God's Love for the Ungodly

1 Peter 3:18 “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:”

This is so important friends

Christ died while you and I

while the world was without strength and sinners...worthless

Galatians 4:4

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Galatians 4:4 “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,”

Christ was fully flesh

made of a woman

God through the Holy Spirit make Mary, a virgin pregnant with Jesus

Jesus had to be made of a woman so He could be flesh

Could God have created Jesus fully man as a full grown adult

absolutely He could have but He didn’t

No Jesus was made of a woman...flesh and blood

Jesus can fully relate to all people because He lived a fleshly life just like us

Jesus was born under the law

why

to fulfill the law

He was born under the law just like all before him, all who were born around Him and all who lived when He was born.....He was born under the law just like those He created and came to save

God, even though He didn’t have to, covered all the bases and arguments but more importantly His love became flesh so Jesus could fully relate to creation...you and me

How awesome is that

How awesome is God’s love for you

Christ showed loved because we were ungodly but He also showed love in death

Ephesians 5:2

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Ephesians 5:2 “And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”

Christ gave Himself as an offering and sacrifice for a sweetsmelling savour

I want us to grasp sweetsmelling savour and why that is so important here

Genesis 8:20-21

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Genesis 8:20–21 “And Noah builded an altar unto the Lord; and took of every clean beast, and of every clean fowl, and offered burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a sweet savour; and the Lord said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground any more for man’s sake; for the imagination of man’s heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done.”

First thing Noah did upon reaching dry ground was to build an altar and offer a burnt offering

sweetsmelling savour to God

God smelled it and remembered His love for us despite our evilness

He loves us and saves us

In Leviticus and Numbers we see God establishing the burnt offering and grain offerings and drink offerings

all sweetsmelling savour

Now what you need to understand as we have been looking at

your heart matters

your intentions matter

Isaiah 65:1-5

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Isaiah 65:1–5 “I am sought of them that asked not for me; I am found of them that sought me not: I said, Behold me, behold me, Unto a nation that was not called by my name. I have spread out my hands all the day unto a rebellious people, Which walketh in a way that was not good, after their own thoughts; A people that provoketh me to anger continually to my face; That sacrificeth in gardens, and burneth incense upon altars of brick; Which remain among the graves, And lodge in the monuments, Which eat swine’s flesh, And broth of abominable things is in their vessels; Which say, Stand by thyself, Come not near to me; for I am holier than thou. These are a smoke in my nose, A fire that burneth all the day.”

Israel would reject God

the Gentiles, you and me, would accept God

The Israelites lived completely sinful

idol worship

consulting the dead,

consulting evil spirits......it is not just getting your palm read or your cards looked at or your future told it is consulting evil spirits stop

eating forbidden foods

yet the Israelites believed they were spiritually superior to everyone

you and I must be so very careful of this very same attitude today

whether you want to admit it or not we do this all the time

when you get mad at someone for something they said

something they did

maybe an issue they have

maybe a belief that they have

when emotions get tied into that it is because you feel you are more spiritual than them

you feel you are better than them

you are more religious than them

so therefore what they said

what they did

the issue they have

the belief they have

are all beneath you so you get mad about it and say or thing mean things

no different than the Israelites and God took their offerings as smoke

I love sitting around camp fire or fire pits until the wind changes and your face and nose is full of smoke

I love smelling a wood fireplace, the smoke from a distance, just in the air but when smoke full on fills your nose it is horrible

you cough

you sneeze

you move away from it

some of your worship this morning made God cough and sneeze.....it was not sweetsmelling because you are worship in the flesh

John 4:24

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John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.”

You must worship in Spirit and Truth

God’s Truth is you must forgive if you have been forgiven

some of you have unforgiveness you are refusing to deal with and therefore your worship is smoke

some of you have situations

circumstances

relationships

issues

God through His Word and Holy Spirit has told you to work out His way and you are refusing to do so

your worship was smoke this morning

it is all about your heart and intentions

your walk matters

You may be moved to worship and tears.....God calls worship sweetsmelling yet if your life is sinful then you walk in the ways of the world and sin and death and satan

therefore your worship is useless smoke to God’s nose

Christ and His sacrifice was sweetsmelling and because of that we can also be sweetsmelling to God through Christ

because of that we walk in love as Christ loved us

Romans 5:7-8

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Romans 5:7–8 “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

not only did Christ die

but He died while we were sinners

He died while we were ungodly

Look at scripture

no one dies for a bad person

scarcely would someone die for a good person

maybe someone would die for righteous person

Christ died for you while you were His enemy....in fact you and I were the very reason He had to die and He died for us anyway

I John 4:10

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1 John 4:10 “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.”

Here we see propitiation

propitiation is only used twice in the Bible

here and in I John 2:2.

Propitiation

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means atonement

Jesus is our atonement

Atonement

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means Agreement; concord; reconciliation, after enmity or controversy.

So Jesus is what brings us back to God...reconciled

Jesus is our atonement because God loves us!!!!

He sent Jesus to die in our place so He could be our atonement

so He could reconcile us

so He could redeem us

so He could pay our price to return us to the Father

That is how you and I are to walk in Christ’s love which leads me to the question

How and why

I believe both are found in

Acts 1:8

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Acts 1:8 “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

power in Holy Spirit is how

why is so we could be God’s witnesses....ambassadors to the whole world starting with your own sphere of influence

I want to spend some time here this morning on Holy Spirit

God gives His children.....true Christians

those who are saved

He gives us the Holy Spirit because living as a Christian

walking in newness of life

walking in the love of Christ is impossible for us as humans

Quickly I want to give you 5 roles and actions of the Holy Spirit

Roles and Actions of Holy Spirit

1. He Teaches

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John 14:26

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John 14:26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

Holy Spirit teaches you

if you learned anything spiritually.....

if you have learned God’s Truth then it was Holy Spirit who taught you

God has blessed this little congregation with some gifted teachers

but they do not teach you Holy Spirit teaches you

However He also will bring what is learned to memory when you need it

Ever been in a situation and needed scripture and boom there it was in your mind

Holy Spirit did that!!!!!

2. He Convicts

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John 16:8-9

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John 16:8–9 “And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me;”

Holy Spirit convicts

when you are reading scripture and cut to the heart

convicted

brought to your knees

Holy Spirit did that

He convicts you to move you

maybe you have been convicted today

He loves you and is leading you to move to repentance this morning

3. He Empowers

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God through Holy Spirit empowers you in countless ways but this morning I want to look at 3

Strength

Ephesians 3:16

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Ephesians 3:16 “That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;”

When you need strength

Holy Spirit strengthens you

comforts you

guides you in the way you should go and gives you strength to walk

Power to Serve

Acts 1:8

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As we saw earlier power to witness to everyone beginning with your sphere of influence to the whole world

New Life

John 3:5-8

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John 3:5–8 “Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”

New life driven by Holy Spirit

anyone who is saved...true Christian...has experienced this to some extent

why some extent because you are human and can choose to walk in new life or just have new life

some of you have new life...you are born again your are saved but you are on milk babes in Christ.....you may have been saved for 30 years but still on the milk because you refuse to follow Holy Spirit as He convicts and teaches you

you refuse discipleship....you sit in a pew or chair every Sunday morning, sometimes in different churches and you hear the Word and agree with the Word but you do not do the Word.....you are not forgiving

you are not loving

you are not serving

you are not being discipled

you are not discipling others

you are milk Christians...saved...going to heaven but missing out on relationship with God the Father through Holy Spirit and Jesus Christ

others are growing.....you are not longer milk but not yet on full meat...mature

Praise the Lord!!!!!!! Keep chasing Jesus and discipleship and Truth

some are mature.....never fully mature until you get promoted home or Jesus returns but you are mature and on full meat

every Christian is somewhere along the line

4. He Intercedes

Romans 8:26-27

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Romans 8:26–27 “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

2 major things going on here

first Holy Spirit intercedes....prays in Spiritual language....that is what tongues are....Spiritual language

Holy Spirit prays in Spiritual language for you...intercedes.....going to God in a language you can’t understand because that is the language of God....how awesome is that to think about

second seek Holy Spirit and He will intercede for you by giving you the will of God!!!!!

So many times we spend so much time and energy chasing things we think are the will of God but have no idea because we have not sought Holy Spirit to intercede and show us God’s will

5. He is our Earnest

Holy Spirit is our down payment of our inheritance as Christians

Ephesians 1:13-14

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Ephesians 1:13–14 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

how cool is this

A example

a preview of heaven

God’s Holy Spirit living inside of you as a Christian

All because of God’s great love and grace

Christ endured and died because of love and He asked God to send Holy Spirit to show us the way!!!!!

Where do you stand this morning

Invitation

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