Peter Tan-Chi - True Love Endures
Greetings! In the wonderful name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Today is episode five on our series on love. Next week, we will have our season finale. By the grace of God, it has been a great joy in our journey together discussing love. Why is this topic so important? Today, I want to share with you 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Why? You must understand love is so foundational, it is basic, it is the solution to many of our problems. What do I mean? 1 Corinthians 13 was written in the context of the church at Corinth. It is the most problematic church revealed in the New Testament.
As of the time of writing, there was division, there was gross immorality, they were suing each other, they were full of carnality. Christians are not walking in the Spirit and Paul is saying, "You are like ordinary men. You don't act like a follower of Jesus". Therefore, 1 Corinthians 13 was written to help resolve all of these problems because one of the most subtle problem, is the problem of pride. It has to do with spiritual giftedness. They were boasting about their spiritual giftedness. So, love is the foundational truth that we need to understand to resolve many of our relationship problems. Let us look at 1 Corinthians 13. Let's begin from verse 1 to 3 first. "If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal".
"Tongues of men" In the New Testament, this is often used to describe real languages. You see this in the Book of Acts. What about "Tongues of angels"? What are these? We don't really know. Whatever it is, Paul is saying, just because you have the gift of tongues, but Paul says, "If you don't have love, it's nothing". "If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing". What is Paul saying? If you have spiritual gifts, the gift of eloquence-you can prophesy. you can speak for the Word of God, you have all knowledge. My goodness, you can answer difficult questions, you are good in apologetics.
The Bible tells us, "if you have all faith", what kind of faith? Faith to remove mountains. Imagine, those kinds of giftedness, but Paul is saying, "Without love, it's nothing". You see the true measurement of spirituality and maturity, as far as the Bible is concerned, is love. What do I mean? "If I give all my possessions to feed the poor, if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing". The Bible says, "Without love, it's nothing". So, love is so vital. It is the measurement of our maturity and our spirituality. How are you doing in the area of love? My prayer is you and I will keep growing. You know why? The Christian life is like riding a bicycle, once you stop moving forward, you will fall. So, my prayer is as we listen to the series on love, your love will grow.
1 Corinthians 13 for you and for me, is like a thermometer. It is a measurement of our spiritual maturity. If you want to know whether you are growing spiritually or not, you measure it in terms of love. How are you loving people 1 Corinthians 13 on the basis of this chapter? You know what hit me? I realized 1 Corinthians 13, when it is describing love, it's all about action words. Those are 15 verbs. "Love is patient, love is kind". Those are verbs, not adjectives. Second, 1 Corinthians 13 tells us "Love is Action". It's a choice. It's not a feeling, it's more than a feeling. Topic today is "True Love Endures" What do we mean by "True Love Endures"? Real love is tested over time. If you love somebody, that love will continue. If you hear people saying, "I don't love you anymore. Enough is enough. I give up".
That is not true love because true love endures. This is what I like all of us to do as you listen to what true love is. I want you to rate yourself. As I describe each verb, you ask yourself, "how am I doing in this area 1 to 10"? 10, meaning you love like Jesus. Love is patient, you are as patient as Jesus. Put it 10. If you mark it 5, 6, 7, that means you need improvement. Or if you're below 5, put there 1, 2, 3, you are impatient, you always lose your temper. But rate yourself, don't rate your neighbors, don't rate your family members, it's about you and the Lord. Now, after you have rate yourself, it might be interesting to ask your family members how do they rate you in the following characteristics of what true love is.
Remember, 1 Corinthians 13, the preeminence of love, the most important thing is love. Then it talks about the practice of love. What is love all about? Let me read for you what true love is. "Love is patient, love is kind, is not jealous; love does not brag, is not arrogant, love does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but the rejoices with the truth; love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails". 15 verbs in 5 verses is all about action words. This chapter is so crucial because it will change your life.
I was reminded of a CCFer who gave me permission to share about his life. Before coming to Christ, his marriage was a mess. He divorced three times. He never understood what love is. He had a temper problem, selfishness, and then he said, "Peter, when I came to know Jesus, I decided for one year I will just read and meditate on 1 Corinthians 13". And by reading and meditating on 1 Corinthians 13 for one year, if you see this man, his life was completely changed. Even his children will attest, he was changed. His wife, his new wife attest to the reality of his transformation. He went back to his previous wives and he asked for forgiveness. He told them, "the problem was me, I'm selfish". Love is crucial because it is not only the greatest commandment; it brings God the greatest honor, love transforms your life, it will bring glory to God, love will bless you, especially in your relationship.
Another observation about 1 Corinthians 13, not only do you have verbs, they are in the present tense. Meaning, you keep on doing it. "Love is patient". What does it mean? You are not just patient for one day. You are not just patient for two days. Grammatically, it means you must always be patient; daily, minute by minute. So, you want to know what true love is? Based on this 15 verbs, you can outline it as follows: "What love is"? Love is patient, love is kind. What love is not? It tells you "what it is not". It is not jealous, it does not brag. 8 qualities of what love is not. And then it ends with "what love will always do". Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, love will never fail.
So that's the mental outline I want to explain to you what love is. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us what love is, "Love is patient, love is kind". What do you mean by patience? From the Greek word, "makrothumeo" Normally the word "makros", "long" patience means what? "long suffering" And it means not just one day, two days, it means you are always patient until it becomes a habit. Remember, true love is a choice, true love is a commitment, true love is action words, It is being patient. I'm reminded of the story of one of our pastors. He was supposed to fly to Bicol. He asked his wife, "What is the schedule of our flight"? So the wife told him the time. On their way to the airport, he repeated the question to the wife, "What time is the departure of the flight"?
When the wife check again, the plane ticket, the wife discovered, to her horror she gave the wrong time. The time she gave was the arrival time, but the departure time is earlier. Guess what happened? No matter how fast they would drive, it's too late. When he arrived there, they told him, "Sir, Sorry". Now, this man has every right to be angry, to scold the wife, but you know what? Love is patient, long suffering. What did he do? He gave up the right to give a lecture. He simply asked the counter, "Is there another flight to the same vicinity area"? And praise God there was another flight, but you have to pay extra because the destination is different. So he called the people who are going to fetch them and said, "Can you fetch me in this particular airport? No longer in the original airport".
You see, love is patient. And the truth is this, this word is used mostly describing relationship with other human beings, with people. This word is not used to describe your reaction to circumstances, to things. No, it's about people. Next, the Bible says "Love is kind". What does it mean? The word "kind" comes from this word meaning you are generous in wanting to bless the others. You are thinking on how to bless the other person. Kindness. Let me give you an example. When you want to show kindness, you put yourself in the shoes of other people. The truth is this, there are some people who will irritate us, there will be some people who will annoy us. I'm reminded of this story of a passenger in an airplane where the people sitting in front of them had three kids.
The father had a hard time controlling the three children; they were crying, they were fussing; and everybody was so irritated. But the man behind decided to show kindness. What did he do? He was tempted to say, "Can you not control your children"? He didn't say that. He said, "Having a tough day? Can I help you"? The father said, "Their mother just died and we're all on our way". You see, the moment he understood that the three children were crying because their mother just died. It completely changed their perspective. Instead of becoming harsh, you begin to put yourself in their shoes, And that's how you show kindness. You know when Jesus tells us, "Do unto others, as you want them to do unto you". Many times, we need to be kind. We need to think of the others, put yourselves in their shoes.
The Bible tells us, "Love is patient, love is kind". Can I tell you why? Because that's how God is. In Romans chapter 2, verse 4. "Do you think lightly of the riches" notice, "the riches of His kindness", same word from 1 Corinthians 13. "and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance"? The Bible describes God as follows, "God is patient and God is kind". And I look at myself and I realize I am the recipient of God's patience and God's love. And God is saying, true love is for you and for me to be patient, be kind to others. The truth is this, many people have been brought into the kingdom of God through the kindness, patience, and love of God's people. Not because of theological arguments, not because of apologetics.
And the truth is, there are more people who have turned away from Christ, from the church because of the hardness, the examples of many Christians. It is so crucial that we learn to be patient, we learn to be kind because that's how we honor the Lord. What love is not, 8 characteristics. "Love is not jealous, love does not brag, love is not arrogant". What does it mean, "Love is not jealous"? Jealousy, when applied to us means what? You want something that others have and you don't have. It can also mean you feel bad because the others have it and you don't have it. Now, there's a kind of jealousy that is good. It's called, "Godly jealousy". That kind of jealousy is for our protection, the jealousy of a husband, the jealousy of a wife in order to safeguard the purity of each other. But the jealousy being discussed here has to do with selfishness.
For example, in Genesis chapter 37 verses 11 and 19, the Bible tells us it's about Joseph, his brothers were jealous of him. The brothers were jealous for Joseph and the Bible tells us, "They said to one another, 'Here comes this dreamer! Now then, come and let us kill him and throw him into one of the pits; and we will say, "A wild beast devoured him". Then let us see what will become of his dream.'" In other words, jealousy, envy can lead to devastating consequences. Friends, jealousy is all about self-centeredness. This is one of those serious sin that people don't realize. When somebody gets promoted, are you happy for them? If you see your spouse having a good time with their family members, are you happy for them? I praise God for my wife.
When we first got married, we could not go to the States very often, but she was so happy for me. My wife enjoyed my family. There was no tinge of jealousy. And when we go to the States, I let her enjoy her family. But what's amazing was even though my wife could not visit her family as often as she wanted to, she find it a joy to be with my family. You see, love is not jealous, you're happy for the others. The Bible says, "Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep". Now, let me ask you which one is harder? Let me tell you in the Philippine context, it's harder for us to rejoice with those who rejoice. We don't mind weeping with those who are weeping, but the Bible says, "Are you able to be happy when others are blessed"?
Love is not jealous. Love does not brag. Love is not arrogant. I will explain those two verbs together. The word "brag" means what? You lift yourself up. The word "arrogant" is from the word "you puff up yourself". It's like you inflate yourself. "True love does not brag, true love is not arrogant". What do I mean? You will notice. Many politicians, if they do something, let's say they build a bridge or they build the parking shade, they put their name, but you know what? It's the people's money, but they put their name, you know why? They want recognition. True followers of Jesus does not seek after recognition. You do good things silently, without getting attention; you don't mind. "Love does not brag, it's not arrogant".
What's the antidote? The antidote is remembering that everything we have, everything we've accomplished is by the Grace of God. So you want to give the glory and the credit to God. Your accomplishments is because of God. What you have done? It's all about God. "True love does not act unbecomingly, it does not seek its own. It is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered". What does it mean? "It does not act unbecomingly", that word "unbecomingly" comes from two root words, A=without, schema=not following the norm What does it mean? There are certain behaviors that we all know is respectful, it is supposed to be done. But self-centered people who are not loving, they only think of themselves. They don't care about their behavior, why? They don't follow decorum, they are not polite, they don't respect others. In fact, my wife will always teach our children, "Moodiness is selfishness because you are always thinking about yourself".
Imagine, you're having dinner or lunch with the president of the Philippines. How will you behave? I can almost guarantee you will behave with utmost respect, you will never act unbecomingly. You will not be rude. You will be polite. What you say, you'll recalibrate it because love is not acting unbecomingly, you care for others. "Love does not seek its own". Grammatically, it simply means love will always not seek its own. It will be thinking of the benefit for others. I'm reminded of the story of a father who decided to divorce his wife and leave the family. Upon leaving, the father kissed the forehead of the son and told the son, "I love you". When he left, notice, the father used the word "I love you".
But does he really love the son? You know what? The father is saying, "I love you, but I love myself more. I love you, but I'm after my own pleasure. I love you, but I want my freedom more". You see, "True love does not seek its own". Do you recall our definition of what true love is? It is an unconditional commitment towards imperfect people. Unconditional commitment, it's a choice. It's a decision towards imperfect people to seek their highest good, not our own good, which oftentimes requires sacrifice, resulting in God's glory. Don't be confused, true love is action. It is for the good of the others. It's not selfishness. "Love is not provoked". What does it mean? The word "provoke" comes from the word "sharp". It's something very sharp. You get irritated and you react immediately.
Well, I remember one time when my wife was talking to my son, my wife said, "You are making me angry". And my son told my wife, "Mom, remember you taught us no one can make you angry unless you choose to be angry". You see, love is not provoked. You make a choice, "I will not be provoked". My advice, when you're about to lose your temper, when you're about to be angry, just close your mouth because love is not provoked. "Love does not take into account a wrong suffered". Now this is a very important word, "does not take into account". The meaning of that word is from the Greek word, "logizomai", it's an accounting word. Some people keep an account of their wrongs done to them, they keep a record. The Bible says, "True love does not take into account a wrong suffered".
This is something we all need to learn. I'm reminded of the story of Abraham Lincoln when he was running for president. There was another person from the opposite political party, the Democrats running against president Lincoln. And that Democrat, his name was Stanton. He would criticize Abraham Lincoln. He would personally say nasty things about him. He described president Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln, as tall, ugly, does not deserve to be the president. In fact, he said, "Abraham Lincoln is the original gorilla. If you want to see a gorilla, you don't need to go Africa. Just here, we have somebody that looks like a gorilla". But you know what? Abraham Lincoln won. He became the president of America.
Now what's amazing was this, when the civil war was starting, he decided to nominate Stanton, the one who badmouth him, to become a cabinet member to serve as the secretary of defense, the secretary of war. And his advisor said, "Are you crazy? This guy badmouthed you. This guy said nasty things about you" and Abraham Lincoln said, "I know that. I know he said bad things about me, but I believe he's the best man for the job". You see Abraham Lincoln was willing to forgive and because of his forgiveness, Stanton became a trusted friend of Abraham. They became good friends and the Stanton became a Republican. But more than that, when Abraham Lincoln died, Stanton said, this is what he said, "Here lies a man who now belongs to the ages". In other words, "Love does not take into account a wrong suffered".
What about you? Do you keep track of what people have done for you or done against you? Let us remember the good deeds, but let's be willing to forgive. The Bible tells us, "If You, Lord should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand"? In other words, if God should have a record of all my sins, of all my failures, how could I stand? The Bible says, "Just as you and I have received forgiveness, we must do to others". Hebrews chapter 10:17 tells us, "And their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more". If God can forgive us, why are we not able to forgive others? We see, "True love forgives" People usually tell me, "Well, that person keeps doing it. I've had enough".
Well, Jesus tells us, "You and I must forgive others 70 times seven". In other words, let's keep forgiving because "Love does not take into account a wrong suffered" It is an accounting word. You don't put it in your ledger. You're willing to say, "I forgive you". "Love does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth". What does this mean? My father used to teach me this principle. He said, "Every person has this good side and this bad side. You must accentuate the positive and minimize the negative". What my father is saying is simply this, every person has their good qualities and bad qualities. Focus on the good qualities. Minimize talking about the bad qualities, the negative.
The Bible has the same principles, "Do not rejoice in unrighteousness", don't be happy. Don't be, don't broadcast the failures of others, but rejoice in the truth. Example, the sin of David was awful, adultery, murder. Did God discipline him? Of course, God disciplined him. Was it painful? Of course, it was painful. But you notice? In the New Testament, God choose to focus on the goodness of David. God said, "David was a man after His own heart". What about Moses? Did God discipline Moses? Of course, when Moses lost his temper. However, if you look at the New Testament, what did God's say about Moses? God said, "Moses was fateful in everything". The Bible says, "Moses was the friend of God". I pray that as followers of Jesus, we learn not to focus, not to broadcast, not to rejoice, in the sins of others.
Let's learn to rejoice in the truth. What will love always do? What the Bible tells us, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails". So far, how are you rating yourself? Love is patient, kind. Love is not... How are you rating yourself? Not jealous, does not brag, those not act Unbecomingly... How are you rating yourself in that area? Now, we will go to what love will always do. The Bible tells us, "Love bears all things", it will keep bearing. "Love believes all things", it will keep on believing. "Love hopes all things" it will keep hoping. "Love endures" Ahh, remember this word "hupomeno", I'll explain that. "All things... Love never fails".
What does it mean? "Love bears all things" that word "bear" comes from the Greek word "roof" it's like a covering. Example, in 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 8, "Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another," notice, "fervent", "hot", you commit to love one another fervently. What's going to happen? "Love covers a multitude of sins". What does it mean? I've discovered, if I love somebody, example my son or my father, it's easier for me to overlook the mistakes. If I don't like somebody, whatever that person is doing, I can find fault. That's why love is so crucial. True love, fervent love is the willingness to bear all things. You don't make a molehill into a mountain. You allow freedom, leeway, people do make mistakes. Don't crucify people for a little mistake. Don't exaggerate it. Don't make a big deal out of it. That's what it means. "Love bears all things".
How are you doing in this area? Do you always quarrel over the small things? Some people, the slightest behavior of their husbands, of their wives, their children, the slightest mistake, my goodness. It's a fight. It's an argument. "Love believes, always believes" What does it mean? The word "believe" has the idea of you give the benefit of the doubt, you trust the person. It is not being gullible. It is not being stupid. You believe until proven otherwise. I have a recent experience, a few weeks ago, when somebody was criticizing me behind my back, they told one of our Bible students how I'm into drugs, how I'm doing this because of money, and I didn't realize this, my friend, defended me. My friend said, "Impossible".
He defended me with a passion. And when I heard about this, praise God for my wife, I talked to my friend who defended me and I said, "The truth is, I've not been into drugs, I have never been in drugs. When it comes to money, I want you to know CCF does not pay me. We have signatories. I can adjust, sign, check for myself". In other words, it is so crucial. "Love believes" Many times, we're quick to believe any gossip. I will choose to believe the best of my friend until proven otherwise. "Love always hopes" You see, love will not give up. You know what I'm saying? I've had enough. You know what? You don't give up because love is anchored on the love of God. It is anchored on the power of God to change lives. You and I cannot change life, but God can. It's God's power. Love is claiming God's promises. You expect the best. How are you doing in this area?
"Love hopes, it does not give up". Can I tell you why? Because you are able to see people as God sees them. What do I mean? The Bible says, "He who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus". It is God who is at work in the lives of our loved ones. So there's no reason for you to give up. Your hope is anchored on God's faithfulness, on God's promises. And that's why I encourage you, learn to love as God loves us. Don't give up hope. Are you living with somebody who is very unreasonable? Are you living with loved ones? Which you feel like they're hopeless, they can never change? Well, let me tell you, I've seen so many lives change. Just do your part. Your part is to love them. God's part is to change them, but don't give up hope. "Love endures"
This is one important word I taught you sometime ago, the word "endures" comes from the Greek word, "hupomeno". It means what? You are willing to abide under pressure, you don't give up. It is not resignation. It is not giving up hope. The word "endures" means what? You are able to wait with expectation. It's a positive way of persevering. It is not giving up. It is not saying in Tagalog, "Wala na akong magagawa, I cannot do anything anymore". The tone here is one of expectation, it's triumphant waiting. "Love endures" I want you to hear a testimony of one of our pastors regarding how he went through a crisis in his life, especially about his marriage.
Ptr. JP Masakayan: My wife and I often stand as godparents in many weddings. In those moments, I can only hope and pray that the new couple will not go through the same painful route we did. You see, we too once made our vows when we were young and bright-eyed, with the purest of motives, the grandest of intentions, the loftiest of hope, but sadly, ignorant of God's design for marriage. I was a young Christian and Roochie was a product of "evangeligaw" meaning, I shared the gospel, she accepted and we thought that was all that was needed to ready us for marriage. We married in 1992 in the US and settled in my parents' house in Cavite because I considered renting a waste of money.
However, this was clearly not aligned with a biblical counsel that man shall leave his father and mother. For us two, to become one. But what made it worse was that my business was in Makati and a normal day meant me coming home past 10:00 PM. In short, I was the typical husband who thought that my obligation was simply to provide materially. I was emotionally detached and callous to the deep emotional need of a wife who was profoundly scarred by her dysfunctional past. As my wife Roochie put it, I was a big disappointment of a husband. But she was herself ill-equipped for marriage. As all she wanted was to escape her unhappy family life and thought that marriage would make her life complete. She soon found out that I was not the solution. She thought that I would be, she found herself escaping from the frying pan, but landing in the fire. She felt neglected, loved, unimportant, lost, and very angry.
Then heaping mistake after these mistakes, I also went against my parents' advice and allowed my wife to go to medical school if only to keep her busy and for her to meet new friends. In school, she was overjoyed with her new found freedom that after her first year of medical school, four years after our wedding, she decided to separate from me. Again, as Roochie put it, "All that I wanted and needed, I didn't find in JP". Devastated and confused, I did what many naturally do. I went forum shopping for advice. Many well-meaning people told me that it was okay to divorce since we were married abroad. She was the one who left. Everyone deserves a second chance at happiness and other things that I wanted to hear. But God's Providence surrounded me with those who told me what I needed to hear. Pastor Peter challenged me with this perspective. He said, "Okay. Suppose you divorce your wife and remarried. So you're happy for five, 10, 20 years. Then what"?, then what he added, "JP love you. And whatever you decide, you will not have a problem with me, but you will have a problem with God".
So while Pastor Peter took time to disciple me, his wife, Deonna was ministering to Roochie, often inviting her to their home so she could see how God designed families to interact with each other. And she also encouraged me to keep the doors of reconciliation open. So fast forward to December 31, 1999, we were dining at Glorietta, and in tears, Roochie asked for forgiveness. I remember a silent, but undeniable prompting, which said "This is an opportunity to destroy someone or to build someone up. And how can you refuse forgiveness when you yourself have been so greatly forgiven"? With that, I reach across the table, held her hand and we were reconciled. Roochie and I gave the same testimony here at CCF in April of 2018.
And by God's grace, this coming April, we will be celebrating our 29th anniversary. I often joke that my wife is a doctor that's why I'm patient. But truth be told, whatever patience it would seem I had shown, it was only because I was the recipient of God's unmerited patience, as course through those, He had surrounded me with. God's love is indeed enduring, patient and kind. God, through them, was not willing to let go. So I marvel at the wisdom of God's design for His church, that in our small group, He has provided us with those who can journey with us through our hurts, rejoice with us in our wins, and extend patient, loving-kindness, even when we are at our worst. As Jesus said in John 13:35, "By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another".
May name is JP Masakayan, and my wife and I are products of that love. And it has resulted in me becoming a full-time pastor, and Roochie, my ministry partner. She is to me, the bride of my youth, that God, her heavenly father has entrusted me to present back to him without stain, blemish or any other wrinkle, but Holy and blameless. It is truly amazing what God can do with broken lives, broken dreams, broken hearts, and broken relationships. If but, we would yield to him and cooperate. Only God, our heavenly Father deserves all the glory. Let His church give Him praise.
However, this was clearly not aligned with a biblical counsel that man shall leave his father and mother. For us two, to become one. But what made it worse was that my business was in Makati and a normal day meant me coming home past 10:00 PM. In short, I was the typical husband who thought that my obligation was simply to provide materially. I was emotionally detached and callous to the deep emotional need of a wife who was profoundly scarred by her dysfunctional past. As my wife Roochie put it, I was a big disappointment of a husband. But she was herself ill-equipped for marriage. As all she wanted was to escape her unhappy family life and thought that marriage would make her life complete. She soon found out that I was not the solution. She thought that I would be, she found herself escaping from the frying pan, but landing in the fire. She felt neglected, loved, unimportant, lost, and very angry.
Then heaping mistake after these mistakes, I also went against my parents' advice and allowed my wife to go to medical school if only to keep her busy and for her to meet new friends. In school, she was overjoyed with her new found freedom that after her first year of medical school, four years after our wedding, she decided to separate from me. Again, as Roochie put it, "All that I wanted and needed, I didn't find in JP". Devastated and confused, I did what many naturally do. I went forum shopping for advice. Many well-meaning people told me that it was okay to divorce since we were married abroad. She was the one who left. Everyone deserves a second chance at happiness and other things that I wanted to hear. But God's Providence surrounded me with those who told me what I needed to hear. Pastor Peter challenged me with this perspective. He said, "Okay. Suppose you divorce your wife and remarried. So you're happy for five, 10, 20 years. Then what"?, then what he added, "JP love you. And whatever you decide, you will not have a problem with me, but you will have a problem with God".
So while Pastor Peter took time to disciple me, his wife, Deonna was ministering to Roochie, often inviting her to their home so she could see how God designed families to interact with each other. And she also encouraged me to keep the doors of reconciliation open. So fast forward to December 31, 1999, we were dining at Glorietta, and in tears, Roochie asked for forgiveness. I remember a silent, but undeniable prompting, which said "This is an opportunity to destroy someone or to build someone up. And how can you refuse forgiveness when you yourself have been so greatly forgiven"? With that, I reach across the table, held her hand and we were reconciled. Roochie and I gave the same testimony here at CCF in April of 2018.
And by God's grace, this coming April, we will be celebrating our 29th anniversary. I often joke that my wife is a doctor that's why I'm patient. But truth be told, whatever patience it would seem I had shown, it was only because I was the recipient of God's unmerited patience, as course through those, He had surrounded me with. God's love is indeed enduring, patient and kind. God, through them, was not willing to let go. So I marvel at the wisdom of God's design for His church, that in our small group, He has provided us with those who can journey with us through our hurts, rejoice with us in our wins, and extend patient, loving-kindness, even when we are at our worst. As Jesus said in John 13:35, "By this, everyone will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another".
May name is JP Masakayan, and my wife and I are products of that love. And it has resulted in me becoming a full-time pastor, and Roochie, my ministry partner. She is to me, the bride of my youth, that God, her heavenly father has entrusted me to present back to him without stain, blemish or any other wrinkle, but Holy and blameless. It is truly amazing what God can do with broken lives, broken dreams, broken hearts, and broken relationships. If but, we would yield to him and cooperate. Only God, our heavenly Father deserves all the glory. Let His church give Him praise.
I praise God that Pastor JP never gave up. His confidence was in the Lord. You see, love does not just endure, love, never fails. When the Bible says, "True love, never fails". What does it mean? It means you don't give up. You don't fall away from the faith. You don't get so discouraged that you abandon your faith. "Never fails" simply means, you keep on trusting the Lord. You keep on doing what you're supposed to do because love never fails. Let me explain to you, you see God's purpose will surely be accomplished. The word "never fails" does not mean we will always get what you want. Or the other party will always change, but it means as follows, God's purpose will be accomplished. What is God's purpose? To transform us to his very, very character.
The Bible says in Romans 8:28 "All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose". And what is God's purpose? Now this, the next verse tells us. He predestined us His purpose. He predestined us to be conformed the image of His Son. Why is this all important? You don't give up, because if you practice love, you will eventually experience God's purpose in your life. When the Bible says, "Love never fails", it is so true, it will fulfill God's purpose in your life. How many of you are familiar with pearls? Do you know how pearls are developed? Something goes inside the shell and it causes irritation. Because of that irritation, what the oyster will do, what the clam will do is to excrete certain chemicals.
And that thing will form around the irritation until it becomes a pearl. And do you know something? The biggest pearl in the world is found in the Philippines. This is right in Palawan. You know how big it is? It is 75 pounds. This pearl alone costs a hundred million dollars. Do you know this pearl was kept in a house? The guy has no idea how precious it is. The house got burned and then the government discovered the Pearl. Many times, we don't discover how precious irritation can be. You know why? Because love will cover that irritation until it becomes priceless, it becomes a pearl. May I ask you a question? What are you doing right now with difficult people? "Love never fails" At the end of the day, God's purpose will be accomplished. Keep on loving. Eventually, it will be like the most beautiful pearl in your life. The Bible tells us, "faith, hope and love remain, these three; but the greatest of these is love". Pursue love.
What is the Bible is saying? The Bible is simply saying at the end of your life, when you are in the presence of God, you don't need faith anymore because faith is actualized, You are in God's presence. God's promises has been fulfilled in your life. So faith, you'll no longer need it. Hope. What is hope? Hope is the assurance of things hoped for. When you are in the presence of God, you don't need hope anymore because it is hope fulfilled, hope actualized, but love, you continue. You know why? Because you continue to grow in your love for God. You continue to grow in your love for Jesus, your love for the Holy spirit and above all, you continue to grow in your love for one another.
That's why love is the greatest, the most important. You will now begin to understand, true love endures. Why? It is from God, it is His power and above all, you now learn why it endures. Because true love is patient, true love is kind, all of these qualities will help you to endure because true love is an action word. It is something that you do and it's all dependent upon God's power in your life. True love will pass the test of time. My wife and I have been married 47 years. I've read different couples, "We've been married over 50 years". I'm looking at their highlights, true love, will pass the test of time because God loves you to the end. Love will never cease. Love will never fail. This kind of love is supernatural, it comes from God. Hope does not disappoint because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit.
I want you to remember, "the love of God has been poured out within our hearts". The love of God is overflowing, it's like a river overflowing within our hearts through the Holy spirit. We cannot love like this without the Holy spirit, without the power of God in our lives. So my prayer is that everything you and I do should be motivated by God, by His love, God's love for us and our love for Him. And when you love God, you will love others. First, love God with all your heart. Then you will learn to love others as you ought to love them. You cannot love others until you experience God's love and you cannot love God until you experience His love for you.
So the great comfort is simply this, it is God who first love us and once you experience God's love, you're able to overflow in your love for God. And when you love God with all your heart, you will learn to love others. If you don't love God with all your heart, you will not learn to love others. You know why? Because you love yourself more than you love God. So I pray that you will truly experience the real love of God, unconditional for you, and you learn to love Him with all your heart. As you learn to love Him, you learn to love others, and this is how you love others. 15 verbs. Learn to practice these. Learn to meditate on these. Grow in love towards God, towards one another.
You may ask me, how do I experience this? You can only experience God's grace, God's love, when you learn to admit that you need Him, it's called humility. You admit to God, "Lord, I am miserable. I don't know You". Humble yourself before God. Admit your total dependence upon Him. If you think you are self-sufficient, you will not be able to experience God's unconditional forgiveness. You know why? There's pride.
I want you to learn to come before God as is where is, admit you need him. And I guarantee you, you will experience His presence, His forgiveness, because God promised us, if you come before Him, He tells us, "God will give grace to the humble". I want to close with a word of prayer to give you an opportunity to really experience this love. But before I do that, I want you to examine yourself, how you are doing in these 15 verbs about love. Ask yourself, "Where do I need to improve"? Then ask yourself, "How can I apply what I've learned today based on this love"? If that's your desire, to learn to love as God wants you to love, pray this prayer with me:
Lord Jesus, I humble myself before You knowing that I really do not know this kind of love. I have a hard time experiencing this love, this kind of love. Lord, I'm full of myself. My love is self-centered. My love is selfish. Now, today, I admit my sinfulness, I admit my selfishness and only You can change me. So Lord Jesus, I invite you to change my heart. Come into my life. Be my Master. Be my Lord. And above all, I accept you as my Savior. Forgive my sins, the sin of selfishness. I accept your gift of Eternal Life. Change my heart. Teach me how to love the way You want me to love. In Jesus name I pray. Amen And amen.