Sermon Tone Analysis

When your in love with Jesus you can’t keep it to yourself.

Intro: tell of our Alaska Trip, and God’s watch over us on our return.

Prayer

Please turn with me to 1 Corinthians 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.”

We will look at three forms of the word Charity as it is used in the Authorized Version (KJV)

26 ἀγαπάω (agapaō): vb.; ≡ DBLHebr 170; Str 25; TDNT 1.21—1.

LN 25.43 love, (Jn 13:34–35); 2. LN 25.44 show love, demonstrate love (1Jn 3:17); 3. LN 25.104 take pleasure in, to love based on its regarded value (Jn 12:43)

27 ἀγάπη (agapē), ης (ēs), ἡ (hē): n.fem.; ≡ DBLHebr 173; Str 26; TDNT 1.21—1.

LN 25.43 (Christian) love (Ro 5:8); 2. LN 23.28 Love Feast, the fellowship meal (Jude 12+)

28 ἀγαπητός (agapētos), ή (ē), όν (on): adj.; ≡ DBLHebr 3351, 3495; Str 27; TDNT 1.21—1.

LN 58.53

only dear only one of a class, esp.

loved, (Mt 3:17); 2. LN 25.45 beloved, dear friend, loved one (Eph 6:21

Agapao, Agape, Agapetos, three different word to describe what we translate in the word Love.

Agapao.

Show love, demonstrate love, to take pleasure in, and to love based on its regarded value.

Agape, the one we are most familiar with but that we also mistranslate most of the time.

Christian Love, love feast, and the fellowship meal.

Bet you didn't see that one coming.

Hang onto the words Christian Love we will be coming back to it.

Agapetos.

only dear only one of a class, especially loved, beloved, dear one, or a love one.

Three words, expressions for the word we call love, this is why I have a high regard for the Greek and Hebrew languages.

We call so many cheap things love, like sex, animals mating, how we love something sinful or illegal.

We add covet to it by saying how we love others property, possessions, wife, husband, boyfriend, girlfriend, etc. and how we would love to have them, why we would even die to have them or it.

Three words in the Greek with wonderful, meaningful, definitions, we have the one and we have pretty much trashed it over the years destroying the meaning of a word that is supposed to convey all three of the Greek meanings, and more.

You are probably wondering by this time where am I going with this, right?

Well I am going to try and explain it to you.

We will be using two of the Greek definitions, for our propose here today.

First we will look at Agapao and only part of the definition, To love based on its regarded value.

What does that mean or should mean to us as Christians?

Christ loved us based on our regarded value (“to have or show respect or concern for, to think highly of, to esteem, to take into account.)

a value only He could see.

From DA 19.1, 19.2

I qoute;

“His name shall be called Immanuel, ... God with us.” “The light of the knowledge of the glory of God” is seen “in the face of Jesus Christ.”

From the days of eternity the Lord Jesus Christ was one with the Father; He was “the image of God,” the image of His greatness and majesty, “the outshining of His glory.”

It was to manifest this glory that He came to our world.

To this sin-darkened earth He came to reveal the light of God's love,—to be “God with us.”

Therefore it was prophesied of Him, “His name shall be called Immanuel.”

DA 19.1

By coming to dwell with us, Jesus was to reveal God both to men and to angels.

He was the Word of God,—God's thought made audible.

In His prayer for His disciples He says, “I have declared unto them Thy name,”—“merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,”—“that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”

But not alone for His earthborn children was this revelation given.

Our little world is the lesson book of the universe.

God's wonderful purpose of grace, the mystery of redeeming love, is the theme into which “angels desire to look,” and it will be their study throughout endless ages.

Both the redeemed and the unfallen beings will find in the cross of Christ their science and their song.

It will be seen that the glory shining in the face of Jesus is the glory of self-sacrificing love.

In the light from Calvary it will be seen that the law of self-renouncing love is the law of life for earth and heaven; that the love which “seeketh not her own” has its source in the heart of God; and that in the meek and lowly One is manifested the character of Him who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto.

DA 19.2

Our second word is Agape, the one most of us are at least somewhat familiar with.

The definition has in it Christian love, and the fellowship meal, which is also a description of the Lord’s Supper.

Let’s break this down and we are also going to really concentrate on a couple parts of the Greek meanings as they apply to us.

First Agapao, Heaven saw a weak fallen race, a race God had created, as The God Head took counsel and devised the plan of salvation based on Agapao and Agape.

They saw a value only they could see and taking into count our value, and their Agape for us.

Because of their deep unconditional love for us, because they couldn’t bare the thought of spending eternity without us, Jesus pleaded with His Father to let Him pay the ransom so that as many that choose too could be with them throughout out eternity.

I am going to side track for a minute and take a quick look at what Jesus did.

I am only going to touch on a little part of the plan of salvation.

I do not profess to even begin to understand a tiny little bit of it.

I will attempt to break down some of it.

Jesus, the Son of God, who was fully God and equal with and one third of the God Head, steeps down to become a human and choosing to come down and dwell with us starting off as a baby, born in a stable.

His mother being impregnated by the Holy Spirit.

He kept His word to King David that through his blood line He would establish his throne for ever.

Turn with me to II Samuel 7:16 “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever.”

Now you would think that God would pick a perfect blood line for His Son to be born in, and one with means and status.

Thats what we would have done, but not God no not even close.

What a blood line, although it did start off very well, well at least after a bumps in the road.

But when go forward from Abraham things went south in a hurry, with just about every sin you can imagine.

Arn’t you glad we serve a forgiving God, a gracious God.

Jesus steps down, and goes with the plan as laid out, knowing that He could Fail, He could Sin by a thought or action, and be without His supernatural powers.

That my friends is Love an unfathomable love, a love that we can only long for.

A love we can only strive for.

Now I know that most if not all of us fell in love with someone and we felt at the time we could not love any deeper then that, not be able to love anther.

Then came your first child and your heart exploded in your chest and you found love enough for both, then your child gets married and you find even more love.

Your chest is so full of love it amazes you as you look at your family and you feel more love.

Just when you thought you had reached you limit on love, you look into the face of your first grandchild, and you feel such a surge of love you almost can’t stand, your knees feel weak as you fall deeply in love all over again.

Friends all that love I just explained is like one rain drop out of a torrential thunder storm compared to the love of Christ for us.

And I dare say I am way off, not even close to the height, and depth of our Saviors Love.

Well could Jesus ask Peter do you love me , three times.

Peter one of the inter circle, one of the three that Jesus always chose to you with Him.

Jesus loved him deeply, trusted him, and I am sure He had big plans for him.

Peter, impetuous, loud, always the first to answer,, always the one with both feet in his mouth.

Peter the one who drew his sword, ready to die defending his Lord.

This peter who snuck in to the trail, this same peter who was ashamed to be identified as one of Jesus disciples.

This same peter who denied his lord not once, not twice, bit three times.

Who on the third time said with a loud voice, woman I don’t know this man, have never known him and I am certainly not his disciple, and ended with a string of curse words.

And as he turned his gaze away from the woman and toward Jesus, he saw Jesus turn and look at him.

At that moment he realized that Jesus had heard him along with everyone else in the room.

He expected to see reprove, condemnation, something, but he saw love and compassion in those eyes he had always loved to look into.

Suddenly the realization on what he had just done went through hid mind and mixed with the compassion in those eyes, broke his heart completely.

Turning he fled from the room with tears streaming down his checks, his body racked with the sobbing of a broken heart.

Running almost blind from the tears that wouldn’t stop, he found himself in the garden, and rushing to the very spot where Christ had plead with His Father, he fell on his face and wept.

We are not told how long he wept there, but we know it was a long time.

Some days later John tells us that Jesus confronts Peter at the lake in front of the other disciples.

Why, because public sin has to have public confession.

Jesus asks him, do you love me, not once but three times.

The third time peter, can I use a little sanctified imagination here, I think he realized fully what he had done, and it terrified him that he might loose Jesus, I can see him with tears streaming down his cheeks, pleading with Jesus.

Lord I do love you, I really do, and you know all things, so you know I love you.

Jesus reinstates him and gives him a leadership role.