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What's Love Got To Do With It? |
I Corinthians 12:3 – 13: 1-3 I Corinthians chapter 13 , actually the last part of chapter 12, Paul writes
And read four through seven:
A couple of years ago, a man decided to get a group of kids together and asked them how they would define love. Here are some of their responses:
Or how about these examples?
Today, we contemplate the loftiest virtue on the planet… love. And, as we do, we face a sobering and convicting reality. I’ve had to listen to this three times and I tell you this is not easy. And, I hope you find yourself contemplating how sobering and convicting this really is … because God says in his Word that we, the body of Christ, those who say Jesus is my Savior and lord, are supposed to be the best in the world at loving. We are supposed to be the love doctors and know more about love and be better at love than anybody else in the world. Remember how Jesus put it to his disciples
What was going to be the distinguishing mark of theological excellence? The uniforms they wore, the classes they had been to, the things they had accomplished. They’re going to come up and say, “Look at how those people love one another. They must belong to Jesus”. By this, all men will know that you are disciples of Jesus, if you have love for one another. But, tragically, that is not the legacy of many Christians or churches. And. Jonathan Swift, the satirical author of Gulliver’s Travels, issues a stinging indictment that often proves true in Christian circles. He said, “We caught just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.” The context is very interesting in that there is apparently a core problem in Corinth that everyone was ignoring. Nobody brought it up to Paul. Nobody asked him questions about it. Nobody even seemed to think that they had problems. Oh, we know the book of Corinthians very well by now because we know these people continue to bring up their questions and Paul answered their questions. But, nobody brought this question up, so Paul boldly brings it up himself. Well, I, your Pastor, have a question for you ... What’s sense would it make to consider First Corinthians thirteen an idyllic hymn singing the glories of love at this point in the letter? It would make no sense at all. But, what if you see this chapter as a dramatic confrontation for a church that had placed love at the bottom of their priority list. And. here’s how I have little doubt that some of you had I Corinthians 13 read at your wedding and it’s been used in these beautiful, wonderful settings but, contextually, that was not the purpose. Paul was not thinking “we all need to have break here and we all need to settle down and have some winsome and ethereal thoughts about loving each other”. He realized, as we realize, that one of our greatest challenges is to do what God has said for us to do. What was rotten in Corinth is that Satan had nailed them in their Achilles heel. And, he’s been nailing churches, Christians and people of God everywhere in the same place since the beginning of human history. A foundational verse for today:
So what does that mean? It means that if we, the people of God, are going to be godly then we can be sure of one thing. We will love. We’ve been wrestling with, as church leadership, how do you identify marks of spiritual maturity, how do you strengthen and establish believers in a concentrated and organized way in order that you might produce the fruits of maturity in their lives and how do you know a mature Christian when you see one. Paul would answer from this chapter that the number one way you’ll know one’s maturity … “they will love”. Love will stand out like a sore thumb. You will see it and it is non-negotiable and non-debatable. They will be about love. And, Warren Wiersbe says, “The main evidence of spiritual maturity is love”. Satan also knows that, by the way. He has a strategy and his strategy was working in the church at Corinth, and Paul now believed he had a mission and the mission was to offset the strategies of Satan and the ways Satan had come into the Corinthian church to disrupt them and do whatever he could to keep them from loving. Now, I have little doubt that Satan goes to church more than anyone else does. And, one of his passion points is … “If I could just keep them from loving. If I can just get them off into other stuff, then, I’ll have them right where I want them.” As I’ve pondered this very familiar chapter, it strikes me that Satan indeed has a strategy and it’s a strategy he had for them, and it’s a strategy he has for our church and for you and for me. It has the following components: The Number One Strategy: Get us to serve, but keep us from loving. Clearly, Paul continues the topic of spiritual gifts in verses one through three. He says that to use your gift, and notice that he identifies “spectacular gifts,” like speaking in tongues of men and angels. And, there’s a great debate about what that means. Some people think that “tongues of angels” is hyperbole because they just thought that’s what they were. Some people have other theological ways of talking about it. But, whatever conclusion you draw, it was spectacular. The “gift of prophecy,” is the ability to foretell. The issue of fathoming of mystery and knowledge, probably the spiritual “gift of knowledge,” is not just knowing something, but having the ability to discern and apply it to your life. Then he says, “a faith that can move mountains”. He identifies it as a unique kind of faith, probably the” gift of faith,” which is another gift in the gift listing. Then Paul says, “If I give all I possess to the poor, it is “the gift of giving,” and if I surrender my body to flames, perhaps that is the “gift of martyrdom”. Some people think that martyrdom is one of the spiritual gifts, and probably one that nobody wants. It is one that is given for people to be able to stand up for their faith and to be willing and able to give their lives for it with purpose. Whatever you see here, Paul has a list of serving gifts and he says that if you use these serving gifts and you don’t have love while doing it, you are nothing. So, can you see why Satan’s goal is to get us to serve, but keep us from love? Why? … This is one of the most profound observations out of this chapter that I think can ever be made … because, if you serve that way, it is worthless service. Whoa! …so much for an idyllic, ethereal, pastoral love poem. Therefore, if you use your gift and your service and you don’t have love, it’s worthless. You can be serving your head off and, if it’s not done with love, it’s all a waste. It doesn’t count! It’s worthless! Now it’s very tempting in any study on love to get sidetracked on the three Greek words for love (agape, philos, eros). You’ve probably heard sermons on it. You’ve probably done Bible studies on it. The distinctions between those terms are not quite as clear as you might like to believe. I read D. A. Carson’s book “Exegetical Fallacies” about twenty years ago in which he says you can’t just look at the word “agape” and say that’s a distinctive and unique type of love (God’s love) versus the others of philos (brotherly love) and eros (sensual or sexual love) … because, in the Septuagint (the Greek version of the old testament), what you find is that “agape” is used in Amnon’s incestuous love for his sister, Tamar. So, he says not to get so bogged down in the etymology of the word, but rather in its usage. I want to talk about that with you today. I’m convinced that our struggle to love is not a struggle of definition, but rather a struggle of motivation. I don’t think on a Sunday morning, in June at Foothills Bible Church, that the average Christian needs love defined for them. And I don’t think it’s very motivating, to be honest with you, that it’s “agape love.” You’ve heard those things and look where we are. I believe it is indeed the issue of motivation. Why am I doing what I’m doing today? If my motivation is not love in what I’m doing here, then it is wasted and worthless! I have no gain! I gain nothing and it is worth nothing! That’s sobering isn’t it? Last July, Jan and I spent some time in New York City for our wedding anniversary. While we were there, we saw the play “Fiddler on the Roof”. I was thinking of it this week because of one of the songs in the play … “Do You Love Me?” … It is when Tevye has one of his daughters, Hodel, come to him and ask if she can marry Perchik. Tevye asks her why she wants to marry him because he doesn’t have anything. She replies “because I love him.” And Tevye is thrown back on his heels with a “what has love got to do with it” type of thing. Anyway, he decides to give permission and this is the scene where Goldie, his wife, comes in. He says, “Goldie, I’ve decided to give Perchik permission to become engaged to our daughter Hodel.” Goldie replies, “What? He’s poor. He has nothing, absolutely nothing.” “He’s a good man, Goldie. I like him and, what’s more, Hodel likes him. Hodel loves him. So, what can we do? It’s a new world of love, Goldie … Goldie, do you love me?” “Do I what? … Goldie replied.” “Do you love me?” … He, again, asked. She replied, “Do I love you with our daughter getting married, and there’s trouble in the town and you’re upset. You’re worn out. Go inside. Go lie down. Maybe it’s indigestion.” “Goldie, I’m asking you a question. Do you love me?” “You’re a fool,” she answered. “I know, but do you love me?” God says, if your service, whatever it is, is not motivated by love, it’s worthless. It is nothing. So, Satan comes and says, “I’ll get them all involved in service. I’ll get them busy as little beavers in the church. But, if I can keep them from loving, I’ve got them right where I want them.” The Second Strategy: After getting us to serve … Satan wants to keep us from loving. He wants to get us to talk, but keep us from acting. In verses four through seven, Paul uses fifteen verbal forms. Why? … Because, love is dynamic and active. Love can only be defined by what it does and does not do. But, love is not ultimately talking or feeling. It is doing.
I would like you to administer a self-test. You need it. I need it. And, as you contemplate, I realize that nobody’s perfect. I don’t need to be reminded of that. That’s not the issue. The issue is that the Corinthian church was being torn apart because people did not love each other in tangible ways. People were not saying, “Oh, you should see those people in Corinth and how much they love each other.” They were not saying, “Man, those Christians are as messed up as we are. Those Christians don’t love each other.” Some of you may be saying, “The truth is I feel more loved by people who are non-Christians than those who are Christians”. Now, let me give you a little inside information on that. That’s precisely what Satan is about. He comes into the church with a goal that you don’t experience love here because, if you do, you’ll want to bring other people here. Then, other people will come and there will be an explosion of love because people will be accepted and loved. Remember, Satan has an agenda against us. That shouldn’t surprise you. So, how do you measure up under the following categories? This is your self-test and not that of your neighbor, your spouse or your child. Patience; love is kind; it doesn’t envy; it doesn’t boast; it’s not proud; it’s not rude; it’s not self seeking; it’s not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs; it does not delight in evil; it rejoices with the truth; it always protects; always trusts; always hopes; always perseveres. How are you doing? … You can talk about it. You can sing about it. But, how are you doing? Ravi Zacharias has identified a loss of charity as one of the significant cultural shifts of our lifetime, and, boy, do I agree with him. You see it everywhere. You see it out in traffic. You see it parking lots. I hope you never see it in the church parking lot. You see it in restaurants, schools, businesses, government and sports. I suggest that this cultural loss of charity has seeped into the church and has created an environment of apathy and indifference that is killing us. Let me put it this way. If love is action, then what’s the opposite of that? … “inaction.” So, if I’m in a situation and in order to love, I do or don’t do … then, in the case of the opposite, it is indifference and apathy In 1994, South African photojournalist, Kevin Carter, won the Pulitzer Prize for feature photography. The photograph that brought him fame depicted an emaciated Sudanese child crawling before a feeding center under the hard stare of a nearby vulture. He snaps this picture crawling toward a feeding center and a vulture is poised ready to grab the child. The image which so powerfully captured the horror of famine-stricken Sudan in the early 1990’s drew international attention to both Sudan’s suffering and Kevin Carter’s career. It launched his career as a photojournalist. But with Carter’s acclaim, also came the questions. People wanted to know, what happened to the child he saw that day. After snapping the camera, what had Carter done to help the child? Painfully, Carter admitted that after spending about twenty minutes framing the shot, he simply walked away. Within two months of receiving journalism’s most coveted award, the thirty-three year old photojournalist took his own life. He couldn’t bear the thought that he had not done anything to help that little child. He couldn’t bear that he had not chosen to act in love. Kevin Carter had been raised in a devoutly religious home but he had long since left his upbringing behind. Now he had seen too much of the world’s suffering and he could no longer cope. He parked his pickup truck near where he had played as a child, attached a garden hose and breathed in the fumes. He said “I’m really, really sorry” in a note he left beside him. The pain of life overrides the joy to the point that joy simply no longer exists. I have little doubt that every one of us in this room who names the name of Christ and claims to be a Christian has a situation of life in which we are involved where we know what it would be to demonstrate love, yet we stand there waiting. And maybe even, metaphorically, we snap a picture of it. We talk about it. We contemplate it and we never act. If that’s what happens, Satan has us right where he wants us! We can sing all the songs about love we want. We can quote all the verses about love that we want. We can look at others and point out their shortcomings all we want. But if all we’re doing is talking about love and not doing anything about it, then Satan has succeeded and we fail once again. In verses eight through thirteen, Paul brings up the temporary nature of spiritual gifts and contrasts it with the permanence of love. He says that gifts don’t last but love does. Verse eight says, “Love never fails.” For some reason, Paul feels the need to identify some of the gifts that are going to pass away and he identifies them specifically. He says that there will be prophecies that cease, tongues that will be stilled, and there will be knowledge that will pass away. As you know, this is a very controversial text talks about the cessation of certain sign gifts, which we believe were about affirming and vindicating and authenticating the message and the messengers of the New Testament time period. As the church was coming into shape and fruition, we believe those supernatural gifts did not continue. However, I am sure that even as I am saying that, there are some in the room who would like to argue with me. Or at least you would say, “I don’t agree with that” or “that’s not right.” You would like to say “Paul, why didn’t you put a date on it? Why didn’t you put an expiration date on tongues? Why didn’t you put an expiration date on prophecy?” The fact of the matter is that we can’t die for it here, but what we can say is that apparently the spiritual gifts are going to come to an end, but love will never end. Now, I want to propose something to you that is very direct. My dad used to talk to us like this and then say, “A word to the wise is sufficient.” Christians, brothers and sisters in Christ, we have to stop our petty arguments with each other over silly things today. It is killing us and destroying our testimony of love, both in and outside the church. Now I know this because I’ve been around a long time. There are some who are saying, “I don’t like sermons like this … that touchy-feely, ooey-gooey, Casper Milk Toast, that kind of mushy love thing. I don’t like that! But, what about truth? Well, Paul says in verse six that love rejoices with the truth so we don’t sacrifice truth on the altar of love. Paul also says in chapter five, regarding the man who was having sexual relations with his father’s wife … the church was told it had to put him out. Because, the most loving thing you can do when someone is in that kind of rebellion and will not repent is … to put them out. So, the truth stands, but you see, this is not really where most of us live. Most of us live with a constant struggle to make sure that love is number one on our priority list. Satan gets us to argue, but keeps us from prioritizing. Let me tell you, I hear every week of another church issue, whether in this church or another church and they’re all over the country, where people are arguing with each other rather than being known for their love. Look at the last verse. Paul does something startling. He establishes a priority list that must have shaken the Corinthian church to its core and it should do the same to us … faith, hope love. Oh, we say we should preach messages about people putting their faith in Christ, receiving Christ as their Savior. With hope, we have the hope of eternity of life in Heaven with Him. And, our blessed hope is looking forward to His return. Nothing is a higher priority in life than love. There is nothing that stands at a higher level in the kind of lives we’re called to live than living out a life of love. If love is the soul of Christian existence, it must be at the heart of every other Christian virtue, writes one author. Thus, for example:
Every virtue is an expression of love. No virtue is really a virtue unless it is permeated or informed by love. Martin Luther King, Jr., shortly before he was killed spoke to the congregation at Atlanta’s Ebenezeer Baptist Church and said, “If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And, if you get someone to deliver the eulogy, tell him or her not to talk too long. Every now and then I think about what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have the Nobel Peace Prize. That’s not important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards. That’s not important. Tell them not to mention even where I went to school. I would like someone to mention that day, that “Martin Luther King, Jr. just tried to love someone”. How are you doing on just trying to love somebody? I found a story this week I identified with because it is a story about a pastor:
I think it may be time for some of you to realign your priorities. In the wildly popular book “Tuesdays with Morrie” and a subsequent 1999 movie based on the book by the same name, the main character of the story, who is a teacher dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease, says, “We must love one another or die.” And, I believe that’s what Paul was saying in First Corinthians thirteen. What’s love got to do with it? For the Christian, it means everything! Perhaps God is speaking to your heart right now. Maybe you need to take some time to contemplate how you’re measuring up in the love categories. Some of you need to have a heart-to-heart talk with your spouse today. Some of you need to go to a parent or a child. Some of you need to go to a brother or sister in Christ in this church family and acknowledge that you have not had love at the top of your priority list. And, you know what? If we don’t, and all it takes is a few, and once we have a few where that love starts slipping down the priority list, it just spreads like wildfire. I’ve seen it here and I’ve seen it in other churches. Folks, we’ve got to stop. We’ve got to realign our priorities right now. We’ve got to set aside our petty differences. We’ve got to stop letting Satan get us right where he wants us. You know the Word of God says, “But let a man examine himself before he comes to this table” … because there were people in Corinth who were getting sick and even dying because they were coming to the table and their lives were, spiritually speaking, totally out of line. So, examine your heart. In the New Testament it was quite clear they were having love feasts. They had meals together as Christians and called them love feasts of all things. They called them love feasts because that was their number one distinguishing mark. Is that the number one distinguishing mark of our gatherings? Examine your heart. Ask God to speak to you and then, as you’re contemplating your heart, if you want the best example of the kind of love that Paul is talking about in First Corinthians thirteen, all you have to do is look to Jesus. That is what this Lord’s table is all about. The Bible says in the Book of Romans that God commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This Lord’s table is a love table. That’s what it’s all about. It was love that motivated our Savior to go to the cross for us. As we eat this bread today and drink from these cups, in remembrance of Him, I want it to be settling in your hearts and minds, and recognize that if you are going to be like Jesus, first and foremost, you are going to be about love. Father, as we eat the bread now and drink from these cups, I pray for all my brothers and sisters in Christ in this room. Lord, would you make us truly to be about love. Would you just allow us to see where our hearts are and stop letting Satan win the victories time after time after time. And as you do it, Lord, we know you’ll be glorified and the church will be built, saints will be strengthened and lost people will be reached … because, we are about the number one priority for every Christian in this room. It’s for your glory we pray and in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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