What Is the Single, Most Important Truth In Scripture
Dorothy Dalton
Midland SDA Church
September 15, 2012
It has been a difficult week for all of us: Major events include the memories of 911, the attack of the U.S. consulate in Libya with the loss of four lives, angry, striking school teachers in Chicago, the World wide anger and unrest, political & economical issues and then we dare not forget we each have our personal list of issues. Anger, hate, violence and evil are everywhere. So, were do we go for answers, comfort, and guidance in these troubled times? This thought was the foundation for today’s message. How are we to respond to the darts that come our way? What is the single, most important truth in Scripture?
Prayer
What is the single, most important truth in scripture? If you had to isolate the greatest treasure in the Bible, what would it be? If the Bible were a jewelry box and all its precepts precious stones, which would you appraise the highest? The truth of God? Certainly, God’s truth is one of the great trophies of the scriptures.
Like the North Star guided the Pilgrims across the Atlantic Ocean; so God’s pronouncements guide us through life’s canyons. Dare we rank any gift higher than the gift of truth? We must! As highly as we esteem it; the preeminent position is reserved for yet a different treasure.
Maybe the sovereignty of God is the greatest truth in the Bible? How mighty is God’s sovereign hand? No bird flaps a wing without His blessing; no waves lap the shore without his knowledge. He is aware of the activity of the deepest volcano, and stirs the dust on a distant planet. How comforting to know that behind every problem is a purpose. Behind every pain there’s a reason. Oh, we take comfort in the sovereignty of God. Does scripture offer a truth sweeter than this one? Incredibly, it does!
Perhaps the greatest truth of scripture then is the holiness of God. Like white linen contrasts mud so the character of God contrasts mans. He is selfless, we are selfish. He never sins, we never cease to sin. When searching for the treasured attribute: God’s holiness must be considered. But, it doesn’t have to be chosen. In the jewelry chest we call scripture there is one jewel which sparkles even brighter, than the holiness or God, even stronger than the sovereignty of God, even higher than the truth of God. What could this truth be? It is the love of God!
For according to scripture, love is the aquifer from which all the others flow. Think about this with me, for just a moment. Love is the pool out of which all of God’s characteristics tumble. Why did Jesus come to the earth? Because of love.
This is how God showed his love among us. He sent his one and only son into the world that we might live through Him (1 John 4:9 NIV) and the one we all know
For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son. (John 3:16)
Why did Jesus die for us? Because of love.
God shows His great love in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Rom 5: 8)
This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. (1 John 4:10 NIV)
Why did Christ save us? Because of love.
When the kindness and love of God our Saviour appeared he saved us. Titus 3: 4 (NIV)
Why are we raised with Christ? It is because of God’s love.
God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive with Christ. Ephesians 2: 5-6 NAS)
What is it that bonds us to heaven? The love of God.
I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present , nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8: 38-39 NAS)
God’s love is the pool from which all His mercies flow, dare we imagine, an unloving God?
If God were holy but not loving would we survive His wrath?
If God were sovereign but not loving what benefit would that be to us?
If God were all truth but did not love liars and cheaters what hope would we liars and cheaters have?
God’s love is the aquifer out of which all of his attributes flow.
Do you want to understand God, then be amazed at His sovereignty, and worship His holiness, and take strength from His truth; but begin with His love. And a good place to begin is in 1 Cor 13: 8 it states simply: “Love never frails.”
When I lived in Texas, as part of the evening news, we would receive a report of the water level in the Edward’s Aquifer. If you check their web site it says, “This is a unique groundwater system and one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world. It is one of the greatest natural resources on earth, serving the diverse agricultural, industrial, recreational, and domestic needs of almost 2 million users in South Central Texas.”
This aquifer is of interest because of its vast size. Although nightly readings are given of the level of water, nobody knows how deep it is. Nobody has ever been to the bottom. As I consider this wonderful gift of nature I cannot help thinking of the illustration it provides for our lesson today. This water supply is a natural wonder; a gift from God and is available to millions of people. There is no beginning or ending nor is there a bottom to limit its supply. I suggest that this aquifer is a fitting illustration of the vast pool of God’s love.
Now let me introduce you to Francisco “Pipin” Ferreras who wants to go deep, deeper than any person. You and I are satisfied to go 5 feet, 10 feet, maybe 20 feet deep. Certain risk takers are willing to go 40; maybe even 50 feet deep. Not Pipin Ferreras, he has gone as far as 531 feet beneath the surface of the ocean. Armed only with flippers, a wet suit, deep resolve, and one breathe of air. No air tank, just two lungs full. To prepare for these descents, some of which take up to 3½ minutes; he spends several minutes pumping air in and out of his lungs. Bystanders say it sounds like a bicycle pump until he has both lungs filled to a remarkable capacity of 8.2 Liters of air: twice the capacity of normal human beings. Then once he has all he can take he wraps his legs around an aluminum sled, which lowers him down as far as he dare go until he sets even another record. And though he has gone far deeper than any other free diver he wants to go deeper still. His only explanation, “there is just something mysterious about the deep.
The apostle Paul in Ephesians 3: 18; 19 invites you and me to share the same passion: going deeper and deeper, not into the water of the ocean but deeper and deeper into the limitless love of God. He says,
“May you be deeply rooted in His love. And may you have power to understand as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love really is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.
When Paul talks about love he likes to use the word deep. Twice in this passage. May your roots go down deep……and may you see how wide, how deep……..His love really is. Just like roots go down deep and drink nutrients from the soil. So, our faith can go down deep and draw nutrients from God’s love.
And just as Fererras dives deep into the Atlantic, so you and I can dive deep into the ocean or aquifer of God’s love. I ask you to imagine with me “Pipin” Ferreras 500 feet below the surface of the ocean,; where can he look and not see water? Where can he move where he is not surrounded by water? Where can he go and not be encircled by water? He looks right, left, above, below, behind, ahead, and sees water! Is it possible, is there a spiritual place to which we could go where we would be that encircled by God’s love? We go to the right we see love, we go to the left we see love, we look at our struggles and we see love, we look at our blessings and we see love, we look at the challenges, we see love, even in the struggles of society we can still find God’s love. Is there a place; so deep that we can say like Paul; about how wide, how long, how high and how deep is His love.
Take your Red hymnal and turn to page 174.
What Wondrous Love Is This Page 174
So, the Greatest truth in scripture is the unfailing love of God. Let’s consider this great love from three different view points. First of all, the duration of God’s love, then the direction of God’s love and the difference in God’s love.
The duration of God’s love. In the Amplified Bible the verb Paul uses for “fail” says, never fades out, or becomes obsolete or comes to an end. God’s love, says the Apostle, will never become obsolete or come to an end. By its nature it is permanent! It is never abolished. Other translations help us understand this passage. The Message renders this passage as “love never dies”, it “never ends” says the RSV, Love will never come to an end. No matter how you say it, God’s love never fails. Governments will fail. Crowns are temporary. Love is eternal. Your money will run out; but, God’s love never will. Love never fails! This is the duration of God’s love. His love is eternal. What is the direction of God’s Love?
I can think of three directions that are very important.
First, God’s love never fails the prodigal. How does God’s love never fail? If a prodigal is someone who has fallen from his or her father’s love; are we all not prodigals? Have we not all wondered away like sheep. Isaiah 53: 6 says plainly “all we like sheep have gone astray.” Is there a person who has not walked the path of the prodigal and is there a repentant prodigal who has not discovered His father’s forgiveness? That’s a good question. Is there anywhere in history, where one repentant prodigal who had turned his or her back on the mud of the pigpen and wondered or walked that path back home and got to the gate and found it closed? Is there anybody who was turned away, surely there was? Surely, out of the millions of people who have cried out for the forgiveness and grace of God; there was one person; one women, one man, one heart so vile, one character so flawed that God said,, “NO! This time I am leaving the gate closed.” Surely there was somebody who was denied mercy! I mean would God have mercy on a murderer? He did for Moses and Paul, didn’t He? What about a swindler? Would He accept a cheater and liar? He did for Jacob, didn’t He? What about somebody who took money from the poor? He let one of them, Matthew the tax collector, be His disciple and write part of the Bible. Yes, but what about the immoral? Would God have a place for the immoral? He did for Rahab, the Harlot, and he didn’t turn away the woman caught in the very act of adultery. But, what about the person who makes a big mess out of their life? From top to bottom; from inside to out; they have all these blessings given to them and they just never make it? You mean like David; King David? David, who was a shepherd in Israel and then was made king of Israel, who was taken from the pasture to the palace? Heads of sheep; replaced by heads of state? He is given everything that a person could want. Called, “a man after God’s own heart,” and what does he do, he seduces the wife of one of his soldier’s and then when he discovers she is pregnant, has her husband murdered. Surely God, doesn’t have mercy for someone like that, right? Oh, listen to me now. When David came back to God he found what you and I find and that is unfailing love. And what he found caused him to write these words; “God, you will not reject a heart that is broken and sorry for sin.” (Psm 51: 17 NCV)
There may be times when you are out of God’s will, but there is never a time when you are out of God’s heart. There may be times when you are out of God’s will; but there has never been and there will never be a time, when you are out of God’s heart. The ratio between God’s forgiveness and our repentance is 1 to 1. Every prodigal who seeks grace, finds grace. Every child who seeks the Father, finds the Father. Every son who steps on the porch of honesty enters by the doorway of mercy. Every daughter who lifts a hand of confession is embraced by the arms of devotion. They come…one pig smelling, mud covered child after another, why???
Why does God forgive us? Is it because of His sovereignty? Is it out of His holiness? Is He driven by truth? NO! He does it because He loves us.
God… because of His great love… made us alive with Christ. Ephesians 2: 5-6 NAS)
God’s love has never failed the prodigal. It is love that raises the prodigal and God’s love has never failed the prodigal.
In like manner, God’s love has never failed to pay the price. I would like to ask you parent’s a question. How many of you would die for your children? I believe all of us would. I’d die for my son. I’m not anyone special. I’d step in front of the truck or take the disease if it would save him. Now let me ask you a second question. How many of you would give your child’s life for someone else? I wouldn’t either! It is one thing to give your life; but, it is something else entirely to give the life of your child. What kind of love is it then; that would cause a Heavenly Father to look at a sinless son and give that sinless son for sinful people? What would cause Him to do that?
Was he driven by law? Was he controlled by His own sovereignty? No! God shows His great love for us in this way. “Christ died for us, while we were still sinners”. You see the holiness of God demanded a sinless sacrifice and the only sinless sacrifice was His only Son. And since God’s love never fails, never fails to pay the price, so the price was paid. And though it is hard to believe, it is true. God gave His Son for you (for me). May God help us to receive that truth anew, this morning; like we have never heard it before!
You want to know how much God loves you? He hung the answer on a cross, so all would see it and nailed it tight so none would doubt it. God loves you with an unfailing love.
From the song “Unfailing Love” by Chris tomlin. I will praise You,
Praise you God of earth and sky.
How beautiful is your unfailing love.
And you never change God,
You remain the Holy One, My Unfailing Love.
There are some of you .here this morning who are very thirsty for love. You are very thirsty for love and my prayer for you is that this message about God’s love will go not just to your head but into your heart.
There is not one who has come through these doors this morning who would say, no, God is not love! All of you would say, “God is Love.” But I wonder if there is somebody who down deep in your heart might say yes, but God doesn’t love me. You are so thirsty for love and the reason you are thirsty for love is because those who should have loved you didn’t, those who could have loved you didn’t and you were left. Their love failed. You were left at the alter, left at the orphanage, or at the hospital. Left with a broken heart and left with this question. Does anyone love me? Please listen to Heaven’s answer. God loves you. His love didn’t change if you made a mistake yesterday. And His love for you will not be stronger if you are stronger tomorrow. He doesn’t love you because you are loveable; He loves you because, He is love. He has chosen to love you.
He loves you with an unfailing love. And if you will let it, that love will make up for the love that didn’t come your way in other parts of your life.
God has never said, that everybody is going to love you. But, He says, I will always love you and if you will let it that love will begin to heal those hurts left by the love that failed as you receive God’s unfailing love.
About this love of God that never fails. It Never fails to persist and never fails to forgive the prodigal. Before we dismiss I want you to think about this love that also never fails to provide.
Rom 8:31 says “ If God is on our side, can anyone be against us? 32God did not keep back his own Son, but he gave him for us. If God did this, won’t he freely give us everything else?”
Does the normal mother go through the pain of childbirth and leave her baby at the hospital? Would a father fulfill the demands of adoption and leave the child at the orphanage? Would God send His Son to die for us and then not care for us? No! The same love which saves us, now secures us and supports us. God is for us:
Romans 8: 37 “In everything we have won more than a victory because of Christ who loves us. 38I am sure that nothing can separate us from God’s love—not life or death, not angels or spirits, not the present or the future, 39and not powers above or powers below. Nothing in all creation can separate us from God’s love for us in Christ Jesus our Lord!”
Having died for you will he not take care of you? Having given his son for your sins will he not give food for you table and clothes for your body?
So what do you think Paul writes, with God on our side like this, how can we loose. If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing Himself to the worst by sending His own Son, is there anything else he would not gladly and freely do for us? What a great question! What a great love God has! Have you ever seen a love like this?
The Bible says that God’s love is too wonderful to be measured. Eph 2:19
When David pondered God’s love, His response was an honest
“This is Lord God” 2 Sam 7:19
How could God have a love like this; no one has unfailing love! No person can love with perfection. You’re right! No person can. But God is not a person. He loves not with the love of man, but with the love of God.
And there is an immense difference between the two
We close looking at the difference in god’s love. You see the love of man depends upon the receiver of love. Let 1000 people pass before you and you will not feel the same about each, will you? Your love will be regulated by their appearance or by their personality. Some will stir your love, others might just stir your kindness. And even when you find a few that you like, your feelings will still fluctuate. How they treat you will impact how you love them. Right? The receiver regulates your love. Not so, with the love of God. His love is not regulated by the receiver. This is difficult for us to understand. Gods’ love is different from our love because it is not regulated by actions. Contrary to any other relationship that exists in the world, His relationship with us is different, because His love is not impacted by our actions. The love of God is born from within Him not from what He finds in us. 1 John 4:16 tells us that “God is Love.” His love is uncaused and spontaneous. He has loved us. He has loved us because God is love! Does He love us because of our goodness? Does he love us because of our faith?
Does He love us because of our kindness? No! He loves us because of His goodness and because of His love. This is love, John said, Not that we loved God, but that God loved us. (1 John 4: 10 NIV)
There are days that you and I pillow our heads and suddenly think, I didn’t even think about God today and it probably means He is upset with me. His love is not increased by our abundance of love, His love is not diminished by our lack of love. What Moses said to Israel in the wilderness is what God says to us. “The Lord did not choose you and lavish his love on you because you were more in numbers than any other people , for you were the least of all peoples it was simply because the Lord loves you.” (Deut 7: 6) He loves you because He has chosen to love you. That means you are loved when you don’t feel love, it means you are loved when you are loved by no one else. That means you are loved when you are abandoned, divorced, or ignored. God loves you. These are his words, “I have loved you with an everlasting love, I have drawn you with loving kindness.” (Jer 31:3NAS)
What that means, is that you and I have an aquifer of love from which to draw and we need an aquifer of love sometimes because the people with whom we deal on a day to day basis are very thirsty. And because they feel unloved, they treat you in an unlovable way. And you have a choice, you can either let their mistreatment cause you to mistreat them in return. And you can deal with difficult people by being difficult or you can deal with difficult people by starting with the one the mirror. You can say, yes, she is cranky today or he’s being a creep today; but you know I am not so perfect either and somehow God loves me. And I am going to drink deeply from His aquifer of love. I am going to love with unfailing love and I am not going to be a thermostat that changes with the heat or the coolness of the temperature of someone else’s affection. I am just going to focus on God’s love for me and as a result have a deeper love for others. Why don’t you just let God love you. Yes, you have failed at love, yes, you have made mistakes, but God thinks you are worth the price of His Son, so who are you to argue? Let’s love difficult people and let’s start with the one in the mirror.