ࡱ> lnk'` ObjbjLULU 8t.?.?GZZZZZZZn""""DV"Ln +""""""""*******$,h/r*Z#""##*ZZ""*%%%#.Z"Z"*%#*%%:),ZZm*"" g"#* **0 +*R/{%/m*/Zm*"0""%##"""**{% """ +####nnn"nnn"nnnZZZZZZ WHAT DOES LOVE LOOK LIKE?...Part 4 Love Looks Like TRUTH Our generation THINKS that it knows all about lovebut it actually knows so little about it really We THINK we know so much about love because love is talked about in songs that we hear over and over again on the radiowe see what love supposedly is constantly on TC and in the movies People write about it in books and on the interneteverybody talks about it more in this age than anytime before..so with all this attention on LOVEyou would think we would really know what TRUE LOVE is BUT WE DONTin fact, as things are right nowmore married couples are divorcing than every beforemore families are breaking up than ever beforethere is more drama than ever before.WHY? Because we are operating under the wrong definition of lovewe are getting all the wrong examples and all the wrong instructions For some reason, our culture has turned to the very worst role models for lovewe look to the people in Hollywood for our definition..or we look to the people who are the least knowledgeablepeople on TV who call themselves expertsand they give us absolutely AWFUL advise! The world says that we can get a divorce if we arent happyno wonder marriages are breaking up left and rightno wonder people today are finding it harder and harder to get along with each other in all situations Our culture seems to ignore the ONE PLACE we could get the REAL DEFINITION of what LOVE really is.THE BIBLE!...no wonder our world is in such a great mess. The bad thing is that Christians seems to fall into this trap toobecause they have also not gone back to Gods Word to see what TRUE LOVE isinstead Christians listen to Oprahwe listen to the same love songs, watch the same movies, read the same novels that describe what love isand slowly but surely the worlds definition creeps in on us and we begin to buy into it Love looks like TRUTHand the ultimate TRUTH that we have is the living , breathing WORD OF GOD! So lets go back to the verse we left off with the last week Last time we metwe left off with the verse from 1 Corinthians 13 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends Check out what is smack in the middle of that passage of Scripture 1 Corinthians 13:6 LOVE does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the TRUTH. LOVE is not just a sweet little thing that makes us feel super good on the insideit is WAY MORE than that! Have you ever heard some well-meaning person sayWe just have to love people where they are///? While that is TRUEit is only true to a certain extent.a lot of time when we say that, the intent behind it is we need to pretend that everything is perfectly fine the way they are so that we dont rock their boat In other wordsif we confronted the REALITY of their lifethat would seem mean and uncaringbut in actualityloving people where they are is good in itselfbut it all goes haywire when we pervert what that means .a lot of times WE are the ones missing some key characteristics of love in OUR OWN LIVEShang on a minute and we will talk about those things If we truly believe that EVERYTHING ABOUT GOD is TOTALLY WHAT TRUE LOVE is, and HE IS, .then we need to follow what He gives us in the Scriptures Amos 3:3 Can two people walk together without agreeing on the direction? God is not going to change His direction to walk OUR waywe gotta change OUR direction to walk in step with HIM! So.how do we go about walking and agreeing with God..the ONLY way is to walk the Way that His Word tells us to walkto follow His commandsto walk in Spirit and in TRUTH.which ultimately means that we must face His CONVICTION Even His conviction is TRUE LOVE.His convictionby the Holy Spirit is what corrects us and disciplines us when we are not in agreement with Him. God IS love and since He said that LOVE CANNOT rejoice in wrongdoingTRUE LOVE cannot eitherit can only rejoice with TRUTH. Proverbs 1:23 If you turn at My reproof, behold, I will pour out My spirit to you; I will make My words known to you. WHAT AN INCREDIBLE, LOVING PROMISE HE HAS GIVEN TO US. If we turn from our wrongdoings when He gently corrects usHe will pour out His Spirit on us and make His Words know to us! I WANT THAT!!!! Okdid you get that?....WE have to be open to correction from God God loves us and He wants to speak PERSONALLY to usin order to do thatto bring us to a place where we walk together in agreementHe REPROVES or corrects or convicts us BECAUSE He cannot rejoice at wrongdoings So His reproof IS part of love Just like as parentswe correct and lead BECAUSE we LOVEwe are made in the image of Godwe do the same things with OUR children that HE does with HIS children Proverbs 13:24 Whoever spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him is diligent to discipline him. Nowthis doesnt mean that you get to go around to everyone you meet and yell at them and scold them and tell them that they are not living rightthis is meant for YOUits PERSONAL Just like the bride in the Song of Solomonwe have to go through some reproof and correction in order to be the mature bride of Christ Hebrews 12:6 For the Lord disciplines the one He LOVES, and chastises every son whom He receives. If you really love your childrenthen you should be DILIGENT or STEADY in disciplining themEX: You dont let tell them no for something and then the next day say yes to the same thingespecially something that you know will harm them! We each have a sphere of authoritythere are certain people in our lives that we can speak into our children, definitelybut sometimes there are also others that we can speak TRUTH into . Regardless of is in your sphere of influencethe Bible says that when the other person on the end of discipline RECEIVES IT WELLthey are WISE! Psalm 141:5 Let the godly strike me! It will be a kindness! If they correct me, it is soothing medicine. Dont let me refuse it. But I pray constantly against the wicked and their deeds. Proverbs 15:31-32 The ear that LISTENS TO LIFE-GIVING REPROOF will dwell among the wise. Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. Proverbs 6:23 For the commandment is a lamp and the teaching a light, and the reproofs of discipline are the way of life. When the Bible says that discipline is the way of life, it literally means that it is the road leading to life..the Hebrew word in this Scripture translated as wayliterally means road, distance, journey, manner, habit, or direction. A lot of times we dont really get thisthis part of our journey with God that He calls reproof or discipline A lot of times it is because of the way we have been disciplined by our parentswe tend to associate DISCIPLINE it with ANGER and FAILURE.EX: I can remember being punished and grounded a billion times for not making an A or for making a C when I was just thrilled that I had passed certain subjects So because of this kind of experiencewe naturally seem to apply it to the way God disciplines toobut thats not the way that God intends it! How do you react when people correct you? I can remember as a child, always seeing by dad as a disciplinarian who was never really pleased with ANYTHING at ALL that I didHe would remark that if I made a 99 on a testwhy didnt I make a 100.I just never seemed to measure up.soI grew up with a warped mindset on discipline.everytime I thought of itit always reminded me that I was a failure I finally reacted to EVERYONE who tried to speak into my life in the same way.very defensivenot willing to receive because all it did was cause me to solidify the thought in my mind that I felt was truththat I was a failure in everything and I would never be good enough. I took those experiences with my earthly father and translated them over to my Heavenly FatherI grew up thinking HE was constantly angry at me Looking back on where I have come from I can see the incredibly detailed plan of the enemy to keep me in bondageto never even have the desire to walk the TRUTH of Gods Love which would be walking in His loving discipline of my thoughts and my ways Until I learned to EMBRACE Gods disciplineI can see that I was reacting to God in a NEGATIVE way toward HIM and toward ANYONE who tried to correct me. I KNOW that my dad didnt mean to correct me in a way to make me feel like a failurebut, that is how I perceived it in my warped mindI played right into the plan the enemy had for me And the enemy kept me there for a good while.and it wreaked havoc on my lifejust like the Bible says it will Proverbs 13:18 Poverty and disgrace come to him who ignores instruction, but whoever heeds reproof is honored. Which is exactly what happened in my life Until my eyes were finally opened to the TRUE way of life When I had truly come to the end of myself and I really, really sought after GodHe ever so lovingly confronted my error and my wrongdoingHe loved me enough to confront the things that were standing between me and Him He was trying to gently guide me beyond all my false mindsets and all the walls that i had put up into a place with Him where there was nothing standing between me and all the blessings that he had for me Check out this Proverb Proverb 17:10 A rebuke goes deeper into a man of understanding than a hundred blows into a fool. Meaning that a single verbal reproof that is gently, kindly and prudently givennot only enters the earbut the heart of a wise and understanding manit goes into himit sinks deeply into his mindit penetrates into his heart and pierces his conscienceit brings him EASILY to humiliation, confession and reformation A HUNDRED BLOWS INTO A FOOLwords wont sink into the heart of a foolhe is NEVER better for all the corrections given himhis heart is not affected, is not humbled, nor brought to a sense of sin and acknowledgement of ithe is not in the least way reformed We HAVE to surrender to Himto His LOVEto His correction and reproof Its HIS way or no way at all!...His way is the way of LIFE Proverbs 14:12 There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death. If we arent willing to walk through His reproof of our wrongdoingwhat makes us think we are going to be able to walk in His blessing? So.LOVE doesnt rejoice in wrongdoing BUTthere is also a flip side to this.another side to the coinand you cant separate the twothere are some people who embrace the reproof and correction of Godbut they havent yet learned to embrace the BLESSINGS of His love!....they havent got the second part of that versethat LOVE REJOICES WITH TRUTH God DELIGHTS in TRUTH! Psalm 51:6 Behold, you delight in TRUTH in the inward being, and You teach me wisdom in the secret heart. INWARD BEINGseat of the mind, the feelings, the intellect David, the writer of this psalm was deeply conscious of the yuckiness in his own mindhe knew what God required, He required purity of his mindbut how was he to get that?...He knew it could only come from Godso in the next three versesDavid asked God to PURIFY his soul! THE SECRET HEARTthe depths of the soulthe cleansing had to happen in that part that was hidden from the eye of manin the SOULWISDOM had to have a place thereit couldnt just be purification that happened to the outward part of Davidbut the inward part Psalm 51:7-10 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in me a pure heart, OGod, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Hes asking for Gods discipline so that he can in turn walk in Gods blessing Gods LOVE rejoices in TRUTHwe love it when we are walking in truth and God is rejoicing with us.but we tend to HATE the other side of the coin because we dont understand that it is also LOVE! If we are going to be maturethen we have got to also learn to take REPROOF and CORRECTION and the discipline of the Lordwe HAVE to understand that it is part of His love for us! God DISICPLINES us BECAUSE He delights in us! If you desire to mature in Himthen we need to HONESTLY EMBRACE His disciplineso that we CAN move into deeper intimacy with Him We have got to see that He LOVES us and He DESPERATELY wants us to be soooo close to Him! Proverbs 12:1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but be who hates reproof is STUPID. Proverbs 29:1 He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck, will suddenly be broken beyond healing. If we only accept one aspect of Gods loveaccording to this versewe will end up BROKEN BEYOND HEALINGTOTALLY DYSFUNCTIONALand Gods love will not be able to fully affect usbecause we arent allowing Him to fully LOVE us! Be THANKFUL for the reproof and discipline of the Lord!!!! Every time you embrace it and apply ityou are growing in maturityyou will be able to OVERCOME things that you wouldnt have been able to on your own Sothis is just another aspect of how God shows TRUE LOVE to us..embrace His correction and embrace His TRUTH I believe that only AFTER we have accepted this aspect of His love for us (meaning His reproof and correction)only thencould we apply this and show TRUE LOVE to others. After allwe cant go around correcting others when we wont let God correct us! Matthew 7:3-5 Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brothers eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, Let me take the speck out of your eye, when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brothers eye. Solet God do what He needs to do in you FIRST! I used to ask God why He didnt change the things that irritated me that Donny did or my kids or whoever.and He would ALWAYS reply to me with well, when are you going to let Me do what I need to do in YOU first? TRUE LOVE is to correct so that the person would return to the right and correct paththis can ONLY be done when you have PURIFIED your soul and you truly have a SINCERE PHILEO love for that person 1 Peter 1:22 Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart. The Scriptures give many examples and instructions of reproving and rebuking. God rebuked and reproved Adam, Eve, and Abel. The Lord rebuked Sarah when she laughed. He rebuked Moses when he struck the rock in anger. Nathan the prophet rebuked and reproved David about his sin. We see the same thing in the New Testament. Jesus rebuked and reproved the hypocritical religious leaders. He also rebuked the disciples, especially their main spokesman, Peter. Jesus rebukes the churches of Asia in the book of Revelation. Paul rebuked the Corinthians many times in his two letters to them. Why? Because rebuke and reproof are ACTS OF LOVE!!!! In fact, when Paul tells Timothy to keep on preaching the Word in II Tim. 4:1-4 he defines preaching, in vs. 2, as reproving, rebuking, and exhorting. 2 Timothy 4:1-4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: 2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct (reprove) , rebuke and encouragewith great patience and careful instruction. 3 For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. 4 They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. He is saying that correcting, rebuking, and encouragingit all has to be done in PHILEO(Brotherly) LOVE! Check out some other Proverbs Proverbs 27:5 Better is open rebuke than love that is concealed. Faithful are the wounds of a friend, but deceitful are the kisses of an enemy. FAITHFUL ARE THE WOUNDS OF A FRIENDbecause when they reveal to you your faultsthey dont go tell everyone elsethey conceal them from others Proverbs 28:23 He who rebukes a man will afterward find more favor than he who flatters with the tongue. HE WHO REBUKES A MANin a kind, tender, and affectionate manner WILL AFTERWARD.in the original Hebrew it is written he that rebukes a man after meafter Gods directionsaccording to the rules God has given and by His orderor after Solomon who wrote these lines and instructions Meaning rebuking the man PRIVATELY, ALONE, SECRETELY, WHEN THEY ARE BY THEMSELVES.which is what Matthew 18:15 tells us to do FIRST. Matthew 18:15 "If your brother sins against you, go and show him his fault, just between the two of you. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over. AFTERWARDS.he will find more favor than the person that simply flatters with their tongue.EVEN THOUGH giving the rebuke to the person IN PRIVATE may cause you some uneasiness and pain and the person may dislike you at first.if it is given in the correct manner..OUT OF SINCERE AND DEEP LOVEeventually IF THE PERSON RECEIVES THE REBUKEthe person receiving the rebuke will love, value, and esteem the faithful friend way MORE than the person who flattered him Go back to the verse we started with. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends TRUTHin love.. 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