Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world so that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church, located in Kernersville, North Carolina. John chapter 13, and we're going to begin a new Sunday night series. Really, on the church.
It's entitled One Another, and this is how the church was meant to work. And all through the New Testament, Especially in the founding of The church. We are given instruction, and there are many what we would call one-another statements. And we want to look at some of those during this particular series. And, you know.
The church is not meant to be a place where we come and sit and do nothing. The church is not meant to be a place where we come just to have social. interaction. God has left instructions in the Word of God that we, as a member of a church, the responsibility we have. and also the responsibility just as fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
And I'm afraid sometimes that we can forget that. in the culture of church. We forget that we have a responsibility. You know, I know with when COVID hit, That a lot of things had to change. And, you know, I think nationwide, from what I understand, and you know, we've been very blessed just about everybody's been able to obviously get back.
But I believe, kind of nationwide, there's a number of pastors. That comment that so many of their people still just got used to watching church online and just determined that, you know, hey, I can do that and just watch the church online and that'll be fine. And let me just say, if you can't get here, we're so glad for that technology. And many of you watch it when you cannot be here. But there is a responsibility to being a member of a church that you cannot fulfill sitting at home.
You have to be here. And I want to encourage you, we need to understand these principles, all right?
So, John chapter 13, the first one we're going to deal with. is we have been instructed to love One another, okay? And this is a direct command from Jesus Christ. Let's look at John chapter 13, look at verse 31. Therefore, When he was gone out, Um who?
Well, What we have going on here is Judas. Just left. to go betray Jesus. Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified. and God is glorified in Him.
If God be glorified in him, God shall also glorify him in himself, and shall straightway glorify him. Little children, yet a little while I am with you. ye shall seek me. And as I said unto the Jews, Whither I go, ye cannot come.
So now I say to you, listen to this verse 34. A new commandment I give unto you. that ye love one another. as I have loved you. that ye also love one another.
By this, Shall all men know that ye are my disciples? If ye have love, One to another. Let's pray. Lord, I love you. I thank you for all that you've done.
Bless this time. And um Lord, help us to see there's a reason behind your commands. And Lord, I pray that you would help us tonight. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
I don't know about you. I believe Jesus has the right to do whatever he wants to do. Let me say that again. That's 10 of us. I believe Jesus has the right to do whatever he wishes to do.
Jesus could have made anything. The mark of discipleship. He could have made doctrine. The mark of discipleship. That if you believe this, all men will know you're my disciples.
He could have made the way we dress. He could have made that the mark of discipleship. He could have made discipline. He could have made practice. He could have made a lot of things the mark that would show the world.
that we are His disciples. But he said And he decided. that love would be the mark. by which the world would recognize his followers.
Now he didn't say that love is how the world would recognize if you're a church member. He didn't say that love is the way that the world will recognize you're a Baptist. We obviously already know that's not. how everybody knows we're a Baptist, all right? What he is saying is this, this is how people are going to know that you follow me.
Doesn't matter what religion, doesn't matter what church you go to, he says, how they're going to know, how the world will know that you follow me. is that you love one another.
Now, let me give you the chronological setting of John chapter 13 so we can understand it a little better. This is taking place the night before. the crucifixion. This means we're less than 24 hours away. From Jesus dying on the cross.
Verse 31 begins right after Judas Iscariot leaves the upper room. to portray Jesus. Jesus is in Jerusalem. He's in a private upper room, we call it, where. He is eating the Passover meal.
with his disciples. This upper room that we refer to was likely in the home of a believer. Maybe a supporter in what would be the southwest section of Jerusalem. It was what some would call the Mount Zion area. And soon after this, Jesus and his disciples will leave this room.
And they'll go to the Garden of Gethsemane. on the Mount of Olives.
So verse 31, Jesus is still in the upper room. and Judas leaves to carry out his betrayal. To go to the priest and lead them to Jesus there. in Gethsemane. When Judas leaves, The mood Um the mood shifts.
The conversation changes. And what happens is there is a spiritual shift in Jesus begins to say some things. It's like the darkness outside. Kind of mirrored the spiritual darkness of the betrayal. Jesus knew exactly why Jesus was leaving.
The disciples didn't necessarily know why Judas was leaving, but Jesus is gonna get ready to kind of mention it. He begins revealing the deepest truths to his disciples. He speaks freely about the fact that he is going to be betrayed. And that the betrayer was in that room. He prepares his disciples for his departure.
He reveals the glory of his coming sacrifice, the cross. He promises that there is going to be given the Holy Spirit, that he's not going to leave them comfortless. He prays for them to be unified and for their future mission in John chapter 17.
So that brings us to verse 31.
So, this is intimate conversation of Jesus with his disciples. I want you to notice, number one, if you're keeping notes. We see the command. of love.
Now, verse 34, he says this: A new commandment I give unto you. that ye love. one another. Why is this new? I want you to notice first, the command is divine.
It came from the lips of Jesus himself. A new commandment. I Give unto you.
Now this isn't a suggestion. It's a command. Jesus says It's a commandment. It's not a suggestion, it's a summons. Look at John 15, verse 12.
He says, This, This is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. And by the way, Jesus is about the only person that could give this command. Because Jesus is the only person that actually fulfilled that command. Can I have an amen right there?
Now, there's a lot of us that get up and say a lot of things, and it can be very hypocritical because we haven't necessarily fulfilled what we have asked others to do. But Jesus fulfilled this.
So he has the right to give this as a command. A lot of people are good at giving instruction, giving orders. But they're not necessarily good at doing what they've asked others to do.
So the command is divine. This came from G. Notice number two: the command is distinctive. What is different about this? He says a new I want to explain this to you.
This is not new in quality. It's not new in chronology. What is new about this?
Well, this command. Calls for a love that reflects what Jesus is getting ready to do. the next day.
Now let me explain. I want you to see this verse, Leviticus chapter 19. And verse 18. It was not a new commandment to love that wasn't new. But I want you to notice in the Mosaic law what was said here in verse 18.
Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people. Notice that, the children of thy people. But thou shalt love thy neighbor. as thyself. I am the Lord.
So Leviticus commanded Love for your neighbor.
Now What is different about John 13 is that Jesus Christ calls for a love. that is going to be changed by the cross. Leviticus 19, 18 is the old covenant standard. This was given to Israel on Mount Sinai as part of the Mosaic law.
Now listen to me, I'm going to explain this to you. God was establishing how his covenant people were to live. And they were to live in holiness and justice and compassion. But the emphasis he says here is: love your neighbor as yourself. Neighbor here means fellow Israelites.
Okay, the people of your country. Notice this: your own people, your community. But notice the standard of love. He says, You are to love those that are of your community, and the standard for how you are to love them is to love them like you love yourself. Are you with me so far?
Say amen.
So he is saying, listen, you love yourself.
So, your commandment in Leviticus is that you are to love your neighbor as you love yourself. But that changes. In John chapter 13. We have a new commandment. He says, you are to treat others with the same fairness, respect, and care that you desire for yourself in the book of Leviticus.
So, Leviticus, love is commanded as a moral duty. It's rooted in God's holiness and justice. But now we come to John chapter 13. And verse 34 is what we call a new covenant standard, not an old covenant standard. This was given by Jesus.
in the upper room to his disciples. The emphasis here is he says this: love not your neighbor. He says, Love one another as I have loved you. The one another here refers to believers. But by extension, it becomes the mark of all true disciples that you love each other.
Are you with me? Say amen.
Amen. But there is a new standard here. I am now not to love each other Another I am not to love them like I love me. The new standard is, is that I am to love one another Like Jesus. Loved.
Now, look at the new standard here. Notice what he says. I love this. As. I have loved you.
So originally the standard was this, you got to love your neighbor like you love yourself.
Now the new standard is this. You need to love one another as Jesus has loved you. That's a higher standard. This was a new commandment. This is a new spiritual calling.
This is rooted in the love Jesus was getting ready to show on the cross. And Jesus is saying, listen, the new standard is this: you are to love your brothers and sisters in Christ. And you're not to love them as much as you love yourself, you're to love them as much as I've loved you. Yeah. That is obviously The commandment is divine It's distinctive.
It's the commandment of love. Notice secondly, I want you to see the comparison. of love.
Verse 34, he says, As I have loved you, that ye also love one another.
So now we've got to do some comparison. What's different between The kind of love that I love. and the kind of love that Jesus loves.
Well, let's be honest. There really is no comparison. But I do want to give it to you, okay? I want you to notice, number one, his love is a love that is sacrificial. And he is saying this is the kind of love.
that you are to have for your fellow brothers and sisters. in Christ. Notice this, as I have loved you. Love that is sacrificial. Jesus, listen to me, Jesus loved with action, not just affection.
Jesus didn't love because he felt like it. He loved because he chose to. His love was Shown to us in action, not just Affection. In other words, he didn't just say, I love you, he showed us. that he loved us.
How many times do you and I tell each other we love each other? And we don't really mean it. Hey brother, love you. Do you really? This is what he has said.
People are going to know that you follow me. By the way, you love each other. And you are to love each other, Jesus says, like I've loved you. I love that a sacrifice. Look at 1 John 3:16.
Hereby perceive we the love of God. This is how we know that He loved us, because He laid down His life for us. A love that is sacrificial. It means this: that here at Kerwin Baptist Church. And it's not just in a local church setting, but it is especially in a local.
Listen, we are to love fellow believers like this, but let's just be honest, that starts right here in our own building. I'm so glad Brother Cody could be here tonight. He is showing us a mission field and mission fields that we need to go and visit. May I say something? It needs to start right here in this building.
Notice number two, a love that is steadfast. In John chapter 13, look at verse 1.
Now, before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come, that he should depart out of this world. Under the Father. having loved his own which were in the world. He loved them, but notice this. He loved them unto the what?
Do you know how easy it would have been for Jesus to stop loving us along the way? Just before the cross. Why am I doing this for people that don't even want me? Listen, he had every opportunity and every reason, but his love was steadfast. Listen.
He even washed Judas's feet. Before Judas used those very feet to leave the room and go betray him. Right before getting ready to betray Jesus, Jesus throws a towel over his shoulder and washes his feet. He had a steadfast love. It just wouldn't stop no matter what.
And what I am saying is that as God's children and as fellow believers and as fellow church members here at Kerwin Baptist Church, you and I should love each other steadfastly. Not be so easily, not just offended. But now we don't love our brother and sister in Christ because they said this or because they did this. And let's be honest, you and I, our love ends and stops so easily. But Jesus said The way you're going to reach this world is if they see you.
loving each other. like I have loved you. Look at Jeremiah 31, verse 3. You know it. He says, I have loved thee.
with a temporary love. It doesn't say that, does it? I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Notice Romans 8, look at verse 38. This is what Paul says.
I love this, for I am persuaded. That neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature. shall be able to separate me. from the love of God. His love is so steadfast.
That there is nothing that can separate you. From his love. What does it take for You to stop your love for someone in church. If they take your seat, If they mo thank you, Terry. If they move your Bible, If they took your parking spot.
Number three, this is a comparison now. Our love and his love, number three. His love is a love that is selfless. Selfless. You know, Jesus gave himself with no thought of return.
Our love can often be very selfish in nature. We will love as long as we get something in return. And we stop loving as soon as we perceive that we're getting less than we're giving. You know, in Philippians chapter 2. The Bible says that Jesus humbled himself.
And it says this, that he humbled himself even. to the death of the cross. Look at me. He got absolutely nothing out of his love for us. And yet he completed it.
And you and I will not love. Oftentimes, unless somehow we're getting something out of this deal. And I gotta be honest with you, by the time we're done with this list, if you and I could love each other as church members this way. This church would never be the same. And let me be honest.
If if you're a pastor could love you like this. I want to, I wish I could, I wish I had. But I fail. I love that is. Selfless.
Notice number four, his is a love that is sincere. Romans 12:9 says this statement: Let love be without dissimulation. That word dissimulation, if I can kind of make it very understandable for us tonight, it means fake. Kind of means hypocritical. It means not genuine.
And Jesus says to the believer, our love should be sincere. Our love should be genuine. It shouldn't be put on. It ought to be real. 1 Peter 1:22, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently.
Can you argue with the Bible here? I don't think I can. Jesus' love was genuine, no hypocrisy, no hidden motives. He didn't just say, I love you. He showed it through transparency.
By the way, even when Jesus rebuked people, he did it out of real love. You and I need to learn that, don't we? Listen, I believe a real friend can do that, can rebuke, but it ought to be done in love. And the problem is, too many Christians have rebuke, but not in love, and that's why a lot of people aren't even in church. Because some Christian rebuked them, and they might have been right about what they said, but they were wrong in how they did it.
The Bible says, speak the truth in love. Look at Mark 10, 21. Then Jesus, beholding him, loved him. Notice that. He loved him.
and said unto him, One thing thou lackest, this Young ruler. And he had followed all the things, he had dotted all the. And he'd crossed all the T's and he'd followed the. Notice what Jesus says.
Well, you've done all this. He says, but. One thing you lack. Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven. And come, take up your cross and follow me.
Did you hear that? Jesus just rebuked him. Jesus just told him, you're wrong. And this is what's missing in your life. But what did it say in the very first phrase?
Jesus beholding him, what? Loved him. And when Jesus said this to this man, he knew that Jesus loved him. Love that is sincere. Before you go fixing somebody, make sure you really do love them.
Before you start trying to tell people how to raise their kids, make sure that you love them. I think you probably shouldn't anyway. But if they ask you. Listen, we can't go around and never show love to somebody, but then think that we're okay to go and rebuke. No, we're not.
Listen, people will take instruction if they're taking it from someone that they know has shown love to them. That makes all the difference in the world.
Next. We're having a good time in church tonight? Yeah, I thought we were. Yeah, great time. Great time.
Next, I want you to see this. His love is a love that is sensitive.
Now, Hebrews chapter 4, verse 15, notice this: for we have not a high priest. By the way, what is a high priest? A high priest. Is one that is above us and can give us instruction. A high priest is one that teaches us.
But we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. That means that he loves with a love that is sensitive, that has compassion, that knows how we feel. His love feels what we feel. He wept at Lazarus' tomb in John 11. His compassion through his whole earthly ministry moved him to act.
Look at Mark chapter 1, beginning in verse 40. And there came a leper to him. Beseeching him and kneeling down to him and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. Here comes a leper and just literally falls down at Jesus. Look at verse 41.
And Jesus, moved with compassion, said something. No. And Jesus, moved with compassion, what's the first thing he did? He put forth his hand and touched him. And said unto him, I will be thou clean.
Do you see that? Jesus didn't just speak to the leper, he touched. The leper. You know what you're not supposed to do? Is touch a leper.
Look at me. What is Jesus doing? He is showing. His love. He is saying, I feel.
what you're feeling. And he touched him. I want you to notice next, Jesus' love is a love that is... Serving. You and I, as church members, are to love each other with a love that serves each other.
We're to love each other with a love that is sensitive to each other. Let's think before we speak. We have a responsibility as church members. We're to love each other with the kind of love that Jesus has loved us with. Love that is serving.
Look at verse 13 that we read earlier. He says, Jesus says, Ye call me master and Lord, and ye say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet. Ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, Jesus says.
I have served you. I'm the example. that ye should do as I have done to you. He didn't just say, hey, you need to love one another. No, he showed love to them.
He's the example. The king of kings and lord of lords wrapped himself in a servant's towel. Yeah. True love stoops low. to lift others high.
What does Galatians 5:13 say? Can't argue with this. Bye love. Serve. one another.
And we'll be talking about this later in this series. Jesus has a love that is serving.
Now I'm giving you all the facts, but let me just apply it real quickly. Listen to me. At this church, you and I ought to love each other with a serving love. But let me tell you the secret to that. A serving love should be the motivation of the person doing the serving.
What is not good is for you to sit back and see whether you think people have served you or not. Don't come to me and say, Preacher, you said that, but nobody here has served me. That means you're looking for people to do for you, and that is nowhere in this Bible. It means that every one of us ought to think right now: I need to love people here in a way that serves them. I do not need to sit here and try to come up with examples where people have not served me when I needed it.
Well, that shows a very selfish love. And what did we see earlier? His love is selfless. He didn't care what was given to him. He did not love so that he could get something, he loved so that he could give something.
Are you with me? Okay. I think I need to better close this pretty quick. This is Pastor Appreciation Month. This is not the right thing to preach, apparently.
All right. Notice next, his love is a love that is saving. Romans 5:8 says, But God commendeth his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Love moved him from heaven's throne to Calvary's tree. His love didn't just feel, it finished.
salvation. And he became our example in John 15. Look at this. Greater love hath no man than this. that a man lay down his life for his friends.
What does this mean? It means Jesus didn't, his love didn't stop at sympathy. He's a high priest that feels. It didn't stop at sympathy, it went all the way to substitution. That I will give myself for you.
And I hate to bring it up, but he says that you and I are to love each other in a way that I would give myself for you. Man, it's hard. Let's move on quickly to the next one. His love is shepherding. Look at John chapter 10 verse 11.
Jesus says, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life. for the sheep. It means this, that you and I are to love each other with a shepherding love. What does that mean?
What does it mean to be a shepherd? First it means to guide. Thank you for listening today. We hope you received a blessing from our broadcast. The Kerwin Baptist Church is located at 4520 Old Hollow Road in Kernersville, North Carolina.
You may also contact us by phone at 336-993-5192. or via the web. at Kerwin Baptist Church.com. Enjoy our services live and all our media on our website and church app. Thank you for listening to the Kerwin Broadcast today.
God bless you.
