God Loves You

INTRODUCTION I’ve spent some time this week, trying to process through my emotions. Like many of you, I feel like they’re not as consistent as they were a month ago I FEEL the stress of trying to lead our staff and leaders…and our church through these unique times. We’ve had to reinvent how we do…everything. I feel the stress of having all 5 people in my house…together…almost all the time. Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE my family… But we’re human. And they all have to be by me all the time, which is probably isn’t easy on them. But I started thinking through, what is at the root of most of my emotions… Maybe even most of OUR emotions as a society. And I think for many of us….it’s FEAR. Fear is probably a deeper emotion than even anxiety. We’re experiencing anxiety…BECAUSE of our fears. And we don’t do well with fear. Fear turns us into…well, not so nice of people. Author Max LucAdo says it this way: Fear turns us into control freaks. Fear, at its center, is a perceived loss of control. When life spins wildly, we grab for a component of life we can manage: our diet, the tidiness of our home, the armrest of a plane, or, in many cases, other people. The more insecure we feel, the meaner we become. We growl and bare our fangs. Why? Because we are bad? In part. But also because we feel cornered. We’re afraid. That’s really insightful. Do you see that in your life right now? We feel like we’re losing control of all of our normal routines…not to mention leaving your house, or seeing your friends, or even just getting a haircut! For some of you, this is getting more serious… You feel the loss of control because you lost your job Others are losing control over their health And so what do we do when we’re afraid of losing control?? We try and grab control something else! We think, “If I could just obsessively clean this area of the house…then I could feel in control again, right?” But there’s a misconception here, right? 1 month ago, before this all started… Were you in control of your life? No, you just had the illusion of control. You could have had a fatal car accident at any time You could have been fired Someone in your family could have been surprisingly diagnosed with cancer We’re not in control of our lives. God is. It’s just when things are halfway normal, we fall for the illusion of control. And then, a global pandemic hits…and we all go, “Oh no…I have little to no control over if I keep my job…if I get sick…if I…” But did you a month ago either? No, you just had the illusion of control. And so you weren’t letting fear take over. See, the answer here is not to get everything back to normal so you can feel in control again. You never were! The answer is to anchor yourself in the One who is in control. And it’s not just that He’s some robot in the sky who’s in control. No, it’s so much better than that. We’ve been taking the 3 weeks to talk about what to do when you feel like you’re getting blown out into a sea of fear And how to be anchored in God. And more specifically…who this God is…that we’re anchoring ourselves in. (Show anchor photo from last week with both “God is in control” AND “God has been there” The first two weeks we talked about the importance of remembering that God is in control and that God has been there. And this week, I want to teach you the final part of the anchor (Show Anchor but ALSO include “God Loves You” on the vertical beam of the cross) It’s knowing that “God loves you” PERFECT LOVE DRIVES OUT FEAR And this is absolutely CRITICAL in combating your fear. Let’s look at a really important passage from the Bible on this topic: (1 John 4:16 18) – NIV 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. 17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. Look at verse 18…this is such a critical teaching from God’s Word for us right now. PERFECT LOVE (God’s Love) drives out fear. What this is saying is that when you understand how much God loves you…it is an anchor to your soul…it drives out fear. Let me explain how this works. When one of my boys was 2…he went through this stage where he REALLY didn’t like the dark. He didn’t mind it too much at night when he’s sleeping, but if one of his siblings would shut the door to the bathroom, while he’s in there alone, and it became pitch black… He would scream at the top of his lungs But I vividly remember, one day I was playing hide and seek with all 3 of my kids Which, I’m awful at. Where is a 5 foot 10 grown man supposed to hide? Well, while one of the other kids was counting, I took the one who was scared of the dark… …and I carried him into that very same bathroom, shut the light off, closed the door, and we sat down in there. It was pitch black. You couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. And he sat on my lap and giggled as we waited to be found. What’s the difference? Why no fear this time? Same room…just as dark! The difference is… He knows this time that: 1) His Father is with him this time. And 2) He knows that I love Him! And IF I love Him, then I am FOR Him So He can relax and trust me. And let the FEAR go!! LOVE drives out fear! That’s what the Bible is teaching. This is what the Love of God can do for you. Look at the second half of verse 16 again (1 John 4:16b) NIV God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. John is teaching us that if you’re living in the love of God, saturating yourself, soaking in the LOVE of God…you’ll be living in God…and His peace. It’s like putting an anchor down when the wind is raging. This is important for your prayer life right now. Don’t just sit down and say, “God, help me with this, and this, and this.” But your whole anchor together and put it down. (Put up anchor with all 3 sayings again) Declare He’s in control. Liked we talked about at the beginning. Tell Him… “God, I don’t have control. I maybe thought I did. I don’t. But you have it.” Remember, He’s been there. Tell Him: “Lord, you know what it’s like.” And then, remember, even when it’s dark, He’s the Father that is with you. You can relinquish all control to Him…because you know that He is worthy of it…and that He loves you. It’s LOVE that drives out fear… Understanding His LOVE for you is what will allow you to REST in his control. Does that make sense? WE NEED TO RELY ON GOD’S LOVE Let me show you something else in our passage. Now look at the first half of verse 16: (1 John 4:16 18) – NIV 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. John says that it’s not enough to just KNOW that God loves us. Almost all of you know that. If I asked you, “Yes or no, does God love you,” that’s not a hard question. But do you RELY on it? When the storm is raging, are you RELYING on God’s love…or are you just drowning yourself with worry, endless news intake and social media… Is the Love of God something you’re relying on, or just some theological fact in the back of your mind. When the storm is ranging, you need to RELY on it and put your anchor down! It reminds me of when the disciples are in the boat with Jesus…and a massive storm comes upon the Sea of Galilee This story so encapsulates everything we’re teaching in this series. Jesus has been there…he’s been in the storm. He is in control. If you read this story in the Bible, which you can in Mark chapter 4, you’ll see it was Jesus that suggested they get in the boat in the first place. He KNEW the storm was coming (they didn’t!), but Jesus still tells them to get in. Well, the wind starts to howl, and the waves start to break over the boat… Meanwhile, Jesus is sleeping on a cushion. And so the disciples wake Jesus up, and they say something really telling… They say, “Don’t you care if we drown?!?” There’s something hidden underneath that statement. Of course, there’s fear. But underneath even that…there’s a thought that He doesn’t love them enough to take care of them. If you would have asked the disciples questions before the storm like, “Is Jesus in control? Does He love you?” They most certainly would have answered yes. But the storm has a way of revealing how deep (or shallow) our faith actually is. And if that’s happening in your life right now… I want to encourage you to rely on…and sit in…God’s love more than you ever have before. Here’s a couple of things you can do: Google “What does the Bible say about God’s love” Find 1 or 2 of those verses, and then memorize it this week. And say it to yourself often. Set aside a time for 3 or 4 days in a row here, not just to bring all your requests to God…but to spend some time in worship. Find a couple of your favorite worship songs…or even just go back and listen to the worship in this service And just let God’s love sink deeper into your heart…not just your head. THE GOSPEL The love of God casts out fear. All of it. Do you realize how deep this passage goes? John is saying…as a Christian…you can have peace… because even if the worst should happen to us…and we would meet our end… We STILL don’t have to fear. He said followers of Jesus can have confidence on the day of judgment. They don’t need to fear (at all!) because fear has to do with punishment (verse 18), and Christians won’t be punished, but will spend eternity in heaven with Jesus. So, we have nothing to fear. We’re not afraid, because even what looks like the worst thing…leaving this earth…is a blessing! And I want to know…do you have that kind of confidence in God? Are you absolutely sure, if your life were to end, that you will be saved? That you are going to heaven? You can be sure. You can accept God’s gift of love and forgiveness. The Bible teaches that He loves you. He loves you. Even though he has seen all of your mistakes and all of your sin…He still loves you. So much so that He came to earth to die on the cross. (Show anchor with all 3 titles on it again) Look at this…the anchor…has a cross in it. What holds us together…when the sea is raging…is the cross. That our God loves us so much…SO MUCH…that He died in our place. You don’t have to fear or worry. You know your God loves you, and you don’t need to doubt it. And if you’re hearing that (or understanding that) for the first time, you can be forgiven…and be given eternal life in heaven. Jesus teaches that everyone who believes in Him, and that He died for them… Everyone who becomes one of His followers will be saved. If you want to believe in Jesus and begin to follow Him…He can save you right now. If you’re believing that for the first time today… And you want to give your life to Christ, would you let us know so we can help you get started? Either send us a message on Facebook or text Information to 31996, and we’ll get you some resources to get started. Let me pray to end the message, and then we want to respond with a song of worship. Copyright: David Sorn Renovation Church in Blaine, MN You may use this material all you like! We only ask that you do not charge a fee and that you quote the source and not say it is your own. DAVID SORN APRIL 5, 2020