Unconditional Love – The Missing Ingredient (part 2)

Five Things to Know about Unconditional Love (2)

10.18.2020

Introduction

At our prayer meeting on Saturday, October 3, the Holy Spirit led us down a “trail” of praying about the need for love in the body of Christ as a response to the antagonism of the day.

We are called to love people who don’t like us, who disagree with us, who say mean and nasty things about us.

How are you doing with that?

Jesus taught us that we should love our enemies and pray for those who use us to their advantage.

Yet, today, there is venom, anger, animosity, revenge, vitriol, hatred, malice, sarcasm, blasphemous words, vindictiveness, and division everywhere in our culture.

It’s in the news media, in ALL internet social media outlets – Facebook, Youtube, Instagram. Twitter, Parlor, Snapchat, Tic-Toc etc.

The flesh wants to retaliate when others say or do things that are offensive.

How are you doing with that?

Galatians 5:16-21 (Passion Translation)

As you yield freely and fully to the dynamic life and power of the Holy Spirit, you will abandon the cravings of your self – life. (17) For your self – life craves the things that offend the Holy Spirit and hinder him from living free within you! And the Holy Spirit’s intense cravings hinder your old self – life from dominating you! So then, the two incompatible and conflicting forces within you are your self – life of the flesh and the new creation life of the Spirit.

(18) But when you are brought into the full freedom of the Spirit of grace, you will no longer be living under the domination of the law, but soaring above it! (19) The cravings of the self-life are obvious: Sexual immorality, lustful thoughts, pornography, (20) chasing after things instead of God, manipulating others, hatred of those who get in your way, senseless arguments, resentment when others are favored, temper tantrums, angry quarrels, only thinking of yourself, being in love with your own opinions, (21) being envious of the blessings of others, murder, uncontrolled addictions, wild parties, and all other similar behavior. Haven’t I already warned you that those who use their “freedom” for these things will not inherit the kingdom realm of God!

God has given us a new love so we can love the way He does.

Romans 5:5 (NKJV)

Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

1 John 3:14 (TPT)

Yet we can be assured that we have been translated from spiritual death into spiritual life because we love the family of believers. A loveless life remains spiritually dead.

Two words set this kind of love apart:

Unconditional

Self-sacrificial

Five things we need to know about love:

1. Jesus gave the Jews two commandments to love that absorb the TEN.

Matthew 22:35-40

Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ (40) On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Romans 13:8-10 (NLT)

Owe nothing to anyone—except for your obligation to love one another. If you love your neighbor, you will fulfill the requirements of God’s law. 9 For the commandments say, “You must not commit adultery. You must not murder. You must not steal. You must not covet.” These—and other such commandments—are summed up in this one commandment: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to others, so love fulfills the requirements of God’s law.

2. Jesus gave believers a new commandment which, if obeyed, fulfills all others.

John 13: 34-35

A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

3. Love cures strife and keeps the dark kingdom out of your life.

James 3:14-16 (NKJV)

But if you have bitter envy and self-seeking in your hearts, do not boast and lie against the truth. 15 This wisdom does not descend from above, but is earthly, sensual, demonic. 16 For where envy and self-seeking exist, confusion and every evil thing are there.

James 3:14-16 (AMPL)

But if you have bitter jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry, selfish ambition) in your hearts, do not pride yourselves on it and thus be in defiance of and false to the Truth. 15 This [superficial] wisdom is not such as comes down from above, but is earthly, unspiritual (animal), even devilish (demoniacal). 16 For wherever there is jealousy (envy) and contention (rivalry and selfish ambition), there will also be confusion (unrest, disharmony, rebellion) and all sorts of evil and vile practices.

James 3:14-16 (TPT)

But if there is bitter jealousy or competition hiding in your heart, then don’t deny it and try to compensate for it by boasting and being phony. 15 For that has nothing to do with God’s heavenly wisdom but can best be described as the wisdom of this world, both selfish and devilish. 16 So wherever jealousy and selfishness are uncovered, you will also find many troubles and every kind of meanness.

Strife is necessary for Satan to work at his best!

As oxygen fuels a fire, strife fuels darkness. What happens when you starve a fire of oxygen?

Cover your candle in a jar with the top, and what happens?

Satan seeks to stifle your walk with God through strife.

 

1 Corinthians 3:1-3

And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. 2 I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able; 3 for you are still carnal. For where there are envy, strife, and divisions among you, are you not carnal and behaving like mere men?

Babies are sweet until they don’t get their way.

Philippians 2:3 (KJV)

Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

 

2 Timothy 2:24 (NKJV)

And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, 25 in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, 26 and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will.

 

4. Jesus introduced the concept of loving your enemies to the disciples.

Matthew 5: 38-44 (NKJV)

You have heard that it was said, ‘An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.’ 39 But I tell you not to resist an evil person. But whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. 40 If anyone wants to sue you and take away your tunic, let him have your cloak also. 41 And whoever compels you to go one mile, go with him two. 42 Give to him who asks you, and from him who wants to borrow from you do not turn away. 43 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect.

 

They were accustomed to eye-for-eye tooth-for-tooth. I will do to you what you do to me. This love was foreign to them.

Matthew 5:44-48 (MSG)

I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
In a word, what I’m saying is, Grow up. You’re kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.

 

5. This love is like an alien to our world.

1 John 3:1 (NKJV)

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

 

This Love is a Stranger.

What manner of – Gk – potapen –

from what country, tribe or race; something foreign;

Other translations – from what far realm; what unearthly; how otherworldly…

Wuest, Volume III, p. 143

The foreign kind of love produced in us by the Holy Spirit constitutes us a foreign kind of person to the people of this world, and since they do not understand foreigners, people of a different race from themselves, they simply do not understand Christians. Children of God could just as well have come to earth from a strange planet so far as the people of the world are concerned. They are strangers to them.

This is by far the most difficult thing you will ever do.

 

This love will cause people to notice a difference in you, and will become the oil, as it were, in the machinery of relationships.

Action Points:

1. What would need to change in me for the two great commandments to get top priority each day?
2. What makes the love of God look so different from human love?
3. Talk about Matthew 5:43-44 and how it could change a current difficult relationship.

What life does to me is determined by what life finds in me!