These Three Remain
THESE THREE REMAIN (1 Corinthians 13)
Michelangelo was eight years older than Raphael – two of the greatest Italian Renaissance painters. Michelangelo came into Raphael’s studio one day and examined one of his prized images. Picking up a piece of chalk, Michelangelo scrawled clear across the painting a Latin word “AMPLIUS” which translated means: greater, larger or ‘more’.
To the old master’s great eye, Raphael’s painting demonstrated too little vision. Michelangelo insisted that the young painter think bigger and paint better.
Sometimes I think that God wants to do that with me. There are days when I wonder if God has taken a big piece of chalk and written across the canvas of my life the work “AMPLIUS”. Almighty God must sometimes look down from heaven and see our plans and efforts and scratch His head. When God created the heavens and the earth, He wasn’t thinking on a small scale. Rather He spoke with majesty, wonder and glory and when He took you and me and painted us on the canvas of His eternity ... there was no mistake. I believe today, that the God who thinks BIG wants us to live greater, larger, more magnificently. Because this is true, our God has equipped us with wonderful tools that we can not do without. The Apostle Paul gives us three of them this morning in 1 Corinthians 13. Let’s read it together.
We cannot paint without faith
Europe, I’m told was full of beautiful old cities prior to WWI. Following the war, author AJ Cronin wanted to see one of the cities he loved so much before the war. As he returned to Vienna, he was heartbroken over the destruction of this once glorious city. The further he walked, the more angry he became as he witnessed the ravages of man.
It began to rain so Cronin sought shelter in a church ... the only building he could find that was not destroyed by the hostilities. He stood and watched and old man coming into the sanctuary carrying a little girl in his arms. He carried her to the front and placed her down by the alter to pray. It was then that Cronin noticed that the little girl was paralyzed. The old man steadied the little girl as they both knelt to pray. After a few minutes of prayer, the old man picked up his precious little burden and began to walk out. Cronin followed them out church to a worn out broken wagon and watched as the old man gently placed the little girl on it and covered her twisted limbs with a potato sack. Cronin could not be silent, “Was it the war the harmed this little child?” The old man told Cronin of the bomb that not only crippled this precious little girl, but also killed her mother and father.
Cronin asked if they came to church often to pray and the old man replied that they come every day. Then he added, “We come to show the good God that we are not angry with Him.”
What faith! They trusted the GOOD GOD in spite of the horrible reality of their personal pain. And this year will have its share of pain. FAITH is one of the wonderful tools that we cannot live without in 2008. In fact, Hebrews 11:6 says, “... without faith it is impossible to please God!
Now, although FAITH is a wonderful and necessary instrument to live greater, larger and more magnificent for Christ in 2008, there is a second utensil that we need ...
We cannot paint without hope
Several weeks ago, a fire ravaged downtown Barrie. The landscape in the area of the explosion and fire has been changed forever. I noticed in the news a story about a family who lost almost everything. They commented that they had even lost their family pet ... a cat ... so they moved away to Sudbury. Because of the intensity of the blast and the destruction, they had lost all hope of ever finding their cat alive again. A couple of days later, someone found the cat and the pet was reunited with its family.
There was another great fire. This one happened in 1871 in the city of Chicago. The story is told of a man whose business was destroyed. The day after the fire, the man set up a table in the midst of the debris and placed a sign on it that read, “Everything lost except wife, children and hope. Business will be resumed as usual tomorrow morning.”
Hope is something we just can’t live without. There will be events in 2008 that will test us and try us. Some of us will deal with financial problems, some with marital struggles and others with health related issues. If we lose hope, we will never survive.
GF Watts was a 19th Century painter, who painted this picture. << SHOW PICTURE >>. Notice the musician is not only blindfolded but she is playing a harp with only one string on it. What do you suppose the title of the painting is? It’s not called ‘Loser’ and it’s not ‘Despair’. The picture is called “HOPE”. Watts was trying to say that as long as there is one string left, there was still HOPE for making music.
HOPE for the Christian is like a wrench with two ends. << SHOW PICTURE >>
- HOPE not only gives us victory when we face the crisis points in our life
- HOPE also gives us assurance of rest and peace with God when our struggles here are over!
The Bible speaks of HOPE as a confident expectation or an absolute assurance. Look at what Romans 5:5 says ...
- We live in hope that tomorrow will be better
- We live in HOPE that life will become sweeter
- We live in HOPE that we will become more holy ... more like Jesus
Some of us walk around defeated all the time and wonder why we are so tiered and exhausted. That’s because Satan wants to lie to us and tell us we cannot be forgiven, that we cannot have peace, that we cannot have HOPE and that everything is impossible. BUT KNOW THIS WELL ...
- Jesus Christ did the impossible for you and me ... He is raised from the dead so that we can have HOPE in tomorrow because He will be there with us! Yea God!
- HOPE should be as natural to the believer as the beating of our heart
- HOPE is in us because God put it there
- HOPE is something we cannot do without in 2008!
We cannot paint without love
Imagine with me two other pictures. The first is a picture of young man ... a son who leaves his father’s home with his half of the family inheritance. He takes that money a wastes it on wild living and partying. After all the money is gone, he remembers his father’s home and his father’s kindness and the young man chooses to return home to be like a slave in his father’s home.
The second is different. The characters are the same but in the second painting see the dirty, dishevelled and ashamed young man falling down on the dirt in front of the father. Now notice the tears of joy and of LOVE in the eyes of the father as he kisses, hugs and forgives his son for the first time in many months, and experience the joy as the father welcomes his son home again as his child.
Today ... LOVE’s healing touch is so desperately needed in our families. It’s needed in our homes, our businesses, our schools our neighbourhoods ... it’s needed in our Churches. We need the Almighty God to re-equip our hearts with the miraculous, healing instrument of LOVE. And we need to share that LOVE with those that God places in our lives.
- LOVE is God’s most precious gift and we cannot do without it in 2008!
(CLOSING repeated slide 1)
As we begin this New Year, I believe that God wants to do something special with us. I believe that he wants to come to the paint easel of our lives and pull out a big piece of chalk and write one word across us ... the word is “AMPLIUS”. He wants to take the picture we have been painting since June 4, 1994 (the date of our first service in the hall of the Bradford Public Library) and give to us freshly crafted vision and specially refined tools called FAITH, HOPE and LOVE.
And the God who hung each star in its place ... the one who with a Word, created the heavens and the earth ... the one who made you and knows you better than you know yourself ... this very God is willing and able to make 2008 the greatest yet for Bradford Alliance Church ... and the greatest yet for you!
So take with you today FAITH ...
When it is hard to see the forest for all of the trees
Take with you HOPE ...
Knowing that if God is for you, no one can be against you
And take LOVE ...
God’s most precious gift that will hold us all together in Christ Jesus