But God... Demonstrated
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
How many times in the Bible have you seen a dire circumstance, an impossible situation or a time when seemingly absolutely nothing was going to be a good outcome? It looked like there was no other way, but God intervened. What about in your own life? How many times has it seemed to be over and done, but then God did something that changed it all?
I hope that you will participate in the writing plan for September. A plan has been produced that is a study of passages that have a phrase in it, “but God” or the phrase “then God.” I am going to share several of those passages over the next several weeks in a sermon series that will hopefully be encouraging to you as you deal with the dire circumstances, impossible situations or those times when there seems to be no way there will be a good outcome. God’s word reminds us of times past when His faithfulness proved greater than what seemed impossible. We see words like will redeem, lifts up, intended, set apart and makes all things possible. However, one word that we will begin this study with is one that, in my mind, makes it all happen. It is the word “demonstrates.” Listen to the verse it which brings this word to light. It is found in Romans 5:8. It is part of the plan of salvation that most people use when they are sharing the plan of salvation.
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
If you go back to verse 6, you can get this verse somewhat in context.
You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
We were powerless. Christ died for the ungodly. That means that we were not able to do things on our own that would be pleasing to God. We, meaning humanity, were ungodly. That simply means we were not and could not relate to God. Verse 7, gives more insight as to what was to come:
Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
This leaves the possibility open indicating that one might die for a righteous man. One may even possibly die for a good man. However, our text for today shows us that Christ died for sinners which means that they were neither righteous or good. They were those that were guilty, obnoxious and even annoying. God demonstrates for us an absolute love, an ultimate sacrifice, and a single salvation.
An Absolute Love
An Absolute Love
God demonstrated and absolute love. There is no other love like the love of God. We say we love this and we love that, we can even say we love each other. However, there is no love like God’s love. After all, He made it and He is the absolute source of it. So when we read that God demonstrates His love, we need to pay attention to it.
First we see it is an absolute love that is a precise love. His love comes just at the right time.
The Lord will judge his people
and have compassion on his servants
when he sees their strength is gone
and no one is left, slave or free.
God’s love comes at the time when everything else is gone. God’s love comes at the time when nothing else will work. God’s love comes at the time when when humanity was at the lowest of lows and it is demonstrated in a way that is absolute and precise. His perfect timing is demonstrated in His perfect love.
But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
God demonstrated an absolute love that was proven.
Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command.
Through the death of His one and only Son, God demonstrated a proven love.
God then demonstrates an absolute love that is poured into us and keeps us going. It is ongoing!
And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
Theologian John Stott said, “The integration of the historical ministry of God’s Son (what He did on the cross) with the contemporary ministry of His Spirit (what He does continually in our hearts) is one of the most wholesome and satisfying features of the Gospel”
He gives us the opportunity to be redeemed by His love and continues to make us better through His love. He gives us the ability to be cleansed and made whole and continues to make us complete and one with Him.
What a demonstration of absolute love!
God also demonstrates in His love for us an ultimate sacrifice.
An Ultimate Sacrifice
An Ultimate Sacrifice
In the Bible, a sacrifice is the act of something as a means of atonement, worship or thanksgiving. The offering may involve the slaughtering of animal or making an offering of grain or another agricultural product. It was seen in the Bible as an integral part of worship. It was part of religious services and often shown as an offering of thanks. The sacrifice was a sign of individual or national penitence.
The first mention of sacrifice in the Bible is done in thankfulness my Noah.
Genesis 8:20.
In an act of obedience, we see in the story of Abraham and Isaac how God foretold an ultimate sacrifice of a one and only son.
Then God said, “Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the region of Moriah. Sacrifice him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains I will tell you about.”
The sacrifice was designated in some powerful way and to be placed where the Lord said to do so.
Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. Offer them only at the place the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.
Offer right sacrifices
and trust in the Lord.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart,
O God, you will not despise.
The sacrifice had to be at the right place, the right sacrifice and with the right heart.
We also see in the Bible, the ultimate sacrifice delivered.
Jesus knew that He indeed was going to be the demonstration of an ultimate sacrifice. He told his followers in Matthew 20:28:
just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
He said it this way later on in Matthew 26:28:
This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Glory to God that His absolute love and His ultimate sacrifice led to a single salvation.
A Single Salvation
A Single Salvation
God demonstrated for us, for humanity, while we were still sinners, that there was a plan to fully cover our redemption. A single salvation gave us the ability to have our status changed. On social media, we can change our status. We can update our status. Well, God updated our status forever because of His demonstration!
Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.
We were alienated and God changed our status to becoming “unalienated.” Can you shout an amen right here?
The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
God changed our ability from death to life and from chaos to peace. Sinners were put right with their relationship with God. When our status changed, God demonstrated His love for us through a single salvation and caused our state to change.
Christ risen means that He is not dead and buried rotting away but alive and able to help us and guide us!
We are saved by the death of Christ.
Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
We are saved by the life of Christ.
For if, when we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
We are saved by the power of His resurrection.
I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
We are saved by His continuing reconciliation.
Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
But God demonstrated His love for us and through a single salvation our status changed, our state changed and our situation has changed.
It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself.
All the other sacrifices that had taken place before were copies have the processes and procedures that had been repeated each year. We were once considered to be condemned worthless sinners and now we are redeemed priceless saints.
But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God.
Glory hallelujah!
Did you catch that? When the once and for all sacrifice was complete, Jesus the High Priest sat down at the Right Hand of God. He did not sit down because He was tired, He sat down because He was done! His mission was complete. He paid the price in full. He has given us complete redemption.
My life was a mess. I could not even approach God’s holiness as I was ashamed, undeserving, and unworthy. But God....But God....But God demonstrated His love for me, when I was worthless as if I was the best creation He had ever made, and allowed Christ to die for me.
We have be justified.
We have been sanctified.
We have been glorified.
Do you know the demonstration of our God? He demonstrated for me. He demonstrated for you. What shall we demonstrate for Him?