Most of us were taught that holiness is about what we avoid. Gary Wilkerson preaches that holiness is about how we love. Preaching from 1 Thessalonians 3:10–13 at Valley Life Community Church, he tells honest stories of his own failures to love: a homeless woman he brushed off minutes before preaching on love, and a three-year-old daughter he pushed away so he could read the sports page. These stories expose how easily we embrace the idea of Christian love while walking past the person God puts in front of us. With the example of Jesus sending the 72 into hostile Samaria to heal, share meals, and stay in homes, Gary calls believers to set down their phones, look people in the face, and lay down the ego-driven life for agape, sacrificial love. God’s measure of a life is not the breadth of our reach but the depth of our love, and by the Holy Spirit, anyone can receive a love they could never produce on their own.

Preached: September 27, 2026

Main Points:

• Holiness is more than not doing certain things. It means doing what Jesus did and loving the way he loved. You can avoid every sin on the list and still miss the point because love fulfills the law.
• The real test of love usually comes as an interruption. It may be a stranger who just wants to talk, a child who wants your attention, or a spouse who needs you to listen. Loving that one person can matter more to God than preaching a powerful sermon to hundreds.
• God doesn’t keep accountants to measure your life. He won’t ask how big your ministry was or how many people you reached. He looks not at the breadth of our reach but the depth of our love, and asks, “How large was your heart?”
• Paul longed to see the Thessalonians face to face, and real love still requires presence. Put down the phone, ask the next question, and listen to the end of someone’s story before you plan your answer. Many people are surrounded by others yet still alone, and they are waiting for someone to notice them.
• Every commandment is relational. The “don’ts” are not there to make life strict and unhappy. They guard against the things that kill love: lust that steals from a marriage, envy that breeds greed, and anger that pushes people away.
• When a Samaritan village rejected Jesus, his disciples wanted to call down fire. Jesus sent 72 people instead, to heal, to eat with the villagers, and to stay in their homes. Your Samaria may be a hard marriage, a rebellious child, or a difficult workplace, and he is sending you there with mercy, kindness, and forgiveness.
• Only one of two forces can rule your heart: agape or ego. A life spent chasing success, status, and others' approval ends in emptiness. It is never too late to lay that life at Jesus’ feet and choose the love he first gave you.
• If love doesn’t come naturally to you, ask for a baptism of love. The Holy Spirit can give what your own nature lacks and make you other-centered. You can start coming to church to give rather than to be served, and live “to love people well enough that they begin to love people well enough.”

https://wcmin.us/SS261101c