Word Wednesday with Bishop Alfred A. Owens, Jr.

[Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] [Music] so [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] do [Music] [Applause] [Music] so [Music] well praise the lord everybody this is definitely the evening that the lord has made we are rejoicing and we are glad in it how you doing i've been waiting for you this is several weeks since i have been privileged to do the wednesday night bible study and i'm so honored that you have tuned in on tonight the message may be just a little controversial uh tonight because i'm dealing with the subject of charity which is interpreted as love there's so many definitions of love and charity love is throughout the old testament the word love and um for some reason with the interpretation paul decides to make charity the new testament word but they are interchangeably which i hope i will be able to um share with you on tonight miss you glad to be back on our wednesday night in the word let's go right to the text corinthians chapter 13 verses 1 through 13. first corinthians 13 1 through 13. king james version you've heard this before though i speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not charity i am become as sounding brass or a tinkling symbol that's how important paul says charity is and though i have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though i have all faith so that i could remove mountains and have not charity i'm not calling you this name but paul says i am nothing verse 3 and though i bestow all my goods to feed the poor you're a generous somebody and though i give my body to be burned and have not charity it profiteth me nothing verse 4 charity suffereth long charity is kind charity envieth not charity vaunteth not itself charity is not puffed up verse 5 charity does not behave itself unseemly charity seeketh not her own charity is not easily provoked and charity thinketh no evil verse 6 charity does not rejoice in iniquity but charity rejoices in the truth verse 7 charity beareth all things charity believeth all things charity hope with all things charity endure with all things verse 8 charity never faileth but whether there be prophecies this is to all of the deep people listening charity never fails where there be prophecies they gonna fail will there be tongues all of you who do speak tongues will fail whether there be knowledge all of your smart ones knowledge is going to vanish away you know why he says verse 9 for we know in part and we prophesy in part we do not know it all we cannot prophesy everything because we don't know everything and the spirit doesn't reveal everything to us verse 10 but when that which is perfect is come then that which is in part shall be done away 11 when i was a child i spake as a child i understood as a child i thought as a child because i was a child but when i became a man i put away childish things for now we see through a glass darkly but then when he shall come we will see face to face now i know in part but then i shall know even as also i am known and here's our text here's our scripture here's our main focus verse 13 and now or in conclusion abideth faith hope charity faith hope charity these three but the greatest of these is charity the greatest of these is love charity love this is the so-called hymn to love this entire first corinthians 13 through verses 1 through 13 is known as the hymn to love but it has nothing to do with matrimony it's recited most frequently at weddings but nothing to do with marriage but this passage emphasizes the agape love that god has for us and the type of love we should have one to the other this charity slash love goes beyond husband and wife but extends to all humankind how can you love god who you've never seen and hate your brother who you see every day so to the races and the segregationists who are probably not listening tonight who call themselves christians this love charity must be puzzling to you because emmanuel meaning god with us with all of us god so loved the world and regardless of race color creed and so forth how can you have the agape love of god or the charity that paul emphasizes in this corinthian passage charity love has no biases no prejudices no isms no schisms but this charity love love charity is a disciplined spiritual life love charity is a disciplined spiritual life unconcerned hear me unconcerned with merit payback or reciprocity so the brawl the apostle paul picks it up again in galatians 5. these um beginning at verse 22 these are the nine fruit of the spirit there are nine of them but they operate as one the fruit of the spirit and he lists number one as love the first fruit or manifestation or showing that you are a real christian is love then he goes on with the other eight love joy peace long suffering gentleness goodness faith meekness temperance which is self-control paul goes back to now remind us that these things remain faith hope charity but the greatest of these is charity that's why he begins the fruit of the spirit with love um what's love got to do with it what does charity have to do with our discipline as a man or woman of god as a christian who the very name means christ like if in fact the deadliest sin is hate charity or love must be the greatest virtue charity is only mentioned as i said by paul in the new testament to add to the other times that the term love is used throughout the bible but it remains the greatest of these is love i want to use it as a focal point tonight a scripture that we rarely hear of but i think is so pertinent to this word tonight it's from the book of the song of solomon i'll give you a few moments to fight to find it if you're following me it's the song of solomon chapter 8 verse 6 and verse 7 the song of solomon chapter 8 verse 6 and verse 7 here's what solomon says set me as a seal upon thine heart as a seal unto thine arm modern day translation as a as a place a tattoo on me says set me as a seal upon thine heart as a seal upon thine heart and thine arm for love is strong as death can you believe that love and you know how strong death is he says love is as strong as death and jealousy is cruel as the grave the coals thereof are coals of fire which had the most vehement flame verse seven he says many waters cannot quench love neither can the floods drown love if a man would give all this substance of his house for love it would utterly be content let me share with you a few principles of love slash charity hollywood paris new york the soap operas the talk shows have aided in the distortion of god's view of love the world has so influenced the church with its concept of love that we really don't know what love is all about love has become a tainted word that the expression in love i'm in love i'm being i'm falling in love has caused even the saints to believe that there's a thin line between love and hate but there is not a thin line between love and hate love is in a totally different category and hate is in a totally different category the expression you've heard it falling in love is not biblical perhaps that's why so many soon fall out of love because they fell in love but falling in love the term itself is not biblical love and hate are not closely related they are total opposites god is love and love is god bottom line the devil is the devil who created hate and hate will always be of the devil love is a gift of god love is a gift from god that's why paul shares with us in that 13th chapter of corinthians love suffers long love is kind love does not envy love is not puffed up love does not behave unseenly love is not easily provoked love thinketh no evil love bears all things love believes all things love endures all things love outlasts prophecies love outlast tongues love outlast knowledge this is our advice from the apostle paul statements like i don't love him anymore statements like i used to love her however she destroyed my love they had become common talk i flipped over him i fell head over heels for her it's all worldly language that do not add up to anything in scripture it's all worldly language that soon changes when we become frustrated and agitated and disappointed with or in the person to whom we are referring because you don't know the true meaning of love until you know that god is love god is the true meaning of love does this act like god you should be asking does this feel like god does this sound like god does this look like god if it doesn't it's not love because love is god and god is love just the words i love you don't mean a thing if they don't come from the heart whether they are overused or never used or seldom use if the statement doesn't come from the heart i love you it doesn't mean anything so the misunderstanding of the concept of love is one of the leading causes of pain and suffering in the world today because there is an innate desire in each of us to love and be loved let me say that again unless there's a mental disturbance that we're not talking about tonight if you have your right mind everybody desires to love and to be loved but the words i love you have been misrepresented and misinterpreted and misguided often i love you meant i lust you think about it come on go back go back down memory lane and often i love you has really meant i lust you women have splashed everything from hot grease to hot grits to hot gravy on their men because i love you if i can't have you nobody else will have you that i love in the name of love men have beaten women stabbed them battered them shot them dead i love you and if i can't have you nobody else will have you brothers sisters friends so-called lovers frequently fight like cats and dogs in the name of love i have four siblings i can't even imagine fighting them that is not love it's not love violence and physical abuse our normal and acceptable aspects of relationships nowadays i'm glad i'm not related to you if you think physical abuse or mental abuse belongs in a healthy relationship there is no justification for physical violence in a love relationship if you are attracted to violent people you need help i'll say it again if you are attracted your craving is for somebody to slap you upside the face and if i didn't love you i wouldn't fight you oh if he didn't love me he wouldn't beat me you have another serious problem that will not be um a focus of these broadcasts we're trying to emphasize that god is love god is love so let me let me give you a couple of things um that i call principles with this charity this love that is the greatest of all of the fruit love here's here's one i love you has to be more than an impulse it's more than a sudden feeling or a force that comes over you hmm but love i love you is a state of being god does not love us on imports no impulse god does not love us on impulse god so love the world that when he thought about us and where we could be should be and would be he loved us so much the whole world he's got the whole world in his hand and he loved that world that he created it was not just a feeling it was his divine destiny that would cause us to be a part of the godly nature of love which is our destiny mm-hmm talk is cheap emotions change we have mood swings and we have mood shifts and i love you is more than words i love you is more than words kissing and hugging don't pay the bills kissing and hugging is not a sign of love judas kissed jesus and then turned him over to those who would ultimately crucify him so kissing and hugging is not a sign of love jesus said in matthew 15 this people honoreth me with their lips but their hearts are far from me oh i dare say that same crowd on palm sunday that pulled the palm branches down and said hosanna we love you i guarantee you some of that if not most of that same group were the ones when pollen asked the question that same group was among those that said crucify him crucify him let me read that to you saint matthew 15 and verse 8 this people draweth nigh unto me with their mouths this is what jesus is saying looking at all that crown he said they're coming close to me with their mouths but they only honor me with their lips their heart is far from me and jesus knew there was a difference between lip service and heart service jesus was not deceived saint john 14 and 15 here's another one jesus said if you love me keep my commandments that's how you show me that you love me do what i say don't just say what i say but do what i say let me be your example to follow if you love me keep my commandments don't just talk the talk but actually come on walk the walk these are the words the direct words of jesus if you love me keep my commandments don't talk to talk unless you walk the walk then he says in verse 23 of that same saint john chapter if a man loves me he will keep my words verse 24 he that loveth me not keepeth not my saying so in that first point i love you it's easier said but heart love acts and reacts a certain way h-e-a-r-t heart love acts and reacts a certain way you can't deliberately and knowingly hurt somebody or hurt those you love every time we mess up it hurts god oh you love him but every time you mess up and go against his will for your life disobey willfully indulge in activities that you know do not please him every time you do that god hurts because you fall right into the hands of the accuser of the brethren the devil who's saying back to god i told you because the devil the bible says is an accuser of the brethren he just want to accuse you to god the only way the devil can get back with god is to accuse god's creation that's the only way the devil will never have an opportunity to repent he's lost forever he's the son of perdition he can never get right with god so to keep you from getting god getting right with god he constantly taunts you and tempts you and tries to get you to displease god because he knows that hurts god the devil is saying to god on a regular basis i told you he doesn't really love you look at how he's acting she don't really love you look at how she's acting so we must be on guard to god our love for god here's another here's another point um i love you it's more than what you can get out of the relationship they're users jesus looked at at the crowd one day and said um oh i know why y'all are here you all are not here cause you're gonna follow my teaching you're here for the fish and the loaves oh my god 5 000 man not counting the women and their little hungry children out here i know why you're here but i'm so merciful and i love you so much i'm gonna feed you anyhow and he took that two fish and five loaves of bread and fed over five thousand people because of his love for them but he knew that some of them were only there for the fish and the loaves oh i'm doing some good teaching tonight people are with you because of what you can do for them that's a one-sided relationship and then that whole group who who messed up like peter did peter said um lord um we've left everything to follow you all of us we we left houses land we left our wives we left our children just to follow you now now jesus i don't mean anything i'm not trying to insult you but what's in it for us this following you what's in here for us and gentle jesus kind jesus let peter down lightly and he said hey pete come here no man no woman has left mother father sister brother no man has left those things to follow me that he will not get double because you can't beat god's giving no matter how hard you try so whatever you've given to god he will replace it you will get double for your trouble so you don't you you don't love a person for how much you can drain out of them you're just a leech if you're doing that you're just a parasite you have a parasitic attitude you know i love you i think there was an old old marvin uh whining song during the um the winans uh brothers uh debut um if heaven was never promised to me i love god anyway so it's not not for what you can get out of the deal is that the more you give of yourself of your service of your in-kindness the more god gives to you don't don't act like god is a santa claus god is not a santa claus you don't always get everything you want know everything you ask for because god knows what's best for you he's not going to give you something that's going to hurt you in the long run god's not a handpicked husband and every time you ask for something do this do that you just go to running god goes to running and gives you everything no no no that's not to god if you love me keep my commandments because if you're for me then i'm for you and if i'm for you i'm more than the whole world against you so so don't don't love somebody more for what you can get out of it what what would it profit you if you would gain the whole world if you got everything you wanted had all the money you wanted and then mess around and lose your soul that's love that's charity behold we have forsaken all and followed you what shall we have thereafter that was paul's statement and that's some of your thinking now which is hedged upon how you serve them i'm not and let me pause for just a moment um let me pause to take a sip of water first one second right there oh what a great refreshing water it's a great refresher um and and let me pause down to you i don't know how this is coming out so for those of you who have my email or you have my text just just text me um how this message is is coming across i hope i'm not boring you i hope you're waiting for the next punchline i hope you're getting something out of this charity love counterpart um to the bible study tonight here's one more this may be my last one i love you it's more than as long you go let me let me say it right i love you it's more than as long as you go along with me no i love you those words are more than as long as you go along with me this was another one jesus had to deal with peter on and peter was a mess you know that he came out all right now but he was a mess peter had to be rebuked jesus had to rebuke i i call i call peter of the 12 disciples i called peter jesus best friend among them peter may have been his favorite i think peter may have been jesus favorite of all the 12 boys peter because he was always with peter you know up on the mountain it was peter james and john but peter was the most favorite of all of those names he's always picking on peter because he knew that peter had potential so here's peter telling him you know jesus said i gotta leave y'all said i'm gonna betray be betrayed i'm gonna be denied um but i'm gonna be all right and then peter said lord well we'll need to hear that you ain't going nowhere we we we're right here to fight for you we're right here with you you're not going nowhere so jesus said to just stop and say get behind me satan he called peter the devil because some of our soldiers act like the devil the devil because peter was trying to distract jesus from his mission jesus whole reason for being here jesus had been telling them my father sent me but i'm going away they're gonna hang me out and stretch me wide they're gonna pierce my side put thorns in my hand i gotta go i gotta give her my life so you don't have like peter said ain't nothing that gonna happen nothing gonna bother you you're gonna have your kingdom and we're gonna be your chief lieutenant so jesus said get behind me satan trying to detour me or distract me rather from my mission so he had to he had to re rebuke him peter had to be chastised and told the truth in spite of my disagreeing with you i'm going back to me now when i do disagree will you still love me what's that oh was it was it the supremes i'm you know i'm so old i'm trying oh yeah will you still love me tomorrow will you still love me tomorrow your friendships your love should not be based on telling someone you love the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth and then trying to decide if they gonna still love you you still can't withdraw your love when you are actually telling the truth you can't do it so you your love cannot be based on not hurting somebody's feelings you can't go that way excuse me that's my phone excuse me excuse me there you go i can't talk to you now call me afterwards call me afterwards text me afterwards whatever you have to do afterwards i'm almost finished um yeah in spite of my disagreeing with you when i do disagree do you love me still all of our prayers will not be answered you still gonna love god because you asking for that car that he knows you cannot afford and keep your rent going too i'll get off of that that's another subject for another night we're gonna have mountains and valleys but god said will you still love me when you in the valley because good things still come out of the valley and your valley is the only way you can get to the mountain oh i feel that coming it's a different subject when he says yes and you're just happy when he says no and you get depressed or when he says wait and you were with him where him with when when when you got to love god because he loves you in spite of all of that sometimes you got to be hurt in order to be helped sometimes you gotta through uh go through certain things that you did not expect and i call it you gotta grin and bury it take that licking and keep on ticking oh i i'm almost finished i just hope i hope you're getting something out of this um all the haters don't don't text me tonight let me let me enjoy my own preaching because sometimes love can be difficult but it is possible with men it's not but with god all things are possible there's a big gulf between love and hate big golf that was my introduction that was my opening you cannot compare the two and tina turner when she asked what's love got to do with it we responded everything to do with it let's bring this to a close with john 3 16 for god so loved the world and he gave his only begotten son whosoever believing in him should not perish but have everlasting life i love this that we do we do on communion jesus went to calvary to save a wretch like you and me that's love they hung him high and stretched him wide he hung his head for me he died that's love but that's not how the story ends three days later he rose again that's love god said i love you and he gave his son his son said i love you and gave his life when you say i love you what do you give some folks quote i love the lord but i don't know about you how can you jesus said unto him thou shalt love the lord thy god with all thy heart and with all thy soul that with all thy mind master which is the greatest commandment love god with everything you have within you to love and then love your neighbor as yourself and then some smart alex said who's my neighbor everybody that you come in contact with whether you know them never seen them before let your heart the natural love that should be in your spiritual soul make up your mind i love you anyhow here we go reject him he says i love you leave him he says i love you speak against him i love you him do his work hurt his people crucify his son and his response i love you um and i i wonder if the engineer has has the song um love lifted me i was sinking deep in sin far from the peaceful shore very deeply staying within [Music] but the master of the sea [Music] [Music] now [Applause] you know the chorus church [Music] lifted me when nothing else could help love me [Music] when nothing else [Music] just think about it just think about it you are where you are in life and you are where you want to be in life or are aspiring to be in life because the love of god when you did not deserve it the love of god picked you up turned you around and placed your feet on a solid ground bishop alfred owens here senior pastor greater mount calvary holy church let love continue to lift you in the name of jesus is my prayer amen call me [Music] you

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Length: 55min 44sec (3344 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 29 2021