Too often we define Christianity as a safe religion and we talk about loving people in a safe measure.
But you know what? Jesus went, He loved to a dangerous level. He knew what His love for us would cost Him. And He didn't say, you know, I would love you, but it's going to hurt too much and it's going to take too much effort. And it's amazing how easily we're distracted from loving. Maybe there's a person at work, maybe there's a person here at the church that really needs some love, some affection, some tenderness, some caring, some encouragement. And when you see them, something about them just kind of makes you cringe and you kind of, oh, here they come. Oh my goodness.
I've got to get in a conversation before they come up to me. Is that love? No. Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David McGee. David is the senior pastor of The Bridge in Kernersville, North Carolina.
One of David McGee's associate pastors is DA Brown. And we're so happy to have him with us on the show today. Bob, thanks for having me. It's an honor to be here with you.
When it comes to love, there is a risk involved, but that shouldn't keep us from loving others. Today, Pastor David explains this risk as he continues in the Gospel of John chapter 15. I'm excited to hear about this. So let's listen.
As David McGee starts his teaching, we must choose. We have covered John 15 up to about, I guess, verse 16. And we talked about a wondrous thing last week in that Jesus, who's telling us to do these things, actually believes that we can do these things. You see, when Jesus tells us to do something, He enables us to do something.
So we're going to pick it up in verse 17. These things I command you, that you love one another. Now, Jesus is not saying, hey, this is, if you can work it in, if it's convenient, if it fits into your timeframe or your schedule, He's saying, I command you to love one another. We need to recognize something, that love is very much part of God's heart. As a matter of fact, as a matter of fact, it's so much part of God's heart that you can't separate the love of God from the heart of God. Why is love so important to God? Why is love so predominant in the scriptures? Well, it's because that's where the whole thing starts. Remember, John 3 16 says, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son. And what's interesting, two letter word, real simple word, but it's so powerful, for God so loved the world.
And then He says, hey, as I've loved you guys, I want you to love one another. Now, here's the thing, and I want you to kind of mentally formulate your answer if you will, what keeps you from loving other people? What would you say keeps you from opening up to other people and loving other people? Now, think about the answer for just a second.
I jotted some down that might come off the cuff. The first one is the way they act. Sometimes people just don't act lovable. And so that makes it difficult to love them, right?
So that might be one of the answers. Second thing, the things they say. Sometimes, not you guys, but other people, sometimes they say things that aren't very lovable. Third thing is their ungrateful attitude.
You ever done something for somebody and tried to love them in a way and then have them not only not say thank you, but be very ungracious and ungrateful towards what it is you've done for them? That makes it difficult to love them. But then the fourth thing would be none of the above. Now, as you might imagine from the setup, it's the fourth one. It's none of the above. The thing that keeps us from really loving one another is ourselves, our fallen human nature. It's not the person beside you. It's not your spouse or your kids or your friends or your family or the people you work with. It's you.
It's me. We tend not to want to love. Why? Because somewhere in our past, we've been hurt, every one of us. And we figured out that the solution, although it worked, it was the wrong solution was to pull back and not to love, not to place ourselves in the situation.
But see, this is the deal. And understand what I'm asking you to do when I'm talking about loving one another, I'm asking you to go beyond your comfort level. See, because in your comfort zone, reaching out is not part of that. So what you have to do is you have to go beyond your comfort zone into what I would call the growing zone and reaching out and loving one another. Now, even as I say that, you're like, oh, well, that's a little scary.
That's a little dangerous. I mean, to really love one another and to really care for one another and take the risk of being hurt. What did Jesus do? We call ourselves followers of Jesus and we should be. Did Jesus take risk? You betcha. Did Jesus love way beyond his comfort zone?
You betcha. And that's who we say that we follow. So the first life lesson here is love takes risk. Love takes risk. You see, too often we define Christianity as a safe religion and we talk about loving people in a safe measure.
But you know what? Jesus went, he loved to a dangerous level. As a matter of fact, he knew. He knew what his love for us would cost him. And he didn't say, you know, I would love you, but it's going to hurt too much and it's going to take too much effort.
It's not what happened. And it's amazing how easily we're distracted from loving. Maybe there's a person at work. Maybe there's a person here at the church that really needs some love, some affection, some tenderness, some caring, some encouragement. And when you see them, something about them just kind of makes you cringe and you kind of, oh, here they come. Oh my goodness.
I'm kind of getting a conversation before they come up to me. Is that love? No, it's not love. I actually wonder if sometimes God measures a church by the way they love the unlovable, the way they love the unlovable. And you know what we do? And I'm saying we, so I'm getting in trouble just like you guys. What we do sometimes is we let small things keep us from loving one another. Small things.
Like what? You know, somebody can look at you weird and you're like, oh God, I can't believe they looked at me like that. What's up with that? What are they thinking? They have no right to look at me like that. Or, you know, or we get in the paranoid, look, I'm talking, I bet you're talking about me. You know, if we knew how little people talked about us, we'd be pretty disappointed. You know, but we always think, oh, they're talking, they're looking at me, they're pointing. Well, they're pointing, maybe you're in trouble, but we let these small things get in the way. What if Jesus would have treated us like that?
What if he would have looked around at the disciples and said, you sorry bunch of clowns. There's 12 of you. And, you know, one of you is going to just flat out betray me.
And then another that I had hoped would rise to leadership is going to deny me. Two of you out of the 12, you know, let's just call the whole thing off. He didn't do that.
He didn't do that. And again, I pointed out at the Last Supper, the reason there was so much confusion about who was going to betray him is because Jesus had loved them so much and so well that he treated Judas no differently than the other 11 disciples. That's convicting to me because often, you know, I can put distance between me and somebody else thinking what they might do. To know that Judas was going to betray him like that and still love him. That's amazing.
That's amazing. Think about it. If you were in that situation, you know that Judas would have become, well, what I term sermon fodder, you know, sermon gunpowder, so to speak, you know? Yeah, we could all be like Judas who we all know is going to betray me. And, you know, even if you don't keep in belief and you keep strong faith, it'd be like Judas.
And, you know, I mean, it would just weave its way in the conversation. All that never happened. That's amazing. That's Jesus.
That's Jesus. And, you know, I think we often think of the power that the church is lacking and we think in terms usually of the Holy Spirit and the gifts and the supernatural. If the church is lacking in power, I think here is probably the most powerful key in loving one another and the world watching that, looking on and going, what? What's going on? What's going on in that warehouse in Kernersville that people love each other in this way? You're listening to Pastor David McGee on Cross the Bridge.
He'll be right back with more in just a moment. But I want to remind you of the free resources available to you on crossthebridge.com. There's a team of hundreds of people that will pray for somebody to be saved. You have a loved one that needs to know Jesus as Savior. You need people to pray for them. You need someone to present God's Word to them. Every day we're presenting God's Word to them here on Cross the Bridge with Pastor David McGee. We can pray for them as well just by simply going to crossthebridge.com and click on the Pray for the Lost button. All you need to do is put in the first names of the people you love that need to know Jesus as Savior, click on submit, and immediately hundreds of people will begin praying for your lost loved ones. And what an awesome way to bring your loved ones to Jesus. Here's a word from Associate Pastor D.A.
Brown. We want to take just a minute to pray for seven cities in our listening audience. Walker, Michigan, Brainerd, Fergus Falls, and Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Biloxi, Friars Point, and Meridian, Mississippi. Lord, thank you that we're able to broadcast in these cities. Thank you for your good news, which will not return void. Lord, I pray for everyone listening right now that they would be encouraged, that they would recognize that you love them greatly, and you have a good plan. Lord, I pray for anyone in their lives who they've been trying to reach out to or they've been trying to share the gospel with.
We lift those up to you now. We pray that you would convince and convict and even encourage them to put their trust in you. And Lord, we pray for protection and safety in these cities. Give the police officers wisdom, the fire department wisdom, the town councils, the mayors, everyone in leadership, give them wisdom.
Help them to love one another. And Lord, we trust you that you're going to do a great work in these cities. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen.
Thank you, brother. And now, let's get back to David McGee as he continues teaching verse by verse. Verse 18. It says, If the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet, but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.
Now, this is interesting. And Jesus is painting a picture and understand when he says the world, he doesn't mean necessarily the physical world. He's talking about a world system that denies and ignores the presence of God.
And there is such a system in place. I mean, not to recognize that is the height of ignorance. There is an agenda, you know, to take in God we trust off of the money, to take the Ten Commandments, all these things that we see going on, prayer and school. There is a world system and an agenda to take God out of our culture and our society. Recognize that.
I don't want to be a part of that. And here, Jesus is saying it's kind of either or. Now, here's the problem in reading something like this.
We read this and we go, okay, the world's supposed to hate me. I think I can work that out. You know, if I'm arrogant enough and I'm spiteful enough and I'm hateful enough, then I can make this verse happen. That's out of whack. See, Jesus is saying, you know what, this will be a natural progression.
You just follow me and this is going to happen. Not go out and anger people and be spiteful and be hateful and misrepresent Jesus and have them hate. So be careful with using this as an excuse because, see, sometimes we give people reasons not to like us. And Jesus is saying there is a natural antagonism. Now, if there is not a natural antagonism, something's wrong. Something's wrong. I don't mean everybody's mad at you, but occasionally, people will be upset.
Let me help you with this, and this is going to be kind of a twisted thing, but bear with me. If you have a family that's filled with unbelievers and there is not some tension at family gatherings, something's wrong. Something's wrong. Now, again, that doesn't mean you can be hateful or spiteful or, you know, jump up on the buffet table and start pointing and preaching and foaming at the mouth. But the natural thing is that if you have a family that's filled with unbelievers, something's wrong. But they'll naturally will be, you know, this thing of, you know, they'll tell some off-color joke or use some foul language and then kind of shoot a glance at you. And I mean, that's a natural antagonism that's there and it's going to happen. It's amusing to me as I fly and go different places, you know, and people are, you know, I'll start in conversations and, you know, before they find out what I do, you about drinking or partying or whatever, you know, and, you know, after a few minutes, they're like, so what do you do? I'm a pastor. Oh, I, uh, I was just joking about that little partying thing. And, uh, I usually have three mixed drinks on the same flight, but, uh, why? Because they're, they're sitting there and they're being convicted.
They're being convicted. Now I understand something in this antagonism. There's the world system and there's following Jesus. There's those two things. There is an, and you need to realize that. Why? Because if you don't realize that you'll be in danger. If you go to the world for wisdom, you know what you're going to get worldly wisdom.
What does that mean? Well, if you go, if you have a tax accountant, let's say, who does not believe in Jesus and he's going through your stuff and go, oh, we can take this and we, well, this is not really honest, but we can get that deductible and that deductible. Well, wait a minute. You know, I'm a follower of Jesus. I, I don't want to cheat on my taxes.
Don't want to cheat on your taxes. What kind of person are you? That's un-American. Or, you know, you, you, you go to a lawyer and some legal trouble and you know what you're supposed to do, but the lawyer says, you know, you don't really have to do what's right here. I can get you out of this. You pay me enough money. I can get you out of this. It's not a problem. You don't have to worry about what's right, wrong.
It's so unclear anyway, but you know, you pay me enough money. I'll get you out of this thing. Be careful. That's the world system or going to a counselor or psychiatrist or psychologist who does not believe in sin, who does not believe in Jesus, does not believe in heaven, does not believe in hell. Yet you're going to get wisdom from that person.
Be careful, be careful. They may have some wisdom in some areas, but that's a totally different system than the one that you say that you're following. See, because Jesus says there is a problem. There is such a thing as sin. It's not a Freudian guilt complex.
It's something that you need to deal with. So there's two different systems. So the life lesson here is that we must choose to be friends with the Lord or friends with the world. We cannot be both. We must choose to be friends with the Lord or friends with the world. We cannot be both. That is a radical statement, but see, here's the picture that Jesus has taken.
He's saying, you know what? You're going to be conformed to one thing or another. You're either going to be conformed to my image and following me, or you're going to be conformed to the image of the world. Now, understand, some people have looked at this and they said, okay, well, we're just going to go live on some deserted island or out in the desert, and we're going to bury our heads beneath the sand. I don't think Jesus is saying that. He's saying be in the world, but not of the world. Be different.
Represent the light, the salt and the light. And so Jesus is saying, look, you have to make the decision here. This is kind of the rub, isn't it? I mean, when you make decisions, there's always a temptation to make a decision based upon what the expectations of the world are. What are people going to think? And that's a valid consideration, especially if you've gathered mature believers around you. But what's the tendency for us to think?
Let's be honest. The first thing we think of is, what's everybody else going to think? What's the world going to think? When the first thing we should think is, what's God going to think about this?
What does God think of my life right now? What does God think about this decision? Romans chapter 12, verses 1 and 2 says, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what is good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Let me give you that in the New Living translation, too. And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice, the kind that He will accept.
When you think of what He has done for you, is this too much to ask? Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will know what God wants you to do, and you will know how good and pleasing and perfect His will really is. You want to know the will of God for your life? There's the recipe.
There is the recipe. Submit yourself to God, give yourself to God, and you'll know what He wants you to do. And notice it says, by changing the way you think, changing the way you think. Now, the world system has pressure for you to conform to it. Does everybody understand that? I mean, there's a certain amount of pressure for you to conform to the world's standards. And while some of the things may be harmless fads or fashions or something like that, well, even some of those can cross the line. There's a pressure for you to subscribe to the morals and the values and the priorities of the world. And that's where you have to reject that.
Why? Because that's not following Jesus, that's following the world. See, and once you say, Jesus, I want you to forgive me of my sins, and we pray that prayer. And part of that prayer is, give me the power to follow you. To follow you. Not to follow the world anymore. You know, I'm getting further and further, to be honest, away from the word Christian.
And I'll tell you why. Because it's lost its meaning. I use follower of Jesus more than I use Christian.
You know why? Because I think it's a more descriptive term, following Jesus. So let me ask you a question.
Who are you following? I want to be like Jesus. That's the choice I'm making. And everybody in this room has to make it. Nobody can make it for you.
You know, I got kids that are growing up way too fast. But the reality is, they have to make the decision. I can't make it for them. Boy, I would if I could. But I can't.
All I can do is give them enough information to make a good decision, and hope at some point that they will make good decisions. Think about the landscape of humanity. All the people who've ever existed on this planet, I don't see anybody that is more appealing and more irresistible than Jesus. As I look at all the people of Alexander and Julius Caesar and all these people, Jesus is the one I want to be like. Jesus is the one I want to follow. He's, you know, in the wedding ceremony, we have that one guy that's called the best man.
Jesus was really the best man, the best representative of humanity that's ever walked on this planet. I want to be like him. And the amazing thing is, he wants me to be like him.
He wants me to be like him. As a matter of fact, as he picks us to be his disciples, understand when a rabbi picked his disciples who he was going to bring up into the law, he was saying, you know what, I think you can do the things I do. I think you can be like me. And so when Jesus looked at the disciples and said, follow me, part of it was, you can do this. You can do this.
When Jesus chose you, as we talked about last week, he said the same thing. You can do this. Now I understand, you know, we sit here and go, wow, that's, to be different, to love, that's difficult. Oh yeah, don't try to reason it out in your mind because you'll get into, you know, analysis paralysis is what they call it. You know, you'll sit there and go, well, there's just no way. I figured it out.
I wrote it all out, did a diagram and everything. I can't do it. Right, you can't do it, but you can do it. See, in and of your own strength, you can't do it.
But in his strength, you can do it. You understand that technically that a bumblebee cannot fly? I mean, they've done these tests with dynamics and in wind tunnels and stuff, and they've come to the conclusion that the bumblebee really should not be able to fly. Nobody told the bumblebee because the bumblebee can fly, because of its weight and the way that the wings are, but it does fly. Right.
See, you may look at these things and go, technical analysis paralysis, I can't do these things. But wait a minute, Jesus is saying that you can do these things. Jesus, the guy who looked at a lame man and said, get up and walk. And the guy started walking. Jesus looked at a dead man said, get up, get out of the grave. God came out of the grave. He's now telling you to love one another.
And look, look at this now. Love one another, the world's going to hate you. The world's going to hate you, but love one another. Do you see how the love in the community of believers becomes so, so important?
Because we're going to have a hard time. Now understand, Jesus is saying, don't be surprised by this. Don't be surprised by the tension. Don't be surprised by these things. This is just part of it. Friend, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?
You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short, simple prayer, simply telling God you're sorry and asking Him to help you to live for Him. Now God wants you to pray this prayer so much that He died to give you the opportunity and the ability to ask Him to forgive you.
Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me that I could be forgiven. And I believe you were raised from the dead that I could have a new life. And I've done wrong things. I have sinned and I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things. Please give me the power to live for you all of my days. In Jesus name.
Amen. Friend, if you prayed that prayer, according to the Bible, you've been forgiven. You've been born again. Jesus said He would not turn anybody away who comes to Him.
And He came for those people who knew they needed forgiveness, those who were sick, not the righteous. So congratulations, friend. You just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If you prayed this prayer, if you prayed that prayer with David for the first time, we'd love to hear from you. You can visit crossthebridge.com to receive our First Steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ.
Or you can write to Cross the Bridge at P.O. Box 12-515, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, 27117, and share how God is working in your life. You know, the Bible tells us that the free gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. But it does cost for us to come and bring that message to you and to others in your neighborhood, through radio, through the internet, and through the mobile technologies that God has gifted us to be able to use. So if you'd like to support this ministry, please go to crossthebridge.com, click on the donate button, and ask God how much He would have you give, either on a one-time basis or a continuing basis each month to help ensure that the teaching of God's Word continues to go out through Cross the Bridge.
Thank you so much. Well, DA, before we go, what are some ways that we can bless our listeners? Each day you can wake up with encouragement from Pastor David through the Word of God, with his email devotional, life lessons to consider, a daily reading plan, and a thought to meditate on throughout your day from the heart of David McGee. Those are terrific, and it's easy and it's free. So folks, sign up today at crossthebridge.com. Thanks again for listening, and join us next time as David McGee continues teaching verse by verse in the Gospel of John.
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