And we take our text from Ephesians the second chapter.
And verses four through seven. Reads there in, Paul's letter to
the Ephesians. But God who is rich in Mercy
because of his great love with which he loved us, even when we
were dead in trespasses made us alive together, with Christ by
Grace, you have been saved and raised us up together and made
us sit together in the Heavenly places in Christ Jesus that in
the ages to come. He might show the exceeding
riches. Of his grace in his kindness
toward us in Christ, Jesus. All right in here to do to the
Ephesians says basically to show God's love towards us while we
were yet sinners and we were dead in our trespasses and sins.
God, proved and showed his love towards us in the giving his
son, as a sacrifice for our sins.
We're going to notice several different things.
This morning about this briefly, but we want to notice three main
points this morning. God's love is unmerited.
God's love is unconditional and God's love is unending.
We need God's love. We do because, as in Romans, 3
and verse 23, for all have sinned and fall short of the
glory of God. So we need his love without his
love for us. We don't have a chance of being
saved. We don't have a hope of
Eternity. So, let's notice first God's
love to us is unmerited in Romans, the 5th chapter in
verses 5 through 8. Now hope does not disappoint
because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts, by the
Holy Spirit who was given to us for when we were still without
Strength In Due Time Christ died for the ungodly for scarcely for
a righteous man. Will one die yet, Perhaps for a
good, man. Some would even dare to die, but
God demonstrates his own love toward us in that.
While we were. Still sinners Christ died for
us. And the King James version, that
that term demonstrates, his is translated commends, and it
comes from the Greek word Sunnah stemi.
And it means to show to prove exhibit or demonstrate You know,
to prove something means that you have evidence that supports
something or a statement that is made, that brings the facts out
of the facts that prove what you've said and God has proved
to us. God, demonstrated us, he proved
to us. He gave us evidence that he
loves us. He showed his love towards us,
he demonstrated that in the death of his only son Jesus
Christ. And first, John 4 verse.
Sten in. This is love, not that, we loved
God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the
propitiation for our sins. In other words, he took our
place God proved his love for us by not giving by not, giving us
what we deserve. But what he has granted to us,
and showing his grace and his mercy and his love towards us.
Number two point is God. Love God's love is unconditional
even as God's love is unmerited. And is, it is also unconditional
Romans 8 and verses 38 through 39. for I am persuaded that
neither life or excuse me, neither death nor life, nor
angels, nor principalities nor powers nor things present, nor
things to come nor height nor depth nor any other created
thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which
is in Christ Jesus, our lord, You know, there is nothing that
you can do to make God love you more.
And there's nothing you can do to make God love you, less.
His love is unconditional and it's impartial.
So we can't go around and say, well, God loves me more than he
loves you. Because he doesn't, he loves
everyone just the same. He loves The Sinner just the
same as he loves the righteous person.
He loves the righteous person. As much as he loves The Sinner.
His love is unconditional and it's impartial, we might hear
his person. Say well, doesn't God hate you
when you sin? Well, God doesn't hate a person
because they sinned, he hates the sin because of what it does.
To the person, it brings spiritual death to the person we
can fall out of favor with God. Just like we as with our own
children, we don't hate our children because they do
something wrong. We may be disappointed in them.
And we made discipline them but we don't hate them because they
disobeyed us. we made to be disappointed, the absolutely
There's a story about a babysitter who's watching her
neighbors, young children, when she heard a squeal coming from
the from the next room and she heard one of the kids say, Mike,
God doesn't love you. When you do the things like
that. Mike replied as he does love me.
He's just disappointed in me. God still loves us even when we
do things wrong and we sin against him, God's love is
unconditional We understand that the wages of sin is death Romans
6 and 23 Ephesians 2 and verses 1 and 2.
And you hath, he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins
for in time past ye walked according to the course of this
world according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit
that now worketh in the children of Disobedience.
But you see, we fall out of favor.
We walk in trespasses and sins and that falls out of favor with
God and it It affects our spiritual eternity.
But God still loves us. God still loves us as much as he
always did. His love has never wavered for
us. His number love, has never
diminished towards us. It's because of sin.
That God has proven his love for us through the sacrifice of his
only son, John 3 and verse 16 for God.
So loved the world that he gave his only begotten.
Son, that whosoever believes in Him.
Should not perish but have everlasting life.
He proved it. He proved it.
But God, accepts and loves each of us.
Just as we are. Mark 2 and verses 15 through 17.
Now, it happened as he was dining, in Levi's house, that
many tax collectors, and sinners also, set together with Jesus
and his disciples for there were many and they followed him.
And when the scribes and the Pharisees saw him eating with
the tax collectors and sinners, they said to his disciples, how
is it that he eats and drinks with tax collectors and sinners?
When Jesus heard it, he said to them those who are, well, have
no need of a physician but those who are sick, I did not come to
call the righteous but Sinners to repentance.
You see God loves The Sinner. God loves The Sinner and he
loves the righteous person as well.
He doesn't love The Sinner any more than he loves righteous
person. He doesn't love the righteous
person anymore than he does The Sinner.
He loves all. Notice how he welcomes those to
him, Matthew 11 verses 28 through, 30, come to me, all you
who labor and are heavy laden. And I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you and learn of me for.
I am gentle and lowly in heart and you will find rest for your
souls. For my yoke is easy, and my
burden is light. He welcomes all those that are
troubled, you know, those that are troubled need him, that much
more. It seems like He says, I haven't
come to to save those who are ready.
Ready, saved. I've come to save those who are
lost. And in sin, I haven't come to
heal those who are, well, have come to heal, those who are sick
in sin. And he says, come to me with
your problems, with your sin, whatever it is, and I'll give
you rest from that. He says, my yoke is easy and my
burden is light. When you accept God's love and
grace through obedience to the gospel.
In other words, hearing the word of God, believing it repenting
of your sins, confessing the name of Christ and being
baptized into Christ. Be baptized into Christ.
God credits you with righteousness?
You stand before him as righteous, you're completely
forgiven of your sins and you're totally accepted by God and
complete in Christ. Just the way he designed it just
the way he wants it because he's proven his love towards you and
show them that God loves us the way we are.
But he loves us too much to leave us.
Leave us in forsake us just because we sin.
We are the ones that leave. God, God doesn't leave us.
We are the ones that make that decision.
Vision to leave God in his love. God doesn't leave us.
He says, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee Hebrews 13 and
verse 5. God's unconditional love is not
a license though for us to live. As we please rule, notice Romans
6 in verses 12 through 18. Therefore, do not let sin reign
in your mortal body that you should obey it in it, in its
lusts and do not present your members as instruments of
unrighteousness is sin, but present yourselves to God, as
being alive from the dead and your members as instruments of
righteousness to God for sin, shall not have dominion over
you. For, you are not under the law,
but under grace. Also, second Peter 2 and verses
20 through 23. For if, after they have The
pollutions of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and
Savior. Jesus Christ, they are again.
Entangled in them and overcome. The latter end is worse for them
than the beginning for. It would have been better for
them, not to have known the way of righteousness, than, to have
known it to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.
But it has happened to them. According to the true proverb, a
dog returns to his own vomit and a sow.
Having washed to her wallowing in the mud, Meijer.
God is certainly disappointed in us when we turn to sin, He
doesn't want us to sin but that doesn't diminish.
His love towards us in any way. God's love is never ending.
Also our Point number three. The world's concept of love, is
kind of that of being temporary or, or fleeting.
There are conditions sometimes for love as the world describes
it today. We see that in couples that have
prenuptial agreements while I love you.
As long as we have this agreement, We also see it in in.
Selfish conditions today. The failing of love for one
another and the failing of love for children for our own
children and abortion. How can a person?
Do that. And say they still love.
That's the lack of love. The lack of Another Love for
another human being of lack of love for for a soul.
I wrote a story about a preacher that was holding a gospel
meeting. When a woman came up to him with
a little girl by her side and the woman had a cast on her arm
and scars on her face showing that she had probably been some
time in the hospital and she said, I was in the hospital
because of a very serious fire, they were Burns over 2/3 of my
body. My husband walked into the
hospital room. Took one.
Look at me and said, you're not the woman.
I married. So he left her and married
someone younger and More Beautiful.
Human love says as long as you can make me happy, as long as
you don't interfere with my wants and wishes as long as I
can be proud of you. As long as you're beautiful, I
can love you. If you change my love for you
changes, but God's love is eternal.
God's love doesn't change. God's love doesn't diminish.
It is as strong as it ever has been for each one of us and for
all those that are in the world. And second Peter 3 and verse 9.
The Lord is not slack concerning his promise as some men count
slackness but is long-suffering to us-ward not willing that any
should perish but that all should come to repentance.
He has shown such patience with mankind.
And his love towards them that he wants them to be saved.
He has been long suffering towards mankind, wanting them to
turn to repentance and be saved, nothing that you and I can ever
do. That will ever happen to us in
our lives that will ever cause God to stop loving us.
We've already noticed that in Romans the eighth chapter 38 and
39. He said for, I am persuaded that
neither death, nor life nor angels nor principalities, Nor
powers nor things present, nor things to come nor height nor
depth nor any creature, shall be able to separate us from the
love of God, which is in Christ. Jesus, our lord, Nothing can
separate God's love from you. No matter what you do notice,
Jeremiah 31, and verse 3. The Lord has appeared of old to
me saying yes I have loved you with an Everlasting Love
Therefore with loving kindness I have drawn you.
The love that God has for us is ever lasting.
Doesn't stop never will. Life's problems are temporary
but God's love for his people is permanent.
He's always there to take take us through the rough spots and
through the problems in our life and to pull us up out of that
Miry clay, to save our souls from sin.
God's love is that great for Samuel 12 and 422 for the Lord
will not forsake his people, or his great name, sake, because it
has pleased, the Lord. To make you his people.
It pleases God to love his people.
And he loves you this morning. There's No Greater Love.
And God loves us and shows us improves that to us and what he
did for us and the sacrifice of his son for our sins.
We thank you for listening to our podcast, put on by the
Church of Christ at 22:15 plans. Road in Bakersfield, if you
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honored.