God Loves You
We were deeply saddened this past Sunday when an equipment failure led to the inability to stream or record our worship services. For all who were unable to attend this week— and for anyone who would just like a refresher! — here is the manuscript of the message Pastor Ryan brought us. Spoiler alert: It's a banger!
Closing Statements: "The Father Loves You"
John 16:17-28
September 8, 2024
After a week off, we are picking back up with our closing statements series we have been in. We are looking at 5 chapters of the Gospel according to John that all happen on the night Jesus was arrested. It takes place from the upper room to the garden of gethsemane. These are things that Jesus says to reiterate the most important ideals from his earthly ministry to his disciples before he leaves them. BE SURE AND REMEMBER THIS Jesus is telling them. We are walking through the concepts in these five chapters over the course of two months.
The messaging seems to become redundant - and it definitely will today, but today we hear Jesus say why. Just before our text today, Jesus once again points out that he will not leave them alone when he leaves. He is leaving them the Holy Spirit that will be with them and empower them. A few weeks back, we remember him saying to help you do the works that I did AND DO EVEN GREATER THINGS THAN I as hard as that is for us to grasp. He continues to go into detail on the work the Holy Spirit will do in the world when it comes. Then as we pick up our text today, Jesus foretells what is about to happen as a response to questions from the disciples. Jesus them that they will weep and mourn while the world rejoices but soon your grief will turn to joy. Jesus uses imagery of childbirth to tell them that the pain of childbirth will give way to the joy of a baby. We know that what he is doing is foretelling his death and resurrection. His death will cause mourning and grief but it is the process of God giving birth to something new that will be evident with his resurrection. There was no way they could have understood though in that moment. IN FACT, I CAN IMAGINE THEM LOOKING AT EACH OTHER ONCE AGAIN WONDERING WHAT IN THE WORLD IS HE TALKING ABOUT.
I find the next interaction one of the most honest and funny in the gospels. Jesus basically says THE TIME HAS NOW COME FOR ME TO SPEAK CLEARLY AND DIRECTLY WITH YOU WITHOUT FIGURES OF SPEECH. THEY RESPOND - (BASICALLY) FINALLY! NOW WE CAN UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE SAYING BECAUSE MOST OF THE TIME WE ARE TOTALLY CONFUSED AS TO WHAT YOU ARE TRYING TO SAY TO US. Then here is really what I want to get to today, and it is extremely important for you to hear this, I assure you because it applies to you and you need to know it as a follower of Jesus. So he has just given this real coded and figurative statement about mourning and grief turning into joy then he tells his followers that it is time for him to speak clearly SO THERE IS NO QUESTION OR CONFUSION MOVING FORWARD BECAUSE THERE IS NO TIME FOR QUESTIONS OR FOR THEM TO FIGURE IT OUT. Then the first thing he says to them with attention on him knowing he is about to speak clearly to them so they understand it . . .
Before I get there, what would you say if you were Jesus? There are plenty of things that he could have said in that moment. Plenty of things that were important and worth saying in that moment, but only one thing could be what he actually said in that moment. What did he say? HE SAID THE FATHER HIMSELF LOVES YOU! You need to hear this church! YOUR HEAVENLY FATHER LOVES YOU. It’s pretty amazing to me to think that THIS is what Jesus wanted to speak clearly to his followers about.
This message, though, was not limited to them, but they needed to hear it and process it first before they can share it with others. It truly is an important message that the world needs to hear. We remember times in Jesus’ life when he is being questioned and people are trying to trap him by asking which is the greatest commandment. We know he responds by saying the greatest is to love God with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength and another is like it to love your neighbor as yourself. Still today, we followers of Jesus boil that statement down to saying LOVE GOD AND LOVE NEIGHBOR. There is another piece of that statement from Jesus, though, that we leave out because I don’t think we believe it ourselves. Jesus says love your neighbor as you love yourself. I think for too many in this world we deem ourselves unlovable. We do not feel like we are deserving of love. WE DON”T EVEN LOVE OURSELVES SO HOW CAN GOD LOVE ME. In this full statement Jesus is saying that the true intent of the law is rooted in love. And he is saying it is lived out in love of God and love of neighbor and in love of self. But if we do not feel we are worthy of love then I dare say we do not have the love needed to love others or to really love God.
So when Jesus gets their attention and says he is going to speak clearly to them so listen up, he tells them that GOD LOVES YOU! And because of that, it should not be of concern that Jesus is leaving them because they do not need Jesus to take their requests to God. they can take them directly to God themself because GOD IS CONCERNED FOR THEM. GOD LOVES THEM. Listen, this is the final proof of something that should never be forgotten.
Too often, as we consider things, we think of an ANGRY GOD AND A LOVING JESUS. Jesus is trying to change the mindset of who their heavenly father is. God IS NOT MAD AT YOU. GOD IS NOT DISAPPOINTED IN YOU. GOD IS NOT OUT TO GET YOU. In fact, God is on your side. God is in your corner. God is working for good in your life. GOD LOVES YOU. I assure you this is something important you need to hear today and process. You are worthy of God’s love no matter where your life has taken you and no matter the mistakes you have made and no matter what skeletons lay in the closet of your past. IN FACT, THIS IS WHAT ABOVE ALL ELSE JESUS WANTED TO SPEAK CLEARLY ABOUT BEFORE HE WAS HANDED OVER TO BE CRUCIFIED. And it is important to note here that Jesus in fact said this BEFORE he was crucified. Sometimes we buy into the notion that God’s wrath burned against humanity and it was only by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross that God could see past that and love us. THIS IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE. IT HAS NEVER BEEN TRUE. JESUS DID NOT DIE TO CHANGE GOD INTO LOVE. HE DIED TO TELL US THAT GOD IS LOVE! HE CAME NOT BECAUSE GOD SO HATED THE WORLD. JESUS CAME BECAUSE GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD THAT HE SENT HIS ONLY BEGOTTEN SON.
Jesus brought to a hurting a broken world the love of God that they had never experienced before even though it was always there. It just seemed so incomprehensible. And in this closing statement today, Jesus clearly says that God loves you. PERIOD. God loves you. And if we can begin to grasp that in our life today then it will give us what we need to be able to begin to love God with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength and to love our neighbor because we recognize that we are worthy of the love of God. And that can transform the world.
Thanks be to God.
AMEN
