Lovest Thou Me? (Part 2)

How many of you remember the old song, The Love of God?

! The Love of God, I've got the words here, the love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell.! It goes beyond the love of God. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell.

The guilty pair bowed down with care. God gave his son to win. His erring child he reconciled and pardoned from his sin. When hoary times shall pass away and earthly thrones and kingdoms fall, when men who here refuse to pray or on rocks and hills and mountains call, God's love so sure shall still endure, all measureless and strong, redeeming grace to Adam's race, the saints' and angels' song.

Now this third verse, I did not realize until I saw this this evening. This third verse, the author, Friedrich Lehmann, tells us that the third verse had been found penciled on the wall of a patient's room in an insane asylum after he had been carried away to his grave.

Interesting. Here's what it says. Could we with ink the ocean fill? And were the skies of parchment made, where every stalk on earth a quill and every man a scribe by trade?

To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry, nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.

That's a great old song, but it's got such tremendous meaning to it. You just cannot, really, we cannot fathom the love of God. You know, we spoke of it this morning, the agape love of God, and spoke of the characteristics of that as it pertains to us.

But realize with me, even as we study Scripture, we but touch the hem of the garment as to what all that God is.

And even those things that he has expressed to us about himself in his word are very limited, because we're limited in our capacity to comprehend and understand the things of God, much less who God is.

And so, you know, as tremendous as that song is, and the thoughts of that, it rings true, because there's just no way in the world to contain at all of what God is and what the love of God is.

Remember, God is love. The chief characteristic, I think, of him. Well, this morning we looked at that agape love, and we looked at definitions of agape love.

I'll just read through this again to you as one has defined it. A sovereign preference given to one above all others, present or absent. Now, we look at this, as we did this morning, in light of the agape love being at work within us.

But think of it also as that characteristic that God possesses. All right? As he has demonstrated that toward us.

So consider that. And to me, it just makes it even more complete, but also more thrilling to realize how much God loved us.

So let me read that again. Agape love is defined as a sovereign presence given to one above all others, present or absent. So we can look at that as us being God's greatest creative act, I guess we could say, and God having that preference toward us.

A concentration of all the thoughts and desires in a single object which a man prefers to all others. By agape love, the soul eagerly cleaves to, affectionately admires, and constantly rests in God.

Supremely pleased and satisfied with him as its portion, that it acts from him as its author, for him as its master, and to him as its end.

That by it, all the powers and faculties of the mind are concentrated in the Lord of the universe. That by it, the whole man is willingly surrendered to the most high God.

Tremendous. Now, there's something else for us to consider tonight that I think is good for us, because it not only relates to God as love, but it relates to our possessing the love of God and what it wants to do.

So turn with me to the book of Ephesians, if you will. Ephesians chapter 2. Begin with me in verse number 1. Ephesians chapter 2.

Paul, in chapter 1, having dealt both with Jews and Gentiles, believers, that is, in the relationship with God, he says in verse 1, and you, as for you, hath he quickened who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in time past you walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.

Now look at verse 4. But God, who was rich in mercy for his great love wherewith he hath loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath he quickened us together with Christ, by grace you are saved, and hath raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Now we'll just stop there for the sake of what we're going to look at. Picture of God's grace meeting man's sinful condition. Meeting up with all that that sinful condition holds for us.

That sentence of death and condemnation upon us because of the fact that we operated our lives in the sphere of sin because of the nature that we had, and thus by that we were the objects of God's wrath.

So God's grace meets up with our sinful condition. Again, recognizing that God, who despises sin in reality, is also a God of grace.

He brings his wrath against sin, but he's a God of grace as well. And here's what he's speaking about to us. We were dead in that realm of trespasses and sin, but in that condition, in that state, God has quickened us.

He has made us alive. All right? Now, we had our manner of behavior in that sphere of sin. In reality, he says here, all that, that nature of sin within us influenced by Satan.

All right? Now, as I mentioned this morning, I was always a good kid. You know, and this passage kind of bothered me for a while because, you know, I didn't do the things a lot of the other guys did, and the one thing I had a fear of in my childhood was disappointing my father.

I just, I looked up to him and I just never, ever wanted to disappoint him. I remember the time I got in trouble as a kid in, you know, it had to be in grade school in South San Francisco, California.

My sister, who's 11 months older than I am, got me in trouble because she, she wanted me to tell mom something, I don't remember if it was something she said or something somebody else, I think it was something somebody else said, and she told me, you say specifically the words that he used.

And there was a bad word in there. But I did as my sister said. I went and I told mom specifically what this person said.

And boy, did I get in trouble. Not because of my sister telling me to do it because I did it. I said that. So I just, that just wasn't me. I was a good kid.

But in reality, the only thing that made me different than the greatest sinner was the fact that I had an upbringing that taught me right from wrong and I learned that and it became ingrained in me and I just didn't want to do anything that was wrong.

Ask my wife, I'm perfect, right babe? I'm perfect. I love to tell people our marriage story.

You know, my dear wife, Calvita, she was widowed for over 20 years. And I had been widowed for five, four or five. And God took me to Copan, America for some strange reason.

And I like to tell people the reason I did was is because Calvita was sitting there waiting for her knight in shining armor to come riding in on his trusty steed and sweep her off her feet.

And I did. And so, yeah, she tells it a different way, but that's all right. We won't bother with time. We've got time element here. So, yeah. But nonetheless, Nonetheless, still have the nature of sin.

Doesn't make any difference how morally good we may be. We still are on the unsafe condition, still in that sinful condition, separated from God, alienated from the life of God.

But God, notice what he says, who is rich in mercy. The word mercy there gives us the idea of pity. All right?

You're no doubt aware of that. God, when he sees us, is merciful toward us. He sees us as pity or pitiful. All right? When he looks down on man in the sinful condition, he pities him because he's in a pitiful condition, is the picture here.

Now, notice, he is rich in that mercy. It's not just a limited mercy, but it's one that is inexhaustible. It's overabundant, that mercy that God possesses.

But there's another phrase here that we need to look at that I just think is tremendous in the idea that God is love. But God, who is rich in mercy, the next phrase in verse 4, for his great love, wherewith he loved us.

That word, for his great love, that word for, in the Greek, is the word that means because of his great love. And what it does, it gives us the idea here that the love of God has to have a means of expression.

Yeah. Yeah. Have you ever been in a situation, I can't think of an example here, but I'll just say, been in a situation where you were either listening to a discussion or you were standing outside of something that's going on and you know you have something valuable to say or you've got something, an ability or whatever that you can do that would enhance what's going on and you're just dying to do that.

But your wife is saying, no, don't get involved. Yeah. Yeah. You just got to say something. Preachers are that way. You know, we just got to say, we can't be quiet, we got to say something because it could enhance whatever is being said or whatever is being done.

That's the idea here of the love of God. The love of God, that agape love of God has to have a means of expression. It cannot just lay dormant.

It can't be neutral. It's got to find a way of expression. That's just the nature of it. And so the way that the love of God was expressed is by bringing you and I to a place where we can experience it.

Boy, to me, the great thing that God desires for all of us is that we, in various means and manners, experience Him.

To come to know more and more, not just by what the Word of God says, but that coupled by experiencing that throughout life, to come to know Him.

More completely, more fully. Remember, Jesus, what is it, in John chapter 15, where He prays to the Father on the way to Gethsemane, and He says, you know, talks about us receiving eternal life, and He then gives the definition of eternal life.

This is eternal life, that they may know thee, by experience, experientially know thee, and your Son, Jesus Christ, whom you've sent.

So, to experience the love of God, the love of God wants to express itself, and it did so on our behalf. So what did it do? Notice with me, if you will.

Again, verse 4, God who is rich in mercy, while we were in trespasses and sins now, God who is rich in mercy, because of His great love, wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath He quickened us together, made us alive together, brought life to us together, with Christ.

Then the little parenthetical phrase, by grace you are saved. But also, He has raised us up together. Resurrection. Twofold idea here, the resurrection that Paul speaks of in Romans chapter 6, and of course, the bodily resurrection that will come at the rapture for the church.

Now, He has raised us up together, and also, made us sit together in the heavenlies. Literally, He has enthroned us together in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus.

Then verse 7, so that in the ages to come, we might be the demonstration of God's goodness, of God's goodness, and God's grace to spirit beings. Amen? You ever thought about yourself being on display?

Yeah. You go to any school, you go to Bartlesville High School, and you see this big trophy case of all those trophies that have been won by various teams of the school through the years.

Trophy of what they have accomplished. Well, Paul's expressing here that you and I will be trophies of God's grace, because there's no other way spirit beings can know what the grace of God is unless they see what it has accomplished in the life of those that have been saved.

How the sinner has been redeemed. All right? So, agape love has to have expression. It has to express itself.

So, it expressed itself from the heart of God toward us. Now, what about the agape love in us that the Spirit of God produces within us that we spoke of this morning?

Well, it needs a means of expression as well. So, turn with me, if you will, over to John chapter 15, and let's see how that is expressed.

How is the agape love within us expressed by God? How does it find its expression?

I hope, you know, I hope our lives, of course, we're not there yet, but I hope our lives are continually progressing to the point that more and more the love of God is being expressed from us and through us.

Of course, we'll never reach the epitome of that until we go to be with Christ because we're still in this old body of sin and that means we have limitations.

All right? But even in that, the life controlled by the Spirit of God is a life that can have the love of God expressed from it. And here's what Jesus says.

Realize that in the beginning of the chapter, Jesus talks about the relationship of us as the branches to him as the vine. He begins by saying, I am the true vine and my father is the husbandman.

Now, you realize with me here, the true vine is the aspect of the plant that provides the nourishment to the branches that enable the branches to put on fruit.

All right? And he says here, I am the true vine. I am the perfect vine. I, in essence, I am the one that will provide everything that's necessary for you to accomplish what it is God has designed to accomplish through you.

He said, I am the true vine. My father is the husbandman or the keeper of the vineyard. All right? I realize the keeper of the vineyard is the one that is more closely attached to the plants or the vine and the branches than anybody else because he's the one that tends it.

He's the one that tills the ground. He's the one that does everything that's necessary to see to it that those vines have everything they need to do what they're supposed to do, to put on fruit.

All right? So the picture is Christ as that instrument, if you will, or that tunnel that will the nutrition goes through from the ground to the branches which we are and the fruit comes.

Now, I am the true vine. My father is the husbandman. Every branch in me in that union that they have with me that beareth not fruit he takes away and every branch that bears fruit he purges it that it may bring forth more fruit.

Interesting thing for us to see and this is all leading toward the idea of the love of God being expressed from us. How many are gardeners? How many are fruit tree people?

No fruit trees? You're like me I tried too. When I was at New Harmony we bought a house just east of New Harmony and it was a HUD home that we were able to get and five acres with it it had 21 fruit trees on it when we bought that thing.

Apple trees pear trees peach trees I mean it had all kinds of trees. I was a city kid. My late wife was a country girl so she knew but boy I was looking had pear trees too I was looking forward to the fruit coming off those things and we started getting some of it but they all got diseased and died out event 21 of them that was a shame amen yeah but if you go in there and that tree is putting on fruit and you go in there at the right time of the year and you start cutting those branches back my late wife did that in Claremore when we lived there had a house and she I thought she butchered those trees I came home one day and just about the only thing standing was the main trunk and little nubs sticking out like this and I said I said boy I went out and said what have you done you've killed those trees for sure he said nope she said you just wait just wait and see and so I did

I waited I was just I was just waiting for the time those trees died and I could say see I told you so but no she was right those trees started putting on new branches and those branches got bigger than the other branches ever were became beautiful trees why that's just the process you prune them so they'll bring forth more fruit so Jesus says here those branches within me that don't bring forth fruit we get rid of throw them away burn them up but the ones that do produce fruit we purge what does it mean for us in the spiritual sense realize that we still in the human condition though saved though we possess the spirit of God still from time to time have things in our life that we have not cleared from our life and they get in the way some of them may be sin some of them may not be sin some of them may just be stuff that clutters the life and keeps us from serving God to the degree he wants us to he said we purge those we and the idea there is he he reveals those to our heart and mind so that we can do what's necessary to get rid of those things that he shows us you know

Paul in Hebrews chapter 12 he says wherefore seeing where it comes about with so great a cloud of witnesses let us therefore lay aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset us so we can run the race all right so spirit of God shows us those things as we ask him reveal father those things in me that are displeasing to you that get in the way so that I can rid my life of those he prunes those things sometimes it takes harsh conviction that's pruning so that we can bring forth more fruit all right now move on with me here just a moment now in verse 3 now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you in other words you're fit to bear fruit because we've been cleansed through the blood of Christ abide in me and I in you as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself except it abide in the vine no more can ye except you abide in me in other words maintaining that that union that we have with

Christ abiding in him in that union I am the vine ye are the branches he that abideth in me and he that abideth in me and I in him the same bringeth forth much fruit for without me you can do nothing now I want you to notice he begins here to pick up the phrase much fruit not just the idea of bearing fruit but much fruit for without me you can do nothing if a man abide not in me he is cast forth as a branch and is withered and men gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned if he abide in me and my words abide in you you shall ask what you will and it shall be done unto you now be careful with that talking about here being such a relationship with God that we know what the heart and mind of God is in prayer herein is my father glorified here's how we glorify the father that you bear much fruit

King James says so shall you be my disciples the idea there is that you will be being my disciples as you bear much fruit it's the sign of being a disciple of Christ all right that you bear much fruit now what is that fruit what is the fruit he's talking about here summarize it we can simply say it's all of those things that God has determined to do within our lives by the power and direction of the spirit of God the fruit of the spirit is a big part of that all the graces of Christ at operation within our lives love joy peace long suffering gentleness meekness kindness and whatever I've forgotten all right yeah all those that work within our lives that's part of the fruit that he wants to bear all right anything that God wants to do and produce within the life of the believer that's the fruit and it's progressive he takes our life he convicts us of sin or convicts us of the clutter so that we can remedy that so that the spirit of

God can do more and more work in our own lives so that we can express more and more the graces of Christ and do those works that the spirit of God determines to do within us remember Ephesians 2 8 and 9 turn there just a second Ephesians 2 8 and 9 I have learned long ago never to take for granted what you think people know if they know it already that's wonderful it's good to review that good to be reminded but sometimes we don't notice if you will we like to quote Ephesians 2 8 9 which is good for by grace are not of works lest any man should boast but don't stop there look at the next verse for we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works look at the next phrase which

God hath before ordained that we should walk in them alright he's prepared those before he has ordained beforehand the idea here is and this this just blows my mind away how much God knows knows us how he knew us before the foundation of the world and the idea here is that he has predetermined that set of good works that you and I individually and collectively as a church are to perform yeah Peter Marshall was a Presbyterian preacher of years back his wife after his death or maybe she just republished it he wrote a book called under sealed orders had a navy connotation to it you know the ships in the navy a lot of times especially during war even in training times would go out they would have a date set when they were to leave port they wouldn't know where they were going until they reached a certain point of latitude and longitude on the ocean at that point the captain of the ship would take the orders out of the safe they were sealed he didn't even know where he was going until that point in time when he was allowed to take that envelope out of that safe open it up pull the orders out and read them and knew where he was to go just think of the idea here you and

I are under those same sealed orders he's predetermined and in essence the idea is he's predetermined what it is he wants to accomplish through us for his kingdom purposes the idea is you and I need to know what that is now how are we going to do that simply asking God to show us each day what that is now that's the way the father is glorified according to John 15 hearing is my father glorified that you bear much fruit that way you'll be shown to be my disciples now look at verse nine as the father hath loved me with agape love so have I loved you so he says continue in my love keep your life within the sphere of the love that

I have for you and that I have placed within you if you keep my commandments you shall abide in my love that's how it's done just doing what I say he says even as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love now think just a moment with me if you will over in chapter five there's an interesting statement Jesus makes here John chapter five verse number 19 well let's back up just a minute here verse 15 let's go there the man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus which had made him whole therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus and sought to slay him because he had done these things on the Sabbath day but Jesus answered them my father worketh hitherto and I work therefore the

Jews sought the more to kill him because he not only had broken the Sabbath but also said that God was his father making himself equal with God then answered Jesus and said unto them verily verily I say unto you the son can do nothing of himself but what he see the father for what things soever he doeth those also doeth the son likewise for the father loveth the son and showeth him all things that he that himself doeth and he will show him greater works than these that ye may marvel catch the picture you know that was the fascinating thing to the disciples about the relationship the new relationship with God through Christ under the old testament economy it was a servant master relationship servant had no rights the only right the servant had was the right to have the master tell him what he expects him to do and how to do it yeah and provide for him everything he needs to do it that's the only right the servant!

he was the possession of the master but now Jesus comes along and talks about this new relationship and it's a relationship of a father to a son and a father that shows that loves the son to such an extent with such love that he shows the son what he's doing so that the son can be involved in what the father is doing he said that's the reason the father shows the son it's because he loves me now back in John chapter 15 what did he just say verse nine as the father hath loved me so have I loved you continue in my love all right God wants us to know as it pertains to our lives and it pertains to the church collectively he wants us to know to whatever degree he wants us to know at the moment what he's doing because he wants us involved in what it is he's doing that's part of the good works that's why you're in this church you didn't just come because you like the cool building and this is by the way a cool building no you didn't come just because you like the music which is great music you do a great job you really do all of you that are involved in music you didn't come because of brother

Don looks like a movie star got a voice that's just mellow yeah yeah good preacher teacher no you're here because this is where God has directed you to be and he's directed you to be here because he wants you to function in this place in accordance to what he has designed for you to be used for in this place more than just sitting on a pew and occupying a space amen yeah we could fill this with dogs and cats and have the pews filled!

amen oh that would be fun yeah alright so to know what it is that the father wants to accomplish through us and we do that by remaining in his love now look at verse 11 these things have I spoken to you I like this that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full now I've thought about that for so long I've spoken these things all this about the vine and the branches and abiding in me and my love for you that the father has toward me and abiding in that love and all that he said I write all of that to you that my joy might be in you what is the joy of Christ what is that my mind went to the passage where

Jesus dealt with the woman of Samaria you remember that and the disciples come along they had gone to get something to eat bring it back and when they come back Jesus makes this statement he said I have meat to eat that you don't know anything about my meat the thing that brings me nourishment is to do the will of him that sent me yeah yeah and then later on in the ministry remember you realize that Jesus only observed the feast of the Passover one time with his apostles he wasn't being disobedient to that in his ministry but that just things arose and prevented that but one time he did and that was just before his crucifixion when he told the disciples to go get ready for that meal told them where to go and where they're going to have it and what to prepare for and how to prepare he made this statement something to this effect with great desire

I have desired to eat this Passover with you and the idea there is that that term desire is the idea that it brings him great joy to eat this Passover with them and the reason being is because he was just about to go to Calvary's cross you would think now why why would that bring him such pleasure because that's what the Passover represented and especially the Lord's Supper as he institutes that makes it more personal but why would that bring him such joy it's simply because what his crucifixion would produce that would be redemption for every generation of people that placed faith and trust in

God through Christ what a thrill because redemption would be completed and it brought joy to him and he said I want that joy in you and you do that and I say this to you so you so my joy can be within you you can have and experience my joy in that so for us that joy would be being used of God in any way means capacity that he has designed to use us for his glory glory yeah in essence to glorify him through our life how do we do that by bearing much fruit alright now he goes on here these things have spoken unto you that my joy might remain in you and that your joy might be full and so this is my commandment that you love one another as

I have loved you to the same degree with the same type of love with the same characteristics of that love because I'm going away and you're going to need one another and my love expressed through you to each other to get you through what you're going to face alright now with that in mind again over in the book of Ephesians over in Ephesians chapter 4 he talks about everyone being given the grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ and the purpose for those gifts so forth verse 12 he's done all that for the perfecting of the saints to prepare them for the work of ministry for the edifying the body of Christ until we come to that point of unity so we're not tossed about to and fro as children carried away with every wind of doctrine but verse 15 now but speaking the truth in love may grow up literally unto him in all things which is the head even

Christ from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supply it according to the effectual working in the measure of every part maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love now if that's not a mouthful I don't know what is what is he saying you know a lot of times churches major on evangelism reaching the lost which there's nothing wrong with that God expects us to reach the lost but sometimes we do that at the expense of neglecting the believers in the church most of Paul's writings to the church deal with the relationship of believer to believer and the work of God through each believer to benefit the body and that's what he's talking about here

God has so uniquely put the church together just like he's uniquely put the human body together but my first wife was ill we learned a lot of stuff we've never known before about the human anatomy and how intricately involved every part of the body is with every other part of the body the lungs and the heart especially for us everything functions when it's functioning like it should function then the body is healthy and whole and can do what it's intended to do and that's what he's picturing here the love that we're to have that God has given to us by his spirit within us that he's developing is a love that is to be expressed to our fellow brothers and sisters in

Christ in the body alright not to the neglect of the unsaved but here's the thrust and the focus that he gives us from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplies according to the effectual working in the measure of every part makes increase of the body unto the edifying or the building of itself in love I think the first time I got to preach here I preached on the fullness of Christ and talked about the reality that if everyone that God's placed in the body has the fullness of Christ in operation within their lives put together collectively as the church the church would be the dynamo that God intends for it to be and would be used of God in means and ways inexpressible to us that's the thought here of the expression of agape love from our lives to one another yeah yeah oh I know

I know that when when someone is ill we call them oh I hope you're feeling better I want you to know I'm praying for you or we'll text them or something have we ever just have we ever just or how long has it been since we just picked up the phone and tell somebody hey I want you to know God's placed you on my heart today not because anything's wrong but just to let you know I love you yeah I love you and that way they know by them by you telling them that they love you love them that God is saying to them I love you yeah and I'm just going to pray that God gives you a super abundant day of super abundant grace and goodness yeah yeah get a phone call like that what do you want to do boy I want to call somebody else up yeah say the same thing yeah yeah that become habitual because that's the expression of

God's love for us and to us all right quickly we'll quit here now move on just a minute back in John 15 verse 13 greater love has this that no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friend you are my friends if you do whatsoever I command you so we go from servants to friends here henceforth I call you not servants for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth but I have called you friends the literal rendition is dear friends close friends for all things that I have heard of my father I have made note unto you you you've not chosen me but I've chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit and that your fruit should remain yeah in other words that it have eternal consequences yeah my wife and I the

Lord enabled us to buy a house in Bartlesville we were living in a parsonage in Copan we knew the day was going to come one of those days that we need a place to live so we started looking and God just opened up the perfect house for what our needs were it's right at the northeast corner of Memorial Park Cemetery just down the block and around from elder care and not far from Walmart so we're in the perfect spot yeah when brother Paul passed away here a few weeks ago I told Terry I was talking to her he was talking to us about needing to go to the cemetery and get a plot and I said see if they've got any see if they've got any open spots right there at the northeast corner so I can just go over and holler at him every once in a while yeah you know but at the cemetery you see all these epithets of what people have accomplished you know as if the only way they're going to remember is to see it on a headstone but what

Jesus says here he said I've ordained you that you should bring forth fruit and that that fruit will have eternal consequences it'll last for eternity and it's because it's the things that God has designed to be accomplished through us and what he does is eternal amen so then every life that we touch that is directed by the spirit of God and empowered by the spirit of God what we say what we do will have eternal consequences on their life now likewise just think of the opposite if we fail to do that those eternal consequences may be missed unless God picks up the slack by calling somebody else out to pick up our slack which should never have to be done amen yeah yeah yeah agape love tremendous thing

God shed abroad in our hearts our love for him and then our love for one another love for the lost world to draw them to Christ what is it that Jesus said the world will see in us by which they'll know that we're his love by this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one for another