Love is part 3
Thesis: Love needs to be defined in light of what the Bible says love is. Love really is only defined in light of the statement ¡§God is Love!¡¨ If you do not start with God then you cannot know or experience love in your life.
Scripture Text:
I Cor. 13:1-13 (NIV)
1If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2If 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. 3If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Secondary texts on Love:
1 John 4:7-11:
7Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice forƒnour sins. 11Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
Introduction:
Love is only defined and experienced in light of the truth that ¡§God is Love!¡¨ Without this as our base we cannot love. So we must start with a love relationship with the Lord. This relationship is formed and put into action when we openly confess with our heart and mouth that we love the Lord and want to live and serve Him with our lives. 1 John 4:7, 8: Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Rick Warren States, ¡§Because God is love, the most important lesson he wants you to learn on earth is how to love. It is in loving that we are most like him, so love is the foundation of every command he has given us¡¨ (123).
Love means that we live our lives the way Love = God instructs us to live. If we choose to not live our life in light of love then our lives are bankrupt. We are broke and penniless in the purpose for our lives. Love = life and if you take love out of the equation then you do not have true life.
T.S. - Love is rooted and grounded in God and Love is defined in 1 Corinthians 13 as the most supreme way to live our lives.
I. Love is defined by 1 Corinthians 13 as the supreme most excellent way and out text clearly defines what it looks like and acts like. (Lets pick up were I left off last week in 1 Cor. 13:6:.
1. Love is? ¡V ¡§Love does not delight in evil!¡¨
a. Let me ask you a question today, ¡§What do you laugh at?¡¨ Is it evil things? Do the things contrary to God¡¦s Word it make you happy?
b. Do you enjoy watching Horror movies?
i. If you do then you need to ask yourself the question do I delight in watching evil?
ii. Truth is if you delight in evil ways then you are eroding in your relationship to the God of love.
iii. The word says abstain from even the appearance of evil.
1. Get away from it don¡¦t play with it, it will burn you and destroy you.
2. Note most people start to play with evil in times of blessing not in tough times.
a. Evil will always destroy the root of love in our lives and we must make sure that we guard our heart from anything that would kill the love in it.
b. Horror movies have nothing to do with God or His love!
c. Do you enjoy the rude, crude, indecent jokes that come your way on the internet. Recently I received this e-mail which at the end challenges us to think about what we are willing to pass on to others and what we will not pass onto others.
i. Billy Graham’s daughter was interviewed on the Early Show and Jane Clayson asked her "How could God let something like this happen?" (regarding the attacks on Sept. 11). Anne Graham gave an extremely profound and insightful response. She said "I believe God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we’ve been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman He is, I believe He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand He leave us alone?" In light of recent events...terrorists attack, school shootings, etc. I think it started when Madeleine Murray O’Hare (she was murdered, her body found recently) complained she didn’t want prayer in our schools, and we said OK. Then someone said you better not read the Bible in school. The Bible says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said OK. Then Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn’t spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem (Dr. Spock’s son committed suicide). We said an expert should know what he’s talking about. And we said OK. Now we’re asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don’t know right from wrong, and why it doesn’t bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with "WE REAP WHAT WE SOW." Funny how simple it is for people to trash God and then wonder why the world’s going to hell. Funny how we believe what the newspapers say, but question what the Bible says. Funny how you can send ’jokes’ through e-mail and they spread like wildfire but when you start sending messages regarding the Lord, people think twice about sharing. Funny how lewd, crude, vulgar and obscene articles pass freely through cyberspace, but public discussion of God is suppressed in the school and workplace.
1. Funny how pornography is expanding in our society publicly and privately and God¡¦s Word is being barred.
2. Funny how immorality is promoted as being good for the marriage and morality is considered bad for a marriage.
a. Example: You have to live together first to make sure the two of you will be able to have a good marriage.
b. Note divorce rate for those who cohabitate together before getting married is 80%.
3. Funny how gay marriages are being promoted in our society today in a positive light and marriage in the Biblical sense is looked at as negative.
d. Do you make evil a part of your week by the type of entertainment you watch?
i. This is not love! Love hates evil! Because love is of God and God will have no part of evil.
1. Reference: The Gays who were out protesting at the Purity day promoted by one organization. They say the purity movement is a bigotry event were people who preach purity are self-righteous bigots. Chuck Knapp referenced this on Friday 2/13/04 KTIS.
a. These individuals rejoice in evil! This is not Love.
b. Gay marriages are not based on the Love according to the Bible it is based and rooted in evil-sin.
c. Romans 1: 18-32: 18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God¡¦s invisible qualities¡Xhis eternal power and divine nature¡Xhave been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. 21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. 24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator¡Xwho is forever praised. Amen. 26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. 28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although they know God¡¦s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
e. Love does not rejoice in evil things, evil ways, evil thoughts, evil lives, evil deeds, evil lifestyles, evil pictures, evil movies, evil TV shows or evil period.
i. I want to clarify with you that evil does not always look like an evil monster.
1. Bob Dylan once sang ¡§I did not know that the Devil could come to my door with blond hair blue eyes and tight fitting jeans.¡¨
2. Mel Gibson in his movie The Passion of the Christ portrays evil as in some sense beautiful and alluring. Watch the picture of evil dressed in black in the movie you seeing lurking in the background a lot. When you watch the movie look for evil lurking in the background. Look at how it looks in a sense pretty and alluring.
a. Truth is evil is very alluring and enticing and it does not portray itself as scary, deformed, or demented. It portrays itself as desirable, it lures you into its presence and its ways with things that appeal to your flesh and you self-centeredness.
b. Evil is not stupid it knows that if it showed its true form most everyone would reject it. But this is why it is called deceitful. It looks appealing but it is not love.
i. It¡¦s the opposite of love which is hatred!
T.S. Love never has any delight in the ways of evil because evil has to do with destruction instead love delights and rejoices in the truth because this has to do with building others up and setting them free.
2. Love is? ¡V ¡§Love rejoices with the Truth¡¨
a. Love leaps for joy at what the Bible teaches and preaches.
i. The enjoyment in life for this type of person is rooted in love and its one who loves the things of God.
ii. Their mindset is one which leaps for joy when the ways of God are carried out and acted on.
iii. Their excitement comes from seeing God¡¦s Way being role-modeled in society not the way of deception.
1. It rejoices with the truth and shares with the excitement that comes with it.
a. The deliverance of tormented souls.
b. The salvation of a lost individual.
c. The changed heart and life.
d. The look in a persons eyes when they have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
2. Rejoices means: To be glad and happy and full of great joy.
iv. Listen to what these Bible texts tells us about rejoicing in the truth of the Lord:
1. Nehemiah 8:10: 10Nehemiah said, ¡§Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.¡¨
2. Psalm 43:4: Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. I will praise you with the harp, O God, my God.
3. Psalm 51:12: Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
4. Psalm 66:1: Shout with joy to God, all the earth!
5. Proverbs 10:28: The prospect of the righteous is joy, but the hopes of the wicked come to nothing.
b. Love is focused on being happy about truth and living the way truth wants us too.
i. Bill Hybels states: When a building is being constructed, the groundwork is critically important. if the foundation is faulty, the whole building will be unstable. If the foundation is solid, the building will be stable and stand firm under stress. The same is true when building loving relationships. We need to have a solid foundation on which to build. If we don’t, the whole structure of the relationship is in danger. If we have a solid base of love, we can experience deep and meaningful relationships.
1. We can experience the ecstasy of a joy that will last for eternity. It comes from and is rooted in love and truth.
ii. Mike Bickle states: The Apostle Paul said, ¡§The Love of Christ constraineth us¡¨ (2 Cor. 5;14, KJV). The word constrain means to ¡§grip tightly.¡¨ Paul was motivated by Christ¡¦s love working in him and through him. God¡¦s love became a driving force in all he did. It is the very power of living in godliness. I encourage people to focus on enjoying God more, not trying harder to overcome sin¡¨
(57).
1. When we realize that joy comes from gripping God tight then it will be easy to let go of the things in the world which promise great joy but do not deliver.
2. Love brings joy to our lives but it only stays with us if we hold onto the truth tightlt.
T.S. ¡V Love not only rejoices and spreads the good news of truth it also always reaches out to protect others from the evils of the world by communicating the truth about deception.
3. Love is? ¡V ¡§Love always protects¡¨`
a. Love defends others from evil and evil ways.
i. John 17:11: I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name¡Xthe name you gave me¡Xso that they may be one as we are one.
ii. Psalm 32:7: You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
b. Love stands up for the ones who cannot stand up for themselves.
i. The subject of abortion comes to mind here.
1. It stands up for the unborn ¡V the ones who cannot defend themselves.
2. It defends the ones who cannot defend themselves.
c. Love protects one another with their lives.
i. Love is or should be as ferocious as the love a mother bear has for her cub. I watched the animal channel the other night and observed a smaller Grizzly mom bear tear into a much larger male Grizzly that was after her cub. The larger bear took a beating than lumbered off.
1. This is how love protects the one it loves.
2. Love drives out anything in the home that will destroy it¡¦s family.
a. It drives out porn with a vengeance.
b. It drives out drugs
c. It drives out anger and bitterness
d. It drives away immorality
e. It drives away apathy to the things of God
f. Why? Because it is driven by the inner instinct of love.
d. Stories for Preachers notes this story by Paul Harvey:
i. As Paul Harvey once told the story, S. D. Gordon, a Boston preacher, used a beat-up rusty bird cage one Sunday to illustrate his sermon. First he explained how he had come by the cage, saying when he first saw it, it contained several miserable small birds, and was carried by a boy of about 10. Curious, he asked the lad what he was going to do with the birds, which he had obviously trapped. "I’m going to play with them . . . have some fun with them," the boy responded. "But after that?" the preacher persisted. "Oh, I have some cats at home, and they like birds," said the boy. Compassion tugged at the minister’s heart, and he asked the boy what he would take for the birds. Surprised, the boy blurted: "Mister, you don’t want to buy these birds. They’re ugly . . . just field birds. They don’t sing, or anything." Nevertheless, Dr. Gordon persisted, and soon struck a bargain with the boy for the birds. At the first opportunity he released the poor creatures. After explaining the presence of the empty cage, Dr. Gordon then told another story: this time about how Satan boasted that he had baited a trap and caught a world full of people. "What are you going to do with them?" Jesus asked him. "I’m going to play with them, tease them; make them marry and divorce, and fight and kill one another. I’ll teach them to throw bombs at each other," Satan replied. "And when you get tired of playing with them, what will you do with them?" Jesus queried. "Condemn them," Satan answered. "They’re no good anyway." Jesus then asked what Satan would take for them. "You can’t be serious," the devil responded. "They would just spit on You. They’d hit you and hammer nails into You. They’re no good." "How much?" the Lord asked again. "All your tears and all your blood; that’s the price," Satan said gleefully.
Jesus paid the price, took the cage, and opened the door.
e. Jesus role modeled for us a love that is willing to protect the ones who cannot protect themselves. He sacrificed his life so that you could be protected by his blood sacrifice.
T.S. ¡V Love always protects others from the impact of evil by communicating the way of truth and then takes their hope and places it in Jesus.
4. Love is? ¡V ¡§Love always trusts and hopes¡¨
a. Love always thinks the best and focuses on the hope of the world.
i. Romans 5:5 And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
ii. Psalm 42:5: Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God.
iii. Psalm 62:5: Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him.
iv. Psalm 147:11: the LORD delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in his unfailing love.
v. Titus 2:11-14: 11For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. 12It teaches us to say ¡§No¡¨ to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, 13while we wait for the blessed hope¡Xthe glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, 14who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.
vi. Hebrews 6:19: 19We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 20where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf. He has become a high priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.
vii. 1 John 3:1-3: 1How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure.
b. Hope is not the same as joy when things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously headed for early success, but rather an ability to work for something to succeed. Hope is definitely not the same thing as optimism. It’s not the conviction that something will turn out well, but the certainty that something makes sense, regardless of how it turns out. It is the hope, above all, that gives us strength to live and to continually try new things, even in conditions that seem hopeless. Life is too precious to permit its devaluation by living pointlessly, emptily, without meaning, without love and, finally, without hope.--Valclav Havel, Disturbing the Pea
c. Holman Bible Dictionary defines hope this way: HOPE Trustful expectation, particularly with reference to the fulfillment of God¡¦s promises. Biblical hope is the anticipation of a favorable outcome under God¡¦s guidance. More specifically, hope is the confidence that what God has done for us in the past guarantees our participation in what God will do in the future. This contrasts to the world¡¦s definition of hope as ¡§a feeling that what is wanted will happen.¡¨
d. Hope comes from love. When we embrace love this confidence invades our hearts and minds and we receive hope. This hope confirms into our hearts that love is going to protect us and preserve us in this world full of evil. It gives us assurance that the future will be brighter and blessed.
T.S. ¡V Love always puts its hope in the Lord and not in themselves and therefore the power of hope helps them to persevere in this life for the glory of the Lord.
5. Love is? ¡V ¡§It always perseveres.¡¨
a. It never gives ups ¡Vit pushes to the goal of Love. It drives toward the goal of Honoring God and lifting up truth.
i. Bickle states, ¡§Living by love and finding strength in God¡¦s embrace will revolutionize your Christian life. For people who are in love quit a lot less than people who are not in love. When a person is in love, he simply does not give up nearly as easily. Being in love will prop us up and strengthen us when we¡¦ve tempted to let go¡¨ (55).
b. Love always strives to live for God and for others no matter what.
i. Love perseveres in its job day after day because it wants to take care of the one it loves.
ii. Oswald Chamber challenges us when he states: If what we call love doesn¡¦t take us beyond ourselves, it is not really love. If we have the idea that love is characterized as cautious, wise, sensible, shrewd, and never taken to extremes, we have missed the true meaning. This may describe affection and it may bring us a warm feeling, but it is not a true and accurate description of love. Have you ever been driven to do something for God not because you felt that it was useful or your duty to do so, or that there was anything in it for you, but simply because you love Him?
iii. Love will press and press until it breaks through into glory.
c. Love never quits.
i. True Biblical love never gives up loving it drives a person to live for something.
1. The person who is engulfed in love lives life for love because that is what God wants him to do.
ii. Rick Warren states, ¡§Everyone¡¦s life is driven by something. Most dictionaries define the verb drive as ¡¥to guide, to control, or to direct.¡¦ Whether you are driving a car, a nail, or a golf ball, you are guiding, controlling, and directing it at the moment. What is the driving force in your life?¡¨
1. Is it love that drives you and presses you forward in your life?
T.S. - Love has been clearly defined for us from 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and if we choose to role model this love in our lives then it will never fail.
II. Love is the force in this world that will never fail.
1. It will not fail- It is the supreme most powerful way to live our lives in this life
a. Whatever we do in the context of love will not fail or be destroyed because were love is so is the power and the presence of God.
b. Love is to be our top priority because Love is th eternal value that will go on with us into eternity.
c. Love will also leave a legacy behind it itself on this earth.
i. Mother Teresa stated, ¡§It¡¦s not what you do, but how much love you put into it that matters.¡¨
d. Love is the greatest way to live our lives because it will leave and eternal legacy about out lives here on earth.
2. Love is the force that will win and never fail because it is rooted in God.
a. Thomas Carlyle stated, ¡§The man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudder-a waif, a nothing, a no man.¡¨
3. The Story of Eric Liddell:
a. Eric Liddell became famous in 1926 when he refused to run for Great Britain in the Olympic Games 100 meter because it was being held on Sunday. He stood his ground under tremendous pressure from his government and the people. But he pressed through and was then given the chance to run the 400 meter instead of the 100 meter. No one gave him a chance to win.
b. Video Clip: Chariots of Fire: Of Eric winning the 400 meter in 1926 Olympic games
c. Eric Liddell became a missionary to China and died in occupied China at the end of World War 2, all of Scotland mourned his death.
d. Eric Liddell is said to have run for the Lord because he wanted to honor God therefore God made him fast and His strength to win the 400 meters came from within. It was His Love for His Savior that drove him to the victory that day. Why? Because Love never fails!
Conclusion:
What have you learned from our series on Love?
I got an e-mail this week which made me think about some questions- What have I learned:
I’ve learned....That life is like a roll of toilet paper. The closer it gets to the end, the faster it goes.
I’ve learned....That we should be glad God doesn’t give us everything we ask for because he loves us too much.
I’ve learned....That money doesn’t buy love or happiness.
I’ve learned....That it’s those small daily moments of love that make life so spectacular.
I’ve learned....That under everyone’s hard shell is someone who wants to be appreciated and loved.
I’ve learned....That to ignore the facts does not change the facts love is the greatest.
I’ve learned....That when you plan to get even with someone, you are only letting that person continue to hurt you.
I’ve learned....That love, not time, heals all wounds.
I’ve learned....That everyone you meet deserves to be greeted with the smile of love.
I’ve learned....That no one is perfect until you fall in love with them.
I’ve learned....That when you harbor bitterness, happiness will dock elsewhere and love will flee.
I’ve learned....That one should keep his words both soft and tender and rooted in love, because tomorrow he may have to eat them.
I’ve learned....That a smile is an inexpensive way to improve your looks.
I’ve learned....That when your newly born child holds your little finger in her little fist, that you’re hooked for life.
I’ve learned....That everyone wants to live on top of the mountain, but all the happiness and growth occurs while you’re climbing it.
I’ve learned... That it is best to give advice in only two circumstances; when it is requested and when it is a life threatening situation.
I¡¦ve learned....That love is to be my top priority in life.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That love is to be my greatest ambition in life.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That busyness is the great enemy of love.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That the point of life is learning to love God and His people.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That life without love equals meaningless-useless life.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That when I get to Heaven I will be judged on how well I loved.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That love will last for eternity.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That the world has tried to redefine love without God in the equation.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That love is spelled TIME.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That love is honed in the context of being involved in God¡¦s local family.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That the world will know we are Christians by our love not our building.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That love is very patient.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That love has anger under control.
I¡¦ve learned¡K.That love never quits on others.
Sad quote on love by Anais Nin:
¡§Love never dies a natural death. It dies because we don¡¦t know how to replenish it¡¦s source. It dies of blindness and errors and betrayals. It dies of illness and wounds; it dies of weariness, of withering, or tarnishing.¡¨
Love dies in a person¡¦s heart when they allow it to die! When we choose to walk away from Love it starts to wither and dry up. Why? Because it is rooted and nourished when it¡¦s connected to the source of its life. That source is God and God alone!
The truth about love is it is always building others up and not tearing them down. It gives hope to the discouraged ones and strengthens the ones who are weak. It helps the discouraged to rise again to encouragement. It makes life worthwhile and worth living. So therefore we must choose the path of love and be determined to stay on its course for the rest of our lives.
