I Am the Flag of the United States of America
I am the flag of the United States of America. My name is Old Glory. I fly atop the world’s tallest buildings. I stand watch in America’s halls of justice. I fly majestically over institutions of learning. I stand guard with power in the world. Look up and see me. I stand for peace, honor, truth and justice. I stand for freedom. I am confident. I am arrogant. I am proud. When I am flown with my fellow banners, my head is a little higher, my colors a little truer. I bow to no one! I am recognized all over the world. I am worshipped, I am saluted. I am loved, I am revered. I am respected, and I am feared. I have fought in every battle of every war for more then 200 years. I was flown at Valley Forge, Gettysburg, Shiloh and Appomattox. I was there at San Juan Hill, the trenches of France, in the Argonne Forest, Anzio, Rome and the beaches of Normandy. Guam, Okinawa, Korea and KheSan, Saigon, Vietnam know me. I’m presently in the mountains of Afghanistan and the hot and dusty deserts of Iraq and wherever freedom is needed. I led my troops, I was dirty, battle worn and tired, but my soldiers cheered me and I was proud. I have been burned, torn and trampled on the streets of countries I have helped set free. It does not hurt for I am invincible. I have been soiled upon, burned, torn and trampled in the streets of y country. And when it’s done by those whom I’ve served in battle, it hurts. But I shall overcome, for I am strong. I have slipped the bonds of Earth and stood watch over the uncharted frontiers of space from my vantage point on the moon. I have borne silent witness to all of America’s finest hours. But my finest hours are yet to come. When I am torn into strips and used as bandages for my wounded comrades on the battlefield, When I am flown at half-mast to honor my soldier, Or when I lie in the trembling arms of a grieving parent at the grave of their fallen son or daughter, I am proud.
There is no law against love Galatians 5:22-25
The Lord’s Supper has been called the heart of what a Christian should do in their life. This is a time that we move beyond theology, doctrine, past practice or program and enter a personal encounter with our risen lord Jesus Christ. We could call the Lord’s Supper the greatest of all sacraments because it is a time that we experience the indwelling of the Holy Spirit and the precious presence of Jesus Christ.
Love is the first fruit given to us in this passage and some have said that it is the fruit of the Spirit and the rest of these fruit are a display of that love. To start we need to ask what love is. In our way of saying the word love is very different. I love my wife to I love my girlfriend, my brother or my mother. What does it mean I love America, my dog, pizza, car house, to have my back rubbed or New York. I want us to discover this morning what love is that is found in GAL 5:22. We can love something but no like it. Things that we love are government, church, sinner but we may not like them.
How are we at receiving or giving love? 1. Many think that love is a feeling. It comes like a knot in your stomach or an ocean of emotion. Love should produce a feeling. In the comic Peanuts, Linus says “She is so cute. I used to see here in S. S. class and stare at her. Some times I would see her smile, but now I hear she attends another church. That will change your theology in a hurry.” Feelings can make us do things that we would not normally do. 2. Some think that love is out of our control. Like the song “I can’t help falling in love with you.” We might hear some one say, “I fell in love, I cannot help that I am in love or I just do not love her any more.” We contrast this feeling to what Jesus said, “We are to love one another.” We are in control of whom we love.
I want to make three statements about love and then talk about 5 steps we can take to love people in the right way.
I. Love is a matter of choice. Col. 3:14 “And over all these virtues put on love. Love is a choice. It is something we have control over.
II. Love is matter of Conduct. It is something we do. It is an action. “Let us love… with actions and truth.” There is story of a man who said he loved his girl so much he would die for her. She said you are always saying that but you never do.
III. Love is more than words and more than feelings. As we look at the words for love in the Greek I ran across the words: Storge which refers to a natural affection, Eros which refers to sexual love, Philio which refers to brotherly love and Agape which is unconditional. We do not have to like everyone but we are to love them for God loves them. Lady Astor said to Winston Churchill, “If you were my husband I would poison your coffee.” He replied, “If you were my wife, I would drink it.”
What are five steps we can take to learn to love people?
1. We must first know and experience the love that God has for us. EPH 3:17-19 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge. 1 JN 4:16-19 “And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him? In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the Day of Judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.” I understand these verses to say that if I do not know and feel I am loved it will be hard for me to love. I JN "As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father’s commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” We are to love as Jesus loves us.
The Declaration of Dependence
When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for people to declare their dependence on Almighty God, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to this decision.
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain undeniable gifts that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of the Kingdom of God. We declare an end to our spiritual autonomy from the God who loves us, and join our voices with that of Mary, who said, “I am the Lord’s servant; may it be to me as you have said.” (Luke 1:38) And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred honor.
2. We must forgive those who have done us wrong. Col. 3:12-14 “Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves; you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other’s faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. And the most important piece of clothing you must wear is love. Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony.” It is hard for me to love some one I am angry with. If my heart is divided I have not the power to love as God loves. It is our choice to close the past and we do that as we forgive those who have done us wrong. When I choose to forgive someone they can no longer because your heart is free. When we do not forgive that person is letting our hearts be controlled with anger. When we forgive we release that person by forgiveness and they do not have place in our hearts. This does not mean that we forget but that we release. Only God has the power to forget. God does have the power to help us.
3. We have to begin to think loving thoughts. PH 2:2-4 “then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” We need to turn our thoughts about others and not just think about our self. In this living as a loving person our thoughts have to be, “it’s not about me.’ We need to listen and find out why a person is like they are. “How marvelous, the grace that caught my falling soul, He looked beyond my fault and saw my need.” Do you realize it is the most obnoxious and least lovable person who needs love the most? The ones that we would like to ignore are the ones in desperate need of our love. Everyone needs to have love. The person who is not loved is the one that will act out in a negative way. They act that way because they want attention that only love can bring. We can change the way we think about a person and it will help us to change our feeling toward them. When we choose not to dwell on their faults and irritability but think about their needs it makes us turn to love them. Unless one comes t o believe in Jesus Christ they are headed for hell and have no hope. God is love and thinks loving thoughts toward us.
4. Our purpose should be to act in loving ways. I would like to call this living by faith and acting with grace. You can change the way you feel by your actions. By your actions you can chose how you feel and do. If you wait for your feelings there are many who would do nothing for a long time. If you act enthusiastically you will feel enthusiastic. If you act like you are happy you will feel happy. Can you make yourself laugh on the inside? It will change how you feel. When you really laugh your whole body will shake, you face will change expression, tears will gush out your eyes and your breathing will affected. You did not feel your way into laughing but you acted and it changed your feelings. Start with your thinking which you can change. PR 23:7 For as he thinks in his heart, so is he.” LK 6:27, 28 "But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Pr 15:13 but the cheerful heart has a continual feast. 15 “A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, 30 “A happy heart makes the face cheerful, 22 “A cheerful heart is good medicine,” Love is joy, peace, patient, kind, gentle. God loves you is a fact. You feel His love all around you. You are free to experience that love. When you repent, He forgives and your feelings about life changes.
5. We are to expect the best. I COR 7 “It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” Love always expects the best of him. We live up to what people think of us. If our parents said over and over, “He will never amount to anything” it will probably happen. “You are really good at being helpful.” You will see a person being helpful. Jesus chose 12 to follow Him not for who they were but what he saw they could be become. How would life change if we thought this way about people we deal with or to even think that way about ourselves? What does Jesus see in you as to what you could be? Love is contagious and brings out the best in people. Expect the best or treat a person in the way you would like them to become and God can change them.
How do I start living as a loving person? Rev. 2:5 “Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent.” 1. Remember how much God loves you. 2. Repent, change the way you think. Change your way of thinking failure to I can change 3. Do the things you did at first. Love takes action. Our love is not strong enough to weather the storms of life. God’s love never dries up but continues. It is the gift that keeps giving.
God sent Jesus to make it possible for us to have a full and joyful life here and to make it possible for us to spend eternity with Him in heaven. There is no law against love.
