Sunday Morning, July 28th, 2013
Let us pray
As Christians, we all have a testimony, we all have a story to tell, a story of what Christ is doing in our lives right now. Some people rely on past testimonies; some people rely on what happened in the good old days, some people rely on their friends testimonies, but I trust you have a testimony that you can talk about, and you can call that testimony, my testimony. I would like to share with you briefly my testimony, not a testimony from the internet, but my testimony……..
In April 2001, while I was in my office at the church in Harvey working, I became dizzy and faintish, and I was later hospitalized for a bleeding ulcer. I thought everything was alright, I thought I had said good-bye to ulcer………..
On April 24th, 2012, while I was here at the church working, eleven years later, I became dizzy and faintish. I will not try to give any detailed information, but I went upstairs to the rest room, and there I said to God, Lord please don’t take me. I spoke to my daughter, and to my wife about how I was feeling, and very shortly my wife was outside waiting for me. She tried to feel my pulse, but it was very low, and she suggested going to ER, which I reluctantly agreed to do. After a series of testing in the ER, I was found to have a bleeding ulcer, low blood pressure, and being dehydrated, and was given three units of blood, plus other medications during my hospital stay.. My doctor came to my bedside, and said to me, we almost lost you. It was then it dawned on me that I had asked God not to take me. I had no idea how sick I was, I had no idea what was going on inside, but God knew, and he answered my prayer.
It is now over a year, many things have happened since then, but God has given me a second chance, and I thank God for his love and for his mercy. All of us here have been given a second chance by God, the question is, what are we doing with our second chance? If you have been given a second chance by God, I think it would be good just to take the time and praise the Lord for that second chance.
Today we will be using as our topic, “God’s Unbelievable Love.” Our Scripture reading will be taken from Romans 5 verses 6 through 11. .
Today we will consider the following thoughts:
1. We were ungodly, yet Christ died for us.
2. We were sinners, yet God showed His love for us.
3. We were enemies, yet God reconciled and saved us.
“God’s unbelievable love.” That word unbelievable means “beyond belief or understanding; incredible; hard to believe, mind-boggling..” God’s love is mind-boggling. God’s love is beyond understanding. God’s love is incredible. The passage before us today talks about God’s unbelievable love. It is said that this passage gives one of the clearest definition of agape love. What is agape love? Agape love is “a godly love, a sacrificial love, a love that gives itself for those without strength, for the ungodly, for sinners, and for enemies.”
Does God love sinners? (refer article by D.L. Moody: "God Lovers Sinners.")
1, We were ungodly, yet Christ died for us. The great love of God is seen in this unbelievable act. You and I were without strength. We were “weak, worthless, helpless, hopeless, destitute, powerless. We were spiritually worthless and useless and unable to help ourselves.” In that awful condition that we were all in, in due time Christ died for us. At God’s appointed time; at God’s destined time, at God’s appropriate time, Christ died for us. We might think we are alright right now. We might think we are somebody right now, but there was a time when we were ungodly. There was a time when we had no hope. There was a time when we could not help ourselves…….….In Ephesians 2 verse 12 we read, ‘That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world.” What an awful thing to have no hope? What an awful thing to be living an hopeless life? As we look around our neighborhood, as we look around Chicago, as we look around our nation, as we look around the world there are so many people walking around having no hope, but I have good news for you today, because of Christ there is hope.
Christ did not die for that godly man, he died for the ungodly, he died for sinners, he died for those who were lost and undone, he died for those who could not help themselves. If you are here today lost and undone, then it is you that Christ died for. If you are here today wrapped up and tangled up in sin, it is you that Christ died for. Listen to what the Bible says in 1 Timothy 1 verses 9 & 10. “Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man; but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers. For whoremongers, for them that defile themselves with mankind, for menstealers, for liars, for perjured persons, and if there be any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine.” We are talking about God’s unbelievable love. We are talking about this love that is mind boggling.
God’s love, this unbelievable love, is an uncommon type of love. It is quite possible “a few will die for a just and upright man.” It is quite possible “some will even dare to die for a good man.” Jesus Christ, God’s only son, did not die for the righteous, he did not die for the godly, he did not die for the one who was pure, but instead he died for the ungodly. He died “for those who were the very opposite of righteous and good.” Jesus Christ, God’s only son he died for those who were “without strength, the useless, destitute, worthless, and those without value to society and men.” We are talking about ‘God’s unbelievable love.” He died for those whom no man would die for. He died for those who were of no value, and of no good. He died for those who were opposed to God, such is the unbelievable love of God. There is a song I used to sing in my younger days which talks about the Love of God. I was trying to get my wife to sing this song with me, but here are the words (quote the love of God.) This song talks about God’s unbelievable love.
2. We were sinners, yet God showed his love for us., or commendeth his love toward us. The word commendeth means, “to show, prove, exhibit, demonstrate.” While we were yet in our sins; while we were doing sinful stuff, God proved his love for us. Even before we were born, God proved his love for us. We are talking about God’s unbelievable love. God, the Great Almighty God stooped down to save sinners because of his love for us. When we say sinners we are talking about that man who is sinful, we are talking about that man who sins, “by disobeying God’s Word,” and do so by living selfishly, by ignoring God’s commandment, doing his own thing, whatever his right in his own eyes. While we were in a sinful condition, God proved his love for us. We are talking about God’s unbelievable love. Listen to this song, (quote love lifted me) I was sinking deep in sin……
“God proved His love for us by giving up His only Son to die for us.” Think of the extraordinary price God paid in proving His love. Just think of what God did for you and for me, “He gave up His Son to die for the unworthy and useless, the ungodly and sinful, the wicked and depraved…the worst sinners and outcasts imaginable.” Just think for awhile what the Great Almighty God must have gone through; “the feelings, the suffering, the hurt, the pain, the terrible emotional strain.” Just think as to “what is involved in God giving up His Son.” It is said that, “God had to send His Son out of the spiritual and eternal world into the physical and corruptible world. God had to humiliate His Son by stripping Him of His eternal glory and insisting that He become clothed with corruptible flesh and die as a man.” It is said that, “God had to watch His son walk through life being rejected, denied, cursed, abused, arrested, tortured, , and murdered.” Have you ever been rejected? Have you ever been abused? That is part of the Christian life. It is said that, “God had to destine His Son to die upon the cross for the sins of men. God had to lay the sins of the world upon His Son and let Him bear them all.” We are talking about “God’s unbelievable love.”
It is said that, “God had to judge His Son as the sinner (the one who had no sin) and condemn Him to death for sin. God had to turn His back upon Christ in death.” There on the cross we can hear Jesus saying, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.” “God had to cast His wrath against sin upon Christ.” The Bible says in Isaiah 53 verse 5, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” The Bible also says in John 15 verse 13, Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”
God proves His love for us “by justification through the blood of Christ.” That word justification means, “salvation from the guilt of sin.” The Bible says in Romans 5 verse 1, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” If you have been justified, if you have been saved, if a change has taken place in your life, you should have that peace with God. There are so many people who say they are saved, who say a change has taken place, but just have no peace.
We are talking about ‘God’s unbelievable love.” God proves His love for us by saving us from wrath. Here is a verse that most of us know, it is John 3 verse 16, let’s say it together, “For God so love the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” In John 3 verse 36 we read, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall no see life; but the wrath of God abideth in him.”
We were ungodly, yet Christ died for us. We were sinners, yet God showed His love for us. Finally, we were enemies, yet God reconciled and saved us. If you are save today that is something to rejoice about. If a change has taken place on the inside that is something to shout about. If you are kept each day by the Mighty hands of God, that is something to praise God for. “We were enemies, yet God reconciled and saved us.” That word reconcile means, “To reestablish friendship between. To settle or resolve as a dispute. To bring (oneself) to accept.” “To bring together or restore.” It is the idea “that two persons who should have been together all along are brought together; two persons who had something between them are restored and united.” What was the problem? In Jamaica people used to say, no problem man, when they were asked what’s the problem. So the question is, what is the problem? Because of sin man had broken the relationship between him and God. Man became an enemy of God. When we say enemies we are talking about every sinner and ungodly of the world. So if you are not saved, if you are not a child of God, if you have not yet repented of your sins, then you are an enemy of God. You might go to church every Sunday, but if you are not saved, you are an enemy of God. You might be actively engaged doing church work, but if you are not saved you are an enemy of God.
What I have just said might seem unkind and harsh, “but the sinner cannot be said to be a friend of God,” he is an enemy. The sinner is antagonistic toward God, he is always opposing what God stands for. It is said that the sinner is always, “rebelling against God; rejecting God; cursing God; ignoring God; disobeying God; fighting against God; denying God; refusing to live for God.” When any of us sin, when we fail God “we work against God and promote evil by word and example.” When that sinner lives for himself, when that sinner does what he thinks is right in his own eyes, that sinner becomes an enemy of God. When that sinner lives for the world and is engaged in worldly things, that sinner is an enemy of God. Thank God for His great love, thank God for His unbelievable love, thank God for His love of reconciliation. Because of the problem, enemies, sinners, needs to be reconciled to God.
Pastor, how can I be reconciled to God? How can I be a friend of God? When a man believes that Jesus Christ died for him. When a man repents of his sins. When a man, turns from his sinful way of living, something happens. “God accepts the death of Jesus Christ for the death of the man. God accepts the sins borne by Christ as the sins committed by the man. God accepts the condemnation borne by Christ as the condemnation due to the man.” Can you imagine everything is transferred over to Christ? that is the unbelievable love of God. That man who was on his way to hell, that man who was living away from God, once he repents of his sins,
he is now “freed from his sins and the punishment due his sins.” That man, that woman, that boy, that girl, “who truly believes that God loves that much..enough to give His only begotten Son..becomes acceptable to God, and is now reconciled. That person his saved, he is now a new creature in Christ. That person can now agree with the songwriter and say, “He saves me from every sin and harm, Secures my soul each day; I’m leaning strong on his mighty arm; I know He’ll guide me all the way. Saved by his power divine, Saved to new live sublime! Life now is sweet and my joy is complete, For I’m saved, saved, saved!
Are you saved? Have you repented of your sins? Is Christ in control of your life? Are you heaven bound? Today is your day to seek the Lord.
Let us all stand
Call to discipleship
Closing song/prayer
