Romans 13 Part 2 (Joel and Mike)
- Teaching 2.8.11
- How do we go wrong in America?
- Why does life suck?
- Many people our age are fleeing from any religious affiliation
- You cannot just get to happiness directly
- If you do things God’s way, everything else just falls into place
- This applies to relationships
- Not to just have them but to become a loving person
- This is why so many people fail at life
- They want to pursue their own dreams
- Romans 13:8
- “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.”
- The only thing we owe each other is to love each other
- 1 John 4:7-8
- “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
- If you do not know God then you do not know God
- Do not define love as a feeling, but to just do the best for other people
- You have to love your neighbor
- Love is only going to count if it is not just focused on yourself
- “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:1-3
- “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”
- If it is not loving then it is nothing
- Tongues of men and of angels
- Religious ecstasy?
- SELFISH
- You could scare people away or make them feel uncomfortable
- If I have the gift of prophecy
- It is good to be smart
- But if you are too smart then all you do is put people down
- Not edifying
- If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains
- Not suppose to hate on faith
- But faith by itself, it will fail
- But faith with love will be successful
- Galatians 5:6
- “For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love.”
- Galatians 5:6
- If I give my body to burn
- Without love, sacrifice means nothing
- Religious ecstasy?
- “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”
- Dividing line between success and failure is deciding whether or not you are going to be a loving person
- It is not going to meetings
- Not giving away all of your money
- Not becoming super knowledgeable
- It is not going to meetings
- 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
- “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
- All of these things are different characteristics of love
- Love is patient
- Love is demanding here
- Love demands
- When we do not get our love demands met, we get upset
- “I’m not feeling love!”
- “I want the emotions right now!”
- “Me, me, me!”
- 2 different types of love
- Aros
- Erotic and passionate love
- Heart-felt
- Agape
- Jesus Christ’s way of love
- Self-sacrificial
- Stop being mean!
- We are called to be gentle
- Aros
- Love is kind and not jealous
- Jealous love is possessive
- This type of love is very suspicious
- Real love does not boast
- It is like a power struggle or competition
- Love is not rude or insensitive
- When you do wrong, go back and apologize
- You are not thinking about other people
- Try not being selfish
- Love is not self-seeking, it is sacrificial
- Love is not easily angered
- Definitely causes problems in relationships
- Always about “What I want…”
- This is a love demand
- Demands lead to fights
- Matthew 18:15
- “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.”
- Real biblical love confronts issues
- You need to come on strongly, yet lovingly
- “I will not stand by and let you keep going this way…”
- “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.”
- Definitely causes problems in relationships
- Love does not keep a record of wrongs
- Real love is forgiving love
- We are called to be forgivers
- Matthew 18:26
- “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’”
- Love does not rejoice in wrong doings
- Gossip
- We need to not be eager to point out other’s negative issues
- How can you help?
- Love bears all things
- Forgiveness
- Love believes in all things
- Seeing the potential in somebody
- More like you believe in the person
- Love always hope
- Real love is proactive
- Love endures all things
- Love is tough
- But we need to be willing to suffer for the sake of our relationships
- True love does not give up
- We need to be fighting for our relationships
- Love is demanding here
- “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
- We need to understand that our definition of love is so wrong
- God wants to fulfill us
- All of these characteristics of love reflect God’s characteristics
- We love because God first loved us
- We will never find love if we do not know God
- God will help you learn to love people!
- Why fear it?
- Perfect love casts out all fear!
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