What the World Needs Now is Love
1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Love Countdown Video 5 minutes prior to service
4 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres/ Love never fails”
VIDEO: A SISTER’S LOVE (sermon spice video)
What the world (and the church) needs now is Love (agape love) The greek word for the Love used here is Agape or brotherly love or love feast!
The kind of love this little girl in the video showed, totally other focused.
Last week we learned that love is patient and kind!
God has given me many opportunities this week to practice this kind of agape love
This morning we will continue our word study in 1 Corinthians 13.
Today we will look at three things that are not a part of agape love.
1. Love does not envy
History tells of a statue that was erected to celebrate the victory of the Grecian games. It so aroused the envious hatred of the rivals that one of them sneaked out at night to topple the statue. He found it so heavy he had to put quite an effort into rocking it back and forth. When he finally got it to topple it fell the wrong way and crushed him to death. This is the way of bitter envy.
The dictionary defines envy as:
a feeling of discontent or covetousness with regard to another’s advantages, success, possessions
Have you ever found yourself upset, angry or frustrated because of someone elses success or advantage?
Have you ever looked at someone else and said, why not me Lord, why do they get the good stuff and I’m stuck with nothing?
Lets look at the word study:
Zeloo: Pronounced: Dzay loo
to be heated or to boil with envy, hatred, anger
This scripture says that love is not to carry on like the world, envying and angry about others success.
We should be happy with the blessings of God on other people.
When a brother or sister in Christ is doing well, it should thrill us.
1. Love does not envy
2. Love does not boast
Do you find yourself constantly talking about yourself?
Are your conversations centered around what you have done or accomplished or how good you are?
Is it important that everyone know about you?
No matter how wise, strong, or rich you are or have been, the Lord is giver of every good gift.
Jeremiah writes, "Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom or the strong man boast of his strength or the rich man boast of his riches. But let him who boasts boast about this: that He understands and knows me that I am the Lord, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight. (Jer. 9:23,24)
Instead of boasting of what you have accomplished, spend your time and energies in telling others of the great riches you have found in Christ’s grace and loving-kindness.
Word Study:
perpereuomai
pronounced: per-per-yoo’-om-ahee
braggart, a self display, employing rhetorical embellishments in extolling one’s self excessively
If we love like this, it is not about us!! If we love like this we are humble about our own self.
1. Love does not envy
2. Love does not boast
3. It is not proud
Interestingly enough, pride and boasting really go hand in hand. One who is proud tends to boast.
Pride is used here to mean our pride is placed on the wrong object.
The object of our pride should not be ourself if we want to truly love the world.
The object of our pride is our Lord; it is in Him that we can boast!
Word Study:
phusioo {foo-see-o’-o}
blowing; to inflate, i.e. (figuratively) make proud (haughty)
to puff up
Interesting that the root word is phuo which means native disposition or natural disposition.
Might lead us to the conclusion that the pride is something that is in our nature, which makes it even harder to deal with.
Love is does not envy, does not boast and is not proud!
Do you love like this?
Let’s love our world with patience and kindness, not envy, boasting and pride.
The world needs agape love
