You and I have been having some heart-to-heart talks regarding something that everybody's talking about these days
And that's that thing of love
and the
Longer I live the older I get the more I realize
how few people
know what love
really is I
Mean and yet I know that I'm dealing with something that's vitally important
when I discuss with you this thing of love because the Word of God and
always remember
The Bible is the highest authority that man has
and
the Bible
instructs us
to
follow
after love
Paul talking about the wonderful gifts of the Spirit and
Encouraging us to seek earnestly the best of the gifts of the Spirit
Yet he comes a great climax and he says I show you a more
excellent way
Something that is even greater
follow
after love and
Even the wonderful gifts of the Spirit and though you should be
Fortunate enough to be one to whom all the gifts of the Spirit were given
If you were not mastered by love
Then these gifts the Spirit would mean nothing absolutely nothing whatsoever
everything must be motivated by
love
And I left you in our last heart-to-heart talk
Concerning this thing of love in the individual life
Love
Suffer with long
Don't stop there the Word of God continues and is kind
Sometimes I think there's so little real kindness in the world today
So
Little of forgiveness
That's another word. That's completely
out of the human vocabulary
You know, we've been adding so many new words the human vocabulary
It seems like every time I have a conversation with somebody especially the youth of today
I become aware of the fact that that's so many new words are being added to the human vocabulary
And on the other hand
There are so many words being
taken out
from the human vocabulary and
Another one of those words taken out is the word kindness
We hear a little about kindness
You know once Peter
Having his own theology
Having his own theology like a lot of folks today
Went to the Lord and said I'm telling you something
I'm having difficulty in forgiving my brethren and
I've just come to the conclusion that
Once is all right
To forgive him twice I can do that
I'm straining a little in forgiving him five times
I've almost reached
the end in
forgiving him six times
But seven times is the limit
I'll forgive him seven times and then after that
I'll take the matter in my own hands
And I'll give him what he deserves
That was Peter's theology when it comes to forgiveness and kindness
What did the master say? Oh, he says you poor child of mine. Oh
Dear me
Forgive him
Seven day times seven and then if he still needs forgiveness
Just keep on pouring it on
for real love self-wit long and is kind
And I left you
By giving that wonderful illustration in what Jacob said about
one of his sons
He was talking about Joseph and
He said
Joseph is a fruitful bow
a
fruitful bow
by a fountain
His branches run over the wall
That's beautiful
And to think a father said that about one of his sons
Joseph is a fruitful bow
But he didn't stop there a fruitful bow by a fountain
His branches run over the wall
More
Than anything else I
Want to go that second mile. I want to go that third mile. I
Want to do more than is expected of me
More than even my Lord expects of me for I must please him first
Then I want to do more than my brethren expect
I
Want to go beyond that which my
Enemies even expect of me
Not the third mile but the fourth mile the fifth mile his branches
run over the wall
Something for the man next door something for the outsider
Love suffereth long and is kind
What next?
love
Envieth not
That is to say the ear is never
undervaluing itself because
It's is not the eye
The ear is rejoicing in the brilliance of the eye
It's not
Anything that someone else possesses
Stop right there
Don't just hurry over these things
We talk about love everybody's talking about love
Everybody no matter where you go love
love
There those today who are wearing certain clothes
To to try to impress upon people what they stand for
love
But love isn't in just your dress
Or the length of your hair love is something that you do
That's it
Love is never jealous
Love Envieth not
And this is not only for the one with the long hair
But is for the man in the pulpit in clerical robe
That's another kind of dress
and sometimes I
Think that we find more jealousy in the pulpit
That we find more jealousy in the pulpit
Then we'll find anywhere else in the world why it is. I do not know don't ask me. I don't have the answer
But very often I
Think that we find
more jealousy
In clerical robe than in any form of dress you
Want me to hurry on past that?
But it's there
You know it'd be wonderful
If those who are members the body of Christ would realize and acknowledge the fact
That we are in the same body
The body of Christ that Christ himself is the head
And if one in the body the body to whom we belong is
Successful is winning soul to Lord Jesus Christ is doing more than we are doing can say oh
I rejoice in it I
Rejoice in it
And we stand on the sideline and we applaud
Because it is the same family to whom we belong it is the same body
to which we are born into
If only we could do that do you want to know something?
We'd win the world for God
If we could manifest that love of the Lord Jesus Christ to that degree
Where we rejoice in our brother's success
And we do everything humanly possible to help him to succeed
Literally the world would see the love of Christ
Manifested through our lives and we'd win the unconverted and unregenerated for God
Do you want to know who my worst critics are today? Not the man on the street
Not the hippie not the unregenerated
But very often
One who is a member of the clergy I
Said a mouthful
Do you want to know who understands Catherine Cooman the least?
Not the hippie
Not the sinner
But the one who professes religion
Love
Enriching
Mm-hmm love endeth not
It means
Do not envy anything that someone else possesses
Love vaunteth not itself
Oh
now
If you're doing something stop doing it right now and listen very closely. This is practical
If only you and I would get back to the word of god, it has everything the word of god has all the answers
Do you want to know the greatest need in the world today?
Is the lack of our knowledge of the word of god?
If man would just come back again
And go to the bible and see what the bible really teaches and get back again to the word of god the laws
of god instead of living
contrary
To the laws of god the word of god and you see that's the reason we've gotten ourselves in such a mess is because
We're all living contrary to what the bible teaches
We're living contrary to god's laws and god's rules
And we've gotten ourselves in the state that we're in today
Love vaunteth not itself
And the whole emphasis here is on the word itself that little word itself
Love that talks of loving is not love
You know
I get scared of these people
Who constantly are telling me how much they love me?
Oh
Miss kuhlman miss kuhlman
Oh, I love you. I love you. I love you
I love you. I love you
I found out a long time ago
That those are the people who'd be the very first ones to turn on you
If something would happen
Is the person who never talks about how much they love you?
Love but who show their love by doing
Their uh confidence in you
Their loyalty to you they're right there when you need them
There are some folk who have never told me that they love me never and yet I know
That if I needed them they'd be right there
Through thick and thin they'd be right there
I could call on them night or day. They'd be right there
Love vaunteth not itself
What a man has to come home and say to his wife
Oh
Oh, darling, I love you. I love you. I love you. I'm gonna tell you something
If papa ever had come home and said emma, I just love you. I love you
Mama would say joe
What's up now?
What have you been doing, you know
Kind of like that if that husband of yours
Has to keep telling you that he loves you he loves you
You will know something
When there is real love
In the heart of that husband
He'll work the flesh and blood
He'll work the flesh off his bones to give to his little family
a nice home life
I didn't say a mansion
I didn't say
Stakes at every dinner
I didn't say the finest car in the block. I didn't say that
But when he really loves he'll give to his little family the best that he can afford
the very best
He'll work he'll sacrifice love is something that you do
And he isn't continually saying I'm doing this because I love you
I'm sacrificing because I love you
I'm giving because I love you he doesn't have to
You know
In your own heart that he is doing it because he loves you
Why in the world you think
That papa ate mama's burnt cookies
And sat there and said emma these cookies are so good
Well, i'm gonna tell you something
Well, i'm gonna tell you something the neighbor's dog wouldn't have eaten those burnt cookies
But papa loved mama
Mama wasn't a very good cook
I don't think she'd mind if I would tell you
that
Mama wasn't a good cook. She was never a slave to her kitchen
And yet papa would say oh emma I would rather eat your food
Than
Bale's best cooking are the best dinner in any restaurant
Wasn't mama's good cooking it was just because papa loved mama
and some of you wives
Can put the best meal in the world on the table if your husband doesn't like you
I dare say he doesn't even know what he's eating
When he sits down at the table
and eats
Your wonderful cooking there's something about love. There's something about love everybody's talking about it
But yet you have to go to the word of god
You want to really analyze love and break it apart
And see what it's made of
Love vaunted not itself
Love that talks of loving is not love and so it is with our love for the master
When somebody goes around and has to constantly tell you how much they love the lord
Oh
I love him. Oh
I love the lord
You don't have to tell the whole world how much
You love him
Your actions will speak louder than your words
It's the deeds that you do it's your everyday living
It's your everyday living
It's the sacrifices that you make for the lord and yet love knows no such thing as a sacrifice not really
That word sacrifice will never be in your vocabulary
It'll be taken out completely when you love the lord enough
Your giving
Will never be a sacrifice never
When somebody comes and said
Here's a gift
Use it for the lord's work
And I only wish
It was more
I know that love prompts the giving of that gift
Gift when somebody says here is a real sacrificial gift
I hope you appreciate it
Or maybe you're giving it because you're propositioning god, you know something like that
You know good and well that love
Is prompting the giving of that gift
But when you can give and say
I wish it were more
It's all that I have
It's the best that I have god knows my heart
When you can say I wish there was more strength in my body with which to serve him
I wish I could do more for him. I've done so little
I wish there was more that my hands could do
I wish I could give more than
I'm giving
That's love
But when you have to speak of your love
It is not love at all for the word of god says
love
wanteth not
itself