The Depth of God's Love

Context

Good evening Church! It is such an honor to be back with you tonight!

I don’t know who all made what, but I gotta tell you the food was amazing! We also thoroughly enjoyed our time of fellowship with each of you.

We are going to be in 1 John 3 if you want to be finding that in your Bibles.

I was saved at the age of 12 years old, and when I got saved I absolutely loved God and going to church. We had a pastor at the time that was musically inclined and he started a Tuesday night music ministry. We had several others in the church at that time who could also play instruments, so every Tuesday night we would get together and just play. I didn’t know how to play anything to start with, but dad helped me buy a cheap acoustic guitar and I started to learn to play.

Church was amazing and I loved every minute of it, but as I grew older and came into my teenage years, I allowed the world to pull my heart a different direction. I began doing things that a Christian should not do, but I never quit going to Church. I didn’t have much of a choice, because that was one of mom’s rules for my brother and I. She would say, “If you can’t get up and go to church on Sunday, then you can’t go out any the following week.” You better believe that me and my brother were there every Sunday!!!

Fast forward to trade school. I went to NADC for the Heavy Diesel Technician course. I lived in East Nashville for 13 months at the school and would come home every weekend to see my honey. Honestly by this point, God and Church had really been moved to the bottom of my priority list. I still went most Sundays just to keep mom and dad off my back, but I did not listen or enjoy a bit of it. I had become numb to the Word of God.

We would party with friends every Friday and Saturday night, and then wake up and go to church on Sunday like it was ok to do that.

One Friday night, our church had been invited to do the music service at revival for another local church so my pastor and dad pretty much hogtied me and forced me to go so I could play the guitar for them. I was not happy about it, but dad would not leave me alone about Church. I told him I would go if he would leave me alone about Church after that. He agreed so I went.

That night, God grabbed my heart once again. God moved in and through that preacher like I had never seen before. He preached all over me that night. At first, I was mad at my dad, because I thought that he had been telling that preacher what I was doing. Matter of fact, I was so convinced of it that I had already began preparing what all I was going to tell him once the service was over. I was hott!!!

But as that preacher kept going, he started preaching on things that was going on in my life that dad knew nothing about. It finally hit me, that God had his hand on that man and that God was trying to reach me. For the first time in years, God absolutely crumbled my heart. At the end of that service, I didn’t even wait for the music to start playing before I was on that altar. I still remember my prayer from that night, and I hope I never forget it. I said, “God. I have failed you miserably. With the way I have turned my back on You, I have no idea why you would still love me this way, but I feel that love tonight. I really don’t know that I have anything to offer, but whatever I have is yours. Just take me and use me as you see fit to bring Glory to your name! Here I am use me.” And I said that over and over: “God, here I am. Use me.”

Within 6 months, I announced to my church that I had been called to preach!

I want to speak to you tonight under this title, “Depth of God’s Love”

Read 1 John 3:1-3

1 John 3:1–3 NKJV

1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

Content

“Behold” is a term that almost demands the listeners to focus. It is a term that signifies something to be of great importance. It calls the attention of the audience. “Behold” the love of God.

I want to show you just a few things from this text that really shows the depth of God’s love.

It Overcomes Deficiencies (V. 1)

God’s love forgives all sin and lawlessness.

Have you ever just sat and thought about the love of God? I mean really! It is an overwhelming thought.

God is omnipotent. Omni means All and potent is power. God is “All Powerful”, yet I am weak.

God is Omniscient. He is All Knowing, yet I am so very limited in knowledge.

God is Omnipresent. He is everywhere at the same time, but I am limited to the here and now.

God is righteous, but I am sinful by nature.

God is Holy, but exactly the opposite by nature.

God is Perfect, but I am anything but.

God walks on a street made of pure Gold, and I am nowhere close to being called rich in material things.

What do I have that God does not already have?

What do I have that God needs from me?

What do I have to offer a God that already has everything and the power to speak into existence anything else?

What sense does it make for God to love me?

What benefit is there to God to love me?

Those of us who have grown up in church have been told our whole lives that God loves us, but have we ever really sat down and thought about the meaning of that statement, the depth of that statement?

God loving us, means that all the casualties are on His side. All of the chance is on his side.

In other words God has everything to give, but we have nothing to offer.

1 John 4:10 NKJV

10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

1 John 4:19 NKJV

19 We love Him because He first loved us.

Jesus did not die for perfect righteous people, but for sinners. He died for those who were His enemies.

John 3:16 NKJV

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

Romans 5:6 NKJV

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.

Romans 5:8–10 NKJV

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

God’s love is so vast that it can forgive all sin against Him. Isn’t that amazing?

It Overcomes Distinction (v. 1-3)

Not only does God’s love forgive all that we have done, it changes who we are.

God calls us His own! That we should be called children of God!

God takes us sinners and makes us saints!

There is a popular saying that says, “I am just a sinner saved by grace.”

I personally do not like that statement. I am not a sinner. I am not saying that I never sin, but I am saying that I do not classify myself by the sin I commit.

We are not sinners who occasionally practice righteousness. We are saints who occasionally commit sin. At least we should be, Amen!

God no longer classifies us by our sin. He forgave our sin and cast it as far as the East is from the West. We should not classify ourselves by the past that separated us from God. We should classify ourselves by the grace of God that has covered that sin and simply admit that we are not perfect.

“Beloved, now we are children of God!

There is a false premise that plagues our churches today. People have the idea that we will one day be perfect, which we will be, but that we are not perfect now, so sin is to be expected.

With this mindset, it is almost as if they expect to sin. They know sin is going to happen, so they lessen the conviction of that sin and treat it as if it’s not that big of a deal.

Let me give you some examples.

I know that TV show aint fit to watch, but everyone has a show.

I know it aint right, but everyone has an addiction. It could be worse.

I know I shouldn’t act like that, but that’s just who I am.

I know it’s not ideal, but it could be worse.

Listen, those of us who have been saved by the grace of God are children of God.....right now.

We have already passed from death to life.

We have already been changed from sinner to saint.

We have already been charged with being ambassadors for Christ.

We have already been unified with God through the Holy Spirit that lives within us.

We do not have to wait until some time later to be our best and do our best. We can and should start being and doing that right now.

It Overcomes Degradation (v. 2)

God’s love not only forgives what we have done and changes who we are, it also determines what we shall be.

We don’t know for sure what we will be...

We do know He is coming back.

We also know that whatever He is, we will also be.

Commitment

If you are still a sinner who occasionally practices righteousness, you need God’s grace.

If you have never experienced God’s love in your life, you need God’s grace.

If you are a saint, have experienced God’s love, but you are struggling with a Goliath in your life right now, you need God’s grace.

Not matter what stage you are at, your next step is to come a little closer to God.

The best part is, we know God wants us too. God’s love is so vast, it can overcome anything in your life that is holding you down or holding you back.

Would you bow your heads and close your eyes?