He loved us part 2 022011 pm

8/7/2019 He loved us part 2 022011 pm

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REVELATION. Part 4 in the Series entitled Three

02/20/11

Unto Him that Loved Us Part 2

Would you please stand with me for the reading of Gods sacred Word? Revelation 1:1-8

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants thingswhich must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John:Who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things thathe saw.

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those thingswhich are written therein: for the time is at hand.

John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him whichis, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the

prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his ownblood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory anddominion for ever and ever. Amen.

Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him:and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen. I am Alpha and Omega,the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, theAlmighty.

After seeing the three-fold revelation of who Jesus Christ is, we began this morning to explorethe three-fold nature of what He has done, and we saw in verse 5, that He has Loved us.

Now, there is a depth of truth that those two words only begin to convey, and I wanted toexplore what His love really means, so we started today by looking at 5 characteristics of Hislove, and we learned that Christs love for us is:

BINDINGRomans 8:35, says, Who shall separate us from the love of God? Shall tribulation, ordistress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?

Paul answers with a list of things that cannot ever break the bonds of Christs love, and heconcludes in verses 38-39 by saying, For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, norangels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor

depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is inChrist Jesus our Lord.

Paul was, in a sense, echoing the words of Christ in John 10:27-29, where he said, My sheephear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and theyshall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gavethem me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

It is so good to know that no matter what happens, His love. His love is binding. Furthermore,his love is also:

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SHELTERINGJesus, in John 10, painted the picture of this sheltering love by describing our relationship to himwith the analogy of sheep to their shepherd. And while I wont take time to read it tonight, wesee in that chapter that Jesus paints Himself as the Good Shepherd who feeds, nurtures,prepares, and protects His sheep even at risk of His own life. And he does this because Hislove is sheltering.

We then learned that His great love is, in truth:

IMMEASURABLEWhen Paul wrote his letter to the church at Ephesus, he told them that he was praying for them,That he (Christ) would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened withmight by his Spirit in the inner man; That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, beingrooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, andlength, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that yemight be filled with all the fulness of God.

Paul wanted them to in some small way, I suppose, get a grip on the immeasurable love ofChrist, because that grip would strengthen their hearts and fill them with the fullness of God.

You know, I believe thats true for us today as well that if we would spend just a small amountof time each meditating on the Scriptures that extol the love of Christ and thinking and prayingabout His great love for us, we could face each day with renewed strength and determination tolive a life that is pleasing to God.

Gods love is big enough to do that! It is beyond human understanding, and it is powerful because it is immeasurable.

Whats more, His love is

COMMITTED

The dark hour of his life and ministry was the test, wasnt it? It was that hour that provedwhether Jesus was truly committed in His love for His Father and His love for His followers.

And in that hour, with full knowledge of the pain and suffering He was about to endure, Helooked to His Father and said, Not my will, but thine be done. And in that hour, will fullknowledge of how truly alone He would be, as all others forsook Him, He still bowed his kneesas a servant and in love, washed His disciples feet. John 13:1 says, Now before the feast ofthe passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this worldunto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world , he loved them unto the end.

Jesus knew that in a matter of hours these men would abandon Him, and still, He loved them.He loved them unto the end. Jesus knew that in a few hours, His own Father would turn His

face away and the skies would be blackened by clouds, yet He pursued His will in love.

Jesus is a committed lover. He is faithful. He will never violate the covenant of His love. And itwas that love that took Him all the way to the cross, the agony, and the tomb.

And, friend, if you die lost tonight and end up in hell, it is because you did all you could to climbaround, over, or under that amazing love. His is a committed love.

Finally, we learned that His love is

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COMPELLINGThe Apostle Paul, former Christian-killer turned preacher, wrote in 2Corinthians 5:14, For thelove of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but untohim which died for them, and rose again.Paul was saying that the magnificent love of Christ compelled Him to preach the Gospel. He

saw the world around Him as dead and He knew that Jesus Christ was the only One who couldbring them knew life, and He knew that he was indebted to share that love.

And so are we. The Apostle John tells us this in 1John 4:11 where he says, Beloved, if God soloved us, we ought also to love one another.

Listen, if you have truly experienced Christs love, you must also be moved to love others. Youmust feel compelled to give them the same gift that youve been given! If you feel no desire inyour heart, no compassion, no compulsion to share the Gospel, there is something wrong withyour heart, because Christs love is a compelling love!

Well, learning these things about Christs love does something to us. It changes the way we

think. But more important that this is experiencing His love first-hand, and when that happens,His love goes beyond just changing what we think, to changing how we live.

And that brings us to the rest of the message tonight, in which I want to share with you whatChrists love does to us and in us. In other words, to answer the question, What are theconsequences, or results of His love?

And there are four I will share with you tonight. First, If you have truly experienced His love, youhave been

ENLIVENEDPaul writes in Ephesians 2:1-7 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses

and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to theprince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Amongwhom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desiresof the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we weredead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raisedus up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages tocome he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through ChristJesus.

You know, if you want to get a point across, you repeat yourself, right? Thats what Paul did.

Twice he says that in Christ weve been quickened. Now, that doesnt mean that the love ofChrist somehow makes you faster, so dont think that youre going to go out there and win anyfootraces because you received His love and were saved.

The word, quickened, or quickened together as it appears in verse 5, is the Greek wordsuzoopoieo, (sood-zo-op-oy-eh'-o) which means, to reanimate conjointly with. Another way ofsaying it is would be made alive with.

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Paul is saying that when we were dead in sin, God, through Christs sacrifice, has made usalive with Jesus Christ. So get this picture Jesus dies. Jesus is buried. Jesus raises from thedead.

And now you, who were dead in your sins; you who were a putrid mess of spiritual corruption,have been raised from the dead and made alive by your union of faith to the One who loved youand gave Himself for you!

Man, if that doesnt light your fire, I dont know what will!

You were dead, but now youre live! You were headed for hell in absolute hopelessness andloneliness, and now youre alive, beloved by your Creator, and redeemed by your Savior!

And I dont care how bad your life may seem, if you are there with Jesus, theres no better placeto be because youve been made alive in Christ! And its all because of His love!

Furthermore, because of His love, youve been

ENCOURAGEDIn 2Thessalonians 2:13-15, Paul writes But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for

you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you tosalvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you byour gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, brethren, stand fast, and hold the traditions which ye have been taught, whether byword, or our epistle.

Once again, Paul is praying for a church, and this time its the Thessalonian congregation. Andhe tells them that hes always praying and giving thanks to God for them, because God haddone such a great work in their lives and they were a source of joy to Paul, who worked so hardto see fruit among them.

And then, after encouraging them to hold fast to the truths they had been taught, he pronouncesa benediction upon them and thats what we read in verses 16-17 Now our Lord JesusChrist himself, and God, even our Father, which hath loved us, and hath given us everlastingconsolation and good hope through grace, Comfort your hearts, and stablish you in everygood word and work.

In his closing words, Paul appeals to the love of God as the source and the fountain of Hiseverlasting consolation and good hope. He says that Christ himself and God, even our Father,Hath loved us.

And His love is the foundation for our comfort and hope. His love is what encourages us whenall hope and comfort seem lost:

When we lose our jobsWhen we lose our healthWhen we lose a son or daughterWhen our spouse is diagnosed with terminal cancerWhen the darkness of depression covers our hearts like a cloud

In these times we cling to the anchor of His everlasting consolation and good hope. We hold fastto that great love in those dark hours when we are all alone in our suffering, and we do it byremembering what He has already done for us.

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And listen, even if Satan blinds you to all the blessings God has given you throughout your lifeand tries to make you think that God doesnt love you, He can never steal the truth of1John4:9, which says,In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent hisonly begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

And friends, thats an encouraging love. Well, youve been ENLIVENED and ENCOURAGED,but theres more. Because of His love, youve also been:

EXCUSEDWhen I was a kid, there were about four years of my life in which Iived with a step-family. Now, Ireally dont have many good memories of those years. There were things that happened that Idont even like to think about, let alone talk about. And the truth is, Ive forgotten much of it.

But there are a couple of occasions in those years that stand out very clearly in my mind. Onesuch occasion was what Ill call the towel day. I dont remember exactly how it started, but I doremember that after my dad left for work early that morning, my stepmother called me and mytwo brothers downstairs and accused us of tearing one of her bath towels.

Well, I didnt do it, and both of my brothers denied it too, so, Connie sent us to our room to think

it over until one of us admitted it. And for good measure, we were sent there with no breakfast,and we werent getting out until we confessed.

So, we went to our rooms and we stayed in there for hours and hours. We didnt get breakfast,and we didnt get lunch, and it was getting close to dinner and we were three very hungry boys.

So what did we do? We cajoled and convinced our youngest brother, Shawn, to confess to thecrime so we could get out and eat.

So he did. He went downstairs and confessed and took a beating. And he did it for us. And thething is, he wasnt even guilty. None of us were.

In fact, it wasnt the very next day that the truth came out it was one of our stepsisters whohad torn the towel. But, it was too late, Shawn had already suffered for us so we could beexcused.

Brothers and sisters, do you realize that this is exactly what Jesus did for us? Jesus took thepunishment for us, the innocent for the guilty. He stood in the place of condemnation so that wecould be excused and go free. He traded His life for ours.

1John 4:10 says, Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Sonto be the propitiation for our sins.

The word, propitiation carries the idea of expiation. Now, that may not mean much to you, and

it wouldnt mean much to me either, except I found out that that really means, to makeamends. Now, thats a language I understand.

I was alienated from God by my sins and I deserved to suffer His wrath, I deserved to go to hell.I know that. But Jesus Christ, in His great love, stepped in for me, stopped the trial, and took myplace in front of the Judge, where He willingly took the blame and the punishment for me. Heexpiated my sin.

He paid the price that I was supposed to pay, and because he died in my place, I was excusedand God set me free! Whooo!!!

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Oh, arent you glad that youve been excused? But even as you rejoice, just remember theprice that was paid.

Even now, 30 years after that towel incident, I can still hear my brother crying as he took thebeating for us so we could be free.

I dont ever want to forget the pain my Savior suffered so I could be excused and neithershould you. It was my sins and your sins that nailed Him to the cross! And weve been excused.

Well, there is one more thing I want to leave you with tonight. Because He has loved us, wevebeen

ELEVATEDIn the end, we come full circle, right back to where we started in Romans chapter 8, and therewe read these words (verses 29-37)

For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of hisSon, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he alsojustified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified .

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us? He thatspared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freelygive us all things?

Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he thatcondemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right handof God, who also maketh intercession for us .

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or

famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the daylong; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

There are six things Paul mentions here that show just how God has elevated our position fromsinner and enemy to child and heir of God.

First, Paul says that God has predestined us to be conformed to the image of His Son. Do yourealize the privilege of this position? How awesome is this, that God is allowing us, and evenworking in us to make us like His Son.

No grander human being has ever lived than Jesus Christ. No more moral person. No moreloving person. No more pure and wonderful person. And you and I get to be like Him! That isawesome!

And heres something else Paul also says in verse 30, that in Christ, were glorified. Noticethat Paul speaks in the past tense. Not we will be glorified but we have already beenglorified. That word literally means that weve been esteemed glorious and full of honor.

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Sometimes we think in a now and then mindset. Its as if were just lowly peons trudgingthrough this world, hoping, just hoping that someday well actually make to heaven where,maybe, just maybe well get a shack or be a doorkeeper.

But this is not how God sees us. If you are in Christ, God sees you as exalted!

Look back at verse 14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.

Now, look at verse 17-18 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs withChrist; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together. For I reckonthat the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shallbe revealed in us.

Paul says we are joint-heirs with Christ and that we will be glorified together someday with aglory that far surpasses the strength of any of our present distresses.

Moreover, he writes in Ephesians 2:4-7, But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great lovewherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together withChrist, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together inheavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding richesof his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.

Listen, in Gods view, you are ALREADY exalted seated in heavenly places, where in theages to come you will experience the riches of His grace and kindness!

CONCLUSIONTwo of Satans greatest weapons against us are doubt and discouragement. He wants us tofocus on the here and now where things are broken and where life is hard. But God tells us tolift our eyes and see that there is a glorious future that we are already a part of we just cantsee it with these eyes.

So we have to use the eyes of faith. We have to trust the One who loved us enough to die in ourplace so we could be

ENLIVENEDENCOURAGEDEXCUSEDELEVATED

Trust in God. Dont get hung up on your problems or the turmoil in this broken world.

Listen to the words of the Lord to His disciples, as He spoke of the coming trouble in the world,

and he said in Luke 21:28 when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and liftup your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh.

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He loved us part 2 022011 pm