“Summer Love Series - Endless Love pt. 2”
Pastor Jim Lowe III
Sunday Morning, 9:30am Stream 08/17/25 (3rd Sunday Message)
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{All scriptures are NIV84 unless stated}
Undergoing Construction Series Starts September!
Today’s title is a song from 1981 - Lionel Richie
Message Title:
“Summer Love Series - Endless Love pt. 2”
The bible tells us that we are actual disciples based on our love. Christ told us to love one another…as he has loved us.
We’ve been talking about what love is. Not our definition…but the true definition.
1 Corinthians 13:4
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.
Love Always: Protects, Trusts, Hopes, Perseveres
We are in the always category. Always meaning never ending.
never relenting. never stopping.
Let’s look at the first one.
Love Always Protects
When we think of protect, what do we think of? Do we see it like we’ll fight for someone?
Do we see it like we’ll shield someone from harm?
What does this mean?
How Does Love Protect?
I found a story online of a woman who was sharing a story about her husband.
She said they had been in argument about in-laws and family drama. They weren’t even arguing about each other.
But as the argument became longer and longer…
Their exhaustion talking about this started to show.
She said the argument eventually became personal. She said the stress of the argument…
the stress of life at the time… the stress of everything.
She began to lay into him.
She said she went out of bounds.
Began criticizing him as an individual.
She said tears began to flow out of his eyes.
She said his face showed he was being torn apart. Not by the argument…not by the situation…
But by the words she had just spoken to him.
He had no fight left in him because she just beat what was left out of him.
{NOT for the screen}
“I’m the one person he is supposed to be able to trust. I’m the one woman out of the whole world that he had chosen to marry, and I was attacking him for no good reason. I felt as though my heart had been ripped out of my chest.”
She said that God had shown her how she failed to protect her husband. This situation isn’t unique to her.
It can happen in any relationship. Wives can hurt husbands. Husbands can hurt wives.
Friends can hurt each other. Parents can hurt children.
Children can hurt parents. Family can hurt one another. And we see the need for love.
Love Make Us Think About How To Protect Others
How often do we think of others?
Do We Consider Others Before Ourselves?
Love makes us think about each other.
Psalm 82:4
4 Rescue the weak and needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.
The weak and needy is ANYONE.
the weak and needy can be ANYONE at ANYTIME.
Luke 10:25-28
25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?” 26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” 27 He answered: “ ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” 28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”
A law expert wanted to ask Jesus how to get eternal life.
He wasn’t trying to understand…
he was trying to trip up Jesus.
let him give some type of answer that would turn others against him.
He asked Jesus a question. “What must I do?”
what “WORK” qualifies him?
Jesus responded with what the law said.
Love the Lord with ALL your heart…soul…strength and mind.
Luke 10:29-35
29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” 30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 31 A PRIEST happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, A LEVITE, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 33 But a SAMARITAN, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two silver coins and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’
A man was going from one place to another… when he fell into the hands of robbers.
when life happened to the man.
he fell into the hands of robbers… he fell on hard times…
something was taken from him… they take what he has…
and beat him… and leaving him half dead.
How Many Times Has Life Taken Something From Us?
We can lose:
possessions money
we can be beaten by life We can be robbed of:
peace health joy
and WE can be down…
left feeling half-dead.
But even at this time…
what do we need?
At Our Worst Times, We Need Someone To Help And Protect Us!
This means that we have to consider HOW to protect others. Based on the story from the woman and her husband earlier…
Love Means That There May Be Some Things We Can NOT Say To Others!
It’s our job to protect.
But we can go further…
“Protect” is a word we use from the NIV.
It’s a word used but it’s one of many from the original translation.
We use different translations to get better understandings of the scripture. One translation can say I moved from here to there.
another could say I ran from here to there.
another could say I shifted from one spot to another.
I traveled.
Point is…if you’re trying to understand a word… seeing how it’s translated can be a big help.
and if you’re going to see how it’s translated… what did it say originally?
Let’s look at a much closer “word for word” translation.
1 Corinthians 13:7 (KJV)
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
Let’s see another.
1 Corinthians 13:7 (ESV)
7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
they both use the phrase: Bear - Love bears all things.
One word uses protect…another uses bear. Bear means:
to support; to sustain; as in to bear a weight or burden.
So bear can mean to protect
but it also means to sustain. it means to support.
Part Of Protecting Someone Means To Help Support Them!
Galatians 6:2 (ESV)
2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.
Bear one another’s burdens. Support when others are down.
help others to sustain when they’re down.
There Are Others Hurting Because Of Life’s Problems. We Are Called To Cover And Protect Them!
Think about someone else!
Consider how you can HELP someone else! Let’s talk about what else love does.
Trust
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
1 Corinthians 13:4
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.
Love always trusts.
Let’s look at the definition of trust.
Trust (Dictionary of Bible Themes) -
Reliance on and confidence in a person. Scripture affirms the total trustworthiness of God, especially in relation to his promises to his people.
Trust is reliance on and confidence in a person.
If we want to love like Christ says to love… we need to trust one another.
Because God can have his hand on someone else… the SAME way he has his hands on you.
or even better!
Let’s talk about an example of trust:
Daniel 5 talks about how Babylon was taken over because of a King’s foolishness.
Belshazzar was successor to King Nebuchadnezzar. He didn’t learn from Nebuchadnezzar’s mistakes.
He didn’t even know who Daniel was.
The King was defiling things that were holy to the Lord.
So the Lord has a hand write on the wall… Daniel interprets the writing…
saying the King’s time is already up.
Belshazzar appoints Daniel as 3rd highest in the kingdom.
But it’s only a kingdom for a few more hours.
That NIGHT, Belshazzar is killed. and King Darius takes over.
Daniel 6:1-3
It pleased Darius to appoint 120 satraps to rule throughout the kingdom, 2 with three administrators over them, one of whom was Daniel. The satraps were made accountable to them so that the king might not suffer loss. 3 Now Daniel so distinguished himself among the administrators and the satraps by his exceptional qualities that the king planned to set him over the whole kingdom.
The new king.
Darius the Mede.
He is also trusting Daniel with everything.
Daniel is about to be set over the whole kingdom.
Why are all these people trusting Daniel?
Nebuchadnezzar would trust Daniel
Belshazzar would trust Daniel - for a few minutes Darius would trust Daniel
Why?
Because God’s hand was on Daniel.
They gave Daniel…the man of God their confidence…
And this confidence is one of the best things you can give to someone.
Love Believes In And Uplifts Others!
Do you know how powerful it is to know that others believe in you!
This is a moment of encouragement…
to know someone else trusts and believes in YOU!
You Never Know How Much You Can Encourage Someone By Showing You Believe In Them!
This may had happened for us as children. Hearing loved ones saying they trust us.
believe in us.
they believe the BEST in us!
1 Corinthians 13:7 (AMP)
7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].
We naturally do this for people we “love.”
We’ll defend to the death someone we like who did something. “They had a reason.”
“They didn’t mean it.”
“They’re probably right.”
But that shouldn’t be specific to just the people we like.
We Should Be Willing To Believe The Best Of Every Person, Not Just The Ones We Like!
We should be trusting and believing the best in everyone. Not prejudging and not trusting.
HOWEVER…
this does not mean to not be smart. this does not meant to be gullible.
We are to trust…
to have confidence…
and if they wrong us.
we are to forgive them.
HOWEVER…
We are to learn the difference between those trying to help us. and those trying to hurt us.
There was a girl many of us might know. her name was Lucy.
Lucy was someone who was a friend to many.
Lucy had a friend named Charles.
Charles was very trusting.
They would play together as children…
Lucy would tell Charles when they would play together… that she would hold the football for him.
And Charles would trust her EVERY time. and EVERY time…
he’d end up on his face.
because Lucy would trick him. She had convinced Charles she could be trusted.
but she had no good intentions for Charles.
And it was up to Charles to see that.
We Are To Forgive Others For Their Mistakes, But Also Be Mindful Of Their Intentions!
Do not trust those who’s intention is to bring you down. we are to forgive them…
we are to pray for them…
Some of us need to stop trusting some Lucy’s in our life.
Luke 17:4
4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”
If someone wrongs you and truly repents we are to forgive them.
{recap}
Love always protects…
which means love always covers. love always sustains…
tries to hold up.
ESPECIALLY when life happens.
The Good Samaritan protected… he covered…
he sustained… That is our example.
Love Tells Us To Consider Others Above Ourselves
And Love always trusts.
Love places confidence in others. Love encourages and uplifts others.
Even when Jesus knew Judas would betray him. he trusted Judas.
Love Doesn’t Judge…It Loves!
{reminder}
