Such Great Love #2

That very love of God, of which I have been speaking from his own inerrant word is the refuge for your afflicted soul here today and always, is the answer for every sorrow in the past as he answered every threat in the future that causes you to tremble. Beloved, listen to me as I walk through a few things here welcome again to the truth pulpit with Don green founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati Ohio I built right in. Today Don has part two of a message called such great love last time Don provided the first three of five distinct aspects of God's love is eternal sovereign great today.

Our teacher will cover the final two points God's love is infinite and sacrificial so have your Bible at hand as we join our teacher now teaching God's people. God's word in the truthful. Fourthly, we see from the book of Ephesians a God's love is infinite God's love is infinite. His love for us as his children cannot be exhausted. It cannot be fully understood. It certainly cannot be fully explained. Look at chapter 3 will start at verse 14. Just for fun, and he says for this reason I bow my knees before the father from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name that he would grant you cc asking God to give his readers something.

According to the riches of his glory to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man. God, I pray that your spirit would work in the hearts of these people who are reading these words as he was riding under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit he was expressing the very mind and desire of God.

For those of his children who would come and read this passage in the future. There is this work of God, there is this desire of God for us to understand these things being expressed through the human writer of Scripture under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit himself. So what is he pray. What does he want God to give to his readers for 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled out all the fullness of God. So you he's praying the that we would understand that his readers would understand how immeasurably infinite, the love of God is for us, that we would understand something of the measure of the divine interest in our well-being as expressed supremely at the cross of Christ and in the empty grave that followed that those historical facts would provide the ground of our justification and would be the proof to our wandering unbelieving hearts that God's love for us is genuine.

It is true, it is real it can be trusted. How broad was his love so broad that any center can come to him for grace and ask for salvation, and receive it. How long is his love it so long that he conceived your redemption in eternity past and will bless you through all of eternity future. How high is his love. It is so high that it carries you to the heavenly places. It is so high that are our elder brother Christ is at the right hand of God pleading for us and interceding for us and representing us in the most holy room of the universe securing our well-being before God even now as we speak.

How deep is his love. Oh my Christian friend. It is so deep that it cleanses you from your darkest sin is washed you from the deepest of your rebellion, even in your Christian life is washed you thoroughly is made you white as snow.

In the words of other Scripture so that you with an infinite debt of sin against a holy God have a surpassingly infinite love that has washed and cleansed you through the work of Christ, so that you are now counted as righteous before God, and there is nothing to act as a barrier between you and him. His love was so great that he secured that kind of reconciliation on your behalf. Now, beloved, we talked about the breadth of his love. The length of his love, the height of his love the depth of his love, love, and I want you to understand something, whether you recognize it as we say these things are not that one of those thoughts goes beyond human comprehension. The fact that any center anywhere at any time can find a free and complete salvation through faith in Christ. Billions of people are invited to come to him and he will receive every one that will have him that that that his love is eternal into a realm before time that we can't even comprehend or conceive of that will last into the future and around the will never end that we can't conceive of to think of the intercessory work of Christ after his ascension representing us as he does faithfully before the father pleading his wounds is are reconciling basis before God that he would love you and cleanse you from your darkest store your most recent tour your most shameful sin and erase it all saying, erasing, and in the sense in the recognition that he took it upon himself.

He bore the punishment for it.

He absorbed the wrath on your behalf so that the father could look on Christ and then look on you and pardon you and accept you and receive you all the treachery that you shown to people in the past. The lies that you've told your refusal to love God is. You should your covetous heart and to recognize that the love of Christ was so great that it gathered all of that up. He said father I accept the blame.

You may punish me.

I accept the punishment. I voluntarily submit myself to the punishment because I love these people you've given to me. I care for them. I desire their well-being.

So strike me father that they might go free. Father obliged, as were and punished Christ and out of deep anguish as he bore that my God my God why you forsaken me, the love of Christ was.

On its most crystal-clear display as he suffered in your place because he loved you with an eternal sovereign great infinite love that leads us naturally into the fifth and final point from Ephesians here is we just continue to walk our way through selected passages.

Is it God's love. This is sacrificial. It is sacrificial love of God is fully revealed in the cost of the sacrifice that secured it for you. Look at Ephesians chapter 5 verse one therefore be imitators of God's beloved children and walk in love. Yes, that's a command, but that's not the point of what were looking at its premised on what follows walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. He offered himself up as a sacrifice on the cross.

He was our great high priest offering the sacrifice and the sacrifice was he himself the sacrifice was Christ himself, and he offered himself up. He sacrificed himself he laid himself down for us.

And when you remember beloved. You remember who it is that is the sacrifice the pure and holy spotless eternal son of God that that that one is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world that that one is the one who went to Calvary even though he could've called down legions of angels and put a halt to it that he that he that he used his power to redeem us to save us to offer himself instead of exercising that power to defend himself against an humanly unjust execution. None of us would do that none of us would do that Christ did for us. Paul goes back to that as he sets the theme for marriage in Ephesians chapter 5 verse 25 we talk about this consideration of the sacrificial nature of the love of God.

Verse 25 you know what it says.

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her so that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word that he might present to himself the church in all her glory, having no spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she would be holy and blameless. Christ loved the church, so that all of that sin from the first three verses of Ephesians chapter 2 might be washed away and in its place the perfect righteousness of Christ deposited upon our account, and that he would sanctify us and conform us in the future to the nature of his glory so that we might belong to him and be perfectly conformed to what he is like not sharing in his deity, but sharing in his resurrected glory in the place that he is been preparing for us for the past 2000 years taking the language of John 14. In that way you see the cross as we said so many times reveals the love of God in this the love of God is manifested, that he sent Christ to be the propitiation for our sins. First John 410 but God demonstrates his own love for us in the while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Romans five 811 do you see it were not at all talking about something abstract and academic were talking about that which displays the reality of the eternal sovereign great infinite love of God we have a plumb line by which we can measure that in the plumb line is the vertical and horizontal pillars of wood upon which our Lord was crucified for us. That's how great his interest in our eternal well-being was a great personal cost.

He died and rose again to take away our sins and to secure our eternal well-being. This is the simple playing word of God to us now.

It is so important for us not to turn away from the nature of our transitory existence here on earth to turn away because it is so uncomfortable to think about no beloved, I beg you, do not do that because that understanding of our transient nature. Indeed, Scripture Psalm 39 verse four Psalm 90 verse 12 praise and and and the people of God, pray Lord help me understand how transient I am one of the benefits of coming to grips with that is, recognizing that by contrast to have the unchanging love of God in contrast to that is the greatest, most wonderful thing that could ever happen to that very love of God, of which I've been speaking from his own inerrant word is the refuge for your afflicted soul here today and always, it is the answer for every sorrow in the past. It is, he answered every thread in the future that causes you to tremble. Beloved, listen to me as I walk through a few things here to recognize that that love of God X sells every adversity that this fallen world could ever impose upon you. End of quotation no contradiction. No argument to it because what we find in Christ. Is this is that in Christ.

This is even a love that identifies with us in our weaknesses and in our sorrows, beloved all just ask you a series of questions here and then answer them from the life and the love of Christ. Have you found that human love is fickle, have friends or family betrayed you look to Christ look to his love the kiss of Judas was still moist on his cheek when Roman soldiers took him away. He knows what that's like. He sympathizes with the experience as death separated you from one that you just especially loved in your heart aches over the separation well, our Lord wept at the tomb of Lazarus he's felt the weight of human death. He shared in the sorrow at that tomb and he can share in the sorrow now because of his great love for you is identified with that in his earthly life. All my friend, have you been slandered. Have you been falsely accused. As someone taken a knife into your reputation and ruined it and gleefully stabbed again and again. Well, may I remind you that Christ knows what that's like his earthly enemies aligned him with be eligible said he was doing his work by the power of demons. They attributed the work of the holy son of God to the ruler of demons slander of the most base vial kind. Christ knows what that's like, do you suffer with physical affliction.

Your body breaking down Christ knows what that's like. He laid exhausted in a boat slip through the storm on the cross. He said I thirst. He felt the weight of physical affliction even as he was undergoing the greater aspect of spiritual affliction on our behalf.

My friends have material riches failed you.

Son of Man had no place to lay his head. Does your conscience relentlessly accuse you of that past sin is blood paid for it in full at the end of his sufferings on the cross he said what is finished paid in full. The answer for your accusing conscience found in the wounds of Christ offered up to God as a sacrifice for you in love. Are you afraid the died this death threat and you death has lost its sting.

For those United Christ first Corinthians 15 tells us no fear and death none at all. Not for the Christian because if we are united to Christ.

That means we are united with him in his death and in his resurrection, Scripture says, because he lives you will live also.

What happened to him will happen to you. He went to the grave and was resurrected, so shall it be with you. You will pass through the flame of death that you will not be singed by the fire you see beloved the love of Christ. Thus answers all the problems and dilemmas of life and thousands more that I haven't even described. Turn to Hebrews chapter 4 with me. The significance of this familiar passage in Hebrews chapter 4 verse 15 is for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. We have a Savior like that who has loved us like this, then, of course, beloved, when we go to him. He will be a glad dispenser of grace and mercy to us as we ask him in our dependence in our weakness to help us. Of course he will such love on unworthy sinners such love never, never to cease. Romans chapter 8 verse 38, I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from what the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Imagine every possible created thing that you might want every hostile force in visible or visible every possible affliction trial or adversity and realize that the the sovereign eternal great infinite sacrificial love of God transcends it all, and abides through it all and will come through unchanged and unhindered.

In the end that is the kind of love that God has put on you in Christ. Now, beloved. What I would say to you. In closing, is this is that God intends for you to derive your ultimate meaning in life.

Your highest satisfaction. Your full identity in life from your union with Christ who loved you like this rather than anything earthly. I am not defined by the fact that I'm a pastor I'm not defined by the fact that I married a wonderful woman.

I am not defined by my six children. I'm not defined by what I've done in the past, or what will happen to me in the future. None of that matters. Compared to this. My life, my existence is defined by the fact that I am the object of this great saving sacrificial love that the Lord Jesus Christ put on me. That's true of every one of you there in Christ you have that same privileged position in this eternal sovereign great infinite and sacrificial love listen to me this eternal sovereign great infinite and sacrificial love is greater than anything that this world can give to you and it is greater than anything that this world can take away from the key to remember. Look at the end of Romans chapter 8, one final time is that this love of God is found in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is in Christ and in Christ alone.

Christ alone is the dispenser of this love, in part, that is why we stand opposed to every false religion. We are not loving and telling them that their way is an equally valid way to get to God know if they are not seeking God through Christ Jesus our Lord. They are separated from the great magnificence of this love, of which we have spoken love compels us to tell them the truth because this great love of God is found alone in Christ Jesus who is received by faith alone and so beloved friends, brothers and sisters in Christ are you in Christ today. This love of which Scripture has spoken here is yours forever.

It will never be taken away. Christ said they are in my hand. No one can pluck them from my hand. John 10 my friend. I asked the corollary question. Have you refused Christ are you outside of Christ.

This love is not your cores yet, you're missing. And yet the love of Christ is found in the fact that while you have been in rebellion against him and you have rejected him to this very moment he pleads with you through his word and extends the offer to you and says no one who comes to me will I cast out. Come to me all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. That promise of his is secured by divine love. The kind of which we have been speaking. It means his promises utterly trustworthy. You can come to Christ today. Right now, and enter into this realm of inexpressible in light of such great love life's trials and sorrows pale by comparison.

We hope you been encouraged by the message today.

Pastor Don Breen will have more impactful teaching from God's word. Next time you're on the truth pulpit supply now to be with us right now though Don's back in studio with some closing words.

You know, friend. We realize that you may not be close enough to our church to be able to join us as you would like to. On any given Sunday.

So let me invite you to join us on our lifestream that you can find our website Sundays at 9 AM Eastern time and also we have a midweek service on Tuesdays at 7 PM.

We would love to have you join us in that way. A lot of people do. You might as well be one more than join us for those special studies of God's word in our church services on Sundays and Tuesdays.

Here's Bill with some final information to help you find us. Just visit the truth. Pulpit.com you can also learn more about podcasts and free CDs of Don's teaching and friends will see you next time right here on the truth pulpit were done green teaches God's people. God's work