1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,280 We have a marvelous subject in front of us today as we look at the strength of 2 00:00:07,280 –> 00:00:13,300 the love of Jesus Christ for every Christian believer. Our series is called 3 00:00:13,300 –> 00:00:18,260 Loving and Being Loved By Christ, and the aim of the series is very simply that 4 00:00:18,260 –> 00:00:24,379 we will taste and experience the love of Jesus Christ more deeply so that we may 5 00:00:24,379 –> 00:00:28,959 be able to love one another more fully and to love one another in the context 6 00:00:29,180 –> 00:00:34,480 of marriage and family, but also neighbors and workers and friends, and 7 00:00:34,480 –> 00:00:41,060 as members of the Body of Christ of the Church. We began last time by seeing this 8 00:00:41,060 –> 00:00:46,000 great truth that God presents the relationship between Christ and his 9 00:00:46,000 –> 00:00:53,700 people in the analogy of a bride and a bridegroom, and I want to remind you that 10 00:00:54,459 –> 00:00:59,419 whole series is really about the relationship of love between Christ and 11 00:00:59,419 –> 00:01:05,000 his own people. The analogy of a marriage that we looked at last time is very 12 00:01:05,000 –> 00:01:10,040 significant in that regard because of course there are two sides, two parties 13 00:01:10,040 –> 00:01:16,260 that are committed to each other in any true marriage we saw that Jesus Christ 14 00:01:16,260 –> 00:01:21,860 offers himself to every person but that does not mean that every person truly is 15 00:01:22,040 –> 00:01:28,320 his. Those who are his are those who having come to know and believe his love 16 00:01:28,320 –> 00:01:32,279 have therefore responded to that in pledging their own love and their own 17 00:01:32,279 –> 00:01:37,800 loyalty to Jesus Christ. What that means is forsaking the idols, it means that I 18 00:01:37,800 –> 00:01:43,360 say I can no longer live for myself, I can no longer live for this world so as 19 00:01:43,360 –> 00:01:48,779 best as I am able I am giving myself to Jesus Christ, I’m his and as he has 20 00:01:48,779 –> 00:01:54,000 committed himself to me in love and loyalty I am committing myself to him. And 21 00:01:54,000 –> 00:01:59,500 of course that’s beautifully expressed in Christian baptism, that is where a 22 00:01:59,500 –> 00:02:05,300 person who becomes a believer says this is the relationship that I now have with 23 00:02:05,300 –> 00:02:09,860 Jesus Christ. So if you have never come to the place of committing yourself to 24 00:02:09,860 –> 00:02:14,580 Christ in love and loyalty, you should do that today and then everything that is 25 00:02:14,580 –> 00:02:18,720 being said about the relationship of Christ and his people will be true of 26 00:02:18,779 –> 00:02:24,119 you. But please understand that this is a series about the relationship, not 27 00:02:24,119 –> 00:02:30,479 between Christ and everybody, but between Jesus Christ and his own. And the Bible 28 00:02:30,479 –> 00:02:37,460 regularly speaks about this distinction. John chapter 13 and verse 1, having loved 29 00:02:37,460 –> 00:02:45,119 his own he showed them the full extent of his love. Who are his own? Those who 30 00:02:45,240 –> 00:02:50,820 are committed to him as he is committed to them and he offers himself to you in 31 00:02:50,820 –> 00:02:58,419 that regard. So I’m speaking to Christian brothers and sisters about the strength 32 00:02:58,419 –> 00:03:05,919 of Christ’s love for his own, the strength of Christ’s love therefore for you. And I 33 00:03:05,919 –> 00:03:10,539 want us to see the strength of Christ’s love in three ways today. We’ll be 34 00:03:10,539 –> 00:03:15,100 looking at various scriptures. I’d like us to begin in Hebrews in chapter 4 as 35 00:03:15,320 –> 00:03:19,860 we’re going to see the strength of Christ’s love in his sympathy. So please 36 00:03:19,860 –> 00:03:25,740 turn to Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 15. The strength of Christ’s love, in his 37 00:03:25,740 –> 00:03:32,919 sympathy, you do not grasp the love of Christ for you until you see the great 38 00:03:32,919 –> 00:03:40,720 sympathy, the pity, the empathy that Jesus Christ has for you. Now look at it 39 00:03:41,000 –> 00:03:47,619 here. We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses 40 00:03:47,619 –> 00:03:56,059 but one who in every respect has been tempted, as we are, yet without sin. Now 41 00:03:56,059 –> 00:03:59,000 you’ll notice that there is a double negative here which is a way of adding 42 00:03:59,000 –> 00:04:06,220 force to a statement. We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize 43 00:04:06,220 –> 00:04:10,160 with our weaknesses. Double negative of course makes a positive and so to say it 44 00:04:10,160 –> 00:04:17,040 positively, it means we do have a high priest who is able to sympathize with 45 00:04:17,040 –> 00:04:23,739 our weaknesses. Now the big truth that is in play here is the wonderful truth of 46 00:04:23,739 –> 00:04:29,040 the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ. That’s why we have a high priest who is 47 00:04:29,040 –> 00:04:35,440 able to sympathize. At the center of the Christian faith God becomes man, the Word 48 00:04:35,540 –> 00:04:44,739 becomes flesh, the fullness of the Godhead lives in Jesus Christ, and he 49 00:04:44,739 –> 00:04:53,359 experiences life as it is in this fallen, pressurized, broken and often violent 50 00:04:53,359 –> 00:05:02,619 world. It’s very helpful and important to think about what Jesus has experienced 51 00:05:02,880 –> 00:05:10,700 because it will help you to see how closely he is able to relate to you. So 52 00:05:10,700 –> 00:05:14,799 simply thinking about the life of the Lord Jesus, let me give you one or two 53 00:05:14,799 –> 00:05:22,779 examples. Almost certainly, Joseph died when Jesus was relatively young so your 54 00:05:22,779 –> 00:05:27,799 Lord Jesus Christ knows what it is to grow up in a home without a male 55 00:05:28,000 –> 00:05:32,920 presence. Think about that. If that’s your experience, he knows exactly what that 56 00:05:32,920 –> 00:05:39,799 is and some of the issues that it brings. He grew up in poverty. When he died, the 57 00:05:39,799 –> 00:05:43,040 only possessions that he had were the clothes that he wore and the gambled over 58 00:05:43,040 –> 00:05:50,299 them. So when you find yourself under immense financial pressure, he knows 59 00:05:50,299 –> 00:05:56,920 what that is like. He knows what it is to be tempted. In fact, he knows 60 00:05:56,920 –> 00:06:02,260 that more than any of us because only Jesus Christ has faced the full force of 61 00:06:02,260 –> 00:06:08,019 everything that Satan can throw at a person. So when Satan tempts us, and then 62 00:06:08,019 –> 00:06:12,220 at some point we break, he doesn’t unleash his full arsenal because he 63 00:06:12,220 –> 00:06:16,779 doesn’t have to. None of us have experienced everything that Satan has to 64 00:06:16,779 –> 00:06:21,279 throw at an individual. But Jesus Christ has. He knows its full force in all of 65 00:06:21,760 –> 00:06:30,420 He’s experienced that in the flesh, he’s experienced that as a man, and he knows 66 00:06:30,420 –> 00:06:34,920 what it is to be exhausted. Remember him falling asleep in the boat? 67 00:06:34,920 –> 00:06:38,640 Remember how he has to get up so early in the morning just to find a little bit 68 00:06:38,640 –> 00:06:42,420 of space where there are not people who are crowding around him with relentless 69 00:06:42,420 –> 00:06:47,279 demands? When your schedule seems absolutely overwhelming to you, your 70 00:06:47,399 –> 00:06:53,320 Jesus knows what that is like. He knows that human experience of just being 71 00:06:53,320 –> 00:06:59,279 exhausted with more people, more problems, more questions, more demands. 72 00:06:59,279 –> 00:07:03,519 And so when you face that, you can come to him and you can say, now I know that 73 00:07:03,519 –> 00:07:10,339 you know this. You know what it’s like. He knows what it is to be surrounded by 74 00:07:10,339 –> 00:07:15,519 darkness. I’m thinking about him on the cross there and feeling that God is very 75 00:07:15,519 –> 00:07:26,260 very far away, and saying in agony, my God, my God, why? And so if you come to 76 00:07:26,260 –> 00:07:29,859 such an experience when you find yourself in great darkness, and God seems 77 00:07:29,859 –> 00:07:35,619 very very far away, and you are asking the question why, you can come to Jesus 78 00:07:35,619 –> 00:07:42,619 and you can say I know that you know what this is like. You’ve been there, and 79 00:07:42,980 –> 00:07:49,459 He will walk there with you. Now I have found it and continue to find it very 80 00:07:49,459 –> 00:07:53,320 very helpful when I face particular difficulties, just to try and think about 81 00:07:53,320 –> 00:07:58,299 the life of Jesus, and say where has Jesus experienced something that enables 82 00:07:58,299 –> 00:08:03,440 Him to relate to this? And then for me to be able to come to Him in the light 83 00:08:03,440 –> 00:08:12,119 of that, and say Jesus, I know that you know. And this is the wonderful truth in 84 00:08:12,380 –> 00:08:18,119 Hebrews in chapter four, we have a high priest who is able to sympathize with 85 00:08:18,119 –> 00:08:22,399 our weaknesses. Why? Because he’s been tempted, he’s been tested, he’s been put 86 00:08:22,399 –> 00:08:28,600 under pressure in every way as we are, he did it as a man in this world, 87 00:08:28,600 –> 00:08:35,419 and yet he did it without sin. He’s been there, and it’s one thing to 88 00:08:35,419 –> 00:08:38,760 feel sorry for a person who is going through something that you’ve never 89 00:08:38,760 –> 00:08:43,700 experienced, it’s another thing to be able to empathize to sympathize with 90 00:08:43,700 –> 00:08:48,500 someone who is walking in a place where you walk and you know exactly what it’s 91 00:08:48,500 –> 00:08:53,640 like, and you know the agonies that are involved. Well, this is what Hebrews is 92 00:08:53,640 –> 00:09:01,820 telling us about the Lord Jesus, and the depth of his love flows out of his real 93 00:09:02,039 –> 00:09:11,299 life experience in the flesh in this world. Just to underline it, if you glance 94 00:09:11,299 –> 00:09:17,979 back a page or so to Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 17, we have a remarkable 95 00:09:17,979 –> 00:09:22,659 statement that about Christ’s mercy towards us. It says that He had to be 96 00:09:22,659 –> 00:09:30,020 made like his brothers in every respect so that he might become a merciful and 97 00:09:30,020 –> 00:09:37,859 faithful High Priest. Now notice the word become. The Incarnation, Jesus taking on 98 00:09:37,859 –> 00:09:45,419 flesh, was in order that He may become a certain kind of High Priest, a merciful 99 00:09:45,419 –> 00:09:54,260 one. Now, God is merciful by nature, always has been, always will be. The 100 00:09:54,260 –> 00:09:59,919 steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end. That’s 101 00:09:59,960 –> 00:10:04,359 in the Old Testament. That has always been true of God. And Christ is God so this 102 00:10:04,359 –> 00:10:09,580 has always been true of Him. So what can the book of Hebrews possibly mean when 103 00:10:09,580 –> 00:10:13,739 it says He had to become like us, like his brothers in every respect, so that He 104 00:10:13,739 –> 00:10:20,960 may become a merciful High Priest. Since mercy is already in His nature and the 105 00:10:20,960 –> 00:10:28,460 answer is what is added through the Incarnation, the humanity of Christ, is 106 00:10:29,179 –> 00:10:39,099 that your Savior knows from the inside, from His own experience as a man, what 107 00:10:39,099 –> 00:10:44,340 the pressures and testings and temptations of life in this world are 108 00:10:44,340 –> 00:10:51,700 really like. And when you face them and feel the intensity of them this Savior 109 00:10:52,419 –> 00:11:03,059 to say to you truly, I’ve been there and I know what it’s like and I will walk 110 00:11:03,059 –> 00:11:10,820 with you. Now you may say is that really true? I mean it says that 111 00:11:10,820 –> 00:11:15,380 he’s been tempted in every way as we are, yet without sin. Well that 112 00:11:15,380 –> 00:11:19,380 does put him in a different category, doesn’t it? I mean he cannot, therefore, 113 00:11:19,700 –> 00:11:24,900 the wretchedness, the guilt that I sometimes experience in this world. 114 00:11:24,900 –> 00:11:34,580 Well, remember this, yes he was without sin, but our sins and their guilt 115 00:11:35,460 –> 00:11:43,460 and their shame were laid on him. They were counted as being his, 116 00:11:44,419 –> 00:11:53,700 they were imputed to him. That’s counted as his. 2 Corinthians 5, verse 21 says this, 117 00:11:53,700 –> 00:11:58,020 that he became sin for us, even though he knew no sin himself. 118 00:11:59,780 –> 00:12:06,619 So he knows what the feeling of guilt and shame is like, because it was put on him, 119 00:12:06,619 –> 00:12:12,159 not because of any of his own sins because he had none, but because ours were laid on him 120 00:12:12,359 –> 00:12:17,599 and he absorbed in himself all the wretchedness that is involved with that. 121 00:12:19,400 –> 00:12:24,440 It’s for that reason that Thomas Goodwin says something quite remarkable that 122 00:12:24,440 –> 00:12:28,299 I discovered this week and I think I will hold on to for the rest of my life 123 00:12:28,299 –> 00:12:32,859 and I comment it to you. Thomas Goodwin says this to believers, 124 00:12:32,859 –> 00:12:41,659 your sins move Christ more to pity than to anger. 125 00:12:41,659 –> 00:12:47,840 That’s wonderful! Your sins move your Saviour 126 00:12:47,840 –> 00:12:51,659 more to pity than to anger. 127 00:12:51,659 –> 00:12:55,619 You see, I wonder how many Christians live with this feeling 128 00:12:55,619 –> 00:12:59,739 that your glorious and perfect Saviour is somehow kind of 129 00:12:59,739 –> 00:13:02,840 leaning over the parapets of Heaven and looking down at our 130 00:13:02,840 –> 00:13:06,640 sort of attempts to live the Christian life and sort of saying, 131 00:13:06,640 –> 00:13:09,919 what is wrong with you, you know? 132 00:13:09,919 –> 00:13:12,799 Why are you like this? Why are you not making more progress? 133 00:13:12,799 –> 00:13:19,479 That somehow he looks out of Heaven in some kind of exasperation with us… 134 00:13:19,479 –> 00:13:25,020 And we don’t have an exasperated high priest. 135 00:13:25,260 –> 00:13:30,500 We have a high priest who is able to sympathize with us 136 00:13:30,500 –> 00:13:33,380 because when you tempted, he says, i know what that’s like 137 00:13:33,380 –> 00:13:35,460 I remember it. 138 00:13:35,460 –> 00:13:38,960 He remembers what it is to be exhausted. 139 00:13:38,960 –> 00:13:42,320 He remembers what it is to be tempted. 140 00:13:42,320 –> 00:13:45,479 He remembers what it is to feel in great darkness 141 00:13:45,479 –> 00:13:48,359 with the sense of the love of God so far away from you. 142 00:13:48,359 –> 00:13:51,580 He remembers what it is. 143 00:13:51,580 –> 00:13:54,400 And here is the good news for us. Here is what it means for us. 144 00:13:54,559 –> 00:13:57,919 When you feel completely wretched about yourself, 145 00:13:57,940 –> 00:14:00,539 you can come to this Lord Jesus Christ 146 00:14:00,539 –> 00:14:03,940 because he is not going to look at you with disdain and with anger 147 00:14:03,940 –> 00:14:06,039 or patronize you in some way. 148 00:14:06,039 –> 00:14:08,500 He is going to receive you with mercy. 149 00:14:08,500 –> 00:14:10,119 He has compassion for you. 150 00:14:10,119 –> 00:14:12,380 Your sins move him more to pity 151 00:14:12,380 –> 00:14:13,619 than to anger. 152 00:14:13,619 –> 00:14:14,700 Isn’t that wonderful? 153 00:14:14,700 –> 00:14:19,280 Doesn’t that make you feel that you could come to Jesus Christ 154 00:14:19,280 –> 00:14:22,739 because he is ready to take the wretchedness 155 00:14:22,739 –> 00:14:25,619 and that burden of guilt and shame from you 156 00:14:25,619 –> 00:14:29,000 and to stand with you in the difficulties you face? 157 00:14:29,000 –> 00:14:32,159 He knows! 158 00:14:32,159 –> 00:14:34,960 When you come to him, you can truly say, 159 00:14:34,960 –> 00:14:38,239 Lord I know, 160 00:14:38,239 –> 00:14:40,700 that you know. 161 00:14:40,700 –> 00:14:46,580 The strength of his love flows out of homicide 162 00:14:46,580 –> 00:14:50,299 which is the effect of his marvelous incarnation. 163 00:14:50,299 –> 00:14:51,619 God became man 164 00:14:51,619 –> 00:14:54,700 and He lived in the violence and the brokenness 165 00:14:54,700 –> 00:14:58,299 and the anger and the difficulty 166 00:14:58,299 –> 00:15:03,119 and the pain of life in this world. 167 00:15:03,119 –> 00:15:06,820 That’s your Jesus, 168 00:15:06,820 –> 00:15:13,119 the strength of His love in His sympathy. 169 00:15:13,119 –> 00:15:15,859 And when you grasp that your sins move him more to pity 170 00:15:15,859 –> 00:15:18,659 than to anger you will feel more deeply 171 00:15:18,780 –> 00:15:22,359 and enjoy more fully the depth 172 00:15:22,359 –> 00:15:27,679 of His great, great love towards you. 173 00:15:27,679 –> 00:15:29,679 Here’s the second thing. 174 00:15:29,679 –> 00:15:32,559 I want you to see today the strength of Christ’s love 175 00:15:32,559 –> 00:15:34,880 in His resolve. 176 00:15:34,880 –> 00:15:37,059 That is His sheer commitment to love 177 00:15:37,059 –> 00:15:41,479 and go on loving under all circumstances 178 00:15:41,479 –> 00:15:45,179 those who are His own. 179 00:15:45,179 –> 00:15:46,880 Now this is very important, friends, 180 00:15:46,940 –> 00:15:49,479 because more and more people in our world 181 00:15:49,479 –> 00:15:53,380 have experienced a love that does not last. 182 00:15:53,380 –> 00:15:54,880 And if that has been your experience, 183 00:15:54,880 –> 00:15:56,440 someone said, I’ll love you forever. 184 00:15:56,440 –> 00:15:58,679 And then it turned out that they didn’t. 185 00:15:58,679 –> 00:16:00,640 You will be very suspicious of anyone 186 00:16:00,640 –> 00:16:04,000 who says to you, I will love you always. 187 00:16:04,000 –> 00:16:06,880 And yet, that is precisely the pledge of Jesus Christ 188 00:16:06,880 –> 00:16:11,340 to every believer, and you can be confident 189 00:16:11,340 –> 00:16:13,080 in the strength, the resolve, 190 00:16:13,080 –> 00:16:18,080 the endurance of his great love for you. 191 00:16:20,080 –> 00:16:22,119 Now to try and get at this more clearly, 192 00:16:22,119 –> 00:16:24,340 I’ve been thinking about what is it 193 00:16:24,340 –> 00:16:26,859 that causes relationships of love to end? 194 00:16:26,859 –> 00:16:29,320 Here are people who say they’ll love each other forever, 195 00:16:29,320 –> 00:16:31,739 and then they end up at a great distance from each other, 196 00:16:31,739 –> 00:16:34,479 not able to live together, and all of that. 197 00:16:34,479 –> 00:16:39,000 What is it that causes love to end in human relationships? 198 00:16:39,119 –> 00:16:41,580 I think it boils down to three things, 199 00:16:41,580 –> 00:16:43,580 or one of three things. 200 00:16:43,580 –> 00:16:46,640 Sometimes it’s because of the sheer difficulties of life. 201 00:16:47,739 –> 00:16:51,000 Sometimes it’s because of deficiencies 202 00:16:51,000 –> 00:16:53,340 that are discovered in another person 203 00:16:53,340 –> 00:16:55,020 that become frustrating 204 00:16:55,020 –> 00:16:58,400 and more and more difficult to live with. 205 00:16:58,400 –> 00:17:00,840 Sometimes, of course, it’s because of disloyalty 206 00:17:00,840 –> 00:17:05,839 and the breaking of bonds and of loyalty to one another. 207 00:17:06,020 –> 00:17:08,239 I want you to think about this with me. 208 00:17:09,300 –> 00:17:10,880 That the love of Jesus Christ 209 00:17:10,880 –> 00:17:13,959 is stronger than any of these, 210 00:17:13,959 –> 00:17:17,099 and the love of Jesus Christ for you, brother, sister, 211 00:17:17,099 –> 00:17:21,420 is stronger than all of them put together. 212 00:17:22,880 –> 00:17:26,640 Now, think about how difficulty can put pressure 213 00:17:26,640 –> 00:17:28,280 on a relationship of love. 214 00:17:29,640 –> 00:17:30,839 In the Marriage Vows, 215 00:17:30,839 –> 00:17:34,920 we have people speak about loving each other 216 00:17:34,920 –> 00:17:38,160 for better or worse, for richer or poorer, 217 00:17:38,699 –> 00:17:41,020 in sickness and in health. 218 00:17:41,020 –> 00:17:42,459 And the reason we do that 219 00:17:42,459 –> 00:17:45,099 is because life can take different directions, 220 00:17:45,099 –> 00:17:48,400 and we all know that it is relatively easy to love 221 00:17:48,400 –> 00:17:50,180 when life is better, 222 00:17:50,180 –> 00:17:52,420 when your salary is going up 223 00:17:52,420 –> 00:17:55,099 and the household income is making you richer, 224 00:17:55,099 –> 00:17:58,280 and when everyone in the family is in good health. 225 00:17:59,699 –> 00:18:03,060 But when you find yourself in a situation 226 00:18:03,060 –> 00:18:05,459 where life takes a turn from the worse, 227 00:18:06,459 –> 00:18:10,219 you lose a job or family income is now under great pressure, 228 00:18:10,219 –> 00:18:11,780 you’re finding yourself poorer, 229 00:18:11,780 –> 00:18:14,319 and there’s all the anxiety that goes with that. 230 00:18:15,819 –> 00:18:18,680 Or when sickness comes to a family, 231 00:18:18,680 –> 00:18:23,579 someone is afflicted with mental illness, 232 00:18:23,579 –> 00:18:26,640 significant health problem, 233 00:18:27,619 –> 00:18:30,180 cannot function in the way that they did. 234 00:18:30,180 –> 00:18:33,979 A special needs child is brought into a family, 235 00:18:33,979 –> 00:18:38,099 and enormous pressures are placed on this family. 236 00:18:38,099 –> 00:18:41,540 Simply read the stats and it tells you 237 00:18:41,540 –> 00:18:44,780 what the pressures are on a family 238 00:18:44,780 –> 00:18:49,239 when these kind of events come to pass. 239 00:18:49,239 –> 00:18:53,280 And sometimes you know that just the sheer difficulties 240 00:18:53,280 –> 00:18:55,260 of life overwhelm love. 241 00:18:56,280 –> 00:18:59,219 And someone said they love you, they will love you always, 242 00:18:59,219 –> 00:19:02,479 but what happened was the sheer difficulties of life 243 00:19:02,560 –> 00:19:06,819 that were shared together placed a strain on that love 244 00:19:06,819 –> 00:19:11,400 that was heavier than the love itself was able to bear 245 00:19:11,400 –> 00:19:14,859 and then the next thing they were gone. 246 00:19:16,420 –> 00:19:19,839 Now what I want to press home into your heart today 247 00:19:19,839 –> 00:19:23,160 is this wonderful assurance that Jesus Christ 248 00:19:23,160 –> 00:19:26,780 pledges his love to his people through every difficulty 249 00:19:26,780 –> 00:19:28,380 and every challenge of life. 250 00:19:29,280 –> 00:19:33,319 That’s why he says in Isaiah chapter 53, 251 00:19:33,319 –> 00:19:37,819 when you pass through the waters, 252 00:19:37,819 –> 00:19:39,780 I will be with you. 253 00:19:39,780 –> 00:19:44,479 When you are going through the difficulties 254 00:19:44,479 –> 00:19:49,479 of life being worse and poorer and sickness, 255 00:19:50,920 –> 00:19:53,020 when you pass through these waters, 256 00:19:53,020 –> 00:19:57,640 I will be with you and the waters will not overwhelm you. 257 00:19:58,380 –> 00:19:59,239 Why? 258 00:20:00,180 –> 00:20:01,880 Because I am the Lord, 259 00:20:01,880 –> 00:20:04,380 your savior, 260 00:20:04,380 –> 00:20:07,579 and I love you. 261 00:20:08,520 –> 00:20:09,540 I love you. 262 00:20:11,579 –> 00:20:13,000 Think about the difficulties 263 00:20:13,000 –> 00:20:14,880 that were endured by Job 264 00:20:15,859 –> 00:20:19,160 and the immense pressures that came on his life. 265 00:20:20,040 –> 00:20:22,540 And all of his friends who came alongside 266 00:20:22,540 –> 00:20:25,959 concluded that God must have given up on him, 267 00:20:25,959 –> 00:20:28,099 that somehow he must have offended God, 268 00:20:28,119 –> 00:20:30,859 that he must have fallen out of favor with God, 269 00:20:30,859 –> 00:20:33,300 and that the frown of God must be upon him. 270 00:20:34,780 –> 00:20:36,300 And at the end of the story 271 00:20:36,300 –> 00:20:38,300 where all is revealed, 272 00:20:39,780 –> 00:20:43,339 God speaks to the friends 273 00:20:43,339 –> 00:20:46,079 and vindicates Job 274 00:20:46,079 –> 00:20:47,359 and says of Job, 275 00:20:47,359 –> 00:20:49,800 he is my servant, 276 00:20:49,800 –> 00:20:52,819 my servant, Job. 277 00:20:52,819 –> 00:20:55,359 God says to the friends in Job chapter 42, 278 00:20:55,359 –> 00:20:57,260 you’ve not spoken right about me 279 00:20:57,300 –> 00:20:59,500 as my servant Job has. 280 00:20:59,500 –> 00:21:02,380 You better get my servant Job to pray for you 281 00:21:02,380 –> 00:21:04,619 because my servant Job 282 00:21:05,699 –> 00:21:07,219 is the one who has spoken 283 00:21:07,219 –> 00:21:09,859 what is right about me. 284 00:21:09,859 –> 00:21:11,479 God owns this man. 285 00:21:12,339 –> 00:21:14,140 God says in all of the difficulties 286 00:21:14,140 –> 00:21:15,060 that he has been through, 287 00:21:15,060 –> 00:21:16,540 one thing has never changed. 288 00:21:16,540 –> 00:21:19,459 He’s my man, he’s mine. 289 00:21:19,459 –> 00:21:21,660 He is my servant Job. 290 00:21:21,660 –> 00:21:23,680 I have never stopped loving him. 291 00:21:23,680 –> 00:21:25,459 The difficulties of Job’s life 292 00:21:25,459 –> 00:21:27,099 could not overwhelm 293 00:21:27,099 –> 00:21:28,599 the love of God for him. 294 00:21:28,599 –> 00:21:31,540 And the challenges and the difficulties of your life 295 00:21:31,540 –> 00:21:33,619 will never overwhelm 296 00:21:34,540 –> 00:21:37,739 the love of God for you. 297 00:21:40,380 –> 00:21:42,060 Now what about deficiencies? 298 00:21:43,520 –> 00:21:46,060 Love sometimes loses strength 299 00:21:46,060 –> 00:21:49,300 and its fires are sometimes extinguished 300 00:21:50,180 –> 00:21:54,680 because of deficiencies in another person 301 00:21:54,680 –> 00:21:57,020 that become increasingly difficult 302 00:21:57,099 –> 00:21:59,520 to live with over time. 303 00:22:00,739 –> 00:22:02,359 I looked up on the web this week 304 00:22:02,359 –> 00:22:06,300 some lists of complaints 305 00:22:06,300 –> 00:22:10,099 that wives typically make against their husbands 306 00:22:10,099 –> 00:22:13,239 and just to be fair and balanced and all of that, 307 00:22:13,239 –> 00:22:16,140 I looked up some lists of complaints 308 00:22:16,140 –> 00:22:17,800 that are made with regards to wives. 309 00:22:17,800 –> 00:22:21,660 I found no surprises at all, fairly predictable. 310 00:22:21,660 –> 00:22:24,739 Let me give to you three that come up regularly 311 00:22:24,780 –> 00:22:26,979 near the top of these lists, 312 00:22:26,979 –> 00:22:28,339 at least the ones that I looked at. 313 00:22:28,339 –> 00:22:31,699 Number one, he doesn’t communicate. 314 00:22:31,699 –> 00:22:34,500 Is anyone surprised by that, by the way? 315 00:22:34,500 –> 00:22:38,439 Number two, he’s too demanding 316 00:22:38,439 –> 00:22:41,819 and that goes off in various directions as you can imagine. 317 00:22:41,819 –> 00:22:44,099 And number three, he’s no help. 318 00:22:44,099 –> 00:22:46,339 I mean, you know this is about cleaning up clothes 319 00:22:46,339 –> 00:22:49,020 and stuff like that and all the rest of it. 320 00:22:49,020 –> 00:22:50,119 Here’s my question. 321 00:22:51,660 –> 00:22:53,599 He doesn’t communicate. 322 00:22:55,219 –> 00:22:56,939 How would it be for you 323 00:22:58,439 –> 00:23:01,500 if God’s love for you ebbed and flowed 324 00:23:01,500 –> 00:23:05,880 according to the quality of your communication with him? 325 00:23:07,540 –> 00:23:09,219 If God’s love were to diminish 326 00:23:09,219 –> 00:23:11,900 because of the deficiency of your prayers, 327 00:23:13,680 –> 00:23:14,900 how would that be for you? 328 00:23:17,099 –> 00:23:18,599 He’s too demanding. 329 00:23:20,380 –> 00:23:23,219 How would it be for you if Christ’s love 330 00:23:23,219 –> 00:23:26,520 was tied to the contentment of your spirit, 331 00:23:27,599 –> 00:23:29,719 the gratitude of your heart, 332 00:23:31,260 –> 00:23:33,099 so that Christ loved you well 333 00:23:33,099 –> 00:23:35,060 whenever you were truly contented. 334 00:23:35,060 –> 00:23:37,500 But whenever you were with this feeling 335 00:23:37,500 –> 00:23:40,359 that God somehow owes you more than he’s actually given you 336 00:23:40,359 –> 00:23:41,900 and there’s something else and there’s something else 337 00:23:41,900 –> 00:23:43,560 and there’s something else 338 00:23:43,560 –> 00:23:45,500 that somehow his love for you would diminish 339 00:23:45,500 –> 00:23:46,900 because you’re too demanding. 340 00:23:48,660 –> 00:23:49,819 He’s no help. 341 00:23:50,339 –> 00:23:53,540 How would it be if Christ’s love for you 342 00:23:53,540 –> 00:23:56,119 varied and rested on and responded to 343 00:23:56,119 –> 00:23:58,239 the degree in which you are useful to him 344 00:23:58,239 –> 00:24:00,060 in his great work of his kingdom 345 00:24:00,060 –> 00:24:02,540 and ministry around the world? 346 00:24:04,660 –> 00:24:05,939 He doesn’t communicate. 347 00:24:07,619 –> 00:24:08,939 He’s too demanding. 348 00:24:10,199 –> 00:24:11,339 He’s no help. 349 00:24:13,400 –> 00:24:16,959 If Christ’s love corresponded to 350 00:24:17,000 –> 00:24:20,079 the deficiencies in our character 351 00:24:20,079 –> 00:24:22,160 and in our Christian walk, 352 00:24:23,680 –> 00:24:24,619 where would you be? 353 00:24:26,859 –> 00:24:28,219 We used to sing a hymn, 354 00:24:28,219 –> 00:24:30,979 growing up in the church that I grew up in, 355 00:24:30,979 –> 00:24:32,060 in Scotland. 356 00:24:32,959 –> 00:24:34,300 It’s a confession, really, 357 00:24:34,300 –> 00:24:36,699 that I think every Christian can relate to. 358 00:24:38,420 –> 00:24:42,420 We have not known thee as we ought, 359 00:24:43,319 –> 00:24:46,239 nor learned thy wisdom, grace and power 360 00:24:47,099 –> 00:24:50,719 the things of earth have filled our thought 361 00:24:50,719 –> 00:24:53,199 and trifles of the passing hour. 362 00:24:54,439 –> 00:24:58,859 We have not loved thee as we ought 363 00:24:58,859 –> 00:25:01,780 nor cared that we are loved by thee. 364 00:25:01,780 –> 00:25:05,800 Thy presence we have coldly sought 365 00:25:05,800 –> 00:25:08,400 and feebly longed 366 00:25:08,400 –> 00:25:09,800 thy face to see. 367 00:25:11,239 –> 00:25:14,199 We have not served thee as we ought. 368 00:25:14,219 –> 00:25:17,280 Alas, the duties that are left undone, 369 00:25:17,280 –> 00:25:19,839 the work with little fervor wrought, 370 00:25:19,839 –> 00:25:24,520 the battles lost or scarcely won. 371 00:25:27,199 –> 00:25:30,420 Thank God, brother, sister, 372 00:25:30,420 –> 00:25:34,280 that Christ’s love for us does not depend 373 00:25:34,280 –> 00:25:37,099 on our performance in the Christian life. 374 00:25:37,099 –> 00:25:39,439 Don’t you thank God for that today? 375 00:25:39,439 –> 00:25:41,359 Where would we be 376 00:25:41,380 –> 00:25:45,040 if he looked at all the deficiencies of our Christian life 377 00:25:45,040 –> 00:25:48,040 and his love varied according to our deficiencies. 378 00:25:48,040 –> 00:25:50,760 His love is stronger than our deficiencies, 379 00:25:50,760 –> 00:25:52,500 that’s the strength of his love. 380 00:25:53,680 –> 00:25:58,640 Thank God for that, that’s why it says in Psalm 103, 381 00:25:58,640 –> 00:26:00,619 God knows our frame. 382 00:26:00,619 –> 00:26:03,219 He remembers that we are dust. 383 00:26:03,219 –> 00:26:05,079 He has compassion, as a father, 384 00:26:05,079 –> 00:26:06,959 has compassion for his children. 385 00:26:06,959 –> 00:26:09,319 He loved us while we were still sinners 386 00:26:09,339 –> 00:26:10,780 and he loves us now 387 00:26:10,780 –> 00:26:14,520 in all our deficiencies as Christians. 388 00:26:16,660 –> 00:26:20,400 All the weaknesses of our own walk. 389 00:26:22,280 –> 00:26:26,040 That is, of course, why Christ loved Thomas. 390 00:26:26,040 –> 00:26:28,900 Even when Thomas’ faith was riddled 391 00:26:28,900 –> 00:26:31,000 with questions and with doubts. 392 00:26:31,000 –> 00:26:33,579 You may have come here and you are Christ’s 393 00:26:33,579 –> 00:26:35,400 but you have all kinds of questions, 394 00:26:35,400 –> 00:26:37,199 you have all kinds of doubts right now. 395 00:26:37,199 –> 00:26:38,359 Here’s what you need to know. 396 00:26:38,479 –> 00:26:40,000 He loves you right now 397 00:26:40,000 –> 00:26:42,800 despite the deficiencies in your faith. 398 00:26:44,859 –> 00:26:46,199 He does not love you less 399 00:26:46,199 –> 00:26:47,560 and he could not love you more. 400 00:26:47,560 –> 00:26:49,339 That’s the strength of His love. 401 00:26:51,180 –> 00:26:53,359 It arises from His great sympathy 402 00:26:53,359 –> 00:26:55,520 because He’s seen life from the inside. 403 00:26:55,520 –> 00:26:56,619 He knows what it’s like. 404 00:26:56,619 –> 00:27:01,619 He remembers and it’s seen in His great resolve. 405 00:27:03,819 –> 00:27:05,920 He’ll love you through all the difficulties 406 00:27:05,920 –> 00:27:06,760 of your life. 407 00:27:06,939 –> 00:27:10,260 He’ll love you despite all the deficiencies 408 00:27:10,260 –> 00:27:11,579 of your character. 409 00:27:13,459 –> 00:27:18,459 Then even when it comes to the great failures of life 410 00:27:19,260 –> 00:27:21,819 that we remember and that we lament, 411 00:27:21,819 –> 00:27:23,780 think about this disloyalty. 412 00:27:25,619 –> 00:27:28,739 The whole book of Hosea is dedicated to this theme 413 00:27:28,739 –> 00:27:32,119 of how God’s love is stronger than our disloyalty. 414 00:27:32,119 –> 00:27:33,380 But I want to draw your attention 415 00:27:33,380 –> 00:27:35,140 to just one verse in the New Testament 416 00:27:35,660 –> 00:27:37,739 that is very wonderful on this. 417 00:27:37,739 –> 00:27:40,500 It’s 2 Timothy 2 and verse 13. 418 00:27:41,660 –> 00:27:44,839 If we are faithless, 419 00:27:44,839 –> 00:27:49,020 He will remain faithful 420 00:27:49,020 –> 00:27:54,020 for he cannot disown himself. 421 00:27:54,199 –> 00:27:56,680 Here is a wonderful promise that is given 422 00:27:56,680 –> 00:27:59,780 to the children of God, 423 00:27:59,780 –> 00:28:01,780 those who belong to Christ. 424 00:28:01,780 –> 00:28:04,540 You see, He’s made one with His people 425 00:28:05,560 –> 00:28:07,219 and not only is this pictured 426 00:28:07,219 –> 00:28:09,660 as the bride and the bridegroom, 427 00:28:09,660 –> 00:28:12,800 it’s pictured as the vine and the branches. 428 00:28:12,800 –> 00:28:16,020 How could the vine disown the branches? 429 00:28:16,020 –> 00:28:16,979 Not possible. 430 00:28:17,939 –> 00:28:20,180 For a vine to disown the branches 431 00:28:20,180 –> 00:28:22,560 would be for the vine to disown itself. 432 00:28:22,560 –> 00:28:24,260 He cannot disown us 433 00:28:24,260 –> 00:28:27,040 because that would be to disown Himself. 434 00:28:27,040 –> 00:28:28,939 Therefore He remains faithful 435 00:28:28,939 –> 00:28:32,819 to those who are His own even when we are faithless. 436 00:28:33,319 –> 00:28:37,819 Or another analogy that is used is the head and the body. 437 00:28:37,819 –> 00:28:40,939 How could the head possibly disown the body? 438 00:28:40,939 –> 00:28:43,219 Christ is the head, we are His body. 439 00:28:44,339 –> 00:28:48,579 We may be a faithless body, but it’s still His body 440 00:28:48,579 –> 00:28:52,239 and He cannot disown His body without disowning Himself. 441 00:28:53,900 –> 00:28:56,479 Now you see the power of this argument here 442 00:28:56,479 –> 00:28:59,219 as to the strength of Christ’s love 443 00:28:59,219 –> 00:29:00,979 and there may come a moment in your life 444 00:29:01,020 –> 00:29:02,540 when you fall back on this 445 00:29:02,540 –> 00:29:04,339 and you’re so grateful for it. 446 00:29:04,339 –> 00:29:05,739 Think of the story of Peter. 447 00:29:05,739 –> 00:29:08,439 That’s the classic example in the New Testament. 448 00:29:10,420 –> 00:29:11,459 And here you have a story 449 00:29:11,459 –> 00:29:13,900 not just of general weakness and deficiency, 450 00:29:13,900 –> 00:29:17,319 but of a big time blowing of a man’s testimony. 451 00:29:19,859 –> 00:29:22,459 He finds himself under the pressure 452 00:29:22,459 –> 00:29:25,020 of wanting to please everybody else, 453 00:29:25,020 –> 00:29:28,859 blowing his witness to Jesus in a way that was public, 454 00:29:28,900 –> 00:29:31,800 his testimony now lies in ruins, 455 00:29:31,800 –> 00:29:34,140 his witness has been shattered. 456 00:29:36,500 –> 00:29:39,619 What use can a man like Peter be to Jesus now? 457 00:29:39,619 –> 00:29:41,819 He goes out, he weeps bitterly, why? 458 00:29:41,819 –> 00:29:46,540 Because he loves Christ, and he has let Christ down. 459 00:29:48,540 –> 00:29:52,959 Do you remember, when Peter is faithless, 460 00:29:54,540 –> 00:29:56,680 Christ remains faithful? 461 00:29:57,939 –> 00:29:58,780 Why? 462 00:29:59,079 –> 00:30:01,520 For Peter is his own, and he cannot disown himself. 463 00:30:02,599 –> 00:30:04,680 That’s why the other side of the Resurrection, 464 00:30:04,680 –> 00:30:07,859 you have Jesus saying to Peter, do you love me? 465 00:30:09,500 –> 00:30:11,920 Peter says, Jesus, you know that I love you. 466 00:30:13,640 –> 00:30:16,459 All right, says Jesus, here’s what you’re to do. 467 00:30:16,459 –> 00:30:18,800 Feed my sheep. 468 00:30:20,280 –> 00:30:21,939 The wonderful thing here is 469 00:30:21,939 –> 00:30:24,020 that for Peter, as a Christian believer, 470 00:30:24,020 –> 00:30:26,099 the moment of his greatest failure 471 00:30:26,119 –> 00:30:28,819 became the definitive turning point 472 00:30:28,819 –> 00:30:31,300 with regards to the direction of his life 473 00:30:32,160 –> 00:30:33,900 and his ministry. 474 00:30:33,900 –> 00:30:34,900 Why? 475 00:30:34,900 –> 00:30:37,420 Because the strength of the love of Christ 476 00:30:37,420 –> 00:30:41,979 that would never, never, never let him go. 477 00:30:43,400 –> 00:30:47,640 So I’m wanting you to feel the love of Christ for you. 478 00:30:47,640 –> 00:30:50,239 Arising out of his great sympathy, 479 00:30:51,579 –> 00:30:53,780 seen in the strength of his resolve 480 00:30:53,780 –> 00:30:56,099 through every difficulty, despite every deficiency 481 00:30:56,099 –> 00:30:58,359 and even through the worst of disloyalty. 482 00:30:59,900 –> 00:31:01,839 This is how Christ loves his own. 483 00:31:03,199 –> 00:31:05,380 And the very last thing, just very briefly is, 484 00:31:05,380 –> 00:31:07,060 I want you to see as we look forward 485 00:31:07,060 –> 00:31:11,260 the strength of Christ’s love in his anticipation, 486 00:31:11,260 –> 00:31:15,000 in his looking forward to what is yet to be. 487 00:31:15,000 –> 00:31:17,300 And that’ why we read from John in chapter 14 488 00:31:17,300 –> 00:31:18,859 where Jesus says, verse three, 489 00:31:18,859 –> 00:31:22,760 “‘I will come again and will take you to Myself 490 00:31:22,760 –> 00:31:27,760 “‘that where I am you may be also.’” 491 00:31:28,319 –> 00:31:30,000 The point here is a very simple one 492 00:31:30,000 –> 00:31:33,280 that people who love each other want to be together. 493 00:31:33,280 –> 00:31:36,599 Going away is always hard 494 00:31:36,599 –> 00:31:40,280 and coming back is always joyful. 495 00:31:42,359 –> 00:31:47,359 Throughout this month, my wife has been in England 496 00:31:47,819 –> 00:31:49,459 where she’s caring for her father 497 00:31:49,459 –> 00:31:50,780 who’s now quite elderly 498 00:31:50,780 –> 00:31:54,119 and right now is in a season of some particular need. 499 00:31:55,099 –> 00:31:59,219 With family and aging relatives a continent away, 500 00:31:59,219 –> 00:32:01,359 Karan and I have had I suppose 501 00:32:01,359 –> 00:32:06,140 our share of goodbyes at O’Hare Airport 502 00:32:06,140 –> 00:32:07,719 and they are never fun. 503 00:32:07,719 –> 00:32:10,579 A few weeks ago when she went for this particular trip, 504 00:32:10,579 –> 00:32:11,660 we got to the gate 505 00:32:11,660 –> 00:32:15,660 and she said what she almost always says when we get there, 506 00:32:15,780 –> 00:32:17,880 she says oh this is the bit that I hate 507 00:32:18,900 –> 00:32:21,579 and it’s the bit that I hate too. 508 00:32:21,579 –> 00:32:24,859 Why, because people who love each other 509 00:32:24,859 –> 00:32:27,520 find it hard to be parted. 510 00:32:29,719 –> 00:32:32,260 But folks I am looking forward to Friday 511 00:32:33,199 –> 00:32:38,099 because Friday is the day that she’s coming back. 512 00:32:38,099 –> 00:32:40,599 It also happens to be the 4th of July 513 00:32:40,599 –> 00:32:42,640 and so I have told her that the whole city 514 00:32:42,640 –> 00:32:45,280 is preparing a marvelous celebration 515 00:32:45,699 –> 00:32:50,140 for her return on Friday evening. 516 00:32:50,140 –> 00:32:53,339 It will be a wonderful day for me. 517 00:32:53,339 –> 00:32:58,339 And coming back is always better than going away 518 00:33:00,479 –> 00:33:02,900 for people who are in love. 519 00:33:02,900 –> 00:33:05,099 Now Jesus says I’m going 520 00:33:05,099 –> 00:33:07,699 I’m going to prepare a place for you. 521 00:33:07,699 –> 00:33:09,380 The disciples, of course are not happy 522 00:33:09,380 –> 00:33:10,640 to hear about that. 523 00:33:10,640 –> 00:33:12,839 Jesus says, no no no, this is good, 524 00:33:13,400 –> 00:33:14,219 this is right. 525 00:33:14,219 –> 00:33:15,699 I’m gonna leave my spirit with you. 526 00:33:15,699 –> 00:33:16,880 Yeah Jesus but, 527 00:33:16,880 –> 00:33:19,979 we want to be able to see you face to face. 528 00:33:21,000 –> 00:33:22,040 And so he says yes, 529 00:33:22,040 –> 00:33:23,900 well I will come again 530 00:33:23,900 –> 00:33:26,599 and I will take you to myself 531 00:33:26,599 –> 00:33:31,540 that where I am you may be also. 532 00:33:32,599 –> 00:33:34,520 Friends, this tells us something wonderful 533 00:33:34,520 –> 00:33:36,979 about the love of the Lord Jesus Christ. 534 00:33:39,400 –> 00:33:41,479 Here he is, he’s risen from the dead. 535 00:33:42,000 –> 00:33:43,079 And he’s ascended in glory, 536 00:33:43,079 –> 00:33:44,040 he’s in heaven, 537 00:33:44,040 –> 00:33:45,859 he’s at the right hand of the Father. 538 00:33:45,859 –> 00:33:47,660 What more could he possibly want? 539 00:33:47,660 –> 00:33:50,239 Answer, there is something that he wants. 540 00:33:51,400 –> 00:33:55,439 Father, I want that those who you have given to me 541 00:33:55,439 –> 00:33:57,140 will be with me, 542 00:33:57,140 –> 00:33:58,400 that’s what I want 543 00:33:58,400 –> 00:34:02,000 and he lives in the anticipation of this. 544 00:34:04,239 –> 00:34:07,239 And all of his people are not yet with him. 545 00:34:08,320 –> 00:34:10,820 So there is a joy that lies ahead of Jesus 546 00:34:10,899 –> 00:34:15,620 that is still to be experienced by him and for him. 547 00:34:15,620 –> 00:34:17,959 It is the joy for which he suffered and died. 548 00:34:17,959 –> 00:34:20,120 It is the joy, the book of Hebrews says, 549 00:34:20,120 –> 00:34:22,639 was set before him. 550 00:34:22,639 –> 00:34:23,479 What was that? 551 00:34:23,479 –> 00:34:24,620 It wasn’t the resurrection, 552 00:34:24,620 –> 00:34:25,939 it wasn’t the ascension. 553 00:34:25,939 –> 00:34:27,219 It was the joy of the day 554 00:34:27,219 –> 00:34:28,939 when he would gather all of the people 555 00:34:28,939 –> 00:34:30,979 who had been redeemed by his grace, 556 00:34:30,979 –> 00:34:31,939 his own people, 557 00:34:31,939 –> 00:34:34,179 and present them in the presence of his Father 558 00:34:34,179 –> 00:34:35,459 and say Father, 559 00:34:35,459 –> 00:34:36,540 here I am 560 00:34:36,540 –> 00:34:38,860 and the children that you have given to me. 561 00:34:38,860 –> 00:34:40,280 And that hasn’t happened yet. 562 00:34:40,280 –> 00:34:41,639 He looks forward to it, 563 00:34:41,639 –> 00:34:44,120 he anticipates it. 564 00:34:45,919 –> 00:34:50,679 Thomas Goodwin points to Hebrews 10 and verse 37 on this 565 00:34:50,679 –> 00:34:51,520 which says, 566 00:34:51,520 –> 00:34:53,100 yet a little while 567 00:34:53,100 –> 00:34:55,199 and the coming one will come 568 00:34:55,199 –> 00:34:57,139 and will not delay. 569 00:34:57,139 –> 00:34:58,320 The coming one will come. 570 00:34:58,320 –> 00:35:00,479 That’s another of these double emphasis things 571 00:35:00,479 –> 00:35:02,800 where the same word is used twice 572 00:35:02,800 –> 00:35:04,899 just to convey intensity. 573 00:35:04,899 –> 00:35:07,540 And Goodwin says the doubling of the phrase 574 00:35:07,560 –> 00:35:11,199 implies the intensity, 575 00:35:11,199 –> 00:35:15,979 the vehemency of Christ’s desire to come, 576 00:35:16,840 –> 00:35:20,840 that his mind is always on it. 577 00:35:20,840 –> 00:35:22,340 Isn’t that a great thing to think about? 578 00:35:22,340 –> 00:35:24,000 His mind is always, 579 00:35:24,000 –> 00:35:25,739 or I’m thinking about Friday. 580 00:35:26,879 –> 00:35:29,939 Christ’s mind is always on 581 00:35:31,000 –> 00:35:33,260 when he will be with his people. 582 00:35:33,260 –> 00:35:35,159 He’s living in anticipation of that. 583 00:35:35,300 –> 00:35:37,879 He can hardly be kept away, says Thomas Goodwin. 584 00:35:37,879 –> 00:35:42,879 He will not stay a minute longer than needs must. 585 00:35:43,340 –> 00:35:44,179 Why? 586 00:35:44,179 –> 00:35:45,479 Because he loves 587 00:35:47,260 –> 00:35:48,860 the strength of his love 588 00:35:50,139 –> 00:35:52,060 in the anticipation 589 00:35:53,060 –> 00:35:55,340 of his people being where he is 590 00:35:55,340 –> 00:35:58,219 and all that he suffered and died to accomplish 591 00:35:58,219 –> 00:35:59,820 for every one of his children 592 00:35:59,820 –> 00:36:03,219 from every tribe and nation from across the world 593 00:36:03,260 –> 00:36:05,479 that great company gathered and redeemed 594 00:36:05,479 –> 00:36:06,739 will be accomplished. 595 00:36:06,739 –> 00:36:08,939 And then his joy will be complete. 596 00:36:08,939 –> 00:36:13,939 He will see the fruit of all the suffering of his soul 597 00:36:14,419 –> 00:36:18,419 and he will be satisfied. 598 00:36:18,419 –> 00:36:20,100 So I want you to feel 599 00:36:21,840 –> 00:36:24,260 the strength of Christ’s love 600 00:36:25,419 –> 00:36:27,659 in his great sympathy that arises 601 00:36:27,659 –> 00:36:30,340 from the fact that he really has lived life as a man 602 00:36:30,340 –> 00:36:31,260 in this world. 603 00:36:31,260 –> 00:36:32,939 He knows what that’s like. 604 00:36:34,100 –> 00:36:36,179 And it’s resolve, through all the difficulties 605 00:36:36,179 –> 00:36:40,879 and all of the deficiencies and even our disloyalties, 606 00:36:41,939 –> 00:36:45,020 thank God, his love does not depend on our performance 607 00:36:45,020 –> 00:36:45,919 in the Christian life. 608 00:36:45,919 –> 00:36:47,699 It’s stronger than that. 609 00:36:48,560 –> 00:36:50,320 And in the anticipation of the joy 610 00:36:50,320 –> 00:36:52,360 that is yet to be in his coming, 611 00:36:52,360 –> 00:36:55,639 I want those you have given to me, Father, 612 00:36:55,639 –> 00:36:58,959 to be with me where I am. 613 00:37:01,840 –> 00:37:02,820 And here’s the deal. 614 00:37:04,080 –> 00:37:07,840 Our whole series is that we would savor Christ’s love 615 00:37:07,840 –> 00:37:11,739 more deeply in order that we may love one another more fully. 616 00:37:13,199 –> 00:37:14,580 And Jesus says, 617 00:37:15,939 –> 00:37:20,939 “‘Love one another as I have loved you.’” 618 00:37:23,760 –> 00:37:24,919 As I’ve loved you, 619 00:37:24,919 –> 00:37:27,659 that’s how I want you husbands to love your wife. 620 00:37:29,500 –> 00:37:31,360 So I want you to love one another 621 00:37:32,340 –> 00:37:34,500 in all of the relationships of life 622 00:37:34,500 –> 00:37:36,699 and especially in the family of God. 623 00:37:39,260 –> 00:37:44,260 What that means is that we must love one another 624 00:37:46,260 –> 00:37:51,260 with a sympathy that causes us to react more with pity 625 00:37:53,699 –> 00:37:56,040 than with anger at the sins of others. 626 00:37:56,600 –> 00:38:02,199 How different the church in America would be 627 00:38:04,060 –> 00:38:07,959 if truly we reflected the strength of the love of Christ 628 00:38:09,120 –> 00:38:14,120 and the sins of others moved us more to pity than to anger? 629 00:38:16,840 –> 00:38:18,439 Wouldn’t that make a difference? 630 00:38:19,899 –> 00:38:22,719 How different Christian fellowship would be 631 00:38:22,739 –> 00:38:27,739 if the sins of others moved you more to sympathy, 632 00:38:28,899 –> 00:38:32,159 more to pity, than to anger? 633 00:38:33,840 –> 00:38:35,699 “‘I want you to love one another 634 00:38:35,699 –> 00:38:38,879 “‘as I have loved you,’ says Jesus.” 635 00:38:39,879 –> 00:38:41,820 What that means is to love one another 636 00:38:41,820 –> 00:38:44,580 through the difficulties and pressures 637 00:38:44,580 –> 00:38:48,139 of life in this world, for you to love one another. 638 00:38:48,139 –> 00:38:50,040 Here God has given you this marriage 639 00:38:50,040 –> 00:38:52,120 and now you’ve found there are some deficiencies, 640 00:38:52,139 –> 00:38:54,439 there are some things that you thought and expected 641 00:38:54,439 –> 00:38:56,159 and all of this and that’s not there 642 00:38:56,159 –> 00:38:58,560 and this is not as I would want it to be. 643 00:38:58,560 –> 00:39:01,479 You’re to love through the deficiencies 644 00:39:01,479 –> 00:39:03,939 because that is how I have loved you. 645 00:39:06,080 –> 00:39:08,159 And even in the disloyalties, 646 00:39:08,159 –> 00:39:10,899 even in the biggest disappointments of life, 647 00:39:10,899 –> 00:39:12,360 think of how I have loved you 648 00:39:12,360 –> 00:39:14,860 all across this congregation. 649 00:39:14,860 –> 00:39:18,560 There are some remarkable stories 650 00:39:18,560 –> 00:39:20,500 of redeeming love 651 00:39:22,520 –> 00:39:26,300 from what might have broken love completely. 652 00:39:28,120 –> 00:39:31,000 But a person has found the ability to love 653 00:39:31,000 –> 00:39:33,739 as Christ has first loved, 654 00:39:35,100 –> 00:39:38,639 and healing, redeeming love has flowed in 655 00:39:38,639 –> 00:39:41,840 and bonds have been renewed 656 00:39:41,840 –> 00:39:43,959 and relationships restored. 657 00:39:43,959 –> 00:39:44,879 Why? 658 00:39:45,820 –> 00:39:50,820 Of the sheer strength of the love of Jesus Christ. 659 00:39:53,419 –> 00:39:57,340 How great the love that the Father has lavished upon us 660 00:39:58,600 –> 00:40:03,600 that we should be called the children of God. 661 00:40:04,340 –> 00:40:09,340 Father, we’re just trying to take in 662 00:40:09,939 –> 00:40:13,399 how great is this love with which you have loved us 663 00:40:13,399 –> 00:40:15,320 and with which you love us even now 664 00:40:16,600 –> 00:40:19,179 and with which you will love us to all eternity. 665 00:40:20,639 –> 00:40:23,679 And we lift our hearts and we want to open our souls 666 00:40:23,679 –> 00:40:27,080 and we want to be filled with this love 667 00:40:27,080 –> 00:40:29,159 in such a way that we would reflect it 668 00:40:29,159 –> 00:40:31,360 to others who you have placed around us. 669 00:40:33,000 –> 00:40:35,239 So hear our prayers and, by your Holy Spirit, 670 00:40:35,239 –> 00:40:36,959 shed that love abroad. 671 00:40:36,959 –> 00:40:39,479 In our hearts, we pray according to the truth 672 00:40:39,479 –> 00:40:40,580 that we have taken in, 673 00:40:41,580 –> 00:40:45,760 for your praise and for your glory and for your honor, 674 00:40:45,760 –> 00:40:49,520 we ask these things and everyone together said, amen.