How to live
1 Corinthians 13
The Art of Living is Loving (1 Corinthians 13) - Pastor Daniel Fusco
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so I'll never forget when I went to
college my parents everybody much
everyone said oh wait for it you're
gonna gain the freshman 15 you know what
that is it's like when you go to college
and all of a sudden you can go to eat
the cafeteria and everyone gains 15
pounds you know and so and parents love
that kind of thing because they just pay
like the meal plan and then they can eat
as much as they want to eat so I heard
about this for a long long time and you
know and being all Italian from the East
Coast everyone's like listen you know
once you start to bulge out it's never
gonna stop so so as I was getting a good
hard time and I remember I got to
college now being all Italian from New
Jersey I was raised by people who really
did a great job of cooking so like in my
family growing up food is a love
language so like you know you see my
grandma she feeds you my dad tells the
story what he wanted to marry my mom he
had to go meet my mom's grandmother who
would be my great-grandma who we knew as
nonny
and and my dad nan he kept giving him
food my dad was all times we just kept
eating and after he left the house he
went down the block he threw up you know
I'm like dad that's nasty like but it
was so good I didn't mind eating all of
it but I couldn't anymore so so food was
a love language when I grew up and so
like literally you grow up you know my
mom she could cook you know my grandma
she could cook every aunt uncle every
family member if I wasn't really sure if
they were a family member all of them
could cook right and so then I go to
college and sure enough it's like okay
the freshman 15 I walk in and there's
like this buffet of food and like the
chicken was rubbery the meatloaf was had
like a green tint to it a little bit and
it kind of freaked me out like a lot you
know cuz I remember thinking like this
is not what this is supposed to taste
like so I had a bright idea I was gonna
become a vegetarian now I didn't do it
for social reasons this was long before
hipsters were anti you know industrial
food complex and stuff and say I just
didn't want to eat meat that was not me
like and so I remember when when I went
home for my first break from college you
know my grandma was just like what is
this that I hear that you have become a
vegetarian what is wrong with you you
know and I mean and I'm like what
you don't understand I mean like you
know you and mom you guys cook so well
and it's just amazing everything tastes
like it's perfect you never have to eat
out and and then I went to college and
she started laughs like Oh everything's
nasty on I'm like yeah and she's like we
can fix that I'm like oh yeah she's I'm
gonna teach you how to cook so I thought
to myself this is a good idea I'm a
single guy if I know how to cook and I'm
kind of handsome you know I got a
college degree I might have a shot here
you know I'd sosamma okay grandma you
got it and so me and my grandma we sit
on down and my grandma's like the first
thing you need to know how to make is
you know how to make sauce cuz you're
Italian and so everything goes good in
sauce so she's like and so she started
to show me how to make this thing right
and so I'm making and she's like talking
me through and it's really beautiful cuz
my grandma means she's an Italian
grandma so she doesn't she's not working
off a recipe book she's not measure
anything out you know half the time
she's eating what's in the pot and she's
like my dad he's a little more of this
it was totally gross unsanitary but it
tastes delicious you know and so so sure
enough my grandma made my first pot of
sauce but it's not quite right it's not
perfect
and so I'm eating it and and like I grew
up literally my grandma's sauce was so
good that we would walk into the kitchen
and we would take bread and we throw it
into the sauce thing like learn from
across the room because if you got it in
there then you had to go fish it I had
to eat the bread with the sauce dripping
all over it was so awesome you know so
my grandma literacy and then she's like
running after you with the wooden spoon
it was beautiful life you know and so
and so I tasted my grandma it's missing
something grandma what's it missing and
she got a big smile on her face she's
like ah I forgot to tell you the most
important ingredient you gotta put a lot
of love in it and she got this big smile
on her face and she gave me a big sauce
bread kiss ran outside of my face you
know I gave me a big hug and she said
all I love you and she gave me this big
warm hug and I've never forgotten that
story because in a lot of ways that's
the key to an extraordinary life I mean
if you think about life like so like
like I had to write this book up were
doing one and out work because I wanted
to write a book about life a life that
we're all living and can we make sure
that we get the right ingredients
they're right
I mean look a good sauce you need the
right ingredients she needs your you
need your basil and you need your garlic
you need your olive oil and you need
your salt if you really like it that way
and sugar if you're don't know how to
really make a sauce no I'm just kidding
I know that's a big thing right now like
do you are you supposed to put sugar in
the Italian sauce we can talk about that
later and talk about the acidity of the
of the tomatoes and it really needs
sugar or we just like sweet tooth's and
almost anyway so if you want to have an
amazing life and I believe that you do
because it's the only life that you get
to have here so it's like it you better
get it right you need the right
ingredients but even if you have all the
right ingredients if you don't have a
lot of love in it it's not gonna be an
extraordinary life and what's beautiful
about this is that we've learned that
from Jesus why because when they asked
Jesus what the greatest commandment was
Jesus said you need to love the Lord
your God with all your heart soul
strength in mind I need to love your
neighbor as you as yourselves as you
implied as you love yourself that's we
get upward inward and outward from right
like upward is loving God and then
inward is loving yourself because God
loves you and then outward you live out
from all of that love out into the world
but upward inward and outward I like to
say it that the art of living is loving
love is the ingredient like you can have
everything in your life together you can
have health you know you can have a good
family that you came from you can have a
career that you find fulfilling you can
have all these ingredients but if you do
not have a ton of love in the midst of
that life it might be a good life but
it's not an extraordinary life so I
wanted to make sure that as we're kind
of breaking this open that we give due
attention to something as simple as the
necessity of love now let's do this show
hands how many think that the world
could use with a little bit more love
yeah I see you guys in Portland as well
they have an importance like who
everyone online put those hands up right
we all agree that the world needs more
love in it and here's the thing because
of who Jesus is we have access to the
most extraordinary love in the world and
as the followers of Jesus we need to
make sure that love is the centerpiece
of the ethics by which we live we need
to make sure that at every turn whether
it's upward with God whether it's the
way we view ourselves because of God's
love for us and as we move out into the
world that love is essential and
necessary and primary on who we are now
what's amazing is if you think about
that I know and I've thought about that
I realize all these ways that I don't do
a great job loving and what I love about
God is that he knows we're all in
process he knows that none of us have it
all together
so I want to call to our remembrance
today the necessity of love because you
could have all the right ingredients in
your life but without a lot of love in
it it's not gonna be an extraordinary
life so in order to unpack this I want
to unpack this with the most famous
passage of the Bible about love first
Corinthians 13 cut open up your Bibles
there you probably some you don't even
need to open up your Bibles there
because you've been to enough weddings
you got this thing memorize but I want
you to go to your Bible there because
even if you haven't memorized I want you
be able to read along first Corinthians
it's easy to find you to bring a Bible
with you to church I know some of you I
didn't do that those books on the seats
in front of you all of them are Bibles
they're not phone books to not romance
novels I heard that in one of the
Bible's there's a hundred dollar bill at
first Corinthians 13 now I'm just
kidding
sinners
first Corinthians 13 it's easy to fight
in your New Testament you have Matthew
Mark Luke and John right and they have
the book of Acts the Acts of the
Apostles then you have Paul's letter to
the Romans and then first Corinthians so
all those books Matthew Mark Luke John
acts Romans all longer books and then
first Corinthians and of course I still
have to say chapter 13 is between
chapters 12 and 14 just to close in all
those loops I want you to read along it
begins this way
first Corinthians 13:1 though I speak
with the tongues of men and of angels
but have not love I have become sounding
brass or a clanging cymbal and though I
have the gift of prophecy and understand
all mysteries and all knowledge and
though I have all faith so that I could
remove mountains but have not love I am
nothing and though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor and though I give my
body to be burned but have not love it
profits me nothing so we begin with this
reality that love is better love is
better all the things listed here and
each one of these verses they're good
but love is better now the Apostle Paul
begins by first saying though I speak
with the tongues of men and of angels so
the idea is though I have all the
eloquence that a human can come up with
though I know all these different
languages even if I know the language of
heaven but if I don't speak with love I
become a sounding brass and a clanging
cymbal now think about that for a second
I mean even take a moment notice here at
honor crossroads Vancouver stage we have
our little house for the drummer and the
reason we give the drummer house is
because we realize that drummers don't
have the house unless they marry
somebody
every drummer knows exactly what I'm
talking about so we got the drummer a
house here so you wanted to give the
drummer a little sum and we realized if
he didn't have a house he'd be in
trouble but notice has anybody here
complained about the sound of this
cymbal since we gave the drummer house
no how many of you complain about the
sound of the drums before here across
let's don't raise your hands
see cymbals are loud right I've been
playing music my entire life and went
eyes the bass flashed him right next to
the drummer and I have a ringing that
comes in and out of my ears because the
overtones of those cymbals are so loud
especially when I was playing you know
rock and roll and heavy man on those
drummers like you know no sense to hit
the drum to make news you gotta slam
that thing so the thing goes like this
and and it sounds crazy and so so your
ears get all jacked up right now how
many of you like standing next to a
symbol all day long every day anybody
likes love that like I just want that
symbol ringing in my ear 24 hours a day
some of you do I bet your spouse feels
the same way about you no I'm just
kidding I'm just kidding but listen if
you speak with the greatest eloquence
you have the language of heaven but you
have not love you are just a headache
waiting to happen
that's what this means so eloquent
speech is good tongues is good but love
is better from there notice what it says
and though I have the gift of prophecy
and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge and though I have all faith so
that I could remove mountains but have
not love I am nothing
see now what he says he's like listen
not only is is is is eloquence good but
love is better but now all sorts of
spiritual giftings prophecy the ability
to understand mysteries unique
supernatural knowledge even the gift of
faith that jesus said if you have the
faith of a mustard seed you can say to
this mountain be removed in the sea and
will go but if you have not love it says
you're nothing so spiritual gifts are
good but love is better
wow this reminds us of course
1st Corinthians 8:1 where it says
knowledge puffs up but love edifies Wow
in a very educated society like ours
love is better you could be the wisest
most credentialed person in your
profession but if you do not have love
it says notice I am nothing and then
verse 3 says and though I bestow all my
goods to feed the poor and though I give
my body to be burned but I have not love
it profits me nothing now this week's of
all sorts of sacrifice
whether you are exceedingly charitable
with with the resources that you have to
help people who are impoverished even
the most ultimate sacrifice for somebody
to give up their life for their faith in
Jesus says if I have not loved it
profits me nothing
see sacrifice is good but love is better
surmise me Jesus said John 15 verses 12
and 13 this is my commandment that you
love one another as I have loved you
greater love has no one than this than
to lay down one's life for his friends
and Jesus lay down his life for us he
lay that it was like for you because
jesus is saying in a sense what you need
to realize as things are good we
shouldn't neglect eloquence we shouldn't
neglect spiritual giftings we shouldn't
neglect all sorts of sacrificial living
but love is even more important now are
we cultivating that see it's a love the
choice that you make love is a decision
that you make in the moment to be
different about what might come
naturally and Jesus's idea for the
greatest commandment is I want you to
live in what is best or better for your
own lives now from there in verse 4
first Corinthians 13 we learned
something really important that's the
fact that love is specific love is
specific why because the Apostle Paul
defines love he doesn't want to leave it
up to chance he doesn't want you to
think for one second that any idea you
have about love
love he's saying I want to define it for
you and the love that's being spoken
about here this love that is better is
very specific now I'm gonna read it to
you look what it says in verse four it
says love suffers long or some of your
translations say love is patient and is
kind love does not envy love does not
parade itself is not puffed up does not
behave rudely does not seek its own is
not provoked thinks no evil does not
rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in the
truth bears all things believes all
things hopes all things endures all
things love never fails now there's no
kind of a powerful definition of love
isn't it
now there's a couple of things that you
need to know about this first the
definition of love is all described
using verbs which speaks of the fact
that love is something that you do right
they're all verbs here and this is what
happens is this who we become when the
love of God is shed abroad in our hearts
by the Holy Spirit this specific
definition of love this self sacrificial
love this love that is not needing to be
deserved to be given but is given
proactively it's the work of the Spirit
that's where the fruit of the Spirit is
love but not only that these verbs are
all in the present continuous tense in
the Greek which denotes actions and
attitudes which have become habitual
that are completely being repeated over
and over again so what that means is
that this love is not something that you
understood or practice in the past it's
something that may be a great it
happened in the past it has to be
happening right now
and I think what happens for us for many
of us is we can look back on a time when
we were really committed to the art of
living that's loving this specific love
in the Bible but now that love
begin to grow cold maybe in certain
areas of your life right now that love
has been growing cold where there was a
time maybe on your wedding day
right I love when I see couples when
they're getting married I always tell
people as a someone who's officiated
many many weddings when the bride comes
around the corner I never look at the
bride I always look at the groom cuz
that is the best moment of the entire
wedding when a man is standing there and
his eyes see his bride in her wedding
gown and listen I've never once been at
a wedding or officiated a wedding where
they didn't say I'm gonna love you with
everything I got for the rest of my life
never want anybody defender betting like
that
our wedding that that they don't say
that but then you fast forward like two
years or 20 years and all of a sudden
what happens where is this I am gonna
pursue you with all that I have see I
could see it in my own life I love my
bride Lane we've been married for 13
years and it's unpreparedness I'm like
man I could look like that time when I
was more passionate to pursue my wife's
heart than I am right to now and I'm
like oh Lord okay you need to do a fresh
work what I need to get back to the most
important things and I confess that
before you all because I know the same
is true for many of us see the love that
God wants us to have is specific it's
important now and it's something that
needs to be practiced today now what's
fascinating is Carl Bart was a very
well-known theologian now you guys know
this when I quote somebody doesn't mean
I agree with everything they've ever
said and you know it's we live in a
weird day and age where so if you quote
somebody everyone thinks old they're
agreeing with everything a person ever
did which is nuts it's just a good quote
all right Carl Bart's brilliant but I
don't agree with everything that Bart
stood for and but what's fascinating is
Carl Bart broke down this passage into
three different ways he said first from
verse 4 to the beginning of verse 5 that
it deals with love and
darkness within ourselves and then from
the middle of verse five and verse 6 it
deals with love and the darkness and
others and then verses 7 in the
beginning of verse 8 love and the
apparent darkness and God
now as funny as as years and years ago I
wrote this that that framework down and
I and I see it to be true first it's us
and then it's others and then it's how
we do we deal with who God is but you
know what I realize just studying it for
this message is that Carl Bart broke
down this specific definition of love
into inward outward and upward Oh
so I think if Carl was here today he did
endorse my book
I don't know this specific definition of
love is powerful now here's what's
here's what's really powerful you guys
want some homework to do for the rest of
your life nobody raised their hands okay
so if you're a follower of Jesus this is
your homework for the rest of your life
okay I'm gonna give it to you right here
I want you to take verses 4 to the
beginning of verse 8 and every time you
see the word love I want you put Jesus's
name in there check it out Jesus suffers
long Jesus is kind Jesus does not envy
Jesus does not parade himself Jesus is
not puffed up Jesus does not behave
rudely Jesus does not seek his own Jesus
is not provoked Jesus thinks no evil
Jesus does not rejoice in iniquity but
Jesus rejoices in the truth Jesus bears
all things Jesus believes all things
Jesus hopes all things and Jesus indoors
all things Jesus never fails can I get
an amen to that
mmm
that reads like hand-in-glove and that
is why Jesus is Savior and Lord and that
is why Jesus was an acceptable sacrifice
unto his father for my sins and for your
sins that is why I am more grateful
today than on the day that I got saved
to say that I believe in Jesus because
Jesus never fails and Jesus is so
patient he's so kind and Jesus doesn't
keep records of your wrongs and she
doesn't rejoice in iniquity but Jesus
rejoices in the truth and that is why
Jesus deserves our allegiance and our
loyalty the Bible says that we bow the
knee to Jesus we say Lord you are worthy
of my praise you are worthy of my life
and that is why Jesus laid down his life
for us because when it boils down to the
specifics of what true real love is
Jesus is rock solid and if you've never
put your faith and trust in Jesus why
would you not want to follow true love
why not I mean what would hold you back
from following true love I know it holds
us back the fact that true love
absolutely transforms our lives and for
many of us we don't want our lives to be
transferred we're nervous that certain
things that we like Jesus is gonna ask
us to step away from me you know what
I've learned that's exactly what he does
because certain things that we like are
not right certain things that we like
are not loving no I know
remember your homework now I want you to
put your name in there put your name in
this definition daniel suffers long and
how many guys ever seen my impatience at
work don't raise your hands just pray
for me you know is Emma right now though
they come on let's go do this thing
there's something to follow me right I
have all the reasons what Daniel is kind
and you haven't seen me before coffee in
the morning nothing funnier when I'm
making coffee if I if I ain't when I if
I see either Linda the kids and they're
like morning on my you know it's good to
see you now you put your name in I mean
some of you are incredibly patient and
some of you are incredibly kind so maybe
you make it through the first two
characteristics but by the time you read
the list you realize that all of us fall
short of this standard these this
specific definition and my friends
that's the point that's the point of the
gospel the point of the gospel is that
when true love is the standard when pure
self sacrificial life-giving love with
no expectation of anything in return is
the standard all of us fall short in
some way how do you ever kept records of
wrongs for someone you love like they
got something wrong and you're not gonna
let them live it down right it like is
it no yeah no guy will move past that I
know I get I could work this one for
hours you know what I mean because we
all have that but then it says love
doesn't keep records of wrongs how many
times have we behaved rudely just didn't
respond the right way see Jesus's love
is specific and God is interested in
transforming us from our failed attempts
at love to become more and more
conformed to his love and that's why the
fruit of the Spirit is love because the
spirit of god as he dwells in the life
of a believer begins to cultivate an
environment
where the love of God is the first
response but it's not there naturally
it's because of the the presence of the
Holy Spirit in our lives and that's why
believing in Jesus when we put our faith
and trust in him we are justified which
means we were guilty but now we're not
guilty we were outside of God's family
and now we're inside God's family and at
the moment a person puts their faith and
trust in Jesus then the Spirit of God
takes up residence in their life and
begins to change the entire environment
internally in a person because of the
spirits presence and now all of a sudden
these shoots of fruit of love starts to
boil up in our lives no sermon on love
is gonna make us love as Jesus loved
only the Spirit of God who came because
of Jesus's love we'll do that and if
you've never put your faith and trust in
Jesus wrongly give you an opportunity to
do it by the end of this gathering and
listen I want to tell you you should run
into the arms of Jesus because the the
love that you deeply longed for will
never be found in a person who you're
attracted to or or this thing that
you've always wanted a like when I get
that then I'll really know love know
it's in Jesus it's in Jesus and listen
to what it says Paul ends great Romans
chapter 8 verses 37 to 39 this way
getting all these things we are more
than conquerors through him who loved us
for I am convinced that neither death
nor life nor Angels nor principalities
nor powers or things present nor things
to come nor height nor depth nor any
other created thing can separate us from
the love of God that is in Christ Jesus
our Lord amen
what that means what that means is that
God no matter what happens nothing can
sever you from the love of God because
through the finished work of Jesus you
are umbilical II connected to his love
nothing can separate you no angel no
demon nor height nor death nothing in
the past nothing in the present nothing
in the future nothing can separate you
from God's love because no one can pull
you out of his hand and that is the good
news of the gospel my friends
that's the best news ever you know when
when love starts to reach a person's
heart all of a sudden their life changes
they become obsessed with this love
they're always say they're Facebook
stalking people and you know and their
wait look at their phone as the text
coming in it's the text coming in and
you're you're waiting for the next thing
and that's the way we should be with
Jesus amen we're we're just so
enraptured by this love that he has for
us this love that would cause him to lay
down his life for us but not only it's
love better not only is love specific
but look what it says answer says love
never fails but whether there are
prophecies they will fail and whether
there are tongues they will cease
whether there is knowledge it will
vanish away for we know in part and we
prophesy in part but when that which is
perfect is come that which is in part
will be done away with when I was a
child I spoke as a child verse 11 I
understood as a child and I thought of
the child but when I became a man I put
away childish things for now we see in a
mirror dimly and then face to face now I
know in part and then I shall know just
as I am known what this teaches us is
that love is eternal see all these other
things that are listed here they're all
good things but none of them are eternal
things see he already used ideas of
spiritual giftings tongues all these
things in verses 1 & 2 and then he comes
back to him whether there are prophecies
they will fail whether there are tongues
they will cease knowledge it's gonna
vanish away now before I move on this
because some pastors want to take these
verses to mean that the gifts of the
Spirit don't work today my friends that
is not what this means at all don't look
like and these are people who like some
of the pastors who espouse this view
they love God they love the Bible
they're very serious about the Bible but
it completely misses the point of what
this is talking about what is saying is
that prophecies are for here and now
tongues are for here and now no this is
for here and now and there's a time when
that stuff's not going to be necessary
because when Jesus returns when we know
as we are known then all the
we'll be is the love of God that agape
of God and all these other things like
it's not like we're gonna be having
afterglow sessions in heaven with the
Lord
we're all gonna be waiting around for
like holes isn't that glory that you
know that that time this got spoken it's
like they we're gonna be the presence of
God in totality those things will cease
because God will be all in all these are
temporary measures for this side of
eternity but really what this is saying
its emphasizing once again
that God's love is the most important
thing and us walking into so that's why
I call the art of living as loving
because their each one of us walk away
today and say I want my experience of
God's love upward and he returning that
love to him I want to love God more I
want to experience more of God's life
and then because of God's love that he
loves me I want to learn how to love
myself more and if you say and I want to
learn how to love everybody else around
me more then to me this is the most
important message you'll ever hear the
book breaks open how to cultivate upward
inward and outward love I'm gonna be
over the next three weeks and be taking
one for upward one for inward one for
outward just to give you a little tease
at a taste of it but the beauty is as
paul links this love to maturity notice
what he says in these verses in verse 11
when I was to move back to verse 10 and
went and when that which is perfect has
come or that which is complete or fully
mature has come then that which is in
part will be done away when I was a
child I spoke as a child I understood as
a child I thought as a child but when I
became a man I put away childish things
now listen I love my kids but my kids
are childish and they're supposed to be
god bless them you know what I mean but
it's like like when I look at my little
Annabelle so she's three and I look at
Maranatha and she's nine I look at
Obadiah when he saw when they're being
childish I realize that that's a
temporary condition and I say thank you
Jesus
I said oh praise God like like
Annabelle's in that age right now where
she just wants to take everything out
and once she takes everything out her
purpose is done and no matter how much I
say an evil one you clean up all this
stuff why now I know some of you are
still in that stage where like your
that's your house looks like bomb hit
and that's how you live and that's
praise God but we're hoping that our
kids are gonna make their way out of
that thing because there's nothing worse
than when you step on a lego can I get a
Amen those of you don't have kids yeah
you wait till you step on your first set
of Legos we'll see how long suffering
you are I was gonna be the kind of dad
ever I stepped on a like you know I was
like oh is this a know somebody Sam but
you know that this child likeness is
childishness is temporary but we always
have to remember that God's love is
meant to be experienced for us like
children its first John chapter 3 verses
1 to 3 says behold what manner of love
the father has bestowed on us that we
should be called children of God
therefore the world does not know us
because it did not know him beloved now
we are children of God and it has not
yet been revealed what we shall be but
we know that when he is revealed we
shall be like him for we shall see him
as he is and everyone who has this hope
in him purifies himself just as he is
pure I love that verse what manner of
love the father has bestowed on us that
we should be called children of God and
then he says and the world does not yet
know what we're gonna be because it
hasn't reached its culmination yet
so so we learn here that love is better
than really good things love is specific
it's uniquely defined and that love is
eternal
that so many of the things that we have
a tendency to focus on right now are
temporary but we should focus on the
biggest ideas the most important thing
and then first Corinthians 13 ends with
the one of the most famous verses in the
Bible where it says and now abide faith
hope and love these three but the
greatest of these is love so we end with
this reality that love is the greatest
these Triplets of Christian piety face
hope and love but the greatest of these
is is love
think about how powerful that is for a
second I mean we know that faith is what
saves us the ability to trust God as we
move through it's essential to how we
make our decisions right you think of
the hope God has spoken of as God of all
hope
see it's the ability to look forward
into life with joy knowing that our
future is in the hands of God I mean
anything some of you right now your
faith is languishing because you're not
choosing to trust the faithful God
you're worried about tomorrow or you're
worried about your circumstances not
knowing that your father is good in
Jesus he's bestowed amazing love on you
and that you're his child and he's got
you hope being able to look down the
road of life I like to say hope H ope
having only positive expectations
does that mean that everything is gonna
go on exactly the way you think it's
gonna go on the future no it means that
no matter what goes on God's gonna be
with you because God is with you it's
good that's what hope is hope is being
able to live today hoping and knowing
tomorrow because God is God is gonna be
good and faith is essential and hope is
essential but love occupies that supreme
place god is love and reminds me of the
other most famous Bible verse next to
abide these three faith hope and love in
the greatest of these is love and that's
John 3:16 and for God so loved the world
that He gave His only begotten Son that
whoever would believe in him shall not
perish but shall have everlasting life
why did Jesus come because God so loved
the world Jesus came on a rescue mission
that is rooted in God's love and Jesus
knows that all of us every single one of
us have made mistakes all sorts make
some huge mistakes and other ones slight
mistakes some mistakes that we made
because we felt like being rebels and
other times because we didn't even know
that what we were doing is wrong God
knows that about us and he still says
I'm because of my love for you I'm gonna
take care of you because of my love for
you I'm gonna send my son who's gonna
live perfectly who's gonna win the
specific definition of love he's gonna
live it to the tee and because of that
he is gonna be a perfect spotless
sinless sacrifice who was worthy to be
sacrificed on the cross in accordance
with all of the Jewish sacrificial
system to conquer sin once for all
see the reason the art of living is
loving for you and for me is because God
loves you because God is love and God
wants us to learn how to walk in that
love and the only way a person can truly
experience the love of God is by putting
their faith in Jesus and I believe that
there are many of you who are here today
you've never said yes to Jesus before
and you're hearing this message and
you're saying I want to know that love
you're saying yourself I want to walk in
love and I want to learn this art of
loving upward inward and outward I want
my life not just to have the right
ingredients but I want my life to be
extraordinary because it is filled with
the amazing incomprehensible love of God
and I'm gonna give you an opportunity to
say yes to Jesus in just a moment but
listen for those of you who are already
followers of Jesus listen to me God
wants us to love more radically more
reckless recklessly and more profoundly
than we ever had as the world continues
on its course it's so easy for us not to
respond with love but to respond with
anger and frustration but that is not
what God has done when the world was
lost God sent his son because of God's
great love so that anyone who would
believe in him would come back Christian
brother Christian sister my family
listen we need to love now more than we
ever have we need to love more
passionately and recklessly than we ever
have not with the some summer some not
defined love but with this specific love
this agape this love that God has for us
and I pray that we would all say Lord
will you grow expand my heart that I
might receive more of your love and
return to you living upward and that
because of your love that I would love
myself through the lens of the cross of
Jesus Christ I might really love myself
that I might love my neighbor everybody
the world needs this today
and I believe God by his spirit is
driving us to love can I get an amen
let's bow our heads in our hearts as we
pray together
![1 Corinthians 13 - [Daily Bible Study]](https://img.youtube.com/vi/SqNeeQWzX4Y/mqdefault.jpg)
