Ten Most Wanted

“THE COMPASSIONATE MAN”

In Psalms 78, the psalmist reveals many times how God reached out to Israel.
God called them to be His people. What a special privilege 1-7.
But they became stubborn, rebellious and forgot His works 8-11.
Then God did miracles in Egypt and opened the Red sea 12-16.
And yet they sinned more, tempted God and spoke against Him 17-19.
Yet God gave them water to drink, bread and meat in the Wilderness 20-28.
But, they lusted and God’s wrath fell on them 29-31.
After many years they repented and we find these words in Psalms 78.

Psalms 78:38 But he (God), being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, and destroyed them not: yea, many a time turned he his anger away, and did not stir up all his wrath.

I – THE EXPLANATIN OF COMPASSION
The Hebrew word for compassion means to be merciful.
And when you study the Greek word for mercy you find it means to be actively compassionate.
Compassion means to relieve one who is suffering.
It means to be moved with pity and to extend help or aid.
Mercy means to show compassion with forgiveness.
Mercy and compassion is like the bones in your forearm, the radius and ulna. It is like the tibia and fibula in your lower leg. To separate them would bring a partial deformity to your body.
So we shall use these words interchangeably for though they are different they are very similar.


Compassion is an aspect of love that moves you to extend even sacrificially, help and aid to a person though they may not deserve it.


As grace is that part of God’s love that moves him to forgive the sinner. Compassion is that aspect of love that causes God to be provide for and protect a person though an unsaved person or a rebel.
And mercy is God’s offer of forgiveness when day after day after day.

Compassion or mercy is different from love. Compassion is an aspect of God’s love that causes Him to help the wretched.

Now who are the wretched?
Paul is talking about the battle of sin in his body in Romans 7. He then declares in Romans 7:24. O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?
Then he says in verse 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
Paul calls himself wretched. Why? A wretched man is a miserable, heartbroken, dejected because of sin.
Now Paul knew the power of sin the one who could deliver him from sin. But many folks don’t and that person is truly wretched.

The only other time the word wretched is used in the Bible is in Revelation 3:17. God calls the church of Laodicea, which is the Church Age today, wretched, poor, blind and naked. Why? Because they have forgotten the doctrine of sin. The Laodicean church doesn’t preach against sin or expose it any longer. They think, “I’m OK just like I am.” And God says, you are wretched.

The wretched man may have fallen on hard times:
1) It may be his own fault because he has broken God’s law.
2) …or it may be because of circumstances beyond his control.
But compassion is showing mercy to that person rather than saying, “Well, you should take better care of yourself and walking away.”

-Understand this: God’s mercy is undeserved. God’s mercy is Him withholding punishment on his creation every time the sun rises.
-Every day, every human being in this world is shown God’s mercy.
-God’s mercy will keep us out of hell but it won’t get us to heaven.

2,000 years ago Jesus paid for man’s salvation by His work of Calvary. That is grace.
Every day now for over 1900 years God has extended His mercy to man by not sending his final judgment. That is compassion.

Jesus showed mercy to those who lived in circumstances beyond their control. He healed the blind, the lepers, the lame and raised the dead.

What did the blind man do to deserve healing? Nothing!
What did the widow of Nain do to deserve her son raised to life? Nothing!
These healing came out of compassion within the heart of Christ for these folks, not because they deserved it.
He did not heal them because they merited favor with Him.
He healed them because of a tender, compassion and kind heart that can only come from understanding this nature of God.

Compassion is a kindness which is seeing needs in others lives as opportunities to demonstrate my love for Christ.

II – THE EXAMPLES OF COMPASSION
The Good Samaritan -
In Luke 10 a lawyer came to Jesus tempting Him. He said, “Lord what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
The Lord said, “What have you read in the law?”
The Lawyer’s answer is awesome. He said, “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.”
Now folks no where in the Old Testament is that written like that. This man had studied the Scriptures and figured out this is what a person should actually do to have eternal life.
Jesus answered the man then in verse 28. And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.
Stop! Jesus knew the selfish flesh would bring every man short of loving the Lord that much. Now the lawyer is confused.
29 But he, willing to justify himself, said unto Jesus, And who is my neighbour?
30 And Jesus answering said, A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
31 And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
The priest represented religion. A person who only has religion can’t forgive. They are self centered. They think only of self. Why?
Because they have never experienced or understood God’s mercy and compassion to them.
32 And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side.
The Levite represents the law. As wonderful as the law of God was, the law can’t pay for man’s sinful deeds. The law demands righteousness.
33 But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him,
34 And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.
35 And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Now listen, the lawyer asking the question was Jewish. They hated the Samaritans.
Yet it was the Samaritan that truly showed God’s love and compassion. He went the extra mile. He spent his own hard earned money. He would even come back to check on the man and take care of his bill.
There was something strangely different about the priest, the Levite and the Samaritan. The Samaritan showed the heart of Christ and the life of a Christian.
Jesus now turns to the lawyer and says:
36 Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?
37 And he said, He that showed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.
Let me say this, unless you have experienced God’s compassion, you will have an impossible time showing this attribute of God.

The 10,000 Talents
In Matthew 18:21-35 the Lord Jesus moves to the importance of forgiveness. You see, it is one thing to show kindness and generosity to someone who has done you know wrong.
But it is quite different to show forgiveness to someone who has stolen from you and been dishonest.
The Lord tells the parable of a king who had a servant that he trusted with his wealth to invest his money and make him more money.
In time IRS audited the man. The books were opened. He had to give account of his life’s work.
We discover that this man who acted so pious and righteous was actually a thief.
This man had misused and wasted the time, talents and treasures the king had given him.
This man owed the king 10,000 talents. If it was silver talents, the value owed the king at today’s market value would be a little more than $16,000,000. If was gold talents the value would be $141,600,000.
The king was going to sell the man’s wife and children into slavery till all was paid. The man fell down and begged for forgiveness.
The king had compassion the Bible says and forgave the man all that he had. Did the man understand that forgiveness?
Sadly, No! While walking down the street one day, he met an associate that owed him 100 pence or around $20.00. He said, “Man I really need that money. Can you pay me?” The man said, “I don’t have it right now, could you give me a few days to get it together.
“No,” he shouted and grabbed the man by the neck and demanded payment and then threw him in jail.
When the king heard what happened, the king had the man arrested. He reasoned with the man and said, “Why didn’t you treat your friend the way I treated you?” In anger the king had the man turned over to his tormentors.
Then Jesus said in verse 35. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Fanny Crosby – In the life of the Crosby family; the family could have grown up bitter but they learned forgiveness and compassion.
When Fanny was 6 weeks old she had an eye infection that greatly troubled John Crosby and his wife.
They took her to a doctor who prescribed the wrong salve for her eyes and Fanny went blind. Instead of them becoming bitter, Fanny focused on Christ.
She memorized large portions of Scripture. She memorized 20 books of the Bible by the age of 21. She wrote many poems. When at age 32 she became a Christian she began writing hymns like “Rescue the Perishing” and “Blessed Assurance Jesus is mine.”

King David and King Saul - King Saul delighted in the Shepherd boy, David, especially after he killed Goliath and gave freedom to Israel.
But one day King Saul heard the people singing, “Saul has killed his thousands and David has killed his ten thousands” and jealous flooded Saul’s soul.
He tried to kill David many times. He had David attacked while in his own bed. He through a Javelin at Him three times trying to pen him against the wall.
He tracked David down like a dog with an army of 3000 and when David had the opportunity to take Saul’s life, David had compassion on him.

III – THE CALL OF COMPASSION
God wants his children to show that same mercy:
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

Psalms 18: 25 With the merciful thou wilt show thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt show thyself upright;
Psalms 42: 4 I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have sinned against thee.
James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.

Who needs our compassion?
1 – Family and friends
Pro 11: 29 He that troubleth his own house shall inherit the wind: and the fool shall be servant to the wise of heart.
So often those closest to us we hurt the most. We get so preoccupied with work, hobbies, activities that our mates and children know us as being rude and angry while others see us as good folks.
Compassion needs to be first demonstrated at home. Show kindness. Show forgiveness. Ask forgiveness. Demonstrate pity and don’t expect everybody to be just like you.

2 – Members of the Body of Christ
Galatians 6: 10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith.
The reason we have master-men is for this reason. And I want to say, “Thank you to so many men who come and pray and serve and so many women who come and cook.
Revelation 12: 10 And I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down, which accused them before our God day and night.
We need to encourage each other because Satan is the accuser of the Brethren. He will accuse you to me and me to you. He will accuse you to God and God to use.
He’ll tell you God isn’t fair. He’ll sow doubt in your heart. He’ll make you think that this person or that person is against you. That is his job.
Have compassion, show kindness, love, and mercy.

3 – Our enemies and those who offend us
Romans 12: 21 Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.
If you are alive, you will have enemies in life. The only man I heard of that didn’t have any enemies was 102 years old. The reporter ask him, Why he had no enemies and he said, “Because I outlived them all.”
Jesus showed compassion to his enemies. Even those that hanged Him on the cross, He cried, “Father forgive them, they know not what they do.”
To those who would treat you wrong, be like Christ and treat them right.
4 – The poor among us
Proverbs 19: 17 He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.
God’s pockets are bigger than yours and his hands are larger. When you give a dollar or a thousand to one in need, God will pay you back and God always pays with interest.

But, to give to those who offend us or to give to the poor we must become like the Commiphora-myrrha tree.
It is a bitter tasting tree. When the bark of a myrrh tree is bruised or cut, it oozes myrrh as a fluid from resin ducts inside the bark.
It slowly hardens into globules called “tears.”
Thee globules are then taken and mixed with other ingredients to make
1) Fragrant perfumes (Psalms 45:8).
2) Priestly anointing oils (Exodus 30;23-25).
3) Medicines for healing (Mark 15:23)
Application: Man is by nature a bitter person. If he would learn to take the hurts and bruises of life and mix them with Christ’s love we could give people the sweet perfumes of our Lord. We could give them words of healing. We could give them words of comfort.

IV – THE CLEANSING OF COMPASSION
Lamentations 3:22-23 – God’s mercies are new every morning.
22 It is of the LORD'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
The wise man will learn and practice compassion. Why?
Proverbs 11:17 says, “The merciful man doeth good t his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.”
It will bring both short term and long term effects.
Psa 6:2 Have mercy upon me, O LORD; for I am weak: O LORD, heal me; for my bones are vexed.
1) They burn with fire.
Psalms 102: 3 For my days are consumed like smoke, and my bones are burned as an hearth.
2) They dry up. The capillaries shrink back limiting the flow of blood and nousishment. This weakens the bones and limits them from producing life-giving red blood cells.
It then dries up the lubrication in the joints.
Stress literally strangles our bones.
Proverbs 17: 22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.

3) They rot. Bitterness robs the body of calcium and make the bones weak an soft.
It will affect one’s adrenaline system, stripping bones of calcium.
Pro 12: 4 A virtuous woman is a crown to her husband: but she that maketh ashamed is as rottenness in his bones.

4) They age prematurely - Psalms 32:1-3 – Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.
3 When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.
Failure to seek forgiveness as well as failure to forgive will make one old before their time.
I believe we have ittle compassion because we hae little grace. More to Follow
A large sum of money was given to Rowland Hill to dispense to a poor pastor. Thinking that the amount was too much to send all at once, Hill forwarded just a portion along with a note that said simply, “More to follow.” In a few days the man received another envelope containing the same amount and with the same message, “More to follow.” At regular intervals, there came a third, and a fourth. In fact, they continued, along with those cheering words, until the entire sum had been received.
C. H. Spurgeon used this story to illustrate that the good things we receive from God always come with the same prospect of more to follow. He said:
“When God forgives our sins, there’s more forgiveness to follow. He justifies us in the righteousness of Christ, but there’s more to follow. He adopts us into His family, but there’s more to follow. He prepares us for heaven, but there’s more to follow. He gives us grace, but there’s more to follow. He helps us to old age, but there’s still more to follow.”
Spurgeon concluded, “Even when we arrive in the world to come, there will still be more to follow.”
Cheap grace is the grace we bestow on ourselves. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace...is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble, it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.

TEN MOST WANTED

“THE JOYFUL MAN”
or
“UNCLOGGING THE DRAIN”

Nehemiah 8: In the days of Nehemiah the walls and gates of Jerusalem were rebuilt against the will of their enemies who were their own kin.
When the task was completed Nehemiah and Ezra gathered the people together by the water gate (v 3). Every one was attentive.
Ezra the scribe stood behind a pulpit. He first blessed the Lord (v 6). When he did the people answered him by saying, “Amen, Amen and they lifted up their hands to heaven and bowed their heads and faces to the ground and worshipped the LORD.
Then when Ezra read the Word of God the people began to weep and mourn (v 9). Why?
The people were honest with themselves. They realize they had not obeyed the word of God. This is good. When one’s heart is stale and sinful before there can be joy there must be weeping. Psalms 31: 5 …weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
Nehemiah then tells them to stop weeping. Look at Nehemiah 8:10:

10 Then he said unto them, Go your way, eat the fat, and drink the sweet, and send portions unto them for whom nothing is prepared: for this day is holy unto our Lord: neither be ye sorry; for the joy of the LORD is your strength.
If you continue to read this chapter you will discover than when the people began to obey God’s word there was very great gladness (v 17).

Joy is different from a joke.
I’ve been told a thousand jokes and most of them I don’t remember.
--In a time of sorrow or stress jokes will do you no good but joy is a gift from God placed within your heart that gives you delight and peace.
For some people if there child knocks a homerun it gives them joy.
Other parents rejoice if they bring home all A’s on their report card.
Still others are joyful over money or a job.
To a couple in love; watching a beautiful purple sunrise over a mountain peak would be spectacular.
Different things bring love and joy to different people.

I tell you that story because the greatest magnetism spiritually speaking in this world is love and the second greatest attraction a Christian can display to a lost world is joy.

Let’s look at three ways of obtaining joy.
If you went to the doctor and he said to you, “Your heart is clogged. The main artery is 90% clogged. The second one is 75% clogged and the third is 50% clogged. Then the doctor says, Let me tell you what you need to do to clean them out. Would you obey?
In most people’s life their joy pump is all clogged up. A person needs to clean those three clogged lines out.

FIRST – You must dwell on Joyful Scriptures.
The doctor takes reaches in his pocket and pulls out his little prescription pad and he writes.
Lacking joy, need Vitamin J (joy). Four times daily take four scriptures to meditate on every four hours, with an eight ounce glass of meditation.

Illustration: I often thought it would be wise for business to do this. People that smoke 5 cigarettes a day take at lease 5 minutes for each break.
Wouldn’t be great if businesses that were Christians told their employees that were Christians that 5 times a day you have to take a break and read and meditate on 5 scriptures for 5 minutes.
I’ll tell you what would happen. You would have a lot of happy people.

First, Take a look at Joyful Scriptures.
Psalms 5: 11 But let all those that put their trust in thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because thou defendest them: let them also that love thy name be joyful in thee.
Three words are used to express joy here:
1 - Rejoice means to express joy or to celebrate.
This is what the children of Israel were doing when Ezra was blessing or exalting the Lord.
2 - Shout for joy means to celebrate or to be exuberant. David tells why we should shout for joy. It is because our Lord defendest them from their enemy.
3 - Joyful means to be pleasant, happy, elated, thrilled and glad.
Anyone and everyone who loves the Lord should have joy.
I have met so many good Christians that in the midst of sorrow they have joy.
In the midst of disease they have joy, in the midst of great trials, they have a peace, a calm a joy because they are walking in His will.

What is joy? Joy is a delight, a happiness, a pleasure but more.
-It is an ecstasy, an elation a thrill you sense in your soul.
-It is a wonder and amazement God gives you. But it is more.
-It is a satisfaction, a contentment, a peace that this world know nothing about.
In the first century one of the troubling sights to wicked Nero when he fed the Christians to his lions was they sang songs to God as the stood in the coliseum awaiting death.


THANKSGIVING GRATEFULNESS
Psalms 100:1 Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.

I – Make a joyful noise. Sing – Testify – laugh
“Noise” is the Hebrew word Ruha.
It means to shout, raise a sound, and give a blast or applause.
We don’t need praise teams, we need praise time.
We need God’s children to praise Him because He is the Lord.
I know parents love their kids but I think if we showed as much love and joy to others about the Lord as we do when our kids are playing ball we might influence folks for Christ.

 God said, “Make a joyful noise. Make a glad, elated, jubilant shout to Him. Why? Because He is the Lord, He is worthy.
 Picture your kid batting and the count is 3 and 2. You say, “Come on baby, you can do it. Come up get a hit. Come on, keep the eye on the ball.” And if they do well you shout and if they make an out you encourage them. Shouldn’t we show that same joy for the Lord and others?


2a – 2 Serve the LORD with gladness: come before his presence with singing.

“Serve” is the Hebrew word “Abad.” It means to perform and function.
“Gladness is the Hebrew word “Simchah.” It means joyfully, with pleasure, yea with exceeding pleasure.

2b – Come before his presence with singing.
The Hebrew word for “Presence” speaks of God’s countenance, his face.
You can’t come before His presence with sin and therefore many folks don’t have a song or joy because they have unconfessed sin.
Sweet water and bitter water can’t both exist in the same cup.

When you come before the Lord humbly with your sins confessed you have a song and a testimony. Thus, we saw that in Nehemiah.
The word singing is ren-aw-naw.' It means a joyful voice, triumph voice.

3a – 3 Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.
“Know” is the word Yada.
It means, “understand and know what it means that Jehovah is yiour God. Just one things it means is you are protected by and provided for by the Creator of the Universe and you need not fear.
What did David mean?
David was also saying, don’t believe the foolish philosophies of this world.
-The Greeks preached that the many gods of the heavens, like Zeus and others are the giver and sustainer of life.
-Today, the foolish teaching of the world is evolution.
- The wise person knows that it is God who made man.
God says, I want you to know where you came from. You came from your creator.

Then He says, I want you to know where you are going… 3c – “…we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
You are his sheep. John 10: 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
If Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior, then your eternal destiny is Heaven. I know in whom I have believeth and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

4a – Enter into his gates with thanksgiving
The “gates” represent the outward courtyard of a man’s house. That represents God’s world.
Walk through God’s world with a heart filled with thanksgiving.
The Hebrew word for thanksgiving is Towdah. It can be translated confession, praise or thanksgiving.
A thankful heart is a confessed heart. It is a heart that praises God.
And a heart filled with gracious, kind and generous thoughts.

4b – …and into his courts with praise -
Now when we leave the gardens of God’s world and enter His holy courts of worship, we should do so with Praise. This word for praise here means adoration and admiration.
Adoration and admiration comes from a close relationship with someone.
Listen to people’s testimony. Some people say, I thank God for my children or I thank God for my mate or for my church and all of this is very good. We should be thankful for all God has given us.

But praise is different. When someone has been in God’s courts in His presence, that person comes out praising Him.
We praise Him for his eternal, unconditional love.
We praise Him for his faithfulness. We praise Him for His holiness.
We praise Him for his kindness and forgiveness.
We praise Him for His Son and Salvation.

4c – “…be thankful unto him…”
Show him your thankfulness. Tell Him that you appreciate life, breath, and liberty.
Thank Him for the Holy Spirit, the Bible, Church, freedom and liberty.

The lost world isn’t going to praise Him. God deserves the praise of His Saints.”
-Tell others what great things the Lord hath done for you.
-Tell me one great thing God has done for you.
--Has he saved you? Has he secured you? Has he satisfied you?
Has he forgiven you? Has he favored you? Has he fellowshipped with you? Then….

4d – “…and bless his name…”
Bless means to salute, to praise, to kneel down to testify too.

Now all four of these attributes are the outflow of a heart of love and joy.
Thanksgiving and praise, thankfulness and blessing his name are joyful attributes that comes from a joyful person.

5 God is good – “All the time.” 5 For the LORD is good; his mercy is everlasting; and his truth endureth to all generations.
God will love and forgive you if you in humility will ask.
And you can always depend on His Word. It is truth.
Mercy -- Checed – pronounced kheh'-sed -- His goodness, kindness, faithfulness.

SECOND – You must dwell on Joyful Sayings.

Laughter is part of a Christian’s life. To hear quaint sayings and useful sayings bring us joy. Listen to nine statements that are joyfully true.
1. All people smile in the same language.
2. Never miss an opportunity to make others happy even if you have to leave them alone to do it.
3. Be cheerful. Of all the things you wear your facial expression is the most important.
4. What sunshine is to flowers; smiles are to humanity.
5. If you want to be happy, begin where you are. Don’t wait for some rapture, that’s future and far, Begin to be joyous, begin to be glad, And soon you’ll forget that you ever were sad.
6. It takes both sunshine and rain to make a rainbow.
7. Realize that what happens around us is largely outside of our control. But how we react to it is within our control.
8. Happiness is a perfume you cannot pour on others without first putting it on yourself.
9. Happiness consists not in possessing much, but in being content with what we now possess. He who wants little always has enough.


Church Bulletin Bloopers - Part II
1. The eighth-graders will be presenting Shakespeare's Hamlet in the Church basement Friday at 7 PM. The Congregation is invited to attend this tragedy.
2. Thursday night Potluck Supper. Prayer and medication to follow.
3. The rosebud on the altar this morning is to announce the birth of David, the sin of the Rev. and Mrs. Adams.
4. At the evening service tonight, the sermon topic will be "What Is Hell?" Come early and listen to our choir practice.
5. The senior choir invites any member of the congregation who enjoys sinning to join the choir.
6. For those of you who have children and don't know it, we have a nursery downstairs.
7. The pastor, to the members of Women's ministries: "I thank you for your thighs and offerings."
(Joyful Scriptures; Joyful Sayings and…)

THIRDLY – You must dwell on Joyful Stories.
"The Plays"
Playbook for the Game of Life
God’s word is the “playbook for the game of life” if you want to call life a game. To many people, life is survival from one day to the next.
To others it is a war. Some people call life an amusement, a sport but to most life is an event.
What takes place in “life” will determine if you win or lose the game or your soul.
I want to do something different today. I want to divide you into two groups. You on my right side is Group one. You on my left side is group two.
Group one you are from the University of California.
Group two you are from Stanford University.
You are all football fans for the next few minutes.
I want you to really have some enthusiasm for your team.
Group one who is your university? “California”
Group two, who is your university? “Stanford”

Who here has ever head of “THE PLAY?”
"The Play" is the “ONE PLAY” that many believe was the greatest play ever played in the game of football -- anywhere, anytime.
Can anyone here this morning tell me who played in "The Play?" Right: California vs. Stanford.

Can anyone tell me the year of "The Play.?" “1982”
Can anyone tell me what was so special about "The Play?"

Here is the story: With 53 seconds left in the game, Stanford was down 17-19.
They couldn’t seem to get the ball out of their own back field. They were stuck. Three plays in a roll and they lost yardage. It was fourth down and 17 yards to go.
The Stanford QB had one more shot. Does anyone know who he was? (John Elway).
Anyway he miraculously rallied and got the first down.
The Stanford crowd went crazy, shouting and hollering.
Stanford began there marched down the field. Every few yards they gained the crowd cheered.
In four plays they got to the 18 yard line, with eight seconds to go. They called on the field goal kicker. Everyone was screaming (Stanford vans are you excited). The ball was snapped 8,7,6,5,4 seconds to go and the official throws his arms in the air. It was good.
Stanford had won the game, 20-19. The crowed went crazy. The band filled the inzone. Fans poured on the sidelines. When the final four second would tick off they would flood the field and lift up their team in hysteria.
With four seconds to go Stanford had to kick off so the remaining four seconds could tick off the clock.
But this is where the game became The Game.
California picked up Stanford's kicked ball on the 39 yard line.
As the last second clicked off the clock Cal started running up field.
The first runner was grabbed and started to go down. At the last moment before he hit the ground he managed to pitch the ball to a second runner, who ran down-field until he hit a brick wall of Stanford linebackers.
Once again, just before he hit the ground at the 10 yard line he pitched the ball to a teammate, who carried the football through a field flooded with Stanford fans already celebrating the victory that was not to be.
As California crossed the goal line, the crowd dissolved into hysteria. California had won the game, 25-20, on a play that would never be repeated. "The Play" is still unbelievable.

Let me now tell you “The Play” of all time. Jesus was ahead. He had scorned in the Wilderness of Temptation. He had scorned in life. He had scorned in the Garden of Gethsemane. For 33 ½ years it seemed Jesus was ahead but in the last fleeing seconds, Satan turned the tide of humanity against Christ.
He was arrested and dragged from His garden of prayer. He was beaten and falsely accused. Though Pilate found him innocent he pronounced his death sentence.
He was nailed to the cross and there he died. The cohorts of hell ran upon the field crying victory, shouting, partying, laughing and singing praises to their king. The inzone of hell was filled with screaming fans.
And with only three ticks on the clock, yea 3 days and 3 nights, something unbelievable happened.
I call it the “Greatest Play of all time.”
The earth rumbled, the mountains quaked, the angels descended and the stone on his tomb was rolled away.
He wasn’t dead. He was alive. Jesus had conquered death. Jesus had conquered hell. Jesus had conquered Satan and rose victorious.
That was the play of all plays.

A few months ago Bobby Anderson stood up and gave his testimony and told how he got saved. He was religious. He had made a profession earlier in life but he wasn’t saved. Then under the conviction of God’s Spirit Bobby ask Christ to be his savior. That is a joyful story.

Jay Martin stood up a few months ago and gave glory to God for healing him of a cancerous tumor he had on his liver. He gave glory to God because of prayer and a quart of carrot juice a day.
We rejoiced over that.

Sandra and Ryan Marks stood in the pulpit a few weeks ago and told how when they obeyed God’s spirit and ask the church to anoint Sandra with oil, how God did more than relive some pain. He allowed them to conceive and Sandra now is carrying their first baby.

Mike and Charlene walked down the old broad leading to hell for many years, then one day the light and love of God pierced their souls and they gave their lives to Jesus Christ.
A few years ago, Mike was shot with a 38 and was only seconds from death but God spared his life. Charlene lives by faith every week because of physical problems, but they come with a smile and an encouraging word. That is a joyful story.

Yea, the joy of the Lord gives me strength.
Parents let me give you a must play at home.
1 – Dads, Moms, smile at your kids. It tells them you love them, you are happy in life, you love god and everything is alright in life.
2 – Touch them. Put your arm around your boy’s shoulder. Stroke your girls hair. Give them love.
3 – Never go alone on an errand. Scott told me that once a week Samantha takes one of the children out to shop and whatever. And they long for that special time.
4 – Speaks words of encouragement. “You did a good job.” I’m so happy to have a son or daughter like you.”
5 – Take them out for breakfast or a meal, just you two. It makes them feel special.

TEN MOST WANTED

“THE LOVING MAN”

In the first two studies of God’s “Ten Most Wanted” we met the Faithful Man and the Worshipful Man.
We will now meet another man who has long faded from the ranks of the “Chosen Men of God.” (I John 4:7)
That man is “The Loving Man.” Please understand when I say the Faithful, Worshipful and Loving man I am speaking of the ladies and youth as well.
Love is a word that is thrown around by most everyone today but few understand or practice its truth.

In this study we will briefly examine five ways that God reveals His love to man and how man should reciprocate that love to God and to ones mate and to his children and to the rest of this world.
I would hope that after examining “love” tonight you would allow God’s teaching on love to work in your lives two way:
1) Allow His love to govern your life.
2) Allow His love to grade your life.


I – ALLOW GOD’S LOVE TO GOVERN YOUR LIFE

First John 4: 7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.
A -According to this verse we see the oath of love.
-It takes two relationships with God to demonstrate true love to the world:
1 – You must have had a supernatural birth. Ye must be born of God.
2 – Ye must have be a seeker of truth. Knoweth (Ginosko) means to have a complete understanding of something. That something is God.


8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
B - Here we see the offensiveness of love.
John is being very clear here. He says a person that doesn’t exhibit and express Gods’ love doesn’t know God.
“Loveth” is in the aorist tense in the Greek.1 That means it has happened, it is happening and it will happen. 2
It is what is being practiced by someone now because God lives inside of that person.
C - In the next few verses (9-11) we see the openness of love.

9 In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
God revealed His love by word and example, tongue and deed.
When Jesus said, “Ye are the salt of the earth” he meant we will by deed and example show forth His great love.
10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Note that “God loved us first.” God showed His love to a rebel world and so if the world is to know our God, we must initiate love thought we may sense rejection from that world.

John says in verse 10 that true love can only be practiced as one understands the gift of love God has given us.
Every time “love” is used in this text it is from the root word agape. 3

D – The obligation of love.
11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.
The word “ought” speaks of an duty that should be returned.
John says if God loved us so much as to send His son to die for us and that is the aorist tense. We should love each other the same way. That is the present tense in the Greek.
If you have a problem living love (kindness, patience, forgiveness, joy, smile) please go to Calvary and take another look, and stay there till the truth of love becomes evident in your life.
E - The obviousness of love (12).
12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.
Do you see the amazing statement in that verse? The only way the world can see God’s love is through true Christians.
The world saw God’s love through Jesus when He walked on the earth but Jesus has been in heaven for nearly 2,000 years. Your children mate and friends see Jesus in you or they don’t see Him at all.

Let me illustrate. While I was in Florida for four years, a number of folks I knew had orange groves. Often people would have also a kumquat tree as well. A kumquat was a very small orange color fruit smaller than your thumb.
It wasn’t an orange but it looked a little like one. It wasn’t as sweet as the orange, it didn’t produce much juice or have much fruit. It was a kumquat, not an orange. Now look at verse 13.

13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit.
John goes a little deeper and says the love of Christ in you will be obvious to those around you.
If the love of Jesus is in our life the fruit of the Spirit will be evident in our life. Those fruits are love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.
The fruit of the spirit is nine-fold. Some say it is eight in one. What that means is this: When you peel one orange you have eight segments consisting of the fruit of joy, peace, longsuffering and so forth.
When we are born again, His precious Spirit takes control of our lives and all the fruits are evident.
F – The only way of love (14). clarity

14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world.
Anyone who has a love relationship with Christ knows that Jesus is the only Savior of the world. I say that because we are living in a day of ignorance in many religions. Some people say they know Jesus and they say silly things like there are many ways to heaven. They don’t know Him.
G – The ownership of love (15).

15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.
16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
“Dwelleth” means to live in and be at home at and with God’s love.
17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

I – The origin of love (19).
19 We love him, because he first loved us.
Here is a big catalyst to knowing and practicing love.
We can only know love as we understand how much God loves us.
And then we can only show love by the love that is evident in our heart.

Precious folks, God’s people need to take off their dirty garments of self and pride and jump in God’s swimming pool of love and get soaked.
God’s love washes the chip off our shoulder. It cleans the sins from our hearts. It splashes away the burden from our backs.
It is refreshing. It is relaxing. It is wonderful.

J - The oversight of love.
20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
To say, I love God and then to detest a family member or brother in Christ is to have an oversight.
The word “hate” means to detest or dislike and it is in the present tense. In simple words, if you have dislike in your heart towards someone you lack love for God. Dislike is a poison. It will taint the fruits of the Spirit as poison will contaminate the fruits of an orchard.

K - The outcome of love.
Then John makes the Christian love really clear in verse twenty-one:
21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
Twenty-seven times in fifteen verses the word love is used by John the beloved.
Real love in ones heart produces fruit from one’s life.

There are three types of love in the Greek.
Eros is a physical love. Phileo is a friendship or a brotherly love.
It is the love we have for someone because we are kin physically and spiritually and have much in common.
The world is filled with eros love and phileo love and the world is in a mess.
In Ireland religious groups who profess to know Jesus Christ as Savior kill each other.
In the Middle East see of the Jews hate the Muslims and the Muslims who hate the Jews.
In the world we see religions who hate everybody and want to kill those who do not believe exactly like them, yet they love each other.
Then we see those who welcome everybody and their sins.
So they have eros and phileo but lack the true love of God.
Eros love, which is the physical and sensual love and phileo love which is a brotherly love is good only if it is controlled by Agape love.

Agape love is God’s love. God is our example of true love.
Agape love is an unconditional, sacrificial, giving, patience and wonderful love demonstrated by the one who has this love though it may not be reciprocated.
It is spoken of in John 3:16 when Jesus told the world, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have ever lasting life.

This love should govern, manage, and control your life.
In the Bible we find the “Language of love.” It is a message that is two-fold. It is first spiritual and secondly physical. It is keeping the two great commandments; loving God and loving others.

It is impossible to show physical love within the boundaries of proper morality and ethics and values without knowing spiritual love.

How does God know I love Him? How does my mate know I love her? How do my children know I love them? How do people know I love them?

It is called the “language of love.”

1 – WE SAW HOW GOD’S LOVE SHOULD GOVERN OUR LIVES. Now…
2 – ALLOW GOD’S LOVE TO GRADE YOUR LIFE
I use to be a school teacher and a principle. Students were graded on an “A” to “F” level. “A” being the best and “F” representing failure.
Each of the five items in the language of love represents a grade (A, B, C, D, F). If you are successful in only one area within the language of love you will receive a “F” on your report card of life.
If you are successful in two areas you will receive a “D” and so forth and so on. If you do well in all five areas you will be an “A-Student.”
Your goal in life should be to be a “Godly lover.”

1 – Speech
From my lips I tell people I love them. I say to my wife, “Je t’aime, Je t’dore“ which is French for I love you, I adore you. 4
But does my wife believe me? Does your wife believe you?
Ones speech is more than words formed from my lips.
-She hears the beat of my heart when I speak.
-She hears compassion and concern in my tone.
-She senses my earnestness to please her.
-She sees the sparkle in my eyes.
-She takes note of my willingness to meet her needs.

If she hears in my tone an obligation to meet her needs or an unsympathetic tone; the language of love is gone. Words are just words.

-She hears from my speech words of true love, acceptance and admiration or she hears nothing at all.

Paul would have said today, Though I speak with the most eloquent words so that I sounded like an angel from heaven and yet I do not express true love I sound like pots and pans clinging together.
And though I am a preacher or teacher and have insights to truths from God’s Word and yet I show no unconditional and sacrificial love my words mean nothing.
And even if I sacrifice greatly for others, for my church, for missions and for the poor and yet I fail in my love and compassion to my wife, my children and my God my assets in the end when all is added together will be a big fat zero.

I know not how you love, but I know how God loves me.
Every day I awake he gives me the best of His world.
Every day I take time for Him, it warms His heart.
If I get close enough I can see Him smile.
Any time I come to Him, He takes time for me.
Every fear I bring to Him, He conquers.
When I fail and ask forgiveness, He forgiveness me immediately.
He is my Lord and God but he is more. He is my best friend.

I am to show that same love to my wife. She is my best friend in this world. We have a language of love.
Some people think I talk about the love Karen and I have to much, but you talk about what is in your heart.
I actually tell you very little about the depth of our love. Why? The key in love is not to imitate another person but to fall in love with Jesus Christ.

**Because Jesus is my best friend, my wife and I are best friends.
I say to her nearly every day. “You are my best friend.” “I love you.” “You are the best thing that ever happened to me.”
I’ll ask her “Are you my girl?” I’ll say, “I have I told you today that I love you?” And she will say, “I sure like to hear it.”
Sometimes I say, “Hello sweetheart, sugar plum, darling, honey bun.”

Now my wife returns the love I give her. She knows how to love also. She tells me every day of her love for me.
I like to hear it for many reasons, but one big reason is it shows me that she understands God’s love.

All through the Bible, God tells us He loves us. He showed it to Israel a thousand times. He made and He gave and He forgave them. He gave promises and blessings and direction over and over and over again.

And to the Church, God gave us His Son, His Spirit and His Word. In the Bible I find encouragement, edification, direction, love, peace and joy.

**-God wants to be loved, admired and praised because He deserves it.
**-Your mate wants to be loved, accepted and given attention because he or she needs it for love to survive.
-There are fears, insecurities and concerns in life that need to be worked out and the greatest catalyst to the remedy is understanding love.

**-Folks, practice love. Practice words like, “I love you, honey.” “You are special to me.” “I thank God for you.”

Learn to encourage and compliment and show compassion.
Mark Twain once said “I can live for two months on a good compliment,” but I am not married to Mark Twain. My wife can’t! She needs me to show her love every hour of every day.

2 - Substance
Spend quality time together. God came to the garden every day and fellowshipped with Adam and Eve. Because of sin, that fellowship was broken. Though God fellowshipped with man in many ways, and appeared in many forms, that sweet presence was no longer there.
But, He promised He would come again and He did when Jesus was born. Jesus demonstrated unto man the great love of God.
His very life was love. He cared for others. He spent time with His disciples. He cared for the masses and He sacrificed His life.

Quality time is more than mere proximity. It’s about focusing all your energy on your mate and/or children.
A husband watching sports while talking to his wife is NOT spending quality time with his wife or children.
Unless all of your attention is focused on your mate, even an intimate dinner for two can come and go without a minute of quality time being shared. 4
If the person is more focused or observant of the food, the restaurant, the ambiance than their mate there is no quality time.
Quality conversation is very important if you are to have a healthy relationship. It involves sharing your daily experiences, your thoughts and feelings and desires in a friendly context.
-A good mate will not only listen, but offer advice and respond to assure their mate they are truly listening.
-Many mates don’t expect you to solve their problems. At times they simply need a sympathetic listener. Often one mate or the other turns to other friends because a friend will give a listening ear.
“Quality you” is an important aspect of quality conversation. It is communicating with your mate through your heart, your inner feelings and your emotions.
Few couples do this today. But it is like surgery. It is true that the woman had the tendency to show her emotions more than a man.
That is how God made the woman. The man is more goal-oriented and the woman speaks from her spirit, her will, her intellect and her emotions.
God gives the woman these emotions for a purpose. Often it is to help give direction and to wake up the man spiritually.
Great joy comes from deep, deep quality time together.
If you fear or lack this time with your mate, it is clearly evident that an intimate relationship with Christ is lacking.
Quality activities are a very important part of quality time. Many mates feel most loved when they spend physical time together, doing activities that they love to do.
Whether it’s sitting on the couch and having a brief conversation, playing together in a tennis league, taking a stroll through the park hand in hand, having a quiet night out at a restaurant or whatever, quality time is a must if love is to grow.

3 – Sacrifice or Gift giving
A kind gift goes a long way. To some folks the giving of a $2.99 rose is a great sacrifice and to others, a dozen roses at $59.99 are not enough though it should be. But, the giving of a gift reveals and offers love.
--When my wife and I were just starting out, for me to stop buy the bakery on the way home and buy her a 25-cent doughnut was a great gift.
--The giving of a gift should not be the price of a gift but the thoughtfulness of the gift.
--God gave the world His Son, Jesus Christ to pay for our sins! Wow! What a wonderful gift that was. But, that was one time gift like marriage.
In marriage you give yourselves to each other for life.

But, every day, God gives us rain, sunshine, air, health, our heart beats, freedom, family and a thousand little gifts that I hope we don’ take for granite. We should lift up our voices in praise to Him.
A wife would do good to thank her husband for His provision, direction, spiritual leadership, financial stability and more.
The husband would be wise to thank his wife for her love, work, meals, children, meeting his needs, providing meals and the other 1,000 things she does.
Often a little extra gift is a great way of saying, “I love you.”
For the husband to call his wife on the phone, buy her a card, write her a note, take her out for a meal, buy her a cup of coffee or some little things just to say, “I LOVE YOU, I AM THINKING OF YOU” is a great action gift of love.

Before you make too much to do over gifts, let me say, this is really one of the weakest ways to say “I love you.”
Why then is so much emphasis put on gift-giving?
1) Sadly, because the other areas are lacking so much.
2) Many people do this because it is easiest. But, it is only 1/5 of being a lover. If this is the only way you show love you still get a “F.”
Here is the spiritual analogy. Many folks give God there “Ten Percent” but that is all they do.” Though they think they are showing God great love, it is really a very weak way of showing love.
To know how to give, you give to deepen your relationship with your mate, not to make amends for mistakes.
The gift that is given must be accompanied with true love or it will be only a gift. (speech, substance, sacrifice)

4 - Service
Nobody knew how to serve like Jesus. He was humble, meek, and lowly. He came not to be served but to serve.
The beauty of love is when two live to serve each other.
If you want to have great love for God and for each other take your expectations of your mate and throw them in the away and think, “How can I show God’s love to my mate?” “How can I give and serve and please my mate as God has done for me?”
Now men and women take those statements personally. Don’t point your finger at your mate and say, “Did you hear what the preacher said?”

Jesus came to serve you, if you ever understand that truth you will live to serve others and then the blessings will fall.

5 - Support
The last but maybe the most powerful language of love is physical touch.
Understand that God became man to show you His great love. He wrapped himself in human flesh. He touched the eyes of the blind and the sores of the leper and in Salvation He touches the sinful souls of men and makes men clean.
The Lord touches us spiritually but we touch each other physically.

--Young married couples enjoy the physical touch but it seems as they grow older the physical touch becomes less and less. It should not be so.
If the only way you show love is by physical contact, you still get a “F” on your report card.
There must be more to being a “Lover” than the physical.
Physical touch can make or break a relationship.
Physical touch without “true love” can become repulsive in time.

**If men only understood a woman’s emotions and how they desire kind words and loving words and gentle words, it would make a big difference in the physical relationship.
Many a woman wished that their husbands would talk to them like they talk to other women with respect and kindness rather than with a chip on their shoulder or without any emotions or love.

**Some couples grow to actually despise physical touch because the speech, the substance, the service, the sacrifice isn’t there.
They therefore look at the other as selfish only living to please themselves.

When the other four qualities are going well, touch or a hug is a tremendous energy booster for love.

As couples communicate in the first four areas it will help them to talk and understand what is important in this final stage.

God meant for couples to enjoy the physical.
It is a sad commentary when couples don’t want to be lovers, friends, pals and buddies.
To hug, hold hands or sit close together for a married couple is a beautiful testimony of love to others.

If you are married there is nothing wrong with physical touch though you want to be discreet at church and in public.
At home it might be good for your children to see a little love.

God wants every man, woman, boy and girl to learn true love. He wants you to be faithful to Him. He wants you to worship Him. If you will you will soon develop a love that is as unique as the Lord Jesus Himself.

I have discovered something about love. I learned to love my wife and I learned to love others by learning how God loved me and then in my desire to be like the Lord, I try to practice the love to others, he showed me.


A man loved a woman with eros and phileo love. He thought he loved her with agape love but it was only talk. He talked the talk but he didn’t walk the walk.
He asked her to marry him and to this she joyfully did.
It was only a few weeks and the marriage became unhappy. Fussing, fighting, arguing, pride, anger, filled hearts.
It wasn’t long before the love was pretty dead.
It seemed all was hopeless.
The man wanted the woman to change and the woman wanted the man to change.
Then one day the man began to walk with the Lord and drew nearer.
He studied his Bible and became applying Christ’s love to his life.
Change began to take place, little by little, week by week, month by month.
Years passed and people who met them never knew that at one time these people were two of the most miserable people on the face of the earth.
Less than two years later after their marriage started off with a big bang, the man went into full time service for the Lord.
Times were rough but God was testing their love not for each other but for Him.
Their love grew till the day where total strangers would approach them and say, “I wish I had the love you two have.”
To which they would point to heaven and say, “It is all because of His amazing grace.”

If your love in your home is lacking I would encourage you to do as this couple did. Fall in love with Jesus!
Minister George Crane tells of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband. "I do not only want to get rid of him, I want to get even. Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has me."
Dr. Crane suggested an ingenious plan "Go home and act as if you really love your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him. Make him believe you love him. After you've convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb.
Tell him that you're getting a divorce. That will really hurt him." With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, "Beautiful, beautiful. Will he ever be surprised!" And she did it with enthusiasm. Acting "as if." She loved him.
She showed her husband love and kindness. She listened to his needs and gave of herself to meet them. She made him the best meals she could and shared her whole life with him.
When two-months were up she didn't return to Dr. Crane. Dr. Crane called her and asked, "Are you ready now to go through with the divorce?"
"Divorce?" she exclaimed. "Never! I discovered I really do love him." Her actions had changed her feelings. Motion resulted in emotion. The ability to love is established not so much by fervent promise as often repeated deeds. 6

Dave Simmons took his son, Brandon (five) and his daughter Helen (eight) to the mall. When they walked in there was a petting zoo in the mall. Helen loved critters and so did Brandon. Dave gave both of them a quarter so they could spend time with the little animals while he did some shopping at sears.
In a few minutes, he noticed that Helen was walking behind him. “What’s the matter, honey?” Dave asked.
She looked at me with those big brown lipid eyes and said, “Love in Action.” “The petting zoo was $.50 so I gave my quarter to Brandon.”
Nobody loves animals as much as my daughter but she was putting into practice a teaching at our house. It is called love in action.
What do you think I did? Well, not what you might think. As soon as I finished my errands, I took Helen to the petting zoo. We stood by the fence and watched Brandon go crazy petting and feeding the animals. Helen stood with her hands and chin resting on the fence and just watched Brandon. I had fifty cents burning a hole in my pocket; I never offered it to Helen, and she never asked for it.
Because she knew the whole family motto. It's not "Love is Action." It's "Love is SACRIFICIAL Action!" Love always pays a price. Love always costs something. Love is expensive. When you love, benefits increases go to another's account.
Love is for you, not for me. Love gives; it doesn't grab. Helen gave her quarter to Brandon and wanted to follow through with her lesson. She knew she had to taste the sacrifice for Brandon to enjoy the blessing.
That is what Jesus did for you. He sacrificed so you could enjoy the blessing of Salvation. Love!




1 – www.Bible.org, 2005-2008
2 – ibid
3 – ibid
4 – french.about.com/od
5 - www.fivelovelanguages
6 – www.sermonillustration.com, love
7 - Dave Simmons, Dad, The Family Coach, Victor Books, 1991, pp. 123-124.