The Most Excellent Way

The Most Excellent Way

1 Cor. 13:1-8

Good Morning…

My Men’s devotional reading kicks off our time together as he makes a statement worth hearing- deciding what we want seems easy when we are young… I want a beautiful wife, a college degree, I want a good job, I want a child.

As these things come true, we check them off our list. But as we mature, we want things more concrete.

We want to be happy

We want fulfillment

Meaning, significance,

We want to belong, to love and be loved.

Without God, they get harder to obtain , and if we don’t get all we want, we need Him to help us through life.

The title of the message is “The Most Excellent way”

Our text from 1 Cor. 13 is a scripture that ends up in almost every wedding as two people stand before a preacher to put their lives together.

It is also how we should be living as believers toward other people and our love toward our savior.

We cannot love like Jesus if we do not know Jesus and we cannot love like Jesus if we do not let the love of God work through us.

God, who created the universe, loves you personally. Try to wrap your mind around that.

He loves you — not just people in general, but you as a person.

He cares about your life and wants to be part of it.

Even if you’ve spent your whole life running from God or done things you regret, He still loves you and wants to have a relationship with you.

God’s love is unconditional — Love far beyond what even the best of people are capable of. God commands those who follow Him to love one another.

Scripture- 1 Cor. 13:1-8 Reed slow and clearly

Prayer- I am asking Lord that we might get a glimpse of your love and it would lead us to go deeper in our relationship with you. We as believers in you and receivers of your love might love others with that same kind of Love. We know Lord that we cannot do that without you dwelling within us and empowering us to live by the power of your Holy Spirit in our lives.In Jesus Name Amen!

So Paul in these verses gives us insight into the love that God has for us and the love that we are to have for others.

If we are not loving like God, we will be like a clanging symbol that just makes noise and become annoying.

How many have heard people who talking about the things of God that they are annoying and like sandpaper to your nerves and senses. It is because the way that they did it was not godly. It was without love and the motives were not right.

He says that if it were possible to have all the gifts of the spirit (which I don’t think many people have) working in our lives that if we had not God’s love it would be for nothing.

We see in this verse that God does pour out gifts to less than perfect people and if we are not using them under the anointing of the Spirit of God, the gifts will not accomplish what the Spirit of God desires.

As commendable as the gifts are, they would fall short.

You cannot love like Jesus without Jesus. God’s love extends way past man’s ability to love.

Love is patient

Love is kind

Does not boast

Not proud

Not rude

Does not envy

Not self-seeking

Not easily angered

Rejoices in the truth of God

Protects, trusts, hopes, perseveres.

Love never fails

God’s love is perfect

God love never fails but we can certainly see why we fail to measure up to His love. We see quickly that most times our love without Jesus is just the opposite of his love and falls short.

If you are taking notes today I will be throwing them at you quickly because there is more than a 3 point message this morning.

Paul calls it the most excellent way- Loving like God is the most excellent way-

Love is God’s character- it is who He is. It is not just something He does.

Understanding the character of God will help us understand how much God loves us.

Let me try to explain this-

Holy Trinity- God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.

All one working in perfect Love with each other.

The son glorifies the Father, the Father wanting His Son to be glorified. The Holy Spirit to bring glory to the Son. All before time began.

Heavenly Father decides that He will create mankind to bring glory to the Son and creates a people to worship and bring praise and honor to the Son.