LOVE, LOVE, LOVE

Yes, it is that time of year again where society is buying flowers, perfume, candy, and the sorts to celebrate love.

Unfortunately, many are celebrating - EROS or sexual love - which in the context of marriage is totally good when subordinate to AGAPE LOVE.

I want to talk about the great love that is in the character of God that He transfers to us!!! To use in marriage, parenting, friendship and the church community.

If we aim to LOVE as the LORD intended, than how we love in every area of our life will be enriched, fulfilled, and complete.

1 Corinthians 13 NLT

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever! 9 Now our knowledge is partial and incomplete, and even the gift of prophecy reveals only part of the whole picture! 10 But when the time of perfection comes, these partial things will become useless. 11 When I was a child, I spoke and thought and reasoned as a child. But when I grew up, I put away childish things. 12 Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.

1. The Necessity of Love

Paul has engaged in a conversation with the Corinthians about spiritual gifts and the operation of the gifts of the Spirit in the local church.

He reinforces our need for all the gifts and to desire the best gifts, and to be in order in the gifts, but in this midst of this diatribe he points to the GREATEST and most NECESSARY gift - the gift of LOVE.

It does not matter what gifts or roles we operate in, without love - they are worthless — LOVE IS A NECESSARY ingredient to all we do and are...

In the first three verses...

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 NLT

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

Paul talks of being filled with the Spirit, ministering in spiritual gifts, doing great things for God, making high sacrifices for the Kingdom of God ---

these were all things the Corinthians highly valued...

but then he said - all these things are a clanging cymbal!

Not that we should not be used in these things for if we truly love that love will motivate us to ministry and service for God’s Kingdom, but LOVE - AGAPE LOVE is necessary for them to have any effect.

Apply this into your marriage, parenting, friendships, etc.

You can do all kinds of things and provide many opportunities, for your spouse and child, you can be the best at parenting, husbanding, wifing, friending - 101, 201 and 301 ---

BUT if your spouse, kids, friends, church are not experiencing your unconditional love - what value does it really have?

Everything we can offer becomes lost when we do not offer it with UNCONDITIONAL LOVE ---

It is the number 1 need of all people ---

It is only found through JESUS CHRIST who brings us God’s love, but then is offered through the body of Christ as we allow the Lord to transform our love into what is real!

- Think of all the kids who were given everything or nothing, and just needed an unconditional love that did what was right for them...

- Think of all the church’s where people should have learned to grow in forgiving love toward one another

- Think of all the marriages who based on their relationship on attraction and selfishness instead of true love...

2. Characteristics of Love

We hear of these characteristics all the time, they are read at weddings, quoted in church, taught on… but we need a continuous reminder to keep them before us...

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 NLT

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Patient - long suffering, tolerating, does not give up on .... holds on

Kind - deals with how we treat others, gentle and softly with tenderness and concern, not harshness (this does not mean it never rebukes or corrects - but does it with tact and care)

Not Jealous - to not resent what another person has or is… you can desire things for yourself and admire things in others, you just cannot become resentful for what others may possess - physically, emotionally, spiritually, positionally..

Not Boastful - likewise, when we have been blessed or given much to not hold it over others heads or flaunt it uncomfortably.the Greek Word Paul uses - (perpereuomai) means to brag without foundation - it does not mean we cannot acknowledge what God has done in our lives but to not exalt ourselves over others as if we merited all we have

Not Proud - overly self confident or insubordinate to God and others - pride goes before a fall the writer of Proverbs tells us - it is also the sin and cause of Lucifer from falling out of heaven. When we demonstrate pride in relationships we demonstrate selfishness and are demeaning toward those we claim to care about...

Rude - to be rude is to not follow social mores by disregarding the feelings and opinions of others. This does not mean that we are to follow the crowd and adopt what is wrong - but to disrespect others and where they are coming from, like/dislike, their cultural context …

Not Demand its own way - selfishness puts our wants ahead of others. Putting ourselves first - being self seeking. IN a marriage, parent/child scenario, friendship and church family - even in places of employment - demanding our way or the highway - having to control things for our own comfort and liking is not showing love...

Irritable - easily angered, slow to anger (patience again) have you ever heard people say that annoys them… irritates them — it is about agitation from others… taking control over our agitation instead of feeding it...

Keeps no record of wrongs - this is a big one - there is no list making! No calling up mistakes, not remembering what has been repented of and forgiven, but also a need to be willing to forgive and let go… this is where most relationships get stuck!

Rejoices in injustice - when sinful acts have been committed or harm has been caused. Rejoicing in evil --- it wants truth not harm it seeks for right to be done… even when it seems like vengeance is being fulfilled

v. 7 comes together - never giving up, losing faith, becoming hopeless or quitting --- LOVE is persistent!!!! IT believes for the best and endures the difficult until victory is accomplished.

This is where we see LOVE FAIL THE MOST today… we have come to a point in our society when we are uncomfortable or have had enough we give up on people — we have seen so much using of one another that we fail to hold on believing for God to make a difference in another’s life. We do not want to be taken advantage of so we write others off..

Think of it --- in our repetitive sin and struggles - has God written us off????

3. The Superiority of Love

Christian love is superior!!!

It creates ETERNAL OUTCOMES

We will may never know the outcome in this life of the power of unconditional love demonstrated by us to others...

This is what Paul means when he speaks about us knowing in part but then fully...

The Corinthians loved higher knowledge and speech and oratory gifts...

They wanted the verbal gifts of the Spirit in many ways to exalt themselves… and Paul was correcting their motives and telling them that how they love others is what lasts for eternity....

Faith, Hope and Love - all eternal and the best things to desire - the greatest of even these is LOVE!

Love is what sent Jesus to earth to die on the cross for our sin, and allows Him to be patient with us, and be faithful when we are faithless...

Love holds families and marriages and churches together.

Love reaches the lost soul - helps the addict find healing

Love touches the souls of people to determine outcomes that have eternal results.

Think of when a child is abused or raised by a narcissist parent, or a spouse is betrayed or when people commit violence against one another....

All these things are the opposite of real love… and start the spiral of destructive behavior

Love contributes to healing and restoration and healthy families and relationships which are all things that are eternal....

CONCLUSION

This morning was intended to just be a reminder at what LOVE LOVE LOVE really is....

Its not the hearts and romantic gestures — although for a married couple that is a good thing in addition

TO THE REAL THING...

which is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

We need it in all of our relationships and it has eternal and earthly values...

May we demonstrate the LOVE CHRIST DEMONSTRATED FOR US

Romans 5:8 NLT

8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

This is how we love one another...