Romans chapter 12 this morning, Romans chapter number 12. Heavenly Father, Lord bless our time together in chapel, and Lord again open our eyes of understanding, and Lord help us again to put into practice what your word says, in Jesus' name, amen. The story was told of a person in Kansas City, his name was The Secret Santa, he would go around and he would put $100 bills in an envelope and then he would give them to people in need. And so somebody was trying to hunt him down and so they finally found him, who he was. They never revealed his name, but they found the fella and they said, how come you keep doing this? It's Christmas time and going around helping people in need. And he told the story about how he had a rough time. He was a salesman and had gotten to a place where sales were really bad. He had lost, you know, really his job, and he's living in his car. He went down to Houston, Mississippi, and he hadn't eaten for two days. He was telling the story, and he went into a diner, and in that diner, he knew he didn't have any money to eat, so he went ahead and ordered a meal. He didn't know what he was going to do. And when it came time to pay, he fiddled around like he was looking for his money. But the person at the diner knew he didn't have the money. And so he came around to where the fellow was sitting, and he leaned down and acted like he'd pick up a $20 bill. said, hey, you dropped your money. And so he used the $20 bill. And he knew, the guy that didn't have the money, he knew that the guy at the diner was just trying to help him out. And he, turn of fate, we would say, the world would say, obviously the Lord allowed, but he had some business, a business adventure that had come through that he unexpectedly and gave him a lot of money. And so every Christmas, he would go and help in return all those people who helped him, or in return, not those particular people, but help people because they helped him. So that's how he got the title, Secret Santa. You know, have you ever played a game growing up? Pretend. Sometimes you pretend, cowboys and Indians, sometimes you pretend teacher and student. My kids have pretend baptizing as if they were the preacher. We had women preachers for a while, but they would just pretend. Paul says in Romans chapter 12, and I've been talking to you about different things as far as how to get along with others, and this next thing that Paul's gonna mention is in verse number nine. We'll look at one verse here instead of reading all the verses. But the first phrase in Romans 12 verse nine says, let love be without, what's that big word? Dissimulation. All right, dissimulation. This word dissimulation means pretense, means to kind of faking it. The Bible uses the word fainly. It means to fake or to pretend. And God says here, he says, listen, if you're gonna be able to get along with others, you need to make sure that your love be without dissimulation. Now, young people, when you come to Christian school, and you're with people all the time, we have a tendency to see their bad points and their good points. I mean, it would be nice if you knew somebody from a distance, because when you look at people from a distance, you have a higher thought of that person than if you know them on a personal level. It's like coming to college here and living with a roommate. When you live with a roommate, you find all the bad and the good. In our school, it's not like a normal college where freshmen are going to this class, sophomores are going to this class, juniors are going to this class. When you have classes that we call block classes, when you come together and you're in class with that person every day, and then you're eating meals with them every day, and then you're on activities with them throughout the year, and then you're sitting in church service with them, you get to know them in a way that you wish you didn't know them. And sometimes it's hard to be nice to people when you know they're good, the bad, and the ugly. And you know, when you guys are in a Christian school like you are, and you come to school, you know, daily, and you're with that person from 8.30 in the morning till 3 in the afternoon, and then you're in church with them, Sunday school, Sunday morning, Sunday night, Wednesday night, and then you go on activities with them, church activities, Your grade level. You're with them constantly. And you know, it is so easy to become irritated with one another just because you know them so well. Now, Paul says to the church at Rome here, he says, I want to tell you something. Your love ought to be without dissimulation. It shouldn't be phony. It shouldn't be fake. In other words, your love for people ought to be sincere. And I want to tell you, the people that it's hardest to love are the people that you're close to. The people that it's hardest to love are the people that you're with on a regular basis, okay? And so, I want you to think about this idea of not having a phony love or a fake love. You know, it's easy to just have those clichés. Good morning. How are you? Nice to see you. But yet, truthfully, sometimes we say things that we don't even mean. So your students that you, your classmates that you're with, God commanded you to love them. What's the greatest command in the Bible? The greatest command. The greatest command is to love who? Love the Lord. What's the second greatest command? So the Bible teaches that love your neighbor, and you know who your neighbor is? It's everybody. That means your neighbor is your classmate. That means your neighbor is your brother or sister. That means your neighbor is a church member. That means your neighbor is the person that's at the store. That means your neighbor is the person at a restaurant. Every person you come in contact with is your neighbor, and God says, I want you to love them. And you know what your love is supposed to be? It's supposed to be without dissimulation. You know what dissimulation means? It means to be fake or phony. So God wants your love to be real, and your love that's going to be real, your love starts from the inside, not the outside. You know, that person gave them a hug to show their love. Well, the love was not the expression, the love was what was going on inside their heart. So when it comes to you at school, God wants you to love everybody. And you know that love is going to have expressions of love. Sometimes that expression of love is opening the door for somebody. Sometimes that love is letting somebody go first. Sometimes that love is giving something that you have to somebody else. Sometimes that love is just a kind statement. But your love should not be phony or fake. Your love should be real and for one another. You know, we talk about love. We often make a love in the sense of boyfriend, girlfriend. But God does, God uses that term love. He's not just talking about the opposite gender. He's talking about our love for every person. All right. And so this morning, I want to talk to you just three thoughts this morning on this idea of how I can love people and not be a pretender. How I can love people and not be phony or fake about it. How can my love be real? And again, I want you to think about these three thoughts. The first one comes right from the verse there in verse number nine. What's the first word in verse number nine? All right? The word let. Okay? In other words, it's a choice that you have to make. If I'm going to let something happen, I have to choose to let it happen. Okay? So, if you're going to love people, I just want you to understand you're going to have to choose to love. Now, can I tell you, there are certain people that you don't want to love. And you know why you don't want to love them? It's because your personality is different than that person, or because they do things that they do. Did you know that just since I've been in the auditorium, since I've been up here speaking, there's been people picking their nose? Now, can I tell you something? People are going to do stupid things like that, but that doesn't mean you're not supposed to love them. It was a college student, don't worry. I'm just joking. But can I tell you that you're going to have a classmate that doesn't turn their papers in. You're going to have a classmate that makes fun of the teacher. You're going to have a classmate that makes fun of you. But can I tell you something? You're supposed to love them anyway. And so it's all about choosing. I am going to choose whether or not I'm going to love. When you sit down for a meal on your mom and dad, do you guys love every meal your parents make for you? Do you love every meal? Samuel, we know better than that. He got his pickiness from his mother. You know, he's not like me. Eat such things are set before you. I just choose what's set in front of me, all right? But you're supposed to, but no, you don't love every meal that's put in front of you, do you? But do you eat it? Well, yes, you eat it, but you not necessarily love the meal that's set before you. Can I tell you that every person God places in your path, you're not going to love them or necessarily choose to love them unless you make the choice to do so. In other words, God's the one that puts people in our path of life. You have to choose to love them. Well, they don't look like you. Be thankful everybody doesn't look like you. That's a blessing. Well, they don't talk like I talk. Be thankful everybody doesn't talk like you. Everybody doesn't think like you. You know, if everybody was the same, this would be a boring life, don't you think? I mean, to think about it, our church family has a variety of people in our church. Brother Franklin is super outgoing, and he'll talk your leg off if you sit there and talk to him. And he's got good things to say, but we have other people in our church, they don't talk very much. Brother Saladin, unless you start up the conversation, I know he's friendly, but he's not gonna come up to every person and start a, you know, let's find out about your life, okay? Brother Feliu is from New York, all right? He's got that New York accent. Brother Feliu, he's different, all right? Now, God does that on purpose as far as our church family, and he does it on purpose when it comes to your class. Miss Adrienne is short. Small. When I look at her class, I have to figure out which one she is. Because she's small. But you know what? Small is not a bad thing. Do you think it's a bad thing? No, it's not a bad thing. You guys are awful quiet this morning. It's not a bad thing. Brother Daniels is tall. Is that a bad thing? You know, everybody can't be serious and straightforward like Brother Daniels. I mean, Brother Daniels, he tells the truth about everything. He never jokes, never lies. It's just, this is the way it is. Would you agree with that? But yet, it's that kind of personality that it has that adds variety to a school, and obviously, as the principal. All I'm trying to say is that everybody's not going to be like you. You have to choose to like everybody. So again, let, given this the idea here that we're supposed to make sure, if I'm gonna do what the Bible says and not be phony in my love, hey listen, you don't, this thing of acting like you like somebody and then behind their back talking about them, that's called fake love, alrighty? When you're cordial and kind to them, sorry about that, when you're cordial and kind to them, but then when it comes, but then when you get away from them, you criticize them, you talk bad about them, you know what that's called? That's called phony love. So God says if you're going to have real love, the first thing you have to do is choose to love somebody. The second thing I want you to think about is this. I'm going to tell you what it is and I'm going to explain what I mean here. If you're going to love somebody, you have to be filled with the Spirit. I know you hear that all the time, Galatians 5.22, and be filled with the Spirit. But the fruit of the Spirit is love. What's the first one? I just told you what the first one was. But the fruit of the Spirit is love. I want you to think for just a second here. Sometimes we think, man, I'm going to really work to love people. No, if you work to be filled with the Spirit, that's going to be the evidence of you being filled with the Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love. You will not have to work at loving people and pretending that you love people if you simply are spiritual. In other words, our spirit-filled life is what causes us to love people. In 1 John 4, 8, the Bible says God is love, okay? And so the more I become like God, the more I'm going to love people. So, can I tell you something? You don't have to pretend that you like somebody. If you simply read your Bible and pray, that overflow of the Spirit of God in your life is going to cause you to love people, all right? Hey, there ought not to be anybody in the Christian school that you can't say hello to and be kind to. There ought to be nobody. If you have a problem with people in this school, it's because you have a spiritual problem. Are you listening? In other words, I can guarantee you that if you're mean-spirited and you're unkind to others, it's because you're not reading your Bible, because you're not spending time in prayer. When you spend time with God and God is love, then what happens is the more time you spend with God, the more you act like God. And you know what God does? He loves. For God so loved the world. God is love. So you don't have to pretend. I hate that person. Oh, hi, how are you? That's pretending. So God says, I want you to be real in your love. If you're going to get along with others, I don't want it to be with dissimilation or fainness or phoniness. I want you to have real love. So the first thing I've got to do is I've got to choose to love. Second of all, I've got to be filled with the Spirit. What's the first one I've got to? Choose to love. I have to choose to love people. The second thing I have to do is be filled with what? If I'm filled with the Spirit, then it's naturally going to come out that I love like I'm supposed to. Here's the last one. I want you to turn to this one though. Turn over to Matthew chapter 5, I want you to look at verse 46. And I know there's a whole lot more we can say with this, but I want you to just think about these three things this morning. How can I love and have a real love for people? Number one, I choose to love. Number two, I have to be filled with the Spirit. Matthew chapter 5, verse 46, the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 5, 46. Let's just read it out loud together. You ready? It's not very long. Verse 46, together. All right, now think about that. If you love them, they'll love you. You know, you're going to have to love and not expect it in return. If you're going to have real love, your love is not going to be dependent on whether or not someone is kind to you. Your love for people is not going to be dependent on if someone did something for you or said something good to you. What you've got to do is you've got to love and not expect it in return. Do you know why a lot of marriages fail, husbands and wives? Husbands and wives marriages fail often times because they work so hard to love somebody and their expectation is that they're going to get it in return and when that expectation is not fulfilled they want to leave the person. Can I tell you that in school everybody is not going to think like you or do what you do but can I tell you something, you're not loving people because of what they do for you, you're loving people because that's what God commanded you to do. Your personalities are different. Some of your personalities is outgoing. Some of your personalities, you hardly say a word. Some of your personalities, you dress like a king. And other personalities, you can come to school and not have your shirt ironed. You can just pull it out of a basket, and it looks like it's super wrinkled. There's some of you, when you come to school, you have every hair in place. There's others, you come to school, you look like you just got a horn coming off this side and this side because you laid on it wrong. You know, all of us are gonna be different. But your love is not dependent on what people do or say to you. You're supposed to love people because that's what God commanded you to do. You know, isn't it amazing that when the lawyer asked Jesus that question, what's the greatest commandment? Jesus said, the greatest commandment is love the Lord like God with all the heart, soul, and mind, Matthew 22, 36 through 39. He said, the second commandment is to love your neighbor as yourself. And then, listen to what he says next. He says, on these two laws, I'm sorry, on these two things, hang all the law. All right, so God says out of the 600 and some laws that Israel had, he says, I can sum up all those hundreds of laws on two statements, love God, love others. Now young people, I hope you love God, that's the greatest commandment. But can I tell you something, if you're gonna get along with other people, you're gonna have to love people. And sometimes they're gonna be offensive, because offenses will come. And sometimes they're gonna be obnoxious. You know, sometimes people do weird things and it's partly how we're raised. Like for instance, burping at the table, that's kind of obnoxious. Picking your nose, that's kind of obnoxious. Not fixing your hair, it doesn't matter, you know. Give me a washcloth and I'll lay it down flat. That might be a little irritating. But can I tell you something? No matter how many outward irritations we have for others, God made you a human soul. And as a human soul, God don't want you to love others. As a parent, I don't like when my children fight one another. And I don't want them touching each other as far as hitting. And I don't even like them playing that. My brother and I used to wrestle all the time. I don't like my kids doing that kind of stuff. I don't want them pushing, picking. I don't like that. Now, they do. But I don't like them doing that. If I'm there, I stop them. But can I tell you, your Heavenly Father is the same way. He doesn't want you picking and poking at one another. He doesn't want you saying bad things about one another. He doesn't want you calling each other dopey. Or whatever other pet names you use. God wants you to love one another. And you know how you're supposed to love one another? Number one, you have to choose to love one another. Number two, you have to be spiritual, you have to be spirit-filled, and it's gonna naturally help you to love one another. And number three, you have to love people and don't expect it in return. You know, Paul made this statement, I think it's interesting, and I'll just read it to you. I think it's 1 Corinthians 12, 15. He says, and I will gladly spend and be spent for you. Now listen to what he says next. Though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. I was talking to somebody. Oh, I know who I was talking to now. I was talking to Mrs. Selam about the bookstore. And she made this statement, overseeing or doing the bookstore is a very thankless job. And I said, you're exactly right. Nobody walks into that bookstore and said, wow, who organized this? Nobody comes into the bookstore and says, man, thanks for giving me a good deal. But you know what? Her name's not on the bookstore. Mrs. Seelum's the one who orders everything. Sometimes I get on her, because I tell her, I said, Mrs. Seelum, I don't want a variety store. I want a Bible bookstore. She says, well, I'm not going to be able to sell very much. That's why she puts all this other crazy stuff in there. But you know what? She spends all the time to order and prepare for that thing, and nobody ever notices it. No one's thankful for it. Hey, can I tell you, that's how the Christian life is. No one's going to thank you for loving them. For the most part, they're not going to. But you know why you do it? Because God told you to. Now, I want you to think in here. Don't say anything out loud, but I want you to think, is there somebody that comes to your mind in school that you have a hard time loving. That person's name, person's face comes to the forefront of your imagination. You think to yourself, man, I don't like that person at all. Okay, now if you thought of somebody, then one of three things needs to happen. Number one, you need to choose to love them. Number two, you need to figure out that you're the one with the spiritual problem, not them. Because if you were spiritually right, it would be natural for you to love them. And then number three, you should love them regardless of what they do for you. God wants you to love people. And I want to tell you something. Sometimes it gets hard to love people. You've heard me tell the story before. We had a lady in our church that really was, really took a liking to my family when my kids were really, really small. And she would do all kinds of things for them. I mean, just, she spent money on them and all kinds of stuff. And it came to a day in life that she got mad at me. And when she got mad at me, oh my goodness. She was the one that I told you stories about, that she would sit in the service, she would put her hands over her ears, and while I'm preaching, she would shake her head no. Sitting in the service. I was younger back then, so I didn't do anything, but it was very distracting. She stayed in our church for, I don't know, probably a year or so after that, probably. But she just, she couldn't say one kind thing. She avoided me, she didn't want to shake my hand. If she did come through the shaking line, she wouldn't shake my hand. She'd just snarl at me and walk out the door. You know, even back then, I knew that God placed her and her family, that God had placed them in our church. And you know, I did not retaliate. I didn't like what she was doing, but I didn't retaliate. You know why? Because God said we're supposed to love everybody. And you know, if that person's not causing you harm, You should love them. And if they are causing you harm, you should be saying something to somebody. Harm means they're hitting you, touching you. That kind of stuff is wrong, and you should say something. You should love people. So how should I love people? Number one, if I'm going to love people, I've got to what? I've got to choose to love people. Number two, I must be spirit-filled or filled with the spirit. Number three, I must love and not what? Expect anything in return. All right, I want you to go ahead and close your eyes this morning. You know, I would guess that there's some of you that are pretending when it comes to loving people. And the way you know that is because of what you say to others. Listen, you need to be real. You need to be real as far as loving people when you're in school as well as when you're out of school. You need to be real when it comes to loving people when you're with your quote-unquote friends as when you're not with your friends. You need to be real. You need to love people. And loving people is demonstrated by what we do. You ought to love everybody. Why? Because God said, love your neighbor as yourself. Heavenly Father, I ask you to please help the young people to think and ponder these thoughts this morning. Lord, as far as us loving you, but most importantly, and then Father, being able to love others. Help us, Father, not to have love that is with dissimulation. Help us not to be phony, fake. Help us be real as far as loving people. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.