Pastor Esther Tham
13 September 2020
Good morning church.
Today message is my maiden message for Sunday Celebration Service. As I seek and sought after the Lord for a Word of season to share, especially during this time, Love have touched my heart.
To look at love, the love of God, it is best to look at Apostle John. At time Apostle John is also called the “Apostle of Love”.
Taken from 1 John 4:8,
1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
Today, I would like to title my sermon, God is Love.
Title: God is Love!
This word “love”, and usually we relate this word love in romantic or sentimental terms. A Girl and boy relationship. Or a celebration on Valentine’s Day.
However, according to Bible, love in fact is a feeling, but it is also more than just a feeling.
Bible teaches us that love is a commitment that both protects and produces passionate feelings.
As commitment, love is not dependent on warm feelings – but rather a consistent and courageous decision to extend yourself for the well-being of another
When we say we love someone, as an example when you say you love your spouse, or love your children. We can’t just say it just like “I love you”. And that’s it! we stop there and no further move taken. No action shows. Indeed, it need to follow by actions. Love without action is dead!
Why I say so, when a husband say I love you, my wife. And that is it! No further action after that.
He never shows his love, gratitude, appreciation, care to the wife… do you think the wife will think that the husband really love her?
Love is a feeling but it also needs to show through their action.
When a husband say I love you, my wife.
He needs to care, he needs to protect, he needs to provide, and he needs to spend more time with his wife, with his family.
He needs to act further from what his said.
Love is what you say!
He needs to sacrifice in a sense that when he needs to spend more time with his family, in one or another way, he needs to forgo something that he loves, as an example, he needs to sacrifice his time spend with friends in order to have more time with his wife.
Love is not what you say. Love is what you do!
So, now back to my title, God is love. God is loving by nature.
We know, beyond anything we could ever imagine, God loves us deeply.
In John 3:16 tells us how much God loves us, we all know about this verse, so familiar, even we close our eyes, we can say it out loud. “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
Romans 5:8 proclaim the same message, “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God gave His one and only Son, this is an action. A decision made by God to send His Son to die for our sin. Because God wanted us to be reconciled back to Him.
He so love us, that He provided a way for us to be made right with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ.
This is an action! An action taken by God.
He loves us to the extent that He sent His one and only Son.
Jesus paid a great cost at the Calvary, bearing the wrath that our sins deserve.
God paid greatly with the life of his Son for us who believe.
We are loved. All God’s children know that we are loved by God. God proves His love!
But how many of us experience God’s love.
We all know the feeling of being loved, right. When one starts their courting / dating, that moment as young couple, they on cloud nine…. We will say so lovely dovely. Always you can see a smile on their face. Can you imagine that feeling?
Now, we know that we are loved. We are loved by God. Do we know the feeling of being loved by God? How we know that we are experiencing God’s love?
It’s one thing to understand that God is love (1 John 4:8), and He loves us. But it is another to know and experience His love personally.
If one wants to experience God’s love, we need to have the feeling deep in our spirit and admit that we are indeed inadequate – that we have not and will not ever earn
God’s love… it’s an impossibility. NO one can earn God’s love. We can’t earn God’s love.
We can only receive it (the love of God/ God’s love) as a grace gift!
When God tells us,
In 1 Chronicles 16:11, “Look to the Lord and his strength; seek his face always.”
Here, God is not making any suggestion. But, He designed us to live with Him. That is where we can find wholeness and fulfillment in Him.
Jesus emphasized this when He said,
In John 10:10, “the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full.”
When a thief comes into a house, he comes to steal, if you happen to see him, he might hurt you, kill you and destroy your belongings at your home.
In contrast to the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy, Jesus comes to give us life.
The life that He gives right now is abundantly richer and fuller. It is eternal yet it begins immediately.
Especially during this time, during this pandemic, many may feel as though a million hurdles stand in their way to experiencing God’s love – hurts, shames, inadequacies, blame and so on.
But be assured that nobody has or ever earn the love of God. We can’t earn the love of God.
One need to open their hearts to receive it and continually walk with God to experience it.
When one experience the love of God, their experience, their speech will change, the way they speak will change for better.
Taking their speak for example. (their conversation will change).
The way they speak, the way they comment things and so on will change. That is one of the prove for one who experience the love of God.
Example, when one is in love, whatever things that person speaks about his or her partner will be positive, all things about that person is perfect. Everything is good about that person. They can’t see any weakness / flaw in that person. Agree?
Hence, it is the same, those experience God’s love, their language is different, always full of positive thoughts, and it is very encouraging.
Why? Because God is love. God is loving by nature.
We are to be more like Christ. To experience Him in our walk with Him.
God is loving by nature. And if we are His followers, we are to be like Him.
So, it is very natural for us to speak positively and continue to depend on God.
As a result, when one is better to relate with people, their relationship with person will become rich and vital.
They are less defensive, but more caring, generous and attractive for all the right reasons.
John begins in 1 John 4:7, 7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
Then he continues saying in verse 8 (1 John 4:8), 8Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
From these verses we know, God loves us. He loves the people. He loves each and everyone of you.
He loves me, He loves you. Because God loves everyone. And we as His
followers, we are to love one another.
Love of God is beyond what we human can understand. It is beyond our
imagination.
Taken from Ephesians 3:18&19, even Paul prays for Christian believers like us may “have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and how long and how high and how deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge.”
It is important that we are able to say that I know God love me, especially when you are facing some traumatic, obstacles events in your life.
At time, we may find some believers saying,
“I attended church services, but I can’t feel Him”
“I know God loves me, because He sent His Son to die for me. Christ gave Himself
for me” But I can’t feel a thing, I can’t feel Him.
But, the love of God is a gift to believers to enjoy.
Romans 5:5, God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.
God’s love was proved back at the cross, Jesus died for our sin. Today, it is now in our hearts.
God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit! – it is a real experience of being loved by God.
God wants us to enjoy this gift – the outpouring of God’s love in our hearts. It is something felt in the heart.
Now back to the statement I said earlier, where some believers may say,
” I attended church service, but I can’t feel Him, I don’t know if God is with me…”
When one going through some though times in life….
So to proceed, let us now, look at few verses before Romans 5:5.
Paul showed how God help us with the first threat to our hope.. is in verse 3 (Romans 5:3)
Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance
The problem that we face will develop our perseverance which will in turn strengthen our character, deepen our trust in God and give us greater confidence about the future.
We have hope in Him, Jesus Christ.
God’s love will never let us down.
Looking through Jesus’ ministry, all problems and questions that were directed to Him, He has solutions, answers to all of it.
He always had solutions.
Jesus never let them down. He always lifted one up!
However, we tend to think that our lives are the center of the world – everything revolves around what we want.
Example,
If God is taking care of my health, taking care of my family, God is taking care of all issues of my life, all obstacles – then God is lifting me up
On the other side, when things are not well, we say God doesn’t take care of me – God is letting me down
Here, we fail to realize that we are not the center, God is the center of it all.
Sometime, when one pray fervently, and things didn’t get better, things is not moving in the direction that we want.
We must also understand that even some little issue in life does not mean that God let us down.
Issue (example):
Driving along and have a flat tire, and needed to change the tires while you are broke
Paul tell us in Romans 8:28, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
God so loved us, but He never promised that all things are going to be good once you accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. God never promised us that!
But God promised us He would save us from trouble – He would save us in the midst of our trouble, our suffering. He is there with us while we going through the pain, suffering, the trouble
God’s love will never let you down.
God’s love will never end.
We sometime me sway away, we may wander away turn our back from God – God love is still there!
I want to affirm those going through some hard times, who caught up in despair, helpless at this point of times…. God is still there! Hang on to it!
The incredible quality of God’s love is always there.
Looking at Jesus on the cross, they nailed Him to the cross – they event spit on Him, laughed at Him, mocked Him – Jesus kept on moving, keep on loving
He prayed for forgiveness (He asked the God the Father to forgive them for they do not know what they are doing) – He asked for forgiveness.
He never withdrew His love – that shows us God’s love
No matter how small our problems, or how great our trials are – God’s love will never end.
God’s love never ends. He will never let you down!
God is love is God nature. He is loving by nature.
We can now find ourselves feeling profound significant in front of our Creator, our Friend, our Provider, our God.
Because we have a lifetime motivation to be exactly who we are designed to be. As I end my message sharing today, I would like to encourage each and everyone of us that to continue tune into our Master, Our Creator, Our God.
The more we tune in to Him, the more we embrace significantly in the eyes of our Creator. We can become whole in Him.
God is love. He created us to love Him and He extend His love to each of us.
Thus, we are also to love one another. Extend our love to the people around us.
May the Lord direct your hearts into the experience of love of God.
Experience His love in our lives today and for eternity.
Amen!
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