An Uncommon Love Welcome and give thanks to God and brothers and sisters for allowing me to present another lesson before you. I hope that it is beneficial to you and properly uses God's word. And you would be my friend to correct me. My lesson today is an about an uncommon love. And that is the love that God has given us, and what he expects of us to have.

From beginning God has required us to Love In OT God commands this of the Jews: Deuteronomy 10:12 And now, Israel, what does the LORD your God require of you, but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways and to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, From the beginning of God's law to Israelites, the Jews were required to love. OT...script.

God also required the Jews to love their neighbor Leviticus 19:18 “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD. It was understood that you had a love of self to base how you treat others, thus treat others as you would like to be treated. Also required a love of your neighbor. Script....... You know how to treat yourself well, so it shouldn't be hard to apply that to how others should be treated by you. They had love of God to know how to base it as well.

God also commanded the Israelites to love strangers Leviticus 19: 33 ‘And if a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not mistreat him. 34. ‘But the stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God. A stranger could easily be also an enemy. They also commanded to love strangers, someone they may not know or even possibly they could be an enemy.

And in NT we are told the same things Matthew 22:37 Jesus said to him, “You shall the 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.’ In NT, it isn't any different and in fact Jesus sites the same commands to the lawyer that tested Him.

An uncommon love All of this is an uncommon love in the world today. World expresses love and thinks about in a different way from what the Bible teaches. It is often unevenly (or too closely) linked to emotions, feelings, or actions that bring a desired feeling. In thinking about these, it is uncommon today. Who really truly loves God and His word? Who really loves their neighbor? And I say this because people have the attitude that if something feels good, it must be good and often get the idea that if something feels right, it must be love. Weigh far too much upon random emotions towards things that are often not love. Example of ex-girl, hurt by guy.

An uncommon love Bible often relates love to actions, and thoughts followed by emotions, or felt with reason. Understanding leads to action in many of the examples. Ephesians 1:15 For this cause I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you, and the love which ye show toward all the saints, Bible often relates love to actions of God and those who seek Him, what they do to show love. Understanding leads to actions in examples that show love. Ephs... How did they show their love towards saints? Surely it wasn't with outbursts of emotions, though certainly those could have followed after the saints showed their care for one another.

How do you define love? Difficult to define love in exact terms. Draw our conclusions based upon what the Bible gives us to understand and to understand that love is a growth process that can get stronger over time. How do you define it? Difficult subject. Draw conclusions based upon what bible gives us.

An uncommon love Look today at what God’s word says that we need to love: 1. Our enemies 2. Our brothers and sisters Look at two points, though much has been said and could be said on the subject.

1. Our enemies Luke 6:27-35 Even in OT it was not commanded to hate enemies. Jews inferred wrongly that if they were to love their neighbor as themselves that they should hate their enemies. Deuteronomy 23:7 “You shall not abhor an Edomite, for he is your brother. You shall not abhor an Egyptian, because you were an alien in his land. 1. Our enemies. Luke 6:27-35 read. Even in OT not taught to hate enemies. Inferred wrongly.

An uncommon love Luke 6:31 “And just as you want men to do to you, you also do to them likewise. 32. “But if you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. Matthew 5:45 “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. You want to be loved and treated well, so why not treat others well, even though you may call them an enemy? Surely what good can come of loving only those that you expect something from. If we are to be seeking the lost, if we show our love to them without expecting something back, could open a possiblity to teach. Matthew 5:45 To be like our Father who loves us. Shows us the way.

An uncommon love Luke 6:33 “And if you do good to those who do good to you, what credit is that to you? For even sinners do the same. As Christians do we compare with sinners? Do we love uncommonly? Do we give love only if we can get something out of it? Some people in this world that cannot give us anything, do they deserve love? They do the same. Do we stand out? Do we compare with sinners, or our enemies that do the same their friends? Do we only give so we can take? Some people that are truly poor or cannot pay back, do they deserve love?

Who is our enemy? How do we make enemies? How does someone become our enemy? Are they ours alone for shallow reasons? Or are they enemies because they spited us and we want vengeance? Who is our enemy? Do we make enemies over petty arguments? Think about passage, because truly which one of us wouldn't have a hard time loving someone that we call an enemy. Do we have enemies for shallow reasons? Do we desire vengeance? What is due us because they did this or that to us? God will take vengeance, why do we desire more blood for blood taken?

An uncommon love Even so, we are commanded to love those who spitefully use us. Acts 16:18ff Paul is cast into prison Dealt with harshly Calls out to jailor Teaches jailor and baptizes him Even so, we are commanded to love them. Example of paul in acts 16: 18 following. Prison and beaten over money!! Dealth with harshley and surely by the jailor who knew or didn't know what he did. He was a prisoner. What did he care how he treated them? But Paul shows his care and calls out before he kills himself. And teaches him!!! Could have said he had a order of tents to fill, to far or tired and go home, looking forward to this celebration.

An uncommon love Do we have love for our enemies? Someone we call enemy, are they not our neighbors? Look at parable of good Samaritan Accounted only in Luke 10. After discourse of great command from lawyer found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Can we say we have love for enemies? Are they not our neighbors we call our enemies? Parable of good samaritan. Only found in Luke, after question of lawyer about the great commandment in Matthew, mark and luke.

An uncommon love Lawyer believed in these commands yet wanted to justify who was his neighbor. But Jesus showed him and us a more excellent love of neighbors, and to love our enemies. Do we do the same? John 14:23 Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. Interesting that lawyer knew and believed these but wanted to section off who was his neighbor so he knew who it was OK to hate and not to. Jesus showed us and him the more excellent way to love your neighbor, and our enemies. As it is put in John 14:23...

2. Our brothers and sisters Also commanded by Jesus to love our brothers and sisters. Even though it may seem easier thing to do than loving our enemies, we sometimes fail in this respect. John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Love our brothers and sisters. -also commanded seems easier to do, but a brother could just as easily do something to make us dislike them. As Jesus has loved us.

An uncommon love John 13:35 “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” A mark or proof to others that we are disciples of Jesus, evidence. I John 3:17 But whoever has this world’s goods, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? It is something that shows we are different. A proof, evidence. Consider our discipleship to be proven by our love for our brothers and sisters?

An uncommon love I John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. I John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. Our love is driven by action. We do good things because we love, and we show that love by what we do. I John 4:10 God showed us a great love that should make us desire to love our brothers and sisters.

An uncommon love I John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us. 20. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? Do we love our brothers and sisters as we should, proving that we do indeed love God? Do we prove that we love God by loving our brothers? Nobody has seen God at any time, how can we lie and say Oh I love Jesus but not love those who we can demonstrate that love we have inside of us. It starts in the mind and prompts us to do things for each other. Hopefully good.

An uncommon love So let us strive to understand what the love of the brethren is. I John 3:16 By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Do we give what we have in our lives to the brethren? Do we appreciate those that do? Let us understand then what God wants us to understand. We know love from God. Do we have skills, or things that can help each other? Do we bear one anothers burdens, do we offer help in things we can do well that someone may not be able to do? Do we devote time that we have that others may not? Do we appreciate those that do it? Those that take time to teach and prepare. Those that do things that aren't openly found in service. Women do things and know the bible just as well as men.

An uncommon love Looked at love from what bible says how we should love 1. Our enemies 2. Our brothers and sisters Jesus showed us the way in his love for all. Romans 5:1-9 Today we looked at.... 1. 2. Jesus truly shows us the way....

An uncommon love Do you want to be at peace with God? Do you know that your sins separate you from God? Do you want to become a disciple of Jesus Christ? Come and confess and be baptized for the remission of your sins. Invitation. Come as we sing.