LOVE GOD?

 

God must first love us for us to reciprocate:

·       1 John 4:10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

 

Otherwise, we hate Him:

·       Romans 5:8-10…God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.

 

His compassion is so great that He suffers along with us:

·       Hebrews 4:15-16 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

 

·       Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them; in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; he lifted them up and carried them all the days of old.

 

We cling to Him in love as we become convinced that He hears our prayers:

·       Psalm 116:1–2 I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy. Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.

 

The encouragement of His love and Word cheers our heart:

·       Psalm 94:17–19 If the LORD had not been my help, my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.

 

We grow close to Him as He ministers to our distressing needs:

·       Psalm 34:15–19 The eyes of the LORD are toward the righteous and his ears toward their cry…When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all.

 

We learn to trust in Him as we learn that He will deliver us even if we have to wait:

·       2 Corinthians 1:10 He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

 

According to His perfect timing:

·       1 Peter 5:10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.

 

To know His love ministers to us:

·       Ephesians 3:19–21 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever.

 

 

 

EVIDENCE OF HIS LOVE FOR US

 

Death to self-will precedes fruitfulness:

·       John 12:23-25 And Jesus answered them, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.”

 

As we become assured of His love, we want to serve Him in gratitude and joy:

·       Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

 

We can cast all our cares upon Him as we become assured that he is working everything for our good:

·       Ephesians 2:10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. (; John 3:27)

 

·       1 Corinthians 15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.

 

 

 

GOD’S LOVE IN HUMBLING THE NARCISSIST AND THE ARROGANT

 

·       Psalm 145:8–9 The LORD is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. The LORD is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made.

 

But in love, He must first humble the self-righteous narcissist:

·       Matthew 23:12 Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. (Paul)

 

Otherwise, they will never love God:

·       Matthew 23:37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”

 

Eventually, He allows the rebellious to go their own way:

·       Romans 1:24–25 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! (26, 28)