“God’s Fervent Love”

“God’s Fervent Love”

(Advent 2021)

Scriptures - Isaiah 43:1-4

Intro - Launch straight into

There are somedays that we feel worthy of love. There are some days that we do not feel worthy of love. But this we know, God Fervently Loves His Children.

If you are a child of the living God, He loves you.

Transition - He loves you even though He knows you all of you.

The first thing we see in our passage is that...

vs.1, God knows me.

He made you. Every part of you: strengths & weaknesses.

He knows your successes and failures.

He knows your spiritual victories and your sins.

Despite the sins and failures of your life, He still loves you.

-He does not begrudgingly love you.

-Like when you were 6 and your mom made you apologize to your little brother.

-God happily & willingly loves you. Even when you don’t love yourself.

-Why?

A. He created me, He made me exactly the way I am.

He created: your looks,

your ability to think

your talents & strengths

some of your inability

Transition - He didn’t just create you like everyone else, He formed you.

B. He formed me

-Straight into illustration - Potter

Illustration - If you have ever watched a video of someone using a potter’s wheel - Wet clay on a potters wheel handle the clay, squeeze, gentle pressure. The basic shape, then very unique shape. Then the wheel stops and then the decorating before it goes into the kiln.

Then the painting and glazing.

In the end something is made that is 100% unique. Nothing else like it.

This is you. God loves you and He formed you. HE KNOWS YOU.

He is connected to you because you have come from Him. You bare His image.

Application - Your spouse and your children are all made differently by God. He loves how he made them - even the parts of their person that are different than yours.

God expects you to love and respect who He has made and how He has made them.

We must celebrate our differences. Why?

God created each one of our family members with a unique purpose.

God uses those differences to shape our lives.

Transition - Only has God created and formed me, but verse 1 says He has redeemed me.

He redeemed me, vs, 1

-What does redeem mean? It means we are bought.

-Not just bought and a change of ownership.

-Redeem is to liberate you from the oppression of another.

-There is a Biblical truth that is difficult for understand because of our culture.

-The truth is this, “You will always be enslaved to something or someone.”

-A nicer way to say it is, “You will always worship something or someone.”

- There is always someone or something that holds sway over you life.

We are either slaves to God or we are slaves to sin.

Romans 6:16 “16 Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?”

Christ, Came to be your liberator. You have been freed from the grasp of Satan and sin that you could not free yourself from.

-Not just freed, but you have become a child of God. God is now our Lord.

-God is the one who holds sway over your life.

-The Lord is like no other Lord.

-He knows you. and He loves you.

Transition - God knows you so well that He has called you by your name.

God has called me by name. vs. 1

God knows you! He cares about you so much that he does not just call you by your church name, or family name, He doesn’t call you by your nick name. He calls you by your personal name.

Illustration -

-When you were born, your name was announced. You were called by name.

-When you have birthdays your name is called. Others rejoice not because of the day of the month it is, but because it’s you.

-At graduation your name is called.

-At your wedding in your vows your name is called.

More importantly when you became saved. God called your name.

-He wrote you name in His special book, the Lambs Book of Life.

God has counted even the number of hairs on your head.

He knows you despite your mistakes and failures, still calls your by your name.

He continues to love that you are His.

You are known by God and You are loved by God.

Transition - God not only loves me on the average day, but God loves me when I need it the most, when trials and suffering come in life.

Today’s passage was written to the Northern Israelites in the divided Kingdom who were being led off in discipline to Assyria, never to return home. They were going through a really hard time.

Here is what we see from this passage.

vs. 2, God walks with me in difficulty.

Read vs. 2

(Walk down to teenagers.)

-It is not if difficulty will come in my life, but when difficulty will come in my life.

Teenagers, I want to share with you something.

-Suffering is a very normal part of life.

-You will go through difficult challenges in life.

-You will make mistakes and bring challenges/consequences on yourself.

-There will be difficulties that just happen, that were out of your control.

-Suffering will come.

Every Christ Follower needs a - Theology of suffering.

You say, Jonathan, what does that mean?

-You believe that difficulty will come. That God either allows it or sends it. That He is using it for His glory.

-Illustration - Johnny Hartman.

The Pastor of the church I served in had a son. His name was Johnny.

Johnny loved Jesus. Was growing spiritually, active in youth group, and went on a mission trip recently with me.

Johnny was 18 years old and 2 weeks away from graduating High School when he had a single car accident and died.

The reason for the accident was a mystery. He wasn’t spreading and had not been on his phone.

Suddenly his life had been snuffed out.

-The question naturally arose in all of our mind, why would God take a young man like that so early?

-We will never be able to fully answer that question.

-At Johnny’s funeral there were several hundred teenagers and their parents sat in the seats. Most were unchurched & far from God.

-1 thing happened that Johnny would have loved. Every single person in that room heard a clear explanation of the Gospel. Every person in the room knew that Johnny’s life was a testimony to the life changing power of Jesus.

-There are still questions, griefs, and hurts.

But God does not waste your suffering.

He walks with us in the suffering.

God saw Johnny’s parents and family through that agonizing time.

God will see you through the difficulty that comes in your life too.

God will love you through the difficulty.

2nd Illustration -

When Jesus walked this earth he suffered, all of His disciples but 1 died a martyrs death. Suffering is a part of life and many times part of a Christ Followers life.

On one occasion Jesus told His disciples to get into a boat on the Sea of Galilee. Jesus was so exhausted he fell asleep on the boat. A sudden storm came upon the Sea of Galilee, these seasoned sailers thought they would drown. Jesus is still asleep (physically exhausted and at perfect peace). He rebukes the wind and waves. They are immediately still. He shows his power over nature.

But Jesus did not just help his disciples when they found themself in a storm, He led them into the storm.

He led the disciples into the storm because He loved them.

What does God say to you about the storm?

Re-read out-loud verse 2.

Transition - Not only does God know you and happily calls you His child, faithfully walks with you through the trials and sufferings of life, but he also Fervently Loves me.

vs. 2, God walks with me in difficulty, because He loves you.

vs. 3-4, God loves me.

Read vs. 3-4

How do we know God loves His people?

A. vs. 3, He sacrificed others for us

-When God freed the Hebrew people from Egypt he used 10 plagues.

-The final plague was the Passover.

-God people placed lambs blood on their doorway.

-During the night God sent the death angel to kill the first born of each family of those without the blood on the doorpost.

-All the Egyptians lost family members that night.

-Children, mom’s, dad’s, aunts, and uncles who were the first born.

-The Hebrew people were freed from slavery. Free to leave.

-Read verse 3.

God gave those He created to be the ransom price for His people’s freedom.

-Why? God has a unique love for His people.

-God has a unique love for you.

B. God not only has proven his love by giving others for the ransom of His people.

He gave Himself for your ransom.

-God’s Son Jesus died to pay a ransom for your slavery to sin and Satan.

-He invites you to fully give your life to trusting Him as your Savior.

Before the Savior went to The Cross, He first had to be a child.

This is why we celebrate Christmas.

verse 4B, “I give men in return for you...”

Ultimately and finally God gave Himself as the God man for your salvation.

God has given Himself in exchange for your life.He wants you to trust Him.

He has given you the task to make much of Him to those in your life.

Pause

You are precious to Him. He loves you.

He Knows You, He will walk with you in difficulty, He loves you, You are precious to Him.

The question is this, “Will you follow the one who FERVENTLY loves you?”

Will you follow Him now?

-If you are willing to follow Him, will you say in your heart right now.

-Jesus I will follow you.

-Jesus I will live to make much of you.

Pray.