God’s love and ours 1 John
“I like you” he said shyly
“I like you too” she responds
Encouraged, he added “I like you more than I said”
“Me, too”, she murmurs blushing
“I love you”, he blurts
“What? She asks breathlessly
“Nothing” he mutters.
“Go on, say it,” she urges
“Ojay, but don’t laugh. I love you.”
“I love you too”. She says smiling.
Bells ring, fireworks explode. Another romance has blossomed. What a wonderful thing love is. Everywhere you go, every magazine you turn to will give you advice on how to get in love, to stay in love, to keep that feeling of love, some of them will even try and advise you how you can love 2 people at the same time. Countless pop songs have been written about it. Countless books are aimed at helping people find it, and the media would have people think that life is not complete without it.
But in all these things people are looking in the wrong place. They are looking at shadows, counterfeits, poor reflections of a deeper reality. I will put it to you today that you can spend all your time looking for love on a horizontal dimension around at others – but you will never truly be able to find what you seek.
Tonight we will be thinking about God’s love and ours.
In tonights passage we see the famous words “God is love”
Many people say “I don’t see God’s love in the world”
I see wars, famines, stories of young people being raped. Where is your God of love. And it is good and right for people to ask questions. If the Bibel says God is love we ned evidence and proof of that. “Come on God – show us your love?”
Suppose I was to come up to you and told you that I never speak to my wife at home, I never remember her birthday, I never do anything to help her round the house, and I never say thankyou to her for all the things she does – but I were to tell you that “I really do love her”
What would you say to me?
Only way thay someone know they are loved/cared is by that they that they do and how they treat us. Love is only any good if it is put into action. Only way Jayne will know that she is loved is if I do spend time with her, I do remember her birthday, I do help around the house, and I do say thankyou for all the things she does for me.
Accoridng to John something absolutely amazing has happened. Something so amazing has happened that no-one will ever be able to doubt God’s love again. Something that demonstrates really what true love is.
That to everyone who all say “Come on God show us your love” – will be silenced. John is saying
‘If you want to know where God’s love is and how to experience it, open your ears.’
This is how God showed his love among us – read vs 9 & vs 10
John is saying that God’s love and actually “true love” is seen by him sending His Son to die.
Yet how strange and bizarre – how can the death of Jesus make a difference.”
Imagine I was walking Jayne was walking along a riverbank with me and I were to say “Jayne – I love you so much – you are my true sweetheart – and I want to demonstrate my love to you so that you will know how true it is.”
And then with that she jumped into the water and drowned. I would be so confused – “What a waste”. How does James jumping into the water and dying show that she loves me.
In the same way one can think how does the death of Jesus show God’s love.
Well lets think about another riverside scene – here I am walking alone alon the riverbank, and this time I see Jayne drowning in the water. “Help, Help can someone save me”, know would I stop and think I have got a nice set of clothes on, or I’m already late for a meeting “No – I love her. I’ll dive in and rescue jer. As I rip off my shirt, revealing my broad rippling muscles and I save her. Here you can see a connection between me risking my life and my love.
This is far more similar to what Jesus has done by dying – a rescue operation.
But there is 1 big difference for me to rescue Jayne is a natural thing. For God to rescue us is amazing.
We did nothing to deserve God’s love – we lived our lives opposed to him. Each day we can rebel against him in our thoughts and words and deeds. Before we cam to know God – the way we had lived meant we deserved to be left to drown.
As John says “This is love not that we loved God, but that he loved us.”
Let us not fool ourselves, the world would paint us all out to be nice people. The word “sinner” would be removed from the dictionary. There are no bad people in the world – only those who lack education, who have inherited the wrong parental genes, who haven’t been given the right chance. If you are a Christian it is very easy to believe this and what happens sin is downplayed and God’s love is diminished. But when we understand that life on earth is thanks to God, the ony reasons that we can take another breath is because he allows it, and that the whole of our lives are thanks to him, then we can begin to see how terrible is a life lived choosing to ignore him. If the God of the universe gave you life, yet he is ignored and life is lived with no reference to him – there is no way deserve his rescue.
It is only when we understand that the whole of Creation – every blade of grass was given to us – and yet we lived ignoring him that we can truly understand the height and depths of his love.
If you want the assurance of God’s love – look at the cross.
If you wan the knowledge you’re forgiven and given a 2nd chance look at the cross.
God’s true love is not determined by our feelings but by an event – the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Friends – before we continue and think about some of the implications in this passage – I want to allow an open time of prayer for thanks
Implications
1) We must love others
it is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another, for they themselves are animated by mutual hatred. See, they say about us, how they are ready even to die for one another, for they themselves would sooner kill. And they are angry with us too, because we call one another brother; for no other reason, as I think, than because among themselves names of affinity are assumed only in a mere pretense of affection.
One in mind and soul, we do not hesitate to share our earthly goods with one another. All things are common among us but our wives.
Here in this passage 2 motivations It is impossible to love others without 2 things 1 – The Holy Spirit 2- An understanding that God first loved you
(v12+v13) – Spirit of God dwelling within you
(v19) – Recognise your smallness
MATTHEW 18:21-35
“A new commandment I give unto you – to love one another as I have loved you”
2) We must not fear
Fear can be a crippling thing. And there are many things people can be afraid of
It is said that the Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin so feared for his safety that his residence in Moscow contained eight bedrooms. Each night Stalin chose a bedroom at random to ensure that no one knew exactly where he was sleeping.
Two explorers were on a jungle safari when suddenly a ferocious lion jumped in front of them. “Keep calm” the first explorer whispered. “Remember what we read in that book on wild animals? If you stand perfectly still and look the lion in the eye, he will turn and run.”
“Sure,” replied and his companion. “You’ve read the book, and I’ve read the book. But has the lion read the book?”
But in her perplexity, she made two decisions. "The first thing is to cast out fear," she said. "The only fear a Christian should entertain is the fear of sin. All other fears are from Satan sent to confuse and weaken us. How often the Lord reiterated to His disciples, `Be not afraid!"’
It is a poor thing to fear that which is inevitable.
Tertullian, third-century church father, speaking of death
What are you fears at the moment? What are you worries and your concerns tonight? What are the things you most worry you that are hidden inside far from the reaches of others.
Well John has another implication of God’s love:
He goes on to say “There is no fear in love. Perfect love drives out fear.” There were a number of different verses I could have focused on in this passage – but I believe there is a message in these verses for 1 or more people tonight.
You see if you accept Jesus into your life the Bible says “we can be confident on the day of God’s judgement”. Lift up your eyes and look to the future – ultimately there is only one thing to fear and that is the day you meet God face to face and he calls you to give account to how you live your life. Lift up your eyes and look – not just the next day, the next month or even the next year, but look beyond that into eternity for that is when we will all meet God, are you ready, have you accepted the Lord Jesus into your life. If you have then you can have confidence”, if not then be afraid, and put your faith in Christ and his death and resurrection that you too may have confidence.
You see God’s perfect love has driven out all fear. As the sun rises and melts away and drives out the dew from the grass, so as we understand the perfect love of God and that we are safe and saved so too any fear in him is cast out. As we look into the heart of God we see love.
But I believe this concept of perfect love driving out fear should go beyond meeting God – it should impact and influence the whole of life. If you come to Jesus, there is security and safety in Christ – You can either focus on your fears or focus on the perfect love of God for you.
Let me give you an example – many people can be afraid of illness or poor health or their jobs. And things may happen – you may get ill, you may lose your job, you will die. But we can either focus on these things – or focus beyond them to the immense love of God that is here for us now and will continue on for eternity. If you want a picture imagine who stumbles upon a butterfly, and focuses all his attention on that. If only he were to lok up he would realize that there was a whole crowd of them surrounding him. Don’t become short sighted – some of your fears may necer fully disappear – but when you understand God is awaiting to meet you face to face with his perfect love, then let this become your focus.
O perfect love, forever I shall sing
Of heavens gates flung wide for me
Where fear of death and tears of hopelessness
Are swallowed up in victory;
Look through the fear of death and tears of hopelessness and beyond them to the victory. Some if not all of us will always have to live with them. But will our lives and hearts and minds be marked by the thoughts of knowing God now and his perfect love for you and me, or the fears and tears of sin and failing.
