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Pursuing Agape 1Co 13:13 “And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity.” The highest goal of the believer is to know Christ and to walk in His love. There is only one-way: yoke yourself to Jesus. John revealed to us in I Jn. 4:16 that "God is love." Everything that God does is love. But we don't understand the kind of love that God is or we would be walking in it more and more. Phileo love is strong and we understand most of it. But it is self-centered - It says "I can love you if you satisfy my longing." Agape love says, "I can love you without you doing anything that I need or want." This love is concerned about the best for you. Phileo love says, “I will fight for my country and even give my life to protect the freedom of my family – I will sacrifice my life for the love of what is mine.” But agape has higher motives. “I will fight so my family can be free from the threat of harm, but at the same time, I love my enemies and I desire that there be no war with them, only that peace would come to their heart.” Most all marriages are based on phileo, not agape. Spouses love each other for what they can receive from each other. But when marriages are based on agape, this love extends beyond what it gets and continues to give no matter what the other one is or does. Agape is merciful when the other person doesn’t deserve mercy. Agape is still approachable when the other person deserves abandonment. Jesus Christ approached you and me when we deserved hell; by His mercy, He came and delivered us from ourselves. I don't know why it takes so long to learn this lesson, but it is absolutely true - if you want mercy, give it. Every time someone crosses you the wrong way – if you learn to respond in agape love, then you are walking in mercy. The bridge that gets us into agape love is MERCY. Here is what Jesus says from Luke 6:36-38: "If you are to walk in my agape, then you must show mercy toward all who oppose you, then My Father will restore to you whatever you have lost (whatever the palmerworm has eaten; whatever the locust have eaten; whatever the cankerworm has eaten; whatever the caterpillar has eaten – (when you don't have anything left) the Lord will restore to you: "good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over." If the government takes you by taxes; if the utility companies raise their rates; if your car breaks down and it takes all your money to get it fixed; if your boss berates you, or your spouse rejects you; or your children disgust you, if you will extend mercy through every difficulty, our heavenly Father will overflow your life with agape love and restore all that you lost. THAT IS WHY AGAPE CANNOT FAIL. We obtain agape to the extent we give mercy. Mercy is the bridge to agape! What suppresses agape? The soulish nature (Eph.4:20-32). But those who walk in kindness walk in agape. Kindness is what we are clothed with in the Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows how to develop our characters until everything we do and say and think is governed by agape. I John 4:17-18 “Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.” How will we know when love is being perfected in us? When we no longer fear during times of being judged; when torment and fear are being purged out of our inner man. This says, "While we are in the world, we are being perfected in love.” as less and less fear operates out of us. As you bind yourself to God, His love is being perfected in you, and peace begins to envelop your being. It begins to dominate you and fear loses its grip. That is a sign of the transformation that is taking place within. You are being purged from phileo love to agape love. It is a process. It happens through the Holy Spirit - giving Him more and more access into your life. Continue asking the Lord Jesus for more of His Spirit to operate in you. Instead of resisting confrontations, you will fight harder to walk in His love. In I Corinthians 12:31 Paul says to covet earnestly the best gifts. Prophecy is one of the best gifts. But there is something better than the gifts: Agape. Paul is saying let me show you a better way to live beyond the giftings of the Holy Spirit. Then he begins the 13th chapter of Corinthians. Everybody has a gift in the church, but if you want to live beyond the giftings, then move into agape. So I Corinthians 13:13 tells us beyond faith & hope is self-denying agape. Nothing is more important than agape love, which extends mercy. Agape love must be pursued - it is the progression of the heart of God - to knowing Jesus Christ - it is the highest goal of life. Most Christians want to be used in the giftings of God, but in order to be led by the Holy Spirit in these gifts we must conform to agape. If we pursue agape, then the giftings will flow automatically. In pursuing agape, we learn to hate what God hates; we learn to see the areas of our life that are wrong. That's right, “If God is revealing to you your weaknesses it is because you have been seeking the love of God.” The more you learn agape love, the more wisdom that is imparted to do something about that which God hates and which you will learn to hate. Most Christians don't walk in this kind of love on a daily basis. Most never will - it is difficult to conform to this as long as you are feeding the flesh. But the Holy Spirit can lead you until you are strong enough to yield totally to agape love. You will never have the will power to walk this through. Only by the Spirit of God will this develop in your life. You see, too many Christians are walking in phileo thinking it is agape - but the difference is they are not surrendered to the Spirit of God. They may be good people, but they are self-serving - phileo. I Corinthians 13:1 is not discrediting tongues. It is simply saying that tongues without love won’t build me up. Jude 1:20-21 (KJV) “But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life” You may speak with tongues yet live in strife and unforgiveness. Tongue-talking believers can be the meanest people on earth – unless agape is flowing through them - then they are the best. This is why people have questioned so much the use of tongues in the church because some of the meanest people speak in tongues. But when the purging work of the Spirit of God delivers that person into agape love that person is being changed into the image of Christ Jesus. This is why the highest goal of the believer is to know Christ and pursue Him in agape love. -Pr. Steve August Newsletter 2003 | Pursuing Agape | Keeping This Generation | Potential Sons Pastor's Journal August 2002 | A Harlot's Torment part 2 | Meekness and Mercy part 2 of 3 |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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