Some call Him Savior. Some call Him a moral teacher. Some call Him a prophet. Some only call His name as a curse word. Regardless of what people call Him, Jesus is almost universally known.
Despite what people call Him, and as much as people claim to know about Jesus, there are still so many questions that swirl around—
Who is this Man?
How can someone be both God and Man at the same time?
Did Jesus just show up in Bethlehem, or was He around earlier?
Was He really perfect? Could He really live His whole life without sinning once?
How could He die and yet come back to life?
Better yet: why did He have to die at all?
Does it really matter whether or not He was resurrected from the dead?
As we approach this Easter season, more and more people’s thoughts will be turning toward this Man. Please join me as we consider this simple, yet profound question: Who Is Jesus? The answer to that one simple question will be life-changing!
True love—or the Greek word agape—is a hard-working verb. It’s not mushy. It’s not puppy love. It’s not even romantic. It’s a love that is determined to love another no matter what! It’s the kind of love God extended toward us when we weren’t doing anything worthy of His love, and it’s the kind of love Jesus told we as us His disciples would be known for.
We just wrapped up a series called Loving The Unloveable where we explored what the Bible says about how we are to live out this agape love, especially to those who seem “unloveable.” We went through a list of 15 facets of this love spelled out in 1 Corinthians 13.
You can read about the first five facets by clicking here.
You can read about the second set of attributes by clicking here.
Here are the final five—
Love is protecting
The King James Version says love bears all things. So we need to ask, “What does love bear?”
The Greek word means: “protecting by covering with silence.”
In other words, we bear with the insults of an unloveable/unloving person by refusing to talk about them in a negative way.
Agape doesn’t talk about people (unless it’s a conversation with God); agape only talks lovingly to people. Agape protects their reputation.
Love is trusting
Love has a high confidence in success. Not my success, but God’s success. So we keep believing for a breakthrough; keep trusting God to accomplish something; keep doing our part in pointing out the best (or the best that is yet to be) in others.
Love is hopeful
The Amplified Bible says: love’s hopes are fadeless under all circumstances.
So we work now, but we are always looking forward to the future with joy and full confidence.
Think about a farmer: After he plants the seed, he doesn’t see it any more. But his outlook remains hopeful. So he waters a seed he cannot see. He fertilizes a seed he cannot see. He works the ground for a seed he cannot see.
Our acts of love may be planting a seed, or fertilizing, or watering. Every part is vital; no part can be skipped. And we remain hopeful of a harvest.
Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)
Love is persevering
I love the Greek definition: “enduring through every circumstance without ever weakening.”
Never let your love waver. Keep on being patient, and kind, and forgiving, and all of the other characteristics of agape listed in 1 Corinthians 13. All of them are irreplaceable and effective!
Love is maturing
Love continues to grow up.
Agape is creative, never stagnant or stuck in a rut. Agape finds new ways to express itself.
Here’s where the real test comes in: How will you apply these attributes of love to someone in your life? More specifically: to someone you think is “unloveable”?
I know you have someone in your life that you think is unloveable. With that person’s face clearly in mind, how will you fill in the blanks:
I can protect their reputation by…
I believe God is working in this…
I need to not give up in this area…
I must remember this…
I can how my love more maturely by…
If you would like a downloadable PDF of this worksheet, click here -–> Love Is… worsheet 3
If you would like to download the other worksheets, or if you missed any of the messages in our Loving the Unlovable series, you can check them all our here.
“The one Jesus that skeptics refuse to tolerate is a uniquely divine, miraculous, prophesy-fulfilling, and resurrected Jesus—even if the evidence points persuasively in that direction. After all, that would put them in the place of being beholden to Him. Their personal sovereignty and moral independence would be at risk. The problem is: that’s the real Jesus.” —Lee Strobel
Jesus was crucified. He was in the grave for three days. Then God raised Him from the dead, fulfilling everything that had been prophesied about Him! That’s the real Jesus!
But those who don’t want to acknowledge those facts have concocted all sorts of conspiracy theories as to His death and resurrection.
On Easter morning, Calvary Assembly of God will be presenting an original drama called Conspiracy! to tackle these conspiracies head-on. The cast of characters is interesting, the dialogue is witty and fast-moving, so this will be a very memorable morning!
Cost: FREE but we suggest you get a ticket to make sure you have a seat. You can reserve your spot by clicking here and emailing your ticket request to me.
A delicious breakfast + some uplifting music + a memorable drama = a great morning learning about the risen Jesus. Please don’t miss it!
We are taking a practical look at the incredible definition of love in 1 Corinthians 13. We’re doing this in the context of learning how to love the “unloveable”—or maybe I should say, loving those who are the most resistant to real love. If we can show them love, how much more will the love of Jesus be seen!
All of these verbs are present tense verbs. That means they aren’t exhausted in the past, and they aren’t waiting for future conditions to improve—they are in operation NOW.
Far too many people know Christians more by what we’re against than by what we’re for. So where the biblical text say “love does not” or “love isn’t,” I’ve changed it into the positive “love is.”
You can read about the first five attributes love love by clicking here.
The next five attributes are:
Love is graceful
The root word means something that should be covered up, or something we’re ashamed of. Because our words and actions are graceful, they are things we wouldn’t have to defend, or explain, or apologize for later. They are words and actions that wouldn’t embarrass us.
“Agape will do nothing that misbecomes it.” —Matthew Henry
Love knows our relationship > my rights
True love “does not demand its own way” (New Living Translation) nor does it “insist on its own rights” (Amplified Bible). Instead it always seeks ways that the relationship can be repaired or enhanced, even if that means giving up something I consider to be “my right.”
NOTE: I’m not saying that you become a doormat. This is not a license for someone to abuse you, but it is a call for us to balance our responses. Romans 12:18 says as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
The Amplified Bible says it well: love isnot touchy or fretful or resentful.
This Greek word means not getting stirred up or exasperated. So we need to lighten up!
There are some places where we’ve become too sensitive, too touchy, too short-fused. The fire of hurt has replaced the fire of love. So Matthew Henry advises us: “Where the fire of love is kept in, the flames of wrath will not easily kindle, nor long keep burning.”
Love is forgiving
The New International Version says lovekeeps no record of wrongs.
This Greek phrase speaks of an accountant tallying up the hurts (where there is an overdrawn account), seeing there is a debt to be paid back, and then appointing himself as the bill collector. True love cancels those IOUs.
We don’t forgive others because they deserve forgiveness, but we forgive others because we received forgiveness from God that we did not deserve!
For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you. (Matthew 6:14 AMP)
Love is God-honoring
Agape loves what God loves and hates what God hates.
Agape loves when people find God’s truth, and hates anything that blocks that pursuit.
Agape loves the sinner and hates the sin.
“The sins of others are the grief of an agape spirit [not] its sport or delight; they will touch it to the quick….” —Matthew Henry
Here’s where the real test comes in: How will you apply these attributes of love to someone in your life? More specifically: to someone you think is “unloveable”?
I know you have someone in your life that you think is unloveable. With that person’s face clearly in mind, how will you fill in the blanks:
I can be graceful in…
I can give up my right to…
I need to lighten up in this area…
I must forgive them for…
I need to pray for a breakthrough in…
If you would like a downloadable PDF of this worksheet, click here –> Love is… worksheet 2
The greatest definition of love in the history of mankind is given to us in 1 Corinthians 13. This is the “gold standard” to which all of us should strive to pattern our lives.
But notice that right at the beginning, Paul says, “Love IS” (verse 4). Not love feels good or even love does; but love is. Love is not love because it makes us feel good. Love is not love because we did something nice. Love is love because it measures up to this standard in 1 Corinthians.
Here are the first five attributes of love.
Love is patient
Patient love doesn’t lose heart, but stays hopeful.
It endures patiently and bravely in enduring misfortune and disappointment.
“It can endure evil, injury, and provocation, without being filled with resentment, indignation, or revenge.” —Matthew Henry
Love is kind
It is pleasant and courteous.
It both seizes opportunities and makes opportunities to show kindness.
…as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. (Romans 12:18)
Love is catching others doing something good
The biblical phrase is love is not envious, but I want to turn the positive into a negative. Far too often we Christians are known more for what we against, not what we’re for. So the positive way of saying this: we rejoice when others succeed. Or, we catch them doing something good.
Love is complementing others
Again, we turn the negative love does not boast into a positive, and say love complements others.
Agape raises the value of the object of its love.
Love is others-focused
Again, turning the negative love is not proud into a positive.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (Philippians 2:3)
Here’s where the real test comes in: How will you apply these attributes of love to someone in your life? More specifically: to someone you think is “unloveable”?
I know you have someone in your life that you think is unloveable. With that person’s face clearly in mind, how will you fill in the blanks:
I can show patience by…
I can be kind to them by…
I can rejoice in their success in this area…
I can applaud them in their…
I can see them becoming…
If you would like a downloadable PDF of this worksheet, click here –> Love is… worksheet 1
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
Love is not always flowery and sweet, where everyone gets along, and no one is ever mean or even unkind. Actually that’s not love; that’s selfishness. You’re saying, “I will love you because it makes me feel good. I get something special out of this when I am kind and loving to you.”
The ancient Greeks had different words for love. Whereas we use love for food (“I love my pasta”), and the same word for special people (“I love my wife”). But we all know that I’m not really saying my wife and a plate of spaghetti are on the same level.
So the Greeks had a word for love for the inanimate (like food and music), and a word for this-makes-me-feel-so-good (like sex and alcohol), and a word for treating someone humanely or kindly (sometimes called brotherly love). These are well-known loves, but they are very fragile. The law of diminishing returns says that each time I experience one of these loves, its ability to please me the next time is slightly reduced, until at one point this thing/person no longer satisfy me at all. In fact, they may even cause my stomach to churn in nausea.
But there was one more word the Greeks used for love, that the biblical writers used almost exclusively. This word (agape) is not tuxedos and dancing gowns and chandeliers. This love shows up in work clothes, with callouses on its hands and knees, because it’s determined to serve someone else no matter what!
This is the kind of love God exhibited toward us—God shows and clearly proves His own love for us by the fact that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
And this is the kind of love Jesus commanded us to exhibit toward others… even toward those we think are unloveable—By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another. … If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” love those who love them. And if you do good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even “sinners” do that (John 13:35; Luke 6:32-33).
This is the kind of full love that those apart from Jesus Christ do not know, but they can see it and be drawn to it if Christians will demonstrate it. Henry Drummond said this—
“Never offer men a thimbleful of gospel. Do not offer them merely joy, or merely peace, or merely rest, or merely safety; tell them how Christ came to give men a more abundant life than they have, a life abundant in love. … Then only can the gospel take hold of the whole of a man, body, soul and spirit. … Only a fuller love can compete with the love of the world.”
Let’s show the world a fuller love, and in so doing we will show them Jesus!
Jesus came to love us. And for those that have received His love, He commands us to love others just like He loved us. In fact, Jesus said all of the commandments in the Bible could be summed up in just one word: LOVE.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength…. Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark 12:30-31)
But what about people who aren’t very lovable? Are we really supposed to love them? Isn’t there some sort of “escape clause” to let us out of loving those people who get on our nerves, or who are mean to us?
Although you probably already know what the answer is (in case you don’t: we’re commanded to love everyone), the Bible helps us learn how and why to love the unloveable.
If you missed any of the messages in this series, check them out here:
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
I’m convinced that many of us have missed answers to prayer because the answers seemed “too practical” or required “too much work” from us. Consider the well-known example of the defeat of the city of Jericho as recorded in the Bible.
Jericho was a massive fortress. Archeologists tell us that the city encompassed over eight acres, and was surrounded by walls which were 30-feet tall and 20-feet wide. Joshua was a brilliant military strategist who up to this point had never suffered a defeat. He asks God for help in defeating this fortress, and God tells him, “March!”
That’s it. Not pray, pray, and pray some more. Not go on a 40-day fast. Make no mistake, the Israelites had been in a period of renewed passion and prayer. As they entered Canaan, they sought God, renewed their vow to serve Him alone, and celebrated the Passover just days before encountering Jericho.
Sometimes our prayers have to have feet.
Sort of like abolitionist Frederick Douglass who said, “Praying for freedom never did me any good til I started praying with my feet.”
We need to pray for the salvation of our loved ones, and talk to them about Christ.
We need to pray for God to open the door for employment, and mail the resume.
We need to pray for God’s help on a test, and study hard.
We need to pray, and we need to march.
I love the verb tense in this story! God told Joshua, “I have delivered Jericho into your hands” (Joshua 6:2). Later on, after the Israelites completed their 13th hike around Jericho, Joshua said, “Shout! For the Lord has given you the city” (v. 16).
If you are praying for something that is in alignment with God’s Word, then God has given you your Jericho. But you may not see the walls come tumbling down until you march. Keep praying, keep marching, keep circling it in prayer, and watch those walls crumble!
To check out the others messages in this series on prayer called Praying Circles, please click here.
I love to eat good food, and I love to hear good stories about God’s blessing. On February 3 I get to do both!
It’s our annual Souper Bowl Celebration. After our regular morning worship service we all sample the delicious homemade soup and chili recipes from the amazing cooks in our church. It’s a little friendly competition, where everyone who eats gets to vote. My son Harrison is the reigning champ two years in a row, so I’ve heard a lot of cooks are gunning to unseat him. The competition should be delicious!
I don’t like meetings, so in place of Calvary Assembly of God having an annual business meeting, we have our annual celebration. It’s a great time recalling what God did for us in 2012, and then looking ahead to 2013. I always get so pumped up for this day!
If you’re around Cedar Springs on February 3, join us for some great food, some friendly competition, and some even better stories of God’s great blessings!
Listen to the podcast of this post by clicking on the player below, and you can also subscribe on Apple, Spotify, or Audible.
While I was reading From Azusa To Africa To The Nations, I came across a fascinating statement from William Seymour, the pastor who led his congregation into that early 20th-century revival that shook the world. Pastor Seymour was so hungry for God’s presence in his life that he set aside five hours each day to seek God’s deeper touch. He prayed liked this for over 3 years. At this point He read about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the Book of Acts, and something stirred in him to pray for this same outpouring on himself and on his congregation. He then increased his prayer time to seven hours a day, and continued to pray in this fashion for another two years before the answer came and the revival broke out.
I did the math. That means he prayed 11,500 hours!
How many of us get tired after praying just one hour?
Would it be easier for you to tenaciously pursue God in prayer if you knew He was also tenaciously pursuing you? Mark Batterson points out in The Circle Maker that the verb in Psalm 23:6 is poorly translated in English as shall follow me. He reminds us that it’s really a hunting term, used for a hunter in hot pursuit of his quarry. God’s love and mercy are in hot pursuit of you!
The Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for Him! (Isaiah 30:18)
Want to see a great story about this in the life of Jesus? Matthew tells us about a get-away that Jesus and His disciples took. While they were relaxing, a woman barged in, imploring Jesus to heal her daughter. She would not be denied. She tenaciously implored Jesus to minister to her daughter. At last Jesus cried out, “Woman, you have great faith! Your request is granted.”
It may sound like this woman was pursuing Jesus. But Jesus put Himself in a place for her to find Him. He pursued her first.
As a Canaanite (a non-Jew), it was unsafe for her to travel to southern Israel.
As a woman, it was unacceptable for her to go talk to a man.
As a mother with a sick child at home, it was unwise for her to leave home.
So Jesus traveled to a region He has never been to before, and would never go back to again. He pursued this mother-in-need so that she could find Him in prayer!
God is in hot pursuit of you, too. He hears every prayer, so keep on tenaciously praying. Don’t settle, don’t give up, don’t stop! Pray as long as it takes for God to say to you, “You have great faith! Your request is granted.”
To check out the others messages in this series on prayer called Praying Circles, please click here.
Some call Him Savior. Some call Him a moral teacher. Some call Him a prophet. Some only call His name as a curse word. Regardless of what people call Him, Jesus is almost universally known.
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Craig T. Owens 