Does GOD LOVE You... How MUCH?
John 3:16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
that's about as open ended as it gets...Gods inner circle
Has an open invitation to it..to everyone and anyone who will come
Gods Love knows no end...and there is enough Love there
to forgive every man, woman and child...for all time
And not only forgive...but to Bless beyond all human comprehension as well..
There is no bias on Gods part...he loves everyone
He is not racist to any...even the Isis rebels, He loves them...
Now I want you to know He does not condone their actions
But there is love and forgiveness for all who will believe on His
Sons name and ask for forgiveness...even the most vile
Gods Love, is the key to everything....without His love for us...
we would be finished..we would be nothing!
Everything He has ever promised us, done for us, or given us...
all hinges on and because of His immense Love that He has for us...
Not that we have for Him
Let me ask you this…How much of His love is real in your life??
What I'm getting at is this..you see a lot of people know about His love...
And they have even experienced Salvation...they consider
themselves a Christian...but they are still walking around
In the shadows of His love and all He truly wants to do for them!
1st John 4:17-19 MSG
17-18 God is love. When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us, so that we’re free of worry on Judgment Day—our standing in the world is identical with Christ’s. There is no room in love for fear. Well-formed love banishes fear. Since fear is crippling, a fearful life—fear of death, fear of judgment—is one not yet fully formed in love.
19 We, though, are going to love—love and be loved. First we were loved, now we love. He loved us first.
There are many today who talk about the love of God, who are total strangers to the God of love.
TBS When we take up permanent residence in a life of love, we live in God and God lives in us. This way, love has the run of the house, becomes at home and mature in us,
His love has the run of the house...that means His love is everywhere
in your home..there is no where His love is not a part of in your life..
TBS. Because of His immense love for us...our standing in the world
is identical with Christ’s..that means we have what He has..
1 John 4:17 NKJV
The Consummation of Love
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
Now if your from the school of thought that doesn't think we do....
What exactly do you think we have??
The word clearly states we have what JESUS has available to Him.
What I have just shared with you..the whole world needs to know
and understand...that's how much Love God has for His Children
And that's why satan fights so hard against Gods love...
Because he loses when Gods love is prevalent anywhere
And anytime it is..
Until a person can sing Jesus Loves me...and grasp how much His Grace can truly mean personally....how can you portray it to your fellow man?
Is the way your fellow man sees you and your life...
portraying the love of God and the love He has for them?
It should..if it doesn't why would they want what you have?
illus. if you had a bottle of honey..and you were trying to tell everyone
About it..and how good it was, how sweet it was,
About all the amazing health benefits You could receive from it,
by trying it and using it In your daily diet...and you had never tried it, or realized
those benefits for yourself...
Don't you think it would be kind of hard to accurately describe
what it could actually accomplish for them in their life?
It would almost impossible...
But yet it happens and we try to portray it...without completely
Experiencing the benefits were telling others about that we think are so great
That's why we need to completely open ourselves up
to the love of God...and let it have complete run of the house
just as the word said earlier that we read
illus. Years ago, a large Atlanta church was televising the service where they had asked a retired 92 year minister preach from its pulpit.
There was a warm welcome as he was introduced and, as the applause quieted down, the old man rose from his high back chair and walked slowly, with great effort to the podium.
Without a note or written paper of any kind, he placed both hands on the pulpit to steady himself and then quietly and slowly he began to speak.
"When I was asked to come here today and talk to you, your preacher asked me to tell you what was the greatest lesson I ever learned in my 50 odd years of preaching.
I thought about it for a few days and boiled it down to just one thing that made the most difference in my life and sustained me through all my trials.
The one thing that I could always rely on when tears and heart break and pain and fear and sorrow paralyzed me. The only thing that would comfort was this verse:
"Jesus loves me this I know. For the Bible tells me so.
Little ones to him belong, We are weak but he is strong.
Yes, Jesus loves me... The Bible tells me so."
When he finished, the church was so quiet you actually could hear his foot steps as he shuffled back to his chair. (www.blufftontoday.com/node/8060)
The answer after 50 years of studying… The only constant in his life…
The thing that made the most difference in his life when
he needed it the most....Was the fact that Jesus loved him.
Some people spend their whole life looking for love in their life..
and never come to the realization of how much God truly loves them.....
Numbers 13:1,2,23,26-28,30-33 NKJ
1. And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”
(Now these were all men...who had witnessed God do the impossible...
Countless times...more times than they could remember..
When He had brought the entire nation of Israel out of Egypt...and not only bring them out..but also completely sustained them day after day, in a dry desert wasteland!
So these men had seen the impossible, become possible countless numbers of times)
More than we would like to admit...were a lot like the Israelites..
because When we have a need...I mean think about it,
how many times have we witnessed God
do the impossible in our own life??
We should build our expectation for our future
from our last high point God has taken us to...
I mean think about it..is he going to give us less than He already has?
I want you to know He loves us more than that...
Learn to not dwell on past defeats or even the possibility of defeat
...remember the victories
Truthfully what we see as a possibility for defeat is nothing...
but an opportunity for God to bring about a victory.......
Like the Israelites forgot....who do you think is sustaining you day after day, especially when your not even paying attention??
Vs. 23 Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs.
(Can you imagine what they thought...when they saw grapes and one cluster
Took a pole and two men to carry....those grapes must have been
the size of apples...to have been that big?)
Just because you can't fathom a blessing like that does not mean it's not possible....because they all realized the blessing was real
After all they had the physical evidence right in front of them
But some of them still couldn't bring themselves to the mindset
it could be real in their own life....
We often see that kind of blessing in other people's life and acknowledge that it's real...but at the same time we realize it's real...we are letting the accuser
rip it out of our reach before we even make an effort to pick it up...
or receive It as being possible for us to enjoy in our life.
God is not a respecter of persons… We don't have to be concerned
about having the same blessing as one of our neighbors…
Why would we want to limit ourselves to what our neighbors have anyways...
When we already have what Jesus has.
Vs. 26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.
(It's important to note here...this is the land that God had already told them
That He was Giving to them...it was already in the bag, it was already a done deal, all they had to do was go in and inhabit it...God said He would do it for them
And again in our own lives...how many times has God
told us over and over in His word...one declaration after another
the same thing.....as JESUS is so are WE in this world!
That's the top rung on the ladder church...thats our promised land..
it doesn't get any clearer...we have already been given access to everything that he has for us
Vs. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there.
We say the same thing to ourselves...well that would be nice (referring to His
preplanned Blessings) but in the next breathe we say..
do YOU realize all the things that would have to happen
for that to be real in our lives?
The word "you" here must refer to us....because God already knows that His Blessings are real and can be real in any bodies life that can Believe...Amen?
For Clearly all of them, The Israelites had seen the Grace
and Love of God at work in their life...I mean after all God had brought them out of Egypt and rescued them from Pharoh's iron grip..
but like the honey I told you about earlier....there's a big difference
between seeing and actually tasting it for yourself...and realizing
how sweet Gods Grace and Love really is! Amen?
30 Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.”
There are always going to be people who will try to put the fire out...they don't care what they have to do...who they have to run down and step on.....
Naysayers are a dime a dozen you can find him anywhere…
and there never in short supply either..
Why not try one time for the love of God...using that energy believing God for the miracle your looking for in your life....to happen
Did you know when you don't think Gods promises are possible in your life...
you are betting against the cross and also defying the grace and possibilities of the creator of the universe??
Well, I never thought about that way… And the accuser doesn't want you thinking about it that way...because he knows the possibilities God offers are limitless..
and what you truly get a hold of them he's through!
32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants[d] (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
Joshua and Caleb were the only two, even though God had already told them all
That He would give the land to them,
that thought they could do it and realized God Loved them enough to let them
Possess the Land.
**I want you to realize there is not one victory...even the smallest one...that is attainable without the help of the Great God Almighty...you might think there is, but let me tell you..you are kidding yourself
TBS with man nothing is POSSIBLE..I'm sorry what did it say?
NOTHING that's right not one single thing!
But with Gods Help...their is not one thing that is not IMPOSSIBLE!
Can you hear me now?
Here like The Israelites…Big things we know that we can't handle,
however we like to think that we can handle the small things...
but when the truth be told Without Gods Love, Mercy and goodness to us
we can't....for our next breathe, could very well be our last one!
It's time to take all the what ifs and the energy it takes to doubt...
Because believe me it takes a lot of effort and convincing by the accuser to get someone to doubt gods unlimited possibilities...like a whole lifetime of it...
and Chanel that energy into faith and say I believe it is possible for once..
and focus on God instead of the need and get ready to watch God
shake up the defeat so readily accepted and bring about
the Victory you could never imagine!
That's what Joshua and Caleb did and and got the victory… All the others around them became a victim of what they believed and never tasted the victory
TBS. Joshua and Caleb were the only ones of the 12 spies that ever did
occupy the land that flowed with milk and honey.
We have the same opportunity of promised land in our lives available to us...
For health, for healing, for sound mind, for prosperity,
for lifelong Victory...in every area of our lives that the abundant life
Of Gods Love promises to us!!!
I can see right now, someone is thinking...
Good I'm glad you are...but stop thinking and just start trusting, praising and thanking Him that He is willing to do all those things in your life!! Amen?
John 3:16,17 NKJ
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
Gods love for us...is a gift to us...that we have to choose to receive right?
Gods Love is the key to everything!
He Loved you enough to give you His most prized possession...
With out the guarantee..you would ever accept or Love Him back!
Yes...Before there was ever a manger..
God had already acknowledged there would be a cross..
His gift would come to us...at great expense!
That's how much Love God has for you!
That's how much Gods Loves me?
Yes....and when you realize how much that is,
how much that Love actually costs Him...
you realize how precious you are and his promises are to you...and that He didn't
Make them idly to you....
Because there all guaranteed by the gift of Love, His son Jesus and reason He came.
John 10:10 NKJ
10 The thief (who does? Who does?) does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.
he has a one track mind....to take you down in every area of your life and the only way he can accomplish that is to get you to doubt the God of all POSSIBILITIES!
The MSG says it this way; I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.
The abundant life is a promise, it is the promised land...
God has already prepared for you....it's your milk and honey...
And your promised land may not be just like mine and I wouldn't want it to be...
God designed one especially for you..it's got earmarks of you all over it..
with just the things you would enjoy..just the way you could only imagine..
but about a million times better than you could ever think of....
Jeremiah 29:11-13 AMP
11 For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. 13 You will seek me and find me; when you seek me with all your heart,
Gods plans for you..are just that, there His Plans
And there Great Plans...there awesome Plans....there fantastic plans...
SUPERCALIFRAGILISTACEXPEALIDOUSOUS doesn't even come close to describing Gods plans for you in your life....
But until seek Him out and call on Him and ACCEPT those plans..
You will never realize how much He loves you...
They will never be your plans...and God wants them above all...to be your plans
THATS WHY HE SENT HIS SON JESUS...to deliver those plans to you
There All made possible by the fact that God loves you and Jesus Loves you
There is nothing impossible and nothing that can't be overcome...
When you realize how much you are loved by your Heavenly Father!
ILLUS:
I remember reading of a Pastor, he was young and starting out and wanted to minister all that he could minister to...and somehow he had gotten referred to a state mental hospital...
They were glad to have him and they put him to work right away...
They put him where the greatest need was, they put them in
with the very worst of the worst…
Most of those men and been there for years, they were the ones that they gave no hope...no chance of rehabilitation
But the young pastor was eager to minister the gospel and he said he would glad to do it… And so they took him to where the men were
And there was such despair, so much pain, so much darkness...
The young pastor set on a chair in the middle of the room and began to weep, after a few moments all he could think to do was to sing the song "Jesus loves me"
And for two hours he sang that song with passion for those men…
And every time he came for the next six months all he did was sing that song with passion for the souls of those men…
By the time those six months had passed, all but two of the 30 men that were in the ward we're off of all medication and in the normal part of the hospital
Awaiting to be released back into society...so many miracles! Amen?
All from the power of the name of Jesus and the love that is associated with it…
There is no end to the possibilities of the love of God!
He can take was wrong and make it right, he can take what's crooked and make it straight, he can take what society has all but given up hope on...
And heal and revive those broken lives...
Once those men realized how much JESUS loved them the walls of their prison came tumbling down...we may not be in the surroundings of those men..
But let me say as long as we in the camp of doubt and unbelief...
We are held hostage by the accuser in the prison of impossibilities.....
Which leads me to the question..
What will God be able to accomplish not only in your life..
But in the lives of those around you...even total strangers like that pastor...
When you grasp the Love that God has for you?
Ephesians 3
16 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us,
You see.. It's up to us...as to how much of Gods love we want..
Paul's prayer was that we would know the love of Christ
which passes knowledge...all of it, not just part of it...
Mark 6:39-44 MSG
39-44 Jesus got them all to sit down in groups of fifty or a hundred—they looked like a patchwork quilt of wildflowers spread out on the green grass! He took the five loaves and two fish, lifted his face to heaven in prayer, blessed, broke, and gave the bread to the disciples, and the disciples in turn gave it to the people. He did the same with the fish. They all ate their fill. The disciples gathered twelve baskets of leftovers. More than five thousand were at the supper.
Notice it said they all ate their fill...Some had less than others…
Some had more than others… They all had as much as they wanted
and they decided the amount....
When it comes to the Goodness, the Love of God...
You can have as much or as little as you choose..
I choose much!! And so should you!!
God wants us to have the attitude of...Can I Have Some More PLEASE!
And we don't have to worry about Him having enough to go around...
In fact he loves it when you say can I have some more please!!
TBS He has an inexhaustible supply..of which His Son Jesus is in charge of Lavishly..DISPERSING.. Exceedingly above all you could think or ask...
Can I get an Amen up in this place this morning?
It's only when you experience Gods love to the full..
Will you ever have an abundance of it to give away..
And not just because you know about...
But because you've tasted of it..
And you know how sweet and good and satisfying it really is
And you just can't help but want to pass it around!
Amen?
Do you receive it today?
Let's pray
