They'll know us by our music.
They'll know us by our suits. They'll know us by our love. And let's keep in mind, gang, that we're following Jesus, who is the ultimate expression of love.
Welcome to Cross the Bridge with David McGee. David is the Senior Pastor of the Bridge in Kernersville, North Carolina. As a follower of Christ, love is vitally important.
In fact, love releases the power of the Spirit in our lives and in our churches. Find out how you can love even better today as Pastor David continues in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Before we join Pastor David, we want to let you know about an outreach opportunity that could bring hope to countless prisoners. This month, Cross the Bridge is teaming with men and women like yourself in order to provide Pastor David's devotional book, Cross the Bridge Every Day, to inmates. When you call today and help support the ministry with a gift of $25 or more, we'll send you a book and also provide one to a prisoner in need. To take part in this important outreach, call 877-458-5508. That's 877-458-5508.
Or go online to crossthebridge.com. Now here's David McGee with part two of his teaching, Like Produces Like, Love Produces Love. We're looking at 1 Corinthians 13, talking about love, continuing our study here, verse by verse, chapter by chapter through the book of Corinthians that talks about how we're supposed to have a church, how we're supposed to do church, if you will, and how we're supposed to have relationships.
You understand that all relationships are based upon love. And I think it's fair to say that all of us, if we're honest, will admit that we need help in our relationships. And a lot of times we think, well, yeah, you know, everybody in my family needs to change. Amen. Everybody in your family needs to change.
Amen. Including yourself. A lot of times we think, well, yeah, the people around me are such, no, no, no, no, no, no. You can't control the people around you. If you're more loving, I can assure you the people around you will be more loving. If you're more tender, the people around you will be more tender. If you're nicer, the people around you will be nicer. If you're kind to people ... Now, I'm not saying all the time, everybody, we don't live in that kind of world.
Let's pick it up. First Corinthians chapter 13, and we're going to actually back up to verse four. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself, does not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, does not rejoice in inequity, but rejoices in the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Verse eight, love never fails.
Wow. Love never fails. Where there are prophecies, they will fail. Where there are tongues, they will cease. Where there is knowledge, it will vanish away.
Part of that verse is tied into verses nine and 10, and I'll talk about them at a later time. Love never fails. Love always wins. Love never loses. Hatred might gain ground every now and again, but if you read the whole book, love wins in the end. Injustice doesn't win. Hatred doesn't win. Violence doesn't win. Love wins, and you have to keep trying when you love. I doubt that at the end of this service, anybody's going to come in here with a cross and a hammer and nails and say, look, will you lay on this cross while I hammer your hands and your feet to the cross?
That's probably not going to happen, but you're going to have small decisions to express love. I mentioned parking in back. As soon as I did, some people in here, I am not parking in back. Do you park in back, Mr. Pastor?
Yes, I do. Thank you. That's unloving. The small decision to park in back, to make room for people that they can, that's an act of love.
And while we're looking for these huge opportunities, we miss those seemingly small things to express the love of God. Life lesson here, love never gives up. Love is just a decision away. Choose love in the small ways.
Three sentences, simple, short. Love never gives up. Love is just a decision away, and choose love in the small ways. I've learned over time and through experience, you know what, don't send an email when you're mad. Don't do it. Once you send that email, puppies out there. I've learned that, you know, if I'm emotionally kind of stirred up, I don't send an email without having somebody look at it.
I'll say, you know, can you look at this? I'm getting ready to send this, and I just, you know, it's a simple way to love people. A lot of times when you're upset, you want to send an email or call somebody on the phone, oh my goodness. I got upset one time, and I just went through a list of people and called them. That was one of the stupidest things I ever did. I'm still paying for that.
Somebody should have walked up to me and said, hang up the phone. It's these small ways. See, because as you love in the small ways, guess what? You love in the big ways. But if you don't love in the small ways, you won't love in the big ways. And of course, we think that, yeah, we're pretty loving except when it comes to certain people. That's an interesting perspective, isn't it?
It makes us look pretty good, doesn't it? Or maybe some people are involved in us and in our lives so that we can express love in a situation that we naturally, humanly wouldn't usually express. Boy, if you want to get convicted, do a word study of one another in the Bible.
Those two words. There's this thing called a concordance. A concordance has every word in the Bible categorized. Now, years ago when I started studying the Bible, they had a strong, exhaustive concordance.
It was like 60 bucks way back when. Of course, now you got the internet, you got Bible software, one another. Let me run through some. Leviticus chapter 25 verse 14 says, if thou sell all unto thy neighbor or buyest all of thy neighbor's hand, you shall not oppress one another.
Don't rip people off. Leviticus chapter 25 verse 17, you shall not therefore oppress one another, but thou shalt fear thy God for I am the Lord your God. First Samuel 14, 16, and the watchman of Saul and Gibeah of Benjamin looked and behold the multitude melted away and they went on beating down one another.
Obviously a bad thing. First Samuel chapter 20 verse 41, as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place towards the south, fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times and they kissed one another and wept with one another until David succeeded. I'm reading out of the King James. Matthew chapter 24 verse 10 says, and then shall many be offended and shall betray one another and shall hate one another. Some of those have been bad, but John chapter 13 verse 34 says, a new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I have loved you that you also love one another. Paul says I love one another. John chapter 15 verse 12, this is my commandment that you love one another as I loved you. John chapter 15 verse 17, these things I command you that you love one another.
Romans chapter two verse 15, which shows the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another. Romans chapter 12 verse 10, be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love and honor preferring one another. Romans chapter 13 verse eight, owe no man anything but to love one another for he that loves another has fulfilled the law. You know, when I was teaching in that section of Romans, do you understand that, you know, Jesus said to love one another, this verse points out that you actually owe it to other people, that you owe love.
It's not a question of the other person who's deserving of love, you owe it to them. Paul said don't owe anybody anything except to love one another. Romans chapter 14 verse 13, let us not therefore judge one another anymore, but judge us rather that no man put a stumbling block on occasion to fall in his brother's way. Romans chapter 15 verse seven, wherefore receive you one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God. In other words, with grace, with mercy.
I told you it was a convicting little ride through one another and I'm not even doing all of them. Romans chapter 15 verse 14, and I myself also am persuaded of you my brothers that you also are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one another. Galatians chapter five verse 13, for brother you've been called under liberty, only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
We're told in love to serve each other. Galatians chapter five verse 15, but if you bite and devour one another, take heed that you'd be not consumed one of another. Ephesians chapter four verse two, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another and love. Ephesians chapter four verse 32, and be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. Galatians 3 13, forbearing one another, forgiving one another, if any man has a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. Galatians 3 16, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.
We're almost to the end. First Thessalonians chapter four verse nine, but as touching brotherly love, you need not that I write unto you, for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another. First Thessalonians 4 18, wherefore comfort one another with these words. First Thessalonians 5 11, wherefore comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as you also do. Titus 3 three, for we ourselves also were foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving diverse lust and pleasures, living in malice and envy and hateful and hating one another. Hebrews 3 13, but exhort one another daily while it is called today, lest envy be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
Hebrews 10 24, and let us consider one another to provoke unto love unto good works. There's more. I think I'll stop there. Love one another, love one another, love one another, love one another, love one another, love one another. Friend, there's not a filler word in here. God wasn't going, well, I've got to get to a thousand page in my book.
I've got to do this, I've got to do that. Every word in here is about design. It's perfect in its communication. Well, then why does it repeat itself over and over and over and over saying, love one another? Cause you and I need reminding and it's that important.
You're listening to Cross the Bridge with David McGee. We'll be back to the teaching in just a moment. This month, we're focusing on prison ministry and I have the chance to sit down with Pastor David. With all that is going on in the world today, why are you so interested in prison ministry? You know, Paul was in prison and he spent his time in prison writing letters to churches to encourage him.
Now we know these letters as the epistles of the New Testament. We have those because Paul made good decisions about how to use this time while in prison. We want to help people who've made bad decisions and find themselves in prison to make the best decision they've ever made and to choose Jesus Christ, to ask him, to forgive them of their sins, and then to become a disciple of Jesus Christ, following him, learning the Bible, allowing us to help teach them the Bible so they can follow Jesus.
Thank you for sharing, Pastor. If you're listening and agree with David about our need to help those in prison, we would love to hear from you. You can call 877-458-5508. That's 877-458-5508. And when you give $25 or more, we'll send you a copy of Cross the Bridge every day. Not only that, but we'll match your gift by sending another copy of David's devotional to an inmate in need. Also, your gift of $200 or more will provide a case of 10 books that will be used to help change lives for eternity. Again, that number is 877-458-5508.
Or go online to crossthebridge.com. Now let's return to Pastor David's teaching. We do a remake of that song, They'll Know We're Christians by Our Love. Do you understand that's what the world, the people that don't know Jesus, that's what they're looking for? They're looking for love. They're looking for an expression of love to offer hope, grace, mercy, forgiveness. Do you understand there's a lot of people in this world that they don't need to be told what's wrong?
They already know. Now friend, I understand that sometimes you do have to talk about the sin issue and the sin question. I do have an issue with people that say, well, you've always got to hammer them with the law before you get to grace and mercy and salvation. Yeah, religion feels the need to do that. I've actually, doing street witnesses, I've watched people walk up this, you know, somebody on the street, a wino, a drunk on the street, walk up to them and go, you know what, you're going to hell because you're drinking. And then walk off. That's religion.
The world has too much of that kind of religion. Love walks up and says, hey, you know what, there's a better way. I know you know that this is wrong. You're feeling the pain of it and the pain of your loved ones feeling the pain of what you're doing. They'll know us by our music. They'll know us by our suits. They'll know us by our ties. They'll know us by our love. And let's keep in mind, gang, that we're following Jesus, who is the ultimate expression of love.
That's who we're following. So how can we excuse our actions or our words when we're not being very loving? I'm being discerning. Don't have to be loving. Or God forbid you think you're a prophet. Prophets are supposed to love one another too. We all have to love one another. We're called to love one another. And the fact is, if we don't love one another, some people will slip through the net of salvation. That's too high a price of pay.
Way too high. And let's understand that in that act of love, everything changed. Jesus died for our sins. Everything changed.
Why? Because God loves us. He did something.
I think it's safe to say he did something he didn't necessarily feel like doing. People trip me out sometimes. They talk about Christians. Well, you know, I don't feel like doing that. Oh, praise God. Just go on, don't worry about them, because God doesn't want you to do something you don't feel like doing. No, sometimes as a follower of Jesus, you're going to do stuff that you don't feel like doing. And the moment you do, you're going to feel the power of God.
So often you're going to go, yeah, I don't feel like doing this, but I'll do it. And immediately there's that, ah, that sense of God's presence and God's spirit. Elizabeth Barrett Browning said, love looks beyond the bounds of time and space.
Love takes eternity in its embrace. To me, that reminds me of the cross. Of the cross. Romans chapter five verse eight says, but God demonstrated his own love torch us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. While you were still a center, he loved you and died for you. At the worst moment of the worst act you've ever created for and your history, Christ died for you. Not because he saw you coming to church, not because he looked at you and thought, well, you know, there's a kind of good person in there.
No, no, that's not it. While you were yet a center, God loved you. Do you understand that means that no matter what you do, God's going to love you. That no matter how bad you are, God's still going to love you. And it also means that if you get better and you're acting more, that doesn't mean God's going to love you more. He can't love you anymore.
He already loves you so much. And it's the love of God. A woman was describing God's love and his eternal presence and this little boy got very disturbed and he said, do you mean God's always watching me, seeing if I'm going to mess up? And a woman said, no, he loves you so much you can't take his eyes off of you. God forbid you enter into performance oriented Christianity and what that is is when you're doing well, when you have a good day and you don't holler at anybody and you read your Bible and you pray, you think God loves you more and God is pleased with you.
Don't go down that road. So, because then the next day when you mess up, you're gonna think, well, God doesn't love me anymore. No, God loves you. And he doesn't love you because you do, because you play guitar, keyboards or drums or nothing. He just loves you. He just loves you. Now, let me mention this though. There are things that if you're acting, you know, if you're acting horribly, it's going to keep you from enjoying God's love.
Well, he'll still love you, but you want to enjoy it. Why? Because you're messing up. Maybe you're running.
Maybe you're hiding. And at that point, God's love and his light is something that you don't want and you're running, but it's still chasing you. And you can't outrun God's run.
Just like if you're out in the rain and there's rain falling and you can hold an umbrella over your head and not experience the rain, but it's still raining. Some people are like that. God loves them, but it's like they got an umbrella over their head hiding from the love of God. And we all tend towards that when we're weak and when we're scared. Put the umbrella down and experience the love of God. This whole book is about the love of God. I personally am consumed by the love of God. John 3 16 for God. So God does two little letters. God so loved the world. He loved it so that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
You combine that verse with Ephesians chapter three, verse 20. Now to him who was able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think according to the power that works in us, God is all powerful. God wants to give you the power, the power to do what? Power to do neat spiritual tricks.
No, the power to love. And where that love shines the brightest is when it's not being returned or it's being met with hatred or envy or jealousy or suspicion or qualifications. Luke 23 shows us the love of God. Luke chapter 23, verse 34. Then Jesus said, father, forgive them. They don't know what they do.
Friend, may we look at other people and say that God forgive them. They don't know what they're doing. The people that wound you, the people that wound me, may we look at them and say, father, forgive them.
They don't know what they're doing. They don't know your love. And because they don't know your love, they can't pass your love on.
May they experience your love. First John chapter four, verse 19 says we love him because he first loved us. See gang, we're created by God. God is love.
That is his dominant gene. He has passed that on to us because we're created in his image. It comes supernaturally natural to us to love.
Why? Because we came from God. God is love. Now through pain, through suffering, through selfishness, you can learn to hate. You can be taught to hate.
Don't do it. Let love feel you. Let love overflow from you to others. Be warmed by his love because when you make these small decisions to love, again, the presence of God, it's like, you know, yesterday if you experienced the sun, you know, being warmed by the sun, S-U-N. When you make a decision to love, you are warmed by the sun, S-O-N. To love other people and you have the power to choose. Friend, do you know for sure that your sins have been forgiven?
You can know right now. I want to lead you in a short, simple prayer, simply telling God you're sorry and asking him to help you to live for him. Now God wants you to pray this prayer so much that he died to give you the opportunity and the ability to ask him to forgive you.
Please pray this prayer with me out loud right now. Dear Jesus, I believe you died for me, that I could be forgiven. And I believe you were raised from the dead, that I could have a new life. And I've done wrong things. I have sinned and I'm sorry. Please forgive me of all those things. Please give me the power to live for you all of my days. In Jesus' name.
Amen. Friend, if you prayed that prayer, according to the Bible, you've been forgiven. You've been born again. Jesus said he would not turn anybody away who comes to him. And he came for those people who knew they needed forgiveness.
Those who were sick, not the righteous. So congratulations, friend. You just made the greatest decision that you will ever make. God bless you. If you prayed that prayer with David for the first time, we would love to hear from you. You can call us toll free at 877-458-5508 to receive our First Steps package with helpful resources to help you begin your walk with Christ. God is using Cross the Bridge to impact lives across our country, including the lives of those currently serving time in our nation's prisons. While materials provided by Muslim organizations continue to increase within our prisons, our distribution of Pastor David's book Cross the Bridge Every Day has been making a significant impact for Jesus with prisoners. And you can help continue that outreach by calling today. When you call today with a gift of $25 or more, we will send you David McGee's devotional book and then match your gift by sending a copy to a prisoner in need. And if you are able to give a gift of $200 or more, we will send a case of 10 books to inmates who are without hope. Help us reach those in prison. Call today at 877-458-5508.
That's 877-458-5508. Or go online to crossthebridge.com. Also, if you are not able to make it to your home church this Sunday, why not join us for our live stream at 9 and 1130 Eastern. Just visit crossthebridge.com and click on our live stream link. There you can watch Pastor David teach from his home church, The Bridge, in Kernersville, North Carolina. Again, that website is crossthebridge.com. Thanks again for listening. We hope you'll join us next time as we continue to Cross the Bridge.
