God Loves You
Three sons left home, started careers and prospered.
Getting back together, they discussed the gifts that they were able to give their elderly mother for her 70th birthday.
The first said, “I built a huge house for Mom.”
The second said, “I sent her a Mercedes with a driver.”
The third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat.
You know how Mom enjoys the Bible and you know she cant see very well.
I sent her a brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible.
It took 20 monks in a monastery 12 years to teach him.
I had a pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for 10 years, but it was worth it.
Mom just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it.”
Soon thereafter, Mom sent out letters of thanks:
She wrote the first son, “Milton, the house you built is not practical.
I live in only one room, but have to heat, cool, and clean the entire house.”
The second she said, “Marvin, I am to old to travel.
I stay at home all the time, so I never use the Mercedes.
And the driver is so rude!”
She wrote the third son, “Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to know what your Mother likes.
The chicken was delicious.”
We all have different ways to express our love for others.
Sometimes it is received well and other times it is not.
Love is a very popular topic in the Scriptures.
Probably one of the most twisted truths’ of the Bible being taught and talked about today is the Love of God.
Everyone says God is Love.
We’ve all heard someone say “If God is love, how could He ever send anyone to Hell?”
Or the Gospel is all about God’s love.
It is true God is Love.
But God is also jealous
I found 18 different occurrences where God is called Jealous, or the scripture refers to His Jealousy.
Exodus 34:14 even says His name is Jealous;
For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:
God is also just. God is angered at sin.
John 3:36 - He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.
So God is not just Love.
He is many things.
So this morning I am going to try and steer clear of that whole debate by speaking on something we all need to be aware of and experience.
The fact that GOD LOVES YOU!
Three Questions
Why does God love you? How does God Love you, God Loves Me?
John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave
His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish
but have everlasting life
I. Why does God love you?
Because He created you
Man is the climax of God’s creative activity
Everything was created with man in mind, (taking down and hanging Buck)
The creation story is like a pyramid and at the summit man appears
Genesis 1:26,27 Difference in procedure of man’s creation
Earlier commands
Let there be…
Let the land produce…
Let the waters bring forth…
By contrast man’s creation warranted a Holy Business meeting
The scriptures say “Then God said, ‘Let US make man’”
The three persons of the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost
Consult about it and concur in it
Because man, when he was made
Was to be dedicated and devoted to Father, Son and Holy Ghost.
The Hebrew word BARA = to create, or choose.
He chose to create us
It is used in several different ways in the first chapter of Genesis
Verse 1 – creation of the universe
Verse 21 – creation of sentient life
Verse 27 – Three times in one verse for God’s highest creation, man
In the previous phrases God uses the words “Let there be light”, and “Let the earth bring forth grass”
In which He speaks as one having authority
In verse 27 when He uses the phrase “Let us make man.”
He speaks as one having affection.
We where Different from animals
Man was not made in the likeness of any creature that went before him
But in the likeness of his Creator
Instead of “after its kind” we have the unique emphasis “after God’s own image”
Not by word or command, God Himself formed us from the dust of the earth
Formed in the Hebrew referring to the work of a potter who fashions vessels from clay
So God loves you because He specifically created you
Formed you with His very hands
His tender loving fingers carved out every intricate part of your body
And His creativity designed a being like none other on this earth
He loves His creation
Why Does God Love You?
Because He Blessed you
Genesis 1:28 God Blessed them
God’s satisfaction and emotional pleasure in His creation was portrayed with this blessing
God enjoyed His people, His people enjoyed His blessing
Intended on His people living in a park
Eden means “park”, conveys the idea of bliss or house of pleasure
Genesis 2:8 God had planted a garden in the East
Genesis 2:15 Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden
He had compassion
Man was His child, innocent infant - Emily’s birth
It is not good for man to be alone
His heart was broken by sinfulness - Genesis 6
1600 years from Adam, the Lord seen how great man’s wickedness had become
Every thought was evil (end of verse 5)
Corrupt in God’s sight, full of violence (verse 11)
But God was patient
Genesis 6:3 My Spirit shall not always strive with man…his days shall be an hundred and twenty years
I Peter 3:20 when once the longsuffering God waited in the days of Noah
In the story of Noah we learn that our sin causes God grief, sorrow and pain
God of course did not like what His creation had become
The wickedness of man pained Him greatly
“it grieved him at his heart.”
Wiped the slate clean, except for Noah
He doesn’t love us for who we are
We love Him because He first loved us (I John 4:19)
Someone tells the story of a fifth grade class trip to zoo
It had been a perfect day, and I was in love
Some years later I was informed that such love is only puppy love, but, hey, its real to be a puppy
The bus trip to the zoo in the city was more excitement than a country boy could take
We held hands most of the way
I even got the nerve to put my arm around her shoulder once
But the other guys started teasing
It had been a perfect day
But now the phone was ringing
My perfect day was ending with those devastating words
“I no longer love you. Tommy is my boyfriend now”
Unrequited love. Oh what a hurt!
One that I experienced two or three more times through the years
But how comforting to learn that when we love without being loved back
We are at least in one small way better able to understand the heart of God
Isn’t that exactly what God experiences every day
He loves us so completely that He sent His Son to die for our sins
The pain He must feel when we do not love Him in return
But regardless of our feelings for Him
Each of us can confidently proclaim
Just as I am, God loves me.
He loves us because we are His creation, not because we please Him of follow his commands
He loves us, even if we don’t return the favor
Loves us like His own infants.
William Arthur Ward “Does God love us because we are special or are we special because God loves us?”
Why does God love you?
Lots of why questions:
Why do banks charge a fee on “insufficient funds” when they know there is not enough? Or
If people evolved from apes, why are there still apes? Or
Why do you never hear father-in-law jokes?
But we do know why God loves us, because he chooses to.
He made us in order to love us.
(Why Does God Love You?)
II. How Does God Love You?
Gives all man the opportunity of salvation
John 3:16
II Peter 3:9 God “…is longsuffering…not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”
He sent His Son to die a brutal death.
God Himself came to earth, made Himself mortal, to feel pain, and taste death for me.
God the Father had to turn His back on His own Son
God the Son, Jesus, had to be separated from His Father.
God’s ultimate display of love is the cross.
And I don’t think the love of God is better illustrated than in the words of Jesus as He said
“Father forgive them, for they know not what they do”
How Jesus, with a body wracked with pain
Eyes blinded by His own blood
And lungs yearning for air
Could speak on behalf of some heartless thugs
Those that had beaten Him within an inch of His life
Mocked and spit on Him
Beat Him with rods
And whipped His back to a bloody pulp
Plunged huge thorns into His scalp
How He could ask for forgiveness of these men
Is beyond my comprehension
Never, never have I seen such love
Jesus didn’t take revenge on them
Instead He died for them
A wonderful picture of how God loves us.
The Son’s mission is bound up in the supreme love of God
For God so loved the evil sinful world of humanity
That is in rebellion of Him
This love is the great truth that motivated God’s plan of salvation
And when the verse says so as So loved the world
It emphasizes the intensity or greatness of His love
The Father gave His unique and beloved Son to die on behalf of sinful man
Sin we all do it
Some more then others but we all do it
You know there are some things that I hate
Like deviled eggs, there is nothing about deviled eggs that I like
I don’t like the smell, the looks, or especially the taste
Its safe to say I hate deviled eggs
Some people dislike boxing or NASCAR or competitive eating as a sport
Some hate bell bottom pants, or rainy days, or Mondays
I suppose we all have things which are less than our favorites
But what do you really hate?
We talk about God’s love, but there are some things that God hates
God hates pride, lying, and hypocrisy, just to name a few
And with a passion!
But He never stops loving us
So while vehemently against those things, those attitudes and those actions which can hurt us
His love for the person is always there
God hates the sin but He still loves the sinner
And just think of all the sins committed in all of eternity
From the little white lies all the way up to the most horrible sin you can think of
Every sin from the fall of Adam, until God establishes His eternal Kingdom with the saints
Was placed on Jesus on that cross
His only Son who with every drop of blood covered each and every sin
And that is How God loves you
(How Does God Love You?)
Well He continues to Bless today
Romans 10:12,13 …Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him, 13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
Ezekiel 34:26 …there shall be showers of blessing.
How many blessings can we count?
You probably can not count how many times God has blessed you on one hand
Not even if you use you toes either
He blesses us in so many ways
In small and big ways
He has blessed us with the opportunity to live in a country where we can openly worship however we like
And not fear for our lives
He has blessed us with our family
With wonderful children
With a Christian upbringing
We could go on an on
And He will bless us in the future as well
One day He will take us Home
I Thessalonians 4:16-17
Lord Himself will descend with a shout and trumpet
Dead in Christ will rise first
Alive and remain caught up in air with the Lord
BE WITH THE LORD FOREVER what does verse 17 say?
“And so shall we ever be with the Lord”
Verse 18 – “Therefore encourage (comfort) each other with these words.”
The primary purpose of this passage is not to teach prophecy
But rather to provide encouragement
The blessings of the resurrection, reunion with your loved ones, and to be with the Lord eternally
Not only will he one day take us home…he will also
Rescue us from The Tribulation
In His address to the church at Philadelphia Jesus says
In Rev. 3 10 “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth.”
This must refer to the Tribulation period
After the Rapture of His Saints, comes the Seven years of Tribulation
And those that know Jesus will not be here
This is a blessing that we should not under appreciate
I have often said, you shouldn’t worry about the Tribulation
You need to just make sure you won’t be here
Because I won’t
Okay, Why Does God Love You? How Does God Love You? You might be asking…
III. God Loves Me?
Never question God’s Love
Paul Coleman sings – “and the one thing I don’t question is You, You really love me like You say You do”
We sing songs today
My Savior’s Love
How marvelous, how wonderful is my Savior’s love for me
O, How I Love Jesus
“O how I love Jesus, because he first loved me”
The Love of God
“How rich and pure, measureless and strong, it shall forevermore endure…”
Songs like these help remind us of His Love
Never question His love for you
Also God doesn’t forget His children
Genesis 8:1 “And God remembered Noah”
Not that God had forgotten Noah.
The word Remember in the Bible express concern for someone, act with loving care, term of endearment
When God remembers His children, He does so “with favor”
Nehemiah 5:19 Remember me with favor, O my God
Hebrews 13:5 “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee”
God can not stop loving you
And He will never forget or forsake you
IV. GOD LOVES YOU NO MATTER WHAT
His love is not dependent on us, it is unconditional.
He loved us first, we cannot earn His love.
He loves us like his infant children.
All we can do is accept it.
We must recognize what His sacrifice on the cross meant, accept His death for our sins and believe on Him as our Savior.
That image of God He created and placed in the Garden was blurred by sin.
Only in the redemption of Jesus Christ can this image be fully restored and man attain his true destiny.
So you have to ask yourself…
Why does God Love me?
How does God love me?
And truly realize His love for you.
For God so loved the world
John 3:16
The entire Gospel comes to a focus on this verse
God’s love is not static or self-centered
It reaches out and draws others in
Here God sets the pattern of true love
The basis for all love relationships
Our love for others should be unconditional
God’s love for us should be an example of how we should love others
When you love someone dearly
You are willing to give freely to the point of self-sacrifice
God paid dearly with the life of His Son
The highest price He could pay
Jesus accepted our punishment
Paid the price for our sins
And then offered us the new life that He had bought for us
When we share the gospel with others
Our love must be like Jesus’
Willingly giving up our own comfort and security
So that others might join us in receiving God’s love
God so loved the world
He loves you, show others He loves them too.
