Hi Everyone
We are moving into Part 2 of the "Who I am In Jesus Christ" series:
I am Loved and Accepted Completely in Christ
This is Part 1, on God's Love, the Source. You can listen to the audio by clicking this link.
I heartily encourage you to follow us as we go through this series (probably will run a year or two). You can look through the archives or if you want all the messages sent to you at a go, do drop me a note.
Be blessed!
Chris
God’s Love – The Source
I used to say that God’s love is the cure for all things, but I don’t say that anymore because it feels like I’m saying that oxygen is the cure for suffocation!
The absence of knowledge of God’s love, because of our failure to know or receive it, is the cause of every problem.
We were made to thrive on His love, like feeding off good food, so His love is not like a medicinal cure or sorts. It is the basis of all our lives.
Matthew 4:16 The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, And upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned.” (NKJV)
God’s love is light, flooding into our lives, bringing life!
The Light of Life
Where the light is not present, darkness will reign, even in our lives.
The Light is His LOVE!
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22 “The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (NKJV)
If we don’t understand His love for us, we will be in darkness.
When the LIGHT of God's LOVE floods in, when we focus on Him, the LIGHT of the World, our whole body is FULL of light. Outside of this, there is darkness.
John 8:12 Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, “I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.” (NKJV)
John 12:46 I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness. (NKJV)
Every problem in life, every darkness, goes back to an insecurity resulting from our failure to experience God’s love in that area. The light has not been allowed in and darkness continues to reign.
2 Corinthians 4:6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (NKJV)
He Loves Us More…
…Than He Expect Us To
We declare this as the standard of love that we as Christians should conform to.
1 Corinthians 13:4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. (NKJV)
Why don’t we ever imagine more often that this is how God loves us?
- God is kind
- God does not envy
- God does not parade Himself
- God is not puffed up
- God does not behave rudely
- God does not seek His own
- God is not provoked
- God thinks no evil (“keeps no account of evil” the footnote says)
- God does not rejoice in iniquity
- God rejoices in truth
- God bears all things (“protects” in NIV)
- God believes all things (“always trusts” in NIV, “never loses faith” in NLT)
- God hopes all things
- God endures all things
- God never fails.
Here is love manifested:
Matthew 5:43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. (NKJV)
If He loves His enemy, why would we for any moment ever doubt His love, we who have been accepted as His children?
Luke 23:34a Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (NKJV)
We all talk about how God is Love, God loves us, God loves His church. How often have we really stopped to meditate on this, take it personally?
Romans 8:31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (NKJV)
Think of someone you love a lot. How would you treat that person? God treats you better than that. We need to realise that. He is FOR us not AGAINST us.
How Much Are You Loved Today?
This is the recount of Jesus visiting Simon the Pharisee, where the “sinful” lady came and cried at Jesus’ feet, anointing His feet with oil.
Luke 7:41 “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” 43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.” And He said to him, “You have rightly judged.” 44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.” (NKJV)
Which came first? Forgiveness or the woman’s love?
Who is forgiven little? Was there ever one of us who only needed a small amount of God’s forgiveness? For anyone of us to boast in our goodness is akin to a grasshopper comparing himself with an ant, claiming to be closer to the sun than the ant was.
Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, (NKJV)
We all need forgiveness, for James says:
James 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all. (NKJV)
The more we realise that we are loved and forgiven, the more we love. The more we understand that He is for us, not against us, the more we thrive.
1 John 2:8 Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. 10 He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (NKJV)
It is not the one who loves his brother who abides in the light, but rather, we can tell who is not abiding in the light of Jesus’ love – he is the one who does not love his brother. The light is shining. When we walk in it, we will love our brother. The more we realise His love, we will love.
He Loved Us First
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (NKJV)
1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (NKJV)
This is the good news. This is the Gospel. This is GRACE. His goodness given to us at no cost to us, but at all cost to Him.
Touched by Grace
This is the Grace we all talk so much about – that God dearly, dearly loves His creation, each one of us, personally, deeply, forever.
Acts 20:24 But none of these things move me; nor do I count my life dear to myself, so that I may finish my race with joy, and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God. (NKJV)
The Gospel is really all about God’s grace to Man. His goodness in sending His Son to save and restore us when we were beyond hope on our own, all at His expense. This is what Jesus meant when He said “It is finished” on the cross.
Galatians 1:6 I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, (NKJV)
Paul rebuked the Galatians who had strayed into thinking that keeping the law could help them in coming to God. He did not mince his words – if it is not about the grace of Christ, it is a different gospel. If it is not about Grace, it is NOT the gospel.
Grace is extreme. If the grace we have encountered does not amaze us, it is not grace, hence the song “Amazing Grace”.
All You Have to Do
Receive His abundance of grace and the righteousness He brings.
Romans 5:17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) (NKJV)
Yes, it is what it says – we CAN reject the abundance of grace. It is not about how good you feel you have been. We only have to
1. Show up
2. Receive it
Like a young girl in love, our lives should be so enamored with His love, that it influences every corner of our lives, where nothing can take us down. It doesn't come by changing. It comes by realizing, by believing.
To receive is believe.
You need to have the Word sown onto you everyday to know more and more of His love. Each truth has to be received. Like a house with many rooms, the light of the Word illuminates each room where we open the windows, pull back the drapes, to allow the light to come in.
Luke 8:15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience. (NKJV)
With a NOBLE heart. KJV and a few versions use the word HONEST heart. There are times when we are not honest in reading the Word. We don’t want to believe what it says, because it seems so improbable. Then there will be those who say that we should not set up our hope, only to be disappointed. Did not Heb 11:1 say that faith is the substance of things hoped for? If we don’t hope, we will have no basis for faith!
As we get into the Word, truths we know, truths that we receive and allow to become a part of us will set us free : John 8:32.
To the degree that we understand this love is the degree that we are filled with Him.
Ephesians 3:19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (NKJV)
If our lives seem mediocre today, it’s probably because we have an image of a God who loves us in a mediocre manner. As we start to catch deeper glimpses of His goodness:
Daniel 11:32b the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits. (NKJV)
We as Christians simply cannot be mediocre, for we are loved too much.
We Only Reflect His Love
2 Corinthians 5:13 For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; or if we are of sound mind, it is for you. 14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. (NKJV)
As we realise His goodness to us, we cannot but start to live for Him, not for ourselves. This is when we start to die to ourselves.
1 Peter 2:9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; (NKJV)
We’ve been called out into His marvellous light. We are no longer in darkness – unlike the world, we can choose to be in the light, to walk in it.
Receive His Love
He loves, loves, loves, loves, loves you. You need to be convinced about that. In every area of your life, He wants to take care of you. Let Him into every area of your life. Know His love manifested in His Word for you. The areas you don’t know His love for, the parts that you doubt His love for you in will continue in darkness.
Acts 26:14 And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’ 15 So I said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16 But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.’ (NKJV)
Don’t abide in darkness anymore. Don’t allow any room in the house of your heart to be closed to the light. Open it and let the light flood into every area and fill it with His love.
Allow Him to love you. Accept this love that He has shed His blood for. His Word is meant for your good and not for evil. Don’t allow any area to stay in darkness. Run boldly to the throne – find mercy and grace (Heb 4:16)
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