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This is the audio from the January 14, 2024 sermon, “Immeasurably More: A Love That Is REAL”, shared by Tom Lemler at the Deer Run Church of Christ.

Text: Romans 12:9-21

This morning’s message was shared from my office as our in person worship gathering was cancelled due to the extreme weather and cold temperature, so it was a bit different for me.  Today I continued a sermon series designed to help us look at some of the immeasurably more God desires to do in us, through us, and for us.  Often when we think about immeasurably more, it focuses on what we want to receive.  God, on the other hand, is more concerned about what He will do to make the good news of the kingdom grow.  When we consider the immeasurably more God desires to do in us and through us, we discover the basis for this desire is His love.  As we examine the nature of God’s love and how He wants His love to grow through us, we find a love that is . . .

• Righteous/Repentant: — Romans 12:9

  • As Paul writes to the Romans about the love they ought to experience and share, he addresses the need for it to be right — to be sincere as it rejects evil and clings to good.  The only way for any of us to be right is through repentance as we allow God to change our way.  It is the righteousness of God in us that teaches us to love like we ought to love.  When we pursue a love that is real, we must examine our self with the help of God’s Word and His Spirit so that we can be made righteous through the blood of Jesus.

• Expressive: —  Romans 12:10-12

  • A love the is kept inside a person may be good and comforting to them but it does no good to others until it is expressed in appropriate ways.  The Bible says that God “demonstrated (expressed) His love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  It is through the expression of God’s love that we know how to express love to other.  When we pursue a love that is real, we must learn to value the needs of others above our own so that true love is expressed.

• Absolute: — Romans 12:13-16

  • It’s likely no secret that some people are easier to love than others.  My guess is that nearly every one of us are considered easier to love by some and more difficult to love by others.  The absolute nature of God’s love says that His desire is the same for all of mankind regardless of any details that people might say make a person unlovable.  While the expressions of our love may look different from person to person based on the need of the moment, the love we have for people ought to be absolute.  When we pursue a love that is real, we must love our enemies, as well as our friends, with the absolute love of God.

• Learning — Romans 12:17-21

  • If you’re still living on this earth, and I doubt is anyone is reading this who is not living on earth, your love is not complete.  When we think about the people we love the most, it should be obvious that our love for them continues to be a learning process.  Even our love for God is something that should be growing each day as we learn more of His love for us.  Because the righteous, expressive, absolute love that God desires for us to have is not natural, we must learn to know it and express it as we spend time with God.  When we pursue a love that is real, we must do so with a willingness to learn, and to put into practice, the things which represent the love of God.

Today, how will you have a love that is REAL?