0:00:00.980,0:00:09.032
I have simply wanted to take a little season here,

0:00:09.033,0:00:21.546
to look at some of the most pronounced[br]attributes of God, or descriptions of God,

0:00:21.547,0:00:26.133
that it feels like we get in God's Word.

0:00:26.134,0:00:30.443
And I dealt with God is Creator,

0:00:30.444,0:00:42.971
just simply because of the weight of the volume[br]of text that we get throughout our Bibles,

0:00:42.972,0:00:47.864
where God is declaring Himself to be the[br]Creator of the heavens and the earth.

0:00:47.865,0:00:52.253
That is a very prominent reality in Scripture.

0:00:52.254,0:00:54.291
So we looked at that, God is Creator.

0:00:54.292,0:00:59.411
We looked at God being holy. God is holy, holy, holy.

0:00:59.412,0:01:03.387
That is the only attribute of God that is raised to the third power.

0:01:03.388,0:01:07.112
So we looked at that, that's very pronounced in Scripture.

0:01:07.113,0:01:19.042
Also, we have the various portions of Scripture[br]where God is not identified with an adjective –

0:01:19.043,0:01:20.997
like He's merciful, or He's faithful –

0:01:20.998,0:01:26.764
but rather God is identified with a noun.

0:01:26.765,0:01:29.365
He is equated to something,

0:01:29.366,0:01:37.926
or something is described as what God is, what His essence is.

0:01:37.927,0:01:47.316
And we looked at God is Spirit, God is light.

0:01:47.317,0:01:51.885
And today, I want to look at God is love. (P)

0:01:51.886,0:01:59.916
1st John. John hits us with these three words twice;

0:01:59.917,0:02:20.759
once in 1st John 4:8, "Anyone who does not love[br]does not know God, because God is love."

0:02:20.760,0:02:24.446
And then again down in verse 16,

0:02:24.447,0:02:31.784
"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.

0:02:31.785,0:02:43.663
God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."

0:02:43.664,0:02:50.705
So that's where I want to go today: God is Love. (P)

0:02:50.706,0:02:56.079
Let's seek the Lord one more time.

0:03:03.895,0:03:14.052
Father, I'm most certain that no man has ever been sufficient

0:03:14.053,0:03:17.719
to even scratch the surface of this.

0:03:17.720,0:03:24.247
And if no other man has, I'm certainly not.

0:03:27.241,0:03:35.593
Father, the apostle Paul prayed long ago that the Ephesians,

0:03:35.594,0:03:42.212
along with all the other saints, would have the power, the strength,

0:03:42.213,0:03:47.920
to comprehend with all the saints, something about the love of Christ.

0:03:47.921,0:03:53.785
When we look at this we recognize it takes[br]divine power to expand our minds;

0:03:53.786,0:03:57.839
it takes the power of the Spirit of God in our inner beings

0:03:57.840,0:04:03.090
to even be able to unleash the realities of the[br]kinds of things that we're going to look at.

0:04:03.091,0:04:10.881
And Lord, this will all be dry, and dead,[br]and no good, unless you attend to it.

0:04:10.882,0:04:16.452
Lord, we can speak, and words can just be words -

0:04:16.454,0:04:20.442
they don't resonate, they don't strike deeply, they don't affect us.

0:04:20.444,0:04:22.209
So often, that's the case.

0:04:22.210,0:04:25.433
But Lord, we know what it is, some of us know;

0:04:25.434,0:04:35.281
Lord we've tasted, we know what it is when suddenly[br]the truth of God's Word speaks to us, You speak to us.

0:04:35.282,0:04:42.419
And it's full, it's rich, it's electric.

0:04:42.420,0:04:44.571
Father, we pray for that kind of help.

0:04:44.572,0:04:52.605
If Paul found himself feeling weak[br]and bending his knee before the Father,

0:04:52.606,0:05:01.617
then Lord we would, if not in reality, bend them[br]and bend our knees in heart right now.

0:05:01.618,0:05:04.239
Lord, calling on You for the help that only You can give,

0:05:04.240,0:05:05.854
the strength that only You can give,

0:05:05.855,0:05:09.078
to comprehend the love of Christ and what it is,

0:05:09.079,0:05:12.343
and the fullness and the vastness and the dimensions of it,

0:05:12.344,0:05:14.152
the height and the depth.

0:05:14.153,0:05:20.187
Lord, to know what it is; for us to perceive,[br]even in a little bit, that God is love.

0:05:20.187,0:05:22.737
Father, I pray that You would help us to perceive it,

0:05:22.738,0:05:27.440
so that as we walk away from this place today, as we go about our lives,

0:05:27.441,0:05:30.640
something about this would resonate with us in our minds,

0:05:30.641,0:05:34.654
our thoughts, our ideas, our hearts, our worldview of things.

0:05:34.655,0:05:43.243
Lord, move upon us please, in Christ's name I pray. Amen. (P)

0:05:43.244,0:05:47.954
So, God is Love.

0:05:47.955,0:05:54.812
That is the task at hand, to try to just tap this in some way.

0:05:54.813,0:05:58.280
What do I say? I mean, where do I go with this?

0:05:58.281,0:06:06.513
The truth is, I do feel helpless,

0:06:06.514,0:06:14.675
so I'm going to simply attempt to make some observations about this,

0:06:14.676,0:06:17.905
and to bring you along with me in these observations,

0:06:17.906,0:06:22.370
concerning the fact that God is love.

0:06:22.371,0:06:25.662
And I trust that the Lord might in some way, to some degree,

0:06:25.663,0:06:29.756
help make these things real to us.

0:06:29.757,0:06:35.297
So what do I have? I think I have five observations. (P)

0:06:35.298,0:06:40.802
The first one is this.

0:06:43.266,0:06:49.053
It's very simple, but I want you to think about it.

0:06:49.054,0:06:56.339
John says God is love.

0:06:56.340,0:07:01.765
He doesn't say merely, or only, that God is loving.

0:07:01.766,0:07:05.840
And there's a difference, and I think we feel the difference to that.

0:07:05.841,0:07:10.658
We feel a weight, we feel a depth, when you speak that way.

0:07:10.659,0:07:18.215
Scripture says God is merciful, but it never says God is mercy.

0:07:18.216,0:07:21.541
And Scripture says God is holy - even holy, holy, holy -

0:07:21.541,0:07:26.276
but it never says God is holiness.

0:07:26.276,0:07:31.957
That doesn't mean, necessarily, that statements couldn't be made like that,

0:07:31.957,0:07:35.624
but that God never revealed Himself like that.

0:07:35.625,0:07:37.321
That's all that means.

0:07:37.322,0:07:43.088
And God has specifically chosen, not to just come and say,

0:07:43.089,0:07:47.186
"Behold, I am this God who is loving."

0:07:47.186,0:07:51.619
He says, "I am love."

0:07:51.619,0:07:56.581
In other words, I define that.

0:07:56.581,0:07:59.735
I define the essence of what love is.

0:07:59.736,0:08:03.883
John is taking "love", you know what he's doing?

0:08:03.884,0:08:11.884
He is making it the defining moral quality[br]of God's very being and nature.

0:08:11.885,0:08:18.017
"God is" – that has to do with essence,[br]who He is, what He is, how He is.

0:08:18.018,0:08:21.766
He's saying, "God is love."

0:08:21.766,0:08:30.103
This is God's representative virtue: God is, Himself, love.

0:08:30.103,0:08:38.433
And listen, this isn't just simply saying, this is how God responds to man;

0:08:38.433,0:08:41.501
that because God is love, God loves man.

0:08:41.501,0:08:45.064
Now that may be true. He is this fountain of love, and He overflows.

0:08:45.065,0:08:46.954
But you know what you find?

0:08:46.955,0:08:51.187
What you find is, Jesus is giving us glimpses, doesn't He?

0:08:51.188,0:08:59.433
He's talking about, to His disciples there in the[br]Upper Room discourse in John's gospel

0:08:59.434,0:09:02.341
as Jesus is preparing to go away,

0:09:02.341,0:09:07.639
He's talking about the love that the Father has for Him,

0:09:07.640,0:09:12.870
and He's desiring that that same trinitarian love would sweep us in.

0:09:12.871,0:09:17.452
The fact is, God is love; and God is love if man never existed.

0:09:17.453,0:09:19.340
God is love. (P)

0:09:19.341,0:09:22.428
I mean, when you consider angels, God is love.

0:09:22.429,0:09:25.316
But when you consider the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,

0:09:25.317,0:09:27.832
what you find, what you look:

0:09:27.833,0:09:31.352
Scripture, you go back before man ever existed,

0:09:31.353,0:09:35.852
and you see that God Himself is a fountain of love.

0:09:35.853,0:09:42.337
And the inner-trinitarian relationship[br]is one that just overflows with love:

0:09:42.338,0:09:47.390
the Father loving the Son, and the Son the Father; and both, the Spirit.

0:09:47.391,0:09:51.238
That is the nature of God – it is to love.

0:09:51.239,0:09:56.650
And wherever you find Him there is love, whether man is there or not.

0:09:56.651,0:10:01.834
He is hitting at the very essence of who and what God is:

0:10:01.835,0:10:05.760
God is love. Love is what God is.

0:10:05.761,0:10:10.732
God is not God if He is not love.

0:10:10.733,0:10:17.053
I mean, if you remove love from God,[br]you might as well try to remove God from God,

0:10:17.054,0:10:18.300
because God is love.

0:10:18.301,0:10:21.738
That's what He is, you cannot separate the two.

0:10:21.739,0:10:25.505
To strip God of love is to strip God of God. (P)

0:10:25.506,0:10:30.635
I mean, you think about this: you imagine us.

0:10:30.636,0:10:33.739
I mean, typically among men and women,

0:10:33.740,0:10:40.494
it is women who are considered the fairer sex of humankind.

0:10:40.495,0:10:46.290
You imagine a woman, and she's beautiful.

0:10:46.291,0:10:51.457
She's beautiful in physical appearance, she's beautiful in humility,

0:10:51.458,0:10:57.785
she's beautiful in godliness, she's beautiful in disposition,

0:10:57.786,0:11:00.178
she's beautiful in personality.

0:11:00.179,0:11:04.559
Now look, if somebody recognizes[br]what everybody tends to recognize

0:11:04.560,0:11:09.004
with these eyes and with our ears, with our perception;

0:11:09.005,0:11:13.503
if somebody says, "She is beautiful,"

0:11:13.504,0:11:15.498
well, we have an idea about that.

0:11:15.499,0:11:22.022
But if someone else says, "She isn't just beautiful, she is beauty itself."

0:11:22.023,0:11:23.852
Now see, suddenly we feel that.

0:11:23.853,0:11:28.550
That's like saying that she defines what beauty is.

0:11:28.551,0:11:33.751
Beauty gets its definition from her:[br]she's the sum and fullness of the term.

0:11:33.752,0:11:36.175
And that's exactly what John wants us to feel.

0:11:36.176,0:11:40.562
Love gets its very definition from all that God is.

0:11:40.563,0:11:42.227
You have to understand this:

0:11:42.228,0:11:47.637
anything in this world that is true love, resonates,

0:11:47.638,0:11:51.254
it's reflected from, God is responsible for.

0:11:51.255,0:11:52.859
It comes from Him.

0:11:52.860,0:11:57.168
He is the defining One of love.

0:11:57.169,0:11:59.313
He's the defining essence of love.

0:11:59.314,0:12:01.505
He's the defining character of love.

0:12:01.506,0:12:03.550
He is the defining attribute of love.

0:12:03.551,0:12:10.274
All that love is, He defines. It's what He is. (P)

0:12:10.275,0:12:17.817
Yes, this is radical terminology, for God's essence to be defined to us.

0:12:17.818,0:12:21.238
He is the perfection of love. He's the fullness of it.

0:12:21.239,0:12:27.289
Anything, I mean, you want to know the standard? There He is.

0:12:27.290,0:12:32.074
Many have understood God is love.

0:12:32.075,0:12:36.537
They picture it like this: it is His very essence.

0:12:36.538,0:12:41.893
Every other thing that's true about God,[br]swims in the ocean of this love.

0:12:41.894,0:12:42.911
Every other thing.

0:12:42.912,0:12:48.464
If you take His holiness, you're going to find love there.

0:12:48.465,0:12:51.826
If you take His omnipotence, you're going to find love there.

0:12:51.827,0:12:54.481
Now listen to this, two men

0:12:54.482,0:12:59.135
(these are two of my favorites, and of course they would write on this):

0:12:59.136,0:13:02.106
Edward Payson and Octavius Winslow.

0:13:02.107,0:13:08.392
Edward Payson, who I have grown to[br]appreciate immensely in the last year,

0:13:08.393,0:13:10.542
listen to what he says:

0:13:10.543,0:13:15.709
"As the light which proceeds from the sun

0:13:15.710,0:13:18.675
may easily be separated into many different colors," –

0:13:18.676,0:13:23.028
and if you have a prism you can do that, that's what the rainbow is.

0:13:23.029,0:13:29.474
Light that comes from the sun to us[br]actually comes in many different colors,

0:13:29.475,0:13:31.335
and it can be separated.

0:13:31.336,0:13:35.469
And what Payson is saying is: "Just as that light from the sun

0:13:35.470,0:13:39.386
may be easily separated into many different colors,

0:13:39.387,0:13:41.902
so the holy love of God..."

0:13:41.903,0:13:47.025
He sees it to be like that light, that if you bring out the proper prism,

0:13:47.026,0:13:51.863
it may diffuse itself into a multiplicity of colors.

0:13:51.864,0:13:54.537
In other words, God's faithfulness, God's compassion,

0:13:54.538,0:13:56.712
God's mercy, God's justice,

0:13:56.713,0:14:03.191
all these different hues of this light of God.

0:14:03.191,0:14:06.658
He says "which is the light and glory of His nature,

0:14:06.660,0:14:12.432
may be separated into a variety of moral attributes and perfections.

0:14:12.433,0:14:15.767
But though separated, they're still love.

0:14:15.768,0:14:19.484
His whole nature and essence is love.

0:14:19.485,0:14:22.112
His will, His works, His words, are love.

0:14:22.113,0:14:26.247
He is nothing, and can do nothing, but love." (P)

0:14:26.248,0:14:32.492
Octavius Winslow says this: "Love is so completely the essence of God

0:14:32.493,0:14:36.738
that it shines out in every perfection of His nature,

0:14:36.739,0:14:40.569
and is exhibited in every act of His administration.

0:14:40.570,0:14:43.457
He is nothing, and can do nothing, foreign to Himself.

0:14:43.458,0:14:49.314
Consequently, He is nothing, and can do nothing,[br]in which His love is not an essential quality.

0:14:49.315,0:14:56.366
All the streams of a fountain must partake essentially[br]of the source from where they rise.

0:14:56.367,0:14:59.623
All the rays of light, whatever their prismatic hues,

0:14:59.623,0:15:04.014
must partake essentially of the sun from where they flow.

0:15:04.015,0:15:09.444
And were not God's perfections thus modified and softened by love,

0:15:09.445,0:15:14.495
were they not led on by this commanding perfection of His nature,

0:15:14.496,0:15:17.754
each one and all combined would be terribly against us.

0:15:17.755,0:15:21.154
His wisdom would baffle us. His power would crush us.

0:15:21.155,0:15:25.965
His holiness would terrify us. His justice would condemn us." (P)

0:15:25.966,0:15:34.548
John Wesley says this: " 'God is love' intimates[br]that this is His darling, His reigning attribute

0:15:34.549,0:15:41.817
– the attribute that sheds an amiable glory[br]on all His other perfections."

0:15:41.818,0:15:48.936
I mean, what those men believe, is that love[br]resonates from God in everything He does.

0:15:48.937,0:15:52.473
It must, because God is love.

0:15:52.474,0:15:55.118
Listen, when you think about the other places

0:15:55.119,0:16:01.591
where a noun is set forth to describe the essence of God –

0:16:01.592,0:16:06.379
God is spirit – is there anything God does where He isn't spirit?

0:16:06.380,0:16:11.348
Is there anything He is, that doesn't come back to the fact that He is spirit?

0:16:11.349,0:16:13.868
God is light – everything He does is light;

0:16:13.869,0:16:19.306
everything about Him reveals light, it sheds light, it gives light.

0:16:19.307,0:16:22.611
He is the Father of lights.

0:16:22.612,0:16:28.992
And in the same way, John says, "God is love."

0:16:28.993,0:16:32.380
Not just that He's loving, He is love.

0:16:32.381,0:16:38.595
That's my first observation: He is love.

0:16:38.596,0:16:45.042
That is the God we have to deal with – a God who is love.

0:16:45.043,0:16:50.458
And it isn't just that He is, He has revealed that to us.

0:16:50.459,0:16:59.785
He said, "Mankind, I reveal Myself to you this way: God is love.

0:16:59.786,0:17:04.143
Whatever else you may think about Me, I am love."

0:17:04.144,0:17:07.108
That is the kind of God we want, folks.

0:17:07.108,0:17:09.310
There are many things about God that are true,

0:17:09.311,0:17:12.541
and they're mysteries because God has never revealed them to us.

0:17:12.542,0:17:19.362
But look how He reveals Himself,[br]this is how He wants to be known by us. (P)

0:17:19.363,0:17:24.680
Second observation: What do we make of this love?

0:17:24.681,0:17:29.301
Well, I want us to see how John describes this love,

0:17:29.302,0:17:31.750
because he certainly does.

0:17:31.751,0:17:36.164
John says that God is love, and John also gives us some idea.

0:17:36.165,0:17:39.457
He's not bashful as to what he means by love.

0:17:39.458,0:17:46.488
And look, this is important, because in our day and age[br]we need love to be described to us.

0:17:46.489,0:17:51.962
We live, do we not, we live a world where a guy sleeps with a girl,

0:17:51.963,0:17:56.333
he defiles the girl, and he says, "I love you."

0:17:56.334,0:18:03.435
And so, in our world today love is pretty much set equal to sexual attraction.

0:18:03.436,0:18:07.767
Or a woman comes along, and she says to a man, "I love you."

0:18:07.768,0:18:10.637
And he says, "Okay, marry me." They get married.

0:18:10.638,0:18:15.397
And then before long, she runs off with her boss.

0:18:15.398,0:18:18.498
Why? Because what she really meant by that was,

0:18:18.499,0:18:24.417
"I love you as long as I like what I get from you, as long as you fulfill me;

0:18:24.418,0:18:29.478
but when you no longer fulfill me, then I no longer love you."

0:18:29.479,0:18:32.442
Or somebody says, "I love the San Antonio Spurs,"

0:18:32.443,0:18:35.761
and it's nothing else but another word for idolatry.

0:18:35.762,0:18:40.398
Or somebody says, "Oh, I love that kind of food,"

0:18:40.399,0:18:46.493
and all it is, is a trivializing of a very weighty expression –

0:18:46.494,0:18:50.294
we bring it down to basically mundane likes and dislikes.

0:18:50.295,0:18:52.523
And so we need some idea.

0:18:52.524,0:18:54.799
We need a God-given definition. (P)

0:18:54.800,0:19:03.039
What does love look like? What is John's description of this?

0:19:03.040,0:19:10.433
Look, why is it that our world around us[br]seems to be so blind to what love is?

0:19:10.434,0:19:12.423
Well, bottom line this:

0:19:12.424,0:19:16.885
What does Scripture say about man in his natural state?

0:19:16.886,0:19:19.417
It says that he's alienated from God.

0:19:19.418,0:19:22.727
Well, here's the thing: God is love, man is alienated from God;

0:19:22.728,0:19:25.597
man is alienated from what love really is.

0:19:25.598,0:19:28.664
If you want to know love, you have to know God.

0:19:28.665,0:19:32.232
And man in his natural state is alienated from God,

0:19:32.233,0:19:38.149
so he's alienated from any right perception of what love truly is.

0:19:38.150,0:19:40.088
But here comes John.

0:19:40.089,0:19:44.636
I mean, this is very telling, very simple.

0:19:44.637,0:19:47.671
1st John 3:16.

0:19:47.672,0:19:52.074
Not John 3:16, but 1st John 3:16:

0:19:52.075,0:19:57.611
"By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us."

0:19:57.612,0:20:02.021
Now this is the love of God to us, the love of Christ:

0:20:02.022,0:20:09.936
He laid down His life - a willingness to give even if the cost is high.

0:20:09.937,0:20:14.815
It's sacrificial. Giving, benevolence, kindness.

0:20:14.816,0:20:16.546
That's the idea in his mind. (P)

0:20:16.547,0:20:20.966
Now look, he goes on here to say this:

0:20:20.967,0:20:24.395
"By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us,

0:20:24.396,0:20:28.553
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."

0:20:28.554,0:20:33.507
In other words, if you come to know this God who is love,

0:20:33.508,0:20:36.605
then you will likewise love.

0:20:36.606,0:20:40.520
And in fact, John says, if we say we know God,

0:20:40.520,0:20:48.031
but we hate our brother, we are liars, we don't really know Him.

0:20:48.032,0:20:51.874
Here's what this ought to produce:

0:20:51.875,0:20:55.459
it ought to produce a laying down of our lives for our brothers.

0:20:55.460,0:20:59.149
But listen to this, verse 17, "If anyone has the world's goods."

0:20:59.150,0:21:01.235
Now you have to understand what's going on here.

0:21:01.236,0:21:04.506
He's saying, look, you claim to be a child of God,

0:21:04.507,0:21:06.210
you'll lay down your life for the brothers.

0:21:06.211,0:21:08.648
Why? Because that's what love does.

0:21:08.649,0:21:12.843
That's what God's love did, so that's what it ought to produce in you.

0:21:12.844,0:21:15.129
God is the standard. God is love.

0:21:15.130,0:21:20.063
If you say you know Him, this is what it ought to produce in people that know Him.

0:21:20.064,0:21:22.173
And so, He's always the standard.

0:21:22.174,0:21:26.772
And so, if God is calling for us to lay down our lives for others,

0:21:26.773,0:21:28.589
it's because He first did it.

0:21:28.590,0:21:33.313
It's because He is love, and He has done what is the greatest expression of love. (P)

0:21:33.314,0:21:36.433
And so in verse 17 when he calls us to this:

0:21:36.434,0:21:40.066
"If anyone has this world's goods and sees his brother in need,

0:21:40.067,0:21:44.540
yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?"

0:21:44.541,0:21:48.482
You see what he's saying? How does God's love abide in him?

0:21:48.483,0:21:49.927
Why would he say that?

0:21:49.928,0:21:54.355
Because God's love does open His heart.

0:21:54.356,0:21:59.774
That is the nature of God, to open His heart where there is need.

0:21:59.775,0:22:05.831
Have you... it's mind-boggling; it really is.

0:22:05.832,0:22:12.751
You go to Scripture, and you look at anyone[br]who sincerely calls on the Lord for help,

0:22:12.752,0:22:14.494
whatever state they're in.

0:22:14.495,0:22:21.408
I mean, they can be as wicked as Manasseh himself, wicked as Ahab,

0:22:21.409,0:22:25.277
but when they call unto the Lord, He came.

0:22:25.278,0:22:26.874
I mean, you watch Israel.

0:22:26.875,0:22:30.517
They turned their back on God, again and again and again.

0:22:30.518,0:22:32.883
They went after their idols, again and again and again.

0:22:32.884,0:22:34.729
They went after the broken cisterns.

0:22:34.730,0:22:38.946
Again, God sent judgments one after another because of their idolatries,

0:22:38.947,0:22:43.271
because of their sin, over and over and over and over again. (P)

0:22:43.272,0:22:48.302
But you show me any place in Scripture,[br]where they said, "Lord, we've sinned,"

0:22:48.303,0:22:51.326
and they cry out to Him. What does He do?

0:22:51.327,0:22:58.359
I mean, what did Jonah know was going to happen if he went to the Ninevites?

0:22:58.360,0:23:00.435
He knew his God.

0:23:00.435,0:23:03.526
He knew his God better than some of us do.

0:23:03.527,0:23:05.298
That's what caused his reluctance:

0:23:05.299,0:23:10.024
he was so certain God was going to have[br]mercy on those miserable Ninevites.

0:23:10.025,0:23:15.290
And if you ever study, historically, what the Ninevites were like, they were brutal.

0:23:15.291,0:23:18.958
They ripped pregnant women open, and many of them Jews.

0:23:18.959,0:23:21.659
They were just brutal people.

0:23:21.660,0:23:27.200
And they repent, and God just showers them. That's it.

0:23:27.201,0:23:33.483
He says, "If anyone has this world's goods and sees his brother in need,

0:23:33.484,0:23:36.772
yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?

0:23:36.773,0:23:41.017
Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth."

0:23:41.018,0:23:44.009
We have a God who loves in deed and truth.

0:23:44.010,0:23:47.138
We have a God who doesn't close His heart.

0:23:47.139,0:23:51.084
His heart is not closed to your need. (P)

0:23:51.085,0:24:01.064
And the beauty of this is, "God is love" trumps whatever wickedness we have.

0:24:01.065,0:24:07.101
I mean, you can ever be so wicked, or so foul and filthy with sin,

0:24:07.102,0:24:10.845
that if you will but cry to Him, He will love you.

0:24:10.846,0:24:14.656
He will love you, not just in word and talk, but in deed and truth.

0:24:14.657,0:24:17.897
It's God's nature to give. It's God's nature to be kind.

0:24:17.898,0:24:19.140
He's good.

0:24:19.141,0:24:23.043
He's not merely benevolent, He is benevolence itself.

0:24:23.044,0:24:24.781
That's what John is telling us.

0:24:24.782,0:24:28.554
God is infinite with His love, it's like an ocean.

0:24:28.555,0:24:31.000
God invites all of us to dive in.

0:24:31.001,0:24:34.276
That's what He is doing in Scripture – constantly calling on us.

0:24:34.276,0:24:35.312
Constantly.

0:24:35.313,0:24:41.885
I am certain God is a thousandfold more willing[br]to pour His love and kindness upon sinners,

0:24:41.886,0:24:44.313
than many of us think He is.

0:24:44.314,0:24:51.000
I mean, listen to Scripture, Isaiah 30:18,[br]"The LORD waits to be gracious to you."

0:24:51.001,0:24:54.476
What kind of words are those?

0:24:54.477,0:24:58.355
Do you think it might portray a picture of a God

0:24:58.356,0:25:03.488
who extends His arms in love, just like a father to his children?

0:25:03.489,0:25:04.923
You know how when they're learning to walk,

0:25:04.924,0:25:07.338
you put out your hands and you say, "Come to me"?

0:25:07.339,0:25:13.122
This is the picture – God waiting to just wrap us up in His arms. (P)

0:25:13.123,0:25:16.017
You say, "Is that really what God does?"

0:25:16.018,0:25:18.720
I mean, listen to this, Romans 10:21,

0:25:18.721,0:25:24.379
"All day long I have held out My hands[br]to a disobedient and contrary people."

0:25:24.379,0:25:29.014
I mean, look at Him in your mind, His hands of love are extended.

0:25:29.015,0:25:31.104
This is the God who is love.

0:25:31.105,0:25:38.528
He comes to sinners. He really does, with sincerity.

0:25:38.529,0:25:40.294
There's no falseness in this.

0:25:40.295,0:25:44.579
He bids men to come and dive into His love.

0:25:44.580,0:25:47.521
He calls to men to come.

0:25:47.522,0:25:56.260
I mean, look at Him there: arms open wide[br]to receive sin-stained, broken, rebellious people.

0:25:56.261,0:26:00.647
If you will fall into those hands I guarantee you this,

0:26:00.648,0:26:02.246
you'll find them to be hands of love,

0:26:02.247,0:26:05.007
you'll find them to be hands that are gentle.

0:26:05.008,0:26:09.940
God will lavish on you the greatest gifts that love can devise.

0:26:09.941,0:26:11.341
Do you see John here?

0:26:11.342,0:26:15.295
He's looking at other Christians, and he's saying,

0:26:15.296,0:26:21.043
"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us,

0:26:21.044,0:26:26.667
that we should be called the children of God."

0:26:26.668,0:26:35.346
Kevin in the first hour mentioned John 14:21, 23 –

0:26:35.347,0:26:40.044
Jesus is promising to manifest Himself to His people;

0:26:40.045,0:26:43.736
the Father promises to come and make His dwelling place.

0:26:43.737,0:26:46.221
God promises to give Himself to us.

0:26:46.222,0:26:48.035
I am His, and He is mine. (P)

0:26:48.036,0:26:52.533
You talk about the Song of Solomon, you ever go read there,

0:26:52.534,0:26:57.702
you see that the love there is a picture of the love that God has for His people.

0:26:57.703,0:27:04.789
And, look, to sinners He holds out those hands, and He bids men – come.

0:27:04.790,0:27:07.656
Something you and I would not do to an enemy.

0:27:07.657,0:27:13.966
Something you and I would not do[br]to one that hated us as we have hated Him.

0:27:13.967,0:27:15.740
And He beckons us.

0:27:15.741,0:27:18.355
You think about what He promises to give us.

0:27:18.356,0:27:20.210
We've sang a song, How Beautiful,

0:27:20.211,0:27:24.121
that's about Christ given to the church as a husband;

0:27:24.122,0:27:27.194
us being given to Christ as a bride.

0:27:27.195,0:27:31.802
We get God, we get his manifestations, we get Him in marriage.

0:27:31.803,0:27:34.275
We get the love of God.

0:27:34.276,0:27:36.899
We get the fullness of these things.

0:27:36.900,0:27:41.811
God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.

0:27:41.812,0:27:46.399
Here's this Object of His greatest pleasure and delight.

0:27:46.400,0:27:51.078
He had glory with the Father before this world began in eternity past.

0:27:51.079,0:27:54.425
He was the delight of the Father's heart, the most beloved.

0:27:54.426,0:27:57.774
He looks at Him, "This is My Son, in whom I am well pleased."

0:27:57.775,0:28:00.704
God's heart is moved by the Son;

0:28:00.705,0:28:04.677
and yet [He gave] the Son for His enemies. (P)

0:28:04.678,0:28:06.568
He so loved.

0:28:06.569,0:28:10.640
The argument of Scripture is, if He did that, how will He not...?

0:28:10.641,0:28:15.424
(Kevin also talked about God withholding[br]no good thing from those that walk uprightly).

0:28:15.425,0:28:19.882
God says, if He gave up His son, if He didn't hold Him back,

0:28:19.883,0:28:22.970
if He was willing to go that far in His demonstrations of love,

0:28:22.971,0:28:25.206
how will He not also give us all things?

0:28:25.207,0:28:29.325
All things, whatever it is that love requires, He says He's going to give.

0:28:29.326,0:28:32.292
I mean, literally we don't even understand;

0:28:32.293,0:28:38.657
we do not yet get it, what God has in store for us.

0:28:38.658,0:28:44.953
And John, he's getting a glimpse of it - it's like breathless,

0:28:44.954,0:28:46.983
you got to behold this.

0:28:46.984,0:28:53.719
I mean, we're getting invited, we're getting adopted,

0:28:53.720,0:29:00.748
into the very family of God Himself – sons and daughters.

0:29:00.749,0:29:06.465
He's saying this is huge, what God's love does.

0:29:06.466,0:29:08.889
God is love. (P)

0:29:08.890,0:29:13.420
Love means God won't close His heart to doing the greatest good

0:29:13.421,0:29:16.524
to those who want His help and His love,

0:29:16.525,0:29:18.716
if they'll have it by way of Jesus Christ.

0:29:18.717,0:29:22.470
I mean, that's my second observation:

0:29:22.471,0:29:25.631
it is, we need some defining element about love.

0:29:25.632,0:29:29.390
And it's giving, it's benevolence, it's kindness.

0:29:29.391,0:29:35.096
It's heaping upon the object of love, all the good it can give.

0:29:35.097,0:29:39.254
And when you have an Almighty God, with whom nothing is impossible,

0:29:39.255,0:29:41.828
who is absolutely filled with love,

0:29:41.829,0:29:47.925
and bent on showing the greatest infinite kindness through all the coming ages;

0:29:47.926,0:29:51.549
to just pour that kindness on a people of His love;

0:29:51.550,0:29:55.435
I mean, you don't want to miss that.

0:29:55.449,0:29:57.523
You don't want to be on the outside looking in.

0:29:57.524,0:30:00.220
This is not just about missing hell, folks.

0:30:00.221,0:30:05.613
This is about getting the riches of Christ Himself, having Him,

0:30:05.614,0:30:07.650
and all the fullness of what that is.

0:30:07.651,0:30:10.668
You do not want to miss that.

0:30:10.669,0:30:14.170
We are called to a world of love,

0:30:14.171,0:30:18.110
where we are going to be swallowed up in the trinitarian love,

0:30:18.111,0:30:24.559
where the same love that the Father has for His Son,[br]He has for all those adopted sons.

0:30:24.560,0:30:28.131
He pulls us into His family, wraps His arms around us. (P)

0:30:28.132,0:30:34.041
In this world, yes, we get manifestations,[br]but there we get the fullness.

0:30:34.041,0:30:40.249
I mean, you go back, you talk about reading these biographies.

0:30:40.250,0:30:42.850
Read about some of these people's lives

0:30:42.851,0:30:45.576
as they were yet breathing the air of this world

0:30:45.577,0:30:47.885
and they were on the very thresholds of heaven,

0:30:47.886,0:30:53.910
and their eyes are being opened up to the fullness[br]of what love has for them on the other side.

0:30:53.911,0:30:56.907
And they can't hardly put it in words.

0:30:56.908,0:30:59.818
They come back to those on this side, and they say,

0:30:59.819,0:31:03.697
"You won't believe it if I told you what I am seeing right now."

0:31:03.698,0:31:08.340
They just gasp in joy, astonishment, and awe.

0:31:08.341,0:31:12.233
They say, "If only you could see what it is,

0:31:12.234,0:31:15.444
you would recognize that the things in this world are but a shadow,

0:31:15.445,0:31:18.761
they're diminishing, they're a trifle;

0:31:18.762,0:31:23.232
if you could just see what I see right now."

0:31:23.233,0:31:29.575
So that was the second thing, we need some[br]idea about what love does, and love gives. (P)

0:31:29.576,0:31:36.190
The third thing: I would say this, this is an observation:

0:31:36.191,0:31:44.753
That God is love, that concept, that idea,[br]it does not excite us as it should.

0:31:44.754,0:31:49.998
And when I say us, I mean all mankind,[br]depending on the category you put them in.

0:31:49.999,0:31:53.665
But let's start with the lost man, because we've all been there.

0:31:53.666,0:32:00.497
I mean, what does the lost man think when he hears God is love?

0:32:00.498,0:32:03.378
They just think, "Well, of course He is."

0:32:03.379,0:32:10.183
Lost man loves himself, so lost man expects God is going to love him.

0:32:10.183,0:32:11.900
When we were lost, we love ourselves,

0:32:11.901,0:32:14.293
we expect other people should treat us well,

0:32:14.294,0:32:18.270
we expect people should love us, we expect God should love us.

0:32:18.271,0:32:20.936
They expect it. They yawn.

0:32:20.937,0:32:23.209
I mean, it's not very impressive.

0:32:23.210,0:32:29.003
It doesn't thrill them like professional athletes

0:32:29.004,0:32:32.175
trying to put a ball through a hoop or something like that.

0:32:32.176,0:32:35.345
They yawn at it, but they expect it.

0:32:35.346,0:32:40.332
When they hear God is love, natural man thinks very little

0:32:40.333,0:32:50.626
about what that means about the perfections of God Himself.

0:32:50.627,0:32:58.026
They just imagine that it means that God must[br]smile on them no matter what they do.

0:32:58.027,0:33:01.435
They can be ever so wicked, they can sin,

0:33:01.436,0:33:03.535
they can do the most grievous things,

0:33:03.536,0:33:05.478
and yet God is still going to smile on them.

0:33:05.479,0:33:08.330
He's just this perpetually smiling Santa Claus,

0:33:08.331,0:33:11.623
that's what they feel when they hear God is love;

0:33:11.624,0:33:14.438
that God could never hate them,

0:33:14.439,0:33:19.256
God could never do anything but show them kindness.

0:33:19.257,0:33:24.892
It sounds good in the natural ear to hear that. (P)

0:33:24.893,0:33:27.520
Fallen man, they imagine in their darkened minds

0:33:27.521,0:33:33.689
that 'God is love' somehow relates to how lovable God finds them.

0:33:33.690,0:33:38.515
Men don't see themselves as this vile, wretched, defiled thing.

0:33:38.516,0:33:43.330
That kind of terminology, you know, "God saved a wretch like me,"

0:33:43.331,0:33:46.645
that's how they used to write the old songs.

0:33:46.646,0:33:49.654
But have you ever seen the modernized versions of some of the songs?

0:33:49.655,0:33:51.238
They like to take words like that out.

0:33:51.239,0:33:53.306
Man doesn't like to hear that anymore.

0:33:53.307,0:33:56.848
Man doesn't like to know about a God[br]that sees him like that anymore.

0:33:56.849,0:33:59.219
Man likes to think that they're lovable to God:

0:33:59.220,0:34:02.202
"Well, of course, God should love them."

0:34:02.203,0:34:08.018
And, you know, 'God is love', that sounds pleasant to the natural ear,

0:34:08.018,0:34:09.951
because it doesn't sound threatening.

0:34:09.952,0:34:15.183
And what men like to do is, they like to dull, and distort, and dismiss,

0:34:15.184,0:34:18.094
everything that makes a God that is threatening.

0:34:18.094,0:34:22.951
And by the way, the God of Scripture is very threatening to sinful men.

0:34:22.952,0:34:25.181
So this just sounds good.

0:34:25.183,0:34:27.655
Men don't like a God that threatens them. (P)

0:34:27.656,0:34:30.878
But then what happens where we get saved?

0:34:30.879,0:34:33.952
Here you are, you're the new Christian.

0:34:33.953,0:34:37.972
We get saved, and you know, just like me when I...

0:34:37.973,0:34:41.302
I can remember first being exposed to the Doctrines of Grace,

0:34:41.303,0:34:45.717
and you know, I was amazed, as many of you were.

0:34:45.719,0:34:47.335
I can remember reading the Old Testament.

0:34:47.335,0:34:51.150
I can remember Uzzah, he touches that ark:

0:34:51.150,0:34:53.710
Bam!!! God kills him on the spot.

0:34:53.710,0:34:58.022
I'm like, "Whoa. I never knew God was like that."

0:34:58.023,0:35:04.025
Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, and you see them struck down.

0:35:04.026,0:35:05.933
And even in the New Testament, you know,

0:35:05.934,0:35:07.579
people say "Well, that's the Old Testament God."

0:35:07.580,0:35:10.489
No, you come into the New Testament, you have Ananias and Sapphira,

0:35:10.490,0:35:14.207
and God does very similar things there.

0:35:14.208,0:35:17.686
And you know, as a young believer, we can really get taken up with,

0:35:17.687,0:35:20.154
suddenly we're exposed to the hell of God,

0:35:20.155,0:35:22.329
and the wrath of God, and the punishment of God,

0:35:22.330,0:35:24.953
and the fury of God, and the justice of God.

0:35:24.954,0:35:35.555
And we look at those things and we can be moved by that. (P)

0:35:35.556,0:35:39.113
I mean, I can remember as a young Christian not too long...

0:35:39.114,0:35:42.569
I think it was about three years in the Lord when ruby and I got married...

0:35:42.570,0:35:45.931
and I can remember the first checks we got after I was married,

0:35:45.932,0:35:54.794
I had it printed on all my checks - "God is a consuming fire."

0:35:58.169,0:36:03.085
And I always had this picture of some bank teller somewhere,

0:36:03.086,0:36:07.658
reading Hebrews 12:29 on our checks.

0:36:07.659,0:36:10.814
And the truth is, I can remember those early days.

0:36:10.815,0:36:19.475
And it's almost like, you come along to something like Mark 10:21 -

0:36:19.476,0:36:24.970
"Jesus looking at the rich young ruler, loved him,

0:36:24.971,0:36:29.182
and said to him, 'You lack one thing;[br]go sell all you have, give to the poor,

0:36:29.183,0:36:31.785
and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me.'

0:36:31.786,0:36:36.370
That man went away sorrowful."

0:36:36.371,0:36:41.013
And, you know, I found in those early days[br]all these Calvinists that come along,

0:36:41.014,0:36:45.177
and they try to distort that, and say that it's not what it says,

0:36:45.178,0:36:48.695
and that Jesus doesn't really... (that must have been Paul),

0:36:48.696,0:36:52.514
because for Jesus to say that He loves somebody like that,

0:36:52.515,0:36:56.962
it obviously had to be one of the elect. (P)

0:36:56.963,0:37:04.299
You know, the truth is, I probably should have had[br]"Jesus looked at him and loved him" printed on my checks,

0:37:04.300,0:37:09.374
rather than Hebrews 12.

0:37:09.375,0:37:15.545
But the fact is, texts like that, early on, probably didn't excite me.

0:37:15.546,0:37:18.678
"God is a consuming fire" excited me.

0:37:18.679,0:37:21.666
And it should excite us, what is true about God.

0:37:21.667,0:37:27.823
But the fact is that what we find in God's Word

0:37:27.824,0:37:35.037
is a Book that is meant to express the love of God towards sinners.

0:37:35.038,0:37:36.919
And it's everywhere.

0:37:36.920,0:37:44.140
And that invitation of Christ was absolutely sincere to that rich young ruler.

0:37:44.141,0:37:49.385
And if he would have sold it all and found Christ more precious,

0:37:49.386,0:37:52.761
and he would have came to Him, even if he[br]would have just fallen down right there,

0:37:52.762,0:38:00.042
like another man in Mark's Gospel who said,[br]"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief";

0:38:00.043,0:38:03.547
if he would have fallen down and said, "Lord, I'm willing to do this,

0:38:03.548,0:38:07.863
I want to do this, but it has such a grasp on me. Save me from it,"

0:38:07.864,0:38:10.735
he'd be in heaven right now.

0:38:10.736,0:38:13.311
It was a valid invitation.

0:38:13.312,0:38:15.771
He did not mock him, it was not empty.

0:38:15.772,0:38:18.121
You can't say, "Well, he wasn't one of God's elect,

0:38:18.122,0:38:21.415
because he walked away sorrowful[br]and he walked away to his damnation,

0:38:21.416,0:38:26.627
and so Jesus' love for him couldn't have been[br]valid and real and legitimate and deep."

0:38:26.628,0:38:30.253
And it was, and Scripture says it was. (P)

0:38:30.254,0:38:32.451
But see, as young believers, we do.

0:38:32.451,0:38:35.913
Suddenly, things are revealed to us about God that ought to excite us.

0:38:35.914,0:38:37.467
But it's true, as young believers,

0:38:37.467,0:38:41.397
sometimes the love of God doesn't excite us near as much as it should.

0:38:41.398,0:38:45.103
Do you agree with that? I find that to be the case.

0:38:45.104,0:38:50.437
A lot of times, young believers are more like Boanerges (John and James, right,)

0:38:50.438,0:38:53.745
who wanted to call down fire from heaven.

0:38:53.746,0:38:59.257
It's almost like if we tell people 'God is love,' we're Arminian.

0:38:59.258,0:39:03.435
I mean, that's how young believers feel sometimes.

0:39:03.436,0:39:09.620
And that's not true at all. That is not true.

0:39:09.621,0:39:14.592
God is love. (P)

0:39:15.935,0:39:24.362
Speaking of God's love, Octavius Winslow[br]observed in his day, over a hundred years ago,

0:39:24.363,0:39:30.792
that there are but few saints of God[br]who study God's character and God's acts

0:39:30.793,0:39:34.590
in the light of this wondrous perfection of God's nature.

0:39:34.591,0:39:37.845
And he's referring to 'God is love.'

0:39:37.846,0:39:41.048
He observed that many are awed by God's greatness,

0:39:41.049,0:39:44.202
impressed with His holiness, tremble at His power,

0:39:44.203,0:39:52.479
but how few are subdued and drawn to Him by His love.

0:39:52.480,0:39:54.492
God is love. (P)

0:39:54.493,0:39:59.884
Now I had this picture. I was thinking about the apostle John,

0:39:59.885,0:40:03.909
and I was getting this picture in my mind of him.

0:40:03.910,0:40:06.963
He is writing 1st John.

0:40:06.964,0:40:10.834
He's being moved along by the Holy Spirit.

0:40:10.835,0:40:16.908
He's being impressed upon: Divine inspiration is taking place here.

0:40:16.909,0:40:26.250
Can you imagine, as he's penning this letter,[br]the first moment that idea crossed his mind?

0:40:26.251,0:40:31.392
There was a first moment when the idea that 'God is love'

0:40:31.393,0:40:36.814
would have actually fallen upon the thoughts of John the apostle.

0:40:36.815,0:40:38.889
And I was thinking about the moment,

0:40:38.890,0:40:44.112
the realization that God wants to reveal Himself that way,

0:40:44.113,0:40:47.327
and what it must have done to John right at that moment.

0:40:47.328,0:40:51.462
I mean, you can tell he's already getting worked up in Chapter 3.

0:40:51.463,0:40:55.772
He's like, "Just behold what manner of love this is! Behold what it is!

0:40:55.773,0:40:59.672
Listen, this is out of this world, this is beyond.

0:40:59.673,0:41:02.940
This is such a love that if you can get a hold...

0:41:02.941,0:41:05.088
I mean, look what God has done!

0:41:05.089,0:41:07.667
Have we forgotten who we are and what we've done?

0:41:07.668,0:41:10.668
Have we forgotten how black with sin we were?

0:41:10.669,0:41:12.758
Look what God has done!

0:41:12.759,0:41:15.224
Look at the cost it took Him to do it.

0:41:15.225,0:41:17.766
Look at the blood of His Son flowing." (P)

0:41:17.767,0:41:22.588
And look, He not only just saves us and spares us from hell --

0:41:22.589,0:41:26.139
He could have just saved us, set us on a deserted Pacific Island somewhere,

0:41:26.140,0:41:27.566
it would have been mercy forever.

0:41:27.567,0:41:28.974
You know what He could have done?

0:41:28.975,0:41:33.457
He could have just said, "You know what?[br]When you die, you're just going to cease to exist."

0:41:33.458,0:41:41.015
That would have been inexpressible mercies to anybody[br]destined for hell and for eternal punishment.

0:41:41.016,0:41:43.722
But He doesn't just say, "You won't exist."

0:41:43.730,0:41:47.401
He doesn't just say, "Well, stay here on in this world forever."

0:41:47.402,0:41:49.141
He doesn't do that.

0:41:49.142,0:41:52.027
He says, "I'm going to make you My sons and daughters.

0:41:52.028,0:41:55.530
I'm going to pull you into My family.

0:41:55.531,0:42:04.748
And then in the coming ages, I'm going to[br]demonstrate the fullness of My kindness,

0:42:04.749,0:42:08.032
just immeasurable kindness.

0:42:08.033,0:42:12.985
I'm going to heap on you, those of you that are in Christ,

0:42:12.992,0:42:14.698
I'm going to pour that out."

0:42:14.699,0:42:18.791
And John is just... I can imagine he's carried away.

0:42:18.792,0:42:23.162
And then, the Spirit would have just given him that impression:

0:42:23.163,0:42:32.470
"John, do you know why My salvation is so absolutely a demonstration of love?

0:42:32.471,0:42:35.621
I am love."

0:42:35.622,0:42:40.030
And sometimes it's just the simplest thoughts, but they're so profound.

0:42:40.031,0:42:42.694
Can you imagine the moment that was impressed upon him,

0:42:42.695,0:42:52.092
how it must have just filled him with joy?

0:42:52.093,0:42:57.290
What experience must that have been, John just bursting forth. (P)

0:42:57.291,0:43:01.573
And if you think about it, think about what God does;

0:43:01.574,0:43:07.183
if you just stop and you think for a second,

0:43:07.184,0:43:17.890
God is actually the kind of God, that when a man has his little child dying

0:43:17.891,0:43:22.490
(that we heard about in the first hour), and he goes and he prays to God,

0:43:22.491,0:43:27.949
God says, "Even though death is upon the human race altogether,

0:43:27.950,0:43:31.413
I'm just gonna fill them with joy.

0:43:31.414,0:43:35.488
I'm gonna save their daughter."

0:43:35.489,0:43:39.897
I mean, just think: God created us with human eyeballs,

0:43:39.898,0:43:43.321
and He created sunsets.

0:43:43.322,0:43:48.742
Once in a while, we need to stand back and say, "Why would He do that?"

0:43:48.743,0:43:53.035
Sunsets could have all been brown, or gray,

0:43:53.036,0:43:57.801
or He could have made our eyeballs to never see color.

0:43:57.802,0:44:03.785
Walk into a garden, like a flower garden or the botanical gardens,

0:44:03.786,0:44:06.465
why all the colors?

0:44:06.466,0:44:11.176
Why are crepe myrtle in... these oleanders out here,

0:44:11.177,0:44:14.219
they're blooming with white, but in my yard they're pink.

0:44:14.220,0:44:16.969
I've seen dark red.

0:44:16.970,0:44:21.714
Why? Why did God create flowers?

0:44:21.715,0:44:26.859
Why did God not only make them beautiful,[br]but give many of them an aroma?

0:44:26.860,0:44:31.049
Have you ever smelled a rose? or a gardenia?

0:44:31.050,0:44:34.832
Who invented that?

0:44:34.833,0:44:40.449
Have you ever wondered why would He make the trees, especially in the North,

0:44:40.450,0:44:46.266
change color to where they're so beautiful in the fall? Why?

0:44:46.267,0:44:49.746
Have you ever thought about the intimacy between a man and a woman?

0:44:49.747,0:44:51.697
Why would God even create that?

0:44:51.698,0:44:56.349
Why would He create us with tongues to delight in food,

0:44:56.350,0:45:04.648
and then make food across the spectrum (every color of the rainbow) for us to eat?

0:45:04.648,0:45:07.405
Why would He make lemon meringue pie?

0:45:07.406,0:45:10.235
Why would He make lemons?

0:45:10.236,0:45:14.804
I mean, have you ever just stood back and thought? Why?

0:45:14.805,0:45:21.485
You think of the rain falling, you think of a gentle breeze:

0:45:21.486,0:45:26.562
we're sinners, and we get to enjoy a breeze?

0:45:26.563,0:45:31.119
When the first cool front comes in the fall we get to enjoy that,

0:45:31.120,0:45:33.767
when we deserve everlasting burnings?

0:45:33.768,0:45:35.753
Have you ever just stood back and asked,

0:45:35.754,0:45:40.067
looked at a baby and said, "Why are babies cute?"

0:45:40.068,0:45:44.929
Or looked up and said, "Why is the blue in the sky beautiful?

0:45:44.930,0:45:51.295
Why are these thunderhead clouds so glorious? Why?

0:45:51.296,0:45:53.895
It's because God is a God of love. (P)

0:45:53.896,0:45:58.776
I mean, brethren, again this is what we did[br]this last time we had the Lord's supper,

0:45:58.777,0:46:04.158
but have you ever just stop and say, "He sent His Son into the world,

0:46:04.159,0:46:11.014
and the first miracle He did was to change water to wine."

0:46:11.015,0:46:12.438
Why?

0:46:12.439,0:46:19.251
I mean, here, the signature expression of My Son when I send Him

0:46:19.252,0:46:24.373
and He's going to do His first public miracle,

0:46:24.374,0:46:27.229
I'm going to show you what kind of God I am:

0:46:27.230,0:46:31.516
He's going to turn water to wine -

0:46:31.517,0:46:38.171
just the joy and the goodness that He means to heap upon mankind.

0:46:38.172,0:46:45.895
I mean, just go to Scripture, behold God saving Israel for the hundredth time,

0:46:45.896,0:46:48.632
after they've done what's right in their own eyes.

0:46:48.633,0:46:50.734
I mean, look at them, start out with them:

0:46:50.735,0:46:55.773
they come out of Egypt, and they're grumbling;

0:46:55.774,0:47:00.128
and God smites them and then gives them manna.

0:47:00.129,0:47:04.191
He smites them, and then He feeds them, and He gives them water.

0:47:04.192,0:47:10.025
He destroys all the adults, but He shows kindness

0:47:10.026,0:47:13.495
and brings them into the land of Canaan.

0:47:13.496,0:47:18.108
The times of the Judges, they're doing what's right in their own eyes,

0:47:18.109,0:47:23.333
but as soon as they called upon the LORD, what did He do?

0:47:23.334,0:47:27.036
He did the same thing that Jonah knew He was going to do with the Ninevites.

0:47:27.037,0:47:29.676
Why? Because God is love. That's how He is. (P)

0:47:29.676,0:47:33.036
Brethren, look, let's just think about your own lives.

0:47:33.037,0:47:35.767
Look at your lives, God came and saved you.

0:47:35.768,0:47:37.886
Look at the things that He has done for you.

0:47:37.887,0:47:39.226
Look at how He has cared for you.

0:47:39.227,0:47:42.066
I look at the life of this church,

0:47:42.067,0:47:45.089
we prayed for young people, and He gave us young people.

0:47:45.090,0:47:47.581
We prayed for African-Americans, He gave us that.

0:47:47.582,0:47:50.160
We prayed for missionaries, He gave us that.

0:47:50.161,0:47:53.673
We've prayed to have a church in Austin, He gave us that.

0:47:53.674,0:47:55.827
We prayed to have a church in Corpus, in Laredo.

0:47:55.828,0:47:59.802
We have prayed these various things.

0:47:59.803,0:48:03.429
I can remember one time we just came together, and for no other reason

0:48:03.430,0:48:11.594
(we were in a drought season, there was no prediction of rain at all),

0:48:11.595,0:48:13.874
and we got together on a Wednesday night and said,

0:48:13.875,0:48:18.286
"Let's just pray to God for rain in this drought time,

0:48:18.287,0:48:20.807
just because God can, and He's kind."

0:48:20.808,0:48:26.031
And what did we pray for, rain for the next day[br]or for that Friday, and God brought it!

0:48:26.032,0:48:28.094
Do you all remember that?

0:48:28.095,0:48:31.793
I mean, why does He do things? Because He's love.

0:48:31.794,0:48:45.813
He is a kind of God that says, "I sit on a throne of grace, and I'm sympathetic.

0:48:45.814,0:48:51.652
I sent My Son in the likeness of your own flesh.

0:48:51.653,0:48:55.640
He's a sympathetic High Priest.

0:48:55.641,0:49:00.769
I sent My own Son to become one of you, and then to give Him up.

0:49:00.770,0:49:05.308
And if you'll come to His throne, you'll receive mercy

0:49:05.309,0:49:08.054
and you'll find grace to help in time of need.

0:49:08.055,0:49:12.414
I am the kind of God that is there to give and supply needs.

0:49:12.415,0:49:16.818
But come to Me, trust Me, fall into My loving hands.

0:49:16.819,0:49:21.893
Cast all your cares, all your anxieties, all your sin, on Me."

0:49:21.894,0:49:24.984
That's the kind of God that He is. (P)

0:49:24.985,0:49:32.361
Brethren, behold the things He does. Behold Gethsemane!

0:49:32.362,0:49:38.085
Behold the blood. Behold the anguish. Behold the cross.

0:49:38.086,0:49:43.315
Behold the Son of God crying out,[br]"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"

0:49:43.316,0:49:51.411
Why? Because of love. Yes, justice demanded it, but love initiated that.

0:49:51.412,0:49:53.691
Behold that.

0:49:53.692,0:49:59.572
Brethren, behold the parable of the prodigal son.

0:49:59.573,0:50:05.583
Do you think Jesus Christ was exaggerating when He gave this parable,

0:50:05.584,0:50:09.681
and He showed a picture of this father who was waiting?

0:50:09.682,0:50:15.302
God waits to be gracious to you: a Father who waits.

0:50:15.303,0:50:21.859
And when he sees the prodigal on the horizon, he runs;

0:50:21.860,0:50:32.160
the father runs with open arms - ring, and robe, and sandals, and feast.

0:50:32.161,0:50:37.911
Now, do you think that when Jesus tells a parable,

0:50:37.912,0:50:43.954
that it exaggerates the reality, or it falls short of the reality?

0:50:43.955,0:50:50.923
Brethren, if you think God is unkind and harsh and cruel,

0:50:50.924,0:50:53.906
you misread that parable, you misread Calvary,

0:50:53.906,0:50:58.217
you misread Gethsemane, you misread what He did in the life of israel,

0:50:58.218,0:51:00.964
you misread, brethren!

0:51:00.965,0:51:04.262
God is love. (P)

0:51:04.263,0:51:14.669
How about fourth observation: What about "God is a consuming fire"?

0:51:14.670,0:51:19.763
What about the God behind that tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma?

0:51:19.764,0:51:24.811
I mean, what about that?

0:51:24.812,0:51:30.735
God is a consuming fire - that kind of sounds at odds with 'God is love'.

0:51:30.736,0:51:43.404
But listen, if these godly brothers who went before us,

0:51:43.405,0:51:47.472
like Payson, Winslow, and Wesley,

0:51:47.473,0:51:56.020
if they were right that 'God is love' means this is an essence that permeates everything,

0:51:56.021,0:51:59.286
then I have a feeling that if we consider 'God is a consuming fire',

0:51:59.287,0:52:03.693
we will find His love is there as well.

0:52:03.694,0:52:08.555
And I would just remind you of this:

0:52:08.556,0:52:14.905
Why does God even tell us He is a consuming fire?

0:52:14.906,0:52:20.352
Is it so that we might cower with fear, and despair,

0:52:20.353,0:52:23.964
and just throw up our arms, "Oh well, we're damned"?

0:52:23.965,0:52:28.828
Is that why He tells us?

0:52:28.829,0:52:31.477
We may find that God even telling us that,

0:52:31.478,0:52:37.509
resonates with more love than we might at first perceive.

0:52:37.510,0:52:46.878
Isn't God telling us simply this, that today is the day of salvation.

0:52:46.879,0:52:54.552
While you have life and breath, cast yourselves upon these arms of love.

0:52:54.553,0:52:59.879
Don't spurn them, don't harden yourself, don't be stiff-necked,

0:52:59.880,0:53:04.687
don't go on, because God is a consuming fire."

0:53:04.688,0:53:09.592
He has given it to us because He indeed waits to be gracious.

0:53:09.593,0:53:12.808
And men resist His gracious advances.

0:53:12.809,0:53:20.384
And if you keep doing it, if you keep refusing this staggeringly immense love

0:53:20.385,0:53:25.599
that has been given to provide a substitute to bear our sins,

0:53:25.600,0:53:30.233
then the consuming fire of God's justice will indeed sweep us away.

0:53:30.234,0:53:31.729
But it's a warning of love. (P)

0:53:31.730,0:53:38.543
And I ask you, even when God must become a consuming fire to His adversaries,

0:53:38.544,0:53:41.557
with what heart does He do so?

0:53:41.558,0:53:44.641
I mean, think about what Scripture says.

0:53:44.642,0:53:48.594
Ezekiel 33:11, you know it well, "As I live, declares the Lord God,

0:53:48.594,0:53:51.462
I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,

0:53:51.463,0:53:55.361
but that the wicked turn from his way and live.

0:53:55.361,0:53:58.012
Turn back, turn back from your evil ways;

0:53:58.013,0:54:00.107
for why will you die, O house of Israel?"

0:54:00.108,0:54:06.797
I'll tell you, the feeling you get in Scripture is this: it is easy for God to love,

0:54:06.798,0:54:12.633
and God does not take pleasure when His justice must take you out.

0:54:12.634,0:54:14.930
That's the feeling you get from Scripture.

0:54:14.931,0:54:18.345
God will be just, because He is just.

0:54:18.346,0:54:24.901
He will do right - the Judge of all this earth will do right.

0:54:24.902,0:54:31.613
But He is a Judge who reveals Himself as the God who is love,

0:54:31.614,0:54:38.537
even when He becomes a consuming fire. (P)

0:54:39.924,0:54:48.525
Brethren, He sent His Son to this world.

0:54:48.526,0:54:52.618
And when they rejected Him, and when they mocked Him,

0:54:52.619,0:55:01.314
and when they hated Him, here's the heart of God, Luke 19:41,

0:55:01.315,0:55:06.004
"Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem."

0:55:06.005,0:55:10.079
In another place He says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem,

0:55:10.080,0:55:14.169
how often I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks."

0:55:14.170,0:55:17.724
And what does He say? Not "I would not," but, "You would not.

0:55:17.725,0:55:19.823
You would not!

0:55:19.824,0:55:25.610
I extend My hands to a disobedient people all the day long;

0:55:25.611,0:55:28.092
and you would not, you would not."

0:55:28.093,0:55:31.308
When God comes as a consuming fire and His wrath falls,

0:55:31.309,0:55:38.117
it falls on those who, with the light of conscience and the light of creation

0:55:38.131,0:55:41.020
and the light of the gospel, have resisted the light.

0:55:41.021,0:55:42.100
They've turned.

0:55:42.101,0:55:46.135
They've exchanged the glory of God for every other thing under the sun.

0:55:46.136,0:55:49.588
They've hated God, they despised him, they turned their back.

0:55:49.589,0:55:53.269
See the heart of God.

0:55:54.820,0:56:01.601
Ladies and gentlemen, no matter how you explain, how you teach,

0:56:01.602,0:56:07.973
or how you otherwise interpret God's sovereignty, God's predestination, God's election;

0:56:07.974,0:56:13.150
if you find that you cannot say the things I've been saying,

0:56:13.151,0:56:15.656
you've gotten the heart of God all wrong.

0:56:15.657,0:56:18.617
God is love. (P)

0:56:22.107,0:56:28.170
Lamentations 3:33, "He does not afflict from His heart to grieve the children of men."

0:56:28.171,0:56:30.402
He will afflict the sons of men,

0:56:30.403,0:56:33.494
but it seems like that is the twisting of His arm.

0:56:33.495,0:56:37.006
I mean, one of the texts that I came across this week,

0:56:37.007,0:56:44.099
that I just felt I needed to stick in here[br]because I think it's just so telltale of 'God is love'.

0:56:44.100,0:56:45.859
I mean, here you have Hosea.

0:56:45.860,0:56:54.796
Hosea apparently was a prophet from the northern kingdom, like Jonah was.

0:56:54.797,0:57:00.165
Those are the only two we know that were from the northern kingdom.

0:57:00.166,0:57:06.370
Listen to what he says in Hosea 7:1, "When I would heal Israel," --

0:57:06.371,0:57:10.561
did you get that right there? "When I would heal Israel."

0:57:10.561,0:57:13.220
Will God heal you if you're in your sins?

0:57:13.221,0:57:16.295
He said so, if you'll come to Him.

0:57:16.296,0:57:21.837
But He says this, "When I would heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,

0:57:21.838,0:57:24.656
and the evil deeds of Samaria; for they deal falsely;

0:57:24.657,0:57:27.451
the thief breaks in, and the bandits raid outside.

0:57:27.452,0:57:30.542
But they do not consider that I remember all their evil.

0:57:30.542,0:57:35.269
Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face."

0:57:35.270,0:57:37.865
But when you read over a few chapters, listen to this,

0:57:37.866,0:57:43.762
Hosea 11:8, "How can I give you up, O Ephraim?"

0:57:43.763,0:57:48.762
I mean, in light of all their sin, He says, "How can I hand you over, O Israel?

0:57:48.763,0:57:53.608
How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim?

0:57:53.609,0:58:00.757
My heart recoils within Me; My compassion grows warm and tender."

0:58:00.757,0:58:05.847
Can you feel the warmth of God in that? God is love. (P)

0:58:05.848,0:58:09.669
We don't want to make light of God's judgments and His eternal punishment.

0:58:09.670,0:58:13.861
It's no small thing to fall under the vengeance of the God who is love.

0:58:13.862,0:58:19.059
I mean, listen to Octavius Winslow on this point, a point well to be taken:

0:58:19.060,0:58:24.831
"Mercy is fearful when it turns to wrath.

0:58:24.832,0:58:30.106
Love is consuming when it turns to anger.

0:58:30.107,0:58:34.696
There is no wrath like the wrath of the Lamb."

0:58:34.703,0:58:37.703
And have you ever thought about that imagery?

0:58:37.704,0:58:44.661
The Lamb, the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world;

0:58:44.662,0:58:50.730
the Lamb who came to take away the sins of the world.

0:58:50.731,0:58:57.591
But when that Lamb is roused to anger, oh what wrath from the Lamb.

0:58:57.592,0:59:01.987
I mean, even now the voice of God is this voice:

0:59:01.987,0:59:08.424
"Why will you die? Why will you have Me come upon you as a consuming fire?"

0:59:08.425,0:59:11.950
Ladies and gentlemen, if there are those here that know not Christ,

0:59:11.951,0:59:13.951
is your sin so precious...?

0:59:13.952,0:59:16.939
I'll tell you this, God is love;

0:59:16.940,0:59:22.838
and if there's anything that will aggravate Him to a fury...

0:59:22.839,0:59:27.979
I mean, can you imagine an earthly king if he has been insulted,

0:59:27.980,0:59:31.861
he has been sinned against, he has been despised, he has been hated;

0:59:31.861,0:59:41.876
and for him to come with terms of love, terms that are so kind -

0:59:41.877,0:59:47.682
to have that enemy just hate it, fight against it.

0:59:47.682,0:59:50.456
I'll tell you, when his wrath comes, it will come with a severity

0:59:50.457,0:59:55.753
that it would have never otherwise come with. (P)

0:59:57.086,1:00:04.938
Is your sin so precious that you're going to hold on to it and abandon this?

1:00:04.939,1:00:12.579
Is it so precious to you that you would lay down[br]in the consuming eternal fires of God?

1:00:12.585,1:00:17.736
I mean, can you imagine being in hell? Can you imagine?

1:00:17.737,1:00:25.315
Can you imagine anybody in this room ending up in these eternal burnings,

1:00:25.316,1:00:34.176
and the God who is love offered you an eternal weight of glory?

1:00:34.177,1:00:38.621
He offered you membership in His family,

1:00:38.622,1:00:44.004
He offered you marriage to His Son,

1:00:44.005,1:00:47.005
He offered you full forgiveness and pardon.

1:00:47.006,1:00:50.931
He offered to make you white as the new fallen snow.

1:00:50.932,1:00:56.427
He offered to forgive all your crimes against Him.

1:00:56.428,1:00:58.617
He offered all of that.

1:00:58.618,1:01:01.512
He offered over and over. He offered to you.

1:01:01.513,1:01:04.230
He came to you with His outstretched hands.

1:01:04.231,1:01:10.509
He bid you, "Fall upon My grace, come to Me, know My love, swim in My love.

1:01:10.510,1:01:14.820
Have it, I'll bestow it on you. Just come to Me. Surrender.

1:01:14.821,1:01:16.329
Fall into these hands."

1:01:16.330,1:01:22.192
Can you imagine waking up one day in hell,[br]and realizing all that was offered to me,

1:01:22.193,1:01:25.470
and I resisted it, and I fought against it, and I hated it."

1:01:25.471,1:01:30.305
Like these women that were on that boat, these soldiers' wives,

1:01:30.306,1:01:36.118
to just say: "I'm going to have my sin.[br]I think I like my sin better than that."

1:01:36.119,1:01:42.198
Are you going throw away your soul for that?

1:01:42.199,1:01:45.822
It's an indescribable thing to be lost forever,

1:01:45.823,1:01:52.662
especially when God held forth His love to you every day of your earthly life. (P)

1:01:52.663,1:01:56.083
You even think about God, the God of that tornado.

1:01:56.084,1:02:04.518
Thirty-six square miles, they said, of Moore were wiped out.

1:02:04.519,1:02:09.067
You know, people in this world like to say, "Where was God at in that?"

1:02:09.068,1:02:13.423
But even in that, even in that, what is it we find from Scripture?

1:02:13.424,1:02:16.146
Well, I mean, one thing to think about is,

1:02:16.147,1:02:23.338
the United States of America is somewhere around 4 million square miles.

1:02:23.339,1:02:34.016
What about all the other 4 million square miles of the US[br]where sinners lived, and there weren't tornadoes?

1:02:34.017,1:02:37.858
And even in the calamity itself,

1:02:37.859,1:02:42.375
Daniel 9:13, "All this calamity has come upon us,

1:02:42.376,1:02:45.135
yet we've not entreated the favor of the Lord our God,

1:02:45.136,1:02:48.600
turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by Your truth."

1:02:48.601,1:02:51.972
You see, these things are given to us to gain insight -

1:02:51.973,1:02:59.343
the day is coming, time is running out, today is the day of salvation. (P)

1:02:59.344,1:03:04.228
Isaiah 9:13, "The people did not turn to Him who struck them,

1:03:04.229,1:03:06.095
nor inquire of the LORD of hosts."

1:03:06.096,1:03:11.507
That's what He does that for.

1:03:13.303,1:03:18.440
I mean, even in the judgments of God, He's beckoning to men: Repent.

1:03:18.441,1:03:21.261
When He sends His plagues, there in Revelation,

1:03:21.261,1:03:25.762
it says they did not repent and give Him glory.

1:03:25.763,1:03:27.669
What did they do? They blasphemed His name.

1:03:27.670,1:03:31.892
How many people blaspheme God because of that?

1:03:31.893,1:03:34.893
They blaspheme Him in one of two ways, right?

1:03:34.894,1:03:38.990
They either say, "God wasn't in that. God's impotent.

1:03:38.991,1:03:42.566
God doesn't control storms, He would never do that."

1:03:42.567,1:03:45.140
Or they just curse.

1:03:45.141,1:03:46.975
You can hear them.

1:03:46.976,1:03:49.784
They just use His name in vain, they just blaspheme it,

1:03:49.785,1:03:51.585
when they see what happens.

1:03:51.586,1:03:54.056
They don't turn to God.

1:03:54.057,1:03:59.258
They dismiss Him altogether, or they find fault with Him.

1:03:59.259,1:04:02.112
But God is doing this.

1:04:02.113,1:04:10.368
I mean, have you ever got the weight of Scripture,

1:04:10.369,1:04:17.703
where it says things like this, Psalm 136:1, "Give thanks to the LORD,

1:04:17.704,1:04:21.181
for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever."

1:04:21.182,1:04:25.005
There's His love; God is love; His love endures forever. (P)

1:04:25.006,1:04:28.555
"Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever

1:04:28.556,1:04:31.281
(or as the old translations say, His lovingkindness);

1:04:31.282,1:04:35.204
give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever;

1:04:35.205,1:04:39.372
to Him who alone does great wonders,[br]for His steadfast love endures forever."

1:04:39.373,1:04:44.556
But then he says this: "To Him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,

1:04:44.557,1:04:48.901
for His steadfast love endures forever;

1:04:48.902,1:04:52.528
to Him who overthrew Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red Sea,

1:04:52.529,1:04:54.993
for His steadfast love endures forever;

1:04:54.994,1:04:59.258
to Him who struck down great kings,[br]for His steadfast love endures forever;

1:04:59.259,1:05:02.552
and killed mighty kings, for His steadfast love endures forever;

1:05:02.553,1:05:05.964
Sihon, king of the Amorites, for His steadfast love endures forever;

1:05:05.965,1:05:10.553
and Og, king of Bashan, for His steadfast love endures forever;

1:05:10.554,1:05:16.962
give thanks to the God of heaven,[br]for His steadfast love endures forever." (P)

1:05:16.963,1:05:20.229
Let me just tell you this, folks:

1:05:20.230,1:05:25.411
God's judgments on some are His love to others.

1:05:25.412,1:05:33.172
Listen, you need to understand this,

1:05:33.173,1:05:37.601
Psalm 86:5 says this, "For You, O Lord, are good and forgiving,

1:05:37.602,1:05:41.073
abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You."

1:05:41.074,1:05:48.494
His love is for those who call upon Him.

1:05:48.495,1:05:53.516
And for those that don't call upon Him, for those who fight,

1:05:53.517,1:05:57.717
all things work together for good to those who do love Him,

1:05:57.718,1:06:04.858
for those who are called by Him, even the destruction of the ungodly.

1:06:04.859,1:06:10.596
And one of the most amazing things God can do [br]for the sake of His people is put Himself on display.

1:06:10.597,1:06:14.811
Even when He puts Himself on display in tornadoes, it's for our good,

1:06:14.812,1:06:18.602
and it's with loving purposes towards us. His love is in that.

1:06:18.603,1:06:20.985
Even when Pharaoh was struck down,

1:06:20.986,1:06:24.073
even when Og and Sihon were put to death,

1:06:24.074,1:06:29.999
God's lovingkindness, God's enduring love is there.

1:06:30.000,1:06:33.489
It's abiding. It's good. It's strong.

1:06:33.490,1:06:39.797
Seriously, if you will look at everything God does,[br]you will find loving purposes there,

1:06:39.798,1:06:44.665
even when some of those purposes seem hard. (P)

1:06:44.666,1:06:50.024
I'll finish very quickly with this, the fifth observation:

1:06:50.025,1:06:55.953
I know that there are people in this church that struggle with fear.

1:06:55.954,1:07:04.399
John himself says this, "Love casts out fear."

1:07:04.400,1:07:09.735
Fear goes hand-in-hand with slavery, right?

1:07:09.736,1:07:16.211
This is not a spirit of slavery that we've been given; it's a spirit of adoption.

1:07:16.212,1:07:20.067
And slavery and fear go hand-to-hand in Scripture. Why?

1:07:20.068,1:07:24.343
Because fear goes hand-in-hand with, John says, punishment.

1:07:24.344,1:07:27.088
Fear has to do with punishment.

1:07:27.089,1:07:32.987
Fear has to do with this thought, that if I don't do right,

1:07:32.988,1:07:35.671
I'm going to be punished.

1:07:35.672,1:07:37.408
That's how the slave works.

1:07:37.409,1:07:41.756
If the slave doesn't perform just right, he gets whipped.

1:07:41.757,1:07:44.434
If the slave doesn't do just what the homeowner wants,

1:07:44.435,1:07:48.280
he ends up with welts on his back, like we heard.

1:07:48.281,1:07:50.748
That's the mindset of a slave.

1:07:50.755,1:07:55.690
And can I tell you this, some of you are gripped by this fear.

1:07:55.691,1:08:04.495
And fear is always, bank on it, you can trace it back to slavery.

1:08:04.496,1:08:06.748
You are falling into slavery.

1:08:06.749,1:08:14.755
What John wants us to feel is this, we have[br]been saved by a God who is altogether love.

1:08:14.756,1:08:16.982
And we don't have to fear Him.

1:08:16.983,1:08:19.642
We don't have to fear Him. (P)

1:08:19.643,1:08:26.040
Brethren, we need to have this sink in, that God is love,

1:08:26.041,1:08:30.261
and blow away those dark mists that often shroud our thoughts

1:08:30.261,1:08:33.586
and our minds with this terror of slavery.

1:08:33.587,1:08:35.438
It does, as fear comes on us.

1:08:35.439,1:08:38.068
And when does it come? Usually when we're looking at ourselves:

1:08:38.069,1:08:40.357
"Well, how good have I been? how well have I performed?"

1:08:40.358,1:08:42.501
You see, that's all slavery talk.

1:08:42.502,1:08:46.863
And that lends itself to fear, because as soon as you start measuring yourself up that way

1:08:46.863,1:08:48.872
with regards to your relationship to God,

1:08:48.872,1:08:51.787
you look in the mirror and you see some defect.

1:08:51.787,1:08:55.803
And the slavery mentality is: "I got to suffer for that."

1:08:55.804,1:08:57.417
And so you walk through life,

1:08:57.417,1:09:05.470
and it's like you harbor this underlying, or maybe not so underlying, resentment for God.

1:09:05.470,1:09:09.736
You find His ways hard. You end up not liking Him.

1:09:09.737,1:09:12.584
You don't like that God, because you see Him as a slave master;

1:09:12.585,1:09:15.270
you see Him as hard and harsh; you see Him as unkind.

1:09:15.270,1:09:17.890
And the devil will be right there to breathe that in your ears.

1:09:17.890,1:09:22.211
Brethren, we have the kind of God that Dan Smith talked about,

1:09:22.212,1:09:25.814
that when you do something wrong, [br]like enter the army when you shouldn't,

1:09:25.816,1:09:27.246
God gets you out of it.

1:09:27.247,1:09:29.758
When you do something and resist His leadings,

1:09:29.759,1:09:33.997
and go to work with your partner when you shouldn't have, God gets you out of it. (P)

1:09:33.999,1:09:39.322
We have the kind of Father that comes along,[br]and He seeks to wean us from this world.

1:09:39.323,1:09:42.959
And as He does so, He prunes off these idols.

1:09:42.960,1:09:44.801
And it hurts, it's painful.

1:09:44.803,1:09:54.037
But don't you realize, He is so deep in His loving purposes[br]He means to wean us from this world,

1:09:54.038,1:09:58.815
and to grow us more fond, more favourable towards Paradise.

1:09:58.816,1:10:03.383
He lessens our grip, He weakens our grip on the things here,

1:10:03.384,1:10:06.405
so that we might be more heavenly minded,

1:10:06.406,1:10:08.405
and set our minds on things above.

1:10:08.406,1:10:09.996
His purposes are good.

1:10:09.997,1:10:14.074
His providences, when they seem hard, what are they doing? What do they do?

1:10:14.075,1:10:16.375
They test your faith, they make it stronger;

1:10:16.376,1:10:19.136
they make you more like Christ; they break your pride;

1:10:19.137,1:10:21.124
they make you more prepared for heaven.

1:10:21.125,1:10:24.567
Does that sound like a mean and cruel Father?

1:10:24.568,1:10:28.051
I mean, does not the writer of Hebrews say there in Hebrews 12,

1:10:28.052,1:10:31.078
that we have a Father who comes along and disciplines us. Why?

1:10:31.079,1:10:33.799
To be mean, cruel, harsh?

1:10:33.800,1:10:38.829
No, to instill righteousness in us. (P)

1:10:38.830,1:10:41.916
Fear. We need to put away the fear.

1:10:41.917,1:10:45.620
We have a Father who really cares. God is love.

1:10:45.621,1:10:50.717
He's saying to His people, I mean if anything,[br]1st John - yes, lost people can glean from it -

1:10:50.718,1:10:57.841
but 1st John is written for God's people, and it's speaking to you.

1:10:57.842,1:11:00.980
It's saying, don't fear.

1:11:00.981,1:11:05.514
You believe in Jesus Christ? Don't fear.

1:11:05.515,1:11:09.801
Fear has to do with punishment. It has to do with slavery.

1:11:09.802,1:11:12.654
God is love. That's who your Father is.

1:11:12.655,1:11:27.255
Like Psalm 48:14 says, "This is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever."

1:11:27.255,1:11:33.857
I mean, you have to think, Christian: God is love - this is my God;

1:11:33.858,1:11:36.139
this is my God forever and ever.

1:11:36.140,1:11:40.357
The God who reveals Himself this way, He's my God.

1:11:40.358,1:11:43.153
You feel like, "Oh, I messed up."

1:11:43.154,1:11:45.699
Yeah, but you have a Father who is love.

1:11:45.700,1:11:47.822
What does that mean for you?

1:11:47.823,1:11:53.207
That means, just like with Dan Smith, He'll work it out.

1:11:53.208,1:11:54.584
He'll make it right.

1:11:54.585,1:11:56.489
You say, "I've sinned." Go confess it to Him,

1:11:56.490,1:11:58.957
He's faithful and just to forgive it.

1:11:58.958,1:12:02.580
God very much wants you to get the matter right.

1:12:02.581,1:12:05.240
He very much does.

1:12:05.241,1:12:07.176
You say, "Man, I blew it this week."

1:12:07.177,1:12:11.384
What are you gonna do, look in the mirror and be a slave?

1:12:11.385,1:12:15.196
and be riddled with the slave's fear: "Oh, I didn't measure up"?

1:12:15.197,1:12:18.561
What? Like any of us have? Any of us had a perfect week?

1:12:18.562,1:12:21.765
Any of us had a perfect life?

1:12:21.766,1:12:24.311
That's not what He wants you thinking. (P)

1:12:24.312,1:12:31.003
And what you're doing is, as He's telling you, He's wanting to convince you,

1:12:31.004,1:12:36.507
He's saying, "I'm revealing this to My people now:

1:12:36.508,1:12:43.051
I am love; not just loving, I am love. I am your God.

1:12:43.052,1:12:45.612
What kind of Father do you think this makes Me?

1:12:45.613,1:12:49.292
It makes Me like the father there in the parable of the prodigal son,

1:12:49.293,1:12:52.635
the kind who will run to you after everything you've done,

1:12:52.636,1:12:58.020
and heap on you a feast - kill the fattened lamb.

1:12:58.021,1:13:00.020
"But you don't know what I did."

1:13:00.021,1:13:08.536
Well, yeah, I know what the prodigal did, [br]he didn't do good things. (P)

1:13:08.537,1:13:12.120
Fear comes from trying to be a slave again.

1:13:12.121,1:13:15.827
Dear Christian, don't be that.

1:13:15.828,1:13:23.201
Your performance - you will fear; you will fear.

1:13:23.202,1:13:26.398
Stare at your performance, you'll fear.

1:13:26.399,1:13:33.930
But that's not what God wants you to do.[br]He wants you to stare on "I am love."

1:13:33.931,1:13:36.316
And if you've been saved any amount of time,

1:13:36.317,1:13:41.900
all you have to do is look at your life, and you know He is faithful.

1:13:41.901,1:13:45.810
He is faithful in His love, and He will not let you go.

1:13:45.811,1:13:47.680
It's like Lloyd-Jones said;

1:13:47.681,1:13:50.393
you know what, we can talk theoretically about love,

1:13:50.394,1:13:52.898
we can talk theoretically about God is love,

1:13:52.899,1:13:58.007
but there's nothing that matters aside from experiencing it.

1:13:58.008,1:14:02.870
You can try to come up with your dictionary definitions of love,

1:14:02.871,1:14:06.721
but until you truly experience it[br](that's what you want, you want to experience it).

1:14:06.722,1:14:09.983
Look, God is love. That's how He reveals Himself.

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He's Almighty: that means He's got the power to demonstrate that love.

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If you don't know anything about that love,

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He says, "I wait to be gracious; My arms are extended to you."

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I tell you this, you will find Him a thousand times[br]more inclined to save you than you think.

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Sinners tend to have this hesitation,

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that God somehow stands back and is aloof from them.

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Paul says, "No, He's close. He's close to every one of you,

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and He saves all who call upon Him."

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He will shower you in this love.

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Well, I know this just scratches the surface,

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and I know it's gone long, so we'll end with that.

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May God take something from that and make this real.

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Amen.