INTRO.- ILL.- Two friends were discussing the possibility of love. "I thought I was in love three times," one friend says. "How so?" his friend asks.
"Five years ago I deeply cared for a woman who wanted nothing to do with me." "Was that not love?" his friend asks. "No," he replies. "That was obsession. And then two years ago I deeply cared for an attractive woman who didn’t understand me." "Was that not love?"
"No," he replies. "That was lust. And just last year I met a woman aboard a cruise ship to the Caribbean. She was smart, funny, and a great conversationalist. And everywhere I followed her on that boat, I would get this strange sensation in the pit of my stomach."
"Was that not love?" his friend asks. "No," he replies. "That was motion sickness."
We all know what is the greatest thing in the world, don’t we? It’s being at the Super Bowl with the love of your life feeding you popcorn! No, no, we know that love is the greatest thing in the world, according to God’s Word, but it’s even greater than having your loved one beside you, feeding you popcorn anywhere.
Real love, genuine love, giving love is the greatest good in this world.
ILL.- Morrie Schwartz, American educator, said: “The most important thing in life is to learn how to give out love, and to let it come in.” This is the idea of learning to love others and be loved by others. And I think this is one thing most people want in life. And if they don’t receive love from one person or in one area of life, they go elsewhere. This is perhaps one reason for so many divorces in America.
This also may be one reason why many of churches are not growing. HOW SO? Well, if people who visit our churches don’t find some love then they may not stick around very long.
ILL.- I told you about Elaine and I visiting a church in Carl Junction, MO, some years. I had known their preacher for over 40 years. He even preached my grandmother’s funeral. When I was a student at Ozark Christian College I learned as much from his sermons as I did at college, so I wanted to go hear him preach again. AND HIS PREACHING DIDN’T DISAPPOINT ME. He is over 70 years of age and was as good as ever.
After leaving the church that day I asked Elaine what she thought. She said, “I don’t want to go back.” What was the problem? The church was not very friendly at all! I think two people greeted us was all.
A lack of loving kindness and loving friendliness will keep many people out of our churches! This should be a lesson to us all. Any time we see a new face in the church we need to be quick to introduce ourselves and befriend these people! The greatest of these is what? Faith? Hope? Or Love?
PROP.- The greatest of these is defined and explained in this text. 1- The superiority of love
2- The service of love
3- The steadfastness of love
I. THE SUPERIORITY OF LOVE
Speaking in the tongues of men could be considered a great feat. Are you bilingual or multilingual or singular? I’m singular.
ILL.- Natalie Portman is a Jewish American actress born in 1981 in Israel. She moved together with her parents to the United States when she was 3 years old. Natalie was first raised in Washington, DC and Connecticut before her family moved to New York in 1990. She was always a bright student who scored straight As. In 2003, she graduated from Harvard University with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology. The actress is multilingual. She can speak in English, Hebrew, French, Japanese, German as well as a little Arabic. OH WOW! I have trouble with English, don’t you?
Natalie Portman’s ability to speak in these various languages might “wow” a lot of people, but there is something better or something greater.
And who is one of the greatest orators ever? Or who is one of the greatest preachers ever? Did you ever hear Billy Graham preach in his heyday? His voice, his message and his ability to communicate the gospel message was hard to beat. In fact, he may well be considered one of the greater preachers of our time.
In 1949 Billy Graham had a Crusade in Los Angeles, CA. He called it the Greater Los Angeles Billy Graham Crusade at the "Canvas Cathedral With the Steeple of Light." Graham, then 30, drew 350,000 people over eight weeks to a huge tent at Washington Boulevard and Hill Street. About 3,000 non-believers committed their lives to Christ. And as great a preacher and speaker as Billy Graham was, there is something greater!
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
No matter how many different languages a person can speak or no matter how well a person can speak, if that person doesn’t speak from a heart of love then they are just making a bunch of noise! A HEART OF LOVE IS GREATER THAN GREAT SPEAKING ABILITY.
Have you ever listened to one those prophecy preachers on TV? They talk about the things that are going to happen in this world and in America before the end of time. It’s like they have special insight in regard to what will happen in the last days. WELL, GUESS WHAT? I know too! You can too! It’s in the book!
Matthew 24:4-8 4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains. 10-1410 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.
Times are getting tough and they may get a lot tougher but in the end we win! And there’s something better than being a prophet!
2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
Brothers and sisters, LOVE IS SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHER GIFTS THAT ANY PERSON COULD HAVE!
II. THE SERVICE OF LOVE
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
Love is patient, kind, not rude, not selfish, not proud. To me, this says that real love is a servant to others. Love thinks of others and serves others.
ILL.- A mild-mannered man was tired of being bossed around by his wife so he went to a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist said he needed to build his self-esteem, and so gave him a book on assertiveness, which he read on the way home.
He had finished the book by the time he reached his house. The man stormed into the house and walked up to his wife. Pointing a finger in her face, he said, "From now on, I want you to know that I am the man of this house, and my word is law! I want you to prepare me a gourmet meal tonight, and when I’m finished eating my meal, I expect a sumptuous dessert afterward. Then, after dinner, you’re going to draw me my bath so I can relax. And when I’m finished with my bath, guess who’s going to dress me and comb my hair?" "The funeral director," said his wife.
Galatians 5:13 “You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love.”
ILL.- Rebecca, age 8 said: When my grandma got arthritis, she couldn’t bend over and paint her toe nails anymore. So my grandpa does it for her now all the time, even when his hands got arthritis too. That’s love.
ILL.- Newspaper columnist and minister George Crane tells of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband. "I do not only want to get rid of him, I want to get even. Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has me."
Dr. Crane suggested an ingenious plan "Go home and act as if you really love your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him. Make him believe you love him. After you’ve convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb. Tell him that you’re getting a divorce. That will really hurt him."
With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, "Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised!" And she did it with enthusiasm. Acting "as if." For two months she showed love, kindness, listening, giving, reinforcing, sharing. When she didn’t return, Crane called. "Are you ready now to go through with the divorce?" "Divorce?" she exclaimed. "Never! I discovered I really do love him."
ILL.- In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis wrote, "Do not waste your time bothering whether you ’love’ your neighbor act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.”
Perhaps if we all would try more kindness in dealing with others and not just at home, perhaps we would find more love for others! LOVE IS KINDNESS. It is a matter of serving others.
III. THE STEADFASTNESS OF LOVE
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
ILL.- Last Saturday morning I worked at the church until around 11:30 and then went home. Lorna and her grandson, Derek, were here practicing for church so they can verify that I was working! Somehow or other, I hurt my back last Saturday morning. I started eating ibuprofen like they were M and M’s but they didn’t taste like M and M’s. By the time I got home I was really hurting. I couldn’t even straightened up.
I injured my back years ago when I was runner. All that pounding was good for my heart, but not for my legs, hips and back! Actually, I’ve been to doctor (Neurosurgeon) Tonymon here in Jonesboro several times. The MRI has shown that I have one disc completely gone and two vertebrae are just crunched together. I have some others that are in the process of being herniated.
So on Saturday all I could do was basically either sit on the couch and lie down on the couch. I kept taking ibuprofen and using a vibrator gently on my lower back but with little relief. In fact, if it had been on Friday I would have gone to the doctor. I’m not big on the going to the doctor but it hurt bad enough that I wanted some relief.
After taking a hot shower and letting it run on my back Sunday morning and taking another big dose of ibuprofen my back felt better and I decided against going to the doctor, at least, for now. By Tuesday morning I could even clean the church again!
What’s the deal? The deal is this and it’s the same thing that’s happening to you. WE ARE ALL FAILING. WE ALL ARE WEARING OUT. But there is something that never fails and never wears out and that’s love! Love never fails. That means it’s steadfast, steady, lasting, continual, never-ending, perhaps even eternal.
When we get something we like, we hope that it will always work, always be there, always last, but if it’s physical or material, it won’t last. As much as we want it to, it won’t last.
ILL.- A stingy old lawyer who had been diagnosed with a terminal illness was determined to prove wrong the saying, "You can’t take it with you."
After much thought and consideration, the old man finally figured out how to take at least some of his money with him when he died. He instructed his wife to go to the bank and withdraw enough money to fill two pillowcases. He then directed her to take the bags of money to the attic and leave them directly above his bed.
His plan: When he passed away, he would reach out and grab the bags on his way to heaven. Several weeks after the funeral, the deceased lawyer’s wife, up in the attic cleaning came upon the two forgotten pillowcases stuffed with cash. “Oh, that old fool,” she exclaimed. “I knew he should have had me put the money in the basement.”
As we all know, you can’t take it with you, no matter which way you’re going! MONEY AND MATERIAL THINGS WILL NOT LAST INTO ETERNITY!
I Timothy 6:6-7 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.”
There is only thing that will last forever and that is love. It is love for the Lord and love for others!
CONCLUSION--------------------------
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Faith is wonderful. Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him. Heb. 11:6
And hope is wonderful, because without the hope of eternal life how miserable life would be. Life is tough, but hope of a better life keeps us going.
But the greatest of these is love. Love is the greater than faith and hope. Why? Because God is love and He wants us to see Him and know Him and become like Him. The greatest of these is love!
