Thursday, July 17, 2014

To Love As Jesus Loved: “Charity Vaunteth Not Itself”

SIH TOTT ICON“And though I bestow all my goods to feed [the poor], and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long, [and] is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth: but whether [there be] prophecies, they shall fail; whether [there be] tongues, they shall cease; whether [there be] knowledge, it shall vanish away…   And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity. (1 Corinthians 13:3-8, 13)  
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x7AfrjqMZU]  
As we continue looking at events in the life of Christ that set a wonderful example for us of Scriptural love. In every example, we will be seeing Christ choosing to exalt His Father instead of Himself...   Christ’s Life:

The Characteristic of Scriptural Love: Vaunteth Not (No Self-Exaltation)

 One of Christ’s great missions while on earth was to refrain from self-exaltation while seeking to bring honor and glory to His Father. This desire in the heart of Christ was gendered by His great love for His Father. He spoke about this great pursuit in our study for this morning…
Let’s look and see what Christ taught to the Jews, as He explained His desire to bring glory to His Father as a chief goal of His ministry…   Now about the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marvelled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or [whether] I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him.(John 7:14-18)
In this account, we can see the depth and authoritativeness of the teachings of Jesus caused the Jews to be amazed and to question the source of His knowledge.   Christ’s response was very revealing. He makes the statement…
My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.In other words, Christ was simply revealing the teachings that originated from His Father, the One who had sent Him to minister them.   Then as proof of this statement, Jesus says…  “If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or [whether] I speak of myself.
If they are servants of His Father they will recognize these teachings and know that Christ was speaking the things of the Father. Then Christ makes a very important declaration of His humility and the motivation of His ministry… “He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. 
In a nutshell, Christ is teaching us is that His refusal to exalt Himself, along with only teachings the things of the Father was a clear indication of two things:
1. His dedication to the Father’s glory was “true” (genuine)
2. There was no unrighteousness in Him (Christ was sinless, proven by His desire to exalt only His Father and not Himself)  
What great love is shown by Christ when He dedicated His earthly ministry to the glory and honor of the Father. Please notice this dedication to the Father was not limited to His teachings but His actions as well…. Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am [he], and [that] I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.As he spake these words, many believed on him.”   (John 8:28-30)  
Another teaching of Christ also emphasized the principle that humility, along with a desire to exalt God alone in our lives is proof positive of a genuine love for God and possession a relationship with Him. And he spake this parable unto certain which trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others: Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men [are], extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican.I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess.And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as [his] eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner.I tell you, this man went down to his house justified [rather] than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.(Luke 18:9-14)  
Our Lesson To Be Learned: Folks, do we really love our Lord and those around us? If so, we will live our lives for God’s His honor and glory alone. We will do this by using the gifts He has given to us to minister to those in need. As the Apostle Peter reminds us… As every man hath received the gift, [even so] minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.If any man speak, [let him speak] as the oracles of God; if any man minister, [let him do it] as of the ability which God giveth: that God in all things may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.”   (1 Peter 4:10-11)  
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