AGAPE WINS!

 

As the campaign to legitimize what God condemns has won battle after battle, we who stand for Biblical Virtue have been shocked to read the boasts of those who oppose our Lord’s definition of marriage: “One man, one woman, for life.”  On the internet and in the streets of America they have celebrated proclaiming, “LOVE WINS!”

There are no symbols or truths that are off limits to those intent on perverting the Divine order. 

Rainbows, the symbol of God’s promise to never destroy the world again with a flood, have been hijacked by godless men who have neither fear nor love of God. 

In a few weeks we’ll sing, “Don we now our gay apparel, fa la la, la, la, la, la, la, la, la.”  What the composer intended to mean “happy, joyful, fun” now has come to stand for a sin that that brings no happiness, produces no joy, and finally is no fun.  The meanings of words have been changed so that they no longer mean what they once meant. 

And as if symbols and words were not enough, now these blind leaders of the blind have twisted our understanding of virtue itself.  Lies are repeated so often that they are thought to be the Truth.  

We used to think that courage was daring to do what ought to be done at great personal risk, now we think that  the courageous awards should go to those who are daring to do what should never be done—redefining deviancy down.  It’s not courage for a man to put on a dress and present himself as a woman on the cover of a fashion magazine.  That’s cowardice--unwilling to face the truth about himself and his God-given identity.  God calls it, “an abomination.”

SHOULD THE RAINBOW TO BE REMOVED FROM OUR LITERATURE BECAUSE OF ITS NEW ASSOCIATION?

SHALL WE STOP SINGING A FAVORITE CAROL BECAUSE OF THIS RECENT RE-DEFINITION OF TERMS?

MUST WE ACCEPT THIS “BRAVE NEW ‘VIRTUE FREE’” WORLD?

NO, NO, AND NO!

BUT WHAT ABOUT THIS “LOVE WIN’S” BOAST?  It's not only the mantra of those who oppose God's definition of marriage, it's the title of a book by Rob Bell who announces that there is no hell and that everyone will end up in heaven.

THE ANSWER DEPENDS ON WHAT YOU MEAN BY LOVE.

If you mean EROS WINS--that physical desire wins, then the answer is No!

If you mean PHILEO WINS—that brotherly concern wins, then the answer must also be No!

But if you mean AGAPE WINS—that divine love, the highest form of love as exampled in Christ and experienced by the Spirit filled children of God, then we proclaim without fear, YES! AGAPE WINS!

THE BEAUTY OF AGAPE LOVE:

AGAPE LOVE IS SACRIFICIAL 

John 15:13 - Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

1 John 4:10 - Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son [to be] the propitiation for our sins.

AGAPE LOVE IS OBEDIENT  (TO THE LETTER AND THE SPIRIT OF THE LAW OF GOD)
John 14:15 - If ye love me, keep my commandments

AGAPE LOVE IS 1^ST CORINTHIANS 13 LOVE:

Charity suffereth long, and is kind  AGAPE LOVE IS PATIENT AND KIND

Charity envieth not, vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up.   AGAPE LOVE IS NOT JEALOUS OR BOASTFUL OR PROUD.

Doth not behave itself unseemly,  AGAPE LOVE IS NOT RUDE.

Seeketh not her own, IT DOES NOT DEMAND IT’S OWN WAY

Is not easily provoked, IT IS NOT IRRITABLE

Thinketh no evil; AGAPE LOVE KEEPS NO RECORD OF BEING WRONGED

Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, DOES NOT REJOICE IN INJUSTICE BUT HOPES THE TRUTH WINS OUT

Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things  AGAPE LOVE NEVER GIVES UP, NEVER LOSES FAITH, IS ALWAYS HOPEFUL, AND ENDURES THROUGH EVERY CIRCUMSTANCE.

YES! YES! AGAPE WINS!

THIS IS THE WAY!  THIS IS THE TRUTH!  THIS IS THE LIFE

I HEAR JESUS ANSWERING THE INQUIRING PHARISEE?  WHAT’S THE GREATEST COMMANDMENT?  (MARK 12:29-34)

²⁹ And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: ³⁰ And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

³¹ And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. ³² And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:

³³ And to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. ³⁴ And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.

YES! YES! AGAPE WINS!

THE APPLICATION OF AGAPE LOVE

DOES “AGAPE WIN” WHEN PEOPLE DON’T COME FROM MY NATIONAL HERITAGE? FROM MY POLITICAL PERSPECTIVE? FROM MY DENOMINATION? OR FROM MY THEOLOGICAL ALLEGIANCE?

DOES “AGAPE WIN” WHEN SINNERS ACT EXCEEDINGLY SINFUL?

DOES “AGAPE WIN” WHEN PEOPLE DISAGREE WITH ME?

DOES “AGAPE WIN” WHEN I AM THREATENED AND PERSECUTED?

DOES “AGAPE WIN” WHEN THERE ARE MISUNDERSTANDINGS—THEY DON’T UNDERSTAND, OR MAYBE I DON’T UNDERSTAND?

DOES “AGAPE WIN” WHEN GOD DISAGREES WITH ME—LOVE YOUR ENEMIES, DO GOOD TO THEM WHO DESPITEFULLY USE YOU, FORGIVE SEVENTY TIMES SEVEN DAILY.

DOES “AGAPE WIN” WHEN I’M REPROVED—DO NOT LOVE THE WORLD--DENY THE LUST OF THE FLESH, THE LUST OF THE EYE, AND THE PRIDE OF LIFE?  (Choosing what to wear?)

DOES “AGAPE WIN” WHEN I AM SENT TO LABOR UNREWARDED.

So send I you to labour unrewarded
To serve unpaid, unloved, unsought, unknown
To bear rebuke, ot suffer scorn and scoffing
So send I you to toil for Me alone

So send I you to bind the bruised and broken
Over wandering souls to work, to weep, to wake
To bear the burdens of a world a-weary
So send I you to suffer for My sake

So send I you to loneliness and longing
With hart a-hungering for tthe loved and known
Forsaking kin and kindred, friend and dear one
So send I you to know My love alone

So send I you to leave your life's ambition
To die to dear desire, self-will resign
To labor long, and love where men revile you
So send I you to lose your life in Mine

So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred
To eyes made blind because they will not see
To spend, though it be blood to spend and spare not
So send I you to taste of Calvary

DOES “AGAPE WIN” WHEN MY BROTHER OR SISTER FALLS, AGAIN, INTO SIN?

DOES “AGAPE WIN” WHEN THE CHURCH—THE CALLED OUT—GATHER TOGETHER.  Jesus urged his disciples

JOHN 13 ³⁴ A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.  ³⁵ By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

WHY DOESN’T AGAPE WIN IN ME?

YES AGAPE WINS.

BUT UNTIL THE HOLY GHOST CLEANSES OUR PRIDEFUL, CARNAL HEARTS, WE CANNOT TESTIFY THAT AGAPE WINS WITHIN OUR HEARTS.

Holy Ghost, with power divine,
Cleanse this guilty heart of mine;
Long has sin, without control,
Held dominion o’er my soul.

Holy Ghost, with joy divine,
Cheer this saddened heart of mine;
Bid my many woes depart,
Heal my wounded, bleeding heart.

Holy Spirit, all divine,
Dwell within this heart of mine;
Cast down every idol throne,
Reign supreme, and reign alone.

HOPE - A DARING FAITH IN THE FUTURE

Over the month and half we have been preaching on DARING FAITH! We began by looking at the examples of DARING FAITH in the book of Daniel.

Last Sunday we began to think about what DARING FAITH will look like in our times. The Apostle Paul’s instruction to the Philippian Church was our text, "...Stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel; And in nothing terrified by your adversaries." Philippians 1:27,28.

DARING FAITH has a unique identity. DARING FAITH stands out, stands together, and stands boldly at all costs. We observed that CHRISTIANS are notably different, distinctly Scriptural and Spiritual in our lifestyle and attitudes. Ours is DARING FAITH!

We think differently from the world. We act differently from the world. We talk differently from the world. We present ourselves differently. (For example we are comfortable in and love to accent our God-given gender, we are modest in our appearance, and we are gracious in our spirit). We spend differently from the world. We love differently from the world. Our hopes are different from the world. Oh what a difference! A glorious difference.

The writer to the Hebrews penned, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for." The Christian’s faith rests on our unshakeable confidence that what we hope for will actually happen. See the stark difference between the "hope" of the world, and the hope of the Christian? The world’s hope based on uncertainty. "I hope we win the game." "I hope I can get the job." "I hope I go to heaven."

The blessed hope of the Christian is not grounded in uncertainty. It is grounded in the promises of God Himself!

We believe God.

We believe God’s Word.

We believe God cares and understands and is working.

We believe God makes a way.

We believe God’s Son is Risen and is coming again.

We believe God has prepared a place for those who love Him.

See the nexus of faith and hope. In fact, I’m agreeing with the preacher who said, "Hope is faith in the future." Faith is believing God today. Hope is believing God is already in tomorrow and He will not fail then, anymore than He will fail now. He cannot fail!

In days of tremendous spiritual confusion, moral disintegration, and personal hardship, may God help us to build our hopes on things eternal! John says, "Every man that has this hope, purifies himself!" Let’s do that. And take great confort and courage in our blessed hope!

RECHABITE OR REPROBATE?

 

Jerusalem was on the brink.  Idolatry and immorality had rendered them impotent.  From the beginning their strength was not in prowess or power. 

 

Moses knew it.  "The eternal God is thy refuge and underneath are the everlasting arms, and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee..." Deuteronomy 33:27. 

 

David knew it. "The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer; The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my savior..."  2 Samuel 22:2. 

 

The Prophets knew it.  They were forever writing of "The God of our Salvation," the "God who is our strength," and the "God of Jacob who is our help and hope."

 

But as always happens, when people who know God do not glorify Him as God, they become vain in their imaginations and their foolish hearts are darkened.  If the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, ignoring the Lord is the beginning of ignorance.  When the true God is rejected, the truth of God is obscured.

 

Six hundred years before Christ, God maneuvered Nebuchadnezzar's army into positions around the Holy City.  The Prophets warned the Kings of Jerusalem against forming alliances with Egypt against Babylon.  But the Kings refused to listen.  Now Babylon's best would school the not so holy City in the art of siege and conquest.

 

Inside the city walls of Jerusalem, the situation was increasingly desperate.  The shelves of the bakeries were empty.  Even water was in short supply.

 

In a last ditch effort to convince the backslidden city to repent of their sin, Jeremiah called to the Temple a large number of Rechabites. 

 

Rechabites were the descendants of Rechab the Kenite.  Moses married Zipporah, who's father Jethro was a Kenite.  As Moses led God's people through the Sinai desert, the Kenites who were from Rechab's family allied themselves with Israel. They accompanied God's people into Canaan.

 

The Bible tells us that Jahonadab the Rechabite insisted that his children never drink wine, never live in houses, and never plant vineyards or fields.  They were God- fearing people who zealously opposed idolatry and faithfully honored their father's will.

 

Now threatened by the Babylonian Army these Rechabites took refuge inside the city walls of Jerusalem.

 

When the Rechabites walked into the Temple, Jeremiah set before them large kegs of wine and empty cups.  "Drink up!" the prophet insisted!

 

The Rechabites refused.  “No,” they said, “we don’t drink wine, because our ancestor Jehonadab^[a] son of Recab gave us this command: ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine. ⁷ And do not build houses or plant crops or vineyards, but always live in tents. If you follow these commands, you will live long, good lives in the land.’ ⁸ So we have obeyed him in all these things. We have never had a drink of wine to this day, nor have our wives, our sons, or our daughters. ⁹ We haven’t built houses or owned vineyards or farms or planted crops. ¹⁰ We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed all the commands of Jehonadab, our ancestor. (Jeremiah 35:6-10).

 

And how many years had it been since their ancestor Johonadab had bound his family to these commitments?  Were these commitments made months or a few years earlier?  Hardly! 

Here before Jeremiah in the Temple at Jerusalem were men who were 250 years distant from their great great great great great great great grandfather Johonadab!  And still they remained faithful to their vow.

Jeremiah challenged the besieged leaders in Jerusalem, "Why can't you be as steadfast and obedient as these Rechabites?"

I see remarkable parallels to the plight of the American Church today.  We too are surrounded by forces intent on destroying us.  We too are led by leaders who will not stand against "spiritual wickedness in high places."  Too many of us have succumbed to the Spirit of the Age so that our holy distinctives have been lost.

The Rechabites knew who they were and what they stood for.  They had settled the question of identity.

Oh that God would raise up some Christians with the spirit and courage of the Rechabites.

+Christians who are "Bible Thumping" Fundamentalists convinced that God's Word is absolutely true.

+Christians who are Christ followers, not crowd pleasers.

+Christians who are Holy Spirit driven, not slaves to sensuality.

+Christians who are "called out" and "separated" not worldly minded crowd pleasers.

 

+Christians who refuse to be mocked by wine or deceived by strong drink!

 

+Christians who thank God for their God-given identity and present themselves as they are--wearing gender specific and modest apparel. 

Finally the Word of the Lord for the people of Jerusalem comes to Jeremiah, "I have spoken, but they have not heard! I have called, but they have not answered."  Swiftly and certainly God's judgment fell, and the once holy city was reduced to rubble.

But there is a remarkable footnote.  To the Rechabites, Jeremiah prophesies, "You have obeyed your ancestor Jehonadab in every respect, following all his instructions, therefore the Lord of Heaven's Armies declares, you will always have descendants who serve me!"

Our choice is clear.  Will we be Rechabites or Reprobates? Saved or Lost?

MY ASSENT TO THE DISSENT - EXCERPTS FROM THE SUPREME COURT RULING ON HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE

“There is no retreat, but in submission and slavery! Our chains are forged, their clanking may be heard on the plains of Boston!”   

PATRICK HENRY – “GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!”  March 1775

READ THESE DISSENTS TO THE U S SUPREME COURT RULING THAT MANDATES HOMOSEXUAL MARRIAGE IN ALL 50 OF THESE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA.

CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS

“One immediate question invited by the majority’s position is whether States may retain the definition of marriage as a union of two people.  …Although the majority randomly inserts the adjective “two” in various places, it offers no reason at all why the two-person element in the core definition of marriage may be preserved, while the man-woman element may not.  Indeed from the standpoint of history and tradition, a leap from opposite-sex marriage to same-sex marriage is much greater than one from a two-person union to plural unions, which have deep roots in some cultures around the world.  If the majority is willing to take the big leap, it is hard to see how it can say no to the shorter one.

…As petitioners put it, “Times can blind.” …But to blind yourself to history is both prideful and unwise.  “the past is never dead.  It’s not even past.” W. Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun.

…Unfortunately people of faith can take no comfort in the treatment they receive from the majority today.

…It’s one thing for the majority to conclude that the constitution protects a right to same-sex marriage; it is something else to portray everyone who does not share the majority’s “better informed understanding” as bigoted.

JUSTICE ANTONIN SCALIA

…It is of overwhelming importance, however, who it is that rules me.  Today’s decree says that my Ruler, and the Ruler of 320 million Americans coast-to-coast is a majority of the nine lawyers on the Supreme Court.  ..This practice of Constitutional revision by an unelected committee of nine, always accompanied as it is today by extravagant praise of liberty, robs the People of the most important liberty they asserted in the Declaration of Independence and won in the Revolution of 1776: the freedom to govern themselves.

…These Justices [the majority of the Court] know that limiting marriage to one man and one woman is contrary to reason; they know that an institution as old as government itself, and accepted by every nation in history until 15 years ago, cannot possibly be supported by anything but ignorance or bigotry.  And they are willing to say that any citizen who does not agree with that, who adheres to what was, until 15 years ago, the unanimous judgment of all generations and all societies stands against the Constitution.

JUSTICE CLARENCE THOMAS

…Numerous amici—(Friend of the Court Filings for the information of the Justices) …have cautioned the Court that its decision here will “have unavoidable and wide-ranging implications for religious liberty.”…It appears all but inevitable that the two will come into conflict, particularly as individuals and churches are confronted with demands to participate in and endorse civil marriages between same-sex couples.

…Religious liberty is about freedom of action in matters of religion generally, and the scope of that liberty is directly correlated to the civil restraints placed upon religious practice…The majority’s decision [carries with it]…potentially ruinous consequences for religious liberty.

…Today’s decision …distorts the principles on which this Nation was founded.  Its decision will have inestimable consequences for our Constitution and our society.