Sunday February 13, 2022
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Matthew 22:37-40- “Jesus replied, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”
WHAT IS LOVE? Can I give you a picture from the Bible that I believe is love in action!
Luke 15:20-24- “So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.”
Love has an expression! Love Like This! This is Love!
HOW CAN I RECEIVE THIS EXPRESSION OF LOVE? REMEMBER:
1. Grace is Greater
Romans 5:20,21 “God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Romans 5:15 -“But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man,
Jesus Christ.”
HOW CAN WE RECEIVE THIS EXPRESSION OF GOD’S LOVE?
Romans 5:1-2- “Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”
2. Confession is Cleansing
1John 1:7-9 – “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Confessing my sins is about taking responsibility for my sins!
Confessing my sins is not about trying to get God to forgive my sins, He has forgiven me! Confessing my sins is about acknowledging my need for forgiveness and then I experience God’s cleansing.
Luke 15:18- “I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you,:”
True confession is a change of heart that leads to a change of action!
Psalms 51:2-3- “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, And cleanse me from my sin.
For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me.”
Hebrews 9:14- “Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God. For by the power of the eternal Spirit, Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.”
3. Receive Full Restoration
“The note of joy about the son’s return is crucial in the passage, as is the Father’s restoration of sonship privileges. The son has come from destitution to complete restoration. This is what God’s grace does for us all.”
Luke 15:22-24- ““But his father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.’ So the party began.”
RESTORATION IS NOT A GOAL TO ACHIEVE IT IS A GIFT TO BE RECEIVED!
Grace is greater! Confession is cleansing! Receive full Restoration!
NOW FRIENDS………THIS IS LOVE! LOVE LIKE THIS!!!!
“Love your neighbor as yourself.”
So many Christians struggle to “love like this” because they don’t live like this!
Luke 15:25-32- “Meanwhile, the older son was in the fields working. When he returned home, he heard music and dancing in the house, and he asked one of the servants what was going on. ‘Your brother is back,’ he was told, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf. We are celebrating because of his safe return.’
“The older brother was angry and wouldn’t go in. His father came out and begged him, but he replied, ‘All these years I’ve slaved for you and never once refused to do a single thing you told me to. And in all that time you never gave me even one young goat for a feast with my friends. Yet when this son of yours comes back after squandering your money on prostitutes, you celebrate by killing the fattened calf!’
“His father said to him, ‘Look, dear son, you have always stayed by me, and everything I have is yours. We had to celebrate this happy day. For your brother was dead and has come back to life! He was lost, but now he is found!”
CONCLUSION: The elder brother had a loveless attitude toward his younger brother because he didn’t truly know his Father’s love!
He had no true relationship with his Father or he would have known that all the Father had belonged to him as well. He did not truly know his Father’s love so he could not love!
His loveless attitude led to a joyless attitude that was displayed in his cutting remark! He couldn’t even say “my brother” but only “this son of yours.”
HERE’S WHAT’S HEARTBREAKING. THE FATHER’S LOVE FOR HIM WAS THERE ALL THE TIME! ALL HE HAD TO DO WAS BELIEVE IT AND RECEIVE IT!
- Grace is Greater. 2. Confession is cleansing. 3. Receive Full Restoration.
This is love! Love Like This!
Romans 5:6-11- “When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.” WHAT IS HAPPENING IN YOUR HEART RIGHT NOW?