a new way to spell love. Not too long ago, I was in the garage, and a stranger walked in. That is a stranger to me. I didn't feel like I had ever seen him before. He was a young man. He walked over, and he called me by name, which sort of startled me. I wondered. Most people don't call me Billy, but anyway, he did. And he said, my wife and I were at the services last Sunday morning. Well, I pretty well can spot a visitor 25 miles away. And I thought to myself, surely I wouldn't have missed him and his wife. I just didn't place either one of them. But anyway, I have a bad memory. I didn't say anything. I said, yes, sir. And then he began to tell me that his wife's daddy, living in Florida, had come down sick and had to have an emergency operation. So his wife had to go down there. And I said, yes, sir. And then he said, while down there, his little girl, who went down there with the mother, was out riding the bicycle in the driveway, and she ran out in the street, and a car came along and hit her, and she was in the hospital. And I said, yes, sir. And he said, I need to go down there, but I'm out of a job, and I need some money. Could you give me some? And that put me on the spot. Now this often happens in church work, especially churches are always having people come by asking for help of one kind or another. And you know it's generally the picture that church has always got its handout in your pocket. But now it's always very strange and awkward when you have your handout in the church's pocket. And so it's hard, you see, for us to really know what to do. And we're used to putting our hand out. We're not used to, you see, having you put your hand out. I remember reading or hearing, I believe I heard this on a tape about the preacher in California at a large church, and they felt that brother ought to help brother in need. And so when they passed the plate, they said, if you have a need as a Christian brother, take it out of the plate. I say that's dangerous. But anyway, they did this and they finally had to stop. Because word got around town and many of the people who were on dope was coming there and supplying the money for their dope habit on Sundays by taking the money out of the plate, so they had to quit. Which goes back to say that you cannot always trust folks who come to you with the story of war. And so you have to be wise, I believe, in your giving. And so I said to the man, you won't know what I did, I guess, I said to the man, I'll tell you what, our church has no fun just to pass out money to folks who come by. We don't have an offering for that purpose. We don't have set up in our budget free money for those in need. And I said, I'll have to contact some people, and you come back in one hour, and I'll see what I can do for you. Well, I got to think, who was this man? He didn't tell me. Where does he live? He had no home. He said he was visiting a friend. He wanted money for gasoline for a car. I walked out, and he wasn't driving a car. He was walking. He walked down the street. Identification? He had none. Driver's license? Just lost it. Does he have a job? Just lost it. How on earth can you check up on a fellow like that? I mean, no name, no address, no friends, no identification, no nothing. So I said, I don't know what to do. But if it's a legitimate need, I guess we ought to try to help them. So, the hour passed, and he hasn't come back yet. Now, was it legitimate? The more I talk to other preachers, they say no. If he really needed help, he'd have come back. But if he doesn't come back, we call some other preachers to see if he was making the rounds. And he made the rounds over at the Baptist Church over here at Parkwood the week before. Now, brethren, you see, we don't always know what to do in a case like this, and sometimes you have to be very cautious. in this matter of giving to people. A little girl one time was sitting in church, and sitting next to her was a visitor, I guess, a lady that she did not recognize, and it came time for the offering to be passed. And she saw a woman open her purse up, and she was fumbling around amongst all the articles within her purse, and the little girl just assumed, well, undoubtedly she doesn't have anything to give this morning. So the woman closed her purse up and folded her hands like she was in a time of prayer when the flake was coming by. A little girl tapped her on the hand and said, listen, I know how embarrassing it is if you don't have any money. You take mine and when the plate comes by, I'll get underneath the bench. Well now, we think this is humorous, but you know one of the great criticisms that I find everybody talking about, the church is always wanting people to give, give, give, Give, that's all they talk about. Give, give, give. Every time we go to church, give, give. We get tired of hearing. about giving, giving, giving. We just wish they wouldn't pass the offering plate. Well, I'm not talking this morning on tithing or on this kind of activity in the church. A lot of folks say, I think the church ought to get down to God's business and they all just talk about the love of God. That's what people want to hear about. We don't want to go to church to just sit up there and hear some preacher say, give us more money, give us more money. What's the church going to give us? You know, they ought to give us at least the understanding of the love of God. We ought to be able to come to church, and when we leave, feel uplifted and encouraged that God's going to take care of our needs. We want to hear about your needs. We want to hear about our needs. And I guess there's some truth in that. Tell us about God's mercy. Tell us about God's grace. We have enough problems, and we have enough debts, and I think 54% of the people alive today are worried about money. Over half the population is very concerned about money. So you see, you're touching on a very touchy subject here. Tell us about God's mercy. Tell us about God's power. Tell us about God's forgiveness. Tell us about God's grace. Tell us about these things. These are what we need to hear. Stop harping about folks giving more and more and more and then I guess more folks might end up in heaven playing a harp if you could harp on them. And I guess there's a lot of truth in this maybe. Now this church does not harp on money. We hardly ever mention the subject. I feel like not enough. And undoubtedly the love of God is the basic thing most people want to hear about when they go to church. And the last thing they want to hear about is giving. and more give. Because you see, nobody's against love. Everybody likes a subject of love. Everybody wants to be loved. Love is just a tremendous thing. Now we may be a little bit confused about what it is and how we can convey it one to another and how we can receive it, but I mean, we still think love is a great thing. A little child says, Mama, I love you. We're not really sure what she means, but we don't really care. Just so she says it. We can sometimes put our own definitions to what they say. And there's no doubt that Christianity is a religion built around this thing called love. At least it ought to be. Now John 3.16 is a verse practically everybody memorizes from the Bible. And it's a verse that tells you what? God loves you. For God so loved the world he gave his only begotten son, you see. John 3.16 says God loves you. It's good to know that God just doesn't love a few people, but he loves all of us equally. Now Matthew 22, 37 through 38 says, that we're to love God. Love the Lord with all your heart and all your strength and all your mind and all your might. God loves me. And in turn, it says in Matthew 22, 37, I'm to love God. Then there's one more verse, John 13, 34 through 35. Jesus said, I'm to love the brother. We're to love one another. And by this evidence, people shall know we are his disciples. God loves us. We love God. And we are to love each other. How would you finish this sentence this morning? Love is. How would you define it? Love is. Now some young couple might say, love is carving two hearts on the side of a tree. That's love. I won't argue with that. Or the same couple would say, love is holding hands. Or some older couple might even say that. Or some would say, love is opening the door for your wife while she gets in the car. That's love. I don't know. If that is, I'm afraid my wife's cut out, you know. She's always getting on me about that. Why? Love is carrying a picture of someone in your billfold all your birth. That's love. I don't know. What would you say love is? I guess the ultimate in love in our minds would be a wedding ceremony. That's the ultimate picture of love. And yet I feel like something is wrong in the minds of a lot of folks who get married in a wedding service. Because for everyone who puts a ring on, nowadays almost one's taking one off. Just about as fast. Somehow they don't really understand or comprehend what love is all about. What is God's love? What is love? This morning I want us to examine what kind of love God has. Let's go back to John 3, 16. I know you all know it, but let's look at it together. And I saw something in this verse that I have quoted and that I have read time and time and time again that I never saw before, never did. Always John 3, 16 to me conveyed the love of God, period. I never thought beyond that. Here's a picture of God looking down upon a sinful man, loving him so much that he could send his own son that I wouldn't have to go to hell. And that's the basic meaning to me. That verse is always hanging. God loved me. I never saw anything else in this verse. Now look at verse 16. For God so loved the world He did what? Gave. I never noticed that word gay. I'd like for us to underline two words, dear brethren, if not really, but I mean in your mind, underline the word love and underline the word gay, because I think they're synonymous. They are one and the very same thing. God cannot love unless God gives. And God gives because God loves. I think when you begin to get this kind of concept of the love of God, it's all together different than we've ever had before. In 1 John 4, 9 and 10, we have the very same idea related to us. Look, if you will, 1 John, the 4th chapter, verse 9 and verse 10. In this was manifest the love of God towards us because God gave his only begotten Son that we might have life through him. Here is love. Not that we love God, but that He loved us and gave His Son. Gave His Son. I think anytime you raise the subject of loving, whether God or loving man, you're also raising the subject of giving. I never saw that before. I never did. And it came as a shock to me after all these years that love is giving. And that's all it is. That's all it is. I find no songs telling us this. I find few, if any, books telling us this. I have preached one Sunday series on Sunday nights for about 15 weeks on the love of God. I never saw this in all those sermons on love. It never dawned on me. Among the thousands of hymns that we have, just as one, our hymn book, Give of Your Best to the Master, and still it never really gets right there and says love is giving. It's not clearly stated. The idea is left vague. We sing a song, Love Lifted Me. I never thought about those words, really. Why does love lift you? I'll tell you why, because it gives you something. That's why. There could be no love lifting you unless something was given to you. You get that? I was sinking deep in sin, far from the peaceful shore, very deeply stained within, sinking to rise no more, implying I'm in trouble. I'm on my way out. But the master of the sea heard my despairing cry and from the waters lifted me. Now safe am I, love lifted me. Why are we saying love lifted me? I got lifted. I got a gift. But had God done nothing but just look down from heaven and say, oh, there's a sinner. I love you, sinner. Remember that. Go on to hell. No, brethren, you say that's not love. Why? Because it didn't do anything. Love does something. Love gives. What did God give? He gave his Son. We have a very narrow concept. I love God. Well, you get it. I'll give him nothing. You don't love him. What is the definition of love? Love is what? Love is giving. While a lot of marriages break up, there's no giving. It's all giving. Give me this, but I'll give you nothing. Brethren, where there's no giving, there's no love. It's never dawned on me. It's never dawned on me. The Bible says God loves a cheerful giver. Why does he say this? What does this mean? God loves a lover? Just change the words. God loves a cheerful giver. God loves a cheerful lover. What is a cheerful lover? He's a cheerful giver. He's a cheerful giver. What God is saying is, I love those that are just like me. What's that? They give. They give. Do you know the greatest appeal to God's Love today is nothing but simply one thing. Generosity. Generosity. God knows nothing of a love that refuses to give. Always giving. The rain you hear outside the building, where does it come from? God gives it. And God can withhold it, dear brethren. He gives it. Why? Because we deserve it? Because we pay our water bill? To help the water company have more water so they can charge you for it at higher rates? Why does God do this? because God loves to give, and God gives because He loves. He just does it. Maybe the grass itself, you see. I think the Bible teaches this, even in Psalms 104, nature says the birds look to God to give them food every day. Where do they get it from? The flowers look to God for the sunshine every day. God gives and gives. You see, God gave us from His power the creation. We abuse it. Sometimes never thanking for it, but He gave it to you. That's all it is. By His wisdom, God gave us the Bible. You might never read it, but He gave it to you. You probably got five or six of them around the house. He gave you the Word of God. He gave you the truth. His mercy. Why do you repent? because He's promised to give you forgiveness. You wouldn't repent if God's love didn't give you anything. You see? For His grace gives us salvation. His goodness gives us all of our daily necessities, whatever they might be. He gives you eyesight, you can lose it. He gives you a heartbeat, it can stop. We never stop to think God's always giving 24 hours a day. Giving, giving. We say God is love, and He is. But if God stopped giving, You would stop saying, God is love. From Genesis to Revelation, God gave the Garden of Eden, you get around the Revelation, God gives a new heaven and a new earth. Gives us a home in which we shall live and now prepares a place for us. You see, giving is the very nature of God. And if you have any respect and love for Him, that's why you love Him, whether you realize it or not. God is beneficial to us. That's why we say, God is love. God's continually giving. Never stops giving. All and on and on and on. He doesn't just give once, but every day. Children sing a song, I guess maybe it's number one on their hit parade, Jesus Loves Me. Why do they sing that? Why do you say Jesus loves me, this I know? I don't believe it's because just the Bible tells you so. I believe because you get so many things from Him. Jesus loves me because he gives me something. I believe it would be impossible, almost impossible, to get anyone to come to a church meeting if the only attraction you had was a beautiful God to look at. There he is. I want you to look at him. Sightseeing tour. Take a few pictures with your camera and go back home. How many would come to church after the first visit because it would be unusual to see God, you see? I have a picture of him. But after the first visit, how many people would ever come back? If all we're going to do is let you see how God looks in all of his glorious beauty, and that's all there is to it, how many people come back again and again and again and again just to look at him? You wouldn't do it. If God cut out all of his giving, and he would give you absolutely nothing from now on but just a chance to look at him in all his beauty, you say, I'll forget him. I'll guarantee you will. I'll guarantee you will. You see, God gets our attention because he gives us something. You know as well as I do, if you want to get a crowd, have a giveaway. Just have a giveaway. I remember in my last church, we went to a store shopping, and I saw a man on the street, on the street, on the sidewalk, in front of the store, and he was giving away silver dollars. And I said, this can't be true. Just no way. And most folks had the same idea I did, that nobody within his right mind would just walk up and say, would you like to have a dollar? And he would give them one. All they had to do was say yes, and they'd say, you're kidding. You won't give it to me. If I tell you yes, you just want something. And he said, no, just ask me. A lot of them wouldn't even ask him. And so I said, well, fiddle, I'll ask him. So I walked up and I said, give me one, I'll take it. And he said, give me 50 cents. And I said, you said it was free. And he said, well, 50 cents is still a bargain for a silver dollar, isn't it? And I said, yeah, but I don't want it for nothing. But he made me pay 50 cents for it. But I bought it, 50 cents. But I got it. But I mean, pretty soon when people began to realize that, man, this guy was for real, the crowd began to gather. Everybody had their hands. Give me one of them. Give me one of them. Now, Foley's has a 25% off sale and everything in the store tomorrow. They would have it packed out. But if they put an ad in the paper, everything at Foley's is free. Just come in and haul it off. The whole city would go down there. Why? Because it's a big giveaway. And if they advertise prices are all the same, you won't even go tomorrow. It's what we get that conveys the message to us, God loves us. The amazing thing to me is how God can give and give and give and still keep right on giving. Whenever you hear somebody murmur, God doesn't love me anymore. You know what they're saying? God has stopped giving to me what I want. And anytime that you begin to pray and you begin to beg God for things that you need and you want, and God doesn't give them to you, the first thought comes to your mind, God is not a loving God. He's mean, He's cruel, and you know the concept is based simply on, you don't get what you want. What does a child say to mom and daddy when they don't always give them what they want? You don't love me anymore. Brethren, this concept is ingrained within us, our nature, and it's true. God's love is a giving love. And we know God loves us because He gave His Son for us, and He gives things to us today. If you don't believe in God's giving, why do you even pray at all? Why even bother with it? Because deep down you have the feeling that's God's nature. God seems to enjoy giving. We don't always ask for the right things, but we somehow ought to know God gives. Because that is His definition of His kind of love. Now I want to zero in on what I really want to talk about this morning. Down through the last several months we have been trying to examine what is it to have the Spirit fill life. I'm not sure anybody's even concerned, you know. What is it to walk with Christ? What is it to be Christ-like? What is it to have Christ's nature transplanted within our heart and let it come forth and shine forth and guide our life? What would it be like when a man is under the control of God's Holy Spirit moment by moment in his life? And we've been going through various aspects of the Spirit-filled life. Today you hear a lot of talking to folks, well, I'm Spirit-filled and I've got the Holy Spirit And you wonder, well, if you've got the Holy Spirit, I don't want him. The way you act and live. So we're trying to decide what will one who is under the control of the Holy Spirit look like, act like, talk like, be like? In other words, what type of person will a spirit-filled Christian be? There are two kinds of Christians, carnal Christians and spirit-filled Christians. And those that are carnal, you'll have a hard time figuring out if they're even Christian, period. The spirit-filled Christian will be so different And it won't be hard to recognize him. Now, the thing that designates one as being spirit-filled is that he begins to show the fruit of the Spirit. And we have been looking at these one by one. In Galatians 5, 22, all the various aspects of the fruit of the Spirit are listed. At the top of the list, number one in priority, number one in evidence, is L-O-V-E. Love, love for God, love for the brethren. L-O-V-E is number one on God's hit parade for the spirit-filled life. I want to go back and look again at something we've already looked at before, and that is God's explanation of the spirit-filled person. Look at John 4, 14. Drinks of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst. I want you to get a picture in your mind. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well, a well of water springing up into everlasting life. Keep in mind now that he's talking about the Holy Spirit, and he's comparing the Holy Spirit to an artesian well within a man's life that will send forth, of course, the waters Look also now at John 7, 38 and 39. Same book, a few chapters over. He that believeth on me, as the scriptures say, is out of his belly, out of his inner being, shall flow rivers of living water. This he spoke of the Holy Spirit. What's the difference between a puddle and a well? You know as well as I do. A puddle is the collection of water It is a place that has received, but it does not give out. It's just a puddle. It never gives, and therefore it becomes stagnant. And you have little time for puddles. And the farmers today are going around town spraying the puddles for mosquitoes. Puddles breed disease. But a well, you see, what's the characteristic of a well? It's always giving. giving forth new water, giving forth healthy water, giving forth fresh water, giving forth enjoyable water. A lot of Christians today are puddles. They're always receiving from the love of God, but they're stagnated. Now, brethren, if that is your case this morning, you are not a spirit-filled Christian. I'm not saying you're not a Christian. I'm just saying you're not a spirit-filled Christian. And I'm saying you're far below the level that God wants you to live. You're in a displeasure to Him, and He wants you changed. Christ wants us like Himself, and Christ says, out of the Christian will flow an artesian well that will gush to the point, give forth so much water to the point that it will perform and produce a river. Not a puddle, but a river. You see, Christ is the giver. He gives us the Holy Spirit, who is also the giver, who gives us a flow of new life, in turn, which we are to give to other folks, the overflow. A well, artesian well, will overflow and make the river. So Christ is saying in a real sense, I'm a giver, you will be made. a giver by the artesian will if you allow it to spring up in your life. The Bible says the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. What's he saying? I want to say that again. The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. He is saying the giving characteristic of God is shed abroad in our hearts. When the Holy Spirit comes in, he places in me God's love. What is God's love? Give, and give, and give, and give. And when we say we have the abundant life, we are saying, I have God's love in operation in my life. And if you say that, then you're going to be a giving person. Because that's what God's definition of love is. If you're going to share in God's nature, which at the top would be love, then you're going to have to be like him and give. I say away with all this nonsense that you can be spirit-filled. Keep a tight grip on your pocketbook. It's a bunch of nonsense. Really now. And keep a tight grip on your time. People who say, well, I just don't have time. Dear brethren, God, do you think God had nothing better to do than send his son down to earth to die for you and me? Really now. Really. You think he's got nothing better to do than mess around with us and all of our failures and shortcomings? If God probably really would do what he ought to do, if what justice demanded, he said these folks down there have failed so much I'm through with them, pooh! They're a miserable failure. I've got better things I can do. I'm going to make me a new earth and a whole new batch of people and it won't be like that sorry bunch down there. I've got better things I can do. Dear brother, and that's what you would say, but God can't do that. Why can't He? Because He loves me. What you mean is He's going to give you a chance again and again and again. He's going to give you special time. He's going to hang around though you try to run Him off. He's going to give and give and give and give and give to you. That's right. That's right. He will. But He could say, I don't have time for you. Man, you're the biggest headache and nuisance I've got for a kid. I can get plenty to replace you. Get out! Now he could say that. Because you see, that's what a lot of Christians say. I don't have time for church and time for prayer and time for Bible study and time for God and time for the choir. I don't have time. No, that's because you're not Spirit-filled. That's because you don't have the love of God operating in your life. You see, we've all got the same amount of time, dear brethren. 24 hours in a day. It's just how we use our time. And God says, I can use mine any way I choose, but I choose to use it loving you. And that means he chooses to use his time giving me things that I sure do need. Maybe I don't appreciate like I ought to and thank him, but I sure do need them. And God says, I take the time and I give that time to you. I give it. I give it. You get the point? I give it. We say, well, I don't have anything I can do for God. I don't have any abilities. You know that's not true. You know that's not true. You're not on relief rolls. You've got some abilities. We just try to use this as an excuse not to do anything. I don't give Him my talents. I don't give Him my services. Why don't you? Well, I just don't do it. I couldn't do a good job. That's an excuse too. Nobody says you have to do a good job. But the point is, you see, we have the wrong concept. We say, do you love Jesus? Oh, I love Jesus. No, I want you to get it straight this morning. You love him if you're willing to give. You're willing to give. The Bible says he'll give his riches of glory to you. Really now, the riches of heaven he'll give to you. He's laying out treasures in heaven for you. He's going to give you a street that's made out of gold, and we won't give him two bits of a dollar. Now, we love him. And you know it's not true, because I believe we have the wrong concept of loving. Loving, dear folks, is giving. I have two girls, and others say that I said to my girls every day, I love you, but I don't have time to speak to you, and I don't have time to ever see you. And I don't think I'll ever buy you but one dress every five years. That's about enough. Just make them last. Just do the best you can with what you got. And if you can find somebody else to bum off of, then you go ahead and do that. But I love you girls now. Don't you believe it? Yeah, daddy. Well, I love you now. And all you out there would say is, boy, you don't love them at all. How dare you judge me? Because you see, that's the kind of love we all operate on with God. How dare anybody insinuate, I don't love God. What are you giving? What are you giving? I don't know if it's going to be money. A lot of folks try to buy him off. What I'm saying is, the man that wants to have the Spirit-filled life is going to be a giver. And we always connect the word giver just with money. And I say, you've got too far to limit this. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 8, 5, the first gave themselves to God. God wants you. God wants you. I say this, that God's the lover, and by that I mean God's the giver. And brethren, you and I love a giver. Really now, we love a giver. I also came across a new conception of the cross. I never saw this before. I walked up to the cross and I said, God's the lover. I never looked at the cross and said God's the giver. I never did. I hope now when I look at the cross, I'll be able to say, God is first to give her. And that's how I know he's a lover. He first gave his son. Then his son became the Savior. He was first a giver. That's how I know he's a lover. I'll close with this. A new way to spell love is G-I-V-E. That's the new way to spell it. How would you like God to give to you on the basis of how you give to Him? In other words, how would you like for God to love you on the basis of how you love Him? Just that simple. Just that simple. How would you like for Him to base His giving on the way you give to Him? Would you like that kind of a deal? Would you like that kind of a love affair between you and God? God's willing to make it that way, but I don't think you and I would be. And we would say, well, I hope God loves me enough that He won't put that kind of restriction on me. And yet God says, I have given the very love of my own heart into you that I might receive from you what I give to you. And what's that? Gifts. Give of your best to the Master. Why? Because you want nothing less from the Master than His best. Rather than when somebody says, do you love Jesus? I hope in your mind you'll say, he's asking me, do I give to Jesus? My life, my time, and my possessions, and my person, and my personality, my talents, my all. Jesus wouldn't be here this morning if he didn't give up something. He could be up in heaven singing with the angels, I guess. But that's not his choice. We call that choice based on love. Father, we give thee thanks this morning for the kind of love that you have, which you so clearly show and speak of in every way. And we all stand this morning with blessings untold. Most of us are in good health. Most of us have been given so many things, and we've never stopped to realize that it's all ours because God is love. Yet, Father, may we see this as our opportunity also to let the Holy Spirit come into our life in such a manner, under such control, that He causes us to be willing to give of ourselves and of our time and of our resources and of our money and of our talents back to him and back to our brothers. Cause us not to be a stingy, stagnant puddle, but cause us this morning to be a free-flowing swell of water. We pray these things in Jesus' name and for his sake. Amen.