But For The Love Of God

But For The Love Of God

Scriptures: John 3:16; Matthew 4:8-10; 1 Timothy 2:3-4

The last time that I spoke to you I delivered a message about knowing THE Name. The name everyone will bow to and confess is THE Name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. In that message I stressed the importance and power of His name and the fact that our enemy has attempted to minimize our knowledge and understanding of the power in the Name of Jesus. He has done this by making us think that words do not matter. Let me give you a few examples of how the enemy has stolen the power of the name of Jesus in the lives of many.

If you have watched movies throughout the years, writers in Hollywood have been blatant in disrespecting the name of Jesus. They use His name when they are cussing; as a form of cussing; and they use His name to express all forms of frustration. While I refuse to give you specific examples, I know that you understand and have witnessed what I am saying. So when the name of Jesus becomes a cuss word or is used to express frustrations, it becomes easy for the world to miss the true importance of the name. It also becomes easy for the Church to miss what THE name can produce when used in faith. Think about this, how many times have you heard someone cuss using the name Muhammad, Buddha, Moses, or another religious figure/icon? Doesn’t that tell you that there is a reason that the name of Jesus is singled out to be abused or blasphemed?

Let me give you another example where the world has applied this to God the Father and how the Church has been drawn into this same way of thinking. How many times have you heard someone say in frustration: “For the love of God……” or “For the grace of God….”? Let me ask you something: when people use these terms are they reflecting on God’s love for us or the grace He extends towards us? You know the answer and it’s a resounding “No”! Once again these expressions have become a means of expressing frustration and contempt in certain situations. This morning and next week, I want to talk about both of these expressions, but not in the way the world and many Christians use them today. What I want to share with you in these messages is why the love of God and the grace of God should be so important to us that we will never feel compelled to use either as an expression of frustration, just as we must never use the name of Jesus to cuss or express frustration. The title of my message today is, “But for the LOVE of God.”

Before I get into the message, let me share something that I hoped you noticed in my introductory remarks. As I look at the standards of scripture, the biggest failure that I see in the Church today is that it is becoming harder and harder to see how it and the world are different. So many of us think like the world and so many of us talk like the world. And that’s why I made the statement earlier that Satan wants us to believe that words do not matter. New Light, the truth contained in the spoken word is what Jesus lived by. And there is no truth in the words spoken by the world. No Christian should feel comfortable using the name of Jesus or God the Father as a means to cuss or express frustration but the world does this all the time. Why, you ask? The reason is the world does not value God, Jesus or things pertaining to them. And when something is not valued, it is often devalued. So Christians must make a conscious effort not to fall into the trap of talking like the world.

Again, the title of the message this morning is “But for the LOVE of God.” The love of God is mentioned many times in the Bible. We see it demonstrated through stories and proverbs as divine, true and everlasting. In fact, the Word of God says that God is love! This morning I want you to understand that “but for the love of God” our lives would be totally different if we existed at all. God is not a ruling dictator in heaven looking to squash us when we do wrong. No, God’s love is characterized by grace and forgiveness and is eternal and unconditional! Remember what was written in the book of First Timothy? First Timothy chapter two records, “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.” (First Timothy 2:3-4) God loves us and it is His desire that all be saved! He desires that every man should be saved even though He knows many are rejecting Him. His love for us is so vast that even when we reject Him He continues to love us and desire that we would turn from our wicked ways and be saved. That, my friends, is Who God is! So let’s examine what it means for God to love us. I want to approach this by demonstrating through His Word what our lives would be like if His love was not available to us.