Agape 2

The title, of course, is Agape 2. Hopefully you got Agape 1 last week, if you were here. Last Sabbath, we talked about Ephesians 3 and verse 18, which asks the question, do we comprehend the width, the length, the depth, and the height of God's love? We talked about the width in part one and just how wide God's love truly is. And it showed us that he loves the entire world, always has, always will, and that he wants no one to perish. So what did we learn about the width? Well, I think the key that he wants us to learn is that he wants us to love just like that. He wants us to have Agape so wide that it can include anyone in the world. And that we do not want to see anyone perish. So today I want to look at part two, and that is the length of God's love. When Paul asks a question, do we comprehend the width, the length, the depth, and the height of God's love? Most of us will say, maybe.

In reality, we probably don't, but we don't want to seem like we're not religious and that we love everybody. But does that show our actions? Showing our actions? I don't know. God can see it, though. We can't hide it. How long? How long of a road is God's love? Perhaps you have gone down roads and it seemed like it was never going to end. Did I see Kathy kind of look over after going out with riding a vehicle? That's it. Is that you guys? Way down. Or is that you pulled off the side of the road? That's where he turned around. I was born in Lotthead, Indiana, corn country, as you go through northern Indiana. And there aren't, I wouldn't even call them little hills. It's just flat. And when you get to July and August, there's just cornfield after cornfield after beanfield after beanfield. And it seems like the road goes on forever. Just like this. And putting that perspective, how long is God's love? Does it go on forever? We have songs. We can relate sometimes to that. I think Randy Travis' country song had one that said, I'm going to love you forever and ever and ever. Amen. I'm not Randy Travis, as you can tell. But we kind of, in our own minds, think we understand the longevity of love, agape, that we don't just quit on someone, but sometimes we do. And that's the beauty about agape. God doesn't always quit on us when we mess up. God doesn't quit on the world when it messes up. It goes on and on. In fact, there was a song many, many years ago that said, I love you until the rivers run still and the four winds we know blow away. Or perhaps it's Whitney Houston singing the Dolly Pardon song, I will always love you. She drugged that out. We'll always love you. Can we say that? Do we say that? You ever promised somebody that you would love them forever? I go back when I'm back in Tennessee. Occasionally, I have my man cave up in my house there and I've got all the books and I've got various stuff that I've kept all these years. I've even got some love letters from Mary there. Looking at me, you going there?

Back when we were dating, and she would write somebody who loved you for, you know, four and then ever, ever and ever. Well, that's turned out to be 38 years, so it's not forever yet, but I think we kind of understand. Some people love deeper than others. We'll look at that next week, but some people really love a long, long time.

There was a man who got married in 1927. His name was Jack Benny. Anybody know who Jack Benny is? Is there someone who doesn't know who Jack Benny is? There's Matthew. Clive, you even know? Okay. I actually watched this week some of the old Jack Benny shows, and it was when comedy was clean and fun, and no matter who you are, you still had to laugh. Jack Benny was in his 30s, worked hard to try to make it, and he finally, 1927, thought he had a good enough job. As he said, I have a good job. I can afford to have a wife. And so he married someone he was working with called Mary Livingstone. Mary Livingstone. She worked with him for a while, but then they had a child, and she stayed home to take care of the child because basically they were on the road all the time. It's kind of like entertainers today, except back then there were only three main places to work. Los Angeles, New York, of Chicago, and you usually had to get in a car and drive from one place to another place, to this show, to this show. Train? Yep, train sometimes, and wherever it would take Jack Benny. And so when he was gone, he started a tradition, being they lived in LA, and he traveled quite a bit, and he started a tradition with Mary. There was a flower shop about two blocks away from his house. So when he finally could afford to do it, every time he traveled, he told the flower shop, I want you to send, every day I'm gone, I want you to send one long-stem red rose to this address. And they did, every time he was gone. Mary and Jack were married for 44 years. He died in 1974. And after his funeral, the next day, his wife was visited by the flower shop, and they brought her one long-stem red rose. Long-stem red rose. And she said, I don't think you heard, but Jack passed away. Been sick for a while. They said, yes, he came by when he was sick. And he said, you'll find out in your will when the will is read. So for the next nine years, every day, till Mary died, one single red rose was delivered to her house. Over 3,300 roses, she recounted before she died. Some love lives very long. Can even go past your death. Can even go past your death. It did with Mary and it did with Jack.

But see, it does with God, too. God doesn't stop loving us because we stop loving Him. Otherwise, He would be gone out of our lives, wouldn't He? Because there's times we're not very lovable. There are times when He really would like to spend time without us. But then we usually come crawling back to God. And like Bill's talking about the root, we want to hang on because we know we're loved by God and it feels so good. It feels like we're home.

The length of God's love, the beauty of it, is agape. God's love doesn't die. It just doesn't. Anyone who's ever lost someone very close, and we've had many people in here who have lost people, when they're gone, it just doesn't disappear. It's just like you don't get up the next morning, okay, new life. No, because that's not what love is all about. Love is an attachment. It's like that root. It doesn't want to let go. When my father died, I didn't want to let go. And I haven't, and that's 12 years ago. Many of you still hold on. But as much as we want to, that's just a little part, the length of God's love. Whether it's 40 years, 50 years, we just lost an incredible brother over in Fort Myers. Bob Serat, you knew Bob, I guess. Many of you may have over the years. Incredible man. Been married over 50 years to Jan. This is going to be tough on her, because she was the one that was always sick, not Bob. But there's a love there. And 50 years is a long time, 60 years. But with God, it's like a blink of an eye. Like a blink of an eye. God has gone to great lengths to show His love to mankind. Because God, like us, God's a family man. Loves His family.

The only problem is that God's family, His creation, for the most part, for the 99%, they haven't reciprocated His love. They haven't. Just read the Bible. It tells us. It shows us. He's hung in there, wanting. Short term. What have you done for me lately? Where was God?

So how long? How long is God's love? I think it's important. Paul thought enough that he said we needed to comprehend the length of God's love. We have to try. Try is all we can do. It's all we can do. But you know, I think that's all God asks. It's for us to try. From Egypt to the Promised Land to the nation of Israel to Judah, He loved His people. The descendants of two people, He called to make a difference in the world. Abraham, Abram, and Sarai, and their children, and their children, and their children, and their children. I don't know if Abraham ever understood that by him shall all men on earth be blessed. And it was because of that son that followed all the way down. And was killed over 1900 years ago. The problem was that as God had these children, that He said, you're special to me. Not because you're any better, it's because you're weaker. And I'm going to be there to try to help you get by.

And every time God's love was rejected, time after time after time. And oh, there were little short facets of time. A good king, a righteous man, turning a nation back to God for a little while. But it never seemed to stick. Didn't stick. People did what? They forgot him. They forgot him. They forgot him. Like you'd turn with me to Hosea.

I'll be reading from the New Living Translation. Hosea tells this incredible story. As God asked Hosea to do something, most of us would go, uh-uh. Not me. But Hosea did it because God asked him to, and he was a servant. Oh, imagine a holy man like Hosea. Looking forward to finding a beautiful young wife. God said, nope, I want you to take a prostitute.

And she's going to treat you the same way that this nation of Israel has treated me. And perhaps the people will see. Did the people see? Absolutely not. The question has to be to us. Do we see? Do we see? So this was as written probably more to us than to anyone else, and those who would follow. But in chapter two, we see what she is like and how she treated him. And God uses this analogy of a life and a nation. He uses quite a few analogies, but this one he really wanted to see.

And so, as Hosea got to find out in. In chapter two, she said, but he said, but. She forgot all about me. You can really feel that. Forgot all about me. But the amazing part was that even when that happened, we start in verse 14.

It says, but then God said, I will win her back once again. Talk about a love. Wouldn't it be time to kick her to the curb? Wouldn't it be time to move on? No, it wasn't that way. His love was long and forgiving.

I will lead her into the desert. I will speak tenderly to her. I will return her vineyards to and transform the valley of trouble into a gateway of hope. She will give herself to me there. As she did long ago when she was young, when I freed her from the captivity in Egypt. Oh, how happy they were marching out of Egypt, weren't they? Freedom. Oh, they were so in love with God. Oh, look what he's done.

Verse 16, when that day comes, says the Lord, she will call me my husband. Instead of my master. He wanted a deeper relationship. Wanted something that was just completely full of love. It's all he's wanted. All this time. He's just wanted love. Is there any reason why John explains that God is love? God is agape. I mean, it's what eats him up.

It's what motivates him. It's what drives him. It's what he is and what he wants us to be. He's still looking for people to agape him. Let's go down. In 17, Oh, Israel, I will wipe the many names of Baal from your lips. How many times had they worshiped Baal? Time and time again, they would turn away from him.

And you will never mention them again. On that day, I will make a covenant with all the wild animals and the birds of the sky and the animals that scurry along the ground so that they will not harm you. I will remove all weapons of war from the land, all swords and bows, so you can live unafraid in peace and safety.

I will make you my wife forever, showing you righteousness and justice, unfailing love and compassion. I will be faithful to you and make you mine, and you will finally know me as the Lord. What a powerful, powerful thing he is asking us to be. She couldn't do it. She couldn't do it. As a matter of fact, turn over to chapter 11 of the Isaiah. I mean of Hosea. Chapter 11, verse 1, even changes the analogy now.

The marriage didn't work. She didn't want him. So then God goes into picturing a father and a child, and how much love parents have for their children. It says, verse 1 of chapter 11, When Israel was a child, I loved him, and I called my son out of Egypt, gave him freedom, because he asked for it. Why? Because he loved. Remember what it says in Exodus? The children of Israel cried out to God, and he heard their cries. Remind you of a father or even a mother who hears cries in the middle of the night. Do they just roll over and go, No, they don't. No, the mind got up and took care of me.

God. That's all he wanted was children. But the more I called to him, the further he moved from me. Remember teenage years? Many of you, I knew who I was. Loved my father and mother, but tired of it. I didn't want to be around them. I wanted to do my own thing. I had to move out of the house.

Give my own life. Learn to make mistakes my own way. The penalty was a lot harsher than it would have been. But I had to learn. I don't think it's something Israel ever learned, did they?

The further he moved from me, offering sacrifices to the image of Baal, and burning incense to idols. I myself taught Israel how to walk, leading him by the hand. But he doesn't even know or even care that it was I who took care of him. I led Israel along with my ropes of kindness and love. I lifted the yoke from his neck, and I myself stooped. Defeating. Stooped. Been over. Whatever it took. That's what I was going to do for you. Now, what's interesting, you read the book of Hosea, and you come to two or three places. It always sticks out. Read it in 13.2. You read in various places. And it's the powerful word, God, that God says, they forgot me. They forgot me. That's tough. That's tough. Has anybody ever forgot you?

I had a girl one time, a senior in high school. Knew each other for three or four years, but finally wanted to date with her. Her name was Susan Berry. Finally got a date with her. Saturday night. Picked me up. Worked for that date for a month or two. Went home. Boy, I watched my car Friday night. Man, I took care of everything. Just, matter of fact, even had to get a new shirt. Couldn't afford. I bought it. It's like, okay, this is going to be great. Still remember where our house is today as I pulled down the street and walked up the sidewalk. Knocking. Knocked on the door. Her brother came to the door a few years younger. I said, Ricky, I'm here to pick up your sister. He said, really? I said, yeah, we have a date. He said she must have forgot. Said she left with her friends about an hour ago. That was one of the longest walk of a sidewalk back to my car. Couldn't go anywhere else because I told everybody all week I had a date with Susan Barry.

She forgot me. Nothing like this, though. But I remember I never asked her out on another date. As a matter of fact, Monday at class, she goes, oh, Chuck, I forgot all about that. Why? She wasn't interested in me. She had no feelings for me. This God is giving us an example of not only of a marriage, but of a child growing up. And all he wanted, all he's ever wanted, all his life is love. Because that's all he's ever shown. For God so the world, that should define Scripture. So how long was that with Israel? It's almost 300 years. The 721 BC, when they were actually overthrown by the nation of Assyria. So from the time of David, a thousand, almost 300 years. Rejection time and time again. If you look at the history of Israel, there were no righteous kings. There was nothing. No one was righteous. They did what they wanted to do. God had to send people from Judah, had to send the prophets, the minor prophets, the major prophets, even to try to wake them up. They wouldn't do it. Minor prophet after minor prophet. And they said, we don't need you. We don't need you, God. Is it kind of how religion is today? Is it how the world is today? They don't really need. Don't really need us. Then we look at Judah. How long was that? I mean, think about it. From a time that David, which was about a thousand BC, time after time, to 581, when the nation of Judah was overthrown. Taken to Babylon because they didn't love God. Very, very sad. Think about it. From the time of David to Christ. Because they didn't really want God even after they returned. After 70 years in captivity, you read this story. Read Nehemiah. Read Ezra. Read Malachi. And see where that takes us. God's rejected time and time again. And when Christ showed up, did they welcome him? No, certain times. Oh, when it was convenient. But when it came to following him. How many showed up at Pentecost that first day? 120. And then later, because of inspired preaching of Peter. And the movie of the Holy Spirit, the church began to grow. But I'd like to look at just a couple of verses before we go. I'd like you to go with me to Jeremiah. Jeremiah was at the forefront of it. Let's read a couple of verses. Jeremiah 2. Jeremiah 2. This was Judah, not Israel. 2 and verse 31. Oh, my people, listen to the words of the Lord. Have I been like a desert to Israel? Have I been to them a land of darkness? Why then do my people say, At least we're free from God. At least we're free from God. We don't need Him anymore. Until He heard it, because it was cold. Cold. What He wanted to give them, what He'd done for them. Chapter 3. Chapter 3. Verse 21. Voices are heard high on the windswept mountains, the weeping and the pleading of Israel's people, for they have chosen crooked paths and have forgotten the Lord their God. My wayward children, says the Lord, come back to me. Still, He doesn't give up. I will heal your wayward hearts. Yes, we're coming! The people reply, for you are the Lord our God. And you read on and on to more rejection. They laid Him on a little bit, then they reject Him.

He had to put Him in captivity for seventy years. Had to have some bit of remnant coming out of there instead of wiping out, because that's where His Son, the Christ, had to come from that nation. There had to be a nation of Jews that kept God's law. So there could be a father and a mother who could teach that law to their Son that God had given them. Let's go with me. Last set of verses. I think it's so important because it shows the length of God's love. Better than anything. How long has it been? When David started his kingdom, he took his reign about a thousand B.C. What is it now? Over three thousand years ago. God still loves Israel. God still loves Judah. And He wants them back. And no one says they're better than Ezekiel. Go with me to Ezekiel 37. We'll start in verse 18. It says, When your people ask you what your action means, say to them, This is what the sovereign Lord says. I will take Ephraim and the northern tribes and join them with Judah. I will make them one piece of wood in my hand. Then hold out the pieces of wood you have inscribed so the people can see them. And give them this message from the sovereign Lord. I will gather the people of Israel from among the nations. I will bring them home to their lands from the places where they've been scattered. Happen yet? I will unify them into one nation on the mountain of Israel. One king will rule over them. Happen yet? No longer will they be divided into two nations or into two kingdoms. They will never again pollute themselves with their idols and vile images and rebellion. For I will save them from their sinful backsliding. I will cleanse them. Then they will truly be my people and I will be their guide. Happen yet? He says here, my servant David. My servant David will be their king. Happen yet? And they will have only one shepherd. They will obey my regulations and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land that I gave my servant Jacob. The land where their ancestors lived. They and their children and their grandchildren. After them will live there forever. How long is that love? How long is that love? Longer than 3,000 years. At least four. Because they're going to live into the kingdom. He's talking about the kingdom here. And he still cannot get Israel and Judah out of his mind. Because he loves that deeply. And he's loved that long. They and their grandchildren will live there forever. Generation after generation. And my servant David will be their prince forever. And I will make a covenant of peace with them. How long? An everlasting covenant. I will give them their land and increase their numbers. And I will put my temple among them. How long? Forever. I will make my home among them. I will be their God and they will be my people. And when my temple is among them forever, the nations will know that I am the Lord who makes Israel holy. The whole world is going to know how long that love was. The whole nation, the whole world is going to see that love and be blessed by it. He's going to bring them back into their lands where they originally. Why does he save 12,000 from each of the tribes? To put them back in their land. So that they can, for generation after generation after generation, they will be there. He will raise up holy people. This has been his dream all along.

So how long? Forever. That's agape. That's agape. That's how long. Can we agape forever? God can. He proves it right here in his scripture. That he can love you forever and ever and ever and ever. Amen. Because that's how long God's love is. So can you comprehend the length of God's love?

You know what God says? Try. Try.