Building A Life of Love I, The More Excellent Way

This is North Way tape number 420. This tape, entitled the More Excellent Way, is the first in a series on building a life of love by Jay Passavant, pastor of North Way Christian Community. This message was delivered on July 21, 1985. The text for this series of messages is First Corinthians chapter 13. There's so much out there today. Church of Christian Ministry. How many of you get mail weekly from Christian ministries? I wanted to say daily, but I didn't want to overwhelm anybody. Our communication techniques have improved so much in the last 10 years that it just. It's hardly anything at all to get something in the mail and off to someone for 2 or 3 cents and to flood our homes with all kinds of literature. And we begin to get a feel as we watch television. Now, the cable system, and I don't know if you saw recently, but there's some direct satellite hookup kinds of networks coming on that don't even go through the cable companies or even on the satellite systems. They're direct to your home. You get your own dish and they beam it right into you. And you don't pay for it or anything. You just buy the dish. And that's all. All these things. And we get to see all that's happening. Isn't it exciting to see what's happening in ministry in the nation and around the world? And I just delight in seeing where people are lifting up the word of God as it's being taught and where signs and wonders are taking place as people believe God for miracles. Where churches are growing and people are coming to know the Lord Jesus. And as I was visiting some churches over my vacation time and then recently, just thinking and praying, the Lord asked me a question in my spirit. He said to me, what do you want your community expression to be known for? What do you want my church at North Way to be known for? Let me ask you that question when it's all said and done. What do you want your life to be known for? You see, we set up some very simple goals here at North Way. We said that we wanted from the beginning to lift up the name of Jesus. Amen. To be Lord of all, to exalt him and him alone. Not a denomination or not a particular structure, not a person or group of people, but the Lord Jesus. And then we said we wanted to be intent on caring for people, giving ourselves to meet the needs of other people. But how do you describe that quality? What word comes to your mind when you think of it? And you know I said, lord, wait a minute. Are you saying you want me to tell you what you want your church to be known for? As I waited, and this took some time before the Lord, the Lord spoke to my heart and he said, the still more excellent way is the way of love. By this shall all men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another. First Timothy 1:5 says, for the aim of our charge is love from a pure heart, a clear conscience and a sincere faith. You know, beloved, I don't know a subject that any of us would say is more synonymous with our faith than love. We almost take it for granted when you say, well, sure, we love each other. Sure, love is at the heart of what we're all about, of course. But you know something? You begin to just study the different tapes and books that you have in your own library and listen to the preachers that are out there. And one thing that you'll begin to recognize is love is talked about somewhat and often implied. But I think it's not very well understood. You know, there was not a quality Old Testament theology in English for centuries. And finally a man by the name of A.B. davidson printed a 530 page theology of the Old Testament, the first one of its kind. It was the standard work for years and years. Do you know that there was not one reference in the index to the love of God? And it's really not a whole lot different. Now. Those of you who've studied theology in any detail know that it's just been recently that the writers are starting to come to terms with the fact that they've kind of woven it all in and assumed it's there, but they have never really dealt with it as a subject. It's kind of like talking about our bodies and we talk about our arms and our. Our legs and it's all important and our chest and our head and all that. But what makes it all work inside the blood that rushes through the body and transfers life nutrients. Without the blood, the body won't ever work. It wouldn't work. It wouldn't go on. Without love, the body of Christ will never function as God intended it. Why is love then the crying need for which we as a church need to seek the Lord? You know, being away is such a good experience for us all. We just need that perspective every once in a while, don't we? Just to be reminded of what we have and what we don't have and all that. One of the things that I did when I was away was just to listen to people As I walked on the beach and on the boardwalk and in and out of different places, shopping places and so on. How many of you are just kind of fed up with the level of conversation in the world today? I mean, you go to north park and you try to just walk around north park, and the general tenor and tone of things is just. It's demeaning, it's oftentimes abusive. People are just caught up with hedonism, with a pursuit of their own pleasure and whatever they want for themselves. Love is the crying need in the world today. When I look around and think that there are at least 2 billion people living in an oppressed society where they don't have freedom to do what we're doing today, Half the world Church. When I think about the fact that we had 125 people put in prayer requests for this last meeting, and you know that more than half of those had to do with family relationships and personal areas of hurt. Need for love. What do you think when you see the world trying to love its own? Did you watch the Live Aid concert and report God? You can confess that, You know, it's fascinating for me just to watch that and listen to those things. Live Aid and I want to start off by saying was, I commend the effort. I believe it was significant that it was done, and I appreciate, and I commend those who were involved in it. But it's so much like the world to love in that way, isn't it? A big splash and now it's gone, you see? And I also. I think it's significant. You listen to the lyrics, you know, we are the world. And one of the lines in there is, we're saving our own lives as we give to others. I started thinking, I don't know if you did this or not, but all the hoopla and all of the great, tremendous media coverage and all of the caressing of the rock stars and all that that went on, they estimate the audience at a billion to billion and a half on TV alone, plus all the gate receipts and all that, Right? Think about this now. You ready for that first overhead there? No, not this one. The number. You think about it. If there was a billion, I'll be conservative. A billion that watched and there was $70 million, to my knowledge, that's been donated. And that's at the outside. What's that boil down to per person, folks? 7 cents. Now, you'll never see that statistic up there. You see, the world loves when it's convenient. It loves from the top. What little it can give and placate the conscience that's pricked. And that's not the kind of love that the world really needs. Church. The kind of love we're talking about today is love that gives itself sacrificially. Love that accepts and forgives, as Jesus demonstrated when he caught the woman in adultery. Love that casts out fear and torment. Love that understands that building up is our goal and not tearing down. Love that expresses itself in healing and deliverance, setting people free. Lord, I yearn to be a church and part of a church that's known as a place where love rules. How about you? I'm going to be sharing with you for the next, and I don't know how many weeks it's going to be on the theme building a life of love. Building a life of love. I want you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 13, which will be the bedrock scripture of our studies. First Corinthians 13. I'll begin reading in verse one. 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 I have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. I want to begin with this morning and laying a foundation and we'll have to build on it next week. I want to begin by showing you church how important love is in all that we do. How many of you are involved in some sort of a meaningful expression of ministry as you see it, something that you're doing for the sake of the kingdom of God. Put your hand up. Okay. And our goal at North Way for those of you who are visiting, is that everybody would see themselves as a minister. I love to have a sign up by the new community center that lists the ministers. I want to see hundreds of them up there. Love is what makes your ministry a ministry. I want you to see something in this scripture today that I believe if you'll come to terms with it, we'll shake you at the foundation of your own commitment to what your ministry is to be about. You see, the Bible indicates that it's very possible for us to be involved in not only the routine of ministry, but listen, the supernatural of ministry and have it count as nothing. That's not my word. That's the Greek word that we see there in Verses two and three. Zero is what that word means in the Greek. You know how much zero is nothing. Absolutely nothing. Look at this, would you? If I speak with tongues of men and of angels, we're talking about now Holy spirit, energized expression. First Corinthians 14 tells us that he who speaks an unknown tongue speaks not to men, but to God, and he utters mysteries in the Spirit. So we know that speaking in tongues has to do with praying to God in a way that he's provided by the Holy Spirit. But we read that if we do it without love, it's noise. It's just so much gibberish. It may be that some of you, as we prayed in the Spirit and worshiped in the Spirit here moments ago, for you it was just noise and gibberish because you don't understand the love that God means to have motivated that. And then he goes on and says, if I have prophetic powers and I understand all mysteries and knowledge, but if I don't have love, it's nothing. Do you see with me that here we're talking about truth, truth, teaching and truth. How many Christians today live for teaching supernatural? They love it when the Bible's taught. I've been to places where countless thousands of people gather. I say countless, but tens of thousands. Let me say it that way. Tens of thousands of people with their Bible in hand, loving the word, loving the truth, loving the teaching. But if you don't have love, it's nothing. Then it says, if I have all faith so as to remove mountains. How many of you want miracle mountain moving faith in your life? Go ahead and put that over. Is that overhead ready? That's it. You're doing that. Okay, going down there. We're on the third one now, just in case you want to jot these down. All faith, and yet without love, beloved, it is. It counts for nothing. Or how about if I give away all I have? Now listen, it's one thing to give $100 to the starving in Africa in response to an appeal. It's another thing, a supernatural thing, to give away all that you have. How many have you ever done that? Only God can prompt a person with a pure heart to give away all that he has, even to the point of the next one, which is give my life to be burned. Martyrdom for the sake of the Gospel. Without love, it counts as nothing. There we're talking about zeal and sacrifice. Now, these five items to me portray a very interesting profile. Church. Look at them. Do you recognize that these five items Prayer and spirit filled expression, truth in teaching faith, concern for the physical and the social needs of people, and finally zeal and sacrifice. Those things represent, as far as I can tell, five of the principal sects of Christianity today. I can go down right now and name for you ministries that you would recognize that are born and built around one of those particular items. You know what I'm talking about. How many of you know, for example, a church that stands for teaching the truth and what they are identified as is a truth teaching, Bible teaching church? How about how many of you know faith churches today? The faith message is that which they are characterized and known for. Is that wrong? Is it wrong to have faith? No, it's a Holy Spirit energized gift. Beloved. I know churches where concern for physical and social needs has become their trademark. There's a community down in Washington D.C. that some of us had some dealings with years ago, the Sojourners community. And they would say in the name of Christ that they're concerned with the physical and social needs in our culture. And I know particularly mission organizations and some churches that live based on zeal and sacrifice and what they command of people to give of themselves. Now these are all good things, but I want you to see with me church that without love, without love they are as nothing. You can go to any one of those and come into that part of the truth, but without love, it amounts to nothing. I don't know what you think, but I know when I finish the course and run the race in the end, I want that which I am pouring my life out into last. Don't you? I don't want to be standing before the Lord at the end and have nothing to show for my life. But without love, the Bible says that we have that, just nothing. I don't want to be identified as a Bible church or a faith church or as a where the Spirit's really moving church. I want to be identified as a love church. You say, well, how do you do that? How does love become the key motivator and the key ingredient of identifying my ministry Right in there, there's a chance of becoming prideful and arrogant, isn't there? Right? Please, never, when you're talking to someone else about where you go to church, never say, well, you're in the faith, but we're in the love because it's the better way. It isn't something as simple and smug as just saying, well, we've found the better way. And that's where we are now. Folks, can I ask you to please hear what I'm saying now, the answer to this question of how does love become that which we're known for? How does love become that which causes our supernatural ministries of faith and prophetic truth and power and all those things I listed. How does love begin to flow through where you are in your ministry as an abortion clinic counselor, as someone working in a Bible study in your own business or whatever? How does love permeate your neighborhood Bible study ministry? I need to say to you, as I was praying and preparing, the Lord just put a burden in my heart, church, that we can very easily be right now at this point in our life, tricked off by the enemy, deceived and pulled away from the purposes of God because we think that somehow moving into a new building and seeing people come, that that equates with love, that that equates with the real ministry. And I want to make something very clear to you. The larger this fellowship becomes by God's grace, the more difficult it is to remain in love. And I'm looking at people I know who right now have grown cold in your love over the months that have preceded us. How many of you are married right now? How many of you found that your love relationship in marriage just stays on a high, intense level plane all the time? Come on now. I saw a couple hands going up there. You know, if you're honest, that there are times. That love finds obstacles and you've got to plow right through them. And it's. It's costly. It takes something from you, Church. I'm saying to you today, if we don't learn what God's saying about the need for love in our body, our love will grow cold. And our ministries, as glorious as they might be, in power, in healing and deliverance, and all the things that so many of you want will mount to nothing before God. And so how is it then that we can see love in all that we do in the kingdom of God? Let me just share with you what I believe about this. I only have a few moments this morning. Not substitutes for love. The only way that I know that love can abound in our midst is if the supernatural life of the Lord Jesus has dominion in our hearts. Any way that you cut it, human love does not work. As a Christian, how many of you have tried living your Christian life with just sheer determination? I'm going to love that person. I mean, it's just so easy to determine that you're going to do it. You step right up there and you see them the next morning at 8 o' clock in the office, and they come off with something that's just so. Oh, I mean, they just twist the knife a little bit more and you just. Right down inside, you melt away. And all this ire and anger and frustration just bubbles up and you have to turn around and walk away. You cannot love with human love. And you know something? I love the Holy Spirit's wisdom in this. Because he knew that there were words for love in the Greek language that the culture of that day understood, but he didn't choose one of those words. And I want the gals to put up these four words for love in the Greek. Most of you know these, but let me go over them. The first one is Eros, from which we get erotic, which means physical love or sexual love. And then the second word is philia, from which we get, for example, our term Philadelphia, city of Philia, brotherly love, Adolphus. It's the kind of love that just kind of circulates around. It's emotional love. It's how you. It's a feeling related love. Okay, then third is storge love, or family love. The kind of bond that exists in a family, a precious bond. But see, these words weren't adequate to describe what the Holy Spirit wanted to say about the love of God. And so he took a word that meant love but wasn't used very much. And that's the word that we've come to know as agape, perfect love, God's love. Love that is given without any regard. Of the value of the one receiving it. The Holy Spirit took a word that wasn't even used and began to apply it to the kind of love that we, as believers in Jesus are to have for one another. You know, in the computer field right now, there's a term that probably many of you know that's risen up as an adaptation of another word that's used to describe a person who gets in his garage or basement and sets up a workshop and writes out software programs. And then somehow he finds a rail to ride on that and he's able to market it and make it work. That person's called a hacker. A hacker. And a hacker is someone who plays around on his own independently, and develops a little computer. He just plays around with it and develops a software package and makes it work. Well, that word hacker didn't initially mean that a hacker is what I did when I went golfing, okay? But they took it and put it to use in the computer language. And now everyone in computers knows what that term Means, right? Well, you see, the Holy Spirit took the word agape, which meant love, but wasn't used, and applied it in a whole new way. Church. And love became that. Agape became that which God inspired through people to enable them to see that there was a different quality that man could not generate. It wasn't Eros, it wasn't philia, it wasn't storge love. It was agape love. It was love that God alone could impart. Natural love, you see, is attracted according to beauty and worth. You know exactly what I'm talking about. Think about Eros. Eros has everything to do with its recipient and its value. But not agape. Agape doesn't look at the merit of the one that's receiving. Agape comes from God. Agape only is found in the love that God gives us in Jesus. And the final overhead that I prepared for you shows you where love comes from. And I just want you to jot these down, if you would. Agape love comes only as a revelation of God. It only comes if God makes it known to you. He's the source of love. First John 4:8. God is love. Would you say that with me? God is love. Now listen. Not, not as some would want you to think. Love is God. God is love. It's his nature, his character. It's who he is. Secondly, love, Agape love is a demonstration of God. And I'm going to, in weeks to come, show you how Jesus Christ in the flesh demonstrated or displayed the love of God in his life and particularly on the cross. In this, the love of God was made manifest. The Bible says in First John 4, 9, and finally, Agape love is an impartation of God. Only God can breathe it off into us church. Only God can cause the Holy Spirit. Romans 5:5 says to breathe love into us. Love isn't a feeling that we get because we're just, you know, it's neat to be here. Love has nothing to do with sentimentality. Agape love has nothing to do with a feeling that's generated because somebody did something nice for you. Agape love is the sacrifice of self in service of another. Let me say it again. It's a definition for you. Agape love is the sacrifice of self in service of another. How then can we love? The only way I know is by casting ourselves at the feet of the Lord Jesus and saying, jesus, reduce me to love. Cause me to be filled with your love. Overflow me, Lord, with your love. Anytime. Beloved, you seek to control a relationship for your own ends. You're not loving. Anytime you give something of yourself simply because of what it may mean for you, you're not loving. Anytime you predetermine your response to another need or person. You're not loving. Anytime you take instead of give, you're not loving. The kind of love that I'm talking about only comes as God breathes it through us. In the weeks ahead, we're going to see that it's not just some idyllic gold church, but Jesus said that I've come that you might love one another. We're going to see it. We're going to come to know it. Let's bow our heads together. How many are here today and would say, I know in my life, Jay, that God was speaking to me today that I need to grow now let me just say it this way because we all need to grow. Let me say it this way as you have your heads bowed. How many would say. That I've sensed in my own life a lack of love in these last weeks and months.