God is Love

[0:00] to everybody to today's service and we seek the Lord's blessing as we gather to worship him.

[0:14] So let's begin our worship of God by singing to his praise in Psalm 103 from the Scottish Psalter. Psalm 103 at verse 8.

[0:30] The Lord our God is merciful and he is gracious, long-suffering and slow to wrath in mercy plenteous.

[0:46] He will not chide continually nor keep his anger still. With us he dealt not as we sinned nor did requite our ill. For as the heaven in its height the earth surmounteth far, so great to those that do him fear his tender mercies are. As far as east is distant from the west, so far hath he from us removed in his love all our iniquity. Such pity as our father hath unto his children dear, like pity shows the Lord to such as worship him in fear. These verses to God's praise.

[1:37] O Lord our God is merciful and he is gracious, long-suffering and slow to wrath in the world.

[2:07] O Lord our God is merciful and he is gracious, long-suffering and slow to wrath in mercy. O Lord our God is merciful and he is gracious, long-suffering and slow to wrath in mercy. O Lord our God is merciful and slow to wrath in mercy. He will not jive continually nor keepeth thine goodest hail.

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[3:13] So great to us that you have feared, this tenderly sad.

[3:31] As far as these days turned long, the world so far I need.

[3:50] From worst being of living, it is now all out iniquity.

[4:06] Such pity as the Father hath unto his children he hath.

[4:25] Thy pity shows the Lord to such a worship in him.

[4:45] Let's stand to call on the Lord's name. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name.

[5:02] And as we gather to worship, we pray for due fear and reverence.

[5:15] Because we stand on holy ground. Coming into the presence of Almighty God.

[5:28] Infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being. Wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth.

[5:38] And the God who is merciful and gracious. Long-suffering and slow to wrath.

[5:53] And these great words which we've just been singing. Remind us of what our God is like. The God who does not mark our iniquity against us.

[6:13] But who in his love has forgiven us for all our sins.

[6:23] By sending his own beloved son to die. On Calvary. Greater love hath no man than this.

[6:41] That a man should lay down his life for his friends. The Father's great love. And the Son's great love.

[6:53] And O Lord, grant to us to understand this gospel. This gospel of God's grace towards sinners like us.

[7:11] The gospel that we pray would be blessed by the Holy Spirit. As we gather here today in this congregation.

[7:27] Bless the congregation. We pray every home and family. Bless the eldership and the diaconate.

[7:38] And all the groups that meet as a result of the activity of the congregation. Bless the church. Bless the church. Bless the church. Bless the church.

[7:51] Bless them, we pray. Bless the Sunday school. Bless all the other young people's groups who meet. And we pray that Christ would be presented to them.

[8:08] And Lord, bless the sound of the gospel in the hands of your servant. We pray for him and for his family. Bless him abundantly. Bless all the other young people's groups who meet.

[8:19] Bless all who preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. Called to be the ministers of God's word. And to fulfill that ministry that God has given them.

[8:33] Watch over them. So often at the front line of the battle. So often the target for the devil.

[8:44] And the powers of darkness. And the world. And the flesh. Oh, bless them, we pray. In all their providences and situations.

[8:57] We bring them to the throne of grace in a special way. As we bring our own loved ones.

[9:08] Our children. Our parents. Our grandparents. As we bring the family unit. Designed by God.

[9:22] God's way and God's plan. For parents. For fathers and mothers. For grandfathers and grandmothers. For children.

[9:34] If God blesses such. Bless husbands and wives. We pray for the marriage bond. And all the bonds of family.

[9:45] Lord, may they be. And may we all be reminded of. The great source of love.

[9:56] God himself. God himself. The God who is love. Oh, grant, Lord. That we would see these things through.

[10:08] The lenses. Or the lens of scripture. This. Holy and infallible. And inerrant word.

[10:18] That we handle today. And Lord. We do it. We pray with. With fear and trembling. Seeking the Holy Spirit.

[10:31] Oh, be our mouth and wisdom. We pray. Bless all who mourn. And grieve. Bless all who are laid aside. That we would commit to your care and keeping.

[10:44] And bless the providences. That befall us. Even at times when those providences are dark and mysterious. Help us to commit even those things to our God.

[11:00] Our creator. Our sustainer. The Lord. The giver of life. And bless our town. Bless our villages.

[11:12] And this village. And the wider community. Bless all our islands, Lord. We pray for the gospel. To lay hold of people's hearts.

[11:23] And lives. How we need a day of power. And bless every witness. That your people make. We remember our brother.

[11:36] Who was. Witnessing in the town. Over these last few days at the festival. We commit him to you. And all that he does.

[11:47] Faithfully. Every year. Speaking to people about. Christ. And about their eternal. Rest.

[12:00] There is a heaven to be gained. And a hell to be shunned. And avoided at all costs. Lord bless every witness. That was done over these last few days.

[12:12] At the festival. Bless your day. We pray that your day. Would remain a holy day. And help us to be. The best examples.

[12:23] We can be of that. In our own witness. And Lord. We pray for our country. The world in which we live.

[12:34] We know that. We know that. The gospel is the answer. Jesus is the answer. And we pray for that.

[12:51] Awareness in our own hearts. Of the presence of almighty God. Here. In this very place. On this very day. This is the day.

[13:02] This is the day. God made. Let us rejoice. And be glad in it. Take away our sins.

[13:13] Come over the mountains. Of our provocations. We pray. And sprinkle the blood. On our hearts. On our consciences.

[13:25] On our mouths. On our eyes. On our hands. On our feet. So that we might be. A people. Holy to the Lord. Lord. And oh Lord.

[13:41] Grant these things. In Christ's precious name. And for his sake. Amen. Our first reading. Will be.

[13:52] From the New Testament. And it's in. The epistle of Paul. To the Ephesians. And chapter one. Our first reading. Ephesians chapter one.

[14:04] And we'll read. Verses one. To fourteen. Paul. An apostle of Jesus Christ.

[14:15] By the will of God. To the saints. Which are at Ephesus. And to the faithful. In Christ Jesus. Grace be to you. And peace. From God our Father.

[14:26] And from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God. And Father. Of our Lord Jesus Christ. Who hath blessed us. With all spiritual blessings.

[14:38] In heavenly places. In Christ. According. As he hath chosen us. In him. Before the foundation. Of the world. That we should be holy.

[14:51] And without blame. Before him. In love. Having predestinated us. Unto the adoption. Of children. By Jesus Christ.

[15:01] To himself. According to the good pleasure. Of his will. To the praise. Of the glory. Of his grace. Wherein. He hath made us.

[15:12] Accepted. In the beloved. In whom. We have redemption. Through his blood. The forgiveness. Of sins. According to the riches. Of his grace.

[15:24] Wherein. He hath abounded. Toward us. In all wisdom. And prudence. Having made known. Unto us. The mystery.

[15:34] Of his will. According to his good pleasure. Which he hath purposed. In himself. That in the dispensation.

[15:46] Of the fullness. Of times. He might gather together. In one. All things. In Christ. Both which are in heaven. And which are on earth.

[15:58] Even in him. In whom also. We have obtained. An inheritance. Being predestinated. According to the purpose.

[16:08] Of him. Who worketh. All things. After the counsel. Of his own will. That we should be. To the praise. Of his glory. Who first. Trusted in Christ.

[16:21] In whom. You also trusted. After that. You heard. The word of truth. The gospel. Of your salvation. In whom.

[16:31] Also. After that. You believed. You were sealed. With that. Holy spirit. Of promise. Which is the earnest. Of our inheritance. Until the redemption.

[16:43] Of the purchased. Possession. And to the praise. Of his glory. May the Lord.

[16:54] Bless his word. To us. Our second. Item of praise. Is Psalm.

[17:05] One hundred and six. One hundred and six. And we'll sing.

[17:16] The first four. Stanzas. Verses one. To five. Psalm one. Oh six. Give praise. And thanks.

[17:26] Unto the Lord. For bountiful. Is he. His tender. Mercy. Doth endure. Unto. Eternity. God's mighty works.

[17:37] Who can express. Or show forth. All his praise. Blessed are they. That judgment. Keep unjustly. Do always. Remember me.

[17:49] Lord. With that love. Which thou to thine. Dost bear. With thy salvation. O my God. To visit me. Draw near. That I.

[18:00] Thy chosen. Good may see. And in their joy. Rejoice. And may. With thine. Inheritance. Triumph. With cheerful. Voice.

[18:11] These words. To God's praise. Give praise. And thanks. Unto.

[18:23] The Lord. For bountiful. blood.

[18:45] Joy. Amen. For. God's mighty works.

[18:59] Good and express our show for all this place.

[19:11] Blessed are they, thy judgment keep, and trust with you always.

[19:29] Remember me, Lord, with that love which thou to thine dost bid.

[19:48] With thy salvation, O my God, to visit me, Lord, near.

[20:07] That I, thy chosen good may see, and in their joy rejoice.

[20:25] And in me, with that inheritance, I do with a cheerful voice.

[20:45] Our second reading is also from the New Testament, and it's from the first letter of John, or the first epistle of John, and chapter 4.

[20:59] 1 John, chapter 4. And we can begin our reading at verse 7.

[21:16] 1 John, chapter 4, verse 7. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. And everyone that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

[21:28] He that loveth not, knoweth not God. For God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.

[21:47] Herein is love. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

[22:00] Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

[22:17] Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.

[22:35] Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.

[22:49] God is love. And he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

[23:00] Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment. Because as he is, so are we in this world.

[23:12] There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.

[23:25] We love him because he first loved us. If a man say, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar.

[23:37] For he that loves not his brother, whom he hath seen, how can he love God, whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also.

[23:54] Amen. May the Lord bless that second reading of his own holy word. Our third item of praise is Psalm 107 at verse 25.

[24:08] Psalm 107 verse 25. Psalm 107.

[24:40] Soul doth faint and melt away with trouble and with pain. They reel and stagger like one drunk, at their woods' end they be.

[24:52] Then they to God in trouble cry, who them from straits doth free. The storm is changed into a calm at his command and will, so that the waves which raged before now quiet are and still.

[25:08] Then are they glad, because at rest and quiet now they be. So to the haven he then brings, which they desire to see.

[25:20] Oh, that men to the Lord would give praise for his goodness then, and for his works of wonder done unto the sons of men.

[25:31] These verses to God's praise. For he commands Son of earth in his The stormy campus flies Which makes the sea with rolling waves A love to swell and rise They moved to heaven and to the dead.

[26:22] They do go down again Their soul, God's head and melt Put away with trouble and within A rail and shagging Like one drunk But let which end they be Then did you go down again And a trouble cry Who them from straits doth free The storm is changed

[27:26] To a calm At his command and will So that the waves Which twitch be put No quiet God understood Then are they not But because a dress Unquiet now they be So turn now heaven He then brings Which led his heart to see

[28:29] Oh that men to the Lord Would give Faith for his goodness then And for his works of wonder done And for his goodness then And for his goodness then Amen Seeking the Lord's blessing Let's turn again to the portion Of scripture we read The second portion 1 John chapter 4 and verse 16 And in the middle of that verse Verse 16 These remarkable words God is love

[29:30] The Bible is the greatest love story ever told It must become your life story If history is his story If history is his story That is the beginning of the world The beginning of things as we know it God In the beginning God If history is his story What is your life story What is your life story What is your life story And how is the story going to end We all like a happy ending

[30:33] We all like a happy ending The question for me and for you is What is going to be the end of your life story What is your life story What the Bible sets out before us That God is love In this remarkable epistle John in the first chapter And verse 2 tells us that God is life At verse 5 he tells us that God is light God is love God is love He is life He is light He is holy God is love But as we were often hearing in our own pulpit in Stornoway Over many years God is love But love is not God As if love

[31:36] Love Somehow Somehow Where More important Or elevated above all of God's attributes Or his other attributes And that of course is the basis for liberal theology When one of God's attributes is elevated above another All of God's attributes are equally wonderful and holy and blessed and eternal That's who he is That's who he is Infinite Eternal Unchangeable In all these wonderful attributes You cannot separate his attributes His love is holy His holiness and his love and his wrath His wrath God was not caught out by sin Don't ever think that Or believe that If you hear it

[32:37] He was never caught out by sin His wrath As he came to demonstrate that wrath and anger against sin Is a reaction of his holiness to sin Everything about him, his very being, his very essence, his very nature Is all constant It is eternal And it is intimately related All pure In perfect unity So how do we explain this love then?

[33:11] Well the Bible helps us of course And as it always helps us In Ephesians chapter 1 If you want to turn briefly to Ephesians chapter 1 You will see in verse 9 of chapter 1 Remarkable words Having made known unto us The mystery of his will According to his good pleasure Which he hath purposed Which he hath purposed In himself In the same epistle In Ephesians chapter 3 And verse 11 We have these words According to the eternal purpose Which he hath purposed In Christ Jesus our Lord

[34:15] Again at the beginning of this Remarkable epistle Ephesians We have these words At verse 4 Now I don't know if you use the AV Or if you use one of the more modern translations You will notice in one of the more modern translations That it goes like this According as he hath chosen us in him Before the foundation of the world That we should be holy And without blame Or blameless Full stop In love Having predestinated us And to the adoption of children By Jesus Christ to himself In love In love Having predestinated us What is election?

[35:05] It is love before time Love before time And you see also in that remarkable letter to the Romans Romans chapter 8 and verse 28 Again these are words with which you are very familiar Romans 8 verse 28 We read these words And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God To them who are called according to his purpose God had a purpose God purposed He determined He purposed And if God is love Love purposed Love purposed Love purposed Love purposed In eternity past You know these remarkable words

[36:08] Of Jeremiah 31 verse 3 Yea I have loved thee with an everlasting love Where did it all begin? How do you explain this love?

[36:19] Well it began in eternity past And the only way we can understand it Is that love purposed God purposed Love purposed I have loved thee with an everlasting love Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee I have loved And I have loved you God says From all eternity It has no beginning It has no beginning Because God has no beginning Because God has no beginning And it has no end Because God has no end And he is saying I have loved you You personally You individually You collectively God calls a people He calls a people a church In the remarkable

[37:20] High priestly prayer In John 17 He speaks so powerfully there Of calling this body This church But then he says You also As if he is saying I am calling you together As a church As a body You are to be my body But each of the members In that body Is precious to him And he has called them Individually by his grace To believe in him To believe in him Everlasting love Has no beginning And no end Because God has no beginning And no end He was and is and will be love Why does he love us?

[38:14] Why does he love us? Because As that Letter to the Ephesians say According to his good pleasure Which he hath purposed In himself It was an act of the divine will A determining A purposing So love was purposed Not only that But secondly Love was promised In the chapter we read In 1st John 4 We read at verse 9 In this was manifested The love of God toward us Because That God sent His only begotten Son His Son into the world That we might live That we might live through him That we might live through him

[39:17] The love that was purposed Was promised Here is love Promised And what is that promise?

[39:30] It is life Eternal life Life Titus 1 and verse 2 Speaks of the hope of eternal life Which God That cannot lie Promised Before Time Began But hath in due times He manifested his word Through Preaching This love that was purposed Was also promised Promised Before Time Began Before everything God was purposing And God was promising And how did that promise manifest itself?

[40:16] It manifested itself It manifested itself It manifested itself In creation God Spoke And he spoke into being This world in which we live The creation Earth And he created On earth A garden And he created in that garden Male and female Created he them And the crowning glory Of his creation Was man And he said I am going to Ask you to look after this garden And I want you to make the whole earth a garden Where I can have fellowship With you Where that love That I have purposed And promised Can have its fulfillment But what happened in Eden To that

[41:19] Wondrous Loving Environment Which God created We sinned In our first parents Man sinned We sinned I sinned You sinned And we fell From a state of sin And misery From a state From a state Of innocence And what happened to the promise Or the promise Never ceased Because it's a promise That was based on a purpose And it was based on God Who is love Love So love Purposed and promised And that cannot fall It could never fall to the ground And what do you see then How do you see that promise Manifesting itself Or you see it manifesting itself

[42:22] In these remarkable words In Genesis 315 That the seed of the woman would come To bruise the head of the serpent That old serpent The devil Who deceived Adam and Eve But here was God's promise Not falling to the ground But active and alive And God is saying My son My son is going to come And he's going to be born of a woman And he's going to be made under the law That he might redeem them Who are under the law And here was the promise Love promised And that promise The mother promise As it is often called by theologians That the seed of the woman would come

[43:25] To bruise the head of the serpent Began Began It's own Outworking In the history of man How did it begin It's outworking Well you see it in these Pages of the scriptures From Genesis 3 into Genesis 4 You see it first In that narrative Regarding Adam and Eve When God clothed them God clothed them God gave to them A righteousness Which enabled them to be returned Back to the fellowship Of that love That was purposed and promised And ever since God through the preaching of the word There's a great verse I hope I can find it At the end I think of Genesis chapter 4

[44:29] At the end of Genesis chapter 4 The last verse The last verse The last bit of that verse Then began men to call upon The name of the Lord Then began men to call on the name of the Lord Then they began to gather together for worship To call on the name of the Lord Just as we are doing here today Calling Calling Calling People to believe In God Calling people to believe in God And what happened then In the outworking of the history of man

[45:32] You see Sin Sin And if you read into Genesis 4 And Genesis 5 And Genesis 6 And we may look at that Tonight You see God's judgment against sin And God saw And God saw And we read that at the beginning of the Bible And God saw what he had created And he saw that it was good And he created man And he saw that it was very good The crowning glory of his creation And then the next time You have come across these words And God saw What did he see?

[46:21] Every imagination of the thoughts And the intents of the heart Was only evil continually But praise be to God For his Love The love that was purposed And promised And Noah found favour in the eyes Or in the sight of the Lord And God saw And God saw Noah And the promise continues And the promise continues It doesn't fall It doesn't fall It continues And down through the history Of the people of God And the covenant he made with Noah And with Abraham And with Isaac And with Jacob Who shut the door of the ark Love shut the door of the ark Love shut the door of the ark

[47:23] Who brought the people Who were in bondage in Egypt Out of Egypt Love Love When Israel was a child I loved him And out of Egypt I have called my son That prophecy speaks of that And it speaks also of Christ of course Every element of the worship That God had determined And detailed And friends Remember that God has detailed Every aspect of worship God tells us How to worship him He doesn't say to us Well you can make it up for yourself You can invent new things He doesn't say that He has determined everything for us Because he couldn't leave anything to us

[48:25] Everything he determined in terms of worship The cloud The tabernacle The temple The commandments The land The land he gave them The promised land The kingdom The kings A king A king to sit On David's throne A savior And that great Song that the people of God sang down through the generations 1st Chronicles 1634 Give thanks to God for he is good His steadfast love Endures forever The love that was purposed And promised Endures forever All the way Down through the history of man All the way down through The experiences of God's people We sang Psalm 107

[49:29] Which speaks of the experiences of God's people And through those experiences of God's people The storms The tempest The rolling waves Their soul Fainting and melting away With trouble and with pain They reel and stagger like one drunk But what do we read The storm is changed into a calm God takes them through His love takes them through You have in the Bible That mother promise of a saviour to come Revealed here and there Throughout the pages of the Old Testament The song of songs Our own ministers been preaching on it Over the last few weeks This remarkable Song of songs Which speaks about Christ and the church

[50:33] Intimate love The love between Christ and his people Remarkable words like Hosea 2.19 I will betroth you to me forever In righteousness, justice, love and compassion All the images you have in the Old Testament Hold that promise of love That promise of love So love was purposed and promised And thirdly we have love personified Love personified Love personified Love personified And we read As we have read in Ephesians And in this chapter 1 John 4 In this was manifested

[51:36] The love of God toward us Because God sent His only begotten Son Into the world And then verse 10 Here in his love Not that we loved God But that he loved us And sent his son To be the propitiation For our sins For our sins Perhaps the most Well known Bible verse in the world John 3.16 God so loved the world That he sent his only begotten Son That whosoever believes in him Shall not perish But have everlasting life Love personified God the Son Coming into this world

[52:40] As John so beautifully presents it In that first chapter Of his gospel Samuel Rutherford Spoke of John 3.16 And said these words This is not but love Covered with flesh Love covered with flesh Love personified Sonified Christ Jesus our Lord And down through his ministry Revealing the love of the Father Doing the Father's will And what a will it was What a purpose it was A purpose to save

[53:42] A purpose to love And to save And to redeem This is my beloved Son The Father spoke This is my beloved Son In whom I am well pleased This is my beloved Son Listen to him Listen to him And love is the reason For the incarnation This love Love personified Fourthly You will notice of course the Ps Love purposed Love purposed Love Love ambaz Love With God Labів�분 Peace

[54:43] Lovehm it's one of the most beautiful words in the Bible we are guilty before God our sins deserve his wrath and his curse and we are under the wrath and curse of God we are children of wrath the letter to the Ephesians which we read reminds us of these things and you were dead once in trespasses and sins children of wrath even as others so who was going to satisfy God's divine justice who was going to pay the ransom to free us from that prison of sin and misery and death and bondage love love poured out love poured out

[56:09] Christ Jesus on the cross of Calvary Octavius Winslow some of you will know that name Octavius Winslow asked this question who delivered up Jesus to die who delivered up Jesus to die and he goes on to answer it not Judas for money not Pilate for fear not the Jews for envy but the Father for love this is what stands behind the whole spectacle of Calvary God the Father's the Father's the Father's the Father's the Father's love and God the Father's action in pursuit of that purpose and that promise the purpose of that love and only as we see that can we have a full appreciation of Christ's own love greater love hath no man than this than a man laid down his life for my friends and you are my friends if you do whatsoever

[57:45] I command you here he was speaking to us do you want to be a friend of Jesus then believe in him believe in what he did believe that he died on Calvary's cross to save you from the guilt of your sin believe that the cross is the supreme demonstration of infinite love and on that cross going back to his attributes you see that manifestation that perfect harmony of God's the father's attributes or God's attributes in terms of divine love and wrath infinite love and divine wrath there on Calvary in perfect harmony and without any inconsistency whatsoever these words of Psalm 85 are always worth looking at towards the end of Psalm 85 truth met with mercy righteousness and peace kissed mutually isn't that a beautiful beautiful

[59:14] Psalm what is Calvary all about if it's not that infinite love and divine wrath poured out in order that we could be saved from our sins Calvary love is what we need Calvary love and that propitiation for our sins satisfied everything that God's justice and his righteousness demanded and atonement is the fruit of love so far as we read in Psalm 1 sang in

[60:31] Psalm 103 so far has he in his love removed all our iniquity do you begin to see this love story are you reading a love story I hope you are and I hope you're saying yes this is my love story too it's my life story since God came into my life and saved me because before that my life was worthless if you want to know God's love go to the cross go to the cross that's where to obtain it because that's where it was poured out you must go to the cross you must come to the cross because that's where

[61:34] Christ died for our sins there was a story about an African pastor and I came across this some time ago but was reminded of it in preparing a pastor who was working in Africa amongst a very traditional African village or villages they were a mix of people with superstition they were largely Muslim there was a mix of Marxist influences and here was this missionary pastor trying to tell people about Christ there was an incident in the village the fire destroyed this hut and everybody inside the hut were killed except one little boy somebody had managed to go in to the fire and pull this little boy out then the elders of the village met together and were trying to determine what to do with

[62:52] I and of course they were full of superstition as I've said and so they asked the people to gather and said who has the credentials to take this boy into their family who has the right credentials so many sort of stood up but none had the right credentials and there didn't seem to be anybody then who came forward until this ordinary member of the tribe stood up an ordinary man with his own family and he stood up he was a poor man so what were to be his credentials because could he afford to do this and they asked him okay you're a poor man so how can you manage this with the family that you have what are your credentials and he showed them his hands he showed them his hands hands that were burnt in the fire because this was the man who pulled that young boy out of the fire and the pastor spoke and he said the forefathers had wisdom in terms of the

[64:26] Muslim code and Mohammed they had many good and noble things to say there was perhaps much that Marxism could offer a colonial people but the pastor said but I must follow Jesus because he alone has the scars on his hands scars acquired because he loved us and suffered for the sake of that love finally and in a word the final P at verse 17 verse 17 here in is our love made perfect that that we may have boldness in the day of judgment here in is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment the love that was poured out on

[65:47] Calvary by the Father and the Son has been poured in you listen to Romans 5 and verse 5 and hope maketh not ashamed because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts or poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given to us the love of God is poured into your heart when you become a believer poured into your heart and the word is literally flooding into your heart flooding into your heart this great inexhaustible infinite love being poured in to our hearts yes even into our hearts in chapter 2 of this first

[67:07] John we read these words at verse 5 but whoso keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected verse 12 of chapter 4 no man hath seen God at any time if we love one another God dwells in us and his love is perfected in us his love is perfected in us love is the heart of Christian living it is the heart of Christian living and it is the heart of Christian witness nobody can see God loving his nobody can see God loving since his love is invisible we know that

[68:09] Jesus is no longer in the world to manifest that love of God visibly as it were so what is the demonstration of the love of God in our age it is the church the only demonstration of God's love in this age is the church the church in John's gospel John speaks of this in chapter 13 and at verse 35 we read these words John 13 35 by this shall all men know that you are my disciples if you have love one to another if you have love one to another that my love is weak and faint yet

[70:06] I love thee and adore oh for grace to love thee more and who wouldn't put his or her amen to that love perfected in us constantly being poured into us by the Holy Spirit and love is a self emptying grace one commentator which I quite like to put it like this love is a self emptying grace it is a pilgrimage from self it is a pilgrimage from self and this very epistle tells us what not to love what not to love 1st

[71:14] John 2 15 do not love the world or the things that are in the world world and is world not consuming us and consuming the church and consuming our own witness but we know that Christ will never leave us or forsake us and we know that nothing can separate us from the love of Christ nothing not even death so how does the story end it ends like this here in is our love in effect it will be perfected in glory here in is our love made perfect that we may have boldness in the day of judgment do you have that confidence and that assurance in your heart that when the day of judgment comes and you must appear before the judgment seat of

[72:38] Christ that you will have that confidence and that assurance of the love that was purposed in eternity promised in history personified in the incarnation and poured out in agony by our Lord on Calvary and perfected in you and perfected in glory will be your confidence I pray that it will so that when you stand before the great white throne and see him as he is in all his glory you might say I love the Lord because my voice and prayer he did hear amen may the

[73:41] Lord bless these thoughts on his word let's sing then in conclusion these words in psalm 116 psalm 116 and we'll just sing the first four verses 1-6 I love the Lord because my voice and prayer seated here I while I live will call on him who bowed to me his ear of death the cards and sorrows did about me compass round the pains of hell took hold on me I grief and trouble found upon the name of God the Lord then did

[74:42] I call and say deliver thou my soul O Lord I do thee humbly pray God merciful and righteous as ye gracious as our Lord God saves the meek I was brought low he did me help afford these verses in conclusion I love the Lord because I love and this she did hear I while I live will call will call on him who vowed to me is here forget her course and sorrows did about me come past the side the page of hell to hold on me

[76:04] I grieve and proud of the power upon the name of God the Lord and did I fall and save deliver now my soul O Lord I do give do thenh