This message speaks of the importance of love in its relation to Christ as well as to others, and love by nature is not forced, but awakens.
Excerpts from the sermon:
“Apathy and indifference to God is the total smothering of the love of God—apathy and indifference. Are you comfortable? You don`t want any more religion than what you`ve got. You don`t want to pray any more than what you do. You just can`t read the Bible any more, you are so busy. Is that it? Is that where you are? If I had talked with you when you were courting your wife, and said, ‘I don`t think you ought to visit her this evening. Let`s go make popcorn together’ Or, something like that. They looked at me like I`m the one that`s off. Well, to treat God like that, there`s something wrong.”
“I understand we have to tell people the doctrine. I understand we have to tell them the theology. I understand we have to tell them to do right. I understand we have to give them the Word. I understand they got to be saved by grace. I understand that. But the highest contribution we make to people is to share our love for Christ with them, our love for Christ in all of these precincts.”
“For every mood, honorable mood of a Christian—without being moody—they must always repose back in the love of God. With every danger, they must repose back in the love of God. With every trial, with every fear, with every loss, they must acquiesce back in the love of God. It is the only place to go to when all else is against us. Go back. Have you had things against you? Repose in the love of Christ. You think they`re wrong, repose in the love of Christ. At the beginning of your life, in the middle part of your life, at the end of your life, repose back in the charge that no one will disturb love, and let love work easily without forcing it.”
“The love of Christ works when you`re treated wrong. You`re just downright treated wrong. The love of Christ will naturally work, and you can just take it. Several years ago I had a young man saying, ‘I have people that don`t like me.’ I said, ‘Well, just take it. Just take it.’ ‘Well I can`t take it.’ ‘Well, just take it.’ And I reminded him that our Lord was a sinless Man and He took it. Who are we?”
“Do you know of anybody you loved more yesterday than today? Have you done all you could to repair a lost friend who is not an apostate? Have you worked at keeping a friend like people work at getting rid of one? In the Book of Acts, people worked at keeping a friend in Christ. Controversies would be erupting to keep a friend. That`s the value of John Mark, and Barnabas and Paul. The last letter he said send Mark to me, he`s profitable for the ministry. I don`t know what that meant in the terms of who was wrong, but the point of that story is love triumphed because it`s the nature of love to be awakened, unforced, and to love again.”
“I would urge you and love you and challenge you, if you know of anybody in this body of believers that you`ve got a problem with, if they`re all the wrong of it, and you of course are the right of it, since you are right, go and love them, and tell them the problem. Let love work. Let it`s nature unforced, just come out.”
“Work at loving Christians. Work at it. If you know the love of God, keep it.”
