Living By Faith (Lesson 18) Faith Worketh By Love (Characteristics 6-10) Ricardo Rick Pina Victory Gospel Experience (VGE), Camp Victory, Iraq Wednesday Night, 5:30pm (May 19 th, 2009) Intro: Tonight we continue our series: Faith Worketh By Love. I would venture to say that learning to walk in love is the most important facet of any Christian s life. I pray that you and I (together) develop in LOVE! There are 20 characteristics of God s Love found in 1 st Cor 13. As we study each of them, we will learn what God s Love is. Last week we learned about the first five and this week we will learn about 6-10. To recap, the first five are: 1. Love Endures Long: God s love does not give up easily. 2. Love is Patient: Patient love is consistent love. 3. Love is Kind: It is disposed to do good to others. 4. Love is not Envious: It sincerely celebrates other s victories with a pure heart. 5. Love is not Boastful or Vainglorious: It does not have an excessively high opinion of oneself. The Characteristics of God s Love - #6: Love does not display itself Haughtily (1 st Cor 13:4 AMP) Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. To be haughty is to be condescendingly proud or to believe others to be inferior. The text says that love does not display itself to be that way. In other words, people that walk in the love of God do not conduct themselves in such a manner that they put people down and make them feel inferior. Have you ever met a person that seemed to talk down to everyone? People that talk down to others often cause bitterness, resentment and offense; these are definitely not the goals of Christianity. People that operate in haughtiness are people that cause harm and not help. They lower other s self-esteem, instead of helping raise it. They tear down instead of building up. They put down instead of encouraging. When you look and talk down to people you can actually help destroy their dreams. Be cognizant today of how you talk to and deal with people. When dealing with a Private or a General, a pauper or a President, your subordinate or your superior; always remember to treat them as God would have you to treat them! (Prov 11:9 KJV) An hypocrite with his mouth destroyeth his neighbour: but through knowledge shall the just be delivered. The Life Application Study Bible's commentary on this verse says: "The mouth can be used either as a weapon or a tool, hurting relationships or building them up. Sadly, it is often easier to destroy than to build, and most people have received more destructive comments than those that build up. Every person you meet today is either a demolition site or a construction opportunity. Your words will make a difference. Will they be weapons for destruction or tools for construction?" 1
Haughtiness should not be an identifying characteristic of a Christian. When you say you are a Christian and you declare that God Himself lives inside of you, then there ought to be some sort of evidence of His presence. The greatest evidence is walking in His love. 1. When you walk in His love you seek to be a blessing and not a burden or a bother. 2. When you walk in love you seek to make others feel superior and not inferior. The Characteristics of God s Love - #7: Love is not Conceited! This characteristic flows in the same vein as the last. To be conceited is to have or display a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance. This is a character trait that can literally cause God s favor to cease from operating in your life. (James 4:6&10 NASB) But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, "GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE." Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. Humility is part of Godly character. The closer you get to God the less proud you become, because the more you realize that you are WHO you are, by the Grace of God! If you remain in pride if you continually put yourself (your agenda, your desires, your ways) above God then you will find yourself WITHOUT God s grace! We see an example of this in 1 st Samuel chapter 15. The Lord spoke to king Saul through the prophet Samuel and said: (1 st Sam 15:1-3) I am the one the Lord sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the Lord. This is what the Lord Almighty says: 'I will punish the Amalekites Now go, attack the Amalekites and totally destroy everything that belongs to them. Do not spare them " Later on in the passage we see that Saul partially obeyed. Saul attacked the Amalekites and had the people killed, but he decided to take the King of the Amalekites (Agag) alive. He was also supposed to kill the animals, but he decided to keep the best of the sheep and cattle, supposedly to offer up a sacrifice to God. God was not pleased with this at all. Partial obedience is disobedience. God sent Samuel to express His displeasure with the King. (1 st Sam 15:17 MSG) When you started out in this, you were nothing and you knew it. (1 st Sam 15:17 KJV) When thou wast little in thine own sight. What was the problem? Saul had gotten to the point where his self-importance as King caused him to disobey the God that he was supposed to be serving with the position in the first place. Let s learn from his mistake and not repeat it. 3. When you walk in love you are humble, not high-minded! 4. Never get to the point where you are so big in your own eyes that you fail to honor the God that promoted you in the first place! 2
5. As a believer you should NOT have low self-esteem, but you should NOT have an overbearing sense of self-importance either. 6. Love keeps it all in balance so that we don t dishonor God or man keeping us rooted and grounded. The Characteristics of God s Love - #8: Love is not Rude! The modern day translations for the word rude tell us that being rude is: to act in an offensive manner; to be abruptly and unpleasantly forceful; to be discourteous, coarse, or vulgar. In the original language of our text, to be rude means to become easily provoked or irritated. Love is not these things. Love is not offensive towards others, but rather makes every effort to avoid offense. (Mat 18:7 NASB) Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! Love never seeks to cause stumbling blocks. Love never seeks to cause offenses! Love has a high tolerance for people. Love does not force its way upon others, especially when it comes to personal beliefs. I preach the fact that every Christian should know what they believe, that they should remain firm in their beliefs, and that they should be led of the Holy Spirit to share the light of the gospel with a dark, dying, and decaying world. The need for evangelism, however, is not a license for offense. I have met many Christians who commonly offend others under the guise of evangelism. It is important that we share the truth of the gospel message, but you can do so in such a way as to avoid offense. You can force your beliefs upon someone, cause an argument, and maybe even win the argument; but winning the argument does not equal winning a soul. If you win the argument, but they leave offended, ministry has not taken place. Love is not rude. The Message Bible says that it doesn't fly off the handle. Love doesn t seek to offend, but rather to reconcile. Love seeks to share with others while operating in harmony. Love seeks to meet needs without causing problems. 7. Spirituality is not a license to be rude or mean towards others. 8. God wants you to draw others towards Him, not drive them away from Him. 9. When people think of you they should think of the love of God. Reflection: Take a moment to allow this Word to be a mirror for you before you face this day. Look in the mirror and ask yourself if you like what you see. Are you rude towards others? Are you easily provoked or irritated? Do you cause others to be offended? If so, then repent and ask God to allow His love and His light to be perfected in you this day and this week. 3
The Characteristics of God s Love - #9: Love does not act Unbecomingly! To act unbecomingly simply means to be inappropriate; to fail to comply with the standards implied by one s character or position. Being in the military officer and a common term in the military is conduct unbecoming of an officer or noncommissioned officer. This term is used when a person s actions do not correspond with their rank. In other words, there is a level of expectation tied to every rank or position; the higher the rank the greater the expectation. The expectations implied on a General are much greater than those implied on a Private, and rightly so. A General may have thirty years of experience and will therefore be expected to make tactical, personal, and morale decisions that reflect that experience. Anything less is conduct that is unbecoming. Well, what does this have to do with the Body of Christ? The same principle applies. The text says that love does not act unbecomingly. In this series we have covered: o God s love was poured out in our hearts when we were Born-Again (Romans 5:5). o God Himself IS love (1 st John 4:8) o Jesus commanded us to love (John 13:34) o Paul explained to us that love is the most excellent way (1 st Corinthians 12:31) and that we are bankrupt without it (13:3 Message Bible). o We must also never forget that Jesus lived His life as the ultimate example for us. He showed us what right looks like. He lived the standard. While He was hanging on Calvary s cross, with nails in His hands and feet, after being unjustly tried and beaten, He looked down at the people and said, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. o What was Jesus doing? He was operating in love! So how does this apply to you and me? It applies because Jesus was and is our standard. The standard has been set for Christian living. We act unbecomingly when we fail to comply with the standards implied by our position in the Body of Christ. Diagnostic Questions: How long have you been a Christian? Do you consider yourself a Private or a General in the Body of Christ? Remember, however, that your consideration should not be based on the number of hymns you know, prayers you pray, church services you attend, or suits you own; your consideration should be based on whether or not you are operating in the Love of God. Anything less is conduct that is unbecoming of a child of God! 10. There is a certain standard laid out in the Word of God and the Father expects us to live up to that standard. 11. The Holy Spirit empowers us to operate like Jesus operated while He was in the earth this means we have NO EXCUSES! 4
Characteristics of God s Love - #10: Love does not insist on its own rights or its own way! There is a matter of compromise woven into most relationships. It is unrealistic and improbable to think that you will walk through life without having differences of opinions with others. Learning to deal with disagreements is healthy and necessary in the Body of Christ in particular and in life in general. From the time little boys and little girls are taught to play nice on the playground to the time where grown men and women pass from the temporal to the eternal, compromise is required. Marriage, family, friendship, and even co-worker relationships require some level of compromise when dealing with disagreements. A compromise is a settlement of differences in which each side makes concessions. It is an acknowledgement of the validity of someone s opinion or position. This is a healthy reality because it helps keep us grounded in the fact that we are not always right. Even in the cases where we believe strongly that we are right, we might be led of God to concede on some issues, in order that we might keep the peace in our marriage, friendships, and workplace. Why is this a big deal? Because persons who insist on their own rights and their own way all the time consistently cause offense. Remember that characteristic #3 was kindness. We learned that kindness being disposed to do good to others, seeking for ways to make others happy. When we insist on our own way we are doing the exact opposite. Instead of causing others to be blessed, persons who insist on their own way all the time incite resentment, bitterness, and anger in others. 12. Love seeks for ways to settle differences by allowing both sides to make concessions. 13. When one person in a relationship consistently insists on their own way it leads to domination; domination leads to frustration; and frustration often ends in dissatisfaction, resentment, or a broken relationship! 14. Love does NOT always have to get her way! Conclusion: Growing in Love is growing in God! Determine to make the necessary changes to become the mature believer the Father expects and needs you to be! Closing Confession: Father, I will not display myself haughtily. I will not talk down to others. I seek to be a blessing and not a burden or a bother. I walk in Your love and I make a positive impact on every person that I come in contact with. I do not fail to acknowledge the fact that You are the source of my success. Thank You Father for allowing me to succeed, while still keeping the proper perspective! I declare by faith that I am not easily provoked and I am not unpleasantly forceful towards others. I am a source of peace and not strife, love and not hate, harmony and discord. I do not insist on getting my way. I am led by the Holy Spirit to make the proper decisions and the proper concessions. I do not seek to dominate my relationships, but rather to compliment those that I have relationships with. I get along with others I seek to be a tool of construction and not destruction. I am here to build up and never to tear down! Use me Father to share Your Love for Your Glory! In Jesus name. Amen. 5