“Jesus Loves Me”
Ephesians 3:17-19

Introduction

• Ephesians 3:17… That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18) May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; 19) And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
• In these verses Paul is trying to express the love of God that is supposed to be in the heart of the church.
• “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith;” Once a believer has accepted Christ as their Lord (ruler of their life) and Savior (the person who has redeemed them), they will believe and do as He says because they have faith in Him (Jesus).
• “…that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,”  When you have faith in Christ Jesus, it means that you will  have the love of God/Christ in you.
• “18) May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height;
• Breadth – meaning how “wide” is His love, from Jew to Gentile
• Length – Meaning how “long” is His love, till eternity.
• Depth – Meaning how “deep” is His love, Agape love is deeper than all
• Height – Meaning how “high” is His love, from child, to fathers, to priests and pastors, to kings and presidents, to his angels and to himself. I believe that His love is to the highest rank.
• These four descriptions of His love basically tell us that we cannot comprehend the love of God/Christ.
• So, when we sing “Jesus Loves Me” we are really singing about how great His love is toward an unworthy servant.
• Our sins make us unworthy, undeserving of His love.

I. Jesus Loves Me, This I Know

A) For the Bible tells me so

• You can only know of God’s love towards us because His Word (Jesus) tells us that. The Bible is the Word of God. (John 1:1)
• What does His word tell us?
• John 3:16…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.
• When you love someone or something, it will cause you to make sacrifices of yourself.
• God so loved the world that He sacrificed His only begotten Son.
• Christ sacrificed His life because of the love He has for His believers.
• WE ARE TAUGHT – 1 Thessalonians 4:9…But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
• GOD GAVE US HIS SPIRIT – 2 Timothy 1:7…For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
• BEING OBEDIENT – 1 John 2:5…But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6) He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.
• REASON FOR LOVE – 1 John 3:16…Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17) But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 18) My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
• Like the song says… Jesus Loves me, this I know.  For the Bible tells me so.
• The last part of the first verse says…Little ones to Him belongs, They are weak but He is strong.
• “Little ones” does not mean little babies or children in a physical sense but as in a spiritual sense. Little ones are those who have yet to come to the full comprehension or understanding of God.
• This is all of us! We are the “little ones.” NOONE can say that they completely understand the height, depth, length and breadth of His Love!
• YES, Jesus Loves Me. I thank God for His grace, His forgiveness, His love!

II.  Jesus Loves Me He Who Died

A) Heaven’s Gates to Open Wide

• The proof of God’s love is His sacrifice of His Son Jesus.
• Jesus proved His love for His father and His followers by going through His death onthe Cross.
• “Heaven’s Gates” is talking about God’s allowance for those in Heaven for all mankind. Wide meaning “nationwide.” Jew to Gentile. Peasant to King.
• All that accept His Son Jesus Christ. All who believe in God and His Son.
• Jesus told Martha in John 11:25…Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26) And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? 
• Heaven’s gates represent the key to life. Jesus is the gate, He is the life.
• Believe in Jesus and you will have eternal life.
• The song continues in verse 2…“He (Jesus) will wash away my sin, let His little child come in!”
• Without that washing, we are still dirty. When we are dirty, we will never enter into heaven’s gates. Without Jesus we are still dirty.
• To accept Him is to be clothed in His righteousness not our own.
• YES, Jesus Loves Me. YES, Jesus Loves Me. YES, Jesus Loves Me. The Bible Tells Me So! 

III. Jesus Take This Heart of Mine

A) Make it pure and holy Thine

• When I hear this verse I think of David’s Psalm in Psalm 51:2…Wash me throughly from mine iniquity (perversion of the truth), and cleanse me from my sin (My disobedience to you). 3) For I acknowledge my transgressions (My rebellion): and my sin is ever before me.
• Before we can be useful in our Lord’s service to God, we must be cleansed.
• This is a daily washing of our sins before God who is holy.
• No one wants a dirty present, a dirty car, a dirty house, or dirty food.
• You want it clean. The bad thing is that it eventually becomes dirty and we have to clean it in order for it to be acceptable to us in use.
• We get that from God. He enjoys clean.
• God is a “perfectionist.”
•  The definition is this… a person who refuses to accept any standard short of perfection.
• Why should we strive to be holy? Why seek perfection?

B) On the cross, You died for me

• The rest of verse three of the song says this… On the cross you died for me, I will try to live for Thee.
• Let me ask you something… “Are you really trying to live for Jesus who died for you?”
• YES, Jesus loves me… BUT, do you love Jesus?