1 00:00:01,040 --> 00:00:04,080 Good morning everyone. It's good to see all those that 2 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,480 are here. Several are here as visitors 3 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:09,040 this morning. We're glad to have you. 4 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:12,680 It's good to see faces that we've known for many years and 5 00:00:13,240 --> 00:00:17,840 and if we haven't met you, we welcome you and invite you back 6 00:00:17,840 --> 00:00:20,960 at every opportunity. It's good to see Ricky with us 7 00:00:20,960 --> 00:00:25,720 this morning and recovering and good to see Roman get up and, 8 00:00:26,160 --> 00:00:30,240 and fly up here with his, with his Walker and lead that song. 9 00:00:30,240 --> 00:00:35,360 And so people are are mending and people need our prayers 10 00:00:35,360 --> 00:00:37,200 though, and, and we're glad you're here. 11 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,200 Hope that we can say something this morning that will benefit 12 00:00:40,200 --> 00:00:46,240 us in some way. In our Christian living, God's 13 00:00:46,240 --> 00:00:52,040 love is often described as a selfless, unconditional love 14 00:00:53,000 --> 00:00:55,240 that is at the core of God's nature. 15 00:00:55,960 --> 00:01:01,480 It's a love that is not based on any merit or worthiness on the 16 00:01:01,480 --> 00:01:06,400 part of the recipient, but instead is freely given by God 17 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:12,320 to all. But the the word love is tossed 18 00:01:12,320 --> 00:01:17,280 around so easily it seems these days that it may have lost some 19 00:01:17,280 --> 00:01:22,200 of its impact with us. We may say, well, I love my 20 00:01:22,200 --> 00:01:26,200 parents, I love my kids, I love my husband, I love my wife. 21 00:01:26,560 --> 00:01:29,080 There's no doubt that you do. Absolutely. 22 00:01:29,680 --> 00:01:31,920 Some may say, well, I love Mexican food. 23 00:01:32,640 --> 00:01:36,560 I love a good steak. Some may say, also, well, I love 24 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:40,000 watching a good football game or I love watching the Dodgers beat 25 00:01:40,000 --> 00:01:45,480 the Padres. Some may say, well, I'd love to 26 00:01:45,480 --> 00:01:49,880 just relax and take it easy. Those are all different levels 27 00:01:49,880 --> 00:01:55,840 and different kinds of love. So what does I love God mean? 28 00:01:56,440 --> 00:02:00,480 Do we mean we love God in the same way that we like that steak 29 00:02:00,480 --> 00:02:03,320 or love that steak or love that football game? 30 00:02:03,880 --> 00:02:07,360 I hope not. I think we really do believe and 31 00:02:07,360 --> 00:02:12,560 understand that God loves us because we've heard it in some 32 00:02:12,640 --> 00:02:17,160 form or fashion from our parents, from preachers, and 33 00:02:17,160 --> 00:02:21,960 from teachers most of our lives. We know that God loves us. 34 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:27,440 The problem is that we may have never fully understood God's 35 00:02:27,440 --> 00:02:31,440 love and probably still don't. I don't know that we ever will 36 00:02:31,440 --> 00:02:36,800 understand God's love for us. You know, when I lived at home, 37 00:02:37,480 --> 00:02:46,320 I knew Dad loved me, but I never and, and all of our family, he 38 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,840 didn't say it all the time, but we knew it. 39 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:52,880 All of our family knew it. There was no doubt about it. 40 00:02:53,760 --> 00:02:57,120 I don't know that I understood Dad's love for us at that time 41 00:02:58,280 --> 00:03:05,040 with all the discipline that we got in his studies that he did, 42 00:03:05,520 --> 00:03:08,720 we didn't have a lot of time or a lot of one-on-one time. 43 00:03:08,840 --> 00:03:12,840 There was always something to do and you know, we didn't have 44 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:16,160 that one in one time, that closeness, that intimacy, 45 00:03:16,280 --> 00:03:20,880 intimacy and that time together. But we didn't need to because we 46 00:03:20,880 --> 00:03:22,840 know that we we knew that we were loved. 47 00:03:24,360 --> 00:03:27,040 The problem is that I didn't understand how much Dad loved 48 00:03:27,040 --> 00:03:29,080 us. It wasn't until I became a 49 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:33,480 father that I that I started to understand how much and that 50 00:03:33,480 --> 00:03:36,640 individual can love their son or their daughter. 51 00:03:37,080 --> 00:03:40,720 And then to have grandchildren, simply, that's the best. 52 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:44,520 I worried about our children when they were at school and 53 00:03:44,520 --> 00:03:48,000 couldn't wait till they got home so we could give them a hug. 54 00:03:49,600 --> 00:03:52,440 My own experiences with my children has taught me how much 55 00:03:52,760 --> 00:03:58,480 God desires a relationship with us and how much he loves us. 56 00:04:06,400 --> 00:04:11,960 But more importantly, what does God loves us? 57 00:04:12,560 --> 00:04:20,120 Me Paul in his letter to the Ephesians praise he says that we 58 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:23,640 can understand God's love. He writes in Ephesians 3 and 59 00:04:23,640 --> 00:04:28,560 verses 14 through 19. For this reason I bow my knees 60 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:32,240 to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom the whole 61 00:04:32,240 --> 00:04:34,960 family in heaven and in earth is named. 62 00:04:35,360 --> 00:04:39,240 That He would grant you according to the riches of His 63 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:44,560 glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the 64 00:04:44,560 --> 00:04:48,840 inner man, That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. 65 00:04:49,160 --> 00:04:53,680 That you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to 66 00:04:53,680 --> 00:04:59,960 comprehend with all the Saints what is the width and length and 67 00:04:59,960 --> 00:05:04,760 depth and height, to know the love of Christ, which passes 68 00:05:04,760 --> 00:05:09,640 knowledge that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. 69 00:05:10,600 --> 00:05:16,040 Paul says his hope is that his prayer was that they may be able 70 00:05:16,040 --> 00:05:19,680 to comprehend with all the Saints. 71 00:05:20,080 --> 00:05:24,960 In other words, that you may have the power to understand, as 72 00:05:24,960 --> 00:05:29,440 all God's people should, the love of God. 73 00:05:30,560 --> 00:05:33,360 The apostle Paul apparently felt this prayer was needed because 74 00:05:33,640 --> 00:05:37,040 God's people didn't and still don't today, understand or fully 75 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:39,480 comprehend. Comprehend how wide? 76 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:44,920 How long, how high, and how deep God's love is, We can say it, we 77 00:05:44,920 --> 00:05:48,040 can repeat it, we can sing about it, and we do. 78 00:05:48,360 --> 00:05:50,640 And we can tell others about it. We can share it with them. 79 00:05:50,640 --> 00:05:53,600 But it seems sometimes we really don't get it. 80 00:05:54,960 --> 00:05:57,560 To some, it's just not sinking in. 81 00:05:58,120 --> 00:06:01,200 We don't comprehend God's love for us. 82 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:08,440 Paul is praying that God grants us or gives us the ability, the 83 00:06:08,440 --> 00:06:13,200 power to grasp, to take hold of the concept of God's amazing 84 00:06:13,200 --> 00:06:17,520 love for us. Paul said God love is wide, 85 00:06:18,320 --> 00:06:22,040 God's love is wide, God's love is long, God's love is high, and 86 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:25,960 God's love is deep and it goes in every direction. 87 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:37,000 So this morning we want to try to answer the questions about 88 00:06:37,000 --> 00:06:41,000 how wide and how how long and how high and how deep God's love 89 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:44,320 is for us. Well, how wide is God's love? 90 00:06:47,920 --> 00:06:53,880 It's so wide that it causes us really to use the word every 91 00:06:54,600 --> 00:07:01,200 God's love is so wide that God loves everybody, every race, 92 00:07:01,600 --> 00:07:05,520 every nation from every continent, every country, every 93 00:07:05,520 --> 00:07:10,200 culture, every class, every age, every shape, and every size, 94 00:07:10,600 --> 00:07:14,480 male and female. God knows who you are and He 95 00:07:14,480 --> 00:07:17,680 loves you. God doesn't only love those who 96 00:07:17,680 --> 00:07:21,800 obey him, though. He loves the Sinner as well. 97 00:07:22,960 --> 00:07:26,600 Every type of Sinner. He loves liars. 98 00:07:28,080 --> 00:07:31,600 He loves adulterers. He loves thieves. 99 00:07:32,240 --> 00:07:36,800 He loves thugs. He loves backstabbers, those 100 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:43,240 who've had abortions, gossipers, murderers, prideful, those who 101 00:07:43,240 --> 00:07:49,480 practice homosexuality, rebellious, addicts, selfish. 102 00:07:50,600 --> 00:07:54,560 There's not one group or individual that God does not 103 00:07:54,560 --> 00:07:59,240 love. Now, Albert Barnes says this 104 00:07:59,240 --> 00:08:04,200 does not mean that God approves of the conduct of man, but that 105 00:08:04,200 --> 00:08:07,720 he had benevolent feelings toward them or was earnestly 106 00:08:07,720 --> 00:08:12,080 desirous of their happiness. God hates wickedness. 107 00:08:12,440 --> 00:08:15,760 He hates the sin, but loves the Sinner. 108 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,960 God's love is so wide that he loves through every situation in 109 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:23,080 life. If you're single, if you're 110 00:08:23,080 --> 00:08:26,440 married, if you're divorced or widowed, healthy or sick, 111 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:31,480 employed or unemployed, rich or in debt, homeowner or homeless, 112 00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,799 before you're in prison, doing well or have some kind of 113 00:08:34,799 --> 00:08:39,679 despair going on in your life. God loves everyone, not just 114 00:08:40,120 --> 00:08:43,120 certain people or individuals or group. 115 00:08:44,600 --> 00:08:47,240 That's great news. You know why? 116 00:08:47,920 --> 00:08:57,600 Because we are all sinners. And God loves the Sinner as well 117 00:08:57,600 --> 00:09:00,800 as anyone else. Because we are sinners. 118 00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:05,400 Notice Romans 2-3 and verse 23. For all have sinned and all fall 119 00:09:05,400 --> 00:09:08,720 short of glory of God. Romans 5 and verse 8. 120 00:09:09,040 --> 00:09:13,280 But God demonstrates His own love toward us in the While we 121 00:09:13,280 --> 00:09:16,320 were still sinners, Christ died for us. 122 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:21,920 That's good news because life has a way of putting us in 123 00:09:21,920 --> 00:09:24,800 different groups. Some of us have gotten ourselves 124 00:09:24,800 --> 00:09:28,800 into situations that we never thought we would be in. 125 00:09:28,960 --> 00:09:33,040 Trials and difficulties and tragedies of life that come up 126 00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:36,200 came our way, and we became a part of a different group of 127 00:09:36,200 --> 00:09:42,560 people, not God's people. We may think to ourselves, I 128 00:09:42,560 --> 00:09:44,360 never thought this would happen to me. 129 00:09:45,520 --> 00:09:48,680 I never thought I would have to face these temptations, these 130 00:09:48,680 --> 00:09:51,120 circumstances and these problems. 131 00:09:51,360 --> 00:09:53,640 I never thought I would end up in this condition. 132 00:09:54,600 --> 00:09:57,760 Some of us, we've done some things that we thought we would 133 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:01,000 never have done, gave in to some temptations that we thought we 134 00:10:01,000 --> 00:10:04,280 would never give in to, and we'd befriended sinners and done 135 00:10:04,280 --> 00:10:05,880 things we've never planned on doing. 136 00:10:06,160 --> 00:10:09,880 Never thought I would steal or lie or be rebellious against our 137 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:14,040 parents or boss or the law. Never thought I would be on 138 00:10:14,040 --> 00:10:18,280 drugs or be addicted to some other kind of addiction in life. 139 00:10:20,320 --> 00:10:26,000 We didn't necessarily plan that, but we got into those 140 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:30,600 situations, didn't plan on being in that group of people, if you 141 00:10:30,600 --> 00:10:34,080 want to say or that type of, excuse me, individual. 142 00:10:35,320 --> 00:10:37,240 We became who we used to talk about. 143 00:10:37,680 --> 00:10:41,160 We joined the group of the people we used to look down on 144 00:10:41,160 --> 00:10:46,080 and didn't want to be a part of. But this prayer by Paul is that 145 00:10:46,080 --> 00:10:49,040 though you might have done wrong, though you might have 146 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:53,280 changed, your situation might have changed, your circumstances 147 00:10:53,720 --> 00:10:57,680 might have changed, the hope is that you understand that God, 148 00:10:57,680 --> 00:11:02,880 God never quits loving you. God's love is so wide that it 149 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:10,800 still includes you. The Bible says in John 316. 150 00:11:12,120 --> 00:11:17,200 For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, 151 00:11:17,560 --> 00:11:21,640 that whoever believes in him should not perish but have 152 00:11:21,680 --> 00:11:27,360 everlasting life. I'm thankful that God has that 153 00:11:27,800 --> 00:11:36,600 whoever love because the whoever group includes every group and 154 00:11:36,600 --> 00:11:42,280 everyone whoever believes in him should not perish but have 155 00:11:42,280 --> 00:11:47,520 everlasting life. And that's good, because many of 156 00:11:47,520 --> 00:11:54,400 us don't seem love to love every group. 157 00:11:55,000 --> 00:11:58,840 Not the group that hurt us. Not the group that betrayed us. 158 00:11:59,360 --> 00:12:01,240 Not the group that's different from us. 159 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,080 Not the group that we think is beneath us. 160 00:12:04,640 --> 00:12:06,600 Not the group that has certain faults. 161 00:12:06,800 --> 00:12:11,960 Not the ones we talked about. But God's love is wide. 162 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:16,280 Even though we have hurt him, we've strayed away. 163 00:12:16,280 --> 00:12:21,720 We've betrayed him. He knows all of our faults and 164 00:12:21,720 --> 00:12:27,640 instead of of not loving us, He still loves us even despite our 165 00:12:27,640 --> 00:12:32,640 faults. God will still accept you when 166 00:12:32,640 --> 00:12:35,440 you turn away from sin. He'll forgive you, work with 167 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:40,600 you, work on you, help you, use you because His love is wide and 168 00:12:40,600 --> 00:12:43,320 He is not willing that you should perish, but instead 169 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:46,000 repent. Notice Luke 5 and verses 31 and 170 00:12:46,000 --> 00:12:48,880 32. Jesus answered and said to them, 171 00:12:49,240 --> 00:12:53,400 those who are well have no need of the physician, but those who 172 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:58,080 are sick I have not come to call the righteous but the sinners to 173 00:12:58,080 --> 00:13:01,240 repentance. Who's Jesus calling? 174 00:13:02,480 --> 00:13:05,040 He's calling. He's wanting to heal those who 175 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:08,440 are in sin, the sick and the Sinner and those who need to 176 00:13:08,440 --> 00:13:12,320 repent. So God's love is so wide, He 177 00:13:12,320 --> 00:13:15,840 will be able to wrap His loving arms around you regardless of 178 00:13:15,840 --> 00:13:21,200 what stage you are at in life. He doesn't give up on you. 179 00:13:23,200 --> 00:13:27,080 Well, how long is God's love? God's love is so long that it 180 00:13:27,080 --> 00:13:30,920 reaches from the creation into eternity. 181 00:13:31,880 --> 00:13:35,160 It's infinite. It's never ending, it's 182 00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:38,920 everlasting. There is no end to it. 183 00:13:39,720 --> 00:13:43,560 That's great news as well as well because many love with a 184 00:13:43,560 --> 00:13:48,760 timer or have conditions upon the love that they show towards 185 00:13:48,760 --> 00:13:52,520 others people. Many people quit loving for many 186 00:13:52,520 --> 00:13:56,240 different reasons they may say, and many do today. 187 00:13:56,720 --> 00:13:58,800 Well, I'll love you in the good times. 188 00:13:59,360 --> 00:14:01,720 I'll love you until I get bored with you. 189 00:14:02,360 --> 00:14:04,800 I'll love you until I don't need you anymore. 190 00:14:04,800 --> 00:14:07,680 I'll love you until someone better comes along. 191 00:14:08,120 --> 00:14:11,440 I'll love you until your looks change. 192 00:14:12,520 --> 00:14:14,960 I'll love you until you let me down. 193 00:14:16,520 --> 00:14:21,040 Sadly, many marriages are based on that kind of love. 194 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:26,680 I know, I don't know that you really even call it love, that 195 00:14:26,680 --> 00:14:31,400 kind of relationship, but God loves us with an everlasting 196 00:14:31,760 --> 00:14:34,600 love. Notice Jeremiah 31 and three. 197 00:14:35,040 --> 00:14:39,200 The Lord has appeared of old to me, saying, yes, I have loved 198 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:44,680 you with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness, 199 00:14:44,920 --> 00:14:49,560 I have drawn you long ago, way back. 200 00:14:50,520 --> 00:14:53,880 I have loved you with an everlasting love, a love that 201 00:14:53,880 --> 00:14:55,760 lasts and will never end or fail. 202 00:14:56,120 --> 00:14:59,640 God has loved you for a long time, consistently loved you for 203 00:14:59,640 --> 00:15:03,680 a long time, an unfailing love. He loved you before you were 204 00:15:03,680 --> 00:15:10,840 born, before He even knew you, before you even knew about him, 205 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:15,000 he already loved you. When you knew of him but didn't 206 00:15:15,000 --> 00:15:19,880 love him back, he still loved you when you were baptized, He 207 00:15:19,880 --> 00:15:22,600 loved you. When you turned your back on him 208 00:15:22,600 --> 00:15:25,200 for a while. He loved you when you kicked him 209 00:15:25,200 --> 00:15:28,080 to the curb for a long time, He still loved you. 210 00:15:28,920 --> 00:15:31,760 If you still haven't come back to him, he still loves you. 211 00:15:32,760 --> 00:15:36,200 If you have have repented and come back, He loves you. 212 00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:40,920 Second Peter 3 and verse 9. The Lord is not slack concerning 213 00:15:40,920 --> 00:15:44,600 His promise, as some count slackness, but is long-suffering 214 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:48,080 toward us, not willing that any should perish, but they all 215 00:15:48,080 --> 00:15:51,520 should come to repentance when others give up on you. 216 00:15:51,840 --> 00:15:55,880 God doesn't and will never stop loving you, even when you may 217 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,000 not love yourself or even love others as well. 218 00:16:00,160 --> 00:16:04,040 God's love is that long. It's never ending. 219 00:16:04,480 --> 00:16:07,560 He will love you forever, consistently, relentlessly, 220 00:16:07,840 --> 00:16:11,400 unfailingly. God's love is long. 221 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:20,080 How high is God's love? God's love is higher than any 222 00:16:20,080 --> 00:16:25,160 other's love. God's love is the purest next 223 00:16:25,160 --> 00:16:29,000 level love. It's way up there if you want to 224 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:35,000 say the Greek word for this pure next level love is agape comes 225 00:16:35,000 --> 00:16:39,560 from the Greek word agape, the highest form of love, it said. 226 00:16:39,560 --> 00:16:44,960 It's more than romantic love. It's more than brotherly love. 227 00:16:45,520 --> 00:16:51,600 It's more than our family love. Agape love is a sacrificial love 228 00:16:52,120 --> 00:16:56,720 that voluntarily suffers inconvenience, discomfort, loss, 229 00:16:56,720 --> 00:17:01,080 and even death for the benefit of another without expecting 230 00:17:01,080 --> 00:17:07,800 anything in return. God's high love is is awesome 231 00:17:07,800 --> 00:17:11,920 because many will only love with an expectation of something in 232 00:17:11,920 --> 00:17:15,760 return. They may say, well what do I get 233 00:17:15,760 --> 00:17:18,319 out of this? You ever had that kind of a 234 00:17:18,319 --> 00:17:21,000 friend? They'd be your friend as long as 235 00:17:21,000 --> 00:17:23,720 there was something that they could get out of it. 236 00:17:25,280 --> 00:17:28,520 If there wasn't anything coming their way, then you would never 237 00:17:28,520 --> 00:17:31,080 see them. They may say, well, what do I 238 00:17:31,080 --> 00:17:33,760 get out of this? If if they're not getting what 239 00:17:33,760 --> 00:17:36,920 they anticipate, that relationship is over. 240 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:43,760 Sometimes their conditions for love that others show us or we 241 00:17:43,760 --> 00:17:46,480 show to others. They may say, will you scratch 242 00:17:46,480 --> 00:17:49,600 my back and I'll scratch yours. I've got your back as long as 243 00:17:49,600 --> 00:17:53,040 you've got my back, I'll support you as long as you support me. 244 00:17:54,280 --> 00:17:56,640 Treat me right and I'll treat you right. 245 00:17:58,200 --> 00:18:00,720 Or they have a matching love. In other words, we have, it's a 246 00:18:00,720 --> 00:18:03,240 game. We we have to keep score. 247 00:18:04,440 --> 00:18:07,720 I'll match whatever you do for me, I'll help you, but you got 248 00:18:07,720 --> 00:18:09,760 to help me. And it's a give and take. 249 00:18:09,760 --> 00:18:12,120 It's a give and take. And it's only if you're having 250 00:18:12,120 --> 00:18:14,000 to give all the time, then we're done. 251 00:18:18,400 --> 00:18:21,680 There has to be an equality in that type of relationship. 252 00:18:24,000 --> 00:18:28,520 But God's not that way. His love is much higher than 253 00:18:28,520 --> 00:18:34,120 that kind of petty relationship. Where would we be if God matched 254 00:18:34,320 --> 00:18:40,280 our love for him? If God only supported us when we 255 00:18:40,280 --> 00:18:43,960 supported him? If God only had our back when we 256 00:18:43,960 --> 00:18:48,440 had his back? If God only blessed us when we 257 00:18:48,440 --> 00:18:55,360 blessed Him? What is the height of our love 258 00:18:55,680 --> 00:18:59,440 to God? We say, well, I will love the 259 00:18:59,440 --> 00:19:03,680 Lord all the time, but sometimes I think that's more of a goal 260 00:19:03,680 --> 00:19:09,160 than it is a reality for us. But we can be thankful that 261 00:19:09,280 --> 00:19:15,280 God's love is a higher love. Also, God's love is high because 262 00:19:15,560 --> 00:19:19,360 it's more than talk. Agape love always comes with 263 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:22,600 action. It's shown by what it does. 264 00:19:22,800 --> 00:19:26,440 It's not just talk or empty promises. 265 00:19:32,320 --> 00:19:41,240 Notice first John 3 and 16. By this we know love because He 266 00:19:41,240 --> 00:19:47,280 laid down his life for us. It was proven there was action, 267 00:19:47,680 --> 00:19:50,640 it was shown to us. It was proved to us. 268 00:19:51,120 --> 00:19:53,200 It wasn't something that God just said. 269 00:19:53,800 --> 00:19:57,960 He showed it to us. We know love because He laid 270 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,200 down His life for us. Jesus proved it by giving His 271 00:20:01,200 --> 00:20:05,280 life. When it comes to the love we 272 00:20:05,280 --> 00:20:09,680 show others, if we're honest, sometimes it's more talk than it 273 00:20:09,680 --> 00:20:14,400 is action. I love my family, but but 274 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:17,240 there's certain members of the family I don't know about. 275 00:20:19,800 --> 00:20:23,240 I love the church, but what's the least I can do? 276 00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:29,240 I love my parents but I won't respect them. 277 00:20:30,360 --> 00:20:34,120 And reverence them. I love my wife but there's only 278 00:20:34,120 --> 00:20:43,520 so much I can take. I love my husband but but but I 279 00:20:43,520 --> 00:20:50,000 love this individual but and we have limitations that we put on 280 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:54,040 it our love maybe to others, but God's love is high. 281 00:20:54,040 --> 00:20:57,480 It's the greatest love that has ever been proven to mankind. 282 00:20:57,720 --> 00:21:01,920 When you lay down your life. John 15 and verse 13. 283 00:21:01,920 --> 00:21:06,520 Greater love has no one than this than to lay down one's life 284 00:21:06,800 --> 00:21:11,000 for his friends. Another way God's love is high 285 00:21:11,000 --> 00:21:14,640 is and pure is because He wants us to have what He has. 286 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:19,920 Someone who truly loves you with a high love always died, desires 287 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:24,560 to share all His privileges and all of the blessings and all of 288 00:21:24,560 --> 00:21:26,600 the enjoyments that they have in life. 289 00:21:28,760 --> 00:21:30,920 You know how it is when you have something great happened to you 290 00:21:30,920 --> 00:21:33,880 and you wish your loved ones or your friends were there with you 291 00:21:34,200 --> 00:21:37,520 to enjoy as well. I wish they were here to taste 292 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:41,320 this meal, how great this meal is. 293 00:21:41,760 --> 00:21:44,920 I wish they were with us on this trip that they could see and 294 00:21:44,920 --> 00:21:49,240 experience these views and these beautiful places throughout this 295 00:21:49,240 --> 00:21:52,600 country or this world and experience the things that we 296 00:21:52,600 --> 00:21:55,160 experienced and share at them with them. 297 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,800 We love to do that, don't we? Well, God wants to share the 298 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:02,240 blessings of his love toward us. Won't notice Romans 8 and verse 299 00:22:02,240 --> 00:22:04,960 17. And if heir, and if children, 300 00:22:04,960 --> 00:22:08,480 then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if 301 00:22:08,480 --> 00:22:12,520 indeed we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified 302 00:22:12,760 --> 00:22:18,960 together. We are heirs with Christ. 303 00:22:19,960 --> 00:22:23,400 We get to inherit the same things that Christ inherited. 304 00:22:24,600 --> 00:22:28,880 We get to share in His glory glorified together. 305 00:22:28,880 --> 00:22:33,560 He says God wants to share with us. 306 00:22:35,280 --> 00:22:37,080 Jesus wants to share heaven with us. 307 00:22:37,240 --> 00:22:39,320 Notice John 14 and verses 2 and three. 308 00:22:39,640 --> 00:22:42,000 And my Father's house are many mansions. 309 00:22:42,440 --> 00:22:45,800 If it were not so, I would have told you, I'd go to prepare a 310 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:49,720 place for you. And if I go and prepare a place 311 00:22:49,720 --> 00:22:52,840 for you, I will come again and receive you to myself, that 312 00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:54,760 where I am, there you may be also. 313 00:22:55,160 --> 00:22:58,760 He's going to prepare a place for us because He wants the best 314 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:02,720 for us. Jesus wants to share heaven 315 00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:04,840 because it's such a glorious place. 316 00:23:04,840 --> 00:23:08,120 Notice 1st Corinthians 2 and verses verse 9. 317 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:14,400 But but as it is written, I has not seen, nor ear heard, nor 318 00:23:14,400 --> 00:23:17,880 have entered into the heart of man the things which God has 319 00:23:17,880 --> 00:23:24,880 prepared for those who love Him. God loves us so much, He wants 320 00:23:24,880 --> 00:23:28,160 us to share in the glory of heaven. 321 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:36,200 God's love is high, it's pure, it's a love by action. 322 00:23:36,200 --> 00:23:40,320 He has proven His love for us. It's a love that truly wants us 323 00:23:40,320 --> 00:23:43,680 to share in His blessings and wants us to do better and be 324 00:23:43,680 --> 00:23:45,640 better and wants the best for us. 325 00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:53,880 So now, how deep is God's love? God's love is rich, it's 326 00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:58,840 complex, it's full, it's strong. You can't get to the bottom of 327 00:23:58,840 --> 00:24:01,560 it. It's just really almost 328 00:24:01,560 --> 00:24:05,920 incomprehensible. Deep, like an ocean. 329 00:24:05,920 --> 00:24:07,880 You know, we talked about something being deep. 330 00:24:08,360 --> 00:24:12,120 We think of the deep oceans, but on the surface what we see is 331 00:24:12,120 --> 00:24:14,400 just the waves. We see the top of the water. 332 00:24:14,600 --> 00:24:18,480 We see the reflection of the sky off the top of the water. 333 00:24:18,480 --> 00:24:21,760 We may see the waves. We may see some fish jumping 334 00:24:21,760 --> 00:24:24,640 here or there, or we see the dolphins or this or that. 335 00:24:24,960 --> 00:24:28,880 We see what's just on the surface, but below the surface 336 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:31,600 is something that is just almost unbelievable. 337 00:24:32,440 --> 00:24:35,880 There's life and there's power and there's just this 338 00:24:35,880 --> 00:24:41,360 magnificence and it's deep on the surface. 339 00:24:41,360 --> 00:24:45,200 We can say Jesus loves me. This I know, for the Bible tells 340 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:46,920 me so. But it's deeper than just that 341 00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:50,800 simple statement from God's deep love. 342 00:24:50,800 --> 00:24:54,200 There's mercy and grace and compassion, kindness and 343 00:24:54,200 --> 00:24:58,120 goodness, forgiveness and patience, long-suffering, 344 00:24:58,440 --> 00:25:02,240 undeserving blessings, undeserved blessings, eternal 345 00:25:02,240 --> 00:25:08,480 rewards, and on and on. There's so many things that are 346 00:25:08,480 --> 00:25:10,520 beneath the surface of God's love. 347 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:16,760 Since Jesus loves me, He's our shepherd, our rock in this mixed 348 00:25:16,760 --> 00:25:22,440 up world, our fortress, our help, our refuge, our joy and 349 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,760 times of sorrow, our strength to deal with whatever comes our way 350 00:25:25,760 --> 00:25:28,480 today or tomorrow, whenever it may be. 351 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,520 He's our doctor, He's our lawyer, He's our friend, He's 352 00:25:32,520 --> 00:25:37,720 our Savior, He's our Redeemer. He's everything to us. 353 00:25:39,800 --> 00:25:43,520 His love is deep. It's not that shallow love that 354 00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:47,000 others may show to us when they want something. 355 00:25:47,520 --> 00:25:49,960 God's love is much, much deeper than that. 356 00:25:50,720 --> 00:25:59,240 On the surface, we see so many that have a superficial love for 357 00:25:59,240 --> 00:26:04,120 God in Christ. Not a deep love, not a solid 358 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:07,200 love. It almost seems as as if they're 359 00:26:07,200 --> 00:26:11,440 convenient, inconvenienced with living the Christian life. 360 00:26:12,480 --> 00:26:17,040 It becomes an inconvenience to them, living the Christian life 361 00:26:17,040 --> 00:26:21,360 and serving God. The God's love is so deep that 362 00:26:21,360 --> 00:26:25,080 we can't see the bottom of it. We can experience, but it 363 00:26:25,080 --> 00:26:28,480 doesn't end there. We can know about it, but it's 364 00:26:28,480 --> 00:26:32,400 much deeper than what we know. We can see the the change that 365 00:26:32,400 --> 00:26:35,480 happens in other people because of God's love and the blessings 366 00:26:35,480 --> 00:26:38,000 we receive. And it goes so much deeper than 367 00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,880 that that we don't even understand it. 368 00:26:44,200 --> 00:26:49,040 But when we have problems in our life, we want all of God's love. 369 00:26:50,240 --> 00:26:54,400 We want it all. We want the deep love. 370 00:26:57,920 --> 00:27:03,000 But then when we serve Him, I don't want to go that deep. 371 00:27:07,680 --> 00:27:13,680 What's the least I can do? It's hard for us to comprehend 372 00:27:14,280 --> 00:27:17,760 the depth of God's love under the surface. 373 00:27:17,760 --> 00:27:20,480 The cross means so much. Notice what Isaiah says in 374 00:27:20,480 --> 00:27:23,360 Isaiah 53 and verses 3 through 6. 375 00:27:23,960 --> 00:27:26,360 He is despised and rejected by men. 376 00:27:27,440 --> 00:27:30,720 A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. 377 00:27:31,160 --> 00:27:34,720 He was hid, as it were, our faces from Him. 378 00:27:35,600 --> 00:27:38,360 He was despised and we did not esteem Him. 379 00:27:39,200 --> 00:27:44,240 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we 380 00:27:44,240 --> 00:27:47,280 esteem him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 381 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:51,440 But he was wounded for our transgressions. 382 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:55,240 He was bruised for our iniquities. 383 00:27:55,840 --> 00:28:01,440 The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes 384 00:28:02,360 --> 00:28:07,520 we are healed, and we, like sheep, have gone astray. 385 00:28:08,320 --> 00:28:13,520 We have turned everyone to His own way, and the Lord has laid 386 00:28:13,520 --> 00:28:24,150 on him the iniquity of us all. He took the blame. 387 00:28:25,430 --> 00:28:30,510 He took the punishment for my sins and yours. 388 00:28:33,630 --> 00:28:36,870 So we should be thankful for that depth of love. 389 00:28:40,390 --> 00:28:44,880 God's love is wide. It's long, it's high and deep, 390 00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:49,960 it's unconditional. Well, why is it important to 391 00:28:49,960 --> 00:28:52,840 understand God's love? The answer is in our verse of 392 00:28:52,840 --> 00:28:58,360 our text and and there in Ephesians 3 and verse 19, the 393 00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:03,080 new King James reads it this way to know the love of Christ which 394 00:29:03,080 --> 00:29:06,880 passes knowledge. And here's the reason that you 395 00:29:06,880 --> 00:29:10,680 may be filled with all the fullness of God. 396 00:29:11,920 --> 00:29:15,920 There's the reason why, so that we can be filled with all the 397 00:29:15,920 --> 00:29:20,440 fullness of God. Notice what the new Living 398 00:29:20,440 --> 00:29:25,120 Translation says. May you experience the love of 399 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,760 Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. 400 00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,240 Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life 401 00:29:32,240 --> 00:29:36,280 and power that comes from God. And I think that's just really 402 00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:39,760 grasping a small portion of the love of God. 403 00:29:40,440 --> 00:29:43,800 Even though it's hard to fully know, we at least need to try to 404 00:29:43,800 --> 00:29:47,600 get some understanding of the significance of God's love so we 405 00:29:47,600 --> 00:29:52,280 can be everything God wants us to be filled up and complete in 406 00:29:52,280 --> 00:29:54,400 him. When you really start to 407 00:29:54,400 --> 00:29:57,840 understand God's love, our hearts will change, our lives 408 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:02,000 will change, our priorities will change, our reverence will 409 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:06,520 change, our praise to God will change, Our language will 410 00:30:06,520 --> 00:30:11,320 change, Our devotion will change, the way we treat others 411 00:30:11,320 --> 00:30:14,840 will change, everything about us will change, and we won't be the 412 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:19,520 same person we used to be when we start to understand God's 413 00:30:19,520 --> 00:30:23,000 love for us. I would think it would be hard 414 00:30:23,000 --> 00:30:27,480 to be the Christian you should be without understanding the 415 00:30:27,480 --> 00:30:30,560 love of God. You can't be the servant, the 416 00:30:30,560 --> 00:30:34,280 worshipper, the disciple, the sympathizer, the giver that you 417 00:30:34,280 --> 00:30:36,600 should be. Without understanding God's 418 00:30:36,600 --> 00:30:39,920 love. We would never feel alone 419 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:43,320 either, because we know that nothing can separate us from the 420 00:30:43,320 --> 00:30:46,000 love of God. It's too wide, it's too long, 421 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:51,680 it's too deep, it's too high. Listen to Romans 8 and verses 37 422 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:56,040 through 39. Yet in all these things we are 423 00:30:56,040 --> 00:30:57,640 more than conquerors. Through whom? 424 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:01,880 Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither 425 00:31:01,880 --> 00:31:06,560 death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor 426 00:31:06,560 --> 00:31:11,000 things present, nor things to come, nor heights, nor depths, 427 00:31:12,360 --> 00:31:16,560 nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us 428 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:20,200 from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 429 00:31:24,480 --> 00:31:26,120 You can't get God to quit loving you. 430 00:31:29,280 --> 00:31:32,640 We may wonder about it sometimes in the state of where we're at 431 00:31:32,640 --> 00:31:34,760 with with our relationship with God. 432 00:31:34,760 --> 00:31:37,640 We may think well, we'll true we're too far into sin, we're 433 00:31:37,640 --> 00:31:41,640 too deep into that or we may be feeling sorry for ourselves. 434 00:31:41,640 --> 00:31:44,560 I don't know what it is, but God never quits loving you. 435 00:31:44,560 --> 00:31:48,200 He doesn't stop loving you, never has and never will. 436 00:31:48,680 --> 00:31:52,400 They says there will be nothing, nothing that will be able to 437 00:31:52,400 --> 00:31:55,480 separate us from that love. Nothing. 438 00:31:57,520 --> 00:32:01,920 God will bring a change into your life when you start to 439 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:04,240 comprehend the love He has for you. 440 00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:08,080 It took a long time for me to understand how much my parents 441 00:32:08,080 --> 00:32:12,440 love me. You know, we were on the House. 442 00:32:12,440 --> 00:32:15,400 It just seemed like we're just in that rebellious mode. 443 00:32:16,120 --> 00:32:19,320 We just do everything that we can get away with, and even if 444 00:32:19,320 --> 00:32:21,880 we don't get away with it, we take the punishment and we go 445 00:32:21,880 --> 00:32:27,560 right on to the next thing. It took a while for me to 446 00:32:27,560 --> 00:32:41,320 understand that love. My mother was the first one to 447 00:32:41,320 --> 00:32:49,080 let who loved me. She carried me, she took care of 448 00:32:49,080 --> 00:32:56,760 me, fed me, has done everything for me and still trying to do so 449 00:32:56,760 --> 00:33:04,040 today. Since she's been living with us, 450 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:08,000 she still wants to take the small portion off the plate 451 00:33:09,080 --> 00:33:14,200 because she wants to leave the big portion for me, doesn't want 452 00:33:14,200 --> 00:33:25,690 me to go without. And I can't stay lukewarm about 453 00:33:25,850 --> 00:33:30,450 somebody who loves me that much. It's a wide and long and deep 454 00:33:31,290 --> 00:33:35,610 and high love. I can't stay lukewarm about God 455 00:33:35,610 --> 00:33:37,650 that loves me with an everlasting love. 456 00:33:38,370 --> 00:33:43,090 When I think about His goodness and all He's done for me and all 457 00:33:43,090 --> 00:33:48,000 the sacrifices He's made for me and all He's gave up for me. 458 00:33:49,760 --> 00:33:54,120 His love is so wide that he his his arms were stretched out and 459 00:33:59,720 --> 00:34:05,480 allowed nails in his hands. A love so high that he was 460 00:34:05,480 --> 00:34:10,880 lifted up on the cross. A love that is so deep that he 461 00:34:10,880 --> 00:34:14,360 hung on the cross until, excuse me, so long that he hung on the 462 00:34:14,360 --> 00:34:17,520 cross until all my sins were paid for. 463 00:34:18,639 --> 00:34:22,880 A love so deep that He went down to the grave for me and my sins. 464 00:34:24,800 --> 00:34:26,719 But the good news is that God loves. 465 00:34:26,880 --> 00:34:30,360 God's love was so powerful that Christ rose from the dead on the 466 00:34:30,360 --> 00:34:33,840 third day in victory over hell. Sin in the grave. 467 00:34:34,560 --> 00:34:38,120 And I can't stay lukewarm when I understand God's love. 468 00:34:39,239 --> 00:34:42,080 God's love is wide enough to wrap His arms around us and 469 00:34:42,239 --> 00:34:47,040 accept us long enough to stay with us in times of trouble, 470 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:51,639 high enough to sacrifice for all, and deep enough to do 471 00:34:51,639 --> 00:34:57,520 everything you need and more. God loves us. 472 00:34:58,880 --> 00:35:03,120 If you haven't experienced God's love, if you're not a child of 473 00:35:03,120 --> 00:35:08,000 God, we want that for you today. We want you to know God's love. 474 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:11,720 We want and God wants you to know His love for you as well. 475 00:35:12,280 --> 00:35:16,560 If you haven't obeyed the gospel, if you haven't done 476 00:35:16,560 --> 00:35:21,920 that, we ask that you come and, and, and hearing His word, 477 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:25,520 believe it. Repent of your life. 478 00:35:26,360 --> 00:35:28,960 That means making a change of mind, which results in a change 479 00:35:28,960 --> 00:35:32,880 of life, then confessing his name, that you believe that 480 00:35:32,880 --> 00:35:37,040 Jesus Christ is the Son of God, and then be baptized into Christ 481 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:41,520 for the remission of your sins. If you've taken those steps for 482 00:35:41,520 --> 00:35:45,200 someone reason, you've turned away and you've left God, He 483 00:35:45,200 --> 00:35:48,080 still loves you. He wants the best for you. 484 00:35:48,080 --> 00:35:50,560 He wants you to return. He wants you to repent of your 485 00:35:50,560 --> 00:35:53,360 sins, and we'll pray with you and for you. 486 00:35:53,760 --> 00:35:56,040 If there's someone that is subject to the gospel called 487 00:35:56,360 --> 00:35:58,040 come while we stand and while we sing.