I am Caleb Fielding and have you ever wondered, How do I get other people to love the things I love?
How do I get someone to love me, How do I get someone to love my family, how do I get someone to love my friends, how do I get someone to love my Church, How do I get someone to love my Jesus?
If I love something I don’t want to love it in isolation I want others to love it too. God’s word tells us in Hebrews 10:24
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
How do I obey God and provoke others to love the things that I love?
Love is being kind to someone in the midst of suffering, while always wanting that person to do right, and there are no conditions placed on this love. How do I provoke this in other people?
Provoking one another to love is a natural thing for married couples to do because if nothing else they will provoke one another to love each other. It is a natural thing for a husband to want his wife to love him and its natural for the wife to want her husband to love her. It is a natural thing for spouses to encourage each other to love their children. Its natural for spouses to provoke each other to love each other’s parents. This make marriage a very natural place to provoke one another to love.
As a single adult you do not have someone in your life who is deeply committed to provoking you to love them or someone else. As a single adult you are not in a natural place to provoke other people to love. And yet you have a relational need to provoke others to love, and to be provoked unto love.
Love is a wonderful powerful thing but the message here is more than love. The message here is that once you love someone you are to Intentionally provoke others to love them.
Whether someone is inside the church or outside the church you should provoke them to love. I think the first person you are going to provoke people to love is you. Are you encouraging others around you to have a love for you? I have said it before and I will say it again, you have a relational need for other people to love you. God intentionally put that need in you. But for other people to love you, you have to put yourself out there and build relationships. So are you provoking others to love you?
Then as a Christian you are to provoke others to love Christ. I list Christ as second here because if people don’t love you then they will never want your Christ. In the world what are you doing to encourage others to love Jesus? In the church what are you doing to get someone to love Jesus?
Finally I should be trying to get other people to love the people I love. As a Christian I should love church (in fact this is what this series is about), so when I go into the world I should let the world know my love for Christ and my love for my church. I should be letting them know how good Christ has been to me, and how amazing my church is, and encouraging the world to come because they are missing out by skipping church. At the same time in Church I should be constantly telling them about the needs of my coworkers and family. Maybe people in the church will get tired of hearing about aunt Sue’s need for salvation, that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I continue to provoke the church to love by constantly telling the church about the people I love and their needs, especially their need for Christ.
In Luke 10 we find what may be the best Biblical example of provoking someone to love. In Luke 10 Jesus tells a story of a man who was going from one city to the next only for thieves to attack him, wound him, steal everything from him, including his clothes, and left him half dead.
While he is lying there a priest sees him, and walks by him on the other side of the road. I can tell you right now that man doesn’t think highly of the priest who passed him by, or that priest’s God, or that priest’s church. The priest did not provoke him to love.
Then a Levite comes by, sees him, and passes by him on the other side. This Levite did not provoke this man to love. Not only is this man not going to love this Levite, he probably thinks poorly of the Levite’s God, and the Levites as a whole. This Levite did not provoke him to love.
Then a Samaritan comes by. Jews and Samaritans hate each other. Jews hate Samaritans because Samaritans are half Jews, and Samaritans hate Jews because the Jews hate them. And yet when this Samaritan sees this Jew helpless, broken and robbed on the side of the road he has compassion on the Jew he is supposed to hate. The Samaritan bound up the Jews wounds, and poured oil on them, put the Jew on the Samaritans beast and took him to an inn, and payed for the Jew to be taken care of, and the Samaritan said if they had to spend more money he would pay for it when he came back again.
I think its safe to say that Jew was provoked to love that Samaritan, that Samaritans God, and all the Samaritans as a whole because one Samaritan provoked him to love.
What have you done to provoke someone to love?
To provoke one another to love you cannot be the only one provoking, the second part of provoking one another to love is people in church provoking you to love.
Honestly churches tend to do a good job of provoking people to love. Pastors tend to do a great job of provoking others to love. During a month of preaching and teaching most pastors will spend at least two sermons, or lessons that are on provoking church members to love.
If you stay around church throughout the year there will be several instances of people bringing up a need, where they are trying to provoke people to love, to meet that need.
Churches by and large tend to do an excellent job of provoking to love. But when your church provokes you to love are you willing to be provoked? It does no good for everyone in your church to try to provoke you to love if you have hardened your heart.
Your church provoking you to love only matters if you are willing to let them move you.
In Philippian 1:12-14 we have Paul talking about how he provoked some people to love. He said “ But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
Paul throughout the New Testament has a testimony of suffering. We know according to I Corinthians 13 a big part of love is suffering and showing kindness. Paul writes to all these churches throughout the new testament telling them of his suffering, and the fruit that comes with his suffering. And the most amazing thing happens, instead of people being discouraged by his suffering, the people have been provoked to love others because of his suffering.
Here in Philippians Paul writes about how his bonds have made people much more bold to speak the word without fear. Paul’s bonds has provoked people to love.
When your pastor gets up and preaches a sermon, trying to provoke you to love, do you let him? Or do you harden your heart? When someone in church tells you of a need and tries to provoke you to love do you allow them to provoke you to love? Or do you harden your heart? When a missionary tries to provoke you to love, do you let them? Or do you harden your heart?
You have a great need to love others. Do you allow others to provoke love in you?
In conclusion you have a great need to provoke others to love and to be provoked to love. What are you doing about it?
How do I get someone to love me, How do I get someone to love my family, how do I get someone to love my friends, how do I get someone to love my Church, How do I get someone to love my Jesus?
If I love something I don’t want to love it in isolation I want others to love it too. God’s word tells us in Hebrews 10:24
Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
How do I obey God and provoke others to love the things that I love?
Love is being kind to someone in the midst of suffering, while always wanting that person to do right, and there are no conditions placed on this love. How do I provoke this in other people?
Provoking one another to love is a natural thing for married couples to do because if nothing else they will provoke one another to love each other. It is a natural thing for a husband to want his wife to love him and its natural for the wife to want her husband to love her. It is a natural thing for spouses to encourage each other to love their children. Its natural for spouses to provoke each other to love each other’s parents. This make marriage a very natural place to provoke one another to love.
As a single adult you do not have someone in your life who is deeply committed to provoking you to love them or someone else. As a single adult you are not in a natural place to provoke other people to love. And yet you have a relational need to provoke others to love, and to be provoked unto love.
Love is a wonderful powerful thing but the message here is more than love. The message here is that once you love someone you are to Intentionally provoke others to love them.
Whether someone is inside the church or outside the church you should provoke them to love. I think the first person you are going to provoke people to love is you. Are you encouraging others around you to have a love for you? I have said it before and I will say it again, you have a relational need for other people to love you. God intentionally put that need in you. But for other people to love you, you have to put yourself out there and build relationships. So are you provoking others to love you?
Then as a Christian you are to provoke others to love Christ. I list Christ as second here because if people don’t love you then they will never want your Christ. In the world what are you doing to encourage others to love Jesus? In the church what are you doing to get someone to love Jesus?
Finally I should be trying to get other people to love the people I love. As a Christian I should love church (in fact this is what this series is about), so when I go into the world I should let the world know my love for Christ and my love for my church. I should be letting them know how good Christ has been to me, and how amazing my church is, and encouraging the world to come because they are missing out by skipping church. At the same time in Church I should be constantly telling them about the needs of my coworkers and family. Maybe people in the church will get tired of hearing about aunt Sue’s need for salvation, that doesn’t matter. What matters is that I continue to provoke the church to love by constantly telling the church about the people I love and their needs, especially their need for Christ.
In Luke 10 we find what may be the best Biblical example of provoking someone to love. In Luke 10 Jesus tells a story of a man who was going from one city to the next only for thieves to attack him, wound him, steal everything from him, including his clothes, and left him half dead.
While he is lying there a priest sees him, and walks by him on the other side of the road. I can tell you right now that man doesn’t think highly of the priest who passed him by, or that priest’s God, or that priest’s church. The priest did not provoke him to love.
Then a Levite comes by, sees him, and passes by him on the other side. This Levite did not provoke this man to love. Not only is this man not going to love this Levite, he probably thinks poorly of the Levite’s God, and the Levites as a whole. This Levite did not provoke him to love.
Then a Samaritan comes by. Jews and Samaritans hate each other. Jews hate Samaritans because Samaritans are half Jews, and Samaritans hate Jews because the Jews hate them. And yet when this Samaritan sees this Jew helpless, broken and robbed on the side of the road he has compassion on the Jew he is supposed to hate. The Samaritan bound up the Jews wounds, and poured oil on them, put the Jew on the Samaritans beast and took him to an inn, and payed for the Jew to be taken care of, and the Samaritan said if they had to spend more money he would pay for it when he came back again.
I think its safe to say that Jew was provoked to love that Samaritan, that Samaritans God, and all the Samaritans as a whole because one Samaritan provoked him to love.
What have you done to provoke someone to love?
To provoke one another to love you cannot be the only one provoking, the second part of provoking one another to love is people in church provoking you to love.
Honestly churches tend to do a good job of provoking people to love. Pastors tend to do a great job of provoking others to love. During a month of preaching and teaching most pastors will spend at least two sermons, or lessons that are on provoking church members to love.
If you stay around church throughout the year there will be several instances of people bringing up a need, where they are trying to provoke people to love, to meet that need.
Churches by and large tend to do an excellent job of provoking to love. But when your church provokes you to love are you willing to be provoked? It does no good for everyone in your church to try to provoke you to love if you have hardened your heart.
Your church provoking you to love only matters if you are willing to let them move you.
In Philippian 1:12-14 we have Paul talking about how he provoked some people to love. He said “ But I would ye should understand, brethren, that the things which happened unto me have fallen out rather unto the furtherance of the gospel; So that my bonds in Christ are manifest in all the palace, and in all other places; And many of the brethren in the Lord, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word without fear.”
Paul throughout the New Testament has a testimony of suffering. We know according to I Corinthians 13 a big part of love is suffering and showing kindness. Paul writes to all these churches throughout the new testament telling them of his suffering, and the fruit that comes with his suffering. And the most amazing thing happens, instead of people being discouraged by his suffering, the people have been provoked to love others because of his suffering.
Here in Philippians Paul writes about how his bonds have made people much more bold to speak the word without fear. Paul’s bonds has provoked people to love.
When your pastor gets up and preaches a sermon, trying to provoke you to love, do you let him? Or do you harden your heart? When someone in church tells you of a need and tries to provoke you to love do you allow them to provoke you to love? Or do you harden your heart? When a missionary tries to provoke you to love, do you let them? Or do you harden your heart?
You have a great need to love others. Do you allow others to provoke love in you?
In conclusion you have a great need to provoke others to love and to be provoked to love. What are you doing about it?