Superabounding Love — Lewis Gregory

Encountering God’s Love in Mali

And it reminded me of an example of God's love, because the love of God is sometimes subtle and sometimes overt, but it's always wonderful. And I was in Mali, in West Africa, a number of years ago, and the pastor that I was with, this leader, he was doing evangelistic services at night, and I was doing the pastor's conference during the day.

And so one night he was saying, he says, and I believe there's going to be a lot of people healed tonight. And so, anyway, so I was in the back, way back in the back, and there was probably at least a thousand people, because they came from all over, and they were just all outdoor service, and just all out there.

And so some of them were standing, because there wasn't enough room for the chairs for everybody. And this one man came walking across the back, and he came in late, across the end of where I was sitting.

And I was standing back there, and so I reached over just to pat him on the shoulder like that. He did one of those things like Joseph did. He gave this look of pain, like, how could you do this to me?

And so they could speak a little English, and the other guy was able to translate. And it came to find out that this man had been in a motorcycle accident and broke his shoulder. And he had this brace on his shoulder.

And, of course, out there in the rural places, they don't have a lot of good medical treatment anyway. And so whatever brace it was, it wasn't really supporting much on the shoulder, and he grimaced in pain.

And I said, well, tonight the Lord is going to fix you. And so he walked off, you know. Well, then after the service, it turned out I was still in that same area toward the back, and so he walked past me.

And I stopped him, and he jerked back like he was afraid I was going to touch him again, you know. And I said, okay, so what happened tonight? And he said, well, tonight I gave my life to Jesus Christ as Lord, and I'm a new man on the inside.

And I said, that is wonderful. And I said, and I want you to know that Jesus Christ is real and alive, and he loves you very much. And so I'm going to pray right now that he's going to fix you on the outside like he fixed you on the inside.

And so I prayed for him, and immediately he said he felt the pain leave his shoulder. And so he started moving his arm around, and he started smiling, no pain, you know, like that. And he's saying in his French language that he spoke French over there.

And so then he starts pulling his shirt off and jerking his brace out. And he starts going like this and just all around. And he's going, I'm healed, I'm healed, I'm healed, you know. And he's really giving it what for.

God’s Unconditional Love Transforms the Unworthy

And that, to me, demonstrates the love of God. Because you can tell by the look of this guy and the expression when he came in that he was a very hard person. He lived a hard life and a very evil life, I perceive.

But he was so radiant at the end. Having received Christ, there was such a joy because he had come to know the love of God and experienced firsthand the difference that God's love makes. God's love is so different because our love is conditional.

And we would look at a guy like that, and certainly in my past I would have, and say, this guy doesn't qualify. Look at him. Look at him. He's a biker, you know, he's a troublemaker, he's cruel, he's hard, he's harsh.

And he looked, well, his attire and his features and everything about him just smacked of a bad guy. And most of us would want to shun that kind of person and avoid them and pull back from them. And yet, as I saw him in light of the love of God, I reached out to him.

Not knowing that I was about to inflict pain upon him. But that was my clue that this guy needed the Lord. And so that prompted me to pray specifically for him, to speak a word of faith to him. So that then when he came back through and he was miraculously physically healed in addition to his spiritual healing, this guy had been truly transformed.

He had had an encounter with the love of God. In 1 John, he speaks to that in a verse that really we've heard so much, verse 8, 1 John 4, 8. God is love. And we learn that as children, and we teach that to children.

And it's a simple little verse. It's a short verse, and yet it's quite potent. It has so much within it. It is really telling us not just that that's one of his qualities, but it says very definitely there, that's who God is.

Now, we know God is spirit. We know God is sovereign. We know God is supreme. And all the other wonderful things about him, many attributes describing God. But at the core of God's being is love. That's who he is, and thus that's what he does.

God just loves and loves and loves. He's this endless stream of love. Unconditional love. Unconditional acceptance. That's why Paul can say, God is for you and not against you. Why? Because Christ demonstrated to us the love of God, even as we just sang.

So, if we look at that further down, verse 9. In this was manifested the love of God toward us. Because why? God sent his only begotten son into the world that we might live through him. Now, that's huge, because what did God do?

He took the best he had and gave it away for us. We undeserving, unworthy, ungodly people. In the midst of our sin and degradation, and yet Christ was sent and given to us. But, here's the thing that struck me as I was reading the word this week and just praying and waiting on the Lord for a message from the Lord.

Christ’s Self-Giving Love on the Cross

And that is, at the end of the Gospel of Mark, and other places in the Gospels, it describes the response of the Lord Jesus in giving himself on the cross. And as he was hanging on the cross, there were those who came to mock him, and to make fun of him, and to deride him, and to challenge him, and to really discredit him.

And this was one of the statements made in Mark 15, verse 30. Save yourself. Come down from the cross. Save yourself. Come down from the cross. And it goes on to say how he saved others, but himself he cannot save.

And those are mocking words, and yet that's the dramatic contrast between the love of God and the love of man. The love of man is what? Self-serving, self-seeking, always about self-preservation. What's in it for me, my, and mine?

And it's always about, you know, what's the old saying? Me and my wife, my kids, us four no more. It's that kind of mindset that says very self-serving, very self-seeking, all about what's in it for me, what do I get out of it, and my best interest.

And that's all. But look at here. Jesus, hanging on the cross, agonizing, not just the physical pain, and that was huge, but taking into himself the sin of the world, and in the brunt of that whole hellish moment where he took the blame, the fault, the pain, the suffering of every one of us, and took it into himself, and hanging there, and these people saying, Oh, come on, look at you, you're supposed to be the Son of God.

Where's your power now, man? Come on, give us what you got. Give us your best. You can't even come down from the cross. You're nothing, you're a nobody. And just really rubbing it in on him, big time.

You know how people do nowadays, and that's the way they were doing then. This is not just some mild little conversation that people were having. They were provoking the Lord Jesus, mocking him, challenging him, making fun of him, and here he is on the cross, save yourself.

Save yourself. Come down from the cross. You saved others, but yourself you cannot save. No. He could, but he wouldn't, because the love of God compelled him. The love of God constrained him. Stay on that cross.

Endure the pain. Suck it up. Endure the hardness. Hang in there for the sake of mankind. Those who are unworthy, who don't deserve it, who really deserve hell and damnation, but yet for their sake, take the pain.

Deal with the brunt of the bruising, the battering, verbal, physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. And so there's Jesus, taking unto himself all that pain, all that suffering, and all that shame. So now we go back to 1 John chapter 4.

And he says,. And this was made known, the love of God toward us. Wow, now we see it. This is love. Think back about it in your own life. The sin, the shame, the degradation, the fault, the failure. We all know that.

We've all been there. No one is exempt. Not one of us. Not one of us. That's why Jesus, when the woman caught in adultery, and he said, Well, he that's without sin among you, cast the first stone. Hey, she was guilty.

Guilty. But then, so was every other person standing there, her accusers in particular. And what Jesus was saying, was simply to point out, We all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. We all are consumed with our own faults and failures.

And the baggage of our past is overwhelming. So we've all been there and done that. But Jesus was saying, he that's without sin, cast the first stone. In other words, it's not our place to bring the condemnation.

Sure, they could judge her, and obviously it was evident she had sinned. But then he was saying, but then so have you. So have you. That's why when Jesus talks about the moat and the beam, he's saying, Hey, check it out.

Look at your own self first and foremost. What appears to be a splinter in someone else is really a huge log in you. He's saying, go look at your own life first and foremost. Because there's fault and failure within yourself.

And you need to see where you're coming from. And understand why you need God's grace. And why you need revenge, even as much as someone else. He's saying, it's something that's relevant for all of us.

But it's bathed in God's love. It's bathed in God's love. You know, Lou and I, as you well know, do a lot of counseling, especially with couples. And in counseling with couples, there's often conflict of different kinds.

Love in Christian Marriage and Counseling

And he said, she said, is the big issue. Always who's right and who's wrong. And Lou just is like, I can't, it's like, where is the love? And that we've got professing Christians here. And we're meeting with these Christians in these counseling sessions.

And they both claim to name the name of Christ. And they claim that they've received the Lord, and likely they have. But the question always remains, but where is the love? Because what we've done is we've pulled back to our default mode.

Unfortunately for most of us, is the flesh. And the default mode always goes back to self-defense. To self-preservation. To me. And what she did to me. What he did. Can you believe what she said to me?

Can you believe what he did to me? And so it's that back and forth bantering of taking sides. Instead of saying, we're one in this. We're one in this. When I go and teach and preach these passages in these conferences in other countries.

As I teach the ministers, I say, wait a minute. You need to see first and foremost, you and your wife are one. You're not two separate entities on two separate sides. You've taken that viewpoint from the world.

You're walking by sight. Where's the walking by faith? Where's the seeing of truth? Where's the seeing of God in this? God is working in and through all things, His Scripture tells us. For our good and His glory.

He is at work in the midst of all things. But we don't see it. Because all we're thinking about is good old me. And me and my and mine. And what I need and what I want. And that's destructive. That's not love.

That's death. That's not life. You see, love breeds life in others. Love stimulates life. Love extends life to others. But death destroys. Love builds up. Death tears down. So then, He's saying now, this is God's love become evident.

God sent His love that we might live through Him. He's saying now God did that for you so that you might do that for others. So that the love of God in you can now reach out to others. Undeserving. Unworthy.

Ungodly. Sure. But yet the love of God. But yet the love of God. There was a man that I read about who was part of that great tragedy that some of you may have heard about in Uganda when they came in and the tribal warfare.

And they tried to annihilate the other tribe completely. And they almost did. And then I ended up meeting a man at a conference that I was at. And he had been a part of that. And his family had suffered and lost.

And yet, as I got to know this man, and as he had come to understand his true identity in Christ, he was now living out of the fullness of Christ as his life, which meant the Holy Spirit was now in control.

And so what came out of him was no longer the hate, no longer the despising, but the love and compassion for those people who themselves were bound up in Satan's lie. And they were doing those deadly works because they were living from that place of death, not life.

And so instead of having the hate and the animosity that he had once had to those people who had killed his family, he now had love and compassion and felt called to go and minister to them. This is the love of God.

Love for Enemies and Forgiveness

It contradicts human reason. It doesn't make sense. And yet the ones who don't deserve it, and should in fact be the ones we would be wanting to kill and destroy, those are the ones that God's love compels us to reach out to and to have compassion on.

That's the love of God. The Lord Jesus, as he hung on that cross, and looking down at those who had spit upon him, made fun of him and all the things we just read about and more, and yet in his final words, Father, forgive them.

They know not what they do. Now, was he saying they weren't consciously aware of their actions? No, of course not. But he was saying they were blind and deceived to truth and life. He was saying they're living a lie.

They're living a lie. Jacob, his very name demonstrates he was a liar and a deceiver. But why? Why? Because he was deceived. And when we are deceived, when we have believed the lie, we then live the lie and we tell the lie.

But we don't even realize we're doing it. But we played into the hands of that old serpent, the devil, the father of lies, and we are communicating his lies, when in fact we should be communicating the Lord's life.

The Lord's life. But we don't know that. And so Jesus, seeing through the fault. I love this song. He saw our... How does it go? He saw our need. He looked beyond our fault. Yes. And saw our need. And there came the compassion.

He looked beyond. Okay, we're flawed, failed humanity. And people have done the most horrible things to us. And certainly I am not exempt from that. I've had people really abuse and abuse me. In many ways.

Physically, verbally, financially, materially. Every way you can imagine. And yet there is the grace of God that enables us to contradict the human system. To go against the default of that old way of the flesh.

And the love of God wells up in us. There's a river of life flowing out of me. And that river of life is expressed through love. Through love. Through love. So where is the love? It's in God. Because God is love.

And where is God? Well, if I receive Jesus Christ as Lord, He's in me. And the same love that compelled Jesus to go to the cross. Not run from the cross. The same love that compelled Him to hang there while He was being falsely accused and abused.

The same love that caused Him as He was brought before Pilate. As a sheep before his shearers is dumb. Isaiah 53, 7. So He opened not His mouth. He stood there and took the accusations. He didn't try to defend Himself.

He didn't try to excuse Himself. Blame others. He didn't do any of that. He just stood there and took it. He didn't have to defend anything. He knew who He was. He knew He was the Son of God. He didn't have to prove anything to anybody.

And nothing they could say or do could take anything from Him. Could not. Because He was settled and complete within Himself. He needed nothing from anyone. And He didn't require anything. He was just standing and being steadfast and unmovable as they laid the blame upon Him.

And it says, Pilate marveled. He stood up and took notice. That's why He was so adamant. No, I'm going to put the sign over here. He's the King of the Jews. He said, I see it. That's why the man, one of the centurions, at the place of the cross where Jesus was hanging, and as He gave up the ghost, the man said, surely this man was the Son of God.

Why? He saw a demonstration of God's love through someone who did not try to defend His rights or stand for His own or even try to save Himself, but died for others. Gave His life. A sacrifice. This is the love of God.

Herein is the love of God. Not that we loved God, but He loved us. Verse 10. And sent His Son to be the payment for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, if God loved us so much, that much, we ought also to love others.

And so again I say, as in Liz's question, and so where is the love? And so we have to ask ourselves, is God's love pouring out of us? Is God's unconditional love and acceptance there in every situation for every person, regardless of what happened or didn't happen, regardless of right or wrong?

Is the love of God just coming out of us as a mighty river, a life-transforming stream? You know, James says that it's that kind of love that covers a multitude of sins. God's love covers all. So it covers it.

Love, Sin, and the Call to Forgive

It doesn't ignore or deny that the sin exists. Look at the woman caught in the act of adultery. What did Jesus say? I don't condemn you. Clear on that point. No condemnation. But still, go and sin no more.

Yes, it's sin. Of course it's wrong. No doubt it's ungodly. Yes, it deserves judgment and punishment and consequence. However, the love of God covers the multitude of sins. Go and sin no more. Go and sin no more.

And so, Jesus says, when you stand, pray and forgive if you have ought against any. Why? Why does He say that? Because He's saying, don't you know what God's love has done for you? Forgiveness was provided for you, undeserving, unworthy as you ever are.

And no matter how good you think you are, your righteousness and the best you've ever been or done is still as filthy rags and worse as unto a holy God. Where is the holiness of God? Where is the glory of God?

Isaiah’s Encounter with the Holy God

And Isaiah has a beautiful story about that. In Isaiah chapter 6. And Isaiah was actually stunned in God's presence. And surely the presence of the Lord was in that place. And he was aware of that. So much so, he could not speak.

I was in a conference down in Sonora, Georgia many years ago. It was a conference on spiritual awakening. And the presence of God came in a most definite manner. And as that presence increased over those days, there was one day that I was scheduled to speak.

And a woman stood and sang, Surely the presence of the Lord is in this place. First time I'd ever heard the song. It had just come out. It was back in the 80s. And she stood and sang that song. And as she sang, there was an anointing on her and a presence of God on her that released an increase of God's presence among us.

And I began to just tremble under the Lord's presence. I mean, I could not even speak. My mouth could not even open. And my thinking was totally just shut down. I was in shut down mode. And I turned to my other pastor friend and I said, Brother, I'm so overcome by the presence of God, I cannot get up and speak.

I said, If you have a word, go ahead. And so he sat there a moment himself and then he finally got up and he shared. And the more the Lord's presence intensified, the more in awe of him I became. To where my head was just down, bowed low.

And I'm not talking about just being overwhelmed about some kind of sin or something. I'm talking about being overwhelmed in the presence of a holy God. A righteous God. An almighty God. We've lost the consciousness of His holiness.

We've lost the consciousness of His majesty. We've lost the awareness of His glory and His greatness. But Isaiah, Isaiah was reminded full well. Isaiah 6. Isaiah 6. And the presence of God began to increase.

And he describes that in verses 1, 2, and 3. Holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. The whole earth is full of His glory. That's verse 3. If the whole earth is full of His glory, where is it? Are we allowing that glory to increase and manifest in us?

Do we see the glory of God in all things working around about us? Are we moaning and groaning, wallowing and complaining in our own problems and whatever? But where is the glory? If the whole earth is filled, and it is.

And so then it says,. And the post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried. There was a presence of God that began to shake. There was a shaking. There was a time when the awakenings came and there were people called shakers for good reason.

They began to tremble at the presence of God. Where is the awareness of God's glory and holiness that causes us to stand in awe of Him? We sing that we are in awe of Him, but are we really? And if we are, do we walk as a people mindful of a holy God?

And so he says there,. And the post of the door moved at the voice of him that cried. And the house was filled with smoke. There was this presence of God that actually became evident. Then, then he says,.

Then said I,. The moment of reckoning comes when you have an encounter with a holy God. Then said I, Woe is me. See, we look good in our own eyes. And you know, as a Christian young man, I had been taught right from wrong.

And I did a more or less basically good moral upright life. I had my moments and my times and my ways, but they were more or less secretive. And you know, so nobody saw it. And so I looked really good to everybody.

And so in my church, I was one of the best of the best. And when I got in the Navy, I was certainly way better than everybody else. And so all these other Christian guys in the Navy, they were pretty slack.

And so I was like, you know, I was the one everybody looked to. It's like you're super Jew because you're very frugal like a Jew, but you're also super like a super sane. And so they thought, man, I'm somebody.

But down deep, I knew something's missing. And I would sit out there at night and talk to the Lord. And I was just overwhelmed at the more I studied and prayed about him. The more I became aware of how flawed my flesh was and how far I had fallen.

No matter how good it looked in the eyes of man. And yet finally there came a day when God said, OK, you look good compared to your peers. But how do you look compared to my son? And then I knew, no, my best, my righteousness, the best I could do to live for Jesus, the best I could do to serve him was still filthy rags.

It may have gained the applause and the approval of my peers, my church, my friends, but it did not gain the presence of the Lord in my life, nor did it bring the glory of God upon my life because there was no glory in that.

That was me doing for him, not him doing through me. That was my best for him. And he wants to be allowed to do his best through us. And so Isaiah is in the midst of this moment, this encounter with the holy almighty God.

Woe is me. Why? Because I am undone. You know, I love that old song, the old spiritual, It is me, it is me, it is me, O Lord, standing in the need of prayer. You know, we look around and we can say it's good for them, it's good for them.

But what about us? Where are we in the whole process? And so Isaiah had to come to grips. He was a prophet of God, a man of God, an anointed person. And yet he realized he was flawed and failed. And as he saw that, he was overwhelmed with the glory of God.

And now he's saying, woe is me. You know, kids nowadays, they say, woe, like that's really cool or something. But he's going like, woe, as in, oh my, oh me, this is serious. Suddenly, the light comes on, it dawns for him, there is a God.

Not just somebody we talk to or talk about or something we read about when we open the scroll in his day. There's a reality, a presence, a power. And he's having that encounter. He says, I am undone. Because why?

I am a man of unclean lips. See, it caught him at the point of his words. Oh, he had lived meticulously outwardly in his conduct. And he was saying and doing the right things, following all the Jewish rituals and routines of a scribe, of a priest, of a prophet, whatever he was.

He carried on in the role he was called to meticulously. But then there were the fact that he was a man of unclean lips. Dwelling, he said, in the midst of a people of unclean lips. It's like we say we honor God with our lips, the Scripture says, but really in our heart we're denying him.

And what he's admitting here is, I was doing a lot of words, but they were only words. They weren't the true feeling of my heart. It wasn't heartfelt worship. I was just mouthing words. I was in a religious ritual.

I was caught up in the routine but missed the life, missed the substance, missed the essence of Christ and his life. That's what we would say under the new covenant today. Woe is me. Mine eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.

And then flew one of the seraphim unto me, having a living, alive coal in his hand, which he had taken from the tombs from off the altar. And he laid it upon my mouth and said, Lo, this has touched your lips.

Your iniquity is taken away and your sin is purged. Then he heard the voice of the Lord again saying, OK, now you can be a channel of blessing. Now you can speak words of life. Now you can communicate truth.

Because you've had an encounter and a life transforming encounter with the living God, with the Lord Almighty. You know, in the book of James, which was in many ways addressing the Jewish culture of the day, he talks about this kind of thing.

The Tongue’s Power to Build Up or Destroy

He says in James chapter three, he says, In many things we offend all. But if any man offend not a word, the same is a perfect man. That is, he's finally got it together because now he's living a truly godly life.

Now, in fact, he is truly a channel of blessing. Now out of him is flowing that river of living water, not just the facade, not just the put on of imitation of Christ, but the reality of the manifestation of Christ.

That's what we have. And so he says now he is able to bridle the whole body. And then he goes on down, though, and he gets into specifics. And he says in verse five,. Even so, the tongue is a little member and it boasts great things.

Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindles. He's saying, you know, the tongue is so small and it seems like our words are so insignificant. But, you know, as a kid, I remember hearing that old phrase, sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.

But I'm telling you, words hurt me personally. Words hurt me deeply. And my words have hurt others in ways I hadn't even realized and certainly had never intended. But I've said things out of ignorance.

I've said things out of haste. I've said things prematurely and people have been hurt by what I've said. And God had caused me to open my eyes to see. Think before you speak is much more than just a motto.

It's a matter of being sensitive to the spirit and saying what's in the heart of God rather than saying what's on your mind based on your human observations of walking by sight. But saying by the truth of God, based on the faith in him and his word and speaking according to the word of God.

Not according to the rational logic of man. So he's saying here, the tongue is a little member, but it sure does stir up a big fire. And so the tongue is a fire, verse 6, a world of iniquity. That's talking about sin.

It spews forth ungodliness. And so is the tongue among our members. And it defiles the whole body. That is, it affects us in ways we can't possibly imagine. And it sets on fire the course of nature. But then he says, it is set on fire of hell.

That's why Paul says, don't give place to the devil. He says, when you yield your members unknowingly, perhaps, sometimes intentionally, but regardless of how, then what happens is Satan has a heyday with you.

You and I become his pawn. We become the tool. You see, Satan uses people to get to people. And how many a time has he tried to get to me and or Lou through other people and the things they've said and done to us?

He has pounded us with that and pounded us with that. And so you've got to realize Jesus was willing to be that human punching bag so you and I could endure the hardness. Because it will come. In a sin-filled world, there is wickedness that abounds.

And whether those who are the mouthpiece of the devil or the fist of the devil even realize they are or not doesn't matter. It's coming your way. But you've got to go back as Jesus looking beyond our fault and see the need.

These people are blind. They're deceived. They don't realize what they're doing. They are of their father. Think of Peter, this great man. He stands up there and in such brilliance, hears from God and says, you are the Christ.

And then out of his mouth, he tells the Lord, no, he challenges the Lord. And the Lord Jesus has to turn and say, get behind me, Satan. And why? Because it was devilish. It was of the devil. Exactly what he's talking about here.

The very words out of his mouth, which had been so full of life based on the revelation of God by the Spirit, are now coming out communicating death. And so Jesus has to stop that immediately. Get behind me, Satan.

Resisting Bitterness and Spiritual Deception

He addresses the source of the sin. As it says here, set on fire of hell. If we look on up in verse 14, he says, if you have bitter envy and strife in your hearts, do not glory. That is, don't deny it.

Don't lie against the truth. It's there. Face it for what it is. He says, this wisdom does not descend from above. He says, if there's envy and strife, it's not of God. It is not of God. To be in the divisions and the conflicts and all that, this is not of the Lord.

He says, this is a lie. You're living a lie. You may think you're okay, but you're not. He says, this wisdom is earthly. This is the way the world operates. He says, it is sensual. It's based on your human senses and how you perceive things.

And it is of the devil. Devilish. Of the devil. Devilish. So, then he asks the question, where do these wars and fightings come from? Chapter 4, verse 1. Well, they come even of your lust that war in your members.

The word lust there meaning desires or appetites. And he says, you desire and you have not. You kill. You desire to have, but you can't attain. And why is that? He says, you fight in war, yet you have not because you ask not.