Sacrificial Love

Sacrificial Love

The Bible describes King Solomon in 1 Kings 10:23 as follows: So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. Shortly, I want to relay the story most people think of when we talk about Solomon’s wisdom. It’s the story of two women who both claimed a living baby was their own and the other woman was the mother of the dead baby. Yes, most people focus on Solomon’s wisdom in handling this case. But what strikes me the most is the love of the real mother of the living baby. Not only did she love her son, she loved him with truly sacrificial love. 

Please listen to 1 Kings 3:16-28: Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house.

Mother Accidentally Smothers Child

And this woman’s child died in the night; because she overlaid it. And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while your handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear.

And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, and the dead is your son. And this said, No; but the dead is your son, and the living is my son. Thus they spoke before the king. Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that lives, and your son is the dead: and the other says, No; but your son is the dead, and my son is the living.

Bring Me A Sword

And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other. Then spoke the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor yours, but divide it.

Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king had judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

Now you can see why the Bible talks about the wisdom of Solomon because of the way he handled this situation. It was a wonderful way to determine who the real mother was. But please note the real mother’s love for her child. She was willing to let the other prostitute take her son, the same woman who accidentally smothered her own child and then tried to deceive this mother.

A Mother’s Sacrificial Love

But she loved her child so much that she was willing to let him go to this other woman in order for her son to live. I don’t know any other way to describe this except for sacrificial love. Can you imagine what it would have been like for her to actually give her own son to this other woman?

But she was willing to do because she wanted her child to live. It would have torn her apart to lose her son, but she understood that it was a better choice than her son being killed because they couldn’t tell which one was the actual mother. That is real love, true love, sacrificial love.

Do you love anyone with that kind of love? Would you lay down your life for someone else? A spouse? Child? Friend? Do you love someone with sacrificial love? Do you put your interests beneath the interests of someone else? Oh, do you love like this prostitute loved her son? Do you love with sacrificial love?

Jesus Showed Sacrificial Love

Maybe you do or maybe you don’t love like that, but I want to tell you about someone who does love with sacrificial love. Someone who truly sacrificed out of love. Yes, someone who gave up their very life out of love. I’m not talking about a soldier or anyone like that; I’m talking about Jesus Christ the Lord.

Jesus Christ showed sacrificial love like no other. We’ve all sinned against the one true God, the great Creator God, the God of Heaven and earth. There’s nothing that you can do to make yourself right with God. Sin separates you from God. The wages of sin is death. None of us are righteous, no not one. We have all rebelled against God and the punishment for that rebellion is death.

Not only physical death, but what Jesus calls the second death or everlasting death. It is eternal punishment. God is Holy, righteous and just. Because He is a good God, He is a God of justice. The justice we all deserve for our sins is eternal damnation, torment and everlasting suffering. This is exactly what every person that dies in their sins, who dies without Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior receives.

Taking Vengeance In Flaming Fire

And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power (2 Thessalonians 1:7-9).

Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord (Romans 12:19).  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commands all men everywhere to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead (Acts 17:30-31).

Folks, there is Hell to pay over your sins. If you die without the Savior, without the Lord Jesus, then you will split Hell wide open after you die. Every now and then someone out here on the streets will say they want to go to Hell. They foolishly think they are going to party in Hell with their friends.

Sadly Mistaken About Hell

But they are sadly mistaken. Hell is real and it is a place of torments. There are no parties in Hell and no way out. Jesus talked more about Hell than Heaven. Yes, you heard me correctly. Jesus Christ spoke more on the topic of Hell than He did about Heaven. He warned of Hell because He knows it’s real and He also knows that it is the place where every unrepentant sinner is headed.

One of the greatest phrases in the Bible is “but God.” For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God demonstrated his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life (Romans 5:6-10).

Demonstration of God’s Love

God demonstrated His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Oh folks, you have sinned against our Holy God. There’s nothing you can do to make that right. You have made yourself God’s enemy. But God, demonstrated His love toward us. None of us can meet God’s perfect standard. He even gave us the 10 Commandments so that each one of us can see that we fall miserably short of God’s glory.

That’s why He sent Jesus to this earth a little over 2,000 years ago. Jesus did what none of us could do; He perfectly kept the 10 Commandments. Jesus never lied, stole, lusted or coveted. He never blasphemed God’s Holy name. Not only did Jesus never sin, He never even sinned in His thought life. In other words, He kept the 10 Commandments to a higher standard.

Then He willingly laid down His life for others. Jesus was beaten beyond recognition. He was physically tortured, yet worse than that, He absorbed God’s righteous wrath over sinful men and women. That is, sinful men and women who repent and surrender their lives to Him. Jesus paid the sin debt that He did not owe. He suffered, bled and died on that cruel cross, was buried and rose from the grave three days later.

The Lord Wears The Victor’s Crown

Jesus is the victor, He wears the victor’s crown. Oh death where is thy sting? He is risen! Jesus now sits at the right hand of God the Father. He prays for those of us who have submitted our lives to His Lordship. Salvation is the free gift from God, but you must receive it.

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast (Ephesians 2:8-9). Earlier I mentioned that the wages of sin is death. But listen to Romans 6:23, the whole verse: For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus. Oh, come to Jesus tonight and be saved. Recognize that you are a sinner, that you really do deserve God’s righteous anger over your sins. You really do deserve to die and go to Hell. Admit your sins to God. We are to confess and forsake our sins. Proverbs 28:13 states: He that covers his sins shall not prosper: but whosoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy.

Repentance

Cry out for God to save you. Repent from your sins and surrender your life fully and completely to Jesus. Repentance is a change of heart and change of mind that leads to a change of actions. You can’t clean yourself up enough for God to save you. Cry out for God to have mercy on you. Come to Jesus through repentance and faith and He will clean you up. Salvation is the great exchange. Jesus takes your sins and gives you His righteousness.

Oh, but you must come to Him His way, through repentance and faith. Repent from your sins and trust Jesus Christ. Trust in Him alone for your salvation. Call upon the name of the Lord Jesus and be saved. Jesus said you are to deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Him daily. Do this tonight and be saved. Today is the day of salvation. You are not promised tomorrow.

God forbid, a drunk driver could kill you tonight and this could be your last night on this earth. If God is calling you through the power of the Holy Spirit, come to Jesus tonight. Repent and believe the Gospel. Receive life, eternal life and receive love like you’ve never known before. True love, real love, sacrificial love that only comes from Jesus Christ the Lord.

(This message was lifted up in downtown Springfield, MO on August 31, 2018)