Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
August 4, 2019 - W1931

Fervently Love One Another

Our One Anothers

Pastor Wayne Cordeiro

August 3 & 4, 2019

Aloha, New Hope!

I wonder, in the end, what kind of final exam will God rate our accomplishments on: Money earned, businesses started, ministry size, how many books written, or how many degrees received? I’m here to suggest that God may very well test us on how we navigate our relationships with the good, the bad and the ugly! I believe we’ll be tested in two basic areas of relationships: vertically, with God; horizontally, with people—not easy people mind you. In fact, Matthew 5 says if you only love those who love you, what good is that? Even the secular people—the heathens—do that! 

The real test will be on how we navigate with the one who has done us wrong—the unlovable co-worker that didn’t invite you to a meeting, the friend who wasn’t there when needed, the person who cut you off in the traffic on H-1, the one who belittled you, or the one who broke your trust! They have all done you wrong; and, sometimes, we use that as an excuse as to why we don’t act the way a Christian should!

You might say, “Well, if someone had done that to you, how would you feel? That’s why I don’t go to church!” If we hold on to that type of thinking and don’t navigate those tough relationships the way that we should, then a slow subtle acid drips into us and leaches into every area of our lives—without us even knowing it! We excuse our motives saying that we didn’t mean to say that, and we do things that we regret later, all because we didn’t navigate through the unresolved issues! God never designed us to do well with acid on the inside that affects our whole life—our family and probably our future! This is the reason that today we must talk about Fervently Love One Another! 

1 Peter 4:8 NASB says: “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” 

Fervent in Greek actually means stretching and straining—God has given us elastic love that grows!

It’s easy to be nice and loving to those who are nice and loving to us, but let’s take a step back and see what God is saying about building and maintaining relationships. Where do we start? We will find the answer hidden in the Greatest Commandment—almost as if God hid the answer to our final exam in it! We think the answer will be our accomplishments and achievements, but the Lord says, “Oh no. It’s something far different.” Let’s take a step back and see the three areas that God wants us to make sure that we have great relationships in: 

1: Love God

Mark 12:30-31 NIV says: “³⁰ Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ ³¹ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

This is the Greatest Commandment in the Bible and is reiterated in Matthew 22:37-39 and verse 40 is added:  "All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”  

Notice that the Greatest Commandment is about relationships (not the size of your ministry or how faithful you’ve been to church); it’s about navigating relationships in your marriage, church, and work. Sometimes we think it’s about how great we’ve done, how much money we’ve earned, or how large our ministry is, but the Lord is saying you missed it! 

A relationship with Jesus Christ is Number One; if you’ve never had a relationship with Him, it doesn't matter how good the other relationships are—you'll miss the test! 

2: Love Your Neighbor As Yourself

(Read Luke 10:25-37.) 

Jesus doesn’t say love your friends, that’s easy; He says love your neighbor. 

Friends:  People you choose—they look, talk, and act like you. 

Neighbor: People God chooses. It could be that co-worker or boss that you didn’t choose! God sometimes chooses them for a reason—so you’ll learn to love your neighbor! It’s part of the Greatest Commandment!

In Luke 10, a lawyer asked Jesus “Who is my neighbor?” And Jesus tells him a parable of the Good Samaritan:  A man was traveling from Jerusalem to Jericho and was attacked by robbers, and left lying on the side of the road, half dead. A priest came by and saw the man and passed by on the other side; a Levite also came by and saw the man, and walked on the other side. They didn't want to dirty themselves with this guy because it would make them unclean.  Then a Samaritan came by and when he saw the man, he stopped and helped him—cleaned his wounds, put him on his donkey, took him to an inn, gave 200 bucks to the innkeeper and said, "If it costs any more, I'll pay it when I come back."  And Jesus asks the lawyer, "So who do you think was the neighbor? " He said, "Well, it was that Samaritan guy."  And Jesus says, "Now go and do likewise."

Key Point: The value of life rises and falls on the basis of healthy relationships

If we don’t develop relationships with our neighbors, our friends, and with God, we don’t have value in life because God is saying, “Probably the most important exam you will take is: How are you navigating relationships with your neighbor—not your friend! And it won’t be how much money do you have!”  

3: Love Your Enemies  

Matthew 5:43-44 NKJV says: ⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’  ⁴⁴But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you.”

Jesus says, “Love your enemies, bless them.” That’s the highest caliber if you can get to that point. God says bless your enemies not for their sake but for yours—if you can bless them, God will bless you! I believe in the sovereignty of God.  He's the one who chooses my neighbors, and if He's chosen them for me, it's cool—I just bless them! 

I believe the highest test of all (that even Jesus had to go through when they nailed His hands and feet to the cross, and crowned Him with a crown of thorns) is when He prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” That's the crux of the exam. Can you navigate those three relationships: With God, your neighbor, and your enemy?   

If you want to win people to the Lord, invite them to church, but actually, you can only invite friends to church and to Christ because your enemies do not like you and won’t agree to anything you invite them to. 

Throughout the Bible God is working with people struggling with hatred; Jesus hits it head?on and says, “Bless those who curse you and love your enemies.” 

I would say, “Lord, why, if they're evil, would you want to bless them?”  And it's almost as if the Lord is saying, “Wayne, I'll take care of that part.  You take care of blessing them because it's important for your soul. Whether I carry it out or not, I'm the one who distributes the blessings.  You have to give it.  I want you to be known as a blesser, not a curser.  I'll take care of rest.”

What I'm about to share with you is one of the coolest scriptures in the Bible:  

Luke 10:5-6 NKJV: “…whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this house.’ ⁶ And if a son of peace is there, your peace will rest on it; if not, it will return to you.” 

God is saying whatever blessing you give, if that person is worthy of the blessing, I will give it to him, but if he's not worthy, it will return to you! God is saying I will take care of whether that blessing will be given or not.  You take responsibility for being a blesser.  I want my people to be a blessing, not a people who withhold blessing.   

Watch this:  When you stop blessing, see how bitter, critical, and cynical you become; and how rancid and legalistic your life becomes.  God created us to be like him, a blesser. He's the one that decides if it's going to stick, not you.  

Remember when Jesus was getting pommeled and pushed towards the cross, and Pilate said, “Don't you know I have the power to crucify you?”  What did Jesus say?  “My Father is the one that's giving you this authority, and if He didn't want this to happen, He could call down legions of angels and stop the crucifixion. I'm submitting to my Father's sovereign will.” 

And so when we bless those who curse us, we are at the highest caliber—staying free from the acid that would come had we retaliated.  God wants us to stay free from that person's mistake, hatred, and crime that would otherwise mess with your future. That's one of the most difficult things to do, but “Hate is like drinking poison and waiting for the other person to die!”  

Build Healthy Relationships

Here's a true story about one of my heroes, Abraham Lincoln: Right after the Civil War, a group of southerners gained an audience with the President to make complaints they had about the war.  

Abraham Lincoln had a very gentle manner about him; the southerners were very cynical in their complaints; yet, after listening to the President helping them assuage their concerns, the southerners left with a whole new respect for the President—who was once a foe and opponent.

Then one of his northern legislators approached him and said, "Mr. President, you were supposed to destroy your enemies, not befriend them." And Abraham Lincoln replied, "Am I not destroying my enemies by making them my friends?"

I think that's what Jesus is saying:  Do you want to destroy your enemies?  Bless them and love them! 

There's a reward that comes with the final exam.  The exam won’t be about accolades, achievements, degrees, and trophies, it’s about how do you navigate relationships with God, your neighbors, and your enemies? That’s the greatest commandment of law. The rest of the law hangs on that Commandment—if we don’t get that right, we have nothing right. Our One Anothers is the most important lesson in the Bible! 

STUDY QUESTIONS: 

1.     How are you navigating your relationships?
2.     How can you improve your relationships?
3.     What are ways you can move towards loving your enemies and neighbors?
4.     What are some challenges you’re facing in your life regarding relationships?
5.     What steps are you taking to heal these relationships through God’s words?
6.     Why is the greatest commandment so important?