August 20th, 2024
The Upward Look, by Jon Forrest
A Thing Called Love
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:6-7
When God gifts you with the power of the Holy Spirit, he expects you to make the most of it. He expects you to fan it into flame by using it for God's purposes. Last week we looked at the fact that God's spirit is not one of fear, but of power or boldness. Another aspect counter to fear is love. Look at the apostle John's view of the subject.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18
A young couple, very much in love, were getting married in church. However, the bride was very nervous about the big occasion and so the pastor chose one verse that he felt would be a great encouragement to them. The verse was 1 John 4:18 which says: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear."
He asked the best man to read it during the ceremony, but did not know the best man was not a regular churchgoer and didn't know the difference between the Gospel of John and the First Letter of John.
During the service the best man introduced the reading by saying that the pastor felt this was a very good verse for the bride and that he would say more about it later in the service. But he read John 4:18 from Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well: "The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband."
Obviously, the pastor had the correct idea, just the incorrect reader.
Love is a powerful motivation. People have run into burning buildings to rescue another person because of love. People have stepped in front of bullets because of a thing called love. People have risked their lives to push someone out of the path of a speeding car because of a thing called love.
Have you seen the love of a mother who puts herself at risk to protect her child? That is fear overcome by a thing called love.
The greatest act of love in all of History was God sending his only Son Jesus Christ, who never committed a sin and never deserved punishment to die the painful death of a criminal on a cruel cross so that he could take your sins, my sins and the sins of the entire world upon himself so that every sinner could have the opportunity for complete forgiveness by faith. That is the power of a thing called Love.
In the late 1960's Legendary Country singer, Johnny Cash wrote a song about the power of love in his life: Jerry Lee Lewis recorded it first and Johnny recorded it a few years later. I'd like to share it with you...
A Thing Called Love
Six foot six stood on the ground, weighed 235 pounds
But I saw that giant of a man brought down to his knees by love
He was the kind of man who'd gamble on luck.
Look you in the eye and never back up
But I saw him crying like a little whipped pup because of love
You can't see it with your eyes, hold it in your hands
Like the wind it covers our land
Strong enough to rule the heart of any man, this thing called love
It can lift you up, it can put you down
Take your world and turn it all around
Ever since time nothing's ever been found stronger than love
Some men are like me; they worry and doubt
Trouble their minds day in and day out
Too busy with livin' to worry about a thing called love
But then I see a mother's tenderness
As she holds her young close to her breast
Then I say thank God this world was blessed with the thing called love
You can't see it with your eyes, hold it in your hands
Like the wind it covers our land
Strong enough to rule the heart of any man, this thing called love
It can lift you up, it can put you down
Take your world and turn it all around
Ever since time nothing's ever been found stronger than love
On April 15, 1912, on which the Titanic plunged 12,000 feet to the Atlantic floor, some two hours and forty minutes after an iceberg tore a 300-foot gash in the starboard side. As one survivor put it - "I saw all the horror of its sinking, and I heard, even more dreadful, the cries of drowning people."
We all know the fact that there were not enough lifeboats, but even taking that into account - far more people drowned than needed to. When the twenty lifeboats were launched, almost all of them were only partly full. One sole Lifeboat No.14 did row back to the scene after the unsinkable ship slipped from sight at 2:20AM. Alone, it chased cries in the darkness, seeking and saving a precious few. Incredibly, no other boat joined it.
The other 19 boats hung back. They heard cries of people in the water. Those people had lifejackets. They clung to bits of wreckage. Very few of them drowned. Most of them died slowly of hypothermia. And 19 boats sat there, heard their cries and didn’t save anyone.
Why? Because of fear. They feared that a crush of swimmers would cling to their craft, swamp the boats and perhaps, perhaps they too would drown. Note that no one drowned in boat 14, the boat that went back. But out of fear not one of the other boats went back.
1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that the only motive God respects is Love; AGAPE', unconditional, completely committed, fearless love. In fact, only 3 things really matter, faith, hope and love, but Paul says it well, "the greatest of these is love.
There is not much you can do about it. Once you have been around it everybody else knows. I’m talking about the red dirt of western Oklahoma. It’s caused by the iron in the soil that, after being oxidized, turns to rust.
It seems that nothing can erase or clean the stain from that red dirt on your shoes once you have walked there. If you have new shoes – everyone knows -- because they are not red ... yet. If you are from the city (OKC or Tulsa, for example) and you make your way into the western ranchlands everyone can tell "you’re not from these parts" simply by looking at the color of your shoes.
The opposite is also true; if you go to the city and are wearing shoes that you have previously worn out "out there" everyone knows where you are from. It’s not a judgmental thing. The cities in Oklahoma are intimately connected to the ranches and open lands; no one thinks they are better or inferior; it is simply a recognizable and distinct line of demarcation. There is simply no getting around it.
Godly love (AGAPE’) is like that too. It is such a contrast from the world’s love that it becomes immediately recognizable and "different." The world looks at the sacrificial, serving, grace-filled love of God and says,"You’re not from around these parts." It cannot be duplicated, at least not for long, it can be "faked" for a little while, but even the masquerade is evidence that it isn't Godly love.
When it has been poured into your hearts it cannot be hidden; that’s the nature of God’s love. It's just there and influences the lives of those it touches.
Real love is genuine, from the heart, generous, unconditional and fearless. Fan that fearless thing called Love into flame. Has your life been transformed by a thing called love?
Loving you,
Jon
A Thing Called Love
For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:6-7
When God gifts you with the power of the Holy Spirit, he expects you to make the most of it. He expects you to fan it into flame by using it for God's purposes. Last week we looked at the fact that God's spirit is not one of fear, but of power or boldness. Another aspect counter to fear is love. Look at the apostle John's view of the subject.
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 1 John 4:18
A young couple, very much in love, were getting married in church. However, the bride was very nervous about the big occasion and so the pastor chose one verse that he felt would be a great encouragement to them. The verse was 1 John 4:18 which says: "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear."
He asked the best man to read it during the ceremony, but did not know the best man was not a regular churchgoer and didn't know the difference between the Gospel of John and the First Letter of John.
During the service the best man introduced the reading by saying that the pastor felt this was a very good verse for the bride and that he would say more about it later in the service. But he read John 4:18 from Jesus' encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well: "The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband."
Obviously, the pastor had the correct idea, just the incorrect reader.
Love is a powerful motivation. People have run into burning buildings to rescue another person because of love. People have stepped in front of bullets because of a thing called love. People have risked their lives to push someone out of the path of a speeding car because of a thing called love.
Have you seen the love of a mother who puts herself at risk to protect her child? That is fear overcome by a thing called love.
The greatest act of love in all of History was God sending his only Son Jesus Christ, who never committed a sin and never deserved punishment to die the painful death of a criminal on a cruel cross so that he could take your sins, my sins and the sins of the entire world upon himself so that every sinner could have the opportunity for complete forgiveness by faith. That is the power of a thing called Love.
In the late 1960's Legendary Country singer, Johnny Cash wrote a song about the power of love in his life: Jerry Lee Lewis recorded it first and Johnny recorded it a few years later. I'd like to share it with you...
A Thing Called Love
Six foot six stood on the ground, weighed 235 pounds
But I saw that giant of a man brought down to his knees by love
He was the kind of man who'd gamble on luck.
Look you in the eye and never back up
But I saw him crying like a little whipped pup because of love
You can't see it with your eyes, hold it in your hands
Like the wind it covers our land
Strong enough to rule the heart of any man, this thing called love
It can lift you up, it can put you down
Take your world and turn it all around
Ever since time nothing's ever been found stronger than love
Some men are like me; they worry and doubt
Trouble their minds day in and day out
Too busy with livin' to worry about a thing called love
But then I see a mother's tenderness
As she holds her young close to her breast
Then I say thank God this world was blessed with the thing called love
You can't see it with your eyes, hold it in your hands
Like the wind it covers our land
Strong enough to rule the heart of any man, this thing called love
It can lift you up, it can put you down
Take your world and turn it all around
Ever since time nothing's ever been found stronger than love
On April 15, 1912, on which the Titanic plunged 12,000 feet to the Atlantic floor, some two hours and forty minutes after an iceberg tore a 300-foot gash in the starboard side. As one survivor put it - "I saw all the horror of its sinking, and I heard, even more dreadful, the cries of drowning people."
We all know the fact that there were not enough lifeboats, but even taking that into account - far more people drowned than needed to. When the twenty lifeboats were launched, almost all of them were only partly full. One sole Lifeboat No.14 did row back to the scene after the unsinkable ship slipped from sight at 2:20AM. Alone, it chased cries in the darkness, seeking and saving a precious few. Incredibly, no other boat joined it.
The other 19 boats hung back. They heard cries of people in the water. Those people had lifejackets. They clung to bits of wreckage. Very few of them drowned. Most of them died slowly of hypothermia. And 19 boats sat there, heard their cries and didn’t save anyone.
Why? Because of fear. They feared that a crush of swimmers would cling to their craft, swamp the boats and perhaps, perhaps they too would drown. Note that no one drowned in boat 14, the boat that went back. But out of fear not one of the other boats went back.
1 Corinthians 13 reminds us that the only motive God respects is Love; AGAPE', unconditional, completely committed, fearless love. In fact, only 3 things really matter, faith, hope and love, but Paul says it well, "the greatest of these is love.
There is not much you can do about it. Once you have been around it everybody else knows. I’m talking about the red dirt of western Oklahoma. It’s caused by the iron in the soil that, after being oxidized, turns to rust.
It seems that nothing can erase or clean the stain from that red dirt on your shoes once you have walked there. If you have new shoes – everyone knows -- because they are not red ... yet. If you are from the city (OKC or Tulsa, for example) and you make your way into the western ranchlands everyone can tell "you’re not from these parts" simply by looking at the color of your shoes.
The opposite is also true; if you go to the city and are wearing shoes that you have previously worn out "out there" everyone knows where you are from. It’s not a judgmental thing. The cities in Oklahoma are intimately connected to the ranches and open lands; no one thinks they are better or inferior; it is simply a recognizable and distinct line of demarcation. There is simply no getting around it.
Godly love (AGAPE’) is like that too. It is such a contrast from the world’s love that it becomes immediately recognizable and "different." The world looks at the sacrificial, serving, grace-filled love of God and says,"You’re not from around these parts." It cannot be duplicated, at least not for long, it can be "faked" for a little while, but even the masquerade is evidence that it isn't Godly love.
When it has been poured into your hearts it cannot be hidden; that’s the nature of God’s love. It's just there and influences the lives of those it touches.
Real love is genuine, from the heart, generous, unconditional and fearless. Fan that fearless thing called Love into flame. Has your life been transformed by a thing called love?
Loving you,
Jon
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