Love is What Binds Us Together
Notes
Transcript
OPENING
OPENING
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
Using a binder for meat.
It binds the spices to the meat to make it more flavourful.
If you don’t have it, most of the spice will just fall off.
Transition to Text
Transition to Text
For the last two weeks we have been talking about spiritual gifts in the church.
If you have the Spirit,
then you have been saved into the God’s family, the church
and given a gift by the Spirit to help the church grow.
Last week Pastor Jake talked about the Church being a body.
Though there are many different members,
and they all have different gifts,
they all make up one body.
This means that we are to work together toward a common goal,
which is bringing glory to Christ, our Head, and following His ways in all that we do!
But in 1 Corinthians 13…
Paul points out sin that was going on in their church,
and that can be in any church…
SERVICE WITHOUT LOVE!
What Paul wants us to understand is that…
Love Is What Binds Us Together
Love Is What Binds Us Together
We are called and gifted by the Spirit to serve and help one another grow…
but if we serve one another, without love,
it’s like throwing spices at a piece of meat without a binder…
some might stick, but most of it will fall off.
You don’t feel that impacted by someone who serves you but doesn’t love you.
However, if we serve one another with love,
it’s like using a binder to bind the seasoning to the meat…
Most of it will stick, and enhance the flavour of the meat.
You feel greatly blessed and impacted by someone who serves you because of their love for you!
This morning we are going to learn the reasons love is what binds us together.
This morning we are going to learn:
The Importance of Love
The Proof of Your Love
The Eternality of Your Love
Prayer for Illumination
Prayer for Illumination
God…
Announce/Read Scripture
Announce/Read Scripture
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
The first thing we are going to see this morning is…
1. The Importance of Your Love
1. The Importance of Your Love
How important is love in the body of Christ?
Another way to ask the question is:
“What’s love got to do with it?!?”
The answer… EVERYTHING!
Love is not an optional add-on for Christians.
If we have Christ’s Spirit in us,
then we MUST love one another, since God is love.
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
This is because…
a. Without Love: You Are Annoying
a. Without Love: You Are Annoying
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
The gift of speaking in tongues, if not done with love, is an annoying sound!
The gift of tongues is the ability to speak a different language.
At times, the Spirit enabled people to do this without themselves understanding the language they were speaking.
We see this in Acts 2 with the coming of the Holy Spirit,
where they were given the ability to speak in many different languages,
so that everyone could hear about the great things God had done!
This gift was one that the Corinthians were abusing, and not doing with love.
Paul tells them,
“Even if you use this gift, if it’s not done with love, you’re annoying!”
To use even a miraculous gift like speaking in tongues,
without love, is nothing more than an obnoxious noise.
Nobody cares…
Nobody wants to hear it...
Worse… everybody’s annoyed by it!
Next we see that…
b. Without Love: You Are Nothing
b. Without Love: You Are Nothing
2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If you have the gift of speaking forth God’s truth, or wisdom, or incredible faith… but without love… you are nothing!
Paul defines prophesy in:
1 Corinthians 14:3 (ESV)
3 the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation.
Understanding all mysteries and all knowledge:
refers to Spirit-given wisdom, insight, and discernment.
Faith refers to those:
who are gifted by the Spirit for enduring, believing prayer.
A deep trust to take all things to God.
Each one of these gifts are incredible blessings to help the body,
but if you do them without love… you are nothing!
If you do not bind your gift together with love,
Even in all your wisdom… even if you’re right…
you’re still nothing!
Next we see that…
c. Without Love: You Gain Nothing
c. Without Love: You Gain Nothing
3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Even in the most sacrificial act of sacrificing all your possessions, even your own body…
if it is done without love… you gain nothing!
The point Paul is making here is if you don’t have love:
It doesn’t matter how impressive you are…
It doesn’t matter how gifted you are…
It doesn’t matter how much you sacrifice…
YOU’RE ANNOYING
YOU ARE NOTHING; AND
YOU GAIN NOTHING!!
Summary
How important is love?
If you don’t have it…
you have NOTHING!!
But if you have it…
you have EVERYTHING!!
ILLUSTRATE
ILLUSTRATE
The Bible tells of Job,
a man who feared God and walked in His ways.
God allowed Satan to take:
His livestock and wealth…
His children… and
His health!
Thankfully, Job had some wonderful friends!
Job 2:11 (ESV)
11 Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar… made an appointment together to come to show him sympathy and comfort him.
The best comfort they offered was 7 days of silence.
The first to speak is Eliphaz…
who says…
7 “Remember: who that was innocent ever perished? Or where were the upright cut off? 8 As I have seen, those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same.
Basically… “You’re getting what you deserve!”
Next, Bildad chimes in about the death of Job’s kids…
4 If your children have sinned against him, he has delivered them into the hand of their transgression. 5 If you will seek God and plead with the Almighty for mercy, 6 if you are pure and upright, surely then he will rouse himself for you and restore your rightful habitation.
Basically… “You’re kids got what they deserved!”
Then Zophar adds his two cents…
4 For you say, ‘My doctrine is pure, and I am clean in God’s eyes.’ 5 But oh, that God would speak and open his lips to you, 6 and that he would tell you the secrets of wisdom! For he is manifold in understanding. Know then that God exacts of you less than your guilt deserves.
Basically… “You should be getting it worse!”
Don’t you all wish you could have such wonderful friends?
Job responds…
Job 16:1–5 (ESV)
1 Then Job answered and said: 2 “I have heard many such things; miserable comforters are you all. 3 Shall windy words have an end? Or what provokes you that you answer? 4 I also could speak as you do, if you were in my place; I could join words together against you and shake my head at you.
Summary
These men all thought they were intelligent and gifted in the truth of God,
but they were wrong!
God does at times allow the righteous to suffer.
But besides that,
they forgot to love their friend!
Because of this:
They were obnoxious and annoying…
They were nothing… and gained nothing…
except for a rebuke from God!
APPLY
APPLY
Brothers and sisters,
we need to know the importance of love in all that we do!
Service done without love is TOTALLY MEANINGLESS!
We all have a gift from the Holy Spirit,
but if we use it apart from love for one another, then:
we are annoying…
we are nothing… and
we gain nothing!
There is no advantage whatsoever to this kind of sacrifice!
We MUST seek to serve one another with love.
WHY? Because God is love!
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
If we are children of God, we must love!
We all know how hard this can be because we are all sinners,
and disappoint one another.
Some practical things we can do to grow our love are:
Forgive
When someone has wronged you, pray to God and forgive them.
If necessary reach out to them and address the issue and forgive them.
Pray
If you’re not sure if you love someone you’re about to talk to or serve…
Stop and pray for your heart,
and for them!
Summary
If we want our service to have a meaningful impact,
we must be sure we are serving out of love!
Next we’re going to see…
2. The Proof of Your Love
2. The Proof of Your Love
What is love anyway?
Is it an ooey-gooey feeling when I think of or see someone?
Is it an emotional response to somebody?
This is what our world tells us it is.
Love is something that you can “fall in and out of”.
It’s based on a “feeling” toward someone,
and if you don’t “feel” anything toward that person,
you don’t love them.
This is not how Paul views love!
Love is action! Love DOES things!
Love is not about how you “feel” about someone,
love
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
a. If You Put Yourself First You DON’T Have Love
a. If You Put Yourself First You DON’T Have Love
In verses 4—7 Paul gives a list of things love DOES & DOES NOT do!
First let’s look at the things love DOES NOT do...
1 Corinthians 13:4–6 (ESV)
4 love does not envy or boast;
it is not arrogant 5 or rude.
It does not insist on its own way;
it is not irritable or resentful;
6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing,
All of these attitudes and actions towards others,
show that YOU DON’T HAVE LOVE!
This is how the Corinthians were treating one another!
Some were jealous of others and their gifts,
and felt less worthy than them…
while others boasted in their gifts…
feeling more worthy than others,
and treating others as less than worthy.
This led to those who were “more spiritual” and “more worthy”
to not valuing others opinions,
but insisting on their own way.
They were
irritated by one another…
resentful of one another…
and began looking for and rejoicing in faults in one another.
All of these attitudes and actions showed they were putting themselves first…
and proved they DID NOT HAVE LOVE!
But…
b. If You Put Others First You DO Have Love
b. If You Put Others First You DO Have Love
Now let’s look at the things Paul says love DOES DO…
The beginning of v. 4 says…
1 Corinthians 13:4 (ESV)
4 Love is patient and kind;
The second half of v. 6 and 7 says…
1 Corinthians 13:6–7 (ESV)
6 (love) rejoices with the truth.
7 Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
All of these attitudes and actions towards others,
show that YOU DO HAVE LOVE!
Rather than being irritated and rude,
the Corinthians needed to be patient and kind toward one another.
Rather than looking for mistakes and faults,
they needed to seek truth and goodness according to God,
and rejoice in that!
Paul concludes his list with 4 incredible statements...
Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.
Danny Akin summarizes this section beautifully…
What Paul is saying is that love always sees the glass not just half-full but totally full. It always looks for the good, the positive. It does not look over people’s faults, but it overlooks people’s faults.
There is a staying power to true love, like a flame that cannot be quenched. Love takes the long view not the short view. It keeps the big picture in mind. It hangs in there with other people even under their worst circumstances and refuses to quit.
For married couples, it takes seriously those words “until death do us part.” You simply cannot kill a love that bears, keeps believing and hoping through, and endures all things. That is a love that will last through all adversity and stand the test of time.
Summary
Love is not a fleeting emotion,
but a faithful, diligent resolve to fight for those whom Christ died for!
When these attitudes and actions are present in our lives it shows that we put others first,
and proves our love for them!
ILLUSTRATE
ILLUSTRATE
Jonathan had this kind of self-less love for David.
After rejecting Saul as king,
God chose David, the young shepherd boy,
and anointed him as the future king of Israel.
Not long after, David defeated Goliath,
which saved and inspired the nation.
David also caught the attention of Jonathan, King Saul’s son.
After seeing David’s courageous battle,
and how he handled himself in the conversation with Saul, the king,
he was “knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”
Jonathan recognized that God was with David in a special way, and…
4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword and his bow and his belt.
Jonathan gave up his right to the throne,
and was committed to God’s plan through David.
Jonathan proved his love for David,
by saving him from his father’s plots to kill him on a number of occasions.
King Saul did not understand this and said,
1 Samuel 20:30–34 (ESV)
30 “You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame, and to the shame of your mother’s nakedness? 31 For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. Therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die.”
32 Then Jonathan answered Saul his father, “Why should he be put to death? What has he done?” 33 But Saul hurled his spear at him to strike him. So Jonathan knew that his father was determined to put David to death. 34 And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had disgraced him.
Summary
Jonathan’s love for David was proved in his attitudes and actions.
Jonathan could have put himself first since he was in line to be the next king,
but he put David first by submitting to and supporting him in obedience to God,
who had called David to be King of Israel.
Jonathan remained steadfast despite all that he suffered,
because of his love for God and David!
APPLY
APPLY
Brothers and sisters,
this is the kind of steadfast love we are to have for one another!
We must strive to put others first,
even enduring suffering ourselves,
so that others are blessed, encouraged and strengthened in Christ!
This is going to take much more than emotional/feeling based love.
So often, we are only willing to love when we “feel” like it,
or when others treat us well.
Our love must be deeper than that!
It must endure even when others fail us,
or sin against us!
DO YOU LOVE YOUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST IN THIS CHURCH?
Maybe you’re wondering if you do or not…
How do you know?
Paul shows us how we can tell if we love others.
How do you act toward others in the church? What is your attitude toward them?
Do you envy or boast?
Are you arrogant or rude?
Do you insist on your own way?
Are you irritable and resentful toward them?
Do you rejoice when they fall?
Brothers and sisters, if these attitudes and actions characterize us,
then we DO NOT LOVE!
We must pray to the Lord for forgiveness for our hard hearts,
and ask Christ to give us His heart through His Spirit to walk in His love.
In our flesh we cannot love as we should,
but through Christ we can
be patient and kind toward one another…
rejoice together in the truth…
bear all things…
believe all things…
hope all things… and
endure all things.
Summary
Through Christ, and the power of His Spirit within us,
we can prove our love for one another,
but putting others first!
The next thing we see is…
3. The Eternality of Your Love
3. The Eternality of Your Love
Paul has shown:
The Importance of Your Love…
Without it, all your service toward one another is meaningless.
He’s also shown:
The Proof of Your Love…
Whether or not you love is shown in your attitude and actions.
Now Paul shows:
The Eternality of Your Love…
This is THE REASON FOR WHY…
love for one another is so much more important than gifts or service toward one another.
EXPLAIN
EXPLAIN
a. Your Gifts Will Pass Away
a. Your Gifts Will Pass Away
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
No matter how great of a gift you have from the Spirit,
it is going to pass away!
It may have been that Paul picked these three gifts,
prophecy, tongues, and knowledge…
because they were gifts the Corinthians valued above others.
But Paul says, there is coming a day they won’t be necessary anymore!
The Holy Spirit gives His people spiritual gifts is to…
grow the church into
the knowledge of Christ,
the maturity of Christ, and
the fullness of Christ.
The reason we need each other,
is because we live in a fallen world,
and we’re constantly tempted to take our eyes off Christ,
and look to the things of this world.
But guess what???
When the perfect comes…
and we all stand in the presence of our Lord and Saviour,
and our faith becomes sight…
I won’t need you to remind me to trust in Christ and pray to Him who hears…
because I will see and speak to my Saviour who lives and pleads for me!
You won’t need me to remind you to be in God’s Word every day and walk in obedience to Christ…
because you will know and be taught by the Word Himself!
We won’t need each other to be there for one another in the highs and lows of this life,
because we will see Jesus Christ our Saviour face to face!
AMEN???
ILLUSTRATE
ILLUSTRATE
Paul then uses the illustration of a child…
11 When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 12 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
Paul is trying to show us the limits of our understanding by comparing us to children.
Children are limited in their understanding because they are young and inexperienced,
and they just don’t understand things very well.
MY CHILDREN CRITICIZING MLB HITTERS!
We were enjoying watching the MLB playoffs…
My kids were criticizing the hitters…
“Why didn’t he swing at that?
Why couldn’t he hit that?
I would have hit that so easy!”
Hitting a baseball is one of the hardest things in the world…
A pitcher, stands on a mound 60’6” away from you,
throwing a baseball 100 MPH…
giving you a fraction of a second to decide whether to swing or not…
not to mention sometimes throwing something that curves a different direction…
Children don’t fully understand!
One day, when they’re adults they will!
Transition
As we live in this world,
we are like children…
it’s like we’re seeing in a mirror dimly…
we don’t see or understand as we should.
That is why we need the spiritual gifts,
so that we can help each other see more clearly…
to point one another to Christ.
But one day
we will not be children,
but will become adults…
we will not see in a mirror dimly,
but will see face to face…
we will see and understand,
and will not need anyone to point us to Christ anymore
because we will see Him face to face!
Your gifts will pass away, but…
b. Your Love Will Never End
b. Your Love Will Never End
1 Corinthians 13:8 (ESV)
8 Love never ends.
13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
In heaven, we will see the reality of our faith.
We will no longer need the gifts to point us to Jesus,
because we will see Him face to face!
John MacArthur
“The objects of faith and hope will be fulfilled and perfectly realized in heaven, but love, the Godlike virtue, is everlasting. Heaven will be the place for the expression of nothing but perfect love toward God and each other.”
Summary
Spiritual gifts are only necessary for our short time here on earth, and will pass away.
But love is eternal, and will never end!
Therefore, let us pursue love for one another!
APPLY
APPLY
Brothers and sisters,
what are you focusing on?
Your gifts and service toward others… OR
Pursuing one another in love?
How do you view church?
Is it a place to come to feel better about yourself?
You feel like you have to check the box of going to church and you’re good with God?
Maybe you feel like you have some valuable gift to give the church,
and if you use it you’ve earned brownie points with God?
Or do you view church
as the redeemed people of God…
a chosen priesthood of people, holy to the Lord,
who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb,
who are loved by God,
and therefore worthy of your love?
Christ proved His love for His people…
9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
If God loved His people so much… DO YOU?
God was willing to send His Son into the world,
to die for our sins,
so that we might live through Him!
Do you love the people Christ died to save?
Are you willing to put others first to prove your love for them?
If you do not have love for the people for whom Christ died:
You are nothing!
Even if you serve them…
You gain nothing!
Don’t come to church because you think it’s earning you favour with God…
Going to church doesn’t save you!
Serving and giving money can’t save you either!
Come to love the people for whom Christ died…
Come to share in the highs and lows of life as believers in Christ…
Come to confess your sins to people who relate to you and will pray for you and help you…
Come to grow together into the fullness of Christ together…
using our gifts to point one another to Jesus Christ,
the reality of our faith,
who we will one day see face to face!
We will not do this perfectly,
and will sin against one another.
But what joy there is in looking to Christ together,
experiencing the joy of His grace and forgiveness,
as well as one another’s forgiveness.
This will make heaven that much sweeter,
when we are in the presence of our Saviour together,
completely free from sin!
GOSPEL
GOSPEL
Will you be there?
Will you be in the presence of Jesus,
and see Him face to face?
The truth is, if you’re like me, you’re a sinner!
This means you cannot stand before a holy God!
But God loved you so much,
that He sent Jesus to die in your place,
as a sacrifice for your sin,
and if you repent of your sins,
and confess Jesus as your Lord,
you will be saved!
Friend, if you have not done that,
what are you waiting for?
Come experience the joy and peace that comes from having the burden of all your sin and guilt lifted off!
Come experience the love of God, and His people as we serve one another
