The World's Greatest Love Story

Good morning.

This morning, in honor of our Chinese friends, I would like to start with a Chinese story.

! It's the story of Liang Shanbo yu Juyingtai.

Now, in English, you can call it the story of the butterfly lovers.

Juyingtai, who let's call Julie, okay?

Julie was the only daughter of a wealthy family.

And at that time, young women were not encouraged to take up scholarly pursuits.

But Julie convinces her father to let her go to school disguised as a young man.

And so, Julie, on her way to school, which was pretty far from her home,

meets a young man along the way, Liang Shanbo.

Let's call him Leon, okay?

So, Julie meets Leon, and they begin to talk.

And they find out they're going to be classmates.

And so, they talk as they walk along the way.

And very quickly, their hearts are drawn to each other.

They actually stop on the way and take an oath of brotherhood.

For three years, Julie and Leon study together.

Now, Leon was very focused on his studies.

And so, he doesn't even notice that Julie is a young lady.

Julie, though, very soon finds herself falling in love with Leon.

Then, suddenly, one day, she gets a letter.

Julie gets a letter from her father saying she must come home right away.

And so, she has no choice but to pack everything up and say goodbye to Leon.

But she's already decided in her heart that she loves him and wants to be with him forever.

Now, Leon, being the good friend he is, decides to walk about 18 miles with Julie to see her off.

All along the way, Julie is trying to subtly reveal to Leon that she's a young lady.

But Leon doesn't pick up on any of the clues.

So, finally, her last effort, as they're about to part, is she says,

Leon, when you finish school, come visit me and I will be a matchmaker and set you up with my sister.

Well, Leon's very excited because he thinks, well, he'll get a wife and his close friend.

And they can be family.

So, about a year passes until Leon's finally able to come and visit Julie.

But when he arrives, Julie quickly runs out and confesses to him,

It's me. I'm really a woman.

Well, Leon suddenly is kind of overwhelmed with a sense of love for her.

And he thinks, this is the best possibility.

And they make this commitment to each other, kind of like until death do us part.

And so, they hurry quickly to Julie's father so that Leon can ask for her hand in marriage.

Unfortunately, their excitement is very short-lived because Julie's father reveals to both of them that he has already promised her in marriage to a wealthy merchant.

Leon is depressed and brokenhearted.

He goes home and over time his health gets worse and finally he dies from a broken heart.

And Julie agrees to marry the wealthy merchant.

But there's one condition.

She will only marry him if her wedding processional can pass by Leon's grave.

And so, it's agreed to.

And on the day of her wedding, her wedding processional is passing by Leon's grave.

When suddenly, there's a strong wind that causes them to stop.

And Julie sees her chance.

She runs from the wedding party to Leon's grave.

And she falls down and begs that the grave would open up.

And miraculously, the grave splits open.

Without a second thought, Julie throws herself into the grave.

And all of the wedding party runs up and looks into the grave.

And all they see is Leon and Julie's spirits emerge as a pair of butterflies.

To fly off and be together, never to be separated again.

Isn't it interesting how every culture has its own set of love stories?

I'm sure probably none of you had heard that story before.

But all of you have, right?

You know, every culture has love stories.

And often, there are love stories that are about sacrificial love or tragic things happening.

But our hearts are so easily caught up in the story that we really don't care if it makes sense or if it's impossible.

It doesn't matter to us if it's immoral or foolish.

Our hearts are so moved that we quickly find some beauty in the story.

You guys know that.

You can think about plenty of stories.

Whether it's like Mark Anthony and Cleopatra or Romeo and Juliet.

The hunchback of Notre Dame.

Sir Lancelot, Queen Guinevere.

Even more modern, like Jack and Rose from the Titanic, right?

You see, there's just something in us that connects with these love stories.

And I think it's because in all of our hearts, we desire to be loved that way.

To find someone that will love us sacrificially.

Someone that is willing to give up everything, even life itself, because they love us so much.

This morning, we're going to talk about the world's greatest love story.

And the good news is, it's true.

We're looking at 1 John chapter 4, verses 7 through 12.

1 John 4:7–12

In 2024, verse 24, verse 24, verse 24, verse 24, verse 24.

4, 7 through 12.

It says,

Beloved, let us love one another.

For love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

In this, the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world,

so that we might live through him.

In this is love.

Not that we have loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No one has ever seen God.

If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us.

Let's pray.

Father, we thank you that you have written us a love story,

that you have shown us your love.

Father, I ask that you would open our hearts and our minds

to see the beauty of your word,

to see the beauty of this love story before us,

and that our hearts would be caught,

and that we would rejoice in the fact that we are loved by you.

In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.

We're going to look at this love story,

and on the back of your bulletin,

you can take notes if you want to. It might help.

The first thing we're going to look at is the characters in this love story.

The characters in this love story.

And the main character you'll see very quickly is God.

If you read that passage,

it's a huge number of times that we see the word God.

If you count up all the pronouns and everything,

I think it's about 13 times.

God is the main character,

and if you include his son, it's even more than that.

And notice what we learn in these verses about God.

It tells us God is the source of love.

In verse 7, we see it says love is from God.

God is the source of love.

It also tells us something even bigger than that.

That God is love.

In verse 8, God is love.

Now, I think we should stop for a minute and clarify.

There really are two kinds of love.

There are two kinds of love.

The first is self-centered love.

Now, think about it.

We say, I love pizza.

Or, I love sleeping.

I love my job.

Even, I love you.

But think about when you say that,

what does it really mean?

It means, I really enjoy eating pizza.

I really like the way sleeping makes me feel.

I find my job is very satisfying.

Or, I like my colleagues.

Or, it pays me a lot of money.

And, even when we say, I love you,

much of the time, what we really mean is,

I love the way you make me feel.

You see, at the center of all of those uses of love

is myself.

It's all about me.

Right?

Doe, but doe.

Doe.

But, there's a second kind of love.

It's God-centered love.

It's God-centered love.

And, if we looked at this in the original language,

which is Greek,

it was written in Greek,

we would see the word here is agape.

That's the Greek word used for love.

Agape.

Agape.

And, agape is a very special word for Bible writers.

They used the word agape to talk about the love that God has.

It's a love that's focused on others, not on self.

Probably the best description we find of that kind of love

is in 1 Corinthians 13, verses 4 through 8.

1 Corinthians 13:4–8

1 Corinthians 13, verses 4 through 8.

1 Corinthians 13:4–8

It says,

And, when we're talking about love today,

that's the kind of love we're talking about.

A God-centered love.

A love that is not focused on me,

and what do I get,

but a love that is focused on others,

and on doing whatever is best for others,

no matter what the cost.

We also see about God in verses 10 and 11,

that God loves us.

Or, we see in 10 through 12,

that God desires an intimate relationship with us.

But God's not the only character in this story.

Let's look at the secondary characters.

That would be you and me.

You and me.

Notice it talks a lot in this verse about you or us or we.

And it shows us several things that are important.

We see one,

we need help loving.

We need help loving.

In verses 7 and 8,

it tells us God is the source of love,

and that we can only love this way

if we get that love from God.

We can't love that way on our own.

It also shows us that we need help living.

In verse 9,

Notice it talks about that God sent His only Son into the world

so that we might live through Him.

We need help living.

We can't even live right on our own.

Notice in verse 10,

it says,

We don't love God.

We don't love God.

Verse 10,

In this is love,

not that we loved God.

Let's look at another passage in Romans chapter 3.

Romans 3 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 3,

Romans 3:10–18

verses 10 through 18.

Romans 3, 10 through 18.

And it says,

As the scriptures say,

No one is righteous,

not even one.

No one is truly wise.

No one is seeking God.

All have turned away.

All have become useless.

No one does good,

not a single one.

Their talk is foul,

like the stench from an open grave.

Their tongues are filled with lies.

Snake venom drips from their lips.

Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.

They rush to commit murder.

Destruction and misery always follow them.

They don't know where to find peace,

for they have no fear of God at all.

You see, we don't love God.

We also see, in verse 10,

that we have sin that has separated us from God.

We have sin that has separated us from God.

It says,

But God loved us and sent his Son

to be the propitiation for our sins.

Now, propitiation is a big word.

But what it basically means

is that we have done something wrong

and caused someone to be angry.

And something must be done

to take away that anger

and restore our relationship,

to fix our guanxi.

Let's look at Romans chapter 1,

Romans 1:18–32

verses 18 through 32.

It says,

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven

against all ungodliness

and unrighteousness of men,

who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

For what can be known about God is plain to them,

because God has shown it to them.

For his invisible attributes,

namely, his eternal power and divine nature,

have been clearly perceived

ever since the creation of the world

in the things that have been made.

So they are without excuse.

For although they knew God,

they did not honor him as God

or give thanks to him,

but they became futile in their thinking.

And their foolish hearts were darkened.

Claiming to be wise,

they became fools

and exchanged the glory of the immortal God

for images resembling mortal man

and birds and animals

and creeping things.

Therefore God gave them up

in the lusts of their hearts

to impurity,

to the dishonoring of their bodies

among themselves,

because they exchanged the truth about God

for a lie

and worshiped and served the creature

rather than the creator,

who is blessed forever.

For this reason,

God gave them up

to dishonorable passions,

for their women exchanged natural relations

for those that are contrary to nature.

And the men likewise

gave up natural relations with women

and were consumed with passion

for one another,

men committing shameless acts with men

and receiving in themselves

the due penalty for their error.

And since they did not see fit

to acknowledge God,

God gave them up

to a debased mind

to do what ought not to be done.

They were filled with all manners

of unrighteousness,

evil,

covetousness,

malice.

They're full of envy,

murder,

strife,

deceit,

maliciousness.

They're gossips,

slanderers,

haters of God,

insolent,

haughty,

boastful,

inventors of evil,

disobedient to parents,

foolish,

faithless,

heartless,

ruthless.

Though they know God's righteous decree

that those who practice such things

deserve to die,

they not only do them,

but give approval to those who practice them.

So our sin has separated us from God.

So that's the characters.

We have God and his son.

He is the source of love.

He is love.

He wants to pour that love out

and be in relationship with us.

And we have us.

We are in need of help loving,

of help living.

We are not lovers of God

and our sin has separated us from him.

Now let's talk about the plot of the story.

The plot of this love story

is summarized in verses 9 through 10.

9 through 10,

where it says,

In this the love of God

was made manifest among us,

that God sent his only son into the world

so we might live through him.

In this is love,

not that we've loved God,

but he loved us and sent his son

to be the propitiation for our sins.

The truth is,

even in these two verses,

we find probably

one of the most clear summaries

of the entire Bible.

In those two verses,

all of the essence of God's love story to us

is there.

Very short, very quick,

but it's all there.

The best way to understand God's love story

is to read the whole book.

It will take us 80 hours.

Let's begin.

Since we don't have 80 hours,

I thought the best thing I could do

is to tell you a story.

A story that will give you

a little more summary

of God's love story to us.

It's the story of the great emperor.

There was a great and glorious emperor,

Shang Di,

who ruled over a perfect and wonderful kingdom.

He provided everything his people needed.

He treated them like they were all his own children.

Even the laws that he had

were written for the good of the people.

However, the people chose to be selfish.

They wanted more than perfection.

You see, they believed in themselves,

and they thought they should be able

to be their own emperor.

They wanted to do whatever they wanted,

anytime they wanted.

Well, the emperor told them,

if you want to live this way,

it's not good for you,

and you'll have to leave the kingdom.

So the rebellious people left.

They moved out to the place

where the kingdom dumped all of its trash

and lived on a giant pile of trash.

And without the emperor

to lovingly rule over them,

the people began to use each other.

They would lie to each other

and steal from each other.

They actually would find ways

to hurt each other

in any way imagined.

And not only that,

but living on the trash pile

caused them to get sicknesses

and diseases

and many other problems started.

The emperor could see all of this

from his palace.

Even though he was angry

because of their actions,

he still loved them

and cared for him.

He would send out food,

water, medicine,

and other things

that they needed.

And even though

the people

should have been thankful

for all the emperor was doing,

they ignored him.

Instead,

they chose new rulers,

new leaders,

and they thanked

these new leaders

and they worshipped

these new leaders

even for the very things

that the emperor

was sending to them.

The way that the people lived

dishonored and shamed

the emperor.

And the emperor

would send out

workers from the palace

to remind the people

of all the good

the emperor offered them,

to challenge them,

to turn away

from their selfish living,

and to restore

their relationship

with the emperor,

to return to his kingdom.

Yet,

every time

one of the emperor's people

came out

to the trash people,

the trash people

would grab them

and torture them

and kill them.

One day,

the emperor's only son,

the prince,

came to him

and said,

Father,

I know that you love

these people,

even though

they turned away from you.

They've lived selfish,

terrible lives.

They've brought shame

on you

and your kingdom.

I know that you love them.

So,

I want to go out

and live with them.

I will spend my life

teaching them

the truths

about you

and your love

that they have forgotten.

And in the end,

I will take

the punishment

that they deserve

for their actions

so that they can be

restored to our kingdom.

Even though

the emperor

loved his son,

more than can be described,

more than can be described,

he honored

his son's desire

and let him go

to live among

the trash people.

Every day,

the emperor would watch

from the palace

as his son

lived among

the trash people.

He watched

as the prince

would love them

and care for them

and teach them

about the emperor's kingdom.

And every day

that passed,

more and more

of the trash people

became sorry

for the way

they had treated

the emperor,

how they had

dishonored him

and brought shame

upon themselves

and their kingdom

and wanted to change

how they were living.

However,

the trash people's

hearts were changing

and the leaders

saw that.

They began to hate

the prince

even more

than they hated

the emperor.

And as their hatred

grew,

they began to plan

how they would

destroy the prince,

the emperor's

precious son.

The emperor

watched all of

these things happen

day by day.

And then

at the perfect moment,

the emperor

went to the trash pile.

Everyone gathered

together

and the emperor

said to them,

I am a good,

honest,

righteous,

and just emperor.

Shame

and dishonor

has been brought

upon me

and my kingdom

by your actions.

You must all

be justly punished

for your crimes.

At this,

the prince

stepped forward

and said,

Father,

I am willing

to take

the punishment

for these people.

The emperor

asked,

Who will hold

the prince

while he is punished?

Well,

with great excitement,

all the leaders

of the trash pile

rushed forward

and grabbed

the prince.

They stripped him

of his royal coat

and forced him

to his knees.

The emperor

took out

a powerful whip

and began

to whip

the prince.

And each strike

sounded like thunder.

Every time

he would whip

the prince,

the emperor

would call out

one of the names

of the people

on the trash pile

and say,

Your crimes

have been paid for.

This went on

for the longest time.

David Bout,

Your crimes

have been paid for.

Titus Mahaffey,

Your crimes

have been paid for.

Mark Rugsager,

Your crimes

have been paid for.

Blake Murphy,

Your crimes

have been paid for.

Huang Dandan,

Your crimes

have been paid for.

Lan Yi,

Your crimes

have been paid for.

Liu Chunya,

Your crimes

have been paid for.

Name after name,

lash after lash,

the blood

of the prince

filled the street.

No one really knew

how long it lasted.

All they remembered

was the moment

they heard their name.

the moment

they heard

their name

and that their crimes

have been paid for.

At that moment,

their hard hearts

melted within them.

When the emperor

was finished

and the prince

was dead,

the emperor

cried out,

All of you

that have had

your crimes paid for,

I forgive you

and you may return

to the kingdom

and live as my children

once again.

Well, large people,

large groups of people

immediately ran

from the trash pile

into the kingdom

and their lives

were completely changed.

They became new people

and the new people's hearts

were so overflowing

with the love

they'd received

from the emperor

that they began

to love those around them

even more

than they loved themselves.

They even found themselves

loving the people

that were still

on the trash pile.

And so they would go out

and take care of them

and tell them

about all of the love

they'd received

from the emperor

and invite them

to come back

and be one of the emperor's

children too.

As the trash people

saw the way

the new people

loved each other

and loved them,

more and more of them

wanted to become

children of the emperor.

After several days,

the emperor showed

he was even more glorious

and powerful

than the people realized.

The emperor

gave the prince

life again.

All of the people

that had returned

to the kingdom

celebrated

the prince's return,

his resurrection.

And their hearts

were filled

with even more love

because of what

the prince had done

for them.

The prince continued

to lead the people

to go out

to the trash pile

and to share

the good news

with all who would listen.

and the story

continues even today.

You see,

the best news

about the world's

greatest love story

is that it's continuing.

It's a continuing story.

And everyone

has a chapter

in this story.

Everyone in this room,

everyone in the world,

everyone that's ever lived

has a chapter

in the world's

greatest love story.

Each of us

is responsible

for our own chapter.

The question is,

will you choose

a life

of self-centered love?

Will you choose

to keep living

on the trash pile,

letting your life

be filled

with selfish love

where every relationship,

every decision,

every action

is focused

on your own

comfort and pleasure?

always looking

for something

to satisfy you

in your job

or your relationships,

your family,

but never finding it.

Forever living

with that feeling

that there's something

more that you are missing.

Or will you accept

a life

of God-centered love?

Will you accept

a life

of God-centered love?

Are you willing

to hear

the truth

about God?

Realize

the truth

of how

you have been

living a self-centered

life that dishonors

and shames God

and accept

the love

that Jesus

has shown

to you

in paying

for your sin?

Will you turn

away

from self-centered

living on the trash

pile outside

of God's kingdom?

Are you willing

to let

God-centered love

rule your life

and make you

a new person?

If you're willing,

if you're willing

to accept

God's love,

there are such

beautiful results.

The results

of accepting

God's love

are this.

One,

we have an intimate

relationship

with God

as our Father.

Look at

1 John 4

1 John 4:12

verse 12.

It says,

No one has ever

seen God,

but if we love

one another,

God abides

in us.

God abides

in us.

God lives

in us.

God becomes

an intimate

part of our lives.

He is our Father.

We are His children.

So if you accept

God's love,

you'll have

an intimate

relationship

with Him.

But the second

result is

we will truly

love one another.

When we accept

God-centered love,

our hearts

are changed

so that we can

love each other

as we should.

No longer

being selfish

in our thoughts.

What do I get?

How does it make

me feel?

Why is this

good for me?

But our hearts

are changed

so that we can

love others

and we can

think most

about them.

What's best

for them?

How can I

serve them?

How can I

help them?

The third

benefit

is if we

accept God's

love,

the world

will see God

through our

true love

for one another.

The world

will see God

through our

true love

for one another.

Again,

in verse 12,

it talks about

how no one

has seen God,

but if we

love one another,

God abides

in us

and his love

is perfected

in us.

It's made

perfect,

it's made

complete,

and the world

will see it.

In John

John 13:34

chapter 13,

verses 34

and 35,

Jesus tells

us that

by this

all people

will know

you're my

disciples

if you have

love for

one another.

So we have

a responsibility.

We decide

how do we

want the

chapter of

our lives

in this

great love

story to

look.

How is it

you will

let your

story end?

Will it be

a story

of self-centered

love or

God-centered

love?

Today,

I encourage

you to

choose wisely.

Let's pray.

Amen.