The Unbreakible bond of God's Love

Intro

Today i wish to turn to the last verse of our vision verse:

Ephesians 3:19 AV

19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.

It is God’s will for us at UFGC that each and every one of us KNOW the love of Christ.

That word is gin-osko is the greek.

It means to live in the reality of.

Its not just a mental understanding of a concept, but rather a shift in our understanding of reality itself.

When you KNOW the true depth and hight of the Love of Christ, your entire worldview is forver changed.

Its a fundemantal shift from one dimension of life into another.

And a powerful shift at that.

It what shifted Peter from cowardice to courage.

It what shifted Paul from murder to maryter.

Any time you see a radical shift in a biblical charicter, that shift comes from them truly knowing the reality of God’s love.

And then living in that new reality.

We have these shifts at key points in our lives.

We have a reality shift when we go from single to married.

The married person sees the world fundimentally different to when they were single.

We shift when we have children.

When you wake up one morning as a parent, the world looks the same, but it isint.

What was always just a road, now bec omes a possible death trap if your child were to wander into it.

A simple flight of stars becomes a dangerous hazard that needs a gate top and bottom.

A simple patch of grass suddenly becomes an oppertunity to learn to ride a bike.

This is the same kind of shift in reality that the christian can expect when they truly know and understand and believe in the love of God.

And what is amazing about the love of God is thats its perfect.

It does not change.

The standard of God’s love is:

Romans 5:8 AV

8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

That love, is the same today as it was then.

God does not love us more each day. So if God’s love does not change, what does?

Our understanding of it.

And as our understanding of God’s perfect love deepens, so we experience more and more of this love each day.

Camera example

So how can we experience this shift?

Romans 8 gives us the answer.

And the answer starts with a question:

Romans 8:31 AV

31 What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

God is for us

The shift is in a realisation: God is For us.

And if God is indeed for us: Who can be against us?

Let us ask a question ourselves: How do we know for absoluty sure that God is indeed for us?

We are given the answer in the very next berse:

Romans 8:32 AV

32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

Lets talk about what pleases the Father.

We do not please the father as sinners. As sinners in the flesh the Father is not pleased with us.

Romans 8:8 AV

8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

The only one in whom the Father was ever pleased was His own Son.

Mark 1:11 AV

11 And there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.

Not just pleased, but well pleased.

The Father delighted in the Son, rejoyced in the Son. Loved the Son.

There was nothing in all existance that was more precious to the Father than the Son.

The Father was “well pleased” with the Son.

And yet, what does scripture say?

Romans 8:32 AV

32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

There exists nothing more dear, more precious to Father than the Son, yet the Father took that which was most precious to Himself and delivered Him to us, so that Jesus would justify us sinner by His death.

It went from the Father being well pleased with Jesus to:

Isaiah 53:10 AV

10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

The Father gave that which was most precious and pleasing to Him for our salvation.

That is all the proof that is needed that God is indeed for us.

And the conclusion is logical:

Romans 8:32 AV

32 He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?

If God did not spare His own pleasing, precious Son, but gave Him to us - Will the Father not also give us all things which we need?

If He already gave that which is of infinate value, he will NOT withhold that which is lesser.

So the Christian can approach God with their requests for strength, joy, peace, patience, help, hope, provision - all with the most absolute confidence, because God is for us.

The Power of this Love

Paul poses another question:

Romans 8:35 AV

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

We can rephrase the question:

What can turn God against us?

What can cut the bond of His love?

Paul gives a possible answer:

Romans 8:35–36 AV

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

In othr words:

What about heartbreaking tribulation and trouble?

What abour severe distress and unbreaible persecution?

What about when we are strangled by famine?

What if all our earthly comforts are destroyed and we are naked, homeless and destitute?

What if hatred for Christ causes our blood to be shed and we are left like dead dogs littering the street?

What if all this terrible calamaties happened to us all at once!

Would this severe the bond of love?

Paul again provides the answer:

Romans 8:37 AV

37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

Translation: Nothing can seperate the believer from the love of God.

Nothing can triumph against you because God is for you.

No need is to great because God has already given you that which is most precious and pleasing to Him.

You are, as a Christian “ In Christ”.

You are more than a conquerer.

Why? because God is for us.

You can do all things who hum who gives you strength.

Why? because God is for us.

You shall tred of serpants and not be harmed?

Why? Because GFod is for us.

No wepon formed against you shall prosper.

Why? Because God is for us.

He shall give His angels charge over you.

Why? because God is for us.

Conclusion:

Lets end with a final question:

Why is God for us?

Why does He love us so much that He sent thats which most precious to die in our place?

Well we can begin to answer that question by ruling wrong answers out.

He does NOT love us because we are deserving of his love.

He does NOT love us because he feels sorry for us.

He does NOT love us for anything that has to with us.

He does not love me because of me, He love me inspite of me.

Why does He love us?

Not becaise I AM locvable BUT because:

1 John 4:8 AV

8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

I have been a preacher of God’s love for 20 years.

I have seen God’s love transform sinners into saints.

I have seen the love of God heal the broken hearted and reconcile families.

God’s love me, as demonstrated on the croos by Jesus Christ, is the single most real thing in my life.

Its morew real than my marriage, my wife, my daughter, my ministry.

FGod’s love may very well be the only thing that actually, truly, unshakible exists.

And to this day - I dont know why God would ever love a wretched sinner like me.

But, praise his name, At least i know He does.