We always live out of our character
- Our character is shaped by:
- our core identity
- our beliefs about the best way to live
- our experiences, from other people and from God
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- Once read a story of a boy who had three pet rats, and a pet cat
- He decided they ought to be able to get along and he would train them to
- So he made the cat sit and watch the rats run around
- but as soon as he was out of the room...
- Very cross with the cat, but he had no right to be
- That is what a cat is, it is its character
- First we will look at some Scriptures in 1 John
- Then we will have a lot of stories and practical examples
1. The character of a loving person in 1 John 2 & 3
It’s about core identity—born of God
- If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
- See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.
- Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
- And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.
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- One of the main areas that this new identiy shows up is God’s love inside us, loving others
God’s love inside us, loving others
- By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
- For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
- We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother....
- We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
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- notice the way he reasons here:
- He doesn’t say, “love one another or you will die and not live”
- But, the reason we know we have God’s life is that it shows itself in love
- In fact, it is a major cause for assurance:
Assurance 1 John 3:19
- By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him;
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- So the first point about character is that it is something we inherit from our father
- boy in the youth club who always mumbled. (then I met he dad!)
- So the first point:
- A. It is about our core identity—we are born of God
- Anne told the story of The Redemption of General Butt Naked
B. Our beliefs about the best way to live
- Everyone always does what they believe is in their best interests!
- Did Jesus think it was in his own best interests to go to the cross?
- A core part of the Christian life is a trust in God that it is worth obeying him
- So, back to the text:
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- Everyone always does what they believe is in their best interests!
- Is that always true?
- What if you are forced to do something against your will? (like handing over your wallet to the man with the gun)
- You still think that it is in your best interests
- What about the ex-alcoholic who decides he can just go and have one drink
- and then he decides to have another —does he believe it is in his best interests? (at that moment, yes!)
- Did Jesus think it was in his own best interests to go to the cross?
- yes, because he believed that the father would raise him up
- for the “joy that was set before him” (=us !!)
- Satan’s ultimate and total defeat and the destruction of evil
- A core part of the Christian life is a trust in God that it is worth obeying him
- that our best interests lie in doing his will
- Is this selfish? (I once had a long debate with a philosophy student about this)
- Not really, because our best interests, others’ best interests and God’s best interests all align
- to obey God optimizes all three
- It is not actually wrong to seek what is good for us (God has made us that way)
- What is wrong is if we don’t trust God with the answer
- So, back to the text:
1 John 4
- So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
- By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.
- There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.
- Giving ourselves in love is the way to life
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- Giving ourselves in love is the way to life
- Jesus said that if a seed died, it would bring forth fruit
- If we lay down our life, then God will raise us up again
- Image of a sump
- Do you trust him? —that is really what it comes down to
- What God wants us to do more than anything else is simply to trust him
- This trust is counted as righteousness
- But what does trust look like? It looks like following the path that Jesus showed us in self-denying love
1 John 3 —it really pleases Jesus
- and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him.
- And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us.
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- Does that mean he won’t answer our prayers if we don’t love one another ??
- No, but loving others will take us to that place God wants us to be in where he has very good things for us
- e.g. Mother says to boy: I want you to clean your room, and make sure to clean under the bed
- Unknow to him, she has put a present for him under the bed
- In the act of obedience, we position ourselves to get the best gifts from God?
- Do you really believe this?
- Whether or not you do is key!
- Your belief in the character of God and his heart for you when he tells you to do things
So far... Character shaped by:
- It is about our core identity—we are born of God
- Our beliefs about the best way to live
- character is also formed from experiences:
- Our experiences, from other people and from God
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- Our character is formed in a large part from our exerience
- Jesus said “she loves much because she has been forgiven much”
1 John 4
- By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
- And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world.
- Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God....
- We love because he first loved us.
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2. What it means to have a Loving Character
- The example of Jesus
- Compassion: Mark 6:31, he said to his disciples, “Come away to an unihabited area and rest”
- But a great crowd managed to follow him, and Jesus, even though exhausted, “had compassion on them”
- A widow who’s only son had died, (Luke 7:13) We read that he had compassion and raised the son from the dead
- He had humility, and even washed the disciples feet, and told us we were to do this
- What does this mean? (some groups practice it as a ceremony)
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2. What it means to have a Loving Character
- Even on the cross, he spared a moment from saving the world to care for his mother
- If anyone could say, “don’t bother me, I’m doing something important” it was Jesus on the cross!!!!
- Finally, he suffered and died for us
- The amazing thing is that he seems to think that this is something we should copy!
- 1 John 3:16 “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.”
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- The Emotional Bank Account
- Seven Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Cory, p.188f
Six Major Deposits
- Understanding the Individual
- Attending to Little Things
- Keeping Commitments
- Clarifying Expectations
- Showing Personal Integrity
- Apologizing Sincerely when you make a Withdrawal
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- Some more comments about character:
- Looking for opportunities
- one of the things that most impressed me about my parents when I was growing up was how much they loved each other
- They were constantly looking for opportu
- Doing it “for Jesus”, the very best we can
- Rember a teenage girl telling me that sometimes when she set the table, she would imagine that there was a great prince secretly watching her, and he would be pleased with her work and come in and sweep her away
- Humility
- Is it possible to be proud and loving at the same time?
- essence of love is lifting up the other person
- Not about “rights” and “fairness”
- Think of others higher than ourselves
- Etienne running for the door
- Don’t just serve the important people
- (Man who picked him up from the airport was always biggest problem)
- Motivation is key
- Crabb “I hope people are watching this”
- Pharisees giving publically and praying on the street corners
- values the person, not just a “scalp”
So far...
- Character shaped by:
- It is about our core identity—we are born of God
- Our beliefs about the best way to live
- Our experiences, from other people and from God
- What it means to have a Loving Character
- So how is this not a burden?
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3. How is this not a burden?
- 1 John 5:3 “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.”
- It’s already in you to love
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- It’s already in you to love
- If Jesus is in you, then this love is in you!
- Ok, Andrew, then if it is in me, why does it not always come out?
- Streetcar tracks coverd with mud and dirt
- You don’t need to build the tracks, but you might have to (with God’s strength) shift some dirt
- You need to know where to find the tracks
- Legalism and performance is when we try and make our own tracks —that is burdensome
- My goal this evening is to encourage you that each of you already has the tracks
- to help you find where they are
- and convince you that it is in your own best interests to uncover them!
- Everyone pray for 30 seconds and ask God to show you one person you can show more love to in this coming week
- Let’s put it into practice the rest of the evening
Updated on 2011-09-13 by Andrew Fountain
