The Demonstration Of Love

INTRO.- According to this text we must be devoted to loving others and our love must be sincere or genuine.

ILL.- Two friends were discussing the possibility of love. One said, "I thought I was in love three times.” "How so?" his friend asked.

"Five years ago I deeply cared for a woman who wanted nothing to do with me." "Was that not love?" his friend asked.

"No," he replied. "That was obsession. And then two years ago I deeply cared for an attractive woman who didn’t understand me." "Was that not love?"

"No," he replied. "That was lust. And just last year I met a woman aboard a cruise ship to the Caribbean. She was smart, funny, and a great conversationalist. And everywhere I followed her on that boat, I would get this strange sensation in the pit of my stomach."

"Was that not love?" his friend asked. "No," he replied. "That was motion sickness."

ILL.- In a survey of 4-8 year olds, kids share their views on love. But what do little kids know about love? Listen to what they said.

- "Love is when a girl puts on perfume and a boy puts on shaving cologne and they go out and smell each other."

- "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs."

- "Love is when someone hurts you. And you get so mad but you don’t yell at him because you know it would hurt his feelings."

- "Love is when my mommy makes coffee for my daddy and she takes a sip before giving it to him, to make sure the taste is OK."

- "Love is when you tell a guy you like his shirt, then he wears it everyday."

- "Love is if you hold hands and sit beside each other in the cafeteria. That means you’re in love. Otherwise, you can sit across from each other and be okay."

- "Love is when mommy sees daddy smelly and sweaty and still says he is handsomer than Robert Redbird."

- "I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones."

- "When you love somebody, your eyelashes go up and down and little stars come out of you."

Brothers and sisters, we all have our ideas about love but the best come from God. And if love is anything at all it is a matter of doing something.

ILL.- As someone once said: a bell is not a bell until you ring it. A song is not a song until you sing it. And love in your heart is not love until you give it away.

Love is active or it is apparently, not love. Love does something good for others and to others.

ILL.- For example, let me give two examples of what some people might consider to be love. One guy I read about apparently “loves” the Super bowl. Mark Smithe of Chicago loves the Super Bowl so much that he shelled out $10,000 for a 65-inch high-definition, flat-panel, plasma TV and related gear the week before the game. He admitted that was he was “keeping up with the Joneses.”

ILL.- On the other hand, I know of a preacher named Ronnie Hoyer who lives and preaches in Webb City, MO. (originally from Paragould, AR) He just spent some money ($2000 to $2500) and went on a mission trip to India with Reggie Thomas (78 years old) and five other guys in order to preach the gospel. They visited 120 villages for 10 days.

They endured 20 hours of flying and a 9-hour train ride in order to take the gospel to those people. I think they were gone about two weeks and Ronnie preached in the mountains (8,000 ft. above sea level) and also, in the lowlands. They had to use interpreters. Ronnie saw 188 people confess Christ and be baptized into Christ. All total 5021 people were baptized into Christ. Now what do you think? I would most certainly call that love!

But buying a TV for my own pleasure, now that’s something else.

PROP.- In this message, just before Valentine’s Day, I want us to think about various scriptures that show us the demonstration of love.

I. LOVE IS KIND

I Cor. 13:4-5 “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.”

ILL.- A fellow opened a delicatessen in a block that boasted two other salami salons. One promoted his line of bologna with this line of baloney: “Finest in the world!” The other delicatessen declared, “Best in the Universe.” The last fellow put up a sign: “Nicest in the neighborhood!”