recognizing, as I told a congregation
a few nights ago, that life is so short, the remaining
days that we have on this earth, and death is so certain, so certain. It's appointed unto men once
to die, and judgment is so sure after that judgment. And eternity,
eternity, oh, eternity. Somebody tried to describe eternity
one time. He said that if a little bird
would pick up a grain of sand off one of the beaches in Florida and take it to the moon and drop
it, and turn around and fly all the way back and get another
grain of sand, and take it to the moon and drop it, and fly
all the way back and get another grain of sand. When he had taken
all the sand off all the beaches in all the world and transferred
it to the moon, eternity would have just begun. You think about
that. We sing when we've been there
10,000 years, 10 million, million, million years. Eternity is ever
and always, and eternity is a long time. And when I think about eternity, when I think
about death and judgment and eternity, I want to be sure of
my relationship with Christ Jesus. I just do not want to take for
granted that which is all-important. What shall it profit a man if
he gain the whole world and lose his soul? I can't think of anything more
horrible. It just frightens me to even
consider it. of going through this life with
a religious profession, orthodoxy, activities, Bible studies, and
then to stand before the master and hear him say, I never knew
you, I never knew you. And I know we read that in the
Bible and we say, well, that means somebody else. Well, somebody
else said it means somebody else too. And that somebody else says
it means somebody else, but Christ said it means many, many. And I just cannot, I just cannot
take for granted that somewhere there is a place of rest between
presumption and despair. Terry Worgen said the other night,
he said, when I look within, I get depressed. When I look
at others, I get distressed. When I look at him, I find rest.
I could just look to him. Bonar once said, beloved, beloved,
let us love, for love is of God. In God alone, love has its true
abode. Beloved, let us love, for those
who love, they only are his sons, born from above. Beloved, let
us love, for love is rest, and he who loveth not remains unblessed. Beloved, let us love, In God's
love is light, and he that loveth not, whatever his profession,
dwells in the night. Beloved, let us love, for only
thus shall we ever behold that Lord who loveth us. You know, religion without love
for Christ Bill mentioned this in his prayer, loving Christ,
loving Christ, loving Christ. Religion without love for Christ
and others is like a human body without life. Everything's there
but the one important thing, life. It's offensive and it needs
to be buried from sight as quickly as possible. And religion without
love is offensive, and it needs to be taken out of sight. Religion
without love is like a contaminated well. The water's there, but
it's poison. And a sign should be worn, do
not drink this water. Do not drink this water. It will
kill. Religion without love is like
the kiss of Judas which hides the fatal sword. Religion without
love is a form of godliness which denies the power, is a cloak
of hypocrisy covering an unregenerate heart, is a house built on the
sand which shall fall, is a branch which bears no fruit, and must
be cast into the fire. Is a religion without Christ
having no hope and without God in this world? But brother man, don't you believe
in God? Oh, I do believe in God. I believe in God very strongly. I believe in God. I believe there's
one God, don't you? I don't think I've ever had a
conflict with that with that article of faith. I believe in
God. But yet, David said, the fool has said in his heart, no
God. Only a fool would say there's
no God. Is that right? Only a fool. And then James comes along and
says, thou believest this one God, thou doest well. The devil
believes there's one God and trembles. Well, I need to believe
God. But yet, in this matter of salvation,
there's something else that happens besides just believing there's
one God. Is that right? Evidently. Alright,
I believe man's a sinner. But yet, Esau believed he was
a sinner. And Judas came back and cast
the money on the temple floor and said, I've betrayed innocent
blood. And went out and hanged himself.
He was a despairing sinner. I believe that Jesus Christ is
the Son of God, and yet I want to show you two scriptures. Turn
to Matthew 8, 29. Now listen to this. Matthew 8,
29. Matthew 8, 29. And I'm not trying to discourage
anyone. I'm certainly not trying to discourage
myself, but I'm trying to examine my heart. I'm trying to find
the presence of Christ there, not just the doctrine of Christ.
You understand what I'm saying? Paul said, I travail to Christ
be formed in you. He said, Christ in you, that
is the hope of glory. And I want to find Christ in
me. I want to find Him, His presence, His power, His grace, and His
love. That's what I want to find. Not
just the doctrines of Christ, or the theology of Christ, or
the correct orthodoxy. I want to find Him. I want to
find a devotion to Him, an affection for Him, a separation to Him. I want to find such love for
Him that the love for this world is losing its glitter. Alright, listen to Matthew 8.
Matthew 8, 29. Now watch this. Well, let's start
with verse 28. Matthew 8, 28. And when he was
come to the other side into the country of the Gergesenes, there
met him two possessed with devils, coming out of the tombs, exceeding
fierce, so that no man might pass by that way. They cried
out. Who cried out? The devils cried
out. What have we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God? Here are the devils, Mike, confessing
that he's the Son of God. They knew that Jesus Christ was
the Son of God and confessed it. They said, Are you come hither
to torment us before the time? These demons believed in Christ's
sovereignty. and purpose. That's right. They
knew that he had earmarked a time for their destruction and they
said, have you come to get us before the time? Well, that's
belief in sovereignty, isn't it? And you're the son of God?
Right? Let's try Luke 4. Look at this.
Luke chapter 4. Luke chapter 4. I had an interesting
time looking at this message for tonight. Luke 4, verse 34. Let's start with 33. Luke 4, 33. Now what I'm saying
is I believe in one God. And I believe man's a sinner.
I'm a sinner. I can't justify any of my actions
or thoughts that have been against God. I believe Jesus Christ is
the Son of God. But listen to this. Luke 4, 33.
And in the synagogue there was a man which had a spirit of an
unclean devil. and cried out with a loud voice
saying, let us alone. Let us alone. What have we to
do with thee, thou Jesus of Nazareth? Art thou come to destroy us?
I know thee who thou art, the Holy One of God. Isn't that something? The Holy One of God. We say people
say, well, they confess that Jesus Christ, Son of God, He's
saved. Is He? No. Whosoever shall call upon
the name of the Lord shall be saved. Is He now? That's not
what took place there in those two scriptures. These demons
out of hell knew who He was and confessed, Thou art the Holy
One of Israel, Thou art the Son of God. And then I believe He was crucified
and rose again. In other words, I say this, that
through study and through searching the scriptures and through preparing
messages and studying other writers and listening to other preachers
and through the years of theological preparation and so forth, I can
systematically take this Bible, systematically and logically,
And I can arrive at truthful consequences and conclusions,
can I not? That's absolutely true. I can
arrive at those conclusions regarding the purpose of God, regarding
the person and work of Jesus Christ, just as the Pharisees
read the Old Testament scriptures and walked in them. They walked
in the law, they adhered to the facts, They walked in the ceremonies,
they walked in the rituals, they did all of these things. But
yet they had a dead religion. A dead religion. Now here's what
I'm faced with. I'm faced with four things. I'm
going to give you four things here tonight. I see the importance
of this thing called love. Love for Christ. Love for Christ. Love for one another. The importance
of this thing called love. I've got to have an experience
of grace. I've got to have the regenerating
work of the Spirit of God that makes me not only a theologian,
but a son of God, a believer. The importance of love. Secondly,
I'm going to look at the superiority of love. The superiority of this
thing called love. Then thirdly, I'm going to look
at the nature of love. And then last of all, the permanence
of love. Now let's look at the importance
of love. Let me just quote some scripture.
I won't have you look at all of these. But it says in John
13, 35. Our Lord is speaking to his disciples
and he said, by this shall all men know you are my disciples. your children of God, you're
my disciples. By what? If you love one another. If you honestly, sincerely love
one another. That's how they're going to know
you're my disciple. And then in 1 John 3.14, John
wrote this, we know that we have passed from death unto life. How do we know that? Because
we genuinely, honestly love the brethren. In other words, the
love of God has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.
It's not just a head doctrine and a mental acceptance of facts.
We sincerely and genuinely have the spirit of Christ and the
spirit of love in here. We really love one another. We
really love one another. For he that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. Then in 1 John 4, 7 and 8, listen
to this scripture. Let us love one another For love
is of God love is of God and everyone that loveth is born
of God and Knows God I think about that beloved let us love
one another for love is of God God is love and Everyone that
loveth genuinely loveth sincerely loveth Is born of God and actually
knows Almighty God It's not a feigned love, it's not a hypocritical
love, it's not a love in word only, it's a love in truth. Listen
to 1 John 4.12, if we love one another, God dwells in us. 1
John 4.16, God is love, and he that dwelleth in love, dwelleth
in God, and God dwells in him. And then 1 John 4.20, if a man
say I love God, and hates his brother, hates his brother, he's
a liar. He's a liar. That's hard language,
isn't it? But if a man shall love God and
hates his brother, he's a liar. He who loves God loves his brother
also. So love, true God-given love
and the spirit of grace and love is the literal commandment of
Christ. He said, this is my commandment that you love one another. It's
the evidence of a work of grace. It's the fruit of the Holy Ghost.
Turn to Galatians 5, verse 22. Galatians 5, 22. And Paul writes
here in this verse, Galatians 5, 22, but the fruit of the Spirit
This is the fruit of the Spirit. This is that which the Holy Spirit
produces if He dwells within us. And that fruit of the Spirit
is love. That's the first thing mentioned,
love. Joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness,
goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no love.
Actually, true love is the fulfilling of the law. Let me show you three
passages. Look at Galatians 5, while you're
over there, verse 14. Love is actually, we keep talking
about the law, the law this, the law that. Actually, love,
true love, God-given love, shed abroad in the Holy Ghost, in
the heart of the Holy Ghost, is the fulfillment of the law.
Read verse 14. But for all the law is fulfilled
in one word. Even in this, thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill toward his
neighbor. Let me show you two other verses. Turn to Romans
13. Romans chapter 13, verse 8 through 10. Romans 13, 8 through
10. Listen to this. Romans 13, 8
through 10. Oh, no man anything but to love
one another, fulfill this duty, this Christian responsibility,
this commandment of Christ, and actually love one another. For
he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this, thou shalt
not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal,
thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet. If there
be any other commandment, it's briefly comprehended in this
saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. For
love work is no ill to his neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling
of the law. Is that not what it said? Love
is actually the fulfilling of the law. One other verse, over
in Matthew 22. Matthew chapter 22. I'm reading verse 37 through
40. Let's start with verse 36. Matthew 22, 36. That's verse 35. Let's go back
one more. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question,
tempting him and saying, Master, which is the greatest commandment
in the law? And Jesus said unto him, thou
shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul,
with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is likened to
it. Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. All right, my second
point, and for this I want you to turn to 1 Corinthians 13 again. It's clear from the scripture
the importance of love, the importance of love, the love of God in our
hearts, the love of God expressed in our lives. Now the superiority
of love. At the close of chapter 12 of
1 Corinthians, the apostle Paul has exhorted believers to covet
the best gifts. Now I'm not going to speak on
these gifts of tongues and so forth. That's not my subject
tonight. I've preached on that before.
I'm not even going into it. But there were apostles and prophets
and teachers and miracle workers and those who spoke in other
languages and those who had special gifts of healing in the early
church. You know that and I know that.
And Paul says here, look at verse 31. Covet these best gifts. Covet earnestly the best gifts. Covet to preach. Covet to pray.
Covet to honor God in whatever field of service. But, listen
to verse 31. Yet I show you a more excellent
way. I'll show you something better
than speaking in another language. I'll show you something better.
I might be a master at Greek and Hebrew and Spanish and French
and German and whatever, but I'll show you something better
than that. I'll show you something he said better than knowledge.
I may have the greatest library in the churches today. I had a friend
that had a library that would cover all four walls of this
building right here, without a doubt. these four walls, from
ceiling to floor. He bought, had a lot of money
and he just spent a lot of everything he had buying all the old Puritans
and all the writings of all the great church fathers. He had
them all. And he knew what was in many of them. But I'll show
you something better than knowledge and doctrine, credentials. I'll
show you something better than talent, offices, and deeds. And that is a true, a true heart
love for Christ and his people. his gospel, his word, his children.
And that's what he's saying here in verse 1. Now you watch the
chapter 13. Though I speak with the tongues
of men. Suppose I could, I have, when
I go to Mexico or other places, I speak to an interpreter and
a lot of times I think, boy, I wish I could preach in this
language. I wish I could preach in Spanish and French. But suppose I could. Suppose
it could. Suppose I could even, I had the
ability of an orator, like an angel, like an angel's voice.
And yet it says, look at verse 1, if I have that ability to
speak in tongues and languages and have the ability to orate
like an angel, and I have not love, if I have not love, I only
make an irritating noise with my mouth. I'm irritating to people. I'm a sounding brass. A sounding
brass is irritating. It's an irritating, a tinkling
cymbal's irritating. Suppose you had to hear that
all night, just tinkle, tinkle. But yet, that's what religious
wrangling and It really is. It's just a sounding bright.
It's irritating to the ear. It's got to be the affection
and compassion of Christ or it's... Preaching's irritating. And arguing's
irritating. And indoctrinating is irritating. And standing for what we believe
is irritating if there's not the love of Christ in it. That's
what I'm saying. Look at the next verse. And though
I have the gift of prophecy, I have the gift of preaching,
I understand the mysteries, I can take you through all the mysteries
and all knowledge and though I have great faith, I display
great faith so that I can remove mountains. And have not love,
I am nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing. And
I'm something in the eyes of men. People are well acquainted with
me and they know about me and I'm somebody in the eyes of men,
but before God I'm nothing. if I don't have that love. And
then the third thing, verse three. And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor. You say, why would a man do that?
Why did Ananias do it? Why did the people in Matthew
7 do it? They did it to attract attention.
They did it to earn their way to heaven. They did it to establish
a righteousness. There's several reasons why men
would do that. Why they give their goods to feed the poor.
other than for the glory of Christ. And though I give my body to
be burned, I so believe my doctrine that I'll fight for it, bleed
for it, and die for it. And I have not love, but it won't
profit me anything. So love is so essential that
what Paul is saying here, a man may have everything that's admired and coveted, and yet if he has
not love, he has nothing. All right, thirdly, quickly,
the nature of love. All right, let's look at this,
starting with verse four. The nature of love. We have all
kind of definitions of love. One of the best I've ever heard
was someone gave it to me, a brief definition. It said, love is
a principle in the heart. that wishes to bestow the best
that it can in every area on the object of its affection.
That's a pretty good definition. Love is a principle in the heart
that really wishes to bestow the very best that it can in
every area upon the object of its affection. That's real love.
But here's a definition from the Word of God. This love, this
love that we desire, this love that I pant after, this love
that I want desperately, this love, this evidence of faith.
First of all, he says in verse 4, love suffereth long. What
does that mean, preacher? It means love, true love, true
God-given love is patient. It's patient. It's long-suffering. It's patient with the faults
of others, with the failures of others. Patient. And many of you know that. You've
demonstrated that. You've demonstrated that, especially
in those that are nearest to you, but this love of Christ
has got to reach out to those who are not in your inner circle. We're awful patient with ourselves.
If we could be as patient with others as we are with ourselves,
that'd be something, wouldn't it? But that's love, it's patient.
It's not easily offended and given to wrath. restrains itself. It suffers long. It's patient. Look at this. And love is kind.
It's tender. Love's not harsh. Love is gentle. Love is compassionate. Love is
tender. Be ye kind one to another. Tender-hearted. Forgiving one another as God
for Christ's sake forgave you. Love is kind. It's just gentle. Gentle. and compassionate and
affectionate, and that love envieth not. Someone said nothing is
so adverse to love as envy. Love envieth not. Nothing is
so adverse to love as jealousy and envy. They just don't go
together. For love is made happy by the
happiness of another. Love is made happy by the prosperity
of another. Love does not envy another's
blessing, it rejoices in another's blessing. I can give you an illustration
of that. If my sons, or my daughter, or
my son-in-law, or my daughter-in-law, or my children, or my grandchildren,
that's that inner circle. If one of them got a promotion,
I'd rejoice. If one of them got some accolades or recognition, I'd
rejoice. Wouldn't be envious? Would I? Not at all. Because it's happening
to me, they're mine. Well, love does not envy. If
you really love someone, you rejoice in their happiness, their
prosperity, and their blessing. You do not envy that person if
you're in love. And I showed you that, how we
react towards our own, don't we? Well, we need that same regard
for the whole family of God. And what's this? Love vaunteth
not itself. What does vaunt itself? It makes
no parade. a parade of our intelligence
and a parade of our guilt and a parade of our prosperity. Love does not make a parade or
a pride of pride and conceit and superiority. It says love
is not puffed up. Love looketh on the needs of
others. Love does not make a parade.
It does not vaunt itself. It's not puffed up. It's not
filled with conceit and pride. In verse 5, love does not behave
itself unseemly, that is rude. Love is not rude. Love is not
unmannerly. Sometimes I watch people who
say they're Christians in restaurants and in airports and other places
and they can get pretty rude with people, especially with
waitresses and clerks. That's unmannerly. That's rude. True love produces courtesy.
It does now. Humility. Kindness. True love
reaches out. It's not rude and unmannerly.
And love seeketh not her own. My rights. I'm so tired of hearing
my rights. I'm so tired of hearing everybody's
rights. You know something? We don't have any rights. Our
Lord has the crown rights. We lost our rights. We forfeited
our rights, didn't we? When we rebelled against God.
We don't have any rights. I don't have any rights whatsoever.
Except what God gives me. I don't deserve anything. You
deserve anything. Who makes you to differ? What do you have you
didn't receive? If you received it, why do you
gloat? Love does not demand my way, my rights, my will. Are we like those folks that
we can get along fine as long as things are going our way?
As long as people do what we want them to do. Go where we
want them to go, eat where we want them to eat, do what we
want them to do. We want our rights, our will,
and our way. Huh? Are we that way? That's
not love. And then he says love, this is
God's definition, not Henry T's now. Love is not, and this is
what I want, this is what Henry T. wants. It's what I want above,
when I say above all things, above all things, I want love
for Christ and love for you above all things. Because I tell you,
he that loveth is born of God. That's what it said. In other
words, he that loveth is born of God. And he that loveth not
knoweth not God. That's why I'm so interested
in this subject. That's why I'm so interested. And by this shall
all men know you're my disciples, if you love one another. You
blame me for being interested? All right, love is not easily
provoked. Sensitive. Oh, I tell you, we're
so sensitive, touchy. We're so touchy. Be careful.
We're so easily offended. We're so resentful. Just a word,
you know, we're touchy. folks want to do a walk on eggshells
around us, keep making us mad. I remember when I was a boy at
home, my mother stayed in a dither trying to keep my dad from losing
his temper. She stayed in a dither around
the house trying to keep him, don't upset your daddy, you know. Don't upset your daddy. That's
awful, isn't it? Are we that way? Somebody has
to run interference to keep folks from upsetting us. Love thinketh
no evil. What does that mean? It means
it doesn't carry a suspicious nature around looking for something,
looking for faults in others. Look, love thinketh no evil.
Love doesn't look for a weak spot. Love doesn't look for something
wrong with a fellow. Love looks for something good
about a fellow. Isn't that right? It thinketh no evil. Think there's
no evil. It does not carry a suspicious
nature which always reads between the lines. And then watch this. Love rejoices not in iniquity. It doesn't rejoice in the fall
of someone else. Love is never glad when others
go wrong. Love is never glad when others
fail. Love rejoices in good and in
truth. See that? Love rejoiceth not
in iniquity. I told you he'd fall. I told
you. I'm talking about believers now.
Love rejoiceth in the truth. Now watch this, verse 7. Love
beareth all things. I want you to turn to the book
of Proverbs a minute. I looked over here in Proverbs
and I found several scriptures that fit this. Love beareth all
things. Barreth all things All right
Proverbs, let's look at Proverbs 10 verse 12 Proverbs 10 12 Hatred stirreth up strife, but
love covers all sins and Love beareth all things, covers. Look at Proverbs 11, 13, right
across the page. A talebearer revealeth secrets,
but he that is a faithful spirit, he'll conceal the matter. He's
not going to tell it. He's going to conceal it. And
then Proverbs 17, 9, listen to this. Proverbs 17, 9. Proverbs 17, now he that covereth
a transgression, covereth a fall, covereth a failure, seeketh love. But he that repeateth a matter,
separateth very friends. Oh, that's powerful isn't it?
Love beareth all things. And love believeth all things.
Look back at our text. Love believeth all things, and
love believes the best, Moffat said. And love hopeth all things
what love can't see it hopes for. And love endureth all things. What does that mean? That means
that love will endure years, trials, sorrows, disappointments,
hurt feelings. Love will endure all those things. I think we have the evidence
of that here in many circumstances and situations of people who
love each other and have loved each other a long time. A long
time. And our Lord, it says of our
Lord, having loved his own, he loved them to the end. Now here's
the last, the permanence of love. Point number four. Verse eight.
Love never faileth. Someone said this, love never
ceases in this life nor in the life to come because love is
of God. Love is the gift of God and the
life of God, so love can't quit. It's impossible. Now whether,
look at verse 8, whether they be prophecies, they shall fail.
And whether they be tongues, you just think these tongues
here are going to give way to heavenly language, Charlie. They're
going to cease someday. All the tongue-speaking and languages
people are going to give way to, heavenly language. And then,
whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. And that means
this, that means someday our knowledge, which is so limited,
look at the next verse, we know in part, we prophesy in part,
our knowledge, you know I said a while ago, I've been studying
the Bible all these years, compared to what I'll know in glory, I
don't know anything. Absolutely nothing. Just that
much. I may know more than the fellow
over there, but both us put together stand on no much. Someday we
will. And that's all going to vanish.
Our tongues, and our gifts, and our prophecies, and our knowledge. Verse 10, But when that which
is perfect, the presence of our Lord, the glory of our Lord,
I shall know as I am known, That which is perfect is come,
then that which is in part shall be done away. All these things
that we are playing with, that seem so big, so important, so
colossal, so vast, so time-consuming. For he said in verse seven, when
I was a child, I speak like a child, and that's what I'm speaking
like right now, is a child. Just a child. Compared with how
I'll speak then, what I'll know then. That's right, Richard,
I'm just a little boy. I speak like a child. I understood
like a child. I reasoned like a child. But
when I became a man, I put away these childish things. I put
away my stilts I walked on, and my top I used to spin, and my
little wheel I ran down the road with that piece of wire, you
know, to make it turn. I don't play with those things
anymore. And I tell you, the very things that I'm wrapped
up in now, I'm going to put them away too. I'm going to put them
away too, because they're just like, I have to stay with the
toys because that's all I got. I got to stay with my limited
understanding because that's all I can understand. And my
knowledge and my preaching, and it's so juvenile. But I'll tell
you verse 12, we see through a glass dimly and darkly, but
then face to face, think of it, face to face with my Redeemer.
Face to face, how can it be? When in rapture I shall behold
Him, Jesus Christ, who died for me. Think about it. Now I know
in part, what a puny part, but then I'll know as He knows me,
I'll know Him. So now abideth faith. I preached
on that this morning. Faith, the evidence of grace.
I believe, God help my unbelief. Now abideth hope. I believe,
I believe we have a good hope. a good hope in Christ, a living
hope, a good hope, a good hope through grace, and love. These three. That's what we better
be concerned about taking up with. But you know the greatest
of the three? It's love. It's love. Faith someday will
give way to sight. A full revelation. I won't need
any faith in glory. I'm going to see Him as He is.
Right? And hope is going to give way
to reality. I'm not going to have any hope
in heaven. I'm going to have reality. But now wait a minute. Love is going to be the same. Not going to change. That's what
He's inferring here. That love does not change. It's
the same love that I'll have for Him there I have for him
now, if I have it. The same love. And that's the reason in the
next chapter, verse 1 of chapter 14, Paul says, make love your
aim. Follow after love. Love for Christ,
and that love for Christ will give us love for others. Well,
I hope this is a blessing. Mike, you come lead us in a psalm,
please.