November 3, 2002 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
¡§Substitutes for love¡¨
INTRODUCTION
This Tuesday is election day. Candidates tell us that we should not be satisfied with the way that things are. There is a better way, and it is their way.
- in the world
- at the job
- in the church
- in your families
God has a better way. It is not a new strategy. It has been around since eternity past. It is the way of love.
Man has a hard time accepting God¡¦s way, so he substitutes other solutions for the solution that God has already given. We¡¦re going to talk about three of those solutions. And we will discover that without love, all of man¡¦s solutions will end in uselessness.
1. Without love, all that I say is useless. (vs. 1)
a. It doesn¡¦t matter how well I speak the language of men. ¡§tongues of men¡¨
Some men are really good with words. They try to communicate their love with those words ¡V songs, stories, and sweet nothings. But if you¡¦re really trying to communicate love, and you¡¦re a little sappy, you use poems. Just don¡¦t use this one:
Goober Love Poem
"Collards is green, my dog’s name is Blue
and I’m so lucky to have a sweet thang like you.
Yore hair is like cornsilk a flapping in the breeze
Softer than Blue’s and without all them fleas.
You move like the bass,which excite me in May.
You ain’t got no scales but I luv you anyway.
Yo’re as satisfy’n as okry jist a-fry’n in the pan.
Yo’re as fragrant as "snuff" right out of the can.
You have som’a yore teeth, for which I am proud;
I hold my head high when we’re in a crowd.
On special occasions, when you shave under yore arms,
well, I’m in hawg heaven,and awed by yore charms.
Still them fellers at work, they all want to know,
what I did to deserve such a purdy, young doe.
Like a good roll of duct tape yo’re there fer yore man,
to patch up life’s troubles and fix what you can.
Yo’re as cute as a junebug a-buzzin’ overhead.
You ain’t mean like those farm ants I found in my bed.
Cut from the best cloth like a plaid flannel shirt,
you spark up my life more than a fresh load of dirt.
When you hold me real tight like a padded gunrack,
my life is complete; Ain’t nuttin’ I lack.
Yore complexion, it’s perfection, like the best vinyl sidin’.
despite all the years, yore age, it keeps hidin’.
Me ’n’ you’s like a Moon Pie with a RC cold drank,
we go together like a skunk goes with stank.
Paul may not have been a great speaker (2 Cor. 10:10), but Paul loved the people that He ministered to.
Talk about homes that I was in this week. I go to people¡¦s homes to try and get to know them better ¡V develop a relationship. I want you to know that when I get up to speak on Sunday morning, what comes out of my mouth has been filtered through a heart that loves you.
b. It doesn¡¦t matter how well I speak the language of God. ¡§and of angels¡¨
Agape love ¡V unconditional, undeserved, even unwanted, but given anyway. (Rom. 5:6-8)
Clanging gong ¡V in the movie Mulan, there was a little lizard that banged a gong to try and awaken the sleeping dragon god. This practice really happened. At the entrance to pagan temples, there would be a big gong or cymbal. When people came to worship, they hit these gongs to awaken the pagan gods so they would listen to their prayers. These gongs were useless because there were no gods to awaken.
Parents, do you ever feel like you are just making noise with your children? Are you communicating with your mouth or with your heart.
Christians, do you ever feel like you are just making noise with your neighbors or co-workers when you try to communicate Christ with them? Do you feel like you’re just annoying them and giving them a headache? Words without love are like a gong that just keeps banging in your ear until it gives you a splitting headache.
Some go to the other extreme of loving people but not communicating the truth to them. That¡¦s not Paul¡¦s desire here. Paul was a man of words. I¡¦ve got to get to the point that I love people so much that I can¡¦t help but communicate God¡¦s truth to them. It¡¦s not an either/or but a both/and.
You may have the right words to say, and you may communicate them flawlessly, but without love, your words are silent.
2. Without love, all that I believe is meaningless. (vs. 2)
a. It doesn¡¦t matter how well I teach. ¡§gift of prophecy¡¨
„X Vs. 1 is about communicating well; vs. 2 is about communicating God¡¦s truth
„X Jonah was a prophet without love; Jeremiah was a prophet with love
„X Teachers, you can communicate God¡¦s truth every Sunday, but do you love your students? Prove it.
b. It doesn¡¦t matter how much I understand. ¡§fathom all mysteries¡¨
„X Our society says that the answer to the world¡¦s problems is education.
„X ¡§Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.¡¨ (1 Cor. 8:1)
„X a lot of things happen that the world does not understand. A lot of ¡§why¡¨s. What if I could answer all those why¡¦s for you? What if I could understand all the mysteries of the universe ¡V how all the pieces of the puzzle fit together?
c. It doesn¡¦t matter how full of faith I am. ¡§move mountains¡¨
„X Faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains (Mat. 17:20)
Paul is not trying to devalue prophecy, knowledge or faith. He valued all three. Prophecy was the greatest gift (1 Cor. 14), he had acquired and continued to seek after knowledge, and he knew that without faith, it is impossible to please God (Heb. 11:6). But as valuable as all these are, they don¡¦t compare to the value of love. Love is elevated above all of them.
Great beliefs without love don¡¦t get God¡¦s approval (Rev. 2:1-4).
The writer of Rev., the apostle John, was focused on the supremacy of love. Jerome, the Church historian, relates of the Apostle John that, when he became old he used to go among the churches and assemblies, everywhere repeating the words, ¡§Little children, love one another.¡¨ His disciples, wearied by the constant repetition, asked him why he always said this. ¡§Because,¡¨ he replied, ¡§it is the Lord¡¦s commandment; and if it only be fulfilled, it is enough.¡¨
Jesus considered love to be so important that when asked whtat the greatest commandment was, He gave two and framed them both within the context of love ¡V Love God and love people (Mat. 22:36-39)
Right beliefs are important, but right beliefs won¡¦t get your sins forgiven and get you into heaven. I hear people say, ¡§I believe in God.¡¨ That¡¦s great. The demons and Satan believe that. (James 2:19). Right beliefs are only the starting point. Right beliefs must lead to a love relationship with God in order for them to get you right with God. (John 1:12)
3. Without love, all that I give is profitless. (vs. 3)
a. It doesn¡¦t matter how much I give of my stuff. ¡§give all I possess¡¨
One can give without loving, but one cannot love without giving. - Amy Carmichael
b. It doesn¡¦t matter how much I give of myself. ¡§surrender my body¡¨
Maryrdom
God exemplified gifts given with love (Jn. 3:16).
God gave because He loved, not because He felt guilty or obligated.
CONCLUSION
What do I do if I have no love? Do I stop speaking, stop growing in my faith, stop giving? NO! You do just what God told the church at Ephesus. You go back to doing the things that you used to do when you were in love.
Where does this kind of love come from? ¡V it comes from God. It is one of the results of yielding full control of our lives to God¡¦s Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:22)
Without love, all these things are powerless, but with love, our weak efforts have the power of God behind them.
There is a story about Doug Nichols I want to share with you because I think it illustrates what I have been trying to say this morning. Doug Nichols went to India to be a missionary there, but while he was just starting to study the language he became infected with tuberculosis & had to be put in a sanitarium.
It was not a very good place to be. It was not very clean & conditions were difficult because there were so many sick people there. But Doug decided to do the best he could in that situation. So he took a bunch of Christian books & tracts & tried to witness to the other patients in the sanitarium.
But when he tried to pass out tracts, they were rejected. No one wanted them. He tried to hand out books, but no one would take them. He tried to witness, but he was handicapped because of his inability to communicate in their language, & he felt so discouraged.
Here he was. Because of his illness he would be there a long time. But it seemed like the work that he had been sent to do would not be done because no one would listen to him.
Because of his tuberculosis, every night at about 2 o¡¦clock he would wake up with chronic coughing that wouldn¡¦t quit. Then one night when he awoke he noticed across the aisle an old man trying to get out of bed. He said the man would roll himself up into a little ball & teeter back & forth trying to get up the momentum to get up & stand on his feet. But he just couldn¡¦t do it. He was too weak.
Finally, after several attempts the old man laid back & wept. The next morning Doug understood why the man was weeping. He was trying to get up to go to the bathroom & didn¡¦t have enough strength to do that. So his bed was a mess & there was a smell in the air.
The other patients made fun of the old man. The nurses came to clean up his bed & they weren¡¦t kind to him, either. In fact, one of them even slapped him in the face. Doug said that the old man just laid there & cried.
Doug said, "That next night about 2 o¡¦clock I started coughing again. I looked across the way & there was the old man trying to get out of bed once more. I really didn¡¦t want to do it, but somehow I managed to get up & I walked across the aisle & I helped the old man stand up."
But he was too weak to walk, so Doug said, "I took him in my arms & carried him like a baby. He was so light that it wasn¡¦t a difficult task. I took him into the bathroom, which was nothing more than a dirty hole in the floor, & I stood behind him & cradled him in my arms as he took care of himself."
"Then I carried him back to his bed & laid him down. As I turned to leave he reached up & grabbed my face & pulled me close & kissed me on the cheek & said what I think was `Thank you.¡¦"
Doug said, "The next morning there were patients waiting when I awoke & they asked if they could read some of the books & tracts that I had brought. Others had questions about the God I worshiped & His only begotten Son who came into the world to die for their sins."
Doug Nichols says that in the next few weeks he gave out all the literature that he had brought, & many of the doctors & nurses & patients in that sanitarium came to know Jesus Christ as their Lord & Savior, too.
He said, "Now what did I do? I didn¡¦t preach a sermon. I couldn¡¦t even communicate in their language. I didn¡¦t have a great lesson to teach them. I didn¡¦t have wonderful things to offer. All I did was take an old man to the bathroom & anyone can do that."
God is saying I can have the eloquence of an orator, the knowledge of a genius, the faith of a miracle worker, the generosity of a philanthropist, the dedication of a martyr, but if I don¡¦t engage in express this agape love, it doesn¡¦t count, it doesn¡¦t matter. ¡V Kyle Meador
