He Loves Me
He Loves Me[1]
1 John 3:1
“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” NIV
THESIS: God demonstrated His perfect love for us by dying on the cross. This makes us adopted children into the family of God’s people.
In 2000 a young lady by the name of Jill Scott erupted on to the music scene with her debut album “Who is Jill Scott?” It was with her soulful voice and poetic lyrics that she captivated and entertained millions of people all of over the world. She opens her album with what she calls “Jilltro” by expressing how she most enjoys singing about love and how her motivation for life is love and her motivation for music poetry is love! On this album she has a song entitled He Loves Me. It is on this song that she describes how wonderfully beautiful HIS love for her is. How HE loves her from her hair follicle to her toe nails. How HE loves every imperfection she has. She goes on to describe how HIS love is especially different than anyone else’s love. She gives a long litany of how wonderful and beautiful HIS love makes her feel.
I have no idea who the “He” is that Jill Scott is speaking of as her soulful graces the airwaves but let me serve notice with my rough, scraggly voice when I say “He loves me” I am talking about is Jesus! I don’t know what you know I know He loves me.
From my hair follicle to my toe nails,
He loves me in my imperfect state,
He loves me just the way I am.
Mixed up, messed up, flawed, broken and battered He still loves me!
When I didn’t love my self He loved me,
before I was even formed in my mother’s womb He loved me.
Even when He knew I would break His heart He still loved me.
The Bible says:
1 John 4:9
In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only
begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.
1 John 4:10
Herein is love , not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be
the propitiation for our sins.
Romans 5:8
8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us.
All I’m trying to say is God loves me! I don’t know about you but when I think of how He loves me I have to shout Hallellejuah! I know it’s early in the sermon but can I shout right now.
Because when I woke up this morning in my right mind I remembered He loves me,
When I saw that my arms and legs worked fine I remembered He loves me,
When I saw my family made it another day I remembered He loves me!
As I drove pass the hospital and thought about how He healed me I remembered He loves me,
When I saw some prisoners cleaning the side of the road and I thought about how many times He protected me I remembered He loves me
When I drove pass the cemetery and I thought about how he spared me I remembered He loves me!
When I went to open my mouth and all that could come out I remembered He loves me!
And all I could do is continue to say Thank You!
For my ups and downs, Thank you
For my goings and coming, Thank you
For the good times and the bad times, Thank You
God just for loving me- THANK YOU!
Yes He loves me, I’m trying to preach what I wrote but I’m not sure if I can get to it because I keep thinking about How He loves me… Look at you neighbor and say He loves me…
I. John’s question: “What kind of Love”
a. John the revelator says he wants to ask a question:
i. John one of the 12 disciples
ii. John, the writer of the last Gospel, 3 epistles and the book of revelations
iii. John who laid in the bosom of Christ at the last supper
iv. John, the only disciple to stand at the cross as Jesus died for all of us
v. John, the who Jesus looked at and from the cross and said- behold your mother
vi. John who referred to himself as the disciple whom Jesus loved
vii. John wants to ask us a question today!
b. “What kind” is used in:
i. Matthew 8:27:
1. After Jesus calmed a storm the men asked “What kind of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey Him”
ii. Luke 1:29
1. Mary, the mother of Jesus, after Gabriel called her favored one she asked “what kind of salutation is this”
iii. John asks this question “What kind” with a certain reverence and amazement of God
iv. We ought to show the same reverence and amazement when we deal with the things of God
1. We ought to speak of the Worship service like its Holy
a. like it’s a privilege to be a part of not an obligation
2. Church has been reduced from a heavenly experience to a social commitment
3. Ministry has become a box we must check so that when we see God on judgment day we can present a properly filled out application to Him
4. I’m bothered by some of these so called Gospel songs when they are calling Jesus my homie, or homeboy or any other vernacular used for your friends on the street
a. When I was coming up if my grandparents heard me call Him something other than
i. Isaiah 9:6 Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.
b. Sometime you could get creative and call Him:
i. The rose of Sharon
ii. Lilly of the Valley
iii. Fairest of 10 thousand maidens
iv. But you had to respect His Holy name!
c. “of Love”
i. John served notice that he was speaking of Godly things b/c there are several Greek words for love
1. In greek it is what it is; not like English where:
i. Fat has nothing to do w/ dress size
ii. Bad means extremely good
iii. Tight doesn’t describe how much room you have
iv. Cool d/n describe the temperature
ii. Eros- erotic; physical love
iii. Philos- Philadelphia; a friendly love based on a common connection
iv. Storge- Love between family members
II. The answer “agape”
a. A sacrificial love
i. It cares, gives and works for another person’s good
ii. It asks for nothing in return
b. A love that loves regardless of feelings
c. A love that loves even if a person does not deserve to be loved
d. A love that loves a person who is unworthy of being loved
e. It’s a love that only God can give
f. A love He demonstrated when:
i. He looked down from heaven and saw us deep in sin
ii. He stripped himself of a robe called glory and wrapped himself in human flesh to come and commune with us
iii. He opened blind eyes, unstopped deaf ears, feed multitudes and casted out demons
iv. He demonstrated when He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities
v. He hung from the cross and died so that I may live
g. BUT THAT”S NOT HOW THE STORY ENDS: A love He demonstrated
i. When John walked in to an empty tomb
ii. When He rose with all power in His hand
iii. When He ascended unto Heaven but left me with a comforter
iv. A love He demonstrates everyday when He sits next to the father and He prays that I may be given another chance, that I may be kept safe that I may live a life free from guilt!
v. HE LOVES ME! HE LOVES ME!
III. Bestowed or Lavished
a. He didn’t just give but He lavished it on me
i. When you lavish someone with gifts you give it to them in great abundance as if there is an unlimited supply
ii. God lavished His love on you and I
1. You sin once, He forgives you
2. You go out and sin again, He forgives you again
3. No matter how much you mess up, he forgives you because His love does not run out:
a. That’s why the Bible says a just man falls 7 times and gets back up again
b. Its not the fall that makes him just
c. Nor is it the getting up
d. But its God’s love being poured out over and over again that makes him just
iii. If you truly want to experience the love of God:
1. Admit you messed up and ask Him to accept you
2. Watch Him do it over and over and over again!
IV. John explains why! “That we should be called children of God”
a. We need a name change
i. Our old name dealt with our pass; your new name speaks of your future
1. Abraham went from Abram, the father lifted up to Abraham, father of many nations
2. Israel went from Jacob, the trickster, to Israel, he who fights or persists with God
3. Joshua went from Hoshea, a prayer of salvation, to Joshua, God is our salvation
a. I wish I could take time to teach:
i. Going from the prayer to walking in it
ii. Going from the promise to revelation of
iii. Going from the hope for to the manifestation of
ii. When you and I came to God our given name represented the reputation we acquired
1. but God said part of my cleaning you up is changing your name
a. If a change what you respond to I can change what you act like
b. If I change what you act like I can change your direction
c. If I change your direction I can change your destiny
d. henceforth now and forever more you shall be called “child of God”
b. But when I came to God I was still a little messed up
i. That’s OK, once God said it, it became true
1. Anything God creates He does so by saying so!
2. I know you make mistakes still but God said you are a Child of His!
V. The admonishment- “and that is what we are”; Act like it!
a. One of the things I try to instill in Keishon is you are a Joseph so act like it
b. You can’t do what some of your friends do; why, because you are a Joseph
i. When I correct him sometimes he’ll hold his head down and I have to tell him “hold your head up boy- YOU ARE A JOSEPH! SO ACT LIKE IT! I know you messed up but daddy still love you so hold you head up and act like a Joseph!
ii. What makes him a Joseph is who his daddy is
c. You are a child of God, a Christian, not because of anything you have done but because of who your daddy is so act like it!
d. I know you messed up last week but hold your head and walk thorough the door like you are a child of God
e. I know they talked about you, but you are a child of God so act like it
f. I know it seems like no one knows no one cares but GOD LOVES YOU SO ACT LIKE
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[1] Steeple Chase July 16