Last week: 4 areas of expertise or areas should be highly trained or in training in:
1. God and His Kingdom
2. Entering the Kingdom (sharing the Gospel)
3. Living in the Kingdom
4. Understanding and defeating things that are against the Kingdom
Question: Are you getting these done? - If not, lack of effort/action?? Lack of opportunity??? Lack of knowledge??
Today: Living in the Kingdom -
1. w/focus on Love (Agape/Godly) and Knowledge and how it shapes the way we live. Will look at: what Godly love is, and how knowledge is a necessary component of true love.
2. You can have knowledge and NOT love, but true (Godly) love requires knowledge.
3. Agape requires knowledge and action - action may include: time, money, prayer, etc.
LOVE: "What's love got to do with it?"
A. Some general info about love:
1. Can be hard to define, same word means different things to different people and therefore is easily abused.
a. "I love pizza", "I love my wife", "I love my dog"
b. Must get our meaning from the context
2. Definition of love from dictionary - strong feelings of affection for something or someone
3. Different types of love:
a. Philadelphos: brotherly love
b. Philoteknos: love one's children
c. Eros: sexual desire
d. Agape: ' not selfish'
i. Sometimes referred to as Godly love
ii. Affection, good will, love, benevolence (be kind, give gifts), brotherly love
iii. Wanting whats best for someone
iv. Hoping/desiring what's best for someone
v. Agape must be the ultimate motivation for all Kingdom work. If work not done out of love, as far as God is concerned, it is pointless.
vi. 1 Cor. 13 - The Love Chapter
4. Two different reasons for love:
a. Love as a desire to satisfy natural or selfish urges: not commendable (fallen love)
i. to eat
ii. To be happy
iii. To be loved
iv. Sexual appetites
v. To be popular
vi. Gain entry into heaven
Things we do out of selfish motivation are not the "keys to the Kingdom"
b. Love for God and for others due to the realization: God is ultimate good, people are made in God's image and therefore good (even if rotten in their actions), that love is good. This is commendable
i. Is mental or thinking love and requires knowledge
ii. Love is key to all things.
Matt: 5:21-22 - Opposite attitude of Agape love.
5. Love requires knowledge - how can I love God if I don't know him? How can I be benevolent to someone if I don't know what is right or good for them?
6. What love does not require:
a. being best buddies: love your enemy
b. liking someone
c. wanting to spend every moment of every day with the person
d. Always wanting to do the action necessary for loving
7. Entailment of Agape love
a. Effort and action - often sacrifice
b. Knowledge
c. Opportunity
B. Don't have to build a case for love being important, but will look at some scriptures.
1. Mark 12:30-31 - Greatest of Jesus' commandments - knowledge of God required and definitely takes effort to love neighbor.
2. John 13:31-35 - sign that others can see
3. John 14:15 - must have knowledge to keep commands
4. If you hate your brother, are not in the Kingdom: 1 John 4:7, 12, 16, 20-21
KNOWLEDGE
A. Rom. 10:1-4 - necessary for salvation/entrance into Kingdom
B. John 17:3 - eternal life is knowing God and Jesus as the Christ
LOVE AND KNOWLEDGE IN 1 COR. 8
A. What does "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up" mean? - often quoted to stress love over knowledge. This taking words out of context and assuming that love and knowledge are mutually exclusive: THEY ARE NOT!!
B. Read passage and see what it mean
C. Love requires knowledge
CLOSING: Think about what Agape Love is - and how important it is in living in the Kingdom.
Where is your love lacking?
1. Effort or action?
2. Opportunity?
3. Knowledge?
4. Expertise?
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