Matthew 5:14-16 (NLT) 14 “You are the light of the world—like a city on a hilltop that cannot be hidden. 15 No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. 16 In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father.
1 Corinthians 12:31 (NIV) But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way. 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
LOVE IS GENTLE
Colossians 3:12 (NLT) Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.
2 Corinthians 6:3-6 (NLT) 3 We live in such a way that no one will stumble because of us, and no one will find fault with our ministry. 4 In everything we do, we show that we are true ministers of God. We patiently endure troubles and hardships and calamities of every kind. 5 We have been beaten, been put in prison, faced angry mobs, worked to exhaustion, endured sleepless nights, and gone without food. 6 We prove ourselves by our purity, our understanding, our patience, our kindness, by the Holy Spirit within us, and by our sincere love.
Ephesians 4:2 (NLT) Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.
2. Love is Kind
“Kindness is not reacting to the treatment of others but reflecting the heart of Jesus.”
We want to be radically unfair in our kindness!
3. Love is Not Rude
James 3:17-(NLT) But the wisdom from above is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.
4. Love is not easily angered.
Psalm 145:8-9 (NIV) 8 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. 9 The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
5. Love keeps no record of wrongs
2 Corinthians 5:19 (NIV) God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them.
Ephesians 4:32 (NIV) Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
The test of genuine gentle love.
Jesus always takes it a step further….
Matthew 5:43-48 (NIV) 43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.
“We are most like Jesus when we lay down our lives and love our enemies.”
Romans 5:10 (NIV) When we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son,…
1 Corinthians 13:4-13 (NIV) 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me. 12 Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. 13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
Love is Selfless
1. DOES NOT ENVY
Envy is at the core of comparison.
WARNING: Envy can nurture a bitter spirit.
Proverbs 14:30 (NIV) A heart at peace gives life to the body, but envy rots the bones.
James 3:14-16 (NIV) 14 But if you harbor bitter envy and selfish ambition in your hearts, do not boast about it or deny the truth. Such "wisdom" does not come down from heaven but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil.
“When I am loving well I celebrate what others have, even if it’s something I long to have.”
2. DOES NOT BOAST/ IS NOT PROUD
Envy is focuses on what I don’t have, pride is bragging in what I do.
Pride: (KJV) Puffed up. gk Inflated.
Gifts are meant to speak of the giver of the gift not to puff the pride of the recipient.
2 Corinthians 10:17-18 (NLT) As the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the LORD.” when people commend themselves, it doesn’t count for much. The important thing is for the Lord to commend them.
Although gifts emphasize our value they also reveal our lack.
“Humility is the prerequisite of perfect love.”
Matthew 6:1 (NIV)"Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.
Philippians 2:3-8 (NIV) 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. 4 Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross!
“You cannot love someone that you put yourself in front of.”
Both of these things (envy, boasting proud) are very self-focusses….
3. NOT SELF-SEEKING.
At the heart of self-seeking is Narcissism.
Many confuse love with happiness.
Ephesians 5:21(NIV) Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Nurturing Selfless-love
1. See yourself Investment not a waste.
“When I realize I have something to offer, I find joy in offering it.”
Matthew 16:24-26 (NIV) Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it. 26 And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?
2. Go First. Be the first to be last.
“We experience love the most when we are showing it.”
John 15:11-13 (NLT) I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow! his is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. 13 There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
3. Have confidence in God’s love
1 John 4:16-17, 19 (NLT) 16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. …19 We love each other because he loved us first.
Luke 24:32 "Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?"
1 Corinthians 13:1-8 (NIV) 1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. 3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing. 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
Love is gentle
Patient: Love is the long road and we are willing to suffer-long.
Kind: Seeking to be radically unfair in kindness
Not rude: Not harsh or easily agitated.
Not easily angered: Doesn’t live in reaction.
Keeps no record of wrong: Those that are forgiven by God find joy in forgiving others.
Love is selfless
Does not envy: Loving well celebrates what others have, even if it’s something we long to have.
Does not boast: Love is not puffed up or inflated.
Not proud: Humility is a prerequisite for perfect love.
Not self-seeking: Love is not about personal happiness.
Love fights:
Does not delight in evil: Never glad to participate in sin or affirm sin in self or others.
Rejoices in truth: We embrace and speak the truth tenderly in Love, understanding that truth sets people free.
Always protects: We defend, protect, and provide safe spaces for others.
Always perseveres: Love always sticks around, stays faithful and fervently fights for. Love outlasts evil.
1 Corinthians 13:7 (NIV) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:7 (NLT) Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.
LOVE BELIEVES
1 John 4:7-13, 16-17 (NLT) 7 Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. 8 But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. 10 This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 11 Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. 12 No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us. 13 And God has given us his Spirit as proof that we live in him and he in us. …16 We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. 17 And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect. So we will not be afraid on the day of judgment, but we can face him with confidence because we live like Jesus here in this world.
Ephesians 4:29-32 (NKJV) 29 Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. 32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you.
John 13:36-38 (NLT) 36 Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” And Jesus replied, “You can’t go with me now, but you will follow me later.” 37 “But why can’t I come now, Lord?” he asked. “I’m ready to die for you.” 38 Jesus answered, “Die for me? I tell you the truth, Peter—before the rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will deny three times that you even know me.
Matthew 26:69-75 (NIV) 69 Now Peter was sitting out in the courtyard, and a servant girl came to him. "You also were with Jesus of Galilee," she said. 70 But he denied it before them all. "I don't know what you're talking about," he said. 71 Then he went out to the gateway, where another girl saw him and said to the people there, "This fellow was with Jesus of Nazareth." 72 He denied it again, with an oath: "I don't know the man!" 73 After a little while, those standing there went up to Peter and said, "Surely you are one of them, for your accent gives you away." 74 Then he began to call down curses on himself and he swore to them, "I don't know the man!" Immediately a rooster crowed. 75 Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken: "Before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times." And he went outside and wept bitterly.
Then we see a change…He made the switch from Fear to fierce.
Acts 2:14 (NIV) Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, raised his voice and addressed the crowd…
Exactly what Jesus prophesied to him in Matthew 16
Matthew 16:15-28 (NIV) 15 "Who do you say I am?" 16 Simon Peter answered, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God." 17 Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. 18 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
Core values to switch from Fear to Fierce.
1- Identity
Proverbs 28:1 (NIV) …The righteous are as bold as a lion.
Focus on him and who you are becoming.
When you understand your identity it changes the WAY you function.
2. Purpose
John 21:15-17 (NLT) 15 After breakfast Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. 16 Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. 17 A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”
“Our Purpose is responding to loving Jesus by loving what he loves, taking care what He cares for.”
3. Love
Peter was struggling with shame and regret.
“Nothing says I love you like I trust you.”
4. Power
Acts 1:8(NIV) You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you.
Acts 4:31 (NIV) 31 After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
Paul to Timothy:
2 Timothy 1:3-7 (NIV) 3 I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. 4 Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. 5 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6 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. 7 For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline