Love So Amazing

Welcome to this edition of PowerPoint with Jack Graham. A little later in the program, we'll tell you how you can get a copy of Dr. Graham's book, Diamonds in the Dark. But first, here's the message. Love's so amazing.

Take your Bibles, turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 13.

Now, 1 Corinthians chapter 13 has been called the love chapter, obviously. It is the Hymn of love. It is a beautiful portrait of Christ himself.

Now, when I was studying 1 Corinthians 13 once again this week. It is extremely convicting.

Someone suggested that rather than love, you put your own name. Uh in the text. That Jack is kind. that Jack is patient. That Jack Don't boil over with anger, is long-suffering.

That Jack believes all things. And the more I did that, the more depressed I became. Because Jack ain't any of this. But Jesus is. And so what I would rather us do is to put Jesus' name in the text.

Jesus is patient. Jesus is kind. Jesus' love in us revolutionizes our lives. And so, what I want us to do is to take the text and read it, it's very familiar. and is perhaps read at your wedding.

And I hope not only read at your wedding but lived after the wedding in your home in the power of God. But let's look once again because this connects with the gospel in the sense. That the This is the love expressed by God and received by each one of us who have received this gospel and therefore lived out. And the way to get the gospel to the world is by living what we're about to read.

So 1 Corinthians 13 verse 1, if I speak, in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love. I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love. I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It is not irritable or resentful.

It does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away. As for tongues, they will cease.

As for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away. When I was a child, I spoke like a child. I thought like a child.

I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.

Now I know in part, but then I shall know fully. Even as I am been fully known.

So now Faith, hope, and love abide. These three. But the greatest of these is Love. Amazing. Love.

The source of this love, as I have said, is God himself. 1 John 4:16, so we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love. His very nature, his character. is to love.

And whoever abides in love Abides in God and God abides. in him. The fruit of the Spirit. Is love. And in First Corinthians chapter 13, we see this amazing description.

of love. Cannot define love, certainly not in the English language. We say, I love my wife and I love hot dogs in the same breath. But the word that we find in 1 Corinthians 13, you probably know, is unique to the Christian faith, and it is agape, which is selfless love. Sacrificial love.

It is the love that we see in Christ on his cross. dying for us. And this love, Jesus said, I give you a new commandment in John 13. That you love one another. Even as I Have loved you.

He said this as he was nearing the finish line of his earthly walk. looking towards the cross. to bear our sins. Love is active. And as you read, as we get to the...

the descriptions in just a moment of the love. that we have in Christ. You may think that these are adjectives, and they appear to be adjectives in the English language, but in the language of the New Testament. These are verbs. We've heard it said Love is a verb and it's true, isn't it?

Love is not static or sentimental. Love is active and aggressive and authentic. It is powerful. And it is persuasive. We will never convince or compel people to come to Christ.

with our evidence. There is evidence. And we can stand up and go face to face and toe to toe. With any atheist With any doubter, with any skeptic and unbeliever. But ultimately, Christianity is a faith decision.

You tell me you don't believe in God. I tell you I do believe in God. But it is a faith proposition. But what makes the difference? Love makes the difference.

Love can change. And if you are a loving. Christian, you are Never At the expense of the mercy of an argument, if you have the love of Christ in you. Love, the love of God. is the most compelling force on earth.

And so you love with tears and compassion and devotion. And sincere seekers, people who want to know, you know, there's a difference between... Sincere doubters and insincere doubters. Insincere doubters don't know and they don't want to know. Their minds are made up.

But sincere doubters or skeptics, they may say, I don't know if this is true. But I want to know. You show them the love of God in Jesus Christ, and it. Tilts the argument to Christ, and the Holy Spirit will begin to work. And so here, God's love is acted out in the giving of His Son.

For God so loved What did he do? He acted. He gave. His only Son.

So what kind of love that is of God is in us.

Well let's Let's take this passage apart.

Now, I always hesitate to take these great passages apart. In some way, it's like taking a flower and picking off the petals. But I want us to understand and go perhaps a little deeper than you've been in the past as to what this text actually means. That it's not mere emotion. or feeling.

But the act of God in us. And the first thing that He says is: love is patient. The King James gives this long suffering, which Means to suffer long, to be loving. means to be slow. to anger.

It refers to patients, not particularly so much with circumstances. or events, but it refers to patience. with people. Patience with people. can be difficult because people can be difficult.

It is descriptive of a believer who doesn't. Fly off the handle. Whose temper is under control, one who doesn't retaliate or seek revenge against enemies. Why do we do not approve of those things that may be wrong? And the insults, we practice this love as Jesus taught us in Matthew 5:44.

But I say to you, love. Your enemies. Peter one day wanted to know, Lord, how many times should we forgive those who have hurt us? Seven times?

Sounds magnanimous. Jesus said no, seven times seventy. In other words, as often as a person needs forgiveness, do it again and again and again and again. Because love is patient, even as God has been patient towards us. But not only that, love is kind.

The love of Christ is kind.

Now, to some of us, perhaps, kindness may seem like weakness. After all, we celebrate strength. And courage and standing up for ourselves and our rights. It is the survival of the fittest. We're swimming with sharks these days, and we value people who will strike back and stand up and be tough.

But kindness? Love And yet, love is kindness, is so extremely. Powerful. It is kindness. that moves towards helping hurting people.

It is kindness that reaches out to difficult and demanding people. It is kindness. Who wins over the weak by compassion and devotion, kindness in acts of love, and ministry and service. And goodness. kindness, the love.

expressed in kindness can Heal the hurts of the world. Kindness can restore your marriage. Kindness will bless Your child. You're listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message: love so amazing. If you're walking through a tough season, Diamonds in the Dark is a message you need to hear.

In this honest and hope-filled book, Dr. Grimm shows you how God uses grief, war, Loss and hardship to reveal spiritual treasures you'd never discover otherwise. We want to send you Diamonds in the Dark as a thanks for your gift of $10 or more. Call now to request your copy? Call 1-800-795-4627.

That's 1-800-795-4627-7777. Yeah, yeah. or text the word DIAMOND to 59-789. Don't let stress rob you of peace. It is possible to break the destructive grip of stress on your life and enjoy the peace and abundance God desires for you.

That's what Dr. Graham helps you do in his booklet, Breaking Free from Stress. We'll send you a digital download of Breaking Free from Stress when you sign up for email updates from PowerPoint today. Just go to PowerPoint.org slash stress and sign up today.

Now let's get back to today's message. Love's so amazing. Love is not jealous. We're just looking at love here. Love makes it possible, impossible, for you to be jealous or to envy someone else.

Now envy is According to Solomon in the Proverbs, rottenness of the bones. Envy makes the bones Rot. The word means, can mean. To boil. It refers to something that is boiling, that is seething.

And this Is not love because you see, love celebrates the successes of others. Love supports those who are winning. And let me tell you: the way not to be jealous, the way not to be envious is to be grateful to God for what He has given you. He has given us far more than any of us deserve. To learn to be content, to be satisfied.

With what we have is The way of love. Love does not produce envy. And then love is humble. Verse 4 says it does not Boast. Love does not.

boast. It is not Arrogant. Love and pride are totally the opposite. Pride is a word. which at its root means I like this.

Windbag. Or Blowhard. To be boastful is to be A know-it-all. Love does not shoot off its mouth. Love does not brag in order to make oneself feel superior and others inferior.

Let's face it, nobody, and I mean nobody, likes a braggart. When somebody comes into a room with their arrogance and ego, that is a huge turnoff. I typically saturate that place with my absence as soon as I can. Love is humble. And you know, it's the empty trucks that make the most noise, after all.

Love is not egotistical or self-centered, but humble. Humility is genuine. You know, you heard about that guy that received a medal for his humility, and then they had to take it away from him because he wore it all the time. People who are humble typically don't know that they're humble. And they're not, you know, walking around like this all the time.

That's not humility, that's just bad posture. Humility is not thinking lowly of oneself, it is not thinking of yourself. And love thinks of others rather than self. The scripture says, Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord. Look, if there's anything good about you, if there's anything good about me, It is Jesus.

Let's boast. in him. You want a subject to talk about? Talk about Jesus. Don't talk about yourself.

So love Is not boastful. And then you're going to like this one: verse 5: Love is not rude.

Now rudeness refers to unbecoming behavior. This is very, very practical. There is so much crudeness. And rudeness today, especially in relationships. Languages and families and homes.

Love, however, is courteous. Practices good matters. Love says please and thank you, and I'm sorry, and. Kids, it says no, sir, and yes, sir. Love is sensitive to others, considerate and gracious.

Love is not rude. You forfeit your witness. When you are rude. And uncaring towards people. This is love in the little things.

You know, this will change the atmosphere of your home. Just to practice Some godly Tenderness. Don't just grunt, guys, when your wife speaks to you. Or kids, when you're parents, you know, teenagers, talk to your teenagers. Yeah.

No, whatever. Use good manners. At your office. Driving these freeways.

Somebody cuts you off. You let that go. And remember, I'm pointing a finger at you today. I got three coming right back at me. Love is unselfish.

It does not, verse 5, insist on its own way. We all battle self. The desire to put ourselves first. But for the loving Christian, the way up is down, to put others ahead of ourselves. Jesus, again, is the example here.

Jesus does not insist on his own way. Matthew 20, 28. Even as the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. Love is unselfish. Love is not irritable or resentful.

Some live in a constant state of being ticked off. But love is not touchy or thin skin. Here again, you can lose your testimony with your neighbors or with unbelievers very quickly.

Some people are constantly angry. They're constantly negative. They're always ready for a fight. Love is the only cure for irritability. Love is optimistic.

Rather than being resentful and skeptical, love thinks well of others, believes and looks for the best, rejoices in the truth. Believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Does it account for the failures and the weaknesses of others to resent the word here in the passage? Does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. It's actually taken from a bookkeeping term.

In other words, love does not keep a record of offenses. Love does not keep adding up offenses and calculating ways to get even. Real love destroys bitterness and hatred and malice. Love forgives and forgets. Stop rerunning the offenses of others against you.

This is what love does. Love accepts. and appreciates the differences in people. You know, when I was a little boy, I grew up in small town Arkansas the first 10 years of my life. Grew up in Sunday school and I remembered singing.

The little Childhood song that many of us have sung: Jesus Loves the Little Children of the World. Red and yellow, black and white, they are precious in his sight. Jesus loves the little children of the world. But even as a little boy, I got to noticing. At our church, there weren't anybody but white children.

And then, as I got a little older, I realized that some people in my church didn't like people of other races. In fact, they hated them. And I want to say one more time, we've said it many times. That there is no place for racism. In the church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are churches, I can point to these churches. The glory of God has departed. Life has departed. Because of the anger and the hatred towards others that exist in those churches, even to this day. May God give us His love to love because love conquers.

Again, love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things. Love never quits or gives up. This will save your marriage. You say, Well, I don't love her anymore. In Christ, learn to love her.

The same Christ that ignited your heart in love will give you love for your wife and your family or your husband. And if you want to win in life, the way to win is to love God's way because love is never defeated. Love conquers. Everything else will fail or disappear. But love never fails.

This passage says, If I speak with the tongues of men and angels, Give my body to be burned, sacrifice my life, give away my possessions. If I know mysteries. and can foretell the future and have not love, I am nothing. I gain nothing. Life.

If you want this sermon in a sentence, here it is. Life minus love equals zero. Nothing. Jesus said, By this will all men know that you are my disciples, that you have love. One for another.

Verse 1 of chapter 14 says, pursue love. Make love your aim. Once you experience the love of God, then you begin to aim for love in your life. Make it your purpose in life. Because here's the bottom line: the gospel not only changes our position from death to life, from being objects of God's wrath to being the objects of God's love and salvation.

But It not only changes our Our position before God, it not only changes our purpose, but it changes our personalities. It takes us from being hard and critical. and self-serving and self-centered. to people Who love. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples.

That you have love for one another. The gospel tells us in Jude 1:21, keep yourselves in the love of God. As long as we stay close to His love and let Him love us. We will overflow. with that same love to others.

You are listening to PowerPoint with Jack Graham and the message: love's so amazing. Life doesn't always unfold the way we hope. There are setbacks, losses, and seasons that leave us asking: where is God in all of this? In his honest and encouraging book, Diamonds in the Dark, Dr. Graham shares how God is not absent in our pain, He is present.

and he is at work. This powerful resource walks you through some of life's hardest places to reveal spiritual treasures God plants along the way. If you or someone you love is facing grief, Fear or uncertainty, this message will help you find strength, clarity, and hope right where you are. And when you give a gift of $10 or more, we'll send you a copy of Diamonds in the Dark as our thanks. Call 1-800-795-4627.

That's 1-800-795-4627. 4627, or just text Diamond to 59789. And don't forget to visit jackgraham.org, where you can shop our e-store, give a gift online, or sign up for Dr. Graham's free daily email devotional. Our website again is jackgraham.org.

And also, be sure to sign up for Dr. Graham's podcast, Bible, in a year. Pastor, what is your PowerPoint for today? Jesus made love a top priority for people who follow him. As he said in John 13, 35, By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

So love is vitally important, essentially. and extremely important. But what we need to understand is that Jesus isn't talking about love as we typically mean it. He's talking about the God kind of love, the kind of love that's written about in 1 Corinthians 13. It's the word agape.

And agape is a word that is unique to the Christian faith. It describes a selfless and sacrificial love. This is the kind of love that Jesus showed toward us when He gave Himself for our sins. And it's the same kind of love that you and I are to show to each other as believers, as well as to those who are around us. 1 Corinthians 13, which has been appropriately called the love chapter, shows us what this kind of love looks like, and in the process paints a beautiful portrait of Christ Himself.

So let me read these familiar words, replacing the word love with His name. Jesus is patient and kind Jesus does not envy or boast Jesus is not arrogant or rude Jesus does not insist on His own way. He is not irritable or resentful. Jesus does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices with truth. Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

The love of 1 Corinthians 13. Is the love of Jesus, and that love is in our hearts as believers because the Holy Spirit is there. Try putting your own name in there, and you see the challenge of loving like Jesus loves. We need God's Spirit to love through us, Christ in us, loving the world through us.

So, the love of God is active and authentic. His love changes us from being critical and self-serving to being people who put the needs of others first. God's love changes our personalities, our relationships, our marriages, our parenting. It even impacts our encounters with complete strangers.

Now, this is the extraordinary love that we are called to as followers of Jesus.

So, I challenge you today and every day, make it your purpose, make it your priority to love as Jesus loved. It is love so amazing. And that is today's PowerPoint. Remember, when you give a gift of $10 or more to PowerPoint, we'll send you Dr. Graham's book, Diamonds in the Dark, as our thanks.

Call 1-800-795-4627. That's 1-800-795-4627. You can also text the word DIAMOND to 59-789. And join us again next time as Dr. Graham brings a message about how you experience real life change through Jesus.

That's next time on PowerPoint with Jack Graham. PowerPoint with Jack Graham is sponsored by PowerPoint Ministries.