WHAT MATTERS MOST – FORMATION TALK 01-22-2018

*Tell the story about Chicken and Pig – Don’t give your eggs but your ham.

Review the clear purposes of these talks.

No matter what I say, what I believe and what I do, I’m bankrupt without LOVE. – 1 Cor 13:38 (MSG)

Love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his
command is this: Live a life of LOVE. – 2 John 1:6 (NCV)

LIFE IS ALL ABOUT LOVE.

 Because GOD IS LOVE, the most important lesson HE wants us to learn is HOW TO LOVE.
 It is in loving that we become more like HIM.
 LOVE is the foundation of every command HE has given us. (GAL 5:14)
 To love unselfishly isn’t an easy task since it runs contrary to our SELFISH NATURE.
 Yes, God wants us to LOVE everyone but He is particular concerned that we learn to love others
in His family. (1 PETER 2:17) Paul agrees (GAL 6:10)
 It may sound ironic since Jesus also commanded to love our enemies but in this context, there’s
a reason why we should prioritize loving other believers. – GOD wants His family to be known
for its LOVE more than anything else.
 Jesus said that our LOVE FOR EACH OTHER is our greatest witness to the world. (JOHN 13:35)
 Yes, we will soon enjoy the fullness of LOVE in heaven with our GOD but for now we are being
trained to prepare ourselves for such eternity of loving. He gives us these “family
responsibilities” through loving one another.
 The very reason why we are in the community is so that we could develop this practice this skill
of giving and receiving love – no matter how irritating, imperfect and frustrating these some
people are.
 LOVE ISN’T LEARNED IN ISOLATION – we have to be with one another.
 When we live through fellowship, we will be able to learn these 3 important realities.

THE BEST USE OF LIFE IS LOVE

 LOVE should be our top priority, primary objective and greatest ambition.
 LOVE isn’t just a good part of our lives, it should be THE MOST IMPORTANT part. (1 COR 14:1)
 You just can’t put LOVE in your top ten list, it should be your main focus. Why? LIFE WITHOUT
LOVE IS REALLY WORTHLESS. (1 COR 13:3)
 LOVE isn’t something that we could just squeezed in our schedule – if this is our notion, we
make relationships just a portion of our lives and this isn’t what God wants.
 God wants relationship should be our life.
 If we look at the Catholic TEN COMMANDMENTS – the first 3 deals with our relationship to GOD
and the other 7 is about our relationship to our neighbors. Every word in the commandments
pertain to relationship.
 This is why Jesus was able to easily summarized these commandments into 2. (MATT 22 37-40)
 After learning to LOVE GOD (WORSHIP) – the second purpose is to LOVE OTHERS
(FELLOWSHIP).
 Relationships and not achievements are what matters most in life.
  The problem is we make relationship suffer. For instance, if we are too preoccupied with our
work, we tend to compromise our time, energy and attention that relationships require.
 WHAT’s MOST IMPORTANT TO GOD is REPLACED by WHAT’s URGENT.
 Busyness is a great enemy of relationships. When we are too preoccupied with making a living,
doing work, paying bills and reaching our goals – we destroy the real meaning of life which is to
learn how to LOVE – GOD and OTHERS.

*Optional: Talk about broken families, how the modern generation defines love, etc.

 Remember this formula: LIFE – LOVE = ZERO.

 LOVE WILL LAST FOREVER. This is another reason why GOD wants us to prioritize LOVE. (1 COR
13:13).
 LOVE LEAVES A LEGACY. How you treated other people, not your wealth or accomplishments, is
the most enduring impact you can leave on earth. It’s not what you do, but how much love you
put into it that matters – Mother Teresa
 LOVE is the secret of a lasting relationship.

*Optional: Share about the hospital days when you encounter dying people surrounded by
family.

 In our final moments, we realize that relationships are what life is all about.
 WE WILL BE EVALUATED ON OUR LOVE – this will be the basis of our judgment on eternity.
 One of the ways GOD measures spiritual maturity is through relationships. I don’t think GOD will
care about your career or your accomplishments or your assets. Remember the gospel account
when Jesus talked about the separation of the GOAT and the SHEEP? (MATT 25:40)
 When we die, we will leave everything except our character. (GAL 5:6)
 Do you want a stress free life? Simple, when you wake up in the morning and pray, don’t ask
that you will become productive, or you won’t be stuck in traffic or you won’t be late for work
but instead, make one simple prayer – Lord, no matter what happens – just let me love you and
love other people.
 Live one day at a time with this lifestyle and you’ll have a wrinkle free life.
 God gives us another day so let’s not waste it.

THE BEST EXPRESSION OF LOVE IS TIME

 The importance of things can be measured by how much time we are willing to invest in them.
 The more time you give, the more you reveal its importance and value to you.
 If you want to know a person’s priority, you look at where they spend most of their time.
 TIME IS YOUR MOST PRECIUS GIFT because you only have a set amount of it.
 You can make more money but you can’t make more time.
 When you give someone time, you are giving a portion of your life that you can’t take back.
 Your time is your life which is why it is the greatest gift you can give to a person.
 IT’S NOT ENOUGH TO SAY THAT RELATIONSHIPS ARE IMPORTANT – you must prove it by
spending your time with the people that you love. (1 JOHN 3:18)
 Relationships take TIME and EFFORT and the best way to spell LOVE is T-I-M-E
  The essence of LOVE isn’t what we think or do or provide for others but how much we give of
ourselves.
 The most desired gift of love isn’t material things like diamonds or roses or chocolates but
focused attention.

*Optional: Share about how social media and other distractions affect our relationships

 Love concentrates so intently on another that you forget yourself at that moment.
 Whenever you give your time, you are making a sacrifice and it’s the essence of LOVE. (EPH 5:2)
 YOU CAN GIVE WITHOUT LOVING BUT YOU CAN’T LOVE WITHOUT GIVING. (JOHN 3:16)
 LOVE means giving up your preferences, comfort, goals, security, money, energy and time for
the benefit of someone else.

THE BEST TIME TO LOVE IS NOW

 PROCRASTINATION – it’s the ultimate enemy of giving your time.

 If LOVE is what matters most, it should have the highest priority and the scriptures always
repeat this essence. (GAL 6:10) (EPH 5:16) (PROV 3:27)
 Why is NOW the best time to express LOVE? It’s because you don’t know how long you will have
the opportunity.
 Circumstances change. People die. Children grow up. You have no guarantee of tomorrow.
 IF YOU WANT TO EXPRESS LOVE, YOU HAVE TO DO IT NOW.
 One day, we will have to face GOD and during that time, but before that we have to answer
these questions.

How will you explain the times when other things were more important than people?
Who do you need to start spending more time with?
What do you need to cut out of your schedule to make that possible?
What sacrifices do you need to make?

 In summary, we should always remember these three sentences.

THE BEST USE OF LIFE IS LOVE.

THE BEST EXPRESSION OF LOVE IS TIME.
THE BEST TIME TO LOVE IS NOW.

Question for sharing:

CAN YOU THINK OF ONE RANDOM PERSON YOU THINK YOU HAVEN’T GIVEN MUCH TIME
LATELY OR IN THE PAST?

WHAT HINDERS YOU FROM GIVING THIS PERSON YOUR TIME?

ARE YOU WILLING TO GIVE UP THIS HINDRANCE AND ACTUALLY GIVE THIS PERSON YOUR
TIME?