Beyond Puppy Love

Love says, endures all things. This is the steadfastness of fitting in this paragraph to all the good above in this paragraph is meaningless if you stop if you find some loophole, some escape clause. Nothing shall separate us from the lot love of Christ. Romans chapter 8 verse 35. If we are to love one another. Then, as Christ loves us, then he will in and that makes Stephen's been working his way through first Corinthians 13. In a series called will true love. Please stand up for learning what true biblical agape love really is. Today we come to the eighth and final lesson in that series puppy love manifests itself in Valentine's Day cards, friendship rings and nice dinners. Mature love manifests itself in long workdays, hospital rooms and nursing homes. One last for a moment the other lasts for a lifetime. Stephen's calling today's lesson beyond puppy love.

We come to the end of this study, and Paul gives us five distinct positive phrases that summarize true agape, true love. First Corinthians chapter 13 verse seven. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. In the first part of verse eight love never fails back to the first one Paul writes love bears all things, this is the support of love.

Some take this verb here, stay, go, which can mean to cover is sort of its nuance is used for a roof that covers house so that Paul has in mind the idea that love will cover over everything that nuance could be true. More than likely this verb here actually refers to the bearing of the load.

That is the strength of the beings that all the roof up. In other words, true love will will bear up under a heavy load.

Great pressure great insult great disappointment. What author said it this way true love gets underneath the load of life and bears it to the limit.

How true. And in relationships in general. True love gets underneath. The load helps carry the load of like the apostle Paul, that is saying this phrase the true love bears up under the heavy load of life's problem and suffering despite depriving Shannon and and and and it includes hard work and even opposition agape lands I hand it shares the burden it joins another person under the pressure of life. It lends a shoulder to lift the load I had. I had lunch today with four prospective seminary students who travel here for the weekend. Three from South Carolina and one from Ohio one was married and already a college graduate, having served for 15 years as a youth pastor and sensing the need for training.

I asked him about his family and he told me that he had two children. His wife and one was 13 and one was 10. Then he went on to tell me that his his 13-year-old son was born with severe brain defects unable to swallow severely mentally retarded, unable to move, needing to be fed through tube 24 hour care in their home.

Boy is very aware of life around him, even though emotionally and mentally. He's about the age of three or four man's depth of character had already been apparent to me but now I knew why he and his wife are chosen to love and care for child with great challenges. He said to me over lunch or sitting on the table and got a been so faithful to them. Such a sweet and kind disposition spirit, no bitterness, no complaining fact he said to me. I know there are a lot of people out there suffering a lot greatly than we do.

But our son is a joy to us see that is strong rings of agape. Next, Paul goes on to tell us about will just call the simplicity of of agape.

He writes love and believe it's all things. It's completely trusting as we apply this God word.

It simply means were taking God's word. We simply taken at his word, we trust him. We don't complicate his word. We will twist his word we don't redefine his word. We take it when we trust it at face value. As this relates to other people. This means we give them the benefit of of the doubt when we simply choose to believe the most favorable possibility right.

We refuse the urge to be suspicious to create complicated conspiracies. We we resist the urge to engage in drama assigning the worst possible motive to what somebody says or does. Agape believes all things, is just there's a simplicity to it takes the kindest view takes God's word people at face value, when the scribes and Pharisees remember saw Christ, they thought the worst of it. When Jesus told a paralyzed man. Remember Luke chapter 5. It is sins were forgiven first things that your sins are forgiven, they merely jump to the conclusion he was blaspheming God.

Then he simply validated his ability to forgive sin by doing what only God could do and he said to the paralyzed man that wanted to pick up your mat and walk home.

And he did the scribes and Pharisees remain convinced that the Lord was not of God but an imposter, at best. There he was in broad daylight. Just heal the paralyzed man but they couldn't believe the best about Christ.

Why bottom line.

They hated they hated and hates believes the worst agape believes the best. No understand simplicity and being simpleminded is not the same thing through different things.

Paul goes on to add 1/3 enduring quality here is not only the strength of agape in the simplicity of agape, but the sweetness of agape. You could call even this next phrase, the smile of agape to know which one to go with a bow start with S of that work for me in this outline, but I didn't know. I decided on sweetness notice were Paul writes further verse seven. Love hopes all things, this is the sweet optimism of agape.

It never stops hoping it never takes anybody's failure as final, the world frowns at you.

This person smiles at you even when you're in trouble though smile and read a teacher like that. This was interesting. It was funny affect pepper Rogers inventor to be funny. Several years ago. Pepper Rogers was the head football coach UCLA is going to a terrible losing season. He couldn't win a game could buy a touchdown. The media was hounding him the alumni of the school were calling for his job. UCLA fans were upset and angry. His friends were becoming more and more scarce pepper. Rogers said this on occasions that I wasn't even sure where my wife was at all of this she become really quiet so we got a complainer on any said I guess my best friend now is my dog but a man needs at least two friends. She said well then you better go by another dog.

This love works when the chips are down, the Corinthian church listen you study this letter you you you fully understand the they don't do much right but here Paul writes to the Corinthian church with these words. Great listen, this great is my posting on your bath got to be getting something to boast about this is this is the week immature body of believers their way word tolerating sin. How do you boast how you had a level. Love always hopes for the best. So he writes to them in second Corinthians 715 I rejoice that in everything I have confidence in you is that rare coach telling his players this is that rare teacher telling her students. I believe you can do it.

I believe you can make it the rare something incredibly confusing about this rare kind of person of the trouble is, we know all we know very few people like this only people who see the best in everything and in everyone. People who are full of the sweetness of agape that engenders even more hope and they get around you and they get around me and they just sort of put wind in our sales and they tell us were behind you can you can do it why so few like this is because our nature gets hung up on the past we get dull so we hear a new believer new believer comes in. Talk to one couple of days ago. Talk about how great God is and how interesting the word is instead of encouraging them area our standard thinking well you know will eventually learn to get over that excitement.

Just wait it out to a newly married couple and that young bride comes up with her husband and the owner, although she gushes look at him he is so sweet and your stated living in job way so we go read pouring cold water on everybody's fire. We live in the negative. We live in the accusative case by nature just a little survey many many Green Bay Packers fans do we have here hands shot up everywhere. Obviously you know you're you're not patriots fan or you wouldn't be here tonight, right. Glad you're here 34 days ago which you guys know but raise your hand. Brett Favre broke the NFL record for throwing the greatest number of touchdowns just 30 some days ago in NFL history is amazing and fun to watch 421 touchdown passes 15 days later. 15 days ago Brett Favre broke another record. He is now the most intercepted quarterback in NFL history.

Green Bay Packers vendor can we get you outside buddy his way. You know when you talk to Green Bay Packers fan and I gotta tell you about that now. They really care about 278 picks no there focused on 421 touchdown passes.

They love the steam with the optimism of this kind of love say I'm so proud of my children have the ever disappointed you.

Of course, which are focusing on the hope of agape, like Paul with the Corinthians who chose to focus on what they could be. And the good they had done one author wrote this agape is demonstrated in the hearts of the parents of a backslidden child, the spouse of an unbelieving marriage partner. The church that is discipline members who do not repent they all hope in all of agape love hopes all things, they hope that the child, the spouse, the erring brother or sister will be saved or restored. Love refuses to take failure as final design and God would not take Israel's failure as final, Jesus Christ would not take Peter's failure as final and the apostle Paul will not take the Corinthians. Failure as final collective parents were just a minute. It is this the great challenge for dads, especially your child just might have the record number of failures along with a record number of successes which record will you frame and put on the manhole of your memory.

Truelove chooses to focus on hopeful things Paul reveals 1/4 enduring quality love he says endures all things.

This is the steadfastness of love when a fitting way to end this paragraph to then make a lot of sense when all the good above in this paragraph is meaningless if you stop if you quit if you find some loophole, some escape clause if it doesn't enduring a matter agape.

Then he says does not have a back door were told that God will never leave us nor what forsake us. Hebrews 13 five.

Nothing shall separate us from the lot love of Christ. Romans chapter 8 verse 35.

If we are to love one another.

Then, as Christ loves us, then we will in door and that makes it matter founded interesting and somewhat sad to read about some of the data from the 2007 US can a Census Bureau regarding marriage today.

The findings are reinforcing what some are now calling for the tongue-in-cheek. The seven year itch. I found that on average census data were couples that separated did so after seven years divorced after eight this particular author that was bringing out the census data, so perhaps this is why very popular politician in Germany by the name of Gabrielle he probably is proposing the legislation that will make legal marriages dissolve after seven years. This legislation will allow couples either to extend their marriages or allow them to terminate automatically, after seven years without undue legal burden or tiresome litigation. This kind of legislation is in our future and why not already as I mentioned, I think one of our sessions in one author suggested that we should plan on three spouses over the course of a lifetime.

This is the love of the world. This is this is self focused self protecting self enamored self serving and so a seven year marriage makes a lot of sense. Ladies and gentlemen, it's probably love what it is all is infatuation until the challenges are realized it's love only as long as the sun shines, but aren't you glad that the love of Christ is not a seven year affair.

It is everlasting and as we demonstrate the love of Christ. The agape of God for our spouses and our children in the assembly. We will not be for coal. It will endure. Not that that makes it easy just because he says it affect the word Paul used her for endure from NA is a word that referred to a soldier deeply involved in battle. He is literally fighting for his life and the lives of his companions and he refuses to desert the front line, so he is in Doering.

The idea here in door in that way and you will experience or demonstrate the love of agape for when life gets tough in his tremendous book the disciplines of a godly man can Hughes writes of his friendship with Robertson with Quicken Robertson with Quicken is the former president of Columbia International University. He was a presence call Columbia Bible College, Robertson's wife Maria was in the late stages of Alzheimer's.

When Dr. Quicken resigned to take care of her been married. I think 40 some years in his resignation letter he wrote powerful words my dear wife Maria has been in failing mental health for about eight years. So far I have been able to care for both her ever-growing needs and my leadership responsibilities at Columbia. Recently it has become apparent that Maria was contented most of the time she is with me and almost none of the time I'm away from her. It is not just discontent. She is filled with terror that she has lost me and goes in search of me whenever I leave home. It is clear to me now. She needs me full-time. This decision was made in a way 40 some years ago when I promise to care for her in sickness and in health, till death do us part. He adds, so I have already told the students in the faculty that is a man of my word.

I will do it.

She has cared for me fully all these years if I cared for her for the next 40 years. I would not be out of debt duty. However, can be grim and stoic, but there is more I love Mario. She is a delight to me. I noticed these words listen, I do not have to care for her. I get to I don't have to care for. This is much more than the temporary infatuation when everything is sunshine and roses. This is a love that issues forth during the pressures and challenges of life. This is the endurance of love is one more enduring quality here. Let's get to it first part of verse eight and on to the end of the chapter. Paul will speak on the supremacy of love. So let's just look down for just a moment here as we bring the series so close to the first phrase in verse eight he writes this about agape and let me give you my in translation love never falls to the ground. If there are gifts of prophecy. They will taper off.

If there are tongues, they will stop if there is knowledge, there is a revelatory word of knowledge, it will taper off as well. Now you remember from verses one, two and three. Paul told us that all tongues and all knowledge, and all prophecy and all faith was worthless without love that we just make a lot of noise as if were just hanging symbols. Remember that now he informs us that these wonderful gifts are temporary, but love is eternal. This is worthy! Of agape.

He says nothing outlasts true love. This is this is why it is supreme. One day in heaven when I can and need faith. You need hope I Megan a volunteer to teach. We don't need mercy gifts, but love the last. The word here for fails or falls pintos a word, the Greeks used for the falling of a pedal from a flower to the ground or the falling of a leaf that within wither and die.

Paul says true love, the love of Christ never falls down. It never withers away, you chooses to remain constant and connected. This is the constant see this is the loyalty. This is the dependability.

This is the dedication and the faithfulness of the devotion of true genuine Christ imitating God honoring love. One day Charles Spurgeon, the well-known London pastor of the 1800s was walking through the English countryside with a friend in and is a stroll along the pastor noticed a barn with a weathervane on top of that barn and inscribed on the weathervane with the words, God is love, and Charles Spurgeon said to his friend that he felt that was a rather inappropriate place for such a message. He said weathervane's are are changeable, but God's love is constant friend responded no, Charles II think you misunderstand the meaning I think the weathervane is indicating a truth regardless of which way the wind blows God is love. Agape ladies and gentlemen is simply the description of the character of God. Christ himself and as we are conformed into the image and confess our dependency upon him. We demonstrate a little bit of his nature as well.but it can take a lifetime of practice and will never fully master but we strive for the gold goal is to please our father and this would pursue him as we surrender to the spirit we begin the bear fruit of the spirit which is first and foremost, the fruit of the spirit is we like him demonstrate to our world lives marked with this amazing true with that we bring to a close this lesson and this eight part series on love. Stephen's been working his way through first Corinthians 13. In a series called will true love. Please stand up. We have this series available as a CD set that you can include in your library of biblical resources.

This information on getting that set on our website. Wisdom online.org you can also call us today and we can assist you over the phone if you don't want CDs, we have it available as a digital download as well. That way you can have the lessons and the printed manuscripts on your computer will also mention that Stephen has a booklet that came out of this series called love call us at 86 648 by board visit wisdom online.org tomorrow. Stephen begins a very important series on salvation by faith alone. Join us for that here on wisdom for the