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Guest (Male): Welcome to PowerPoint with Jack Graham. We live in a world that is seemingly more divided than ever. Our country is divided, and the world you would expect division. But unfortunately, we often see today that the church is divided. On today's PowerPoint, Dr. Graham brings a message about what it is that identifies believers to a watching world. Now, here's Dr. Graham with his message, The Law of Love.

Jack Graham: Take your Bibles and turn with me to the book of John, the Gospel of John, chapter 13. We are with Christ in the upper room and his disciples. The title of this message is "The Law of Love." It may be when you think about love, you don't think about law. But the fact is, Jesus teaches us a new commandment, and it is the law of love.

If we're going to live a Christ-centered life, then love will be at the center of it because Christ is at the center of our lives. Look at verse 23: "If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and," watch this, "make our home with him."

Sometimes people question, "Should we really ask Jesus to come into our hearts? What is that, ask Jesus to come into your heart?" Well, yes, it's quite appropriate to say, "Invite Jesus into your heart," because he says, "I will make myself at home in you." Because it's not Christ plus you; it is Christ in you. Not Christ plus you that enables you to live the Christian life, but Christ in you. In me, Christ in you, Colossians tells us, the hope of glory.

Christ living in us. It's possible, however, for Christ to be present but not be prominent in our lives, not have his proper place of preeminence in our lives, that he's not first and foremost in all that we do. In other words, centered in Christ. We tend to be self-centered rather than Christ-centered. And the Christian life is dying to self and living to Christ. The apostle Paul said, "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me. And the life that I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." That's Galatians 2:20, given by the apostle Paul.

As we are with the Lord and his disciples in the upper room, he's giving his last will and legacy to his disciples and therefore to all of us, what he said hours before the cross, minutes really before he was arrested and taken to trial and ultimately crucified, only to die and live again because he came out of the grave. I never like to speak of the cross without adding the resurrection because without the resurrection, the cross is just a tragedy. But because of the resurrection, the cross is a triumph. Amen?

So Jesus said, "Yes, I want to live in you. Your heart is Christ's home." And so when Jesus is in the room, as in this upper room, and we can be there with him, then everything in our lives change. And we have in these chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, with a prayer at the close in chapter 17, we have these wonderful promises that come from Jesus to his disciples and to all of us who follow him in every generation.

Verses 34 and 35 of John 13: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. And by this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." Now, love is the most written about, talked about theme topic in all of history. Why is that? Because we all long to be loved and we actually all long to give love.

Life is about relationship, someone said, and the rest is details. God made us to have a relationship with him and then to share his love with others, including those closest and nearest and dearest to us. But every one of us, we're born this way because God made us this way, we long to be loved, to be cherished, to be valued from birth throughout all of life to the end of life and throughout all eternity. We want to be loved.

Psychologically, the ability to love and be loved is the most important mental truth in our lives. Just think about all the prose about love, all the poetry about love, all the movies, all the media. ChatGPT says this: that there are over 100 million love songs now either recorded or written in every genre, in every language. 100 million love songs, including a love song that goes all the way back to Phoenicia.

So a lot of love songs. The number one Google searches in 2024 had to do with insights and advice on love and marriage and dating apps, on losing love and keeping love, defining love. And of course, most of the modern expressions, whether it is in song or in story, movies or in music, has to do with emotions and feelings and vibes. People think of love as romantic love primarily.

But in today's world, love, of course, is an expression that is experienced in peaks and valleys and ups and downs and sad stories and joyful stories, the realization of love and then the loss of love and romantic feeling and sexual expression because all of this wants to validate something that God put in us: that I want to be loved, I want to belong, I want to believe that I am valued, that I have purpose, that I have meaning, and yes, some passion in my life.

This is how God created us. Let's think about for a few moments of what I've been saying about the love of Jesus. Love's model. The model of love is clearly Christ himself. It is Jesus getting on his knees and with a towel and a basin washing the feet of his disciples, doing what was needed, what was necessary at the time because love meets needs. And Jesus is humble love. It's sacrificial love. It's Agape love, selfless love.

And this kind of love, he loved them to the end. He loved them all the way perfectly, as faithful and forever. This love, the love of Jesus, is an others-focused love. So he went on to say and describing this love, to love God and to love one another. At the core of all kinds of love, whether it is romantic love, relationship love, brotherly love, friendship love, or spiritual love, the love of God, at the core of all of this is Christ at the center.

It is the supernatural love of God in our hearts according to Romans 5:5 that is poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. I can't love like this, but Jesus can love through me. This is a love that gives to us. Why? So that we would give it to others. It's a love to be experienced; it's a love to be expressed. The Agape love of Jesus is giving a person what they need the most, giving a person what they need the most when they deserve it the least.

You see that? Giving a person what they need the most when they often deserve it the least. That's what happened in the upper room that evening when Jesus ministered to his disciples. So you can't give what you don't have. So if Christ is not at the center of your marriage, if his love is not flowing through your life, then you can't really give the kind of love that your wife needs, that your husband's need, even your children.

You can't give love until you possess love. And we possess love when we are possessed of Christ. And if you want to renew your love today in your home, in your family, in your marriage, if you want to share your love with other people, what do you do? You live a Christ-centered life, a life not lived for self, but preferring Christ and others above all. No doubt you've heard of the Golden Rule.

And the Golden Rule was preached by Jesus in Matthew chapter 7 and in verse 12. No doubt you're familiar with it. It says, "So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them, for this is the law and the prophets." So here's the law, here's the prophets, here's the first commandments in essence. It is to love others as you would love yourself by doing unto them as you would have them do unto you.

Interestingly, a form of this Golden Rule is in other religions. It is not just in the Christian faith. So the Golden Rule for Christians would mean something far different than what it means in a religious experience or expression. I mean, the world has its form of the Golden Rule. You know what it is? "He who has the gold rules," or "Do unto others before they do unto you."

That's the way the world lives. But we live differently. We live by this rule, by this law, the law of love. So Jesus took it a step further, a big step further. You could even call this, as someone did, the Platinum Rule. The Platinum Rule, which is do unto others as Jesus has done unto you. That is the ultimate. He is the model because love does; it's action. Jesus washed feet to demonstrate this love: sacrificial, humble, obedient love. That's the model; he is the model for the Christ-centered life and love.

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message "The Law of Love." Did you know that you can join Dr. Graham for his daily devotional? It's a study of God's word that will help you grow in your faith, encourage you in your walk with Christ, and show you how to navigate through the challenges of life. To sign up, text DEVO to 59789 and begin receiving Dr. Graham's devotional every day. Again, text DEVO to 59789.

We want to tell you about an exciting opportunity available this month. Right now, every gift you give to PowerPoint Ministries will be doubled through a generous $150,000 matching grant, helping reach even more people with the hope and truth of Jesus Christ. Every day, people burdened by fear, anxiety, and uncertainty are discovering the peace found in God's word through this ministry. Your support helps make that possible. As our thanks for your gift of $10 or more, we'll send you Dr. Graham's brand-new book, "The Lord is My Shepherd." Text SEPTEMBER to 59789 to have your gift doubled and receive your copy today. Again, text SEPTEMBER to 59789. Now, let's get back to today's message, "The Law of Love."

Jack Graham: But let's talk about this mandate because you see that this is a law here. This is a command. He said, "Keep my commandments if you love me. A new commandment I give unto you." So this is a new law. Now, how is this new? You might, if you know your Bible a little, you know, you would say, "Well, that's not all that new because 'love the Lord' and 'love people' is all through the Bible in the Old Testament."

Jesus had talked about it earlier about love the Lord your God, quoting the Old Testament, with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength, and your neighbor as yourself. So loving God and loving people, that's not new. Love like this goes all the way back to the Garden of Eden when God gave Adam and Eve, the first man and woman, his love to share with one another. It's in the law of Moses; it's in all the law of the Old Testament to love.

But there's something different here. What's new about what Jesus said on love? He said, "Love one another," so the focus of your love of God is on others, and then he said, "as I have loved you." So this is Jesus' love. This is God's love as seen in Christ. It's the love that we have as God's people for one another, and it demands a focus on Christ and on the church, meaning his family, his people, one another.

There are many "one another" reciprocal commandments in the New Testament, like "greet one another with a brotherly love and a brotherly kiss" or to serve one another, to meet with one another. There are all kinds of "one another" commandments that are given, but at the heart of it all is love one another. Why? Because God has brought us together as a family of friends in Christ. We are one in the blood and we are one in the bond of love.

We are a brotherhood, a sisterhood. We are the family of God, a band of brothers and sisters. We are his children called to take a message of hope and life and salvation to a world that desperately needs this love. Because we live in a world that is seemingly more divided than ever. Our country is divided, and the world you would expect division.

But unfortunately, we often see today that the church is divided and often divided on things that don't really matter, not on essentials of which we should unite. But churches are split and splintering and dividing and breaking up and starting a new church down the street and calling it a church plant when it's really just a church breakup. The world is watching us.

And when we come together in love, Jesus said, "By this will all men know that you are my disciples." Not because you've memorized a lot of verses; I memorize a lot of verses, it's a really good thing, but that's not the reason. Or wear a cross or even go to church, but when you love one another. This is the mandate. Jesus is described in the New Testament; he describes himself as meek and mild and lowly of heart.

Meekness, what does that mean? Is that weakness? Not at all. Meekness is power under control. Remember, Jesus was strong. He was a powerful man, a mighty man. When Pilate stood him up, beaten within an inch of his life, bloodied but unbowed, he looked at Jesus, looked at the crowd and said, "Behold the man." What a man, Jesus!

In fact, just a few minutes after the upper room discourse, Jesus and the disciples go to the Garden of Gethsemane where Jesus is praying. He nearly bleeds out in the garden under stress and duress in view of the cross. But then he stands up as the guards of the temple area and the soldiers come to arrest him, led by Judas the betrayer. They came saying, "We're looking for Jesus. Where's Jesus? We've come to arrest him."

Jesus stepped out and said, "I am him. I am he." And you know what happened? He used a derivative of the form "I am." And you know what happened? Those soldiers fell, those soldiers fell like dominoes. They went down in the presence of the great I AM. You know, if I'd been Jesus in that moment taking all that power, I might have said something like, "I am and you're not. Bye."

But Jesus didn't do that. He yielded himself. Don't ever forget Jesus wasn't murdered or even martyred; he was sacrificed. He gave himself. He voluntarily went to the cross. He said, "No man takes my life; I give my life." So there we see the power of Jesus under control. Peter's over there with his little sword trying to cut people's ears and heads off. Jesus said to Peter, "Put put that up. Don't you know that I could speak to the Father and he would send tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of angels in this moment?"

Why did he do it? Why did he go to the cross? What kept Jesus on the cross? Love kept him there. The nails didn't keep him there. The cross didn't hold him there, but love. And this is the love, the power that is under control. And when we live like this in the power of his love, then the world says, "Tell me about your Jesus." This is how they know we're his disciples.

People want to achieve greatness in life, and that's okay. God gave us ambition, and it should be holy ambitions. But if you want to achieve true greatness in your life, there's one great commandment, a great commandment to keep. And what is the great commandment? "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, your mind, your soul, your strength, and your neighbor as yourself." And then love like Jesus.

And then there's the Great Commission. "Go into all the world and preach the gospel, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you." He said, "I'm with you to the end of the age." Five times he gave us the Great Commission. So there's a great commandment, there's the Great Commission, but there's one other: the Great Compassion. The Great Compassion, you know what the Great Compassion is? It's Matthew 25 and verse 45.

"Then he will answer them saying, 'Truly I say to you, as you did not do it to the one of the least of these, you did not do it unto me.' But when you do it unto the least of these..." Jesus was talking to unbelievers and he said, "I was hungry and you didn't feed me. I was thirsty and you didn't give me drink. I was naked and you did not clothe me. I was a stranger and you did not take me in." And they said, "When, Lord? When was that?"

And that's when he said verse 45: "When you didn't do it unto the least of these, you didn't do it for me. But when you do it for the least of these, you've done it for me." You know what that is? That's the great compassion that Christians have for each other and those that he loves. I love Philippians chapter 2. This is Paul talking about this Christ-centered love. And he said, this is in the New Living Translation, "Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another." Well, there's that again.

And we do that by agreeing with one another each other wholeheartedly and working together with one mind and one purpose. Now he's talking to Christians; he's talking to the church. And how would this work, verse 3, if we live this out in our marriages? "Don't be selfish. Don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves." This is what Jesus did when he knelt and he washed those feet, when he yielded to the cross, when he died in agony and blood. He didn't look out for his own interest; he cared about the souls of others better than himself. Take an interest in others too. And then he said, "But you must have this same attitude that Christ Jesus had."

So love propels us to do whatever it takes to fulfill the Great Commission, the great commandment, and the great compassion. When this happens, the world pays attention. Loveless Christians and churches are a discredit to the gospel, a discredit to our testimony. The way people know that our relationship with the Lord is legit is because of our love. And this is all about our identity in Christ.

Now listen to this very carefully. If I know that I am loved by God, that Jesus loves me, that he is alive in me, that my identity is not in me or myself or my power, my presence, my prestige, my possessions, that that's not my identity, what I do—no, my identity is in Jesus Christ. And when I know that, when I know I am loved like this in him, then I am free to love others like Jesus loves me. And the Jesus in me loves the Jesus in you, and the Jesus in you loves the Jesus in me. Amen. So here's the law of love. It's the one law that Jesus said, "I'm giving you these as my last words: Love one another as I have loved you, and by this will all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love for one another."

Guest (Male): You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message "The Law of Love." Right now, every gift you give to PowerPoint Ministries will be doubled through a generous $150,000 matching grant, helping reach even more people with the hope and truth of Jesus Christ. Every day, people burdened by fear, anxiety, and uncertainty are discovering the peace found in God's word through this ministry. Your support helps make that possible. As our thanks for your gift of $10 or more, we'll send you Dr. Graham's brand-new book, "The Lord is My Shepherd." Text SEPTEMBER to 59789 to have your gift doubled and receive your copy today. Again, text SEPTEMBER to 59789.

Did you know that you can join Dr. Graham for his daily devotional? It's a study of God's word that will help you grow in your faith, encourage you in your walk with Christ, and show you how to navigate through the challenges of life. To sign up, text DEVO to 59789 and begin receiving Dr. Graham's devotional every day. Again, text DEVO to 59789. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today?

Jack Graham: So let me ask you something as we close today. Not do you feel loving this morning; feelings come and go, you know that. The question is simpler and harder: who are you going to choose to love this week when it costs you something? Because that's really where the rubber meets the road. It's easy to love people who are easy to love. It's easy to sing about love, post about love, get a little misty-eyed about love.

But Jesus didn't say the world would know us by our sentiment; he said they'd know us by what we actually do for one another, especially when it's inconvenient, especially when someone doesn't deserve it, especially when it would be so much easier to just look away. So here's my challenge: think of one person this week who's difficult to love right now. Maybe it's someone in your own home. Maybe it's someone at your office who gets under your skin. Maybe it's someone in church you've quietly kept at arm's length.

And I want you to choose on purpose to love them the way Christ loved you. Not because they've earned it, but because you didn't earn his love either. That's the whole gospel in miniature, isn't it? Undeserved love freely given. And now it lives in you, not as a nice idea you nod along to, but as a command you get to obey, empowered by his own Spirit. The world is genuinely starving for this. Not more opinions, not more noise, not more people proving they're right. They're starving to see what real, sacrificial, patient love actually looks like lived out in ordinary people. That could be you this week. So go be the answer to somebody's prayer. Go love like you've been loved. That's the law of love.

Guest (Male): And that is today's PowerPoint. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how you can have peace, hope, and purpose in life. That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.