1 John 4:7-19 - Amazing Love, How Can It Be?

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

Our passion is to experience and express grace. Join us.

It is an honor and a privilege to be here this morning at Southwood.

Thank you so much for having me.

And I also want to mention, he's exiting the stage here to the right,

not only did George and Kathy Mayer play a big part in my life,

but Blake Stewart, who is here in your worship group,

was very instrumental in helping me start a church, plant a church in Madison, Mississippi.

It's a suburb of Jackson.

And I remember he was with us in the very early days,

and we were desperate for people who could sing.

And I remember when he came and visited us the first time,

and I found out that not only was he from Alabama, but that he could sing.

I knew I had to do everything I possibly could to keep him at our church plant.

So I'm very grateful for Blake and what he meant to Madison Heights

in the early years of helping start the church.

It's great to be in Huntsville.

I grew up down the road in Gadsden.

My uncle worked here and lived here for many years,

played Westminster in basketball many times,

was beat every single time.

So those are not fond memories.

But most importantly, I remembered as I was sitting there with my wife

that one of our first dates almost 20 years ago

was to Huntsville when we were students at Samford.

I brought her to the Space and Rocket Center.

No, I'm just kidding.

We came to a play.

So it's good to be here.

Again, thank you for having me.

Our text this morning is 1 John 4, verses 7 through 19.

1 John 4:7–19

1 John 4, verses 7 through 19.

1 John 4:7–19

Let us hear the word of the Lord.

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.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us,

because he has given us of his Spirit.

Verse 14.

And we have seen and testified that the Father has sent his Son

to be the Savior of the world.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God,

God abides in him and he in God.

So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us.

God is love.

And whoever abides in love abides in God,

and God abides in him.

By this is love perfected with us,

so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment,

because as he is,

so also are we in the world.

There is no fear in love,

but perfect love casts out fear.

For fear has to do with punishment.

And whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

We love,

because he first loved us.

The grass withers and the flower fades,

but the Word of our God will stand forever.

Before I started the Mid-South Church Planting Network,

I planted a church,

as I told you earlier,

in Madison, Mississippi,

and was the pastor there for nine years.

And before we bought land and built,

we met in a Catholic school.

And in the beginning,

we met in a very ugly,

just really distasteful gym.

Thankfully,

the school built a wonderful performing arts center,

and we were able to move the church

into the performing arts center.

Now, it was not designed like a sanctuary.

It was designed like a place that you would go to see a play.

And so there was a middle aisle,

and you could enter the auditorium at the halfway point,

and you could make your way down the middle aisle

before almost anyone in the auditorium would notice.

But those who were on the stage

would see a person come in immediately.

Well, it was one Sunday morning,

and my wife's uncle was gravely ill.

And we had worked out a plan

whereby if she got a call

that she needed to drive to Tupelo,

she would take my daughter,

who was three years old at the time,

and would immediately leave.

If I saw her leave from the sanctuary,

I would know that I needed to wrap things up

and that I needed to get on the road to Tupelo.

So I'm preaching,

and I see my wife get up and leave with my daughter.

So I know what is going on.

A few minutes passed,

and the doors of the back of the auditorium

suddenly open.

And a curly-haired, brown-eyed little girl

comes walking in the back.

And she is afraid,

and she is scared.

You can see it written all over her face.

And she comes running down the middle aisle

with her arms outstretched to me.

The next thing I know,

I look down at the stage,

and I see these little fingers

on the edge of the stage,

and I hear,

Dad!

Daddy!

Daddy!

Well, I do what any father would do.

I reach down,

and I pick her up,

and I keep preaching.

Now,

guess what my sermon was on that day?

The Father's love.

Every woman in the auditorium

was wiping her eyes.

And every man in the auditorium said,

I can't believe that he staged this.

But I promise you,

it wasn't staged.

She was lost,

and she was scared,

and she was afraid,

and what did she want

more than anything in the world?

She wanted her dad.

And so I held her,

and I loved on her,

and I kept preaching

until our youth director came

and got her from me.

Isn't that true of us?

Now look,

I know that there are some big,

strong,

strapping men

in this congregation.

But isn't it really true

of all of us

that because we live

in a broken,

and fallen,

and sinful world,

we are like a small child.

We are afraid,

and we are scared,

and we are lost,

and what do we need

more than anything?

The Father's love.

Let's pray.

Our Father and our God,

we thank you for this opportunity

to be here this morning.

Lord, we pray that

you would reach down

into the very depths

of our soul,

and that you would plant

your word there.

Father, help us not to hear this

merely as information,

but help us to hear

you and you only.

Father, may we leave this place

this morning,

not only with a greater desire

for your word,

but a greater passion

for your Son,

Jesus Christ.

Lord, let your Spirit

work in us

so that we look more

and more like

our older brother.

Father, give us eyes to see

and ears to hear.

Do not let your word

return void.

Father, I pray that you would

be with us this morning.

May your presence

sit heavy upon us.

Father, forgive the one

who speaks,

for my sins are great.

Set me aside

as you speak

this morning.

For the glory of Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Our text this morning is

from, excuse me,

I just drew a blank there,

from 1 John chapter 4,

1 John 4 · chapter mention

7 through 21.

We're not going to go

verse by verse

through this text.

There are a couple of things

that I want us to look at,

and there are two questions

that I want us to ask

as we reflect

on 1 John.

The first question is this.

How special

is the gift

of God's perfect love?

How special

is this gift?

God desires

for us

to know

and experience

the perfect love

that exists

between the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit.

He longs for us

to enter into

that perfect communion.

I want you to think

about that.

In the throne room

of heaven,

the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit

exist

in this perfect,

perfect,

eternal

relationship

of love

and fellowship.

And what they want

more than anything

is for us

to be a part of that,

to experience that,

to know that,

to understand

that truth.

And so,

God gives us

a special gift

of love

by making that

a promise

that is certain

in Jesus Christ.

But I think

sometimes

we fail to realize

the lengths

that our God

has gone to

to give us

this gift.

gift.

So let's

focus in

on verse 9.

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.

How special

is this gift

of God's

perfect love?

It is so special

that the Father

loves us

and He serves

us

by giving up

His Son.

Now,

we are moving

into the time

of year

where we will

begin to think

more often

about the coming

of our King.

But do we

really understand

what God

the Father

has done

for us

in giving up

His Son?

do we really

get it?

So,

my father

died of cancer

when I was

one.

I don't know

that I thought

much about that

as a child.

But I do

remember

the first time

that I thought

about it.

I was

five years

old

and I played

soccer

for the first

time.

and I

specifically

remember

running out

onto the

soccer field

and noticing

that something

was different.

That most

of the other

little boys

on my team

not only

had mothers,

but they

had fathers.

And I

never thought

about that

before.

And I

remember

that.

Looking

around

and seeing

fathers

cheer on

their sons

and thinking

to myself,

I want

that.

I want

that.

So a few

months ago,

we signed

my son up

to play

soccer.

He's in

children's

church this

morning.

His name

is John

Hunter.

I am

Hunter

Townsend

Brewer.

He is

Hunter

Townsend

Brewer

Jr.

Why we

call him

John Hunter

is a long

story.

And I

remember

taking him

to his

first game.

And I

can't tell

you how

emotional

that was

for me.

I remember

one of my

good friends

at the game

looking at

me going,

I know he

had to be

thinking,

it's just a

five-year-old

soccer game.

He didn't

know the

back story.

It was a

very emotional

moment for

me to

watch my

little guy

run out

onto that

soccer field

with his

shorts hanging

down to his

ankles,

with shin

guards underneath

those shorts

somewhere,

sitting on the

ball more

often than he

kicked the

ball.

You're a

wonderful group

of people.

And I know

some of you.

And I

don't mean

this to be

offensive.

I don't go

around offending

people.

That's not

me.

I hope you

will understand

this in the

right tone.

But I'm

not sacrificing

my son for

any of you.

I'm not

thinking about

it for a

nanosecond.

I wouldn't

do it.

No way.

now,

think about

the father.

He gives

up his

only

begotten

son

for a

group of

rebellious

people

who wanted

nothing to do

with him

and his

word.

A group of

people that

turned their

backs on

him.

A group of

people who

would murder

his son.

In the throne

room of heaven,

God the father

looks to the

son and he

says,

go.

Because I

want them

to experience

and to know

and to be a

part of this

fellowship and

this communion

that we

have.

I want

them to

be integrated

into this

relationship.

I want

them to

receive all

the blessings

of the

covenant.

I want

this for

them.

And so

you must go

and you

must be

sacrificed.

That is

who our

father is

and that

is what

he has

done for

us.

But we

also see

the son

at work

in giving

us this

perfect gift

of love.

Not only

is the

father involved

but the

son is

involved.

Look at

verse 10.

And 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.

Let's go

back to

the throne

room of

heaven.

And the

father asked

the son

to go.

And the

son willingly

goes knowing

that he is

going to be

the propitiation

for our

sins.

I love

reading the

gospels.

I love

going through

Matthew,

Mark,

Luke,

and John

and seeing

all the

examples

when Jesus

says that

I am here

to do the

will of

my father.

He was

so obedient.

He was

perfect in

his

obedience.

The cross

is a

terrible

thing.

The cross

is a

horrible

instrument

of death.

But you

need to

understand

that

it's not

the physical

violence

that's

inflicted

upon

Jesus

that makes

the cross

so difficult.

That is

not why

Jesus

fell to

his knees

in the

garden of

Gethsemane

and sweated

blood.

The reason

the cross

is so

difficult

is because

he is the

propitiation.

Because on

the cross

all of

our

punishments

the punishments

of all

of God's

people

for all

eternity

at that

very moment

those

punishments

are placed

on Christ.

So he

experiences

hell

for us

right there

on

Calvary.

it's

hard to

get your

mind

around

to be

truthful.

The

internal

punishment

that we

deserved

for sin

and rebellion

and treachery

is placed

on Christ

and he

fills it

and he

experiences

it

and he

knows it

and even

though from

an earthly

perspective

it's only

a moment

from

a kingdom

perspective

he fills

the eternal

wrath.

So not

only is

the father

involved in

giving us

this perfect

gift of

love

but we

see in

verse 10

that the

son

is intimately

involved

in giving

his life

so that we

can have

this perfect

gift.

we

know what

our creeds

and our

confessions

say

that our

God is

three

in one

that is

why

it's so

important to

know what

you believe

not only is

the father

involved

not only is

the son

involved

but guess

what

the spirit

is involved

the holy

spirit

is involved

in giving

us this

perfect

gift

look at

verse 13

by this

we know

that we

abide in

him

and he

in us

because he

has given

us of

his spirit

the spirit

loves and

serves us

by giving

us

new life

that is

holy

spirit

power

it's

something

frankly

that we

don't talk

enough about

as those

who belong

to the

reformed

tradition

those who

are

presbyterian

we talk

about the

father

and we

talk about

the son

but we'll

let others

talk about

the holy

spirit

we can't

do that

because the

holy

spirit

is god

and the

holy

spirit

gives us

new life

the holy

spirit

rescues

us

and changes

us

and enables

us to see

and to hear

and to know

and to believe

without the

holy

spirit

working

in us

we can't

enter into

that perfect

love relationship

we cannot

walk

boldly

into the

throne room

of grace

without the

holy

spirit

we cannot

know

that perfect

communion

it takes

the father

and it takes

the son

and it takes

the holy

spirit

our

triune

god

goes

to

great

lengths

to rescue

us

and redeem

us

and to

make us

his own

are you

overwhelmed

by that

this morning

holy

i hope

you are

i hope

you are

i hope

you leave

this place

and you

go throughout

your week

and you

reflect on

and you

pray about

and you

worship

the fact

that your

god

has done

something

incredible

for you

first question

was

what

links

does

our

god

go to

to give

us the

perfect

gift

of love

second

question

is this

what

is our

response

what

do we

do

with

this

what

do

we

do

knowing

what

god

has

done

for

us

in

christ

by the

power

and the

work

of the

holy

spirit

look

at

verse

19

of

chapter

4

this

is one

of those

kindergarten

verses

one of

those

verses

that you

learn in

vacation

bible

school

but it's

one of

those

that you

need to

highlight

and

underline

fold

the page

down

because

this is

one of

those

verses

that you

go back

to

over

and

over

and

over

again

during

the

more

difficult

times

of

life

we

love

because

he

first

loved

us

we

love

because

he

first

loved

us

so

what

is

our

response

to

this

perfect

gift

of

love

what

do

we

do

with

the

fact

that

from

all

eternity

God

has

loved

us

and

he

has

been

thinking

about

us

and

he

put

a

plan

in

place

to

rescue

us

from

sin

and

death

what

do

we

do

with

that

what

do

we

do

well

the

text

is

very

clear

it

says

we

love

we

love

we

will

love

our

family

members

we

will

love

those

in

our

family

that

are

difficult

to

love

we

will

love

our

neighbors

we

will

love

our

co-workers

we

will

love

our

community

we

will

be

known

as

a

people

who

exude

the

love

of

Jesus

Christ

because

we

understand

the

rescue

mission

that

has

been

carried

out

for

us

when

we

realize

how

great

the

Father's

love

is

how

great

the

Son's

love

is

how

great

the

Holy

Spirit

love

is

our

hearts

will

break

let me

explain

that

you

probably

all

heard

this

our

hearts

because

we

live

in a

fallen

and

sinful

and

broken

world

tend

to

produce

idols

they

manufacture

idols

our

default

mode

is that

we

want to

be

our

own

God

we

want

to

be

high

and

exalted

we

want

to

be

in

charge

we

think

we

know

best

and

our

hearts

are

busy

producing

idols

and

so

when

we

fall

desperately

in

love

with

Jesus

Christ

and

we

understand

the

love

of

the

Father

here's

what

happens

to

our

heart

it

is

so

filled

with

love

that

it

cannot

be

contained

and

it

breaks

and

the

love

of

Christ

spills

out

everywhere

in

all

directions

God's

love

will

consume

us

and

so

we

will

love

the

people

in

this

room

we

will

love

the

people

in

this

room

because

these

are

our

brothers

and

sisters

in

Jesus

Christ

we

will

love

starting

churches

because

new

churches

reach

people

who

are

not

in

church

and

they

don't

know

the

love

of

Christ

we

will

love

this

community

and

we

will

go

out

into

this

community

and

we

will

tell

people

about

Jesus

because

he

is

our

only

hope

and

we

are

desperate

we

are

going

to

be

so

filled

with

love

that

we

are

going

to

do

radical

things

this

challenges

me

because

I

know

more

often

than

not

that

I'm

not

consumed

with

the

love

of

God

for

others

God

help

me

to

be

overwhelmed

by

your

love

help

me

to

be

overwhelmed

by

your

love

mentored

by an

older

pastor

and

I

asked

him

one

day

after

50

years

of

ministry

what

is

one

of

the

things

that

is

most

surprising

to

you

he

looked

at

me

and

he

said

oh

that's

that's

easy

how

few

people

are

actually

consumed

and

blown

away

by the

love

of

Jesus

Christ

that

was

challenging

to me

made me

examine

my own

heart

I hope

this morning

that we

will all

approach

the cross

of Christ

and that

we will

dig down

deep

into the

dirt

at the

base of

the cross

that we

will offer

up our

hearts

and our

lives

to King

Jesus

and that

we will be

consumed

with him

and that

we will love

others

because we

rightly

understand

all that

he has

done

for us

this is not a

ten point

profound

theological

sermon

this is a

nuts

and bolts

heart

issue

sermon

think about

how

amazing

his

love

truly

is

and let

it wash

over you

this week

let's pray

our father

and our

God

we thank

you

that your

love

for us

is so

real

and so

active

and so

powerful

and so

lasting

father

God

Lord

Jesus

and Holy

Spirit

we

we stand

amazed at

all that

you have

done

to save

your people

to rescue

us

to redeem

us

to adopt

us

may we

worship

you

with a

greater

intensity

and may

we love

others

so that

you receive

all the

glory

may your

spirit

be at

work

changing

us

and

drawing

us to

you

Lord

Jesus

help us

to drink

deeply

from

the

fountain

of

grace

it's

in your

name

we

pray

for more

information

visit us

online

at

southwood.org

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