Love Like You Mean It

Talk slow, stand tall, smile, have fun

Core thought: God’s real love transforms us to act in real life

Introduction - 3 Min

Pray at beginning

Hook

We’re laying the foundation for the rest of this series: Greatest of These

Comes from 1 Corinthians 13:13

1 Corinthians 13:13 (CSB)

13 Now these three remain: faith, hope, and love—but the greatest of these is love.

Talking about relationships

Often we we talk about relationship, we have associations, but this series is larger than you may assume

Ultimately this series is about people - God is obsessed with people and so should we

Jesus says our greatest command is to love God and people

People least like Jesus, liked Jesus the most

Reading the gospels with Jesus you find the people who were like Him the least loved Him to most

The aim of this series will teach us to become the best people that people know

It’s possible for people to disagree with you, but still be impacted for good

As we lay this foundation of the series I want to ask:

Have you ever wondered, “Why is it this world is so obsessed with love, yet seemingly so filled with hate?”

Outcome

Tonight we’re going to talk about what it means to love

What the Bible defines love as

Keys on what it means to love in the Biblical sense

Holy Spirit wants to change your heart tonight

The title of this message is “Love like you mean it”

Transition

As we speak on obsessions, I couldn’t help but think of previous obsessions I’ve had

Story - 2 Min

Obsession with wrestling

When I was a kid this one obsession I had

Kid’s often go through phases

This took up most my childhood

Professional wrestling

I knew all about it. Walking encyclopaedia 2002-2009

Wanted to become a wrestler

For a large portion of life I had a dream to become a wrestler

I would practice moves on the trampoline

Play with everyone who would care

Didn’t understand what it meant

However I didn’t really understand what it meant to be a wrestler

I would see the half hour in the ring or mic, but not the hours of preparation

Years of sacrifice and training

What it took to be in that kind of shape

The physical toll it took in the long term

Even though I was obsessed with this thing, I didn’t truly understand it

Tension - 5 Min

The world obsesses but doesn’t understand

Yes that’s a story of me as a child but isn’t that the way of the wold?

In fact often the world is quite childish

We obsess over athletes, without realising what it takes

We worship business-people, not knowing the sacrifices needed

Look to celebrities not know what it means to be famous

We do the same with love

Incomplete obsession with no outcome

The world is obsessed with love without understanding what it means

An obsession that’s incomplete

Specifically it’s an obsession that leads to no outcome

Our world is lonely and angry

Australian Psychological Society found 25% of people felt lonely and anxious

This was before COVID

The world that’s obsess with love seems to be getting more disconnected and angry

We’ve all felt the world’s love fail

We’ve all felt this at some level

Perhaps someone said they loved you then hurt you

Expected love to look and feel a certain way to be disappointed

Surrounded with unrealistic expectation of love

Perhaps some of you have checked out and given up on the idea of love

Perhaps you’ve felt disconnected from God, and giving up on the Christian walk

Passion moment

There is a real love

There is a real love,

Is different

Never fails, nor abandons

his name is Jesus

Say “Love like you mean it”

Observations - 10 Min

Work on this section of context some more

Find our secret of Biblical love in 1 Corinthians

Paul writing to a church in a city of Corinth

Thought of love as feelings and pleasure

Surrounded by thoughts of how to life

Noise and opinions on the good life

Paul needs spends 12 chapters correcting thinking and finally comes to this part

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (CSB)

4 Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Story of Italian teacher

When I was in high school we had to take Italian class

Dreaded, back-to-back. She didn’t like teaching teenagers

At the beginning of each class explain how dumb English was

One day someone stood up asking why she explain in English… she swore in Italian

English is quirky - Things we love

One point she did have was English is quirky… several words that explain one thing

In a meeting I love that idea

Eating dinner I love this burger

Sitting next to Leanna, I love you

My level of emotions towards my food and my wife aren’t quite the same

Looking at the Greek

Do you want to know something interesting...

In the original Greek, that this letter was written in, there were three words for love

eros - sexual love

philia - love for a friend

storgē - love for family

This is cool nerd-stuff,

early-Christians couldn’t find a word to describe God

so they invented noun agapao, or verb agape - the main word used in NT

Baker Encyclopedia of the Bible

Agapē means to love the undeserving, despite disappointment and rejection;

We see how God loves us

While I was underserving

while I disappointed

while I rejected

he was pulling my closer

We see how you loves others

The same word to describe God’s love is our love

Scripture describes your agape

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 (CSB)

4 Agapē is patient, Agapē is kind. Agapē does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Agapē finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

It’s literally God’s love working in and through you

To quote the Psalmist John Mayer, “Love ain’t a thing. Love is a verb.”

If I’m a Christian, I have a real love

It’s not a flash in the pan feeling

Say “Love like you mean it”

Revelation - 5 Min

As the band comes up

Three things that we need to love

1. Forgiveness

Matthew 6:14–15 (CSB)

14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.

People who are hurting tonight

No doubt some of you are hurting

You might be defensive saying I don’t understand, in fact if I did I’d agree

But God doesn’t ask, He commands

It’s for your good because it’s hurting you more

Chritians don’t cancel

As a church, I don’t have a pretty way to say this we don’t cancel people

We are always safe and set boundaries

We seek justice, but it doesn’t exist without redemption

Often I ask God how can we let that person in

It’s not my church, life or world, it’s God’s

It might be uncomfortable but they are children of God

2. Faith

In God, but also in people

I might have been hurt, but I’m gonna trust again

I’m putting myself out there again

I’m believing for the best in people

That our greatest days are aheads, I’m choosing faith

3. Fire from heaven

I look at how God asks us to love

I can’t do it, I need Jesus, I need grace, I need the Holy Spirit

His strength for me to forgive

You - 3 Min

We’ll let God minister to us

You need to forgive

Maybe you need to forgive.

I don’t have the strength, just do it tonight, then tomorrow

You need to stir up faith

I need faith in people

I need to walk in love

“I won’t pick pessimism anymore”

We all need the Holy Spirit

We need the Holy Spirit to minister to use right now

God to change our hearts and way

Pray