1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,000 Let's pray together. 2 00:00:09,000 --> 00:00:18,760 Father, I ask this evening that once again the Holy Spirit would be our teacher. 3 00:00:18,760 --> 00:00:25,640 Quiet our minds and open our hearts to receive the words of God. 4 00:00:25,640 --> 00:00:34,240 Help us, I pray, to come to a fresh appreciation for this marvelous attribute that we call 5 00:00:34,240 --> 00:00:36,080 love. 6 00:00:36,080 --> 00:00:40,780 Thank you for revealing yourself to us in all of your glory. 7 00:00:40,780 --> 00:00:53,560 Help us to get an ever increasing glimpse of the glorious attributes you possess so 8 00:00:53,560 --> 00:00:56,480 that we may worship you as we ought. 9 00:00:56,480 --> 00:01:05,160 I pray this in Jesus' name, amen. 10 00:01:05,160 --> 00:01:11,480 So we read in our text tonight, God is love. 11 00:01:11,480 --> 00:01:19,880 It does not say that love is God, as some would phrase it, for that is not true. 12 00:01:19,880 --> 00:01:21,840 But it does say that God is love. 13 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:33,160 In other words, love so fitly describes the essence of God's being that it can be said 14 00:01:33,160 --> 00:01:37,000 God is love. 15 00:01:37,000 --> 00:01:41,760 It also says in the New Testament that God is spirit. 16 00:01:41,760 --> 00:01:49,440 And once again, that very simple three-word phrase significantly gives us insight into 17 00:01:49,440 --> 00:01:51,960 God's essence. 18 00:01:51,960 --> 00:01:53,600 He is not a man as we are. 19 00:01:53,600 --> 00:01:58,040 He is not composed of material. 20 00:01:58,040 --> 00:01:59,820 He is not physical. 21 00:01:59,820 --> 00:02:00,820 He is immaterial. 22 00:02:00,820 --> 00:02:01,820 He is spirit. 23 00:02:01,820 --> 00:02:04,880 So it is said God is spirit. 24 00:02:04,880 --> 00:02:06,640 And then it is said God is light. 25 00:02:06,640 --> 00:02:10,920 In fact, John says that in this very epistle. 26 00:02:10,920 --> 00:02:16,520 Light there being not physical light as we think of it, but rather moral light. 27 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:20,440 It says God is light and in him is no darkness at all. 28 00:02:20,440 --> 00:02:26,880 That is, there is no moral blemish on God whatsoever. 29 00:02:26,880 --> 00:02:30,760 And that apparently manifests itself in glorious light. 30 00:02:30,760 --> 00:02:34,320 And so it says God is light. 31 00:02:34,320 --> 00:02:37,480 But here we have the statement God is love. 32 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:43,160 This is a truth that is known only by the revelation of God in the Word. 33 00:02:43,160 --> 00:02:46,800 This truth could not be known through creation. 34 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:53,400 This morning we talked about natural revelation and how God reveals certain aspects of his 35 00:02:53,400 --> 00:02:56,800 invisible person to us through creation. 36 00:02:56,800 --> 00:03:01,420 But love is not something that comes to us through the creation. 37 00:03:01,420 --> 00:03:05,420 Love comes to us through the written Word of God. 38 00:03:05,420 --> 00:03:08,040 In this way we understand that God is love. 39 00:03:08,040 --> 00:03:14,240 Of course, this is in quite contrast to the heathen gods of the world. 40 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:21,640 The heathen gods are gods that are angry, who demand appeasement, to assuage their anger 41 00:03:21,640 --> 00:03:23,480 and wrath. 42 00:03:23,480 --> 00:03:25,280 But that is not the God of the Bible. 43 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:31,160 It is true that there is the wrath of God, but that is not the same as the kind of anger 44 00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:37,040 that men imagine for their so-called gods. 45 00:03:37,040 --> 00:03:39,160 God has revealed himself as love. 46 00:03:39,160 --> 00:03:42,480 Let's think about a definition for that. 47 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:43,480 What does that mean? 48 00:03:43,480 --> 00:03:50,760 Dr. Lehmann Strauss, who is a very fine Bible teacher and author, makes this statement. 49 00:03:50,760 --> 00:03:59,920 I think of the love of God as that eternal and essential attribute, that principle of 50 00:03:59,920 --> 00:04:08,280 God's nature, whereby he is moved to communicate himself to man, regardless of any sacrifice 51 00:04:08,280 --> 00:04:09,760 on his part. 52 00:04:09,760 --> 00:04:14,240 It seems to me that there are several key thoughts there, but the one I want to point 53 00:04:14,240 --> 00:04:21,680 out is that his love is what moves him to communicate with us, even though we're sinners. 54 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:29,020 Richard DeHaan, in his book The Living God, says, there is in God a quality or attribute 55 00:04:29,020 --> 00:04:35,600 which moves him to self-communication or self-giving. 56 00:04:35,600 --> 00:04:41,840 Some people misunderstand the love of God and think that it is a kindly indulgence with 57 00:04:41,840 --> 00:04:51,480 sin, that it is some sort of weak sentiment, as though God were a kindly old grandfather. 58 00:04:51,480 --> 00:04:59,480 That is not the Bible's understanding of love when it says God is love. 59 00:04:59,480 --> 00:05:04,080 In Unger's Bible Dictionary, we find this statement. 60 00:05:04,080 --> 00:05:11,400 Love is the highest characteristic of God, the one attribute in which all others harmoniously 61 00:05:11,400 --> 00:05:12,960 blend. 62 00:05:12,960 --> 00:05:18,440 The love of God is more than kindness or benevolence. 63 00:05:18,440 --> 00:05:25,400 The latter may be exercised toward irrational creatures, but love is directed toward rational, 64 00:05:25,400 --> 00:05:29,720 personal beings. 65 00:05:29,720 --> 00:05:38,240 God's love is the ground for which and upon which he deals with us. 66 00:05:38,240 --> 00:05:45,000 Love is the basis of all of his dealings with you and with me. 67 00:05:45,000 --> 00:05:53,800 Perhaps we can understand this a bit by comparing it to the love that a parent has for his child. 68 00:05:53,800 --> 00:05:56,200 Parents love their children. 69 00:05:56,200 --> 00:06:00,000 That is just natural. 70 00:06:00,000 --> 00:06:05,400 There's deep affection and concern for each child. 71 00:06:05,400 --> 00:06:14,060 And God is the same way, only of course in a much more complete sense. 72 00:06:14,060 --> 00:06:20,680 Love as a parent protects his child, so God protects us. 73 00:06:20,680 --> 00:06:23,680 He's concerned with our safety. 74 00:06:23,680 --> 00:06:31,660 You and I need not fret and worry over our safety, for God is concerned about us. 75 00:06:31,660 --> 00:06:41,600 And as our parent, in the spiritual sense, as our heavenly father, he protects us. 76 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:50,000 The angel of the Lord camps round about those that fear him, and he delivers them, says 77 00:06:50,000 --> 00:06:52,560 the psalm. 78 00:06:52,560 --> 00:06:55,080 God protects his children. 79 00:06:55,080 --> 00:07:03,160 I personally believe in what are sometimes termed guardian angels. 80 00:07:03,160 --> 00:07:06,400 Now it's not that God has to have angels to do his bidding. 81 00:07:06,400 --> 00:07:10,040 He doesn't, but he chooses to. 82 00:07:10,040 --> 00:07:14,920 God doesn't have to have us to get the gospel out either, but he chooses to use us, doesn't 83 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:15,920 he? 84 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:21,720 And in the purposes of God, he has created spirit beings that we call angels. 85 00:07:21,720 --> 00:07:27,880 And I believe that he has given angels to be charged, which are charged to guard us 86 00:07:27,880 --> 00:07:33,400 and to watch over us in our earthly journey. 87 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:37,440 I believe that those angels are not present only in childhood, but that they are present 88 00:07:37,440 --> 00:07:40,680 throughout our life to protect us. 89 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:48,440 They are stationed with us as official guards of God's children. 90 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:56,880 Royalty guards its children, and it must in the world in which we live. 91 00:07:56,880 --> 00:08:00,360 We're delighted to have our friends from England here this weekend, and we were talking this 92 00:08:00,360 --> 00:08:08,840 afternoon about England's royalty and about the marvelous events that have taken place 93 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:16,320 there in the last year with the wedding of Prince Charles and Princess Di, and now her 94 00:08:16,320 --> 00:08:22,320 expecting a child and so on, and the excitement that takes place around royalty. 95 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,740 That's hard for us to grasp, isn't it, in America? 96 00:08:25,740 --> 00:08:32,360 We have the children of presidents or of other leaders, and we sort of set them apart, but 97 00:08:32,360 --> 00:08:37,600 if we had the mindset of those who live in a system of government that had royalty, we 98 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:42,120 would have even a deeper respect for royalty and for the children of royalty. 99 00:08:42,120 --> 00:08:47,120 Well, not only is the queen protected, but her children are protected. 100 00:08:47,120 --> 00:08:50,280 They are guarded and kept, for they are very important. 101 00:08:50,280 --> 00:08:55,000 And you see, we are the royalty of God. 102 00:08:55,000 --> 00:09:01,680 God in His love has destined us to sit on the throne with Jesus Christ. 103 00:09:01,680 --> 00:09:06,120 I can't explain to you why He has chosen to do that, except that it pleases Him to do 104 00:09:06,120 --> 00:09:07,120 so. 105 00:09:07,120 --> 00:09:15,800 And because we are the eternal royalty of the universe, God, our Heavenly Father, loves 106 00:09:15,800 --> 00:09:20,160 us and out of His love comes protection for us. 107 00:09:20,160 --> 00:09:22,200 He guards us. 108 00:09:22,200 --> 00:09:27,040 And then parents provide for their children, don't they? 109 00:09:27,040 --> 00:09:31,320 We provide in love for them, and sometimes that means we withhold things that we know 110 00:09:31,320 --> 00:09:36,280 would hurt them or things that they may not appreciate fully at this particular point 111 00:09:36,280 --> 00:09:41,080 in life, but we provide for their needs, and we delight to do that. 112 00:09:41,080 --> 00:09:45,480 Would we not be disappointed if our children had something they truly needed and yet feared 113 00:09:45,480 --> 00:09:52,520 to come to us or if they felt that we would not provide for their needs? 114 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:54,120 That would be alarming to us. 115 00:09:54,120 --> 00:10:01,120 Well, it's alarming to God when He sees our lack of faith. 116 00:10:01,120 --> 00:10:06,040 You see, if a father knows how to give good things to his children, doesn't God know how 117 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,620 to even give the Holy Spirit to his children? 118 00:10:09,620 --> 00:10:15,920 God will care for us and provide for our needs spiritually, physically, in every way. 119 00:10:15,920 --> 00:10:23,000 He will provide for us, and He delights to do that, and He loves to see us trust Him 120 00:10:23,000 --> 00:10:27,160 to provide those needs. 121 00:10:27,160 --> 00:10:30,200 And then we play with our children. 122 00:10:30,200 --> 00:10:35,840 That's an important part of a parent's relationship to his children, to play with them, to nurture 123 00:10:35,840 --> 00:10:41,640 that kind of intimacy that comes only by the informal playing. 124 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:46,960 I would suggest to you that God delights in knowing us in a similar way. 125 00:10:46,960 --> 00:10:52,960 Not that He plays with us in the earthly sense, but God delights for that kind of intimate 126 00:10:52,960 --> 00:10:59,320 fellowship with us, whereby there are times when we draw very near to Him and address 127 00:10:59,320 --> 00:11:04,760 Him not as Father, but as Daddy. 128 00:11:04,760 --> 00:11:09,040 You see, that's the meaning of the word Abba in the New Testament. 129 00:11:09,040 --> 00:11:15,320 And it says that you and I have the privilege of addressing Him as Abba, Father, that term 130 00:11:15,320 --> 00:11:21,160 that a little child would use for the one that He loves and respects and knows so well. 131 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:26,480 God wants us to draw near to Him in the same sense and know that intimacy of fellowship 132 00:11:26,480 --> 00:11:30,080 and communion because He loves us. 133 00:11:30,080 --> 00:11:33,880 And then because we love our children, we discipline them. 134 00:11:33,880 --> 00:11:37,860 We spank them or stand them in the corner or send them to their room or any variety 135 00:11:37,860 --> 00:11:38,860 of ways. 136 00:11:38,860 --> 00:11:45,640 I suppose most parents are always looking for new ways, more meaningful ways, more effective 137 00:11:45,640 --> 00:11:51,360 ways in which to discipline children and to get the point across that obedience is very 138 00:11:51,360 --> 00:11:53,640 important to learn. 139 00:11:53,640 --> 00:11:57,960 We see God, because He loves us, disciplines us too. 140 00:11:57,960 --> 00:12:02,000 For whom the Lord loves, He disciplines. 141 00:12:02,000 --> 00:12:06,560 There's a Father, His Son, in whom He delights. 142 00:12:06,560 --> 00:12:11,840 Boys and girls, children, your parents discipline you because they love you. 143 00:12:11,840 --> 00:12:17,280 Now, I know sometimes that doesn't seem to fit very well, does it, with what happens? 144 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:24,400 You wonder how someone can spank you or ground you for a week or whatever and still love 145 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:25,400 you. 146 00:12:25,400 --> 00:12:31,600 But the fact is because they find such delight in you, because they love you so thoroughly, 147 00:12:31,600 --> 00:12:38,560 they want you to grow up to obey so that you may enjoy life to its fullest. 148 00:12:38,560 --> 00:12:42,640 They discipline you because they love you, and likewise, God disciplines us because He 149 00:12:42,640 --> 00:12:46,720 delights so very much in us. 150 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:51,380 And so whatever the situation may be, God's love is the ground for all of His dealings 151 00:12:51,380 --> 00:12:54,600 with us as His children. 152 00:12:54,600 --> 00:13:01,560 Love must have an object by its very nature because you see this kind of love, agape love, 153 00:13:01,560 --> 00:13:08,480 is love that gives because it delights in the object. 154 00:13:08,480 --> 00:13:10,880 That's the whole point of agape love. 155 00:13:10,880 --> 00:13:15,400 It gives out of delight. 156 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:22,680 God has expressed agape love toward a number of objects. 157 00:13:22,680 --> 00:13:25,120 Let me just suggest them to you quickly. 158 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:31,360 In the first place, God has said that He loves His Son, the Lord Jesus. 159 00:13:31,360 --> 00:13:39,360 When He was baptized, when the Lord Jesus was baptized, God spoke from heaven audibly 160 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,640 so that people heard Him. 161 00:13:41,640 --> 00:13:43,780 And what did God say? 162 00:13:43,780 --> 00:13:46,640 This is my what? 163 00:13:46,640 --> 00:13:50,040 Beloved Son. 164 00:13:50,040 --> 00:13:56,400 The Lord Jesus is the eternal object of God's love. 165 00:13:56,400 --> 00:14:01,640 John is sometimes called the apostle of love because he writes so much about this. 166 00:14:01,640 --> 00:14:07,400 I'm going to ask you to turn back to the Gospel that he penned and look in chapter 17 at the 167 00:14:07,400 --> 00:14:10,720 words of Jesus as he prays. 168 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:23,040 In John chapter 17, as we look at the chapter, it's almost ground that a sensitive person 169 00:14:23,040 --> 00:14:31,000 fears to tread upon because in this chapter we have recorded the intimate prayer of the 170 00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:36,560 Lord Jesus Christ to the Heavenly Father. 171 00:14:36,560 --> 00:14:40,960 And among the other things that he says, I want you to notice verse 24. 172 00:14:40,960 --> 00:14:52,760 Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am and to see my glory. 173 00:14:52,760 --> 00:14:55,480 By the way, isn't that a wonderful prayer? 174 00:14:55,480 --> 00:14:57,480 That's a prayer for you. 175 00:14:57,480 --> 00:15:03,160 Two thousand years ago, the Lord Jesus Christ prayed that one day you would be with Him 176 00:15:03,160 --> 00:15:04,160 in heaven. 177 00:15:04,160 --> 00:15:05,160 And why? 178 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:08,360 So that you could see His glory. 179 00:15:08,360 --> 00:15:11,000 Isn't that tremendous? 180 00:15:11,000 --> 00:15:19,720 And do you think that it's possible for God the Father to deny the prayer of His Son? 181 00:15:19,720 --> 00:15:25,560 One of the reasons I so strongly believe in the security of the believer is because of 182 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:28,480 the prayer that Jesus prays here. 183 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:33,160 He says, I want those you've given me to be with me that they can see my glory. 184 00:15:33,160 --> 00:15:38,280 And God will answer that prayer for every single one who belongs to Christ. 185 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:45,680 And then he goes on to say, the glory you have given me because you loved me before 186 00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:49,960 the creation of the world. 187 00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:58,760 You see, even before time began, the focus of the love of God was upon God the Son. 188 00:15:58,760 --> 00:16:01,560 But not only so. 189 00:16:01,560 --> 00:16:11,160 I would have you notice in chapter 16 verse 27 another word from the Lord Jesus regarding 190 00:16:11,160 --> 00:16:14,820 the object of the Father's love. 191 00:16:14,820 --> 00:16:21,320 He says, no, the Father Himself loves you because you have loved me and have believed 192 00:16:21,320 --> 00:16:23,880 that I came from God. 193 00:16:23,880 --> 00:16:30,520 So the second object of God's love I would point out is you. 194 00:16:30,520 --> 00:16:37,240 God loves you just as much as He loves His Son. 195 00:16:37,240 --> 00:16:40,520 Can you imagine that? 196 00:16:40,520 --> 00:16:46,600 How much do you suppose God the Father loves God the Son? 197 00:16:46,600 --> 00:16:50,720 Is there any limit to that love? 198 00:16:50,720 --> 00:16:57,180 Could words ever describe the extent to which God the Father loves God the Son? 199 00:16:57,180 --> 00:16:59,440 I think not. 200 00:16:59,440 --> 00:17:06,320 And yet it is that very same love that God has for you and for me who have loved Jesus 201 00:17:06,320 --> 00:17:09,760 Christ and have believed in Him. 202 00:17:09,760 --> 00:17:17,280 Again in chapter 17 verse 23, Jesus says, I in them and you in me, may they be brought 203 00:17:17,280 --> 00:17:25,320 to complete unity, to let the world know that you sent me and have loved them even as you 204 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:27,860 have loved me. 205 00:17:27,860 --> 00:17:32,840 That conjunction there even as means to the same degree. 206 00:17:32,840 --> 00:17:36,320 Just like you have loved me, you have loved them. 207 00:17:36,320 --> 00:17:39,640 And He prays for the unity of believers. 208 00:17:39,640 --> 00:17:46,680 And I'd like to say that that is not a prayer for the fulfillment of the ecumenical movement. 209 00:17:46,680 --> 00:17:50,520 That is not a prayer for organizational unity. 210 00:17:50,520 --> 00:17:56,360 In fact the prayer that Jesus prays for unity in John chapter 17 has been fulfilled. 211 00:17:56,360 --> 00:18:00,440 It was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost. 212 00:18:00,440 --> 00:18:04,640 No prayer that the Lord Jesus Christ ever uttered could ever be unanswered. 213 00:18:04,640 --> 00:18:10,320 If Jesus were praying for organizational unity then His prayer is unanswered. 214 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:14,160 What He is praying for is for the essential unity of believers. 215 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:18,360 And that occurred on the day when the Holy Spirit came and united all of us in the body 216 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:19,360 of Christ. 217 00:18:19,360 --> 00:18:24,360 And so don't be fooled into thinking John chapter 17 is a prayer for ecumenical unity. 218 00:18:24,360 --> 00:18:25,820 It's not. 219 00:18:25,820 --> 00:18:32,240 It's a prayer that has been fulfilled in the unity that is ours through the Holy Spirit 220 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:37,160 that dwells in each one of us who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. 221 00:18:37,160 --> 00:18:40,280 And then there is another object of God's love. 222 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:43,460 And we see this in Romans chapter 5. 223 00:18:43,460 --> 00:18:50,360 If you know the Romans road you know where I'm heading and what stop I'm looking at. 224 00:18:50,360 --> 00:18:59,640 In Romans chapter 5 verse 6, these words, you see at just the right time when we were 225 00:18:59,640 --> 00:19:05,320 still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 226 00:19:05,320 --> 00:19:10,920 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly 227 00:19:10,920 --> 00:19:12,800 dare to die. 228 00:19:12,800 --> 00:19:17,320 But God demonstrates His own love for us in this. 229 00:19:17,320 --> 00:19:22,480 While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 230 00:19:22,480 --> 00:19:27,540 The third object of God's love is the world of sinners. 231 00:19:27,540 --> 00:19:33,960 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes 232 00:19:33,960 --> 00:19:37,440 in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 233 00:19:37,440 --> 00:19:39,560 And so God loves His Son. 234 00:19:39,560 --> 00:19:41,680 That's the first object of His love. 235 00:19:41,680 --> 00:19:44,980 Secondly, God loves the saints. 236 00:19:44,980 --> 00:19:47,960 And thirdly, God loves sinners. 237 00:19:47,960 --> 00:19:54,300 While He hates their sin, He loves them and desires for them to be saved, according to 238 00:19:54,300 --> 00:19:56,820 Paul's writing to Timothy. 239 00:19:56,820 --> 00:20:00,720 His love of God is uncaused. 240 00:20:00,720 --> 00:20:03,440 It is free according to God's own purposes. 241 00:20:03,440 --> 00:20:14,500 Now what I mean by that is that there is nothing in us that provokes or occasions God's love. 242 00:20:14,500 --> 00:20:19,480 God loves us because it delights Him to love us, not because we are worthy of His love. 243 00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:24,480 In fact, you remember what John said in chapter 4 verse 19. 244 00:20:24,480 --> 00:20:32,160 We love Him because He first loved us. 245 00:20:32,160 --> 00:20:35,720 He did not love us because we evidenced love toward Him. 246 00:20:35,720 --> 00:20:42,040 Rather, we evidenced love toward Him because He first loved us. 247 00:20:42,040 --> 00:20:44,960 Now the manifestation of His love is seen in several ways. 248 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:47,960 Let me suggest three very quickly. 249 00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:53,900 God's love is manifested first in the cross of His Son. 250 00:20:53,900 --> 00:21:00,720 No man can ever say, God doesn't love me. 251 00:21:00,720 --> 00:21:11,520 God loves all men, and He gave His Son for the ungodly. 252 00:21:11,520 --> 00:21:18,640 It is hard for us to imagine what must have gone through the mind of God as the Lord Jesus 253 00:21:18,640 --> 00:21:24,640 Christ hung upon the cross. 254 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:31,680 Because God loved His Son, there had to be some sense there of grief, I suppose. 255 00:21:31,680 --> 00:21:34,240 It would seem that way. 256 00:21:34,240 --> 00:21:43,880 But the most amazing thing is that the Bible records that God's chief emotion at that time 257 00:21:43,880 --> 00:21:50,280 was not grief, but delight. 258 00:21:50,280 --> 00:21:51,520 That seems strange, doesn't it? 259 00:21:51,520 --> 00:22:00,640 That God the Father would delight in the suffering of His Son if pleased the Lord to bruise Him. 260 00:22:00,640 --> 00:22:03,040 In Isaiah 53 we read that. 261 00:22:03,040 --> 00:22:05,640 Why could that be so? 262 00:22:05,640 --> 00:22:14,040 Because God saw that through the suffering, through the death of His Son, you and I would 263 00:22:14,040 --> 00:22:17,160 be saved. 264 00:22:17,160 --> 00:22:22,480 God's love is manifested in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. 265 00:22:22,480 --> 00:22:26,160 If you want to see love, then think of the cross. 266 00:22:26,160 --> 00:22:32,040 Dr. Lehmann Strauss again says this. 267 00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:37,960 There never has been a man in all the world who ever knew anything experientially about 268 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:44,480 the love of God apart from the sacrifice of Jesus Christ at Calvary. 269 00:22:44,480 --> 00:22:50,080 There is no word in all of human language for that kind of love. 270 00:22:50,080 --> 00:22:56,360 The soul of man is so precious to God, he could not stop at any cost to have it for 271 00:22:56,360 --> 00:23:02,440 himself, going even to the extent of self-sacrifice. 272 00:23:02,440 --> 00:23:08,200 Man may hate God, curse Him, deny Him, and defy Him. 273 00:23:08,200 --> 00:23:14,480 Still he pursues the vilest enemy in order that he might do him good. 274 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:15,900 This is God. 275 00:23:15,900 --> 00:23:17,560 This is love. 276 00:23:17,560 --> 00:23:22,120 He is the God of love. 277 00:23:22,120 --> 00:23:26,880 God's love, secondly, is manifested in the calling of the Christian. 278 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:33,440 I invite your attention again to 1 John chapter 3. 279 00:23:33,440 --> 00:23:41,520 God's love is manifested first in the cross of His Son and now in the calling of the Christian. 280 00:23:41,520 --> 00:23:52,320 In 1 John 3, verse 1, it says, How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that 281 00:23:52,320 --> 00:24:00,320 we should be called children of God, and that is what we are. 282 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:03,940 Isn't that a great statement? 283 00:24:03,940 --> 00:24:11,080 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of 284 00:24:11,080 --> 00:24:14,480 God, and that is what we are. 285 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:16,880 An amazing statement. 286 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:19,660 God has called us to be His children. 287 00:24:19,660 --> 00:24:22,020 We have a high calling. 288 00:24:22,020 --> 00:24:28,480 We have a holy calling, since we are granted this title, children of God. 289 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:32,280 A rich inheritance is ours as His children. 290 00:24:32,280 --> 00:24:38,800 Indeed, in Christ we are the heirs of all things. 291 00:24:38,800 --> 00:24:44,680 Our inheritance is so rich that someday even our bodies will be changed to be like Christ's 292 00:24:44,680 --> 00:24:45,680 body. 293 00:24:45,680 --> 00:24:54,560 It says in verse 2 here, Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be 294 00:24:54,560 --> 00:24:56,960 has not yet been made known. 295 00:24:56,960 --> 00:24:59,200 Did you know that? 296 00:24:59,200 --> 00:25:02,920 You look at yourself in the mirror and you will know it. 297 00:25:02,920 --> 00:25:10,680 He says, But we know that when He appears, that is, when Christ appears, or is made known, 298 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:17,400 we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 299 00:25:17,400 --> 00:25:21,800 Our calling is to be just like Jesus Christ. 300 00:25:21,800 --> 00:25:26,440 Someone has said, God so loves the Lord Jesus Christ that He wants a whole heaven full of 301 00:25:26,440 --> 00:25:29,120 people just like Him. 302 00:25:29,120 --> 00:25:34,640 And that is what He is going to have in you and me who belong to Christ. 303 00:25:34,640 --> 00:25:40,100 For someday we are going to be conformed in every aspect to be just like the Lord Jesus 304 00:25:40,100 --> 00:25:41,680 Christ. 305 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:45,080 What a calling is ours. 306 00:25:45,080 --> 00:25:51,520 The poet has written, We can only see a little of the ocean, just a few miles distant from 307 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:53,400 the rocky shore. 308 00:25:53,400 --> 00:26:01,860 But out there, far beyond our eyes' horizon, there is more, immeasurably more. 309 00:26:01,860 --> 00:26:10,120 We can only see a little of God's loving, a few rich treasures from His mighty store. 310 00:26:10,120 --> 00:26:16,680 But out there, far beyond our eyes' horizon, there is more, there is infinitely more. 311 00:26:16,680 --> 00:26:22,680 Do you know that it is God's pleasure to show how much He loves you, not just in this 312 00:26:22,680 --> 00:26:26,360 world but throughout eternity to come? 313 00:26:26,360 --> 00:26:30,800 Read the second chapter of Ephesians and rejoice in that truth. 314 00:26:30,800 --> 00:26:36,760 That in the ages to come, the unnumbered years of eternity, God is going to continue to show 315 00:26:36,760 --> 00:26:41,520 His love for us by doing one kind thing after another for us. 316 00:26:41,520 --> 00:26:45,640 He is going to lavish us with His love. 317 00:26:45,640 --> 00:26:47,160 What is He going to do? 318 00:26:47,160 --> 00:26:52,600 I have no idea, except to say that He is going to do kind things for us, because that is 319 00:26:52,600 --> 00:26:54,560 what the word says. 320 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:58,840 And so His love is seen in the calling of the Christian. 321 00:26:58,840 --> 00:27:01,440 How should we respond to God's love? 322 00:27:01,440 --> 00:27:05,960 Well, first we must receive it. 323 00:27:05,960 --> 00:27:17,800 Perhaps the worst sin in the world is to reject love. 324 00:27:17,800 --> 00:27:29,680 Recently I read, and perhaps you did as well, about the several children who were found, 325 00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:35,320 I think on the West Coast as I recall, who had never known love. 326 00:27:35,320 --> 00:27:38,160 Do you remember that? 327 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:43,920 They had been locked in a darkened room for all the years of their lives. 328 00:27:43,920 --> 00:27:48,600 Their mother was mentally incompetent. 329 00:27:48,600 --> 00:27:53,840 The one child, the oldest child I believe was eight years old, six years old, thank 330 00:27:53,840 --> 00:28:01,680 you, had never known the arms of love about his neck. 331 00:28:01,680 --> 00:28:05,000 Was like a wild animal. 332 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:11,360 When another person approached him, he hissed and drew back. 333 00:28:11,360 --> 00:28:19,440 Because he has never known the tender touch, because he has never heard the words, I love 334 00:28:19,440 --> 00:28:28,560 you, doctors say he is probably permanently retarded, will never develop. 335 00:28:28,560 --> 00:28:37,000 I think there are three younger children and they have some hope for them. 336 00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:39,920 The worst sin is the sin against love. 337 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:45,800 Dear friend, God loves you so much. 338 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:49,960 I wish it were possible for us tonight to grasp how much God loves us. 339 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:55,200 If it did, it would break our hearts. 340 00:28:55,200 --> 00:28:58,040 It would change the way we act. 341 00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:03,400 It would transform the priorities that we have set and by which we live. 342 00:29:03,400 --> 00:29:12,600 If only we could understand how desperately, how utterly God loves us. 343 00:29:12,600 --> 00:29:17,800 The greatest sin is the sin against love and to refuse it. 344 00:29:17,800 --> 00:29:25,000 If you have never received God's love and the person of his Son Jesus Christ, I trust 345 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:31,760 that you will tonight receive him and be saved. 346 00:29:31,760 --> 00:29:34,240 And then we ought to love him back. 347 00:29:34,240 --> 00:29:39,600 Not only should we receive his love, but we should love him. 348 00:29:39,600 --> 00:29:48,400 And we should serve him out of love and be bond slaves of love, as was Paul. 349 00:29:48,400 --> 00:29:53,940 And then our response to God's love thirdly should be that we should love our brothers. 350 00:29:53,940 --> 00:30:00,800 Here in 1 John 3, there are some words that are striking along this line. 351 00:30:00,800 --> 00:30:03,280 In verse 13, he says, 352 00:30:03,280 --> 00:30:06,720 Do not be surprised, my brothers, that the world hates you. 353 00:30:06,720 --> 00:30:11,280 We know that we pass from death to life because we love our brothers. 354 00:30:11,280 --> 00:30:14,840 Anyone who does not love remains in death. 355 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:18,520 Anyone who hates his brothers is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal 356 00:30:18,520 --> 00:30:20,280 life in him. 357 00:30:20,280 --> 00:30:22,000 This is how we know what love is. 358 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:29,520 Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 359 00:30:29,520 --> 00:30:36,100 If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need, but has no pity on him, 360 00:30:36,100 --> 00:30:38,360 how can the love of God be in him? 361 00:30:38,360 --> 00:30:47,560 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth. 362 00:30:47,560 --> 00:30:52,320 Love is more than a syrupy, gushy statement. 363 00:30:52,320 --> 00:30:56,280 It's even more than a hug, although there's a place for that too. 364 00:30:56,280 --> 00:30:59,800 But love takes action by its very nature. 365 00:30:59,800 --> 00:31:04,800 It takes action to meet needs, and we ought to love our brothers. 366 00:31:04,800 --> 00:31:09,520 And then finally, because of the love of God, we should respond by loving sinners as he 367 00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:11,680 has. 368 00:31:11,680 --> 00:31:16,280 God has loved the world and has given his Son for the world. 369 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:22,560 What have we given for the world of lost men that they might be saved? 370 00:31:22,560 --> 00:31:28,720 Do we see them through the eyes of God, or do we see them through eyes of complacency 371 00:31:28,720 --> 00:31:31,920 and self-righteousness? 372 00:31:31,920 --> 00:31:39,560 Do we see that person who is undeserving, cruel, or blasphemous, and despise him, or 373 00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:51,560 do we see him as a truly needy, lost, dying sinner who needs the good news of Jesus Christ? 374 00:31:51,560 --> 00:32:00,200 How can we respond to God's love by loving the same objects that he loves? 375 00:32:00,200 --> 00:32:07,680 D.L. Moody said, I know of no truth in the whole Bible that ought to come home to us 376 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:12,960 with such power and tenderness as that of the love of God. 377 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:19,080 The enemy of souls, Satan, tries to persuade men that God does not love them. 378 00:32:19,080 --> 00:32:25,280 And the message that you and I have the joy of declaring is that God does love them and 379 00:32:25,280 --> 00:32:28,880 desires men to be saved. 380 00:32:28,880 --> 00:32:34,160 As we come tonight to the Lord's table, this is the agape feast in a sense. 381 00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:41,760 There's a time when we celebrate the love of God, the love that he has for us. 382 00:32:41,760 --> 00:32:48,080 It's also a time for us to remember our love for one another. 383 00:32:48,080 --> 00:32:54,360 As we prepare ourselves for the Lord's table, I'd like for us to take our hymnals and to 384 00:32:54,360 --> 00:33:02,680 sing together number 325, which is a hymn that I hope you can sing with real passion 385 00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:05,680 and meaning. 386 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:12,840 Jesus, I am resting in the joy of what thou art. 387 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:17,880 I am finding out the greatness of thy loving heart. 388 00:33:17,880 --> 00:33:23,720 This is a hymn that expresses the thoughts of a person who is communing with the Lord 389 00:33:23,720 --> 00:33:24,720 Jesus. 390 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:30,160 And I hope tonight that it expresses your thoughts as we come to the Lord's table. 391 00:33:30,160 --> 00:33:36,360 It was John, the apostle, whose book primarily we have looked at tonight, who was the apostle 392 00:33:36,360 --> 00:33:45,560 of love and who leaned upon Jesus, upon his breast there at the Last Supper in the upper 393 00:33:45,560 --> 00:33:50,240 room when this feast was instituted. 394 00:33:50,240 --> 00:33:55,080 And it's he that I think of as I think of these words, Jesus, I am resting in the joy 395 00:33:55,080 --> 00:33:57,600 of what thou art. 396 00:33:57,600 --> 00:34:16,600 Let us stand as we sing the first verse, as we prepare ourselves for communion.