1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:06,200 Well, good morning, everyone. Today, we come to the best-known and, I think, surely, the 2 00:00:06,200 –> 00:00:14,800 best-loved verse in all of the Bible. John, chapter 3 and verse 16. God so loved the world 3 00:00:14,800 –> 00:00:26,639 that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal 4 00:00:26,760 –> 00:00:32,759 life. Now, our series over these last weeks in John’s Gospel, the early chapters, has 5 00:00:32,759 –> 00:00:39,459 been called Meet Jesus. And our aim has been, together, to take a fresh look at Jesus Christ 6 00:00:39,459 –> 00:00:45,680 as He is presented to us in the scriptures. And we’re doing this particularly because 7 00:00:45,680 –> 00:00:52,439 many, many people have become alienated from Christian faith. And the reason is that they 8 00:00:52,740 –> 00:00:59,860 heard a garbled version of the Christian message. And it may be that among us today, that’s 9 00:00:59,860 –> 00:01:06,500 true for some of us, that what you’ve heard is a version of the Christian message that 10 00:01:06,500 –> 00:01:11,559 left you with the impression that Christianity was to be identified with a particular political 11 00:01:11,559 –> 00:01:18,559 persuasion or hatred for certain groups of people, or that it’s somehow a vast institution 12 00:01:19,440 –> 00:01:25,820 that seems almost to suffocate Jesus Christ so that you could not really find Him there. 13 00:01:25,820 –> 00:01:31,739 Many, many people today are stepping back from faith. And the reason that they are stepping 14 00:01:31,739 –> 00:01:37,540 back from faith is not that they have trusted Jesus Christ and found him wanting. The reason 15 00:01:37,540 –> 00:01:43,800 is that they have yet to come to know Jesus Christ as He is presented to us in the scriptures. 16 00:01:43,879 –> 00:01:50,580 Hence, we’re coming to John’s Gospel in order to meet Jesus. And over these last weeks, 17 00:01:50,580 –> 00:01:56,040 we’ve walked through the opening chapters of John’s Gospel. We’ve seen who Jesus is 18 00:01:56,040 –> 00:02:00,339 from the beginning of the Gospel, that he is the eternal, personal, divine, creating, 19 00:02:00,339 –> 00:02:06,919 life-giving, incarnate Son of God, the sevenfold glory of Jesus. That’s who He is. 20 00:02:06,919 –> 00:02:11,399 We saw what He does, John the Baptist introduced Him. He’s the Lamb of God who takes away 21 00:02:11,399 –> 00:02:17,240 the sin of the world, and He is the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. In other words, 22 00:02:17,240 –> 00:02:23,759 He takes away sin and He can fill you with new life that comes from God Himself. 23 00:02:23,759 –> 00:02:29,740 And, I had never actually noticed this until last week, but as you move into John chapter 24 00:02:29,740 –> 00:02:36,240 two, you find that exactly what John the Baptist said about Jesus is reflected in the first 25 00:02:36,240 –> 00:02:38,479 two things that he does. 26 00:02:38,600 –> 00:02:42,800 And, if you remember these two things from chapter two, He turns water into wine, that 27 00:02:42,800 –> 00:02:45,520 is He changes the nature of something. 28 00:02:45,520 –> 00:02:46,839 He renews it. 29 00:02:46,839 –> 00:02:49,419 And, then He cleanses the temple. 30 00:02:49,419 –> 00:02:53,119 He takes away from the presence of God that which should not be there. 31 00:02:53,119 –> 00:02:57,520 So, John says, behold the Lamb of God, He takes away the sin of the world, that is He 32 00:02:57,520 –> 00:03:02,279 cleanses and He baptizes with the Holy Spirit, that is He gives new life. 33 00:03:02,279 –> 00:03:05,080 And, straightaway, what we find Him doing? 34 00:03:05,100 –> 00:03:06,800 We find Him making things new. 35 00:03:06,800 –> 00:03:09,940 Turning water into wine and cleansing the temple. 36 00:03:09,940 –> 00:03:10,960 These two things. 37 00:03:10,960 –> 00:03:15,380 And, then we got into chapter three and the same themes continue. 38 00:03:15,380 –> 00:03:18,619 Here’s this man Nicodemus that we saw last week. 39 00:03:18,619 –> 00:03:21,639 He’s a very successful person. 40 00:03:21,639 –> 00:03:23,559 He’s very well educated. 41 00:03:23,559 –> 00:03:27,279 He’s morally upright kind of a person. 42 00:03:27,279 –> 00:03:31,960 And, Jesus says to him, now you must be born again. 43 00:03:31,960 –> 00:03:34,860 And, then Jesus explains what that means. 44 00:03:34,860 –> 00:03:38,039 You need to be born of water and of the Spirit. 45 00:03:38,039 –> 00:03:42,440 In other words, you need a new birth that is going to, what? 46 00:03:42,440 –> 00:03:44,779 Cleanse you and renew you. 47 00:03:44,779 –> 00:03:45,899 That’s what you’re going to need. 48 00:03:45,899 –> 00:03:50,699 And, Nicodemus, of course, responds by saying, how’s that possible for me. 49 00:03:50,699 –> 00:03:52,899 You can see, I’m not a youngster, Nicodemus says. 50 00:03:52,899 –> 00:03:54,240 He was a mature person. 51 00:03:54,240 –> 00:03:58,199 So he says, how can a man be born again when he’s old? 52 00:03:58,199 –> 00:04:00,839 How am I going to cleanse myself in midlife? 53 00:04:00,839 –> 00:04:03,460 How am I gonna make myself anew? 54 00:04:03,619 –> 00:04:06,279 That’s not something I can do. 55 00:04:06,279 –> 00:04:12,100 And that takes us to John chapter 3 in verse 16 where we are today, where we are told very, 56 00:04:12,100 –> 00:04:18,980 very clearly that Jesus Christ does for us, for those who believe in him, what we cannot 57 00:04:18,980 –> 00:04:20,880 do for ourselves. 58 00:04:20,880 –> 00:04:25,040 That is, we cannot cleanse ourselves, we cannot renew ourselves, and these things come to 59 00:04:25,040 –> 00:04:28,260 us only through Jesus Christ. 60 00:04:28,260 –> 00:04:32,559 So that’s where we’ve come to today, John and chapter 3 in verse 16. 61 00:04:33,079 –> 00:04:38,839 And I have just three very simple things to say from this familiar verse to us today. 62 00:04:38,839 –> 00:04:41,380 The first is that God loves you. 63 00:04:41,380 –> 00:04:47,179 The second is that God gave his son for you, and the third is that God lovingly invites 64 00:04:47,179 –> 00:04:50,260 you to believe in his son. 65 00:04:51,260 –> 00:04:54,880 First, then, God loves you. 66 00:04:54,880 –> 00:04:59,839 God so loved the world. 67 00:05:00,260 –> 00:05:05,579 Now, when we read about the love of God here, that he so loved the world, that he gave his 68 00:05:05,579 –> 00:05:12,579 only son, it is evident from the reference to the son that it is particularly the love 69 00:05:12,579 –> 00:05:17,079 of the Father that is in view here. 70 00:05:17,079 –> 00:05:20,799 And here’s something really important to grasp. 71 00:05:20,799 –> 00:05:28,339 The Son of God did not come into the world and die on the cross in order to make the 72 00:05:28,359 –> 00:05:31,700 Father love you. 73 00:05:31,700 –> 00:05:40,540 The Son of God came into the world and died on the cross because the Father loves you. 74 00:05:40,540 –> 00:05:46,859 Now here is why that is really important, especially for church people to grasp. 75 00:05:46,859 –> 00:05:53,100 I think that there are many people in churches today who go through life with the feeling 76 00:05:53,100 –> 00:05:57,119 that somehow God is against them. 77 00:05:57,119 –> 00:06:03,200 That somehow he may put up with you for the sake of Jesus Christ, but that because your 78 00:06:03,200 –> 00:06:09,820 faith is weak and because your sins are many, you feel that in his heart God really despises 79 00:06:09,820 –> 00:06:10,820 you. 80 00:06:10,820 –> 00:06:14,839 And that if he had his way, he would quite gladly condemn you but that the only thing 81 00:06:14,839 –> 00:06:19,779 that holds him back from doing this, what he really wants to do is that Jesus died for 82 00:06:19,779 –> 00:06:22,440 you on the cross. 83 00:06:22,679 –> 00:06:24,820 Think about this picture. 84 00:06:24,820 –> 00:06:31,320 A boy is invited by his friend for a sleepover in his house. 85 00:06:31,320 –> 00:06:38,760 But when the boy comes to the friend’s house, the friend’s father is obviously not pleased 86 00:06:38,760 –> 00:06:40,359 to see him. 87 00:06:40,359 –> 00:06:45,079 The father is buried somewhere in his newspaper, and scarcely looks at the boy who has come 88 00:06:45,079 –> 00:06:46,559 for the sleepover. 89 00:06:46,559 –> 00:06:50,760 And it is very clear to the boy that while his friend wants him to be in the house and 90 00:06:50,760 –> 00:06:54,640 to be there for a sleepover, the father does not want him to be there. 91 00:06:54,640 –> 00:06:59,000 In fact he has no interest in being there, and he is actually slightly irritated by the 92 00:06:59,000 –> 00:07:01,119 fact that he is there. 93 00:07:01,119 –> 00:07:07,559 The father sort of tolerates the boy being there, for the sake of the son he loves. 94 00:07:07,559 –> 00:07:09,420 Now think about that. 95 00:07:09,420 –> 00:07:17,519 You see, if that is the reality, however much the boy likes his friend, he will not go to 96 00:07:17,519 –> 00:07:21,559 the father’s house, and he certainly will not have joy and gladness in the father’s 97 00:07:21,559 –> 00:07:28,519 house, so long as he has the sense that the father does not really want him there. 98 00:07:28,519 –> 00:07:33,079 And friend, as long as you have somewhere deep in your heart a suspicion about God, 99 00:07:33,079 –> 00:07:38,079 that he really is still somehow in his heart of hearts against you, you will never find 100 00:07:38,079 –> 00:07:42,440 peace, you will never find hope, and you will never find joy in God. 101 00:07:42,480 –> 00:07:47,160 And so if that’s where you are, here is what you need to take in most deeply. 102 00:07:47,160 –> 00:07:49,859 God loves you. 103 00:07:49,859 –> 00:07:52,459 He really does. 104 00:07:52,459 –> 00:07:54,899 And this is a wonderful truth for all of us. 105 00:07:54,899 –> 00:07:59,920 It’s a wonderful truth for the person in the congregation today who’s furthest from God, 106 00:07:59,920 –> 00:08:03,859 and it’s a wonderful truth for whoever may be near to God. 107 00:08:03,859 –> 00:08:06,839 Let me apply it to the person who feels far from God today. 108 00:08:07,279 –> 00:08:10,079 Listen, you’re not walking with God. 109 00:08:10,239 –> 00:08:11,920 You’ve grown cold towards Him. 110 00:08:11,920 –> 00:08:17,399 You’ve lost the sense that you once had of your real need of Him in your life. 111 00:08:17,399 –> 00:08:22,160 Or maybe you’re here for some reason other than an interest in God, and really, you don’t 112 00:08:22,160 –> 00:08:24,500 have any interest in Him at all. 113 00:08:24,500 –> 00:08:27,540 Here’s how this works, friend. 114 00:08:27,540 –> 00:08:34,739 How you feel towards God will always be a direct reflection of how you most deeply feel 115 00:08:34,739 –> 00:08:37,919 He is towards you. 116 00:08:37,979 –> 00:08:43,599 See, if in your heart of heart, whatever is on the surface, if you in your heart of heart 117 00:08:43,599 –> 00:08:50,760 think that God is against you, then you in your heart of heart will be against Him. 118 00:08:50,760 –> 00:08:57,179 If you in your heart of heart think that God has no interest in you and doesn’t care for 119 00:08:57,179 –> 00:09:02,239 you, then in your heart of heart, you will have no interest in Him, and you will not 120 00:09:02,239 –> 00:09:04,479 care for Him. 121 00:09:04,479 –> 00:09:10,159 But if today you were to come to believe what this verse says, that God loves you, do you 122 00:09:10,159 –> 00:09:11,460 know what would happen? 123 00:09:11,460 –> 00:09:16,219 In your heart of heart, you would truly come to love Him. 124 00:09:16,219 –> 00:09:23,179 Because what you feel towards God is always a reflection of what you most deeply believe 125 00:09:23,179 –> 00:09:27,460 about how He is towards you. 126 00:09:27,460 –> 00:09:29,280 So here’s the message. 127 00:09:29,280 –> 00:09:31,559 God so loved the world. 128 00:09:31,559 –> 00:09:32,640 You’re part of the world. 129 00:09:32,640 –> 00:09:37,359 What that means is that God loves you. 130 00:09:37,359 –> 00:09:44,640 And that applies to the person who feels furthest from God in the congregation here today. 131 00:09:44,640 –> 00:09:46,760 And what about the person who truly loves God? 132 00:09:46,760 –> 00:09:48,299 How does this apply to us? 133 00:09:48,299 –> 00:09:49,520 Well, multiple ways. 134 00:09:49,520 –> 00:09:50,520 Here’s one. 135 00:09:50,520 –> 00:09:53,000 You’ve come to love God from the heart. 136 00:09:53,000 –> 00:09:54,900 Let me put it this way. 137 00:09:54,900 –> 00:09:56,340 It’s a quote from Bishop Rhyl. 138 00:09:56,340 –> 00:09:57,340 He says this. 139 00:09:57,859 –> 00:10:03,159 Never be ashamed of imitating whom you serve. 140 00:10:03,179 –> 00:10:08,520 Never be ashamed of imitating the one who you serve. 141 00:10:08,520 –> 00:10:10,719 God loved the world. 142 00:10:10,719 –> 00:10:12,900 Now you’ve come to love him? 143 00:10:12,900 –> 00:10:15,340 Well then you come and reflect that same love. 144 00:10:15,340 –> 00:10:17,299 You be full of love. 145 00:10:17,299 –> 00:10:20,799 Full of kindness towards all people. 146 00:10:20,799 –> 00:10:24,859 Let us seek to love those God has placed next to us. 147 00:10:24,859 –> 00:10:26,440 Love begins at home. 148 00:10:26,440 –> 00:10:28,599 It doesn’t end there but it sure has to begin there. 149 00:10:28,599 –> 00:10:30,619 It begins with family and with friends, 150 00:10:30,619 –> 00:10:32,500 and with the family of God. 151 00:10:33,440 –> 00:10:35,859 But Bishop Rial says this and I think it’s very helpful, 152 00:10:35,859 –> 00:10:38,840 he says, let there be nothing narrow, 153 00:10:38,840 –> 00:10:41,280 nothing limited, nothing contracted, 154 00:10:41,280 –> 00:10:44,559 stingy, or sectarian about your love. 155 00:10:44,559 –> 00:10:47,140 God loved the world. 156 00:10:47,140 –> 00:10:51,900 And so never be ashamed of reflecting, 157 00:10:51,900 –> 00:10:55,039 imitating the one who you serve. 158 00:10:55,099 –> 00:10:59,419 And here’s what that means, love atheists as God loves them. 159 00:11:00,500 –> 00:11:03,400 Love Muslims as God loves them. 160 00:11:04,299 –> 00:11:06,900 Love the world as God loves the world, 161 00:11:06,900 –> 00:11:11,059 love your enemies as God loved his enemies, 162 00:11:11,059 –> 00:11:15,460 God loved you before you ever loved him. 163 00:11:15,460 –> 00:11:18,140 It was while we were still sinners 164 00:11:18,140 –> 00:11:22,460 that Christ died for us. 165 00:11:22,460 –> 00:11:23,299 So here’s the first thing, 166 00:11:23,340 –> 00:11:28,140 here’s the most marvelous truth, God loves you. 167 00:11:29,260 –> 00:11:34,260 Now, here’s the second, God gave His Son for you. 168 00:11:35,359 –> 00:11:38,679 And here’s how you know that God loves you. 169 00:11:38,679 –> 00:11:43,059 Very important, God so loved the world 170 00:11:43,059 –> 00:11:46,580 that He gave His one and only Son. 171 00:11:48,080 –> 00:11:51,299 Now, notice it does not say that God so loved the world 172 00:11:51,299 –> 00:11:53,780 that he admits everyone to heaven. 173 00:11:55,020 –> 00:11:57,739 It does not say that God so loved the world 174 00:11:57,739 –> 00:12:02,140 that He has set about eradicating suffering on the earth. 175 00:12:02,140 –> 00:12:04,299 It says that God so loved the world 176 00:12:04,299 –> 00:12:07,539 that He gave His one and only Son. 177 00:12:07,539 –> 00:12:10,940 And what that means is that the love of God 178 00:12:10,940 –> 00:12:15,940 is seen and known in Jesus Christ. 179 00:12:17,539 –> 00:12:19,320 Now, here’s why that’s important. 180 00:12:20,320 –> 00:12:24,880 The Bible also speaks about the wrath of God. 181 00:12:24,880 –> 00:12:27,559 The wrath of God being revealed from heaven. 182 00:12:28,520 –> 00:12:32,380 It tells us that this God of love is holy 183 00:12:32,380 –> 00:12:35,039 and that this whole world is under His judgment. 184 00:12:35,039 –> 00:12:38,340 That’s in the Old Testament and in the new. 185 00:12:38,340 –> 00:12:40,340 Even in this verse about the love of God, 186 00:12:40,340 –> 00:12:41,760 we have that word, perishing, 187 00:12:41,760 –> 00:12:44,159 which means the complete undoing 188 00:12:44,159 –> 00:12:48,119 or unraveling of a human life. 189 00:12:48,200 –> 00:12:50,739 Whoever believes in Him should not perish. 190 00:12:50,739 –> 00:12:53,820 There are passages in the Bible 191 00:12:53,820 –> 00:12:55,640 about the judgment of God 192 00:12:55,640 –> 00:12:59,239 that would make your hair stand on end 193 00:12:59,239 –> 00:13:04,280 and they are as true as John 3, 16. 194 00:13:06,020 –> 00:13:10,320 So how then do you know that God loves you? 195 00:13:10,320 –> 00:13:12,260 That’s the question, how do you know? 196 00:13:13,679 –> 00:13:14,880 And there are two ways 197 00:13:14,880 –> 00:13:17,080 in which we could answer that question. 198 00:13:17,080 –> 00:13:19,820 I’m gonna give you one way first that doesn’t work 199 00:13:19,820 –> 00:13:21,200 but it’s very common. 200 00:13:22,280 –> 00:13:23,359 And then I’m gonna give you the way 201 00:13:23,359 –> 00:13:25,599 in which the Bible answers that question 202 00:13:25,599 –> 00:13:28,059 which, of course, does work because it’s wonderfully true. 203 00:13:28,059 –> 00:13:29,799 Here’s the one that doesn’t work. 204 00:13:29,799 –> 00:13:31,679 How do you know that God loves you? 205 00:13:33,380 –> 00:13:35,260 Well, some people answer it this way. 206 00:13:35,260 –> 00:13:39,320 They say, well, I know that God loves me because 207 00:13:39,320 –> 00:13:43,039 and then they list the joys and blessings of their lives. 208 00:13:44,659 –> 00:13:46,900 I know that God loves me 209 00:13:46,900 –> 00:13:48,780 because I have a wonderful wife. 210 00:13:49,799 –> 00:13:52,260 I have healthy kids. 211 00:13:52,260 –> 00:13:54,460 I have good friends. 212 00:13:54,460 –> 00:13:57,219 I have a great job that I really enjoy. 213 00:13:58,539 –> 00:14:00,099 Now every good gift, of course, 214 00:14:00,099 –> 00:14:03,580 comes down from God who is our heavenly father 215 00:14:03,580 –> 00:14:06,260 and it is right to see every blessing 216 00:14:06,260 –> 00:14:10,059 as a gift from his hand and to thank him for it. 217 00:14:10,059 –> 00:14:14,419 But here’s the problem with trying to discern 218 00:14:14,440 –> 00:14:19,280 and assure yourself on the love of God on that basis. 219 00:14:19,280 –> 00:14:22,859 What happens when you lose that great job? 220 00:14:23,900 –> 00:14:28,260 What happens when someone in your wonderful family 221 00:14:28,260 –> 00:14:32,219 experiences a trauma, suffers a violence, 222 00:14:32,219 –> 00:14:36,260 is diagnosed with a lethal disease? 223 00:14:37,219 –> 00:14:40,380 How do you assure yourself that God loves you then? 224 00:14:41,380 –> 00:14:45,080 What do you do when the person who loves you 225 00:14:45,080 –> 00:14:49,479 or who you most love, loses interest in you? 226 00:14:49,479 –> 00:14:51,820 How are you going to assure yourself 227 00:14:51,820 –> 00:14:54,239 of God’s love for you then? 228 00:14:55,780 –> 00:14:59,419 See if you try to discern the love of God 229 00:14:59,419 –> 00:15:04,419 from your own experience, you will always be in confusion. 230 00:15:05,099 –> 00:15:06,820 When blessings come down you will say, 231 00:15:06,840 –> 00:15:10,559 ah, God loves me, and then whenever trouble comes 232 00:15:10,559 –> 00:15:13,659 you’ll say, ah, God must be against me. 233 00:15:13,659 –> 00:15:15,320 And here’s the problem with that, 234 00:15:15,320 –> 00:15:17,039 that you will then lose the sense 235 00:15:17,039 –> 00:15:20,679 of the love of God for you at precisely the moment 236 00:15:20,679 –> 00:15:22,859 where you need it most. 237 00:15:23,820 –> 00:15:26,859 Now here’s the thing, experience in this world, 238 00:15:26,859 –> 00:15:28,380 whether you’re a Christian or not, 239 00:15:28,380 –> 00:15:32,219 will always be mixed, and it will always be confusing. 240 00:15:32,219 –> 00:15:34,880 This world is in a mess, and it’s in a mess 241 00:15:34,919 –> 00:15:38,719 because it is in rebellion against God. 242 00:15:38,719 –> 00:15:41,239 If you look at the world you would never be able 243 00:15:41,239 –> 00:15:44,780 to come to the conclusion that God loves the world. 244 00:15:44,780 –> 00:15:46,039 You say, well, look at the violence, 245 00:15:46,039 –> 00:15:47,799 look at the terrorism, look at the war, 246 00:15:47,799 –> 00:15:49,640 look at the suffering, look at the disease. 247 00:15:49,640 –> 00:15:51,880 How could I ever believe that God loves the world 248 00:15:51,880 –> 00:15:53,059 when I look at the world? 249 00:15:53,059 –> 00:15:55,919 You can’t come to believe that God loves the world 250 00:15:55,919 –> 00:15:57,640 by looking at the world. 251 00:15:57,640 –> 00:15:59,960 If that’s what you’re doing you’ll always be in confusion. 252 00:15:59,960 –> 00:16:01,900 You’ll say, I can’t come to believe. 253 00:16:01,900 –> 00:16:03,979 It’s because you’re trying to assure yourself 254 00:16:04,080 –> 00:16:07,739 of the love of God by looking in the wrong place. 255 00:16:08,559 –> 00:16:11,559 So how do you know that God loves you? 256 00:16:12,520 –> 00:16:16,859 Answer, you know that God loves you 257 00:16:16,859 –> 00:16:21,340 because He gave His son for you. 258 00:16:22,239 –> 00:16:24,200 And that is clear not only in this verse 259 00:16:24,200 –> 00:16:25,840 but right across the New Testament, 260 00:16:25,840 –> 00:16:27,580 it’s repeated again and again. 261 00:16:27,580 –> 00:16:32,580 Romans 5, 8, God shows His love towards us in this 262 00:16:33,520 –> 00:16:36,820 but while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 263 00:16:36,820 –> 00:16:38,820 One John chapter four in verse nine, 264 00:16:38,820 –> 00:16:41,820 in this the love of God is manifest among us. 265 00:16:41,820 –> 00:16:43,900 This is how the love of God is known in other words. 266 00:16:43,900 –> 00:16:47,440 How is it known that God sent his only son into the world 267 00:16:47,440 –> 00:16:49,979 that we might have life through him? 268 00:16:49,979 –> 00:16:52,500 And here in John 3, 16, how do we know 269 00:16:52,500 –> 00:16:54,580 that God loves us, God so loved the world 270 00:16:54,580 –> 00:16:58,539 that He gave His only son. 271 00:16:59,299 –> 00:17:03,099 Now, you say how is this the love of God? 272 00:17:03,099 –> 00:17:05,500 So many of us know this well 273 00:17:05,500 –> 00:17:08,839 and if you do, just rejoice with me in these moments in it 274 00:17:08,839 –> 00:17:10,699 while I remind you of it. 275 00:17:10,699 –> 00:17:13,199 What happened when God gave His son? 276 00:17:13,199 –> 00:17:18,199 God became man in Jesus Christ. 277 00:17:18,199 –> 00:17:22,060 God, the Son, who is one with the Father 278 00:17:22,060 –> 00:17:24,219 and is at the Father’s side, 279 00:17:25,199 –> 00:17:29,459 He came to us, He took His stand with us, 280 00:17:29,459 –> 00:17:32,739 and He acted for us. 281 00:17:33,819 –> 00:17:38,420 If Jesus, think about this, was only man, 282 00:17:38,420 –> 00:17:41,359 He would be as far from God as we are. 283 00:17:42,619 –> 00:17:46,520 And Jesus, think about this, if He was only God, 284 00:17:46,520 –> 00:17:50,500 He would be as far from us as God is. 285 00:17:51,420 –> 00:17:53,579 And so the fact that God has become man 286 00:17:53,579 –> 00:17:57,020 and man have been brought together in this person, 287 00:17:57,020 –> 00:17:58,099 Jesus Christ. 288 00:17:58,099 –> 00:18:00,260 This never happened in any other time or place 289 00:18:00,260 –> 00:18:02,859 in all of human history, but it did happen in Him. 290 00:18:02,859 –> 00:18:04,579 That’s what we’re being told in the Bible, 291 00:18:04,579 –> 00:18:06,800 the God-man, He actually brings God and man 292 00:18:06,800 –> 00:18:08,540 together in Himself. 293 00:18:09,380 –> 00:18:11,579 And then, what does He do when He comes? 294 00:18:11,579 –> 00:18:13,819 Well, He deals with everything 295 00:18:13,819 –> 00:18:17,119 that alienates us from God. 296 00:18:17,119 –> 00:18:18,060 How did He do that? 297 00:18:18,060 –> 00:18:22,540 Well, first, He lived the life that God requires 298 00:18:22,540 –> 00:18:25,699 of all of us, the life that none of us has actually lived. 299 00:18:25,699 –> 00:18:28,560 He perfectly fulfilled everything that God requires 300 00:18:28,560 –> 00:18:30,060 of every woman and every man. 301 00:18:30,060 –> 00:18:32,560 He fulfilled the law of God in a perfect life, 302 00:18:32,560 –> 00:18:37,560 and then He laid that life down as a sacrifice. 303 00:18:37,959 –> 00:18:40,819 He actually stood in the place of sinners 304 00:18:40,819 –> 00:18:44,680 and entered into the condemnation that sinners deserve. 305 00:18:45,560 –> 00:18:47,780 And then on the third day, He rose from the dead 306 00:18:47,780 –> 00:18:49,979 and He ascended back to the Father 307 00:18:49,979 –> 00:18:51,260 from whom He came. 308 00:18:51,260 –> 00:18:56,260 God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, 309 00:18:56,380 –> 00:19:01,180 that whoever believes in Him should not perish 310 00:19:01,180 –> 00:19:04,439 but have eternal life. 311 00:19:04,439 –> 00:19:07,699 And however far you are from God today, 312 00:19:07,699 –> 00:19:11,780 whatever the ways in which you may have sinned against Him, 313 00:19:11,780 –> 00:19:14,380 if you will believe in this Son of God, 314 00:19:14,380 –> 00:19:16,819 who He is and in what He has done, 315 00:19:17,819 –> 00:19:20,099 then you will know that the Father has loved you 316 00:19:20,099 –> 00:19:21,619 and you will receive this gift 317 00:19:21,619 –> 00:19:23,959 that the Father has in His hands to give you. 318 00:19:25,000 –> 00:19:29,260 The Father could not have given a more costly gift to us, 319 00:19:29,260 –> 00:19:31,099 He gave His only Son. 320 00:19:32,099 –> 00:19:35,800 And there is no greater gift that any of us here 321 00:19:35,800 –> 00:19:37,420 could ever possibly receive 322 00:19:37,420 –> 00:19:40,380 because in Jesus Christ, we have this promise. 323 00:19:40,380 –> 00:19:43,739 You will not perish, 324 00:19:43,739 –> 00:19:46,880 but you will have everlasting life. 325 00:19:49,420 –> 00:19:50,380 Just last night, 326 00:19:51,660 –> 00:19:54,760 a man came up to me after our Saturday night service 327 00:19:54,760 –> 00:19:56,359 and he said, 328 00:19:56,359 –> 00:20:01,359 that truth of how we know that God loves us 329 00:20:02,339 –> 00:20:05,599 is really, really helpful to me. 330 00:20:07,040 –> 00:20:08,359 And he then told me a story 331 00:20:08,359 –> 00:20:10,800 and he said that I could share it with you today. 332 00:20:11,560 –> 00:20:13,959 He said last year, 333 00:20:13,959 –> 00:20:16,239 that he and his wife had gone 334 00:20:16,239 –> 00:20:19,979 for a great family celebration trip to Alaska, 335 00:20:19,979 –> 00:20:21,859 three generations. 336 00:20:21,859 –> 00:20:24,439 This couple, their children, 337 00:20:24,439 –> 00:20:26,859 their grandchildren looked forward to it. 338 00:20:27,739 –> 00:20:29,520 They’d gone biking in Alaska 339 00:20:29,520 –> 00:20:32,239 and during that trip last year, 340 00:20:32,239 –> 00:20:35,680 he said, my wife came off the bicycles, 341 00:20:35,680 –> 00:20:37,079 she was wearing crash helmet, 342 00:20:37,079 –> 00:20:39,219 but the impacts of her fall 343 00:20:39,219 –> 00:20:41,560 was greater than the helmet could bear 344 00:20:41,560 –> 00:20:44,459 and suffered a very severe injury, 345 00:20:44,459 –> 00:20:47,400 and he said, she has been on a ventilator 346 00:20:47,400 –> 00:20:50,479 since May of last year. 347 00:20:50,479 –> 00:20:54,880 He was just on his way to go visit her again last night, 348 00:20:54,880 –> 00:20:57,160 daily attending to her. 349 00:20:58,339 –> 00:21:03,099 And he said, it is so wonderful in the middle of this 350 00:21:04,079 –> 00:21:08,300 that we are able to know that God loves us 351 00:21:08,300 –> 00:21:12,579 because He sent his Son for us, 352 00:21:13,500 –> 00:21:16,479 and that whatever the outcome of her experience 353 00:21:16,479 –> 00:21:21,479 and indeed mine, we will not perish. 354 00:21:21,500 –> 00:21:24,859 We have everlasting life. 355 00:21:26,459 –> 00:21:28,819 Now, you see, there’s someone who’s found assurance 356 00:21:28,819 –> 00:21:31,979 of the love of God in the direst of circumstances 357 00:21:31,979 –> 00:21:33,939 by looking in the right place. 358 00:21:35,420 –> 00:21:37,359 He’s not saying my wife’s on a ventilator 359 00:21:37,359 –> 00:21:38,619 how can I know that God loves me? 360 00:21:38,619 –> 00:21:40,780 He’s saying I know that God loves me 361 00:21:40,780 –> 00:21:42,420 because He sent his Son. 362 00:21:43,859 –> 00:21:47,579 And our married life in this world 363 00:21:47,579 –> 00:21:50,400 may be tragically curtailed, 364 00:21:51,540 –> 00:21:55,459 but because of His Son, my wife and I, 365 00:21:55,459 –> 00:21:58,280 through faith in Him and all that He’s accomplished, 366 00:21:58,280 –> 00:21:59,979 we have more life than we can ever 367 00:22:00,239 –> 00:22:03,040 ever begin to imagine or to express. 368 00:22:04,619 –> 00:22:05,599 God loves you. 369 00:22:07,099 –> 00:22:11,859 And God gave His Son for you. 370 00:22:13,140 –> 00:22:14,920 And that leads to the third thing, 371 00:22:14,920 –> 00:22:17,420 God therefore lovingly invites you 372 00:22:17,420 –> 00:22:19,619 to do what this man and for his wife 373 00:22:19,619 –> 00:22:22,959 have done throughout their lives for many years. 374 00:22:22,959 –> 00:22:27,959 He lovingly invites you to believe in His Son. 375 00:22:28,680 –> 00:22:29,859 God so loved the world, 376 00:22:30,719 –> 00:22:34,319 that He gave His only Son that whoever believes in Him 377 00:22:35,699 –> 00:22:38,880 should not perish but have eternal life. 378 00:22:38,880 –> 00:22:41,000 Now this leads to this very important question, 379 00:22:41,000 –> 00:22:43,859 what does it mean to believe in Jesus? 380 00:22:44,739 –> 00:22:47,119 And I want to give one answer to that question, 381 00:22:47,119 –> 00:22:49,839 but I’m going to frame it two sides of the coin. 382 00:22:49,839 –> 00:22:52,020 I’m gonna frame it negatively and positively, 383 00:22:52,020 –> 00:22:54,839 it’s the same answer, just put a different way. 384 00:22:54,839 –> 00:22:58,479 What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ. 385 00:22:58,500 –> 00:23:01,819 Very important question, whoever believes in Him. 386 00:23:03,079 –> 00:23:05,739 First, putting it negatively. 387 00:23:05,739 –> 00:23:10,079 Believing in Jesus means not trusting in yourself 388 00:23:10,079 –> 00:23:12,040 or in your own attempts at pleasing God. 389 00:23:12,040 –> 00:23:13,920 That’s what it means. 390 00:23:13,920 –> 00:23:16,859 Believing in Jesus, whoever believes in Him, 391 00:23:16,859 –> 00:23:20,780 so there’s a transfer of trust, away from me and onto Him, 392 00:23:20,780 –> 00:23:22,400 whoever believes in Him, 393 00:23:22,400 –> 00:23:27,180 should not perish, but have eternal life. 394 00:23:27,900 –> 00:23:31,619 Notice that the verse does not say God so loved the world 395 00:23:31,619 –> 00:23:33,060 that he gave his only Son, 396 00:23:33,060 –> 00:23:35,739 that whoever proves to be a fine Christian person 397 00:23:35,739 –> 00:23:37,900 will not perish, but have everlasting life. 398 00:23:38,959 –> 00:23:41,819 It doesn’t say God so loved the world 399 00:23:41,819 –> 00:23:43,339 that he gave His one and only Son, 400 00:23:43,339 –> 00:23:45,459 that whoever finds that they are constantly filled 401 00:23:45,459 –> 00:23:46,780 with peace and joy and love, 402 00:23:46,780 –> 00:23:49,979 will not perish, but have eternal life. 403 00:23:49,979 –> 00:23:53,780 It doesn’t say God gave His one and only Son 404 00:23:53,780 –> 00:23:56,260 so that whoever can demonstrate 405 00:23:56,300 –> 00:23:58,219 that they are sufficiently sorry 406 00:23:58,219 –> 00:23:59,540 for all that they have done wrong 407 00:23:59,540 –> 00:24:00,920 and for all their sins against God 408 00:24:00,920 –> 00:24:02,219 and against other people, 409 00:24:02,219 –> 00:24:04,699 that person will not perish. 410 00:24:04,699 –> 00:24:06,459 Thank God it doesn’t say these things 411 00:24:06,459 –> 00:24:08,520 or anything like it, because if it did, 412 00:24:09,459 –> 00:24:14,459 we would end up looking for our whole lives 413 00:24:15,180 –> 00:24:17,619 at our sometimes miserable 414 00:24:17,619 –> 00:24:19,780 and always inadequate attempts 415 00:24:19,780 –> 00:24:21,939 to live a truly Christian life. 416 00:24:21,939 –> 00:24:23,260 And we would have no peace, 417 00:24:23,260 –> 00:24:24,099 we would have no hope, 418 00:24:24,099 –> 00:24:25,420 and we would have no joy, 419 00:24:25,420 –> 00:24:27,560 because whenever you look at your best attempts 420 00:24:27,560 –> 00:24:29,520 to live a life that’s pleasing for God, 421 00:24:29,520 –> 00:24:31,380 you can only ever come to the conclusion 422 00:24:31,380 –> 00:24:32,660 that they’re incomplete 423 00:24:32,660 –> 00:24:35,619 and you cannot find peace, rest, or joy there. 424 00:24:36,619 –> 00:24:39,579 So thank God that it says something very different. 425 00:24:39,579 –> 00:24:42,619 It says whoever believes in Him 426 00:24:42,619 –> 00:24:46,339 should not perish but have eternal life. 427 00:24:48,219 –> 00:24:51,439 Now believing is both the simplest 428 00:24:51,439 –> 00:24:53,660 and the hardest thing that a person can ever do. 429 00:24:53,660 –> 00:24:56,040 It’s the simplest because what are you to do? 430 00:24:56,040 –> 00:24:57,900 You’re to look at what God tells you 431 00:24:57,900 –> 00:25:00,219 about who Jesus is, what he has done. 432 00:25:00,219 –> 00:25:01,699 You’re to believe what he tells you 433 00:25:01,699 –> 00:25:03,939 and you’re to trust yourself to him 434 00:25:03,939 –> 00:25:06,420 to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. 435 00:25:06,420 –> 00:25:08,260 Nothing could be simpler than that. 436 00:25:09,520 –> 00:25:10,920 But I say it’s also the hardest thing. 437 00:25:10,920 –> 00:25:13,099 It’s actually against our nature to do that. 438 00:25:13,099 –> 00:25:14,719 What we naturally want to do 439 00:25:14,719 –> 00:25:16,900 is to try and prove ourselves to God, 440 00:25:16,900 –> 00:25:19,880 to say to God we can do it, we can do it. 441 00:25:19,880 –> 00:25:24,880 I just finished reading the biography 442 00:25:25,160 –> 00:25:30,160 of a man known as John Brown of Haddington. 443 00:25:30,540 –> 00:25:33,719 Haddington is a little town in the east 444 00:25:33,719 –> 00:25:36,579 of Scotland, quite close to Edinburgh, 445 00:25:36,579 –> 00:25:37,959 where I was born and raised 446 00:25:37,959 –> 00:25:39,959 and so I know that little town well 447 00:25:39,959 –> 00:25:42,560 and have some interest in some things about it 448 00:25:42,560 –> 00:25:44,719 and particularly in this man, John Brown 449 00:25:44,719 –> 00:25:47,640 who was a well known minister in that town 450 00:25:47,680 –> 00:25:51,260 between 1751 and 1787. 451 00:25:51,260 –> 00:25:53,260 I do not suppose that there are 100 people 452 00:25:53,260 –> 00:25:55,040 in the congregation who have read 453 00:25:55,040 –> 00:25:56,420 his biography but never mind, 454 00:25:56,420 –> 00:25:57,859 let me tell you his story. 455 00:25:58,880 –> 00:26:00,939 John Brown’s father died when he was 456 00:26:00,939 –> 00:26:03,640 11 years old and his mother died 457 00:26:03,640 –> 00:26:05,520 just very, very shortly after that. 458 00:26:05,520 –> 00:26:08,079 He was left as an orphan, as so often happened 459 00:26:08,079 –> 00:26:11,420 with shortened lifespans in those days 460 00:26:11,420 –> 00:26:14,060 and in the kindness of a family 461 00:26:14,060 –> 00:26:16,239 by the name of Ogilvie, 462 00:26:16,260 –> 00:26:17,680 a man by the name of John Ogilvie 463 00:26:17,680 –> 00:26:20,160 was an elder of the church in the town 464 00:26:20,160 –> 00:26:22,160 in which John Brown lived. 465 00:26:22,160 –> 00:26:23,920 This little orphan boy was taken in, 466 00:26:23,920 –> 00:26:26,280 surrounded by kindness, 467 00:26:26,280 –> 00:26:29,880 and he tells this story of how in his teenage years 468 00:26:29,880 –> 00:26:33,160 he began to be awakened to a sense 469 00:26:33,160 –> 00:26:35,719 of his own sins as a teenager 470 00:26:35,719 –> 00:26:37,880 and an awareness that he needed 471 00:26:37,880 –> 00:26:39,079 to have peace with God 472 00:26:39,079 –> 00:26:41,119 and that he needed to be right with God. 473 00:26:42,000 –> 00:26:46,319 And he tells, in his memoir, 474 00:26:46,319 –> 00:26:48,219 about how he made a vow. 475 00:26:48,219 –> 00:26:50,359 He made a solemn commitment to God 476 00:26:50,359 –> 00:26:54,839 that he would pray six times a day 477 00:26:54,839 –> 00:26:56,599 when he was herding the sheep 478 00:26:56,599 –> 00:26:59,280 and three times a day when he was not. 479 00:26:59,280 –> 00:27:00,719 So, as you see, he was helping this family 480 00:27:00,719 –> 00:27:03,040 that took him in as a teenager 481 00:27:03,040 –> 00:27:04,359 by being out in the hills 482 00:27:04,359 –> 00:27:06,880 and herding these sheep, and so forth. 483 00:27:06,880 –> 00:27:08,119 Not so much to do, 484 00:27:08,119 –> 00:27:10,119 so, not difficult to pray six times a day 485 00:27:10,199 –> 00:27:11,839 if you’re out in the hills there 486 00:27:11,839 –> 00:27:13,520 in rural Scotland, 487 00:27:13,520 –> 00:27:15,000 and he says, I’ll do it six times a day, 488 00:27:15,000 –> 00:27:16,380 and when I’m not herding the sheep, 489 00:27:16,380 –> 00:27:17,260 well, that’s a little harder, 490 00:27:17,260 –> 00:27:18,359 so I’ll do it three times a day, 491 00:27:18,359 –> 00:27:20,239 but that’s still pretty good. 492 00:27:20,239 –> 00:27:21,979 He started to read the Bible. 493 00:27:21,979 –> 00:27:23,920 He had no formal education, 494 00:27:23,920 –> 00:27:25,359 and it’s quite remarkable 495 00:27:25,359 –> 00:27:27,760 the way he devised a method 496 00:27:27,760 –> 00:27:30,459 to teach himself Greek 497 00:27:30,459 –> 00:27:32,479 so that he could read the Bible 498 00:27:32,479 –> 00:27:33,959 in its original language 499 00:27:33,959 –> 00:27:34,800 so that he could study it 500 00:27:34,800 –> 00:27:37,560 and so that he could understand it well. 501 00:27:37,560 –> 00:27:39,439 Extraordinary for a person 502 00:27:40,180 –> 00:27:41,560 who’s so young. 503 00:27:41,560 –> 00:27:42,719 Now years later, 504 00:27:42,719 –> 00:27:44,119 writing to a friend 505 00:27:44,119 –> 00:27:45,680 and reflecting on what he was doing 506 00:27:45,680 –> 00:27:46,699 in his teenage years, 507 00:27:46,699 –> 00:27:47,739 he says this. 508 00:27:49,319 –> 00:27:52,599 I was putting my religion 509 00:27:52,599 –> 00:27:55,560 in the place of Jesus Christ 510 00:27:56,439 –> 00:27:59,81 and setting up my prayers 511 00:27:59,819 –> 00:28:04,319 as if they were my savior. 512 00:28:04,319 –> 00:28:05,479 I wonder if that rings a bell 513 00:28:05,479 –> 00:28:06,939 with some folks here today. 514 00:28:07,780 –> 00:28:09,500 How am I going to be right with God? 515 00:28:09,500 –> 00:28:11,319 Got to pray more. 516 00:28:11,319 –> 00:28:12,900 Got to study the Bible more. 517 00:28:13,939 –> 00:28:14,780 Six times a day. 518 00:28:14,780 –> 00:28:15,599 Extend myself. 519 00:28:15,599 –> 00:28:16,439 What do I need to do? 520 00:28:16,439 –> 00:28:17,359 How high is the bar? 521 00:28:19,300 –> 00:28:22,660 John Brown was trusting 522 00:28:22,660 –> 00:28:25,219 in what he was trying to do for God 523 00:28:25,219 –> 00:28:27,800 rather than trusting what God 524 00:28:27,800 –> 00:28:29,619 in Jesus Christ had done for him. 525 00:28:29,619 –> 00:28:32,339 He was trying to rest his salvation 526 00:28:32,339 –> 00:28:34,660 on what he could become 527 00:28:34,660 –> 00:28:36,660 rather than on what Jesus Christ 528 00:28:36,660 –> 00:28:39,040 had completed for him. 529 00:28:39,040 –> 00:28:40,660 And looking back on these days, 530 00:28:40,660 –> 00:28:41,500 he says, 531 00:28:41,500 –> 00:28:46,020 such was the legal bias of my heart 532 00:28:47,939 –> 00:28:51,420 that I was willing to do anything 533 00:28:51,420 –> 00:28:55,579 except flee to Jesus Christ 534 00:28:55,579 –> 00:29:00,260 and the free grace that is found in Him alone. 535 00:29:01,680 –> 00:29:03,459 Now, I wonder if that does not speak 536 00:29:03,560 –> 00:29:07,400 and ring bells with a number of us here today, 537 00:29:07,400 –> 00:29:10,140 that we want to have peace with God, 538 00:29:10,140 –> 00:29:13,500 but we tend to look to or believe in, 539 00:29:13,500 –> 00:29:15,859 trust in what we are doing for God, 540 00:29:15,859 –> 00:29:16,699 putting our religion, 541 00:29:16,699 –> 00:29:20,260 putting our prayers in the place of Jesus Christ. 542 00:29:20,260 –> 00:29:22,880 And with this kind of frame of mind, 543 00:29:22,880 –> 00:29:24,979 we’ll do almost anything 544 00:29:24,979 –> 00:29:28,219 rather than look away from ourselves 545 00:29:28,219 –> 00:29:31,180 and trust wholly in Jesus Christ 546 00:29:31,180 –> 00:29:33,560 and what he has accomplished for us 547 00:29:33,560 –> 00:29:36,319 in his death and in his resurrection. 548 00:29:36,319 –> 00:29:41,319 Believing in Jesus means not trusting in yourself, 549 00:29:41,380 –> 00:29:46,160 not trusting in your own attempts to please God. 550 00:29:46,160 –> 00:29:47,619 So that’s it put negatively. 551 00:29:47,619 –> 00:29:49,319 Let me give you the same answer, 552 00:29:49,319 –> 00:29:51,800 flipped over as it were and put positively. 553 00:29:51,800 –> 00:29:56,520 Believing in Jesus Christ means not trusting in yourself 554 00:29:56,520 –> 00:30:00,020 or in your own attempt at a life that’s pleasing to God. 555 00:30:00,020 –> 00:30:03,300 Believing in Jesus Christ therefore means looking to him 556 00:30:04,140 –> 00:30:09,140 to do for you what you cannot do for yourself. 557 00:30:10,020 –> 00:30:12,280 And this word looking is used in the Bible 558 00:30:12,280 –> 00:30:14,900 alongside believing as a synonym. 559 00:30:14,900 –> 00:30:17,760 It means the same thing, John Six and Verse 40. 560 00:30:17,760 –> 00:30:18,920 “‘This is the will of the Father 561 00:30:18,920 –> 00:30:23,119 “‘that everyone who looks to the son and believes in him 562 00:30:23,119 –> 00:30:26,020 “‘will have eternal life.’” 563 00:30:26,020 –> 00:30:27,819 So looking and believing are the same. 564 00:30:27,979 –> 00:30:30,380 You stop looking at, you stop trusting, 565 00:30:30,380 –> 00:30:32,619 you stop resting in, you stop believing 566 00:30:32,619 –> 00:30:34,599 in what you’re doing for God 567 00:30:34,599 –> 00:30:37,579 and you look away from that to Jesus Christ 568 00:30:37,579 –> 00:30:40,819 and what God has done for you in him. 569 00:30:40,819 –> 00:30:45,380 That’s what believing in the Lord Jesus Christ is. 570 00:30:46,540 –> 00:30:48,939 And as long as you have this lurking sense 571 00:30:48,939 –> 00:30:51,660 that God really hates you and that he’s out to get you, 572 00:30:51,660 –> 00:30:53,339 you will want to hide from him, 573 00:30:53,339 –> 00:30:54,780 you’ll want to run from him, 574 00:30:54,780 –> 00:30:56,880 you certainly won’t want to look to him. 575 00:30:58,119 –> 00:30:59,800 But when you come to see and believe 576 00:30:59,800 –> 00:31:01,839 what this verse that’s before us today 577 00:31:01,839 –> 00:31:03,979 actually says that God loves you 578 00:31:04,979 –> 00:31:08,339 and that God sent his son into the world for you, 579 00:31:08,339 –> 00:31:10,099 gave his son for you, 580 00:31:10,099 –> 00:31:14,260 that will enable you to look to him, to believe in him 581 00:31:14,260 –> 00:31:16,619 and in this way and in this way alone 582 00:31:16,619 –> 00:31:21,619 you will not perish but you will have everlasting life. 583 00:31:23,780 –> 00:31:25,459 Now here’s the very last thing today 584 00:31:25,459 –> 00:31:27,400 and it’s simply this. 585 00:31:27,660 –> 00:31:31,780 You try and take in the marvelous good news of this verse 586 00:31:31,780 –> 00:31:33,979 and you say well this sounds absolutely wonderful. 587 00:31:33,979 –> 00:31:36,979 The love of God, the giving of his son, not perishing! 588 00:31:37,859 –> 00:31:41,180 Having eternal life. 589 00:31:41,180 –> 00:31:42,020 Marvelous. 590 00:31:42,020 –> 00:31:45,640 But is this really for me? 591 00:31:47,459 –> 00:31:50,020 Again, I was reading and this was some time ago. 592 00:31:50,020 –> 00:31:51,760 I’m not just doing this all the time 593 00:31:51,760 –> 00:31:56,099 but some time ago I was reading a tract on John 3 16 594 00:31:56,119 –> 00:31:58,359 and again it came from an earlier century 595 00:31:58,359 –> 00:32:02,079 from the 19th century and I mention that for this reason. 596 00:32:03,099 –> 00:32:07,359 The author there quotes John 3 and verse 16, 597 00:32:07,359 –> 00:32:11,180 whoever believes in him should not perish 598 00:32:11,180 –> 00:32:14,780 but have eternal life and then makes this comment 599 00:32:14,780 –> 00:32:16,380 writing in the 19th century. 600 00:32:17,719 –> 00:32:19,439 But you will say 601 00:32:20,560 –> 00:32:25,880 if I were as Peter, Paul, and John, 602 00:32:27,060 –> 00:32:32,060 and Mary were, this gift would be a comfort to me 603 00:32:32,900 –> 00:32:34,339 and I smiled when I read that. 604 00:32:34,339 –> 00:32:36,939 I said well there’s a 19th century writer. 605 00:32:36,939 –> 00:32:39,939 Anyone reading in the 20th or the 21st century 606 00:32:39,939 –> 00:32:42,739 seeing the names Peter, Paul, and Mary put together 607 00:32:42,739 –> 00:32:45,579 is gonna be thinking of a folk band 608 00:32:45,579 –> 00:32:49,140 who have hung around for a remarkably long time. 609 00:32:50,160 –> 00:32:52,859 That’s not who he was talking about. 610 00:32:52,900 –> 00:32:56,040 He’s saying this, that when we read 611 00:32:56,040 –> 00:32:59,459 John chapter three and verse 16, 612 00:32:59,459 –> 00:33:01,260 we say now here’s something wonderful 613 00:33:01,260 –> 00:33:03,680 that God loves and God sends his son 614 00:33:03,680 –> 00:33:07,140 and you know what, if I had a rock like faith like Peter, 615 00:33:07,140 –> 00:33:08,540 I could believe that God loves me 616 00:33:08,540 –> 00:33:09,939 and sent his son for me. 617 00:33:11,060 –> 00:33:13,500 Or if I had the mind of the apostle Paul 618 00:33:13,500 –> 00:33:16,420 and could comprehend the vast truths 619 00:33:16,420 –> 00:33:19,280 that he seemed to be able to grasp and to pen, 620 00:33:19,280 –> 00:33:21,619 I mean if I had a biblical understanding, 621 00:33:21,619 –> 00:33:24,560 if I could really grasp these things in the Bible 622 00:33:24,560 –> 00:33:26,900 with that kind of mind, then I could believe 623 00:33:26,900 –> 00:33:30,920 that God loves me and sent his son for me. 624 00:33:30,920 –> 00:33:35,920 Or if I had a heart and a mind that was pure 625 00:33:38,420 –> 00:33:42,819 like Mary, if I had that, then I could believe 626 00:33:42,819 –> 00:33:44,699 that God loves me, then I could believe 627 00:33:44,699 –> 00:33:46,459 that God sent his son into the world. 628 00:33:46,459 –> 00:33:49,739 But here is the problem I find it very difficult 629 00:33:49,739 –> 00:33:51,300 to see that this is for me 630 00:33:51,300 –> 00:33:54,380 because I am not like Peter, I am not like Paul, 631 00:33:54,380 –> 00:33:59,380 I am not like Mary and I have very great difficulty 632 00:33:59,900 –> 00:34:02,959 in believing that this gift is for me. 633 00:34:04,540 –> 00:34:06,260 And that is why I want to end today 634 00:34:06,260 –> 00:34:08,179 on this wonderful word whoever, 635 00:34:09,639 –> 00:34:11,780 God so loved the world that he gave his one 636 00:34:11,780 –> 00:34:16,540 and only son that whoever believes in Him 637 00:34:17,540 –> 00:34:21,040 should not perish but have eternal life, 638 00:34:21,040 –> 00:34:25,260 whoever, that’s a very big word. 639 00:34:26,659 –> 00:34:30,080 Whoever is big enough for every person 640 00:34:30,080 –> 00:34:31,939 in this sanctuary today 641 00:34:31,939 –> 00:34:34,219 and every person who hears this message, 642 00:34:34,219 –> 00:34:37,540 it is big enough for you to crawl inside of that word, 643 00:34:37,540 –> 00:34:41,379 whoever, here is something to hold on. 644 00:34:41,379 –> 00:34:44,379 Jesus Christ was given as much for you 645 00:34:44,459 –> 00:34:47,459 as he was given for Peter, Paul and Mary. 646 00:34:47,459 –> 00:34:49,239 Isn’t that good news? 647 00:34:49,239 –> 00:34:52,020 As much for you as for them. 648 00:34:52,020 –> 00:34:55,840 And Jesus Christ is offered to all people everywhere 649 00:34:55,840 –> 00:34:59,860 without exception and without qualification, 650 00:34:59,860 –> 00:35:04,500 to the person who is far from God in the service here today, 651 00:35:04,500 –> 00:35:07,260 to the person who has shown no interest in God 652 00:35:07,260 –> 00:35:09,860 in recent years or perhaps ever, 653 00:35:09,860 –> 00:35:12,939 there is a savior for you. 654 00:35:12,939 –> 00:35:15,219 That’s the good news that’s announced here today 655 00:35:15,219 –> 00:35:17,179 from the Bible. 656 00:35:17,179 –> 00:35:20,199 To the person who feels trapped 657 00:35:20,199 –> 00:35:24,379 in the power of a compulsive, a habitual sin, 658 00:35:24,379 –> 00:35:26,379 and you say, how can I ever get out of that? 659 00:35:26,379 –> 00:35:27,360 Here’s the good news. 660 00:35:27,360 –> 00:35:30,020 There is a savior for you. 661 00:35:31,199 –> 00:35:35,020 To the person who’s been brought up in a Christian home 662 00:35:35,020 –> 00:35:37,560 and has been surrounded by these things 663 00:35:37,560 –> 00:35:39,639 for many, many years, there is a savior for you 664 00:35:39,639 –> 00:35:40,800 and you need him. 665 00:35:40,800 –> 00:35:42,800 The fact that you’ve been brought up in a Christian home 666 00:35:42,919 –> 00:35:45,179 is never gonna do it for you. 667 00:35:45,179 –> 00:35:47,399 To the person who’s brought up in a Jewish home, 668 00:35:47,399 –> 00:35:49,580 in a Muslim home, in an atheist home, 669 00:35:49,580 –> 00:35:51,879 there is a savior for you. 670 00:35:51,879 –> 00:35:53,959 He is offered to all people everywhere 671 00:35:53,959 –> 00:35:56,520 without exclusion, without exception, 672 00:35:56,520 –> 00:35:58,679 and without qualification. 673 00:35:58,679 –> 00:36:00,699 And if you will have this Jesus Christ, 674 00:36:00,699 –> 00:36:02,879 this verse that is open in the Bible 675 00:36:02,879 –> 00:36:05,159 in front of you today is saying to you 676 00:36:05,159 –> 00:36:06,679 if you will have this Christ, 677 00:36:06,679 –> 00:36:08,719 you will have life in his name. 678 00:36:08,719 –> 00:36:11,540 You will not perish and God loves you 679 00:36:11,659 –> 00:36:14,280 and he has sent his son into the world 680 00:36:14,280 –> 00:36:16,899 for this very reason. 681 00:36:16,899 –> 00:36:19,600 And so God in his great mercy 682 00:36:19,600 –> 00:36:24,600 offers his son Jesus Christ to you today. 683 00:36:25,739 –> 00:36:27,239 And I have to say to you 684 00:36:27,239 –> 00:36:28,939 in the light of this verse 685 00:36:30,540 –> 00:36:33,419 that if there is any person 686 00:36:33,419 –> 00:36:36,939 in this congregation today 687 00:36:38,020 –> 00:36:41,479 who on the last day you should perish, 688 00:36:42,520 –> 00:36:45,580 when other people who are sitting around you right now 689 00:36:45,580 –> 00:36:47,899 enter into everlasting life. 690 00:36:48,959 –> 00:36:51,620 If that should happen to any person here today, 691 00:36:51,620 –> 00:36:56,620 you would have no one to blame but yourself 692 00:36:57,659 –> 00:36:58,899 for this reason, 693 00:37:00,260 –> 00:37:04,659 that God’s love is proclaimed to you today. 694 00:37:06,020 –> 00:37:09,899 That God’s son is offered to you today. 695 00:37:10,620 –> 00:37:13,820 That an open door to look away from yourself 696 00:37:13,820 –> 00:37:16,860 and to put your trust in Him and in Him alone 697 00:37:16,860 –> 00:37:18,699 is before you today, 698 00:37:18,699 –> 00:37:23,699 the gift of the Savior is offered to you today. 699 00:37:25,340 –> 00:37:27,840 For God so loved the world 700 00:37:28,939 –> 00:37:32,179 that He gave His only Son, 701 00:37:33,379 –> 00:37:38,379 that whoever believes in Him 702 00:37:40,860 –> 00:37:45,860 should not perish but have everlasting life. 703 00:37:49,699 –> 00:37:54,139 Father, may this be a day 704 00:37:55,179 –> 00:37:59,179 of looking away from ourselves 705 00:38:00,120 –> 00:38:03,659 at our best or at our worst 706 00:38:04,239 –> 00:38:10,459 and trusting your son, Jesus Christ, 707 00:38:11,560 –> 00:38:14,939 and finding that cleansing in that new life 708 00:38:14,939 –> 00:38:19,820 that alone he is able to give. 709 00:38:19,820 –> 00:38:21,719 Lord, hear our prayers. 710 00:38:21,719 –> 00:38:25,260 For we ask these things in Jesus’ name, amen.