THE
LAVISH LOVE OF THE LORD
BREAD
1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us,
that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason
the world does not know us is that it did not know him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of
God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he
appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him
purifies himself, just as he is pure. 1 John 3:1-3 (NIV)
4 But when the time
had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under law,
5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Galatians 4:4-7 (NIV)
5 to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of sons. 6 Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” 7 So you are no longer a slave, but a son; and since you are a son, God has made you also an heir. Galatians 4:4-7 (NIV)
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing
in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him
before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love
5 he predestined us to be adopted
as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will-- 6 to the praise of his glorious
grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's
grace 8 that he lavished on us
with all wisdom and understanding. Ephesians 1:3-8 (NIV)
16 “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.” John 3:16 (NIV)
21 God made him
who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NIV)
31 What,
then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against
us?
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39 (NIV)
32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all--how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:31-39 (NIV)
3 The LORD
appeared to us in the past, saying: I have loved you with an everlasting love;
I have drawn you with loving-kindness. Jeremiah 31:3 (NIV)
13 Greater love has no one
than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. John 15:13 (NIV)
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it
does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It
is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no
record of wrongs. 6 Love does
not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It
always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. 1
Corinthians 13:4-8 (NIV)
BUTTER
“God’s
love is always supernatural, always a miracle, always the last thing we
deserve.” Robert Horn
“Many
people have difficulty believing God is a God of love….If you really want to
know the reality of God’s love, look at the Cross….It was love that restrained
Him when He was falsely accused of blasphemy and led to Golgotha to die with
common thieves. He raised not a hand
against His enemies. It was love that
kept Him from calling legions of angels to come to His defense. It was love that made Him, in a moment of
agonizing pain, pause and give hope to a repentant sinner who cried, ‘Lord,
remember me when You come into Your kingdom’ (Luke 23:42)….Does God love
us? Yes….and the proof is the Cross.” Billy
Graham
“The principle of
sacrifice is that we choose to do or to suffer what apart from our love we
should not choose to do or suffer.” William Temple
“Love Him
totally who gave Himself totally for your love.” Claire
of Assisi
“Amazing love! How can it be, that Thou, my God, shouldst
die for me?” Charles Wesley
“Love seeks one thing only:
the good of the one loved.” Thomas
Merton
“To
love God, to serve Him because we love Him, is…our highest happiness…Love makes
all labor light. We serve with
enthusiasm where we love with sincerity.”
Hannah More
“For
the love of God is broader than the measures of man’s mind; and the heart of
the Eternal is most wonderfully kind.” Frederick William Faber
“God’s desire to communicate happiness to the creature entails a willingness to experience loss to the sake of the beloved. It is exceeding congruous for God, a being of infinite goodness and love, to give to the creature the highest sort of expression of love—which is expensed for the beloved. Therefore through the mission of the Son, God reveals a love that suffers in behalf of the beloved. Now I can clearly and distinctly conceive how the giving of Christ is the perfect expression of love, as the greatest expense in a lover. For the incarnation expresses the love of God in a way that is exceedingly noble and excellent and agreeable to the glorious perfections of God.” Jonathan Edwards
“There is something contagious about a heart of love. People who are selfless with their love can make giant waves in this world where those who cling to selfish desires cause only ripples. In fact, those who have hearts of love view the people around them as being most important. A heart that bears the marks of God’s intimate love is not a selfish heart. When we look directly into God’s heart of love, we are transformed forever. The selfish desires that once dominated our heart’s landscapes vanish in an instant, replaced by a desire to lavish love on others. As God begins to transform our hearts through His grace and kindness, we become vessels willing to reciprocate this type of love. Something happens inside of us. We begin to realize the twofold effect of loving God and loving others - not just friends and family, but others who cross our paths every day. Hardened hearts begin to melt beneath the warmth of Christ’s love overflowing from our lives. People who we never thought would let the name of Jesus roll off their lips suddenly praise Him because we have taken the time to love them the way God has commanded us to love. Once we learn how to abide in His love, our feelings of jealousy, greed, and anger die a quick death. A true champion extends grace and kindness because he knows the transformation that has taken place in his own heart, and he realizes those who receive God’s love and grace have no other course of action but to give God’s love away.” Michael Youssef
HEART SAVOR
·
Christ demonstrated His love for us in dying for us.
·
We loved because He first loved us.
·
Christ-like love is self-less; it shows action - not merely words. It is not the tinsel town Hollywood type
rather it is the denial of self for the beloved type. Christ-like love never fails.
