The Love That Endures Part 1 | Expository Sermon

About this sermon

Introduction: The goal of our instruction, the goal of our ministry, the outcome of the proper functioning of spiritual gifts, is love. The love of God. It is the love that is without hypocrisy. It is the love that is holy. It abhors what is evil and clings to what is good. It is the love that is warm and affectionate toward our brethren. A love that devotes itself to the brethren. It is the love that honors others in the family of God. It is the love that SERVES THE LORD with zealous effort. Today we come to a 6th description of this love. We take the three exhortations of verse 12, and we consider them under one description, because each of these three exhortations shares this quality. LOVE IS STEADFAST The zeal mentioned in verse 11 must be maintained. That is not to say that believers do not struggle with seasons in which we grow weary or battle with apathy. The very fact that we must be exhorted to be zealous proves this. ESV 2 Thessalonians 3:13 As for you, brothers, do not grow weary in doing good. (2Th 3:13 ESV) ESV Galatians 6:9 And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. (Gal 6:9 ESV) But it is to say that the true love of God is a love that must persevere, and ultimately, will persevere. Serving the Lord is a lifetime work. And the question that this verse supplies an answer for is, “Where does the staying power come from?” We are to serve our God zealously; but we are also to serve our God steadfastly. And Paul describes that steadfast life in the next three exhortations. We are to be characterized by rejoicing, by patience and by persistence. The rejoicing is stationed in hope. The patience is proven in tribulation. The persistence is demonstrated in prayer. ALL THREE DESCRIBE A STEADFAST LIFE. This morning we begin to consider three expressions of God’s love that belong to the life of perseverance. We consider the enduring nature of God’s love. • LOVE SERVES GOD JOYFULLY IN HOPE (v.12a) It should not surprise us, in a verse that gives three descriptions of steadfastness, to find a reference to joy. Joy is NECESSARY for STEADFASTNESS. When are we tempted to quit something? When do we lose our energy and enthusiasm for something? When is a sense of zeal replaced with a sense of drudgery? It is when we lose our sense of joy in that thing, whatever that thing is. And I would like to begin with some application at that very point today. Have you lost your joy in the Lord? Have you lost a sense of joy in the church? Have you lost a sense of joy in the preaching of God’s word? Have you lost a sense of joy in your ministry for Christ? Have you lost a sense of joy in your marriage, the raising of your children, the job that God has given you? THAT LOSS OF JOY EQUATES TO A LOSS OF ZEAL.

Topics

• Love & Compassion