Dial In with Jonny Ardavanis - Love One Another Pt. 2

Episode Date: March 5, 2024

In this episode, Jonny Ardavanis breaks down eight expressions of Christian love: Those being 1. Humble-hearted service; 2. Kindness; 3. Tenderheartedness; 4. Encouragement; 5. Patience; 6. Comforting 7. Truth-telling 8. SacrificialWatch VideosVisit the Website Follow on InstagramFollow on Twitter

Hey folks, my name is Johnny Artavanis and this is Dial In. I want to thank you all for continuing to listen to the Dial In podcast and I'm grateful for those of you who continue to share this podcast with others and on social media. My heart is that more and more people would come to know Jesus Christ and to know his precious word. Now in this episode, I am continuing the series that I have been in on the local church. This is part seven in that series. And this is the second episode wherein I am going to focus specifically on the call for believers to love one another within the body of Christ. Let's dial in. Now, in our previous episode, we looked at the high calling the believer has to love one another.

Jesus says in John 13, 35, Meaning that the Christian's love for other Christians is the evidence to the watching world that they truly do belong to Jesus. Not only are we commanded to love one another, Jesus says that we are commanded to love to a degree and quality that the world knows nothing about. Jesus says in John 13, 34, that we are to love one another, how much? He says, just as I have loved you.

Think about that for a moment. Jesus says, love others say in John 15, verse 12, This is my commandment, that you love one another just as I have loved you again. Then he says in verse 13, And then John 15, 17 says, Now what is the model of the, that you love one another. Now, what is the model of the believer's love for one another? What's the model?

What's the example? Well, it's Jesus Christ's love for his own. And considering Jesus' love for his own, I want to, in this episode, consider the various expressions of love. We considered the command to love and the quality of love in our previous episode, and now I want to consider eight distinct expressions or eight manifestations of Christ-like love. I want to ask you, even before we begin, do you love other people in the body of Christ? Do you love the people within your church? Do you love believers? And as we examine these various expressions of love,

I want you to ask as you think through them, are these characteristics evident in my life? Okay, so eight expressions of love. The first of which is that true love is humble service. I want to show you in scripture a mind-boggling, pride-smashing, love-cultivating humility. And I want to look at with you really at the account of Jesus on the night of his betrayal. And he manifests for us humble love, humble service in action. When we go to the dinner at the final Passover, Jesus is with his disciples. And he gets down on his hands and knees and he begins to wash their feet. You likely know that feet are disgusting in present times, but even more so in ancient times

where they walked with sandals along dirt roads and didn't have any running water. And yet the king who is lofty is not so haughty as to take off his outer garments and begin to serve. You cannot get any lower than this, but true greatness in the kingdom of God consists in humble service. And this is the first expression of love. If you wanna love other people, you need to have a life's motto, a life slogan.

I am a humble hearted servant of others. Jesus said, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Let me just ask you, how much spiritual gifting does washing someone's feet require? None. Washing feet requires no spiritual gifting, just a humble heart. What's the fruit of humility? Well, isn't it obvious?

The fruit of humility is service. And Jesus demonstrates his love by his humble servant hearted attitude. In Matthew 20, 28, we read that he did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. The ironic thing, even about that conversation in which Jesus manifests that humble hearted service is that the disciples were having a conversation, an argument amongst them about who was the greatest. And in the middle of that conversation, Jesus gets down on his hands and knees and begins to wash their feet. I could spend many weeks on this subject, but I want to begin to frame your thinking. Love is a verb. It's not just a feeling. It's an action. And that action is

manifested in humblehearted service towards one another. The second manifestation or expression of love is that true love is kind. Ephesians 4.32 says, be kind to one another. Let me ask you, why is true love kind? Well, the answer is very simple, because God has been kind to you. In 1 Peter 2.9, it says that those who are saved are those who have tasted, what? The kindness of the Lord.

1 Corinthians 13 says that love is patient. And then it says it is kind. And then goes on to explain what kindness is. It actually says that kindness and love, it says, are not jealous. This is an interesting thing to put into a context about love. But it says here that true kindness is not jealous. This is an interesting thing to put into a context about love, but it says here that true kindness is not jealous. In 1 John, it says that the antonym of brotherly love is the way that Cain treated his brother, and he did not love him. He murdered him.

Cain literally slaughtered Abel like an animal is the idea in Hebrew. And the question is why? Well, it's because Cain was jealous that the Lord had regard for Abel. He hated Abel because he was jealous of Abel. And his anger soared, his countenance fell, because he couldn't fathom someone having what he wanted. Do you know what is interesting about the story with Cain and Abel when Cain kills Abel? Moments before, Cain was at a worship service. He was bringing his offering to God. He was religious, and yet in his heart, he was full of hatred and jealousy. But true love is kind. It's caring. Now, how does kindness reveal itself?

Well, the third expression is that true love is tenderhearted. Ephesians 4.32 says, be kind to one another, comma, tenderhearted. True love is tenderhearted kindness. Remember that I said that love is not just a feeling? This much is true. It is a command we obey through the power of the Holy Spirit. However, while it may be said that love is more than a feeling, you need to understand that love does involve a feeling. In Romans 12, 9, it says, let love be without hypocrisy, meaning that our love for one another is not merely a gritty grind in an attempt to display outward affection towards one another as we suck it up and serve them. It is actually something that God does in our hearts so that we are tenderhearted towards other people.

Consider what 1 Peter says in 1 Peter 1.22. He says, Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls, watch this, for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently towards one another because we think that we cannot produce a feeling within our heart. So then we conclude that this is not a real command that we must obey.

And we therefore imagine that this paradox of putting up with people is something that is somehow obedient to God. I want you to understand something. You are responsible for feeling what God calls you to feel and the Bible calls you to feel tender hearted towards one another. The Bible is not just filled with commands for outward actions, but also includes our internal emotions and attitudes towards one another. This means that we need to pray, oh God, give me a heart of love. God, give me a heart of compassion and kindness towards this individual that may be more difficult for me. Paul compounds on this reality that even in our humility, he says that we're to have this attitude that we

talked about a minute ago. It's not merely an outward expression, but an internal attitude. God calls for us to possess something in our mind. He says, have this mind, Philippians 2, 5, among yourselves, which is also yours in Christ Jesus. Do you grasp this? You're not just supposed to be kind to people face to face. You're called to be in the scripture tenderhearted towards them. One pastor says, it is possible, frighteningly possible, I've discovered, to externally obey the one another's with a mind utterly at odds with Christ. It's possible to greet one another with a smile that hides bitterness and encourages one another with a grasping, flattering heart and bear one another's burdens with a Messiah complex. End quote. True Christian fruit is tenderhearted. It is a love that is real from the heart.

Fourth year, true love exhorts and builds one another up. In Ephesians 4.29, we are called to edify one another. And in 1 Thessalonians 5.11, we're called to build one another up. I like what Paul says. He says, encourage one another and build each other up just as you also are doing. Isn't that an interesting way to frame that? He encourages them to encourage others by encouraging them that they are already in the habit of encouraging. Do you know what language you should employ as a Christian? Only words that make souls stronger. Words that reprove when necessary, rebuke when necessary, but always edifying, meaning that the goal and the objective of your words is never to tear down, but always to

restore and rebuke in order that you might edify and build someone else up into the image of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 3.13, it says, exhort one another every single day. If you're loving towards one another, you're going to manifest that by building them up with your words. Number five, true love is patient. That's what it says in 1 Corinthians 13 explicitly. It says that love is first characteristic, patient. Galatians 5.22 says the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, what? Patience. Ephesians 4.2 says with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love. Colossians 3.12 says that so as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility,

gentleness, and patience, bearing with one another and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone, just as God has forgiven you. Why should you be patient with other people? Well, isn't the answer obvious? Because God has been patient with you. He does not strike you dead. He is long-suffering. He is kind. He is patient. He is macrothumia in the Greek. He has a long fuse. Are you quick-tempered, quick-fused, and quick to react? Well, God is patient, and so are those who are filled with the Spirit. Number six, true love bears other people's burdens. In Galatians 6.2, it says, bear one another's burdens and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. I was struck reading an article by Johnny Erickson Tada, who's been a paraplegic since the age of 17. She wrote an article entitled, How Quadriplegia Prepared Me

to Carry Others. What's the irony there? Well, she can't carry anything, and yet she is, through her suffering, a burden bearer for so many other people. Can I just ask you something? Are you going through a trial? Well, here's the reality of scripture. The family of God is here to help you carry the load. Sometimes emotional weights are the heaviest and the people of God are there to surround you and sustain you and lift you up and tell you, press on. Have you lost someone you love? Are you in the thick of a fiery trouble? Find your fellow soldiers in Christ. Part of being a burden bearer is learning how to comfort others. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1,

Blessed be the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all of our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. We are to bear one another's burdens. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 4.18 that we are to comfort one another with the comfort, the same comfort, Paul says, in which we've been comforted by God. Number seven, true love speaks the truth. Colossians 3.16 says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing, watch this,

one another in all wisdom. The scripture is replete with examples for us to speak the truth because if we are not speaking the truth, we are speaking slander, gossip, and lies and sowing inevitable disunity. One of the most dangerous things in any church is gossip. But the believer who loves other people in the body of Christ is not going to gossip or slander. They

are going to speak the truth of God's word. They're going to speak words of affirmation. It also needs to be clarified that there are some things that are true of others that are not for you to share. That is what gossip is. And disguising gossip as prayer requests may pacify your conscience, but it still dishonors God. If you're a Christian and you're loving other people, you're to push and point them towards the truth of God's word.

And in a healthy church, there's not just one communicator of truth. There are dozens of people who view it as their responsibility to live in light of this exhortation in Colossians 3.16, let the word of Christ dwell in you. That's personal. Dwell in you richly. And then watch this. What's the result? Teaching and admonishing one another. We're all to teach and inform and push and prod each other towards a greater understanding of God's word and consequently a greater love for Jesus Christ. Eighth and finally here, true love sacrifices.

How could I not include this? It says in 1 John 3 16, we know love by this that he laid down his life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Sometimes service has its limitations. I'll do this and this, but not that. Service has limitations. But sacrifice knows no reservations. It is total. And loving the people of God means that you lay down your life for them. So that if they're in need, you go, of course, I want to sacrifice

and lay down my life for the people of God. How important is it to love one another? How important is it that we live in light of this exhortation to sacrifice our lives for others within the local church? Well, Jesus gives us the answer to that question. He says again in John 13, 35, by this all men will know that you are my disciples if you love one another. What's the result of loving other people? Well, can I just give you a few, not an exhaustive list.

The first of which is going to be assurance of our salvation. It says in 1 John 3, 14, we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. One of the fruits of loving other people, not the root of our salvation, but one of the fruits of salvation is that we love other people. And the more we grow in that love for other people, even the people that may be difficult to love in of themselves And the more we grow in that love for other people, even the people that may be difficult to love in of themselves, the more we can have a surety that we belong to God. The second result of loving other people is harmony. It says in Romans 12, 8, if possible,

to be at peace with all men. And the only way to be at peace with all men, even difficult people, maybe for you from a personality perspective, is if you view them through the eyes of Jesus Christ and you love them. And then the third result, what's the fruit of loving other people? Well, John said it at the beginning of his first epistle. He said, these things I write to you so that your joy may be made full. If you want fullness of joy, you need to stop thinking about who's going to love me, who's going to serve me, and need to start switching your paradigm and start asking the question, who is there for me to love on? Who is there for me to serve? And when you view life that way, John says, you're going to experience fullness of joy. Can I ask you, do you love other believers? And are these

expressions manifest in your life? Those being, again, one, humble-hearted service. Secondly, kindness. Thirdly, a tender-hearted disposition towards others. Do you, fourth, exhort and build one another up? Fifth, are you patient with other people? Six, do you bear their burdens? Do you comfort them? Seven, do you speak the truth? And eight, do you sacrifice for them? Do you love them? Do you meet their needs? I pray you do. And I'm so thankful for the word of God that shows us in the person of Christ, what loving one another ultimately looks like. Stay dialed in.