“Summer Love Series - Endless Love pt. 3”
Pastor Jim Lowe III
Sunday Morning, 9:30am Stream 08/24/25 (4th Sunday Message)
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{All scriptures are NIV84 unless stated}
Undergoing Construction Series Starts September!
Message Title:
“Summer Love Series - Endless Love pt. 3”
We finally made it…
Let’s bring it all together and finish things up. We’re talking about love…
1 Corinthians 13:7
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love Is Hopeful
Let’s spend some time talking about what hope is and what it looks like.
Hope (Dictionary of Bible Themes) -
A confident expectation for the future, describing both the act of hoping and the object hoped for. When grounded in God, hope provides the motivation to live the Christian life even in the face of trouble.
A confident expectation for the future.
The purpose in hope is not what you’re doing now, but what will happen as a result.
Hope Is Thinking About The Result
It’s something we all do.
We Save Our Money Because We Hope It Will Be There For A Rainy Day
In the event of an emergency, we HOPE what we have saved will cover it.
We Exercise Because We Hope It Will Improve Our Health
We exercise and eat better because we hear it’s healthy. We HOPE it keeps us in shape.
We HOPE it can cut down on some potential sickness.
We Teach Our Children Because We Hope They Will Be Leaders In Their Future
We pour into our youth because we believe they can be amazing and we HOPE they can see it. But hope is a confident expectation towards something to happen later on.
As Christians, We Operate On Hope
Our hope gives us confident expectations for the future. We will talk about promises of God later this year.
but he gives us promises we can hope in.
He told Moses.
Go get my people out of Egypt.
Moses asks how is that going to happen?
Exodus 3:12
12 And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to YOU that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God on this mountain.”
The pressure of bringing the Lords people out of Egypt. The Lord says he will be with him.
This will be the sign…
once it’s done…
you will do this.
You will worship the Lord on THIS mountain.
God Gives Us Promises To Hope In!
The Lord told him that he’s going to send him into a dangerous situation. but that situation has a promise attached.
And THAT was something Moses could hold onto!
It was actually in Exodus 19 when the promise came to pass.
It says that 3 months after they left Egypt. to the day…
they came to the Desert of Sinai.
they camped in front of the mountain.
Moses went up…
which led to the 10 Commandments.
The Lord gives us promises…
and those promises give us something we can hope in!
David was anointed to be king when he was a young boy. he was anointed by the Lord’s prophet.
that was a PROMISE!
it was something he could have hope in.
Now because of that hope…
he had something he could keep his mind on.
David Had Hope In The Future He Was Promised. That’s What Kept Him When Times Got Hard!
Joseph was able to do the same thing. he had dreams of being exalted.
that’s what helped him to push forward.
through decades of enslavement and being in prison.
Abraham was able to find hope in the Lord’s promise.
the Lord told an old man who had no children at the time… that he would be the father of nations.
not figuratively but literally.
Abraham wouldn’t live to see it fully happen… but he believed God.
even when at the TIME he and his wife couldn’t have children.
Hope Doesn’t Accept Defeat! Hope Believes For The Best! Hope Keeps You Going!
So how does hope work with love?
Well we have to go back to the original definition:
Hope (Dictionary of Bible Themes) -
A confident expectation for the future, describing both the act of hoping and the object hoped for. When grounded in God, hope provides the motivation to live the Christian life even in the face of trouble.
In the face of trouble.
In the face of hard times…
in the face of setbacks.
it keeps us motivated to keep walking this Christian life.
Hope Keeps Us Going When We Want To Give Up!
When we are tired of living the Christian life…hope gives us motivation to keep going. tired of doing the right thing.
turning the other cheek.
feeling like WE have to keep our mouth shut. hope keeps us motivated to do the right thing.
When we are tired of loving…that’s where hope comes in.
When we feel like we can’t love anymore…hope in God keeps us pressing on. because it keeps our minds focused.
- The bible says we’re defined by our love. -
1 John 4:7
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
If you love, you are born of GOD. If you love…you KNOW God!
What does love do? "Love always hopes…” Well hopes what?
Love hopes that there is something at the end of this tunnel.
Our hope is that when we LOVE
who we might feel like don’t deserve it…
we are showing ourselves as God’s children. “Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.”
“By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you love one another…” So…
By Showing Love:
And…
If We Are Showing Ourselves As The Lord’s Children:
Promises like what?
{Promises To Have Hope In}
-
You don’t have to fight your battles alone.
-
You have a God who has your future planned out
-
That he is your provider and your healer.
This is what hope means… this is what hope does.
It keeps us motivated to continue IN Love when we want to give up.
Let’s talk about the LAST one.
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 preservers.
Last week we check other translations for protects. Let’s do it here.
1 Corinthians 13:7 (NKJV)
7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
The (KJV, NKJV, NCV, ESV, AMP) all use the word endures. Endurance defined…
Endurance (Dictionary of Bible Themes) -
The ability to persevere in a task or calling. The Christian is called to endure in the face of trial or opposition, and his endurance brings spiritual rewards.
The first part of the definition,
The ability to persevere in a task or calling.
Hope Keeps Us Motivated, Endurance Keeps Us Moving!
There are a couple of things we see from this definition. Here are some basics about enduring.
We Have To Actively Choose To Love!
Life is about making choices to DO something! Continually!
You can only endure when you actively choose to do it.
You can only finish a marathon when you actively choose to continue.
You can only push through weight resistance when you actively choose to do it. You can only get through those hours at work when you choose to do it.
And when you CHOOSE to do it. You have to be focused on doing it.
When Peter was walking on the water to Jesus, he endured the waves…the wind…rain…
as long as he kept his focus.
but when he took his eyes off the focus. he began to sink.
There is something about remaining focused. Something about preserving and not giving up. Something about not moving to the right or the left. This is why love always endures.
Love Only Works When It’s Consistent!
Who would want to be in a relationship with someone… and their love was inconsistent?
they loved you today…
but not this afternoon?
That’s not the love of God.
We can’t be inconsistent with our love.
The bible says we have to remain firm in what we do.
Matthew 10:22
22 All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
But he who stands firm to the end will be saved. If we believe in something,
We have to stick with it.
If we believe in Christ,
When something challenges that, We have to stick with it.
Joshua 23:8
8 But you are to hold fast to the Lord your God, as you have until now.
You have the HOPE of what he promised… now you have to be consistent.
If you go to buy a car…
and the dealer tells you…
“yeah it works sometimes…”
THAT is not a good look for the car you need to run.
Or if you go to a friends house…
and the 2 chairs in the corner have broken legs… are you going to sit down??
If A Chair Can’t Stand On It’s Own, It Clearly Won’t Hold Anyone!
The Lord requires the same of us.
Revelation 3 - talks about being consistent… either hot or cold.
don’t be lukewarm!
He can’t stand that! (MSG) - you make me want to vomit!
We are the Lord’s ambassadors.
It’s not easy loving…
but if we’re going to love how Christ loved us? we have to be consistent.
Galatians 6:9-10
9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. 10 Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.
We have to be consistent because there are people we need to show love to!
{Summer Love Series Recap}
The bible tells us we are the salt of the earth/light of the world.
We are therefore called to be different. and the thing we are called to…
is to love.
John 13:34-35
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
It’s not a suggestion.
it’s a command.
not JUST to love.
but as Christ loved us.
1 Corinthians 13 says that we can have all powers and authority. we can lay hands on the sick…
have faith that can move mountains… ALL THE THINGS WE ASPIRE TO BE!
but if we don’t have love… we have nothing.
The bible tells us it is the command.
1 John 4:19-21
19 We love because God first loved us. 20 If people say, “I love God,” but hate their brothers or sisters, they are liars. Those who do not love their brothers and sisters, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have never seen.
