How far will my love go?

1 Thessalonians, please, chapter 1. I appreciate being here and value the few minutes that the Lord has granted us to try and be a help. 1 Thessalonians, chapter 1, reading at verse 3, remembering without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope, in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father, knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. Now, while we're here, it's my third point, really, but while we're here, let's go to Titus.

To take that as, since we're close, Titus, chapter 2, reading in verse 11, for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior, Jesus Christ. Now, what is going to be my second point, let's go to John, chapter 13. John, chapter 13, reading at verse 22, Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he spake.

Verse 21, I'm sorry, let's read verse 21. When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. Then the disciples looked one on another, doubting of whom he said.

Now, there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of the disciples whom Jesus loved. I also have been enjoying Ephesians, but we're going to branch from that just a little bit and try to suggest and challenge my own heart first of all. I would like to speak to you tonight, or this afternoon, for 21 minutes.

How far will my love go? To what extent will my love go? We say we love one another, don't we? We say that. We say we love the Lord Jesus, yes, and we say that. And yet I am wondering if I was boxed into a corner where I would be challenged on that love.

Let's say somebody does something to me. How far will my love go to that person? I noticed that in 1 Thessalonians 1, that there is a love that labors. This love that labors goes beyond perhaps maybe that normal labor.

So there is a love that labors. Titus, rather, John chapter 13, there is a love that leans. And this love that we say we have, there is a love that leans.

And we're going to see just exactly a few things as to why it should lean. Then obviously you can see in Titus 2, there is a love that looks. The love of Christ is mentioned three times in our Bible.

That phrase, love of Christ. I would have thought that there would be far more than that. But it is only mentioned three times.

You remember that in the book of Ephesians chapter 3, to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge. So there is something that I can know to know that love, which passes knowledge. It seems to exceed, seems to rise above, as the brethren were discussing this morning, abounding.

Romans chapter 8 suggests to us, who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Regardless of what you and I can be brought into, regardless of the circumstances, there is nothing that is going to separate me from that love. And then the third time, of course, is in 2 Corinthians chapter 5, where Paul mentions the love of Christ constrains me. The very love that stopped Paul, the very love that motivated Paul, now constrains him and constrained him, I believe, every single day of his life.

There is a love that labors. The Thessalonians knew what that love was. The Thessalonians were arrested, they were stopped.

They discovered that in spite of all that was in Thessalonica, God's love comes out to them, arrested them, stopped them, and brought them into these tremendous truths that we were discussing or noticing from Ephesians chapter 1. The Thessalonians said, this seems like they wasted little time. They wasted little time in beginning to labor. First time you have the mention of labor is in Matthew chapter 11.

The first time in our Gospels is Matthew chapter 11 and verse 28. And that lovely Gospel text, Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. So there is a love that labors.

I think I am looking into the faces of many brethren here today, and there is a love that you have. There is a love that studies. You love that book.

And of course, that love that goes out to the flock. That love that goes out to those dear believers. That perhaps maybe overseers have a care for and a love for.

You know what I am talking about dear brethren. When I say, you read not for yourself sometimes, but you read for the good of the flock. And you put together something that will be a help.

You put together something that will be an encouragement to that flock. Why? Because you love them. And that whole night perhaps maybe of looking at something, in all going into something that you can put together, that which the Spirit of God has laid upon your heart, and to be able to give on Lord's Day morning or whenever, to be able to help God's people.

That man who takes his Bible and shuts the door, he loves those believers. He loves the flock. He loves his book.

And as a result, he is laboring to be a help to the other. I think the Thessalonian letter would also tell us that, if I am to know them that labor among you, I am to esteem them. I am to esteem them.

How high? I am to esteem them very high. The very love that esteems them, acknowledges them, appreciates them. And if there is a love that labors, there is a love that holds these men in high regard.

Thank God in our assemblies today, thank God in our assemblies today, where God has risen up men with a heart and a compassion and a care for God's people, knowing that they are the Lord's people. And as a result of being the Lord's people, they want to help and encourage them. If there is a love that labors, then I am suggesting as well that in 1 Timothy chapter 5, let the elders rule.

Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and in doctrine. Especially they who labor in the word and in doctrine. So I take it from our New Testament, brethren, that there seems to be a special work and a special acknowledgement that even from God Himself, especially to those that labor in the word and in doctrine.

Thank God for brethren who can open the word on the Lord's day morning and feed and feed the flock. Show me an assembly where that assembly does not have, for some reason or another, that assembly does not have men that will be able to rise to their feet and teach God's people. And in all likelihood, that assembly will be a weakened assembly.

Thank God that in Hebrews, as a result of laboring, this is something that takes in the sister. This is something that takes us all in. That God is not unrighteous to forget that labor of love.

So dear sister, looking at you now this morning and that little work this afternoon, that little work that you're doing, that little work that you've been called upon to do, that work that has been laid upon your shoulders and responsibility and have a heart exercise for it. You can't go to bed at night or perhaps whatever and not thinking of it. But that little work that God has called you to do, Sunday school work, track work, a seed sower work, whatever it is.

The Lord is, God is not unrighteous to forget that. He will not forget that. Now here's the reason why.

Which ye have shown to His name. It isn't something that I'm trying to make a name for myself in that little company or to be acknowledged. But no brethren, it's something that ye have shown to His name.

That takes the pride out of everything. That takes the self-glamour out of everything. It's have one thing in mind and that is for His particular name.

God remembers it. And will recompense it with a reward at the behemoth. Now before we move on to point number two.

How far will my love go in labouring? I shouldn't tell you this. Should I? Maybe I will. We're working at B-Town.

It's only, well, not very far away from Iowa, from Marion. And the last time I packed the bags I said to her, I don't want to go. The grass is green.

Birds were singing. A beautiful, bright, sunny day. The ugly suitcase is there.

I've got 25 hours to B-Town. I don't want to go. No, two hours to B-Town.

She says, I thought you had a love for souls. There are some times brethren, there are some times these souls that every gospel worker knows, commended or not commended, that every single one knows, there are some times you become weary. You let the hands hang down and the knees become a little feeble.

Why? Because they're not standing in line at the door every night wondering what must I do to be saved. They're not the days back when my grandparents were saved in 1925 when my grandmother told me one day, it wasn't the fact if somebody was going to get saved, how many that night. Think of it.

How far will my love go? Quickly, John 13 tells me that there is a man that the Lord Jesus says, there's a man that's going to betray Me. This man that's going to betray Me is known. Obviously, John.

John, you see, has geographical. He's got the right spot. He's got the right location because he's the one that leans.

He's the one that's leaning upon the Savior's breast. He's the one that has not only the right spot, but he seems to know. He seems to have insights as to exactly the Lord's mind and to the Lord's thinking.

Peter is aware of that. Peter says, John, who is it? The question is asked, who is it? And Peter says to John, you ask him, Why did Peter go to John and say, John, you ask him? Because I believe with all my heart, Peter knew that John had a special place in the bosom of Christ. Why? Because he leaned upon His breast.

You know, I want to cultivate that in my life if I can. I want to be one that can lean. I would love to be one that would lean upon the bosom of the Savior.

I would want to be able to lean. And I would like to suggest, dear brethren today, the importance of leaning. Number one, there are three things that I want to suggest to this before we go on.

Love that leans enables a believer to do four things. Love that leans. Number one, there is a service.

Whatever the Lord has for me to do, the service to the Lord in whatever capacity is enjoyable. So whatever the Lord has fitted you for, whatever your hands are full for, the hands on purpose, whatever that is, wait a minute, I've got to lean. If that is not enjoyable, I'm not leaning.

If whatever the Lord has placed upon your mind and placed upon your soul, if you're doing it and doing it grudgingly and not willingly, dear brother, you're not leaning. And if you could lean upon the bosom of the one that John did, there's no work that is not enjoyable. Number one, it's enjoyable.

Number two, the secrets of His will. His Word. I will have insights into the secrets of His will and into His Word, but dear brethren, I'll not know anything about the secrets of His will and the secrets of His Word unless I know something of leaning.

Unless I can lean. I can lean upon His bosom. I can lean upon nearness.

The service. The secrets. Number three, this is where the shoe pinches.

I will be able to submit. I will be able to submit to that unexpected turn in our Christian path. That thing that few never expected.

Every parent raises their children right. If you don't believe the parents, just ask them. Every parent raises their children correctly.

So when there's that unexpected turn in life's highway, it sometimes leaves the parents crippled. It sometimes leaves them discouraged and distressed. Why? Because they thought they were doing right.

Now, here's the importance of leaning, brethren. Here's the importance of not panicking and running. That when these unexpected things come in, when there's the tragedies, and I'm not going to take valuable time to list them, but when there's these tragedies, the unexpected thing, you would like to panic.

You would like to run. But dear brethren, there's one thing, if I am going to know and going to find out, if I'm going to be able to remain in happy fellowship with Him through that unexpected thing, I have to lean. I have to lean.

Gerald Hannan, the poor geezer, recently was pulled in. He says, you're the best man we've got in the field. Worked for a fastener corporation.

He says, you're the best man. The boss says, you're the best man we've got. Thirty days later, his boss was replaced by another man.

That man pulled Gerald Hannan in and said, you're not doing your job. We're replacing two men. And you're going to have to take a 40% pay cut.

And that night he went home and he found out his daughter had a fight at school, got expelled. And if I would have been Gerald Hannan, I would have been tempted to push the panic button. But Gerald Hannan did something.

And I love what he did. He got alone with that little family. That little family that was so precious.

A little one number five on the way. And that little family got together with dead. And they leaned upon God.

I'll be able to understand why these things happen. But dear brethren and sisters, there must be that, there must be. I have to.

I'm convinced of this. There must be that halting and doing nothing and don't run and don't panic. You lose your job, I'm going to go off in Timbuktu, Wyoming and get a job picking stones or something.

Away from God's people. Away from God's assembly. No! Don't panic.

Lean. Lean upon the bosom. If I can lean, if I can, I'm suggesting that then you can submit to that unexpected.

If I have my service and if in my secrets and in the submission to the unexpected. Let's just say, dear young couples, I'm going to speak to you very kindly. You have a series of meetings.

Two wise men from the east come. Wherever that might be. You have a nice series of meetings.

There are several children in that assembly that profess to be saved, but your children are not. That happened. I remember that night.

The last night of that series, the cousins of Tammy were saved and Tracy over here will remember it. And we had a good cry in the kitchen. We couldn't get past the kitchen.

What didn't you preach right? What didn't you say? What should you have preached? And all that. Many teenagers saved, but not Tammy. We had to lean.

We had to lean. We couldn't run. We had to lean.

The fourth thing. If I lean, those saints in that assembly that I'm connected with are going to be very, very precious. They're going to be very precious.

You're going to know their faults. You're going to know their failures. You're going to be able to say those faults and failures very, very well.

You know all about them. You see them day in and day out. Week in and week out.

You're aware of them. You see their failures more than their pluses. But, if I can lean upon the Savior, if I can know something of appreciating my Lord and leaning upon Him and resting upon Him, I will be able to look at every single believer in the assembly that I'm associated with and say, thank God for every single one.

But dear Christian, don't forget, you've got to lean. You must lean. How far will that love go, brethren? Will that love of yours lean when it has to lean? Psalm 84 tells me of a love.

It tells me of a love that is strengthened. When He leans in submission with His sorrow, He's strengthened. Thank God that I'm strengthened when I lean.

Yes, there's a love that labors. There's a love that leans. But there's a love that looks.

And that love that looks, I'm reminded that Titus tells us that looking off unto Jesus. Hebrews reminds us looking off unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross. We read of a love that produces godliness as a result of that love.

As a result of that love. There is one that Titus is reminding us that's coming again. There is one that is reminded that I am looking for.

Looking earnestly for. It isn't so much when, brethren, just a passing glance and just once in a while, having my heart lifted. No, it's the fact.

It's the responsibility. The verse before that in Titus 2 reminds us of a way of living. Godliness and whatever... I just can't get it right now.

But that responsibility is upon my part in that particular verse. The same responsibility is in verse 13. I am to look.

As it is a practical walk in my life, there is that looking off. It's my responsibility to look. There are a couple of things that happen when I look.

What will looking for His return produce? I believe it will produce a conformity to the Lord Jesus. I believe in a practical way there will be that conformity. And I appreciated that verse.

It was verse 5 this morning. Verse 4. That the very love that the Lord Jesus had to produce obedience, to produce holiness in that life of His, is what God is looking for in me. A holiness and an outward Christ-likeness as far as the Lord is concerned.

So if I'm looking, I'm looking and I will be conformed to the image of His dear Son in a practical way. If I am looking, I will have the comfort of Christ. Conformity to Christ.

If I am looking, I will have the comfort of Christ in my particular way. Dear brethren, I don't know. The next time you see me, maybe you can ask me, how am I doing in my leaning? How am I doing in my looking? And how am I doing in my laboring? But I've got tremendous help for me personally through this little thought.

If I love the Lord Jesus, my labor is challenged. My leaning is challenged. My looking is challenged.

May God help us to be able to perform that which He wants us to do and looking off unto Him until He comes.