The Greatest Thing in the World 2
Notes
Transcript
Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. 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.
We like to attribute great accomplishments and great feats to people
Noah - ark
Abraham - father of Israel
Moses - leading the Israelites
Saul - the first king of Israel
David - Goliath
Elijah - fire coming down from heaven onto his altar on Mount Carmel
Daniel - lions den
Where does this great love come from? Who is the One behind love?
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
The One to attribute the love is God
God acted upon it by loving us when we did not love Him
God’s charity towards man is so great that it moved Him to send Jesus to appease His wrath towards our sin
Barabbas - he was a condemned prisoner facing execution, when Jesus took his place
Barabbas was free because the holy Son of God took his place on the cross
As a child of God, God gives us His great love through His Spirit. The Spirit of God enables us through grace to love!
McDonald’s - job - needed to get there, but I didn’t have a car - take ours
Charity is enabled by God’s Spirit through grace
What does this charity look like?
Suffereth long - enduring patience
Kind - to be or become warmhearted, considerate, humane, gentle, and sympathetic
Envieth not - which embraces both envy and jealousy. When used of man, the distinction is that, whereas envy desires to deprive someone of something he has, jealousy desires to have the same sort of thing for itself
Vaunteth not itself - to be or become boastful and exhibiting self-importance
Not puffed up - to be puffed up with air
Doth not behave itself unseemly
1 Cor 13:5
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
to behave unbecomingly v. — to not behave in keeping with accepted standards of what is right or proper in certain social groups.
Appropriate behaviour - ethical in culture
Joseph -
Gen 39:1-5
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh, captain of the guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hands of the Ishmeelites, which had brought him down thither. And the Lord was with Joseph, and he was a prosperous man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian. And his master saw that the Lord was with him, and that the Lord made all that he did to prosper in his hand. And Joseph found grace in his sight, and he served him: and he made him overseer over his house, and all that he had he put into his hand. And it came to pass from the time that he had made him overseer in his house, and over all that he had, that the Lord blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the Lord was upon all that he had in the house, and in the field.
In prison
Gen 39:20-23
And Joseph’s master took him, and put him into the prison, a place where the king’s prisoners were bound: and he was there in the prison. But the Lord was with Joseph, and shewed him mercy, and gave him favour in the sight of the keeper of the prison. And the keeper of the prison committed to Joseph’s hand all the prisoners that were in the prison; and whatsoever they did there, he was the doer of it. The keeper of the prison looked not to any thing that was under his hand; because the Lord was with him, and that which he did, the Lord made it to prosper.
Before Pharoah
Gen 41:14-17
Then Pharaoh sent and called Joseph, and they brought him hastily out of the dungeon: and he shaved himself, and changed his raiment, and came in unto Pharaoh. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, I have dreamed a dream, and there is none that can interpret it: and I have heard say of thee, that thou canst understand a dream to interpret it. And Joseph answered Pharaoh, saying, It is not in me: God shall give Pharaoh an answer of peace. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, In my dream, behold, I stood upon the bank of the river:
Gen 41:37-43
And the thing was good in the eyes of Pharaoh, and in the eyes of all his servants. And Pharaoh said unto his servants, Can we find such a one as this is, a man in whom the Spirit of God is? And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, Forasmuch as God hath shewed thee all this, there is none so discreet and wise as thou art: Thou shalt be over my house, and according unto thy word shall all my people be ruled: only in the throne will I be greater than thou. And Pharaoh said unto Joseph, See, I have set thee over all the land of Egypt. And Pharaoh took off his ring from his hand, and put it upon Joseph’s hand, and arrayed him in vestures of fine linen, and put a gold chain about his neck; And he made him to ride in the second chariot which he had; and they cried before him, Bow the knee: and he made him ruler over all the land of Egypt.
Charity will behave appropriately at a graduation, a wedding, or a funeral
Show little things like a congratulations to the school graduate
Compliment to the bride and groom
Comfort the bereaved
Know how to behave at a door of a stranger or standing before the queen
Seeketh not her own
1 Cor 13:5b
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
Is not selfish
Abraham & Lot
Gen 13:14-18
And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward: For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth: so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered. Arise, walk through the land in the length of it and in the breadth of it; for I will give it unto thee. Then Abram removed his tent, and came and dwelt in the plain of Mamre, which is in Hebron, and built there an altar unto the Lord.
Abraham quickly acted to stop the acrimonious squabbling between their herdsmen
He could’ve taken what he saw was best, but rather he acted upon love that gave Lot the first choice
This land was already given to Abraham by God, but Abraham let God reward him in time
As Drummond says, “There is no happiness in having, or in getting, but only in giving. Half the world is on the wrong scent in the pursuit of happiness. They think it consists in having and getting and in being served by others.”
Is not easily provoked
1 Cor 13:5c
Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
to be provoked v. — to be or become incited or stirred up (in one’s emotions, feelings, or reactions); can be positive or negative
John Philips - Love refuses to be provoked into a wrong action. Love is not roused to a spirit of anger and bitterness. It refuses to be exasperated, even though it may be justly aroused to righteous indignation. Love does not carry a chip on its shoulder. It is not insulted. It doesn’t play psychological games. It doesn’t say to itself, “I wonder why Mrs. Sniffbetter didn’t speak to me today” or “I wonder why Mr. Blacktooth snubbed me at the board meeting yesterday.” Love doesn’t know what it is to be irritable over things like that.
Charity calms a situation like David playing the harp
1 Sam 16:14-18
But the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord troubled him. And Saul’s servants said unto him, Behold now, an evil spirit from God troubleth thee. Let our lord now command thy servants, which are before thee, to seek out a man, who is a cunning player on an harp: and it shall come to pass, when the evil spirit from God is upon thee, that he shall play with his hand, and thou shalt be well. And Saul said unto his servants, Provide me now a man that can play well, and bring him to me. Then answered one of the servants, and said, Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Beth-lehemite, that is cunning in playing, and a mighty valiant man, and a man of war, and prudent in matters, and a comely person, and the Lord is with him.
1 Sam 16:22-23
And Saul sent to Jesse, saying, Let David, I pray thee, stand before me; for he hath found favour in my sight. And it came to pass, when the evil spirit from God was upon Saul, that David took an harp, and played with his hand: so Saul was refreshed, and was well, and the evil spirit departed from him.
Love looks to calm a situation rather than look for a reason to be irritated or look for reasons to cast doubt or blame
Thinketh no evil
Logizomai - Low-ease-o-may - ACCOUNTING TERM which means to tally v. — to keep count of something in order to determine the sum or total.
It does not keep an account of wrongs that it has suffered.
Wife - chooses to forget the things her husband does never holding them over his head looking for pity or spite
Nurse any grudges or hold any resentment