Trending - Week 4 - St. Peter - Pastor Bill Monday
Trending
Week 4
St Peter - Pastor Bill Monday
Welcome to week 4 for our series “Trending” and the phrase that we'll talk about today is “Love Is Love”. “Love Is Love”. Let me just by show of hands. How many of you have ever heard that phrase before? “Love Is Love”? Okay, was like early service. I don't think anyone had heard so I won't explain it, then. That's great. So you're familiar with it, and we'll really dive into it. Especially from John, the beloved's perspective for shock, for before we jump into the message. Let’s begin with prayer.
Sanctify Us by the truth. Oh Lord. Yes. Set us apart. Understand love and truth for your holy saving purposes sanctify is by the truth. Your word alone is truth. Amen.
So, I've been thinking a lot with this series “Trending”, and if you haven't seen the first few messages, like “Trending”, the phrase “Science is “and “God spoke to me”. That's another phrase is kind of, maybe Trends, among Christians or last week. “You be you” check those out. A lot of Truth seemingly to those phrases but some difficulty to which God's word always points out but been thinking about a lot of phrases, not every trending, phrase is of deep theological. Doctrinal portents, take this one, for example, hold my beer. Hold my beer, familiar with that one. It's a trending phrase. Now. Maybe you've seen a lot of memes with that. Hold my beer Suppose generation or two ago, it was just an innocent request. Maybe you're at a family function. Like you could be this time of year and you say to a friend. Hey hold my beer and you light up the grill. That's nice, isn't it? That's pleasant or hey, hold my beer and yeah, grab your child, you get them seated in the swing, you pushing. It's a nice day and you grab your beer.
But, you know, now, if you know the phrase hold, maybe your means somebody's about ready to do something really stupid. And just by dumb luck. They're gonna, they're gonna lose their life picture, maybe a meme of a guy spraying down a hornet's nest with lighter fluid saying, hold my beer, and then lighting a match, terrible idea. Terrible idea. Or is actually a deeper meaning to this phrase now and I kind of like this approach. I saw a couple memes one with Tom Brady, another with Aaron Rodgers. So one that says, no one will ever play in the NFL and do their 50s and then Tom Brady's says hold my beer, right? Who knows? Maybe he will one day or it said Hail Mary question mark. And then there was Aaron Rodgers saying, hold my beer, you know, he can see he's known for that. Right. Just the miraculous throws and
Packers win in last few seconds.
Well, I think it's a good phrase, maybe start off with as we're about ready to dive Into “Love Is Love”. I think there are some messages. You have no idea where they're going to go if they're going to talk about something like Love Is Love and it could be an idiotic pursuit. But today, we're going to let God's words speak to this. It's almost like God's word is saying hold my beer. I'm going to speak the truth to you and it's going to be loving and full of grace and it will be saving. And that's how important of an issue. This is this trending phrase. Love Is Love. Now at first glance “Love Is Love”, it's an amazing. I like that phrase. I think it's beautiful. First of all, how would you argue against it. Why would you even want to? I mean, love is love. How many of you like love?
Go ahead. Good. You have a heartbeat. We love love. We are wired for love. God made us to love and be loved. So I love is love, why? Why would we even want to argue against that? It's a beautiful phrase. It's like just saying blue is blue or pizza’s pizza or bald is beautiful. I mean, how can you argue against any threw that in there for you? So, at face value, there's no issue with Love Is Love. But there's a deeper meaning and this is where it began to Trend. And this is our first point. Maybe if you are taking notes today, “love is love” means something more. It means something deeper. It means support for gay marriage and it goes all the way back to 2015, if not before. And if you remember back then some seven or so years ago. Our nation was kind of divided on equality in marriage. We were hearing whether or not same-sex couples should have the right to be married. And it was in June 26 2015, the Supreme Court ruled in favor for rights for gay people to be married and it was legalized across the country. What was the slogan? Love Is Love. That was used as a way to argue for equality, in marriage. Of course that trending phrase didn't stop trending. And if we haven't seen it lately, you'll probably see it again in June. June is gay pride month and you'll probably see a lot of people with good intentions with loving hearts. See “Love Is Love” and maybe with a rainbow circle around, whatever message and when you see that they are in support of all things. LGTBQIA+. It's a acronym. But it's very meaning for every letter to it means something lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning intersex, Ally or asexual and so on, and so forth, how people define themselves today as to their sexuality, or their gender. So that's what that means. Our task for today, with this series is what does God think about that deeper? Meaning of “Love Is Love”. What does that does? It mean to God whom? Well, John tells us it's love. So I started thinking about love is love and hate. Then I start thinking about other phrases, may be inspired straight out of the Bible about love, and that led me to this one here. If you're filling in blanks. God, God is love.
It isn't that beautiful to be made a face value. And as to any deeper meaning, God is love and God has not left us without an understanding of what real loveru, true love, looks like and I love this phrase for another reason. If you Google this and search images for this, you're going to find proponents of love is love. Or those that are against that saying, both agree. This is important God. Love. In fact, if you look at some images, you're going to see again, rainbow backdrops with something like God is love God made the rainbow. God is for Gail of Or you'll see Jesus thoughts. Jesus said, love all people, Jesus love is all inclusive. So you'll see images pop up like this, a rainbow and Jesus and God is love. Kind of wrestling with well, how does that fit into her more? So how does “Love Is Love” fit into that? I know this is my book that I wrote and I am not trying to self-promote at all.
I share this with you for a couple reasons, one because of some of the messages that are out there today, which can be confusing, rainbow savior, this work, and you can pick up on Amazon. I would say get a digital copy if you really are interested only, it's like a couple bucks, and I don't make any money off that I wrote this as a labor of love. Because in my previous ministry, I was able to counsel a lot of people who struggled with same-sex attraction. As I say, we call it. In fact, I'm part of a Ministry now. I have some great Christian friends as part of that, that we look to as a network, encourage people that struggle that are looking for answers, looking for a safe place to truly talk about what they wrestle with, or their families. So Rainbow Savior is a book that really dives deep into that. If you would like to borrow a copy from me, you can do that for free. Just let me know. And it really, I'm here to be of encouragement to have that conversation with anybody who desires that It was interesting. I saw that phrase, you know, God made rainbows, God is for Gail of. And in my last chapter in “Rainbow Savior”. I talked about the historical, meaning the biblical portrayal of the rainbow. You go to Genesis chapter 6, through 8 chapter 9, this the worldwide flood.
This is really rich in meaning. This is, this is part. God is love. Did you know that the rainbow in the Hebrew language? It's actually not rainbow its War Bow. So it's a bow that you would use an Archer would use at War. And you think it's interesting that after the flood, this universal judgment, where everyone was destroyed except a people. God says to Noah, and it's written in scripture. He says, no, I'm going to take my War bow and I'm going to hang it up. I'm not going to fire universal judgment at humanity until the end.
There will be a day when I take it down. But not until my Grace has been fulfilled in every way in the one I said. Which is why you find Jesus on a cross, but as the arrow of God's love to rescue us and in judgment, in the end because Jesus is the one who will judge the world and praise God. He came first to save it. And that's why you see the rainbow pop up in scriptures from time to time. And even Jesus being prophesied about being the arrow, and God's quiver to rescue. And then to judge. This is why at the end of the Bible, you see a rainbow encircled, Throne of God.
So we don't have a lot of time to go into other aspects of it. But we're talking about God is love and is very much tied up in the rainbow. But what's the meaning of that? Well, Jon hasn't left us without meaning. Let's go on a couple more blanks here. Is we'll take a look at first. John. Four will see that. This is what it means that God is love. First of all, God is the source of all love which is holy and good and right and sincere and true and beautiful. And every way even as ugly as it could look.
Still God's love. It's kind of leads me to the next thought. God's exercise of Love is always selfless. That is it trademark a key characteristic of Love Real Love. In fact that is the image of God. God is holy and righteous. Always other oriented never about himself, always about what's blessing for you for me. And that's exemplified at the cross. So if you want to see what true love looks like, just look to the cross.
I'll give you an example, which I think is very applicable with God is love and love is love. And what else the Bible might say about love. You think about this? When you look at Jesus on the cross that kind of love is ugly hard to look at when you really see what it, what it meant for. Jesus was nothing more. Beautiful.
And, Something this is tough. Love. And when you think about this kind of love to, with Jesus on the cross. How much of it was fueled by warm fuzzy feelings? I mean when Jesus was dying on the cross. He was not feeling good about us. As far as if you were attracted to us. Oh, look at them. Because we were killing him. We were nailing him to the Cross. We looked at him like he was despised by God and deserved hell, which is what he suffered. You could argue that Jesus had no feelings for us on the cross, but he loved us regardless.
And you can't even say were we friends. Even when Jesus died for us. No God demonstrates, his own love for us in this while we were sinners, enemies of God. He loved us. So that love really isn't about feeling and that love isn't even reasonable. But that's God for you. That's divine love. And that's what John is talking about in first John four. So think about this think about what John is saying and what he's not saying
Chances love, love comes from God. And everyone who loves like this selflessly. True love, never mind feelings, never mind reason committed to the end, never mind self. Everyone who loves, they've been born of God. No God because God is love and this is how God showed his love among us. He sent his one and only son into the world, right? There's love. You can judge all love by that. Yes. This is love. Not that, we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. There's No Greater Love.
And it's beautiful and that kind of love wins over feelings for God and wins over. All right, mine. It's reasonable. So the truth that's going to help us as we continue to evaluate that training. Phrase “Love Is Love” Philn t ihe thought here. God is love sets the standard to judge all trending phrases on love. God will make all things clear through his word. That's a promise founded on Christ, who is love.
So I started thinking again like okay, training phrase, love is love. God is love. Can help us understand this and it's deeper. Meaning “Love Is Love”. Is it good? Is it right? It's something else. So I thought of another trending phrase at least it was trending 1,600 years ago, which I still think is worthy of a hashtag today. But I want to share with you this phrase that came from a guy who was like a theological giant one of the early church fathers, but he wasn't always so Godly.
His name is Saint Augustine or St. Augustine. However, you want to pronounce it. He wasn't a moral man, like terrible as it is set of choice. Was lost. I mean, sins of human sexuality. That was his thing. And he writes about all of this very honestly in his work called confessions. Here's a gem that comes out of this work inspired by this scripture. Sin is love.
Misplaced.
Never thought of it that way. Sin is love. That sounds weird. It sounds like sin is anything, but love. Oh, but he was so right. Sin is love misplaced. It's not. It's right spot. It's out of order. Sin is love broken, abused destructive. Either immediately or in the long term and it maybe if we think about it and this would be in line with Romans 3:23 says we've all fallen short of the glory of God. The glory of God is true. Love we all fall short. Although how many times have we done something as sinners thinking? That's the loving thing to do.
But then there was shame and regret and guilt. I think about it is simply as this or talk about football before, but how many of you like football? Are you sad that? I mean, you got a few months yet. Maybe you were watching the drafts and all that, like, oh, great or whatever, right? So you love football. Football's a good thing. I mean, every good and perfect gift comes from God, and if you enjoy football, and a God-pleasing way, that's good, and if you love it, that's great. But I think you'd all agree that if I started loving far more than my wife. And she's right over there. She would be pretty upset and rightly so, or more than my kids, or let's say, I had to choose between watching the football game or an important family function like a birthday party, right? Which, by the way, if you love your family, you'd never plan a birthday party. I want a football game ever. So, but if I chose football over family. Well now that's love misplaced that said citizen or height shows football over God, anything over God, that's love for the wrong thing or at least wrongly placed. And if we start talking about the sins that St. Augustine confessed sins of human sexuality, you can see why all it makes sense. You can see why sin is so tempting. So seductive, why people fall into it and it should humble us, all. Why would we ever judge anyone for embracing love? Even if it's misplaced.
Think about internet pornography.
Why is that a thing? And why is it an epidemic today? We're many men struggle with that and women too. You know why? That is. Because it looks like love. It feels like love. It's all love. Except how it's so destructive. So misplaced it is not God's design for marriage and that's why it destroys someone and how they view the opposite gender or the same destroys, their family destroys the relationship with their kids.
So that's what God says. Yeah, it's love, but it's misplaced. It's sin. I'll take my grace and be forgiven and leave your life of sin or are you doing? I was thinking about it's that time of year where prom right? And you get all these awesome pictures of people dressed up so nice or young people and you got boyfriends and girlfriends there, and they're excited and some wonderful evening, and there might be an after-prom party and it can be good. But how often doesn't turn bad real quick?
Why is that bad? Cause you got two people who are attracted to each other. They love each other. Things happen because of love. We'd all agree. That's loving this place. That's in. What do you say to? People are getting serious? They want to get married. So, this is what we do in our culture. If you really want to see, if you're ready to get married, you live together before you sign the document. Then you express all sorts of love, like married people do and it seems, right? And it makes sense.
But God says, although that's love that's misplaced. That's not my design. And no wonder the stats bear out that you're more likely to get a divorce if you live together ahead of time. Then if you finally express yourself in intimacy in marriage as its intended, unconditional commitment. But we often do what we want. Or extramarital affairs, or you name it or even divorce. For unscriptural reasons, isn't that also about love?
I mean, irreconcilable differences of two people. They're just not in love anymore. Well, I guess God wants me to be happy. So I should leave and find new love. We go on down the line. In fact, sin is so Insidious and it can feel like love that a guy like me when I preach about true love and all the ways that we said, if I'm not careful, if I love the truth more than the souls, the truth seeks to serve. And if I come off like a Pharisee, as if I'm holier than thou and I'm guilty of sin.
But I've loved the wrong thing to the wrong order. That's love. But it's misplaced. And so let's sum up this truth. This way, Paul is going to help us out. Second Timothy, 3:1-5 talking about the different Nature's of love that are out there and not. All of them are good. Paul, actually describes the end times. He says, it's going to get really messed up in the end times. It's going to get really broken and really tragic and maybe we start thinking, Oh, you mean like violent and full of hatred and so on and so forth. And Paul's like, no, no, no,
It's gonna get messed up when it comes to love. He says this is his mark, this there will be terrible times in the last days, people will be lovers. Oh, that haters lovers will lovers of themselves and in that boastful and proud. And without love, not lovers of the good lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God still have a form of godliness, but denying its power and that my friends is said it looks like love feels like love, but it's me, me, me.
It's empty and it's out without God's power.
And so some truths for us to recognize from scripture, you know, there is some love that's good for filling in the blanks. Some love, that's good. And that love is from God and he defines that love. Some love is bad. Abused that love is sin, which is in keeping with and we can go to the next slide right away. Talking about an illustration, the Bible, you know, the Bible's word for sin is hamartia, which is an
Cheers term. And it reminds us that God created you and me to love and be loved. So God gives us this Arrow of love. It's like, we're all bunch of Cupid's out there. And God says, look, I'm gonna give you this powerful thing and you're going to be like me because I am love you were created to love and be loved. But you gotta aim that love in the right place. Love for me up for others over yourself. That's the bullseye. Now, when you fire away with love when you hit the bullseye, Ah, that's good. Love.
But if you miss even by a hairline fracture, if you miss Off the Mark, completely off the board, I mean, talk about abuse of love. It's all sin. That's love. And does not make sense. Isn't that what sin is? Isn't that why we are so tempted and so drawn to that which kills? And so again think of this God's love is selfless and even rules over feelings.
So God causes by his love to make feeling some, but I think this is really helpful, especially for younger generations. But sin is always always selfish. It's often taken captive by feelings. You hear this a lot today, but I feel But I know in my heart of hearts, I feel this way. I mean, that's how I am. It's how I was born. Oh God, all the way along says I have a problem with how you're born today sinful. And so we'll try and drown that in the old Waters here. Baptism will make you new born again. You see house in works. It's selfish and we become slaves of our own feelings. But God says, you don't have to be in your, not a summary of your feelings. You can take control and you can crucify them. In fact, that is God.
Feeling. So, let's look at the next thought. Here's our question is Love Is Love the deeper. Meaning the lgbtq form of love, which is love. Our question is, is it from God? Who is love? Or from sin, love misplaced.
Didn't Jesus in his loving, truth, answer that in Matthew. 19 in the scriptures are consistent?
But in Jesus culture, when the Pharisees he's like, hey can't we do with marriage what we want? I mean, can't we divorce for any and every reason I mean, look at Moses, even in Deuteronomy says that.
Jesus sticks to the truth. God's design. He says, look in the beginning, God made them male and female and it was for that beautiful design of God. And the blessings that come out of that for families and children, and order in this life that a man leaves his father and mothers united to his wife. And within that context. They become one that sexual intimacy.
What God joins together? No one can mess with me, shouldn't Disciples like that's crazy Jesus. That's not very loving. In other words who can who can tolerate that and Jesus says, oh, I get it. Not, everyone can accept that except for those, to whom the word is given. And he says, in this is why some have become like eunuchs. Especially for the kingdom, they become celibate, non-sexual people.
For those who can accept that word accept it.
Now, what are we to do with that? Hot soul out of date today. So contrary to our culture. I guess we have a choice. We could believe in the one who is loved, who loved you, and me so much. He suffered hell. So we never would, who knows something about love and feelings who actually the only one who has conquered death to show you and me our future in him. We can trust him as hard as that might be.
And learn of love from him. Or we can be our own Gods. And we can Define love. However, we want. But in the end, we reap what we sow and Jesus wants us to sow life. To reap and sow, sow and reap. What is his? And that's why I love that. God is love. Because he understands what is best for us. Even if it's against every fiber of her being.
And so walk away with this truth today. God has clearly answered that question in the Bible. But to believe it. That demands full faith trust in Christ in Scripture. And that's our question for us today, really because Love Is Love, that's not the issue. The issue is, what do you think of Jesus? Who is he? Praise God, you know, he is loved and he's here for you and he's here to bless you. And he is here to give Grace to all who've fallen short of that whether you're lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning and Ally asexual, intersects, whatever, or straight. We all are in need of God's grace and you have it.
We are praised. Praise God. We have it. So then let God was love covers over a multitude of love, which is misplaced. And may we live and Truth and Love creating a context that is not at all about fear, but about peace and conversations that can be had and together walking carrying one another's burdens. Friends, God is love and he's giving us the truth.
The truth sets us free. Amen.
