THE UNLIMITED, EXTRAVAGANT LOVE OF GOD THE FATHER
(April 2006 - Sunday am at Bible Fellowship)
OPENING:
Proverbs According To Kids: A first grade teacher collected old, well known proverbs. She gave each kid in her class the first half of a proverb, and had them come up with the rest.
As You Shall Make Your Bed So Shall You... Mess It Up.
Better Be Safe Than... Punch A 5th Grader.
Strike While The... Bug Is Close.
Don’t Bite The Hand That... Looks Dirty.
A Miss Is As Good As A... Mr.
If You Lie Down With The Dogs, You’ll... Stink In The Morning.
Where There’s Smoke, There’s... Pollution.
A Penny Saved Is... Not Much.
When The Blind Leadeth The Blind... Get Out Of The Way.
There Is No Fool Like... Uncle Eddie.
OPENING SCRIPTURE: This morning we celebrated communion together. “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.” (John 15:12-13).
We are living in a loveless, fatherless generation, and God is wanting to give us a new and fresh revelation of the unlimited, extravagant love of God the Father! (My story - alcoholic father, raised in a single parent family, never knew ’dad’)
OPENING THOUGHT: At our Ministry Training Institute a couple of weeks ago, a vision from the Lord: “Love” written on a banner, a young girl running through a field. “He brought me to his banqueting table, and his banner over me was love.” (Song 2:4).
PRAYER:
“For this reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Eph. 3:14-21).
THE UNLIMITED, EXTRAVAGANT LOVE OF GOD THE FATHER:
Prodigal - Rashly or wastefully extravagant: Giving in abundance; lavish; unsparing generosity
“1 Then all the tax collectors and the sinners drew near to Him to hear Him. 2 And the Pharisees and scribes complained, saying, "This Man receives sinners and eats with them." 3 So He spoke this parable to them, saying… Skip down to verse…
11 Then He said: "A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ’Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’
Notice the approachability of the Father! He was an extravagant and generous father!
So he divided to them his livelihood. 13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, (he was far away from God) and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living… Skip down to verse…
17 But when he came to his senses, he said, ’How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I perish with hunger! 18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired servants." ’ 20 And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and embraced him* and kissed him. (*as in the New Living Translation)
21 And the son said to him, ’Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ 22 But the father said to his servants, ’Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.
Unlimited, extravagant love of God the Father:
If another family came, they would kill a chicken, if they had many guests, a goat or a lamb. But to kill the fatted calf? That was done only if the whole village was invited!
25 Now his older son was in the field (serving faithfully). And as he came and drew near to the house, he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ’Your brother has come, and because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted calf.’ 28 But he was angry and would not go in. Therefore his father came out and pleaded with him.
Notice the father ran to the other son, just as he had to the wild and rebellious son!
29 So he answered and said to his father, ’Lo, these many years I have been serving you…
Notice he had a servant mentality - not that of a son!
I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might make merry with my friends. 30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’ 31 And he said to him, ’Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and was lost and is found.”
(Luke 15:1-32).
Two things the father revealed to the son:
1. Abiding loving presence - “You are always with me”
2. Inheritance - “All that I have is yours!”
How many Christians in the church have a slave mentality, missing God’s abiding presence and the riches of their inheritance in the saints? (Eph. 1:17-18 prayer)
Two different sons: One was a wild and rebellious son who was in a distant country. The other was a faithful and diligent servant who was in the fields. Which one are you? Do you know the unlimited, extravagant love of God the Father?
THE UNLIMITED, EXTRAVAGANT LOVE OF GOD THE FATHER:
1. “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.” (Romans 5:5). PRAY - Holy Spirit, pour out the Father’s love in our hearts NOW!
2. Romans 8 tells us that nothing can separate us from God’s unlimited, extravagant love!
Why is important for us to know and believe the love that God has for us? So that we will approach Him with joy and confidence! To crawl up on His lap to fellowship with Him.
3. “We love Him because He first loved us.” (1 John 4:19). We cannot love God and love others until we know and believe the love God has for us!
4. “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. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1 John 4:10-11). Our EXPERIENCE of the unlimited, extravagant love of God the Father is what will empower us to effectively love God and love others. Let’s pray for a revelation of that love!
5. Let’s meditate on the Cross! Let’s live as the loved, accepted and forgiven people of God!
6. We need a real EXPERIENCE of God’s unlimited, extravagant love! “Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God.” (1 John 3:1).
CLOSING SCRIPTURE:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved. In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” (Ephesians 1:3-7).
You are blessed with every spiritual blessing!
You are chosen in Him!
You are predestined to adoption as sons!
You are accepted in the beloved!
You are redeemed through His blood!
You are forgiven!
YOU ARE LOVED BY GOD! GOD LOVES YOU!
LET’S PRAY: Holy Spirit, pour out the Father’s love in our hearts NOW!
SONG: I Could Sing of Your Love Forever.
