Ps.103:11–22 /Ephe.3:18–19, The Distance of Perfect Love

Ps.103:11–22 /Ephe.3:18–19, The Distance of Perfect Love

103:11–22, 11.For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him;
12.as far as the east is from the west,so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
13.As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
14.for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.
15.The life of mortals is like grass, they flourish like a flower of the field;
16.the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.
17.But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children-
18.with those who keep his covenant and remember to obey his precepts.
19.The Lord has established his throne in heaven, and his kingdom rules over all.
20.Praise the Lord, you his angels, you mighty ones who do his bidding, who obey his word.  21.Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts, you his servants who do his will.
22.Praise the Lord, all his works everywhere in his dominion. Praise the Lord, my soul.
Ephe.3:18-19, 18.may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19.and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Introduction: Love Explained by Distance/Beloved, we live in a world of “distance.” Even when we are physically close, our hearts can be far apart; and even when we are far away, love can grow deeper. Today’s passage describes God’s love in terms of “distance”: “As high as the heavens are above the earth.” “As far as the east is from the west.” And Ephesians describes it as “width, length, height, and depth.” The Psalms speak in terms of distance, Ephesians speaks in terms of dimensions, and all of this love is fulfilled in the cross ofJesus Christ.

1. The Unmeasurable Height (v.11)/“As high as the heavens are above the earth…” God’s love is immeasurable in height—beyond calculation, beyond condition. The cross is the event where the highest God came down to the lowest place.
2.The Eternal Length(vv.12,17)/“As far as the east is from the west…from everlasting to everlasting.” This love is a distance that can never meet again &a time that never ends. God has completely removed our sins. The cross is the love that cuts off the past and opens the future.

3. The Boundless Width(vv.13–14)/“As a father has compassion on his children…” This is embracing love— a love that holds us again when we fall. The cross is where God stretched out His arms and embraced us.

4. The Unchanging Eternity (vv.15–18)/“Life is like grass…” We are fragile and easily shaken, but God’s love is not. “From everlasting to everlasting”— His love never changes.

5. The Cross: Love That Bridged the Distance/There was an unbridgeable distance between God and us. But Jesus crossed that distance. The cross is where separation was replaced with connection. Now we can say: We who were far have been brought near.
Response and Conclusion/ “Bless the Lord, O my soul.” Receive God’s love. Stop condemning yourself. Let His love flow to others. Beloved, God’s love has already reached you. That distance has already been filled by the cross. Now step into that love.
Prayer/Loving Father, thank You for loving us with a love greater than the distance between heaven&earth. Help us lay down our doubts&self-condemnation,&receive the love revealed in the cross. Let us live in that love&share it with others. In the name of Jesus Christ we pray, Amen.