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All About Love
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Pete Briscoe of Bent Tree Bible Fellowship did a series on 1 Corinthians 13.
Here is a recap: 1 Cor 13
(New International Version)
13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am
only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy
and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can
move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to
the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient,
love is kind.
It does not envy,
it does not boast,
it is not proud.
5 It is not rude,
it is not self-seeking,
it is not easily angered, it
keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in
evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It
always protects,
always trusts,
always
hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there
are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the
imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought
like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways
behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see
face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully
known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these
is love.
NIV
Love Waits Patiently
Love is patient
Makrothumeo Makros=A long time, prolonged restraint. Thumos=Having a
long fuse.
Having a long fuse and waiting a long time.
Pray for a long fuse -- John 15:12
Love is kind.
To be kind, you must be active. There is difference between knowing &
showing. Our decisions, even the small fleeting ones, tell a lot about us. 1.
See the person, not the problem. Something happens to us when people pay
attention to us. 2. See the ministry, not the theology. 3. Seize the
opportunity by getting dirty. Be kind to some of God’s other kids.
Love
does not envy.
What: Love doesn’t want what it doesn’t have. Jealously is protecting what
“I” have. Envy is desiring what “they” have. David broke Commandments 5-10 in
his relationship with Bathsheba. Prov 14:30, “A heart at peace gives life to
the body, but envy rots the bones”.
So What: God is a jealous God, but not an envious God. Ex. 20:5, Is
44:6 & 13-19
God isn’t envious because he knows he has the best thing. Value the best thing
over a good thing.
Now What: Be content. Gal 5:19-20, 22. Value Christ above everything
else.
Love Puts
Others First.
What: Love actively puts others first.
1.
Choosing not to brag. – Stop talking about
yourself
2.
Refusing to inflate ourselves.
3.
Allowing others to be center stage. – Stop
promoting yourself
4.
Renouncing self interests. – Stop pleasing
yourself
5.
Resisting retaliation. – Not easily
irritated. Willing to give up.
6.
Keep no records of wrongs. – Let God keep
score.
Forgiveness – give freely
whether other party sorry or not.
Reconciliation
-- given when repentance is seen!
So What: How did Jesus demonstrate this? Jesus constantly
thought about the Father. He always told who he healed not to tell anyone.
2 Corinthians 5:19 God nailed our scorecard to the cross.
Now
What: Flesh depends on
self reliance. Christ in you can do this. Follow the example of Christ.
Love
Rejoices in Truth
Ephesians 4:11-16
Love rejoices with the truth. Differences between a river and a canal.
A river is formed by water following the path of least resistance. A
builder charts a course for the canal and it goes there regardless of cost or pain. There are River
people and Canal people. The differences are their desire and ability to
tell the truth.
River People |
Canal People |
Value peace more than
truth |
Risk discomfort for the
truth |
Delight when failure is
heard |
Delight when truth is
told |
Hide the truth about
yourself |
Offer the truth about
yourself |
Prefer to be ignorant of
the truth |
Desire to know full
extent of the truth |
Passively ignore the
things not OK |
Knowingly reveal the
things not OK |
Ephesians
4:11-16 – We grow in Christ when we receive the truth. River people have
tendency to attack when confronted. Canal people endure the pain that the truth
brings, but love becomes stronger.
Love Always Protects
Mark Saunders
Human Love = We love because someone is lovely
or someone is loving me.
God’s Love = We love because of who He is. Panta (Always, All Things) Stegei
(Always protects)
God’s love can carry us through anything and covers us (protects us) from all
things. God wants us to love one another the way he loves us.
True
Love Always
God’s direction to us, love always and anyways. Carry people in love.
Ps 61: Listen to people’s needs.
Lead them to the Rock.
Let them rest in us.
Cover people in love – like a roof. Be a shelter and shield. A wing for people
to hide under.
1 Peter 4:8 Love covers over a multitude of sins.
Love Always Trusts Pete
Briscoe
Various commentaries say about this verse:
Love never loses faith, Giving a favorable interpretation about everything,
Believing the best about everyone.
Study of Thomas in John 11:16, 14:5 and 20:24
Giving someone:
Benefit of doubt |
Benefit of Grace |
Benefit of Love |
I choose to believe you
wouldn’t do that. |
I choose to believe you
didn’t mean that. |
I choose to keep
believing in you despite that what you have done. |
We need to allow Jesus to love others
through us. Love
Always Hopes
Pete Briscoe
Col 1:3 'the Faith and Love that springs from the hope stored up for you
in heaven.'
Good News is that we desperately need a Savior. Jesus is there for us.
He was crucified and shed his blood so our sins are erased. He rose from
the dead after three days and gives us abundant life. Good News leads to
hope. We have hope, an inheritance that brings forth faith in Christ and
love for other people. Love for others comes from this hope.
Love Never Fails
John 15:12 Pete Briscoe
Sign gifts will cease when Jesus
returns; but love will always last. If love lasts forever, it is worth fighting
for.
Hosea 3:1-3 Demonstrate love always. Show your love to others.
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