How to live a life of love

Introduction

Personal introduction

Dismiss kids

Thank you to those involved in our monthly leadership development on the 2nd Sunday night of the month. Whether you are a person that is a leader in the church or you desire to grow in your leadership, I encourage you to come out and enjoy a time of prayer, open dicussion over a book we are reading, and a leadership devotion taught by me. I was blessed to be able to go to Orlando last week for the international Maxwell Certification event and receive my official certification as a member of the Maxwell leadership team and I can’t wait to be able to pass along all I learned during that process and am still learning to everyone I can.

This morning we are in 1 Corinthians 13, which is commonly referred to a the love chapter.

For those that haven’t been with us we have been in a series titled ReThinking Church where we have been going through the book of 1 Corinthians and examining what Paul wrote to them as he sought to tell this church he had planted 5 years earlier how they should be doing things as a body of believers.

Last week I closed the message by asking “what are you doing with your life?”

That’s a heavy question. If you took just 20 minutes this week to ponder that, you would find yourself doing some deep dives of self examination.

Today I hope by examining this passage on love I can help you discover how to live a life of love.

Many of us seek to live a life of significance. One that has meaning and purpose. One that has an impact on those around us.

Living a life of significance does not always look like a life of success by the worlds standards. It’s not wrong to have success, I believe every Christian should strive to live a life glorifying to God in all areas to include their job, business, financial stewardship, and family.

However, a person can be successful but not significant. O sure, some people may look up to them but are they having an impact on those around them.

I believe significance is about how you well you have loved those around you.

How do we do that well?

1 Corinthians 13:1–3 KJV 1900

1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

1 Cor 13:1-3

Exegete:

Paul lays out it out here. He tells them, I have all of these gifts, tongues, prophecy, understanding, faith…but if I have these without love. I am nothing.

The obvious point being made in this passage is that anything without love is worthless.

However I’d like for you to consider a couple of other things we see here as well.

Notice the self-awareness or God-awareness if you will of Paul to be able to identify how God has gifted Him in this season.

Paul knew who He was in Christ and knew that God had called him to accomplish things for Him and had gifted and equipped him for the job in certain ways.

Using this passage as a means od uplifting love, Paul also brings to light that we need to know ourselves as God made us and why we are to be using those gifts.

Illustrate:

I have a friend that I love dearly so I won’t say her name but one day there was a group of us out eating at Olive Garden. You like Olive Garden?

Amen, bottomless garlic bread is my jam…Haven’t been there in awhile though..

I don’t know about up here, but in the south, Olive Garden is the expensive date place. It’s on the level of Cava in the eyes of us from the trailerhood ok. So when we go to the garden, we don’t always fit in ok.

So here we are, this group of friends and I, and my friend orders spaghetti. Standard Olive Garden order right. Nothing fancy.

We sit there enjoying our bottomless breadsticks and then the food comes out.

O it looked good. You ever have your food delivered to you and you knew you made the right decision that day? Well that’s how we all were looking at our food.

We had a great lunch that day. Wonderful food, great laughs, and we were there for about an hour I guess.

It comes to my attention that many of us are done but my friend that ordered spaghetti, well…she hasn’t ate much.

So of course we inquire “is your food ok?” Do you like it?

She said yea it’s great. o I asked “why haven’t you ate much?”

She said “Well I’m having a hard time using the utensils they gave me to eat it.”

Ok, ya’ll at this point…My mind is racing…like what strange new utensil could have been put on your plate to consume this spaghetti? My kid can dominate a plate of spaghetti in minutes but we are an hour in and your struggling…must be a weird utensil…maybe it’s some strange italian thing right?

SO we ask…what is it?

She held up a spoon.

Now…remember…we are not the most sophistacted bunch.

She had been trying to eat the spaghetti using only a spoon. She was cutting it with a spoon and trying to scoop it up.

Now, do any of you know why a spoon is given on a plate of spaghetti?

Right...

You see, my friend had everything she needed to enjoy this wonderful plate of spaghetti. She had the great meat sauce, the noodles, the spoon to keep thing clean, and the fork to spin it around.

However, he didn’t know the purpose of all the tools she had to enjoy it.

Apply:

In order to live a life of love you have to

I. Know the Purpose of your Gift

You need to know if you’ve got a fork or a spoon…maybe you have both.

But if you don’t know your gift, then you can’t know the purpose for it or how to use it.

Do you know how God has gifted you? Would you like to take a spiritual gifts survey and get an idea? Want to sit and talk with someone to figure out?

Don’t sit there with your spoon trying to accomplish the amazing life God has given you. Figure out all the tools you have and their purpose and see what God will do in and through you as you live for Him.

Paul continues on with a very descriptive set of sentences here

1 Corinthians 13:4–7 KJV 1900

4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil; 6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; 7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

1 Cor 13:4-7

Exegete:

The word charity here is translated from the word Agape, which is an unconditional love, like the love God has for us.

Paul tells them, I know the gifts I have, I know the prupose of them…to love.

This is what it looks like to love.

Illustrate:

What are some common questions we ask each other and ourselves throughout our live?

How you doing? Hows business? Hows the job?

I thought of a question that I’ve never asked and haven’t ever been asked…How are you doing at loving others?

Apply:

You may be thinking…why would you ask that question?

Becuase…if our purpose is to Love God with all of our heart, mind, body, and soul, and to Love others as ourselves, shouldn’t that be a common topic of thought and discussion in our lives?

You see Paul identifies this list of what it looks like to love...

Are you suffering long? are you being kind? How are you controlling your envy? How is your pride?

You see Paul gives this list that we can take back and use to examine our own hearts and minds. Why don’t we?

I’m afraid it’s becuascee we don’t want to honestly answer them.

If we did..we might realize we need to work on some areas.

Paul knew His gifts and the purpose of them. He gave this list for them to evaluate how they were doing in that area..WHy though?

Why tell them they need to know the purpose of their gift is love? Why do we need to know this?

Because living a life of love rrequries us to

II. Live out your purpose

So they would know what it looks like to be gifted at administration and love, so they would know what it would look like to be gifted at preaching and love, so they would know what it woudl look like to be gifted in any area that you are gifted in and remember how to love as you live.

God has given each of us a great purpose on this earth. We bring Him glory, we preach the gospel, and we love others.

Paul then begins to close out the thought and writes

1 Corinthians 13:8–12 KJV 1900

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. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.

1 Cor 13:8-12

Exegete:

Paul start these closing verses by establishing something I said last week. Tongues will fail, prophecies will fail, words of knowledge…fail…Love lasts forever.

Then in verse 10 he turns from the gifts purpose to writing about the one who gave the gifts.

The thing that is perfect o come is the Word of God. We have the closed canon of scripture and those that are imperfect are no longer active.

He write about why he live the way he does. He writes about what he wants to do with his life and that is to know God wholly.

Illustrate:

I told you about the Maxwell Conference I was at last week. One of the speakers at the conference wa helping everyone there fully understand what it is someone that is using the leadership certification for business does.

We had to repeat it a few times and what he aid was:

We speak, We Coach, We Train, We play the leadership game, and we assess behavior.

Now, how all that is done isn’t important. What I want you to see is the lazer focus on what they do. Those 5 things. That’s it.

Do you build buildings for homeless? Nope. Speak, Coach, Train, Leadership game, assess behavior.

They give money for the other stuff.

Why do they do that? Well..I had to do another silly thing while there. In John’s final session he wanted to let everyone know why they do what they do. That’s to see transformation in the lives of others. And the silly thing I had to do was the motions to the why of what we do...

Transformation begins with me, as I extend a hand of partnership, to impact how people think, change their hearts, to build a bridge to transformation.

Now…If that is why a person speaks, coaches, trains, plays the leadership game, and assesses behavior…don’t you think that’s a little motivating?

Apply:

Why do you live your life? Why do you use your gifts?

Asa believer that is an important question to answer and an easy one as well.

Our purpose in life is to make the name of Jesus known by loving God, Serving Others, and Making an impact with the gospel

You can clarify that more, you can customize that to your partiluaar situatin but speaking to a alrge group, that’s an amazing starting point.

Becuase

III. Your Purpose begins with Faith

Faith in Jesus.

Faith in His death burial and resurrection.

Before you can know your gifts you have to know the gift giver.

Know Him, Know yourself through Him, and live your life of Love for Him.

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