Jesus Loves People - Part A

We are called in the Bible, the body of Christ.

Have you ever thought through the implications of that metaphor? We are the body of Christ. Simply put, we are His hands reaching out to people. We are His feet going to where people are. We are His ears listening to people's hurts. We are His voice giving counsel and encouragement or even confrontation in His name. We are the body of Christ. Jesus loves people through us.

Someone once said, for the benefit of those who are not its members. So how do you treat those who aren't believers? Today on Connect with Skip Heitzigs, Skip kicks off a series called Jesus Loves People, sharing eye-opening insight about God's relentless love for all people, including you. But before we begin, here's a great resource that will give you more insight into God's extraordinary love. Here's Skip Heitzig.

Okay, we're in Mark Chapter 10 and Philippians Chapter 1 today, as we get into the teaching with Skip Heitzig. I have for a long time enjoyed the writing of Dr. Richard Selzer, a surgeon who wrote notes after different operations that he performed. He wrote about one occasion, I stand by the bed where a young woman lies, her face post-operative, her mouth twisted in palsy, clownish. A tiny twig of the facial nerve, the one to the muscles of her mouth, has been severed. She will be like this from now on. The surgeon had followed with religious fervor the curve of her flesh, I promise you that.

Nevertheless, to remove the tumor in her cheek, I had to cut the little nerve. Her young husband is in the room. He stands on the opposite side of the bed and together they seem to dwell in the evening lamplight isolated from me, private.

Who are they, I ask? I ask myself about this couple, he and this wry little mouth that I have made. They gaze and they touch each other so generously, so greedily. The young woman speaks, will my mouth always be like this? Yes, I say, it will be.

It is because the nerve was cut. She nods and is silent. But the young man smiles, I like it, he says.

It's kind of cute. Unmindful, he bends to kiss her crooked mouth and I am so close I can see how he twists his own lips to accommodate to hers to show her that their kiss still works. You know, we love love. We love to hear love stories, we love to hear and sing love songs. What's more, we all crave love.

We will do sometimes almost anything to get it. To know that we are loved by somebody else unconditionally and also that we are able to give, to express to another person unconditional love. An American psychiatrist by the name of Carl Menninger, he founded the Menninger Clinic, it's still in operation down in Houston, Texas. He was trying to discover the origin of the ills of many of his patients in his clinic. And so he decided he would embark on a little experiment. He instructed his clinic staff to give his patients what he called generous amounts of creative love. And so for six months he told them no bad attitudes will be tolerated by you my staff and let's just love these patients very openly, big doses of creative love.

And then he watched. And after six months he noted that the average time that his patients were in his clinic was cut by almost exactly one half. And afterwards he said love cures people. It cures both the ones who give it as well as the ones who receive it. To quote another doctor, a Swiss physician by the name of Paul Tournier, he said, I am convinced that nine out of every ten people who go to see a psychiatrist don't need one. What they need is someone who will show them God's love.

And they will get better. No one did that better than Jesus. He demonstrated the love of God to a cross section of humanity during his days. He loved the worst of sinners, he loved the best of saints. He loved lepers and prostitutes, young children, older people, religious people, atheists. Jesus Christ showed the love of God in human flesh.

For the next several weeks we're going to look at several of those different approaches and encounters Jesus had with these people. Today I want to begin by giving you four foundational truths. Let's look at it like we're laying a foundation this morning. And we have four corners of this foundation and we'll make four points that lay the groundwork for those four foundational corners. The first truth is simple.

It's what is in the title itself. Jesus loves people. I've asked you to turn to Mark chapter 10 because of the statement that is found in this encounter. Mark chapter 10 verse 17. Now as he was going out on the road, one came running, knelt before him and asked him, Good teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? Jesus said to him, Why do you call me good?

No one is good but one. That is God. You know the commandments. Do not commit adultery. Do not murder. Do not steal. Do not bear false witness.

Do not defraud. Honor your father and your mother. And he answered and said to him, Teacher, all these things I have kept from my youth. Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, One thing you lack, go your way, sell whatever you have and give it to the poor. And you will have treasure in heaven and come take up the cross and follow me.

But he was sad at this word. And he went away sorrowful for he had great possessions. Now here is a young man who is markedly different than Jesus Christ.

Not only is this young man a rich young ruler as he is often called, but there are other things to notice as far as the differences. First off, he doesn't know what Jesus knew. That's why he asked him, What must I do that I can inherit eternal life? Another difference is that he was nowhere near the level of spirituality that Jesus was. He recognized that Jesus was a teacher.

Good teacher, he asked. What must I do to inherit eternal life? A third thing to make note of is that this young man was pretty self-righteous. When Jesus rattles off the commandment, he boldly asserted, I've kept all of these from my youth. And the fourth difference is this young man was gripped by the sin of greed and materialism. And once confronted by Jesus, he didn't respond favorably. He actually walked away from Jesus Christ. Now, even though all of that is true, the Bible here, the text plainly says that Jesus loved him.

Jesus looked at him and loved him. And the word for love, you know it. It's a Greek word, but you know this word.

You're thinking about it right now in your mind, many of you. It's the Greek word agape. Agapao in its verbal form. It is the unconditional love of the will. That's the kind of love Jesus had toward this young man. Jesus never met anybody he didn't love. And looking at him, he loved him. We all like the song, it's from the 1800s, Jesus loves me, this I know, before the Bible tells me so.

A theologian was one time asked, a very notable one of our century, a doctor after reading all of the language and history and all the things you know, what is the most profound truth you've ever heard? He said, it's this, Jesus loves me, this I know, before the Bible tells me so. If you have been to a Billy Graham crusade or watched one over the last several decades, one recurring theme that Dr. Graham always preached, and that is, God loves you. And he loves you with an everlasting love.

You've heard it. If not from him, from me. And here's why he says that. He said, if you knew, if you really knew the love of God toward you, it would transform your life. Once in an interview with USA Today, Dr. Graham said, no matter how sinful we are, no matter how bad we are, God loves us. Well that agrees with scripture.

Paul the Apostle in Romans 8 verse 38 declared, nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That is the essence of his nature. 1 John chapter 4 verse 4, God is love.

Now be careful with that. That's not all God is. God is also purity and holiness and just. But the essence of God, part of his nature, God is love. That is so simple to say. It is so hard to grasp. The first time somebody walked up to me and told me, before I was a saved person, he said, Jesus loves you. I remember thinking and then saying to him, why?

Why? Why would he even be interested in me, let alone love me? So easy to say, it is so hard for us, many of us, to really believe and grasp.

That's why D.L. Moody went on a long search. He took a concordance, that's before iPhones and computers. They were books that had references to different scriptures and he traced every single reference he could find in the Bible to the love of God and then afterward he said, there is no truth in all of the Bible that should affect us as much as the love of God. Jesus loves people. That's the first foundational truth.

Let's move to the second. Jesus loves people individually. That is, he loves them uniquely, separately, independent in his approach from one person to the next. What I find interesting about the Lord in this section of our text that we're reading, chapter 10 of Mark, earlier in this chapter he picked up some children, held them, blessed them, so tender.

In the very next chapter he overturns the tables in the temple and drives out the worshippers and rebukes them. He definitely approached people individually. One of the things that I have long admired and loved the Lord Jesus for is that he never had a canned approach to people.

He never like began with the same spiel or the same question. He just kind of varied his approach from person to person. I came across a book sometime back that I found interesting and I'm just going to share a snippet with you. It's a technique book on how to share your faith. What gave me pause is that it's filled with pictures on how to do it and illustrations and then instructions. Here's just a little snippet.

Step 3B. Place your left hand on Bill's right shoulder as an illustration number four. Look him in the eye. Your manner should be confident but gentle. If he avoids eye contact say, Bill look at me. When you have good eye contact then say, Bill I wonder if you would let me tell you how much Jesus means to me. Now I'm not knocking this and I'm sure some people find it helpful.

I just don't find it particularly helpful. I would rather let the situation unfold to see what's going to happen or what doors or windows might open the conversation. Jesus had this unique ability and of course he was God so he could read people's minds and he knew their motives so that was helpful.

But he knew who he was dealing with and his approach was accordingly. Example. To the woman caught in adultery he said, woman where are your accusers? She said, sir I have none. He replied, neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.

So tender. To the man, the leper who was ostracized from society who said, Lord if you are willing you can make me clean. Now he was a leper. Nobody was allowed to touch him. Jesus touched him the Bible says, touched him and said, I am willing.

Be clean. Then on the other hand to the scribes and the Pharisees he spoke very harshly. Words like this, whoa unto you scribes, Pharisees, hypocrites you are whitewashed tombs filled with dead men's bones and all corruption.

Ouch. Very different than the leper. Very different than the woman caught in adultery. Sometimes he called people by name like Mary Magdalene after the resurrection with that tender tone Mary or Peter. At other times he didn't call people by their first names he made up new names for them. One time he said, brood of vipers.

That's what he called them. There's another difference in the way he approached people. He walked up one day to Matthew the tax collector and publicly called him out and said, come and follow me as my disciple. Then on another occasion when he cast a demon out of a young man in Gadara who begged Jesus to let him come and follow him Jesus said, no. You can't follow me.

Go back home and tell your friends the good things God has done. Very different approaches to these two. Here's another difference. To his own disciples Jesus spoke profusely. He instructed we have chapter after chapter in the New Testament given directly to the disciples.

He's training them. He had a lot to say to them. But then on another occasion as he stands before Pontius Pilate and the religious elite at his own trial he has nothing to say to them. And then when he finally speaks it's just a few words.

Not much. Another difference. In Capernaum a wailing crowd at the funeral of a young girl who has died Jesus comes in the scene and he goes, stop crying. Stop weeping. On another occasion at the funeral of his friend Lazarus we are told that Jesus himself stood in front of the tomb and it says Jesus wept. Now he knew he was going to raise both of them from the dead but in one sense he goes stop your crying and here Jesus wept.

Here's what I want to point out. The love of Jesus Christ was tailor made for every individual that he met. Every expression was unique. Each encounter was a one off.

It wasn't canned. Love has different expressions and I'll expand on that in a moment. But we even do this. We'll give our children gifts for their birthday for Christmas or just because. But then on another occasion we might spank them.

We love them. But those are two very different expressions are they not? Or we have spouses and we will say to our spouse I love you. On another occasion we will argue with our spouse because we want to resolve conflict. Both can be expressions of love. By the way I've learned how to end every argument. Two words. Yes dear.

It works every time. Jesus loves people. Jesus loves people individually.

Here's the third foundational cornerstone for this series. Jesus loves people through us, his people. He loves people through us, his people. Jesus came, taught, lived, loved, died, rose, ascended and now how does he reach people?

Through us. We are called in the Bible the body of Christ. Have you ever thought through the implications of that metaphor? We are the body of Christ. Simply put we are his hands reaching out to people. We are his feet going to where people are. We are his ears listening to people's hurts. We are his voice giving counsel and encouragement or even confrontation in his name.

We are the body of Christ. Jesus loves people through us. He said to his disciples as I have loved you so you must love one another.

I've loved you now you love one another. What I've done for you do to one another. Now, the critical Bible student will hear what I just quoted and say well you know Skip technically Jesus was referring to other believers when he said love one another. He was saying literally to his apostles his disciples as I have loved you my disciples you are to love one another disciples.

That's true. However, on another occasion when Jesus was asked what is the greatest commandment he said this hero Israel the Lord our God the Lord is one and you shall love the Lord your God with all of your heart all of your soul all of your mind all of your strength. This is the first and greatest commandment.

And before they could get any word in edgewise he said but the second one is like it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. There is no greater commandment than these. Now again somebody listening to that might want to pick it apart a little more and say well he said you're to love your neighbor.

He didn't say anything about loving drunks or prostitutes or homosexuals. Yeah but you know eventually you still have to deal with that one troublesome text in the Sermon on the Mount. Matthew 5 verse 43 where our Lord said you have heard that it was said you will love your neighbor and hate your enemies but I say unto you love your enemies. So we get the picture in what Jesus commanded his followers to do.

Here it is. It is a divine mandate to love people with the love of Jesus Christ even even what you might consider to be the worst. By the way you'll be surprised who Jesus considers to be the worst. It's a divine mandate to love people with the love of Christ even those you consider to be the worst. See you can be a good doctor and not love your patients. You could be a good lawyer and not love your clients. You could be a good geologist and not love science but you cannot be a good Christian without love.

You can't be. In Romans 5 verse 5 we're told the love of God has been shed abroad into our hearts or it has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit. Now we love that idea but we don't love it enough. We love the idea that he loves me. He loves me. Jesus loves me.

This I know for the Bible tells me so but don't stop. It's been poured out into our hearts and if it's been poured out into our hearts it should be poured out from our hearts. We're to be a conduit not just a receptacle.

We're to be a channel of it. That's Skip Hyten with a message for you from the series Jesus Loves People. Right now here's Skip to tell you how your support helps keep these messages coming your way and connects more people to the good news of Jesus. Throughout his ministry on earth Jesus showed again and again just how much he loved people.

He always gave the people that he encountered a chance to receive his salvation and our heart is to see more people living for Jesus by sharing these biblical messages that you have come to love. When you give a gift today you help more people know about his incredible love. Here's how you can give a gift right now. Visit connectwithskip.com slash donate to give your gift today. That's connectwithskip.com slash donate or call 800-922-1888.

Again that's 800-922-1888. Coming up tomorrow Skip Hytsek shows you how you can love others the same way Jesus loves you. Love is to be expressed in a variety of ways. Mature love, responsible love learns to distinguish what's the right way. Should I rebuke this person or give this person a hug?

What is the best expression of love? That's why Jesus could heal in one instance and overturn tables in another instance. He could say blessed are you one day and then say woe are you the next day to someone else.

And why is that? Because love, authentic love, according to 1 Corinthians 13 is this, love does not rejoice in iniquity it rejoices in truth. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast all burdens on his word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Hytsek is a presentation of Connection Communications. Connecting you to God's never changing truth in ever changing times.