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00:00 Great.
00:06 Cool. How's everybody feeling? Good. Excellent. My wife Salomi, she's
00:13 uh she's currently she's not in the country at the moment. She's in France attending a friend's wedding. Uh when I
00:18 and when I told her a couple months back, I said, "Hey honey, you know what? I'm uh I'm preaching on on the chapter
00:24 of love, chapter chapter 13 of one Corinthians." and she goes, "Boy, am I glad I'm not going to be there."
00:31 I said, "Wow, that's encouraging." But a couple of weeks ago, she was asking me, "How's your sermon prep coming along?" I
00:37 was like, "It's good. It's good." And she was like, "Oh man, I wish I could be there." So, uh, Sam 1, Salomi Zero.
00:46 Um, once again, it's a it's an honor and a privilege to be able to expound on the word of God to the people of God. Um,
00:54 and as you know, chapter 13, as it's been read out, it's the chapter of love,
00:59 right? And the word itself, the word, it conjures up a flurry of feelings,
01:04 doesn't it? We we've all we all understand what what love means. We've all experienced love, right? We and that
01:12 that includes both good and bad experiences. And we we know the weight of the word, just the word itself,
01:18 right? We know that we use it to uplift, right? by saying I love you or I love
01:23 what you do. Right? Or we use it to to hurt or to put down by saying I don't love you or I've never loved you. Right?
01:30 So that even the word itself uh it holds weight. It's an emotional word. So here it says
01:38 I love you to each other all the time. Uh which is why that that Father's Day video that the that the youth did was so
01:44 funny where they they videoed uh their father's reaction when they said I love you dad. Um, so good job youth. Oh,
01:51 there. No, not here. They're downstairs. That's all right. Right. So, chapter 13, it's it's really
01:57 the the premier passage on love. It's really up there in terms of uh the most
02:03 famous passages of scripture. Uh it's perhaps the most famous piece of
02:09 literature on love. A passage that even non-Christians can can quote bits and pieces of because they've heard it so
02:15 many times, right? We quote it at weddings. We put it on our on our desktop backgrounds, on our phone
02:20 backgrounds. We we frame it up, put it on our wall. We hang it on our mirrors
02:25 or on our fridges, right? Because we want to remind ourselves to be loving, to be patient and kind and and things
02:31 like that. And I would agree uh I I would say it is the most deep,
02:37 exhaustive, the the greatest, most beautiful and descriptive piece on love that has ever
02:44 been penned. I would agree. Um but you see as sinners right often our our
02:49 definition of love uh strays from the biblical definition right we get our definition of love uh we tend to get it
02:56 from the media from today's leaders uh from from culture right so for example
03:02 media when we watch Hollywood movies or we went when we read romantic books we're like oh okay that's love or when
03:10 we look at at at our leaders like like people like uh the Obamas wow president
03:15 of the United States. Look at him. Look at his beautiful family. Ah, that that's love. Or or Oprah or Ellen Degenerous,
03:22 right? They they give Oprah's known for for for her her quote. You get a car, you get a car, you get a car, right?
03:28 They they're so kind to to to other people. And we're like, ah, that's love.
03:36 uh but by right really our def the only media that should influence our
03:41 definition of love is the Bible. The only leader that should influence our
03:47 understanding of love is Jesus. And the only culture that uh that should affect
03:53 our definition of love is kingdom culture. So, we're going to try today to pull back to pull back from the the
03:59 Hollywoodian um definition of love, the world's definition of love and go back into the
04:05 biblical definition of love. Uh but before we do that, let's pray. Heavenly
04:11 Father, I Lord, we come before you and I I just want to ask Lord for uh your favor upon
04:17 me. I ask um that uh that you speak through me. Lord, use me as your vessel.
04:23 Father God, I pray that uh everyone here would uh would receive your truth and uh
04:30 would receive your love and come to a new understanding uh of your gospel.
04:35 Lord, I pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. All right. Um I'm going to blast through
04:42 the context where we are in one Corinthians, right? Because we've been we've been doing Corinth one Corinthians for a number of weeks. Uh so I'm just
04:49 going to blast through where we are, the context, right? uh we've been uh uh Corinth Corinth is a uh an extreme was
04:56 an extremely metropolitan and industrial city right much like KL the people who
05:02 went to live and work in Corinth were were go-getters they were they were entrepreneurs they were failure is not
05:09 an option kind of people right um and so so they were uh not only successful in
05:16 their careers uh they were also very gifted spiritually they were very gifted
05:21 the church. Uh we know for sure that they they spoke in tongues. We know that uh they had interpretation of tongues
05:27 and we know that uh they had uh they were given the gift of prophecy. That one we know for sure and it seems
05:33 implied that uh they were also given the gifts of doing miraculous works, right?
05:39 And they were also giving financially very sacrificially that it's implied there. Uh and so this really sounds like
05:46 a perfect church, doesn't it? The Corinthian church. What a great church. successful in the world, successful in
05:53 the church. Not exactly. They were the most perhaps the most immoral of all the
05:60 churches, rapture. And it's just rebuking issue after issue after issue. Chapters 1 to chapter 4,
06:07 uh, Paul deals with disunityity in the church. Chapter 5 to chapter 6, immorality in the church. Chapter 7, the
06:14 issue of marriage in the church. 8 to 11, misuse of their liberty in the church. also 11, the role of men and
06:21 women in the church. Also 11, their abuse of the Lord's supper in the church. Uh chapter 12, misunderstanding
06:27 the spiritual gifts. And also chapter 12, interdependence in the church. So you see, when Paul was writing chapter
06:33 13, where we at today, he was not writing a poem on love, right? When uh
06:39 when he wrote when he wrote the words, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I'm only
06:45 resounding gong. Love is patient. Love his kind, does not envy, does not boast. The Corinthians weren't going, "Amen.
06:51 Hallelujah. Oh, Paul, such a great such a great writer, this guy. I love this guy." No, they were likely bowing their
06:59 heads in shame because he's writing about them. He's rebuking them for their
07:05 lovelessness. Okay? Um so keep that in mind. uh if we
07:11 go back a little to uh chapter 12 verse one it says now about the gifts of the
07:18 spirit. So the specific context is we're talking about their mishandling of the gifts of the spirit and their
07:25 lovelessness with regards to this. But I think it's fair to say that it also applies to the wider context of the
07:31 entire letter. So all the issues in the past chapters chapters 1 to 11 is all
07:37 because of a lack of love. They were dis they were not unified because of a lack of love. They were unfaithful in marriage because of a lack of love. They
07:44 were suing one another because of a lack of love. Um and so the wider context is
07:51 also lovelessness in all their issues and their depravity. All right. So let's
07:57 context. Let's get into the text. Verse one. I hope you have your Bibles with you. Uh yeah.
08:04 Let's read. If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but have not love, I'm
08:10 only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. Actually, I tell you what, can we Yeah. Can we take it off the screen? I I want you to see this in your own
08:17 Bibles. Yeah. Can we That's perfect right there. See it in your own Bibles, right? I want you to see uh that the
08:23 word of God is yours. It's in your pocket. It's in your hands, right? I want you to read it. I want you to follow along with me in your own Bibles.
08:31 Now, I know that there's a dispute about what tongues are, but in this verse, it's very clear, right? It's very clear
08:37 in this verse what it's talking about. It's talking about languages. If I speak in the tongues of man, right? It's human
08:44 languages. Now, imagine this gift. Imagine this gift. You could speak every
08:49 language in the world. What an awesome gift. You could fly to anywhere in the
08:55 world, touchdown, and the first person you meet, you could speak in their native language. That is some gift.
09:02 Imagine how many missionaries have prayed for that gift, right? Uh and the
09:08 tongues of angels. Imagine having a regular audience with angels and demons.
09:15 I'm not so sure I want that gift. But um uh note here that Paul is speaking in
09:21 hypothetical superlatives, right? Hypothetical superlatives. What that means is basically there's theoretical
09:28 extremes. They're scenarios that are not really real. Right? Let's look at it. So
09:33 the the Bible in no one in the Bible could ever speak every language in the
09:38 world. No one. Right? Even at Pentecost, it was a select group of people, a
09:44 select group of languages, and it was a one-off occasion. And speaking in the tongues of angels,
09:49 every time that a human speaks to an angel in the Bible, it's in their native tongue. It's in a human language, right?
09:55 So he's speaking in theoretical extremes to prove his point. And his
10:02 point is this, that you could be a spiritual superman, but without love,
10:07 you're nothing. That's his point. Okay? And as we get to verse two and verse three, you'll see his point come out
10:12 stronger and stronger. So let's go to verse two. Look in your Bibles. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom
10:18 all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.
10:26 So prophecy is receiving revelation from God to be delivered to his people. Wow.
10:32 Imagine that God speaks to you and he says, "Sam, go and tell the people what I say."
10:38 That's some gift. Now, this is a real gift, right? There are there are uh prophecies. The gift of prophecy is
10:44 evident in the Old Testament and the New Testament. So this is a real gift. If I could fathom all mysteries and and
10:50 knowledge, imagine that the person who got closest to this was Solomon.
10:56 Solomon, the wisest man in the world. And people would travel from all over the world to come see Solomon, to have an audience with him, right? To listen
11:03 to him, to get his advice, to get his judgment on things, right? They would travel and they would give him gifts.
11:09 But even Solomon did not know everything.
11:14 Faith that can move mountains. Wow. Everest, I I don't quite like you in
11:20 Nepal. Prefer you in Kale. Pretty good gift, huh? Uh I know Jesus
11:27 taught that that faith as small as a mustard seed can move mountains. But what Jesus is trying to teach there is
11:33 that you can do big things with a small faith because your small faith is in a big God.
11:39 Right. Another sermon for another day. That's all right. Um uh so but Paul is not talking about someone with mustard
11:45 seed faith here. Okay. He's painting a a picture of a a spiritual superman. He's
11:50 not talking about mustard seed faith. He's talking about someone with like avocado seed faith or mango mango seed
11:57 faith, right? Huge faith. This spiritual superman. So again, note that it's
12:03 superlative. No one in the Bible has ever prayed and a mountain jumped. No
12:09 one. Verse three, if I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to
12:16 hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. And so Paul
12:22 now he moves he moves away from the spiritual gifts and he turns to extreme self-sacrifice. Wow. I empty my bank
12:28 account and I give it all to the poor. Imagine that.
12:33 give my body to hardship. In the ESV, it says give over my body to be burned. So
12:39 basically, he's saying if if this spiritual superman was a martyr for the Christian faith, he died for the
12:45 Christian faith. Even then, if he had no love, it would
12:51 be nothing. So Paul is painting these grand pictures
12:56 of a spiritual Superman, but he always hits back. He always hits back. And he
13:01 reminds the Corinthians that without love, even this person, this uh
13:06 imaginary person is nothing. Paul's teaching that spiritual acts without
13:12 love is just acting spiritual. Did you get that? Spiritual acts without
13:18 love is just acting spiritual. Why? Because love, and get this, love is
13:28 preeminent. Love is preeminent. Spiritual acts without love is like a like a house
13:34 without a roof, like a car without wheels or like like pockets full of holes. It can only pretend to fulfill
13:40 the purpose uh that it was intended for. So you see the the Corinthians had all
13:47 the gifts. Imagine they had a beautiful house. Wow. They decorated it. They had like uh carpets and I don't know leather
13:54 leather sofas. I don't know what's good. But they had no roof. They drove a
13:60 Ferrari, metaphorically speaking. The engine, it's all there, but the the car had no wheels. They had not love. And
14:08 Paul is rebuking them for their spiritual immaturity.
14:13 They were not speaking in tongues. They were not prophesying. They were not sacrificing or giving for God's sake.
14:20 They were doing it for their own glory. And you'll see this when Dr. Peter preaches on this in chapter 14. They're
14:26 they're they're they're prophesying as loud as they can. They're speaking in tongues as loud as they can over to over
14:32 one another. So, because they wanted to see uh they want they wanted everyone to see that they were spiritual. Wow. I
14:39 wanted to be I want everyone to know that I can prophesy, right? They were doing it for their own sakes. And Paul
14:46 says, you Corinthian fools, he's saying this in essence, you Corinthian fools,
14:52 you have many gifts but no love. Therefore, you are spiritual babies. Look at verse 11.
14:59 When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. When I became a
15:05 man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. He's rebuking them. And he's saying this this is this is childish what
15:13 you're doing here. The way that you are handling the
15:18 spiritual gifts along with your lack of love is childish. It's immature. So let
15:25 us be a church that is characterized by love because love is preeminent.
15:33 Okay? Love is preeminent. The description of love, oh this is this
15:40 is poetic right here. Come on. Love is patient. Love is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. It is not proud.
15:47 It does not dishonor others. It is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does
15:54 not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
16:02 Now, when we read this in the English, it's all adjectives, right? Patient,
16:07 kind. They're adjectives, describing words. In the Greek, in the Greek,
16:12 they're verbs, action words, right? So, in the Greek, it renders love is being
16:18 patient. Love is showing kindness. Love is not envying. Love is not boasting.
16:26 Right? They're verbs in the Greek. And so what does that tell us? That tells us that it's not mere sentimentality or
16:34 emotion as Hollywood teaches us, right? If you fall out of love, I stopped. I I
16:40 couldn't help myself. I fell in love with her, right? I fell out of love with her. It's all feelingsoriented. No. The
16:48 biblical definition of love is that it's behavioral. It's actionable. It's
16:53 sacrificial. Okay? And Paul also speaks of love as if it
16:59 was a person. Love is patient. Love is kind. He
17:04 personifies love. He's saying that these are not all the attributes of love. Not
17:09 all of them. If I say if I say this person is kind, am I saying that this
17:15 that kindness is the only attribute this person has? Of course not. Maybe it's their strong suit, right? And so in the
17:23 same way, Paul is saying is personifying love. He's saying these are some attributes. He's saying that love
17:31 can't be defined. It can only be described. So he's trying he's trying his best to paint this picture of love
17:38 because love biblical love can't be defined.
17:44 Now I'm not going to spend any time to to expound each of the terms because uh because this is not systematic theology
17:51 right it's not hard to grasp you all speak English you all understand the
17:57 meaning of those words this is love the hard part
18:03 the hard part is doing it fair enough
18:08 all the parents like yeah patience for show for show right all the spouses is
18:14 like oh kindness oh right the hard part is doing it not understanding it.
18:23 So while I believe that these all these attributes of love uh they they can be they can be applied to your workplace,
18:29 they can be applied to your marriages, they can be applied to your families, right? In this specific context, Paul is
18:35 talking about love in the Corinthian church. So let's talk about love in
18:42 first Baptist church. How do we measure up to this list?
18:51 If we were tested against the light of this picture of love, how do we hold up?
18:58 Would you mind? Would you mind if I speak to some areas where I feel that we
19:03 as a church FBC fall short? Would that be okay? Yeah. Okay, you said it. Buckle
19:11 up. All right, here we go. Oh, God be with
19:16 me. Never going to preach again. All right. Uh where where I observe that
19:24 we fall short is uh is arrogance, pride. Okay. Uh a lot of this a lot of the
19:31 people in this room are uh are very wealthy people, right? A lot of us are
19:36 very wealthy. And guess what? That's a good thing. Don't worry about it. That that's good. Trust me, if God wanted you
19:43 to be poor, you would be poor. Okay? The fact that you are wealthy is that is
19:49 because God has blessed you with this wealth, right? And and the the kingdom
19:54 can use people with large resource pools. The kingdom can use the kingdom
19:60 would need people high up in the ranks in politics, managers and directors of
20:05 your companies, right? People who are in the seauite offices of their companies, people who are business owners. The
20:12 kingdom can use the kingdom needs people like that. So if you are using your resources for
20:18 God, for the kingdom, for the mission, don't feel guilty at all for being
20:24 wealthy. We need the Job's, we need the Abrahams, we need the King Davids,
20:30 right? The problem though is the Bible has plenty to say about wealth
20:38 and its drawing power. See, wealth and status is fertile ground for pride to
20:45 grow. Fair. Is that fair? Right. And where I
20:50 see that uh that we're a little bit proud is that uh uh in the church is in
20:56 the first example is in worship. Right. There are two people that I would not like to be especially in the past couple months. Uh those two people are Leon and
21:04 Chuchang. I really would not like to be Leon and Chuch Chang uh right now in this season of FBC. You know why?
21:11 Because we get well they get complaints about worship all the time. We are a
21:19 terribly complaining church. Worship is too fast. Worship is too
21:25 slow. Worship is too old. Worship is too new. It's too loud. It's too soft.
21:31 Right? Complain. Complain. Complain. Did you know a healthy church? Come on. A healthy church has a range of people. A
21:39 different people. old people and young people. Imagine if everyone was 60 70
21:44 and above. Everyone, this is all of us are caris, right? We all join caris. Imagine a church like that. And I don't
21:50 think this would offend them when I say that if a church if our church was like that, it'd be kind of stale. It' be kind
21:56 of boring. I don't think it I would offend them if I said that. It it would not be energetic. There would be no
22:02 vibrance. But then again, on the other side, let's say this this church was all youth.
22:08 Where would the wisdom be? Where would the experience be? The church, if we
22:14 were all youth, we would be boisterous. We would be radical. We would be extreme,
22:20 right? Would be foolish. So the church should, a healthy church should have
22:26 people who are old and who are young, people from every tongue, people from
22:31 every nation. And that's what we have here. We do. We do have that here at
22:36 FBC. That's a good thing. The problem is this. Everyone wants their way with
22:42 worship, right? Everyone wants their way with worship. I
22:47 think worship should be like this. I think worship should be like this. Poor Chuch Chang and Leon are like,
22:53 "What should we do? Have 17 services."
22:58 Right. It shows me It shows me that many of us
23:04 worship not in spirit and in truth. Yeah, we'll quote the verse. Yeah. Amen. Amen. Worship in spirit and in truth.
23:12 But in reality, it seems to me like worship to us
23:18 is in sound, in skill, and in performance. I've heard of people who come up to the
23:24 worship team who has given up their their weekday nights to practice. They come up to the worship team during their
23:29 practice, disrupt their practice, pull the worship leader aside, and say, "Hey, this is how you should do the worship.
23:35 This is how you should run the music. The worship team gives up their weekday
23:41 night to prepare for two Sunday services and you have the arrogance and audacity
23:47 to disrupt their practice and tell them how it should be done. Tell me that's not arrogance. The
23:53 worship team is the first team, the first people in this room. They're the ones who turn on the lights.
24:01 They're the ones who turn off the lights. the last they're they're the last people to leave the church.
24:08 Okay. So, is not God glorified in both hymns and contemporary songs? Is he not
24:15 glorified in both loud and soft music? Is he not glorified in both slow and
24:21 fast songs? As long as as those songs sing of him,
24:28 what's wrong? Does he cringe at at deaf churches?
24:33 Remember Leon was telling us about deaf churches? No. That's a beautiful sound in his ear. And we need to learn from
24:40 them. Learn how to worship in spirit and in truth. And so we need to repent of
24:46 our arrogance and our pride in worship.
24:53 Our pride in the word. I overheard a conversation that go that went something like this, right? Hey,
25:00 you know what? You should try You should try BSF, Bible Study Fellowship. I've done it before. It's the best program
25:05 out. It's the hardest program out there. You have to do homework. You have to attend all the meetings. You have to
25:10 memorize. You have to read. It's the hardest program out there. I dare you try. I'll bet with you. You try and go
25:16 attend BSF and then go and find see if you can find any other program that's harder than BSF.
25:22 That was a legitimate conversation that I heard.
25:28 At FBC, we're blessed to have many uh gifted and talented and knowledgeable
25:33 Bible teachers. And many of many of us attend the church for that very reason,
25:38 right? FBC upholds the Bible, upholds the word of God, and teaches it
25:45 accurately. Many of us are here for that very reason. And so, we're people of the
25:52 word, right? Let's look to the word. Don't bother turning. I want you to stay in one Corinthians 13. I'm going to
25:57 rattle through these real fast. If you want to test, you just write down the references and you can test later. Okay?
26:03 Deuteronomy 17:18 to20. The kings of Israel were charged with a task when
26:09 they first come into office. When they first come into office, they were to create a handwritten copy of the law so
26:16 that they can read it day and night so that they would follow the law to the
26:21 letter. And it says something else that's very interesting. It says, "So that they will also not think of
26:26 themselves more highly than their fellow Israelites." So you see, the scriptures
26:31 are supposed to lead us to obedience and lead us to humility.
26:37 Psalms 119:11, "I've hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you." Scripture is supposed to lead us
26:45 and keep us on the path of purity. Psalms 119:35,
26:53 "Guide me in the path of your commands, for in them I find delight."
26:58 Scripture is supposed to help us to know God and to delight in him.
27:05 Acts 17 11. The Berean Jews were considered of more noble character than
27:11 those in Thessalonica because they received the message eagerly and they
27:16 tested and they every day they examined the scriptures to see if what Paul was saying was true. Why were they
27:22 considered of more noble character? Because they examined what Paul was
27:27 saying to see if what he was saying was true. Scripture leads us to the truth.
27:34 Hebrews, sorry, 2 Timothy 3:16. You all know this verse. All scripture is God
27:40 breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in what? Righteousness.
27:47 Scripture leads us to righteousness.
27:52 Hebrews 4:12, "The word of God is alive and active,
27:58 sharper than any two-edged sword, able to penetrate and divide soul and spirit,
28:03 joint and marrow, judging the thoughts and the attitudes of our hearts.
28:10 So we may do many spiritual things, we may do many good works, but we read the scripture so that we know what the
28:17 motivation behind those good works are." Right? So you see the saints of old,
28:23 they use scripture to know God, to delight in him. They use scripture to gain wisdom so that they would know how
28:29 to govern God's people. They use scriptures to keep on the path of purity and fight against temptation. They use
28:35 scriptures as their guide to the truth. We use scripture as a punchline, right?
28:41 We use it as a badge of honor. BSF,
28:47 alpha, gamma, right? We use it to bash each other over
28:52 the head with. We use it to look smart in conversations and win arguments. So, Hebrews 4:12.
29:00 Judge for yourselves. I know this doesn't apply to everyone. I know none of this applies to everyone. There are
29:06 people here who who are reading the Bible and studying scriptures for the right reasons. Absolutely. So, judge for
29:12 yourself. Don't judge your neighbor next to you. Judge for yourself. Right? What is the motivation behind you going to
29:19 all these Bible studies and learning? What's your motivation when you read, when you memorize?
29:25 Is it for God's sake? Or is it for your own pride, your own
29:30 honor, and your own glory?
29:38 And with pride in scripture comes pride in doctrine. You see, uh, in recent
29:44 times, as we've been looking at 1 Corinthians, we finally got to those these, uh, these chapters 12,3 and 14. I
29:50 couldn't wait. I was wanting to see, uh, how the church would react to, uh, the spiritual gifts because in the church,
29:57 right, in Christian communities all over the world, this this is a big debate. This is a point of contention, these
30:03 spiritual gifts. And if I were to to be general about it, there are two main camps, right? They're the charismatics
30:09 and the non-carismatics. the the continuationists and the cessationists. Those that believe that
30:14 this the gifts have ceased and those that believe that the the gifts uh continue to today. Right? Those are the
30:20 two main camps. There are other camps, but those are the two main ones. Now, I'm not going to get into the
30:26 doctrine of it all uh because that's not the thrust of chapter 13, right? The
30:32 thrust of 13 is this. uh amidst the differences and the ambiguity
30:37 surrounding this subject, do we love one another? That is the thrust of 13.
30:47 When Paul wrote chapters 12 to 14, I don't think he knew. I don't think he knew that churches in the 20th and the
30:53 21st century would split over this. I think if he knew I think if he knew he
31:01 would have had tears in his eyes as he penned the letter.
31:06 I think God is heartbroken when he sees churches split over the spiritual gifts.
31:13 How many times in scripture do we see be unified, be unified, have unity,
31:19 love one another, be unified. God wants us to be unified as a church.
31:31 So whatever we believe, whatever camp we're on, if you're charismatic, if you're non-carismatic, if you're
31:36 continuationist, if you're a cessationist, whatever camp you are in, can we not at least agree on a few
31:42 things? Number one, that there is ambiguity surrounding the subject. Can we not all agree, charismatics and
31:48 non-carismatics alike, can we not agree that that that's true? There is ambiguity surrounding the subject.
31:56 And when there's ambiguity, should there not be grace?
32:03 Should there not be grace? Should we not be gracious and respectful to one another even if we have differing
32:10 beliefs? Number two, can we not agree, charismatics and non-carismatics alike,
32:16 that we don't know everything? We spoke about this a couple minutes ago, right? Even Solomon in all his
32:23 wisdom did not know everything. So, there's a possibility that your opinion,
32:28 my opinion on the spiritual gifts could be wrong. Fair. Non-carismatics and
32:34 charismatics alike. Isn't that fair? Yeah. And when we can be wrong, shouldn't
32:40 there be humility? You see, when I talk uh let's say I go up to Dr. Peter and I and I want to talk
32:47 to him about doctrine. I say and I'm thinking my doctrine is different than yours. I don't bust in the door guns
32:52 blazing saying, "Dr. Peter, you're so dumb. Look at the scripture. It says XYZ. You're saying ABC." I don't do
32:58 that. Why? Because he's older. He's more well read,
33:04 right? I could there's a high possibility that I could be wrong about this.
33:10 And so when I go and talk to someone like that, I talk with humility.
33:16 We do not. We bust through the doors guns blazing.
33:21 You charismatics are so stupid. Can't you see it? It's in the word of God. Charismatics bust through. You
33:27 non-carismatics are so stupid. Look at it. It's in the word of God.
33:32 When we don't know everything, we could be wrong. And when we could be wrong, should there not be humility?
33:42 Last one. Number three. Can we not all agree that we're all trying to glorify
33:48 God? Charismatics and non-carismatics alike, can we not agree on that? We argue our
33:55 case. Whatever your case is, whichever camp you're in, we argue from the same chapters in the same Bible for the same
34:03 reason, to bring glory to God. Right? We are on the same team.
34:12 We're on the same team. We all want to worship God in a manner which brings him the most glory. So why would we split
34:20 over this? Now, I'm not saying that the church is going to split. We're we're not even near there. Uh um but that is
34:27 why we're preaching through this. That is why one Corinthians 13 was written,
34:32 right? Because above all, love needs to be preeminent, not the spiritual gifts.
34:42 1 Corinthians 2:9 says, "However, as it is written, what no eye has seen, what no ear has heard, and what no human
34:47 heart has conceived, the things of God has prepared for us, for those who love
34:53 him in heaven, right? We're going to be shoulder-to-shoulder
34:59 with charismatics and non-carismatics alike. We're going to be shoulder-to-shoulder
35:05 Protestants, Catholics, Baptists, Presbyterians.
35:10 Why? Because look at the verse. This is what it says. The things God has prepared for those who love him. Not
35:16 those who are non-carismatics, not those who are charismatics,
35:22 not those who are Catholics, not those who are Protestants, those who love him. If you love him, you're playing on the
35:28 same team. I was going to uh I went to the Saljanna
35:35 cell a couple of weeks ago. Um and it was a joint cell group. uh it was Saljanna cell group, it was uh C CIA
35:42 cell group and GG cell group. Three cell groups got together uh because Arnold was giving a teaching on the charismatic
35:47 uh the history of the charismatic movement. And so he gave his teaching uh 15 we had worship. He gave a 15-minute
35:53 teaching on on the charismatic movement and then we opened the floor. He said I
35:59 want to hear testimonies. I want to hear what you think, what you believe, what your questions are.
36:04 Right? And I tell you the most beautiful thing happened. People shared their
36:09 testimony. People shared what they believed about tongues. There were charismatics and non-carismatics alike
36:15 in in those cells. They shared what they believed, why they
36:21 believed what they believed. Some people even confessed, you know, I I have like a a really childlike faith. I just I
36:28 just believe God and I I just do what he says, right? And then other and then she and then this person would say, uh uh I
36:35 I probably should should examine the scriptures more. And then on the other side of the spectrum, this this other person would say, "Yeah, I probably
36:41 examine the scriptures too much. I probably use it as an excuse uh to not go out and do the work of God in faith
36:47 and in power of the spirit." But you see, there was space,
36:54 there was grace, there was love enough in those cells that people could share what they
37:02 believed, that they could confess, right? what what they need to work on.
37:08 And then after that, we broke into groups and we prayed and then we had an almighty supper.
37:15 I feel kind of cheated because they said, "Make sure you have dinner first. We're serving light refreshments." I could have skipped dinner and breakfast
37:21 the next day with that supper. These guys know how to eat, right? So, I felt a little cheated, but you see what I'm
37:28 saying? They were fellowshipping together. They were laughing together.
37:33 Kids were playing outside, right?
37:39 That is what the church should look like. Can we be a church that is humble,
37:47 gracious, and in unity,
37:53 charismatics and non-carismatics alike, standing shouldertosh shoulder for the kingdom. Boy, the things that God would
38:00 do through this church if we use the strength of both camps
38:07 to power through for the kingdom. Wow.
38:14 We get to verse seven. It always protects, always trusts,
38:20 always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. Now, why does it say
38:26 always? Before it just says love is patient. Love is kind. Here it says it always
38:33 protects. It always trusts. You see the word always implies uh and in spite of.
38:41 Hey, let me explain. Always protects in spite of the danger. Always trusts in
38:48 spite of dishonesty. Always hopes in spite of hopelessness. always perseveres
38:53 in spite of being failed or knocked down again and again and again. That's what
38:59 the always is, right? We're called to an in spite of kind of love for each other.
39:06 Da Carson in his book Showing the Spirit says this. This is a great quote. When a young man reveals his heart with a
39:12 passionate declaration, I love you, at least in part, he means that he finds
39:18 the woman he loves lovely. But God loves what is unloly. If, as
39:25 John 3:16 tells us, God loves the world, it is not because the world is so lovely, God can't help himself. God
39:33 loves the world only because of what he is. Of course, unlike God's love, ours
39:38 is not absolutely self- originating. God's grace so transforms the believer
39:44 that his or her responses of love are less dependent on the loveliness of the
39:50 object. You see, God has an in spite of kind of love, an agapee kind of love, unconditional. It does not depend on how
39:58 lovely the object is. He loves because he is loving.
40:04 We on the other hand have a in our sin, we have a contractual kind of love, right? We love based on what we can get.
40:14 We love based on what the other person can bring us. And when the other person stops bringing that thing that that we
40:20 love to us, we stop loving. Fair, right? In our sin, that's how we love. As soon
40:26 as we stop liking them, we stop loving. As soon as we don't agree with them, we stop loving.
40:33 God calls us to a different kind of love. And in spite of kind of love, a
40:39 self-inating kind of love.
40:45 You still here? Verse eight.
40:51 Love never fails, but where there are prophecies, they will cease. Where there are tongues, they will be still. Where
40:57 there are uh where there is knowledge, it will pass away. Oh boy, I'm behind time. Here we go. Uh now this is
41:02 interesting. Pro it says prophecies and tongues will cease. Right? And this this is the point of contention. This is
41:09 where the the big debate starts. When will it cease? How will it cease?
41:15 uh it tells us verse 9 and 10, for we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in
41:21 part disappears, we know only a fraction of what is to be
41:26 known. And so when completeness comes, and the ESV says, when perfection comes,
41:32 basically when we're in heaven, when perfection comes, that's when tongues and prophecies will cease. Why? Why will
41:41 it cease in heaven? Look at verse 12. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but
41:47 then face to face. Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, even as I have
41:52 been fully known. There will be no need for the gift of prophecy in heaven. Remember, prophecy
41:60 is revelation from God for sharing with God's people. What will the need for prophecy be when
42:06 we're sitting in the lap of Jesus, right? What will the need of tongues be?
42:11 We will be able to speak in everybody's native tongue and we will be able to speak directly to God.
42:19 There will be no more need for the gift of tongues and of prophecy.
42:25 Uh we covered verse 11 already. When I was a child, I talked like a child. I thought like a child. I reasoned like a
42:30 child. When I became a man, I put the child the ways of childhood behind me. Paul is rebuking them for two things.
42:37 Mainly two things. making spiritual gifts the indicator of spirituality and putting self before
42:43 others. That's the two main things that he's rebuking them for. Right? So, let's not fall into that same
42:50 pit. Let's learn from the rebuke of the Corinthians and not fall into the same
42:56 pit. Verse 13, sorry I'm rushing through this. Uh verse 13, and now these three
43:02 remain, faith, hope, and love, but the greatest of these is love.
43:09 So instead of Paul's saying instead of focusing on tongues, instead of focusing on prophecy and looking up to those
43:15 kinds of people, you know, with the the showy gifts, we should be focused on the
43:20 fruit of the spirit, not the gift of the spirit, the fruit, faith, hope, and love. Now, why does he say the greatest
43:28 of these is love? Uh it's because uh in heaven
43:35 there will be no hope. It will be a hopeless place. No, hope is longing for something better, right?
43:43 What do you have to hope for when you're in heaven? You're in the best place. There is nothing to hope for.
43:50 That's why there will be no hope in heaven. There will be no faith in heaven. No, there will be no need for
43:56 it. Right? When you're sitting and you're face to face with Jesus, what
44:02 will the need for faith be?
44:08 when Paul uh at the time Saul was smacked down from his horse from the the sh the light the
44:18 shiny bright light. He was knocked down from his horse or his donkey or whatever, right? And God
44:25 said, "Why are you persecuting me?" He didn't say, "God, is that really you? Prove yourself.
44:31 Prove yourself, God. I'm not sure it's really you." He didn't say that there was no need for faith right there. Face
44:38 to face with the father, face to face with Jesus, there will be no need for
44:44 faith. He didn't say, "Help me believe." Right? No, he didn't say that.
44:49 Love is the only thing that endures
44:55 throughout eternity. It's the only thing.
45:01 So, we talked about the preeminence of love. We talked about the picture of love and finally we're here with the
45:09 permanence of love. Love is preeminent. Love is a picture and love is permanent.
45:18 So I'll close with this. There's a peculiar verse in the Bible.
45:24 John 13:34. It says, "A new command I give you. Love one another."
45:32 Hold your horses. Love one another is a new command. Hey Jesus, I don't know if you've read the Old Testament, but uh
45:39 it's like the oldest command in the Bible, right? It's the oldest command.
45:44 Why do you say it's a new command? The rest of the verse is a new command I
45:50 give you. Love one another as I have loved you. That's what makes it a new commandment.
45:57 Jesus's love. Check this. Jesus love was so outlandish,
46:04 was so foreign, it was so uh different.
46:09 It was so in spite of it was so self- originating that it made the Old
46:14 Testament command to love seem like it was a whole different command.
46:19 Jesus loved us with a brand new Jesus personified love, perfect love. And so if you want
46:27 to know how to love perfectly, read look at the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. You see the life of Jesus and how
46:33 he loved. But of course, we don't have time to do that. But what we do have time for is to
46:39 look at the greatest the greatest act of love in human history
46:45 was at the death of Jesus on the cross for our sins. That was the greatest act
46:51 of love. You see, he was patient when his disciples fell asleep in his hour of
46:57 greatest need. He was kind when he healed the servant's ear. He did not
47:02 envy his prosecutors. He did not boast in his deity.
47:08 He was not uh proud when they spat on him. He was not rude when they taunted him. He was not self-seeking when he
47:16 prayed, "Your will be done." He was not easily angered when they fgged him.
47:23 As he hung on the cross, he prayed, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do, because he keeps no record
47:31 of wrongs." He never delighted in evil, but told his
47:38 disciples to pray against temptation. He rejoiced in the truth when Thomas exclaimed, "My Lord, my God."
47:46 He protected his mother when he told John to take care of her as he hung on the cross.
47:54 He trusted Judas though he knew he would betray him. He trusted Thomas though he knew he would doubt him. He trusted
47:60 Peter though he knew he would deny him. And he trusted God though he knew he would crush him.
48:07 He hoped in the joy that was set before him as he endured the cross and he
48:12 persevered until it was finished. This is the God that we serve.
48:20 This is the God that we worship. That is the gospel.
48:26 How can I live for anything else when God gave his son for me?
48:34 There is no one else for me. None but Jesus crucified to set me free. Now I
48:40 live to bring him praise. Come see his hands and his feet. The scars that speak of sacrifice. The
48:48 hands that flung stars into space to cruel males surrendered.
48:57 That's the gospel. And so every week uh I know that we have
49:04 we have visitors, we have non-believers here. Uh if this is the first time that you are hearing of God's love for you,
49:13 if this is the first time that this is it's making sense in in your head, it's clicking, right? If you maybe there's a
49:20 feeling in your heart that you don't understand, don't quite know what it is, might I hazard a guess that God is
49:27 trying to speak to you. And he's trying to say, "My son, my daughter, I love you. I died for you. Please, please come
49:35 back to me. I died for your sins so that we can be reconciled." If that's you, I I ask I hope and I pray
49:42 that you you'll come and speak to to one of the elders uh who will be standing here in the front after the service. We
49:49 would love to set you up with a with a Bible to get to know God, to delight in him, right? We'd love to pray for you.
49:59 But to the believers who are here today, can we not love one another? Stand
50:07 shouldertosh shoulder with the charismatics and the non-carismatics alike.
50:13 Love one another and worship God because the cross is central to our faith.
50:20 Right? The vision of the church this year is gospel community and mission. Without love, there's no gospel.
50:28 Without love, there's only bitterness in community. And without without love,
50:34 there's no power in missions. So, can we stand shouldertosh shoulder with one
50:39 another, worship our God, and love one another
50:45 for his sake. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I
50:52 I want to confess and I want to admit that we have not been loving.
50:57 Uh we are we are sinful Lord and we we want to repent of our lack of love, of
51:03 our arrogance. Lord God, help us to remember the cross.
51:09 Help us to remember the reason, the reason, Lord, that we're all gathered here today.
51:16 We all just want to glorify you, Lord. We want to lift your name on high. We want to thank you for your love and your
51:22 sacrifice. Make us a loving people. Help us to love with your kind of love, an in
51:27 spite of kind of love. A self originating kind of love that always hopes, always protects, always trusts,
51:35 and always perseveres. I pray this Lord Jesus. Amen.
