WEBVTT 00:00:01.129 --> 00:00:03.410 Father, we thank you that you speak to us in 00:00:03.410 --> 00:00:06.570 your word, that you're a living God, a speaking 00:00:06.570 --> 00:00:10.169 God. And Father, we thank you that you're a loving 00:00:10.169 --> 00:00:13.529 God. And we ask that you would help us to be 00:00:13.529 --> 00:00:17.929 a loving church that reflects your love. And 00:00:17.929 --> 00:00:22.850 we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Well, the footy 00:00:22.850 --> 00:00:26.449 season is over. If you haven't caught on to that, 00:00:26.550 --> 00:00:31.219 I'm sorry. It's been over for a little while. 00:00:31.379 --> 00:00:33.880 I know many of you are rugby league fans. Don't 00:00:33.880 --> 00:00:37.140 hold it against me. I'm an AFL fan. But for footy 00:00:37.140 --> 00:00:40.399 fans, it's a long wait. And we just have to sit 00:00:40.399 --> 00:00:43.840 there and watch endless cricket until footy starts 00:00:43.840 --> 00:00:47.179 again. And you sit there and you jump on your 00:00:47.179 --> 00:00:49.200 phone and you look at the latest trade news. 00:00:49.380 --> 00:00:51.799 Oh, the Swans got Charlie Kernow. If you don't 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:53.520 know who that is, that's okay. It's a good thing 00:00:53.520 --> 00:00:57.100 for me. If you're a non -fan, you go, welcome 00:00:57.100 --> 00:00:59.840 relief that footy just doesn't dominate everything, 00:01:00.240 --> 00:01:02.340 because it can often do that for some people. 00:01:02.960 --> 00:01:05.359 And for the players, well, they get a holiday. 00:01:05.879 --> 00:01:07.760 They get a bit of a holiday, but not much of 00:01:07.760 --> 00:01:10.000 a holiday. Then they get back to it. They get 00:01:10.000 --> 00:01:13.620 to work and have a gruelling pre -season training. 00:01:14.780 --> 00:01:17.739 And pre -season for a footy team is massive. 00:01:18.280 --> 00:01:21.500 If you get a good one, it can set up your whole 00:01:21.500 --> 00:01:26.799 year. But you've got to pursue the right goal 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:30.219 as a footy player. If you don't, it can be disastrous. 00:01:31.719 --> 00:01:35.420 A great example of this is the 2018 Adelaide 00:01:35.420 --> 00:01:38.099 Crows training camp. Did you ever hear about 00:01:38.099 --> 00:01:41.079 that? The year before, the Adelaide Crows were 00:01:41.079 --> 00:01:43.239 the top of the table. They made the grand final. 00:01:43.379 --> 00:01:45.560 They lost to Richmond. But, gee, you know, they 00:01:45.560 --> 00:01:49.280 came close. And everyone was expecting them to 00:01:49.280 --> 00:01:53.670 bounce back. And they went, we need a new focus. 00:01:53.730 --> 00:01:56.930 We need to build mental toughness. Our mental 00:01:56.930 --> 00:01:59.209 toughness wasn't quite there on grand final day. 00:01:59.290 --> 00:02:01.769 We're going to build mental toughness. So they 00:02:01.769 --> 00:02:04.790 hired this company called Collective Mind. And 00:02:04.790 --> 00:02:07.230 Collective Mind took the Adelaide Crows players 00:02:07.230 --> 00:02:10.129 on a bus. They blacked out all the windows of 00:02:10.129 --> 00:02:13.409 the bus. They started playing on repeat again 00:02:13.409 --> 00:02:16.210 and again and again the Richmond club song, the 00:02:16.210 --> 00:02:19.550 team that they'd lost to. They started verbally 00:02:19.550 --> 00:02:22.909 abusing the players with personal information 00:02:22.909 --> 00:02:26.509 that they'd shared in confidence and they manipulated 00:02:26.509 --> 00:02:29.349 them in all sorts of horrible ways that I just 00:02:29.349 --> 00:02:33.550 won't go into. All in the name of let's build 00:02:33.550 --> 00:02:38.669 mental toughness. It was huge damage. The Crows 00:02:38.669 --> 00:02:42.750 dropped from second down to 12th. Players left 00:02:42.750 --> 00:02:46.770 the club. The coach resigned. And for many years, 00:02:46.789 --> 00:02:49.610 many of the players had ongoing counselling from 00:02:49.610 --> 00:02:52.889 this whole thing. Trust was severely broken. 00:02:54.330 --> 00:02:57.650 The goal was pursued, let's build mental toughness 00:02:57.650 --> 00:03:01.409 so we win more. But there was a greater goal 00:03:01.409 --> 00:03:05.409 that was forgotten, wasn't it? Care for the players. 00:03:06.669 --> 00:03:11.110 Protect their welfare. That's a much higher goal 00:03:11.110 --> 00:03:15.460 than building mental toughness, isn't it? Immense 00:03:15.460 --> 00:03:18.360 damage was done because the higher goal was forgotten. 00:03:20.099 --> 00:03:23.039 Now the same thing can happen in our lives, can't 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:27.180 it? And can happen in the life of a church. We 00:03:27.180 --> 00:03:30.800 can easily pursue lesser things and we can pursue 00:03:30.800 --> 00:03:34.139 them too hard at the expense of greater things 00:03:34.139 --> 00:03:37.419 that we should pursue more. And when we do that, 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:43.129 it's a damage to ourselves and others. Think 00:03:43.129 --> 00:03:47.949 about our last year, our last five years. What 00:03:47.949 --> 00:03:53.430 were we pursuing? Was it the right aim? Have 00:03:53.430 --> 00:03:55.770 we been pursuing what we should have been pursuing? 00:03:56.550 --> 00:03:59.789 Is our ultimate aim, is it assumed, is it neglected, 00:03:59.949 --> 00:04:02.909 is it forgotten? Actually, what is it? What is 00:04:02.909 --> 00:04:04.590 it we're meant to be doing here? What are we 00:04:04.590 --> 00:04:09.090 pursuing? Well, this is crucial if you're a Christian, 00:04:09.229 --> 00:04:11.330 because we need to know what it is we're meant 00:04:11.330 --> 00:04:15.659 to be. focusing on and it's important too if 00:04:15.659 --> 00:04:17.800 you're not just to understand what real christianity 00:04:17.800 --> 00:04:22.139 is about so let's have a look today what is it 00:04:22.139 --> 00:04:25.500 we're meant to be pursuing as a church and we 00:04:25.500 --> 00:04:28.199 see that goal by looking at the church here in 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:32.120 corinth the church is a mess if you were to go 00:04:32.120 --> 00:04:36.800 you know 2000 years ago back to corinth you would 00:04:36.800 --> 00:04:42.030 find a church full of divisions lawsuits immorality, 00:04:42.030 --> 00:04:45.370 idolatry, drunkenness, and it all stemmed from 00:04:45.370 --> 00:04:48.470 the wrong pursuits. Some of them were going, 00:04:48.610 --> 00:04:51.389 I want power. That's what I'm pursuing. Some 00:04:51.389 --> 00:04:53.350 of them were going, I want to pursue freedom. 00:04:53.750 --> 00:04:56.970 Some of them went, I want to pursue specky spirituality. 00:04:58.170 --> 00:05:01.790 And Paul is writing to show them, guys, guys, 00:05:01.889 --> 00:05:05.990 guys, you've all got the wrong goal. The whole 00:05:05.990 --> 00:05:09.069 mess that is Corinth would be sorted if you pursued 00:05:09.069 --> 00:05:13.949 the right thing. What is that right goal? Just 00:05:13.949 --> 00:05:19.009 two words. Follow the way of love, or as the 00:05:19.009 --> 00:05:25.370 ESV puts it, pursue love. That's the goal. Pursue 00:05:25.370 --> 00:05:30.629 love. And that's our big idea for today. Pursuing 00:05:30.629 --> 00:05:35.060 Christ -like love. is at the heart of being spiritual. 00:05:36.379 --> 00:05:38.519 The three chapters that we've been looking at, 00:05:38.620 --> 00:05:42.519 chapters 12, 13 and 14 of 1 Corinthians, are 00:05:42.519 --> 00:05:45.360 in kind of like a sandwich. So you've got two 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:47.519 pieces of bread, which is the two chapters 12 00:05:47.519 --> 00:05:51.100 and 14, all about the gifts. And then the middle 00:05:51.100 --> 00:05:53.959 chapter, the meat of it, is this chapter on love. 00:05:54.120 --> 00:05:57.379 It's the heart and soul of what being spiritual 00:05:57.379 --> 00:06:03.000 is all about. So why should pursuing love be 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:06.360 our ultimate goal? Why is that spiritual? Why 00:06:06.360 --> 00:06:08.720 is it better than other goals? What's love even 00:06:08.720 --> 00:06:11.860 mean? Well, that's what we're going to look at 00:06:11.860 --> 00:06:14.319 today. And there's three reasons we're given 00:06:14.319 --> 00:06:18.800 why we should pursue love. Pursue love because 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:23.800 love is essential. Pursue love because love is 00:06:23.800 --> 00:06:28.699 excellent. And pursue love because love is eternal. 00:06:29.800 --> 00:06:32.600 Love is essential. Love is excellent. Love is 00:06:32.600 --> 00:06:35.199 eternal. So let's have a look at those three 00:06:35.199 --> 00:06:39.199 together. Here's the first one. Pursue love because 00:06:39.199 --> 00:06:44.000 love is essential. So the Beatles nailed it. 00:06:44.060 --> 00:06:46.060 Beatles and Paul would get on at this point. 00:06:46.379 --> 00:06:50.240 All you need is love, you know. But we've got 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:53.120 to be clear on what love actually is. And that's 00:06:53.120 --> 00:06:55.259 what Paul does here in the first three verses. 00:06:55.560 --> 00:06:58.860 Have a look with me. If I speak in the tongues 00:06:58.860 --> 00:07:01.699 of men or of angels but do not have love, I am 00:07:01.699 --> 00:07:05.060 only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 00:07:05.579 --> 00:07:08.160 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:10.920 all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have 00:07:10.920 --> 00:07:13.939 a faith that can move mountains but do not have 00:07:13.939 --> 00:07:18.360 love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to 00:07:18.360 --> 00:07:20.639 the poor and give over my body to hardship that 00:07:20.639 --> 00:07:24.699 I may boast but do not have love, I gain nothing. 00:07:26.189 --> 00:07:28.870 So here's what Paul does. He starts with the 00:07:28.870 --> 00:07:32.509 ultimate gifts and deeds that you could possibly 00:07:32.509 --> 00:07:35.129 have. Tongues of angels. This is the ultimate 00:07:35.129 --> 00:07:38.209 in tongues. You know, all sorts of faith that 00:07:38.209 --> 00:07:40.170 can move mountains. The ultimate sort of miraculous 00:07:40.170 --> 00:07:46.089 power. Your body being burned as a martyr. And 00:07:46.089 --> 00:07:49.269 he then follows it by this refrain three times. 00:07:50.110 --> 00:07:54.970 If I have not love, I'm just a clanging gong 00:07:54.970 --> 00:08:01.220 or... I gain nothing or I am nothing. He's saying 00:08:01.220 --> 00:08:04.459 that the greatest gifts and the greatest deeds 00:08:04.459 --> 00:08:12.459 are worthless without love. A few years ago, 00:08:12.579 --> 00:08:15.279 Laura and myself and the family, we all drove 00:08:15.279 --> 00:08:18.500 from Broken Hill to Sydney to see some extended 00:08:18.500 --> 00:08:22.300 family. And while we were there, our car blew 00:08:22.300 --> 00:08:27.819 up. Kia Carnival. We upgraded to a Toyota Kluger. 00:08:28.480 --> 00:08:33.879 Man car. It's good. And we got all these cool, 00:08:34.019 --> 00:08:37.320 like, accessories with it. You know, it's a very 00:08:37.320 --> 00:08:40.120 old Toyota Kluger, but it's a top -of -the -line 00:08:40.120 --> 00:08:43.419 old Toyota Kluger. And it had a seat warmer and 00:08:43.419 --> 00:08:46.080 a sunroof, and the boot goes boop, boop, boop, 00:08:46.100 --> 00:08:47.580 and does it all automatically. It's very cool. 00:08:48.519 --> 00:08:51.019 And the salesman, he was trying to wow me with 00:08:51.019 --> 00:08:54.679 all this. And I said to him, look, mate, I'm 00:08:54.679 --> 00:08:58.360 not interested in any of that. My car just blew 00:08:58.360 --> 00:09:03.539 up. I just want a good engine. I want something 00:09:03.539 --> 00:09:05.720 that's going to handle the rough of the outback. 00:09:06.519 --> 00:09:09.480 Don't sell me a lemon. No good having all the 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:12.460 accessories without the engine. I want a good 00:09:12.460 --> 00:09:16.500 engine. Well, here Paul's saying to us, love 00:09:16.500 --> 00:09:19.799 is the engine of the truly spiritual person. 00:09:20.840 --> 00:09:23.889 Gifts, they're great. They're like a sunroof. 00:09:23.929 --> 00:09:28.029 They're like, you know, an automatic boot. They're 00:09:28.029 --> 00:09:31.450 bonus accessories that are really good. But the 00:09:31.450 --> 00:09:34.169 engine, the thing that drives everything of being 00:09:34.169 --> 00:09:39.509 spiritual, it's love. And that flips what we 00:09:39.509 --> 00:09:44.149 value on its head, doesn't it? See, tongues, 00:09:44.389 --> 00:09:46.710 all sorts of spiritual miraculous gifts, they 00:09:46.710 --> 00:09:51.389 can look so impressive. They look like they're 00:09:51.389 --> 00:09:55.340 something. Paul says they're just a banging gong. 00:09:55.700 --> 00:09:58.720 If you're a Bluey fan, you'll know what I'm talking 00:09:58.720 --> 00:10:02.460 about. This is Chattermax. Chattermax is this 00:10:02.460 --> 00:10:07.860 little toy that goes, and the kids love to play 00:10:07.860 --> 00:10:12.019 with it. The parents don't so much. It's loud, 00:10:12.259 --> 00:10:15.299 it's unintelligible, and it contributes nothing. 00:10:17.179 --> 00:10:19.860 That's what Paul's talking about here. Specky 00:10:19.860 --> 00:10:25.269 gifts without love, it's just noise. He's showing 00:10:25.269 --> 00:10:30.629 how crucial love actually is. But what is love? 00:10:31.769 --> 00:10:35.789 Well, Paul shows us in verse 3 that we can even 00:10:35.789 --> 00:10:38.789 get that wrong. We tend to think of love as a 00:10:38.789 --> 00:10:42.409 verb. Love is a verb. And he says, yeah, giving 00:10:42.409 --> 00:10:45.250 money to the poor or giving your body to service 00:10:45.250 --> 00:10:48.490 or martyrdom, those are actions that appear impressive 00:10:48.490 --> 00:10:52.470 and loving. But they too can be without love, 00:10:52.570 --> 00:10:54.570 can't they? And he says if they're without love, 00:10:54.649 --> 00:10:58.570 therefore they're worthless. Love is not just 00:10:58.570 --> 00:11:04.529 an action, it's a heart attitude. See, what he's 00:11:04.529 --> 00:11:07.590 getting at is this sort of idea. Late after church, 00:11:07.850 --> 00:11:11.990 you could be having a chat and you're stacking 00:11:11.990 --> 00:11:14.649 the chairs with people. And there's two ways 00:11:14.649 --> 00:11:18.240 you can be stacking chairs, isn't there? You 00:11:18.240 --> 00:11:21.179 can do the fake smile stacking chairs. Do you 00:11:21.179 --> 00:11:26.980 know that one? Stacking chairs. When you're inwardly 00:11:26.980 --> 00:11:30.080 seething, wishing others stayed back and helped 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:34.240 out. Or you can do it with the real smile. Yay, 00:11:34.539 --> 00:11:37.740 I'm stacking chairs. And joyful and glad, and 00:11:37.740 --> 00:11:41.759 your heart is being other person centred. It's 00:11:41.759 --> 00:11:45.360 the exact same action, but it comes from a very 00:11:45.360 --> 00:11:48.539 different heart posture, doesn't it? The fake 00:11:48.539 --> 00:11:52.080 one has no love. And there's no benefit to you 00:11:52.080 --> 00:11:54.240 doing it. It won't grow you. It doesn't honour 00:11:54.240 --> 00:11:56.679 God. It's just hypocrisy that makes you bitter. 00:11:59.360 --> 00:12:04.799 The good action is not enough. Love in the heart 00:12:04.799 --> 00:12:10.480 is needed. Can you see how essential love is? 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:15.019 You can have the most amazing spiritual experiences 00:12:15.019 --> 00:12:20.129 and have nothing. You can be more gifted than 00:12:20.129 --> 00:12:23.029 Charles Spurgeon or Billy Graham. Paul says you're 00:12:23.029 --> 00:12:26.590 nothing without love. You can perform greater 00:12:26.590 --> 00:12:30.490 deeds than Mother Teresa. And before God, you 00:12:30.490 --> 00:12:36.129 gain nothing if you didn't have love. Is fostering 00:12:36.129 --> 00:12:43.690 a loving heart our pursuit, our priority? Have 00:12:43.690 --> 00:12:46.830 we been seeking accessories and forgetting the 00:12:46.830 --> 00:12:50.860 engine? Ask yourself, look at the last six months. 00:12:50.919 --> 00:12:55.039 What have you been pursuing? Has it been love? 00:12:57.440 --> 00:12:59.679 But that's not the only reason to pursue love. 00:13:00.940 --> 00:13:06.480 Pursue love because love is excellent. See, love 00:13:06.480 --> 00:13:10.139 is not like veggies. You know, veggies, they're 00:13:10.139 --> 00:13:13.120 good for you, but they're yuck. Well, you just 00:13:13.120 --> 00:13:16.120 pour lots of butter on it or something. But love 00:13:16.120 --> 00:13:20.120 is beautiful. Love is good for you and tastes 00:13:20.120 --> 00:13:24.919 good. It's like steak. It's joy. Take a look 00:13:24.919 --> 00:13:29.519 with me at verses 4 to 7. Love is patient. Love 00:13:29.519 --> 00:13:31.759 is kind. It does not envy. It does not boast. 00:13:31.899 --> 00:13:34.320 It is not proud. It does not dishonour others. 00:13:34.419 --> 00:13:37.240 It's not self -seeking. It's not easily angered. 00:13:37.240 --> 00:13:40.159 It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight 00:13:40.159 --> 00:13:42.779 in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always 00:13:42.779 --> 00:13:46.330 protects, always trusts, always hopes. Always 00:13:46.330 --> 00:13:50.769 perseveres. That's a beautiful description of 00:13:50.769 --> 00:13:53.990 love here, isn't it? It's the one that we always 00:13:53.990 --> 00:13:56.730 have at the weddings. And who wouldn't want that 00:13:56.730 --> 00:14:00.129 at their wedding? But for the Corinthian readers, 00:14:00.309 --> 00:14:03.509 not only is this beautiful, it's also an arrow 00:14:03.509 --> 00:14:05.929 to the heart. Maybe think of that next time you're 00:14:05.929 --> 00:14:08.590 at a wedding where they read this. Because Paul 00:14:08.590 --> 00:14:12.940 is showing how they failed to be loving. That's 00:14:12.940 --> 00:14:14.940 what this is meant to do. It's meant to expose 00:14:14.940 --> 00:14:18.000 how the Corinthians have failed to be loving. 00:14:19.000 --> 00:14:23.299 They're not like this. They've got factions where 00:14:23.299 --> 00:14:25.820 people have got superiority and inferiority complexes. 00:14:26.320 --> 00:14:29.759 They're celebrating immorality. Many of them 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:33.759 are selfish. Instead of being a beautiful community 00:14:33.759 --> 00:14:37.960 of love, they're messy, dysfunctional, and a 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:42.720 cesspit of misery. See, a great way to feel what 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:46.320 they would have felt as we read this is to put 00:14:46.320 --> 00:14:50.279 your own name where it says the word love. So, 00:14:50.320 --> 00:14:52.840 you know, see where it says love? Okay, here's 00:14:52.840 --> 00:14:57.159 what you do. You put your name there. Brendan 00:14:57.159 --> 00:15:02.000 is patient. Oh, Brendan is kind. Oh, sheesh, 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:04.899 not last week. You know, you just go through 00:15:04.899 --> 00:15:11.669 it and you think, yikes, that's not me. But then 00:15:11.669 --> 00:15:15.590 here's the next thing you do. Put Jesus' name 00:15:15.590 --> 00:15:22.450 there. Jesus is patient. Yep. He's been putting 00:15:22.450 --> 00:15:26.389 up with me for a long time. Jesus is kind. Yep. 00:15:26.789 --> 00:15:33.230 He treats me far better than I deserve. It fits 00:15:33.230 --> 00:15:37.970 what Jesus is like, doesn't it? He is the embodiment 00:15:37.970 --> 00:15:44.480 of love. And better yet, what we read here is 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:50.820 how Jesus has loved you and me. I mean, we see 00:15:50.820 --> 00:15:54.980 it ultimately at the cross, don't we? What amazing 00:15:54.980 --> 00:16:00.799 love that Jesus would bear our sins. All the 00:16:00.799 --> 00:16:03.500 times where we've been loveless and unloving, 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:08.340 he took that punishment on himself. That's how 00:16:08.340 --> 00:16:14.019 loving he is. Seeing how unloving we've been 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:19.820 and how loving Christ has been toward us, do 00:16:19.820 --> 00:16:22.580 you know what it does? When we see those things 00:16:22.580 --> 00:16:29.340 clearly, it moves us to pursue love. I don't 00:16:29.340 --> 00:16:31.240 know if when you were a kid, did you ever line 00:16:31.240 --> 00:16:33.860 up the dominoes? You know, not the pizza boxes, 00:16:34.059 --> 00:16:37.600 the little dominoes, and you line them all up. 00:16:38.250 --> 00:16:41.450 And I remember seeing on YouTube a big domino 00:16:41.450 --> 00:16:43.669 train where someone just did heaps and heaps 00:16:43.669 --> 00:16:46.289 of them. And they knocked that first domino and 00:16:46.289 --> 00:16:48.649 other dominoes fall and fall and fall and fall 00:16:48.649 --> 00:16:53.409 and fall. Do you know what? Jesus' love for us 00:16:53.409 --> 00:16:58.570 is like that first domino. It's like a giant 00:16:58.570 --> 00:17:01.470 first domino that knocks over a whole bunch of 00:17:01.470 --> 00:17:05.509 other dominoes. When we experience Jesus' love, 00:17:06.380 --> 00:17:10.160 It moves us to be loving. When we believe it, 00:17:10.220 --> 00:17:12.799 it moves us to be loving. When we feel it, it 00:17:12.799 --> 00:17:15.619 has this knock on effect so that we become more 00:17:15.619 --> 00:17:21.220 loving. When I think back to times where I've 00:17:21.220 --> 00:17:24.380 most been loving as a husband, as a dad, as a 00:17:24.380 --> 00:17:28.720 friend, as a pastor, it's when I'm most conscious 00:17:28.720 --> 00:17:34.539 of Jesus' love for me. There's such joy and thankfulness 00:17:34.539 --> 00:17:37.900 that comes when I think, yeah, he's loved me 00:17:37.900 --> 00:17:42.160 so much. I mean, there's plenty of times where 00:17:42.160 --> 00:17:44.440 I'm a real selfish jerk and not very loving at 00:17:44.440 --> 00:17:46.279 all. Just if you're thinking, oh, Brendan, that's 00:17:46.279 --> 00:17:47.900 not true. Wait till you get to know me. It's 00:17:47.900 --> 00:17:53.019 okay. There are times where I lose sight of Jesus' 00:17:53.180 --> 00:17:56.140 love. It drifts from view into the background 00:17:56.140 --> 00:17:58.140 because there's so many other things that need 00:17:58.140 --> 00:18:03.579 to be pursued. And the constant fight is to keep 00:18:03.579 --> 00:18:06.099 looking at the endless ocean of Christ's love 00:18:06.099 --> 00:18:11.640 for me. That's a big part of pursuing love, is 00:18:11.640 --> 00:18:16.400 to see how loved I really am. So what's it look 00:18:16.400 --> 00:18:21.240 like to do that? Well, one way would be, say 00:18:21.240 --> 00:18:24.279 you're heading to work or to school drop -off, 00:18:24.319 --> 00:18:29.000 and before you go... Read a phrase from 1 Corinthians 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:32.559 13. Just pick one of these. Love is patient. 00:18:32.799 --> 00:18:35.920 You know, there's the first one. And then as 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:39.259 you're driving, think about how Jesus has been 00:18:39.259 --> 00:18:42.619 patient with you. How has Jesus been patient? 00:18:42.720 --> 00:18:44.579 Well, gee, you know, like you think about all 00:18:44.579 --> 00:18:46.579 the sins and all the times I've grumbled and 00:18:46.579 --> 00:18:51.119 been unloving. And then you spend time thanking 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:54.460 Jesus for his patience, saying sorry to Jesus. 00:18:55.109 --> 00:18:58.029 that he had to be patient with you and asking 00:18:58.029 --> 00:19:01.349 him for help that you would be more like him. 00:19:02.630 --> 00:19:06.970 That is a key to pursuing love. But that's just 00:19:06.970 --> 00:19:08.849 one way. You don't have to do it that way. You 00:19:08.849 --> 00:19:11.769 could read a book on God's love. You could listen 00:19:11.769 --> 00:19:13.950 to a sermon on God's love. You could read a part 00:19:13.950 --> 00:19:16.970 of the Bible all about God's love. I'm just here 00:19:16.970 --> 00:19:20.589 saying to you, make a plan. You won't pursue 00:19:20.589 --> 00:19:23.950 love and become more loving. if you're not aware 00:19:23.950 --> 00:19:27.349 of your failure to love and conscious of Christ's 00:19:27.349 --> 00:19:30.849 love for you. Make a plan. How are you going 00:19:30.849 --> 00:19:36.190 to pursue love? Now, I don't know about you, 00:19:36.250 --> 00:19:38.369 but these things have got me already wanting 00:19:38.369 --> 00:19:42.029 to pursue love more. But there's still one more 00:19:42.029 --> 00:19:44.289 reason that we should, and here's our last reason. 00:19:45.410 --> 00:19:53.769 We pursue love because love is eternal. 8 to 00:19:53.769 --> 00:20:00.230 13. Love never fails. Love never ends. But where 00:20:00.230 --> 00:20:02.190 there are prophecies, they will cease. Where 00:20:02.190 --> 00:20:03.769 there are tongues, they'll be stilled. Where 00:20:03.769 --> 00:20:06.210 there's knowledge, it will pass away. For when 00:20:06.210 --> 00:20:08.329 we know in part and we prophesy in part, but 00:20:08.329 --> 00:20:11.890 when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 00:20:13.210 --> 00:20:15.369 When I was a child, I talked like a child. I 00:20:15.369 --> 00:20:17.150 thought like a child. I reasoned like a child. 00:20:17.250 --> 00:20:19.990 When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood 00:20:19.990 --> 00:20:23.119 behind me. For now we see only reflection as 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:26.339 in a mirror, then we shall see face to face. 00:20:26.660 --> 00:20:29.799 Now I know in part, then I shall know fully, 00:20:29.900 --> 00:20:33.440 even as I am fully known. And now these three 00:20:33.440 --> 00:20:35.980 remain, faith, hope, and love, but the greatest 00:20:35.980 --> 00:20:41.339 of these is love. So what are you meant to do 00:20:41.339 --> 00:20:44.099 with these verses? Well, imagine you're standing 00:20:44.099 --> 00:20:50.200 there in glory. You're in heaven. What do you 00:20:50.200 --> 00:20:55.660 see when you're standing there in heaven? Love. 00:20:58.339 --> 00:21:01.700 Everyone loving everyone else as if they were 00:21:01.700 --> 00:21:07.099 Jesus. That's what makes heaven heaven. If you 00:21:07.099 --> 00:21:08.759 look around in heaven, you're not going to see 00:21:08.759 --> 00:21:11.559 prophecies. Oh, there's some prophets over there. 00:21:11.779 --> 00:21:14.700 If Isaiah and Jeremiah are there, they're going 00:21:14.700 --> 00:21:17.849 to be like, well, I used to be a prophet. I've 00:21:17.849 --> 00:21:19.789 kind of changed careers. I'm all about love now. 00:21:21.289 --> 00:21:23.329 They were actually pretty good prophets, so they 00:21:23.329 --> 00:21:26.470 were about love too before. But there won't be 00:21:26.470 --> 00:21:28.069 any tongues. There won't be any prophets. There 00:21:28.069 --> 00:21:30.430 won't be any words of knowledge. No one's going 00:21:30.430 --> 00:21:32.809 to say to you in heaven, hey, I have a word from 00:21:32.809 --> 00:21:36.269 the Lord for you. Because you're already there. 00:21:37.230 --> 00:21:40.750 In glory, the one thing that will remain is love. 00:21:41.609 --> 00:21:45.329 But all the gifts, they're going to cease. Do 00:21:45.329 --> 00:21:48.650 you know what the gifts are like? The gifts we 00:21:48.650 --> 00:21:53.549 have are like milk. They have an expiration date. 00:21:54.650 --> 00:21:56.670 Eventually they're going to go off and get chucked 00:21:56.670 --> 00:22:01.589 out. But love, it's like honey. It just lasts 00:22:01.589 --> 00:22:05.109 and lasts and lasts and is always good. I don't 00:22:05.109 --> 00:22:06.410 actually know if that's true of honey, but that's 00:22:06.410 --> 00:22:10.130 what it seems like from my perspective. And it 00:22:10.130 --> 00:22:13.609 makes sense. It makes sense that love is like 00:22:13.609 --> 00:22:18.799 that. Because... Before creation even began, 00:22:19.140 --> 00:22:22.339 what do we have? We have the Trinity. God is 00:22:22.339 --> 00:22:28.019 love. Three persons in loving communion. That's 00:22:28.019 --> 00:22:32.460 who God is. He's love. Love is at the heart of 00:22:32.460 --> 00:22:37.220 the universe. So Paul's saying, it's up to you. 00:22:37.299 --> 00:22:39.579 You pursue what you like. You can pursue something 00:22:39.579 --> 00:22:42.339 will fade away and disappear and is going to 00:22:42.339 --> 00:22:44.700 expire like milk, or you can pursue something 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:47.900 that just goes on forever. What are you going 00:22:47.900 --> 00:22:50.119 to pursue? I think it's obvious what we should. 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:54.960 Seek after love. It's eternal. It's glorious. 00:22:55.140 --> 00:22:59.539 It's heavenly. I know which one I'd be devoting 00:22:59.539 --> 00:23:03.460 myself to. And do you know what happens when 00:23:03.460 --> 00:23:07.099 we do? We actually, here as a church, we get 00:23:07.099 --> 00:23:11.779 a little entree of heaven. It sorts so many things 00:23:11.779 --> 00:23:18.019 out. Want to see our church grow? Like new people 00:23:18.019 --> 00:23:21.839 coming in? Let's just get really good at loving 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:26.779 each other and them. Want to see people have 00:23:26.779 --> 00:23:31.359 sound doctrine? A big part of that is loving 00:23:31.359 --> 00:23:34.819 people well. And you can sort out a lot of things 00:23:34.819 --> 00:23:37.700 when you love people well, can't you? Because 00:23:37.700 --> 00:23:39.400 they're willing to listen. No one cares what 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:43.200 you think if they don't think you care. Do you 00:23:43.200 --> 00:23:45.119 want to see people have rich worship and joy? 00:23:46.640 --> 00:23:49.819 Let's make church a place that's a loving community 00:23:49.819 --> 00:23:52.599 that makes people overflow with joy to God because 00:23:52.599 --> 00:23:55.359 they go, wow, God, you've given me such loving 00:23:55.359 --> 00:24:01.099 people around me. Love sorts out a lot of messes, 00:24:01.099 --> 00:24:07.220 doesn't it? So let's recap. We started by asking, 00:24:07.359 --> 00:24:12.109 are we pursuing the right things? Are we distracted? 00:24:12.230 --> 00:24:14.609 Are we putting too much focus on lesser things? 00:24:14.710 --> 00:24:17.609 Are we like the Adelaide Football Club in 2018? 00:24:18.849 --> 00:24:22.910 What should we pursue above all else? And here's 00:24:22.910 --> 00:24:26.950 what Paul tells us. Pursuing Christ -like love 00:24:26.950 --> 00:24:31.230 is at the heart of being spiritual. Pursuing 00:24:31.230 --> 00:24:34.269 Christ -like love is at the heart of being spiritual. 00:24:34.829 --> 00:24:37.690 We saw that we should pursue love because love 00:24:37.690 --> 00:24:41.059 is essential. Love is excellent. And love is 00:24:41.059 --> 00:24:46.259 eternal. So what's this mean for us? Well, if 00:24:46.259 --> 00:24:48.319 you're here today and you're checking out Christianity, 00:24:48.680 --> 00:24:52.019 I'm glad you're here. I hope you've seen today 00:24:52.019 --> 00:24:56.740 what true Christianity looks like. It drives 00:24:56.740 --> 00:25:00.759 people to pursue a radical otherworldly love. 00:25:01.839 --> 00:25:05.400 And it gives those people the power to make real 00:25:05.400 --> 00:25:09.000 steps in that direction. to become incredibly 00:25:09.000 --> 00:25:12.599 loving as they experience Jesus' love for them. 00:25:14.519 --> 00:25:16.339 If you're here and you're not a Christian, I 00:25:16.339 --> 00:25:18.660 want to ask you, couldn't our world use more 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:24.279 of that right now? Just look on the news. There's 00:25:24.279 --> 00:25:26.619 hate between Israel and Palestine, and that's 00:25:26.619 --> 00:25:30.200 just one pocket of the world. So much everywhere. 00:25:31.899 --> 00:25:35.059 Even in our own community in Cairns, I mean, 00:25:35.079 --> 00:25:37.240 there's tribalism, there's vengeance, there's 00:25:37.240 --> 00:25:39.079 envy, there's pride, there's theft, there's all 00:25:39.079 --> 00:25:42.859 sorts of stuff. And day to day in our own families 00:25:42.859 --> 00:25:44.839 and homes, it's easy to lose it at the kids, 00:25:44.920 --> 00:25:47.160 it's easy to lie, it's easy to be selfish, isn't 00:25:47.160 --> 00:25:52.079 it? What else can truly and deeply change people? 00:25:53.799 --> 00:25:56.619 The only thing I've seen is encountering Jesus' 00:25:56.740 --> 00:26:01.500 love. Why don't you try it? If you're not a Christian, 00:26:01.680 --> 00:26:05.259 come have a chat with me. I want to take you 00:26:05.259 --> 00:26:08.539 out for coffee. I'll even pay for the coffee. 00:26:09.880 --> 00:26:14.099 And let's look at Jesus' love together. And if 00:26:14.099 --> 00:26:15.920 you don't like the cut of my jib, you can go 00:26:15.920 --> 00:26:18.859 out with someone else. That's fine. But let's 00:26:18.859 --> 00:26:23.099 do coffee. But if you're here and you're already 00:26:23.099 --> 00:26:26.539 a Christian, I want to ask you, has pursuing 00:26:26.539 --> 00:26:31.509 love been your goal for the last few years. I 00:26:31.509 --> 00:26:33.569 have to admit it's not as much of a focus for 00:26:33.569 --> 00:26:36.910 me as it should have been. And today's been a 00:26:36.910 --> 00:26:40.630 good reminder for me that it's something I need 00:26:40.630 --> 00:26:44.150 to be intentional about. Maybe I need to put 00:26:44.150 --> 00:26:47.190 a post -it note on my bathroom mirror or on my 00:26:47.190 --> 00:26:50.869 home screen or something like that. Pursue love. 00:26:51.549 --> 00:26:54.950 This is a reminder that I do it in every sphere 00:26:54.950 --> 00:26:59.299 of my life. See, it's about being conscious of 00:26:59.299 --> 00:27:02.059 it because it easily drifts to the back burner, 00:27:02.160 --> 00:27:05.059 isn't it? It's easy to pray about other things. 00:27:06.259 --> 00:27:08.220 It's easy to forget that that's what we're here 00:27:08.220 --> 00:27:11.799 to do at church. It's easy to stop reflecting 00:27:11.799 --> 00:27:14.140 on, what have I been doing wrong? How have I 00:27:14.140 --> 00:27:18.000 been unloving? And to not ask yourself, how should 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:22.859 I be more loving going forward? We need to work 00:27:22.859 --> 00:27:28.750 together as a church to pursue love. And I want 00:27:28.750 --> 00:27:33.009 to close by saying, wouldn't it be amazing if 00:27:33.009 --> 00:27:38.369 all of us were transformed to be more loving 00:27:38.369 --> 00:27:43.910 like the Lord Jesus? You might even want to shut 00:27:43.910 --> 00:27:47.569 your eyes for a sec. Just imagine. What would 00:27:47.569 --> 00:27:52.049 our homes and workplaces look like if we pursued 00:27:52.049 --> 00:27:58.140 love? What would our church look like? If we 00:27:58.140 --> 00:28:01.480 pursued love, can you imagine how great it could 00:28:01.480 --> 00:28:04.240 be? I think it's already a great church. I really 00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:06.599 love being here. Can you imagine how great it 00:28:06.599 --> 00:28:10.619 could be if we intentionally pursued love more 00:28:10.619 --> 00:28:16.079 and more? It would be truly a slice of heaven. 00:28:18.059 --> 00:28:20.859 But the only way we're ever going to see that 00:28:20.859 --> 00:28:27.210 happen is if each of us pursues love. And motivated 00:28:27.210 --> 00:28:32.089 by Christ's love for us. How about we do that 00:28:32.089 --> 00:28:38.950 together as a church, eh? Let's pray. Father, 00:28:39.029 --> 00:28:41.990 we ask that you would help us to be truly spiritual 00:28:41.990 --> 00:28:48.970 by pursuing love. Help us to follow the way of 00:28:48.970 --> 00:28:54.500 love, to seek love, to chase after it. Help us 00:28:54.500 --> 00:28:59.779 to know your love for us. Help us to take the 00:28:59.779 --> 00:29:03.440 love of Christ, to have our hearts warmed by 00:29:03.440 --> 00:29:07.900 it, softened by it, and may Christ be our example 00:29:07.900 --> 00:29:12.920 of just how amazingly loving even sinners like 00:29:12.920 --> 00:29:17.460 us can be. We ask, Father, that you would help 00:29:17.460 --> 00:29:19.859 us to be loving, that your spirit would be at 00:29:19.859 --> 00:29:24.119 work in us to make us more loving. And we pray 00:29:24.119 --> 00:29:26.359 this in Jesus' name. Amen.