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Bro. Dave Huber II
Okay, well good morning.
I was asked to help out today and we're gonna get the awesome privilege of
hearing Brother Bill preach a sermon from the pulpit.
I've been asked to help do something like this a couple times and every time I
feel like I need a month to prepare.
I feel like it's a very, very big responsibility so
forgive me if I look tired or if I yawn a lot because I was up kind of late
trying to organize my thoughts we'll see.
But Christmas is upon us and so
I wanted to do something that's related to Christmas
not necessarily a Christmas message but I think it kind of could be called that because
well I don't have every Sunday and I won't get to go verse by verse through a Bible.
So I want to do something topical and so I chose something I've been studying a lot lately which is
love.
And since Jesus showed us the ultimate act of love and
and that was done in so many parts one of the main parts of that was
when he came to earth gave up the glory of heaven for us and and that right
there is our Christmas story right when he was born as a baby in the manger.
And so I wanted to share with you some of my my thoughts.
Some of them are almost
what's the word.
I'm like almost science fiction II in nature and they all sound science fiction II which they're not
fiction they're they're science II.
I should just say and then we'll get in some other stuff.
I don't know I don't know if I'll be able to get through all of it or if it'll go real fast so we'll
just go for it all right.
So if you would just open your Bibles to first John 4 7 and
we'll open with a word of prayer.
Thank you father for your amazing love.
Thank you for your word.
Thank you that it is truth and that we can learn more about you through it
and we can more about your love through it.
Help us to show your love helps to experience your love.
And father I just pray that you be with us this morning guide us through your scripture and
just pray that you be in control today.
We know you always are but help us to submit to that.
It's a Jesus name.
We pray.
Amen.
First John 4 7 beloved let us love one another.
For love is of God and everyone that loveth is born of God and
knoweth God.
Here we see a commandment.
This is something that we are supposed to do.
We're supposed to love each other.
And the reason we're supposed to love each other is
because love originates with God.
If you look up the word of it literally means to originate.
And I find that interesting because I know a lot of people who are lost who seemingly love
other people.
They seemingly love other things and they
will claim to love something but they don't know God.
And if love originates with God it almost seems like
it's impossible for them to actually love.
Now we know that this is a very particular kind of love that we're studying here that we're looking at this is a
got they love.
This is the love of God.
But what I think is interesting with this verse is that not only does it say love is of God meaning it
originates with God.
It says that everyone that loveth is born of God
which means the people who show this love originate with God as well
and they know God.
Now we go on down to verse 8.
He that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love.
And here's where things get a little sciencey.
I think this is interesting.
I know it's a verse that we've studied a ton and
when I've been studying love I've been trying to find certain
aspects of love in Scripture.
And I keep when I do all my Google searches and I keep looking for certain aspects of love.
I keep getting first John 4 8 that pops up and I started
pondering why is that.
So one of the aspects that I want to focus on about love is where is it
where is love.
And I and after much pondering I I came up with
first John 4 8 over and over again he that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love.
So I want to break that down but I want to do it going backwards.
I want to start with the end and go back to the beginning.
Is that okay with you guys all.
Right.
So let's start with for God is love.
To say that something is something else we use this phrase in in
algebra a lot.
What does it mean brother bill.
To say something is
correct.
Yeah it's a declarative statement of the equality of something that is equal to
right.
So to say that something is something else is to say that that something else is
equal to the something.
For example Katie is my wife.
She equals my wife.
So who is my wife.
My wife equals Katie.
My best friend equals Katie.
That's what Katie equals to me to her mom and her dad.
She equals something else.
She equals daughter and still yet different with
the kiddos.
She equals mommy to the kiddos.
And so while she doesn't equal mommy to me and she doesn't equal
daughter to me.
If I were to ask Katie what do you equal she could say I equal your wife.
I equal my parents daughter.
I equal my kids mommy.
I equal COO at Tradeway
and so many other things.
So this is an interesting concept because
I think to some degree I think it's fine to say God equals love.
Would you agree with that.
But I'm not so sure it's oh it's enough to say that love equals God.
In other words we're only looking at a certain aspect of God when we say love.
So you don't get the entirety of God.
But you do get the entirety of love when you look at God with
me so far.
Okay.
So we get the entirety of love just like you get the entirety of who's my wife.
When you talk about Katie you don't get the entirety of Katie but you get the entirety of who's my wife.
In this verse we have God telling us what he equals
God is saying God is love his his scriptures saying God is love.
Not that love is God but God is love.
So we get the entirety of what love is when we look at God
now I want to focus on the word is a little bit in a different light
because is not only means equals but it lives in the
present it lives in the now.
So I just think it's a really really cool word.
If you think about the fact that we serve the great I am who resides eternally in
the now it's a space between the moments in which you and I think and
live.
Because whenever we whenever we whenever we try to think of
something right we could think about the future.
But we're not there yet.
And by the time we have thought about what we're doing it's already a thought in the past.
By the time we do it it's in the past.
We are not the I am.
We are not in the present like God is in the present.
But what I think is really interesting is that
when we see God is love we see that God is the entirety of love but
also God is in the present
That's a weird way to say it.
But we say it like this
if God is in the present if that's where he resides in this space between the moments in
which you and I live and God equals love.
And let me ask a question where is love.
Where is love.
If God is in the present that's where he is.
And God equals love and love by algebraic
definition right by the by the ability to say that a equals B then
and B equals C then C must equal a right.
Love is in the present.
And so this gives us a little bit of a problem
that already has a solution.
We are not in the present right.
We don't reside in that space God does.
And yet we are told that we are supposed to love one another.
And if you look up the definition of the word love one another it actually is the same
kind of love.
It's an agape love.
So if we if we love one another if we show each other this
unconditional godlike love here's what's happening.
It is connecting us to a place where God is he is
eternally in the present.
And when we show this love that only we can show like oh we can only do it because
God saved us God.
It's one of those 33 things that David likes to talk about that he's done to us.
He gave us this agape love when he gave it to us and he put it in us he gave us
the ability to show it.
And that in a sense puts us in the
present with him.
It's almost like love is a portal to another dimension in which we can't reach
which I think is really neat thought.
I don't fully understand it yet.
I'm gonna keep studying it.
But it's it's like it.
We can't get to that dimension but we can see that dimension we can experience
effects of that dimension through this portal called love.
So it connects us to God in a really unique way.
All right.
So turn
to John chapter 13 33 and
I think it's interesting that it tells us let's kind of go before we get.
Before I go to John 30 13 35 or 13 33 I'm gonna
finish up what we started.
There we were we were looking at John 4 8 which is he that loveth not God or
loveth not knoweth not God.
For God is love.
So that we started at the end and now I want to go to the beginning of that verse he that loveth not knoweth not
God.
It's interesting that it says if you don't have this love if you don't have if you don't show this love you don't
know God.
And when you look at love is this sort of
existential portal to this other dimension that we can't reach it makes total sense.
Because if that's where God is and you don't have the portal how can you know God.
You can't know him.
It's just impossible to know him.
If you don't have this love that's why scripture tells us you will you will know them by their love one for another.
It's our distinguishing factor between us in the world is love.
It's this thing that connects us to him.
So that's what I wanted to finish up with John 1st John 4 8.
Go to the first of that verse.
You can't know God if you don't love because you're not with him you're not in his
presence without that love.
Now does that mean that we can disconnect from God when we're not showing love.
No the loves always in us.
It's always in it.
We may not always choose to show it.
But it's always there for us to access because God put it in us.
And once he puts it in us it's not gone.
Please do correct.
I love that.
That's because what does it mean.
It's like they missed the moment.
But it's not even a moment.
It's a place between the moments and in the only way we can linger on that place is by
connecting through this love is the fact that we have this love.
I mean and and and we have it whether we access it or not.
So we have the ability to linger in that moment and experience presence with God.
When we are accessing this love everybody else.
Just they don't even they don't even see it.
They don't even know it's there.
They have no way to know what's there until God says guess what.
There's this place between moments.
I'm here and here's how you access me.
I think that's great.
Thank you for that brother bill.
So John 1333 this has a really
cool really cool twist on it too.
I'm gonna I'm gonna pull it up on my phone here real quick because
but somebody read verse 32 for me.
Okay go to birth at 33.
Now read that for me.
Yeah that's the verse I wanted 33.
So I used to look at this verse and I used to think this is a
rule I'm supposed to follow.
This is where God literally says this is a commandment.
I'm giving it to you go love other people go love each other
and do it the way I loved you.
And I think we can all agree that kind of looks like something.
It's a it's a commandment.
It's a rule we're supposed to follow to some degree but in light of what we just studied it
takes on a new meaning.
It's really cool because I want you to think about what the disciples are experiencing
with Christ here he is literally telling them I'm leaving
and where I go you cannot follow.
Yeah let me do.
Where does he say that.
I thought that was in 32.
Oh is it at the end of 33.
Go ahead.
Yeah.
Let's see.
Yes that's it.
That's it.
Okay little children.
Yet a little while I am with you you shall seek me.
And as I said unto the Jews whither I go you cannot come.
So now I say to you so here imagine spending time with God in the
flesh for three whole years like walking hand -in -hand with Jesus literally
hand in physical hand and being with him
every moment of every day watching him perform miracles watching him change lives watching him
you know do wondrous things and outsmart the smartest people on earth.
And experiencing that firsthand.
Imagine laying on his chest like the Apostle the the disciple
John.
The one whom Jesus loved.
And then him saying I'm out of here and you can't follow me.
Imagine what that felt like to the disciples.
Like what.
No you're leaving.
And I think that Jesus understood that.
So he gave us a commandment as a response
to the fact that I'm leaving and you can't be with me now you can't get where I'm going.
You can't go there.
So I give to you a new commandment that you
love one another as I have loved you
love ye one another.
So it's like Jesus is saying I'm leaving.
You can't go where I'm going.
But we can still be together if you'll do this and then eat
like that's a whole new meaning to the to the verse.
At least to me.
Like I hadn't seen that it's it's not just a commandment for us to go do for other people.
It's a commandment for us to experience Jesus for ourselves.
Uh -huh.
Mm
-hmm.
But he added something.
Didn't he.
Oh I love that.
Yes.
Isn't that cool.
Like he didn't tell the Jews how to do that.
He said you can't go where I'm going.
But he added something for us.
He said you can't go where I'm going either.
But love one another.
And you'll.
It's like you'll experience where I am.
It's so cool.
So a new commandment I give unto thee that you love one another as I have loved you
that ye also love one another.
Now think about what it must have been like for those disciples.
Remember love is in the present.
Love is the is eternally.
Now it's a way to connect to Christ and think about those
disciples.
If God is leaving where are your thoughts.
Oh no right.
And how long until I get to see you again.
That's that's the only place where these disciples thoughts were.
I promise you they weren't thinking about what am I gonna do while he's gone.
They're thinking about how do I get back to him and Christ.
He had that off right at the beginning he said you're not gonna get to go where I'm going.
But here's how you get to me.
It's kind of like my little girl Maddie.
So Maddie Grace has this friend Meadow who has become
almost an adopted fourth child in our home.
She has spent so many days in our home that like they have a they have a planner at
school.
This planner is something that they have to get signed every day by their parents.
They have to have a parent signature for each daily task in school.
Our little girl Maddie and Meadow have discovered that Meadow has Katie's signature in her
planner for at least once a week for the past year at least once a week because she
maybe spent the night at our house and her mom couldn't do the right in the planner.
So Katie had to.
She spends so many days and nights at our house that we have given her part of Maddie's closet.
She has a an alarm clock that is hers that she leaves at our house because she's just like one of our
kids.
Practically the yesterday I was making breakfast I almost made too many breakfasts because
Meadow wasn't there.
And so even though Meadow is always at our house and Maddie always loves spending time with Meadow
she just it's it's just life to her.
Right now when Meadow goes home guess what the first thing Maddie starts doing is
I mean Meadow is walking towards her mommy to be leaving and Maddie's turning and
already asking when is Meadow gonna come back.
When can I get back to Meadow.
She doesn't want to think about life without Meadow.
Just like we don't really want to think about what life is like without Christ.
Too often we experience what life is like without Christ because we disconnect from that
agape love.
We we get busy with things that are important
things that are good but we lose sight of the connection
that we're supposed to have with Christ.
If we will always connect with him then everything else
that gets busy in our lives everything else that gets us distracted will not become a distraction but rather become an
enhancement to our life with Christ.
Maddie's been doing that kind of thing since she was itty -bitty.
She didn't want to go to sleep.
She just always wanted to be awake.
So whenever she would wake up the first words out of her mouth no bedtime.
When she's itty -bitty we'd be starting the day she'd already be negotiating for no bedtime
later that night because she knew where she wanted to be.
So I think under I think Jesus understands this about us.
He knows that he's he left and we want to be with him.
So he gave us this connection to to be with him.
So there are a couple of things I want to look at in how to experience love.
Because we know we want to experience it.
We know we want to access it.
Because if we access it we get to be present with Christ.
So I want to look at a couple of things that I've been sharing.
I've been doing some Devo's at Tradeway and these are some of the things I've been studying about love
to show us how to experience it something that we can actually apply to our lives right now.
And I think the more we understand what love is where it resides and where it comes from the easier it becomes for us to
access it.
So I want to turn to Isaiah 59
16.
Let's
talk about this amazing commandment that lets us be with Jesus.
We must love one another the way Christ has loved us.
And that's a pretty high standard that sets the bar pretty high.
Would you agree.
I mean we're gonna fall short of it every time.
But fortunately the Bible is pretty clear about how Christ loved us.
So all we have to do is read about that love and then try our best to imitate that
So here we go.
I want us to think about where does it start.
We know that if God is love and God there is no beginning and there is no end.
You could almost say there is there is no real start to love.
It's it's got this aspect that you can't find the beginning of it.
It's which makes it even cooler because it's it's a of love that you can never find the end of.
You can't find the beginning to it.
You can't find the end of it.
It's it's eternal like God is eternal because it's part of it's part of who he is.
But our first recognition of it towards us is when
we see Christ and the Father and the Holy Spirit the Trinity of God
working together to create to plan out creation.
And we see here in Isaiah 59 the three of them are are talking.
They're they're basically planning out what they're gonna do is before God said let there be light before he
formed the heavens and the earth before he made man from the dust of the earth and the beast of the field.
He before he breathed life into our nostrils and gave us a name.
He is already planning out the environment in which he was going to show his love
the void in which his love was going to fill and the
way in which he was going to connect us to that love.
Here we have God an eternal being existing
by himself of himself for himself
and he has this desire to share who he is with
someone or something and so he plans it all out.
I thought I had this verse in my in my notes.
So would someone read it for me.
Isaiah 59 16.
It's a
weird kind of verse because it he saw that there was no man.
It shows us this is before we created and wondered there was no intercessor.
And then it shows that he he feels that need.
Therefore his own arm brought salvation for him and his own righteousness
and sustained him meaning it sustained man all right.
So there was no man.
And yet before there was man.
God's in his infinite foreknowledge in his his
ability to plan out this whole game of life.
He says man is in need of an intercessor and there is no
intercessor for man.
So I'm gonna be that intercessor and he becomes that intercessor for us.
So that's where love starts for us is when God says I'm going to
show it and this is how I'm going to show it.
So it started in the mind of God and then it's played out through creation when he
forms us and he and he had us eat of the
knowledge of good and evil.
I know we were told not to by God but it was all part of his plan.
I was I'm going through this really cool.
It's like a class from Hillsdale Bible College and pop started it to have you gotten very far
through it yet.
Pop.
Well you're a little further than I am because I started really really started it yesterday or day before.
And one of the coolest things that it's talking about in that is the creation of
man and Adam and Eve in particular.
And they were told not to eat of the garden or not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil.
And what he brings out is that we all look at this tree as if it's a bad thing.
But it wasn't a bad thing it was a good thing.
We were just told not to do a particular thing with it.
And he even goes as far to say look at its name.
It is the knowledge the tree of the knowledge of what good and evil.
So that means that when they ate of the tree they got a double portion of knowledge.
They got a portion of good and they got a portion of evil.
And what's interesting about it is that
it instantly created shame in their lives.
Because all of a sudden their eyes were opened.
They knew that they were naked.
They knew that they they had something to be ashamed of.
And what I think is really cool about the good side of this fruit is that it must
give them an even better picture of how good God is compared
to their newfound knowledge of this evil.
So the more they thought about the good that they received this knowledge of good from God the more they
realized how bad they were.
And the more they thought about how bad they were the more good God seemed to
them.
So it created this this ever -growing gap between their
their evil and God's goodness.
It was really interesting really interesting thought so to fill this gap.
God saw that this gap was gonna need to be filled.
He saw that they were gonna eat of the tree.
He saw that that it was going to cause them to realize just how evil they were and how good I am.
And it there.
It's an infinite gap that could never be filled by man.
So I'm the only one that can do it.
So I'm gonna do it.
And that's where God's love for us started.
It's really cool.
I think what we can learn how to apply
this to our lives is that if we're gonna show this kind of love to each other we have to
be intentional.
We have to plan it out.
It takes planning it takes work to show this love.
You can't just I mean there are ways we can show this love in the moment and be in and
react in love.
When someone may not show us love we can react with love and that's showing it a God
type love.
But if you really want to show this agape love to each other plan it out be
intentional try to be present with the people you are around
understand what they're going through understand what their needs are and think about how can
you meet the needs.
This is something I want to be very intentional about personally I want to I want to be a
little bit more aware of what other people are going on through what are they
experiencing and how can I fill certain voids in their life.
So let let's move on.
Let's go to John chapter 15 verse 13.
This is another verse that we are extremely familiar with
something that we've studied and studied and studied a lot.
But if we look at what Christ has done and what he is planned out then it takes on a pretty
cool new meaning as well.
Greater love hath no man than this that a man laid down his life for his
friends.
How many of y 'all have read this verse a lot.
How many times do we picture Christ on the cross when we read this verse.
Almost every time.
Like so many times we picture Christ on the cross when we think about him laying down his life for
his friends.
But I want us to think about what Christ had to do in order for the cross to be
effective.
What did he have to do.
He had to make the sacrifice of giving up
himself and his his glory in heaven to come to
earth.
So it meant ignoring his own desires to come to earth.
And while he was at earth
correct he had to live a perfect life in order for the
cross to even be effectual for the cross to have any effect whatsoever.
Christ had to live perfectly.
And it wasn't easy to do.
And if you think well he was God so of course it was easier for him.
He sweat blood.
I've worked extremely hard in my life before I have worked.
I've worked outside done manual labor.
I've worked in the dead heat of summer I have in basketball games I have I have
poured every ounce of my being into trying to to
overwork at a particular task.
And I have worked till I've thrown up before I have worked till I was so
sweaty like you get the salt.
You can see the salt from your sweat all over your clothes.
I've worked as hard as I know humanly possible how to work.
I've experienced and if you've never tried that before do it.
It's a really neat experience because when you've done it makes you feel different.
But I've never worked so hard that I started sweating blood have you.
I don't know if it's even possible for man to work that hard but Christ did he
worked that hard to be perfect for us so that he could
die and have this perfect sacrifice for us and fill that gap so that
no longer would we have to look at how evil we were in comparison to how
good God was and never have a way to bridge the gap.
Now we could look at how good Christ was and that his Christ that his
goodness covered our evil so that the the gap is filled instantly.
There's there is no void.
And so when we read John chapter 15
verse 13 greater love hath no man than this.
That a man laid down his life for his friends.
I think it's interesting to think of it from the perspective of Christ laid down his life.
Not he didn't just die he he lived his entire
life 33 years perfectly for us.
And the only reason why he did it was because he had his eyes on the prize.
And what was the prize.
A reuniting of man with God that was Christ's prize.
He wanted us to experience what he experiences every day
and so he wanted to fill that void and the only way he could do it was if he
never made a single mistake which means the only way he could never make a single
mistake was to never forget why he was doing it.
That meant that we were 100 always on Christ's mind always
we never he never forgot about us for even a moment because in a moment it's all it
takes to sin right.
And we experience that like we can be walking with Christ and then in one moment let go of his
hand and boom we find ourselves sinning.
And it can in my life it it's frustrating and I don't even understand how it
works where I'll be walking with Christ and I'll feel close to him.
And within the same day it can become the worst day of of my life.
It feels like like I can't believe I'm this bad.
Like that I can and it bugs me even more.
I start to experience what Adam and Eve experienced in the garden when that happens because I
remember what what I was experiencing at the beginning of the day and I remember how good it was.
And at the end of the day I'm like how bad am I.
I must be so so bad because I got to this point when I was at that point it
makes it makes sin seem so much worse.
And yet Christ never even for one moment forgot his connection with God
or forgot his desire to connect man with God.
Not even for one whole moment for 33 years no wonder he was sweating blood and he did that with
us on his mind.
So if we want to show this agape love not only do we need to be intentional and
plan out and be present with the people that that have that are around us that have voids they have
needs in their lives.
We need to in order to even be able to do that we have to be thinking of each other.
Our thoughts have to be for the other person not for us.
And that's hard for us to do.
Because even when we think about doing something good for someone else what do we think.
They're gonna love me for this.
They're gonna they're gonna be so thankful for this.
They're gonna I can't wait to see the look on their face when I'll be like I can't say it too loud.
We got something really awesome for the kiddos for Christmas Katie.
And I can't wait to show it to him.
Because we can't wait to see their reaction for us.
It's kind of a selfish thing to be honest.
I mean we we love giving it to them but partly because we love getting the reaction that
they give back to us.
So it's kind of a difficult thing for us to to always have our thoughts
towards the other person.
Because we know there's gonna be a reaction.
We know there's gonna be something that they get in return for us.
And I and I don't think it's wrong to think about that but you got to be aware that it can become
a selfish thing.
I do think that Christ when he thinks about us he can't wait to see the looks on our faces.
He can't wait to see what it's like for us to be present with him in heaven
but at the same time he doesn't lose sight of the fact that there is a
need for us.
So it doesn't become a selfish thing like I can't wait to experience this with them.
It's I can't.
It's like this eternal.
I can't wait for them to experience it.
It's a hundred percent selfless with Christ.
And so we've got to practice that because we're not gonna be very good at it.
I think we can get better at it the more we think about all right what else can I do
for them.
And that's the way we we get better at it once we figure out what we can do for each other
and we start to work towards doing it.
Instead of dwelling on what the reaction is going to be for us we should be looking towards what's the next thing we can do
And that will keep that in the forefront of our minds.
I mean if you think about all the different things Christ has done for us it's not just you're going to heaven.
He's building more and more layers into this salvation experience for us.
And it keeps us it keeps his mind eternally on us.
Let's go to Romans chapter 5 verse 8.
And we're running out of time.
So we'll wrap it up with this.
I've got it.
I've got a question after this one.
This is the last point I have on what is love like.
And then I've got a question for us.
But God commandeth his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.
This verse shows us that love is a one -way street.
It is not a two -way street.
He didn't love us because of something we did.
He didn't love us.
He doesn't love us if we obey him.
He doesn't even love us in spite of who we are.
Because if he loved us for that reason because you know man man does this.
Sometimes we get where we will love.
We'll show someone love in spite of who they are to show how great we are you see.
But if that person ever changed then that that would mess up
our love for them.
But that doesn't happen with Christ.
Because he doesn't love us in spite of who are who we are.
Because he doesn't love in spite.
Man has this perverted idea of what love is.
So we will look at someone and we'll say I love you in spite.
What a horrible thing to say how.
How is it even possible to love someone in spite them at the same time.
Like that's what we do though.
And Christ doesn't love us in spite.
He loves us just because he has the ability to because it is in his nature to because he
can.
So he does.
And so it is a one -way street.
Scripture tells us we were enemies with Christ and yet he died for us.
So while we're spitting on him while we're beating him while we're abusing him and while we still do that
today post salvation we still treat him poorly.
It never even affects his love for us.
It is a one -way street.
So how can we show this to someone else.
Think about how to each other and
just love.
Whether they're good.
Whether they're bad whether they're happy whether they're sad.
I'm starting to sound like dr. Seuss because I'm rhyming like just love.
I read a book one time I can't remember the name of it but it had a really cool phrase where it said it's just love
period.
I said it's not if love not because love not in spite of love.
It's just love period.
I think it was every man's battle.
I think that might have been it but it's a great
idea.
Spurgeon wrote a sermon Oh how he loves.
And it describes in much better detail than I have Christ's love for us what it has done for
us and what it has done to us.
But he ends his message with this question do you
love Christ.
I've been talking this whole time about loving each other
and how do we do it.
But then we have to ask ourselves do we love God.
If we do.
If we love him as the disciple John did then our thoughts
will always be with him.
If we want to lay upon his chest and experience the closeness of Christ we have to be
humble.
We have to be broken.
Scripture tells us that he draws near to the broken -hearted.
We have to understand our complete evilness and
how he's covered us with it with his love.
He's covered it with his love and bridged the gap.
We have to understand that in order to experience this and be present with Christ to be in the
eternal now with him we have to show this love one for another even
as Christ has loved us.
And that brings a whole new meaning to another scripture.
When Christ asked Peter do you love me.
Yes Lord I love you.
And feed my sheep.
Do you love me Peter.
Of course I do.
Feed my lambs.
Do you love me.
Feed my sheep if you love God and you want to
be with God.
If you want to be in the present with God.
It requires acts of service.
It requires planning.
It requires thinking of other people because that's how he told us to connect to him
to connect to each other.
And so in Christmas I think it's a really neat time
for us to celebrate God's love because
we show each other that love we we share it.
We talk about his love but then we show it with each other.
And so that's what it's about.
I think it's cool.
It's didn't think I'd get all emotional about it but it's cool.
Yeah love.
That's all I have for today.
But I do want you guys to help me love.
So like if you have a need in your life tell me about it.
I know I'm busy I've got kids I've got work I travel a lot.
Sometimes I miss church and stuff.
But sometimes I'm here too.
And one thing that I do love to do something that I get enjoyment out of.
I'll be honest I like to see the looks on people's faces when I help them.
It's a little bit selfish but I do.
But it can help you know.
And so help me love you.
If you have a need in your life if even if it's just something where I pray for you or if it's something where you need me to come do
something for you.
It's a great it's a great opportunity for me to show my kids how to show the love of Christ.
I'll bring them along with me.
You have something that you need let me know.
And I'd like to do something for you.
Questions comments.
Anybody really appreciate brother bill adding what he added to that.
Because it's a really neat distinction.
God has given us where no no one else has that access.
The Jews didn't have that access but Christ gave us access to him even though he left for a
while.
So let's experience that together.
Anything else all right.
Let's let's pray.
Emily father Lord we just thank you for your love.
We thank you that you showed us your love in an infinite way.
That you came to earth as a humble servant gave up your
glory in heaven.
And you lived a perfect life with only us.
And your father in mind you saw a gap between us and him.
You saw our evil compared to his goodness.
And you saw and even wondered that there was no intercessor for us.
And you said I'll do it.
And your salvation does sustain us.
And we thank you for that.
Or we pray that we really want to experience you.
We want to be with you.
And we know that you are not physically on this earth with us but you gave us your
spirit.
And with that spirit in us we have a way to connect to you in the
eternal present by showing your love.
When we show love to each other we are showing God to each other.
And Lord we thank you for that.
We thank you for bridging the gap.
And we thank you for giving us a connection with God.
We pray that we never take it for granted.
We know we will.
We pray that you cleanse us from all unrighteousness help us to get back up
and try again and help us to remember so that we take it for granted less and less.
Thank you for Christmas and what it means.
Thank you for each other.
That we have each other to to be able to experience you.
Because without someone to show this love to we couldn't experience you.
So we thank you for that father.
And we just pray that you bless us and keep us this week.
It's in Jesus name.