Passion: Fueled By Love
Passion • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 38 viewsEaster is coming... We've all heard the story... Jesus, the Son of God, sent into this world to die on the cross for our sins, crucified, dead and buried, but on the third day... Risen Again!!! It's a beautiful story, but what drove Him? What motivated His life and mission? What kept Him going when times got so tough? Why did He trade His life for ours?! What exactly kept Him on the Cross? The answer is Love! Christ's life was fueled by a deep, abiding, unconditional, Love for ALL of humankind. He calls for us to allow that same Love to fuel our lives.
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We are in that time of year when we begin counting down the days to my favorite holiday: Easter!
Why is Easter my favorite?
Because, without Easter, Christmas is just another day of the year… Without Easter, Christmas has no meaning… it doesn’t matter…
The Birth of Christ means nothing without the “empty tomb”!
Without the Life, Death, and Resurrection, we have nothing to celebrate!
Easter is not about bunnies and candy… It’s not about egg hunts and bounce houses… It’s not even about time with family… It’s about an empty tomb! It’s about the Love of our Creator poured on a Cross for us!
This is the time of year that we come together and celebrate the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
We are going to spend the next few weeks, leading up to Easter, looking more intently at Christ’s Passion — the story leading up to Resurrection Sunday…
If you grew up in the church, or have been around the church for a minute, you’ve heard the story… Jesus beaten and bruised… hanging on the Cross… paying the price for our sin… taking the punishment that belonged to us..
40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”
41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him.
42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
Many who witnessed the crucifixion believed that it was the nails that held Him there… Some today might believe the same…
But… What really kept Him there?
Jesus spent three years walking this earth… experiencing the hardships and pain we face… He knew where He was going… He knew where it all would end… the pain and suffering He would face…
What motivated His mission?
What kept Him engaged through it all?
Why did He trade His Life for ours?
The answer — LOVE!
God has just laid out the CONSEQUENCES of what has happened to Adam and Eve… He has told them the RESULTS of their actions… the loss of RELATIONSHIP with Him and with CREATION…
And then He says:
22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
23 So the Lord God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken.
Is there any greater statement of Love than that?!
What is it that motivated God?
— Love —
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
This verse comes on the heels of Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus… (vv 2-15)
Jesus makes to crucial statements in this verse that we need to pay attention to…
“For God so loved the world...”
If I were to ask you to describe God, what would you say?
______________________________________________________
Through out the Bible, God is described as a God of love, compassion, and care…
1 John 4:8 (NIV)
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.
God’s very being, His very Character, is LOVE!
God cannot act outside of His Character! None of us can!
This is why Jesus told Nicodemus:
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
We must be born into a new nature…
Look at Nicodemus’s response in John 3:4
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
We cannot do it on our own! We cannot cause ourselves to be reborn!
BUT… We don’t have to…
Look back at John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
The word translated “Love” here is the Greek word “Agapao” (Agape)…
It is one of 4 words used in the Greek for “love”.
It means “Pure, unconditional, and sacrificial Love”… Sound familiar? (Last Week)
This is the Love that God has for His people… including you and me!
It is the love that fueled God’s actions in sending His Son into the world…
It is the love that fueled Jesus in His ministry…
It is the love that God wants to pass on to everyone who believes in Him through Jesus…
And it is the love that God wants us to pass on to others…
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
If we are going to share God’s Love with others, then we MUST understand it!
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
There are two words we need to pay attention to here: agapao and pisteuo.
Both need the context to understand what Jesus is talking about…
“loved” — “agapao” - “to have love for someone or something, based on sincere appreciation and high regard.”
— In other words, “not because of what they can do for you, but because of, simply, who they are...”
We’ll get to the second word in a little bit… For now, let’s focus on “agapao”…
“For God so loved the world...”
Lat week we talked how God’s Love is revealed throughout scripture from Genesis to Revelation… John tells us:
“God loved the World [ALL PEOPLE]”
22 And the Lord God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the tree of life and eat, and live forever.”
God’s love for His Creation — for us — refused to allow Him to leave us stuck in our “broken,” sinful state.
God’s love for US is what provided covering for us.
God’s love for US is what provided protection from an eternity of brokenness… of loss… of pain…
God’s love for US is what motivated Him to send His One and Only Son — His Word — that Eternal, Intimate, piece of Himself that allowed Creation to happen — into this world to set us free!
Do we Love like that?!?!
Are you willing to sacrifice your schedule for someone who just needs to talk?
Are you willing to sacrifice your own desires… to align them with God’s?
John 3:16 tells us HOW God Loved the World…
“For God so loved the world that He sent His Son…”
When was the last time that you gave up yourself… your time with family… your means of comfort… for the sake of someone else?
I’m not talking about a “temporary sacrifice”… I’m talking about a “costly” sacrifice…
God invested Himself!
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.
2 He was with God in the beginning.
3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
God gave Himself completely!
He risked everything… for our sake!!!
When was the last time you did that?!
When was the last time you gave yourself so completely to the work of the Kingdom… or to your Faith… that if you failed, it WILL cost you something?
If we are going to Love as God Loves… If we are going to be fueled by Agape Love…
Then we MUST give ourselves completely to it!
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.
18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
2. “Believes” — “pisteuo” - “to believe to the extent of complete trust and reliance - ‘to believe in, to have confidence in, to have faith in, to trust,...” (Louw-Nida Greek Lexicon)
The Double Greek Dictionary gives four definitions, which I want you to hear:
Dictionary of Biblical Languages with Semantic Domains: Greek (New Testament) (4409 πιστεύω)
“1. LN 31.35 think to be true, to believe, implying trust … 2. LN 31.85 trust, faith, believe to the extent of complete trust … 3. LN 31.102 have Christian faith, become a believer of the Gospel… 4. LN 35.50 entrust, put something into the care of another...”
“Pisteuo” is something deeper than simply believing that Jesus exists… or simply that He is the Son of God…
It is a deep, abiding Faith that He is the ONLY way of Life!
Look at the context of John 3:16-18:
John 3:1–15 (NRSV) [Read from Bible]
1 Now there was a Pharisee named Nicodemus, a leader of the Jews.
2 He came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God; for no one can do these signs that you do apart from the presence of God.”
3 Jesus answered him, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God without being born from above.”
4 Nicodemus said to him, “How can anyone be born after having grown old? Can one enter a second time into the mother’s womb and be born?”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly, I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and Spirit.
6 What is born of the flesh is flesh, and what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Do not be astonished that I said to you, ‘You must be born from above.’
8 The wind blows where it chooses, and you hear the sound of it, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
9 Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?”
10 Jesus answered him, “Are you a teacher of Israel, and yet you do not understand these things?
11 “Very truly, I tell you, we speak of what we know and testify to what we have seen; yet you do not receive our testimony.
12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if I tell you about heavenly things?
13 No one has ascended into heaven except the one who descended from heaven, the Son of Man.
14 And just as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
(break it down)
Nicodemus: (2)
Jesus: (3)
Nicodemus: “What? How can that happen?! How can I go back into the womb?”
Jesus: (5-8)
Let me tell you — The world can’t understand True Faith because True Faith is not of this world!!!
Nicodemus: “What?!?!?!”
Jesus: (10-15)
[right into]
(16-18)
Do you hear what Jesus is saying?
“Believe, believe, believe!”
“pisteuo, pisteuo, pisteuo”
“Entrust yourself to Me… Put yourself in My care!”
That’s Faith!!!
Why should we do that?!
Why should we put our complete and total trust in God?!
Why should we given Him total and complete control of our lives?!
Because, “God so loved the world, [that He sent a part of Himself, to step out of Heaven… off His throne… into the world… to die… FOR US!]”
Let me tell you — We are ALL GUILTY! We have ALL fallen short of the Glory of God!
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
We ALL need a savior!
So… God sent Jesus!
Jesus is the gift that God sent to humanity to show just how much He loves us.
Jesus is the gift we didn’t know we needed, AND we cannot live without!
God’s Love for us “FUELED” His actions…
God’s Love for the World should “FUEL” ours!
34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.
It takes great effort, commitment, and devotion.
It’s easy to love our friends and family…
But, what about the person who wronged you?
What about the person who stole from you?
What about the person who cheated you?
How willing are we to show the same amount of grace and mercy that we have received?
God loved the entire world — the good and bad, the rich and poor, and everyone in between!
His Love is impartial… It is unconditional!
Matthew 5:45 (NIV)
45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Because “God so Loved the World...”
“Agape” Love is selfless, sacrificial, and unconditional.
Is ours?
Loving others is tough business.
So often, our love is tied to how we feel, or how our wants and needs are being met…
When our feelings change, or our wants and needs aren’t being met, our love changes.
That is NOT the love that fueled God’s Love for His creation!
God loves even when it’s unreciprocated.
God loves when you’re nasty, rude, and mean.
God loves even when He’s not getting anything out of the relationship.
God’s Love is unending.
That’s the Love that “fuels” Jesus… It’s humble… perfect… and unstoppable!
Not even the grave could stop His Love…
Death couldn’t hold Him back…
Is that the kind of Love that “fuels” us?
As we continue in Worship and Prayer today, I want to challenge you to consider that question…
How can we love others like Jesus loves us?
Who in your life NEEDS to experience that kind of Love?
Who NEEDS to experience a Love that is free of demands… of conditions… of rules?