God Loves You. Always! by Rev. Christie Bature: Sermon Notes

God Loves You — Always

I want you to be sure of God's love. I want you to be assured of God's love. I want you to know that God never stops loving you. Always — when you are good, when you are bad.

God loves you. God loves you whether you know him or not. Even the people that don't know him, God loves them. How much more you?

God loves you in spite of your pitfalls. That place where you always stumble. That place where you always fall, that place where you always fail, that place where you always shake, that place where you always doubt — God loves you in spite of that.

That place where you always quiver and are afraid — God loves you. It is important for you to move out of the pitfall, but know this first: God loves you there.

If fear is the thing that holds you back, start working on yourself to overcome fear. If worry is the thing that holds you back, start working on yourself to overcome worry. Feed yourself with the word of God. Move out of it and move into the new person God wants to bring you to.

Is It Okay to Question God's Love?

Yes. Sometimes things hit you so bad and you start wondering — is there God? I want you to remember one thing. The love of God is constant. But the attack of Satan is also constant. Satan doesn't want you to walk in the fullness of what God has called you to do. He doesn't want you to experience the love of God like you should.

What does Satan do? He puts pressure on you until you begin to doubt the love of God and you pull away from him.

The devil uses your circumstances to question God's love — but circumstances are not evidence of the absence of God's love.

Sometimes the way God's love comes to us does not look like love. It looks like hate. Imagine Joseph — he saw he would be king, and then he found himself in prison. From physical events alone, you cannot believe that God loves him. But that was the love of God leading him to the exact place God was taking him.

Don't always measure your life by what is happening right now. Always ask God: "Father, show me the bigger picture."

Isaiah 43:18-19 — God Is Doing a New Thing

Isaiah 43:18-19: God tells you to forget those things that happened a long time ago — do not think about past events. He says: look, I will do something that is new.

The word "look" means he is pointing towards something. He is channeling you towards something. Pray: Lord, help me to look in the direction you want me to look — not about what is happening in the past.

The windscreen of a car is more than 30 times bigger than the rear view mirror. God doesn't want you to focus on the rear. He wants you to focus on the front.

"I am doing a new thing — it is already beginning to happen." You may not see it, you may not feel it, but it is already beginning to happen.

God says he will make a road through the desert. In the desert, when the wind blows, whatever path you made is covered immediately. Before you blink, the road has disappeared. But God says: even in that desert, he will make a road — and the road will be visible. What is impossible is possible with him.

He says he will not only make a road through the desert — he will make streams in the wilderness. God is not taking the wilderness away. He is making water to show up in the wilderness. That is how wonderful he is.

May streams of living water flow through your wilderness. Every form of wilderness, every form of difficulty, every form of challenge — may streams come in that wilderness in the name of Jesus.

Forgetting What Is Behind

Philippians 3:13: "I count not myself to have apprehended, but this one thing I do — forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before."

Many of us are in pain because we refuse to forget the things that are behind. We are remembering what they did to us, what they didn't give us, how they cursed us out, why we shouldn't be where we are.

Philippians 4:8: Whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are of good report — if there be any virtue, if there be any praise, think on these things.

Forgetting is part of thinking. When a thought comes — they cheated me out of that contract — ask: is it of good report? No. It has failed the test of Philippians 4:8. Therefore I refuse to think about it. I will switch it. Immediately you substitute the terrible thought with a positive one — Satan goes to sleep. He knows you have attained a power that takes him out of service around your life.

I am not only forgetting what is behind — I am reaching forth for what is ahead. I refuse to dwell in the past.

As long as you are alive, there is something ahead. The Bible says to him that is joined to the living, there is hope. Don't let the devil convince you it is a hopeless situation — it is a lie.

The City of Refuge — Joshua 20 and Deuteronomy 19

Joshua 20:1-3, 5-6: The Lord spoke to Joshua saying: "Speak to the children of Israel — appoint for yourselves cities of refuge, that the slayer who kills a person unawares and unwittingly may flee there. And they shall be your refuge from the avenger of blood. And if the avenger of blood pursues him, they shall not deliver the slayer into his hand."

God made provision for somebody who made the mistake of killing a person before they even killed the person. Because God knows we will make mistakes. God knows we will stumble. God knows we will do stupid things. But ahead of that, he prepared a city of refuge.

There is a place of refuge in God. You made a mistake and the consequences are knocking at your door. God has prepared a place of refuge for you.

The name of the Lord is a strong tower — the righteous can run into it and be safe.

The person in the city of refuge was protected until the death of the high priest. You know who the high priest is? Jesus Christ — and he has already died. Your freedom is signed, sealed, and delivered. The high priest has already died and he died once and for all. He is not dying again.

Every time Satan comes at you — especially because you have made a poor decision or a bad choice — tell him: the high priest has already died. He died for me. Any debt I owed is forgiven. Every token you have has been rendered useless because the high priest has died.

Deuteronomy 19:4-7 repeats the same principle. When God repeats something in scripture, it is because he is emphasizing it so that it will sink into your heart.

God is not asking you to flee into him and become useless, become broken, become forgotten, become downtrodden. No — you run into God and you live. You come into God and you thrive. You run into his name and you flourish.

"Lest the avenger of blood pursue the slayer while his heart is hot and slay him" — the Bible is saying: run. Flee.

Run from that sexual sin — run into God. Run from the anger — run into God. Run from the tendency to steal — run into God. Run from your bad mouth — run into God. Run. When the avenger of blood comes, you would have outrun him in the name of Jesus.

You are not worthy of death. You are not worthy of shame. You are not worthy of sinking.

God did not prepare one city of refuge, not two — three. The number three: Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. They are all there for you.

Help Me See as I Should See

God wants you to walk into the ark. Not a drop of rain fell until the ark was ready. Nothing comes at you without God first making your way of escape. If rain is falling, if you are facing difficulties — know that your way of escape is already in place.

What you have a responsibility to do is look for that way of escape. Look for the ark and enter.

Say to God: "Father, show me what I should be focused on. Help me see what I should be seeing. Help me hear what I should be hearing right now."

When you see as God wants you to see, most of your anxiety will drop. When you see as God wants you to see, most of your fear will fade away. When you see as God wants you to see, most of your doubts will go. Your uncertainties will flee.

Seeing is not just physical eyes. Seeing is also God energizing your mind to have solutions for issues. See is more than physical.

May the Lord open your inner eyes to see what he wants you to see and to do what he wants you to do. May streams flow in your wilderness. Roads through your desert. The avenger of blood is not permitted to touch you — because you have run into him. In the name of Jesus.

Lord, I want to see what you want me to see. Take my eyes off what I have been looking at. Focus my eyes in the direction you are pointing. I am forgetting those things which are behind and I am reaching forward for what is ahead. I run into the name of the Lord — he is my city of refuge. In the name of Jesus. Amen.