October 1, 2007

• How to love our Neighbors by Pastor La Fayette Scales

  Before I share the study notes, I want to thank you for your prayers. I will try to put up pictures of our visit with my son in a few days. But God abundantly answered my prayers – we had traveling mercies, Edward and Katherine were able to go to class with Christopher and hang out in the dorm room for some time, getting a flavor of what college is like. I am praying now that Edward gets a move on trying to really apply to college. I don’t think that before this trip he could even visualize himself as a college student. So I am now praying favor for him as he applies this year, that he finds a college that is perfect for him and also offers a great financial package of scholarships and grants - He really wants to go to University of Richmond like his brother. Thanks for your prayers.

  I wish you could have been here to hear Pastor Scales from Rhema Christian Center, Columbus Ohio speaking. We were laughing so much as he presented this hard topic with humor.

  Pastor Scales told us that Jesus meets us where we are at.

  We looked again at Matthew 22:34-40 But when the Pharisees heard that He had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together. Then one of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” Jesus said to him, “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  ’ This is the first and great commandment/ And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

  Last night we talked about loving God, and now we are going to deal with commandment two – loving your neighbor as yourself. Pastor Scales went over the Feast of Tabernacles, booths, where the people brought their worship from the Temple to the community. At Passover people were saved, at Pentecost they were empowered. They were cleansed at Yom Kippur, and now the community can witness what God has done. Yesterday we also talked about loving God with all of our heart (motivation), soul (passion), and mind (intellect). We discussed Romans 12:1-2 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

  Our worship is the life that we live, a life of sacrifice, giving to God of our all. Pastor Scales told us that while all things may be permissable, not all things are beneficial. It may be lawful to eat four pieces of poundcake, but it is not healthful. Some people need to get rid of their caffeine addiction or their food addictions. Some of the things that take us away from God are not evil or bad, but they are addictions anyway.

  Yesterday, we also looked at John 21 when Jesus restored Peter to himself, we learned that God wants us to love Him comparatively, personally and qualitatively. In the good times and the bad times.

  1 John 3:1-2 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

  What manner of love! We are sons of God (children of God).

  Now God wants us to love our neighbors.

  1 John 3:11 For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another

  We need to love each other with AGAPE love. AGAPE love is seeking the highest good for everybody at all times.

  There are four different Greek words for love. 1. Agape, 2.phileo which is brotherly love, companionship, 3.storge which is family love, love of a parent for a child, and 4. eros which is romantic love, what a marriage covets.

  So Jesus told us that we are to love one another. It is easy to love God, but tough to love one another. It is easier to love people who are far away from us, like missionaries in the field. But to love people in church is tough. To love our families at times is also tough.

  It is easy to say you love someone, but far harder to prove it to the people you know.

  Pastor Scales told us of a Promise Keepers’ meeting that he went to for Pastors in Phoenix, Arizona called – Draw Near to Me. The pastors went to this meeting thinking that it was going to be a meeting of pulling people closer to God, but instead it was to draw near to each other.

  One pastor got up and talked about Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers. God used that to lead the people to Egypt – to draw near to him. The pastor told the attendees that God wants us to draw near to Him, but also to draw near to each other.  Near to God isn’t bad, but near to each other can be a challenge.

  The pastors began to be increasingly uncomfortable as various speakers stepped forward.

  A Jewish person talking about the holocaust, and Christian persecution of Messianic Jews, and then closed their talk with “Draw near to me.”

  Then a Japanese American spoke of the internment camps during World War II, and closed their talk with “Draw near to me.”

  An American Indian talked about the European slaughter, and the death and disease that was brought into their camps and they concluded with, “Draw near to me.”

  By this time the pastors were looking at each other, very uncomfortable.

  The Chinese came up and talked about the railroad, how they lost legs and arms building the railroads, and then were abandoned once the project was over, “Draw near to me.”

  And Pastor Scales was talking with a white guy who was even more uncomfortable, and thinking that he wasn’t going to come back the next day.

  Then a black person came up and talked about the Selma march, the hangings, “Draw near to me.” Pastor Scales said that at least he was black, but the white guy, after telling Pastor Scales it was nice meeting him,  never showed up the next day. It is hard to face the truth about how much we pull away from people who are different from us.

  Jesus told us we need to love God with all of our mind, our soul, and our hearts. It is easy to love God, all you have to do is obey Him. But harder to love your neighbor as yourself.

  It is hard to be with people in church who eat the last piece of chicken – you have your fork ready and they snatch it right out from under your fork. Jesus says to Love God and Love your neighbor with Agape love, always seeking their best.

  John 3:11 tells us to love one another.

  Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

  We cannot agape love on our own, it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to help us love one another.  1 Corinthians 13 (the love chapter) is (Pastor Scales broke out into song) “To dream the impossible dream…” It takes the Holy Ghost to love like that. We need the Holy Ghost pouring love out into our hearts, the divine love. God’s love goes into us, and then flows through us to others.

  “It is well with my soul.” More love to thee, O God. When we give Him love, He pours back in good measure, pressed down. Pastor Scales gave us an illustration of pressed down – he said that when we rake leaves in the fall we fill up a bag with leaves, then we press down on the leaves so that they compact, and put more in. When the bag is full, it weighs lots from all the leaves that have been pressed down inside of it.

  Whatever we give to Him is like Manna poured out from Heaven. You cannot beat God at giving. We cannot conceive, Ephesians 3:17-19  that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

  That we can know the love of Christ that passes all understanding!

  Then Pastor Scales gave us some practical aspects of how to love our neighbors.

  Romans 12:10 Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

  Pastor Scales read this same verse in the English Standard Version Romans 12:10 ESV  Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor

  Pastor Scales particularly loved the idea of outdoing one another in showing honor. Can you imagine if Christians had a contest to outdo each other in showing honor? He then told us that what we need is contained in the Aretha Franklin song – R*E*S*P*E*C*T.

  We need to look for ways to respect each other, to see the worth of another person, and to view each other with love. We don’t just respect a person because of a title they bear in their name, but respect each other because respect is what we do no matter who the person is.

  We are to love people, to outdo one another in kindness, even before we know that they are somebody. You never know who you are sitting next to in church. Treat everyone as someone. Pastor Scales told of a member of his church who was going through difficult times, yet she was always friendly and nice to those around her in church. Someone heard of her plight and anonymously gave the woman a large sum of money – because she always greeted them with a smile and was kind. That money helped the woman out of her difficult circumstances. But when we are kind we are walking in the Kingdom of God.

  Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

  Romans 12:16 ESV Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight.

  Pastor Scales asked us if we have ever sent someone a gift – a gift WE thought was a great gift, but it was not what the person wanted. So you thought, pretty good, but they thought pretty ugly. When we live in humility, we seek the other’s good, which involves knowing them.

  You need to be on the same page with the other person. Pastor Scales told the joke about the $4,000 parrot that someone sent to their friend – this parrot spoke many foreign languages. After a period of time of not hearing from their friend, the person called and asked how they liked the present. The person told them, “I cooked it up and it was delicious.” The phone was silent.

  In this day and age when we are told to be ourselves, be humble. Don’t think you know it all, be teachable.

  When learning stops, death starts.

  The evidence of love is living in harmony with others, seeking common ground.

  Romans 15:7 Therefore receive one another, just as Christ also received us, to the glory of God.

  Romans 15:7 ESV Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

  When we welcome each other and receive each other as Christ received us, it is not because we were worthy that He received us, it was not because of what we did that He received us. We need to welcome and receive each other, not because of what another person does, but because of Who He is – so that God gets the glory.

  Pastor Scales is a person who gets to the point quickly, and does not like to waste time. God wanted to teach him patience, so he sent someone who stuttered into his life – It caused Pastor Scales to learn to slow down and to be more patient in listening to others speak.

  The big question is: Can you accept and value people who are different from you. Can you welcome someone who seems crazy, who is an enemy, who is constantly fussing, who does not smell so good, who is funny looking, funny speaking, and see them as valuable?

  We need to be more accepting as Christians, to remember that we did not get to where we are in our walk with God overnight. Hopefully in our journey as Christians we have come a long way, but when we look ahead, there is still a long way to go.

  Galatians 5:13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another

  We are called to serve one another. Pastor Scales reminded us how his wife loves breakfast in bed, so he does that for her on his day off, does it in a wonderful and beautiful way. He talked about a marriage seminar that his church had, where the men were given a task in secret to do during the week for their wives, and the wives were given a task to do for their husband. The man’s task was to call his wife three times a day and tell her that he loved her. The woman’s task was to bake her husband’s favorite dessert. Mrs. Scales  had no idea what it was and asked Pastor Scales what his favorite dessert was. (Heather’s note: you could almost see him salivating when he described the pineapple upside down cake that his wife baked for him.) That was serving one another in love – and then he said that if he had a piece of that cake on his forehead he would have “beat his brains with his tongue to get that piece.”

  Galatians 5:13 New Living Translation For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature. Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love.

  We need to make allowances for each other, treat each other with love. Love is patient and kind. Be patient with people, don’t treat them with resentment. He described a time when he sat in a restaurant after he and his wife traveled long and were hungry. They were served their tea and water, but then the waitress forgot about them. They sat and sat and those who came in after them were served and left. Finally they decided to pay for their drinks and go up to their hotel room. Instead of berating the service, or being rude, they just quietly paid, saying they were too tired to stay and wait. Before the night was over they were given complementary room service from the hotel, and for the entire time of their stay they were treated well, everyone knew who they were. They knew because of the kind treatment that they returned for a slight that others would have ranted and raved about.

  Patience opens doors. Jesus said, John 13:34-35  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.

  Pastor Scales told us how his mom endured burnt barbecue until he honed his skills on the grill. Now he is good at doing this and him mom benefits from her patience when she comes to visit her son and his wife.

  Pastor Scales reminded us that someone endured all of us when we first came into the church, so we need to be forbearing with each other.

  Ephesians 4:32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

  Kindness is one of the greatest examples of our Christians walk. Kindness means to be nice. Even when we had all the negative stuff in our life, Jesus was kind to us, and forgave us.

  We even need to be kind when we discipline another. He talked about how he used kindness when he disciplined his children when they were in error, and now he sees that they do the same with their children.

  Galatians 6:10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all, especially to those who are of the household of faith.

  Pastor Scales told us that we need a CONSPIRACY OF KINDNESS, to figure out how we can be nice to people, to each other within our church community. The greatest commandment is to Love God, but then we need to love our neighbor. Pastor Scales told us that if you imagine a cross, to love God is the vertical post, and loving our neighbors is the horizontal bar (Pastor Scales held out his arms to show the cross shape.) We need to love those in the house of God. The Holy Ghost will help us to learn to love one another.

  We then took time to pray for each other, breaking into small groups to do this. It was a blessed night.

  I am hoping your day is abundantly blessed, I will try to get to your sites later this day to see what is going on in your lives.

  Heather

  • 10:52 pm
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