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I want to talk about living loved. Living as one loved by God.

Do you believe, really believe that you are deeply loved by the Father? Are you living as one who is deeply loved by Jesus?

I’m not sure what season you are in these days. You may be in a place where your faith and relationship with Jesus are thriving and you feel near to God. You may feel distant from the Lord, perhaps dry and weary. Or, you may be in a dark night of the soul. A place where you are experiencing confusion, fear, uncertainty and doubts about God. Maybe you are questioning your faith. Maybe you are caught in a pattern of sin and think you have outrun the love, grace, and favor of God.

When I became a follower of Jesus 24 years ago, nobody ever told me there would be seasons in my faith. Seasons of highs and seasons where I felt deep lows. Long stretches of intimacy with Jesus and days, weeks and months where I felt distant, distracted, and despondent. I have experienced the highs and lows in my faith, and everywhere in between. So no matter what season you are in today, you are not alone. Sometimes just knowing that you are not alone when you struggle in your faith is the reassurance you need to press on and not give up – to keep leaning into and receiving God’s unconditional affection and favor.

I want to share a few things I have been learning and relearning in this season of my faith. We are going to be taking a look at Ephesians 3:14-21.

As we mature as followers of Jesus, God calls us to be transformed by the renewing of our minds. This is a daily pursuit. Transformation of our minds happens when we think God’s thoughts after him. And we have his thoughts written in his Word. If you have not made it a daily practice to be in his Word, consider this as a loving nudge and reminder. We take in so much information around us on a daily basis. It is vital that we intentionally fill our minds with what is true, pure, and praiseworthy.

Before we dig into Ephesians, let me pray.

Father God, show us your heart today, ground us in your presence. Open our eyes and help us to see you, open our hearts and help us to know you. Open our ears to hear your truth and our mouths that we would rejoice and praise you. We desire a fresh word, a fresh encounter with you Jesus. Holy Spirit counsel and guide our hearts, minds, and souls. Help us to be present to your presence, to soak in your affection for us. We love you, Jesus and it is in your name that we pray. Amen.

There is a quote that I have repeated several times since I heard it. It’s a quote by the well-known pastor and author, AW Tozer. He says, “What comes to mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”

What we believe about God and how he feels about us informs the way we live. What we believe informs our work, our relationships, our lives.

Let’s look at Ephesians 3:14-19 This is the Apostle Paul’s prayers for the Church at Ephesus… to the believers and followers of Jesus.

Paul prays these words…and I pray these words over you.

…I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,… and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

The first thing to notice about Paul’s prayer is that he is kneeling before the Father. This position of prayer is one of reverence and humility. And Paul prays that we are rooted – firmly fixed, grounded – in the love of Jesus. Picture a tree and its root system that goes deep into the earth. The roots make the tree immovable, no matter what season comes it’s way, it is firmly planted.

Paul prays that we are grounded – established – entrenched in the love of God.

This is what Paul’s prayer says in The Passion Translation:

That we would know (his) endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God!

When you, when I, know how deeply the Father loves us, we will be humble, loving, courageous ambassadors for Jesus in the workplace, at home, in our schools, communities, cities, and world. We will live differently. Not as one who is rejected but one who is accepted, chosen, desired, and deeply favored.

When I was in elementary school, I remember playing the game of Red Rover. Do you remember that game? Kids would be divided into two groups, forming two lines holding hands and facing each other standing about 50 feet apart. The team chosen to go first calls for a runner from the other line, saying, “Red Rover, Red Rover, let Thomas come over!” For me it was often daunting because I was so afraid of not being picked, of my name not being called, afraid of all of the other names being shouted out and mine being last. Afraid of feeling rejected.

Sometimes I still live with a false narrative of being rejected. I have to catch the lie and preach the gospel to myself. Jesus does not want us to live as unloved, unwanted, or rejected, he wants us to live as one accepted and approved.

I was traveling with some girlfriends recently and Nicole, referring to our friend Corrine said, “She just knows how deeply she is loved by God! She is convinced of Jesus’ love for her.”

Are you convinced of Jesus’s love for you? It reminds me of the gospel of John where John, the author, refers to himself as, “the one whom Jesus loves” (John 13:23; 19:26; 20:2; 21:7,20). Part of me laughs out loud at the audacity of John identifying himself that way. The confidence! Who do you think YOU are John? But then I take a step back and say… wow, John, you really knew who you were. And knowing your identity in Christ, being so utterly confident that you are the one Jesus loves…wow! If we could all live with such knowing and confidence.

John was not being exclusive when he said that he was the one Jesus loves. He did not say it in a way to exclude others; as if he were the only one Jesus loved. No, he was giving us an example of what it means to be confident in God’s love, just like my friend Corrine who is convinced that God loves her. Oh, that we would follow John’s lead.

Are you convinced that God loves you?

How would you view yourself? How would you live differently if you identified as the one Jesus loves?

Remember this: “Jesus Christ knows the worst about you. Nonetheless, he is the one who loves you most.”

Your weakness does not override God’s affection for you. The Lord desires for you to be established in the confidence that he delights in and enjoys you.

And here is a reminder of the good news of the gospel: you don’t earn God’s favor, you receive his favor through grace by faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. You don’t work for God’s favor, you live from God’s favor.This is an invitation to stop living rejected and live as one invited into a living and transforming relationship of love and acceptance by the one who created you and knows everything about you: Jesus.

We can start believing lies about God and our position with him when things don’t go the way we had hoped, dreamed, or planned. When it seems like God is withholding, ignoring or even worse, punishing us we start to lose faith ground. When we measure God’s goodness or our lovability by the amount of blessings we experience we let lies seep in through the cracks of our unbelief and the cracks turn into chasms.

The truth is, he never leaves nor forsakes you. God is not mad at you. God does not withhold from you. He is not annoyed by you or disappointed in you. God is not punishing you. He disciplines and corrects those he loves but correction is not the same as punishment. While God may disapprove of your behavior at times he never disapproves of you! God’s love is not fickle like human love, it is steadfast, immovable, irrevocable, firmly fixed.

Because we are redeemed and identified with Christ, God’s word says that he sees you as holy, blameless, pure and righteous. We don’t have a sin problem; we have a belief problem.

What lie have you been believing about God?

What lie have you been believing about yourself and your lovability?

The lie I can fall for time and time again is that I have to earn God’s favor. That, for him to like me and accept me and approve of me, I must be good, and one misstep and I am out of his good graces. I can fall into the lie that I am unlovable. When I do not fully live in God’s love and affection for me, then I look to others to validate me and approve of me. I look for approval in the wrong places.

Jesus said that he came to give you life and life to the fullest in him (John 10:10).

Not partial life, not half-full but abundant life In him. Life established in the affections of Christ.

The anchor and foundation of the Christian heart must be established in the affections of Christ’s love.

Understand your position in Christ:

God not only loves you, he likes you.

God does not just tolerate you, he delights in you.

Your weakness does not override God’s affection for you.

Say this out loud:

God, I am so loved by you.

God not only loves me, he likes me.

God does not just tolerate me, he delights in me.

My weakness does not override God’s affection for me.

I am completely and utterly loved by you, Jesus.

How great your affections are towards me.

The Lord desires for you, his beloved, to be established in the confidence that he delights in you and enjoys you. God wants you to be confident in his affections towards you.

You are beloved of God in Christ Jesus. You are the apple of his eye. The center of his affections. And here’s the deal: If you believe the way that God feels about you, you will have an overflowing cup for people.

When you receive and believe the love of the Father, you will overflow the love of Jesus to others.

Relationships suffer because we don’t have an overflowing cup. I want my life to be an overflow of God’s love to me and through me.

How do we learn and know God’s affections for us? Soak in God’s affection by abiding in Jesus.

We abide by spending time meditating on the truth of God’s Word, renewing our minds and hearts daily. Setting your mind on things above, fixing your eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of your faith.

I want to share a few more reminders from God’s Word:

Zephaniah 3:17b: He rejoices over you with singing.

Psalm 18:19b: God rescued you, because he delighted in you.

Lamentations 3:22-24: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is his faithfulness.

Live as one whom Jesus loves, whom he is pleased with, whom he delights and takes pleasure in. Ask Jesus to help you know his love that surpasses human understanding. When you receive the love of the Father, your life will be an overflow of his love to others.

Remember you are loved, you are seen, and you are highly favored. You are the one that Jesus loves.