VIDEO LINKS TO THIS SERMON
“THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVE IN OUR LIVES”
February 10, 2013
By Pastor Mark Taylor
"This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.” (John 15:12)
Love is the most important word in any language. It was also the most important commandment given to us from God and the Lord Jesus Christ. “And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.' This is the first commandment. "And the second, like it, is this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no other commandment greater than these." (Mark 12:30-31).
We will see that without the love from above that God gives us, nothing else will matter in our lives. This is how important it is:
“Dear friends, let us love each other, because love comes from God. Those who love are God’s children and they know God. Those who do not love do not know God because God is love God has shown His love to us by sending His only Son into the world. God did this so we might have life through Christ.” (I John 4:7-9).
Hopefully the Holy Spirit will reveal to you how important love is to the church, to friends, to your family, and to your relationship with the person who loves you the most. and that is God.
The Lord gives us a clear explanation of how important love is in our lives in I Corinthians 13.
“I may be able to speak the languages of men and even of angels, but if I do not have love, it will sound like a noisy musical instrument.” (v. 1). Words without love will not touch the hearts of men or God.
“If I have the gift of speaking God’s Word and if I understand all secrets, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (v. 2a). Even if you are a gifted speaker and impress people with your knowledge of God’s Words and ways, and you do not have love, you are nothing in God’s eyes or those who hear you.
“If I know all things and if I have the gift of faith so I can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.” (v. 2b). if you know everything there is to know about nuclear science; if you know everything there is to know about medicine; if you know everything there is to know about philosophy & psychology & theology & every other kind of “ology” - if you know it all, but have no love, then you are nothing at all. People will not care how much you know, until they know how much you care.
Do you believe in Jesus? If you do then that is good. But the Bible teaches that if even if you believe all the right stuff, but you do not have love, then you faith is not enough. Because even faith is of no value unless it is backed up by love.
“If I give everything I have to feed poor people and if I give my body to be burned, but do not have love, it will not help me.” (v.3). Love is more important than generosity. Paul is saying that even if you go to church every time the church doors are open, if you give large offerings, if you read your Bible faithfully, if you pray, & do all the things that a Christian person ought to do, but if there is no love behind all that, then it is nothing in God’s sight.
We should know some ways to love. We can love by our words to each other. We can love by spending quality time with each other. We can love by giving things to each other that is valued by the other person. We can love each other with acts of service toward each other. We can love each other with physical touch. All of these things are ways to love. There are some actions in our lives that are the opposites of love.
I Corinthians 13 continues by telling us what love is not. If you are demonstrating some of these negative qualities in your life, you need to ask God to give you power and the desire to overcome them.
“Love does not give up. Love is kind. Love is not jealous. Love does not put itself up as being important. Love has no pride. Love does not do the wrong thing. Love never thinks of itself. Love does not get angry. Love does not remember the suffering that comes from being hurt by someone. Love is not happy with sin. Love is happy with the truth. Love takes everything that comes without giving up. Love believes all things. Love hopes for all things. Love keeps on in all things. Love never comes to an end. (v. 4-8).
Can you begin to see why you and I cannot love without God’s Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us? We have certainly all fallen short of the description of love in the verses above. The “Love” that God is speaking about in this Chapter is a supernatural love that comes from above. We can have it and demonstrate it in our lives toward others. You cannot have it just because you are a “good person”. You have to receive it as a gift from above.
Paul is writing to the church, to people who love God and have accepted the Lord Jesus as their Savior. We need to ask for and demonstrate more love towards each other. Otherwise all of our efforts and service on Earth will not matter when we step into God’s presence at the end of our lives on Earth.
We have seen in this “Love Chapter” that we do not need a good education, good resources, great faith, or good talents to do the work God has put into our hearts to do. What we need is more love.
Will you ask God to fill you with His love so it will overflow into the world? Your family, your friends, your church, and you really do need more love.
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