The Greatest Thing in the World 3
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.
Charity is love in action
Like faith, it is a moving love that is Christlike, led by the Spirit of God, and filled with God’s grace
Charity comes from God. It is love that comes from the heart of God and is truly centred on what is best for the recipient even if that involves self-sacrifice.
This type of love is powerful and impactful
Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did.
Tabitha - Aramaic - Gazelle or Doe
Dorcas - Greek - Gazelle or Doe
Often in times and cultures recorded throughout the Bible, names would be given to ascribe the character traits of that individual
This would indicate that Tabitha, Dorcas, was gentle, remain in the shadows unless a deed demanded to be visible, and yet protective and nurturing
Which, as we read, is very much what Tabitha, Dorcas, was
Disciple - Followed Christ and the apostles teaching
Full of good works and charitable giving of mercy and compassion
And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them.
Dorcas gets sick and dies. They hear that Peter is nearby and run to get him.
Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
Dorcas’ charity impacted lives that moved people to tears and brought her acts of love to the spotlight of attention
Her Godly love that moved her to make coats and clothes for many people
How did people react to this? It moved them to let their stories of Dorcas’ love be told. It impacted their heart, and they knew they were deeply loved.
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 - Appropriately behaved
Seeketh not her own - is not selfish
Is not easily provoked - calms the waters that are stirred in our heart
Thinketh no evil - does not keep count of the wrongs suffered
Rejoiceth not in iniquity
1 Cor 13:6a
Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
Iniquity - Adikia - Ad-ih-kia - injustice, unrighteousness - context here is not just in iniquity happening, but the penalty or judgment of the injustice or unrighteousness happening to someone
Love does not gloat when bad things happen to other people; deserving or undeserving
Love refuses to find satisfaction in the wrongdoing of other people no matter who they are
2 Thes 2:8-12
And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Paul speaking about the anti-Christ rising up in the tribulation, and people being hurt and even damned in Hell in this time
This wasn’t a matter of gloating for Paul, but rather a heartbroken statement stating what will happen and the tragedy of this.
Paul wasn’t excited about what will happen, but rather helping the church to see that the truth of the Gospel has given them hope!
2 Thess 2:12-13
That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness. But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:
2 Thess 2:17
Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in every good word and work.
The approach of Godly love is to hurt for those that are hurting; choosing not to rejoice in their hurt
Jacob wrestling with God all night as He is going to reunite himself with his family
God touched Jacob’s thigh and he would limp from that day on as a constant reminder of God’s covenant with Abraham and the continuation of that promise through him
Gen 32:31-32
And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. Therefore the children of Israel eat not of the sinew which shrank, which is upon the hollow of the thigh, unto this day: because he touched the hollow of Jacob’s thigh in the sinew that shrank.
The children of Israel choose not to feast on the failures and shortcomings of others!
Godly action-leading love does not do that.
Rejoiceth in the truth
Truth - certain, most right, true
Love expresses itself in truth. It is glad when truth prevails. It is does not, cheat, or deceive.
It is characterized by integrity and rejoices when God’s truth is established.
It enthusiastically endorses the Word of God, and delights in the principles of Scripture.
When the Ark of the Covenant returns to Israel and Israel rejoices with celebrations and feasts
Love’s convictions
1 Cor 13:7
Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Beareth all things
Beareth - stego - to cover or to roof over
Noah - drunk
Lay naked
Shem & Japheth - walk backwards and cover their father
Ham - responded first but his response was shameful
Noah - blessed Shem & Japheth because of their love and kindness even when their father was in the midst of a sin
Ham would be cursed
Believeth all things
Not gullible
Ready to believe the best and put as good a construction as it can on an action
Love gives the benefit of the doubt.
Love prefers to be generous rather than censorious.
This act of confidence helps shape righteousness
Grandma Schubert - peach tree limb - support
Hopeth all things
“I hope so”
We say this as almost just a trivial statement - many times never acting upon it
Biblical hope is much, much stronger
Friend who looked at a limb and said I’m going to climb that tree and walk on that branch
I looked at him, and looked at that branch
“I hope so” - I said
“I hope so, too. I know it will.” - he said
Up the tree he climbed, and he began to walk out on that limb
I stepped back and prepared myself to run to get an adult when he came crashing down
He walked out the end of that limb, knelt down, grabbed it with his hands, and with one swift motion jumped while holding on to the limb and used it like a trapeze to allow him to gently jump down with no harm
He hoped. I did not.
That is Biblical hope. It is a hope that propels love to action. It looks for ways to act, believing God will give grace.
Endureth all things
To remain under the load
Strength to this love that bears up courageously no matter what the suffering.
This is the kind of love that martyrs for Christ have endured.
It doesn’t stop loving no matter the resistance.
Corinthians resisted Paul. The depreciated him and listened to cult leaders. They said unkind and untrue things about him. They resisted his authority although he was an apostle and had led many of them to Christ.
What was Paul’s response?
He loved them
He wrote letters to them.
He sent others to talk with them and help them.
His love endured, and the church in Corinth would eventually become a thriving, healthy church.
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.
Godly love in action does not fail. We’ll look more in to this next week, but this love stands the test of time. Selfish love fails. God’s love will never fail. It will never cease. It will always be because God will always be.
This love stands the test of time.