God Loves Me

By Andre Mitchell

In the subtitle of this book, I chose the two themes of revelation and revolution because as I meditated on God loving me specifically and personally … it transformed my Christianity. Like stated in Romans 12:2, my mind was renewed and my Christian walk revolutionized. It dawned on me that my sins alone put Jesus on that cross. Had the world not consisted of billions of people and instead the world only consisted of little ole me, He still would have had to die. My personal sin debt was enormous. I was born in sin and shaped in iniquity. There were no two ways around it. Yet, He did what He did because He loved me. Always had, and always will. He loves me. It is for this revelation alone that I wrote this book: so that you too can be revolutionized, like I was and still am being because it's a journey you never exit. Or ever want to. So I invite you to join me in a discovery of revelation and revolution as God unveils what it means to be loved by the Creator of the universe!

• Language: English
• Publisher: SermonToBook.com
• Release date: Jul 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9780692337745

Book preview

GOD LOVES ME

How A Revelation Of God’s Love For You Can Revolutionize Your Life

Andre Mitchell

Copyright © 2014 by Andre Mitchell

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission.

Sermon To Book

www.sermontobook.com

God Loves Me / Andre Mitchell

ISBN-13: 9780692337745

ISBN-10: 0692337741

This book is dedicated to all the wonderful members of Deliverance Temple. Without you, this book would not have been possible—the way you have prayed for me and my family, supported the various ministries within our church, volunteered tirelessly, and sown financially to make this book a reality. For all those things, I can never repay. I am so honored to be your pastor and am grateful to see us actively living out our motto beyond the four walls of the church. I Love you all dearly, and I believe every person this book touches will be reflected in each of your heavenly accounts. Blessings upon all of my DT family. LOVE: Living Our Vision Everyday.

CONTENTS

Why I Wrote ‘God Loves Me’

God’s Agape Love

Christian Love

ABC’s of Discipleship

All-Stars

Finding Sacred In The Secular

Conclusion

Salvation

About The Author

About SermonToBook.Com

INTRODUCTION

Why I Wrote ‘God Loves Me’

All my life I've heard the saying, God loves you. I grew up in a home where we attended church regularly. I also attended a Christian school. Being a minister for over 17 years, the phrase God loves you is one I’ve communicated over and over to others with great conviction. It’s a true statement and the basis for this phrase is found in one of the most common Bible verses known to man. It's the verse that is seen on t-shirts, coffee mugs, and even on signs at sporting events. Yes, you probably guessed it. I am talking about John 3:16. This famous passage communicates the massiveness of God's great love.

For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. — John 3:16 (KJV)

This paints a very powerful and vivid snapshot of God's love. But one day, several years ago, as I skimmed this passage of scripture, I noticed something that astounded me.

First, let me say why I skimmed the passage.

Because it was old hat to me. I had heard it over and over, and I'm ashamed to say it—but honestly, the scripture had lost its impact on me. It was cute and cliché, but not really impactful.

When I noticed this about myself I was alarmed. I was wise enough to know that the real problem didn't lie within the verse. Rather, it had to be resting somewhere inside of me. I mean, the passage clearly spoke that God had given up His only Son for the world because of the way He loved. He loved a world that couldn't possibly love Him back. Also, He didn't have another Son. This was His only Son. The Son. Jesus Himself. But still the passage had lost impact. What was wrong with me?

I found the answer in the last word of the previous paragraph, me. Yes me. You see, it was cool to tell others God loved them. I could flippantly quote the passage and point out that God loved the whole world and that He's got the whole world in His hands. Yes, I could sing songs like that and still not be majorly affected. What happened? I’ll tell you what happened. I had forgotten that the world He loved included me.

You see, I didn't know all the world’s sins, but I did know my own sins. I didn't know all of the world's hang-ups and issues, but I was oh-so-familiar with mine. It was easy to declare God loved you, but much more difficult to boldly acknowledge God loved me.

Oh sure, when I was doing well, dotting all the i’s and crossing all the t’s, it was much easier to accept. But if I had blown it or said something I shouldn’t have said, or if my temper had gotten the best of me ... somehow in those moments His love seemed distant.

Furthermore, in hard times when a loved one died, or a family member remained sick even after I prayed fervently, or I experienced delays that felt like denials, I would question God's love for me. Not openly, but subconsciously.

See, I believed God loved. I believed it when the Bible said God is Love. But the harsh reality was I wasn't always secure that God loved me.

It then dawned on me that I had it all backward—like many Christians. We keep doing things for God's love, but we are supposed to be doing things from God's love.

This revelation exposed my tendency toward performance-based Christianity, and made me realize that understanding God’s love for me was the key to victorious living in Christ.

Don't get me wrong. I'm certainly not saying I never knew God loved me. However, what I am saying is that I recognized I had head knowledge of His love for me when what I needed was revelation knowledge that went much deeper beneath the surface.

Let me call your attention to a verse in Ephesians chapter 3. It is part of a prayer penned by the Apostle Paul:

And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. — Ephesians 3:19

How could the Apostle pray that we would know something that actually surpasses the ability to be known? It’s really very simple. He was addressing exactly what I had come to realize—that there comes a point where God’s love for you must come by revelation. It must be revealed to you, revealed in you, and ultimately revealed through you to achieve its highest impact.

Paul called it being filled with all the fullness of God, which implies that anything less produces emptiness.

Oh I wonder how many Christians are living empty lives and don’t even know or understand why.

In the subtitle of this book, I chose the two themes of revelation and revolution because as I meditated on God loving me specifically and personally ... it transformed my Christianity.

As I looked back over my life and remembered God's amazing grace and relentless mercy,

Reviews for God Loves Me

[tom · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I short written read. I particularly liked the last chapter that discussed how us knowing God loves us actually changes our lives and circumstances. I speak in the third person. I speak words of love to myself as if God is speaking to me. I say, “Tom I love you.” “ Tom I’m so proud of you” as if God was actually saying them audibly to me. It has begun to help me quit striving in self effort to get Gods approval. If He says He loves me and I hear it and know it then I can quit trying and just rest and enjoy His help and comfort. God loves me!!!