Sunday Worship – Mt Freedom Baptist Church

This message is the first in a series entitled “God Is Love.” These messages will explore the nature of God’s love and our proper response to Him.

John the apostle gave us succinct definition of God’s nature when he wrote in 1 John 4:8. “…God is love.” Love is not just an aspect of God’s character. Love is the very essence of His being. Nor is God’s love an emotion, an attraction, or a response to a loved one being “lovable” in the way people ordinarily think of love. God’s love is all encompassing, unconditional, and eternally unchanging. God revealed to Moses the characteristics of His love in Exodus 34:6 – “…“The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness…”

Genesis 1:26-28 tells us that God created people male and female in His own image. Therefore our lives are sacred, and we should respect and honor all human beings simply because we are all the image bearers of God. We must stand up for human life wherever it is threatened or devalued.

As we start a new year, thinking back on the Christmas gifts we have received over the years, we find that the greatest gift of all is Christ Himself who gave Himself for us. Paul lists for us some important aspects of Christ’s gift in his letter to the Ephesians – wisdom and knowledge of Him, hope of eternal life in Him, and the power of His Spirit dwelling within our hearts.

God’s love is unexplainable because our limited human capacity for love can’t truly understand God’s boundless love. People fall in and out of love, but God’s love never changes and lasts forever. We give our love to another most often based on the character and behavior of our loved one. If our feelings about them change, we stop loving them. But God loves us regardless of who we are or how we act, and He will always love us just because we are the ones He loves. God extends His love to everyone, and Jesus demonstrated His love for us by sacrificing His own life on the cross in our place. Perhaps the apostle John said it best when he wrote in 1 John 4:8 simply “…God is love.”

During the Advent season leading up to Christmas, we reflect on the blessings that Jesus our Immanuel brought with His birth. In our fallen, violent world, it is easy to lose sight of the peace which Jesus’ birth promised – peace among men and most importantly peace between God and mankind. Yet we can trust that God always fulfills His promises in His perfect time and in His perfect way. So as we celebrate Jesus’ first coming into the world, we eagerly anticipate His return when He promises He will make all things new and establish His promised peace forever.

As Christmas rapidly approaches, we take time to reflect on the blessings we have received by Jesus’ birth. The miracle of God taking on human flesh fills us with awe, but we are deeply humbled when we consider that He did so because He intended to redeem us out of death by taking the judgment for our sins upon himself at the cross. Nevertheless, we are thrilled and richly blessed with the promise He gave just before He ascended back to His Father that one day He will return to gather us to Himself so we will be with Him in His glory forevermore. This is the blessed hope we hold tightly onto as we await His coming.

When we consider just what Jesus did for us on the cross to redeem us out of death in our sins, our hearts overflow with thankfulness for His infinite mercy and grace although we are totally undeserving.

Thankfulness and generosity go hand-in-hand. When we consider the blessings that God has bestowed upon our lives, we are filled with the desire to not only tell others how God has blessed us, but to be a blessing to others ourselves. When others see the joy we have in the LORD and His blessings upon us – especially His gift of eternal salvation He purchased for us with the precious blood of Jesus – they will be filled with the desire to know that joy and peace for themselves.

In his letters to the churches at Ephesus and Corinth, the apostle Paul tells all Christ followers that God’s Holy Spirit living within us gives us specific and varied spiritual gifts to be used for building and strengthening His Church. Paul’s missionary companion Barnabas consistently and fully applied the spiritual gift of encouragement that he had been given. In fact, the nickname Barnabas that the apostles gave him means “son of encouragement,” reflecting his obedience to God’s calling. Barnabas’ gift of encouragement isn’t as spectacular as some other spiritual gifts like prophecy and healing. But encouragement from the Holy Spirit given through God’s chosen vessels like Barnabas is nevertheless vital to the health and strength of the Church, and indeed the world at large.

The account found in Acts 9 of Saul of Tarsus’ transformation into Paul the apostle after Jesus appeared to him on the road to Damascus is perhaps the best known example of God’s desire and the power of His Spirit to restore seemingly irredeemable, deeply flawed people into His instruments for accomplishing His purposes. God used Paul mightily to establish and nurture His Church throughout the Mediterranean basin despite the initial misgivings of the Christ followers whom Saul had previously persecuted. Saul’s supernatural transformation into Paul is a great encouragement for us. God continues today to redeem and restore even the most seemingly hopeless sinners and then put us to work as His representatives to reach our lost world with the restorative Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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for Pastor Brian

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Join Us for a Week of Prayer for Collins Home Family Ministries: February 8-14

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