The Secret of God’s Love
October 13, 2010
Introduction
A (IL) God’s love
B The power of one’s own will is more powerful than the laws of God.
1 How? We still sin, fall, lie, are jealous, covet, lust, proud, gossip, overeat.
a He has laws in place that forbid me from doing all these...I still do them.
b His laws can’t/don’t/haven’t ever kept my flesh in check for long (maybe for a season...but not for long).
2 If we are ever going to fully walk in holiness, walk in purity, we must find a power greater than our flesh.
a Not the Law, willpower
b Only the love of God has the power to overcome sin.
C We know God loves us, so why do we still sin?
1 God has feelings. (Loves me, hates sin, slow to anger, abounding in love...get it)
a There is a very sensitive side to God.
aa He made sunsets, mountains, streams, majestic forests, white sandy beaches, poetry, love songs, comedy...
bb We should know God has emotions, but we forget.
b He’s a “he”, not hypersensitive, doesn’t get emotional, you can’t hurt His feelings.
2 Ezekiel is a wild & crazy guy.
a Visions with God, He’s on fire, angels are flying around all over the place, wheel in a wheel...
aa Ezekiel had to lie on his side for a year, cook over “the poopie”.
bb Armies will come and capture “His people”.
b Crazy times
3 Then those of you who escape will remember Me among the nations to which they will be carried captive, how I have been hurt by their adulterous hearts which turned away from Me, and by their eyes which played the harlot after their idols; and they will loathe themselves in their own sight for the evils which they have committed, for all their abominations. Ezek 6:9 (NASB)
Then your survivors will remember Me among the nations where they are taken captive, how I was crushed by their promiscuous hearts that turned away from Me and by their eyes that lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves because of the evil things they did, their detestable practices of every kind. Ezek 6:9 (HCSB)
Then in the nations where they have been carried captive, those who escape will remember me--how I have been grieved by their adulterous hearts, which have turned away from me, and by their eyes, which have lusted after their idols. They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices.Ezek 6:9 (NIV)
And they that escape of you shall remember me among the nations whither they shall be carried captives, because I am broken with their whorish heart, which hath departed from me, and with their eyes, which go a whoring after their idols: and they shall lothe themselves for the evils which they have committed in all their abominations. Ezek 6:9 (KJV)
And remembered Me have your escaped among nations, Whither they have been taken captive, Because I have been broken with their heart that is going a-whoring, That hath turned aside from off Me, And with their eyes they are going a-whoring after their idols, And they have been loathsome in their own faces, For the evils that they have done--all their abominations. Ezek 6:9 (YLT)
a “...I have been hurt by their whoring heart...”
aa Fornicate, prostitute, illicit sexual intercourses with women in particular in mind.
bb Used figuratively to describe Israel’s contact with other nations, & other nation’s gods.
cc Unfaithfulness
b “...been hurt...”
aa Literally: “have broken”-crushed, broken to pieces, torn.
bb God’s feelings get crushed, hurt, He’s broken-hearted when His people, Church/Bride messes around on Him.
4 Think about it...
a The God who formed the cosmos, world, stars, moon, oceans, rivers, Grand Canyon, who spoke & divided light from darkness says He is broken hearted over me.
b God, who has billions of other things to worry about actually thinks about me
aa He’s hurt when I want to spend time with anyone else.
bb You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me...Ex 20:5 (NASB)
...for you shall not worship any other god, for the Lord, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God...Ex 34:14 (NASB)
For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God. Deut 4:24 (NASB) He is jealous for us.
c He talks here not as a loving Father, sovereign Lord, Creator of creation...but as a jilted lover, cheated-on husband whose wife has defiled the marriage bed (not just a broken commandment, broken covenant).
aa He’s broken-hearted when we run to other lovers!
bb God’s jealous, hurt, broken-hearted, feels cheated on over you & me.
5 If we break a commandment, God’s Law, rigid confines of statutes, we’re aware we’re breaking a rule...not enough for us to stop breaking a cold & rigid rule (we still do!)
a Donald Miller wrote, “It’s a profoundly different thing to break a rule, than it is to cheat on a lover.”
b God is not just King, Lord, and Ruler over everything, He’s also a jealous lover who hurts when I run away.
6 The same love that keeps you faithful to your spouse, wholly devoted to that one special person in your life is the love that keeps you faithful/devoted to your Lord.
a God didn’t send His Son for us so that we could keep falling short of His glory.
aa I only fell short of His glory until I met Jesus.
bb He didn’t save us to keep falling short, sinning, unfaithful.
b The blood spilled in the making of the New Covenant is more than adequate for cleansing/maintaining our heart in purity before Him.
c He loves me!
aa His love compels us to pursue holiness, purity, godliness.
bb His love & our desire to please our lover will break us free from the chains of sin.
cc His love not only sets you free...it also keeps you free.
7 “Preacher, we’re still going to sin, fall short until we die.”
a What would happen if we took that doctrine into our marriages?
aa “Honey, you know I love you, am committed to you, but I can’t be faithful to you. I’ll love you, serve you, be your friend, I’ll do all I can to make you happy, but I can’t be faithful. It’s just not in my nature.”
bb Sounds absurd, right?
b How would your spouse respond?
aa If you can be faithful to your spouse, you know what it takes to be faithful to God.
bb Keep yourself wholly for Him.
c Can’t do it in your flesh, willpower...only through His love.
aa The law, statutes, commandments aren’t stronger than our wills...but His love is!
bb The strongest power in the universe is the love of God.
Conclusion
A When you decide just to yield yourself to Him, to fall in love with Him-your prayer is that His love will be the driving force in your life.
1 His love will guide your thoughts, hopes, actions, & dreams-has power to bring us to wholeness.
a His blood keeps us-His love delivers us.
b Our struggle with sin is real-but the longer we stay within the veil, the more easily we can see ourselves becoming free from sin.
c His blood continuously washes us, His love is continually setting us free.
2 His love is what fuels/feeds our faith, even when faith is hard to find.
B Pray
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