Loved, to Love
The sermon emphasizes the importance of God's love as the foundation of our love and the key to maintaining a close relationship with Him.
Miles J. Stanford preaches about the profound love and blessings God has bestowed upon believers through Jesus Christ, emphasizing the intimate relationship between knowing what Jesus did for us and understanding who He is to us. He highlights the transformative power of the Cross and the Spirit's work in uniting believers with Christ in heavenly places. Stanford discusses the unquenchable satisfaction found in Jesus, the importance of maintaining a heart truly won by Him, and the continual communion believers can experience through the Word of God to prevent anything from hindering their relationship with Christ.
Text
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ " (Ephesians 1:3).
His love is mine when I know what He did for me; my love is His when I know who He is to me-He who is Love, is my Life. He loved, and died; that I might live, and love. "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine" (Song of Solomon 6:3).
"My Father, in His grace, has come in and ended my history in the flesh, by the Cross, and now by the Spirit I am brought into association with His Son at His own right hand in heaven.
"The Lord Jesus wins my heart in His humiliation; He satisfies it in His glory. A won heart is not necessarily a satisfied heart. But if a heart is truly won by the Lord Jesus it never will be satisfied without Him. No heart that is won is ever satisfied but in the company of the One who won it. Absence does not 'make the heart grow fonder'! You only discover in absence what you have gained in presence."
"We talk of difficulties and perplexities. How little the heart is really in concert, in simple concert with the Lord Jesus! He has gone up to the right hand of the Father in greater power than ever, and He is using the elevation that He has gone to, to effect deliverance for me from all things that would break fellowship between Him and me. And He uses His Word to keep me from all that would interfere with that blessed communion."
"Thy Word have I hidden in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee" (Psalm l l 9:11).
Sermon Outline
- The Source of Love
- God's love is the foundation of our love
- He loved us first, and we respond in love
Key Quotes
“He loved, and died; that I might live, and love.” — Miles J. Stanford
“A won heart is not necessarily a satisfied heart. But if a heart is truly won by the Lord Jesus it never will be satisfied without Him.” — Miles J. Stanford
“Thy Word have I hidden in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee” — Miles J. Stanford
Application Points
- We must keep God's Word in our hearts to maintain a close relationship with Him.
- The Lord Jesus is our life and our love, and we must stay in concert with Him to overcome difficulties and perplexities.
- Our love for God is a response to His love for us, and we must prioritize our relationship with Him above all else.