The Revival We Need (4)

'Love never fails...' 1 Corinthians 13:8 NKJV

The last thing I want to share with you this week about revival is love. Paul spoke to the Corinthians about having a special love in our hearts that only comes from God. If you are like me you may have struggled with living out this particular scripture in your life. But the biggest lesson I've learned is that no matter how many times I fail, His Love never does. So the Fourth are we need to work on is a revival of love. The Bible says, 'Love never fails.' Stop and think about that for a moment. Just about everything else in life fails, but love doesn't. There's a cute story about a lady who said to her husband, 'Will you love me when I'm old?' He replied, 'Yes, dear.' She said, 'But will you love me when my hair is grey?' He replied, 'Yes, dear, I've loved you through seven different shades already, why would I change my mind when you're grey?' You can score points for having high morals and have all your theological ducks in a row, but if you don't love people-in every circumstance of life-you've failed where it counts most. Paul writes: 'If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn't love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it, but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing... Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.' (vv2-7 NLT) It took a lot of commitment to be a Pharisee. Living according to the law of Moses demanded incredible discipline and dedication. Why did Jesus condemn the Pharisees so often? Because they had light in their heads but no love in their hearts!

When we, the church, experience a revival of love we won't need to advertise; people will break down the doors to get in.