Col 3:12-14
Love, Supernatural In Its Power
We have studied for the last several weeks on the topic of character.
I have shared my definition of character - Christ and His nature in
you. My definition is definitely Christian and biased. Without
a standard, all you have is every man doing that which is right in
his own eyes. People cannot be the standard for character. God must
be.
Character is the display of Jesus, His nature, and His teachings in
your life. Without these things, you will have no character and as
much as you have these things in your life, you will be a person of
moral and character.
I have also shared with you what I believe to be the two foundational
attributes of character: wisdom and love. Upon the foundational
attributes, all other attributes rest, meaning that if you lack them,
you cannot have the rest. You cannot have character. Why? Because
without them, you would never see the need for character—which is
exactly where our world is right now.
Two weeks ago, I spoke on the topic of love being supernatural in
origin. We saw several different Bible verses:
1. \\#1John 4:7-8\\ - We saw that God is love and that without
God, one cannot love as God intended us to love.
2. \\#2Tim 3:2-5\\ - We saw what people become without love.
3. We saw several different Bible verses that describe man’s
imperfect love without God.
a. \\#1John 3:18\\ Love in word not deed.
b. \\#1John 4:18\\ Love but with fear.
c. \\#1John 4:20\\ Love but only a few.
4. Love is more than mere emotion. Love is action
\\#1Cor 13:4-8\\.
Tonight, let’s consider some of what produces.
Notice, Paul called love the "bond of perfectness." What does that
mean? He was describing love as the perfect bond. But what does
love bind? There are at least two possibilities:
1. Paul might have been saying that there was nothing better to
bond people (i.e. the church) together with than love.
2. Paul might have been saying that there was nothing better to
bind an individual with than love. The perfect glue to hold
together everything that is "human" is love.
3. Regardless of what Paul meant, both are true.
The latter is the one we want to emphasize tonight. Love is the
perfect bond that holds all the rest of the individual together.
What does love produce?
I. Love produces selflessness.
2Tim 3:2 2 For men shall be lovers of their
own selves,….
A. We noticed last week that the opposite of love is selfishness.
1. These two are exact opposites.
2. So the more loving we become, the less selfish we will be.
3. They are on opposites of the see-saw.
B. Humans are born in sin and very selfish.
1. When did you ever hear of an infant waking up at night,
being hungry or wet, but deciding to remain quite all
night so poor mother could get her rest?
2. For that matter, how many 6 year olds, teenagers, or
husbands even practice that?
3. Children must be taught to love and be selfless.
a. That is very difficult since that is a spiritual
attribute. You can teach a child to pick up his
toys, to say "ma’am" and "sir" but to teach them to
love is very, very hard!
b. Someone says, "Babies love their mothers."
"We love momma because momma loves us." \\#1John 4:19\\ paraphrase
C. However, Christ taught us that selflessness is love. He both
taught and demonstrated two ways that love is selfless.
1. Death - Laying down your life for another.
Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this,
that a man lay down his life for his friends.
a. To die for another is the most selfless act a human
can do because he is giving up life itself, existence
as we know it.
(1) There is no greater act of self denial.
(2) When one gives his life, he gives all. (i.e.
loved-ones, wealth, future, goals)
(3) Notice that Jesus calls that the greatest love,
so the greatest selflessness is the greatest
love.
b. On two occasions, Jesus plainly stated…
John 10:15 …I lay down my life for the sheep. \\#John 10:17\\.
2. Daily Dying
Lu 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will
come after me, let him deny himself, and take up
his cross daily, and follow me.
a. These are two horses but of different colors.
(1) Death is a one-time act of selflessness.
(2) To die daily is to daily climb onto the cross!
(3) That is a selflessness of another kind.
(4) Death requires full and immediate payment while
daily dying requires full and continuous
payment.
(5) Death is the love that keeps on giving no matter
what it costs while dying daily is the love that
keeps on no matter how often it costs.
b. Both of these are selflessness that require total
commitment.
(1) However, in some ways, death might be easier.
(2) It requires only one commitment while dying daily
requires continuous commitments.
II. Love produces sacrificial spirit.
A. Sacrifice and selflessness overlap.
1. How so?
a. Both are produced by love.
b. There will not be sacrifice without selflessness nor
selflessness without sacrifice.
c. While love and selflessness are on opposite sides of
the see-saw, selflessness and sacrifice are on the
SAME side.
2. Even so, sacrifice needs to be mentioned separately.
a. Some seem to think they will die if called upon to do
so but have great difficulty in sacrificing.
b. It is hard for me to image one would die for another
if they will not sacrifice for another.
c. The catch with boasting to die for someone is few get
that opportunity, but you have the opportunity to
sacrifice for someone often.
B. A sacrificial spirit will be demonstrated by your giving.
1. Giving is when you willingly and happily chose to give up.
2Co 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in
his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or
of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
a. There are no rules that say you must give.
(1) Some ask me if they should tithe.
(2) Short answer is yes. It is an exercise in faith,
a demonstration of obedience, and a quest for
God’s blessings.
(3) But there are no New Testament commands.
b. Giving comes directly from the heart.
(1) The two things that tell what is in the heart is
your giving and your speaking.
(2) I had a pastor who said, "Let me have your
checkbook and I will tell you who and what you
love."
2. There are more things to give than just money. (i.e.
giving of time, energy, and talents)
3. But the Bible makes it clear that a person who does not
give, does not love.
1Jo 3:17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and
seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his
bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the
love of God in him?
C. A sacrificial spirit will be demonstrated by enduring.
1. Giving is you choosing what to sacrifice. Enduring is
another choosing what you will sacrifice.
a. If it is difficult for you to give, it will probably
be even more difficult for you to endure "taking".
(1) A person who does not like to give will not like
the IRS taking.
(2) They will not like sickness which takes both
health and money.
(3) They will not like job-layoffs, accidents, or
disasters.
(4) All of these require we be able to endure and to
continue on.
b. The same spirit that makes it possible for us to give
and be happy makes it possible for us to suffer and
to endure.
2. Enduring is also another choosing what you will carry.
a. We do not just endure the things that are taken from
us, but the things that others give to us.
b. Some give us their pain, their problems, and their
burdens.
c. It takes love to endure those things.
d. Was Paul not speaking of enduring when he wrote the
love chapter?
1Co 13:4 Charity suffereth long, and is kind;
charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself,
is not puffed up,
5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not
her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no
evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in
the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things,
hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Charity never faileth:
III. Love produces a forgiving spirit.
1Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent
charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover
the multitude of sins.
A. It is impossible to love without forgiving.
1. Sooner or later, everyone is going to wrong us—especially
those we love.
2. If your ability to love cannot forgive that person, your
love for them will cease.
B. But it is also impossible to forgive without loving.
1. Forgiving opens you back up to more hurt and all that
goes with it. (i.e. betrayal, thief, embarrassment,
mockery)
2. To forgive someone IS to give them another chance and if
you do that, they might do what they did all over again.
C. Forgiving requires the supernatural power of love.
1. Forgiveness erases the wrong.
2. Forgiveness sets aside the hurt.
3. Forgiveness makes the effort to rekindle, renew, and to
restore.
4. Not one of those is natural to a human being!
D. Forgiveness is not what those who want to do away with laws
and penalties are after.
1. Some want to abolish penalties like the death penalty or
change the laws to eliminate crimes.
2. That is insanity and won’t help.
a. The problem is not the boundaries that are set or the
penalties for the boundaries. For society to
function, these two will always have to exists.
b. The problem is sin.
c. No matter how many crimes you legalize or penalties
you nullify, sinful people will keep pushing the
borders whatever they are.
d. We have basically eliminated the death penalty now
about 9% of the US population is in jail.
3. Forgiveness and mercy can only be given by the person
that was wronged and it can only be given to the person
that was wronged.
a. A judge or parole board cannot give mercy to someone
who did not wrong them—unless they do so at the
request of the person that was wronged.
b. Otherwise, all they can do is pervert justice.
4. Before a judge, court, or board can grant mercy,
contrition and repentance must be shown. Otherwise,
they are guilty of perverting justice and reckless
endangerment.
E. No, mercy and forgiveness are for the wronged to give and it
comes from a spirit of love.
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