오직 예수안에서

His Love Endures Forever

INTRO

Appreciation is a measure of a person’s maturity. Newborn babies don’t appreciate the mother’s care. However, as they grow up, they know how to give thanks to their parents. If you haven’t appreciated your mom for the breakfast this morning, you’d better do it next time.

It is the same for our spiritual maturity. No matter how much you know the Bible, if you don’t appreciate God for His love and care, you are not mature.

Today, we want to restore our thanksgiving to God through Psalm 136.

This psalm is unique in that every verse repeats the same sentence. Guess what?

His Love Endures Forever (1-3)

(repeat reading the sermon title)

Let’s read together v1 – 4

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever.

² Give thanks to the God of gods. His love endures forever.

³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords: His love endures forever.

⁴ to him who alone does great wonders, His love endures forever.

He made us wake up this morning, (His love endures forever)

He brought us here on Sunday morning, (His love endures forever)

He made us believe in Jesus, (His love endures forever)

“His Love Endures Forever” (In Hebrew כִּ֖י לְעוֹלָ֣ם חַסְדּֽוֹ  ) repeats every verse.

There is no proper word for חֶסֶד (HESED). Lovingkindness or unfailing love or grace.

NIV translates it ‘enduring love.’ What is it?

It is reliable love no matter what happens.

It is a father’s love for his son who has abandoned his life in drugs and prison.

It is parents’ love who lovingly care for their autistic child year after year.

It is a husband’s love no matter how many times his wife has cheated on him.

Such love requires endurance.

Do you agree that God’s love is enduring?  

V4. You can experience His love from His wondrous works, as the Creator and as the Savior.

His enduring love for His creation (v5-9, 23-24)

⁵ (give thanks to the God of gods) who by his understanding made the heavens, His love endures forever.

⁶ who spread out the earth upon the waters, His love endures forever.

Ancient people thought the earth was floating over the water. Of course, we know better than they knew. But, the point is that the Creator made all things in wonders and mysteries.

He created the sun and the moon.   

⁷ who made the great lights-- His love endures forever.

⁸ the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever.

⁹ the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.

…. (praise for His salvation)

²⁵ He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.

²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.

Ancient people observed that the sun made all things alive and the moon controls oceans and weather. That’s why they worshipped the god of the sun and the god of the moon. It was very natural because the Creator was invisible to them.

These days, they don’t worship nature or God. But they are obsessed with the religion of reason. They believe nothing but their perception and their reasons. They don’t believe in God because God is not visible and His work is not reproducible in their laboratory or predictable in their minds. Let me explain how stupid such a thought is.

Have you heard about the Community Fridge? They provide a refrigerator full of food and groceries. Anyone can get food for free. Whenever we see this, it makes us happy.  

No one denies that someone has prepared for this. And they would appreciate the provider when they take food from this fridge.

Now, think about the Creator’s Pantry. Just as there is someone who provides the Community Fridge, there is someone who planted all trees and makes them grow to bear fruit. After the fall of Adam, we need to labor to get food. However, we still need God to provide sunlight, air, and water to make them grow. Some people don’t appreciate God saying, ‘my labor brought this.’ Or others abuse nature to satisfy selfish greed. Thus, the Creator’s Pantry is being destroyed. It is the environmental crisis.

Despite all these evil deeds, God keeps providing sunlight and rain for evil people.

Thus, the Bible says, “His love endures forever”

The second and foremost reason is that He is our Savior.

His enduring love in His salvation: faithfulness and mercy (v10-22)

¹⁰ to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt His love endures forever.

¹¹ and brought Israel out from among them His love endures forever.

¹² with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; His love endures forever.

¹³ to him who divided the Red Sea asunder His love endures forever.

¹⁴ and brought Israel through the midst of it, His love endures forever.

¹⁵ but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; His love endures forever.

V10-12 is the Exodus story, and v13-15 is the Red Sea crossing.

As you read these verses, you might doubt God’s enduring love. Killing and drowning of so many lives, is this the result of His enduring love?

We notice that His enduring love for salvation focused on His chosen people. It was to rescue His people Israel from slavery. Pharoah didn’t let them leave. That’s why the Lord destroyed them.  

V17-22 tells the story of how they acquired the land on the east side of Jordan. Here also, we find victory and destruction.

¹⁷ to him who struck down great kings, His love endures forever.

¹⁸ and killed mighty kings-- His love endures forever.

V17&18 repeatedly says that the Lord killed two kings. And It was to give their lands to His servant, Israel, as an inheritance.

There are two difficult parts to agree that “His love endures forever.” Was it mandatory, the destruction of other nations? Does God show favoritism?

First, we have to know that We have no ability or right to judge God’s way of salvation. A sinner cannot judge right or wrong because he lives in darkness. And we are the clay, God is the potter. We don’t have any right to refute God’s plan.

We only focus on what the text reveals to us. Why is it enduring love?

Not favoritism, but His faithfulness to the promise to their ancestors.

God exercised his favor on Israel, His people, and His servants. God had chosen them as His possession and saved them from their enemies. Do you think God shows favoritism? OK, then, why don’t you become beneficiaries of the favoritism which is available in Jesus Christ?

Another reason we call His love enduring is His mercy for the oppressed.

²³ He remembered us in our low estate His love endures forever.

²⁴ and freed us from our enemies. His love endures forever.

When they failed on the Lord, they were sold captivity to Babylon and the Lord’s temple was destroyed. It seemed that they were broken up with the Lord. However, the Lord did not forget the promise to their ancestors and brought them back to the promised land. It was God’s great mercy for the oppressed.

What kind of endurance was there? The Lord endured the mockery of other nations saying, ‘the God is Israel is weak,’ and the blame from His own people saying, ‘Our God has abandoned us. let’s seek other gods.’

And many years later, He Himself alone bore the burden of their sins on the cross.

“⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)

His faithfulness and mercy came to us as His enduring love

CLOSING

How to know His enduring love?

Look at nature, God’s pantry.

Just as there is someone who keeps filling up the community fridge, there is someone who keeps sending rain and sunlight to provide food for all of nature.  

Even though people don’t appreciate God, He lovingly cares for His creation.

Look at the cross, God’s way of salvation: His faithfulness and mercy

God chose to save us through His enduring love, not through threatening prompt punishment.

His love made Him endure the cross for our sins, even when we didn’t appreciate nor realize it.

How to experience His enduring love?

Humbly accept Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord.

Then, your eyes will be opened and realized every incident in your life will be seen as God’s wonderous care, HESED.

His love endures forever, from the creation to eternity. Praise the Lord!