The More Excellent Way | Growing Pains 24

Love is the motivation Christians must have to properly use their spiritual gifts. A Christian that lacks love gains nothing, says nothing, and is of no use to the lost man and the body of Christ. Pastor Jesse details these important verses in the series Growing Pains.

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well if you take your Bibles we're going to be in first Corinthians chapter 13 and we're going to split this into two
different messages because the chapter deals with one overall theme but in two
different parts here and I don't want to rush through these first seven verses in First Corinthians 13
this is on page 1223 in a church loan Bible but we're going to be talking about love
which is the more excellent way and I will be very honest with you
that the preparation of this message it was very uh informative but in a way
it was not fun because you uh see how the scripture exposes where you need to work on
different areas that you think you have under control but you don't
and I hope that you get the same kind of edification this is not to bury you or
make you feel small like hardly nothing at all not like that but rejoice in the
fact that we have areas to trust the Lord in further um Love is a very important word for
Christians for believers when I teach messages on Sunday morning I'm aiming to
reach the Lost person because I know there will be people tuning in that may have never hurt us before
and when I preach on Sunday night I still give the gospel and the same on Wednesday night but tonight's message is
really aimed towards Believers that are looking to serve we've gone through now over the past four or five weeks these
two chapters First Corinthians 11 and First Corinthians 12 and we've seen how the Corinthian Believers were abusing
the Lord's Supper how they were mixing uh Pagan Idol practices with the Lord's
table which ought not be that way and we were understanding why they were having people perish and why there were people
who were sick and why there were divisions because they were just being carnal Christians they were living out
of their flesh they were doing what they thought was right what they thought was best they had envying they had Pride
they had Strife they were full of vainglory and all of these things were bearing fruits that were not sweet they
were very bitter and it was hurting the ministry as a whole well in verse 31 of chapter 12 Paul
tells us these words here but covet earnestly the best gifts and yet I show unto you a more excellent
way now these chapter divisions that we have they're not in the original manuscripts it's one full letter they
were added to help us but if we were to take away that division of chapter 13 that you see there
all of chapter 13 flows right from what Paul was talking about in chapter 12. he
was talking about how the body of Christ should work how there should be no divisions how any kind of schisms or
divisions were a bad thing and how the eye should not want to be the ear nor the ear want to be the eye or everything
be a foot or a hand because then the body would not work as it was intended to work we're seeing we see here in in
chapter 12 where Paul gives excuse me the holy spirit gives gifts to people as
he chooses as God chooses to have those gifts put in the body we're not all supposed to be pastors we're not all
supposed to be teachers some have different gifts and those things coming together and working together
we'll have a Ministry that profits those that are within the ministry and is able to reach others effectively
no doubt we've seen Ministries that just they fall apart because people don't know how to use their gifts correctly
and what Paul says hereby there's a more excellent way is using your gifts with
agape love Agape Love is a very uh interesting
definition it's not a love that you and I may understand as in like a sensual
love or as a I love my brother I love my sister I I
love my family I would do things for them it's a higher type of love it's a
self-sacrificial unconditional love that is given regardless of the condition
this is how God has demonstrated his love toward us in the death of his son and if we have these spiritual gifts
we want to use them we don't use them in the attitude of love
we're not accomplishing much sure we'll get things done but they won't be done to the best of
the ability that was given to us so if you look there in chapter 12 and
verse 31 it says here and yet I show you a more excellent way that more excellent way is going to be ultimately the
illustration or excuse me the example we have in Christ which is that example of love that word excellent there means to
cast Beyond to surpass I remember when we had uh
musical ratings in high school we would go to uh oh man performance and Ensemble
I think is what it was solo and Ensemble where we would prepare for a long period of time sometimes six or seven months a
specific piece and you would get with a piano player and you would prepare that music and you would be critiqued on how
well you did something certain measures would be highlighted because this is where students really
mess up and it wasn't just enough to get the the length of the notes right and to
get the articulations correct you had to have musical phrasing and the judge of
that performance was tuned in to hear what you did well and was able to
discern when you made a mistake and would Mark you for it you could probably only make two or three mistakes before you go down and rank
but the the top rank that you could get was Superior and then the second rank was excellent
and then if you got anything lower than that it you you weren't really excited about
it it was good and then there was really fair and then there was poor so if if
you got anything below and excellent you weren't doing the best that you could do but those two tiers there are superior
and an excellent is what a student was shooting for and when we see here the more excellent
way we see that love demonstrating that christ-like love towards the lost man and towards others
is how we're going to be able to best use our spiritual gifts
this is why it's important we know what our spiritual gifts are and that we are content with that and we
work within those gifts you mix that with the attitude of love and God can really do great things through a person
I'm sure you've met a couple of people maybe not a lot but I'm sure you've met a couple of people in your life
that are using their spiritual gifts to the best of their ability because they have a genuine agape love for others
I know of people like that in my life I'm glad to have them in my life
you can be the same way in this ministry here at Calvary or whatever Ministry you're a part of
so the believer can guard against selfishness in their service by checking their motives here's some questions
here's well it's one question that we can ask ourselves as we serve okay as we set up tables for dinners or as we
volunteer to help with the bread or we teach a Sunday school class or we we come in to help water plants or whatever
it may be as we serve ask yourself this question am I serving out of love for
the lost man and my fellow servant in Christ or am I serving for some other
reason and when we get into the verse by verse
teaching tonight of First Corinthians 13 1-7 you'll see we really only get three
things that love is and then seven or eight things that love
is not and those three things are all fruits of the spirit
the other things are really the fruits of the flesh that we should avoid so look in first Corinthians 13 verses
one through three we're going to read this verse in a pack and then we're going to comment on it for a little bit
and then we're going to move to another portion of scripture that speaks about the same kind of love agape love
though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity and you see that word charity here we're
talking about love I am become as a sounding brass or a tinkling symbol and
though I have the gift of Prophecy and understand all Mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all Faith so
that I could remove mountains and have not charity I am nothing and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and
though I give my body to be burned and have not charity it profiteth me nothing
now the first thing I want you to notice here is the progression of that word nothing verse 1 says that
even if I have the tongues of men and of angels I don't have love I say nothing
verse 2 is saying even though I have the ability of all of these prophecies and understanding Mysteries and this divine
revelation from God but I do not love I am nothing and then verse 3 is talking
about how you can even have the ability to give all of your Earthly possessions
away and even have your body be given away in in an ultimate sacrifice of life
but if you do it without love I gain nothing
so it's a it's a it's a steady progression if we don't have the right attitude
towards our fellow servant in Christ if we don't have our the right attitude of Love towards the lost man
we ultimately say nothing we are nothing we gain nothing
love is a very very powerful motivator for God so loved the world John 3 16
Romans 5 8 but God uh commendeth his love toward us in that why are we yet
sinners Christ died for us it's a demonstration of his love for us we need to be willing to demonstrate
that same love to others this now pours into every area of Our Lives
I love the illustration that I've seen before of when people are trying to make these really cool mold castings and they
take an old ant hill and they somehow preserve it and they put it into a container and uh the glass container
lets it be so that you can see the top of it but then you can see the bottom as well and you know from the top
perspective if you didn't see the bottom of it when they they pour this molten liquid in there I don't know if it's
aluminum or silver or whatever it is but it's supposed to harden into this really cool thing when it's done well from the
top level it's just pouring it into the opening at the top that's it and you want to be delicate because you want to
get all of that material into this creation but the cool thing is when you see below what's happening below the
surface is that liquid is seeping into every crevice
of that ant hill and I I can't help but see that as how
our love should be the attitude that we have towards the person who's not saved that's the world
needs to be an attitude of love and this is where I get very concerned
and I I ultimately think this is really a sign of the times that Christians were so
politically charged that when the opportunity comes up to
speak to someone about Christ we don't because we've already prejudged them
we've already put them into a box I'm seeing this a lot people are way
more vocal on whether they should wear a mask or not than they are about how a person can
know they're going to heaven or not we're very we're living in a very
politically charged climate and that's not to say that those things lack importance but in the scope of what
you and I are called to do as Christians in the body of Christ as disciples
we're going to be known of Christ by the way we love other people
and so a lot of people think just action without proper intent and motive and
without any message just acting nice towards people well that's demonstrating God's love that that kind of love strips
God of his Justice and his righteousness and his uh punishment that is coming against sin
okay is God love yes he is but does that mean that we turn a blind eye to
iniquity but that's what's happening in our churches today
we're celebrating all types of sin we're asking that sin to come in under the
name of being inclusive and we've somehow used first John 4 8
which we'll see here in a little bit oh God is love so then we ought to accept everyone well that's going too far the
other way what is the best way that we can show through action God's love
I think if they're a lost person the best way is by sharing the gospel with
them and sharing the gospel in a way that is winsome
not what I see a lot of not a lot of but when you see the gospel being preached
there are signs with fire on them and they tell people to repent which if
we're not explaining that word people are not going to understand what that means or you see these videos on social media
on YouTube of people Christians getting in the face of Sinners and condemning them for their
sin when you point at somebody you open up that back of the hand and there's three
pointing right back at you we need to be careful that we're not ready to judge someone
someone so harshly that our criticism of them would make the gospel a mute point
that is extremely hard to do and I you know here in America I'm sure all of you can understand
there are some people that with our previous president Donald Trump they're following him closer than they
are Jesus of the Bible now I have values and principles and
those things I live by them I run my family in that way I vote in that way
but when I'm talking to a lost person they don't need to know if I'm right left Center independent or whatever
they need to know that Christ has died for their sins was buried in Rose again God has demonstrated his love for them
in that way and if they will believe they get eternal life
this is why Ministries like Calvary and Northland up there in Saint Cloud
Minnesota and brother Lee Patton's church he passed away a little while ago
but Florida Bible College as well this is why those kids were different
because they taught something that actually mattered they spoke on things that were
life-changing the gospel message
people would go down to Florida Bible College and be impacted by the behavior of the students actually going out and
sharing their faith what is that that's biblical love
and so you have people that have these different talents and Gifts think of Dr Lindstrom the gift of teaching right
I'm preparing a series on the Rapture and I'm just eating up his class and even though he speaks in a soft
monotone way I'm not falling asleep because what he said he is lining he's
showing you where things are in the scripture he's not pulling verses out of context he had a gift
and he was able to reach more people than maybe someone with the same gift because Dr Hank Lindstrom loved souls he
wanted to win souls there are many prophecy Ministries out
there but isn't it remarkable that you have to spend a large amount of time to know what they believe about
eternal life that ought to be the first thing that you can find but unfortunately it's buried under four
or five tabs in a random About Us section and when you find out what they really believe it's just copy and paste from
what the Baptist movement says you ever notice that with a lot of Ministries their statement of faith is like cut and
paste statements of Faith are an opportunity for someone who's trying to discern if
you're of Truth and error will know clearly where you stand on different issues I've seen Ministries that say that
salvation is by grace alone through faith alone all you have to do is believe but the
main leader of the ministry doesn't believe that way it ought not be that way
but that's the way it is because remember there are things of God and his wisdom and there's
ways of man and man's Wisdom and and these things don't come together they need to be separate but unfortunately
they mix quite often so I want to look at a couple of phrases here when it says here in verse one if
you note there where it says the tongues of men and of angels this is uh oratory skills this is the ability to speak and
specifically the Greeks boy they loved their public debates it was like football games for you and
me uh sports and entertainment and you know they absolutely loved getting into
public debates where they would speak loudly and have clever sayings and
um and you know Little Greek uh Greek little boys they would just want to know
what their oratory skills are right from their beginning they would grow up in that way so even though what what Paul is saying
here and he's speaking in in hyperboles of course but he's saying even if you had all these different talents and
skills you're able to speak very clearly very well you could hold an audience you're able to
keep people's attention we're not talking about the gift of tongues here or some unknown tongue of of angels
it doesn't profit anything if it's not done in the right attitude
I want you to think back to when you first heard the gospel clearly maybe you heard it clearly early on in
your life like I did my uncle gave me the gospel clearly I didn't have to get
unconfused I heard the truth clearly but maybe some of you had to get a
little untwisting do you remember when you heard the gospel clearly I'm sure it impacted you
you don't have to remember the date that you were saved I'm sure you can recall the the time
when it made sense and clicked more often than not the person or the venue that you were trying that was
trying to reach you was done out of love and maybe that person had great oratory skills maybe they didn't
we don't really know if Paul was that great of a speaker or if he had this big tall stature that
has been commanding Hebrew man was he used by God
why because Paul loved the gospel you mix that with God's calling for him
to be we're gonna I'm gonna use you as to show what great things you're going
to suffer from my name you're going to speak before Kings did he speak before Kings he sure did
look at that next phrase there in verse two and though I have the gift of Prophecy
and understanding all Mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all faiths that I could remove mountains we're not
talking about physically removing a mountain here this is an expression of of doing the impossible
and as he says here I have the gift of Prophecy which was in this time divine revelation this is how the old excuse me
the New Testament was being written God was speaking through these men through the gift of the Holy Spirit and they
were speaking New Testament truth and these things were being recorded and we have now the completed scripture so now
that the scripture is completed the there there is no extra Revelation outside of what's already here in the
Bible so now that that gift has been limited to biblical Exposition being able to
teach the word being able to rightly divide the word of Truth there are some people that have that gift many pastors
have this gift if we have this gift and we can help people understand the things of God
but we don't preach and teach with love it's not going to profit anything
I've been under teachers not at Florida Bible college but this is when I was in
another church now boy I didn't really know if they loved me by the way they preached
I'm not kidding I remember in Sunday School classes thinking this teacher hates us
and they would use chapter and verse and they would be speaking biblically
no love for the audience I didn't know if I was in trouble or not
I was expecting my uncle to be very disappointed with me when he'd come pick me up because
the way people taught we see this in a lot in in younger people who are learning and growing
a young man who's been coming to church here Preston I'm sure many of you have met Preston
but he's come out of a Ministry that was like that very hard against sin and I'm not saying
that's wrong there's nothing wrong with it the Bible's hard against sin too but the way that they were communicating
it was out of in in what Preston and I have
talked about was just Pride for themselves their ability to discern right and wrong
we ought to win people to Christ so that they can learn how to walk in the spirit
yelling at people and bringing them down and just those things we need to we need to avoid
those things is there a time and place to stand up for truths like that absolutely and those I believe those times will be
clear but more often than not we need to be in an attitude of winning people
but this is a gift if you see here in verse 2 the gift of Prophecy
something that that the holy spirit is working through to to accomplish but we can still mess it up if we don't
have love that agape love
look in verse uh eight very quickly just because well I I was telling you about
that that gift of Prophecy so here in verse 8 it says charity never faileth but whether they be there'd be
prophecies they shall fail whether there be tongues they shall cease whether there be knowledge it shall vanish away
so there's coming a time where these gifts that were on a heightened display
at this time in the New Testament they're going to go away this is why the word of God is so
important and the ability to understand it and apply it is very important look at the next part there where it
says the the last verse and the verse 3. and though I bestow all my goods to feed
the poor and though I give my body to be burned and have not charity it profiteth me nothing
these are the two greatest sacrifices you can do for somebody think about it give away all of your Earthly
possessions that puts you at a disadvantage immediately by giving away everything that you have
all your money all your wealth if you did that for another person you
would be helping them out substantially I would venture to say I don't know how
a person could do that without benefiting someone else there's no question that that would help somebody
and then we have the last part here which is a the other greatest thing that we can do for somebody is ultimately
give our body in sacrifice
but even these two things if they're not done with the attitude of
love it profit if me nothing
look how strong Love is Here
do you see how a a Christian can live their entire lives
and actually do very little because they do not have the right attitude
I want to avoid doing that I would hope you want to avoid doing that too
so what does that love look like well the rest of the message that we're going
to look at here we're going to look at these different characteristics of love but before we do that hold your place
and go to first John 4.
we did a series early on in the year right around uh Valentine's Day
about the different kinds of love so you'll you'll remember these verses from that study but first
John 4 on page 13 24.
first John 4 look in verse 7. beloved let us love one another
for God for love is of God and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth
God he that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love then this is not a
Salvation verse this is not a check to see if somebody's really in the body of Christ or not this is a check of where
people are in their fellowship with God okay a Christian can be nasty and fully
of envying and boastful and and prideful as we're gonna see in First Corinthians
13 we're going to see what love is not these are all characteristics that you and I can show either outwardly or
inwardly when it says here in verse 8 he that loveth not knoweth not God he doesn't
know God in that way in a close relationship
a walk with him have your children ever been disobedient
I would hope well you know all of us have been disobedient children at one point right
it doesn't change the fact that we still have the same mother and father it does
change the quality of that relationship and depending on how
difficult and disobedient you are the level of the relationship will
change they're still your mother and father but it can be very burdensome for the parents
it can be hard for the child who's stuck up in Rebellion
so when it says here we're supposed to love one another we do that as an example in in God and verse 7 and
everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God verse 9 in this was
manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live
through him herein is love not that we loved God but that he loved
us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins beloved if God
so loved us we ought also to love one another
this is an if-than statement if God loved us then we ought to love one another in the
same way now does that mean we go around offering ourselves up in sacrificial death for
one another no what it means is we love each other
unconditionally but but but and I know that there are plenty of but weights
unconditional love if we look at somebody and say I can't love them because this and that we've
put a condition on our love
this is what I fear in the in in the Conservative Christian church right now
that's not happening the Conservative Christian Church is full of conditions
gotta say this got to do this does the lost man have to say and do anything about the the way they're
living their life to get saved no God did not do that to us you have to
say and do this in order for me to save you in that while we were yet sinners Romans 5 8 says
now there's boundaries with what we can accept and things that are wrong are wrong and
things that are right or right and the Bible informs us on those truths and we stay on those lines
but if we're not willing to share the gospel with somebody or even be kind and courteous to somebody
because of the way that they are that's a that that's a red flag
remember I said in the beginning of this message some of this is not comfortable
because it exposes the growth that we still have to to grow in
well rejoice in that because it's more opportunity to trust in the Lord amen
to just rely on him to get closer and closer
go back to First Corinthians chapter 13. and we're going to look in verses four
through seven and then we'll close so we have here in verse 4 charity
suffereth lung and this is a beautiful description
of what it means to suffer long it means to be long tempered okay literally
breaking down those two words it means a long soul
have you ever met a long soul maybe it's a grandfather or a grandmother someone who
was much older than you and has so much more experience and they just seem to be
able to put up with so much irritation and things that are just not being done
the right way that's what love is it's long-suffering
it's a long Soul this is a fruit of the spirit look in Galatians hold your place and just look in Galatians and you're
going to keep your spotting Galatians because the we're going to look at that for the next word too
Galatians chapter 5 and verse 22. page 1247 but the fruit of the spirit is love
joy peace long-suffering so charity suffers a long time
if you're in Ministry you get the opportunity to lead a Ministry there's going to be people that come into that
Ministry that are going to require a long soul
they're going to be difficult they're going to be inexperienced
they have a passion they have a desire but they don't know how to do it yet
love is being a long soul with that person
Yankee Arnold demonstrated patience with me
I tell you often we would be in the office that's not my office which is weird to say
but every Monday we'd talk sometimes for 30 minutes
sometimes for a couple of hours but every time that I knocked on his
door it was always a good time and I know that he could have been doing something else
but he was patient with me and he answered my questions things that he had all he he'd know the answer to it
could be very easily for him to say don't you know that but he didn't say that and he put up with me week after week
after week and in the times where I made mistakes and I was not willing to admit my
mistake because I couldn't see it he was patient with me then
Peter a model the same way demonstrated great patience with me
it took me a long time just to do the right thing and come to Ranch like I should have done as soon as I got a car I had my freedom
and you know what I chose to do with that freedom not come to Ranch that was wrong of me but he was patient
in in many ways some Ministries would say well that person they're just not worth it we got to get rid of them or
some people would say well we got to be against this person because they're just not ready they're just not there be
patient with people who are where you once were
you we have to live by that it's an attribute of love
we use our gift of Bible teaching by being patient with our students
I always tell my students there's no silly question ask any question you want
I tell the ranch kids that too any question you want the only silly question is the one that
is not asked look at the next description here hold
your place in Galatians 5 and go back to First Corinthians 13.
Charities suffereth lung and is kind
Good Will toward others that has an interest in helping them kindness also is willingness to demonstrate Mercy
towards others this is also a fruit of the spirit flip right over there to Galatians 5 where it
says love joy peace long-suffering gentleness goodness faith
that goodness kind being kind to one another
let Galatians go and look in Ephesians 4.
it's just a couple pages over there to your right Ephesians 4 31.
page 1254 verse 31 says let all bitterness and wrath and anger and
clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice and be ye kind
let's ask ourselves that question are we kind towards others
or do we feel that people have to meet our expectations and show us respect before we give them that respect
this is all over our youth today it is everywhere in their mindset
they're being trained to think this way you respect those that respect you I'm sorry that's not demonstrated
huh Pulpit mic test one test one two
Christ demonstrated kindness and held restraint against those that were beating him
mocking him against those Pharisees you study in the Life of Christ
I mean Jesus was able to read and discern their thoughts and he was still kind with them
now there were times where he was very direct and forward as he needed to be and he had that discernment he's God
all those times where he showed that I don't
it's not bitterness but he was difficult with people and he was exposing their errors
he was doing that in the right way but he was abundantly kind and you and I should be kind too
a love that lacks that is a love that's not really
accomplishing something look at these next descriptions all these descriptions if we let that go in
Ephesians 4. the rest of these tell you what love is
not and if you're honest and this is where I said in the
beginning this message was difficult to prepare because there were things that I saw in my life that I can improve on
areas that I thought oh I have these things under control but I can do better
look at what this next thing is charity envieth not
there's two different words for Envy here the one that is being used means does not desire for themselves what
another has it can be very tempting
that people look at what another Ministry has and they Envy it for themselves
there there's there's a Temptation and people succumb to it all the time to pull people from different places for
the satisfaction of having them here people do that
and it destroys Ministry if you're looking at what another person has and you're saying I want that you're
looking at someone else's talents and abilities that from what the scripture tells us is given to them by God and you want
that selfishly for yourself that's not love
it's weakness it's the flesh hold your place and look in James 3.
James chapter 3 in verses 14 through 15.
but if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts Glory not
and lie not against the truth this wisdom descendeth not from above
but is Earthly sensual and devilish
when we Envy what others have that is a product of things that are Earthly sensual
and devilish and we ought not continue to do that
you remember what the scripture tells us in Hebrews 13 5 be content in Philippians 4 I have learned to be
content being content is lacking Envy
all right go back to First Corinthians 13. look at the next part of verse 4.
charity vaunteth not itself the word here when you if you have
e-Sword and you have the KJV Plus it will show you the Greek word that is
originally here and vaunteth not itself is actually one word I tried to pronounce it I tried to write
down the pronunciation and you're not going to hear it you're not going to hear it correctly
but what that really means is is literally not a braggart you know what a braggart is
it's someone who's just hot air they're always talking
about what they can do they seek to have their praise validated by what they
say about themselves they just can't seem to be quiet about when they do something good
if there's a spotlight on the church on God there's some way for that person to
get up there on that light and turn it on themselves and then talk talk talk talk talk
in the spotlight that's not love look at the next phrase here
is not puffed up this is pride we saw this earlier in First Corinthians 4 look over there real quick hold your place in
13 and go to First Corinthians 4. foreign
look in verse verses 6 and 7 on page 12 15 and these things Brethren I have in a
figure transferred to myself into Apollos for your sakes that ye might learn in us not to think of men above
that which is written that not no one of you be puffed up for
a 4-1 against another well we like this preacher but we really
think that this preacher is better because X Y and Z do they preach the truth do they have the gospel clear
no reason in supporting all no reason not to support them all
but um we pick favorites because lifted up and pride you know that hurts pastors and teachers
when we do that lift it up in Pride
looking towards ourselves and our great discernment and our great talent we need
to be careful that's not love sure we can serve the Lord in that way
but we can't do it well look what it says in uh verse 5 of First
Corinthians 13. doth not behave itself unseemly
this means to be indecent in speech is not rude in behavior and speech
I think this goes hand in hand with another word but we'll we'll get to that definition in a minute here the next
phrase is seeketh not her own this is very simple this is to be selfish
doing things either openly or secretly for the benefit of self
for example may you know it's not a good thing to make a large contribution to a
Ministry so that you can be recognized for it that's not giving in the right way
God probably blessed you with what you have and for you to say well I'm going to
give it away and I want the recognition for it that's seeking your own people don't do that you'd be shocked
you'd be shocked
look at this next phrase here is not easily provoked
to understand this before I give you uh the the uh application of this look in
James 1 19 through 20. hold your place in First Corinthians but look in James
chapter 1 verses 19. and 20.
this is I will be very honest with you this is what I see
in the political side of Christianity right now
verse 19. we're for my beloved Brethren let every man be swift to hear slow to
speak slow to Wrath for the wrath of man worketh not the
righteousness of God do you know what this is these are those angry outbursts
the inability to control our temper easily provoked
someone who just by one thing that we may say or do they fly off the handle
we've been conditioned to respond this way and I think it's a it's trickery of the
devil Brothers and Sisters in Christ won't fellowship with one another over
political differences foreign they won't go to churches over political
differences they'll be having a meal together and the argument will get so intense over
things that are just trivial that's not love
and we got to be careful of of being that way now don't take that to the extreme
we just allow everything and tolerate everything can you correct someone out of loving
kindness can you correct someone in a way that you build them up
that takes a long Soul amen someone who is not envious
someone who is not seeking to build themselves up but look at verse 19 very quickly wherefore my beloved Brethren
let every man be swift to what here you want to hear someone well you have
to listen to and slow to speak
slow to Wrath for the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God we can't take our
hot-headed tempers and say well this is working to the better of the glory of God no it's not
no it's not almost done here
we skipped over this because of time but remember where it says in First Corinthians 3 5 it says seeketh not her
own you should write off to the side there to look in Philippians 2 verse 3 and verse 21 and give some examples of
that from other places in the scripture and then the last two here is this this was the one of the more interesting ones
when I was studying I was looking up the definition of these words thinketh no evil as it says in verse 5.
First Corinthians 13 5 thinketh no evil now you would look at that and say well that's dwelling on on on evil things the
word there actually actually means to take account of as an estimate now think about this for a second
does not take account of evils does not hold an estimate of evils what
does that mean does not hold grudges does not tally the wrong done against
them foreign wow
we can be that way if we're not careful well this person's done this and this
and this and this and this so I'm not going to be kind to them
I'm not going to be patient with them because look how they've acted they deserve this
that's taking account of evils and that's not love
but you don't know what I might not know but God does how many evils have been done against uh
against God by us you see how a Ministry can get a hold of
these things one person can get a hold of these things and really really be helpful towards a lost person be
helpful towards those that are in the body of Christ I strive to be like this as your pastor
that's why even though I told my wife before I started I was like this message was really hard to prepare
because there are things in here where I'm looking at this and I'm saying I've made excuses for certain things like this in my life maybe you have too
and that's wrong that's not the right way to do it
and so now I've got a moment here where I have to look and say okay the the Bible has exposed you of where you need
to improve what are you going to do about it got a choice
but almost immediately I have relief because I know I can do all things with this Holy Spirit that's been given to me
I just have to be better at recognizing when I make those mistakes and it's the same thing for you
learn to discipline yourself James 1 19 is a great place to start
be quick to listen very slow to speak and even slower
to be wrathful and be angry
look what it says here in verse 6. rejoiceth not in iniquity
but rejoiceth in the truth love does not rejoice in sin and evils
committed against somebody it rejoice in the truth and again the only way we can know the truth
is by knowing what the errors are and the word of God exposes what is
right and what is wrong verse 7 and then we have to close because we've where we've run out of
time beareth all things believeth all things hope if all things endureth all things
and we'll we'll pick that up next week as we're going to look at those also word by word to see how they can be
properly applied some beautiful descriptions here of what
love is and I hope it's it's been something that
you can as you take notes and you see the word of God here speak for itself
if this was a class would it be safe to say we all have some homework
we all have some areas where we can improve that's a good thing if you're able to to recognize where you
fall short and you're willing to fix those things I think God can really use you
I would be concerned with people that are it's hard to convince them of their own
Pride the Lord will handle them though one of my mentors told me why do you try
to do the job of the Holy Spirit he can do that job just fine without you
the Lord can definitely convince people of their sin
convict them of it bring them to a point of chastening we need to love people
I mean stand for the truth when you be long Souls
not looking for Envy strife keeping a track of things that have been
done wrong against us selfish if we have those qualities in our life
we need to look at them and we need to get rid of them look up here this hand represents you
and me my wallet represents sin I want to put this on top of my hand because the Bible says we've all sinned we've we've come short
of perfection if we were to pay for all of this sin we'd have to pay for it in an eternity
separated from God forever in a place called hell we have to be perfect to get to heaven
just like God he does love us it's the sin that he hates because that sin separates us from
him no amount of good works or Good Deeds or turning over a new Leaf or starting
something brand new is going to change our condition we have sinned
the Bible says that salvation is the gift of God not of Works lest any man should boast if someone could really pay
for the sin on their own they'd have all the glory and all the position to boast no one can
we need a substitute we need someone to take our place this hand represents Jesus Christ he was
perfect he had no sin he was fully God and fully man he understood
what we have gone through he was tempted in all ways that we have been tempted but he was found without
sin because God loved us he demonstrated that love for us by Jesus Christ
dying on the cross taking all of our sin upon himself made that payment was buried and he rose
again three days later just like he claimed he would and the good news is if you simply
believe in him your past from Death on the life and you'll never be brought in a
condemnation again if we could illustrate John 3 16 it would look like this for God so loved
the world that's you and me that he gave his only begotten son Jesus Christ that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish but have everlasting life you're born into God's family the moment that you believe on the death-brown
resurrection of Jesus Christ for the payment of all your sin I like to say that past present and future
because that's all of them all the sins you did commit all the sins
you're committing right now and all the sins you could commit in the future he paid for them all isn't that good news
so on the on the principle of that good news we should serve out of love in the same
way that God loved us let's go to Lord in prayer heads are about knives are closed for those of you
who are watching online I want to encourage you if you have not yet put your trust in Jesus
Christ I pray that you will not delay I pray that you decide right now where
you're sitting that this makes sense to you and that you will put your trust in in
Jesus Christ for the full payment of your sin he died he was buried and he rose again he did that all
to pay for sin he was God In the Flesh I pray that she'll do that for the rest
of us here in the sanctuary I want to encourage you to evaluate your decisions through that
filter of love what's getting caught what's being looked at in that strainer
as not love and we need to throw it out
watch him pray trust in the Lord to help you with those things he'll do it
he'll do it heavenly father thank you for your word thank you for all that you do and
continue to do for us bring us back here safely on Wednesday night we think of Steve we think of n
and those who are still struggling with many different things we ask that you heal them Lord
but we also thank you Lord for this message for this passage First
Corinthians 13. to help us see what love is and what it's not and how we can rightly apply it
to our lives in Jesus name we pray amen if you enjoyed today's episode of Bible line make sure to subscribe to the
channel and share this video with a friend do you have a Bible question send us an email questions at
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this video be sure to check the links in the description for more clear Bible teaching Bible in his and Ministry of
Calgary Community church located in Tampa Florida