Love: The Greatest Gift and True Maturity
Devotional
Sermon Summary
Bible Study Guide
Sermon Clips
### Quotes for Outreach
1. "I know so many people, I can think about my own grandmother. My own grandmother said some of the most profound things in my life that I've ever heard. And my grandmother had a sixth grade education. But I promise you this, my grandmother loved Jesus. She read God's word and she loved people. And I'm always compelled. That's what remains. That's what people know about my grandma when she passed away. Those are the things that people said about my grandma. It wasn't about all the skills and talents she had. She could cook some really good brunch stew and she loved people and loved Jesus. That's what matters. That's what matters. That's what matters. That's what matters. And that's what remains." [01:40:13]
2. "Friends, I want to tell you that a person can have a gift and a person could even have a fruitful ministry, yet still not walk with Jesus. You don't believe me? Well, look at the Bible. Like, I mean, Jesus actually taught this, friends. Matthew chapter seven, Jesus is talking about, he's telling his disciples there'll be a time where we all stand before God. And he says in Matthew chapter seven and verse 22, he says, on that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in your name? Do we not cast out demons in your name? Do we not do mighty works? The Greek word for this, the Greek word for that means actually miracles. Do we not do miracles in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." [01:23:38]
3. "You can have amazing talent, but if you don't have the most simple, basic things that God can really give us, we miss out on an entire legacy for good, or the way that we say it here around Integrity Church is a legacy for the gospel. Interestingly enough, 1 Corinthians 13, Paul is writing this chapter as a way to bring the Corinthians into what matters the most. The church of Corinth was perhaps the most gifted church that Paul had ever pastored. This is a church that was wealthy. This is a church that was well-educated. This is a church that was cultural and influential, yet many of them squandered the gifts that God had given them. And they were on the verge of missing out on a rich gospel legacy." [01:14:30]
4. "Friends, I want to tell you is that don't rely on your gifts. It's a way to believe that you're really walking with God. When he uses the analogy of a clanging cymbal or noisy gong, that is actually a picture of something that happened in Corinth. And when the pagans would worship in their temple, the worshipers would come in and they would clash a cymbal or they would hit a gong to get attention from the gods. So it's actually pagan of us to say, I am going to take the gift that God has given me to draw myself and I'm going to use it as a way to, as an evidence and signs that I am really walking the Lord to see how well this gift is working in our life, my life." [01:37:41]
### Quotes for Members
1. "If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, listen to what he says, I am a noisy gong or a clinging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith as to remove mountains, but if I have not love, he says, I am nothing. If I give away all that I have, if I deliver up my body to be burned, but I have not love, I am nothing. I gain nothing. This is the part we probably heard the most. Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It's not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It's not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoings, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." [01:16:00]
2. "We live in a culture that often equates giftedness with godliness, don't we? We'll see people on TV that have successful ministries and we go, wow, look at all the people that have showed up to hear their gift of preaching. That person has got to be walking with the Lord. Or we'll go, well, look at how many people are go to this influencer and look how gifted they are. So they must be, they must have it all together. They must be walking in obedience to the Lord. They must have the spirit. They must be abiding in the spirit every day. They must have the great prayer life. Look at all the people that they've baptized. Look at all the people that have been changed and transformed by their ministry. They must be, they must be walking with the Lord and praying to God and walking in obedience to Christ." [01:22:57]
3. "Judas Iscariot was given gifts by Jesus to cast out demons and to heal every disease and affliction. Yet, Judas betrayed Jesus. It's hard to even imagine Judas without the word betrayal, isn't it? And we even use it as an adjective. You are one who betrays people, right? We use it as a word to say, to describe someone who betrays others. Yet, Judas had miraculous gifts that were used. What I'm trying to say, church, and I hope you catch this, is that you can have miraculous gifts, but it doesn't always show evidence of a changed life, of a new life, of a life that's abiding in Christ." [01:26:52]
4. "Paul is saying, God's love, the love that Christ has shown us is like a mirror. We look at it to gauge our love. Our life. at Jesus, not how gifted you are. And so he says, we move away from childish things. We move into adulthood. And this is a great, fantastic verse on how we mature, because we mature not through our gifts and boasting in our gifts and getting attention for our gifts. No, we mature through love. We're motivated through love. Love becomes our new motivation for how we want to express. God to the world. And church, this is what really lasts. And that's what people will really remember about you. They're not going to remember your gifts as much as they will your love." [01:34:55]
5. "Friends, giftedness and godliness are not the same things. And this is exactly what Paul is after here. He's saying, don't confuse the two. And if you have to choose between the two of whether or not you want to be gifted or godly, he says, don't confuse the two. And if you have to choose between the two of choose to be godly, choose to be a person who is known in love. And I got to tell you, friends, even for me in the last almost 25 years I've been in ministry, my temptation is sometimes to get in a trap of, well, yes, I'm walking with the Lord. Look how he's using me. I mean, look at the people I'm ministering to. Look at the people that have been impacted by my preaching or counseling, whatever it is. I'll rely on the gifts rather than relying on walking in obedience with the Lord." [01:31:00]
Ask a question about this sermon
1. "I know so many people, I can think about my own grandmother. My own grandmother said some of the most profound things in my life that I've ever heard. And my grandmother had a sixth grade education. But I promise you this, my grandmother loved Jesus. She read God's word and she loved people. And I'm always compelled. That's what remains. That's what people know about my grandma when she passed away. Those are the things that people said about my grandma. It wasn't about all the skills and talents she had. She could cook some really good brunch stew and she loved people and loved Jesus. That's what matters. That's what matters. That's what matters. That's what matters. And that's what remains." [01:40:13]
2. "Friends, I want to tell you that a person can have a gift and a person could even have a fruitful ministry, yet still not walk with Jesus. You don't believe me? Well, look at the Bible. Like, I mean, Jesus actually taught this, friends. Matthew chapter seven, Jesus is talking about, he's telling his disciples there'll be a time where we all stand before God. And he says in Matthew chapter seven and verse 22, he says, on that day, many will say to me, Lord, Lord, do we not prophesy in your name? Do we not cast out demons in your name? Do we not do mighty works? The Greek word for this, the Greek word for that means actually miracles. Do we not do miracles in your name? And then I will declare to them, I never knew you. Depart from me, you workers of lawlessness." [01:23:38]
3. "You can have amazing talent, but if you don't have the most simple, basic things that God can really give us, we miss out on an entire legacy for good, or the way that we say it here around Integrity Church is a legacy for the gospel. Interestingly enough, 1 Corinthians 13, Paul is writing this chapter as a way to bring the Corinthians into what matters the most. The church of Corinth was perhaps the most gifted church that Paul had ever pastored. This is a church that was wealthy. This is a church that was well-educated. This is a church that was cultural and influential, yet many of them squandered the gifts that God had given them. And they were on the verge of missing out on a rich gospel legacy." [01:14:30]
4. "Friends, I want to tell you is that don't rely on your gifts. It's a way to believe that you're really walking with God. When he uses the analogy of a clanging cymbal or noisy gong, that is actually a picture of something that happened in Corinth. And when the pagans would worship in their temple, the worshipers would come in and they would clash a cymbal or they would hit a gong to get attention from the gods. So it's actually pagan of us to say, I am going to take the gift that God has given me to draw myself and I'm going to use it as a way to, as an evidence and signs that I am really walking the Lord to see how well this gift is working in our life, my life." [01:37:41]
### Quotes for Members
1. "If I speak in the tongues of men and angels, but have not love, listen to what he says, I am a noisy gong or a clinging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith as to remove mountains, but if I have not love, he says, I am nothing. If I give away all that I have, if I deliver up my body to be burned, but I have not love, I am nothing. I gain nothing. This is the part we probably heard the most. Love is patient and kind. Love does not envy or boast. It's not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way. It's not irritable or resentful. It does not rejoice at wrongdoings, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." [01:16:00]
2. "We live in a culture that often equates giftedness with godliness, don't we? We'll see people on TV that have successful ministries and we go, wow, look at all the people that have showed up to hear their gift of preaching. That person has got to be walking with the Lord. Or we'll go, well, look at how many people are go to this influencer and look how gifted they are. So they must be, they must have it all together. They must be walking in obedience to the Lord. They must have the spirit. They must be abiding in the spirit every day. They must have the great prayer life. Look at all the people that they've baptized. Look at all the people that have been changed and transformed by their ministry. They must be, they must be walking with the Lord and praying to God and walking in obedience to Christ." [01:22:57]
3. "Judas Iscariot was given gifts by Jesus to cast out demons and to heal every disease and affliction. Yet, Judas betrayed Jesus. It's hard to even imagine Judas without the word betrayal, isn't it? And we even use it as an adjective. You are one who betrays people, right? We use it as a word to say, to describe someone who betrays others. Yet, Judas had miraculous gifts that were used. What I'm trying to say, church, and I hope you catch this, is that you can have miraculous gifts, but it doesn't always show evidence of a changed life, of a new life, of a life that's abiding in Christ." [01:26:52]
4. "Paul is saying, God's love, the love that Christ has shown us is like a mirror. We look at it to gauge our love. Our life. at Jesus, not how gifted you are. And so he says, we move away from childish things. We move into adulthood. And this is a great, fantastic verse on how we mature, because we mature not through our gifts and boasting in our gifts and getting attention for our gifts. No, we mature through love. We're motivated through love. Love becomes our new motivation for how we want to express. God to the world. And church, this is what really lasts. And that's what people will really remember about you. They're not going to remember your gifts as much as they will your love." [01:34:55]
5. "Friends, giftedness and godliness are not the same things. And this is exactly what Paul is after here. He's saying, don't confuse the two. And if you have to choose between the two of whether or not you want to be gifted or godly, he says, don't confuse the two. And if you have to choose between the two of choose to be godly, choose to be a person who is known in love. And I got to tell you, friends, even for me in the last almost 25 years I've been in ministry, my temptation is sometimes to get in a trap of, well, yes, I'm walking with the Lord. Look how he's using me. I mean, look at the people I'm ministering to. Look at the people that have been impacted by my preaching or counseling, whatever it is. I'll rely on the gifts rather than relying on walking in obedience with the Lord." [01:31:00]
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