WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.679 I'm going to read from God's Word now the passage that David is shortly going to come and preach to us from. 00:00:06.860 --> 00:00:11.160 1 Corinthians chapter 13, those first 13 verses. 00:00:11.640 --> 00:00:12.720 The words are going to be on the screen. 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:14.720 The words are in your bulletin if you've got one at the front door. 00:00:15.120 --> 00:00:16.980 There's also a collection of Bibles at the back. 00:00:17.400 --> 00:00:21.839 If you'd like to have a Bible for the reading or to refer to during the sermon, 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:24.339 please get up and get one at any time. 00:00:25.820 --> 00:00:29.839 This is 1 Corinthians chapter 13, verses 1. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:30.920 To 13. 00:00:32.579 --> 00:00:37.179 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, 00:00:37.579 --> 00:00:40.219 I'm a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 00:00:41.120 --> 00:00:44.960 And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, 00:00:45.560 --> 00:00:50.439 and I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, 00:00:50.439 --> 00:00:51.500 I am nothing. 00:00:52.359 --> 00:00:57.039 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, 00:00:57.159 --> 00:00:59.820 but have not love, I gain nothing. 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:02.600 Love is patient and kind. 00:01:03.320 --> 00:01:05.040 Love does not envy or boast. 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:07.359 It's not arrogant or rude. 00:01:08.019 --> 00:01:09.780 It does not insist on its own way. 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:12.960 It's not irritable or resentful. 00:01:13.579 --> 00:01:16.859 It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 00:01:16.859 --> 00:01:24.319 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 00:01:24.920 --> 00:01:26.099 Love never ends. 00:01:27.039 --> 00:01:29.000 As for prophecies, they will pass away. 00:01:29.519 --> 00:01:30.980 As for tongues, they will cease. 00:01:31.299 --> 00:01:33.039 As for knowledge, it will pass away. 00:01:33.640 --> 00:01:35.900 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 00:01:35.900 --> 00:01:40.900 But when the perfect love comes, the partial will pass away. 00:01:40.900 --> 00:01:43.920 When I was a child, I spoke like a child. 00:01:44.200 --> 00:01:45.500 I thought like a child. 00:01:45.620 --> 00:01:46.740 I reasoned like a child. 00:01:47.560 --> 00:01:50.380 When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. 00:01:51.340 --> 00:01:55.660 For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. 00:01:55.659 --> 00:02:02.719 Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known. 00:02:03.519 --> 00:02:06.519 So now faith, hope, and love abide. 00:02:06.739 --> 00:02:07.239 These three. 00:02:08.079 --> 00:02:10.859 But the greatest of these is love. 00:02:11.900 --> 00:02:12.400 Amen. 00:02:12.400 --> 00:02:14.640 And this is God's own holy word. 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:21.420 Well, in our morning worship, we've been working our way through the Old Testament book of Daniel. 00:02:21.900 --> 00:02:24.360 And Corey has been leading us through that. 00:02:24.599 --> 00:02:27.640 This morning we're taking a little break from that series. 00:02:28.280 --> 00:02:35.640 And as a standalone sermon this morning, we're looking at this very famous passage from 1 Corinthians 13. 00:02:35.640 --> 00:02:41.280 One of the most famous and perhaps well-known passages in all of Scripture. 00:02:41.280 --> 00:02:45.240 Arguably the most well-known of Paul's writings. 00:02:45.800 --> 00:02:48.819 Some have called it the hymn to love. 00:02:49.699 --> 00:02:56.819 One commentator calls it the greatest, strongest, deepest thing that Paul ever wrote. 00:02:58.340 --> 00:03:02.420 But 1 Corinthians 13 is not sentimental poetry. 00:03:02.860 --> 00:03:09.860 It's the Word of God, sharp as a two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit. 00:03:09.860 --> 00:03:23.540 Here is Paul holding up a mirror to the Corinthian church so that they might examine themselves and change their ways. 00:03:23.720 --> 00:03:30.820 Because, of course, Paul did not write these famous words of 1 Corinthians 13 for a wedding ceremony. 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:35.740 Or for them to be quoted in a hallmark greeting card. 00:03:35.740 --> 00:03:43.960 The words of the apostle here are not to be wrenched out of the context in which we find them. 00:03:44.659 --> 00:03:55.540 And we discover these verses sandwiched between two chapters in which Paul deals with a contentious issue in the Corinthian church 00:03:55.540 --> 00:04:00.200 over the use or abuse of spiritual gifts. 00:04:00.199 --> 00:04:11.139 One of the problems in the Corinthian church was the way in which so much emphasis was placed on certain gifts of the Holy Spirit. 00:04:11.579 --> 00:04:20.240 We're told in 1 Corinthians 1 verse 7, Paul says that the Corinthians lacked no spiritual gift. 00:04:20.240 --> 00:04:21.240 When it came to gifts. 00:04:21.240 --> 00:04:25.420 When it came to gifts, this was a church that had them all. 00:04:26.040 --> 00:04:29.560 A church ablaze with the charismata. 00:04:30.379 --> 00:04:31.560 They spoke in tongues. 00:04:31.960 --> 00:04:33.100 They prophesied. 00:04:33.379 --> 00:04:34.199 They healed. 00:04:34.340 --> 00:04:35.379 They worked miracles. 00:04:35.740 --> 00:04:44.379 These dramatic, supernatural gifts of the apostolic age were greatly valued and esteemed in Corinth. 00:04:44.379 --> 00:04:56.079 And yet at the same time, the Corinthian church was also a church riddled with division, factions, pride, selfishness, and moral failure. 00:04:56.439 --> 00:05:01.939 Many had started to prize their gifts above all and everything else. 00:05:03.019 --> 00:05:08.860 And these wrong attitudes had in fact left the church in a sad and sorry state. 00:05:08.860 --> 00:05:19.699 And so, what we have here in 1 Corinthians 13 is not a cozy, feel-good passage of Scripture, although often it's presented as such. 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:28.220 But rather, Paul giving the Corinthian church a searing critique of their behavior and conduct. 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:32.300 Paul wasn't writing to the Corinthians so that they would say, 00:05:32.300 --> 00:05:34.620 Well, Paul, what a marvelous piece of literature. 00:05:35.420 --> 00:05:38.439 So that they would have lots of warm, fuzzy feelings. 00:05:38.860 --> 00:05:45.560 He was writing so that the Corinthians would recognize just how far they had fallen. 00:05:46.280 --> 00:05:49.020 Just how complacent they had become. 00:05:49.740 --> 00:05:52.620 And just how immature they really were. 00:05:53.840 --> 00:06:00.060 He was writing these verses to burst the bubble of their spiritual pride and superiority. 00:06:00.060 --> 00:06:08.980 Because here was a church guilty of misusing and abusing the good gifts of God. 00:06:09.759 --> 00:06:15.579 And at the close of chapter 12, a chapter that speaks about the spiritual gifts and their use, 00:06:16.279 --> 00:06:19.360 Paul says this, chapter 12, verse 31. 00:06:19.360 --> 00:06:20.300 He says this, 00:06:20.300 --> 00:06:29.240 And the language that Paul uses there is very emphatic. 00:06:30.079 --> 00:06:30.720 He says, 00:06:30.720 --> 00:06:33.900 Here is something far more wonderful. 00:06:34.759 --> 00:06:36.280 Here is something far greater. 00:06:37.100 --> 00:06:41.100 Here is something you really need to take note of. 00:06:41.720 --> 00:06:44.240 Here is something that puts all these gifts, 00:06:44.240 --> 00:06:47.460 wonderful as they are in the shade. 00:06:47.460 --> 00:06:50.400 Here is the more excellent way. 00:06:51.199 --> 00:06:53.280 And that is the way of love. 00:06:54.160 --> 00:06:58.439 And what Paul is saying here to the Corinthians, and indeed to us, 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:04.019 is that love is the hallmark of Christian maturity. 00:07:04.019 --> 00:07:07.480 It is the most excellent way. 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:16.759 And without it, we are deluding ourselves about the nature of our relationship with God. 00:07:16.879 --> 00:07:18.660 We may have gifts aplenty. 00:07:19.280 --> 00:07:21.879 We may have great theological knowledge. 00:07:22.759 --> 00:07:26.879 We may have had wonderful spiritual experiences. 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:29.740 And yet, for all those things, 00:07:30.259 --> 00:07:35.660 we can be missing out on what is the most important thing. 00:07:37.480 --> 00:07:40.840 And the chapter, you'll notice there, as Chris read it for us, 00:07:40.860 --> 00:07:42.620 has three main paragraphs, 00:07:43.640 --> 00:07:47.420 each one telling us something about the nature of love 00:07:47.420 --> 00:07:50.280 and its fundamental importance 00:07:50.280 --> 00:07:55.960 for any Christian community that is seeking to grow up into Christ. 00:07:56.500 --> 00:08:00.939 And the first paragraph that we look at is in verses 1 through 3, 00:08:01.520 --> 00:08:02.819 and we'll entitle this, 00:08:03.200 --> 00:08:05.100 The Priority of Love. 00:08:05.100 --> 00:08:08.820 The thrust of these opening verses of the chapter 00:08:08.820 --> 00:08:12.640 is that there is nothing as crucial or as important 00:08:12.640 --> 00:08:14.939 as the presence of love. 00:08:15.379 --> 00:08:17.040 Love is the vital ingredient 00:08:17.040 --> 00:08:19.980 without which we have and are nothing. 00:08:20.379 --> 00:08:23.480 And Paul really contrasts in these verses 00:08:23.480 --> 00:08:27.200 the gifts on the one hand with love on the other. 00:08:27.540 --> 00:08:30.740 The Corinthians laid great store on these gifts. 00:08:30.740 --> 00:08:34.360 They viewed these gifts as being the real mark 00:08:34.360 --> 00:08:37.659 of maturity and true spirituality. 00:08:38.720 --> 00:08:40.100 And what Paul is telling them 00:08:40.100 --> 00:08:43.039 is that in that they have got it all wrong. 00:08:43.960 --> 00:08:46.120 It's not gifts that are the priority. 00:08:46.700 --> 00:08:47.720 It is love. 00:08:48.539 --> 00:08:51.759 Gifts without love are useless. 00:08:52.560 --> 00:08:54.539 And you'll notice in these verses 00:08:54.539 --> 00:08:57.600 how Paul homes in on the kind of things 00:08:57.600 --> 00:09:00.320 that the Corinthians believed were important. 00:09:00.940 --> 00:09:03.800 And he begins in verse 1 with tongues. 00:09:04.540 --> 00:09:07.320 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, 00:09:07.519 --> 00:09:08.580 but have not love, 00:09:09.060 --> 00:09:13.120 I am only a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 00:09:14.120 --> 00:09:17.360 The gift of tongues was greatly valued 00:09:17.360 --> 00:09:19.639 in the Corinthian congregation, 00:09:20.259 --> 00:09:23.320 just as it is by many and some sections 00:09:23.320 --> 00:09:24.780 of the church today. 00:09:25.700 --> 00:09:28.720 It was a gift that Paul himself exercised. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:31.180 And the Corinthians saw this gift 00:09:31.180 --> 00:09:36.040 as a great mark of spiritual well-being and maturity. 00:09:36.900 --> 00:09:38.600 Some believed it to be a language 00:09:38.600 --> 00:09:41.600 of angelic or heavenly origin. 00:09:43.300 --> 00:09:44.900 And yet Paul tells them here 00:09:44.900 --> 00:09:47.100 that such a gift is empty 00:09:47.100 --> 00:09:49.260 if love is not present. 00:09:50.160 --> 00:09:51.400 The gong, the cymbal, 00:09:51.399 --> 00:09:53.539 were instruments commonly used 00:09:53.539 --> 00:09:54.879 in pagan worship 00:09:54.879 --> 00:09:57.980 as, you know, to drive away spirits 00:09:57.980 --> 00:10:00.279 or to attract a God's attention. 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:03.259 And the clanging of bronze at these temples 00:10:03.259 --> 00:10:05.559 would have been a very familiar sound 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:06.879 in the city of Corinth. 00:10:08.740 --> 00:10:10.299 Despite their great claims 00:10:10.299 --> 00:10:11.579 to spiritual maturity 00:10:11.579 --> 00:10:14.379 and the elevation of these spiritual gifts, 00:10:15.480 --> 00:10:16.879 the absence of love, 00:10:17.899 --> 00:10:18.460 Paul says, 00:10:18.519 --> 00:10:19.559 means that the Corinthians 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:22.000 were no better than the pagans. 00:10:22.319 --> 00:10:23.119 Without love, 00:10:23.219 --> 00:10:25.419 the church is little more 00:10:25.419 --> 00:10:26.979 than a pagan temple. 00:10:28.599 --> 00:10:29.359 And then he says, 00:10:29.719 --> 00:10:31.259 if I have prophetic powers, 00:10:31.579 --> 00:10:32.039 verse 2, 00:10:32.199 --> 00:10:33.479 understand all mysteries, 00:10:33.599 --> 00:10:34.159 all knowledge, 00:10:34.339 --> 00:10:35.459 if I have all faith, 00:10:35.679 --> 00:10:37.000 so as to remove mountains, 00:10:37.179 --> 00:10:38.279 but have not love, 00:10:38.899 --> 00:10:40.179 I am nothing. 00:10:40.819 --> 00:10:41.719 And here Paul speaks 00:10:41.719 --> 00:10:43.019 of the great gifts of God 00:10:43.019 --> 00:10:44.299 that he himself 00:10:44.299 --> 00:10:46.179 had enjoyed as an apostle, 00:10:46.179 --> 00:10:48.339 gifts that marked him out 00:10:48.339 --> 00:10:49.620 as being someday important 00:10:49.620 --> 00:10:50.319 and special, 00:10:50.599 --> 00:10:51.019 prophecy, 00:10:51.379 --> 00:10:51.839 knowledge, 00:10:52.159 --> 00:10:52.599 miracles, 00:10:52.779 --> 00:10:54.739 wonderful apostolic gifts. 00:10:55.219 --> 00:10:56.279 And yet even so, 00:10:56.579 --> 00:10:58.199 even these are not comparable 00:10:58.199 --> 00:10:59.079 with love. 00:10:59.759 --> 00:11:02.279 No matter the marvelous gifts 00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:03.159 we enjoy, 00:11:03.399 --> 00:11:04.120 without love, 00:11:04.579 --> 00:11:04.959 it's nothing. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:06.899 We can have degrees 00:11:06.899 --> 00:11:07.899 after our name, 00:11:08.099 --> 00:11:09.759 we can be academically brilliant, 00:11:10.019 --> 00:11:11.959 we can have a miracle-working faith, 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:13.059 yet even so, 00:11:13.059 --> 00:11:14.299 the absence of love 00:11:14.299 --> 00:11:15.279 means we're nothing, 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:15.839 says Paul. 00:11:16.979 --> 00:11:17.979 Supernatural gifts 00:11:17.979 --> 00:11:19.439 may make us a somebody 00:11:19.439 --> 00:11:20.699 in the eyes of the world, 00:11:21.439 --> 00:11:22.699 but the absence of love 00:11:22.699 --> 00:11:23.939 makes us a nobody. 00:11:26.059 --> 00:11:26.679 And Paul says, 00:11:26.799 --> 00:11:28.839 if I give away all I have, 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:29.339 verse 3, 00:11:29.599 --> 00:11:31.139 deliver my body to be burned, 00:11:31.659 --> 00:11:32.519 but have not love, 00:11:32.559 --> 00:11:33.579 I gain nothing. 00:11:34.679 --> 00:11:36.379 Here Paul speaks of gifts 00:11:36.379 --> 00:11:37.919 that the world admires, 00:11:38.559 --> 00:11:39.619 sacrificial giving 00:11:39.619 --> 00:11:41.119 for the benefit of others, 00:11:41.120 --> 00:11:43.799 and yet even such noble actions 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:45.740 can be motivated 00:11:45.740 --> 00:11:47.519 by something less than love. 00:11:48.500 --> 00:11:49.419 People can give 00:11:49.419 --> 00:11:51.539 for a whole variety of reasons, 00:11:52.279 --> 00:11:54.019 personal kudos and fame, 00:11:54.419 --> 00:11:56.019 to be thought well of by others, 00:11:56.299 --> 00:11:58.100 to gain something for themselves 00:11:58.100 --> 00:12:00.019 by way of reward. 00:12:01.159 --> 00:12:03.200 But without love being present, 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:05.180 Paul says there is simply 00:12:05.180 --> 00:12:07.320 no gain or benefit. 00:12:07.320 --> 00:12:10.060 Last Sunday night, 00:12:10.200 --> 00:12:12.540 Corey told a story, 00:12:13.280 --> 00:12:14.480 a famous story, 00:12:14.720 --> 00:12:17.980 first told by Charles Spurgeon 00:12:17.980 --> 00:12:18.920 in one of his sermons. 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:23.180 I've been guilty of stealing 00:12:23.180 --> 00:12:26.180 Corey's stories 00:12:26.180 --> 00:12:27.780 and illustrations before, 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:29.600 so I'll continue in that vein 00:12:29.600 --> 00:12:31.180 by telling it again. 00:12:32.320 --> 00:12:34.060 This is the story of the king, 00:12:34.059 --> 00:12:35.739 the farmer, 00:12:35.879 --> 00:12:36.619 and the nobleman. 00:12:37.539 --> 00:12:39.000 And this is how the story goes. 00:12:39.059 --> 00:12:39.879 Once upon a time, 00:12:39.959 --> 00:12:40.639 there was a king 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:42.000 who ruled over everything 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:42.699 in the land. 00:12:43.159 --> 00:12:43.679 And one day, 00:12:43.759 --> 00:12:44.739 there was a gardener 00:12:44.739 --> 00:12:45.399 who grew, 00:12:45.899 --> 00:12:46.919 this is a strange story, 00:12:47.039 --> 00:12:48.119 an enormous carrot. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:51.019 And he took it to the king, 00:12:51.199 --> 00:12:51.819 and he said, 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:52.339 my lord, 00:12:52.419 --> 00:12:53.479 this is the greatest carrot 00:12:53.479 --> 00:12:54.439 I've ever grown, 00:12:54.899 --> 00:12:55.859 or ever will grow. 00:12:56.539 --> 00:12:56.939 And so, 00:12:57.019 --> 00:12:58.599 I want to present it to you 00:12:58.599 --> 00:13:00.439 as a token of my love 00:13:00.439 --> 00:13:01.899 and respect for you. 00:13:01.899 --> 00:13:02.340 Well, 00:13:03.299 --> 00:13:04.600 the king was touched 00:13:04.600 --> 00:13:06.299 by this man's actions. 00:13:06.439 --> 00:13:08.439 He discerned the man's heart. 00:13:09.019 --> 00:13:10.379 And as the man turned to go, 00:13:10.480 --> 00:13:11.059 the king said, 00:13:11.179 --> 00:13:11.360 wait, 00:13:12.019 --> 00:13:13.659 you're clearly a good steward 00:13:13.659 --> 00:13:14.319 of the earth, 00:13:14.579 --> 00:13:15.639 and I want to give you 00:13:15.639 --> 00:13:16.959 a plot of land to you, 00:13:17.139 --> 00:13:18.059 freely as a gift, 00:13:18.620 --> 00:13:20.179 so you can garden it all. 00:13:21.059 --> 00:13:22.539 The gardener was amazed 00:13:22.539 --> 00:13:23.819 and delighted 00:13:23.819 --> 00:13:25.659 at this generous gift, 00:13:25.699 --> 00:13:27.519 and he went home rejoicing. 00:13:27.519 --> 00:13:29.240 But, 00:13:29.559 --> 00:13:31.000 there was a nobleman 00:13:31.000 --> 00:13:32.439 at the king's court 00:13:32.439 --> 00:13:34.600 who overheard all of this. 00:13:35.379 --> 00:13:36.139 And he reasoned, 00:13:36.159 --> 00:13:36.439 he said, 00:13:36.500 --> 00:13:36.639 well, 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:37.139 my, 00:13:37.980 --> 00:13:38.899 if that's what you get 00:13:38.899 --> 00:13:39.600 for a carrot, 00:13:40.620 --> 00:13:42.500 what if you gave the king 00:13:42.500 --> 00:13:43.460 something better? 00:13:44.279 --> 00:13:45.079 And the next day, 00:13:45.159 --> 00:13:46.740 the nobleman came before the king, 00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:47.299 and he was leading 00:13:47.299 --> 00:13:49.039 a handsome black stallion. 00:13:49.720 --> 00:13:50.439 He bowed low, 00:13:50.500 --> 00:13:50.720 he said, 00:13:50.759 --> 00:13:51.220 my lord, 00:13:51.699 --> 00:13:52.519 I breed horses. 00:13:53.279 --> 00:13:54.600 This is the greatest horse 00:13:54.600 --> 00:13:55.539 I've ever bred, 00:13:55.579 --> 00:13:56.139 or ever will. 00:13:56.139 --> 00:13:56.500 Therefore, 00:13:56.659 --> 00:13:58.419 I want to present it to you 00:13:58.419 --> 00:14:00.519 as a token of my love 00:14:00.519 --> 00:14:01.799 and respect for you. 00:14:03.639 --> 00:14:05.080 The king discerned 00:14:05.080 --> 00:14:06.179 this man's heart, 00:14:06.580 --> 00:14:07.600 and he said to him, 00:14:07.659 --> 00:14:08.059 thank you. 00:14:08.939 --> 00:14:09.919 And he took the horse 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:12.360 and simply dismissed the man. 00:14:13.559 --> 00:14:14.319 And the nobleman 00:14:14.319 --> 00:14:16.139 was confused and perplexed. 00:14:17.500 --> 00:14:17.799 And so, 00:14:17.860 --> 00:14:18.679 the king said to him, 00:14:18.699 --> 00:14:19.519 let me explain. 00:14:20.639 --> 00:14:21.539 That gardener 00:14:21.539 --> 00:14:23.419 was giving me the carrot 00:14:23.419 --> 00:14:25.139 that you were giving yourself. 00:14:26.139 --> 00:14:27.139 The horse. 00:14:29.139 --> 00:14:30.519 And Paul says here, 00:14:30.620 --> 00:14:32.559 if we give only for ourselves, 00:14:33.860 --> 00:14:35.080 then such an action 00:14:35.080 --> 00:14:36.179 amounts to nothing 00:14:36.179 --> 00:14:38.159 on heaven's balance sheet. 00:14:39.019 --> 00:14:40.360 And it is possible, 00:14:40.620 --> 00:14:41.000 friends, 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:42.419 for some people 00:14:42.419 --> 00:14:44.759 to be generous 00:14:44.759 --> 00:14:45.899 and kind 00:14:45.899 --> 00:14:46.600 and giving 00:14:46.600 --> 00:14:47.840 and to appear that way, 00:14:48.179 --> 00:14:49.600 and yet in reality, 00:14:49.779 --> 00:14:50.500 they're doing it all 00:14:50.500 --> 00:14:51.159 for themselves. 00:14:51.159 --> 00:14:53.699 actually using people 00:14:53.699 --> 00:14:55.139 rather than loving people. 00:14:56.639 --> 00:14:57.159 They love 00:14:57.159 --> 00:14:57.980 and they give, 00:14:58.879 --> 00:15:00.240 but only if they're getting. 00:15:01.459 --> 00:15:02.139 Admiration, 00:15:02.899 --> 00:15:03.279 obedience, 00:15:03.980 --> 00:15:04.399 affection. 00:15:05.399 --> 00:15:06.639 And if they're crossed 00:15:06.639 --> 00:15:09.100 or don't get what they want, 00:15:10.139 --> 00:15:10.819 your history. 00:15:13.319 --> 00:15:13.559 Friends, 00:15:13.600 --> 00:15:15.159 we know from Paul's writings 00:15:15.159 --> 00:15:16.319 that he understood 00:15:16.319 --> 00:15:17.539 love to be 00:15:17.539 --> 00:15:18.439 a product 00:15:18.439 --> 00:15:19.759 of an authentic 00:15:19.759 --> 00:15:20.719 work of God 00:15:20.719 --> 00:15:22.199 in someone's life. 00:15:22.500 --> 00:15:23.319 It's an evidence 00:15:23.319 --> 00:15:24.939 of the work 00:15:24.939 --> 00:15:25.719 of the Holy Spirit. 00:15:26.699 --> 00:15:27.159 It's a hallmark 00:15:27.740 --> 00:15:28.699 of Christian 00:15:28.699 --> 00:15:29.559 authenticity. 00:15:31.219 --> 00:15:31.579 Peter, 00:15:31.839 --> 00:15:32.899 2 Peter 1 00:15:32.899 --> 00:15:33.799 says this, 00:15:34.299 --> 00:15:35.980 add to your faith 00:15:35.980 --> 00:15:37.399 love. 00:15:37.740 --> 00:15:38.480 It's a mark 00:15:38.480 --> 00:15:39.179 of maturity. 00:15:39.179 --> 00:15:41.359 It's the opposite 00:15:41.359 --> 00:15:42.500 of immature 00:15:42.500 --> 00:15:44.159 egocentricity 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:45.759 because it's giving 00:15:45.759 --> 00:15:46.819 like God gets. 00:15:48.059 --> 00:15:49.219 And we desperately 00:15:49.219 --> 00:15:50.139 need this kind 00:15:50.139 --> 00:15:50.620 of love 00:15:50.620 --> 00:15:51.719 in our own lives, 00:15:51.919 --> 00:15:53.120 in our own families, 00:15:53.279 --> 00:15:54.039 in our churches, 00:15:54.339 --> 00:15:55.319 and indeed 00:15:55.319 --> 00:15:56.759 in our wider society. 00:15:59.079 --> 00:15:59.759 C.S. Lewis 00:15:59.759 --> 00:16:02.000 in his little book 00:16:02.000 --> 00:16:02.859 The Four Loves 00:16:02.859 --> 00:16:03.439 wrote this, 00:16:04.339 --> 00:16:05.319 if you don't want 00:16:05.319 --> 00:16:06.240 your heart broken, 00:16:06.939 --> 00:16:07.899 give it to nobody. 00:16:07.899 --> 00:16:09.600 Lock it up 00:16:09.600 --> 00:16:10.899 in a little casket 00:16:10.899 --> 00:16:11.879 of selfishness, 00:16:12.299 --> 00:16:13.179 and in that 00:16:13.179 --> 00:16:14.199 casket, 00:16:14.340 --> 00:16:15.319 it will not be broken. 00:16:16.039 --> 00:16:17.240 It will become 00:16:17.240 --> 00:16:18.179 unbreakable, 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:20.299 impenetrable, 00:16:21.399 --> 00:16:22.120 irredeemable. 00:16:23.799 --> 00:16:24.579 And friends, 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:25.299 it can happen. 00:16:26.179 --> 00:16:26.740 People who are 00:16:26.740 --> 00:16:27.279 so gifted, 00:16:27.419 --> 00:16:28.019 so knowledgeable, 00:16:28.319 --> 00:16:28.799 so able, 00:16:29.299 --> 00:16:31.039 but so unable 00:16:31.039 --> 00:16:31.840 to really love 00:16:31.840 --> 00:16:32.679 anyone else 00:16:32.679 --> 00:16:33.879 but themselves. 00:16:35.579 --> 00:16:36.039 Paul says 00:16:36.039 --> 00:16:37.039 it's not our gifts, 00:16:37.039 --> 00:16:38.539 our talents, 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:39.319 our abilities 00:16:39.319 --> 00:16:40.379 that really matter. 00:16:41.639 --> 00:16:42.480 It's love, 00:16:43.019 --> 00:16:43.980 the priority 00:16:43.980 --> 00:16:44.919 of love. 00:16:46.159 --> 00:16:46.659 It brings me 00:16:46.659 --> 00:16:47.439 to the second thing 00:16:47.439 --> 00:16:48.480 here from verses 00:16:48.480 --> 00:16:49.339 four through seven. 00:16:49.799 --> 00:16:50.659 And we'll call this 00:16:50.659 --> 00:16:51.299 the power 00:16:51.299 --> 00:16:52.879 of love. 00:16:53.639 --> 00:16:54.439 If love is more 00:16:54.439 --> 00:16:55.099 important than 00:16:55.099 --> 00:16:55.679 the gifts, 00:16:56.199 --> 00:16:57.000 then secondly, 00:16:57.139 --> 00:16:58.299 love is more powerful 00:16:58.299 --> 00:16:59.339 than the gifts. 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:00.419 And Paul tells us 00:17:00.419 --> 00:17:01.399 something here, 00:17:01.459 --> 00:17:01.819 I think, 00:17:01.879 --> 00:17:02.459 in these verses 00:17:02.459 --> 00:17:03.360 about the power 00:17:03.360 --> 00:17:03.839 of love. 00:17:03.840 --> 00:17:03.879 love. 00:17:04.500 --> 00:17:05.200 Many different 00:17:05.200 --> 00:17:06.200 words in Greek 00:17:06.200 --> 00:17:07.340 to describe 00:17:07.340 --> 00:17:08.700 different kinds 00:17:08.700 --> 00:17:09.200 of love, 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:10.059 that between a man 00:17:10.059 --> 00:17:10.620 and a woman, 00:17:11.120 --> 00:17:12.279 a parent and a child, 00:17:12.400 --> 00:17:13.200 between friends 00:17:13.200 --> 00:17:14.019 and so forth. 00:17:14.240 --> 00:17:14.779 But the word 00:17:14.779 --> 00:17:15.559 that Paul uses 00:17:15.559 --> 00:17:16.539 here is the word 00:17:16.539 --> 00:17:17.200 agape. 00:17:18.460 --> 00:17:20.160 It was rarely used 00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:20.960 before the writing 00:17:20.960 --> 00:17:21.799 of the New Testament. 00:17:22.539 --> 00:17:23.299 But it's a word 00:17:23.299 --> 00:17:23.960 that the apostles 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:25.779 took to describe 00:17:25.779 --> 00:17:26.640 Christian love. 00:17:27.019 --> 00:17:27.900 And it relates 00:17:27.900 --> 00:17:28.720 to love for the 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:29.299 unlovely, 00:17:29.759 --> 00:17:30.240 love for the 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:30.779 unworthy, 00:17:31.220 --> 00:17:31.779 love for those 00:17:31.779 --> 00:17:32.379 who are different, 00:17:32.519 --> 00:17:33.180 love for the sinner, 00:17:33.460 --> 00:17:34.139 love for the guilty, 00:17:34.279 --> 00:17:35.079 love for the lost. 00:17:36.039 --> 00:17:36.759 And what Paul 00:17:36.759 --> 00:17:37.899 endeavors to do here, 00:17:37.940 --> 00:17:38.240 I think, 00:17:38.259 --> 00:17:38.920 in these verses 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:40.039 is to sketch 00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:41.139 for us a portrait 00:17:41.139 --> 00:17:42.920 of love's power. 00:17:43.639 --> 00:17:44.440 He describes 00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:45.339 or depicts love 00:17:45.339 --> 00:17:46.200 not in terms of, 00:17:46.359 --> 00:17:46.720 you'll notice, 00:17:46.899 --> 00:17:48.639 feelings or emotions, 00:17:49.099 --> 00:17:50.519 but rather in terms 00:17:50.519 --> 00:17:51.740 of what it does 00:17:51.740 --> 00:17:53.279 and does not do. 00:17:53.899 --> 00:17:55.220 In the original language, 00:17:55.720 --> 00:17:56.720 there are verbs 00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:57.879 everywhere here, 00:17:58.039 --> 00:17:58.740 doing words, 00:17:58.819 --> 00:17:59.619 words of action. 00:18:00.460 --> 00:18:01.240 Love is active. 00:18:01.240 --> 00:18:02.200 Here is the way 00:18:02.200 --> 00:18:02.920 of maturity. 00:18:03.559 --> 00:18:04.319 This is what love 00:18:04.319 --> 00:18:04.960 looks like. 00:18:05.120 --> 00:18:05.799 This is how you know 00:18:05.799 --> 00:18:06.680 it's the real thing. 00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:08.420 Look at what he says. 00:18:09.059 --> 00:18:10.019 Love is patient 00:18:10.019 --> 00:18:11.519 or long-suffering. 00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:12.859 Whatever it faces, 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:13.700 love does not 00:18:13.700 --> 00:18:14.500 lose its temper. 00:18:15.079 --> 00:18:15.720 Human nature 00:18:15.720 --> 00:18:16.660 means that we are 00:18:16.660 --> 00:18:17.779 often patient 00:18:17.779 --> 00:18:19.180 and understanding 00:18:19.180 --> 00:18:20.160 with ourselves, 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:22.180 but much less so 00:18:22.180 --> 00:18:23.160 with others. 00:18:24.339 --> 00:18:25.220 Love is kind. 00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:26.019 It cares more 00:18:26.019 --> 00:18:26.599 for others 00:18:26.599 --> 00:18:27.539 than for self. 00:18:27.620 --> 00:18:28.420 It's generous. 00:18:28.599 --> 00:18:29.620 It has an open hand. 00:18:30.359 --> 00:18:31.220 Love does not end 00:18:31.220 --> 00:18:32.140 envy or boast. 00:18:32.339 --> 00:18:33.400 It's not puffed up. 00:18:33.460 --> 00:18:34.440 It's not proud. 00:18:36.180 --> 00:18:37.299 Eugene Peterson, 00:18:37.460 --> 00:18:38.319 in his paraphrase, 00:18:38.579 --> 00:18:39.480 the message says, 00:18:40.120 --> 00:18:41.160 love doesn't want 00:18:41.160 --> 00:18:42.740 what it doesn't have. 00:18:43.140 --> 00:18:44.339 Love doesn't strut. 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:46.019 Love doesn't have 00:18:46.019 --> 00:18:47.200 a swollen head. 00:18:48.620 --> 00:18:48.980 Actually, 00:18:49.059 --> 00:18:50.160 all through this letter, 00:18:50.299 --> 00:18:50.819 we detect 00:18:50.819 --> 00:18:51.480 that was actually, 00:18:51.600 --> 00:18:52.920 that was a major problem 00:18:52.920 --> 00:18:54.559 for the childish 00:18:54.559 --> 00:18:55.740 Corinthians. 00:18:55.740 --> 00:18:55.940 Corinthians. 00:18:57.140 --> 00:18:57.759 Chapter 4, 00:18:57.799 --> 00:18:58.319 verse 18, 00:18:59.079 --> 00:18:59.500 Paul says, 00:18:59.559 --> 00:19:01.019 some of you become arrogant. 00:19:01.400 --> 00:19:01.640 Later, 00:19:01.720 --> 00:19:02.880 he says in chapter 5, 00:19:02.900 --> 00:19:03.319 verse 2, 00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:04.319 you're proud. 00:19:05.120 --> 00:19:05.700 Chapter 8, 00:19:05.740 --> 00:19:06.279 he tells them, 00:19:06.599 --> 00:19:07.720 knowledge puffs up, 00:19:07.940 --> 00:19:09.500 but love builds up. 00:19:12.380 --> 00:19:13.559 Love is not arrogant 00:19:13.559 --> 00:19:14.180 or rude. 00:19:14.819 --> 00:19:15.400 The Greek word 00:19:15.400 --> 00:19:16.039 literally means 00:19:16.039 --> 00:19:17.599 to ride roughshod 00:19:17.599 --> 00:19:18.220 over someone, 00:19:18.720 --> 00:19:19.620 to take advantage 00:19:19.620 --> 00:19:20.160 of them, 00:19:20.420 --> 00:19:21.420 to bulldoze, 00:19:21.519 --> 00:19:22.620 to steamroller them, 00:19:22.619 --> 00:19:24.039 to take no notice 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:25.639 of their feelings. 00:19:27.199 --> 00:19:28.639 Love does not insist 00:19:28.639 --> 00:19:29.479 on its own way. 00:19:29.599 --> 00:19:30.599 It's not self-seeking. 00:19:31.719 --> 00:19:32.459 Paul has already 00:19:32.459 --> 00:19:33.259 told the Corinthians 00:19:33.259 --> 00:19:34.259 in chapter 10, 00:19:34.319 --> 00:19:35.019 verse 24, 00:19:35.419 --> 00:19:36.299 nobody should seek 00:19:36.299 --> 00:19:36.959 his own good, 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:38.299 but the good of others. 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:40.239 Love is always 00:19:40.239 --> 00:19:41.039 me first. 00:19:42.399 --> 00:19:43.179 And it's easy, 00:19:43.419 --> 00:19:44.099 even in, 00:19:44.299 --> 00:19:46.719 even in God's service, 00:19:47.339 --> 00:19:49.479 to seek position 00:19:49.479 --> 00:19:50.439 and influence 00:19:50.439 --> 00:19:51.319 and status 00:19:51.319 --> 00:19:52.960 for our own glory 00:19:52.960 --> 00:19:54.619 rather than God's. 00:19:55.659 --> 00:19:56.559 The Christian mystics 00:19:56.559 --> 00:19:57.399 in John of the Cross 00:19:57.399 --> 00:19:58.339 once wrote these words, 00:19:58.779 --> 00:19:59.439 all visions, 00:19:59.659 --> 00:20:00.259 revelations, 00:20:00.480 --> 00:20:01.220 heavenly feelings, 00:20:01.659 --> 00:20:02.740 whatever experiences 00:20:02.740 --> 00:20:03.879 greater than these 00:20:03.879 --> 00:20:04.759 are not worth 00:20:04.759 --> 00:20:05.779 the least act 00:20:05.779 --> 00:20:06.399 of humility. 00:20:07.139 --> 00:20:08.559 For acts of humility 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:09.399 are the fruit 00:20:09.399 --> 00:20:10.679 of that agape love, 00:20:11.419 --> 00:20:12.659 which neither values 00:20:12.659 --> 00:20:13.899 nor seeks itself, 00:20:14.419 --> 00:20:16.059 which thinks well 00:20:16.059 --> 00:20:16.899 not of self, 00:20:17.460 --> 00:20:18.139 but of others. 00:20:18.140 --> 00:20:21.720 love is not irritable 00:20:21.720 --> 00:20:22.620 or resentful. 00:20:22.720 --> 00:20:23.759 It's not easily angered. 00:20:23.759 --> 00:20:24.640 It isn't touchy. 00:20:25.440 --> 00:20:26.940 Love is not easily provoked. 00:20:27.259 --> 00:20:28.580 Love is a long fuse. 00:20:29.940 --> 00:20:31.640 I've been in churches 00:20:31.640 --> 00:20:32.220 where, you know, 00:20:32.259 --> 00:20:32.800 some Christians 00:20:32.800 --> 00:20:33.920 should be wearing a sign 00:20:33.920 --> 00:20:35.000 around their necks, 00:20:35.100 --> 00:20:35.560 danger, 00:20:35.800 --> 00:20:36.540 high explosive. 00:20:38.160 --> 00:20:39.360 Love keeps no record 00:20:39.360 --> 00:20:40.259 of wrongs. 00:20:40.780 --> 00:20:42.120 It wipes the slate clean. 00:20:42.220 --> 00:20:42.940 It forgives. 00:20:43.200 --> 00:20:44.259 It doesn't go around 00:20:44.259 --> 00:20:46.520 casting up people's mistakes. 00:20:46.519 --> 00:20:48.240 It doesn't treasure 00:20:48.240 --> 00:20:50.180 grievances, 00:20:50.639 --> 00:20:51.879 bearing grudges. 00:20:52.500 --> 00:20:53.099 It doesn't think 00:20:53.099 --> 00:20:54.279 the worst of others, 00:20:54.680 --> 00:20:55.619 always impugning 00:20:55.619 --> 00:20:56.440 their motives 00:20:56.440 --> 00:20:57.579 or the motives 00:20:57.579 --> 00:20:58.559 behind their actions. 00:21:00.440 --> 00:21:01.660 Love does not rejoice 00:21:01.660 --> 00:21:02.400 at wrongdoing. 00:21:02.639 --> 00:21:03.839 It rejoices with the truth. 00:21:04.480 --> 00:21:05.920 Love is not anything goes. 00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:06.839 That's sometimes 00:21:06.839 --> 00:21:07.420 what we hear 00:21:07.420 --> 00:21:08.839 in our wider culture. 00:21:10.099 --> 00:21:10.839 Sometimes people 00:21:10.839 --> 00:21:12.099 paint a contrast 00:21:12.099 --> 00:21:13.079 between the right thing 00:21:13.079 --> 00:21:13.879 and the loving thing, 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:14.379 but friends, 00:21:14.519 --> 00:21:15.160 the right thing 00:21:15.160 --> 00:21:16.000 is the loving thing. 00:21:16.519 --> 00:21:17.339 And the loving thing 00:21:17.339 --> 00:21:18.339 is always the right thing. 00:21:19.319 --> 00:21:20.079 Love is never, 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:21.500 ever to be an excuse 00:21:21.500 --> 00:21:22.559 for sin 00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:23.359 and evil 00:21:23.359 --> 00:21:24.180 and immorality. 00:21:26.359 --> 00:21:27.099 Then he says, 00:21:27.180 --> 00:21:28.259 love bears all things, 00:21:28.420 --> 00:21:29.319 believes all things, 00:21:29.539 --> 00:21:30.460 hopes all things, 00:21:31.000 --> 00:21:32.680 endures all things. 00:21:34.440 --> 00:21:35.680 It's indestructible. 00:21:36.160 --> 00:21:36.879 It's powerful. 00:21:38.160 --> 00:21:39.119 Many years ago, 00:21:39.119 --> 00:21:42.379 we had a lady 00:21:42.379 --> 00:21:43.879 that we prayed for 00:21:43.879 --> 00:21:45.019 who was served 00:21:45.019 --> 00:21:46.599 overseas 00:21:46.599 --> 00:21:48.000 in China. 00:21:49.000 --> 00:21:50.839 And when she was there, 00:21:51.139 --> 00:21:52.459 the authorities 00:21:52.459 --> 00:21:55.779 sent a woman 00:21:55.779 --> 00:21:56.739 to spy on her, 00:21:56.919 --> 00:21:57.799 to get close to her 00:21:57.799 --> 00:21:59.879 and to report back to them. 00:21:59.880 --> 00:22:04.220 And eventually, 00:22:04.420 --> 00:22:05.380 after a few months, 00:22:06.300 --> 00:22:06.920 this lady 00:22:06.920 --> 00:22:07.900 who'd been sent 00:22:07.900 --> 00:22:09.300 from the government 00:22:09.300 --> 00:22:11.560 spoke to our friend 00:22:11.560 --> 00:22:12.080 and said, 00:22:12.900 --> 00:22:13.260 confessed. 00:22:14.700 --> 00:22:15.440 And she said, 00:22:15.580 --> 00:22:15.840 look, 00:22:16.540 --> 00:22:18.820 I can't report on you 00:22:18.820 --> 00:22:20.400 because 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:22.800 the love that you've shown me, 00:22:23.800 --> 00:22:25.260 the love that you've displayed, 00:22:25.259 --> 00:22:28.299 I love you too much. 00:22:31.240 --> 00:22:33.379 As Paul's description proceeds, 00:22:34.259 --> 00:22:35.599 surely it's clear to us 00:22:35.599 --> 00:22:36.240 that there is only 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:37.519 one human model 00:22:37.519 --> 00:22:38.680 he could have used 00:22:38.680 --> 00:22:39.480 for this portrait. 00:22:40.099 --> 00:22:40.900 And that's 00:22:40.900 --> 00:22:42.539 our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:22:44.079 --> 00:22:45.000 He is the, 00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:46.700 alone is the one 00:22:46.700 --> 00:22:47.740 through whom we can come 00:22:47.740 --> 00:22:48.359 to know 00:22:48.359 --> 00:22:50.259 this kind of love. 00:22:51.140 --> 00:22:52.440 Love looks like Jesus. 00:22:53.339 --> 00:22:54.200 He is the image 00:22:54.200 --> 00:22:55.340 of the invisible God, 00:22:55.420 --> 00:22:56.680 the Word made flesh. 00:22:57.680 --> 00:22:58.680 Love is the revelation 00:22:58.680 --> 00:22:59.860 of God's character 00:22:59.860 --> 00:23:01.120 that we discover 00:23:01.120 --> 00:23:02.400 and encounter 00:23:02.400 --> 00:23:04.240 in the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:23:04.380 --> 00:23:05.539 The Corinthians were gifted, 00:23:05.940 --> 00:23:06.900 but they were graceless. 00:23:07.500 --> 00:23:08.140 They thought they were 00:23:08.140 --> 00:23:09.840 so spiritual and mature, 00:23:09.980 --> 00:23:10.840 but they were children. 00:23:11.400 --> 00:23:12.600 They were spoiled brats. 00:23:14.019 --> 00:23:15.340 They'd lost sight of Jesus. 00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:17.880 Friends, 00:23:17.940 --> 00:23:19.340 let's not elevate our gifts 00:23:19.340 --> 00:23:20.740 at the expense of love. 00:23:22.380 --> 00:23:23.380 What does it matter 00:23:23.380 --> 00:23:24.300 about our gifts 00:23:24.300 --> 00:23:25.300 if we cannot get on 00:23:25.300 --> 00:23:25.960 with each other, 00:23:26.540 --> 00:23:27.480 if we can't forgive 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:28.060 one another, 00:23:28.920 --> 00:23:30.220 if we can't serve 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:31.320 one another in love? 00:23:31.860 --> 00:23:32.720 Because this is what 00:23:32.720 --> 00:23:33.620 matters to God. 00:23:34.100 --> 00:23:34.820 Not miracles 00:23:34.820 --> 00:23:35.640 and signs 00:23:35.640 --> 00:23:36.300 and wonders. 00:23:36.620 --> 00:23:36.920 Love. 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:39.140 May not be as showy, 00:23:39.280 --> 00:23:40.120 but it's more important. 00:23:41.720 --> 00:23:43.100 You can have great gifts 00:23:43.100 --> 00:23:44.880 and you can be a devil. 00:23:46.120 --> 00:23:47.160 Just think of those words 00:23:47.160 --> 00:23:48.080 at the end of the, 00:23:48.400 --> 00:23:48.960 towards the close 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:49.980 of the Sermon on the Mount 00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:51.260 of Jesus. 00:23:51.259 --> 00:23:51.940 On that day, 00:23:52.019 --> 00:23:52.900 many will say to me, 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:53.480 Lord, Lord, 00:23:53.599 --> 00:23:55.039 did we not prophesy 00:23:55.039 --> 00:23:55.740 in your name, 00:23:55.960 --> 00:23:56.759 cast out demons 00:23:56.759 --> 00:23:57.559 in your name, 00:23:57.799 --> 00:23:58.960 do many mighty works 00:23:58.960 --> 00:23:59.740 in your name? 00:24:00.680 --> 00:24:01.680 And I will declare to them, 00:24:01.700 --> 00:24:02.539 I never knew you. 00:24:03.240 --> 00:24:04.019 Depart from me, 00:24:04.700 --> 00:24:06.059 you workers of lawlessness. 00:24:07.640 --> 00:24:09.240 The priority of love. 00:24:09.900 --> 00:24:11.000 The power of love. 00:24:11.879 --> 00:24:12.680 And then thirdly 00:24:12.680 --> 00:24:13.559 and finally here 00:24:13.559 --> 00:24:16.099 in verses 8 through 13, 00:24:16.099 --> 00:24:18.379 the permanence of love. 00:24:19.639 --> 00:24:21.219 In these final words 00:24:21.219 --> 00:24:21.879 of the chapter, 00:24:22.299 --> 00:24:23.639 Paul really lifts up 00:24:23.639 --> 00:24:24.240 our eyes 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:25.899 to the eternal horizon. 00:24:27.679 --> 00:24:28.399 He says, 00:24:28.480 --> 00:24:29.379 love never ends. 00:24:29.439 --> 00:24:30.399 As for prophecies, 00:24:30.480 --> 00:24:30.859 verse 8, 00:24:31.219 --> 00:24:32.139 they will pass away. 00:24:32.259 --> 00:24:32.719 For tongues, 00:24:32.819 --> 00:24:33.459 they will cease. 00:24:33.719 --> 00:24:34.579 As for knowledge, 00:24:34.740 --> 00:24:35.619 it will pass away. 00:24:35.879 --> 00:24:37.079 Love alone will last. 00:24:37.539 --> 00:24:38.559 The gifts will fade. 00:24:38.740 --> 00:24:39.419 They will disappear. 00:24:39.779 --> 00:24:40.399 They will go. 00:24:40.879 --> 00:24:41.359 Prophecies, 00:24:41.480 --> 00:24:42.379 they'll pass away. 00:24:42.519 --> 00:24:43.719 Tongues will fall silent. 00:24:44.059 --> 00:24:45.339 Knowledge will be consumed 00:24:45.339 --> 00:24:47.240 in the vastness of eternity. 00:24:47.559 --> 00:24:49.139 Only love will remain. 00:24:50.220 --> 00:24:51.619 For we know in part, 00:24:51.720 --> 00:24:52.259 verse 9, 00:24:52.379 --> 00:24:53.839 we prophesy in part, 00:24:54.059 --> 00:24:56.000 but when the perfect comes, 00:24:56.099 --> 00:24:58.299 the partial will pass away. 00:24:59.079 --> 00:25:00.039 Perfection is coming, 00:25:00.159 --> 00:25:00.559 says Paul. 00:25:00.759 --> 00:25:01.819 A new creation 00:25:01.819 --> 00:25:03.899 will dawn in all its fullness 00:25:03.899 --> 00:25:05.539 and it will swallow up 00:25:05.539 --> 00:25:07.259 everything that is partial 00:25:07.259 --> 00:25:08.079 and temporal 00:25:08.079 --> 00:25:09.179 and ephemeral. 00:25:09.919 --> 00:25:11.799 The perfect that is still to come 00:25:11.799 --> 00:25:13.139 is, I think here, 00:25:13.240 --> 00:25:14.179 almost certainly 00:25:14.180 --> 00:25:15.019 a reference 00:25:15.019 --> 00:25:16.120 to the return 00:25:16.120 --> 00:25:17.060 of Jesus Christ. 00:25:17.880 --> 00:25:18.759 Yes, there are some 00:25:18.759 --> 00:25:19.539 who argue 00:25:19.539 --> 00:25:20.600 that this perfection 00:25:20.600 --> 00:25:22.480 relates to the completion 00:25:22.480 --> 00:25:23.799 of the Scriptures 00:25:23.799 --> 00:25:25.840 after which the supernatural 00:25:25.840 --> 00:25:26.920 gifts died away. 00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:28.259 And while I agree 00:25:28.259 --> 00:25:28.900 with the view 00:25:28.900 --> 00:25:30.420 that these more spectacular 00:25:30.420 --> 00:25:32.060 gifts were used by God 00:25:32.060 --> 00:25:32.799 in the early days 00:25:32.799 --> 00:25:33.340 of the church 00:25:33.340 --> 00:25:34.940 to authenticate the gospel, 00:25:35.120 --> 00:25:35.640 they were given 00:25:35.640 --> 00:25:37.160 for a temporary purpose 00:25:37.160 --> 00:25:38.420 while the New Testament 00:25:38.420 --> 00:25:39.120 was being written 00:25:39.120 --> 00:25:39.860 and compiled, 00:25:40.120 --> 00:25:41.200 I do not think 00:25:41.200 --> 00:25:42.120 that this text 00:25:42.120 --> 00:25:43.100 relates to that. 00:25:43.099 --> 00:25:44.519 Paul is simply 00:25:44.519 --> 00:25:45.379 making the point 00:25:45.379 --> 00:25:46.959 that spiritual gifts, 00:25:47.439 --> 00:25:48.980 supernatural or otherwise, 00:25:49.519 --> 00:25:51.579 belong to this present age 00:25:51.579 --> 00:25:53.179 and not the age to come. 00:25:53.619 --> 00:25:55.259 Love alone will endure. 00:25:55.740 --> 00:25:57.159 Love alone will last. 00:25:57.599 --> 00:25:58.959 Love alone will stand. 00:25:59.759 --> 00:26:00.699 Gifts of teaching, 00:26:01.139 --> 00:26:01.519 mercy, 00:26:01.779 --> 00:26:02.179 helping, 00:26:02.359 --> 00:26:02.859 administration, 00:26:03.299 --> 00:26:03.959 all of these 00:26:03.959 --> 00:26:04.839 are provisional. 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:06.859 Yes, they're needed now, 00:26:07.039 --> 00:26:08.159 but they're not going to be needed 00:26:08.159 --> 00:26:09.639 in the new heavens and earth. 00:26:09.640 --> 00:26:11.140 In the new creation, 00:26:11.460 --> 00:26:12.280 there will be no need 00:26:12.280 --> 00:26:13.220 for patience 00:26:13.220 --> 00:26:14.060 and forgiveness 00:26:14.060 --> 00:26:15.420 or faith or hope, 00:26:15.640 --> 00:26:18.020 but love will continue. 00:26:18.880 --> 00:26:19.960 The mark of heaven 00:26:19.960 --> 00:26:21.620 that we experience now 00:26:21.620 --> 00:26:22.300 is love. 00:26:22.620 --> 00:26:24.120 Love is the language of heaven, 00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:24.780 not tongues 00:26:24.780 --> 00:26:26.200 or any other gifts. 00:26:27.440 --> 00:26:28.800 These things are temporary. 00:26:29.480 --> 00:26:30.440 They are not lasting. 00:26:30.960 --> 00:26:31.920 They won't endure. 00:26:32.420 --> 00:26:33.480 They will pass away. 00:26:33.800 --> 00:26:34.820 Jonathan Edwards wrote, 00:26:35.560 --> 00:26:36.480 heaven will be 00:26:36.480 --> 00:26:38.120 a world of love. 00:26:40.579 --> 00:26:41.819 So, Paul says in verse 11, 00:26:41.920 --> 00:26:42.799 when I was a child, 00:26:43.259 --> 00:26:44.200 I spoke like a child. 00:26:44.259 --> 00:26:45.160 I thought like a child. 00:26:45.240 --> 00:26:46.339 I reasoned like a child. 00:26:46.500 --> 00:26:47.640 When I became a man, 00:26:47.799 --> 00:26:49.420 I gave up childish ways. 00:26:49.920 --> 00:26:51.180 And I think that verse 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:53.160 is more than just an analogy 00:26:53.160 --> 00:26:53.980 or an illustration. 00:26:54.740 --> 00:26:56.980 This theme of childish immaturity 00:26:56.980 --> 00:26:58.740 runs like a thread 00:26:58.740 --> 00:26:59.839 throughout the whole letter. 00:27:00.160 --> 00:27:00.799 And already, 00:27:01.099 --> 00:27:01.880 Paul has accused 00:27:01.880 --> 00:27:02.519 the Corinthians 00:27:02.519 --> 00:27:03.720 of being worldly, 00:27:04.160 --> 00:27:05.500 mere infants in Christ 00:27:05.500 --> 00:27:06.420 in chapter 3. 00:27:06.940 --> 00:27:07.980 In the next chapter, 00:27:08.480 --> 00:27:09.839 chapter 14, verse 20, 00:27:10.160 --> 00:27:10.960 he exhorts them 00:27:10.960 --> 00:27:12.799 to stop thinking like children 00:27:12.799 --> 00:27:14.839 and you're thinking be adults. 00:27:17.160 --> 00:27:17.799 Sometimes, 00:27:18.039 --> 00:27:19.839 with young children, 00:27:21.099 --> 00:27:22.400 we have a couple 00:27:22.400 --> 00:27:24.160 of young grandsons, 00:27:24.359 --> 00:27:26.200 and you discover 00:27:26.200 --> 00:27:27.539 that they're more interested 00:27:27.539 --> 00:27:29.779 in the cardboard box 00:27:29.779 --> 00:27:31.160 and the wrapping paper 00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:32.700 than the present 00:27:32.700 --> 00:27:34.500 that's contained within it. 00:27:34.500 --> 00:27:36.160 And that's fine, 00:27:36.220 --> 00:27:36.500 isn't it, 00:27:36.500 --> 00:27:37.220 with toddlers? 00:27:37.380 --> 00:27:38.019 It's cute. 00:27:38.220 --> 00:27:38.880 It's funny. 00:27:40.220 --> 00:27:41.180 But if you were to see 00:27:41.180 --> 00:27:42.279 a 17-year-old 00:27:42.279 --> 00:27:43.839 discarding the games console 00:27:43.839 --> 00:27:45.019 and climbing inside 00:27:45.019 --> 00:27:46.180 a cardboard box, 00:27:46.319 --> 00:27:46.960 you might think 00:27:46.960 --> 00:27:47.500 there was something 00:27:47.500 --> 00:27:48.440 seriously wrong. 00:27:49.920 --> 00:27:51.059 And spiritually speaking, 00:27:51.119 --> 00:27:51.500 this is what 00:27:51.500 --> 00:27:52.700 the Corinthians were like. 00:27:53.200 --> 00:27:54.480 They should have grown up 00:27:54.480 --> 00:27:55.240 and been mature, 00:27:55.359 --> 00:27:55.880 but instead, 00:27:56.099 --> 00:27:56.700 they were clinging 00:27:56.700 --> 00:27:58.079 to childish ways. 00:27:58.680 --> 00:27:59.299 It's a danger. 00:28:00.900 --> 00:28:01.359 Maybe there's, 00:28:01.420 --> 00:28:02.359 maybe somebody here, 00:28:02.359 --> 00:28:03.599 you need to climb out 00:28:03.599 --> 00:28:04.979 of the cardboard box 00:28:04.979 --> 00:28:06.379 of your selfishness 00:28:06.379 --> 00:28:07.899 and your immaturity 00:28:07.899 --> 00:28:09.539 and leave it behind 00:28:09.539 --> 00:28:10.879 in your thinking. 00:28:10.979 --> 00:28:11.479 Be adults. 00:28:13.959 --> 00:28:14.759 For now we see 00:28:14.759 --> 00:28:15.699 in a mirror dimly, 00:28:15.819 --> 00:28:16.819 then face to face, 00:28:16.879 --> 00:28:17.459 verse 12, 00:28:17.919 --> 00:28:18.899 now I know in part, 00:28:19.000 --> 00:28:19.919 then I shall know fully, 00:28:20.279 --> 00:28:21.659 even as I've been fully known. 00:28:22.740 --> 00:28:23.659 Corinth was a city 00:28:23.659 --> 00:28:25.399 famous for metal work, 00:28:25.439 --> 00:28:26.159 and that included 00:28:26.159 --> 00:28:27.679 the manufacture of, 00:28:28.240 --> 00:28:28.799 there were kind of 00:28:28.799 --> 00:28:29.740 bronze mirrors. 00:28:29.740 --> 00:28:30.819 And these mirrors, 00:28:31.640 --> 00:28:32.900 nothing like as clear 00:28:32.900 --> 00:28:33.599 and as accurate 00:28:33.599 --> 00:28:34.759 as those we have today. 00:28:35.460 --> 00:28:36.319 In those mirrors, 00:28:36.400 --> 00:28:36.920 you only saw 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:37.759 a poor reflection. 00:28:39.200 --> 00:28:40.380 Seeing someone face to face 00:28:40.380 --> 00:28:41.200 was very different. 00:28:42.720 --> 00:28:43.980 And in this present age, 00:28:44.039 --> 00:28:44.819 we see the face 00:28:44.819 --> 00:28:45.839 of Jesus Christ, 00:28:46.160 --> 00:28:47.039 yes, reflected 00:28:47.039 --> 00:28:48.920 in His creation 00:28:48.920 --> 00:28:50.000 and in the Scriptures. 00:28:50.819 --> 00:28:51.960 But a day is coming 00:28:51.960 --> 00:28:52.880 when we will have 00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:54.059 no need of those mirrors 00:28:54.059 --> 00:28:56.339 that reflect His glory, 00:28:56.339 --> 00:28:58.179 for we will meet Him 00:28:58.179 --> 00:28:59.779 and see Him face to face. 00:29:01.240 --> 00:29:02.039 There's an old hymn 00:29:02.039 --> 00:29:03.279 we sometimes sang, 00:29:03.980 --> 00:29:04.859 Face to face 00:29:04.859 --> 00:29:06.199 with Christ my Savior, 00:29:06.939 --> 00:29:07.879 face to face 00:29:07.879 --> 00:29:09.000 what will it be, 00:29:10.039 --> 00:29:11.019 when with rapture 00:29:11.019 --> 00:29:12.039 I behold Him, 00:29:12.659 --> 00:29:13.500 Jesus Christ, 00:29:13.919 --> 00:29:15.299 who died for me. 00:29:16.279 --> 00:29:17.879 Our knowledge of God here 00:29:17.879 --> 00:29:18.879 is always partial 00:29:18.879 --> 00:29:19.699 and incomplete, 00:29:20.220 --> 00:29:21.159 but a day is coming 00:29:21.159 --> 00:29:22.240 when all will be revealed. 00:29:23.240 --> 00:29:24.299 As we ourselves 00:29:24.299 --> 00:29:25.699 are known and loved by God, 00:29:25.700 --> 00:29:27.240 so we will know 00:29:27.240 --> 00:29:27.980 and love Him. 00:29:28.620 --> 00:29:29.620 We shall see Him 00:29:29.620 --> 00:29:30.380 face to face, 00:29:30.500 --> 00:29:31.420 we will know Him 00:29:31.420 --> 00:29:32.180 as He is, 00:29:32.880 --> 00:29:34.180 and our knowledge of Him 00:29:34.180 --> 00:29:35.440 will be so much greater 00:29:35.440 --> 00:29:36.779 and more wonderful. 00:29:38.860 --> 00:29:40.140 Now these three remain, 00:29:40.220 --> 00:29:40.840 verse 13, 00:29:41.700 --> 00:29:42.880 faith, hope, and love, 00:29:43.420 --> 00:29:44.559 but the greatest of these 00:29:44.559 --> 00:29:45.340 is love. 00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:47.000 And yes, 00:29:47.120 --> 00:29:47.700 faith and hope 00:29:47.700 --> 00:29:48.480 are important 00:29:48.480 --> 00:29:49.299 in this world, 00:29:49.779 --> 00:29:51.240 but love is in a category 00:29:51.240 --> 00:29:51.940 of its own, 00:29:52.940 --> 00:29:54.500 because love is a property 00:29:54.500 --> 00:29:55.420 of God Himself 00:29:55.420 --> 00:29:56.400 in a way in which 00:29:56.400 --> 00:29:57.980 faith and hope are not. 00:29:59.059 --> 00:30:00.339 God doesn't need faith 00:30:00.339 --> 00:30:00.859 or hope. 00:30:00.980 --> 00:30:01.440 If He did, 00:30:01.480 --> 00:30:02.200 He wouldn't be God. 00:30:03.039 --> 00:30:04.480 But if God didn't love, 00:30:05.140 --> 00:30:06.119 He wouldn't be God. 00:30:07.880 --> 00:30:09.200 And it's in this sense 00:30:09.200 --> 00:30:10.099 that love is the greatest 00:30:10.099 --> 00:30:10.859 of gifts, 00:30:11.420 --> 00:30:13.599 because the essence of love 00:30:13.599 --> 00:30:14.519 is that we are turned 00:30:14.519 --> 00:30:15.740 away from ourselves 00:30:15.740 --> 00:30:17.099 towards others, 00:30:18.099 --> 00:30:19.599 towards God. 00:30:19.599 --> 00:30:22.719 and beyond anything else 00:30:22.719 --> 00:30:23.719 that can build up 00:30:23.719 --> 00:30:25.419 any Christian community 00:30:25.419 --> 00:30:27.879 in harmony and unity 00:30:27.879 --> 00:30:28.799 and maturity 00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:30.879 is love. 00:30:33.079 --> 00:30:34.879 Maybe it's good 00:30:34.879 --> 00:30:35.899 to look at ourselves. 00:30:37.299 --> 00:30:38.419 Are we like the Corinthians 00:30:38.419 --> 00:30:39.099 of old, 00:30:39.199 --> 00:30:40.399 in danger of becoming 00:30:40.399 --> 00:30:41.899 noisy gongs, 00:30:42.059 --> 00:30:43.039 clanging cymbals, 00:30:43.279 --> 00:30:44.419 gifted but loveless? 00:30:44.819 --> 00:30:46.299 Do we prize our knowledge, 00:30:46.439 --> 00:30:46.819 our zeal, 00:30:46.899 --> 00:30:47.500 our service, 00:30:47.500 --> 00:30:48.299 our preaching, 00:30:48.900 --> 00:30:50.000 while our hearts 00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:51.299 are cold and indifferent? 00:30:54.140 --> 00:30:55.980 Maybe we should be praying, 00:30:56.660 --> 00:30:57.839 Lord, help me 00:30:57.839 --> 00:30:58.880 to be more loving, 00:30:59.579 --> 00:31:00.819 because this is 00:31:00.819 --> 00:31:01.539 what's important. 00:31:02.240 --> 00:31:02.980 This is the most 00:31:02.980 --> 00:31:03.819 excellent way. 00:31:05.599 --> 00:31:06.339 And no matter 00:31:06.339 --> 00:31:07.539 who you are this morning, 00:31:07.640 --> 00:31:08.660 young or old, 00:31:08.900 --> 00:31:09.640 gifted or not, 00:31:09.740 --> 00:31:10.400 big or small, 00:31:10.759 --> 00:31:11.500 strong or weak, 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:13.180 no matter who you are, 00:31:13.220 --> 00:31:14.759 if you are in Jesus Christ, 00:31:14.759 --> 00:31:17.019 you can be great in love. 00:31:18.700 --> 00:31:19.500 We need to be committed 00:31:19.500 --> 00:31:20.640 to loving one another. 00:31:21.660 --> 00:31:22.779 By this shall all men know 00:31:22.779 --> 00:31:23.759 that you're my disciples, 00:31:23.920 --> 00:31:24.379 said Jesus. 00:31:25.299 --> 00:31:26.359 It's the real test 00:31:26.359 --> 00:31:27.519 of our discipleship, 00:31:27.680 --> 00:31:28.879 because church is not 00:31:28.879 --> 00:31:29.940 a gathering for the gifted. 00:31:31.980 --> 00:31:32.900 It's a community 00:31:32.900 --> 00:31:34.400 of compassion and care. 00:31:35.759 --> 00:31:36.720 That difficult brother, 00:31:36.839 --> 00:31:37.740 that annoying sister, 00:31:37.859 --> 00:31:38.700 that person who gets 00:31:38.700 --> 00:31:39.539 on your nerves, 00:31:40.619 --> 00:31:41.859 they are your calling 00:31:41.859 --> 00:31:43.359 as God's children. 00:31:43.359 --> 00:31:44.359 Love them. 00:31:44.559 --> 00:31:45.359 Be patient with them. 00:31:45.479 --> 00:31:46.000 Forgive them. 00:31:46.479 --> 00:31:47.119 Bear with them. 00:31:48.119 --> 00:31:48.799 And do that not 00:31:48.799 --> 00:31:49.959 in your own strength, 00:31:50.419 --> 00:31:51.459 but in the power 00:31:51.459 --> 00:31:52.399 of the Holy Spirit, 00:31:53.240 --> 00:31:54.219 who in His grace, 00:31:54.379 --> 00:31:56.579 God pours His love 00:31:56.579 --> 00:31:57.519 into our hearts. 00:31:59.719 --> 00:32:00.619 The final thing 00:32:00.619 --> 00:32:01.199 I'm going to say 00:32:01.199 --> 00:32:02.039 just as we close, 00:32:03.399 --> 00:32:05.119 be looking to Jesus Christ, 00:32:05.659 --> 00:32:06.979 because He's the one 00:32:06.979 --> 00:32:08.259 who embodies this love. 00:32:09.559 --> 00:32:10.639 He was patient 00:32:10.639 --> 00:32:12.299 with His slow-witted disciples. 00:32:12.299 --> 00:32:13.200 He was kind 00:32:13.200 --> 00:32:14.539 to the outcast and sinner. 00:32:14.899 --> 00:32:15.740 He was compassionate 00:32:15.740 --> 00:32:16.639 to the lost, 00:32:16.960 --> 00:32:18.379 forgiving towards His enemies. 00:32:19.039 --> 00:32:19.639 For sinners, 00:32:19.799 --> 00:32:20.839 He endured the cross, 00:32:20.960 --> 00:32:22.019 despising its shame. 00:32:22.980 --> 00:32:23.819 And if you want to know 00:32:23.819 --> 00:32:24.879 what love looks like, 00:32:25.519 --> 00:32:26.000 look there. 00:32:26.500 --> 00:32:27.139 Look to Jesus. 00:32:27.319 --> 00:32:28.059 Look to His cross. 00:32:28.180 --> 00:32:28.899 Look to Calvary. 00:32:29.139 --> 00:32:29.700 Look to the blood 00:32:29.700 --> 00:32:30.240 and the nails, 00:32:31.039 --> 00:32:32.000 because it's there 00:32:32.000 --> 00:32:32.460 that we see 00:32:32.460 --> 00:32:33.480 that the steadfast love 00:32:33.480 --> 00:32:33.960 of the Lord 00:32:33.960 --> 00:32:35.200 never ceases. 00:32:35.460 --> 00:32:36.339 It's there that we see 00:32:36.339 --> 00:32:37.180 that His mercies 00:32:37.180 --> 00:32:38.619 never come to an end. 00:32:38.619 --> 00:32:41.859 There's a question 00:32:41.859 --> 00:32:43.479 that sometimes, 00:32:44.259 --> 00:32:44.959 on occasions, 00:32:45.419 --> 00:32:46.000 it's usually 00:32:46.000 --> 00:32:48.279 the wife's wife 00:32:48.279 --> 00:32:49.319 will ask this question 00:32:49.319 --> 00:32:49.899 of her husband 00:32:49.899 --> 00:32:50.539 rather than 00:32:50.539 --> 00:32:51.399 the other way around. 00:32:52.159 --> 00:32:53.599 But the question is this, 00:32:54.599 --> 00:32:56.439 do you love me? 00:32:58.439 --> 00:32:58.979 Well, 00:32:59.739 --> 00:33:01.659 the answer to that question, 00:33:01.779 --> 00:33:02.039 of course, 00:33:02.099 --> 00:33:02.799 is yes, darling. 00:33:03.559 --> 00:33:04.399 Of course I do. 00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:07.480 But if you answer 00:33:07.480 --> 00:33:08.100 in that way, 00:33:08.200 --> 00:33:09.640 you're not going to get 00:33:09.640 --> 00:33:10.759 off that easy, 00:33:11.100 --> 00:33:12.060 because there's always 00:33:12.060 --> 00:33:12.740 a follow-up. 00:33:13.700 --> 00:33:14.680 And the follow-up 00:33:14.680 --> 00:33:15.220 is the 00:33:15.220 --> 00:33:16.759 why do you love me 00:33:16.759 --> 00:33:17.320 question. 00:33:18.980 --> 00:33:20.160 Why do you love me? 00:33:20.880 --> 00:33:22.080 Lots of possible answers 00:33:22.080 --> 00:33:23.000 you can give to that. 00:33:23.519 --> 00:33:24.040 I love you 00:33:24.040 --> 00:33:24.720 because of your 00:33:24.720 --> 00:33:26.060 beauty, 00:33:27.000 --> 00:33:28.440 because you're, 00:33:29.440 --> 00:33:29.920 you've lost 00:33:29.920 --> 00:33:30.340 some money, 00:33:31.580 --> 00:33:32.220 because we've got 00:33:32.220 --> 00:33:33.200 similar interests, 00:33:33.200 --> 00:33:33.860 because you're 00:33:33.860 --> 00:33:34.559 a great cook, 00:33:35.240 --> 00:33:35.980 because you're 00:33:35.980 --> 00:33:36.680 much prettier 00:33:36.680 --> 00:33:37.799 than I am handsome. 00:33:38.019 --> 00:33:38.140 You know, 00:33:38.180 --> 00:33:38.779 there's lots of things 00:33:38.779 --> 00:33:39.240 you can say. 00:33:40.900 --> 00:33:41.279 But friends, 00:33:41.319 --> 00:33:42.120 there's only one answer 00:33:42.120 --> 00:33:42.900 upon which you can 00:33:42.900 --> 00:33:43.580 build a marriage. 00:33:45.620 --> 00:33:46.200 And that's, 00:33:46.319 --> 00:33:46.920 I love you 00:33:46.920 --> 00:33:49.480 because I love you. 00:33:50.200 --> 00:33:51.180 I love you 00:33:51.180 --> 00:33:52.500 because I love you. 00:33:53.500 --> 00:33:54.779 Because if you're loved 00:33:54.779 --> 00:33:55.620 because of this, 00:33:55.740 --> 00:33:55.920 that, 00:33:55.980 --> 00:33:56.420 and the other, 00:33:57.380 --> 00:33:58.160 all that does 00:33:58.160 --> 00:33:58.580 is breed 00:33:58.580 --> 00:33:59.380 an incredible 00:33:59.380 --> 00:34:00.100 insecurity. 00:34:01.299 --> 00:34:02.340 And the other person 00:34:02.340 --> 00:34:03.120 is left wondering, 00:34:03.200 --> 00:34:03.819 are they still 00:34:03.819 --> 00:34:04.340 pretty enough, 00:34:04.420 --> 00:34:04.940 rich enough, 00:34:05.100 --> 00:34:05.779 patient enough? 00:34:07.840 --> 00:34:08.659 We long 00:34:08.659 --> 00:34:09.840 as human beings 00:34:09.840 --> 00:34:10.300 for a love 00:34:10.300 --> 00:34:11.099 that liberates. 00:34:11.659 --> 00:34:12.099 We long 00:34:12.099 --> 00:34:13.039 to be really loved. 00:34:14.539 --> 00:34:15.240 And this is 00:34:15.240 --> 00:34:15.679 God's love 00:34:15.679 --> 00:34:16.519 in Jesus Christ. 00:34:17.380 --> 00:34:17.860 This is 00:34:17.860 --> 00:34:18.900 His electing love. 00:34:19.740 --> 00:34:20.119 This is 00:34:20.119 --> 00:34:21.039 what Christ 00:34:21.039 --> 00:34:21.659 says to us 00:34:21.659 --> 00:34:22.240 in the gospel. 00:34:22.380 --> 00:34:22.699 He says, 00:34:22.780 --> 00:34:23.220 I love you 00:34:23.220 --> 00:34:24.019 because I love you. 00:34:24.760 --> 00:34:25.679 He loves us 00:34:25.679 --> 00:34:26.559 and invites us 00:34:26.559 --> 00:34:27.400 whoever we are 00:34:27.400 --> 00:34:28.280 to come to Him 00:34:28.280 --> 00:34:29.139 in faith. 00:34:29.639 --> 00:34:30.740 And it's a powerful love. 00:34:30.800 --> 00:34:31.900 It will transform you. 00:34:31.900 --> 00:34:33.519 Being united 00:34:33.519 --> 00:34:34.139 to Jesus 00:34:34.139 --> 00:34:35.180 will change you. 00:34:38.639 --> 00:34:39.660 This is the love 00:34:39.660 --> 00:34:40.720 that converts sinners, 00:34:41.180 --> 00:34:42.380 that builds relationships, 00:34:42.760 --> 00:34:43.880 that strengthens churches, 00:34:44.039 --> 00:34:45.320 that matures disciples. 00:34:46.059 --> 00:34:47.440 It is the essential 00:34:47.440 --> 00:34:48.200 ingredient 00:34:48.200 --> 00:34:49.980 in that process 00:34:49.980 --> 00:34:50.559 of growing 00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:51.180 as a Christian. 00:34:51.179 --> 00:34:53.199 we learn 00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:53.699 and grow 00:34:53.699 --> 00:34:54.379 not as we 00:34:54.379 --> 00:34:55.039 fixate 00:34:55.039 --> 00:34:55.980 on ourselves, 00:34:56.799 --> 00:34:57.500 our own gifts 00:34:57.500 --> 00:34:58.199 and abilities. 00:34:59.460 --> 00:35:00.139 We learn 00:35:00.139 --> 00:35:00.480 and grow 00:35:00.480 --> 00:35:01.279 as we reflect 00:35:01.279 --> 00:35:01.879 and rejoice 00:35:01.879 --> 00:35:02.699 in the amazing 00:35:02.699 --> 00:35:03.539 love of God 00:35:03.539 --> 00:35:04.299 for us 00:35:04.299 --> 00:35:05.379 in Jesus Christ. 00:35:06.460 --> 00:35:06.960 It's in being 00:35:06.960 --> 00:35:07.919 joined to Jesus 00:35:07.919 --> 00:35:08.659 that we draw 00:35:08.659 --> 00:35:09.119 from Him 00:35:09.119 --> 00:35:10.279 all that we need 00:35:10.279 --> 00:35:11.119 to love God 00:35:11.119 --> 00:35:11.799 and to love 00:35:11.799 --> 00:35:12.179 our neighbor 00:35:12.179 --> 00:35:12.839 as ourselves. 00:35:13.500 --> 00:35:14.079 And it's only 00:35:14.079 --> 00:35:14.819 as Jesus 00:35:14.819 --> 00:35:15.759 and His love 00:35:15.759 --> 00:35:17.019 overwhelms us 00:35:17.019 --> 00:35:18.299 and indwells us 00:35:18.300 --> 00:35:19.140 that we can even 00:35:19.140 --> 00:35:20.200 begin to think 00:35:20.200 --> 00:35:21.480 of loving like this. 00:35:23.680 --> 00:35:24.480 It's the love 00:35:24.480 --> 00:35:24.940 that we see 00:35:24.940 --> 00:35:25.580 at the cross. 00:35:27.240 --> 00:35:28.000 Look there 00:35:28.000 --> 00:35:28.700 and see how much 00:35:28.700 --> 00:35:29.280 He loves you. 00:35:29.460 --> 00:35:30.220 The Scottish preacher 00:35:30.220 --> 00:35:31.960 James Denny 00:35:31.960 --> 00:35:32.760 used to say 00:35:32.760 --> 00:35:34.480 that the only time 00:35:34.480 --> 00:35:35.620 He envied 00:35:35.620 --> 00:35:36.600 the Roman Catholic 00:35:36.600 --> 00:35:37.080 priest 00:35:37.080 --> 00:35:38.240 His crucifix 00:35:38.240 --> 00:35:39.660 was when He 00:35:39.660 --> 00:35:40.600 wanted to shake 00:35:40.600 --> 00:35:42.540 it in people's 00:35:42.540 --> 00:35:42.860 faces 00:35:42.860 --> 00:35:44.200 and say 00:35:44.200 --> 00:35:45.420 God loves you 00:35:45.420 --> 00:35:46.240 like that. 00:35:47.980 --> 00:35:48.720 It's only 00:35:48.720 --> 00:35:49.240 as we look 00:35:49.240 --> 00:35:50.000 to the cross 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:51.880 in faith 00:35:51.880 --> 00:35:53.520 that we receive 00:35:53.520 --> 00:35:54.280 from Christ 00:35:54.280 --> 00:35:55.740 that wonderful 00:35:55.740 --> 00:35:56.300 assurance 00:35:56.300 --> 00:35:57.200 that can change 00:35:57.200 --> 00:35:58.000 us and transform 00:35:58.000 --> 00:35:58.480 us 00:35:58.480 --> 00:36:00.060 because it's 00:36:00.060 --> 00:36:00.880 there at Calvary 00:36:00.880 --> 00:36:02.240 He tells 00:36:02.240 --> 00:36:02.700 sinners 00:36:02.699 --> 00:36:04.379 I love you 00:36:04.379 --> 00:36:05.980 because 00:36:05.980 --> 00:36:07.079 I love you. 00:36:07.779 --> 00:36:08.759 Let's pray together. 00:36:15.419 --> 00:36:16.579 Almighty God 00:36:16.579 --> 00:36:17.299 we are 00:36:17.299 --> 00:36:18.559 weak and frail 00:36:18.559 --> 00:36:19.859 human beings. 00:36:20.699 --> 00:36:21.460 We 00:36:21.460 --> 00:36:24.539 falter 00:36:24.539 --> 00:36:25.339 and fail 00:36:25.339 --> 00:36:26.039 in so many 00:36:26.039 --> 00:36:26.779 different ways 00:36:26.779 --> 00:36:27.339 especially 00:36:27.339 --> 00:36:28.419 in this whole 00:36:28.419 --> 00:36:28.859 realm 00:36:28.859 --> 00:36:29.679 of love. 00:36:30.460 --> 00:36:30.939 Lord 00:36:30.939 --> 00:36:31.559 would you be 00:36:31.559 --> 00:36:32.059 pleased 00:36:32.059 --> 00:36:32.659 in your 00:36:32.659 --> 00:36:33.079 mercy 00:36:33.079 --> 00:36:33.639 to pour 00:36:33.639 --> 00:36:34.000 out your 00:36:34.000 --> 00:36:34.360 love 00:36:34.360 --> 00:36:35.239 into our 00:36:35.239 --> 00:36:35.579 hearts 00:36:35.579 --> 00:36:36.079 by your 00:36:36.079 --> 00:36:36.739 Holy Spirit 00:36:36.739 --> 00:36:38.360 that we 00:36:38.360 --> 00:36:39.000 may be 00:36:39.000 --> 00:36:39.739 transformed 00:36:39.739 --> 00:36:40.719 and changed 00:36:40.719 --> 00:36:41.880 that you 00:36:41.880 --> 00:36:42.739 might conform 00:36:42.739 --> 00:36:43.500 us to the 00:36:43.500 --> 00:36:44.099 image of your 00:36:44.099 --> 00:36:44.460 Son 00:36:44.460 --> 00:36:45.360 that we 00:36:45.360 --> 00:36:45.860 might be 00:36:45.860 --> 00:36:46.799 more like 00:36:46.799 --> 00:36:47.400 him. 00:36:49.480 --> 00:36:50.099 Lord 00:36:50.099 --> 00:36:50.739 forgive us 00:36:50.739 --> 00:36:52.299 restore us 00:36:52.299 --> 00:36:53.579 renew us 00:36:53.579 --> 00:36:54.420 and refresh 00:36:54.420 --> 00:36:54.840 us 00:36:54.840 --> 00:36:56.179 by your 00:36:56.179 --> 00:36:56.579 Spirit 00:36:56.579 --> 00:36:57.539 by your 00:36:57.539 --> 00:36:57.880 love 00:36:57.880 --> 00:36:58.480 love 00:36:58.480 --> 00:36:59.380 that you 00:36:59.380 --> 00:36:59.579 might 00:36:59.579 --> 00:36:59.940 receive 00:36:59.940 --> 00:37:00.260 all the 00:37:00.260 --> 00:37:00.539 glory 00:37:00.539 --> 00:37:01.300 honour 00:37:01.300 --> 00:37:01.900 and 00:37:01.900 --> 00:37:02.340 praise 00:37:02.340 --> 00:37:03.400 in Jesus 00:37:03.400 --> 00:37:03.780 name 00:37:03.780 --> 00:37:04.800 Amen 00:37:04.800 --> 00:37:04.900 Amen.