Love That Outlasts The Storm | Love That Lasts

How many of you have ever been tired of loving? Oh, y'all say, we're gonna be honest. Yes. Tired of loving, tired of being patient, tired of forgiving, tired of showing up, tired of believing for something that hasn't changed yet. You could be honest this morning. Just say I'm I I've I've been I've just been tired. Listen to what Spurgeon says. I got this quote up here. Spurgeon says this. He says, love endures all things. This is what it means. This refers to a patient perseverance in loving. This is perhaps, he says, the hardest work of all. For many people can be affectionate and patient for a time, but the task is to hold on year after year, year after year. [00:03:40] (64 seconds)  #LoveEndures

See, if we're honest about it, we live in a culture that likes to cancel. Let's talk about it today. We cancel stuff fast. We we quit quickly. We we we move on to the upgrades constantly. We cancel subscriptions. We quit jobs. We ghost relationships. Y'all ain't saying nothing to me, but that's alright. We move churches. Y'all can still say stay silent. We block numbers with the quickness. Block. But hear me good. Paul says, real love doesn't operate on a cancellation policy. [00:04:45] (52 seconds)  #LoveHasNoCancelButton

In other words, this is what it's saying. A covenant is a promise you keep when your feelings fade. When you don't feel like it anymore, you still are in covenant. See, contracts exchange goods. Covenant exchanges sales. Lord, I feel your presence today. Contract says, as long as you. Covenant says, even if you. I love what this one theologian says. It says that the love which reflects God's love is a faithful love which persist although a love that is sustained in spite of. [00:06:23] (47 seconds)  #CovenantNotContract

That is why, my brothers and sisters, the cross is the ultimate covenant moment. The cross is the ultimate covenant moment. You know why? Because look what it says in Romans five and eight, but God demonstrates his own love for us in this, while we were yet sinners. In other words, we we didn't do anything to deserve it. He says, while you were yet in your sin, Christ died for us. Yeah. Because this is covenant love. Somebody say covenant love. [00:07:10] (32 seconds)  #LoveAtTheCross

Love. See, I wanna just tell you this. You're not bad at love. You just learn love from a quitting culture. But God wants to teach us covenant love. Covenant love. And that's the tension found in the text of first Corinthians chapter 13. Because first Corinthians 13 is not describing wedding day emotions. You know what it's describing? It's describing storm tested commitment. [00:07:41] (40 seconds)  #StormTestedLove

Paul is writing to a church in Corinth that is deeply divided. They're immature. They're prideful. Some commentaries even say they are competitive. They're spiritual, but not loving. They speak in tongues. They prophesy. They move into gifts, but they lack endurance. And Paul says, if your love folds under pressure, it's not God's love. I know this is gonna sting today, but it's alright. I bought the Band Aids. [00:09:39] (49 seconds)  #LoveUnderPressure

An umbrella hear me good. An umbrella doesn't stop the rain. Right. Y'all ain't saying nothing to me in this place. It just keeps you covered in it. That's covenant love. The storm still happens. The mistakes will still happen. Come on. The conflict will still happen, but love says, I'm not letting this storm expose you. Because love covers. [00:16:16] (50 seconds)  #CoveredInTheStorm

I think about Noah. In Genesis chapter nine, his son Shem and Jebeth, they cover Noah instead of exposing him. They walk backwards in with a garment because love doesn't stare at failure. It protects dignity. I love this. Love covers all in silence. Listen to what this commentary says. It says, so God says love not only hides the evil in others, but refuses even to speak of it. [00:17:59] (47 seconds)  #ProtectDignity