As Paul peeped through the window of the church at Corinth, he saw quarreling, jealousy, anger, selfishness, slander, gossip, conceit, and disorder. And it broke his heart.
You might expect to hear of.
1. Places of employment without love.
a. Just a number
b. Just a tool to accomplish a task
c. You might expect your company leaders not to care, your fellow employer not to care.
2. Places of education, school, learning institutions not to care, no love.
3. Homes and family members, how sad. But I know of a lot of families without love.
4. But how sad it is to be in a church without love.
5. The very root and foundation of the local NT Bible preaching church is love.
a. John 3:16; Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:25
6. Yes, you might work at a job where there is no love,
a. You might attend a school where there is no love.
b. You might be a part of a family where their love is not expressed or a warped love.
c. But God help us never to become a Church without love.
Today’s world is crying for a demonstration of real love.
Love which relieves the stress and strain in human relationships and heals wounds.
To love and to be loved, is one of every person’s most basic needs.
The greatest, the strongest element in any church is its love. Ask yourself, “If every member loved as I loved, what kind of church would we have?”
Now, Paul says to this church at Corinth, as to us today – more than anything else, “Sick churches suffer from a lack of love.” Revelation 2:1-7 (Not your attendance is down, offerings are down, singing is bad, no prayers, but…. you left your first love.
I. Absence of Love is Seen in Four Areas
A. Absence of Love for Each Other.
1. Ephesians 4:1-3
a) Forbearing means “to hold up”, “to bear with”, “endure”, “to support as a burden.”
b) Colossians 3:13
2. Romans 15:1-3
a) Bear the infirmities – means “want of strength” “weakness”
b) Indicating “inability to produce results”
3. Galatians 6:2
a. Bear one another’s burdens denotes a weight, anything pressing on one physically.
b. Or that makes a demand on one’s resources, whether material or spiritual.
1) Do we know anyone drained spiritually?
2) Should we help?
4. Ephesians 6:18
a. We talk about each other, but not to God.
b. We criticize far more than we pray.
c. We carry grudges more often than we lift burdens.
d. We are quick to condemn, but slow to forgive.
5. Listen to what our Lord says about, “Loving those who have hurt or wronged us.”
a. Luke 6:32
b. Matthew 5:41
c. Matthew 5:39
d. Matthew 5:44
e. Luke 6:28
6. The greatest, the strongest element in any church is its love. How’s our love life? it’s up to you.
B. Absence of Love Between Pulpit and Pew.
1. There must be love between the congregations and staff.
a. We are all brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. We should seek to strengthen and support one another.
a. Do you say nice things about our youth director or ugly things?
b. Do you say nice things about our music director or ugly things?
c. How about our Sunday School Teachers, or about our nursery workers?
d. My secretary is not “church staff” if you have anything to say to her, you better say it to me.
e. How about the Pastor – nice things or ugly things?
3. The sad truth is most preachers are looking for another church. And most churches are looking for another preacher.
4. Hell is throwing parties because of the friction between pulpit and pew.
a. Fighting each other and no time to fight the devil.
b. It was said of Paul, “Hell suffered headaches over this God intoxicated man.”
5. My friend, I am going to love you and preach this word of God to you.
a. And if you can’t love me, support me, or any of our staff, leave and go where you can love and support your Pastor.
C. The Absence of Love for Lost, Suffering Sinner
1. Everywhere Jesus went, He was helping those in need. Both physically and spiritually.
2. One man said, “we don’t care”. “We are self-satisfied snobs, sailing to heaven in an ocean of drowning men. “
a. The only thing we love about the world are its ways.
3. My friend, my first response was, “that’s not true that’s not right.”
a. But then I asked….
b. How many alcoholics have I told about Jesus?
c. How many broken families or teens with problems?
d. How many immoral people have I said Jesus can help? Not many.
D. The Absence of Love for Jesus Christ. 1 Corinthians 16:22
1. I wonder how many of us really and truly love the Lord Jesus?
a. We love ourselves
b. We love our family
c. We love our comforts
2. Jesus, Himself, gave us a means by which to measure our love. John 14:15
3. Obedience to the word of God is the key to our loving. Mark 7:6
II. The Answer for the Absence of Love
A. The problem is no love in our church.
B. The question is: What can I do about it?
C. The hope of this world lies in our churches.
1. This state, this town.
2. The church at its worst has more to offer a needy world, than the world at its best.
3. So, we must do something.
D. I believe “love for Christ is the starting place”, so let’s reverse the order.
E. How can we love Jesus more?
1. By spending more time in His presence.
a. Matthew 18:20
b. 2 or 3 gathered, He is in the midst.
2. By spending more private time in prayer with Him. Matthew 6:5-7
3. By the hearing and singing of songs and hymns about the Lord, His life, His death.
F. How Can I Learn to Love the Lost More?
1. Good question. I don’t love sinner as much as I would like to. Do you? Romans 9:1-3
2. Luke 10:25-37; “Go and do thou likewise.”
a. You learn to love sinners by going and doing.
b. Love is learned by practice.
3. The Good Samaritan
a. Saw the need
b. Took time to help in the need
c. Gave to meet the need
4. Some never become involved in any way to reach lost souls.
G. How can there be more love between pulpit and pew?
1. We need to keep the love flowing in both directions.
2. Love will help each to accept the other.
3. Love will help in our weakness and join hands to keep us going in the wrong direction.
4. How can there be more love?
a. What I need from the pew is just to know you care, you pray for me. You support me.
b. What you need from me is to know I care. (each sermon is to build, not destroy, to encourage not to condemn.
c. You can trust someone who loves you.
d. You can take correction and discipline from someone who loves you.
H. How can we learn to love each other?
1. The key is understanding, get to know each other.
2. Know where folks are hurting, if people share, they care.
3. Now, as a church, do we love? Now, you as a church member, do you love?
4. In your heart, do you hold no resentment and you want what is best for others.
5. Only you and I by the grace of God make sure our church is never a “Church Without Love”
