PROCLAIMING HIS LOVE
PREACHING THE GOSPEL FULLY AND IMPARTIALLY
MAIN READINGS: 1John 1:3; 3:1,2, Luke 24:40-49
INTRODUCTION
Many of us would all agree on how God’s love found us: He touched us (usually through someone), and it was explained to us afterwards to ground us. We are each expected to proclaim the love of God as we have experienced it through Christ, with the urgency, zeal and enthusiasm of John the Baptist and the Samaritan woman. We are however expected to be well versed in the content and demands of the proclamation. This way we would not end up questioning what we proclaim nor leave our hearers groping for answers we do not have. In this sermon, we would look at God’s love, and study the content and lifestyle required to proclaim it effectively, with the experience of Peter the Apostle as a major reference.
GOD’S LOVE: SOURCE AND DESCRIPTION
1. God is Love: He makes a being He can fellowship with, in the fullness of His communicable attributes of HOLINESS, LOVE, WISDOM, etc. The end result strongly appears to be FELLOWSHIP (Our fellowship is with the Father and the Son; When He appears, we will be like Him – 1John 3:1, 2)
2. How God’s love is described
SEEKING to rescue and restore that which was lost (The business of the Kingdom of God)
Prepared for FULL RECONCILIATION and restoration (While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us/God sent His Son that we might live through Him- Romans 5:8/1 John 4:9)
Standing at an open door with arms wide open to receive EVERY returnee (repentant sinner).
THE SAMARITAN WOMAN ENCOUNTERS AND ATTEMPTS TO PROCLAIM GOD’S LOVE
Respect for the despised
Value for the Unvalued
Convicted but not Condemned
Confesses, but proclaims with a question mark: “Could this be the Christ?” Jn 4:29 (John the Baptist: “Are you the Christ or we should wait for another?” Lk 7:19)
PETER EXPERIENCES AND IS INSTRUCTED TO PROCLAIMS GOD’S LOVE
Peter went through all the following at the hands of the Lord and was therefore more efficient in proclaiming God’s love:
1. Convicted and Forgiven: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinner” Lk 5:8,10
2. Called: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”
3. Commended: You are blessed: God revealed this to you Mt. 16:17
4. Corrected: “Get thee behind me, Satan”/ “Do you love me more than these?” Mt 16:23/John 21:17
5. Commissioned: Keys to the Kingdom, Take care of my sheep
6. Empowered: Clothed with power from on high, he preaches with conviction, performs miracles, withstands all enticements to compromise, organizes care for the church, defends the universal nature of the church.
THE MESSAGE OF GOD’S LOVE AND ITS TAGS FOUND IN THE BIBLE
The Lord Himself stated the content of the message of God’s love (the Gospel) as comprehensively as can be found at one place in the Bible in Luke 24:46-49 as follows:
“Thus it is written and thus it was necessary for the CHRIST to SUFFER and to RISE FROM THE DEAD the third day, and that REPENTANCE and REMISSION OF SINS should be PREACHED IN HIS NAME to ALL NATIONS, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are WITNESSES of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with POWER FROM ON HIGH.”
It is a SINGLE message that appears to have many aspects, as is apparent from the capitalization I have attempted. In subsequent presentations of the Gospel in the Bible, not all the aspects are mentioned verbatim, but clearly, regardless of which part (Tag) is mentioned the entire message as stated by the Lord here is the context.
Even the ascension and imminent second coming of the Lord are impliedly part of the message of God’s love. If we take any aspect out to build A NEW MESSAGE, we would be preaching ANOTHER GOSPEL!
The following are the usual aspects of the same message that we tend to treat as if they alone were the entire message and thereby cause divisions and often end up with false teachings:
The Lord’s Suffering – Php 3:10
The Lord’s Death – 1 Co 11: 26
The Lord’s Resurrection – 1 Co 15:17
The Lord’s Name – Ac 4:12
The Lord’s Ascension
The Lord's Second Coming or Advent
Preaching of Repentance
Preaching of Forgiveness
Preaching of Confession
Preaching of Faith
Preaching of Grace
Baptisms of Water and the Holy Spirit
Making Disciples
It is all the above together that tell the story of God’s love. De-emphasizing or excluding any part and other clearly implied components leaves us with a weakened proclamation of God’s love. Therefore, whenever we meet each aspect mentioned by Peter, Paul, John or even Jesus Himself (and they do not always mention all together), we must treat them as in the full context of the single message of God’s love. They are tags referring to the full message.
HOW THE MESSAGE OF GOD’S LOVE IS PROCLAIMED – A CASE STUDY OF PETER
1. He WARNS, Seeking Repentance: “Save yourselves from this perverse generation” Ac. 2:40
2. He INVITES, Seeking Faith in Jesus Christ: “Be baptized in the name of Jesus”/ Ref. “Believe the Gospel” / “Repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out” Ac 2:38/ Ac 3:19 /Mk 1:15
3. He AFFIRMS, Seeking to Encourage to Obey the Lord Fully: Holy Spirit activity promised and observed (Ac 2:39; 10: 34,35, 47)
4. He REBUKES, Seeking Repentance (Ac 8:18-22)
THE LIFESTYLE FOR EFFECTIVELY PROCLAIMING THE LOVE OF GOD
It is important the carrier of the message be credible. If he is preaching a message that would save people out of a world that is about to pass away, he himself should not be seen or believed to be amassing the goodies of the world as if he is going to remain here forever. He lives out the love of God like a man in a sinking ship (See 2 Pe 3:10-12 and Mt 6: 31-34 ). The proclaimer therefore:
1. Is less concerned about satisfying all appetites here
2. Seeks first that all people come under the liberating rule of Christ
3. Is most satisfied in landing successful rescue, and moves on to look for the next
CONCLUSION
God’s love flows from His nature, and when it touches us, we cannot keep quiet. We must be careful not to unduly isolate aspects to spread more doubts in proclaiming it, otherwise we risk being eventually silenced or even losing the way ourselves. A consistent walk with the Lord through thick and thin equips us to be better proclaimers. We must watch never to depart from the basic message entrusted to us. We must keep in mind the rewards of the commission when we are here no more.
#NotAshamed
MAIN READINGS: 1John 1:3; 3:1,2, Luke 24:40-49
INTRODUCTION
Many of us would all agree on how God’s love found us: He touched us (usually through someone), and it was explained to us afterwards to ground us. We are each expected to proclaim the love of God as we have experienced it through Christ, with the urgency, zeal and enthusiasm of John the Baptist and the Samaritan woman. We are however expected to be well versed in the content and demands of the proclamation. This way we would not end up questioning what we proclaim nor leave our hearers groping for answers we do not have. In this sermon, we would look at God’s love, and study the content and lifestyle required to proclaim it effectively, with the experience of Peter the Apostle as a major reference.
GOD’S LOVE: SOURCE AND DESCRIPTION
1. God is Love: He makes a being He can fellowship with, in the fullness of His communicable attributes of HOLINESS, LOVE, WISDOM, etc. The end result strongly appears to be FELLOWSHIP (Our fellowship is with the Father and the Son; When He appears, we will be like Him – 1John 3:1, 2)
2. How God’s love is described
SEEKING to rescue and restore that which was lost (The business of the Kingdom of God)
Prepared for FULL RECONCILIATION and restoration (While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us/God sent His Son that we might live through Him- Romans 5:8/1 John 4:9)
Standing at an open door with arms wide open to receive EVERY returnee (repentant sinner).
THE SAMARITAN WOMAN ENCOUNTERS AND ATTEMPTS TO PROCLAIM GOD’S LOVE
Respect for the despised
Value for the Unvalued
Convicted but not Condemned
Confesses, but proclaims with a question mark: “Could this be the Christ?” Jn 4:29 (John the Baptist: “Are you the Christ or we should wait for another?” Lk 7:19)
PETER EXPERIENCES AND IS INSTRUCTED TO PROCLAIMS GOD’S LOVE
Peter went through all the following at the hands of the Lord and was therefore more efficient in proclaiming God’s love:
1. Convicted and Forgiven: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinner” Lk 5:8,10
2. Called: “Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”
3. Commended: You are blessed: God revealed this to you Mt. 16:17
4. Corrected: “Get thee behind me, Satan”/ “Do you love me more than these?” Mt 16:23/John 21:17
5. Commissioned: Keys to the Kingdom, Take care of my sheep
6. Empowered: Clothed with power from on high, he preaches with conviction, performs miracles, withstands all enticements to compromise, organizes care for the church, defends the universal nature of the church.
THE MESSAGE OF GOD’S LOVE AND ITS TAGS FOUND IN THE BIBLE
The Lord Himself stated the content of the message of God’s love (the Gospel) as comprehensively as can be found at one place in the Bible in Luke 24:46-49 as follows:
“Thus it is written and thus it was necessary for the CHRIST to SUFFER and to RISE FROM THE DEAD the third day, and that REPENTANCE and REMISSION OF SINS should be PREACHED IN HIS NAME to ALL NATIONS, beginning at Jerusalem. And you are WITNESSES of these things. Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with POWER FROM ON HIGH.”
It is a SINGLE message that appears to have many aspects, as is apparent from the capitalization I have attempted. In subsequent presentations of the Gospel in the Bible, not all the aspects are mentioned verbatim, but clearly, regardless of which part (Tag) is mentioned the entire message as stated by the Lord here is the context.
Even the ascension and imminent second coming of the Lord are impliedly part of the message of God’s love. If we take any aspect out to build A NEW MESSAGE, we would be preaching ANOTHER GOSPEL!
The following are the usual aspects of the same message that we tend to treat as if they alone were the entire message and thereby cause divisions and often end up with false teachings:
The Lord’s Suffering – Php 3:10
The Lord’s Death – 1 Co 11: 26
The Lord’s Resurrection – 1 Co 15:17
The Lord’s Name – Ac 4:12
The Lord’s Ascension
The Lord's Second Coming or Advent
Preaching of Repentance
Preaching of Forgiveness
Preaching of Confession
Preaching of Faith
Preaching of Grace
Baptisms of Water and the Holy Spirit
Making Disciples
It is all the above together that tell the story of God’s love. De-emphasizing or excluding any part and other clearly implied components leaves us with a weakened proclamation of God’s love. Therefore, whenever we meet each aspect mentioned by Peter, Paul, John or even Jesus Himself (and they do not always mention all together), we must treat them as in the full context of the single message of God’s love. They are tags referring to the full message.
HOW THE MESSAGE OF GOD’S LOVE IS PROCLAIMED – A CASE STUDY OF PETER
1. He WARNS, Seeking Repentance: “Save yourselves from this perverse generation” Ac. 2:40
2. He INVITES, Seeking Faith in Jesus Christ: “Be baptized in the name of Jesus”/ Ref. “Believe the Gospel” / “Repent and turn back so that your sins may be wiped out” Ac 2:38/ Ac 3:19 /Mk 1:15
3. He AFFIRMS, Seeking to Encourage to Obey the Lord Fully: Holy Spirit activity promised and observed (Ac 2:39; 10: 34,35, 47)
4. He REBUKES, Seeking Repentance (Ac 8:18-22)
THE LIFESTYLE FOR EFFECTIVELY PROCLAIMING THE LOVE OF GOD
It is important the carrier of the message be credible. If he is preaching a message that would save people out of a world that is about to pass away, he himself should not be seen or believed to be amassing the goodies of the world as if he is going to remain here forever. He lives out the love of God like a man in a sinking ship (See 2 Pe 3:10-12 and Mt 6: 31-34 ). The proclaimer therefore:
1. Is less concerned about satisfying all appetites here
2. Seeks first that all people come under the liberating rule of Christ
3. Is most satisfied in landing successful rescue, and moves on to look for the next
CONCLUSION
God’s love flows from His nature, and when it touches us, we cannot keep quiet. We must be careful not to unduly isolate aspects to spread more doubts in proclaiming it, otherwise we risk being eventually silenced or even losing the way ourselves. A consistent walk with the Lord through thick and thin equips us to be better proclaimers. We must watch never to depart from the basic message entrusted to us. We must keep in mind the rewards of the commission when we are here no more.
#NotAshamed
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