Bible verses that describe God’s love for us are some of my 

favorites. I hope you enjoy this list of inspirational quotes

showing just how much God loves you.
Featured Bible Verse About God’s Love: Romans 8:37-39 No, in all these things we are
more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor
things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to
separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God’s Love Shown Through Jesus Christ

John 3:16  “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish
but have eternal life.
Romans 5:8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I
now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God. who loved me and gave himself for me.
Ephesians 2:4-5 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, evenwhen we were
dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved—
1 John 4:9-11 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so
that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be
the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

God Loves and Cares For Us

Zephaniah 3:17 The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with
gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.
1 John 4:7-8  Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and
knows God.  Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
1 Peter 5:6-7  Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt
you,  casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
Job 34:19 who shows no partiality to princes, nor regards the rich more than the poor,  for they are all the work of
his hands?
Psalm 86:15 But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and
faithfulness.
1 John 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are.
The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.

What God Says About Love

Deuteronomy 7:9 Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and
steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,
Proverbs 8:17 I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give
you a future and a hope.
John 13:34-35  A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are
to love one another.  By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Respond To God’s Love Through

Thankfulness
Psalm 136:26 Give thanks to the God of heaven, for his steadfast love endures forever.
Romans 5:2-5 Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice
in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s
love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Colossians 2:6-7  Therefore as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, having been firmly rooted
and now being built up in Him and established in your faith, just as you were instructed, and overflowing with
gratitude.
Hebrews 12:28-29 Therefore, since we receive a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us show gratitude, by which
we may offer to God an acceptable service with reverence and awe; for our God is a consuming fire.
 Mark 5:22-34

THE CASE OF THE RUINED WOMAN

Intro: The Bible is filled with impossible, hopeless cases. Situations and circumstances
appear in the Word of God, and so very many of them appear impossible. There seems to be
no solution. Storms, needs, deaths, sicknesses, and many other situations, that to the
human mind are impossible, yet they are handled with ease by the power of a sovereign
God.

This section of Mark’s Gospel is filled with several of those impossible situations. There is a
storm, then a man filled with demons, and then a dead little girl. Jesus steps into every
single one of these unimaginable situations and proves that He is more than capable of
handling whatever happens.

One truth that demonstrates itself over and over in the pages of the Bible is the truth that
God is more than adequate for every situation. There are no impossible situations with Him.
There are no hopeless predicaments with the Lord! Your situation is not hopeless! Your
storm is not hopeless! Your sin is not hopeless! Your sickness is not hopeless! Your lost loved
ones are not hopeless! Nothing is hopeless with the Lord!

Our text describes yet another hopeless situation. Jesus is on His way to heal the daughter
of a man by the name of Jairus. On the way there, He is surrounded by a great crowd of
people. They throng Him and jostle against Him from every side. In the crowd that day there
was a poor, weak, timid, dying woman who reached out and touched Jesus Christ. When she
touched the Lord, her life was instantly, completely and permanently transformed.

There are people in this room today who need life transformations. You need someone to
radically change the situations you face in your life. Those transformations can happen. One
touch from the Lord can change everything! Let’s take a few minutes to consider this poor
woman and her situation.  

I wish we had time to examine every hopeless situation in the word of God today. That task
would take a while to accomplish. Today, we will consider the hopeless situation mentioned
in these verses. The facts of this story can help us when we face the hopeless situations in
our own lives. Let me point out these facts as I preach about The Case Of The Ruined
Woman.

 
  I.  v. 24-26   HER SUFFERING

A.  v. 25  Her Affliction - We are told that she suffered from “an issue of blood”. This literally
means that she was hemorrhaging, or bleeding, from some place in her body. The word
“issue” means “a flowing of blood”. It may mean that she suffered from a menstrual
flow that never ceased. Whatever caused this internal hemorrhage, she was a very sick
woman. The verb tense indicates that it was a continual flow of blood.

B.  v. 26  Her Anguish - A constant flow of blood would have caused her unbelievable
suffering. Let’s take a moment to examine some of the areas in which she suffered.

1.  Her Physical Anguish - From the constant blood loss, this poor woman would have
been weak and anemic. She would have been pale. She would have had no energy
at all. The least of efforts would have worn her out. The word “plague” is the same
word that is translated “whip” elsewhere. Her disease was like a scourge, constantly
beating her down, day by day!

2.   Her Medical Anguish - We are also told that she had tried all the remedies of all the
physicians of her day. We are told that she “suffered” under their care.

An example of their “medical” techniques can be found in the Talmud. There are
eleven remedies prescribed in the Talmud. Some are potions, most are simply
superstitious nonsense.

Here is a brief example of some of the remedies prescribed for this affliction. “Take
of gum Alexandria, of alum, and of crocus hortensis, the weight of a zuzee each;
let them be bruised together, and given in wine to the woman that hath an issue
of blood.”

But if this fail, “Take of Persian onions nine logs, boil them in wine, and give it to
her to drink: and say, Arise from thy flux.”

But should this fail, “Set her in a place where two ways meet, and let her hold a cup
of wine in her hand; and let somebody come behind and affright her, and say,
Arise from thy flux.”

 
 But should this do no good, “Take a handful of cummin and a handful of crocus,
and a handful of faenu-greek; let these be boiled, and given her to drink, and say,
Arise from thy flux.”

But should this also fail, “Dig seven trenches, and burn in them some cuttings of
vines not yet circumcised (vines not four years old); and let her take in her hand a
cup of wine, and let her be led from this trench and set down over that, and let her
be removed from that, and set down over another: and in each removal say unto
her, Arise from thy flux.”

One remedy even called for the woman to carry an ear of corn taken from the dung
of a white donkey. It is hard for us to imagine the kinds of indignities and
embarrassments the doctors put her through.

3.  Her Social Anguish - She was almost certainly not married, because through simple
physical contact, she would have defiled her husband. If she had ever been married,
her husband would have been probably divorced her. She could not work around
others because of the danger of defilement. This reduced her to a life of begging
scraps of food from a distance. Her condition left her on the fringes of society. In the
eyes of those around her, she was no better than a leper.

4.  Her Emotional Anguish - Since the Bible says that she had been this way for 12
years, and considering the average life span in those days, it is safe to assume that
she has probably been this way since just after puberty. She has lived her life moving
from one rejection to another. She is lonely, isolated and desperate!

5.  Her Religious Anguish - Under the Law, Lev. 15:19; 25-27, this poor woman was to
be considered unclean. Anything or anyone that she touched was also considered
unclean. As a result, she could not mingle with other people. Anyone who came in
contact with her would be considered ceremonially defiled. She could not worship in
the Women’s Court of the Temple, because she was unclean.

6.  Her Financial Anguish - The Bible tells us that she “spent all she had”. The doctors
and their useless remedies had not helped her. All they had done was drain her
bank account dry. She has been left penniless and destitute, with no husband or
children to look after her.
  

C.  v. 26  Her Agony - After years of pain, worthless doctors, useless remedies, and shattered
dreams, she has reached the place where she knows she is living under a death
sentence. She will not get better. She knows that she will die from this disease. Her life is
literally draining out of her body little by little, day by day, Lev. 19:11.

I wonder how many people can identify with this poor woman. Maybe you don’t have the
same kind of illness, but like her, you are filled with suffering and sorrow. This nameless,
suffering woman pictures two types of people:

1.  This woman pictures every person who does not know Jesus Christ as Savior. The lost
are defiled by a blood disease. They inherited this disease from Adam, Rom. 5:12. This
condition has plagued the lost person since they were born, Rom. 3:10; 23; Gal. 3:22. It
is a condition the sinner can’t make better or change on their own.

        

      Many lost people spend their entire lives searching for meaning and help for their
condition, but instead of getting better, they only get worse. Their hearts get harder, and
they become more deeply rooted in their sins. All the efforts at self-improvement and
religion do not improve their condition!

                 

      This poor woman was in a sad shape, but she wasn’t nearly as bad off as that person who
is not saved. She was merely headed to the grave; they are headed to an eternity in
Hell, Psa. 9:17; Rom. 6:23!

2.   She is also a picture of that believer who is laboring under a heavy burden. Many of
God’s children are discouraged and defeated today. You have tried everything in your
power to get better. You have tried everything you know to fix your situation. You’ve
read all the books, listened to all the preachers, and gotten advice from the best of
sources, but you are no better. Your life is as messed up as it ever was. If that describes
you, keep on listening, it may just be that the Lord has some help for your heart today.

  I.  Her Suffering

 II.  v. 27-28  HER SCHEME/arrangement

Our text tells us about how this woman came to Jesus. This hopeless, broken woman
devised a plan to meet the Lord.

A.  v. 27  Her Reasons - Somewhere, this poor woman heard about Jesus. Maybe she had
heard how He had healed a leper, Mark 1:40-42. Maybe she had heard about that wild
man just across the lake that Jesus had delivered rom a legion of demons, Mark 5:1-20.
Or, maybe some other poor soul, who lived on the fringes of society, had been healed by
Jesus and came by and told her about Him. Somewhere this woman heard that there
was power in His touch.

B.  v. 28  Her Resolve - She heard about Jesus, and she knew she had to get to Him. She
came to realize that Jesus was her only hope! She believed with all her heart that if she
could just get to Him, she would be healed.

           

      She displayed her determination to get to Jesus by approaching Him in that crowd. As
she elbowed her way through the people, she was causing ceremonial defilement for
everyone she touched.

           

      She was taking a great risk, for if she had been recognized, she would have been
subjected to public humiliation and ridicule. A crowd like that might have gotten worked
up and beat her or stoned her to death. For her, it was a risk worth taking. She believed
Jesus would heal her!

     

      She had to be determined, because by the very nature of her disease, it would have
taken all the energy she had to drag herself out of her bed to struggle through that
crowd to get to Jesus. She was desperate!

Have you reached that place in your life yet? Have you come to understand that Jesus is
the only hope you have? If you are in this building lost today, you need to get to Jesus!
He is the only source of salvation for you, Acts 4:12; John 14:6. If you have never trusted
Him for salvation, then you need to come to Him. Jesus is your only hope. You need to
touch Him by faith!

There are some who are saved, but like this woman are burdened and defeated, need to
touch Him as well. The sooner you come to realize that Jesus is the only person Who can
help you, the sooner you can get the help you need! Listen what He says to you: Matt.
11:28; Heb. 4:15-16; 1 Pet. 5:7. Why should you carry that burden one more step? Why
 should you fight your battle even for one more minute? Why should you live defeated
for another day? You don’t have to! Get to Jesus, He can and will help you!

  I.  Her Scheme

 II.  Her Sacrifice

III. v. 29-34  HER SALVATION

A.  v. 29  It Was Powerful - When she was near enough to Him, she reached out a trembling
hand and touched His garment. She probably touched one of the long tassels hanging
from the corners of His prayer shawl, Matt. 9:20.

           

      Then, in that very instant, she received what none of the doctors or their costly and
painful remedies could give her; she was healed! Instantly, she felt the change in her
body. She knew she was a different woman!

B.  v. 30-33  It Was Personal - As soon as this woman touches Him, Jesus knows what has
happened. Just for the record, He knew about it before it happened! He willed it! He
knows that “virtue” has gone out of Him. This is a word that means “power”. We get our
modern words “dynamite” and “dynamic” from it. Jesus knows what has happened and
He asks the question in verse 30, “Who touched My clothes?”

           

      Of course, there were dozens of people touching Him and bumping into Him that day, a
fact pointed out by the disciples, v. 31, but her touch was different; it was a touch
accompanied by faith. Many touched Him, but only one touched Him with the fingers of
faith!

           

      Jesus could have let her walk away with physical healing, but He called her out because
He wanted to give her more than physical healing. He wanted to move her beyond her
superstitious faith. He wanted to save her soul.

     

      When Jesus spoke to this woman, you will notice that she fell before Him in fear. This
was the very reason she came silently from behind Him to touch Him. This was why she
did not come to Him openly. She was afraid she would be rejected! She probably
 expected Jesus to lash out at her for touching Him. She thought He would treat her like
everyone else would have treated her. Just by touching Him, she would have defiled Him
until sundown.

      She needn’t have feared that! Jesus was not interested in humiliating her. He was not
interested in driving her away from His presence. He was not interested in preaching her
a sermon on uncleanness from the Law. He was interested in helping her with her
problem! He was interested in saving her soul.

     

      Jesus got the response from her He had wanted and anticipated. She bowed at His feet
and confessed everything to Him. This was a public, outward acknowledgment of what
had happened in her heart. She was different and she wasn’t ashamed to tell others
about it! Jesus wanted to move her past a small, superstitious faith to a greater, soul-
converting faith.

Jesus was on His way to heal the young daughter of a man named Jairus, v. 22-24. This
little girl is at the point of death! As Jesus makes His way to this man’s house, He is
surrounded by the surging crowd. Yet, in spite of the seriousness of His mission, Jesus
takes the time to stop for this woman!

At this moment, the crowd might as well not even be there. The business of the universe
was put on hold as Jesus turned His full attention on this poor, needy woman. To Him,
the woman and her need were more important than anything else. She was the sole
focus and center of His world and attention! This woman, cast out, uncared for, and
unwanted, had caught the eye of God because she exercised simple, childlike faith!

     

Isn’t that a blessing? I believe that God, Who controls the path of every atom in every
molecule in this universe, has time for you when you call on Him in faith.

     

Never fear that He doesn’t care about you. Never fear that He won’t receive you. Do you
realize that this woman could have never touched Him had He not become flesh?

Jesus became a man, in the first place, so He could die on the cross, Phil. 2:5-8. But, He
also became a man so that He could be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, Heb.
4:15-16. He also became flesh so that we could touch Him! No man could touch deity.
      

Jesus became a man so that He could identify with us and us with Him. He became a
man so that we could touch Him! If you ever come to the place where you can summon
the faith the get to Him and touch Him, you will get the help you need too!

C.  v. 34  It Was Profound - His words confirmed what she already knew had happened!
Notice that He calls her “daughter”. This is the only time Jesus ever calls a female by this
name. The word signifies the fact that they are in a different relationship now. It is a
word of tenderness; a word of peace; a word of acceptance.

           

      She got more than physical healing that day. All her adult life, she has been an outcast, a
nobody, dwelling in isolation and loneliness, living in the shadows of society, but now,
she hears that she has been taken in by God! Her faith brought her into a soul saving
relationship with Jesus Christ. One minute she was an outcast, the next she was in the
family of God!

     

      The word “whole” is the same word translated “saved” throughout the New Testament.
It means “to be rescued from all harm and danger. To be kept safe and sound”. She got
a whole lot more than she bargained for that day!

All those who come to Jesus get far more than they ever bargained for. Many come to
Him because they are afraid of Hell. When we come to Him, our faith is so small. We
don’t understand the deep things of the Word of God. We don’t understand the
complexities and nuances of theology. But, when our little faith reaches out to Him, He
responds by giving us everything Heaven has. Then, we begin the exciting journey of
finding out about our riches in Jesus. We soon discover that we got far more than just a
fire insurance policy.

•  We are children of God, 1 John 3:1-2.

•  We have a home in Heaven, John 14:1-3.

•  We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus, Rom. 8:17.

•  We have a new life, 2 Cor. 5:17.

•  We are free from the power of sin to control and dominate them, Rom. 6:14.

•  We are no longer God’s enemies, Rom. 8:7.

 •  We have been reconciled to Him, Eph. 2:12-19.

•  We have been fully and forever forgiven, Col. 2:13-14.

D.  v. 34  It Was Permanent - He tells her to “go in peace”. His words let her know that she
has done the right thing in coming to Him and touching Him. Any other man in that
crowd would have been offended and angered had this diseased woman intentionally
touched him, but not Jesus!

           

      He was not afraid of ceremonial defilement, it could not touch Him! He was far to holy to
become defiled by the mere touch of a sinner. What He knew was that a woman in
trouble had exercised a grain of faith, and He only cared for her healing!

           

      She was well and she knew it, but these final words of Jesus, “thy faith hath made thee
whole”, drive home the fact that she was finally and fully free from her plague. She was
healed and life would never be the same again! Her battle with this dread disease was
forever finished! She had received a brand new life from the hand of the Master.

Conc: This woman experienced healing, not because she touched His garment, but because
she exercised faith in Jesus and His power. When her faith touched His power, His power
changed her life.

Do you need to get to Jesus today? There is help in getting to Him! Whether you are lost in
sin, or whether you are battling difficulty, Jesus is your answer?

If you have reached the place where all other remedies have failed, all other means have
exhausted themselves and you need help right now, I want to invite you to come to Jesus!

   

You know, in that crowd that day, there were dozens of people with physical, spiritual, and
emotional needs. But, only one lady got any help. Dozens touched Jesus, but only one was
transformed.

 
Why? Only one person looked at Jesus through the eyes of faith. Only one person believed
Jesus could help her. Only one person whatever she had to do to touch Him. Only that one
person was made whole!

Don’t be one of those people who simply brush up against Jesus and leave unchanged. If
you need help, come to Him. He has the power to change your situation. If you need help,
get to Him and touch Him by faith.

 
 Mark 14:1-9

EXTRAVAGANT LOVE

Intro: We have come to a sad chapter in the book of Mark. These verses display
the hatred of men is all its ugliness. According to verses 1-2, the religious Jews are
fed up with Jesus and His preaching. They want Him dead and they do not care
what they have to do to see that come to pass.

        Verse 1 says that they want to “take Him by craft”. The word “craft” refers to
“a trick”. They are trying to devise a plot to trap Jesus so they can have Him
executed.

        Why are they so angry? They are upset because Jesus has exposed their
hypocrisy. They claimed to be spiritual, godly men and Jesus has proved them to
be nothing more than religious phonies. Jesus made a fool out them in front of the
common people, and they will not stand for that!

        They are also angry because Jesus is hurting their business. The religious
leaders controlled the commerce down at the Temple. They approved who sold the
sheep and the birds and the other items used in the sacrifices. They charged a fee
for the vendors to sell there, and for the moneychangers to set up their booths
there. They also collected a percentage of all sells made there. When Jesus threw
the sellers and the money changers out of the Temple, they determined in their
hearts that Jesus had to go!

        As we move through this passage, we will discover the truth that money
matters just a little too much to some people. They will be fine until you use
money for something they disagree with, then they get disagreeable.

        While this passage reveals human nature at its worst, there is also a picture
here of human nature at its best. Jesus contrasts the hatred of His enemies against
the unconditional love of one of His precious followers.

        These verses paint a portrait of Extravagant Love. I want you to see with me
the kind of love that every redeemed heart should have for the Savior. I want you
to see Extravagant Love on display. I want us to see this love in action so that we
might be motivated to express that same kind of unconditional, selfless, all-
consuming, boundless, extravagant love to the Lord Jesus Christ.

        I want to preach about Extravagant Love. I would like to point out The

Demonstration Of Extravagant Love; The Discouragement Of Extravagant Love;
and The Defense Of Extravagant Love. Let’s consider these thoughts together
today.

 
  I.  v. 3  THE DEMONSTRATION OF

                   EXTRAVAGANT LOVE

A.  The Setting For The Demonstration – These events took place in the little
town of Bethany, which was located on the southern slope of the Mount of
Olives, just a few miles from Jerusalem. Bethany was a favorite location for
Jesus. He had some very good friends who lived there. These friends were
siblings, and their names were Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Jesus often visited
them in their home and benefited from their hospitality, Luke 10:38-42. It was
also this Lazarus that died and brought back to life by the Lord Jesus, John
11:1-44. So, Bethany was a special place for the Lord Jesus.

        We are also told that this event occurred in the home of a man called
“Simon the leper”. It would appear that this man had been healed from leprosy
by Jesus and throws a feast in the Lord’s honor to thank Him for what he has
done in his life.

        If the Lord has ever done anything for you, you will be thankful for it!
Apparently, Jesus had saved Simon’s life. This man’s heart is overflowing with
love and gratitude for what Jesus has done for him and he wants to thank the
Lord! I praise the Lord for those people who are excited about what the Lord
has done for them. (Ill. What He has done for us in Jesus! He is worthy of our
praise, our love, our adoration and our worship!)

        We are told in John’s account of this same event that Martha is there
serving, Lazarus, whom Jesus raised from the dead, is there and so is Mary. In
fact, it is Mary who performs this demonstration of extravagant love for the
Lord Jesus Christ, John 12:1-8.

        It is a scene of love. Jesus is surrounded, for the most part, by people who
genuinely love Him, and by people who truly care for Him. Notice what they
are doing. The Bible says, “He sat at meat”. They are together, enjoying
fellowship over a meal. Did you know that a lot of the fellowship people had
with Jesus in the Gospel was experienced during the course of a meal? I like
that too! I think it is wonderful when we gather for worship, for prayer, for
testimonies, for singings, and the other things we do at church. There is
something really special about sitting down with you to fellowship over a meal.
Some folk don’t like it. They don’t believe in “eating at church”. That’s fine,
but don’t rain on my parade! I happen to enjoy fellowshipping with the saints of
God over a meal!

B.  The Sacrifice Of The Demonstration – As Jesus sits there at that meal, Mary
enters the room. She has with her “an alabaster box” filled with “ointment of
spikenard”. We are told that this ointment was “very precious”. She broke that
box and she poured the contents of it on the head of the Lord Jesus. John also
 tells us that she “anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair.”
This is an extravagant demonstration of love that deserves a few moments of
our time.

        This box is actually a flask. Within that flask was a substance called
“spikenard”, or just “nard”. It is a red-tinted ointment that is drawn from a
plant that grows in India. It was a perfume that was used in the embalming
process. It was so expensive that only the very wealthy could afford to purchase
it. We are told in verse 5 that it was worth “300 pence”. This is a year’s pay for
the average worker. In today’s economy, Mary’s gift was worth around
$20,000.000. It was an extravagant gift.

        So, Mary enters the room, breaks the neck of that flask, she pours some of
the ointment on the Lord’s head, the rest she pours out on His feet. Then, she
falls down before Jesus and washes the Lord’s feet with her hair. It was an
extravagant gift! John says that when she did this, “the house was filled with
the odour of the ointment,” John 12:3. This was a very extravagant gift!      

C.  The Statement In The Demonstration – Why did Mary do this? Was she
trying to impress the people who had gathered for the feast? Was she trying to
prove how much she loved Jesus? I think this act of extravagant love was for
the benefit of Christ alone. When she came that day, broke that flask, anointed
the Lord and wiped His feet with her hair, she was making a statement! In fact,
she was making several statements.

         She was making a statement about her commitment to Him.  When she broke
the flask, there was no going back! The entire contents of that vessel would
have to be used. Her commitment to Him was unconditional and complete.

         She was making a statement about His value to her.  She had probably saved
her entire life to be able to purchase that flask of ointment. She was probably
saving it for her own burial. When she broke that flask and poured out its
contents, she was telling Jesus, “You mean more to me than anything in the
world!”

         She was making a statement about her value to herself.  By this act, Mary was
demonstrating that Jesus meant more to her than her own reputation. She
sacrificed her pride in order to serve Him. She was saying “I love you so much
that I do not care what anyone thinks about my expression of extravagant
love!” Two things that she did prove this truth.

  First, only prostitutes were seen in public with their hair down. At that
moment, she didn’t care what anyone thought of here, she merely wanted to
express her extravagant love to her Lord!
   Second, Only slaves washed the feet of others. When a person came to your
home, you offered the water so they could wash their own feet, or if you had
slaves, you had them wash the feet. Mary took the place of a slave before
the Lord! She humbled herself before Him and she served Him because she
loved Him.

         She was making a statement about the value of her possessions.  To Mary,
nothing in the world was as valuable to her as Jesus. She loved Him with an
extravagant love and everything she possessed was His anyway. She loved the
Lord more than she loved her things!

        It was common in those days to put a few drops of perfume on the head of
an honored guest when they arrived at your home. Mary broke the flask and
poured out every drop on Jesus because she loved Him!

         She was making a statement about His worthiness to be worshiped and

served. Why did Mary do this? Well, she did it because she was thankful. She
was thankful because Jesus was her Redeemer. He had saved her soul from sin
and she was filled with love for that act. She also did it because the Lord had
raised her dead brother Lazarus from the dead. She was so overwhelmed with
love for Him that she willingly gave up all that she had in one act of selfless,
extravagant worship. On top of that, Mary believed that Jesus was going to die
on a cross, v. 8. She believed a truth that the disciples couldn’t grasp. As far as
she knew, this would be the last time she would have to serve Him and to honor
Him. She seized the opportunity and made it count for the glory of God!

         I am sure there were more statements made by Mary’s act, but these speak
volumes to us.

(Note: When was last time you offered the Lord an offering of extravagant love?
When was the last time you broke the bank worshiping Him? When was the last
time you threw away your pride and gave Him worship, honor and praise? When
was the last time you selflessly served the Lord Who saved your soul from Hell?
How long has it been since you placed everything you have, everything you are
and everything you care about on the altar of sacrifice before Him?

        We don’t see a lot of extravagant love for Jesus in these days. There are very
few people who love Him more than they love themselves, their own agenda, their
possessions or their comfort. There are very few who are willing to serve Him with
no thought of anything in return. There are very few who will sacrifice their pride
and their possessions so that the Lord might be honored by their giving. There are
not many who love Him extravagantly!

        Look at your own life in light of Mary’s statements of faith.

         Are you totally committed to Jesus in extravagant love and worship? That is
His will for our lives, Rom. 12:1-2.

         Is Jesus more valuable to you than the things you possess in life? Are you
willing to give up all that you have so that you might express extravagant love
for Him?

         Is He worth more to you than your pride? Have you reached a place in your
walk with Him where you no longer care what others think about you? Are you
willing to suffer shame if it brings glory to Him?

         This lost world needs to witness our expressions of extravagant love for the
Lord Jesus Christ. It is time the church fell head over heels in love with Jesus
once again.

        Far too many are like the fellow who called his girlfriend up one day and
said, “Darling, I love you! I would climb the highest mountain for you! I
would swim the deepest river for you! I would fight a jungle full of lions for
you! I love you! And, if it doesn’t rain tonight, I will be over to see you.”

        Too often, we love the Lord when it is convenient. We love Him between
11:00 and 12:00 on Sunday. We love Him when loving Him fits within our
schedule!

        We love Him when loving Him doesn’t get in the way of what we want to
do, where we want to go and what we want to accomplish in life. We love Him
to a point, but very few ever love Him with reckless abandon. Very few ever
love Him with true extravagant love!

        We treat His house like worship attendance is optional. We come once a
week and act like God ought to be honored that we even showed up. We throw
a dollar in the offering plate and think we have given. We live our lives on our
own schedule and by our own rules and say we are living for the Lord. We fuss,
grip and complain about everything in the world and we want everyone to know
what a committed Christian we are. We are as hypocritical as the Scribes and
Pharisees!

        May Mary’s gift make us ashamed of our tepid, self-centered, half-

hearted  love for the One Who did everything for us!  I can’t speak for you, but
this passage convicts my heart! I want to love Him with extravagant love. I
want to love Him so much that He has control of me and all that I possess and
all that I am. I want to love Him without shame, without fear and without
foolish pride getting in the way. I want to love Him like Mary loved Him. After
all, He has done as much for me, and maybe more, than He did for her!)

 
  I.  The Demonstration Of Extravagant Love

 II.  v. 4-5  THE DISCOURAGEMENT     

                  OF EXTRAVAGANT LOVE

(Ill. Mary’s demonstration of extravagant love is wonderful to behold. I wish the

words that were spoken in verses 4-5 had never been uttered. But, we need the
truth taught in those two verses. We need to be reminded of the truth that not
everyone appreciates extravagant worship. Not everyone thinks the Lord is worthy
of such lofty praise. In fact, some people seem to believe it is their calling in life to
be as cheap in their love for the Lord as possible. There is a word here for and
about people with that attitude.)

A.  An Attack – The Bible tells us that some of those standing there were moved
with “indignation”. The word means “to be very displeased”. They were not
happy with what Mary had done to Jesus! They went so far as to say that her act
of selfless worship was nothing more than a “waste”. That word refers to
something that is “utterly destroyed; ruined; and perished”. They looked at the
ointment on the head of Jesus and they looked at the ointment on and around
His feet and they said, “What a waste! The ointment is ruined and is now
good for nothing!”

B.  An Accounting – Then one of the disciples, according to John 12:4-5, it was
Judas Iscariot, calculated that the ointment would have been worth “300
pence”. Or, as I said earlier, it was worth about $20,000.00.

C.  An Accusation – Then Judas, and the rest, declare that the ointment should
have been sold. They could have then taken the money and given it to the poor.
This sounds good, and it sounds spiritual. However,John 12:6 says, “This he
said, not that he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and had the
bag, and bare what was put therein.”

        When Judas Iscariot says what he does about the ointment, eleven voices
echo in agreement. The problem was, Judas was a thief, John 12:6. If the
ointment has been sold and the money given to Judas to keep, a small portion
would have been given to help the poor, but the majority would have lined his
pockets!

(Note: This is a sad scene. Here is a woman who loves Jesus more than she loves
her life, her wealth or her possessions. She sacrificed her pride and her precious
ointment because she wanted to worship and honor the Lord Jesus. She worshiped
Him publically, openly, sacrificially and extravagantly. She gave away all she had
to worship Him. Her worship was expensive and extravagant!

        Yet, her extravagant love is misunderstood and misinterpreted by the Lord’s
disciples. They ridiculed her and tried to make her feel bad for the thing she did for
Jesus. Why did they treat her this way?

        They treated her like they did because they did not have the same heart of
love for Jesus that she had. She loved Him more than life and she was willing to
give Him all that she had in response. They were upset because they did not think
He was worthy of the same kind of love that she deemed Him worthy of.

        We still see this mentality at work. People give themselves to all kinds of
pursuits in life. Some give themselves to money and people call them a success.
Some give themselves to sports, they become star athletes and people call them
heroes. Some give themselves to politics and are called great civic leaders. Some
give themselves to academics and people talk about how wonderful they are
because they are intellectual. But, you let a talented young man or woman give
themselves to a life of service to the Lord Jesus Christ and people will say, “What
a waste!” (Ill. Jerry Vines and the Dean of Mercer College)

        I have reached the conclusion that no matter what you do in life, if you do not
do it for the glory of God and to honor the Lord Jesus it is a waste of time, money
and energy! As the poet said:

Only one life,

Will soon be past.

Only what’s done for

Christ will last.)

        I don’t care how much money you make; how much education you get; how
much you do for the people around you, or anything else you want to name; if you
do not do what you do for the glory of God, it means nothing. It is a waste! That’s
what Jesus said, Mark 8:36-37.

(Note: Of course, you see the same thing in the church. There are times when the
church will decide to do something that some folks in the church may disagree
with. Usually, what that means is the church spends money on something they
don’t agree with, or on something they would label a “waste”. When that happens,
some people will stop tithing, like they are going to punish the church for spending
money in a way they disapprove of. Those same people will mount a verbal
campaign of criticism to try and enlist others to their point of view.

        Let me just go on record today and tell you that it takes money to run a
church. If a church is going to grow, expand its ministries and provide things for its
members, it takes resources. If you have a problem with that, you need to take it up
with the Lord. If I were you, I wouldn’t threaten God by withholding the things
that belong to Him. The Bible says, “The tithe is the Lord’s”, Lev. 27:30. That is a
dangerous game to pay, and you will be the loser in the end, Mal. 3:8-10; Hab. 1.)

(Note: Why do people act and think this way? In the end, it is because they are just
like Judas. Judas was upset because he wasn’t getting anything out of what was
being done. Because he felt left out, he lashed out! So it is with people today. They
see the Lord working, blessing and moving and they don’t like how everything that
is being done, they attack it. It is nothing more than self-centered thinking! People
who do that can see nothing but the material side of life. They criticize and they
gripe about what the church does with the offerings. They are materially minded
and have no concept of spiritual things. If everything for you in seen in terms of
dollars and cents, you will miss out on much of what the Lord is doing in this
world. He wants individuals and churches to love Him extravagantly!)

(Note: You night as well face this truth today: if you decide to give Jesus
extravagant worship, you will be criticized by people who do not feel the way
about Him that you do. If you shout, testify, cry and give Him vocal and visible
praise, you will be criticized by people who don’t. If you give your resources to
Him, you will be criticized by people who think it is wasteful. If your church
grows and uses the resources God gives her to expand her ministries, some will
criticize what the church is doing.

        What should our response be? What was Mary’s response? As far as we
know, she didn’t make one. She just loved Jesus, gave Him extravagant worship
and did not worry about the consequences! In other words, just keep loving Him,
Keep giving to Him. Keep praising Him. Keep on displaying extravagant love, and
He will get the glory!)

  I.  The Demonstration Of Extravagant Love

 II. The Discouragement Of Extravagant Love

III.  v. 6-9     THE DEFENSE OF

                   EXTRAVAGANT LOVE

(Ill. When Jesus knows what His men are thinking and saying, He comes to Mary’s
defense. As Jesus deals with Mary, He makes several statements that affirm the
truth that He willingly received her gift of extravagant love. These statements
make it clear that Jesus saw her sacrifice for what it was: a gift of extravagant love!
Let’s look at these statements together today.)

         Mark 14:6, “Let her alone; why trouble ye her? She hath wrought a good
work on me” – I think it is clear from this statement that the Lord’s heart is
grieved by the attitude of His men. Mary has given Him extravagant love and
they have given Him nothing! She gave Him the best she had and they are
attacking her for simply loving Jesus! They looked at her gift and they called it
a “waste”.

        Jesus looked at what she did and He said, “she hath wrought a good work
on me.” The word “good” means “beautiful”. The disciples said, “It is a
waste!” Jesus said, “It is beautiful!” What Mary did was extravagant, and it
bothered the greedy disciples; but it blessed the Lord Jesus. He took Mary’s
common act of anointing His head and washing His feet and elevated it into the
realm of a spiritual work.

        The Bible is clear that God’s people are to be engaged in good
works, Eph. 2:10; James 2:18; 1 Pet. 2:9. Do you know how to take a
common act and elevate it to an act of spiritual worship? All you have to do is
do it solely for the Lord! When you do even the smallest thing for His glory, it
becomes an act of extravagant love and worship, Matt. 10:40-42.

        It may be a monetary gift; a song of praise; a humble testimony; a loud

shout; a lifted hand; a kind word; a cold cup of water; or anything else you want
to name. If it is given for His glory and in His name it becomes an act of
extravagant worship for His glory!

        It all comes down to who you do things for. If you do them for yourself,
you have your reward. If you do them for others only, you have your reward. If
you do them for the glory of God, as an act of extravagant love and worship,
you will have His reward!

         Mark 14:7, “For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will
ye may do them good: but me ye have not always” – Jesus is not saying that we
should not help the poor. We should help them and we should do our best to
meet the needs of those around us. Jesus is simply saying that Mary seized the
 moment! The poor would always be there, but she knew that Jesus was going to
the cross to die for sin and sinners. She took advantage of the opportunity she
was afforded and she gave Him extravagant love and worship.

        So it is with us! These lives we live are fleeting at best. We must learn to
seize those moments when we are given opportunities the serve the Lord. When
you are in that good, spiritual service and the Lord is moving in power and
glory, don’t waste the moment. Gove Him extravagant love! When the moment
presents itself to witness, to give, to serve Him, don’t waste the moment! Give
Him the extravagant love that He is due! When you have the means and the
opportunity to give to the Lord’s work, don’t waste the opportunity! Invest in
the work of the Lord and give Him extravagant worship!

        Soon, our lives will be over. The Bible challenges us to seize the
moment, John 9:4; Eph. 5:16. That is why I can’t turn down an opportunity to
preach the Word of God. That is why we should be faithful to the house of God.
That is why we should be active in C.A.R.E. and the other outreach ministries
of our church. That is why we need to be at Sunday School. That is why we
need to come to prayer meeting, that is why we need to support our youth
ministry. That is why we need to back the church with our presence, our
prayers, our time and our treasure. The day will come when we will not have
the opportunities we have today!

         Mark 14:8, “She hath done what she could” – There was a lot that Mary
could not do. She could not prepare Him a meal, there just wasn’t time. She
could not make Him a garment, again, there just wasn’t time. She could not
take His place in Gethsemane or at Calvary. She could not take away the
shame, the rejection, the hatred or any of the other pains Jesus experienced.
There was a lot that she could not do. But, there was one thing she could do!
She had a flask of expensive anointing ointment. She was saving it for herself,
but she chose in that moment to take what she did have and to use it for the
glory of God!

        There is a powerful lesson here for the saints of God. We cannot do
everything, but we must learn to take what we have and do what we can with it!
You can’t evangelize the whole world, but you can tell one person at a time
about Jesus! You can’t feed every starving person in the world, but you can
feed some. You can’t help everybody, but you can help some people! You can’t
do it all, but you can take what you have and use it for the glory of God!

        I can’t preach everywhere, but I can walk through the open doors God
gives me! I can’t give everything the church needs, but I can give my tithes and
offerings for the Lord to use in this local body. I can’t teach every preacher the
things I have learned, but I can teach the ones God leads into my classes. My
duty is to do what I can!
         That is all God asks of you! Do what you can! You can’t do it all, but there
are some things you can do!  Pray, witness, work, give, be faithful, read your
Bible, support the church, help your neighbor, teach your Sunday School class;
do what you can! By the way, you won’t be able to do the things you do now
forever, but you can teach others how to do it so they can step in when you
can’t.

        One of these days I am going to die. I will preach my last sermon, pray my
last prayer and render my last service to Jesus and His church. When that day
comes, I want Him to be able to say about me, “He did what He could!” Isn’t
that what you want too? Are you doing all that you can? Are you doing what
you can?

         Mark 14:8, “she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying” –

Jesus had been telling His disciples that He was going to the cross to die for sin.
They never did believe Him! They doubted Him until after he was dead and
risen again! Mary, on the other hand, believed the Lord! She knew where He
was headed. She was walking by faith and she knew that she would not be there
when they placed His body in the grave. She was serving Him by faith, trusting
that everything He said was true

        This is another lesson we can learn from Mary’s extravagant love gift. She
gave Him love, worship, service and sacrifice, because she was walking with
Him by faith.

        That is what He wants from us. He simply wants us to love Him, to trust
Him and to believe Him. He doesn’t want us to have to have all the answers. He
just wants us to believe Him.

  He wants us to trust Him with our needs – Matt. 6:25-34; Phil. 4:19

  He wants us to trust Him with our service to Him – Heb. 13:5

  He wants us to take Him at His word and trust Him to do what is right!

         Mark 14:9, “Verily I say unto you, Wheresoever this gospel shall be
preached throughout the whole world, this also that she hath done shall be
spoken of for a memorial of her” – This is an amazing statement! The disciples
looked at what Mary did and they cried: “Waste!” Jesus looked at it and He
said: “Beautiful!” Jesus said that this gift of extravagant love from Mary would
be retold everywhere the Gospel would be preached! For 2,000 years that
statement has been proven true! For 2,000 years people have been motivated to
give my Mary’s extravagant gift to Jesus. For 2,000 years people have been
blessed, challenged and stirred by what this one woman did!
         Jesus took what Mary did and He put it in what Dr. Jerry Vines calls “His
memory box”. That’s not all God has in there! He has the two mites that widow
gave at the Temple. His has that broken ointment bottle. He has the gold,
frankincense and myrrh of the wise men. He has the worship of the shepherds.
He has the testimonies of the Gaderene demoniac, the tenth leper, the man who
was born blind, the man who lay at the Pool of Bethesda for 38 years, and many
others. He has the faith of the dying thief, the Roman centurion, and Zacchaeus.
He has the gratitude of the woman with the issue of blood, Jairus, the widow of
Nain, and a myriad of others. He has all this and more in His memory box. He
never forgets and they will all be rewarded for their love, their faith and their
worship of the Lord Jesus Christ!

        Ill. In the Tabernacle there were certain utensils called “snuffdishes” or
“snuffboxes”. This is not referring to “Tops”, “Red Rooster”, “Garretts”, or
“Square”. These boxes were used to store the wicks that had burned out in the
Tabernacle. When a wick burned out, it was not thrown away, it was saved in
the “snuffdishes”. Those wicks burned in the Tabernacle and gave off light to
those within. They represented service to God.

        God is teaching us that everything that represents true service to Him will
never be forgotten. Those things are noted by Him and they possess lasting,
eternal value. There will come a day when He will reward His servants for their
service of extravagant worship for His glory. Ill. Mark 9:41, “For whosoever
shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to
Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.” (Ill. Matt. 25:34-
40.) (Ill. Paul – 2 Tim. 4:6-8!)

Conc: Mary did what she could and she was rewarded accordingly. Have you done
what you could? Are you doing what you can? Are you giving our Lord
demonstrations of extravagant worship? Has He spoken to you about this matter? I
know He has spoken to me about it. I want to give Him all the glory, worship and
praise He is due. When I think of all He has done for me, I know He is worthy of
that and so much more.

        I challenge you today to look at how you are serving Him and how you are
loving Him. Is there room for improvement? If He has spoken to your heart, on any
level, come to Him now and do what He wants you to do.

        Some need to come and be saved. Some need to come and repent of a bad
attitude. Some need to come and give Him some extravagant love right now. Some
need to make things right with your fellow believers, your church and your Lord.
        We all need to examine our motives, our love and our worship. When you
consider what Mary did, how does your own love stack up? Is it extravagant? Or,
does it seem to be lacking? Listen to His voice! Do what He tells you right now.

God's Steadfast Love

John 15:9-13

(RealAudio Version available)

I would like to speak with you this morning about God’s love. His steadfast love.
The Bible says in John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
everlasting life.

How much does God love us? How much does God love you? Well, so much that
He gave His only begotten Son to die on the cross to provide, free of charge, free
of charge to us, eternal life instead of what we deserve, which is eternal death.

God loves you! And His great love is His gift to you. God loves you whether or
not you love Him back. Do you believe that? He will always love you and He
always has loved you. Whether or not you feel His love.

There was once a man who got deathly sick. He was very concerned about it, and
at one point he thought, “Am I going to be saved? I just don’t know. I don’t know
if I’ve contributed enough toward my salvation.” And a friend of his came to visit
him one day, at his sick bed, and the friend said, “you know, let me help you with
this problem. I have a little girl at home. I hold her on my knees. She hasn’t even
hardly walked yet, she’s so young. And I watch her smile, and I love that child
with a great love, but she loves me very little, if any at all! I don’t even know if she
loves me yet. If I were dying of cancer she wouldn’t even know it. If my body
were racked with pain she wouldn’t know it. If I were to die, she would soon forget
me, or maybe never remember at all. She has never purchased one thing for me,
not even a penny’s worth. In fact she is a constant expense to me.

So do I withhold my love to her until she contributes something towards me? No, I
don’t do that. Am I waiting for her to do something worthy of my love before I
give my love to her? No, I love her simply because she is mine.”

And that’s why God loves you. And if you look in Malachi, the last page of the
Old Testament. Malachi 3:17 And I’m going to quote this according to the living
Bible, They shall be Mine, says the Lord of Hosts in the day when I make up
My jewels. God has jewels. Who are those jewels? You are God’s jewel.

There was a personal notice in the Detroit News: "The staff of LeRoy's Keepsake
Diamond Center wishes to congratulate our office girl on the birth of her baby boy,
who weighed in at 18,176 carats!” That baby boy was a jewel, a pretty big jewel!
And so are we! A 150 pound man would be about 340,000 carats! So you weigh in
heavy on God’s sight.

God looks at us in the same way that the jewelry store looks at a baby. In His
sight, we are precious jewels. And God has chosen to love you and that makes you
valuable. That makes you something that God doesn’t want to lose.

In fact I read in the little book called Sons and Daughters, page 192, THERE IS
NOTHING SO GREAT AND POWERFUL AS GOD'S LOVE FOR HIS
CHILDREN. He loves you. We’re all His children.

The most valuable thing about God's children is the fact that God loves them so
much. Do you know that desire creates value? Let’s suppose that we had ten
zillionaires and they all wanted a particular painting. They wanted it badly. What
do you think the value of that painting would be? It would be high. And let’s
suppose that you had another painting that nobody wanted. The value would be
very low. Even anybody here could afford it. And why are we priceless jewels?
Because God wants us. And God is a zillionaire. That’s why we are so valuable.
And God just happens to be the wealthiest person in the universe. And He wants
you.

I don't fully understand why God should want me as much as He does. Why
should He love me so much? I am unlovely. Why does God love the unlovely?

If you read the story, and you’ve read this many times in MARK 5:1-20 Jesus had
taken a stormy trip across the lake and He’s landed, He stepped out on the beach,
and He met one of the most ugly human beings that Jesus had ever seen. This man
was inhabited by 6 thousand demons. He was a bad, ugly man. He was scarred, he
was unshaven, he was bloody, he was naked, he was filthy, he smelled bad. And
yet Jesus took an interest in that man. He loved him upon first sight. Why is that?
And several verses later here in Mark chapter 5 you read of this man sitting there at
Jesus feet, in his right mind, sitting there calmly, listening to Jesus, maybe taking
notes and looking at Jesus with bright and happy eyes. Why did Jesus take an
interest in him? Because Jesus loves him. Because Jesus is love! That’s why. And
the man was sitting there fully clothed. Was there a J.C.Penney store nearby?
Where did he get the clothes? There was some sharing going on wasn’t there?

Some time you sit down with your Bible, and you read your Bible. I’m reading my
Bible through, I’m just finishing the book of Micah. And you read it with the
thought in mind of God’s love. Various stories that illustrate God’s love. Various
verses that illustrate God’s love, and you will see God’s love of all types, all
through the Bible, on every page. And it will make a difference in your Bible
study.
 There was a minister who was sitting in the vestry of his church waiting for people
to come in. He had a city church and one man came in. And the minister said,
"What can I do for you? What is your problem today?" And the man said “I have a
hard time understanding Romans 9 where it says Jacob I have loved, but Esau I
have hated. I can't understand why God would hate Esau. God is love. So that’s
my problem.” The minister said I have a bad problem with that same verse. I don’t
understand it either. My difficulty has always been with the first part of the verse. I
could never understand why God could love that wily, deceitful, supplanting,
lying... Jacob! But He loved him. And He loves you.

EPHESIANS 2:4 says God has a great quality love for us! God is the greatest
lover of all times. God is love! God loves us with an everlasting love. With an
unfailing love. Even when we are unlovely. Our atrocious actions disappoint Him,
make no mistake about that, but He still loves us.

What should our response be? Well we ought to love God and we ought to love
our neighbors. JOHN 15:12—This is My commandment, that you love one
another as I have loved you. The same way I loved you, you love one another.
We are to love one another. In church families there ought to be a lot of love.

Have you heard about the parable of the brawling bride? It’s interesting. At the
most climactic moment in a wedding ceremony the families were all seated. The
minister was on the platform. The groomsmen were on the platform, the groom
was there. The bridesmaids were all lined up on the platform. The organist hit the
key and it was time for the bride to enter. The mother stood, everybody turned
around. They all looked, the back doors came open, and a gasp burst from the
congregation. The bride was limping. Her gown was ripped, it was covered with
splotches of wet, dripping mud. One eye was purple and swollen. Her hair was
messed up. And in the parable, the groom is Christ. Doesn’t He deserve a better
bride than this? His bride, the church, has been quarreling again. He deserves
better, doesn’t He?

You say, well that’s a ridiculous parable. Well, not when we hear about some
things that happen to some people in the church, it’s not ridiculous. Things like
that happen. We need to get along with each other. We don’t need cliques in the
church, or factions.

Don't fight. Instead, realize the depth of the love that God has for you and you
share that same love with sombody else in the church and in the neighborhood.
Share His love. We’re all fellow travelers on the narrow road to heaven, and it’s
hard enough without conflict so let’s be at peace. In our homes, in our church, in
our community. I see all these letters going out here in Collegedale, and I’ll be so
glad when this election is over. Do you get those letters? Let’s be at peace. Let’s
just pray to vote for the right one. I’m not going to tell you who to vote for, and
don’t you tell me. Let’s just let the Lord give us the wisdom.
 Stephen Brown explains that when a group of thoroughbred horses face an attack,
they stand in a circle facing each other. With their back legs, they kick out against
the enemy. And donkeys do just the opposite. Donkeys face the enemy and kick
each other!

And how often some in the church, we do the same thing. We ignore the real
enemy and we attack each other. We send mimeograph sheets, and all kinds of
stuff. And we ought to be the bride of Christ. Instead we walk around with black
eyes where we’ve been punching each other.

So can we change? Not on our own. But Jesus can change us. He can change us.
The great love of God can replace our donkey-like heart with the heart of a
thoroughbred. With the heart of Jesus. God can change us. And you know, I think
we’ll stop kicking each other. It’s hard to kick somebody when you’re on your
knees. Have you ever tried it? Kicking is impossible when you are on your knees.
It’s time to love one another just as God loved us.

Years ago there was a column in the Review and Herald. We used to call it the
Review and Herald, you know. Miriam Wood was the "Ann Landers" of the
Seventh-day Adventist church. People used to write her letters. And there was a
letter that came in: My dear husband died about a year ago after more than 50 years
together. No words can describe how much I miss my husband. I’m in fairly good
health, I try to stay active. I don’t get out at night. Driving at night bothers me.
Recently a group of couples in our church with whom we used to socialize were all
invited to a wedding some distance away, and it would involve driving home in the
dark. I was also invited. I timidly asked the wife to whom I felt the closest if I
could go with her and her husband. She said, well of course.

A few days later one of the wives invited me to lunch and dropped a bomb shell.
"I think it would be much better now that your husband is gone if you confined
your friendships to other widows and did not try to associate with the married
couples. An extra person can be a problem.”

Donkeys.

She said, "I was stunned! I was crushed! These couples had been our dearest
friends. What had I done wrong? I didn’t have any design on their husbands. I can
hardly wait till the resurrection morning. Please Advise Me.”

That kind of makes you angry to have a letter like that. Do we do the same thing
here in our church. Let’s make sure we love everybody. Love one another. Love
one another. See what you can do. I guess about all that widow lady can do is make
new friends, be active, and attend every activity she can, and assume that other
widows are being treated the same way and just get a widows group and get
together and do what you can. I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do in
a situation like that. And those people that feel the way that one lady felt need to
realize, well what’s going to happen if this happens to me. And it can happen to
anybody. We need to love one another.

I Peter 3:8 says ...Have compassion one of another, love as brethren, be

courteous.

We must have a change of heart and we cannot change our heart ourselves. Only
God can do that. But God CAN do that.

A five year old boy became angry with his mother and disgusted with her and he
packed his little bag and he ran away. He’d been walking with his suitcase around
the block. Finally it was beginning to get dark and a policeman stopped him and
the policeman said, “where are you going sonny?”

The little boy said, "I'm running away!" The officer smiled and said, “look, I've
been watching you and all you've been doing is walking around the block.” The
little boy started crying. He said, "Well, what do you want me to do, I’m not
allowed to cross the street!"

He could not run away, because deep in his heart he still loved his mama. It was
still there. If you once develop a real love for God in your heart, you will have a
tough time running away from God. His wonderful love will draw you back.

Jeremiah chapter 31 and verse 3, I have loved thee with an everlasting love,
therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee. That’s the type of love that
God has toward us. A wonderful love. And we need to show more of God's great
love in our homes.

A woman developed a throat condition. The doctor prescribed a medication but he

said you’re going to have to not talk for six months. She said, “Well I have a
husband and six children. How can I do this?” He said, “Well, if you want your
voice back, that’s what you have to do.” Well, that’s what she did. When she
needed the youngsters, she blew a whistle. She would write notes to her family.
Instructions became written memos, and questions were answered on pads of
paper. The six months finally passed by, and people said, well, what difference has
this made in your life? Now that you can talk again. That’s a big difference.

And she said, “well, I’ve noticed that the children have become much quieter.
There’s no arguing in our house. It’s so peaceful, I don't think I will ever holler and
yell like I used to." She said, "When I would write out the notes and would be
scribbling them out to deal with some situation, and then I would get to reading
them, I would just wad them up and throw them away.” Words come out so fast,
you know. You can’t hardly stop them, but when you’re writing a note, you realize
what you’re doing.
 The woman did just 1 simple thing. She just stopped hurling angry, loud words,
and changed the whole home. Withhold the negatives. What would happen if we
really loved our family and our children the way that God loves us? It would be
wonderful.

There was a bus driver that was taking 40 children home from school. On a steep
grade the brakes failed. It was a winding road and as that bus sped down, zig-
zagging along that road he knew that at the bottom, there was a T. There was a
cross street, and he remembered that at the bottom there was gate that led out into a
level farmer’s field. He thought, I’ll just have to crash that gate, if I can make it to
the bottom, and I’ll just have to pray that there are no cars coming at the stop sign.
And so as they went down that road, he managed to hold the bus in an upright
position. They came to the bottom, he saw the gate. It was there. There was a little
child sitting right on top of the gate, waving. He thought, what am I going to do? If
I swerve at this speed, there’ll be 40 people dead. So he hit the gate. The little child
was instantly killed.

Pretty soon emergency workers assembled. Everybody was fine on the bus. Their
lives had been saved. And they got to looking for the driver and somebody said,
“well he’s had been taken to the hospital. He’s in severe shock.” And they said,
“Well, that’s understandable.” And somebody else said, “No, you don’t
understand.” The officer said, “that little boy sitting on the gate was his own son.”
Used to wave at his dad as he would drive by.

And God’s decision to save the world was very similar. He saved the world at a
great expense to Himself. He lost His only Son. He sacrificed Him on the cross that
we might live. And if we could just comprehend the great love of Jesus Christ it
would change our lives. And if we could emulate that love in our homes it would
change our homes. And I invite you to invite God to enter your heart and allow His
love to come into your life and to change your life. And to make you into the
loving person that God wants in His soon coming Kingdom. Let’s sing our closing
hymn, number 191, Love Divine

God So Loved the World,

Part 1
May 3, 2009

 by John Piper
 

 Scripture: John 3:9-18
 

 Topic: The Love of God

 
 Series: The Gospel of John
Nicodemus said to him, “How can these things be?” 10 Jesus answered him, “Are you the
teacher of Israel and yet you do not understand these things? 11 Truly, truly, I say to you, we
speak of what we know, and bear witness to what we have seen, but you do not receive our
testimony. 12 If I have told you earthly things and you do not believe, how can you believe if
I tell you heavenly things? 13 No one has ascended into heaven except he who descended
from heaven, the Son of Man. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so
must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life. 16
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn
the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in
him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has
not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
We focus today, and Lord willing next week, on one of the most famous verses in the Bible
and the two verses following it that are given to clarify and support it.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the
world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is
not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only Son of God. (John 3:16–18)
It is not hard to see why verse 16 is one of the most famous, most often memorized, most
cherished verses in the Bible. Packed into this verse are the greatest realities that
exist. God. Love. The world. The Son of
God. Faith. Perishingforever. Living forever. Whoever—you, or not. These are the greatest
things that can be. What could be more important? What could be more relevant for you right
now? What could be more urgent for you or momentous for you than to know where you
stand in relation to what God says to you in this verse?
So here’s what I think we should do with John 3:16. Today we will walk through it once,
pausing over each of the big words (except loved) and commenting on each of
them: God, World, Gave, Son, Believe, Perish, Life. And we will seek to apply that to
ourselves as we go along. Then next week, if God wills, we will go back and devote a whole
message to the one great word that we pass over today, namely, the word loved—“For God
so loved . . .”
The Tension in John 3

We will ask, How does God love us in this passage? How does the love of God for the world
in verse 16 relate to the work of the Spirit of God in verse 8? There seems to be a tension
here. Many feel it, and many people try to remove the tension in a way that dishonors the
meaning either of verse 8 or verse 16.
On the one hand, verse 8 says that God the Spirit blows where he wills and makes alive
whom he chooses. “The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not
know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
God is free. And it is he, and not we, who has the final, decisive say in who among the
spiritually rebellious and dead will be raised to new life. None of us deserves to be made
alive. And none of us has the power to make it happen. If anybody is rescued, God does it.
But on the other hand, John 3:16 says, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son,
that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” This surely means that
God is loving all and offering all eternal life—the very life that the Spirit gives in verse 8.
That is what we will try to understand next week. And I will tip you off that I have been very
helped in this by Don Carson’s book The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God. It’s less than
90 pages. It’s understandable, and it is very good. I hope many of you will read it. (You can
listen to Carson on the love of God here.)
Seven Massive Realities in John 3:16
But first, there are great and awesome things to be clarified in this verse. Seven massively
important words—representing seven great realities—that we need to understand so that the
power and preciousness of this famous verse can have its full effect. And O how I hope you
Bethlehem believers know that such a foundational verse is not just for beginners. It is high-
level, high-voltage shock therapy for marriage struggles and single struggles and teenage
struggles.

So let’s turn first to the seven big words in verse 16.

1. God
“For God so loved . . .” There is no reason to think that Jesus means any other God than the
God of the Old Testament. He is the all-powerful Creator and Sustainer of the universe. He is
personal and not a mere force, meaning he thinks and willsand feels. He loves, and he hates.
And as personal, he is moral—that is, he deals with us in terms of right and wrong and good
and bad. And as moral, he is unwaveringly righteous. He only does what is right. And the
infinite worth of what he is defines what is right. To do right is to think and feel and act in a
way that accords with (is in harmony with) God’s infinite worth.
All of us were made by this God, and our first and highest duty and reason for being is to
honor him and give him thanks (Romans 1:21). We have all failed, and we are all under his
righteous displeasure. This is what makes John 3:16 so needed and so precious. It describes
the way God is acting to rescue us from this condition.
2. World
“For God so loved the world . . .” The most common meaning for world in John is the created
and fallen totality of mankind. John 7:7: “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because
I testify about it that its works are evil.” John 14:17:  “. . . the Spirit of truth, whom the world
cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.”
That is the way John is using world here. It is the great mass of fallen humanity that needs
salvation. It’s the countless number of perishing people from whom the “whoevers” come in
the second part of the verse: “. . . that whoever believes in him should not perish.” The world
is the great ocean of perishing sinners from whom the whoever comes.
3. Gave
“For God so loved the world, that he gave. . .” Two things need to be said about this giving.
One is that it is a giving from heaven. And the other is that it is a giving, not just to come to
earth, but to die. Verse 17 replaces the word give withsend.  “For God did not send his Son
into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through
him.” So the giving of verse 16 is God’s sending his Son into the world on a mission from
heaven.
In John 10:17–18, we see what the climax of that mission from the Father is. Jesus says, “For
this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may 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
I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” That last
sentence shows that the reason the Father sent the Son was so that the Son would lay down
his life. “I lay it down of my own accord. . . . This charge I have received from my father.”
So when John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that he gave . . .”, the giving is God
sending his Son to earth on a mission to die. It’s just as amazing—only a million times more
so—as if you should say to your son, “There is something I want you to do for me: I have
some enemies that deserve to perish, and I want you to go and die in their place, so that they
can have eternal life.” Whatever else you know about God, make sure you know he is like
that.
4. Son
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son. . .” Muslims and others stumble over
the idea of God having a Son. So let me say a few things that are crystal clear in John’s
Gospel, even though mysterious. God did not have sexual relations with Mary in order to
have a Son. Turn back to chapter 1 where John gave us our basic understanding of the Son of
God.
John 1:1: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was
God.” So here we are introduced to the Word. And we are told three things about him. One,
he is God. “The Word was God.” Two, he is with God, and therefore distinct from God. “The
word was with God.” And third, he was therefore always in existence and never came to be.
“In the beginning was the Word.”
Then look at verse 14: “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen
his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father.” This verse clarifies three things for us.
First, the Word of God referred in verse 1 is the Son of God. “The Word became flesh
and . . . we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son . . . .”

Second, God, with whom the Word was, and from whom he is distinct, is God the Father. He
is “the only Son from the Father.” “In the beginning was the Word, and the 
Word was with God.” He was with God the Father.
Third, therefore, Jesus is the Son of God not because the Father had sex with Mary, but
because the Son has always existed, without beginning, as “the radiance of the glory of God
and the exact imprint of his nature” (Hebrews 1:3). He is fully God. And the Father is fully
God. And along with God the Spirit, they are one God, one divine nature. One essence and
three persons in an eternal, perfect, joyful relationship.
5. Believe
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes . . .” Four
observations about this believing.
First, it means that not everybody will benefit from what Jesus came to do. But
“whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” The rest will perish—and
not have eternal life.
Second, the word itself means to embrace something as true; and when it’s a person, it means
to trust them to be what they are and do what they say.

Third, John 1:11–12 shows that another word John has in mind to explain believe isreceive.

“[Jesus] came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who
did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.”
So receiving Jesus and believing Jesus explain each other.
Fourth, if we ask, “Receive him as what?” the answer would be, “Receive him as what he is.”
For example, in John 6:35, Jesus says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not
hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” So here believing means coming to
Jesus and receiving him as the food and drink that satisfies our souls. That’s one of the
reasons I talk about receiving him as our Treasure (Matthew 13:44). And this is why faith is
so transforming.
6. Perish
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish . . .” What’s most clear and most important is to see thatperish is the alternative
to eternal life—“. . . not perish but have eternal life.” So if you perish, you don’t get eternal
life.
Another thing that’s clear here is that verse 18 describes perishing as beingcondemned.
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe
is condemned already.” And that means that God’s judicial sentence of wrath is on us as
sinners and remains on us. We see this in John 3:36: “Whoever believes in the Son has
eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains
on him.” So we are already under condemnation because of our sin and unbelief.
And perishing means staying there forever under God’s wrath. There is nothing you can
imagine worse than having the omnipotent God oppose you with righteous wrath forever.
That’s what perishing means.
7. Life
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should
not perish but have eternal life.” This does not simply mean you exist forever. Everybody
exists forever. But not everybody has eternal life. This life is first that we are born again and
have spiritual life. We know from John 6:63 that “it is the Spirit who gives life.” And we
know from 1 John 5:11 that “this life is in [God’s] Son.” This is life to God—life that can see
and savor God as glorious and all his creation the way he meant it to be enjoyed.
So what happens in our believing is that, by means of believing, the Holy Spirit is uniting us
to Christ in whom is life. And in that instant, we are born again, we believe, we are united
with the Son of God, and we have his life.

And because it is the life of the Son of God, it does last forever. “I am the resurrection and
the life,” Jesus said, “Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone
who lives and believes in me shall never die” (John 11:25–26).
Jesus Gives Life—And Dies in Our Place

And at this point, don’t forget what we saw under the word gave—“For God so loved the
world that he gave . . .” Meaning gave to die. We don’t perish under the wrath of God
because Jesus died in our place under the wrath of God. He was “the Lamb of God”—the
sacrifice given in our place—who bears our sin and our punishment (John 1:29, 36).
So we have eternal life both because Christ died in our place and because in him is life. He
removes the great obstacle of God’s wrath, and he supplies the everlasting life that we don’t
have in ourselves.

Is This Your Life?

Which leaves just one question: Do you live in the forgiveness and life and freedom of John
3:16? Are you free from the fear of death? Does the wonder of being loved like this shape
your relationships? I’m not asking if you give lip-service to this verse. But do you live it? Is
this your life? Is everything you do permeated with this verse?
May God grant you such faith. Believe this promise of John 3:16. Receive the treasure of
Christ—and life.