Proven Love |
October 13, 2013
If we can't answer these it is likely that we have an unrealistic view of God.
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Misc. Sermons
Proven Love
Eph. 3:18-19
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Intro
This is another basic, simple, but important lesson…why?
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- What we believe about God affects our whole life.
- What you do
- Who you are
- How you handle your past
- How you look to the future
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Some think of God as :
- an impersonal force - sort of a distant diety.
- an old grandfather - someone to confuse and "pull the wool" over their eyes
- like an unpleasant parent - always judging and you can't get things right.
- a cruel tyrant
When we don't fully understand God we fall into one of two categories.
- Deny Him - try to play hide and seek from Him
- Create our own god - make thins up in our own mind.
- The fact is that our opinion doesn't change who He is.
- What really matter is the TRUTH!
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Goal - to understand a little bit of what God is like because if we do not know we build a faulty foundation.
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Text
18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Lesson
This morning we are going to look at 3 ways that God has proven His love!
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Revealed Himself - the only way to know Him
He chose to reveal Himself to the world…how?
- Through creation - shows God's organization
- He aligned the planets
- In the human body - how each part works
- Through nature - shows God's power
- The power within the sun, the wind, the water
- Through His creativity - He likes variety
- God is creative
- God likes beauty
* The most important way that God revealed Himself is not through these means
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- Through the Bible
- 2000 years ago God came in human form so that we can know Him…to understand Him
- Newsweek - "2000 Years of Jesus: How Christianity Shaped the Modern World"
- Lk. 2:32 - "a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.”
- Col. 1:15 - "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation."
- Jn. 14:9 - "Whoever has seen me has seen the Father."
- Either He is God or He is a fraud.
- How do we know…"I'll prove it to you."
- They will kill me
- They will bury me
- I will walk out of the tomb
- He then appeared…Paul wrote that at least 500 saw and they were still alive go ask them!
HE IS GOD!
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Rescued You - you might not know that you need saving or a Savior
Long before you knew you needed a Savior, God knew you needed one!
- He wouldn't send His Son if you weren't worth saving.
- Saving from what?
- Guilt of past sins - we all have some level of guilt
- We have all made mistakes in our past.
- Heb. 9:15 - "Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant."
- A meaningless life - I really believe this!
- John 10:10 - "He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him."
- Some don't have an abundant life, but we do!
- The fear of death - this is a universal fear of all
- Someday you will die…its a fact!
- Eternity will begin in one of two places.
- Where you start eternity is where you will remain for eternity.
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Related to You
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Even before you were made God knew you…He had r'ship with you!
- We are not here to make millions, live it up, and then leave the remainders for others.
- We are here to glorify Him…to experience this proven r'ship of love with Him.
We were created as objects of His love.
- Now…be honest, this is hard to understand!
- 2 Cor. 5:19 - "that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation."
- Trespasses (sin) was not held against us.
- Rather, He sent His Son instead of judging us!
Why? For a r'ship.
Conclusion
Have you ever "dropped someone's name"
- The greatest name that we can drop is that of the one who has proven His love!
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How do we start?
- Talk, pray, ask - this is FAITH!
- Make a decision - that we want to live differently (repentance)
- Come to Him (this is submission)
- Then through baptism our sins are washed away!
Phil 4:19 - "And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
- This is not for everyone…only those that are in Christ.
Since He has proven His love…can you show your love back?
- Without knowing HIm we will live a miserable life!
- This is my prayer to you….that you "may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
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