THE MISUNDERSTOOD GOD**: THE HAIR-TRIGGER GOD
1 CORINTHIANS 13:1-4
Big Idea: Real love does not damage you or hurt you – real love makes you whole.
Supporting Scripture: Psalm 86:15; Jeremiah 29:11, 31:3; Romans 2:4; 1 Timothy 1:16; 2 Peter 3:9; Jude 24-25
1 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. 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. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind.
INTRO
Say it with me … Love is patient, love is kind.
It was not the first time I had a conversation with her or a conversation like this with other women. And it started … “I met this guy.” From there her story was predictable and sad. She had given herself to him with great hope that this relationship would be different but soon she learned he was a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. In a moment he could go from charm to harm. The abuse was evident and the scars that were left on her heart were permanent.
But the she said these words … “But I know he loves me.”
Say it with me … Love is patient, love is kind.
One of the shrewdest deceptions that the Devil casts over our world is to convince us that traits that are evil, even demonic, are actually rooted in love and loving.
She has an evening free and chooses to spend it alone in another room pretending he is not there but yet he says “I know she loves me.”
Say it with me … Love is patient, love is kind.
As I said last week, what we think about love affects how we understand God. And sadly, since the meaning of love has been distorted, we have a distorted view of God.
The world has taught us that love is the exact opposite of everything written in chapter 13.
Think about how the world loves:
• Is it patient?
• Is it not self-seeking?
• Does it not keep record of wrongs?
And, brace yourself, this understanding of love has, in a perverted manner, been embraced by Jesus’ followers. We have taken Satan’s upside down spin on love and tried to make it divine. In doing so, we give God the personality and motivation of the Devil.
We have been taught that niceness (kindness) is a tool of manipulation. When someone is nice what do we often say? We say “What do you want?”
We have been taught that love is impatient. If you love something rush headlong into it; do not hesitate or wait! Therefore, many of us act like God is impatient.
• But impatience includes impulsiveness.
• It means one is reacting to immediate circumstances.
• It suggests God has been counting to ten and could just snap at any moment.
• It implies that he’s a seething volcano and the fire of his wrath is right under the surface just waiting to erupt.
• Impatience suggests God is sent off the rails by our sin and failure.
As a result we behave like children who walk around on egg shells hoping to do everything just right and not break the “rules” so that the bully in the barcolounger will not sky rocket into a violent rage. In the process we have given God the personality of the devil … or, at least, a hot tempered abuser who is biting his tongue but will, inevitably snap, and someone will go to hell for eternity because he lost his temper.
The problem is – that is not love and that is not God. God is not emotionally damaged and he does not need a “coach” to help him control his emotions.
Say it with me … Love is patient, love is kind.
Let me ask you:
• Do you believe God is secretly angry with you?
• Do you think “bad” things have happened to you because God got fed up with your sin and poured out his anger?
• Do you think God is simply nice to you in order to get you to respond to him in a certain way?
Let me ask you:
• Do you believe God not only “loves you” but he also likes you?
• Do you believe God applauds you, cheers for you, and blesses you on a regular basis?
• Do you believe he has a plan to make you whole and he is methodically and successfully transforming you?
Let me ask you:
Which of these sets of questions sounds more like God as revealed in Jesus Christ? The one whose emotions are damned up but the levy keeps breaking or the one who is genuinely loves and likes you?
Say it with me … Love is patient, love is kind.
I have a secret for you – love, real love, does not damage you … it does not “hurt” you. Love, real love, makes you whole.
Your heavenly father has better things for you and he is patiently preparing you to receive them. He does not react to your sin. Rather he is loving you and methodically making you what he wants you to be. I have discovered that I am most patient with the people I know the best. I know their “baggage,” their triggers, their needs, and their struggles, and their desires, and their hopes, and their achievements. Knowledge can bring understanding and that can make you patient with someone. God is patient with you because God knows the real you. He knows why you do the things you do and he knows how to help you become whole. His world is not thrown into a tizzy because of your failures (moral or otherwise). He longs to see you free of your shackles, and it pains him to see the consequences of sin in your life, but he is not saying “That’s it … I have had enough! You change now or else!”
You know what God is doing? He is looking for ways to bless you and set you free of all that harms you and strips you of God’s image. He is slowly but surely taking you to the finish line. And He is doing it with joy and eagerness.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” (Jeremiah 29:11)
When you understand the real God – real love.
• You won’t walk around on egg shells fearing that this last failure was the final straw.
• You won’t think God just gave you a gift (or was nice) and now you have to do something for Him in return.
No; when you see God (real love) you will run to Him with joy. Knowing he knows you “warts and all” and still longs for the day when you are with Him in eternity … when you are fully free and fully whole.
That reminds me of a daddy took his little girl to the park one Saturday afternoon. She was about 4 and was having such a good time in the sun and the presence of her daddy. The ice cream vendor came by and daddy bought her an ice cream cone. Then he noticed that his little girl had filled her mouth with playground sand. She was eating dirt! Daddy had something much better for her. He showed her the ice cream and asked her to spit out the dirt. Then he took her to the water fountain and cleaned her mouth out and gave her the ice cream.
God has something better for you too.
Say it with me … Love is patient, love is kind.
I know that is a hard truth for some of us. You see, our view of love and God has been turned upside down and we have given God the attributes of the devil. In doing so – the message of grace makes us uncomfortable … uneasy. We look for ways to tame its message. But the Bible says, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.” (Jeremiah 31:3).
God’s love will not wear out of fade away.
CONCLUSION
On many occasions you have heard me tell you to never put a period where God puts a comma. So let me remind you again – God uses a lot of commas. He is not finished with the sentence that will define your life.
Or maybe you should just remember that God is the potter and you are clay. He is patient to mold you. He is faithful to remove the lumps that you think define you but that He knows hinder you from becoming what you are designed to be. His potter’s chisel is crafting you into His desired masterpiece. Being the master craftsman he is, your Heavenly Father is methodically shaping you into the image he desires for you … the image of Jesus.
“To him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy—to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.” (Jude 24-25)
Say it with me … Love is patient, love is kind.
As we make our way through this series I want to do more than impress upon you a refreshing understanding of God. I want you to discover what such a God (and His love) does for you.
You see, divine love is not only the supreme illustration of God - it is also the grateful response of His people. His love is poured into our hearts (Romans 5:5) by his Spirit and it flows through us. The source is God but believers are not only love’s recipients … we are also love’s channel. You see, brotherly love (Philéo) and divine love (Agapé) are often used interchangeably in the New Testament. Brotherly love and divine love go hand in hand – how we love our brother is based upon what we have learned about love from God.
Say it with me … Love is patient, love is kind.
With that in mind, we will finish with “A Congregational Covenant of Love.”
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** Much of the material for this sermon is derived from two specific books. 1) Darin Hufford’s “The Misunderstood God” and Henry Drummond’s “The Greatest Thing in the World.”
This sermon is provided by Dr. Kenneth Pell
Potsdam Church of the Nazarene
Potsdam, New York
www.potsdam-naz.org
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CONGREGATIONAL COVENANT OF LOVE
Heavenly Father, you have taught us that you are love, and your Spirit has poured your love into our hearts.
Because you are patient and kind
We will be patient and bear with one another (Ephesians 4:2)
Because you do not envy
We will seek to make peace and build up one another (Rom. 14:19)
Because you are not boastful or proud
We will give preference and honor to one another (Philippians 2:3)
Because you are not rude and self-seeking
We will accept and encourage one another (Rom. 15:13-17)
Because you are not easily angered and keep no record of wrongs
We will forgive others just as we have been forgiven by you (Col. 3:13)
Because you do not delight in evil but do rejoice in truth
We will be loving yet truthful with one another (Ephesians:4:25)
Because you always protect, trust and hope
We will look after the interests of one another and carry one another’s burdens (Gal. 6:2)
Because you always persevere and never fail
We will be devoted to one another in brotherly love (Rom. 12:10)
We thank you for showing us how to love.
We will reflect that love in our care for each other. Amen. (1 Cor. 12:25)
