In this episode, Bryce breaks down how we know and trust God loves us!
Chapter 1: What is the main topic of this episode?
What's going on, guys? Welcome back to another episode of the Bryce Carver Podcast. I'm Bryce, and today we're gonna be talking about loving your neighbor. This is a topic that is so heavy on my heart because I feel like in today's society, I find myself constantly asking this question. Where's my neighbor? Where's our neighbor? What does the Bible say about loving your neighbor?
How can we actively love our neighbor? We're going to jump right into it. The first scripture I want to talk about here is Matthew 22. And in Matthew 22, there's this thing that happens where the Pharisees and the Sadducees, they approach Jesus and they're about to pin him down. They ask Jesus this question that is going to trip him up and give them a reason to call him out for blasphemy.
And they're going to be able to arrest him and crucify him. They ask him, which of all the laws is the greatest? Jesus, which of the commandments is the best commandment? Because they knew if they could get him to say one commandment was better than the other, that they could mark him for blasphemy and crucify him and arrest him. And this is what Jesus says.
He says, you shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength. And then you shall love your neighbor as yourself. And in this powerful interaction with the Pharisees and the Sadducees, Jesus does something very important here.
Instead of saying one commandment is greater than the other, he sums up all 613 laws and 10 commandments under one truth by saying, love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love your neighbor as yourself.
Saying, if you love the Lord your God with your whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, then all of the commandments and laws will be naturally obeyed because you love me. And then we're gonna be emphasizing the second half of this. You shall love your neighbor as yourself. When Jesus says you shall love your neighbor as yourself, is he saying to put yourself before other people?
Is he saying view yourself selfishly? Absolutely not. When Jesus says you shall love your neighbor as yourself, he's saying when you see yourself the way that I see you, then you'll realize I look at everyone else the same way I see you.
So when you interact with other people, you should interact with them with the same love, graciousness, kindness, and joy the way that I interact with you, despite your junk, despite your flaws. Okay, because this is very important. Because in today's society, as we see in Matthew chapter six, he says, have you heard what the earth says? An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth?
Anything society exalts, Jesus Christ is in total opposition to. And anything that Jesus Christ exalts, society is in total opposition to. So where society says, if someone hits you, you turn around and hit them harder than they hit you. Jesus says, if someone hits you on the cheek, give them the other one. He says, if someone takes your cloak, give them the other one.
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Chapter 2: How does Jesus respond to the Pharisees' question?
What is the sin of partiality? Favoritism. And Jesus is in total opposition of favoritism. Do you know how easy it is to love people and treat people right when they've scratched your back? How much harder is it? to love and treat people when they've done you wrong or love and treat people when they've just flat out never done anything for you. That's love.
We live in a society today that defines love as conditions. Well, I'll choose to love you when you choose to love me. False. Jesus Christ shows us a love that has never been exemplified for, that has never been lived out before, and that's this unconditional love.
I mean, Christ lays his life down on the cross knowing that the gift he is offering is going to be denied by some, and yet he still does it. The offer's on the table for everyone. That is unconditional, without strings attached.
The love Christ shows us and the love that we are called to show other people is a love that has zero strings attached, is a love that if we give it, we must come to terms with the fact that we may never get that love back. That's the love that Christ is asking us to show other people when he says, love your neighbor as yourself.
The very love that we've been shown is a love with no strings attached. And the very love that we begin to show other people is one with no strings attached, which is very hard to come around on. So James says, steer away from partiality. Don't just show favoritism. And that's why I love the passage in Matthew chapter 25, where there's the comparison of the sheep and the goats.
And then Jesus is something very important here. He says, for I was hungry and you gave me food. For I was thirsty and you gave me a drink. For I was naked and you clothed me. What you do to the least of these, you do unto me. That passage in Matthew 25 says, put a massive fear of the Lord in my life because it made me go, dang.
We are naturally taught growing up not to interact with the homeless man. We are naturally taught growing up not to interact with people that smell nasty, don't have shoes on their feet, all of these things.
Yet when we walk by them today, after reading that passage, I'm looking at these men and women who may be homeless or less fortunate, or maybe it's friends at school or coworkers that are going through a hard time or retaliating in life and making bad decisions. And I look at those people and I go, man, that's someone's son, daughter. And to be quite frank, they're God's children.
They're made in his image. And if they would just know the love that was out there for them, maybe it would, maybe it would change their heart. Cause like oftentimes these outward expressions of suffering and, and outward expressions of retaliation come from a place of I'm on a quest for love right now and nothing's working. So what is love?
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Chapter 3: What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself?
In the same way, you can love your neighbor as yourself when you realize that when Christ looks down on you, he sees his reflection in you, and that motivates you to love people with the same unconditional, no-strings-attached love that Christ shows you. God, I thank you so much for this day, God. God, I just have one request.
Would you give us the strength to love our neighbors as ourself, whether our neighbors be people that have done us right or done us wrong or people that we've done wrong. God, give us the strength through your spirit to love our neighbor as ourself. In Jesus' name, amen. Guys, thank you so much for watching and tuning into these episodes.
Guys, if you love watching and listening to these episodes, aside from following us along on Instagram, TikTok, Spotify, YouTube, I want to ask you guys, would you guys consider partnering with our ministry financially? Your guys' radical generosity is actually what continues to fuel and produce these podcast episodes and our evangelism videos.
So if you guys feel a burden to support this ministry, reach lost souls with the gospel through digital and in-person ministry, Pray and ask God, how should I partner with Bryce and their ministry and Jesus in the Street ministry? Should I partner with them in prayer? Should I partner with them in finances? Should I partner with them in support?
Whatever it may be, pray and ask God, how should I support Jesus in the Street ministry? Love you guys. See you guys next week for the next episode.
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