HIGHEST GOAL

INTRO:

Crazy year

Ben Franklin’s Resolutions

Still, as failures go, we’re in good company. Take Benjamin Franklin. As a young man, Ben composed a master list of 12 resolutions, later tacking on a killer 13th (“Imitate Jesus and Socrates”). He had particular difficulty, he notes in his Autobiography, with Resolution No. 2 (“Silence—Avoid trifling conversation”), No. 3 (“Order—Let all your things have their places”) and No. 5 (“Frugality—Waste nothing”).

Ben kept track of his performance in a small book in which he entered a black mark each day for each resolution broken. He had intended to reuse the little book, eventually erasing old black marks as his performance improved. It didn’t. So many black marks appeared on top of black marks that the little book developed holes. He had to resort to keeping his records on a piece of ivory, from which the accumulated black marks could be tactfully mopped off with a wet sponge.

“Clean Slate,” from “Harrowsmith Country Life’” by Rebecca Rupp, (VT, January ‘96), quoted in Reader’s Digest, p. 27

New Years Resolutions

While researching the subject of New Year's resolutions I came across the following quote: "He who breaks a resolution is a weakling; He who makes one is a fool." The person from whom this quote flowed is obviously as much a pessimist as a cynic when it comes to making a fresh start on Jan. 1st.

The problem with too many resolutions is they lack imagination. It seems everyone makes the same resolutions and some make them year after year. According to a federal government website the following are some of the most popular New Year's resolutions:

Lose weight. Eat right. Manage debt. Save money. Get a better job.

ON 12/31/2020 I recieved this email From the Editor in Chief: Epoch News

Happy New Year’s Eve! I hope that you and your family have enjoyed the holidays as much as I did. 2020 is finally over, and it is time to start the new year off on the right track.

It is time to set goals. It is time to plan for the future. And it is time to take action towards becoming the best version of yourself.

Should we set goals for the new Year??

Does the Bible talk about goals?

TEXT:

1 Corinthians 14:1 NLT

1 Let love be your highest goal! But you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives—especially the ability to prophesy.

1 Corinthians 14:1 ESV

1 Pursue love, and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy.

1 Corinthians 14:1 KJV 1900

1 Follow after charity, and desire spiritual gifts, but rather that ye may prophesy.

1 Corinthians 14:1 The Message

1 Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it—because it does. Give yourselves to the gifts God gives you. Most of all, try to proclaim his truth.

OUR HIGHEST GOAL IS LOVE

It tells us to pursue love

Follow after Love

Go after a life of love as if our life depended on it—because it does.

One day Jesu was having a debate with the Sadducees about the resurrection and Jesus told them; Your mistake is that you don’t know the Scriptures, and you don’t know the power of God. You have made a serious error.”

Mark 12:28–31 NLT

28 One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?” 29 Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The Lord our God is the one and only Lord. 30 And you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ 31 The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”

Matthew 22:36–38 NLT

36 “Teacher, which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses?” 37 Jesus replied, “ ‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment.

Greatest commandment is LOVE

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 81–82.

The Pharisees probably enjoyed the embarrassment of their enemies, the Sadducees. One of their number showed respect for the Lord and His answer (Mark 12:28) and asked a question of his own: “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” (Matt. 22:36, NASB) We have every reason to believe that he asked the question in sincerity and with a humble attitude.

This was not a new question, for the scribes had been debating it for centuries. They had documented 613 commandments in the Law, 248 positive and 365 negative. No person could ever hope to know and fully obey all of these commandments. So, to make it easier, the experts divided the commandments into “heavy” (important) and “light” (unimportant). A person could major on the “heavy commandments” and not worry about the trivial ones.

The fallacy behind this approach is obvious: You need only break one law, heavy or light, to be guilty before God. “For whosoever shall keep the whole Law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).

Jesus quoted the “Shema” (Deut. 6:4), a statement of faith that was recited daily by every orthodox Jew. (The word Shema comes from the Hebrew word which means “to hear.”) The confession of faith begins with, “Hear, O Israel!”) The greatest commandment is to love God with all that we are and have—heart, soul, mind, strength, possessions, service. To love God is not to “have good feelings about Him,” for true love involves the will as well as the heart. Where there is love, there will be service and obedience.

But love for God cannot be divorced from love for one’s neighbor; so Jesus also quoted Leviticus 19:18 and put it on the same level as the Shema. All of the Law and the Prophets hang on both of these commandments. We might add that the teachings of the Epistles in the New Testament agree with this statement. If a man really loves God, he must also love his brother and his neighbor (1 John 3:10–18; 4:7–21).

If we have a right relationship with God, we will have no problems with His commandments. Love is the basis for obedience. In fact, all of the Law is summed up in love (Rom. 13:8–10). If we love God, we will love our neighbor; and if we love our neighbor, we will not want to do anything to harm him.

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 81–82.

Expository Outlines from Matthew 12. Christian Responsibility (Matthew 22:15–46)

A. Request—v. 36. They wanted to know which of the Ten Commandments was the greatest.

B. Results—v. 37–40. Note twofold answer: (1) Love God, (2) Love others. You cannot love God without loving others.

When man obeys the first two commandments, it will be easy to keep the remaining eight. His life will be pleasing to God.

What are we fixated the most on?

Our Possessions?

Our Positions?

Our Children?

Our Lord?

Others?

Sermon Notebook Alan Carr

A. He Is To Be Our Focus—There are to be no other gods in our lives. Too often, children see parents putting everything in the world ahead of God. It may be a job, a hobby, a friend, etc. Whatever comes ahead of God in your life and mine is an idol and it sends a false message to our children. We are telling them, by our actions, that this thing we love comes ahead of our love for God. Children need to know that no one or no thing comes before our relationship with God. He must be our focus. If we teach them that God is just for Sundays, we are going to raise a generation of infidels.

(Ill. Why do you think many children have rejected the faith of their parents? Sometimes, the reason lies in the fact that what mom and dad claimed to have lacked any reality. By the way, if it weren’t for the intervention of God in my life, I would not be here tonight. Growing up, I saw not one reason to make God and His church a priority in my life!)

B. He Is To Be Our Fixation—This love for God is to motivate us in every area of life. Our love for Him should consume us totally. When it does, it will fill us and work in us and reveal itself through us—1 Cor. 13:1–8. Our children need to see this in the lives of mom and dad.

1 Corinthians 13:1–8 NLT

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance. 8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!

GOD IS LOVE

One of our greatest needs as human beings is to be loved. We all need love. We need to know that we are important to somebody, that somebody truly cares about us, wants us, and accepts us unconditionally. When we doubt that we are loved, we may develop unacceptable behavior patterns to compensate for it.

For example, we may act irresponsibly in a desperate attempt to get attention. Attention is a poor substitute for love but it seems better than nothing at all. We may develop physical symptoms that bring us sympathy and concern. The symptoms cause us genuine pain, but the pain of sickness is more bearable than the pain of admitting that nobody cares. We may angrily lash out at those whom we think should care or we may try to run away from them and hide, but in either case, we are trying to protect ourselves from the hurt they are causing us by their lack of concern. We all need to know that somebody loves us.

The good news from God’s Word is that somebody does. To know Him is to find release from the crippling effects of feeling unloved.

Twice the Apostle John categorically stated that God is love (1 John 4:8,16).

1 John 4:8 NLT

8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

1 John 4:16 NLT

16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

Love is one of the warmest words in the English language, and that God is love is one of the most sublime, uplifting, and reassuring truths known to mankind. Love is His nature. It is not merely a friendly attitude He projects. It is the essence of His being. He is always going to act toward us in love because He cannot do otherwise. Love is the way He is.

No one attribute of God is any more important than any other, and all His attributes are expressed in conjunction with each other. Yet some believe that love may be the most powerful motivating force in all of God’s being. It deeply affects everything else God is and all that He does. Knowing God’s love could well be the believer’s key to a well-balanced, satisfying life of peace, productivity, and power. It would be rather presumptuous to assume that we can exhaust the subject of God’s love in one brief chapter, but let us try to scratch the surface and begin to explore this fathomless truth. Here are eight characteristics of God’s love.

God’s Love Is Self-Giving

Love involves action. It is expressed in the giving of oneself for the good of another, so it always demands an object. Whenever we talk about love we are suggesting that there is more than one person involved. There must be at least two—the one who loves and the one who is loved. If God has always been love and love demands an object, we may wonder how God demonstrated His love before He created angels or men. Jesus answered that question. He revealed that there was a love relationship between the persons of the triune Godhead from eternity past, when He said to His Father, “Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world” (John 17:24). We have seen that God is complete and sufficient in and of Himself. He has no needs which must be met by others outside Himself. He did not need to create other beings in order to express His love. It was perfectly expressed between the persons of the Trinity from all eternity.

God’s Love Is Sacrificial

Not only does God’s love motivate Him to give, but it motivates Him to give when it costs Him dearly. That too is different from our love. We hesitate to do anything for others that will cost us too much or inconvenience us too greatly. But God’s love cost Him the very best that He had—His only Son. That is the message of the greatest love text in the Bible: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16). God’s giving His Son involved more than merely allowing Him to leave Heaven’s glory and enter earth’s history. It meant allowing Him to die in our place and pay the awful debt of our sins. God proved His love conclusively and irrefutably by sending His Son to the cross as an atoning sacrifice for our sins (Romans 5:8; 1 John 4:9-10).

Romans 5:8 NLT

8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.

1 John 4:9–10 NLT

9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.

That is sacrificial love.

God’s Love Is Unconditional

One of the most amazing things about God’s love is that it is extended to us when we do not deserve it and continues steadfast and strong even when we do not respond to it. In other words, His love is unconditional. That certainly is different from our love. We have a tendency to show more love to the people who obviously love us and less love to the ones who do not. We express our love to our spouses and our children when they perform to our expectations and we withhold it from them when they displease us. We shower affection on the lovable children and avoid the belligerent little rascals who look as if they might want to kick us in the shins. I find it easy to express my love to my wife when she tells me what a wonderful husband I am, but not quite so easy when she scolds me for not taking out the trash. I find it easier to be loving toward my children when they are obeying me willingly, but not quite so easy when they are resisting me.

Romans 5:10; Colossians 1:21).

Romans 5:10 NLT

10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.

Colossians 1:21 NLT

21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions.

God even loves His enemies—all of them.

God’s Love Is Eternal

This message also was given originally to the nation Israel, but its application is for every true child of God.

The LORD appeared to him from afar, saying, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness (Jeremiah 31:3).

That everlasting love reaches into eternity past. He knew us and loved us before He made us, when we were but a thought in His mind. And He will love us for eternity to come, for, as Paul assured us, nothing shall be able to separate us from the love of God (Romans 8:39).

Romans 8:39 NLT

39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The love of an eternal God must be an eternal love.

God’s Love Is Holy

When some people hear that God’s love is self-giving, sacrificial, unconditional, eternal, and infinite, they get the idea that it is merely soft, sloppy sentimentality, that God is an indulgent Father who gives us everything we want and conveniently turns His head the other way when we sin. But that is not the case. Everything God does is done in the totality of His being, so His love must always be consistent with His other attributes. Since God is holy, then His love must be a holy love that encourages holiness in those loved. The evidence is overwhelming! For example, in the same context in which Paul explains that we in love were predestined unto the adoption of sons, he states God’s purpose for choosing us. It is “that we should be holy and without blame before Him” (Ephesians 1:4).

Ephesians 1:4 NLT

4 Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.

Love and obedience consistently go together in Scripture: “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (1 John 5:3; cf. also John 14:15; 15:10).

1 John 5:3 NLT

3 Loving God means keeping his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.

John 14:15 NLT

15 “If you love me, obey my commandments.

John 15:10 NLT

10 When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father’s commandments and remain in his love.

God will use every loving means at His disposal to encourage our obedience. He does that because He loves us.

God’s Love Is Comforting

Some children would give everything they have for someone who loves them and cares enough for them to set limits on their behavior and administer loving discipline when they violate those limits. That would mean more to them than all the material things in the world because it is the evidence of true love, and true love brings security and comfort. They know that someone who loves them enough to endure the unpleasantness of administering discipline will do everything in his power to take care of them, and that brings them genuine consolation. When we grasp the reality of God’s love, we will no longer seek our security in jobs, bank accounts, investments, houses, husbands, wives, friends, or health. We will rest in the Lord, free from all fear, secure in the assurance that He is going to provide all that we need and protect us from everything that will not be for our good.

Listen to the Apostle John again: “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love” (1 John 4:18).

God never punishes His children. He laid all the punishment for our sins on His Son. He disciplines us in love for our benefit, but even that is nothing to be afraid of. Understanding God’s love eliminates all fear—fear of God’s discipline, fear of what tomorrow holds, fear of losing a loved one, fear of losing a job, fear of natural catastrophies, fear of global war, fear of suffering, fear of death, fear of being alone, fear of rejection. God loves us! There is nothing to fear. His love is comforting.

God’s Love is Life-Changing

Most of us long to be loving people, able to give love to our spouses, our children, our fellow believers, our unsaved acquaintances, and, most of all, to the Lord Himself. But we find it so difficult. It is nearly impossible for us to love others unless we are genuinely convinced that we ourselves are loved. Some of us are hard, callused, insensitive, and unloving people because we are not convinced we are really loved. We are saying unconsciously, “Why should I be loving to others when nobody shows me any love?” God’s love can change that. We can find all the acceptance and affection we crave in Him; then with the confidence that we ourselves are loved, we can extend love to others. “We love,” said the Apostle John, “because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

It really is true—God loves us. Jesus said it plainly: “For the Father Himself loves you” (John 16:27). It is to our advantage to know and believe the love that He has for us (1 John 4:16). We may never be able to grasp it fully with our human understanding alone, but God is ready to make it real to us if our hearts are open and receptive to His Word. Then, secure in His love, we shall be able to reach out in love to others, unselfishly, sacrificially, unconditionally, and inexhaustibly. It will profoundly influence our relationships with those around us.

A world-renowned theologian was asked by a student what he considered to be the most significant theological truth he ever learned. His answer was, “Jesus loves me. This I know; for the Bible tells me so.” Believe it, Christian. God loves you!

In the United States, 1944, an experiment was conducted on 40 newborn infants to determine whether individuals could thrive alone on basic physiological needs without affection. Twenty newborn infants were housed in a special facility where they had caregivers who would go in to feed them, bathe them and change their diapers, but they would do nothing else. The caregivers had been instructed not to look at or touch the babies more than what was necessary, never communicating with them. All their physical needs were attended to scrupulously and the environment was kept sterile, none of the babies becoming ill.

The experiment was halted after four months, by which time, at least half of the babies had died at that point. At least two more died even after being rescued and brought into a more natural familial environment. There was no physiological cause for the babies' deaths; they were all physically very healthy. Before each baby died, there was a period where they would stop verbalizing and trying to engage with their caregivers, generally stop moving, nor cry or even change expression; death would follow shortly. The babies who had "given up" before being rescued, died in the same manner, even though they had been removed from the experimental conditions.

The conclusion was that nurturing is actually a very vital need in humans. Whilst this was taking place, in a separate facility, the second group of twenty newborn infants were raised with all their basic physiological needs provided and the addition of affection from the caregivers. This time however, the outcome was as expected, no deaths encountered.

Questions to ask:

Is my love self giving?

Is my love sacrificial?

Is my love unconditional?

Is my love eternal?

Is my love holy?

Is my love life changing?

LOVING OUR NEIGHBOR

THE question was asked Jesus Who is My Neighbor?

Love your neighbor as yourself

The Lexham Bible Dictionary Neighbor

NEIGHBOR (שָׁכֵן, shakhen; רֵעַ, rea'; γείτων, geitōn; περίοικος, perioikos; πλησίον, plēsion). A general, relational term used in the Old Testament, often for a person in close geographical proximity (Gen 11:3; Prov 3:29). Hebrew words translated “neighbor” are also often translated “friend” or “another” (1 Sam 28:17; 2 Sam 13:3; Jer 3:1; 3:20). By covenantal association, one’s fellow people of God are also “neighbors” in the Old Testament (Exod 20:16–17; Deut 5:20–21; Psa 101:5; Lev 19). The New Testament understanding of neighbor is built upon this concept (Luke 10; Mark 10; Matt 19). Jesus stretches the application of neighbor as stated in Leviticus to include everyone, even one’s enemies (Matt 5:43–44). “Neighbor” in the New Testament may also refer more directly to one’s fellow Christians (1 Cor 10:24; Eph 4:25; Jas 4:12).

300 Quotations for Preachers from the Modern Church We Don’t Pick Our Neighbors

We Don’t Pick Our Neighbors

Matthew 7:12; 22:34–39; Romans 13:8–10

Preaching Themes: Friendship, Neighbors

We make our friends; we make our enemies; but God makes our next-door neighbor.

G. K. CHESTERTON

Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)

John 4.16 says and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.

Those in Jesus should reflect the characteristics of God’s love !

By Practicing the Golden Rule

Matthew 7:12 NLT

12 “Do to others whatever you would like them to do to you. This is the essence of all that is taught in the law and the prophets.

Adrian Rogers says Love IS:

1. It Is the Greatest Virtue

2. It Is the Greatest Commandment

3. It Is the Greatest Testimony

Listen, love is the greatest testimony. Jesus Christ said in John chapter 13 and verse 35: “By this shall all men know that [you’re] my disciples, if [you] love one … another” (John 13:35). You don’t have to have a lapel pin; you don’t have to have a bumper sticker.

A man out in California—true story—he was one of these guys, always on time—one of these guys does everything just right, businessman … woke up in the morning—he always liked to get on the freeway in California early so he would not be late—waked up, went out, and tried to start his car, and the battery was dead. He asked his wife, “Can I take your car?” She said, “Yes.” By this time, he’d missed the window of opportunity, and that freeway had become the world’s longest parking lot. And, he’s inching along; and then, he comes to a dead stop, and the man behind him toots the horn. Now, the guy’s already late; he’s already irritated, and the man behind him blows the horn. He just sits there and steams a little. And, after a while, the man behind him blows the horn again—true story. This executive, who’s a member of a fine church in California, got so irritated. He just gritted his teeth. He said, “I don’t know why that guy is blowing his horn at me. Doesn’t he see I cannot move?” Then, the man tapped the horn the third time. This man, so angry—this executive, normally well-controlled—threw open the car door, went back to that man, tapped on the window. The man lowered the window. He put his finger in that man’s face and said, “Listen, you—I don’t want you to blow your horn at me one more time. I cannot move my car,” and he said some other things that weren’t very nice to him. And, the man behind him said, “Sir, what is wrong with you?” He said, “What do you mean, ‘What’s wrong with me?’ ” Said, “What’s wrong with you?” He said, “No, what’s wrong with you, sir?” He said, “Doesn’t that bumper sticker mean what it says—‘honk if you love Jesus’?” “Oh,” he said. He said, “I do love Jesus. I am so sorry.” Now, you see, friend, what we need to do is we need to take the saint off the dashboard and put him behind the steering wheel. Isn’t that right?

4. It Is the Greatest Motivation

5. It Is the Greatest Investment You Will Ever Make

300 Illustrations for Preachers Neighbor Is a Long-Lost Brother

Mark 12:30–31

Preaching Themes: Family, Friendship, Neighbors

When Tommy Larkin, 30, began searching for his long-lost biological brother, he didn’t know how far he’d have to travel from his Newfoundland, Canada, home. Then the agency that arranged adoptions for both boys when they were toddlers called with the address of Larkin’s brother, Stephen Goosney, 29. Goosney’s house was right across the street. “I said … ‘I am looking at the house right now!’ ” recalls Larkin. Now the two see each other nearly every day. “We both have families,” Goosney said, “but this is as close as it gets.”

Larkin’s story is larger than life—his long-lost brother was a neighbor he’d never taken time to know. While the odds of your neighbor being a biological brother are microscopic, the odds that they could be a friend are great.

—Jim L. Wilson and Rodger Russell92

Love Your Enemies

LOVING OUR ENEMIES.–A slave who had by the force of his sterling worth risen high in the confidence of his master, saw one day trembling in the slave market, a negro, whose grey head and bent form showed him to be in the last weakness of old age. He implored his master to purchase him. The old man was bought, and conveyed to the estate. When there, he who had pleaded for him took him to his own cabin, placed him in his bed, fed him at his own board, and generally cared for him as his own father. "What is the meaning of all that?" asked a witness. "Is he your father?" "No!" "Is he your friend then?" "No! he is my enemy. Years ago he stole me from my native village, and sold me for a slave; and so I have only done as the good Lord had taught me, 'If thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink; for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head.' 'Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.' "

Proverbs 10:12 NLT

12 Hatred stirs up quarrels, but love makes up for all offenses.

Love The Brotherhood

1 Thessalonians 4:9–12 NLT

9 But we don’t need to write to you about the importance of loving each other, for God himself has taught you to love one another. 10 Indeed, you already show your love for all the believers throughout Macedonia. Even so, dear brothers and sisters, we urge you to love them even more. 11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before. 12 Then people who are not believers will respect the way you live, and you will not need to depend on others.

Bible Study Magazine, Volume 11 Week 7: Relationship with God Means Loving like a Family By using the term “brotherly love” (philadelphia in Greek), what is Paul implying about how we should treat fellow Christians (4:9)?

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Seven: Love or Death (1 John 3:11–24)

Faith toward God and love toward men are two sides of the same coin. It is easy to emphasize faith—correct doctrine—and to neglect love. On the other hand, some say doctrine is not important and that love is our main responsibility. Both doctrine and love are important. When a person is justified by faith, he should know that the love of God is being shed abroad in his heart

Galatians 5:6 NLT

6 For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love.

Romans 12:13 NLT

13 When God’s people are in need, be ready to help them. Always be eager to practice hospitality.

Lack of Love in the Last days

1 John 4:8 NLT

8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

What strong words, if we don’t love we don’t know God

2 Timothy 3:1–9 NLT

1 You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. 2 For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. 3 They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. 4 They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. 5 They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! 6 They are the kind who work their way into people’s homes and win the confidence of vulnerable women who are burdened with the guilt of sin and controlled by various desires. 7 (Such women are forever following new teachings, but they are never able to understand the truth.) 8 These teachers oppose the truth just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. They have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith. 9 But they won’t get away with this for long. Someday everyone will recognize what fools they are, just as with Jannes and Jambres.

The Bible Exposition Commentary Chapter Three: What to Do before It Ends (2 Timothy 3)

Their characteristics (vv. 2–5). At least eighteen different characteristics are listed here, and Paul probably could have listed more. There is an emphasis on love: “lovers of their own selves,” lovers of money (“covetous”), “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God.” The heart of every problem is a problem in the heart. God commands us to love Him supremely, and our neighbors as ourselves (Matt. 22:34–40); but if we love ourselves supremely, we will not love God or our neighbors.

In this universe there is God, and there are people and things. We should worship God, love people, and use things. But if we start worshiping ourselves, we will ignore God and start loving things and using people. This is the formula for a miserable life; yet it characterizes many people today. The worldwide craving for things is just one evidence that people’s hearts have turned away from God.

Of course, if someone loves and worships himself, the result will be pride. “Ye shall be as gods” was Satan’s offer to Eve (Gen. 3:5), and the result was that people “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than [rather than] the Creator” (Rom. 1:25). Man became his own god! The creature is now the creator! “Boasters, proud [arrogant], blasphemers [given to contemptuous and bitter words]” (2 Tim. 3:2).

“Disobedient to parents” suggests that this apostasy reaches into the family. Children are “unthankful” and do not appreciate what their parents have done for them. They are “unholy” in their attitude toward their parents. “Honor thy father and thy mother” is not widely taught or respected.

The phrase “without natural affection” is the translation of one word that describes “family love.” The family is under attack these days, and, as go its families, so goes the nation.

In place of the natural love that God has put into men and women and families, today we have a good deal of unnatural love which God has condemned (see Rom. 1:18–27; 1 Cor. 6:9–10). It is confusion, and God will judge it (Rom. 1:28–32).

Not only in homes, but out in society and the business world, the characteristics of these perilous times may be seen. “Trucebreakers” (2 Tim. 3:3) describes people who will not try to agree. They are unyielding and irreconcilable and must have their own way.

In order to defend their position, they become “slanderers” [“false accusers,” KJV] and try to tear down the reputations of others. Unfortunately, some of this activity goes on even among professed Christians. “Christian leaders” accuse one another in the pages of their publications.

“Incontinent” means “without self-control.” The motto of our society today is “Do your own thing and enjoy it!” Sad to say, some of the children born to these people do not always enjoy it because they are deformed or handicapped as the result of drugs, alcohol, or venereal diseases.

This lack of self-control reveals itself in a number of ways. “Fierce” means “untamed, brutal.” When these people cannot have their way, they become much like savage beasts. Instead of honoring what is good, they despise what is good and honor what is evil. In society today the standards of right and wrong have been twisted, if not destroyed. “Woe unto them that call evil good and good evil,” cried Isaiah the prophet (Isa. 5:20).

“Traitors” (2 Tim. 3:4) describes people who betray others and cannot be trusted. Neither friendship nor partnership makes any difference to them; they lie and break their promises whenever doing so helps them get their own way.

“Heady” means “reckless, rash, acting without careful thought.” Paul did not condemn honest adventure, but foolish endeavor.

“High-minded” does not describe a person with lofty thoughts. Rather, it means a person who is “puffed up” with his importance. “Conceited” is a good synonym.

“Lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” does not suggest that we must choose between pleasure and God; for when we live for God, we enjoy the greatest pleasures (Ps. 16:11). The choice is between loving pleasure or loving God. If we love God, we will also enjoy fullness of life here and forever; but the pleasures of sin can only last for a brief time (Heb. 11:25). No one can deny that we live in a pleasure-mad world; but these pleasures too often are just shallow entertainment and escape; they are not enrichment and true enjoyment.

Paul stated that these people he has just described would consider themselves religious! “Having a form of godliness” (2 Tim. 3:5) suggests an outward appearance of religion, not true Christian faith; for they have never experienced the power of God in their lives. Form without force. Religion without reality.

Woman Bulldozes Neighbors’ House Because She Doesn’t Like Them

When Ana Maria Moreta Folch had problems with her neighbors, she took matters into her own hands and had their mobile home bulldozed. Moreta Folch told a heavy equipment operator that she owned the trailer that Maria Gottfried and her family were living in. Moreta Folch showed the contractor a key, and told him that no one was living there so she wanted the home destroyed. Gottfried came home during the demolition and called the police. She said she had owned the trailer since 2006 and had never given her neighbor a key. According to the arrest warrant, Moreta Folch had the trailer bulldozed because she believed the people who had lived there were unsavory and she suspected that they had broken into her car. She told police she considered it a favor to her neighborhood. Moreta Folch was charged with criminal mischief and was released on bond. —Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell98

Jim L. Wilson and Jim Sandell, “Woman Bulldozes Neighbors’ House Because She Doesn’t like Them,” in 300 Illustrations for Preachers, ed. Elliot Ritzema (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2015).

Proverbs 21:10 NLT

10 Evil people desire evil; their neighbors get no mercy from them.

Being prejudice or showing impartiality is not proper love

James 2:1–8 NLT

1 My dear brothers and sisters, how can you claim to have faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ if you favor some people over others? 2 For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. 3 If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, 4 doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives? 5 Listen to me, dear brothers and sisters. Hasn’t God chosen the poor in this world to be rich in faith? Aren’t they the ones who will inherit the Kingdom he promised to those who love him? 6 But you dishonor the poor! Isn’t it the rich who oppress you and drag you into court? 7 Aren’t they the ones who slander Jesus Christ, whose noble name you bear? 8 Yes indeed, it is good when you obey the royal law as found in the Scriptures: “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

CONCL:

Going back to 1 Cor 14.1

Make love our Highest Goal

Make God WHO IS LOVE our Highest Goal

It tells us to pursue love

Pursue God WHO IS LOVE

Follow after Love

Follow after God WHO IS LOVE

Go after a life of love as if our life depended on it—because it does.

Go after a life of God WHO IS LOVE as if our life depended on it—because it does.

A Year Untried Before Me Lies

A year untried before me lies.

What it shall bring of strange surprise,

Of joy, or grief, I cannot tell;

But God my Father knoweth well

I make no concern of mine,

But leave it all with Love divine.

The sun may shed no light by day,

No stars at night illumine my way.

My soul shall still have no affright

Since God is all my life and light.

Though all the earthly lights grow dim,

He walks in light who walks with Him.

No ill can come but He can cure,

No word doth all of good insure:

He’ll see me through the journey’s length,

For daily need give daily strength!

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