Friends, in complete dependence
upon the help of my God this evening, I'd ask you again to
turn to the text we looked at this morning in John's Gospel,
chapter 15 and verse 12. We'll read again verses 12, 13 and
14. This is my commandment that ye love
one another as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends. If ye do whatsoever
I command you. John 15, verses 12, 13, and 14. This is my commandment. Come again this evening with
this great, this truly immense and vast subject of love. This is no ordinary love. This is the love of Jesus Christ
to sinners. And we have just sung in that lovely hymn. He left his radiant throne on
high left the bright realms of bliss, came to earth to bleed
and die. Was ever love like this? Greater loveth no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends. As we mentioned this morning,
that great love that brought the Lord Jesus Christ down to
this low world. He came to that humble place
wherein he was born in that humble town in which he grew up. He was born in that lowly place King of kings and the Lord of
lords. And yet, in that cattle shed,
the Lord of life and glory came to be born. Came a saviour. Came in obedience. Came in willingness. He left the bright realms of
glory. Let us love and sing and wonder. Let us praise the Saviour's name.
He has hushed the lowest loud thunder. He has quenched Mount
Sinai's flame. He has washed us in his blood. He has brought us home to God. Therefore this evening as we
have come again, thankful that we have the house of God, that
we have on the Lord's Day these times where we can come away
and be separate from everything else that's taken of our time,
our thought, our energy in the last week. You may hear today the Word of
God May the word of God today be
made a blessing in that way which the Lord will be pleased so to
do. There may be that which is needful
and as I'm sure it ever is when that text, when that word is
given to the Lord's servants to take, it is not for them to
question. We pray the Holy Spirit may use
it, may speak, and there may be that effect, whether it's
in lives older, in the people of God, those younger, or those
who as yet know not the Lord, nor have testified of his precious
name, that saving work. Yet may the work dwell in the
Lord by his almighty power. Come and bless his holy word. This then is my commandment that
ye love one another. Said this morning, this is not
one of those optional words. It's not an if, but or maybe. This is the word of the Lord
Jesus Christ. May our hearts be softened under
it tonight, because God knows your heart. God knows your life. God knows every detail, every
matter, every consideration. As it always is, when we look
at somebody, we can see their outward appearance. We can see
what they look like, perhaps sometimes We can tell from people's
faces or the way they look. Maybe that they are not right.
They are not happy or indeed that they may be happy. But we don't see what's going
on within a person's heart. We do not always know what's
going on in somebody else's life. We have those little glimpses
and those little details. But God knows tonight, God knows
today. as to why he has sent his word
among us and may it be used for your good, for your instruction,
for your benefit, for your direction, for your help, even for your
awakening. This is my commandment that ye love one another and
the reason as I have loved you. That love that Jesus had to his
disciples, that care that he constantly gave to them, how
he helped them and as he was with them. And we have in the
14th chapter, as I mentioned this morning, there are many
verses, many passages in the Word of God which we could turn
to. But here in this Gospel of John
and also in those chapters or parts of them we've read tonight
from the Epistle of John, how much we read of this great love
and the great need for us to fulfil this commandment. But
verse 15 in chapter 14 says, if ye love me, keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and
he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever,
even the Spirit is truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it seeth him not, neither knoweth him. But ye know him, for he dwelleth
with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you. And as we also have in the Gospel
writings, we have in Matthew and in chapter 22, where this
certain lawyer came to Jesus questioning him. He wanted to
tempt him. he says in verse 36, Master,
which is the great commandment in the law, Jesus said unto him
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 like unto it,
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God. It was a hymn. I think it's in part a question Do we love
the Lord or no? Do we love the Lord or no? Do we love his holy word? Are we those who are willing and those who are obedient to
keep his word? to seek to keep his word. Thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul,
with all thy mind. That's the first and the great
commandment. And then he says thou shalt then
love thy neighbour as thyself. That's the second one. And he's
like as unto the first. And in Mark, in his gospel writings, we have the same narrative in
chapter 12, verse 28. One of the scribes came and having
heard them reasoning together, perceiving that he had answered
them well, asked him, is the first commandment of all?
And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear
O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord, and thou shalt love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind, and he adds, and with all thy strength. This
is the first commandment. And the second is like namely
this, that thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. There is none other commandment
greater than these. And the scribes said unto him,
well, master, thou hast said the truth. For there is one God
and there is none other But he and to love him with all the
heart, with all the understanding, with all the soul and with all
the strength to love his neighbor as himself is more than all the
whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered
discreetly, he said unto him. Thou art not far from the kingdom
of God. And no man does answer him any
question. And in Luke also. Right in chapter 10, Gospel of
Luke chapter 10, in verse 25. Here we have further detail. And behold, a certain lawyer
stood up and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit
eternal life? And he said unto him, What is
written in the law? How readest thou? And the answering
said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with
all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind,
and thy neighbour, as thyself.' And Jesus said unto him, Thou
hast answered right. This do, and thou shalt live. He willing to justify himself
said to Jesus, And who is my neighbour? And there he went
on to expound him of the Good Samaritan. And so in the Word
of God. We have these in the Gospel writings
and we have in the chapters that dear brother James has read to
us this evening from the Epistle of John. We have read this evening from Chapter 3, 1 John 3. And in verse 14, we read this.
We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love
the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. We have before us this evening
may we be brought to examine our
own hearts our own motives, our own desires. How do we stand before the living
God, the holy God who is just, who has commanded us to love
the Lord our God, to love him to serve him, to own him, to
worship him, to call upon his great and holy name with that
reverence and godly fear. We know that we have passed from
death unto life because we love the Brethren. What a question.
Do we really love in truth from our hearts and with all our might
and all that is within us that we can possibly do to love one
another? How the opposite of hatred and evil and backstabbings and
gossipings and wrong ideas and motives of other people. That is not love. It causes division. It causes distress. It brings us to not do that which
is commanded in the Word of God and brings us so far short before
the majesty and the holiness of God who has said, if ye love me, keep my commandments. If ye love me, keep my commandments. For how, as we have at the end of chapter
4 in 1 John, if a man say, I love God and
hate his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother
whom he hath seen. How can he then love God whom he hath not seen? From this
commandment we have from him that he who loveth God loveth
his brother also. And that last verse that we read
in chapter 5 and verse 3 that this is the love of God,
that we keep his commandments. His commandments are not grievous. The Lord is good. The Lord is
a stronghold in the day of trouble. He knoweth them that trust in him. Trust in the
Lord with all thy heart. We then have this, this most
searching scripture. Most searching before us we have
the great and the wondrous love of God. The love of God. God is love. God who sent his Son to be the
Saviour of the world. God is a holy God. We are here upon this earth,
those who are called, those who are believers in the Lord Jesus
Christ, we're here to serve. We're here to do the will of
God. We're here to walk out those
things that he has called us, we're in to do. In this day,
this great commandment is brethren, love one another. How wonderful, how blessed the
effect of Christian, of brotherly and sisterly love is. That union, that communion, not about the things of the earth
and those things that we've achieved and those things that we have
done, but that of which the Lord has
done. To record the great goodness of the Lord, his mercies, his
manifold mercies, his wondrous love. Come back to Ephesians
chapter 2. I think it's verse 4. Yes, Ephesians 2 verse 4. But God, who is rich in mercy,
for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were
dead in sin, hath quickened us, who have made
us alive, together with Christ, by grace ye are saved. hath raised us up together and
made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, that
in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of
his grace in his kindness toward us through Jesus Christ. For by grace are you saved through
faith, and that not of yourself, It is the gift of God. I'm down to verse 13. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who
sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath
made both one and broken down the middle wall of partition
between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity even
the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in
himself of twain one new man, so making peace, that he might
reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain
the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you which
were afar off, and to them that were nigh. Greater love hath
no man than this, the blood of the cross. The suffering that Christ must pass through in his own holy, pure and sinless
body. Yet out of pity, Jesus said he'd
bear the punishment instead. In our reading this evening,
it took us all the way back into the New Testament, into the book
of Genesis regarding Cain and Abel. remember in the beginning when
God created this earth he made that beautiful garden in Eden
for man and woman to live in. But here in this garden, this
beautiful garden, this perfect place that God made sin entered. The woman took of
the fruit of that tree and from there on God sent them out of
the garden. Adam had to till the ground of
the sweat of his brow. Women must then bring forth children
in pain and sorrow. God so loved the world. Yes,
even when we were dead in sin that he sent his Son, his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish. Living and dying in sin that
is unpardoned we will perish. mentioned just very briefly this
morning of Gethsemane the garden in which in being
in an agony Jesus Christ kneeling before his father his sweat as it were great drops of blood falling down the ground
was ever love like this greater love at no man than this the Son of God should come ruin
sinners to reclaim hallelujah what a savior came to pay that
penalty that was due came to bear the wrath of an offended father, the soul
that sinneth it shall die. But the Lamb of God he came forth
to be slain. Behold the Lamb of God, John
said, that taketh away the sin of the
world. In the earthly ministry as it
begun, John the forerunner of Jesus Christ, John the Baptist,
the forerunner of Jesus Christ, repents as the kingdom of heaven
is at hand. Jesus Christ, he came forth repent. How we need that God-given repentance
in our hearts. We're born sinners, we were born
in shame and iniquity. Christ died for the ungodly. We have a love like this, this
great love, this unsearchable love, the riches of free and
sovereign grace abounding in Christ alone. May each and every one that's
found in this house of God this evening know that true peace
with God through the blood of the cross. There's none other
Saviour. There's none other way. into
heaven but by the door. This Lamb of God, the Lamb of
God, God's Son, made that way through himself. I am the way, the truth and the
life. He said unto Martha, I am the
resurrection and the life. Believest thou this? Believest thou this tonight? There is but one way back under
God, through the red sea of his own
blood. Precious Jesus, friend of sinners. Lord, may it be. You'll be those
this night. Have to come with such to thee
draw near. May thy Spirit now dwell in us. We know that casting out of fear
That bondage, that slavery under the chains of Satan. To come, confessing our sin before
God. First chapter of the first epistle,
John. It's that familiar verse, verse
seven. 1 John 1, verse seven. if we walk in the light as he
is in the light and we have fellowship one with another and the blood
of Jesus Christ his son cleanseth us from all sin if we say that
we have no sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive
us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Verse eight of chapter four. He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. And what a verse. He that loveth
God He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. In this was manifested the love
of God toward us, because the God sent his only begotten Son
into the world that we might live through him. Herein is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent
his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God
so loved us, we ought also to love one another. And how do we hear the Word of
God this night? It is the Word of God. May it speak right into our hearts.
May it have that mighty effect upon us this evening as we leave. And if it's the Lord's will we
go out into another week. We know not where the Lord will
come, nor where we will be. But the vital matter tonight
is are we ready to meet God? Are we made a real Christian? Washed in the Redeemer's blood. Do we have that union with the
church's living head? These are great and vital questions. May we leave to relieve one another. May we leave seeking Jesus. For
those that seek him shall find him. Seek ye the Lord while he
may be found. Call upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way. and the unrighteous man his thoughts
and let him return unto the Lord and he will have mercy upon him
and to our God for he will abundantly pardon, pardon through his precious
blood, that sin-atoning blood That one sacrifice for sins forever. He was laid in the grave. But thanks be to God, the angel
told those women he is not here. He has risen. He then ascended
from them and went up out of their sight. He's taken up into
that cloud. this same Jesus this night. He is the mediator between God and man. Seek ye
the Lord while ye may be found. God is love. He that loveth not knoweth not
God. Who the Lord hath his blessing.
Who the Lord shine, that light divine in every heart, whether
younger or older. And the day is coming. Are we
ready to meet God? How have we heard the Word of
God this day? May we look alone unto Jesus,
the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that
was set before him. This is that great love in Hebrews
chapter 12. Looking unto Jesus, verse 2,
the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, despised the
shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured
such contradiction of sinners against himself lest Ye be weary
in your minds. Amen. Our closing hymn this evening
is from Gatsby's Hymn 471. Prepare me, gracious God, to
stand before thy face. Thy spirit must the work perform,
for it is all of grace. Hymn 471 to the tune 71. Lord, to stand before thy face. Thy spirit must the world perform,
for it is all a phase. In Christ's obedience know, and
watch me with the pain gone. The Spirit of my life may heal and save thee, my son. And be at his side now, there
be thy Now may the grace of our Lord
and Saviour Jesus Christ, the love of God, our Heavenly Father,
the sweet communion and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with us
all now and for evermore. Amen.