now they might you to open up to first
Corinthians chapter 13 we're going to be
kind of wrapping up something that we've
been talking about lately as you know
the past few months we've been talking
about what it means to be a community
what it means to be together is the
people of God specifically we've been
talking about the concept of love what
does love mean that the world has
sentimentalized love and in so doing has
cheapened it the love of God is
something strong it's something awesome
something powerful something with
backbone to it something that changes
lives and changes the world and that is
what we have been talking about and so
we're going to be kind of wrapping up
this little section out of first
Corinthians 13 but we are going to keep
talking about what it means to be a
community but we're going to read the
last section actually you know we'll do
since we're wrapping it up will read
from the beginning of first Corinthians
13 and and we'll start in the verse
right before 1st Corinthians 13 which is
first Corinthians 12 verse 31 and then
we'll end will spill over into 1st
Corinthians 14 verse 1 because it's all
part of a unit there okay so first
Corinthians 12 31 says eagerly desire
the greater gifts gifts of the Spirit
will talk about that and now I will show
you the most excellent way if I speak in
the tongues of men and of angels but
have not love I am only a resounding
gong or a clanging cymbal if I have the
gift of prophecy and can fathom all
mysteries and all knowledge and if I
have a faith that can move mountains but
have not love I am nothing if I give all
I possess to the poor and surrender my
body to the flames but have not love I
gain nothing love is patient love is
kind it does not envy it does not boast
it is not proud
it is not rude it is not self-seeking it
is not easily angered it keeps no record
of wrongs love does not delight in evil
but rejoices with the truth it always
protects always trusts always hopes
always perseveres love never fails but
where there are prophecies they will
cease where there are tongues they will
be stilled where there is knowledge it
will pass away for we know in part and
we prophesy in part but when perfection
comes the imperfect disappears when I
was a child I talked like a child I
thought like a child I reasoned like a
child when I became a man I put childish
ways behind me now we see but a poor
reflection as in a mirror then we shall
see face to face now I know in part then
I shall know fully even as I am fully
known and now these three remain faith
hope and love but the greatest of these
is love follow the way of love and
eagerly desire spiritual gifts and
especially the gift of prophecy let's
pray dear God I thank you that you have
been speaking to us over the past
several weeks about what love is really
about and God we're just scratching the
surface Lord like your word says we're
going to need a spiritual revelation to
open the eyes of our heart to see how
wide and and and long and high and deep
is the love of God that surpasses all
knowledge God I pray that we would spend
our lives studying what it means to love
the people around us god and that we
would become experts in this if there's
one thing we get right in life let it be
this God speak to us i pray lord i pray
that as we as we look at what you were
speaking in the original context and
what you speak to us god that your voice
would speak to each one of us it will be
the voice of the shepherd
speaking to our heart and it will become
part of us so be here with us we pray in
Jesus name Amen amen first Corinthians
13 we normally like I said last week
read this chapter where do you often
hear this chapter read often you hear in
weddings right and that is great every
wedding should read this people should
memorize it that's good right but the
original context of this was not talking
about weddings the original context was
in a church where they were experiencing
the power of the Holy Spirit there were
experiencing gifts of the Holy Spirit
and many people through their own
immaturity were misusing those gifts and
the Apostle Paul is showing them a more
excellent way of approaching life the
Holy Spirit is speaking to people saying
you've got a wrong perspective here and
so he teaches them about what it means
to approach life and ministry and people
from a disposition of love what does
that really mean and so it talks about
that all through this chapter and as the
Apostle Paul gets rolling in the spirits
anointing him to write this he just gets
into this poem about what love really is
love is patient love is kind and it's
beautiful we lose ourselves in it and we
have lost our self in it for quite some
time haven't we well now he's starting
to bring us back to the original context
in which he's writing that it's all
about how we connect to the people
around us in the context he's writing at
church and the key verse that
transitions it is in verse 8 love never
fails powerful verse isn't it it's sort
of a an exclamation point at the end of
this poem love is patient love is kind
at the end it always protects always
trusts always hopes always perseveres
love never fails you can see him
pounding the pulpit right praise God
love is powerful talks about how love
makes you powerful love is where your
authority comes from in life and it
talks about all the specific elements of
love that make us powerful people people
who could really make a difference in
the world around us talk to
love is patient and love is not easily
angered it keeps no record of wrongs
love bears all things for me that talks
about how love has a power to cancel the
negative energy around you not to get
all new agey or anything on us here but
how many of us know that sometimes the
atmosphere you move in is negative you
ever been in a negative environment you
ever been in a workplace where you have
to walk on eggshells because everyone's
biting each other in the back just
having negative energy you ever been in
a home that feels toxic sometimes where
you can't say or do anything right where
there's tension where there's anger well
love has the power to defuse the
negative energy in the air it's like a
magic pill that you drop it explodes and
dis diffuses neutralizes all the stink
in the air rapid you love works when
love is patient it's like that shock
absorber that absorbs it and diffuses it
and puts it on the cross love keeps no
record of wrongs love forgives love
doesn't hold the resentment have the
list of everything you've done to hurt
me love is slow to get angry it has the
long fuse and it's quick to forgive I'd
encourage you we have the sermons on all
of these up on the web page I encourage
you to take a look at it that love is
patient now not just canceling the
negative but love is powerful because
love has an ability to emit a I don't
want to get too weird on us here but
love when we have a loving attitude and
loving actions we change the
environments in which we move our homes
our workplaces our cities become more
positive because love is also kind love
is not rude love is not self-seeking and
it does things the loving energy changes
the atmosphere in the environment in
which you move I've used this
illustration before because I love it so
much but just imagine if our homes or
our workplaces that if all of the lights
were equipped with a dimmer switch and
every time
unloving words are spoken the lights dim
a little bit and every time loving words
are spoken they shine brightly imagine
that no well that's the way it is in the
spirit the Holy Spirit is grieved by the
lack of love and the holy spirit
rejoices when love is spoken and lived
in an environment we have the ability as
ambassadors of God to come into dark
places and let his light shine through
us it's an amazing thing love gives us
strength very often we thinking about
love as a feeling as sort of a
sentimental feeling you know the poetry
and the in Spanish the court ave la
poesía you know you've got the the
really depressing Pablo nehru the poetry
about how miserable they are because
love isn't working out whatever you got
you know that's fine that's beautiful
it's nice and gut-wrenching everyone
should read it but love is more than
just a feeling love has backbone love
does not delight in evil but rejoices
with the truth we talked about how love
is not a blind tolerance and acceptance
of everything around us that love
rejoices with the truth real love
doesn't mean that anything goes no we
talked about that when we talk about how
love does not delight in evil but
rejoices with the truth love has
backbone to it it has strength to it it
bears all things it endures all things
it's like a roof that won't cave in
because it's well-built it's like a
person with strong shoulders that can
bear a burden over the long haul a
person who says I will never give in I
will never give up because I love you
and I am here and I am not going
anywhere that's love that's love that's
that's what that vow so that's what that
commitment is and how do we do that
because love always hopes and love
always has faith that God is here and
he's able to make it work and I'm not
going to give up I'm gonna believe that
there is hope even for the likes of you
and me faith love sees people through
the eyes of faith we talked about that
last week how Jesus didn't just see a
tax collector or a sinful woman or a
prostitute he saw a woman who was going
to preach the gospel to thousands in her
town he's
a man who was going to write a gospel
instead of via tax collector Jesus had a
love that saw with eyes of faith love
makes us strong the word in the Greek
for love never fails is actually love
never falls that's the literal use of it
love never falls which is interesting
it's the word for fall is very rarely
used in a symbolic way talks about
falling away from it so it's giving the
image of somebody who's standing and
will not get knocked over there's a
strength to it there's a love that
persevere there's a love that just won't
give up on anything now it's also a
transitional verse love never falls or
it never falls away because then it goes
on to talk about other things in life
that are transient that our temporary
love is the one thing that will last not
just in this life but into the next have
you ever asked yourself the question is
what I do meaningful what is the purpose
of my life why do i do what i do there's
a great illustration that some writers
have used I think it was Stephen Covey
who talked to us some people spend their
whole life climbing the corporate ladder
and then they're at the top of the
ladder just to realize that the latter
was against the wrong wall why was I
climbing I'm climbing up a wall I don't
want to be against this wall where am I
no we don't want to come to the end of
our lives when it's time to die and
realize that we had never lived right
and isn't that what what another 19th
century poet said the whole idea is to
live our lives in a way that counts and
by the way can people hear me okay is
there is there a little echo or
something rear right no okay that's cool
just want to check on it I'm just not
used to wearing my astronaut apparatus
so trying to get used to this here so we
want to live our lives in a way that is
meaningful this text is saying that love
lasts love is eternal in nature it never
ends it will not pass away we think
about what has value in life when it
comes that our time to to pass from this
life and as some of you know I do a lot
of funerals in this church you know that
is sort of become my kind of Fame the
funeral guy and that's all right I'm
honored because in every funeral we
remember what really matters in life
does it really matter how much a person
earned how much is in their bank account
how much stuff they have does it matter
how many books they've written or how
famous they are does it matter even how
many people like them and how popular
they are at the end of the day what will
make my life meaningful I'm glad we have
young people here today young adults
because this is a question to ask now
now before you have gone out and wasted
20 30 40 years they ask if you're
already on the other end of those 20 or
30 or 40 years it's okay it's not too
late we can make a cow still but now is
the time to ask that question what am I
about as a person now and I don't want
to replace worldly achievement with
religious achievement right a person
could be very active in church and we're
going to see with the Corinthians hear
it even be very apparently spiritual and
still be wasting their time look at how
Corinthians begins if I speak in the
tongues of men and of angels but have
not love I'm only a resounding gong and
a clanging cymbal if I have the gift of
prophecy can fathom mysteries and all
knowledge and a faith that can move
mountains and have not love I'm nothing
even if someone is altruistic if I give
all I possess to the poor but I don't
have love I gain nothing God isn't going
to even judge your life based on what
you did for him it's why we do what we
do that makes it count it's possible to
be very active religiously and still be
missing the boat now I want to talk
first about the idea of spiritual gifts
because that's the context that Paul is
writing to you see the corinthians were
a very spiritual people God had given
them all kinds of spiritual powers
spiritual gifts and they were very in
by these gifts now I want to talk about
what spiritual gift means some people
might be asking the question what does
spiritual gift mean in the first place
when we're talking about spiritual gifts
we're talking about special spiritual
powers given to people to do things in
God's name you're going to see the youth
when we when we finish here they're
going to set up all these decorations
with superhero decorations they're doing
a superhero series well the spiritual
gifts kind of make you a superhero in
some way they give you some special
power a spiritual power to serve God I
really believe this folks now I know
this might sound crazy but I believe God
does miracles he does spiritual things
that are beyond our natural ability to
do in this chapter it says that some
people have the ability to speak in
tongues what is that all about why they
talk about tongues gross no no speaking
tongues means the ability to pray or
speak in a language that a person
doesn't even understand what they're
saying the Holy Spirit is enabling them
to speak or enabling them to pray now
then someone else might have the
spiritual power to translate what
they're saying and give a message or
maybe not maybe they're just going to
pray and worship with their spirit in a
language they don't even know isn't that
wild I never forget the first time I
heard that I was 16 years old I was
visiting a Pentecostal church in Cape
Cod and I was raised Catholic nice and
quiet right follow the liturgy and I'm
in this Pentecostal church I was a
little uncomfortable with all the
singing and all the emotionalism but
they talked a lot about the Bible they
seem to be people who really believed
what they talked about and I was
impressed i'll never forget one day near
the end of a sermon i started to feel
something strange I didn't know what I
was feeling and I'll never forget I felt
I felt moved I felt something unusual
and I'll never forget looking down at
the ground 16 years old thinking what is
going on in this room right now and then
the sermon ended and there was a quiet
and a woman stood up and started talking
in another language
and I thought you know she was latinas I
thought it must be Spanish it was an
awfully long time ago obviously I didn't
know what she was saying but I felt
something as she talked and then there
was quiet for a few minutes or for a few
seconds I should say and then and then
she spoke a message in English that now
I know was an interpretation of what she
had just said in some unknown language
and she gave a message and I just found
myself crying and I was like wow this is
for real God is right here see my view
of God was someone very far away not
someone that close I was witnessing the
gift of tongues and the gift of prophecy
where a person was translating the
message and delivering a message from
God for the people and it and it touched
my heart and it helped me begin to
change my world view and become a
Christian eventually so that's what
we're talking about here and I asked my
cousin about this who brought me I said
what was that all about and he says oh
well they were speaking in tongues and I
was like what what's what's that what
language was it because I don't know it
could have been any language or maybe
some angelic language and I'm like what
and then my next question was why why
would God even do that but then it
occurred to me that God is bigger than
my brain right so maybe our spirits can
pray and speak in ways that are above
our intellect supra intellectual not
anti-intellectual but beyond our ability
to understand and they just do something
in the spiritual realm and I thought
that's powerful and then we read here
the gift of prophecy is also mentioned
if I have the gift of prophecy in verse
2 and can fathom all mysteries and all
knowledge in other words there's a gift
of the Spirit where God gives people the
understanding to understand things that
God is saying that our mysterious that
they would have no way of knowing
otherwise and I've witnessed this too
I've had people come up to me and say
Greg you know I was praying for you and
this and that the other thing and they
tell me all these things
that I'm going through that they would
have no way of knowing and I'm like how
did you know that you you check my
emails you hiding on me you know in
order then you start getting a little
nervous like what else do they know you
know the gift of prophecy that God gives
people the ability to know some things
and to and to encourage people and
minister in the Bible we read of a
person who got a prophecy and warned
everyone that a famine is coming so be
sure to start storing up food and and
share it around and the early Christians
were blessed by that so that's the gift
of prophecy it talks about a gift of
faith where people just believe that God
can do miracles move mountains I know of
people in this church who have the gift
of faith they just believe God can do
anything now they just believe it like a
child they just know God can God can do
miracles I know one lady a Chilean
grandmother some of you might figure out
who it is as I talk who the car the car
was broken down because it was bone dry
no oil in the car they check its boy
it's smoking no oil bone dry she just
she just praise over the car commands
oil or whatever and to start that car
and they've all learned cuando la la la
20 basis know when grandma speaks you
obey and there's room and it starts you
know and they have miracles like this
and these kinds of things a gift of
faith that God can do miracles all this
to say these kinds of things were
happening in the Corinthian church now
we need a lot more of that today how we
need a lot more that going on but it was
happening there and people were so
excited about it that they got a little
bit confused about how they treated
these gifts of the Spirit can you
imagine if you have spiritual powers can
you see how that could go to your head
if you're not careful no just are
feeling like a superhero you see how
that could be a problem if someone has a
big ego or is not very mature or maybe
they might think because I have
spiritual gifts it automatically must
mean that I am a mature Christian and
everything I do is okay
the Corinthians were like that it became
a point of pride for them they became
arrogant about it they even became
competitive I'm more spiritual than you
I I got greater powers than you have and
they were even though they were very
spiritually powerful they were very
emotionally immature it's possible to be
that way and so the Apostle Paul is
saying I need to teach you a more
excellent approach and he teaches on the
concept of love because you're
approaching this thinking that these
spiritual powers you have are eternal
and the fact is one day they're all
going to end one day there will not be
any more gifts of the Holy Spirit they
just won't be necessary right there will
come a day and the apostle paul goes on
to teach about this there will come a
day if you look down with me in verse in
verse 8 love never fails but where there
are prophecies they will cease where
there are tongues they will be stilled
where there is knowledge as in
supernatural knowledge it will pass away
for we know in part and we prophesy in
part but when the perfection comes the
imperfect disappears when I was a child
I talked like a child I thought like a
child I reasoned like a child but when I
became a man I put childish ways behind
me now we see but a poor reflection as
in a mirror but then we shall see
face-to-face now I know in part but then
I will know fully even as I am fully
known see there will come a time when we
don't need the gifts of the Holy Spirit
anymore when they will come to an end
when the perfect comes when we see God
face to face they're not going to be
necessary anymore now I need to take a
moment here before I continue to let you
know that there are many churches out
there and theologians good ones who
believe the Bible who are Christians
like we r who do not believe that the
gifts of the Spirit are still going on
today they believe that the miraculous
powers of the Holy Spirit were for this
time
of that we read about in the Bible but
they ceased they ended their called
cessationists and part of their argument
is this text they say that when the
perfect comes the imperfect will
disappear tongues will be ceased
prophecy will pass away sort of like
when the New Covenant came which we do
believe that when the New Covenant came
there were certain things in the Old
Covenant that weren't necessary anymore
right in the Old Testament are you still
with me here in the Old Testament there
was a temple and there were sacrifices
and there were kosher laws about your
diet all kinds of important things
people had to do to be right with God
when the New Covenant came and fulfilled
all of the meaning of those things all
of the many of those things passed away
there was no more temple God allowed it
to be destroyed no more sacrifices
because Jesus is the perfect sacrifice
no more rules of ceremonial claim
cleansing because God cleans our heart
so certain things passed away and
there's a new beginning in the New
Covenant so what some people believe is
that the gifts of the Spirit were for
the time of the New Testament but then
when the New Testament was finished
those gifts passed away and ended and
their argument is that when the perfect
comes the imperfect will disappear and
so they believe when the perfect Bible
is fully written then the gifts of the
Holy Spirit aren't necessary anymore to
prove that the bible is true and that's
their argument and i'm sure i'm not
doing justice to it so if you're
watching the end video i'll do better
next time but that's basically what they
believe now our belief is that we have
to ask the question is is the perfect
that the Apostle Paul talking about
something that has already come is this
present state in which we are now living
perfect do we now see God face to face
do we know God fully even as he knows us
fully if this is it to folks that's
pretty depressing because I am expecting
a whole lot more
this when the perfect comes and I
believe that so was the Apostle Paul the
book first and second Corinthians talks
a lot about when God comes and brings
the perfect kingdom of God on earth if
you read near the end of first
Corinthians the Apostle Paul talks about
something called the resurrection when
our bodies will be physically risen and
these mortal bodies will be exchanged
for glorious spiritual bodies like the
one Jesus had when he rose from the dead
and he talks about how death will be
swallowed up by victory he talks at
another part in the book of first
Corinthians chapter 2 when he says no
eye has seen no ear has heard what God
has prepared for those who loved him the
Apostle Paul was expecting Jesus to come
back and set up heaven on earth and
there will be a new heaven and a new
earth and there will be new bodies and
will know God face-to-face he was
expecting it and I believe and if you
read in 2nd Corinthians chapter 9 the
Apostle Paul had had a glimpse of the
other side do you know the text i'm
talking about at one point the Apostle
Paul says that he was given the
opportunity he doesn't know if he was in
the body or out of the body to visit the
heavenly dimension and he says while I
was there or while this he talks about
it indirectly while i was there i heard
things that I'm not allowed to talk
about I saw things I'm not allowed to
tell you he saw a little bit of heaven
and now we have people nowadays writing
books about that right there's some
people who have experiences where they
tasted what it's like to be in the
presence of God so he knew that there's
something special coming that this our
sufferings now are earning an eternal
weight of glory that will outweigh
everything that we suffer here and it's
going to be amazing and I believe that
as Christians we could live with that
hope that when Jesus comes back that
there will be a new heaven and a new
earth and it's going to be amazing and
it's going to be glorious and there
won't be any need for gifts of the Holy
Spirit because who's going to need
healing anymore right the gift of
healing I believe we prayed for healing
just now and I believe that God can heal
physical bodies but guess what in heaven
no one's going to be sick so we're not
going to need any gifts of healing it's
just not going to be necessary how about
the gift of prophecy you know what God
gives you knowledge or revelation well
in heaven it's not going to be necessary
because God's going to be right there
face-to-face you're going to know
everything you need to know will know
fully even as we're fully known you see
now we know God like the Bible says
dimly as if we're looking through a
mirror now for them mirrors were not
what they are today for them a mirror
was a shined brass piece of metal that
you looked at and it gave you a
reflection but not a very good one so
when you look and they would talk about
looking through a mirror you see a
reflection but it's fuzzy it's not
perfect what he's saying is there's
going to come a time when our vision of
God is not going to be fuzzy anymore and
we're not going to need the gifts of the
spirit that help us to know God better
because we'll have him right in front of
us have you ever seen two people sitting
together in a restaurant both were their
phones out texting now maybe you have
been that couple it's okay you got to
check your stuff every now and then but
how would it be if a couple is sitting
there at the restaurant texting each
other because well rather than techne
sometimes maybe you just need to do that
and it's too hard to talk to send yer
send an email or something but how about
using facetime right okay that's kind of
okay you use FaceTime you can see the
person's face it's visit a good image of
the person you're talking to do you ever
use that facetime device and you look
and fig is my nose really that big it's
my face really totally at this weird
angle
when you're sitting down face-to-face
with a person you can put the iphone
down because you got the person right
there you don't have to text them you
don't have to email you don't have to
talk you don't have to use FaceTime
there there you've got them face-to-face
that's what heaven is going to be like
you see right now the gifts of the
Spirit are sort of ways mechanisms God's
given us to connect with God better to
use his power better but there's going
to come a time when it's not going to be
necessary anymore and we're going to
have God their face to face to face and
it's just not going to be necessary it's
going to be glorious now we are not
there yet and that's why we still need
these gifts of the Spirit as long as we
still have sick people who need to be
healed then I pray for the gift of
healing among us right as long as we are
still seeking to spread the gospel we
need all the power we can get to do that
right so the perfect has not yet come
but the Corinthians didn't view it that
way see for them they thought these
powers oh this is great and they were
obsessed with them and they were
egotistical about them and they needed a
paradigm shift they needed to view the
world through love as a more excellent
way the Apostle Paul uses the image of
growing up how many of us know that you
can be chronologically very old and be
emotionally very young and very immature
anyone experienced that any of us know
that we have a lot of growing up to do
well the Apostle Paul says it's time to
grow up when you were a child I thought
like a child I reasoned like a child
what was on your mind when you were a
kid what did you think about when you
were a kid you know I've been thinking
about my kids and what they think about
there was a good year of my son's life
when he mostly thought about Star Wars
he'd never seen it we didn't let him see
it we didn't tell him anything about it
but somehow he knew
thing and became an expert on Star Wars
and it was impossible to communicate
with the Gibby good you're tired the
teachers teaching he's like but what
does this have to do with Star Wars why
would I need to know this unless it's
going to connect with my magnificent
obsession my daughter right now my
daughter I brought one for you she is
obsessed with these do I have it oh good
see this here camera guy they're little
rubber band bracelets you see these are
the passion of my daughter right now
it's virtually all she thinks about
she's passionate about it she's intense
about it her world revolves around these
little rubber band bracelets and that's
ok cuz she is only 17 years old and not
just kidding she but imagine if she were
right imagine if she were then that
there would be a problem she is five
years old and it's okay that her life
revolves around colorful rubber bands
right here i'll let you see it
afterwards if you wants beautiful i love
it i would even wear it every now and
then because i am obligated to wear it
you see it's okay when your child to be
obsessed with things that are maybe not
so meaningful to an adult right that's
okay if you're five it's a problem if
you are 25 or 55 and you're still
obsessed with things that are not
meaningful spiritual maturity means that
i now orient my life around that which
matters sometimes we just replace little
rubber bands for big one's right we
replace little toys for big toys right
for houses and cars and careers and
status and position and we orient our
lives around these big toys and they're
just as meaningless as little rubber
bands now it was okay when you're a kid
but it's time to grow up it's time to
orient our lives around things that have
eternal significance so when it comes
time to die we don't feel that we've
never lived that we know that we have
based our life on that which is
important I have some bad news for you
it is possible even for a Christian to
waste your
time I almost wanted to say waste your
life but it's just too painful to say it
otherwise why would it say here that I
can have faith that moves mountains i
can give all I have to the poor but if I
have not love I gain nothing all these
religious activities can at the end of
the day be meaningless before God if
they lack the quality of love there's
another amazing text where the Apostle
Paul says there is one foundation that
you can build your life on and that's
Jesus Christ that's being a Christian if
I'm a Christian if I had that foundation
I know an eternity I'll be with God I'll
go to heaven but every person is going
to build in a different way no a person
can build with different kinds of
materials he says you can build with
wood and hay and straw you know sort of
like the the story of the three pigs it
kind of kind of thing or you can build
with costly stones with gold with silver
with bra with things that that are
lasting and the Bible says but on the
last day God will test everything we
have done with fire he will put our
structure that we've built through the
flames and only that which survives the
flames will go into the next into the
next dimension and I need to be careful
here there are some cultures and
traditions that bury their dead together
with their belongings in hope that they
can bring them you know if you go into
the tombs of the Egyptian mummies
they're surrounded by their riches in
hopes that they can bring these with
them we know I can't bring anything with
me no I can make it into the world and
that's the way we're going dust to dust
but with that said what we do in this
life does matter that if we build on the
right foundation of Jesus Christ with
golden works with with works that are
infused with love when God tests it with
fire it will survive
somehow what we do here will matter in
heaven and it'll be beautiful and we're
not talking about just trying to be rich
in heaven and a mercenary kind of way
but in a way of celebrating a pleasing
God and knowing that what I did here
matters in an eternal way that's a
powerful thing our lives can count and
there will be surprises there will be
some people that you have never heard of
or thought of who will be more famous
than Billy Graham in heaven who will
have mansions you'll be like but who is
this person well what they did matter to
God and there'll be others who build
great empires in the name of Christ and
Jesus will say depart from me I never
knew you it depends how we build no it's
time to grow up it's time to orient our
lives around that which really matters
the Apostle Paul says you Corinthians
are like kids and not in a good way now
it's good to be childlike and innocent
and playful that's fine i hope you enjoy
playing with rubber bands every now and
that no I hope it's good to see some
adults who can enjoy playing with toys
there's nothing wrong with that excuse
me I'll just have to remember what I'm
saying nope there's nothing wrong with
being childlike but what we're talking
about here is not being childish anymore
any possible says you Corinthians think
you're so mature because you have
spiritual powers but you have conflicts
you have factions you have groups you
have clicks you have politics and power
plays you're a bunch of babies you might
think you're spiritually mature but
you're just a bunch of children in the
worst sense of the work it's time to
grow up and I really believe that at the
end of the day sometimes it doesn't even
matter so much what we do but the love
that we put into what we do that makes
it something that is meaningful in God's
eyes and something that will eventually
survive the flames I want my life to
count now as this ends the Apostle Paul
he's talking about now and he's talking
about then and he says and now in verse
13
there are three things that really
matter in life faith hope and love these
three things remain that's really all
that life boils down to you know I was
talking to and I think he was in nine
year old boy who just come back from
camp and I said what did you talk about
in camp and he said God and soccer and I
was like perfect what else is there and
there was a pause and he said basketball
like well of course is also basketball
at the end of the day what matters faith
hope and love now faith because what we
believe matters our faith in Jesus
Christ I don't believe that generic
faith is good enough you know when we
talk about love here it's very important
to clarify I don't think that any person
who does loving things is automatically
pleasing to God we need to believe in
Jesus we need to believe in the right
God in the right way and put our faith
in Jesus and be saved faith matters and
now we don't see God but we believe in
him we walk by faith and not by sight
number two hope hope in the Bible is a
beautiful thing hope is not about just
wishful thinking sometimes we use the
word hope saying oh well i hope i hope
the Red Sox win I hope it's sunny
tomorrow you know I hope maybe it'll
happen maybe it won't hope in the Bible
is I have I am looking forward hopefully
towards what I know will come it's like
the Sun will rise tomorrow I know it and
I'm looking forward to it we have hope
in heaven it's important to think about
heaven because when we have hope in in
another life then that influence is how
we're going to live here in this life
what kind of people will be here because
what I do here will eventually be
evaluated there so faith hope and love
love sums up everything that God
requires of you in the way your to live
your life jesus said all the law and the
prophets can be boiled down into to come
thou shalt love the Lord thy God with
all your heart mind soul and strength
and love your neighbor as yourself all
of holiness all of the commandments are
summarized in love faith hope and love
that's all that matters in life if we're
going to grow up let's let that be the
axis and center of our life but they are
not equal you see just like the gifts of
the Holy Spirit will one day pass away
you know that faith and hope are not
eternal right right now we have faith in
God but we don't see him well what about
when we actually see God faith will not
be necessary anymore now we walk by
faith and not by sight then we will walk
by sight and not by faith all our faith
will be fulfilled how about hope hope is
something you look forward to well there
comes a time when you don't have to hope
anymore when you get what you were
looking forward to when we're with God
in heaven our hopes and dreams we'll all
be fulfilled in a spectacular way hope
won't be necessary anymore they will
pass away therefore now now these three
things remain faith hope and love but
there is one of these that still goes
into the next life you see love is is
the most important thing here and love
is also the most important thing there
and when I say there you know what I'm
talking about love is the oxygen of
heaven love is the language of heaven
love is going to be the air we breathe
there's going to be a feeling of
swimming in an ocean of love in heaven
and we're going to say God before my
ears had heard of you but now my eyes
have seen you God now god is love god is
love when we're in his presence and we
see him in His Majesty will fit God is
all about love why did I waste so much
of my time well let's not have to say
that let's make it count right now
let's put you know I've heard a
beautiful saying it's not about the
years of your life but the life in your
years isn't that beautiful well it's not
just a bit usually people interpret that
meaning i'm going to carpe day home I'm
gonna squeeze every drop out of life i'm
going to go skydiving i'm going to go
surfing and that's great you we should
enjoy the world that God has put us in
nothing wrong with that but it's not I
would change that a little bit saying
it's about the love in our years it's
about the love in what we do that we
make it count that if there is one thing
we do right it's this you know I'd like
to end by looking at first Corinthians
14 verse 1 it says follow the way of
love and eagerly desire the spiritual
gifts you know the word for following
there is the same word used for
persecuting it's the word used for what
the Apostle Paul did chasing down
Christians before he was the Apostle
Paul it's about chasing a fugitive you
ever seen that movie The Fugitive right
I know it's old but i love it i want to
you're like an FBI agent chasing down
someone and you will not be denied you
will find that person well that's the
word for following the way of love it's
the same word that the Apostle Paul used
when he said I forget what's behind and
I press on towards that wood which is
ahead to lay hold of him to press on to
pursue love let's let make this the
primary pursuit of our life I will learn
how to love I will learn how to be
patient I will learn how to be kind I
will learn how to not be self seeking I
will learn how not to delight in evil
but rejoices in the truth I will learn
to not keep a record of wrongs I will
learn to love it's never too late and
it's never too young make it count now
be a be if you're going to be a
superhero let it be a superhero of love
let it be someone whose love is so
powerful that it heals the people around
you let us make that commitment now
together with that we eagerly desire
spiritual gifts spiritual powers because
we're one
to love so bad I want to have all the
power I can to love in the best way I
can and that's why we pray for spiritual
gifts in the body of Christ and that's
what we're going to go with some future
messages we're going to talk about
spiritual gifts at spiritual powers and
how that fits into loving people in the
name of Jesus but I'd like to leave you
with this challenge and I'll invite the
musicians to come on up to make this
renewed commitment of saying god I want
my life to count now you might be 12
years old or you might be a little older
than that it's not too late it's not too
late to sign up for the University of
love right and that's God's school
usually the places God teaches us most
about love our situations where it is
difficult to love like marriage like the
workplace like the church when you have
to be with people who are not always
love the bowl that's where we learn how
to love well let's make a commitment
let's say God I want my life to mean
something in your eyes and I'm willing
to learn in the nitty-gritty I'm willing
to roll up my sleeves I'm willing to
sweat I want to become that kind of
person and it's never too young you can
be in middle school high school you can
be a young adults in the workplace or in
college and you can be a person who's
defined by love that can define you that
when people think of you that's what
they think of about you so let's pray
along those lines i invite you to stand
with me
and let's pray dear God I thank you that
we love because you first loved us got
on our own we couldn't do this but you
loved us God when we were still sinners
you died for us Lord you loved us when
we were at our most unlovable and I
thank you for the way you teach us to
love in that way father I thank you
Father that you do call us to be men and
women who are spiritually powerful who
live in a way that lasts into eternity
wherever we are whatever we're doing in
the workplace at school at home at
church on the street corner God that our
lives would be marked by the love of
Jesus Christ and that people would know
we are Christians by our love Lord God
father I pray in Jesus name that you
would unleash a power and a love among
us God like we have not seen yet God we
know that when the perfect comes the
imperfect will disappear but we want to
do some growing up here Lord God we want
to taste a little bit of heaven right
here right on this place at this time so
let it be Lord God let it be gone let us
learn how to do this let us learn how to
live in love let it be a verb a
practical thing and not just a feeling
that we seek to stir up in our emotions
god I thank you that this is a reality
Lord that is within our reach Lord God
this is not something far away it's
right there it's right there I pray God
that the fragrance of Christ would
accompany your people and lord I pray
especially Jesus that you would speak to
us about our sense of purpose and
calling in life Lord God father that
each one of us is not here by accident
God
we have a purpose Lord we have a purpose
to serve you father in whatever way you
called us each one of us it's going to
be different it's going to look
different for each one of us but I pray
we would discover our identity and our
mission as we learn to love the people
around us in the name of Jesus God let
people live in their destiny let them
live in the love that is eternal and it
will survive the flames one day in Jesus
name