Love, the Secret Weapon That Should Not Be Secret

I'm a fan of spy movies like Bourne Identity or the James Bond movies. The main character, or
sometimes the villain, usually has a secret weapon. He works on the weapon secretly until it is ready
and then reveals it much to the surprise of those who are it's targets.

Unfortunately, Christians sometimes view Love as a “Secret Weapon.” People can go years
without anyone noticing that they've got some love locked up inside them somewhere. They may go to
Church and read their Bibles, but is their heart broken for those things which break the heart of God?

Christian love should not be secret, hidden, or hard to find.

Last night was Maundy Thursday. Our Lord Jesus ate a Last Supper with his disciples on the
night he was betrayed. He gave them some very important instructions. Imagine for a moment that
you are together with your closest friends, your family perhaps, and you have only a few hours left to
live. You'll talk about what is really important. That's what Jesus is doing here. He talks about many
things, but he gives one thing as a new commandment: To love one another.

Who gives Commandments? God, of course.

Jesus is giving this new commandment by his authority as the Son of God. He's not “a” son of
God, but “The” Son of God. So what he says here is an eleventh commandment, and one given
especially to followers of our Lord Jesus. That should make us sit up and take notice.

Read John13:34

“I give you a new commandment: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you must also
love one another.”

Think about the cross for a moment, picture it in your head, and Jesus there. That is the ultimate
outpouring of love. Jesus said “There is no greater love than this, that a man would lay down his life
for his friends.” That's the kind of love Jesus had, and the kind he commands us -commands us- to
have. It is not an option. If you don't have that kind of love, and not one of us does, then you should
spend your prayers and your energy working to have this love.

Think about this also, before Jesus gave his life for his friends, he gave his life to his friends.

I John 3:16: By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives
for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart
against him, how does God's love abide in him?

Don't settle for some “secret love,” that people have to work to find. Your love should not be like a nut,
where people have to crack a hard shell to discover it. Your love should be like eating a date where the
first bite is easy and sweet.

I want to encourage you, Church, that you are in exactly the right place. The first Churches met in
homes after they were expelled from the synagogues. When they placed their faith firmly in Jesus, they
were forced out of the culture and to one another. Here the culture rejects the Gospel of Jesus. The
Sunni, Shia, and Druze reject it. So do many who are called “Christian.” Some reject Jesus because
they reject religion, some reject Jesus because all they have is religion. They do not know Him. It is
the same in the United States, where I am from, there is a godless culture of greed.

The Churches met in the Temple at first, but once they began to worship Jesus openly, they were
persecuted. The met in homes under Jewish persecution, and under Roman persecution. Now many
meet in homes under Chinese government persecution, or Islamic persecution. A man from Bkerke
told me that the city will not let them build a Baptist Church there so they meet in an apartment.

There are a lot of people here who call themselves Christian. They wear crosses and build Churches,
and makes shrines on the highway. But if they won't let other Christians build a Church, is the love of
Christ in them?

John 13:35: By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

You do not need a building. You do not need a steeple and a Church bell. You do not need fancy chairs
and hymnal books.

I was Pastor of a Church in the US who had those things. Yet, the Church was dead. There was a nice
building, and a graveyard behind the Church. They spent more time and energy on that, than on
reaching the lost. They did not care about the Gospel, they only wanted the ritual. I prayed that God
would either send his Holy Spirit to get the people on fire, or that he would destroy the building by fire.

Let's look at how a real Church shows love. Acts 2:42.

And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the
prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the
apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had
need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received
their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the
Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.

That is what it looked like when the first Church loved one another.

They were devoted to the Apostle's teachings. We talk about what we love. When we're with friends
who are believers, that talk turns to Jesus.

They broke bread together. They ate meals in their homes together.

Awe came upon them and signs and wonders were done. They shared the miracles of life together.

They had all things in common.

Acts 4:32: Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that
any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.
If I have two cloaks and you are cold, one of them is yours. I don't give you what is mine, it is yours
because you need it. They didn't consider this Christian charity. If I give something to a needy
unbeliever, that is charity. They had everything in common. What you needed and did not have was
already yours if your brother had it.

Are you ready for that level of commitment? That's what it will take to survive under persecution.

Churches like the one I pastored in the US are soft. They could never stand persecution, they'd sell out
or fall apart. We have a few that would glorify God.