God Is Love Part 1

Good morning and Merry Christmas to each of you.

We would like to welcome each of you here and watching online to worship this morning. If you are visiting please fill out one of our visitor cards in the pew and place it in an offering plate on the way out or you can feel free to give it to me.

What a wonderful blessing to be able to gather here together on Christmas Eve. I do ask you continue to pray for Stephanie and Danny Mosher as they are down with Covid and also pray for Melody as she is fighting a nasty chest cold

Sickness doesn’t care that it is Christmas so also be praying for all of those battling cancer or illness this holiday season.

Yesterday was an amazing day. 9 of us headed down to Branson to watch....no really experience Queen Ester at Sight and Sound theater. It was moving and wonderful. It was an amazing feeling to feel close to 2000 people worship and celebrate our Lord and Savior together!!!!!

Tonight at 5 pm is our Christmas Eve Candlelight service. Please make plans to join us this evening.

Lets Pray

START OBS

As we continue on with our That You May Know sermon series we come to I John 4:7-12 and a two part message God Is Love. This morning again is Christmas Eve and what a great way to prepare for Christmas than to look at God Is Love.

I want to say this....so many times things like this morning happen, Christmas Eve on a Sunday and sermon about God Is Love and are quick to say that’s pretty lucky or man what a coincidence....or that had to be great planning.

No that is not it

God is in control amen?

When God laid this series on my heart I didn’t look ahead and try to figure out where we would be on certain dates.

No God already knew

God knew that this morning, Christmas Eve, we would be here

God ordained appointments is how he works

He knew who would be here and what I would preach

That is how God works

It isn’t luck

It isn’t coincidence

It for sure wasn’t great planning

No It is GOD

Look for God

He is all around you working in your life every single day

Back to this morning

1 John 4:7–12

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“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”

As I said this is a two part message....the entire thought is in 7-21 which is the rest of chapter 4 but I didn’t want to rush through as there is so much we need to grasp in these verses.

By the way, that is one of the main reasons I make and print the notes sheets every Sunday for you to take them home and dig into the scriptures all week long

God has something for you maybe several things for you if you seek Him.

God Is Love vs 7-8

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1 John 4:7–8

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“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

God is love

Not a wordly love

not a love contingent or dependent on being recieved and reciprocated

Not a human love based on passions and emotions

No an unconditional love

A sacrificial love

A love that makes no sense to the world and those who are lost and without the Holy Spirit

God is love and love is action

Before we go further I want to look at a couple of truths we need to understand

God’s thoughts are not your thoughts

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Isaiah 55:8–9

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“For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

When we look at God is love we must remember God’s way and thoughts are so above ours

You will never understand what God is Love truly means on your own

God in Isaiah just said so

Only the Holy Spirit can teach you God’s Truths and scripture

John 14:26

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“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”

Amen and Praise God for the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God so God will teach you

I beg you this morning to not try to take in.......to try and process.....to try and learn and apply God’s word yourself but yield to....submit to....surrender to the Holy Spirit and allow Him to teach you this morning

Everyone here and all those watching live online or later on rightnow media or youtube will get something different from this morning.

Some are lost

Sinners destined for hell because of their unpaid sin debt

They must get lead to repentance and salvation before truly understanding God Is Love

Some are baby Christians.....length of time as a Christian doesn’t matter....Spiritual maturity is what matters

Baby Christians will be given spiritual milk this morning by the Holy Spirit because that is all they can handle

More mature Christians will get spiritual meat…deeper understanding and teaching by the Holy Spirit because thy are more spiritually mature

The second truth is this

Good people don’t go to heaven

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Pastor Josh what on earth are you talking about?

What do you mean good people don’t go to heaven

John 14:6

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“Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Good people don’t go to heaven.....forgiven people go to heaven

The only way to heaven is Jesus

If you have not confessed with your mouth....made Jesus your personal Lord and Savior…died to yourself…died to the world and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead you are not saved and will not go to heaven.

I don’t care how many good things you do or how many people call you a good person.....Jesus said the only good in Him was God

There is no good person you are either saved or not

If you are saved your are forgiven and God lives inside of you and you will go to heaven or

You are not and when you die you will face God and His wrath and punishment for your sins and will be cast into hell

Forgiven people are also the only ones with the Holy Spirit so they will be the only ones who understand God is Love

I want to look at two aspects of God Is Love here this morning

John 3:16–21

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““For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.””

God sent Jesus to save not condemn

God sent Jesus to open eternal life to all men and women

God sent Jesus to save

Through Jesus your sins are forgiven therefore you will not be condemned

God is love and that love always points to Jesus and repentance and salvation

Once you find Jesus…gain eternal life you are light

You are drawn to the light

you have nothing to fear because you are forgiven and free Amen?

God is Love and Love = action

God’s love always points to Jesus....repentance....salvation and light

God is love regardless of your behavior and attitudes

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Romans 5:8–10

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“but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.”

While were were still sinners

While we were enemies

Christ died for us

God is love and God’s love = action while we HATED Him

This is another beyond you type of deal

No matter your relationship with the other person you are to love

God loved you FIRST while you were a sinner and enemy

You must love like that if you are a Christian here this morning

Your response: Love One Another

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We will go deeper into this next week when we talk about abiding in God but your first and foremost response to God’s love....after repentance and salvation is to love one another

This again is much more than an emotion or feeling

God is love and love = action

Love Your Enemies

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We looked at Romans 5:8-10 God loved you when you were a sinner

God’s enemy

You must do the same

I have news for you this is non-negotiable

There are countless scriptures pointing to no love for others....including your enemies......God’s love is not in you

God is love

Love is action

Look at vs 8 “Anyone who does not love does not know God”

Period God’s heart is none should perish but all come to repentance

God is the God of reconciliation and restoration

2 Corinthians 13:11

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“Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”

Aim for restoration

Comfort one another

agree with one another

live in peace

Some of you are hurting

You have been hurt deeply by others

The pain is real

You are suffering

If you are a Christian you must love them

You must aim for restoration

You must be discerning

Restoration doesn’t always mean just as it was before

No

When you love your enemy…those who have hurt you deeply......you pray for them.....you pray for restoration with God and forgiveness in your relationship

You love them you may not allow them in your boat to go fishing with you

You may not allow them inside your circle of influence again but you are restored because of forgiveness and love

If someone leads you astray.....leads you to sin....separate from them

Love does not mean joined in proximity

The Bible teaches if rebuking leads you to sin because the sin you are rebuking is tempting to you let another do it

God will never lead you anywhere or to anyone who will lead you away from Him

satan will

sin will

your pride will

God will not

Pray and love from a safe distance but love nonetheless

Love Your Brother

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2 Corinthians 1:5

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“For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

Share in sufferings

Christ suffered on the cross for your sin

Christ suffered on the earth because satan and the world hate Him

You will also suffer in Christ

When you here me say or the Bible say brother it is talking about Christians......it usually also includes sisters

To truly love your brother or sister you must also be willing to suffer with your brother or sister

If a brother or sister is hurting then you must walk along side them and be so involved and close to them that you hurt with them

God is love and love is action

When you chose to love and that love requires suffering that points people to Jesus

Why

Because that is not human

Our nature is selfish

Our nature is comfort seeking

Our nature is to take care of #1

God says love them

Suffer with them

He also says rejoice with them

You should be so joyful when your brothers and sisters in Christ succeed that people think you succeeded

This points to being together

Serving with each other

Loving each other

You want your world to change love others as Jesus loves you.

You can’t be absent and love like God loves

You can’t be concerned about you when you love one another

Loving others as God loves you requires commitment on your part

Commitment to God

Commitment to prayer

Commitment to studying God’s Word

Commitment to surrendering to the Holy Spirit who changes you to match the Word of God

Commitment to them regardless of their reactions or attitudes

God sent Jesus to this earth to be beaten and rejected by the ones he came to save

God sent Jesus to the cross to die in your place

All while you hated and rejected God

Don’t you see it

Jesus loves you so much as He is dying on the cross He asks God to forgive those who did it as they knew not what they did

Jesus loves so much when the thief on the cross realizes who Jesus is and confesses and believes Jesus welcomes Him to heaven....saves Him

Jesus never focused on Himself

Jesus always focused on God and others

What about you

How do you love your enemies

How do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ

STOP OBS

Invitation