God So Loves You

[00:00:00]Amen. Amen. Would you open your Bibles to two places, 1 John chapter 4 and there we'll pick up where we left off, but we'll start in Luke chapter 9. So, Luke 1 John chapter 4, Luke chapter 9 and I've entitled our Bible study God so loves you.

[00:00:20]We often think of that phrase God so loves the world and it's true.

[00:00:24]But when the Bible tells us that God so loves the world, he means God so loves you.

[00:00:32]To personalize it.

[00:00:34]The theme of John's letter, the whole letter is about the agape love of God. Hundreds of times this Greek word is used. This unconditional, unreserved, God-given love.

[00:00:51]It was the love of God that brought a monumental change in the life of John.

[00:00:57]He wasn't like this. You're reading the letter right now, but John wasn't like this.

[00:01:04]This is the new John, the born-again John.

[00:01:08]Th- This is a man who's a new creation in Christ. This is a man, we're reading this letter, who has changed by the power of God.

[00:01:18]And today, if you leave with nothing, this is what you need to leave with. If nothing else sticks, please leave with this. You need to know this today. God can change you.

[00:01:30]You can change and God can change you.

[00:01:33]Of all the battles that you're fighting and all the weaknesses that you see and you just don't think it's ever going to change. You just don't think you're ever going to overcome. You just don't think you're ever going to be different and this could be for you personally or for someone that you love. And you just look at them, they're just not going to change. I just don't see it. I want them to change, but I just don't see it. It what my eyes see, they blind my faith and it's such a wrestling. Know this, God can change you and God can change them. He wants to change you.

[00:02:07]He wants to move in your life. He wants you to become more and more like him day by day. He invites you to come and learn of me, Jesus says. And this is the work of God in your life ongoing, whether you cooperated with it or not, whether you agree with it or not. God is changing you along the way.

[00:02:27]When you cooperate, it seems to accelerate it. You seem to grow much faster. I have found over the years that we can change as fast as we want to change. It's the related directly to our obedience and our submission. I mean, the simple obedience, just reading something and it says to do something and there's a characteristic of a Okay, that's me. I was reading this morning about Paul.

[00:02:50]He was He was writing to the Corinthians. And he's he's talking about running the race and he's really emphasizing he doesn't want to do anything to disqualify himself. Well, that resonated with my heart. I wrote it down. I put it down in my notes and I jotted it down so I can met I've been meditating on it all day. How he disciplines and in this case, he said he disciplined his body. But just the whole idea of discipline.

[00:03:15]You You look at a passage like that and you go, "Okay, Lord, what in my life needs your discipline?"

[00:03:21]Because the end without the discipline, it could be a disqualifying life. And who wants to live a life at the end just like, "Oh, I just I'm disqualified."

[00:03:30]I can't run the race anymore. Or it might be too late.

[00:03:34]You see, when John, as he writes in the Gospel of John and first, second, and third John, Revelation, he often will refer to himself as the one Jesus loved.

[00:03:44]He probably got a hard time for that as the disciples, the apostles are looking at him, "Oh, you're the Yeah, I thought Jesus loved all of us." I could already hear there's no indication of that in the scriptures. But I could already hear, just in the human realm, oh, you're the one Jesus loved. But he meant it. I don't think he was trying to draw out from any other any kind of jealousy. Um but that phrase is used over and over again. I don't think he's writing it pridefully. I think he's writing it in amazement as he looks at his life. Because in all of our testimonies, everybody gets, you know, people that are close to us have a piece here, have a piece here, have a piece here. But guess who has the whole story?

[00:04:21]You.

[00:04:23]Like if anyone would be amazed at the grace of God, it would be you.

[00:04:27]Cuz you're living your life. And you look and you go, this is unbelievable.

[00:04:31]This is unbelievable. And the more you learn about the grace, the less you take credit for it. You just start to look and you go, that wasn't me. I I can't take credit for it. And John, I believe, in amazement, it's like, I just can't believe that I'm the one that Jesus loved. I'm the one that Jesus loved. I'm not excluding anyone else, but when I think of Jesus, it's like, ah, I experience his love. He loved me.

[00:04:55]Just as we can be amazed at God's love toward us. I know myself, I know my frailties, I know my inconsistencies, I know my weaknesses, I see my flesh, I watch it in my life, but Jesus loves me.

[00:05:09]And he loves you, too. God so loves you.

[00:05:14]What he began in your life, he'll complete it.

[00:05:17]He He is faithful to complete it until the day of Jesus Christ.

[00:05:21]He's not going to give up on you or forsake you or leave you. You see, John wasn't always this way. There was a time in his life where he couldn't write this, nor would he even desire to write it, I'm the one that Jesus loved. I mean, perhaps, he could recognize it, but he wasn't like this before. That's not how he viewed people. And we've mentioned it before, but I want to show you in the text. So, would you go with me? You're already open Luke chapter 9.

[00:05:48]You guys online or on the radio on the podcast open up seed in your own Bible.

[00:05:54]I want you just to draw your attention to the episode that we're often referencing when it comes to John.

[00:06:02]John wasn't always that way.

[00:06:04]Earlier on in his life, he had a different nickname. It wasn't the one whom Jesus loved. Pick up with me um Luke chapter 9 verse 51. And this is where you get to circle and mark this just so you can see the change that God can make. Now it came to pass when the time had come for him to be received up that he steadfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.

[00:06:27]And he sent messengers before his face and as they went they entered a village of the Samaritans to prepare for him.

[00:06:34]But as they did not receive him because his face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.

[00:06:41]And when his disciples James and John, same John.

[00:06:47]When his disciples James and John saw this, what did they see? They saw a group rejecting Christ.

[00:06:55]But we see the purpose God was doing a work. He was already set on his journey, but all they could see was the outward.

[00:07:01]When they saw, they said, "Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them just like Elijah."

[00:07:11]Just like Elijah did.

[00:07:13]And who knows maybe they added, "We want to see it, Lord."

[00:07:17]And we can do it right now.

[00:07:19]But Jesus turned in verse 55 and rebuked them and said, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the son of man did not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them."

[00:07:33]And they went into another village. In their hot temper and their righteous or so-called righteous indignation, they wanted to wipe out a whole group of people.

[00:07:46]But Jesus rebuked them.

[00:07:48]And all the time that he spent with them, all the time John was with Jesus, he was changed. Every word, every moment, every failure, every lesson, every campfire, every meal, every sleepless night, every moment was used as a as a discipleship moment for John.

[00:08:07]And as he hung out with Jesus, learning and following him, he was transformed to be more and more like his savior.

[00:08:15]Again, jot it down if you would in 2 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 18. It says, "But we all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord." This is happening now.

[00:08:35]This is a truth in our lives. We are being transformed, slowly but surely becoming more like Christ. Romans chapter 8 verse 29. "For whom he foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren." A few things that get most of the focus in this verse, foreknowledge, predestination, firstborn among many, all can be very troubling and spend some time focused.

[00:09:06]Almost always that is the focus of that verse. But I just want you to set those aside for a second, and I want you to focus on the word conformed to the image of his son.

[00:09:19]That is the pre- destined predestination work of Jesus in your life, to be conformed into his image.

[00:09:29]To not be conformed to the image of this world.

[00:09:32]To not look like the world, sound like the world, that the culture that you own the culture, the culture doesn't own you.

[00:09:40]That you're going against the flow in a world that wants you to just go along and, you know, keep the religion and keep the spirituality, but be like us.

[00:09:49]And there's this pressure upon pressure.

[00:09:52]John became not the son of thunder, he became the apostle of love.

[00:09:59]You need to know today that God can change you.

[00:10:02]No matter what you bring to the table.

[00:10:04]If we gave you a piece of paper when you walked in and said, "What's the most the sin that's plaguing you the most, the flesh that's plaguing, the thought, the wrestling, the battle?" Whatever you wrote down, God can change you.

[00:10:16]You don't have to be that the rest of your life. You can be walking, you can be a man, you can be a woman walking in the power and the victory of Christ.

[00:10:25]In verse 8 of chapter 4 now, with that in mind, we pick up where we left off. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

[00:10:38]Now, he has an episode we just learned in Luke's gospel. He knows at least one time in his life. I'm sure he knows more, but it's recorded for us at least one time in his life where John and his brother James made a decision that did not reflect the love of God. They wanted to wipe a people group out. I can't believe what they're doing to you, Jesus. How could they reject you? Do you want us like Elijah? We'll take care of them. We'll take care of this problem for you. And Jesus says, "You don't You don't understand. You don't have Your heart is wrong.

[00:11:10]I didn't come to destroy people."

[00:11:13]So, John, he knows. He knows what this is. He could have a thought that the Holy Spirit could use in his life. He go, "You remember that was not love, John."

[00:11:23]And now John is able to see that.

[00:11:25]And he says, "Hey, if you don't if you don't love, you don't know God because God is love." And now notice what he does in verse 9. In this, the love of God was manifested toward us that God has sent his only begotten Son into the world that we might live through him.

[00:11:44]Circle that word manifested. It means to put on display.

[00:11:48]That Greek word means to put on display for everyone to see.

[00:11:53]God made it clear the definition of love.

[00:11:57]The greatest demonstration of God's love is the Father sending his Son, Jesus Christ.

[00:12:04]You know, back in Psalm 19, if we were teaching this on the weekends, we probably would have read through Psalm 19 uh together. And Psalm 19 says that the heavens declare the glory of God.

[00:12:14]The heavens declare the glory of God, but the cross of Calvary declares the love of God.

[00:12:22]As you can see the glory of God and you look up and you're just like, "Oh, it's unbelievable what God has made." But if you want to know the love of God, you've got to look to the cross.

[00:12:32]Jesus was manifested, sent into the world that we might live through him.

[00:12:37]>> [clears throat] >> How do you know God loves you? Is it because you feel that? No.

[00:12:42]Is it because you read that? No.

[00:12:45]Is it because you you just have determined never to doubt it? No. We know that God loves us separate from us.

[00:12:54]You look to the cross.

[00:12:56]It's always the cross.

[00:12:58]Paul uses that word demonstrated.

[00:13:01]He He uses that word demonstrated to make sure that we understand that the greatest demonstration of God's love is the cross. Romans chapter 5 verse 8. For God demonstrates his love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. Romans 5:8-10.

[00:13:36]God demonstrated his love toward us. He manifest made it clear unequivocally. Jesus died for the ungodly. Those that were still sinners.

[00:13:47]Those that were enemies. As we learned, enmity against God. At war against God.

[00:13:53]He died for us. That's the demonstration of his love.

[00:13:57]While we were living like God didn't exist, Jesus died for us. When we didn't have any reverence or respect for God, Jesus died for us. While we were mocking him. While we were making fun of him.

[00:14:09]Taking his name in vain. Stopping on stomping on his precious work, he died anyway. We were actively, purposely, willingly breaking God's law, he died for us. It's absolutely mind-blowing.

[00:14:23]Now, to whatever degree our lives were lived apart from Christ, at the very least we could say, even the most moral, the person that says they're a good person and they really are a good person, but apart from Christ, at the very least we followed in the footsteps of our ancients, great great great grandma and grandfather Adam and Eve.

[00:14:46]We tried to cover our sin and run away from him and want nothing to do with them at the very least.

[00:14:53]But we know in our own lives it was much more to our separation from God. For some of us far more than others, but nonetheless, the demonstration of his own Lord that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

[00:15:07]This is important to grasp. Why I believe John has it here as he winds his letter down because your trust and belief in the love of God is always under attack.

[00:15:19]It can be attacked externally.

[00:15:22]It can be attacked internally by circumstances and our feelings.

[00:15:26]But when you and I face difficulties, almost immediately we have to guard against the thought that pops up that God doesn't care about me.

[00:15:35]And the way it works is this. I was doing just fine. I'm going through a trial and a trouble, and if God really cared for me, he wouldn't have let this happen.

[00:15:44]Or even worse, he wouldn't have done this.

[00:15:48]Which is really a far-fetched idea of the pain that we're experiencing.

[00:15:54]If it's not in our own minds, we always have so-called friends or folks that will be sent into our lives that will ask the question for us.

[00:16:04]They're like, "You still you believe in God? You see what's happening? Where's your God now?"

[00:16:09]Where's your God now? And you're like, "I don't know. I've been thinking the same thing."

[00:16:15]Because the enemy's got you.

[00:16:17]Because life is hard.

[00:16:20]And we live with the pain of sin to some degree or another every single day.

[00:16:24]Circumstances come and go. Feelings are strong and then they fade. But here's the thing. The demonstration of God's love for you is fixed.

[00:16:35]It's the cross.

[00:16:37]It doesn't come and go and it doesn't fade.

[00:16:39]So, if you ever doubt the love of God, you've got to look to the cross. The cross is immovable. It's proof of his love.

[00:16:46]That Jesus You believe Tell me, church, you believe Jesus died for your sins?

[00:16:51]That's the proof of his love.

[00:16:54]Nothing else.

[00:16:56]His love has been proven to you on the cross. His love will never fail, never falter.

[00:17:02]Not only did Jesus die on the cross, but he rose again from the dead.

[00:17:06]He proved doubly that everything he said and did that he was indeed God in human flesh, paying the price for sin that you and I could never pay.

[00:17:18]And it's interesting because as you read through the scriptures, the Bible seems to never really seek to prove God's love apart from the cross.

[00:17:27]There's really no place where you like there's some somebody sits down and tries to wrestle with a believer or an unbeliever to try to prove God's love apart from the cross. Whenever the Holy Spirit desires to show or demonstrate the love of God, we're always taken to the cross. We're always pointed to the cross. Why? Because it's sufficient.

[00:17:47]Even in the words of Jesus in his final words, what does he say? It is finished.

[00:17:54]And in our holy imagination, we try to do that at least once a year on Good Friday.

[00:18:00]Where we just spend a whole time uh our whole moment of being together on Good Friday is to try to consider the crucifixion.

[00:18:11]And to go through history of what the crucifixion involved and how the Roman guards, the Roman soldiers would beat to death those under scourging or close to death.

[00:18:25]How they would have their nerves endings in our own Jesus, we have described being spat upon and a crown of thorns twisted into his and the blood flowing and the the game playing and the gambling and the mocking and the spitting and the Jesus proved his love to us. You never have to doubt God's love.

[00:18:47]No matter how you feel, no matter what you're going through, Jesus died for you and we believe that.

[00:18:52]If God was willing to give you his son to be beaten and whipped and nailed and mocked and spat upon and crucified for you, what wouldn't he do for you?

[00:19:05]What would he hold back from you?

[00:19:08]What would he hold out?

[00:19:11]You know, as humans, we kind of play games with each other or, you know, very real way. And I don't mean games like fun and games. I mean, there's this game-playing where you get false promises and gaslighting and maybe you grew up in a home where your parents gave you promises they didn't fulfill and it just traumatizes you. And that gets carried over to thinking who God is and maybe he's just playing games with me because I'm hurting right now and this is horrible and I've got these normal questions and and I just know the more we get in our heads about doubting the love of God, we've just forgotten the cross.

[00:19:48]It's that simple.

[00:19:50]You don't need to talk to your feelings.

[00:19:51]You don't need to to to fight hard to try to get out of this. You just come back to the cross.

[00:19:58]It's proof.

[00:20:00]Who else has died for you?

[00:20:03]Who else has sacrificed their life for you? What false religion has a leader that was crucified and rose again?

[00:20:11]False religions are all built on what you can do for God and maybe their false god, little g, what you can do and all the effort you have to give and all the hard work you do and everything about what it's on your shoulders, but Christianity says, "No, it is not about what you can do because it's already been proven you can't."

[00:20:31]And what you cannot do for yourself, what has God done? He has done it for you by sending his son, Jesus Christ.

[00:20:38]And the proof of God's love is always always always the cross. The cross gives new life, new purpose, new power, new direction. What does John say in this, verse 9, "The love of God was manifested." What does Paul say, "God demonstrated his love that God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him." That we might live with our eyes on the cross.

[00:21:07]It reminded me of the days that I lived in deep dark rebellion against God. And we'd be sitting around partying, we'd be high or drunk, and talking about eternal things. Great time to talk about eternal things. And we were doing things and just involved in stuff and all that run around us are hurt and worried and whatever it might be. And we'd sit around in that and just go, "This is life, man.

[00:21:31]Nothing more than this. What else is there?"

[00:21:34]And somebody would come and I There's a very particular time I remember, but I know it happened more than once, where someone had the the the courage enough to talk to me about my eternal life and about heaven and also about hell.

[00:21:48]And I remember responding to them, "I don't care about hell. I don't care if I go to hell. I'll just take this party and I'll take it to hell and we'll party in hell."

[00:21:57]And let me tell you something, there's no party in hell.

[00:22:01]And the party life you think you're enjoying now, you're living hell right now. It only gets worse.

[00:22:06]This is the best you'll ever experience rejecting Christ. This world, the best you'll ever experience. Go ahead and turn on the news. That's the best you'll ever have. Go ahead and read whatever Read whatever website you want to read.

[00:22:16]Whatever you're into, go ahead. That's the best it's ever going to get apart from Christ. It only gets worse after this.

[00:22:23]But the cross reminds you that it's better. There's a better life. God has a higher level of living for you and for me. The forgiveness of sin is not merely a security of eternal life then, but also age-abiding life now.

[00:22:38]Purpose and direction. God's abundant mercy. When I'm sitting around with my buddies there, talk talking about this is the life, I deserved, you know how you make the joke about lightning? We all deserved it. One lightning bolt for each of us in that circle. We all deserved to be wiped out.

[00:22:57]But God didn't wipe us out.

[00:22:59]He showed us grace and mercy.

[00:23:03]And what we couldn't see in that circle, God knew what he was going to do with our lives. Isn't that amazing? God knows.

[00:23:08]He knows what he's going to do with your life.

[00:23:10]You can be changed by the power of God.

[00:23:13]Little by little, a lot a lot, you can do drastic, amazing changes.

[00:23:18]Just from, you know, you can go A, B, C, D, but you can go to A to Z if you want.

[00:23:23]God's ready. Are you ready? Is the key.

[00:23:26]Are you ready to pay the price and count the cost? Are Are you Are you ready to step out in radical obedience unto the Lord? Not just settle for maybe church life or It's a great beginning. I mean, you think Do you think of like God speaks every time you open yourself to him? God speaks. And every time you open yourself to him, you hear the voice of the Lord through his word, through the systematic teaching of his word.

[00:23:50]And you know, if you're doubting the love of God, you've got to look to the cross.

[00:23:57]You've got to look to the cross.

[00:24:01]Whenever the flood waters of life begin to raise their ugly head in my life, just kind of thinking about life and my own mistakes, uh you know, it's amazing where You're like, "Ed, you deal with your past? You wrote a stinking book on how to let go of your past? You deal with your past?" I do.

[00:24:20]Of course I do.

[00:24:22]And anytime it starts to overwhelm me or anytime I start to see things maybe or I wonder, I'm reminded of Psalm 40, aren't you? We read it not too long ago. The miry pit, the miry clay, and the the pit that God saved you from. He did save me from that pit. It is true.

[00:24:42]And no matter what my feelings might be today, in the midst of darkness as a dead man, I was saved. In the midst of darkness as a dead woman and a dead man, you heard the voice of the Lord and you came to him, and he saved you and it is not hopeless for the people of Aurora, for Denver, for a Colorado. It is not hopeless. The gospel can change anyone.

[00:25:10]The gospel can change your aunt, your uncle, your mom, your dad, your son, your daughter, your prodigal. The gospel of Jesus Christ is the very resurrection power.

[00:25:24]God so loves you.

[00:25:26]It's not just an abstract general thought that you experience. I was saved 30 years ago, so that's when God loved me. No, he never stopped loving you. He loved you before you were saved.

[00:25:37]He loved you in the womb, the moment of conception. He knew what was going to happen before you were even conceived.

[00:25:44]The love of God for us and it's through Jesus that we come into a real spiritual life. Notice verse 10.

[00:25:50]In this is love.

[00:25:52]In case we're not convinced. This is love. Okay, John, what is it? Not that we loved God. I think we've established that, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins.

[00:26:07]>> [snorts] >> Again, if you're reading like we do from the New King James or even the Old King James, propitiation and you're like, I don't know.

[00:26:15]I don't know what he's talking about.

[00:26:17]Let me give it to you.

[00:26:19]And it's okay if you don't understand words in the Bible. It's no problem.

[00:26:22]You could look it up or I'll help you with it.

[00:26:24]Propitiation is a word that means sacrifice.

[00:26:29]It's through the sacrifice of Christ.

[00:26:32]Or in a more technical way, the atoning sacrifice that his blood brought us to one man with him.

[00:26:41]Not what we have done. We didn't love God first. He loved us first.

[00:26:47]We didn't offer our whole package of Look, could you get with me, God?

[00:26:51]We didn't come with any baggage. we came we cast down. We don't want to live with that baggage.

[00:26:56]We had nothing to offer him.

[00:26:58]This is love church.

[00:27:00]This is love. It's not that we love God cuz we do love God and because we live in our physical bodies we emphasize that a lot. I love God. You might even verbalize it. I love God. You're looking at your life right now you go what's going on here? I can't believe it. I had this happen and this happen and but I love God. But that's not love. That's not the demonstration of love. That's second and we'll get into that in a future study. Uh that's second. The the real love is this. It's not that we love God but that he loved us.

[00:27:32]And he sent his son to die for our sins to be sacrificed for our sins. That's why.

[00:27:41]We love because he loved us first. We love because he loved us first. He's always the initiator.

[00:27:49]We're always the responders.

[00:27:52]To look for his love.

[00:27:54]To care for him even in the darkest of days.

[00:27:58]Even in the most difficult days. I remember years ago a dear sister in the church one of the first times we experienced a a real serious uh cancer in her life.

[00:28:10]And as a church this this she came with the diagnosis where the doctor said there's not that's it.

[00:28:17]And I remember we remember walking with her and ministering to her and and walking alongside of her and she's fighting fighting fighting fighting fighting.

[00:28:26]And it was she was the first one I heard this. I've heard it many times since then but she was the first one I ever heard say something as we were talking to her and she was talking to someone trying to explain to her and and the question was why you?

[00:28:39]That was the question to her. Why you?

[00:28:41]And her response was like wow.

[00:28:44]Her response was why not me?

[00:28:48]You're like, man.

[00:28:51]And you know the sister was victorious over cancer. She ministered in a cancer ministry for many many years here. They've since moved on into another church doing the same kind of ministry.

[00:29:03]But why not us?

[00:29:06]Who are we exactly that we would get a pass on sin and the sinful issues, the consequences of sin? We would get a pass somehow.

[00:29:14]That we wouldn't have to suffer.

[00:29:16]That we wouldn't have to experience pain.

[00:29:18]That we wouldn't make our own sinful mistakes. Why not me?

[00:29:22]This is just the life I live because of the cross.

[00:29:25]I'm living on God's time. You know, I I mean, if you look at it, it's all God's time, but I'm really living on God's time.

[00:29:31]My life is in him. I am hidden in Christ, we learn in Colossians.

[00:29:38]Aren't you glad that God forgave you?

[00:29:41]Change your life. God's forgiveness was given to us in full measure. Notice verse 11. Beloved, if God so loved us, then we also ought to love one another.

[00:29:55]We also ought to die to ourselves.

[00:29:58]Think of others more highly than ourselves.

[00:30:03]This debt that we owe, which God never requires us to pay back, is actually lived out by our love for each other and our care for each other.

[00:30:12]He says it right here. He says, "Beloved, if God loved us." And we say, "Yes."

[00:30:17]Then we should be loving one another.

[00:30:20]I know we're all flawed and I know we won't I know I've been in our church for almost 28 years. I've seen a lot of things. I've seen a lot of hurt, a lot of pain, a lot of difficulty in the church, a lot of people give up on God because of the church, because of our failures, because of your failures.

[00:30:35]Because they forget that we're still human.

[00:30:38]We forget that the we're all flawed.

[00:30:41]We forget that it's not as easy to love as easy as it is to say it.

[00:30:47]It's very easy to say it, and it's very easy to want to do it, and it's very easy to Yes, amen pastor, yes, love.

[00:30:54]It's much harder to die to ourselves so that the agape love of God can flow through us in situations that are very challenging.

[00:31:03]Somebody once said, and I quote, "People in the church are like porcupines in a snowstorm. We need each other to keep warm, but we prick each other if we get too close."

[00:31:15]And it's just the reality of God's redemptive, sanctifying work in our lives. None of us are where we need to be yet, but we're getting closer every day.

[00:31:25]None of us have arrived in glory, but we're learning how to love better. And a lot of times that that lesson of learning how to love comes directly from pain.

[00:31:35]Directly from hurt.

[00:31:37]And it's only by His grace that we can love this way.

[00:31:40]And this is what makes it beautiful in our relationship to the world in which we live. This is something that the world is desperate for, but they don't quite understand what it is.

[00:31:54]There's a desperation. Why would alcohol and drugs be so popular today?

[00:32:00]It's not just the sinful nature, although that's a big deal.

[00:32:05]There's a an emotional component to it.

[00:32:08]People don't want to feel loveless reality.

[00:32:12]They don't want to live in a loveless reality.

[00:32:15]So, they self-medicate, I think is the phrase that's used today.

[00:32:21]It's not just addiction. It's not just like just I'm going to hardcore party or in sin.

[00:32:28]It's like, man, world is hard and there's no purpose, no direction, because there's nowhere other than believers where the cross is lifted up.

[00:32:40]And I don't mean in the in the necklaces, and I don't mean on the bumper stickers, and I don't mean on the t-shirts.

[00:32:49]I mean here. If God so loved us, we ought to love one another. It's a lot easier to put on a t-shirt, isn't it?

[00:32:58]It's a lot easier to pop a bumper sticker on.

[00:33:02]It's a lot easier to love this verse but not love one another.

[00:33:07]But this is the power of the gospel.

[00:33:09]This is how people get changed.

[00:33:11]This is how they're introduced to Christ because of your love.

[00:33:16]I know I'm just as shocked as you are that the agape love comes through me as it does through you. It's shocking.

[00:33:22]Ask somebody that knew you 20 years ago.

[00:33:24]They're shocked.

[00:33:26]30 years ago.

[00:33:28]They're shocked.

[00:33:30]They're shocked that you made it through that trial cuz they don't know. You Don't you hear this? I don't know if I could do that. I don't know if I could get through that.

[00:33:37]I know. It was God's presence in your life.

[00:33:42]And if substantive change doesn't take place, then the church remains religious, just jumping on whatever bandwagon gets everybody's attention.

[00:33:53]And bandwagons don't save anyone.

[00:33:55]Bandwagons don't represent or demonstrate the love of God. I don't care how loud people get. I don't care how many shirts they sell, how many hats they have. I don't care if that's all your algorithm and all It doesn't matter. Bandwagons don't save anyone, but the cross does.

[00:34:12]Because the cross takes a person to the blood of Jesus Christ. Takes that person to the grave where all hope was lost, even his followers left and ran away.

[00:34:22]But Jesus rose again the third day, so that if you'll confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. And that's a response to the love of God, to his grace in your life, to his goodness. It is not what I have done. It's not what I have to offer. It's not what I can do. It's what God has done for me. And because we're born again, we resemble our father, our Abba.

[00:34:53]And we'll become more loving, more caring, more giving. Nobody needs to tell us because it's God living in us.

[00:35:01]And our hearts are just drawn to demonstrate the love of God. Why?

[00:35:05]Because of what he has done.

[00:35:08]You start meditating on what he has done, and it's mind-blowing. It's unbelievable.

[00:35:16]In Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 32, it says, "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you."

[00:35:30]Every opportunity of the cross is an open door to abide in his love.

[00:35:36]Every drama, every difficulty, every hardship, Jesus said this, and I'll close. In John chapter 14 verse 11, he said, "Believe me that I'm in the Father and the Father in me, or else believe me for the sake of the works themselves.

[00:35:54]Most assuredly I say to you, he who believes in me, the works that I do, he will do also. And greater works than these he will do because I go to my Father."

[00:36:08]Almost always the angle on this verse is through all the signs and wonders.

[00:36:14]I just want to see all the sign. I want to do greater works than Jesus.

[00:36:18]I I just want to be involved in more.

[00:36:21]And perhaps that's going to be God's work in your life. You're going to be involved in dramatic things and signs and wonders, that's great. But wouldn't it be better if you approach this verse and you go, "You know what, Lord? What I really want to see, what I really want to see greater in my life, what I really want to live out is I want to see a greater love coming through me to those that you brought into my life.

[00:36:46]I want to demonstrate your love.

[00:36:48]I want this promise.

[00:36:50]He who believes in me, okay, I believe in you. The works that I do, he'll do also. Okay, I want to be involved, but greater works than these he will do.

[00:37:00]Turn over to 1 Corinthians. That's not my last verse. I got to share this. Go over there.

[00:37:05]Go there because it just reminded me uh this this that little thought reminding me in 1 Corinthians 13 in verse 1, there's some dramatic things we get to do. Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I become a sounding brass and a clanging cymbal.

[00:37:26]And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all the knowledge, though I have all faith and I could remove mountains, but have not love, I'm nothing.

[00:37:38]And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, profits me nothing.

[00:37:47]Love suffers long and is kind.

[00:37:50]Love does not envy.

[00:37:52]Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up, does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil, verse 6, does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth, bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

[00:38:10]Love never fails.

[00:38:14]And Father, we receive that tonight.

[00:38:18]We look to the cross with our the best that we can possibly do, Lord. We weren't there, but we can see you high and lifted up.

[00:38:28]We've experienced it.

[00:38:30]We love you because you first loved us.

[00:38:35]Because you have loved us, we love others.

[00:38:39]And it's our heart, God, just to draw near to you in simplicity of faith, like children.

[00:38:46]Like this room being filled with children this week, just simple.

[00:38:51]Goofing off, enjoying themselves, singing songs, glowing in the dark.

[00:38:57]>> [laughter] >> They're just kids.

[00:39:01]Not a care in the world, for the most part.

[00:39:05]Kids in here today, they're not worried about the mortgage, not worried about the future.

[00:39:13]Probably just looking forward to a snack and a new song.

[00:39:18]And I just pray that over us, Lord.

[00:39:19]We're We're adults. We're older, for sure.

[00:39:22]But you said, you told us that there's something about the kids that we're to pay attention to.

[00:39:27]That when we come to you, we're to come as children.

[00:39:31]And those attributes of a child.

[00:39:35]Childlike, but not childish.

[00:39:38]And so I just pray that all the complications in the room, all the difficulties, all the bills to be paid and the mortgage and the family drama and the difficulties and the hardships and the fears and the anxieties, perfect love casts out all fear.

[00:39:55]We'll see that in [music] a future study.

[00:39:58]That just your perfect love washing over us.

[00:40:01]In the moment we were saved, we were just caught up in your grace. Not another thought in the world.

[00:40:07]Just wondering and just [music] so caught up in your forgiveness and your love for us.

[00:40:13]And so today, God, we just God so loves you. We receive that.

[00:40:19]And now God, we want to live out your identity in us.

[00:40:22]We don't want to be on a bandwagon.

[00:40:24]We want to be at the cross. We can't take anyone to a bandwagon. It's not going to No power in the bandwagons, [music] big power in the cross.

[00:40:35]For young and old, single and married, >> [music] >> parents and not parents yet.

[00:40:45]You know what you're doing, God.

[00:40:46]Pour out [music] your spirit. Flood this church, God, with your agape love.

[00:40:51]Wisdom and discernment, yes. [music] But let it start with love.

[00:40:55]We can do all these things, prophecies and knowledge and but without love >> [music] >> because love never fails.

[00:41:06]Pray that over us and receive it today in Jesus' name. [music] Amen.