Craig Groeschel - Feeling Unworthy of God's Love
Well, today, we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I wanna wish you a Merry Christmas to every single one of you. All of our Life Church locations, those of you around the world at church, online, on behalf of my family, to all of you, we just want to express our loves like very sincerely for you. And way more than my love, what I wanna do today is I want to tell you about the greatest love story of all time. Do you wanna hear it? Yes! Now, work with me. Because the greatest love story of all time may not be what you think it is. If you agree with me, as I go, you might just wanna say, «Amen». We’ll start here. The greatest love story of all time is not «Romeo and Juliet». Yes! And all God’s people said? Amen.
The next one may upset a few of you, but I need to say it and I need to say it boldly. The greatest love story of all time is not Noah and Allie from «The Notebook» and all God’s people said? Amen. I know that just upsets some of you. Now, I’m a heretic, but I must tell you the truth. The greatest love story of all time is also not Jack and Rose from the «Titanic», because you have to admit all of those love stories have really sad endings, don’t they? I mean, think about it like, Romeo and Juliet, they have a miscommunication and they both die tragically. I’m not even gonna say out loud how they died because it’s Christmas, and I don’t wanna drop that thought in your mind on Christmas week, right? And then there’s Noah and Allie from «The Notebook». They endured years of separation and memory loss. And then what happened at the end of the movie, they died in each other’s arms.
Now, some of you are upset, because I just gave away the end of the movie. It’s a 20-year-old movie. If you haven’t seen it by now, you need to know how it ends. And there it is. And then, of course, there’s Jack and Rose, right? Hanging on a door in a freezing ocean, and Rose watches Jack die. If you look carefully, there was room on that door. Right? There was room on the door. I mean, just like let the guy on the door snuggle up, get some body heat, he could’ve lived. Those are not the greatest love stories of all time. In fact, what I wanna say to you today is the greatest love story of all time doesn’t start with once upon a time, but the greatest love story of all time starts with, for God so loved the world.
That’s how the greatest love story of all time starts. And for those of you who might say, «Yeah, but the main character of that story dies, too». Jesus, yeah, He did die. But three days later, when the stone was rolled away, the tomb was empty because Jesus was raised from the dead. And the greatest love story of all time doesn’t end in death, but this is about a love that conquers death. And that may be the Easter story, so let’s back up and make sure we stay with Christmas.
And we are in a Christmas message series called «The Arrival». And if you’re new with us for the last few weeks, we’ve been looking at Advent. If you don’t know what Advent is, it’s a historic, very meaningful Christian tradition that dates all the way back to the fourth century when believers would prepare their hearts with fasting and with prayer to looking forward to what we’re doing right now to celebrate the birth of our Savior. And each week of Advent has a theme, and we’ve talked about those four themes. The first week, we lit the candle of hope. The second week, we lit the candle of peace. Last week, we lit the candle of joy. And today, we’re going to light the love candle to celebrate the greatest love story of all time. And today, at all of our churches around the world, would you join me in prayer?
Father, we thank You for Your love for us. And we pray, God, that by the power of the Holy Spirit and through the preaching of Your word, that You would reveal the most life-changing love in the history of the world draw us into Your love, that we would know it and be able to show it. We pray in Jesus' name. And all God’s people said, «Amen and amen».
Christmas is a love story. And it’s not just a traditional love story between a man and a woman, but Christmas is a love story about a father and a son. It’s amazing to recognize that 700 years before the birth of Christ, Isaiah prophesied in what’s now known as the Messianic prophecy. And Isaiah prophesied this, «For unto us, a child is born,» help me out, «unto us, a Son is given». Imagine this. For all eternity, before the world existed, before time existed, before anything existed, there was a father and a son. And the heavenly Father loved the son more than any father ever loved any child. And the son loves his father more than any child ever loved a parent, because they had an intimacy and an uninterrupted perfect oneness for all eternity. In fact, Jesus even said, He said, «I am the Father. We are one».
Then came the very first Christmas. When the Father, He said goodbye, and sent His Son from heaven to earth. And Paul told us this, Galatians 4:4. «But when the set time had fully come,» what did God do? «God sent His son». At all of our churches who are online, if you have kids, raise your hand or type in the comment section, I have kids, I have kids. If you have kids, you know at some point what it’s like to send them out. Like when they become kindergartners, right? What do you do first day at school? You pack their bluey lunchbox, right? Or their Spider-Man lunchbox, and you pack it with extra love, you put a sandwich in there and their favorite chips and a little juice box. And then you take 'em on the front porch. And what do you do? You take 47 photos of your little child, your little honey bunches you’re about to send off to school, and then you post it online.
So I can say how cute your kid is, then you drive your kid to school. You send them off to the first day of school, and you sit in the car and you bawl your eyes out. You cry like crazy, because you know what it’s like to be a parent to send off a child? Or how many of you have a child that’s learned to drive, raise your hand, and you still have your salvation? That’s a good thing, okay? You may not be a person of prayer, but when they turn 16 and drive off, baby, you’re speaking in tongues the first time they go off, right? Like you’re like praying like crazy, because you know what it’s like as a parent to send off a child.
Or, of course, there’s college, they go off to college, or they get married. You know how hard it is to say goodbye. Well, it was indescribably more intimate and intense when God the Father sent Jesus, His Son, from heaven to earth. They had never been separated before. And that’s why Christmas is a love story about a father and a son. But it’s not just a love story about a father and a son. Christmas is also a love story about a mother and a son. It’s about a mother and a son. In fact, an angel of the Lord said this about Mary. The angel said, «Mary will give birth,» to what? «The mom will give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus, because He will save people from their sins».
Christmas is a love story about a mother and a son. And how many of you know that moms and dads may love equally, but they love differently, right? You know what I’m talking about. Moms love is different than a father’s love. And for example, Amy, we have six children. We have 7 or 19 grandchildren. I lose count, you know, but we love them equally, but we love them differently. And just to demonstrate, I’ll show you some pictures of her and me with our kids and our grandkids. Just to show you, this is Amy with Catie, our daughter. This is me with Catie. We love them equally, but we love them differently. I’ll show you another one. This is Amy with little Mandy. And then this is me with Mandy. We love them equally, but we love them differently.
Let’s look at the grandkids. This is Amy with, that’s our granddaughter on the right. That’s Baby Hayhay. And then this is me with, Hayhay. And this is me a second later with Hayhay. And this is me a second later with Hayhay. Because everybody knows they may love them equally, but they love them differently. Who wants to see one more? Yeah. I don’t care if you do or not, I’m gonna show you anyway. We’ll look at one more. This is like one of our last grandkids, 'cause I can’t remember where they all are in in age. This is baby Micah and this is Amy with Baby Micah. And this is me with Baby Micah. And I love the fact that everybody’s screaming and yelling. And this is Baby Micah. And what I want you to know is that there were no children hurt or injured in the making of this sermon.
But mother and father may love children equally, but a mother loves them differently, right? A mom’s loves more nurturing and more comforting, because if one of my kids get hurt and they come running to me, what am I gonna say? Rub some dirt on it, kid. That’s what a dad, something like that. They come running to Amy and she’s gonna say, «Oh, you got boo-boo? Oh, does that mean playground give you a boo-boo? I’ll take care of that mean playground. Come here, let me kiss your boo-boo». Because a mother loves in a different way, equal but different. And so it’s really hard to imagine a little teenage girl named Mary who finds out she’s gonna be a mom when an angel of the Lord says, «You’re highly favored and the Lord is with you. And you’re gonna conceive and give birth to a son who’s gonna be named Jesus, because He came to save people from their sins». And she’s gotta go and tell Joseph, her fiance, «Hey. I got something to tell you. You better sit down. I’m pregnant. But I promise you it’s the Holy Ghost,» right?
In a small town and people are talking, and she’s pregnant before they’re married. You know the story. They travel 90 miles on the back of a donkey. Come on, she’s pregnant all the way to Bethlehem. She’s miserable. Like, her feet are swollen. She’s craving flaming hot Cheetos. She’s gotta go to the bathroom every quarter of a mile in a bush and they get to Bethlehem, and there’s no rooms anywhere. And so she gives birth to her baby in a barn. Then to make things even worse, eight days later, she hadn’t gotten any sleep. Joseph hadn’t done anything right.
You say, «Is that in the Bible»? It’s not in the Bible, but it is true as long as I am here, because no man has gotten it right in the first month after his wife gives birth to a son. I’m here to testify to the truth of the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And this weird guy comes forward, his name is Simeon, and he does this prophecy. And the prophecy is this. He says, «This child of yours has been sent as a sign from God, but many will oppose Your Son Jesus». And the prophet says to the mom, «And a sword will pierce your very soul». This random guy shows up and prophesies Mary, mom of Jesus, your Son. He was born to die. No mom ever wants to hear, «Hey, the Son you gave birth to, your child, your baby, the son you love is gonna suffer and die, and you’re gonna watch it and the pain is going to crush you».
This is a love story. The greatest love story of all time. About a mother and a son. And her Son wasn’t born to grow up and go to college, and get married and give her grand babies. No, Mary’s son was the lamb of God. Who was born to suffer and die for our sins. And so today, I tell you the greatest love story of all time. And it’s not just the love of a father and a son, and not just a mother and a son, but Christmas is a love story about the Son and us. It’s a love story about the Son and you. And John said it this way in John 3:16. He said this, «For God so loved,» every single one of you, He loved us. «He loved the world so much that He gave His one and only Son». Why did He do it? Because of His love that whosoever believes in Jesus would not perish but have eternal life. «For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him».
This is how much God loves you. This is the greatest love story of all time. And this love story is personal. It’s personal to us. It should be personal to you. It was certainly personal to John. I mean, John, the guy who wrote John 3:16, this dude needed love. He had a brother named James. They’re 2 of the 12 disciples. What I love about these guys is they were not most likely to be chosen to be disciples in their graduating class. These guys were wild. They were so wild that Jesus gave them a nickname. Now, as a side note, I just think it’s cool that Jesus gave nicknames. I like that. Jesus called these guys, you know what He called them? He called these brothers, Mark 3 says, «Jesus nicknamed them 'Sons of Thunder'».
You know you’re not a likely disciple when the Son of God calls you a son of thunder. Why did He call him this? Well, I’ll give you one example to show you just how wild they were. Whenever Jesus wasn’t welcomed in this town, John said this. He said, «Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them»? «Come on, Jesus, let’s make 'em crispy critters for not accepting you in their town». Jesus’s like, «Calm down, John. You’re like a tin. Dial it back. A little, buddy, dial it back». Son of thunder. Like thunder man was not the most likely to be chosen as a disciple, yet the Son loved John. The son loved him so much that it literally changed his identity.
You see, after experiencing the love of the Son, John was no longer John the Son of Thunder. He wasn’t John the hothead. He wasn’t John the troublemaker. He wasn’t John the one who let everybody down. No, he got a new name. You know who John was? He was the one that Jesus loved. He was the one that Jesus loved. Because of the love the Son had for John, it was personal. He was the one that Jesus loved. He called himself that again and again. Over and over, over and over. Now, for the record, I’m not a fan of anybody speaking to themselves in third person. That’s what he did. He spoke of himself in third person. Just so you know, Craig Groeschel doesn’t like when people talk in third person. It’s a little joke there, but five different times, in the gospel of John, John talked about himself in third person calling himself the one that Jesus loved.
Let me just show you very, very quickly, John 13:23. He said he was the disciple whom Jesus loved. John 19:26, he said again, he is the disciple whom Jesus loved. John 20:2, he said he was the one that Jesus loved. John 21:7, in case you didn’t know, he’s the disciple whom Jesus loved. John 21:20, one more time, I am the disciple that Jesus loved. For John, the love of the Son was personal. It was personal. And that’s why Christmas is a love story about a father and a son and a mother and a son, and a son who loves broken people like you and like me, and the greatest love story of all time. But I want you to hear, every single one of you, I want you to hear this, I want you to hear this. I want you to feel it, I want you to believe it. The greatest love story of all time is that Jesus loves you. It’s the greatest love story of all time. That Jesus loves you.
You be say, «Well, you don’t know what, you don’t know my story. You don’t know about my thoughts, or what I’ve said, or who I’ve hurt». Right, and you don’t know that about me either, which is a good thing. 'Cause you probably go to another church, okay? No matter what’s happened in your life, the greatest love through of all time is that Jesus loves you. And if you don’t believe me, look at who else Jesus loved. 'Cause scripture teaches us that Jesus loved this one lady who was looking for love in all the wrong places. There’s a lady at a well who wanted to find love and acceptance and meaning and value in the arms of another man. But man after man, after man broke her heart, let her down, and crushed her. And Jesus came up to her and said, «You’re thirsty for something. You’re looking for something. You’re looking for something that will never satisfy. But I will give you living water once you taste of what I offer you. I will show you my love, and you’ll never thirst again».
And He loved a woman that society would’ve rejected. And Jesus loved a guy named Peter. And Peter liked to talk about himself. He was the guy that would always be faithful to Jesus, would always have Jesus’s back. And when all those other loser disciples wouldn’t be there, he would be there until he had to be, and he wasn’t. Three different times. Three times Peter denied knowing Jesus. And after the resurrection, Jesus loved him and said, «If you still love me, I’ll reinstate you to ministry. If you love me, I do love you, go feed my sheep». And Jesus loved a woman caught in the very act of adultery. A crime, at that time, punishable by death. And a group of religious, self-righteous people stood around and said, «Stone her, stone her».
And Jesus knelt down in the sand, and started writing something. We don’t know what He wrote, but we know that one by one, the religious guy started walking off. Perhaps, He wrote their sins, we don’t know. But He looked on and he said to the lady, he said, «Where are your accusers»? And she said that there are none. And He looked at her with love and forgiveness and grace in His heart. And then He said, «Then neither do I condemn you. Go your way and don’t sin and anymore». And Jesus loved an evil guy, a swindler, a tax collector named Zacchaeus. And Zacchaeus was spiritually curious, maybe like some of you. And started like looking on Jesus. And Jesus said, «Hey, don’t just look on from that tree. Why don’t I come over to your house»?
He invited Him to the guy’s house and sat down with him. And He loved him in such a way that Zacchaeus his whole life was changed over dinner. Instead, if I’ve wronged anybody, I’m gonna give him back four times. I’m gonna devote the rest of my life to serving the one who loved me. Jesus loved Zacchaeus. And Jesus loved me. A kid who was so insecure that I didn’t know how to tell the truth, because I didn’t think the truth was good enough. A kid who was so broken, that I hurt person after person after person, and found myself performing for approval and addicted with no way out. And at the age of 19, I’d knelt down a little softball field at my little college and I cried out. If your love is real, if you’re there, would you please do something? Do a miracle, save me. And when I knelt down, I was one person, broken, hurting, lost, and afraid. And when I stood up, I was completely different.
What the Bible calls a new creation, the old is gone, and the new has come because of the love of a God who gave me forgiveness that I did not deserve. It’s personal. He loves me. And He loves you. Not like past His like now, like this very moment. He is loving you right now. And the greatest love story of all time is not over. This is about a love that has come and is also about a love that is coming again. And when He comes back, He’s not coming as a baby in a manger, but He’s coming as a king on a horse, the king of kings, and the Lord of all lords. I came to tell you the greatest love story of all time about a God who loves you, where you’re as you are, even though you don’t deserve it. And this is a love that doesn’t end in death, but this is a love that conquers death. Praise God.
So today, I declare to you the greatest love story of all time. And people ask all the time, and it’s a good question. What’s this season all about? I mean, is it like happy holidays or Merry Christmas? Oh, listen, it’s not just Merry Christmas. It’s like Merry Christ mas. Like Christ, like Christ, like Christ, Christ. The center. Of the candles is the Christ candle. Who is Jesus? Jesus is our hope. Hope has a name. Jesus is our peace. It’s a perfect peace. Shalom, Shalom. Jesus is our joy. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Jesus is the love above all. Christ, born of a virgin. Born to die. Who is the king of all kings. The name above. There’s something about His name. He’s a love that’s come and He’s a love that’s coming again.
What’s Christmas all about? What’s the season all about? Well, you might have a little button that tells you and what does the button say? What’s the reason for the season? Everybody, say it. Jesus is the reason for the season. You might have a T-shirt that says, «What’s the reason»? Jesus is the reason for the, you might have a coffee mug. Christmas, bring it out at Christmas time, and it says, «Jesus is the reason for the season». Yes, but that’s not the only reason. You see, if you go deeper, there is a deeper reason for the season. What is the reason for the season? The reason is you. You are the reason Jesus came. You. You. For God so loved you that He sent His one and only Son. You are the one that Jesus loves.
This is what John said, the same John that was John, the Son of Thunder, who became the one that Jesus loved. This is what he said, «This is real love». This is real love. You wanna know what real love? You wanna know the greatest love story of all time? «This is real love — not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as a sacrifice to take away our sin». That is the greatest love story of all time. That is God’s love for you. Christmas is all about the love of a father and a son and the love of a mother and a son and the love of God’s son for you. Why? Because you, no matter what you’ve done. You, no matter how broken you feel. You, no matter how far you might feel from God. You are the one Jesus loves. So today, we celebrate the birth of a king, a lamb, a baby born to die, so He could be risen again, because that’s how much the Father loves you.
So Holy Spirit, would You do a work in us today? Would you take the truth of God’s heart and reveal it to us.
As you pray today without looking around, I wonder how many of you would say honestly that you might feel at times a little bit unworthy of God’s love. If that’s you, you might have done some things you’re ashamed of, you’re embarrassed by, you feel a little bit unworthy, wherever you’re watching from, would you just maybe lift up your hand right now? You can type in the comment section, I feel unworthy of God’s love. Just lift it up just as a symbol. Yes, I might feel unworthy, put your hand down. Now, as your hand hands down, if you could just listen for a moment, you might feel unworthy, because like me, you’ve done some things you’re ashamed of. But there might be a deeper reason you feel unworthy. And that’s maybe because you don’t know just how much you’re worth to God. When you recognize how much He loves you that He was willing to give His Son for you, your only reasonable response is to give your whole life back to Him.
If today, you feel a little bit unworthy, maybe it’s because you’re dealing with some stuff, but maybe it’s because you’ve never really experienced the love that God has for you. God loves you so much that He sent His one and only Son, that whosoever, including you, whoever believes in Him wouldn’t perish, or would have eternal life. Today, at all of our churches, if you’re not sure where you stand with God, maybe you’re feeling drawn to God, let me tell you why. Because you’re being drawn to God because He loves you, because His Holy Spirit’s reaching out and drawing you.
So what do you do? Well, very, very simply, we’re gonna step away from our selfishness. We’re gonna step away from our sinfulness, and we’re gonna step toward His love. And when you call on His name, who is Jesus? Jesus is love. God is love. It’s not just what He does, it’s who He is. When you call on His name, God hears your prayers and forgives your sins and makes you brand new. Today, around the world, online and all of our churches, those who say, «Hey, I’m not sure where I stand with God,» let me tell you about the greatest love story of all time. It’s about a God who loves you, who’s drawing you. And when you say yes to Him, He’ll forgive all of your sins and make you brand new.
Today, if you feel the weight of your sin, if you feel guilty, if you feel ashamed, if you feel unworthy, step away from those lies. Step away from the guilt. Step away from your shame and call out to Jesus. And when you do, you’ll hear your prayer. He’ll forgive your sins. He’ll make you brand new. Today, at all of our churches, those who say, «Yes, I need Jesus». «I need His grace today». By faith, I give my life to Him. That’s your prayer. Lift your hands high right now all over the place. Lift them up and say, «Yes, that’s my prayer». Praise God for you today. Lift up your hands and say, «Yes, Jesus. I surrender my life to You». Be first in my life at all of our churches. As we have people saying yes, type in the comments section, «I’m surrendering my life to Jesus». Type, «I’m surrendering my life in today». Would you join your faith with those around you? And just pray from the depths of your heart. Pray:
Heavenly Father. I receive Your love. I receive your forgiveness. Jesus, save me. Be the Lord of my life. Thank you for your love. Thank you for salvation. Fill me with Your Holy Spirit, so I could know You and serve You. Today, I give You my life. Thank you for new life. You have all of mine. In Jesus name, I pray.