Agape Love

Rev Gideon Lee

This morning is Valentine's Day. How many husbands forget today is Valentine's Day? How much is a stalk of rose now? RM80? I read somewhere that a husband was so "kiamsiap" that he took the wife to Memory Lane and read each card to her. Not me ya.

The story of Valentine's Day is the celebration of all kinds of love. And this morning I want to talk about love. But not the kind of love you probably is thinking about. But God's love. Not just that he loves you but that you also love him. To tell Jesus I love you.

He wants you to share this love with others. Because that's why he came. His motivation is love. The whole Bible talks about his love for you and me.

Valentine's Day has a story. There was a Roman emperor called Claudius who was power crazy. He wanted to conquer countries and he wanted to be mighty. He felt that if men would remain single, they'll join the army. What happened was he decreed that there is not going to be any more marriage. That earned him the nickname Claudius the cruel.

There was a priest called Valentine who loved to conduct marriages. But there were couples who came secretly to get married. So this Valentine continued to conduct marriages in secret. He was caught and put in prison. One of the guards allowed his daughter to visit him. Just before he was executed, on February 14th, he wrote a note to the prison guard's daughter, my Valentine. It celebrates love. And this morning I want to talk to you about love.

John 15:9-17

9 “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. 10 If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. 11 I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 12 My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. 16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit–fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. 17 This is my command: Love each other.

What is his command? To love each other. The theme for this year and next year is GST. Go, Serve and Transform.

Today we talk about love. Everyone needs love. Everyone wants to be loved. We have that desire to be loved. We want to feel love. But we sometimes fall short. In the Greek there are three types of love. There's Eros, the sexual love. And phileo, brotherly love.  When Jesus asked Peter, do you love (agape) me, Peter said I love (phileo) you. Until the third time Peter finally said I agape you. How do you develop a love that's worthy to be given on Valentine's Day and every other day?

Jesus used the word love more than 30 times. What motivated God is love. That God is love.

Remember the first time we received his love? When we received him as our Lord and Saviour. Jesus is our first love. How can we have this love?

We need to receive his love.

Everything that I need to learn about theology is in this song, Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so.

Yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me. The Bible tells me so.

It's not possible to love another person if we have not known his love. Sometimes your brothers and sisters are so difficult to love. But the Bible tells us to love one another. The only way is when we have first received his love. This song reminds me of my Sunday school days. Do you know Jesus loves you? Because of you he sent his one and only son.

May I encourage you to accept and experience his love if you have not known him. Every person comes to know the Lord because of his love. Not because we won a debate.

We need to reciprocate his love.

We need to return his love.

v14 You are my friends if you do what I command. 15 I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

His disciples were regarded as servants. But today he calls you friend. As we receive his love he now calls us friends because he loves us. It's another thing to tell Jesus you love him. When was the last time you tell Jesus you love him?

This morning I just felt like telling Jesus I love him not as a pastor, not as Gideon but as a son. We need to reciprocate his love for you and me. We need to tell him we love him.

When was the first time you fell in love? You're always thinking about the person constantly. You feel like you just want to call the person, you just want to be with that person. And when you're with that person you just don't want to leave. That is how Jesus wants us to be with him. That he's constantly on our minds. He loves us with an everlasting love. Have you told Jesus you love him this morning?

We need to share his love.

We need to tell others of his great love that he has for you and me. We need to replicate his love. To share with others and Jesus demonstrated that in the Bible. He washed his disciples' feet. Back then it was spring and the roads were all muddy. Their feet were dirty. When they get to the house, there will be servants there to wash their feet if you are rich. But when all the disciples came none of them wanted to wash each other's feet.

Jesus demonstrated his love for you and me. He took a towel, wrapped around his waist and decided that he'll be a servant, all 12 of them including Judas and washed their feet. I've tried this once in my church. The person has to be seated and you have to kneel down. It's humbling. I wanted to tell my leaders to go and serve others. They didn't know except my assistant who had to prepare the basins. I learnt a few things that day. That girls have cleaner feet (laughs). The guys… ohh. I have to take off their shoes and their socks. Some leaders didn't want to let me but I told them I have to. And some of my leaders cried.

On Valentine's Day it's one thing to know Jesus loves you but you have to reciprocate and tell Jesus you love him. And we need to tell others of his love. Love is more than emotion. It must go beyond that. It's a commitment. It's with action and not just with words. It's to learn to lay your life down.

I'm going to ask all the couples getting married are you willing to lay your life down for your spouse. Husbands you must be willing to lay your life down for your wife.

As I close, this Lord's table reminds us of his love. We must love him with all that we are and we need to tell it others of his great love.  We need to serve one another in love. Amen church?