The Gift of Love

Luke Kirkendall

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All You Need Is Love

It’s the summer of 1967.

It’s called the Summer of Love.

The height of the hippie movement.

The flower children are on the prowl.

In July of 1967, the Beatles sang these poetic and diverse words:

Love, love love

All you need is love, all you need is love

All you need is love, … love, … love is all you need

All you need is love

All you need is love, … love, … love is all you need.

That is the peak of flower power lyrics right there.

So much depth.

In case you missed those words, let me say them again.

Love, love love

All you need is love, all you need is love

All you need is love,

And just when you think you got the pattern down, John Lennon mixes them up on us.

… love, … love is all you need

All you need is love

All you need is love, … love, … love is all you need.

“Love, love, love

Love is what we will be talking about this morning.

Love, love, love

Perhaps this sermon would have worked better last week, just prior to Valentine’s Day.

Love, love, love

And for this sermon I will have three points for you.

Love, love, love

Love Needed.

All you need is love, all you need is love

Love Demonstrated.

All you need is love, all you need is love

All you need is love, love, love is all you need

And Love Remains.

All you need is love, love, love is all you need

All you need is love

And to get us in the mindset of where we need to go in this, let’s read all of .

All you need is love

All you need is love, love, love is all you need

Read .

All you need is love, love, love is all you need

Love Needed

Remember the context of this passage.

This chapter is one of those chapters that is well known, and is even given a nickname.

is known as the Faith Chapter or the Faith Hall of Fame.

And is known as the Love Chapter.

It’s a beautiful chapter.

It’s one that’s frequently quoted in weddings, on greeting cards, and by two love birds who are confessing their love for each other.

Especially, verses 4-8, at least the first half of verse 8.

Though this chapter is helpful to married couples, it’s not directly about marriage, even though it’s read at weddings.

Remember who this letter is written to and who this chapter is written to.

It’s not Paul writing a love letter to a lady.

It’s Paul writing to a fractured and divided church.

They loved their gifts.

They loved the Spiritual gifts.

They’d come together and want to show those gifts off.

They each thought they were more important than each other.

So in the last chapter, Paul explained that there are gifts and we each have gifts according to God’s choosing.

Here Paul lays out this huge and important truth about the gifts … in order to properly use the gifts, love is needed.

Since the beginning of January, we’ve started this conversation about the gifts.

First is what is the great work that God has prepared for you ahead of time.

So we started thinking about how you fit into the body.

Then it was what is your gift.

And I know you’re thinking about.

You’re praying about it.

You’re seeking your gift.

You are talking to one another about where your gifted.

I love it.

I am appreciating the text messages and the emails where you tell me where you think you are gifted.

This is really fun.

It’s so neat to think about you starting to think how God has gifted you and what your place in this body is.

We are beginning to see that church isn’t something that we attend.

Rather the church is something that we are a part of.

And now as we start thinking about gifts, we need to realize that we don’t have gifts just so we can have gifts, or show off, but rather we have gifts so that we can love others.

Our gifts exist so that we can build each other up.

You have a gift so that you can serve other people.

At the close of the previous chapter, Paul said, “But earnestly desire the higher gifts. And I will show you a still more excellent way.”

Basically, know your gifts.

Use your gifts.

And let me show you how to use your gifts.

And then we go into chapter 13.

As chapter 13 starts, Paul gives some hypothetical statements, some exaggerated statements.

An exaggeration is something that is blown out of proportion, it’s taken to the extreme.

So he begins with tongues.

The gift of tongues is a gift that isn’t around today anymore.

But when it existed, tongues were real languages.

In , when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the church, and people spoke in tongues, they didn’t speak in a made up language.

It wasn’t, “Should’ve bought a Honda, but I bought a Kia.”

Let me slow that down for you, “Should’ve bought a Honda, but I bought a Kia.”

It was a real language that existed already.

says of tongues, “And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.”

In , they spoke in actual languages, so that nonbelievers would hear the Gospel.

Back to , Paul says, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. “

Suppose I can even speak to angels.

This doesn’t mean that tongues are a secret language, or some heavenly language.

It’s an exaggeration, suppose I could even speak to angels, if I don’t have love it’s useless.

If Paul doesn’t have love, what is the purpose of the tongues, of his message?

It’s meaningless.

It’s a noisy gong.

A clanging cymbal.

It’s just noise.

That’s because the gifts are for others.

They are for building people up.

They are not for ourselves.

Verse 2 Paul says, “And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. “

Again this is an exaggeration.

He’s not saying he can actually understand all mysteries or have all knowledge.

You may have the gift of knowledge, but I can promise you don’t know everything.

Solomon was a wise man, the wisest to ever live.

But there were somethings even he didn’t know.

Moses was a great prophet, but there were plenty of things he didn’t know.

Elijah, was a great prophet, a man of great faith, but he was also incredibly cowardly and faithless times.

If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains ...

But can you move mountains?

No you can’t.

This is an exaggeration.

Paul is taking tongues, knowledge, prophecy and faith, and saying, “Suppose you were the most gifted and the most powerful in these gifts, in ways that even God didn’t imagine ...”

He says, that if you don’t have love … what are you … nothing.

The last exaggeration that Paul gives is verse 3, “If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”

Around Memorial Day, we talk about the soldier who gave the ultimate sacrifice, his life.

On the battlefield men die.

There are philanthropists who give away their fortunes.

There are people who give every second of their time to serving the poor.

They give away their life.

But if you don’t have love …

It’s just another casualty.

It’s another rich man who gave away money.

It’s another Mother Theresa who fed the poor.

Love is needed for these spiritual gifts to function properly.

We are about halfway through this series on the gifts, and we need to stop here to be reminded that love is needed for us to use them rightly.

That’s actually what Paul does as well.

he talks about the gifts.

he defines the gifts.

And smack in the middle of them, he talks about love.

Saying, if we don’t have love we are nothing.

He brings some humility into the discussion of tongues.

I don’t want us to be like Michael Scott.

Remember The Office.

It was on TV through the late 2,000’s.

Steve Carrell played the clueless office manager, Michael Scott.

In the first season he said, “When I retire, I don’t want to just disappear to an island somewhere. I want to be the guy who gives everything back. I want it to be like: “Hey, who donated that hospital wing that is saving so many lives?” “Umm, well, uh, I don’t know. It was anonymous.” “Well, guess what? That was Michael Scott!” “But— it was anonymous, how do you know?” “…Because I’m him!”

He clearly didn’t understand what an anonymous gift is.

And I want us to understand what our gifts are.

As we pursue the gifts, we must make sure that our motivation is right.

Because if we don’t have the right motivation, the product will be a counterfeit.

How many of you order things from Amazon?

Isn’t it the best.

You ever look for an item, and then find something that looks similar at a fraction of the price.

Sometimes I’ll go looking for bike clothes.

I find two similar products.

The first is $50.

Then I find something that looks similar for $10.

I then find out that the $10 product is actually from China.

And I think, but how different could it be, so I buy the cheaper one.

Then I get it.

Often times bike clothes have logos of sponsors on them.

Well when you order from China, those logos peal right off.

And size?

Well, Chinese sizes aren’t exactly the same as American.

The quality is completely different.

And when it comes to the gifts, we may be able to manufacture what looks like authentic gifts on our own, but if they are missing love … they’re useless.

They’re like the knock off brand from China.

Or to use Paul’s language, they are nothing.

We must have a love for others as we desire to find our gifts and put them to use.

Which all this begs the question, do you have love? Do you love the church?

That’s who the gifts are for.

They are for you to serve the church.

Perhaps we lack motivation.

We are told to have love, but why?

Here are 5 reasons why we should love the church.

1. Because God the Father loves the Church.

, one of the first verses you ever memorized begins, “For God so loved the world ...”

, “In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will ...”

2. Second, because Jesus loves the Church.

says, “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ...”

And then a couple verses later, “For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church,”

Christ cares for His church and therefore, He desires to nourish and cherish her.

3. Because Jesus died for the church.

In , a charge given to the Elders who are called to shepherd the church, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood.”

The price of the church is the blood of Christ.

It’s valuable.

If Christ thinks something is valuable, and if the value is His own life … it’s something to be treasured.

4. When we love the church and love others here, we then get to demonstrate the same love and grace that Christ has shown us.

In a sense you are united with Him and you demonstrate your understanding of the Gospel when you love others.

5. We are commanded to love the Church.

Paul is telling us to have love in the use of our gifts.

In , Jesus explains that evidence of our salvation is love for one another, “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

And in , “Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

If we don’t love … then we don’t know God.

The second point is Love Demonstrated.

Our culture is confused by love.

It’s limited to a feeling.

People fall in love.

They fall out of love.

They feel love.

They don’t feel love.

The Righteous Brothers sang, “You’ve lost that loving feeling ...”

But when God speaks of love, it’s not a feeling.

It’s demonstrated.

It’s seen.

, “For God so loved the world, ...”

That He had feelings?

That He had positive thoughts towards you?

No.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son ...”

His love did something.

His love was put into action.

Sometimes someone will leave the church and they come to me and sit in my office.

They say, “Luke, I love this church, but ...” and then starts the laundry list of things that are wrong with the church.

It’s funny they even start by saying, “I love this church ...” but notice how Paul describes love.

“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

A biblical definition of love is seen by seen by these things happening.

Patience.

Kindness.

Not envying or boasting.

Not being arrogant or rude.

Not making demands.

Not gossiping.

Rejoicing in growth.

Often times I’ll tell these people who are leaving, “you don’t really love the church.”

The excuses you just gave me are all selfish.

Remember, Paul is writing to a chaotic church.

He calls for them to use their gifts.

To use their gifts in love.

He begins by saying, “Love is patient and kind.”

The person who is leaving says, “I just don’t have any patience for that person.”

Patience is a good word, but I like more literal meaning more, “Long-suffering”.

You know what long suffering means?

It means to suffer long.

It means someone really gets under your skin.

When they are around you … you look at the clock.

You suffer when you are with them.

Is there a limit to that suffering?

No.

It’s long suffering.

In , Jesus said, “... If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

That’s long suffering.

That’s patience.

Love is demonstrated by not envying or boasting.

A lack of love says:

“That person always get’s what he wants.”

“All the good things to him.”

“Why should he be recognized.”

Envying or boasting seeks attention.

It says, “I’ve been doing that and no one said good job to me.”

What’s the opposite of envying and boasting?

It’s applauding others.

It’s celebrating with them in their accomplishments.

Love is not arrogant or rude.

It’s humble.

It considers others as better.

This is the desire to be a servant.

Love does not insist on its own way.

Burger King makes good burgers, but their slogan is a terrible slogan for the church or for a Christian.

“Have it your way.”

Our goal shouldn’t be to have it our way, but to seek others instead.

When you get frustrated with other Christians or maybe even the church, ask yourself if you are insisting on things being your way.

Because if you are … then by definition you are not being loving.

You are being more like the Corinthians church, and that’s not a compliment.

When that person comes to me and says:

“I like the church, but I just don’t get anything out of it.”

“There’s nothing there for me.”

I love to point them to this verse.

That line of thinking is not loving.

It’s selfishness.

Love is not irritable or resentful.

The NIV says, “Love keeps no record of wrong.”

This is an accounting term.

Remember when we had checkbooks.

I remember once upon a time going to the store, and anytime I made a purchase, I’d record that purchase in my checkbook.

I kept a record of every purchase I made.

This says, “Love keeps no record of wrong.”

This attitude is not loving, but it’s actually looking for failure in others.

It’s keeping a record of their wrongs.

Every time they sin, opening up that checkbook and writing down their mistake.

It’s really hard to forgive others, if you are always bringing up what they’ve done.

To forgive someone, means the balance is paid.

It’s done.

The debt is erased.

If you are keeping a record of wrong … then you aren’t forgiving.

Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

What does it mean to rejoice at wrongdoing?

Gossip.

Gossip is terrible, because really good gossip, is when someone has done something really terrible.

You see something, “Oh I can’t wait to tell them about this.”

Instead, love rejoices with truth.

It’s to say good things about each other.

To rejoice at what is good.

And if you have a hard time understanding how to do these things in a good way … look at the Cross.

God was patient with us.

There was an atheist in the 1,800’s who in the middle of his lectures would say, “I’ll give God five minutes to strike me dead for the things I’ve said.”

He’d live after those 5 minutes and then say that that was proof that God didn’t exist.

Someone once commented on this and said, “Did the gentleman think he could exhaust the patience of the eternal God in 5 minutes?”

says that the reason why Jesus hasn’t returned and struck all the wicked dead is precisely because of his patience.

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. “

God didn’t strike you down the moment you sinned.

Instead was patient.

How about keeping a record of wrong?

We certainly had a record of wrongs against us.

God sees every sin.

And in His justice, He gives exactly what the sinner deserves.

This is why Hell is eternal.

But for those who Christ died for … their sins are atoned for, they have been propitiated.

What does mean?

The balance has been cleared.

says, “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

You who wonder if God will punish you for your sins, if you are in Christ, you can be fully assured that God keeps no record of wrong.

Those sins are paid for if you are in Christ.

Suppose you had a balance on your credit card, and your dear Uncle Bob, sent them a check and paid off your balance.

Your credit card company can’t send you a bill for what he paid off.

In the same way, if Christ paid for your sins … God won’t come to you looking for payment.

They are removed as far as the east is from the west.

And the more we gaze upon the Gospel, and are wowed by God’s own love for us … the more you will be able to then demonstrate that love to others.

But remember, Love must be demonstrated … or it’s not love.

And lastly, Love Remains.

I love the Holy Spirit.

And I love spiritual gifts.

They are a constant reminder of the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

It’s humbling to think of Him using us.

But here’s something to know … the gifts will not last forever.

In verse 11, Paul says, “When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.”

So when you are a kid, you do kid things.

When you become an adult, then you put those kid things behind you.

Remember Tom Hanks movie Big?

Tom Hanks played a 12 year old boy who makes a wish and becomes a 30 year old man.

Part of the fun of the movie is watching Tom Hanks do things that are far beneath him.

Because as an adult you don’t act like a kid anymore.

The gifts are similar to our childhood.

And as you grow up, certain kid traits fade out.

There comes a day when the diapers are no longer worn and the thumb isn’t sucked.

Slowly, as you grow up, the childish things stop.

Then the action figures are put away.

And its no longer cool to hang out on the playground, actually it’s creepy.

Just as there comes a day when diapers are no longer worn, there came a day when tongues ceased to function in the church.

I know that there are many churches and Christians that think tongues are still active today.

But they’re not.

Tongues, like healings and miracles, were called sign gifts.

They were used to authenticate the message of the apostles.

Paul says that these things will cease.

That means stop to function.

Instantly done.

He wrote I Corinthians in 55 ad.

I Corinthians was one of the earliest books written in the New Testament.

And shortly after he wrote these words in 58 ad, the last miracle was recorded in the New Testament, which is found in .

The last instance of tongues being recorded was in .

Therefore, we can say that tongues and the sign gifts did cease, just as the text says.

Look at verse 8, “Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”

So verse 8, prophecies will pass away, knowledge will pass away.

We continue to preach.

We continue to have knowledge.

But even these will not remain forever.

They will pass away.

When will the rest of the gifts cease?

When will they pass away?

Verse 10 says when the perfect comes.

When Christ has returned and there is a new heaven and new earth.

When we are in our new bodies.

When we are fully sanctified.

But do you know what will remain?

While we are here, we pursue the gifts.

We use them.

But we must not grow too attached to them, because they will not be here forever.

But what will remain is love.

Verse 13, “So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.”

When we are brought into eternity and have our new bodies, and in the presence of Christ Himself … we will still be loving.

We won’t need to evangelize.

But we will need to love.

Love is one of those things we will be doing forever.

Therefore, it’s time to get started on it now.

Love is something that we will be active in doing.

So ask yourself this … what is your love like?

Is it a feeling, or is it an action?

And if it’s an action, then how are you demonstrating it?

God has gifted you.

But if you aren’t using those gifts to serve others … then you aren’t loving.

As we continue down this corridor of using our gifts, we must have love.

We must have a love for the saints.

And then out of that love for the saints and desiring them to be built up, then use that love to God’s glory.