Have you ever seen anything that was both old and new at the same time? Sometimes people will make houses, they'll build houses. I think of an area called Shady Canyon over in Irvine, if you've ever been in there. The houses are, it's made to look like old Tuscany, and the houses could be brand new, but they make them to look 500 years old at the same time. The stonework, it's like, wow, how long is these? Oh, that was built last year, okay. And it's on purpose, and it's actually kind of an art to be able to make something look old when it is brand new. Maybe you've seen, Some blue jeans like this. Maybe some of you have some of these blue jeans. They're brand new but they look like they just peeled them off somebody that died in a motorcycle accident and Like well, let's see if we can sell these in the store Why would someone buy something with that many holes in it that big of holes? but anyway, they look brand new and old at the same time and I In 1 John chapter 2, the Apostle John writes about something that is both old and new at the same time. I've entitled our message today, An Old and New Command. So let's read it. 1 John 2 verse 7, it says this, Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment, which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth. Now, by the way, we haven't yet mentioned what the command is. We'll get to that in the next verse. But basically, the new command and the old command is love, in one word, to love one another, to have love for the brethren. And he says, I'm not writing something that's new, but an old commandment that you've had from the beginning. And then again, I do write a new commandment. He's not contradicting himself. He's not lying. The Apostle John doesn't have dementia, and he can't figure out what he just said one minute ago, a change in my mind. But the command to love one another is both old and new. So let's talk about that. Hold your finger here and look at Leviticus chapter 19 and verse 18. The command is old in that it has always been commanded even back in the Old Testament. It's something that comes out of the character and the nature of God, which if you know anything about God, one of the things you know about Him is that He is eternal and immutable. He never changes. So God's not gonna change His mind on the command, especially one of this magnitude, the greatest command, one of the greatest commands in the whole Bible. second greatest, he says, to love your neighbor as yourself. He's not gonna change his mind on that, and he's not gonna say, and by the way, I'm frustrated when I hear a lot of people say, well, you know, that's kind of an old-fashioned thing. That was back in the Bible days. Well, you'd have a point, except for the one who wrote it is eternal, and the truths that he has written are eternal and immortal. So here's what the Bible says in Leviticus 19. I know you're probably thinking, Let's stick with us here. All right. I have nothing against Leviticus, by the way, but some people do. Leviticus 19.18 says this, Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, Am the Lord that phrase at the end. I am the Lord. It's like this is the authority from which this is coming I am I'm the God of the universe and I have the authority and I'm telling you this don't ever Get vengeance on anyone vengeance is mine. I will repay say the Lord you ever done that you ever gotten vengeance on someone if you've ever gotten revenge You've broken this command And not just you, but me also. But one of the opposites of loving your neighbor is taking vengeance. Or it says, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people. Avenging is, we think of something that you do on the outside, bearing a grudge is something you can do on the inside. Nobody knows about it, except God knows. And eventually, it will manifest itself on the outside, because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh. And out of the abundance of the heart, the eyebrows do what they do, your countenance can wear. Eventually, it will come out. But God says don't even have it on the inside. That's the opposite of loving your neighbor as yourself. So this is an old command way back. Jesus had a conversation with someone. Look at Matthew chapter 22. Someone came to Jesus, and it says that they were trying to tempt him. They were trying to trip him up and get him to say something that he could discredit him. Here's the question he asked him. Matthew 22, verse 36. He says, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord... Notice both... He says, what's the one command? Jesus gives them two, and they're both love. So if you want to call it 1A and 1B. He says, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God. with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is likened to it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commands hang all the law and the prophets. What an interesting statement Jesus makes. What an umbrella. He says, I'll give you love. Everything in the whole Bible, every command, has to do with love. Love God, love others. Love your neighbor as yourself. Everything hangs on those. You look at the Ten Commandments. The first four have to do with loving God. The last six have to do with loving other people. don't have any other gods before him, because you can't do that and love God. Thou shalt not steal, and kill, and commit adultery, and even covet. You can't do that and love your neighbor as yourself. By the way, there's another one, coveting. It's a secret, private thing on the inside. Sometimes you might covet and nobody ever knows. But you are not loving someone if you are coveting what they have. You're saying, oh, I wish I had that, instead of saying, I'm so glad God blessed that person. If you really love someone, you'll never compete with them. You'll never begrudge them for something that they have a blessing. How come he got the promotion? Doesn't the boss know I'm more qualified and I'm better in every way? I'm even more humble than he is? You can't, on the outside or on the inside, think something towards someone that's wrong and love your neighbor as yourself at the same time. So Jesus really gives a mouthful there. Look at John chapter 13. In John 13, Jesus calls the command to love a new commandment, similar to what we see in 1 John. And what's the difference? We've mentioned this before, but what's the difference between what Said in the Old Testament what Jesus reiterated there and what he says in John 13 He says let me I'm gonna raise the bar I'm gonna kind of up the ante on this love command Because you know, I just noticed everyone's doing so well with it. So let me just even straighten Here's what he says John 13 34 He says, a new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another. And you stop there. It's like, what do you mean a new commandment? It's from the beginning. Jesus has had conversations in Simulabiticus. But he says, that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, or that you're not my disciples, if ye have love one to another. So what Jesus raises the bar on here and says this is new is that in the Old Testament it says I want you to love your neighbor as yourself. What's that based on? In part it's based on you. God says I'm going to allow you to be the standard for your love. The same way that you love yourself and the same way that you cling to life and that you want the best things for yourself. I want you to take that and apply that to other people. So God allows us to a little bit be the standard for our love. I want you to love your neighbor the same way that you love yourself. And I'm not saying that there's a problem with that command, but sometimes people can love themselves in a twisted way, in a selfish way. They can love themselves, well, I want material things. So the way I want to love other people is I want them to have material things. Nothing wrong with that. But if you decide that I never want to be spiritual in my life, you might not ever want someone else to be spiritual the way you love. And loving is definitely combined with helping them grow toward God, edifying one another. So the old command is, love your neighbors the way that you already love yourself. I want you to shift that and apply that to other people. Jesus says, I'm gonna totally change the starting point here. He says, I want you to, I want me to love you. to be the starting point. I want you to watch what I have done and watch what I'm just about to do. He's about to go to the cross. The same way that I love you, that's the way that I want you to love one another. So now we're raising the bar. Now this is what we often call agape love, a self-sacrificing love. that puts itself last. Before it's whatever how you put yourself first, then just take someone else and do that. Now we're gonna put ourselves last for the benefit of someone else in every way possible. Spiritual benefit, physical benefit, emotional, mental, that we do whatever we can, we are willing to go back so that other people can go forward. We're willing to go down. We're willing to be humiliated. We're willing to be rejected, misunderstood. We're willing to be nothing so that other people can be something, can be everything. Jesus gave up everything so that he could give us everything. And that's what he raises the bar to. And that's a little bit what we're talking about with 1 John, where he says, it's an old command, and yet there is a new command that I write. So I'm gonna read that verse one more time. in 1 John 2 and verse 8, it says, again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness is past and the true light now shineth. So the darkness, people, there's different ideas, commentators, about what the darkness is that's past and and what the light is. You know, Jesus says, I'm the light of the world. He says, you're the light of the world. And it says that God is light and him is no darkness at all. So now the darkness being gone, by the way, we're gonna see here that in a Christian's life, darkness can be gone and yet still present. We can walk in, we're about to read this about the possibility, unfortunately, of Christians walking in darkness. I want to plug all this back into the context of 1 John. The goal of the book of 1 John is to help believers to fellowship with God. That was the beginning of chapter one, and then in the end of chapter one, beginning of chapter two, there are some hindrances to that fellowship with God. What breaks the fellowship? Sin in general, any sin, and now we're getting a little bit more specific with the second hindrance to fellowship, and that is the sin of, or a lack of love for the brethren, for each other. Now, by the way, We could talk about love for people that are unbelievers or people that are not part of our body, people that are not part of the body of Christ. Primarily we're talking about Christians, but you could also extend it and say we know that God wants us to love everyone because he loves everyone. He says, I want you to love your enemies. You've heard that it's been said to love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say unto you, love your enemy. So we know that Jesus wants us to love everyone. So this passage is not saying, well, I just want you to focus on loving believers. Doesn't really matter after that. We know that God wants us to love unbelievers and our enemies, but we're specifically zeroing in here, zooming in on loving one another, loving the brethren. And it says that when there is a lack of that, When we are not doing that correctly, it is a hindrance to our fellowship with God. It doesn't mean that you're automatically going to hell, but it does mean automatically that I am not close with God. I'm not walking in step and in fellowship with Him. So let's talk a little bit about this, and I want to keep going. Look at 1 John 2 in verse 9, and let's read down through 11. 1 John 2, 9 says this, He that saith, He is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. So, this is gonna be similar, I will say this at the outset, and we'll see this, you know, 1 John, we already mentioned, is difficult for a lot of people, and this particular passage, as well as other places in John, 1 John chapter three and other places, people see it and say, we're just looking at an unbeliever here. It just said, you're going to hell. It didn't say you're going to hell, but it says, you know, you're in darkness, so you must, but I take this phrase synonymous with what we've seen already in the same chapter, in verse 4, where it says this, He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. Again, the context of 1 John is to know him means to know him in close fellowship. Somebody cannot say, I am walking with him, and he's not keeping his commandments. And here, it would be synonymous, I believe. So to be in the light, in verse 9, He that saith he is in the light. That's what we're saying in chapter one. God is light and him is no darkness at all. So if we're in sin, we're not in the light, but if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another. So to be in the light is not to be saved, but it's to not just be saved, but to be saved and walking with him. So to be in the light. So now, just in chapter two here, we have several synonymous phrases. To be in the light, verse nine, or walking in the light, is synonymous with verse four, to be in him, I'm sorry, to know him, in verse four, to be in him, verse five, and to abide in him, verse six. They all mean to be walking in fellowship as a Christian with God. By the way, if somebody says, well, I don't think the person is saved, the word brother in the passage is important. It says, he that saith he is in darkness, or he that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. The word brother is an indication of a spiritual relationship with someone, and if you're not saved, the person is not your brother. So the fact that you even have this brother that you're hating shows that you and he are both saved. You're both Christians, but you're just not walking like it. So he that loveth his brother abideth in the light again. So this is an indication of salvation. We could even go on, in case you're wondering if it's talking about, we're not gonna get to verse 12 this morning, but starting with verse 12 through 14, you see phrases that say, I know for sure you're saved. I haven't written these things because you're lost, but because you're saved. I've written to you fathers because you know him from the beginning. So we know even in this chapter, the immediate context that they're saved, So I want to mention four things here. We just read them in verses 7 through 9. Four truths about someone that is hating his brother. We don't like to think about this. Anyone have a raise of hands? You're actively hating your brothers and sisters right now in Christ. We're not going to do that. But we often can go in and out of this, right? You probably have a love-hate relationship with your spouse. There's times that you love them. There's times that you a little bit less than love them or actively hate them, you know. I'm not saying I want you to die, but I wouldn't cry if it happens right now. You know, I'm just kidding. But we all, you know, we all with many relationships, we often go in and out of love. And so here are four truths about someone that is hating his brother in Christ. Number one, it says he is walking in darkness. And the phrase there is that he is in darkness even until now." So he's just been claiming in the previous verses that I'm walking in the light. But if this is not true in his life, if he's hating his brother, he's actually in darkness and he's walking in darkness. What a horrible thing for a Christian who, by the way, now is light. He says, now are ye light. in the Lord, in another place in the New Testament. We are called to be the light of the world. We have been shown light, given light. We are the recipients of light. We are called to be the light. And what a shame when we're actually walking in darkness. We're actually walking just like an unbeliever. And by the way, sometimes even worse than an unbeliever. Have you ever watched sometimes some Christians, the way that they don't get along, the way that they hate each other, and the way that they're backbiting and slandering and all this, and like, I know unbelievers that get along better than that. At least they can just coexist and get along. How come they can't even be like that? And so what a shame when we who are up on a pedestal, because by the way, if you're a Christian, Like it or not, you're on a little bit of a pedestal. God has put you on a hill to shine a light. And when we get up on the hill and declare, I am in darkness. But I'm saved, but I'm walking in darkness. It's a very poor testimony. To be like a dog that returns to his vomit. Bible gives that picture multiple places. To be like a pig that was washed to his wallowing in the mud again. And not just, you're not by yourself in the mud, you're also dragging the name of Jesus through the mud with you. And so what a horrible testimony when we do that, to be walking in darkness. The second thing it says is that he will be a stumbling block to others. That phrase says, and this is verse 10, let me see, verse 10. he that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him." What does it mean to, so the opposite, to stumble, and some commentators believe this occasion of stumbling can be both you stumbling and causing other people to stumble, and I lean, if I had to pick one, maybe it could be both, but I lean toward being an occasion of stumbling for somebody else. If there's somebody that has a bad attitude towards someone, or is actively hating someone, or persecuting them, or saying things about them, maybe online. By the way, the world has given us the internet. and we now have the capacity to broadcast our hate like never before, right? I don't like this person, and I want millions of people to know it. I have this platform, I have millions of followers, and I wanna drag this guy, I wanna destroy someone. We have the capacity to do great harm in our world. Whenever people do this type of thing, they are a stumbling block to others. What do we mean by that? No man is an island unto himself. We don't just live all alone, and this is how some people think, well, you know, I just, as long as I'm not harming other people, it doesn't really matter the way that I live. Sometimes people are harming other people and they don't even know it. By the way, too, promote certain ideas out in the world. Oh, it's not a big deal if people do this. You know, there are hot-button societal issues today, you know, with transgenderism and homosexuality and other things. And people say, well, as long as I'm not harming someone, then, you know, I'm just... You love who you love and love is never wrong. Love is never wrong. Anyway, we won't go down that road this morning. It's a phrase spoken by imbeciles that haven't thought it all the way through anyway, and just selfishness, you know. But do you know that promoting that does harm people? Because why? The Bible says not to. The Bible condemns. The Bible doesn't... say that all homosexuals are immediately going to hell, but it condemns the sin of homosexuality. It condemns the sin of sodomy. By the way, I heard an interesting phrase. Maybe controversial. I heard a pastor say a phrase several years ago. I thought it was interesting. There's no such thing as a homosexual. there are only straight people that practice the sin of sodomy. Interesting phrase. That's the way that God declares in the Bible. And so to lead someone to say that this is okay, and you can live this way, doesn't matter how you live, now the person's up under the judgment of God for that sin, and so you have harmed someone. For someone to teach children that this is okay or that's okay is child abuse, I believe. To lead them in a way that they will be under the judgment of God in their lives. you are a stumbling block to others. Sometimes people think they're loving someone, but they're actually hating them, and they're actually leading them under the judgment of God. So, but if someone is actively hating someone, he's gonna say things many times, maybe there's gossip, slander. He's gonna say something that somebody didn't even know about. Let's say that somebody did do something wrong. And you say, did you hear what that person did? And you go and tell everyone about it. And now other people have something against that person and they never knew it before. They never even needed to know certain things. Did you know that God wants us to keep certain things private? It doesn't mean that we ignore it, but there's a right way and a wrong way to do it. Here's an example. Look at Matthew chapter 18 and verse 15. Matthew 18, 15. This is what you do if somebody does something wrong to you. It says this, If thy brother shall trespass against thee, so he does something wrong to you. If thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and spread it on social media. It's not what it says. It says, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother." Often we immediately go to everyone but the person. Can you believe they did this? By the way, sometimes the person doesn't even know that they did it. You ever seen that? They did something and I unknowingly offended someone? I've done that many times. I probably have already or will do it this morning. You know, in the multitude of words there wanteth not sin, and sometimes people just talk, and they didn't even know they offended someone, and someone takes that offense, and they go the opposite direction, tell everyone, and now we have a hundred people hating person one. that didn't even know he did something wrong, that didn't even know that what he did was offensive. If person two would just go to person one, we don't have to be a stumbling block. Now other people are hating him. Now other people have bitterness, other people have a grudge, and they never even needed to know about it. So there is a stumbling block to other people whenever we don't love. Also, just the example of just watching the way that someone lives a life of hate, that example shows people, huh, I guess that's a good way to go. Look how masculine and manly that person is. that he got wronged by that person, and he went and just punched him in the nose. Just, look at you, let him have it. And he had to go to jail, but you know, the price of doing business is what an admirable thing to do, and people learn, oh, I guess that's the way you should handle it. That's not the way you should handle a problem. But you're a stumbling block to others when you don't live and walk in love by your example. Look what it says in Proverbs 22 and verse 24. When you read this verse, You might have someone's name pop into your mind. I don't know. Maybe it's you. I don't know. Maybe it's me. Proverbs 22, verse 24 and 25 says this. Make no friendship with an angry man, and with a furious man thou shalt not go, lest thou learn his ways and get a snare to thy soul. The Bible says that evil communications corrupt good manners, and the way that we are can rub off on someone else and vice versa. So if you notice someone that is hateful, angry, they've got a lack of love, don't be around that person because they will be a stumbling block to you, that you can learn their ways. and be like them. You don't even have to, you don't have to actively, you know what, I was wondering if you could meet with me and one-on-one teach me your ways. You don't have to do that. You can just see it and oh, that appeals to you or sometimes it just kind of rubs off almost by osmosis. We repeat the things that we hear. You get around, you know, any age can do this, but you see a lot of times teenagers, they'll start saying a phrase. It doesn't have to be a wrong phrase. It's just a different phrase. You never heard them say that phrase before. Oh, where'd you get that phrase? Oh, I don't know. I just I'm on my own person. Nobody tells me. But oh, you get around and the whole friend group is using that exact word or that exact phrase. And things just rub off just the way it is. And so we need to be aware of this. If you are hateful, if you are not loving the brethren like you should, you are being a stumbling block to others. And you can be stumbled by someone. So be aware of that. I'm not trying to say that we cut off all relationships, but we fix it. You know, if you notice someone's like that, go and tell him his fault between me and him alone. Say, I want to pray for you, I want to help you. Then you might want to duck when you say that, but if it's an angry person. Number three, the third thing, that is true of someone that's not loving the brethren is that they lack God's direction in their lives. The phrase in 1 John 2 verse 11 is, that he knoweth not whither he goeth. Here's a Christian. He says he's walking in the light, but he doesn't know where he's going in life. He doesn't know kind of what's happening. He lacks direction. Specifically, he's lacking God's direction. There's a direct link in our lives between our relationship with other believers or other people and our relationship with God. And we're not going to be done, by the way, in 1 John. With loving each other. It's there's more about it in chapter 3. There's more about it in chapter 4. It's really a Theme of the book, so we'll come back to it I don't want to steal all the thunder of the rest of the book But look at chapter 4 very quickly in verse 20 first John 4 in verse 20 and 21 If my relationship with another person is broken I My relationship with God is also broken. We don't often like that concept. Many times we don't agree with it. We'll say, well, I just love God. Me and God, we're so close, but that guy over there is an idiot. How can you expect me to be at good terms with him? God says they can't be both true. Look at 1 John 4, 20 and 21. If a man say, I love God, and I don't think that would be all of our goal today, We're not gonna have a raise of hands. I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? Wow, what an interesting thought that God came up with here. God says if we can't love each other whom we have seen, it is impossible for us to love the God that we have not seen. The way that we love the God we have not seen. is by loving each other that we have seen, God says. And then look at verse 21. In this commandment have we from him that he who loveth God love his brother also. So by the way, when there's a breakdown there, it doesn't say, you know what, you're just a liar, get out of here. It doesn't say that. It says if you're claiming to love God, but you don't love your brother, you're a liar, but let's fix it. He's saying, I agree with your goal and your desire to love God, so let's just, if a man, so then, he who loveth God, love his brother also. So let's fix the lack of love is the goal there. God never just says, you know what, you messed up, that's it. He says, you've messed up, but come to me. We can fix it. You have an advocate with Jesus Christ and so forth. One of the ways that the relationship with God is affected is that we will be cut off from his direction. Have you ever been driving somewhere and you needed your GPS to help you? You're using it, and all of a sudden you hit a dead patch. You have no cell reception. And the light went off, ding. Oh, my GPS doesn't work if I don't have cell reception. Or if I don't, you know, back in the old days, They would have those standalone GPS units made by Garmin or Magellan or things like that. And they required connecting to satellites. I think there were like 20 different satellites at the time. There's probably thousands now, I don't know. But there were like 20 different satellites at the time. And on a cloudy day or something, or if you get under walls, the signal could be blocked. And I've been there, stranded. Come on! I have no idea where to go. I have to be there in five minutes. This thing has let me down. In life, God is our GPS, and every one of us needs it. The Bible says about unbelievers, they know not at what they stumble. They're in darkness. And we can be like that. And one of the ways that we lack God's direction is because there's a lack of love for the brethren. And God says, as a result of that, I'm blocking you. I'm revoking your security clearance, or whatever you want to call it. You know, I'm going to take away my guidance for right now. I'll give it back as soon as you repent. I'll give it back as soon as you start loving. I'm not saying this is 100% of the time, but sometimes if People say, you know, I just don't know what God's will is for my life. I don't know what God wants me to do in my life. There are times that it's God's will for you to be in the dark on a certain decision so that you will wait on Him and He'll do it in His time, right? You know, the other day Noah came and said, but God, or Daddy, I have no idea who God wants me to marry someday. I said, well, tell me what you've done wrong, because you've obviously got a block in your relationship with God. No, he doesn't need to know who he's supposed to marry yet. So it doesn't mean just because you lack direction in something that you're out of God's will. But maybe, maybe that should be, if I don't know what God wants me to do next, maybe a good place to start is God is there, Break in my relationship with you. Do you want to reveal this to me? But I'm blocked off from it because of my sin and could be specifically here a lack of love for the brethren this person He knoweth not whither he goeth and then it's similar to but number four the fourth truth is that this person is blind and There are certain buzzwords that we hear, we say, blind, ding, ding, ding, that's an unbeliever. But no, it's true of unbelievers, or true of believers, Christians sometimes, that we can be blind. We'll look at another, by the way, look at 2 Peter chapter one. But it's the phrase here, it says, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. That if a Christian is blind, walking in hatred, not love. So by the way, what's the definition of hatred? We think of the word hate as being extreme. Give me a definition of hate. Well, Hitler killed six million Jews. That's hate. But I don't hate. Hate would be the opposite of love. If you lack love, And what was the command that Jesus gave? I want you to love one another as I have loved you. If I am not doing that, I think that's gonna be our definition for hating. I don't think you need to, you don't have to plot someone's untimely death to be involved in hate. You can be hateful on the inside with anger, with resentment, bitterness, and so forth. So it says that we can be blind. Look at 2 Peter 1 in verse 8. We're not going to read verses 5 through 7, but it says that once we're saved, we should add to our saving faith, add to your faith, virtue and knowledge and so forth, several character qualities. And then it says in verse 8, For if these things be in you and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But, he that lacketh these things is blind. It's important what the these things are. We know we're talking about saved people. In the beginning of the chapter it says, I'm writing to you that have obtained like precious faith. So they're saved, 100%. And now I want you to grow and add character qualities. But if you don't, If we stop short at some point, then we can be blind to certain things. He that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. There's another indication that he's saved. He was purged from his old sins, but he forgot that. What's that look like in real time? Maybe somebody that's doubting their salvation. I don't feel saved. I mean, just look at stuff that's happening in my life. Don't get around Job's friends. where they'll say, yeah, yeah, you're definitely not saved. You're going to hell, man. I mean, look at that. A believer never does anything like that. I never do anything like that. I'm really perfect. So don't get around people with the wrong perspective, but that's how someone can get it if they don't grow and they don't add the right character qualities. They can be blind even to the fact that they forget they were purged from their old sins. It doesn't say that he wasn't purged, but he says he forgot that he was purged. So what does blindness in the Christian life look like? What are we blind to? Sometimes we can be blind to ourselves. You ever seen someone that's blind to himself? Everyone else can see it, but he can't. Can't you see that the way that you're acting is rubbing people the wrong way? No, there's a problem with everyone else around me. I heard of a guy one day that he was sitting in class in college, he was sitting in class and the guy beside him, obviously, had not put on his deodorant that morning. He was like, oh, okay, he kind of scooted over, made it through class, left class and got in an elevator to go to next class, and the guy beside him in the elevator, same thing, he didn't wear deodorant. Five or six people later in the day figured out it was him that had not worn the deodorant. And sometimes we can be so attuned to the problems of other people, we're blind to our own. But everyone can see it, and Jesus talks about it in Matthew 7. the mote and the beam. I've got a speck and I'm gonna get the speck out of your eye and you're like, but you've got a plank, you've got a beam, you've got a four by eight board sticking out of your eye and you're so, let me help you get that speck of dust out of your eye. There are Christians that are blind to themselves sometimes. Sometimes their conscience doesn't bother them about certain things. They're blind. They can be blind to the opportunities that God brings before them. You ever heard someone say, you know what, I would serve God, but I just never get any opportunities. It's like, How about that and that? Did you hear about that person that had a need? How about when somebody said, who wants to help me do this? And you're like, yeah, but that was talking about taking out the trash or scrubbing a toilet. Well, I'm talking about an opportunity. But sometimes people are blind when things are right there in front of them. And sometimes the blindness comes from this break in their fellowship with God because of a relationship with somebody else. We can be blind to eternity. I can be blind to the fact that the path I'm on right now has eternal consequences. I might miss out on hearing, well done thou good and faithful servant. And maybe I don't even care. Maybe I'm not even aware of it. I'm not aware that I might miss out on eternal rewards and blessings and crowns that fade not away. You can be blind to eternity. You can be blind to Fellowship with God missed opportunities totally oblivious that you're gonna reap in your life what you're sowing and You ever seen someone that just says I just can't understand why my life is falling apart It's like well the choices that you're making I don't understand why nobody wants to be around me all the time Maybe it's because you're so abrasive But we will lack this discernment and sight and have blindness. So I want to finish with this, flip it around the other direction. We've been talking about a lack of love for the brethren and hatred. What does loving one another look like? What should I be looking for? What should I be striving for in my life? To love the brethren. Let me just give three examples. We won't turn to all these for sake of time. But one is in Luke 10, 29 through 37. We're not going to read all this. It's the famous story of the Good Samaritan. You know the story of the Good Samaritan where Jesus says there was a man that fell among thieves, he got beat up, and here comes a Levite. Here comes a priest. Oh, this guy, best day ever. You know, he's gonna be saved by these guys. No, they just walk by on their side. And then, and I can imagine that Jesus maybe has some of the disciples behind him giving sound effects while he's telling the parable. I don't know, probably not. But maybe Peter was there. And then a Levite. And Peter goes, ooh. Oh, he didn't help him. Oh, okay. And then he says, and then a Samaritan. And Peter goes, Because they hated Samaritans. And the Samaritan ends up being the hero of the story. The question that somebody asked Jesus was, Jesus says, won't you love your neighbor as yourself? And someone says, willing to justify himself, he says, well, who is my neighbor? And Jesus says, well, I'll ask you a question. He gives a story and he says, which of these was neighbor? to the man that had been beaten up and robbed. And he says, well, the one who had mercy on him. And Jesus says, okay, right. Go and do thou likewise. So when Jesus says, I want you to love each other, here was someone that had never met the person before. Maybe. Maybe he hadn't met him before. I wonder if the guy—by the way, it was a parable, it was a made-up story. It didn't really happen. But imagine if the guy that had been beaten up had ever even done something wrong to that Samaritan before. And he said, I don't care, I'm going to help him anyway because he's in a bad way. It says that he takes the guy and he—let me read the phrase. There was a certain Samaritan as he—this is verse 33—a certain Samaritan as he journeyed, came where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, and he went to him. bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast and brought him to an end. or hotel, so to speak, and took care of him. And on the morrow, when he departed, he took out two pence and gave them to the host, or the innkeeper, and said unto him, Take care of him, and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee. So he goes above and beyond. He did things that you wouldn't have expected, you wouldn't have thought that he should have done, because he, I mean, the Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. They believe that they could be defiled by even touching a Samaritan. But the Samaritan didn't think that. I'll touch this guy who has already been, you know, defiled, so to speak. He's already been left for dead on the side of the road. And there was a great sacrifice of time and money and energy. And he probably had something going on. Oh, I've got an important meeting to be here. But this guy's about to die. So he switches the priorities and he helps this guy. Jesus says, this is how we love our neighbor. There's another example of the early church in Acts chapter 4, where there was a persecution. There was a couple of things going on in the church at the time. In Jerusalem, there was a famine, so everybody is struggling. And then on top of the famine, there is persecution against the Christians by the Jews. They've got a double whammy coming, and a lot of people didn't have enough. Or did they? They did have enough, because there were other people in the church. and they did amazing things. They sold their lands and their houses, and they took the money and gave it to the apostles, and the apostles distributed it among the people, and everyone had enough. By the way, I heard a pastor one time, they were taking up an offering for a particular need, and he said, you know, I have good news and bad news. The good news is we have all the money that we need for our fundraiser. Praise the Lord. The bad news is it's still in your pockets. So we're going to take up anyway. But the church, it says about the early church that, this is Acts 4.32, neither said any of them that aught of the things which he possessed was his own. but they had all things common. That's an amazing statement. And we're not talking about communism, because communism is forced. This is what everyone's gonna, we're gonna take this and this, and we're gonna give it to me or whatever, whoever's the leader. This was not communism. This was communion. This was a sharing in selflessness. And in verse 34, it says, neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them. brought the prices of the things that were sold, laid them down at the apostles' feet, and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need." So everyone was taken care of because they loved the brethren. So what does it mean to love the brethren? I'm not telling you exactly what to do or how to apply it. I'm just saying what they did in the early church was they said, I don't own anything. Everything I have is from God, and I'm just willing to be a blessing to help. And then the third thing I want to mention is the example of Jesus, which is the highest, that he laid down his life for us. And he did that as an example. Jesus' love was not to be a one-off, one-time display of love. He says, I want you to do the same thing. Here's what it says, John 15, I'm gonna read three verses. Maybe if you want to turn to 1 John 3, and we'll get there, we'll finish with that. John 15, 12, Jesus says, this is my commandment, that ye love one another as I have loved you. That's what the Bible says. The Bible says, A greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. That kind of helps to define what a friend is, doesn't it? The Bible says, A friend loveth at all times. When somebody messes up, oh, you're cut off. Well, you were never really my friend then. Love never fails. Here's John 10 11 I'm the Good Shepherd the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep and I want to finish with this first John 3 16 to show that Jesus loved for us was not just to be admired in a museum Hey, everyone, come over here. I want to show you, there was a demonstration of love one time that'll blow your mind. Never to be repeated, so great. Come over here, look at it on display in a museum. That's not the love of Jesus. It's meant to be a cookie cutter, if I can put it that way. You take the love of Jesus, and that's your template, that's your stamp, and you cut your life out with it. So look what 1 John 3, 16 says, Hereby perceive we the love of God. Because He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Same thing. Same love. Now, our lives maybe don't count quite the same as his. He's the eternal God of the universe. He can be a sacrifice for the sin of the world. We can't do that. But we are commanded to lay down our lives just as he laid down his life. So when you dig into the way that he laid down his life, it's pretty extreme. We may not ever physically have this particular opportunity, but he allowed himself to be spat upon beaten, had his beard ripped out, to be humiliated, stripped naked, put on a cross, nailed to the cross, stabbed. His visage was marred more than any other man. you couldn't even recognize him as himself anymore. Some people think maybe you couldn't even recognize him as a man anymore. He did that so that you and I could be forgiven of our sin. And just put that picture in your mind the next time that you're involving yourself in a particular sin, wallowing in the mud. Picture Jesus hanging, now he's not still on the cross, but picture what he did for you and say, I don't care that you did that for me because I want to do this right now. It's a horrible thing that we do. So when you look at Jesus on the cross, it says, I want you to take that love and put it in your own life. to have a love for the brethren that's willing to sacrifice, that's willing to be made nothing so that the recipient of the love can have anything to be everything. Jesus was willing to be thought a sinner for us so that we could have eternal life. Do we have that love for each other? Is there any other believer that you would say, I am not willing to show that love toward that person. You don't understand what they've done to me. I mean, I know the Bible says this, a lot of people think this, maybe they even say it out loud. I know the Bible says this, but you don't understand the history. You don't understand, well, if we ever think that way, we don't understand the history between us and God, and he was willing to say, I'll save that person anyway. God wants us to have a love for each other. He wants us not to walk in darkness, selfishness, hatred, Anger, envy, bitterness. Maybe there's something in your mind right now of a particular relationship, particular person, and God says, I hate that. I hate that attitude. I hate the actions and the words that you've said to that person. I want you to confess that to me. May we be filled with love. May the love of God be shed abroad in our hearts. I love that phrase, to be shed abroad. It's like there's an explosion of God's love that just fills every corner of our hearts. And we're willing to forgive anyone, anything. We're willing to lay down our lives. We're willing to sacrifice anything. There's nothing too big that I would say, you know what, I just can't give up that. You ever been there? I'll give them this and this. You're like, hey, this person has a need. Do you have any money in your wallet? I do. I've got a $1 bill and I've got a $100 bill. I'm gonna give him the $1 bill. I mean, I can't give up the $100 bill. Again, I'm not trying to be overly specific, but just to say, Jesus gave the $100 bill. He emptied out his bank account. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that ye through his poverty might be rich. That's love. And God says, I want you to love. He wants me to love that same way. May we grow in this. Let's close together in a word of prayer.