Message by Chad Kelly
Happy St. Patrick”™s Day!
Did you know that Patrick was NOT Irish. He was from Britain. He was captured and enslaved by the Irish as a teenager and served as a shepherd in Ireland for several years before escaping. Then he went into the priesthood and later responded to a vision from God calling him to go back to Ireland as a missionary, which he did. And he used the 3-leaf clover to explain the Trinity to the pagan Irish as he taught them the Scriptures.
This is how he taught his disciples to share their faith:
A seeker or traveler would be welcomed into the Christian community with the greatest of hospitality. The traveler”™s feet would be washed, he would be given a guest house with comfortable bedding, and he would receive more than enough food and drink. Soon, if the traveler chose to stay with this new tribe he had found, he would be given what was called a “soul friend” and a small group to teach and to learn from, and places for times of solitude, prayer, and reflection. Over time, persons in the community would share the ministry of conversation and prayer with the trekker on a daily basis. After some days, weeks, or months, the former refugee might wake to find himself believing what these Christians believed, and he would commit to Christ, be baptized, and join the community of God. He would commit to more than a belief system, however, but to a way of life modeled for him by those with whom he had been living.
Communities such as these are almost unheard of in our world, at our and the world”™s loss. What we call the church must invite seekers in to participate and eavesdrop on the lives we live. We must create a culture of hospitality that goes beyond coffee and refreshments, where questions and exploration are not only tolerated, but encouraged and expected. This is a fantastic transition from what is common in the church where the Christian message is presented, decisions are privatized with the “bowing of heads and closing of eyes,” a response is immediately called for, and only then are individuals welcome into fellowship.
We have always said “Follow Christ and we will let you in.” We need to learn to say, “Come on in that you might learn from Christ and follow him.”
Leslie Newbigin, asks this question: “How is it possible that the gospel should be credible, that people should come to believe that the power which has the last word in human affairs is represented by a man hanging on a cross?” And he answers his question by saying: “The only answer”¦is a congregation of men and women who believe it and live by it.”
In short, they loved others to Jesus!
So, it is fitting that on St. Patrick”™s Day we talk about love.
Love in Hard Times
1 Peter 4:7-10
Nothing is more needful and powerful
than love when life is hard!
1 Peter 4:7 (NLT)
7 The end of the world is coming soon. Therefore, be earnest and disciplined in your prayers.
Matthew 24:36, 44 (NLT)
36 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows”¦44 You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected.
MacDonald
Peter isn”™t asking us to get frantic; he is insisting that Jesus wants us to live each day as if it were the last before we meet Him face-to-face”¦We live in serious times. This is life and death. This is heaven and hell”¦This is serious business. So when suffering comes to you, be self-controlled and sober-minded. Pain can sweep away shallowness and inattentiveness. Pain creates focus. Trials require that we respond, not based on the feeling of the moment but on self-control and ongoing reliance on God through prayer.
Tchividjian
Brokenness precedes usefulness. It just does.
Before we can love others, especially when life is hard, we must have a consistent, personal relationship with God through prayer. It”™s THE vital connection that will strengthen us for hard times. And having God”™s power is the ONLY way we can love others in hard times!
8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
Notice:
Love”™s Primacy: “above all”
Love”™s Intensity: “fervent”””a term used of a horse at full gallop
Earnest, from the heart, extends itself out
Love”™s Responsibility: “continue to show deep love”
Nothing is more needful and powerful
than love when life is hard!
Peanuts Cartoon
Lucy: There are times when you really bug me, but I must admit there are also times when I feel like giving you a big hug.
Snoopy: That”™s the way I am”¦huggable and buggable.
That”™s just the way it is when it comes to loving each other!
Nothing is more needful and powerful
than love when life is hard!
It”™s interesting, Peter has already said this same thing about love at least twice in this little letter””which means it must be a big deal in his mind!
1 Peter 1:22 (NLT)
22 You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and sisters. Love each other deeply with all your heart.
1 Peter 3:8 (NLT)
8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.
Nothing is more needful and powerful
than love when life is hard!
8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
Love”™s Design: “love covers a multitude of sins”
Proverbs 10:12 (NLT)
12 Hatred stirs up quarrels,
but love makes up for all offenses.
Nothing is more needful and powerful
than love when life is hard!
Scott taught on this passage last Sunday morning in Bible Study and I”™m going to borrow from his Powerpoint:
Hatred”¦
Aggravates old quarrels
Makes mountains out of mole hills
Answers with grievous words
Will not let an issue go
Spreads the knowledge of another”™s sin
Love”¦
Is tolerant
Doesn”™t pick on a person”™s weak points
Doesn”™t jump to conclusions about others
Is patient and kind and believes the best about others
Is always willing to forgive
Nothing is more needful and powerful
than love when life is hard!
8 Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.
MacDonald
This is an above-all issue because our tendency is to become self-absorbed and irritable when we suffer. Love can be challenging when you”™re hurting”¦One of the best ways to yield to God”™s will during a trial is to intentionally focus on the needs of others.
Nothing is more needful and powerful
than love when life is hard!
9 Cheerfully share your home with those who need a meal or a place to stay.
Simple hospitality can be one of our greatest expressions of love.
10 God has given each of you a gift from his great variety of spiritual gifts. Use them well to serve one another.
Serve in your way”¦because your way is God”™s gift to the rest of us!
And”¦it is important to remember this. That other person”™s presence and way of loving and serving may not be how you”™d do it”¦but it is how God is using them in the Body of Christ. So, let them do their thing! And don”™t be surprised when it has good results that bring glory to God just as much as how you serve””because we”™re all hand-crafted by God to show His grace/love to the world in our own unique and beautiful ways!
Nothing is more needful and powerful
than love when life is hard!
Isn”™t that what Jesus said?
Matthew 22:34-40 (NLT)
34 But when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees with his reply, they met together to question him again. 35 One of them, an expert in religious law, tried to trap him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?”
37 Jesus replied, “”˜You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.”™38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 A second is equally important: ”˜Love your neighbor as yourself.”™40 The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
Conclusion
When I was little, the proximity of Momma to where I was playing affected my behavior. If I was playing with my friend””and sometimes foe””Sammy, from down the street, I”™d be a different boy if Momma was close. Or, if I was playing with my little sister, I was a different kind of brother when Momma was close.
Jesus is close! We are called to love with all our hearts because we”™ll see Him face to face real soon! And that “heart part” is key. I would just do what I needed to do as a little boy and was really just a young hypocrite most of the time! But our Father wants”¦and will enable”¦a deep, from-the-heart love! As you love Him first and walk close to Him in prayer, He”™ll help you to love others in sincerity with HIS love”¦even when life is hard!
Nothing is more needful and powerful
than love when life is hard!