Havasu Christian Church
February 28, 2010
GOD LOVES YOU……. and I’m trying!
Romans 5:8,
Romans 8:39,
I Corinthians 13:4-10,
I John 4:9-12
INTRO: During our “month of love” We’ve looked at Family Love, Sexual Love, Brotherly Love. Our final word for love this month is AGAPE. This is the Greek word for Godly Love. This word for love is hardly found in Greek literature. The Greeks and Romans didn’t give or expect this kind of love. But Christians, that’s a different story! This word for love is found all over the New Testament. Agape love is such a HUGE topic! But we’ll do our best to cover it today.
- Godly Love, loves in spite of.
- We are loved by God, in spite of our sin.
- Sin is disgusting to God, as it should be to us.
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
- Christ died for us when we were disgustingly covered in sin!
- We are loved by God despite our appearances or social differences.
James 2:1–4 My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. For if a man comes into your assembly with a gold ring and dressed in fine clothes, and there also comes in a poor man in dirty clothes, and you pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes, and say, “You sit here in a good place,” and you say to the poor man, “You stand over there, or sit down by my footstool,” have you not made distinctions among yourselves, and become judges with evil motives?
- God loves us in spite of the mistakes we have made.
1 Corinthians 13:5 (Love) does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered,
- Sometimes we offend God and we don’t even realize we’ve done it!
- Godly Love, Forgives
- As Christians, God had forgiven us!
- God literally forgets.
Hebrews 8:12 “FOR I WILL BE MERCIFUL TO THEIR INIQUITIES, AND I WILL REMEMBER THEIR SINS NO MORE.”
- We are called by God to forgive others.
Matthew 18:23–35 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
24 “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him.
25 “But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made.
26 “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’
27 “And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt.
28 “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’
29 “So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’
30 “But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed.
31 “So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened.
32 “Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
33 ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’
34 “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.
35 “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.”
- This kind of forgiveness is not based in our feelings!
- This is good news.
- We can and should CHOOSE to forgive.
- We may not forget, but we need to live as though we did!
- What we are called to forgive is insignificant compared with what we have been forgiven.
- Godly Love, risks being hurt
- It loves the unlovable
Romans 5:8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
- Godly love takes the big risk of giving love without it being returned.
- Godly love shares with those in need, even when you know there will be no return to you.
James 2:14-17 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself.
- Godly love loves, even when it will be rejected.
Mark 8:31–37 And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. And He was stating the matter plainly. And Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and *said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.” And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world, and forfeit his soul? “For what will a man give in exchange for his soul?
- We have a responsibility to reach out to the world!
- Even knowing that often what we offer will be rejected.
- Godly Love believes the best.
1 Corinthians 13:4–7 Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth;
bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
- God gives the benefit of the doubt, even though He knows what we will do.
- We are given the chance to do right.
- God cannot ever be accused of not giving us a chance.
Joshua 24:15–16 “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” The people answered and said, “Far be it from us that we should forsake the LORD to serve other gods;
- We must try to expect the best from people too.
- God expects us to do what is right, and we should expect that from one another also.
- God has given us everything we need in order to do what’s right.
- Sometimes they may even surprise us!
Titus 2:1–11 But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance. Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Likewise urge the young men to be sensible; in all things show yourself to be an example of good deeds, with purity in doctrine, dignified, sound in speech which is beyond reproach, so that the opponent will be put to shame, having nothing bad to say about us. Urge bondslaves to be subject to their own masters in everything, to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, not pilfering, but showing all good faith so that they will adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in every respect. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,)
- God helps us do better!
- We should help each other do better!
CONCLUSION:
- God is perfect in Love, as He is in all things.
- We are expected to Grow in Love!
- We are better off when we Grow in Love.
- As we grow in that Love, we will want to share that love with others.
