The Love of God6 [Jn 3 : 16-17] / Ephphatha Church Discipleship Training (Basic Course)

 

 

NewZealand / West Side          Moru

 

The Love of God6

[Jn 3 : 16-17]

 

/ Ephphatha Church

Discipleship Training

(Basic Course)

 

 

 

 / By Pastor Priscilla

 

 

 

Several weeks ago,

in Chapter 4,

 

 

we thought  about

'what humans are'

and who we are.

 

 

We learned that

our identity is a

spacial being made

in the image of God

 

 

And last week,

in Chapter 5,

 

 

we learned that

sin came in through

the first man Adam,

and studied  about

-'sinful lives'.

 

 

In this Chapter,

we are going to think

about-'Love of God'

in six ways.

                                                                                 

 

1. What is God like?

 

 

Let’s take a look at

today's scriptures.

 

 

"For God so loved

the world that he gave

his one and only Son,

 

 

that whoever believes

in him shall not perish

but have eternal life.

 

 

For God did not send

his Son into the world

to condemn the world,

 

 

but to save the world

through him."

(Jn 3 : 16-17)

 

 

God is the source of love.

In a word, the Bible is

a letter of love from God

who loves humans.

 

 

 

God is the one who

demonstrates his own

love for his children with 

unchanging love

 

 

even if his children

take their own way
and go wrong.

 

 

But, man has a nature

to easily forget

God's grace.

 

 

Whenever we are

in trouble or spiritually

thirsty, we turn to God

and appeal with tears.

 

 

However, when we

receive the answers

or our problems are

resolved, we no longer

 pray earnestly to God.

 

 

And after praying,

we forget or don't pay

attention to what

we asked God.

 

 

But God tells us today:

 

"Can a mother forget

the baby at her breast

and have no compassion

on the child she has borne?

 

 

Though she may forget,

I will not forget you!"

   (Isa 49 : 15)

 

 

God does not want

his children to be judged

for their sins and

punished in hell.

 

 

Therefore, God started

an active plan of salvation

for the reason above

in order to save man

from destruction.

 

 

2. What is God's will?

 

 

As God's children,

we must first measure

the heart of God.

 

 

God wants everyone

to come to salvation

and to know the truth. 

 

 

Therefore he wants us

not to perish but to be

saved and to come

to know the truth.

    (1 Timothy 2 : 4)

 

 

(Ex : 1)

Testimony of a person

who has been to heaven

 

 

A man who had died

and rose again said

that when he was

in Heaven,

 

 

he arrived in a room.

And he said that

 

 

there was no address

on it and there was

a pile of parcels whose

owners did not take.

 

 

He was curious

and asked a guide

 angel about that.

 

 

The angel said,

"They had asked for

God's answer earnestly

but when God's answer

was delayed,

 

 

they were greatly

disappointed and

there were many who

left the place where

they were praying."

 

 

"When the angel Gabriel

came to the place

with packages and

good news,

 

 

there weren't many

people who had prayed

to God, so the parcels

of God's answers

 

 

that have not been

delivered are still

piled up," he said.

 

 

Like this fable,

some people complain

why God's answer

 

 

and the promises

of the Lord are not

fulfilled, and why

those are so slow.

 

 

Finally, they are

unable to endure,

and easily leave the

place of prayer with

disappointment.

 

 

God is patient

longer than us, and

He wants no one to

perish and all to come

to repentance. 

(2 Peter 3 : 9)

 

 

3. What did God do

in his history of salvation?

 

 

There are three major

ranges to devise

the work of salvation

 

 

: sin, judgment,

and punishment.

 

 

Adam communicated

with God by sharing

fellowship with him

 

 

at a certain time each

day in the Garden

of Eden!

 

 

However, he was tempted

by the devil, and he sinned

before God through arrogance

and disobedience,

 

 

and he was cast out

of the garden of Eden,

and he was put to sin,

punishment, and

judgment.

 

 

After the sin, Adam

realized the sin he

 had committed,

 

 

considered his naked

 body as a shame,

 

 

and weaved tree leaves

and dressed himself

in clothes.

 

 

As time passed by,

the leaves dried up

 

 

and could no longer cover

the shame, so he hid

in the shade of the tree.

 

 

God knew in advance

that Adam's eyes became

open after his sinning,

 

 

and that Adam felt

ashamed of his

 naked body.

 

 

And God himself

came to the place

where he had always

met Adam and asked him:

 

 

“Adam, where are you?”

 

 

Because he disobeyed God,

he deserved to be rejected.

 

 

Nevertheless,

instead of leaves that

would reveal the

shame of a sinner,

 

 

God who covered

the transgressions

and shame of Adam

the fitst man who sinned,

 

 

by clothing him with

the skin of an animal,

as if symbolizing

a sacrifice!

 

 

- this is God's

amazing love.

 

 

Be sure to realize

and remember that

we did not first love God,

but that God, the source

of love, came to us first.

 

 

(Ex: 2) Hymn '89'

/ I’ve found a friend

 

 

Composed by Stebbiins

in January 1878,

this hymn is a perfect fit

for today's assignment.

 

 

1863(The revival

Hymn Book II)

/ Jn 15 : 13-15

 

 

1) I’ve found a friend,

O such a friend!

He loved me

are I knew Him;

 

 

He drew me with

the cords of love,  

And thus He bound

me to Him;

 

 

And round my heart

still closely twine

Those ties which

naught can sever, 

 

 

For I am His an

d He is mine, 

Forever and

forever.  

 

 

2) I’ve found a friend,

O such a friend! 

He died, He died

to save me; 

 

 

And not alone

the gift of life, 

But His own self

He gave me! 

 

 

Naught that I have

mine own I call, 

I’ll hold it for

the giver, 

 

 

My heart,

my strength,

my life, my all 

Are His, and

His forever. 

 

 

 3) I found a friend,

O such a friend

All power to

Him is given, 

 

 

To guard me on my

onward course, 

And bring me safe

to heaven. 

 

 

The eternal glories

gleam afar, 

To nerve my faint

endeavour; 

 

 

So now to watch,

to work, to war, 

And then to

rest forever. 

 

 

 4) I found a friend,

O such a friend!

So kind and true

and tender, 

 

 

So wise a counsellor

and guide, So mighty

a defender! 

 

 

From Him who loves

me now so well 

What power my

soul can sever? 

 

 

Shall life or death,

shall earth or hell? 

No! I am His forever. 

 

 

 

During his public life,

Jesus Himself became

friends with his disciples.

 

 

Therefore, our relationship

with him is that of love

at the risk of life.

 

 

Likewise, Jesus has

summoned us by our names

to make us his disciples today,

and calls us friends as well.

 

 

 

Jesus does not turn away

from those who follow

Him by faith. 

 

 

And he asks:

 

 

"Are you willing to

deny yourself and take up

your cross and follow me?"

 

 

There is no one righteous

in this world.

 

 

"As it is written:

"There is no one

righteous, not even one"

(Rom 3 : 10) 

 

 

"Because everyone

has sinned, they cannot

reach the glory of God.

 

 

There is no one who

understands, no one

 who seeks God.

 

 

All have turned away,

they have together

become worthless;

 

 

there is no one who

does good, not even one.

 

 

There is no fear of God

before their eyes."

(Rom 3 : 10-18)

 

 

"God sent the Son to this earth

not to judge the world,

but to save the world."

(Jn 3 : 17) 

 

 

We must listen to

Jesus' voice today,

saying:

 

 

"I have not come to call

the righteous, but sinners

to repentance."

(Lk 5 : 32)

 

 

" We all, like sheep,

have gone astray,

each of us has turned

to his own way;

 

 

and the LORD has laid

on him the iniquity

of us all."

(Isa 53 : 6)

 

 

 "Look, the Lamb of God,

who takes away the

sin of the world!

  (Jn 1 : 29)

 

 

(Ex : 3) The nature

of sheep

 

 

We often think that

sheep are very meek.

 

 

However, the sheep has

several  outstanding 

characters.

 

 

First, sheep are stubborn,

Second, they are dirty.

 

 

Therefore, they need

to be periodically

 

 

sheared off their wool,

washed, and they have to

be taken care of all the time.

 

 

Third, there is a sheep

acting as a leader

among their flock.

 

 

If the leader movess

from their flock, the flock

blindly follows him

without any doubt.

 

 

Therefore, it is

the responsibility

of the shepherd to lead

the head sheep well.

 

 

Therefore, the leader

of the church is very

important and he must

nurture and guide his

followers well.

 

 

We who were once

under the curse!

 

 

With the love of Jesus,

we have been forgiven

of our sins and have stood

 in the ranks of the righteous!

 

 

We've heard the gospel

and believed in Jesus

with our hearts,

 

 

and  admitted with our

mouths and received

him as our Savior.

 

 

It is through Jesus that

we have received

the spirit of adoption,

 

 

and God came to be

called the Abba Father.

(Gal 4 : 6)

 

 

As shown in Genesis,

the love of God who

sacrificed wild animals

and clothed them

with leather!

 

 

The blood of Christ was

shown by God himself

as a symbolic model

of the payment for sin.

 

 

"Christ redeemed us

from the curse of the law

by becoming a curse for us,"

(Gal 3 : 13)

 

 

We, as imperfect sinners

who do not know

the direction of life

 

 

like sheep, are filthy,

stubborn, and sinful, are freely

entered into the ranks

of the righteous

 

 

because of the

redemption

in Jesus Christ.

(Rom 3 : 23-25)

 

 

God has forgiven

the sins of humans,

saying that they ware

innocent and finishes

the relationship

 

 

that had been enemies

through the blood of Jesus

Christ sacrificed as a

fellowship offering.

 

 

And God has eliminated

death and set up a holy

and flawless relationship

 

 

that is no longer

a punishment that

follows the judgment.

 

 

Furthermore, God finally

made humans stand

in the ranks of righteousness

by putting on clothes of

righteousness on them.

 

 

Therefore, stand firm

on the foundation of faith! 

Do not be deceived

or shaken by the winds

of the world,

 

 

and stand firm

as a member

of the gospel.

(Col 1 : 19-23)

 

 

Meanwhile, in order to

restore the blocked

relationship between God

and man in this way,

 

 

God had to open

the way of salvation

for man who is in

punishment.

 

 

And because

there was no way

to solve human sin.

 

 

He sent his only

and only Son,

 

 

Jesus Christ, to this earth

to make the Word flesh.

(Incarnation)

 

 

And Jesus showed

the climax of God's love

for man by hanging

on the cross

 

 

in place of man in order

to open the way, the truth

and the life prepared

by obedience.

 

 

The grace that humans

enjoy free of charge 

is never the cheap grace. 

 

 

It is this part that

we should not overlook

or mistake.

 

 

In this willing obedience,

Jesus Himself became

the sacrifice of the Lamb

for man as a sin offering .

 

 

In this way, with

the blood of Christ,

we have been paid for

our sins and liquidated,

 

 

and finally,

God dramatically

has delivered us from

the forces of darkness,

and we have been

finally freed.

 

 

What a great grace

of God this is!

 

 

What a hard

freedom to get!

 

 

4. So what is the way

to get rid of sins

we don't  want.

 

 

It is not by an effort

or action that we

get rid of sins. 

 

 

(Ex : 3) Movie -“Mission”

 

 

It is not a real solution

for man to commit a sin

 

 

and then resolve it

with his own will so that

he may be forgiven.

 

 

The act of tormenting

the body by tying himself

with a rope, carrying

a heavy cross on his back

 

 

and asceticing, or striking

his body with a whip to get

rid of the lust of the flesh,

 

 

which has the instinctive

sinful nature of man, is

contrary to God's will and

is a thought and method

that God does not like.

 

 

We must know that

we can control ourselves

 

 

not to commit a sin

only by the power

of the Holy Spirit

through Jesus Christ.

 

 

There's one thing

we must remember:

 

 

God's salvation never

has to do with righteousness

and goodness in our actions.

 

 

After being free,

in order not to commit

more repeated sins,

 

 

we need to be willing to

enter the law of the

Holy Spirit.

 

 

It is through the Holy Spirit

and the precious blood

of Jesus who is like a lamb

 

 

without blemish that

we are redeemed

from our ancestor's

wicked deeds.

(1 Peter 1 : 18-19)

 

 

"he did it to demonstrate

his justice at the present

time, so as to be just

 

 

and the one who

justfies

those who have 

faith in Jesus.

 

 

Where,

then, is boasting?

It is excluded.

On what principle?

 

 

On that of observing

the law? No, but on

that of faith.

 

 

For we maintain that

a man is justified by faith

apart from observing

the law.

(Rom 3 : 26-28)

 

 

Therefore, there will be

no man to be justified

by observing the law.

 

 

we can be justified

by faith in Christ

(Gal 2 : 16)

 

 

Therefore, let's be

the children of God

who ask the Holy Spirit

to enjoy grace

 

 

and peace through Christ

and become true disciples

and faithful workers of Jesus

who follow Jesus, our head.

 

 

(Ex : 4) Great Stone Face

 

 

There was a man branded

with the initial “S” of sin

on his forehead for stealing

bread and candlesticks.

 

 

He went to jail and lived

almost half of his life,

however he became

a model prisoner

 

 

and was released

earlier than his period.

 

 

He passed through

a village, and he felt that

it was peaceful,

 

 

and settled there,

and found a job.

 

 

And he did his job faithfully,

served God earnestly,

lived along according

to the Word of God,

 

 

and helped people

around him sincerly.

 

 

He practiced the Word,

"Love God and love

your neighbors as yourself"

 

 

and as the years passed by,

he became a person who

moved people's hearts.

 

 

Eventually, it was

recommended

as the mayor that would

govern the village.

 

 

It was said that the

'S' branded on his forehead,

which is always indelible,

was eventually called

the initial of “Saint”

by people.

 

 

5. What can we do?

 

 

Even though we realize

that we are sinners

 

 

and turn to God by being

thrilled with God's love,

our sinful nature is

still remained.

 

 

Even if we confess

with our mouth and

receive salvation,

the sinful nature

still remains in us.

 

 

Moreover, whenever

we commit sins, we

call upon the Lord

with repentance

 

 

and try to correct it,

but we are still in the flesh,

so we have to bear heavy

burdens with us every day.

 

 

(Ex : 5) The nail marks that

still remain after pulling

out the nails stuck in a tree

 

 

Like the nail marks

that remain even after

the nails stuck in the tree

are pulled out,

 

 

even though,

we are called righteous,

humans are still sinners

with sinful nature due to

that of the first man Adam.

 

 

But today we must

correct our distracted

attitude and listen

to God's voice.

 

 

It is a single conversion

to acknowledge, trust,

and accept the Lord.

 

 

But perhaps there is

something we must pursue

throughout our lifetimes:

 

 

to bear fruit worthy

of that repentance.

 

 

Furthermore, it will be

a holy work to be done

while living on a mission

as children of God

on earth.

 

 

6. Admit being a sinner.

 

 

Starting today,

we must humbly admit

that we are sinners,

accept Jesus, and confess

the name of Jesus.

 

 

If you accept God's love,

you will no longer face sin,

judgment, punishment,

and death.

 

Furthermore, in the

work of God's salvation,

through the blood

of Christ,

 

 

we will be clothed

in holy righteousness

 

 

and receive the

wonderful blessings

of God in the holy rank.

 

 

Eventually, we will be

transformed into a status

as children of God with

the authority of God.

(Jn 1 : 12)

 

 

"God is spirit, and his

worshipers must worship

in spirit and in truth."

(Jn 4 : 24)

 

 

"God who has opened

the way of salvation

to give eternal life

to a sinner in death!

 

 

We must remember

that this burning love of God

has come from his heart,

 

 

ultimately to save us

from sin from judgment

and from punishment of hell.

 

 

We need to know

what the Creator God

really is toward our

children."

 

(Psa 103 : 1-18)

 

 

Therefore, let's take

God's love as an example

with all our hearts

 

 

and love God passionately

and love our neighbors.

 

 

Therefore we should love

the Lord your God with

all our heart and with all

our soul and with

all our strength

 

 

and with all our mind,

and we should not forget

God's love and bounty,

and live faithfully.

 

 

 

Hallelujah!

Amen!

 

 

 

2020/12/15

 

 

/ By Priscilla