The More Excellent Way (Part II)

All right, let’s pick up in 1 Cor. 13:4 where we left off last Sunday.

1 Cor. 13:4 - “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.”

Not too long ago one of the most popular songs of the day was titled, “What is this thing called love.”

Well, right here in vs. 4 we have a pretty good answer to that song.

For here in vs. 4 we have a perfect description of this thing called love.

[Not a Mushy Type of Love]

And its easy to see that this love that is spoken of here is not that mushy, gushy type of thing that we hear so much of today.

[Supernatural Type of Love]

But this is a supernatural type of love that can only be produced in the believer’s lives as God the Holy Spirit controls their lives.

[Stress]

All right, notice some of the things this love produces in our lives.

Love suffereth Long.

Now you will remember the fourth thing in the list of the fruit of the Spirit found over in Gal. 5:22-23 in longsuffering.

Therefore, the believer’s life that is controlled by the Holy Spirit produces longsuffering.

And yet today among believers, longsuffering is almost a lost art.

Now this thing of longsuffering can be illustrated in many ways.

[Longsuffering in Traffic]

For instance there is

Longsuffering in traffic

Now let me ask you a very frank question

[Stress]

How many times have you been going somewhere and just because the traffic wasn’t moving just exactly the way you thought it should be you got yourself all worked up and the first thing you knew the old horn was getting a good workout.

Or you begin to drive like a maniac, cutting in and out of traffic, etc.

Listen: It never seems to be the one who is doing all these things that has all the wrecks.

These people are the only ones who cause all the wrecks.

[Stress]

But the believers life that is controlled with the Spirit is the believer who is longsuffering in traffic.

Why if someone’s car dies just as the light turns green, this believer will just smile and say “Well it could have happened to anyone.”

Yes the believer’s life that is controlled by the Spirit is the believer who obeys the laws of the land, including the traffic laws.

[Longsuffering in the Home]

Then love is also longsuffering in the home.

The Believer’s life that is controlled with the Spirit will not blow their tops when everything doesn’t go to suit them in the home.

[Longsuffering on the Job]

Then love is longsuffering on the job.

The believer’s life that is controlled with the Spirit is the believer that will practice longsuffering with those people who are constantly making nasty remarks about you and with those people who are constantly needling you.

[Stress]

Listen: the unbeliever will be simply flabbergasted when they see the believer practicing longsuffering.

[Tremendous]

In many ways you can have a much more effective testimony for the Lord and never open your mouth.

Then you can be always running around saying “Brother are you saved. Don’t you want to go to heaven?” and such things.

[Stress]

Listen: you just let some unbeliever see you lose your temper JUST ONCE then later on you try to witness to that unbeliever and see how quick they remind you that you lost your temper once.

Listen: longsuffering is something that only the Holy Spirit can produce in the believer’s life.

[Tremendous]

And longsuffering in the believer’s life is something that the Holy Spirit can take and bring glory and honor to the person of Jesus Christ.

Then notice the phrase

Love is kind

And just as longsuffering is a lost art, so is kindness.

However, when God the Holy Spirit controls your life then there will be kindness in your life.

And kindness is also something that the Holy Spirit can take and bring glory and honor to the person of Jesus Christ.

Love envieth not

Over in Heb. 13:5 we as believers are told

Be content with such things as you have for He hath said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.

And it is pretty easy for us to be content with the things that we have when everything is going right for us.

But you just let things begin to go wrong and before long we begin to say, “Oh, if that were just mine.”

[The Old Cliche]

Or maybe we try to clear ourselves with this old gimmick we often hear, “I wish I had that and they had something better.”

[Stress]

Listen: the only way we can be content with the things that we have is as God the Holy Spirit is controlling our lives. Because when the Holy Spirit is controlling our lives then envy certainly can’t find a place in our lives.

Love vaunteth not itself

Now this is when the believer is trying to draw attention to themselves.

And when the Holy Spirit is controlling the believer’s life, then the believer will never try to parade themselves in front of others.

Love is not puffed up

All right, this “puffed up” has reference to conceit or pride.

And remember, pride is the worst sin of all in the believer’s life.

[Tremendous]

And the believers whose life is controlled by the Spirit recognizes that the individual is not the important thing, but the thing that makes the individual operate is the important thing.

And just remember, it is God the Holy Spirit that makes the believer operate for the Lord.

All right, I want you to notice here in 1 Cor. 13:4 we have 5 things.

Longsuffering

Kindness

Envy

Self-centeredness

Conceit or Pride

[All Five Found Inside]

Now all five of these things are found on the inside of the believer and inside of the believer is where the Holy Spirit has His dwelling place.

Therefore, when anyone or all of these things are present then certainly the Holy Spirit cannot control the believer’s life.

1 Cor. 13:5 - “Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil.”

All right, in verse 4 we have five things that must be removed in order for the Holy Spirit to control the believer’s life.

Then in verse 5, we have some things that are produced on the outside of the believer’s life.

Love does not behave itself unseemly.

And this has reference to thoughtfulness of other people and other people’s property.

[Or Just Good Common Courtesy]

Courtesy or thoughtfulness is a long lost art and believers today are some of the most unthoughtful people in the world.

But let me tell you when we allow God the Holy Spirit to control our lives, then there will be courtesy or thoughtfulness of others.

Love seeketh not her own.

The believer’s life that is controlled by the Holy Spirit does not try to glorify self.

They try to produce things that will glorify the person of Jesus Christ.

Love is not easily provoked.

And here we have the people who run around with their feelings on their shoulders all the time, just daring anyone to knock them off.

My, at the frivolous things that people get their feelings hurt over.

[Stress]

Listen: the next time you get your feelings hurt, I want you to try something for me. Will you?

I want you to ask yourself two questions.

What did I get my feelings hurt over?

Why did I get my feelings hurt?

And when you ask yourself these two questions, then you will see just how foolish you have been.

[Stress]

And you will probably find out that your pride has been hurt.

And when the believers life is controlled by the Holy Spirit, then they are not easy to get their feelings hurt.

Love thinketh no evil.

And this is always looking for the bad in a person.

Always trying to find evil in someone else’s life.

This is a busybody, and there is no room for a busybody in the Spirit filled life.

1 Cor. 13:6 - “Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth.”

[Important]

Alright, this word “iniquity” here has reference to legalism.

The believer’s life that is controlled with the Spirit is not a legalistic believer.

Then too the believer’s life that is controlled with the Spirit rejoiceth in the truth.

[Not a Clock Watcher]

Listen: if your life is controlled with the Spirit, then you won’t be watching the clock to see when I am going to quit.

You will be all wrapped up in the Word of God that time will have lost all meaning to you.

Now this also takes in the study of the Word of God.

[Tremendous]

Listen: if you do not look forward to your daily study of the Word of God, and if you do not look forward to coming and hearing the Word of God taught, then your life is not controlled with the Spirit.

Because the Spirit filled life rejoiceth in the truth of the Word of God.

1 Cor. 13:7 - “Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.”

Alright, the believer’s life that is controlled with the Spirit can bear all things.

[Stress]

I know you have seen people who, when things come up in the neighborhood, they begin to make plans to move, they say something like this, “Why, I just can’t put up with this any longer, I’m going to move.”

[Stress]

Or when things don’t go just to suit them in the Church they begin to pout and say, “I’m not going back down there anymore.”

Listen: the believer’s life that is controlled with the Spirit on the inside can bear anything that comes their way on the outside.

Believeth all things.

Listen: have you found it hard lately to believe the promises of the Word of God?

Or have you found it hard to apply the promises and the doctrines to your lives lately?

When problems and difficulties arise in your lives, do you find it easy to say, “Yes, but.”

And I would remind you this morning that there are no “buts” in the Word of God.

Let me tell you this morning, the believer’s life that is controlled by the Spirit will believe and apply the Word of God to any situation that arises in their lives.

Hopeth all things.

Now remember, hope has reference to the future of the believer, and the life that is controlled by the Spirit will have no fear of this life nor of the future.

Over in 1 John 4:18 we are told, “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.”

In other words, when there is fear in your lives, then your lives are not controlled by the Spirit.

1 Cor. 13:8 - “Charity never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail, whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.”

Listen: The Spirit filled life will never fail.

It is utterly impossible for any believer ever to be a failure as long as their lives are controlled by the Holy Spirit.