Limitless Love

Intro

This is our last week in our limitless life series. Throughout it we have looked at how we can live a limitless life. John 10:10

John 10:10 CSB

A thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I have come so that they may have life and have it in abundance.

Came so that we have a life that is full, abundant, and limitless. Jesus did come so that you can have a mediocre life, or even a good life. He came so that you would have eternal, full, abundant limitless life. That is rooted in his eternal, full abundant, limitless life. The goal of this series is to look at what we need to receive to live the life that God has for us.

We looked at limitless faith, limitless wisdom, and limitless grace. Each and every one of them are not things we work to achieve. Like once I attain all three through my effort then I will have the life I always wanted. No we receive a limitless faith through the limitless life of Jesus, we receive limitless wisdom through the limitless life of Jesus, we receive limitless grace through the limitless life of Jesus. and now this week we are going to look at what we receive that ties it all together. Limitless love which we receive through the limitless life of Jesus

We can’t earn faith, wisdom, or grace, but because he loves us limitlessly which we also can’t earn we can have all three, and more, and live the full abundant limitless life that he has for us.

Romans 8:35–39 CSB

Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of you we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

These verses end what is widely regarded as the greatest chapter in the Bible. If you want have been a Christian for while and you want to read something that is really going to grow and challenge your faith. read Romans 8 everyday for a week. In these ending verse of the chapter Paul is doing his best to explain to us just how strong God’s love is for us.

and he does it asking the question who can separate us from the love of Jesus?

Paul asks that question and then looks around for answers.

I want to ask you the same question today what is there that can separate you from the love of Jesus?

We are in church so im sure you will say the answer is nothing. And I know most of you know that. But do you really believe that.

1.Nothing Can Separate You.

after asking what can separate us from the love of Jesus Paul starts listing seven things that could potentially separate us and shoots them down.

And they are the same things that us today could let doubt creep in. and if this is here maybe that means I have been separated from God’s love.

He starts with trouble, hardship, and persecution. Which together represent the pressure and distress caused by an ungodly, hostile world. When we face trouble we can start to question if he still loves us. When it feels like nothing is going our way. When it feels like life has gotten way harder than it should, when we are directly opposed because we are living out the convictions he put in our heart.

in those times we ask our selves does he still love me? He does.

Then Paul goes on to famine and nakedness. the lack of adequate food and clothing. Since Jesus promised us these in the sermon on the mount does that mean that he doesn’t love us if we don’t have them does not care. If we have months where we have to choose between which bills to pay and we have to look our kids in the eyes and say they can’t go the trip with the other kids because we cant afford it. Does he still love us? He does.

He conludes his list with danger or sword. this is the risk of death that comes with being a follower of Christ. If he allows us to be killed for our faith does that mean that he still loves us? He does

Can any of this pain, misery and loss separate Christ’s people from his love. NO

Paul doubles down and says in verse 37

Christian Standard Bible Chapter 8

No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us

We don’t just bear the trouble, the hardship, the persecution, the famine, the nakedness, the danger and the sword of our enemies we conqueror them all, through Him who loved us.

Guess who endured ever single one of those things Paul just listed. Paul himself, and every single one of the 11 apostles. but most importantly Jesus himself. Would you say Jesus was separated from the love of Jesus? Of course not. And neither are you when you go through any difficult circumstances.

Christ provided his love for us by his sufferings so our suffering cannot possibly separate us from it. in fact it brings us closer to him

Romans 8:17 CSB

and if children, also heirs—heirs of God and coheirs with Christ—if indeed we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Our suffering does not separate us from God’s love. It should be seen as evidence of our union with him not a cause for doubting his limitless love.

Stott

The Message of Romans c. Five Unanswerable Questions (31–39)

God’s pledge is not that suffering will never afflict us, but that it will never separate us from his love.

Romans 8:38–39 CSB

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2. His Love Never Fails.

Our love fails. Even the strongest of human loves can fail. the love between parents and kids can fail, between husband and wife can fail, between lifelong best friends that love can fail. The love that Paul states clearly here that will not fail is the love of God that we receive through Jesus Christ. it cannot even be seperated by death.

It can’t ever fail because God’s love toward us not depenant of our love toward him.

Stott

The Message of Romans c. Five Unanswerable Questions (31–39)

Our confidence is not in our love for him, which is frail, fickle and faltering, but in his love for us, which is steadfast, faithful and persevering

His love is not like ours. It is not a feeling that comes and goes. it is a decision. and He does not change his mind. God chose to love you before the foundations of the earth, he chose to love you on the day you were born, chose to love you on the day of your greatest regret, and he will choose to love you tomorrow.

Because Nothing, not death, not the twist and turns of life, not angels who can defeat entire armies solo, no king prime minister or president, no powers weather they be spiritual, mental, or financial nothing that he has created can seperate you from the decision that he made to love you.

He chooses to love you. Paul says all this from a very personal place. he isnt talking about a generic we or a generic love. He says I have been persuaded other translations say I have determined. That nothing can separate us.

How has he been persuaded and determined this to be true. Because he has gone up against every single one of these things, and every single time at the end of the day regardless of the size of the force against him when it was all said and done the thing that was still standing was the love of God.

His love is not like ours. There are things people can do to make you love them more or less. You cant help it. Or love is tied to our feelings. I love Alysa and when we got married I made the choice that I was going love her. But here’s the reality. Some days I feel the love more than others. There are things she can do on any given day that make me feel more love toward her or less. and I know there are things I can do that change how much she loves me on any given day. I’ve seen the look on face when she finds the water bottles I leave around the house. but at the end of the day there is always love. But because we are flawed our love, even healthy love is flawed.

God is not flawed, and he does not fail. so his love is not flawed and his love does not fail. His love for you is not based on what you do, his love for you is not based off what you can give him, His love for you is not based on your love for him. His love for you is not based on you, It is rooted and based in him.

Tim Keller “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe, yet at the very same time we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.”

Even if every other love in your life fails. You are loved in a way that is firm and secure that you can never fully understand until you see Jesus face to face.

When you experience a love like that it changes you. It frees you to stop looking at the love of others to make you secure in who you are because you know that you have already recieved a love that can never be taken away.

It also empowers you to love others from the overflow of that limitless love that you have recieved.

3. We Love Because He Loved Us

The motivation of God to create us was his love, the motivation for God to send Jesus was his love, his actions toward us overflow out of his limitless love for us.

John 3:16 CSB

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Love was God’s motivation to send Jesus, Love was Jesus motivation to give his life for us, and love is the motivation for the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us everyday.

This is where it gets convicting for me today. How can we call ourselves followers of Jesus if we aren’t motivated by the same thing that motivated Him?

We can never fully understand the height, depth, and width of God’s love for us. but I promise you, you can learn and experience more of it than you are today.

As we do and we become more like him we should be motivated to show others the best reflection of that love that we can.

But here’s the reality when I say the phrase “ you should show others the love of Jesus.”

That is something you have heard, you’re whole life if youve grown up in church. its true but its tired language and I am afraid what you hear when I say it is try harder to be nice to people.

God did not send Jesus, Jesus did not die, the Holy Spirit does not live inside of you, so you can just be a little nicer to people.

Some of the nicest people I know aren’t Christians. Mormons have the reputation of being way nicer than us. and they believe in a false Gospel.

Of course we should be nice to people but you can be nice to people and not be motivated by love.

You can be nice to people to make yourself look better, you be nice to people to get something out of someone. Salesmen are nice to you but its not because they love you.

Here’s what I am also afraid you heard when I said show others the love of Jesus. Keep the peace, let people live their truth, don’t risk offending anyone.

Guys Jesus was the most loving person that has every walked this planet and he did not keep the peace, he called out what wasn’t true and he offended almost everyone.

showing people the love of Jesus includes showing them the truth of Jesus. He is the way the truth and the life. If you knew someone was drinking poison that was killing them but they didn’t want to stop because they liked the taste. The most unloving thing you could do was encourage them to keep doing it and not tell them the truth.

The world is offering your friends, your family, your children cotton candy flavored poison. Are you going to sit back and let them keep drinking it. or are you going to show them the love of Jesus be delivering the truth of Jesus.

For God so loved the world, is that what motivates you?

We are called to be different. We care called to be motivated by what motivated our savior. the limitless love of God that we have recieved.

Conclusion

Church, this is what I hope you’ve seen today. And through this series The limitless love of God is not something you achieve—it’s something you receive.

Nothing can separate you from it. His love never fails. And when you truly receive that kind of love, it changes the way you love other people.

And maybe the reason some of us are struggling to love people well isn’t because we need to try harder—it’s because we’ve forgotten how deeply loved we already are.

Some of you have spent your whole life trying to earn a love that Jesus already died to give you. Some of you are exhausted trying to prove yourself to God, prove yourself to people, prove yourself worthy of being loved. But the Gospel is that Jesus didn’t wait for you to become lovable before He loved you. He chose to love you at your worst so you could belong to Him forever.”

“So today I want to ask you one simple question: what are you looking to for the love, security, and acceptance that only Jesus can give?

Because no relationship, no success, no approval, no achievement can love you the way He does. Every other love in this world has limits—but His doesn’t.

So today stop chasing love you have to earn, and receive the love that Jesus already paid for.

And if you’ve already received that love, then walk out of here and reflect it. Not just by being nice. But by loving people enough to give them truth, grace, forgiveness, and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.”

And maybe today, for the first time, you’re realizing the limitless life you’ve been looking for doesn’t begin with trying harder—it begins with receiving the love of Jesus.

You don’t clean yourself up first. You don’t earn His love first. You don’t prove yourself worthy first. The Gospel is that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Jesus already knows every failure, every sin, every regret, every reason you think you’re unlovable—and He chose the cross anyway.

So today, stop running from the love of God and receive it. Stop putting your hope in things that cannot hold you together and place your faith in Jesus Christ.

Turn from your sin. Surrender your life to Him. Trust in the death and resurrection of Jesus for your salvation, and receive the love that can never be taken away from you.”

A limitless life is only possible because you are limitlessly loved.