Sermon Manuscript012407
Sermon Worksheet & Manuscript
Robert L. Hutcherson, Jr.
Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church
Sermon Preparation/Delivery
I Corinthians 10:1-13
“Looking Through The Eyes Of Love”
The Rev. Karla J. Cooper, Pastor
January 24, 2007
Sermon Worksheet & Manuscript
AUTHOR
1. Who wrote (or is credited with writing) the text?
The Apostle Paul
2. From what perspective does the author write?
To give guidance and correction to the Church at Corinth
TEXT
"If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part; but when the perfect comes, the partial will be done away. When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known. But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:1-13 NASBR)
BODY
Our text for tonight is I Corinthians 13, verses 1 through 13. Our theme for tonight is as a certain song says “Looking Through The Eyes Of Love”, a verse of which says:
“Please, don’t let this feeling end,
It’s everything I am…everything I want to be,
I can see what’s mine now…I can see what’s true,
Since I found you…looking through the eyes of love”
When we look at each other, are we looking through the eyes of love? Please ponder that while I lay the ground work for our time tonight. This chapter is the central chapter, and along with the ones on each side of it, make up Paul’s lengthy discussion of spiritual gifts. Chapter 12 explains the giving, receiving, and interrelatedness of the gifts. Chapter 14 presents their proper use. In this middle chapter we see the proper attitude and atmosphere, the proper motive and power, the “more excellent way” in which God has planned for all of the gifts to operate, through the filter of love. Love is certainly more excellent than feeling resentful and inferior because you do not have the showier and seemingly more important gifts. It is also more excellent than feeling superior and independent because you do have those gifts. And it is more excellent than trying to use spiritual gifts in your own power, in the flesh rather than in the Spirit, and for selfish purposes rather than for God’s.
The Corinthian Christians were not walking in the Spirit. They were selfish, self–designing, self–willed, self–motivated, and doing everything possible to promote their own interests and welfare. Everyone was doing his own thing for his own good, with little or no regard for others. As we look around us in the Church of today, we would not be terribly incorrect in saying “The more things change, the more they remain the same.”
Neither the Corinthians back then, or contemporary Christians now were lacking in any of the gifts, but terribly deficient in spiritual fruit, which is a direct result of not walking in the source and power both of the gifts and of the fruit which is, of course, the Lord our God. Among the things those believers lacked, the most significant was, and still often seems to be, love.
Agapē (love) is one of the rarest words in ancient Greek literature, but one of the most common in the New Testament. Unlike our English love, it never refers to romantic or sexual love, for which erōs was used, and which does not appear in the New Testament. Nor does it refer to mere sentiment, a pleasant feeling, a “warm fuzzy”, if you will, about something or someone. It does not mean close friendship or brotherly love, for which the word philia is used. Nor does agapē mean charity, a term the King James translators carried over from the Latin and which in English we think of as simply “giving to the needy”. I Corinthians 13 is itself the best definition of agapē. Unlike English translations, which tend to include several adjectives, the Greek forms of these properties are verbs. They do not focus on what love is so much as on what love does and does not do. Agapē love is active, not abstract or passive. It does not simply feel patient, it practices patience. It does not simply have kind feelings, it does kind things. It does not simply recognize the truth, it rejoices in the truth. We can say that love is fully love only when it acts.
The problem, however, is that few people have any idea of what true love is. Most people, including many Christians, seem to think of it only in terms of nice feelings, warm affection, romance, and desire. When we say, “I love you,” we often mean, “I love me and I want you.” That, of course, is the very opposite of agapē love.
Agapē love, Self–giving love, love that demands something of us, love that is more concerned with giving than receiving, is as rare in much of the church today as it was in Corinth. The reason, of course, is that agapē love seems so unnatural to human nature. Our world has defined love as “romantic feeling” or “attraction,” which has nothing to do with true love in God’s terms. Agapē love is always self–sacrificing, but we must remember that self–sacrifice does not always necessarily come from love. Throughout the history of the church certain groups and movements have promoted self–denial, self–humiliation, and even self–affliction to earn spiritual merit. Many cults and pagan religions place great emphasis on the giving up of possessions, on sacrifice of various sorts, and on religious acts of supposed self–effacement, self–deprivation, self–affliction, and monasticism. The truth is, however, such things are worse than worthless without love. Without love, in fact, they are anything but self-less. The real focus of such practices is not God or others, but self—either in the form of legalistic fear of not doing those things or for the praise and supposed blessing for doing them. Either way, the motive is self, and is neither spiritual, or loving. When we stray from the Source of love, it is impossible to be loving.
The supreme measure and example of agapē love is God’s love. “God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son”. Love leaves no place for pride, vanity, arrogance, self–seeking, or self–glory. Love is above all sacrificial. It is sacrifice of self for the sake of others, even for others who may care nothing at all for us and who may even hate us. It is an act we are commanded to exercise even in behalf of our enemies: I have to admit that I struggle with that sometimes. (PRAY FOR HER illustration) Jesus said “I say to you, love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you in order that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven”. Ouch!!
As Pastor reminds us so often “When we KNOW better…we ought to DO better”. If God so loved us that, even “while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son”, how much more should we love those who are our enemies.
Jesus shows us that love is not an emotional attraction, but self-less, humble service to meet another’s need, no matter how lowly the service or how undeserving the person served.
Love is so much an absolute of the Christian life that Jesus said to His disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another” “And they’ll know that we are Christians by our love.”. Again He said, “Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you; abide in My love”. Jesus left no doubt that love—agapē love, self–sacrificing love—is the supreme mark of discipleship to Him. He both taught it He demonstrated it, He LIVED and He DIED it…for ME…for YOU…
Love is far too precious to be offered indiscriminately. The nature of love places certain demands on those who wish to enjoy it. You must regard yourself as worthy of being loved. Those who expect to be loved, not because they offer some positive value, but because they don't, someone who says "Love me just because I need it," seeks an unearned spiritual value in the same way that a thief seeks unearned wealth. The power behind what we say and what we do is our motive. If our motive is self–interest, praise, promotion, or advantage of any sort, our influence for the Lord will be undercut to that extent—no matter how orthodox, persuasive, and relevant our words are or how helpful our service seems superficially to be. Without the motivation of love, in God’s sight we are only causing a lot of commotion. “Just talkin’ loud…ain’t sayin’ nothin’”
Take a moment to pause, look at your neighbors around you and celebrate the wondrous pleasure of being worthy of someone's love and of having someone worthy of yours…looking through the eyes of Love.
Let us pray…
Often when we look around at this point in the service and see familiar faces, we can be tempted to “shortchange” the Invitation to Christian Discipleship. But perhaps there is some one here that is feeling spiritually “dry”. As we sing Hymn number 378, Lead Me, Guide Me, I invite you to come to the altar and be refreshed. Let our Lord do what He does best…let Him Resuscitate….Renovate…Rejuvenate…
CHILDREN’S LESSON
Order of Worship
Wednesday December 24th, 2006
6:30 P.M.
Opening Hymn………………” I Am On The Battlefield For My Lord”, Hymn 390
Doxology………………………………………………..All
Call to Worship……………………………….Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Hymn……………………………“King Jesus Will Roll All Burdens Away”, Hymn
Prayer…………………………………………..Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Prayer Response………………………………….Give Us This Day”
Scripture Reading……………………………..Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Decalogue………………………………………Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Gloria Patri………………………………………….Congregation
Sermon…………………………………………Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Invitation to Christian Discipleship..”I am Weak and I Need Thy Strength”, Hymn 378
Altar Call/Offertory………………………………………All
Offertory Response……………………………”All Things Come Of Thee”
Affirmation of Faith…………………………………Congregation
Benediction……………………………………..Bro. Robert Hutcherson