Isaiah 49_ 8-18      Love That Won't Let Go

Rev. David Holwick  Q                               MOTHER'S DAY

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

May 9, 1999

Isaiah 49:8-18


LOVE THAT WON'T LET GO



SERMON SUMMARY:  God loves us much like our mother does, only better.

     God's love is sacrificial and motivated by grace.  There are limits

     to his love but he wants us to share in it.



I. What's a mom good for?

      A. Problems with Mother's day.

          1) Half here could never be mothers.

          2) Many of other half will never be.

              a) Some are so sensitive about it they skip church today.

              b) But focus is not on being a mom, but having a mom.


      B. Everyone has had a mother.

          1) Even those born in a test tube had a mother somewhere

                down the line.

          2) Mothers give us something few others can do as well.

              a) They give us love.

              b) Not love because we do stuff, but love that just "is".

              c) Elise Arndt says moms are "God's love with skin on."

                                          Elise Arndt, "A Mother's Touch"

                                          Victor Books, 1983


      C. Some of the strongest metaphors about God are related to moms.

          1) God is a mother-hen, protecting his brood.

          2) In Isaiah, God is the mother who will never forget her child.

          3) Like moms, God has a love that won't let go.


II. God loves us "just because."

      A. His love defies human logic.  It doesn't make sense.

          1) We have nothing substantial to offer him.

               Deuteronomy 7:7-8


               The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose

                  you because you were more numerous than other peoples,

                      for you were the fewest of all peoples.

               But it was because the LORD loved you.


          2) But God doesn't love us with his eyes closed.

             J.I. Packer:

             God's love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point

                on the prior knowledge of the worst about me...

             No discovery now can disillusion him about me in the way

                I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his

                   determination to bless me.

                                                                   p. 22

      B. There are reasons for his love.

          1) He loves us because He is love.

              a) It's his nature to love.

          2) He loves us because he made us.

              a) We have unique value to him.

                  1> Our sin mars only some of our beauty.

              b) Being in his image, we have potential of intimacy.

              c) He prizes us and wants us for himself.

          3) He loves us for what he knows we'll become for eternity.


      C. God made a permanent choice to love us.

          1) It is because he hopes to be loved in return.

              a) He pursues us to get us to give in.   "Hound of heaven"


       Francis Thompson was a young man from a good family.

       Like some of us, Francis tried to ignore God's warning

          signals in his life.

       Francis intended to become a priest.

       His father was a medical doctor, however, and wanted his son to

          study medicine, even though his real passion was poetry.


       When Francis was in his early twenties his mother suddenly

          died.

       His world crumbled about him.

       Unable to pass his medical school exams, he went to London

          where he lived as a tramp and an opium addict.

       But something kept pulling at him.

       One night, under a lamp post, he scribbled an essay on a piece

          of paper and sent it, along with some brief poems, to the

             editors of a magazine.


       They ignored his grimy letter for six months.

       Then one day, one of them happened upon it and quickly

          recognized the mark of genius.

       The editors made unsuccessful efforts to find him.

          They published his poetry anyway.

       Months later, Francis Thompson saw his published work.

       He went to the publishing office and identified himself as

          the author.


       The editors of the magazine befriended him and guided him to the

          care of a Christian home in London.

       Francis eventually conquered his opium addiction.

          He entered a church school.

       Later he wrote one of the most famous poems in Christian

          literature, "The Hound of Heaven."

       He had been meditating on these words from Psalm 23: "Surely

          goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life."

       Francis Thompson knew the truth of those words from his own

          experience.


       He wrote in his poem,

          "I fled Him, down the nights and down the days;

           I fled Him, down the arches of the years."

       And he compared God to a great hound who would not give up

          the chase.

                                                                    #2961

          2) The pursuit according to the Bible.

              Jeremiah 31:3


             "I have loved you with an everlasting love;

                 I have drawn you with loving-kindness.


          3) When God has us, he tries to draw us nearer.

              a) (behind mother's love, as well)


III. The grace behind his love.

      A. Sacrificial love.

          1) Love is often assessed by what it costs.


                 Violent blizzard years ago in England.

                    Young women caught outside.

                 When rescuers found her, she was naked and frozen.

                 They soon found out why - she had taken off her clothes

                    to wrap them around the baby she held beneath her.


                 The baby survived.  His name was Lloyd-George, and he

                    grew up to be Prime Minister of Great Britain.

                                                                     ???

          2) God made a sacrifice for us.

              a) Instead of saving his son, he exposed him to wrath.

              b) By Jesus' death, we are saved.


      B. While we were still sinners.                           Rom 5:6-8

          1) It is not because we earned it.

              a) Nor because we maintain a high enough standard.

          2) God's love is a gift, pure and simple.


      C. No sin is too great for him to forgive.

          1) Our response to him determines whether it gets through.

          2) Prodigal Son - father always loved son, but couldn't

                show it until son returned.                       Luke 15


IV. The limits of his love.

      A. Moms have limits.


         Dr. Ruth Barbee is a well-known family-relations expert.

         She once said 90 percent of so-called "naughtiness" in small

            children is simply their way of getting "noticed."

         When they cannot get the attention they want any other way, they

            do something guaranteed to drive their parents up the wall.

         Jean Green tells of putting her young son to bed for the

            umpteenth time.


         Her patience was worn thin.

         When she heard him cry "Mommy" again, she yelled to him,

            "If you call 'Mommy' one more time, I'll spank you!"

         After that there was quiet.

         Then, just as she sat down, she heard a wee voice,

            "Mrs. Green, may I have a drink of water?"

                                                                    #1959

          1) God also gets exasperated with us.

              a) We have rebellious natures.

              b) But he still loves us.


          2) Fantastic example of God's love in Hosea.

              a) God cannot give up his love for Israel.       Hosea 11:8

                 Hosea 11:8-9


                 "How can I give you up, Ephraim?

                     How can I hand you over, Israel?

                  How can I treat you like Admah?

                     How can I make you like Zeboiim?

                  My heart is changed within me;

                     all my compassion is aroused.

                  I will not carry out my fierce anger,

                     nor will I turn and devastate Ephraim.

                  For I am God, and not man--the Holy One among you.

                     I will not come in wrath.


              b) He loves us even when he is disciplining us.


      B. The limits of God's love are beyond our understanding.

          1) Vast, no boundaries.                  Eph 3:16-19

          2) It floods our hearts.                 Romans 5:5


V. God wants us to know how he longs for us to experience his love.

      A. He wants to draw us into a deeper love.

          1) He wants to pull us away from rivals.

              a) False gods.

              b) Rival interests.

              c) Giving our attention to the good gifts rather than Giver.


      B. God loves to honor our requests and be good to us.

          1) He is not a stingy God.

          2) If we belong to the King of kings, we can be sure of his

                favor whenever we approach him.

          3) He provides us with all we need for a spiritual life.

                                                            2 Pet 1:3


      C. Knowing God loves us makes us more satisfied, set free, secure.



=======================================================================

SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


#1959, "A Great and Wonderful New Year," Dynamic Preaching, Seven Worlds

            Publishing, January 1, 1992.


#2961, "Our Damascus Road Experience," Dynamic Preaching, Seven Worlds

            Publishing, May 1, 1992.


These and 4,500 others are part of a database that can be downloaded,

  absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

=======================================================================



Sermon is heavily dependent on this article:


Discipleship Journal, "The Love That Won't Let Go", Ruth Myers, #109, p. 20.


  I. God wants us to know how he longs for us to experience his love.

      A. He wants to draw us into a deeper love.

      B. He wants to pull us away from rivals.

          1) Idols.

          2) Rival interests.

          3) Giving our attention to the good gifts rather than Giver.

      C. Knowing God loves us makes us more satisfied, liberated, secure.


II. God loves us lavishly.

      A. God's passion for his children is unlike any other love we'll

            ever experience.

          1) He continually pursues us.                  Jer 31:3

          2) He seeks to draw us closer as a mother draws her child.

          3) He wants us near.

      B. God loves us "just because."

          1) His love defies human logic.

              a) It doesn't make sense.

          2) There are reasons for his love.

              a) He loves us because He is love.

                  1> It's his nature to love.

              b) He loves us because he made us.

                  1> We have unique value to him.

                      A> Our sin mars only some of our beauty.

                  2> Being in his image, we have potential of intimacy.

                  3> He prizes us and wants us for himself.

              c) He loves us for what he knows we'll become for eternity.

          3) He doesn't let go of his love.           Deut 7:7, 10:15

      C. He loves us from everlasting to everlasting.

          1) It is eternal and changeless.

          2) He knew the worst about us before we were born.

          3) J.I. Packer:

             God's love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point

                on the prior knowledge of the worst about me...

             No discovery now can disillusion him about me in the way

                I am so often disillusioned about myself, and quench his

                   determination to bless me.

                                                               p. 22

          4) God made a permanent choice to love us.

              a) It is not because we earned it.

              b) It is not because we maintain a high enough standard.

      D. He loves us even when we rebel.

          1) Example of Hosea.

              a) God cannot give up his love for Israel.  Hos 11:8

          2) He loves us even when he is disciplining us.

          3) Even when we are weak.       Ps 73:26

      E. His love is without limits.

          1) God's love is incalculably great.

              a) Vast, no boundaries.        Eph 3:16-19

              b) Love based on grace.        2 Thess 2:16-17

          2) It floods our hearts.           Romans 5:5


III. The grace behind his love.

      A. No sin is too great for him to forgive.

          1) Our response to him determines whether it gets through. Lk 15

      B. Sacrificial love.

          1) God gives us words of love, but also acts upon it.

          2) Sent his Son to the cross.

          3) While we were still sinners.   Rom 5:6-8

      C. The favor of a king.

          1) God is immeasurably generous.

              a) His power and resources are unlimited.   Eph 3:20

          2) If we belong to the King of kings, we can be sure of his

                favor whenever we approach him.

          3) God loves to honor our requests and bestow his favor upon us.

              a) He is not a stingy God.

              b) He can provide us with all we need for a spiritual

                    life.     2 Pet 1:3




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