Men's
Retreat Sunday Morning
April
15, 2018
Introduction
Do people see Jesus? Is the gospel
preached? Does it address the person who is: Empty, lonely, guilty, or afraid
to die? Does it speak to the broken hearted? Does it build up the church? Milk
– Meat – Manna Preach for a decision Is the church loved? Regular: 2900 words
Communion: 2500 words Video=75wpm
Illustration
A group of women were at a seminar on how to live in a loving relationship
with their husbands.
The women were asked, “How many of you love your husband?” All the women
raised their hands. Then they were asked, “When was the last time you told your
husband you loved him?” Some women answered ... “today,” a few ... “yesterday,”
and some ... “can’t remember.” The women were then told to take out their cell
phones and text their husband - “I love you sweetheart”
Next the women were instructed to exchange phones with one another and read
aloud the text message they received in response to their message.
Below are 12 of the replies. While
some see these as signs of couples who have been married awhile, I wonder if it
isn’t also a hint that we get confused about what “love” is all about. Here’s the replies …
~ Who IS this?
~ Eh, mother of my children, are you sick or what?
~ Yeah, and I love you too. What's wrong?
~ I don't understand what you mean?
~ What now? Did you wreck the car again?
~ Am I dreaming?
~ Don't beat about the bush, just tell me how much you need?
~ What did you do now?
~ If you don't tell me who this message is actually for, someone will die.
~ Your mother is coming to stay with us, isn't she?
I’d like to focus this morning on the Greatest Lover, and perhaps we can
learn a little about love from Him. From
God.
In my research, I tried to find every passage that uses the word “love” in
relationship to God loving His people. I
looked at over 500 passages, both in the Greek as well as in the Hebrew.
Words
The New Testament is written in Greek.
There are four different Greeks words for “love”, but only two of them find
their way into the New Testament.
The words sturge, “family love”,
and eros, “sexual love” are not in
the New Testament.
The main two words translated “love” are –
love – agapao – to love,
to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize and delight in a thing.
This is loved based on a choice to value, not based on feelings.
The noun form of this word is agape.
We usually associate think of this word as describing God’s kind of love.
(John
3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
love – phileo – to love;
to approve of; to like; to treat affectionately, to welcome, befriend
We might focus on this word as “like”, and carries an emotional component
with it.
One form of the word is often translated “kiss”.
While we tend to think of agapao
as “God’s kind of love”, and phileo
isn’t, that’s not quite right.
(John 16:27 NKJV) for the
Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I
came forth from God.
Both words for “love” are phileo.
God doesn’t just have agape
for you, He has phileo.
If you “like” Jesus, then God “likes” you.
He doesn’t just love you, He even likes you.
The Old Testament is written in Hebrew.
I found five different words that are translated “love”, but the main one
is –
love – ‘ahab – love
Forms of this word are used over 250 times in the Old Testament.
It is used to describe anything from human love for an object or another
human; sexual desire; to God’s love to His people.
It’s kind of like our word “love”.
(Deuteronomy 7:7–8
NLT) —7 “The Lord did not set
his heart on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other
nations, for you were the smallest of all nations! 8 Rather, it
was simply that the Lord loves
you, and he was keeping the oath he had sworn to your ancestors. That is why
the Lord rescued you with such a
strong hand from your slavery and from the oppressive hand of Pharaoh, king of
Egypt.
Because we are so used to hearing about love from the New Testament end, I
thought I’d explore what God’s love looks like from the Old Testament. We’re exploring the word ‘ahab.
Just a side note –
Around 200 BC, a group of seventy scholars translated the Hebrew Old
Testament into Greek.
I did a quick check, and for the most part the word ‘ahab is translated with the Greek word agapao.
God’s Love
Undeserved
(Hosea 3:1 NKJV) Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a
woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the
love of the Lord for the children
of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the
pagans.”
The book of Hosea is one of the Old Testament books that uses the word
“love” (‘ahab) a lot.
Hosea was commanded by God to marry a gal who was a prostitute.
She left her job, married Hosea, and they started to raise a family.
Then she went back to work.
God told Hosea to go find her and take her back just like He takes us back.
God’s love is just like what he was asking Hosea to do.
God’s love is undeserved.
We see an example of this in the life of David.
We think of David as being a good guy, but he was also an adulterer. He committed adultery with another man’s
wife. Then he killed the other man. Then he married the woman.
You might think that any
child born to that marriage would be cursed.
Not so.
(2 Samuel 12:24–25
NKJV) —24 Then David comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay
with her. So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, 25 and He sent word
by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of
the Lord.
Jedidiah – Yediydeyah
– “beloved of Yahweh”
Related to the word dowd,
and yediyd, “beloved”, which is also
the root of the name “David”
I think you could make the case that God’s love for
Solomon as the son of David and Bathsheba was undeserved.
What about your life?
Are there things you’ve done that make you feel like you don’t deserve
God’s love?
You’re probably right about your assessment. You and I don’t deserve God’s love.
Yet Paul wrote,
(Romans
5:8 NKJV) But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were
still sinners, Christ died for us.
Enduring
There is a sense in the Old
Testament in which God is “married” to the nation of Israel, just as the church
is the “bride” of Christ.
You can also find the concept that
God “divorced” Israel.
(Isaiah 50:1 NKJV) Thus says
the Lord: “Where is the certificate of your mother’s divorce, Whom I have put away? Or which
of My creditors is it to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves, And for your transgressions your mother has been put away.
But it wasn’t permanent. God is not done with Israel. Paul wrote,
(Romans 11:1 NKJV) I say
then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite,
of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.
God’s love doesn’t end – it’s “everlasting”
(Jeremiah 31:3
NKJV) The Lord has appeared
of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore
with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
everlasting – ‘olam
– long duration, for ever, ever, everlasting, evermore, perpetual
lovingkindness – checed
– goodness, kindness, faithfulness
Paul wrote …
(Romans 8:38–39
NKJV) —38 For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor
principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height
nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Illustration
The Crooked Smile
A doctor writes…
As we rolled five-year-old Mary into the MRI room, I tried to imagine what
she must be feeling. She had suffered a stroke that left half of her body
paralyzed, had been hospitalized for treatment of a brain tumor, and had
recently lost her father, her mother and her home. We all wondered how Mary
would react.
She went into the MRI machine without the slightest protest, and we began
the exam. At that time, each imaging sequence required the patient to remain
perfectly still for about five minutes. This would have been difficult for
anyone - and certainly for a five-year-old who had suffered so much. We were
taking an image of her head, so any movement of her face, including talking,
would result in image distortion.
About two minutes into the first sequence, we noticed on the video monitor
that Mary’s mouth was moving. We even heard a muted voice over the intercom. We
halted the exam and gently reminded Mary not to talk. She was smiling and
promised not to talk.
We reset the machine and started over. Once again we saw her facial
movement and heard her voice faintly. What she was saying wasn’t clear.
Everyone was becoming a little impatient, with a busy schedule that had been
put on hold to perform an emergency MRI on Mary.
We went back in and slid Mary out of the machine. Once again, she looked at
us with her crooked smile and wasn’t upset in the least. The technologist,
perhaps a bit gruffly, said, “Mary, you were talking again, and that causes
blurry pictures.”
Mary’s smile remained as she replied, “I wasn’t talking. I was singing. You
said no talking.” We looked at each other, feeling a little silly.
“What were you singing?” someone asked.
“Jesus Loves Me,” came the barely perceptible reply. “I always sing ‘Jesus
Loves Me’ when I’m happy.”
Everyone in the room was speechless. “Happy? How could this little girl be
happy?” The technologist and I had to leave the room for a moment to regain our
composure as tears began to fall.
She knew Jesus loved her no matter what.By James C Brown, M.D.
from A 5th Portion of
Chicken Soup for the Soul
Copyright 1998 by Jack Canfield and
Mark Victor Hansen
When I’m not experiencing the love of God in my circumstances, the problem
isn’t God’s fault.
The problem is in my receiving the truth.
Boundaries
Because I am undeserving of God’s love, and because He will keep loving me,
does this mean He doesn’t care if I go astray and do stupid things?
(Proverbs 3:11–12
NKJV) —11 My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; 12 For whom the
Lord loves He corrects, Just as a
father the son in whom he delights.
God’s undeserved love for us doesn’t mean that He is unconcerned about the
direction of our lives, or that He doesn’t mind that we go astray.
He wants us to learn to walk in His ways and not the ways of the world.
He will at times allow things into our lives to “correct” us.
This passage is quoted in the New Testament as well.
(Hebrews 12:6 NKJV)
For whom the Lord
loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.”
Here the Greek word is agapao,
God’s choice to value us.
A parallel passage is:
(Revelation 3:19
NKJV) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and
repent.
Here it’s phileo. God will rebuke and chasten us because He likes us.
Sometimes it doesn’t feel good to be rebuked by the Lord, but it’s a sign
that He loves me.
Sacrifice
We’ve already took a peek at Hosea and the “undeserving love” he had for
his wife … a picture of the undeserving love God has for us. But there was a little more to that passage…
(Hosea 3:1–2 NLT)
—1 Then the Lord said to
me, “Go and love your wife again, even though she commits adultery with another
lover. This will illustrate that the Lord
still loves Israel, even though the people have turned to other gods and love
to worship them.” 2 So I bought her back for fifteen pieces of silver and five bushels
of barley and a measure of wine.
Hosea had to spend money to purchase his wife. God too has to “spend”. His love for us costs Him something.
He redeems us through sacrifice.
Abraham had a glimpse into the Father’s heart, though I’m not sure he fully
understood it.
Abraham had long desired to have a child, and one day God gave him his
promised son, Isaac.
When Isaac was a young man, Abraham was asked by God to take his son up to
Mount Moriah and give him up as a sacrifice.
When Isaac wondered what was going on,
(Genesis 22:8 AV) And Abraham
said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they
went both of them together.
God stopped Abraham from actually sacrificing his son, and did provide a
ram caught in a bush to be a sacrifice.
Abraham was painting a picture when one day God would watch His only begotten
Son be a sacrifice – to redeem us.
One of the chief character traits of God’s kind of love is sacrifice.
(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so
loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in
Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
God loved the world so much He did the unthinkable – sacrificing His only
Son for us.
John wrote,
(1 John 3:16 NKJV) By this we
know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren.
When we know God’s love, then we know how to love others.
Undeserved – unconditionally
Enduring – commitment that doesn’t change
Boundaries – there are limits, we may need to speak up at times.
Sacrifice –laying down our lives for each other.
Let me challenge you a moment to examine your relationship with God.
Is it based on His love for you, or your fear of His judgment?
Is this how you live your life? Is
God the big cop looking over your shoulder?
Even obedience to God ought to come from our love for Him.
(John 14:15 NKJV) “If you love
Me, keep My commandments.
How can we love God so much that it translates into obedience?
(1 John 4:19 NKJV) We love Him
because He first loved us.
We learn how to love by learning to let God fully love us.
Learning Love
Jesus said the mark of the Christian was to be “love”.
(John 13:34–35
NKJV) —34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I
have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are
My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
In reality, this isn’t that easy.
Some people are just really hard to love.
Illustration
While on a road trip, an elderly couple stopped at a roadside restaurant
for lunch. After finishing their meal, they left the restaurant and resumed
their trip. When leaving, the elderly woman unknowingly left her glasses on the
table and she didn’t miss them until they had been driving about twenty
minutes.
By then, to add to the aggravation, they had to travel quite a distance
before they could find a place to turn around in order to return to the
restaurant to retrieve her glasses. All the way back, the elderly husband
became the classic grouchy old man. He fussed and complained and scolded his
wife relentlessly during the entire return drive. The more he chided her the
more agitated he became. He just wouldn’t let up one minute.
To her relief, they finally arrived at the restaurant. As the woman got out
of the car and hurried inside to retrieve her glasses, the old geezer yelled to
her, “While you’re in there, you might as well get my hat and credit card.”
I think we’re going to have a difficult time understanding how to love
others until we know what it is to be loved by God.
One of the keys to knowing God’s love is facing our own sin and finding the
grace and forgiveness of God.
Jesus was having dinner at the house of a legalistic Pharisee named
Simon. While they were eating, a woman
came in whom everyone knew was a notorious sinner. She began weeping at Jesus’ feet, wiping her
tears with her hair, and anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume. The Pharisee was incensed that Jesus would
have anything to do with a sinner like that.
So Jesus told a story.
(Luke 7:41–47 NKJV)
—41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five
hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave
them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon
answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said
to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this
woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has
washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me
no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came
in. 46 You did not
anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.
47 Therefore I
say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much.
But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”
The lesson here isn’t that you need to sin a lot in order to feel greatly
loved by God.
The real lesson is about how in touch you are with your own need for
forgiveness.
The sinner woman was desperate for forgiveness, while
Simon the Pharisee was blind to his own need.
The other day a friend (Tony Mannara) shared a nugget he heard on the
radio:
“You can’t be fully loved unless you’re fully known”
An important step in experiencing the full love that God has for me is to
stop hiding things from God and make a point of exposing my entire life to God.
He already sees it all, but when I think I can hide it
from Him, I also keep myself from experiencing His full love.
Don’t hide from God.
Don’t hide your sin.
Don’t hide your need.
Don’t hide your weakness.
Just let Him love you.
Being loved by God is connected to understanding just what Jesus did on the
cross.
(1 John 3:16 NKJV) By this we
know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren.
Why did Jesus lay down His life for us?
Because we needed forgiveness. We are sinners.
(Isaiah
53:5 NKJV) But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for
our iniquities; The
chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.
Do you realize that as Jesus was hanging on the cross, God
was heaping our sins upon His son?
My sins. Your sins.
(1 John 4:10–11
NLT) —10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and
sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear
friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other.
The New Testament writer that talks the most about “love” (agapao) is … John.
It’s not even close. He’s the “love
disciple”.
Matthew uses “love” 13 times
Mark uses “love” 6 times
Luke uses “love” 15 times
The Gospel of John uses “love” 57 times, more than all the other gospel
writers combined.
The epistle that uses “love” more than any other epistle is the short, five
chapters of 1John (46 times)
That makes sense since he calls himself, “the disciple Jesus loved” (John
13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7; 21:20)
(John 21:20 NKJV) Then
Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also
had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who
betrays You?”
I wonder if the reason he calls himself the one Jesus loved because he saw
with his own eyes what Jesus did for him.
John was in fact the only disciple that was actually there at the
crucifixion.
The testimony of the early church fathers was that in his later years, John
would lay on a pallet and simply repeat over and over to the church in Ephesus,
“Children, love one another”.
John knew what it was to be loved
by God.
John was there that night when
Jesus said,
(John 15:13 NKJV) Greater
love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.
John knew Jesus
loved Him because He was there when Jesus showed His great love for him.
As we watch this video, I’d like to have you stop and think a minute about
the things that make you think that God couldn’t love you.
Think about your sin.
Think about your weakness.
These are the things that Jesus died for.
This is why He did this.
He did it because He loves us.
Here’s my prayer for you…
(Ephesians 3:16–19
NLT) —16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower
you with inner strength through his Spirit. 17 Then Christ will make his home in
your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and
keep you strong. 18
And
may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how
long, how high, and how deep his love is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to
understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life
and power that comes from God.
Extra stuff
Words
Old Testament
love – ‘ahabah – love
Forms of this word are used 261
times in the Old Testament.
It is used to describe anything
from human love for an object; love of one human for another; man’s love for
himself; sexual desire; to God’s love to His people.
(Jeremiah 31:3 NKJV) The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying: “Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you.
God’s love doesn’t end – it’s
“everlasting”
everlasting – ‘olam
– long duration, antiquity, futurity, for ever, ever, everlasting,
evermore, perpetual
lovingkindness – checed
– goodness, kindness, faithfulness
(Deuteronomy 7:8 NKJV) but because
the Lord loves you, and because
He would keep the oath which He swore to your fathers, the Lord has brought you out with a mighty
hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the hand of Pharaoh king
of Egypt.
(Hosea 3:1 NKJV) Then the Lord said to me, “Go again, love a
woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the
love of the Lord for the children
of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the
pagans.”
God’s love is undeserved. It’s just like Hosea being asked to go and
take his wife back after she went back to work as a prostitute.
(Hosea 11:1 NKJV) “When
Israel was a child, I loved him, And out of
Egypt I called My son.
(Hosea 11:4 NKJV) I drew
them with gentle cords, With bands
of love, And I was to them as
those who take the yoke from their neck. I stooped and
fed them.
(Hosea 14:4 NKJV) “I will
heal their backsliding, I will
love them freely, For My anger has
turned away from him.
(Zechariah 13:6 NKJV) And one
will say to him, ‘What are these wounds between your arms?’ Then he will
answer, ‘Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.’
“Friends” are those who are
“loved”.
God understands what it is to love
and be betrayed.
(Malachi 1:2–3 NKJV) —2 “I have
loved you,” says the Lord. “Yet you say, ‘In what way have You loved us?’ Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” Says the Lord. “Yet Jacob I have loved; 3 But Esau I
have hated, And laid waste his
mountains and his heritage For the
jackals of the wilderness.”
love – ‘ahab
– (the verb) to like, to love, to flirt, to endear
(Leviticus 19:18 NKJV) You shall
not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people,
but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
(Deuteronomy 4:37 NKJV) And
because He loved your fathers, therefore He chose their descendants after them;
and He brought you out of Egypt with His Presence, with His mighty power,
(Deuteronomy 6:5 NKJV) You shall
love the Lord your God with all
your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.
(Deuteronomy 7:12–13 NKJV) —12 “Then
it shall come to pass, because you listen to these judgments, and keep and do
them, that the Lord your God will
keep with you the covenant and the mercy which He swore to your fathers. 13 And He will love you and bless you and multiply you; He will also
bless the fruit of your womb and the fruit of your land, your grain and your
new wine and your oil, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your
flock, in the land of which He swore to your fathers to give you.
(Deuteronomy 10:15 NKJV) The Lord delighted only in your fathers, to
love them; and He chose their descendants after them, you above all peoples, as
it is this day.
(Deuteronomy 10:18–19 NKJV) —18 He
administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger,
giving him food and clothing. 19 Therefore
love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt.
(Deuteronomy 23:5 NKJV) Nevertheless
the Lord your God would not
listen to Balaam, but the Lord
your God turned the curse into a blessing for you, because the Lord your God loves you.
(2 Samuel 12:24–25 NKJV) —24 Then David
comforted Bathsheba his wife, and went in to her and lay with her. So she bore
a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, 25 and He
sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name
Jedidiah, because of the Lord.
Jedidiah – Yediydeyah
– “beloved of Yahweh”
Related to the word dowd, and yediyd, “beloved”, which is also the root of the name “David”
Undeserved love. This is the son of David and Bathsheba.
(1 Kings 10:9 NKJV) Blessed be
the Lord your God, who delighted
in you, setting you on the throne of Israel! Because the Lord has loved Israel forever,
therefore He made you king, to do justice and righteousness.”
(Psalm 146:8 NKJV) The Lord opens the eyes of the
blind; The Lord
raises those who are bowed down; The Lord loves the righteous.
(Proverbs 3:11–12 NKJV) —11 My son, do
not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor detest His correction; 12 For whom
the Lord loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.
Love has boundaries.
Love will be involved with
correction when it’s appropriate.
Love doesn’t mean turning a back when
a loved one strays.
(Isaiah 41:8 NKJV) “But you,
Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom
I have chosen, The descendants of
Abraham My friend.
love – chashaq
– to love, be attached to, long for
Translated “love” 3 times in OT
(Deuteronomy 7:7–8 NKJV) —7 The Lord did not set His love on you nor
choose you because you were more in number than any other people, for you were
the least of all peoples; 8 but
because the Lord loves (ahabah) you, and because He would keep the oath which He swore to your
fathers, the Lord has brought you
out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you from the house of bondage, from the
hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.
(Psalm 91:14 NKJV) “Because
he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name.
love – chabab
– to love fervently, cherish
Used once.
(Deuteronomy 33:3 NKJV) Yes, He
loves the people; All His saints are
in Your hand; They sit down at Your
feet; Everyone receives Your words.
love – dowd
– beloved, love, uncle
(Ezekiel 16:8 NKJV) “When I
passed by you again and looked upon you, indeed your time was the time
of love; so I spread My wing over you and covered your nakedness. Yes, I swore
an oath to you and entered into a covenant with you, and you became Mine,” says
the Lord God.
Yahweh’s love for Israel – taking
His bride.
New Testament
love – agapao
– to love, to feel and exhibit esteem and goodwill to a person, to prize
and delight in a thing.
This is loved based on a choice to
value, not based on feelings.
(Matthew 22:37–38 NKJV) —37 Jesus said
to him, “ ‘You shall love the Lord
your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment.
(Luke 6:35 NKJV) But love your enemies,
do good, and lend, hoping for nothing in return; and your reward will be great,
and you will be sons of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and
evil.
(John 3:16 NKJV) For God so loved the
world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life.
God’s love is demonstrated by His
giving
(John 13:34–35 NKJV) —34 A new
commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that
you also love one another. 35 By this
all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
This is the only way we can love,
by letting God love us.
(John 15:12 NKJV) This is My
commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
(John 14:21 NKJV) He who has
My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will
be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
(John 14:23 NKJV) Jesus
answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My
Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.
(John 15:9 NKJV) “As the Father loved
Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
(Romans 5:8 NKJV) But God
demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners,
Christ died for us.
(Romans 8:35 NKJV) Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
(Romans 8:38–39 NKJV) —38 For I am
persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor
powers, nor things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able
to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(1 Corinthians 13:1–8 NKJV) —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. 2 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. 3 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. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love
does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not
behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures
all things. 8 Love never fails. But
whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are
tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish
away.
(2 Corinthians 9:7 NKJV) So let
each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of
necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
Why does God love a cheerful
giver? Because they are learning to love
and give like He does.
(Ephesians 2:4–7 NKJV) —4 But God,
who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with
Christ (by grace you have been saved), 6 and raised
us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places
in Christ Jesus, 7 that in the ages to
come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us
in Christ Jesus.
(Ephesians 3:17–19 NKJV) —17 that
Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and
grounded in love, 18 may be
able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and
depth and height—19 to know the love of
Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of
God.
(Ephesians 5:25–28 NKJV) —25 Husbands, love your
wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, 26 that He might sanctify and cleanse her
with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not
having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and
without blemish. 28 So husbands ought to
love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.
(1 Thessalonians 4:9 NKJV) But
concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you
yourselves are taught by God to love one another;
We can have true brotherly love (philadelphia) because we are taught by
God to love (agapao) one another.
Phileo can flow from Agapao
(Hebrews 12:6 NKJV) For whom the Lord
loves He chastens, And
scourges every son whom He receives.”
Here it’s agapao
(1 John 3:1 NKJV) 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.
(1 John 3:16 NKJV) By this we
know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our
lives for the brethren.
(1 John 4:7–8 NKJV) —7 Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of
God and knows God. 8 He who
does not love does not know God, for God is love.
(1 John 4:10–11 NKJV) —10 In this is
love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be
the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved,
if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
(1 John 4:19 NKJV) We love Him because He
first loved us.
love – phileo
– to love; to approve of; to like; to treat affectionately or kindly, to
welcome, befriend
(John 5:20 NKJV) For the Father loves
the Son, and shows Him all things that He Himself does; and He will show Him
greater works than these, that you may marvel.
(John 16:27 NKJV) for the
Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me, and have believed that I
came forth from God.
God doesn’t just have agape for you, He has phileo.
He doesn’t just love you, He even likes you.
(Revelation 3:19 NKJV) As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and
repent.
Here it’s phileo
Illustrations
Illustration
A wife, being the romantic sort,
sent her husband a text: “If you are sleeping, send me your dreams. If you are
laughing, send me your smile. If you are eating, send me a bite. If you are
drinking send me a sip. If you are crying, send me your tears. I love you! The
husband, typical non-romantic, replied, “I am on the commode. Please advise.”
Illustration
Winston Churchill once attended a
formal banquet in London. A number of dignitaries and celebrities were present.
The question was asked, “If you could not be who you are, who would you like to
be?”
Everyone was curious as to what
Churchill would say. When it was his turn the old man stood to his feet and
gave a classic answer. “If I could not be who I am, I would most like to be”
here he paused to take his wife’s hand “Lady Churchill’s second husband.”
Just like Winston and his wife, God
is stuck on you.
Illustration
Heather and Marcy hadn’t seen each
other in a while, so they decided to meet for lunch. The talk naturally got
around to their respective love lives. Marcy confided that there really wasn’t
anyone special in her life. Heather, on the other hand, was beaming about the
new man she had found. “He’s perfect. He’s handsome, and last night when we
went out to dinner, he said the four little words I’ve been waiting to hear a
man say to me!” “He said, ‘Will you marry me?’” Marcy asked. Heather replied,
“No, he said, ‘Put your money away.’”
Illustration
The Husband Store
A store that sells husbands has
just opened in New York City , where a woman may go to choose a husband. Among
the instructions at the entrance is a description of how the store operates.
You may visit the store ONLY ONCE! There are six floors and the attributes of
the men increase as the shopper ascends the flights. There is, however, a catch
. . .. you may choose any man from a particular floor, or you may choose to go
up a floor, but you cannot go back down except to exit the building!
So, a woman goes to the Husband
Store to find a husband . On the first floor the sign on the door reads:
Floor 1 - These men have jobs and
love the Lord.
The second floor sign reads: Floor
2 - These men have jobs, love the Lord, and love kids.
The third floor sign reads: Floor 3
- These men have jobs, love the Lord, love kids, and are extremely good
looking.
“Wow”, she thinks, but feels
compelled to keep going. She goes to the fourth floor and sign reads:
Floor 4 - These men have jobs, love
the Lord, love kids, are drop-dead good looking and help with the housework!!
Oh, mercy me!” she exclaims, “I can
hardly stand it!” Still, she goes to the fifth floor and sign reads:
Floor 5 - These men have jobs, love
the Lord, love kids, are drop- dead gorgeous, help with the housework, and have
a strong romantic streak.
She is so tempted to stay, but she
goes to the sixth floor and the sign reads:
Floor 6 - You are visitor 6,763,677
to this floor. There are no men on this floor. This floor exists solely as
proof that women are impossible to please! Thank you for shopping at the
Husband Store. Watch your step as you exit the building, and have a nice day
Illustration
A man asked his wife what she’d
like for her birthday. “I’d love to be six again,” she replied. On the morning
of her birthday, he got her up bright and early and off they went to a local
theme park. What a day! He put her on every ride in the park: the Death Slide,
the Screaming Loop, the Wall of Fear—everything there was! Wow! Five hours
later she staggered out of the theme park, her head reeling and her stomach
upside down. Right to McDonald’s they went, where her husband ordered her a Big
Mac along with extra fries and a refreshing chocolate shake. Then it was off to
a movie - the latest Star Wars epic, and hot dogs, popcorn, Pepsi Cola, and
M&Ms. What a fabulous adventure! Finally she wobbled home with her husband
and collapsed into bed. He leaned over and lovingly asked, “Well, dear, what
was it like being six again?” One eye opened. “You idiot, I meant my dress
size!”
Illustration
A man goes on a 2-month business
trip to Europe and leaves his cat with his brother. Three days before his
return he calls his brother.
Brother 1: So how is my cat doing?
Brother 2: He's dead.
Brother 1: He's dead! What do you
mean he's dead?! I loved that cat. Couldn't you think of a nicer way to tell
me?! I'm leaving in 3 days. You could of broke the news easier. You could of
told me today that she got out of the house or something. Then when I called
before I left you could of told me we found her but she is up on the roof and
we're having trouble getting her down. Then when I called you from the airport
you could of told me that the fire department was there and scared her off the
roof and the cat died when it hit the ground.
Brother 2: I'm sorry...you're right...that
was insensitive I won't let it happen again.
Brother 1: Alright, alright, forget
about it. Anyway, how is Mom doing?
Brother 2: She's up on the roof and
we're having trouble getting her down.
Illustration
Three handsome male dogs are
walking down the street when they see a beautiful, enticing, female Poodle. The
three male dogs fall all over themselves in an effort to be the one to reach
her first, but end up arriving in front of her at the same time. The males are
speechless before her beauty, slobbering on themselves and hoping for just a
glance from her in return. Aware of her charms and her obvious effect on the
three suitors, she decides to be kind and tells them “The first one who can use
the words “liver” and “cheese” together in an imaginative, intelligent sentence
can go out with me.” The sturdy, muscular black Lab speaks up quickly and says
“I love liver and cheese.” “Oh, how childish,” said the Poodle. “That shows no
imagination or intelligence whatsoever.” She turned to the tall, shiny Golden
Retriever and said “How well can you do?” “Um, I HATE liver and cheese,” blurts
the Golden Retriever. “My, my,” said the Poodle. “I guess it’s hopeless. That’s
just as dumb as the Lab’s sentence.” She then turns to the last of the three
dogs and says, “How about you, little guy?” The last of the three, tiny in
stature but big in fame and finesse, is the Taco Bell Chihuahua. He gives her a
smile, a sly wink, turns to the Golden Retriever and the Lab and
says........... “Liver alone. Cheese mine.”
Illustration
A man was dining in a fancy
restaurant and there was a lady sitting at the next table. He had been admiring
her since he sat down, but lacked the nerve to talk with her. Suddenly she
sneezed and her glass eye came flying out of its socket towards him. He
reflectively reached out and grabbed it out of the air, and handed it back to
her. “Oh my, I am so sorry,” the woman said as she popped her eye back in
place. “Let me buy your dinner to make it up to you.” They enjoyed a wonderful
dinner together, and afterwards the woman invited him to the theater. After
paying for everything, she asked him if he would like to come for breakfast the
next morning. The next morning, she cooked a gourmet meal with all the
trimmings. The guy is amazed!! Everything has been incredible! “You know,” he
said “you are the perfect woman. Are you this nice to every guy you meet?” “No”
she replies ....... “You just happened to catch my eye.”
Illustration
I think we could learn more from
our kids than we think ...
WHAT IS THE PROPER AGE TO GET
MARRIED??
“Eighty-four! Because at that age, you don’t have to work
anymore, and you can spend all your time loving each other in your bedroom.”
(Judy, 8)
“Once I’m done with kindergarten,
I’m going to find me a wife!” (Tom, 5)
WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE??
“On the first date, they just tell
each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for the
second date.” (Mike, 10)
WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE??
“You should never kiss a girl
unless you have enough bucks to buy her a big ring and her own VCR, ‘cause
she’ll want to have videos of the wedding.” (Jim, 10)
“Never kiss in front of other
people. It’s a big embarrassing thing if
anybody sees you. But if nobody sees
you, I might be willing to try it with a handsome boy, but just for a few
hours.” (Kelly, 9)
THE GREAT DEBATE: IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED??
“It’s better for girls to be single
but not for boys. Boys need somebody to
clean up after them!” (Lynette, 9)
“It gives me a headache to think
about that stuff. I’m just a kid. I don’t need that kind of trouble.” (Kenny,
7)
CONCERNING WHY LOVE HAPPENS BETWEEN
TWO PARTICULAR PEOPLE
“No one is sure why it happens, but
I heard it has something to do with how you smell. That’s why perfume and deodorant are so
popular.” (Jan, 9)
“I think you’re supposed to get
shot with an arrow or something, but the rest of it isn’t supposed to be so
painful.” (Harlen, 8)
ON WHAT FALLING IN LOVE IS LIKE
“Like an avalanche where you have
to run for your life.” (Roger, 9)
“If falling in love is anything
like learning how to spell, I don’t want to do it. It takes too long.” (Leo, 7)
ON THE ROLE OF GOOD LOOKS IN LOVE
“If you want to be loved by
somebody who isn’t already in your family, it doesn’t hurt to be beautiful.”
(Jeanne, 8)
“It isn’t always just how you
look. Look at me. I’m handsome like anything and I haven’t got
anybody to marry me yet.” (Gary, 7)
“Beauty is skin deep. But how rich you are can last a long time.”
(Christine, 9)
CONCERNING WHY LOVERS OFTEN HOLD HANDS
“They want to make sure their rings
don’t fall off because they paid good money for them.” (Dave, 8)
CONFIDENTIAL OPINIONS ABOUT LOVE
“I’m in favor of love as long as it
doesn’t happen when ‘The Simpsons’ is on television.” (Anita, 6)
“Love will find you, even if you
are trying to hide from it. I have been
trying to hide from it since I was five, but the girls keep finding me.”
(Bobby, 8)
“I’m not rushing into being in
love. I’m finding fourth grade hard enough.” (Regina, 10)
THE PERSONAL QUALITIES NECESSARY TO
BE A GOOD LOVER
“One of you should know how to
write a check. Because, even if you have
tons of love, there is still going to be a lot of bills.” (Ava, 8)
SOME SUREFIRE WAYS TO MAKE A PERSON
FALL IN LOVE WITH YOU
“Tell them that you own a whole bunch
of candy stores.” (Del, 6)
“Don’t do things like have smelly,
green sneakers. You might get attention,
but attention ain’t the same thing as love.” (Alonzo, 9)
“One way is to take the girl out to
eat. Make sure it’s something she likes
to eat. French fries usually works for
me.” (Bart, 9)
HOW CAN YOU TELL IF TWO ADULTS
EATING DINNER AT A RESTAURANT ARE IN LOVE??
“Just see if the man picks up the
check. That’s how you can tell if he’s
in love.” (John, 9)
“Lovers will just be staring at
each other and their food will get cold. Other people care more about the
food.” (Brad, 8)
“It’s love if they order one of
those desserts that are on fire. They like to order those because it’s just
like how their hearts are...on fire.” (Christine, 9)
WHAT MOST PEOPLE ARE THINKING WHEN
THEY SAY “I LOVE YOU”
“The person is thinking: Yeah, I
really do love him. But I hope he showers at least once a day.” (Michelle, 9)
HOW A PERSON LEARNS TO KISS
“You learn it right on the spot
when the gooshy feelings get the best of you.” (Doug, 7)
WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE??
“It’s never okay to kiss a
boy. They always slobber all over
you...That’s why I stopped doing it.” (Jean, 10)
HOW TO MAKE LOVE ENDURE
“Spend most of your time loving
instead of going to work.” (Tom, 7)
“Don’t forget your wife’s
name...That will mess up the love.” (Roger, 8)
“Be a good kisser. It might make your wife forget that you never
take out the trash.” (Randy, 8)