Today we will finish our 6 week series on SRC being a family church. What does family stand for? Who here can tell us without using the screen?
F aith in God- Romans 5:1,2
A vailable to Serve- Joshua 24:14
M eet Together Often- Acts 2:46
I nclusive to All People- Galatians 3:28
L oving God and My Neighbor- Matthew 22:37-39
Y ou First Attitude- Matthew 5:41
We covered our core faith in God in the first week, then we talked about serving with love, followed up with refocusing our lives with others in Christ aka meeting together often, after that we talked about how everyone is welcome in the family, because we are united in Jesus, and then we spoke about loving God and our neighbor, which was basically what we are called to do as Christians. We are called to love God and to love others. Simple right. Today we will talk about having a you first attitude. Now, there might be some confusion here. We are not focused on ourselves, and we are not focused on those whose names are Yu. There is no Who’s on first scenario here. No our focus on others, valuing them, essentially our focus is on you not me. We get that from Matthew.
And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles. —Matthew 5:41
Now how do we get having a you first attitude from this? Historically and contextually, when this is written Rome was in charge, and they had soldiers all across the empire, and Israel was in their domain. There was a Roman law that would allow a soldier to pick someone and make them carry the soldier’s gear, but the limit to this was for 1 mile. After that, the soldier would have to let the person go back to their life. The Jews hated this, and this was considered very disrespectful and this was a particular hot topic in the day. Jesus is saying instead of going one mile, go two. This would mean you were made to go one, but go another, choose to willingly go, not because you are made so, but because you value the other person, which was Roman, which was not a popular idea.
How this applies to us today is to challenge our views in life, and to remember to remove the focus from us, and put it one God and others.
1 - Take the focus off ourselves and put it on God and his people
Do we teach a baby to be selfish? Do we teach a child that they need to also focus on themselves and not just on the other kids? Do we teach a child that their toys are their toys? No, we teach babies and children to share, to be aware of others, to share with others, because that is not natural for us. In our flesh there is the natural habits of the flesh of the world, but we are new creations, new people, and we live the new life that God calls us to.
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. —Philippians 2:3-4
We are called to have the interests of others, not just our own. What could I do to bless them? How can I help that person? What is a way to make this day special to someone? These are things we can ask to try and help us live this out for others. How can I be a good husband or wife today? How can I love on my friend? What is something I can do special for my kid? These focus on the other person, not ourselves.
Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor. —1 Corinthians 10:24
Now, this has 2 parts to it. First, we need to remember that we need to look to the benefit of our neighbor. We need to keep an eye on what is best for them, and try and lead, bless, show them we value them. What do I mean by that? There are times we can help people and we see the need. Maybe we know they need encouragement, sometimes there is something we can see and do for them, and we are encouraged to love on them by doing what we can for our neighbor.
The second part though is balancing our will to do, with their desires. What do I mean by this? We often want what is best for those we love, maybe our children, our friends, our families, but we have to allow them to say no, or to deny our offers.
For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” —Mark 10:45
We have read this verse a number of times this year, because this is a major focus we need to have. Jesus came to serve, not to be served, and if that was His focus, what should our focus be? Do we look for opportunities to love and serve or do we say sorry I don’t have the time, the money, the energy, the will to help right now? I am not saying we always help, we always sacrifice, but do we look at the situation as an opportunity or as a burden? Our focus and our heart should be focused that this is an opportunity, God, what do You want me to do in this? Am I to be Your hands and feet or is this something I pray about?
It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave —Matthew 20:26-27
Again, we are called to serve, and that can’t happen if we are the focus and if we are the center of everything. Others exist, and we need to interact with them.
2 - Be aware of others, and love them where they are at
We need to be aware of others, but in that awareness, we also need to love them where they are at. It is easy to get lost in good intentions, but really, where are they at and how can I love them needs to be the question we start with.
I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. —Ephesians 4:1-3
We will meet people who are knee deep in sin, who might be new and ignorant of Jesus, or maybe someone who is struggling with a lie from the enemy and they don’t know any better. We need to meet them where they are at, and love them there, and be patient and give time to help walk through things, and help them focus on Christ, because the more we are like Christ, the more of the old self dies, and the more lies are revealed and exchanged for truth.
We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. —Romans 15:1
We can sometimes assume people are a certain way, or maybe they need to be a certain way. We need to walk with people, and by walking that means going maybe slower than we want, and that might also mean they don’t look like you, but they are clearly still following Jesus.
Story?
12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. —Colossians 3:12-14
Loving others means sometimes we take action, and sometimes that action is just waiting and allowing them the time needed to grow and let God do what He is doing, even when we don’t see it.
3 - Loving others puts their needs above yours
Love is sacrificial, and that is not always fun, that does not always pay off for us here on earth, and quite frankly we sometimes just don’t want to, but we need to put others first, and then ourselves.
Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. —Romans 12:10
Ok, this is not a competition, but we should have that same zest I think when it comes to loving others. If you are competitive you know about the desire, that angst, that intensity that there is when competing, I think that is what we need in our drive to love others and show them honor. Again, not as a competition, not that you keep score, but to have that focus and desire to honor others.
How do we love and honor others?
In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. —Proverbs 3:6
Sometimes we will do something and it is absolutely loving and it is received well, and everything runs well, other times we do something that either doesn’t seem loving or it is nor received as loving, then we have an error. How do we avoid these, let’s talk to God and He can help.
Discipling a child is not fun, and it is easy to be seen as you are abusing the child, you are bullying the child, you are being mean to the child, yet any parent knows part of the job of being a parent is to train your child in the ways of God, and I don’t know about you, but I had to be taught self control, I had to be taught to be kind, and sharing, caring. That was not natural and my parents would punish me not because they didn’t love me, not because they wanted to see me suffer, but because they loved me they did the hard thing of hold me accountable for my misbehavior, not because that was what they thought were misbehaviors, but they were holding me accountable to God’s standards. Sometimes loving someone is hard on you.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. —1 John 4:11
Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all offenses. —Proverbs 10:12
Let all that you do be done in love. —1 Corinthians 16:14
Loving others is hard, and sometimes, there are people who really stretch out love, and demand a lot from us, and sometimes wonder is this really worth it? Here is a great reminder that not only are we called to love others, not only are we supposed to be like Christ where if He served others then we should to, but there are rewards that we are not even aware nor will we understand.
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. —Matthew 6:19-21
Jesus said they will know that we are His followers by our love. Our love for one another, not for the love of ourselves, for that love is the love of the world. When we engage this world, do we focus on me or do we focus on others first?