Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: TWH
Program Code: TWH000007A
|
00:32 Let's bow our heads this morning.
00:37 Our loving Father in heaven, we open Your word now, 00:41 as we open our hearts. 00:44 And, Lord, we pray that You will come now 00:46 and speak to us. 00:50 Father, the beauty of it is you know us so well. 00:53 You know what each one of us needs to hear. 00:57 And so speak to us today, Lord, in a way that will bring us... 01:04 to the plateau that You know that 01:06 You will have us to stand on. 01:09 The plateau of possibilities in Jesus. 01:16 May Your word come alive in us 01:18 and find fertile soil to accomplish the work 01:23 that only You can accomplish. 01:26 This we ask in Your precious name, amen. 01:35 Our scripture reading is I John 4:18 and 19. 01:39 I'd like to invite you to turn there with me. 01:42 I John 4:18 and 19, 01:48 and I'd like to read, 01:50 with you supporting me on that, we'll read that together. 01:55 "There is no fear in love, 01:58 but perfect love casts out fear, 02:02 because fear involves torment. 02:05 But he who fears has not been made perfect in love." 02:09 And verse 19 together. 02:12 "We love Him 02:13 because He first loved us." 02:19 I was raised in New York City. 02:23 There's so many 02:24 what they might refer to as 02:27 tourist attractions in New York City. 02:30 Lots of them. 02:32 You can go almost anywhere 02:34 and find some kind of tourist attraction, 02:37 whether it was the former World Trade Center, 02:40 the Empire State Building, the Guggenheim Museum, 02:44 Central Park. 02:47 But down in lower Manhattan where I worked, 02:51 almost all of the jobs I worked was in lower Manhattan. 02:56 And right off the coast in lower Manhattan 02:58 was the Statue of Liberty. 03:02 And whenever I would take lunch, 03:04 and I would go down in that area 03:05 to purchase lunch or sit down and have lunch, 03:09 I would see boat after boat going to the Statue of Liberty. 03:14 And it was not until we moved out of New York 03:16 that I came to the realization 03:17 that I've never been to the Statue of Liberty. 03:22 I was raised in that city. 03:24 I was raised there when we were allowed to go 03:27 all the way up into the torch, 03:30 walk all those spiral staircases, 03:33 meandering, figuring our ways 03:36 through the little narrow openings, 03:38 until you got to the torch and stood out on the edge 03:41 of that saucer-like torch tip, 03:44 and looked over 03:46 the magnificence of New York City, 03:49 never ever have I gone to the Statue of Liberty. 03:53 I only saw it at a distance, 03:55 but I never had the experience of being in it. 03:59 While I use that story to illustrate 04:02 why this message to me is so vitally important. 04:06 You know, you would think after 30 years of ministry, 04:09 and being married 33 years and growing up in the church, 04:14 that we would have such a clear definition 04:16 and understanding of love that 04:19 we could talk about it as though it's second nature, 04:22 but I would like to begin by confessing. 04:26 In all my understanding of love, 04:28 I have been looking at it from a distance. 04:31 I've never been in it. 04:33 Now, let me clarify, being in love 04:37 and being immersed 04:40 is a different thing altogether. 04:42 And so when God actuated my heart to 04:46 study I Corinthians 13, I recognized, wow! 04:53 I'm actually getting in a boat 04:56 and I'm on my way to the Statue of Liberty, 04:59 for the very first time, 05:02 I'm about to get into the Statue of Liberty 05:06 as a New Yorker who is now in his 50s. 05:10 And I asked myself the question, 05:13 what prevented me from doing this earlier? 05:16 And the answer is nothing. 05:18 I just didn't think it was that important. 05:23 You know, when I hear people say, 05:26 "Are you going to preach about God's love again? 05:30 Is there anything else to preach about?" 05:34 And I thought, 05:35 what else is there to preach about 05:38 than God's love. 05:40 I mean, I, as a young man, 05:42 I was a zealot for prophecy. 05:47 I mean, you pull me aside 05:50 and I will rattle off Bible prophecy 05:53 like a Gatling gun in the middle 05:57 of a fight for my life, 05:59 you got to be military 06:00 to understand the Gatling gun, it just... 06:06 and I would always win, but if I didn't win, 06:09 I wouldn't act like I lost, 06:11 'cause I would think of another round, 06:13 that's how I was when it came to prophecy. 06:17 When it came to the 28 fundamentals, 06:19 we had 27 at that time, now we have 1 more, 06:22 and I would be able to defend 06:24 the 28 fundamentals like a soldier 06:26 in a battlefield 06:28 that will rather die than to not win 06:32 the argument over the 28 fundamentals. 06:41 But God said, 06:42 "I want to take you on a journey. 06:45 We're going to go to the Statue of Liberty." 06:48 Liberty in the love of God, liberty in the power of God, 06:54 liberty in the understanding of God's love. 06:59 And so I want you to go on this journey with me 07:02 because I believe 07:03 that as we go on this journey together, 07:05 there's something that we could learn collectively, 07:09 that we may have missed independently, 07:12 so when I read this text, 07:15 "There is no fear in love, 07:17 but perfect love casts out fear." 07:21 I remember that statement made by Ellen White, 07:24 and whenever we read her writings, 07:26 we bump into it where she says, 07:29 "We ought to read I Corinthians 13 everyday," 07:34 or however frequently she recommends. 07:40 And so I decided to get off of the boat 07:42 and step into that, that picture of liberty, 07:48 that structure of liberty called the love of God. 07:54 And I want you to know 07:56 and I will tell you this, my wife and I, 07:58 I want you to know, 08:00 we have been all week long saying, 08:03 "You know, we thought we knew what love was." 08:08 And just the knowledge of God's love 08:12 and the depth, or the depth, 08:16 and the height, and the breath, and the length, and the weight, 08:21 of God's love... 08:26 has taken us to a place 08:28 that I wish I had been before I left New York. 08:35 Last week was part one. 08:38 And what we've learned so far about part one 08:40 when we went to I Corinthians 13, 08:43 if you have your Bibles, go there with me. 08:46 What we learned in part one was the three roadblocks 08:51 that the Corinthian believers 08:54 had to deal with as a multi-cultural 08:56 center of worship, this city of commerce, 08:59 this place in Greece, 09:02 where languages, and cultures, and diversity, 09:05 is in the rich and the poor worship together, 09:07 the haves and the have-nots worship together, 09:09 the slave and the master worshipped together, 09:11 at this place where people thought 09:13 they knew it all and had it all, 09:15 but they realized they didn't know it all 09:16 and didn't have it all, 09:18 and when they came to 09:19 the centers of worship on Sabbath morning 09:21 to lift up their voice to honor God, 09:24 they recognized, wait a minute! 09:30 There are more of battles with what we prefer 09:32 than what God prefers. 09:35 What language should we speak in? 09:37 And Paul says, "You can speak in any language you want to, 09:42 but if you don't have the love of God of prophets, 09:43 you're absolutely nothing." 09:46 They had racial division and we discovered so far 09:48 that the antidote, that the antidote, 09:51 antidote to division is, 09:53 love eradicates division and love breaks down walls. 10:04 I tried to figure out how that works, 10:06 but I read a story, I read a story, 10:07 when I went down to Alabama, we went down to... 10:11 I forgot the name of this, Wildwood, I'm not sure, 10:13 down in Alabama, we were down there, 10:14 invited down there to do a week of prayer, 10:18 we had a chance to go over to the, 10:20 to Tuskegee Airmen field, 10:22 so now we're so close, 10:23 you might as well just go there, 10:25 we went from Tennessee, 10:27 I did a camp meeting in Tennessee, 10:29 I was a week speaker there, for the weekend of the revival, 10:32 then we went down to Wildwood down in Georgia, 10:36 whichever one is in Alabama. 10:40 Uchee Pines. 10:41 Thank you, I knew I was in a different state. 10:46 And we stopped at the Tuskegee Airmen field 10:48 and we went there 10:49 and we began to read the story of these men 10:52 who were second class in their time in the war 10:58 when they were flying these P51s. 11:02 And we read their stories 11:04 and one of the most frightening stories to me that 11:07 just almost broke me was, 11:08 that there was a plane in distress, 11:14 filled with airmen 11:15 and was looking for a place to land. 11:20 And when they called the control towers, they said, 11:21 "Well, the nearest field 11:23 is the Tuskegee Airmen's field," 11:26 which was a field at that time that was only for Negroes. 11:32 Later known as Blacks, now known as African-Americans, 11:36 Lord have mercy. 11:39 And they said, 11:40 "Your only chance is to land there." 11:43 And I thank God 11:45 that we don't live in the time like it used to be. 11:47 Come on, somebody, say, amen. 11:49 I could be a pastor in southern Illinois... 11:56 meet people all over southern Illinois that 11:58 in my New York mind, I thought, 12:00 "We would never ever even meet, never be on the same page." 12:03 I was in Walmart Thursday, I was in Walmart Thursday, 12:07 and this is not a political statement, 12:08 I was in Walmart Thursday, 12:10 checking out at the cash register. 12:14 And I'm at Walmart Kroger. 12:16 And... 12:20 can I pause here and say something? 12:22 God, forgive us for judging each other 12:25 based on what we see. 12:30 Lord, forgive us 12:32 for judging each other based on what our eyes see. 12:41 I was checking out, 12:43 and there was a lady at the counter, 12:45 in my mind's eye, you know, we're in the... 12:47 I'm thanking you, you go out looking for that prayer. 12:50 Our nation needs healing. 12:55 Our nation needs healing but healing can't happen, 12:59 healing cannot happen in the nation 13:01 if it doesn't first happen in the church. 13:05 I'm checking out and this lady, 13:08 she just broke out in this conversation 13:10 with my wife and I. 13:13 And, please, don't go in any emotional place, 13:15 I'm just sharing a story with you. 13:20 She says, "I've been following the Obamas on Instagram. 13:24 Oh, I miss them." 13:27 And, Lord, forgive me. 13:30 I looked at the color of her skin, 13:33 I'm confessing, and I thought, 13:35 I would not expect her to miss the Obamas. 13:41 But she kept going on and on and on and on. 13:45 And I said, well, as I walked out, 13:47 I said, "Lord, forgive me." 13:51 Because you know what? 13:52 And I know that all of us learned this, 13:55 we live in a world where 13:56 there is prejudice and preference 13:58 on both sides of the things. 14:04 I was raised in New York, I know. 14:07 And I'm not going down this path too long, 14:09 I'm just going to peek there and leave it. 14:11 But I remember growing up in a, 14:13 and I didn't finish the Tuskegee story yet. 14:15 Okay. 14:17 But I remember growing up in New York City, 14:18 at Bethel Seventh-day Adventist church, 14:19 in the middle of Brooklyn, 14:21 in the middle of the inner city, 14:25 and if a person of another color 14:27 came to church on Sabbath, 14:28 everybody would be looking. 14:35 Who's friend is that? 14:38 And now, it fits into the article 14:40 that I read to you last Sabbath, 14:43 that the weekend in church 14:44 is probably one of the most segregated days of the week 14:48 but not here in Thompsonville. 14:49 Come on, somebody, 14:50 not here in Thompsonville. 14:53 Not here in Thompsonville. 14:57 To finish the story... 15:02 the pilot was told 15:03 that your only chance of making it 15:06 is to land in the Tuskegee Airfield 15:10 and his response was, 15:11 "I would rather die than land in that field." 15:16 The sad reality of it, 17 airmen lost their lives 15:21 because one pilot decided 15:23 that his feelings about another person 15:26 was more powerful than the life of somebody else. 15:31 When we cannot get past our feelings 15:33 about each other, 15:35 it could claim the life of someone else. 15:40 And then and only then did I began to understand, 15:43 is I begin to understand 15:44 that the antidote to division is, 15:46 love breaks down walls, eradicates division. 15:49 The antidote to thinking so much of ourselves, 15:52 love moves mountains, not intellect. 15:54 Intellect does not move mountains, 15:56 God's love moves mountains. 16:00 The antidote to self appreciation thinking that 16:03 we've got it all and we, nobody else should have it, 16:06 the antidote to that is disinterested benevolence, 16:10 doing for someone 16:11 without expecting anything in return. 16:18 But as I said last week 16:19 and I say this again as I dive into the message, 16:22 that the issue of the Corinthian, 16:24 that they faced was not that the church was in Corinth 16:29 but that Corinth was in the church. 16:32 The issue that we face 16:33 is not that the church is in the world 16:35 but that the world is in the church. 16:39 Vow to God that we get back to the gospel, 16:43 I'm saying this, 16:46 vow to God that we get back to the gospel, 16:49 and focus more on the things that unify us, 16:54 than the things that divide us. 16:58 How clever the enemy is! 16:59 There was a time that 17:00 we wouldn't do this or do that 17:02 but now we have come down to labels, 17:05 conservative, liberal, independent, tea party, 17:10 hot chocolate party, all these ridiculous things 17:14 that divide us, useless, 17:16 we spend our energies on things 17:17 that can't get us an inch off the ground, 17:19 when the Lord is coming to us and He says, 17:22 "I want to revolutionize something about My people. 17:24 I want to change them." 17:26 And what I've discovered 17:27 is the commission to the Christian 17:30 is to impact the world with greater force 17:33 than the world has impacted the church. 17:38 I mean, the Lord said, "It's possible, it can happen." 17:41 He said, "The gates of hell 17:42 will not prevail against the church." 17:45 Meaning when the church goes forward 17:47 in the way that God intends for us to go forward, 17:50 united, filled with love, 17:53 supporting each other, upholding one another, 17:55 forgiving one another, embracing one another, 17:58 when we go forward like that, 18:01 the gates of hell 18:02 cannot prevail against that kind of divine bulldozer. 18:08 When I understood that text, 18:10 "The gates of hell will not prevail against..." 18:12 I recognized that 18:13 this is not something that's human, 18:15 this is something that's divine. 18:17 And the greatest journey 18:20 that the Jesus embarked on 18:21 is getting finite sinful humanity, 18:25 finite sinful humanity, us, 18:29 to the place 18:30 where we can reveal and reflect 18:32 the love of the infinite sinless God. 18:37 Finite, infinite. 18:41 Sinful, sinless. 18:45 What was Jesus thinking about 18:47 when He came down here 18:49 to try to get us to love each other? 18:54 Matthew 5:43, 18:56 "You have heard that it was said, 18:58 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemies.' 19:03 " And I can imagine if Jesus stopped right there, 19:05 they would have said, " You're right, you're right." 19:07 But He didn't stop there, notice what He said, 19:09 "But I say to you," Together. 19:12 "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, 19:16 do good to those who hate you, 19:18 and pray for those who spitefully use you 19:22 and persecute you." 19:24 Why, Lord? 19:26 "That you may be sons of your Father in heaven, 19:30 for He makes 19:31 His sun rise on the evil and on the good, 19:34 and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 19:37 For if you love those who love you, 19:39 what reward have you? 19:42 Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 19:45 If you greet your brethren only, 19:49 what do you do more than others? 19:52 Do not even the tax collectors do so? 19:55 Therefore you shall be..." What is the next word? 19:59 "Perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect." 20:05 I cannot make a confession. 20:08 I'm not perfect yet. 20:12 If you are, 20:14 meet me in the office and tell me how you did it. 20:16 But let me pause and say another statement, 20:19 "We can be perfect in Christ." 20:22 Amen. 20:23 What I learned in that statement 20:25 was Jesus wasn't saying, 20:26 "You need to try hard to be perfect." 20:28 He said, "All you need to do is implement 20:31 and allow into your life 20:33 a love that right now is off the coast for you." 20:37 You've been looking at it for years, 20:39 but I want you to get into that boat of faith, 20:42 take a journey to the island of possibilities, 20:44 and step into a place that you've never been before, 20:47 that is the divine elevating love of God, 20:49 so that somewhere along the line, 20:51 when your torch is lit, 20:53 people can see that God's love radiates 20:56 and emanates from every one of us. 21:02 A man by the name of Rodney H Delaney once said, 21:07 "Love builds bridges where there were none." 21:10 And he was right. Love has no boundaries. 21:13 In love, everything is possible. 21:15 Love doesn't see differences, 21:17 it doesn't see the ethnic dimension 21:19 or tension between families, 21:22 it doesn't see popularity and social groups, 21:25 it doesn't see separation between people, 21:28 love views everyone the same, 21:31 because it happens to all of us, 21:33 whether it is loving your family, 21:35 loving your spouse, or loving your friends. 21:41 He goes on to say, 21:42 "Love makes what was deemed impossible possible. 21:45 In love, there is hope. In love, there is trust. 21:48 In love, there is respect. In love, there is strength. 21:51 With all that is in love, 21:53 it has the strength to build bridges 21:55 where there were none, it has the power, 21:58 it has the power to make things happen." 22:02 God's love. 22:05 And so when, when, when, when, when, 22:07 when Peter had this confrontation 22:09 with Jesus, "Lovest thou me?" 22:13 "Lord, you know." "Do you love me?" 22:15 "Lord, you know." "Do you love me?" 22:18 "Lord, you know." 22:19 When the Lord had this 22:20 interrogating confrontation with Peter, 22:24 divinity was speaking to the natural tendencies 22:27 in a carnal man 22:28 who had not yet been broken down 22:30 to the place where we can understand 22:32 what Jesus was asking him, "Do you love me?" 22:35 "Yeah." "Do you love me?" "You know." 22:36 "Do you love me?" "Lord, come on, you know." 22:43 And Jesus interrogated... 22:48 the minister in Peter. 22:50 He interrogated the minister in Peter. 22:53 You know why I say the minister in Peter 22:55 because Jesus had plans for Peter 22:58 on the day of Pentecost that could not have happened, 23:02 if Peter had not been broken and converted in Christ. 23:08 Couldn't happen. Listen to Desire of Ages. 23:11 The question that Christ had put to Peter was significant, 23:14 He mentioned only one condition of discipleship and service. 23:18 "Lovest thou Me," He said. 23:22 This is powerful 23:24 This is the essential qualification, 23:26 loving God first. 23:29 Now, let's, let's not separate the two and say, 23:31 "Okay, we have to love God and love our fellowman." 23:33 No, it is one. 23:34 If we can love God, 23:39 we don't have the power to love our fellowman, 23:44 as I go into the gas station to, 23:47 you know, you fill your heart with the fuel you need 23:51 to take the journey that is ahead of you, 23:53 Jesus fills us with the divine fuel 23:55 we need to take the journey 23:57 of loving one another that is ahead of us. 24:00 You don't go to the gas station, 24:02 your car got to be beautiful but it ain't going anywhere. 24:04 You don't get filled with the love of God first, 24:07 and always, and you know what happens? 24:10 Isn't it amazing that when we see 24:12 our needle going low, what do we do? 24:13 We look for a gas station. 24:17 Vow to God we did the same thing 24:19 when we sense our love was going low. 24:22 Vow to God we did the same thing 24:25 when we sense we're losing love for someone 24:27 and our journey is about to end with that in... 24:29 Vow to God that we pulled after, 24:31 I got to find a love tank somewhere, 24:36 'cause my journey is going to end 24:38 if I don't get filled up again. 24:42 Ellen White goes on to say, 24:44 "Though Peter might possess every other," 24:47 that is every other qualification, 24:48 "Yet without love, without the love of Christ, 24:51 he could not be a faithful shepherd 24:53 over the Lord's flock. 24:56 Knowledge, benevolence, 24:57 eloquence, gratitude, and zeal, 25:00 are all aids in the good work 25:04 but without the love of Jesus in the heart, 25:06 listen, the work of the Christian minister 25:10 is a failure." 25:12 I was reading a devotion by Oswald Chambers 25:14 and he talked about how Peter, James, and John. 25:17 Peter, James, and John slept on Jesus. 25:21 And instead of Jesus giving them 25:23 the one, two, three, He said to them, 25:25 "And now, let's move on to another place. 25:30 Let's move on to the next thing." 25:33 Jesus didn't spend time accentuating their failures, 25:37 He said, "I can't do a thing about that, 25:39 you slept, can't go back and wake you up, 25:42 so now let's move on to the next thing." 25:44 And so often, many of us find ourselves 25:46 in the place where we recognize our failures, 25:49 our shortcomings, and we spend so much time there 25:52 that we are not only 25:54 not moving on to the next thing 25:55 but until we move on to the next thing, 25:58 we are incapable of allowing somebody else 26:02 to move on to the next thing. 26:04 So we hold them at that place because we are at that place. 26:09 Are you following me? 26:10 Some of us want people to stay where we are. 26:13 I don't like you, so you better not like me. 26:18 'Cause your liking of me 26:20 is going to make me uncomfortable, 26:21 so as long as we stay at odds, I'm good with that. 26:25 There's some Christians that battle every week. 26:29 Don't like each other, let it be known to other folks, 26:31 "I don't like her. 26:33 I don't like him either." And I'm serious. 26:38 Then there are those that forget 26:40 God forgave them, 26:42 so they lord over the $20 that you owe them, 26:48 and forget that God just forgave them of 26:50 $10,000,000 worth of sin. 26:54 You've got to read that story. 26:55 Man that was in jail 26:56 'cause he couldn't pay his debt, 26:58 he got out, and I read that story, 27:00 and I recognized 27:01 that the amount of money he owed 27:04 was in the millions of today's currency. 27:07 He got... 27:09 His debt was forgiven, he was set free, 27:12 and he went out on his way home and he saw Bob 27:15 that owed him $20, 27:17 and he grabbed him by the collar and said, 27:19 "You better give me my money." 27:22 And the judge heard it and said, 27:25 "Go, get that guy and put him back in jail. 27:27 He didn't learn his lesson." 27:29 You see those of us 27:30 who are forgiven much loveth much. 27:34 But when we think that everybody else 27:36 has the problem, but us. 27:40 When we think everybody else 27:41 need to come up to our expectation... 27:47 until they come up to our expectation, 27:49 they are not deservant of my love. 27:51 If God were that way, 27:53 90% of us wouldn't be sitting here today. 27:58 Thinks no evil. 28:00 When you are under the constraint of love, 28:01 love does not search for the faults in others 28:03 or even suggest 28:05 that someone's actions are selfishly motivated. 28:08 Paul held the Corinthian, Paul, 28:11 one of that church he raised up to succeed so much, 28:14 that he said, he was specific about 28:18 the issues that 28:19 the Corinthian believers struggle with, 28:21 and I thought to myself, 28:23 "Well, maybe some of us are like 28:24 the Corinthian believers. 28:25 Maybe we might find ourselves 28:27 in something they struggle with, 28:29 because maybe we struggle with that too." 28:33 So as I read through these, 28:34 I'm not saying that you do struggle with this, 28:37 I'm saying you might, we might. 28:40 well, it goes on to say, verse six. 28:45 "Does not rejoice in iniquity." 28:49 I told you these Bible commentators 28:50 were under the influence of God's Holy Spirit 28:53 when they put these comments down. 28:55 Man, as we walk through this, 28:57 and my wife and I did this last week 28:59 and this week, together. 29:01 Walking through these together. 29:04 Love does not rejoice over the vices of others, 29:10 or find happiness 29:11 because others are found guilty of wrongdoing. 29:14 Ever heard people say, "Good, good for him." 29:18 Finally, got what was coming to. 29:21 Love doesn't do that. Come on, somebody, say, amen. 29:24 It does not take malicious delight 29:26 in hearing a report that someone else has fallen. 29:31 Finally, got her. Finally, got his. 29:34 That's a love, that's a love that when Jesus came 29:37 and, you know, when we read the stories in the Bible, 29:40 we love John 3:16, 29:42 but would somebody read the next text already, 29:45 "For God sent not His Son 29:48 into the world to condemn the world, 29:52 but that the world through Him might be saved." 29:55 That was not just 29:56 the declaration of Jesus' agenda 29:59 but He lived that out in His life 30:01 and we look at the woman at the, 30:02 we look at the woman at the well 30:05 who couldn't get it together, 30:07 and God, Jesus got it together for her. 30:10 We'll look at Mary 30:11 who was found at the feet of Jesus 30:13 as guilty as all daylight and He said, 30:15 "Neither do I condemn thee. 30:16 Go and sin no more." 30:18 We looked at the man who was paralyzed 30:20 and Jesus knew his own choices got him 30:23 on that bed 30:24 and Jesus forgave him and healed him. 30:29 Sometimes, sometimes we rejoice in iniquity. 30:34 And we say, "Finally now, 30:36 Mr Perfect got what he deserved." 30:40 We got to pray to God to root that out. 30:43 We got to pray for God 30:44 to take that kind of spirit out of us 30:46 and you'll find out as I get to the end, 30:48 you'll find out exactly 30:49 why it's important for God to root that out 30:51 because when we hear, 30:53 you know, we sing the song, 30:54 "When one has a heartache, we all shed a tear," 30:57 I wish that were true. 31:01 In some cases, I'm not white-washing it 31:03 but it would be so nice 31:05 that if we hear our brother or sister struggling somewhere, 31:08 that it will hurt us so much 31:10 that we will rush to their side, 31:13 to help them through their difficulty, 31:16 rather than saying, "You go. 31:18 Now you go." 31:21 Can't go. 31:26 "Love rejoices in the truth," 31:29 verse six, 31:30 "love finds pleasure not in vice 31:33 but in virtue of others." 31:35 Love says, "I just love Bob. 31:41 Man, he loves to talk. He talks about Jesus. 31:44 Larry always says, 'Thank God for another beautiful day.' 31:48 I love that about Larry." 31:52 We look at the good in people and we accentuate that so much, 31:57 that people say, I wanna meet Larry. 31:59 What's up with this guy 32:00 that talks about another beautiful day? 32:02 When Larry doesn't do it, Bob says, 32:03 "Well, since Larry is not here, 32:04 I wanna thank God for another beautiful day." 32:08 And, you know, 32:09 any day above the ground is what? 32:11 A beautiful day. 32:14 Don't have to have 85 degree weather, 32:16 although it would be nice. 32:19 But if you're breathing, 32:20 if you can feel cold, it's a beautiful day. 32:25 "Love bears all things." This was a hard one for me. 32:29 The commentator said, "Love conceals. 32:34 Love conceals and is silent about such things 32:38 as the faults of others, 32:43 which the selfishness 32:45 of the natural heart would gladly expose." 32:52 Like the three guys at the golf course, 32:53 you heard that story. 32:56 Three guys at the golf course, 32:58 three pastors playing golf together. 33:01 And they decided to go ahead and bear all their sins 33:03 to each other since they're all pastors. 33:05 One guy said, "Oh." 33:08 One guy said, "Just as that we bear all the, 33:09 you know, we're all clergy, 33:10 let's just tell each other each other's dirt." 33:13 One guy said, 33:14 "All right, all right, all right, all right. 33:15 Okay. Let's pause a second." 33:17 One guy says, "I gotta confess. 33:20 I, every now and then, 33:21 I take a little sip of alcohol." 33:26 And since that guy felt good about that, 33:29 the other guys said, "Oh, okay. 33:30 Since he told his dirt, let me tell mine. 33:32 Every now and then, 33:34 I take a little wig of a cigarette." 33:39 Talking about their faults, 33:43 and the third guy said, "And my fault is gossip. 33:45 I can't wait to leave here 33:47 to tell somebody about what I just learned." 33:54 I mean, come on now, you know, why we laugh? 33:56 'Cause that's how some of us is. 33:59 Am I right? That burning knowledge. 34:05 We say, "I can't tell you but if I could, 34:08 I would tell you. 34:09 I'm not going to tell you who it is 34:11 but they're tall, well, I hear let's pray. 34:16 Not going to tell you that he sings, 34:17 but he might be able to. 34:20 Not going to tell you that he's a, well, 34:23 you know, I can't give you more details 34:25 'cause you might figure out who it is, 34:27 but I like his car." 34:28 You know. 34:30 You might as well just say it and remember this, 34:34 this is crazy. 34:36 If it's a secret, don't tell nobody... 34:44 'cause it ain't no secret no more. 34:47 There's something 34:48 that should be only known between you and God. 34:52 Bears all things, it goes on, verse seven. 34:55 Love conceals, well, I said that. 34:58 Now it believes all things. 35:00 This is the attitude of love 35:01 because love seeks to make others happy 35:03 and will not believe anything 35:05 to their detriment except on irrefutable evidence. 35:10 I want to say to people, when somebody says something, 35:11 rather than you going crazy about it, check it out. 35:15 Check it out, don't just be 35:17 the bird that flew out the window. 35:19 That's why Peter says in I Peter 4:8, 35:21 "And above all things 35:22 have fervent love for one another, 35:24 for love will cover a multitude of sins." 35:28 Fervent love. 35:30 The alcoholic don't need to be told 35:32 he's an alcoholic. 35:33 The drug addict don't need to be told 35:35 he's a drug addict. 35:36 The person that 35:37 stole something don't need to be told he's a thief. 35:40 He knows that. We know what we did wrong. 35:42 When we accentuate that, 35:44 we fail to be the redemptive arm 35:46 that God wants us to be. 35:48 Don't be the broken arm, be the redemptive arm. 35:51 Amen, somebody. "Then hopes all things." 35:54 Verse seven. 35:56 However dark appearances may be 35:58 and whatever grounds there may be 36:00 for questioning the sincerity of others, 36:04 love still hopes 36:05 that everything will be well in the end. 36:11 Hopes all things, and not only that, 36:13 because of love, 36:15 they will maintain this position 36:16 until all possibility 36:19 of its being confirmed has disappeared. 36:22 Now I've got to break that down. 36:23 Sometimes, we don't want to move forward 36:25 until we have, 36:26 until we're sure it's going to work out. 36:29 You, follow me. 36:30 Some people say, 36:32 "No, I'm not going to commit to it 36:33 if I know it's not going to work out." 36:34 You know what? 36:36 Anything that we commit o the Lord, He will keep it. 36:38 Anything that we say, 36:39 "God, you've got to solve this." 36:41 He will solve it. 36:42 You don't need irrefutable evidence 36:44 that God will solve it. 36:45 You just simply need to trust Him 36:47 that God is able to keep what you commit to Him 36:49 and He can solve it. 36:55 It's called the process. 36:57 Some people don't commit to the process 36:59 because they want evidence 37:01 and let me take, let me get even further, 37:02 let me get deeper here, are you ready? 37:05 Some people say, "I forgive you, 37:06 but I'll never ever give you 37:08 a second chance to do that again." 37:11 Well, then, you haven't forgiven them. 37:15 Now let me tell you why. 37:17 The vulnerability of Christ was that He put Himself 37:21 in the hand of man who He knew, 37:23 He knew Judas was going to betray Him. 37:28 But He put Himself... 37:33 under the influence of a man who He knew, 37:35 his heart was turned against Him. 37:40 He walked around with guys that He knew 37:42 didn't have right motives. 37:45 He walked around with guys 37:46 that were just as frail and broken as every one of us. 37:56 "Endureth all things." 37:59 Love suffers quietly under all difficulties, 38:01 trials, and prosecutions, and injuries inflicted by man. 38:07 And all the attacks, this is powerful, 38:09 and all the attacks that God may see fit 38:14 to allow the adversary to make. 38:18 I want to say that again. 38:20 Did God allow Satan to attack Job? 38:23 Yes or no. Of course, He did. 38:26 Did the Lord allow Satan to sift Peter? 38:29 Yes or no. 38:30 He never said, 38:32 "I'm not going to let the devil sift you." 38:33 He says, "He desires to sift you." 38:37 And He allowed the adversary to sift Peter. 38:42 He allowed the Hebrews to end up 38:45 in the fiery furnace. 38:47 He allowed Daniel to end up in the lions' den. 38:51 You see, it's not where we end up, 38:53 it's the attitude we have because of where we end up, 38:57 that's what made all the difference, 38:59 it's the attitude, 39:01 what happens to us in our spirit 39:03 when we end up where we don't think we should be, 39:05 that's the big question here. 39:06 Because a lot of us are in situations, 39:08 we say, "How did I get myself into this? 39:12 Or how does somebody, how could I let that happen?" 39:15 And we're there, we're in the lions' den, 39:18 rather than trusting God and saying, 39:21 "I know that in the morning, He's going to get me out." 39:24 We complain all night long. 39:29 And, you know, why we do that? 39:31 Because we haven't had a connection with that God 39:32 before we got into the lions' den. 39:34 You see, you can't trust God in difficulty 39:37 if you haven't trusted Him in prosperity. 39:41 If you don't know His address 39:43 when He was living next door to you, 39:45 you're not going to be able to trace Him 39:46 when He moves. 39:49 If you're not staying connected with Him on a day-by-day basis, 39:52 when difficulty comes, 39:53 you won't even know what to call Him 39:56 because you have no evidence, 39:58 you have no experience 40:00 that He's ever been there for you 40:01 because you've never sought Him 40:04 That's why He says, "Seek me while I may be found. 40:06 Call upon me while I am near." 40:09 That's a deep love, 40:11 that's a love that endures all things. 40:14 Love is prepared to look upon 40:16 the unfavorable conduct of others, 40:20 and with an understanding, 40:21 patience, and sympathy, inspired by God, 40:24 we look at people that are broken 40:26 and messed up and jacked up. 40:30 And we look at them with the patience and sympathy 40:33 that Jesus looks at a person with. 40:38 So what is that? 40:39 No wonder, in the Laodicean message, 40:41 the prayer is, "Lord, 40:44 anoint my eyes with eye salve that I may see." 40:48 It's not see prophecy, 40:50 it's not see your future and your destiny, 40:53 the anointing of the eyes with eye salve 40:56 is that we might be able to see each other 40:58 like God sees us. 41:03 But we think that if He anoints our eyes 41:04 with eye salve 41:05 we'll have a better understanding of prophecy, 41:07 I'm not done yet, 41:09 but I'm going to move more with a greater pace. 41:11 Verse eight. "Love never fails." 41:14 Love never fails. 41:16 I'm going to move at a greater, greater pace. 41:17 Love never fails. 41:18 When I got to that verse I had to pause 41:20 because the commentator said so much about 41:22 that kind of love that has forced me to pause, 41:25 and to just take up, 41:26 you know, you know, when you, 41:27 when you sweep your carpet with a broom, 41:29 have you ever done that before? 41:31 Sweep your carpet with a broom, 41:32 you can't take up as much as when you vacuum it. 41:36 This text made me get the vacuum out. 41:40 And pull out of it everything that 41:41 the Lord wanted me to get 41:43 and this is a powerful illustration, 41:45 you see, the illustration 41:46 that commentators use is the flower, 41:48 the flower, it says, the flower, 41:52 when the flower has given its fragrance 41:54 and beauty during the hours of sunshine, 41:58 it has served its purpose. 41:59 That's what flowers do, when the sun is out, 42:01 you go to the botanical gardens and it smells so good 42:04 because the sun is out 42:05 and it's radiating on those flowers 42:07 but go there in the winter time, 42:09 and you'll discover that the cold winds and frosts 42:12 cause that same flower to wither 42:15 and to fall off of its stem. 42:20 And you'll say, what happened to the flower? 42:23 And the commentator said, love is not like that, 42:26 love never falls off of its stem. 42:30 Love is there when the sun is out, 42:32 love is there when the ice is there, 42:34 in the days of stress and strain, 42:37 as well as when it is all bright and fair, 42:40 love remains the same, 42:42 shedding its fragrance of trust and hope 42:45 and faith all around. 42:49 When I bought my wife roses for Valentine's Day, 42:51 whether you believe it or not, I bought her roses. 42:55 I thought a wealthy man could have gone 42:57 into that same store and bought roses, 42:59 or a man with just a few cents left 43:02 could have gone in that store, 43:03 store, and bought the same roses, 43:06 and took it home to his wife who has very little, 43:08 or took it home to his wife who has so much, 43:12 you know what? 43:13 They both will be cheered just the same, 43:16 the wealthy and the poor smiles, 43:20 just the same. 43:28 And for years, 43:29 when Valentine's Day came, 43:32 we said, "I ain't getting drawn into that. 43:37 It's just flowers, and chocolate, and cards, 43:40 it's just another commercial thing." 43:43 But as I was studying this, 43:46 see, we don't, we don't get into that, 43:47 we've never got into Valentine's Day, 43:50 but as I was studying about love... 43:56 go get some flowers for your wife. 44:00 Go get her a car and tell her how much you appreciate her. 44:03 You see, what I'm after, 44:05 get up off of your hind parts 44:06 and think that you have it all put together. 44:09 And I said to my wife, "Honey, 44:12 this, every chance I get to tell you 44:15 how much I love you 44:17 will never pass by unnoticed ever again." 44:22 It's so funny. 44:24 My wife looked at Facebook, 44:27 her brother bought his wife 44:29 the same car I bought my wife and he lives in Florida. 44:34 Great minds think alike. 44:37 We got to understand the flower, 44:39 the fragrance of love is for everyone. 44:43 And then Paul goes on to say in verse eight, 44:45 he continues, 44:47 "But whether they are prophecies..." 44:48 Come on now, "Whether they are prophecies, 44:50 they will..." 44:51 What? "Fail." 44:53 Prophecy will only lead us to the coming of Jesus 44:56 but after that, we don't need prophecy anymore, 44:59 but we will need love 45:00 throughout the ceaseless ages of eternity. 45:03 Prophecies gonna... 45:04 Don't get hung up in prophecy so much. 45:06 It's important, it's necessary to understand what's coming 45:09 but a prophecy is more important to you 45:11 than love, then you are on the wrong journey, 45:15 whether there are tongues, 45:16 so many Christians say, "I speak in tongues." 45:17 Fine. 45:19 Are you saying you love me in a different language? 45:22 If you ain't doing that, 45:24 your tongues and you will cease. 45:28 Whether there is knowledge, some people got more degrees 45:31 and they have letters in their first and last name, 45:34 and the Lord says, "Whether there is knowledge, 45:36 it will vanish away." 45:37 You can't take your D, your PhD, your MD, your M Div, 45:40 your whatever, you can't take that to heaven, 45:42 you got to take your BA, born again. 45:49 What was being said by the Bible commentators here, 45:52 is God has given us, Jesus has supplied, 45:55 the Holy Spirit has equipped us with everything 45:57 we need to preach the gospel, 45:59 but when the gospel is finished, 46:01 you don't need prophecy, you don't need tongues, 46:03 you don't need knowledge, but you need love. 46:07 So whenever we have these prophecy seminars, 46:09 Lord, have mercy, 46:10 can somebody do a seminar on God's love? 46:17 Had to say that. 46:19 People on prophecy know, 46:21 what people need is an understanding of God's love. 46:26 Here's why verse nine and ten, "Prophecy, knowledge, tongues," 46:31 put all that together, "For we know in part..." 46:33 We don't know it all, "And we prophecy in part..." 46:35 We don't understand everything about prophecy, 46:38 "But when that which is perfect has come, 46:40 then that which is in part will be done away." 46:42 Don't hold on to things like your life depends on it, 46:46 other than if your life depends on it, 46:49 and my life and my end 46:51 depends on the love of God for me. 46:56 Look at I John 4:20,21. 47:02 Jesus was ruthless. 47:05 When it came to getting all this nonsense out of the way 47:08 and revealed His love. 47:10 "He who says, 'I love God,' 47:12 and hates his brother is a liar, 47:13 for he does not love his brother 47:16 whom he has seen..." 47:17 The next word is powerful. 47:19 "How can he love God 47:23 whom he has not seen?" 47:28 You don't even, when last have you seen God. 47:30 No man has seen God at anytime. 47:33 How you can love somebody you haven't seen, 47:35 when you can't love those that you do see? 47:38 That's transforming. 47:41 And the Lord allows people to be in our space, 47:44 that are like iron sharpening iron, 47:48 so we can discover how dull we really are 47:51 until somebody of the same fabric 47:54 and intensity just like us, 47:55 as hard headed as us, as recalcitrant as us, 47:59 as determined to hold onto their past as us sometimes are, 48:02 as we sometimes are, until iron sharpens iron, 48:05 we will never get sharp. 48:08 Why does God allow difficulty to come? 48:10 So you can be sharper in the future than you are now. 48:13 We want to avoid those folks, 48:15 so we got this island that isle, 48:16 we avoid them, we don't talk to them, 48:17 we don't hug, 48:19 and we don't confess our sin, we don't ask for forgiveness, 48:21 we don't try to bring reconciliation, 48:23 we don't want their iron to touch our iron, 48:25 but the Lord said, "If you let their iron touch your iron, 48:27 you're both going to end up sharper 48:29 than you used to be." 48:31 That's God's plan and He ends by saying. 48:35 "And this commandment we have from Him, 48:37 that he who loves God must love his brother also." 48:43 You see, Jesus came to people 48:44 that had deep scriptural knowledge. 48:47 John 5:41 to 43. 48:50 John 5:41 to 43. 48:52 Don't slow me down, I'm about to wind up. 48:55 John 5:41 to 43. 48:57 Notice the word Jesus said to these scripturally 49:00 deep Pharisees and scribes, 49:01 listen to what He said. 49:03 He said, "I do not receive honor from man, 49:06 but I know you, 49:08 that you do not have the love of God in you." 49:11 That's why Jesus didn't receive honor, 49:13 'cause they didn't have God's love in them. 49:14 What did they have? 49:16 They had degrees, they had knowledge, 49:17 they had, Pharisees, 49:19 scribes, Sadducees, Essenes, 49:21 high priests, low priests, 49:23 priest priest, they had it all, 49:25 and they infected their followers 49:27 to reject the Christ 49:29 because they did not have the love of God in them. 49:31 He says, "I have come in My Father's name, 49:33 and you do not receive me, 49:34 if anyone comes in his own name, 49:37 him you will receive." 49:39 You see, when we get to heaven, 49:40 there will be revelations 49:42 that have never made sense in this life, 49:44 until then, everything about this life is in parts, 49:47 it's reflective, it is dim, 49:50 you can't understand it fully. 49:52 What about love? 49:55 Philosophy cannot describe the nature of love. 49:58 Psychology can't deny the power of love. 50:01 Anthropology cannot explain the origin of love. 50:04 Death cannot kill love. 50:06 Darkness cannot hide love. 50:08 The grave cannot bury love, that's why Jesus says, 50:12 "Now abides faith, hope, and love, these three, 50:17 but the greatest of these..." 50:18 Together is... 50:21 Now why? 50:23 I like to invite the musician to come. 50:24 Why? 50:26 Why is the greatest of these, love? 50:28 Let me tell you, the last message 50:29 is not going to be about the mark of the beast, 50:31 amen, somebody, the last message 50:34 that the Seventh-day Adventist Church 50:35 has been given to preach is not about Babylon, 50:38 not about the seven last plagues, 50:39 not about the seven trumpets, not about any of that stuff. 50:43 Ellen White says in Christ Object lessons, 50:45 page 415 and 416, 50:47 "The last message of mercy to be given to the world 50:51 is a revelation of His character of love. 50:56 The children of God..." 50:58 The who, church? 51:00 Talk to me, the who? 51:02 "The children of God are to manifest His glory." 51:05 How? 51:06 "In their own life and character, 51:09 they are to reveal what the grace of God 51:12 has done for them." 51:16 What has God's love done for us? 51:18 So now you see why, 51:20 when the love of God has done something for you, 51:22 there is no fear in love, 51:24 perfect love casts out fear because fear involves torment. 51:29 But he who fears has not been made perfect in love, 51:32 so why should we love Him? 51:34 Because He first loved us. 51:36 You see, we cannot love the invisible God, 51:42 if we don't love the visible brother and sister. 51:46 So how many want to love the visible brother and sister, 51:50 so that we can let the world know that 51:52 we are connected to the invisible loving God? 51:56 We have to stand together and sing that song, 51:58 "More love to thee." 52:00 Let that be our testimony, is that it? 52:04 More about Jesus, more about Jesus. 52:07 That's right, let's sing that song. 52:09 Let that be our testimony today, 52:11 more about Jesus. 52:15 More about Jesus 52:18 I would know 52:22 More of His grace to others show 52:29 More of His saving fullness see 52:36 More of His love who died for me 52:41 Raise that chorus together. 52:44 More, more about Jesus 52:50 Give me more, more about Jesus 52:58 More of His saving fullness see 53:06 More of His love who died for me 53:12 More about Jesus let me learn. 53:14 More about Jesus... 53:18 Let's raise that chorus together. 53:21 More of His holy. 53:22 More of His holy will 53:29 Spirit of God, my teacher be 53:36 Showing the things of Christ to me. 53:44 Give me more, more about Jesus 53:51 I need more, more 53:55 About Jesus 54:00 More of His saving fullness 54:06 Together. 54:08 More of His love 54:11 Who died for me 54:16 As the music is played softly, Father in heaven, 54:21 how are we going to show the world 54:25 Your love, 54:29 unless Your love abides in our hearts, in our minds, 54:36 unless Your love is practiced through thick and thin, 54:40 through the uphill climb, and the downhill slide? 54:46 How can we let others know 54:48 about the beauty of this message, 54:51 if they don't sense the love of God in our hearts 54:54 and hear Him in our voice, and sense Him in our lives? 55:00 Lord, you've given us a task that seems impossible 55:02 but you said to us, 55:05 "Christ in you is the hope of glory." 55:07 So, Lord, today, come in and renew us 55:10 that we will not be children anymore 55:14 in our display of love but we will be mature, 55:18 we will grow, we will reflect, 55:22 we will reveal, by Your grace, 55:25 and Your power, and Your strength, 55:27 and Your ability, 55:28 we will by what you do in us, 55:32 let the world know that we are Your disciples. 55:37 We will forgive as you forgave, 55:39 and care as you cared and embrace as you embrace, 55:43 we will look beyond the faults and failures, 55:46 not only of others but of our own. 55:51 We will hold ourselves 55:52 to a higher place of accountability 55:54 than we require that of others. 55:58 And finally, we will say, Father, love through me, 56:04 speak through me. 56:07 Turn the light of Your divinity on, 56:09 through me, 56:11 that when we come in contact with someone, 56:15 that may even be difficult to love, 56:18 that the love of Christ will constrain us, 56:23 and that heart will be broken to find Jesus, 56:26 so, Lord, now, send us forth from this place 56:29 but never from Thy presence, 56:33 and may your constraining love in all of its glory and power 56:37 make a difference in our hearts, in our lives, 56:41 and in this church. 56:43 In Jesus' name we pray, amen. |
Revised 2017-04-20