Sermons
All You Need Is Love
Link to sermon video: All You Need Is Love - V Rossi
ALL YOU NEED IS LOVE!
Sermon
We often hear references to different generations like generation x or generation z. Back in the late 60s and early 70s was the era that I grew up in and was known by more than a Mear letter, we were referred to as the “Love Generation.”
We had several favorite expressions that were often used and sometimes over used.
Peace Man,
What’s your bag,
I dig it man,
You hip to it?,
Wow man that blows my mind,
Freak out man,
right on,
psychedelic, These are just a few
There was a time when then president Carter traveled to Germany. There thousands of young people were gathered to greet him as he stepped off Air Force One. Trying to be hip he said as looked at all the young people, “Out of sight and out of mind!? The interpreter relayed it as you’ll are blind and crazy!
We wore bellbottoms, naruh shirts, hip huggers, head bands, anything paisley, big medallions over our necks and long hair. We even had hair back then!
The music was a big part of the love generation as well. Who could forget Woodstock! 400,000 young people strong.
The Beatles had a song titled; All you need is Love.”
That’s the title of the sermon this morning. “All You Need is Love”
Not the Beatles concept of love but the Biblical concept.
In the Bible various forms of the word love such as (love, loved, loves), can be found over 720 times! That’s a lot! Anytime we are presented with any word that occurs in any form that many times is an indication that God wants us to know something He has determined is important to us and for us.
THE BEST PLACE TO START IS JOHN 3:16
This is an often-quoted verse of scripture, but not that often dissected. I believe that it is not looked into by many because if they did they would have to answer within themselves to its call.
Their self-reasoned excuse for not following the Lord would be removed. Believing that if they stay ignorant of what God has done for them they will have an excuse for their lifestyle.
Thinking that after they pass from this life to the spiritual life, they will be able to say, “I’m sorry, I didn’t know.” Remember we are laid bare before the Lord, {Heb. 4:12}.
“ For the word of God is living and active and sharper that any two edged sward and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart,”
They have chosen, but sadly, incorrectly.
John 3:16 is the the whole of what it is that God wants us to understand about Him. And we can because He created us with the ability and need to love so that we can grasp and understand His love towards us! You see, God’s love is multi-dimensional!
The Apostle Paul explains this in Ephesians 3:16-19;
“I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you , being rooted and established in LOVE may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide, and long, and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God”
We see in this verse the multidimensional aspect of God’s love explained as being wide, long, high, and deep!
It’s like a diamond. When dug up a diamond is just a clear rock, but when it is cut and many facets are applied, it shows its true beauty. The same with God’s love!
1 John 4:8 – adds to our understanding of what is being relayed to us throughout scripture and especially in John 3:16 – “The one who does not love does not know God for God is love.” A simple, straight to the point, easily understood verse that Gives us the meaning of what and how it is that God wants us to understand and live by! We cannot have hate in our hearts and love God at the same time!
We either love as God wants us to love, or not – no middle ground, and as much as we would like, no gray area that we can twist to suit us or to hide behind!
In Romans 13:10 – “Love does no wrong to a neighbor; love therefor is the fulfillment of the law.”
We are to treat others as we want to be treated. With respect, kindness and love. Not with malice, stabbing them in the back, talking gossip about them behind their backs, looking for wrong so we can talk down to them and about them, or just wanting an excuse to argue with others.
Paul presents a case for love. It is another piece of our puzzle. The pieces are strategically placed throughout the Bible at just the right location in scripture to center our thoughts and bring the focus on God.
When we consider these many presentations in scripture we can find out how love can impact our walk with the Lord, how it can shape how we interact with those around us. Our family, our friends and even to those that rub us the wrong way or that we have troubles with.
It’s not a wonder that God would make man. But it is a wonder that God decided to redeem man! (repeat)
If any one of us had been in God’s shoes when Adam & eve disobeyed and fell into sin, and we looked ahead and saw all the misery in store for the human race, we would have just taken the opportunity to pull the plug on the human race and quit while we were ahead.
Think about it, God didn’t need us; there’s nothing worthwhile about us that He should see the need. His choice – to redeem us – is a mystery. A mystery of Love! Of multidimensional LOVE
Why in the world would Jesus the Son of God sitting at His Father’s right hand, creator of the universe, who stood to gain nothing and to lose everything by His choice, volunteer to become man and die horribly in order to save a depraved race of idolaters? {Phil. 2:5-8}
Jesus’ sacrifice was the greatest sacrifice the world has ever known! “Genuine love, multidimensional love!”
Think how it must have grieved the Father to see His only, innocent holy Son slapped, whipped and crucified at the hands of wicked men in a frenzy of hatred & misguided satisfaction.
What a sacrifice to make, and for us to boot! How many of us would turn our child over to a murderer to be tortured and killed?
Jesus had to be tempted as all of us are, but yet unlike any of us, He was without sin.
By taking our sins upon Himself He suffered for all the filth that man has chosen. WHY? BECAUSE OF LOVE!
He had to be separated from the Father because of our sin that He bore for the first and only time in history.
WOW! The lengths that God went to to secure our salvation!
THAT IS LOVE my friends! That is multi-dimensional love!
A little more from your uncle Vic for our consideration!
That God would let humans live in heaven is remarkable. If that doesn’t humble us, I don’t know what would.
I guess it’s like if we take a street person into our homes and the first thing we do is make sure they take a bath with a lot of soap. Washed clean before bedding them down for a night of quiet rest!
THAT’S EXACTLY WHAT GOD HAS DONE WITH US THROUGH JESUS!
WHY WOULD GOD DO THAT? LOVE Multidimensional Love, THAT’S WHY.
We are to learn from God’s love how we are to love.
{1 John 4:8} “Whoever does not love does not know God. Because God is love.” Repeat!
Since God is Love, any love that is expressed by us, is the love that we have within ourselves that is manifested through and by the love that God has for us, His creation.
Here is another wonderous question for our consideration:
God, who lives forever decided to have the human race who live short life spans; and knowing how bothersome we are, why would He give such selfish, faulty creatures a lifespan that is equal to His?
Answer: LOVE! Not only multi-dimensional, but unconditional!
Consider this!!
In the garden of Eden, God removed man so that man wouldn’t be tempted and eat from the tree of life and live forever. Yet God sent His Son to redeem us so that through Him we could live forever in His Kingdom! Think about that for a while!
I thought about typing that out on a piece of paper for each one of us to post in our house, but I reconsidered because I thought it would blow too many minds. lol
Even though we are redeemed, we’re still so faulty! Yet God saved us. THAT’S LOVE MY FRIENDS! THAT’S MULTI-DIMENSIONAL LOVE
{Rom. 5:6-8} “At just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this. While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
{Jer. 31:3} “God said, “I have loved you with an everlasting love; I have drawn you with unfailing kindness.”
{John 3:1} “Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us.”
This is multi-dimensional love!
Let’s look at a couple of the facets of this diamond of God’s Love.
{Eph. 3:19} “And to know the love of Christ, which passes knowledge, that you might be filled with all the fullness of God.”
It is an undeserved love. Rom.5:8
It is a sacrificial love. 1 John 4:10
It is a constraining love. 2 Cor. 5:14
It is an everlasting love. Jer. 31:3
God’s multi-dimensional love is truly amazing! Toping all the knowledge, achievements, and wonders of man.
Don’t ever think to yourself that you are incapable of being all that God wants you to be. That you just can’t reach the level of faith and love that you know through reading God’s word you are encouraged to reach.
God does not demand anything of us that is beyond our capability! Amen to that?
He commands us to love Him first then each other. We are capable of love and expressing that love to each other. We must reach beyond ourselves putting our faith in the Lord!
Many of life’s questions can be answered with one of two answers, love or sin.
Why did God create man? Love
Why is man like he is? Sin
Why do people do what they do? Could be one or the other
Why did Cain kill Abel? Sin
Why did Jesus come into the world? Love
Why did God send the flood? Sin
Here is an example of the love that we are capable of;
A gentleman named Solomon Rosenberg, his wife and 2 sons, and his mother and father were arrested and placed in a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust of WWII.
It was a labor camp and the rules were simple: As long as you can do your work, you are permitted to live. When you became too weak to work, then you will be exterminated. {Man I hate that word}
Rosenberg watched his mother and father be marched off to their deaths when they became too weak to work. He knew that his youngest son, David, would be next because David had always been a frail child.
Every evening when Rosenberg came back into the barracks after his hours of labor, he would search for the faces of his family. When he found them, they would huddle together, embrace one another, and thank God for another day of life.
One day Rosenberg came back, but he didn’t see those familiar faces. He finally discovered his oldest son, Joshua, in a corner, huddled, weeping, and praying. He said, “Josh, tell me it’s not true.”
Joshua turned and said, “It is true Papa. Today David was not strong enough to do his work, so they came for him. “But where is your mother?” asked Rosenberg.
“Oh Papa, Josh explained. “When they came for David, he was afraid and he was crying. Momma said, “There is nothing to be afraid of David.,……….And then she took his hand and went with him!
The love of Mrs. Rosenberg pictures the sacrificial love Jesus has for us!
We are nearing the close of this mornings sermon.
In order to take away our fear of death, He went before us. (Hebrew 2:14-15)
He died for us so that we might have the forgiveness of sins and the hope of eternal life. MULTI-DIMENSIONAL LOVE!
If you ever doubt the love that God has for you, for all people,,,,,just gaze your eyes on the cross! All that it signifies all that the cross means, was all done out of the Father’s love.
It’s impossible to ignore the work of the Father, love and the Son in laying out the ground work for our salvation!
Those of us that have already accepted Jesus as Lord,,, are we the light of the world? Are we a city set on a hill, are we an expression of God’s love?
Are we making every effort to express God’s love without exception?
To anyone struggling with where your life has taken you thus far and you’re wondering what it’s all about.
Are you looking for something that makes you feel complete. Are you looking for rest. Are you looking for the piece that only the love of God can grant?
We are taught through scripture that all we need do is be baptized for the forgiveness of sin. Arise from the water a new person created in Christ Jesus. Clothed with the multi-dimensional love of God and equipped for good works!
This sermon has been for you. We pray that it has touched your heart and answered what is holding you back from becoming a child of God.
Please do not delay, take that step of faith and you will be filled with joy that you did. Please don’t convince yourself that you will someday accept the The Lord. When we near the end of our earthy life and our sails are filled for our final journey, where will your ship be heading? Will your rudder be guided by Jesus and your sails filled with God’s love? When that day comes and it will, if you’re a child of God you will sail into the harbor of peace that passes all understanding, eternal rest in The Lord’s Heaven.
God created us with the ability to love. Because of that, we can understand God’s multidimensional love He has for us.
This song that we are just about to stand and sing is an invitation song for you. A time to step forward and make your commitment to Jesus. It also is for anyone that wants to renew their commitment with the Lord or in need of prayers from the flock.
Let’s stand and sing!
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