Rom 8-Love that will not Let Me Go

| Love That Will Not Let Me Go! Romans 8:28-39

July 8, 2007 28 (NLT) And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 29For God knew his people in advance, and he chose them to become like his Son, so that his Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers and sisters. 30And having chosen them, he called them to come to him. And he gave them right standing with himself, and he promised them his glory. 31What can we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us? 32Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else? 33Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? Will God? No! He is the one who has given us right standing with himself. 34Who then will condemn us? Will Christ Jesus? No, for he is the one who died for us and was raised to life for us and is sitting at the place of highest honor next to God, pleading for us. 35Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean he no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death? 36(Even the Scriptures say, “For your sake we are killed every day; we are being slaughtered like sheep.”) 37No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. 38And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can’t keep God’s love away. 39Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. PRAY Scripture Memory: Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Intro:  Love is a "four letter word" which everyone desires and yet seems to elude us so much of the time.  A rock group of the '60's sang "All we need is Love."  The hippies of that era chanted: "Make love, not war."  However, we can see in these phrases that the youth of the '60's were referring to something much different when they used the word "love" than God does.  God speaks of the power and nature of His love for us three times in a few short verses: vv. 35, 38 & 3935Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? 38I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from his love. 39Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.Therefore we need to ask ourselves, 1st of all, what is love? 2nd, How can I really know that God loves me? And 3rd, What difference should it make that God loves me?   1. What is love?What does Love mean?A group of professional people posed this question to a group of 4 to 8 year-olds, "What does love mean?" The answers they got were broader and deeper than anyone could have imagined. See what you think: "Love is when you go out to eat and give somebody most of your French fries without making them give you any of theirs." (Chrissy -age 6) "Love is like a little old woman and a little old man who are still friends even after they know each other so well." (Tommy - age 6) "Love is when your puppy licks your face even after you left him alone all day." (Mary Ann - age 4) "I know my older sister loves me because she gives me all her old clothes and has to go out and buy new ones." (Lauren - age 4) "You really shouldn't say 'I love you' unless you mean it. But if you mean it, you should say it a lot.  People forget."  (Jessica - age 8) We are all aware that the Greek language uses three different words which we translate "love" in English: Eros, Phileos, and Agape.  Eros refers to the sexual attraction between 2 people.  It is the root from which we get words like erotic.  Phileos refers to the love which family members would have for one another.  We see this in the name "Philadelphia" which means "city of brotherly love."  However, the word always used when referring to God’s love for us is "Agape."  Tyndale defines "agape" love as "a love for the utterly unworthy, a love which proceeds from a God who is love.  It is a love lavished upon others without a thought of whether they are worthy to receive it or not.  It proceeds rather from the nature of the lover, than from any merit in the beloved."   Contrast this with how the world defines love: Ø  An intense feeling of attraction or desire for another person.  Alan Redpath tells the story of a young woman who came to her pastor desperate & despondent.  She said, "There is a man who says he loves me so much he will kill himself if I don't marry him.  What should I do?"  "Do nothing," he replied.  "That man doesn't love you; he loves himself.  Such a threat isn't love; it is pure selfishness."  Love based upon attraction, no matter how intense, is, at best, a very unstable basis for any relationship.Ø  Webster's dictionary defines love as "A feeling of deep affection."   My friends, true Biblical love does not need feelings of deep affection, or any other feelings, for that matter.    Neither is it a feeling of good will towards someone.  Biblical love is a matter of choice, of the will, not of emotion or feeling.  We'll understand that more clearly as we continue to unpack what the Word of God has to say about this.Ø  An enjoyment of someone else which makes us want to be around them.  This type of love is fleeting, at best, and will sour as that person's sin nature reveals itself in moments of weakness and as familiarity breeds its inevitable contempt.Ø  A positive response to someone for being good to us.  This concept of love is seen in the phrases: "I love him because..."  "I love here because..."   "I would love him more if..."  "I would love her more if only...."  Once again, this type of "love" merely reflects a sinful self love and using of others to fulfill this self-love. The problem we have in understanding God’s love for us is that we tend to define His love in these terms…God’s love, agape love, is unconditional and therefore is unbreakable. It is not based on performance or worth and therefore cannot be turned aside by them. It is based on God’s own sovereign choice and goodwill.A love that “will not let me go…”39Nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.Imagine being held by such a love… NOTHING can DRIVE Him away from us! NOTHING can make Him stop loving us!Grieve Him? Yes. Drive Him away? NO!The problem with human parents… 2. How can I really know that God loves me? Five quick reasons (among MANY)Ø  His Word tells us that He does.Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV) – The Lord appeared to us in the past, saying: “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with loving-kindness.(NLT) “I have loved you, my people, with an everlasting love. With unfailing love I have drawn you to myself. John 3:16The Bible: “God’s love letter to His children”Ø  The Cross tells us that He does.We can know that God is for us, not because we somehow sense that it is His nature to be loving, but because He has given us His Son to die for us. That is, we can know God’s nature because of what He has already done in human history. (Boice)Romans 8:32 – (Since God did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all, won’t God, who gave us Christ, also give us everything else?)Rom. 5:8 (NIV) – God demonstrates His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Ø  Creation tells us that He does.The Garden of EdenRalph Carmichael (1964):In the stars His handiwork I see, On the wind He speaks with majesty, Though He ruleth over land and sea, What is that to me?Till by faith I met Him face to face, And I felt the wonder of His grace, Then I knew that He was more than just A God who didn't care Who lived a way up there and Now He walks beside me day by day Ever watchin' o'er me lest I stray, Helping me to find the narrow way, He's everything to me. |   | Psalm 136 – His Love endures forever… Ø  Common Grace tells us that He does.Matthew 5:43-45 (NIV) – 43“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. Ezekiel 18:32 (NIV) – “I take no pleasure in the death of anyone,” declares the Sovereign Lord. Ezekiel 33:11 (NIV) – “As surely as I live,” declares the Sovereign Lord, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live.’” The fact that judgment is not upon us… Ø  Our Hearts delight in his love1 Corinthians 12:3 (NIV) – No one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. Those who are not included in this “love that will not let us go” are those who have no desire to bow to Jesus as Lord. The attitude of their hearts is that of the people in the parable in Luke 19:14 – “We do not want this man to be our king!”Question: Do you desire in your heart to obey Jesus?Do you desire to see Him face-to-face and worship Him?If yes…         If no… 3. What difference should it make that God loves me with an unconquerable love?19th C. Scottish minister, George Mattheson (blind since early youth – wrote the hymn during a time of “extreme mental distress”) – “O Love That Wilt Not Let Me Go”Four differences that love makes in a believer’s life:Ø  Surrender in Times of WearinessO love that wilt not let me go,I rest my weary soul in Thee;I give Thee back the life I owe,That in Thine ocean depths its flow may richer, fuller be.·    He finishes what He starts…O love that wilt not let me go, (Phil. 1:6(NIV) – Being confident of this, that He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.)·    We can and must find our rest & security there.I rest my weary soul in Thee;1 Peter 5:7 (NIV) – Cast all your cares upon Him because he cares for you.·    We have been bought with a price.I give Thee back the life I owe,1 Cor. 6:20 (NIV) – You were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body. Ø  Strength in Times of WeaknessO Light that follows all my way,I yield my flickering torch to thee;My heart restores its borrowed ray,That in Thy sunshine’s blazeIts day may brighter, fairer be.·    Our ability to love is derivative…1 John 4:19 (NIV) – We love because He first loved us.·    When WE are weak, THEN He is strong.2 Corinthians 12:9-10 (9But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. 10That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.) Ø  Joy in Times of PainO Joy that seekest me through pain,I cannot close my heart to Thee;I trace the rainbow through the rain,And feel the promise is not vainThat morn shall tearless be.Hannah Brennard’s Hind’s Feet in High Places…The modern parable of the footprints in the sand…Like a mountain climber ascending a dangerous precipice behind his guide, secured only by a rope, the Christian walks thru life secured by the stout cord of God’s love. Because the way is treacherous, any believer may often slip and fall. But a disciple of Jesus Christ is secure, because every Christian is bound to God by a gracious, unchanging, eternal, and indestructible love.God disciplines, but He does not punish those He loves. (Heb. 12:5-6 – “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves.)Even in the hardest, most painful of times, we can rest assured that God’s sovereign love still hold us.John White and his son’s snake bite…There is nothing that has come into our lives, is already in our lives, or will come into our lives that has not been filtered thru the perfect and loving will of our heavenly Father and been directed by Him to our good. (Boice)The rainbow…Light at the end of the tunnel…Jer. 29:11 (NIV) - I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.  Ø  Trust in Times of HumblingO Cross that liftest up my head,I dare not ask to fly from thee;I lay in dust life’s glory dead,And from the ground there blossomsRed life that shall endless be.Lifting up my head…Laying in dust, life’s glory dead…The seed which dies & is buried in order to produce life…Jn. 10:27-30 (NIV)27My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. 29My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30I and the Father are one.” If you are not certain of these truths, it is because you are still looking at yourself. You are thinking of your own feeble powers and not of God and His omnipotence. (Boice) Summary / Review:What is Biblical love?  It is a love lavished upon others without a thought of whether they are worthy to receive it or not.  It proceeds rather from the nature of the lover, than from any merit in the beloved."  It is unconditional and therefore is unbreakable. It is not based on performance or worth and therefore cannot be turned aside by them. It is based on God’s own sovereign choice and goodwill.How can I really know that God loves me? His Word tells us that He does.The Cross tells us that He does.Creation tells us that He does.Common Grace tells us that He does.Our Hearts delight in his loveQuestion: Do you desire in your heart to obey Jesus?Do you desire to see Him face-to-face and worship Him?If yes…         If no… What difference should it make that God loves me with an unconquerable love?Surrender in Times of Weariness·    He finishes what He starts…·    We can and must find our rest & security there.·    We have been bought with a price.Strength in Times of Weakness·    Our ability to love is a derivative love…·    When WE are weak, THEN He is strong.Joy in Times of PainHis discipline is always for our good… It is always to heal not to injure…Trust in Times of HumblingLifting up my head…Laying in dust, life’s glory dead…The seed which dies & is buried in order to produce life… If you are not certain of these truths, it is because you are still looking at yourself. You are thinking of your own feeble powers and not of God and His omnipotence. (Boice) A Truth to Remember: God’s love for is based on His own character, not on our worthiness to be recipients of that love. A Challenge to Consider:Does the fact that God’s love will never let you go motivate you to seek Him, to glorify Him and to enjoy Him forever? One thing I heard this morning was…   |