Love Actually week 1 No greater love...

Love Actually week 1 No greater love...

When you begin to talk about love and you hear a life story like Byron and Jan's, definitively the word sacrifice comes to mind. 

John 15:12, 13 12 "I command you to love each other in the same way that I love you. 13 And here is how to measure it-the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends."

1.      Love actually is about sacrifice.

John 3:16, 17 16 "For God loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him."

1.      Jesus didn't come to condemn the world; He came to save the world.

1.      If He thinks there is hope, if He believes in humanity, we should too.

2.      Jesus made the first choice, to love and to die for us, to invite us to live with Him forever.

1.      We make the next choice-to accept or reject His offer.

2.      Without His choice, we would have no choice to make.

3.      Without His sacrifice there would be no eternal life to receive.

3.      Consider the world that God loved:

1.      Not the beautiful, perfect, sinless world He had created.

1.      A pure world of beauty.

2.      A world in harmony with Him.

2.      But a world in rebellion against Him, who hated Him.

1.      A world whose beauty had become marred by the curse of sin.

2.      A world of greed, strife, hatred, confusion and war.

1.      Yet God loved it.

3.      Mankind's fall away from God was deliberate and willful.

1.      There was nothing here to provoke His love.

2.      Our condition was not of His doing.

1.      God was under no obligation to intervene.

2.      Under no necessity to intercede.

1.      Yet moved toward love He acted. 

3.      Love must be measured by the obstacles it overcomes.

1.      God so loved the world that He gave His One, His Only Son.

1.      Giving His most prized and precious possession. 

2.      Jesus so loved the world that He laid down His life for all of mankind.

1.      Jesus was mocked, despised, rejected, ridiculed, disbelieved and crucified by the very humanity He came to rescue.

4.      Love must be measured by its gifts.

1.      God gave Jesus to suffer and die for mankind.

1.      I could understand Him giving His Son to wear a crown but not a crown of thorns.

2.      I could relate to Him coming to live a life of honor but not to live a perfect life of sacrifice.

3.      I could conceive of God giving His Son to reign but to give Him as an atonement for sin.

2.      Jesus lived and gave unto us His perfect life of sacrifice, surrender and suffering all; to wear our shame. 

2.      Love actually is about commitment.

1.      In our very confused, very selfish, very privileged lifestyles many people would rather move on then actually move forward.

1.      They would rather move onto what they believe in the moment is bigger and better things than to stay and fight through a few difficulties, disagreements and disappointments.

2.      What if Jesus would have decided to keep His life, rather than lay it down for you?

3.      What if love was only about going a few steps instead of going the distance?

1.      Jesus did the unpopular that He might accomplish the unforgettable.

2.      Jesus did the impossible to accomplish the inconceivable.

3.      Jesus made the commitment to live for others.

1.      He committed to sacrifice.

2.      He committed to justice.

3.      He committed to commitment.

4.      He committed to rescue.

4.      When you make a commitment to give an organ to someone it's a process that you can back out of at any moment.

1.      The potential donor must consider the possibility of adverse health effects after donation—as well as the potential to save the life of the recipient, who may even be a loved one.

1.      When you make a commitment you have dedicated your self to a cause, you are now engaged or obligated to follow through.

Galatians 1:4 NLT "Jesus gave His life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live."

5.      His commitment is still altering lives! 

1.      His love is still affecting the world.

2.      His passion is contagious and His forgiveness is relentless.

Galatians 6:9 NLT "So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up."

1.      This is about commitment!

2.      This is about working through it!

3.      This is about fighting and seeing the battle through to victory!

3.      Love actually is about compassion.

1.      The bible is saturated with compassion!

1.      The definition of compassion is a feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is hurting, in pain, or has misfortune and is accompanied by a strong desire to help the suffering.

1.      Jesus Christ is the greatest example of someone with true compassion.

1.      Not only did Jesus have compassion and heal people from physical suffering, he also showed the greatest compassion for mankind when died on the cross for our sins.

2.      It's not always easy to show compassion, especially when we feel like the person deserves their adversities.

1.      Compassion is a true mark of Christian character.

2.      God tells us in Colossians 3:12 to clothe ourselves with compassion, then later in verse 14 He says above all, clothe yourselves with love!

3.      James 5:11 God is full of compassion and mercy.

Romans 5:8 NLT "But God showed His great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners."

3.      God showed, God demonstrated.

4.      Jesus showed, Jesus demonstrated.

5.      The Holy Spirit shows us, He demonstrates His love, His patience, His kindness, compassion and mercy.

1.      You are to go, show, demonstrate so that the world can see how Jesus has changed your life!

2.      We've experienced man's ruin entirely of himself yet man's salvation entirely of God.

1.      It is easier for an individual to be saved than to be lost.

1.      To be saved, simply believe in Jesus Christ.

1.      Accept His love and His blood as your sacrifice.

2.      Believe in Jesus Christ.

3.      Confess your sin, your rebellion before God.

2.      To be lost:

1.      You have to reject this love.

2.      You must reject the warnings, the pleadings, the compassion, the drawing of His Holy Spirit.

3.      You must trample under foot the sufferings and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Son of God.

4.      You must count the blood of Jesus Christ's covenant unholy, unworthy, and unable to cover your sin. 

5.      And you must fight and rebel against God.

3.      Scripture declares that whosoever believes in Christ shall inherit eternal life.

4.      All who call upon the Name of Jesus shall be saved.

1.      So simple, a child can grasp.

2.      So available, all may come.

1.      No price to pay.

2.      No intellectual level to attain.

3.      Simply believe.

3.      God did not wait until the world turned to Him for help, He provided a rescue while we were unaware, uncaring, and unable.

1.      Listen, this universal offer of salvation and life in Jesus Christ is revolutionary!

1.      Have you believed on Jesus Christ?

2.      Have you trusted in this Name?

Psalm 51:1 NLT "Have mercy on me, O God, because of your unfailing love. Because of your great compassion, blot out the stain of my sins."