I want to start a series today about the most important thing that Christians need to work on in their life with God. In your relationship with Christ, which is the most important of all, there is 1 thing that we as the church need to do a much better job getting an understanding of. That is walking in love.
1 Cor 13:13 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
1 John 4:8 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
Romans 8:38 38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We need to walk with the greatest….God IS LOVE which means we need to spend MORE TIME walking with HIM through LOVE.
In the bible we see there are three words for love
eros, which meant sexual love
philos, which meant friendship
Agape-the unmerited love God shows to humankind in sending his son as suffering redeemer. When used of human love, it means selfless and self-giving love. The selfless promotion of others.
This word agape is what we are going to talk about for the next several weeks. Christians need to figure out the selfless promotion of others because that is what God IS. The selfless promotion or betterment of EVERYONE, that is attached to all human beings and can’t be separated from us. It is the greatest of all spiritual things because it is HIM…not of Him, it IS HIM. When you love someone, with the God kind of love, you are applying Him to someone’s life.
I. LOVE IS THE GREATEST OF ALL
a. 1 Cor 13:1-3Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging 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, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.
i. 1 Cor 13:13 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
ii. There is nothing that has a greater impact on this planet than loving people with the LOVE OF GOD
iii. Many people think that a spiritual gifts manifestations, that good preaching or teaching, instantaneous healings and miracles, or any supernatural manifestation would be the ultimate impact on people’s lives.
1. This is why all these things can and will disappear and disapate…I believe they are for us now, but they do not have a greater impact than the love of God.
2. It’s not even the action of taking care of the poor. ACTS of kindness are not a substitute for the LOVE of God
a. People can do something nice but not do it with the Love of God and the bible says we are NOTHING.
iv. There is nothing wrong with that but they actually can do a lot of damage if Love is not the motivation
1. The SELFLESS PROMOTION OF OTHERS
a. Not, Yeah God, show them how wrong they are!
b. This is going to be awesome when I see their face
c. Watch what happens when they see someone get radically healed
2. I know churches that have been more convinced about the person’s response than the ministry than the person themself and people have left churches where the spiritual gifts manifested through people not walking in love and watched them never come back.
v. It isn’t based on how other people treat you
1. People will mess with us, do terrible things to us, and react negatively to us…but we shouldn’t base our selfless promotion of them on what they do to us.
a. If someone does this to me, forget me ever doing things for them.
b. If someone is nice to me, I’ll be kind and nice to them.
vi. IF THE PERSON NEVER RESPONDED IN A POSITIVE WAY TO YOU CAN YOU STILL WALK AWAY HAVING DONE EVERYTHING YOU COULD DO TO BETTER THEIR LIFE?
1. This isn’t talking about giving them everything
2. Jesus died with NO GUARANTEE ANYONE WOULD ACCEPT WHAT HE DID AND YET HE DID IT ANYONE. HE PAID OUR DEBT NOT FOR HIMSELF, BUT FOR US ANYWAY AND BECAUSE OF THE SELFLESS PROMOTION OF US, MORE PEOPLE HAVE ACCEPTED HIM. LOVE IS THE GREATEST!
a. People beat him, spit on him, laughed at him, denied they knew him, killed him, betrayed him, doubted him and He still did what He could do to make their life better. THIS IS THE GREATEST THING HE COULD DO FOR THEM AND US.
vii. NOTHING YOU DO WILL PROFIT YOU UNLESS IT’S DONE FROM THE MOTIVE OF GOD’S LOVE.
b. Why?
i. Because God is Love
ii. 1 John 4:8 8 He who does not love (LIKE GOD LOVES) does not know God, for God is love.
iii. When you are more concerned about the person themselves than their response to the ministry you actually are applying GOD HIMSELF directly to their life. BECAUSE GOD IS LOVE.
1. The ministry to people is a result of being motivated by His love
a. God is ALL about making people’s lives better….
b. 1 John 3:8 – for this purpose the Son of God appeared to destroy the devil’s work.
c. The greatest way to apply that to people’s life is not prayer meetings and spiritual gifts but the selfless promotion of others. Improving the lives of other people.
i. Not giving them everything
ii. Not spoiling them
iii. But loving them the way Jesus loved them.
iv. Well ok Pastor, but nobody is going to take advantage of me…
1. I’m not telling you lay down and be a doormat for abuse…I’m saying if they come across your path, they leave bettered…not because you sought out the difficult people, but because when they did come across your path they were bettered because they experienced God. If someone did do something that deserved the benefit of the doubt you GAVE IT TO THEM. If someone screwed you over, you forgive them and loved them anyway. You did your best to see they saw GOD in what you did and who you are. And by giving away HIM, in the form of love, HE TAKES CARE OF YOU.
2. Proverbs 25:21-22 21 If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat; And if he is thirsty, give him water to drink; 22 For so you will heap coals of fire on his head, And the LORD will reward you.
3. Don’t be concerned about yourself being taken advantage of or doing something nice for mean people because the LORD REWARDS THAT KIND OF BEHAVIOR.
iv. Why don’t we see more fruit from this? 2 reasons
1. People don’t understand what showing the love of God is. They put their own understanding on what it is and of course they aren’t prepared to do that…
a. Paul tells us that pretty much every action, in and of themselves are not what makes people walk in love.
i. Giving away all my goods to the poor and not have love it profits me nothing?
ii. People are doing it or are afraid of doing it because they think they understand what people mean when they ask people to show love. IT’S MORE THAN WHAT YOU THINK.
2. Because we haven’t been believing this but the fact is LOVE…the selfless promotion of others is applying GOD DIRECTLY TO THE PERSON.
v. Nothing is greater than God and God IS….LOVE
c. It is the one sure fire way to make sure your faith doesn’t work
i. First of all it’s greater than faith and hope
ii. 1 Cor 13:13 13 Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
iii. But secondly your faith, and everything in God’s kingdom is received and applied by faith, is powered by LOVE
iv. Galatians 5:6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, no uncircumcision; for faith which worketh by love.
v. Faith doesn’t work without the selfless promotion of others…it is dependent on love in order to work.
vi. You can’t treat people badly and expect your faith to reach out and pull in the blessings of God
1. There are some areas that some of you are desiring to see more in and you’re expecting it based on his word, but your love is short circuiting your faith.
a. Some of you need to forgive someone you’re completely justified in being upset with
b. Some of you need to tip your servers when you get any kind of service
c. Some of you need to stop talking about people like dogs behind their back because they aren’t as spiritual as you think they should be
2. Your may have moved SOME mountains but the amount of selfless promotion of others will cause your faith to plateau and some of these things you are still waiting for are tied to that!
