works in the car park is doing a work of equal value as to a preacher up preaching on the stage. Peter writes: “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” It matters how we go about what God has given us to do in the church. I am confident that, if there is something you will do, we will make contact because I know that you want to fulfil God’s purpose for you in the church. We want to carry on fulfilling God’s will, and each person plays their own part. I am not building my empire. As every person plays their own part people will notice how we relate to each other. Every person has received a gift.

1 Peter 4:11

2 Corinthians 10:17-18

1 Peter 4:11

In other words, it’s all to do with God. The ability we have came from Him and they are to be used for outworking His purposes in the church. When Peter said this, he knew that persecution that was coming to the people, and he knew that it was important that they continued to fulfil God’s purpose for their lives.