The Love of God – Marc Labonte
“Who has come here expecting a miracle? Who has stood before God this week and asked Him to speak to you?” The audience of over 500 listens intently as Marc addresses them with concern and sincerity. “You have not come here by your own will. The hand of God has led you here. Without us taking God into consideration, He considers us and finds us where we are because He loves us. Nobody can know what God has prepared for you, but when it happens your heart will know that He has prepared it in advance for you. There are many reasons why you could be here, but God has one purpose for you.”
Marc opens the Bible to Luke 10 and reads verses 25 to 37 – the story of the Good Samaritan. He says that when we read this parable we can see our own story. Robbers attacked the man who travelled along the road, stripped and beat him and left him half dead. The desire of the devil is to do the same to us, the young people of the world. He operates with hatred and aims only to destroy. This is the spirit of the world – one whose single goal is to ruin the lives of people. Many young people can’t see this. They are unaware that their lives are controlled by the devil. He wants to drag them into all kinds of things and squeeze out of them anything that is good. But Jesus, who created us and who loves us, wants to save us.
When that man found himself beaten, robbed, half dead and helpless, a religious man walked past without helping him. He avoided him and passed over to the other side of the road. Religion can’t save you. It can’t do anything to help you. It is powerless to pick you up, to restore you and to lead you onto the right path. So many young people are looking to be delivered, but religion can offer them nothing. Marc now talks about his own experience as a young man. He did everything his religion asked of him. He wanted to please God, but he was cut off from Him, dead in his sin and beaten down; broken like the man on the road. On his own he could not enter into fellowship with God, no matter what he thought or what he did. “I didn’t go to Jesus, He came to me.” Like the man on the side of the road, he was in a terrible state, lost in his sin and beaten down by the devil. Nobody could help him and everyone had written him off. But Jesus, like the Good Samaritan, came to his rescue. With a heart of love and compassion He took pity on him, stooped down from the heavenly heights, and lifted him up from where he lay in ruin. He showed him that He died for him, that He gave His life freely for him, and He healed the wound the devil gave him, the wound that leads to death.
The first commandment is to love God. We can’t do this through religion. We need to feel the healing touch of Jesus and experience His love and compassion to be able to love Him in return. So many young people around the world have never tasted the love of God. Marc lifts his hand now and points at the audience, sitting in absolute silence, riveted by his words. “Jesus is reaching out to touch you tonight to rescue you from the devil so that you may love Him and give Him your lives.”
But how do we find the way to renounce the world, deny our sinful desires, and allow the love of God to consume our hearts? We need the revelation of what Jesus did on the cross for us. Through this we will see that where men have failed, God is faithful and He never fails. He offered His own son Jesus who sacrificed His life and opened the way for us to find the true purpose for our lives. This is our reason to live. We are ready to identify with the one who gave His life for us so that His life becomes our own. This is God’s plan for our lives, His one purpose for us all.
Marc now addresses a serious issue that exists in the church today. Young people in churches throughout the world resemble those that are not in the church; there is little difference between the lives that they lead. They are still held captive by the devil. As a result they often feel guilty and condemned and are unable to surrender their lives fully to Jesus. The love of God has been cancelled out by religion. There is no revelation of the cross of Christ. But the good news is that this revelation that sets hearts and lives free is returning through the apostolic anointing and the team ministry that accompanies it. This revelation enables us to demonstrate the heart of Jesus, which we have experienced, to those who are beaten and left for dead on the side of the road.
“When I look at some of the faces I see here at camp, I would never imagine that they would be brought to their knees before God and completely transformed,” says Marc. He now talks about what the church should be for young people. God provides a home in which young people can grow and a family to take care of them. The church is not a man-made organisation but a product of the cross of Jesus. His love brings us to live for others, to give of ourselves and go the extra mile. We want to see God change the lives of young people and set them free so that they will grow into maturity and be ready to surrender their whole lives to Him. The strength of the church is the heart of Jesus! In the same way Jesus gave His life for us, we should give our lives for each other. That is what makes the church strong and provides a place of security, compassion and love for young people.
Marc now challenges us by presenting us with some scenarios. He says perhaps we haven’t taken that step yet, but God wants to have mercy on us. Perhaps our parents are not believers or not connected to a church, but God wants to save me and change my heart. Perhaps we can see how the devil has taken control of our lives, but in an instant God can deliver us. Jesus is powerful to break our chains, to save our lives and to set us free. He alone can make our hearts burn with love for him. Because he sacrificed His life for us He enables us to give our lives to Him and receive His life in exchange. Jesus wants to open our eyes, captivate our hearts and give us the gift of eternal life. He wants to send us to people who are suffering and use us to help those who are prisoners like we once were. Marc now states that he believes there are people present who are ready to say that they're tired of the world and its empty promises. They want Jesus. They're ready to answer the call of God! They want the joy of knowing Jesus and doing His will. They want to follow Him and take the road He took for them.
We need to be willing to pay the price that shows we are not of this world. If we can see what it cost Jesus to save us, we will be willing to sacrifice our own lives to gain His life. We may think we are not worthy to be called by God, but no-one is worthy. It is the greatest honour, the highest calling, and it motivates us to take up our cross and follow Jesus. God doesn’t need us to do and say great things; He wants us to carry His heart. He wants us to say, “Here I am Lord. You didn’t die for nothing! You have won my heart by your death on the cross. Take my life! I will serve you forever!”
God can show us that our lives can be something glorious – from the side of the road to the glory of heaven. We can’t afford to resist His love. It’s time to let go of our lives and place them in the hands of God so that He can make us an instrument for His purposes. Whatever we have to face we will have God’s grace to endure it. When we surrender our lives to Him, God shows us what we need to do and gives us the strength to do it. The choices we make and the lives we live will show everyone what He has done in us. God will reward us for everything we are prepared to lose for His sake. There is no greater joy than to be with God for all eternity, starting now!
Marc now poses the question, “Do you feel the love of God drawing you tonight in spite of everything you want to do with your life?” He says that God’s love is like a magnet. It’s too powerful to resist. It will take us from where we are today, no matter what state we are in, and draw us to Him so that we become one with Him. Marc believes that tonight is the beginning of something real for many present, that they won’t know Jesus only by name anymore, but they’ll know Him in their hearts. “God does not lie,” declares Marc boldly, “if He calls you He is faithful to save you. Respond to Him.” The love of God overcomes darkness. It melts our hearts. His light will always prevail. If we look at Jesus and want to be like Him, there is only one way. We have to lose everything that motivates us in this world and hand over our lives to Him.
He now makes a call to those who feel that they are present at camp because God has chosen this moment to touch their hearts. This is the time for them to start a new life, to experience a new birth into the Kingdom of God and to give their lives to Jesus their Saviour. Then he makes another call to those who have already given their lives to Jesus, but are being held captive by the schemes of the devil and want to be set free. The grace of God is available for them to be delivered from this slavery. He asks them to come forward for prayer and to surrender their lives to Jesus who loves them and wants to save them. Those feeling the conviction of the Holy Spirit in their hearts move forward to the front where the Elders gather to pray for their salvation and a new life in Jesus. The voice of God has challenged, convicted and brought truth and love to many hearts this evening. It is a great joy to witness the grace of God setting young people free from the clutches of the devil and the merciless world.
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