1 Corinthians chapter 13, and we've been working through this chapter. And I'm going to read the whole chapter once again for the sake of context, but we're looking particularly at one verse this morning. So let's begin with verse one of chapter 13. And I'm reading from the New King James. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy. Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil. does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Verse eight, love never fails. But whether there are prophets, they will fail. Whether there are tongues, they will cease. Whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. Verse 11. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. And now abide faith, hope, love. These three, but the greatest of these is love. May God be pleased to bless the reading of Holy Scripture. Let's ask the Lord to help us and pray. Our Father, we lift our hearts and our minds to you in this hour as we come to hear your word and we pray that you would grant us receptive hearts. We pray for the help of your spirit. We thank you that your spirit searches the deep things of God and that your Holy Spirit will make these things known to us. And we pray that we would grow through the preaching of your word, that we would be challenged and convicted. And where there is sin, we would repent of it. And Lord, where there are promises we can lay hold of, help us to lay hold of those promises. Thank you for your word of which The Apostle Paul tells us, it's through your precious word that we perfect. And your promise is that we perfect the fear of God in holiness. So help us, Lord, conform us to your image, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. So, beloved, the title of my message this morning is Love's True Nature. Now, we've been working through 1 Corinthians chapter 13, And last Sunday, we had a bit of a break focused on the crucifixion and the resurrection. But this morning, I want us to continue in this rich passage that really opens up to us the importance of love in the Christian life. And really, the last sermon I preached on this, we were looking at the essence of love, the way Paul describes it here. He says that love is patient, it's kind, it's not envious or proud or rude, showing a love that outshines our brokenness, urging us to reflect Christ's perfect love. These virtues of love are not temporary, they are lasting. They are growing in us. They should be growing in us and maturing in us. And these virtues really put love on display. They define, they describe what love is. And now in verse 7, Paul sets forth really the implications of these virtues of love that are maturing and should be growing in every Christian. And what we see here is we see love's unyielding strength. It's unyielding strength. especially as we trust in Christ, who this passage describes. Love is really the description of Christ, right? And we've seen that Christ is love personified. But in verse seven, we read these words, love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. Love never fails. What a powerful promise of love's resilience and steady, how love is as steady and immovable as a rock. It's unfailing in every sense of the word. And this is important for us because we live in a world that is so loveless. And you think of the Corinthian church for a moment. They were a people that were divided. They were fractured. There was pride. They were puffed up. They were mocked by strife. I mean, they were taking one another to court. There was terrible adultery and immorality in this church. And they were quibbling about their gifts and what they could do for the Lord and their service to the Lord. And Paul is saying to them, brethren, you are missing the heart of the gospel here. That's why he says, I will show you a better way. And so there was this trouble in the church. And so Paul brings them to the heart of the gospel. which is love. And beloved, that is always the remedy for the church, is it not? It's to be found in the love of Christ and to be growing in that love towards one another. It's the remedy, it's the solution to all of the church's problems. In our trials, and our doubt, and in the discord, or the pain that we as believers often find ourselves going through in this world in which we live in. Love's endurance roots us in God's faithful heart of love and that love that is expressed to others. That's the bond of hope that echoes His mercy. So I want us to unpack how love bears all things, lifting our loads, how it believes all things, clinging to truth, how it hopes all things, seeing beyond despair, and how it endures all things, outlasting every hardship and difficulty. So let's go to this passage, and I just want to say that I really, I pray that we would see how important Love is to everything we do. I really, I hope this is not just another message on love, but that this is really a rallying call to every one of us to walk in the strength of love, to keep in step with the spirit. And remember, it's the spirit that brings that love to bear upon us. It's the spirit that sheds abroad in our hearts the love of God, right? But this, I also want us to see is that how this love culminates and how it is concentrated in the Lord Jesus Christ. And that we won't know this love unless we abide in Him. And we have to abide in Him every day. He is the vine, we are the branches. So it's important for us to see that. So the title of the message is Love's Endurance. Love bears all things, believes all things, endures all things. What is the nature of love? Well, the nature of love is indestructible. Paul tells us very plainly, love never fails. And if we really want to see the nature of love, look at God, because the scripture says God is love. Love comes from God himself and it can never be defeated. We read in the Song of Solomon these repeated references of God's love, of Christ's love for us and His love in us in Song of Solomon's chapter 8, verse 6 and 7. And so we're going to follow Paul's reasoning here. We're going to see the incredible nature of love, the incredible, the wonderful produce of love, how it produces this incredible endurance. The first thing I want us to see is these words, love bears all. Look at verse seven, love bears all. Now, what does it mean? What do those words mean to say that love bears all? Well, literally that means to bear up under, to put up with. The phrase to bear all things is translated. There is no limit to love's forbearance. There is nothing love cannot face. It never gives up or tires of support. Earlier on in this very epistle, in chapter 9 verse 12, Paul uses the same word when he says that they were prepared to do all things as not to put any obstacle in the way of the gospel. These are the words he says in verse 12, but we endure all things lest we hinder the gospel of Christ. Now think about that, beloved, for a moment. Think about love bearing all things in the light of our fellowship with one another. If this was true, our fellowship would be the sweetest place any believer could ever be, right? It would be the sweetest place that we could find as Christians to be together where love is bearing all things, to bear one another's weaknesses, We who are strong in the faith can be very easily frustrated with those who are weaker and struggle with their scruples. And those who are weak in the faith can often look upon those who are strong and despise them or grumble against them. Remember what Paul said to the Romans? These are his words to the Roman believers. He said this in Romans chapter 15 verse 1 to 3. We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification. For even Christ did not please himself. But as it is written, the reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me. Now these scruples are weaknesses and they're not moral issues of sinful matters. They may be convictions or opinions and preferences, but they are weaknesses that can bind up Christians and hinder others in their faith. Or it could be a matter of pride and arrogance, looking down on those. and weaker believers who struggle with certain things. And so the first thing I want us to consider as we look at this passage is that love bears all things in Christian liberty. Love bears all things in Christian liberty. This could be things like the use of alcohol, which scripture does not forbid. It forbids drunkenness, but not the use of alcohol. The consumption of alcohol is not a matter of sin. It may be a matter of wisdom. Is it wise? Are you putting yourself in a place of temptation? But it's not a matter of sin. Drunkenness is a matter of sin, right? Or it could be a matter of the consumption of food, or to practice special days, holy days, Sabbath days. These are all things that could be portrayed as sin issues. But scripture tells us they are not. In fact, the passage we can go to that lays this out is Romans chapter 14, verse 1 to 13. If you want to go there, it's a lengthy passage. I want to read it. This is what Paul says. Receive one. Romans 14 from verse 1 to 30. Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to dispute over doubtful things. For one believes he may eat all things, but he who is weak eats only vegetables. Let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has received him. Who are you to judge another servant? To his own master he stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. One person esteems one day above another. Another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord. And he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks. And he who does not eat to the Lord, he does not eat, and gives God thanks. And then notice these words. For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end, Christ died and rose and lived again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written, as I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me and every tongue shall confess to God. So then, each of us shall give account of himself to God. Therefore, let us not judge one another any more, but rather resolve this, not to put a stumbling block or a cause to fall in our brother's way." Paul's instructions here are very clear and very plain for us, beloved. And they're very helpful, aren't they? because he's telling us very plainly we mustn't cause the weaker brother to stumble. We must, out of love for our weaker brother, make sure that we are not doing things to hinder him because of our freedoms or our liberties that we may have. If we are to have them, says Paul, later on, he says we are to have them to ourselves. But let me also say this, it works both ways. Because the weaker brother does not have the right to take his brother who is strong in his faith captive and bind his conscience to his scruples or to judge him or to accuse him of sinning. Or to say that such a brother, well, you know, he does this and this, and therefore, you know, it's not gonna be long before he's really, he's gonna fall. Paul tells us in verse three and four, let not him, in Romans 14, let not him who eats despise him who does not eat, and let not him who does not eat judge him who eats, for God has received him. Who are you to judge another servant to his own master? He stands or falls. Indeed, he will be made to stand, for God is able to make him stand. And I think this is very applicable to our text, that love bears all. It bears with him who eats, and it bears with him who does not eat. It does not judge, but it rests and trusts in the Lord. It rests and trusts in the Lord. And this is the way of love. This is the way of freedom in walking in step with the Spirit. It trusts in God. For Paul says, whatever is not of faith is what? It is sin. But it is not boastful, proud, or puffed up. It considers others as more important than itself. It outdoes others in showing honor. And you know, beloved, Paul expresses this clearly when he's talking to the Corinthian believers. In 1 Corinthians 9, verse 19-23, we read this, For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win them all. And to the Jews I have become as a Jew, that I might win When Jews to those who are under the law is under the law that I might win those who are under the law To those who are without the law is without law not being without law toward God But under the law toward Christ that I might win those who are without the law To the weak says Paul I became as weak that I might win the weak I Have become all things to all men that I might by all means save some Now this I do for the gospel's sake, that I may partake of it with you. What's the point there, beloved? The heart of love is to live for Christ and not to cause my brother to stumble. This is what it means when we say that love bears all things. This is love bearing all things in the apostle Paul's life. This is it in action. This is what it looks like. It's not lawlessness. No. But it is the fulfilling of the law. It is the submitting of my freedoms for the sake of gaining brothers to Christ, or using my freedoms to advance the gospel. My freedom is to serve Christ. And whatever which way I can serve Christ the best, that is how I am going to use my freedom. Right? But let's move on. Love bears all things. We see something of that in Christian liberty. And may I just pause for a moment and say, beloved, one could spend a great deal of time just expanding on that in a number of sermons. So I've just touched on it, but I've given some basic principles. But let me also say this. Love bears all in in forgiving one another, in forgiving one another, in forgiving our brothers. This phrase bears all things, also has the sense in the Greek of covering, of concealing the faults of others in silence. Love doesn't shame others. Now, it doesn't turn a blind eye, but it doesn't shame others. It doesn't humiliate others and expose others. Let me give you a reference that really highlights this. 1 Peter 4, verse 8 says this, And above all things have fervent love for one another, for love will cover a multitude of sins. We go to Solomon, Proverbs. And in chapter 10, verse 12 of Proverbs and chapter 17, verse nine, we find these words, hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins. He who covers transgressions seeks love. He who covers transgressions seeks love. What does that tell you about the nature of love, beloved? That love protects other people. from being unnecessarily exposed. It protects them from being ridiculed or harmed. It takes no delight in these things. When sin is known to have been committed, it seeks to correct that sin with the least possible harm to the sinner, but it restores gently and it restores with humility. The nature of love is that it is giving. The nature of love is that it wants to bless. That it is always seeking the best for everyone it is focused on. These are Paul's parting words to the elders on the beach of Ephesus in Acts chapter 20 verse 35. Listen to love expressing itself in Paul's words. I have shown you in every way by laboring like this that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus that he said, it is more blessed to give than to receive. Now again, let me make it clear. Love does not turn a blind eye to sin. It calls out sin. But it doesn't expose to destroy. It covers over and walks with. First, it deals with, and we have the great description of how love deals with sin in our Lord's words in Matthew chapter 18, right? Love deals with that sin privately. It goes to the person privately. If someone sins against you, you go to that person privately and you talk about that sin. And if your brother listens to you, you have won your brother, it goes no further. But if your brother continues any sin, You bring a witness in, and if he listens to the witness, it goes no further. There's a protection there, not just for the person who's exposing the sin, but for the person who's sinning, who's committed the sin. And only when there is no repentance, when there is resistance, then it goes to the church and then it is exposed. So love bears all things, bears with one another in our strengths and in our weaknesses, in terms of Christian liberty. Love covers the faults and the sins of brothers and sisters who repent of their sins. It bears all things, but then move on. We see it believes all things. Another way this phrase can be translated, believes all things, is that faith never fails. There is no limit to its trust. Love never loses faith. And this is all gospel focused, beloved. This is not naivety. This is not the fact that Paul is saying we must just believe everything out there. No, this pertains to the gospel. This pertains to faith. Love is not suspicious or cynical. When love covers a multitude of sins, it also believes in the best outcome for the one who has done the wrong. That that wrong will be confessed and forgiven and repented of. And that the loved one will be restored in righteousness. And again, another two aspects of this that I'd like to lay before you as we think of love believes all things. It is kindness in the face of evil. It's kindness in the face of evil because love believes in God. Love believes in the sovereign hand of God to overrule the evil of men. Think of Joseph and his brothers. These men did the most awful and evil thing to their brother because they were jealous of him. They expressed hatred and they sold him into slavery. And when this is brought to their conscience sharply, when they realize that their brother Joseph is still alive and they fear for their lives, what does Joseph say to them? He says this to them in Genesis chapter 45 and verse 4 and 5. Please come near to me. So they came near. Then he said, I am Joseph, your brother, whom you sold into Egypt. But now do not therefore be grieved or angry with yourselves because you sold me here for God sent me before you to preserve life. And God sent me before you to preserve a posterity for you in the earth and to save your lives by a great deliverance. Now listen to Joseph's understanding of God's sovereign handings. Then he says this. So now it was not you who sent me here, but God. And he has made me a father to Pharaoh and Lord of all his house and a ruler throughout all the land of Egypt. Now, you can imagine if you've sold your brother into slavery, that's a terrible thing. That's it's an evil. It's a it's an awful thing to have done. And they they They heard the words of Joseph, but they still didn't believe it because when Jacob died, they feared for the worst. And listen to what Joseph says to them again. In Genesis 50 verse 19 and 21, Joseph said to them, do not be afraid for am I in the place of God. But as for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring it about as it is this day to save many people alive. Now, therefore, do not be afraid. I will provide for you and your little ones. And he comforted them and spoke kindly to them. Joseph's love for his brothers led him to believe the best about their actions. There's no question that what they did was evil. But Joseph saw the hand of God behind it. And he loved his brother still. And he submitted to the purpose of God rather than giving in to bitterness because of their malice. And beloved, let me pause for a moment. How often is it not that people whom we love or respect have done things that may have hurt us? And it's very hard not to grow bitter as a result of that. It's very hard not to let that linger and fester. And yet, beloved, look at the faith of Joseph. He saw the hand of God in it. And we must ask ourselves the question, that pain or difficulty that we faced from the hurt of one whom we trusted and loved, did it lead to our good? Do we see the hand of God? Do we see how God has ministered to us through that? Now that doesn't excuse the fact that they may have sinned, but that's between them and God, right? But we can see the loving hand of God in this. Joseph trusted the Lord to work reconciliation, showing grace despite their betrayal. And so, beloved, the point I'm making is this. Love assumes the best. It chooses the kindest explanation for someone's actions or motives. If a loved one is accused, love believes they are innocent until proven guilty. Now again, I am not saying that love is naive or gullible. It's not. It's not naive or gullible. In fact, Spurgeon said it best when he said this, love believes all things and yet it is not blind. It believes all things that are to be believed, but it rejects everything that has no evidence. Love is the most sensible thing in the world because it is of God who is the fountain of wisdom. Let me say one more thing about love. No matter how well-meaning we may come across, if love is not in our hearts, we're going to be harsh with one another. We're going to project evil, judging motives and maligning character. I think of Job's friends. You know, they have a saying. They talk about Job's friends, which means they're really not friends. My enemies are better than my friends in one sense. Because Job's friends, what did they do? They added to his pain. Because they saw him as having sin in his life. And they actually afflicted him even more. They questioned his character. But they knew this man. They knew his love to the Lord. They knew that this was not as a result of sin, but still they had to ascribe some evil to Job. They thought the worst. What about the Pharisees? Look at all the good things that Jesus did. Look at all the healings and the grace he showed. And yet, what did they think about Jesus? Their thoughts were murderous. When love is absent, this is what takes place. This is what transpires in our hearts. We distrust one another. We think evil of one another. We think the worst of one another. Love fosters trust, and it aims to restore gently when trust breaks. You know, beloved, this is the great thing about love, is that when we deal with one another, we're not just dealing with one another, we're dealing with the Lord, right? And if we belong to the Lord, if His sheep hear His voice, surely we can trust the Lord to lead His sheep. Surely we can trust the Lord to do the work. that we so long to see in the hearts of others. But even when we deal with people who have been caught up in a sin, how do we deal with them? Well, if love is in our heart, we deal with them graciously and we deal with them gently because we know what's in our own heart. Listen to what Paul says in Galatians chapter 6 verse 1 to 5. Brethren, if a man is overtaken in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. That's love. bear one another's burdens, walk alongside, come under, help, lift up the arms, don't trot down, don't write off. And it's only possible, beloved, when we're walking with Christ. One of the things that Christ does for us as we walk closely to Him is He shows us our own weakness. is he shows us our own failings and shortcomings. I don't know how many times I've had conversations with brethren in this church who've said to me things like this. You know, I'm so glad it's only the Lord that knows what goes on in my heart and my mind, because if my brethren knew this, they probably wouldn't want to be near me. Because the Lord, the Lord bears with us, doesn't he? He bears with us. Because the Lord knows the power of His love and His love transforms. And so the bottom line is that love trusts implicitly in the power of God. Love trusts in the gospel, that the gospel will always prevail in the world and in people's lives. And again, remember the words in verse eight that begin with verse eight, love never fails. But let me move on. Love bears all things. It believes all things. But love hopes all things. Beloved, where would we be without hope? Where would we be without hope? The Holy Spirit brings into our hearts the hope of the gospel. And from that unshakable hope rooted in Christ, it radiates. Love radiates through our lives, which are being continually transformed and conformed into Christ from one degree of glory to the next. And as that hope fills our hearts and floods our lives, we have hope for the work of the gospel in others. We have confidence in the power of the gospel, not only to change our lives, but to change the lives of everyone. who believes in it. That's why, beloved, the most important thing we can ever pray for, for people who seem to be so utterly lost and hopeless, is we must pray that they come to Christ. Nothing else will do. No matter how their circumstance may change, don't pray about their circumstances as your first port of call. Pray for their hearts. Pray for them to be saved. Because that's where the change comes. Paul, as he dealt with the believers, he knew how many difficulties Christians would have with one another. He knew the difficulties they faced in the church under persecution. Writing to the believers in Rome, he said this in Romans 15 verse 30, now may the God of hope fill you with all joy. You see, beloved, if you don't have hope, you can't have joy. And I look at people and I listen to people and I hear such joylessness and it's because they don't have hope. It's because they don't have hope because they keep telling themselves, Oh, God will work and God will do this. But they don't really have hope. They're acting in unbelief. They're trying to get themselves into the place where they're hoping. They're not looking at Christ. They're not sinking their hearts and their minds into the promises of the scripture. And Paul says, now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Oh, beloved, look at Christ and there is hope. Look at Christ and there is hope. And what happens when you look at Christ, when you fix your eyes upon Him? You are bound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Peter said this to the believers that were scattered in 1 Peter 1, verse 3, Blessed be the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to what? A living hope through the resurrection. of Jesus Christ from the dead. What are we hoping, friends? What are you hoping? You're hoping the gospel and in God's redemptive plan for others. And you know, the scriptures are full of it. They're full of wonderful accounts of those who were put to great test but who believed in God that God was able to do the impossible. One of the most beautiful places we see this, in one sense, it's one of the ugliest places, but in another sense, it's the most beautiful, is when Hosea, the prophet, is told by God to go and marry a prostitute. He marries her and she goes and she prostitutes herself again, and she's in a slavery market, and God says to her, God says to the prophet, go buy her back. Because that's a picture of God's love for his people. Hosea chapter 3 verse 1 to 3. Then the Lord said to me, go again, love a woman who is loved by a lover and is committing adultery, just like the love of the Lord for the children of Israel, who look to other gods and love the raisin cakes of the pagans. So I bought it for myself for 15 shekels of silver and one, one half hummus of barley. And I said to her, you shall stay with me days and you shall not play the harlot, nor shall you have a man. So too will I be towards you. And that is the most powerful picture of the gospel, beloved. He bought us, our Lord Jesus bought us with the cost of his blood, even when we were lost in our sins. And it's his blood that keeps bringing us back again and again. What about the prodigal son? Beautiful picture of the son that went and squandered everything. And he came to his senses. The Spirit began to convict him and he came to his senses. And in Luke 15 20-24 we read this, And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. But the father said to his servant, bring up the best robe and put it on him and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet and bring the fattened calf here and kill it and let us eat and be married. For this, my son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and he's found. And they began to be married. I want to ask you, beloved, every one of you who know the Lord Jesus Christ. Have you not been astounded? by the love of Christ to you, how he has come to you again and again, how he has gathered you up when you have wandered from him, how he has shown you mercy. And when you expected, perhaps you thought to yourself, you are going to get blows. You got kisses and love and grace and mercy. Psalm 130 verse 4, the psalmist says, with you there is forgiveness that you may be feared. You see, beloved, it is grace that teaches our heart to fear. And it's grace that relieves our fears, right? And so love hopes all things by trusting God's redemptive purpose, by believing Him alone, that He alone can transform lives and renew relationships, no matter what the circumstances. But I must dig deeper. I must dig deeper as we think about this, as we consider hopes all things. Love hopes in the power of the Holy Spirit to regenerate and restore and revitalize. You think of pagans, how quickly and how easy we are to write of pagans and people who are just completely lost. And yet God can change those pagans in manners and in ways that we can't even begin to imagine. You know, I think of one Old Testament scenario where Naomi and her family, I believe, did what was sinful and they left Israel and they ended up in Canaan. And her sons got married to pagans. They went far away from the Lord. It was a hopeless situation and there was a famine. And I don't believe that we should ever think that lesson, that compromise, because it was terrible. But in the midst of that terrible situation, there was grace. God's grace came. And Ruth, Ruth was wonderfully transformed. In fact, we read this, that Naomi wanted to return because her husband and her two sons had died and Orpah went her way. But then Ruth, this pagan woman, this Canaanite woman, was powerfully changed. And she wanted to go with Naomi. And Naomi was grieving and sorrowful and obviously repentant even of her own sin. And Naomi said, okay, Ruth, you can come with me. And in the midst of that hardship, grace came. And God blessed both Ruth and Naomi with boas. Listen to this, Ruth chapter 1 verse 16 and 17. But Ruth said, entreat me not to leave you or to turn back from following after you. For wherever you go, I will go. Wherever you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me." The gospel prevailed, beloved. Even in the midst of something that was terrible. That does not give us an excuse. Please do not misunderstand what I'm saying, to go and sin that grace may abound. That does not give us an excuse. But it does highlight that no one is beyond the grace of God and that we should be praying and trusting God to work. That's the point. What about believers who failed terribly? We have the example of Peter who denied the Lord three times. How did Jesus deal with him? He restored him. John 21 verse 15 to 17, we know that Jesus restored him three times. Jesus spoke to him and healed him and restored him and commissioned him. The Lord did not, the Lord did not discard him. It's a powerful picture of how love hopes all things by trusting God's redemptive purposes, believing, believing in the power of God to transform lives and relationships, no matter the circumstances, no matter what's happened, that God, as long as there's breath in the lungs of that person, the gospel has the power and God is able to do immeasurably more than we can ever imagine or think. And therefore, beloved, we can pray and lay hold of him and trust him. Richard said this love is a grace that hopes all things that God has promised. It looks to the end of all troubles and sees beyond the dark clouds the bright sun of God's favor shining in Christ. I wonder if we had the opportunity to recount all the prayers of God's saints who, even after they've died, have had profound and powerful effects in the lives of those who were prayed for. Even when those people have gone on, God has answered the prayers of faithful Christians who've been praying for loved ones and praying for those who are lost. Let me move on to the last thing here. Love endures all. Of course it endures all. Of course it endures all. Because it's rooted in Christ's love. And Christ loved us before the foundation of the world. It's rooted in God's covenant love. He's everlasting love. The love that God has shed abroad in our hearts, beloved, is eternal. Lamentations chapter three, verse 22 to 23 says, through the Lord's mercies, we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning. Great is his faithfulness. I have a joy. You are not here because of your faithfulness. You understand that. You are here because of his faithfulness. Now, I'm not discounting the importance of you being faithful, so please don't misunderstand me. But it is the faithfulness of God to you that has put you where you are. We could translate this phrase like this, love's patience never fails. There's no limit to its endurance, to its power to endure. Think of our Lord's suffering in the garden. Think of our Lord's suffering on the cross. Psalm 136 verse one says, oh, give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his mercy endures forever, forever. I think if we spent more time meditating on the mercies of God, we would be far less prone to grumble, don't you? And love endures through personal betrayal. I was thinking of a father's love for his son, and I thought of David. What a terrible thing Absalom did to his father. What a terrible thing. He betrayed him and he tried to overthrow him and usurp him. And even in the midst of that, David's love did not wane. And when David received news that his son was dead, this is how David responded. Then the king was deeply moved. 2 Samuel chapter 18, verse 33 to 19, verse 4. Then the king was deeply moved and went up to the chamber over the gate and wept. And as he went, he said thus, O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, if only I had died in your place. O Absalom, my son, my son. And Joab was told, behold, the king is weeping. and mourning for Absalom. So the victory that day was turned into mourning for all the people, for the people heard it and said that day that the king is grieved for his son. And the people stole back into the city that day, as the people who are ashamed steal away when they flee in battle. But the king covered his face, and the king cried out with a loud voice, O my son Absalom, O Absalom my son, my son. And even though Absalom betrayed his father, David's love for Absalom did not wane. It did not wane, beloved. Even at this deep personal hurt and betrayal. And beloved, is that not the love that overcame us? The love of Christ hanging on the cross. Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. Are not our hands stained with the blood of Jesus because of our very own sin? and the love of God that overcomes. And beloved, when that love, when that love is resonant in our hearts, when that love is governing in our hearts, we're able to endure all things. Nowhere is that more clearly seen than in Christ enduring, suffering on the cross, enduring all things for the sake of love. Love endures through persecution and suffering. And I have many other illustrations that I can share with you. But I need to close, beloved. Hebrews chapter 12 verse 1 to 4 says this. that we are to lay aside every weight and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. And then the apostle says this to us. or consider him who endured such hostility from sinners against himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. The Lord knows, beloved, how easy it is for us to look within ourselves and to lean on our own strength, and our love will fail, but His love doesn't. Keep your eyes on Him. Keep your eyes on Him. no matter what difficulty you're going through. It is because Christ overcame all. It is because He endured all things that we can trust Him to work in every situation, even in those broken relationships, to heal and to restore. It's why no Christian husband can ever say, my marriage is done for. We're totally irreconcilable. There's no ways we could ever continue. No, that's a lie. The problem is you don't believe in Christ. The problem is you're not trusting in the Savior. That's why we can never turn our backs on people and write them off and just be done with it. Because that's not how Christ deals with sinners. That we can go to the Father's throne Let hold of him and beseech him and pour our hearts out before him. And beloved, it's not wasted. It's not wasted. God sees. Believe in the gospel and in the power of God to raise the dead. Ezekiel, can these bones live? They were very dry bones. Lord, you alone know if these bones can live. Prophesy. and stood before Ezekiel, a great and vast army, ready to serve God. It's not of, it's not done. Lay hold of God. Keep beseeching God. This is the power of the gospel, beloved. Love never gives up in the face of sin. Love overcomes sin because Christ overcame sin because Christ overcame Satan and he conquered death. Love never fails. Beloved, this is the most important thing we need to lay hold of. Love never fails. We don't know how God's going to work it out. It may not work out the way we think it will work out. But trust the Lord. And I want to encourage those of you who are struggling with sin, you need to hear this. Because it's very easy for you to give up on your hope. It's very easy for you to get hardened in your sin and your unbelief and drift away from your hope and drift away from Christ. No. Cling to your hope. Cling to your profession of faith in Christ. Cling to it and trust in the hope. Trust and hope in the God of love who is able to do for you immeasurably more than you can imagine or think of. Listen to what Paul says to those in Corinthians. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man. But God is faithful. who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape that you may be able to bear it. What is the way of escape, friends? The way of escape is Christ. It's only there that love never fails, and it's there that you must go, and it's there that you must dwell, and you must dwell daily. Take his yoke upon you. Learn from him for he is humble in heart. You know, faith, beloved, works through love. And when we walk by faith, we can do all things through Christ who strengthens us because faith works through love. And Paul says, love never fails. So I want to just say to you today, we have no excuse to give up. We have no excuse to stop believing in the power of Christ and of the gospel, to do immeasurably more than we can imagine or think. Let me end with these last words from my dear brother Spurgeon. Love endures all things, and that endurance is no mere passive submission. Did you hear that? It's no mere passive submission. It's no mere, well, I hope so. No. This is what he says. It is a triumphant march through the furnace with Christ as the captain and heaven as the prize. A triumphant march through the furnace with Christ as the captain and heaven as the prize. And beloved, let me say this to you. Cling to Christ. Cling to Christ. Let Him be the one who helps you to take every thought captive, to make it obedient to Himself. And you will get through that furnace. And one day you will be presented before the Father spotless and without blemish. That is a sure thing, because love never fails.