God is Love - Tim Conway
-
0:01 - 0:09I have simply wanted to take a little season here,
-
0:09 - 0:22to look at some of the most pronounced
attributes of God, or descriptions of God, -
0:22 - 0:26that it feels like we get in God's Word.
-
0:26 - 0:30And I dealt with God is Creator,
-
0:30 - 0:43just simply because of the weight of the volume
of text that we get throughout our Bibles, -
0:43 - 0:48where God is declaring Himself to be the
Creator of the heavens and the earth. -
0:48 - 0:52That is a very prominent reality in Scripture.
-
0:52 - 0:54So we looked at that, God is Creator.
-
0:54 - 0:59We looked at God being holy. God is holy, holy, holy.
-
0:59 - 1:03That is the only attribute of God that is raised to the third power.
-
1:03 - 1:07So we looked at that, that's very pronounced in Scripture.
-
1:07 - 1:19Also, we have the various portions of Scripture
where God is not identified with an adjective – -
1:19 - 1:21like He's merciful, or He's faithful –
-
1:21 - 1:27but rather God is identified with a noun.
-
1:27 - 1:29He is equated to something,
-
1:29 - 1:38or something is described as what God is, what His essence is.
-
1:38 - 1:47And we looked at God is Spirit, God is light.
-
1:47 - 1:52And today, I want to look at God is love. (P)
-
1:52 - 2:001st John. John hits us with these three words twice;
-
2:00 - 2:21once in 1st John 4:8, "Anyone who does not love
does not know God, because God is love." -
2:21 - 2:24And then again down in verse 16,
-
2:24 - 2:32"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.
-
2:32 - 2:44God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."
-
2:44 - 2:51So that's where I want to go today: God is Love. (P)
-
2:51 - 2:56Let's seek the Lord one more time.
-
3:04 - 3:14Father, I'm most certain that no man has ever been sufficient
-
3:14 - 3:18to even scratch the surface of this.
-
3:18 - 3:24And if no other man has, I'm certainly not.
-
3:27 - 3:36Father, the apostle Paul prayed long ago that the Ephesians,
-
3:36 - 3:42along with all the other saints, would have the power, the strength,
-
3:42 - 3:48to comprehend with all the saints, something about the love of Christ.
-
3:48 - 3:54When we look at this we recognize it takes
divine power to expand our minds; -
3:54 - 3:58it takes the power of the Spirit of God in our inner beings
-
3:58 - 4:03to even be able to unleash the realities of the
kinds of things that we're going to look at. -
4:03 - 4:11And Lord, this will all be dry, and dead,
and no good, unless you attend to it. -
4:11 - 4:16Lord, we can speak, and words can just be words -
-
4:16 - 4:20they don't resonate, they don't strike deeply, they don't affect us.
-
4:20 - 4:22So often, that's the case.
-
4:22 - 4:25But Lord, we know what it is, some of us know;
-
4:25 - 4:35Lord we've tasted, we know what it is when suddenly
the truth of God's Word speaks to us, You speak to us. -
4:35 - 4:42And it's full, it's rich, it's electric.
-
4:42 - 4:45Father, we pray for that kind of help.
-
4:45 - 4:53If Paul found himself feeling weak
and bending his knee before the Father, -
4:53 - 5:02then Lord we would, if not in reality, bend them
and bend our knees in heart right now. -
5:02 - 5:04Lord, calling on You for the help that only You can give,
-
5:04 - 5:06the strength that only You can give,
-
5:06 - 5:09to comprehend the love of Christ and what it is,
-
5:09 - 5:12and the fullness and the vastness and the dimensions of it,
-
5:12 - 5:14the height and the depth.
-
5:14 - 5:20Lord, to know what it is; for us to perceive,
even in a little bit, that God is love. -
5:20 - 5:23Father, I pray that You would help us to perceive it,
-
5:23 - 5:27so that as we walk away from this place today, as we go about our lives,
-
5:27 - 5:31something about this would resonate with us in our minds,
-
5:31 - 5:35our thoughts, our ideas, our hearts, our worldview of things.
-
5:35 - 5:43Lord, move upon us please, in Christ's name I pray. Amen. (P)
-
5:43 - 5:48So, God is Love.
-
5:48 - 5:55That is the task at hand, to try to just tap this in some way.
-
5:55 - 5:58What do I say? I mean, where do I go with this?
-
5:58 - 6:07The truth is, I do feel helpless,
-
6:07 - 6:15so I'm going to simply attempt to make some observations about this,
-
6:15 - 6:18and to bring you along with me in these observations,
-
6:18 - 6:22concerning the fact that God is love.
-
6:22 - 6:26And I trust that the Lord might in some way, to some degree,
-
6:26 - 6:30help make these things real to us.
-
6:30 - 6:35So what do I have? I think I have five observations. (P)
-
6:35 - 6:41The first one is this.
-
6:43 - 6:49It's very simple, but I want you to think about it.
-
6:49 - 6:56John says God is love.
-
6:56 - 7:02He doesn't say merely, or only, that God is loving.
-
7:02 - 7:06And there's a difference, and I think we feel the difference to that.
-
7:06 - 7:11We feel a weight, we feel a depth, when you speak that way.
-
7:11 - 7:18Scripture says God is merciful, but it never says God is mercy.
-
7:18 - 7:22And Scripture says God is holy - even holy, holy, holy -
-
7:22 - 7:26but it never says God is holiness.
-
7:26 - 7:32That doesn't mean, necessarily, that statements couldn't be made like that,
-
7:32 - 7:36but that God never revealed Himself like that.
-
7:36 - 7:37That's all that means.
-
7:37 - 7:43And God has specifically chosen, not to just come and say,
-
7:43 - 7:47"Behold, I am this God who is loving."
-
7:47 - 7:52He says, "I am love."
-
7:52 - 7:57In other words, I define that.
-
7:57 - 8:00I define the essence of what love is.
-
8:00 - 8:04John is taking "love", you know what he's doing?
-
8:04 - 8:12He is making it the defining moral quality
of God's very being and nature. -
8:12 - 8:18"God is" – that has to do with essence,
who He is, what He is, how He is. -
8:18 - 8:22He's saying, "God is love."
-
8:22 - 8:30This is God's representative virtue: God is, Himself, love.
-
8:30 - 8:38And listen, this isn't just simply saying, this is how God responds to man;
-
8:38 - 8:42that because God is love, God loves man.
-
8:42 - 8:45Now that may be true. He is this fountain of love, and He overflows.
-
8:45 - 8:47But you know what you find?
-
8:47 - 8:51What you find is, Jesus is giving us glimpses, doesn't He?
-
8:51 - 8:59He's talking about, to His disciples there in the
Upper Room discourse in John's gospel -
8:59 - 9:02as Jesus is preparing to go away,
-
9:02 - 9:08He's talking about the love that the Father has for Him,
-
9:08 - 9:13and He's desiring that that same trinitarian love would sweep us in.
-
9:13 - 9:17The fact is, God is love; and God is love if man never existed.
-
9:17 - 9:19God is love. (P)
-
9:19 - 9:22I mean, when you consider angels, God is love.
-
9:22 - 9:25But when you consider the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
-
9:25 - 9:28what you find, what you look:
-
9:28 - 9:31Scripture, you go back before man ever existed,
-
9:31 - 9:36and you see that God Himself is a fountain of love.
-
9:36 - 9:42And the inner-trinitarian relationship
is one that just overflows with love: -
9:42 - 9:47the Father loving the Son, and the Son the Father; and both, the Spirit.
-
9:47 - 9:51That is the nature of God – it is to love.
-
9:51 - 9:57And wherever you find Him there is love, whether man is there or not.
-
9:57 - 10:02He is hitting at the very essence of who and what God is:
-
10:02 - 10:06God is love. Love is what God is.
-
10:06 - 10:11God is not God if He is not love.
-
10:11 - 10:17I mean, if you remove love from God,
you might as well try to remove God from God, -
10:17 - 10:18because God is love.
-
10:18 - 10:22That's what He is, you cannot separate the two.
-
10:22 - 10:26To strip God of love is to strip God of God. (P)
-
10:26 - 10:31I mean, you think about this: you imagine us.
-
10:31 - 10:34I mean, typically among men and women,
-
10:34 - 10:40it is women who are considered the fairer sex of humankind.
-
10:40 - 10:46You imagine a woman, and she's beautiful.
-
10:46 - 10:51She's beautiful in physical appearance, she's beautiful in humility,
-
10:51 - 10:58she's beautiful in godliness, she's beautiful in disposition,
-
10:58 - 11:00she's beautiful in personality.
-
11:00 - 11:05Now look, if somebody recognizes
what everybody tends to recognize -
11:05 - 11:09with these eyes and with our ears, with our perception;
-
11:09 - 11:14if somebody says, "She is beautiful,"
-
11:14 - 11:15well, we have an idea about that.
-
11:15 - 11:22But if someone else says, "She isn't just beautiful, she is beauty itself."
-
11:22 - 11:24Now see, suddenly we feel that.
-
11:24 - 11:29That's like saying that she defines what beauty is.
-
11:29 - 11:34Beauty gets its definition from her:
she's the sum and fullness of the term. -
11:34 - 11:36And that's exactly what John wants us to feel.
-
11:36 - 11:41Love gets its very definition from all that God is.
-
11:41 - 11:42You have to understand this:
-
11:42 - 11:48anything in this world that is true love, resonates,
-
11:48 - 11:51it's reflected from, God is responsible for.
-
11:51 - 11:53It comes from Him.
-
11:53 - 11:57He is the defining One of love.
-
11:57 - 11:59He's the defining essence of love.
-
11:59 - 12:02He's the defining character of love.
-
12:02 - 12:04He is the defining attribute of love.
-
12:04 - 12:10All that love is, He defines. It's what He is. (P)
-
12:10 - 12:18Yes, this is radical terminology, for God's essence to be defined to us.
-
12:18 - 12:21He is the perfection of love. He's the fullness of it.
-
12:21 - 12:27Anything, I mean, you want to know the standard? There He is.
-
12:27 - 12:32Many have understood God is love.
-
12:32 - 12:37They picture it like this: it is His very essence.
-
12:37 - 12:42Every other thing that's true about God,
swims in the ocean of this love. -
12:42 - 12:43Every other thing.
-
12:43 - 12:48If you take His holiness, you're going to find love there.
-
12:48 - 12:52If you take His omnipotence, you're going to find love there.
-
12:52 - 12:54Now listen to this, two men
-
12:54 - 12:59(these are two of my favorites, and of course they would write on this):
-
12:59 - 13:02Edward Payson and Octavius Winslow.
-
13:02 - 13:08Edward Payson, who I have grown to
appreciate immensely in the last year, -
13:08 - 13:11listen to what he says:
-
13:11 - 13:16"As the light which proceeds from the sun
-
13:16 - 13:19may easily be separated into many different colors," –
-
13:19 - 13:23and if you have a prism you can do that, that's what the rainbow is.
-
13:23 - 13:29Light that comes from the sun to us
actually comes in many different colors, -
13:29 - 13:31and it can be separated.
-
13:31 - 13:35And what Payson is saying is: "Just as that light from the sun
-
13:35 - 13:39may be easily separated into many different colors,
-
13:39 - 13:42so the holy love of God..."
-
13:42 - 13:47He sees it to be like that light, that if you bring out the proper prism,
-
13:47 - 13:52it may diffuse itself into a multiplicity of colors.
-
13:52 - 13:55In other words, God's faithfulness, God's compassion,
-
13:55 - 13:57God's mercy, God's justice,
-
13:57 - 14:03all these different hues of this light of God.
-
14:03 - 14:07He says "which is the light and glory of His nature,
-
14:07 - 14:12may be separated into a variety of moral attributes and perfections.
-
14:12 - 14:16But though separated, they're still love.
-
14:16 - 14:19His whole nature and essence is love.
-
14:19 - 14:22His will, His works, His words, are love.
-
14:22 - 14:26He is nothing, and can do nothing, but love." (P)
-
14:26 - 14:32Octavius Winslow says this: "Love is so completely the essence of God
-
14:32 - 14:37that it shines out in every perfection of His nature,
-
14:37 - 14:41and is exhibited in every act of His administration.
-
14:41 - 14:43He is nothing, and can do nothing, foreign to Himself.
-
14:43 - 14:49Consequently, He is nothing, and can do nothing,
in which His love is not an essential quality. -
14:49 - 14:56All the streams of a fountain must partake essentially
of the source from where they rise. -
14:56 - 15:00All the rays of light, whatever their prismatic hues,
-
15:00 - 15:04must partake essentially of the sun from where they flow.
-
15:04 - 15:09And were not God's perfections thus modified and softened by love,
-
15:09 - 15:14were they not led on by this commanding perfection of His nature,
-
15:14 - 15:18each one and all combined would be terribly against us.
-
15:18 - 15:21His wisdom would baffle us. His power would crush us.
-
15:21 - 15:26His holiness would terrify us. His justice would condemn us." (P)
-
15:26 - 15:35John Wesley says this: " 'God is love' intimates
that this is His darling, His reigning attribute -
15:35 - 15:42– the attribute that sheds an amiable glory
on all His other perfections." -
15:42 - 15:49I mean, what those men believe, is that love
resonates from God in everything He does. -
15:49 - 15:52It must, because God is love.
-
15:52 - 15:55Listen, when you think about the other places
-
15:55 - 16:02where a noun is set forth to describe the essence of God –
-
16:02 - 16:06God is spirit – is there anything God does where He isn't spirit?
-
16:06 - 16:11Is there anything He is, that doesn't come back to the fact that He is spirit?
-
16:11 - 16:14God is light – everything He does is light;
-
16:14 - 16:19everything about Him reveals light, it sheds light, it gives light.
-
16:19 - 16:23He is the Father of lights.
-
16:23 - 16:29And in the same way, John says, "God is love."
-
16:29 - 16:32Not just that He's loving, He is love.
-
16:32 - 16:39That's my first observation: He is love.
-
16:39 - 16:45That is the God we have to deal with – a God who is love.
-
16:45 - 16:50And it isn't just that He is, He has revealed that to us.
-
16:50 - 17:00He said, "Mankind, I reveal Myself to you this way: God is love.
-
17:00 - 17:04Whatever else you may think about Me, I am love."
-
17:04 - 17:07That is the kind of God we want, folks.
-
17:07 - 17:09There are many things about God that are true,
-
17:09 - 17:13and they're mysteries because God has never revealed them to us.
-
17:13 - 17:19But look how He reveals Himself,
this is how He wants to be known by us. (P) -
17:19 - 17:25Second observation: What do we make of this love?
-
17:25 - 17:29Well, I want us to see how John describes this love,
-
17:29 - 17:32because he certainly does.
-
17:32 - 17:36John says that God is love, and John also gives us some idea.
-
17:36 - 17:39He's not bashful as to what he means by love.
-
17:39 - 17:46And look, this is important, because in our day and age
we need love to be described to us. -
17:46 - 17:52We live, do we not, we live a world where a guy sleeps with a girl,
-
17:52 - 17:56he defiles the girl, and he says, "I love you."
-
17:56 - 18:03And so, in our world today love is pretty much set equal to sexual attraction.
-
18:03 - 18:08Or a woman comes along, and she says to a man, "I love you."
-
18:08 - 18:11And he says, "Okay, marry me." They get married.
-
18:11 - 18:15And then before long, she runs off with her boss.
-
18:15 - 18:18Why? Because what she really meant by that was,
-
18:18 - 18:24"I love you as long as I like what I get from you, as long as you fulfill me;
-
18:24 - 18:29but when you no longer fulfill me, then I no longer love you."
-
18:29 - 18:32Or somebody says, "I love the San Antonio Spurs,"
-
18:32 - 18:36and it's nothing else but another word for idolatry.
-
18:36 - 18:40Or somebody says, "Oh, I love that kind of food,"
-
18:40 - 18:46and all it is, is a trivializing of a very weighty expression –
-
18:46 - 18:50we bring it down to basically mundane likes and dislikes.
-
18:50 - 18:53And so we need some idea.
-
18:53 - 18:55We need a God-given definition. (P)
-
18:55 - 19:03What does love look like? What is John's description of this?
-
19:03 - 19:10Look, why is it that our world around us
seems to be so blind to what love is? -
19:10 - 19:12Well, bottom line this:
-
19:12 - 19:17What does Scripture say about man in his natural state?
-
19:17 - 19:19It says that he's alienated from God.
-
19:19 - 19:23Well, here's the thing: God is love, man is alienated from God;
-
19:23 - 19:26man is alienated from what love really is.
-
19:26 - 19:29If you want to know love, you have to know God.
-
19:29 - 19:32And man in his natural state is alienated from God,
-
19:32 - 19:38so he's alienated from any right perception of what love truly is.
-
19:38 - 19:40But here comes John.
-
19:40 - 19:45I mean, this is very telling, very simple.
-
19:45 - 19:481st John 3:16.
-
19:48 - 19:52Not John 3:16, but 1st John 3:16:
-
19:52 - 19:58"By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us."
-
19:58 - 20:02Now this is the love of God to us, the love of Christ:
-
20:02 - 20:10He laid down His life - a willingness to give even if the cost is high.
-
20:10 - 20:15It's sacrificial. Giving, benevolence, kindness.
-
20:15 - 20:17That's the idea in his mind. (P)
-
20:17 - 20:21Now look, he goes on here to say this:
-
20:21 - 20:24"By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us,
-
20:24 - 20:29and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers."
-
20:29 - 20:34In other words, if you come to know this God who is love,
-
20:34 - 20:37then you will likewise love.
-
20:37 - 20:41And in fact, John says, if we say we know God,
-
20:41 - 20:48but we hate our brother, we are liars, we don't really know Him.
-
20:48 - 20:52Here's what this ought to produce:
-
20:52 - 20:55it ought to produce a laying down of our lives for our brothers.
-
20:55 - 20:59But listen to this, verse 17, "If anyone has the world's goods."
-
20:59 - 21:01Now you have to understand what's going on here.
-
21:01 - 21:05He's saying, look, you claim to be a child of God,
-
21:05 - 21:06you'll lay down your life for the brothers.
-
21:06 - 21:09Why? Because that's what love does.
-
21:09 - 21:13That's what God's love did, so that's what it ought to produce in you.
-
21:13 - 21:15God is the standard. God is love.
-
21:15 - 21:20If you say you know Him, this is what it ought to produce in people that know Him.
-
21:20 - 21:22And so, He's always the standard.
-
21:22 - 21:27And so, if God is calling for us to lay down our lives for others,
-
21:27 - 21:29it's because He first did it.
-
21:29 - 21:33It's because He is love, and He has done what is the greatest expression of love. (P)
-
21:33 - 21:36And so in verse 17 when he calls us to this:
-
21:36 - 21:40"If anyone has this world's goods and sees his brother in need,
-
21:40 - 21:45yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?"
-
21:45 - 21:48You see what he's saying? How does God's love abide in him?
-
21:48 - 21:50Why would he say that?
-
21:50 - 21:54Because God's love does open His heart.
-
21:54 - 22:00That is the nature of God, to open His heart where there is need.
-
22:00 - 22:06Have you... it's mind-boggling; it really is.
-
22:06 - 22:13You go to Scripture, and you look at anyone
who sincerely calls on the Lord for help, -
22:13 - 22:14whatever state they're in.
-
22:14 - 22:21I mean, they can be as wicked as Manasseh himself, wicked as Ahab,
-
22:21 - 22:25but when they call unto the Lord, He came.
-
22:25 - 22:27I mean, you watch Israel.
-
22:27 - 22:31They turned their back on God, again and again and again.
-
22:31 - 22:33They went after their idols, again and again and again.
-
22:33 - 22:35They went after the broken cisterns.
-
22:35 - 22:39Again, God sent judgments one after another because of their idolatries,
-
22:39 - 22:43because of their sin, over and over and over and over again. (P)
-
22:43 - 22:48But you show me any place in Scripture,
where they said, "Lord, we've sinned," -
22:48 - 22:51and they cry out to Him. What does He do?
-
22:51 - 22:58I mean, what did Jonah know was going to happen if he went to the Ninevites?
-
22:58 - 23:00He knew his God.
-
23:00 - 23:04He knew his God better than some of us do.
-
23:04 - 23:05That's what caused his reluctance:
-
23:05 - 23:10he was so certain God was going to have
mercy on those miserable Ninevites. -
23:10 - 23:15And if you ever study, historically, what the Ninevites were like, they were brutal.
-
23:15 - 23:19They ripped pregnant women open, and many of them Jews.
-
23:19 - 23:22They were just brutal people.
-
23:22 - 23:27And they repent, and God just showers them. That's it.
-
23:27 - 23:33He says, "If anyone has this world's goods and sees his brother in need,
-
23:33 - 23:37yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?
-
23:37 - 23:41Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth."
-
23:41 - 23:44We have a God who loves in deed and truth.
-
23:44 - 23:47We have a God who doesn't close His heart.
-
23:47 - 23:51His heart is not closed to your need. (P)
-
23:51 - 24:01And the beauty of this is, "God is love" trumps whatever wickedness we have.
-
24:01 - 24:07I mean, you can ever be so wicked, or so foul and filthy with sin,
-
24:07 - 24:11that if you will but cry to Him, He will love you.
-
24:11 - 24:15He will love you, not just in word and talk, but in deed and truth.
-
24:15 - 24:18It's God's nature to give. It's God's nature to be kind.
-
24:18 - 24:19He's good.
-
24:19 - 24:23He's not merely benevolent, He is benevolence itself.
-
24:23 - 24:25That's what John is telling us.
-
24:25 - 24:29God is infinite with His love, it's like an ocean.
-
24:29 - 24:31God invites all of us to dive in.
-
24:31 - 24:34That's what He is doing in Scripture – constantly calling on us.
-
24:34 - 24:35Constantly.
-
24:35 - 24:42I am certain God is a thousandfold more willing
to pour His love and kindness upon sinners, -
24:42 - 24:44than many of us think He is.
-
24:44 - 24:51I mean, listen to Scripture, Isaiah 30:18,
"The LORD waits to be gracious to you." -
24:51 - 24:54What kind of words are those?
-
24:54 - 24:58Do you think it might portray a picture of a God
-
24:58 - 25:03who extends His arms in love, just like a father to his children?
-
25:03 - 25:05You know how when they're learning to walk,
-
25:05 - 25:07you put out your hands and you say, "Come to me"?
-
25:07 - 25:13This is the picture – God waiting to just wrap us up in His arms. (P)
-
25:13 - 25:16You say, "Is that really what God does?"
-
25:16 - 25:19I mean, listen to this, Romans 10:21,
-
25:19 - 25:24"All day long I have held out My hands
to a disobedient and contrary people." -
25:24 - 25:29I mean, look at Him in your mind, His hands of love are extended.
-
25:29 - 25:31This is the God who is love.
-
25:31 - 25:39He comes to sinners. He really does, with sincerity.
-
25:39 - 25:40There's no falseness in this.
-
25:40 - 25:45He bids men to come and dive into His love.
-
25:45 - 25:48He calls to men to come.
-
25:48 - 25:56I mean, look at Him there: arms open wide
to receive sin-stained, broken, rebellious people. -
25:56 - 26:01If you will fall into those hands I guarantee you this,
-
26:01 - 26:02you'll find them to be hands of love,
-
26:02 - 26:05you'll find them to be hands that are gentle.
-
26:05 - 26:10God will lavish on you the greatest gifts that love can devise.
-
26:10 - 26:11Do you see John here?
-
26:11 - 26:15He's looking at other Christians, and he's saying,
-
26:15 - 26:21"Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us,
-
26:21 - 26:27that we should be called the children of God."
-
26:27 - 26:35Kevin in the first hour mentioned John 14:21, 23 –
-
26:35 - 26:40Jesus is promising to manifest Himself to His people;
-
26:40 - 26:44the Father promises to come and make His dwelling place.
-
26:44 - 26:46God promises to give Himself to us.
-
26:46 - 26:48I am His, and He is mine. (P)
-
26:48 - 26:53You talk about the Song of Solomon, you ever go read there,
-
26:53 - 26:58you see that the love there is a picture of the love that God has for His people.
-
26:58 - 27:05And, look, to sinners He holds out those hands, and He bids men – come.
-
27:05 - 27:08Something you and I would not do to an enemy.
-
27:08 - 27:14Something you and I would not do
to one that hated us as we have hated Him. -
27:14 - 27:16And He beckons us.
-
27:16 - 27:18You think about what He promises to give us.
-
27:18 - 27:20We've sang a song, How Beautiful,
-
27:20 - 27:24that's about Christ given to the church as a husband;
-
27:24 - 27:27us being given to Christ as a bride.
-
27:27 - 27:32We get God, we get his manifestations, we get Him in marriage.
-
27:32 - 27:34We get the love of God.
-
27:34 - 27:37We get the fullness of these things.
-
27:37 - 27:42God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son.
-
27:42 - 27:46Here's this Object of His greatest pleasure and delight.
-
27:46 - 27:51He had glory with the Father before this world began in eternity past.
-
27:51 - 27:54He was the delight of the Father's heart, the most beloved.
-
27:54 - 27:58He looks at Him, "This is My Son, in whom I am well pleased."
-
27:58 - 28:01God's heart is moved by the Son;
-
28:01 - 28:05and yet [He gave] the Son for His enemies. (P)
-
28:05 - 28:07He so loved.
-
28:07 - 28:11The argument of Scripture is, if He did that, how will He not...?
-
28:11 - 28:15(Kevin also talked about God withholding
no good thing from those that walk uprightly). -
28:15 - 28:20God says, if He gave up His son, if He didn't hold Him back,
-
28:20 - 28:23if He was willing to go that far in His demonstrations of love,
-
28:23 - 28:25how will He not also give us all things?
-
28:25 - 28:29All things, whatever it is that love requires, He says He's going to give.
-
28:29 - 28:32I mean, literally we don't even understand;
-
28:32 - 28:39we do not yet get it, what God has in store for us.
-
28:39 - 28:45And John, he's getting a glimpse of it - it's like breathless,
-
28:45 - 28:47you got to behold this.
-
28:47 - 28:54I mean, we're getting invited, we're getting adopted,
-
28:54 - 29:01into the very family of God Himself – sons and daughters.
-
29:01 - 29:06He's saying this is huge, what God's love does.
-
29:06 - 29:09God is love. (P)
-
29:09 - 29:13Love means God won't close His heart to doing the greatest good
-
29:13 - 29:17to those who want His help and His love,
-
29:17 - 29:19if they'll have it by way of Jesus Christ.
-
29:19 - 29:22I mean, that's my second observation:
-
29:22 - 29:26it is, we need some defining element about love.
-
29:26 - 29:29And it's giving, it's benevolence, it's kindness.
-
29:29 - 29:35It's heaping upon the object of love, all the good it can give.
-
29:35 - 29:39And when you have an Almighty God, with whom nothing is impossible,
-
29:39 - 29:42who is absolutely filled with love,
-
29:42 - 29:48and bent on showing the greatest infinite kindness through all the coming ages;
-
29:48 - 29:52to just pour that kindness on a people of His love;
-
29:52 - 29:55I mean, you don't want to miss that.
-
29:55 - 29:58You don't want to be on the outside looking in.
-
29:58 - 30:00This is not just about missing hell, folks.
-
30:00 - 30:06This is about getting the riches of Christ Himself, having Him,
-
30:06 - 30:08and all the fullness of what that is.
-
30:08 - 30:11You do not want to miss that.
-
30:11 - 30:14We are called to a world of love,
-
30:14 - 30:18where we are going to be swallowed up in the trinitarian love,
-
30:18 - 30:25where the same love that the Father has for His Son,
He has for all those adopted sons. -
30:25 - 30:28He pulls us into His family, wraps His arms around us. (P)
-
30:28 - 30:34In this world, yes, we get manifestations,
but there we get the fullness. -
30:34 - 30:40I mean, you go back, you talk about reading these biographies.
-
30:40 - 30:43Read about some of these people's lives
-
30:43 - 30:46as they were yet breathing the air of this world
-
30:46 - 30:48and they were on the very thresholds of heaven,
-
30:48 - 30:54and their eyes are being opened up to the fullness
of what love has for them on the other side. -
30:54 - 30:57And they can't hardly put it in words.
-
30:57 - 31:00They come back to those on this side, and they say,
-
31:00 - 31:04"You won't believe it if I told you what I am seeing right now."
-
31:04 - 31:08They just gasp in joy, astonishment, and awe.
-
31:08 - 31:12They say, "If only you could see what it is,
-
31:12 - 31:15you would recognize that the things in this world are but a shadow,
-
31:15 - 31:19they're diminishing, they're a trifle;
-
31:19 - 31:23if you could just see what I see right now."
-
31:23 - 31:30So that was the second thing, we need some
idea about what love does, and love gives. (P) -
31:30 - 31:36The third thing: I would say this, this is an observation:
-
31:36 - 31:45That God is love, that concept, that idea,
it does not excite us as it should. -
31:45 - 31:50And when I say us, I mean all mankind,
depending on the category you put them in. -
31:50 - 31:54But let's start with the lost man, because we've all been there.
-
31:54 - 32:00I mean, what does the lost man think when he hears God is love?
-
32:00 - 32:03They just think, "Well, of course He is."
-
32:03 - 32:10Lost man loves himself, so lost man expects God is going to love him.
-
32:10 - 32:12When we were lost, we love ourselves,
-
32:12 - 32:14we expect other people should treat us well,
-
32:14 - 32:18we expect people should love us, we expect God should love us.
-
32:18 - 32:21They expect it. They yawn.
-
32:21 - 32:23I mean, it's not very impressive.
-
32:23 - 32:29It doesn't thrill them like professional athletes
-
32:29 - 32:32trying to put a ball through a hoop or something like that.
-
32:32 - 32:35They yawn at it, but they expect it.
-
32:35 - 32:40When they hear God is love, natural man thinks very little
-
32:40 - 32:51about what that means about the perfections of God Himself.
-
32:51 - 32:58They just imagine that it means that God must
smile on them no matter what they do. -
32:58 - 33:01They can be ever so wicked, they can sin,
-
33:01 - 33:04they can do the most grievous things,
-
33:04 - 33:05and yet God is still going to smile on them.
-
33:05 - 33:08He's just this perpetually smiling Santa Claus,
-
33:08 - 33:12that's what they feel when they hear God is love;
-
33:12 - 33:14that God could never hate them,
-
33:14 - 33:19God could never do anything but show them kindness.
-
33:19 - 33:25It sounds good in the natural ear to hear that. (P)
-
33:25 - 33:28Fallen man, they imagine in their darkened minds
-
33:28 - 33:34that 'God is love' somehow relates to how lovable God finds them.
-
33:34 - 33:39Men don't see themselves as this vile, wretched, defiled thing.
-
33:39 - 33:43That kind of terminology, you know, "God saved a wretch like me,"
-
33:43 - 33:47that's how they used to write the old songs.
-
33:47 - 33:50But have you ever seen the modernized versions of some of the songs?
-
33:50 - 33:51They like to take words like that out.
-
33:51 - 33:53Man doesn't like to hear that anymore.
-
33:53 - 33:57Man doesn't like to know about a God
that sees him like that anymore. -
33:57 - 33:59Man likes to think that they're lovable to God:
-
33:59 - 34:02"Well, of course, God should love them."
-
34:02 - 34:08And, you know, 'God is love', that sounds pleasant to the natural ear,
-
34:08 - 34:10because it doesn't sound threatening.
-
34:10 - 34:15And what men like to do is, they like to dull, and distort, and dismiss,
-
34:15 - 34:18everything that makes a God that is threatening.
-
34:18 - 34:23And by the way, the God of Scripture is very threatening to sinful men.
-
34:23 - 34:25So this just sounds good.
-
34:25 - 34:28Men don't like a God that threatens them. (P)
-
34:28 - 34:31But then what happens where we get saved?
-
34:31 - 34:34Here you are, you're the new Christian.
-
34:34 - 34:38We get saved, and you know, just like me when I...
-
34:38 - 34:41I can remember first being exposed to the Doctrines of Grace,
-
34:41 - 34:46and you know, I was amazed, as many of you were.
-
34:46 - 34:47I can remember reading the Old Testament.
-
34:47 - 34:51I can remember Uzzah, he touches that ark:
-
34:51 - 34:54Bam!!! God kills him on the spot.
-
34:54 - 34:58I'm like, "Whoa. I never knew God was like that."
-
34:58 - 35:04Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, and you see them struck down.
-
35:04 - 35:06And even in the New Testament, you know,
-
35:06 - 35:08people say "Well, that's the Old Testament God."
-
35:08 - 35:10No, you come into the New Testament, you have Ananias and Sapphira,
-
35:10 - 35:14and God does very similar things there.
-
35:14 - 35:18And you know, as a young believer, we can really get taken up with,
-
35:18 - 35:20suddenly we're exposed to the hell of God,
-
35:20 - 35:22and the wrath of God, and the punishment of God,
-
35:22 - 35:25and the fury of God, and the justice of God.
-
35:25 - 35:36And we look at those things and we can be moved by that. (P)
-
35:36 - 35:39I mean, I can remember as a young Christian not too long...
-
35:39 - 35:43I think it was about three years in the Lord when ruby and I got married...
-
35:43 - 35:46and I can remember the first checks we got after I was married,
-
35:46 - 35:55I had it printed on all my checks - "God is a consuming fire."
-
35:58 - 36:03And I always had this picture of some bank teller somewhere,
-
36:03 - 36:08reading Hebrews 12:29 on our checks.
-
36:08 - 36:11And the truth is, I can remember those early days.
-
36:11 - 36:19And it's almost like, you come along to something like Mark 10:21 -
-
36:19 - 36:25"Jesus looking at the rich young ruler, loved him,
-
36:25 - 36:29and said to him, 'You lack one thing;
go sell all you have, give to the poor, -
36:29 - 36:32and you will have treasure in heaven; and come follow Me.'
-
36:32 - 36:36That man went away sorrowful."
-
36:36 - 36:41And, you know, I found in those early days
all these Calvinists that come along, -
36:41 - 36:45and they try to distort that, and say that it's not what it says,
-
36:45 - 36:49and that Jesus doesn't really... (that must have been Paul),
-
36:49 - 36:53because for Jesus to say that He loves somebody like that,
-
36:53 - 36:57it obviously had to be one of the elect. (P)
-
36:57 - 37:04You know, the truth is, I probably should have had
"Jesus looked at him and loved him" printed on my checks, -
37:04 - 37:09rather than Hebrews 12.
-
37:09 - 37:16But the fact is, texts like that, early on, probably didn't excite me.
-
37:16 - 37:19"God is a consuming fire" excited me.
-
37:19 - 37:22And it should excite us, what is true about God.
-
37:22 - 37:28But the fact is that what we find in God's Word
-
37:28 - 37:35is a Book that is meant to express the love of God towards sinners.
-
37:35 - 37:37And it's everywhere.
-
37:37 - 37:44And that invitation of Christ was absolutely sincere to that rich young ruler.
-
37:44 - 37:49And if he would have sold it all and found Christ more precious,
-
37:49 - 37:53and he would have came to Him, even if he
would have just fallen down right there, -
37:53 - 38:00like another man in Mark's Gospel who said,
"Lord, I believe; help my unbelief"; -
38:00 - 38:04if he would have fallen down and said, "Lord, I'm willing to do this,
-
38:04 - 38:08I want to do this, but it has such a grasp on me. Save me from it,"
-
38:08 - 38:11he'd be in heaven right now.
-
38:11 - 38:13It was a valid invitation.
-
38:13 - 38:16He did not mock him, it was not empty.
-
38:16 - 38:18You can't say, "Well, he wasn't one of God's elect,
-
38:18 - 38:21because he walked away sorrowful
and he walked away to his damnation, -
38:21 - 38:27and so Jesus' love for him couldn't have been
valid and real and legitimate and deep." -
38:27 - 38:30And it was, and Scripture says it was. (P)
-
38:30 - 38:32But see, as young believers, we do.
-
38:32 - 38:36Suddenly, things are revealed to us about God that ought to excite us.
-
38:36 - 38:37But it's true, as young believers,
-
38:37 - 38:41sometimes the love of God doesn't excite us near as much as it should.
-
38:41 - 38:45Do you agree with that? I find that to be the case.
-
38:45 - 38:50A lot of times, young believers are more like Boanerges (John and James, right,)
-
38:50 - 38:54who wanted to call down fire from heaven.
-
38:54 - 38:59It's almost like if we tell people 'God is love,' we're Arminian.
-
38:59 - 39:03I mean, that's how young believers feel sometimes.
-
39:03 - 39:10And that's not true at all. That is not true.
-
39:10 - 39:15God is love. (P)
-
39:16 - 39:24Speaking of God's love, Octavius Winslow
observed in his day, over a hundred years ago, -
39:24 - 39:31that there are but few saints of God
who study God's character and God's acts -
39:31 - 39:35in the light of this wondrous perfection of God's nature.
-
39:35 - 39:38And he's referring to 'God is love.'
-
39:38 - 39:41He observed that many are awed by God's greatness,
-
39:41 - 39:44impressed with His holiness, tremble at His power,
-
39:44 - 39:52but how few are subdued and drawn to Him by His love.
-
39:52 - 39:54God is love. (P)
-
39:54 - 40:00Now I had this picture. I was thinking about the apostle John,
-
40:00 - 40:04and I was getting this picture in my mind of him.
-
40:04 - 40:07He is writing 1st John.
-
40:07 - 40:11He's being moved along by the Holy Spirit.
-
40:11 - 40:17He's being impressed upon: Divine inspiration is taking place here.
-
40:17 - 40:26Can you imagine, as he's penning this letter,
the first moment that idea crossed his mind? -
40:26 - 40:31There was a first moment when the idea that 'God is love'
-
40:31 - 40:37would have actually fallen upon the thoughts of John the apostle.
-
40:37 - 40:39And I was thinking about the moment,
-
40:39 - 40:44the realization that God wants to reveal Himself that way,
-
40:44 - 40:47and what it must have done to John right at that moment.
-
40:47 - 40:51I mean, you can tell he's already getting worked up in Chapter 3.
-
40:51 - 40:56He's like, "Just behold what manner of love this is! Behold what it is!
-
40:56 - 41:00Listen, this is out of this world, this is beyond.
-
41:00 - 41:03This is such a love that if you can get a hold...
-
41:03 - 41:05I mean, look what God has done!
-
41:05 - 41:08Have we forgotten who we are and what we've done?
-
41:08 - 41:11Have we forgotten how black with sin we were?
-
41:11 - 41:13Look what God has done!
-
41:13 - 41:15Look at the cost it took Him to do it.
-
41:15 - 41:18Look at the blood of His Son flowing." (P)
-
41:18 - 41:23And look, He not only just saves us and spares us from hell --
-
41:23 - 41:26He could have just saved us, set us on a deserted Pacific Island somewhere,
-
41:26 - 41:28it would have been mercy forever.
-
41:28 - 41:29You know what He could have done?
-
41:29 - 41:33He could have just said, "You know what?
When you die, you're just going to cease to exist." -
41:33 - 41:41That would have been inexpressible mercies to anybody
destined for hell and for eternal punishment. -
41:41 - 41:44But He doesn't just say, "You won't exist."
-
41:44 - 41:47He doesn't just say, "Well, stay here on in this world forever."
-
41:47 - 41:49He doesn't do that.
-
41:49 - 41:52He says, "I'm going to make you My sons and daughters.
-
41:52 - 41:56I'm going to pull you into My family.
-
41:56 - 42:05And then in the coming ages, I'm going to
demonstrate the fullness of My kindness, -
42:05 - 42:08just immeasurable kindness.
-
42:08 - 42:13I'm going to heap on you, those of you that are in Christ,
-
42:13 - 42:15I'm going to pour that out."
-
42:15 - 42:19And John is just... I can imagine he's carried away.
-
42:19 - 42:23And then, the Spirit would have just given him that impression:
-
42:23 - 42:32"John, do you know why My salvation is so absolutely a demonstration of love?
-
42:32 - 42:36I am love."
-
42:36 - 42:40And sometimes it's just the simplest thoughts, but they're so profound.
-
42:40 - 42:43Can you imagine the moment that was impressed upon him,
-
42:43 - 42:52how it must have just filled him with joy?
-
42:52 - 42:57What experience must that have been, John just bursting forth. (P)
-
42:57 - 43:02And if you think about it, think about what God does;
-
43:02 - 43:07if you just stop and you think for a second,
-
43:07 - 43:18God is actually the kind of God, that when a man has his little child dying
-
43:18 - 43:22(that we heard about in the first hour), and he goes and he prays to God,
-
43:22 - 43:28God says, "Even though death is upon the human race altogether,
-
43:28 - 43:31I'm just gonna fill them with joy.
-
43:31 - 43:35I'm gonna save their daughter."
-
43:35 - 43:40I mean, just think: God created us with human eyeballs,
-
43:40 - 43:43and He created sunsets.
-
43:43 - 43:49Once in a while, we need to stand back and say, "Why would He do that?"
-
43:49 - 43:53Sunsets could have all been brown, or gray,
-
43:53 - 43:58or He could have made our eyeballs to never see color.
-
43:58 - 44:04Walk into a garden, like a flower garden or the botanical gardens,
-
44:04 - 44:06why all the colors?
-
44:06 - 44:11Why are crepe myrtle in... these oleanders out here,
-
44:11 - 44:14they're blooming with white, but in my yard they're pink.
-
44:14 - 44:17I've seen dark red.
-
44:17 - 44:22Why? Why did God create flowers?
-
44:22 - 44:27Why did God not only make them beautiful,
but give many of them an aroma? -
44:27 - 44:31Have you ever smelled a rose? or a gardenia?
-
44:31 - 44:35Who invented that?
-
44:35 - 44:40Have you ever wondered why would He make the trees, especially in the North,
-
44:40 - 44:46change color to where they're so beautiful in the fall? Why?
-
44:46 - 44:50Have you ever thought about the intimacy between a man and a woman?
-
44:50 - 44:52Why would God even create that?
-
44:52 - 44:56Why would He create us with tongues to delight in food,
-
44:56 - 45:05and then make food across the spectrum (every color of the rainbow) for us to eat?
-
45:05 - 45:07Why would He make lemon meringue pie?
-
45:07 - 45:10Why would He make lemons?
-
45:10 - 45:15I mean, have you ever just stood back and thought? Why?
-
45:15 - 45:21You think of the rain falling, you think of a gentle breeze:
-
45:21 - 45:27we're sinners, and we get to enjoy a breeze?
-
45:27 - 45:31When the first cool front comes in the fall we get to enjoy that,
-
45:31 - 45:34when we deserve everlasting burnings?
-
45:34 - 45:36Have you ever just stood back and asked,
-
45:36 - 45:40looked at a baby and said, "Why are babies cute?"
-
45:40 - 45:45Or looked up and said, "Why is the blue in the sky beautiful?
-
45:45 - 45:51Why are these thunderhead clouds so glorious? Why?
-
45:51 - 45:54It's because God is a God of love. (P)
-
45:54 - 45:59I mean, brethren, again this is what we did
this last time we had the Lord's supper, -
45:59 - 46:04but have you ever just stop and say, "He sent His Son into the world,
-
46:04 - 46:11and the first miracle He did was to change water to wine."
-
46:11 - 46:12Why?
-
46:12 - 46:19I mean, here, the signature expression of My Son when I send Him
-
46:19 - 46:24and He's going to do His first public miracle,
-
46:24 - 46:27I'm going to show you what kind of God I am:
-
46:27 - 46:32He's going to turn water to wine -
-
46:32 - 46:38just the joy and the goodness that He means to heap upon mankind.
-
46:38 - 46:46I mean, just go to Scripture, behold God saving Israel for the hundredth time,
-
46:46 - 46:49after they've done what's right in their own eyes.
-
46:49 - 46:51I mean, look at them, start out with them:
-
46:51 - 46:56they come out of Egypt, and they're grumbling;
-
46:56 - 47:00and God smites them and then gives them manna.
-
47:00 - 47:04He smites them, and then He feeds them, and He gives them water.
-
47:04 - 47:10He destroys all the adults, but He shows kindness
-
47:10 - 47:13and brings them into the land of Canaan.
-
47:13 - 47:18The times of the Judges, they're doing what's right in their own eyes,
-
47:18 - 47:23but as soon as they called upon the LORD, what did He do?
-
47:23 - 47:27He did the same thing that Jonah knew He was going to do with the Ninevites.
-
47:27 - 47:30Why? Because God is love. That's how He is. (P)
-
47:30 - 47:33Brethren, look, let's just think about your own lives.
-
47:33 - 47:36Look at your lives, God came and saved you.
-
47:36 - 47:38Look at the things that He has done for you.
-
47:38 - 47:39Look at how He has cared for you.
-
47:39 - 47:42I look at the life of this church,
-
47:42 - 47:45we prayed for young people, and He gave us young people.
-
47:45 - 47:48We prayed for African-Americans, He gave us that.
-
47:48 - 47:50We prayed for missionaries, He gave us that.
-
47:50 - 47:54We've prayed to have a church in Austin, He gave us that.
-
47:54 - 47:56We prayed to have a church in Corpus, in Laredo.
-
47:56 - 48:00We have prayed these various things.
-
48:00 - 48:03I can remember one time we just came together, and for no other reason
-
48:03 - 48:12(we were in a drought season, there was no prediction of rain at all),
-
48:12 - 48:14and we got together on a Wednesday night and said,
-
48:14 - 48:18"Let's just pray to God for rain in this drought time,
-
48:18 - 48:21just because God can, and He's kind."
-
48:21 - 48:26And what did we pray for, rain for the next day
or for that Friday, and God brought it! -
48:26 - 48:28Do you all remember that?
-
48:28 - 48:32I mean, why does He do things? Because He's love.
-
48:32 - 48:46He is a kind of God that says, "I sit on a throne of grace, and I'm sympathetic.
-
48:46 - 48:52I sent My Son in the likeness of your own flesh.
-
48:52 - 48:56He's a sympathetic High Priest.
-
48:56 - 49:01I sent My own Son to become one of you, and then to give Him up.
-
49:01 - 49:05And if you'll come to His throne, you'll receive mercy
-
49:05 - 49:08and you'll find grace to help in time of need.
-
49:08 - 49:12I am the kind of God that is there to give and supply needs.
-
49:12 - 49:17But come to Me, trust Me, fall into My loving hands.
-
49:17 - 49:22Cast all your cares, all your anxieties, all your sin, on Me."
-
49:22 - 49:25That's the kind of God that He is. (P)
-
49:25 - 49:32Brethren, behold the things He does. Behold Gethsemane!
-
49:32 - 49:38Behold the blood. Behold the anguish. Behold the cross.
-
49:38 - 49:43Behold the Son of God crying out,
"My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" -
49:43 - 49:51Why? Because of love. Yes, justice demanded it, but love initiated that.
-
49:51 - 49:54Behold that.
-
49:54 - 50:00Brethren, behold the parable of the prodigal son.
-
50:00 - 50:06Do you think Jesus Christ was exaggerating when He gave this parable,
-
50:06 - 50:10and He showed a picture of this father who was waiting?
-
50:10 - 50:15God waits to be gracious to you: a Father who waits.
-
50:15 - 50:22And when he sees the prodigal on the horizon, he runs;
-
50:22 - 50:32the father runs with open arms - ring, and robe, and sandals, and feast.
-
50:32 - 50:38Now, do you think that when Jesus tells a parable,
-
50:38 - 50:44that it exaggerates the reality, or it falls short of the reality?
-
50:44 - 50:51Brethren, if you think God is unkind and harsh and cruel,
-
50:51 - 50:54you misread that parable, you misread Calvary,
-
50:54 - 50:58you misread Gethsemane, you misread what He did in the life of israel,
-
50:58 - 51:01you misread, brethren!
-
51:01 - 51:04God is love. (P)
-
51:04 - 51:15How about fourth observation: What about "God is a consuming fire"?
-
51:15 - 51:20What about the God behind that tornado that ripped through Moore, Oklahoma?
-
51:20 - 51:25I mean, what about that?
-
51:25 - 51:31God is a consuming fire - that kind of sounds at odds with 'God is love'.
-
51:31 - 51:43But listen, if these godly brothers who went before us,
-
51:43 - 51:47like Payson, Winslow, and Wesley,
-
51:47 - 51:56if they were right that 'God is love' means this is an essence that permeates everything,
-
51:56 - 51:59then I have a feeling that if we consider 'God is a consuming fire',
-
51:59 - 52:04we will find His love is there as well.
-
52:04 - 52:09And I would just remind you of this:
-
52:09 - 52:15Why does God even tell us He is a consuming fire?
-
52:15 - 52:20Is it so that we might cower with fear, and despair,
-
52:20 - 52:24and just throw up our arms, "Oh well, we're damned"?
-
52:24 - 52:29Is that why He tells us?
-
52:29 - 52:31We may find that God even telling us that,
-
52:31 - 52:38resonates with more love than we might at first perceive.
-
52:38 - 52:47Isn't God telling us simply this, that today is the day of salvation.
-
52:47 - 52:55While you have life and breath, cast yourselves upon these arms of love.
-
52:55 - 53:00Don't spurn them, don't harden yourself, don't be stiff-necked,
-
53:00 - 53:05don't go on, because God is a consuming fire."
-
53:05 - 53:10He has given it to us because He indeed waits to be gracious.
-
53:10 - 53:13And men resist His gracious advances.
-
53:13 - 53:20And if you keep doing it, if you keep refusing this staggeringly immense love
-
53:20 - 53:26that has been given to provide a substitute to bear our sins,
-
53:26 - 53:30then the consuming fire of God's justice will indeed sweep us away.
-
53:30 - 53:32But it's a warning of love. (P)
-
53:32 - 53:39And I ask you, even when God must become a consuming fire to His adversaries,
-
53:39 - 53:42with what heart does He do so?
-
53:42 - 53:45I mean, think about what Scripture says.
-
53:45 - 53:49Ezekiel 33:11, you know it well, "As I live, declares the Lord God,
-
53:49 - 53:51I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked,
-
53:51 - 53:55but that the wicked turn from his way and live.
-
53:55 - 53:58Turn back, turn back from your evil ways;
-
53:58 - 54:00for why will you die, O house of Israel?"
-
54:00 - 54:07I'll tell you, the feeling you get in Scripture is this: it is easy for God to love,
-
54:07 - 54:13and God does not take pleasure when His justice must take you out.
-
54:13 - 54:15That's the feeling you get from Scripture.
-
54:15 - 54:18God will be just, because He is just.
-
54:18 - 54:25He will do right - the Judge of all this earth will do right.
-
54:25 - 54:32But He is a Judge who reveals Himself as the God who is love,
-
54:32 - 54:39even when He becomes a consuming fire. (P)
-
54:40 - 54:49Brethren, He sent His Son to this world.
-
54:49 - 54:53And when they rejected Him, and when they mocked Him,
-
54:53 - 55:01and when they hated Him, here's the heart of God, Luke 19:41,
-
55:01 - 55:06"Jesus wept over the city of Jerusalem."
-
55:06 - 55:10In another place He says, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
-
55:10 - 55:14how often I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks."
-
55:14 - 55:18And what does He say? Not "I would not," but, "You would not.
-
55:18 - 55:20You would not!
-
55:20 - 55:26I extend My hands to a disobedient people all the day long;
-
55:26 - 55:28and you would not, you would not."
-
55:28 - 55:31When God comes as a consuming fire and His wrath falls,
-
55:31 - 55:38it falls on those who, with the light of conscience and the light of creation
-
55:38 - 55:41and the light of the gospel, have resisted the light.
-
55:41 - 55:42They've turned.
-
55:42 - 55:46They've exchanged the glory of God for every other thing under the sun.
-
55:46 - 55:50They've hated God, they despised him, they turned their back.
-
55:50 - 55:53See the heart of God.
-
55:55 - 56:02Ladies and gentlemen, no matter how you explain, how you teach,
-
56:02 - 56:08or how you otherwise interpret God's sovereignty, God's predestination, God's election;
-
56:08 - 56:13if you find that you cannot say the things I've been saying,
-
56:13 - 56:16you've gotten the heart of God all wrong.
-
56:16 - 56:19God is love. (P)
-
56:22 - 56:28Lamentations 3:33, "He does not afflict from His heart to grieve the children of men."
-
56:28 - 56:30He will afflict the sons of men,
-
56:30 - 56:33but it seems like that is the twisting of His arm.
-
56:33 - 56:37I mean, one of the texts that I came across this week,
-
56:37 - 56:44that I just felt I needed to stick in here
because I think it's just so telltale of 'God is love'. -
56:44 - 56:46I mean, here you have Hosea.
-
56:46 - 56:55Hosea apparently was a prophet from the northern kingdom, like Jonah was.
-
56:55 - 57:00Those are the only two we know that were from the northern kingdom.
-
57:00 - 57:06Listen to what he says in Hosea 7:1, "When I would heal Israel," --
-
57:06 - 57:11did you get that right there? "When I would heal Israel."
-
57:11 - 57:13Will God heal you if you're in your sins?
-
57:13 - 57:16He said so, if you'll come to Him.
-
57:16 - 57:22But He says this, "When I would heal Israel, the iniquity of Ephraim is revealed,
-
57:22 - 57:25and the evil deeds of Samaria; for they deal falsely;
-
57:25 - 57:27the thief breaks in, and the bandits raid outside.
-
57:27 - 57:31But they do not consider that I remember all their evil.
-
57:31 - 57:35Now their deeds surround them; they are before my face."
-
57:35 - 57:38But when you read over a few chapters, listen to this,
-
57:38 - 57:44Hosea 11:8, "How can I give you up, O Ephraim?"
-
57:44 - 57:49I mean, in light of all their sin, He says, "How can I hand you over, O Israel?
-
57:49 - 57:54How can I make you like Admah? How can I treat you like Zeboiim?
-
57:54 - 58:01My heart recoils within Me; My compassion grows warm and tender."
-
58:01 - 58:06Can you feel the warmth of God in that? God is love. (P)
-
58:06 - 58:10We don't want to make light of God's judgments and His eternal punishment.
-
58:10 - 58:14It's no small thing to fall under the vengeance of the God who is love.
-
58:14 - 58:19I mean, listen to Octavius Winslow on this point, a point well to be taken:
-
58:19 - 58:25"Mercy is fearful when it turns to wrath.
-
58:25 - 58:30Love is consuming when it turns to anger.
-
58:30 - 58:35There is no wrath like the wrath of the Lamb."
-
58:35 - 58:38And have you ever thought about that imagery?
-
58:38 - 58:45The Lamb, the Lamb who was slain from the foundation of the world;
-
58:45 - 58:51the Lamb who came to take away the sins of the world.
-
58:51 - 58:58But when that Lamb is roused to anger, oh what wrath from the Lamb.
-
58:58 - 59:02I mean, even now the voice of God is this voice:
-
59:02 - 59:08"Why will you die? Why will you have Me come upon you as a consuming fire?"
-
59:08 - 59:12Ladies and gentlemen, if there are those here that know not Christ,
-
59:12 - 59:14is your sin so precious...?
-
59:14 - 59:17I'll tell you this, God is love;
-
59:17 - 59:23and if there's anything that will aggravate Him to a fury...
-
59:23 - 59:28I mean, can you imagine an earthly king if he has been insulted,
-
59:28 - 59:32he has been sinned against, he has been despised, he has been hated;
-
59:32 - 59:42and for him to come with terms of love, terms that are so kind -
-
59:42 - 59:48to have that enemy just hate it, fight against it.
-
59:48 - 59:50I'll tell you, when his wrath comes, it will come with a severity
-
59:50 - 59:56that it would have never otherwise come with. (P)
-
59:57 - 60:05Is your sin so precious that you're going to hold on to it and abandon this?
-
60:05 - 60:13Is it so precious to you that you would lay down
in the consuming eternal fires of God? -
60:13 - 60:18I mean, can you imagine being in hell? Can you imagine?
-
60:18 - 60:25Can you imagine anybody in this room ending up in these eternal burnings,
-
60:25 - 60:34and the God who is love offered you an eternal weight of glory?
-
60:34 - 60:39He offered you membership in His family,
-
60:39 - 60:44He offered you marriage to His Son,
-
60:44 - 60:47He offered you full forgiveness and pardon.
-
60:47 - 60:51He offered to make you white as the new fallen snow.
-
60:51 - 60:56He offered to forgive all your crimes against Him.
-
60:56 - 60:59He offered all of that.
-
60:59 - 61:02He offered over and over. He offered to you.
-
61:02 - 61:04He came to you with His outstretched hands.
-
61:04 - 61:11He bid you, "Fall upon My grace, come to Me, know My love, swim in My love.
-
61:11 - 61:15Have it, I'll bestow it on you. Just come to Me. Surrender.
-
61:15 - 61:16Fall into these hands."
-
61:16 - 61:22Can you imagine waking up one day in hell,
and realizing all that was offered to me, -
61:22 - 61:25and I resisted it, and I fought against it, and I hated it."
-
61:25 - 61:30Like these women that were on that boat, these soldiers' wives,
-
61:30 - 61:36to just say: "I'm going to have my sin.
I think I like my sin better than that." -
61:36 - 61:42Are you going throw away your soul for that?
-
61:42 - 61:46It's an indescribable thing to be lost forever,
-
61:46 - 61:53especially when God held forth His love to you every day of your earthly life. (P)
-
61:53 - 61:56You even think about God, the God of that tornado.
-
61:56 - 62:05Thirty-six square miles, they said, of Moore were wiped out.
-
62:05 - 62:09You know, people in this world like to say, "Where was God at in that?"
-
62:09 - 62:13But even in that, even in that, what is it we find from Scripture?
-
62:13 - 62:16Well, I mean, one thing to think about is,
-
62:16 - 62:23the United States of America is somewhere around 4 million square miles.
-
62:23 - 62:34What about all the other 4 million square miles of the US
where sinners lived, and there weren't tornadoes? -
62:34 - 62:38And even in the calamity itself,
-
62:38 - 62:42Daniel 9:13, "All this calamity has come upon us,
-
62:42 - 62:45yet we've not entreated the favor of the Lord our God,
-
62:45 - 62:49turning from our iniquities and gaining insight by Your truth."
-
62:49 - 62:52You see, these things are given to us to gain insight -
-
62:52 - 62:59the day is coming, time is running out, today is the day of salvation. (P)
-
62:59 - 63:04Isaiah 9:13, "The people did not turn to Him who struck them,
-
63:04 - 63:06nor inquire of the LORD of hosts."
-
63:06 - 63:12That's what He does that for.
-
63:13 - 63:18I mean, even in the judgments of God, He's beckoning to men: Repent.
-
63:18 - 63:21When He sends His plagues, there in Revelation,
-
63:21 - 63:26it says they did not repent and give Him glory.
-
63:26 - 63:28What did they do? They blasphemed His name.
-
63:28 - 63:32How many people blaspheme God because of that?
-
63:32 - 63:35They blaspheme Him in one of two ways, right?
-
63:35 - 63:39They either say, "God wasn't in that. God's impotent.
-
63:39 - 63:43God doesn't control storms, He would never do that."
-
63:43 - 63:45Or they just curse.
-
63:45 - 63:47You can hear them.
-
63:47 - 63:50They just use His name in vain, they just blaspheme it,
-
63:50 - 63:52when they see what happens.
-
63:52 - 63:54They don't turn to God.
-
63:54 - 63:59They dismiss Him altogether, or they find fault with Him.
-
63:59 - 64:02But God is doing this.
-
64:02 - 64:10I mean, have you ever got the weight of Scripture,
-
64:10 - 64:18where it says things like this, Psalm 136:1, "Give thanks to the LORD,
-
64:18 - 64:21for He is good, for His steadfast love endures forever."
-
64:21 - 64:25There's His love; God is love; His love endures forever. (P)
-
64:25 - 64:29"Give thanks to the God of gods, for His steadfast love endures forever
-
64:29 - 64:31(or as the old translations say, His lovingkindness);
-
64:31 - 64:35give thanks to the Lord of lords, for His steadfast love endures forever;
-
64:35 - 64:39to Him who alone does great wonders,
for His steadfast love endures forever." -
64:39 - 64:45But then he says this: "To Him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt,
-
64:45 - 64:49for His steadfast love endures forever;
-
64:49 - 64:53to Him who overthrew Pharaoh and his hosts in the Red Sea,
-
64:53 - 64:55for His steadfast love endures forever;
-
64:55 - 64:59to Him who struck down great kings,
for His steadfast love endures forever; -
64:59 - 65:03and killed mighty kings, for His steadfast love endures forever;
-
65:03 - 65:06Sihon, king of the Amorites, for His steadfast love endures forever;
-
65:06 - 65:11and Og, king of Bashan, for His steadfast love endures forever;
-
65:11 - 65:17give thanks to the God of heaven,
for His steadfast love endures forever." (P) -
65:17 - 65:20Let me just tell you this, folks:
-
65:20 - 65:25God's judgments on some are His love to others.
-
65:25 - 65:33Listen, you need to understand this,
-
65:33 - 65:38Psalm 86:5 says this, "For You, O Lord, are good and forgiving,
-
65:38 - 65:41abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon You."
-
65:41 - 65:48His love is for those who call upon Him.
-
65:48 - 65:54And for those that don't call upon Him, for those who fight,
-
65:54 - 65:58all things work together for good to those who do love Him,
-
65:58 - 66:05for those who are called by Him, even the destruction of the ungodly.
-
66:05 - 66:11And one of the most amazing things God can do
for the sake of His people is put Himself on display. -
66:11 - 66:15Even when He puts Himself on display in tornadoes, it's for our good,
-
66:15 - 66:19and it's with loving purposes towards us. His love is in that.
-
66:19 - 66:21Even when Pharaoh was struck down,
-
66:21 - 66:24even when Og and Sihon were put to death,
-
66:24 - 66:30God's lovingkindness, God's enduring love is there.
-
66:30 - 66:33It's abiding. It's good. It's strong.
-
66:33 - 66:40Seriously, if you will look at everything God does,
you will find loving purposes there, -
66:40 - 66:45even when some of those purposes seem hard. (P)
-
66:45 - 66:50I'll finish very quickly with this, the fifth observation:
-
66:50 - 66:56I know that there are people in this church that struggle with fear.
-
66:56 - 67:04John himself says this, "Love casts out fear."
-
67:04 - 67:10Fear goes hand-in-hand with slavery, right?
-
67:10 - 67:16This is not a spirit of slavery that we've been given; it's a spirit of adoption.
-
67:16 - 67:20And slavery and fear go hand-to-hand in Scripture. Why?
-
67:20 - 67:24Because fear goes hand-in-hand with, John says, punishment.
-
67:24 - 67:27Fear has to do with punishment.
-
67:27 - 67:33Fear has to do with this thought, that if I don't do right,
-
67:33 - 67:36I'm going to be punished.
-
67:36 - 67:37That's how the slave works.
-
67:37 - 67:42If the slave doesn't perform just right, he gets whipped.
-
67:42 - 67:44If the slave doesn't do just what the homeowner wants,
-
67:44 - 67:48he ends up with welts on his back, like we heard.
-
67:48 - 67:51That's the mindset of a slave.
-
67:51 - 67:56And can I tell you this, some of you are gripped by this fear.
-
67:56 - 68:04And fear is always, bank on it, you can trace it back to slavery.
-
68:04 - 68:07You are falling into slavery.
-
68:07 - 68:15What John wants us to feel is this, we have
been saved by a God who is altogether love. -
68:15 - 68:17And we don't have to fear Him.
-
68:17 - 68:20We don't have to fear Him. (P)
-
68:20 - 68:26Brethren, we need to have this sink in, that God is love,
-
68:26 - 68:30and blow away those dark mists that often shroud our thoughts
-
68:30 - 68:34and our minds with this terror of slavery.
-
68:34 - 68:35It does, as fear comes on us.
-
68:35 - 68:38And when does it come? Usually when we're looking at ourselves:
-
68:38 - 68:40"Well, how good have I been? how well have I performed?"
-
68:40 - 68:43You see, that's all slavery talk.
-
68:43 - 68:47And that lends itself to fear, because as soon as you start measuring yourself up that way
-
68:47 - 68:49with regards to your relationship to God,
-
68:49 - 68:52you look in the mirror and you see some defect.
-
68:52 - 68:56And the slavery mentality is: "I got to suffer for that."
-
68:56 - 68:57And so you walk through life,
-
68:57 - 69:05and it's like you harbor this underlying, or maybe not so underlying, resentment for God.
-
69:05 - 69:10You find His ways hard. You end up not liking Him.
-
69:10 - 69:13You don't like that God, because you see Him as a slave master;
-
69:13 - 69:15you see Him as hard and harsh; you see Him as unkind.
-
69:15 - 69:18And the devil will be right there to breathe that in your ears.
-
69:18 - 69:22Brethren, we have the kind of God that Dan Smith talked about,
-
69:22 - 69:26that when you do something wrong,
like enter the army when you shouldn't, -
69:26 - 69:27God gets you out of it.
-
69:27 - 69:30When you do something and resist His leadings,
-
69:30 - 69:34and go to work with your partner when you shouldn't have, God gets you out of it. (P)
-
69:34 - 69:39We have the kind of Father that comes along,
and He seeks to wean us from this world. -
69:39 - 69:43And as He does so, He prunes off these idols.
-
69:43 - 69:45And it hurts, it's painful.
-
69:45 - 69:54But don't you realize, He is so deep in His loving purposes
He means to wean us from this world, -
69:54 - 69:59and to grow us more fond, more favourable towards Paradise.
-
69:59 - 70:03He lessens our grip, He weakens our grip on the things here,
-
70:03 - 70:06so that we might be more heavenly minded,
-
70:06 - 70:08and set our minds on things above.
-
70:08 - 70:10His purposes are good.
-
70:10 - 70:14His providences, when they seem hard, what are they doing? What do they do?
-
70:14 - 70:16They test your faith, they make it stronger;
-
70:16 - 70:19they make you more like Christ; they break your pride;
-
70:19 - 70:21they make you more prepared for heaven.
-
70:21 - 70:25Does that sound like a mean and cruel Father?
-
70:25 - 70:28I mean, does not the writer of Hebrews say there in Hebrews 12,
-
70:28 - 70:31that we have a Father who comes along and disciplines us. Why?
-
70:31 - 70:34To be mean, cruel, harsh?
-
70:34 - 70:39No, to instill righteousness in us. (P)
-
70:39 - 70:42Fear. We need to put away the fear.
-
70:42 - 70:46We have a Father who really cares. God is love.
-
70:46 - 70:51He's saying to His people, I mean if anything,
1st John - yes, lost people can glean from it - -
70:51 - 70:58but 1st John is written for God's people, and it's speaking to you.
-
70:58 - 71:01It's saying, don't fear.
-
71:01 - 71:06You believe in Jesus Christ? Don't fear.
-
71:06 - 71:10Fear has to do with punishment. It has to do with slavery.
-
71:10 - 71:13God is love. That's who your Father is.
-
71:13 - 71:27Like Psalm 48:14 says, "This is God, our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever."
-
71:27 - 71:34I mean, you have to think, Christian: God is love - this is my God;
-
71:34 - 71:36this is my God forever and ever.
-
71:36 - 71:40The God who reveals Himself this way, He's my God.
-
71:40 - 71:43You feel like, "Oh, I messed up."
-
71:43 - 71:46Yeah, but you have a Father who is love.
-
71:46 - 71:48What does that mean for you?
-
71:48 - 71:53That means, just like with Dan Smith, He'll work it out.
-
71:53 - 71:55He'll make it right.
-
71:55 - 71:56You say, "I've sinned." Go confess it to Him,
-
71:56 - 71:59He's faithful and just to forgive it.
-
71:59 - 72:03God very much wants you to get the matter right.
-
72:03 - 72:05He very much does.
-
72:05 - 72:07You say, "Man, I blew it this week."
-
72:07 - 72:11What are you gonna do, look in the mirror and be a slave?
-
72:11 - 72:15and be riddled with the slave's fear: "Oh, I didn't measure up"?
-
72:15 - 72:19What? Like any of us have? Any of us had a perfect week?
-
72:19 - 72:22Any of us had a perfect life?
-
72:22 - 72:24That's not what He wants you thinking. (P)
-
72:24 - 72:31And what you're doing is, as He's telling you, He's wanting to convince you,
-
72:31 - 72:37He's saying, "I'm revealing this to My people now:
-
72:37 - 72:43I am love; not just loving, I am love. I am your God.
-
72:43 - 72:46What kind of Father do you think this makes Me?
-
72:46 - 72:49It makes Me like the father there in the parable of the prodigal son,
-
72:49 - 72:53the kind who will run to you after everything you've done,
-
72:53 - 72:58and heap on you a feast - kill the fattened lamb.
-
72:58 - 73:00"But you don't know what I did."
-
73:00 - 73:09Well, yeah, I know what the prodigal did,
he didn't do good things. (P) -
73:09 - 73:12Fear comes from trying to be a slave again.
-
73:12 - 73:16Dear Christian, don't be that.
-
73:16 - 73:23Your performance - you will fear; you will fear.
-
73:23 - 73:26Stare at your performance, you'll fear.
-
73:26 - 73:34But that's not what God wants you to do.
He wants you to stare on "I am love." -
73:34 - 73:36And if you've been saved any amount of time,
-
73:36 - 73:42all you have to do is look at your life, and you know He is faithful.
-
73:42 - 73:46He is faithful in His love, and He will not let you go.
-
73:46 - 73:48It's like Lloyd-Jones said;
-
73:48 - 73:50you know what, we can talk theoretically about love,
-
73:50 - 73:53we can talk theoretically about God is love,
-
73:53 - 73:58but there's nothing that matters aside from experiencing it.
-
73:58 - 74:03You can try to come up with your dictionary definitions of love,
-
74:03 - 74:07but until you truly experience it
(that's what you want, you want to experience it). -
74:07 - 74:10Look, God is love. That's how He reveals Himself.
-
74:10 - 74:14He's Almighty: that means He's got the power to demonstrate that love.
-
74:14 - 74:17If you don't know anything about that love,
-
74:17 - 74:22He says, "I wait to be gracious; My arms are extended to you."
-
74:22 - 74:29I tell you this, you will find Him a thousand times
more inclined to save you than you think. -
74:29 - 74:30Sinners tend to have this hesitation,
-
74:30 - 74:34that God somehow stands back and is aloof from them.
-
74:34 - 74:39Paul says, "No, He's close. He's close to every one of you,
-
74:39 - 74:43and He saves all who call upon Him."
-
74:43 - 74:47He will shower you in this love.
-
74:48 - 74:51Well, I know this just scratches the surface,
-
74:51 - 74:54and I know it's gone long, so we'll end with that.
-
74:54 - 75:00May God take something from that and make this real.
-
75:00 - 75:02Amen.
- Title:
- God is Love - Tim Conway
- Description:
-
God is wanting to convince you that He is love, not just loving, but He is love, so what kind of Father do you think this makes Him? It makes Him like the Father in the parable of the prodigal son, He will heap on you a feast and cut the fattened calf for you. If you gaze upon your performance you will fear, but that's not what God wants you to do, He wants you to abide in His love.
MP3: http://illbehonest.com/the-bible-says-god-is-love-tim-conway
1 John 4:8 - Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
- Video Language:
- English
- Duration:
- 01:15:09
Michael Okiei edited English subtitles for God is Love - Tim Conway |