03-09-08 #Disciple Bible Study titled: "The Love That Changes Things"

[Disciple]

‘The Love That Changes Things’
1 John 3:1-3
Today people are interested in change. We see in the political arena especially today as those who are vying for their party’s nomination are calling for change in Washington D.C. They are calling for change in our political policies and directions, saying that our nation cannot continue in the same direction.
But we want to know what it is that can change people? What can change who we are and what we are? Love is what changes people. God’s love for us can totally change us and change everything about us. The ultimate changes come about when we experience God’s love for us. God’s love is a transforming love.
I. God’s Love Changes Who We Are
John makes a strong statement in verse 1 to capture our attention: Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us. The word’ bestowed’ or ‘lavished’ is from the Greek word ‘to give’. When you consider the awesomeness of God giving to us, it does indeed become lavish.
This is probably one of the first things we need to grasp and understand. How really great is God’s love for us. The word ‘manner’ or ‘great’ signifies that which is amazing. It leaves a sense of awe and wonder. If you would allow God’s love to have an impact on your life, you must first realize just how awesome and amazing his love really is.
Just think of it for a moment, God loves me, that is awesome! When you think about the love we find in this world, there is no comparison. The love the world offers is most often conditional. ‘I will love you if you meet certain criteria.’ Why do you think people are so interested in having complete makeovers?
They feel unloved and unwanted the way they are. ‘If I can just be thin enough, good looking enough, athletic enough, then I will be accepted.’ Do you know that studies have been done showing that tall, good looking people will get jobs ahead of people who are not so tall and good looking? But God’s love is amazing. God loved you when you weren’t so good.
Romans 5:8
Here’s something amazing to think about. If God loved you when you were still a sinner, he is not going to stop loving you when you mess up today. God’s love makes us his children. We become part of his family. His love changes who we are.
You don’t become a child of God because of anything great you’ve done or because you’re so good that you deserve to be in his family. God’s love changes who you are from the inside out. We’re not talking about just changing the outer appearance.
2 Cor. 5:17
If we have become a new creation, don’t you think it is time that we start living like a new creation? Don’t you think it’s time that we stop acting like we are still part of the world around us? Because God’s love changes who we are, we should not be surprised when the world does not know us. The world doesn’t know our Father, why should they know his family?
II. God’s Love Changes What We Will Become
Our relationship with the Father changes what we are now. Being in God’s family, being God’s children, changes everything for us. Note in verse 2: Beloved, now are we the sons of God. The word ‘now’ indicates our present relationship with God in this life.
Here’s the important point. If you are a child of God you do not have to go searching for significance and importance in life. You are significant! Our relationship with the Father will change in the future.
1 John 3:2
Notice three statements by John that represent the sequence of events to follow:
1. When he shall appear.- 2. We shall be like him.- 3. We shall see him as he is.
All of this is reality because we are his children now. We know what we are now and we know some things about our earthly experience with God now. But we do not yet know what we will be in the future. God has not yet publicly displayed the full glory that belongs to us as his children.
We are not able to look into the spiritual, eternal realm. We are not able to understand and know what eternity is really all about. We are not able to comprehend the full glory of God that is in Jesus Christ. Now we are sharing in God’s goodness and blessings. But in the future we will share fully in his glory.
No doubt we have ideas and pictures in our minds of what it will be, but in reality we do not have any idea of what will be ours. We will not be able to know it all until our bodies are resurrected from death and made to be exactly like that of Jesus.
If we are going to have an eternal, resurrected body that is exactly like that of Jesus Christ, doesn’t it behoove us now to be working to be like Jesus in our living and in our attitudes?
Romans 12:2
2 Cor. 3:18
We are being transformed into what we already are in the eyes of God through Jesus Christ. We are being transformed and changed into the image of Jesus our Lord.
III. God’s Love Changes What We Need To Do
What are we to be doing in our living while we are waiting for the Lord to appear and we are made into his own likeness? John says we need to have our hope fixed on the Lord. What hope is John talking about? He’s talking about the hope we have in Christ Jesus for being like him.
You don’t have to look too far to find proof that our friends and neighbors need hope. People are drugging themselves, killing themselves because they cannot face the reality of their present life. Where is your hope anc****d? It’s easy to put your hope in the wrong things and wrong people. We need to anchor our hope in Jesus Christ. We need to purify ourselves.
1 John 3:3
God makes us pure through the blood of Jesus Christ. From that point on, our life is about keeping ourselves pure. We shouldn’t be surprised that John connects purity with our being like Jesus. Jesus was pure in his life and if we are to be like him then we must be pure in our living too.
Keeping yourself pure and holy is a choice that you must make every day. It bothers me when people say ‘I just can’t help it. I just can’t live that way.’ What they are saying in reality is ‘I won’t live that way.’ They enjoy the pleasure of their sin too much to give up.
Do you understand that God is not going to make you do or be something you don’t want to do or be? Keeping yourself pure as Christ Jesus is pure is a lifelong pursuit.
Hebrews 12:14
God’s love will make change that is lasting, enduring change. One of the biggest mistakes people make is that we focus on trying to change things around us. We try to change the people around us. I know that sometimes change can be painful for us, often because of the hard work and the pain involved of making change we give up and decide that we don’t want to change. But there are consequences with not changing.
Have you experienced the love of God in your life? Are you allowing God’s love for you to change you to what God wants you to become?