The overwhelming Love of God

This is the the 4th Sunday of advent

During this time of the year we prepare ourselves to celebrate the birth of our Lord and savior and to remind ourselves that He is coming again.

The word advent in the Latin means “coming”

Christians around the world use the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare and remember the real meaning of Christmas.

Hope, Peace, Joy, Love

Love

The overwhelming love of God,

We Can be in a room worshiping Jesus with thousands of people, and suddenly be transported into the presence of God, as we are touched by God’s love, all the sudden is just you and Him, the people around you and all the noise fades away.

one thing is noticeably clear to us, God loves us. sometimes we may jump up and down filled with Joy, or shad tears of Joy, but one thing is for sure we enjoy His presence, with our hearts full of faith. We are overwhelmed, by His endless love.

God so loved us that he sent Jesus His only son to the world.

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

Joh 3:16

Jesus is the full expression of God’s love for you and me. Jesus epitomizes Agape, God’s love.

A love that is unconditional, full of unmerited grace and self-sacrificial.

Let’s Pray

1 Unconditional

If you ever wonder how the pure love of God, looks like, just look at Jesus.

Is impossible to understand the love of God looking at people, like our families, our teachers, our friends they have or will disappoint us, but when we look at Jesus who is perfect, we will never be disappointed we will clearly see God’s love for us.

Jesus came in humility, as a servant, a man of peace, forgiving sins, demonstrating great compassion, and fully submitted to His Heavenly Father,

Have you welcome the love of God in your heart?

We begin by welcoming Jesus

To receive Jesus, we need to acknowledge Him as God’s only son, that he died our death on the cross, for the forgiveness of our sins, we need to repent from our life of selfishness and make a choice to die with Christ for the life we now have in this world, and for the rest of our lives here on earth we will follow Jesus and live for Him.

This is the narrow path that leads us to life.

Mat 7:13 "Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

Mat 7:14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Ex years ago I met a young man attending a school of biblical studies, this guy grew up in California, a surfer that got involve with drugs early in life, by the time he was 19 years old he was importing containers of drugs from Colombia, he was having the time of his life, of course the police was after him, actually about five or six agencies were after him, he was on their list of most wanted. One day someone preached the gospel to him and he heard the love of God calling his name.

The love of God is unconditional, is not about how well we behave, it doesn’t matter how bad you are or how many horrible things you have done, God loves you. The only ones telling you that you are hopeless is satan and yourself, God loves you regardless of what you have done. He separates who you are from what you have done.

Richard began to attend church, and begin to read the bible, by the way, what change us, is our daily walk with Jesus, reading his word and obeying him. One day he heard this clear voice, turn yourself inn, he said that he rebuked the devil and took a stand against the voice of the enemy, but didn’t go away, finally he recognize that was not the devil speaking to him but the Holy Spirit that leads us to all righteousness.

With the help of his pastor he turned himself inn, if convicted he would be there for many years, the court day was set and his whole church was praying for him, praying that Richards Heavenly Father who loves him so much and forgave him for all his sins, would have mercy on him.

When the court day came up, before the judge was Richard his lawyer and his pastor, the federal agencies knew that each of them had enough stuff on him to put him away for a long time, so they all rely on each other and no one showed up. The honorable judge read the letter from the pastor sharing about Richards new life in Christ, and receiving the pastor recommendation he sentenced Richard to go to YWAM and attend a Discipleship Training school and a school of biblical studies.

God’s love is unconditional.

2 Unmerited Grace

When Jesus comes into our hearts our life changes,

Whatever bad habits or addictions we have, needs to go, the love of God dwells in us,

I’m not talking about just acting like you love people, but loving them from our hearts.

Yes, our behavior is the fruit from what we have in our hearts.

The love of God must consume us, must become part of our thinking, what will be demonstrated in our actions and emotions.

Paul describes love this way

1Co 13:4 Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily.

1Co 13:5 It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God's love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong].

1Co 13:6 It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail.

1Co 13:7 Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening].

1Co 13:8 Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end].

Welcome the love of God in your heart and chose to love every day.

I have work with biblical counseling for the past 34 years, revelation, insight, understanding, are awesome, but what transforms a heart is our relationship with Jesus, what takes listening to God’s word and obeying, minute by minute, nothing else will work.

I have seen people delivered from demonic powers set free, physically healed, and they continued to be the same rotten person they were before God touched them, we don’t need a touch, we need to be held in his arms, a relationship with him.

3 Self -Sacrificial

1Jn 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.

1Jn 3:15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

1Jn 3:16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.

1Jn 3:17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?

1Jn 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

The love of God is sacrificial, and if we love others as Jesus loved us, we need to love with a sacrificial love.

Some time ago I was listening to Todd White.

He shared the story about this soldier attending a memorial service, for a soldier who gave his life to save his. At the end of the service he went to the soldiers 6-year-old son to thank him for what his dad had done for him, the boys question was, was his life worth it?

So I’m going to ask you the same question today

Is the life you are living today, worth the life of Jesus.

Was the life of Jesus worth it?

Are you living in such way that glorifies him? Or are you living for yourself?

1Jn 3:18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Only people who are living for themselves are often taking offenses and are being taken advantage off, those who are living for Jesus are just finding opportunities to serve.

If we are dead to self, nothing should offend us.

Miss treatment, accusations, insults will come our way and will test us to see how dead to self we are, but if in that minute, you lay down your life one more time it will not shake you out of your place.

The overwhelming love of God, unconditional, unmerited grace, Sacrificial.

Is Jesus the Lord of your life?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Joh 3:16

To receive Him we need to accept Him as God’s son, repent from our sins and a life of selfishness, asking Him to be your savior and Lord, not that you deserve it, but is a gift from God.

If this is your desire today, please repeat this prayer after me?

Heavenly Father I’m sinner, I’m sorry for my sins, I’m willing to turn away from my sins.

I receive Christ as my savior,

I confess him as Lord

from this moment on I want to follow and serve him,

in the fellowship of his church,

In Jesus name,

Amen!