The Church of Eleven22 - S02E03 - Be Devoted to One Another in Brotherly Love

Episode Date: April 26, 2021

In this episode, Pastor Joby talks about the third "one another" in this series: Be Devoted to One Another in Brotherly Love, and what that means for our relationships with others. This "one another" is referenced in Romans 12:10 in the Bible.

Welcome to deepen with Pastor Joby Martin. The Church of 1122 is a movement for all people to discover and deepen a relationship with Jesus Christ, and we're praying this message helps you deepen your relationship with him. Now let's dive in. Hey church family, week three of one another's. This week, we're in Romans chapter 12, verse 10. And it says this, be devoted to one another in brotherly love, or some church. translations say, love one another with a brotherly affection. Well, as we just studied last week

in big church, when Jesus calls his first disciples, one of the first things that he does is he calls, he calls Andrew on the shore, and the first thing that Andrew does is he goes and he gets his brother. And then he also goes and calls Philip, and Philip goes and gets his one more, which is Nathaniel and Nathaniel's got all these questions and he's like, Philip thinks we found him, we found the Messiah. And then he says, but where does he come from? He goes, well, you know, he's from Nazareth. And then Nathaniel asks him, can anything good come out of Nazareth? And Philip says, come and see. You see, one of the ways that we can love one another with a brotherly affection is we can invite the people that God has placed into our lives to come and see

and meet Jesus for themselves. Now, in Romans chapter 12, where we find this one another, there's actually like three or four of the one another's in this passage. And it's very important. I'm sure you remember this when we studied the book of Romans. We were in it for like 34 weeks or something. And in chapters 1 through 8 are essentially the gospel. Romans chapter 1 through chapter 8,

chapter being the greatest chapter in the Bible, maybe the greatest piece of literature ever written. And Romans chapter 8 lays out the gospel of Jesus Christ, and then Romans chapter 9, 10, and 11 cover Israel's role in God's movement through them in redemptive history. But not just like the state, that's not what we're talking about necessarily, but talking about the people of faith that have been given faith by God that are the spiritual children of Abraham. So for 9, 10, and 11 talks about Israel's role in God's redemptive history. then in Romans chapter 12 through the end, the book pivots and now talks about how then are we to live

if we have surrendered our life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. And so there's all these instructions on how we are to live with one another and love one another and one another one another. And so in chapter 12 verse one of Romans, Paul says, I appeal to you therefore brothers. And the therefore is there because he just laid out the gospel in chapters one through eight. And he laid out the laid out Israel's role in God's saving grace of the world in 9, 10, and 11. And so based on that, based on your role in God's plan for the salvation of all peoples, and based on God's work at the cross through Jesus Christ and Romans 1 through 8, therefore, because of that, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as living sacrifice,

holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Don't be conformed to this world, but be transatlose. formed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God and what is good and acceptable and perfect. And now he's going to tell you what his will is. And a big part of it is how we live with one another and how we treat one another. It says, for by the grace given to me, I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has a sign.

For as in one body, we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, so we, though many, are one body in Christ. And individually, members of one another, having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them, if prophecy in proportion to our faith, if service in our serving, the one who teaches in his teaching,

the one who exhorts in his exhortation, the one who contributes in generosity, the one who leads with zeal, the one who does acts of mercy with cheerfulness. Remember, I said this last week, I think. You see, the Bible calls us, the church, a body, and we're all different members, and we all have the part of the body God has called us to play. But what he's saying is that everyone among us, first of all, we shouldn't think too highly of ourselves, and we should play the role God has given us

according to the gifts that he has given us. But when body parts meet together, like if you don't have heart, heartilage in your knee and you go bone on bone there, eventually because it rubs together and there is nothing there to bring viscosity between those two bones, and then it will heat up, it will tear down, and eventually it will break. This can happen in churches. When the people who are sinful, when we get together and we interact, if we take our eyes off of the gospel, then what begins to happen is is our egos can rub against one another and we not live at peace with one another like we talked about last week.

So this is what he's setting up, and then he says this, let love be genuine. In 1 Corinthians chapter 12, the Apostle Paul rolls out this illustration about the church being like a body. And then in chapter 13, it's a whole chapter on love. And the reason I think that that chapter is their own love right after the chapter on being the body of Christ is because love is like the motor oil in the engine

that is the church so that when different parts rub up against each other and create friction it is love that is like the motor oil that keeps the engine running. This is why in Romans 12, 9, he says, let love be genuine, abhor what is evil, hold fast to what is good,

and then here's our one another. love one another with brotherly affection. And then he tells us how to do it. Outdo one another in showing honor. That's one of the one another's too, by the way. Don't be slothful and zeal. Be fervent and spirit. Serve the Lord.

Rejoice and hope. Be patient in tribulation. Be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. And he goes on to say, bless those who persecute you. Bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice. This is how we are to love one another with brotherly affection.

and rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep, live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly, never be wise in your own sight. Repay no evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. And if possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourself, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written. vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he's thirsty, give him something to drink.

For by doing so, you will heat burning coals on his head. Do not overcome, do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. That is how we are to love one another with brotherly affection. I'm going to give you three ways that you can love one another with brotherly affection. I don't know if you have a brother, I do. And I love him. if you have a brother you know this to be true man there's no fights like brother fights

I can remember I mean my brother he's actually a police officer in St. John's County now and you know he could tase me and arrest me and all that kind of stuff but I'm four years older than him so when he was growing up I used to beat the tar out of him I mean I did I terrorized him but I would never ever ever let anybody else touch him to love one another with a brotherly affection

means that you protect one another. That to this day, whatever that dude needed, he could call me and I would have his back. That I have a devotion to him. And you can pick your friends, man, but you don't pick your brother. And no matter what happens, I mean, we get along great.

He's one of my best friends. He's a deacon at our church. He's a great dude. But you can't divorce your brother. That's right. You can not be friends with somebody anymore, but when it comes to brotherly love, you never, ever, ever leave them.

And that's the kind of brotherly affection and devotion that we are to have with one another. Also, brothers hold each other accountable. Like you can tell your brother the truth. In fact, you can say things to your brother, some hard things that maybe nobody else is willing to say to them, but you love them so much that you for sure will be able to point out the areas in their life, the blind spots in their life, the places in their life that maybe they

don't even know about, but you are keenly aware that if they don't do something about this, it is harming them or their relationships. You see, when it comes to your brother, because he can't leave you, can't divorce you, that he's got to love you, he's your brother. Then oftentimes I know with my brother, I don't mind saying the hard things because I don't really care what he thinks about me in that moment. You know why? Because I love him more than I love what he thinks about me, because he's my brother. So that's a way we can be devoted to one another in brotherly affection. And then back to John chapter one, when Jesus calls the very first disciples, the very first thing that they do is they go find their brother. And they say, hey, bro, won't you come with me

and check this Jesus thing out for yourself? And I think one of the ways that you could love one another with brotherly affection is, who is it? in your life that God has placed there, that you have a devotion for, that you have a love for, that you have an affection for. And I know you probably wouldn't use that language, but it could be somebody in your golfing for some, it could be somebody at work, it might be your actual brother, but when is the last time you said to them, hey, why don't you come and see this Jesus thing and check him out for yourself? One of the ways we try to make this super easy for you is this upcoming weekend I'm going to be teaching on a very famous,

passage in the Bible, the wedding at Cana, where Jesus transforms water into wine. And what I am going to be presenting is that your one more may be like that dirty, filthy water, and that Jesus can transform them into something incredible. And so I want you to start praying right now, praying for the opportunity to invite your one more, to invite that person that God has placed in your life, that just like the brothers did in John chapter one and said, hey, why don't you come and see Jesus for yourself, that maybe you for this upcoming weekend, regardless of whether you watch online or attend any of our campuses, that you would invite your brothers and sisters to come and see and meet Jesus for themselves.

And in doing so, it would be a great way to love one another with brotherly affection. Let's pray. Good and gracious Heavenly Father, God, I thank you for my brother. Thank you so much for the things that you've done in his life, for the man that you have grown him to be. God, I thank you for the role that he plays in our community, to protect and to serve. And Lord, I thank you that we get to live this close together

and raise children together and all of those things, and I am devoted to him, and I do have a brotherly affection for that dude. And Lord, I pray that I would have that same sort of love and affection and devotion to all my friends and to all the staff, members and to everybody at our church and the people that you place in our lives. And Lord, just like I am very willing to say hard things to my brother, whether he wants to hear it or not, God, I pray that you would give every single person tuning into this Devo the supernatural courage to step out and give that kind of invitation. Hey, how about you come and see Jesus and check

them out for yourself? And Lord, we thank you in advance that you're going to use ordinary, average, nobody's like us to reach these people that you've placed in our life. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank you for joining us for Deepen with Pastor Jobi Martin. If you're looking for additional resources to help you further deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ, visit COE22.com slash resources. We're praying this message you heard today helps you experience God in a unique and fresh way. And as always, be free.