John 13:34-35 – “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

What a powerful message Jesus gives his disciples in these two verses; and of course it applies to us as well today.  Now if you are like me, one of the first questions I have when I read this passage is, what was the old command?  In the beginning of Jesus’ ministry he answered this question for a teacher of the law (a Pharisee):

Matt 22:37-38 – “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: ” ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’  All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”

Is Jesus contradicting himself?  Absolutely not.  In fact, he is reinforcing what he said at the beginning of his ministry.  How cool is it that Jesus would begin and end his ministry by talking about love!

What I find just as amazing is the consistency of this message that Jesus taught.  The Greek word for “love” in these verses is “agapao” which means “to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly.” Look at all the other times Jesus used this same word for love:

• Matt 5:43 – love (agapao) your enemies…
• Eph 5:25 – husbands love (agapao) your wives as Christ loved (agapao) the church…
• John 3:16 – God so loved (agapao) the world that he sent his only son…

Do you see the depth and richness of this word “agapao?”  This kind of love is a sacrificial love; a kind of love that is willing to give up something for someone else.  And this is the kind of love Jesus tells us we need to have as his followers.

“By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

As followers of Jesus, we should be known for our radical, sacrificial love.  This should be our defining characteristic as the church.  Sadly, for too long we, (the church) have been known more for what we are against; we have been known more for our judgmental attitude, rather than our love.

At the Dialogue Church (www.theDC.tv) and in like-minded churches across New England (www.graniteunited.com; www.NLC.tv; www.thejourneynh.com) we are working to change this.  Lives are being changed as people meet Jesus every week and submit their lives to Him.  The weekend of September 11-12, we are joining forces for the United Love campaign where churches will be demonstrating the love of Christ through simple servant evangelism projects in their local communities.  One life at a time, we (the church) are changing the perception of what it means to be a Jesus follower.  We want to be obedient to Jesus and be known for our love.

I’ll wrap up with two closing comments:

1. Does love define you as a follower of Jesus?  Do people associate you with Jesus because of your radical love?  If not, what do you need to ask God to change in your life?
2. Check out a message by my great friend Ian Rice from August 8, 2010 all about love (http://www.thedialoguechurch.com/?p=3127).

Here is a short snapshot of Exodus chapter 1-13: After 400 years of slavery, the Israelites were set free when God intervened and sent Moses to lead them out of Egypt. BUT, now they are stuck between Pharaoh’s army and the Red Sea.

ISRAEL PANICS AND FORGETS WHAT GOD HAS DONE

Exodus 14:11 – They said to Moses, “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt?”

MOSES TRUSTS

Exodus 14:13-14 – “Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today….The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

The Dialogue Church is facing our own RED SEA moment right now. God is growing our church in one of the most unchurched states in the nation (http://www.mainstreet.com/slideshow/lifestyle/most-religious-states-america SEE SLIDE #22), in the middle of the summer, on the 2nd floor of an office building over a Brazilian Steakhouse!

We have a year left on our current lease, BUT we cannot continue to meet in our current facility because it is too small! In the past 3 months God changed the lives of over 30 people who placed their faith in Jesus and close to 15 people have been baptized! If everyone in our faith community all came to a Sunday experience on the same day, WE WOULD NOT HAVE ENOUGH ROOM!

So this is our RED SEA moment. Behind us, we have our current lease. In front of us, we have an opportunity to go after a facility that would…

• Almost triple the total space we have today

• Grow our worship space from a seating capacity of 70 to over 200

• Allow us to be ready for 10-10-10

As a staff, we are praying to be in a new space by October 10, 2010 so we can have our biggest fall launch in the history of our church! In order for that to happen we must be in a facility that can handle the growth.

If you call the DC your home church, then you must choose which path you are going to take. Are you going to be like the Israelites, and choose the path of fear, forgetting all the wonders that God has done for the DC? Or, will you be like Moses, and choose the path of faith and trust? Will you believe that God will fight on our behalf? Will you stand firm in your faith? Will you be ready to see the deliverance God has for us?

The next 8-12 weeks will be a defining moment in our faith journey as a young church. Pray for Pastor Steve and the staff of the DC as we seek God’s will in all this. Pray for our church, that we would all be ready to cross this RED SEA when God tells us to cross. We are excited about what God has in store for our church, because whatever it is, we know God will be glorified through it.  Just like he did for Israel, he will open up a path for us.

Ephesians 3:20-21 – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we can ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

I want to focus on two passages of scripture from Sunday’s message:

1.  Matt 5:43-44 – “You have heard it said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…”

2. Romans 5:10 – For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

The Greek word for “enemies” in both of these verses is (echthros) which means:

• hostile, opposing another
• used of men as at enmity with God by their sin

These two passages of scripture are so important because they establish that at one time we were at enmity with God because of our own sin. YET, he loved us so much that he sent Jesus to die for us.

Romans 5:8 – But God demonstrated his own love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus tells us that we are to love our enemies, and pray for those who would do us harm. Taken out of context, this verse can appear to be almost ridiculous.  Love my enemies – are you joking?  But when you pair this verse with Romans 5:8,10, it makes all the sense in the world.

God loved us, EVEN when we were sinning against him.  We are to love our enemies with this same kind of love.

I discovered something incredible this week in studying these scriptures.  The Greek work for love in Matthew 5:43-44 is the word (agapaǿ) which translated means:

• to welcome, to entertain, to be fond of, to love dearly

Guess where else this same exact word is used?

John 3:16 – For God so loved (agapaǿ) the world, that he gave his only Son…..

Eph 5:25 – Husbands, love (agapaǿ) your wives, just as Christ loved (agapaǿ) the church and gave himself up for her.

Do you see a pattern in these verses?  God loved and he gave up His Son.  Christ loved the church and gave himself up for the church.

God’s love (agapaǿ) is sacrificial.  God’s love is willing to give something up for the sake of an enemy.

WOW!  That is powerful, and it challenges me to the very depth of my soul.  Jesus wants me and you to love our enemies with a sacrificial kind of love; a love that is willing to give something up EVEN if our enemy does not receive it or respond in love.

If Jesus tells us to love (agapaǿ) our enemies with the same kind of love (agapaǿ) that God has for us, then it is possible!  But only through the power of God’s Spirit that lives in us AND through the strength we have in Jesus (see Philippians 4:13).

Martha has a valid point.  Lazarus has been dead for four days, and even though his body is wrapped in linen and spices were added to soften the smell, a dead body is a dead body.  In other words, it stinks!

But, this is Jesus we’re talking about.

A quick review on what Jesus has already said or done leading up to this point in the story.

John 11:4 – “This sickness will not end in death. No it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

John 11:23 – Jesus said to her (Martha), “Your brother will rise again.”

John 11:25- Jesus said to her (Martha), “I am the resurrection and the life….”

Go back to Martha’s response now when Jesus asks for the stone to be rolled away.  It’s subtle in a way, but at the heart of what she is saying, she is doubting the work that Jesus wants to do.

HAVE YOU EVER DONE THAT?  HAVE YOU EVER DOUBTED THE WORK GOD WANTS TO DO IN YOUR LIFE?

If we are all honest, we must answer “YES” to these questions.  We are finite beings, and we cannot fully understand an INFINITE God.  Like Martha, we only look at the here and now; we only see the close up view, when God sees the full picture.

That is where faith comes in.  We must believe and trust the heart of God.  When he begins to move in our lives, we must trust Him and believe the promise of Romans 8:28 – For we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

What I am learning in my own life, is that even when I don’t fully understand what God is doing in my life, I need to trust Him and fully commit to continue following Him with all my heart, soul, mind and strength.  I don’t want to oppose the move of God in my life with petty excuses, even though they may be legitimate.

Jesus wants to roll away the stone!  The question we must all answer is are we willing to let him do that in our lives?

Caleb take a courageous stand against the cowardice of their own people at a pivotal time in

Israel’s history.

BACKSTAGE PASS: CHARACTER TOUR | Courage (talk it over 08-01-10)