Love believes all things

1) I want to tell a story, a story involving the nation of Israel.

2) This story is found towards the end of Joshua, the exact text is Josh. 22.

a) Most know there were 12 tribes in the nation of ancient Israel.

b) By the time of Josh. 22 Joshua had become a key person in this great nation.

c) Joshua assembled together the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh.

3) Joshua said the people from these tribes had been obedient

4) War had lasted a long time but these tribes had been faithful.

5) It was now time for the members of this tribe to go to their land and enjoy some rest – verse 4 – READ.

6) Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh were to go to the eastern side of the Jordan River.

7) Before these tribes went to their home they decided to engage in a building project.

8) They wanted to build a great altar by the Jordan River – verse 10 – READ.

a) The other tribes quickly learned what these three tribes had done.

b) They heard that an altar had been built on their land.

c) We have expression like “fly off the handle,” “flew into a range,” “hit the fan.”

d) Those on the western side of the Jordan River were angry about an altar being built.

e) They were absolutely outraged at what their brethren had done.

f) They were so angry about what they heard we have this information in verse 12 – READ.

9) Israel was not getting ready to do battle with some pagans; it was angry with some of its brethren.

10) The 9 tribes heard a report and it sent them over the edge; they wanted to go to war and fight.

11) We cannot overlook the fact that a delegation was sent to the 2 ½ tribes that built the altar.

12) This information is found in verses 13-15. We need to see how this delegation acted.

13) Members of the delegation were not all that friendly – verse 16 – READ.

14) Those who built the altar were misunderstood; people thought they were rebelling against God.

15) This was not true. Those who built the altar had a very good explanation for their actions.

a) They did it to show their children that Hebrews on both side of the Jordan each served God.

b) For generations to come this altar was designed to help descendents worship the one true God.

c) Another important verse is Josh. 22:30 – READ.

16) This is a strange, but interesting story.

17) One minute people wanted to go to war. The next they were saying their brethren had made a good choice.

18) What happened that changed things so drastically?

a) There was a lack of understanding on the part of brethren.

b) This is one of the things we see in this account.

c) There is something else that also stands out as we look at the text.

d) Those on the western side of the river thought terrible things about those on the east side.

e) Those on the west side did not give what we call “the benefit of the doubt” to their brethren.

f) Today this problem still exists—people do not give the “benefit of the doubt” to others.

19) In 1 Cor. 13:7 Paul said, “love believes all things.”

a) This passage does not mean Christians are gullible.

b) It does not mean we believe whatever someone wants to tell us.

c) Certainly there are plenty of times when people tell us an outright lie.

20) Not long ago we had a man come to the building; he said he was a member of the church.

21) He said he was from this area and needed to go to Kentucky for a funeral.

22) When the man made those statements the initial reaction was belief.

23) As the man continued to talk, some things did not make sense.

24) Before he left a call was made to the funeral home in Kentucky.

25) There was only one undertaker in this community, and he did not have this man’s relative.

26) The man who came to our door and asked for money told us an outright lie and he exposed himself.

27) People do lie; we do not have an obligation to let people deceive us.

a) We can and we must learn to give people the benefit of the doubt. This is Bible love.

b) This aspect of love affects all of us many times as we go through life.

28) At various times we see people charged with a crime.

29) A person is said to have done something wrong.

a) Before the person ever gets to trial and evidence is given, people draw conclusions.

b) Doing this before the facts all come out is not fair, and it is certainly not loving.

c) When people show up for jury duty they are sometimes asked if they can be impartial.

d) Lawyers want to know if prospective jurors have drawn any premature conclusions.

e) In some cases people—and this includes Christians—have done this very thing.

30) People of most any age can think the worst about others.

a) Young people can look at those they consider “old” and draw false conclusions.

b) Young people can think the very worst about an older generation.

c) In their minds older people do not understand the changing times.

d) Older people are never any fun. Older people do not know anything at all because they are too old.

31) Such can also happen when older people look at young people.

32) As the years past older people may look upon the younger generation and think all hope is lost.

33) Younger people have no respect, no consideration of others, are rude, and have a poor work ethic.

34) Old and young people can believe the worst about what others intend.

35) We may be prone to think that others are out to hurt us, cheat us, or injure us in another way.

36) When our world thinks and talks about love it often defines it in terms of “what love is.”

a) This is not the central point with true love.

b) In the Bible love is mainly based on what love does.

c) Love is not a theory for the classroom; it is not a feeling that comes and goes.

d) It is a powerful force that is responsible for changing and directing a person’s behavior.

e) It is a power that makes behave in certain ways.

37) Paul could have said “love is beautiful.” “Love is wonderful.” “Love makes you feel good.”

38) This is how the world talks and thinks.

39) God defines loves in terms of action: love is kind; love is not rude, jealous, boastful, etc.

40) We do not typically hear the world describe love in this way.

41) Imagine a group of people that understands the basic concept of New Testament love.

42) What will that group be like? How different would such a group be from the world?

43) This group would be like a city set on a hill; it will be like salt in a world that is decaying.

44) Last time we looked at the statement, “love bears all things.”

a) This quality for love is followed by four more.

b) These final 4 characteristics of love in 1 Cor. 13 are like the energizer bunny.

c) We have seen the commercial; these batteries are said to keep going, and going, and going.

d) The qualities for true love do not die (stop).

45) Earlier we noted how “bearing all things” is a continual process.

46) Friends bear with one another in good times and bad times.

47) This is a quality that husbands and wives practice as well as Christians in the church.

48) Now we come to a second quality which is to be just as enduring.

49) We believe the best about people (seek to trust people) time after time.

a) We make a conscious decision to give people the benefit of the doubt again and again.

b) Sometimes that is hard. It really is nothing more than we want for ourselves.

c) In our lives would we want someone to “give us the benefit of the doubt” or not?

d) We would want that. We might be disappointed if we did not get it.

e) This is exactly what Paul is saying when he wrote, “love bears all things.”

50) We are getting into qualities of love that the world does not really understand.

51) In the world people talk about “love ceasing.” Some believe they have seen romance die.

52) In Christianity true love does not die; love cannot be conquered.

53) In the case of believing all things, it is a very powerful trait.

a) How many of us have said (or thought) about someone, “He will never change”?

b) If you are over the age of 10, you have probably had that thought or said those words.

c) In some cases a person’s conclusion may be true.

d) Believing all things means we want to think the best about people.

e) At the present time, everything may indeed point to the fact that someone will not change.

54) Perhaps in another year, 5 years, 10 years, or even later he may change.

55) Imagine a Christian who is married to a non-Christian man or the reversal of this situation.

56) What if the wife reasoned, “We have been married a long time and my spouse is still unsaved?”

57) “I do not think he will ever become a Christian.”

58) We would look at that thinking and reason, “The wife should not think that way.”

59) Christians need to think the best about people and situations.

60) “If someone is our friend or a fellow Christian, we always give them the benefit of the doubt.”

61) Someone might think to himself or herself, “That is exactly how I live my life.”

a) Before we start patting ourselves on the back, let’s turn our minds back to the Old Testament.

b) Remember Job? Do we recall how some “friends” came to visit him?

c) One of these men was Bildad; this man said something awful in Job 8:4.

d) He said Job’s children sinned against God and therefore merited punishment by death.

e) This man was religious; he said all kinds of things about God.

f) Did he give Job the benefit of the doubt?

g) No; he said he was a sinner who lost his children because of some wrong in his life.

62) In Job 15:2 Eliphaz , another man who came to see Job, refers to Job as a “windbag.”

63) Then Eliphaz said (22:5) that there was “no end to Job’s sins.”

64) Job was a condemned man in the eyes of his friends. He did not get the benefit the doubt.

65) Jesus also faced this same type of problem when He was on the earth.

66) Yet, the Lord was not someone who needed to be given “the benefit of the doubt.”

67) Jesus was patient, giving people the benefit of the doubt—giving them time to respond.

68) Jesus established who He was, but people refused to entertain the evidence He offered.

69) He healed and some thought or said bad things about Him.

70) He was called a blasphemer, a drunkard, and a partner with Satan.

71) Sometimes we give people the benefit of the doubt and they disappoint us.

72) In cases like this we have done our part; the failure is on the part of someone else.

73) Jesus once said that people need to become like little children.

74) Today we can see why that is true. Do not small children usually believe the best about people?

75) They do, and may God help us to imitate them as we live our lives.

76) Do we “believe all things”?