Latest / Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast / #20220710 - The Excellence of God’s Love - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

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#20220710 - The Excellence of God’s Love - 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 · Calvary Church with Ed Taylor Podcast

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Welcome to the study of God's word recorded live at Calvary
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Church in Aurora, Colorado, to learn more about the many
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resources available, through abounding Grace, Media, or to
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tune into our live stream Services.
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Visit us online at Calvary. Co dot church or download our
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free Calvary Church app now. Let's open our Bibles and study
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God's word. Amen.
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So our title this morning is called the Excellence of God's
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love. And this is such an important
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section and yet, sometimes you even see this section on posters
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and people have it on their wall.
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But really, it's not focusing on human love.
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That's focusing on God's love because the very Greek word.
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That Paul the Apostle uses in this section is the Greek word
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agape and that's a love that has been coined to describe love
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that originates and comes from heaven.
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As I've done many weddings over the many years that I've been a
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pastor, I think ninety percent or so of the couples want to
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have this section read during their wedding ceremony.
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And I think behind it all, they're looking to one another
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to perform, just like it says here for their blessing.
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And hopefully all respond the same way, but it never was about
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trying to come up with what this look like because that was
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wasn't Paulson 10th when he penned this under inspiration of
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the Holy Spirit. And so, in this section here,
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Verses 4 through 8, we find 16 attributes of God's love.
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Eight of them are put in the positive tense and eight of them
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are put in the Get a chance. Which means God's love.
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Does not look like this. And remember, as we're reading
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this, Paul is writing to a group of Believers in the city of
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Corinth down in Greece, archaea is the name of the country at
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the time. And he had spent years there
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almost up to three years, ministering, laying a foundation
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in this church in Corinth, discipling them investing his
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life in them turning the church over to leaders that are going
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to help them grow. And so he leaves with his
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Companions to go and minister to some other places and then he
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gets a word that the wheels are coming off the Chariot there in
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Corinth. And so the, and so then he
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writes this letter and he starts off.
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So kind in chapter 1, he says, you know, you're all Sanctified
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and set apart in Christ Jesus. Then he goes, but you're living.
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So unsanctified lives and the rest of the epistle goes and
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just deals with issue after issue after issue.
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And in the middle of it, all he comes to chapter 13 and it's
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kind of like the high point and it's like Brethren.
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This is the goal. God's love working in your life,
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not what kind of gifting you have, but having God's love work
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in your life. But you can't have God's love
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indwelling your life, unless you placed your faith in the Son of
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God, Jesus Christ. Jesus made that clear in John,
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chapter 14. since God's love comes through the Holy Spirit as
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we'll see The world cannot receive the Holy Spirit.
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Here's what Jesus said, John 14 verses 16 through 17 and I will
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pray the father and he will give you another helper.
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He's talking to his disciples here that he may abide with you
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forever. The spirit of Truth whom the
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world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him.
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But you know, him for he dwells with you and will be in you and
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after the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, that's what
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happened to these disciples, the Lord Jesus, breathed upon them,
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the Holy Spirit came and dwelt them in their life, a whole new
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change took place inside. So when you place trust and
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faith in the Son of God Jesus Christ God gives you the down
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payment of Inheritance the Holy Spirit who comes to live in your
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life, the holy spirit of God and when that takes place, then his
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love begins to change and flow from your life will talk more
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about that. So in these verses in this
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section here I want to cover four main points.
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And those of you that are taking notes, this is something you can
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break this down. First of all we're going to talk
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about the keys to a life filled with God's love.
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Secondly, we're going to look at the first two attributes of
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God's love, kindness, and patience.
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And then the third section is going to be grouped together and
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I call it the Kinks that fight against God's love.
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I'm not talking about the Kings back in the 60s, the rock group,
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I'm talking about, like a hose that gets kinked and blocks the
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flow, and there are things that Paul lists there and then the
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fourth section is the keeps on keeping on quality of God's love
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is like continuous, continuous aspect.
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So what I'd like to do is just follow through, I want to get
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the context here so follow through here, we're going to
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look at verses 1 through 8 and then we'll unpack this.
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Verse 1, chapter 13, though. I speak with the tongues of men
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and of angels, but have not love.
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And again this is God's love agape.
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I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal.
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And though I have the gift of Prophecy and understand all
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Mysteries and all knowledge and though I have all Faith so that
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I could remove mountains. But have not love.
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I am nothing and though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor.
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And though I give my body to be burned, but have not love it,
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profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind.
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Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself.
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Is not puffed up. Does not behave rudely, does not
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seek. Its own is not provoked thinks,
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no evil. Does not rejoice in iniquity.
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But rejoices in the truth Bears, all things believes all things,
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hopes, all things endures, all things, love, never fails.
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So, let's take a look at the first section, the keys to a
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life filled with God's love and the very first truth.
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We have to wrap our minds around and that's this.
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God's love originates with him, not with us.
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We are not called to try to manufacture God's love, we are
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called to distribute God's love. And that's important to
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understand. Because so often when Jesus
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says, for instance, love your enemies.
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You're going man. Oh man.
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How am I going to do that? And so you're trying to really
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hard to muster it up and okay, I'm trying to like I'm really
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trying God to love it. You're starting off on the wrong
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foot. Because God's love originates
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with him, not with us. That's the first important
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principle. It's a special kind of love.
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It's a love. That's others oriented not self
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oriented even though love from a human origin accomplishes, so
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much, so sacrificial. So giving so beneficial yet
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God's love is another category altogether and that's the kind
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of love that God wants to fill our life with.
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Take a look at the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
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As Paul writes and Galatians chapter 5 verses 22 and 23.
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But the fruit of the spirit is love, Agape, joy, peace.
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Long-suffering, kindness goodness, faithfulness,
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gentleness self-control I want you to look at this verse
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closely because he uses the word fruit singular, not the word
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fruits, plural. Even though there is nine words
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to describe the fruit of the spirit and many Bible
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commentators, see this as being purposed because love is the
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very first thing mentioned. And the other eight would be
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expressions of love. That's their idea.
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And you go well, okay, maybe so but then you get to First
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Corinthians which was written years.
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And that's exactly what Paul does.
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He goes and describes God's love and gives all the particular
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attributes that he comes up with.
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And remember all of those attributes related in some way
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with what's going on in the, in the fellowship and Corinth.
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This is what it looks like guys, and this is what it doesn't look
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like, which by the way you're doing.
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And yet it's a description of not just God's love, but God
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himself what he's like. I mean, we carry over so many
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things from when we were growing up.
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So many Concepts, so many opinions, so many ideas on what
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God is like, and we put those on him and yet he in his love has
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described himself through his word.
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And so, we need to let the word of God wash our hearts to say.
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God, am I in conflict in Maya life, in my perspective, with
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how you've revealed yourself to be and if so, why, why am I
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battling with this? Why am I playing tug-of-war with
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all this? How come I'm having such a hard
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time believing what you say about yourself?
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What is it? What's going on in my life?
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And he looks to change us. He doesn't look too condemned
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us. He doesn't look to put us down.
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But how could you think that about me?
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I can't believe it. I'm going to withhold my
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blessings for five months. See how you like that?
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I mean, is that how you think God is?
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He's not like that. And we need to have a him heal
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or hearts. The Bible commentator weren't,
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where's the oh, by the way, one more thing.
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As you look at the at these verses here on the fruit of the
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spirit, did you notice that self-control is a fruit of the
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Holy Spirit? You know, that means that means
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that rather than you trying to control yourself, God wants to
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help you control and conquer the flesh.
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Buy a fruit of the Holy Spirit. It comes from a different
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origin. I mean, I know what it's like
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when you say, okay, you know, I'm not going to get angry at
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that person. I'm just not.
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I know that they just make me so mad and so I'm just going to
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control myself and then they show up and they go and they say
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something that just sets you off barrel barrel and you know, all
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this brings go down and you're trying to hold it in and you're
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just getting ready to fly off the handle and then you, when
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you say things, you shouldn't say, and then it just, you know,
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it just goes ballistic, you're trying to do it on your own.
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But I want the fruit of the Holy Spirit of self-control.
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That's a whole nother level. And so, when they blast you with
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character assassination, it's like look, the Lord shows you
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their heart. And so you catch it.
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You set it down. And you love back.
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That's from Heaven. Because, you know, how we want
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to do, I mean, you know, Facebook is a famous for a
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format to blast people to say what you want is kind of like
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hiding behind the fort and then throwing things in that hiding
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behind the for it because you never do it face-to-face.
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Bible commentator Warren. Where's B has said in his book
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on being a servant of God, God's called this, not to be
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manufacturers of his love, but to be Distributors.
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And, you know, all through this whole Community, we have
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distribution centers, especially Amazon, and some car
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dealerships, you know, they have the warehouses for all their
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parts. They don't make the parts.
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Do they? They just distribute them?
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Some other company makes the parts they come into the
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distribution center and then they go out to the dealers and
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the where stores and things in the consumers God has called us
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to be Distributors of his love, not manufacturers because God's
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love originates with him. And that's a whole different
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thing and for me to love, like God wants me to love.
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I have to be filled with his love, so I can love out.
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And not try to just manufacture it and that's the key.
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You know, God gives us everything we need for life and
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godliness. But we've got to draw upon him.
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So, the first thing we need to understand is God God's love
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originates with him and not with the human heart.
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But there are times, when although God gives us his love,
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it gets quenched, it gets cut off.
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When we moved back from England, two and a half years ago.
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I had to get some supplies for our house, and I had to go to
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Walmart and get a garden hose. And so I was tired of fighting
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with garden, hoses, and me and garden, hoses, don't get along,
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so I found this is really high quality sturdy garden hose.
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And so, I took it home, I'm going, okay, we're going to
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conquer this and I got one of those, you know, things that
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roll the hose up and all. So I've got this set up and I go
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and I pull it out to either water, the plants, or wash the
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car. And so I'm I'm pulling this out.
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Then it starts looping like this and then it starts kinking, and
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I'm going, no, no, no. And so I'm trying to figure out
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which way to flip it, to straighten it out and keep on
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pulling it. And then the thing is pulling,
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you know, and I'm fighting with this for 10 minutes just because
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I want to watch the stupid Gar. So finally, it's all set the
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hose is all out and then I walk over to the car and as I'm
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walking over if you know it just it Kinks and it's gone man.
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Come on, come Come on. So you're fighting with it and
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you know, in 10 minutes You're just like, I don't want to wash
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the car, you know, I just want to like, give this to the dump,
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I can't stand it. Because those Kinks block the
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flow of the water. And that happens sometimes in
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our life. Something has gone sideways
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between us and the Lord are between us and the other people,
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and the flow of God's love gets just cut off.
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And then rather than getting mad at the hose.
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You just go Lord, show me what I need to do.
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To untangled the knot. Or sometimes.
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Our life can be. So, empty even as a Christian
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and we don't sense. Any flow of God's love, we don't
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sense any life. It's been a dry lifeless, kind
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of experience for a while. Seems like a Wilderness.
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What's going on? Sometimes it has to do with the
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fact that there's a boulder on top of the Artesian.
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Well, Because you know, God gives us his holy spirit as a
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free gift. And that Holy Spirit, he is a
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life-giving source. It's an Artesian.
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Well, Jesus said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of
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Living Water. Not livers of Living Water,
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okay? Its rivers of Living Water.
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But how come I'm not experiencing that life. could
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be, there's a big boulder on top, of the cap of the well, And
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that Boulder is pride. Unforgiveness.
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Bitterness. It's, it's like a boulder and it
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quenches the spirit. And we say, God removed the
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bowl. That remove the boulder.
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He says, well, I will help you. I will give you the strength but
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you need to repent. That's how you remove the
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boulder. Is you?
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Repent of the sin? That's blocking the flow?
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It's just the way it is. Yeah, but I don't want to
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repent. I want to have him.
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Remove it. No, no, you just entitled, you
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know, you need to repent. There's an Act of Faith involved
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in that process and he will bring that flow back.
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Speaking of washing the car you know when you have your sponge
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you don't just get it wet on the outside.
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Do you you plunge the thing into the bucket of water and your
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saturate the sponge with the water because that's how it
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works. God wants to saturate our life
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with his Spirit. He doesn't want us just to have
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the spirit. He wants the spirit to have us.
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Does that make sense? It's different Paul wrote to the
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Ephesians in chapter 5 verses 18 to 21 and he includes this idea
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of being saturated. Follow me, Ephesians, 5:18, do
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not be drunk with wine and, which is dissipation why it is
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living your life is falling apart, but be filled with the
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spirit speaking to one another in Psalms and hymns, and
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spiritual songs, singing and making Melody.
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Do you and your heart to the Lord giving?
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Thanks always for all things to God.
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The father in the name of our Lord.
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Jesus Christ. Submitting to one another.
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In the fear of God, I want you to notice all this making a
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parallel. Drunkenness.
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With being filled when you are drunk with wine legally, your
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blood alcohol level has reached a certain limit.
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In other words, your saturated with the alcohol and noticed and
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just you can look around or your own life experience in the past.
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When you become drunk, with alcohol, Italy, it is a
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suppressant. It is a depressant.
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It slows you down, it's not life-giving.
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But Paul says, instead believer be filled with the Holy Spirit,
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And so what that means is, God, I want you to saturate my life
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with your spirit because it brings life not depression, it
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brings health, and focus and perspective, instead of
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cloudiness, you see the connection?
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And look at the life that happens, there's this Freedom
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speaking to one another in Psalms, hymns, spiritual songs,
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you just want to share in the Lord.
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In your there's joy, in the Lord, like we sang in the
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chorus. Singing making melody in your
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heart to the Lord. There's thankfulness as a
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result. For all things and then there's
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submission to others, being others oriented.
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Men. Yeah, you know, in a marriage.
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Isn't that how you want your spouse to be?
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And that's how you're supposed to be.
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Have your, you know, the blessing that it would be upon
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your kids as parents to have fullness of the spirit?
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What a blessed house to grow up in.
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I'm not that you're ever perfect.
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But yet just to have that influence, super, super great.
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So let's go on to Part 2. Now we've talked about keys to a
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life filled with God's love and now let's look at the kindness
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and patience of God's love. And that's in verse 4, love
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suffers long and is kind. Suffering long.
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That's the first thing that Paul mentions, he could have started
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anywhere. But he starts here.
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And suffering long doesn't just mean enduring for a long period,
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it includes something more deep. Because the word long-suffering
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our patients as it's an translated in some other
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translations. It includes the elements of
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enduring even after being hurt or wronged.
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Loving back after being hurt. It's not in our nature to do
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that because we want to get back at them.
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You know all see your offense and all raise you three you know
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and we want to attack how dare they say that about me.
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How dare they do that to my kids?
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How dare how dare? And we will get all wound up,
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don't we? But God's love is
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long-suffering, because that's who he is, that's how he's
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related himself to be. Here's what that means. my
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offenses, against God, my sins against him, my words against
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him, my fighting my behaviors, my attitudes against him, their
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offensive to God, But you know what, he does.
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He catches it and he sets it aside on his son.
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And he loves me back. That's long-suffering that's the
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definition of this. Some of you remember playing
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dodgeball when you're a kid, you know, you either caught the ball
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of your gun out of the way. When people throw that ball that
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you, whether it's an offense or an action or word, God's love
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makes you catch it. And know that Christ paid for
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that and you love back. Don't throw the ball back.
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Because that's what God has done with us.
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Our offense. The, the people that have
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offended us are not are not on the same level as our offenses
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toward God, it's not even equal God.
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Our offenses toward God, Is So Much Greater.
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And so, we are commanded to forgive those who sin against
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us. Because he forgave us such a
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great debt. Do you see God as long-suffering
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with you? you need to because that's how
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he has revealed himself to be the opposite of this word is
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impatient to strike back to participate in the current
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Council culture. And that's not how Believers are
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to be because God's love wants to saturate their life.
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Secondly, God's love is kind. Kindness is the next word after
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long-suffering, some commentators of the Bible have
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have put these together like siamese twins that God's
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long-suffering is kind as well, but kindness should be seen as
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separate. And some have seen the word
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kindness as also translated gentleness kindness and
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gentleness. How can a God who is all
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powerful? Who spoke the creation into
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existence be gentle. Because he is you don't have to
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figure it out, that's how he's described himself to be.
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You can take the most strong man on the earth with all of his
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strength, lifting up, hundreds and hundreds of pounds and yet
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he's the father of his child who loves him deeply because he's
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kind. Jesus said, in Matthew 11:29,
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take my yoke upon you and learn from me for.
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I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your
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souls. Rest.
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For your soul. Where the war is over the
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battles done. There's peace.
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There's life. Jesus said, come on, come on,
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under the Yoke with me. This is what I want to do in
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your life. Would you just come?
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Would you just let me do this? I'll deal with you gently.
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I know you. I know what you've been through.
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I love that word. But many people can actually be
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uncomfortable with true kindness because of what they've lived
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through and their life, they've been ripped off so many times.
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They have been used and abused. So many times that kindness
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becomes uncomfortable when someone chooses to be kind yet
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that there is this thing. Like you know, what's behind it.
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What's the agenda? You know, what are you after?
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Because of all that's happened, you've been hurt.
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Your trust has been broken again and again and again, and you've
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got this block And then you put it up against God because he's
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trying to be kind to you. The gospel is kind, it's good
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news. No I know what what what does
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God want? And he's probably got something
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he knows how I am and there's this defense over true kindness.
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And God wants to heal our life. He wants to bring us into
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Freedom. That's only available as we
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trust him and he heals our heart.
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If you sense that in your own life, God understands and he
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does want to heal, but he takes it step by step with you.
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Now, let's take a look at the third section.
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For this morning called The Kinks that fight against God's
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love. These are things that block the
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flow. And the first one is in verse
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for God's. Love does not envy.
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Because that was happening in Corinth.
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In those, in the fellowship, they were envious of one
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another. Hey, how come you got to do?
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You know, you got this spiritual gift that don't get.
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That's how come you got it and I didn't get it and and there's
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this bad attitude that's cropping up with the Believers.
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He says, listen Paul says to them.
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Listen God's love is not does not envy.
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So when Envy is happening in your life, that's not God's love
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working at you. That's in Now this this whole
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list and in this third section are eight qualities that are put
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in the negative. Envy is a work of the flesh, by
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the way. Here's what we read in
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Galatians. 5, verses 19 to 21, and I'm going to read it in the
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New Living Translation. It says there, when you follow
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the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very
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clear. Sexual immorality, impurity
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lust, evil Pleasures. Those three all center around
29:35
sexual sin idolatry and sorcery. Hostility quarreling out of
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jealousy outbursts of anger selfish ambition dissension
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division. Envy.
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Yes, here it is. It's a work of the flesh.
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Not a work of the spirit drunkenness, wild parties and
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others. Since like these, let me tell
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you again, as I had before that, anyone living, that sort of life
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will not inherit the kingdom of God.
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Now, I understand this is talking about those who practice
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this as a main area of their life that they've given license
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to it. This is just how I want to be.
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Leave me alone for a Christian who struggles with the Motions
30:29
of the Flesh and fighting against it.
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He's not saying you're not a Christian.
30:34
If you have those Temptations. He's referring to those who just
30:38
kind of give a license to whatever I want to do doesn't
30:41
matter. Paul says, look understand that
30:47
those things. Absolutely.
30:51
Will destroy your life for eternity.
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But the word envy as it's used here, in 1st Corinthians, 13
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includes the idea of not wanting the other person to have what
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you want. I mean that's a little deeper
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it's not just coveting going. Oh that's a nice keyboard.
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I think I'm I liked it. No no it's saying you know what?
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He doesn't deserve that I deserve that.
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Wow. That's going pretty deep.
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That's messed up. How do we free ourselves from
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covetousness? It's called perspective.
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Here's what we're, where we see that Hebrews 13, verses 5
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through 6, let your conduct your manner of Life as a Believer, be
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without covetousness, be content with such things as you have.
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And here's the reason for he himself has said, I will never
31:55
leave you nor forsake you You know what, that implies God
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thinks, if you have him you have everything you need because
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he'll take care of whatever need comes up.
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To say the Lord made a promise to me to never leave me or
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forsake me. So my life is in his hands.
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So I don't have to cover it because of fear that I'll be
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left out. That's huge.
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And then he goes on. So we may boldly.
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Say the Lord is my helper. I will not fear what can man do
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to me? Sometimes it work.
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There's a purposed strategy to get rid of you.
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I've heard him and and you're trying to just walk on eggshells
32:51
and be sure everything is fine. Stop.
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Live your life with Integrity. Do your work as unto the Lord
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have a strong work ethic because the Lord knows who and what is
33:06
happening. Your life is in his hands.
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Not in your supervisors hands, so it makes sense because that's
33:13
where Freedom comes. And you can love back.
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Let's continue on. the next four terms are under the category
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called self-centered. Let's just do that.
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God's love is not self-centered. Love does not parade itself.
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Is not puffed up, does not behave rudely does not seek its
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own. All these can be grouped
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together under this term and really they all have one thing
33:45
in common behold me. Look at me, me me me you know
33:52
the Unholy Trinity Me Myself. And I And that just seems to
33:56
come out. And the first one here parade
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itself to parade itself means to constantly point out your good
34:05
qualities, your accomplishments, your value to whomever's around
34:09
you. And you know, we've all I think
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we've all had relatives that have kind of been like that and
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then it's the Thanksgiving dinner and they're there at the
34:20
table and you're going man, you know?
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And they're just, you know, oh, I got this.
34:25
Did you know, what, did you know what?
34:26
I accomplished the other day and, and it's all about them.
34:30
The parading themselves. And you just want to like throw
34:33
your mashed potatoes at him because you're just, you're so
34:36
done with it. Stop it.
34:37
You want to stand up and say, please, stop it, you drive.
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Me grazie. Shove that turkey leg right down
34:44
your throat? Okay, that's not God's love by
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the way. No.
34:52
Okay. The second one is to be puffed
34:54
up. You know, you think of a puffer
34:56
fish, you know, to be puffed up and and that has to do with how
35:01
you see yourself. It's one thing to parade and let
35:04
everybody know. But the problem is the mindset,
35:08
you know, you're you're looking at yourself in your own
35:12
estimation, how important you are, how better you are than
35:15
others, how your opinion is the right opinion.
35:18
And if they were smart, they will just go along with what you
35:21
say. That's not God's love, that's
35:26
selfishness. The third one to behave rudely.
35:31
This goes deeper. This is where you devalue others
35:35
in word or deed because your way is better and they should be
35:39
scorned. And the picture on that is
35:43
Facebook. And then finally, to seek one's
35:49
own love, does not seek its own, is a general selfishness in
35:53
every way. Because God's love isn't
35:57
self-oriented. It seeks to bless others.
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It seeks to let them be built up rather than you being the
36:04
important one. When God's love rules the heart,
36:10
your life isn't going to be looking like this on a more
36:13
regular basis. But let's continue on here.
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It says God's love is not provoked.
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We'll all love them as long as they don't provoke me.
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No, it goes deeper than that, you can't get away with that.
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And I like to just say that God's love doesn't have a short
36:38
fuse. Now, some of you know that you
36:43
have kind of a short fuse, it doesn't take much to get you to
36:46
fly off the handle, and God wants to heal that.
36:49
God wants to lengthen that views?
36:53
At least, lengthen it, he wants to heal it because that's a
36:58
manifestation of issues going on.
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Already in your heart. Every culture that I've been
37:06
ministering in a short-term Mission, or living in that
37:09
culture, they all say that they have an excuse for being a for
37:12
having a short fuse. But we're Russians.
37:15
And that's how you know. We, we are just quick to get
37:17
angry and the Scots say, the same thing in the Irish, say the
37:20
same thing, and those from Iceland, say the same thing, I
37:23
mean, it's like what, and they're just giving excuse
37:26
because of their culture. That's just how we are know as a
37:31
Christian you can't use that as an excuse because that's not
37:35
God's love. God's love.
37:37
Does not have a short fuse. Yeah, but they make me so mad.
37:42
Well, back off, back up. Try to figure out.
37:46
Why is it that? I'm just so tense?
37:50
Why is it that I have such a short fuse?
37:53
That's not God, working in your life.
37:56
Because he's long-suffering, he's patient.
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He's kind. Actually the word here.
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Well, let's just Define anger a minute.
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Anger has been defined as an agitated emotional response to a
38:15
perceived evil. And the key word is perceived.
38:22
Agitated emotional response to a perceived evil, you glanced out
38:26
your window and your neighbor walks by and his dog wheeze on
38:31
your lawn. What, how can that, why me,
38:35
what, you know and all of a sudden you're just up in arms
38:39
because it's a perceived evil. Yeah.
38:42
But he has no right. It's a perceived evil.
38:46
See, there's a difference between a perceived evil and a
38:49
true moral evil. God wants us to understand that
38:59
there is such a thing as righteous anger.
39:03
Righteous anger is when there's an agitated emotional response
39:07
over a true evil that has been done.
39:10
And as a Believer, you should be angry at things that are totally
39:17
wrong and as defined by God's word, what happens to Children.
39:22
What I mean, all of that there are true evil.
39:26
There's true evil in the world and you should have a response.
39:30
If you don't have a response, then you're you're kind of In
39:33
denial, of the reality of the evil.
39:37
But it gives you no excuse to respond to that evil in a sinful
39:45
way. Well, I'm going to just slash
39:48
their tires. Well they deserve that fry.
39:52
That's nice as a Christian. What?
39:55
A good Witness. You can't justify.
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Responding sinfully, even when there's a righteous anger that
40:05
occurs. But most anger that we have is
40:10
sinful anger, it's selfish anger perceived evil.
40:14
How dare they how dare they say that?
40:17
How dare they do that? And it's all about me.
40:26
God's love doesn't have a short fuse and we can't excuse it.
40:30
We got to ask him Lord. Help me to love back.
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How can you bless your? How can you bless those who
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curse you? That's what Jesus said.
40:43
How do you love your enemies? You can't do it.
40:48
I can't manufacture that. God, please have mercy on me.
40:53
Fill me with your spirit. Is there anything blocking the
40:56
flow of your love in my life? I need you, God, please heal my
41:00
life. He's right there to do that.
41:05
And finally, in the verse 6, God's love does not rejoice in
41:09
iniquity. No, let's look at the end of
41:12
verse 5. God's love thinks.
41:14
No evil. Which means keeps no record of
41:17
wrongs suffered. so, You let go of the wrongs that have been
41:25
done to you because his love understands that what they have
41:32
done to you was paid for by Jesus along with yours and you
41:36
can love back. And that takes the power of God
41:41
to do that in your life. And then, finally, in verse 6,
41:46
God's love does not rejoice in iniquity because Holiness is a
41:50
part of God's love. For a Believer to use, sexual
41:55
innuendo in joking with their comrades and their colleagues.
42:01
You know it's it's not appropriate.
42:04
It's not God's love and just the man that just drives me crazy,
42:09
you can't just compartmentalize your life and be religious on
42:14
Sunday and Wednesday night. And then at work, you're just
42:17
like the world with your thoughts and your you're
42:20
laughing at the jokes and you're putting it.
42:22
And you're encouraging. It, you need to repent because
42:26
Holiness is is who God is and his Spirit, you know, you're
42:30
blocking the conviction of the spirit you should be
42:33
uncomfortable in things that are that God, considers sin.
42:41
Doesn't rejoice in iniquity. Let's go now to the fourth main
42:47
area of this morning, the keeps on keeping on quality of God's
42:51
love and then we see six of the eight positive attributes of
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God's loves penned by Paul here. And we see here God's love
43:03
rejoices in the truth. And that's the truth from God's
43:07
expense perspective. It's not truth based on the
43:12
culture. It's not truth based on the
43:14
Maurice. The time it's truth based upon
43:17
who God is his very nature defines the truth.
43:24
Rejoices in the truth, rejoices when truth wins out.
43:30
And God's love and verse seven Bears.
43:32
All things believes all things, hopes all things, endures all
43:36
things. Let's define those four terms.
43:40
Bears. All things doesn't just mean,
43:43
you know, he's dealing with it and you know, I'm trying to
43:47
endure it. No, it goes deeper the word
43:50
bear. Here means Yogi now, I'm just
43:53
kidding though. The word bear here means that
43:56
covering a roof. much like, A mother bird will protect its
44:04
young. A covering God's love covers Us.
44:11
How I need that. He's got my life.
44:16
He wants to take care of me, God's love bears, all things.
44:22
And that also has to do with other people as you see them in
44:26
their trouble. Rather than condemning them.
44:30
You want to, you want to cover them?
44:34
Paul says, in Galatians, 6, if a brother or sister is overtaken
44:38
in a fault, you who are spiritual restore, such a one in
44:42
a spirit of meekness, considering yourself that has to
44:46
do with rather than spreading abroad.
44:48
All their evil. You want to cover them and you
44:52
want to help them, you want to be a protection.
44:57
God's love believes all things. This means that actually this
45:02
means to believe the best first. To look to the end that God has
45:09
in mind for the events that occur.
45:13
God is in it for the long game, you know, when a coach is is
45:19
playing and playing his team and he's got a strategy for the
45:22
game, the first quarter was miserable, the strategy didn't
45:27
work, but the coach is in it for the long game and not just for
45:31
that game but for the season, right?
45:35
And so, he wants to have a winning season and so if the pre
45:41
season games, Have to be trials and testings for the team.
45:48
He's not concerned about losing the game because he's looking at
45:52
the end goal. And so, God is looking at the
45:56
end goal in our life. And he looks at us and he says,
46:02
I know what I can do with the likes of you.
46:05
I know what I can do. Everybody else writes you off
46:08
and go he's history, you know, I don't want to be around him.
46:12
I don't even want to sit next to him at church.
46:15
But God says hey, I know what I can do with this one, he read
46:19
the file. When he adopted a set of the
46:21
worlds orphanage, he saw everything and the file all of
46:25
our Shenanigans, all of our sins folds.
46:28
It puts it there and says I want this one.
46:31
Yeah. But why would you want to them
46:34
because I know what I can do and I know how the glorify me.
46:39
God chose you out of the world's orphanage?
46:43
Those of you who are believers, you realize that he adopted you
46:46
into his family, when no one else wanted you.
46:50
When Satan wanted to destroy your life.
46:54
Because God loves you. Because he believes the best
46:58
first. Yeah, but I failed so much.
47:02
Yeah. But you know just be a good
47:03
student. Let's learn from those failures
47:05
and let's go on Do you see God like that?
47:09
Or do you see him as you know, someone that you've got to be
47:12
very careful with because it boy when he gets mad, it's bad
47:15
thing. God's love believes all things
47:20
and that's how he wants us to see other people when you see
47:24
person on the street you think man there a washout, stop it.
47:28
Because how does God see them? You be surprised that people
47:33
you're sitting next to, you probably wouldn't want to the
47:35
met before. They knew the Lord.
47:40
God's love hopes all things. That's because he's a
47:43
foundation. That Foundation is on the
47:46
Promises of God's word. It's not a hope where you say, I
47:51
hope it works out. No, it's a hope.
47:54
It's a confident Assurance of what, you know will happen.
47:59
And rather than focusing on the Promises which are important.
48:04
You need to focus on the promise Giver because of his faithful,
48:08
all of that will happen. So rather than being a promise
48:12
keeper, you want to look at the promise maker and set your Hope
48:17
on him, because he'll sort it out.
48:21
There are Christians today who are being tortured and
48:24
imprisoned for their faith in Christ.
48:27
Where's the promise of God in their life?
48:29
It's sure God is being faithful even in the midst of that and he
48:35
is able to use this and when Heaven shows it it will you will
48:40
see the glory of God through all that's happening.
48:46
And then God's love endures. All things never gives up.
48:50
Never, God is going to pursue us and pursue us and pursue us.
48:56
And we are to never give up on others.
49:01
Have you given up on somebody? God hasn't given up on you. and
49:09
even though you don't know what to do with them, maybe your kid
49:12
is been Wayward for like 10 years and there's nothing you it
49:16
just seems that every time I try to help them, bring them back,
49:19
it just gets worse and you just go, I give up.
49:23
No, don't give up because God never gives up.
49:27
God is working behind the scenes and you've got to trust in God
49:31
and not the circumstances that are surrounding your kid.
49:35
Because you know, your kid is your kid, even if they're 70
49:38
years old, he still there's your kid, you know, you're a member
49:42
of and diapers I changed your diapers you know and they're
49:45
still your kid. Don't give up.
49:48
And finally as we close God's love, never fails verse 8.
49:56
Never comes to an end. Never becomes obsolete or
50:02
unnecessary. Never Fades out like the second
50:06
law of thermodynamics. God's love is constant.
50:13
Keeps on keeping on. I need God's love.
50:20
God, I need you to flush out my life.
50:23
I want that life. That only comes from the Holy
50:26
Spirit your spirit. This morning, there may be some
50:32
of you maybe some of you listening online.
50:35
You're listening to this whole teaching and you're going well,
50:38
that's nice for you but I don't know.
50:41
You don't know my life. Well, God knows your life.
50:45
And I want to tell you, you're not too big of a project for
50:47
God. God wants to take, and Heal your
50:53
life. But you got to let him do it.
51:00
Sub fighting with God. oh yeah, you know you think you know
51:05
everything you don't God wants to heal your life.
51:13
Trust him. I know you've had your trust
51:17
broken so many times, but you can trust God.
51:25
For those of us here this morning, we may have touched
51:28
upon some things going on in your life.
51:32
And I just want you to know that God will do the work that's
51:37
impossible in your mind. I know I've covered a lot of
51:43
things this morning about God's love.
51:46
I put together a book a few years ago, just about that
51:49
called. True, love begins with God.
51:52
That's available downstairs. Goes into much more detail, and
51:56
that's up to you. But today don't leave here
52:02
without doing business with God. It's no coincidence that I'm
52:06
here this Sunday and you're here.
52:10
God is speaking to your heart. Let's not go out and just go.
52:13
That was interesting. If God speaking to your heart,
52:16
let's do business with the Lord. Let's pray.
52:21
Father in heaven. We thank you for your word.
52:29
We thank you for the power of the Holy Spirit, who is able to
52:32
change us. And we thank you Lord that you
52:39
understand more deeply than anybody could ever understand
52:42
more than we understand ourselves.
52:47
And we're asking that this day July 10th would be a day of
52:53
absolute transformation in our life.
52:57
That should show us. If there are any Boulders that
53:00
are just stopping the flow of God's love through our life that
53:04
we had, we would repent of those sinful actions and attitudes
53:10
that you give us the strength to repent and push that Boulder
53:14
off, and let your love flow once again.
53:20
And father God if there is any at there are any here, listening
53:24
online or watching online or in the sanctuary here, that have
53:29
not yet surrendered their life to the Lord Jesus Christ.
53:34
Lord move upon their heart. Even now to take that risk take
53:38
that step and Believe on the name of Jesus.
53:42
If this is you this morning, all God is looking for is for you to
53:47
come to him with an honest sincere heart, confess your sin
53:53
and ask him to forgive you and he will send the gift of the
53:57
Holy Spirit within your life. And you can begin to experience
54:02
this love of God, that we've talked about.
54:06
And if we're going to ask me, Laura, how do I pray to God?
54:09
And just, just be honest. Just say, God forgive me of the
54:13
sin of my life. I repent.
54:16
And I turn to you, forgive me of my sin, wash me clean, send your
54:22
Holy Spirit and to my heart, something along that line, God's
54:26
not looking for exact words but he's looking for your heart.
54:31
That's what we offer to him. And he'll do the rest.
54:36
You can't manufacture God's love but you can distribute it.
54:40
If he puts it in your life. So, father use these things
54:45
today. In our life, through our life in
54:50
Jesus name. Amen.
54:53
We pray that you've been encouraged by this Bible.
54:55
Study delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church for
54:59
prayer. Call us at 877, 30 Grace.
55:03
That's eight 77304, 703 to listen to this message in its
55:10
entirety or to join us for our lives dream Services.
55:13
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55:18
free Calvary Church app, be blessed as you worship.
55:21
Jesus this week.