I want you to turn to Romans
8, keeping in mind the passages that I read from Genesis 22. Romans chapter 8. Now, I confess
to you today that I'm over my head that I will completely fail
in my attempt because words fail. Even if I had the tongue of an
angel, a cherubim, I could not really tell to you what I'm about
to attempt to tell you. So I hope that God in His Spirit
will deal with your spirit and you'll be able to enter in in
amazement with me concerning this awesome matter
of the love of God to you and to me. I never read this passage in
Romans 8, except I think of Genesis 22 and of the parallels that
can be drawn. Let's look at verse 28 and following. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God. I wish we really did. I wish we really knew that. We'd
all be different people, me included, at every single thing. I'm not talking about just the
good things. I'm talking about everything. Which makes for an
amazing God that can take the worst that you and I do and still
use it for our good. There truly is victory in Jesus.
to them who are the called according to His purpose." God's got a
purpose for you, child of God. There's a purpose. You're not
here by accident. You're here on purpose. You heard
the Gospel on purpose. You've been saved on purpose
for a purpose. For whom He did for love, King
James is for no. For whom He before loved, He
also predestinated every one of them to be conformed to the
image of His Son. See, He has specific people in
mind here. That He might be the firstborn
among many brethren. Moreover, or even gooder, whom He did predestinate, them
He also called. They were predestinated, but
they didn't know it, so He called them. I can hear my Savior calling. Have you ever got the call? Oh,
it's a wonderful thing when God comes calling. And whom He called,
them He also justified, declared them not guilty. And whom He
justified, them He also glorified. Notice here, there's not even
a mention of death. All that He starts out with,
He ends up with. All that He foreloved and called
and justifies, He glorifies them all. Not a one is lost. And in that great day of reckoning,
Jesus will say, Father, lo, I am the children which Thou hast
given Me. You gave them to Me before the foundation of the
world, and I have kept every one of them. It was a big job
to keep them, but I kept them. What shall we then say to these
things? That's a great question. What
do you say? Fire out? Amen. Hallelujah. You do if you
enter into it. We must in this life enter into
Romans 8 more and more, because life's a struggle. Life's tough. I used to preach a message, life's
a bitch and then you die. That was in my younger days. Some of you have that on your
coffee cup, and some of you know that that is true without Christ. Trouble in my way? Gotta moan
sometimes. I probably shouldn't have said
that. I didn't know that was going to shock you quite that
much, but it didn't shock some of our older members here. What shall we say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us? Now, here's my text
verse. God, He, God, God the Father,
that spared not His own Son, How many times have we read over
that statement and never entered into it? God that spared his
son did not spare his son, but freely gave him up for us all. I'm standing here and I believe
in the spirit of God. I'm saying in my own heart, how
am I going to convey this? How can I tell it? You see, the
church is so confused about this matter of the gospel. It's the
gospel of the glory. It's a gospel that's so glorious
that in our little finite minds and bodies, we really can't comprehend
it. There ought to be much more shouting
of glory and hallelujah in the church than there is. And there
can be, but only as this gospel of wonder is declared. God does not love because Jesus
died. Let me say it again. God does
not love because Jesus died. Jesus died because God loved. See, God loved you, child of
God, before Christ ever died. He had a love for you before
the foundation of the world. In fact, He picked you out. tumble
bug that you were. In the manure pile of life, you
looked like every other tumble bug. But God made a difference. Who makes you to differ from
another? It's the gospel of grace. So, Paul says, don't you know
you have it all? Do you think God will keep anything
back from you? I mean, if He gave His only Son,
for you. How shall he not with him freely
give us all things? What is it that you really need?
What is it? And notice that word freely again
comes into view. It means without a cost. How
shall he not with Christ freely, without a cause on your part,
give you everything? I want you to think about it.
I don't know what you need, but I know if you're a Christian.
If He gave His Son, He'll give you everything else. There is
certainly a parallel here between Abraham offering Isaac and God
offering up His own Son. Isaac was Abraham's only son. And twice in that story, it is
said, Abraham's only son. What a deep parallel there is
to be drawn here. That God offered up His Son. His only Son. He spared not His
only Son. Let's try to enter into this
a bit. Can you imagine the anguish? I try to sometimes imagine what
it was like. And you've heard me tell this
story of when Amber and Shannon were little. I used to go into
their room when they were sleeping and look at them. And I would
say things like to myself, one of these days you're going to
leave me. Can you imagine what it was like when Jesus left heaven? When God the Father said, there
He goes, my Son, my only Son, the love of my heart, the love
of my life. There He goes to the world. The birds will have
their nests, and the foxes their dens, but the apple of my eye
will have no place to lay his head." And God, of course, foresaw
Gethsemane and Calvary and the anguish. Can you imagine what
it was like in the mind of God as the day approached in which
His only Son was to die and He knew the day? I think there is
a depth of meaning in that word, only son. Only. Especially when
it's applied to a child. To a parent's heart. The life
of an only child is as dear as life itself. I have counseled
with parents who have lost their only child. There's not a whole
lot to say. Other than God knows how you
feel. Because He gave His only Son.
You know, it's one thing to have many children and lose one, but
to have only one and lose that child, it's really a whole different
matter. True, if you had seven children
and had to make the choice of one out of the seven, indeed
it would be difficult and a thousand pains would no doubt enter your
mind and heart when you had to lay a kiss on that cold head
of clay. What would it be if you only
had one child? What would be the grief? Of all griefs that
were in a mother's heart, perhaps the greatest is to lose her firstborn. Pam and I know that. Even in
his infancy, to lose a child, a firstborn. What would it be
like to lose a child, an only child, who has been the apple
of your eye? who has grown to adulthood and
never disobeyed you, never disrespected you. One in which you said constantly,
this is my boy in whom I'm well pleased. What would it be like? And yet, the Bible says this,
God so loved mankind, the likes of you, that He gave His only
begotten Son. What if you knew the death day
of your only child? Stuart would have been 44 years
old. Every day. Not a day passes. It's fresh. In fact, it seems
as I get older, the more it comes to mind. And if that be true
of me, and Pam, and our firstborn, who we never really got to hold
except one time, what would it be for God I know, I know you're
thinking, you really are thinking far out and so am I. I'm thinking
it's so far out that I'm not really getting at it. He was wonderful counselor, mighty
God, Prince of Peace, everlasting Father. He was a scapegoat. God made him a scapegoat to bear
our sins. The scapegoat of believers. I
want you to just think about this. How much did God love you? I want to tell you how much.
The infinite love of God, and only the infinite love of God,
led Him to sacrifice His own Son. When you're doubting God's
love, He loved you before you were born, before the world was. He loved you down in the hood,
smoking and poking. He loved you. You know that God loved David
as much when he was in bed with Bathsheba as He did before He
went to bed with her? Oh, I know. I know. I know what
some of you are thinking. This is insane what this preacher
is saying. But I read it to you from the
Bible. God who spared not His own Son. We have to say, herein is love. Not that we love God. We have
to say with the old apostle John, behold, what manner of love is
this? that the Father should bestow
upon us, that we should be called the sons of God, and it doth
not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when He
shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as
He is." The love of God. Consider the wonder
of it. Some of you come in here complaining,
and you have wallowed in the stables of sin. You have given up your children
for drugs. You are forsaken your own. And
you maybe, perhaps, have come to know Christ. And all of that
comes into your view and you ask yourself, how could God love
me? I know. I know. And the answer always
must be, not because of any good that I've done, That's what makes
this love so amazing. He didn't love you because you
didn't use heroin. He doesn't love anybody because
they never use drugs. God has no reason to love you
except His own plan and purpose. Amen? You can't earn the love
of God. You can't work for the love of
God. Just think about this. That God, tumble bug that you
were, just loved you. And then when you were way off down
there in Lodibar, He never took His eye off you. Never took His
eye off you. Some of you are fresh in here
from toiling with the addiction. puking your guts out and can't
sleep and all of that and longing to go back. Oh, that the love
of God would hold you. His love is strong. And I can
tell you this, if God loves you, you're an overcomer. You're going
to be an overcomer. You think about People often
talk to me about the strong appeal of drugs and the addictive force
of drugs. I want to tell you there's something
stronger than that. Oh, I know. I know that drugs
were so strong you forsook your own child. Maybe your only child. You went crazy. But God will
never forsake His kids. There's something stronger than
heroin and crack and all the addiction. It's the love of God. And you won't overcome it. Infusion
of the Holy Spirit to empower you. And first of all, to give
you some smack dab down home sense about how stupid you are
about using drugs. I argue against you using, and
you argue for using. You've got an argument for everything. Consider the wonder of the love
of God. That God made His Son a sacrifice. There's nobody in here that would
do that. Would you make your Son, your
only Son, that you had the apple of your eye, a sacrifice? for sins. In fact, God the Father
was the One who was smiting Him at Calvary. Smitten of God and
afflicted by God. What is going on at Calvary? What did it cost God to give
up His Son for His people? This week I've been trying to
think about this infinite love and what it would mean to lose
and only Son, and at the same time, consider how deep God's
love is. Your love isn't nearly as deep
as you think. You think you love your kids, but let heroin get
a hold of you. You don't love your kids nearly
as much as you think you do. Oh yeah. But God's love is not fickle.
It's an ocean that's deep, deep, deep, deep. Think about how he loved his
son, and then how much he loved his son, and then the giving
of his son. Don't compare it to yours. You
know, his son was ever with him. Yeah. God the Father, God the
Son, God the Holy Spirit. Always together. Before there
was a world. Eternal Son of God. And the Son,
the Lord Jesus, never offended Him. He took part in all of the
Father's plans. They planned things together.
God the Father said, I will choose them. And I will give them to
you as a love gift. And Jesus said, I will redeem
them, Father. I will pay the price for them
and present them to you after the Holy Spirit has called them. You truly are saved by God the
Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. The triune God
operating to bring you to Jesus Christ. I thought this too. I really
can't rejoice in the goodness of God to me unless I believe
that the gift of His Son cost the divine heart great pain. It's then I began to realize
how much He loves me. That the giving of His Son cost
Him. I can't imagine Him giving His
Son only begotten Son, and feeling no more than a heathen idol of
stone could have done. Our God is touched with the feelings
of our infirmities. The Father spared not His own
Son, but made Him to be the substitute for us sinners. Made Him as a
curse for us to be hanged on the tree. The Bible said, God
the Father spared not His own Son, but unsheathed His sword
of justice against Him. Because your sins and mine were
laid on Him. God is a God of justice. He's
not a Santa Claus. And you're not saved by a Santa
Claus God. You're saved by a God who says,
somebody has to pay for that. Justice must be rendered. And
at Calvary, God pulled out His black snake whip and began to
bruise His Son. And by His stripes, we're healed.
That's why I want you so much to know how God is just and justifier. And I hammer it and I hammer
it. Because if you don't know this, you don't know the Gospel.
How can God be just and take you? Sorry thing that you are. Take you to heaven. How can God
do that? How can God, who is holy, holy,
holy, take hold of me, who is dirty, dirty, dirty, and take
me to heaven? I want you to go back to the
cross with me. There in those final hours, those three hours
of darkness, you'll find Father and Son alone. You know, the
Bible says, Abraham said to his servants who went with him to
Mount Moriah, you stay here. I and the boy will go alone.
And Isaac had some questions. In this way, there wasn't a parallel
necessarily. But Isaac had some questions.
Father, here's the wood. Here's the fire. Here's the altar. Where's the sacrifice? You think
about what Abraham was thinking when his son asked those questions.
Not in rebellion. I wonder what Abraham was thinking
as a human, thinking about I'm about to kill this boy. So, father
and son at Calvary alone. That's what I want you to think
about a little bit. What would a father say to his son? I know
the eleven went to Gethsemane. But at the cross in that three
hour of darkness, only father and son. Everyone else deserted
him. Satan and demons defeated. Death
is defeated. Now justice must be rendered.
And you're about to beat your boy. And there's no reason to
beat him. There's no reason to give your
son a whipping. Except sin has been imputed, charged and accredited
to your son's account. And he is the substitute for
sinners. Father and son alone. I thought
about that last night for a long time. I wonder what they talked
about. I think there probably was much
more than is recorded in the Bible. There had to be. The father smites and wounds
and slays his own son. You see, your eternal hell, he
was paying. What would the pain have been
for every thought of adultery, fornication, lasciviousness,
Hate. Malice. His soul, the Bible says, was
made a sacrifice for sin. If you ever want to study in
depth, find out what it means that his soul... Never on this
earth did a soul die except at Calvary. The Lord laid on him the iniquity
of us all. And we should say, hallelujah.
It pleased the Lord to bruise him. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. Thou shalt make his soul an offering
for sin. We did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God and afflicted." From the cross, you hear Eli, Eli, lama,
sebastian, which is to say, my God, my God, why have you forsaken
me? Think of the feelings of the
Savior. He knew the answer to that question. God never asks
questions for information. He doesn't need yours or mine. Quickly here, I want to make
an observation. Some of you have problems with
my particular belief that although you should not, that Jesus Christ
got what he paid for. Would God give Christ to die
with the intentions of saving a man and that man not be saved?
Would you give your son for the chance of saving somebody's life? Even if you would give your son,
if it was a chance thing, that that person would not be saved,
would you give your son? Well, I'm telling you, God's
smarter than you. God would never give His only
begotten Son for the chance Jesus bought somebody. Jesus paid somebody's
debt. You know, when I pay for something,
I expect to get what I paid for. It's just not normal for somebody
to say, I know you paid for this, but you're not getting it. I don't thank God, nor would
I speculate. I wouldn't speculate with the
blood of my own son. Calvary was not a venture. It
was not a venture. The cross was not a speculation. The death of Christ was not a
lottery. God didn't take a gamble. God
didn't take a chance on you. You don't need a chance. You
need grace. And the grace Christian knows
this to be true. Whatever God does, He does. I
want you to think about this, child of God, and this is not
negative at all. And I want you to think about
it, some of you, that the Spirit of God is stirring your heart
now and you're wondering whether you're one of God's. Let me tell
you this, you wouldn't even wonder if you were not. You would not
have a thought. Some of you in here, to hell
with the whole thing. You know, I don't believe that's
the craziest thing I ever heard, that God came to earth and died
on the tree of the cross. I know. It is. I know. I know how crazy you are. You're so crazy that you do the
same thing over and over expecting different results. But to the child of God, this
is good news for you. In all your filth, God saw it
all. God knew all about you. God knew everything you'd ever
do. God didn't choose anybody because
they're good. God chose only bad people. So
if you're not bad, you're not chosen. I can tell you that.
He chose sinners. He came to save sinners. And
thank God He did save sinners. That's the good news. Do you
know Many of you in here were redeemed at Calvary, and you
don't know it yet. That's why I'm telling you. You
didn't know that God paid the price with His own Son, but I'm
telling you. You say, oh, oh, that sounds
so, I wonder if it's, could it be for, oh no, I've done too
much. I'm talking to you. I'm telling
you. God did it in Christ. You wouldn't
have those thoughts. Deep down inside, in spite of
all the mess that you have done and are doing, there's a tickle
down inside when I say Jesus paid it all. All the debt I owe
sin had left the crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. There's
something down there that makes you smile. And you even ask,
and can it be that I should gain? and interest in the Savior's
love. Died He for me who caused His pain? And the answer is yes,
a thousand times yes, yes, yes. It was for you. Turn with me to Romans 5 real
quick. I want to read just a couple
of passages here. Romans 5, verse 6, 7, and 8,
and 9. Romans 5, verse 6, For when we
were yet without strength, had no power. We were the dry bones
in the valley. We were the babe in the open
field, just been born. Our navel had not been cut nor
swaddled. We were without strength. In due time, Christ died for
the ungodly, those without strength. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even
dare to die. But God, but God commendeth His love toward
us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
Now watch this. Watch this, verse 9. Much more. Gooder, gooder. Better, better.
Much more than being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through Him." Look at verse 10. For if when we were
enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son,
much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. Paul
said, you Christians, you need to understand. You're rich. You're
rich. He'll hold nothing back from
you. So I just want, I just want peace. I just want rest. I just want freedom from drugs. You already got it. That's exactly
right. Trust Christ. Oh, that's too easy. I need methadone. I need, you know, give me Xanax. How about Christ? How about,
I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me. All things
are yours. Don't you see it? Don't you know
what He's done? You've been forgiven and pardoned
and adopted. He has shut the doors of hell.
You cannot perish. You cannot perish. I mean, you
can never go to hell. That's what I'm saying. To hell
with the thoughts of going to hell. He has opened the gates of heaven
for you. You know, I was thinking this
too. Our very bodies one day will
feel the power of His death. For they're going to rise again
at the sound of a trumpet. Can you imagine when those old
bodies out in the cemetery are all put back together and there's
a rattling in the casket? You know, I'd like to be found,
maybe alive, in the cemetery on Resurrection Day. I'd like
to see what happens. There's going to be a resurrection,
you know. How shall He not with Him freely
give us all things? And I close with this. And I
want you to go home with this. And I know you're struggling
as I do struggle. And here's the cure. If God gave
His own Son for me, He isn't going to withhold anything. I
mean, if He'd go that far, why would He withhold some little
trivial thing from me? If He gave His own Son for me,
you know, Theologians talk about, actually, you'll note that I'm
not a theologian. But theologians talk about a
God who is without feeling, that God can't repent, that God can't... I understand some of that. But
our God is not a God without feeling. I just don't believe
that. He felt something when his son died. I guarantee you. And if He gave His own Son, then
the whole point of this morning's service is just this. Child of
God, consider it. All things are yours. All things
are yours. You're rich. And you need to
start talking that way too. If you're as poor as Job's turkey,
you can just say things like this. In Christ, I'm a child
of the King. I don't know how this life's
going. It takes some crazy turns. But I know who's the driver. Amen. I know who can take every
curve and crash. And I know who's in charge of
that. I'm going to trust Him. Child of God, many victories. Faith is the victory. We have
to trust God. And that's why I'm always saying,
I believe, help my unbelief. What is it you want? What do
you want? And you know what? You ought
to do this a lot. Daddy. Daddy, we took the kids
to the mall. What a mistake. Last night. And the rainforest, you know,
it's full of toys. Our little Hayden's smooth. I
mean, she didn't give up on Tiki. You promised. You promised. All during lunch, you promised. Your father's pleased with you
going to him that way. Daddy. Daddy, you know, I need
this and I want this and I believe this. I believe you'll give this
to me. You might be surprised what he would do for you. You're
not nearly as insecure as you think. You're very secure. You just think the wrong way.
He's not going to lose you. He's not going to forsake you.
He's a dad that gives things freely that you don't even deserve.
Think about what you have that you don't even deserve. Just
think about it. I mean, even those of you who
are Christians, you just came in over at the shelter. I want
to say this. You don't deserve the shelter. That 1.1 that people gave? A million dollars? We don't deserve that. But God
gives. He's a good God. I'm glad I know
that. And I'm experiencing that more
every day. I mean, if you would tell our
story from a year ago to today, it's unbelievable. It's just
hard to capture. Let me tell you. A couple of
million dollars. A couple million dollars has
happened. Well, actually, three. Three million dollars has happened.
If you count clutch cargo and all the houses and things that
have been happening, only God could do that. How many millionaires
do we have in the building today? Raise your hand, please. If you're
a multimillionaire, oh, I know you are in Christ. But I mean,
you got to... Oh, you heard me. Some of you heard me. Okay. I
was talking about from the standpoint of giving money. You know, we
don't have millionaires here in the sense of they got the
money in the bank. But I'll tell you, thank you
for reminding me of that. We are millionaires of all things
in Christ. Let's stand together and praise
him.