TEXT: 1st John 4:1-21
TITLE: God IS love!
SERIES: Letters from John
TOPIC: God is LOVE
OCCASION: Burnside Christian Church February 25, 2011
PROP.: In 1st John 3, he describes the kind of love WE are to have. And it is to stem from the kind of love GOD has. Because God is love. And God’s love is PERSONAL, PROVEN, PERFECTING, SAVING.
(OUTLINE BORROWED FROM SCOTT BAYLES First Christian Church Rosiclare, IL)
INTRODUCTION: Our Text is 1st John 4. Please open up your Bible and as you’re turning there, I want to say welcome and GOOD MORNING! Today in chapter 4 of 1st John, the Apostle John is going to spend some time teaching us about God.
Let me ask you to do something. DESCRIBE GOD.
In fact, people who don’t even have a relationship with God know about the description that John gives to Him in chapter 4. I mean you ask people to describe God…and what is the first description they give of God? Every person who has heard of God knows that GOD IS LOVE.
GOD IS LOVE. But what does that exactly mean? What we must not forget is that GOD DEFINES WHAT LOVE IS. Not the other way around.
God is love. Not Love is God. All the immoral, corrupt and vulgar expressions of ‘love’ is NOT love at all. GOD is love. And if you want to know God better; then you need to understand love. But not love as our world sees it. Love as God is love. And that brings us to our text today…
T.S.: In our text today, John gives 4 descriptions of GOD’S love!
First, God’s love is
I. A Personal Love (vs. 7,8)
Let’s read verses 7 & 8 of our text this morning.
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
The overriding impression of these two verses is that the Love of God is PERSONAL! God’s love causes us to know Him, and Him to know us!
A. Personal Love brings Joy
ILLUSTRATION: Have you ever gotten a phone call from someone and they got your name wrong? I have. And almost immediately before they even finish their pitch, what do you do? “Thanks. But no thanks…” CLICK. Because you know that the person on the other end of the phone doesn’t KNOW you….Or have you ever gotten a letter where your name was spelled wrong?
And listen, church family, YOUR NAME IS ON GOD’S LIPS! He knows you. He knows what brings a smile to your face. He knows what makes you laugh. He knows what annoys you. He know what causes you pain and grief. God knows you. And He knows you because He loves you! Let that sink in.
I like what A.W. Tozer wrote: “The love of God is one of the great realities of the universe, a pillar upon which the hope of the world rests. But it is a personal, intimate thing too. God not love the populations, he LOVES people. He loves not the masses, but men.”
All people matter! You matter! I matter! It’s the hardest thing in theology to believe!
Because the way people in our world show that you matter or that you’re important is to make those around you feel bad and look bad. Because if you can do that, then people will see how pretty you are. Or how smart you are. Or how talented you are. Or how powerful you are.
Or when you are alone with your thoughts, you may think about only your faults.
God loves you despite your love handles.
God loves you despite your blemishes.
God loves you despite your sin!
God loves you even if you were the first person out in the game of Risk.
And let me just tell you this…when God sees you, He is a proud Father. And whether your first, or last…God loves you; for you.
And because we have a hard time understanding and believing God’s unconditional love…
B. Jesus came (in part) to teach us about God’s love
But because the enemy wants to wreak havoc in your mind, I believe that this is why this is a teaching that Jesus time and time again taught to His followers…and so today, maybe Jesus needs to teach you this truth! GOD LOVES YOU PERSONALLY! Listen to His words in
Luke 12:6,7
6 Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God. 7 Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
While some may have a few more hairs than others, the message remains the same: god loves you and knows EVERYTHING about you. God’s love for us is personal. Jesus illustrated this again when He said,
John 10:14,15
14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— 15 just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep.”
Loved One…is the picture becoming clear?
God’s love is a PERSONAL love!
Secondly, God’s love is
II. A PROVEN love (vs. 9,10)
Listen to John’s words: verses 9 & 10
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Aren’t you glad God didn’t just SAY I love you? He has proven it!
(A. Jesus Christ PROVES God loves you!)
God’s love for us was proven to us through the life and death of Jesus. D.C. Talk had it exactly right - love is a verb! It requires actions, it is demonstrated through behavior! And since God is the originator of love, it makes sense that we have learned this truth from God who has demonstrated His love for us!
Romans 5:8 says, “8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
ILLUSTRATION: Parable of the pit -- there are a few variations of it…but here is how someone once put it:
A traveler fell into a deep pit and couldn’t get out. Several people came along and saw him struggling in the pit. The sensitive person said, “I feel bad for you down there.” The reflective person said, “It’s logical that someone would fall into the pit.” The interior designer said, “I can give you ideas on how to decorate your pit to make it more bearable.” The judgmental person said, “Only bad people fall into pits.” The curious person said, “Tell me how you fell into the pit.” The legalist said, “I believe you deserve your pit.” The self-pitying person said, “You should have seen my pit.” The Zen Buddhist said, “There is no pit.” The optimist said, “Cheer up! Things could be worse.” The pessimist said, “Be prepared! Things will get worse.” But Jesus, seeing the man, took him by the hand and lifted him out of the miserable pit.
Remember the truth that we learned last week? 1st John 3:18
18 Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.
God proved his love for us. Can the same be said of you?
I have heard this story in a LOT of sermons and I thought it would fit here. I was amazed to discover that this is a TRUE story with the details able to be verified! The man’s name is John Griffith. Watch this video.
ILLUSTRATION: THE BRIDGE VIDEO FROM YOUTUBE. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPysEqJlXrs
(HERE IS THE STORY: John Griffith was in his early twenties. He was newly married and full of optimism. Along with his lovely wife, he had been blessed with a beautiful baby. He was living the American dream. But then came 1929—the Great Stock Market Crash—the shattering of the American economy that devastated John’s dreams. The winds that howled through Oklahoma were strangely symbolic of the gale force that was sweeping away his hopes and his dreams. And so, brokenhearted, John packed up his few possessions, and with his wife and his little son, headed East in an old Ford Model A. They made their way to the edge of the mighty Mississippi River and found a job tending one of the great railroad bridges there.
Day after day, John would sit in the control room and direct the enormous gears of the immense bridge over the mighty river. He would look out wistfully as bulky barges and splendid ships glided gracefully under his elevated bridge. Each day, he looked on sadly as those ships carried with them his shattered dreams and his visions of far-off places and exotic destinations.
It wasn’t until 1937 that a new dream began to be birthed in John’s heart. His young son was now eight years old and John had begun to catch a vision for a new life, a life in which Greg, his little son, would work shoulder to shoulder with him. The first day of this new life dawned and brought with it new hope and fresh purpose. Excitedly, they packed their lunches and headed off towards the immense bridge.
Greg looked on in wide-eyed amazement as his Dad pressed down the huge lever that raised and lowered the vast bridge. As he watched, he thought that his father must surely be the greatest man alive. He marveled that his Dad could singlehandedly control the movements of such a stupendous structure.
Before they knew it, Noon time had arrived. John had just elevated the bridge and allowed some scheduled ships to pass through. And then taking his son by the hand, they headed off towards lunch.
As they ate, John told his son in vivid detail stories about the marvelous destinations of the ships that glided below them. Enveloped in a world of thought, he related story after story, his son hanging on his every word.
Then, suddenly, in the midst of telling a tale about the time that the river had overflowed its banks, he and his son were startled back to reality by the shrieking whistle of a distant train. Looking at his watch in disbelief, John saw that it was already 1:07. Immediately he remembered that the bridge was still raised and that the Memphis Express would be by in just minutes.
In the calmest tone he could muster he instructed his son “Stay put.” Quickly, he leaped to his feet, he jumped onto the catwalk. As the precious seconds flew by, he ran at full-tilt to the steel ladder leading into the control house.
Once in, he searched the river to make sure that no ships were in sight. And then, as he had been trained to do, he looked straight down beneath the bridge to make certain nothing was below. As his eyes moved downward, he saw something so horrifying that his heart froze in his chest. For there, below him in the massive gearbox that housed the colossal gears that moved the gigantic bridge, was his beloved son.
Apparently Greg had tried to follow his dad but had fallen off the catwalk. Even now he was wedged between the teeth of two main cogs in the gear box. Although he appeared to be conscious, John could see that his son’s leg had already begun to bleed. Then an even more horrifying thought flashed through his mind. Lowering the bridge would mean killing the apple of his eye.
Panicked, his mind probed in every direction, frantically searching for solutions. In his mind’s eye, he saw himself grabbing a coiled rope, climbing down the ladder, running down the catwalk, securing the rope, sliding down towards his son, pulling him back to safety. Then in an instant, he would move back down towards the control lever and thrust it down just in time for the oncoming train.
As soon as these thoughts appeared, he realized the futility of his plan. Instantly he knew there just wouldn’t be enough time. Frustration began to beat on John’s brow, terror written over every inch of his face. His mind darted here and there, vainly searching for yet another solution.
His agonized mind considered the four hundred people that were moving closer and closer to the bridge. Soon the train would come roaring out of the trees with tremendous speed, but this was his son…his pride…his joy.
He knew in a moment there was only one thing he could do. He knew he would have to do it. And so, burying his face under his left arm, he plunged down the lever. The cries of his son were quickly drowned out by the relentless sound of the bridge as it ground slowly into position. With only seconds to spare, the Memphis Express—with its 400 passengers—roared out of the trees and across the mighty bridge.
John Griffith lifted his tear-stained face and looked into the windows of the passing train. A businessman was reading the morning newspaper. A uniformed conductor was glancing nonchalantly as his large vest pocket watch. Ladies were already sipping their afternoon tea in the dining cars. A small boy, looking strangely like his own son, pushed a long thin spoon into a large dish of ice cream. Many of the passengers seemed to be engaged in idle conversation or careless laughter.
No one even looked his way. No one even cast a glance at the giant gear box that housed the mangled remains of his hopes and his dreams.
In anguish he pounded the glass in the control room. He cried out “What’s the matter with you people? Don’t you know? Don’t you care? Don’t you know I’ve sacrificed my son for you? What’s wrong with you?”
No one answered. No one heard. No one even looked. Not one of them seemed to care. And then, as suddenly as it had happened, it was over. The train disappeared moving rapidly across the bridge and out over the horizon.
So many have done the same thing to God. We ignore Him as we pass Him by, never giving a second thought to the sacrifice He made on our behalf. Like John Griffith, God allowed the jaws of death to close in on His son. And thousands go by unchanged and indifferent. But there is one tremendous difference between the two.)
Unlike the Memphis Express that caught John Griffith by surprise, the sending of Jesus was not a panic move; it wasn’t a spontaneous decision. It was planned. Jesus’ death was not the result of jealous Jews or hard hearted Romans. It was the result of a loving God…who in His wisdom said there was no other way. Jesus chose the nails, to demonstrate just how far he was willing to go to win your heart!
Jesus Christ dying on the cross was the exclamation point behind the phrase: I love you!
God’s love is personal. God’s love is proven…3rdly, God’s love is
III. A PERFECTING love (vs. 12)
What does that mean? We let’s read verse 12.
12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made perfect in us.
Since God’s love is all ready PERFECT (it’s pure…it’s without blemish) the phrase “His love is made perfect in us” actually has to do with perfecting US. Another translation says, “But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is made COMPLETE in us.”
(A. “You complete me”)
Do you remember that phrase from the movie: Jerry Mcquire? It’s cheesy. It’s stupid. But that’s because it’s inaccurate!
It‘s GOD‘S love and God‘s love alone that completes us; it makes us whole and gives significance to our lives.
And you KNOW people who try to find significance and purpose and fulfillment through of a LOT of things, don’t you? Alcohol. A big Salary. A big home. Kids. But what they fail to realize is all of those things will leave them feeling empty.
Let GOD’S love be what you live for. Let God’s love for you be what gives you significance. Let God’s love be what fills your life!
And when God’s love is lived out through your life…what will be the result?
B. People will see God!
John says, No one has seen God. But if we love one another…God can be seen in you!
Jesus put it this way: Matthew 5:15 “In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your father in heaven.”
Let God’s love fill you. Let God’s love PER-FECT your life.
And lastly: God’s love is a
IV. SAVING Love (vs. 14) (preserving)
Finally, John announces in verse 14:
“And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.”
You see, God did not send His son to die on the cross just to prove that He loves us, but to SAVE us! God’s love for us is one that wants to change us - from sinner to sanctified. And the reason that matters to God is because is HOLY! He can’t be in the presence of sin.
We are sinners. (Romans 3:23)
But God wants to be in our presence.
But He can’t because we are sinners.
But God wants to be in our presence.
But He can’t because we are sinners.
So this is the conundrum. What is the solution?
Ahhhh. It’s Jesus! Because Jesus came to be God’s love in the flesh!
And now you understand the gravity, seriousness, and depth of this verse:
(John 3:16)
16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus, driven by his limitless love, came into this world to become our Savior…to demonstrate God’s SAVING LOVE!
CONCLUSION: With so many different concepts of love - so many different takes on this powerful four letter word - it is comforting to know that Christians need not be confused: “God IS love.” God’s love is personal, proven, perfecting and saving.
If something has been missing in your life, or you sometimes feel unloved, Jesus invites you to experience the soul-changing love of God. It is only by the love of God that this life takes on real meaning and we can find true purpose in living. So today, if you want to be on the receiving end of God’s love as demonstrated through His son Jesus Christ, won’t you come forward as together, we stand and sing.
