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Mills River SDA Church

Cory Reeves

The God of Love

We looked at the first week after the storm.

And then we looked at hope in the seed grower.

And this week, we're looking at the God of love.

I'm unapologetic about keep preaching on the love of Jesus.

Even in the storm, Thank you, Becky, for sharing.

Maybe next time I'll make you go last, though, so you can look at them when they look at their watches.

I have lots of favorite texts, but this is probably my most favorite.

1 John 4, 8, He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.

You know, That's 1 of those texts, the first time it really clicked with me, I was in college on a dock in Cahoota Springs, Georgia, doing a little Bible study with a group of friends, and this text was read, and it just struck me.

And that's probably why it's my favorite is because it's such a beautiful text, A.

But B, it really connected with me that night and it's a memory I'll always have of God and His love.

So in my nerdy fashion, as soon as I came up with my topic, I googled the God of love.

And it didn't give me the results I wanted it gave me arrows the Greek God also you might know him as Cupid and it should make us a little at first I kind of laughed it should make you a little bit angry though friends we serve the true God of love and I think you had to scroll all the way to the bottom of the first Google page and there was a little link to a sermon on the God of love before you got to something about our God it was all about arrows Why does this abomination even show up on a search?

Romans 5.8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us.

In that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

You see, we serve a God that even in our rebellion, even while we were still sinning, even while we were still pushing Him away, He died for us.

And if you'll forgive me, I'm going to switch out my batteries, because I'm about ready to die.

So while we were still sinners, Christ died for you.

And we've talked here before about if you could imagine a mound of sin.

Not of everyone's sin in this room, but just your sin.

And Christ was willing to take that all on.

Yeah, I know some of you might recognize them.

This is actually 1 of my favorite sad missionary stories.

Yeah, a lot of you are gonna know this story.

God, I pray thee, light these idle sticks of my life, and may I burn for thee.

I seek not a long life, but a full 1, like you, Lord Jesus." That's a prayer, isn't it?

Jim wanted his life to be used for Christ, no matter the cost.

Jim did not plan on being married and he had another friend and all of his friends though around him at school before I get to his other friend all of his friends around school said you know what Jim you're way too gifted of a speaker.

You need to stay here and change the church in the U.S.

And Jim, after many prayer sessions, he felt called to South America.

And he said, why should Some hear twice when others have not heard once." So he heard of the Uncas.

I'm going to mispronounce that several times today, but that's the best I'm going to do for you.

In Ecuador, they'd never heard the news of Christ's redemption.

So, Elliot in 1952 and a friend set sail on a freighter for the jungles of South America.

Having that prayer, you can probably see why.

He planned to give everything for Christ.

But there was a young lady named Elizabeth who he met in theology school.

And she ended up in the same mission field he did.

And a little less than a year later, there's a big group of them there in the main hub, a little less than a year later, they were married there in Ecuador.

In the autumn of 1955, a missionary pilot named Nate Saint spotted the village they were looking for.

During the ensuing months, a group of these men would drop gifts out of the plane.

Food, they dropped a little model plane, they would drop cool little gifts down in hopes to build a friendship with this tribe.

This tribe had killed everyone they'd come in contact with.

In January of 1956, Elliot and his 4 companions landed on a beach of the river in eastern Ecuador.

They had several friendly contacts with this fierce tribe.

2 days later, on January 8, 1956, all 5 men were speared and hacked to death.

Life magazine featured them in a ten-page article.

Elizabeth, his wife, wrote Through the Gates of Splendor, which I first became aware of through the book, which was excellent.

Then that book later became a box office movie called End of the Spear.

And Jim's quoted as saying, our orders are the gospel to every creature.

My favorite quote of his, though, is, He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.

Jim, in giving all, was willing to give what wasn't his.

And as a result, he was able to gain what he could never lose friends amen it's amazing about this story and I know you can't read that it's just up there more for reference is that the story doesn't end here.

Remember of his prayer being ignited for Christ.

God blessed Jim with the wife he didn't even ask for.

A wife that shared his passion for sharing Jesus.

Their shared passion to spread the love of Christ makes this story miraculous.

This is the letter she wrote to her friends 2 and a half years later.

I'm gonna read an abbreviated version of it because I don't want to read the whole thing.

Many of you know, this is her letter, many of you know that the 3 Unca women returned to their tribe a month ago.

Last week the women returned bringing with them 7 others of the Unka tribe and an invitation to Rachel Saint who Rachel so you know is the sister of the pilot that died Rachel Saint and me to return with them to their tribe to live.

I am writing this, hoping that by the time you receive it, we shall be living with the very people who are responsible for killing my husband and Rachel's brother and the 3 other men." They say that the 6 of the 7 men, 1 of them had been killed actually, who did the killing, are waiting for us in this tribe.

Perhaps, listen to this, Perhaps some of you could pray for them.

All the evidence at present points to successful entrance for us.

But I often think of the Nubuquerebi tribe in Brazil.

The Thales entered the tribe, lived among them happily for 2 years, and 1 day due to apparent misunderstanding, the Indians simply wiped out their missionaries.

Then she quotes Psalm 6820, to God the Lord belongs escape from death and even if we are received in our entrance is successful in the physical sense what of their reception for Christ I am much helped by the thought of the verse, whosoever receiveth you receiveth me.

I ask that you pray for them, for us as we go, and that the name of the Lord may be exalted.

I would like to repeat what I've said to several when they ask my intention to enter the tribe.

I would never go because I thought it would be safe or for any other reason, such as carrying on my husband's work or whatever.

I believe it's simply the next step it is the thing required at the moment for the Lord God will help me therefore shall I not be confounded Therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.

In that confidence, Betty Elliot." Wow, right?

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The God of Love

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