Amazing Love: the path to

Amazing Grace

Amazing Love

Am forgiven because You were forsaken

Am accepted, You were condemnedAm alive and well

Your Spirit lives within meBecause you died and rose again

Amazing Love

Amazing love, how can it be?That You, my King, should die for

meAmazing love, I know it’s true

It’s a joy to honor YouIn all I do, I honor You

The Summary of the Gospel(John 3:16-17)

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever

believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be

saved.

The Love of God is ONLY in Christ

(Romans 8:35-39)38 For I am persuaded, that neither

death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things

present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other

creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is IN Christ

Jesus our Lord.

Christ died for the ungodly(Romans 5:6-7)

6 For when we were still without

strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet

perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die

While we were yet sinners(Romans 5: 8 - 9)

8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we

were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now

been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.

How does God deal with us?(Psalm 103: 5 - 6)

8 The LORD is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and abounding in mercy.

9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever.

10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins,

Nor punished us according to our iniquities.

The measure of His love(Psalm 103: 11 - 12)

11 For as the heavens are high above the earth,

So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;

12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our

transgressions from us.

He knows how weak we are…(Psalm 103: 13 - 14)

13 As a father pities his children,So the LORD pities those who fear Him.

14 For He knows our frame;He remembers that we are dust.

A love that defies logic…I(Matthew 18: 11-14)

11 For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.

12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes

astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one

that is straying?

A love that defies logic…II(Matthew 18: 13-14)

13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little

ones should perish.

Learning from the Prodigal Son(Luke 15:11-12 )

11 Then He said: “A certain man had two sons. 12 And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to

them his livelihood.

Learning from the Prodigal Son II(Luke 15:13)

13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a

far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living.

The younger son chose his course of actionHe deserved to suffer for his actions

Learning from the Prodigal Son III(Luke 15:14-15 )

14 But when he had spent all, there arose

a severe famine in that land, and he began to be in want. 15 Then he went and joined himself to a citizen of that

country, and he sent him into his fields to feed swine.

Learning from the Prodigal Son IV(Luke 15:16)

16 And he would gladly have filled his stomach with the pods that the swine

ate, and no one gave him anything.

He deserved this treatmentHe was reaping what he sowed!

Learning from the Prodigal Son V(Luke 15:11-32 )

17 “But when he came to himself, he said,

‘How many of my father’s hired servants have bread enough and to spare, and I

perish with hunger!

Many of us have not yet come to ourselves to really know who our Father is

Learning from the Prodigal Son VI(Luke 15:18)

18 I will arise and go to my father, and will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you, 19 and I am no

longer worthy to be called your son. Make me like one of your hired

servants.”’

We cannot move forward unless we first understand where we are

Learning from the Prodigal Son VII(Luke 15:20 -21 )

20 “And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him.

21 And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your

sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

Learning from the father…

a) He saw his son from far (did not wait for him to be near)

b) He had compassion on himc) He abandoned everything else and ran

and grabbed himd) He hugged and kissed his filthy, pig-friendly, stinking, good-for nothing son!

THAT IS ANNOYING!!!

Learning from the father…( Luke 15: 22-24)

22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the

fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; 24 for this my son was

dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.

Learning from the father II

a) He ignored his son’s filthy stateb) He rewarded the prodigal son with the

BEST robe and a SIGNET ring c) He ordered for the choicest steak –the

fatted calfd) He ordered a party

THAT‘S NOT FAIR!!!

Learning from the older son(Luke 15: 25-27)

25 “Now his older son was in the field. And as he came and drew near to the house,

he heard music and dancing. 26 So he called one of the servants and asked

what these things meant. 27 And he said to him, ‘Your brother has come, and

because he has received him safe and sound, your father has killed the fatted

calf.’

Learning from the older son II(Luke 15: 29)

29 So he answered and said to his father, ‘Lo, these many years I have been

serving you; I never transgressed your commandment at any time; and yet you never gave me a young goat, that I might

make merry with my friends.

The older son lived by the law to the letter and it did not win him favor

Learning from the older son III(Luke 15: 30)

30 But as soon as this son of yours came, who has devoured your livelihood with

harlots, you killed the fatted calf for him.’

The logic of the older son is right – crime deserves punishment. BUT sons also

deserve the love of their fathers!

Learning from the older son IV(Luke 15: 31 - 32)

31 “And he said to him, ‘Son, you are always with me, and all that I have is yours. 32 It was right that we should

make merry and be glad, for your brother was dead and is alive again, and

was lost and is found.’”

We are that lost brother that was dead and Christ made alive; lost but was found!

Grace shown to King David(1 Chronicles 17: 7 - 8)

7b“…I took you from the sheepfold, from following the

sheep, to be ruler over my people Israel

And I have been with you wherever you have gone,

Grace shown to King David(1 Chronicles 17: 7 - 8)

And have cut off all your enemies from before you, and

have made you a name like the name of great men who

are on the earth.”

Grace shown to King David(1 Chronicles 17: 16)

16“ Then King David went in and sat before the Lord; and said: “Who am I, O LORD God? And

what is my house, that you have brought me this far?

“Behold what manner of love the Father has

bestowed [lavished] on us, that we should be called

children of God!” (1 John 3:1 )