Something Better than Miracles

Q: What does the Bible say about the purpose of miracles in the early church?

Miracles in the early church served as credentials to validate the message of the apostles. Miracles were given to early church leaders as a sign of their divine authority and a validation of their message. In Mark 16:17-18, Jesus promises that signs would follow those who believe. These supernatural acts were essential in the early church because the New Testament was not yet written, and thus miracles served to establish the credibility of the preachers who were proclaiming the gospel. The apostles used these signs to confirm their teachings about Christ and His fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies.

Q: Why are love and knowledge considered more important than miracles?

Love and knowledge are prioritized in the faith because they reflect true Christian character and relationship with God. While miracles were significant in the initial stages of the church, they serve as temporary signs pointing to a greater truth. As stated in 1 Corinthians 13, love is the greatest virtue, transcending even faith and hope. Love encapsulates the essence of Christian faith, guiding how believers relate to one another and to God. It is essential for the growth of the church and the authenticity of its witness to the world. Knowledge of Christ and His salvation leads to a deeper understanding of His love, which is foundational for all relationships among believers.

Q: How do we know that the gifts of the Spirit ceased after the apostolic age?

The completion of the New Testament marked the cessation of the miraculous gifts that validated the apostles' ministry. The arguments for the cessation of miraculous gifts often highlight that these gifts were meant as credentials for the apostles to authenticate their message during a formative time for the church. Before the New Testament was fully written, miracles served to validate the message they preached. Hebrews 2:3-4 indicates that God bore witness to the message of salvation through these signs, but once the Scriptures were completed, the necessity for miracles as credentials diminished. This understanding aligns with the perspective that the battle of truth is fought by the Spirit through the Word rather than through miraculous acts.

Q: Why is love essential for Christians according to the sermon?

Love is essential for Christians as it fulfills the law and showcases the nature of God’s character in believers. The sermon emphasizes that love is the highest calling for Christians, superior to all spiritual gifts and knowledge. In John 13:34-35, Jesus commands His disciples to love one another, indicating that this love would be the distinguishing mark of His followers. Without love, actions, even noble ones like sacrificing for others, become meaningless. Love is the foundation of genuine relationships and the heart of the Gospel message. It not only reflects God’s character but is also the means through which Christians exhibit their faith to the world.

Now, without question, in the
early days of the Church, our Lord was pleased to bestow upon
the disciples and upon other leaders in the Churches great
and powerful gifts. Look at verse 15 of Mark 16,
and let's read a few verses here. And the Lord Jesus said unto
them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. He that believeth and is baptized
shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these
signs shall follow them that believe. In my name shall they
cast out devils. They shall speak with new tongues.
They shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly
thing, it shall not hurt them. They shall lay hands on the sick,
and they shall recover." At Pentecost, the disciples preached the gospel
in languages they had never learned. There were people there from
many countries, and they all heard the gospel in their own
language. At the gate called Beautiful,
the Apostle Peter met a man who had been lain from his mother's
womb, had never walked. Can you imagine the condition
in which this man's body was, his legs shriveled, wrinkled,
without muscle, without strength? And Peter said to him, Silver
and gold have I none, but such as I have, give I to thee, in
the name of the Lord Jesus Christ will rise up and walk." And that
man, who had never taken a step in his life, walked away. At Troas, the Apostle Paul was
preaching one night. He preached a long time. He preached
past midnight. They were meeting in the third,
second, or third story of a building. There was a young man sitting
in the window. The place was packed. There was a young man
called Eutychus who was sitting in the window, and he fell asleep
while Paul was preaching, and fell out of the window. And the
Scripture says they took him up for dead. And Paul went down
there where the boy lay on the ground, and Paul raised him from
the dead. Peter was able to discern the
hypocrisy of Ananias and Sapphira. Peter was able to discern the
hypocrisy of Simon Magus. And I could go on through the
Scripture and show you illustrations of this unusual power and these
unusual gifts which God was pleased to bestow upon these early church
leaders and these apostles and preachers. I know this. I'm sure of this. I'm sure that
these Signs and miracles and powers were given to these early
preachers as credentials. I'm sure of that. They were given
to the early preachers as proof that they spoke for God. The
New Testament scriptures were not then written. And these men
went forth in the name of God preaching a message that the
people had never heard. Christ Jesus the Lord, the fulfillment
of all Old Testament types, patterns, pictures, and symbols. And our
Lord gave them these miracles, these powers, these gifts as
a sign, as a credential, as credentials that they spoke for God. Now
let me make good on that. First of all, here in Mark 16,
our Lord said, and these signs shall follow them that believe.
Now turn with me back to the book of Matthew. John the Baptist
was in prison. John the Baptist was in prison.
Matthew chapter 11. I don't know whether John the
Baptist was undergoing some doubts about the Lord Jesus Christ being
the Messiah. I'm not sure of that. I'm not
sure perhaps he wanted his disciples to have proof that the Lord Jesus
was the Messiah. The Scripture says in Matthew
11, 2, when John heard in the prison the works of Christ, he
sent two of his disciples and said unto him, Art thou he that
should come, or do we look for another? Jesus answered and said
unto them, Go and show John again those things which you do hear
and see. The blind received their sight.
The lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the
dead are raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached unto
them. These are credentials. Nicodemus said no man could do
the miracles you do except God be with him. Turn to John 5, verse 36. In the fifth chapter of John,
verse 36, our Lord is talking about the witnesses he has to his deity, his lordship,
his office, and he says John the Baptist was a witness, verse
32 of John 5, and then he talks about the Father himself being
a witness, and then down in verse 39 he talks about the Scriptures,
that's the Old Testament Scriptures, but in verse 36 he says, I have
greater witness than that of John. for the works which the
Father hath given me to finish, the same works that I do bear
witness of me that the Father hath sent me." Now turn to Hebrews
2. In the second chapter of Hebrews,
verse 3 and 4, the Scripture tells us this, Paul writing,
and says this in Hebrews 2, verse 3, How shall we escape? if we neglect so great salvation,
which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed
unto us by them that heard him." John said, that which we've seen,
that which we have heard, that which our hands have handled,
declare we unto you. God also bearing them witness,
both with signs and wonders, and with diverse miracles and
gifts of the Holy Ghost according to his will. So we know this,
in the early days of the church, the Lord gave by his sovereign
will tremendous power and gifts to these early ministries. And
we know also from these scriptures that these were signs and miracles
that were given to these men as credentials. However, If this
supernatural power, if these supernatural gifts had continued
in the church to this day, they would have attracted the attention
and the notice of men more than the gospel. If God had permitted
these gifts, the gifts of tongues, the gift of healing, the gift
of raising the dead, these gifts that I have read about, If God
had permitted them to continue to this day in the church, they
would have attracted the attention and notice of men more than the
gospel, as they did most people in the days of Christ. Our Lord
turned to one big crowd. There was a big crowd following
Him. They'd gone all the way around the lake trying to intercept
Him. And you know what He said to them? I know why you're following
Me. It wasn't the glorious good news of substitution. It wasn't
the glorious good news of redemption. It wasn't the good news of God
as just and justifier. It wasn't the good news of a
ransom having been found and a redemption paid. He said, I
know why you're following me. You ate the loaves and were filled.
That's why you're following me. Turn to John chapter 2. Let me
give you another illustration. These people were taken up with
the miracles. They weren't interested in the
message. They were taken up with the miracles. They weren't interested
in the gospel. And if I announced that I was
going to raise a man from the dead next week in this town,
people would pack out this place, there wouldn't be standing room,
there'd be outside, there'd be down the street, multiplied thousands
of them. They're interested in miracles
and signs and wonders, but not in the gospel. You announce you're
going to preach next Sunday on ruin by the fall, and redemption
by the blood, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit, and the good
news of salvation for sinners. And you do well to get a corporal's
guard. In John chapter 2, verse 23 and 24, listen. Now, when
he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, in the feast day, Many believed
in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. But, watch
the next verse, Jesus did not commit himself to them. He knew
all men. He knew it was curiosity. He
knew they were amazed and they were astounded. He knew they
were following him because of the miracles, the healings, the
raising of the dead, the giving of sight, restoring hearing to
the deaf. That's why they followed him.
He needed not that any man should testify of man. And I'll tell
you this, I've never followed that type
of ministry, but I have watched them on television, I've heard
them on the radio, and I have gone to a meeting or two where
the gifts were emphasized. And where the gifts were emphasized,
the gospel was de-emphasized. and where the gifts of the Spirit
and the power of the Holy Spirit and the miracles were emphasized,
the message was not preached. And I want to tell you this,
and you think about this carefully, God never intended that the battle
between truth and error should be fought by miracles and wonders
on the field of flesh, but by his Spirit in the hearts of men.
The man in hell said, Father Abraham, I've got five brothers
on the earth. I've got five brothers on the
earth. Send Lazarus back from the dead and warn them that they
come not to this awful place. And Abraham said they have Moses
and the prophets. In other words, they have the
scriptures. They have the scriptures. Then Father Abraham, he replied,
if one rose from the dead, they'd believe. What was the reply? And our Lord gave this reply.
He said this, if they hear not the scriptures, neither will
they be persuaded though one rose from the dead. They wouldn't
be taken up with the gospel, they'd be taken up with the miracle.
They wouldn't be concerned with the good news of salvation. They'd
be concerned with how that man was made to live. And God Almighty
never intended. I believe that when the New Testament
was completed, and I say I believe this, when the New Testament
was completed, these unusual, supernatural, and powerful gifts
in the man to the greatest extent, were removed from the church.
Because God never intended that the battle between truth and
error be fought by miracles and wonders on a field of flesh.
God intended that that battle be fought by his Spirit in the
hearts of sinners, for he said it's not by might and not by
power, but by my Spirit. And I want you to turn to 2 Corinthians
10. 2 Corinthians 10. Now I know people are intrigued
by these things. And I know they say, well God's
the same yesterday, today, and forever. Yes, He is. And God's
still performing miracles. You say, don't you believe God
heals? Absolutely. Absolutely. But I doubt very
seriously that God has a minister and a preacher on this earth
to whom he has given, as he gave to Peter and James and John,
the power to lay hands on the sick and make them recover. Now God tells us in the New Testament,
he says, is any among you sick? Is somebody in your congregation
sick? Do what? Find somebody with a gift of
healing. No, he didn't say that. He said, let him call for the
elders of the church. and let them anoint him with
oil in the name of the Lord and pray for him and he'll be healed.
That's right. Don't you believe that people
today have the gift of tongues? I believe men, Walter Gruber,
David Pledger, Milton Howard, Bill Clark, I believe these men,
God has given them the talent, the gifts, the ability to learn
other languages. And they have learned them, and
they have gone to preach the gospel. But this chatter and
gibberish that no one can interpret and no one can understand, and
no gospel is preached by it or from it or in it, no, I do not
believe that's of God. I believe that's another spirit. It's another spirit. It doesn't
glorify Christ. It doesn't preach the gospel.
It doesn't witness to the glory of Christ. It doesn't make Christ
known. It doesn't accomplish a thing.
Somebody says, well, it makes me feel good. Well, eat a watermelon. That'll make you feel good. No,
I do not believe it. In 2 Corinthians 10, now you
listen to this, verse 3. But they are mighty through God
to the pulling down of strongholds, casting down imagination, and
every high thing that exalted itself against the knowledge
of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience
of Christ. Our weapons are not carnal. Our
weapons are not miracles, and our weapons are not healings,
and our weapons are not these things. But our weapons are spiritual. The Holy Spirit of God. The gospel
of Christ is preached. You say, well, what proof do
you have that you come in the name of God? The Word of God. That's right. The Bereans searched
the Scriptures to see if these things be so. If they speak not
according to the law and the prophets, it's because there's
no light in them. Here's the proof we have. When these faithful
disciples, Paul and Peter, James and John, went into a place,
they had the Old Testament Scripture, but they were preaching Christ.
They were preaching that the Sabbath, that the law, that all
these ceremonies and all of these rituals and all of these feast
days were now finished. They were fulfilled in Christ.
Now we know you're talking for God. We don't know you, you're
just another man. God gave them credentials. God
gave them gifts, supernatural gifts. Now let me give you an
illustration. If you go out and plant a young tree, you go out
and plant a A little maple tree. And it's frail and weak. It's
not any bigger than your thumb. There it is. You dug a hole and
you put it down. It's about the size of your thumb.
And it's in danger. It's frail and it's weak. So
what do you do? You put a strong stake in the
ground right beside it. And you tie that little tree
to that stake to support it, to give it support. Now when
that tree is big, That maple tree has grown huge and the trunk
is this big around. It doesn't need that stake anymore.
In fact, it's kind of silly to have that stake there. It doesn't
need that stake. And the church at first, the
church of our Lord Jesus Christ, was frail and feeble in a hostile
world. When God Almighty sent this little
handful of men out to preach this hated gospel, of this hated
Jew who died on a cross and they claimed he rose again and ascended
to heaven from which he would come in power. God gave these
men some strong support. He said, I'm with you. And they
went out and they walked up and healed people and the whole crowd
backed off. And they raised man from the
dead, and Paul reached in the fire, and a viper bit him, and
the men stood and waited on him to drop dead, and he just flicked
it off and didn't drop dead, and they listened to him. God
drove a stake down beside this little frail church. But it's
not frail anymore. It's not frail. Oh, we have support,
sure we do. Christ is our foundation. No
other foundation can no man lay. The Word of God is our foundation.
The Holy Spirit is our comforter and our teacher. But we don't
need miracles. We don't need signs. We don't
need credentials. We don't need to be sustained
by these things. We need them no more. And I'll
be perfectly honest with you. I think it's just as foolish
for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and ministers of the Gospel
to major on these things, these fleshly things, like the healing
of the body, and that's what most of it is, and the speaking
in other tongues, and things of that nature. I think it's
just as foolish for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ and
ministers of the gospel to try to hold on to those stakes when
we're supposed to be strong, sufficient in Christ our Lord. Don't need those things. Now,
there are gifts. Let's look at our text again,
1 Corinthians 13. There are gifts to covet. He
says here, covet earnestly the best gifts. I think we're to
covet some gifts. There are gifts. There are gifts
of God. I think there's a gift, the one
gift I covet is this, the gift of knowledge. The gift of knowledge. I want to know the ways of God. I want to know the person of
Christ. I want to know God's design in redemption. Don't you?
Listen to what Solomon said over here in Proverbs 3, verse 13. Listen to what Solomon wrote.
Proverbs 3, verse 13. He says, Happy is the man that
findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. Well,
where does wisdom come from? Any man lack wisdom, let him
ask of God. So it's a gift. Faith's a gift. Wisdom is a gift. Look at Proverbs 4 verse 5. Get wisdom. Get understanding. Forget it not. Look at verse
7. Wisdom is the principal thing.
Therefore get wisdom. And with all thy getting, get
understanding. That's a gift. Any man lack wisdom,
let him ask of God. So as Paul says here in verse
31 of 1 Corinthians 12, covet wisdom. Covet the best gift. covet the best gift, the gift
of preaching. My, my, oh, to be able to preach. I don't mean to be able to fill
a pulpit. I don't mean to be able to teach a doctrine. I don't
mean to be able to deliver a sermon. I mean to be able to come into
the pulpit and preach the gospel of redeeming grace clothed in,
endued with, the power of God's filling. And speak not to men's
ears, but to their hearts. And say a word, a word that God's
given to you. I'd rather speak five words in
the power of the Holy Spirit than five thousand words of our
own intellectual foolishness. Oh, to be able to preach. to
preach, or to be able to sing in the Spirit. Not just to entertain
people, but to sing in the Spirit. To deliver a message in song,
or to be able to preach. I believe prayer is a gift. I
certainly do. Turn to Matthew 18. Matthew chapter
18. Covet the best gifts. I want
knowledge. I'll just be honest with you.
I don't sit in that study and read just to argue doctrine. I don't like to argue. Or try
to convince somebody that the Baptists are right and somebody
else is wrong and I'm right and you're wrong and I know more
than you and so forth. Anybody thinks he knows doesn't
know at all like he ought to. We only know in part anyway.
But I want to know him. Oh, to know him and the power
of his resurrected life. I want wisdom and I want the
power to preach, the gift of preaching. And then the gift
of prayer. Look at Matthew 18, verse 19.
Again I say unto you, if two of you shall agree on earth as
touching anything that they shall ask, it will be done for them
of my Father which is in heaven. Power in prayer. I go sometimes to visit sick
people. And I feel so desperately for
them. I feel so kin to them. I just think as I sit there and
look at them, oh, for the power of Peter to say in the name of
Christ, get up and walk. And then they say, well, before
you leave, have prayer. And so we have prayer. And I
drive off in my car and say, Lord, that man is my friend. And that man's sick. And I wish
he'd get well. Why don't you make him well?
I prayed and you said in your word if you pray and if you believe
and Lord I believe help my unbelief I'm not gonna play the hypocrite.
I'm not going out here and lay hands on a hundred people and
one out of a hundred through Psychosomatics or something gets
well and I say we got the power to heal people That other 99
says I come we didn't get healed. He didn't have enough faith That's
wicked That's wicked I've seen God heal some people and I've
seen God kill some people for whom I pray. But this says, look
at it, where two or three, verse 20, are gathered together in
my name, I'll be in their midst. Oh, to be delivered from the
ritualism of prayer. Becky, there was a preacher in
England called George Mueller. back a hundred years ago, had
an orphan's home. And he had hundreds and hundreds.
How many orphans? He had thousands, didn't he?
Thousands of orphans. And this was a day before welfare,
government controls, and handouts, and high salaries and all these
things. He had thousands of orphans. He never solicited a dime. He never solicited a dime. He
never asked a soul for a dime. He never had one organization
behind him officially. But those orphans never wanted
for a thing. George Mueller prayed from the
hand of God, every bite they ate, every lump of coal they
burned, and every rag of clothes they wore. And he'd go to bed
at night. There wouldn't be a thing for
breakfast. Not one thing in that house. Spurgeon, I believe Spurgeon
said he visited the home one time, and they didn't have one
thing in that place for breakfast. And George Mueller, stay up all
night and walk the floor, and no sir, he did not. He got on
his knees in his study, and he said, Lord, you know our need,
and we're depending on you. And you told me to take these
boys and girls in, give them a home, and Lord, I've done what
you told me to do, and you told me you'd meet my need according
to your riches and glory through Christ Jesus. I believe you will."
He went to bed. Next morning, for breakfast,
some farmer came by with baskets full of eggs and meat and bread
and all they need. And it was that way for years
and years and years. And I'm tired of reading about
people who prayed, and I'm tired of reading about people who prayed,
and I want to enter into it, don't you? Don't you get tired
of reading about fellows that did things that wasn't that wonderful?
Well, why not now? Why not now? Covet the best gifts. Christ is the same. I don't want
to speak in an unknown tongue, but I sure would love to know
something about the gospel. I don't want to go around and
show off and lay hands on people and see them jump up and click
their heels and throw the mattress in the air, but I would like
to see God raise some folks from spiritual grave and give them
life. I would like to have the gift
of faith. I'd like to have the gift of prayer. There's the gift
of leadership. We're watching churches divide
and divisions spring up all over churches and troubles. Wouldn't it be wonderful if God
raised up some men in our churches with leadership gifts, qualities,
that they could handle these things? Grace. Not grace just
in their heads, but grace in their hearts. Not just grace
in their doctrines, but grace in their dealings with one another.
Might be something. Gift, gift of humility. We need
deepened pride. Oh, to hear people say, I'm less
than the least of all the saints. I'm the chief of sinners. I'm
nothing. Neither is he that watereth or planteth anything, nothing.
The gift of giving. These are gifts, and we can covet
these gifts. But I got to get to the rest
of my text. Now, he said, you covet earnestly the best gifts,
and yet I'll show you something better. I'll show you something
better. I'll show you something better. Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels, say I can speak, preach the gospel in Spanish
and French and Russian and German and all these other languages.
And I have the rhetorical ability, like an angel, to keep people
under my spell. And have not love? Well, somebody
might as well stand up here and hit one of those big Chinese
gongs, a sounding brass, or a clanging cymbal. That's all that matters. That's all that counts for us.
And though I have the gift of prophecy, I can discern the spirits. I can even prophesy the future.
And I understand the mysteries. I can unravel in detail all of
the horses' hairs in Revelation. I can tell you what this means
and that means and the other means and all this means. I know
all the events and events and all the current events. I know
everything about what's going on, the plain truth. I know what's
happening tomorrow. And though I have faith so that
I could remove mountains, and have not love, I'm nothing. You
don't want to listen to me. And though I bestow my goods
to feed the poor," and this is one of the most difficult things
you'll ever tackle, this verse right here. How could a man be
wealthy and sell everything he's got and give it to the poor and
not have love? But that's what it says, doesn't
it? That's what it says. So it's a kind of love we're
talking about. Maybe he has love. Maybe it's love for praise. Maybe
it's love for self. Maybe he loves himself and he's
trying to gain acceptance with God through this selling all
he has and giving it to the poor. I do not know, but that's what
he says. Though I bestow my goods to feed the poor and though I
line up with the martyrs, You curse Christ or die. No, I'll
die. You deny what you believe. You deny your opposition to the
Mass or we'll burn you at the stake. Then you'll have to burn
me at the stake because I don't believe in the Mass. You may speak that
way and go to the stake and be burned for your religion, for
your doctrine, for your faith, for your denomination, and have
not love. And it'll profit me nothing.
I might as well kept my riches and I might as well denied my
faith. Because he said, it'll profit me nothing if I have not love. So Paul says,
you covet the best gift, but I'll show you something better
than miracles, something better than gifts. I'll show you something
better than these credentials. I'll show you something better
than knowledge and wisdom and power. And that's love. And that's
love. love for Christ, our Redeemer,
love for his people, and, brethren, love for everybody. And we're not talking about this
selfish love. Turn to Luke 16. We're not talking
about this. Now, you turn to Luke 16 and
listen to the Master here. In Luke 16, our Lord says, verse
32 of Luke 6, Luke 6.32. If you love them that love you, what thank have you? Sinners
also love those that love them. Now if you do good to them which
do good to you, what thank have you? Sinners also do even the
same. And if you lend to them of whom
you hope to receive, what thank have you? for sinners also lend
to sinners to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies,
and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again. And your reward
shall be great, and you shall be the children of the highest,
for he is kind to the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore
merciful, as your Father also is merciful." Now I want to close in looking
at this definition Repentance is a turning, but
oh, what a turning! And repentance is an about-face,
but oh, what an about-face! And repentance is a change of
manners, and a change of masters, and a change of motives, and
a change of mind, and all these things. But brethren, repentance
is like faith and prayer. It's impossible to define. And
when you define it, you make it cold and dead and mechanical. And love is the same way. One
of the best definitions of love I ever heard is this, it's a
principle of the heart that wishes to bestow the best that it can
on the object of its affections. That's pretty good, but it's
cold, isn't it? I told somebody the other night,
it's like putting a recipe for strawberry shortcake on the table
and say, there's your dessert. It reads good. Boy, that is,
that's good. I agree with it, that's good.
But just leave the recipe off and put the cake down there and
I'll enjoy it. And the same thing about this
thing of preaching repentance, this ain't preaching anything.
We can preach the doctrines, but they're cold. And we can
preach repentance and faith and all these things, but it has
to be experienced. This is something that I cannot
convey to you, and you cannot convey to me, and even words
cannot convey to us, but love has to be shared abroad in the
heart by the Holy Spirit. And we grow in love like we grow
in any other kind of grace. But let's look at it, if you
will, verse 4, Love suffereth long, and is kind. You know, love is patient. Somebody
says love not only is patient under the afflicting hand of
God. Now watch it, that's a lot easier, isn't it? But love is
patient under the reproaches and neglect of men. And I'll
tell you the truth, I find it a lot easier to accept the afflicting hand of God than
I do the reproaches of men. Love suffereth long, is patient. Love is slow to anger, not hasty
to revenge, and always ready to forgive. Not only the afflicting
hand of God, but the neglect and the reproaches of men. Love is kind, gentle, gentle. Be kind one to another, tender-hearted,
tender-hearted, gentle. Deal gently with one another.
Love envieth not. It doesn't envy either the spiritual
blessings of others or the material blessings of others. It does
not envy. Can we rejoice when other men are blessed? I told
a preacher the other day, I was in a Bible conference, and they
had about, oh, about eight or nine preachers on the conference
schedule, and I said, I tell you, when you've grown in grace,
is when you can sit there and pray that the fellow who precedes
you preaches a better message than you do. That's growth. If you can sit there and say,
Lord, if anybody's going to fail tonight, let it be me. Don't
let it be him. Let him preach with power. Love
envieth not. Love vaunteth not itself. Love is not a boaster. It says,
I am what I am by the grace of God. Love, verse 5, does not
behave itself unseemly. Love is not rude. No, it's not. It's not arrogant. It's not rude.
Not true love is not rude, it does not behave itself unseemly,
and seeketh not her own. Love does not insist on its own
rights and having its own way. No, it doesn't. Not true love. It's not easily provoked and
thinketh no evil. Love does not remember evil. It does not dwell on the past,
it does not dwell on past injustices, and it does not dwell on past
misunderstandings, it forgets them. It remembers not evil. Love rejoices
not in iniquity. And you know this would stop
all gossip, right here. If love were in our hearts, there's
no way, there's no way that we could repeat a story or a tale
because love does not rejoice in iniquity, it does not rejoice
in failure, it does not rejoice in another person's fall. No,
it doesn't. That kill all slander, that kill
all gossip, love rejoices in the truth. It rejoices not in
evil, it rejoiceth in good. And love beareth all things,
that is, it continues under and through all things. Love believeth
all things, that is, it's ever ready to believe the best. Believe
the best. And love hopeth all things, that
is, it continues to hope even when all hope is gone. And then
it endureth all things. Love never faileth. Love for
Christ never faileth. It grows stronger. You know,
I hear people, we need to talk in the language of the folks.
I hear people make statements like this, well, I used to, I
used to be faithful in church, I used to attend regularly, but
I just kind of got out of the habit. You know how it is, preacher,
you kind of get, no, I don't know how that is. I really don't. I just believe that love never
fails. I believe if a person loves the
gospel, he'll love it more next year. I believe if a person loves
Christ, he'll love it more next year. Not less, but more. I believe
if a person loves God's people, he'll love them more next year.
Well, you know, we used to be the best of friends, but we had
a parting of the ways, and I just don't have any use for him anymore.
You never did have any use for him. Don't tell me, love never
faileth. It can be disappointed, but it
can't fail. It can't fail. You know why love
is better than these gifts? Look at verse 8. Whether they
be prophecies, they shall fail. Somebody said on down further,
At best, look at verse 9, we know in part, we prophesy in
part, we see through a glass dimly. Whether there be prophecies,
they shall fail. Whether there be tongues, even
the gift of languages, they are going to cease. Whether there
be knowledge, it shall vanish away. One old preacher said this,
listen, even faith in glory will be of no use to me. For when I enter that possession,
faith will give way to sight, and I won't need faith anymore. Hope will be of no use to me
in glory. Hope is based on his promise. But one of these days,
when I enter into his presence, hope gives way to reality. I
don't need hope anymore. But love? Love is never replaced. Love is never obsolete. Love
just moves on to perfection. And the bud that bloomed by the
grace of God through faith in Christ on this earth is a full
flowering globe. It's transplanted from here to
its natural habitat, where it all came from. And boy, does
love blossom in His presence. Listen to an old hymn, and I'll
close. Show you something he said better. 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. And I'd
like to say to every preacher in this land that's looking for
the gift of tongue, why don't you grow up and quit playing
with your trains and quit playing with your toys? That's right. Why don't you grow up and get
out of the floor and quit playing with these things? prophecies
and tongues and all these things. They shall fail. They shall pass
away. We just know in part. We prophesy
in part. When I became a man, I quit playing
with those childish things and started dealing in mature things. This is what it is right here.
Love, hope, and faith. Love is the sweetest bud that
grows. Its beauty never dies. On earth, among God's saints,
it flows and it ripens in the sky. The finest flower that ever
bloomed opened on Calvary's tree when Jesus' blood so freely flowed
for love of worthless me. On heaven's shore, supremely
fair, this wondrous flower blooms, transplanted in its native air
and all that shore perfume. But not to heaven's shores confined,
the seed from which it grows takes root within my human heart
and fills the church below. And soon on yonder banks above
shall every blossom here appear a full ripe flower of love like
him transplanted there. Covet the best gifts, the best
gifts. What are the best gifts? The
knowledge of Christ, the knowledge of his word, the gift of prayer,
the gift of preaching, the gift of humility, the gift of faith. But I'll show you a better way.
I'll show you, he said, something better than all these gifts,
and that is love. And God, may we pray If only
one gift is mine, let it be love. For now about it, faith, hope,
and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.

Something Better than Miracles

What does the Bible say about the purpose of miracles in the early church?

Why are love and knowledge considered more important than miracles?

How do we know that the gifts of the Spirit ceased after the apostolic age?

Why is love essential for Christians according to the sermon?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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Something Better than Miracles

What does the Bible say about the purpose of miracles in the early church?

Why are love and knowledge considered more important than miracles?

How do we know that the gifts of the Spirit ceased after the apostolic age?

Why is love essential for Christians according to the sermon?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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