I almost died this week... The words, “I love you.” became meaningful to me. Love came alive in Janet, when she didn’t want to leave me even though they kicked her out.
Almost every phone call - the words I love you were spoken from the heart.
Tonight - Communion - I will tell about the walk to Emmaus - 70 men
Title---- What Matters Most In Life!
ILL>>> Calif. fires. People grabbed what mattered most and ran.
What is the first thing you think about or worry about when your house is on fire? The People in it!
ILL>> Rick Warren - PDL>> When you die you wont ask for your trophies, diplomas,
Gal 5.1-5
Stand fast therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage. 2Indeed I, Paul, say to you that if you become circumcised, Christ will profit you nothing. 3And I testify again to every man who becomes circumcised that he is a debtor to keep the whole law. 4You have become estranged from Christ, you who attempt to be justified by law; you have fallen from grace. 5For we through the Spirit eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. 6For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails (matters) anything, but faith working through love.
What Matters Most In Life! Love is the key to attracting the lost to church!
I. Love is what saved us Jn. 3:16
A. Any attempt to be justified to God by doing good is worthless legalism.
What matters most 1st your salvation! Are you really saved?
Let me tell you about some false salvations.
*Family salvation - family baptized
*joining the church
*Baptism salvation - what are you counting on?
*Believe in Jesus (invite in) - in bed at night have you ? -- are you counting on this?
Romans 10:9-10 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
Real salvation = 1. Admit 2 Believe (turn away from sin to Jesus) = repentance & faith
1. >>>>> Pray the sinners prayer
2. >>> Who prayed that for the 1st time today?
B. For God so loved ...-- We have that same love toward others.
- Do we act as if we earned our salvation?
7You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8This persuasion does not come from Him who calls you. 9A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10I have confidence in you, in the Lord, that you will have no other mind; but he who troubles you shall bear his judgment, whoever he is. 11And I, brethren, if I still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? Then the offense of the cross has ceased. 12I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off!
Many men are afraid to say- I love you. - Scott Brown called me while I was in the hospital. Says guys hug w/ 3 pats on the back that say “I’m not gay”. - Men don’t be afraid to say “I love you” more often -
What Matters Most In Life!
I. Love is what saved us
II. Love is how we serve
A. Love looks for ways to serve
13For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
quote -- “Love is my decision to make your problem my problem.”
B. Love does not fight and argue
14For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another!
Continually biting and devouring like wild animals in deadly combat, i.e., a picture of church fights. Mutual destruction by slander and criticism.
ILL>>>A young soldier was going off to fight in World War II against the Japanese. As his father put him on the train and waved good-bye, he turned with bitter tears and said, "If my son is killed, I hope every Jap in the world is killed!" Yet the fact that the father was a Christian made it difficult to feel that way in reality. He had a fierce struggle with himself and finally realized that it was not Christian to hate, whether his son lived or died. He declared rather, "I will not hate. I refuse to be destroyed by hate!"
A year later the son was killed. Soon life insurance money arrived. The father did not really need the ten thousand dollars so he sent it to the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board and designated it for missions to the Japanese.
How could the father do that? Only by the miracle of Calvary. Only God can change bitterness and hate into love.
What Matters Most In Life!
I. Love is what saved us
II. Love is how we serve
III. Love is the Spirit
16I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
A. Walk in the Spirit and you wont do this --- . Have the habit of continually walking by the energizing power and under the divine direction of the Holy Spirit.
17For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. 18But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
These works all issue from a heart in rebellion against God and insisting upon doing as it wills (Mt 15:19; Mk 7:21–22). Adultery. Illicit sexual intercourse between married partners. Fornication. Illicit sexual intercourse between unmarried partners. Uncleanness. Moral impurity. Lasciviousness. Wantonness, debauchery, lewdness. This word (Gr aselgeia) was used to describe an attitude of utter disregard for the opinions and conventions which governed others.
20. Idolatry. Worship of idols, putting anything in the place of God. Witchcraft. Sorcery, the profession of magical arts which used various combinations of chemicals (drugs) to deceive and get control of their victims (cf. Rev 21:8). Hatred. , personal animosities (cf. I Jn 3:15). Variance. Strife, rivalry, discord, factions, quarrelsomeness. Emulations. Jealousies, sedition, constant desire to excel over people and secure their admiration. Wrath. Passionate anger, stirring up the emotions of temper resulting in an explosion. Strife. Factions, intrigues manifested in party spirit. Seditions. Splits, divisions. Heresies. Choices based on preferences, sectarian parties.
21. Envyings. Feelings of ill-will. Drunkenness. Excessive indulgence in strong drink. Revellings. Carousals such as the outrageous feasts to the god Dionysus associated with horrible orgies, not unlike many riotous, wild parties of today. And such like. The list is representative, not exhaustive.
B. Walk in the Spirit and you will do this
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.
22. But the fruit. Singular in number; not nine fruits, but one fruit composed of nine elements. The first three are in relation to God; the next three are in relation to man; and the last three are in relation to one’s own inner life.
1. relation to God
Love. The self-denying, self-sacrificing, Christlike love which is the foundation of all other graces.
Joy. The joy of the Holy Spirit (I Thess 1:6), that deep abiding, inner rejoicing in the Lord ]
Peace. Tranquility of soul (Phil 4:7), the peace that Christ gives (Jn 14:27), and which the world cannot take away.
2.relation to man
Longsuffering. Patient endurance and steadfastness under provocation; forbearance under ill-will, with no thought of retaliation.
Gentleness. Graciousness, kindly disposition.
Goodness. Beneficence, ready to do good, love in action.
3. relation to one’s own inner life
Faith. Fidelity which makes one true to his promise and faithful to his task.
Meekness. Not weakness, but controlled strength. This word conveys the idea of a listening ear to hear what God has to say. It is submission to God and unselfishness to our fellowmen.
Temperance. Rational restraint of the natural impulses, self-control.
ILL>>Love is the key. Joy is love singing. Peace is love resting. Long-suffering is love enduring. Kindness is love’s touch. Goodness is love’s character. Faithfulness is love’s habit. Gentleness is love’s self-forgetfulness. Self-control is love holding the reins.
Donald Grey Barnhouse
What Matters Most In Life!
24And those who are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
ILL>>> Love is not the work of the Holy Spirit, it is the Holy Spirit-working in us. God is love, he doesn’t merely have it or give it; he gives himself-to all men, to all sorts and conditions.
Joseph Fletcher
A house is a house is a house--until love comes through the door, that is. And love intuitively goes around sprinkling that special brand of angel dust that transforms a house into a very special home for very special people: your family.
Money, of course, can build a charming house, but only love can furnish it with a feeling of home.
Duty can pack an adequate sack lunch, but love may decide to tuck a little love note inside.
Money can provide a television set, but love controls it and cares enough to say no and take the guff that comes with it.
Obligation sends the children to bed on time, but love tucks the covers in around their necks and passes out kisses and hugs (even to teenagers!).
Obligation can cook a meal, but love embellishes the table with a potted ivy trailing around slender candles.
Duty writes many letters, but love tucks a joke or a picture or a fresh stick of gum inside.
Compulsion keeps a sparkling house. But love and prayer stand a better chance of producing a happy family.
Duty gets offended quickly if it isn’t appreciated. But love learns to laugh a lot and to work for the sheer joy of doing it.
Obligation can pour a glass of milk, but quite often love will add a little chocolate.
--James S. Hewett
What Matters Most In Life! Love
I. Love is what saved us
II. Love is how we serve
III. Love is the Spirit
