2023.01.29 - Love Isn’t, Love Is! The Need For God’s Love

Today, we will begin by looking at our need for love. 1. Our Need to Be Loved One of the deepest needs of our hearts is to be loved by others. Not only do we want to be loved, but we want also for others to make that love known to us. 2. Our Need for God’s Love An even deeper need is to be loved by God and to see a demonstration of His love. We must realize that even when others do not love us, God intensely loves us. My desire is to show you that the love we all need is found in God’s love for us. I) God’s Expressed Love God demonstrated His love for us. 1) The God who Loves Who is this God who loves us? We believe in the Triune God. God is One God, but He has three Persons. He is God, the Father, God, the Son and God, the Holy Spirit. There was, is, and ever will be perfect love and fellowship within the Trinity. We can build a relationship with Him, but that interactive relationship requires the giving and receiving of love. 2) The Evidence of God’s Love When we think about it, we see much evidence of God’s love for us. We see the love of God in all aspects of life. a) Nature b) Achievements c) Actions The love of God for us stands out in the actions of people who love us and the rest of God’s creation. 1 John 4:19 3) God’s Ultimate Show of Love Many have asked, “Why did Christ have to die?” “Could not God have forgiven our sins and redeemed us in some other way? The answer to both questions is clearly “No.” God loves us, but He is also just. Only Christ was sinless. Only He was a worthy sacrifice for our sins. If another plan would have worked, God the Father so love God the Son that He would have chosen the other plan. We could only be forgiven and redeemed if God loved us enough to give His Son. II) God’s Gracious Love Christ died for us as ungodly people not as godly people. If we had been righteous, He would not have died for us. 1) Because None are Righteous We were born with a tendency to sin. Therefore, as we begin thinking about God’s love, we have to admit that we are not claiming the right to b