Text: “We love Him because He first loved us.”
Story: “We Require Loving”
A little girl was making but poor progress toward recovery, though the ailment had been checked and there seemed to be no reason why she should not rapidly improve. But it didn’t happen, and the doctor in charge was keenly interested to know why.
She was a very sensitive child, easily scared, responding quickly to kindness. Perhaps she was afraid of Nurse or Sister or her unfamiliar surroundings.
The doctor decided it was the lack of understanding which was retarding recovery, and so wrote a directive upon the temperature chart: “This child requires loving every four hours.”
God is even better than that: He says, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.”
--------Winship Storey in his Methodist Recorder
God’s love for humankind is illustrated in Creation. Before God created man, He created everything necessary for man’s survival. The stage was set for the greatest creation yet to come. And then God said, “Let us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness…” (Genesis 1:26).
Man was going to be unique. He would be created with certain qualities not available to other created life. Man would be able to reason as God reasons. Each man created would be different in personal traits, abilities, and intellect. Man would be able to relate and communicate with one another, as well as with Almighty God. Man would have the ability to reason.
Man had it made until Satan showed up and very cunningly convinced Eve to perform the act of disobedience. After man was placed in the Garden of Eden, God said, “Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:16, 17).
The tree of knowledge of good and evil would give man independence from God. This independence would pertain to all facets of man’s life. On the other hand, the tree of life would give Adam and Eve and all God’s children the opportunity to spend eternity with the Father in His kingdom.
Man was being set up to disobey God through the act of temptation. The serpent, the devil, Satan, said to the woman, “Has God indeed said, ‘You shall not eat of every tree of the garden’?” And the woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die’” (Genesis 3:1-3)
The serpent was very cunning, very sly and very clever. He is the same today. He waits for the right time when he can lead us from the straight and narrow path of life down the wide road to destruction. The serpent or Satan plays on our mind as he did on Eve’s mind. He convinces us that what God says is wrong is in reality very good for us.
Many times we follow his direction. Many times we take bait, hook and sinker. People without a strong faith in Almighty God are gullible people. Even those who have a strong faith can be mislead because they do not have a personal relationship with God’s Son Jesus Christ. They have never invited Him to come and live within their heart.
Story: “When Christ is in Control”
Martin Luther was often very graphic in his description of the activities of the Devil. Asked one time how he overcame the Devil, he replied, “Well, when he comes knocking upon the door of my heart, and asks, ‘Who lives here?’ the dear Lord Jesus goes to the door and says, ‘Martin Luther used to live here but he has moved out. Now I live here.’
The Devil seeing the nail-prints in the hands and the pierced side, takes flight immediately.” It is surely good for every life and for every home to have Jesus as a permanent resident. This assured, heavenly blessing are sure to fall upon such bodies.
-----------------Sword of the Lord
God loves mankind so much that He sent His son into the world to give each person an opportunity and a second chance to live with him in His kingdom. He sent His son into the world through a young virgin named Mary.
“…the angel Gabriel was sent by God …to a virgin pledged to a man whose name was Joseph…and said, Rejoice , highly favored one, the Lord is with you;…you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name Jesus” (Luke 1:26-28, 31).
This was God’s plan and He followed through with it. He knew the heart of man. He knew man had disobeyed Him, but His love was so strong for His creation that He was willing to give His Son so man could have the opportunity to be redeemed and saved.
Now keep in mind that Joseph was not Jesus father. Joseph had no part in the formation of the baby that was to be in Mary’s womb. This child was the product of the Holy Spirit. When Joseph found out, he was going to divorce Mary, because the engagement could be broken only through divorce.
As Joseph contemplated what he would do, “…an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, ‘Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus for he will save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:20, 21).
Out of love, God was determined to redeem mankind. He knew how His son would be rejected, arrested, beaten, abused and ultimately nailed to an old wooden Cross, but He carried through His plan. Jesus was born. “She brought forth her firstborn Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn” (Luke 2:7).
I believe this was the first indication Jesus would be rejected. His life from this point on would not be the life of a king. His childhood would be like the childhood of any other child. His earthly parents would teach Him, care for Him and correct Him as they did their other children. There would be no partiality.
Jesus was first revealed to the shepherds who were out in the field tending their sheep. God sent an angel to the shepherds saying….”I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. There is born to you this day in the city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord” (Luke 2:10-11).
At first the shepherds were afraid, but as the angel continued to talk to them telling where the baby was, they said to themselves, “Let us now go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has come to pass, which the Lord has made known to us. Once they found Jesus, their life was changed as well as many others lives who heard their story.
We are the shepherds of today. We are the ones who after finding Jesus and making Him an integral part of our life bring other sheep into the fold. Jesus is the great Shepherd who looks after each one of His sheep.
Not all people accepted Jesus. Herod the king was disturbed when he heard this news. “When Herod the king heard this, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him” (Matthew 2:3). In fact, Herod was so disturbed that he wanted to destroy the Christ child. Herod said to the wise men, “Go and search carefully for the young Child, and when you have found Him, bring back word to me, that I may come and worship Him also” (Matthew 2:8).
God knew what was on Herod’s mind, so He warned the wise men to return to their country another way. Do not tell Herod anything. His son would not be destroyed at this time. This was not in His plan. Jesus was cared for and protected. God, the Father, protected His Son so ultimately His Son could redeem and save any man, woman, boy or girl who would come to Him and accept Him as their own personal Lord and savior.
Herod was out to destroy the Christ child. God’s plan was to let Joseph know what Herod had in mind. He did this through a dream by sending an angel to Joseph with the message, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him” (Matthew 2:13).
Joseph was obedient and followed the words of the angel. He took the Child and His mother and went to Egypt. Joseph was to keep the family there until Herod died. This would bring forth the words spoken by Hosea when he said, “…out of Egypt I called my son” (Hosea 11:1).
Herod was not a happy camper when he realized the wise men did not return to him and give him the information he desired, so he put into action phase two of his plan. “Then Herod, when he saw that he was deceived by the wise men, was exceedingly angry; and he set fort and put to death all the male children who were in Bethlehem and in all its districts, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had determined from the wise men” (Matthew 2:16).
Why was Herod so afraid of this Child? Herod was afraid that the Child would some day take over as king. There were probably many other people who thought the same as did Herod, but all these people, including Herod, missed the point or the reason for Jesus’ coming.
Jesus wanted to be king, but He wanted to be king of Herod’s heart just as he wants to be king of everyone’s heart. Many people this very day misunderstand Jesus. He does not want to take anything away from us, but instead, He want to become a part of us and give us the opportunity to be redeemed, saved and spend eternity with Him in His kingdom.
Jesus wants to give us thing that we cannot get ourselves. He want us to have the fruit of the Spirit which is “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control” (Galatians 5:23). These are all things that none of us can provide for ourselves.
These are provided by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the person God the Father sent when God the Son ascended back into Heaven. The Holy Spirit lives within our heart. God’s love is so strong for us that He never wants us to be alone or afraid or to fear Him.
Herod feared the Child because of a misunderstanding. People today fear God the Son because they do not understand. Many people do not give thought or do not understand the reason for the season. God did not have to send His Son into this sin-sick world, but because of His love for us, He carried through with His plan of salvation that was in place before the world was created.
God spoke through the angel to Joseph to move the Child to Egypt. God would have protected the Child wherever He was, but the move was necessary to bring to the truth and reality the words spoken by the prophets centuries ago.
In another dream, the angel again appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, and go to the land of Israel, for those who sought the young Child’s life are dead” (Matthew 2:20). Again, Joseph was very obedient and followed the directive of the angel, but then heard that Herod’s son was now king and he was afraid to go to Israel.
Once again, out of love for man, God stepped in and through another dream instructed Joseph to take his family to Galilee and to the city of Nazareth. “And he came and dwelt in a city called Nazareth, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, ‘He shall be called a Nazarene’” (Matthew 2:23).
Conclusion:
God had a plan for the preservation and salvation of mankind. This plan was on God’s drawing board long before the world was ever created. His plan was to create a being with whom He could communicate. God did not want to control the life of mankind, but instead wanted man to have the freedom to choose right from wrong, good from bad and the straight road from the wide and crooked road of life.
God knew His creation was good, but He also knew man’s nature would lead him in the wrong direction. Temptation was set forth and man would have to make a decision. God already knew what the result would be and that is why He had a plan ready to go. Although the plan was ready, it was not instituted until the timing was right.
At the right time, things began to fall into place. God was in control and when He is in control, events take place as planned. When the time came for Him to come to earth and be among the people He created, He sent forth an angel to make the announcement to a young virgin chosen to carry the Child.
The young virgin was impregnated by the Holy Spirit with a Child who would come forth and be born as any other child. The Child would be raised by an earthly mother and father. The difference being, this Child was sinless and would ultimately bear the sins of the entire world.
The Child was protected from destruction just as any child is protected. The Child had a knowledge superior to that of children His age. He talked and discussed issues with the priests in the temple. This Child was God in the flesh. This child would carry all sins, past, present and future to the foot of the Cross.
This Child was not accepted by His own people. As an adult He was mistreated. He was arrested. He was spit upon. He was beaten. A crown of thorn was pushed into the flesh of His head. This man was forced to carry the cross-beam onto which He would be nailed up the hill to Calvary. This man permitted nails to be driven into His hand and feet and a spear thrust into his side.
Why was all this permitted? It was all permitted because of His infinite love for each one of us. It was permitted to give man the opportunity to be redeemed and saved. “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost” (Matthew 18:11).
Jesus is standing at the door of the heart of every person who is lost because they have not yet invited Him to come in and be ruler of their life. I want to close with this little story:
Story: “Oh, Let Him In!”
A picture of the Lord Jesus knocking at the door of a heart was taken one day by a parish visitor to a house where a father and mother lived with their small son. Some impulse made the mother pin the picture up in their little kitchen, and when the small boy came in from school, he was very interested in it.
His mother was too busy with the dinner to answer his questions, but presently Father came in from work. “Who is the Man, Daddy, and why is He knocking at the door?” the little fellow asked again and again. The father tried to ignore the question, but it was asked again and again with great persistence, and at last he replied that it was the Lord Jesus Christ knocking at a door. “Then why don’t they let Him inn?” asked the little boy, wonderingly.
Dinner came just then, and the father managed to change the subject, but again and again during the days which followed the little lad asked the same question: “Why don’t they let Him in?” The question began ringing in the father’s ears, until at last one day he fell on his knees and cried: “Lord Jesus, it’s the door of my heart at which You are knocking. Please forgive me for keeping You waiting so many years. The door is open – oh, come right in and take possession!”
---------------Gospel Herald
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Amen.
