LOVE
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First Corinthians 13
V1 NASB, …tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.:
maybe there’s a distinction in sound that would be noticed by a percussionist, but most people would not take notice at the difference between those two sounds.
Clanging sounds would become irritating, the of a believer speaking if God’s word whether it be through prophecies, tongues, preaching, if it’s done without the love of God it just doesn’t sound right, but how do we define God’s love in the day we live in, what is the definition of God’s love in these modern times? Many people talk about love, but how do they define it? Ex of when the youth pastor said that about the Samaritan woman.
So is the new definition of love that we never tell anyone that sin will destroy them? We never say homosexuality is wrong, transgender, fornication, adultery, gossip, lying slander, smoking, vaping, drugs, alcohol? Is it not love to tell the truth? So is it love to let people go to hell without them knowing they’re on their way to hell and not tell them they don’t have to go?
1 Corinthians 6:9-11 NASB
9 Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, , nor homosexuals, 10 nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 Such were some of you; but you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the Spirit of our God.
It’s true that sometimes God’s love is uncomfortable, but God’s love heals and restores. God so loved He sent His Son into a fallen world. How bad is this world church? How hostile towards God and HIS Son do you suppose this place is? What a love, that in the face of hate and bitterness and jealousy and anger, as they wag their head and cast in His teeth, “Save yourself!” His response, “Father forgive them”, It’s not a pretty, clean or romantic love. It’s heartbreaking, it exposes, it convicts of wrong, but this love is so full of passion, selflessness, sacrifice it’s unforgettable; yet, so many carry on without change. “Don’t talk about change, I don’t like change”, but He died, so we could change. The world was dark and He is light. God is light in HIM is no darkness at all.
What kind of love is this?
Numbers 21
Well, it’s a love like you’ve never seen, a love like you’ve never heard of: “Just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness. The people are perishing for their murmuring and complaining against God and rebellion against God’s will. He sends the poison of asps. God is not opposed to chastening His people. They rebelled, they murmured, they complained. He sent the serpents, but He also made a way of healing.
Look to HIS plan child of God – look to God‘s plan Christian on that pole sin was judged. The son of God was placed, upon that pole, and there He bore the weight of man’s sin. Your body can be healed— that is love, the bitterness in your heart healed, the brokenness of your heart healed, what love! Remember the problem began with— murmuring and complaining. This is the love of God. It doesn’t look like it, it doesn’t make sense, it’s bloody, it’s dirty, but if you accept that it’s for you, if you let it into your heart, love will flood your heart and change your life.
John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Children reflect the image of their father. True children of God are molded into the image of his son and His Son is the image of the invisible God Colossians 1:15
God is love 1 John 4:7-9 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. 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.
When the sacrificial love of Jesus enters our heart, it changes everything because the revelation of His love changes everything. Lost and hopeless, humanity was stuck in a world of darkness. We don’t think much of history, we tend to only view the world through our personal experience, but what you and I were born into is far different than the rest of human history. If we could really understand the light of His love, the transformation power of the Love of God, we would so appreciate the Lord more. Without Jesus, there is only sickness, sin, disease, darkness and trouble, nothing but hopelessness; we were without him: yet, he loved. In spite of ourselves, he still loved us. He showed us his love (demonstrated) his love in that, while we were sinners, Christ died for us. When did he die for you? I would say he died for you when you were your worst.
Was that when you were doing drugs, and living a lifestyle of sexual sin or was it when he saved you and then you cheated on him again? You can figure that out between you and God. He and I will figure that out for myself. But while we were yet sinners, he died for the ungodly:
Selfless, sacrificial, relentless, a pursuing love that refuses to quit. Refuses to give up— He will not give up on you child of God. Please, let us agree in the Holy Ghost, we never want to give up on you Lord!
Until that love enters our heart. We will sound no different than the rest of the world. We will just be another noisy sound in the middle of a noisy world – it is the love of God that will give our words distinction.
Unless that love is in our hearts and manifesting the fruit produced from the Holy Spirit in our lives, you can have all the gifts you want, you will still be a gong or a clanging cymbal.
1. v2 you can have faith to move mountains. No love – you have nothing.
2. v3 give all your money to feed the poor – no love – nothing!
Visual manifestations of love:
1. It suffers long— it’s patient.
2. It is kind – useful
3. It’s not jealous or full of envy.
I’m happy God is using you. I am thankful to God that he is blessing you. I was praying for you brother or sister while you were in that spot. It is good to see that he pulled you through.
4. Not easily provoked – man you really hurt me. I don’t really understand why you did that to me. But 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.… you hurt me but you can’t really hurt a head man.
4. Love does not rejoice in iniquity.
5. Love rejoices in truth not lies.
Prophecies will fail
Tongues will cease
Knowledge will vanish away
Remember Because there is coming a day when those things will no longer be needed, because all those things are currently simply tools used by God for the purpose of revealing Himself to a world that is sick with sin, and full of hate towards God.
But one day love will come, that which is perfect will come— when He comes, the fulfillment of God‘s plan— Jesus, when the manifestation of God’s love returns to this earth, The part will be done away with.
You see right now the love is only partly seen, and can only partly be seen by others through us. It’s sad that there is a world out there that is hurting so bad and need His love so much. They are drowning in hate and sin, and His own people called by His name struggle to love one another: He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 1 John 2:10 We must always be on guard: But while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat, and went his way. Matthew 13:25 But Jesus said not to pluck up the tares, because in plucking out tares, we could damage the wheat that is around the tares and the wheat is O’ so precious to our Lord; for the wheat are the very souls that He purchased with His blood.
**John under the tree crying and saying with tears in his eyes, “The Master told us to love”
Currently, we see His love through a glass darkly but when love comes, we will see him face-to-face.
So what is the revelation?
The revelation is the manifestation of God’s love. His love manifested on the earth in the form of His Son. Now being ascended, the great Comforter has descended and the great love has entered our hearts through the person of the Spirit. The revelation is that it’s not about my gift being greater than the next person, my tongue or interpretation, being more important than the next person. It’s never about me, it’s always about HIM. That’s why I can’t afford to be:
Provoked
Envious
Seeking my own or full of jealousy
That’s why I have to embrace truth and not lies
That’s why I would rather patiently bear with you rather than display your sin in front of the world (13:7) Proverbs 17:9 He who conceals a transgression seeks love, But he who repeats a matter separates intimate friends.
That is why I have to endure all things – – which means not to recede— erosion, reveals the root
Revelation 3:2 Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God.
Because you see anything else is me acting like a child. When I was a child, I understood as a child, and I thought as a child but now I have love I have the love of the father and the heart of God, and in Christ, I am made a mature man or woman of God! I no longer act like a child or act like: you take my toy, I take yours. You’ve be mean to me, I be mean to you. No, I learn to allow my old man to die and allow God’s love to live through me.
The love of God made me a man, and when I became a man I put away childish things.
1 Corinthians 14:1
Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy.