A Love that Remains
A. Introduction
1. 1 Corinthians 13:13 – And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.
2. Today marks the end of the series dealing with 1 Corinthians 13:13. We will finish the series by talking about Love. I am going to tell you what it means to Love and where the true source of Love comes from, how to increase your ability to love your family and others, and how you can show Love to others.
B. What it means to Love
1. As I was writing this sermon, I asked myself was does it truly mean to Love. To tell you the truth I was greatly perplexed for a long time. And the reason why was because I was searching for one single meaning for love. And then it hit me, love is not one single thing that we do but rather it a combination of many things that we do.
2. You see there is no one single definition for Love as Websters Dictionary would like us to believe. Love is a combination of many things working together.
a. Love is more than just words.
b. It is more than just saying “I Love You.”
c. It is being there for each other, any time day
or night.
d. It is calling just to say “Hi”.
e. It is dedicating your life to one another other
through sickness and health.
f. It is sacrificing everything you have for
another.
g. It is sharing your feelings with each other.
h. It is believing in each other.
i. It is laughing and praying together.
j. It is taking a walk on a moonlit, summer night.
k. It is telling another how beautiful they are.
l. It is flowers and candy.
m. It is happiness and joy.
n. It is faith and hope. It is patient and kind,
it does not envy nor is it blind.
3. Love has many forms. The list could go on forever.
4. D.L. Moody once said "I took up that word Love, and I do not know how many weeks I spent in studying the passage, in which it occurs, till at last I could not help loving people. I had been feeding on love so long that I was anxious to do everybody good I came in contact with. I got filled of it. It ran out my fingers. You take up the subject of love in the Bible! You will get so full of it that all you have to do is open your lips, and a flood of the love of God flows out."
5. I admire D.L. Moody for his commitment to sharing his love with others. He was a very wise man and the reason why I say he was wise is not because of any specific degree he may have earned in school. I do not call him wise b/c of any program that he may have established, and I do not call him wise due to any amount of money he may have earned throughout his life. The reason I call him wise is b/c he found what it means to truly love somebody as Christ would love them. Some people read the passages about love and just pass them by not paying much attention to them at all.
6. And to tell you the truth, the person you are truly hurting is yourself. Because if you do not know what it means to love unconditionally yet then you have not experienced all of God’s love.
a. 1 John 4:8 – Whoever does not love does not
know God because God is love.
b. The source of love comes from the one who
created us, God is love.
7. Why do you think in the 1 Corinthians 13:13 Paul tells us that out of faith, hope, and love the greatest of these is love?
a. Is it not true that faith important?
b. Is it not true that Hope is important?
c. I hope so because I just gave two sermons over
those two virtues.
d. Paul states that love is greatest because it is
the only one of the three that is eternal.
e. Faith and Hope are used here on earth in order
to help us get to heaven but once we are there we
no longer need faith and hope b/c we are
experiencing the love of God.
8. Now I have told you what love truly is and I have
told you where the source really comes from and since we now know these things, we are ready to learn to put our love into action.
C. Ways to Strengthen Your Love
1. First thing that you must do is you must trust God unconditionally.
a. Psalm 91:14 – The Lord says, “I will rescue
those who love me. I will protect those who trust
in my name.”
2. Second, we must give thanks. Thank God for what He has given you.
a. 1 Chronicles 16:34 – Give thanks to the LORD,
for he is good! His faithful love endures forever.
b. Psalm 136:1 – Give thanks to the LORD, for he
is good! His faithful love endures forever.
c. Are you not alive? Are you not sitting here
today?
d. Do you not have friends that love you?
e. Give thanks!
3. Third, Meditate on God’s word. Read the bible. So you will know what it says about Love.
a. Psalm 48:9 – O God, we meditate on your
unfailing love as we worship in your temple.
b. Meditate not only on God’s word but on Him, on
His love and you will not believe the difference
it will make in your life.
4. Fourth, you must love your neighbor as yourself.
5. Finally, now this is the kicker, you must Love Jesus with everything you have.
a. Matthew 22:37 – Jesus replied: “Love the Lord
your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind.”
b. My dad taught me when I was growing up that
anything worth while was never able to be
attained easily. The same thing is true here, in
order for to experience the love of a lifetime,
in order to experience an eternal love, one that
will never leave you or forsake you or give up
on. You have to make an effort to experience that
love.
D. Conclusion
1. Where there’s life, there’s hope. (Marcus Tullius Cicero)
2. I want you to know that in the times of your life when you believe that all is lost and everything is against you, when your heart is filled with sorrow and you feel that you have no where to turn, and when feel cold and alone. Do not GIVE UP! There is always hope and His name is Jesus.
a. Isaiah 42:1 - Look at my servant, whom I
strengthen. He is my chosen one, and I am pleased
with him. I have put my spirit upon him.
