{"id":3526,"date":"2015-09-16T00:33:33","date_gmt":"2015-09-16T07:33:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/?p=3526"},"modified":"2015-09-16T07:39:45","modified_gmt":"2015-09-16T14:39:45","slug":"916-love-greater-than-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hoc6.org\/global\/2015\/09\/16\/916-love-greater-than-life\/","title":{"rendered":"9\/16: Love Greater Than Life (\u8bd7107:33-43 \u52a02:11-3:9 \u8d5b38:1-40:31)"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u8bfb\u7ecf\uff1a\u00a0\u8bd7107:33-43 \u52a02:11-3:9 \u8d5b38:1-40:31<\/h2>\n

Love Greater Than Life<\/h2>\n
\n

\u2018I’ve found a love greater than life itself<\/em>,\u2019 sings Ben Cantelon in his song, \u2018Love Came Down\u2019. To some, this might sound like mere romantic sentiment. In fact, it expresses a great theological truth.<\/p>\n

In the beginning, God created life on this earth \u2013 not out of need or because he was lonely, but out of love<\/em>. His love is the power that created life. Parents cannot claim that love itself willed their child into existence \u2013 but God\u2019s love for you is the reason there is a \u2018you\u2019 to love in the first place!<\/p>\n

You are alive because of love. Not only that, but God so loved the world that he gave his only Son so that we would not perish but receive eternal life<\/em> (John 3:16). The love of God truly is greater than life itself.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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1. Meditate on how great God\u2019s love is for you<\/h2>\n

Psalm 107:33-43<\/a>Having rehearsed all the great things God has done for them, the psalmist concludes: \u2018Consider the great love of the Lord<\/em>\u2019 (v.43). \u2018If you are really wise, you\u2019ll think this over \u2013 it\u2019s time you appreciated God\u2019s deep love\u2019 (v.43, MSG). God has rescued his people so many times. He has answered their prayers.<\/p>\n

God responds to the \u2018wickedness\u2019 of the people with discipline. Even here though, God\u2019s love is in the foreground, as he uses that discipline to draw them back to himself. As they return, the hardships turn to blessing. The \u2018rivers\u2019 (v.33) begin to return: \u2018He turned the desert into pools of water and the parched ground into flowing springs<\/em>\u2026 he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased\u2019 (vv.35,38).<\/p>\n

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit within you would be like these \u2018rivers of living water\u2019 (John 7:38). Oswald Chambers writes, \u2018The river of the Spirit of God overcomes all obstacles. Never focus your eyes on the obstacle or the difficulty. The obstacle will be a matter of total indifference to the river that will flow steadily through you if you will simply remember to stay focussed on the Source.\u2019<\/p>\n

Lord, I meditate on your great love for me. I pray that by your Holy Spirit you will turn the desert and dryness of my life into \u2018pools of water\u2019 and \u2018flowing springs\u2019 (Psalm 107:35).<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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2. Understand how personal God\u2019s love is for you<\/h2>\n

Galatians 2:11-3:9<\/a>St Paul writes, \u2018I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me <\/em>and gave himself for me<\/em>\u2019 (2:20).<\/p>\n

This is the extent of the greatness of the love of God. The Son of God gave himself for me<\/em>… and you<\/em>. It is not just that God loves the whole world. He loves you<\/em>. He gave himself on the cross for you and me. He died for you. If you had been the only person in the world, Jesus would have died for you. It is as personal as that.<\/p>\n

God\u2019s love for you is unconditional. There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less.<\/p>\n

When Paul finally understood this, it radically changed his life. His old life had come to an end. \u2018I have been crucified with Christ. My ego is no longer central\u2026 The life you see me living is not \u201cmine\u201d\u2019 (v.20, MSG). A new life had begun, \u2018Christ lives in me\u2019 (v.20). The Spirit of Christ had come to live in him. This new life was a life of \u2018faith in the Son of God\u2019 (v.20).<\/p>\n

In this verse, Paul sums up the message of the gospel. It is so amazing and yet so simple. By adding to it, we only detract from it.<\/p>\n

That is why Paul was so vociferous in his defence of this gospel. That is why he had a \u2018face-to-face confrontation\u2019 with Peter (v.11, MSG). Peter himself knew the truth of this message. Yet, because of how \u2018fearful he was of the conservative Jewish clique [that had] been pushing the old system of circumcision\u2019 (v.12, MSG), he began to follow and promote the old Jewish laws and customs again (vv.12\u201313).<\/p>\n

By doing this, Peter gave the impression that it was not enough to be a Christian \u2013 he was saying people must also follow Jewish customs (v.14).<\/p>\n

But, as we have seen in the past two days, faith in Jesus Christ is all that is required<\/em>. \u2018We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith<\/em> in Jesus Christ\u2019 (v.16, MSG).<\/p>\n

God, in his great love, embraces all <\/em>who put their faith in Christ, without distinction. They are justified by faith. This results in a totally changed life. Christ comes to live within you. You no longer live your old life, but a new one by faith in the Son of God.<\/p>\n

You receive his Spirit (3:2). Faith and receiving the Holy Spirit is not only the way to begin the Christian life, it is the way to continue to live it out (v.3).<\/p>\n

The Galatians clearly had an experience of the Holy Spirit<\/em>, to which Paul could point: \u2018Did youreceive the Spirit<\/em> by observing the law, or by believing what you heard?\u2019 (v.2). When you put your faith in Christ, you received the Holy Spirit. \u2018Does God give you his Spirit<\/em> and work miracles among you because you observe the law, or because you believe<\/em> what you heard?\u2019 (v.5).<\/p>\n

On Alpha, I have often been asked the question, \u2018What about those who lived before Jesus? What happens to them?\u2019 This passage points to the answer.<\/p>\n

The cross of Jesus works through all eternity. It works backwards, as well as forwards, in time. It was effective for Abraham: \u2018He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness\u2019 (v.6). \u2018The Scripture foresaw that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, and announced the gospel in advance to Abraham<\/em>\u2019 (v.8). The cross was the defining event in world history to which the law and the sacrificial system pointed.<\/p>\n

Lord, thank you that Jesus loved me and gave himself for me. Thank you that I have been crucified with Christ, and that he now lives within me. Help me trust in your great love for all the challenges I face today.<\/span><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

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3. Know how lasting God\u2019s love is for you<\/h2>\n

Isaiah 38:1-40:31<\/a>God\u2019s love for you is everlasting. It will not let you go. \u2018In your love you kept me<\/em> from the pit of destruction; you have put all my sins behind your back\u2019 (38:17), wrote Hezekiah. God heard his prayer and saw his tears. He added fifteen years to his life and delivered him from the hand of the king of Assyria (vv.5\u20136).<\/p>\n

Assyria was the world power that dominated chapters 1\u201339 of Isaiah. The second half of Isaiah is dominated by Israel\u2019s exile in Babylon and the return from exile. Chapters 38 and 39 are a fitting conclusion to the first half of the book, as well as a fitting prologue to the second half. There is a spiritual connection between the two halves.<\/p>\n

The second part of Isaiah begins with the words that are quoted later by John the Baptist (40:3). The message of Isaiah 40\u201355 is this: \u2018The exile will be over soon.\u2019 When Jesus came, he was proclaiming the real end of exile. In these chapters, we get a foretaste as Isaiah proclaims the end of the physical exile Israel experienced in the sixth century BC.<\/p>\n

Isaiah foresaw a new sense of the presence of God<\/em> (40:3\u20135), a new confidence in the word of God<\/em> (vv.6\u20138) and a new vision of God<\/em> (v.9 onwards).<\/p>\n

He saw the great love of God, and he wrote, \u2018He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young\u2019 (v.11; see also John 10).<\/p>\n

No one can compare to God in terms of greatness. He is the Creator of the universe (Isaiah 40:12\u201314). Compared to him \u2018the nations are like a drop in a bucket\u2019 (v.15). It is absurd to compare God to an idol that is made by a craftsman (vv.18\u201320).<\/p>\n

Compared to God, the people of this world, even its great leaders, are \u2018like grasshoppers\u2019 (v.22). He is the Creator of the entire universe, including the billions upon billions of stars (v.26). This is the God who loves you personally and carries you close to his heart. God doesn\u2019t come and go. God lasts.<\/p>\n

God is also a power-sharing God. He \u2018energises those who get tired\u2026 those who wait upon God get fresh strength\u2019 (vv.29\u201331, MSG). Quietly waiting on God, study his word, pray, worship and meditate on his love for you. He will restore you, re-energise you and empower you to face everything you need to do.<\/p>\n

Lord, I worship you. You are the Creator of this great universe. You are all-powerful. Yet you love me, take me in your arms and hold me close to your heart. Please renew my strength as I wait on you. Thank you for the greatness of your love for me and that your love will never let me go.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

Pippa Adds<\/h2>\n
\n

Isaiah 40:28<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u2018The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.\u2019<\/p>\n

The same God who created this entire universe cares for us: \u2018He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart\u2019 (v.11). Our magnificent, all-powerful God is also a tender God.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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