Christ's Need (022226)
Pastor Joseph Campbell
Sunday Morning • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 31:52
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February 14th is known as Valentine’s Day.
The exact origin of Valentine’s Day is unknown, but the holiday’s name and date come from the martyrdom of St. Valentine, a third-century priest.
Two medieval poets are credited with creating the romantic aura around Valentine’s Day.
In a 1725 book about the practices of “commoners,” author Henry Bourne describes a custom whereby men and women were paired together as Valentines through random drawings; the matchmaking lottery became a good omen for a couple’s future marriage. Bourne specifically states that St. Valentine had nothing to do with Valentine’s Day.
Geoffrey Chaucer’s medieval poem “The Parliament of Fowls,” likely written in the early 1380s, is often cited as one of the oldest references of Valentine’s Day in a romantic sense.
Valentine’s Day has become big business.
Spending for this year’s Valentine’s Day was expected to exceed $29 billion; a record.
An estimated 145 million Valentine’s cards are exchanged each year.
But, while most individuals associate Valentine’s Day with “love,” do most individuals truly understand what “love” is?!?!?
Some of you may have seen a sign that states, “Love is love.”
The phrase "Love is love" is a slogan that expresses the idea that romantic love between any two individuals, regardless of gender or sexual orientation, is equally valid and beautiful.
It promotes the acceptance of diverse relationships, particularly those that are non-traditional, such as same-sex partnerships.
There is a word that has become associated with love…romance. In fact, many might say that those two words are interchangeable; that love means romance and that romance means love.
However, consider the original definition of romance (from Noah Webster’s 1828 Dictionary):
A fabulous relation or story of adventures and incidents, designed for the entertainment of readers; a tale of extraordinary adventures,
To forge and tell fictitious stories; to deal in extravagant stories
Romance is built upon that which is not real!
According to a modern day internet search…
Romance refers to a strong emotional attraction between two people, often characterized by feelings of love and affection. It can also describe a close relationship that is typically short-lived, such as a summer romance or an office romance.
Putting all of that together, romance is extravagant fiction that is based upon emotions and feelings and us usually short-lived.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that this is what the world thinks of as love; for this is what is pushed upon the world by the entertainment industry, such as Hallmark, by social media, and by modern psychology.
Unfortunately, if we are not careful, we as Christians can succumb to accept this definition of love as well!
Turn to and read 1 Corinthians 13:1-13.
Love is…
Love is…
Love suffereth long. Love is patient.
Love is kind.
Disposed to do good to others
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.
Love envieth not.
Love vaunteth not itself. Love does not boast. Love does not brag about itself. Love does not exalt itself.
By humility and the fear of the Lord Are riches, and honour, and life.
And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.
And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted.
Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.
Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
Love is not puffed up. Love is not proud.
Pride: inordinate self-esteem.
Pride was Lucifer’s downfall.
For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
Love doth not behave itself unseemly. Love does not bring dishonour upon the one being loved. Love does not behave inappropriately or improperly.
How do we define inappropriately? How do we define improperly?
First and foremost we define those words by God’s Word; It is how we know what is inappropriate and what is improper.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Righteousness: Conformity of heart and life to God’s divine law; to God’s Word.
Biblical love conforms itself to God’s Word.
Love seeketh not her own. Love is not selfish but instead puts the needs of others first.
Love is not easily provoked. Love does not have a temper; doesn’t have a short fuse.
Love thinketh no evil.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
While I will not stand here and say that it is morally wrong for you to watch Hallmark movies, I can tell you that it is wrong to allow such things to consume our thoughts to the point where we begin to compare our “love” to those movies instead of comparing our “love” to God’s Word.
Love rejoiceth not in iniquity. Love rejoiceth in the truth.
Turn to and read Hosea 14.
Biblical love rejoices when God wins out in our lives and in the lives of those we love.
Love beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Traditional wedding vows:
I, (name), take you (name), to be my (wife/husband), to have and to hold from this day forward, for better or for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish; from this day forward until death do us part.
Unfortunately, many couples today desire to write their own wedding vows, forgoing the traditional vows.
Why? Well, one wedding blog stated that writing your own wedding vows is romantic.
Haven’t we already established the fact that romance is extravagant fiction that is based upon emotions and feelings and us usually short-lived.
Do we want our marriages and relationships to be built upon the truth or upon an “in the moment” emotion which, upon the first sign of “trouble” becomes “negotiable?!?!”
While I do not know the origin of traditional wedding vows, I can tell you this: they embody Jesus Christ and the love that He had/has for us!
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Love never faileth.
That word faileth has the idea of coming to and end.
Unfortunately, the number of divorce attorneys in the Charlotte area are proof that the romantic love of this world does, many times, have and expiration date.
True, Biblical love, though, does not have an expiration date!
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.
Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,
Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
She cleans the kitchen
He soothes the fevered brow
She does the laundry
He folds the towels
She makes the dinner
He tucks the kids in bed
Come tomorrow
They'll do it all again
When it’s patient, when it’s kind, when it’s humble, when it’s blind, when it forgives and it forgets it’s so amazing and yet…
Ordinary love
A love that winds its way
Through common conversations
And simple acts of grace
'Cause no one needs a superstar
No one needs a saint
We need someone to just show up
With ordinary love
Some may not like this suggestion of ordinary love. But, may I suggest to you that true, Biblical love, to the world, is ordinary; it’s boring; it’s no fun; it’s not exciting!
The world wants a love that is fun, exciting…romantic, but in reality all they are really getting is that which is highly emotional but which is short-lived.
If you desire to experience that which is long-lasting than you need a relationship with Jesus Christ (if you don’t already have one) and, if you do know Christ, you need to stop desiring that which the world has to offer and strengthen your love for Him who loved you so much that He gave His life for you!
