Last Words and Testament

I would like you to turn your Bibles this morning to Ephesians chapter 6 verse 24.

Ephesians 6:24

! And Pastor Saul has rightly identified the fact that this is the last sermon at this point in the book of Ephesians.

Lord willing, next Sunday it will be my blessing and my privilege to join you in opening the book of John and beginning to preach in John chapter 1 verse 1.

John 1:1

I do want to explain by way of introduction that there is a reason that preaching in an expositional fashion begins with John 1 verse 1 or Ephesians 1 verse 1 and carries through to the end.

John 1:1 Ephesians 1:1

And that the timing of the sequence of sermons is not preordained.

I believe fully that the Word of God is to be taken in its entirety.

I believe that preaching, which is the passionate declaring of the truth of God, is to be something that fundamentally is dependent upon the text.

And at the end of the day, when I make a statement in the passage or in the process of preaching, one of the things that you should be able to do in every case is you should be able to connect that statement,

even where there is an illustration, it should have linkage back to the Scriptures themselves.

When someone comes to this pulpit, they come in some sense with an obligation, with a responsibility of saying,

Thus saith the Lord.

I am not an Old Testament prophet.

And the best I can do when I say, Thus saith the Lord, is say, Here it is.

You can read it for yourself and you can see what God has to say to you.

I want you to understand this morning that the words of God are supremely important.

We underestimate the importance of words other than when we are zinged and dinged by them.

Do you understand what I'm saying?

They fall sometimes all too carelessly from my lips and I would rather suspect from others' lips.

God has said that words are supremely important and I want you to understand that it was by His Word that the universe was formed out of nothing.

I think of one other illustration.

I was reading earlier in the book of Ezekiel where Ezekiel the prophet is given that very, very sad responsibility of making it clear to God's people that He's done messing with them

and He is going to discipline them for a long time.

I remember with my children that one of the things they wanted to know when we were going to the place of judgment.

How many of you know what I mean by that?

Our protocol in my family was that I would usually have to go and pray so I could kind of balance my thoughts and my heart and be reasonable in the process.

And I wanted them to spend some time deliberating upon the offense or issue and whatever.

And then we would come together and we'd have a little conversation and then I would go somewhere privately so we could deal with this more directly.

And one of the questions that my sons were more inclined to this, they were all about, so how many times?

Do you follow that?

How many times?

I would say to them, eventually it dawned on me, early on I'd say, well, there will be three.

And they'd be counting.

And they would kind of grit their teeth and take the three and it, how many of you know as parents that sometimes you know you're not getting through with three?

And I remember the first time that having given the diagnosis in advance when I decided it was time to add a few for the sake of impact, my son said to me, that's more than you said.

And that was the last time that I ever advised them in advance of what was coming.

In Ezekiel, God says you're going to catch it for a long time.

And Ezekiel is broken as he considers the burden of what God is going to do to his people.

And then God says, I want you to see this valley of dried bones.

We are having all kinds of microphone issues, and I am the contributor to most of them.

God says, I want you to see this valley of dried bones.

And God says to Ezekiel, can these bones live again?

I love what Ezekiel says.

King James, he says, thou knowest, Lord.

In other words, it's up to you.

I like that.

But then God says, listen, speak to them.

We underestimate the power of the word of God.

And so this morning, as we take this passage in hand, I ask that you pray.

That the Spirit of God may take these words and have them make a difference in your life.

Let me read them.

Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

Father God, we are right to be dependent upon your Spirit this morning.

And to plead with you with all humility and with confessed inadequacy that both the hearing and the declaration of the word of God,

apart from the power of the Spirit, are much like what is recorded in 1 Corinthians 13,

where it says, I'm just a clanging cymbal or a banging gong.

And so we would ask that you would take your word and that it would be heard by your people.

And the effect of your word on the hearts of people that know the Lord Jesus Christ

would be evident in the progressive transformation that is described in 2 Corinthians 3, verse 18,

2 Corinthians 3:18

that beholding as in a mirror the face of our Lord Jesus, we grow from glory to glory.

And that's by the Spirit.

And we ask this in your precious name.

Amen.

I guess it's no accident that Paul closes out the book of Ephesians with the word grace.

And that's what we find here.

Verse 24, it says,

Grace be with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with love incorruptible.

And I want to appeal to you this morning that while it is the last verse and this is the last sermon,

by no means should it be something that we kind of, well, let's get on with it.

We're going to do some other book later and move on through it.

No, no, no.

The words are supremely important to you today.

And the apostle, as he was instructed by the Spirit of God, said,

Hey, listen, I want to close off with this profound central thought in the life of the church at Ephesus.

And so here he is using the word grace.

And we recognize that it is a word that if I were to track its significance through the book of Ephesians,

we would find that Paul used it over and over again.

I will at least recognize for you that it's the way he began the book.

Over there in Ephesians chapter 1, I think it is in verse 3 or 2,

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

it says,

Paul, an apostle to the saints, grace to you.

And so I want you to understand that if we're really going to grasp the significance of this word,

while it's so brief and we have a tendency to gloss over it,

I want you to recognize that, first of all,

grace must be understood against the backdrop of man's condition.

The truth is, is before the Bible tells us the good news,

the Bible tells us the bad news.

It tells us the ugly reality of the heart that we have,

and it recognizes for us, whether we're inclined to it or not,

to grab a hold of the truth that apart from God doing something in us,

we are beyond measure, inadequate, insignificant, ineffective,

in bringing about anything of eternal value in our soul.

I want you to think with me of just how Paul plays this out,

and we want to take a look at Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1 through 5,

Ephesians 2:1–5

where we find a fairly robust argument to help us understand just how bad the news is.

I'm not going to take the time of fleshing all of it out,

but recognize as we look at this passage, Ephesians chapter 2, verse 1, it says,

Ephesians 2:1

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins.

How dead is dead?

I want you to understand that dead is beyond any possible redemption,

or any remedy, or any resuscitation.

When a person is genuinely dead, they are absolutely incapable of doing anything at all.

The idea that some people have, that salvation is a partnering where God does something and man does something,

has no basis in Scripture.

Now, is it true that we are responsible for responding to the Gospel?

Absolutely, without question.

And the Scripture is clear on that.

But mark this, it is the work of God that makes us respondable.

And as we look at this passage and mark what it says,

Paul uses one of the very, very graphic indicators of just how bad the unregenerate heart is.

He says,

You were dead.

And dead men cannot help themselves.

He says,

How many of you, when you listen to the news,

find yourself appalled at the world we live in,

and the absolute depravity that you see everywhere you turn?

This last week, jets shot out of the sky by rebels or by Russia.

We don't know at this point the fact.

But mark it, what is going on now is that whoever was responsible,

instead of saying,

Man, I messed up,

and having a humble and a contrite heart and saying,

That was wrong to do.

Do you know what's going on?

Everybody's trying to do their best to cover what's going on and hide the truth.

And it's not just in Russia that that kind of behavior is going on.

The Bible makes it undeniably clear that we in our sinful state,

mark it,

we are dead in sins.

That's what we find in the passage.

We are slaves to Satan in our passions.

And furthermore, as we look at it here,

it says there in verse 3,

it says,

We were by nature children of wrath.

In other words,

we are doomed to eternal judgment.

Have you ever wondered why the unbelievers seemingly can get away

with some things that believers cannot get away with?

You ever remarked that?

The fact of the matter is,

is that the condemned man gets his last meal.

And God deals with his children on a profoundly different basis

than he deals with unbelievers.

He, for a large part,

allows unbelievers to kind of bumble along in their wickedness,

and eventually they face the judgment.

God, in his long-suffering patience,

allows far more than you or I would.

Now listen carefully to me.

Until we stop and realize how much he has allowed for us,

and then we are sympathetic,

and when we pray for those who are caught in their sin,

our prayer should be this way.

Lord, be as merciful with them as you have been with me.

Paul says,

listen,

the grace

that God has given to you

is something that is appreciated against the backdrop

of the darkness of depravity and sin.

There's another fact that I think we need to understand

as we think about the matter of God's grace,

and that is this,

that grace is Christocentric.

And what I mean by that

is that grace is all about the Lord Jesus Christ.

And understanding God's grace

and appreciating God's grace

cannot be separated from

getting a hold of the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ himself

and being affected by him.

Let me put it this way.

Grace

really refers to the unmerited favor and work of God

in Christ Jesus.

Let me have you look at a couple different passages

to kind of track this if you would.

And I strongly encourage you to follow in your own Bible

so you can allow the text

to resonate with your heart

and you can look at it

and identify what's being said.

Turn to Titus chapter 2 verse 11.

Titus 2:11

Titus chapter 2 verse 11.

Titus 2:11

For the grace of God has appeared

bringing salvation for all people.

Well, what was the appearance of grace?

Was it some kind of aura?

How many of you have ever seen pictures

of the Aurea Borealis

or however it's said?

You know, the wonderful night sky

over Alaska and over the polar region.

The grace of God that has appeared

is not talking about some kind of vision out there abstractly.

It's talking about the reality of the Christ himself

coming to us.

Over in John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

See, you knew I would get there, didn't you?

John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

It just happened to work out that way.

But John chapter 1.

John 1 · chapter mention

I want you to listen

as we look at a verse

that we won't get to in the first several weeks.

Verse 14.

And the word became flesh

and dwelt among us

and we have seen his glory.

Glory as of the only Son from the Father

full of grace and truth.

That word full that is used there

talks about pleroma.

It means absolutely packed

with all there is of grace and truth.

Jesus Christ

was not a personification

of the grace and truth of God.

He is the fullness

of the grace of God.

It goes on to say in verse 15,

John bore witness about him and cried,

This was he of whom I said,

He who comes after me ranks before me

because he was before me.

And from his fullness

we have all received

grace upon grace.

grace.

You know what it's saying?

It is through the Lord Jesus Christ

that we have received

the fullness

of the grace of God

that is packed in

upon our lives

beyond measure.

How many of you

when you want to emphasize something

say the word more than once?

Your children.

You say this is really

what?

Really, really

important.

This is very, very

hot.

When we have hot food

we will say

to family members

that are eating with us,

this is,

you know,

this is the pleban

and this is the generic version

to be eaten by people

that are not of our persuasion.

But this,

talking about the curry

that's real,

is really, really hot.

Judith refers to it

as smoking.

Okay?

We emphasize

with kind of doubling up

and so

in John

the apostle says

we have,

from his fullness,

we have all received

grace upon grace.

It is in the Lord Jesus Christ

in his person

that we receive

the fullness

of what God has for us

and grasping that

means that our heart

is touched by the reality

and the sweetness

of the person

of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In another way

we could say

that grace is the full

and effective

one-way love

of God

in Christ Jesus.

I want you to think

with me about that.

Grace is the full

and effective

one-way love

of God

in Christ Jesus.

Now I want you to think

with me about that

because for the most part

we have a great tendency

to have our love

governed to a certain degree

by what we're getting

out of the investment.

How many of you

would admit that publicly

and say,

that's me?

No,

we wouldn't.

But hey,

when people behave

in an unloving fashion

towards us,

what often happens

to our love?

What happens?

If it diminishes

significantly

then I would have to say

that that love

that we have professed

at one point

or another

really doesn't have

a close connection

with the love

that comes from Christ.

Christ's love for us

is a love

that is one way

in its affection

and care for us.

And I think it's important

for us to recognize

just the nature of this.

So when Paul here

makes that statement

that we enjoy

the grace of God

he is speaking about

the way in which

Christ loves us.

So when Paul closes off

this wonderful book

by using the word grace

as a summary

he really is using it

in one sense

to remind us

of the wonderful fact

that our salvation

is not the work

of human effort

and none of us

who enjoy

genuine conversion

can say,

hey listen,

and by the way

I earned that

you don't know

how much I suffered

to get it.

Those who appreciate

the grace of God

are always humbled

by the reality

that what they have

has nothing to do

with who they are

or what they've done

but they are struck

by the reality

that salvation

has come to them

by virtue

of the grace of God.

Well with that said

let's take a look

at the second part

of this passage

and mark that

God's grace

works in such a fashion

that it produces

a difference

in the heart

of the person

who is a genuine believer

and I think that

it's very interesting

that Paul

here at the very last

how many of you know

that when you're coming

towards the end

of your instructions

or your lesson

where your children

or whoever

you always try

to press it together

to make it pretty simple

so you can get their hand

they can get their hands

around it.

Grace

and then mark

what he says

be with all

who love

our Lord Jesus Christ

with love

incorruptible.

Grace

that is of God

produces

something

that Paul

wants us

to understand.

Grace

to those

who love

the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Now let's stop

just for a minute

so that we again

can frame

this idea

what Paul

is saying

when he says

grace

to all

who love

the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Does everybody

in the world

love Jesus?

What's the answer?

No.

Are there those

who actually hate

the Lord Jesus?

Yes.

I want you

to recognize

that Paul

has some

pretty strident

pretty militant

things to say

about this business

of loving Christ.

Turn back

in your Bible

if you will

you're in Ephesians

so turn back

to 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 16:22

chapter 16

verse 22.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 16:22

chapter 16

verse 22.

2.

If anyone

has no love

for the Lord

can I read

the rest of it

and you'll

track with me?

Let him

be

accursed.

If anyone

has no love

for the Lord

let him

be accursed

our Lord

comes.

Now

our sign

out there

says Marantha.

It actually

is Maranatha.

Since my

email

has NBC

Columbus

on it

and someone

will say

well what

does M

stand for?

I always

opt for the

mother instead

of the

Maranatha

to explain.

It's like

mother

boy

cat.

I don't

go Maranatha

boy

cat

because

it always

kind of

flummoxes

them when

you give

them the

Maranatha

part.

I appreciate

the fact

that our

sign says

Maranatha

our Lord

comes.

I'm curious

if anybody

ever thought

about saying

if anybody

doesn't love

Jesus

they're cursed.

Put that

on the

sign too.

I mean

hey

we're being

pretty divisive

to split the

verse in

half right?

No well

it's alright

stop while

I'm ahead.

But

hey

loving Christ

is pretty

serious

business.

And Paul

as he

takes and

summarizes

the matter

of salvation

he says

listen

grace

brings about

a love

for the

Lord Jesus

Christ.

That's what

salvation

produces.

How do I

know

that I am

a child

of God

that I

have genuine

salvation

that I

am one

of his

and I

will spend

eternity

in heaven?

Is it

because

at one

point or

another

I said

Lord

Lord

and the

answer

is

not

necessarily.

Is it

because

at one

point

I was

baptized?

Not

necessarily

and it

will be

our joy

this morning

to hear

the testimony

of a young

lady

and see

her be

obedient to

the Lord

in a matter

of baptism.

But is

her salvation

dependent upon

her going

through that

motion?

The answer

is no.

Salvation is

the work

of God

and the work

of God

produces

something that

can be

identified and

we look now

at this passage

and recognize

the character

of saving

and keeping

grace.

As we take

up the last

part of this

text we see

that Paul puts

a great deal

of weight on

the idea

of love.

Not in an

abstract sense

but in a

very real

and practical

way.

Now you'll

remember the

great commandment

in Deuteronomy

Deuteronomy 6:5

chapter 6

verse 5

it says

Hear O Israel

the Lord

our God

the Lord

is one

and you

shall

love him.

I remember

in an

earlier

day

I was

a teacher

in a

Christian

school

and our

president

of that

Christian

school

a sweet

man

named

Ralph

Bainham

would get

up almost

on a daily

basis

and his

how many

of you know

that sometimes

we fall

into standard

patterns of

praying.

Some people

cannot start

their prayer

out with

something like

dear heavenly

father

it's like

hitting the

starter key

you know

can I pray

without saying

dear heavenly

father

Ralph could

not pray

without saying

we love

you today

and I

have to tell

you as a

young man

sitting there

I had to

believe that

it wasn't

true of all

of us

because we

is what

we is more

than I

and I

knew some

of the other

jerks that I

was working

with all

their Christian

I knew some

of their

hearts and

and I knew

some of the

little disputes

and little

petty things

going on in

lots of our

lives and I

thought we

love you today

I wish

Paul says

this he says

hey listen

grace to

all who

love the

Lord Jesus

Christ

and when we

stop and think

about it we

recognize that

this business of

loving God is

pretty serious

Mark chapter

Mark 12:28–31

12 verse

28 through

31 and I'm

not going to

go there but

mark it for

you in Mark

Mark 12 · chapter mention

chapter 12 we

have an attorney

come to Jesus

and said all

right all

right

which is the

big law

which is the

big one

keep that

one

now understand

that the

Jews had

developed this

system

where I

think they

had a total

of 618

laws

I mean you

have the

Ten Commandments

that are the

biggies

but under the

Ten Commandments

there were

there were

kind of

categories

there's

sub

categories

and really

if you're

into

keeping the

law

I mean it's

not like you

get to do

some and not

the others

we're all

about that

but really

keeping all

of it

and everybody

reckoned

oh let's

go for the

biggies

the ones

that are

important

so they

came to

Jesus

and said

all right

which is

the biggie

and you

know what he

said

he didn't

say keep

the Sabbath

he didn't

say tithe

he didn't

say show

up at

services

he says

love

God

love

God

I want

you to

understand

that the

grace that

saves is

also the

grace that

changes

and the

power of

God that

changes the

sinner from

being a

crass lover

of self

into a

lover of

Christ

is the

salvation

that we

mark and

recognize

as genuine

so let me

stop you here

just for a

second and

ask you to

look at that

little phrase

who love

the Lord

Jesus Christ

I wonder if

as you think

about your

salvation you

would say

the real

marker

the thing

that sets

me apart

from the

rest of the

world is

that I do

sincerely love

Jesus Christ

that's what

Paul's saying

he's saying

a real

believer

one who has

received the

fullness of

God's grace

can be

ultimately

characterized

by the

fact that

they love

Christ

I want

you to

understand

that

loving him

is not a

simple

discipline of

the intellect

do you

understand that

how many of

you have

decided to

love people

more

just kind

of arbitrary

you realize

you're a little

on the south

side of this

thing and so

all right

let's try a

little bit of

better love

for other

people

what happens

the minute

you make that

conscious deliberate

decision

at least for me

here's how it

plays out

I make that

decision and

the Holy Spirit

says hey

let me test

you

and I'll be

sitting in the

family room

thinking you know

you know I

want to work at

love but I'd

rather work at

people that are

in Africa or

India and my

wife is sitting

there as I'm

kind of relaxing

she says would

you get me a

drink of water

you got to be

kidding me

are your legs

broken

hey love

right right

how many of you

understand that

the test plays

out in real

time right

where you are

I want you to

look at

1st John

John 4:19

chapter 4

verse 19

as you think

about this

matter of

love

1st John

John 4:19

chapter 4

verse 19

we love him

because what

because he

first loved us

here's the

truth

the grace

of God

that has

appeared

bringing salvation

to all people

takes those

who by nature

prior to their

conversion

were self

focused

naval

gazers

and turns

them into

people who

from their

heart

love the

Lord Jesus

Christ

he loved

us enough

that he

pursued us

in our

selfish

arrogant

stubborn

belittling

character

and he

found us

where we

are

he wrapped

his arms

around us

and he

saved us

by his

kindness

and his

grace

paid the

price

for our

sins

upon the

cross

and has

granted us

everlasting

life

and Paul

says

hey listen

grace

to all

who love

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

I want

you to

recognize

that

that being

a person

who loves

the Lord

Jesus

Christ

has very

real

effect

on the

way in

which we

relate to

other

people

isn't

that right

let's go

back just

for a

little bit

to Ephesians

Ephesians 6:21

chapter 6

verse 21

very

interesting

the way

Paul closes

off this

this very

very theological

book

Ephesians

Ephesians 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1

through 3

is perhaps

one of the

most theological

expositions

of the

the nature

or the work

of God

in salvation

it's deep

and heavy

the last

three chapters

are about

how

God

having worked

our salvation

works to

amend

and transform

our behavior

the closing

statements

he makes

in Ephesians

are about

the matter

of love

so that

you also

may know

how I am

and what

I am doing

Tychicus

the beloved

brother

and faithful

minister

of the

Lord

will tell

you

everything

I've sent

him to

you for

this purpose

that you

may know

how we

are

and that

he may

encourage

your hearts

Paul's saying

hey

I just

as I've

stopped

this letter

I want

you to

know

I love

you

and then

verse

22

or 23

peace

be to

the brothers

and love

with faith

characteristic

of genuine

Christian

fellowship

as a love

for one

another

that transcends

what the

unbelieving

world

understands

the unbelieving

world is very

limited in their

comprehension of

love and it is

largely self-serving

I had the

wonderful opportunity

this last week

of talking with

an individual

who called in

way in advance

normally most of

my premarital

wedding calls

are March

April May

this person

called and said

I'd like to

talk to you

about a wedding

in 15

I thought

we're way

ahead

and as I

began to talk

it became quite

evident that this

person also needed

to hear the sweet

truth of the Lord

Jesus Christ

and the gospel

and I explained

to that person

there's a fundamental

difference

now both a

civil marriage

and a church

wedding

can accomplish

in some senses

something

somewhat similar

they're both

binding

in the court

I said

the difference

is that a

civil wedding

is a contract

where both

parties whether

stated or

otherwise

are kind of

agreeing that

well I'll do

this if you'll

do that

I'm amazed

at how many

times I bump

into people

who think

that marriage

and love

is all about

kind of a

50-50 bargain

that's not

the Bible's

view

the Bible

sees marriage

as a one

way covenant

I'm going

to do

this

for better

or for worse

sickness

and in

health

richer

for poorer

and then

there's that

little statement

at the end

how's it go

till

death

do

us

part

after I

came back

from

Caleb and

Charity's

ceremony

on Friday

night

I happened

to stop

by and

went into

the nursing

home to

see dad

and mom

and found

that they

were sleeping

I didn't

awaken them

but I

noticed that

my brother

had pushed

my dad

over next

to my

mom's

bed

that's

covenant

work

that's

not a

contract

and that

kind of

love

is what

Jesus

does

in the

life of

a person

who's

transformed

by grace

do you

understand

that

Ephesians

makes it

clear

that when

the work

of God

is at

play

in our

life

it makes

a difference

in the

relationships

we have

and so

as you

look at

this

passage

I want

you to

understand

that

the

apostle

is kind

of

bringing

things

to a

close

and he

says

listen

he wants

us to

understand

grace

this

undeserved

richness

the work

of God

in saving

you

produces

a love

for

Christ

how do I

know I'm

saved

I have

a love

for Christ

that I

didn't

create

he did

so do

you really

love him

do you

really love

him

mark the

last little

part

actually

very

interesting

statement

it says

with love

incorruptible

I actually

as I was

thinking about

this

last week

I kind

of thought

about

being a

juvenile

I love

lots of

people

girls

so we

get this

clear

you know

I remember

in fourth

grade

losing my

way for

the first

time in

memory

because I

walked home

following

Wanda

Cooper

I remember

her name

how I

got home

I have

no idea

but Wanda

I found

out later

she was

a Presbyterian

and that

wouldn't work

for a

Baptist

so I

stopped

my

interest

but

Wanda

swept me

off my

feet

fourth

grade

and

it was

the first

time I

was lost

I do

want you

to know

that

ever since

then

it's

been

downhill

you know

I remember

actually

this is

the truth

sitting in

a field

on a

hillside

with

daisies

around me

and I

thought

I was

trying to

figure out

if Claire

Blickenstaff

loved me

at that

point

so I

went to

the flower

routine

how many

of you

understand

the flower

routine

okay

it's

embarrassing

but you

know

there I

was

she

loves

me

she

loves

me

not

but you

know

I

figured

out

that

you

know

being

that's

a

binary

formula

I

could

figure

out

that

she

always

loved

me

do you

know

how

I

did it

it

was

either

2 4 6 8

whatever the

pick and

it worked

out but

she actually

didn't so

flowers didn't

play out

there were

lots of

reasons not

to love

me

our love

is a

relatively

fickle

thing

isn't it

I can't

tell you

how many

times I've

had couples

in my

office and

I'll have

the husband

or the

wife say

well I

don't

love her

anymore

and I'm

happy to

say that's

not a

problem

to

Jesus

do you

follow

that

I'm

not

concerned

if you

don't

love

her

because

that's

your

problem

that's

not

hers

and

I

can

tell

you

that

Jesus

can

fix

the

attitude

you

have

love

that is

incorruptible

is love

that comes

from

God

and is

sustained

by

God

and that's

love

that is

his

and never

changes

it's a very

interesting way to end

this book

do you follow that

do you know how the book

begins

chapter 1 through 3

is fairly robust

in its argument

for the

unconditional

affection

for God

of God

for individuals

that he saves

and he ends

off

kind of

challenging us

to think

pretty seriously

about whether

we have it

or not

that's

interesting

isn't it

do you really

love him

unconditionally

or is

your love

something

that

well look

at it

grace be

with all

who love

our Lord

Jesus Christ

with love

incorruptible

What's

your love

like?

Can you

track the

fact that

it has

grown over

the years?

Can

you?

Can you?

in Revelation

Revelation 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3

you remember

that the

spirit of

God

actually

Christ

comes

to the

church

there

at

Laodicea

not Laodicea

church at

Ephesus

I think

it is

and he

says

you have

lost

your

first

what?

Love

What's

your love

for Christ

like this

morning?

If you

are his

child

he is

at work

and has

been at

work

and will

continue

working

to cause

you to

grow

in your

love

for him

do you

realize

that?

That's

what he's

going to

do

now listen

to be

carefully

so you

don't

miss

this

it's

a whole

lot

better

to come

along

willingly

saying

I

want to

work

at that

I

need

help

at

that

I

really

want

to

take

this

seriously

let me

continue

to

grow

in

love

because

if

you're

his

child

and

you

decide

I

don't

care

right

now

now guess

what he

does

to the

I

don't

care

right

now

crowd

everybody

here

who

has

any

miles

on

their

tires

knows

that

the

I

don't

care

right

now

can

cause

him

to

do

what

we

sing

that

song

oh

love

that

will

not

let

me

go

when

does

it

become

evident

that

he

will

not

let

you

go

it's

when

you

try

to

walk

off

and

do

your

own

thing

for

a

little

the

apostle

says

I

want

you

to

understand

grace

to

all

who

love

our

Lord

Jesus

Christ

with

love

incorruptible

!

Is

that

you?

Is

that

you?

That's

a fair

question

let's

close

in

prayer

Father

God

without

question

this

morning

as we

take

this

word

and

handle

it

by

your