God Is Love Series

Who Is God?

Series Introduction – God Is Love

Ephesians 3:14-19

Do you ever feel like no matter how hard you try you just can’t get things right? That even though you are extremely busy, you don’t seem to be accomplishing anything? Does it ever seem like you are just living life in some sort of fog…with no direction?

It seems to me lately that, as a church, we’ve been in a fog…unsure what to do next…to many competing opportunities. And even though we’re extremely busy we don’t seem to be getting anywhere.

Dream

Turn on the light – expose the darkness.

God is light; in him there is no darkness at all…if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another

The greatest deliverance you will ever know is deliverance from you.

The consistency of our spiritual walk is in large part determined by our understanding of God’s character.

We were designed to discover ourselves by discovering God.

To begin the series on God, I want to begin with God’s character of love.

God sees everything through His nature of Love.

For God so loved the world…

Ephesians 3:14-19 - For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

It seems that God’s love isn’t something to be talked about. We can’t just learn it. We must experience it. We must receive it. We must be filled with it.

For God so loved the world…

Everything God has ever done and will ever do is first motivated by His heart of love. The very decision to create us was motivated by His love.

The decision to reveal Himself to mankind was motivated by His love.

His walking in the Garden with Adam was an act of love.

His covenant with Abraham was a covenant of love.

The decision for God the Son to leave heaven and come to earth was a love act.

The sacrifice of God the Father was a love sacrifice.

For God so loved the world…

The very acts of Jesus were all done from a heart of love. From the very beginning to the very end, His heart was bursting with love for you and me.

And still today and He lives to make intercession for you and me, He is doing so motivated by His love.

For God so loved the world…

So how do we fully experience God’s love?

First you must believe it exists unconditionally.

Second you must receive it.

Third you must give it away.

Colossians 2:2 - My purpose is that they may be encouraged in heart and united in love, so that they may have the full riches of complete understanding, in order that they may know the mystery of God.

Love takes work

Love takes sacrifice

Love doesn’t just happen, it must be intentional

Stages of friendship

Acquaintance Stage – “Come on by any time” – doesn’t work with acquaintances

You usually have to work to get past the acquaintance stage – specific invitations, sacrifice, and time.

Restaurant Stage – meet somewhere for dinner – lasts about an hour

Meal in the home stage – this usually communicates that it is ok to hang around for a couple of hours

Drop by stage

Refrigerator stage

Family – highest risks – highest rewards

God wants us to relate to each other in this way. And He also wants us to relate to Him this way – as Family.

John 15:15 - I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.

The word “friend’ here is actually a covenant term for someone who has become a blood brother through the act of cutting covenant. In the culture of the day, a blood brother – the person called “friend” – was actually a closer, more intense, relationship than a natural brother. Remember the verse that says that there is a “friend who sticks closer than a brother”?

Jesus is saying to His disciples and to us that He considers us closer than natural family members. That’s how strong His love is. That’s how committed He is to us.