From the Sermon: Remembering His Great Love – a survey of Gods Love through the book of John

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2 Thessalonians 2:16-17  

“16 Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace, 17 comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word.”

The purpose of this exhortation this morning is simple. It is to encourage our hearts in the love of God.

Often times, we question whether we are loved by God or others. And, sometimes, we cannot find it in ourselves to love others or even ourselves, and so the question’s arise within ourselves from time to time, “Are we loved?” “How are we loved?” “Does God Love Me?” “Can I love myself and others?”

These questions do indeed come with answers if we listen to the right sources. If you want the answer – need the answer, go to the source. The source of Love has spoken and given the answers that comfort even the most distraught and hurting hearts. When we are broken or doubting in the area and need for love, it is comfort that we are in need of. It is really a deep question and enquiry of purpose and belonging.

What is my purpose if love is not some part of it? To be loved and to give love. We all want it. We all need it. And sometimes we need to be reminded of it. To be comforted by it, by the source itself. To be comforted by the love of God for us as His creatures and kids.

How are we comforted by God? We are comforted by his great love.

He gives it, He shows it, and He promises it eternally. 

The comfort He gives is an eternal comfort and good hope, freely given – through His generous grace.

I want to answer a couple of questions this morning about the love of God toward us and for us.

1. Does God love us?

(take a moment and allow several scriptures to remind you of Gods love)

John 6:39-40

“39 And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should 

lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up 

on the last day. 40 For this is the will of my Father, that 

everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him 

should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the 

last day.”

The will of God is to bring all who look upon Him and believe into eternal life with Jesus – receiving the same reward: eternal life.

God has compelled Himself in love to save the otherwise un-savable.

Does God love us? The answer is a simple yet resounding YES! Because He willingly decided to act upon His love for us by saving those who believe in Him.

John 3:16

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only 

Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish 

but have eternal life.” 

The Simple answer to this question is yes.

God loves us and has set His desire to save us and glorify His Son and Himself by doing so. 

Amazing isn’t it!?

Its incredible that being the object and recipient of Gods love can, in and of itself bring Glory to God, and in doing so give our lives and our love meaning and purpose.

But, how can this be? How does this happen?

John 14:21

21 “Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

To love someone is to set your affections upon that person, and to be full of good-will toward that person.

The closest relationship I can think of, to give as an example of this sort of love, is that love between a parent toward a child. 

It a pure love, wishing only good upon its recipient. No evil is wished upon the other, only good things and pleasant thoughts are extended toward your child. 

The Love is reciprocated. It is received, recognized and aimed back at its originator. We call this Love, and it becomes worship for those who believe. As a result of receiving this love, we want to obey and respond in kind. We want to be like God was and is toward us – loving and lovely.

How is it that love exists in our hearts and in this world? 

1 John 4:18-19

19 “We love because he first loved us.”

It exists because God, among many other attributes, is a loving God who loves us as His own.

This is the agape love of the father extended to us – now made his children through faith, because of His reconciling us to Himself through Jesus, His son.

And so, does God love us?

YES.

 

2. How has God loved us? (How has He comforted us?) (How has He given us Hope?)

He has loved us by sending His Son into the world, specifically to fulfill the will of the Father in saving us and giving us eternal life with His beloved son.

The eternal curse of sin was deservedly upon us as trespassers and law breakers. And yet the penalty of that curse was undeservedly placed upon Himself in the flesh upon the cross.

Gods righteous judgement declared all sin to be punishable by death. It (sin) did not belong. Not with God, not in His presence and not in eternity.

Who could settle and satisfy Gods wrath and righteous judgement?

No-one.

What propitiation could be made, allowing us to escape the wrath of God to come upon the sins of the world?

None exist.

A solution to the problem did not exist. It does not exist outside of the One who can accomplish the impossible.

Unless God acts within Himself to remove our sins, they cannot be removed. Within our lives as unforgiven sinners, we were missing the best of Love… Gods love, and so we were missing the best of life… eternal life.

He could not simply remove the punishment.

That would not make Him just. 

Simply, justice would not be served.

He also, could not declare righteous what had been tainted by sin.

That would not be right.

Justice had to be imposed. 

But how could sin be removed and punished at the same time?

The penalty was death. 

How do you cure death?

God took it upon Himself… (selah)

The Father of all creation, compelled by His own love toward those who would believe, made Himself to become the sacrifice that would appease His own wrath.

Rather than letting us face the eternal consequence of our own sin, He became sin for us and stood in our place before the Judgement seat of God, as the Son, paying the price for our sin, dying, though He had been eternal life Himself, and there, feeling the pain that should have been ours, allowed Himself to be tortured and executed as a slaughtered lamb at the hands of those whom He created, and who were corrupted by sin, and He was nailed, hands and feet to a splintery wood cross, and there the eternal wrath of God was thrust upon Jesus Christ, once and for all satisfying Gods wrath and delivering justice on the offenders who would look to Christ Jesus for salvation.

He did what could not be done by anyone else. He took our sin’s upon Himself – all of them, and then rose in victory – sin could not keep Him in the grave because it was not His sin that caused His death, it was ours!

What was impossible for man, was made possible by God Himself.

1 John 3:1:

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”

We could not inherit the eternal spiritual life because in our sin we had become spirituality dead, and yet God in His love moved Himself to act on our behalf, sending us the promised rescuer, Himself, in Christ as Savior.

Does God Love you? You tell me…

1 Corinthians 15:50-55

50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. 51 Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. 53 For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. 54 When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:

“Death is swallowed up in victory.”

55 

“O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?” 

How has God loved us?

He has loved us by sending us His Son as Savior and by doing for us what only He could do – dying in our place and sharing with us His eternal reward – eternal life.

3. How has and does He show us His love? (What does Gods Love look like/Act Like?)

In John 1

Verse 38-39, 42

Jesus invites us to follow him, and receive a new identity in him. Like Peter, to go from a man led by the impulses of his flesh, to become a man led by and standing firm in Faith, proclaiming the truth that changes our hearts and minds and saves us for heaven, by the grace of God through Christ.

In John 2

Verse 16

Jesus defends and preserves His house, His presence, and His church and a place to meet and talk with God. In love, by grace we are invited as His children, to pray with Him. He preserves His house as a house of prayer, casting out those who would stand in the way of you and the Father. Christ has brought us to the Father, now and forever.

In John 3

Jesus reasons with us, offering us His salvation and the new life, causing us to be “born again” into an eternal spiritual life, and declares Gods love: “for God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.”

In John 4

Jesus speaks with the outcasts and marginalized – sitting down with and drinking water from the cup of the samaritan woman – an adulterous woman rejected by the jews, yet accepted and pursued by God, here at a well, found by her Savior. She had been looking for peace, but not until Jesus found her did she know it. Here, with love extended by God in the flesh, her life was now made whole.

Gods love shows itself in His love for those hurting and the outcast, as He healed many who were hurt, lame, diseased, blind, poor and even the demon possessed.

In John 6

With great compassion for those hungry, who followed Him, He twice, miraculously fed them with fish and bread, to satisfy their physical hunger, simply because He cares for them and He cares for you. It may just be that simple, that God takes care of you because He Loves you. He Loves you now and into eternity.

Do you trust Him? Do you trust that He Loves you?

Matthew 6:26-30

26 “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor 

gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. 

Are you not of more value than they? 27 And which of you by 

being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? 

28 And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the 

lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, 

29 yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not 

arrayed like one of these. 30 But if God so clothes the grass 

of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into 

the oven, will he not much more clothe you…?”

And not only does He satisfy us with physical bread for our bodily hunger, but He becomes our very sustenance and life, being “the bread of Life”:

John 6:35-40

35″ Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever 

comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me 

shall never thirst. 36 But I said to you that you have seen me 

and yet do not believe. 37 All that the Father gives me will 

come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out. 

38 For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will 

but the will of him who sent me. 39 And this is the will of him 

who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has 

given me, but raise it up on the last day. 40 For this is the will 

of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and 

believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him 

up on the last day.”

He is also the Living Water (John 7:37), providing not only for our physical hunger, but satisfying our spiritual thirst eternally. He has given us His Spirit – inside us, to give us life and keep us for God eternally.

In John 8

God comes to the defense of a women caught in the very act of adultery, and forgives her of her sins. He is not ashamed to humble Himself in coming to our rescue. The woman would have been stoned otherwise, if Jesus had not intervened.

What sin is so big or so condemning in your life, that Jesus would not stoop to the ground and lift you up from your mess? 

Just as He did for the Women caught in the very act of adultery, He has done for you. He has and will come to your rescue.

Romans 8:38,39

38 “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor 

rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 

39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will 

be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus 

our Lord.”

No sin is too great, no one has become so backslidden or gone too far into the darkness that Christ cannot redeem or rescue you by shining His very light of forgiveness  into your life to bring you back into His glory and grace. For that is His mission – Gods mission – a rescue mission.

In John 8

He is the light of the world and whoever follows Him will not walk in darkness but will have the very light of life.

Do you need to walk into the light? He loves you, for that is why He came, and comes to your rescue.

In John 10

God reassures His love for and eternal protection over His sheep, even laying down His very life to win you back to Himself – dying to protect you from the enemy of your soul.

John 10:10-18

10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came 

that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the 

good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for 

the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, 

who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and 

leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and 

scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and 

cares nothing for the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd. I 

know my own and my own know me, 15 just as the Father 

knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for 

the sheep. 16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. 

I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So 

there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 For this reason the 

Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take 

it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of 

my own accord.

In what other ways has God and does God express His Love for us?

In John 11

Jesus weeps with those who have lost a loved one (Lazarus). Not only does he weep over our lack of and lapses of faith, but he takes it upon Himself to increase our faith through miraculous acts of His grace upon our life. Here, He raises a dead man, Lazarus, not only restoring life, but increasing our faith.

He walks on water and calms storms, He makes wine for celebrations, He washes the feet of His followers, He defends His disciples against the attack of the legalistic pharisees, He promises His Spirit as the keeper and sustainer of our salvation, bringing us home to heaven. He fulfills His promise to us, by laying down his life for us on the cross, and pleasing His Father, and finishing His mission.

He forgives those who persecuted Him, and He forgives and restores Peter, who betrays Him 3 times. . .

Does God Love You?

John 3:16

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him.

Does He Love you? Are you loved?

The answer is a resounding YES! Y.E.S!

Look at what great lengths He has gone to, to show you His great love for you, and in doing so, Jesus has completed and satisfied the will of His Father, giving God glory.

And finally, in Love, He redeems our praise and brings us into worship. Our Response is to Love as He has loved us. To forgive others. To be instruments of His Love, Mercy and Grace.

Revelation 19:6-9

6 “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!

For the Lord our God

the Almighty reigns.

7 Let us rejoice and exult

and give Him the glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come,

and his Bride has made herself ready;

8 it was granted her to clothe herself

with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

9 And the angel said to me,

“Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

Be reminded now, and make no mistake, that you are eternally loved, oh child of God, and blessed forever.

[END]

By Jeremiah Wheelersburg (J.N.Wheels)

Listen to Jeremiah and Special Guests on “The Minister The Ministry and Me Show” on iTunes and several podcast platforms. Also known as The 3M Podcast.