Good News For Those Who Have Accepted Christ

Title: You are dearly loved by God

Central idea: God loves you more than you can imagine.

Specific purpose: to spread the truth of God's love, that God loves you like you love your own children, even more than that.

Written in second person

The first of today’s scriptures tells of John, the writer of the Book of Revelation, hearing this powerful musical voice call for rejoicing about the future; Christ, the lamb of God, has come to marry His bride, the Church.

I. Revelation 19:7, "Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him, for the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready.”

This scripture takes us back to an older scripture, our scripture for today, from the Song of Solomon, chapter 4 verses 7-9, "You are altogether beautiful, my darling, and there is no blemish in you. Come [down] with me from Lebanon, my bride, may you come with me from Lebanon. Journey down from the summit of A-ma-na, from the summit of Se-nir and Her-mon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards. You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride; you have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes, with a single strand of your necklace."

II. Listen to verse 7. "You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you." This is the bridegroom speaking to his bride. This is Jesus speaking to His church. This is God speaking to you.

A. It is easy to for Christians to point out sin, to busy ourselves trying to convince men and women of their need to repent that you forget that you are saved. You do not hear enough of something that is clear throughout Scripture, "You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you." This is how God looks at you. The one who has saved you has made you this way. He has declared you to be "altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you."

B. If you are struggling against sin and you desire passionately to please God and you morn when you realize how often you come short, you need to hear how He looks at you, "there is no flaw in you." Christ Himself has put away your blemishes with His own scars, with His wounds, with the wrath of God that He took upon Himself to hang on the tree in your place. Christ was tortured in the most painful ways imaginable, shedding His blood for you because He dearly loves you.

C. You, rejoice as you remember what He has done for you. He has done a solid work, a strong work; a work that will not fade that will not run that will not dissolve over time. By the power of what He has done for you, you are without flaw and He loves you.

III. Look at what He says to you, "You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you." He calls you darling.

A. It is difficult for men to be called darling. You struggle with this idea, the dearness that God has for you. However, look at it in the context, He is your Father.

1. We Americans have this idea of production, of doing something for God, of doing something that is measurable good that we miss His love for us. We Americans can so easily see people who we believe have done more for God than we have.

2. That idea comes from the pit of hell. It is not in the Bible.

3. Do you think that He redeemed you and then thought you unworthy? You are darling to Him. You always will be darling to Him; always because He has done a work for you, to you.

B. God dearly loves you. You cannot do anything to make Him love you less. You cannot do anything to make Him love you more.

C. To be His darling does not depend upon what you deserve by your own virtue or merit. He has made you His darling by His own work, and His work is solid, sound, permanent, eternal and immutable. It will not change. He is always there loving you. His Holy Spirit is working to prefect you. He is always there looking to you, desiring you, loving you. It will never, never change.

IV. Next in chapter 4, verse 8, "Come [down] with me from Lebanon, my bride, may you come with me from Lebanon. Journey down from the summit of A-ma-na, from the summit of Se-nir and Her-mon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards."

A. God says, "Come down." Come down from all of your work and worries. Come down from all of your thoughts, all of your striving and everything else. Come down from that.