What Love, What Wondrous Love
Becky Breitenstein, 5/11/08

When I asked the Lord what He wanted me to say today, He flooded my mind with the song “Such Love”. Over and over again I kept singing and hearing “What love, what wondrous love, what love what wondrous love. That God should love a sinner such as I how wonderful is love like this.” I found out last Sunday night that I had some of the words wrong, but that’s okay because the Lord was clear on what He wanted me to say. As Billy often says to me, “Becky, I just can’t get that song out of my mind.” I just couldn’t get that song out of my mind. We sing this song. We say God loves us but do we really comprehend the love that the Lord has for us. Do we allow His love to flow over us and through us? I don’t know about you but there have been times in my life that I have definitely thought of God’s love in terms of human love with all its flaws and conditions. This was especially true when I first got saved. When I first got saved I thought that I had to earn God’s love and if I didn’t get it right He would stop loving me. I thought that way because the only experience I had with love was with human love. But God’s love is nothing like human love. His love is pure and unconditional. Unlike human love God’s love for us never changes. He doesn’t stop loving us, even when we mess up big-time. The Lord doesn’t stop loving us or walk out on us because we didn’t meet His expectations. No matter what we do or don’t do He loves us. The Bible tells us that He will never leave us or forsake us. Hebrews 13:5 "Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, 'I will never leave you nor forsake you.'" (NKJ)

Before we had a relationship with God, while we were still in sin, He loved us and sent His son to die for us. Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (NKJ) John 3:16-17 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved." (NKJ) 1 John 4:9-10 "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins." (NKJ) We also see God’s great love for us in the person of Jesus, and Jesus’ willingness to come as human, through the womb of woman, to be a spotless sacrifice for sin. Philippians 2:5-8 "Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not demand and cling to his rights as God. He made himself nothing; he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form. And in human form he obediently humbled himself even further by dying a criminal’s death on a cross." (NLT) Ephesians 5:1-2 "Follow God’s example in everything you do, because you are his dear children. Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him." (NLT) John 10:17-18 "For this [reason] the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life--to take it back again. No one takes it away from Me. On the contrary, I lay it down voluntarily. [I put it from Myself.] I am authorized and have power to lay it down (to resign it) and I am authorized and have power to take it back again. These are the instructions (orders) which I have received [as My charge] from My Father." (AMP) Jesus voluntarily laid down His life because He loved the Father and wanted to be obedient to the Father. The Father had a plan for salvation because the Father loved us, but He didn’t force Jesus to fulfill it. Jesus freely chose to fulfill the Father’s plan to become a sacrifice for sin because of the great love He had for us. Christ’s death and resurrection came from agape love, God-kind of love, wonderful, awesome love, unconditional love, a love that’s not willing that any should perish. 2 Peter 3:9 "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance." (NIV)

What love, what wondrous love that God should love a sinner such as I. What love that God should love me Becky, a sinner. When I was an alcoholic, God loved me. When I dabbled in drugs, God loved me. When I cheated on my first husband, God loved me. When I got divorced God loved me. When I was an adulterer and a fornicator, God loved me. When I was liar, God loved. When I was thief, God loved me. When I was ruthless in my job, stepping on anyone that got in my way, so that I could get ahead God loved me. When I was unlovable, God loved me. You see, when I was in the “sewer of sin” God loved and was zealous for me. The Lord was not willing that I should perish. On that Sunday morning in March 1990, when I was on the brink of suicide because I hated my life and what I had become, God loved me. Tormented because I thought I had no other way out, because I believed the lie of the enemy that I had gone too far, done too much that God could never forgive me, and fully aware that if I killed myself that I would be eternally sepaated from God – GOD LOVED ME! I was at a crossroads, tormented in my soul not knowing what to do, so I turned the television on and began to channel surf. I saw Dr. Frederick K.C. Price and stopped at that channel. I will never forget the words he said that day because they would change my life forever. As he was pointing into the camera, he said, “Don’t you dare believe the lie of the enemy! You could never go too far or do too much that Jesus can’t forgive you!” At that point I just fell apart, I turned the TV off and I said to the Lord if this is true, help me, forgive me. The presence of the Lord filled my living room and I felt His arms around me. Jesus spoke to my heart and told me that He forgave, that He loved me and that everything was going to alright, just trust Him. That morning in my living room not only did He save me, not only did He wash my sins away, but He baptized me with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues. What love, what wondrous love, that God should save a sinner such as I.

Unfortunately, I was like many believers in the body of Christ, I didn’t know how to forgive myself and love myself. I saw God through human love and I kept thinking that He was going to leave me every time I messed up. I thought He would get tired of me not getting right and that He would gave up on me. I carried around a load of guilt, shame and self-condemnation. I constantly asked the Lord to forgive for things that He had already forgiven me for, and cast as far as the east is from the west. I was having trouble grasping what the Bible says in Psalm 103:11-12 "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us." (NIV) and John 8:36 "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed." (NKJ) I was having a hard time accepting that when Jesus forgave me He didn’t remember or hold my sins against me anymore. I lived in guilt, shame and condemnation for many, years, too many years. Because of this my relationship with the Lord hit a wall, there was nothing more He could do in my life until I learned to love myself and forgive myself. It’s God’s desire that we see ourselves through His eyes. It is His desire that we love and forgive ourselves as He loves us and forgives us. Because until we love ourselves as God loves us it is impossible for us to love others the way God desires for us to love them. So through a series of “divine appointments” the Lord led me to the right places and the right people at the right time to get the help I needed to get past this roadblock in my relationship with Him. The Lord taught me through His Word, through prayer, through an intimate relationship with Him how to love myself, how to forgive myself when I mess up, as He forgives me, and how to see myself through His eyes and His Word. You see no matter what anyone else says about us, it only matters what God says about us and what His Word says about us. And He is constantly teaching me how to improve my love walk toward others.

The Lord loves us. He expects us to love Him with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind, and to love others as ourselves. Matthew 22:37-39 "Jesus replied: ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" (NIV) When it comes to the issue of love, the children of God are without excuse. The Lord makes it very clear in His Word what He expects from us. We are to have a heart like Jesus, a servant’s heart, a heart of love for others. 1 John 4:16 "And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him." (NKJ) 1 John 4:19-21 "We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, 'I love God,' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also." (NKJ) Jesus even takes love for others a step further and tells that we are to love our enemies. Luke 6:27-28 “But I say to you who hear: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, and pray for those who spitefully use you." (NKJ) We might say, “I can’t love like that, I can’t love like God loves.” Yes we can. As His children, God has poured out His love into our hearts. Romans 5:5 "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us." (NIV) God never leaves us guessing when if comes to love. He gives us a description of what agape-love, God-kind of love is. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8A "Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." (NIV) Is it easy to love others? Sometimes yes, sometimes no, love is a challenge in the life of a believer and that’s why we don’t have to depend on ourselves to get it right, that’s why the Lord has given us His Spirit to help us. As God pours out His love on us, His love will flow through us to others. God has given us this awesome privilege of representing His reputation on the earth. We are the only Jesus that most of the people around us will ever see. Sometimes we’ll get it right, sometimes we will mess up, but the important thing is to keep on trying, to keep asking the Lord to help us and grow us in this area of our lives. Through His Word God teaches us that love is more than an emotion, love is more than a feeling, love is a commitment to the Lord. Everyday of are lives we are faced with decisions that we have to make in our love walk, so we need to rely on Him to help us make the right ones.

Love is important in the kingdom of God; everything in the kingdom of God finds its roots in love. You see, preaching without love is just noise, prayer without love is empty words, giving without love is just a ceremony, faith without love has no value and the gifts of the Spirit without love are meaningless and useless. Love is the key that opens the door in the kingdom of God. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 "If I could speak in any language in heaven or on earth but didn’t love others, I would only be making meaningless noise like a loud gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I knew all the mysteries of the future and knew everything about everything, but didn’t love others, what good would I be? And if I had the gift of faith so that I could speak to a mountain and make it move, without love I would be no good to anybody. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would be of no value whatsoever." (NLT) One of our goals as a congregation this year is to improve our serve. Improving our serve finds its roots in love. God’s love flowing in us and through us in works of service corporately as the Body of Christ and individually in our daily lives. What love, what wondrous love that God should love a sinner such as I, that God should love a sinner such as you.

As Holy Hands comes to minister to us this morning, allow the Lord to surround you with His love for you. If you are harboring shame, guilt and condemnation for sins you’ve committed ask the Lord to help you forgive yourself as He has forgiven you. If you have been unable to love yourself, ask the Lord to help you love yourself as He loves you. If your love walk toward others is lacking, ask the Lord to help you to let His love flow through your life to others around you.

Scripture List:

1. Hebrews 13:5
2. Romans 5:8; John 3:16-17
3. 1 John 4:9-10
4. Philippians 2:5-8; Ephesians 5:1-2
5. John 10:17-18
6. 2 Peter 3:9
7. Psalm 103:11-12; John 8:36
8. Matthew 22:37-39
9. 1 John 4:16; 1 John 4:19-21
10. Luke 6:27-28
11. Romans 5:5
12. 1 Corinthians 13:4-8A
13. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Hebrews 13:5

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.'"

 

Romans 5:8

"But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

 

John 3:16-17

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,[a] that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

 

1 John 4:9-10

"This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son[a] into the world that we might live through him. 10This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for[b] our sins."

 

Philippians 2:5-8

"Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!"

 

Ephesians 5:1-2

"Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God."

 

John 10:17-18

"The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life - only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father."

 

2 Peter 3:9

"The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."

 

Psalm 103:11-12

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west,so far has he removed our transgressions from us."

 

John 8:36

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."

 

Matthew 22:37-39

"Jesus replied: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' "

 

1 John 4:16

"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 him."

 

1 John 4:19-21

"We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother."

 

Luke 6:27-28

"But I tell you who hear me: Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you."

 

Romans 5:5

"And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

 

1 Corinthians 13:4-8A

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails..."

 

1 Corintians 13:1-3

"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing."

 

Such Love

That God should love a sinner such as I,
Should yearn to change my sorrow into bliss,
Nor rest till He had planned to bring me nigh,
How wonderful is love like this!

That Christ should join so freely in the plan,
Although it meant His death on Calvary,
Was even nobler theme sung by the tongue of man
Than love divine that ransomed me?

That for a wilful outcast such as I,
The Father planned, the Savior bled and died;
Redemption for a worthless slave to buy,
Who long had law and grace defied.

And now He takes me to His heart--a son,
He asks me not to fill a servant's place;
The "Far-off country" wand'rings all are done,
Wide open are His arms of grace!

CHORUS:
Such love, such wondrous love,
Such love, such wondrous love,
That God should love a sinner such as I,
How wonderful is love like this!

 

     

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