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Good morning, church.
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Good to see you.
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I am so thankful and glad that you're here.
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So last week, my wife, Elisa and I, we got out of town uh for a couple days without the kids.
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And uh yeah.
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And uh yeah, it deserves a round of applause, I know.
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Um It had been a while since we had done that, and so we got uh out of town for a couple nights.
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We went down to the Red River Gorge area of Kentucky, which that's an area that I absolutely love.
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If you haven't been there, you you should go.
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Uh I had I've spent some time hiking there, backpacking through parts of the Red River Gorge, but to my wife's recollection, she couldn't remember ever really exploring that area, and so that's where we went and to spend some time just together, hiking, exploring.
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And so when I went to kind of book the place to stay, I wanted to stay in a place that was kind of more unique.
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And so here's a short video.
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This is where we stayed.
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Um, and so we we stay in this place called Dome Town.
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Uh, it was a geodesic dome, basically up in the trees.
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And there's no audio to the video because I took it out.
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Because you could hear two things.
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One, rain, it rained the whole time, and two, me breathing heavily.
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Uh because just to get to the spot to where the video started, we had to climb up stairs and it gets you to a platform, and you climb up some more stairs, get to a platform, and uh up a spiral staircase, and uh across the suspension bridge that would lead you to the dome that we were staying in.
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And I told you it rained truly, like pretty much the whole time.
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And we were there for two nights, and it pretty much rained the whole time, but it felt like a rainforest because we were truly up in the trees.
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I don't know, you're probably 20 to 30 feet off the ground, and you're just surrounded by trees.
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And so we get into our dome, and we knew that it was probably gonna rain quite a bit while we're there.
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So both of us brought books with us, and I just want you to imagine that sound of constant rain just hitting the dome, right?
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Like uh the constant sound of rain hitting like a tarp.
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And that's what it was, and so uh we we both brought books and we were just reading, and it was like, other than the rainfall, it was quiet.
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And I just felt like at peace.
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And so I brought my Bible with me, and I brought a book uh that I started called Stand Firm, Act Like Men by Pastor Joby Martin.
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And I'll tell you, men, I'm not a big reader.
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There are a few books that grab my attention and keep it.
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This book is one of them, and so I recommend it to you.
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And so we just spent time reading, and it was so peaceful uh until it wasn't.
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All right, so uh it was peaceful, and we were reading, I don't know, an hour, hour and a half, and then all of a sudden we heard some voices approaching.
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So we're in one of three geodesic domes you could stay in, and we knew, of course, that there was a chance other people might be staying in the other domes.
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And the domes aren't like right next to one another, they're probably they're at different heights in the tree canopy and probably separated by 30 to 40 yards, whatnot.
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And so sure enough, we hear some voices, and I peek out the dome, and I see a couple of people approaching, heading to a dome, and no problem.
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Like, we got neighbors in dome town now.
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And uh, so I go back to reading, and then uh, like I don't know, it felt like two minutes later, loud music starts to play.
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And I feel and kind of sound like an old curmudgeon here, uh, but it was loud music to where I was like, I think the whole Red River Gorge can hear this music.
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And what felt peaceful now doesn't feel as peaceful anymore.
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I think there's like two people, two types of people in this world.
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Those that like retreat to the woods to just kind of enjoy the woods, enjoy nature, and those that retreat to the woods and then like bring all the noise with them.
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Uh you can probably tell what kind of person I am, and you can probably figure out uh what kind of people my dome town neighbors were, right?
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Like worlds are colliding.
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And so I'm like, man, that's I hope that doesn't go on all night.
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And so I just keep reading, and eventually I just get up and I start putting on my rain, my raincoat, and my wife's like, What are you doing?
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Where are you going?
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And I'm like, Well, I'm gonna go outside and make my presence known, you know?
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So like I've been I started this book, Stand Firm, Act Like Men, and I'm like, I'm gonna go outside, I'm gonna stand firm and I'm gonna act like a man.
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Load full transcript
That's not what the book's about.
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But so I I go outside and I'm like, I'm gonna make my presence known, not in like a mean way, not in a confrontational way, but I'm like, maybe they just don't know we're here.
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You know, they weren't here when we arrived, so maybe they just think they're alone and they're playing their music extra loud.
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I'm just gonna go out and explore.
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I'm just gonna play in the rain like a kid and hope that they see me.
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You know?
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And so that's what I did.
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And mission accomplished because my domedown neighbors saw me, and there was a brief and out-of-distance exchange.
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And so I'm gonna tell you that conversation because I remember it very clearly.
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And and then I'm gonna tell you what was also going on in my head, which is a scary thing.
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But so my dome town neighbor, you know, again, we're like 30, 40 yards away.
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He's down kind of below, their dome was below ours.
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And so he's like, he sees me and he goes, Hey buddy, and I'm like, Hey, how's it going?
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And then here's the first thing that he asks me, all right?
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He says, Are you alone?
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Number one, that's weird, all right.
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If you ever meet somebody in the woods for the first time, don't let the first words out of your mouth be, are you alone?
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Like, I'm kind of like, you know, and and so in my head, I'm like, I'm I'm not alone.
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I've got my wife and I've got my my friends Smith and Weston with me.
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I didn't tell him that.
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But I'm like, I tell him I'm not alone.
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And then he goes, It's my birthday.
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Now things are making more sense to me.
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And so I tell him a happy birthday, and he's like, So if you want to come down and and drink with us, just let me know.
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And I tell him, you know, thank you for the invite in my head, zero percent chance of that happening.
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And then he starts to walk away, and I start to walk away like that was weird.
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And and then he stops and he's like, This music isn't bothering you, is it?
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And I was like, Well, if if you could keep it down a little bit, that would be helpful.
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And then that was it.
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We were there for two nights, they were there for at least two nights, I don't know.
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And I
know you're wondering, did they turn the music down?
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It's debatable.
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Maybe, maybe a little bit.
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Uh, did the music last well past my bedtime?
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It did.
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And I tell you this story though, because people are hard to like sometimes, aren't they?
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Right?
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And uh people are hard to like, let alone people are hard to love.
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And so my wife and I, we visited this coffee shop every every morning when we were there, and they had this mug, and it just said, ew, people.
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I was like, I should, I should have bought that mug.
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But people are hard to like, and people are hard to love, and if we are honest with ourselves, and if we are honest with each other, uh, you're hard to like sometimes.
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Sorry to tell you.
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And you're hard to love sometimes, and I'm hard to like sometimes, and I'm hard to love sometimes.
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And so you might be able to start tracking where we're going this morning.
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We're gonna talk about love this morning and what love scripturally really is and what it is and what it does.
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But we're not gonna talk about love as a feeling this morning.
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The kind of love that we're talking about this morning, it's not a feeling.
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And the kind of love that we're talking about this morning, it's it's not an emotion.
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The kind of love that we're talking about this morning is an action.
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And as uh the bride of Christ, as the church, the kind of love that we're talking about this morning is is a choice that we are called to make.
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And so um, you know, in the English language, we have this one word, love, and it describes a whole array of kinds of love, feelings of love, emotions of love, actions, right?
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We use this word love and it means a lot.
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If you were with us last week, Didi got us rolling in the right direction, and he talked about how he used the example of how he loves his wife, Shannon, but he also loves Legendary Whip and Bethel, right?
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He loves both, but they're different.
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You know, I can tell you that I love baseball and I love my kids.
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I love both of them, but they're different.
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I love my kids more than I love baseball, by the way.
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But they're different.
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I love both, but they're they're different.
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But in the Greek,
there are actually multiple words that talk about different kinds of love.
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And so we are wrapping up this series this morning uh called Bloom, and we've been working through uh 1 Peter or 2 Peter chapter 1, and we've been focusing on the first seven verses.
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And so I'm gonna read all seven to you.
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This is what it says Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours.
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Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
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His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and goodness.
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Through these He has given us His very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
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For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness, and to goodness knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, and to self-control, perseverance, and to perseverance, godliness, and to godliness mutual affection, and to mutual affection, love.
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So there it is.
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That word love.
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And we're gonna focus on just this word this morning, love.
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Seems easy, right?
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Like this the whole rest of this morning, I can talk about one word.
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Seems easy.
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And let me tell you, it's anything but easy.
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Uh this word that Peter uses here, it's it's loaded.
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And it is powerful, and it is uh what we are called as Christians to exemplify.
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And so in the Greek, there are multiple words that define different kinds of love.
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And so when we hear Peter tell us to add to our faith love, it's really important to understand what kind of love is Peter talking about and what kind of love is he not talking about.
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And so I want to take just a few moments this morning to talk about a few of those Greek words so that we can best understand this text.
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The first Greek word that means love is the Greek word pronounced eros.
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It's really defining kind of a self-love, but often it is used to describe a romantic love, a passionate love, even to a physical sense.
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Eros would be the kind of love that you would say, like, I love her, or I love him.
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It's the kind of love that would describe like the butterflies in
your stomach as you look at your spouse or at somebody that you are attracted to.
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And so when Peter says add to your faith love, he doesn't use the Greek word eros here.
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He's not talking about this feeling of love.
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He's not talking about a romantic or physical kind of love.
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So if it's not eros, what could it be?
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Well, the the next possibility is this Greek word pronounced storge.
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Storge describes a familial kind of love, a love between family.
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Think of the love between a parent and a child, right?
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That's a strong kind of love.
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You know, I have three kids and I love each of them tremendously.
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That is a strong kind of love.
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But I love them because they are mine, right?
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I love them because they're mine, and they are they are my blood, right?
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They are God's gift to me, and I I love them deeply because of that.
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I tell every one of my kids every day that I love them.
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And right now, especially my my middle son Cole, every time I tell him I love him, he'll look back at me and he says, Well, I love you more, or I love you the most.
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This is storge.
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Like, he even though he thinks he loves me more, I tell him, like, you can't.
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You can't.
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Someday, son, if you have your own kids, like you'll understand, like, you can love me a lot, but you can't love me more than the way I love you.
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This is a familial kind of love.
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This is storgay.
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Now, is that love perfect?
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Like if you have kids or if you have a family, which all of us do in some form, like that's not a it's not perfect.
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It's got its flaws, but it's a strong kind of love.
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And so when Peter says, add to your faith love, he doesn't use the Greek word storge.
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So if it's not storge, what's the next possibility?
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Another Greek word to describe a kind of love is phileo.
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If you were with us last week, this is actually uh the Greek word that Didi kind of took a deep dive into, transliterated into English.
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It's Philadelphia, brotherly love, mutual affection.
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This is the kind of love in our context that each of us should be fostering for and towards one another, the church, the body of Christ.
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It is a strong
kind of love, but it's it's mutual, meaning we each have to uh pursue this and we each have to push into this.
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And so when Peter uh says add to your faith love, he doesn't use phileo here.
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That's what we talked about last week.
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When he says, add to your faith mutual affection or brotherly kindness.
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And so if it's not uh eros, if it's not storge, if it's not phileo, what is it?
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And there's there's one more Greek word, and it is uh talked about quite often in the New Testament.
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And even if you don't know much Greek, this is one that you've perhaps heard before.
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And it is the Greek word agape.
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And this is the kind of love that we're gonna talk about.
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And I think it's best defined as a selfless, unwavering, unconditional love of God.
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And so the love that we're gonna talk about this morning, it is not the feeling of love.
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Or it's not the the it's not a feeling of love, it's it's not an emotion of love, it's the action of love.
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What we're talking about is the action of love of God.
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And so I can spend some time now trying to explain to you and teach you what agape is.
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And I can spend some time to try and tell you what agape does and what it doesn't do, and how you should use agape or what how you should apply it to your life.
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But if I tried to truly explain from my words agape, I would mess it up pretty badly.
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And so what we're gonna do this morning is we're gonna allow scripture to define to us agape love.
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Um, and that's how it should be, anyways.
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And the Bible talks quite a bit about agape, the agape love of God.
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It defines it very specifically.
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And so I want to start with this foundation, though.
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So in 1 John chapter 4, verses 8, the author John says, God is love.
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And when he says God is love, he is saying, God is agape.
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And so, what we're gonna talk about this morning, we're gonna talk about the very nature of God.
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We're gonna talk about the selfless, unwavering, unconditional nature of God.
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We're gonna talk about the very essence of God this morning, we're gonna talk about the very character of God this morning.
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And so we've got to first start with that foundation that God is agape, that God is love.
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Now, turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 13, if you
have your Bibles.
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And uh 1 Corinthians, this letter to the church in Corinth was written by the Apostle Paul.
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Now, Corinth, uh, like uh many churches, started strong, but like every church in the history of the world, it is filled with flawed and broken people, sinful people, and so they mess it up.
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And so Paul writes uh a letter to this church to cover a variety of topics, but one of the issues in Corinth as a city as a whole, it was a very worldly place.
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Like we have the saying, like what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas.
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Like Corinth was worse, all right?
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It tells you the kind of culture uh of Corinth.
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It was a place that was filled with a lot of pride, pride of the flesh, worldly, fleshly desires, but also just the pride of life.
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People comparing themselves to the next, like I have the cooler, better spiritual gift kind of thing.
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And so Paul writes them this letter.
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And what's unique about this section of scripture that we're gonna read is every time that Paul um has uses the word love here, it is agape.
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Okay, so really key into that.
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So here's what he says First Corinthians chapter 13.
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I'm gonna read the first three verses.
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He says, If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, there's agape, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
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If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but do not have love, I am nothing.
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If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, agape, I gain nothing.
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So here's what Paul is saying.
00:18:25.359 --> 00:18:40.799
He's like, even if I have a really cool spiritual gift, like I can speak in tongues, meaning I can speak and understand the tongues of men, different languages, even if I can understand the tongue, the language of angels.
00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:49.680
Even if I have that, but if I don't have agape, if I don't have love, I'm I'm just making noise.
00:18:50.480 --> 00:19:03.279
And he goes on to say, I can have a great spiritual gift of prophecy, and I can have all this knowledge, and I can have faith that can move mountains, which is awesome.
00:19:03.599 --> 00:19:09.759
But if I don't have agape, if I don't have love, then I have nothing.
00:19:10.079 --> 00:19:17.440
And he goes on to say, uh, even if I give everything that I have to the poor, which it is great to be generous, we should be generous.
00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:27.759
Paul's saying, even if I give all that I possess to the poor, but if I don't have love, if I don't have agape, then I have nothing.
00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:31.440
He's like, you can have really great spiritual gifts.
00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:54.240
You can do some great things, but if it doesn't come from a heart of love, a selfless, unwavering, unconditional love from God and for God that seeks the benefit of others without expecting anything in return, if it doesn't come from that heart of agape, then it really doesn't matter.
00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:59.119
It doesn't add up to as much as it should if it came from a heart of love.
00:19:59.920 --> 00:20:01.119
Then he continues.
00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:07.039
If you've been to any wedding ever in the history of the world, this scripture is read.
00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:11.119
But we all we often don't think of it in the context that we should.
00:20:11.359 --> 00:20:12.640
That's what he says.
00:20:13.359 --> 00:20:15.200
Agape is patient.
00:20:16.480 --> 00:20:43.519
Agape is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs, agape does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth, it always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
00:20:43.839 --> 00:20:46.319
Agape never fails.
00:20:49.200 --> 00:20:51.279
This is what agape loves.
00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:53.039
This is the biblical definition.
00:20:53.200 --> 00:20:56.960
Like we just read right here the very nature of God.
00:20:57.200 --> 00:21:00.160
Remember 1 John chapter 4, verse 8?
00:21:00.319 --> 00:21:02.000
God is love, God is agape.
00:21:02.480 --> 00:21:09.359
If you want to know what God is like, if you want to know the character of God, the essence of God, the nature of God, it's it's right here.
00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:11.279
This is what it does and what it doesn't do.
00:21:11.359 --> 00:21:24.000
It's patient and it's kind, it's not self-seeking, it's not envious, it doesn't boast, it doesn't keep a record of wrongs, it delights in truth, it hopes, it trusts, it perseveres, and it never fails.
00:21:24.720 --> 00:21:29.680
Now I'm gonna read this scripture to you again, but I'm gonna read it differently.
00:21:30.240 --> 00:21:31.680
I just want you to hear this.
00:21:33.039 --> 00:21:35.039
This is what Paul is getting after.
00:21:35.759 --> 00:21:44.079
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have God, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.
00:21:44.319 --> 00:21:53.920
If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains but do not have God, I am nothing.
00:21:54.160 --> 00:22:00.960
If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast but do not have God, I give Gain nothing.
00:22:01.279 --> 00:22:02.559
God is patient.
00:22:03.039 -->
00:22:04.000
God is kind.
00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:06.240
He does not envy.
00:22:06.480 --> 00:22:07.759
He does not boast.
00:22:08.000 --> 00:22:09.440
He is not proud.
00:22:09.759 --> 00:22:11.599
He does not dishonor others.
00:22:11.839 --> 00:22:13.200
He is not self-seeking.
00:22:13.359 --> 00:22:15.200
He is not easily angered.
00:22:15.440 --> 00:22:17.440
He keeps no record of wrongs.
00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:21.200
God does not delight in evil, but rejoices with the truth.
00:22:21.440 --> 00:22:25.920
He always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
00:22:26.240 --> 00:22:28.079
God never fails.
00:22:29.519 --> 00:22:31.440
This is agape.
00:22:33.359 --> 00:22:39.920
It is the selfless, unwavering, unconditional love of God.
00:22:41.200 --> 00:22:44.079
It is a love from God.
00:22:45.759 --> 00:22:47.759
And it is an action of love.
00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:49.279
It's not a feeling of love.
00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:51.119
It's not an emotion of love.
00:22:51.200 --> 00:22:52.559
It's an action of love.
00:22:52.640 --> 00:22:54.319
It's a choice of love.
00:22:54.400 --> 00:23:01.839
And it is always seeking the benefit of others, expecting nothing in return.
00:23:03.680 --> 00:23:11.440
So in John chapter 13, Jesus has gathered his disciples.
00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:14.799
His disciples were his closest followers.
00:23:15.359 --> 00:23:23.279
They were the men that were with him every step of the way, from the moment Jesus really started his ministry until his death.
00:23:23.359 --> 00:23:31.039
And in John chapter 13, Jesus is with his disciples, and they are gathered to celebrate the Passover feast.
00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:44.400
And the Passover was a time where the Jews would gather to remember God's goodness to them as God passed over their firstborn sons, and shortly after he would free them from captivity in Egypt.
00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:58.400
In this time, though, this Passover feast would be the last feast, the last Passover that Jesus would celebrate before he's arrested, tortured, and eventually hung on a cross to die.
00:23:59.039 --> 00:24:03.279
And so Jesus is sharing this meal with his friends.
00:24:03.519 --> 00:24:11.200
And as part of this meal, Jesus got up during the meal and he takes off his outer cloak, his outer robe.
00:24:11.359 --> 00:24:15.839
It kind of signifies that Jesus was about to get to work.
00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:28.480
And he goes and he gathers a basin, which is a bowl, and he fills it with water, and he grabs a towel and he ties it around his waist, much like we would put on an apron.
00:24:29.200 --> 00:24:36.240
And then Jesus kneels at the feet of every single one of his disciples.
00:24:36.960 --> 00:24:41.599
And what we're about to see is just true agape love.
00:24:42.000 --> 00:24:47.200
True love of God and love for God in action.
00:24:47.599 --> 00:24:51.599
I just want you to reflect on this with me.
00:24:53.039 --> 00:24:56.880
Talk about a love that is patient.
00:24:57.680 --> 00:25:08.240
In a few hours, Jesus would be arrested and he would be tortured and he would be crucified.
00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:09.759
And Jesus knows this.
00:25:09.839 --> 00:25:11.200
It's not a surprise to him.
00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:15.920
Jesus knows what's about to happen in a few hours.
00:25:16.640 --> 00:25:23.200
And yet here he is kneeling at the feet of his friends to wash their feet.
00:25:24.400 --> 00:25:26.880
Talk about a love that is patient.
00:25:27.039 --> 00:25:35.279
Like Jesus doesn't have a lot of hours left, and yet here he is giving those hours to his disciples to wash their feet.
00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:37.759
Talk about a love that is patient.
00:25:39.279 --> 00:25:42.720
Think about this agape love that is kind.
00:25:43.440 --> 00:25:53.039
It was customary to uh take off your sandals and wash the feet of guests before they entered the home.
00:25:54.160 --> 00:26:00.799
But often this feet washing was left to a servant.
00:26:01.599 --> 00:26:10.160
And yet Jesus is their teacher, he's their leader, he's their rabbi, he is their king.
00:26:10.319 --> 00:26:21.680
I mean, Jesus is the man that they have professed to be the Son of God, and here he is kneeling at the feet of his disciples to wash their feet.
00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:23.599
Talk about a love that is kind.
00:26:24.480 --> 00:26:31.519
I mean, imagine these men live in a climate in a culture where sandals or going barefoot was normal.
00:26:32.079 --> 00:26:42.079
It was dusty, it was dirty, it was sweaty, it was gross, and yet he is kneeling, the Son of God is kneeling at their feet.
00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:47.759
Customarily speaking, Jesus should have been the last one to wash the feet.
00:26:48.000 --> 00:26:50.640
And yet here he is kneeling at their feet.
00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:56.319
Talk about a love that is kind, an agape love that is kind.
00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:01.680
And this is the one that really shatters me.
00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:07.759
Reflect on this agape love that holds no record of wrongs.
00:27:09.359 --> 00:27:15.519
In a couple hours, Jesus is going to be betrayed for 30 shekels of silver.
00:27:16.559 --> 00:27:19.200
And Jesus is not surprised by this.
00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:22.480
He knows it's going to happen.
00:27:22.799 --> 00:27:26.799
And he knows exactly who is going to betray him.
00:27:27.359 --> 00:27:29.119
And what does Jesus do?
00:27:30.079 --> 00:27:34.319
He kneels at the feet of Judas and washes his feet.
00:27:36.400 --> 00:27:38.400
That's a love, an agape love.
00:27:38.559 --> 00:27:43.039
Love in action that is holding no record of wrongs.
00:27:44.559 --> 00:27:49.119
In a couple hours, Jesus is going to be in the garden of Gethsemane.
00:27:50.240 --> 00:27:56.480
And he's going to be under so much duress that scripture tells us that his sweat was like drops of blood.
00:27:58.000 --> 00:28:10.640
And so Jesus is in the garden to pray, and he looks at some of his closest
friends, men like Peter, James, and John, and he says, Stand watch and pray.
00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:13.359
And do you remember what happens?
00:28:13.440 --> 00:28:14.720
They fall asleep on Jesus.
00:28:14.880 --> 00:28:16.400
Not once, but twice.
00:28:16.880 --> 00:28:18.880
And Jesus knows this.
00:28:19.359 --> 00:28:24.319
And yet here he is kneeling at the feet of his disciples to wash their feet.
00:28:25.599 --> 00:28:28.319
In a couple hours, Jesus is going to be arrested.
00:28:28.720 --> 00:28:35.759
And as he is led away, Peter is going to slowly watch and listen at a distance.
00:28:36.960 --> 00:28:44.720
As they bring him in front of the Sanhedrin, the religious leaders, Peter is trying to hear what are they saying and what are they going to do with Jesus?
00:28:45.039 --> 00:28:51.839
And a young girl approaches Peter and she's like, You're one of his disciples, aren't you?
00:28:52.720 --> 00:28:57.519
And Peter denies Jesus not once, not twice, but three times.
00:28:58.880 --> 00:29:04.319
And a few hours earlier, Jesus is here and he comes to Peter, and I'm paraphrasing here.
00:29:04.640 --> 00:29:08.799
And Peter's like, Jesus, you can't wash my feet.
00:29:09.279 --> 00:29:13.839
And Jesus is like, Peter, you don't understand what I'm doing right now, but it's going to make sense here in a little bit.
00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:15.440
And Peter's like, for real.
00:29:15.599 --> 00:29:18.240
Jesus' like, don't, you can't wash my feet.
00:29:20.720 --> 00:29:21.759
You can't wash my feet.
00:29:21.839 --> 00:29:23.920
Like, if you're going to wash my feet, you need to wash all of me.
00:29:24.079 --> 00:29:25.519
I'm not worthy of it.
00:29:25.759 --> 00:29:27.920
And Jesus is like, Peter, I'm going to wash your feet.
00:29:28.000 --> 00:29:30.319
Otherwise, you have nothing to do with me.
00:29:32.240 --> 00:29:35.839
Like, this is a love that's holding no record of wrongs.
00:29:36.079 --> 00:29:43.920
Jesus knows that Peter's going to betray and walk away from him, deny him in a couple of hours.
00:29:46.480 --> 00:29:53.839
Jesus was tortured so badly that it's quite the miracle he made it to the cross.
00:29:54.640 --> 00:29:58.559
Jesus was scourged so badly and lost so much blood.
00:29:58.640 --> 00:30:04.880
It's quite the miracle in itself that Jesus made it to the cross and had anything left to give.
00:30:05.440 --> 00:30:08.160
And Jesus knows exactly how this is going to play out.
00:30:08.240 --> 00:30:09.519
He knows he's going to be arrested.
00:30:09.599 --> 00:30:11.680
He knows he's going to be badly beaten.
00:30:11.839 --> 00:30:16.319
He knows he's going to have to carry a heavy cross through the streets of Jerusalem.
00:30:16.480 --> 00:30:20.559
He knows they're going to nail his hands and his feet to a tree.
00:30:22.960 --> 00:30:28.799
And this event would be so overwhelming for his disciples.
00:30:29.519 --> 00:30:32.640
The fear would be so strong, and I don't blame them.
00:30:33.839 --> 00:30:37.839
But they kind of shrink back into the shadows.
00:30:38.960 --> 00:30:46.240
And Jesus is going to be in a time of great physical need due to the pain alone, and his friends aren't there with them.
00:30:46.559 --> 00:30:52.240
The vast majority of them are not there with them as Jesus suffers on the cross.
00:30:52.559 --> 00:31:01.279
And Jesus knows this a couple hours ahead of time, and yet here he is, still just kneeling at the feet of his friends to wash their feet.
00:31:02.480 --> 00:31:04.160
This is agape love.
00:31:04.559 --> 00:31:05.440
This is it.
00:31:07.279 --> 00:31:16.160
It's a selfless, unconditional, unwavering love of God.
00:31:17.039 --> 00:31:24.319
A love for God that seeks the benefit of others, expecting nothing in return.
00:31:27.759 --> 00:31:30.240
You know this next scripture well.
00:31:32.480 --> 00:31:35.200
John chapter 3, verse 16.
00:31:36.720 --> 00:31:50.559
For God so loved, for God so agoped the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
00:31:52.160 --> 00:31:54.000
I did not deserve this.
00:31:55.680 --> 00:31:57.519
And you didn't deserve it.
00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:00.640
And I didn't earn it.
00:32:01.920 --> 00:32:03.680
And you didn't earn it.
00:32:05.680 --> 00:32:07.440
But that's the love of God.
00:32:09.359 --> 00:32:10.319
That's agape.
00:32:10.720 --> 00:32:12.240
It's not a feeling.
00:32:13.279 --> 00:32:15.200
It's not an emotion.
00:32:16.160 --> 00:32:17.440
It's an action.
00:32:18.720 --> 00:32:20.160
It's a choice.
00:32:22.880 --> 00:32:31.519
And when God loves us so much when we didn't earn it and we didn't deserve it, how could we not mirror this in our lives?
00:32:32.799 --> 00:32:39.359
How could we not strive to exemplify this kind of love in our lives?
00:32:41.200 --> 00:32:43.039
People are hard to like.
00:32:43.680 --> 00:32:44.880
People are hard to love.
00:32:45.039 --> 00:32:49.519
I am hard to like and hard to love, and you are hard to like and you are hard to love.
00:32:49.680 --> 00:32:52.960
And yet that is exactly what God did for us.
00:32:53.200 --> 00:32:54.480
He loved us.
00:32:57.200 --> 00:32:59.039
And this is the call.
00:33:00.480 --> 00:33:02.079
This is the standard.
00:33:04.400 --> 00:33:07.359
To have this kind of agape love.
00:33:08.640 --> 00:33:10.559
A love for the world.
00:33:11.759 --> 00:33:14.319
A love for our neighbors.
00:33:14.960 --> 00:33:20.640
An agape love for our Christian brothers and sisters.
00:33:22.559 --> 00:33:26.559
An agape love for those who are not Christians.
00:33:27.440 --> 00:33:31.200
An agape love for our friends.
00:33:36.960 --> 00:33:38.799
This is the call.
00:33:42.000 --> 00:33:44.000
And here's the neat thing.
00:33:45.519 --> 00:33:48.960
We can't create this kind of agape love on our own.
00:33:49.200 --> 00:33:50.960
I can't create it and you can't create it.
00:33:51.039 --> 00:33:52.880
We can't manufacture this
on our own.
00:33:53.039 --> 00:33:55.680
We can't cultivate this on our own.
00:33:56.400 --> 00:34:01.440
Like this is the love of God because it is God.
00:34:01.680 --> 00:34:03.119
That's what agape is.
00:34:03.279 --> 00:34:04.240
It's God.
00:34:05.680 --> 00:34:25.280
And so when we recognize and we realize the way that God has loved us, what He has done for us, what He is still doing for us, how could we not strive to love those around us the way that God has loved us?
00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:40.800
And so, you know, we've been talking a lot about the one, who's your one, who's the one person that you're gonna storm the gates of heaven for.
00:34:41.119 --> 00:34:49.920
The person that you're just gonna storm the gates of heaven and you're just lifting up their name regularly because you want them to know the Lord.
00:34:50.079 --> 00:34:54.480
Here's what's cool: God could use you.
00:34:54.960 --> 00:35:04.400
You could be the vessel, you could be the tool, you could be the person that God uses to mirror his agape love.
00:35:06.239 --> 00:35:16.320
Somebody could see the love of God, they could experience the love of God by the way that you have it and show it and exemplify it in your life.
00:35:17.280 --> 00:35:21.519
And we can't create this, cultivate this, and manufacture it on our own.
00:35:21.679 --> 00:35:28.320
And so the question is, are you asking God to stir this kind of agape love in your life?
00:35:28.559 --> 00:35:30.000
It's not easy.
00:35:30.559 --> 00:35:32.159
It's not easy.
00:35:35.280 --> 00:35:38.079
People are hard to like and people are hard to love.
00:35:40.320 --> 00:35:45.199
And yet we're called to show the world this kind of love.
00:35:48.960 --> 00:35:52.480
Seek God and you will find his love.
00:35:53.360 --> 00:35:56.239
If you have your communion, I'd love for you to take it out.
00:35:56.559 --> 00:36:02.800
When we think about communion, we think about Jesus.
00:36:04.159 --> 00:36:06.000
Talk about agape love.
00:36:09.280 --> 00:36:14.480
Talk about the ultimate example of an unconditional, unwavering love.
00:36:16.639 --> 00:36:18.639
And that's what Jesus did on the cross.
00:36:18.719 --> 00:36:24.719
And every time that we take communion as the church, the bride of Christ, we are remembering that kind of love.
00:36:24.880 --> 00:36:27.679
We are celebrating that kind of love.
00:36:30.559 --> 00:36:37.440
And we're striving to exemplify that kind of love every single day in our lives.
00:36:38.239 --> 00:36:44.400
Jesus' body was broken, literally broken for us.
00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:46.239
That's agape.
00:36:46.880 --> 00:36:47.920
Take and eat.
00:36:53.760 --> 00:36:56.719
The blood of Jesus was poured out for us.
00:36:57.039 --> 00:36:59.199
This is love in action.
00:36:59.360 --> 00:37:00.320
This is agape.
00:37:01.199 --> 00:37:02.239
Take and drink.
00:37:04.559 --> 00:37:05.599
Pray with me.
00:37:10.719 --> 00:37:12.880
Lord, oh how you love us.
00:37:17.920 --> 00:37:20.639
God, I am so humbled by your love.
00:37:23.119 --> 00:37:28.880
God, I pray as a church that we will be humbled every single day by the way that you have loved us.
00:37:31.039 --> 00:37:36.079
And God, I pray that we will take this agape love just moment by moment, day by day, Lord.
00:37:36.159 --> 00:37:42.400
I pray that you will stir this kind of love in our hearts, Lord.
00:37:43.519 --> 00:38:00.079
I pray that our love for those around us, the church and the unchurched, our friends and our enemies, Lord, I pray that our love will exemplify your true agape love that is patient and it is kind.
00:38:00.960 --> 00:38:09.679
It is not envious, it is not proud, it's not self-seeking, that rejoices in the truth, Lord.
00:38:09.920 --> 00:38:20.320
A love that hopes, a love that trusts, a love that perseveres, Lord, and a love that doesn't fail.
00:38:21.599 --> 00:38:23.280
Thank you, Lord.
00:38:24.559 --> 00:38:25.599
We love you, Lord.
00:38:25.679 --> 00:38:26.719
It's your name we pray.
00:38:26.960 --> 00:38:27.599
Amen.
00:38:28.320 --> 00:38:30.320
I love you guys truly.
00:38:30.559 --> 00:38:31.760
Thank you for being here.
00:38:31.920 --> 00:38:36.159
If you uh need prayer, members of our prayer team are up front.
00:38:36.239 --> 00:38:39.760
They'd love to chat with you in celebration of Lisa.
00:38:39.840 --> 00:38:42.159
I believe there's cookies and treats out there.
00:38:42.239 --> 00:38:44.239
So if you see Lisa, give her a hug.
00:38:44.400 --> 00:38:47.920
Tell her that you love her and eat a cookie in her honor.
00:38:48.079 --> 00:38:48.880
We love you guys.
00:38:49.039 --> 00:38:49.920
Have a great week.