We ought to Love the Things that God Loves
1John 3:1
DATE: 13 May, 2007 AM
PLACE: BBC Ballincollig
I. Introduction (1John 3:1)
A. To love something or someone is to really like them – really enjoy their company - to want to bless and honour someone with your best efforts and gifts
B. Love is part of God’s character – it is part of how He thinks and feels
C. Most often, it is the only thing people hear about God – but with all the talk, so few ever actually experience the love of God as mentioned in 1John 3:1
D. Folks, God’s love is described for us as:
1. Great (Eph 2:4)
2. Abiding (Zeph 3:17) – He really loves His people
3. Unfailing – never stopping (Isa 49:15)
4. Everlasting (Jer 31:3)
E. God is not empty of feelings – God is the author of love
F. It would be very helpful if we decided to love what God loves
G. Let’s look at some of the things that He does passionately love!
II. Message
A. God Loves The World (Jn 3:16,17; Tit 3:4; Rom 5:6-8) – He loves sinners
1. In all its sin and wickedness - In all its filthiness - When no one else cares
2. God loves this world – truly loves it
3. He doesn’t love their sin – He hates their sin – it is filthy what people do, and say and think! But He does love their souls!
4. To love doesn’t mean He coddles, pampers, indulges, baby’s them
5. It means He cares about people NOT perishing and having to be judged!
6. Folks, we should love sinners too – enough to embarrass ourselves, and interrupt their lives, and tell them the trouble they are in, and tell them how to be forgiven! That’s love!
7. God’s love caused Him to act on our behalf, seek to save us, and change us – make us into His people; His children; His followers; Disciples!
8. That same love should motivate every believer to be out with us on Saturdays at 1pm soul-winning! Everyone! Not out of duty but out of love!
9. We ought to love what God loves! AMEN? Then love some sinners this week!
B. God Loves His Children (John 13:1) These are called the Brethren
1. Jesus called harlots, sinners, thieves, publicans to follow Him and He loved them!
2. It didn’t matter if they were wealthy (Mark 10:18-22), or dirt poor
3. It didn’t matter whether they were simple fishermen, or religious leaders
4. When they came to Jesus, He could in no way cast them back out (Jn 6:37) because they by faith become His Children!
5. Those that are backslid, and struggling in sin, or not attending a good church, well, God still loves them and so should all believers! Love them!
6. Love them enough to pray for them, constantly encourage them, invite them back to church, talk to them straight up about their sin, but always love them! God does!
7. We ought to love what God loves! AMEN? Then loves the brethren!
C. God Loves Me (Gal 2:20) This is awesome!
1. Look at how God not only loves this world enough to send His Son to save it …
2. He not only loves those that decide to leave the world behind and follow Him with their lives …
3. He also loves individual people… all the way down to ME!
4. The principle is, that if I were the only person on this planet, and as a sinner, a breaker of God’s commandments, condemned by God’s righteous laws, Jesus STILL would have had to have come and died in my place for me to be forgiven – and He would have done it – because He loves ME!
5. This day and age has people hating themselves! What an awful state!
a. God made you and thinks you are awesome (Ps 139:14)
b. So awesome that He says we are fearfully and wonderfully made
c. Stop hating yourself, and your past, and your life – rejoice in God’s goodness (Ps 118:24) instead of living in guilt
6. We ought to love what God loves! AMEN? Then quit hating yourself!
D. God Loves Righteousness (Psalm 11:7; 33:5)
1. He loves right things, good things, holiness, and purity, and things that are clean, and things that are true! He hates lying, and deceiving, and hiding, and evil thoughts and wicked desires
2. That’s why He chastens His children (Heb 12:5-8, 11) – to get us right
3. Like going to the Tyre shop to get the car alignment right – needs some pulling, stress and pressure to correct it – or else you will go through tyres fast, and may end up driving dangerously and risk an accident!
4. So we should love righteousness too (1Tim 6:11)
5. This is not effeminate and weak and wimpy – true men love good and right, and are willing to die for what is right!!! As was young David (“Is there not a cause?”)
6. It means fighting sin and temptations in your life, and dumping bad habits, and replacing them with godly ones – like replacing worldly music with Gospel music, replacing filthy TV programmes with Godly DVDs
7. It means dumping bad friends that pull you down, and replacing them with godly ones that will help you and strengthen you and bless you!
8. We ought to love what God loves! AMEN? Then love righteousness!
E. God Loves His Church (John 17:23; Eph 5:25)
1. God loves this group of Bible believers called the Bible Baptist Church
2. He wants to spend eternity blowing us away with demonstrations of His love (Eph 2:4-7)
3. One of the ways a person knows they are saved is because they know they are loved by God (Rom 5:5) – they sense it!
4. This doesn’t mean that a church has no troubles, no problems – but that God is with His people THROUGH every one of them (Isa 43:2)
5. We should then love this group of believers – and love them supremely!
6. Not every thing that calls itself a church is a right church – kind of rare – so love this church, and protect it, and help me multiply churches all over the world through church planting and sending out missionaries!
7. Christ DIED for this body of believers – what are YOU willing to pay to have such a place and people as this is? And I’m not talking about MONEY here, but…
a. Putting up with misunderstandings
b. Ignoring Cultural differences
c. Even overlooking direct assaults – fervent charity between us!
d. SHAME on everyone who just keeps in their little corner in this church! God LOVES this group – so must we all!
8. It means being here for church activities, and faithfully tithing, and being here at 7pm tonight, and again at 7pm Wednesday evening! That is, if you are convinced that you should love what God loves!!!
9. We ought to love what God loves! AMEN? Then love the Church!
F. God Loves Israel (Deut 7:6-8)
1. Settle it, those people in Canaan land, the Jews, are special to God
2. He loves them! He SERIOUSLY loves them (Gen 12:1-3)
3. That does not mean that any of them are automatically saved, or children of God – John the Baptist said, don’t rest in your genealogy – God is able of stones to raise up children to Abraham
4. But, every Christian needs to love the Jews, pray for the Jews, and witness to the Jews at every chance (Ps 122:6)
5. NEVER dismiss the Jews, or curse them, or want God to punish them, etc
6. Do not accept the news media’s hatred of Israel! Love them as God does
7. We ought to love what God loves! AMEN? Then love the Jews!
G. God Loves the Troubled and Destitute (Deut 10:18,19)
1. God absolutely loves the fatherless, the widow, the stranger – He loves the ones who are going to be a drain on your finances by trying to help them, and get them on their feet, and strong again
2. Sometimes, people get themselves into bad patches, but sometimes, it just happens for no reason (as with Job)! Just love them!
3. We have every critic and judge, but few lovers of people’s souls!
4. Therefore love others, especially those that are hurting, and in trouble (James 1:27). Love the folks in RU – don’t EVER think of them as different, or lower than ourselves – it is but for the grace of God that we are not in hell, or without our families, or without a job!
5. Christians aren’t perfect – just forgiven!
6. We ought to love what God loves! AMEN? Then love hurting people!
H. God Loves His Son, Jesus Christ (John 15:9; 17:24-26)
1. At His baptism in Matt 3:17, God the Father shouted, “This is my BELOVED Son!”
2. And then in Matt 17:5, on the Mount of Transfiguration, God says the same thing
3. When Jesus died on that Cross, for the only time in all eternity, God the Father turned away and abandoned His only begotten Son, Jesus, and let Him die all alone! God did not stop loving His Son, He just amazingly judged Him AS a condemned sinner in your and my place, so that He would NEVER have to judge us (1John 4:9-10)
4. It was out of love for us that Jesus allowed that to happen! We ought to love Jesus Christ supremely (Jn 8:42; Mt 10:37; 1Cor 16:22; Jn 21:15-17)
a. More than your family – Jesus ought to mean more than a new baby or a new bride
b. More than your money and possessions – Jesus means more than any gold or silver
c. More than your pleasures and entertainment that you rush off to
d. More than your bad habits – it shouldn’t matter how hard it may be to change – surly Jesus is worth it – no matter what it costs!
e. More than your pride and position in life – Jesus ought to be pre-eminent
f. More than your self – maybe you are not doing so great health-wise, or money-wise – don’t think of self – think of living all out of your Saviour!
g. More than your friends – who has more power over you? Jesus or Joe
h. More than your plans – the will of the Lord Jesus Christ ought to be easy to do if done for Jesus!
5. How precious is the name of Jesus to you? Do you curse His name, and rarely praise Him? God loves His Son!
6. We ought to love what God loves! AMEN? Then love Jesus, most of all!
III. Conclusion
A. God loves some incredible things…
B. We ought to love those same things:
1. This World – enough to go soul-winning
2. We ought to Love the Brethren - His Followers - enough to bless them
3. We ought to Love Ourselves – stop hating ourselves, and living in guilt
4. We ought to love Righteousness – enough to dump bad habits
5. We ought to Love Christ’s Church – only Bible believing churches are right churches – love it, and protect it, and help me multiply them all over the world through church planting and sending out missionaries!
6. We ought to love Israel – pray for them, back them, witness to them
7. We ought to Love the Troubled and Destitute – take the necessary time to love them as Christ would!
8. We ought to Love God’s Only Begotten Son, Jesus Christ – supremely!
C. Begins with receiving the love of God, from God – by faith in humility and acceptance – no debates, or haggling – just accept the free gift of eternal life through Jesus Christ!
Craig Ledbetter
Bible Baptist Church of Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland