THE SIGNS OF REAL LOVE

THE SIGNS OF REAL LOVE 

The Signs of Real Love 

Series: What's Real And What's Not (I John)

I John 4: 7-12

INTRO:

(A) John ... Been There --- Done That ... SERIES: WHAT'S REAL AND WHAT'S NOT!
1- The ministry of Jesus ... the miracles of Jesus ... the Cross ... the Resurrection ... Birth of the church ... expansion of the church ... writing of God's Word ...John was there!
2- The future ... Antichrist ... one world government ... Second Coming of Jesus ... Millennium ... Great White Throne Judgment ... the New Jerusalem and heaven ... John was there!
* 60 or more years after the crucifixion ... John living in Ephesus as an old man ... writes the final books of God's Word!
* John --- Qualified to tell us WHAT IS REAL AND WHAT'S NOT!

(B) John has 3 themes that run throughout his letter: LOVE, OBEDIENCE , and TRUTH!
1- Each time he returns to one of these themes ... he takes us more deeply into it.
2- Tonight ... we revisit the theme ..... LOVE!
3- We've been here before:
I John 2: 7-11 ... THE SOURCE OF REAL LOVE...read 2:7 ... Real love originated with God ... was introduced to the world by Jesus and is the source from which the Christian draws both his assurance of salvation and his purpose for living.
I John 3: 11-18 ... THE SCORNING OF REAL LOVE ... read 3: 10-11 ... Children of the devil do not display real love because they have not experienced God's love ... In fact, they hate those who have experienced God's love!
4- Tonight ... John reveals to us ... THE SIGNS OF REAL LOVE!

(C) The world is obsessed with this thing called ... love!
1- Secular music ... almost totally dedicated to it.
2- Romance novels ... always among the best sellers!
3- Television covered with it ... people all over the world ... glued to their TV sets watching their soap opera ...
a- Waiting breathlessly from Friday to Monday to find out -- "Will John get Mary, or will Mary forsake John for Luke. Or will Luk ...

ummary: Everyone admits that love is wonderful and necessary, yet no one agrees on just what it is. If our songs, movies and poems (as interesting and entertaining to listen to, watch, and read as they are), are any indication, most of us don’t really know what l

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INTRODUCTION

Sermonic Theme

Notation: Today we will be taking a break from our Parables of Jesus series to celebrate love and marriage. I cannot miss this opportunity to address one of the most critical subjects of all…loving someone.

Opening Statement: Perhaps, our musicians who seem to be enamored by love underscore this the most. But even then, there seems to be some confusion on what love is and what we should do with love. Elvis sang, “I can’t help falling in love with you.” Tina Turner sings, “What’s love got to do with it.” And what about the movies? From “Sleepless in Seattle” to “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” we are all led to believe that love is something that we fall into and live happily ever after. Many of the movies that we watch come from Hollywood, CA. I’ve driven through there and believe me; it’s not that impressive. In fact, it’s a little disappointing. And what about our poetry? We tell our beloved how we would climb high mountains to be near them, swim wide oceans, cross deserts in the burning heat of day, and even sit at their window and sing love songs to them in the moonlight, but when it comes to doing the dishes, all of sudden, we’ve been on our feet too long today and can’t quite muster up enough gusto to knock those dishes out.

Quotation: Poet Samuel Daniel, a contemporary of Shakespeare, said, "Love is a sickness full of woes, all remedies refusing." Love is the universal topic of writers, poets and singers. It is the subject of both highbrow literature and the lowly country song.

Observation: Everyone admits that love is wonderful and necessary, yet no one agrees on just what it is. If our songs, movies and poems (as interesting and entertaining to listen to, watch, and read as they are), are any indication, most of us don’t really know what love is; we confuse real love with other experiences and emotions. Consequently, we have no basis on which to evaluate the relationships we pursue and the decisions we make in search of real love.

Key Word: What we need—and what we most want to hear-- is a realistic and Biblical understanding of true love. So let me suggest to you first what love is not, and then I’ll try to show you what love is.

Title: Real Love

Proposition:

Text: John 3:16; 15:13

Recitation: 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 15:13 No one has greater love than this—that one lays down his life for his friends.

Sermon

Opening Statement: You weren’t expecting it. You never saw it coming. You were minding your own business when it happened. You were standing in front of your locker at school, just talking with your friends, when all of a sudden the door opened and --WHAM! BAM! SHAZAAM! -- through the door walked your dream come true, a combination of all the posters hanging on your bedroom wall, the embodiment of all your fantasies, the fulfillment of all your hopes, and you knew, like you never knew anything before, that you were in love, that here was the person you would marry, that you had just met. . . .your destiny!