WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.439 age and joy. 00:00:10.779 --> 00:00:16.519 Well, today we're going to continue our walk through 1 Corinthians chapter 13, which is 00:00:16.519 --> 00:00:21.219 known as the love chapter. We're going to be looking specifically in verse 5 today. But 00:00:21.219 --> 00:00:27.820 as we get started, I just wanted to focus first on a podcast that I recently listened 00:00:27.820 --> 00:00:34.659 to. And it was a podcast that they were talking about philosophy. Now, I'm certainly not someone 00:00:34.659 --> 00:00:38.719 who's very versed in philosophy. I didn't study philosophy. I don't know much about Plato 00:00:38.719 --> 00:00:43.000 and Socrates and Aristotle and the likes. But on the podcast, they were discussing these 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:48.320 philosophical questions that have arisen over time. Questions like, how do we know what 00:00:48.320 --> 00:00:53.460 reality is? And how do we interpret it? And they were talking specifically about one question, 00:00:53.460 --> 00:00:59.799 which is this kind of age-old question is, how do we know a chair is a chair? You know, 00:00:59.859 --> 00:01:05.099 if you were to think of a chair, you could probably describe a chair, that it has four legs and 00:01:05.099 --> 00:01:12.519 it has a seat and a seat back, maybe two arms. But is a chair simply defined by its features? 00:01:13.480 --> 00:01:19.159 If you took the back off of a chair, does it cease to be a chair? If the chair has three 00:01:19.159 --> 00:01:24.920 legs instead of four, is it no longer a chair? Maybe you have food and you place food on the 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:29.579 chair and then sit on the floor to eat the food. Is it no longer a chair? Has it been transformed 00:01:29.579 --> 00:01:37.519 into a table now? Is a chair simply just this collection of atoms? Or does a chair exist at 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:42.199 all? Or simply the idea of a chair? There has been philosophers and people that discuss concepts 00:01:42.199 --> 00:01:46.439 like this. Maybe this really interests you. Maybe you find this puzzling why anyone would think 00:01:46.439 --> 00:01:52.700 about this. But the thing is, we spend a lot of time also thinking about the subject of love 00:01:52.700 --> 00:01:58.400 much like this. There has been many people who have asked, what is love? If you ask that question of 00:01:58.400 --> 00:02:03.900 a hundred different people, you're probably going to get a hundred different answers. Is love in 00:02:03.900 --> 00:02:11.139 emotion? Is it a behavior? Is it an action? Is it a means of interacting with our surroundings? 00:02:11.139 --> 00:02:20.039 Well, in this chapter we see that Paul is trying to clear this up for us. In this chapter, in verses 00:02:20.039 --> 00:02:27.579 four through six, we see him describing, he gives us four or fifteen descriptions of love, four of which 00:02:27.579 --> 00:02:36.519 we will look at today. All of which he presupposes are rooted in Christ. And so these are really simple, 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:45.140 very succinct aids to help us as we think about accepting Christ's love and showing that love to 00:02:45.140 --> 00:02:50.879 others. And so we're going to look, like I said, at verse five today. That includes four of those 00:02:50.879 --> 00:02:56.000 descriptions. We're going to back up though and read those verses that bookend this verse. So let's 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:06.400 read together 1 Corinthians 13 verses four through six. Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:14.139 It does not boast. It is not proud. It does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking. It is not 00:03:14.139 --> 00:03:21.159 easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth. 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:28.859 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, and always perseveres. Will you pray with me? 00:03:32.180 --> 00:03:37.199 Lord, as we look at this passage, we desire to know your love more deeply. 00:03:38.539 --> 00:03:44.659 We pray that you open our eyes and that you soften our hearts. May we learn from your word today. May we 00:03:44.659 --> 00:03:50.019 feast on it, that we may experience your love more deeply and have a desire to show it to those around us. 00:03:50.020 --> 00:03:52.860 This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. 00:03:55.240 --> 00:04:00.740 Now, to be honest, as I prepared, was starting to read through this passage and prepare for this sermon, 00:04:01.180 --> 00:04:07.900 I kind of thought that this may be an easy passage to preach. It's a pretty rather short verse. It's 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:11.620 rather straightforward in nature, and I really didn't think it was going to take much effort 00:04:11.620 --> 00:04:17.819 to do. But as I dug into this text, I realized just kind of how foolish of an initial thought that 00:04:17.819 --> 00:04:22.420 was, because as we look at these different descriptions of love, each one could certainly 00:04:22.420 --> 00:04:29.680 be a sermon of its own. Each one could certainly be a book, if not volumes of books that stand alone. 00:04:30.839 --> 00:04:38.100 But I want to look, as we focus on this passage, at each one of these 15 characteristics individually, 00:04:38.100 --> 00:04:42.340 and hopefully they'll have the same effect on you as it did me. I, in preparing this, 00:04:42.420 --> 00:04:49.360 was really overwhelmed with this sense of guilt, of being able to see these blind spots in my life 00:04:49.360 --> 00:04:55.660 to be challenged in such a way that I hope you will be too as we go through this passage. Because 00:04:55.660 --> 00:05:01.780 the wonderful thing about this passage is that it's very practical in nature. Paul is not delving into 00:05:01.779 --> 00:05:08.939 hard-to-understand theological issues here. He's dealing with real-world everyday problems, and this 00:05:08.939 --> 00:05:14.079 is the problems that the church was facing at the time in Corinth. As we've heard the last couple weeks, 00:05:14.159 --> 00:05:19.959 they were facing conflict and pride and envy. There were lawsuits among them. This was running rampant. 00:05:21.359 --> 00:05:27.119 And so, though they were a young church, though they had Christ in them, they were not acting Christ-like. 00:05:27.179 --> 00:05:31.579 Though many of them may have been saved, they were still struggling in their sanctification. 00:05:31.579 --> 00:05:37.159 And so, Paul is spelling it out for them here in this passage. He's making it very clear what love 00:05:37.159 --> 00:05:44.199 is and how we act lovingly toward others. He makes it clear that we are to act different from the 00:05:44.199 --> 00:05:49.779 world. If Christ's love is in us, if Christ is in us, then his love is in us, and that's something that 00:05:49.779 --> 00:05:56.879 we should desire to show others. And so, Paul's not talking in the abstract here. He's not talking about 00:05:56.879 --> 00:06:03.000 vague emotions and feeling. He's talking about love as action. And so, in these 15 descriptions, 00:06:03.180 --> 00:06:10.860 these are really 15 action verbs that Paul uses to teach us in this passage. And so, in doing so, 00:06:10.959 --> 00:06:17.459 in using these action verbs, he's really personifying love because we know there is one person who never 00:06:17.459 --> 00:06:23.939 sinned, who always loved perfectly. So, Paul is actually describing for us the characteristics of 00:06:23.939 --> 00:06:28.779 Jesus. And so, it would be appropriate then that every time we see love in these few verses, 00:06:28.920 --> 00:06:35.740 you could insert Jesus' name and it'd be a true statement to say, Jesus is patient. Jesus is kind. 00:06:35.740 --> 00:06:44.420 And so, for us as believers, if we are abiding in Christ, we should also share these same characteristics 00:06:44.420 --> 00:06:52.819 as well. So, as we think about these four characteristics today, we need to recognize and test 00:06:52.819 --> 00:07:01.740 ourselves to be able to see, can we insert our name for love and it be a true statement? Can I say, Keith is not rude? 00:07:01.740 --> 00:07:07.740 Keith is not self-seeking. Keith is not easily angered. Keith keeps no record of wrongs. 00:07:09.500 --> 00:07:13.519 You know, I'm afraid if I went to Rachel and said this, these things with a straight face, 00:07:14.180 --> 00:07:18.500 she'd probably laugh in my face or think I was delusional in some way. 00:07:19.680 --> 00:07:24.920 Because these statements are often not true. And I would imagine that is the case for most of us here. 00:07:25.040 --> 00:07:30.920 So, as we look at this passage, I hope that we can be encouraged as we look at them one at a time 00:07:30.920 --> 00:07:35.720 this morning. So, this is the outline itself. We're going to be using the text and these four points 00:07:35.720 --> 00:07:43.280 as we look at what love is. And so, the first one, love does not dishonor others. 00:07:44.360 --> 00:07:51.100 This verb in the Greek means to be ill-mannered or to be rude, to act unbecomingly. It's not a word 00:07:51.100 --> 00:07:55.759 that's used much in the New Testament, but Paul himself actually used it earlier on in 1 Corinthians 00:07:55.759 --> 00:08:02.379 when he's talking about how a man may react or interact with a woman. He says, 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:09.060 if anyone thinks that he is not behaving properly toward his betrothed, if his passions are strong 00:08:09.060 --> 00:08:15.420 and he feels he ought to marry, then he needs to get married. And so, it's this idea of acting in an 00:08:15.420 --> 00:08:22.379 unacceptable, inappropriate manner. Acting in a way that it can be offensive or indecent to other people. 00:08:22.379 --> 00:08:29.120 Now, you know, Rachel and myself, our family, we came to Edinburgh through a missions agency. 00:08:29.839 --> 00:08:34.500 And that process of getting approved and being sent was a rather lengthy process that involved 00:08:34.500 --> 00:08:40.439 an application process, an assessment process, and a training process. And a lot of that time 00:08:40.439 --> 00:08:46.360 focused on cross-cultural ministry, how to do that well, in order that we wouldn't offend 00:08:46.360 --> 00:08:51.980 those who were different from us. So, we had a lot of these simulated exercises that we had to go 00:08:51.980 --> 00:08:57.740 through. We actually did ministry in what is known as the most diverse square mile of the United 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:03.000 States, a little town outside of Atlanta, Georgia, which is a refugee resettlement community. 00:09:03.560 --> 00:09:07.659 And in there, we did ministry for several days. And we were assessed during that period to see 00:09:07.659 --> 00:09:15.100 how we reacted to people that were different from us. Could we assimilate well? Or were we abrasive 00:09:15.100 --> 00:09:22.519 and offensive whether we meant to be or not? And so, unfortunately, for many of us, when we are 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:26.980 taken out of our normal context and placed into a different culture, this can happen. Probably 00:09:26.980 --> 00:09:32.519 Americans may be the worst at it. That whether we're tourists or going on business or going on 00:09:32.519 --> 00:09:38.659 ministry, we have this superiority complex. It's about thinking that our way is the best way. 00:09:39.200 --> 00:09:43.860 And so, we don't really care whether we offend others or not, or at least are not cognizant of 00:09:43.860 --> 00:09:50.820 whether we do or not. And so, this training was important to us because we recognize that being 00:09:50.820 --> 00:09:57.100 rude is one of the easiest ways to turn someone off to the gospel. Think about it. If someone is 00:09:57.100 --> 00:10:02.980 rude to you, you automatically shut off. You know, you don't want to hear what someone has to say if 00:10:02.980 --> 00:10:08.120 they're saying it in a rude way or they're acting rudely towards you. Think about if you go to a nice 00:10:08.120 --> 00:10:13.480 restaurant. You really want a nice meal, but your waiter is just rude. He's not friendly. He doesn't 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:18.960 smile. He doesn't really pay attention to when you ask for something. He doesn't get your order 00:10:18.960 --> 00:10:25.480 correct. He's absent for long periods of time. How are you going to feel about that meal? Whether 00:10:25.480 --> 00:10:31.480 or not the food is good, that interaction with your server is going to negatively impact your 00:10:31.480 --> 00:10:36.240 experience. You're going to think twice before you ever want to return to that restaurant. And that's 00:10:36.240 --> 00:10:41.820 because banners, our politeness is so foundational in our relationship. It's something, it's one of the 00:10:41.820 --> 00:10:48.320 first things we teach our children, right? To behave, to make good eye contact, to not interrupt. 00:10:49.140 --> 00:10:56.160 And so the same thing is true for us as adults in the church. We need to be characterized by our 00:10:56.160 --> 00:11:03.020 politeness, by our winsomeness, by our graciousness, not only to outsiders, not only to visitors in the 00:11:03.020 --> 00:11:09.940 church, but also to one another. And so this doesn't mean that we can't disagree at times, 00:11:09.940 --> 00:11:16.840 or we can't ever have differing opinions. But when we do, we can be respectful. We can be courteous 00:11:16.840 --> 00:11:22.380 of one another. And this really goes for all of church life, whether we're handling church business, 00:11:22.720 --> 00:11:26.740 whether we're involved in ministry, whether we're talking about community groups, or simply talking 00:11:26.740 --> 00:11:33.160 outside after the service. There is a need for politeness within the church because the church 00:11:33.159 --> 00:11:41.379 will be destroyed, our unity will be destroyed by rudeness. Our testimony will be damaged by our 00:11:41.379 --> 00:11:48.240 rudeness. And so on the other hand, we see though that love binds us together in perfect harmony, 00:11:48.419 --> 00:11:56.360 it says in Colossians 3.13. So love doesn't try to hurt feelings. Love isn't overly sarcastic or 00:11:56.360 --> 00:12:03.580 abrasive. It doesn't mean-spirited or indecent. Love doesn't return in kind. When someone is rude to 00:12:03.580 --> 00:12:09.100 you, our first impulse is to want to be rude back, right? That's not how love operates. Love returns, 00:12:10.240 --> 00:12:18.580 returns evil for good. And so Jesus, we see, he did plenty to ruffle the feathers of religious leaders 00:12:18.580 --> 00:12:27.840 in his day. He was breaking from the common customs that people observed around him, but he didn't do 00:12:27.840 --> 00:12:36.040 so in a rude manner. He wasn't acting unbecoming when he was trying to teach and instruct those around 00:12:36.040 --> 00:12:43.240 him. It says in Isaiah, even when he was oppressed and afflicted, he didn't open his mouth. Like a lamb 00:12:43.240 --> 00:12:47.740 that was led to slaughter as a sheep before his shears of silence, so he did not open his mouth. 00:12:48.580 --> 00:12:55.340 And so when we think about loving others, we need to think about honoring them. It means dying to our 00:12:55.340 --> 00:13:02.040 desires to express our opinions and our views and ourselves in general in a way that is offensive 00:13:02.040 --> 00:13:09.879 or may be taken as offensive to others. And so that leads us then to our second point. Love is not 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:18.440 self-seeking. True love is ultimately selfless. When we think of being selfish, that's really grounded 00:13:18.440 --> 00:13:25.100 and rooted in a lovelessness. And so what Paul's saying here, he's not saying don't love yourself. 00:13:25.400 --> 00:13:29.420 Obviously, that's something that comes naturally and that is good for us to love ourselves. 00:13:30.420 --> 00:13:35.840 But as Jonathan Edwards, he puts it this way, he says, love is not contrary to all self-love, 00:13:36.200 --> 00:13:39.040 but only an inordinate self-love. 00:13:39.039 --> 00:13:45.779 So our love for self should not be all-consuming. Our love for self should not trump our love for 00:13:45.779 --> 00:13:54.299 Christ or our love for others. No doubt all of us have spent way too much time on Zoom this past year, 00:13:54.579 --> 00:13:59.899 and we're probably tired of conducting business and maintaining relationships by looking at people 00:13:59.899 --> 00:14:06.679 in little two-inch squares on our computer screen. But there is a phenomenon that has developed as a 00:14:06.679 --> 00:14:14.019 result of this always being on Zoom, or at least been realized. And it's this propensity to stare 00:14:14.019 --> 00:14:20.859 at our image of ourself when you're on Zoom. I realized this early on when we, over a year ago, 00:14:20.899 --> 00:14:24.679 when we had to start all these Zoom meetings, that I realized I was really looking at myself more than I 00:14:24.679 --> 00:14:28.639 was looking at anybody else. And I wondered, is it just because I'm really vain or is other people 00:14:28.639 --> 00:14:34.079 experiencing this too? And soon enough, these articles started popping up and people started saying the 00:14:34.080 --> 00:14:39.860 same thing, trying to question why is it that we keep looking at ourselves on our computer screen 00:14:39.860 --> 00:14:45.320 when there's so many other people around us. And so some of these articles kind of address the 00:14:45.320 --> 00:14:52.160 psychology of why we might do this, and there were various different conclusions. Some said, well, it's because 00:14:52.160 --> 00:14:58.420 we get this sense of being overwhelmed by all the stimuli around us that we just want to focus on 00:14:58.419 --> 00:15:04.639 ourselves. That helps us focus better. Others said, well, it's because of this desire to present 00:15:04.639 --> 00:15:09.759 ourselves well, that we want to be cognizant of the way that we look, the expressions we make, and the 00:15:09.759 --> 00:15:15.219 gestures we make. There's another psychologist who said this, though, which I thought was very telling. 00:15:15.939 --> 00:15:22.099 He said, our power of attention has evolved to automatically pay attention to information about 00:15:22.100 --> 00:15:30.000 ourselves. How true is that statement? This phenomenon really is a perfect example of how 00:15:30.000 --> 00:15:36.500 many of us operate on a daily basis, that we are continually focused on ourselves, that we are 00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:44.519 consumed by our own desires and our own preferences and our own agenda and our own wants, that we disregard 00:15:44.519 --> 00:15:51.740 everything else around us. We become so consumed by our own desires and maintain this excess 00:15:51.740 --> 00:15:58.220 concern for ourselves, that the needs of those around us are barely a blip on our radar. 00:15:59.779 --> 00:16:05.940 And so the problem, as Edward says to this selfishness, is that it contracts our heart. 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:14.120 It confines our heart to itself. And so how do we see this play out in the church? I think I often see it in 00:16:14.120 --> 00:16:19.659 how people desire to be involved in the life of the church. Many of us may not want to be involved in 00:16:19.659 --> 00:16:24.620 ministry because it's just inconvenient. You may not care to serve in junior church because it's going 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:29.339 to take you out of this service. Maybe you don't want to interact with international students because 00:16:29.339 --> 00:16:34.059 it's just, it's awkward or uncomfortable for you. Maybe you don't want to meet with someone who's 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:39.360 lonely and isolated because relationships can be messy. Maybe you're not generous in your giving to 00:16:39.360 --> 00:16:44.740 the church because you want to hold on to your money and use it for something else. Maybe you don't want 00:16:44.740 --> 00:16:48.759 to be involved in community group because it's going to interfere with your free time in the middle of 00:16:48.759 --> 00:16:56.879 the week. Whatever it may be, when we view everything through this prism of self, we're going to make 00:16:56.879 --> 00:17:01.940 our decisions based on what is best for us. So if something is inconvenient or uncomfortable, we're 00:17:01.940 --> 00:17:10.039 simply not going to do it. On the other hand, Edward says that love enlarges our heart and extends it to 00:17:10.039 --> 00:17:15.000 other people. So if we're truly loving, we're going to seek the good of others. This is what Paul says 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:20.519 himself in 1 Corinthians 10. He says that his ministry, he's not focused on himself, he's seeking 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:31.019 the good of others. Why? So that many may be saved. And so as we think about seeking the good of others, 00:17:31.119 --> 00:17:36.379 it's not only physical needs of others, but also the spiritual needs of others. Galatians 6 10 says, 00:17:36.380 --> 00:17:41.400 therefore, as we have every opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially those who belong 00:17:41.400 --> 00:17:47.760 to the family of believers. And so this is really the command that's given to God's people way back 00:17:47.760 --> 00:17:56.000 in the beginning when God chooses Abraham to bless his line. He says for the people of Israel to be a 00:17:56.000 --> 00:18:02.320 blessing to the nations. And we see this too when the Jews are brought into captivity in Babylon. 00:18:02.319 --> 00:18:11.039 What does God instruct his people through the prophet Jeremiah? He says to seek the good of the city. 00:18:12.439 --> 00:18:17.399 And so ultimately the Christian life is about dying to self. Dietrich Bonhoeffer says, 00:18:17.759 --> 00:18:24.939 when Christ calls a man, he bids him to come and die. Jesus himself said, if anyone would come after me, 00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:30.619 he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, 00:18:30.619 --> 00:18:38.079 but whoever loses his life for me will find it. If anyone comes to me but does not hate his own life, 00:18:38.359 --> 00:18:45.839 he cannot be my disciple. And so if we are going to be loving, we must follow in Christ's example. 00:18:46.459 --> 00:18:52.239 Because though we were enemies of God, it says that Jesus made himself nothing. He took on the very 00:18:52.239 --> 00:18:57.979 nature of a servant and humbled himself and was obedient to death, even death on a cross. 00:18:57.980 --> 00:19:04.519 And so Christ's love for us wasn't wrapped up in this abstract feeling or emotion. We see Christ's 00:19:04.519 --> 00:19:13.579 love for us was grounded in action. He disregarded his own ease, his own comfort, his own honor and 00:19:13.579 --> 00:19:22.799 wealth in order to be despised and become poor and outcast for our sake. And so really Christ changes 00:19:22.799 --> 00:19:27.720 the way that we should think about love. Christ said to his disciples in John 13, he says, 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:33.680 a new commandment I give you to love one another as I loved you, so you must love one another. 00:19:34.839 --> 00:19:39.139 And you may think, well, this wasn't really a new commandment. I mean, the people of Israel knew that 00:19:39.139 --> 00:19:43.680 they were supposed to love other people. There's, I mean, been told time and time again to love your 00:19:43.680 --> 00:19:49.919 neighbor as yourself. But we see here how Jesus has changed this. He says, not only are you to love 00:19:49.920 --> 00:19:54.720 others the way that you love yourself, but love others as I have loved you. He's essentially 00:19:54.720 --> 00:20:04.000 raising the bar here. And so we too are to exhibit this divine love that's rooted in Jesus. And when 00:20:04.000 --> 00:20:09.860 we express this love to others, it's naturally going to turn our attention from us to them. 00:20:09.859 --> 00:20:18.399 And so then moving on to our third point, love is not easily angered. This Greek verb here is 00:20:18.399 --> 00:20:24.419 described as a sudden outburst. It's a means of being upset and irritated and quick-tempered. 00:20:25.459 --> 00:20:30.399 The same verb is used to describe Paul in Acts 17 when he goes to Athens and he looks out on the 00:20:30.399 --> 00:20:37.000 city and sees all these idols. He says that he is greatly distressed. But ultimately we see that the 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:41.559 reason for his distress is quite different. He's distressed and upset and irritated because 00:20:41.559 --> 00:20:49.859 of the offense against God. We see countless other times this righteous anger that God shows, 00:20:49.900 --> 00:20:54.359 or even Jesus himself shows, when he drives out the money changers from the temple. This is not what 00:20:54.359 --> 00:20:59.779 that verse, this verse here is talking about. This is, this is an anger comes not when God is offended, 00:20:59.779 --> 00:21:09.299 but when we personally are offended. And so we see here, Jonathan Edwards, again, he kind of describes 00:21:09.299 --> 00:21:15.279 for us two different kinds of anger that we need to guard against. He says that there is an anger that 00:21:15.279 --> 00:21:24.720 comes that is unsuitable in degree, and there is an anger that's unsuitable in continuance. And so as an 00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:32.319 example, Rachel's family has a lake house in Alabama. So us, we as a family would spend a lot 00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:36.660 of time at the lake in the summertime. In fact, last weekend was Memorial Day weekend back in the 00:21:36.660 --> 00:21:40.200 States. That's kind of where it falls in the calendar, kind of serves as a kickoff to summer. 00:21:40.279 --> 00:21:44.240 So all her family was together. Her aunt and uncle have a house next door. There's lots of cousins, 00:21:44.360 --> 00:21:49.019 lots of grandchildren always running around. And so we kind of, we were, we were bummed out not to be 00:21:49.019 --> 00:21:53.660 there this year, being able to spend time with others, spend time in the water and eat good food. And 00:21:53.660 --> 00:21:58.120 one of the essential things though, one of the essential elements for, for lake life would be, 00:21:58.180 --> 00:22:04.720 would be fire. Because we use fire at least for two main reasons. One would be to shoot off fireworks. 00:22:05.400 --> 00:22:10.279 The 4th of July is a big time that the family comes together. We buy all these fireworks. We have 00:22:10.279 --> 00:22:15.360 this old floating dock that we tie off in the water that we only use for July 4th, where we set up all 00:22:15.360 --> 00:22:19.960 the fireworks on the dock. We, we swim it out in the water and we shoot off the fireworks in the middle 00:22:19.960 --> 00:22:27.079 of the lake for the kids to see from the shore. We also use fire for, for cooking and not just your, 00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:31.400 what you may think of a barbecue when you grill a burger, but actually smoking meat. This is one of 00:22:31.400 --> 00:22:36.579 the things that Rachel's dad loves to do is to get up early, to start the smoke or get it to a nice, 00:22:36.740 --> 00:22:42.299 low, steady temperature and put on the meat that's going to smoke all day. The ribs, the chicken, 00:22:42.420 --> 00:22:48.460 the wings, the pork shoulder, whatever it is that we'll then enjoy that night. And so these two forms 00:22:48.460 --> 00:22:54.200 of fire really illustrate this, these two forms of anger that we may experience in our lives. This 00:22:54.200 --> 00:23:02.220 anger that's unsuitable in degree is these fireworks that have a very short fuse that get launched into 00:23:02.220 --> 00:23:09.920 the sky and explode in a hot, loud explosion. Maybe you have experienced that kind of anger before. 00:23:10.039 --> 00:23:16.620 Maybe a peer offends you or a spouse upsets you or a child disrespects you and you just lose it. 00:23:18.460 --> 00:23:23.860 You blow things out of proportion. Things are exaggerated. You make the worst out of the 00:23:23.860 --> 00:23:27.920 situation. And it certainly doesn't help the situation when that happens, right? 00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:34.240 This other form of anger though, this, this, this anger that's unsuitable in continuance is like 00:23:34.240 --> 00:23:39.920 that fire that's used in that smoker. It's not an explosion. It's actually pretty low, steady 00:23:39.920 --> 00:23:47.200 temperature, but it's this anger that we can't, that can't be quenched. When someone offends you, 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:55.220 instead of blowing up, you just let it kind of burn within you. It rages down deep so that you begin 00:23:55.220 --> 00:24:02.220 to despise and resent someone who has offended you. And ultimately, neither forms of these anger are 00:24:02.220 --> 00:24:09.960 helpful in resolving the conflict, right? They only perpetuate the strife that we have. And so we see 00:24:09.960 --> 00:24:14.600 throughout the Bible, especially in the book of Proverbs, this warning against anger, how it destroys 00:24:14.599 --> 00:24:21.480 our lives. In Proverbs 14, 29, it says, whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who 00:24:21.480 --> 00:24:29.539 has a hasty temper exalts folly. Proverbs 15, 18, a hot-tempered man stirs up strife, but he who is slow 00:24:29.539 --> 00:24:38.399 to anger quiets contention. Proverbs 19, 11, good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:45.960 to overlook an offense. Now, these Proverbs provide us with good instruction, but it goes beyond just 00:24:45.960 --> 00:24:53.600 providing moral instruction for us. It really points us to the character of God. If we remember back 00:24:53.600 --> 00:24:58.820 at the passage that we just read at the beginning of the service from Exodus 34, when the presence of 00:24:58.819 --> 00:25:06.759 God comes down to Moses on top of Mount Sinai, and he says, the Lord, the Lord, compassionate and 00:25:06.759 --> 00:25:13.919 gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands and 00:25:13.919 --> 00:25:21.139 forgiving wickedness and rebellion and sin. This is a description of God that's used throughout the 00:25:21.139 --> 00:25:28.720 Old Testament. We are reminded over and over again of the graciousness of God. Though we were once 00:25:28.720 --> 00:25:34.380 alienated and hostile in mind, we have been reconciled through the blood of Christ, that even now, even 00:25:34.380 --> 00:25:42.860 though we are still prone to wander, we have a God who is long-suffering and forgiving. It is his joy to 00:25:42.860 --> 00:25:52.240 restore us and preserve us. And so as we experience this great love of God, let us turn from anger in our 00:25:52.240 --> 00:26:00.799 lives to peace. And then lastly, love keeps no record of wrongs. This verb that's used is really an 00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:05.640 accounting term. You can think of it as an accountant who takes out his ledger and is making meticulous 00:26:05.640 --> 00:26:11.799 notes about every time anyone has ever offended him or anything, any bad quality that someone may have 00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:18.880 that they don't like. It's really this manner of holding a grudge. It's this unwillingness to forgive. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:26.660 It's this bitterness that we hold within us, this desire for revenge perhaps. And so this is really 00:26:26.660 --> 00:26:32.860 quickly becoming one of the favorite pastimes within our culture, I feel like. This desire 00:26:32.860 --> 00:26:40.600 and this interest almost in finding ways to be offended by people. Rather than to forgive and 00:26:40.600 --> 00:26:45.220 forget, we simply want to convict and condemn those around us. Even this past week, you might have heard 00:26:45.220 --> 00:26:51.819 a story about the English cricketer who was in his first English test debut. And on that day of his 00:26:51.819 --> 00:26:57.860 first match, this news was released of these disparaging remarks he had put on Twitter over 00:26:57.860 --> 00:27:04.360 eight years ago. And it was much the joy of people to release that information at that time in order to 00:27:04.360 --> 00:27:11.000 kind of bring him down. And not to excuse his behavior, but what was the desire in spreading that 00:27:11.000 --> 00:27:21.299 information was to just convict, to disrupt, to embarrass. We all, many of us want to rise up as 00:27:21.299 --> 00:27:26.460 these social justice warriors, as if it's our job to hold others accountable for their actions. 00:27:28.220 --> 00:27:35.200 But there's a big difference between encouraging good behavior and refusing to forgive bad behavior. 00:27:35.200 --> 00:27:41.360 And that's unfortunately often what we do. We hold grudges against one another. We hold 00:27:41.360 --> 00:27:46.539 this account, this running tab of how people have offended us so that when people offend us again, 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:53.200 we can bring up those past instances as well. But the problem is when we keep records of wrongs, we're not 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:59.220 thinking the best of people. We're actually thinking the worst of them. We want to judge them 00:27:59.220 --> 00:28:05.720 rather than show them grace. And so how do we correct this behavior? Well, again, it's looking 00:28:05.720 --> 00:28:11.980 at the character of God. Ephesians 4.32 says, be kind and compassionate to one another, 00:28:12.680 --> 00:28:20.220 forgiving each other just as Christ forgave you. Colossians 3.13, bear with each other and forgive 00:28:20.220 --> 00:28:26.019 one another if anyone has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 00:28:26.019 --> 00:28:34.400 In Matthew 18, Jesus tells the parable of the unforgiving servant. And he describes this king 00:28:34.400 --> 00:28:39.799 who wants to settle his accounts with some of his servants. So he brings one servant in who owes him 00:28:39.799 --> 00:28:49.599 10,000 bags of gold. And when he tells the servant to pay up, the servant says he can't. The king decides 00:28:49.599 --> 00:28:55.839 to sell he and his family into slavery. But what does the servant do? He begs for mercy. He begs for 00:28:55.839 --> 00:29:04.439 patience. And the king has pity on him and decides to cancel his debt and let him go. But then that 00:29:04.439 --> 00:29:10.359 same servant turns to his fellow servant just after another servant who owes him just 100 gold coins 00:29:10.359 --> 00:29:18.839 and strangles him and demands to be paid. That servant also begs for mercy, but is not given any. And that 00:29:18.839 --> 00:29:25.119 servant, the first servant, throws him in jail. And you probably know how this ends, that the master 00:29:25.119 --> 00:29:31.359 hears of what the first servant did and brings him into his presence and says, you wicked servant, 00:29:31.479 --> 00:29:36.899 I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow 00:29:36.899 --> 00:29:42.619 servant just as I had mercy on you? And in anger, the master handed him over to the jailers to be 00:29:42.619 --> 00:29:49.219 tortured until he should pay back all he owed. Jesus concluded, this is how my heavenly father will 00:29:49.220 --> 00:29:56.519 treat each of you unless you forgive your brother and sister from your heart. And so regardless of how 00:29:56.519 --> 00:30:02.980 badly or how frequently you have been offended by others, we must be willing to forgive completely 00:30:02.980 --> 00:30:09.259 and unconditionally, recognizing God's great forgiveness toward us. 00:30:11.160 --> 00:30:16.620 And so oftentimes, though, we harbor this resentment because we don't think someone's deserving of our 00:30:16.619 --> 00:30:21.279 forgiveness or they've never asked for forgiveness. So we think that's an excuse to hold this grudge. 00:30:21.359 --> 00:30:26.699 That's not how love works. Whether someone is worthy of our forgiveness, whether they have requested it 00:30:26.699 --> 00:30:33.459 or deserved it, we need to extend it freely. Because ultimately, this bitterness that we carry around for 00:30:33.459 --> 00:30:40.599 one another, it really is a form of self-torture that grows within us and becomes a much bigger problem 00:30:40.599 --> 00:30:47.659 than the original offense ever was. And so as we close, having looked at all four of these 00:30:47.659 --> 00:30:49.619 descriptions of love, 00:30:50.819 --> 00:30:56.339 I want us to remember that Paul isn't just giving this instruction to us so that we can live 00:30:56.339 --> 00:31:00.500 better, more polite, more patient, more forgiving lives. 00:31:01.439 --> 00:31:02.579 Like we've seen, 00:31:02.919 --> 00:31:07.000 he's ultimately reminding us of the character of God and the work of Jesus. 00:31:07.000 --> 00:31:11.640 If you're a believer, your debt has been paid in full. 00:31:12.099 --> 00:31:16.759 Our sin has been credited to Jesus and Jesus' righteousness has been credited to us. 00:31:17.920 --> 00:31:20.220 Though we were rebels deserving of death, 00:31:20.559 --> 00:31:24.579 we have been reconciled and presented as holy and blameless before the Father. 00:31:26.440 --> 00:31:28.299 And so that's what Paul is talking about. 00:31:28.359 --> 00:31:33.880 When we have experienced that love, then that allows us to show that love with others. 00:31:33.880 --> 00:31:38.820 When we have tasted the perfect, the perfect unconditional love of the Father, 00:31:38.880 --> 00:31:41.760 we will be eager to show that love to others. 00:31:42.060 --> 00:31:44.580 We can be patient because God has been patient with us. 00:31:44.760 --> 00:31:48.200 We can be selfless because of Christ's selfless act toward us. 00:31:48.420 --> 00:31:50.920 We can be forgiving because we have been forgiven much. 00:31:50.920 --> 00:31:55.740 But for those who may not be believers, 00:31:56.480 --> 00:32:00.500 there's something else to remember in addition to God being loving. 00:32:00.660 --> 00:32:05.180 It says in James 4.12 that he is also a lawgiver and a judge, 00:32:05.660 --> 00:32:08.860 the one who is able to save and to destroy. 00:32:10.880 --> 00:32:14.240 And so though God is long-suffering, he is also just. 00:32:14.240 --> 00:32:20.920 And it's very clear that those who reject God will receive punishment for their sins, 00:32:21.000 --> 00:32:21.640 which is death. 00:32:24.019 --> 00:32:30.440 But we have been given an offer that rather than face the wrath of God, 00:32:30.519 --> 00:32:32.880 we are welcomed in to accept his love. 00:32:33.240 --> 00:32:37.539 It is freely given to each of us through the blood of Jesus. 00:32:37.539 --> 00:32:42.740 And so if we are to experience this love, 00:32:42.839 --> 00:32:45.819 it is something that we must receive from Christ that is offered to us 00:32:45.819 --> 00:32:51.519 and is only then that we may extend this love to others as Paul desires. 00:32:53.460 --> 00:32:54.339 Will you pray with me? 00:32:58.980 --> 00:33:01.359 Lord, we thank you for your great love for us, 00:33:01.420 --> 00:33:04.720 a love that is limitless, a love that is undeserved. 00:33:04.720 --> 00:33:09.680 Lord, we thank you that you embody each one of these characteristics, 00:33:09.860 --> 00:33:12.279 that you are not rude, you are selfless, 00:33:12.720 --> 00:33:15.620 you are patient with us, and that you are forgiving. 00:33:18.380 --> 00:33:22.940 Lord, help us to understand that greater, 00:33:23.059 --> 00:33:24.640 to experience your love more fully, 00:33:24.779 --> 00:33:27.480 and then desire to show that love to others. 00:33:29.920 --> 00:33:32.680 We thank you for this reminder of the gospel. 00:33:34.720 --> 00:33:38.920 We thank you that you loved us so much to send your son, Jesus, to die for us. 00:33:41.120 --> 00:33:46.740 And may we show our appreciation through our love for you and love for others. 00:33:46.940 --> 00:33:48.380 And this we pray in Jesus' name. 00:33:49.160 --> 00:33:49.420 Amen. 00:33:52.500 --> 00:33:54.660 Now we're going to sing our last hymn together, 00:33:54.759 --> 00:33:56.860 or at least listen to our hymn being sung, 00:33:56.980 --> 00:33:59.519 which is how deep the Father's love for us. 00:33:59.519 --> 00:33:59.620 Amen. 00:33:59.620 --> 00:34:00.019 Amen. 00:34:00.019 --> 00:34:00.519 Amen. 00:34:04.720 --> 00:34:19.340 How deep the Father's love for us, 00:34:19.340 --> 00:34:24.260 how vast beyond all measure, 00:34:25.320 --> 00:34:30.599 that he should give his only Son, 00:34:30.599 --> 00:34:35.699 to make a wretch his treasure. 00:34:36.900 --> 00:34:42.139 How great the pain of searing love, 00:34:42.139 --> 00:34:47.699 the Father turns his face away, 00:34:48.839 --> 00:34:53.980 as wounds which mar the chosen one, 00:34:53.980 --> 00:34:58.980 turn many sons to glory. 00:34:58.980 --> 00:35:14.500 Behold the man upon the cross, 00:35:14.500 --> 00:35:19.460 my guilt upon his shoulders. 00:35:20.740 --> 00:35:25.559 Ashamed I hear my mocking voice, 00:35:25.559 --> 00:35:31.259 fall out among the scoffers. 00:35:31.259 --> 00:35:36.659 It was my sin that held him there, 00:35:37.039 --> 00:35:41.380 until it was accomplished. 00:35:42.639 --> 00:35:47.679 His dying breath has brought me life. 00:35:48.360 --> 00:35:52.440 I know that it is finished. 00:35:52.440 --> 00:36:06.820 I will not boast in anything, 00:36:06.820 --> 00:36:12.320 no gifts, no power, no wisdom, 00:36:12.320 --> 00:36:18.820 but I will boast in Jesus Christ, 00:36:18.820 --> 00:36:23.160 His death and resurrection. 00:36:24.559 --> 00:36:28.820 Why should I gain from His reward? 00:36:29.820 --> 00:36:34.200 I cannot give an answer, 00:36:34.200 --> 00:36:40.539 but this I know with all my heart, 00:36:40.539 --> 00:36:45.180 His wounds have paid my ransom. 00:36:45.179 --> 00:36:48.839 I know 00:36:48.839 --> 00:36:54.039 this is the T jacket for me and now. 00:36:54.039 --> 00:36:59.440 For as we should 00:36:59.480 --> 00:37:02.799 give youlor Toate 00:37:02.799 --> 00:37:03.599 you name, 00:37:03.699 --> 00:37:06.679 will you stand with me to receive our benediction today? 00:37:06.879 --> 00:37:08.199 Take it from Hebrews 13. 00:37:08.199 --> 00:37:15.299 And now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, 00:37:15.480 --> 00:37:18.460 the great shepherd of the sheep by the blood of the eternal covenant, 00:37:19.119 --> 00:37:22.139 equip you with everything good that you may do his will, 00:37:22.519 --> 00:37:26.319 working in us that which is pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, 00:37:26.319 --> 00:37:29.859 to whom be glory forever and ever. 00:37:30.480 --> 00:37:30.759 Amen. 00:37:38.199 --> 00:37:40.199 Amen.