Unspeakable Gift (December 10, 2023)

Sermon Outline for Sunday, December 10, 2023

Pastor Andy Lambert

PASSAGES: 2 Corinthians 9:15; John 3:16; John 4:10; Romans 6:23; Romans 8:32; Ephesians 2:8–9; 1 John 4:9; Ephesians 3:18–19; Titus 2:11

2 Corinthians 9:15 ~ “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” 

There are reasons we have in our lives to give God praise and one of the reasons is for His unspeakable gift He has given unto us – His Only Begotten Son. The greatest gift ever given was and will always be God’s gift to the word – the gift of His own Son. No greater gift could ever be given. God has given the supreme gift. 

John 3:16 ~ “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” 

John 4:10 ~ “Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 

Romans 6:23 ~ “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” 

Romans 8:32 ~ “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” 

Ephesians 2:8–9 ~ “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

UNSPEAKABLE LOVE OF GOD IN PLANNING THIS GIFT

1 John 4:9 ~ “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him.”

• We need to note God’s Love – in fact this is the very way that we know that God is love. If someone asks, “How do we know that God is love? The world is full of so much evil and bad, how can we be sure God loves us? Note the Scripture: “God was made manifest among us, that God sent His only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him.” The world is full of evil and bad; men commit all kinds of evil and in addition to this evil they …
  • curse God
  • ignore God
  • neglect God
  • disobey God
  • disbelieve God
  • reject God
  • rebel against God
  • deny God
  • oppose God

• But this is the glorious love of God. God still loves man and still wants to help and to take care of man. Man has the most serious problem imaginable: not only is he engulfed with all the evil of the world, but he dies and ceases to be on this earth. He lives at most for just a few short years and then he is gone forever from the earth. But as stated, God is love and He has proven His love. He has sent His only Son into the world so that man might live through Him.

• Note how we know the love of God: by salvation. We know that God loves us because God saves man. How can we live through Christ? How does God give us life through Christ? By sending Christ to be the propitiation for our sins.

• The conclusion is compelling: If God loved us when we opposed and did things against Him, when we disobeyed and ignored Him, then there is no person we should not love. If God went through great lengths to give His very own Son to die for us, then we should go to the same length to love one another. We are to love those who …
  • oppose us
  • do things against us
  • ignore us
  • distrust us
  • curse us
  • reject us
  • persecute us
  • kill us

• No matter who the person is, God loves that person and has shown in the most supreme way possible that He loves that person. Therefore, we are to love that person and demonstrate our love for that person as well. We are to sacrifice ourselves and try to bring life to the world of evil around us. This we do by loving that person, by showing that person there is a better way, the way of love.

Ephesians 3:18–19 ~ “may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.”

• It is utterly impossible to grasp and experience the love of Christ anywhere close to its measure, but we should pray for God to help us learn more and more of His love.

UNSPEAKABLE GRACE OF GOD THAT BROUGHT THIS GIFT

Titus 2:11 ~ “For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,” 

• What does the grace of God mean? Among mankind, grace means the favor and blessing that one person bestows upon another person. But God’s grace means something far more. God’s grace is the grace that brings salvation to man. God’s grace is Jesus Christ, the gift of the Savior to the world. God’s grace, the Lord Jesus Christ, saves the person …
  • who is in rebellion against God
  • who curses God
  • who stands against God
  • who opposes God
  • who sins against God
  • who lives contrary to God
  • who lives an ungodly life
  • who is lonely
  • who is empty
  • who is without strength
  • who has any lack or need
  • who is without purpose and meaning

• God’s grace, the Lord Jesus Christ, reaches down to those who have rejected God: who are doing their own things and living like they want. God’s grace reaches down to those who ignore and neglect God and pay little attention to what God says.

• The point is this: God’s grace, the gift of His Son to this world, is not deserved. God’s grace is not merited. No person deserves the favor of salvation that is in Christ. 

• There are three reasons why we do not deserve God grace.
  • We come short of God’s glory in that we sin.
  • We come short of God’s glory in that we die.
  • We come short of God’s glory in that we have violated the laws of heaven and are doomed to the prison and judgment of hell.

• But in all this, there is glorious news. God’s grace, the Lord Jesus Christ, has brought salvation to all mankind! God’s grace, the gift of His own dear Son, saves us from sin, death and hell. We do not deserve it, but God loves us beyond imagination. He has given His very own Son for us – to save us!

Pastor Andy Lambert ~ pastorandy@cvcog.church

Call/Text: 205.642.8744 ext 101