Download 1 John 4:9-16 - God Bless All Mothers

[ ] 10/1/2006 #682
“THAT WE MAY KNOW”
WE ARE SAVED AND MATURING IN LOVE
1 John 4:9-16
Part Twenty Three
INTRODUCTION: The love of God cannot be explained apart from the cross of Christ. F.B.Meyer said,
"You can no more define the essence of love than you can define the essence of God, but you can define its
effects and fruits." We as Christians are revealing the love of God to a lost world by our acts and deeds of
kindness. Our society today, focuses on one’s love for self. We are to model Christ’s love by obeying His
command. “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no
man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I
command you.” (John 15:12-14)
I. MANIFESTING OF LOVE
A. PRICE OF GOD’S LOVE. (v. 9a) “God sent His only begotten Son”
Could we with ink the ocean fill
And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill
And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole
Though stretched from sky to sky.
B. PURPOSE OF GOD’S LOVE. (v. 9b) “that we might live through Him”
II. MOTIVATION FOR LOVE
A. EXPERIENCE OF HIS LOVE. (v. 10-11)
B. EXPRESSING OF HIS LOVE. (v. 12)
There is a story that illustrates the ultimate sacrifice of love. After a few of the usual Sunday evening
hymns, the church's pastor slowly stood up, walked over to the pulpit and, before he gave his sermon for
the evening, briefly introduced a guest minister who was in the service that evening. In the introduction, the
pastor told the congregation that the guest minister was one of his dearest childhood friends and that he
wanted him to have a few moments to greet the church and share whatever he felt would be appropriate for
the service. With that, an elderly man stepped up to the pulpit and began to speak. "A father, his son, and a
friend of his son were sailing off the pacific coast," he began, "when a fast approaching storm blocked any
attempt to get back to the shore. The waves were so high, that even though the father was an experienced
sailor, he could not keep the boat upright and the three were swept into the ocean as the boat capsized." The
old man hesitated for a moment, making eye contact with two teenagers who were, for the first time since
the service began, looking somewhat interested in his story.
The aged minister continued with his story, "grabbing a rescue line, the father had to make the most
excruciating decision of his life: to which boy he would throw the other end of the lifeline. He only had
seconds to make the decision. The father knew that his son was a Christian and he also knew that his son's
friend was not. The agony of his decision could not be matched by the torrent of waves. "As the father
yelled out, 'I love you, son!' he threw out the life line to his son's friend. By the time the father had pulled
the friend back to the capsized boat, his son had disappeared beneath the raging swells into the black of
night. His body was never recovered." By this time, the two teenagers were sitting up straight in the pew,
anxiously waiting for the next words to come out of the old minister's mouth. "The father," he continued,
"knew his son would step into eternity with Jesus and he could not bear the thought of his son's friend
stepping into an eternity without Jesus. Therefore, he sacrificed his son to save the son's friend. How great
is the love of God that he should do the same for us? Our heavenly father sacrificed his only begotten Son
that we could be saved. I urge you to accept his offer to rescue you and take a hold of the life line he is
throwing out to you in this service." With that, the old man turned and sat back down in his chair as silence
filled the room. The pastor again walked slowly to the pulpit and delivered a brief sermon with an
invitation at the end. However, no one responded to the appeal. Within minutes after the service ended, the
two teenagers were at the old man's side. "That was a nice story," politely stated one of the boys, "but I
don't think it was very realistic for a father to give up his only son's life in hopes that the other boy would
become a Christian." "Well, you've got a point there," the old man replied, glancing down at his worn
Bible. A big smile broadened his narrow face as he said to the boys, "It sure isn't very realistic, is it? But
I'm standing here today to tell you that story gives me a glimpse of what it must have been like for God to
give up his son for me. You see, I was that father and your pastor is my son's friend." That is an example of
the ultimate sacrifice of love, but God paid the ultimate sacrifice in showing us love, and love always take
sacrificial steps.
A young lady serving the Lord through the Salvation Army, found a homeless woman of the street and
invited her to chapel for help, but she refused. “We love you and want to help you. God loves you. Jesus
died for you,” but the woman did not budge. Frustrated, she leaned over and kissed the woman on the
cheek, taking her into her arms. The woman began to sob, and as if a child was led into the chapel, where
she trusted Christ. “You told me that God loved me,” she said later, “but it wasn’t till you showed me that
God loved me that I wanted to be saved.”
III. MATURING IN LOVE
A. BASIS FOR MATURITY. (v. 12) “His love is perfected in us”
1. Spirit’s indwelling. (v. 13)
2. Sound doctrine.
a. Eyewitness of the apostles. (v. 14)
b. Confession of individual. (v. 15)
B. BLESSING IN MATURING.
1. Assurance of God’s love. (v. 16a)
2. Assurance of God’s salvation. (v. 16b)
At a National Prayer Breakfast some years ago, a congressman told the story of a busy commuter, Mr.
Jones, hurrying through the station to catch his train to work, when he noticed a crippled lad selling apples.
Suddenly, another man in a hurry accidentally knocked over the apple stand, scattering apples in every
direction. The man paused momentarily, uttered a meaningless apology, then hurried not to miss his train.
Mr. Jones stopped for a moment, and then resumed his hurrying. About to board the parting train, he had
second thoughts. He went back to help the crippled boy. He noticed that the boy was also blind for he was
desperately reaching in all directions for the apples. Mr. Jones picked up every apple, polished each one
with his handkerchief, re-erected the toppled stand and put the apples back in place. As Mr. Jones was
about to leave to catch the next train, the blind, crippled boy grabbed his coat and asked, “Mister, are you
Jesus?” “No,” said Mr. Jones, “but I want to be like Him.” The more we become like Jesus, the more we
will love as He loved. Loving one another is simply a reflection of His love that we have experienced in our
life.
LESSONS FOR LIFE:
1. The love of God is only visible through the acts and deeds of God’s children.
2. As we grow in spiritual maturity, we will grow in our love for God and one another.
3. The cross of Jesus is our example and motivation to love one another.
4. The absence of love is an indication we are not saved.