Ron and Patti had been married for twelve years and have two children. Patti had grown up with believing parents as they attended church where she grew up in the area. Ron was born in Ada, Oklahoma to hard working parents. His father had served in the Vietnam War and neither parent felt church was important. Ron had not given a great deal of his attention to spiritual matters until a friend invited him to a Young Life meeting when he attended West Ark College. It was there that he met Patti and a relationship developed. Patti was instrumental in leading Ron to Christ early on in their relationship. They were married in a Podo, OK church before Ron’s job caused them to move to other side of the state. Living outside of Little Rock, the two could not find a church they were comfortable in, so the grew out of the habit once the kids came along. The churches were either too large or they lacked anyone who really asserted themselves to take Ron and Patti in. The economic slowdown caused Ron’s work to lay him off. So the couple moved closer to home. Now with twelve years of marriage under their belt, this couple has only about three years of church experience. Their young children have only rarely had a Bible in their hands yet they pray before meals. Patti wants to go back to the church she grew up in and they have attended there on a few Sundays. But the habit of staying home on Sunday is hard to break for both of them. The economic stress of Ron losing his job has placed a stress upon the marriage as well. The couple works two jobs between them as her parents watch Catlin and Addison. I had the chance to sit down with both of them and ask about their involvement in church recently. I prodded them with one question, “You both profess Christ as your Savior and Lord. Can you point me to an area where you are loving others?” “Can you point to a place where your Christianity is being practiced by loving others in a church?”
Ron and Patti’s problems are greater than the long lines at the unemployment office. Ron and Patti have failed to develop any meaningful practices where they practice love around a church. Instead, their actions have stated clearly through over a decade of marriage, that if the church doesn’t meet their needs, then church doesn’t matter. Patti had been a part of a great singles group before marriage. She had even attended a MOPS group in a church during the week that gave her support and encouragement with the little ones while she was in the Little Rock area. Ron had rather go on a hike on Sunday mornings and doesn’t care for a lot of the organized religion he has seen after his conversion. Ron and Patti are typical of a generation of professing Christians who want Christianity their way. Christianity practiced ala cart where we pick and choose the elements of Christian life that we like and discard the other. And while the church is oftentimes messy, the command to love not just anyone but to love one another is essential. Ron and Patti need to experience the love found in a community of believers who are not just like them. In fact, they need to experience the revolutionary love of Christ in a church where Christians love one another. When they truly experience this love, they’ll turn from just consumers to producers.
“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.” (1 Corinthians 13:1-13)
Love is the essence of Christianity. The cross of Christ has been the defining act of love for nearly two millennia. Central to Christianity is the call to love. Jesus said that love for one another is the badge for Christians: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).
Paul says it as well: “And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more…” (Philippians 1:9).
“so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love…” (Ephesians 3:17).
Loving other people before yourself is one distinctive trait of Christians. Again, love is the essence to Christianity. What we are going to discover today is… Christians love; it’s their essence to love. That’s what they do because that is who they are. When you possess love you are best prepared for heaven and you are least suited for hell.
1. Love is Better Than Miracles
True believers have the Holy Spirit living inside them on a permanent basis (Romans 8:9). When I refer to the Holy Spirit I am referring to the third Person of the God. The Bible teaches that God is One in Three Persons: God, the Father, Jesus Christ, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. All are One God and yet they can be referred to individually. When you are converted, the Holy Spirit takes residence in you. His nature is the nature of love: “…God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5b).
The impact of the Holy Spirit is crucial for a believer takes on a new nature at his conversion. It’s crucial as well because of the nature of the discussion in the early part of 1 Corinthians 13. You see the effects of the person who does not have love three times in these three verses. In verse one, they are “a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” In verse two, without love, “I am nothing.” And in verse three, without love, “I gain nothing.” Even if have all these gifts, I am nothing. Nothing refers to salvation. Without love you are not saved. Four extraordinary gifts are listed in today’s passage, prophecy, tongues, faith, and knowledge.
The Holy Spirit influences people either by operating on them or by dwelling in them. It’s helpful to divide this into two levels: common and saving. By operating on people, the Holy Spirit deals with both believers and unbelievers alike. Yet, when the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, He lives inside of him. Again, when you are converted, the Holy Spirit takes residence in you. How do you know if you are a part of the common group or the saving group?
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
Love is the sum of everything it means to be a Christian. To be saved is to have the Spirit. The Holy Spirit gives Himself to Christ’s followers. And when He dwells in you He shares His nature with you. You become loving because of Him. The distinguishing mark of Christ’s followers is possession of the Holy Spirit. And the evidence of the Holy Spirit is love for others. Some of the more extraordinary gifts of the Spirits are common gifts. They are not ordinarily given to believers. To speak in tongues does not mean you have the Spirit. You may or may not have the Spirit if you work miracles. You may or may not have the Spirit if you have the gift of prophecy Don’t mistake an extraordinary gift as a sign that you are saved.
That’s the Bible’s point in verse two and three as it refers to “nothing.” To be “nothing” is to be outside of Christ. You may possess miraculous gifts, but you do not have Christ’s holy love. While such gifts are a great honor to some you must understand there are people who work miracles but are not holy people. The miracles are like clothes one wears that can be taken on and off. The extraordinary gifts are like jewels that can be carried with you in your pocket. Yet, saving faith is when the heart is filled with love for Christ and others. When this occurs the heart itself becomes a jewel that cannot be discarded.
When a church is full of love for one another and to those on the outside, we are closer to heaven than if we could all perform acts of healing. When a church is full of love for one another and loves those on outside of Christ, we are closer to heaven than if we could all speak in tongues. It’s the difference illustrated by the Old Testament false prophet named Balaam.
“But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality” (Revelation 2:14).
This man had the ability to foresee the immediate future but was in the words of today’s passage, “nothing.” The difference between the extraordinary gifts and the saving gifts is seen also in the Old Testament king names Saul (1 Samuel 10:11; 19:24). Saul was at one time among the prophets yet he was a wicked man. It’s the difference between Judas and the other Disciples.
Judas preached and worked miracles like the other Twelve. The seventy-two returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in your name!” 18 And he said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven. 19 Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall hurt you. 20 Nevertheless, do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (Luke 10:17-20).
He was numbered among the Twelve yet he betrayed Christ.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’ (Matthew 7:21-23).
To love is better than miracles.
2. You Have to Possess Love to Give Love
To show love and give love you must first possess love. Whenever we hear the message “we need to be more loving,” we attempt to conjure up love by sheer force of will. As if there is within us a distillery of affection that lacks only a piece of wood or a hotter fire. What is our typical strategy for working through the problems of difficult relationships? “Try harder,” we say to ourselves. When our marriage is hurting we say to ourselves, “I’m going to forgive him/her. I don’t know how but I’m going to give it my all.” We say to ourselves, “I don’t care how much it hurts, I’m going to be nice to the jerk I work with.” So we love with teeth clinched and jaw firm. We’re going to love even if it kills us! Yet, to show love and give love you must first possess love. In today’s text you’ll see the disastrous ramifications for people who fail to show love. You see it in verse three where if I give my body to be burned yet if I do not have love, “I gain nothing.” You see it in verse one where if I have the ability to speak in the tongues of angels… but without love “I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” And you see it in verse two where I have the ability to “understand all mysteries and all knowledge” but if I do not have love, “I am nothing.”
Again, there are disastrous ramifications for anyone who fails to love. But where do I get love? If am a nothing if I do not love, where do I find love? Is love in the store where I can buy it? What I want you to discover this morning is the first step in loving others is to first receive God’s love. Before you can write a check you must first make a deposit. You must have the sequence correct.
First the deposit: “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).
God made a substantial, eye-popping deposit on your behalf at the cross. Only after your conversion, can you then write the check: “Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:11). The deposit on your behalf was the death of God’s son. Again, the nature of the Holy Spirit is love: “…God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5b).
The Holy Spirit makes a deposit of love inside of you. Because this love is now present and you take on the loving nature of the Holy Spirit, you can then love others. The order is essential, you experience the cross of Christ and the Holy Spirit lives inside of you. The Holy Spirit changes your unloving nature into His loving nature over time. The Spirit makes the deposit of love for you to write checks of love to others. So do you find yourself wishing to be more loving? “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
Do you want to forgive others more easily? “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32). God is the store where love for others is found. God’s shelves are brimming over with love. He is the source for love. Like a last second grocery run when a winter snowstorm is approaching, you are to go to the cross of Christ for love. Love is present on earth because love is from heaven. Love exists because God exists (1 John 4:8). If God didn’t exist, love would not exist.
Jesus said: “But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil” (Luke 6:35).
To show love and give love you must first possess love. Again God is the source of love. Many people tell you to love but only God gives you the power to love. Without first experiencing the love of Christ at the cross, you’ll not succeed in being a loving person. You may succeed for a time, but not for long.
You’ll be like the Christmas tree that you remove from your house after the holidays. Because it is planted in a metal tree holder and not in the ground, the needles will fall off the moment you try to pick it up. The person who hasn’t experienced the love of Christ is nicely decorated but falls apart when handled. Difficult people are great opportunities to share love. Don’t approach them a clinched teeth and firm jaw. React out of the changes the Holy Spirit has made in you.
3. Love is What Christians Do
Believers in Christ love. It’s their essence. It’s who they are and consequently it’s what they do.
Examples of Love
Our church served approximately 2,000 or more last Sunday night in our Trunk or Treat. You’ll have an opportunity to love others this upcoming Christmas through Bags of Blessing. Speak words of encouragement to those you work with. Strategize ways to love those around you. Specifically focus on the people who are not like you. Difficult people are great opportunities to share love.
Love the Vanniyar
The Vanniyar are a large group of people spread out over S. India. They primarily live in the state of Tamil Nadu. They are a people group. A people group is a group of people who share the same identity. For example, they marry one another and share the same cultural expectations. Our church has visited them on three occasions over the past three years with two trips planned next year. They are what is known as an Unreached People Group. An Unreached People Group is a group of people where less than 2% of its people have been born again. They have never experienced the love of Christ and don’t have access to the Gospel. Southern Baptist churches are being encouraged to adopt a people group. That is, take responsibility for a group of people so they hear of the saving message of Christ.
I want our church to adopt the Vanniyar People. We will vote as a church next week to do just this as our deacons have recommended that our church adopt this people from S. India. Here are five practical steps when considering adopting the Vanniyar.
1. Stay Informed – find out as much information as possible about the Vanniyar People.
2. Pray for the Vanniyar People – Ask God to send people to share the Gospel (Matthew 9:38). Pray for our missionary, Jeff and national leaders Joy, and Kalai who work with the Vanniyar People.
3. Pray that God raises up more career missionaries to work with the Vanniyar People.
4. Give generously – You can financially support missions among the Vanniyar People by giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering (our goal is $55,000) and giving to our church’s budget. .5% of church’s budget goes directly to support efforts among the Vanniyar people and beyond.
5. Go on a short-term mission trip. Our church will go to S. India every Summer. Join us.
We love because it is our essence.
Invitation
No words get to the heart of love as verse four through seven in today’s passage. Over the past couple of weeks I have been challenged to substitute my own name where love is found in verse four through seven.
“‘Scott’ is patient and kind; ‘Scott’ does not envy or boast; ‘Scott’ is not arrogant 5 or rude. ‘Scott’ does not insist on ‘his’ own way; ‘Scott’ is not irritable or resentful; 6 ‘Scott’ does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 ‘Scott’ bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
When I did this I became I liar. This shows my hypocrisy. This sets a standard I cannot meet.
Yet, when I substitute Jesus’ name for love in verses 4-7: “[Jesus] is patient and kind; [Jesus] does not envy or boast; [Jesus] is not arrogant 5 or rude. HE does not insist on its own way; HE is not irritable or resentful; 6 HE does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 [Jesus] bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things” (1 Corinthians 13:4-7)
He met the standard in my place. He fulfilled completely God’s demands in my place. Before I can write a check I must have money in the bank. Before I can love others I have to have to be loved.
