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Colin Smith: I am wholly persuaded that the greatest need of the church today is a fresh outpouring of faith, hope, and love.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I'm Steve Hiller. Glad you're with us. And over the past few months, we've been looking at growing in faith, growing in hope. Today, we look at growing in love.

Colin Smith: Yes, and love being the one that is of supreme value. The apostle makes it very clear that there are three things that remain. Everything else is going to pass away, but faith, hope, and love will remain, and that is why they are of supreme value.

But he then says, the greatest of these is love. So here is the thing that we must pursue. We can't talk about it too much. It's outlined for us here in 1 Corinthians in chapter 13, where Paul goes through the many gifts and achievements that we may have in our lives. People are able to accomplish remarkable things.

But the thing that really matters, the apostle says, is are we growing in love?

Steve Hiller: Well, we're going to continue to look at that today as we open our Bibles to 1 Corinthians 13 and continue our message, Love Is Our Distinct Calling. Here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: I've been reading the story of William Wilberforce, a member of the British Parliament in the 18th and early 19th century, who proposed legislation to abolish slavery. He was defeated 11 times over a period of 20 years. But by God's grace, he overcame that mountain of opposition and was finally blessed with wonderful success.

Wilberforce had faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, and God used him to move a mountain. Now some people, like Wilberforce, are drawn to the hardest tasks. And if that's you, it's a very wonderful gift indeed. Some people have a special kind of faith that enables them to believe that a mountain can be overcome. And if God has given you that kind of gift, I want to encourage you, find the mountain that he is calling you to move. And then give yourself to moving it by faith, even if it takes the whole of your life to see it happen.

But remember this, that every gift brings its own unique temptation. And the obvious temptation to those who accomplish great things is the temptation to pride. The feeling that what has been accomplished was the result of your own power.

James Denny gives this warning to pastors as well as to those who are successful in business. Let me quote what he says. "The sense may steal upon a man's mind that his commanding personality is that to which circumstances yield. His practical capacity is that which transmits force and sees that work is done."

"And when that happens," Denny says, "all is lost." If you think that the moving of a mountain was ultimately your personality, your force, your power, rather than that God in his marvelous grace used you to do it, you've lost everything. That's what Denny is saying. And that's what the Apostle Paul is saying here.

"If I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. Nothing." Love is what enables a person to achieve great things and then still to serve with humility. Love reminds a believer that his calling to move one mountain may not be the calling of another believer who may be called to move another mountain. And love will enable you to find joy in the achievements of others as much as you find joy in the achievements of your own.

And then fifthly, Paul identifies this gift of unusual generosity. Look at what he says, "If I give, verse 3, all I have." Not a 10th, not even half, if I give everything. All that I have. This is what Jesus called the rich young ruler to do, and he couldn't do it. He couldn't bring himself to do it because he didn't have love.

Paul says, "If I give all that I have." Now God calls all of us to be generous, but some people have a special calling and a special ability in this regard. And if God has put it into your heart to be generous, be as generous as you possibly can. But remember that every gift carries its own hidden temptation. And the temptation to those who give generously is that it is possible to give simply as a matter of duty.

It's possible to give in order to make an impression. It's possible to give as a means of exercising control. You can give without love. And Paul says, "If I give all that I have and have not love, I gain nothing." But you see, growing in love is what will enable you to give with freedom and with joy.

And your reward will be very great. The Apostle Paul says in 2 Corinthians, the next letter in the New Testament, "Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." Sow bountifully because your heart is growing in love. Grow in love and you will sow bountifully.

And then the last gift that Paul identifies here is the gift of courageous commitment. Look at what he says, "And if I deliver up my body to be burned." Now Paul is describing here the courage of believers who pay the ultimate price of laying down their own lives for their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Believers have faced persecution from the earliest times, and around the world, many still do today. Some have died and still die horrible and painful deaths.

And no one could possibly do this without being given a special gift of strength to meet the unique challenge of this particular calling. Now God may have called you to an unusual level of sacrifice and of commitment. And if that is the case, give yourself to what God has called you to do irrespective of the cost, knowing that God will give to you all that you need to fulfill all that he has called you to do.

But remember that it is possible to make great sacrifices without love. And the obvious temptation for those whose sacrifices have been great is to resent those whose paths in life have been easier. I remember very vividly hearing from a pastor in a country in Eastern Europe, who told me that the greatest difficulty that the churches faced after the fall of communism was the tension that emerged between church leaders who had been imprisoned during the communist time and others who had not.

And you can understand this. "We took a costly stand. Where were you when we were in jail? Why weren't you with us? Why didn't you take the same stand as we did?" But you see, what is the point in taking a costly stand if you cannot love your own brother who chose a different path?

"If I deliver my body up to be burned," the apostle says, "but have not love, I gain nothing. Nothing." And what a tragedy it would be to make great sacrifices for the Lord Jesus Christ and gain nothing from it.

Now this temptation to resent people who choose an easier path than the one that you walk may actually be closer to home than some of us might think. The more committed you become, the more you will be tempted to resent those who don't show the same measure of commitment that you do. But it is love that will set you free from this kind of resentment.

It is love that will enable you to say, "What I do, I do for the Lord Jesus Christ and for his people, and though it be costly, I have no regrets." Love will enable you to say that. Courageous commitment is a marvelous gift, but only if it is exercised with love.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. The message called Love Is Our Distinct Calling. The first in our series called Grow in Love. We're going to pause here, but we'll get back to this message in just a moment, so hope you'll stay with us.

Well, a lot of us may feel like we need to grow in love, especially when it comes to loving those we deeply disagree with, but how is that possible? And can you become a more significantly loving person than you are right now? Well, the good news is, love can be learned. It's possible to grow in love, and God's Holy Spirit is given to us for this purpose. That's what Pastor Colin Smith's newest book, Grow in Love, is all about. And we'd love to send you a copy as our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month. You can give online at openthebible.org, or when you call 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. Or again, our website is openthebible.org. Well, let's get back to the message. Again, here is Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: I had originally intended to try and speak from the whole of 1 Corinthians in chapter 13 today. But there's just so much in these first three verses that I've decided to leave the rest for next week and we'll come back to it then. So, let me in these remaining minutes try to press this home into our hearts. The main point of the message today is that whatever our gifts, we all need to grow in love.

I wonder if you noticed that these verses, written by the Apostle Paul, are framed in the first person. Paul says, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging symbol." And you know, the apostle gives us a rather marvelous example of expressing oneself in love by the way that he puts this.

A less thoughtful person would say, "If you speak with the tongues of men and angels, and if you don't have love, well, you know what, you are just a noisy gong and a clanging symbol." But the Apostle Paul doesn't say it like that. He offers himself as an example of someone who would gain nothing, be nothing if he did not have love.

Now, the more I think about this, the more staggering it seems to me that it is. Think about Paul's speaking. God used this man's gift of speaking more than any other person to spread the gospel across the entire ancient Roman world, and it happened with extraordinary effect. And then think about this man's spiritual experience. He saw the glory of the risen Lord who appeared to him on the road to Damascus. It would be hard to imagine a more remarkable spiritual experience than that.

And then think about this man's brilliant mind. I mean, he was trained in the school of Gamaliel, one of the best schools that anyone could have gone to at the time. And his natural gifts were heightened even further by the work of the Holy Spirit, opening his eyes to the meaning of Scripture and to the mystery of the gospel. And think about the Apostle Paul's extraordinary achievement. I mean, planting churches across the Roman Empire in the face of relentless hostility and opposition. This man was used by God to move mountains. He really was.

And think about his generosity. The Apostle Paul gave himself to the service of the Lord Jesus Christ freely. He often worked as a tentmaker by day, then giving himself to ministry at night. Why? So that he did not have to impose a financial burden on newly formed churches by asking people to support him.

And then think about this man's courage. Shipwrecked, beaten with rods, repeatedly arrested and imprisoned. You could hardly have a more gifted, committed, generous, courageous person than the Apostle Paul, and yet he says, "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong and a clanging symbol. And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, if I have faith that can move mountains, but I have not love, well, I am nothing." The Apostle Paul?

"And if I give all that I have and deliver up my body to be burned, if I make the ultimate sacrifice itself, and have not love, I gain nothing." The Apostle Paul gaining nothing? My friends, if this was true for him, how much more true is it for me and for us? The message today is really very simple. I am asking you to join me in seeking to grow in love.

"I am wholly persuaded that the greatest need of the church today is a fresh outpouring of faith, hope, and love." And in as much as that happens, the world will see something radically different that could only have come from the hand of Jesus. You may be wondering, "Where could I find love like this?" Maybe you're thinking, "I've never been loved like this." Maybe the very mention of the word love makes you feel something that you lack. "I've never been loved like this." Oh yes, you have.

I want you to remember today that the man who wrote these words was once an angry, violent man. He lived with a passion for his own particular issue, and he hated everyone who disagreed with him. Hated. How did love come into his life? Well, he tells us in Galatians in chapter 2 and verse 20, "The Son of God loved me and gave himself for me." And the knowledge of that love of Jesus Christ for this man transformed him from the inside out, and the same love of the Lord Jesus Christ can change you too.

Love is at the heart of all that God calls us to do for him, and love is at the heart of all that God has done for us. "God shows his own love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." "In this is love, not that we loved God," which, of course, we didn't, "but that he loved us and he sent his Son to be the propitiating sacrifice for our sins." "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life."

Steve Hiller: Well, I hope that you know that love of God that Pastor Colin has been talking about today. You know that you have eternal life because you're secure in his love. Maybe you've got questions about that. We'd love for you to contact us here at Open the Bible. We'd love to talk with you about how you can personally know and experience the love and the grace and the mercy and the forgiveness of God in your life today.

You can reach us online at openthebible.org, or even better, call and talk to one of our staff members at 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. Well, today's message, Love Is Our Distinct Calling, is from a larger series entitled Grow in Love. And if you ever miss a broadcast in the series, you can come and listen online. Our website is openthebible.org. There you can stream the program or download an MP3 for free. You can also listen if you have the Open the Bible app. It's easy to listen on demand at your convenience that way. And the app is free at your app store. Simply look for Open the Bible.

Open the Bible is able to be on the station, make the podcast, the app, and all the ministry tools available because of your financial generosity. And as you give a gift of any amount this month, we'd love to say thank you for your gift by sending you a copy of Pastor Colin's brand new 30-day devotional book called Grow in Love. And Colin, why did you write this book?

Colin Smith: Well, this is the third in a series on faith, hope, and love. And of course, the Bible says that these are the three things that are going to remain. It's very striking. Paul says, "Everything else is going to pass away, but faith, hope, and love, they're going to abide, and the greatest of these is love." So I'm absolutely convinced that the greatest need of the Christian church today is a fresh outpouring of faith, and of hope, and of love. I mean, think about it. Everybody is looking for love, everybody wants to find hope, everyone needs someone to believe in, and God has given us these things in Jesus Christ. And the more we grow in faith, the more we grow in hope, and the more we grow in love, the more effective we're going to be in the world, and the more we're going to be like our Savior.

Steve Hiller: Well, we'd love to send you, as our way of saying thank you for your financial support this month, a copy of Colin's new book, Grow in Love. If you want to find out more or give a gift right now, you can visit our website. Just come to openthebible.org, or call 1-877-673-6365. It might be easier to remember as 1-877-OPEN-365. And again, the website is openthebible.org. For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening, and I hope you'll join us next time. This program is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible.

Colin Smith: At Open the Bible, we're grateful for like-minded organizations committed to sharing the gospel around the world. And to that end, I would like to commend the work of Global Fingerprints. You know, in the book of James, God calls us to help orphans in their distress. It's a clear command, but it's not always clear how we should obey it. And this is where Global Fingerprints comes in. Through Global Fingerprints, you can sponsor a vulnerable child to help meet their physical needs and ensure they hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. I want to commend Global Fingerprints to you. They're focused on equipping the local church to care for children, and where there is no church, they help to plant one. If you'd like to help a vulnerable child, you can find more information on Global Fingerprints at our website, openthebible.org/gf. That's openthebible.org/gf.