Bask In The Love Of God

God loves you…And I don’t want you to accept that simply because hey I am a Christian and I am supposed to say that – I want you just to close your eyes and know that God loves you. He has a special package of grace just for you. There is a drop of blood that was spilled just for you. He cried out in pain just for you. Don’t ever get to busy building this church that you loose sight of that incredible gift.

A visitor to Ystad Sweden tells of the little church located there. It is not a particularly beautiful church, and is exceptional in no way except that when you go inside you notice there is a crucifix hanging on the wall opposite the pulpit. The figure of our Lord is life-sized and life-like even to the use of real hair mangled beneath a crown of thorns.

How did this unusual crucifix happen to be in a Swedish Lutheran church?

Well, it seems that in the early 1700’s the King of Sweden paid an unexpected visit to the church. When the pastor saw the king in attendance he was over-whelmed. He ignored the text for that Sunday, and replaced it with an oratorical outburst of tribute and praise for the king.

Soon afterward the church received the crucifix from the king. With it came this command: "Hang this within the church so that whoever stands in the pulpit will be reminded of his proper subject."

You see, as much as I loved the fact that we were off to a great start, as much as I loved the fact that I stood right here and it felt so right, if we as a group, as a team, as a church whatever, loose sight of the grace that God has given us in his awesome love, we will very quickly stumble from being an acts 2 church and we will become a revelation 2 church.

This church is a fruitage of the love that God has for this community. We are all first and foremost sinners. All sinners so desperately in need of a miracle that if building this church clouds out why we need that love, we really have missed the mark.

Today though let us simply rejoice and count ourselves worthy knowing that yes we have been called, yes we are here to build a church, yes we are here to fulfill our great commission, yes we have gifts that we must use, but YES FIRST TO THAT LOVE AND THAT GRACE THAT AMAZING GRACE THAT HAS BEEN AMAZINGLY GIVEN.

When we are filled by that love, we don’t need anything else:

I’d rather have Jesus than silver or Gold,

Id’ rather be his than have riches untold;

I’d rather have Jesus than houses or lands,

I’d rather be lead by his nail pierced hands.

I’d rather have Jesus than men’s applause,

I’d rather be faithful to his dear cause,

I’d rather have Jesus than world wide fame,

I’d rather be true to his holy name.

He’s fairer than lilies of rarest bloom,

He’s sweeter than honey out of the comb,

He’s all that my hungering spirit needs,

I’d rather have Jesus and let him lead.

Than to be the king of a vast domain,

Or be held in sin’s dread sway,

I’d rather have Jesus than anything

This world affords today