He is Love

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He is Love

Last week talked about the hope that is in Christ
We talked about how the Jews were under the rule of king Herod and paranoid that he was. To the point of having two of his own sons murderer - along with one of his wives parents and eventually one of his wives
how he built a massive fortress overlooking Jerusalem and the surrounding areas
How the people would constantly be reminded of his rule
We talked about how they were under the roman government which was robbing them by the extreme taxes that they would have to pay...
We discussed the corrupt leaders of their faith the pharisees who were legalists, the sadducees who were also legalists and the crazy zealots...
Christ coming would be a huge breath of hope for the Jews...
Likewise, this week we will discuss the love that God showed by sending Christ!
Galatians 4:4 NIV
4 But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law,
When the time was right, God came!
“All the Way to Kingdom Come” - Rich Mullins
We didn't know what love was 'til He came And He gave love a face and He gave love a name And He gave love away like the sky gives the rain and sun We were looking for heroes He came looking for the lost We were searching for glory and He showed us a cross Now we know what love is 'cause He loves us All the way to kingdom come (All the way) All the way to kingdom come Love is a miracle It's a miracle if you can find it And miracles are hard to come by these days (these days) But the sweet Lord Jesus he's a miracle man He's got holes in His feet in His side in His hands And if you ask for love love pours through them Like a ray of light like a raging blaze We didn't know what love was 'til he came And He gave love a face and He gave love a name And He gave love away like the sky gives the rain and sun
We didn’t know what love was ‘til he came...
Jesus came as the perfect picture of love....
When the time had full come - God came in the person of Jesus!
Love took on flesh and walked this earth
Romans 8:38–39 NIV
38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
The love of God came in Christ Jesus..
What is this love?
1 John 3:16 NIV
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
The ultimate act of love was when Christ came...
John 3:16 NIV
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
What is the world? - Greek word kosmos - which means the created world, the universe, all created things. Refers to all that exists.
“All created things” includes you and I.
Back to the verse.
‌God loves you so much, that He came, and died on a cross for you.
Philippians 2:7–8 NIV
7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Jesus gave up all glory and authority in heaven for you....
1 John 4:9
1 John 4:9 NIV
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him.
God loved us before we could mess anything up!
‌The love that is expressed in the relationship with Jesus is unlike the love that we see anywhere else in the world! His love always has been, is now, and will always be, perfect!
‌I do weddings every once in a while and there are typically a few things that always seem to happen.
‌Vows - "I, _____, take thee, _____, to be my wedded wife/husband, to have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, to love and to cherish, till death do us part, according to God's holy ordinance; and thereto I pledge thee my faith."
‌This is a choice....we are choosing, or vowing, to do be with this person....
‌The difference in God is that His love is not a choice. It’s not something that He chooses to do! Love is something that God is! It is His very essence.
1 John 4:7-8
1 John 4:7–8 NIV
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
God doesn’t choose to love you. He just loves you. What’s the implication of that? It’s that He can’t choose not to!
God can’t wake up one morning and say “you know, I don’t think that I am going to love Caleb today.”
He is love!
‌He is faithful and just! He will never let you down! He will always love you!
‌The second thing that is often in weddings is:
1 Corinthians 13:4–6 NIV
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.
1 Corinthians 13:7–8 NIV
7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
When God loves, this is How He loves!
‌His love is perfect!
‌To understand who God says that you are, is to understand that you are loved! And, not as the world loves, but with perfect, unfailing love!
‌I think that sometimes we lose focus on the fact that God loves us!
One of the ways that we lose focus on God’s love is in

1. Fear

Fear of lots of things:
‌uncertainty in the future
‌fear of bad health
‌fear of failure
‌fear of the future of our nation and the freedom to worship freely
‌fear of division and dissension in the church
‌fear of doing what I am called to do, because I let people down
‌What happens when I listen to fear is that I lose focus on the one who loves me!
‌Yes, he wants me to lead myself, my family, the church that I serve, into His glory. And, into His will.
‌Yes, He wants me to seek Him and to make the decisions that He wants me to make.
‌But, if I fail....He still loves me! He hasn’t given up on me!
1 John 4:18 NIV
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
When fear starts to creep in, I need to remember Who loves me!
The second thing that is often a distraction from understanding God’s love for me is:

2. A Lack of Focus

We often times get distracted by the things going on that we lose sight of God’s love for us...
Something happens and we question if God is still there...
We hear something that makes us question the validity of God...
Or, things like we get too busy...
My Grammy used to say all the time “all that the enemy has to do is to keep us busy.”
Now, I am not sure that’s all he has to do, but it certainly is a distraction...
How often do we get distracted by life?
We slowly stop spending time with God...
We stop reading and learning our word...
We stop going to meet with other believers...
We stop worshipping...
And then, we are so far away from God that we seem lost....
But, like the father in the parable of the prodigal Son, in His love, God is waiting for us to return home...
Maybe that is where we are at this morning....
Maybe we need a reminder that God loves us...
How much does He love us?
Romans 5:8 NIV
8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This is how God shows His love....Christ died for us while we were still sinners....
He didn’t die for those who were perfect....we know that no one is perfect aside from Christ...
And He died for all!
For God so loved the kosmos....the earth and all created things...
The invitation is open....
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