## **Introduction – “A Love That Holds When Everything Else Changes”**
Video Ill.: Sermon Bumper 4
Change is one of life’s few certainties.
The seasons change. Our circumstances change.
People change.
The season of fall reminds us that everything in the world will eventually fade and decay. Amid the change, though, God and His truth remain unchanging.
Three weeks ago, we began our study, “Unchanging”, learning that the Word of God endures forever. God’s Word stands unshaken — it is living, active and eternal.
Two weeks ago, we saw the God who never changes. We saw that God’s character, His goodness, and His Son remain the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Last week, we were reminded of the timeless treasure which is the unchanging message of the gospel that never fails. The gospel has, is, and always will be God’s power to change the lives of sinners, and bring redemption to our lost world.
This morning, as everything around us continues to change, we can rest in one unshakable truth: God’s love never fails.
The way we feel about each other will change.
Relationships that once felt strong can grow distant.
Promises can be forgotten.
And sometimes, the people we thought would always be there… are not.
But there is one love that never changes — one love that never loosens its grip. It is the unchanging, unfailing, unstoppable love of God.
Unfailing Love/Commitment
By Steve Miller
(seen in "Marriage by Design," by Jason Freeman: http://www.sermoncentral.com/sermon.asp?SermonID=79738&ContributorID=6244) (Used in "Four Essentials to Great and Godly Marriages," by Steve Miller: http://www.sermoncentral.com/contributor_admin/sermon_view.asp?SermonID=88302)
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The following letter appeared in the Ann Lander’s newspaper column a few years ago. It is an amazing example of unfailing, unstoppable love. The article read:
"Dear Ann Landers: I’m going to tell you about a love story that I witness every time I go to the nursing home to see my husband who has Alzheimer’s disease. Unfortunately, I know firsthand how this terrible illness affects family members, but I would like the world to know what love really is. I see a man who, I understand, has spent the last eight years caring for his wife who has Alzheimer’s. They have been married more than 50 years. He cooks and feeds her every bite of food she eats. He has bathed her and dressed her every day all these years. They have no other family. She lost a baby at birth and they never had any more children.
I cannot describe the tenderness and love that man shows for his wife. She is unable to recognize anyone, including him. The only things she shows any interest in are two baby dolls. They are never out of her hands.
I observed him when I parked my car beside his the other day. He sat in his old pickup truck for a few minutes, then he patted down, what little hair he had, straightened the threadbare collar of his shirt and looked in the mirror for a final check before going in to see his wife. It was as if he were courting her. They have been partners all these years and have seen each other under all kinds of circumstances, yet he carefully groomed himself before he called on his wife, who wouldn’t even know him. This is an example of the love and commitment the world needs today.”
I completely agree. That is the kind of love that our world needs today. That is the kind of unchanging, enduring, never failing love that we receive from God.
That is the exact definition of love that Paul gave in 1Corinthians 13:
7 [Love] always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. (1 Corinthians 13, NIV)
Let’s take a few minutes together this morning to look at some of the aspects of that amazing love that God has for us — a love that does not let go!
## **1. God’s Love Cannot Be Broken**
Paul writes to the church in Rome, saying:
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No || power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8, NLT)
Paul said, “I am convinced.” It was settled for Paul. In his heart he knew that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love.
His mind was made up.
After all, look at all Paul did when he was Saul. He did his absolute best to try to destroy what belonged to God, yet God still loved him.
God still had sent Jesus to be the sacrifice for Saul's sin.
God still loved Saul and stepped into his life and plans on the road to Damascus.
God taught Saul, later Paul, that no matter what we do, God still loves us. Nothing can separate us.
Unlike insurance companies.
Max Lucado Gets Dropped by His Insurance Company
Source: Quoted in Brady Boyd, Sons & Daughters (Zondervan, 2012), page 40
https://www.preachingtoday.com/illustrations/2012/october/6102212.html
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Max Lucado tells the story of being dropped by his insurance company because he had one too many speeding tickets and a minor fender bender that wasn't his fault. One day he received a letter in the mail, informing him to seek coverage elsewhere. As he reflected on how he wasn't good enough for his insurance company, the spiritual tie-in was too obvious. "Many people fear receiving such a letter [from God]," Lucado writes. "Some worry they already have."
Max then imagines this correspondence, straight from the Pearly Gates Underwriting Division:
Dear Mrs. Smith,
I'm writing in response to this morning's request for forgiveness. I'm sorry to inform you that you have reached your quota of sins. Our records show that, since employing our services, you have erred seven times in the area of greed, and your prayer life is substandard when compared to others of like age and circumstance.
Further review reveals that your understanding of doctrine is in the lower 20 percentile and you have excessive tendencies to gossip. Because of your sins you are a high-risk candidate for heaven. You understand that grace has its limits. Jesus sends his regrets and kindest regards and hopes that you will find some other form of coverage.
But grace does not have fine print or expiration dates. God’s love holds steady when everything else lets go.
Nothing in the heavens nor under heaven can ever separate us, put space between us and God’s love for us. No power. No circumstance, no sin, no failure. No wind of change. Nothing.
God's Love and the Weather Vane
By Sermon Central
Source: From a sermon by Bruce Howell, "The Essence!" 2/21/2009
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The story is told that one day, C.H. Spurgeon was walking through the English countryside with a friend. As they strolled along, the evangelist noticed a barn with a weather vane on its roof. At the top of the vane were these words: GOD IS LOVE. Spurgeon remarked to his companion that he thought this was a rather strange place for such a message. "Weather vanes are changeable," he said, "but God’s love is constant."
His friend replied, ”I don’t agree with you about those words, Charles. You misunderstood the meaning. That sign is indicating a truth: Regardless of which way the wind blows, God is love."
This morning, nothing can break the love God has for us, no matter which way the winds of this crazy world are blowing.
The winds will blow from direction to direction, but through it all God stands firm. He remains the constant, unchanging post supporting us as we spin around in the fierce winds.
We may stumble, doubt, or wander, but God’s love does not loosen its hold.
His love does not weaken, waver, or walk away.
## **2. God’s Love Endures Forever**
The psalmist declares in Psalm 136:
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good!?His faithful love endures forever. (Psalm 136, NLT)
If we were to continue reading this Psalm, we would find that 26 times the psalmist repeats: “His faithful love endures forever.”
It is not filler; it is emphasis.
Through the stories of creation, deliverance from Egypt, wandering in the wilderness, and finally coming to the land of promise — Israel repeats it over and again: “God’s faithful love endures forever.”
The Hebrew word translated as “faithful love” describes a covenant loyalty — a love that is bound by promise, not emotion.
It’s a kind of love that holds on, not because we are faithful, but because He is.
It’s love that stays, not because we deserve it, but because He has promised it.
From the beginning of time, God promises to love us. Through the challenges of our sin, God promises to love us. When life becomes hard, God promises to love us. When we go through the various seasons of life, God promises to love us.
**Illustration:**
Think of it like a chorus in a song — the verses may change, but the melody of the refrain remains the same.
The rhythm of our lives may shift — seasons of joy, sorrow, triumph, or loss — yet the refrain never stops: “His love endures forever.”
**Application:**
We need that refrain written on our hearts.
When we are too weary to sing, His love keeps the melody going.
When life gets uncertain, when faith feels thin, whisper it again: “His love endures forever — even here, even now.”
## **3. God’s Love Holds Us Secure**
In John 10, Jesus told the people:
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more || powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. (John 10, NLT)
Here is love in action — protective, present, and permanent.
Security in the Rock
By Christian Cheong
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Reminds me of what I read about the rock badger, an animal common to Africa and the Middle East. You see, the rock badger hides in the crags of rock. They are greyish in colour and blend in well with the rocks. When a predator comes to attack, they will run into a hole, the crag in the rock. The vulture or eagle must sweep down on them before they get into the rocks.
The badgers know where their security lies. If they decide to go off to the field or forest, venturing away from the rock, then they are vulnerable. It doesn’t matter how courageous they are, it doesn’t matter how strong or fast they can run, the most courageous badgers can fall victim to the smallest wolf or lion. When it wanders away from the rock, a badger is dead meat.
We could learn from that badger wisdom! Our security is found in the unchanging love of God. He is our rock, our fortress, our shelter, our protection.
Security
By Matthew Kratz
(Larson, Craig Brian: 750 Engaging Illustrations for Preachers, Teachers & Writers. Grand Rapids, MI : Baker Books, 2002, S. 492).
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It’s like a 3-year-old who felt secure in his father’s arms. His Dad stood in the middle of the pool, but for fun, began walking slowly toward the deep end, gently chanting, “Deeper and deeper and deeper,” as the water rose higher and higher on the child. The boy’s face showed increasing degrees of panic, and he held all the more tightly to his father, who, of course, easily touched the bottom.
Had the little boy been able to analyze his situation, he would have realized that there was no reason for increased anxiety or panic. Even though the water’s depth in any part of the pool was over his head, when he was being held up by his dad, he was safe, no matter where they were in the pool.
At times, life feels over our heads—problems abound, a job is lost, someone we love passes away. Our temptation is to panic because we feel like we’ve lost control. Yet, as with the child in the pool, the truth is we’ve never been in control over the most valuable things of life. We’ve always been held up by the grace of God, our Father, and that does not change. God is never out of his depth, and therefore we’re as safe when we’re “going deeper” as we have ever been.
We are held by divine hands — the same hands that were pierced for us.
Those hands hold us now and will hold us forever.
Jesus illustrates the security we find in His love by describing a shepherd. A shepherd guards his flock, watching through the night. The sheep may wander, but the shepherd never sleeps. He leads, calls, and protects — because he loves his own.
That is how God loves us. We are not holding ourselves up by our own strength — we are held by His.
**Application:**
We are not held by the strength of our grip on Him, but by the strength of His grip on us.
## **Conclusion – “A Love Worth Trusting, A Love Worth Sharing”**
So, this morning, what have we learned about God’s love?
Romans 8 tells us His love cannot be broken.
Psalm 136 reminds us His love endures forever.
John 10 assures us His love holds us secure.
Throughout our study, we have seen:
God’s Word endures.
God’s nature never changes.
God’s message never fails.
And now, His love never lets go.
And perhaps the clearest picture of that love—the love that steps into our brokenness and pays the price to set us free—is captured in this short story from The Skit Guys, called The Birdcage. Take a look.
Video Ill.: The Birdcage by The Skit Guys
?Friends, that is the gospel.
That is the unchanging love of God — the love that looks at a world trapped in sin and says, “I’ll pay the price. I’ll give My life. Because they are worth it.”
The love that refuses to let go.
The love that opens the cage.
The love that sets us free.
Jesus said, “No one takes My life from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord.”
He gave everything — not because we were good, but because His love is.
So as we draw to a close this morning, remember this:
The Word still endures.
God still reigns.
The gospel still saves.
And His love still holds.
His love still saves.
His love still sets us free.
His love will never let go.
