The Church God Sees: A Church Marked by Love

Preached at Mountain Valley Chapel in Gold Bar, Washington on November 16, 2025.What kind of church does God actually see when He looks at us? In this message, Pastor Chris tells the story of missionary Jim Elliot, his martyrdom in the jungles of Ecuador, and the shocking forgiveness of his wife Elisabeth, who returned to live among the very tribe that killed her husband. The world called it a tragedy. Heaven called it revival.From that story, we step into the upper room in John 13. It is the night Jesus is betrayed. The public miracles are done. The crowds are gone. The cross is coming. Before the nails, before the garden, before the arrest, Jesus gets on His knees and washes the feet of His disciples, including the one who would betray Him. Then He gives a new commandment:“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. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:34–35 In this message we walk through three realities that define a church marked by love:Love Begins Where Pride DiesFrom a prison cell, Paul writes to a divided church in Philippi and tells them to do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than themselves (Philippians 2:3–4). The world says “climb higher.” Jesus says “go lower.” Real love begins where pride finally dies.The Church Cannot Be Spirit Filled and Love EmptyIn Galatians 5:22–23, Paul reminds a young, divided church that the fruit of the Spirit begins with love. Before joy, before peace, before anything else, love comes first. A church that claims to be Spirit filled but refuses to walk in sacrificial love is lying to itself. The early church did not only speak in new tongues, they loved in new ways.Love Is the Revival the World Has Been Waiting ForJesus never said the world would know us by our sermons, buildings, or programs. He said they would know us by our love. From the early church caring for the sick during plagues, to believers standing firm under persecution, to Elisabeth Elliot forgiving the men who killed her husband, history has been shaken again and again by supernatural love.This message calls Mountain Valley Chapel, and every believer who listens, to shock the Snohomish Valley again with the kind of love that only the Holy Spirit can birth. Not a love of words and branding, but a love that forgives, serves, and lays down pride for the sake of people Jesus died to save.If this sermon helps you, share it with a friend, leave a rating, and pray about how God is calling you to love in a way that actually looks like Jesus.