Hello and
welcome to yet another time with the Lord on this platform. We want to trust
the Lord for His guidance as we go on the study of today, knowing fully well
that this topic cannot be exhausted in writing.
The issue of Love is
one of the most preached topics yet the less practiced, it is one of the most neglected
when it comes to practicing and yet the most important aspect of the Christian
life hence everything that Christian faith teaches are all a part of the Love
nature of our God who has loved us.
To teach love is to
teach God and to live love is to live God’s life; sadly, only few have being
encapsulated with this nature of God.
It will be important to
note here that God will not compromise his standards for any man for he has
sent us all to go out and love as he has loved us with the promise that he will
come back to reward us all. The question here is when he comes, will you be
found as a Christians who has faithfully loved as the Lord has commanded or
will you be guilty of living a life of hate instead of love?
God is demanding from everyone that call the name of Christ
to be an embodiment of Love which he has first shown us in His Son Jesus Christ
this year, for only the genuine love of Christ, the love called Agape, in the Greek
terms, the Gods kind of love will grant us a massive victory in winning the
souls of the unbelievers.
Today we
will not be defining love but it will be important to note here that love is
not just a word but an act; it is a practice which God has enjoined us all to
practice without excuse.
Our text
today will be the popular love text which Paul the Apostle has written to the
Corinthians, 1 Corinthians 13. Paul had received an Oral report and a letter
from the Corinthian Church. These revealed a church struggling with division,
immorality, idolatry and theological confusion, he wrote them this letter so
that they would become a true dwelling place for God’s Spirit, stay faithful to
the gospel of Christ and be guiltless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul has
presented the Church to the People as the dwelling place of God’s Spirit thus
the people that make up the Church should work for unity by building each other
up. (1:10-4:21, especially 3:10-16;
14:12)
Paul
taught that Christians should endeavor to build up the Church in four practical
ways which includes which includes:
·
Being sensitive to those with fragile faith (8:1-9:18; 10:28,33)
·
They should win unbelievers to the faith (9:19-23; 10:27, 32-33)
·
They should conduct the service in such a way that unbelievers
might come to faith (14:16, 23-25); Gods demand here is that all our services
must be aimed at bringing unbelievers to God. You will notice here that God is
not concerned with the number of people in your Church but the saints you have made
out of them.
Paul’s message of love was
brought to its apex in Chapter 13 as he clearly taught that one without love
works in vain for no service rendered to God without love will be recognized
before God, thus Love is the essential part of the Christian faith.
Today we want to discuss
the issue of love from verse 6 and 7 of chapter 13;
V6, 7 Rejoiceth not in
iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth; Beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things. HCSB
The message bible rendered
this verse thus; Doesn't revel (to take great pleasure in something) when others
grovel (to indulge in something unworthy), Takes pleasure in the flowering
of truth, Puts up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best,
Never looks back, But keeps going to the end.
Paul here said that this
kind of love I am talking about does not rejoice in iniquity; what does it mean
to rejoice in iniquity? Various translations of this very verse rendered this
sentence thus;
“Love does not delight in
evil NIV” hence this love is not happy when evil is reigning in the land, in
the house or in the Church; maybe you are a father in the house of three kids
with a maid girl and the mother of the house is ill-treating the maid girl,
instead of you to do something about it, you join the cue by calling such a
training or believing that the young girl deserves the kind of treatment he is
receiving; listen, as long as you have done nothing about the situation, you
are pleased with it, you are comfortable with it. Paul says here that the love
which he speaks of does not feel comfortable when such is being done.
You are a Christian deep in
faith but your children are almost wayward, dressing in a seductive way even in
your presence but you don’t see anything wrong it rather you call it that they
are expressing themselves; you even buy cloths that you looks ungodly for them
to wear and you say that God looks at the heart, you sit down with them and
watch home videos that teach nothing but violence, arouse lust, and deep urge
for sexual feelings and you even laugh alongside with them while watching the
movie, you are just encouraging great evil, Paul said that this love which
comes from God does not do such.
Look at what the New
American Standard Bible update edition had to say on this same sentence;
“does not rejoice in
unrighteousness NASU” What does it mean to be righteous or
unrighteous? The word righteousness in its simple understanding is doing things
the right way thus this love does not glory in things that are not done in the
right way. It means that there is a way that this love seeks to do things and
that is the right way; she does not entangle herself with people that do things
in the wrong way. And Paul said here in Romans 1:32 “Although they fully know1 God’s
righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not
only do them but also approve of those who practice them.” Mark what
the Bible says here, those who practice such things shall die, including those
who approve of such things.
You may not be guilty of
not training up your Children in the right way, but you are gladdened whenever
someone you have considered an evil person encounters evil, like death or
things like that, you may be involved in reigning down the holy ghost fire on
your fellows humans because you have considered them evil, but what does the
Bible say about such situations? Ezekiel 33:11 “Say to them, ‘As surely as I
live, declares the sovereign LORD, I take no pleasure in the death of the
wicked, but prefer that the wicked change his behavior and live. Turn back,
turn back from your evil deeds! Why should you die, O house of Israel?”
And 18:23 which says, “Do I
actually delight in the death of the wicked, declares the sovereign LORD? Do I
not prefer that he turn from his wicked conduct and live?” The love
that God actually desires us to practice is that love that will like what the
Lords like and do what he would have done.
In v.7 it writes thus, Beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things. HCSB
The message Bible rendered it thus, “Puts
up with anything, Trusts God always, Always looks for the best, Never looks
back, But keeps going to the end”
This love that Paul is
speaking off is the Love that can do the following:
1.
Put up with anything
2.
Trust God always
3.
Never looks back but looks for the best
4.
Keeps going to the end
Let us discuss the
following now,
What does it mean to put up
with anything? The Greek word “στέγω stego” which was translated as put up or beareth as the case may
be figuratively means to cover with silence i.e. endure patiently, you will
agree with me that one of the greatest problems that has affected us today in
the church is lack of endurance, this is the same reason why some marriages
today fall off thus you hear people say, for this thing you did, I can never
forgive you; what has that man or woman done that you cannot forgive and
overlook. Some women are not at peace with their mother inlaws because they
have one thing or the other against her, some will say, when her son wanted to
marry me, she rejected now that she is sick she want me to be the one bathing
her, God forbid! Do you know that God will actually forbid but not the way you
want it, he will forbid you entering His kingdom with such kind of unforgiving
heart. You have divorced your husband or your wife with the reason that he or
she has done something evil, but you have being doing all manners of evil and
God is still keeping you hoping that you change. God’s love is one that will do
what God will do if He is the one involved.
It is lack of trust on God
that makes a man to divorce his wife, what situation have you faced that God
cannot solve if you had trust Him? But because you do not trust God to solve
that problem, you took actions that you thought is the solution to the problem.
The Love that God has given which Paul speaks of here is the love
that puts up with any situation that comes his way trusting that God can make
the best out of the ugly situation and not the love that takes decisions that
are godless when they face situations of life.
Lastly, this ‘Keeps going
to the end’ this sounds like a love that has a direction, a target, a love that
has a focus and that is aimed at fulfilling that focus but what could be the
focus of this love? 1 Cor. 15:1,2, “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the
gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye
stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto
you, unless ye have believed in vain”
This love is the love that
has believed in Jesus Christ and is hoping to meet with Him someday thus
anything that has the capability of stopping this vision is kicked out. It is
the love that has hope of eternal life and will not allow, rejoicing over
iniquity, not bearing the issues of life, not believing to rob him of this
eternal hope. Thus Paul ends this letter by saying, faith (believing the basis
of this love) hopes (the vision of this love) and Love himself (the practice of
this faith through the hope that His spirit gives) abides after every other
thing has being done away with.
I want to ask you this day,
what kind of Love do you practice? In our next topic, we will discuss further
into this issue of love and its practical as God helps us.
Remain Blessed as you fix
your hearts to love God and man. Amen
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Be part of What God is doing in this end time and be prepared for the coming of His dear Son Jesus Christ.
God bless you abundantly.
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