• How To Really Love Others

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Paul is explaining his habit of love in I Thessalonians.

1 Thessalonians 2:8 “We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.” (NIV).

Paul learned to love looking at Jesus. Of all those who knew Jesus, one is called the Apostle of love—John the beloved. No one talks more about love than Paul.
Paul mentions love in 71 verses of his 1/3 of the New Testament chapters (88 of 261);
Of the 156 times “love” is used in the KJV Paul uses 71x; general epistles 25x and 8x gospels & Acts.
Of the 106 uses of agape Paul has 71x.
Agapao (#25) is used 47x in the Gospels and Acts, 28x by Paul and 34x in the rest of the New Testament.
John in his 50 chapters mentions love 48 times. But no one captures the words of Jesus like John. The others get his actions, but John hung on His words.

But in the present age He carries out a sevenfold service as our loving Shepherd:

1.    He calls us (John 10:3),
2.    He knows us (John 10:14-15),
3.    He leads us (Psa.  23:3; John 10:27)
4.    He guards us (John 10:28-30),
5.    He heals us (John 12:40),
6.    He carries us home (John 14:1-6).
7.    He nourishes us (Psa. 23:2; Rev. 7:17),

A Brief survey of  Paul's Life

  1. He was born about  AD 4.
  2. He was born again or saved at about age 28.  In  AD 32 (Acts 9) records this event with all the excitement of angry citizens, a malignant King Aretas’ death threat, and a daring basket over the wall escape. Then,
  3. Desert training from the Master Himself and back to home town Tarsus  from age 28-40, or AD 32-44.   Acts picks uo with then conclusion of the years by his ministry in Antioch. From there he is sent out on a missionary journey.
  4. First Missionary Journey at the age of 41-43, (AD 45-47): Along the way he is stoned (14:19) and mistreated and threatened (13:50) all along the way. He doesn/t stop. Writing the Scriptures all the way.
  5. From Acts 13 and 14  he wrote Galatians.
  6. Opposes Peter and the church for a dual standard about the Ceremonial Law (Galatians).
    • Works with the church at Antioch from age 44-45 (AD 47-49).
  7. His Second Missionary Journey takes him from the age of 45-47 (AD 49-51):
    • Along the way he is beaten at Philippi,
    • Run out of Thessalonica, listened to in Berea and then
    • Laughed out of Athens.He comes home to take off soon on his perhaps final journey in freedom.
    • I & II Thess  After second journey.
  8. Third Missionary Journey takes him from the age of 48-52 (AD 52-56).
    • I & II Corinthians and Romans From Third
    • After coming back to Jerusalem he is attacked by a mob, jailed, sent to wait for Caesar’s hearing in the capital city of Roman Caesarean. From this imprisonment comes a river of joyful epistles.
    • Col., Eph, Philemon, Phil : During Caesarean imprisonment
  9. First Roman
    • First Timothy Titus from First Roman imprisonment.
  10. Second and Death [Age 63-64, AD 67-68]
    • Second Timothy Second Roman imprisonment


When Paul looked back on his work among the Thessalonians? A life on a daily basis had:

HABITS OF FEARLESSNESS  [2:1]
HABITS OF INTEGRITY  [2:3]
HABITS OF  HONESTY  [2:5]
HABITS OF HUMILITY  [2:6]
HABITS OF LOVINGKINDNESS  [2:7]
HABITS OF PASSIONATE LIVING [2:8]
HABITS OF DEDICATION  [2:9-11]

 

HABITS OF EFFECTIVE SERVANTS #5 LOVE (2:7)


The apostle Paul wrote to a city church that mirrored the very culture we live in.

LOVE IS A GOOD HABIT:

 
    Would you do it any differently?
    
    One father summed it up this way.  He said, "My family's all grown, and the kids are all gone.  But, if I had to do it all over again, this is what I'd do:
    
    I would love my wife more in front of my children.
    I would laugh with my children more--at our mistakes and our joys.
    I would listen more, even to the littlest child.
    I would be more honest about my own weaknesses, never pretending perfection.
    I would pray differently for my family--instead of focusing on them, I'd focus on me.
    I would do more things together with my children.
    I would encourage them more and bestow more praise.
    I would pay more attention to little things, like deeds and words of thoughtfulness.
    And then, finally, if I had to do it all over again, I would share God more intimately with my family; every ordinary thing that happened in every ordinary day I would use to direct them to God."
    

LOVE LACKING


Lets take a trip to the 1st Century world. Then after seeing the struggles of Century one, stop in Tulsa of 1997...To see the best photo of the ancient way of life turn to the 30 chapter we have on Corinth. More than any other city we have insight into this one.  If we were to scan this epistle in a couple of minutes and grab the big problems they faced in 1st century Christianity, these would be the "sins of the saints at Corinth":

  1. DIVISIVENESS 1:10 divisiveness = following men and movements more than truth.
  2. ARROGANCE 1: 18-20 arrogance = hung up on high-brow human philosophy rather than the simple gospel,
  3. WORLDLINESS  1:26 worldly = pursuing cultural, societal worldly fame and prestige.  Temporal over eternal.
  4. FLESHLINESS  3:1-3 fleshly = carnality, the entertainment mentality of the Christian life.  [ENDED HERE 2/9/97 PM]
  5. INDULGENCE  5:1 morally lax = toleration of sexual promiscuity, especially seen in the list of 6:9-11..
  6. LITIGIOUSNESS  6:1 litigious = a vengeful, get even, get all i can, my rights first attitude toward one another.
  7. CONFUSEDNESS   7: confused = they had a low view of marriage, thus confusion over god's principles for a biblical marriage.
  8. SELFISHNESS   8:1 selfish= liberty misused by a selfish lack of love and care for others.
  9. UNDISCIPLINED 9:24 undisciplined = needed strict self denial unto holiness.
  10. LUSTFULNESS  10:6 lustful = chasing after worldly things and pleasures.
  11. TWO-FACEDNESS  10: 16-22 compromisers = lit.  Facing both ways' as they came to the lord's table and also to pagan idol worship.
  12. UNSUBMISSIVENESS  11:1 unsubmissiveness = pervfrsion of male/female roles in church, home and society.
  13. HOLLOWNESS  12-14 hollow = they had perverted the proper use of spiritual gifts,
  14. ERRANTNESS  15:1,12 errant = they had lost their grip on God's truth.

THE IMPLEMENTATION OF LOVE: John 15:12-16-- WE HAVE THE ABILITY FOR SELF-SACRIFICING LOVE THROUGH  CHRIST

Acknowledge it is a command Romans 13:8-10     Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if [there is] any other commandment, are [all] summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love [is] the fulfillment of the law. (NKJV)

Agree you have the power Romans 5:5 Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (NKJV)

Understand it is normal Christian behavior 1 John 4:7-10     Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins. (NKJV)

Realize it is the Spirit’s work Galatians 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, (NKJV)

Practice it


1 Peter 1:22     Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, (NKJV)

1 Peter 4:8 And above all things have fervent love for one another, for "love will cover a multitude of sins." (NKJV);

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