Today we continue our series entitled, “God Loves You”, under the overall theme for the year of, “Supernatural Manifestation.” On Friday I shared a message entitled, “God Loves Me” and this morning I will continue to flow in that vein. I told you that the Apostle John, the same person who wrote about the love of God in John 3:16, referred to Himself as THE ONE GOD LOVES throughout his writings. These are the scriptures I shared with you on Friday concerning this:
“One of them, the disciple whom Jesus loved, was reclining next to him.” (John 13:23).
“When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, “Woman, here is your son?” (John 19:26).
“So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved,and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” (John 20:2).
“Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard him say, “It is the Lord,” he wrapped his outer garment around him (for he had taken it off) and jumped into the water.” (John 21:7).
“Peter turned and saw that the disciple whom Jesus loved was following them. (This was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper and had said, “Lord, who is going to betray you?”) (John 21:20).
John called himself “the disciple whom Jesus loved” in his early writings and if you read his letters (1st, 2nd and 3rd John), which were written when he was about 90 years old, you will see some of the richest teaching on God’s love in the Bible. It was Grandpa John, towards the end of his life, after the all the other disciples were dead and gone, who told us that God IS Love! It was Grandpa John, who spent decades seeing Himself as “the one God loves”, who used the word “beloved” over and over again in his writings. The word “beloved” literally means: being loved. John did not just want us to know that God is love, but he wanted us to see ourselves as people who are actively BEING LOVED by God on a daily basis. It was Grandpa John who explained to us that we could not even love God, if He had not FIRST LOVED US! John put the emphasis on God’s love and He is an example of what happens when you fully embrace the love of God, to the point where you see yourself as THE ONE GOD LOVES!
So what does this mean to you today? A few things.
- Knowing God IS love is one thing, but fully embracing His love towards you is something quite different.
- Many people have no problem seeing God as a good God. What they have a problem with is believing God is good towards them. They focus more on their mistakes than God’s goodness. The message of the Gospel is that God loves you and wants to use you, despite the mistakes of your past and even the flaws of your present.
- The Apostle John never claimed to be perfect. He even warned us against people who claim perfection. What made John different was that he unashamedly believed and received the love of God towards him. Our lives will be changed, like John’s was, the day we fully embrace of the love of God.
- You will never believe God for the supernatural until you know God loves you unconditionally.
- You will never see yourself being used of God to perform great exploits in this world until you know God loves you and He wants to use you, because He is so good, not because you are.
- You will never fully open your heart to become the man/woman God called you to be until you know God loves you.
- Amazing things happen when you can look in the mirror and see yourself as the ONE GOD LOVES!
Closing Confession: Father, this is a year of Great Victory for me. Not because I am so good, but because I am the one You love. I am Your favorite. I am Your beloved. I am being loved by You daily. I am the target of Your love. I am the apple of Your eye. I am Your pride and joy. I am Your son/daughter, the one You love, the one You chose to bless from the foundations of the world. So I enter this day as the one You love and Your love changes me forever! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
This is Today’s Word! Apply it and Prosper.
