David Platt - How Much God Loves You

so love is a strange thing and love makes you do strange things my wife is the only girl I ever dated which sounds noble until you realize I was just socially awkward growing up and was afraid to talk to girls and God in his kindness provided a girl who would talk to me and so I figured I should keep talking to her and so so we kept talking and just recently celebrated our 16th wedding anniversary and I was reminded when we were celebrating oh we were celebrating that anniversary one year on our anniversary she gave me a scrapbook that had a bunch of letters and notes that she had written me over the course of our relationship and and so we started reading through and just seeing and there was one particular letter that I'm gonna risk any semblance of reputation I might have by just sharing a small very small portion of this letter that I apparently wrote to her when we were just friends at the time technically I mean you know what that means I wanted to be more than friends and she had just moved off to college he's a year older than me so she has just moved off to school and I was still finishing up high school and apparently we had just talked on the phone when I wrote this letter to her so this is what it said dear Heather dude I am so glad you called tonight but what kind of opening is that look I know I don't want a guy writes a letter like this he's like you like pour over every word you want to make every word about count I have no clue what compelled me to think of the first word out of the chute should be dude so I continued I have wanted to call you Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday and today but I just figured you were too busy you're not supposed to say that you're supposed to say you've been really busy apparently I was not when I heard your voice I wrote when I heard your voice it was so awesome that I can't explain how I felt you sounded so awesome is this not the most lame thing you've ever heard awesome twice so it got worse it got three pages of worse it's so agonizing to read through but so I'm gonna I'm going to jump to the end here okay so this was my rousing conclusion dude man I wish this wasn't true dude I'm not just wasting ink when I say this can you tell I never had a girlfriend think my life isn't the same without you around and I miss having you to talk with and spend time with I miss you something fierce fierce really praying for you comma dude for those counting that's three dude mentions in a total of eight lines in Christ don't blame this on him this is not not his fault he didn't do this in Christ David that is the letter I wrote to my future wife so no no don't clap there's one person I like there's no no reason to clap and whatsoever like maybe you're clapping cuz you feel sorry for me okay like that would make sense no there you go oh thanks that makes me feel great yeah baby clapping for my wife like oh what a precious woman she marry that guy maybe clapping for yourself like I'm glad I didn't write that letter like I just helped boost your self-esteem all over this room like maybe maybe you would clap in worship thank God only you can allow a man like that to be married just glory so love in the next few minutes I've prayed one primary thing for our time in the word that prayer it is that in the next few minutes in a supernatural way that right where you're sitting you not just for some aside you in front of you behind you but right where you're sitting you might be reminded in a fresh supernatural way of how much God loves you that's my prayer I want to show you in a familiar passage but I pray in a fresh way how much God loves you and I want to show this to you not just for you let's show this champ rain you'll see this or show it to you on behalf of people or around this triangle who don't know how much God loves them and I want to show this to you on behalf of people far from here in other nations who have never heard how much God loves them nobody's ever told them I wanna show this to you in such a way so my hope is that you might see feel the love of God for you and the fresh way that might cause you to say at the end of the next few minutes god I'll do whatever you want me to do in this triangle to make your love known to other people I'll do whatever you want me to do and I'll go wherever you want me to go in the world to make this love known to other people wherever knowing what whatever might mean wherever might mean I mean to say God I'll go wherever oh I'll go to Syria northern Iraq Isis territory I'll go to Somalia al-shabaab I'll go to West Africa Boko Haram I'll go I'll take my family wherever you want us to go to make your love known that might sound crazy but love makes you do crazy things so look with me and Isaiah chapter 6 again a familiar maybe a dangerously over familiar passage of scripture to many so if you've heard this passage before I just try to picture it like it's the first time you ever envisioned it Isaiah says these words in the year that King Uzziah died I saw the Lord sitting upon a throne it's a picture this high and lifted up and the Train of his robe filled the temple above him stood the Seraphim each had six wings with two we covered his face and with two he covered his feet and with two he flew and one called to another and said holy holy holy is the Lord of hosts the whole earth is full of his glory the foundations of the thresholds shook at the voice of him who called and the house was filled with smoke and I said woe is me for I am lost from a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of people of unclean lips for my eyes have seen the king the Lord of hosts then one of the Seraphim flew to me having his hand of burning coal that he had taken with tongs from the altar and he touched my mouth and said Behold this has touched your lips your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for and I heard the voice of the Lord saying whom shall I send and who will go for us that I said Here I am send me let's pray O God I know I can't manufacture what I'm asking hoping for the next few minutes gotta pray that you would do it I pray that by your spirit you would take this word and you would apply it in hearts and that you would help us to see the depth of your love for us a pray for that in every single person they would see the depth of your love for them in a way that would evoke Isiah like responds just a few minutes from now total surrender so god I pray that you do this in Jesus name Amen see what Isaiah saw see who God is that is German we have an in comprehensibly glorious God who reigns over all Isaiah says all this happened the year that King Uzziah died he knows I had reigned for 52 years were you still president for for maybe eight years 52 years for many people this was the only leader they'd ever known and for the majority of his reign he had been a good and godly King and the nation had prospered and so when he was gone there was major void things in turmoil what's going to happen Isaiah looks up and sees King Uzziah may not be on the throne anymore but the real king is still on the throne throughout history Kings have come and kings have gone presidents have come presidents have gone leaders have come leaders have gone one King remains over all of them throughout all time and he is surrounded so the picture here Isaiah says he's surrounded by angelic attendants Seraphim their name literally means burning ones I love this is the pictures angels that are literally ablaze with the adoration of God they live they burn to worship God and there are multitudes of them the rest of scripture tells us multitudes of multitudes beyond number all flaming with pure nuclear power praise of God so just to think of it all last night while you were sleeping they were singing when we came into a gathering like this we began seeing we weren't starting something we were joining in something a heavenly chorus that is continually resounding to God when we lay our heads on our pillows tonight and we begin to fall asleep they'll still be singing forever they'll be shouting his glory singing his phrase so what is their song selection holy holy holy is the Lord of Hosts it's like the these angels are grasping at the leash of language to try to find words to express the wonder of the one who is before them and so this word just keeps pouring out of their mouths they can think of they'd have holy holy holy word that talks about how God is without error no sin in him he's perfect nothing wrong in him he's never had a wrong thought but a wrong deed had her own motive he's altogether right and just and pure and perfect he's holy but think about it there's a sense in which without error that could also be said about the angels who surround God at that point they don't have sin so we know that for him to be holy means more than he's just without error the whole picture and being holy is that he is without equal there's no one like him he's incomparable it's what God says later in Isaiah chapter 40 he says to whom will you compare me or who is my equal says the Holy One he is totally unlike anyone anything else in his holy grandeur and he reigns sovereign over the whole earth the whole earth is a full is full of his glory all of the earth that angels cry is a continual explosion of the glory of God all nature the sun is shining according to God's command the wind blows at God's bidding the oceans stop where they do because God tells them to stop where they do later in Isaiah 40 after sister whom will you compare me who is my equal says the Holy One he who brings out the starry hosts the stars one by one and caused them each by name by his great power and mighty strength not one of them is missing astronomers tell us there's billions upon billions upon the millions of stars in our galaxy we can't count them all but our God can he brings them out one by one and caused them each by name Bob Mary over there Z 1 4 3 6 9 err I don't know what their names are but our God knows their names they obey Him sovereign over all nature sovereign all over all nations he charts the course of countries this is clear all throughout Isaiah he holds the rulers of the earth in the palm of his hands this is good news isn't it good news to know that Assad in Syria is not sovereign over all neither is Kim jong-un in North Korea Modi in India is not sovereign over all there's Benjamin Netanyahu and Israel or Barack Obama in the United States our God is sovereign over all of them isn't it good news to know that no matter what happens in 2016 neither Hillary Clinton nor Donald Trump are sovereign over all God is sovereign over all over all things all people everywhere all of the earth see we haven't incomprehensibly glorious God we're grasping ourselves at the leash of language to try to find words to express his wonder so I said seize this and then immediately cease who he is what was Isaiah's response to this vision of God wasn't Wow it was woe is me woe is me the languages literally ruin and destruction upon me I'm lost before an encumbrance with glory Gloria Scott I am a sinful and lost man amidst a sea of sinful II lost people he says Isaiah knows that he deserves total destruction condemnation before this gutting get be in this God's presence you know when we we talked about the fear of God sometimes we we say well fear of God it's not like you're afraid it's just you Revere God it seems like Isaiah's afraid he's terrified by the holiness of God and for good reason he knows and said and what sin looks like before a holy God in a way that I don't think we do but we have a dangerous tendency to minimize the seriousness of sin in such a way so you too reading through the Bible right you're walking through Scripture and you you see stories in Scripture where you wonder doesn't that seem a bit severe and I'm reading through in Genesis 19 recently Sodom and Gomorrah cities just like that totally destroyed under the wrath of God totally destroyed and then what I wanted God tell a lot and his family so go but don't look back I'm telling you don't look back and so they're running out and Lot's wife does what she looks back all she does just take a glance and what happens to Lot's wife gone just like that she death for a glance all she does take a glance you're gone books later Leviticus Aaron's sons they'd happen to buy you they offer unauthorized fire before the Lord one time one time and automatically the fire consumes them they're gone one time numbers chapter 15 you didn't overstep to 15 and you're reading and you see a man who's caught picking up sticks on the Sabbath day they bring them before the Lord and say what shall we do to him you know what God says stone him stoned for picking up sticks now some people feel assent well maybe that's just God in the Old Testament so new cabinet new testament nuts yeah well beginning of the church action after five and a nice and Sapphire walk into a church gathering they lie about their offering and what happens to them both of them struck down dead immediately cattle hurts your attendance next Sunday people start down in the offering this is not Church growth methodology so we read let's just be honest like don't we read those stories and think that seems a bit severe seems like it's overdoing it we wrestle with that and for valid reason but here's where we've got to realize the key the key here is we think that's overly severe because we have a man centered perspective of sin so follow this we picture sin kind of gonna let that happen to us if somebody were to lie to us they wouldn't deserve death somewhere to disobey us they don't deserve to be gone just like that because we're thinking about it in terms of ourselves but it's wrong we need to realize that what matters here in sin is not how small or big we might think it is what matters is the magnitude of the one who has sinned against just saying that you sinned against a rock you're not very guilty a big deal right you sin against a man or a woman you're guilty you sin against an infinitely holy God once in a glance one authorized fire one disobedience on the stand one sin against an infinitely holy God means you are infinitely guilty you think about it if you're reading through the storm Scripture right now you remember Genesis chapter 3 what happened that ate a piece of fruit all they did was eat it took a bite of a piece of fruit and from that one sin came Bible says came condemnation for all men billions of sinners since then all from one sin and all the effects of sin world wars murder terrorism natural disasters tsunamis hurricanes earthquakes wiping hundreds of thousands of people off the planet just like that all of that has come throughout history because of one sin and we in this gathering have committed thousands upon thousands of them we have no clue the depth of the seriousness of our sin before an infinitely holy God see it oh yes what we deserve and then see what God does he commands seraphs to take coal from the altar the place of sacrifice and he brings it over to Isaiah touches his lips and says you see the words see your guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for it's covered how is that possible think about this with me how can a holy God who's perfect and right and just how can he say to a guilty sinner you're innocent how can God say that and be true because Isaiah is guilty hey if there was a judge on the bench in our country today who knowingly took guilty criminals and one by one to clear them all innocent and sent them free we would have that Judge off the bench in a heartbeat why because whether we're conservative progressive liberal whatever it is we have a sense of right and wrong we expect right to be praised we expect wrong to be condemned and we expect God to do the same if God is just then how can he look at those who are guilty and say you're innocent how can you look at the totally rebellious and say you are perfectly right that's a scandal how is it possible I'm glad you asked because this picture here and Isaiah 6 it's just one of many pictures that we see in the Old Testament so I turn over to the right a few chapters to Isaiah chapter 53 Isaiah chapter 53 one of many pictures of God providing sacrifice to atone for people's sin as you read through scripture you just think about the different pictures you will see and the days to come as you're reading to the Bible and you see the Passover and you see this lamb perfect spotless without blemish brought into a home and then days later slaughtered its blood put over a doorpost and that's how the mercy of God has shown to that house because there's a picture of the penalty of sin death has been paid my sacrifice same thing on the day of atonement when you get to live in a kiss chapter 16 and you see the high priest bring in two goats one of the people of God the first goat is sacrificed it's blood taken and sprinkled over the atonement cover a picture of how the penalty for sin death has been doled out and then he takes the other goat and he places his hands on the goat and he confesses the sins of the people over and as a picture representative of the sins of the people now being passed on to the goat and then what is what happens to that goat that goat is taken outside the camp far away as a picture of this is how God covers over sin through sacrifice and removes his people's sins from his people and it's the same word that's used in Leviticus 616 to talk about how it goat takes sins away that Isaiah uses in Isaiah chapter 53 verse 4 to give us a picture prophecy of Jesus he writes 53 verse 4 surely he has borne our griefs talking about Jesus he has carried away our sorrows yet we esteemed him stricken smitten by God and afflicted but he was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed all we like sheep have gone astray we have turned every one to his own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all Oh see it we have an encumbrance of the glorious God where as simply lost people and we have a scandalously merciful Savior who came to us Jesus came to us and he lived the life that none of us could live a life of perfect and total obedience to God and though he had no sin in which to pay for the price for in his life he died he died on the cross why for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities on the cross the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all Jesus as we saw him t-shirts when people are baptized in this church Jesus took our place he stood in our place took the holy condemnation holy righteous wrath of God do you and me in our sin he poured it out on his son in our place and then even better news three days later Jesus rose from the dead in victory over sin we're not talking resuscitation reincarnation we're talking resurrection not talking died went to heaven for a couple minutes came back with a best-selling book about it we're talking dead for three days then walking around alive we're talking you go to a funeral tomorrow you see a man's body put in a coffin that coffin put in a grave dirt poured over that coffin and then later on this week that guy comes up to you on the streets and says hello that's unusual it's the greatest news in all the world sin has been defeated death has been conquered so that anyone within the sound of my voice and anyone in all the world who will turn from their sin and put their trust in Jesus will be forgiven of all their sin and reconciled to a holy God forever and ever he says in Isaiah 43 verse 25 I will take your sins totally away I remember them no more no more and to think of it all my sin all your sin God says remember any of it it's not because he has amnesia our God is omniscient he knows everything beauty here is that God says to you and me I know your sin all every single sin you've ever committed better than you know them and I choose to count not one of them against you because of the cross of Jesus Christ there's an old story about a guy who bought a Rolls Royce in England very expensive car billed as the car that would never ever ever ever ever break down bought the car he's driving the countryside one day and it breaks down and so he calls up Rolls Royce and says hey the car you said will never break down then I paid a lot of money for it broke down so they immediately put a mechanic on the helicopter flying out there and with tools and they fix the car and the guy drives on this way a few weeks later he's waiting to get a bill from rolls-royce it's not often that you get a mechanic fly to you on a helicopter and so he's expecting a bill just wants to get this done he's got means he can pay for it just move on but he never gets a bill so he ends up calling up rolls-royce he says hey listen I just wanted to take care of this this is what happened so I just want to pay my bill can you just send it to me and on the other end of the line the person tells first one for rolls-royce says sir we're sorry but we have absolutely no record of anything ever having gone wrong with your car that you that you nights that we would stand before the infinitely holy God of the universe and he would look at you and say I have absolutely no record of anything ever having gone wrong in your life stinking step further he actually says I have record of everything having gone right in your life I see you in the very righteousness of my son that's a scandal and it is scandalously merciful think we have been saved from eternal condemnation lasting life with God so now Isaiah in his depravity now overwhelmed with the mercy let me tell you what he doesn't do when hears the voice of heaven boom and God say whom shall I send and who will go for us let me tell you what I say it doesn't say it doesn't say well what are you thinking well where might you want me to go what are my options I'll go some places not others no the automatic response to this kind of love is total surrender Here I am and no questions asked no hesitation Here I am send me apparently the love of God does not elicit mere intellectual adherence or casual acceptance apparently the love of God elicits total abandonment apparently when we realize the beauty of the gospel we realized the urgency of our mission and we say I abandoned my plans and my dreams and my possessions and the pleasures and the treasures of this world my future is yours Here I am send me so I ask who hearing this word right now right where you're sitting and view of God's great love for you which st. him whatever you want me to do in this triangle to make your love known I will do it wherever you want me to go in the world wherever you want me to go in the world I will go in this triangle don't know how much God loves and there's people in other nations around the world who've never heard they've never heard the good news of how much God loves them we call them unreached I know you talked about the unreached around you remember remember that when we talk about unreached we're not just talking about people who are lost okay people are just as lost in raleigh-durham as they are in North Korea so lost this is the same wherever you are in the world when we talk about reached or unreached unreached means not just are you lost but you don't have access to the good news of how you can be found I bet that's the difference between raleigh-durham and North Korea so there's a there's a few churches in Raleigh Durham and there's Christians in Raleigh Durham and we're talking about places people in the world who don't have any churches around them don't have any Christians around they don't have access to the gospel sometimes people say to me well I don't know why we talk about unreached people around the world when there's unreached people in my office so there's unreached people in my neighborhood well the reality is those people in your office or your neighborhood aren't unreached you say well how do you know because they're in your office they're in your neighborhood they have access to the gospel how do you know you're it God loves them so much he's made it possible for them to hear this good news of how much he loves him and your it God's put you in that office for a reason he's put you in that favorite for a reason see this God is sovereign he's got this whole thing rigged it's no accident that you're working they're not just biding time you're not just getting a paycheck he's got you there for a reason you're not just living on this campus you're not just living in that dorm and not just in this apartment or home for a time like he's got you there for a reason he wants the people around just to know how much he loves them you know it so god whatever you want to do right here and then wherever you want me to go lift your eyes and see people who don't have access they've not heard they've never heard how much God loves them nobody's ever told him they stand right now as sinners before holy God and guilty and their sin and no one's told him how how much he loves them okay I know these things I'm guessing you know these things but the Lord didn't work in my art on a recent journey through Nepal that just brought this home in a whole new way we were here taking a couple guys we flew into Kathmandu then we a helicopter it up into the Himalayas and we landed the height of the Himalayas and just kind of walked out for a high to the Himalayas where you can sustain the life and walked out for about six days and it was about five days before we even met anybody who had heard of Jesus you're talking about people you go up to and you say you know about Jesus they say who's that no clue never heard and so of course we would share with them there was this one moment no I prepared me for what was about to happen when we came to this one Hindu holy site called Pashupati and we were around the corner and all the sudden I was just stopped in stunned silence just a picture this was me I'm looking at it's a Hindu holy river and above the river they have built funeral pyres and we around the corner I'm stopping stun sounds because I see this river and I see in front of me bodies burning on funeral pyres up and down the river people just wailing around them and the guys he starts to tell me what's going on he says the custom is within 24 hours of a friend or family were dying they bring the body to this river they placed it on a funeral pyre set it ablaze and as the ashes go down into the river they believe this is helpful in the process of reincarnation I am looking at a physical picture of a spiritual like these people who 24 hours before or live now they're dead I'm looking at their bodies burning but these people are in Hell Bible teaches their Enel and that they're gonna be there forever forever and ever and ever and ever without end they're gonna be there forever and as if that wasn't heavy enough then it hits me then most if not all these people that I'm looking at their bodies burning 24 hours before we're alive now they're dead sir and now they're gonna be there forever and most if not all of them died and nobody even told him how they can go to heaven nobody told him what is it gonna take for the concept of unreached people to become totally intolerable to us in the church it's surely knowing this great love that we know we would not sit back and put conditions on how we might make it known in the world surely we wouldn't relegate this task to a few people in the church this is all our task to put it on the table blank check on the table with our lives no strings attached God whatever you want me to do right here wherever you want me to go around the world use my life use my possessions use my profession my dreams use my family whatever you wanted to to make your love known I'm yours would you say that to God and if there's any fear in you at all if there's any fear in you at all with putting that gun and playing check on the table because he might lead you to this part of the world without farther one it might lead you to do this was added but there's any fear in you I just want to remind you who you're giving the blank cheque to he loves you so much he knows so much better than you what is best for your life and your family and your future if you can trust him to save you from eternal damnation forever certainly certainly you can trust him to lead you on this earth and not just to lead you but to satisfy you every step of the way see it's love let it drive you to do crazy things don't you bow your heads with me if the quietness this moment sort of prayed for this moment that your heart might be in a fresh way overwhelmed by God's love see I just invite you just bow your heads and pray wherever you are and just see what Isaiah saw seek God and its greatness see yourself and your sinfulness and see Jesus and His mercy it's Pierce for your transgressions crushed for your iniquities your iniquity laid on him and you're forgiven so what you say to him right now Here I am blank check on the table you fill it in no strings attached my future my family my possessions are all on the table my dreams my ambitions they're all on the tables whatever you want me to do ever you're gonna make your love oh god I pray for that kind of surrender across every member of the summit Church I prayed for that for people who today have come to the gathering and maybe he's never even trusted in you to forgive them ever since god I pray that some might do that today for all who do and for all who have God that you would you would buy your love compel us to surrender our lives god I pray that the ripple effects of that would be felt across this triangle people's lives this week who hear about your love because of what you have done in lives through your word right now and God I pray like be so bold and God I pray that one day somebody on the other side of the world who's never heard the gospel would hear the gospel for the first time from lips in this room whose lives were surrendered to you on this day in a fresh way God maybe so for the spread of your love and the enjoyment of your glory here and to the nation's in Jesus name we pray [Music]

Channel: James Kuo

Views: 48,101

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Keywords: David Platt, The Summit Church, Isaiah 6, Durham, NC, RTP, God's Love, Sermon, Talk

Id: DLQhBHB50Ww

Length: 41min 29sec (2489 seconds)

Published: Sat Jan 05 2019