“COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS: God crowns you with love and compassion.” - 7-11-21

 “COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS: God crowns you with love and compassion.” - 7-11-21

INTRODUCTION

Blessings

God forgives all our sins.

God heals all our diseases.

God redeems your life from the pit.

“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. 

Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord works righteousness and justice for all the oppressed.”

‭‭ Psalms‬ ‭103:1-6 NIV‬‬

I.   GOD CROWNS YOU

A.  Crown - to encompass or adorn or decorate 

B.  Application and enjoyment 

C.  Abundance

D.  Honor and honorable

E.  Preservation and protection

As if the crown were woven out of love and compassion (attributes of God)

“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor and a good name in the sight of God and man.”

‭‭ Proverbs‬ ‭3:3-4‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Sacrificial love has transforming power. Genuine love is volitional rather than emotional. The person who truly loves does so because of a decision to love. This person has made a commitment to be loving whether or not the loving feeling is present. It if is, so much the better; but if it isn't, the commitment to love, the will to love, still stands and is still exercised. Conversely, it is not only possible but necessary for a loving person to avoid acting on feelings of love. I may meet a woman who strongly attracts me, whom I feel like loving, but because it would be destructive to my marriage to have an affair, I will say vocally or in the silence of my heart, "I feel like loving you, but I am not going to." My feelings of love may be unbounded, but my capacity to be loving is limited. I therefore must choose the person on whom to focus my capacity to love, toward whom to direct my will to love. True love is not a feeling by which we are overwhelmed. It is a committed, thoughtful decision. 

Dr. M. Scott Peck

‬‬II.  GOD CROWNS YOU WITH LOVE

““A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.””

‭‭ John‬ ‭13:34-35‬ ‭NIV‬‬

The Greek word agape (love) seems to have been virtually a Christian invention -- a new word for a new thing (apart from about twenty occurrences in the Greek version of the Old Testament, it is almost non-existent before the New Testament). Agape draws its meaning directly from the revelation of God in Christ. It is not a form of natural affection, however, intense, but a supernatural fruit of the Spirit (Gal. 5:22). It is a matter of will rather than feeling (for Christians must love even those they dislike -- Matt. 5:44-48). It is the basic element in Christ-likeness.

James Packer, Your Father Loves You, Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986

There is not much difference lexically between agapaO and phileO. Both involve a voluntary (I've decided to love you) and involuntary (I can't help but love you) response. One point: there is no command to love in scripture that ever uses phileO.

Source Unknown

A.  Loving kindness, favor, mercy

B.  An attribute of God

C.  A gift and a tool

Love ever gives.

Forgives, outlives,

And ever stands

With open hands.

And while it lives,

It gives,

For this is love's perogative--

To give, and give, and give.

Oxenham

III.  GOD CROWNS YOU WITH COMPASSION 

“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”

‭‭ Colossians‬ ‭3:12-14‬ ‭NIV‬‬

“Whoever loves much, does much.”

Thomas a' Kempis.

A.  Compassion, tender mercies, the womb

B.  An attribute of God

C.  Deep feelings (racham in Hebrew like splognos in Greek)

D.  A gift and a burden

A mother once approached Napoleon seeking a pardon for her son. The emperor replied that the young man had committed a certain offense twice and justice demanded death. 

"But I don't ask for justice," the mother explained. "I plead for mercy." 

"But your son does not deserve mercy," Napoleon replied. 

"Sir," the woman cried, "it would not be mercy if he deserved it, and mercy is all I ask for." 

"Well, then," the emperor said, "I will have mercy." And he spared the woman's son. 

Luis Palau, Experiencing God's Forgiveness, Multnomah Press, 1984

‬‬CONCLUSION

If we discovered that we had five minutes left to say all we wanted to say, every telephone booth would be occupied by people calling other people to stammer that they love them. Why wait until the last five minutes? 

C. Morley, in Homemade, July, 1990

God crowns you.  God crowns you with love.  God crowns you with compassion.

CHALLENGE

Our challenge will remain the same each week of this sermon series.  I just ask that you keep in mind the topic of each week’s message as you write down your weekly 3-2-1.  The topic this week is the blessing of love and compassion.

Write down 3 ways God bears your burdens daily.  Write down 2 needs God has met this week.  Write down 1 spiritual blessing in Christ that you cherish most.  Acknowledge God’s blessings.

INVITATION

It is our custom to offer an "invitation" following the preaching of the Word.  You may want to follow Jesus.  You may want to proclaim your faith.  You may want to repent (stop doing ungodly things and start doing Godly things).  Perhaps you want to be baptized for the forgiveness of your sins and receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Possibly, if you have already responded to God’s call in these ways, you would like to become a member of Kenwood Church.  If you have been moved by the Holy Spirit to make a decision in your life, you can come forward now.  If you would like, I would be honored to speak with you following the service about what God is doing in your life.