My message today is called "Love Is Responsible."
For us Christians, Jesus is always our best example.
When we're not sure about the truth, we look at what Jesus said.
When we face a hard choice, we ask ourselves, "If Jesus were here, what would He do?"
If Jesus would forgive, we forgive.
If Jesus would overturn the table, we overturn the table.
So today, let's take a look at what Jesus teaches us about love and responsibility.
In John 10:7, Jesus said, "Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep."
When I first read this verse, I thought, "That's kind of strange. What does He mean by that?"
Later, I learned something interesting.
To keep the sheep safe, shepherds in Jesus'time would build a stone sheepfold out in the wilderness. There was only one opening, and at night the shepherd would lie down across that opening and sleep there with his sheep — he himself was the gate.
If danger came, he could jump up right away to protect his sheep.
He was their protector, and also the only right way in and out.
When we think about Jesus' life on earth, that's exactly what He did.
Though He is God, He became human and lived among us.
He ate, slept, rejoiced, and even cried with His disciples.
When He sent them out two by two to preach, and they came back saying, "Lord, even the demons obey us in Your name!"—Bible says Jesus was so joyful that day.Because his disciples were growing.
But when He came to the tomb of Lazarus, and saw Mary and others crying, the Bible says , "Jesus wept."
Can you imagine that? Our God wept.
He's not a cold or distant God.
He's the God who protects us with His own body, who feels our joy and our pain, and who chooses to stay with us.
But Jesus didn't stop there.
In John 10:11, He said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." We all know that this refers to His crucifixion for us.
I've shared the gospel with people who struggle with that idea.
They say, "How can God be humiliated or killed? Shouldn't God destroy His enemies instead of suffering like Jesus did?"
It sounds reasonable—but it misses one simple truth: love.
If God didn't love mankind, this world would've been destroyed the moment Adam sinned.
Let me tell you a true story.
There's a man in China named Guo Gangtang.
He used to be a successful businessman, but one day, his two-year-old son was kidnapped.
From that day on, he gave up everything and started searching on his motorcycle.
For over twenty years, he traveled through 31 provinces, riding more than 500,000 kilometers, wearing out ten motorcycles.
On the back of his bike, he carried a flag with his son's picture and the words: "Where are you, my son?"
That reminds me of God's voice in Genesis.
When Adam and Eve sinned and hid among the trees, God called out the same words: "Where are you?"
That was the very day God lost His children—they were taken by sin.
And from that day on, God had only one purpose in this world: to bring His children home.
Let me finish the story.
After over twenty years, This story has finally come to a perfect ending.Guo Gangtang found his son.
There is another good news: God has also found His children — they are sitting here today.
When mankind sinned, God had every right and all the power to destroy the world and start over.It would only take God another six days.
But He didn't—because He loves us.
The Bible tells us that after God created mankind and looked at them, made in His own image, He said, "It is very good."He loved them so much.
So instead of destruction, He chose redemption.
No one is worthy to ask Him to do that — it comes from His love.
Because God is love，and love is responsible
Over thousands of years, God prepared a beautiful plan of salvation—from Abraham, to David, to Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ is our way home that God has prepared for us.
So, should we look down on Jesus because He was once humiliated? No — it only makes us love Him all the more. Do you love him？
Then, is our love for Christ also a responsible love? Yes, it is.
Do you remember the three questions Jesus asked Peter by the Sea of Tiberias?
"Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my lambs."
Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep."
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" （This might have reminded Peter of the time when he denied the Lord's name three times. So here, Jesus also asked him three times — to help him reaffirm his love for the Lord and to rebuild his life anew.）
He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "Feed my sheep"
Do you understand the meaning behind what Jesus said?
If you truly love Me, then you know why I came into this world, why I died, and why I rose again.
If you truly love Me, why are you here fishing?
If you truly love Me, shouldn't you be taking care of the sheep I gave My life for?
If you trulylove me, you must take up the responsibility I' ve given you — Love is responsible.
I believe Peter truly understood it. From that day on, he never went fishing again. Even later, when disputes arose in the church over the distribution of food, The disciples chose to appoint deacons to handle it — so that they could devote themselves fully to preaching the Word of God , to Feeding Lord's sheep.
The Old Testament gives us a similar example.
According to the Law of Moses, if a man died without a son, his widow was to marry his brother and bear a son for him.
This was because, after the Israelites entered the land of Canaan, the land was distributed according to their clans. Each family had its own land, which were meant to be passed down through the generations.
If a man had no heir, it meant that his land would be taken by others, his family line would be cut off, and his name would be blotted out among God's people.
God does not delight in any lack or loss among His people. Therefore, He entrusted this responsibility to those closest to the man—his wife and his brother—to carry it together.
If anyone refuses to fulfill this law, his brother's widow shall go up to him in the presence of the elders, remove one of his sandals, spit in his face, and say, "This is what is done to the man who will not build up his brother's family line."
That man's family shall be known in Israel as The Family of the Unsandaled.
In the Bible, there are two women who did everything they could to preserve their husbands' names from being blotted out.Both were blessed by God and were included in the family tree of Christ — one was Tamar, and the other was Ruth.
The Bible also gives us a negative example
— when Cain killed Abel. God asked Cain, "Where is your brother Abel?", Cain answered foolishly, "Am I my brother's keeper?"
But in God's eyes, the answer is yes—indeed, every one of us is called to be our brother's keeper.
So look at the people sitting around you.
Don't let their names be blotted out from the Book of Life.
On the day when we stand before our Lord, Jesus may ask you, "Where is your brother? Where is your sister?"
And you must not answer, "I don't know," because the Lord has already entrusted you with the responsibility to watch over them.
The command that Christ has given us is to love one another.
If you don't even care whether your brothers and sisters are still walking in Christ today, how can you say that you love them? And if you don't love your brothers and sisters, how can you say that you love our Lord?
It was a quiet Sunday afternoon in 2022,
at a Taiwanese church in California.
People were talking, eating, and laughing after worship.
Then suddenly, a man pulled out a gun.
Everyone screamed — chaos everywhere.
Dr. John didn’t run.
He stood up, rushed toward the shooter, and tried to stop him.
He was shot and fell to the ground.
Then Pastor Billy grabbed a chair and hit the gunman.
Other brothers and sisters ran to help.
Together they pushed the man down and tied him up.
During the whole incident, many brothers and sisters risked their lives to protect one another.They did the same thing Jesus did — they were true followers of Jesus.They fulfilled the responsibility that Christ entrusted to them.
Now that we've made it clear what our responsibility is,
what should we do?
It's very simple — find your gift, and use it to serve. I don't know who came up with the motto of our church, but it's truly wonderful: First, love God. Then, you will naturally love others. And when you do these two things, you will naturally rise up to serve. So —The answer is Love God, love others, serve.
Believe that you are a part of the body of Christ.
That means you definitely have gifts, and God has a purpose in creating you.
I didn't always understand this truth.
One day I said to God, "Lord, every part of the body You created is useful — except armpit hair. I really don't see any purpose for it, and it looks ugly."
So I took a pair of tweezers and started plucking them out one by one.
When I looked in the mirror afterward, I felt quite satisfied.
But guess what happened?
After I did some exercise,I found that the skin under my arms was all rubbed raw — it was so painful!
That's when I finally understood: armpit hair actually protects our skin.
I confessed to God and said, "Lord, I'm sorry. You are right and I was wrong. Armpit hair is very important for me. Please let it grow back quickly!"
So in God's design, nothing is useless.
If any part of the body only takes in nutrients, keeps growing bigger and bigger,
and doesn't care about the other organs,
we call that part cancer.
No one likes cancer — everyone wants to prevent it from happening or cut it out.
I believe all of you are good,healthy parts of the body of Christ.
So come on — rise up and serve!
In 1820, a little girl was born in the United States.
When she was only one year old, she lost her sight.
You might think, "What a poor girl. How could she serve others? Shouldn't others serve her?"
If that's what you think — you're wrong.
This little girl later discovered her gift for music.
She began to write hymns endlessly,
and throughout her life she wrote more than 8,000 of them.
She became known as "the Queen of Gospel Song Writers."
Her name was Fanny Crosby.
Have you ever heard the hymns "Blessed Assurance" or "To God Be the Glory"?
Yes，they were written by her.
She once said,
"If perfect earthly sight were offered me tomorrow I would not accept it.I might not have sung hymns to the praise of God if I had been distracted by the beautiful and interesting things around me."
Back in the 1850s, there was a man in New York named Jeremiah Lanphier.
One day, he decided to leave his business behind and start serving God full-time.
He wasn't highly educated, not a pastor, not famous — just an ordinary man with a heart for God. He started walking from shop to shop, handing out flyers, inviting people to church, and kids to Sunday school.
Later, he realized how powerful prayer really is. So he invited businessmen to come to church during their lunch break for a short prayer meeting. You could stay as long as you wanted — five minutes, ten minutes, or more.
But on the very first day, no one came. So he prayed alone. After about half an hour, one man finally joined him.
The next week, twenty men showed up. The week after that, forty. The group kept growing until they decided to hold prayer meetings every day. Eventually, the church was too small to hold everyone, so they started meeting in different places all across the city. At its peak, ten thousand men were praying together every single day.
That became known in history as The Laymen's Prayer Revival.
And honestly — what he did, you can do too, right?
Don't be afraid of not being talented enough or capable enough. None of us can do these things on our own.Behind it all was the hand of God.
God has all the power — but He's looking for faithful people who are willing to work with Him.
Would you be that person?
Alright, let me conclude.
Because our God loves us, He willingly took upon Himself the responsibility of saving us. And He has also given the people who love him a responsibility — to take care of their brothers and sisters, feed his sheep. If you want to fulfill this calling, serve. Don't worry about not being capable enough — God will stand behind you and give you strength.
May God bless you all.
Thank you.