Pastor Tolan Morgan - The Life of Love!

i want to summon your senses and invite your intellect to the book of first corinthians [Music] the book of first corinthians chapter number 13. first corinthians chapter 13 and we just want to shine our somatic spotlight on verse number 13. first corinthians chapter 13 verse number 13. and your bible should read now abides faith hope charity these three but the greatest of these is charity i want to tag this text the life of love the life of love everybody no matter your religious conviction no matter your political persuasion no matter your ethnic nativity no matter whether you're a good person or a bad person whether you're famous or infamous or unknown whether you are successful or whether you are an underachiever no matter what type of person you are all of us every human being that has ever lived is living and will live seeks to love and to be loved we're very clear just in our nature that part of the fulfillment of our existence is to experience love both receiving it and giving it and we must be reminded ladies and gentlemen that at the very core of who we are we were built to both express love and to receive love we were designed in our manufactured by god to be creatures of love when we see the process of creation is in the genesis account in genesis chapter 2 verse 7 the bible says god stooped down breathed into man's nostrils and he became a living soul gave him the breath of life and he became a living soul and in that transfer was not just the transfer of spirit energy and life-giving energy but it was also a transfer of love because since love is in god if he transferred it into the human body he also transferred love out of himself and into humanity and paul revisits the essence the importance and the significance and superiority of love in relationship to the church particularly there in the corinthian church this was a church that was a spiritual smorgasbord there was a variety of spiritual gifts flowing in this church and paul thought it imperative and important to revisit with them the significance and the relationship between spirituality and love in such a church where there was high octane spirituality there was a proclivity in that particular church to prioritize those who had these spiritual gifts over those who did not flow in those gifts there was a tendency to give special privileges seniority to spiritual people in the church and to neglect or minimize those that did not flow in those particular gifts [Music] paul shares this discussion he actually initiates this discussion in chapter 12 of first corinthians and he began to talk about the significance of all body parts and not just some body parts he began to talk about the necessity of relationship between the ear and the head the hand and the foot one cannot say that there's a greater priority over the other because all parts need each other and he continues his particular discourse about this topic in chapter 13 of first corinthians chapter 13 is the centerpiece of discussion between chapters 12 and 14 about spirituality and he reminds them in chapter 13 that there is something unique and signature about love when we read first corinthians chapter 13 verse 13 after reading the entire chapter you may identify that verse 13 of chapter 13 can function both as a conclusion and an introduction [Music] because it is the summary of this entire chapter he put it at the end of the chapter to suggest that all 12 verses leads to the apex or the summary or the high point of this entire chapter in verse 13. [Music] but he could have very well put it as verse 1 and spent the next 12 verses elaborating on this central topic may we be clear ladies and gentlemen to see paul's logic here when he uses that word now and now abides faith hope charity let's be clear that the use of the word now in that verse is not a temporal application it is a logical application he is saying i have i have spent these 12 verses elaborating on the strength the superiority and the supremacy of charity only to finally resolve that it is greater than faith and hope as a matter of fact when we read through paul's writings church in seven of his letters this trinity of terms finds their place paul regularly put two and or three of these terms together in seven of his letters it is as though that faith hope and love have some type of motif in paul's theology it is as though that whatever paul is discussing to any of these churches he finds his way back to faith hope and love maybe these three find some basis for the theology and motive and purpose by which paul writes at any time would you and i take a minute to explore them maybe we can understand what is his strength what's his intent of having these three to always function together faith church is our persuasion towards the existence and truthfulness of god and our reliance upon his son jesus christ for our salvation let me repeat that again faith is our persuasion towards the existence and the truthfulness of god and our reliance upon his son jesus christ for our salvation faith holds high precedence in all of the scriptures as a matter of fact church the word faith only appears twice in the old testament now you may see versions of it like faithfulness or faithful i'm not talking about those versions i'm talking about the actual word faith only appears twice in all of the old testament canon every other sighting of the word faith shows up in the new testament that's an immediate revelation because what it says is that from a theological standpoint that faith every time we mention faith is directly associated with our conviction towards the existence truthfulness and salvation of jesus christ who has physical manifestation in the new testament that when jesus physically showed up faith accompanied him so when we mention the word faith to mention the word faith is to presume and suggest that you have some conviction and some persuasion towards the existence the truthfulness and salvation of the lord jesus christ as a matter of fact that is what makes faith peculiar to christianity now notice i did not say faith was exclusive to christianity there are other religious traditions that have some aspect that mimics faith it functions like faith but in the christian context our use of faith is unlike any other christian or religious discipline that uses something like faith because in the christian context faith particularly says that i believe in the existence the truthfulness and the salvation in jesus christ that i can only get through jesus christ not through any other discipline not through any other god not through any other work not through any other practice not through any other spiritual discipline here's what the hebrew writer does for us he sums it up as best as possible he says now faith is the substance of things hoped for the evidence of things not seen and without it it is impossible to please god well reason with me ladies and gentlemen if faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen then the very first application of faith is towards god because he gives evidence of his existence though we don't see him he is the substance of things hoped for romans 10 and 17 says faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of god the bible ladies and gentlemen is a record of evidence historical evidence that proves god's interaction and intervention in human affairs and therefore gives us some evidence by which to have faith which means church that faith is never blind you don't have blind faith that is an oxymoron the word of god removes the blindness from the use of faith because it presents to us actual historical evidence of god's interaction with humanity and provides faith for us to believe in the god of faith so here it is church here's what you've got to understand about faith faith is a gift from god that empowers us to respond to god let me give it to you again faith comes from god so that we can respond to god it is the equivalent of a parent buying their child a cell phone so that the child can call the parent the gift comes from the parent so that the child can respond to the parents call faith functions in much the same way church here's what paul told the church at ephesus in ephesians 2 and 8 he says for by grace are you saved through faith not of works it is the gift of god there are many interpretations of which one i agree with that says in that verse the gift that god is giving is faith he gives faith to us so that he can empower us to respond to him so faith church is the gift from god that empowers us to respond to god that's faithful let's talk about hope hope church actually translates from his greek etymology it actually translates expectation of a preferred outcome expectation of a preferred outcome that which you are hoping for is that which you have expectation of a preferred outcome so to have hope actually gives some type of direction to living hope adds ambition and aspiration and direction and intention to living to live with no hope is to be dead while you're alive to live hopelessly is to stay stagnant where you are to live hopelessly is to be complacent and content with nothing to live hopelessly is to aspire to nothing and therefore you are dead while you're alive the tragedy of life is to let hope die while you're still alive people who have no hope have no aspiration they have no inspiration they have no ambition they have no goals they have no intentions and therefore their life has no direction so hope is important because church hope drives progress did you hear what i said i said hope drives progress i woke up today to the news [Music] that trucks are now being released all over america within the next 24 hours to deliver a vaccine to fight coronavirus i'm hoping and believing that it's gonna work it's gonna be effective because life would be worse to live with a virus and have no hope why why why would you even settle for living a challenged life and have no hope beyond the challenge might i share with you ladies and gentlemen everybody needs hope everybody ought to be hoping in something good something positive something different something optimistic because to live with no hope is to live in despair i have been disappointed by this this narrative that the saints won't ever come back together that this is the death of the church that's hopelessness that's not even that's not even theologically correct the church will always be here until jesus come back [Applause] and when he comes back that's going to be the consummation of the church not a virus ladies and gentlemen this will end at some point we will come back together we will come back to having living life not being completely halted and threatened by a virus and if you don't hope that that means you have accepted this restrictive lifestyle for the rest of our of human existence the devil is a lie hope drives progress might i suggest to you that between the power of god and the wisdom and skill of science partnering together there is hope for us to have victory over this pandemic what would life be like if you had no hope what would it be i know you'd be you'd be living in fear you'd be pessimistic you'd be in despair you'd always think the negative let me tell you some church there's a difference between reality and pessimism i can be realistic and yet be hopeful i can be realistic and yet be optimistic i can see what reality really is and yet that guides what i need to hope for to hope ladies and gentlemen is necessary because faith helps us to embrace god hope gives us progress in life we need both let's find some resolution here paul says i like to put all three of these together faith hope and love but i gotta tell you now love is the greatest that old word charity translates love in its etymology he says i praise priority on all three but there is one that is superior among the three it is charity aka love so let's find some resolution here about faith and hope why why are why is love so superior first and foremost ladies and gentlemen when we read the text when we read this chapter we discover that faith and hope are polymorphic concepts meaning when we read first corinthians 13 faith and hope change because faith and hope are both uh they both cease and remain you'll find that in verses 9 12 13 it says hope endureth all things believes all things verse 13 he says now abides now remains faith hope and love now abides or remains faith hope and love but when the thing you are hoping for comes to manifestation you no longer need hope so it remains and ceases when the thing you've been believing god for by faith manifested you no longer need faith for that matter so faith and hope both remain and cease to remain they are polymorphic in their nature love is different love is not polymorphic love is permanent verse 8 of first corinthians 13 says charity never fails that's the first line of verse 8 charity never fails faith and hope are temporary faith and hope are purposeful and conditional paul told the church at rome in romans 8 and 24 he says for what a man sees why does he hope for it if you see it there's no need of hoping for it faith ladies and gentlemen works the same way faith and hope are temporary but love is permanent so how do we appropriate this in our theology here's how we appropriate it ladies and gentlemen faith and hope cause us to believe in god but love causes us to behave like god preached holy morgan faith and hope have you give you a persuasion towards god but love empowers you to walk in the very personality of god and thus paul says love is superior to faith and hope because those two other two are temporary this one is permanent those other two cause you to believe in god this one calls you to behave like god so now let's explore charity aka love here is how it's superior how is love superior to faith and hope he says it's superior in several ways because it supersedes watchmen church it supersedes spirituality love supersedes spirituality look at verses one and two first corinthians 13 he says though i speak with the tongues of men and of angels and understand mysteries and have all knowledge and have not charity i am a tinkling brass a sounding brass and a tinkling symbol though i prophesy verse 2 though i prophesy the gift of prophecy understand all mysteries have all knowledge have all faith that i could remove mountains and have not love i am nothing it's not by accident church that he specifies these sign gifts because in the church at corinth they gave high priority and significance to people who flowed in these sign gifts tongues interpretation of tongues healing prophecy they were quote unquote the special people and those who had those gifts had a tendency to look down on people who didn't flow in those gifts paul says let me make my point by using myself as an example he says though i speak in tongues i prophesy i understand mysteries and knowledge through the gifts of knowledge if i do all of that and don't love people i am a sounding brass and a tinkling symbol translated if i'm spiritual to the point that i talk to god but don't talk to god's people i make noise but i don't make a difference come here let me help you he says if i if i talk to god in an unknown tongue and can't talk to my brother or sister in a known tongue who i see every day that spirituality is only reducing me to a bad drummer who doesn't know how to play on beat and creates noise that has no musical pitch he says i just make noise that hurts the ear and doesn't heal or soothe god deliver us from people who think that they are special and deep just because they are spiritual you really want to flow in the holy ghost you operate in those gifts and speak to people you operate in those gifts and love those who don't flow like you flo you don't you don't you don't put yourself on a spiritual pedestal just because you deep and wonderful in the holy ghost the holy ghost empowers you not just to be spiritual but to be loving because really those gifts minister to god love ministers to everybody in the very personality of god in the very being of god it says love supersedes spirituality he also says love doesn't just supersede spirituality love supersedes status love supersedes status i'm in verse 3 and 4. first corinthians 13 here's what it says verse 3 says and though i give to the poor i give food to freedom give my body to be burned and have not charity it profits me nothing verse 4 charity suffers long and is kind it does not envy it does not vaunt itself is not puffed up verse 5 does not behave itself unseemly seeks not her own is not easily provokes thinks no evil verse six rejoices not in iniquity but rejoices in the truth look at that church he says in verse two love supersedes spirituality but in verses three through six love supersedes status now pastor it seems like it's a good thing to feed the poor it seems like it's a good thing to give yourself what's wrong with that there's nothing wrong with it that's not paul's point here's paul's point there's something always wrong with your service if you have the wrong motive if you are serving people to increase your status the question becomes is this for service or is this for my status am i am i am i doing this to blow up my name or am i doing this to really help people you see church people more often than not always disclose their motive but we often times miss it come here you got to watch people who make themselves the focus even when they're helping other people preach man you you got to watch people who want the spotlight on their name even when they call themselves helping somebody else because the focus is about them and not about who they're helping and who they're serving and thus their arrogance rises up their narcissism rises up their their self-conceit rises up look what i've done you got to watch people even in the church who want plaques and recognition for stuff they've done without just doing it for the glory of god and the progress of god's church you've got to watch people they will disclose their motive you just can't miss it they'll make themselves the focus even when they're helping somebody else you've got to be careful and always question is this for service or is this for status that's always the question that haunts me about ministry what are we doing this for who is getting the glory out of it and why are we doing it this way if there's ever been a season church that we need a sense of evaluation it is in this season what are we doing why are we doing it and why are we doing it this way every now and then we have to check ourselves not what we're doing but why are we doing it who's going to get the glory who won't they name call who needs to make sure they call the certain rounded people to make sure they get recognition [Music] people will reveal their motive and that's paul's issue to this church are you are you are you feeding the poor so that your name can get called for status are you really doing it to provide service i must alarm you ladies and gentlemen that the level of narcissism in america is nauseous the level of narcissism that that we witness on social media is toxic just always flashing yourself always showing yourself always want some attention and some approval because you don't really like yourself and you need somebody else to give you what you can't give yourself the devil is a lie can i remind you you are the head and not the tail you are above and not beneath you are the lender and not the borrower you are made in the image of god and you don't always need every day all day to show yourself looking for your own status the question is always motive it's not just motion it's not just movement but motive love look at the verse does not seek status love does not puff itself up love does not seek its own love does not vault itself did you see that word itself appear at least three times between verses five through six to suggest to us that love is not self-seeking self-satisfying selfish or self-centered love doesn't seek status love only seeks to serve for the sake of serving love seeks to help love doesn't seek its own stage preaching here told morgan love doesn't seek its own spotlight and love is not envious of somebody else's spotlight love does not does not seek ways to tear down people who god lifts up that's selfishness love church does not seek status love supersedes spirituality and status but finally love supersedes and operates in sacrifice love makes sacrifices bible says love is kind love is long love never fails love gives and is not sitting back waiting to receive in this season where we are celebrating the advent of the lord jesus christ this christmas season we have to be annually reminded that this is a season where we saw love give not sitting back waiting to receive love god reached his personal fulfillment in giving his son for us and ladies and gentlemen the signature of our christian walk is seen in the love we give and not sitting back being leeches on how much we can receive the greatest of these is love here's why because of these three love is the very personality of god and love has been given to us by god so that we can behave like god we ought to be seen giving more than we are receiving and that's how we experience the love of god that's how we operate like the love of god it is his very personality church is interesting god doesn't need faith god never has to operate but god god hopes for nothing god doesn't have to believe in anything you and i do we need faith we hope but love is the one thing of god's character that he has blessed us to share with him the love of god thus we understand verse eight i'm done when i tell you this verse eight it says charity never fails do you know why it says charity never fails because god never fails and love is god and god is love first john 4 8 says for he that does not love does not know god for god is love love never fails cause god never fails and let me tell you something ladies and gentlemen when you walk in the love of god you express the love of god you will be fulfilled in your heart and you will live a life of love the good news about love is it is reciprocal that when you sow it you will reap it praise be to god praise be to god may the life of love be ever evident in your walk in this season where we're called to demonstrate the love of god father would you bless your word now let your people walk in your word [Music] raise us up to be more loving empower us by your word and your holy spirit to express your love to demonstrate your love thank you that you've given us the holy ghost to live out your personality in our lives thank you that hope makes us not ashamed because the love of god is shed abroad in our hearts by the holy ghost i pray god that you would place in somebody's heart today both the burden and the desire to share your love with somebody this season we give you glory for giving us love and we thank you that you've demonstrated your love in an unprecedented incontestable incomparable way by giving us jesus christ you so love the world that you gave your only begotten son whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life thank you for showing us what real love looks like in jesus name amen

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Keywords: Pastor Tolan Morgan, Tolan Morgan, Dr. Tolan Morgan, The Life Of Love, Pastor Tolan Morgan The Life of Love, Tolan Morgan 2020, Fellowship Bible Baptist Church, Bible, Holy Bible, Church, Churches in Georgia, Pastor, Pastors In Georgia, Black Preachers, Black Pastors

Id: FDZETtXH7kc

Length: 43min 37sec (2617 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 22 2020