TRUE CHRISTIAN LOVE

TRUE CHRISTIAN LOVE

TOPIC: TRUE CHRISTIAN LOVE
Text: 1 Cor. 13:1-13
INTRODUCTION: We are acquainted with human love. We revel in the human love of parents, delight in the love of classmates, friends, and relatives. But their love is fickle and falls short of the standards of love as set forth for Christians in the Scripture. Love is desirable. It is greater than knowledge and more essential than faith. Faith as a grain of mustard seed would be wonderful, but useless without love.
1.LOVE IS GIVING
*The process of bringing the lost man back to his old glory in God was kickstarted in love John 3:16.
*The gift of Christ to man was bathed in love Rom 5:8
*To give without love is useless, it amounts to just a mere courtesy.
*Any sacrifice offered towards the kingdom that is not governed and immersed in His love is useless.
1 John 4:19, 1 Cor 16:14
2.THE OUTSTANDING QUALITY OF LOVE
*True love is able to suffer 1 Pet 3:18. True love says, I love you and will go through fire, sorrow and trouble for you John 15:12-13.
*True love endures suffering and yet remains sweet and kind 1 Cor 13:4,7
*The Christian pathway is one of suffering, yet the Christian learns to love. Through suffering and trial, Christian character matures and deepens Rom 5:3-5, James 1:2-4.
*Love that turns to hate overnight was mere human man love, just an infatuation 1 John 4:20-21
3. WHAT LOVE IS NOT
*Envious: True love does not envy success, gifts, talents, and possessions of others. 1 Pet 2:1, James 3:14-16
*Boastful: It does not show off. It maintains humility. It is self-effacing. 1 Cor 13:4, Jer 9:24, 2 Cor 10:15-17
*Rude: It does not behave in an unseemly manner. It is always courteous. 1 Cor 13:5
*Selfish: Seeks not her own. True love sacrifices and gives generously. 1 Cor 13:5
*Irritable: It is not easily provoked. True love is not touchy. It absorbs much. 1 Cor 13:5,7
*Censorious: doesn’t think evil. It is not overcritical, carping, disparaging or nagging. 1 Cor 13:5
4.TRUE LOVE
*Truthful: Love delights to tell the truth, not afraid to confide their weakness to one another.
*Sustaining: Beareth all things, True love does not collapse under strain, emotional, mental etc
*Trusting: Believes all things. True love thinks good motives, not suspicious of one another.
*Hopeful: True love always expects the best.
*Enduring: It endures through time, deception and even death.
CONCLUSION: Love is eternal, Supreme and greater than hope because our God is love 1 John 4:16. Heaven is so different from the Earth for it is controlled by Love. Christ who dwells in us desires that we should manifest this love daily. May the Almighty God help us to manifest His true love always in Jesus name. Amen