Go with me if you would back
to 1 Peter chapter 1. And let's read what will be our actual
text which is verses 22 and 23. Seeing you have purified your
souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love
of the brethren see that you love one another with a pure
heart fervently being born again not of corruptible seed but of
incorruptible by the word of God which liveth and abideth
forever now as I'm sure you well know those are the next verses
in line in our study through 1st Peter. I didn't randomly
select those verses. But being that today's February
the 14th, I can't think of a better subject to deal with than love.
Love. He said in verse 22, seeing you
have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned love of the brethren. See that you love one another
with a pure heart fervently, being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. He gives an exhortation for us
because of something that was done for us. And that's always
the case. Every exhortation we have in
the scripture is exhorted because of something that was first done
for us. Everything that we're exhorted
to do is just a result of something that's already done. And he's
going to tell us that the cause and the effect, the motivation
and the result, everything that he's saying right here is because
of love. It's all because of love. I'd
like for us to see three things in this. God's love for us, our love for God, and our love
for each other. God's love for us, our love for
God, our love for each other. Verse 22 says that our souls
were purified through the Spirit, by way of God's Spirit. That's how it happens. If a soul
is going to be purified, by grace are you saved through faith.
That not of yourselves, that's the gift of God. God sends His
Spirit to with faith to believe on Christ. And that's how it
happens every time. It's by way of God's Spirit.
And then verse 23 says, Being born again, not of corruptible
seed, but of incorruptible by the Word of God, which liveth
and abideth forever. That's God's love for us. That's His love for us. That was the cause of it all.
That's where it all started. Last Sunday night, we were in
verses 18 to 21, and verse 18 says, you were redeemed. Tonight, our text says in verse
23, born again. Verse 18 said, not with corruptible
things. Our text tonight says, not of
corruptible seed. Not by anything that's tainted
by death. Not by anything that is corrupted
or can be corrupted ever again. Isn't that wonderful? Never again. Never corrupted by sin ever again. Verse 19 says, But with the precious
blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. Our text tonight says, but incorruptible. Not corruptible seed, incorruptible. Verse 20 says, who verily was
foreordained, he was foreordained to this. Verse 23 says, by the
word of God which liveth and abideth forever. That's God's
love for us. God's love for us. Don't you
love love? Don't you love God's love for
us? Just dwelling on God's love for
us? It's amazing, isn't it? I started
thinking about that as I read this text. I thought of those,
you know, God's love for us, our love for Him, our love for
each other. As I was thinking about God's love for us, this
song popped into my mind. Just listen to these words. There
will never be a sweeter story. And it's so true of all the stories
that could ever be told. There will never be a sweeter
story. Story of the Savior's love divine. God's love. The story of divine
love. Love that brought him from the
realms of glory just to save a sinful soul like mine. Boundless as the universe around
me. Where does the universe end?
How far do you go out into space before you hit a wall? That's
it. Boundless. Let's talk about God's
love. What is God's love to us? Boundless. How far could you go into God's
love? How far in eternity can you go
into God's love? Where do you stop? Where does
it end? Boundless as the universe around me, reaching to the farthest
soul away. Saving, keeping love, it was
that found me. That is why my heart can truly
say. Love beyond our human comprehending. Love of God in Christ, how can
it be? This will be my theme and never
ending. I'll never stop talking about
this. What I'm talking about tonight, I'll never stop talking
about this. great redeeming love of Calvary. Isn't the love of the Lord Jesus
Christ something wonderful? Wonderful? Wonderful? Isn't the
love of the Lord Jesus something wonderful? Wonderful it is to
me. Turn with me, if you would, to
Jeremiah 31. Jeremiah 31 verse 1 says, At the same time, saith the Lord,
Will I be the God of all the families of Israel? I love that
he said families. Wouldn't you love for God to
save our families? I pray God will save me, but
I pray God will save my family, and I pray God will save my family.
You're my family. At the same time, saith the Lord,
will I be the God of all the families of Israel, and they
shall be my people. Thus saith the Lord, The people
which were left of the sword found grace in the wilderness.
Even Israel, when I went to cause him to rest." That's what happened
on the cross. I went to cause him to rest. And through that they found grace.
Verse 3, the Lord hath appeared of old saying unto me, yea, I
have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving
kindness have I drawn thee." How did He love us? How did He
draw us to Himself? For God so loved the world, He
gave His only begotten Son. God commended his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. I love it every time he calls
us his friends. I love that. I love that. You think about that, friends.
Your friend is who you will be there for. You will be there
for your friend. I need you. I'll be there. You're my friend. Your friend is who you want to
spend your time with. He said, Father, I will that
where I am, they may be also. I want them to be with me. They're
my friends. Your friend is who you will tell
the deepest secrets of your heart to. that He would choose us to be
His friends, we who were dead in trespasses and sins. He chose
us to be His friends. God, who is rich in mercy, for
His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in
sins, quickened us together with Christ. He chose us, quickened
us together with Christ. What does that mean, He quickened
us together with Christ? That means He borned us again. That's what it means. He begot us again, begotten again. The corruptible seed of man ruined
us. Corruptible. So God quickened
us together with the incorruptible seed of Christ in His life, in
His death. And when He arose from that death,
Every soul that was quickened with Him was born again. At that moment, they were born
again. Life again. Born into His family. The family of the Word Himself.
The Word. Christ, the Word of God. Which
liveth and abideth forever. That's the love of God toward
us. That's the amazing love of God toward us. John wrote behold
what manner of love the father hath bestowed upon us that we
should be called the sons of God. All throughout eternity the angels
are going to be called the angels of God. The cherubims are going
to be called the cherubims of God. We're going to be called
the sons of God. Sons of God. Behold God's great love. Great
love. Alright, now every soul that
God loves, He has a question for that soul. Every single soul
that God loves. Every single one. This is a precious
question. Precious. Every one. He asked this question to one
man in particular. But He recorded it in the Word
to ask every single soul that he has chosen to love. He asks
every single one. Every one of us. This is to every
single one. It's in John 21. Turn with me
over there to John 21. John 21, look at the middle of verse 16. He said, Lovest thou me? Lovest thou me? Behold how I
have commended my love to you. Behold how I have commended my
love to you. Lovest thou me? He asked every
single one that. He asked every single one that,
do you love me? I have loved you. Do you love me? Verse 16, Peter
said unto him, yay, Lord. Oh, do I ever? Let me ask you
this question. Do you love the Lord? Do you
love the Lord that redeemed you? Do I ever? do I ever those who
have been born again through receiving the spirit of the incorruptible
word of God every one of them love him with all of their new
heart all of it all of it With being born again comes a brand
new heart. Aren't you so glad for that?
Do you know anything of that old stony heart that the corruptible
seed produced? That original? Do you know anything
of that? That thing is just as hard as it ever was. That thing
is just as stony as it ever was. Every time we get a good look
at that heart, we're so discouraged and we ask ourselves, do I love
the Lord? Do I love the Lord or no? Oft
it causes anxious thought. Thank God He gives a brand new
heart. Brand new heart. With that brand
new heart, God's people love Him with every fiber of their
being. God's Spirit comes in and graciously
moves the mind of the child away from that old stony heart to
the brand new heart. It's called putting on the new
man. And the child is so relieved. I do love the Lord because of
God's love for me. because of what he did for me
and because of what he put in me and because how he has just
turned me. Lord, you turn me and I'll be
turned. And now I see what he has done in me. And the answer
is yay, Lord. Yay, Lord. It's the result of
his doing. It's the response to his action. That's what the new heart says.
our effect of His cause. That's what it is. We love Him
because He first loved us. And that's a real love. You know,
you don't have to force people to love the Lord Jesus Christ
once He does a work in their heart, gives them that new heart.
You don't have to force them to. Nobody has to force me to
love my wife. You don't have to do that. You don't have to keep people
pumped up. Now you got to keep loving your Lord now. You don't
have to do that. Lovest thou me, yea, Lord. Peter was grieved when he said
it, wasn't he? He was grieved at his heart and
we know something about that. Oh, yea, Lord. I wish I wasn't
like I was. But you know I do. Peter said,
you know. You know I love you. Verse 16,
thou knowest that I love thee. You know all things, he said
down in verse 17. You know. His love for us, our love for
him. His love for us produces a, his
true love for us produces a true love for him. A true love. Now go back to 1 Peter 1. Verse 8 says, Whom having not
seen, you love. You most certainly do. That's
a statement, not a question. Peter said, whom having not seen,
you love. Peter said, I know from experience,
I was asked this question personally, do you love me? Peter said, I
know what's in your heart. If God's done a work in your
heart, I know what's in there, you love. Whom having not seen,
you love. Verse 22, our text, it says,
seeing you have purified your souls, in obeying the truth through
the Spirit. That means you believe. You love, you believe, you obey. You purified your souls in obeying
the truth through the Spirit. You bow. Why do you do that? Why do you believe? Why do you
obey? Why do you bow? The answer is
you love. You love. And this is what he
has to say to all those whom he loves and who love him. Verse
22. Seeing you have purified your
souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love
of the brethren. Unfeigned means undisguised. You can't even hide it. Even
if you wanted to, you can't hide it. It's wide out in the open
for all to see. Unfamed means without hypocrisy. Hypocrisy is acting. Unfamed
means completely sincere. Seeing you have purified your
souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfamed love
of the brethren, See that you love one another with a pure
heart, fervently. See that you love one another
with a completely sincere, without hypocrisy, wide open for everybody
to see, love for one another, love for the brethren. After
the Lord asked Peter, do you love me? And after Peter said,
absolutely, I do. Lord, I do. You know I do. After
that, the Lord said to him, then Peter, I want you to feed my
sheep. He asked him, do you love me?
Yay, Lord, you know I do. He said, then feed my sheep.
Feed my sheep. If you love me, feed my sheep. In Matthew 25, he said, in as
much as you have done it unto them, you've done it unto me.
you do it to them you're doing it to me let's remember that
let's remember that in as much as you've done it unto them you're
doing it to me he said in Matthew 22 there are two great commandments
in this word two great commandments on these two commandments hang
all the law and the prophets love me and love each other sincerely
without acting without hypocrisy. Let me show you something over
in Song of Solomon chapter 4. This is just precious. Song of Solomon chapter 4. This is the Lord Jesus Christ
speaking. He's speaking to His Spirit. Okay, this is our Lord speaking
to His Spirit. Verse 16, Song of Solomon 4,
16 says, Awake, O north wind, and come thou south. Blow upon my garden, that the
spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his
garden and eat his pleasant fruits. Christ said to his spirit, blow
upon my people. The wind blows where it listeth,
even so the spirit blows where our Lord tells him to blow. And
he says, you come blow on my garden and produce your sweet
fruit. What is the fruit of the Spirit? Love. Love, joy, peace, patience,
gentleness. When the Spirit comes to a child
of God, this is what you see in the child of God. You see
love. The child of God cannot hate. A child of God can dislike, but
he can't hate. He can't hate. When he looks
at a person, the underlying final say is, I pray God would save
you. Love, joy comes to that person. Peace comes to that person. You're
saying that person's never in turmoil, never sorrow, not saying
that at all. But the peace of God passes all
that, it passes understanding. They rest in Christ, gentleness
comes to that person, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance. He said, blow upon my garden
that the spices may flow out. Go with me over to John 13. John 13 verse 34 says, a new
commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I have
loved you that you also love one another. By this shall all
men know that you are my disciples if you have love one to another. He said, that's how you'll prove
your love to me. By this shall all men know you're
my disciples, if you have love one to another. Don't turn over
there, but John said back in 1 John 3, he said, we know that
we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He said, he that loveth not his
brother abideth in death. Doesn't that make us want to
say, Lord, produce a love in me? John said, 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. We ought to
lay down our lives for each other. In Ephesians 4 verse 2, Paul
said, Forbear one another in love. That word forbear literally
means endure Put up with. Put up with me. That's what it
means. Put up with me. For love's sake,
put up with me. Hebrews 10 verse 24 says, Provoke
one another to love. Don't let up on each other. Not until love comes. Provoke,
provoke, provoke one another to love. Go back to 1 Peter 1. Verse 22 says, Seeing you have
purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit
unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another
with a pure heart fervently. being born again not of corruptible
seed but of incorruptible by the Word of God which liveth
and abideth forever. His love for us has caused our
love for Him. And our love for Him has caused
our love for each other. That's why we love each other. His love started it. His love
caused our love for Him. And our love for Him has caused
our love for each other. It's the fruit of the love of
God. That good and pleasant love for
the brethren. Behold how good, how pleasant
it is. That is the undisguised evidence. The pure and fervent evidence
that we love Him. Love for each other. True love
for each other. And I'm going to close with this.
If we love Him, this is a wonderful thing to think about and dwell
on and ponder and hope in and look forward to. Go with me to
1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 7 says, But we speak the wisdom of God
in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before
the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world
knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory. But as it is written, I hath
not seen nor ear heard Neither have entered into the heart of
man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."
I've seen pictures of an island in the South Pacific. I've seen many pictures. I've
looked at it a lot, this particular island. It looks to me like it's
probably the most beautiful, wonderful place on this earth. It honestly, I can't imagine
a more beautiful, you know, all you can, there's nothing on the
island, all you can do is lay in a hammock. Peaceful, restful,
you've never seen water like this. The water is so clear,
The pictures, they call them floating boats. It just looks
like sand. It looks like the desert. The
water is so shallow because it's all of these volcano islands
connected barely under the water. Very shallow, very clear, and
it's so clear it looks like floating boats. I just can't imagine seeing a
better place. If I was going to pick one place
on earth I could go, that would be it. But here's the thing.
I've seen it. I've seen it. That means it cannot
compare to what the Lord has prepared for them that love Him. It doesn't even come close. I've
seen it. I hath not seen. I've heard things
that to me sound like the most beautiful sounds on earth. But here's the problem. I've
heard them. That means they don't come close. I have imagined what heaven is
going to be like. Have you ever imagined what heaven
is going to be like? Do you ever envision heaven? But here's the problem. I've
imagined it. Neither has entered into the heart of man. It cannot
be described what God has prepared for them that love Him. If we
love Him, why do we love Him? Because He first loved us. What's
the evidence that we love Him? Love for the brethren. It can't be compared. It cannot
be compared. As it is written, I hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of
man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. Does that not promote love? Thank God for His love to us. If it were not for His love to
us, we couldn't even be talking about this. Thank God for our
love to Him. and thank God for our love to
each other. I sincerely beg our Lord. I believe he will. I believe
he will bless our love. Lord, bless our love. Make love grow here. Make this
a house of love. This is a little bitty house,
but love grows in little bitty houses, doesn't it? Make it to
grow. into a pure, sincere, fervent
love. I want to honestly, purely, sincerely
love you. I pray the Lord would produce
that here for Christ's sake. All right, let's all stand together.