Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000006A
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00:33 When you think about the topic of love,
00:36 it is so broad, 00:41 it's like saying 00:42 I'm going to go fishing in the ocean. 00:46 And the question is which ocean 00:49 and how far and how deep and how wide? 00:53 And so 00:55 having done sermons on the topic of love before, 01:01 I was challenged this week as to what to talk about 01:06 and I decided to walk through 01:08 probably one of the most recommended scriptures 01:11 in the Bible 01:12 about the topic of love which is 1 Corinthians 13. 01:17 We are commended to read that chapter every day 01:23 to find out what love is 01:26 and I thought for a while 01:29 That, well, 1 Corinthians is just 1 Corinthians 13. 01:36 What is the big deal? 01:38 Until I decided to walk through it, 01:44 in an expository manner breaking it down 01:48 chapter-by-chapter, 01:49 I mean, verse-by-verse, point-by-point 01:52 and I discovered that 1 Corinthians 13 is 01:56 so deep a book 01:59 that if you go into it, 02:00 thinking that you know love what... 02:02 that you know what love is, 02:04 you come out of it realizing that 02:08 you don't know what love is. 02:10 And so today we're gonna walk together through that book, 02:13 but we're gonna begin 02:14 by turning in our Bibles to 1 John 4 02:18 and we are gonna read together verses 18-19. 02:22 And by the way this sermon is not for married people 02:25 or younger people or older people, 02:27 it's for all people, 02:30 because everyone of us 02:32 needs to learn the lesson of divine love. 02:36 But I'm blessed to be able to have divine love in my life 02:41 going on 34 years now, 02:43 the Lord has blessed me with a lovely wife 02:45 and I think I've been learning more and more about love, 02:49 and love and support and kindness 02:54 and being there for each other is something that teaches us. 02:58 You know, if you've been married more than 10 years, 03:00 or 20 years, or 30 years, 03:01 you know, that love takes on so many different facets 03:05 that is more than just a four letter word. 03:11 1 John 4:18-19. 03:16 "There is no fear in love, 03:18 but perfect love casts out fear, 03:24 because fear involves torment. 03:29 But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." 03:34 And together verse 19 let's read that. 03:37 "We love Him because He first loved us." 03:43 Bow your heads with me. 03:48 Loving Father, take this message now 03:51 and find those hearts 03:55 that need to understand 03:57 and be exposed to this crippling love, 04:00 this enabling love, this examining love, 04:03 this empowering love, 04:06 this love that pushes 04:07 through the stone of the human heart, 04:11 this love that swims from the depth of agony 04:14 to the surface, 04:16 where we find a breath of new air and fresh air. 04:20 Help us to discover this love that is abnormal, 04:24 yet so perfectly divine. 04:27 Speak to our hearts today 04:30 and as we walk back in time 04:35 to look at the Corinthians may we move forward in time 04:39 to look at ourselves, 04:42 to learn about this mysterious thing called love, 04:45 in Jesus' name we pray. 04:48 Amen. 04:51 1 Corinthians 13 will be the focus of our journey today. 04:59 The Apostle Paul was a man 05:04 who was undoubtedly called to preach the gospel. 05:09 He was called to teach the gospel. 05:12 And Paul the Apostle had the privilege of journeying 05:16 from city-to-city as a converted evangelist, 05:21 one who came to discover what love was 05:24 because he loved to hate, 05:29 before he loved to love. 05:32 Paul was highly equipped, highly educated. 05:37 He was the Pharisee of the Pharisees, 05:39 he's the Hebrew of the Hebrews. 05:41 He was a student of the law. 05:44 He understood the oracles better than many 05:49 in his understanding of these things 05:51 that were revealed to the Jews were, 05:54 his understanding was very, very, very deep. 05:58 But he held on to his intellect and he ignored his heart, 06:03 until God gave him the opportunity 06:06 to think about it all over again 06:08 from a completely different perspective. 06:11 God had to get Paul's attention, 06:14 change his attitude, 06:16 change his name, change his mission, 06:20 and how fitting it is 06:21 that the man that love to hate, 06:24 could now love to love. 06:27 And then through the Apostle Paul, 06:28 the Lord established two churches in Greece, 06:34 both in the City of Corinth. 06:36 Corinth was an amazing city, 06:38 a population of approximately 700,000 inhabitants. 06:43 And when you look at the history of that city, 06:45 the demographs of that city, 06:47 that city had two-thirds of its inhabitants, 06:50 two-thirds of the 700,000 that lived there were slaves. 06:56 It was a thriving city, a city of commerce. 07:00 It was also a degraded city, 07:02 a city of many idolatress religions. 07:06 And Paul the Apostle 07:07 on his second journey to Corinth, 07:09 by God's leading established two churches, 07:12 and you find that he had quite a bit of time 07:16 dealing with those Corinthian believers 07:18 who were very, very conditioned by the society 07:23 that surrounded them, a corrupt society, 07:25 a very affluent society. 07:27 He had to confront a church on a weekly basis 07:31 that had the master 07:33 and the slave worshiping together, 07:36 the affluent and the poor worshiping together, 07:40 the haves and have-nots worshiping together. 07:45 The well dressed and the not so well dressed 07:48 worshiping together. 07:51 He had to deal with 07:53 a congregation on a weekly basis 07:54 that was so multicultural 07:56 that when they got together on Sabbath, 07:59 sometimes the discussion was as remedial 08:02 as what language shall we speak in today. 08:06 Since we are so cosmopolitan, a port city, a commercial city, 08:11 multinational, multiethnic, multicultural, 08:15 multi-likes and dislikes. 08:18 And if you were in the church long enough, 08:19 you know that we all have different likes and dislikes. 08:22 Can I get an amen? 08:24 Some of us like our music hot with a rhythm, 08:28 some of us can't stand it, if it goes beyond the violin. 08:34 Some of us like long sermons, 08:36 'cause we ain't going anywhere anyhow, 08:39 and some of us time those sermons 08:40 to the critical atomic second. 08:45 Some of us believe in keeping the whole day holy, 08:47 others of us can't wait till it ends. 08:53 And so thus, the church that Paul had to deal with 08:56 is not so much different from the church of today, 09:00 the Corinthian believers. 09:01 After Paul established the church in Corinth, 09:03 he stayed there for 18 months 09:05 and taught this new congregation 09:07 about the word of God, but after he left, 09:10 Apollos came from Ephesus 09:13 and he now began to minister 09:16 to this Corinthian congregation. 09:21 Paul left the health of the Corinthian church 09:24 to the ministry of the Apollos, to Apollos 09:27 and that's why you read the text in 1 Corinthians 3:6 09:30 where Paul says, 09:31 "I planted, Apollos watered, 09:37 but God gave the increase." 09:41 Paul planted these two congregations. 09:44 Apollos came along and watered what God planted through Paul 09:49 but only God could give the increase. 09:53 This cross-cultural influence of the City of Corinth 09:58 began to challenge the church that was at Corinth. 10:03 When I began to study in the commentaries 10:05 and looking at some of the history 10:06 and the dates of the existence of these cities, 10:09 the core issue was not that the church was in Corinth 10:13 but the issue was that Corinth was in the church. 10:18 You see somebody once said to me, 10:20 you can take the boy out of the city, 10:23 but you can't take the city out of the boy. 10:26 You can take the man out of the club, 10:29 but you can't take the club out of the man. 10:32 You can take the idea of fashion 10:35 out of the woman, 10:36 but you can't take the woman out of fashion. 10:39 The Corinthian church was a church 10:40 that began to be influenced more by the city 10:46 than the city was influenced by the church. 10:48 You see the city had a greater impact on the church 10:51 than the church had on the city. 10:54 And so 1 Corinthians 13 was written 10:57 and it highlighted 10:59 the paraphernalia of Christianity. 11:03 A big word simply meaning the stuff. 11:05 Paraphernalia simply the word stuff. 11:08 So when we walk through 1 Corinthians 13, 11:11 we will begin to see the stuff of the Corinthian church 11:15 and the stuff of our church 11:19 because they had stuff, we got stuff, 11:24 they had challenges, we have challenges, 11:28 God lead them through their challenges, 11:31 God could lead us through our challenges. 11:36 So let's begin by walking through 11:39 this paraphernalia distracted church 11:42 called the church at Corinth. 11:44 And by the way if you're a Bible student 11:46 and you want to find more clarification, 11:49 you'll also discover that 11:54 2 Corinthians was written 11:56 to answer many of the distractions 11:59 that were introduced in 1 Corinthians. 12:02 When Paul left and continued his journeys from city-to-city, 12:07 he received constant letters from those 12:09 that were part of the officers at the church at Corinth. 12:12 And they would write letters and Paul would write back 12:15 and give answers to those challenges 12:17 that were there in Corinth. 12:19 It was to the Corinthian church 12:21 where people took that text out of context to be absent 12:24 from the body is to be present with the Lord. 12:27 Paul meant, he was absent 12:29 from the Corinthian body of believers, 12:32 but wherever he went, he was present with the Lord. 12:35 He wasn't talking about dying and going to heaven. 12:38 Wherever he went, his heart was with the Corinthian believers, 12:42 but physically he was absent from the body, 12:46 the body of believers, not the physical body. 12:51 But 1 Corinthians 13 begins and there are, 12:55 before we get to the core of it, 12:56 there are three major distractions 12:58 that are highlighted by the Apostle Paul 13:01 about the Corinthian church. 13:03 He begins in verse 1 of chapter 13 13:06 and he reads as follows, 13:07 "Though I speak with the tongues of men 13:09 and of angels, 13:13 but have not love, 13:14 I have become sounding brass 13:17 or a clanging cymbal." 13:20 I don't know how many of you've ever seen Charlie Brown. 13:23 Ever seen Charlie Brown? 13:26 Whenever the adults talked it will be... 13:31 Remember that? 13:32 The adults never made any sounds, only the kids, 13:35 but it was like... 13:37 and depending on the gender of the adult, that was... 13:43 What Paul was in essence saying 13:44 before I get to the core of this is 13:47 when you don't love somebody 13:49 and you talk to them all they hear is... 13:55 They don't care what you're saying, 13:58 a sounding brass and the clinging cymbal. 14:01 When they know you don't love them, 14:05 you could talk all day long, all they hear are, 14:09 I don't want to keep doing that. 14:11 All they hear are sounds that don't meet their need. 14:17 But there's a deeper issue here, 14:19 I think one of barriers of worship in a multiethnic 14:22 and a multicultural center of worship was, 14:24 what language should we speak. 14:26 In other words, 14:28 what race are we going to appeal to 14:30 when we get together on this day of worship? 14:36 And I remember reading a pew research 14:38 looking at a research, 14:39 a number of companies do research 14:41 but it was pointed out in this particular research 14:44 and I'll share it with you. 14:46 Many of you have seen LifeWay Christian book stores, 14:49 they're very prevalent in larger cities, 14:51 we don't have any here. 14:53 I think there's a small one on the way to Carbondale 14:55 but down to Nashville, Tennessee, 14:57 lifewayresearch.com, 14:59 they did a survey of Sunday morning worshippers in 2015 15:04 and here's what the results were. 15:07 And the article was entitled, 15:09 Sunday morning in America is still segregated 15:13 and that's okay with its worshippers. 15:16 67% of worshippers surveyed agree 15:20 that our church is doing enough to be ethnically diversed. 15:23 But they cited Nashville, Tennessee, they said, 15:25 ''Sunday morning remains one of the most segregated hours 15:30 in American life 15:32 with more than 8 in 10 congregations 15:34 made up of one predominant racial group." 15:38 That's why I like our church. 15:42 Amen? 15:46 We have come in this little small town 15:49 and this is really an amazing thing 15:51 because in Thompsonville. 15:53 Weren't too many years ago 15:55 that wasn't too far from here was 15:58 one of the centers for the Ku Klux Klan. 16:01 In little Thompsonville, I remember, 16:03 number of years ago going to Carbondale, 16:04 inviting people to come to Thompsonville, 16:07 they say, where? 16:09 When I say inviting folk, 16:10 inviting African-Americans in Carbondale 16:13 to come to Thompsonville, they said, where, 16:14 I ain't going to Thompsonville, not me. 16:17 I said why, I live in Thompsonville. 16:18 They say, that's you, I ain't going to Thompsonville. 16:21 Because they remember that yesterday, 16:24 but Thompsonville is different today, 16:26 come on somebody help me out. 16:28 I remember moving down to Thompsonville and you know, 16:30 it was while before people in the post office 16:32 got used to see my wife and I but now, 16:34 I go to Walmart, I know who you are, 16:36 I know what you... 16:38 I watch you, I listen to you, I've seen you before. 16:41 And unlike the common perception, 16:44 I have come to believe 16:46 that to have a friend 16:49 one must also first show himself to be friendly. 16:54 And sometimes, we put up walls and we see walls, 16:59 but a lot of times, we got walls 17:01 and other folk got walls, 17:04 and that was the issue with the early Corinthian church, 17:06 it was a cosmopolitan center of worship. 17:09 All kinds of nationalities, but when you read their story, 17:13 race was an issue only among those 17:16 that preferred religion above Jesus. 17:22 Some examples, look at John 4:9. 17:25 Jesus dealt with His, most of His ministry, 17:28 He tried to read it out in the society of His day. 17:32 Remember the woman at the well, 17:34 she said to Jesus in John 4:9 she said, 17:39 "For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." 17:45 We don't have to talk to you? 17:47 When she met Jesus at the well, 17:48 she recognized and she knew who He was, by the way 17:51 He presented Himself a Jew, 17:53 He had the attire of a Jew, she was a Samaritan, she said, 17:56 "You're asking me for water, 17:58 don't you know that the Jews have no dealings 18:00 with the Samaritans?" 18:04 But Jesus pressed the issue and the issue was, 18:07 no matter what your race, we all need Jesus. 18:11 That was also the issue in Acts 10. 18:15 When the Lord gave Peter a vision 18:18 and Peter had to get this vision of unclean animals, 18:22 so the Lord could send him to a race of people 18:25 that in his prior mind, 18:28 he would never associate with, 18:30 so the Lord sent down the sheet of all these unclean animals, 18:33 things that Peter would never eat at all, 18:36 never think of eating, 18:39 never even consider eating. 18:41 And the Lord said to him, rise up and eat and Peter said, 18:44 Lord, I've never eaten anything common, 18:47 anything unclean, 18:49 until God sent him to the house of Cornelius 18:52 and strangely enough, 18:55 when Peter was determined to go to the house of Cornelius, 19:00 they were still so stumbling over prejudice 19:03 that they sent a contingency of Jews with Peter to see 19:06 if he was just making up the story 19:09 or if he wanted to visit somebody of a different race 19:11 because he had preference. 19:13 So they sent some people with him to check out his story. 19:15 God sent him to Cornelius's house 19:17 so a Jewish contingency went with him to see. 19:20 Now does Paul, does Peter have a desire 19:23 to mix with other races or did God really send him? 19:26 That's why you find Acts 10:28, notice this. 19:32 "Then he said to them..." 19:34 That is to the contingency that went with him, 19:38 "You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man 19:42 to keep company with or go to another nation. 19:46 But God has shown me 19:49 that I should not call any man..." 19:51 What church? 19:52 "Common or unclean." 19:55 It's amazing. 19:57 In this month of black history, 19:59 we are reminded of the struggles of all nations 20:02 and the reality of it is when one of us go up, 20:05 everyone of us goes up, 20:07 there is no at the foot of the cross, 20:11 there are not different heights in the steps, 20:14 because at the foot of the cross 20:16 everyone of us is on the same level, 20:19 when we stand before Jesus. 20:23 The same issue was true about Paul and Barnabas. 20:25 When they went to preach to Antioch, 20:27 they went to preach in Antioch, 20:29 and they preached a powerful sermon 20:32 and you find that sermon in Acts 13. 20:35 The sermon was so good 20:36 that people in the community heard about it, 20:39 and look at Acts 13:44-45. 20:49 The response, people heard about this sermon 20:53 and the Bible said, and before this the verses 20:57 before this the gentiles sought them 21:00 to see if they could hear this message again 21:02 the next Sabbath, 21:04 and obviously the invitation was extended 21:06 because the Bible says in verse 44, 21:08 "On the next Sabbath almost..." 21:10 How much of the city? 21:11 "The whole city came together to hear the word of God. 21:15 But when the Jews saw the multitudes, 21:19 they were filled with envy, 21:21 and contradicting and blaspheming, 21:25 they opposed to the things spoken by Paul." 21:28 And they got, they went to the next level, 21:30 they stirred up the chief men of the city, 21:32 the chief leaders of the city 21:34 and they expelled Paul and Barnabas 21:36 out of the city, why? 21:38 Because the sermon included people 21:42 and the people that came to the synagogue 21:44 to hear the message 21:45 were other than those of Jewish origin. 21:49 That's why the Day of Pentecost was so necessary. 21:51 You see the Day of Pentecost was not just about 21:54 getting the gospel out, 21:56 it was about breaking down racial and ethnic 21:58 and divisive barriers. 22:00 Amen. 22:01 That's why when you find Acts 2:1 22:04 they got together and prayed about their differences. 22:07 They didn't, they recognized that to ignore our differences 22:10 would immobilize or would incapacitate us 22:14 to go forward to be effective in the gospel. 22:16 So they got together and prayed and notice Acts 2:1, 22:19 let's read this together. 22:21 "When the Day of Pentecost had" what? 22:23 "Had fully come, they were all with" what? 22:27 "One accord in one place." 22:32 There were no many places, 22:33 and when read the resume of the men, there were Jews, 22:37 there were devout men 22:39 out of every nation under habit. 22:41 From Cappadocia, and Pontus, and Egypt, and Pamphylia 22:45 and there were Greeks and Arabs and Asians 22:49 altogether in the same city on the Day of Pentecost 22:54 when the Spirit of God was poured out. 22:56 The Lord wanted them to be united, 22:59 so that the church can go forward united. 23:01 And one of the things that church needs to learn today 23:03 in the United Nations 23:07 is that we are to be a people 23:09 that are united in every particular, 23:12 because from one blood all nations have come, 23:14 into one blood all nations have to go 23:18 to get into the New Jerusalem. 23:20 There are not many bloods, Acts 2:5. 23:26 "And there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, 23:28 devout men from how many nations? 23:31 Every nation under heaven." 23:34 And so the point is to reach every nation, 23:37 we must love people of every nation. 23:42 Can I get an amen? 23:45 God did not establish a local church 23:48 without establishing a worldwide church. 23:51 A few Sabbaths ago we saw the statistics, 23:54 we saw that out of the 276 countries, 23:57 the Adventist church has admittedly a presence 24:00 in more than 217 countries, 24:02 that's the ones that we can't disclose. 24:06 But the gospel is to every nation, 24:08 every kindred, every tongue, every people. 24:10 The everlasting gospel is to be preached to every nation, 24:14 every kindred, every tongue, 24:16 every people, every nationality. 24:20 And so the antidote 24:21 to this multi-ethnicity was love eradicates division. 24:27 Love breaks down those things that divide us. 24:31 What do you say? 24:33 1 Corinthians 13:2. 24:35 "And though I have the" what? 24:39 "Gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries 24:43 and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, 24:47 so that I could" what? 24:49 "Remove mountains, but have not love, I am" what? 24:52 "I am nothing." 24:54 You know when I read that last night, when I read that, 24:58 it hit me right between the eyes 25:00 because we do have the gift of prophecy. 25:02 Did you get that? 25:04 We do have the gift of prophecy. 25:06 God has gifted this church with the gift of prophecy 25:10 but let's not miss it. 25:13 Because what could be more tempting 25:14 than to claim superior knowledge, 25:17 deeper insight and enhanced faith 25:21 but with no love. 25:23 What could be more tempting than to say, 25:25 we know how it's gonna end, when it's gonna unfold, 25:29 the prophetic timeline, 25:30 what could be more arrogant at times 25:33 and more egotistical than to think 25:36 that an intellectually developed cerebrum 25:39 can move mountains. 25:44 Intellect does not move mountains, 25:46 love move mountains. 25:50 And so the Corinthians, 25:51 this church was filled with affluent, 25:54 highly educated business men and women. 25:59 A mega metropolis, a center of commerce, 26:03 they made money, they wore money, 26:07 they came to church in some gold and silver chariots. 26:12 They came, they looked the part, 26:15 they were intellectual 26:18 and they were those that were highly learned. 26:21 Among those who they owned, the slaves, 26:25 and they boast of their superior intellect, 26:28 gift a prophecy, understanding all mysteries, 26:30 all knowledge, all faith, 26:33 but they could not move their mountains. 26:35 And so Paul in order to help to move their mountains, 26:37 Paul had to say to them, 26:39 "Don't put your eggs in the basket of intellect 26:43 and knowledge and all faith 26:46 unless you put love ahead of all of that. 26:51 Sometimes we get distracted, 26:53 we meet brothers and sisters of other denominations 26:55 and every now and then we get a glimpse of superiority 26:59 that kind of comes out of our own ears. 27:09 Paul is saying, you might be Adventist, 27:12 I might be Baptist and Pentecostal, 27:14 you might be Presbyterian, I might be Anglican, 27:17 you might be of the church of God, 27:19 I might be of the worldwide church of God. 27:23 But if we don't all begin on the basis of love for God, 27:27 and love for one another, 27:29 our precepts can do nothing for us, 27:32 it profits me nothing. 27:36 That is not to exclude the truth of God's word, 27:39 but you got to begin on the foundation 27:41 where every one of us, 27:45 and the more I read through 1 Corinthians, 27:46 I had to really slow down. 27:49 When I begin to break this, 27:51 when I begin to go through this box of Ritz crackers 27:54 and as I bit one segment or another of the chapter, 27:59 I then realize why Ellen White said 28:03 we are to read this chapter every day. 28:06 I thought I read this chapter... 28:08 I mean how many... 28:10 Okay, surveys don't really make any sense 28:11 but how many of you ever read 1 Corinthians 13? 28:16 It's a Valentine's Day chapter, 28:18 and sometimes it's read at weddings. 28:21 But it's ignored after that. 28:24 It's a powerful book. 28:26 Intellect does not move mountains, 28:27 love moves mountains. 28:30 And the third distraction was self appreciation. 28:33 Look at verse 3, look at verse 3. 28:36 It removed this misconception 28:38 that exists in the minds of many. 28:40 He says, "And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, 28:45 and though I give my body to be burned, 28:49 but have not love," 28:51 together what happens? 28:53 "It profits me nothing." 28:56 There has been for a long time 28:59 this misconception 29:02 that to completely sacrifice one's goods 29:05 and then go so far as sacrificing one's body 29:08 and martyrdom was the highest price 29:12 that anyone can pay. 29:14 You know, the Bible says, 29:15 "Greater love has no man than this 29:17 than he lays down his life for his friend." 29:20 And so people thought, if I jump in front of the... 29:23 if I take the bullet for him or take the sword for him, 29:26 like, Peter said, Peter before he was converted was 29:29 willing to die for Jesus, 29:31 before he was converted he said, 29:33 "Lord, I'll go all the way with you." 29:37 Whatever you want me to do, I'll do it. 29:39 So to give your life doesn't mean you're converted. 29:46 In Acts of the Apostles, page 318, 29:48 oh, what a nugget of truth in Revelation this was. 29:52 Speaking of the martyr, 29:55 servant of the Lord says, in his zeal, 29:59 he might even meet a martyr's death, 30:01 though I give my body to be burned, 30:03 yet if it is not actuated by love, 30:06 he would be regarded by God, 30:09 listen, as a deluded enthusiast or an ambitious hypocrite. 30:15 I just want to die. 30:18 Brethren, what Paul is saying is you want to die for me, 30:23 but Jesus is saying, I want you to live for Me. 30:25 Amen, somebody? Amen. 30:28 It's easy to die 30:29 and put our half hearted miserable Christianity 30:31 to an end 30:33 thinking that my sacrifice has guaranteed my salvation. 30:37 It is the sacrifice of Jesus that guarantees our salvation, 30:40 not ours. 30:44 So the antidote to self appreciation 30:47 is disinterested benevolence. 30:50 People are not moved by what we do, 30:55 but by why we do it. 30:58 Did you hear that? 30:59 Not by what we do, but by why do it. 31:02 But now it gets even deeper. Are you ready? 31:04 Put on your snorkeling, sorry, put on your tanks. 31:09 We're about to dive, we're gonna go in. 31:13 We're gonna in all the way and see if we could swim 31:17 through what Paul has to reveal in these next three verses. 31:21 Verse 4. 31:24 We're gonna read verse 4 to 7 together. 31:26 Can we do that? 31:27 It may be on the screen, if you have your Bibles, 31:30 I'm reading form the New King James Version. 31:31 Let's put some strength into this. 31:34 Let's read this together this morning. 31:36 Here we go. 31:37 "Love suffers long and is kind, love does not envy, 31:43 does not parade itself, is not puffed up, 31:48 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, 31:53 is not provoked, thinks no evil, 31:57 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, 32:03 bears all things," what else? 32:06 "believes all things, hopes all things, 32:09 endures all things." 32:13 I read that verse and I read those verses 32:16 and I felt, "Wow, that's really good." 32:20 And then the Lord pulled my ear and said, 32:22 now let's go and see what that means. 32:26 And I applaud the meticulous work 32:31 done by the Bible commentators on these passages. 32:36 These group of theologians that took these passages 32:40 and dug into its historical relevance 32:44 and its spiritual application to make it so clear 32:51 that when I started reading through this, 32:55 I couldn't run past it and I said to myself, 32:58 "This is too much sermon material. 33:05 So let's begin with love suffers long. 33:08 The SDA Bible Commentary volume 6, page 70, 33:13 love suffers long. 33:15 Here's what it says. 33:16 Love bears long 33:18 with the false failings and weaknesses of others. 33:24 Love bears long 33:25 with the false failings and weaknesses of others. 33:28 You see, until we get to the place 33:29 where we can be along with the fact 33:31 that somebody is faulty, 33:33 somebody is failing and somebody is weak 33:35 until we get to the place where we recognize 33:37 that we are the ones that are faulty, 33:39 we are the ones that also fail 33:41 and we are also the ones that are weak 33:43 until we understand that we are in the same category, 33:46 we will never be patient with somebody else 33:48 who is faulty, failing and weak. 33:51 Too often our mirrors are clear. 33:54 And we think everybody else's mirror is cloudy. 33:57 It didn't stop there. 33:59 It also recognizes that all human beings are fallible 34:04 and that therefore this is huge. 34:07 Due allowance must be made. 34:11 If I've to repeat this, I'll do it. 34:12 Due allowance must be made. 34:14 In other words, we've got to stand back 34:17 and it continues 34:19 for the manifestation of the outworking of errors 34:23 that results from man's inherently sinful nature. 34:28 Now let me break that down. 34:29 We got to stand back 34:31 and let God work out the stuff in his life 34:35 as God is working out the stuff in your life. 34:40 We've got to make allowance. 34:46 So when a brother falls, 34:48 and you turn on your search light 34:50 and say, "See there he fell again." 34:54 God is saying, you better turn that search light on yourself, 34:59 'cause you may see him fall, and he may not see you fall 35:03 but God is saying whether we know it or not 35:06 and that's why he said to Peter, when Peter asked 35:08 this ridiculous unconverted question. 35:12 You see, it was customary 35:13 that a person could be forgiven three times. 35:15 You see, let me illustrate, if I'm sitting next to you, 35:21 I'm sitting next to Garlin, I'm sitting next to Garlin 35:23 but I want to go out of the pew that way. 35:25 So I get up and I walk past Garlin 35:27 and I step on his corn. 35:31 I don't know if he have any, 35:33 but he'll look up and say "ouch" 35:35 and he'll be polite and I'll say, "sorry," 35:40 he'll say, "that's okay, 35:42 I know, you didn't intend to do that." 35:44 But I'm coming back and it's already aching, 35:48 and I step on that same aching pulsating corn. 35:52 And he says, it's okay with a little different look. 35:56 Kind of like, ''It's okay, 35:59 it's all right, it's okay.'' 36:03 Sermons done, I want to leave before Garlin. 36:07 So I'm getting up and I want to go out the same way 36:09 that I went out a moment ago, and I'm hurrying and I... 36:12 this time heal meets corn for the third time 36:16 in the same service. 36:19 And Garlin says you need to watch up. 36:22 "Sorry, I understand." 36:26 That's only three times. 36:30 And he's thinking why can he stay off of my corns. 36:35 Does he have a problem? 36:38 I mean can't he see? 36:39 Does he not know he did that twice? 36:42 Can he actually get up with a more careful step? 36:44 Can he look down and find at least my feet first? 36:49 Am I telling the truth? 36:51 So Peter thought, okay, Lord. 36:55 I know it's okay to forgive people three times, 36:58 but I'm gonna double that and add one. 37:01 Shall we forgive him seven times? 37:04 And the Lord says, "Peter, here, you didn't get a digit." 37:09 See this same man that want to limit his forgiveness 37:11 himself needed to be forgiven. 37:16 Because he had messed up as bad, 37:18 if he was going to mess up yet. 37:20 And I'm so glad that when Peter's turn came, 37:22 he was glad that Jesus said what he did. 37:26 He said Peter, "No, no, no. 37:28 Not seven times, but 70 times seven." 37:34 In other words, if I stepped on Garlin's toe 490 times. 37:41 Now I promise not to do that. 37:43 Every time he'll say, I forgive you my brother, 37:49 without saying anything after that. 37:51 How many of us are there yet? 37:53 Don't raise your hand and lie. 37:58 Love suffers long. 38:01 But that's not it, and is kind, and is kind. 38:07 These men and women or whoever the committee was 38:10 that put this together 38:12 had to have been under the unction of divine flooding, 38:16 not just inspiration and is kind, listen to this. 38:20 "One who is actuated by the Spirit of God, 38:24 one who is ever seeking to reveal by word and deed, 38:30 an understanding sympathy for, and appreciation of 38:34 the struggles and difficulties of others." 38:40 Let me break that down. 38:44 Some folks struggle more than others. 38:48 Do you know that'd be true? 38:49 Some folks struggle more than others. 38:53 And some of us don't have a long struggle rope. 38:58 We got these little short struggle ropes. 39:01 Don't know where you bought them, 39:03 but some of us got a short struggle rope for others, 39:05 but want others to have a long struggle rope for us. 39:10 And we don't feel sympathetic because... 39:15 I'll confess sometimes you hear stuff about folk 39:19 and you know you say again, 39:22 again no, serious again. 39:27 How many times... 39:32 is so and so going to do the same thing? 39:36 Haven't they learned their lesson yet? 39:42 And our voices don't have any sympathy, no sympathy... 39:48 because it's her struggle or his struggle. 39:54 It ain't my struggle. 39:57 So when Paul says and is kind, he says, 40:00 look for the brother or sister who is struggling 40:03 and all you need to do is be kind. 40:07 Amen. 40:08 Just be kind. 40:12 Kind, kind is not just a voice, 40:16 it's a look, it's an attitude. 40:20 But some people are so righteous already, 40:22 some people are just, 40:24 they want to go to heaven 'cause they're already perfect. 40:27 And everybody else they can't tolerate, 40:30 so they isolate themselves. 40:31 I call it righteousness by isolation. 40:41 Can't even be kind 40:43 because the only thing that matters 40:44 is what happened to them, 40:46 not what happened to you and is kind. 40:50 But he doesn't stop, are you ready? 40:53 We're going down to 500 feet now. 40:56 Get those tanks, make sure they're full 40:59 because we're serious. 41:00 "Love does not envy, love does not envy." 41:06 Commentators say to exhibit wrong or unpleasant feelings 41:10 toward others 41:13 on account of advantages possessed by them. 41:18 Now let me break that down. 41:20 Some folk got more money than you do. 41:23 Come on say amen. 41:25 They could afford stuff you can't afford. 41:27 They could live how you can't live. 41:29 They could buy what you can't buy. 41:33 But when I read through the Bible commentary further, 41:36 it says envy or jealousy is the most cruel 41:40 and contemptible of all human failings 41:43 because envy was the seed 41:45 that eventually lead to Lucifer's fall. 41:49 He became envious of the position that Jesus had 41:53 envious of the power that God had, 41:55 he saw the power that God had. 41:58 He saw the glory 41:59 that the angels exhibited toward Jesus. 42:02 He didn't like that, he wanted what he could not 42:05 and did not have a right to access 42:08 and sometimes we meet folk, 42:10 I remember a number of years ago 42:11 when I was in Antioch, California. 42:15 And we had a gentleman there 42:17 that he financed so many projects 42:20 in our church, 42:21 he was a Christian man who didn't mind 42:25 putting his money where his heart was. 42:28 He loved evangelism, 42:30 if you do evangelism you can count on him. 42:35 For he have deep pockets, he owned a medical park, 42:38 he owned hospitals, he owned houses, 42:40 he had pockets. 42:42 I have two in the front, two in the back. 42:44 He had four in the front, four in the back 42:47 and he was a kind man, 42:50 but he would support the gospel anything, 42:52 but he could afford a car, he could afford a nice car. 42:56 So one Sabbath he came to church with his nice car, 43:00 another brother saw that car and said, 43:02 "That's a sin driving a car like that." 43:08 But this brother, just a few Sabbaths earlier 43:12 had given me a video to play for vespers 43:17 and when we put the video in to queue it up, 43:19 it had pornography on it. 43:23 He's looking at this brother's car, 43:25 not looking at the stuff he's watching. 43:28 See what I'm saying? 43:30 He's so busy saying this guy should not drive that car 43:34 because he can't afford it. 43:36 God has no problem with wealthy people. 43:39 Come on somebody. 43:41 Look at the Bible, Solomon, Abraham, Job, 43:45 these folks had deep pockets. 43:47 Nicodemus was so wealthy, 43:49 he financed the growth of the New Testament church. 43:54 That's why God had to deal with Ananias and Sapphira. 43:57 He blessed them materialistically 43:59 because they said they're gonna give 44:01 what God blessed them with to the church 44:03 but they lied, they became envious. 44:07 And they kept it and they lost their lives in church. 44:11 Envy should never come into the hearts of those. 44:16 If somebody has something that God has blessed them with, 44:19 we ought to say praise God for them. 44:24 But sometimes God doesn't bless some of us 44:25 because we're just not faithful. 44:27 And also, I got to put this in. 44:29 Sometimes God knows that some of us need to stay poor 44:33 to make it to heaven. 44:37 You didn't get that. 44:39 Let me make it clear. 44:40 Some of you, if you got wealthy, 44:41 you'd leave the church 44:43 because you think that only poor people need to be in, 44:46 and there's some folks they think that. 44:48 And if you're poor and humble 44:50 then you are more righteous than those that are wealthy. 44:53 No, not that. 45:00 Proverbs 14:30. 45:02 Look at it. 45:04 "A sound a heart," a sound heart is what? 45:09 "Life to the body, but envy is rottenness to the bones." 45:16 Now I try to figure out what that meant 45:18 and I came up with this and I think I'm a little close. 45:21 If a spiritual autopsy were performed on a person 45:25 who is envious, 45:26 everywhere you find bone, you would find envy. 45:31 Did you hear that? 45:32 Rottenness is to the bone. 45:34 If the Lord allowed us to go through a spiritual autopsy 45:37 and we suffered from envy 45:39 what is being said here is everywhere that you find bone, 45:42 in that person's body, you'll find envy. 45:44 Envy is rottenness to the bone. 45:48 Because envy is the precursor to covetousness. 45:53 That's why Lucifer fell. 45:55 He wanted what God did not give to him 45:59 and when we are looking at others who God blesses. 46:02 If God has given you a blessing 46:05 and if all He gives you is good health, 46:07 praise God for that. 46:10 I listened to the radio a few years ago 46:12 and what helped me get over my abandonment 46:14 because my mom left me at 46:16 three months old at a babysit and walked away, 46:17 my dad's name was not even on my birth certificate. 46:21 I remember listening to a lady a number of years ago, 46:25 it was not... I think it was Dr. Laura. 46:26 That's right, that was her name, Dr. Laura. 46:29 Remember, anybody remember, Dr. Laura? 46:31 Dr. Laura Schlessinger. 46:33 Listening to the radio 46:34 and a young girl called in one day 46:36 and she said, "I am upset with my mom and dad." 46:40 And Dr. Laura said "Why?" 46:43 Because they don't give me anything, 46:45 every time I ask them something, 46:47 they don't give me anything. 46:48 They don't give me anything. 46:50 And Dr. Laura said, kind of like Judge Judy, 46:53 "Young lady, shut up." 46:56 You know, some people could do that. 46:59 And the radio went silent, 47:01 she said, "What did your parents give you?" 47:03 She said nothing. 47:04 She said, "Young lady I'm not having it today, 47:07 what did your parents give you?" 47:10 What do you mean, Dr. Laura? 47:11 Did they give you life? Yes. 47:14 Then go make something of it 47:16 and stop complaining about what you don't have. 47:20 And at 13, I heard that. 47:21 I said, you know, what? 47:23 I don't know what my dad looks like. 47:25 Don't know where my mama is, 47:27 but I'm gonna take this life and make something out of it. 47:31 Nobody came to school to applaud me at plays. 47:35 Nobody said, "Is your homework done?" 47:39 When I did well, nobody knew, when I did bad, everybody knew. 47:45 I got more attention for being absent 42 days from school 47:48 than I got for being present the rest. 47:53 Sometimes you got to get out of your bag of... 47:58 somebody done me wrong nothing works out for me 48:01 and recognize if you got life, you've got everything. 48:06 Paul keeps going. 48:08 Love does not parade itself, this is powerful. 48:11 Love does not parade itself, and the commentator said, 48:15 "Love does not sound its own praises, 48:17 it is humble and does not try to exalt itself." 48:25 For those of us who are in the visible realm, 48:28 you know, we travel, we go places. 48:31 We have learned to pray for humility 48:34 to follow us wherever we go. 48:37 Am I right, Jill, Greg? 48:39 I don't want to call out too many names, 48:41 but if you do what God has called us to do 48:43 and you've been gifted to be able 48:44 to be in many different circles, 48:46 you got to always leave your room, 48:48 your hotel room with a tiny head. 48:52 Ask the Lord to shrink your head, 48:55 so that by the time the day ends 48:57 it's at normal size. 48:59 No, really. 49:00 No, I'm serious. 49:02 That's why I was so glad one of our pastors. 49:04 I think was Philip Simone gave me a book called, 49:06 "How to accept compliments without becoming big headed". 49:12 When you're at a place where you've got a gift 49:14 and you know you got a gift 49:15 and you say, "Hey did you like my gift? 49:17 You like the way I did that? Was that good? 49:19 You like that? Was that song bad or not?" 49:23 Was that a sermon or was that a sermon? 49:26 Come on, you got to give God all the glory. 49:29 Somebody say amen. 49:30 God must always get the glory. 49:32 Don't sound your own praises, 49:34 the Bible says, "Let another man praise you." 49:38 And when they do that here's what I've learned. 49:42 And I was so glad that a pastor of experience taught me this. 49:45 He says, "When somebody compliments you say this, 49:49 if God could use me to be a blessing to you, praise God." 49:56 Reflect it back. 50:01 And the reason is Proverbs 29:23. 50:05 Look at that verse, 50:07 "A man's pride will bring him low, 50:12 a man's pride will bring him low 50:15 but the humble in spirit will retain honor." 50:20 If you're humble, God can trust you, 50:23 but if you are filled with pride, 50:25 just a matter of time 50:26 before you're lower than you have ever been. 50:29 God does not give us anything to destroy us, 50:32 but what God gives to us reveals who we are. 50:37 Love does not parade itself, 50:40 but Paul didn't stop, is not puffed up. 50:43 And by the way, I'm not going to do 50:44 the whole chapter this way, just in case you thought 50:46 we're gonna be here till 2 o'clock. 50:50 Is not puffed up, 50:51 that's the next part of the verse 50:53 between four and seven, is not puffed up. 50:54 Commentator said, Love does not inflate a person with vanity. 50:59 It does not produce a condition of conceit and self exaltation. 51:04 Love does not indulge in mental self esteem 51:08 laying claims to having the best gifts. 51:13 Remember the Pharisee, 51:14 thank God, I'm not like other men. 51:19 Nobody can be like me. 51:23 Self exaltation, those two go together, 51:26 does not parade itself, is not puffed up. 51:29 In short, be humble. 51:31 Say that with me, we what? 51:33 Be humble. 51:35 Don't say, "I'm humble." 51:37 Can't you tell? 51:41 Be humble. 51:43 Let your life speak louder than your lips. 51:47 We got to watch how we say stuff 51:50 because sometimes what we say in our mind 51:53 is more important than how the person hears it. 51:57 Sometimes you say, look, I've been trying 51:59 to say this for a long time 52:01 and I know you don't like it, but I'm just gonna say it. 52:03 You got to keep this in mind, I heard somebody say, 52:05 "Whatever you say, make sure it's sweet and it's soft 52:09 because one day you gotta eat it. 52:12 Right? 52:14 We're gonna chew it and swallow it. 52:16 Make sure what you say is sweet and soft 52:19 because one day you're going to eat it. 52:22 Some folk are more concerned 52:24 about what they got to tell you. 52:27 As a kid say, I got to tell you. 52:31 Then what? 52:32 And when that comes back, 52:34 some of you need to stand in a little room, 52:35 a room that's one foot deep. 52:37 So you could hear yourself talking to yourself. 52:41 Consider what you say before you say it 52:44 because when you beat that pillow on a windy day, 52:48 you are not gonna get the feathers back. 52:54 Because I've discovered in the study of this message, 52:56 love is deeper and more powerful 52:59 than you can ever imagine it to be. 53:03 But don't ever come away, 53:05 don't ever come away with the idea 53:08 that people owe you more than you owe others. 53:14 I want to shake, I'm shaking my finger at all of us. 53:17 It's going back and forth. 53:19 Don't ever think that people owe you more than you owe them. 53:25 That's what Paul was in essence, 53:27 if you could summarizes his message, 53:28 what makes you think you're so different than everybody else? 53:32 So we're going to start next week 53:35 in the area of "Think no Evil". 53:36 This stuff gets deeper, you ready? 53:39 You're gonna be here at next Sabbath, Rosemary, 53:42 because you can't miss part two. 53:45 But God is going to speak to all of us. 53:46 He spoke to my heart and I say, thank You, Lord, 53:49 and my wife last night, she stayed with me as I was... 53:52 she said, "Wow," she said "Wow." 53:55 Now I know why Ellen White said we got to read about love, 53:58 this chapter. 53:59 Don't just read about it, but be like Jill, 54:01 dig and get those Greek words and those Hebrew words 54:04 and find out how it applies to your life. 54:07 1 Corinthians 13, don't get in that chapter, 54:12 if you don't want to know about the real meaning of love. 54:17 Let's stand together and sing this hymn together. 54:19 What is the hymn anyway? 54:25 My Jesus. 54:32 My Jesus, I love Thee 54:38 I know Thou art mine 54:44 For Thee 54:46 All the follies of sin 54:52 I resign 54:56 My gracious Redeemer 55:02 My Savior art Thou 55:09 If ever I loved Thee 55:15 My Jesus, 'tis now 55:20 Here's the answer. 55:21 I love Thee because Thou 55:28 Hast first loved me 55:34 And purchased my pardon 55:40 On Calvary's tree 55:46 I love Thee for wearing 55:53 The thorns on Thy brow. 55:58 Together. 55:59 If ever I loved Thee 56:06 My Jesus, 'tis now 56:12 Now before I close it with prayer, 56:13 I want to ask the question. 56:14 Is there someone here today that wants to say to the Lord, 56:18 Father, I want You 56:22 to give me a revelation 56:26 of what love really is all about. 56:31 I want You to take me to that place 56:32 where I can understand and examine my own heart 56:34 is my love what God wants it to be. 56:37 Do I love people with partiality 56:40 or do I love them impartially? 56:42 Am I a person that boast myself? 56:45 Am I self evaluating myself to be more 56:49 than I think others are? 56:51 Where am I in my love, for my brothers and my sisters? 56:54 For you know, Bible says, by this shall all men know 56:58 that you are My disciples by your love for one another. 57:03 All of our teachings are, 57:04 our fundamentals are vitally important. 57:07 God has given us a powerful gift of many truths, 57:12 but none of them excludes the love of God. 57:15 So if there's somebody here today 57:16 as I close with prayer that wants to say, 57:18 Father in heaven, I want to know that love. 57:20 I want that love to be in my heart, 57:23 to be in my life, to be a revelation to me. 57:26 Let's place our hands 57:27 in the presence where God can see it. 57:29 Father in heaven, you know that Your people need love, 57:33 we all need love, 57:34 we don't need love for food or love for nice clothes, 57:37 we don't want to minimize love. 57:40 We are somewhere between phileo and agape love. 57:44 But Father, help us every day to grow and be more like You 57:47 that love can be transformed and it can grow 57:50 and it can find places in our hearts and in our lives 57:53 that will glorify You and not glorify us. 58:00 Help us to examine where we stand 58:03 in love for each other, 58:04 our spouses, our children, 58:09 our family members, our church family members. 58:13 Do we envy? 58:15 Are we a jealous people? 58:18 Take us to the foot of the cross. 58:20 And recognize that in the life of Jesus, 58:22 your selflessness is a lesson for us to follow. 58:29 If we will one day be in Your kingdom, 58:32 we have to become like You. 58:35 Make that a reality Father 58:36 by coming into one hearts and into our lives, 58:40 we pray in Jesus' name. 58:42 Amen. |
Revised 2017-03-20