1. LOVE LETS IT GO 40 Days of Love – Part 4 Tom Collins

2. It is EASY to love loving people, but for God to teach you real love He is going to put you around unlovely people. These are people I call EGR people, EXTRA GRACE REQUIRED. The scriptures tell us how to love these people: I CORINTHIANS 13:5: “Love is not rude. Love does not demand its own way. Love is not irritable, and love keeps no record of when it has been wronged.”

3. The first group of people includes: I. DIFFICULT PEOPLE. “Love is not rude.” Therefore, I must be TACTFUL, not just TRUTHFUL. Do that by Listening To Them. PROVERBS 18:3: “Answering before listening is both stupid and rude.” EPHESIANS 4:31-32: “Stop being bitter and angry and mad at others. Don’t yell at one another or curse each other or ever be rude. Instead, be kind and merciful, and forgive others, just as God forgave you because of Christ.” PROVERBS 16:21: “A wise, mature person is known for his understanding. The more pleasant his words, the more persuasive he is.”

4. Another group includes: II. DEMANDING PEOPLE. “Love does not demand its own way,” therefore I must be UNDERSTANDING, not DEMANDING. PHILIPPIANS 2:5-7: “Your attitude should be the same that Jesus Christ had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form.” TITUS 3:2: “Believers shouldn’t curse anyone or be quarrelsome, but they should be gentle and show courtesy to everyone.”

5. A third group of people includes: III. DISAPPOINTING PEOPLE. “Love is not irritable,” so I must be GENTLE, not JUDGMENTAL.

6. A fourth group includes: IV. DESTRUCTRUCTIVE PEOPLE “Love keeps no record of when it has been wronged.” So you don’t REPEAT it, you FORGIVE and LET IT GO. Our tendency is to: 1. REMEMBER AND REHEARSE IT: 1) In our Mind. LEVITICUS 19:17: “Do not bear a grudge against others. But settle your differences with them so you will not commit a sin because of them.” 2) In Arguments. PROVERBS 17:9: “Love forgets mistakes. Nagging about them parts the best of friends.” 3) By Gossiping. PROVERBS 16:28: “Gossip is spread by wicked people; they stir up trouble and break up friendships.”

7. A fourth group includes: IV. DESTRUCTRUCTIVE PEOPLE 2. RETALIATE. MARK 11:25: “Whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him and let it drop, leave it, and let it go, in order that your Father who is in heaven may also forgive you your own failings and shortcomings and let them drop.” PROVERBS 10:12: “Hate stirs up trouble, but love forgives all offenses.”