The Wonders of His Love

 TEXT: 1 John 3:1-3 TOPIC: The Wonders of His Love Pastor Bobby Earls, Northgate Baptist Church, Florence, SC Sunday morning, February 9, 2020 February is the love month. Most of us will spend some time sharing our love with those who mean the most to us, especially on Valentine’s Day. So, what’s the big deal about Valentine’s Day? Other than the fact that some of the greatest people who have ever lived were born on Valentine’s Day, February 14th, what’s so special about this day? To help find an answer to such a question I consulted that infinite source of knowledge that grows daily on the information highway, “Wikipedia.” This is what Wikipedia had to say about the history of Valentine’s Day. “Valentine's Day or Saint Valentine's Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine's cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery (that means candy laced with sugar). The holiday is named after two among the numerous Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished. Obviously the most important of all loving relationships we have as Christians is the love we share with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that He loved us with an everlasting love, Jeremiah 31:3. God’s love is one of the inexhaustible subjects of the Bible. How do I come close to describing God’s great love for us? I can’t. But God’s word gives us numerous passages beautifully written to reveal the loving nature of our great God. One of those is found in 1 John 3:1-3. Please open your Bible and stand to honor the reading of God’s word. 1 John 3:1-3, 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. 3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. This morning I’m preaching on the subject, “The Wonders of His Love.” And notice first of all the wonderful manner of His love there in verse 1. I. THE WONDERFUL MANNER OF HIS LOVE, Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, Don’t miss the fact that this manner of God’s great love for us is expressed by one who was so very well-acquainted with His love. A. Expressed by one well acquainted with His love 1. John the Beloved, “the one Jesus loved” John, the youngest of the Twelve 2. It was John the Beloved who said, We beheld His glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, John 1:14 B. Behold the depth and the tenderness of his love 1. Ephesians 3:14-19, (NLT) records some of the most beautifully descriptive words of God’s love for us. The Apostle Paul writes of the depth and tenderness of God’s wonderful love for us. 14 When I think of the wisdom and scope of God’s plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, 15 the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth. 16 I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit. 17 And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him. May your roots go down deep into the soil of God’s marvelous love. 18 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is. 19 May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it. Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God. There is also a sacrifice and a suffering involved in God’s love for us. C. Behold the Self-sacrifice and Suffering of His Love 1. Romans 5:6-8, (NLT) 6 When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. 7 Now, no one is likely to die for a good person, though someone might be willing to die for a person who is especially good. 8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. D. Behold the Power and the Blessing of His Love 1. Jesus said, 34A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. 35By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. John 13:34-35 (KJV) 2. Paul said, Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Romans 13:8 3. Peter said, Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 1 Peter 1:22 4. John said, Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 4:11 T/S—Not only do we see the wonderful manner of His love, but also the wonderful bestowal of His love. II. THE WONDERFUL BESTOWAL OF HIS LOVE, the Father has bestowed on us, 1a A. God has not kept or hoarded His love B. He has not bestowed His great love on His angelic messengers C. The Bible declares God has poured out on man 1. His gracious words of love 2. His miraculous works of mercy 3. His sacrifice and suffering for us. III. THE WONDERFUL PURPOSE OF HIS LOVE, that we should be called the children of God, 1b A. He refused to leave us in our sin B. He not only rescued us, 1. Took us in 2. Adopted us 3. Made us His children C. Gives us Sonship, Heirship, Fellowship and Partnership IV. THE WONDERFUL REALIZATION OF HIS LOVE, beloved, now we are the children of God, 2 A. Not promised to be B. Not going to be C. We are now ILLUSTRATION: Charles Dicken’s Child’s History of England, tells the story of romance of Thomas a’Becket’s parents. In his Child’s History of England, Charles Dickens tells of the romance of Thomas a’ Becket’s parents. Gilbert Becket was a London merchant in the 11th century. While on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, he was taken prisoner by a Saracen lord who had a fair daughter. (The term, “Saracen” refers to Arab Muslims.) The girl fell in love with Gilbert and expressed a desire to become a Christian, escape with him and become his wife. Gilbert seemed to return her love until he found a chance to escape with his servant, Richard. Once back in England, Gilbert’s love for the fair Saracen maid began to wane until he all but forgot her. But while his love decreased, hers increased. She left her father’s house in disguise to follow Gilbert and made her way to the coast. The merchant had taught her two English words, “London” and “Gilbert.” She went among the ships, saying over and over the name of the city she sought. Sailors showed her a ship bound for England, and she paid for her passage with some of her jewels. In due course, she arrived in London. As the merchant was sitting one day in his office, his servant, Richard, came running in, saying, “Master! There is the Saracen lady. As I live, she is going up and down calling, “Gilbert! Gilbert!” The merchant found her in the crowd and went to her. She saw him and fainted in his arms. Soon after, they were married. T/S—One last thing, V. THE WONDERFUL FUTURE OF HIS LOVE, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, 2b A. Be like Him! B. Psalm 17:15, As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. Conclusion: May the love of Jesus fill me As the waters fill the sea; Him exalting, self abasing, This is victory!