PART 5. FROM LOVING LIKE JESUS Galatians 5:6 (NIV) 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (NIV) • Faith is never found without Love and Hope. They go together. • You cannot have Faith if you don't have Love. You cannot have Hope if you don't have Faith. • But the greatest is Love! 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NIV) John 13:34-35 (NIV) • Jesus was spot on when He gave us this new command. • As we learned last week, the early church took this seriously. • So must we or we would jeopardize our faith. • The "old" command was to love our neighbor as we would love ourselves. • Jesus' command is "new" in that we must love like He would. • The former uses "self" as the standard. The latter uses Jesus. • Would you rather be loved like how Jesus would love you, or like a person would love himself? • No question which one is better! How do we love like Jesus? A. As One Who Serves Luke 22:24-30 (NIV) • One of Jesus' greatest leadership qualities is He serves. • Jesus wasn't just setting the example for leaders. He is the example for all who follow Him. • Of all the qualities of leadership, serving is perhaps the least practiced. • It is by far the least attractive to people. • While we may not mind serving every now and then, we don't like being a servant. • "Servant" in Greek = doulos (bondslave) or diakonos (deacon or minister) • Both words describe a man who is not at his own disposal, but is his master's purchased property. • Bought to serve his master's needs, to be at his beck and call every moment, the slave's sole business is to do as he is told. • For many of us, we don't mind serving, if we are not required to do it all the time. • We don't mind serving if it does not inconvenience us too much. • We don't mind serving if it does not cost us too much. • Some even proudly say, "I don't need to be a leader to serve. I do my part whenever I'm needed." • That is not Jesus. Jesus was available. • You are only available according to your conditions. • The biggest difference between you and a leader who serves is that he or she does it day in and day out, week in and week out. You do it when you want to. • If we are servants of God, then we are here to do His will and nothing else. • Faith Grows for those who serves. B. As One Who Shepherds John 10:7-13 (NIV) • Shepherding was a common profession in Jesus' days. It was actually a full-time job. • Shepherds lived with their flocks. They guided them to good pasture and water. • They protected them from predators. At night, the shepherds had to stay vigilant all night to guard them from attacks by wild animals. • Each time the sheep return to the sheepfold, the shepherd would count the sheep as they entered. • Of all the professions mentioned in the Bible, none is as self-sacrificing as that of a shepherd. • A good shepherd literally devoted his entire life to feeding, protecting and caring for his flock of sheep. • It is indeed very significant that God chose shepherds to become some of His greatest leaders. • Abraham, Jacob, Moses and David were all trained by God in the wilderness as shepherds. • The world needs good shepherds today. Are you available to be one? C. As One Who Sacrifices John 10:14-16 (NIV) • Jesus loves us by sacrificing His life for us. • There is no story greater than one when someone lays down his life for another. • Because that is the ultimate sacrifice. You cannot give more than life itself. John 15:13 (NIV) • If you want your Small Group to be awesome, but you are not willing to sacrifice, you will accomplish nothing. • If you want to be a great Christian, but you are unwilling to sacrifice, you will accomplish nothing. • Faith cannot grow without sacrifice. • Nothing in life grows without sacrifice. • Children grow through the sacrifices of their parents. • Companies grow through the sacrifices of her employees. • Character grows through the sacrifice of present comfort for future harvest. • If we never learnt sacrifice, we would be terrible people to live with. • We would be takers, receivers and manipulators. • We would suck the life out of those who love us. • We have no language of giving. To us, sacrifice is going through some inconvenience. • It would be people's nightmare to have a relationship with us. • Christians who are only in church to receive are the ones who suffer most in the long run. Survey: • 1000 church attenders were asked the question, "Why does the church exist?" • * 89% said that the church's purpose was 'to take care of MY family's and MY spiritual needs.' • * 11% said that the purpose of the church was 'to win the world for Jesus Christ.'