A Sermon For You
A Ministry of Huckaby’s Evangelism
Today’s Sermon Title
The Love of God
By Evangelist Gary L. Huckaby
Greetings, my dear brothers and sisters In Christ Jesus. Thank you for seeing fit to come and listen to this humble servant of our Lord and Saviour. I hope and pray that your heart will be stirred to greater service for our Lord through the message today.
If you happen to be here today and do not know that heaven will be your eternal home, I would like to ask that you listen very carefully to what I am about to say in this message; and then come to the only one who can save you from eternal condemnation, The Lord Jesus Christ.
My text today comes from the book of First Timothy. Please turn there in your Bible and we will begin our message with the reading from God’s holy Word.
1Timothy 1:5-17;
1 Ti 1:5, Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned:
1Ti 1:6, From which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling;
1Ti 1:7, Desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm.
1Ti 1:8, But we know that the law is good, if a man use it lawfully;
1Ti 1:9, Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
1Ti 1:10, 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;
1Ti 1:11,According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust.
1Ti 1:12, And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
1Ti 1:13, Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
1Ti 1:14, And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
1Ti 1:15, This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1Ti 1:16, Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting.
1Ti 1:17, Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Prayer
Our Heavenly Father, meet with us today, and speak to every heart and mind through this message. The best that I know how, I yield my self to Thee right now. Speak to me and through me in this message today. I pray for your children to be stirred to greater service for Thee. I pray that the lost unbelieving soul will come to Christ for salvation during this time together. Bless us we ask in this hour, and for the rest of our days upon earth. In The Name Above Every Name; Your Son, Jesus Christ, I ask this. Amen!
Often times when you hear a message on the Love of God, you will usually hear a message about the crucifixion of Jesus upon the cross of Calvary, and this is a picture of God’s Love for sinners. I have preached on the cross more than any other subject from the Bible in my thirty plus years of preaching.
The fact of the death of Jesus on that cross truly does show us and prove to us that God Loves the sinner. In fact, God Loves the sinner so much that He was willing to allow His Only Begotten Son to die the worst of deaths upon that cross. While it is true that one can find the depts of God’s Love on the cross of Calvary, it is also true that God’s Love goes much farther than just that. His Love extends to the Resurrection, the ascension, and the present ministry of His Son. His Love reaches everywhere, at every time, under any circumstance, and His Love will continue to be explored throughout all of eternity.
For me to even attempt to speak on God’s Love causes me to see the unworthiness of myself, and of you who are listening to me.God’s Love is the Greatest! For God is the Greatest! And, "God Is Love!"
Look back with me for a few moments please at our text verses. I want to point out a few things about this Great Love of which God Is!
1 Timothy 1:5, says, "The end of the commandment is charity." Our word charity here is the same word for Love. The subject of Love is a subject that the Apostle Paul knew a great deal about. One of his epistles includes what we know as the Love chapter of the New Testament; 1 Corinthians 13. Paul was also the writer of the epistle to Philemon, which is a letter filled with brotherly Love among Christian brothers. This Apostle from our text verses is telling the young preacher Timothy, that the end of the commandment is Charity, (or Love) out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. What I believe that Paul is telling Timothy is that when you come to the end of the commandment, you had better show God’s Love, out of a pure heart. Any other way you try to express God’s Love will be in vain. A preacher can brow beat you to death with the commandments of God, and they will be like water on a duck’s back unless they are concluded with God’s Love, and His Love through a pure heart of the speaker.
How many times have I watched and heard a young zealous preacher threaten a lost person with condemnation of an eternal hell for their future. There are times when it is necessary to awaken a lost soul by the warning of hell to come, but unless that warning is with tears of Love out of a pure heart, it will amount to nothing. It could result in pushing a longing soul farther from the Lord, instead of drawing them closer to Him. Do you want to be responsible for that? If you do, then their is no Love at the end of the commandment, out of your heart; a heart that is surely not pure in the sight of God! You have swerved from the truth, and your words are just vain, jangling.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 13:1 says, "Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity (love), I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal."
You can speak with mens tongues or angels tongues, but without the Love of God in your speech, it is worthless to the listener. Let us today make up our minds and hearts to be filled with God’s Love.
It Is The Love of God that Calls Us To The Ministry
1Ti 1:12, ¶ And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry;
Paul knew well that it because of God’s Love for the lost sinner, that he was called to preach to them. He also knew well that it was the Love of God that brought him to Jesus Christ. Paul knew that he deserved hell, but God’s Love brought him to salvation. Paul even spoke of his past and of how great a sinner that he was before he met the Love of God. Look at his words in the next verses;
1Ti 1:13, Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.
1Ti 1:14, And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.
Grace was exceeding abundant with faith and love! And where is that Love found? "Which is in Christ Jesus." Paul went as far as to proclaim that he was the chief of sinners before God’s love met him on the Damascus road that day. Listen to his own words from verse 15;
1Ti 1:15, This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
God’s Love is what put the apostle Paul into the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and it had better be what calls the preacher today to the ministry.
It Is the Love of God That Keeps Brotherly Love In His Church
Did you know that it is The Love of God that keeps His Church moving forward? Without the Love of God there would be no Church. Everyone would disagree not just some of the time, but all of the time. Also there would be no brotherly Love among believers. If one believer had a need, no one would help them without God’s love abiding within. Listen to what John the Apostle said about this in First John.
1John 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
1John 3:17 But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?
1 John 3:18, My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
1John 3:23, And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.
1John 4:7. Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is
born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.
With God’s Love there would be no brotherly Love!
It Is The Love of God That Saves The Sinner
I want to use a verse here that almost all here today know. John 3:16.
"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."
God so Loved the world; is not speaking of this earth, but of the masses of humanity through all ages and times. God Loves the sinner. God wants to save the sinner, and it is only because of the Love of God that a lost sinner can be saved.
Romans 5:6-8, "For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
1Jo 3:1, Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.
1Jo 3:16, Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.
Without the Love of God for the sinner, there would be no salvation for the lost. If you have never come to the place in your life when you bowed to God’s Son and confessed Him as your personal Lord and Saviour, then you are not saved. You do not have eternal life, and God’s wrath is abiding upon you. Flee to Christ right now for salvation from sin, ask Him into your heart and life, He is waiting for you to cry out to Him.
Pray; Come into my heart and life Lord Jesus. I believe that you died for me, and rose from the dead to save me from my sins. I repent of my sins, and trust you for forgiveness. I receive God’s gift of eternal life right now. I ask this in Jesus Christ. Amen!
Huckaby’s Evangelism
P.O.Box 1011
Pine Mountain, Ga.31822
glhuck@earthlink.net
