Love Builds Forward (Love Matters)

All the technology line.

So bad.

Has Nikki says, very much focusing on love this month, not surprising. But it's interesting that Nikki out and not by looking at not just our Earthly love looking at God's love for us. And I, you might expect me to dive into some very obvious places and some opiates scriptures. I'm probably going to go there. But I wanted to make two statements. Write the beginning of what I want to share this morning in the room. Love looks forward. Love looks for how many times have you? And I think I should reflect upon it. She said all people because of something that happened in the past. Well how much baggage are you going to allow to to tie you up from the post? Now why I'm 60 something years old now and another people otherwise he's in the room.

I'm probably in the rest of that are some things that people have said that they didn't want to. So they wish they hadn't said to maybe things you and I said that we wish we hadn't said but he's holding the past. You know, we can live in the past if we want to but you know what, I want to look ahead. I want to look at it cuz tomorrow I can change yesterday I come. I'm so grouchy building this library of experience is library of stuff, but you know, if you love lives in the past and he's living in history and if we're living in history, we living in a place where you cannot change anything, it's like playing the film again and again and again and you probably had conversations with people and you think I've had this conversation before and I've had this conversation before I lock at this conversation before. Now you're wondering whether you watching the film Groundhog Day but you know what? That's sometimes how we are. We find ourselves doing the same thing again and again and again I think why am I do? I need to break out.

and when we love people, we want them to break out of a baby stuff that start with Maybe maybe it's a self, you sometimes, we don't love ourselves maybe because of something is being repetitive, but he said to us maybe because of something that happened to us. I had to have the privilege of over the years, working with them, a Ministry Town, Inn in Davenport. And I just found the Usos shirts and looks after addicts, please rotate to behaviors on. One of the things you find is it, can I replay and replay and replay things that maybe happened, 10, 15 20, sometimes fifty years ago? Hyundai stock. Christmas stocking history. Not who can change history.

I'm sorry. I believe love Fields forward.

Precept upon precept, upon idea. Activity of one activity.

you sometimes see in films and maybe somebody said this to you, you never told me you love me and then that person feels a little virus that I Love You by saying those three words once. It's what all live site that testified he lives. Do what we do. Some little things I was, I was talking with somebody last night and he said that I got up at 3 in the morning to make that sandwiches for the husband. I'm always thinking, wow.

But that was a one-off. Well, okay, that special love for your children. You got up early in the morning before work and time and then you preparing stuff for your kids. Yeah, maybe they don't even notice. But you know, what made me do look back to those, good things we can. So, let's start by looking at 1 Corinthians as you might expect me to send word in that. Scripture that

Not just when you feel like it, when I feel like it is easy to be done in love. It's a tough. Ask that's what I just think about this. You go to snow a little baby who's really, not, well and thinking. You're trying to love them and then I push you away and

You have to push through the rubbish into the garbage and the max. Just love them, just love them again. 1 Corinthians 13 is often red weddings. This is from the Amplified version of men and even of angels but have not love that reasoning intentional spiritual devotion such as he's inspired by God's love for an dinner. I am only a noisy Kong or a clanging cymbal.

Why does why is this image of a noisy going? In a clanging cymbal used it for dinner. 102 with a big bed and breakfast hotels, right? B, I need hits this massive, right, begum, what's the purpose to be noticed? Look look instead of time or something similar. Just like a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. Lock lock, doesn't want to be on true? Love doesn't want to be in the secret place.

So God says, do it in love through old things in love and do it as if you don't answer me. In 1 Corinthians.

The next one song. Please give my body to be burned but have not love it profits me nothing. Sometimes people saved my life I've given up. He's not just the transaction. Love is a lifestyle. Love is something that we do love you something that we do out of life. So some people say when I show you I love you because I bought you a person's. Is that enough for the year as you'll get for your birthday? I'll show you that. I love you, that's it for the year. But you know what? Love is not just one. Transaction, love is a lifestyle. And as we talked about, loving others, loving others, in our community, and we have a warm spot and that's just meant to be a way of opening doors and sharing our spice. And I won't, then I'll heat with other people.

So we get what we gave with love. We also pray that this last month I was just gone, this room that so we have food bank on the Monday and I was told every one of these tables, had a family Sitting Waiting on the table ready to collect food from Food Bank, and that was a moment to be how to speak into people's lives, and to show them if not, just give them some food and But to be interested in that died. Love is not just a transaction Corinthians 13 verse 7 to say this.

Love bears, all things believes all things, hopes all things, and jewels all things. Please stop. She sees love with these other things, so when we doing stuff, love needs to be parked in all things that we do, do it in love. Do we believe something can change? Would you know what's behind these things? Is trusting in God. But sometimes we have for the rest of his broken change. You and me, that's a big enough miracle. A list of interesting thing often when we probably will be part of the solution without the answer. Call. Joe Meaney. Maybe there's somebody falling out with the brother and sister, apparently, a family member. You. Things are being said, and you not working.

And you'll pry and God, would you just helped them to pick up the phone so that we can start a conversation again and go stops working on you? You pick up the phone, the other person's going on the base of I'm better than them. I'm actually you know what, whenever we Poinsett people is that trick is one finger pointing but it's three fingers pointing back. So whenever you play, just think about that and sometimes I like to play with my

Love is impressive. Love makes a difference. Ask lacomin to further into Corinthians now as we start to dive into what we should do. No. Scripture says, where your treasure is that your heart is also. And I don't know whether you want. She's got it, bro, it's not like I might watch but I'm aware of it. Looking through the keyhole series. That was around years ago. I used to visit people's houses and see whose house is this? The things in the house, but I wonder if somebody went around your house, for the camera and took pictures of your house, but we would take from those pictures as what was important to you.

because typically, the things that we use most regularly we leave out, then we and the things that we don't use regular sweet potato pie, So, for example, typically things that aren't used a lot and that was some dust on them. So if you are, the only Bible in the house was under a thick layer of dust, you

Might be completely wrong. They might use that phone for that Bible.

What can we conclude about your life? And you're living in the way you live. It's just an observation.

Because you know what, we could make so many things Idols in our lives.

And for me and I delete something that we focus on without anything else. It is something we get so focused on, we always get fixated it becomes the center of our life.

I said I was being involved. We get it at one of the things that giddy I did she think it might just be people with drug and alcohol issues but Workaholics work has become the idle work has become the thing that I wish it everything sits under the the banner of work. And God wants to be worshipped. As I let me read for 1 Corinthians chapter 8, verses 1 to 3. Now, concerning these things sacrificed to Idols, we know that we have knowledge knowledge makes arrogant but love elephants.

If any one supposes that he knows anything, he has not yet known as he ought to know.

But if anyone loves God, he is known by him.

How does God know you and I love him?

I told you about the standard of, for example, little things making sandwiches serving, people tea and coffee

There's little things that we take for granted, I wonder whether there's a similar thing in our relationship. We build I wonder where there's something very similar. Where we find ourselves looking towards.

But he's not caught with weed. Not told his attention.

Up. Do we have to become a clanging? Going to go. I'm over here.

Cuz God knows God loves us, but sometimes we kind of some of the things that goes watching for us. A listing in how we give them time to listen.

I've used this place many times cuz I've experienced a number of times which is silence speaks.

Some people would say I've also got something in this being Sutton's. So we kind of a scene go to not doing anything.

Silence. The speaker also silence makes room for people to speak.

And I am absolutely convinced that if we give spice to God. He will speak to us. He will speak to us unless he speaks to us. He speaks to the life. The hopeful in 1 John 1 John 4, it says this he who does not love, does not know God for God is we get the example from him.

I don't know how like your parents you are.

I look at young children that I know and not as they grow up. Sometimes they look like that. Sometimes they look like

I'm sometimes we do with her know. I think I've told you before now, I was just in one day with some friends, including my cousin and I broke my nose like this. And somebody in the room said that's just like you used to do it and you know what, my response was. My response was

Do you know what from a father. Points of view? If somebody says that's just what father would have done, They're actually just take that as a, maybe a gold star or brownie Point, whatever you want to think of it, but just think of it as. Okay, I'm reflecting something of God.

if you ever found an old mirror, Where the glass is going to have the marriage surface you kind of trying to peer into it to see whether the image that's the way we reflected sometimes we reflect a little bit of flex some of his character but no toll because we getting the why because what we've experienced, what we've done, what we've been involved in the impacts but it impacts others in the way that we respond to them.

A1 John 4, verses 9 through 11. It says this fix the next one. In this, the love of God was manifest to us. That God has sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him.

In this is love not, we have loved God, but he has loved us and sent you some to be the propitiation for our sins. He paid the price beloved, if God, so loved us, we also ought to love one another, to pay the price for your yours and mine wrongdoing, I'll send. Send. He paid the price. I'm so he's giving us the example that sacrificial love. If you want a better place to look than anywhere else, I would say just look to all go out and look to what he does for us and what he continues to do for us. Fill out if God, so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

I'm sorry in building and loving Ford. I want to say this.

Love makes a difference. Love is a choice.

if somebody asks you do you love them, whether it's a child a husband or wife or partner or friends

Vanessa, having to ask you, Then you're probably not showing.

So let's take this bigger now. And ask the question is running me. Christian Fellowship, love the area of a gunman running mate. I'm keeping it personal but I'm okay. I wonder what I think that would be a whole bunch of people in. It would say who's running me, Christian Fellowship, I've been honest with you, everybody doesn't know everything, but we ought to know some people and stains and then go feel grainy, but you'll be able to do your neighbors, know you.

I'm not necessary. So you have to stand up and shout across the fence.

Cuz we show it to Laura. We show that we love people and he's showing them, we love them, we open the door of opportunity to show them, their God loves them.

That's why I'm a great believer in things like, you know, Christians against poverty and the food bank and other Ministries because it's an open, the door for conversation.

So how would I do know that we love it?

Well, I guess we might point to things like the Warm Spice in the food bank and open doors on a Sunday. And I guess even live streaming service, I guess we could point to the whole world could know that we love the whole world that's why we invest in during those constantly.

What's the next step? We had the conversation with him. Once we've had our first conversation with people. What's the next step? How do we build in love? How do we build forward? I'm not answering this question this morning, I'm leaving as an open. Question is, how do we build food? How do I want to encourage, you opportunity, hotlines for you to show God's love to your neighbor, your colleague at work, grasp, it grasp it, and do something little silly, looking a little uncomfortable, maybe, but you know what? If God gives us what we need and we give it to her neighbors, conversation will be a life-changing conversation.

And finally, his leg wrap things up and bring things to a close. We go to one pizza, one pizza for best nine. Who, besides sorry things haven't love for one. Another for love will cover a multitude of sins.

I want to translate you soon. This is a bit like a blanket. It's about hiding soon. I don't believe that's what it says what. I believe it says his love and labels off the get through the consequence of sin and sorrow. It's not hiding stuff because non-christmas to take me, see how is this loving

I'm just afraid it might get ready, tangible? I remember having this conversation with somebody down at getty at whose child was also an addict and they said if you loved me you'd find that I need. About. That was the cool that I was like, what if you left me? You provide my needs even though you know that going to hurt me, that's what they was saying. I'm the parent was looking back at the end of my toys. Why? This is conversation if you love me.

Unfamiliar love covers a multitude of sins as we get through that, we get beyond that kind of statement, we say yes, I'd still love you. I love you despite your addiction. I love you because I want to see you free. I love you because you're my child, I love you because you're my friend and I'm going to do all that I can to make a difference and making a difference will not be to feed your addiction. My what I will do is give you all that I can from God and then giving you all that I can from God, you then make the choice.

And above all things have fervent love for one another. If she is not something that kind of goes up and down, fervency, sticks, fervency remains love continues, even when we don't feel like it love, will draw the final oz of energy that you've leveled rule from you. The last penny, in your penny in your woman. And if you had enough, you read this. Now in the current climate where you hear parents were feeding the children and that going with Oz, I'm not eating themselves because that's feeding at your expression of Parental love.

I'm so many times, I think we've become selfish where we thinking about me first. From me, I actually think God wants us to put others first, truly sacrificial, and then being official needs as well for love will cover a multitude of sins. Give us more than impressing him or try to give to others and to give to others will change the world.

What happened? Two thousand years ago, continues to Echo into history. And what we do here today, echoes in, eternity, that great quote from the film Gladiator. What we do here today, echoes in eternity. That's a long while you shower.

Sometimes you can hear it three times, sometimes, four times in unusual places, maybe seven or eight times.

Well. Something precious. So what about some questions? As I bring things through a closed. Question, number one would be All we loving forward. Are we investing in tomorrow? Are we loving the next-generation? All we loving our walls.

I mean loving our world. Are we loving it forward? Or we loving it beyond our capacity. Sometimes are we willing to let our petrol tank run down to zero.

She's about five or six years ago, I was really in the heart. I was I was teaching up in the Midlands and I was driving back and I forgot to fill out the door as I drive into the Universe. I thought I must remember before I get home to the mites away to fill up with petrol. These are the times. I think it was in the days of July. I know, I look down to the petrol gauge with these were guys and I thought I should have filled up. And then I'm trying to press the buttons and it said, how many miles to go and I'll just pressing the button on my side and having it was about 110 miles. I could get out of the car and the trip was 78 to go. I think it was

But then of course, those numbers don't always match shopping. Then I got to around Oxford and it was now going. I think that you felt even 38 and I got onto the M25 and I was got to be light and I don't want to be lights.

So sorry, probably not going to be in 25 minutes.

I'm the M25 is all jammed up. I got down to 10 miles to go than 8 miles to go and 5 Mi to go to the info Junction. And it went down to zero. And I've been told and I've never texted this but I've been told it to call judges before actually starts to run out of fuel. I don't know whether that's true or not I'm not recommending this song. And I kept trying and I kept trying and no problem. And I might go out to the meeting afterwards and drive to the petrol station to fill it up. So there was enough but it has a ride from the M4. Now that might be the inaccuracies of my car, pretty much just a bingo.

I could I could have said okay well I need to pull up the motive. I find a petrol station to fill out but then I was going to be like

what I'm saying is sometimes there are times when we need to get to empty that we can be filled again.

Sometimes I swear, if I Escapes in B, Texas to a place where the only thing we can rely on these goats love, go give us the love that. I need to show these people. This, this family, this situation and Circumstance, my boss. But I left them with the kind of love to Nikki talked about in the beginning of the second. Let me pry.

Above All Things.

About the pool.

No box. No gifts, no maybes.

For God. So loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whosoever believes in Him. Should not perish but have everlasting life. I think I want to start with us. It's a great place to stop. Father, I pray for those who struggle to lock themselves for whatever circumstances Lord, whether it be the way they feel, something that's happened in history, in these moments to these difficult. No, but you speak into their lives and let them see a fresh mirror, a fresh memory, not looking through history, but looking through now and seeing themselves as you see them. Precious in your side. So father, I pray that we know how to love ourselves. Well, and wise to look after ourselves, so we can be an asset to others. Although I pray that you help us to love those around us I'll finally off husbands or wives or children. Those who live with us who see us Waltz in good times and bad things. Father, help us to my ghostly, loving choices that we invest into others. I see the fruit of sewing. Those seats to the needs Beyond on wolves. Father, would you achoo not is the things that scientists don't cite in conversations at work at home in a coffee shop? I'm father, when the bell rings? When something catches our attention? Father, help us to listen to you. Would you give us words of wisdom in those moments of me? Would you give us? What Lord we can set about this way. Father, if it means to go the extra mile, if it means to give some extra minutes. If it means something that sacrificial father we we want to give it in love. I'm going to be on that. Father, we pray for all worlds. We pray for those in our community. Father, would you help us still up those that we don't yet know? And that means that all hops of ready when an opportunity comes. Strangers need is presented to us unload. We're ready to do what's required Us in those moments.

So father is we focus this week on love father, I pray that would be a multiplication of all that you're doing in all life. For Your Glory. I meant.