Seven Words Every Christian Should Know! Hesed-Love Series

INTRODUCTION

• VIDEO CLIP Les Mis.

• SLIDE #1

• We spend a great deal of time in the New Testament, as we should. In the New Testament, we learn a great deal about Jesus.

• In the Old Testament, we can learn a great deal about the character of God as well as gaining a deeper understanding of what God calls us to through Jesus in the New Testament.

• Today we are going to begin a new series entitled 7 Hebrew Words That Every Christian should know. I got the idea from a devotional series I read a few months ago.

• I want us to begin with Hebrew word Hesed (HIGH SAID), THIS WORD IS ONE OF THE WORDS IN THE HEBREW LANGUAGE REPRESENTING LOVE.

• Why is this word important to know?

• The Old Testament reveals a much concerning the character of God, and for us to have a better grasp on God’s character, we need to understand the background and foundation on which what we see played out in the New Testament is built upon.

• This first word is important to understand because it what everything else we need to know about God is constructed.

• We need to understand what this word means so we can have a realistic picture of how God deals with us as we are rebellious and stubborn.

• When one has lived a life far from God, how does God feel about that person, when one is living a life in rebellion towards God, is there any hope for that person?

• What about you? Are you like I once was, struggling to believe that God could possibly love you?

• If we struggle with grasping the full meaning of this word, we will never fully understand the reason Jesus was sent, as well as the reason why we need Him.

• We will also struggle with the concept of God’s forgiveness because we will allow our feelings of unworthiness trump the way that God feels.

• In a nutshell the word HESED is not a only a feeling, it is an actions, HESED moves on the intervene on behalf of loves ones, it moves one to come to the rescue of the one in need.

• Hesed is not a romantic love, is a FAITHFUL love that is reliable.

• Hesed is the type of love that keeps a person praying for a lost loved one for years and years. It is a spouse who lovingly takes care of their spouse whose health has deteriorated to the point the ill one does not even know their husband or wife any longer.

• Hesed represents a love that is completely undeserved kindness and generosity, this word lays the foundation for the type of love described in the New Testament, the Agape love that God has for mankind.

• The context of the passage we will examine in Isaiah 54 deals with Isaiah speaking to the nation, a nation that had backslid to the point that God had allowed them to be in captivity and would do so in the future also.

• Isaiah was speaking to a nation that was rebellious and ungrateful.

• How would God deal with the nation who was stubborn and rebellious, a nation He made a covenant with?

• As we seek to understand the love God showed the nation, this will give us insight as to how God will deal with us when we have been stubborn and rebellious.

• Let’s begin with Isaiah 54:7-8

• SLIDE #2

• Isaiah 54:7–8 (CSB) — 7 “I deserted you for a brief moment, but I will take you back with abundant compassion. 8 In a surge of anger I hid my face from you for a moment, but I will have compassion on you with everlasting love,” says the Lord your Redeemer.

• SLIDE #3

SERMON

I. Hesed encompasses the idea of compassion.

• One of the issues we need to grasp concerning the word HESED is that this type of love encompasses the idea of compassion.

• Compassion is the one of the foundations on which this word is built.

• The nation had backslid badly, to backslide means to revert to a WORSE condition, to lapse morally or to back away from one’s faith.

• When a Christian backslides, they turn away from the Lord, they neglect their faith, their desire to worship the Lord.

• One who backslides can bring ridicule to the name of Jesus and His church as the outside world views what has happened.

• The nation of Israel was a poor example of following God, they did not show the world how great it was to be led and to be taken care of by God.