Dead or Really Dead?

When we die, do we stop living? 

Some people think that we do. Meaning that when the heart stops and the brain stops functioning, life is gone. That is it. Life has ended. We do not live beyond the ceasing of the heart and brain.
Many say we continue living because the soul lives on after physical death. This begs a follow up question and that is, what is the soul?
Indeed, many world religions have different definitions of what a soul is and how it is made. Also, there are different takes on whether it is finite or infinite once it is created.

Soul Creation

The most popular belief is that souls are created during conception. When a human sperm meets a human egg in the woman or in a test tube, and the first cell division occurs, life begins. Both the physical and the soul life begin in this one event - the embodiment or incarnation of the soul.
Where the soul came from is another question. Did it come from a storehouse then infused with the physical during conception? Or was it integrated and integral with the physical creation?
The former can be answered with other complications, such as, how does the soul travel from the storehouse to the conceived being? The latter is answered much simpler in that the soul is created on the spot. But one thing is certain, the soul has a beginning.

Eternal Soul or Finite

The ancient Greeks believed in the immortal soul. These "western" ancients believed that when a person dies, his or her soul separates from the body - a reversal of incarnation. The essence, so to speak, eternally survives and is transported to a place of the dead - the afterlife. Through various developments this place of the dead later became conceptualized as Hades. Hades has different levels of comfort for the disembodied soul. Elysium is a place for the good souls and Tartarus for the bad souls. A soul's destiny in the afterlife depends on whether it was good or bad during its incarnated state.
The "eastern" ancients believed also in an immortal soul. A soul, once created even though it starts out as imperfect, is recycled for many lifetimes until such time that the soul achieves perfection and absolute goodness - nirvana.
Western thought evolved to the modern concepts of heaven and hell. Eastern thought developed into new age concepts of karma and reincarnation.
Absent from these two thoughts is the finality of the soul. Both seem to support the idea that the soul infinitely lives in either heaven, hell, or nirvana. The soul is not destroyed.
Jewish thought, which is the progenitor of Christian belief, posits that the soul is more heavily intertwined with the personhood of a human being. The soul is what makes the person a person. The body therefore, exists with the soul, though separate.
Jewish teaching, ancient and modern, seems to support the idea that when a person dies the soul dies along with the physical body. However, there are indications in the Torah, the Prophets, and the Writings, that an unrighteous soul before being totally destroyed is placed in sheol or the pit - the Jewish equivalent of hell.
For the righteous person, the soul is reunited with his/her dead loved ones in a temporary place, perhaps a type of heaven. The soul is revived at the same time of the resurrection of the body in the messianic age or what is called "the time to come". The wicked soul is permanently put out at this time. There is no resurrection for the wicked, thus, a mortal soul.
Christian teaching about the soul is a nuanced continuation of Jewish and Greek beliefs. Christian doctrine it seems, is an amalgamation of both beliefs. In that, the soul separates from its body at physical death and depending on the life it lived, either goes to heaven or hell.
There is no argument between various Christians that Jesus believed in heaven and hell. The Gospel of Luke is the one book in the New Testament where Jesus elucidated these ideas. Whether the example occurred in reality or simply a parable, the story of poor Lazarus and the unnamed rich man who both died is used by Jesus to explain clearly heaven and hell. Abraham's bosom is the picture given by Jesus to describe the heavenly kingdom where the righteous beggar Lazarus lived after he physically died. And Jesus uses the same Greek word for hell which is Hades, to say where the soul of the wicked and greedy rich man went to after he died on Earth.
There is no argument also that Christians inherit eternal life which at the second coming of Jesus, the immortal soul is put on a glorified body.
What is different is the fate of the wicked soul who ends up in hell.
Some Christians subscribe to the eventual destruction of the wicked soul which culminates shortly or long after the second coming of Jesus. This thought succumbing to Jewish influence establishes the idea of a mortal soul but only for the wicked.
The key idea for this group is, the immortality of the soul must be received as a gracious gift from God and it begins only by willful consent at the point of conversion to Jesus.
Most Christians, however, due to overwhelming Greek influence in early Church history, believe in the endless torment of the wicked soul in hell, thus, an immortal soul that sees no end to suffering and pain. Of course, there is eternal bliss for the immortal soul of the righteous.
The key idea for this group is, the immortality of the soul is a gracious gift from God which is received without consent at conception and it continues forever in either heaven or hell depending on whether one converts to Jesus or not.

And the Journey Continues

Introduction

The following text is my personal testimony which I read in front of the Bethany Baptist Church congregation on 6 December 2015. This is the day of my water baptism, a public declaration of an inward transformation that already happened many years prior to this day. There is nothing mystical about the act itself but it's an act of obedience that points people to Jesus Christ and all glory is to Him - the author of my salvation and the finisher of my faith.

This day is also the day that I become a member of the Bethany Baptist Church family. 

My Testimony

I was born in the predominantly Roman Catholic country of the Philippines. Like everyone else there, I was baptized into the Catholic faith as an infant. But as I grew up in the practice of the faith, I realized that it was becoming more about the rules, and the rituals, and all the pretense that came with it. My identity was becoming wrapped up in the institution of the Catholic Church rather than on the person of Jesus Christ. 

I am not trying to diminish my Roman Catholic heritage. The truth is it didn’t matter if I grew up a Protestant, a Muslim, a Buddhist, a Humanist, or even an atheist. Any religion that makes me, the individual, the main agent of my own success, is still a religion without Christ. 

When I was 22 years old, I left the Philippines, and went to America to work as an IT instructor in Chicago. I wasn’t a particularly good speaker, so I had to pretend and be creative with my portfolio to convince my managers and co-workers that I deserved that assignment. Eventually, I transitioned to writing which suited my personality.  

In the last two years of that assignment, I began a 13000 km long distance relationship with my future wife who was back home in Manila pursuing her own career. We only saw each other twice a year for two weeks. For the most part of our dating phase we only spoke to each other by long distance calls. Back then, there were no texting and no FaceTime. I thank God there were no social media then, like Facebook, because there were stupid things I did, that are unimpressive.

I can tell you one story. One time, I got really drunk at a party, and I got behind the wheel of my car, drove 8 kilometres through red lights before stopping on the road side. My friend who drove ahead of me saw me stop. After helping me barf all the alcohol and the chicken wings out of my stomach, he told me to find my way back to my apartment. 

In retrospect, I am grateful for God’s mercy he didn’t allow me to die that night nor did he allow anyone else to get hurt because of my reckless behaviour.

Lizzette and I were married in the Philippines on April 17, 2000. By summertime, we moved to the US to start our life together. I received a lucrative job offer as a course writer in Silicon Valley. We settled in Cupertino but after two years on the job, I was laid off and my work visa was revoked. I can tell you, that was a real blow to my ego. Any sense of financial security for me and my wife went through the window on that day. I actually broke down in front of my manager before she asked me to pack my things and leave the building.

I idolized my job. When I lost it, my whole being came tumbling down, my dignity stripped away, and I almost lost my self-respect. But God wasn’t finished with me. Because later that year, when all hope seemed to have disappeared interview after interview, my Christian godfather offered me a job in his car detailing business. It was hard labor, nothing I was accustomed to. I basically washed and cleaned someone else’s cars. It wasn’t the job I dreamed about but it was a job that gave me back my dignity. God humbled me and reminded me that everything comes from him. 

God also gave me something else that year. Actually, later that same day I was laid off, my wife also told me that she was pregnant. For just a brief moment, I was terrified. But before paralyzing fear took over my mind, I felt God’s presence and his spirit came over me giving me a sense of calm and joy. I’ve never felt God within my very bones before. And so I knew, God intervened at that moment in my life. I was even reassuring my wife that everything was going to be okay. So on October 5th, 2003, my wife delivered a healthy and beautiful little girl with dark hair, chubby cheeks, and big round eyes. And we named her Ysabelle which means God’s Promise.

In 2005, at a non-denominational church service, I received Christ and was born again. I wept heavily that day. But, I can tell you honestly, that my experience was beyond emotional. From the outside I looked like a total mess, with tears overflowing, my heart pounding like a jack hammer, and the surface of my skin, red hot like magma. But inside, I was at peace. I died in that moment and I mourned the loss, but then I also came alive and I rejoiced.

A year after that, we moved to Canada to start fresh, and settled in Richmond BC. I got a new job as a technical writer. Through my wife's cousin, we connected with the Richmond Baptist Church and soon after that we joined a regular bible study group.

Living here in Richmond for seven years was not without challenges though. Despite getting the jobs we liked, I resented the low wages here and the high cost of living in Richmond. In addition, I was personally struggling with a lifestyle of liberal spending. I ran our household with a deficit. So when an opportunity for a high-paying job opened up, I jumped right away at it without doing enough investigation. 

I convinced myself it was God’s plan. After all, I did pray for it even though I didn't really consult any of my Christian friends nor did I spend time in God's word. But the good signs were there. All my interviews went very smoothly. I received an offer and I accepted without hesitation. As it turned out, the company missed all their sales projections for that summer in 2013 and as a result, 25% of the company including the new hires were laid off. And so less than five months in my new job, I found myself out of work again. However, the joy of the new job with a big salary made me so grateful towards God. 

From an occasional Bible reader and a typical Sunday Christian, I started studying the Bible with a purpose, that is, to know Jesus and the Father’s love more deeply. Together with the Spirit, I began an almost obsessive discipline of studying the Bible. I also watched and listened to countless sermons from different pastors. In that process, I learned how to read the bible properly. So when I received the news of my layoff, that time I was prepared emotionally, mentally, and spiritually.

Later that year, I felt a revival in my spiritual growth, and I felt compelled to seek out a new local church to connect with. In 2014, I started attending Bethany Baptist Church regularly. I also started an online blog as an outlet for fleshing out my theology. It’s my way of processing my personal beliefs about the triune God and about Jesus Christ and the scandal of His grace. 

Honestly, I still have today my ongoing battle with materialism and pride. But I pray that as I follow Jesus in my daily life ever more diligently, that these idols shall start breaking away from my consciousness.

So today in my water baptism as a believer, I confess Jesus is my Lord and Saviour. 

I consent to His love and mercy. I submit to Him all my desires and aspirations. 

I seek and receive his goodness daily which leads me to continually change my mind towards Him. 

And I hold myself accountable to you His saints on earth, so that I may continue to obey the faith that I was given and that I receive freely. 

I rest my hope in the second coming of our Lord Jesus and I look forward to that time when His full glory is revealed and all His good creation are restored. 

I’d like to end my testimony with a paraphrase of Paul’s letter to the Romans in 7:21 through 8:1 which sums up my own Christian walk. Paul writes, 

”So I have learned this rule: When I want to do good, evil is there with me. In my mind I am happy with God’s law. But I see another law working in my body. That law makes war against the law that my mind accepts. That other law working in my body is the law of sin, and that law makes me its prisoner. What a miserable person I am! Who will save me from this body that brings me death? I thank God for his salvation through Jesus Christ our Lord! So in my mind I am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful self I am a slave to the law of sin. So now anyone who is in Christ Jesus is not judged guilty.”

Thank you.

A Reflection on Abraham's Faith as Recorded in Genesis 22

Reflection on Pastor Stef’s Sermon 

(God Will Provide, Abraham’s Faith to the Finish. Delivered on 26 July 2015 at Bethany Baptist Church)

I do believe that Abraham knew before the actual killing were to occur that God will provide the sacrifice and it wasn’t Isaac but indeed a lamb. To me, Genesis 22:8 seems to indicate what was literally on Abraham's mind in answering Isaac's naive question. And when we look at this phrase as a picture of Jesus' sacrifice, how could Abraham have thought about Jesus at that time? After all this was his reply to Isaac and this wasn't God’s reply. Surely today, in light of the New Testament (with the Emmaus experience of Jesus revealing himself in the OT to the two disciples) we can look at this typology now. Abraham didn't have this luxury.

I'm not questioning Abraham's faith, and in fact if the usual interpretation that Abraham really thought God was asking him to kill Isaac and he just got up and was willing to do it without question, then this shows a robotic faith. And surely, God did not need Abraham's blind faith. If that was the "meat" of Abraham's faith then we should truly run away from God.

I do understand that God is developing us into his own character - he’s sanctifying us unto his image. He is calling us to totally surrender to his will and he wants to see how far our faith could stretch out that we would give up our own child for him. But I thought this would be really too much to ask for especially from a righteous man like Abraham (or Job). However, as the story of Job tells me, that God is sovereign and reason alone cannot explain his decisions. Which leads me to think that true faith must also rest in God’s love and provision and not faith based on God’s expectation of suffering and loss for his people.

And so, I must infer that it is more correct to understand Abraham's faith as a kind of trust that "God provides" rather than a surrendering trust that is emotionless? The fact that the Holy Spirit didn’t describe how Abraham felt when God asked him to kill Isaac, leads me to think that the Spirit is opening this account in Abraham’s life up for inspired interpretation sort of like the parables of Jesus. Although, my inference comes from verse 14 really, when Abraham called the mountain The Lord Will Provide. Sure it was after the incident that he named this mountain. But my understanding is, this characterized Abraham’s faith even before God asked him for a human sacrifice. I mean, it’s correct to assume that Abraham’s faith evolved and developed over the many years since receiving the promise. It’s reasonable to think he’s come to expect God’s deliverance in every circumstance of his life, in joy, in pain, and in blunder. Isn’t this what grace is, underserved favour? We can surmise with certainty that Abraham was full of God’s favour. His transgressions were overlooked because of his faith. In fact, all patriarchs including Joseph, experienced pure grace from God. The Israelite people even though they ended up as slaves in Egypt, God rested his favour upon them, eventually leading them out of Egypt.

I looked for clues in the bible that would tell me the people of Israel suffered loss and death from the time they left Egypt up to the time at the wilderness of Sinai before the Ten Commandments (Exodus 19), and I couldn’t find one thing. In fact, in Psalms 105, David recollects God’s mercy and longsuffering for the people and describes how they left Egypt with back payment of gold and silver and that no one was sickly or feeble among them. (By the way, I also found this fact in Exodus 12:36.) God’s favour was on them at least until, God sensed pride in his people, when they practically bragged to Moses without hearing the terms of the new covenant that they will do all that God commands - verse 8 of Exodus 19. After this verse, God’s demeanor changed. All of a sudden God didn’t show his glory directly to the people anymore but when they did they died. Which is typical of the law, isn’t it? You break the law and you are cursed or worse you died. As opposed to when they were on their way from Egypt to Sinai, they were running from the Egyptian army, God opened up the sea. They complained about starving to death, God provided the manna. The waters from Marra were a bit too mineralized and God gave them Perrier. They defeated the Amalekites based on Moses’ hand position. When up they win, when down they lose. So they propped up Moses hand with a rock and Aaron held it up until the Amalekites were defeated by Joshua. All the while, none of them died or got sick. That is pure grace which they all lost when they entered God’s covenant of the Law with Moses. In Hebrews 8, the author described how God felt the old covenant (of law) was inadequate or obsolete and the new covenant (of grace) was superior in every way. It’s amazing how many Christians today, don’t even know where to find the words of the new covenant that Jesus sealed with his death and resurrection. Anyway, I’m going off tangent here a little bit.

Going back to my point, I’d like to characterize my faith as a faith in which that God will provide a way out of my present bad circumstances and condition. He’s not one to see me suffer with unbearable pain, especially now that he already provided his Son for me two thousand years ago as the perfect lamb. Surrendering to God doesn't mean to expect suffering like sickness or death of a loved one. Surely, if that was the case, God could’ve chosen Job as the father of nations because at least Job suffered the most loss and his faith endured. And with Job, the Holy Spirit thought it would be okay to describe in detail Job’s emotional, physical, and psychological torment unlike in Abraham’s account where there was none. But one thing Job lacked was an intercessor. He had an accuser, Satan, but didn’t have an advocate which of course now, we all Christians have in Jesus. So Job’s kind of suffering isn’t one a Christian suffers today or suffered since after the Pentecost in 1 AD.

The kind of suffering to expect is a suffering that is bearable according to one's faith. I believe in chastisement (or correction) but in the context of God like a father disciplining his own child. A father does not discipline other kids but his own. And the purpose of the discipline is not to break the child in half or take away the child’s dignity but to break the child’s will instead through thoughtful punishment. Didn’t Jesus say that his burden is light? To think that we can suffer for God like Jesus did on the cross is hubris. And we know that the greatest sin is pride. Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not saying that the early Apostles and martyrs all throughout history and even modern day martyrs were prideful. They were called to that purpose and they knew that. Are we all called to be martyrs? Must I believe that the ordinary and common "sands" and "stars" in God's kingdom like myself are to expect to suffer unbearably? Is this really God's will for me? In light of Jesus’ death, I think not. We are called to faith and to be righteous by faith. I mean this is God’s pouring of undeserved favour on his children just like what the new covenant says (Hebrews 8:10-12). God himself will put his laws into our hearts. And he will forget all our sins, past, present, and future. I mean this is a big deal and nothing to be trifled with. It’s like we’ve come back to the days of the patriarchs, before the ministry of death was instituted through Moses (2 Cor 3:9 NKJV). Romans 1:5 also says, "Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name.” This implies that under the law of Moses, there was no grace at all. Wow.

The biggest test we all have is persevering in the faith against all odds. Imagine a “young" Christian or someone who grew in the faith hearing Hitchens, Dawkins, Krauss, Hawking, Maher, and even the secular schools of today make a case for God is dead and then coming out having more faith than when you first heard their arguments is a testament of a maturing faith.

And this is the faith - that God loved the world so he gave his only son. His son suffered and died on the cross for the forgiveness of sins. And he rose on the third day to confirm our righteousness in him. He is our Lord and Saviour. And whoever believes in Him, shall have everlasting life. So for a Christian to carry this faith through the rigours of life mundane and/or dramatic is a test of endurance and character. I hear many pastors say that the purpose of trials and sufferings for a Christian is to develop godly character. I totally believe that. After all, what character is there to build, when one ends up dying or losing dignity. Is there any account biblical or extra-biblical that the apostles were afflicted with sickness or dementia or cancer or extreme poverty during their ministries? Even Paul’s afflictions were a result of his physical beatings and the bible does not say that he was stricken with an illness during his ministry. Yes, with the exception of John, many died violent deaths but those came about from men who rejected God and not directly from God.

And so I agree with Pastor Stef that we should expect to get hurt. But I would add to that, that God would not allow me to be hurt beyond what I can bear because the first-born, Jesus, took that unbearable hurt which I deserved, on the cross. And when He said, “Finished” he wasn’t lying.

I like to end my reflection with Romans 4:5-8 ERV,

“5 But people cannot do any work that will make them right with God. So they must trust in him. Then he accepts their faith, and that makes them right with him. He is the one who makes even evil people right. 6 David said the same thing when he was talking about the blessing people have when God accepts them as good without looking at what they have done:
7 “It is a great blessing
    when people are forgiven for the wrongs they have done,
    when their sins are erased!
8 It is a great blessing when the Lord accepts people
    as if they are without sin!”

God's Word is Life Transforming

THE WORD OF GOD

Adapted from a sermon of Rick Warren from "A Purpose Driven Life"

Introduction

• As Christians, we believe that God’s word is truth.
• We go to church, we go to bible studies, because we want to hear God’s word.

In the beginning was the Word

• God created the universe by speaking his Word.
• “Let there be light.” and light entered the universe and pushed out the darkness.
• Because of God’s words, time, space, matter came into existence.
• God’s word is the most powerful force in the universe.
• The Bible records God speaking audibly to people many times.
• We may find these in Exodus 3:14; when he said to Moses at the burning bush, “I Am who I Am.”
• In Joshua 1:1; it records, the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun, and Moses’ assistant.
• In the New Testament book of Acts 9:15-16, Jesus speaking to Ananias about Paul said, “Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.”
• In the gospels, in Mark 1:11, God spoke to Jesus and said to Him, “You are my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased.”
• OTHER EXAMPLES are Judges 6:18; 1 Samuel 3:11; 2 Samuel 2:1;Job 40:1; Isaiah 7:3; Jeremiah 1:7 ;
• There was power in that voice.
• You know what happened after God spoke this to Jesus.
• Jesus was able to withstand the temptations of the devil in the desert.
• God’s words encouraged Jesus. 
• His words gave Jesus the confidence, the assurance, the validation that he needed to defeat the devil in the desert.
• From this example in Jesus’ early ministry, we can rest in the truth that God’s words have power.

His Words are Spirit and Life

• God’s spirit can bring life to the dead.
• We know the story of Lazarus.
• After Jesus had prayed he spoke and commanded to Lazarus to come forth.
• And Lazarus came out of the tomb alive.
• There are many miracles Jesus performed by speaking.
• Those who were sick became well. That’s life.
• Those who were blind now see. That’s life.
• Today, Christians have the Spirit in them. We have God’s spirit in us, who believe and trust in Him.

Jesus says in John 6:63, that “The Words I have spoken to you are spirit and life.”

• It can make life in you and me where our own willpower doesn’t make anything happen. 
• Do we believe this?
• I hope so.
• Because when we begin to trust and believe in what Jesus says, his words can make our life abundant for his good works.

His words are living and active

• Did you know that God made a decision to give us life, by speaking his truth, so we might become the crown of all the creatures he made?
• You can find this, in James 1:18. "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." -NKJV
• God’s words, even though we don’t hear them anymore, are all written down in a collection of books called the Bible.
• The bible is not just a historical book.
• It is not just a book of teachings and nice sayings.
• The bible is not just a guidebook for daily living.
• If it’s just these things, I could just pick up any self-help book in the library, or Chapters, or Kindle.
• “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People” by Steven Covey
• "Greatest Life Lessons" from Tony Robbins
• These books they tell you what to do, what you need to improve on, what you need focus on, etc.
• But one thing they don’t have is God’s power - the active and life-giving power of God.

The author of Hebrews in Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

• Sharper than any two-edged sword
• In ancient times, a two-edged sword is the sharpest tool. It can cut both ways.
• And God says that His word is sharper than a two-edged sword.
• This verse, hits three things all-in-one.
• It speaks of our spiritual life.
• Do you know when your soul begins and your spirit ends?
• The soul and spirit are part of God’s invisible creation.
• And nothing in the universe can affect these two except God’s word.
• Our soul is what makes us unique and our spirit is God’s gift.
• We know that when man fell, our spirit died.
• Through God’s word, with our faith in Jesus, God brought us back to life again.
• We are a new creation.
• Our spirit lives.
• The verse speaks of our physical life, when it refers to joints and marrow.
• God’s word brings healing. 
• Even in this modern age, we hear testimonies from Christians and sometimes non-Christians who are being healed from cancer, heart disease, hypertension, diabetes, because the Church, through the Holy Spirit, has spoken healing prayers to these people.
• God’s word can cut along bone to separate the joints and can crack the marrow to rejuvenate life giving blood.
• Lastly, the verse talks about our thoughts and intents of the heart.
• God’s word can make a difference in the way we think and feel.
• We all know that our heart is not literally responsible for our emotions.
• Our brain is the center of our rational thought including our emotions.
• Our hearts beat faster when we’re angry, or excited. And it beats slow when we are relaxed and peaceful.
• But over the years, we developed an expression that says we think with our brain and develop intentions with our heart.
• Science can now say, that it’s all in the brain. It’s the chemicals that make us say, or do, or intend things.
• God’s word, however, makes the distinction between mental thoughts and our emotional thoughts.
• When you hear God’s word, you accept it in your mind. 
• You make that decision in your mind to follow Him, to hear Him.
• But God’s word can make it’s way from your brain to your heart and so now, it affects your emotions.
• Whatever Jesus said to Zacchaeus, when Jesus went to his house, it transformed Zacchaeus from a corrupt tax collector, to a super generous person.
• When Jesus asked the woman caught in adultery, “Where are your accusers? Has no one condemned you?” and the woman said, “No one, Lord.”. Jesus’ then said, “Neither do I condemn you, now, go and sin no more.”
• Jesus words brought the woman’s faith, remember she called him Lord, so she has mental assent, down to her heart, her emotions.
• So without the baggage of condemnation, the woman now has the power in her to change and sin no more.

God’s Word Transforms

• So we know the bible is not just a guidebook for daily living.
• God’s word can change and transform you and me.
• So that we can live an abundant life today that is according to his purpose.
• Abundant life is not the same as abundant living.
• The world tells us that the signs of success are having lots of money in the bank, big house, nice cars, nice gadgets, eating good food, a university degree, a management position at work, a successful practice in medicine, dentistry, or accounting, all things I can agree is abundant living.
• But this is not the abundant life that Jesus is talking about.
• We may or may not have abundant living, but we all have an abundant life in Jesus.
• A life that is full of God’s words, that our lives are transformed by them.
• A transformation that can sometimes become so unbelievable. We don’t think it’s real.
• We all have moms and so we know that they’ve taught us not to take anything that isn’t ours. That would be stealing.
• When I was young, I used to steal money from my mom.
• I used the money to buy food snacks, toys, trump cards, school supplies, clothes, shoes. The things that she didn’t buy for me.
• When my mom would wonder, where I’d get my stuff, I told her they are gifts from my friends.
• I don’t really know if she knew. Maybe she suspected a little.
• It wasn’t her words that made me realize what I was doing was wrong. In my mind, I wasn’t really stealing because, she’s my mom.
• She is supposed to provide not only for things that I needed but also for things that I wanted.
• But, what transformed me from thinking like that was the Bible.
• My parents were catholic so we had a Bible on display in a glass armoire in our living room.
• I took it out of the display case and I started reading it.
• It just so happened that I was reading the book on Exodus. When I got to the part where it says, “do not steal”, and of course I read some more.
• But something changed me.
• I became conscious of what I was doing to my mom, stealing from her, that I was overtaken by fear.
• All fear. Fear from God, fear from disappointing my mom, fear from anger from my dad.
• But being a child, I was more fearful of what my parents would do.
• And so being trained in the catechism of Catholicism, I went to the priest and confessed my sin.
• Whether or not I really did receive forgiveness for my sins, what I do know is that I didn’t steal from my mom anymore from that point on.
• It recreated a new life for me. I was transformed by his word.

Recreates life

• God chose to give us life through his word.
• I mentioned this earlier, in James 1:18. "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures." -NKJV
• God’s word can recreate life in us.
• In my confession to you today about my childhood sin, back then I wasn’t still living the abundant life that God had planned for me.
• But in retrospect, every time I think about the instances throughout my life where I had heard from God through the Bible, my life was being recreated at that point and I was growing up to become God’s child.
• It’s like I knew, at some point in my adult life, that I will accept Jesus Christ in me and I will be his friend, his brother, his co-heir of the kingdom.
• It’s amazing. And unbelievable.
• God’s word also does not die after it’s been planted in your heart.
• They say that evangelizers are like farmers, they throw the seed to the ground, and rain, and sunshine, and the nutrients of the soil make them grow.
• Like God’s word in our hearts, God also makes it grow.

• And God’s word is like seed that is “incorruptible”
• It means it is not subject to decay, or death.
• It is everlasting.
• Don’t worry too much about a friend or a relative or an enemy, trying to convert them from their religion to the only true religion which is Jesus Christ.
• If you are not confident in your ability to speak God’s word to other people, it’t okay.
• In the meantime, learn and practice. Overtime you’ll develop the confidence by God’s grace.
• But for your friend, or relative, or enemy, just give them a bible as a gift. 
• When they start reading it, you don’t even have to care when they start.
• But when they do, God’s incorruptible word will be planted in their hearts and their life will be recreated.

Eradicates guilt

• Do you realize that guilt is a paralyzing emotion?
• Have you ever been so filled with guilt that you can’t think straight, can’t sleep at night, you lose appetite?

• There’s a story of a father who asks his boy to fetch water from the ocean with a wooden basket.
• Of course, overtime the boy takes the basket to fill it with water, by the time he gets to his father the water had already spilled and leaked through.
• The boy who is frustrated, asked the father, why do you give me a basket to fetch water? Can’t you just give me pail?
• The father said to the boy, but son, look at the basket, it’s now clean from the washing of the water through it.
• Jesus in talking to his disciples said, in John 15:3, "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you.”
• Every time we immerse ourselves in the water that is God’s words, the bible, the dirt in us which is sin, is slowly but surely washes away from our nature.

Activates faith

• Like I said earlier, there are many books that can tell you how to live a good life.
• But none have the power to affect change. Real long-lasting change.
• The bible is not like any book where you read it once and instantly you become a believer.
• And lets’ just say that you instantly believe.
• How can you tell if your faith has been made active?
• How do you know if your faith is in operation in your life?

In Romans 10:17, Paul was talking about how the Jews have over and over rejected the gospel of Jesus that was being preached to them.

• He writes, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
• How different is the people of the world today from those of the Jews in the first century?
• The world hears about Jesus, about God, but the world sees the good news as ridiculous, as foolishness.
• Even us who have become enlightened by God’s word, we still need to hear God’s good news about Jesus over and over.
• We need our faith activated.
• And by studying God’s word, hearing sermons, going to bible study, every time we have God’s word in our hearts our faith gets activated.
• Like an incandescent light bulb, the light ramps up. And suddenly the light is activated in full power.

Stimulates growth [15]

• When we read the bible, we grow mature in our faith.
• From a mustard seed, we can grow into a tree whose roots go several feet underground.
• The words of the bible, teaches us, rebukes us, corrects us, and trains us.

• In what is considered Paul’s individual pastoral letters to one of his leaders in Ephesus, Paul writes to Timothy in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, 
for correction, 
for instruction in righteousness, 
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.”
• Doctrine is the same as teaching. 
• For example, the doctrine of grace through faith. There are also doctrines on marriage, on good living, on ministry, etc.
• You will find these in the letters to the Romans and Ephesians.
• Reproof is the same as rebuking (or criticism).
• Rebuking is needed when we fall, when we sin.
• We find these in the letters to the Corinthians and Phillipians.
• We know especially the Corinthian church and all the bad practices of unlovingness, sexual misconducts, abusing the spiritual gifts, etc.
• If you are feeling convicted of sin, you can read those epistles.
• Correction is when we start to follow wrong doctrines.
• During the 1st century, the Galatian church was turning away from grace and truth and they are going back to the law.
• "I can’t believe your fickleness—how easily you have turned traitor to him who called you by the grace of Christ by embracing a variant message! It is not a minor variation, you know; it is completely other, an alien message, a no-message, a lie about God. Those who are provoking this agitation among you are turning the Message of Christ on its head.”
• That’s a paraphrase of Galatians 1:6-7 from the MSG bible, by the way.
• Paul was also correcting the Colossian church who have been infiltrated by the Gnostics.
• These are people who claim to believe in Jesus, who also believe in special mystical knowledge and therefore stuck in spiritual knowledge.
• All they cared for was living away from the material world and isolating themselves from the real material world. To attain godliness is to become spirits.
• Lastly, there’s instruction in righteousness, which is the same as training.
• It’s like when you train for a marathon, you develop habits that make you efficient and prepared in the upcoming marathon.
• Marathoners begin their training four to six months before the actual marathon event.
• God’s word is good for training.
• For us Christians, what is our marathon event?
• When we become salt and light to the world.
• And you know what, being salt and light to the world is not easy.
• It’s gruelling. It’s painful many times. Just like Jesus, you will be rejected, made fun of, discriminated against.
• But guess what, hearing God’s word is like training for the marathon.
• Are you ready to start the marathon?

Illuminates the mind

• When God said let there be light in Genesis, we can use that as a metaphor to our own minds.
• Before Christ, our minds were in darkness.
• When I stole from my mom, my mind was in darkness.
• But God’s word brought light to my darkness and darkness was slowly being pushed away.

• In Psalms 119:130, the psalmist sings, “Understanding your word brings light to the minds of ordinary people.” 
• Did you know that meditation is one of the most beneficial activities you can do as a Christian?
• I’m not talking about the Yoga incantations, the Ohhmms.
• I’m talking about meditating on God’s words.
• How can I best explain meditation?
• Do you worry?
• When you worry, you think about the negative things in your mind over and over.
• It’s like guilt, you worry too much and you can’t do anything anymore.
• Meditating on God’s word is the opposite of worrying.
• Instead of thinking about negative things, you start to go over God’s word in your mind over and over.
• When you wake up, you think about it.
• When you are in your car waiting for your wife to finish shopping, you think about God’s word.
• When you’re in the bank ATM, lining up to withdraw money, you think about God’s word.
• When I want to resist buying the latest gadget, I counter it by meditating on a passage of Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”

Elevates mood

• Nothing in this world can lift you up more than the comforting words in the Bible.
• No doubt that every Christian experiences sadness, loss, depression, failure.
• There is also no doubt, that if you are not a Christian, you also experience sadness, loss, depression, failure.
• The difference is we have God’s word which has power, to comfort us in our most need.
• In funerals, we speak God’s word that bring hope and joy to those who are left behind.
• We hear God’s words from Paul: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope” (1 Thessalonians 4:13)
• Have there been instances in your life where you were down and reading the Bible lifted up your mood.
• You were sad and and then comforted.

• In Romans 15:4 Paul writes, “For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that we through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope." Romans 15:4 NKJV
• This is not my testimony but I read this in an article.
• When Pacquiao tied with Marquez and lost to Bradley in 2012, many people in the Philippines including his own mom, blamed his losses for switching religions.
• He was Catholic and he became a born-again Christian.
• I’m sure there were moments that Pacquiao felt low and down.
• But I’m also sure that he found comfort in God’s words. 
• Since that time he made a couple more wins and won against Bradley in another fight in 2014.

Liberates potential

• When you become free from worries, from your past, from whatever bad thing you did, you feel that a heavy weight has been lifted from your shoulders.
• You are now suddenly able to do things you’ve never considered doing.
• Before receiving power from God’s word, you were reluctant to help out the people in need.
• You will not let go of that money and give it to someone in need.
• But after discovering and experiencing the truth in the Bible, you become free from your bondage to money.
• And now you can give money away just like that.
• Before you were not considering to feed the homeless.
• Now, you are out there serving in the church kitchen to feed the community.
• Have you experienced this feeling?
• This feeling of liberation.
• If not, I encourage you to get back to reading the Bible.
• Only God knows your potential in life.
• And only He has the power to release your potential into the world and do his good works for him.
• But how can you really know if you don’t listen to his words.

"Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 

• God’s word will reveal to you his purpose and his plan for your life.
• Spend time to hear him.
• Spend time to listen to him.
• Spend time with him, through bible reading and bible studies.

Summarize - How does God’s Word Change You?

• recreates life
• eradicates guilt
• activates faith
• stimulates growth
• illuminates the mind
• elevates mood
• liberates potential

How Do you Start Gaining these benefits?

• There’s three things you can do to start gaining the benefits from God’s Word.

• You should Learn

• Accept and

• Do

• First Learn God’s Word.
• Read the Bible.
• Use the tools that are available today to help you read through and understand the bible.
• These days, it’s so convenient.
• The bible is available everywhere.
• Why do you experience trouble, depression, frustration, difficulty in life.
• Jesus said to the Pharisees who were constantly testing him and doubting him, 
• In Mark 12:24, in addressing the Sadducees who did not believe on the resurrection, Jesus answered: You are completely wrong! You don’t know what the Scriptures teach. And you don’t know anything about the power of God.
• So, first is Learn.
• Second, Accept God’s Word.
• Accept its authority over your life.
• Continue to make God’s words part of your habits.
• Addressing the Thesalonians and their conversion to Christ, Paul writes, "We always thank God that you believed the message we preached. It came from him, and it isn’t something made up by humans. You accepted it as God’s message, and now he is working in you. 1 Thes 2:13.
• When you accept God’s word when you read in the Bible, trust that the power in his words will transform you day to day, week to week, month to month, year to year into a person like Jesus.
• So, first Learn, then Accept.
• Lastly, do.
• Apply God’s principles in your life.
• Receiving, accepting, reading, researching, meditating, remembering, memorizing, reflecting, on bible verses are all for nothing if it remains all in your head.
• Pray for God’s grace in your life that you are able to practice everything that he had commanded you.
• Ask for faith, and with little faith that you have, God will multiply it and you become doers of His Word.
• Doing does not mean you are trying to earn his favour.
• God’s favour is already in you when you have Jesus Christ.
• To abide in him means to abide in his truth. And the truth is in God’s words.

I will close, with this verse from John 8:31, "Jesus told the people who had faith in him, “If you keep on obeying what I have said, you truly are my disciples.”

Love Outlasts Everything

A Sermon on 1 Cor 12:27-31 to 13:1-8

Introduction

• As a boy, I was always reminded by my parents that I should treat people like I want to be treated. This was the golden rule.
• Every religion in the world states their own version of this golden rule sometimes referred to as the “Ethic of Reciprocity”.
• Just to name a few:
• In Native American Spirituality, there’s a Pima Proverb that states, "Do not wrong or hate your neighbor. For it is not he who you wrong, but yourself.”
• Taoists has this to say, “Regard your neighbor's gain as your own gain, and your neighbor's loss as your own loss.”
• In the Analects of Confucianism, 12:2 states, “Do not do to others what you would not like yourself. Then there will be no resentment against you, either in the family or in the state.”
• "Don't do things you wouldn't want to have done to you” is from the British Humanist Society.
• "Do not do to others that which would anger you if others did it to you.” is attributed to the Greek philosopher Socrates in 5 BC.
• For Christians, our version comes from Jesus himself. In Matthew 7:12, Jesus states it in the positive form, “So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
• Jesus further develops this, when he was asked by a lawyer, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
• Jesus then answers back with another question, “What is written in the Law” How do you read it?”
• The lawyer replied, “Love God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength. And love your neighbour as yourself.”
• Jesus already knew the lawyer would quote from the Torah. [Deuteronomy 6:5, and Leviticus 19:18.]
• “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.” [Luke 10:25-28]
• And from this we can say that true religion is based on love. Indeed a love that is eternal and must be part of every ministry and gift.
• You don’t need any proof of this because if you continue to read the passages in this account, Jesus further illustrates this truth in his telling of the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
• And so just to be clear, the love I’m referring to here is not the kind of love that we have for our spouses. It is not the warm and fuzzy feeling we get when we watch a drama or the feeling of admiration for a singer, actor, or a celebrity. We’re not talking about romance, or passion, or lust, or sex.
• In this modern age, we often think about love in terms of our emotions and our passion. It’s what we feel inside. It’s the adrenaline, the dopamine, serotonin, and oxytocin chemicals in our brains and the corresponding effect of these chemicals.
• Why did Paul find it necessary to define Love to the Corinthians?
• Well, just like we are today, the Corinthians had misconceptions about love.
• Corinthian society at that time was like Vancouver today. Multi-national, multi-cultural, multi-religious. They were materialistic, individualistic, and sexually charged. 
• What kind of a city are you living in when a new word for an immoral act is coined after your city? Just like in Corinth when the word “corinthianize” also meant “to fornicate.”
• How would you react if 20 years from now, the Oxford Dictionary adds a new word to its collection and defines to “Vancouverize” as “to be hypocritical as to saying one thing and doing something else.” Or, “to be inconsequential and irrelevant as having the eloquence to say the right words but having nothing at all to show for in the face of challenges.”
• The Corinthian church was in the crossroads between the culture of their society and their new found faith in Jesus.
• I suppose, some church members chose to have a foot in each of the two worlds instead of choosing just one.
• The church was plagued with political divisions, discipline, litigiousness among each other, sexual immorality, marriage issues, and other things such as the abuse and misuse of spiritual gifts.
• This church was so endowed with spiritual gifts and many were abusing them for personal gain and glory.
• And so for Paul, to drive home the kind of love that he expects the Corinthian church to exhibit, he describes love as being patient, kind, generous and not jealous, humble, not rude but courteous, selfless and self-effacing, always pleasant in arguments, thinks no evil, and does not rejoice at injustice and rejoices when truth prevails.
• Each of these characteristics is a direct reproof and admonition of wrong conduct and behaviour by the church with their fellow Christians.
• Paul even goes so far to driving this point about love, that he begins to destroy the first misconception by the church about speaking in tongues or the eloquence of speeches.

A Clanging Cymbal

• Indeed, during the 1st Century, Corinth was a city very much like Vancouver. 
• How many times have you heard politicians talk on TV debates or townhall meetings and you’re listening to their well-crafted speeches and in the back of your mind, you do not believe anything he or she says.
• Their words have become white noise to you. They carry no weight anymore. Why? Because you’ve become tired of the cycle of good speeches and broken promises. Election after election.
• There’s debate whether the gifts of speaking and interpreting tongues still exist today.
• I, 100% believe Paul, when he says that speaking in tongues will become useless.
• Whether Paul’s prophecy already occurred within his lifetime or it happened when the canon of scriptures was completed or it’s still present today until Jesus returns, I don’t really know.
• Because Paul’s main point was, speaking in tongues with human fluency and angelic   gracefulness or interpreting these unknown languages will become useless someday but guess what? Love never fails!
• Let’s say you are the best speaker in your bible study group, or church.
• What good is your speeches if you can’t even show simple patience with a brother or sister who comes to you with questions. 
• You like to win every argument and you’re easily irritated and unpleasant during long debates and discussions.
• Someday, without the character of love in you and in your conversations with other people you’ll find that your speeches will become inconsequential. Meaning, your words will lose weight and will not make any transforming impact in anyone’s life. 
• Just like a politician with hollow words.
• How sad that would be. For you and for the people around you.
• The good news is, just as Jesus is eternal, love is also eternal and it’s never too late to put on the character of love, really the character of Jesus in your life today.
• Love is indeed everlasting.

Faith

• Is faith anymore important than love?
• What is the best gift of all, the gift that is the sum of everything. A gift that you live for today and spend eternity with.
• Henry Drummond, a Scottish Christian missionary and evangelist in the late 19th century in his most popular work, a meditational treatise on Love called “The Greatest Thing in the World”, begins "We have been accustomed to be told that the greatest thing in the religious world is faith. That great word has been the key-note for centuries of the popular religion; and we have easily learned to look upon it as the greatest thing in the world. Well, we are wrong. If we have been told that, we may miss the mark.”
• Mr. Drummond was hardly the first evangelist to assert that love is the greatest thing in the world. 
• Paul summed up his arguments for love in his admonition of the Corinthian church in 1 Cor 13:13. “And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.” 
• Of course this was not by chance. Paul was making a very big point to the Corinthian Church.
• Actually, Paul mentioned faith just a few verses above in verse 2. He says, "… and though I have faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” 
• When faith runs its course, and it will, at the end when Christ comes back, what must remain?
• Yes, it is love that remains. Love lasts forever.

Charity and Martyrdom

• In 1611, the King James Bible was finally unveiled. When the 47 scholars translated the Greek word “Agape” which was the word for God’s love, they chose the English word Charity.
• This English word Charity was widely used in 17th century to mean exclusively “the Christian love of one’s fellows.” It’s taken from old French, “charite”, and from Latin “caritas” meaning “Dear”.
• Nowadays, the word Charity is seldom used to transliterate God's Love. It's unfortunate, that that's happened. 
• Today, the word charity especially during tax season usually means a tax credit. 
• It’s an incentive program by any government to encourage people to give money to organizations that do the good work of helping the poor, the widow, the sick, the forgotten, and the heartbroken in society. Charities help find cures for the illnesses we suffer today.
• If you think of charity as merely an incentive to get a refund from your taxes, then this is charity without much love.
• I’m not downplaying the role of charity in today's world, my only point is that the word Charity is no longer an appropriate word to use for the selfless, gracious, and everlasting kind of love. 
• “And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor…but have not love, it profits me nothing.” This is from 1 Cor 13:3.
• Think about that for a second. It is entirely possible to give every material thing you have without ever loving and it does you no good at all.
• In this same verse, Paul also shows that even martyrdom does not profit anyone much less the martyr, if the motivation was hate not love.
• Unless we have love we can’t feel that closeness with God. God is love and love is God’s essence.
• One of the many things that I pray for is to have the character of God in my life. I know I can’t do it by my own will, no matter how much I tried. But when I have love, and when I experience love, and when I show love to others, that’s when I feel the presence of God in my life.
• Love is of God alone. God is there when love is present.
• A popular Christian song by Citizen Way, goes like this, “Mercy and grace and compassion, they're only words without action. I need hands that are open, reaching out to broken hearts. ‘Cause that's the only way this world will ever know who you are. Love is the evidence.”
• Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” [John 13:35]
• One of the most noblest vocation is doing missions work. Countless many lives have been transformed by missionaries who travel to the unreached places in the world spreading the good news of God’s love manifested on the cross.
• I pray for more missionaries so that by the love that they show to the world, the world will know who Christ is.
• But the mission field isn’t in some tribal village in Africa, or a slum in Asia, or a drug-run city in South America. It’s actually just beyond the walls of this Church.
• The moment you step out of this Church, you are in the mission field.
• At my last church in Richmond Baptist, we have a sign at the main doors of the church building. It’s not posted outside before you get in the church building. It’s actually posted inside, seen by all people when they leave church after the service. And the sign says, “Welcome to the Mission Field.”
• Love indeed extends beyond one's own life because when you die, the people who felt loved by you will still remember you long after you're gone.
• Love is forever.

Love Bears, Believes, Hopes, and Endures All Things

• [1 Cor 13:7]  "Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance."
• This was Paul's last statement which rounded up his definition of love to the Corinthian church.
• It's an excellent summation, in my opinion.
• It describes the enduring quality of love. It goes beyond belief, goes far beyond trust and hope, and really lasts a very long time. In fact it lasts for eternity.
• I am saddened to see many Christian brothers and sisters who after many, many years still hate people. 
• Some of them say, “I love the church but I don’t love the people.” or “I love Christ but not the Christians.” or “It’s hard with all the rules and the do’s and don’ts.” or “It’s just another bunch of hypocrites.”
• Pope Francis, in his book, the “Joy of the Gospel”, writes, “The pain and the shame we feel at the sins of some members of the Church, and at our own, must never make us forget how many Christians are giving their lives in love.”
• It’s so convenient to look at the wrongdoings of the few bad apples and be discouraged. Perhaps, we have lost confidence in church leaders who spread fear, anxiety, and hate. We’ve seen far too many Christians who wear their religion on their sleeves and instead of demonstrating the gift of love that they received, they squander it in the most embarrassing of ways.
• And yet we also know and see and prove, that the love of Christians brought on by the love of God, remains an ever present and steadfast force in the world. This kind of love that Paul has defined for us, has endured throughout history and today is still driving the growth in many parts of the globe. 
• Love bears everything. Every heartache. Every pain - physical, emotional, psychological, biological, spiritual. Every sadness. Every injustice. Every sickness. Every bad moment. Every bad luck.
• Love has a way of counteracting the effects of sin in the individual and the community.
• Love's enduring quality can transform both the giver and the receiver of love. 
• Jesus died for sinners, for all of us. This is the ultimate act of love for others. 
• “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” 
• So, if you’re disheartened by religion, counteract it with love. 
• “Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]” [1 Cor 13:7 AMP]
• Does it makes sense to spend today which is the beginning of your eternal life still harboring that hate in your heart, still worrying, still feeling defeated, still proud, still seeking your own glory?
• Love endures all kinds of baggage for all time.

Closing

• Do you know of someone who possesses all the characteristics of love that Paul described? 
• Yes, Jesus our Lord and Saviour embodies all of these traits. He does not show one trait to the exclusion of another.
• And the greatest demonstration of his love is at the cross. 
• Do you wonder why you and I, and every Christian in the world, are also capable of the kind of love that Jesus had for us. 
• In 1 John 4:19, the apostle John said, “We love each other because he loved us first. (NLT)” Some translations say, “We love Him,” meaning God, “because he loved us first.” Regardless, of what translation you follow, remember Jesus’ version of the golden rule, love God and love others. 
• Let me tell you right now, you can’t even follow that twofer commandment if you can’t accept in your mind and heart the idea that God loved you first. That’s why he died on the cross while we were still sinners and was brought back to life. That was all for you and for me.
• If you deny this, the love that you exhibit with others is more like an investment rather than love. You put in a little love and expect that you will get something back.
• Why give to people who can repay you? Isn’t it much better to give and expect nothing in return?
• That is why, I believe that we need to rethink what is everlasting in this world and in eternity. 
• Some Christians feel that if you started talking like this, that you are now advocating works. After all, we are saved by grace through faith not by our own efforts.
• And yet it is also clear from James that faith that doesn’t show up in actions for our brothers and sisters does not save anyone.
• If you simply believe but do not have the love of God, your belief is shallow and temporary.
• Notice, I said Love OF God and not Love FOR God.
• Like faith, and hope, and all spiritual gifts and ministries, Love is a gift. A grace that is given and is to be received.
• If you emphasize your Love FOR God then you are working for your salvation. You’re doing it by works.
• But if you receive the Love OF God, then your actions, the fruit of the Spirit, shows up organically. Your actions proceed from the love of God.
• Love therefore is not forced. But it is a decision, a willful act that does not come from selfish reasons but from God.
• Love is eternal.
• [1 Cor 12:31] “But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.”
• And what was that excellent way. The way of Love.
• To this day, many Pastors and church leaders, preach peace, faith, and righteousness.
• These are good things to preach about and who doesn’t want peace, or faith, or righteousness.
• But these things you can’t take with you to eternity.
• Jesus Christ came to this world to die and give us an abundant life in Him. Why?
• Because he loved us. And he did so first. Not the other way around.
• The gospel isn’t just that you believe and then you’ll have all these spiritual gifts and ministries and so you can just love yourself and wait for heaven.
• Practice love and practice it often. And with people of course.
• Eternity is a long time, and if we were to take something with us it is love which outlasts everything.
• And I will close with words from Henry Drummond’s “The Greatest Thing in the World.”
• “To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever. Hence, eternal life is inextricably bound up with love. We want to live forever for the same reason that we want to live tomorrow.”

Anatomy of a Sermon

Preaching on Love

Literary Unit of Scripture

1 Corinthians 12:27-31 to 13:1-8 (NLT)

27 All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 

28 Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

first are apostles,

second are prophets,

third are teachers,

then those who do miracles,

those who have the gift of healing,

those who can help others,

those who have the gift of leadership,

those who speak in unknown languages.

29 Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? 

30 Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! 

31 So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all.

1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 

2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 

3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.

4 Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud 

5 or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged. 

6 It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. 

7 Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

8 Prophecy and speaking in unknown languages and special knowledge will become useless. But love will last forever!

Subject: What is the greatest of all ministries and gifts?

Complement: Love outlasts everything.

Exegetical (Big) Idea (biblical concept): Love is the greatest of all ministries and gifts because it outlasts everything.

Theological Idea (timeless): Love is the greatest of all ministries and gifts because it lasts forever.

Homiletical Idea (meaningful today): Love is the greatest of all ministries and gifts because it outlasts everything in all circumstance.

Memorable sentence: Love lasts forever.

Target Audience: An over zealous and pious individual.

Sermon’s Purpose

Developmental Questions

How did Paul develop his point?

Paul developed his point by mostly explaining what ministries and gifts are and then explaining love and how it outlasts everything .

First, he enumerated the different ministries and gifts every Christian can have. [1 Cor 12:27-28]

Second, he posts a series of rhetorical questions? [vv. 29-30]

Third, he issues an advice [vv. 31a] and follows up immediately with a come on to something better [v. 31b].

Fourth, he demonstrates that without love, every ministry and gift is meaningless. [1 Cor 13:1-3]

Fifth, he characterizes love using different adjectives that point to selflessness, charity, and durability. [vv. 4-8a]

Lastly, he delivers his point that love outlasts everything. [v. 8b]  

What does this explanation teach us about God and his relationship to human beings?

Like God love is the greatest of all things because God lasts forever. God has appointed ministries and gifts to every Christian. However, those ministries and gifts can only last for so long without God. So, like God, if we have love in our lives, then there is meaning and a purpose to our lives.

What is the sin factor in the literary unit?

Pride in one’s ministry and one’s gift or gifts. If love is the greatest of all gifts then pride is the greatest of all sins. Pride (or self-righteousness) leads to many other sins including apostasy.

How does the literary unit point to Jesus?

The characteristics of love that Paul enumerates are also the characteristics of Jesus Christ. As if Paul, was allegorically describing Jesus as love.

Jesus, as God incarnate, demonstrated that if he had not come to the world, the world would have been perilously destined to a life without God. His coming to the world is the ultimate expression of God’s love for us and his desire to lead us back to him in eternal communion body, soul, and spirit. 

What is my purpose statement?

My purpose is to apply Paul’s explanations for love to convince an over zealous and pious person that without love which is forever, his/her efforts (by excelling in ministry or using one’s gifts) are for nothing.

What shape is my sermon going to be?

Deductive

Sermon Outline

IDEA: Love is the greatest of all ministries and gifts because it outlasts everything.

1. Without love, a carefully and thoughtfully crafted speech can sound like background noise, irrelevant and inconsequential. [1 Cor 13:1]
1. Love does not rejoice in injustice and unrighteousness [v. 6a]
2. Love speaks the truth [v. 6b]
2. Without love, earnest faith that overcomes every personal problem can turn into self-indulgence and self-gratification. [1 Cor 13:2]
1. Love is patient. [v. 4a]
2. Love is not self-seeking. [v. 5b]
3. Without love, selfless giving and martyrdom can become a selfish cause in and of themselves. [1 Cor 13:3]
1. Love is not vanity. [v. 4c]
2. Love thinks no evil. [v. 5d]
4. Love bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. [v. 7]

My Reflection on James

Hypothetically Speaking

If I lived in Corinth and was a Gentile Christian during that time, I would have been tattletaled by the household of Chloe who reported to Paul as one who was in the "I am of Paul" crowd. Paul's message of grace and his declaration about the gospel of Jesus as having the power unto salvation for those who believe resonated with me. I do not work for my salvation because Jesus already paid it all on the cross for me. If there's any good work that followed after receiving that salvation, it was only by grace that I was able to do it. The good works I produced were not by my own will power but by God who willed his good works through me. Besides, the good news of the salvation work of Jesus, was that the salvation encompasses all the areas of my life - mind, body, and spirit. Paul's letters, if those were the only ones I read, would have made me afraid of even lifting a finger to earn my salvation even more so because I would still be considered an infant - a type of unbelieving believer. I would be someone who has earned salvation but unsure of what that translates to in daily life. In contrast to James' letter, Paul taught complete trust in the Lord that was void of keeping up with outside appearances. James' retort cuts to the mind and heart of what it means to be both a professor of the faith as well as a partaker. But Paul's arguments for "by grace through faith alone saves" trumps James' "show your faith by your good works".
I admit though that Paul did agree with James that good works should follow in the faithful's life after salvation. This I read in Galatians 5:6, Philippians 2:11-12, and Ephesians 2:10. Paul in writing to Titus to help him lead the Cretan church even said those who believed in God should be careful to maintain good works which are not only good but profitable (not in a financial sense) for everyone. Paul's letters though, came years after James' and the Jerusalem Council and so were they letters of correction to those who are slipping back into the law?
James' letter was circulated to the scattered Jewish Christians outside Palestine earlier than Paul's. Could this letter, because it was circulated even before the Jerusalem council took place, have been one reason why Paul would have been disliked because his message of grace abrogated the old Law to the extent that no ounce of good work was ever going to be needed in salvation at all? These Jewish Christians who would read only James' letter of practicalities could have mistakenly concluded albeit understandably that James was just simply repackaging the works of the Law in a Christian context. Could the Judaizers that Paul was warning the Galatian church about have come from James' followers who were traditionalists and deeply rooted in Judaism?

In my Opinion

I'm a Law and Grace type of believer. And what I mean about this is that I only see my own walk in two absolutes - Law on one side, Grace on the other. Either I live under the Law which is living life on pretense and putting up a veneer of good works and believing that good things happen to those who do good things or I live under grace which is living freely without guilt or shame in accordance to God's purposes for my life.
The hope and faith that I have which are all hinged on the same kind of love Jesus displayed on the cross, must somehow and better yet some time later turn into good works. Abraham took 40 some years to prove his faith when he was willing to kill his beloved son. In my own life experience, from the time I answered the altar call to the time I started showing my trust in the Lord was a good 8 years. Why then must I expect my fellow Christian brothers and sisters to transform over night? Surely that can happen too but only by the grace of God and certainly not by guilt-tripping and repeatedly falling in and out of condemnation.
Giving up my salvation for someone else - can I really do that sincerely? Should I pray to remain sick (if I become sick) so my perseverance in the faith despite my illness could be a good testimony for others? Should I give up a job promotion so a colleague who is not a Christian can have his? These are soul stretching questions that I hope to answer "yes" some time and only by the measure of grace and faith that God bestow on me. Not all Christians are the same. Some are "of Paul", some are "of James", but all are "of Jesus".